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'CNN Security Watch': Limousine Bombs; '90-Second Pop'; 'New You Revolution'

Aired January 17, 2005 - 07:29   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. A bit of a dusting on the ground here as we wake up in the Northeast. Soledad is out today. Martin Luther King Day across the country.
Good morning -- Heidi.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

HEMMER: You and I are here.

COLLINS: Yes, we are.

HEMMER: Yes, we are.

COLLINS: With that dusting.

HEMMER: In a few moments, a "CNN Security Watch" on this Monday. Have terrorists now zeroed in on limos as a way to possibly deliver explosives almost anywhere they want without notice? We'll talk about that and the discovery of an al Qaeda memo that's raising serious concerns as the inauguration gets closer and closer this week.

COLLINS: Also, the Golden Globe awards were handed out last night. A special edition of "90-Second Pop" on the way looking at all of the big winners, the surprises and who's got the edge now for the Oscars.

HEMMER: All right.

COLLINS: One step closer.

HEMMER: Yes, that it is. Carol Costello is also with us this morning with a look at the headlines across town.

And, Carol, good morning there.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Bill. Good morning to all of you.

"Now in the News."

Iraqis in five U.S. cities are lining up today to register to vote in Iraq's first independent election in nearly 50 years. Iraqis have until next Monday to register in Detroit, L.A., Nashville, Chicago and Washington. There are some 90,000 Iraqi-born immigrants in the United States. Election officials say there is no way to tell how many will actually turn out when voting begins on January 28.

At least four Palestinians have been killed today in two separate incidents in Gaza. The attacks come as Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has ordered his army to do whatever necessary to stop Palestinian attacks against Israeli settlers. Sharon has also cut off contact with Palestinian officials, saying they are not doing enough to curb the violence.

Turning to entertainment news. "Coach Carter" has slam-dunked the "Fockers" at the box office. "Carter" stars Samuel Jackson as a real-life high school basketball coach who benches his entire team because of bad grades. The film raked in $23.6 million this weekend, bumping off that comedy, "Meet the Fockers," after three straight weekends at the top.

And she is believed to be the oldest woman to ever give birth. A 66-year-old Romanian woman delivered a baby girl yesterday. You see her there. The 3 pound newborn is said to be in stable condition at a Bucharest hospital. Doctors say the woman became pregnant through in- vitro fertilization. It was her third attempt to carry a pregnancy to term. So, she is now, Heidi, a 66-year-old mom.

COLLINS: A stunner, to say the least. All right, Carol, thanks so much. We'll check in with you a little bit later on.

Meanwhile, though, security for this week's inauguration celebration, the first since 9/11, will be unprecedented. In this morning's "CNN Security Watch," authorities are particularly concerned about a potential terror attack using so-called limousine bombs.

Adam Zagorin writes about it in "TIME" magazine this week. He is joining us now from Washington this morning.

Adam, nice to see you. We know that in this summer, U.S. authorities got a hold of an al Qaeda memo that had quite a few details about this gas limo project. I understand there are quite a few caveats to the story, but let's skip those for a moment. Tell me just first about the plan.

ADAM ZAGORIN, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Well, it's a 39-page memorandum that lays out in really meticulous and lurid detail their thoughts on al Qaeda's thoughts, this individual operative's thoughts, on how you would use gas cylinders, put them in a limousine, and use it as what they call a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device. And, I mean, I just gave the general concept in, you know, a couple of seconds over the air here. You can imagine, if I had read all 39 pages, it goes into great detail.

COLLINS: Well, that being said, though, there are no times or dates or targets really in this plan. So, is there any reason to believe that this might actually be a possibility for Thursday and the inauguration?

ZAGORIN: Well, the first thing, there's no specific targets. There was actually a recommendation that such a device be used against commercial buildings. And the commentary provided by U.S. intelligence and security agencies on the document suggested that it was intended for use in the U.K. or the United States. And the author of it, or the presumed author of it, was taken into custody in the U.K. some months ago, last year.

We know, however, that although there is no specific threat against the inauguration, perhaps partly because there will be hundreds of limousines in Washington for the event itself and for various festivities that surround it, that U.S. authorities are certainly considering this threat. And we know that for a number of reasons.

First of all, as soon as the threat came in -- and, again, that goes back some months -- the Department of Homeland Security contacted limousine companies in various locations and warned them of the threat. Then on January 5, in other words, just a few days ago, excerpts from this memorandum, which had -- there was a known threat about limos, but the existence of this memorandum is now public for the first time. It had not been out there before.

COLLINS: So, clearly, it's safe to say, Adam, I mean, they're taking this very seriously. They are taking measures to protect against the possibility...

ZAGORIN: Right. Well, they ran excerpts from the memorandum in a circular that runs among security intelligence officials. And they're also putting up barriers around Washington during the inauguration, for the inauguration, to block vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices. There are a lot of barriers. And, of course, that does include limousines, which is something that people don't always think of as a threat.

COLLINS: Right. In fact, quickly, before we let you go here, this is very different than what we have seen in Iraq and the car bombs. Tell me what the difference is between these VBIEDs and how it works.

ZAGORIN: Well, the memo specifically recommends a number of things. One plan was to put at least three cylinders in a limousine. Limousines are usually thought to contain important people who aren't going to cause problems, at least security officials sometimes feel about that way. I think authorities want to get rid of that idea. Limousines can hold more explosive material than smaller vehicles. They have tinted windows. They can fit into underground parking garages and other enclosed spaces that, you know, you wouldn't be able to get a truck into, for example.

The memo also recommended painting the cylinders yellow, so that if they were discovered, they would be thought erroneously to contain toxic gases, yellow being a designation for toxic material. In fact, they recommended that the cylinders used be flammable gases like propane, acetylene and so forth.

COLLINS: All right.

ZAGORIN: So there you have it. COLLINS: Well, Adam, 39 pages with some serious detail there that you lay out for us. We appreciate your time. Adam Zagorin of "TIME" magazine. Thanks so much.

ZAGORIN: Glad to be here.

COLLINS: Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security. And stay tuned Thursday for AMERICAN MORNING's special live coverage of the inauguration preparations. That will begin at 7:00 a.m. Eastern. Bill and Soledad will be live in Washington -- Bill.

HEMMER: Heidi, thanks.

Twenty-three minutes now before the hour. If you stayed up late last night, you saw the Golden Globes. It's time now for our special edition of "90-Second Pop."

Toure is here this morning, CNN pop culture correspondent.

Good morning to you.

TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: How are you?

HEMMER: Are you awake?

TOURE: I am.

HEMMER: You hardly look it.

Jessica Shaw from "Entertainment Weekly" is with us, too.

Jessica, good morning. Good to see you.

JESSICA SHAW, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY": Good to see you.

HEMMER: And B.J. Sigesmund, staff editor for "US Weekly."

How are you doing?

B.J. SIGESMUND, STAFF EDITOR, "US WEEKLY": Good.

HEMMER: This shows was a dog last night. Can we just give it a big thumbs-down? Do you know why? There was no host. There was no person to take you through every...

SHAW: It's true. It just started in, yes.

HEMMER: It was just bad. Let's talk about the big categories, by the way.

SIGESMUND: OK.

HEMMER: What did you like last night? And the big winners are what? SIGESMUND: Well, what I liked was different from what won necessarily, but let's say that the biggest winners of the night were for best picture drama, "The Aviator." Right? The Martin Scorsese bio-pic of Howard Hughes. And for best picture musical comedy, it was all about "Sideways."

Now, what was interesting, though, about last night was it was a little bit schizophrenic. There wasn't one movie that really took the majority of categories. For "The Aviator," you saw best picture and Leonardo DiCaprio win. And then for "Sideways," it won not only best picture musical comedy, but also surprisingly best screenplay.

But surprisingly, Clint Eastwood won best director for "Million Dollar Baby."

HEMMER: Why was that a surprise?

SIGESMUND: That upset...

TOURE: Why was that a surprise?

SIGESMUND: No, because I think a lot of people thought Martin Scorsese was going to win for best director. You know, "The Aviator" won...

SHAW: They split it up for sure, when someone gets director and someone else gets picture. But "Closer" got two awards last night, and Hilary Swank won. So, it was a weird night.

TOURE: I mean, usually, we walk out of the Golden Globes knowing this is where we're headed for the Oscars.

SIGESMUND: Right.

TOURE: This is the favorite. This is going to be a suspenseful Oscars for once, because "Million Dollar Baby" got love, "Aviator" got love last night, "Sideways" got a lot of love. So, I mean, there are three pictures that...

SIGESMUND: Right.

HEMMER: It kind of reflects how the movies have gone for the past year, right? There's no one dominant film out there...

(CROSSTALK)

SIGESMUND: But there is one category for sure that you can name right now for best...

HEMMER: Which is?

SIGESMUND: ... for the Oscars, which is Jamie Foxx...

TOURE: Right.

SIGESMUND: ... for best actor for "Ray." That was the emotional highlight of the night. And I think we're going to listen to it at some point.

SHAW: Get your tissues out, people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMIE FOXX, ACTOR: I'm having the ride of my life. I used to think it was corny when people would say that people are looking down on you. And I didn't really -- I didn't believe it. But I got a feeling. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: He was talking about his grandmother last night. Really a tender moment, too.

SHAW: But don't you think that just won him the Oscar, though? I mean, that was like the best performance he has ever done in his career. I mean, that was amazing.

SIGESMUND: That was very good.

HEMMER: Let's talk about the TV awards.

TOURE: Oh!

HEMMER: You sat here on Friday last week and said forget about it. It's going to be Sarah Jessica Parker.

TOURE: My god, how quickly...

HEMMER: What happened?

TOURE: How quickly we forgot our old friends. "Sex and the City" got pushed to the side by "Desperate Housewives."

HEMMER: Teri Hatcher...

TOURE: Teri Hatcher in "Desperate Housewives" won best comedy. I mean, it's a great show. I love it. If you don't have TiVo, you missed a great episode of "Desperate Housewives" on the other channel. But, I mean, you know, how quickly we forget.

HEMMER: Stop a second here. You had a category with five people nominated, right?

TOURE: Yes.

HEMMER: And that show had 60 percent of the nominees.

SIGESMUND: Well, that's the amazing thing. People said for sure those "Desperate Housewives" are going to cancel each other out and SJP will walk up there, or she actually wasn't there, but Sarah Jessica Parker would win again. So, it's more of a triumph that Teri Hatcher won.

SHAW: And even more pathetic even for Debra Messing, who didn't have a shot...

TOURE: Right.

SHAW: ... even though...

HEMMER: Right.

SHAW: ... she was the likely winner. I mean, come on!

HEMMER: Hey, Jessica, tell us about the fashion last night. What did you think?

SHAW: Well, I...

HEMMER: Who won and who did not?

SHAW: I have to say, like, there was nothing all that remarkable. I was sort of hoping for, like, a really horrible situation or a really great one. I thought Nicole Kidman was truly stunning in her Gucci dress. B.J. and I tend to agree on Nicole's sartorial judgment.

SIGESMUND: We tend to disagree.

SHAW: Disagree, I'm sorry.

HEMMER: Hilary Swank in the middle?

SHAW: Hilary Swank in Calvin Klein, beautiful, the same color she wore the year that she won the Oscar. So, I think maybe that was a good luck color. And also, Felicity Huffman I thought was radiant. She was the sexiest "Desperate Housewife," not desperate for clothing taste.

HEMMER: That was the best-dressed?

SHAW: That was the best-dressed.

SIGESMUND: That was the best analogy.

HEMMER: Who makes your other list?

SHAW: The other list, I have to go with Mariska Hargitay had a little bit of a problem with perhaps it was a little too cold around her table.

HEMMER: I see. I see.

SHAW: And I was...

SIGESMUND: In my apartment, you people were aghast at how Mariska Hargitay looked when she took to the stand.

HEMMER: Really?

SIGESMUND: Yes. SHAW: It was a little nipple-gate 2005.

HEMMER: It's cable. Put that picture back up there. You have Halle Berry in the middle.

SHAW: Halle Barry?

HEMMER: How can she look bad, Toure?

TOURE: I don't know how she could ever look bad.

SHAW: I thought that dress was truly hideous. She is gorgeous, and that dress did nothing for her. It made her body look a little...

SIGESMUND: It's like the (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

SHAW: Yes.

TOURE: I don't know about hideous.

SHAW: But nothing was as hideous as Lisa Marie Presley wearing some weird cape. I expected her to turn into a bat and, like, fly off into the distance.

HEMMER: She had the gothic look going didn't she?

SHAW: Yes.

HEMMER: Nice to see you all, OK?

SIGESMUND: Thank you.

HEMMER: B.J., Jessica, see you later.

SHAW: See you.

HEMMER: The prince of urban populism.

Here's Heidi -- Heidi.

COLLINS: We want to go ahead and check on the weather now.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: In a moment here, a minister, a newlywed, a grandma and a father, plus one groom-to-be for good measure. The revolution begins today for all five. Meet the five participants of the "New You Revolution" this morning in a moment.

COLLINS: It really is a fun group of people, too.

And pictures of one of the solar system's greatest mysteries finally beamed back to Earth. We're going to look at them coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: Pictures being sent back to Earth by the Huygens space probe on Saturn's moon, Titan. They show a frozen orange world enveloped in a methane-rich haze. Well, on the surface of the moon, dark ice rocks dot several river bed-like surfaces. And in the next hour of American, we're going to talk about the exciting mission with Jack Horkeimer (ph). He's the executive director of the Miami Planetarium. Beautiful pictures.

HEMMER: Yes, I'll be looking forward to more on that.

Back to Jack now and the "Question of the Day."

Good morning.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Bill.

American commandos have been on the ground inside Iran conducting secret reconnaissance missions since last summer, trying to identify potential military, nuclear and chemical weapon sites. This is according to a story by Pulitzer Prize winning author Seymour Hersh in this week's "New Yorker." Mr. Hersh will be a guest on this program in the next hour.

An ex-intelligence officer told Hersh that attacks against those targets could come as early as this summer. White House communications director Dan Bartlett said that Hersh's article is -- quote -- "riddled with inaccuracies, and I don't believe some of the conclusions he's drawing are based on fact."

The question we're asking is: Should the United States attack military targets inside Iran?

Johnny in Vicksburg, Mississippi: "Two years ago, the answer probably would have been yes. However, now that the credibility of the U.S. is shot, both among the world and among its own citizens, we'd be reckless to attack anywhere in the Muslim world."

David writes from Ames, Iowa: "So now we're going to take a war of liberation and turn it into a regional conflict. Is this another slam dunk? With our military stretched so thin already, it would be lunacy to open up another front."

Pamela in Michigan writes: "It's clear Bush hasn't learned that you can't bomb everyone. But what the hay. He's got a mandate. So, we'll invade Iran, draft our young to fight, raise the deficits a little more, sink the dollar, give our jobs away to foreign lands and pay for it all by stealing our Social Security fund. I'm game."

Some of you are cynical.

Robert in Tacoma, Washington: "It seems we don't have much choice if we have to protect our interests, but it will probably start World War III, and it won't be pretty."

And Tom Memphis writes: "If Bush has to bomb somebody this year, isn't France developing WMD? Now, there's a dangerous country." HEMMER: Now, he has said over the weekend, he said that the reason why he thinks he got this story is so that it does not happen. And there's another school of thought that says perhaps he got this story to let Tehran know that something might be going on right now.

CAFFERTY: Conspiracy theorists are everywhere.

HEMMER: We'll ask him about it. Thank you, Jack.

CAFFERTY: Yes. You're welcome.

HEMMER: It is a New Year and a new you perhaps. Today, we'll meet five people starting a journey to better themselves. We kick off a "New You Revolution," next here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: It is the beginning of the year, a time when many of us want to make some changes for the better. But to do that you probably have to break some old habits.

Five participants are with us today. They say they are ready to do just that.

Say good morning to Leigh Ann and Jonathan and Thekla, Sandra and Harald. All five admit they have vices, and they want to change their lives. And we're here to help them do that -- Heidi.

COLLINS: In fact, a few months ago, we asked you, our viewers, if you wanted to join us and break some bad habits. Thousands of you wrote in asking to participate in this year's health challenge, which we are calling our "New You Revolution." For the next eight weeks, our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is going to work with these five people as they try to break their bad habits.

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And it's going to be fairly easy, I think, with this crowd. We'll see how it goes. Let's introduce you to them.

First, we have Leigh Ann Raynor. She's a minister in south Georgia with a loving congregation, but she has vices as well. One very bad one she's reluctant to tackle is her smoking. She also eats a lot of unhealthy food. She doesn't cook, and her parishioners love to cook for her. She also doesn't exercise. All of these bad habits contribute to an already worsening existing heart problem.

And there's Jonathan Karp. He's our youngest participant with a far too common bad habit, one that's not often discussed. Jonathan bites his nails, but he no longer wants to hide his hands or his habit. And he's looking for an end to this unsightly habit with some untraditional means.

Thekla Fischer is an attorney and a newlywed who looks like she's on top of the world. But she has a lifestyle many of us can relate to. She works way too many hours, which leads to eating late at night and not taking the time to exercise. She's hoping to change her ways so she'll be healthy and in top condition to start a family.

Sandra Garth, she's a grandmother who is celebrating her 50th birthday today. Sandra knows a lot about health and fitness, but stress and her love of sweets have caught up with her. And since she stopped exercising, she's also started getting arthritis a few years ago, the weight started creeping up. But Sandra wants to be healthier so she can keep up with her 2-year-old grandson whom she's caring for, while his mother and father are stationed in Iraq.

And last, of course, but not least, meet Harald Fricker. Harald is a former long distance runner with 100 pounds of excess baggage. He exercises every day, but this father of two spends his day in front of the computer eating too many snacks and sometimes skipping meals. In fact, his kids sent in his application for this program asking us to help their dad.

HEMMER: Sanjay calls you the fab five. We'll see how fab we are for the next eight weeks.

Thekla, why don't you start us off? You're a newlywed. Your motivation for this program is what?

THEKLA FISCHER, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: I'd like to get pregnant in the next six months or so. And before I do that, I'd like to be in peak condition, work on my immune system and my core strength.

HEMMER: All right. There's motivation enough in there.

COLLINS: Yes, very much.

Jonathan, you have tried this many times before, my friend.

JONATHAN KARP, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: Numerous times.

COLLINS: How is it going to be different this time? How are you going to stop biting your nails?

KARP: I just got engaged. My wedding is June 25. I'll be doing this for my fiance, Erica (ph).

HEMMER: all right.

KARP: I'll try as hard as I can. And I've already quit for a week. We'll see how long it lasts.

HEMMER: I wondered earlier whether or not you were sitting on your hands. Do you try that? You probably try everything, don't you?

KARP: I've tried hot sauce on the fingernails. I've tried...

HEMMER: Really? You put hot sauce on your fingernails?

KARP: Yes, they even sell some of that at the CVS, and you put it on your fingernails.

COLLINS: They do. It's called No Bite or something like that. KARP: You start to like it, you know. You put it on your food.

HEMMER: Good luck on there.

Leigh Ann, you're almost 50.

LEIGH ANN RAYNOR, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: I am.

HEMMER: You have heart trouble.

RAYNOR: I do.

HEMMER: Have you tried to be in shape before?

RAYNOR: I have. And the older I got, the worse the heart problem got, and it was undiagnosed until this past year. And so, the more I exercised, as years went on, the more pain I was in and short of breath. And I just couldn't go on.

HEMMER: Well, good luck.

RAYNOR: Thank you.

GUPTA: All right. And, Sandra, first of all, happy birthday.

SANDRA GARTH, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: Thank you.

GUPTA: Again, you're a former aerobics instructor.

GARTH: Right.

GUPTA: You know all of the right things to do. How are you going to do it this time?

GARTH: Well, being on national TV helps. That's motivation right there. And I want to do it because my son and his wife are in Iraq, and they're making the sacrifice to be away from their family. So, I can sacrifice some bad habits and learn new ones.

GUPTA: That's going to be some good inspiration for everybody, I think.

GARTH: I hope so.

COLLINS: Now, Harald, you used to be a long distance runner, I mean, like, way long distance, almost 100 miles you used to do.

HARALD FRICKER, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: Yes.

COLLINS: And we're going to look at a photograph here of you back when you were running. And there is quite a significant change. What happened?

FRICKER: Basically, a couple of sympathetic pregnancies gone awry. I like to use that as an excuse. But the reality is I do sit in front of a computer several hours a day, you know, and actually very late into the night. So, I have a bad habit of eating late at night.

GUPTA: And your big motivation this time, Harald?

FRICKER: Basically, you know, my kids, they sent in my application. They said, please help my dad before he blows up, you know. They know that, you know, I show them pictures of when I was a runner, and now they're saying, "Prove it." So I'm back to prove it.

GUPTA: All right. And we'll be spending more time with Harald coming up at 9:00 a.m. Eastern today. But first, let's take a closer look at the bad habits that earned him a 100-pound weight gain over the last dozen or so years. That's what we'll be doing at 9:00 a.m.

COLLINS: In fact, over the next eight weeks, we are going to be learning an awful lot as we watch these five people try to change their bad habits. Now, you can follow their progress and also provide encouragement to them. They would really like that. All you have to do is log on to CNN.com/AM.

HEMMER: Off and running, so to speak. The fab five.

GUPTA: The fab five.

HEMMER: Harald started a little bit. So, we'll keep you going over the next eight weeks. Great to meet all of you.

GUPTA: OK.

HEMMER: Thanks a lot.

COLLINS: Thank you.

HEMMER: Let's get a break. Top stories in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING. We continue right after this.

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Aired January 17, 2005 - 07:29   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. A bit of a dusting on the ground here as we wake up in the Northeast. Soledad is out today. Martin Luther King Day across the country.
Good morning -- Heidi.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

HEMMER: You and I are here.

COLLINS: Yes, we are.

HEMMER: Yes, we are.

COLLINS: With that dusting.

HEMMER: In a few moments, a "CNN Security Watch" on this Monday. Have terrorists now zeroed in on limos as a way to possibly deliver explosives almost anywhere they want without notice? We'll talk about that and the discovery of an al Qaeda memo that's raising serious concerns as the inauguration gets closer and closer this week.

COLLINS: Also, the Golden Globe awards were handed out last night. A special edition of "90-Second Pop" on the way looking at all of the big winners, the surprises and who's got the edge now for the Oscars.

HEMMER: All right.

COLLINS: One step closer.

HEMMER: Yes, that it is. Carol Costello is also with us this morning with a look at the headlines across town.

And, Carol, good morning there.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Bill. Good morning to all of you.

"Now in the News."

Iraqis in five U.S. cities are lining up today to register to vote in Iraq's first independent election in nearly 50 years. Iraqis have until next Monday to register in Detroit, L.A., Nashville, Chicago and Washington. There are some 90,000 Iraqi-born immigrants in the United States. Election officials say there is no way to tell how many will actually turn out when voting begins on January 28.

At least four Palestinians have been killed today in two separate incidents in Gaza. The attacks come as Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has ordered his army to do whatever necessary to stop Palestinian attacks against Israeli settlers. Sharon has also cut off contact with Palestinian officials, saying they are not doing enough to curb the violence.

Turning to entertainment news. "Coach Carter" has slam-dunked the "Fockers" at the box office. "Carter" stars Samuel Jackson as a real-life high school basketball coach who benches his entire team because of bad grades. The film raked in $23.6 million this weekend, bumping off that comedy, "Meet the Fockers," after three straight weekends at the top.

And she is believed to be the oldest woman to ever give birth. A 66-year-old Romanian woman delivered a baby girl yesterday. You see her there. The 3 pound newborn is said to be in stable condition at a Bucharest hospital. Doctors say the woman became pregnant through in- vitro fertilization. It was her third attempt to carry a pregnancy to term. So, she is now, Heidi, a 66-year-old mom.

COLLINS: A stunner, to say the least. All right, Carol, thanks so much. We'll check in with you a little bit later on.

Meanwhile, though, security for this week's inauguration celebration, the first since 9/11, will be unprecedented. In this morning's "CNN Security Watch," authorities are particularly concerned about a potential terror attack using so-called limousine bombs.

Adam Zagorin writes about it in "TIME" magazine this week. He is joining us now from Washington this morning.

Adam, nice to see you. We know that in this summer, U.S. authorities got a hold of an al Qaeda memo that had quite a few details about this gas limo project. I understand there are quite a few caveats to the story, but let's skip those for a moment. Tell me just first about the plan.

ADAM ZAGORIN, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Well, it's a 39-page memorandum that lays out in really meticulous and lurid detail their thoughts on al Qaeda's thoughts, this individual operative's thoughts, on how you would use gas cylinders, put them in a limousine, and use it as what they call a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device. And, I mean, I just gave the general concept in, you know, a couple of seconds over the air here. You can imagine, if I had read all 39 pages, it goes into great detail.

COLLINS: Well, that being said, though, there are no times or dates or targets really in this plan. So, is there any reason to believe that this might actually be a possibility for Thursday and the inauguration?

ZAGORIN: Well, the first thing, there's no specific targets. There was actually a recommendation that such a device be used against commercial buildings. And the commentary provided by U.S. intelligence and security agencies on the document suggested that it was intended for use in the U.K. or the United States. And the author of it, or the presumed author of it, was taken into custody in the U.K. some months ago, last year.

We know, however, that although there is no specific threat against the inauguration, perhaps partly because there will be hundreds of limousines in Washington for the event itself and for various festivities that surround it, that U.S. authorities are certainly considering this threat. And we know that for a number of reasons.

First of all, as soon as the threat came in -- and, again, that goes back some months -- the Department of Homeland Security contacted limousine companies in various locations and warned them of the threat. Then on January 5, in other words, just a few days ago, excerpts from this memorandum, which had -- there was a known threat about limos, but the existence of this memorandum is now public for the first time. It had not been out there before.

COLLINS: So, clearly, it's safe to say, Adam, I mean, they're taking this very seriously. They are taking measures to protect against the possibility...

ZAGORIN: Right. Well, they ran excerpts from the memorandum in a circular that runs among security intelligence officials. And they're also putting up barriers around Washington during the inauguration, for the inauguration, to block vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices. There are a lot of barriers. And, of course, that does include limousines, which is something that people don't always think of as a threat.

COLLINS: Right. In fact, quickly, before we let you go here, this is very different than what we have seen in Iraq and the car bombs. Tell me what the difference is between these VBIEDs and how it works.

ZAGORIN: Well, the memo specifically recommends a number of things. One plan was to put at least three cylinders in a limousine. Limousines are usually thought to contain important people who aren't going to cause problems, at least security officials sometimes feel about that way. I think authorities want to get rid of that idea. Limousines can hold more explosive material than smaller vehicles. They have tinted windows. They can fit into underground parking garages and other enclosed spaces that, you know, you wouldn't be able to get a truck into, for example.

The memo also recommended painting the cylinders yellow, so that if they were discovered, they would be thought erroneously to contain toxic gases, yellow being a designation for toxic material. In fact, they recommended that the cylinders used be flammable gases like propane, acetylene and so forth.

COLLINS: All right.

ZAGORIN: So there you have it. COLLINS: Well, Adam, 39 pages with some serious detail there that you lay out for us. We appreciate your time. Adam Zagorin of "TIME" magazine. Thanks so much.

ZAGORIN: Glad to be here.

COLLINS: Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security. And stay tuned Thursday for AMERICAN MORNING's special live coverage of the inauguration preparations. That will begin at 7:00 a.m. Eastern. Bill and Soledad will be live in Washington -- Bill.

HEMMER: Heidi, thanks.

Twenty-three minutes now before the hour. If you stayed up late last night, you saw the Golden Globes. It's time now for our special edition of "90-Second Pop."

Toure is here this morning, CNN pop culture correspondent.

Good morning to you.

TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: How are you?

HEMMER: Are you awake?

TOURE: I am.

HEMMER: You hardly look it.

Jessica Shaw from "Entertainment Weekly" is with us, too.

Jessica, good morning. Good to see you.

JESSICA SHAW, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY": Good to see you.

HEMMER: And B.J. Sigesmund, staff editor for "US Weekly."

How are you doing?

B.J. SIGESMUND, STAFF EDITOR, "US WEEKLY": Good.

HEMMER: This shows was a dog last night. Can we just give it a big thumbs-down? Do you know why? There was no host. There was no person to take you through every...

SHAW: It's true. It just started in, yes.

HEMMER: It was just bad. Let's talk about the big categories, by the way.

SIGESMUND: OK.

HEMMER: What did you like last night? And the big winners are what? SIGESMUND: Well, what I liked was different from what won necessarily, but let's say that the biggest winners of the night were for best picture drama, "The Aviator." Right? The Martin Scorsese bio-pic of Howard Hughes. And for best picture musical comedy, it was all about "Sideways."

Now, what was interesting, though, about last night was it was a little bit schizophrenic. There wasn't one movie that really took the majority of categories. For "The Aviator," you saw best picture and Leonardo DiCaprio win. And then for "Sideways," it won not only best picture musical comedy, but also surprisingly best screenplay.

But surprisingly, Clint Eastwood won best director for "Million Dollar Baby."

HEMMER: Why was that a surprise?

SIGESMUND: That upset...

TOURE: Why was that a surprise?

SIGESMUND: No, because I think a lot of people thought Martin Scorsese was going to win for best director. You know, "The Aviator" won...

SHAW: They split it up for sure, when someone gets director and someone else gets picture. But "Closer" got two awards last night, and Hilary Swank won. So, it was a weird night.

TOURE: I mean, usually, we walk out of the Golden Globes knowing this is where we're headed for the Oscars.

SIGESMUND: Right.

TOURE: This is the favorite. This is going to be a suspenseful Oscars for once, because "Million Dollar Baby" got love, "Aviator" got love last night, "Sideways" got a lot of love. So, I mean, there are three pictures that...

SIGESMUND: Right.

HEMMER: It kind of reflects how the movies have gone for the past year, right? There's no one dominant film out there...

(CROSSTALK)

SIGESMUND: But there is one category for sure that you can name right now for best...

HEMMER: Which is?

SIGESMUND: ... for the Oscars, which is Jamie Foxx...

TOURE: Right.

SIGESMUND: ... for best actor for "Ray." That was the emotional highlight of the night. And I think we're going to listen to it at some point.

SHAW: Get your tissues out, people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMIE FOXX, ACTOR: I'm having the ride of my life. I used to think it was corny when people would say that people are looking down on you. And I didn't really -- I didn't believe it. But I got a feeling. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: He was talking about his grandmother last night. Really a tender moment, too.

SHAW: But don't you think that just won him the Oscar, though? I mean, that was like the best performance he has ever done in his career. I mean, that was amazing.

SIGESMUND: That was very good.

HEMMER: Let's talk about the TV awards.

TOURE: Oh!

HEMMER: You sat here on Friday last week and said forget about it. It's going to be Sarah Jessica Parker.

TOURE: My god, how quickly...

HEMMER: What happened?

TOURE: How quickly we forgot our old friends. "Sex and the City" got pushed to the side by "Desperate Housewives."

HEMMER: Teri Hatcher...

TOURE: Teri Hatcher in "Desperate Housewives" won best comedy. I mean, it's a great show. I love it. If you don't have TiVo, you missed a great episode of "Desperate Housewives" on the other channel. But, I mean, you know, how quickly we forget.

HEMMER: Stop a second here. You had a category with five people nominated, right?

TOURE: Yes.

HEMMER: And that show had 60 percent of the nominees.

SIGESMUND: Well, that's the amazing thing. People said for sure those "Desperate Housewives" are going to cancel each other out and SJP will walk up there, or she actually wasn't there, but Sarah Jessica Parker would win again. So, it's more of a triumph that Teri Hatcher won.

SHAW: And even more pathetic even for Debra Messing, who didn't have a shot...

TOURE: Right.

SHAW: ... even though...

HEMMER: Right.

SHAW: ... she was the likely winner. I mean, come on!

HEMMER: Hey, Jessica, tell us about the fashion last night. What did you think?

SHAW: Well, I...

HEMMER: Who won and who did not?

SHAW: I have to say, like, there was nothing all that remarkable. I was sort of hoping for, like, a really horrible situation or a really great one. I thought Nicole Kidman was truly stunning in her Gucci dress. B.J. and I tend to agree on Nicole's sartorial judgment.

SIGESMUND: We tend to disagree.

SHAW: Disagree, I'm sorry.

HEMMER: Hilary Swank in the middle?

SHAW: Hilary Swank in Calvin Klein, beautiful, the same color she wore the year that she won the Oscar. So, I think maybe that was a good luck color. And also, Felicity Huffman I thought was radiant. She was the sexiest "Desperate Housewife," not desperate for clothing taste.

HEMMER: That was the best-dressed?

SHAW: That was the best-dressed.

SIGESMUND: That was the best analogy.

HEMMER: Who makes your other list?

SHAW: The other list, I have to go with Mariska Hargitay had a little bit of a problem with perhaps it was a little too cold around her table.

HEMMER: I see. I see.

SHAW: And I was...

SIGESMUND: In my apartment, you people were aghast at how Mariska Hargitay looked when she took to the stand.

HEMMER: Really?

SIGESMUND: Yes. SHAW: It was a little nipple-gate 2005.

HEMMER: It's cable. Put that picture back up there. You have Halle Berry in the middle.

SHAW: Halle Barry?

HEMMER: How can she look bad, Toure?

TOURE: I don't know how she could ever look bad.

SHAW: I thought that dress was truly hideous. She is gorgeous, and that dress did nothing for her. It made her body look a little...

SIGESMUND: It's like the (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

SHAW: Yes.

TOURE: I don't know about hideous.

SHAW: But nothing was as hideous as Lisa Marie Presley wearing some weird cape. I expected her to turn into a bat and, like, fly off into the distance.

HEMMER: She had the gothic look going didn't she?

SHAW: Yes.

HEMMER: Nice to see you all, OK?

SIGESMUND: Thank you.

HEMMER: B.J., Jessica, see you later.

SHAW: See you.

HEMMER: The prince of urban populism.

Here's Heidi -- Heidi.

COLLINS: We want to go ahead and check on the weather now.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: In a moment here, a minister, a newlywed, a grandma and a father, plus one groom-to-be for good measure. The revolution begins today for all five. Meet the five participants of the "New You Revolution" this morning in a moment.

COLLINS: It really is a fun group of people, too.

And pictures of one of the solar system's greatest mysteries finally beamed back to Earth. We're going to look at them coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: Pictures being sent back to Earth by the Huygens space probe on Saturn's moon, Titan. They show a frozen orange world enveloped in a methane-rich haze. Well, on the surface of the moon, dark ice rocks dot several river bed-like surfaces. And in the next hour of American, we're going to talk about the exciting mission with Jack Horkeimer (ph). He's the executive director of the Miami Planetarium. Beautiful pictures.

HEMMER: Yes, I'll be looking forward to more on that.

Back to Jack now and the "Question of the Day."

Good morning.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Bill.

American commandos have been on the ground inside Iran conducting secret reconnaissance missions since last summer, trying to identify potential military, nuclear and chemical weapon sites. This is according to a story by Pulitzer Prize winning author Seymour Hersh in this week's "New Yorker." Mr. Hersh will be a guest on this program in the next hour.

An ex-intelligence officer told Hersh that attacks against those targets could come as early as this summer. White House communications director Dan Bartlett said that Hersh's article is -- quote -- "riddled with inaccuracies, and I don't believe some of the conclusions he's drawing are based on fact."

The question we're asking is: Should the United States attack military targets inside Iran?

Johnny in Vicksburg, Mississippi: "Two years ago, the answer probably would have been yes. However, now that the credibility of the U.S. is shot, both among the world and among its own citizens, we'd be reckless to attack anywhere in the Muslim world."

David writes from Ames, Iowa: "So now we're going to take a war of liberation and turn it into a regional conflict. Is this another slam dunk? With our military stretched so thin already, it would be lunacy to open up another front."

Pamela in Michigan writes: "It's clear Bush hasn't learned that you can't bomb everyone. But what the hay. He's got a mandate. So, we'll invade Iran, draft our young to fight, raise the deficits a little more, sink the dollar, give our jobs away to foreign lands and pay for it all by stealing our Social Security fund. I'm game."

Some of you are cynical.

Robert in Tacoma, Washington: "It seems we don't have much choice if we have to protect our interests, but it will probably start World War III, and it won't be pretty."

And Tom Memphis writes: "If Bush has to bomb somebody this year, isn't France developing WMD? Now, there's a dangerous country." HEMMER: Now, he has said over the weekend, he said that the reason why he thinks he got this story is so that it does not happen. And there's another school of thought that says perhaps he got this story to let Tehran know that something might be going on right now.

CAFFERTY: Conspiracy theorists are everywhere.

HEMMER: We'll ask him about it. Thank you, Jack.

CAFFERTY: Yes. You're welcome.

HEMMER: It is a New Year and a new you perhaps. Today, we'll meet five people starting a journey to better themselves. We kick off a "New You Revolution," next here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: It is the beginning of the year, a time when many of us want to make some changes for the better. But to do that you probably have to break some old habits.

Five participants are with us today. They say they are ready to do just that.

Say good morning to Leigh Ann and Jonathan and Thekla, Sandra and Harald. All five admit they have vices, and they want to change their lives. And we're here to help them do that -- Heidi.

COLLINS: In fact, a few months ago, we asked you, our viewers, if you wanted to join us and break some bad habits. Thousands of you wrote in asking to participate in this year's health challenge, which we are calling our "New You Revolution." For the next eight weeks, our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is going to work with these five people as they try to break their bad habits.

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And it's going to be fairly easy, I think, with this crowd. We'll see how it goes. Let's introduce you to them.

First, we have Leigh Ann Raynor. She's a minister in south Georgia with a loving congregation, but she has vices as well. One very bad one she's reluctant to tackle is her smoking. She also eats a lot of unhealthy food. She doesn't cook, and her parishioners love to cook for her. She also doesn't exercise. All of these bad habits contribute to an already worsening existing heart problem.

And there's Jonathan Karp. He's our youngest participant with a far too common bad habit, one that's not often discussed. Jonathan bites his nails, but he no longer wants to hide his hands or his habit. And he's looking for an end to this unsightly habit with some untraditional means.

Thekla Fischer is an attorney and a newlywed who looks like she's on top of the world. But she has a lifestyle many of us can relate to. She works way too many hours, which leads to eating late at night and not taking the time to exercise. She's hoping to change her ways so she'll be healthy and in top condition to start a family.

Sandra Garth, she's a grandmother who is celebrating her 50th birthday today. Sandra knows a lot about health and fitness, but stress and her love of sweets have caught up with her. And since she stopped exercising, she's also started getting arthritis a few years ago, the weight started creeping up. But Sandra wants to be healthier so she can keep up with her 2-year-old grandson whom she's caring for, while his mother and father are stationed in Iraq.

And last, of course, but not least, meet Harald Fricker. Harald is a former long distance runner with 100 pounds of excess baggage. He exercises every day, but this father of two spends his day in front of the computer eating too many snacks and sometimes skipping meals. In fact, his kids sent in his application for this program asking us to help their dad.

HEMMER: Sanjay calls you the fab five. We'll see how fab we are for the next eight weeks.

Thekla, why don't you start us off? You're a newlywed. Your motivation for this program is what?

THEKLA FISCHER, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: I'd like to get pregnant in the next six months or so. And before I do that, I'd like to be in peak condition, work on my immune system and my core strength.

HEMMER: All right. There's motivation enough in there.

COLLINS: Yes, very much.

Jonathan, you have tried this many times before, my friend.

JONATHAN KARP, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: Numerous times.

COLLINS: How is it going to be different this time? How are you going to stop biting your nails?

KARP: I just got engaged. My wedding is June 25. I'll be doing this for my fiance, Erica (ph).

HEMMER: all right.

KARP: I'll try as hard as I can. And I've already quit for a week. We'll see how long it lasts.

HEMMER: I wondered earlier whether or not you were sitting on your hands. Do you try that? You probably try everything, don't you?

KARP: I've tried hot sauce on the fingernails. I've tried...

HEMMER: Really? You put hot sauce on your fingernails?

KARP: Yes, they even sell some of that at the CVS, and you put it on your fingernails.

COLLINS: They do. It's called No Bite or something like that. KARP: You start to like it, you know. You put it on your food.

HEMMER: Good luck on there.

Leigh Ann, you're almost 50.

LEIGH ANN RAYNOR, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: I am.

HEMMER: You have heart trouble.

RAYNOR: I do.

HEMMER: Have you tried to be in shape before?

RAYNOR: I have. And the older I got, the worse the heart problem got, and it was undiagnosed until this past year. And so, the more I exercised, as years went on, the more pain I was in and short of breath. And I just couldn't go on.

HEMMER: Well, good luck.

RAYNOR: Thank you.

GUPTA: All right. And, Sandra, first of all, happy birthday.

SANDRA GARTH, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: Thank you.

GUPTA: Again, you're a former aerobics instructor.

GARTH: Right.

GUPTA: You know all of the right things to do. How are you going to do it this time?

GARTH: Well, being on national TV helps. That's motivation right there. And I want to do it because my son and his wife are in Iraq, and they're making the sacrifice to be away from their family. So, I can sacrifice some bad habits and learn new ones.

GUPTA: That's going to be some good inspiration for everybody, I think.

GARTH: I hope so.

COLLINS: Now, Harald, you used to be a long distance runner, I mean, like, way long distance, almost 100 miles you used to do.

HARALD FRICKER, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: Yes.

COLLINS: And we're going to look at a photograph here of you back when you were running. And there is quite a significant change. What happened?

FRICKER: Basically, a couple of sympathetic pregnancies gone awry. I like to use that as an excuse. But the reality is I do sit in front of a computer several hours a day, you know, and actually very late into the night. So, I have a bad habit of eating late at night.

GUPTA: And your big motivation this time, Harald?

FRICKER: Basically, you know, my kids, they sent in my application. They said, please help my dad before he blows up, you know. They know that, you know, I show them pictures of when I was a runner, and now they're saying, "Prove it." So I'm back to prove it.

GUPTA: All right. And we'll be spending more time with Harald coming up at 9:00 a.m. Eastern today. But first, let's take a closer look at the bad habits that earned him a 100-pound weight gain over the last dozen or so years. That's what we'll be doing at 9:00 a.m.

COLLINS: In fact, over the next eight weeks, we are going to be learning an awful lot as we watch these five people try to change their bad habits. Now, you can follow their progress and also provide encouragement to them. They would really like that. All you have to do is log on to CNN.com/AM.

HEMMER: Off and running, so to speak. The fab five.

GUPTA: The fab five.

HEMMER: Harald started a little bit. So, we'll keep you going over the next eight weeks. Great to meet all of you.

GUPTA: OK.

HEMMER: Thanks a lot.

COLLINS: Thank you.

HEMMER: Let's get a break. Top stories in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING. We continue right after this.

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