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Scott Peterson's Lawyers Will Have a Chance Today to Argue for Life in Prison for Their Client; How Can a Trip to the Dentist Help Fight Off Bone Disease?

Aired December 01, 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.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And it is exactly half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Scott Peterson's lawyers will have a chance today to argue for life in prison for their client. This comes after a very emotional day yesterday in which Laci Peterson's family had a chance to speak. We're going talk to this morning, to former prosecutor Dean Johnson. He was there, and he talked about the impact of his family's testimony.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Also Sanjay back with us, and an amazing story of how doctors are spotting osteoporosis, in your mouth. We'll explain, coming up.

And we'll check the headlines, of course. Heidi Collins with that.

Good morning, Heidi.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: I can't get past the osteoporosis in the mouth.

M. O'BRIEN: Something to do with your breath. No, I don't know.

COLLINS: Broccoli breath.

All right, we are going to get straight to the news this morning. President Bush is heading to Nova Scotia this hour, wrapping up a two- day visit to Canada. The president left Ottawa just a short time ago. He is expected to give a major foreign policy address in Halifax later today, and to thank Canadians also for their hospitality to stranded Americans following the September 11 attacks.

New developments in Ukraine. The parliament there has voted to sack the newly elected government and to form an interim government. The opposition cheering the no-confidence vote. The measure must still be approved, though, by the outgoing president, who has voiced his support for new elections.

U.S. Army Private Lynndie England returns to a military court today. England's preparing for her court-martial on charges stemming from the abuse of prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib Prison. That is set for January. The preliminary proceedings are expected to last until the end of the week. Well, first, the Virgin Mary in a grilled cheese sandwich. Now E.T. the Extraterrestrial apparently has been spotted in a grain of cereal. Can you see it? The out-of-this-world nugget was auctioned off on eBay this week. Not quite worth the $28,000 the sandwich racked up, but somebody did pay $800 for it.

S. O'BRIEN: That's still pretty good.

COLLINS: Who are these people?

M. O'BRIEN: Watt a minute, wait a minute. Where is the E.T. in there? Have you figured it out?

COLLINS: I have no idea.

M. O'BRIEN: Oh, I see the little eye thing there. Yes, yes, that's it, kind of. OK.

COLLINS: I definitely do not see it.

M. O'BRIEN: I've got some belly button lint I'll try to get going on there.

COLLINS: That is so appetizing.

M. O'BRIEN: It looks like lint, yes. Anyway...

S. O'BRIEN: Moving on, shall we?

M. O'BRIEN: Sorry.

S. O'BRIEN: Another member of the president's cabinet is resigning. America's first ever Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge says he is leaving his department in good shape to keep the country safe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM RIDGE, SECY. OF HOMELAND SECURITY: If you take a look at many of the innovations, the improvements to security, the enhancements to safety at ports of entry, the partnerships that we've developed with the state and locals and the private sector, just all in all, I think it's a reflection of the commitment, and the dedication, and the energy and the professionalism, really the combined power of about 180,000 people strong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Former Virginia Governor James Gilmore has become an expert on domestic defense. He joins us from Washington.

Nice to see you, sir. Thanks for being with us.

JAMES GILMORE, FMR. CHAIRMAN, GILMORE COMMISSION: Thank you, Soledad. S. O'BRIEN: In the statement released last night, here's what President Bush had to say about Tom Ridge. "He said America is safer, our government is better able to protect our people because of his hard work."

Yet, many say, borders are still porous, the alert system, frankly, is confusing, the nuclear power plants, for example, still not protected. Is the president right there?

GILMORE: Well, I think there's a lot more to be done. First of all, let me say that I think Tom Ridge has provided terrific leadership and is the first secretary of homeland security. I think he'd be the first to say, that while we made great progress, there's still a lot more to do. And I think that involves sharpening up our national strategy, giving a real sense for the states and locals as to how they should be spending money, not to mention private enterprise that would like to do that.

I think we've got to talk about a better communication with the intelligence community, because the secretary of homeland security has to understand exactly what the threat is and how you can best respond to it, so the intelligence communication is important. And then finally, I think we have to have a real straight dialogue with the American people about what the real risk is. There's always a danger that something could occur, but it's not going to bring down the republic, and we need to understand that we have always faced challenges in this country, and we will again.

S. O'BRIEN: The duct tape thing was laughable. The alerts, at times, are extremely phone fusing. Were those initiatives mistakes?

GILMORE: I would say they're not mistakes, but I think that we can always find ways to better improve communication with the American people. I think at that time of high tension, they were trying to find a way to simplify communication and to make some sort of statement to the American people, and we've done that. But now, I think there's also an opportunity to even have a more sophisticated discussion with the American people about what the real risks really are, and to understand that while the enemy might very well do something to us, we've always confronted difficulties inside the homeland, and we will again, and it isn't going to bring the world as we know it to an end, even though we have to work very hard to make sure that we prevent this kind of attack if we possibly can.

S. O'BRIEN: Would you want to be homeland security secretary if the position was offered to you?

GILMORE: I think the reason my name was thrown into the mix was because I chaired the national commission for the Congress for all those years, for five years. And I think our commission did really good work over that five-year period, three years before the 9/11 attack and two years afterward, but I would never comment on any decision or process that the president was going to make.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, hypothetically, let's say you were the guy to do it, what would be your first priority be in focusing the attention on the homeland security office?

GILMORE: As I said, I think that strategic thinking and continuing this strategic thinking that Tom Ridge has been doing about making sure that we have a national strategy that actually gives strong guidance to the states and locals, shows them how to spend money, what the priorities ought to be, make some decisions about spending and what is the correct way to do that and the correct way to prepare. But I also think that, you know, having a real communication and dialogue with the American people about the nature of the threat and what it really is, and how it fits into the context of the life of America is important. I think that will be going on within the future. I think it will be.

S. O'BRIEN: You talked about money just a moment ago and getting the private sector involved. How exactly do you make it so that the private sector is interested in being involved, and footing the bill, frankly?

GILMORE: You know, that is a real challenge, because private companies are responsible. I serve as director for several corporations. They're responsible to the bottom line for the shareholders. But I believe that people want to do the right thing in protecting critical infrastructure, but they're concerned because they don't know exactly what the best way is to protect. And I think the way to do that is to have a sophisticated approach in private-sector security where you look ahead and try to do some things to prevent those kinds of attacks. You can do that in the private sector, but also have a good partnership, particularly with localities, people who would have to do a response, to make sure that there's instantaneous communication back and forth. Communication, I think, is everything in homeland security.

S. O'BRIEN: Governor Gilmore, nice to see you as always. Thanks -- Miles.

GILMORE: Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: The president of the United States comings and goings. We're watching very closely this morning. He has left Ottawa, Air Force One on short final there for Halifax, Nova Scotia. On September 11th, the scene there was not unlike that. Many 747s and 767s and so landing there, diverted as a result of that unprecedented, historic aviation standstill in the wake of those 9/11 attacks, and that is what, in part, brings the president to Halifax, Nova Scotia today, to thank the people there, who literally let thousands of stranded airline passengers into their homes for several days until aviation resumed in the United States following the 9/11 attacks. The president will touch down, spend some time there, and then after that, will return to Washington after his historic trip to Canada, and we're tracking it every step of the way, of course -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Today, attorney Mark Geragos begins his final appeal to the jury that's going to decide whether Scott Peterson lives or dies. There was emotional testimony yesterday from Laci Peterson's family on the first day of the trial's penalty phase.

Former San Mateo County prosecutor Dean Johnson was in that courtroom. He joins us from Redwood City this morning.

Nice to see you again, Dean. Thanks for being with us.

Why the delay? Why did it take so long for everything to get going?

DEAN JOHNSON, FMR. SAN MATEO CO. PROSECUTOR: Well, there was sort of a bizarre incident at the beginning of the courtroom proceedings yesterday. Gino the bartender, somebody who apparently tends bar at a local watering hole, had struck up a conversation with Mark Geragos. And...

S. O'BRIEN: Well, obviously, it looks like we've lost Dean Johnson. Let's give him a moment to see if we can get that satellite back to us. Dean, if you can hear me, you -- just started talking about. Where we lost you is where you talked about the bartender striking up a conversation with Mark Geragos, then dumped out -- what were you saying?

JOHNSON: Apparently, this bartender claims that one of the jurors had come into the bar and was wagering on the outcome of the Scott Peterson case. The presiding judge in a San Mateo County court examined this witness, apparently, in chambers. It's concluded that there was nothing material that the bartender had to say, and the penalty phase of this trial then proceeded.

S. O'BRIEN: And it proceeded with some heart-wrenching testimony by Laci's family. Sharon Rocha took the stand. We had predicted, obviously, it was going to be emotional. I want to read a little bit of what she had to say about her daughter, Laci. "I miss her. I want to know my grandson. I want Laci to be a mother. I want to hear her called mom. She also said, on the first Mother's Day after she was killed, I laid on the floor and cried most of the day, because she should be there, and should have been a mother also. That was taken away from her."

Any surprise that they focused on Laci and not on calling Scott Peterson names and things like that in their testimony?

JOHNSON: No, none whatsoever. This was about the impact that this murder had on the Rocha family. I think everybody appreciates now that Laci Peterson is not just a lady with a beautiful smile, but behind that beautiful smile was the heart and soul of this family, which was torn out by this horrendous crime. Sharon Rocha was very articulate in talking about how Christmas, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, Easter will never be the same because of what this man did.

S. O'BRIEN: What was the jury's reaction?

JOHNSON: The jurors wept openly. Every one of the female jurors, as far as I could tell, had a wet tissue in their hands that they were using to try to wipe back the tears. Some of the men tried to hold it back. But eventually, they had tears in their eyes, too. I remember one of the male jurors repeatedly taking off his glasses, wiping away the tears. In the quiet moments, you could hear people in the courtroom and in the jury box sobbing openly. Today, Mark Geragos will try to defend his client's life.

Nice to see you, Dean, always. Thanks. We'll continue to check in with you -- Miles.

JOHNSON: Thank you, Soledad.

M. O'BRIEN: "Jeopardy" uber-champ Ken Jennings is no blockhead, that's for sure, but he did finally have a mental block, shall we say, last night. But who is Nancy Zerg? That's the answer. The question, contestant to unseat the all-time game show champion. Here is how the longest and richest and winningest winning streak in game show history ended.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX TREBEK, HOST, "JEOPARDY": The category is business and industry, and here is the clue, ladies and gentlemen: "Most of this firm's 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year." 30 seconds, good luck.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: All right, you can hum along with me if you like. While we wait, here's the numbers. Jennings had 74 consecutive wins, totaling more than $2.5 million. That's an average detail haul of $34,000, not bad at all. And during his run, Jennings came up with the correct question more than 2,700 times. Not this time.

Back to you, Alex.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Nancy, you wrote down your response rather quickly, I thought. I hope it's correct. Let's take a look.

NANCY ZERG: I hope so, too.

TREBEK: "What is H&R Block," right. Your wager 4,401, taking you up to $14,401. You have a 1 dollar lead over Ken Jennings right now. And his final response was? FedEx. His wager was 5,601.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: A gasp in the crowd. Jennings will be our guest tomorrow here on AMERICAN MORNING, and Soledad is set to grill him over what she says was an easy, easy question.

S. O'BRIEN: I just want to say, Ken, I could have gotten that question.

M. O'BRIEN: Easy for you to say, girl.

S. O'BRIEN: He got 2,700 consecutive answers right, 2,700, and he messes up on the FedEx, H&R Block question? Come on?

M. O'BRIEN: Maybe it was time for him to start working on his book or something.

S. O'BRIEN: You know what, maybe it was.

M. O'BRIEN: It's a reverse game show scandal.

S. O'BRIEN: He had enough -- 2.5 mil was enough.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, I'd quit.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: How can a trip to the dentist help you as you're trying to fight off bone disease? These are some of the many questions we have on our mind this morning, so we turn to Dr. Sanjay Gupta when we're stumped, and he always has good answers for us.

Hello, Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, thank you, Miles, for turning to me with these questions, this one about osteoporosis as it turns out.

Listen, interesting study actually coming out. You know, you go to the dentist office, you always get these dental X-rays. They're looking for something very specific. They're looking for problems with your teeth, for the most part.

Now, sometimes there's more information in those X-rays that might give doctors, or scientists in this case, a clue as to whether a woman is likely to develop osteoporosis, and that was exactly the point of a study now done; 316 women were looked at, post-menopausal women, looked at these panoramic X-rays, and what they found was the dental X-rays were comparably effective to other screening methods for those women at high risk for osteoporosis, and this is women who are post-menopausal.

This is an important issue, because the way to really diagnose osteoporosis is with a bone scan, but here's the problem, not all women are eligible for a bone scan. You can get it by Medicaid if you're over the age of 65, but if you're younger than that, and a lot who have osteoporosis are younger than that, can't get it unless the doctor specifically recommends it. Osteoporosis can have its peak sometimes, 51, 52 years of age, so it's really important to get this diagnosed early. Again, these dental X-rays, with the help of dentists, may be an early clue as to which women are going to develop it later in life -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, so what are the doctors on the lookout for? What is the screening process?

GUPTA: Well, you know, right now, the current screening process, besides the bone-scanner test which actually diagnoses osteoporosis, is just a simple questionnaire. These are the questions: have you had a what's called a fragility fracture, sort of a fracture that you didn't expect, family history of osteoporosis, significant height loss that's been over the past several years, or if you're taking steroid medications. Those are some of the things that they'll ask you to try to reason out whether or not you're at risk for osteoporosis -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: And of course calcium is part of the equation here, right?

GUPTA: Calcium is part of the equation. And you and I talked a lot about hormones, women taking hormones to try to ward off osteoporosis. Obviously, that's not recommended anymore. So, besides calcium, Vitamin D as well, quit smoking, weight-bearing exercises really important. The more you weight-bear, the more likely your bone is to hold together, and also resistance training. That's always good advice. But again, these dental X-rays may be an early clue as to who's going to develop osteoporosis later in life.

M. O'BRIEN: Sanjay Gupta, a man of many answers. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

GUPTA: Thanks, Miles. Take care.

S. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, the sugar industry not sweet on one of the president's new cabinet picks. Andy Serwer's got that ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us. [

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: President of the United States on terra firma, albeit icy terra firma. Halifax, Nova Scotia is the location. Kind of hard to see in there over the armored SUV, but Air Force One has safely touched down, well deiced, another safe flight. He's been greeted by dignitaries there in Halifax, surrounded by Secret Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He's off to give a speech on foreign policy, and to thank folks of Halifax, who brought in thousands of people, stranded in airliners on September 11th after they were diverted, allowed them to stay in their homes for days until the airspace open up in the United States. We'll be tracking that every step of the way -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks.

Business news now. What industry is worried about President Bush's pick to lead Commerce Department? With that and a check on Wall Street, Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business."

Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you, Soledad.

I'll give you a hint. It's sweet. It's the sweet industry. Let's talk about the market, first of all, starting the month of December off with a bang on Wall Street, up 77 points, a little snapback from yesterday's decline. The big news this week is going to be the jobs report on Friday for the month of November.

A couple stocks moving this morning. Hollywood Video is up about 4 percent. Blockbuster trying to buy them. That's No. 1 trying to buy No. 2, but some other bidders have entered the picture, so we've got ourselves an old-fashioned bidding war. Wendy's is up 6 percent this morning because they're closing some Baja Fresh Mexican restaurants that they own, not working out so well. Wall Street happy to see them go.

Let's talk about that story that you mentioned, Soledad, having to do with President Bush's nomination to be the new commerce secretary.

Carlos Gutierrez was the CEO of Kellogg. And while he was there, he lobbied against the sugar industry in the United States trying to open up the United States to bring in cheaper imported sugar from Australia, so that he could make his Fruit Loops a little less expensively, ergo, the sugar lobby in the United States taking a wait- and-see attitude, they're saying, with the new nominee, expressing some concern about his previous efforts.

S. O'BRIEN: All right. Andy, thanks.

SERWER: You're welcome.

M. O'BRIEN: Not all sweetness there, huh?

SERWER: Not at all.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, still to come, Tom Ridge headed out the door. What will he do? Endorse duct tape maybe? I don't know. There weren't any terror attacks on U.S. soil during his watch. Should he, can he take credit? That's ahead, on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Welcome back. Here's Jack, Question of the Day.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Miles.

The Question of the Day, is has the Department of Homeland Security under Tom Ridge been right? We haven't had attacks. Or just lucky?

Here are some of the responses: Jay in Livingston, Texas: "Tom Ridge is neither good, nor lucky. His department is just ignored. The terrorists have no reason to attack us on our soil, since we are feeding our young men and women to their killers a few at a time on the streets of Iraq. Their cause is on the world stage every day."

Rich in Rochester, "I don't think we can know. With few exceptions, we aren't privy to information about cells and plots uncovered prior to activation, and/or foiled prior to execution, nor is it entirely necessary that we be so informed."

And Joe in Pittsville (ph), Massachusetts: "Right or lucky? I'd say it's a combination of both. After all, this is the stuff that history is all about. To be right all the time is to be divine. To be lucky all the time is to be Irish."

Thank you for your e-mails.

M. O'BRIEN: I wish it were so.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, Really, don't we? Cafferty, O'Brien.

SERWER: Very popular over here.

S. O'BRIEN: That's true, we do wish it were so. Thanks, Jack.

Coming up on CNN, thanksgiving was last week. Today, though, the president giving thanks to the people of Halifax, Nova Scotia, a city that lent a big helping hand post 9/11. CNN LIVE TODAY will carry the president's speech in the next hour that's with Rick Sanchez and Daryn Kagan ahead. AMERICAN MORNING is back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Some great news to report. Chad Myers had his baby. Well, the wife had the baby. There he is. He looks like a six-month- old.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: They kind of do, don't they?

The baby was born last night, just a little bit after 7:00 p.m. Mommy, daddy and baby are all fine. Twenty-four hours of labor. Owie. The baby weighed in at seven pounds, 10 ounces, a little over 20 inches long. No name yet, though.

CAFFERTY: As soon as he found out who his dad was going to be, he didn't want to come out.

S. O'BRIEN: Hey, that's not nice.

(CROSSTALK)

S. O'BRIEN: So congratulations to Chad and his wife.

(CROSSTALK)

M. O'BRIEN: What do you think "Storm."

SERWER: "Stormy" has got to be the name.

S. O'BRIEN: "Stormy Meyers." We like it Chad.

SERWER: Stormy -- stormy, stormy weather.

S. O'BRIEN: That's the name we're going with.

M. O'BRIEN: That's our consensus.

S. O'BRIEN: We're out of time, you guys. We'll see you back here tomorrow.

Daryn Kagan, Rick Sanchez are at the CNN Center. They're going to take you through the next few hours. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com

Aired December 1, 2004 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And it is exactly half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Scott Peterson's lawyers will have a chance today to argue for life in prison for their client. This comes after a very emotional day yesterday in which Laci Peterson's family had a chance to speak. We're going talk to this morning, to former prosecutor Dean Johnson. He was there, and he talked about the impact of his family's testimony.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Also Sanjay back with us, and an amazing story of how doctors are spotting osteoporosis, in your mouth. We'll explain, coming up.

And we'll check the headlines, of course. Heidi Collins with that.

Good morning, Heidi.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: I can't get past the osteoporosis in the mouth.

M. O'BRIEN: Something to do with your breath. No, I don't know.

COLLINS: Broccoli breath.

All right, we are going to get straight to the news this morning. President Bush is heading to Nova Scotia this hour, wrapping up a two- day visit to Canada. The president left Ottawa just a short time ago. He is expected to give a major foreign policy address in Halifax later today, and to thank Canadians also for their hospitality to stranded Americans following the September 11 attacks.

New developments in Ukraine. The parliament there has voted to sack the newly elected government and to form an interim government. The opposition cheering the no-confidence vote. The measure must still be approved, though, by the outgoing president, who has voiced his support for new elections.

U.S. Army Private Lynndie England returns to a military court today. England's preparing for her court-martial on charges stemming from the abuse of prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib Prison. That is set for January. The preliminary proceedings are expected to last until the end of the week. Well, first, the Virgin Mary in a grilled cheese sandwich. Now E.T. the Extraterrestrial apparently has been spotted in a grain of cereal. Can you see it? The out-of-this-world nugget was auctioned off on eBay this week. Not quite worth the $28,000 the sandwich racked up, but somebody did pay $800 for it.

S. O'BRIEN: That's still pretty good.

COLLINS: Who are these people?

M. O'BRIEN: Watt a minute, wait a minute. Where is the E.T. in there? Have you figured it out?

COLLINS: I have no idea.

M. O'BRIEN: Oh, I see the little eye thing there. Yes, yes, that's it, kind of. OK.

COLLINS: I definitely do not see it.

M. O'BRIEN: I've got some belly button lint I'll try to get going on there.

COLLINS: That is so appetizing.

M. O'BRIEN: It looks like lint, yes. Anyway...

S. O'BRIEN: Moving on, shall we?

M. O'BRIEN: Sorry.

S. O'BRIEN: Another member of the president's cabinet is resigning. America's first ever Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge says he is leaving his department in good shape to keep the country safe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM RIDGE, SECY. OF HOMELAND SECURITY: If you take a look at many of the innovations, the improvements to security, the enhancements to safety at ports of entry, the partnerships that we've developed with the state and locals and the private sector, just all in all, I think it's a reflection of the commitment, and the dedication, and the energy and the professionalism, really the combined power of about 180,000 people strong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Former Virginia Governor James Gilmore has become an expert on domestic defense. He joins us from Washington.

Nice to see you, sir. Thanks for being with us.

JAMES GILMORE, FMR. CHAIRMAN, GILMORE COMMISSION: Thank you, Soledad. S. O'BRIEN: In the statement released last night, here's what President Bush had to say about Tom Ridge. "He said America is safer, our government is better able to protect our people because of his hard work."

Yet, many say, borders are still porous, the alert system, frankly, is confusing, the nuclear power plants, for example, still not protected. Is the president right there?

GILMORE: Well, I think there's a lot more to be done. First of all, let me say that I think Tom Ridge has provided terrific leadership and is the first secretary of homeland security. I think he'd be the first to say, that while we made great progress, there's still a lot more to do. And I think that involves sharpening up our national strategy, giving a real sense for the states and locals as to how they should be spending money, not to mention private enterprise that would like to do that.

I think we've got to talk about a better communication with the intelligence community, because the secretary of homeland security has to understand exactly what the threat is and how you can best respond to it, so the intelligence communication is important. And then finally, I think we have to have a real straight dialogue with the American people about what the real risk is. There's always a danger that something could occur, but it's not going to bring down the republic, and we need to understand that we have always faced challenges in this country, and we will again.

S. O'BRIEN: The duct tape thing was laughable. The alerts, at times, are extremely phone fusing. Were those initiatives mistakes?

GILMORE: I would say they're not mistakes, but I think that we can always find ways to better improve communication with the American people. I think at that time of high tension, they were trying to find a way to simplify communication and to make some sort of statement to the American people, and we've done that. But now, I think there's also an opportunity to even have a more sophisticated discussion with the American people about what the real risks really are, and to understand that while the enemy might very well do something to us, we've always confronted difficulties inside the homeland, and we will again, and it isn't going to bring the world as we know it to an end, even though we have to work very hard to make sure that we prevent this kind of attack if we possibly can.

S. O'BRIEN: Would you want to be homeland security secretary if the position was offered to you?

GILMORE: I think the reason my name was thrown into the mix was because I chaired the national commission for the Congress for all those years, for five years. And I think our commission did really good work over that five-year period, three years before the 9/11 attack and two years afterward, but I would never comment on any decision or process that the president was going to make.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, hypothetically, let's say you were the guy to do it, what would be your first priority be in focusing the attention on the homeland security office?

GILMORE: As I said, I think that strategic thinking and continuing this strategic thinking that Tom Ridge has been doing about making sure that we have a national strategy that actually gives strong guidance to the states and locals, shows them how to spend money, what the priorities ought to be, make some decisions about spending and what is the correct way to do that and the correct way to prepare. But I also think that, you know, having a real communication and dialogue with the American people about the nature of the threat and what it really is, and how it fits into the context of the life of America is important. I think that will be going on within the future. I think it will be.

S. O'BRIEN: You talked about money just a moment ago and getting the private sector involved. How exactly do you make it so that the private sector is interested in being involved, and footing the bill, frankly?

GILMORE: You know, that is a real challenge, because private companies are responsible. I serve as director for several corporations. They're responsible to the bottom line for the shareholders. But I believe that people want to do the right thing in protecting critical infrastructure, but they're concerned because they don't know exactly what the best way is to protect. And I think the way to do that is to have a sophisticated approach in private-sector security where you look ahead and try to do some things to prevent those kinds of attacks. You can do that in the private sector, but also have a good partnership, particularly with localities, people who would have to do a response, to make sure that there's instantaneous communication back and forth. Communication, I think, is everything in homeland security.

S. O'BRIEN: Governor Gilmore, nice to see you as always. Thanks -- Miles.

GILMORE: Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: The president of the United States comings and goings. We're watching very closely this morning. He has left Ottawa, Air Force One on short final there for Halifax, Nova Scotia. On September 11th, the scene there was not unlike that. Many 747s and 767s and so landing there, diverted as a result of that unprecedented, historic aviation standstill in the wake of those 9/11 attacks, and that is what, in part, brings the president to Halifax, Nova Scotia today, to thank the people there, who literally let thousands of stranded airline passengers into their homes for several days until aviation resumed in the United States following the 9/11 attacks. The president will touch down, spend some time there, and then after that, will return to Washington after his historic trip to Canada, and we're tracking it every step of the way, of course -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Today, attorney Mark Geragos begins his final appeal to the jury that's going to decide whether Scott Peterson lives or dies. There was emotional testimony yesterday from Laci Peterson's family on the first day of the trial's penalty phase.

Former San Mateo County prosecutor Dean Johnson was in that courtroom. He joins us from Redwood City this morning.

Nice to see you again, Dean. Thanks for being with us.

Why the delay? Why did it take so long for everything to get going?

DEAN JOHNSON, FMR. SAN MATEO CO. PROSECUTOR: Well, there was sort of a bizarre incident at the beginning of the courtroom proceedings yesterday. Gino the bartender, somebody who apparently tends bar at a local watering hole, had struck up a conversation with Mark Geragos. And...

S. O'BRIEN: Well, obviously, it looks like we've lost Dean Johnson. Let's give him a moment to see if we can get that satellite back to us. Dean, if you can hear me, you -- just started talking about. Where we lost you is where you talked about the bartender striking up a conversation with Mark Geragos, then dumped out -- what were you saying?

JOHNSON: Apparently, this bartender claims that one of the jurors had come into the bar and was wagering on the outcome of the Scott Peterson case. The presiding judge in a San Mateo County court examined this witness, apparently, in chambers. It's concluded that there was nothing material that the bartender had to say, and the penalty phase of this trial then proceeded.

S. O'BRIEN: And it proceeded with some heart-wrenching testimony by Laci's family. Sharon Rocha took the stand. We had predicted, obviously, it was going to be emotional. I want to read a little bit of what she had to say about her daughter, Laci. "I miss her. I want to know my grandson. I want Laci to be a mother. I want to hear her called mom. She also said, on the first Mother's Day after she was killed, I laid on the floor and cried most of the day, because she should be there, and should have been a mother also. That was taken away from her."

Any surprise that they focused on Laci and not on calling Scott Peterson names and things like that in their testimony?

JOHNSON: No, none whatsoever. This was about the impact that this murder had on the Rocha family. I think everybody appreciates now that Laci Peterson is not just a lady with a beautiful smile, but behind that beautiful smile was the heart and soul of this family, which was torn out by this horrendous crime. Sharon Rocha was very articulate in talking about how Christmas, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, Easter will never be the same because of what this man did.

S. O'BRIEN: What was the jury's reaction?

JOHNSON: The jurors wept openly. Every one of the female jurors, as far as I could tell, had a wet tissue in their hands that they were using to try to wipe back the tears. Some of the men tried to hold it back. But eventually, they had tears in their eyes, too. I remember one of the male jurors repeatedly taking off his glasses, wiping away the tears. In the quiet moments, you could hear people in the courtroom and in the jury box sobbing openly. Today, Mark Geragos will try to defend his client's life.

Nice to see you, Dean, always. Thanks. We'll continue to check in with you -- Miles.

JOHNSON: Thank you, Soledad.

M. O'BRIEN: "Jeopardy" uber-champ Ken Jennings is no blockhead, that's for sure, but he did finally have a mental block, shall we say, last night. But who is Nancy Zerg? That's the answer. The question, contestant to unseat the all-time game show champion. Here is how the longest and richest and winningest winning streak in game show history ended.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX TREBEK, HOST, "JEOPARDY": The category is business and industry, and here is the clue, ladies and gentlemen: "Most of this firm's 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year." 30 seconds, good luck.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: All right, you can hum along with me if you like. While we wait, here's the numbers. Jennings had 74 consecutive wins, totaling more than $2.5 million. That's an average detail haul of $34,000, not bad at all. And during his run, Jennings came up with the correct question more than 2,700 times. Not this time.

Back to you, Alex.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Nancy, you wrote down your response rather quickly, I thought. I hope it's correct. Let's take a look.

NANCY ZERG: I hope so, too.

TREBEK: "What is H&R Block," right. Your wager 4,401, taking you up to $14,401. You have a 1 dollar lead over Ken Jennings right now. And his final response was? FedEx. His wager was 5,601.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: A gasp in the crowd. Jennings will be our guest tomorrow here on AMERICAN MORNING, and Soledad is set to grill him over what she says was an easy, easy question.

S. O'BRIEN: I just want to say, Ken, I could have gotten that question.

M. O'BRIEN: Easy for you to say, girl.

S. O'BRIEN: He got 2,700 consecutive answers right, 2,700, and he messes up on the FedEx, H&R Block question? Come on?

M. O'BRIEN: Maybe it was time for him to start working on his book or something.

S. O'BRIEN: You know what, maybe it was.

M. O'BRIEN: It's a reverse game show scandal.

S. O'BRIEN: He had enough -- 2.5 mil was enough.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, I'd quit.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: How can a trip to the dentist help you as you're trying to fight off bone disease? These are some of the many questions we have on our mind this morning, so we turn to Dr. Sanjay Gupta when we're stumped, and he always has good answers for us.

Hello, Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, thank you, Miles, for turning to me with these questions, this one about osteoporosis as it turns out.

Listen, interesting study actually coming out. You know, you go to the dentist office, you always get these dental X-rays. They're looking for something very specific. They're looking for problems with your teeth, for the most part.

Now, sometimes there's more information in those X-rays that might give doctors, or scientists in this case, a clue as to whether a woman is likely to develop osteoporosis, and that was exactly the point of a study now done; 316 women were looked at, post-menopausal women, looked at these panoramic X-rays, and what they found was the dental X-rays were comparably effective to other screening methods for those women at high risk for osteoporosis, and this is women who are post-menopausal.

This is an important issue, because the way to really diagnose osteoporosis is with a bone scan, but here's the problem, not all women are eligible for a bone scan. You can get it by Medicaid if you're over the age of 65, but if you're younger than that, and a lot who have osteoporosis are younger than that, can't get it unless the doctor specifically recommends it. Osteoporosis can have its peak sometimes, 51, 52 years of age, so it's really important to get this diagnosed early. Again, these dental X-rays, with the help of dentists, may be an early clue as to which women are going to develop it later in life -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, so what are the doctors on the lookout for? What is the screening process?

GUPTA: Well, you know, right now, the current screening process, besides the bone-scanner test which actually diagnoses osteoporosis, is just a simple questionnaire. These are the questions: have you had a what's called a fragility fracture, sort of a fracture that you didn't expect, family history of osteoporosis, significant height loss that's been over the past several years, or if you're taking steroid medications. Those are some of the things that they'll ask you to try to reason out whether or not you're at risk for osteoporosis -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: And of course calcium is part of the equation here, right?

GUPTA: Calcium is part of the equation. And you and I talked a lot about hormones, women taking hormones to try to ward off osteoporosis. Obviously, that's not recommended anymore. So, besides calcium, Vitamin D as well, quit smoking, weight-bearing exercises really important. The more you weight-bear, the more likely your bone is to hold together, and also resistance training. That's always good advice. But again, these dental X-rays may be an early clue as to who's going to develop osteoporosis later in life.

M. O'BRIEN: Sanjay Gupta, a man of many answers. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

GUPTA: Thanks, Miles. Take care.

S. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, the sugar industry not sweet on one of the president's new cabinet picks. Andy Serwer's got that ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us. [

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: President of the United States on terra firma, albeit icy terra firma. Halifax, Nova Scotia is the location. Kind of hard to see in there over the armored SUV, but Air Force One has safely touched down, well deiced, another safe flight. He's been greeted by dignitaries there in Halifax, surrounded by Secret Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He's off to give a speech on foreign policy, and to thank folks of Halifax, who brought in thousands of people, stranded in airliners on September 11th after they were diverted, allowed them to stay in their homes for days until the airspace open up in the United States. We'll be tracking that every step of the way -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks.

Business news now. What industry is worried about President Bush's pick to lead Commerce Department? With that and a check on Wall Street, Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business."

Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you, Soledad.

I'll give you a hint. It's sweet. It's the sweet industry. Let's talk about the market, first of all, starting the month of December off with a bang on Wall Street, up 77 points, a little snapback from yesterday's decline. The big news this week is going to be the jobs report on Friday for the month of November.

A couple stocks moving this morning. Hollywood Video is up about 4 percent. Blockbuster trying to buy them. That's No. 1 trying to buy No. 2, but some other bidders have entered the picture, so we've got ourselves an old-fashioned bidding war. Wendy's is up 6 percent this morning because they're closing some Baja Fresh Mexican restaurants that they own, not working out so well. Wall Street happy to see them go.

Let's talk about that story that you mentioned, Soledad, having to do with President Bush's nomination to be the new commerce secretary.

Carlos Gutierrez was the CEO of Kellogg. And while he was there, he lobbied against the sugar industry in the United States trying to open up the United States to bring in cheaper imported sugar from Australia, so that he could make his Fruit Loops a little less expensively, ergo, the sugar lobby in the United States taking a wait- and-see attitude, they're saying, with the new nominee, expressing some concern about his previous efforts.

S. O'BRIEN: All right. Andy, thanks.

SERWER: You're welcome.

M. O'BRIEN: Not all sweetness there, huh?

SERWER: Not at all.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, still to come, Tom Ridge headed out the door. What will he do? Endorse duct tape maybe? I don't know. There weren't any terror attacks on U.S. soil during his watch. Should he, can he take credit? That's ahead, on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Welcome back. Here's Jack, Question of the Day.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Miles.

The Question of the Day, is has the Department of Homeland Security under Tom Ridge been right? We haven't had attacks. Or just lucky?

Here are some of the responses: Jay in Livingston, Texas: "Tom Ridge is neither good, nor lucky. His department is just ignored. The terrorists have no reason to attack us on our soil, since we are feeding our young men and women to their killers a few at a time on the streets of Iraq. Their cause is on the world stage every day."

Rich in Rochester, "I don't think we can know. With few exceptions, we aren't privy to information about cells and plots uncovered prior to activation, and/or foiled prior to execution, nor is it entirely necessary that we be so informed."

And Joe in Pittsville (ph), Massachusetts: "Right or lucky? I'd say it's a combination of both. After all, this is the stuff that history is all about. To be right all the time is to be divine. To be lucky all the time is to be Irish."

Thank you for your e-mails.

M. O'BRIEN: I wish it were so.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, Really, don't we? Cafferty, O'Brien.

SERWER: Very popular over here.

S. O'BRIEN: That's true, we do wish it were so. Thanks, Jack.

Coming up on CNN, thanksgiving was last week. Today, though, the president giving thanks to the people of Halifax, Nova Scotia, a city that lent a big helping hand post 9/11. CNN LIVE TODAY will carry the president's speech in the next hour that's with Rick Sanchez and Daryn Kagan ahead. AMERICAN MORNING is back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Some great news to report. Chad Myers had his baby. Well, the wife had the baby. There he is. He looks like a six-month- old.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: They kind of do, don't they?

The baby was born last night, just a little bit after 7:00 p.m. Mommy, daddy and baby are all fine. Twenty-four hours of labor. Owie. The baby weighed in at seven pounds, 10 ounces, a little over 20 inches long. No name yet, though.

CAFFERTY: As soon as he found out who his dad was going to be, he didn't want to come out.

S. O'BRIEN: Hey, that's not nice.

(CROSSTALK)

S. O'BRIEN: So congratulations to Chad and his wife.

(CROSSTALK)

M. O'BRIEN: What do you think "Storm."

SERWER: "Stormy" has got to be the name.

S. O'BRIEN: "Stormy Meyers." We like it Chad.

SERWER: Stormy -- stormy, stormy weather.

S. O'BRIEN: That's the name we're going with.

M. O'BRIEN: That's our consensus.

S. O'BRIEN: We're out of time, you guys. We'll see you back here tomorrow.

Daryn Kagan, Rick Sanchez are at the CNN Center. They're going to take you through the next few hours. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com