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Is There a Purge Going on at the CIA?; Nevada Senator Harry Reid Expected to Emerge as New Leader of Minority Party
Aired November 16, 2004 - 09:30 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.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it's just about half past the hour on AMERICAN MORNING. Bill and Soledad are off this morning. I'm Rick Sanchez.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins.
In just a few minutes, is there a purge going on at the CIA? And if so, are the right people leaving? We're going to talk with a CIA operative who wrote an influential book about the war on terror, about why he quit the agency. That happened just last week.
SANCHEZ: Also what is the best way for dieters to lose weight? Sanjay Gupta is going to join us with results of a new study that could point many people in a new weight-loss direction. Yet another one. There seems to be a lot happening today within President Bush's cabinet.
Let's get to our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux. She's checking on that for the very latest now -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we expect an announcement from President Bush himself to name the replacement for the Secretary of State Colin Powell's position in the Roosevelt Room at 12:30 today. Now the official word, of course, is they are not giving away that name, but senior administration sources, officials telling us, of course, that it is National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice who the president will name to secretary of state position.
Also at the same time during that ceremony, he will name the Deputy National Security Adviser Steve Hadley to replace Rice.
Now this, of course, coming on a day after Secretary Powell announced his own resignation. This is a clear indication that this is a State Department that is going to be much more in step with President Bush's thinking. If you just take a look at Rice's background. She, of course, not only a strong confidante and adviser to the president, considered really a part of his family, the very inner circle. She worked with President Bush's father on Soviet matters, Russian matters. And, of course, she was instrumental in backing him in the leadup to the Iraq war.
Now, in terms of her confirmation chances itself, even Democrats believe that she will be confirmed. But she is going to face some tough questions, some challenges, specifically about her abilities in vetting intelligence that was later proved faulty that the president used in making his case to go to war.
Now we also expect other announcements as well later in the week, official announcements. But today, unofficially, there are two senior administration sources who tell us that the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge will not be staying in his post, that he is likely to move on to the private sector. We have been told by a spokesperson for the homeland security department they are denying that. They say that he has not yet made up his mind, but people tell us here at the White House, do not expect an announcement here, he is out of town, out of Washington, in Hawaii, until he comes back, and until, of course, the department is ready to make any official announcements, then they will do so -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: Just for those who are keeping score, though, it will be made official at 12:30, though, on the Condoleezza Rice and the Stephen Hadley matter?
MALVEAUX: Yes, that's absolutely right. That is going to be an official announcement. And what he'll do is make an official announcement about a cabinet position, which as you know, is secretary of state. And then the national security adviser position is not a cabinet role, but he will also, as well, name Hadley to that position during that 12:30 ceremony.
SANCHEZ: Not a cabinet role, but certainly it is important enough, as we learned during her tenure.
Suzanne Malveaux, thanks so much for following that up for us.
And once again we will be covering this for you. The president will be flanked by both of those, Condoleezza Rice and Stephen Hadley, as he makes the announcement from the White House today, and he will cover it live for you, 12:30 Eastern Time, 9:30 Pacific.
I want to get another check on what's happening now in the news with Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center -- Daryn.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Heidi, now in the news, some 1200 U.S. troops are taking part in a new offensive in Mosul. There are reports of sporadic fighting this morning as the Iraqi city remains under curfew. Meanwhile, the U.S. military says Falluja is now secure. Multinational forces there have been pounding insurgent targets. Fighting there now said to be in its final stages.
Here in the U.S., take two for NASA, as the space agency tries to break a world speed record. Electrical problems yesterday grounded the so-called scram jet. It was expected to travel at 10 times the speed of sound. NASA will try the launch again later today. If successful, the design could mean cheaper rockets and faster missiles in the future.
To entertainment news, it looks like actor Tom Hanks is being lined up for a new role. There's word that hanks will take the lead role in the film adaptation of "The Da Vinci Code." That best-selling book is being made into a movie by director Ron Howard. Shooting is expected to begin next year. So I guess Tom Hanks can expect a trip to Italy and other places around the world. Conspiracy theorists will be thrilled.
COLLINS: Yes, I bet they will. A very popular book.
Hey, Daryn, what's coming up at 10:00?
KAGAN: We have a lot of news of course we're going to follow, with what's taking place in the cabinet, who's in, who's out. Also a special interview with a woman named Liz Scott. Her 8-year-old daughter Alex died early this year of cancer, and yet this little girl is a hero. She has managed to raise over $1 million for cancer research. I'll talk with her, just ahead.
COLLINS: Great story. All right, Daryn, We look forward to it. Thanks.
SANCHEZ: Well, Senate Democrats are going to be meeting. In fact, we understand they may be meeting right now. Nevada Senator Harry Reid is expected to emerge as the new leader of the shrinking minority party.
Joe Johns following this for us on Capitol Hill.
Hey, Joe.
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Rick.
Harry Reid is expected to get that job. Of course that vote is expected today. He will be taking over for Senate minority leader Tom Daschle, who lost his re-election bid. Harry Reid, known as a soft- spoken senator from Nevada, very much a tactician, someone who gets a lot of work done for the Democratic party behind the scenes. Of course, the challenge for him will be leading a party still reeling from the losses in the last election.
Meanwhile, the work of this lame-duck Congress gets down to business over the next several days. Among the priorities they face, increasing the federal debt limit. That, of course, the federal borrowing limit for those who aren't familiar with it. As well as nine unfinished spending bills, finished -- that have to be done over the next several days before this lame-duck session ends.
There's also the issue of the Intelligence Reform Bill. That is something that both the house and Senate passed varying versions of. They're trying to meld those versions and come up with something the president can sign before the lame-duck session ends. Otherwise, if they come back in January, they'll have to start all over again -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: You talk about the Democrats. On the Republican side, we understand Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter is going to be meeting with some Republicans today. Is this going to be a point of clarification forum? Or what's he hoping to do?
JOHNS: Well, The bottom line is, he was long expected to be the next chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, but a number of conservative groups have come out against him. He is, of course, a Senate moderate in the Republican Party. A lot of the conservatives say he's just not in line with the mood of the voters, as we speak. So, he has to sit down with the Senate Republican leadership. We're also expecting him to sit down in a meeting with the other members of the Senate judiciary committee to try to make his case. And interestingly enough, a number of members of the committee on the Republican side have been holding this pretty close to the vest, not willing to discuss how they think this thing should play out and whether he should get the job. So it should be interesting to hear what they have to say after those meetings -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: We'll look forward to it. Joe Johns following that for us.
Also, you know, we should mention that Senator Harry Reid is going to be our guest right here tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING -- Heidi.
COLLINS: More turbulence at the CIA. Two of the nation's top spies resigned yesterday, the latest in a high-level shake up by new director Porter Goss. Michael Scheuer, who ran the CIA's bin Laden unit, left last week. He wrote the book "Imperial Hubris" under the name "Anonymous." I spoke with Michael Scheuer earlier about the agency's overall and the resignation of the two top men, Steven Kappas (ph) and Michael Sulick (ph).
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL SCHEUER, AUTHOR, "IMPERIAL HUBRIS": I don't know Mr. Sulick. But my association with Mr. Kappas leads me to conclude that the nation is poorer for the loss of his services. He's a first-rate officer, a very straight shooter and will be missed by the clandestine service.
COLLINS: But are we not as safe?
SCHEUER: I think people underestimate the dedication and talent resident in the Central Intelligence Agency. And I think the people doing the work on the ground will move ahead, as they have in the past.
The real danger to the CIA at the moment is just the Congressional Committee, the Goss-Shelby committee and 9/11 Commission, which scapegoated, really, the agency for intelligence failures that were really nonexistent.
COLLINS: Intelligence failures really nonexistent.
SCHEUER: Yes.
COLLINS: Explain.
SCHEUER: If you read the 9/11 Commission Report, for example, objectively, it recounts at least 10 occasions on which our government had the opportunity to either capture Osama bin Laden, or to provide precise locational information for the military to fire either cruise missiles or an airstrike against him. You know, intelligence failures seldom come from a lack of intelligence. What they come from is a lack of action on that intelligence. And on each of those 10 occasions, the people in our government decided that it was more important not to offend European opinion, or not to offend Muslims, or in one case, not to take the chance of possibly killing an Arab prince.
COLLINS: Pardon me interrupting.
SCHEUER: All those things were more important than protecting Americans.
COLLINS: Pardon the interruption, sir, but isn't that a little bit about what we have heard about Porter Goss. You talk about risk taking, and he's been described as person committed to more aggressive more risk-taking CIA. Is that the right approach?
SCHEUER: Yes, it certainly is. There are people in the CIA who are constitutionally risk-adverse, and have been for a decade. Our leadership over the past decade, especially at the directorate of operations level, has not been terrific. But the scapegoating of the men and women who actually risked their lives to protect the United States is really unconscionable. And I've just been surprised that the American people haven't been more outraged by the 9/11 Commission Report, after learning that we had a chance to take care of the bin Laden problem in the 1990s.
COLLINS: Let's listen to just a moment to Peter Hoekstra, of course Peter -- Porter Goss' replacement as House Intelligence Committee chairman. He says this about the changes of the CIA.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER HOEKSTRA (R), MICHIGAN: I think what we're seeing is that Porter is putting his own footprint and imprint on the CIA. That's fully expected. It's not unusual that when an organization will get new leadership, that that leadership will also change a number of the other people within that department.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: It's a question we've debated a couple of days. Your take on whether or not cleaning house really needs to happen.
SCHEUER: I think Mr. Goss needs to set up his own ship. I hope the changes that are being made are not partisan in nature. I certainly support removing officers, or asking officers to retire who have proven to be risk-adverse, and there's many of them. But that's a senior-level problem, and I think Mr. Goss is addressing that.
But certainly, you don't want to see more partisanship injected into the CIA.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHEUER: Michael Scheuer, who resigned just last week from CIA.
(WEATHER REPORT)
SANCHEZ: Still to come, at some stores, gift cards are the gift that stops giving after a year. That poses a problem for one state. Andy's going to be "Minding Your Business."
COLLINS: Plus, exercise as you know is good and everything, but what if you could lose weight by actually eating more? Dr. Sanjay Gupta will explain, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Rick Sanchez.
Lots of news coming out about diets today, and more on the low carb versus low-fat debate, and on and on.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is joining us now from the CNN Center with a dose of calorie reality check, I suppose we can call it, right, doctor?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Rick.
And let me tell you, this stuff is confusing. That's the caveat that I'll start with. A lot of people talking about debates. Specifically, the low fat versus low-carb debate.
There's a study coming out now looking specifically at people who were successful dieters; they lost at least 30 pounds. And what they found is regardless of how they initially lost the weight, those people on the low-fat diet were more likely to have kept that weight off at one year's time than those people who were on the low-carb diet. Lots of studies coming out, Rick, about this topic, but this is an important study in that it was about 2,700 people they looked at, and again, the people that they were looking at were all successful dieters, at least this one study, showing low fat more likely to keep the weight off in a year versus the low carb -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: There's another study that says you eat more, you lose weight. Put that one together for us.
GUPTA: You like that one, right? Most people like that.
Listen, when you talk about diets, a lot of people advise cutting calories. The problem is when you cut the calories, oftentimes you feel more hungry, and therefore, you go off the diet. So researchers from Penn State University tried to piece this together for us, specifically looking at the types of meals and trying to answer this question, is it more important to have smaller amounts of calories, or smaller portion size? Take a look at some of what they found out, specifically looking at more fruits and vegetables in the meal, specifically less sugar and fat, and focusing on slightly smaller portions. What that would lead to was 800 less calories consumed per day, which could lead to weight loss.
A lot of that's commonsense, Rick, but let me point out a couple of things here. Take a look at some of these food choices that I have lined up here. This is our breakfast this morning. If you look at -- all of these things I'm about to show you have about 100 calories. These raisins, these grapes -- look, a lot more grapes there. Just a few M&Ms. Again, about 100 calories. And all of these strawberries actually, pointing out here, about 80 calories.
So you can sort of put it together. You can do the math. You can sort of figure out that you can eat a lot of food actually still, get that feeling of fullness, and still be consuming fewer calories. That's what the Penn State University researchers tried to put together -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: And that's the key isn't it, getting that feeling of fullness? Otherwise you just keep on eating, right?
GUPTA: Yes, you know, A lot of people do this thing where they actually will drink water before the meal, trying to make their stomach more full before they start eating. What researchers tried to point out here was that was less important. What was more important was eating water-rich foods, such as fruits and vegetables. These grapes you can see have a lot more water than raisins, for example. That's going to give you the sense of fullness and likely lead to less calorie consumption.
SANCHEZ: A perfect example of news you can use. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks for bringing it to us.
GUPTA: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Appreciate it -- Heidi.
COLLINS: A stronger warning for the abortion pill, RU-486, has been issued. The FDA says the drug carries the risk of serious bacterial infection and immune-system failure that can actually lead to death. The warning was strengthened after a third woman's death was attributed to RU-486. And about 350,000 women have used the drug since its approval four years ago.
Still to come this morning, those mall gift cards are mighty popular this time of year, right? But they could be illegal now in one state. Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business" on that, here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A popular shopping mall company that sells gift cards now being sued. We'll talk about that. But first the markets are open. Andy Serwer is back "Minding Your Business."
So...
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE": Hello. Let's talk about the markets first of all. Inflation numbers coming in, Heidi. There you can see the Dow is down 26 points. And basically what's going on here, the inflation numbers for the months of October came in too hot for the market to handle. Inflation up 1.7 percent for the month of October. It's a 15-year high. But that has a lot to do with high energy prices and high food prices because of the hurricanes in Florida. Still, if you strip those out, inflation still troubling at 0.3 percent, higher than economists had anticipated. You know the Federal Reserve is going to be watching that.
One stock moving this morning, Google. It's down because the so- called lockup period has expired, meaning insiders can sell. And guess what? They are. The stock is down $6 to $179. And watch out for falling prices if you know what I mean. But it might not happen.
The mall company you were referring to, Simon Properties, the largest mall company in the United States, has a Visa gift card. And they are now -- Simon is now suing the state of Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire. The states of Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire are suing this company. Why? Because this card, unlike other gift cards, has some characteristics that the attorney generals of the states don't like. Namely, after six -- after a month, $2.50 get reduced from the card's value. There's also a reinstatement fee of $7.50. The company says that the state laws don't apply. So back and forth.
COLLINS: Doesn't Visa guarantee the card at all?
SERWER: Unclear. Unclear. So that's why we've got some litigation going on here.
COLLINS: Interesting. All right. We also have some unclear things going on, Hollywood.
SERWER: Yes.
COLLINS: They've taken out some ads. They are not happy.
SERWER: Right. We talked about this, I think it was last week where we said the Motion Picture Association is going after pirates like the record industry did. Here's an ad in the newspapers the Motion Picture Association is taking out. Is this you? Are you pirating movies? It has got all these Web addresses here and it says, "illegal downloading," like a rating, "lawsuits begin this week. Be advised. Be advised."
SANCHEZ: There you go.
COLLINS: Scary.
SANCHEZ: Awful long list of offenders they have to go after.
SERWER: A lot of people.
COLLINS: Andy, thank you.
SERWER: You're welcome.
SANCHEZ: Well, remember that game we used to play when we were kids, musical chairs, everybody has to run around and find a different place?
CAFFERTY: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Bush cabinet.
CAFFERTY: That's true. They're dropping like flies down there. The question is this, we're focusing on the secretary of state this morning: How will U.S. diplomacy be different if Colin Powell is out and Condoleezza Rice is his replacement?
Carla in Gainesville, Florida: "Two weeks ago, Bush's post- election speech, he said how he valued different opinions and debate to help him make informed decisions. Do you think the media will ever report on the disconnect between his words and actions?"
Jay in Magukita (ph), Iowa: "Jack, the nomination of Condoleezza Rice to become secretary of state, absolutely outstanding. It's a 'I have political capital to spend' kind of moment for the administration. Plus now they'll have a chance to appoint someone as national security adviser who actually has some plausible credentials and experience for that position. It's a win-win deal."
And Verma in New York writes: "I cannot imagine Condoleezza Rice negotiating with the likes of North Korea, Pakistan and Palestine. I believe even Israel will find it tough discussing issues with her."
Thank you for your input.
SANCHEZ: And there's another development on that. We're running, as a matter of fact, just now that Richard Armitage is leaving, as well, assistant secretary of state. Thank you very much. More coming up on that at 10:00. And AMERICAN MORNING will be back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Well, it has been a pleasure. Glad you watched. Glad to be with all of you. Rick, you're going back tomorrow.
SANCHEZ: Going back to Daryn tomorrow.
COLLINS: Yes. Jack is going to be here tomorrow because let's face it, he's the only regular guy here. And...
CAFFERTY: However, given the option, I'd go somewhere tomorrow, too.
SANCHEZ: Only regular guy? Wait a minute.
SERWER: That leaves me out.
COLLINS: And Andy as well.
SERWER: See, you said that with great intent there.
COLLINS: But he made the point earlier...
SERWER: I'm not a regular guy. COLLINS: Anyway, Daryn Kagan and Betty Nguyen are at the CNN Center to take you through the next few hours on CNN "LIVE TODAY."
Lots coming up today, you guys, how are you?
KAGAN: Absolutely. Good morning to you guys, you have a great day in New York City.
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Aired November 16, 2004 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it's just about half past the hour on AMERICAN MORNING. Bill and Soledad are off this morning. I'm Rick Sanchez.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins.
In just a few minutes, is there a purge going on at the CIA? And if so, are the right people leaving? We're going to talk with a CIA operative who wrote an influential book about the war on terror, about why he quit the agency. That happened just last week.
SANCHEZ: Also what is the best way for dieters to lose weight? Sanjay Gupta is going to join us with results of a new study that could point many people in a new weight-loss direction. Yet another one. There seems to be a lot happening today within President Bush's cabinet.
Let's get to our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux. She's checking on that for the very latest now -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we expect an announcement from President Bush himself to name the replacement for the Secretary of State Colin Powell's position in the Roosevelt Room at 12:30 today. Now the official word, of course, is they are not giving away that name, but senior administration sources, officials telling us, of course, that it is National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice who the president will name to secretary of state position.
Also at the same time during that ceremony, he will name the Deputy National Security Adviser Steve Hadley to replace Rice.
Now this, of course, coming on a day after Secretary Powell announced his own resignation. This is a clear indication that this is a State Department that is going to be much more in step with President Bush's thinking. If you just take a look at Rice's background. She, of course, not only a strong confidante and adviser to the president, considered really a part of his family, the very inner circle. She worked with President Bush's father on Soviet matters, Russian matters. And, of course, she was instrumental in backing him in the leadup to the Iraq war.
Now, in terms of her confirmation chances itself, even Democrats believe that she will be confirmed. But she is going to face some tough questions, some challenges, specifically about her abilities in vetting intelligence that was later proved faulty that the president used in making his case to go to war.
Now we also expect other announcements as well later in the week, official announcements. But today, unofficially, there are two senior administration sources who tell us that the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge will not be staying in his post, that he is likely to move on to the private sector. We have been told by a spokesperson for the homeland security department they are denying that. They say that he has not yet made up his mind, but people tell us here at the White House, do not expect an announcement here, he is out of town, out of Washington, in Hawaii, until he comes back, and until, of course, the department is ready to make any official announcements, then they will do so -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: Just for those who are keeping score, though, it will be made official at 12:30, though, on the Condoleezza Rice and the Stephen Hadley matter?
MALVEAUX: Yes, that's absolutely right. That is going to be an official announcement. And what he'll do is make an official announcement about a cabinet position, which as you know, is secretary of state. And then the national security adviser position is not a cabinet role, but he will also, as well, name Hadley to that position during that 12:30 ceremony.
SANCHEZ: Not a cabinet role, but certainly it is important enough, as we learned during her tenure.
Suzanne Malveaux, thanks so much for following that up for us.
And once again we will be covering this for you. The president will be flanked by both of those, Condoleezza Rice and Stephen Hadley, as he makes the announcement from the White House today, and he will cover it live for you, 12:30 Eastern Time, 9:30 Pacific.
I want to get another check on what's happening now in the news with Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center -- Daryn.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Heidi, now in the news, some 1200 U.S. troops are taking part in a new offensive in Mosul. There are reports of sporadic fighting this morning as the Iraqi city remains under curfew. Meanwhile, the U.S. military says Falluja is now secure. Multinational forces there have been pounding insurgent targets. Fighting there now said to be in its final stages.
Here in the U.S., take two for NASA, as the space agency tries to break a world speed record. Electrical problems yesterday grounded the so-called scram jet. It was expected to travel at 10 times the speed of sound. NASA will try the launch again later today. If successful, the design could mean cheaper rockets and faster missiles in the future.
To entertainment news, it looks like actor Tom Hanks is being lined up for a new role. There's word that hanks will take the lead role in the film adaptation of "The Da Vinci Code." That best-selling book is being made into a movie by director Ron Howard. Shooting is expected to begin next year. So I guess Tom Hanks can expect a trip to Italy and other places around the world. Conspiracy theorists will be thrilled.
COLLINS: Yes, I bet they will. A very popular book.
Hey, Daryn, what's coming up at 10:00?
KAGAN: We have a lot of news of course we're going to follow, with what's taking place in the cabinet, who's in, who's out. Also a special interview with a woman named Liz Scott. Her 8-year-old daughter Alex died early this year of cancer, and yet this little girl is a hero. She has managed to raise over $1 million for cancer research. I'll talk with her, just ahead.
COLLINS: Great story. All right, Daryn, We look forward to it. Thanks.
SANCHEZ: Well, Senate Democrats are going to be meeting. In fact, we understand they may be meeting right now. Nevada Senator Harry Reid is expected to emerge as the new leader of the shrinking minority party.
Joe Johns following this for us on Capitol Hill.
Hey, Joe.
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Rick.
Harry Reid is expected to get that job. Of course that vote is expected today. He will be taking over for Senate minority leader Tom Daschle, who lost his re-election bid. Harry Reid, known as a soft- spoken senator from Nevada, very much a tactician, someone who gets a lot of work done for the Democratic party behind the scenes. Of course, the challenge for him will be leading a party still reeling from the losses in the last election.
Meanwhile, the work of this lame-duck Congress gets down to business over the next several days. Among the priorities they face, increasing the federal debt limit. That, of course, the federal borrowing limit for those who aren't familiar with it. As well as nine unfinished spending bills, finished -- that have to be done over the next several days before this lame-duck session ends.
There's also the issue of the Intelligence Reform Bill. That is something that both the house and Senate passed varying versions of. They're trying to meld those versions and come up with something the president can sign before the lame-duck session ends. Otherwise, if they come back in January, they'll have to start all over again -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: You talk about the Democrats. On the Republican side, we understand Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter is going to be meeting with some Republicans today. Is this going to be a point of clarification forum? Or what's he hoping to do?
JOHNS: Well, The bottom line is, he was long expected to be the next chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, but a number of conservative groups have come out against him. He is, of course, a Senate moderate in the Republican Party. A lot of the conservatives say he's just not in line with the mood of the voters, as we speak. So, he has to sit down with the Senate Republican leadership. We're also expecting him to sit down in a meeting with the other members of the Senate judiciary committee to try to make his case. And interestingly enough, a number of members of the committee on the Republican side have been holding this pretty close to the vest, not willing to discuss how they think this thing should play out and whether he should get the job. So it should be interesting to hear what they have to say after those meetings -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: We'll look forward to it. Joe Johns following that for us.
Also, you know, we should mention that Senator Harry Reid is going to be our guest right here tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING -- Heidi.
COLLINS: More turbulence at the CIA. Two of the nation's top spies resigned yesterday, the latest in a high-level shake up by new director Porter Goss. Michael Scheuer, who ran the CIA's bin Laden unit, left last week. He wrote the book "Imperial Hubris" under the name "Anonymous." I spoke with Michael Scheuer earlier about the agency's overall and the resignation of the two top men, Steven Kappas (ph) and Michael Sulick (ph).
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL SCHEUER, AUTHOR, "IMPERIAL HUBRIS": I don't know Mr. Sulick. But my association with Mr. Kappas leads me to conclude that the nation is poorer for the loss of his services. He's a first-rate officer, a very straight shooter and will be missed by the clandestine service.
COLLINS: But are we not as safe?
SCHEUER: I think people underestimate the dedication and talent resident in the Central Intelligence Agency. And I think the people doing the work on the ground will move ahead, as they have in the past.
The real danger to the CIA at the moment is just the Congressional Committee, the Goss-Shelby committee and 9/11 Commission, which scapegoated, really, the agency for intelligence failures that were really nonexistent.
COLLINS: Intelligence failures really nonexistent.
SCHEUER: Yes.
COLLINS: Explain.
SCHEUER: If you read the 9/11 Commission Report, for example, objectively, it recounts at least 10 occasions on which our government had the opportunity to either capture Osama bin Laden, or to provide precise locational information for the military to fire either cruise missiles or an airstrike against him. You know, intelligence failures seldom come from a lack of intelligence. What they come from is a lack of action on that intelligence. And on each of those 10 occasions, the people in our government decided that it was more important not to offend European opinion, or not to offend Muslims, or in one case, not to take the chance of possibly killing an Arab prince.
COLLINS: Pardon me interrupting.
SCHEUER: All those things were more important than protecting Americans.
COLLINS: Pardon the interruption, sir, but isn't that a little bit about what we have heard about Porter Goss. You talk about risk taking, and he's been described as person committed to more aggressive more risk-taking CIA. Is that the right approach?
SCHEUER: Yes, it certainly is. There are people in the CIA who are constitutionally risk-adverse, and have been for a decade. Our leadership over the past decade, especially at the directorate of operations level, has not been terrific. But the scapegoating of the men and women who actually risked their lives to protect the United States is really unconscionable. And I've just been surprised that the American people haven't been more outraged by the 9/11 Commission Report, after learning that we had a chance to take care of the bin Laden problem in the 1990s.
COLLINS: Let's listen to just a moment to Peter Hoekstra, of course Peter -- Porter Goss' replacement as House Intelligence Committee chairman. He says this about the changes of the CIA.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER HOEKSTRA (R), MICHIGAN: I think what we're seeing is that Porter is putting his own footprint and imprint on the CIA. That's fully expected. It's not unusual that when an organization will get new leadership, that that leadership will also change a number of the other people within that department.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: It's a question we've debated a couple of days. Your take on whether or not cleaning house really needs to happen.
SCHEUER: I think Mr. Goss needs to set up his own ship. I hope the changes that are being made are not partisan in nature. I certainly support removing officers, or asking officers to retire who have proven to be risk-adverse, and there's many of them. But that's a senior-level problem, and I think Mr. Goss is addressing that.
But certainly, you don't want to see more partisanship injected into the CIA.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHEUER: Michael Scheuer, who resigned just last week from CIA.
(WEATHER REPORT)
SANCHEZ: Still to come, at some stores, gift cards are the gift that stops giving after a year. That poses a problem for one state. Andy's going to be "Minding Your Business."
COLLINS: Plus, exercise as you know is good and everything, but what if you could lose weight by actually eating more? Dr. Sanjay Gupta will explain, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Rick Sanchez.
Lots of news coming out about diets today, and more on the low carb versus low-fat debate, and on and on.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is joining us now from the CNN Center with a dose of calorie reality check, I suppose we can call it, right, doctor?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Rick.
And let me tell you, this stuff is confusing. That's the caveat that I'll start with. A lot of people talking about debates. Specifically, the low fat versus low-carb debate.
There's a study coming out now looking specifically at people who were successful dieters; they lost at least 30 pounds. And what they found is regardless of how they initially lost the weight, those people on the low-fat diet were more likely to have kept that weight off at one year's time than those people who were on the low-carb diet. Lots of studies coming out, Rick, about this topic, but this is an important study in that it was about 2,700 people they looked at, and again, the people that they were looking at were all successful dieters, at least this one study, showing low fat more likely to keep the weight off in a year versus the low carb -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: There's another study that says you eat more, you lose weight. Put that one together for us.
GUPTA: You like that one, right? Most people like that.
Listen, when you talk about diets, a lot of people advise cutting calories. The problem is when you cut the calories, oftentimes you feel more hungry, and therefore, you go off the diet. So researchers from Penn State University tried to piece this together for us, specifically looking at the types of meals and trying to answer this question, is it more important to have smaller amounts of calories, or smaller portion size? Take a look at some of what they found out, specifically looking at more fruits and vegetables in the meal, specifically less sugar and fat, and focusing on slightly smaller portions. What that would lead to was 800 less calories consumed per day, which could lead to weight loss.
A lot of that's commonsense, Rick, but let me point out a couple of things here. Take a look at some of these food choices that I have lined up here. This is our breakfast this morning. If you look at -- all of these things I'm about to show you have about 100 calories. These raisins, these grapes -- look, a lot more grapes there. Just a few M&Ms. Again, about 100 calories. And all of these strawberries actually, pointing out here, about 80 calories.
So you can sort of put it together. You can do the math. You can sort of figure out that you can eat a lot of food actually still, get that feeling of fullness, and still be consuming fewer calories. That's what the Penn State University researchers tried to put together -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: And that's the key isn't it, getting that feeling of fullness? Otherwise you just keep on eating, right?
GUPTA: Yes, you know, A lot of people do this thing where they actually will drink water before the meal, trying to make their stomach more full before they start eating. What researchers tried to point out here was that was less important. What was more important was eating water-rich foods, such as fruits and vegetables. These grapes you can see have a lot more water than raisins, for example. That's going to give you the sense of fullness and likely lead to less calorie consumption.
SANCHEZ: A perfect example of news you can use. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks for bringing it to us.
GUPTA: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Appreciate it -- Heidi.
COLLINS: A stronger warning for the abortion pill, RU-486, has been issued. The FDA says the drug carries the risk of serious bacterial infection and immune-system failure that can actually lead to death. The warning was strengthened after a third woman's death was attributed to RU-486. And about 350,000 women have used the drug since its approval four years ago.
Still to come this morning, those mall gift cards are mighty popular this time of year, right? But they could be illegal now in one state. Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business" on that, here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A popular shopping mall company that sells gift cards now being sued. We'll talk about that. But first the markets are open. Andy Serwer is back "Minding Your Business."
So...
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE": Hello. Let's talk about the markets first of all. Inflation numbers coming in, Heidi. There you can see the Dow is down 26 points. And basically what's going on here, the inflation numbers for the months of October came in too hot for the market to handle. Inflation up 1.7 percent for the month of October. It's a 15-year high. But that has a lot to do with high energy prices and high food prices because of the hurricanes in Florida. Still, if you strip those out, inflation still troubling at 0.3 percent, higher than economists had anticipated. You know the Federal Reserve is going to be watching that.
One stock moving this morning, Google. It's down because the so- called lockup period has expired, meaning insiders can sell. And guess what? They are. The stock is down $6 to $179. And watch out for falling prices if you know what I mean. But it might not happen.
The mall company you were referring to, Simon Properties, the largest mall company in the United States, has a Visa gift card. And they are now -- Simon is now suing the state of Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire. The states of Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire are suing this company. Why? Because this card, unlike other gift cards, has some characteristics that the attorney generals of the states don't like. Namely, after six -- after a month, $2.50 get reduced from the card's value. There's also a reinstatement fee of $7.50. The company says that the state laws don't apply. So back and forth.
COLLINS: Doesn't Visa guarantee the card at all?
SERWER: Unclear. Unclear. So that's why we've got some litigation going on here.
COLLINS: Interesting. All right. We also have some unclear things going on, Hollywood.
SERWER: Yes.
COLLINS: They've taken out some ads. They are not happy.
SERWER: Right. We talked about this, I think it was last week where we said the Motion Picture Association is going after pirates like the record industry did. Here's an ad in the newspapers the Motion Picture Association is taking out. Is this you? Are you pirating movies? It has got all these Web addresses here and it says, "illegal downloading," like a rating, "lawsuits begin this week. Be advised. Be advised."
SANCHEZ: There you go.
COLLINS: Scary.
SANCHEZ: Awful long list of offenders they have to go after.
SERWER: A lot of people.
COLLINS: Andy, thank you.
SERWER: You're welcome.
SANCHEZ: Well, remember that game we used to play when we were kids, musical chairs, everybody has to run around and find a different place?
CAFFERTY: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Bush cabinet.
CAFFERTY: That's true. They're dropping like flies down there. The question is this, we're focusing on the secretary of state this morning: How will U.S. diplomacy be different if Colin Powell is out and Condoleezza Rice is his replacement?
Carla in Gainesville, Florida: "Two weeks ago, Bush's post- election speech, he said how he valued different opinions and debate to help him make informed decisions. Do you think the media will ever report on the disconnect between his words and actions?"
Jay in Magukita (ph), Iowa: "Jack, the nomination of Condoleezza Rice to become secretary of state, absolutely outstanding. It's a 'I have political capital to spend' kind of moment for the administration. Plus now they'll have a chance to appoint someone as national security adviser who actually has some plausible credentials and experience for that position. It's a win-win deal."
And Verma in New York writes: "I cannot imagine Condoleezza Rice negotiating with the likes of North Korea, Pakistan and Palestine. I believe even Israel will find it tough discussing issues with her."
Thank you for your input.
SANCHEZ: And there's another development on that. We're running, as a matter of fact, just now that Richard Armitage is leaving, as well, assistant secretary of state. Thank you very much. More coming up on that at 10:00. And AMERICAN MORNING will be back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Well, it has been a pleasure. Glad you watched. Glad to be with all of you. Rick, you're going back tomorrow.
SANCHEZ: Going back to Daryn tomorrow.
COLLINS: Yes. Jack is going to be here tomorrow because let's face it, he's the only regular guy here. And...
CAFFERTY: However, given the option, I'd go somewhere tomorrow, too.
SANCHEZ: Only regular guy? Wait a minute.
SERWER: That leaves me out.
COLLINS: And Andy as well.
SERWER: See, you said that with great intent there.
COLLINS: But he made the point earlier...
SERWER: I'm not a regular guy. COLLINS: Anyway, Daryn Kagan and Betty Nguyen are at the CNN Center to take you through the next few hours on CNN "LIVE TODAY."
Lots coming up today, you guys, how are you?
KAGAN: Absolutely. Good morning to you guys, you have a great day in New York City.
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