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American Morning
Lawmakers Lose Confidence in Defense Secretary Rumsfeld; Amber Alert Issued for Stolen Fetus
Aired December 17, 2004 - 07:00 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: Pressure mounting on defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld -- another prominent Republican weights in.
An "Amber Alert" issued for a stolen fetus after a gruesome murder in Missouri.
California's famed Crystal Cathedral is the scene of an armed standoff overnight.
And President Bush about to sign the largest overhaul of U.S. intelligence every, as the 9/11 reforms become law on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome, everybody.
Bill Hammer has got the day off. Miles O'Brien, though, is sitting in for him.
Hello, good morning.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good to be here on this Friday. Thank you.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, nice to have you.
A ceremony is planned this morning as the 9/11 reform bill is about to be signed into law. Coverage of that starts at about 9:50 a.m. Eastern time. Of course, we're going to have to have for you live.
And we'll also be focusing on security is morning, taking a look at what it will take to keep extremely dangerous material from being smuggled into the U.S. The chairman of the New York-New Jersey port authority is with us to talk about how we search cargo ships.
MILES O'BRIEN: Also, steroids, not talking about professional athletes this time. We'll meet the father of a 17-year-old boy who committed suicide. Taylor Hooten played high school baseball. He was a star, and he was on steroids.
His father says his dream of becoming a pro is a dream that causes a lot of young people to take huge risks with their lives.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: It such a sad story...
MILES O'BRIEN: It is, yes.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: ... for that family.
MILES O'BRIEN: Yes.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Good morning, Mr. Cafferty.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad.
What do the pope, Mother Theresa and George Tenet have in common? Well, they all received this nation's highest civilian award, the medal of freedom.
Are the standards for making this award changing, and if so, who else ought to get this thing? We'll take a look.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Jack Cafferty, next year's winner.
CAFFERTY: We should -- we should all get the medal of indentured servitude for being here at this ungodly hour for three hours every day.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: I don't know what you're talking about. I'm happy to be here.
CAFFERTY: Posting this telethon in search of a disease.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Happy to be here.
Moving on -- headlines.
MILES O'BRIEN: Moving on in to diseases. Good morning.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Enough.
Hello, good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad. An impossible act to follow.
Good morning, again, everyone.
Now in the news, President Bush set to sign a September 11 intelligence reform bill in just under three hours. It is described as the largest overhaul of U.S. intelligence gathering in 50 years. The measure creates a federal counterterrorism center and a new intelligence director.
We will have live coverage of the signing at about 9:55 a.m. Eastern time here on AMERICAN MORNING.
In California now, a tense standoff between police and a church worker at the world-famous Crystal Cathedral has now ended. The 50- year-old suspect, hold up in an office within the church complex, has shot and killed himself.
Incident began yesterday when the man fired shots inside the building. No one else was hurt. The cathedral is home to televangelist, Robert Schuler, his weekly "Hour of Power" TV show.
The Army National Guard is waging a new battle to stem a dramatic drop in enlistments, mainly due to the war in Iraq. The guards top brass reporting they're 30 percent below recruiting goals over the last two months.
To make signing up more attractive, the National Guard is offering new incentives for recruits, including enlistment bonuses of up to $15,000.
And in baseball, there is word that Arizona pitching ace, Randy Johnson, could soon be sporting pin stripes in New York. There are reports the Yankees are close to picking up "the Big Unit," as Johnson is called, in a three team mega deal.
Also included, Shawn Green, who had moved from the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Arizona Diamondbacks; and the Dodgers would get Yankees pitcher, Javier Vazquez.
Lots of movement around in baseball.
MILES O'BRIEN: Yes, the stars usually really have to come into alignment on that one. It kind of reminds me of that "A-Rod" deal and, you know, to the Red Sox. Of course, he ended up with the Yankees. So wouldn't it be great if "Big Unit" went to the Red Sox, you know, to get even?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Maybe.
MILES O'BRIEN: It's just a thought.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Or not.
MILES O'BRIEN: You guys don't care.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Whoever is going to pay the most money is going to get him.
WALLACE: Exactly.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Let's be real about it.
MILES O'BRIEN: All right.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: It's all about the cash.
MILES O'BRIEN: Let's talk some news now.
As secretary of defense, during a time when American soldiers are being killed on the battlefield, Donald Rumsfeld is no stranger to criticism. But now a growing number of disapproving voices are coming from leaders within his own party. CNN senior White House correspondent, John King, with us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Defending the defense secretary is, of late, a staple theme at the White House briefing.
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think that Secretary Rumsfeld continues to do a great job while we are at war. We are a nation at war.
KING: No leading Republican lawmakers have demanded Rumsfeld resignation, but a growing number are making clear they don't share the president's confidence in the defense secretary.
At home, in Mississippi, GOP senator, Trent Lott, said of Rumsfeld, "I don't think he listens enough to his uniformed officers. I'm not calling for his resignation," Lott went on to say, "but I think we do need a change at some point."
Secretary Rumsfeld angered critics last week with his answer to a soldier in Kuwait who complained about a lack of armored vehicles in Iraq.
DONALD RUMSFELD, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: You go to war with the Army you have.
KING: Already a Rumsfeld critic, Republican senator, Susan Collins, of Maine fired off a letter to the secretary late Wednesday, noting the Pentagon asked a supplier to speed up production of armored humvees, apparently only after the soldier's complaint.
"Why was this request not placed earlier," Senator Collins asked, promising the issue will be a major focus when congress returns in January.
Earlier this week, Senator John McCain said he had no confidence in Rumsfeld.
And Republican colleague, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, also took aim.
REP. CHUCK HAGEL (R), NEBRASKA: When we went into Iraq, we didn't go into Iraq with enough troops. He's dismissed his general officers. He's dismissed all outside influence.
KING: One key congressional supporter suggests Rumsfeld's style is more an issue with the senators than his performance.
UNIDENTIFIED CONGRESSMAN (PH): I think a lot of those folks want to be paid attention to. They're used to people listening to them at great length. And I think sometimes the Senate thinks that the secretary has given them short shrift.
KING: One senior White House official called the complaint Washington chatter, mostly from long-time Rumsfeld critics. Senior Bush aides also say showing any displeasure now would be tantamount to embracing Rumsfeld's critics and acknowledging major mistakes in Iraq.
(on camera) So, while the president is well aware of all this Republican grumbling, senior aides say he tells them to make clear he thinks the secretary is doing a great job at a difficult time and that he has no second thoughts at all about asking him to stay on into the second term.
John King, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MILES O'BRIEN: Several democratic senators, perhaps comes as no surprise, including Senator Joe Biden of Delaware, Senator Jon Corzine of New Jersey, have called for Rumsfeld's resignation -- Soledad?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: It is the second day of the "Cargo Security Summit," which is taking place in Washington, D.C. The meeting is the focus of our CNN "Security Watch" today.
Yesterday, homeland security secretary, Tom Ridge, spoke about complexities of keeping U.S. ports safe from terrorists.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM RIDGE, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: From coast to coast, in international ports all over the world, thousands of tons of cargo make their way into this country with more than 20,000 containers coming through on a daily basis.
Based on sheer volume alone, cargo security is a difficult job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Tony Coscia is the chairman of the port authority of New York and New Jersey.
Nice to see you, sir. Thanks for joining us.
The ports, I think it's fair to say, are among at least the most obvious risks for any kind of terror activity. Give me a sense of how many containers come into your ports on any given day.
ANTHONY COSCIA, CHAIRMAN, PORT AUTHORITY OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY: Well, it's interesting, Soledad, that you state it as being obvious because one of the things that we are very interested in is trying to raise the awareness of the American public to just how critical an element this is in providing for national security.
Six thousand containers, for example, come through a day, our port facilities. And we are just one port facility, clearly, out of a national distribution chain.
But literally, millions of containers a year come through our facility from destinations around the globe, and it creates a fairly substantial challenge in terms of security.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Of those millions, how many are thoroughly checked before they are offloaded?
COSCIA: Actually, a relatively small portion of them are because our current system of monitoring international cargo is largely based on having some understanding of where that cargo was coming from. The ability to physically check each box as it comes through port facilities in the United States is a daunting task.
In fact, we believe it's one that a great deal more resources on the federal level ought to be dedicated toward trying to get a handle around that kind of an initiative.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: You said a relatively small number. The number I've heard is just 5 percent of the container ships are actually physically checked.
Does that sound fair to you?
COSCIA: Five percent of the containers would be an accurate number. And you have to put in to perspective what we're talking about.
Containers are loaded onto cargo vessels around the globe, in some cases stacked 9, 10 high. And then from vessels that depart from ports, literally, in all sorts of destinations, come together at various key, distribution points in the United States.
It's physically almost impossible to check every box. But the real key is trying to find a way to get a handle around the distribution center so that when a box is put on a ship, whether it's in a port Europe or Asia or elsewhere, we have a high level of comfort of what went into the box, how it was loaded and then ultimately how that box ultimately transported itself to our ports.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: You say it's not necessarily obvious to everybody. And maybe I'm just sort a paranoid type, but it seems to me a container ship and a container which is large enough to hold any kind of weapon of mass destruction would sort of be, for lack of a better term, an obvious choice for a terror attack, simply.
COSCIA: I couldn't agree with you more. And in fact, the port authority of New York and New Jersey runs tremendous assets. We run all the airports in this area, the bridges and tunnels.
But what happens is that every person who jumps on and off of an airplane, everyone who goes to the Lincoln Tunnel, or the Holland Tunnel or the George Washington Bridge, obviously there's an obvious sensitivity to the American public to those facilities because consumers use them every day.
Yet, when we order goods, they come from around the world, the distribution chains that are vehicles of, unfortunately, unbelievable potential from a terrorist's standpoint are largely out of the public's view.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Is it all about the money? I mean, is the bottom line that you just don't have enough funding to change the distribution method that you're talking about?
COSCIA: Well, let me give you some sense of perspective. Last year the U.S. government spent around $560 million on port security. That's about a tenth on what it spent on aviation security.
Not to understate the need for security in the aviation industry, but I think we are underestimating the financial resources that are necessary from the standpoint of protecting international cargo. But I think, Soledad, it would be a mistake to say that money is the only issue.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: What else is it then?
COSCIA: There's clearly a need for leadership, on a federal level, with our trading partners around the globe to create a distribution chain that is reliable.
To say that we identify -- that there is a problem with one container as it arrives at one of our ports, frankly in some cases could be too late do something about something. We're -- it's important for us to understand how cargo gets on ships around the globe.
Recently, Governor Codey, in New Jersey made a point of highlighting for the federal government just how important it is. We have seen a reduction in federal spending, actually, in New Jersey in recent months on locations that are in or around the port facilities. And that's disturbing on some level.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes, it's disturbing on lots of levels.
Tony Coscia, who runs the port authority in New York and New Jersey, nice to see you. Thanks for that update. We appreciate it.
COSCIA: Thanks for having me. Good morning.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Miles?
MILES O'BRIEN: In Missouri, this morning, there's an "Amber Alert" with a very troubling twist. The missing child in this case is a fetus.
Police say the 8-month-old fetus possibly viable, was cut from the womb of a homicide victim yesterday. It happened in the town of Skidmore.
Joining us by phone from there, Eric Chaloux of affiliate KCTV.
Eric, what is the latest?
ERIC CHALOUX, KCTV REPORTER: Good morning, Miles.
The search continues here in Northwest Missouri for that eight- month-old little girl. The couple -- she was supposed to come into their lives, was suppose to deliver her next month. Yesterday afternoon, a family member found the 23-year-old woman killed, and police tell us the suspect, or suspects, removed the unborn child from her mother.
Now, it's a very small town, Skidmore, Missouri, about 350 people -- a lot of one-lane bridges. Everybody knows everybody.
Overnight we have talked to many of their neighbors, who tell us the couple grew up in this small town here. Right now yellow crime scene tape surrounds that home.
An "Amber Alert" was issued earlier this morning for that eight- month-old girl. Now, Nottoway County sheriffs is leading this investigation. Medical experts tell them they feel the child, the eight-month-old, could have survived this incident.
Now, the couple, where the incident happened inside of their home, sells Rat Terrier dogs over the internet. We talked to one neighbor who told me he saw a red vehicle outside of that house and who thought maybe it was someone coming to pick up a dog.
Now police, this morning, are looking for a red vehicle -- a vague suspect description, an individual with blond hair. And an "Amber Alert" issued for that eight-month-old girl.
Police calling it definitely a bizarre case, out searching right now for that eight-month-old -- Miles?
MILES O'BRIEN: Eric Chaloux of KCTV in Skidmore, Missouri. Thank you very much -- Soledad?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: A bizarre case there.
Let's get a look at the forecast this morning. And Chad Myers at the CNN Center for us.
Hey, Chad. Good morning.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Soledad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MYERS: Back to you guys.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: All right, Chad, thanks.
MILES O'BRIEN: Thank you, Chad.
Still to come, intelligence reform will be signed into law today. After all the effort President Bush put into getting the bill passed, is he getting what he wants?
Live to the White House just ahead.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Also, we hear lots about top athletes using steroids, but a shocking number of children are taking them, too. We're going to hear from a man whose son committed suicide while he was using steroids.
MILES O'BRIEN: And the Donald has a new apprentice. He chose a winner last night in a live extravaganza. We'll ask our "90-Second- Pop" crew if, after his second season, should Trump be fired?
That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MILES O'BRIEN: There are some studies that show 11 percent of high school boys have tried performance-enhancing drugs. It may be because they're very easy to buy.
If you Google-buy steroids online, you get about 7,000 hits. You can even get them on E-bay. Type in Deka, which is a commonly used steroid, about 56 items will come up.
Don Hooten's 17-year-old son committed suicide after using steroids. Don Hooton joins us now from San Francisco, this morning.
Good to have you with us.
DON HOOTON, SON COMMITTED SUICIDE: Thank you, Miles.
MILES O'BRIEN: Your son's story is heart wrenching. He was a star baseball player, and for whatever reason felt the pressure that he needed to bulk up to do better.
First of all, did he get those steroids online as we suggest here?
HOOTON: No, although they're easy to get online, in this particular case he got them from a 19-year-old drug pusher, a kid right there in Plano, where we live, a kid that he was working out with at the local YMCA, in the gymnasium.
MILES O'BRIEN: Wow. And so, off he went. He took quite a bit of it.
Do you think that he felt pressure from somewhere, whether it was coaches or his peers, to do this? Or did he see something, perhaps, looking at professional athletes and seeing their success and perhaps realizing that if you wanted to make it make it to the pros, he felt he had to do this?
HOOTON: Oh, I think that, you know, I think that's where the pressure comes from. It's not necessarily the pressure to make it to the pros, but it's the fine example that's being set by professional athletes.
Every kid in America knows what these -- what these professional athletes are doing, and that becomes their vision of what it takes to get ahead.
MILES O'BRIEN: And it's a very dangerous mix of drugs, especially when you start taking a bunch of them, which your son did. Let's talk about some of the side effects, which maybe a lot of people aren't familiar with. And, I mean, I'm sure your son, perhaps, didn't know either, although he experienced a lot of these mood swings.
Among the things that occur, acne, breast development, increased irritability and aggression, withdrawal symptoms, mood swings, fatigue, restlessness, loss of appetite, insomnia, reduced sex drive and depression.
And I'm sure you witnessed a lot of these things in your household and might have chalked it up to just him being a teenager. As you look back on it, though, were there some warning signs you missed?
HOOTON: Well, yes, Miles, every one of those symptoms, literally, that you just went through, just the classic textbook, physical and emotional side effects of steroids we saw in Taylor.
But the problem was we didn't know what we were looking at, at the time. And, you know, we saw this kid go through extreme bits of rage, through acts of depression and didn't know -- we were uneducated to trace it back to steroids.
And he didn't know, I don't think, what was going on here.
MILES O'BRIEN: Now, you, out of this tragedy, have begun a foundation and are trying to crusade, talking about it, as you are here, which has got to be very difficult. But nevertheless, I think you want to get this message out.
There's a Website which you can go to. I want you to tell us a little bit about that. But how can people get involved and try to stop teenagers from feeling that they've got to take these drugs?
HOOTON: Well, the first thing that we as parents across the country have to do is recognize how big a problem it is. In our part of the country, the kids tell me as many as one-third of the kids that are playing football, showing up for football on Friday night are juicing.
Those numbers ought to scare all of us into taking steps to make sure that as parents, but most importantly as coaches, that our coaches are trained to know what to look for, trained to know what to do about it when we find the kid that is doing steroids, but that these coaches are held accountable for running steroid-free teams.
MILES O'BRIEN: Well, and -- but we've got to talk about their heroes, too. Their heroes have some responsibility. I'm talking about the pros. And that's a harder problem, isn't it?
HOOTON: Miles, absolutely. And it makes me sick to listen to the discussion that's going on, on television these days like the biggest concern is whether or not we're going to have put an asterisk next to somebody's baseball record. My view, they ought to be thrown out of baseball. The least important thing here is whether or not -- whether or not -- these athletes' records are going to stand up. The most important thing is, is we've got kids all over this country that are looking up to these stars.
Whether they want to be idols or not, they are idols. And, you know, our children are emulating them. And what these athletes are doing is sending a message that it's OK to use this stuff that is --
It's illegal. It's is unethical. And it is unsafe. And it's killing our kids.
MILES O'BRIEN: All right. We're going to have to leave it at that.
The Website is www.taylorhooton, all one word, .org. We invite you to check that out if you have some interest in stemming this problem.
Don Hooton, thanks for your time. Thanks for talking about what has to be a very difficult thing. We appreciate it.
HOOTON: Thank you, Miles.
MILES O'BRIEN: Soledad?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Coming up this morning, the biggest intelligence agency change in 50 years will be made today. We'll take you live to the White House for that.
And attention shoppers, retailers are going all out to get you into their stores on the last weekend before Christmas.
Those stories ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Holiday is around the corner, if you haven't done your gift shopping yet, your wallets might thank you. And Wal- mart saves the season for the Salvation Army.
Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business," this morning.
Why is my wallet going to thank me?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Well, we'll tell you in one second. But did you know there are only eight shopping days left until Christmas.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes.
SERWER: Remember when we used to say that all the time.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: I know, and we don't do that anymore.
SERWER: I don't know why. Well, I'm saying it this morning.
Saturday before Christmas traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year, and this year retailers are slashing prices and keeping stores open very, very late to capture all of that business they expect coming in over the next couple of days.
Sears open at 7:00 a.m., a $10 discount card to the first 100 shoppers. Well, there are going to be lines at 6:00 a.m. for that one, 10 percent off, 40 percent off on toys.
J.C. Penney is going to be open for 17 hours, 40 key items deeply discounted.
And here is one for Jack Cafferty, Ann Taylor, 25 percent off on all Kashmir. I don't think Jack has gotten me that scarf yet.
MILES O'BRIEN: You look good in Ann Taylor.
SERWER: Yes, thank you.
Do they have stuff for men?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: I was going to say.
MILES O'BRIEN: No.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: It's a women's clothing store, but whatever.
SERWER: I mean I'll wear whatever. All right, anyway -- but who knew that?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: A scarf anyone can wear.
SERWER: There you go.
CAFFERTY: That's what scares the hell out of all of us.
SERWER: I know. Well, it's -- you know...
CAFFERTY: You're willing and have and do.
SERWER: ... as a cross-dressing business reporter, OK?
(LAUGHTER)
SERWER: Let's talk about...
MILES O'BRIEN: And who knows his business.
SERWER: I'm going to talk about Wal-mart and Target here.
I knew that.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Please do.
SERWER: I did know that. SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Wal-mart, Target.
SERWER: Wal-mart and Target, fierce competitors, and here's a jab from Wal-mart to Target. Guess what? Wal-mart will be matching contributions to the Salvation Armey one to one, up to $1 million.
You may remember that Target has banned Salvation Army this year, after saying it couldn't have any people doing the charity thing. And they said, we can't even make an exception for the Salvation Army.
Wal-mart taking a little jab at its archrival, I think.
O'BRIEN: Pretty clever, actually. I thought it was.
MILES O'BRIEN: You might think that's a jab.
SERWER: I think it's a jab.
MILES O'BRIEN: Absolutely.
All right, Jack Cafferty?
CAFFERTY: Have the standards changed for the medal of freedom, this country's highest civilian honor?
This week, the medal was given to Paul Bremer, the civilian authority in charge of Iraq after the initial combat phase, Tommy Franks, who commanded the troops on the ground, and the former CIA director, George Tenet.
Tenet was the guy who insisted it was a slam dunk that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Bremer went in there and disbanded the entire Iraqi army which, in hindsight, was a huge error. And Franks, among other things, might have asked for more troops. He also campaigned openly for President Bush's re-election.
That being said, we point out that previous recipients of the medal include the pope, Mother Teresa, Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
So, it seems that there might be a bit of a disparity there, not to minimize the contributions of those first three people, but has the bar, in fact, come down a little bit?
And if it has, well let's get on it. Who else ought to get this presidential medal of freedom? It's Friday. Knock yourselves out.
AM@CNN.COM.
SERWER: Well, who do you think Reg in Thunder Bay is going to nominate?
CAFFERTY: They are already writing, those clowns.
SERWER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: Yes, we'll...
MILES O'BRIEN: They guessed the question.
SERWER: Don't say, Jack. Be more creative than that.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes, you can't say, Jack.
CAFFERTY: No, they posted on the Website before the show. And we're already hearing from them, and they've been drinking all night, and it's terrible.
(LAUGHTER)
SERWER: That enhances the process.
MILES O'BRIEN: Let it rest. Let it rest.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Absolutely.
All right, Jack, thanks. Waiting to hear from some of those responses.
Still to come, our Friday edition of "90-Second Pop."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, "THE APPRENTICE": Who loves the apprentice?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: You're hired. Donald Trump hires a new apprentice. Is the winner better or just better at kissing up?
And suitable for children? Jim Carrey might be too scary in his new kid flick.
Stay us with on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired December 17, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Pressure mounting on defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld -- another prominent Republican weights in.
An "Amber Alert" issued for a stolen fetus after a gruesome murder in Missouri.
California's famed Crystal Cathedral is the scene of an armed standoff overnight.
And President Bush about to sign the largest overhaul of U.S. intelligence every, as the 9/11 reforms become law on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome, everybody.
Bill Hammer has got the day off. Miles O'Brien, though, is sitting in for him.
Hello, good morning.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good to be here on this Friday. Thank you.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, nice to have you.
A ceremony is planned this morning as the 9/11 reform bill is about to be signed into law. Coverage of that starts at about 9:50 a.m. Eastern time. Of course, we're going to have to have for you live.
And we'll also be focusing on security is morning, taking a look at what it will take to keep extremely dangerous material from being smuggled into the U.S. The chairman of the New York-New Jersey port authority is with us to talk about how we search cargo ships.
MILES O'BRIEN: Also, steroids, not talking about professional athletes this time. We'll meet the father of a 17-year-old boy who committed suicide. Taylor Hooten played high school baseball. He was a star, and he was on steroids.
His father says his dream of becoming a pro is a dream that causes a lot of young people to take huge risks with their lives.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: It such a sad story...
MILES O'BRIEN: It is, yes.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: ... for that family.
MILES O'BRIEN: Yes.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Good morning, Mr. Cafferty.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad.
What do the pope, Mother Theresa and George Tenet have in common? Well, they all received this nation's highest civilian award, the medal of freedom.
Are the standards for making this award changing, and if so, who else ought to get this thing? We'll take a look.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Jack Cafferty, next year's winner.
CAFFERTY: We should -- we should all get the medal of indentured servitude for being here at this ungodly hour for three hours every day.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: I don't know what you're talking about. I'm happy to be here.
CAFFERTY: Posting this telethon in search of a disease.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Happy to be here.
Moving on -- headlines.
MILES O'BRIEN: Moving on in to diseases. Good morning.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Enough.
Hello, good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad. An impossible act to follow.
Good morning, again, everyone.
Now in the news, President Bush set to sign a September 11 intelligence reform bill in just under three hours. It is described as the largest overhaul of U.S. intelligence gathering in 50 years. The measure creates a federal counterterrorism center and a new intelligence director.
We will have live coverage of the signing at about 9:55 a.m. Eastern time here on AMERICAN MORNING.
In California now, a tense standoff between police and a church worker at the world-famous Crystal Cathedral has now ended. The 50- year-old suspect, hold up in an office within the church complex, has shot and killed himself.
Incident began yesterday when the man fired shots inside the building. No one else was hurt. The cathedral is home to televangelist, Robert Schuler, his weekly "Hour of Power" TV show.
The Army National Guard is waging a new battle to stem a dramatic drop in enlistments, mainly due to the war in Iraq. The guards top brass reporting they're 30 percent below recruiting goals over the last two months.
To make signing up more attractive, the National Guard is offering new incentives for recruits, including enlistment bonuses of up to $15,000.
And in baseball, there is word that Arizona pitching ace, Randy Johnson, could soon be sporting pin stripes in New York. There are reports the Yankees are close to picking up "the Big Unit," as Johnson is called, in a three team mega deal.
Also included, Shawn Green, who had moved from the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Arizona Diamondbacks; and the Dodgers would get Yankees pitcher, Javier Vazquez.
Lots of movement around in baseball.
MILES O'BRIEN: Yes, the stars usually really have to come into alignment on that one. It kind of reminds me of that "A-Rod" deal and, you know, to the Red Sox. Of course, he ended up with the Yankees. So wouldn't it be great if "Big Unit" went to the Red Sox, you know, to get even?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Maybe.
MILES O'BRIEN: It's just a thought.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Or not.
MILES O'BRIEN: You guys don't care.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Whoever is going to pay the most money is going to get him.
WALLACE: Exactly.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Let's be real about it.
MILES O'BRIEN: All right.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: It's all about the cash.
MILES O'BRIEN: Let's talk some news now.
As secretary of defense, during a time when American soldiers are being killed on the battlefield, Donald Rumsfeld is no stranger to criticism. But now a growing number of disapproving voices are coming from leaders within his own party. CNN senior White House correspondent, John King, with us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Defending the defense secretary is, of late, a staple theme at the White House briefing.
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think that Secretary Rumsfeld continues to do a great job while we are at war. We are a nation at war.
KING: No leading Republican lawmakers have demanded Rumsfeld resignation, but a growing number are making clear they don't share the president's confidence in the defense secretary.
At home, in Mississippi, GOP senator, Trent Lott, said of Rumsfeld, "I don't think he listens enough to his uniformed officers. I'm not calling for his resignation," Lott went on to say, "but I think we do need a change at some point."
Secretary Rumsfeld angered critics last week with his answer to a soldier in Kuwait who complained about a lack of armored vehicles in Iraq.
DONALD RUMSFELD, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: You go to war with the Army you have.
KING: Already a Rumsfeld critic, Republican senator, Susan Collins, of Maine fired off a letter to the secretary late Wednesday, noting the Pentagon asked a supplier to speed up production of armored humvees, apparently only after the soldier's complaint.
"Why was this request not placed earlier," Senator Collins asked, promising the issue will be a major focus when congress returns in January.
Earlier this week, Senator John McCain said he had no confidence in Rumsfeld.
And Republican colleague, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, also took aim.
REP. CHUCK HAGEL (R), NEBRASKA: When we went into Iraq, we didn't go into Iraq with enough troops. He's dismissed his general officers. He's dismissed all outside influence.
KING: One key congressional supporter suggests Rumsfeld's style is more an issue with the senators than his performance.
UNIDENTIFIED CONGRESSMAN (PH): I think a lot of those folks want to be paid attention to. They're used to people listening to them at great length. And I think sometimes the Senate thinks that the secretary has given them short shrift.
KING: One senior White House official called the complaint Washington chatter, mostly from long-time Rumsfeld critics. Senior Bush aides also say showing any displeasure now would be tantamount to embracing Rumsfeld's critics and acknowledging major mistakes in Iraq.
(on camera) So, while the president is well aware of all this Republican grumbling, senior aides say he tells them to make clear he thinks the secretary is doing a great job at a difficult time and that he has no second thoughts at all about asking him to stay on into the second term.
John King, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MILES O'BRIEN: Several democratic senators, perhaps comes as no surprise, including Senator Joe Biden of Delaware, Senator Jon Corzine of New Jersey, have called for Rumsfeld's resignation -- Soledad?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: It is the second day of the "Cargo Security Summit," which is taking place in Washington, D.C. The meeting is the focus of our CNN "Security Watch" today.
Yesterday, homeland security secretary, Tom Ridge, spoke about complexities of keeping U.S. ports safe from terrorists.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM RIDGE, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: From coast to coast, in international ports all over the world, thousands of tons of cargo make their way into this country with more than 20,000 containers coming through on a daily basis.
Based on sheer volume alone, cargo security is a difficult job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Tony Coscia is the chairman of the port authority of New York and New Jersey.
Nice to see you, sir. Thanks for joining us.
The ports, I think it's fair to say, are among at least the most obvious risks for any kind of terror activity. Give me a sense of how many containers come into your ports on any given day.
ANTHONY COSCIA, CHAIRMAN, PORT AUTHORITY OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY: Well, it's interesting, Soledad, that you state it as being obvious because one of the things that we are very interested in is trying to raise the awareness of the American public to just how critical an element this is in providing for national security.
Six thousand containers, for example, come through a day, our port facilities. And we are just one port facility, clearly, out of a national distribution chain.
But literally, millions of containers a year come through our facility from destinations around the globe, and it creates a fairly substantial challenge in terms of security.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Of those millions, how many are thoroughly checked before they are offloaded?
COSCIA: Actually, a relatively small portion of them are because our current system of monitoring international cargo is largely based on having some understanding of where that cargo was coming from. The ability to physically check each box as it comes through port facilities in the United States is a daunting task.
In fact, we believe it's one that a great deal more resources on the federal level ought to be dedicated toward trying to get a handle around that kind of an initiative.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: You said a relatively small number. The number I've heard is just 5 percent of the container ships are actually physically checked.
Does that sound fair to you?
COSCIA: Five percent of the containers would be an accurate number. And you have to put in to perspective what we're talking about.
Containers are loaded onto cargo vessels around the globe, in some cases stacked 9, 10 high. And then from vessels that depart from ports, literally, in all sorts of destinations, come together at various key, distribution points in the United States.
It's physically almost impossible to check every box. But the real key is trying to find a way to get a handle around the distribution center so that when a box is put on a ship, whether it's in a port Europe or Asia or elsewhere, we have a high level of comfort of what went into the box, how it was loaded and then ultimately how that box ultimately transported itself to our ports.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: You say it's not necessarily obvious to everybody. And maybe I'm just sort a paranoid type, but it seems to me a container ship and a container which is large enough to hold any kind of weapon of mass destruction would sort of be, for lack of a better term, an obvious choice for a terror attack, simply.
COSCIA: I couldn't agree with you more. And in fact, the port authority of New York and New Jersey runs tremendous assets. We run all the airports in this area, the bridges and tunnels.
But what happens is that every person who jumps on and off of an airplane, everyone who goes to the Lincoln Tunnel, or the Holland Tunnel or the George Washington Bridge, obviously there's an obvious sensitivity to the American public to those facilities because consumers use them every day.
Yet, when we order goods, they come from around the world, the distribution chains that are vehicles of, unfortunately, unbelievable potential from a terrorist's standpoint are largely out of the public's view.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Is it all about the money? I mean, is the bottom line that you just don't have enough funding to change the distribution method that you're talking about?
COSCIA: Well, let me give you some sense of perspective. Last year the U.S. government spent around $560 million on port security. That's about a tenth on what it spent on aviation security.
Not to understate the need for security in the aviation industry, but I think we are underestimating the financial resources that are necessary from the standpoint of protecting international cargo. But I think, Soledad, it would be a mistake to say that money is the only issue.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: What else is it then?
COSCIA: There's clearly a need for leadership, on a federal level, with our trading partners around the globe to create a distribution chain that is reliable.
To say that we identify -- that there is a problem with one container as it arrives at one of our ports, frankly in some cases could be too late do something about something. We're -- it's important for us to understand how cargo gets on ships around the globe.
Recently, Governor Codey, in New Jersey made a point of highlighting for the federal government just how important it is. We have seen a reduction in federal spending, actually, in New Jersey in recent months on locations that are in or around the port facilities. And that's disturbing on some level.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes, it's disturbing on lots of levels.
Tony Coscia, who runs the port authority in New York and New Jersey, nice to see you. Thanks for that update. We appreciate it.
COSCIA: Thanks for having me. Good morning.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Miles?
MILES O'BRIEN: In Missouri, this morning, there's an "Amber Alert" with a very troubling twist. The missing child in this case is a fetus.
Police say the 8-month-old fetus possibly viable, was cut from the womb of a homicide victim yesterday. It happened in the town of Skidmore.
Joining us by phone from there, Eric Chaloux of affiliate KCTV.
Eric, what is the latest?
ERIC CHALOUX, KCTV REPORTER: Good morning, Miles.
The search continues here in Northwest Missouri for that eight- month-old little girl. The couple -- she was supposed to come into their lives, was suppose to deliver her next month. Yesterday afternoon, a family member found the 23-year-old woman killed, and police tell us the suspect, or suspects, removed the unborn child from her mother.
Now, it's a very small town, Skidmore, Missouri, about 350 people -- a lot of one-lane bridges. Everybody knows everybody.
Overnight we have talked to many of their neighbors, who tell us the couple grew up in this small town here. Right now yellow crime scene tape surrounds that home.
An "Amber Alert" was issued earlier this morning for that eight- month-old girl. Now, Nottoway County sheriffs is leading this investigation. Medical experts tell them they feel the child, the eight-month-old, could have survived this incident.
Now, the couple, where the incident happened inside of their home, sells Rat Terrier dogs over the internet. We talked to one neighbor who told me he saw a red vehicle outside of that house and who thought maybe it was someone coming to pick up a dog.
Now police, this morning, are looking for a red vehicle -- a vague suspect description, an individual with blond hair. And an "Amber Alert" issued for that eight-month-old girl.
Police calling it definitely a bizarre case, out searching right now for that eight-month-old -- Miles?
MILES O'BRIEN: Eric Chaloux of KCTV in Skidmore, Missouri. Thank you very much -- Soledad?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: A bizarre case there.
Let's get a look at the forecast this morning. And Chad Myers at the CNN Center for us.
Hey, Chad. Good morning.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Soledad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MYERS: Back to you guys.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: All right, Chad, thanks.
MILES O'BRIEN: Thank you, Chad.
Still to come, intelligence reform will be signed into law today. After all the effort President Bush put into getting the bill passed, is he getting what he wants?
Live to the White House just ahead.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Also, we hear lots about top athletes using steroids, but a shocking number of children are taking them, too. We're going to hear from a man whose son committed suicide while he was using steroids.
MILES O'BRIEN: And the Donald has a new apprentice. He chose a winner last night in a live extravaganza. We'll ask our "90-Second- Pop" crew if, after his second season, should Trump be fired?
That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MILES O'BRIEN: There are some studies that show 11 percent of high school boys have tried performance-enhancing drugs. It may be because they're very easy to buy.
If you Google-buy steroids online, you get about 7,000 hits. You can even get them on E-bay. Type in Deka, which is a commonly used steroid, about 56 items will come up.
Don Hooten's 17-year-old son committed suicide after using steroids. Don Hooton joins us now from San Francisco, this morning.
Good to have you with us.
DON HOOTON, SON COMMITTED SUICIDE: Thank you, Miles.
MILES O'BRIEN: Your son's story is heart wrenching. He was a star baseball player, and for whatever reason felt the pressure that he needed to bulk up to do better.
First of all, did he get those steroids online as we suggest here?
HOOTON: No, although they're easy to get online, in this particular case he got them from a 19-year-old drug pusher, a kid right there in Plano, where we live, a kid that he was working out with at the local YMCA, in the gymnasium.
MILES O'BRIEN: Wow. And so, off he went. He took quite a bit of it.
Do you think that he felt pressure from somewhere, whether it was coaches or his peers, to do this? Or did he see something, perhaps, looking at professional athletes and seeing their success and perhaps realizing that if you wanted to make it make it to the pros, he felt he had to do this?
HOOTON: Oh, I think that, you know, I think that's where the pressure comes from. It's not necessarily the pressure to make it to the pros, but it's the fine example that's being set by professional athletes.
Every kid in America knows what these -- what these professional athletes are doing, and that becomes their vision of what it takes to get ahead.
MILES O'BRIEN: And it's a very dangerous mix of drugs, especially when you start taking a bunch of them, which your son did. Let's talk about some of the side effects, which maybe a lot of people aren't familiar with. And, I mean, I'm sure your son, perhaps, didn't know either, although he experienced a lot of these mood swings.
Among the things that occur, acne, breast development, increased irritability and aggression, withdrawal symptoms, mood swings, fatigue, restlessness, loss of appetite, insomnia, reduced sex drive and depression.
And I'm sure you witnessed a lot of these things in your household and might have chalked it up to just him being a teenager. As you look back on it, though, were there some warning signs you missed?
HOOTON: Well, yes, Miles, every one of those symptoms, literally, that you just went through, just the classic textbook, physical and emotional side effects of steroids we saw in Taylor.
But the problem was we didn't know what we were looking at, at the time. And, you know, we saw this kid go through extreme bits of rage, through acts of depression and didn't know -- we were uneducated to trace it back to steroids.
And he didn't know, I don't think, what was going on here.
MILES O'BRIEN: Now, you, out of this tragedy, have begun a foundation and are trying to crusade, talking about it, as you are here, which has got to be very difficult. But nevertheless, I think you want to get this message out.
There's a Website which you can go to. I want you to tell us a little bit about that. But how can people get involved and try to stop teenagers from feeling that they've got to take these drugs?
HOOTON: Well, the first thing that we as parents across the country have to do is recognize how big a problem it is. In our part of the country, the kids tell me as many as one-third of the kids that are playing football, showing up for football on Friday night are juicing.
Those numbers ought to scare all of us into taking steps to make sure that as parents, but most importantly as coaches, that our coaches are trained to know what to look for, trained to know what to do about it when we find the kid that is doing steroids, but that these coaches are held accountable for running steroid-free teams.
MILES O'BRIEN: Well, and -- but we've got to talk about their heroes, too. Their heroes have some responsibility. I'm talking about the pros. And that's a harder problem, isn't it?
HOOTON: Miles, absolutely. And it makes me sick to listen to the discussion that's going on, on television these days like the biggest concern is whether or not we're going to have put an asterisk next to somebody's baseball record. My view, they ought to be thrown out of baseball. The least important thing here is whether or not -- whether or not -- these athletes' records are going to stand up. The most important thing is, is we've got kids all over this country that are looking up to these stars.
Whether they want to be idols or not, they are idols. And, you know, our children are emulating them. And what these athletes are doing is sending a message that it's OK to use this stuff that is --
It's illegal. It's is unethical. And it is unsafe. And it's killing our kids.
MILES O'BRIEN: All right. We're going to have to leave it at that.
The Website is www.taylorhooton, all one word, .org. We invite you to check that out if you have some interest in stemming this problem.
Don Hooton, thanks for your time. Thanks for talking about what has to be a very difficult thing. We appreciate it.
HOOTON: Thank you, Miles.
MILES O'BRIEN: Soledad?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Coming up this morning, the biggest intelligence agency change in 50 years will be made today. We'll take you live to the White House for that.
And attention shoppers, retailers are going all out to get you into their stores on the last weekend before Christmas.
Those stories ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Holiday is around the corner, if you haven't done your gift shopping yet, your wallets might thank you. And Wal- mart saves the season for the Salvation Army.
Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business," this morning.
Why is my wallet going to thank me?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Well, we'll tell you in one second. But did you know there are only eight shopping days left until Christmas.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes.
SERWER: Remember when we used to say that all the time.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: I know, and we don't do that anymore.
SERWER: I don't know why. Well, I'm saying it this morning.
Saturday before Christmas traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year, and this year retailers are slashing prices and keeping stores open very, very late to capture all of that business they expect coming in over the next couple of days.
Sears open at 7:00 a.m., a $10 discount card to the first 100 shoppers. Well, there are going to be lines at 6:00 a.m. for that one, 10 percent off, 40 percent off on toys.
J.C. Penney is going to be open for 17 hours, 40 key items deeply discounted.
And here is one for Jack Cafferty, Ann Taylor, 25 percent off on all Kashmir. I don't think Jack has gotten me that scarf yet.
MILES O'BRIEN: You look good in Ann Taylor.
SERWER: Yes, thank you.
Do they have stuff for men?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: I was going to say.
MILES O'BRIEN: No.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: It's a women's clothing store, but whatever.
SERWER: I mean I'll wear whatever. All right, anyway -- but who knew that?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: A scarf anyone can wear.
SERWER: There you go.
CAFFERTY: That's what scares the hell out of all of us.
SERWER: I know. Well, it's -- you know...
CAFFERTY: You're willing and have and do.
SERWER: ... as a cross-dressing business reporter, OK?
(LAUGHTER)
SERWER: Let's talk about...
MILES O'BRIEN: And who knows his business.
SERWER: I'm going to talk about Wal-mart and Target here.
I knew that.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Please do.
SERWER: I did know that. SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Wal-mart, Target.
SERWER: Wal-mart and Target, fierce competitors, and here's a jab from Wal-mart to Target. Guess what? Wal-mart will be matching contributions to the Salvation Armey one to one, up to $1 million.
You may remember that Target has banned Salvation Army this year, after saying it couldn't have any people doing the charity thing. And they said, we can't even make an exception for the Salvation Army.
Wal-mart taking a little jab at its archrival, I think.
O'BRIEN: Pretty clever, actually. I thought it was.
MILES O'BRIEN: You might think that's a jab.
SERWER: I think it's a jab.
MILES O'BRIEN: Absolutely.
All right, Jack Cafferty?
CAFFERTY: Have the standards changed for the medal of freedom, this country's highest civilian honor?
This week, the medal was given to Paul Bremer, the civilian authority in charge of Iraq after the initial combat phase, Tommy Franks, who commanded the troops on the ground, and the former CIA director, George Tenet.
Tenet was the guy who insisted it was a slam dunk that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Bremer went in there and disbanded the entire Iraqi army which, in hindsight, was a huge error. And Franks, among other things, might have asked for more troops. He also campaigned openly for President Bush's re-election.
That being said, we point out that previous recipients of the medal include the pope, Mother Teresa, Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
So, it seems that there might be a bit of a disparity there, not to minimize the contributions of those first three people, but has the bar, in fact, come down a little bit?
And if it has, well let's get on it. Who else ought to get this presidential medal of freedom? It's Friday. Knock yourselves out.
AM@CNN.COM.
SERWER: Well, who do you think Reg in Thunder Bay is going to nominate?
CAFFERTY: They are already writing, those clowns.
SERWER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: Yes, we'll...
MILES O'BRIEN: They guessed the question.
SERWER: Don't say, Jack. Be more creative than that.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes, you can't say, Jack.
CAFFERTY: No, they posted on the Website before the show. And we're already hearing from them, and they've been drinking all night, and it's terrible.
(LAUGHTER)
SERWER: That enhances the process.
MILES O'BRIEN: Let it rest. Let it rest.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Absolutely.
All right, Jack, thanks. Waiting to hear from some of those responses.
Still to come, our Friday edition of "90-Second Pop."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, "THE APPRENTICE": Who loves the apprentice?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: You're hired. Donald Trump hires a new apprentice. Is the winner better or just better at kissing up?
And suitable for children? Jim Carrey might be too scary in his new kid flick.
Stay us with on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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