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American Morning

Is U.S. Flying Unmanned Spy Planes Over Iran?; 'Kamber & May'

Aired February 14, 2005 - 08:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. Just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. Is the U.S. flying spy planes into Iranian airspace? A report in "The Washington Post" raising some important questions about U.S. intelligence gathering in Iran and what it could mean about possible military strikes. Barbara Starr has got a report just ahead.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also, we know the big winners last night at the Grammys.

O'BRIEN: Ray Charles.

HEMMER: Ray Charles, that's right. Who gets the best nod for best dressed, though?

O'BRIEN: Queen Latifah, huh?

HEMMER: Carson Kressley, "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," stops by in a few moments, giving us the lowdown on who looked good and who could have used a little bit of help last night. We get to Carson this hour in a moment here.

O'BRIEN: Let's to the headlines first, though. Heidi Collins in this morning.

Nice to see you. Good morning.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: You didn't wear your attire from the show last night, white fur. Maybe next time.

Now in the news this morning, everybody, police and emergency crews in Beirut, Lebanon are at the scene of an apparent car bombing. At least six fires are burning in the aftermath of the powerful blast. This video showing charred wreckage and mangled debris. Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is among the casualties. We'll have much more on this story throughout the show today.

In health news now, the possibility of a new AIDS virus is worrying health officials this morning. Scientists say they've detected a potentially more aggressive form of HIV in a New York City man. Tests are being done to determine if it matches a strain in at least three other people. Some findings may be available next week.

In California, the prosecution in the Robert Blake murder case is expected to wrap up this week. They have called three men to the stand, each testified Blake had tried to pay them to kill his wife. The defense will try to discredit their testimony. It's not clear if Blake will take the stand in his own defense.

And there is word of wedding plans this Valentine's Day. Mary Kay Letourneau, thrown into the spotlight for her infamous relationship with a former sixth-grader, has reportedly set a wedding date. According to the "Seattle Post Intelligencer," Letourneau and the now 22-year-old Vili Fualaau will walk down the aisle on April 16th. Letorneau served seven and a half years on a 1997 conviction for raping Fualaau. The couple has two children.

O'BRIEN: That is such an odd report. Doesn't she have four children with her previous husband, who of course was just devastated. What a mess.

COLLINS: They're estranged, haven't talked in who knows how long. And new life for her.

O'BRIEN: I guess.

Thanks, Heidi. Appreciate it.

HEMMER: We want to get back to the story about Iran. Is the U.S. flying unmanned spy planes over that country? It's a point of dispute, depending upon which circles you talk about this. To the Pentagon now and Barbara Starr tries to get to the bottom of it.

Good morning there.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill.

Well, it was rather curious when we spoke to several senior U.S. military officers with direct responsibility for that region, the Persian Gulf region, they said they had no knowledge of any spy missions over Iran, and that well may be actually true. They're all indications now that this is an effort by the U.S. intelligence community to fly unmanned vehicles, and perhaps even high-altitude aircraft over Iran to gather intelligence about their nuclear program.

But the generals have a bit of a different concern. There is growing concern, they say, about the question of possible "strategic miscalculation." That is their words. And what they mean, as the public rhetoric grows on both sides over Iran, what is possibility that one side will misread the other side and something could happen they don't mean to happen?

The reason is, let's take a look at the map. The U.S. military already lives in the neighborhood with Iran in two places. First, across the Iraq/Iran border. There is a great deal of concern about Iran's attempt to influence the situation in Iraq in an attempt to dominate and influence the Shia effort and bring a Shia-dominated government to power in Baghdad.

Just last week, the No. 2 man at Central Command was here in the Pentagon, and he spoke about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LT. GEN. LANCE SMITH, DEP. COMMANDER, CENTCOM: Our focus is on what are they doing to try and influence what's going on in Iraq? And we are seeing, you know, mixed activity there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: So let's go back to the map, Bill. The other place where the U.S. military encounters Iranians, the northern end of the Persian Gulf, that very narrow stretch of water. The U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet operates up there all the time, so does the Iranian regular Navy, as well as the Revolutionary Guard, which has a number of small craft they operate up there.

U.S. Navy officials say when they encounter the Iranians, they're very professional on the high seas, everybody obeys the rules of the road, if you will.

But this is the kind of strategic miscalculation they worry about. As the rhetoric grows on both sides and they encounter the Iranians in these places, will one side misread the other side, and possibly, as they say, some sort of accidental shooting, God forbid, begin because the level of public rhetoric.

So there is a tradeoff right now. There is a very definite intelligence effort going on to gather information about the nuclear program, make sure Iran does not play that nuclear card. But also an effort to keep everything under control, very realistic, and keep understanding what the Iranians are up to so there is no strategic miscalculation -- Bill.

HEMMER: Fascinating one to follow, too. Barbara Starr, thanks, at the Pentagon with that -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Democrats have seen the future, and his name is Howard Dean. The former Vermont governor, and failed presidential candidate, was chosen as the party's new leader Saturday, and he promised a political transformation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD DEAN, NEW DNC CHAIRMAN: We can change the party, but only by working together and competing in all 50 states and territories. We can change the party, but only by working together and becoming a national party again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about Dean's new post and other political news as well.

From Miami this morning, Democratic consultant Victor Kamber.

Hey, Victor, good morning.

VICTOR KAMBER, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: Good morning. Happy Valentine's Day. O'BRIEN: Thank you. Appreciate that.

O'BRIEN: From Washington D.C., Cliff May. He's the former RNC communications director. He's now with the Foundation for Defense of Democracy.

Good morning, Cliff, nice to see you.

CLIFF MAY, FMR. RNC COMM. DIR.: Happy Valentine's Day to both of you.

O'BRIEN: Thank you. The flowers, the chocolates, you guys are just too much. I appreciate it. I'm just joking you.

Let's get right to Howard Dean. He sounds like he's trying to strike a little bit of a moderate tone. For example, he said he plans to reach out for the evangelical community. He said Democrats aren't necessarily pro-abortion.

Do you think, Victor, in fact, Howard Dean has to change his tune and embrace the moderate position in order to be successful?

KAMBER: I'm not sure Howard Dean has to change. I think Democrats have to reach out a broad umbrella, like I think they have. Howard Dean, I think, will be a terrific spokesperson for the party. I think he'll be a terrific fund-raiser, a terrific organizer. I think he's a No. 1 chairman.

In terms of the kinds of messages, we have to reach out across the board. We have to go to our base and continue to go to our base, but we have to go beyond our base if we're going to be the majority party.

O'BRIEN: Some Republicans don't see it that way. Former House majority leader Newt Gingrich said this, "If Democrats have a true death wish, he'd be the perfect guy to go with." Sounds like he's pretty thrilled today -- Cliff.

MAY: Yes. Look, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, they were opposed to Dean taking this job. The minority leader of the Senate, Harry Reid, the minority leader of the House, Nancy Pelosi, they didn't want Dean to get this job.

I think if he does reach out, that's a good thing, but buying a pickup truck and putting a gun rack in it probably isn't going to work.

Look, he has said one thing that I do agree with -- he said Democrats can't just be opposed to Republicans, can't just be opposed to Bush. I think he's absolutely right on that, and I think you have to wait to see if he actually does anything that follows through.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the Iraq elections, because I want to get to lots of things; we've got a lot to cover this morning.

Vic, let's begin with you. It seems that Ayad Allawi's party came in a third, a distant third, and in fact it's the religious Shiites who've won. So has this been good news from the elections for the U.S.?

KAMBER: Well, I don't think we know what it means. It certainly isn't good news in terms of who we backed and supported; 70 to 72 percent of the people who were elected side more with Iran than they do with the U.S. The party we supported got 13 percent of the vote.

Having said that, the election was on the first step in what we called democracy. We have no idea how this group is going to form, how they're going to govern, what's going to happen going ahead. You know, there were 111 parties running, and three of them got 85 percent of the vote. We have to hope that the two major parties and the one in particular, is inclusive and opens their doors, but only time will tell.

O'BRIEN: When you look at the numbers, 58 percent of Iraq's register the voters participated. That's pretty darn close to what we get in the United States, and this is for a first election, and yet the number of Sunnis who participated much, much lower turnout there.

Cliff, what do you take away from this?

MAY: I think this is really good news. Yes, the American candidate came in third. That shows that this was not an American- engineered election. We wanted Iraqis to make their own decisions. Iraqis have made their own decisions. That's the way it should be.

The Shiite list came in first, but they got a plurality, not a majority. That means they'll have to make deals. That's politics. That's what we want them to begin practicing.

The Kurds came in second. The Kurds are people who actually did cheer when Americans arrived in Iraq, and that's good. By the way, the Kurds are Sunnis, just not Arabs, but they'll insist on minority rights.

So overall, I'm very encouraged by this. By the way, you're right, Sunnis did not vote in high numbers. Two reasons -- one, some were frightened to do so. So we have to go after those who intimidated those. Those are the terrorists and the insurgents. Secondly, there were some who chose not to. Well, you know, there are people in the South who didn't want to vote in the election that brought Lincoln back to the White House. There are people -- whites in South Africa who didn't want to vote for Nelson Mandela. They cannot hold democracies hostage.

O'BRIEN: Cliff May, Victor Kamber. Guys, we're out of time. Nice to see you, as always, thanks.

KAMBER: Thank you.

MAY: You, too.

HEMMER: Red is the color of Valentine's Day, but Central Park's awash in saffron this morning. The gates, a massive art exhibit, unveiled on Saturday morning with the mayor. 75,000 16-foot-high frames, billowing fabric, lining 23 miles of the park. The artist Christo, and his wife Jeanne Claude, have been pushing for this exhibit for about 26 years. Show you a live picture now this morning of Central Park. $21 million to do all of it. It'll stay in place for about another 14 days. And by the way, it is not orange, it is saffron.

O'BRIEN: Sorry, my bad.

HEMMER: We've been warned, so we have to refer to it in the proper language. Saffron in the park in the sunshine.

O'BRIEN: Let's go back to the money. 20 some odd million dollars.

HEMMER: About $21, yes.

O'BRIEN: For 16 days.

HEMMER: 16 days.

O'BRIEN: OK. That's a lot of money.

HEMMER: Talking about the park in February -- normally, would not even give it an iota of attention. I think it's great. It looks wonderful in the sunshine, too. I know you have a different opinion of this...

O'BRIEN: No, I don't, I...

HEMMER: So we remain divided.

O'BRIEN: I think you think it's great.

HEMMER: They did a -- I saw an interview with Christo over the weekend. They said, what do you think? I mean, what does this say? He says, it's art, it doesn't say anything.

O'BRIEN: I don't have to explain it.

HEMMER: He said it does not say anything.

O'BRIEN: Just something else I've wrapped in fabric.

Researchers are calling on quest to create the impossible, truly healthy chocolate. What a good idea. Dr. Gupta joins us to tell us why bon bons could end up in your medicine cabinet one day.

HEMMER: Also, who takes home the Grammy for best dressed last night? Carson Kressley knows. Of "Queer Fame," he's here to give us his take from last night. Stay tuned. Back in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: We are "Paging Dr. Gupta" this morning about the health benefits of chocolate. Seems strange, but somehow fitting on Valentine's Day. And as Sanjay tells us, there may be good reason to eat more of it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HAROLD SCHMITZ, CHOCOLATE SCIENTIST, MARS, INC: 10 years ago, you would have been laughing at me in this interview if I would have said that cocoa or chocolate could have a heart health benefit. 5 years ago, you would have been listening suspiciously to me. And today, you and the scientific community, actually, is sitting back saying, well, there's a reason we call it the food of the gods and maybe this is why.

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): And now, one of the biggest chocolate companies in the world and researchers from Harvard are trying to create the impossible, a truly healthy chocolate. It could change the way we look at dessert.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then I would add that to my Mediterranean diet and be happy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'd probably have more.

GUPTA: There are already some known benefits to chocolate.

KATHERINE TALLMADGE, AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION: Chocolate reduces blood pressure, improves blood flow and has an aspirin-like effect and can improve cardiovascular risk factors.

GUPTA: But the problem is that most of that benefit is actually from flavinols (ph) found only in cocoa. When the cocoa is made into chocolate to make it less bitter, the benefit is lost. But that's where things are starting to change. Mars, Incorporated is calling their first attempt Cocoa Pro. It would be a sweet and healthy chocolate.

SCHMITZ: The cocoa that is in that product has been handled in such a way that it still retains the wonderful sensory properties that they expect from cocoa and chocolate. But it's also delivering the highest possible of naturally occurring flavinols.

GUPTA: They may take a few tries to get it right, but in the meantime, remember that dark chocolate is more likely to have those good flavinols and you can find it for sure in cocoa.

TALLMADGE: Have a cup of hot cocoa every night or at breakfast with some unsweetened cocoa that has not been Dutch processed. Most haven't been.

GUPTA: Another reason to eat a piece of chocolate. Like you needed one.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Like we needed one.

Of course, tomorrow Sanjay's back with our "New You Revolution." He's focusing on Jonathan Karp.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN KARP, "NEW YOU REVOLUTION" PARTICIPANT: I'd say I've bitten my nails since January maybe three times.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Because of that, we treated him to a manicure. Jonathan's also keeping a "New You Revolution" journal. We're going to talk with him about that. He says when he wants to avoid biting his nails, he doesn't even think about it. If one of his nails bothers him, then he uses a nail file. He keeps it on hand. And he's exercising more to relieve stress. Jonathan's efforts to break his bad habits has attracted quite a bit of email traffic. You can send an email to him by logging on to cnn.com/am -- Bill.

HEMMER: Carson Kressley is known for making over the fashionably challenged men on Bravo's "Queer Eye for the Straight Eye." He's also the author of "Off the Cuff: The Essential Style Guide for Men and the Women Who Love Them." He's here now this morning in our studios to talk about the Grammys from last night.

Nice to see you.

CARSON KRESSLEY, AUTHOR, "OFF THE CUFF": Nice to see you. Good American morning.

HEMMER: Well, thank you. Good American morning to you, as well. I appreciate that. First on the screen, want to talk about Usher, Kanye West and Alicia Keys. How did they do last night?

KRESSLEY: OK. Let's take a look. Well, the big story on the red carpet or the green carpet at the Grammys was everyone wearing white. The guys and the girls. There's a lot of white, a lot of winter white. And for the men, for Kanye and for Usher, really traditional. It wasn't the normal, you know, kind of rock n'roll thing. Guys were kind of wearing suits and jackets and ties.

HEMMER: It was formal.

KRESSLEY: It was a little formal.

HEMMER: And you give all passing grades on the first one? What about Queen Latifah, how'd she look?

KRESSLEY: Queen Latifah -- she had two different looks, one for her arrivals and one for her performance. Both very, very -- kind of demure and kind of quiet. It was all about the bling for Queen Latifah. She's the queen so she was wearing the jewels.

HEMMER: Joss Stone is 17 years young. Did a dynamite performance with Melissa Etheridge last night. What'd you think?

KRESSLEY: She's an amazing, amazing performance. When I saw her on the red carpet, I was like, wow, she's doing Hawaiian music. You know, because the dress was so, like, bold. But then, you have to remember, she's 17 years old, she's wearing something a little bit more appropriate. Not too racy.

HEMMER: Did you notice she was in bare feet when she sang the tribute to Janis Joplin?

KRESSLEY: Yes, I thought that was really cool.

HEMMER: Cool time. Gwen Stefani, what'd you think? The arrival and the performance on the screen now.

KRESSLEY: OK. When she's really -- Gwen Stefani's the leader of the fashion pack when it comes to the Grammys. And the Grammys are a little bit different than the Oscars or the Golden Globes because you know, it's rock and roll, people can be a little more daring, they can think outside the bun. So I loved her arrival look. I thought she was one of the best dressed people there, just because she takes chances, she has a real look. It's not real safe, but it's usually pretty amazing.

HEMMER: All right, back to the red carpet outside. Sheryl Crow and Lance Armstrong. She shows up in a -- what it was a yellow dress?

KRESSLEY: Armstrong yellow, live strong.

HEMMER: Live strong.

KRESSLEY: She had the bracelet on hand and the man himself on the other. I thought she looked great, very, very pretty, soaking up the sun.

HEMMER: How about Nelly? That's the next one on our list here.

KRESSLEY: Oh, nelly. From one Nelly to the another, love the pale blue jacket. Again, it's another one of the, you know, it's kind of...

HEMMER: Wait a minute, is that pale blue or is that robin egg blue?

KRESSLEY: It's could be robin's egg. Now that you're on saffron, now you're on to robin's egg.

HEMMER: Listen, that's Nelly. Let's go ahead and forward to Maroon 5. They won last for Best New Artist. What did you think?

KRESSLEY: Maroon 5. There was five of them. No maroon in sight. There was some orange, some red, no maroon. Confused me.

HEMMER: Did you notice the armband, though?

KRESSLEY: I did. That was a peace armband. HEMMER: This thing that we saw in Britain a couple of weeks ago?

KRESSLEY: I think it was either that, or it was supposed to be a 'P' in support of the Black Eyed Peas. I don't know.

HEMMER: I see.

Actor-director Zach Braff won for soundtrack for "Garden State."

KRESSLEY: Right, great movie. Kind of, to me, didn't love what he was wearing, kind of looked like he was just, you know, at the Staples Center, maybe buying some office supplies.

HEMMER: Go, Lakers. Quickly, J.lo and Marc Anthony, in pj's.

KRESSLEY: Yes, in the pj's, which is unusual. Normally people come out and they take it off. They actually, you know, had more clothes on underneath.

HEMMER: A progression, wasn't it?

KRESSLEY: It was. I think it was a reaction to last year's nipple-gate. They were not going to be overexposed.

HEMMER: It was bad daytime soap opera scene.

KRESSLEY: It was a little soap opera. I think J.Lo is still recovering from her really big fashion show here in New York, was the first time she showed her collection.

HEMMER: That's right, on Friday.

KRESSLEY: On Friday night. It was an amazing show.

HEMMER: You approved?

KRESSLEY: I approved, yes. It was really, really one of the highlights.

HEMMER: Good to see you, Carson.

KRESSLEY: Good too see you.

HEMMER: Come on back. Maybe we'll get you after the Oscars, OK?

KRESSLEY: Let's do it.

HEMMER: We'll size it up again.

KRESSLEY: OK, excellent.

HEMMER: All right. Here's Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Well, Google's been riding a money train since the stock went public with investors. Better watch out this morning. Andy explains. He's "Minding Your Business," just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Google investors keeping a close eye on the market this morning. And Andy Serwer planning weeks, even months, in advance for the advent of Valentine's Day. He's here "Minding Your Business."

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Yes, thank you, Jack. Good morning to you. We'll get to those special treats in a minute. Jack can hardly wait.

Let's talk about the market last week. A good one if you were a Dow investor, because the Dow was up; Nasdaq slipped a little bit. We're now up for the year after that horrible month of January. We made it all back in February.

Google investors, fasten your seat belts. Today could be a big day, six months after the company went public. It has been quite a ride so far. As you can see here, stock went up to $210, started at $85, where it opened before that chart began. You can see there. But today is what's called the expiration, the lockup period, which means insiders, people who own the stock before the company went public, can sell big time, 177 million shares, well over half of the shares outstanding. And you better believe some of them are going to be taking some profits, and that could be a good Valentine Day for them.

And Valentine's Day for the anchors, we have planned a little something, as you said, Jack, weeks, weeks in the making. These are customized M&Ms. We ordered them a couple of weeks ago. They cost -- I am not going to tell you how much they cost, even though they're presents, because you guys can take it.

O'BRIEN: Tell us.

SERWER: $9.49 a bag, but you have to order four of them.

There you go.

And what do they say here. Well, it says "call me, Heidi."

I didn't quite get that one -- call me Heidi.

CAFFERTY: Well, it's obviously for Heidi.

SERWER: OK, yes, thank you.

Then there's "Andy's candies." Sweet.

O'BRIEN: That's cute.

SERWER: Well, there's a trademark violation there, possibly.

And then we've got "Hemmer the hunk, "Hemmer the hunk." That's you.

And then here we go, this is the Neil Diamond for you -- "sweet Soledad."

Thank you.

And then, of course, Jack, why did I save the last one for you?

CAFFERTY: I don't know.

SERWER: "Nuts for Cafferty."

Happy Valentine's Day, you guys.

CAFFERTY: Thank you so much. That's very sweet of you.

SERWER: You can't open them? There you go.

CAFFERTY: Can't you wait until a commercial break?

O'BRIEN: Go ahead and do you thing, Jack.

CAFFERTY: All right, it's time for the "File." Will Smith's new movie "Hitch" topped this weekend's box office. We don't ordinarily do box office things in the "Cafferty File." We leave that for 90- second dribble. But they -- isn't that the name of it?

O'BRIEN: No.

CAFFERTY: What's it called?

HEMMER: They changed the name.

O'BRIEN: "90-Second Pop."

CAFFERTY: Oh, "90-Second Pop."

Will Smith's movie, $45.3 million it took in this weekend, "Hitch." The reason this is news, it's the biggest opening ever for a romantic comedy, ever. Places Will Smith, who is best known previously for perhaps action movies at the top of the list for bringing in fans and bucks. His films average $34.3 million on opening weekends. That's more, that's more money than Mike Meyers, Jim Carrey, George Clooney, Tom Cruise and of course Jennifer Lopez.

O'BRIEN: Love the guy.

CAFFERTY: Yes, isn't that something? How come they didn't do that on 90-second dribble.

HEMMER: "90-Second Pop."

O'BRIEN: I love him.

CAFFERTY: They should have done that. Brad Pitt should have no problem now that he's back on the market. He is Aniston-free as they say. A poll by online dating service lava.com found that 58 percent of single females would give up sex for one year for a date with Brad Pitt. Half of single men would shave their heads for a date with Jennifer Aniston. The men didn't indicate if they'd be willing to give up sex, probably not. The ideal Valentine's Day gift, according to this survey, a plasma TV. And as promised, a little something for -- do you know what this is?

SERWER: Wow.

CAFFERTY: You want to touch it?

O'BRIEN: Yes, what is it?

SERWER: That's called a "Smitten."

O'BRIEN: I like it.

CAFFERTY: That's those long moonlit evening walks with you and Brad. You can each put your hand in one half of thing and hold hands.

SERWER: Do you two want to try it?

CAFFERTY: See?

Or if you don't have anybody to go for a walk with you, you can hold your hands with yourself with that thing, like Soledad is doing.

SERWER: I like it.

HEMMER: Check out the saffron with that, Soledad.

O'BRIEN; Yes, I could, on my mountain bike.

HEMMER: No chance she's going to do that.

CAFFERTY: These are designed by Barbara and Gene (ph) in New Jersey, and you can get them at smitten.com.

And I'm glad Valentine's only comes once a year, because it's a pretty lame segment we just did here.

O'BRIEN: You spent a lot of energy bashing "90-Second Pop," I might add.

CAFFERTY: We should have put that on 90-second dribble along with the box office returns...

SERWER: And the smitten.

HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.

O'BRIEN: Thanks.

CAFFERTY: You're welcome. O'BRIEN: Top stories are straight ahead this morning, including new developments on the massive explosion in downtown Beirut. A former Lebanese prime minister is among the victims. The very latest ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired February 14, 2005 - 08:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. Just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. Is the U.S. flying spy planes into Iranian airspace? A report in "The Washington Post" raising some important questions about U.S. intelligence gathering in Iran and what it could mean about possible military strikes. Barbara Starr has got a report just ahead.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also, we know the big winners last night at the Grammys.

O'BRIEN: Ray Charles.

HEMMER: Ray Charles, that's right. Who gets the best nod for best dressed, though?

O'BRIEN: Queen Latifah, huh?

HEMMER: Carson Kressley, "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," stops by in a few moments, giving us the lowdown on who looked good and who could have used a little bit of help last night. We get to Carson this hour in a moment here.

O'BRIEN: Let's to the headlines first, though. Heidi Collins in this morning.

Nice to see you. Good morning.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: You didn't wear your attire from the show last night, white fur. Maybe next time.

Now in the news this morning, everybody, police and emergency crews in Beirut, Lebanon are at the scene of an apparent car bombing. At least six fires are burning in the aftermath of the powerful blast. This video showing charred wreckage and mangled debris. Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is among the casualties. We'll have much more on this story throughout the show today.

In health news now, the possibility of a new AIDS virus is worrying health officials this morning. Scientists say they've detected a potentially more aggressive form of HIV in a New York City man. Tests are being done to determine if it matches a strain in at least three other people. Some findings may be available next week.

In California, the prosecution in the Robert Blake murder case is expected to wrap up this week. They have called three men to the stand, each testified Blake had tried to pay them to kill his wife. The defense will try to discredit their testimony. It's not clear if Blake will take the stand in his own defense.

And there is word of wedding plans this Valentine's Day. Mary Kay Letourneau, thrown into the spotlight for her infamous relationship with a former sixth-grader, has reportedly set a wedding date. According to the "Seattle Post Intelligencer," Letourneau and the now 22-year-old Vili Fualaau will walk down the aisle on April 16th. Letorneau served seven and a half years on a 1997 conviction for raping Fualaau. The couple has two children.

O'BRIEN: That is such an odd report. Doesn't she have four children with her previous husband, who of course was just devastated. What a mess.

COLLINS: They're estranged, haven't talked in who knows how long. And new life for her.

O'BRIEN: I guess.

Thanks, Heidi. Appreciate it.

HEMMER: We want to get back to the story about Iran. Is the U.S. flying unmanned spy planes over that country? It's a point of dispute, depending upon which circles you talk about this. To the Pentagon now and Barbara Starr tries to get to the bottom of it.

Good morning there.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill.

Well, it was rather curious when we spoke to several senior U.S. military officers with direct responsibility for that region, the Persian Gulf region, they said they had no knowledge of any spy missions over Iran, and that well may be actually true. They're all indications now that this is an effort by the U.S. intelligence community to fly unmanned vehicles, and perhaps even high-altitude aircraft over Iran to gather intelligence about their nuclear program.

But the generals have a bit of a different concern. There is growing concern, they say, about the question of possible "strategic miscalculation." That is their words. And what they mean, as the public rhetoric grows on both sides over Iran, what is possibility that one side will misread the other side and something could happen they don't mean to happen?

The reason is, let's take a look at the map. The U.S. military already lives in the neighborhood with Iran in two places. First, across the Iraq/Iran border. There is a great deal of concern about Iran's attempt to influence the situation in Iraq in an attempt to dominate and influence the Shia effort and bring a Shia-dominated government to power in Baghdad.

Just last week, the No. 2 man at Central Command was here in the Pentagon, and he spoke about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LT. GEN. LANCE SMITH, DEP. COMMANDER, CENTCOM: Our focus is on what are they doing to try and influence what's going on in Iraq? And we are seeing, you know, mixed activity there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: So let's go back to the map, Bill. The other place where the U.S. military encounters Iranians, the northern end of the Persian Gulf, that very narrow stretch of water. The U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet operates up there all the time, so does the Iranian regular Navy, as well as the Revolutionary Guard, which has a number of small craft they operate up there.

U.S. Navy officials say when they encounter the Iranians, they're very professional on the high seas, everybody obeys the rules of the road, if you will.

But this is the kind of strategic miscalculation they worry about. As the rhetoric grows on both sides and they encounter the Iranians in these places, will one side misread the other side, and possibly, as they say, some sort of accidental shooting, God forbid, begin because the level of public rhetoric.

So there is a tradeoff right now. There is a very definite intelligence effort going on to gather information about the nuclear program, make sure Iran does not play that nuclear card. But also an effort to keep everything under control, very realistic, and keep understanding what the Iranians are up to so there is no strategic miscalculation -- Bill.

HEMMER: Fascinating one to follow, too. Barbara Starr, thanks, at the Pentagon with that -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Democrats have seen the future, and his name is Howard Dean. The former Vermont governor, and failed presidential candidate, was chosen as the party's new leader Saturday, and he promised a political transformation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD DEAN, NEW DNC CHAIRMAN: We can change the party, but only by working together and competing in all 50 states and territories. We can change the party, but only by working together and becoming a national party again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about Dean's new post and other political news as well.

From Miami this morning, Democratic consultant Victor Kamber.

Hey, Victor, good morning.

VICTOR KAMBER, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: Good morning. Happy Valentine's Day. O'BRIEN: Thank you. Appreciate that.

O'BRIEN: From Washington D.C., Cliff May. He's the former RNC communications director. He's now with the Foundation for Defense of Democracy.

Good morning, Cliff, nice to see you.

CLIFF MAY, FMR. RNC COMM. DIR.: Happy Valentine's Day to both of you.

O'BRIEN: Thank you. The flowers, the chocolates, you guys are just too much. I appreciate it. I'm just joking you.

Let's get right to Howard Dean. He sounds like he's trying to strike a little bit of a moderate tone. For example, he said he plans to reach out for the evangelical community. He said Democrats aren't necessarily pro-abortion.

Do you think, Victor, in fact, Howard Dean has to change his tune and embrace the moderate position in order to be successful?

KAMBER: I'm not sure Howard Dean has to change. I think Democrats have to reach out a broad umbrella, like I think they have. Howard Dean, I think, will be a terrific spokesperson for the party. I think he'll be a terrific fund-raiser, a terrific organizer. I think he's a No. 1 chairman.

In terms of the kinds of messages, we have to reach out across the board. We have to go to our base and continue to go to our base, but we have to go beyond our base if we're going to be the majority party.

O'BRIEN: Some Republicans don't see it that way. Former House majority leader Newt Gingrich said this, "If Democrats have a true death wish, he'd be the perfect guy to go with." Sounds like he's pretty thrilled today -- Cliff.

MAY: Yes. Look, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, they were opposed to Dean taking this job. The minority leader of the Senate, Harry Reid, the minority leader of the House, Nancy Pelosi, they didn't want Dean to get this job.

I think if he does reach out, that's a good thing, but buying a pickup truck and putting a gun rack in it probably isn't going to work.

Look, he has said one thing that I do agree with -- he said Democrats can't just be opposed to Republicans, can't just be opposed to Bush. I think he's absolutely right on that, and I think you have to wait to see if he actually does anything that follows through.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the Iraq elections, because I want to get to lots of things; we've got a lot to cover this morning.

Vic, let's begin with you. It seems that Ayad Allawi's party came in a third, a distant third, and in fact it's the religious Shiites who've won. So has this been good news from the elections for the U.S.?

KAMBER: Well, I don't think we know what it means. It certainly isn't good news in terms of who we backed and supported; 70 to 72 percent of the people who were elected side more with Iran than they do with the U.S. The party we supported got 13 percent of the vote.

Having said that, the election was on the first step in what we called democracy. We have no idea how this group is going to form, how they're going to govern, what's going to happen going ahead. You know, there were 111 parties running, and three of them got 85 percent of the vote. We have to hope that the two major parties and the one in particular, is inclusive and opens their doors, but only time will tell.

O'BRIEN: When you look at the numbers, 58 percent of Iraq's register the voters participated. That's pretty darn close to what we get in the United States, and this is for a first election, and yet the number of Sunnis who participated much, much lower turnout there.

Cliff, what do you take away from this?

MAY: I think this is really good news. Yes, the American candidate came in third. That shows that this was not an American- engineered election. We wanted Iraqis to make their own decisions. Iraqis have made their own decisions. That's the way it should be.

The Shiite list came in first, but they got a plurality, not a majority. That means they'll have to make deals. That's politics. That's what we want them to begin practicing.

The Kurds came in second. The Kurds are people who actually did cheer when Americans arrived in Iraq, and that's good. By the way, the Kurds are Sunnis, just not Arabs, but they'll insist on minority rights.

So overall, I'm very encouraged by this. By the way, you're right, Sunnis did not vote in high numbers. Two reasons -- one, some were frightened to do so. So we have to go after those who intimidated those. Those are the terrorists and the insurgents. Secondly, there were some who chose not to. Well, you know, there are people in the South who didn't want to vote in the election that brought Lincoln back to the White House. There are people -- whites in South Africa who didn't want to vote for Nelson Mandela. They cannot hold democracies hostage.

O'BRIEN: Cliff May, Victor Kamber. Guys, we're out of time. Nice to see you, as always, thanks.

KAMBER: Thank you.

MAY: You, too.

HEMMER: Red is the color of Valentine's Day, but Central Park's awash in saffron this morning. The gates, a massive art exhibit, unveiled on Saturday morning with the mayor. 75,000 16-foot-high frames, billowing fabric, lining 23 miles of the park. The artist Christo, and his wife Jeanne Claude, have been pushing for this exhibit for about 26 years. Show you a live picture now this morning of Central Park. $21 million to do all of it. It'll stay in place for about another 14 days. And by the way, it is not orange, it is saffron.

O'BRIEN: Sorry, my bad.

HEMMER: We've been warned, so we have to refer to it in the proper language. Saffron in the park in the sunshine.

O'BRIEN: Let's go back to the money. 20 some odd million dollars.

HEMMER: About $21, yes.

O'BRIEN: For 16 days.

HEMMER: 16 days.

O'BRIEN: OK. That's a lot of money.

HEMMER: Talking about the park in February -- normally, would not even give it an iota of attention. I think it's great. It looks wonderful in the sunshine, too. I know you have a different opinion of this...

O'BRIEN: No, I don't, I...

HEMMER: So we remain divided.

O'BRIEN: I think you think it's great.

HEMMER: They did a -- I saw an interview with Christo over the weekend. They said, what do you think? I mean, what does this say? He says, it's art, it doesn't say anything.

O'BRIEN: I don't have to explain it.

HEMMER: He said it does not say anything.

O'BRIEN: Just something else I've wrapped in fabric.

Researchers are calling on quest to create the impossible, truly healthy chocolate. What a good idea. Dr. Gupta joins us to tell us why bon bons could end up in your medicine cabinet one day.

HEMMER: Also, who takes home the Grammy for best dressed last night? Carson Kressley knows. Of "Queer Fame," he's here to give us his take from last night. Stay tuned. Back in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: We are "Paging Dr. Gupta" this morning about the health benefits of chocolate. Seems strange, but somehow fitting on Valentine's Day. And as Sanjay tells us, there may be good reason to eat more of it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HAROLD SCHMITZ, CHOCOLATE SCIENTIST, MARS, INC: 10 years ago, you would have been laughing at me in this interview if I would have said that cocoa or chocolate could have a heart health benefit. 5 years ago, you would have been listening suspiciously to me. And today, you and the scientific community, actually, is sitting back saying, well, there's a reason we call it the food of the gods and maybe this is why.

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): And now, one of the biggest chocolate companies in the world and researchers from Harvard are trying to create the impossible, a truly healthy chocolate. It could change the way we look at dessert.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then I would add that to my Mediterranean diet and be happy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'd probably have more.

GUPTA: There are already some known benefits to chocolate.

KATHERINE TALLMADGE, AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION: Chocolate reduces blood pressure, improves blood flow and has an aspirin-like effect and can improve cardiovascular risk factors.

GUPTA: But the problem is that most of that benefit is actually from flavinols (ph) found only in cocoa. When the cocoa is made into chocolate to make it less bitter, the benefit is lost. But that's where things are starting to change. Mars, Incorporated is calling their first attempt Cocoa Pro. It would be a sweet and healthy chocolate.

SCHMITZ: The cocoa that is in that product has been handled in such a way that it still retains the wonderful sensory properties that they expect from cocoa and chocolate. But it's also delivering the highest possible of naturally occurring flavinols.

GUPTA: They may take a few tries to get it right, but in the meantime, remember that dark chocolate is more likely to have those good flavinols and you can find it for sure in cocoa.

TALLMADGE: Have a cup of hot cocoa every night or at breakfast with some unsweetened cocoa that has not been Dutch processed. Most haven't been.

GUPTA: Another reason to eat a piece of chocolate. Like you needed one.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Like we needed one.

Of course, tomorrow Sanjay's back with our "New You Revolution." He's focusing on Jonathan Karp.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN KARP, "NEW YOU REVOLUTION" PARTICIPANT: I'd say I've bitten my nails since January maybe three times.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Because of that, we treated him to a manicure. Jonathan's also keeping a "New You Revolution" journal. We're going to talk with him about that. He says when he wants to avoid biting his nails, he doesn't even think about it. If one of his nails bothers him, then he uses a nail file. He keeps it on hand. And he's exercising more to relieve stress. Jonathan's efforts to break his bad habits has attracted quite a bit of email traffic. You can send an email to him by logging on to cnn.com/am -- Bill.

HEMMER: Carson Kressley is known for making over the fashionably challenged men on Bravo's "Queer Eye for the Straight Eye." He's also the author of "Off the Cuff: The Essential Style Guide for Men and the Women Who Love Them." He's here now this morning in our studios to talk about the Grammys from last night.

Nice to see you.

CARSON KRESSLEY, AUTHOR, "OFF THE CUFF": Nice to see you. Good American morning.

HEMMER: Well, thank you. Good American morning to you, as well. I appreciate that. First on the screen, want to talk about Usher, Kanye West and Alicia Keys. How did they do last night?

KRESSLEY: OK. Let's take a look. Well, the big story on the red carpet or the green carpet at the Grammys was everyone wearing white. The guys and the girls. There's a lot of white, a lot of winter white. And for the men, for Kanye and for Usher, really traditional. It wasn't the normal, you know, kind of rock n'roll thing. Guys were kind of wearing suits and jackets and ties.

HEMMER: It was formal.

KRESSLEY: It was a little formal.

HEMMER: And you give all passing grades on the first one? What about Queen Latifah, how'd she look?

KRESSLEY: Queen Latifah -- she had two different looks, one for her arrivals and one for her performance. Both very, very -- kind of demure and kind of quiet. It was all about the bling for Queen Latifah. She's the queen so she was wearing the jewels.

HEMMER: Joss Stone is 17 years young. Did a dynamite performance with Melissa Etheridge last night. What'd you think?

KRESSLEY: She's an amazing, amazing performance. When I saw her on the red carpet, I was like, wow, she's doing Hawaiian music. You know, because the dress was so, like, bold. But then, you have to remember, she's 17 years old, she's wearing something a little bit more appropriate. Not too racy.

HEMMER: Did you notice she was in bare feet when she sang the tribute to Janis Joplin?

KRESSLEY: Yes, I thought that was really cool.

HEMMER: Cool time. Gwen Stefani, what'd you think? The arrival and the performance on the screen now.

KRESSLEY: OK. When she's really -- Gwen Stefani's the leader of the fashion pack when it comes to the Grammys. And the Grammys are a little bit different than the Oscars or the Golden Globes because you know, it's rock and roll, people can be a little more daring, they can think outside the bun. So I loved her arrival look. I thought she was one of the best dressed people there, just because she takes chances, she has a real look. It's not real safe, but it's usually pretty amazing.

HEMMER: All right, back to the red carpet outside. Sheryl Crow and Lance Armstrong. She shows up in a -- what it was a yellow dress?

KRESSLEY: Armstrong yellow, live strong.

HEMMER: Live strong.

KRESSLEY: She had the bracelet on hand and the man himself on the other. I thought she looked great, very, very pretty, soaking up the sun.

HEMMER: How about Nelly? That's the next one on our list here.

KRESSLEY: Oh, nelly. From one Nelly to the another, love the pale blue jacket. Again, it's another one of the, you know, it's kind of...

HEMMER: Wait a minute, is that pale blue or is that robin egg blue?

KRESSLEY: It's could be robin's egg. Now that you're on saffron, now you're on to robin's egg.

HEMMER: Listen, that's Nelly. Let's go ahead and forward to Maroon 5. They won last for Best New Artist. What did you think?

KRESSLEY: Maroon 5. There was five of them. No maroon in sight. There was some orange, some red, no maroon. Confused me.

HEMMER: Did you notice the armband, though?

KRESSLEY: I did. That was a peace armband. HEMMER: This thing that we saw in Britain a couple of weeks ago?

KRESSLEY: I think it was either that, or it was supposed to be a 'P' in support of the Black Eyed Peas. I don't know.

HEMMER: I see.

Actor-director Zach Braff won for soundtrack for "Garden State."

KRESSLEY: Right, great movie. Kind of, to me, didn't love what he was wearing, kind of looked like he was just, you know, at the Staples Center, maybe buying some office supplies.

HEMMER: Go, Lakers. Quickly, J.lo and Marc Anthony, in pj's.

KRESSLEY: Yes, in the pj's, which is unusual. Normally people come out and they take it off. They actually, you know, had more clothes on underneath.

HEMMER: A progression, wasn't it?

KRESSLEY: It was. I think it was a reaction to last year's nipple-gate. They were not going to be overexposed.

HEMMER: It was bad daytime soap opera scene.

KRESSLEY: It was a little soap opera. I think J.Lo is still recovering from her really big fashion show here in New York, was the first time she showed her collection.

HEMMER: That's right, on Friday.

KRESSLEY: On Friday night. It was an amazing show.

HEMMER: You approved?

KRESSLEY: I approved, yes. It was really, really one of the highlights.

HEMMER: Good to see you, Carson.

KRESSLEY: Good too see you.

HEMMER: Come on back. Maybe we'll get you after the Oscars, OK?

KRESSLEY: Let's do it.

HEMMER: We'll size it up again.

KRESSLEY: OK, excellent.

HEMMER: All right. Here's Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Well, Google's been riding a money train since the stock went public with investors. Better watch out this morning. Andy explains. He's "Minding Your Business," just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Google investors keeping a close eye on the market this morning. And Andy Serwer planning weeks, even months, in advance for the advent of Valentine's Day. He's here "Minding Your Business."

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Yes, thank you, Jack. Good morning to you. We'll get to those special treats in a minute. Jack can hardly wait.

Let's talk about the market last week. A good one if you were a Dow investor, because the Dow was up; Nasdaq slipped a little bit. We're now up for the year after that horrible month of January. We made it all back in February.

Google investors, fasten your seat belts. Today could be a big day, six months after the company went public. It has been quite a ride so far. As you can see here, stock went up to $210, started at $85, where it opened before that chart began. You can see there. But today is what's called the expiration, the lockup period, which means insiders, people who own the stock before the company went public, can sell big time, 177 million shares, well over half of the shares outstanding. And you better believe some of them are going to be taking some profits, and that could be a good Valentine Day for them.

And Valentine's Day for the anchors, we have planned a little something, as you said, Jack, weeks, weeks in the making. These are customized M&Ms. We ordered them a couple of weeks ago. They cost -- I am not going to tell you how much they cost, even though they're presents, because you guys can take it.

O'BRIEN: Tell us.

SERWER: $9.49 a bag, but you have to order four of them.

There you go.

And what do they say here. Well, it says "call me, Heidi."

I didn't quite get that one -- call me Heidi.

CAFFERTY: Well, it's obviously for Heidi.

SERWER: OK, yes, thank you.

Then there's "Andy's candies." Sweet.

O'BRIEN: That's cute.

SERWER: Well, there's a trademark violation there, possibly.

And then we've got "Hemmer the hunk, "Hemmer the hunk." That's you.

And then here we go, this is the Neil Diamond for you -- "sweet Soledad."

Thank you.

And then, of course, Jack, why did I save the last one for you?

CAFFERTY: I don't know.

SERWER: "Nuts for Cafferty."

Happy Valentine's Day, you guys.

CAFFERTY: Thank you so much. That's very sweet of you.

SERWER: You can't open them? There you go.

CAFFERTY: Can't you wait until a commercial break?

O'BRIEN: Go ahead and do you thing, Jack.

CAFFERTY: All right, it's time for the "File." Will Smith's new movie "Hitch" topped this weekend's box office. We don't ordinarily do box office things in the "Cafferty File." We leave that for 90- second dribble. But they -- isn't that the name of it?

O'BRIEN: No.

CAFFERTY: What's it called?

HEMMER: They changed the name.

O'BRIEN: "90-Second Pop."

CAFFERTY: Oh, "90-Second Pop."

Will Smith's movie, $45.3 million it took in this weekend, "Hitch." The reason this is news, it's the biggest opening ever for a romantic comedy, ever. Places Will Smith, who is best known previously for perhaps action movies at the top of the list for bringing in fans and bucks. His films average $34.3 million on opening weekends. That's more, that's more money than Mike Meyers, Jim Carrey, George Clooney, Tom Cruise and of course Jennifer Lopez.

O'BRIEN: Love the guy.

CAFFERTY: Yes, isn't that something? How come they didn't do that on 90-second dribble.

HEMMER: "90-Second Pop."

O'BRIEN: I love him.

CAFFERTY: They should have done that. Brad Pitt should have no problem now that he's back on the market. He is Aniston-free as they say. A poll by online dating service lava.com found that 58 percent of single females would give up sex for one year for a date with Brad Pitt. Half of single men would shave their heads for a date with Jennifer Aniston. The men didn't indicate if they'd be willing to give up sex, probably not. The ideal Valentine's Day gift, according to this survey, a plasma TV. And as promised, a little something for -- do you know what this is?

SERWER: Wow.

CAFFERTY: You want to touch it?

O'BRIEN: Yes, what is it?

SERWER: That's called a "Smitten."

O'BRIEN: I like it.

CAFFERTY: That's those long moonlit evening walks with you and Brad. You can each put your hand in one half of thing and hold hands.

SERWER: Do you two want to try it?

CAFFERTY: See?

Or if you don't have anybody to go for a walk with you, you can hold your hands with yourself with that thing, like Soledad is doing.

SERWER: I like it.

HEMMER: Check out the saffron with that, Soledad.

O'BRIEN; Yes, I could, on my mountain bike.

HEMMER: No chance she's going to do that.

CAFFERTY: These are designed by Barbara and Gene (ph) in New Jersey, and you can get them at smitten.com.

And I'm glad Valentine's only comes once a year, because it's a pretty lame segment we just did here.

O'BRIEN: You spent a lot of energy bashing "90-Second Pop," I might add.

CAFFERTY: We should have put that on 90-second dribble along with the box office returns...

SERWER: And the smitten.

HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.

O'BRIEN: Thanks.

CAFFERTY: You're welcome. O'BRIEN: Top stories are straight ahead this morning, including new developments on the massive explosion in downtown Beirut. A former Lebanese prime minister is among the victims. The very latest ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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