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American Morning
Bush Visits NATO Headquarters; Presidential Pals
Aired February 22, 2005 - 09:30 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: Duly noted. Thank you.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you. That's my investment advice.
S. O'BRIEN: Miles O'Brien's helping us out while Billy's got the day off.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm doing the best I can, anyhow.
S. O'BRIEN: With advice.
And a few minutes, we're going to get back to the president's diplomatic mission in Europe. He wrapped up a news conference a few minutes ago with the secretary-general of NATO. Even took a question about whether he's been laying on the charm on this trip. Suzanne Malveaux is standing by this morning. We'll check in with her about whether the president is making any new friends.
M. O'BRIEN: Also, Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush have been making some new friends, too. Not only among tsunami survivors, but with each other, too. But are they really as close as they appear? Kelly Wallace looking into that for us this morning.
S. O'BRIEN: Before that, though, let's get right to the headlines. Heidi Collins sitting in. Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. And good morning once again to you, everyone. "Now in the News," the death toll from the powerful earthquake in Iran has reached nearly 300 now. Officials say the 6.4 quake hit the central part of the country, injuring nearly a thousand people and flattening dozens of villages. It happened in the same region devastated by an earthquake more than one year ago. That quake claimed more than 30,000 lives.
Political news out of Iraq this morning. Iraq Shiite alliance has chosen Ibrahim al Jaafari to be its candidate for prime minister. This after opponent Ahmad Chalabi dropped his bid. Sources say there was pressure in the ranks for Chalabi to withdraw in order to avoid a secret ballot.
In California, jury selection resumes this morning in the Michael Jackson child molestation case. The proceedings cut off a week ago after Jackson was rushed to a hospital with flu-like symptoms. The defense is expected to add more names to its possible witness list today. That trial set to resume in about two hours. And in sports news, a huge media turnout expected today for Barry Bonds' arrival at the Giants' Arizona training camp. If Bonds responds to questions, it will be the first time he's spoken publicly about the sports doping scandal since December. That's when it was widely reported Bonds told a grand jury he may have unknowingly used steroids given to him by a trainer.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, he thought it was some kind of balm or something, right?
COLLINS: Apparently.
S. O'BRIEN: That's a pretty big if. Because if he responds to questions...
COLLINS: The trainer was indicted in the ring, doping ring, so.
M. O'BRIEN: And of course, Barry loves reporters, too. So that will go real well.
COLLINS: Even Barry's shy.
S. O'BRIEN: Before the scandal, he wouldn't talk to anybody.
M. O'BRIEN: He's just a big fan.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Heidi, thanks.
Well, President Bush is talking to European leaders at NATO headquarters this morning, hoping to get them to put aside differences and work with the U.S. to spread peace and democracy in places like Iraq and the Middle East.
White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joins us from Brussels with more. Good morning to you, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. Well, a very busy day for President Bush. Back-to-back summits with NATO as well as the European Union. And of course, the president has two goals here, to try to create a more civil tone between the United States and its European allies, but also to try to win more support for the training of Iraqi troops. And it seems as if President Bush already has been successful on both of these points.
You're looking at a class photo, a NATO class photo, from earlier this morning. President Bush received commitments from all 26 member nations of some sort of way to contribute, to help in training those Iraqi troops of modest contributions by many of those countries. But this is a situation where an organization was almost torn apart to face a crisis just two years ago over the Iraq war. Many of its neighbors felt that the president ignored or denigrated the organization, that it was not considered relevant.
Today President Bush at the press conference went out of his way to make the point that he felt it was a vital organization and that the United States was very much enthusiastic about moving forward and putting behind them the disagreements of the Iraq War.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: NATO is the most successful alliance in the history of the world. Think about that. The most successful alliance in the history of the world. Because of NATO, Europe is whole and united and at peace. And that's a milestone in the history of liberty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Soledad, the president nicknamed this -- he called it the listening tour. Obviously trying to convince the European allies that he wants to reach out, that he is willing to listen to what they have to say about certain U.S. policies. Of course, there's still a lot of disagreements. Disagreements over the way -- the best approach to convince Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions, disagreements over the Kyoto protocol for climate change, disagreements over the International Criminal Court, all of these different things.
But President Bush, as well as the NATO secretary-general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer saying that he believes the two of them can work together. It is time to move on. A sign of that, Soledad -- just last night President Bush had dinner with French president Jacques Chirac. The two of them dining on beef filet, as well as not freedom fries, but french fries. President Bush putting the French back into the french fries -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Such a big sign. All right, Suzanne. Suzanne's traveling with the president. Thank you -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm glad the french fry is back. Former presidents Clinton and Bush are back from the three-day tour of tsunami-ravaged South Asia. They've been charged with leading a tsunami relief fundraising drive. Since then it seems the former political rivals are actually becoming pals. That's a news flash. And that's why we turn now to Kelly Wallace, our national correspondent -- Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Miles, this just in. They're big-time friends. Joking so much with each other, that reporters say they're finishing each other's sentences. So, very chummy now. Two members of very different political families. Such good friends. We had to wonder, what could this mean for the future?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE (voice over): If you didn't know it, you might think they were running mates, not former rivals. Just watch and listen.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's in better shape than I am. I'm having heart surgery, and he's jumping out of airplanes.
WALLACE: Yucking it up and heaping praise on the other every chance they get.
GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I got a little age on President Clinton. I got a little age going.
WALLACE: The warmth between the ex-presidents was evident last month at the White House.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm honored to be standing here with two former presidents.
WALLACE: But you could also see the bond months earlier in the smiles at the World War II dedication ceremony and in the words at the opening of President Clinton's library.
GEORGE H.W. BUSH: Simply put, he was a natural, and he made it look too easy. And, oh, how I hated him for that.
WALLACE: What happened to the bitterness? And there was bitterness. It was, after all, an election Republican strategists say President Bush never expected to lose to the Arkansas governor.
ED ROLLINS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, both are very warm men. And so, you know, it's one thing to be in a political battle as they were, you know, 12 years ago. But, you know, it all goes away.
WALLACE: And something else happens between members of that very exclusive club, only four living members now, the ex-presidents, says Jack Valenti, long-time aide to President Johnson.
JACK VALENTI, FORMER AIDE TO LYNDON JOHNSON: Only they understand the problems, the pressures, the disappointments and sometimes triumphs that presidents deal with.
WALLACE: Could the warmth between 41 and 42 help 43 as he begins his second term, and a woman who may try to become 44? Our Washington observers say possibly, but they say it won't likely end the partisan bickering.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think it has any relationship whatsoever on what's going on in Washington today.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: Still, Washington must be noticing, Miles. Political leaders in Southeast Asia are noticing, too, because they are remarking -- they can't believe two opponents, former opponents, traveling together. They said that would never happen in their country.
M. O'BRIEN: Kelly Wallace. You got great eyes, by the way. All right -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: In Texas, the arrest of a man on capital murder charges on the disappearance of a pregnant woman and her 7-year-old son. Lisa Underwood and her son Jayden were reported missing on Saturday after Underwood failed to show up at her own baby shower.
CNN's Ed Lavandera in Dallas this morning. Ed, good morning.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
Well, it's been a busy overnight for investigators as they report arresting a 37-year-old man named Stephen Barbee in the Tyler area, which is east of the Dallas/Fort Worth area. He was booked into the jail there in Tyler around 3:15 Central Time this morning. That is a picture of Mr. Barbee there.
Police are not saying and we haven't been able to confirm exactly if there's any kind of relation between Mr. Barbee and Ms. Underwood, as you mentioned, Soledad. The Underwood family is still missing, despite this arrest. He's been charged with capital murder but there are still no reports that the Underwood family has been found at this point.
Ms. Underwood's car, her SUV, was found in a creek north of the Fort Worth area yesterday morning. Investigators spent all day at that scene, using mounted police to search the area as well. They've also been searching the home in the Fort Worth area, where they say -- the report's out this morning here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area saying that police had found what they were looking for in this home, but they are not saying exactly what that was.
We anticipate that we'll hear from Fort Worth police some time this morning about this arrest, perhaps trying to get more details from this situation. But despite of the arrest this morning, a man charged with capital murder, the search continues for 34-year-old Lisa Underwood, who was seven months pregnant and her 7-year-old son Jayden -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: All right. Ed Lavandera. Of course, as you say, we're waiting to figure out the relationship between Lisa Underwood and the man who is now the suspect in the case. And obviously, also everyone is keeping their fingers crossed by finding Lisa and her small son, as well. Ed, thank you very much for that update -- Miles.
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Well, not even a Hollywood movie could save a fading supermarket chain from filing for bankruptcy. Looks likes they could use a Winn. Andy is "Minding Your Business."
S. O'BRIEN: And in the "New You Revolution," a crash course in motherhood. Our friend Thekla learns a lesson that every expectant mother should know. That's up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Well, we're already in the sixth week of our "New You Revolution," we're helping five folks break bad habits and start new, healthy ones.
Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us from the CNN Center in Atlanta.
Sanjay, have they lost any of their enthusiasm? DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: No, absolutely not. i think that it's six weeks in, they certainly are hanging in there. The cameras I think help a bit. Thekla is doing especially well. She's one of our favorite participants. She's trying to get physically and mentally fit. That was her challenge for us before she got pregnant.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice over): To give Thekla a taste of coping with motherhood, we dropped her in a sea of children. She met with working moms, their babies and "Baby Talk" magazine editor Susan Kane at this very large play group.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thekla is thinking about having a baby.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have one.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So we're kind of getting her ready.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have one.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm sure you will be nervous, but you'll come to realize that they're not an egg.
GUPTA: Overcoming this fear is only part of getting Thekla prepared for being a mom. Taking prenatal vitamins is, too, which she's finally doing.
SUSAN KANE, "BABY TALK" MAGAZINE: UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have to find a network of mom friends, so the support is absolutely crucial.
GUPTA: As an attorney, Thekla's legal skills can also play into baby matters, like ensuring enough maternity leave.
KANE: You don't want to be guilt-tripped into a shorter leave than you're legally allowed.
GUPTA: And Thekla admitted she needed help with something else: getting organized.
THEKLA FISCHER, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: This is my idea of organization. This is bad. This is really bad.
GUPTA: So, we introduced her to Julie Morganstern, organizational expert and author of "Making Work Work."
JULIE MORGANSTERN, AUTHOR, "MAKING WORK WORK": So you just start your day in control.
GUPTA: Her tips for Thekla? Spend the first hour not answering the phone and e-mails. Instead, focus on one project. Use post-its to keep track of progress. And use a calendar.
MORGANSTERN: Once you have a baby, you can't hold all this stuff in your memory.
GUPTA (on camera): And getting ready to start a family can seem overwhelming. So, here are take-home tips on how to get yourself organized. This is what the experts told Thekla. Plan your day, first of all. Having a baby will only add to the day, so plan ahead. It will help you get to do more things done. Also, focus on one project at a time. Multi-tasking may be overrated, and women appear to do it better than men. But get one project done, and you'll be more productive.
What do you think?
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, I've got to tell you, Sanjay...
S. O'BRIEN: Multi-tasking is my life.
M. O'BRIEN: ... there are some...
GUPTA: Soledad, do you got anything to add?
M. O'BRIEN: I think Thekla is overanalyzing this whole thing. That's just my take on it. What do you think? I don't know. Can you...
(CROSSTALK)
GUPTA: I give her props for, you know, trying to think about these things ahead of time. Not everyone does that. She's trying to get a step ahead here.
M. O'BRIEN: OK, yes, all right.
S. O'BRIEN: We haven't seen much of her husband.
M. O'BRIEN: He's in the mix of all of this.
S. O'BRIEN: It's like, you know, that's the most important thing in this whole equation.
GUPTA: He's been traveling. He's in the military. He's been traveling, which is part of her frustration and her planning has been as well.
M. O'BRIEN: Oh, gotcha.
S. O'BRIEN: OK.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. How about the other participants? How are they doing?
GUPTA: Well, it also appears that they're getting closer to their goals, all those goals that motivated them to join the "New You Revolution" in the first place.
So here's their weekly update.
GUPTA (voice over): On the first day of our "New You Revolution," I asked Sandra why she wanted to break her bad habits.
SANDRA GARTH, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: Eight weeks from now, I'm going to be at least 15 pounds down from where I am now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You've lost 15 pounds total, that's fantastic.
GARTH: Wow!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's great.
GUPTA: She's almost there now, and she still has two weeks to go.
Harald has shed 20 pounds since starting his "New You Revolution." He's shooting baskets instead of eating baskets of fries. And he's learned a good habit: patience.
HARALD FRICKER, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: In the past, I have lost 40 pounds in 40 days. Obviously, I've not only lost it and regained it, but then the proverbial "and then some."
GUPTA: Now he can live with the slower results, because he hopes the weight will stay off forever.
LEIGH ANN RAYNOR, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: It doesn't come off as fast as I put it on, does it?
GUPTA: Leigh Ann continues to do cardio, but had to stop one session because her heart rate was getting too high. But she's fine and is back to exercising the next day.
RAYNOR: And I think, you know, total I've lost like four or five inches.
GUPTA: She's following doctors' orders. The result? She's dropping about a pound a week.
For Jonathan's goal to stop biting his nails, he's been facing a new reality.
JONATHAN KARP, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: When I was at the movies on Sunday, I was able to open up a box of candy for the first time, the plastic seal around the candy.
GUPTA: He's still using a nail file to keep the edges smooth, but sometimes he even goes too far.
KARP: I've got another two weeks before I think they'll be in perfect shape.
GUPTA (on camera): And we're closing in on the end of the "New You Revolution." So next week, we're going to see if "New You Revolution" has, in fact, made a real impact, a long-lasting one on our participants. And you also can follow the progress of all of our "New You" participants. E-mail them as well. Lots of interesting e-mails coming in. Log on to cnn.com/am.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: All right. Sanjay, thanks.
Well, not even Hollywood can come up with a happy ending for a struggling supermarket chain. Andy explains when he's "Minding Your Business," up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Big supermarket chain files for bankruptcy protection. And an update on the action on Wall Street, early action it is, Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business."
Good morning, Andy.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Miles.
Just an update for you, what were those monopoly figures doing at the New York stock exchange? Hasbro celebrating the 70th anniversary of Monopoly.
M. O'BRIEN: So it isn't Parker Bros. anymore?
SERWER: No, it's owned by. Parker Bros. is owned by it. Sometimes they're kind of looking for things down there. They're kind of grasping for events, and I think that was a grasp.
M. O'BRIEN: Or as I said earlier, buy Park Place.
SERWER: OK, all right. Indeed.
Stocks trading down this morning, down 48, price of oil is up over $49 a barrel. That is what's hitting the markets here this morning. One stock not open for trading yet, Winn-Dixie. The large supermarket chain declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy over the weekend, 920 stores. This is a big company. If you're down South, you know them. They compete with Kroger and Publix, and that's what's really been eating them up; 80,000 employees, so let's hope that this company makes it. They've just got $800 million (INAUDIBLE). They've based in Jacksonville, Florida. And the real story here is, of course, the movie "Because of Winn-Dixie," which also opened this weekend, didn't help, a very sweet little movie about a little girl with a little dog, everything's little.
There's the dog running around.
M. O'BRIEN: Including the profits apparently.
SERWER: Yes. Well, no, the movie did very well, Miles. It did $13 million. It was the No. 3 movie over the weekend, which is its budget. So if you make your budget the first weekend, you're doing great, but not enough to keep Winn-Dixie out of Chapter 11.
(CROSSTALK)
S. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Andy.
Jack's got the Question of the Day, final look this morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, President Bush over there in Europe trying to mend some fences that have been rather badly damaged. And the question this morning, is it the United States role to spread democracy abroad. A poll was done where substantial majorities in western European countries, Britain, France, Germany and Spain, all said, it ain't your job, America, to spread democracy. So we thought that would be a question we'd ask this morning.
Rufus in New York writes, "Yes, because we have no choice. The best way to beat Islamist fascists once and for all is to help foster democracy in the Middle East. If the Middle East doesn't democratize, eventually we get more 9/11s."
David says, "Americans saw what happened when we acquiesced to European diplomatic efforts in Bosnia. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims raped, murdered and forced from their homes. As a liberal Democrat I have no affinity to George Bush, but I'll support him on this one, if nothing else because the Europeans are against him. If that makes me an ugly American, so be it."
And C.J. writes from Wisconsin, "Ah, yes, it's always easier to run away if a fight than to join it, easier to nitpick the ones doing the work than do some work yourself. Aren't the French on their month-long vacations to the Riviera?"
SERWER: Not yet.
CAFFERTY: When do they do that?
SERWER: I think that's the whole month of August.
S. O'BRIEN: And I think the president by calling them French fries is saying let's bury the hatchet with the French.
CAFFERTY: Well, that's certainly his prerogative. I don't necessarily have to go along.
SERWER: Somehow, I suspect you don't.
M. O'BRIEN: They'll be freedom fries for you, Jack.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks.
Well, Texas police make an arrest in that case of the missing pregnant woman and her 7-year-old son. How is the suspect connected to the family. Rick and Daryn take a closer look in the next hour on "CNN LIVE TODAY." AMERICAN MORNING is back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired February 22, 2005 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Duly noted. Thank you.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you. That's my investment advice.
S. O'BRIEN: Miles O'Brien's helping us out while Billy's got the day off.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm doing the best I can, anyhow.
S. O'BRIEN: With advice.
And a few minutes, we're going to get back to the president's diplomatic mission in Europe. He wrapped up a news conference a few minutes ago with the secretary-general of NATO. Even took a question about whether he's been laying on the charm on this trip. Suzanne Malveaux is standing by this morning. We'll check in with her about whether the president is making any new friends.
M. O'BRIEN: Also, Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush have been making some new friends, too. Not only among tsunami survivors, but with each other, too. But are they really as close as they appear? Kelly Wallace looking into that for us this morning.
S. O'BRIEN: Before that, though, let's get right to the headlines. Heidi Collins sitting in. Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. And good morning once again to you, everyone. "Now in the News," the death toll from the powerful earthquake in Iran has reached nearly 300 now. Officials say the 6.4 quake hit the central part of the country, injuring nearly a thousand people and flattening dozens of villages. It happened in the same region devastated by an earthquake more than one year ago. That quake claimed more than 30,000 lives.
Political news out of Iraq this morning. Iraq Shiite alliance has chosen Ibrahim al Jaafari to be its candidate for prime minister. This after opponent Ahmad Chalabi dropped his bid. Sources say there was pressure in the ranks for Chalabi to withdraw in order to avoid a secret ballot.
In California, jury selection resumes this morning in the Michael Jackson child molestation case. The proceedings cut off a week ago after Jackson was rushed to a hospital with flu-like symptoms. The defense is expected to add more names to its possible witness list today. That trial set to resume in about two hours. And in sports news, a huge media turnout expected today for Barry Bonds' arrival at the Giants' Arizona training camp. If Bonds responds to questions, it will be the first time he's spoken publicly about the sports doping scandal since December. That's when it was widely reported Bonds told a grand jury he may have unknowingly used steroids given to him by a trainer.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, he thought it was some kind of balm or something, right?
COLLINS: Apparently.
S. O'BRIEN: That's a pretty big if. Because if he responds to questions...
COLLINS: The trainer was indicted in the ring, doping ring, so.
M. O'BRIEN: And of course, Barry loves reporters, too. So that will go real well.
COLLINS: Even Barry's shy.
S. O'BRIEN: Before the scandal, he wouldn't talk to anybody.
M. O'BRIEN: He's just a big fan.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Heidi, thanks.
Well, President Bush is talking to European leaders at NATO headquarters this morning, hoping to get them to put aside differences and work with the U.S. to spread peace and democracy in places like Iraq and the Middle East.
White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joins us from Brussels with more. Good morning to you, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. Well, a very busy day for President Bush. Back-to-back summits with NATO as well as the European Union. And of course, the president has two goals here, to try to create a more civil tone between the United States and its European allies, but also to try to win more support for the training of Iraqi troops. And it seems as if President Bush already has been successful on both of these points.
You're looking at a class photo, a NATO class photo, from earlier this morning. President Bush received commitments from all 26 member nations of some sort of way to contribute, to help in training those Iraqi troops of modest contributions by many of those countries. But this is a situation where an organization was almost torn apart to face a crisis just two years ago over the Iraq war. Many of its neighbors felt that the president ignored or denigrated the organization, that it was not considered relevant.
Today President Bush at the press conference went out of his way to make the point that he felt it was a vital organization and that the United States was very much enthusiastic about moving forward and putting behind them the disagreements of the Iraq War.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: NATO is the most successful alliance in the history of the world. Think about that. The most successful alliance in the history of the world. Because of NATO, Europe is whole and united and at peace. And that's a milestone in the history of liberty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Soledad, the president nicknamed this -- he called it the listening tour. Obviously trying to convince the European allies that he wants to reach out, that he is willing to listen to what they have to say about certain U.S. policies. Of course, there's still a lot of disagreements. Disagreements over the way -- the best approach to convince Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions, disagreements over the Kyoto protocol for climate change, disagreements over the International Criminal Court, all of these different things.
But President Bush, as well as the NATO secretary-general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer saying that he believes the two of them can work together. It is time to move on. A sign of that, Soledad -- just last night President Bush had dinner with French president Jacques Chirac. The two of them dining on beef filet, as well as not freedom fries, but french fries. President Bush putting the French back into the french fries -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Such a big sign. All right, Suzanne. Suzanne's traveling with the president. Thank you -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm glad the french fry is back. Former presidents Clinton and Bush are back from the three-day tour of tsunami-ravaged South Asia. They've been charged with leading a tsunami relief fundraising drive. Since then it seems the former political rivals are actually becoming pals. That's a news flash. And that's why we turn now to Kelly Wallace, our national correspondent -- Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Miles, this just in. They're big-time friends. Joking so much with each other, that reporters say they're finishing each other's sentences. So, very chummy now. Two members of very different political families. Such good friends. We had to wonder, what could this mean for the future?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE (voice over): If you didn't know it, you might think they were running mates, not former rivals. Just watch and listen.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's in better shape than I am. I'm having heart surgery, and he's jumping out of airplanes.
WALLACE: Yucking it up and heaping praise on the other every chance they get.
GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I got a little age on President Clinton. I got a little age going.
WALLACE: The warmth between the ex-presidents was evident last month at the White House.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm honored to be standing here with two former presidents.
WALLACE: But you could also see the bond months earlier in the smiles at the World War II dedication ceremony and in the words at the opening of President Clinton's library.
GEORGE H.W. BUSH: Simply put, he was a natural, and he made it look too easy. And, oh, how I hated him for that.
WALLACE: What happened to the bitterness? And there was bitterness. It was, after all, an election Republican strategists say President Bush never expected to lose to the Arkansas governor.
ED ROLLINS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, both are very warm men. And so, you know, it's one thing to be in a political battle as they were, you know, 12 years ago. But, you know, it all goes away.
WALLACE: And something else happens between members of that very exclusive club, only four living members now, the ex-presidents, says Jack Valenti, long-time aide to President Johnson.
JACK VALENTI, FORMER AIDE TO LYNDON JOHNSON: Only they understand the problems, the pressures, the disappointments and sometimes triumphs that presidents deal with.
WALLACE: Could the warmth between 41 and 42 help 43 as he begins his second term, and a woman who may try to become 44? Our Washington observers say possibly, but they say it won't likely end the partisan bickering.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think it has any relationship whatsoever on what's going on in Washington today.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: Still, Washington must be noticing, Miles. Political leaders in Southeast Asia are noticing, too, because they are remarking -- they can't believe two opponents, former opponents, traveling together. They said that would never happen in their country.
M. O'BRIEN: Kelly Wallace. You got great eyes, by the way. All right -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: In Texas, the arrest of a man on capital murder charges on the disappearance of a pregnant woman and her 7-year-old son. Lisa Underwood and her son Jayden were reported missing on Saturday after Underwood failed to show up at her own baby shower.
CNN's Ed Lavandera in Dallas this morning. Ed, good morning.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
Well, it's been a busy overnight for investigators as they report arresting a 37-year-old man named Stephen Barbee in the Tyler area, which is east of the Dallas/Fort Worth area. He was booked into the jail there in Tyler around 3:15 Central Time this morning. That is a picture of Mr. Barbee there.
Police are not saying and we haven't been able to confirm exactly if there's any kind of relation between Mr. Barbee and Ms. Underwood, as you mentioned, Soledad. The Underwood family is still missing, despite this arrest. He's been charged with capital murder but there are still no reports that the Underwood family has been found at this point.
Ms. Underwood's car, her SUV, was found in a creek north of the Fort Worth area yesterday morning. Investigators spent all day at that scene, using mounted police to search the area as well. They've also been searching the home in the Fort Worth area, where they say -- the report's out this morning here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area saying that police had found what they were looking for in this home, but they are not saying exactly what that was.
We anticipate that we'll hear from Fort Worth police some time this morning about this arrest, perhaps trying to get more details from this situation. But despite of the arrest this morning, a man charged with capital murder, the search continues for 34-year-old Lisa Underwood, who was seven months pregnant and her 7-year-old son Jayden -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: All right. Ed Lavandera. Of course, as you say, we're waiting to figure out the relationship between Lisa Underwood and the man who is now the suspect in the case. And obviously, also everyone is keeping their fingers crossed by finding Lisa and her small son, as well. Ed, thank you very much for that update -- Miles.
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M. O'BRIEN: Well, not even a Hollywood movie could save a fading supermarket chain from filing for bankruptcy. Looks likes they could use a Winn. Andy is "Minding Your Business."
S. O'BRIEN: And in the "New You Revolution," a crash course in motherhood. Our friend Thekla learns a lesson that every expectant mother should know. That's up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
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S. O'BRIEN: Well, we're already in the sixth week of our "New You Revolution," we're helping five folks break bad habits and start new, healthy ones.
Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us from the CNN Center in Atlanta.
Sanjay, have they lost any of their enthusiasm? DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: No, absolutely not. i think that it's six weeks in, they certainly are hanging in there. The cameras I think help a bit. Thekla is doing especially well. She's one of our favorite participants. She's trying to get physically and mentally fit. That was her challenge for us before she got pregnant.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice over): To give Thekla a taste of coping with motherhood, we dropped her in a sea of children. She met with working moms, their babies and "Baby Talk" magazine editor Susan Kane at this very large play group.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thekla is thinking about having a baby.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have one.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So we're kind of getting her ready.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have one.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm sure you will be nervous, but you'll come to realize that they're not an egg.
GUPTA: Overcoming this fear is only part of getting Thekla prepared for being a mom. Taking prenatal vitamins is, too, which she's finally doing.
SUSAN KANE, "BABY TALK" MAGAZINE: UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have to find a network of mom friends, so the support is absolutely crucial.
GUPTA: As an attorney, Thekla's legal skills can also play into baby matters, like ensuring enough maternity leave.
KANE: You don't want to be guilt-tripped into a shorter leave than you're legally allowed.
GUPTA: And Thekla admitted she needed help with something else: getting organized.
THEKLA FISCHER, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: This is my idea of organization. This is bad. This is really bad.
GUPTA: So, we introduced her to Julie Morganstern, organizational expert and author of "Making Work Work."
JULIE MORGANSTERN, AUTHOR, "MAKING WORK WORK": So you just start your day in control.
GUPTA: Her tips for Thekla? Spend the first hour not answering the phone and e-mails. Instead, focus on one project. Use post-its to keep track of progress. And use a calendar.
MORGANSTERN: Once you have a baby, you can't hold all this stuff in your memory.
GUPTA (on camera): And getting ready to start a family can seem overwhelming. So, here are take-home tips on how to get yourself organized. This is what the experts told Thekla. Plan your day, first of all. Having a baby will only add to the day, so plan ahead. It will help you get to do more things done. Also, focus on one project at a time. Multi-tasking may be overrated, and women appear to do it better than men. But get one project done, and you'll be more productive.
What do you think?
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, I've got to tell you, Sanjay...
S. O'BRIEN: Multi-tasking is my life.
M. O'BRIEN: ... there are some...
GUPTA: Soledad, do you got anything to add?
M. O'BRIEN: I think Thekla is overanalyzing this whole thing. That's just my take on it. What do you think? I don't know. Can you...
(CROSSTALK)
GUPTA: I give her props for, you know, trying to think about these things ahead of time. Not everyone does that. She's trying to get a step ahead here.
M. O'BRIEN: OK, yes, all right.
S. O'BRIEN: We haven't seen much of her husband.
M. O'BRIEN: He's in the mix of all of this.
S. O'BRIEN: It's like, you know, that's the most important thing in this whole equation.
GUPTA: He's been traveling. He's in the military. He's been traveling, which is part of her frustration and her planning has been as well.
M. O'BRIEN: Oh, gotcha.
S. O'BRIEN: OK.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. How about the other participants? How are they doing?
GUPTA: Well, it also appears that they're getting closer to their goals, all those goals that motivated them to join the "New You Revolution" in the first place.
So here's their weekly update.
GUPTA (voice over): On the first day of our "New You Revolution," I asked Sandra why she wanted to break her bad habits.
SANDRA GARTH, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: Eight weeks from now, I'm going to be at least 15 pounds down from where I am now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You've lost 15 pounds total, that's fantastic.
GARTH: Wow!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's great.
GUPTA: She's almost there now, and she still has two weeks to go.
Harald has shed 20 pounds since starting his "New You Revolution." He's shooting baskets instead of eating baskets of fries. And he's learned a good habit: patience.
HARALD FRICKER, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: In the past, I have lost 40 pounds in 40 days. Obviously, I've not only lost it and regained it, but then the proverbial "and then some."
GUPTA: Now he can live with the slower results, because he hopes the weight will stay off forever.
LEIGH ANN RAYNOR, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: It doesn't come off as fast as I put it on, does it?
GUPTA: Leigh Ann continues to do cardio, but had to stop one session because her heart rate was getting too high. But she's fine and is back to exercising the next day.
RAYNOR: And I think, you know, total I've lost like four or five inches.
GUPTA: She's following doctors' orders. The result? She's dropping about a pound a week.
For Jonathan's goal to stop biting his nails, he's been facing a new reality.
JONATHAN KARP, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: When I was at the movies on Sunday, I was able to open up a box of candy for the first time, the plastic seal around the candy.
GUPTA: He's still using a nail file to keep the edges smooth, but sometimes he even goes too far.
KARP: I've got another two weeks before I think they'll be in perfect shape.
GUPTA (on camera): And we're closing in on the end of the "New You Revolution." So next week, we're going to see if "New You Revolution" has, in fact, made a real impact, a long-lasting one on our participants. And you also can follow the progress of all of our "New You" participants. E-mail them as well. Lots of interesting e-mails coming in. Log on to cnn.com/am.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: All right. Sanjay, thanks.
Well, not even Hollywood can come up with a happy ending for a struggling supermarket chain. Andy explains when he's "Minding Your Business," up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
Stay with us.
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M. O'BRIEN: Big supermarket chain files for bankruptcy protection. And an update on the action on Wall Street, early action it is, Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business."
Good morning, Andy.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Miles.
Just an update for you, what were those monopoly figures doing at the New York stock exchange? Hasbro celebrating the 70th anniversary of Monopoly.
M. O'BRIEN: So it isn't Parker Bros. anymore?
SERWER: No, it's owned by. Parker Bros. is owned by it. Sometimes they're kind of looking for things down there. They're kind of grasping for events, and I think that was a grasp.
M. O'BRIEN: Or as I said earlier, buy Park Place.
SERWER: OK, all right. Indeed.
Stocks trading down this morning, down 48, price of oil is up over $49 a barrel. That is what's hitting the markets here this morning. One stock not open for trading yet, Winn-Dixie. The large supermarket chain declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy over the weekend, 920 stores. This is a big company. If you're down South, you know them. They compete with Kroger and Publix, and that's what's really been eating them up; 80,000 employees, so let's hope that this company makes it. They've just got $800 million (INAUDIBLE). They've based in Jacksonville, Florida. And the real story here is, of course, the movie "Because of Winn-Dixie," which also opened this weekend, didn't help, a very sweet little movie about a little girl with a little dog, everything's little.
There's the dog running around.
M. O'BRIEN: Including the profits apparently.
SERWER: Yes. Well, no, the movie did very well, Miles. It did $13 million. It was the No. 3 movie over the weekend, which is its budget. So if you make your budget the first weekend, you're doing great, but not enough to keep Winn-Dixie out of Chapter 11.
(CROSSTALK)
S. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Andy.
Jack's got the Question of the Day, final look this morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, President Bush over there in Europe trying to mend some fences that have been rather badly damaged. And the question this morning, is it the United States role to spread democracy abroad. A poll was done where substantial majorities in western European countries, Britain, France, Germany and Spain, all said, it ain't your job, America, to spread democracy. So we thought that would be a question we'd ask this morning.
Rufus in New York writes, "Yes, because we have no choice. The best way to beat Islamist fascists once and for all is to help foster democracy in the Middle East. If the Middle East doesn't democratize, eventually we get more 9/11s."
David says, "Americans saw what happened when we acquiesced to European diplomatic efforts in Bosnia. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims raped, murdered and forced from their homes. As a liberal Democrat I have no affinity to George Bush, but I'll support him on this one, if nothing else because the Europeans are against him. If that makes me an ugly American, so be it."
And C.J. writes from Wisconsin, "Ah, yes, it's always easier to run away if a fight than to join it, easier to nitpick the ones doing the work than do some work yourself. Aren't the French on their month-long vacations to the Riviera?"
SERWER: Not yet.
CAFFERTY: When do they do that?
SERWER: I think that's the whole month of August.
S. O'BRIEN: And I think the president by calling them French fries is saying let's bury the hatchet with the French.
CAFFERTY: Well, that's certainly his prerogative. I don't necessarily have to go along.
SERWER: Somehow, I suspect you don't.
M. O'BRIEN: They'll be freedom fries for you, Jack.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks.
Well, Texas police make an arrest in that case of the missing pregnant woman and her 7-year-old son. How is the suspect connected to the family. Rick and Daryn take a closer look in the next hour on "CNN LIVE TODAY." AMERICAN MORNING is back in just a moment.
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