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American Morning
Second-Term Politics; Amber Alert; 'New You Revolution'
Aired January 19, 2005 - 8:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Warming up in New York City. It's 13 degrees now.
Good morning, everybody. 8:30...
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Wait, we started at 13 degrees.
HEMMER: Yes, we did.
O'BRIEN: It hasn't warmed up at all.
HEMMER: No, it was 11 at 7:00 a.m.
O'BRIEN: Oh, OK.
HEMMER: Warm by two degrees.
O'BRIEN: Positively balmy here in the studio.
HEMMER: I'm telling you.
In a few moments here, we're going to back to the Condoleezza Rice confirmation hearings. Day two begins in about 30 minutes down there in D.C.
Jack's been taking e-mails regarding the tone of questioning from Senator Barbara Boxer. Kamber and May tackle that in a moment, too. We'll get to the bottom of that from yesterday. Again, the hearing starts about 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time, 29 minutes away on the clock.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, the JibJab guys are back. They've got a new cartoon. Some new members of the cast this time around. Even Jacques Chirac gets to warm up his singing voice a little bit right there. I don't think that really is Jacques Chirac. Greg and Evan Spiridellis are our guests in just a few minutes for the CNN premiere.
HEMMER: It lets you know how big they've gotten. They debuted these new videotapes on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno." So they get a pretty decent audience for it. So we'll talk to them in a couple minutes here, too.
O'BRIEN: Headlines first, though, with Heidi Collins.
Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm starting to know that song now. A little scary. Thanks, guys.
"Now in the News" this morning, al Qaeda loyalists of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is reportedly taking responsibility for a wave of suicide car bombings in Baghdad. We're going to talk more about that in just a moment. But four separate car bomb attacks hitting in and around Baghdad within a 90-minute span.
Iraqi police say a suicide car bomb went off near the Australian embassy this morning. Three other bombings followed. At least 25 people were killed. Those attacks come just 11 days before scheduled elections in Iraq.
The first person has been charged and convicted in a U.S. federal probe into corruption at the U.N.'s oil-for-food program. Attorney General John Ashcroft announced the charges and plea deal during a news conference yesterday. He said an Iraqi-American businessman illegally did business with Saddam Hussein's regime in exchange for millions of dollars. The plea requires the man to cooperate with the investigation.
A California jury has awarded a former police officer and his partner more than $2 million in a reverse discrimination suit. Amateur video shows then officer Jeremy Morse in July of 2002 slamming a black teen onto a patrol car south of Los Angeles. Morse was fired two months later. His partner was suspended. The jury decided yesterday, though, against those punishments, and there may be an appeal.
And NASA says its rover has found something pretty unusual on Mars. Scientists say the strange rock the Opportunity Rover has been riding on appears to be a meteorite. A closer look now. Scientists are calling it heat shield rock and say it could offer clues to how the Red Planet's surface changes. Pretty bumpy, at least.
Soledad, back over to you now.
O'BRIEN: All right, Heidi. Thanks.
As President Bush prepares to be sworn in again, a CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll shows his second-term approval rating is the lowest since Richard Nixon's back in 1973. Just 51 percent say the job Mr. -- they like the job Mr. Bush is doing. And I asked our resident debaters, Democratic consultant Victor Kamber and former RNC communications director Cliff May, to weigh in on those numbers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VICTOR KAMBER, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: I'm surprised they're that high for the president. He doesn't deserve them.
The fact is the country is not doing well in terms of domestically and certainly foreign policy -- the war, the view, the loss of lives, the wounded, et cetera. I think the 51 percent really still probably reflects where we were from the election, which is about where it ended up. About 50 percent of the Americans think he's great, 50 percent or close to 50 percent really have questions about his leadership.
O'BRIEN: Cliff, do these numbers concern you or, more importantly, should they concern the White House at this point?
CLIFFORD MAY, FMR. RNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: I don't really think so. I think Victor's right in a sense. This is about the numbers with which the president won the election.
There was no big bounce between the election and the inauguration. And I think in a sense, Victor's right.
A part of the reason, a large part of the reason is the anxiety people feel about the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism. They thought that the president would give better leadership than his opponent. But they're concerned. They do not want to see us lose that war, and they don't know whether or not we're going to win it. So there is no euphoria, no big bounce between the election and the inauguration.
O'BRIEN: Cliff, analyze these numbers for me, before I let you jump in, Vic. Here's a question. Confident that Bush can -- here's the -- handle world crisis is one. Back in January of 2001, that number was at 71 percent. Now it's at 64 percent.
Use the military wisely, back in January of 2001, that number was at 78 percent. Now it's down to 56 percent. Cliff, what do you make of these numbers?
MAY: To be honest, I think that people had hoped for more progress than we've seen in Iraq between then and now. I think what people have learned, to somewhat to their dismay, is that we have a military establishment, beautifully designed and equipped to fight the Soviet Union on the plains of Europe but not equipped and designed to fight counterinsurgencies and terrorists in places like Iraq. It is a painful learning curve, and I think you're seeing that expressed in the numbers.
O'BRIEN: Vic, I want to ask you a question about what we saw yesterday, Condoleezza Rice's lengthy, very, very lengthy confirmation hearing. It continues again today.
California Senator Barbara Boxer kind of leading the charge against, if that's the way to put it. She came close to, did not accuse Condoleezza Rice of lying, but came pretty darn close to -- to -- to saying that she was being untruthful at times. Condoleezza Rice sounded as if she were offended. Let's listen to a little bit of what Dr. Rice had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I have to say that I have never, ever lost respect for the truth in the service of anything. I really hope that you will refrain from impugning my integrity.
(END VIDEO CLIP) O'BRIEN: Why don't we start with you, Vic. What did you make of that -- that comment? And do you think she was rightly offended?
KAMBER: Well, I don't know. I assume she was offended. I assume that no one wants their integrity questioned, their veracity questioned.
The bottom line is, misinformation, misdirection was given to the president of the United States, or vice versa. Or the president gave it to his people. And he's now surrounding himself once again with people who don't want to question facts, who aren't willing to stand up to him.
I think it's an obligation of the United States Senate. That's what advice and consent is about, to call into question the people that surround the president and lead this country.
I would not suggest Ms. Rice -- she's bright -- that she lied or anything else. But clearly, we're in a situation today that no one expected.
There's no answer how to get out of Iraq. We went into Iraq because a cowboy wanted to go Iraq.
We have no answer how to get out. We're losing live, we're wounding people. And is the world better off without Saddam Hussein? Yes, but at what cost? And the people that brought us there include Condoleezza Rice.
O'BRIEN: Cliff, do you think Barbara Boxer crossed the line?
MAY: Yes, I think she definitely stepped over the line. These hearings are supposed to be about policy, not about politics.
Barbara Boxer knows full well that the head of the CIA, George Tenet, told Condi Rice, told the president that it was a slam dunk, that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. They had to rely on that, just as John Kerry did when he voted to authorize the president to go to war.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Kamber and May joining us this morning.
Bill and I are going to be in Washington, D.C., tomorrow for AMERICAN MORNING's special live coverage of the inaugural preparations. That begins at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time. And we will see you there -- Bill.
HEMMER: Want to move to a different story now. There's an Amber Alert in North Carolina and in the state of Tennessee for two small children. The FBI has joined the search for the parents who police say kidnapped the kids from their foster home.
Last hour, we talked with the foster mother. She asked that her identity be protected. We obliged. She described what happened. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I heard a car and got up to look to see who it was and saw some people coming up the steps. I opened the door and realized it was Alisha and said, "Hey, what you need? What can I do for you?"
And they started pushing their way in. James said that they were here for the kids. They wanted their kids.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: That was from last hour. This hour, Randi Kaye from CNN live in Boone, North Carolina.
Good morning there, Randi. What more are you finding out?
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning to you, Bill.
As the snow falls here in Boone, North Carolina, day five of the manhunt is set to begin. Investigators may not know where the biological parents and their children are this morning, but one thing is very clear. This entire investigation is very painful for all of the families involved.
We want to show you pictures of the children once again here. Breanna and Paul Chambers, they've been living with their foster parents for eight months. The foster mom refers to them as her "babies." She told me she loves them and would one day like to adopt them.
Now, also, take a look at the conditions these kids were living in. They had been seized in March after police discovered a meth lab at their biological parents' home. Bottles in the sink next to remains of meth. A sippy cup nearby, toys, meth residue on everything in that home.
These are pictures that CNN obtained from the Watauga County sheriff's deputies here. We also were able to confirm that Paul, the 2-and-a-half-year-old boy, has tested positive for having meth in his system.
Now, earlier this morning on AMERICAN MORNING, the Watauga County sheriff, Mark Shook, was asked if he thinks the biological parents would harm the children, if these kids might be in danger.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK SHOOK, WATAUGA COUNTY SHERIFF: I don't think that they would harm them intentionally. It's just the condition that they're running in, being wanted for a meth lab, the way they went inside the house with a firearm to retrieve the kids, the high-speed chase they led the Johnson County, Tennessee, deputies on. I think just their life style itself is what's putting the kids in danger.
(END VIDEO CLIP) KAYE: Now, the sheriff tells us he does still believe that family and friends are helping this couple avoid capture. We want to show you that couple one more time it this morning.
James Lee Canter, the father of the kids, 29 years old. His girlfriend, Alisha Chambers, 18 years old, the mother of the children.
James Canter has been on the run since March, when the meth lab was raided. And one interesting note, meth seems to run in the mother's family. Alisha Chambers' mother and brother both locked up here behind bars here in North Carolina for meth -- Bill.
HEMMER: Our best for those children. Randi Kaye in Boone, North Carolina. Thanks -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: On a much lighter note now, JibJab back with a vengeance. Washington gets skewered once again. Nobody's safe. We're going to see the new cartoon, also meet the brothers who are behind it.
HEMMER: Also, maybe you can relate to this story. A Michigan grandmother says she is overweight because of stress. Dr. Sanjay Gupta shows her how to solve the problem. The "New You Revolution" still to come this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. Day three of our "New You Revolution." We're helping five participants break some bad habit -- bad -- easy for me to say, bad habits this year.
HEMMER: A bad one, that's right. Sanjay's back now, introducing us to our next participant, a grandmother who wants to slim down and stay that way. And she has added incentive, too.
Sanjay, good morning.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, guys.
Sandra Garth is here. I want to introduce you to her. She's from Saginaw, Michigan, a former fitness instructor. But she admits that she's fallen off the healthy bandwagon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice-over): Meet Sandra Garth.
SANDRA GARTH, FMR. FITNESS INSTRUCTOR: Shannon (ph), where are your ears? Can you show grandma your ears?
GUPTA: Sandra Garth loves being a grandmother and caring for her family and cooking some good food.
GARTH: There is nothing special about this bacon. It's extremely unhealthy, but it is so good. GUPTA: It's not like Sandra doesn't know a thing or two about being healthy and fit. She used to teach high-impact aerobics. But a few years ago, arthritis put an end to her exercising, but not to her cravings.
GARTH: I'm a junk food junky, I'm a chocoholic. I like everything that's not good for me. I life greasy foods, fatty foods, sweet foods, salty food. You know, and I just have gotten lazy.
GUPTA: So this is just one of the reasons why she's joined our "New You Revolution." She has many more. She's reached a milestone.
GARTH: I want to be fabulous at 50. And I want to be fit at 50.
GUPTA: Plus, after raising five children, Sandra and her husband are parents once again to their grandson, Shannon (ph).
GARTH: Our second oldest son, Casey (ph), and his wife, Teresa (ph), are both stationed in Iraq. They're in Tikrit, and their youngest child, Shannon (ph) -- he's two -- is with us. They have an older son, Casey, Jr. (ph). He's five and he's in Detroit with Teresa's (ph) family.
GUPTA: She admits having loved ones in a war zone makes it hard to stick to a diet.
GARTH: I am a stressful eater. I am an emotional eater. And that doesn't take away the fact, you know. I can eat all the potato chips and chocolate chip cookies in the world, but it's not going to bring them back home right now.
GUPTA: So Sandra wants to get fit for herself and set a good example for her family.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: Sandra, thank you so much for joining us. You say you want to be fabulous at 50. You want to be fit at 50. And she turned 50 yesterday.
O'BRIEN: Congratulations.
GARTH: Actually on Monday.
GUPTA: On Monday, right.
O'BRIEN: And happy birthday. Good for you.
GARTH: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Well, I think you're set to do it. But how are you going to deal with the stress? I mean, you kind of summed it up perfectly, what you said. All the potato chips in the world isn't going to help bring anybody home any sooner than they're already scheduled to come home. What are you going to do? GARTH: I'm going to use exercise as a stress reliever this time. And I'm going to have some deep personal faith that everything is going to be OK.
HEMMER: And you have a sweet tooth, though, don't you?
GARTH: Oh, yes. I do.
HEMMER: Fifteen minutes ago, Andy Serwer walked in here with a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts. We scarfed them down. Well, just one each. How are you going to stay away from the sweets and push them away?
O'BRIEN: That was so mean.
HEMMER: What do you mean?
GUPTA: Leave it to Bill Hemmer to ask about temptation, of all things.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
GARTH: I'm going to try not to have it around. Out of sight, out of mind.
HEMMER: Oh, that's good.
GARTH: Yes, that's going to be the best way.
HEMMER: The reverend yesterday told us she was going to manage her menu. So that was good advice, too. Good luck to you.
GARTH: Thank you.
GUPTA: Making bad habits harder, making good habits easier, that's part of what Sandra is going to be learning as well. We've assembled a team of health experts from the University of Michigan to help you reach your goals. Here's your "New You Revolution" prescription.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARTH: I just fell off. And it's time to get back on the wagon.
GUPTA: Well, Sandra, here's our "New You Revolution" plan for you. Lose your bad snacking habits, be active again, and watch the excess pounds start coming off.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What I really want you to focus on is consistency and enjoying it.
GUPTA: With the help of an exercise physiologist, a behavior specialist and a nutritionist from the University of Michigan, we're going to learn how to control portion sizes, exercise safely. They'll also be doing a lot of walking and resistance training.
All in all, try to move about 10,000 step as day. And record your activities. That will help you form your new good habits.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: We wish you good luck, Sandra.
GARTH: Thank you so much.
O'BRIEN: Yes. Happy birthday.
GARTH: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: This is a big year for you. You know, Oprah turned the big 5-0 too. So it's a big (UNINTELLIGIBLE) year.
GARTH: She said 50 is the new 30. So we'll see.
O'BRIEN: Absolutely, that's right.
GUPTA: Best of luck to you, Sandra. Thanks for joining us here on the set.
Coming up tomorrow, we're going to introduce you to a young woman who wants to start a family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THEKLA FISCHER, "NEW YOU REVOLUTION" PARTICIPANT: I'm worried that if I'm not in good shape before I get pregnant, it's going to be that much harder.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: Thekla Fischer is her name. We'll tell you about her new -- you near revolution tomorrow. And, of course, you can follow along with all the participants and provide them some encouragement as well. They'll love that. Log on to cnn.com/am.
O'BRIEN: She wants to get in shape before she gets pregnant?
GUPTA: Yes. So she says she can bounce back like somebody that's sitting right next to me.
O'BRIEN: Oh, I think everyone here can tell you how many Krispy Kremes I had before and during.
GUPTA: Pre-pregnancy dress?
O'BRIEN: This is a pre-pregnancy dress.
GUPTA: Incredible, really. Congratulations to you, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Thank you, Sanjay. Thank you. Thank you. It's all your "New You Revolution."
(LAUGHTER)
HEMMER: Good luck, Sandra.
GARTH: Thank you very much.
HEMMER: We'll see you very soon.
Look out, Washington. The JibJab brothers are back at it. They have you in their sights, possibly. The newest cartoon is on the Web. We'll show it to you, and we'll talk to them live, too, out in Santa Monica, next here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome Jack -- back.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: You can do that.
O'BRIEN: Welcome back to Jack, who says things people say is pretty good today.
CAFFERTY: Well, a couple of them aren't bad.
O'BRIEN: OK.
CAFFERTY: Thanks for that glowing introduction.
O'BRIEN: Wasn't that smooth? Are you impressed?
CAFFERTY: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) my retirement might, which might be next week, by the way.
Wednesday, time for thinks people say, beginning with this: "Let Us Trim Our Hair in Accordance with Socialist Lifestyle." That's the title, true story, of a TV series in North Korea, where the government is directing men to go to the barbershop at least twice a month.
This is a country where you can't find a sandwich or a bowl of rice. They have no food. But the government worries about how often the people get their hair cut.
This one "it's like a pit stop. Change the tires, put a little fuel in the tank, clean the windshield, off she goes." Actor Matt LeBlanc on changing his daughter's diapers. And something you can relate to, I guess we all can. We've all done that.
"It's another way of getting in touch with people I just don't want to be bothered with." It's a woman after my own heart. Actress Scarlett Johansson on why she does not have an e-mail account.
"I was a virgin until I was 19. I was an incurable romantic. And then I went and married the guy. What was I thinking?" Actress Susan Sarandon on her first marriage to Chris Sarandon, whom she met at college at Catholic University in Washington.
And finally this: "Get the car packed in advance. After the parade, hand over the flag, get in the car and drive. And don't look back." Secondary of State Colin Powell on leaving the State Department and leaving public service in this country. And I think this nation is going to miss him a bunch. He's one of my favorite people.
O'BRIEN: He's not leaving public service for good, I don't think.
CAFFERTY: Well, he's leaving for now.
O'BRIEN: Wow. That's a pretty remarkable way to put that, isn't it?
CAFFERTY: Get in the car and drive and don't look back.
O'BRIEN: Don't look back.
HEMMER: Kind of makes it easy...
CAFFERTY: Words to live by. Applies to a lot of things.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
Their cartoon send-ups to the presidential campaign. An Internet sensation. Now the guys behind the political JibJab are at it again.
The latest lampoon marking the president's second term set to the tune of "She'll be comin' around the mountain." Here's a look now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, SINGING: Do you swear to preserve, protect, defend the Constitution?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, SINGING: You betcha. Yes I'm coming back to serve a second term. This time I won the national election. Oh, thanks to you, Ohio, and your brother, Jebediah, we get four more years years to rule in Washington.
Good god, he's coming back to serve a second term. We were hoping in '04 we'd get a turn. But we lost the vicious battle, now they're stuck without a paddle. Who will save us from conservatism?
I will stabilize Iraq in the second term. And I will amend the constitution. Then I'll eliminate the taxes that are breaking all our backses. And push for more privatization.
We cannot believe he won a second term. He destroyed the transatlantic alliance.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: All right, there's a sample. Almost the whole way through it. The brothers JibJab, Evan and Gregg Spiridellis, back with us in Santa Monica, California.
How are you guys doing? Good morning.
GREGG SPIRIDELLIS, JIBJAB GUYS: Great.
EVAN SPIRIDELLIS, JIBJAB GUYS: Great. Thanks for having us.
HEMMER: Well, it's good to have you back with us. We wanted to watch the whole thing, but we're short on time here. What kind of reaction are you getting off this, now your third one?
E. SPIRIDELLIS: So far, it's been really positive. So we're excited. We've heard that a lot of people are laughing. And that's all we can hope for.
HEMMER: Well, we got a chuckle back here in New York City. Who was the target? I saw a lot of President Bush in that one.
G. SPIRIDELLIS: Well, you know, President Bush won the election, so he does command the most screen time. But we -- you know, we go into these things trying to hit everyone equally. And we went after the Democrats and world leaders and, you know, but try to do it in a way that's not mean-spirited, but has a positive message.
HEMMER: Do you guys ever hear back from these politicians in these videotapes?
E. SPIRIDELLIS: We haven't heard back from them directly, but we've kind of heard through the grapevine that most people get a chuckle out of it. So we're pretty happy about that.
HEMMER: It debuted last night with Jay Leno. How did Leno like it?
G. SPIRIDELLIS: Oh, it was great. They were clapping in the audience, and it was just a lot of fun.
It's amazing for us to see as creators. These are little, you know, productions that we put out on the Internet, and they've gone further than we could have ever expected. And, you know, in large part, thanks to the talented folks we work with here. And our voice guy, Jim Messkoman (ph), just really does a great job with these.
HEMMER: Listen, let's make time, too, for a plug here. There's a charity at work this time around for toys to go to the children in Iraq. Tell me quickly about that.
E. SPIRIDELLIS: Yes, we connected with Chief Wiggles (ph) at Operation Give. It's basically troops in Iraq that started a charity.
You can send toys to a warehouse here in the states, then they send it to Iraq, and the troops pass them out to children. And you can click a link from jibjab.com to go there, or you can just go to operationgive.org. And the troops in the charity actually make a cameo in the new piece.
HEMMER: So it's operationgive.org to our viewers at home. And also, hit the jibjab site if you want it there.
Hey, guys, thanks. We wait for number four, OK? G. SPIRIDELLIS: Thank you.
HEMMER: Gregg and Evan Spiridellis, out there in Santa Monica, California. Nice to have you back with us today -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: It is, of course, day two of Condoleezza Rice's confirmation hearing. It's scheduled to begin just minutes from now. We're going to bring that to you live as soon as it gets under way. You're looking at the hearing room.
AMERICAN MORNING taking a short break. We're back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired January 19, 2005 - 8:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Warming up in New York City. It's 13 degrees now.
Good morning, everybody. 8:30...
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Wait, we started at 13 degrees.
HEMMER: Yes, we did.
O'BRIEN: It hasn't warmed up at all.
HEMMER: No, it was 11 at 7:00 a.m.
O'BRIEN: Oh, OK.
HEMMER: Warm by two degrees.
O'BRIEN: Positively balmy here in the studio.
HEMMER: I'm telling you.
In a few moments here, we're going to back to the Condoleezza Rice confirmation hearings. Day two begins in about 30 minutes down there in D.C.
Jack's been taking e-mails regarding the tone of questioning from Senator Barbara Boxer. Kamber and May tackle that in a moment, too. We'll get to the bottom of that from yesterday. Again, the hearing starts about 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time, 29 minutes away on the clock.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, the JibJab guys are back. They've got a new cartoon. Some new members of the cast this time around. Even Jacques Chirac gets to warm up his singing voice a little bit right there. I don't think that really is Jacques Chirac. Greg and Evan Spiridellis are our guests in just a few minutes for the CNN premiere.
HEMMER: It lets you know how big they've gotten. They debuted these new videotapes on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno." So they get a pretty decent audience for it. So we'll talk to them in a couple minutes here, too.
O'BRIEN: Headlines first, though, with Heidi Collins.
Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm starting to know that song now. A little scary. Thanks, guys.
"Now in the News" this morning, al Qaeda loyalists of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is reportedly taking responsibility for a wave of suicide car bombings in Baghdad. We're going to talk more about that in just a moment. But four separate car bomb attacks hitting in and around Baghdad within a 90-minute span.
Iraqi police say a suicide car bomb went off near the Australian embassy this morning. Three other bombings followed. At least 25 people were killed. Those attacks come just 11 days before scheduled elections in Iraq.
The first person has been charged and convicted in a U.S. federal probe into corruption at the U.N.'s oil-for-food program. Attorney General John Ashcroft announced the charges and plea deal during a news conference yesterday. He said an Iraqi-American businessman illegally did business with Saddam Hussein's regime in exchange for millions of dollars. The plea requires the man to cooperate with the investigation.
A California jury has awarded a former police officer and his partner more than $2 million in a reverse discrimination suit. Amateur video shows then officer Jeremy Morse in July of 2002 slamming a black teen onto a patrol car south of Los Angeles. Morse was fired two months later. His partner was suspended. The jury decided yesterday, though, against those punishments, and there may be an appeal.
And NASA says its rover has found something pretty unusual on Mars. Scientists say the strange rock the Opportunity Rover has been riding on appears to be a meteorite. A closer look now. Scientists are calling it heat shield rock and say it could offer clues to how the Red Planet's surface changes. Pretty bumpy, at least.
Soledad, back over to you now.
O'BRIEN: All right, Heidi. Thanks.
As President Bush prepares to be sworn in again, a CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll shows his second-term approval rating is the lowest since Richard Nixon's back in 1973. Just 51 percent say the job Mr. -- they like the job Mr. Bush is doing. And I asked our resident debaters, Democratic consultant Victor Kamber and former RNC communications director Cliff May, to weigh in on those numbers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VICTOR KAMBER, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: I'm surprised they're that high for the president. He doesn't deserve them.
The fact is the country is not doing well in terms of domestically and certainly foreign policy -- the war, the view, the loss of lives, the wounded, et cetera. I think the 51 percent really still probably reflects where we were from the election, which is about where it ended up. About 50 percent of the Americans think he's great, 50 percent or close to 50 percent really have questions about his leadership.
O'BRIEN: Cliff, do these numbers concern you or, more importantly, should they concern the White House at this point?
CLIFFORD MAY, FMR. RNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: I don't really think so. I think Victor's right in a sense. This is about the numbers with which the president won the election.
There was no big bounce between the election and the inauguration. And I think in a sense, Victor's right.
A part of the reason, a large part of the reason is the anxiety people feel about the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism. They thought that the president would give better leadership than his opponent. But they're concerned. They do not want to see us lose that war, and they don't know whether or not we're going to win it. So there is no euphoria, no big bounce between the election and the inauguration.
O'BRIEN: Cliff, analyze these numbers for me, before I let you jump in, Vic. Here's a question. Confident that Bush can -- here's the -- handle world crisis is one. Back in January of 2001, that number was at 71 percent. Now it's at 64 percent.
Use the military wisely, back in January of 2001, that number was at 78 percent. Now it's down to 56 percent. Cliff, what do you make of these numbers?
MAY: To be honest, I think that people had hoped for more progress than we've seen in Iraq between then and now. I think what people have learned, to somewhat to their dismay, is that we have a military establishment, beautifully designed and equipped to fight the Soviet Union on the plains of Europe but not equipped and designed to fight counterinsurgencies and terrorists in places like Iraq. It is a painful learning curve, and I think you're seeing that expressed in the numbers.
O'BRIEN: Vic, I want to ask you a question about what we saw yesterday, Condoleezza Rice's lengthy, very, very lengthy confirmation hearing. It continues again today.
California Senator Barbara Boxer kind of leading the charge against, if that's the way to put it. She came close to, did not accuse Condoleezza Rice of lying, but came pretty darn close to -- to -- to saying that she was being untruthful at times. Condoleezza Rice sounded as if she were offended. Let's listen to a little bit of what Dr. Rice had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I have to say that I have never, ever lost respect for the truth in the service of anything. I really hope that you will refrain from impugning my integrity.
(END VIDEO CLIP) O'BRIEN: Why don't we start with you, Vic. What did you make of that -- that comment? And do you think she was rightly offended?
KAMBER: Well, I don't know. I assume she was offended. I assume that no one wants their integrity questioned, their veracity questioned.
The bottom line is, misinformation, misdirection was given to the president of the United States, or vice versa. Or the president gave it to his people. And he's now surrounding himself once again with people who don't want to question facts, who aren't willing to stand up to him.
I think it's an obligation of the United States Senate. That's what advice and consent is about, to call into question the people that surround the president and lead this country.
I would not suggest Ms. Rice -- she's bright -- that she lied or anything else. But clearly, we're in a situation today that no one expected.
There's no answer how to get out of Iraq. We went into Iraq because a cowboy wanted to go Iraq.
We have no answer how to get out. We're losing live, we're wounding people. And is the world better off without Saddam Hussein? Yes, but at what cost? And the people that brought us there include Condoleezza Rice.
O'BRIEN: Cliff, do you think Barbara Boxer crossed the line?
MAY: Yes, I think she definitely stepped over the line. These hearings are supposed to be about policy, not about politics.
Barbara Boxer knows full well that the head of the CIA, George Tenet, told Condi Rice, told the president that it was a slam dunk, that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. They had to rely on that, just as John Kerry did when he voted to authorize the president to go to war.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Kamber and May joining us this morning.
Bill and I are going to be in Washington, D.C., tomorrow for AMERICAN MORNING's special live coverage of the inaugural preparations. That begins at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time. And we will see you there -- Bill.
HEMMER: Want to move to a different story now. There's an Amber Alert in North Carolina and in the state of Tennessee for two small children. The FBI has joined the search for the parents who police say kidnapped the kids from their foster home.
Last hour, we talked with the foster mother. She asked that her identity be protected. We obliged. She described what happened. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I heard a car and got up to look to see who it was and saw some people coming up the steps. I opened the door and realized it was Alisha and said, "Hey, what you need? What can I do for you?"
And they started pushing their way in. James said that they were here for the kids. They wanted their kids.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: That was from last hour. This hour, Randi Kaye from CNN live in Boone, North Carolina.
Good morning there, Randi. What more are you finding out?
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning to you, Bill.
As the snow falls here in Boone, North Carolina, day five of the manhunt is set to begin. Investigators may not know where the biological parents and their children are this morning, but one thing is very clear. This entire investigation is very painful for all of the families involved.
We want to show you pictures of the children once again here. Breanna and Paul Chambers, they've been living with their foster parents for eight months. The foster mom refers to them as her "babies." She told me she loves them and would one day like to adopt them.
Now, also, take a look at the conditions these kids were living in. They had been seized in March after police discovered a meth lab at their biological parents' home. Bottles in the sink next to remains of meth. A sippy cup nearby, toys, meth residue on everything in that home.
These are pictures that CNN obtained from the Watauga County sheriff's deputies here. We also were able to confirm that Paul, the 2-and-a-half-year-old boy, has tested positive for having meth in his system.
Now, earlier this morning on AMERICAN MORNING, the Watauga County sheriff, Mark Shook, was asked if he thinks the biological parents would harm the children, if these kids might be in danger.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK SHOOK, WATAUGA COUNTY SHERIFF: I don't think that they would harm them intentionally. It's just the condition that they're running in, being wanted for a meth lab, the way they went inside the house with a firearm to retrieve the kids, the high-speed chase they led the Johnson County, Tennessee, deputies on. I think just their life style itself is what's putting the kids in danger.
(END VIDEO CLIP) KAYE: Now, the sheriff tells us he does still believe that family and friends are helping this couple avoid capture. We want to show you that couple one more time it this morning.
James Lee Canter, the father of the kids, 29 years old. His girlfriend, Alisha Chambers, 18 years old, the mother of the children.
James Canter has been on the run since March, when the meth lab was raided. And one interesting note, meth seems to run in the mother's family. Alisha Chambers' mother and brother both locked up here behind bars here in North Carolina for meth -- Bill.
HEMMER: Our best for those children. Randi Kaye in Boone, North Carolina. Thanks -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: On a much lighter note now, JibJab back with a vengeance. Washington gets skewered once again. Nobody's safe. We're going to see the new cartoon, also meet the brothers who are behind it.
HEMMER: Also, maybe you can relate to this story. A Michigan grandmother says she is overweight because of stress. Dr. Sanjay Gupta shows her how to solve the problem. The "New You Revolution" still to come this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. Day three of our "New You Revolution." We're helping five participants break some bad habit -- bad -- easy for me to say, bad habits this year.
HEMMER: A bad one, that's right. Sanjay's back now, introducing us to our next participant, a grandmother who wants to slim down and stay that way. And she has added incentive, too.
Sanjay, good morning.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, guys.
Sandra Garth is here. I want to introduce you to her. She's from Saginaw, Michigan, a former fitness instructor. But she admits that she's fallen off the healthy bandwagon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice-over): Meet Sandra Garth.
SANDRA GARTH, FMR. FITNESS INSTRUCTOR: Shannon (ph), where are your ears? Can you show grandma your ears?
GUPTA: Sandra Garth loves being a grandmother and caring for her family and cooking some good food.
GARTH: There is nothing special about this bacon. It's extremely unhealthy, but it is so good. GUPTA: It's not like Sandra doesn't know a thing or two about being healthy and fit. She used to teach high-impact aerobics. But a few years ago, arthritis put an end to her exercising, but not to her cravings.
GARTH: I'm a junk food junky, I'm a chocoholic. I like everything that's not good for me. I life greasy foods, fatty foods, sweet foods, salty food. You know, and I just have gotten lazy.
GUPTA: So this is just one of the reasons why she's joined our "New You Revolution." She has many more. She's reached a milestone.
GARTH: I want to be fabulous at 50. And I want to be fit at 50.
GUPTA: Plus, after raising five children, Sandra and her husband are parents once again to their grandson, Shannon (ph).
GARTH: Our second oldest son, Casey (ph), and his wife, Teresa (ph), are both stationed in Iraq. They're in Tikrit, and their youngest child, Shannon (ph) -- he's two -- is with us. They have an older son, Casey, Jr. (ph). He's five and he's in Detroit with Teresa's (ph) family.
GUPTA: She admits having loved ones in a war zone makes it hard to stick to a diet.
GARTH: I am a stressful eater. I am an emotional eater. And that doesn't take away the fact, you know. I can eat all the potato chips and chocolate chip cookies in the world, but it's not going to bring them back home right now.
GUPTA: So Sandra wants to get fit for herself and set a good example for her family.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: Sandra, thank you so much for joining us. You say you want to be fabulous at 50. You want to be fit at 50. And she turned 50 yesterday.
O'BRIEN: Congratulations.
GARTH: Actually on Monday.
GUPTA: On Monday, right.
O'BRIEN: And happy birthday. Good for you.
GARTH: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Well, I think you're set to do it. But how are you going to deal with the stress? I mean, you kind of summed it up perfectly, what you said. All the potato chips in the world isn't going to help bring anybody home any sooner than they're already scheduled to come home. What are you going to do? GARTH: I'm going to use exercise as a stress reliever this time. And I'm going to have some deep personal faith that everything is going to be OK.
HEMMER: And you have a sweet tooth, though, don't you?
GARTH: Oh, yes. I do.
HEMMER: Fifteen minutes ago, Andy Serwer walked in here with a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts. We scarfed them down. Well, just one each. How are you going to stay away from the sweets and push them away?
O'BRIEN: That was so mean.
HEMMER: What do you mean?
GUPTA: Leave it to Bill Hemmer to ask about temptation, of all things.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
GARTH: I'm going to try not to have it around. Out of sight, out of mind.
HEMMER: Oh, that's good.
GARTH: Yes, that's going to be the best way.
HEMMER: The reverend yesterday told us she was going to manage her menu. So that was good advice, too. Good luck to you.
GARTH: Thank you.
GUPTA: Making bad habits harder, making good habits easier, that's part of what Sandra is going to be learning as well. We've assembled a team of health experts from the University of Michigan to help you reach your goals. Here's your "New You Revolution" prescription.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARTH: I just fell off. And it's time to get back on the wagon.
GUPTA: Well, Sandra, here's our "New You Revolution" plan for you. Lose your bad snacking habits, be active again, and watch the excess pounds start coming off.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What I really want you to focus on is consistency and enjoying it.
GUPTA: With the help of an exercise physiologist, a behavior specialist and a nutritionist from the University of Michigan, we're going to learn how to control portion sizes, exercise safely. They'll also be doing a lot of walking and resistance training.
All in all, try to move about 10,000 step as day. And record your activities. That will help you form your new good habits.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: We wish you good luck, Sandra.
GARTH: Thank you so much.
O'BRIEN: Yes. Happy birthday.
GARTH: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: This is a big year for you. You know, Oprah turned the big 5-0 too. So it's a big (UNINTELLIGIBLE) year.
GARTH: She said 50 is the new 30. So we'll see.
O'BRIEN: Absolutely, that's right.
GUPTA: Best of luck to you, Sandra. Thanks for joining us here on the set.
Coming up tomorrow, we're going to introduce you to a young woman who wants to start a family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THEKLA FISCHER, "NEW YOU REVOLUTION" PARTICIPANT: I'm worried that if I'm not in good shape before I get pregnant, it's going to be that much harder.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: Thekla Fischer is her name. We'll tell you about her new -- you near revolution tomorrow. And, of course, you can follow along with all the participants and provide them some encouragement as well. They'll love that. Log on to cnn.com/am.
O'BRIEN: She wants to get in shape before she gets pregnant?
GUPTA: Yes. So she says she can bounce back like somebody that's sitting right next to me.
O'BRIEN: Oh, I think everyone here can tell you how many Krispy Kremes I had before and during.
GUPTA: Pre-pregnancy dress?
O'BRIEN: This is a pre-pregnancy dress.
GUPTA: Incredible, really. Congratulations to you, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Thank you, Sanjay. Thank you. Thank you. It's all your "New You Revolution."
(LAUGHTER)
HEMMER: Good luck, Sandra.
GARTH: Thank you very much.
HEMMER: We'll see you very soon.
Look out, Washington. The JibJab brothers are back at it. They have you in their sights, possibly. The newest cartoon is on the Web. We'll show it to you, and we'll talk to them live, too, out in Santa Monica, next here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome Jack -- back.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: You can do that.
O'BRIEN: Welcome back to Jack, who says things people say is pretty good today.
CAFFERTY: Well, a couple of them aren't bad.
O'BRIEN: OK.
CAFFERTY: Thanks for that glowing introduction.
O'BRIEN: Wasn't that smooth? Are you impressed?
CAFFERTY: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) my retirement might, which might be next week, by the way.
Wednesday, time for thinks people say, beginning with this: "Let Us Trim Our Hair in Accordance with Socialist Lifestyle." That's the title, true story, of a TV series in North Korea, where the government is directing men to go to the barbershop at least twice a month.
This is a country where you can't find a sandwich or a bowl of rice. They have no food. But the government worries about how often the people get their hair cut.
This one "it's like a pit stop. Change the tires, put a little fuel in the tank, clean the windshield, off she goes." Actor Matt LeBlanc on changing his daughter's diapers. And something you can relate to, I guess we all can. We've all done that.
"It's another way of getting in touch with people I just don't want to be bothered with." It's a woman after my own heart. Actress Scarlett Johansson on why she does not have an e-mail account.
"I was a virgin until I was 19. I was an incurable romantic. And then I went and married the guy. What was I thinking?" Actress Susan Sarandon on her first marriage to Chris Sarandon, whom she met at college at Catholic University in Washington.
And finally this: "Get the car packed in advance. After the parade, hand over the flag, get in the car and drive. And don't look back." Secondary of State Colin Powell on leaving the State Department and leaving public service in this country. And I think this nation is going to miss him a bunch. He's one of my favorite people.
O'BRIEN: He's not leaving public service for good, I don't think.
CAFFERTY: Well, he's leaving for now.
O'BRIEN: Wow. That's a pretty remarkable way to put that, isn't it?
CAFFERTY: Get in the car and drive and don't look back.
O'BRIEN: Don't look back.
HEMMER: Kind of makes it easy...
CAFFERTY: Words to live by. Applies to a lot of things.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
Their cartoon send-ups to the presidential campaign. An Internet sensation. Now the guys behind the political JibJab are at it again.
The latest lampoon marking the president's second term set to the tune of "She'll be comin' around the mountain." Here's a look now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, SINGING: Do you swear to preserve, protect, defend the Constitution?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, SINGING: You betcha. Yes I'm coming back to serve a second term. This time I won the national election. Oh, thanks to you, Ohio, and your brother, Jebediah, we get four more years years to rule in Washington.
Good god, he's coming back to serve a second term. We were hoping in '04 we'd get a turn. But we lost the vicious battle, now they're stuck without a paddle. Who will save us from conservatism?
I will stabilize Iraq in the second term. And I will amend the constitution. Then I'll eliminate the taxes that are breaking all our backses. And push for more privatization.
We cannot believe he won a second term. He destroyed the transatlantic alliance.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: All right, there's a sample. Almost the whole way through it. The brothers JibJab, Evan and Gregg Spiridellis, back with us in Santa Monica, California.
How are you guys doing? Good morning.
GREGG SPIRIDELLIS, JIBJAB GUYS: Great.
EVAN SPIRIDELLIS, JIBJAB GUYS: Great. Thanks for having us.
HEMMER: Well, it's good to have you back with us. We wanted to watch the whole thing, but we're short on time here. What kind of reaction are you getting off this, now your third one?
E. SPIRIDELLIS: So far, it's been really positive. So we're excited. We've heard that a lot of people are laughing. And that's all we can hope for.
HEMMER: Well, we got a chuckle back here in New York City. Who was the target? I saw a lot of President Bush in that one.
G. SPIRIDELLIS: Well, you know, President Bush won the election, so he does command the most screen time. But we -- you know, we go into these things trying to hit everyone equally. And we went after the Democrats and world leaders and, you know, but try to do it in a way that's not mean-spirited, but has a positive message.
HEMMER: Do you guys ever hear back from these politicians in these videotapes?
E. SPIRIDELLIS: We haven't heard back from them directly, but we've kind of heard through the grapevine that most people get a chuckle out of it. So we're pretty happy about that.
HEMMER: It debuted last night with Jay Leno. How did Leno like it?
G. SPIRIDELLIS: Oh, it was great. They were clapping in the audience, and it was just a lot of fun.
It's amazing for us to see as creators. These are little, you know, productions that we put out on the Internet, and they've gone further than we could have ever expected. And, you know, in large part, thanks to the talented folks we work with here. And our voice guy, Jim Messkoman (ph), just really does a great job with these.
HEMMER: Listen, let's make time, too, for a plug here. There's a charity at work this time around for toys to go to the children in Iraq. Tell me quickly about that.
E. SPIRIDELLIS: Yes, we connected with Chief Wiggles (ph) at Operation Give. It's basically troops in Iraq that started a charity.
You can send toys to a warehouse here in the states, then they send it to Iraq, and the troops pass them out to children. And you can click a link from jibjab.com to go there, or you can just go to operationgive.org. And the troops in the charity actually make a cameo in the new piece.
HEMMER: So it's operationgive.org to our viewers at home. And also, hit the jibjab site if you want it there.
Hey, guys, thanks. We wait for number four, OK? G. SPIRIDELLIS: Thank you.
HEMMER: Gregg and Evan Spiridellis, out there in Santa Monica, California. Nice to have you back with us today -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: It is, of course, day two of Condoleezza Rice's confirmation hearing. It's scheduled to begin just minutes from now. We're going to bring that to you live as soon as it gets under way. You're looking at the hearing room.
AMERICAN MORNING taking a short break. We're back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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