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American Morning
'Gimme a Minute'; 'Paging Dr. Gupta'
Aired December 03, 2004 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. Just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. Bill Hemmer 's got the day off, Miles O'Brien is helping us out. Appreciate it, and I have appreciated it all week.
In this half hour, we're going to take a look at the calls for Kofi Annan to resign. We'll see if we can get some answers as to why he's being targeted. Hardliners in the Republican Party might be doing the president's work. We'll examine that.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Also, Jason Giambi reportedly told a grand jury that he took steroids and a human growth hormone. Four years ago, he was the American League MVP, last year, he was such a wreck he hardly played. We'll ask Dr. Sanjay Gupta why athletes take steroids, what they do, and about those dreaded side effects, from the dangerous to the embarrassing.
S. O'BRIEN: Before that, though, let's get right to the headlines. Carol Costello up here with us. Hello.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, a bit of news just in to CNN: the Labor Department releasing jobless report -- the jobless report. 112,000 new jobs created in the month of November, that drops the unemployment rate to 5.4 percent. Andy Serwer, of course, will have more on this later on AMERICAN MORNING.
Also in the news, CNN has just learned President Bush will make an official cabinet announcement in the next hour. The president will announce he has -- that he has tapped Bernard Kerik to be the next Homeland Security Secretary. Kerik was the commissioner of the NYPD during the September 11th terror attacks and helped train new Iraqi police forces overseas last year. CNN will have live coverage of President Bush's announcement at 9:50 a.m. Eastern.
Turning overseas, now to Iraq. More than a dozen people have been killed in a series of attacks. Just six hours ago, a car bomb ripped through a mosque in Baghdad, killing at least 14 people, including the attackers. Nearby, insurgents launch mortars at a police station, killing at least 11 Iraqis. No word yet on who is responsible.
Back here in the states, former NBA star Jayson Williams is heading back to court. Williams now facing a re-trial in connection with a shooting death of a limousine driver in his New Jersey home. A judge yesterday denied a defense request to dismiss the reckless manslaughter charge against him, but barred prosecutors from mentioning Williams' attempted cover-up of the shooting. Jury selection is set to begin on March 7th.
And in health news this morning, half of all Americans are reportedly taking at least one prescription drug. A new government report says just over 44 percent of Americans are taking medication and one in six are taking at least three. Those rates way up from 1994. We're a medicated nation.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, no question about that. All right, Carol, thanks.
Each time at Friday, we try to give the week's big stories the once over in a segment that we like to call "Gimme A Minute." Well, joining us this morning from Watertown, Massachusetts, Democratic consultant, Doug. Hattaway. From Washington D.C., a Republican consultant, Tara Setmayer. Nice to see you this morning. And from Los Angeles, Mike Gibbons with "The Late Late Show." Good morning, nice see you.
MIKE GIBBONS, "LATE LATE SHOW": Good morning.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's get right to it. Doug, we're going to start with you this morning. Some good news for Kofi Annan, I guess. President Bush is not calling for his resignation. At the same time, he's not quite supporting him, either. What do you think's going on here?
DOUG HATTAWAY, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: Well, Republicans are saying Annan should step down over allegations that there were corruption in the Iraq oil-for-food program on his watch. By the same logic, they should be calling on Bush to resign because on his watch, Dick Cheney and Halliburton up to their eyeballs in corruption allegation over $6 billion in no bid contracts for reconstruction in Iraq. This has nothing to do with corruption, they're just attacking somebody who disagreed with them over invading Iraq.
S. O'BRIEN: Is it just an attack, Tara?
TARA SETMAYER, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: You've got to be kidding me, Doug. First of all, the vice president was not at the helm of Halliburton during these issues, and please put Halliburton to rest.
Kofi Annan, on the other hand, under his watch, over $20 billion in corruption scandals during the Saddam Hussein regime took place under his watch. I mean, would we allow Ken Lay to head the -- lead the investigation into the collapse of Enron? I don't think so.
And the president is being politically smart with this in allowing his surrogates to handle it because we have to be diplomatic, we have to be delicate with our relationship with Europe. So, Kofi Annan needs to resign and it's very obvious.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, Mike, do you think that delicacy is a good thing?
GIBBONS: Well, Bush is very sly. I think soon we're going to see swift boat ads against Kofi. And I also -- if Bush really wants him to resign, he should just appoint him to his cabinet. I think that would get it done.
S. O'BRIEN: It's kind of going that way, isn't it? All right, let's turn to our next question. The Florida election. Supervisors there are proposing a sort of a two week window for elections, as opposed to just election day. Tara, you're from Florida, right, what do you think of this?
SETMAYER: Well, yes, as a registered voter in Florida, I think that's a great idea. Any time you have an opportunity to give the American people more opportunity, expand their chances to vote and exercise their most fundamental right, I think is a positive one. And at the same time, it also will give Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton and the rest of the race baiters to cry the racial sky is falling for a few more extra days and embarrass themselves so we can all get a chuckle out of it.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, you calling Jesse a race baiter? All right, let's go on. Doug, what do you think?
HATTAWAY: Well, I'm from Tallahassee originally, I think it's scary that we're going to give Florida election supervisors two whole weeks to screw up, myself. Nobody knows how the elections went in November because millions of people voted on machines that didn't even give you a paper ballot to show your vote was counted. But I think this is going to be a moot point because Jeb Bush is the governor of Florida and the word is, he's going to outsource all the voting to Halliburton, anyway.
S. O'BRIEN: The Halliburton name coming up again. Mike, what do you think?
GIBBONS: Floridians love to do things early. The average dinnertime, I think is about 3:00 p.m. in Florida. So this will work out great. Oh, there you go.
S. O'BRIEN: That's the final word on that topic. Let's talk about this new report coming from Henry Waxman, the Republican congressman. Says that federally funded abstinence programs have all kinds of misinformation. Doug, what do you think of this?
HATTAWAY: I think abstinence education is an oxymoron brought to you by the same people who call creationism a science. It's a government boon dog -- they're spending $900 million trying to teach teenagers not to have sex. Any parent can tell you, if you preach to kids, tell them not to do something, it's going to have the opposite effect.
S. O'BRIEN: Tara, are you surprised that Waxman's coming out on this?
SETMAYER: No. I mean, Henry Waxman is an opportunist, he always has an agenda. I mean, most elected officials do. But he's pro- abortion, he's pro-contraception for teens in schools, so...
S. O'BRIEN: I think he's pro-choice, I don't think he's pro- abortion, right? SETMAYER: Well, you know, we can argue over labels. In my opinion, he's pro-abortion. So, you know, abstinence programs are a positive thing, they're a good thing. And just because we think they're going to do it, we know they're going to do it, doesn't excuse the fact we should teach our children to wait. Abstinence programs have been successful.
S. O'BRIEN: But even if the information is wrong? Some of the stuff that's coming out, for example, half the gay male teenagers in the U.S. have tested positive for AIDS. That's some of the information in this literature. Touching a person's genitals can result in pregnancy. That's in this literature. That stuff's just wrong, right?
SETMAYER: Well, I've got a -- 65 curricula out of thousands. I mean, if that's the case, it needs to be examined further. But you know, we can say that about a lot of government funded programs.
S. O'BRIEN: Mike, what's your take on this?
GIBBONS: At this point, students should abstain from having sex with their teachers. I think that would be a victory. And listen, if there's one thing we've learned, abstinence only works with married people. My experience.
S. O'BRIEN: I have no comment on that. We're going to get right to the under-covered story of the week, you guys. Let's start with you, Tara. What do you think we missed?
SETMAYER: Well, I think that we need to focus a little more on the International Red Cross and the fact that they they've come out again against the United States. This is an organization that was supposed to be neutral and they've clearly been relegated to just you're regular NGO, like the Amnesty International. I think it's shame. They've -- our American Red Cross has already withheld 25 percent of their dues because of anti-semitic attitudes towards the International Red Cross and Israel.
So, we need to really call them out and call their bluff and recognize who's the enemy here. They were silent during Saddam Hussein atrocities and others across around the world, but yet they choose to vilify the U.S. So with $200 million in tax -- American tax dollars that go towards that organization ought to be reconsidered.
S. O'BRIEN: Doug, as fast as you can, what flew under the radar?
HATTAWAY: A story I read in Reuter newspapers about the congressman most likely to be indicted, of course that's Tom DeLay. Got $100,000 donation from a private company that runs prisons. If there's any justice in the world, he'll be sitting in a prison run by one of his benefactors.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, we've got a long way to go before you get to that, we should say. And finally, Mike, want to have a final word for us this morning? GIBBONS: Well, this woman's sex patch has been delayed, apparently needs more research, I guess. It's this -- the patch is this small plastic card. In Los Angeles, it's called a credit card, gets all the young ladies going.
S. O'BRIEN: That is the final word for us this morning. Thanks you guys, as always. Have a great weekend, OK?
GIBBONS: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: With the Christmas spirit in hearts and minds at home, President Bush urged Americans to remember troops abroad this holiday season. Mr. Bush spoke at the lighting of the National Christmas Tree yesterday in Washington. There it goes. A flip of a switch, First Lady Bush Laura Bush, two young Brownie troop members who had sent some things to the folks in the Middle East, lit some 15,000 colored lights on the 40-foot blue spruce.
We hope everything about that tree is safe. Which leads us to our next segment. It's time -- as a matter fact, it's tree trimming day at the O'Brien house a little later today, if I can stay awake. In any case, that's what we'll be doing and we want to do it safe. And so we brought in an expert to help me and thus the rest of you do just that. Kim Kleman is with "Consumer Reports," good to have you with us.
KIM KLEMAN, MANAGING EDITOR, "CONSUMER REPORTS": Thanks for having me.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, let's talk -- we'll start at the end, here, and walk our way down. Outdoor lights are particularly important to worry about, I think, because they're out there in the elements, of course. You want to make sure the strands are good and importantly, that they're plugged into the right kind of receptacle.
KLEMAN: Absolutely. You're going to look for a ground fault circuit interrupter. That's what this is. It prevents against electric shocks. A certified electrician should plug this in. Before you even worry about this and you're considering buying lights, make sure it has a certification seal. That means the lights have been safety tested.
You want to make sure that outdoor lights are good for outdoor use, obviously. When you string them up, you're not going to use a plain tack or a nail or anything that's going to pierce the insulation. You're going to want insulated wire staples or better yet, just hooks that you can use year after year. These are the staples.
M. O'BRIEN: And you can find those at any home improvement store, Home Depot or whatever, but what's key is that there's not metal that is coming in contact with the wire, of course.
KLEMAN: Absolutely. M. O'BRIEN: Now, some other things. When you start hanging stuff on the tree inside, there's a lot of things you can hang in harm's way for young children. And you've got to watch out for that.
KLEMAN: Absolutely.
M. O'BRIEN: Let's start with what's on the end, here?
KLEMAN: OK, you've got little Christmas balls that entice kids, they stick them in their mouths and they can choke. You want to make sure that if you have young kids, you never use things that look like candy. I want to eat these because they're so life-like. Same thing with something like this, a gum drop Christmas ornament.
M. O'BRIEN: OK, so just to be clear, 'cause folks -- take it slowly so we can get a shot of these things -- that looks like gum drops. I was tempted to have one just now, as a matter of fact. And it would have been a bad thing, I would have broken a molar. But for a child, that would be a particularly difficult thing, because they can look at that and say that's candy, of course. Same with the candy canes, which as it turns out, are plastic. When you see these in the stores, they don't have warnings.
KLEMAN: Right. They don't have warnings. Just avoid them if you have young children. Another thing to consider when you have toddlers, or even a puppy, let's say, is start decorating the tree about halfway up, then can't reach and put anything in their mouth that they're not supposed to.
M. O'BRIEN: So just leave the rest blank -- the lower part blank.
KLEMAN: Leave the rest blank.
M. O'BRIEN: OK, now, what about tinsel?
KLEMAN: Make sure that the tinsel, if you're going to use it, is plastic and that it doesn't contain any lead, because, again, kids could put in their mouths and get lead poisoning.
M. O'BRIEN: They actually put lead on tinsel still? Isn't that amazing. So, how would you know about that? Is there something on the box that would tell you that?
KLEMAN: Yes. There would be a tag that said it's all plastic.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, the other thing that we battle every year in our house is finding the perfect way to keep the tree from -- you know, all those needles falling off and thus presenting quite a fire hazard. What's your tip on that?
KLEMAN: First of all, look for a fresh tree. When you're in the tree area, when you're buying it, make sure that these needles don't come off. Tap the tree. If the needles fall down, avoid that one. So you find a fresh tree, you bring it home and you don't put it near a fireplace or near your space heater or near your radiator. And you also have to remember to water it every day. You get lazy after the first couple of days -- a lot of people do.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, Kim Kleman. One final thought. When you leave home or go to sleep, turn off the darn lights, right?
KLEMAN: Absolutely.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Thanks for dropping by. Kim Kleman's with "Consumer Reports," good advice. Hope you're listening everywhere and at home, Sandy -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: You're not going to make her do it by herself, right?
M. O'BRIEN: No, no, I'm going to help. I promise.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Still to come, the latest job numbers came out a few moments ago. Andy will give us a full break down of what they mean.
S. O'BRIEN: Also, a new report says Barry Bonds apparently used steroids. If it is true, the price he could pay is high, from infertility to tumors. Dr. Sanjay Gupta outlines all the risks, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: We're "Paging Dr. Gupta" this morning about the dangers of steroids and human growth hormone. There are reports that baseball slugger Barry Bonds used steroids and Jason Giambi has admitted using both and it's focusing new attention on the damage that performance-enhancing drugs can actually do. Sanjay's at the CNN Center this morning with much more. Good morning, Sanjay.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. Getting a lot of information, obviously, about athletes and steroids. People obviously look to the obvious effects of these steroids, the short-term effects, if you will, as well. Increasing muscle mass, for example. That's going to be something that people use steroids for, especially athletes. Also decreasing recovery time from a workout because of less tissue stress. But you also get things like increased aggression, psychological disorders.
Then there's things that are sort of more subtle side-effects, more long-term side effects as well. Prominent breasts, for example, baldness, acne, a higher voice. And then in the longer term, infertility, problems with liver abnormalities, tumors, even heart problems, as well. Again, Soledad, we're starting to see some long- term data now from people that have used steroids for a long-term. And certainly in the short run, you do get things like increased muscle mass. But, in the long-term, prices to pay for that, Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, let's ask a couple questions, then. Can you tell just by looking or examining somebody that they're actually using steroids or do you have to use very sensitive drug tests? GUPTA: Well, it's not always entirely clear. You know, one thing that I sort of noticed following these stories over the past couple of months now, sometimes it's hard to tell to tell when someone starts using steroids, sometimes a little bit easier to tell when they stop. Suddenly see a decrease -- significant decrease in muscle mass, for example.
But the increase in muscle mass is what you look for. You don't always see the increase in performance as much as you see the increase in muscle mass right away. But then again, the baldness, the acne, the psychological aggressive behavioral changes, things like that are what look for, Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Does it necessarily always make a big difference in the performance, which is what it would be used for in the first place, right away? Is it something needs to happen over time and does it taper off if it does happen?
GUPTA: That's an excellent point. And you know, when you look at athletes, especially professional athletes, two things are really going determine performance. One is muscle mass. Two is how quick do the nerves activate those muscles, in terms of speed. Steroids are going to certainly improve your muscle mass, maybe make you a little bit stronger, but they're not going to do anything probably for your speed.
Also, if you give these medications to a healthy person, to a person who doesn't have a deficiency, you may see some small gradations of improvement in performance. Now, in professional athletes, those small gradations are really important. But it's not going to be an overwhelming, usually, change, overall performance, Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: It'll be interesting to see what these guys -- everyone who's using steroids is going to look like when they're 60, 70, 80 years old, if they make it that far.
GUPTA: Exactly. Sanjay, thanks a lot. Appreciate it.
Coming up, on "WEEKEND HOUSE CALL," 'tis the season for parties and holiday harmony, right? Well, for many folks, the season actually brings holiday stress and colds and flu and for some people, depression. Sanjay's got tips to survive it all, that's 8:30 a.m. Eastern tomorrow and Sunday.
Still to come this morning, we're going to lighten things up a little bit with "The Cafferty File," we'll find out why Hugh Grant said he looks like Julie Andrews on heroin. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.
CAFFERTY: There are no greeting cards to tell workers news like this from a greeting card company, plus a closer look at the jobs report, which missed the mark a bit. Andy Serwer's here, "Minding Your Business," good morning. ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE": Good morning, Jack. Yes, the jobs report for November came out at 8:30 and I think the only way to describe it is disappointing. Weakish. You can see here, we did add 112,000 jobs, but economists were looking for 200,000. So almost half. The unemployment rate did dip from 5.5 to 5.4, so that's the good news.
The other thing about that 112 number that's important to know is that you really need to add 150,000 jobs a month, economists think, to keep up with population growth. So not good news, there. Futures slipping on the news, Jack. And the other thing to point out is the service sector is the real driver here. Basically all the jobs were in that area, manufacturing continue to decline, as well.
CAFFERTY: Now, it's Christmas time. And this company that makes Christmas cards is being a little Scroogistic.
SERWER: Yes, I mean, is the irony...
CAFFERTY: Is that a word?
S. O'BRIEN: It is now.
SERWER: Scroogism. Positively Scroogealistic. Absolutely. Listen, I don't know what they're thinking out there in Cleveland at American Greetings. Do they know that they make Christmas cards and it's going to be the time of year? Because American Greetings is laying off 300 workers. Nearly 175 -- they're the cards coming off the line. 175 of them in the Cleveland area. And you'd think the timing, you're going to sneak this in January...
CAFFERTY: Yes, or do it in October. But I mean, you wait 'til the first week of December?
SERWER: When people like us will talk about it?
CAFFERTY: Buy your stuff from Hallmark. Boycott American Greetings.
SERWER: Oh, I'll get in trouble with these card companies. Remember, I'm always in trouble with these card companies.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: Wait a minute. Is American Greetings a sponsor? I retract that last statement.
SERWER: I resemble that remark.
CAFFERTY: Yes. All right. Thanks, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
CAFFERTY: Nick Nolte -- time for "The Cafferty File" -- Nick Nolte's being sued by the family of a 15-year-old girl because they say he allowed her to be raped in his Malibu home. The suit claims that a man named Nicholas Woodring gave the girl a date rape drug in January of last year. He was convicted of that rape in March. The suit, though, claims that Nolte "regularly threw parties in which minor children were supplied with drugs or alcohol." Gee, do you really think there could be drugs or alcohol around where this guy hangs out? I find that shocking.
M. O'BRIEN: Any excuse to use that mug shot.
CAFFERTY: More wisdom for living, courtesy of the Golden State. California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said Monday schools should be banned from telling parents if their kids take the day off to participate in the following health-related activities: abortions, plastic surgeries and/or any "confidential medical treatments." Kids should apparently be able to do this, their parents should never be told.
So think about that for a minute. Confidential medical treatments. That means in the morning, Johnny could go to school and come home as Joanie in the afternoon. Well, maybe that's a little extreme? I mean, what are they thinking out there? My kid's going to get an abortion and nobody's going to tell me about it? Or get plastic surgery?
S. O'BRIEN: Well, how 'bout the plastic surgery part. Where did you get those breasts, honey?
CAFFERTY: Yes. And you're only in the second grade, go back and have them taken out.
Hugh Grant is not happy with his likeness at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in London. He says the statue of him is so bad that "they ought to put it in that figure in the Chamber of Horrors, alongside all the mass murderers." Hugh Grant says he looks, "like Julie Andrews on heroin."
SERWER: That's just what I was thinking.
CAFFERTY: Now, that's Julie Andrews off heroin in that picture. I've never seen Julie Andrews on heroin, but looking at Hugh Grant, one could imagine that it would not be pretty.
M. O'BRIEN: She looks like Nick Nolte, when she's on heroin.
CAFFERTY: What is with these guys? My statue looks like...
SERWER: Well, Hugh looks at himself in the mirror a fair amount.
S. O'BRIEN: He said he's retiring from acting so maybe we won't hear from him much anymore.
CAFFERTY: Yes. I wonder, is he still running around with that...
SERWER: The woman out in L.A.?
CAFFERTY: What was her name? S. O'BRIEN: No, no, no, no, he's dating...
SERWER: Elizabeth Hurley. He was, he's no longer...
CAFFERTY: No, no, no, no. Not Elizabeth Hurley. The one who charged him $20. What was her name?
SERWER: What were you thinking? That one?
M. O'BRIEN: That would not be Elizabeth Hurley.
S. O'BRIEN: I think it's time for a short break. We'll back in a moment. Thanks, guys, for making that segue easy.
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Aired December 3, 2004 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. Just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. Bill Hemmer 's got the day off, Miles O'Brien is helping us out. Appreciate it, and I have appreciated it all week.
In this half hour, we're going to take a look at the calls for Kofi Annan to resign. We'll see if we can get some answers as to why he's being targeted. Hardliners in the Republican Party might be doing the president's work. We'll examine that.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Also, Jason Giambi reportedly told a grand jury that he took steroids and a human growth hormone. Four years ago, he was the American League MVP, last year, he was such a wreck he hardly played. We'll ask Dr. Sanjay Gupta why athletes take steroids, what they do, and about those dreaded side effects, from the dangerous to the embarrassing.
S. O'BRIEN: Before that, though, let's get right to the headlines. Carol Costello up here with us. Hello.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, a bit of news just in to CNN: the Labor Department releasing jobless report -- the jobless report. 112,000 new jobs created in the month of November, that drops the unemployment rate to 5.4 percent. Andy Serwer, of course, will have more on this later on AMERICAN MORNING.
Also in the news, CNN has just learned President Bush will make an official cabinet announcement in the next hour. The president will announce he has -- that he has tapped Bernard Kerik to be the next Homeland Security Secretary. Kerik was the commissioner of the NYPD during the September 11th terror attacks and helped train new Iraqi police forces overseas last year. CNN will have live coverage of President Bush's announcement at 9:50 a.m. Eastern.
Turning overseas, now to Iraq. More than a dozen people have been killed in a series of attacks. Just six hours ago, a car bomb ripped through a mosque in Baghdad, killing at least 14 people, including the attackers. Nearby, insurgents launch mortars at a police station, killing at least 11 Iraqis. No word yet on who is responsible.
Back here in the states, former NBA star Jayson Williams is heading back to court. Williams now facing a re-trial in connection with a shooting death of a limousine driver in his New Jersey home. A judge yesterday denied a defense request to dismiss the reckless manslaughter charge against him, but barred prosecutors from mentioning Williams' attempted cover-up of the shooting. Jury selection is set to begin on March 7th.
And in health news this morning, half of all Americans are reportedly taking at least one prescription drug. A new government report says just over 44 percent of Americans are taking medication and one in six are taking at least three. Those rates way up from 1994. We're a medicated nation.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, no question about that. All right, Carol, thanks.
Each time at Friday, we try to give the week's big stories the once over in a segment that we like to call "Gimme A Minute." Well, joining us this morning from Watertown, Massachusetts, Democratic consultant, Doug. Hattaway. From Washington D.C., a Republican consultant, Tara Setmayer. Nice to see you this morning. And from Los Angeles, Mike Gibbons with "The Late Late Show." Good morning, nice see you.
MIKE GIBBONS, "LATE LATE SHOW": Good morning.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's get right to it. Doug, we're going to start with you this morning. Some good news for Kofi Annan, I guess. President Bush is not calling for his resignation. At the same time, he's not quite supporting him, either. What do you think's going on here?
DOUG HATTAWAY, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: Well, Republicans are saying Annan should step down over allegations that there were corruption in the Iraq oil-for-food program on his watch. By the same logic, they should be calling on Bush to resign because on his watch, Dick Cheney and Halliburton up to their eyeballs in corruption allegation over $6 billion in no bid contracts for reconstruction in Iraq. This has nothing to do with corruption, they're just attacking somebody who disagreed with them over invading Iraq.
S. O'BRIEN: Is it just an attack, Tara?
TARA SETMAYER, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: You've got to be kidding me, Doug. First of all, the vice president was not at the helm of Halliburton during these issues, and please put Halliburton to rest.
Kofi Annan, on the other hand, under his watch, over $20 billion in corruption scandals during the Saddam Hussein regime took place under his watch. I mean, would we allow Ken Lay to head the -- lead the investigation into the collapse of Enron? I don't think so.
And the president is being politically smart with this in allowing his surrogates to handle it because we have to be diplomatic, we have to be delicate with our relationship with Europe. So, Kofi Annan needs to resign and it's very obvious.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, Mike, do you think that delicacy is a good thing?
GIBBONS: Well, Bush is very sly. I think soon we're going to see swift boat ads against Kofi. And I also -- if Bush really wants him to resign, he should just appoint him to his cabinet. I think that would get it done.
S. O'BRIEN: It's kind of going that way, isn't it? All right, let's turn to our next question. The Florida election. Supervisors there are proposing a sort of a two week window for elections, as opposed to just election day. Tara, you're from Florida, right, what do you think of this?
SETMAYER: Well, yes, as a registered voter in Florida, I think that's a great idea. Any time you have an opportunity to give the American people more opportunity, expand their chances to vote and exercise their most fundamental right, I think is a positive one. And at the same time, it also will give Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton and the rest of the race baiters to cry the racial sky is falling for a few more extra days and embarrass themselves so we can all get a chuckle out of it.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, you calling Jesse a race baiter? All right, let's go on. Doug, what do you think?
HATTAWAY: Well, I'm from Tallahassee originally, I think it's scary that we're going to give Florida election supervisors two whole weeks to screw up, myself. Nobody knows how the elections went in November because millions of people voted on machines that didn't even give you a paper ballot to show your vote was counted. But I think this is going to be a moot point because Jeb Bush is the governor of Florida and the word is, he's going to outsource all the voting to Halliburton, anyway.
S. O'BRIEN: The Halliburton name coming up again. Mike, what do you think?
GIBBONS: Floridians love to do things early. The average dinnertime, I think is about 3:00 p.m. in Florida. So this will work out great. Oh, there you go.
S. O'BRIEN: That's the final word on that topic. Let's talk about this new report coming from Henry Waxman, the Republican congressman. Says that federally funded abstinence programs have all kinds of misinformation. Doug, what do you think of this?
HATTAWAY: I think abstinence education is an oxymoron brought to you by the same people who call creationism a science. It's a government boon dog -- they're spending $900 million trying to teach teenagers not to have sex. Any parent can tell you, if you preach to kids, tell them not to do something, it's going to have the opposite effect.
S. O'BRIEN: Tara, are you surprised that Waxman's coming out on this?
SETMAYER: No. I mean, Henry Waxman is an opportunist, he always has an agenda. I mean, most elected officials do. But he's pro- abortion, he's pro-contraception for teens in schools, so...
S. O'BRIEN: I think he's pro-choice, I don't think he's pro- abortion, right? SETMAYER: Well, you know, we can argue over labels. In my opinion, he's pro-abortion. So, you know, abstinence programs are a positive thing, they're a good thing. And just because we think they're going to do it, we know they're going to do it, doesn't excuse the fact we should teach our children to wait. Abstinence programs have been successful.
S. O'BRIEN: But even if the information is wrong? Some of the stuff that's coming out, for example, half the gay male teenagers in the U.S. have tested positive for AIDS. That's some of the information in this literature. Touching a person's genitals can result in pregnancy. That's in this literature. That stuff's just wrong, right?
SETMAYER: Well, I've got a -- 65 curricula out of thousands. I mean, if that's the case, it needs to be examined further. But you know, we can say that about a lot of government funded programs.
S. O'BRIEN: Mike, what's your take on this?
GIBBONS: At this point, students should abstain from having sex with their teachers. I think that would be a victory. And listen, if there's one thing we've learned, abstinence only works with married people. My experience.
S. O'BRIEN: I have no comment on that. We're going to get right to the under-covered story of the week, you guys. Let's start with you, Tara. What do you think we missed?
SETMAYER: Well, I think that we need to focus a little more on the International Red Cross and the fact that they they've come out again against the United States. This is an organization that was supposed to be neutral and they've clearly been relegated to just you're regular NGO, like the Amnesty International. I think it's shame. They've -- our American Red Cross has already withheld 25 percent of their dues because of anti-semitic attitudes towards the International Red Cross and Israel.
So, we need to really call them out and call their bluff and recognize who's the enemy here. They were silent during Saddam Hussein atrocities and others across around the world, but yet they choose to vilify the U.S. So with $200 million in tax -- American tax dollars that go towards that organization ought to be reconsidered.
S. O'BRIEN: Doug, as fast as you can, what flew under the radar?
HATTAWAY: A story I read in Reuter newspapers about the congressman most likely to be indicted, of course that's Tom DeLay. Got $100,000 donation from a private company that runs prisons. If there's any justice in the world, he'll be sitting in a prison run by one of his benefactors.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, we've got a long way to go before you get to that, we should say. And finally, Mike, want to have a final word for us this morning? GIBBONS: Well, this woman's sex patch has been delayed, apparently needs more research, I guess. It's this -- the patch is this small plastic card. In Los Angeles, it's called a credit card, gets all the young ladies going.
S. O'BRIEN: That is the final word for us this morning. Thanks you guys, as always. Have a great weekend, OK?
GIBBONS: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: With the Christmas spirit in hearts and minds at home, President Bush urged Americans to remember troops abroad this holiday season. Mr. Bush spoke at the lighting of the National Christmas Tree yesterday in Washington. There it goes. A flip of a switch, First Lady Bush Laura Bush, two young Brownie troop members who had sent some things to the folks in the Middle East, lit some 15,000 colored lights on the 40-foot blue spruce.
We hope everything about that tree is safe. Which leads us to our next segment. It's time -- as a matter fact, it's tree trimming day at the O'Brien house a little later today, if I can stay awake. In any case, that's what we'll be doing and we want to do it safe. And so we brought in an expert to help me and thus the rest of you do just that. Kim Kleman is with "Consumer Reports," good to have you with us.
KIM KLEMAN, MANAGING EDITOR, "CONSUMER REPORTS": Thanks for having me.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, let's talk -- we'll start at the end, here, and walk our way down. Outdoor lights are particularly important to worry about, I think, because they're out there in the elements, of course. You want to make sure the strands are good and importantly, that they're plugged into the right kind of receptacle.
KLEMAN: Absolutely. You're going to look for a ground fault circuit interrupter. That's what this is. It prevents against electric shocks. A certified electrician should plug this in. Before you even worry about this and you're considering buying lights, make sure it has a certification seal. That means the lights have been safety tested.
You want to make sure that outdoor lights are good for outdoor use, obviously. When you string them up, you're not going to use a plain tack or a nail or anything that's going to pierce the insulation. You're going to want insulated wire staples or better yet, just hooks that you can use year after year. These are the staples.
M. O'BRIEN: And you can find those at any home improvement store, Home Depot or whatever, but what's key is that there's not metal that is coming in contact with the wire, of course.
KLEMAN: Absolutely. M. O'BRIEN: Now, some other things. When you start hanging stuff on the tree inside, there's a lot of things you can hang in harm's way for young children. And you've got to watch out for that.
KLEMAN: Absolutely.
M. O'BRIEN: Let's start with what's on the end, here?
KLEMAN: OK, you've got little Christmas balls that entice kids, they stick them in their mouths and they can choke. You want to make sure that if you have young kids, you never use things that look like candy. I want to eat these because they're so life-like. Same thing with something like this, a gum drop Christmas ornament.
M. O'BRIEN: OK, so just to be clear, 'cause folks -- take it slowly so we can get a shot of these things -- that looks like gum drops. I was tempted to have one just now, as a matter of fact. And it would have been a bad thing, I would have broken a molar. But for a child, that would be a particularly difficult thing, because they can look at that and say that's candy, of course. Same with the candy canes, which as it turns out, are plastic. When you see these in the stores, they don't have warnings.
KLEMAN: Right. They don't have warnings. Just avoid them if you have young children. Another thing to consider when you have toddlers, or even a puppy, let's say, is start decorating the tree about halfway up, then can't reach and put anything in their mouth that they're not supposed to.
M. O'BRIEN: So just leave the rest blank -- the lower part blank.
KLEMAN: Leave the rest blank.
M. O'BRIEN: OK, now, what about tinsel?
KLEMAN: Make sure that the tinsel, if you're going to use it, is plastic and that it doesn't contain any lead, because, again, kids could put in their mouths and get lead poisoning.
M. O'BRIEN: They actually put lead on tinsel still? Isn't that amazing. So, how would you know about that? Is there something on the box that would tell you that?
KLEMAN: Yes. There would be a tag that said it's all plastic.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, the other thing that we battle every year in our house is finding the perfect way to keep the tree from -- you know, all those needles falling off and thus presenting quite a fire hazard. What's your tip on that?
KLEMAN: First of all, look for a fresh tree. When you're in the tree area, when you're buying it, make sure that these needles don't come off. Tap the tree. If the needles fall down, avoid that one. So you find a fresh tree, you bring it home and you don't put it near a fireplace or near your space heater or near your radiator. And you also have to remember to water it every day. You get lazy after the first couple of days -- a lot of people do.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, Kim Kleman. One final thought. When you leave home or go to sleep, turn off the darn lights, right?
KLEMAN: Absolutely.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Thanks for dropping by. Kim Kleman's with "Consumer Reports," good advice. Hope you're listening everywhere and at home, Sandy -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: You're not going to make her do it by herself, right?
M. O'BRIEN: No, no, I'm going to help. I promise.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Still to come, the latest job numbers came out a few moments ago. Andy will give us a full break down of what they mean.
S. O'BRIEN: Also, a new report says Barry Bonds apparently used steroids. If it is true, the price he could pay is high, from infertility to tumors. Dr. Sanjay Gupta outlines all the risks, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: We're "Paging Dr. Gupta" this morning about the dangers of steroids and human growth hormone. There are reports that baseball slugger Barry Bonds used steroids and Jason Giambi has admitted using both and it's focusing new attention on the damage that performance-enhancing drugs can actually do. Sanjay's at the CNN Center this morning with much more. Good morning, Sanjay.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. Getting a lot of information, obviously, about athletes and steroids. People obviously look to the obvious effects of these steroids, the short-term effects, if you will, as well. Increasing muscle mass, for example. That's going to be something that people use steroids for, especially athletes. Also decreasing recovery time from a workout because of less tissue stress. But you also get things like increased aggression, psychological disorders.
Then there's things that are sort of more subtle side-effects, more long-term side effects as well. Prominent breasts, for example, baldness, acne, a higher voice. And then in the longer term, infertility, problems with liver abnormalities, tumors, even heart problems, as well. Again, Soledad, we're starting to see some long- term data now from people that have used steroids for a long-term. And certainly in the short run, you do get things like increased muscle mass. But, in the long-term, prices to pay for that, Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, let's ask a couple questions, then. Can you tell just by looking or examining somebody that they're actually using steroids or do you have to use very sensitive drug tests? GUPTA: Well, it's not always entirely clear. You know, one thing that I sort of noticed following these stories over the past couple of months now, sometimes it's hard to tell to tell when someone starts using steroids, sometimes a little bit easier to tell when they stop. Suddenly see a decrease -- significant decrease in muscle mass, for example.
But the increase in muscle mass is what you look for. You don't always see the increase in performance as much as you see the increase in muscle mass right away. But then again, the baldness, the acne, the psychological aggressive behavioral changes, things like that are what look for, Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Does it necessarily always make a big difference in the performance, which is what it would be used for in the first place, right away? Is it something needs to happen over time and does it taper off if it does happen?
GUPTA: That's an excellent point. And you know, when you look at athletes, especially professional athletes, two things are really going determine performance. One is muscle mass. Two is how quick do the nerves activate those muscles, in terms of speed. Steroids are going to certainly improve your muscle mass, maybe make you a little bit stronger, but they're not going to do anything probably for your speed.
Also, if you give these medications to a healthy person, to a person who doesn't have a deficiency, you may see some small gradations of improvement in performance. Now, in professional athletes, those small gradations are really important. But it's not going to be an overwhelming, usually, change, overall performance, Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: It'll be interesting to see what these guys -- everyone who's using steroids is going to look like when they're 60, 70, 80 years old, if they make it that far.
GUPTA: Exactly. Sanjay, thanks a lot. Appreciate it.
Coming up, on "WEEKEND HOUSE CALL," 'tis the season for parties and holiday harmony, right? Well, for many folks, the season actually brings holiday stress and colds and flu and for some people, depression. Sanjay's got tips to survive it all, that's 8:30 a.m. Eastern tomorrow and Sunday.
Still to come this morning, we're going to lighten things up a little bit with "The Cafferty File," we'll find out why Hugh Grant said he looks like Julie Andrews on heroin. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.
CAFFERTY: There are no greeting cards to tell workers news like this from a greeting card company, plus a closer look at the jobs report, which missed the mark a bit. Andy Serwer's here, "Minding Your Business," good morning. ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE": Good morning, Jack. Yes, the jobs report for November came out at 8:30 and I think the only way to describe it is disappointing. Weakish. You can see here, we did add 112,000 jobs, but economists were looking for 200,000. So almost half. The unemployment rate did dip from 5.5 to 5.4, so that's the good news.
The other thing about that 112 number that's important to know is that you really need to add 150,000 jobs a month, economists think, to keep up with population growth. So not good news, there. Futures slipping on the news, Jack. And the other thing to point out is the service sector is the real driver here. Basically all the jobs were in that area, manufacturing continue to decline, as well.
CAFFERTY: Now, it's Christmas time. And this company that makes Christmas cards is being a little Scroogistic.
SERWER: Yes, I mean, is the irony...
CAFFERTY: Is that a word?
S. O'BRIEN: It is now.
SERWER: Scroogism. Positively Scroogealistic. Absolutely. Listen, I don't know what they're thinking out there in Cleveland at American Greetings. Do they know that they make Christmas cards and it's going to be the time of year? Because American Greetings is laying off 300 workers. Nearly 175 -- they're the cards coming off the line. 175 of them in the Cleveland area. And you'd think the timing, you're going to sneak this in January...
CAFFERTY: Yes, or do it in October. But I mean, you wait 'til the first week of December?
SERWER: When people like us will talk about it?
CAFFERTY: Buy your stuff from Hallmark. Boycott American Greetings.
SERWER: Oh, I'll get in trouble with these card companies. Remember, I'm always in trouble with these card companies.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: Wait a minute. Is American Greetings a sponsor? I retract that last statement.
SERWER: I resemble that remark.
CAFFERTY: Yes. All right. Thanks, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
CAFFERTY: Nick Nolte -- time for "The Cafferty File" -- Nick Nolte's being sued by the family of a 15-year-old girl because they say he allowed her to be raped in his Malibu home. The suit claims that a man named Nicholas Woodring gave the girl a date rape drug in January of last year. He was convicted of that rape in March. The suit, though, claims that Nolte "regularly threw parties in which minor children were supplied with drugs or alcohol." Gee, do you really think there could be drugs or alcohol around where this guy hangs out? I find that shocking.
M. O'BRIEN: Any excuse to use that mug shot.
CAFFERTY: More wisdom for living, courtesy of the Golden State. California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said Monday schools should be banned from telling parents if their kids take the day off to participate in the following health-related activities: abortions, plastic surgeries and/or any "confidential medical treatments." Kids should apparently be able to do this, their parents should never be told.
So think about that for a minute. Confidential medical treatments. That means in the morning, Johnny could go to school and come home as Joanie in the afternoon. Well, maybe that's a little extreme? I mean, what are they thinking out there? My kid's going to get an abortion and nobody's going to tell me about it? Or get plastic surgery?
S. O'BRIEN: Well, how 'bout the plastic surgery part. Where did you get those breasts, honey?
CAFFERTY: Yes. And you're only in the second grade, go back and have them taken out.
Hugh Grant is not happy with his likeness at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in London. He says the statue of him is so bad that "they ought to put it in that figure in the Chamber of Horrors, alongside all the mass murderers." Hugh Grant says he looks, "like Julie Andrews on heroin."
SERWER: That's just what I was thinking.
CAFFERTY: Now, that's Julie Andrews off heroin in that picture. I've never seen Julie Andrews on heroin, but looking at Hugh Grant, one could imagine that it would not be pretty.
M. O'BRIEN: She looks like Nick Nolte, when she's on heroin.
CAFFERTY: What is with these guys? My statue looks like...
SERWER: Well, Hugh looks at himself in the mirror a fair amount.
S. O'BRIEN: He said he's retiring from acting so maybe we won't hear from him much anymore.
CAFFERTY: Yes. I wonder, is he still running around with that...
SERWER: The woman out in L.A.?
CAFFERTY: What was her name? S. O'BRIEN: No, no, no, no, he's dating...
SERWER: Elizabeth Hurley. He was, he's no longer...
CAFFERTY: No, no, no, no. Not Elizabeth Hurley. The one who charged him $20. What was her name?
SERWER: What were you thinking? That one?
M. O'BRIEN: That would not be Elizabeth Hurley.
S. O'BRIEN: I think it's time for a short break. We'll back in a moment. Thanks, guys, for making that segue easy.
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