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American Morning
U.S., Iraqi troops Bracing For Offensive Against Falluja; Disputes Over Arafat's Possible Burial Place; Hospital-Based Doctors
Aired November 08, 2004 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back everybody. Eight-thirty here in New York on this AMERICAN MORNING. Kelly Wallace working for Soledad today. Good morning to you.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Halfway mark, right?
HEMMER: Halfway mark, that's right.
Thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops getting ready for this all-out assault on Falluja. What can we expect to see when it happens?
We'll talk to a commander on the ground near Falluja with Task Force 22 -- well connected with a lot of authority -- so we'll get to him in a moment here.
WALLACE: Interesting, indeed.
And for anybody who has ever been in a hospital, they know it can be a very scary experience. Well, there's a new medical specialty out there meant to make it a little less frightening for patients. It's called the "hospitalist." Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains.
But first, let's get another check on what's now in the news with Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Good morning again, Daryn.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Kelly, good morning.
The European Union is apparently close to a nuclear deal with Iran. There are reports that the European delegation is awaiting final approval from the Iranian side.
Details of the agreement are not clear, but they involve a freeze on Iran's enrichment activities. If that deal is approved, it could keep the matter from going to the U.N. Security Council, which could apply economic sanctions against Iran.
Here in the U.S., the man who tried to assassinate former president Ronald Reagan is asking for longer unsupervised visits with his parents.
John Hinckley Jr. has been living in a psychiatric hospital in Washington since the early 1980s. Last year, Hinckley was granted permission for short trips to his parents home in Virginia. Government attorneys are opposed to that new request.
Jurors in the Scott Peterson double murder trial are asking to review some evidence. They want to take another look at the boat that prosecutor's claim Peterson used to dispose of his wife's body. That's expected to happen when deliberations resume in Redwood City, California just about three hours from now. Those jurors are sequestered until a verdict is reached.
And New Jersey governor James McGreevey delivers his public farewell today. Aides say he is expected to highlight his accomplishments. McGreevey's term has been cut short following August's revelations of an extramarital affair with a man. McGreevey officially leaves office next Monday.
Back to you in New York.
HEMMER: All right, Daryn, thanks. Keeping a very close eye on what's happening in Falluja. Thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops there massed in the desert, bracing for the long awaited offensive against Falluja.
Last hour, I talked to Lieutenant Colonel Pete Newell. He's a commander with the First Infantry Division, Task Force 22, by way of videophone, about what's happening there now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
What's happened overnight and in the hours so far today on Monday?
LT. PETE NEWELL, COMMANDER, TASK FORCE 22: (INAUDIBLE) middle of the afternoon. You know, we have been outside the city since early this morning. Right now conducting safety operations in support of the Iraqi intervention force, should they need to enter the city sometime in the next couple of days.
Our grant (ph) was to ensure that they are out of mortar fire, out of small-arms fires, and have a means to get inside the city and create the environment to re-establish the rule of law in Falluja.
HEMMER: Lieutenant, do you believe Zarqawi is in that town? Lieutenant, I'm going to try it again, if we can keep did the line open here. And again, we just ask our viewers to be patient with us for a moment here.
Do you believe Zarqawi is inside the town of Falluja, sir?
NEWELL: I have no idea. He could be anywhere.
HEMMER: You were quoted as saying over the weekend, "We're going to start at one end of the city, and we're not going to stop until we get to the other." Explain to us what you mean by that, from a military standpoint, going into that town?
NEWELL: (INAUDIBLE) in the Iraqi intervention force require our assistance. Obviously, we'll enter the city and start at one end and clear enough battle space for the IRF to get in and do what they do best, and that's take actually gain control of the population and re- establish the rule of law for the city of Falluja. HEMMER: We are told two bridges that cross the river on the western edge of the town were taken over the weekend. A hospital in that same area was taken, as well. Why do you believe this hospital was so critical to your operation?
NEWELL: You know, (INAUDIBLE) a long ways out of my area of my operations. I heard the same thing this morning, but you know, I've not been to that side of the city. That's actually in another unit's area. So, I -- you know, I really couldn't tell you.
HEMMER: One more question while we have you: How many insurgents, do you believe, are inside the town?
NEWELL: We've heard anywhere (ph) from a couple of hundred to 1,200 to 1,500 to more than that. It's really difficult to give that an answer.
HEMMER: And can you give us a better understanding of the role that Iraqi forces are playing in this operation?
NEWELL: Actually, the Iraqi Intervention Force are really the important part of this operation. There's some things that they do that we just can't do. And their job is to get in, establish a rule of law, establish a rapport with the people of Falluja will return Falluja to a city that is ready for the Democratic process.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Again, last hour by way of videophone, Lieutenant Colonel Pete Newell, commander with Task Force 22 there in the outskirts of Falluja. When we get more developments from there we will pass them along to you -- Kelly.
WALLACE: Thanks, Bill.
A change in policy and leadership is likely if Yasser Arafat does not recover. Former Senator George Mitchell spoke to CNN yesterday; sharing the steps he feels the Bush administration must take in the event of Arafat's death to jump-start the Mid-east peace process.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE MITCHELL, FMR. U.S. SENATOR: First, the obvious step is the appointment of a high level envoy.
Second, making it clear that we are there until we get the job done. That it isn't going to be in and out and leaving at the first sign of trouble, the first bomb, the first difficulty.
Third, it is to walk a fine line in encouraging the Palestinians to take the steps necessary to have an effective transition without appearing to dictate that transition.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: This morning three senior Palestinian officials are on their way to Paris to visit Arafat. In the event of his death, the question of where to bury him is as contentious as Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.
Palestinians want him buried in Jerusalem; Israel has ruled it out. But as CNN's Guy Raz reports, there are historical precedents to consider.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Islam's third holiest site is in the holy Muslim cemetery on the hillside below. Yasser Arafat's burial here, his apparent last request.
MUFTI IKHIMA GABTI, GRAND MUFTI OF JERUSALEM: It was his wish to be buried in Jerusalem.
RAZ: East Jerusalem symbolizes Palestinian aspirations for statehood. It's where they'd like to establish a future capital, but this piece of real estate is perhaps the most contentious in the world. It sits atop the ruins of the ancient Jewish temple, the holiest site to Jews.
Israel annexed this part of the city in 1967, a move not recognized internationally. And Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says Jerusalem's sovereignty will never be shared with Palestinians.
DANNY RUBENSTEIN, HA'ARETZ NEWSPAPER: Israel will not let them, you know, bury their father in Jerusalem because it might be interpreted as Israeli recognition that they have some political rights in Jerusalem.
RAZ: Israel wants Yasser Arafat buried here, at this plot in Gaza owned by the Arafat family. But it holds neither political nor symbolic significance.
Abu Dies (ph) a Palestinian Seder outside Jerusalem, has also been mentioned, but to Palestinians this would be tantamount to renouncing claims on part of Jerusalem.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) is Jerusalem. There is Jerusalem. He should be buried there.
RAZ: But Israel fears a Jerusalem burial for Arafat could turn into a political demonstration like the 2001 funeral for popular Palestinian leader Faisal Husseini. And then there's the flash point factor. Arafat's gravesite is likely to become a rallying ground for both loyalists and detractors.
And to complicate matters further, any burial site will probably be permanent. Under Islamic law, human remains can only be moved in exceptional circumstances.
And because Yasser Arafat's symbolism will long outlive his body, Ramallah, the West Bank town where he was confined for the past three years, may ultimately become the site of his final resting place.
Guy Raz, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: For now, the 75-year-old Arafat remains in a coma in a Paris hospital -- Bill.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: In a moment, Andy has news that may sour one of last week's positive economic signs. We'll talk about that.
WALLACE: And Bill, what time will your doctor see you in the hospital? How about any time? Dr. Sanjay Gupta on a new way to treat hospital patients.
HEMMER: Also where some Democrats would rather live than in an America governed by George W. Bush. We have an answer, apparently. Back in a moment after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALLACE: Look out, doc, there's a new specialist in town. A growing number of physicians are becoming hospital-based doctors, or hospitalists. And as Dr. Sanjay Gupta tells us, it's helping patients breathe easier.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Fifty-five year old Barbara Heyman, who suffers from chronic migraines, has been hospitalized dozens of times.
Like many patients, she was confused and intimidated at the very thought of going to the hospital, but for her, that's recently changed.
BARBARA HEYMAN, PATIENT: Just having somebody hold your hand and say it's OK, Barbara, I'll be here for you. That has never happened in previous hospital stays.
GUPTA: Patients like Barbara are being seen by doctors who have chosen the newest medical specialty, the hospitalist.
DR. WINTHROP WHITCOMB, MERCY MEDICAL CENTER: Who is available to the hospitalized patient throughout the course of the day to see the patients when they need to be seen as opposed to seeing the patients when its convenient for the doctor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This gentlemen seems to be doing much better at home.
GUPTA: Hospitalists care for patients only when they're in the hospital, allowing the primary care doctor to focus on their office patients.
DR. SHAWN CHAREST, HOSPITALIST, MERCY MEDICAL CTR.: I take as much time as I need with my patients, feeling like you really have a level of connection to these patients and their families.
GUPTA: Time to go over test results, talk to family members, and answer questions. Sometimes a luxury in today's medical world.
CHAREST: A nurse can page us and we can be at the bedside within a matter of minutes.
GUPTA: The hospitalist specialty has grown from less than 100 a few years ago to more than 10,000 today, and those numbers will likely triple over the next two years. One day soon, hospitalists will be the most common specialty.
WHITCOMB: This is one of the changes that has come down the pike in health care that has really benefited all parties.
GUPTA: Studies show that patient satisfaction rises, hospital costs come down. But there is one possible risk.
WHITCOMB: The challenge has been to get the information of the hospitalization to the primary care physician in a timely fashion and have that information be complete.
GUPTA: Getting a detailed record of hospital treatment and continuity of care do make some traditional primary care doctors a little leery. But still, today, the program is in more than half of the nation's hospitals.
And for Barbara, their arrival is long over due.
HEYMAN: I would never go to the hospital again without a hospitalist.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: Thanks, Sanjay for that good news. Insurance companies do cover hospitalists and they can reduce the cost of a hospital stay by $800 on average -- Bill.
HEMMER: Healthy and unhealthy in America. How does your state rank? The United Health Foundation is putting out its annual list and for nine of the past 15 years Minnesota has been number one. Same again this year followed by New Hampshire and Vermont.
Low rates of poverty, safer than average drivers, generous spending on public health are helping keep residents feeling good, apparently, according to the study.
At the other end of the list is Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana. Number 50 for 14 of the past 15 years. High rates of poverty, infant mortality, cancer and smoking are partly to blame for that. So the list is out -- check it out on our web site to get more there.
WALLACE: Wonder where New York squares? HEMMER: I don't know but we're going to find out right here.
WALLACE: We'll have to look at the Web site to find out.
HEMMER: In a moment here, Jim Belushi gets in a spat with Catwoman. It may end up in court. "The Cafferty File" has that. In a moment back with Jack and Andy after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALLACE: Welcome back.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: We've got a story that runs counter to last week's upbeat jobs report and in fairly large numbers, too. Andy Serwer is here "Minding Your Business."
Plus a terrific weekend of betting on the football games.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Yes. I wonder -- we'll get to that in a second, Jack.
Indeed, running counter to those great jobs numbers that came out on Friday. 337,000 jobs created in the month of October but that's not going to be happening at SBC -- not at SBC the phone giant based in San Antonio, Texas.
Turns out they're going to be laying off up to 10,000 workers towards the end of 2005. They've already let go of 27,000. Why? Local phone service is an eroding business, as they say on Wall Street.
That means people are just talking on their cell phones more and not using land lines to make local calls, so SBC feeling the pinch there.
Otherwise a great week for stocks and the markets. The Dow up over 360 points. Look here. Three points over 3 percent across the board and markets really perking up nicely, the election was a straight shot.
The jobs report: the price of oil falling as well, futures a little bit lower this morning.
Let's talk football, though, shall we? A banner week for Jack Cafferty. Let's talk about Jack Cafferty. He's the big hoss. Six- three, 180 -- 180 pounds out of Reno, Nevada, lean Western type -- that's Keith Jackson. And he comes up on top there.
Lot of upsets, the Steelers beat the Eagles, the Ravens and Rams, I think -- the Redskins won, the Bucs won, Toure was picking for Heidi. I've got to say that.
OK, Heidi. Because Heidi usually does better than that, Toure.
CAFFERTY: How did she do?
SERWER: How did he do? Five and eight. That's how he do. He do five and eight. Heidi does better.
WALLACE: Heidi is not going to like that one bit.
SERWER: Heidi is not going to like that at all.
WALLACE: One bit at all, Toure.
SERWER: That's why they call me the middle of the pack.
HEMMER: Who was picking for Soledad?
SERWER: Soledad?
WALLACE: Soledad is picking for Soledad.
SERWER: I think there's that guy Boman (ph). Tonight the Vikings-Colts, I pick the Colts.
CAFFERTY: The -- the...
SERWER: Good job.
CAFFERTY: Thinking behind my picks -- they came to me early in the season and insisted I get involved in this and I absolutely wanted no part and I said fine I'll take all the losers every week. Give me all the underdogs every week. One week a year the underdogs win and that explains my success.
SERWER: Genius.
CAFFERTY: I have less than no interest in the -- yes.
SERWER: He's the big hoss. About 6'3", 180.
(LAUGHTER)
CAFFERTY: You're nuts. Democrats -- time for the File."
Democrats upset over President Bush's re-election have flooded Canada's main immigration Web site looking for information on how to apply for citizenship.
The day Bush's win was announced, the number of visitors to the Web site -- six times higher than normal. On average, 20,000 people log on for information. November the 3rd there were 115,000 people sniffing around about how to become a citizen of Canada. Call me; I'll help you pack.
Immigration Ministry spokespeople say this number has almost doubled the previous record high. They also say they are happy about the possible newcomers, hope to attract 220 to 240,000 immigrants next year.
I just can't believe that.
Jim Belushi, who has found himself in a fight with his next-door neighbor -- he lives next to Julie Newmar who is now 69-years old and no longer looks like Catwoman. And -- that's the character she played back in the 60s, back so long ago.
Anyway, Belushi says Julie Newmar has ruined his fence and some of his landscaping at his Brentwood home and talked badly about him behind his back to neighbors and friends.
SERWER: No.
WALLACE: Oh, no.
CAFFERTY: In addition to thinking of moving to Canada he's suing her for $4 million. Belushi says Newmar is engaged in a campaign of harassment designed to drive him off his property.
It's Monday, don't hold me to a very high standard.
SERWER: Please.
CAFFERTY: It's weak today. Women in search of the fountain of youth are deserting Botox for acupuncture in what is being called the Botox backlash.
Women are having 26 needles put into their knees, arms, face and ankles.
SERWER: Yikes.
CAFFERTY: Apparently, the procedure erases laugh lines around the mouth, crow's feet around the eyes, scowl lines on the forehead and sagging cheeks, but it leaves these great big holes in the skin where all these needles have been.
(LAUGHTER)
The needles stay in for about 20 minutes -- plastic surgeons are skeptical -- they say the acupuncture thing doesn't work.
The reason they say that is they get $20,000 for doing surgical face lifts and doing the Botox thing, so they're going to pooh-pooh this acupuncture thing because they don't get a cut of that action. They say, no, no the $20,000 thing is better.
Anyway, that's the latest on the cosmetic surgery.
SERWER: Better acupuncture in Canada, I hear.
CAFFERTY: Yes, like I said -- call me; I'll help you pack.
WALLACE: What about just aging gracefully? Just aging -- women get more and more beautiful. Smile lines are very good.
CAFFERTY: That actor Alec Baldwin who said he was going to move to...
HEMMER: Going to France, Italy. CAFFERTY: He's still here. How come?
SERWER: Three days and counting.
CAFFERTY: No, this was before the last election. He said if Al Gore didn't win he was going to leave the country. Now President Bush won a second term and Baldwin is still hanging around.
SERWER: The Baldwin who cried wolf.
CAFFERTY: How come you're still here? Get the hell out of the country like you said you would.
SERWER: Yes, do what you say.
HEMMER: And do you have the 800 number for writing for Jack -- do you think we can get that.
SERWER: Pack them up. Load them up.
CAFFERTY: I'm not going anywhere. I like it here. Especially right here on this program with you guys.
SERWER: Oh, the softer side.
HEMMER: It's Monday. The morning's top stories including this live report from amid the 10,000 U.S. and Iraqi forces ready to push across the Euphrates into the town of Falluja. The latest as we get it in a moment after the break here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Good morning. Countdown to an assault on Falluja. Thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops now getting ready to take down the insurgency inside that town.
The Yasser Arafat health crisis gets personal. Arafat's wife turns on Palestinian officials with allegations of a conspiracy.
And deliberations resume again today in Scott Peterson's case. The longer that takes, is it better or not for the prosecution?
Those stories this morning here on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 8, 2004 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back everybody. Eight-thirty here in New York on this AMERICAN MORNING. Kelly Wallace working for Soledad today. Good morning to you.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Halfway mark, right?
HEMMER: Halfway mark, that's right.
Thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops getting ready for this all-out assault on Falluja. What can we expect to see when it happens?
We'll talk to a commander on the ground near Falluja with Task Force 22 -- well connected with a lot of authority -- so we'll get to him in a moment here.
WALLACE: Interesting, indeed.
And for anybody who has ever been in a hospital, they know it can be a very scary experience. Well, there's a new medical specialty out there meant to make it a little less frightening for patients. It's called the "hospitalist." Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains.
But first, let's get another check on what's now in the news with Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Good morning again, Daryn.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Kelly, good morning.
The European Union is apparently close to a nuclear deal with Iran. There are reports that the European delegation is awaiting final approval from the Iranian side.
Details of the agreement are not clear, but they involve a freeze on Iran's enrichment activities. If that deal is approved, it could keep the matter from going to the U.N. Security Council, which could apply economic sanctions against Iran.
Here in the U.S., the man who tried to assassinate former president Ronald Reagan is asking for longer unsupervised visits with his parents.
John Hinckley Jr. has been living in a psychiatric hospital in Washington since the early 1980s. Last year, Hinckley was granted permission for short trips to his parents home in Virginia. Government attorneys are opposed to that new request.
Jurors in the Scott Peterson double murder trial are asking to review some evidence. They want to take another look at the boat that prosecutor's claim Peterson used to dispose of his wife's body. That's expected to happen when deliberations resume in Redwood City, California just about three hours from now. Those jurors are sequestered until a verdict is reached.
And New Jersey governor James McGreevey delivers his public farewell today. Aides say he is expected to highlight his accomplishments. McGreevey's term has been cut short following August's revelations of an extramarital affair with a man. McGreevey officially leaves office next Monday.
Back to you in New York.
HEMMER: All right, Daryn, thanks. Keeping a very close eye on what's happening in Falluja. Thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops there massed in the desert, bracing for the long awaited offensive against Falluja.
Last hour, I talked to Lieutenant Colonel Pete Newell. He's a commander with the First Infantry Division, Task Force 22, by way of videophone, about what's happening there now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
What's happened overnight and in the hours so far today on Monday?
LT. PETE NEWELL, COMMANDER, TASK FORCE 22: (INAUDIBLE) middle of the afternoon. You know, we have been outside the city since early this morning. Right now conducting safety operations in support of the Iraqi intervention force, should they need to enter the city sometime in the next couple of days.
Our grant (ph) was to ensure that they are out of mortar fire, out of small-arms fires, and have a means to get inside the city and create the environment to re-establish the rule of law in Falluja.
HEMMER: Lieutenant, do you believe Zarqawi is in that town? Lieutenant, I'm going to try it again, if we can keep did the line open here. And again, we just ask our viewers to be patient with us for a moment here.
Do you believe Zarqawi is inside the town of Falluja, sir?
NEWELL: I have no idea. He could be anywhere.
HEMMER: You were quoted as saying over the weekend, "We're going to start at one end of the city, and we're not going to stop until we get to the other." Explain to us what you mean by that, from a military standpoint, going into that town?
NEWELL: (INAUDIBLE) in the Iraqi intervention force require our assistance. Obviously, we'll enter the city and start at one end and clear enough battle space for the IRF to get in and do what they do best, and that's take actually gain control of the population and re- establish the rule of law for the city of Falluja. HEMMER: We are told two bridges that cross the river on the western edge of the town were taken over the weekend. A hospital in that same area was taken, as well. Why do you believe this hospital was so critical to your operation?
NEWELL: You know, (INAUDIBLE) a long ways out of my area of my operations. I heard the same thing this morning, but you know, I've not been to that side of the city. That's actually in another unit's area. So, I -- you know, I really couldn't tell you.
HEMMER: One more question while we have you: How many insurgents, do you believe, are inside the town?
NEWELL: We've heard anywhere (ph) from a couple of hundred to 1,200 to 1,500 to more than that. It's really difficult to give that an answer.
HEMMER: And can you give us a better understanding of the role that Iraqi forces are playing in this operation?
NEWELL: Actually, the Iraqi Intervention Force are really the important part of this operation. There's some things that they do that we just can't do. And their job is to get in, establish a rule of law, establish a rapport with the people of Falluja will return Falluja to a city that is ready for the Democratic process.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Again, last hour by way of videophone, Lieutenant Colonel Pete Newell, commander with Task Force 22 there in the outskirts of Falluja. When we get more developments from there we will pass them along to you -- Kelly.
WALLACE: Thanks, Bill.
A change in policy and leadership is likely if Yasser Arafat does not recover. Former Senator George Mitchell spoke to CNN yesterday; sharing the steps he feels the Bush administration must take in the event of Arafat's death to jump-start the Mid-east peace process.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE MITCHELL, FMR. U.S. SENATOR: First, the obvious step is the appointment of a high level envoy.
Second, making it clear that we are there until we get the job done. That it isn't going to be in and out and leaving at the first sign of trouble, the first bomb, the first difficulty.
Third, it is to walk a fine line in encouraging the Palestinians to take the steps necessary to have an effective transition without appearing to dictate that transition.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: This morning three senior Palestinian officials are on their way to Paris to visit Arafat. In the event of his death, the question of where to bury him is as contentious as Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.
Palestinians want him buried in Jerusalem; Israel has ruled it out. But as CNN's Guy Raz reports, there are historical precedents to consider.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Islam's third holiest site is in the holy Muslim cemetery on the hillside below. Yasser Arafat's burial here, his apparent last request.
MUFTI IKHIMA GABTI, GRAND MUFTI OF JERUSALEM: It was his wish to be buried in Jerusalem.
RAZ: East Jerusalem symbolizes Palestinian aspirations for statehood. It's where they'd like to establish a future capital, but this piece of real estate is perhaps the most contentious in the world. It sits atop the ruins of the ancient Jewish temple, the holiest site to Jews.
Israel annexed this part of the city in 1967, a move not recognized internationally. And Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says Jerusalem's sovereignty will never be shared with Palestinians.
DANNY RUBENSTEIN, HA'ARETZ NEWSPAPER: Israel will not let them, you know, bury their father in Jerusalem because it might be interpreted as Israeli recognition that they have some political rights in Jerusalem.
RAZ: Israel wants Yasser Arafat buried here, at this plot in Gaza owned by the Arafat family. But it holds neither political nor symbolic significance.
Abu Dies (ph) a Palestinian Seder outside Jerusalem, has also been mentioned, but to Palestinians this would be tantamount to renouncing claims on part of Jerusalem.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) is Jerusalem. There is Jerusalem. He should be buried there.
RAZ: But Israel fears a Jerusalem burial for Arafat could turn into a political demonstration like the 2001 funeral for popular Palestinian leader Faisal Husseini. And then there's the flash point factor. Arafat's gravesite is likely to become a rallying ground for both loyalists and detractors.
And to complicate matters further, any burial site will probably be permanent. Under Islamic law, human remains can only be moved in exceptional circumstances.
And because Yasser Arafat's symbolism will long outlive his body, Ramallah, the West Bank town where he was confined for the past three years, may ultimately become the site of his final resting place.
Guy Raz, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: For now, the 75-year-old Arafat remains in a coma in a Paris hospital -- Bill.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: In a moment, Andy has news that may sour one of last week's positive economic signs. We'll talk about that.
WALLACE: And Bill, what time will your doctor see you in the hospital? How about any time? Dr. Sanjay Gupta on a new way to treat hospital patients.
HEMMER: Also where some Democrats would rather live than in an America governed by George W. Bush. We have an answer, apparently. Back in a moment after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALLACE: Look out, doc, there's a new specialist in town. A growing number of physicians are becoming hospital-based doctors, or hospitalists. And as Dr. Sanjay Gupta tells us, it's helping patients breathe easier.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Fifty-five year old Barbara Heyman, who suffers from chronic migraines, has been hospitalized dozens of times.
Like many patients, she was confused and intimidated at the very thought of going to the hospital, but for her, that's recently changed.
BARBARA HEYMAN, PATIENT: Just having somebody hold your hand and say it's OK, Barbara, I'll be here for you. That has never happened in previous hospital stays.
GUPTA: Patients like Barbara are being seen by doctors who have chosen the newest medical specialty, the hospitalist.
DR. WINTHROP WHITCOMB, MERCY MEDICAL CENTER: Who is available to the hospitalized patient throughout the course of the day to see the patients when they need to be seen as opposed to seeing the patients when its convenient for the doctor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This gentlemen seems to be doing much better at home.
GUPTA: Hospitalists care for patients only when they're in the hospital, allowing the primary care doctor to focus on their office patients.
DR. SHAWN CHAREST, HOSPITALIST, MERCY MEDICAL CTR.: I take as much time as I need with my patients, feeling like you really have a level of connection to these patients and their families.
GUPTA: Time to go over test results, talk to family members, and answer questions. Sometimes a luxury in today's medical world.
CHAREST: A nurse can page us and we can be at the bedside within a matter of minutes.
GUPTA: The hospitalist specialty has grown from less than 100 a few years ago to more than 10,000 today, and those numbers will likely triple over the next two years. One day soon, hospitalists will be the most common specialty.
WHITCOMB: This is one of the changes that has come down the pike in health care that has really benefited all parties.
GUPTA: Studies show that patient satisfaction rises, hospital costs come down. But there is one possible risk.
WHITCOMB: The challenge has been to get the information of the hospitalization to the primary care physician in a timely fashion and have that information be complete.
GUPTA: Getting a detailed record of hospital treatment and continuity of care do make some traditional primary care doctors a little leery. But still, today, the program is in more than half of the nation's hospitals.
And for Barbara, their arrival is long over due.
HEYMAN: I would never go to the hospital again without a hospitalist.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: Thanks, Sanjay for that good news. Insurance companies do cover hospitalists and they can reduce the cost of a hospital stay by $800 on average -- Bill.
HEMMER: Healthy and unhealthy in America. How does your state rank? The United Health Foundation is putting out its annual list and for nine of the past 15 years Minnesota has been number one. Same again this year followed by New Hampshire and Vermont.
Low rates of poverty, safer than average drivers, generous spending on public health are helping keep residents feeling good, apparently, according to the study.
At the other end of the list is Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana. Number 50 for 14 of the past 15 years. High rates of poverty, infant mortality, cancer and smoking are partly to blame for that. So the list is out -- check it out on our web site to get more there.
WALLACE: Wonder where New York squares? HEMMER: I don't know but we're going to find out right here.
WALLACE: We'll have to look at the Web site to find out.
HEMMER: In a moment here, Jim Belushi gets in a spat with Catwoman. It may end up in court. "The Cafferty File" has that. In a moment back with Jack and Andy after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALLACE: Welcome back.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: We've got a story that runs counter to last week's upbeat jobs report and in fairly large numbers, too. Andy Serwer is here "Minding Your Business."
Plus a terrific weekend of betting on the football games.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Yes. I wonder -- we'll get to that in a second, Jack.
Indeed, running counter to those great jobs numbers that came out on Friday. 337,000 jobs created in the month of October but that's not going to be happening at SBC -- not at SBC the phone giant based in San Antonio, Texas.
Turns out they're going to be laying off up to 10,000 workers towards the end of 2005. They've already let go of 27,000. Why? Local phone service is an eroding business, as they say on Wall Street.
That means people are just talking on their cell phones more and not using land lines to make local calls, so SBC feeling the pinch there.
Otherwise a great week for stocks and the markets. The Dow up over 360 points. Look here. Three points over 3 percent across the board and markets really perking up nicely, the election was a straight shot.
The jobs report: the price of oil falling as well, futures a little bit lower this morning.
Let's talk football, though, shall we? A banner week for Jack Cafferty. Let's talk about Jack Cafferty. He's the big hoss. Six- three, 180 -- 180 pounds out of Reno, Nevada, lean Western type -- that's Keith Jackson. And he comes up on top there.
Lot of upsets, the Steelers beat the Eagles, the Ravens and Rams, I think -- the Redskins won, the Bucs won, Toure was picking for Heidi. I've got to say that.
OK, Heidi. Because Heidi usually does better than that, Toure.
CAFFERTY: How did she do?
SERWER: How did he do? Five and eight. That's how he do. He do five and eight. Heidi does better.
WALLACE: Heidi is not going to like that one bit.
SERWER: Heidi is not going to like that at all.
WALLACE: One bit at all, Toure.
SERWER: That's why they call me the middle of the pack.
HEMMER: Who was picking for Soledad?
SERWER: Soledad?
WALLACE: Soledad is picking for Soledad.
SERWER: I think there's that guy Boman (ph). Tonight the Vikings-Colts, I pick the Colts.
CAFFERTY: The -- the...
SERWER: Good job.
CAFFERTY: Thinking behind my picks -- they came to me early in the season and insisted I get involved in this and I absolutely wanted no part and I said fine I'll take all the losers every week. Give me all the underdogs every week. One week a year the underdogs win and that explains my success.
SERWER: Genius.
CAFFERTY: I have less than no interest in the -- yes.
SERWER: He's the big hoss. About 6'3", 180.
(LAUGHTER)
CAFFERTY: You're nuts. Democrats -- time for the File."
Democrats upset over President Bush's re-election have flooded Canada's main immigration Web site looking for information on how to apply for citizenship.
The day Bush's win was announced, the number of visitors to the Web site -- six times higher than normal. On average, 20,000 people log on for information. November the 3rd there were 115,000 people sniffing around about how to become a citizen of Canada. Call me; I'll help you pack.
Immigration Ministry spokespeople say this number has almost doubled the previous record high. They also say they are happy about the possible newcomers, hope to attract 220 to 240,000 immigrants next year.
I just can't believe that.
Jim Belushi, who has found himself in a fight with his next-door neighbor -- he lives next to Julie Newmar who is now 69-years old and no longer looks like Catwoman. And -- that's the character she played back in the 60s, back so long ago.
Anyway, Belushi says Julie Newmar has ruined his fence and some of his landscaping at his Brentwood home and talked badly about him behind his back to neighbors and friends.
SERWER: No.
WALLACE: Oh, no.
CAFFERTY: In addition to thinking of moving to Canada he's suing her for $4 million. Belushi says Newmar is engaged in a campaign of harassment designed to drive him off his property.
It's Monday, don't hold me to a very high standard.
SERWER: Please.
CAFFERTY: It's weak today. Women in search of the fountain of youth are deserting Botox for acupuncture in what is being called the Botox backlash.
Women are having 26 needles put into their knees, arms, face and ankles.
SERWER: Yikes.
CAFFERTY: Apparently, the procedure erases laugh lines around the mouth, crow's feet around the eyes, scowl lines on the forehead and sagging cheeks, but it leaves these great big holes in the skin where all these needles have been.
(LAUGHTER)
The needles stay in for about 20 minutes -- plastic surgeons are skeptical -- they say the acupuncture thing doesn't work.
The reason they say that is they get $20,000 for doing surgical face lifts and doing the Botox thing, so they're going to pooh-pooh this acupuncture thing because they don't get a cut of that action. They say, no, no the $20,000 thing is better.
Anyway, that's the latest on the cosmetic surgery.
SERWER: Better acupuncture in Canada, I hear.
CAFFERTY: Yes, like I said -- call me; I'll help you pack.
WALLACE: What about just aging gracefully? Just aging -- women get more and more beautiful. Smile lines are very good.
CAFFERTY: That actor Alec Baldwin who said he was going to move to...
HEMMER: Going to France, Italy. CAFFERTY: He's still here. How come?
SERWER: Three days and counting.
CAFFERTY: No, this was before the last election. He said if Al Gore didn't win he was going to leave the country. Now President Bush won a second term and Baldwin is still hanging around.
SERWER: The Baldwin who cried wolf.
CAFFERTY: How come you're still here? Get the hell out of the country like you said you would.
SERWER: Yes, do what you say.
HEMMER: And do you have the 800 number for writing for Jack -- do you think we can get that.
SERWER: Pack them up. Load them up.
CAFFERTY: I'm not going anywhere. I like it here. Especially right here on this program with you guys.
SERWER: Oh, the softer side.
HEMMER: It's Monday. The morning's top stories including this live report from amid the 10,000 U.S. and Iraqi forces ready to push across the Euphrates into the town of Falluja. The latest as we get it in a moment after the break here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Good morning. Countdown to an assault on Falluja. Thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops now getting ready to take down the insurgency inside that town.
The Yasser Arafat health crisis gets personal. Arafat's wife turns on Palestinian officials with allegations of a conspiracy.
And deliberations resume again today in Scott Peterson's case. The longer that takes, is it better or not for the prosecution?
Those stories this morning here on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
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