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CNN Live Today

An In-Depth Look at Air Marshals; Weight Limits

Aired February 18, 2005 - 10:30   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.


TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: An advisory panel is expected to decide today whether arthritis drugs Vioxx, Celebrex and Bextra could be back on the shelves. Merck researchers told the Food and Drug Administration it would consider selling Vioxx again if regulators conclude benefits outweigh the risks.
And "The New York Times" is building on to its online presence. The newspaper is buying about.com. A consumer information company, about.com is a network of Web sites maintained by 500 experts in a variety of fields. The deal is worth some $410 million. CNN's Kathleen Hays will have more on her business report, coming up in about 13 minutes.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: "CNN Security Watch" this hour turns its attention to air marshals. They are assigned to protect airliners and passengers from possible hijackings.

CNN's homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve has this in- depth look at how air marshals are trained and how they carry out their missions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police officer -- drop the gun!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good, good, good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll help! I'll help!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sit down!

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On a mock aircraft, Tom practices for the day he hopes will never come, the day when he, a federal Air Marshal has to deal with a terrorist.

TOM, FEDERAL AIR MARSHAL: Let me say this, nobody wants to use a fireman on board an aircraft. It's not going to be a good day for anybody. There's a lot of down side to it. But if that's what's needed, that's what you do.

MESERVE: Because he works undercover, we cannot show you his face or tell you his full name.

TOM: I'm a federal air marshal. I need you to turn around and put your hands behind your back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not going to do anything like that.

TOM: Put your hands behind your back.

MESERVE: He once worked for the Secret Service, but his life, like so many others, was changed on 9/11.

TOM: The question runs through your head, what could I have done had I been one of the aircraft?

MESERVE: Though he may look like any other traveler, Tom carries a loaded .357 magnum. At Washington's Dulles Airport, he boards his Jet Blue flight to Ft. Lauderdale before other passengers to search for weapons and explosives and to meet and brief the flight crew.

TOM: There are no specific threats against this airline or any others at this time.

MESERVE: Though air marshals never fly without at least 1 partner, as passengers board, Tom scans for potential allies.

TOM: I just size people up. And I guess in a nutshell, I'm looking for help. Worse case scenario, who I think I can count on. You look for a face, and what you see in that, in the eyes. And I'm looking for, perhaps, military uniform. I'm looking for things of that nature, somebody with a military hair cut, possibly. Maybe somebody with an NYPD T-shirt on.

MESERVE: He is also on the lookout for terrorists.

TOM: We're looking for any suspicious behavior, anybody who is acting irregular.

MESERVE: Tom notices a restroom right next to the cockpit has been occupied an unusually long time. At Tom's suggestion, a flight attendant knocks. A man comes out. Tom goes in to see if weapons, or explosives have been hidden. He finds nothing.

Tom has never arrested a suspected terrorist, but wonders if he has seen them rehearsing.

TOM: Certainly, yes, there's been times where I've been uncomfortable, had a not-so-comfortable feeling and wondered if it was perhaps a test run and that's rare, very rare. There's a tremendous amount of monotony in this. And it's much like "Groundhog Day."

MESERVE: He can read, but music, movies and sleep are forbidden.

TOM: Very often we need to come up with cover stories of what we do. Sometimes I'll think of the most boring job I can think of with the hope that they won't pursue it with any more questions, you know? A lot of times I say him I'm an accountant, but then you run the danger of that person being an accountant.

MESERVE: This is Tom's life: airborne 80 hours a month. Critics say air marshals can be picked out because of their dress code and early boarding. Tom doesn't completely disagree. While he can dress like other passengers, he admits that boarding is a problem.

TOM: Walking down that gangplank before everyone else lets many people know who you are, that you're special, you're different.

MESERVE: Though their exact number is classified, there are not enough air marshals for the 27,000 flights made every day by U.S. carriers, so they pick their flights.

(on camera) This Airbus A320 is the exact type of aircraft an air marshal might be on. It's pretty big, carries a lot of fuel, and it's flying in and out of New York, a known terrorist target.

(voice-over) At the air marshals' command center, where deployment decisions are made, the latest intelligence is factored in. John Novak runs the operation.

JOHN NOVAK, AIR MARSHAL COMMAND CENTER: We have no credible evidence that threats or surveillance activity or suspicious activity is occurring, but we have no information, credible information suggesting that it's not.

MESERVE: The operation center relays intelligence directly to air marshals via wireless devices, but they do not work in the air, a real problem if a crisis erupts, admits Thomas Quinn, the director of the federal air marshal program.

THOMAS QUINN, DIRECTOR, FEDERAL AIR MARSHAL PROGRAM: We to this day communicate through the flight deck of the aircraft. So there is a means of communication, but it's not as rapid or robust as we would like.

MESERVE: The operation center has secure communications with the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado. NORAD can scramble jets in an emergency, though Tom feels he and other air marshals can handle things on their own.

TOM: God forbid something happens. We're going to solve that. We're going to have the solution up there and they're not going to have to call upon the F-16s to bring that plane down.

MESERVE: It is hard to know if air marshals are as effective as Tom believes. Whether it's because the presence of air marshals has been a deterrent of terrorists or because of other layers of security, there hasn't been a hijacking since 9/11.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: We're taking a look at big guns and your security. 50- caliber guns have been described as the perfect terrorist weapon. But how easy it is to buy one? You would be surprised. Coming up in our next hour, our Drew Griffin not only buys one, but manages to get it through a major airport. Lovely. So you have stories coming up. Be sure to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security. HARRIS: So what do you say we take a look at other stories making news coast to coast this morning.

KAGAN: Police say that a California man is lucky to be alive after a freak accident. The 20-year-old man tossed a lit cigarette out the window of his SUV. The cigarette blew back in and set the vehicle on fire. The man was driving across San Francisco's Bay Bridge at the time. He was able to pull to the side and get out. The SUV did burn down to the frame.

HARRIS: And doctors at Stanford University gave this premature baby zero chance of survival. Yet Jerrick Deleon (ph) beat the odds, surviving surgery that switching the aorta and the pulmonary arteries in his grape-sized heart. He is the smallest in fact to ever come through that kind of an operation. He weighed just 24 ounces at birth.

KAGAN: You go, Jerrick.

Here in Georgia a bill to include -- this is a great idea; you have kids -- to include a child's body-mass index on report cards. You know, somehow somebody figured out not a great idea. The state legislator who sponsored the bill said that angry phone calls and e- mail forced her to drop the issue. Democrat Stephanie Stuckey Benfield (ph) says she was just trying to reduce childhood obesity in the state.

HARRIS: A lot of conversation about that at my school, that's for sure.

Another weighty issue has customers chewing the fat at the Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City.

Norm Machonak (ph), at affiliate station WPVI reports, the Borgata Babes have been told too much gain will lead you to pain.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN ESHELMAN, CAPE MAY, NEW JERSEY: They're well endowed girls around here, the cocktail waitresses. Makes me want a cocktail even more.

NORM MACHONAK, WPVI REPORTER: They're called Borgata babes, cocktail waitresses who work on the floor of Atlantic City's newest casino serving drinks in sexy outfits. But keeping their figures is now a requirement for keeping their jobs. Beginning Monday, about 200 waitresses will be forced to weigh in. And if they gain more than 7 percent of that body weight, they'll be suspended and fired if they don't lose the pounds.

CATHY FIREMAN, BORGATA TALENT VICE PRESIDENT: We feel they're really part of our brand here, of an upscale, international, energetic, sensual Borgata environment that we've created for our customers, and it's what our customers have come to expect of us.

SARAH SENZINO, STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK: I think it's what men want to see. They want to see that body. They want to see that cocktail waitress, that sexy cocktail waitress.

MACHONAK: It means if a waitress weighs in at 115 and gains more than 8 pounds, she'll be in trouble. The Casino Workers Union has filed a grievance, and critics, including some customers, say it is downright discriminatory.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely unfair. You can't have weight restrictions on -- I mean, if it doesn't affect the job, it's discriminatory.

DOLLY MARONE, VINELAND, NEW JERSEY: I don't think that's right. I think it's discriminating. That's not right. I could see if you gain 40 pounds or something where you won't fit in the costume.

MACHONAK: The waitresses weren't allowed to talk to us, but have said privately they're outraged.

ROBERT LEE: I think that's a little extreme. Why should they get fired because they gain a little weight. Just give them a little bigger costume.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Yes, uh-huh.

HARRIS: Totally outraged by that story, just that we would even in this society stoop to the...

KAGAN: You're shocked that a cog tail waitress at a casino would have to fit in a little skimpy uniform.

HARRIS: (INAUDIBLE) out of casino employees, two of 10 costumed beverage servers, including 160 Borgata babes. Hi.

KAGAN: All right, we're going to talk about protecting your identity after a Georgia firm says thousands have had their personal information stolen. What you can do to keep your identity safe.

HARRIS: And shopping for a car, alcohol or even cigarettes. Prices are going up. We'll tell you why. A check of business news is straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's check on the day on Wall Street.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

HARRIS: A database company named ChoicePoint says hackers broke into their systems and stole private information for thousands of people, like their names, addresses and Social Security numbers. Now ChoicePoint is warning consumers to beware. Here is CNN's Julie Vallese.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JULIE VALLESE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than 145,000 consumers are being sent letters of warning their identity may have been compromised.

JAMES LEE, CHOICEPOINT SPOKESMAN: The information that these people had access to was, by and large, public information, but on occasion it includes Social Security numbers.

VALLESE: ChoicePoint is a national provider of personal information for background checks and other services. It says an organized ring set up 50 fake companies to gain access to personal information. ChoicePoint's database contains 19 billion public records.

LEE: If you get a letter, the letter will tell you exactly what to do. If you don't get a letter, you don't need to worry.

VALLESE: Maybe in the case of ChoicePoint, but in the case of identity theft in general, everyone is possible target.

BETSY BRODER, FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION: If, for example, your name and your Social Security number have been disclosed, then you want to get a fraud alert on your credit file.

VALLESE: The Federal Trade Commission says last year 9 million people reported some kind of identity theft.

(on camera): Personal information in the United States is a commodity, a way to market products to a targeted audience. The European model is the exact opposite. Consumers must request their information be made public.

(voice-over): The government does have some regulations in place to protect consumers.

BRODER: There's a safeguards rule. And this the rule that says for financial institutions, you have to have reasonable security measures in place.

VALLESE: It's a good faith rule. ChoicePoint says it is increasing its level of security by reintensifying the vetting of clients and may even visit a business to verify it's legit. As for consumers, stepping up personal security means keeping private information private and taking advantage of a federal rule that allows consumers a free copy of their credit report once a year.

Julie Vallese, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: All because of Winn-Dixie?

KAGAN: Yes, get ready to go awww.

HARRIS: Oh, OK. OK.

(CLIP FROM "BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE")

KAGAN: Winn-Dixie is the dog.

HARRIS: Oh, I was going to say, that's not the aww part, is it? Oh, OK. There's the aww part. OK.

KAGAN: There. Yes. Yay for the dog.

Can a young girl find a friend in this lovable mutt? Mr. Moviefone is not the lovable mutt. He's Mr. Moviefone. He joins us with a preview of what is happening at the box office this weekend.

(BEGIN CLIP FROM "BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Call the pound.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wait, don't call the pound! That's my dog!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: That bouncing baby boy is "The Son of Mask," a movie descendant of Jim Carrey's 1994 vehicle "The Mask." It tells what happens when a man happens upon the magical mask and fathers a child born with some of its powers.

"The New York Times" is calling that movie an unredeemable mess. But what does Mr. Moviefone think about it?

Here to tell us about "The Son of Mask" and two other films opening nationwide today, Mr. Moviefone, Russ Leatherman.

Hello.

RUSS LEATHERMAN, "MR. MOVIEFONE": How are you?

KAGAN: I'm good.

Do you want to start with "Son of Mask" or with "Winn-Dixie."

LEATHERMAN: Well, I guess we can start with "Son of the Mask," and let's start with son of mask, but let's not spend a bunch of time on it.

KAGAN: Yes, all I can say is there's a scene in the movie where Jamie Kennedy, who's taken over for Jim Carrey, pulls the mask off the shelf, and he looks at it, and he says, "This is the crappiest piece of crap in craptown." OK, no truer words have ever been spoken about a movie. This thing is really just awful in almost every single way.

And so I would suggest to you, if you are looking for something to do with the family, take them to "Because of Winn-Dixie," but we'll talk about that in a second.

KAGAN: Yes, let's talk about that, "Because of Winn-Dixie," very cute dog. Tony and I were saying it kind of reminds us of Benji from our childhood.

LEATHERMAN: A little bit. This is really a terrific family movie. It's about this young girl who's been abandoned by her mother and goes to live with her father, her preacher father, in this really small, tiny town. Her father is played by Jeff Daniels. And she has no friends, and she has no mother. And so she comes across this dog, she names him Winn-Dixie, and it brings the entire town together. It sort of changes her view of relationships and people, and really gives her something to live for.

And I have to tell you, Cicely Tyson's in the movie. I think she was terrific. Jeff Daniels was terrific. And even Dave Matthews, the musician, who's in this movie, did a really nice job. And this little girl Anna Sophia Robb, who plays the young girl in this movie, you're going to see a lot from her, because she really does a fantastic job.

I would say if you've got a 9 or 10-year-old little girl, definitely take her to see this movie, because she's going to love it. And even the rest of the family will enjoy it, too. So I say go see "Because of Winn-Dixie."

KAGAN: Resounding.

And we should explain for folks who aren't in the South, ya'll, "Winn-Dixie" is a chain of markets. Could have been called "because of the Piggly Wiggly," but that's a different chain.

OK, it would not be a Mr. Moviefone segment if we didn't have a bad-dream movie. And of course you do not disappoint with "Constantine."

LEATHERMAN: Well, Daryn, I know you've been waiting for the return of Keanu Reeves forever, am I right?

KAGAN: OK.

LEATHERMAN: Well, he's back in the theological horror thriller "Constantine." Now this is a creepy movie. He plays an exorcist who's trying to buy his own way into Heaven by sending all of the demons back to Hell. I don't know if you knew this, Daryn, but we're surrounded by demons and angels, and it's his job to really put them back in their place.

Rachel Weiss is in the movie. She's terrific. She does a pretty good job. But I have to say, unless you really like sort of creepy images and big effects, don't go see this movie because it's just a muddled mess really. I mean, it's a theological mess is what it is. And so I would say unless you're a huge Keanu fan, which I know you Are, Daryn, I'd take a pass on this one.

KAGAN: Even Keanu Reeves at his finest could not get me to see a bad-dream movie.

LEATHERMAN: But I have to tell you, for all the new movies this week, "Because of Winn-Dixie" is the best one. And take your family. It's sort of rainy here in Los Angeles, so that's what I'm going to do, and I think you should do the same.

KAGAN: What a great dad. Thank you, Russ.

LEATHERMAN: All right, Daryn. I'll talk to you next week.

KAGAN: Russ Leatherman, Mr. Moviefone.

For more on the movies, point your browser at CNN.com/entertainment. Among other things, you can find out why there are no blockbuster hits among the films up for best picture Oscars. Also you can get the latest news on TV, music and books. CNN.com/entertainment.

(WEATHER REPORT)

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Aired February 18, 2005 - 10:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: An advisory panel is expected to decide today whether arthritis drugs Vioxx, Celebrex and Bextra could be back on the shelves. Merck researchers told the Food and Drug Administration it would consider selling Vioxx again if regulators conclude benefits outweigh the risks.
And "The New York Times" is building on to its online presence. The newspaper is buying about.com. A consumer information company, about.com is a network of Web sites maintained by 500 experts in a variety of fields. The deal is worth some $410 million. CNN's Kathleen Hays will have more on her business report, coming up in about 13 minutes.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: "CNN Security Watch" this hour turns its attention to air marshals. They are assigned to protect airliners and passengers from possible hijackings.

CNN's homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve has this in- depth look at how air marshals are trained and how they carry out their missions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police officer -- drop the gun!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good, good, good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll help! I'll help!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sit down!

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On a mock aircraft, Tom practices for the day he hopes will never come, the day when he, a federal Air Marshal has to deal with a terrorist.

TOM, FEDERAL AIR MARSHAL: Let me say this, nobody wants to use a fireman on board an aircraft. It's not going to be a good day for anybody. There's a lot of down side to it. But if that's what's needed, that's what you do.

MESERVE: Because he works undercover, we cannot show you his face or tell you his full name.

TOM: I'm a federal air marshal. I need you to turn around and put your hands behind your back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not going to do anything like that.

TOM: Put your hands behind your back.

MESERVE: He once worked for the Secret Service, but his life, like so many others, was changed on 9/11.

TOM: The question runs through your head, what could I have done had I been one of the aircraft?

MESERVE: Though he may look like any other traveler, Tom carries a loaded .357 magnum. At Washington's Dulles Airport, he boards his Jet Blue flight to Ft. Lauderdale before other passengers to search for weapons and explosives and to meet and brief the flight crew.

TOM: There are no specific threats against this airline or any others at this time.

MESERVE: Though air marshals never fly without at least 1 partner, as passengers board, Tom scans for potential allies.

TOM: I just size people up. And I guess in a nutshell, I'm looking for help. Worse case scenario, who I think I can count on. You look for a face, and what you see in that, in the eyes. And I'm looking for, perhaps, military uniform. I'm looking for things of that nature, somebody with a military hair cut, possibly. Maybe somebody with an NYPD T-shirt on.

MESERVE: He is also on the lookout for terrorists.

TOM: We're looking for any suspicious behavior, anybody who is acting irregular.

MESERVE: Tom notices a restroom right next to the cockpit has been occupied an unusually long time. At Tom's suggestion, a flight attendant knocks. A man comes out. Tom goes in to see if weapons, or explosives have been hidden. He finds nothing.

Tom has never arrested a suspected terrorist, but wonders if he has seen them rehearsing.

TOM: Certainly, yes, there's been times where I've been uncomfortable, had a not-so-comfortable feeling and wondered if it was perhaps a test run and that's rare, very rare. There's a tremendous amount of monotony in this. And it's much like "Groundhog Day."

MESERVE: He can read, but music, movies and sleep are forbidden.

TOM: Very often we need to come up with cover stories of what we do. Sometimes I'll think of the most boring job I can think of with the hope that they won't pursue it with any more questions, you know? A lot of times I say him I'm an accountant, but then you run the danger of that person being an accountant.

MESERVE: This is Tom's life: airborne 80 hours a month. Critics say air marshals can be picked out because of their dress code and early boarding. Tom doesn't completely disagree. While he can dress like other passengers, he admits that boarding is a problem.

TOM: Walking down that gangplank before everyone else lets many people know who you are, that you're special, you're different.

MESERVE: Though their exact number is classified, there are not enough air marshals for the 27,000 flights made every day by U.S. carriers, so they pick their flights.

(on camera) This Airbus A320 is the exact type of aircraft an air marshal might be on. It's pretty big, carries a lot of fuel, and it's flying in and out of New York, a known terrorist target.

(voice-over) At the air marshals' command center, where deployment decisions are made, the latest intelligence is factored in. John Novak runs the operation.

JOHN NOVAK, AIR MARSHAL COMMAND CENTER: We have no credible evidence that threats or surveillance activity or suspicious activity is occurring, but we have no information, credible information suggesting that it's not.

MESERVE: The operation center relays intelligence directly to air marshals via wireless devices, but they do not work in the air, a real problem if a crisis erupts, admits Thomas Quinn, the director of the federal air marshal program.

THOMAS QUINN, DIRECTOR, FEDERAL AIR MARSHAL PROGRAM: We to this day communicate through the flight deck of the aircraft. So there is a means of communication, but it's not as rapid or robust as we would like.

MESERVE: The operation center has secure communications with the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado. NORAD can scramble jets in an emergency, though Tom feels he and other air marshals can handle things on their own.

TOM: God forbid something happens. We're going to solve that. We're going to have the solution up there and they're not going to have to call upon the F-16s to bring that plane down.

MESERVE: It is hard to know if air marshals are as effective as Tom believes. Whether it's because the presence of air marshals has been a deterrent of terrorists or because of other layers of security, there hasn't been a hijacking since 9/11.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: We're taking a look at big guns and your security. 50- caliber guns have been described as the perfect terrorist weapon. But how easy it is to buy one? You would be surprised. Coming up in our next hour, our Drew Griffin not only buys one, but manages to get it through a major airport. Lovely. So you have stories coming up. Be sure to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security. HARRIS: So what do you say we take a look at other stories making news coast to coast this morning.

KAGAN: Police say that a California man is lucky to be alive after a freak accident. The 20-year-old man tossed a lit cigarette out the window of his SUV. The cigarette blew back in and set the vehicle on fire. The man was driving across San Francisco's Bay Bridge at the time. He was able to pull to the side and get out. The SUV did burn down to the frame.

HARRIS: And doctors at Stanford University gave this premature baby zero chance of survival. Yet Jerrick Deleon (ph) beat the odds, surviving surgery that switching the aorta and the pulmonary arteries in his grape-sized heart. He is the smallest in fact to ever come through that kind of an operation. He weighed just 24 ounces at birth.

KAGAN: You go, Jerrick.

Here in Georgia a bill to include -- this is a great idea; you have kids -- to include a child's body-mass index on report cards. You know, somehow somebody figured out not a great idea. The state legislator who sponsored the bill said that angry phone calls and e- mail forced her to drop the issue. Democrat Stephanie Stuckey Benfield (ph) says she was just trying to reduce childhood obesity in the state.

HARRIS: A lot of conversation about that at my school, that's for sure.

Another weighty issue has customers chewing the fat at the Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City.

Norm Machonak (ph), at affiliate station WPVI reports, the Borgata Babes have been told too much gain will lead you to pain.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN ESHELMAN, CAPE MAY, NEW JERSEY: They're well endowed girls around here, the cocktail waitresses. Makes me want a cocktail even more.

NORM MACHONAK, WPVI REPORTER: They're called Borgata babes, cocktail waitresses who work on the floor of Atlantic City's newest casino serving drinks in sexy outfits. But keeping their figures is now a requirement for keeping their jobs. Beginning Monday, about 200 waitresses will be forced to weigh in. And if they gain more than 7 percent of that body weight, they'll be suspended and fired if they don't lose the pounds.

CATHY FIREMAN, BORGATA TALENT VICE PRESIDENT: We feel they're really part of our brand here, of an upscale, international, energetic, sensual Borgata environment that we've created for our customers, and it's what our customers have come to expect of us.

SARAH SENZINO, STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK: I think it's what men want to see. They want to see that body. They want to see that cocktail waitress, that sexy cocktail waitress.

MACHONAK: It means if a waitress weighs in at 115 and gains more than 8 pounds, she'll be in trouble. The Casino Workers Union has filed a grievance, and critics, including some customers, say it is downright discriminatory.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely unfair. You can't have weight restrictions on -- I mean, if it doesn't affect the job, it's discriminatory.

DOLLY MARONE, VINELAND, NEW JERSEY: I don't think that's right. I think it's discriminating. That's not right. I could see if you gain 40 pounds or something where you won't fit in the costume.

MACHONAK: The waitresses weren't allowed to talk to us, but have said privately they're outraged.

ROBERT LEE: I think that's a little extreme. Why should they get fired because they gain a little weight. Just give them a little bigger costume.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Yes, uh-huh.

HARRIS: Totally outraged by that story, just that we would even in this society stoop to the...

KAGAN: You're shocked that a cog tail waitress at a casino would have to fit in a little skimpy uniform.

HARRIS: (INAUDIBLE) out of casino employees, two of 10 costumed beverage servers, including 160 Borgata babes. Hi.

KAGAN: All right, we're going to talk about protecting your identity after a Georgia firm says thousands have had their personal information stolen. What you can do to keep your identity safe.

HARRIS: And shopping for a car, alcohol or even cigarettes. Prices are going up. We'll tell you why. A check of business news is straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's check on the day on Wall Street.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

HARRIS: A database company named ChoicePoint says hackers broke into their systems and stole private information for thousands of people, like their names, addresses and Social Security numbers. Now ChoicePoint is warning consumers to beware. Here is CNN's Julie Vallese.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JULIE VALLESE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than 145,000 consumers are being sent letters of warning their identity may have been compromised.

JAMES LEE, CHOICEPOINT SPOKESMAN: The information that these people had access to was, by and large, public information, but on occasion it includes Social Security numbers.

VALLESE: ChoicePoint is a national provider of personal information for background checks and other services. It says an organized ring set up 50 fake companies to gain access to personal information. ChoicePoint's database contains 19 billion public records.

LEE: If you get a letter, the letter will tell you exactly what to do. If you don't get a letter, you don't need to worry.

VALLESE: Maybe in the case of ChoicePoint, but in the case of identity theft in general, everyone is possible target.

BETSY BRODER, FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION: If, for example, your name and your Social Security number have been disclosed, then you want to get a fraud alert on your credit file.

VALLESE: The Federal Trade Commission says last year 9 million people reported some kind of identity theft.

(on camera): Personal information in the United States is a commodity, a way to market products to a targeted audience. The European model is the exact opposite. Consumers must request their information be made public.

(voice-over): The government does have some regulations in place to protect consumers.

BRODER: There's a safeguards rule. And this the rule that says for financial institutions, you have to have reasonable security measures in place.

VALLESE: It's a good faith rule. ChoicePoint says it is increasing its level of security by reintensifying the vetting of clients and may even visit a business to verify it's legit. As for consumers, stepping up personal security means keeping private information private and taking advantage of a federal rule that allows consumers a free copy of their credit report once a year.

Julie Vallese, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: All because of Winn-Dixie?

KAGAN: Yes, get ready to go awww.

HARRIS: Oh, OK. OK.

(CLIP FROM "BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE")

KAGAN: Winn-Dixie is the dog.

HARRIS: Oh, I was going to say, that's not the aww part, is it? Oh, OK. There's the aww part. OK.

KAGAN: There. Yes. Yay for the dog.

Can a young girl find a friend in this lovable mutt? Mr. Moviefone is not the lovable mutt. He's Mr. Moviefone. He joins us with a preview of what is happening at the box office this weekend.

(BEGIN CLIP FROM "BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Call the pound.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wait, don't call the pound! That's my dog!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: That bouncing baby boy is "The Son of Mask," a movie descendant of Jim Carrey's 1994 vehicle "The Mask." It tells what happens when a man happens upon the magical mask and fathers a child born with some of its powers.

"The New York Times" is calling that movie an unredeemable mess. But what does Mr. Moviefone think about it?

Here to tell us about "The Son of Mask" and two other films opening nationwide today, Mr. Moviefone, Russ Leatherman.

Hello.

RUSS LEATHERMAN, "MR. MOVIEFONE": How are you?

KAGAN: I'm good.

Do you want to start with "Son of Mask" or with "Winn-Dixie."

LEATHERMAN: Well, I guess we can start with "Son of the Mask," and let's start with son of mask, but let's not spend a bunch of time on it.

KAGAN: Yes, all I can say is there's a scene in the movie where Jamie Kennedy, who's taken over for Jim Carrey, pulls the mask off the shelf, and he looks at it, and he says, "This is the crappiest piece of crap in craptown." OK, no truer words have ever been spoken about a movie. This thing is really just awful in almost every single way.

And so I would suggest to you, if you are looking for something to do with the family, take them to "Because of Winn-Dixie," but we'll talk about that in a second.

KAGAN: Yes, let's talk about that, "Because of Winn-Dixie," very cute dog. Tony and I were saying it kind of reminds us of Benji from our childhood.

LEATHERMAN: A little bit. This is really a terrific family movie. It's about this young girl who's been abandoned by her mother and goes to live with her father, her preacher father, in this really small, tiny town. Her father is played by Jeff Daniels. And she has no friends, and she has no mother. And so she comes across this dog, she names him Winn-Dixie, and it brings the entire town together. It sort of changes her view of relationships and people, and really gives her something to live for.

And I have to tell you, Cicely Tyson's in the movie. I think she was terrific. Jeff Daniels was terrific. And even Dave Matthews, the musician, who's in this movie, did a really nice job. And this little girl Anna Sophia Robb, who plays the young girl in this movie, you're going to see a lot from her, because she really does a fantastic job.

I would say if you've got a 9 or 10-year-old little girl, definitely take her to see this movie, because she's going to love it. And even the rest of the family will enjoy it, too. So I say go see "Because of Winn-Dixie."

KAGAN: Resounding.

And we should explain for folks who aren't in the South, ya'll, "Winn-Dixie" is a chain of markets. Could have been called "because of the Piggly Wiggly," but that's a different chain.

OK, it would not be a Mr. Moviefone segment if we didn't have a bad-dream movie. And of course you do not disappoint with "Constantine."

LEATHERMAN: Well, Daryn, I know you've been waiting for the return of Keanu Reeves forever, am I right?

KAGAN: OK.

LEATHERMAN: Well, he's back in the theological horror thriller "Constantine." Now this is a creepy movie. He plays an exorcist who's trying to buy his own way into Heaven by sending all of the demons back to Hell. I don't know if you knew this, Daryn, but we're surrounded by demons and angels, and it's his job to really put them back in their place.

Rachel Weiss is in the movie. She's terrific. She does a pretty good job. But I have to say, unless you really like sort of creepy images and big effects, don't go see this movie because it's just a muddled mess really. I mean, it's a theological mess is what it is. And so I would say unless you're a huge Keanu fan, which I know you Are, Daryn, I'd take a pass on this one.

KAGAN: Even Keanu Reeves at his finest could not get me to see a bad-dream movie.

LEATHERMAN: But I have to tell you, for all the new movies this week, "Because of Winn-Dixie" is the best one. And take your family. It's sort of rainy here in Los Angeles, so that's what I'm going to do, and I think you should do the same.

KAGAN: What a great dad. Thank you, Russ.

LEATHERMAN: All right, Daryn. I'll talk to you next week.

KAGAN: Russ Leatherman, Mr. Moviefone.

For more on the movies, point your browser at CNN.com/entertainment. Among other things, you can find out why there are no blockbuster hits among the films up for best picture Oscars. Also you can get the latest news on TV, music and books. CNN.com/entertainment.

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