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American Morning
Pope John Paul II Spends the Night in the Hospital; President Bush Talks to the Country Tonight
Aired February 02, 2005 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A fragile Pope John Paul II spends the night in the hospital. Billions of Catholics the world over are praying for his recovery.
Also...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Bush should forget about privatizing Social Security. It will not happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Opponents ready for a fight. President Bush, though, says he has no plans to back down in tonight's State of the Union Address.
And hostage or hoax? A terror group says they're holding one of America's soldiers. But a toymaker says he thinks they've got one of his soldiers, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING, with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. 7:00 here in New York. Blue skies above and great to have you along with us.
O'BRIEN: Nice shot, isn't it?
HEMMER: Sure was, with a moon, half moon. Is that a good sign?
O'BRIEN: Sure, why not.
HEMMER: We've got three hours to figure that out.
O'BRIEN: Good morning, everyone.
The Vatican today is telling everyone to stay calm. Pope John Paul II, 84 years young, in poor health, and was rushed to the hospital late last night. An update from the Vatican, and from Rome and a medical explanation, too, from Dr. Sanjay Gupta on his condition as we know it this morning.
O'BRIEN: Also, President Bush practicing yesterday for tonight's State of the Union Address. His Social Security plan is increasingly becoming a little bit of a hard sell in Washington D.C. There will be lots of interest in when American troops are coming home from Iraq as well. White House communications director Dan Bartlett is going to talk to us about tonight's speech.
HEMMER: In the meantime, here's Jack Cafferty. Good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: So what do you think of this idea, former President Bill Clinton as the next secretary general of the United Nations. It could happen. The first baby steps in that direction are already being taken. I've never been a particular fan of Mr. Clinton's, but I think it would be a dramatic improvement over that dolt that's running the thing now over there on the East River. We'll explore this in some detail as we move through the morning.
HEMMER: We shall. We'll define dolt, too.
O'BRIEN: Many people of course up in arms if that were to happen.
CAFFERTY: There are many people up in arms over the current state of affairs at the United Nations.
O'BRIEN: You included.
CAFFERTY: Me included, that's correct.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thank you very much.
Vatican sources -- let's get back to Vatican now -- Vatican sources saying that Pope John Paul II spending a peaceful night in the hospital, and that he'll remain there for a few more days. The leader of the world's one billion Catholics was rushed from the Vatican late last night with breathing problems. The 84-year-old pontiff has been suffering from the flu. And while the Vatican said the pope's condition required urgent medical care, officials say that John Paul is not in the intensive-care unit, that there is no cause for any alarm.
CNN senior international correspondent Walt Rodgers is in Rome with new developments this morning.
Hey, Walt, good morning.
WALTER RODGERS, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
The news out of here is positive and good. The Vatican a short while ago did, indeed, release a statement, saying that his holiness, Pope John Paul II, will be in hospital for, quote, "a few more days." He was taken to hospital, the Gemelli Pauley (ph) Clinic here in Rome last night, in an ambulance. People were quite frightened, because he was having what was described as a tracheal problem. The Vatican had already announced that the pope had the flu, and there was a problem last night, apparently, with his holiness trying to breathe. So he was taken to hospital.
But, again, the pope spent a quiet and restful night. The Vatican is now saying he's going to be here a few more days. The situation was not at all critical, though there were some pretty scary moments last night. Again, the Vatican also says, or the hospital and the Vatican are together saying that the pope never lost consciousness. Indeed, he had a quiet breakfast with coffee this morning, and additionally, he celebrated a private mass.
So the indications are the pope is going to make a full recovery after giving much of the world a bit of a fright last night -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Walter Rodgers for us this morning. Thank you very much for the update -- Bill.
HEMMER: Our medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is with us now at the CNN Center.
Sanjay, good morning to you.
You're a long way from Vatican City. However, what does this say to you? This hospital visit necessary, given the news of the morning?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, I think certainly in an 84-year-old who's having breathing problems, going to the hospital is absolutely necessary. In fact, some doctors would say that they were surprised that he wasn't in the intensive- care unit just for observation overnight. That sends a signal to me that he's actually doing very well.
What it sounds like happened, Bill, obviously we know that he's been a bit frail over the past couple days, past couple of weeks really, particularly frail, and then he had an episode of what is known as laryngo (ph) spasm. That is the upper airway sort of goes into spasm, making it very difficult to breathe. What it looks like typically is someone almost looks like they're choking. They're trying to get breath, but they're not making any noise. That obviously can be fairly frightening, Bill, but also very treatable, as was the case here.
HEMMER: Also, if breathing was the issue here, Sanjay, how does the flu and a combination with Parkinson's affect him?
GUPTA: Yes, you know, certainly the flu, or acute respiratory infection, can cause inflammation of his upper airway. Once the upper airway, your trachea, the airways leading to your lungs, start to get inflamed, they become more likely to spasm, to become irritated. He developed a cough.
Parkinson's, also interesting, Bill, people think of Parkinson's as a movement disorder, which it is. You see the tremors, but you also sometimes get rigidity of various organs, including some of the muscles around the larynx, the upper airway. Those two things in combination could make it more likely for him just to make it more difficult to catch his breathe breath in a situation like that, leading to laryngo (ph) spasm.
HEMMER: Well, at this point anyway, we have good news out of Rome, and we'll continue to track it from there.
GUPTA: Absolutely.
HEMMER: Thank you, Sanjay. Talk to you later this morning.
GUPTA: All right.
HEMMER: Here's Soledad again.
O'BRIEN: Let's get a look at some of the other stories making headlines this morning. Carol Costello is over at the Time Warner Center with some more stories she's looking at.
Hey, Carol. Good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, Soledad. A lot happening this morning.
Now in the news, plans for an upcoming Middle East summit in Egypt. A spokesman says Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has accepted an invitation from the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. And CNN has just learned that the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has also accepted that invitation. The summit is set for next Tuesday at the Red Sea resort Sharm Al Shaik (ph).
The U.S. Coast Guard has a new way to catch bad guys. Officials are unveiling a new underwater sonar system and a robotic camera. They'll be used to protect port facilities and vessels from underwater threats, including swimmers, divers and bombs. There are also plans for underwater weapons, but those are still in the testing phase.
A surprise in the Michael Jackson trial. Yesterday, a judge in Santa Maria, California adjourned the courtroom a day early. He said enough potential jurors have been selected to form a pool. Lawyers are now reviewing their seven-page questionnaires. Proceedings resume again on Monday.
And will this winter chill ever end? Well, we turn to Punxsutawney Phil for the answer. Here it is live from Pennsylvania, right near Pittsburgh. The famous groundhog set to emerge with his weather prediction. It will happen in just about 20 minutes. As you can see, crowds have already gathered as they have for the, gosh, past 20 or 30 years. If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, we'll see six more weeks of winter.
Our own groundhog, Chad Myers, says he will see is shadow and we will have six more weeks of winter. So I don't mean to spoil the surprise, Bill, or depress anyone out there, but that's pretty much the way it's going this winter.
HEMMER: Hey, listen, we'll deal with it, right? I'm told 18,000 people are gathered in the crowd, Carol, 17,000 of whom are college students.
COSTELLO: I'm sorry. I didn't hear you.
HEMMER: 18,000 folks there, ready to greet Phil, 15 minutes away.
Thank you, Carol. We'll watch it from here.
In the meantime, President Bush talks to the country tonight. State of the Union speech on Capitol Hill about 14 hours away. We know two areas will be talked about most tonight, Social Security and what happens in Iraq. Some Democrats are demanding a plan for an exit strategy out of Iraq now, and I asked the counselor to the president, Dan Bartlett, if Americans will hear one tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN BARTLETT, COUNSELOR TO THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think what they'll hear from President Bush is a strategy for success. We had a very successful election on Sunday in Iraq, where millions of Iraqis stepped forward and said they want to take control of -- in the future of their country.
And what we'll do in this new phase, and what President Bush will talk about tonight, is how we can help this new government build the security forces and other mechanisms of government to make sure they are successful in building a democracy.
Now, artificial timetables is exactly the wrong thing to do at this time. What it says to the enemy is, sit down, wait, wait until they're going to leave, and then strike. What we need to have is a strategy for success, and that will be not only focusing on the quantity of security forces, but also the quality of those security, and that's what President Bush will talk about.
HEMMER: Dan, you mentioned success three times in your answer. How far will he go in claiming victory tonight in Iraq?
BARTLETT: Well, there's a lot of work left to be done. There's going to be a lot of tough fighting, as the president has said very clearly to the American people, that these terrorists and Baathists are at a very dead end. They have nothing positive to offer the Iraqi people or the world, and they will probably fight to the death, and it's going to be important that we have the capabilities and focus to make sure we don't let up on fighting the enemy.
There is a lot of -- this is the first step in the process of the Democratic political side of the equation. They have to write a constitution. They have to have a permanent election next year. And we're going to help the Iraqi people, as will the international community, to meet that objective.
And -- but the focus now, as we move into the new phase, is what can we do to help the security forces? Which by the way, performed quite well on Sunday. But how can we bolster their efforts? How can we build a chain of command? How can we get more quality officers in the ranks of the Iraqi security forces? That's the focus out of military on the ground, that's the focus of the commander in chief, and he will speak to that tonight.
HEMMER: All right. So Iraq is one issue. Social Security is another big issue later tonight.
A few days ago, we went out and asked Americans about whether or not they believe this is a crisis. Only 18 percent consider it to be a crisis. In addition to that, Senator Harry Reid, on the Democratic side, said he'll fight it. Listen to what he said late yesterday on Capitol Hill:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HARRY REID (D), MINORITY LEADER: President Bush should forget about privatizing Social Security. It will not happen. The sooner he comes to that realization, the better off we are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: He says it will not happen. Will it?
BARTLETT: Well, I know there's a lot of rhetoric swirling around Capitol Hill right now, and that's to be expected as we embark upon a very difficult issue.
But what President Bush will argue tonight is we have an obligation, this generation of leaders, has an obligation to come together and focus on the next generation who need to retire with more security than the current system can offer.
Now there will be a lot of words used -- crisis, problem. What President Bush will do is show that the math speaks for itself. The bottom line is, is that the Social Security system, in 13 years, will be taking in less money than it's paying out. We're going to go into the red. Massive deficits, or tax increases or benefits cuts is the status quo. That's unacceptable for President Bush, and it should be unacceptable to the United States Congress. He's going to work with both Democrats and Republicans to find a way to finally solve this issue once and for all.
HEMMER: If I were a Republican lawmaker up for reelection, why should I go ahead and support reform on this and risk my future?
BARTLETT: Because the American people expect their leaders to lead. This is a critical issue facing the American people. We're brought to Washington D.C., at all levels, both in the executive branch and the congressional branch, to solve tough problems. President Bush has run on this issue twice. Other members of Congress have run on the issue. And they've been successful, because the American people expect us to lead. The majority of Americans understand we have a problem, that the Social Security system is not going to be there for future generations if we don't act, and that's the critical issue here. I know there are people who want to claim there's not a problem, but the math is undeniable. And it's important that we take on this issue.
And I actually think, Bill, that those who say there's not a problem, those who continue to throw up roadblocks, they're the ones who will suffer at the polls in the future.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Dan Bartlett, counselor to the president earlier this morning, says we will get more details from the president, more specifics on that later tonight.
Also, our primetime coverage starts tonight with Paula at 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 on the West Coast.
And tomorrow, Soledad will be down in D.C. for reaction to the president's plans, starting at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time from the nation's Capitol.
Back to my partner now -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Bill, thanks.
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: An image of a U.S. soldier taken hostage appears to be a hoax by an Islamic group. A Mujhadeen brigade posted this photograph on the Web, claiming to be a U.S. soldier. They threatened to behead him if the U.S. did not release Iraqi prisoners.
Well, a toy company now says it believes the pictures of an action figure called "Special-Op Cody." The figure was made in 2003, designed to look like a typical U.S. soldier fighting in Iraq. Military officials say the authenticity of the photograph had been questioned. The uniform and face camouflage are not consistent for current uniforms in Iraq -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: President Bush's choice to lead the Department of Homeland Security will be in the Senate hot seat today. Michael Chertoff's confirmation hearing begins this morning.
CNN's Jeanne Meserve now with more on the nominee.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL CHERTOFF: Are we being aggressive and hard-nosed? You bet.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the aftermath of 9/11, Michael Chertoff was aggressive indeed, helping craft the Patriot Act, which gave the government broad new surveillance and law-enforcement powers. Chertoff also oversaw the detention of more than 700 Arab and South Asian men for immigration violations.
In 2001, he defended those actions.
CHERTOFF: Every step that we have taken satisfies the constitution and federal law as it existed, both before and after September 11th.
MESERVE: But the Justice Department's inspector general said some detainees were beaten and denied quick access to an attorney. None were ever charged with terror-related crimes.
CHRISTOPHER ANDERS, ACLU: This was wrong. It is illegal. It should not have been done.
MESERVE: "The New York Times" reports in 2002, and 2003 Chertoff gave the central intelligence agency a green light to use some coercive interrogation methods on terror suspects.
But the White House maintains Chertoff only gave his opinion as a prosecutor.
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: He made it very clear that those who were conducting the interrogations need to know very clearly where the line is, and they need to not get close to that line.
MESERVE (on camera): Chertoff is likely to be grilled on these matters during his confirmation hearing, but most think his approval is a sure bet.
(voice-over): Working for him, his obvious intellect and his rich legal background, which includes supervising the prosecution of Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged in the U.S. in connection with the 9/11 attacks. Sources on Capitol Hill say Democrats, who have already expended a lot of energy fighting the nominations of Condoleezza Rice and Alberto Gonzalez are unlikely to place roadblocks in front of Chertoff.
Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: The Chertoff confirmation hearing is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. We're going to have live coverage, right here on CNN.
HEMMER: In the meantime, February 2nd on the calendar, Groundhog Day today and the world fame Punxsutawney Phil expected to make his prediction any minute now. If he comes out of his hole and sees his shadow, we're in for six more weeks of winter. If not, if he does not see his shadow, we get an early spring. Phil has been making predictions from Gobbler's Knob (ph) Punxsutawney, PA since way back in 1887, saw the shadow that year. He has seen it the last five years. Over the past 117 years, Phil's been making weather predictions, seen his shadow at least 94 times, we're told, and we're also told that accuracy rate is, of course, 100 percent. Nicely done.
Break here. Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: A leading Internet search engine is driving up the profits. Andy Serwer has the day off, but Gerri Willis is here, "Minding Your Business."
Good morning. GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. Good to see you.
Google should have a very good trading day today. They reported profits after the close last night. Big news there. Profits up eight-fold, sales doubled. It should be a very good day indeed for the Nasdaq as a whole. You remember this company went public last year, came out at 85 bucks. Last night, $210. So if you're a Google shareholder, you're very, very happy.
O'BRIEN: Why didn't we buy that one. We were talking about this when we thought the increase was only six fold. Oops, we're off, eight-fold.
WILLIS: Eight-fold, it's pretty dramatic.
O'BRIEN: Jack, I blame you.
CAFFERTY: Serwer was supposed to be the point man on the Google acquisition.
WILLIS: You guys need an investment club, you know.
O'BRIEN: Clearly. Clearly.
Give me a sense what was we expect from the Fed today.
WILLIS: Well, the market could be in a holding pattern today, because the Fed is meeting, expected to raise rates a quarter point. This would be the fifth time in a row. I know what you're asking what's the impact on mortgage rates probably and other consumer rates out there. Mortgage rates could go higher, but if you've watched this at all as the Fed has raised rates, not much has happened to mortgage rates. They're at 5.6 percent as of last week. Expectation, though, that they could go higher later this year.
And, of course, any variable rate you have, your credit card, home equity line of credit, you could see higher rates.
O'BRIEN: Gerri Willis, thank you very much. We appreciate your helping us out today. Thank you.
HEMMER: Back to Jack and the Question of the Day.
CAFFERTY: Short-term rates are rising, though, right? Short- term rates are going up everytime the Fed...
WILLIS: Well, yes, but -- and of course that affects some consumer rates, but not all.
CAFFERTY: Yes. Flattening of the yield curve, they call that.
Anyway, here comes Bubba again, maybe. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan tapped former President Clinton yesterday to head the tsunami reconstruction and relief efforts and ensure that the world doesn't forget those devastated by that disaster last December. Rumors have been circulating that Clinton could be next in line for the top post at the U.N., secretary general, when Kofi Annan's term is up next year.
Jesse Helms fired off a nasty letter yesterday to his supporters, saying that putting a left-wing, undisciplined, ethically challenged former president in that position would be a, quote, "tragic mistake."
It's time to retire, Jesse. Go to the old place, the old senators home and knit a quilt.
Clinton has not said he wants the job of secretary general, but he hasn't rejected it either, and it's interesting food for though.
The question is, would former President Bill Clinton make a good candidate for U.N. secretary general? AM@cnn.com. And what's up with Harry Reid from my beloved home state of Nevada? Is he trying to replace Tom Daschle already? I mean, Daschle just left.
HEMMER: He's saying don't touch Social Security.
CAFFERTY: He said it's not going to happen. Emperor Reid from Nevada says it ain't going to happen. What is wrong with these guy?
HEMMER: Some Republicans aren't on board yet either. And the president has got a sales job to do on this.
The one thing he did say, Dan Bartlett, when we talked to him is that we will get more specifics on this private plan, about how you can take a certain percentage of your future retirement money and put it in a private...
CAFFERTY: Just watching that soundbite with Reid, though, I mean, I can see Tom Daschle standing there.
HEMMER: But you know, Jack, so much of this is an appeal to younger Americans and the younger generation. When you're knitting your quilt, you're not going to have to worry about.
CAFFERTY: That might be next week.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: I can't see either of those, neither retiring or knitting.
All right, Jack, thanks.
A short break and we'll be right back.
Ahead on "90-Second Pop," no question Leonardo DiCaprio and Keanu Reeves are big stars, but is it really time to start calling them legends?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARLON BRANDO, ACTOR: Someday. (END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Plus "The Godfather" finds a new racket. You're never believe where the Corleone family is headed next. That's later on AMERICAN MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRANDO: Until that day, accept this as a gift.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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Aired February 2, 2005 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A fragile Pope John Paul II spends the night in the hospital. Billions of Catholics the world over are praying for his recovery.
Also...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Bush should forget about privatizing Social Security. It will not happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Opponents ready for a fight. President Bush, though, says he has no plans to back down in tonight's State of the Union Address.
And hostage or hoax? A terror group says they're holding one of America's soldiers. But a toymaker says he thinks they've got one of his soldiers, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING, with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. 7:00 here in New York. Blue skies above and great to have you along with us.
O'BRIEN: Nice shot, isn't it?
HEMMER: Sure was, with a moon, half moon. Is that a good sign?
O'BRIEN: Sure, why not.
HEMMER: We've got three hours to figure that out.
O'BRIEN: Good morning, everyone.
The Vatican today is telling everyone to stay calm. Pope John Paul II, 84 years young, in poor health, and was rushed to the hospital late last night. An update from the Vatican, and from Rome and a medical explanation, too, from Dr. Sanjay Gupta on his condition as we know it this morning.
O'BRIEN: Also, President Bush practicing yesterday for tonight's State of the Union Address. His Social Security plan is increasingly becoming a little bit of a hard sell in Washington D.C. There will be lots of interest in when American troops are coming home from Iraq as well. White House communications director Dan Bartlett is going to talk to us about tonight's speech.
HEMMER: In the meantime, here's Jack Cafferty. Good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: So what do you think of this idea, former President Bill Clinton as the next secretary general of the United Nations. It could happen. The first baby steps in that direction are already being taken. I've never been a particular fan of Mr. Clinton's, but I think it would be a dramatic improvement over that dolt that's running the thing now over there on the East River. We'll explore this in some detail as we move through the morning.
HEMMER: We shall. We'll define dolt, too.
O'BRIEN: Many people of course up in arms if that were to happen.
CAFFERTY: There are many people up in arms over the current state of affairs at the United Nations.
O'BRIEN: You included.
CAFFERTY: Me included, that's correct.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thank you very much.
Vatican sources -- let's get back to Vatican now -- Vatican sources saying that Pope John Paul II spending a peaceful night in the hospital, and that he'll remain there for a few more days. The leader of the world's one billion Catholics was rushed from the Vatican late last night with breathing problems. The 84-year-old pontiff has been suffering from the flu. And while the Vatican said the pope's condition required urgent medical care, officials say that John Paul is not in the intensive-care unit, that there is no cause for any alarm.
CNN senior international correspondent Walt Rodgers is in Rome with new developments this morning.
Hey, Walt, good morning.
WALTER RODGERS, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
The news out of here is positive and good. The Vatican a short while ago did, indeed, release a statement, saying that his holiness, Pope John Paul II, will be in hospital for, quote, "a few more days." He was taken to hospital, the Gemelli Pauley (ph) Clinic here in Rome last night, in an ambulance. People were quite frightened, because he was having what was described as a tracheal problem. The Vatican had already announced that the pope had the flu, and there was a problem last night, apparently, with his holiness trying to breathe. So he was taken to hospital.
But, again, the pope spent a quiet and restful night. The Vatican is now saying he's going to be here a few more days. The situation was not at all critical, though there were some pretty scary moments last night. Again, the Vatican also says, or the hospital and the Vatican are together saying that the pope never lost consciousness. Indeed, he had a quiet breakfast with coffee this morning, and additionally, he celebrated a private mass.
So the indications are the pope is going to make a full recovery after giving much of the world a bit of a fright last night -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Walter Rodgers for us this morning. Thank you very much for the update -- Bill.
HEMMER: Our medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is with us now at the CNN Center.
Sanjay, good morning to you.
You're a long way from Vatican City. However, what does this say to you? This hospital visit necessary, given the news of the morning?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, I think certainly in an 84-year-old who's having breathing problems, going to the hospital is absolutely necessary. In fact, some doctors would say that they were surprised that he wasn't in the intensive- care unit just for observation overnight. That sends a signal to me that he's actually doing very well.
What it sounds like happened, Bill, obviously we know that he's been a bit frail over the past couple days, past couple of weeks really, particularly frail, and then he had an episode of what is known as laryngo (ph) spasm. That is the upper airway sort of goes into spasm, making it very difficult to breathe. What it looks like typically is someone almost looks like they're choking. They're trying to get breath, but they're not making any noise. That obviously can be fairly frightening, Bill, but also very treatable, as was the case here.
HEMMER: Also, if breathing was the issue here, Sanjay, how does the flu and a combination with Parkinson's affect him?
GUPTA: Yes, you know, certainly the flu, or acute respiratory infection, can cause inflammation of his upper airway. Once the upper airway, your trachea, the airways leading to your lungs, start to get inflamed, they become more likely to spasm, to become irritated. He developed a cough.
Parkinson's, also interesting, Bill, people think of Parkinson's as a movement disorder, which it is. You see the tremors, but you also sometimes get rigidity of various organs, including some of the muscles around the larynx, the upper airway. Those two things in combination could make it more likely for him just to make it more difficult to catch his breathe breath in a situation like that, leading to laryngo (ph) spasm.
HEMMER: Well, at this point anyway, we have good news out of Rome, and we'll continue to track it from there.
GUPTA: Absolutely.
HEMMER: Thank you, Sanjay. Talk to you later this morning.
GUPTA: All right.
HEMMER: Here's Soledad again.
O'BRIEN: Let's get a look at some of the other stories making headlines this morning. Carol Costello is over at the Time Warner Center with some more stories she's looking at.
Hey, Carol. Good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, Soledad. A lot happening this morning.
Now in the news, plans for an upcoming Middle East summit in Egypt. A spokesman says Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has accepted an invitation from the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. And CNN has just learned that the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has also accepted that invitation. The summit is set for next Tuesday at the Red Sea resort Sharm Al Shaik (ph).
The U.S. Coast Guard has a new way to catch bad guys. Officials are unveiling a new underwater sonar system and a robotic camera. They'll be used to protect port facilities and vessels from underwater threats, including swimmers, divers and bombs. There are also plans for underwater weapons, but those are still in the testing phase.
A surprise in the Michael Jackson trial. Yesterday, a judge in Santa Maria, California adjourned the courtroom a day early. He said enough potential jurors have been selected to form a pool. Lawyers are now reviewing their seven-page questionnaires. Proceedings resume again on Monday.
And will this winter chill ever end? Well, we turn to Punxsutawney Phil for the answer. Here it is live from Pennsylvania, right near Pittsburgh. The famous groundhog set to emerge with his weather prediction. It will happen in just about 20 minutes. As you can see, crowds have already gathered as they have for the, gosh, past 20 or 30 years. If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, we'll see six more weeks of winter.
Our own groundhog, Chad Myers, says he will see is shadow and we will have six more weeks of winter. So I don't mean to spoil the surprise, Bill, or depress anyone out there, but that's pretty much the way it's going this winter.
HEMMER: Hey, listen, we'll deal with it, right? I'm told 18,000 people are gathered in the crowd, Carol, 17,000 of whom are college students.
COSTELLO: I'm sorry. I didn't hear you.
HEMMER: 18,000 folks there, ready to greet Phil, 15 minutes away.
Thank you, Carol. We'll watch it from here.
In the meantime, President Bush talks to the country tonight. State of the Union speech on Capitol Hill about 14 hours away. We know two areas will be talked about most tonight, Social Security and what happens in Iraq. Some Democrats are demanding a plan for an exit strategy out of Iraq now, and I asked the counselor to the president, Dan Bartlett, if Americans will hear one tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN BARTLETT, COUNSELOR TO THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think what they'll hear from President Bush is a strategy for success. We had a very successful election on Sunday in Iraq, where millions of Iraqis stepped forward and said they want to take control of -- in the future of their country.
And what we'll do in this new phase, and what President Bush will talk about tonight, is how we can help this new government build the security forces and other mechanisms of government to make sure they are successful in building a democracy.
Now, artificial timetables is exactly the wrong thing to do at this time. What it says to the enemy is, sit down, wait, wait until they're going to leave, and then strike. What we need to have is a strategy for success, and that will be not only focusing on the quantity of security forces, but also the quality of those security, and that's what President Bush will talk about.
HEMMER: Dan, you mentioned success three times in your answer. How far will he go in claiming victory tonight in Iraq?
BARTLETT: Well, there's a lot of work left to be done. There's going to be a lot of tough fighting, as the president has said very clearly to the American people, that these terrorists and Baathists are at a very dead end. They have nothing positive to offer the Iraqi people or the world, and they will probably fight to the death, and it's going to be important that we have the capabilities and focus to make sure we don't let up on fighting the enemy.
There is a lot of -- this is the first step in the process of the Democratic political side of the equation. They have to write a constitution. They have to have a permanent election next year. And we're going to help the Iraqi people, as will the international community, to meet that objective.
And -- but the focus now, as we move into the new phase, is what can we do to help the security forces? Which by the way, performed quite well on Sunday. But how can we bolster their efforts? How can we build a chain of command? How can we get more quality officers in the ranks of the Iraqi security forces? That's the focus out of military on the ground, that's the focus of the commander in chief, and he will speak to that tonight.
HEMMER: All right. So Iraq is one issue. Social Security is another big issue later tonight.
A few days ago, we went out and asked Americans about whether or not they believe this is a crisis. Only 18 percent consider it to be a crisis. In addition to that, Senator Harry Reid, on the Democratic side, said he'll fight it. Listen to what he said late yesterday on Capitol Hill:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HARRY REID (D), MINORITY LEADER: President Bush should forget about privatizing Social Security. It will not happen. The sooner he comes to that realization, the better off we are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: He says it will not happen. Will it?
BARTLETT: Well, I know there's a lot of rhetoric swirling around Capitol Hill right now, and that's to be expected as we embark upon a very difficult issue.
But what President Bush will argue tonight is we have an obligation, this generation of leaders, has an obligation to come together and focus on the next generation who need to retire with more security than the current system can offer.
Now there will be a lot of words used -- crisis, problem. What President Bush will do is show that the math speaks for itself. The bottom line is, is that the Social Security system, in 13 years, will be taking in less money than it's paying out. We're going to go into the red. Massive deficits, or tax increases or benefits cuts is the status quo. That's unacceptable for President Bush, and it should be unacceptable to the United States Congress. He's going to work with both Democrats and Republicans to find a way to finally solve this issue once and for all.
HEMMER: If I were a Republican lawmaker up for reelection, why should I go ahead and support reform on this and risk my future?
BARTLETT: Because the American people expect their leaders to lead. This is a critical issue facing the American people. We're brought to Washington D.C., at all levels, both in the executive branch and the congressional branch, to solve tough problems. President Bush has run on this issue twice. Other members of Congress have run on the issue. And they've been successful, because the American people expect us to lead. The majority of Americans understand we have a problem, that the Social Security system is not going to be there for future generations if we don't act, and that's the critical issue here. I know there are people who want to claim there's not a problem, but the math is undeniable. And it's important that we take on this issue.
And I actually think, Bill, that those who say there's not a problem, those who continue to throw up roadblocks, they're the ones who will suffer at the polls in the future.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Dan Bartlett, counselor to the president earlier this morning, says we will get more details from the president, more specifics on that later tonight.
Also, our primetime coverage starts tonight with Paula at 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 on the West Coast.
And tomorrow, Soledad will be down in D.C. for reaction to the president's plans, starting at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time from the nation's Capitol.
Back to my partner now -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Bill, thanks.
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: An image of a U.S. soldier taken hostage appears to be a hoax by an Islamic group. A Mujhadeen brigade posted this photograph on the Web, claiming to be a U.S. soldier. They threatened to behead him if the U.S. did not release Iraqi prisoners.
Well, a toy company now says it believes the pictures of an action figure called "Special-Op Cody." The figure was made in 2003, designed to look like a typical U.S. soldier fighting in Iraq. Military officials say the authenticity of the photograph had been questioned. The uniform and face camouflage are not consistent for current uniforms in Iraq -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: President Bush's choice to lead the Department of Homeland Security will be in the Senate hot seat today. Michael Chertoff's confirmation hearing begins this morning.
CNN's Jeanne Meserve now with more on the nominee.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL CHERTOFF: Are we being aggressive and hard-nosed? You bet.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the aftermath of 9/11, Michael Chertoff was aggressive indeed, helping craft the Patriot Act, which gave the government broad new surveillance and law-enforcement powers. Chertoff also oversaw the detention of more than 700 Arab and South Asian men for immigration violations.
In 2001, he defended those actions.
CHERTOFF: Every step that we have taken satisfies the constitution and federal law as it existed, both before and after September 11th.
MESERVE: But the Justice Department's inspector general said some detainees were beaten and denied quick access to an attorney. None were ever charged with terror-related crimes.
CHRISTOPHER ANDERS, ACLU: This was wrong. It is illegal. It should not have been done.
MESERVE: "The New York Times" reports in 2002, and 2003 Chertoff gave the central intelligence agency a green light to use some coercive interrogation methods on terror suspects.
But the White House maintains Chertoff only gave his opinion as a prosecutor.
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: He made it very clear that those who were conducting the interrogations need to know very clearly where the line is, and they need to not get close to that line.
MESERVE (on camera): Chertoff is likely to be grilled on these matters during his confirmation hearing, but most think his approval is a sure bet.
(voice-over): Working for him, his obvious intellect and his rich legal background, which includes supervising the prosecution of Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged in the U.S. in connection with the 9/11 attacks. Sources on Capitol Hill say Democrats, who have already expended a lot of energy fighting the nominations of Condoleezza Rice and Alberto Gonzalez are unlikely to place roadblocks in front of Chertoff.
Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: The Chertoff confirmation hearing is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. We're going to have live coverage, right here on CNN.
HEMMER: In the meantime, February 2nd on the calendar, Groundhog Day today and the world fame Punxsutawney Phil expected to make his prediction any minute now. If he comes out of his hole and sees his shadow, we're in for six more weeks of winter. If not, if he does not see his shadow, we get an early spring. Phil has been making predictions from Gobbler's Knob (ph) Punxsutawney, PA since way back in 1887, saw the shadow that year. He has seen it the last five years. Over the past 117 years, Phil's been making weather predictions, seen his shadow at least 94 times, we're told, and we're also told that accuracy rate is, of course, 100 percent. Nicely done.
Break here. Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: A leading Internet search engine is driving up the profits. Andy Serwer has the day off, but Gerri Willis is here, "Minding Your Business."
Good morning. GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. Good to see you.
Google should have a very good trading day today. They reported profits after the close last night. Big news there. Profits up eight-fold, sales doubled. It should be a very good day indeed for the Nasdaq as a whole. You remember this company went public last year, came out at 85 bucks. Last night, $210. So if you're a Google shareholder, you're very, very happy.
O'BRIEN: Why didn't we buy that one. We were talking about this when we thought the increase was only six fold. Oops, we're off, eight-fold.
WILLIS: Eight-fold, it's pretty dramatic.
O'BRIEN: Jack, I blame you.
CAFFERTY: Serwer was supposed to be the point man on the Google acquisition.
WILLIS: You guys need an investment club, you know.
O'BRIEN: Clearly. Clearly.
Give me a sense what was we expect from the Fed today.
WILLIS: Well, the market could be in a holding pattern today, because the Fed is meeting, expected to raise rates a quarter point. This would be the fifth time in a row. I know what you're asking what's the impact on mortgage rates probably and other consumer rates out there. Mortgage rates could go higher, but if you've watched this at all as the Fed has raised rates, not much has happened to mortgage rates. They're at 5.6 percent as of last week. Expectation, though, that they could go higher later this year.
And, of course, any variable rate you have, your credit card, home equity line of credit, you could see higher rates.
O'BRIEN: Gerri Willis, thank you very much. We appreciate your helping us out today. Thank you.
HEMMER: Back to Jack and the Question of the Day.
CAFFERTY: Short-term rates are rising, though, right? Short- term rates are going up everytime the Fed...
WILLIS: Well, yes, but -- and of course that affects some consumer rates, but not all.
CAFFERTY: Yes. Flattening of the yield curve, they call that.
Anyway, here comes Bubba again, maybe. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan tapped former President Clinton yesterday to head the tsunami reconstruction and relief efforts and ensure that the world doesn't forget those devastated by that disaster last December. Rumors have been circulating that Clinton could be next in line for the top post at the U.N., secretary general, when Kofi Annan's term is up next year.
Jesse Helms fired off a nasty letter yesterday to his supporters, saying that putting a left-wing, undisciplined, ethically challenged former president in that position would be a, quote, "tragic mistake."
It's time to retire, Jesse. Go to the old place, the old senators home and knit a quilt.
Clinton has not said he wants the job of secretary general, but he hasn't rejected it either, and it's interesting food for though.
The question is, would former President Bill Clinton make a good candidate for U.N. secretary general? AM@cnn.com. And what's up with Harry Reid from my beloved home state of Nevada? Is he trying to replace Tom Daschle already? I mean, Daschle just left.
HEMMER: He's saying don't touch Social Security.
CAFFERTY: He said it's not going to happen. Emperor Reid from Nevada says it ain't going to happen. What is wrong with these guy?
HEMMER: Some Republicans aren't on board yet either. And the president has got a sales job to do on this.
The one thing he did say, Dan Bartlett, when we talked to him is that we will get more specifics on this private plan, about how you can take a certain percentage of your future retirement money and put it in a private...
CAFFERTY: Just watching that soundbite with Reid, though, I mean, I can see Tom Daschle standing there.
HEMMER: But you know, Jack, so much of this is an appeal to younger Americans and the younger generation. When you're knitting your quilt, you're not going to have to worry about.
CAFFERTY: That might be next week.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: I can't see either of those, neither retiring or knitting.
All right, Jack, thanks.
A short break and we'll be right back.
Ahead on "90-Second Pop," no question Leonardo DiCaprio and Keanu Reeves are big stars, but is it really time to start calling them legends?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARLON BRANDO, ACTOR: Someday. (END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Plus "The Godfather" finds a new racket. You're never believe where the Corleone family is headed next. That's later on AMERICAN MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRANDO: Until that day, accept this as a gift.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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