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American Morning
Arafat's Burial; 'Gimmie a Minute'
Aired November 12, 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. Just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. Bill Hemmer has got the day off today. Rick Sanchez is filling in for Bill. Nice to have you.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: On a very busy day, we should add.
O'BRIEN: Very busy day. All morning long, in fact, we've been following those developments out of Ramallah. The scene truly, I think, has been nothing short of amazing. As you can see, thousands of Palestinians pouring into Yasser Arafat's compound to greet his body. He has, though, we've been told, been buried.
Let's begin this morning with CNN's Michael Holmes. He's just a short distance from the gravesite. He joins us live with the latest from there this morning. Michael, good morning, again.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad. Yes, sirens wailing here as ambulances remove people who have been injured or hurt in the crush that was going on there inside the Palestinian Authority Headquarters.
Also, more gun fire both (ph) celebratory, which is the custom in many Arab funerals to fire guns in the air, and also by security officers trying to still clear people away. I can confirm that indeed Yasser Arafat's body has been place inside that tomb, and buckets of sand from the Al Aqsa Mosque from where he wanted to be buried have been poured over the top of his grave, a very symbolic thing being done there.
So, people are now actually starting to leave the Muqataa, the Palestinian Authority Headquarters, after, as you said, it was a quite extraordinary funeral. But many Palestinians will tell you that it is probably a funeral that Yasser Arafat would have loved -- Soledad?
O'BRIEN: We've been told, Michael, that many have said that Yasser Arafat would have loved the show of support. You know, it's interesting to see those ambulances -- and hear them, really -- because we were wondering how many people would be injured as they shot gunfire into the air and just the sheer crush of people -- and as Rick mentioned, the jeeps that were trying to plow through the numerous bystanders.
Does it seem to be slowing down now? You mentioned some people are leaving. Does it have the feel of it being over?
HOLMES: Yes. It has the feel of it certainly winding down. I think people will linger here into the night. But the vast majority have started to leave -- not all of them, but probably half the crowd has already left. Some people are now taking evening prayers there in the compound itself.
As to the injuries, we've seen a couple of children even taken away from here on stretchers. It's not sure -- we're not sure, of course, what their injuries are. But as you pointed out, too -- and I've seen this happen in Gaza, actually, where guns are fired into the air at funerals in a celebratory nature, but bullets that go up come down, and sometimes you wonder that people seem to forget that. And I've actually seen people hit by bullets in Gaza in the past. So, one wonders whether some of that might be going on, as well. But the ambulances flowing in and out.
Yes, it does feel like it is over, but people, as I said, will continue to linger I think, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: I would imagine. Michael Holmes for us this morning. Michael, thank you. And thanks for reporting for us live as this was happening just really minutes ago. Appreciate it -- Rick?
SANCHEZ: Let's go over to Heidi Collins. And she's picking up some of the other stories. By the way, was also watching here in amazement to see how they were able to get that casket from the helicopter over to that center. Heidi, over to you.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Rick. Thanks so much.
Now in the news this morning -- U.S. Marines are going door to door in the Iraqi city of Falluja looking for weapons. Intense fighting continues as soldiers work to clear the city of insurgents. A Marine commander says at least 23 American and Iraqi forces have been killed. More than 200 have been wounded since the operation began -- that was on Sunday night. We are going to be getting more military perspective on the fighting there from a former command sergeant. That's coming up in just a moment.
President Bush holding talks this morning with his key ally in the war in Iraq. The president and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have been discussing the prospects for renewing peace efforts in the Middle East post Yasser Arafat. The two leaders are expected to appear together following a meeting at the Oval Office. And CNN will carry their news conference. That will be coming your way live at 11:25 Eastern.
A big victory for the third biggest U.S. airline. Pilots for Delta Airlines have agreed to give up a third of their salaries beginning December 1st and forfeit raises for the next five years. The move is expected to save Delta $1 billion a year, but no guarantees it will be enough to keep the airline from bankruptcy.
And in Georgia, a great-grandmother of six is about to become a mom -- again. Fifty-nine-year-old Frances Harris is scheduled to deliver twins December 21st. Harris says the pregnancy comes as a surprise, given that she had her tubes tied more than three decades ago. Harris will apparently become the oldest American to have twins. What's with the twins thing? Did we not just have someone a couple of days ago with the same type of...
O'BRIEN: Twins can be a surprise for everybody is what I say.
SANCHEZ: Never too late.
O'BRIEN: Good luck to her. She's going to need it. Thanks, Heidi.
Well, every Friday at this time, we offer a wrap-up of the week's big stories. Arafat's death, of course, is really on people minds this morning, so we're going to talk about that.
In New York, WABC radio host Mark Simone joins us. Hey, Mark, good morning.
MARK SIMONE, RADIO HOST, WABC: I just found out I'm having twins, too.
O'BRIEN: Really? Congratulations! Get lot of help, you're going to need it.
In Chicago, Debra Pickett, columnist with the "Sun-Times." Good morning.
DEBRA PICKETT, COLUMNIST, "CHICAGO SUN-TIMES": Good morning.
O'BRIEN: And we've got in New York, as well, Andy Borowitz from borowitzreport.com. Good morning to you, Andy.
We're going to begin with you, Mark. Let's start talking about Yasser Arafat. Many people, of course, saying that it's the end of an era, but also the opening of another opportunity. What do you think the president has to do now?
SIMONE: Well, you've always got to remember Abba Eban's great quote, "The Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity." The Palestinians have never known another leader, so I don't think they realize had they had a real leader -- a Gandhi, a Martin Luther King -- who knows what they could have achieved. And I think if the president can somehow communicate that to people -- you know you weren't a great leader when more people are fighting over your Swiss bank accounts than your job.
O'BRIEN: Debra, do you think the president has international pressure upon him to do more in dealing with the situation than has been done in the last two and certainly four years?
PICKETT: Well, certainly. The president made clear his contempt for Yasser Arafat and his unwillingness to deal with him. He always talked about Mahmoud Abbas, Abu Mazen, as a potential partner for peace. So, here's his opportunity.
O'BRIEN: Let's see what happens. Andy Borowitz, what do you have to say about this? BOROWITZ: Well, the Palestinians are going to have a new leader now, and President Bush says he's looking forward to mispronouncing him.
O'BRIEN: Moving to our next topic -- and Debra, we're going to begin with you. The Democrats, as you well know, gathered in Washington to see a little forum, a little wailing, a little self- flagellating -- I think it's fair to say. What came out of this? What concrete things do the Democrats need to do so they can maybe win next time?
PICKETT: Well, I think the one thing that was particularly clear is that this time around it really wasn't "the economy, stupid." The Democrats, I think, are recognizing finally in retrospect that they needed to have a single focus and be very clear and disciplined about it. And to the extent that they had any focus at all through the campaign, it was clearly on the wrong kinds of things.
So, I think they've learned a bit about message discipline from the Bush team who do that extraordinarily well and managed, in fact, to get people to vote against their own economic interests in a lot of cases.
O'BRIEN: Some folks said that some of the advice that came out of this meeting was eat out at Applebee's. I'm not sure where the Democrats are going to take that. Mark, what do you think?
SIMONE: Well, it's so simple. All you have to do is get rid of the anger, get rid of the hate. Michael Moore got more votes for Bush than he did for Kerry. You know, and if a American says he prays and goes to church, don't call him a religious fanatic. And if he has to think about gay marriage, he not necessarily a bigot. Just ease up on people.
O'BRIEN: OK, that's four or five things you think that the Democrats can take from you. There's the bell. Andy, make it quick so I don't get in trouble.
BOROWITZ: I think they should eat out at Applebee's, and I think they should try the Fiesta Lime Chicken.
O'BRIEN: You might take that to heart.
Let's talk a little bit about Senator Specter. Mark, I'll give this one to you to start with. He was called on the carpet by members of his own party with some of his comments about being pro-choice. Do you think then that the Judiciary Committee chairmanship is now in jeopardy for him?
SIMONE: No, not really. He has a history of this -- of attacking, opposing, and then supporting. He should have actually given Kerry flip-flop lessons. And he always comes out ahead on these things.
O'BRIEN: Oh, so you see good things. Debra, what do you think? Do you think that potentially he could really suffer for this in the long run?
PICKETT: Yeah, I do. And I think his chance at the chairmanship actually is in jeopardy. His reelection was really a lot closer than it should have been, because the national party, the national Republican party, just isn't supporting moderate Republicans anymore.
O'BRIEN: Andy Borowitz, we'll give you the final word on this topic this morning.
BOROWITZ: You know, it doesn't look good for Arlen. They're now talking about making him chairman of the refreshments committee.
O'BRIEN: Is that a promotion or a -- OK.
Let's talk about some of the stories we may have missed. Debra, I'll start with you. What went under radar this week?
PICKETT: Well, you know, certainly we saw lot of reporting about John Ashcroft's resignation and that quote of his talking about the work of keeping America safe really being done. What we didn't see, though, in the mainstream media was a really thorough examination of what this Justice Department's record has been.
They have a very small record in terms of actually prosecuting any of these terror cases. One of the very few cases they actually succeeded in prosecuting, the Detroit sleeper cell case, they actually had to go back and ask the judge to reverse the conviction. So, they've had a terrible success rate with that, and I'd like to see more about that.
O'BRIEN: Debra, don't let the facts stand in the way of good PR. Come on now! Mark, what do you think?
SIMONE: Well, actually the Democrat's biggest nightmare occurred this week. Kerry is serious about running again. He said it to a group of supporters in Washington. His brother talked about it with "The Boston Globe." I mean, the idea of that -- and apparently, he's really serious -- he's already work on his concession speech.
O'BRIEN: Andy Borowitz gets the final word for us this morning -- Andy.
BOROWITZ: Well, speaking of Kerry, Teresa Heinz Kerry is making a three-week tour of the red states, stopping to curse out random voters.
O'BRIEN: You guys, as always, thank you so much for your insight. Have a great weekend. We'll see you back here next week -- Rick.
(WEATHER REPORT)
We've got Jane Arraf standing by for us in Falluja. We want to check in on that story, which has really been one of our top stories over the last several days. Jane is embedded with the 1st Infantry Division, and she joins us by phone. Jane, what have you got for us this morning?
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, we are with the army that has come into (INAUDIBLE) in Falluja. This is the first time U.S. forces have entered this part of the city. It's part of their effort to take control of entire city. We are he now moving into area they have not been before, encountering some fire. Just a short while ago, they set off what's called basically a line charge, setting off huge explosions to clear a path into new territory. And as we moved forward, we have come under some fire from insurgents somewhere in these buildings. Now this is a part of town where there are very few civilians, but there are clearly pockets of insurgents there.
And one of the things the Army has discovered is they have dug tunnels from building to building, tunnels and bunkers on almost every block. They've been calling in airstrikes to destroy these, but they are still taking fire from some of the insurgents out there -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Give me a sense of the numbers, Jane. One of the questions, as you well know, since we've been discussing this over the last couple of days, is where are the massive numbers of insurgents that were predicted? Are you seeing any more now, or is it still just scattered few?
ARRAF: What I think happened is that this is basically day five of a very intense bombardment. They used the most advanced firepower in the world to bombard this city. We're actually firing from the (INAUDIBLE) we're in, some men are firing at us. It may get a little bit noisy here. There are clearly still pockets of insurgents, like the ones firing at us. These are small cells believes to be between three an five people at a time, and they do believe they have actually cornered them here in the south (ph) of Falluja.
O'BRIEN: Jane Arraf updating us on the progress being made by the military there in Falluja. Jane, thank you. And she's so unflappable when these gunshots are being fired over her head.
SANCHEZ: It almost sounds like howitzers that are being fired in the back of the her.
O'BRIEN: Unbelievable. So, Jane, thank you. And we always tell her, please be careful.
A short break, but still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, one of world's richest women brings economic prosperity to Arkansas. Andy Serwer's got a look at the heiress to the Wal-Mart fortune, just ahead.
SANCHEZ: Also the plan that say you can look like you did 10 years ago if you eat right, if you take the right supplements and if you smear the right stuff on your face.
O'BRIEN: I'm in.
SANCHEZ: Stay with us. This is AMERICAN MORNING. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Here you go, Soledad. Take copious notes. Look younger, live longer. In three easy steps, lose 10 years in 28 days. It sounds like claims from some late-night TV ad, right, but they actually come from a very reliable source, dermatologist and bestselling author Dr. Nicholas Perricone. His latest book is called "The Perricone Promise." You're looking at right there. We have a copy right here, in case one of you wants to come by and look at it. It reveals what he calls the most significant breakthrough in anti- aging medicine. And Dr. Perricone, as you can see, is good enough to joins us now.
How are you, doctor?
DR. NICHOLAS PERRICONE, AUTHOR, "THE PERRICONE PROMISE": Very well, thank you.
SANCHEZ: Start us off -- what's the process?
PERRICONE: The process is this. My research indicates that when we eat the wrong kinds of food, or we're under stress, we produce an invisible inflammation that makes us wrinkle and increases our risk of age-related disease.
SANCHEZ: So the key is the food.
PERRICONE: The key is the food.
SANCHEZ: It's what we put in our systems.
PERRICONE: Exactly.
SANCHEZ: Tell us what foods we should be eating.
PERRICONE: We should be eating just a normal kind of what I call a balanced diet. We should have lots of fish, fresh fruits and vegetables. When you see lots of colors in your food, it means there are antioxidants present. And antioxidants are natural anti- inflammatories. So it's simple, fish is great, high in protein, essential fats, also act as natural anti-inflammatories.
SANCHEZ: Food with colors, huh? Colorful food.
PERRICONE: Colorful foods. And fish, of course, is kind of a miracle food. But the point is this, that I can change the way you look in three days so radically in three days that you'll walk in a room and people will notice, just from the food.
SANCHEZ: Really?
PERRICONE: Just from the food.
SANCHEZ: In just three days?
PERRICONE: In three days. SANCHEZ: Well, what are they going to see different from what they're seeing right now?
PERRICONE: You're going to have decreased puffiness under their eyes decreased dark circles, increased radiance to your to face, increased tone. So you'll actually look at if you've been on vacation or you've had some kind of a procedure.
SANCHEZ: This is kind of a tough schedule for people like myself, and Soledad and the rest of us. You know, we're usually about our fourth or fifth cup of coffee at this time. You would say we're make being a huge mistake?
PERRICONE: Coffee is just bad. Coffee has organic acids that will cause a rise in blood sugar. It makes you actually hold on to body fat. So if you switch out green tea for coffee, do nothing else differently, you'll lose 10 pounds in six weeks.
SANCHEZ: Green tea for coffee.
PERRICONE: Green tea for coffee.
SANCHEZ: And the coffee creates an insulin level, doesn't it?
PERRICONE: Yes.
SANCHEZ: And what does that do?
PERRICONE: Well, insulin makes you store body fat, it increases inflammation, increases your risk of cardiovascular disease, and also makes you wrinkle.
SANCHEZ: But you know, that doesn't make sense, because sometimes when I want to take a good jog, the first thing I'll do is take a cup of coffee, because it energizes me, gives me the energy I wouldn't otherwise have. So I would think that coffee is, a, diuretic and, b, something that stimulates us. Wouldn't that make you lose weight? You're saying it makes us gain weight.
PERRICONE: Actually the stimulant comes from caffeine. And green tea has lots of caffeine. The problem with, once again, coffee, is it causes a rise in insulin. That's not going to help you new any way.
SANCHEZ: Let's talk supplements. What I do is I take Vitamin C and I take a multivitamin. Is that enough?
PERRICONE: I think that's fine. I mean, I believe in some other anti-inflammatories a little more exotic, like alphalapoic (ph) acid, coenzyme Q-10 (ph), and something called axananthem (ph). It's found in fish. It's about 400 times stronger than C and E combined, and it can really make a big difference in your skin. You can actually take axananthem for eight weeks and have diminished lines.
SANCHEZ: So basically, you can get all that at the drugstore, right? PERRICONE: Sure.
SANCHEZ: There's nothing complicated about that.
PERRICONE: Nothing at all.
SANCHEZ: The information is in the book.
How expensive is it to change your lifestyle so that you fit within the criteria that you're giving us? And you know, you can look better and lose some weight.
PERRICONE: First of all, I think it's very important, the most important step is changing what you eat. Beauty (INAUDIBLE) from the inside out. And eating a good diet is not the expensive. And not only that, it decrees your risk of other age-related diseases. You could take supplements. You could also topical anti-inflammatories. They're very effective, but they're not as effective as changing your diet.
SANCHEZ: Topical anti-inflammatories. Diet is the big thing.
PERRICONE: Diet's the big thing.
SANCHEZ: That's what we'll take from it then. Thanks so much, doctor. We certainly appreciate it.
PERRICONE: Thank you. My pleasure.
SANCHEZ: Again, it's called "The Perricone Promise: Look Younger, Live Longer in Three Easy Steps," and we didn't even really get into the whole diet aspect of it in terms of losing weight, right. This is just to look better. We'll do that on another day.
PERRICONE: You will lose weight.
SANCHEZ: OK, thanks, still to come -- let's go over to Soledad. What's you got?
O'BRIEN: Alice Walton, her father is guy who took Wal-Mart from Arkansas to the world. Well, now she is bringing economic success back home.
We'll explain just ahead, as we continue here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, our weeklong glimpse into America's richest family, the Waltons, concludes with a look at Sam Walton's only daughter, Alice. Andy Serwer is here now "Minding Your Business."
It's quite a story.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: It really is, Jack. And talking about Alice Walton, I'm sure she wasn't like me saying this, but she is the richest woman in America. The reason I'm saying that is because she's a very private person, doesn't like a lot of publicity, a very interesting person. She's got a sense of humor, looks you in the eye, tells you what she thinks. She's a maverick with a strong entrepreneurial streak. Her father said she was even a little more volatile than he was.
I spent some time with her at a remote cabin in Arkansas, where she was wearing blue jeans and a shirt with a horse print and some Brooks and Dunn jacket, and she actually lives down in Texas on a 3,000-acre ranch where she races cutting horses, which is they're used in a competition to separate cattle from a herd, and that's what she's really into these days.
CAFFERTY: They're remarkably talented animals, those cutting horses.
Her legacy, though, probably has more to do with the state of Arkansas than anything else, right? She dragged a part of that state out of the last century and got it into this one.
SERWER: That's right, even more than her three brothers, Jack, I mean, Alice has been sort of business oriented. Back in 1990, she started, helped found something called the Northwest Arkansas Council. Her, her father, other people like J.B. Hunter, runs the trucking business, and Don Tyson, who runs the poultry empire. And back then, that part of the world, there were no major highways, there was no airport, even though Wal-Mart was growing so tremendously. And it was actually Alice Walton who got the money from the federal government, and -- to build the airport and to build the highways. So she is the one who is really responsible. And that part of the world now, if you go down to Bentonville, is growing tremendously, and it's really all because of her legacy.
CAFFERTY: It's a remarkable sorry. It's also the cover story in "Fortune" magazine this week. Andy got access to what is arguably one of the most private wealthy countries in the country, and they talk to Andy,a and the whole story is "Fortune," so check it out.
Good stuff.
SERWER: Thank you, Jack. Thanks.
CAFFERTY: Meantime on to the Question of the Day, a little late, but better late than whatever. Major FCC crackdowns all started with Janet Jackson's nipple-gate at the Super Bowl. The message became clear -- mess up, the feds will hit you where it hurts most, in your wallet. It appears to have a chilling effect. An Oscar-winning film, "Saving Private Ryan," was pulled from about 20 ABC affiliates around the country last night because of fears that the FCC may slap on big fines for the violence and profanity in that movie.
Yesterday was Veterans Day. "Saving Private Ryan" is a war movie. War is violent. Sometimes soldiers swear. The same movie was shown on Veterans Day in 2000 and 2001 with no problem. Enough already. Here is the question, is the FCC now going too far? AM@CNN.com. We'll try to get a few of these read before we get out of here at 10:00.
COLLINS: All right, Jack, thanks. In a moment, today's top stories, including Yasser Arafat's burial. We'll take another look at that. A Middle East observer sees a fitting tribute in the massive turnout at that Ramallah interment site. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired November 12, 2004 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. Just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. Bill Hemmer has got the day off today. Rick Sanchez is filling in for Bill. Nice to have you.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: On a very busy day, we should add.
O'BRIEN: Very busy day. All morning long, in fact, we've been following those developments out of Ramallah. The scene truly, I think, has been nothing short of amazing. As you can see, thousands of Palestinians pouring into Yasser Arafat's compound to greet his body. He has, though, we've been told, been buried.
Let's begin this morning with CNN's Michael Holmes. He's just a short distance from the gravesite. He joins us live with the latest from there this morning. Michael, good morning, again.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad. Yes, sirens wailing here as ambulances remove people who have been injured or hurt in the crush that was going on there inside the Palestinian Authority Headquarters.
Also, more gun fire both (ph) celebratory, which is the custom in many Arab funerals to fire guns in the air, and also by security officers trying to still clear people away. I can confirm that indeed Yasser Arafat's body has been place inside that tomb, and buckets of sand from the Al Aqsa Mosque from where he wanted to be buried have been poured over the top of his grave, a very symbolic thing being done there.
So, people are now actually starting to leave the Muqataa, the Palestinian Authority Headquarters, after, as you said, it was a quite extraordinary funeral. But many Palestinians will tell you that it is probably a funeral that Yasser Arafat would have loved -- Soledad?
O'BRIEN: We've been told, Michael, that many have said that Yasser Arafat would have loved the show of support. You know, it's interesting to see those ambulances -- and hear them, really -- because we were wondering how many people would be injured as they shot gunfire into the air and just the sheer crush of people -- and as Rick mentioned, the jeeps that were trying to plow through the numerous bystanders.
Does it seem to be slowing down now? You mentioned some people are leaving. Does it have the feel of it being over?
HOLMES: Yes. It has the feel of it certainly winding down. I think people will linger here into the night. But the vast majority have started to leave -- not all of them, but probably half the crowd has already left. Some people are now taking evening prayers there in the compound itself.
As to the injuries, we've seen a couple of children even taken away from here on stretchers. It's not sure -- we're not sure, of course, what their injuries are. But as you pointed out, too -- and I've seen this happen in Gaza, actually, where guns are fired into the air at funerals in a celebratory nature, but bullets that go up come down, and sometimes you wonder that people seem to forget that. And I've actually seen people hit by bullets in Gaza in the past. So, one wonders whether some of that might be going on, as well. But the ambulances flowing in and out.
Yes, it does feel like it is over, but people, as I said, will continue to linger I think, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: I would imagine. Michael Holmes for us this morning. Michael, thank you. And thanks for reporting for us live as this was happening just really minutes ago. Appreciate it -- Rick?
SANCHEZ: Let's go over to Heidi Collins. And she's picking up some of the other stories. By the way, was also watching here in amazement to see how they were able to get that casket from the helicopter over to that center. Heidi, over to you.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Rick. Thanks so much.
Now in the news this morning -- U.S. Marines are going door to door in the Iraqi city of Falluja looking for weapons. Intense fighting continues as soldiers work to clear the city of insurgents. A Marine commander says at least 23 American and Iraqi forces have been killed. More than 200 have been wounded since the operation began -- that was on Sunday night. We are going to be getting more military perspective on the fighting there from a former command sergeant. That's coming up in just a moment.
President Bush holding talks this morning with his key ally in the war in Iraq. The president and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have been discussing the prospects for renewing peace efforts in the Middle East post Yasser Arafat. The two leaders are expected to appear together following a meeting at the Oval Office. And CNN will carry their news conference. That will be coming your way live at 11:25 Eastern.
A big victory for the third biggest U.S. airline. Pilots for Delta Airlines have agreed to give up a third of their salaries beginning December 1st and forfeit raises for the next five years. The move is expected to save Delta $1 billion a year, but no guarantees it will be enough to keep the airline from bankruptcy.
And in Georgia, a great-grandmother of six is about to become a mom -- again. Fifty-nine-year-old Frances Harris is scheduled to deliver twins December 21st. Harris says the pregnancy comes as a surprise, given that she had her tubes tied more than three decades ago. Harris will apparently become the oldest American to have twins. What's with the twins thing? Did we not just have someone a couple of days ago with the same type of...
O'BRIEN: Twins can be a surprise for everybody is what I say.
SANCHEZ: Never too late.
O'BRIEN: Good luck to her. She's going to need it. Thanks, Heidi.
Well, every Friday at this time, we offer a wrap-up of the week's big stories. Arafat's death, of course, is really on people minds this morning, so we're going to talk about that.
In New York, WABC radio host Mark Simone joins us. Hey, Mark, good morning.
MARK SIMONE, RADIO HOST, WABC: I just found out I'm having twins, too.
O'BRIEN: Really? Congratulations! Get lot of help, you're going to need it.
In Chicago, Debra Pickett, columnist with the "Sun-Times." Good morning.
DEBRA PICKETT, COLUMNIST, "CHICAGO SUN-TIMES": Good morning.
O'BRIEN: And we've got in New York, as well, Andy Borowitz from borowitzreport.com. Good morning to you, Andy.
We're going to begin with you, Mark. Let's start talking about Yasser Arafat. Many people, of course, saying that it's the end of an era, but also the opening of another opportunity. What do you think the president has to do now?
SIMONE: Well, you've always got to remember Abba Eban's great quote, "The Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity." The Palestinians have never known another leader, so I don't think they realize had they had a real leader -- a Gandhi, a Martin Luther King -- who knows what they could have achieved. And I think if the president can somehow communicate that to people -- you know you weren't a great leader when more people are fighting over your Swiss bank accounts than your job.
O'BRIEN: Debra, do you think the president has international pressure upon him to do more in dealing with the situation than has been done in the last two and certainly four years?
PICKETT: Well, certainly. The president made clear his contempt for Yasser Arafat and his unwillingness to deal with him. He always talked about Mahmoud Abbas, Abu Mazen, as a potential partner for peace. So, here's his opportunity.
O'BRIEN: Let's see what happens. Andy Borowitz, what do you have to say about this? BOROWITZ: Well, the Palestinians are going to have a new leader now, and President Bush says he's looking forward to mispronouncing him.
O'BRIEN: Moving to our next topic -- and Debra, we're going to begin with you. The Democrats, as you well know, gathered in Washington to see a little forum, a little wailing, a little self- flagellating -- I think it's fair to say. What came out of this? What concrete things do the Democrats need to do so they can maybe win next time?
PICKETT: Well, I think the one thing that was particularly clear is that this time around it really wasn't "the economy, stupid." The Democrats, I think, are recognizing finally in retrospect that they needed to have a single focus and be very clear and disciplined about it. And to the extent that they had any focus at all through the campaign, it was clearly on the wrong kinds of things.
So, I think they've learned a bit about message discipline from the Bush team who do that extraordinarily well and managed, in fact, to get people to vote against their own economic interests in a lot of cases.
O'BRIEN: Some folks said that some of the advice that came out of this meeting was eat out at Applebee's. I'm not sure where the Democrats are going to take that. Mark, what do you think?
SIMONE: Well, it's so simple. All you have to do is get rid of the anger, get rid of the hate. Michael Moore got more votes for Bush than he did for Kerry. You know, and if a American says he prays and goes to church, don't call him a religious fanatic. And if he has to think about gay marriage, he not necessarily a bigot. Just ease up on people.
O'BRIEN: OK, that's four or five things you think that the Democrats can take from you. There's the bell. Andy, make it quick so I don't get in trouble.
BOROWITZ: I think they should eat out at Applebee's, and I think they should try the Fiesta Lime Chicken.
O'BRIEN: You might take that to heart.
Let's talk a little bit about Senator Specter. Mark, I'll give this one to you to start with. He was called on the carpet by members of his own party with some of his comments about being pro-choice. Do you think then that the Judiciary Committee chairmanship is now in jeopardy for him?
SIMONE: No, not really. He has a history of this -- of attacking, opposing, and then supporting. He should have actually given Kerry flip-flop lessons. And he always comes out ahead on these things.
O'BRIEN: Oh, so you see good things. Debra, what do you think? Do you think that potentially he could really suffer for this in the long run?
PICKETT: Yeah, I do. And I think his chance at the chairmanship actually is in jeopardy. His reelection was really a lot closer than it should have been, because the national party, the national Republican party, just isn't supporting moderate Republicans anymore.
O'BRIEN: Andy Borowitz, we'll give you the final word on this topic this morning.
BOROWITZ: You know, it doesn't look good for Arlen. They're now talking about making him chairman of the refreshments committee.
O'BRIEN: Is that a promotion or a -- OK.
Let's talk about some of the stories we may have missed. Debra, I'll start with you. What went under radar this week?
PICKETT: Well, you know, certainly we saw lot of reporting about John Ashcroft's resignation and that quote of his talking about the work of keeping America safe really being done. What we didn't see, though, in the mainstream media was a really thorough examination of what this Justice Department's record has been.
They have a very small record in terms of actually prosecuting any of these terror cases. One of the very few cases they actually succeeded in prosecuting, the Detroit sleeper cell case, they actually had to go back and ask the judge to reverse the conviction. So, they've had a terrible success rate with that, and I'd like to see more about that.
O'BRIEN: Debra, don't let the facts stand in the way of good PR. Come on now! Mark, what do you think?
SIMONE: Well, actually the Democrat's biggest nightmare occurred this week. Kerry is serious about running again. He said it to a group of supporters in Washington. His brother talked about it with "The Boston Globe." I mean, the idea of that -- and apparently, he's really serious -- he's already work on his concession speech.
O'BRIEN: Andy Borowitz gets the final word for us this morning -- Andy.
BOROWITZ: Well, speaking of Kerry, Teresa Heinz Kerry is making a three-week tour of the red states, stopping to curse out random voters.
O'BRIEN: You guys, as always, thank you so much for your insight. Have a great weekend. We'll see you back here next week -- Rick.
(WEATHER REPORT)
We've got Jane Arraf standing by for us in Falluja. We want to check in on that story, which has really been one of our top stories over the last several days. Jane is embedded with the 1st Infantry Division, and she joins us by phone. Jane, what have you got for us this morning?
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, we are with the army that has come into (INAUDIBLE) in Falluja. This is the first time U.S. forces have entered this part of the city. It's part of their effort to take control of entire city. We are he now moving into area they have not been before, encountering some fire. Just a short while ago, they set off what's called basically a line charge, setting off huge explosions to clear a path into new territory. And as we moved forward, we have come under some fire from insurgents somewhere in these buildings. Now this is a part of town where there are very few civilians, but there are clearly pockets of insurgents there.
And one of the things the Army has discovered is they have dug tunnels from building to building, tunnels and bunkers on almost every block. They've been calling in airstrikes to destroy these, but they are still taking fire from some of the insurgents out there -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Give me a sense of the numbers, Jane. One of the questions, as you well know, since we've been discussing this over the last couple of days, is where are the massive numbers of insurgents that were predicted? Are you seeing any more now, or is it still just scattered few?
ARRAF: What I think happened is that this is basically day five of a very intense bombardment. They used the most advanced firepower in the world to bombard this city. We're actually firing from the (INAUDIBLE) we're in, some men are firing at us. It may get a little bit noisy here. There are clearly still pockets of insurgents, like the ones firing at us. These are small cells believes to be between three an five people at a time, and they do believe they have actually cornered them here in the south (ph) of Falluja.
O'BRIEN: Jane Arraf updating us on the progress being made by the military there in Falluja. Jane, thank you. And she's so unflappable when these gunshots are being fired over her head.
SANCHEZ: It almost sounds like howitzers that are being fired in the back of the her.
O'BRIEN: Unbelievable. So, Jane, thank you. And we always tell her, please be careful.
A short break, but still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, one of world's richest women brings economic prosperity to Arkansas. Andy Serwer's got a look at the heiress to the Wal-Mart fortune, just ahead.
SANCHEZ: Also the plan that say you can look like you did 10 years ago if you eat right, if you take the right supplements and if you smear the right stuff on your face.
O'BRIEN: I'm in.
SANCHEZ: Stay with us. This is AMERICAN MORNING. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Here you go, Soledad. Take copious notes. Look younger, live longer. In three easy steps, lose 10 years in 28 days. It sounds like claims from some late-night TV ad, right, but they actually come from a very reliable source, dermatologist and bestselling author Dr. Nicholas Perricone. His latest book is called "The Perricone Promise." You're looking at right there. We have a copy right here, in case one of you wants to come by and look at it. It reveals what he calls the most significant breakthrough in anti- aging medicine. And Dr. Perricone, as you can see, is good enough to joins us now.
How are you, doctor?
DR. NICHOLAS PERRICONE, AUTHOR, "THE PERRICONE PROMISE": Very well, thank you.
SANCHEZ: Start us off -- what's the process?
PERRICONE: The process is this. My research indicates that when we eat the wrong kinds of food, or we're under stress, we produce an invisible inflammation that makes us wrinkle and increases our risk of age-related disease.
SANCHEZ: So the key is the food.
PERRICONE: The key is the food.
SANCHEZ: It's what we put in our systems.
PERRICONE: Exactly.
SANCHEZ: Tell us what foods we should be eating.
PERRICONE: We should be eating just a normal kind of what I call a balanced diet. We should have lots of fish, fresh fruits and vegetables. When you see lots of colors in your food, it means there are antioxidants present. And antioxidants are natural anti- inflammatories. So it's simple, fish is great, high in protein, essential fats, also act as natural anti-inflammatories.
SANCHEZ: Food with colors, huh? Colorful food.
PERRICONE: Colorful foods. And fish, of course, is kind of a miracle food. But the point is this, that I can change the way you look in three days so radically in three days that you'll walk in a room and people will notice, just from the food.
SANCHEZ: Really?
PERRICONE: Just from the food.
SANCHEZ: In just three days?
PERRICONE: In three days. SANCHEZ: Well, what are they going to see different from what they're seeing right now?
PERRICONE: You're going to have decreased puffiness under their eyes decreased dark circles, increased radiance to your to face, increased tone. So you'll actually look at if you've been on vacation or you've had some kind of a procedure.
SANCHEZ: This is kind of a tough schedule for people like myself, and Soledad and the rest of us. You know, we're usually about our fourth or fifth cup of coffee at this time. You would say we're make being a huge mistake?
PERRICONE: Coffee is just bad. Coffee has organic acids that will cause a rise in blood sugar. It makes you actually hold on to body fat. So if you switch out green tea for coffee, do nothing else differently, you'll lose 10 pounds in six weeks.
SANCHEZ: Green tea for coffee.
PERRICONE: Green tea for coffee.
SANCHEZ: And the coffee creates an insulin level, doesn't it?
PERRICONE: Yes.
SANCHEZ: And what does that do?
PERRICONE: Well, insulin makes you store body fat, it increases inflammation, increases your risk of cardiovascular disease, and also makes you wrinkle.
SANCHEZ: But you know, that doesn't make sense, because sometimes when I want to take a good jog, the first thing I'll do is take a cup of coffee, because it energizes me, gives me the energy I wouldn't otherwise have. So I would think that coffee is, a, diuretic and, b, something that stimulates us. Wouldn't that make you lose weight? You're saying it makes us gain weight.
PERRICONE: Actually the stimulant comes from caffeine. And green tea has lots of caffeine. The problem with, once again, coffee, is it causes a rise in insulin. That's not going to help you new any way.
SANCHEZ: Let's talk supplements. What I do is I take Vitamin C and I take a multivitamin. Is that enough?
PERRICONE: I think that's fine. I mean, I believe in some other anti-inflammatories a little more exotic, like alphalapoic (ph) acid, coenzyme Q-10 (ph), and something called axananthem (ph). It's found in fish. It's about 400 times stronger than C and E combined, and it can really make a big difference in your skin. You can actually take axananthem for eight weeks and have diminished lines.
SANCHEZ: So basically, you can get all that at the drugstore, right? PERRICONE: Sure.
SANCHEZ: There's nothing complicated about that.
PERRICONE: Nothing at all.
SANCHEZ: The information is in the book.
How expensive is it to change your lifestyle so that you fit within the criteria that you're giving us? And you know, you can look better and lose some weight.
PERRICONE: First of all, I think it's very important, the most important step is changing what you eat. Beauty (INAUDIBLE) from the inside out. And eating a good diet is not the expensive. And not only that, it decrees your risk of other age-related diseases. You could take supplements. You could also topical anti-inflammatories. They're very effective, but they're not as effective as changing your diet.
SANCHEZ: Topical anti-inflammatories. Diet is the big thing.
PERRICONE: Diet's the big thing.
SANCHEZ: That's what we'll take from it then. Thanks so much, doctor. We certainly appreciate it.
PERRICONE: Thank you. My pleasure.
SANCHEZ: Again, it's called "The Perricone Promise: Look Younger, Live Longer in Three Easy Steps," and we didn't even really get into the whole diet aspect of it in terms of losing weight, right. This is just to look better. We'll do that on another day.
PERRICONE: You will lose weight.
SANCHEZ: OK, thanks, still to come -- let's go over to Soledad. What's you got?
O'BRIEN: Alice Walton, her father is guy who took Wal-Mart from Arkansas to the world. Well, now she is bringing economic success back home.
We'll explain just ahead, as we continue here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, our weeklong glimpse into America's richest family, the Waltons, concludes with a look at Sam Walton's only daughter, Alice. Andy Serwer is here now "Minding Your Business."
It's quite a story.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: It really is, Jack. And talking about Alice Walton, I'm sure she wasn't like me saying this, but she is the richest woman in America. The reason I'm saying that is because she's a very private person, doesn't like a lot of publicity, a very interesting person. She's got a sense of humor, looks you in the eye, tells you what she thinks. She's a maverick with a strong entrepreneurial streak. Her father said she was even a little more volatile than he was.
I spent some time with her at a remote cabin in Arkansas, where she was wearing blue jeans and a shirt with a horse print and some Brooks and Dunn jacket, and she actually lives down in Texas on a 3,000-acre ranch where she races cutting horses, which is they're used in a competition to separate cattle from a herd, and that's what she's really into these days.
CAFFERTY: They're remarkably talented animals, those cutting horses.
Her legacy, though, probably has more to do with the state of Arkansas than anything else, right? She dragged a part of that state out of the last century and got it into this one.
SERWER: That's right, even more than her three brothers, Jack, I mean, Alice has been sort of business oriented. Back in 1990, she started, helped found something called the Northwest Arkansas Council. Her, her father, other people like J.B. Hunter, runs the trucking business, and Don Tyson, who runs the poultry empire. And back then, that part of the world, there were no major highways, there was no airport, even though Wal-Mart was growing so tremendously. And it was actually Alice Walton who got the money from the federal government, and -- to build the airport and to build the highways. So she is the one who is really responsible. And that part of the world now, if you go down to Bentonville, is growing tremendously, and it's really all because of her legacy.
CAFFERTY: It's a remarkable sorry. It's also the cover story in "Fortune" magazine this week. Andy got access to what is arguably one of the most private wealthy countries in the country, and they talk to Andy,a and the whole story is "Fortune," so check it out.
Good stuff.
SERWER: Thank you, Jack. Thanks.
CAFFERTY: Meantime on to the Question of the Day, a little late, but better late than whatever. Major FCC crackdowns all started with Janet Jackson's nipple-gate at the Super Bowl. The message became clear -- mess up, the feds will hit you where it hurts most, in your wallet. It appears to have a chilling effect. An Oscar-winning film, "Saving Private Ryan," was pulled from about 20 ABC affiliates around the country last night because of fears that the FCC may slap on big fines for the violence and profanity in that movie.
Yesterday was Veterans Day. "Saving Private Ryan" is a war movie. War is violent. Sometimes soldiers swear. The same movie was shown on Veterans Day in 2000 and 2001 with no problem. Enough already. Here is the question, is the FCC now going too far? AM@CNN.com. We'll try to get a few of these read before we get out of here at 10:00.
COLLINS: All right, Jack, thanks. In a moment, today's top stories, including Yasser Arafat's burial. We'll take another look at that. A Middle East observer sees a fitting tribute in the massive turnout at that Ramallah interment site. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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