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American Morning
Another Round of Deadly Attacks in Iraq; A Discussion with Golf Legend Greg Norman
Aired March 09, 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: Welcome back, everybody. It's exactly half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. Golf great Greg Norman is teaming up with former Presidents Clinton and Bush for a charity tournament today, this just one day before President Clinton has surgery. Greg Norman -- I can say that, Norman is going to join us. He's our guest, just ahead.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also, Sanjay's back in a moment, too, explaining this new study, reported in "USA Today," front page news in fact, that links breast cancer with secondhand smoke. It is alarming, but there are still some questions about the study, and Sanjay will answer those in a moment.
O'BRIEN: Before that, though, let's get another check of the headlines with Carol Costello. Good morning again.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Good morning to all of you.
Now in the news, another round of deadly attacks in Iraq, including a suicide bombing in Baghdad, carried out with a garbage truck.
Aneesh Raman is there now.
Aneesh, tell us more.
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning.
That suicide bomber detonating in a courtyard outside the Ministry of Agriculture after he was fired upon by guards trying to prevent the truck from going forward. Two of the guards were killed, 22 others were injured. It is likely, officials say, that the intended target was the Al Sadir (ph) Hotel, next to the ministry, and known to house a large number of Westerners.
Also today, Carol, a suicide bombing taking place in Ramadi, at a military checkpoint there. No word yet on casualty numbers or the extent of damage.
But perhaps the most gruesome news today, coming west of the capital city, near the Iraq/Syrian border, where 26 bodies have been found, all shot to death, all in civilian clothing. It is likely to be the work of insurgents. That is a hotbed area, and the U.S. Marines have been operating there, Carol, since late February.
COSTELLO: Aneesh Raman, live in Baghdad this morning, thank you.
Thousands of demonstrators in Syria's capital of Damascus right now. They're showing support for the Syrian president, Bashar Assad. He's come under pressure from President Bush and other world leaders, who are demanding Syria pull all troops out of Lebanon.
Some big news from the baseball world may soon be heading to Capitol Hill. A congressional committee will likely subpoena some current and former players. Mark McGwire, Jason Giambi and Jose Canseco could be among the names. A House committee want to hear from these athletes in connection with the use of steroids in baseball. Canseco has admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs. That hearing is set for next week.
And we've been talking about it for weeks. It is time to say goodbye to news man Dan Rather. He sit in anchor chair tonight for the last time on the CBS Evening News, exactly 24 years after taking over for Walter Cronkite. Bob Schieffer, host of "Face the Nation," will replace Rather for the time being, and I can't wait to watch tonight, because it will be bittersweet.
HEMMER: The end of another era.
O'BRIEN: Well, former President Bill Clinton is scheduled for surgery tomorrow. It's not keeping him, though, off the golf course today. He, along with former President George Bush, hit the course in just a few hours. They're going to try to raise money for tsunami victims. Golf legend Greg Norman organized the charity event. It's called Three Friends, One Goal.
Mr. Norman live from Hobe Sound in Florida this morning. Nice to see you. Thanks for talking with us.
GREG NORMAN, GOLFER: Yes, good morning.
O'BRIEN: We've talked all morning about the former president's upcoming surgery tomorrow, heart surgery. They're going to cut his chest open. Are you surprised that he's out there today, playing golf?
NORMAN: No, not at all. He's -- excuse me, he's been very excited about this day. I've known from the time we locked the March 9th date in there that he'd been looking forward to it tremendously.
And quite honestly, we talked about his surgery last night, and he's not that bothered about it. And to him, the priority is the mission statement he's been tasked with by President Bush 43 to team up with President Bush 41 to raise as much money as they can for tsunami, and he knows, being here today is very, very important, and crucial to that. We have raised a tremendous amount of money for a one-day effort. North of $1.8 million as we sit here right now.
So he understands that it's an important day for him, and he loves to play golf, irrespective of what the rain is out here. Both President Bush and President Clinton are golf fanatics, and golf has been a tremendous denominator for not only our friendship, but the ability to raise this amount of money.
O'BRIEN: How much in fact does their presence bring to your event that allows you to raise all that money for the tsunami victims?
NORMAN: Well, when you think about the magnitude and the personality and what both these presidents have and represent, they're two former presidents to the United States, two very, very powerful men. But at the same time, they're two wonderful gentlemen. They love their position. They're very, very natural and calm and collected in any environment they're in. They're both intellectually very, very smart gentlemen. And just to be around them, it's a joy, just sit down and have a common conversation or dinner with them. They're human beings, just like we are. They put their pants on the same way we do every morning. And just to be able to have a general conversation with them about life if general, both of them. And I respect both of them tremendously, irrespective what political position or sides they both represent.
There is an unbelievable underlying current here that goes to show you that irrespective of how you feel about certain issues in life, whether it's political or whether it's life in general, a friendship and a relationship can still be fostered, still be generated going on for a common benefit, which is the tsunami. We've been -- we in the United States and in Australia are very, very fortunate that we are lucky individuals to live in two great countries like we do. And to see something as a natural disaster like what happened on December 24th happen, the whole world reaches out.
And one thing I just admire about Americans and Australians is the philanthropic attitude of the individuals, of the private sector. It is just unbelievable. It's never ending. And just like here at the Medalist (ph) Golf Club, and my friends, who aren't Medalist members, and corporate America, who come down here today under these conditions and donate their time and money is just -- I applaud all of them, because it just means so much to them. Obviously, it was instrumental having both the presidents here.
O'BRIEN: It certainly is nice to see them representing both sides of aisle, but finding common ground in order to raise money for a really good cause. You yourself as well, because it sounds like you're struggling with a little cold. We certainly appreciate you standing out there in the rain a little bit this morning.
Greg Norman joining us. Good luck with the fund-raiser today -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Soledad. Raising money for the tsunami victims is just one of the things Bill Clinton has done since leaving office, but certainly not the only thing.
Here's Kelly Wallace with that this morning.
Good morning to you.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not the only thing, Bill. Good morning to you. Because former President Bush called Bill Clinton "the Energizer Bunny," and he certainly has lived up to that title over the past several months, because think about this, typically, you hear someone recovering from open-heart surgery taking several months to recover. But in Bill Clinton's case, it was just several weeks before he was back out on the road.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE (voice-over): The former rivals, reading from the same script. This upcoming surgery is nothing to worry about.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's no big deal, and you know, I felt well enough to go to Asia to try to keep up with President Bush.
GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You should have seen him going, town to town, country to country, Energizer Bunny here, he killed me, but...
WALLACE: Even 43 joined in, noting how 41 and 42 would be playing golf today to raise money for tsunami victims.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It goes to show how sick he is.
WALLACE: And that's the message Bill Clinton has been trying to send ever since his quadruple-bypass in early September. Just seven weeks later, he was on the road, turning out thousands in Philadelphia for Democrat John Kerry.
CLINTON: If this isn't good for my heart, I don't know what is. Thank you.
WALLACE: He looked thinner, frail, older.
But just three weeks later, he was on the road again, for the rain-soaked dedication of his new library in Little Rock.
CLINTON: If my beloved mother were here, she would remind me that rain is liquid sunshine, and that I shouldn't complain about this.
WALLACE: In early January, he teamed up with the former president to lead a tsunami fund-raising drive. The two making the rounds on television...
CLINTON: He's in better shape than I am. I'm having heart surgery. He's jumping out of airplanes.
WALLACE: ... before leaving last month to tour areas devastated by the tsunami.
During that trip, Wolf Blitzer asked Mr. Clinton how he was feeling.
BLITZER: I feel great. I confess, you know, it was tiring.
WALLACE: And so many are asking, did all the travel and all the activity contribute in even the slightest way to his current condition?
DR. ALLAN SCHWARTZ, SURGEON: The short answer is no, that it's not -- this type of complication, is not known to be related to activity in any way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: In fact, the president's doctors diagnosed this condition before his trip to Asia. And, Bill, after the surgery, he's expected to resume work without any limitations and his exercise, which we hear is walking up to four miles a day.
HEMMER: So once he recovers, he'll be able to do anything he wants?
WALLACE: Anything he wants.
HEMMER: And play golf today.
WALLACE: Play golf today and get out on the road and do whatever he can.
HEMMER: Thanks, Kelly -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Andy's "Minding Your Business" this morning. He's going to tell us how Congress might make it harder for you to pay off your debt.
Then, "The Contender" jumping into the reality ring. Did it deliver a knockout, or is it already down for the count? "90-Second Pop" is up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: According to "USA Today," a new study has found a link between secondhand smoke and a disease that kills 40,000 women in the U.S. every single year. Researchers in California say inhaling secondhand smoke causes breast cancer, especially in younger women.
Senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta's got more on this.
Good morning.
SANJAY GUPTA, SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
And, you know, the cause is sort of the definitive word here. For a long time, people have known that secondhand smoke was bad for you. In fact it was linked to all sorts of different thing, including breast cancer in the past. But this cause-and-effect thing was something that people have been struggling with for some time.
Couple things to point out: secondhand smoke, first of all, also known as environmental tobacco smoke, that comes from the end of your cigarette before you've puffed or it comes out of your mouth after you've taken a drag, as you know. Both of those are considered secondhand smoke. And it has been definitively linked with cardiac deaths, 40,000 of them, in fact, in the past. It's also been linked with lung cancer, about 3,000 cases of lung cancer a year as well, and other respiratory problems, asthma and bronchitis, things like that.
Some of the specifics, though -- how much of a problem is it? Depending on your exposure, that's how you sort of calculate that. And that's been done pretty significantly. Workplace exposure, for example, 20-plus years, you get a 25 percent increase, again, in your risk for lung cancer. If your spouse smoke, 30-plus years, a 23 percent increase. And in social setting, 20-plus years, you get a 26 percent increase.
All this for lung cancer, though, Soledad, this is the first time really talking about breast cancer. And it appears to definitively be hitting younger women more, and they appear more vulnerable as well. All this is new, but it's based on analyzing old studies and sort of putting a new spin on it.
O'BRIEN: Do we have any idea what the percentage risk increase in the workplace, whether your spouse smokes, on and on and on, for breast cancer, not just for lung cancer?
GUPTA: Haven't got that information yet, and that's part of what they're going to be doing. This is a pretty reputable California agency that looked at this data. They're now going to submit it and get that kind of analysis, longer term.
But this wasn't a clinical trial. This wasn't a study where you say, OK, listen, we're going to see this group of women who are exposed to secondhand smoke and this group of women who are not and compare them. This was looking backwards, retrospectively, at a bunch of existing data, trying to figure this out.
O'BRIEN: Who else besides younger women, which seems to be the issue here, are at risk from secondhand smoke? And also why just younger women, do you think?
GUPTA: Yes, you know, it's a couple of things. Children also appear to be more vulnerable, your first question.
What I found so fascinating about this is, they talked about secondhand smoke and active smoking. And they actually found with regards to breast cancer, secondhand smoke appeared to be more of a problem than active smoking. Why? This goes back to your younger women question as well. It appears that active smoking, it's bad for you, no question, but it also suppresses your estrogen a little bit. That's important because estrogen is what ultimately fuels, provides a fuel for breast cancer.
So active smoking does two things. It's bad for you, yes, in terms of lung, but it suppresses your estrogen which may make your risk of breast cancer a little bit lower than if you just got the secondhand smoke. O'BRIEN: So, women who are exposed to secondhand smoke are actually at higher risk than women who are puffing on the cigarette themselves?
GUPTA: For breast cancer specifically, and that's the theory right now. A lot of studies being done on this, obviously. A lot of people looking into this. But again, this cause and effect between secondhand smoke and breast cancer, first time we're hearing about this.
O'BRIEN: And obviously, as you say, they're going to be doing much more research, breaking down the percentages, of course. A percentage risk increase is going to be important.
Sanjay, thanks, as always.
GUPTA: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: A special edition of "PAULA ZAHN NOW", tonight, "Survivor Stories:" people who have taken on and beaten breast cancer. That's on CNN tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time -- Bill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Do we even like that song?
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: Nah.
HEMMER: Marginal. Hey, it's Wednesday, "90-Second Pop." Here are the pop players. Andy Borowitz is back with us, the ambassador of humor at Borowitzreport.com. I live that. Amy Barnett is back today from "Teen People."
Amy, nice to see you.
Thank you.
HEMMER: And the prince of urban populism, Toure.
TOURE: Were you and Soledad really fighting outside?
HEMMER: We had this scum battle. You heard the Reverend Sharpton mention that, yes.
TOURE: I heard the Reverend Sharpton talk about that.
HEMMER: Yes, we kind of sneaked in today.
Listen, let's talk about "The Contender." It premiered on Monday night on NBC. Not a whole lot of people watched it. Is it hitting the mat as opposed to getting off and running?
TOURE: You know, I have loved so many of NBC's reality shows. They have had a history of doing smart ones. This one, I can't watch it. I tried to watch it. And my eyeballs were like repelled from the screen. I don't know what happened. AMY BARNETT, "TEEN PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: And it's really sad. This was to be Sylvester Stallone's big comeback, you know.
HEMMER: And Sugar Ray Leonard is involved, too.
BARNETT: But, I mean, really for Sly, this could have been so huge. I mean, it could have been the show. It could have been the magazine, which looks like midlife crisis monthly. I think he should go back to opening Planet Hollywoods, like, in Madagascar. I mean, there has got to be a need there.
BOROWITZ: I think this show needs a twist. Like maybe the winner on "The Contender" could get to beat up the winner on "American Idol." That I would pay to see.
HEMMER: You know, I think you should be a producer on the show. A lot of people did not watch this on Monday night. It's got, what, 14 more shows to go. But I think there's an underlying drama in this. One of the players commits suicide after the series is shot. Does that add to the plot in this show?
TOURE: I don't know. I mean, every week you've got two guys fighting each other, which is better perhaps than "The Apprentice," where they're just doing, you know, happy tasks. So you want to see that fight. But, I mean, you know, I don't know if this is even going to make it to the end at this rate.
HEMMER: Well, it's not going to make it anymore for here, because we're on to our next topic.
TOURE: Do you think...
HEMMER: Go ahead.
TOURE: Do you think the Brigitte Nielsen's show will get better ratings than Sly's show? That would be embarrassing.
BARRETT: I think Jackie Stallone versus Brigitte Nielsen. There we go.
HEMMER: I like it. Let's talk about 50 Cent and The Game. F-I- D-D-Y.
BOROWITZ: You get (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for pronouncing that properly.
HEMMER: Thank you very much. He's worth more than 50 Cent now. You've got this rap war under way essentially. And Al Sharpton was just talking about it a few moments ago here about what he would like to see imposed if you're involved in violence, about cracking down on record sales, et cetera. Where is this argument going?
BARRETT: I just don't think that you can really say to urban radio stations that they need to ban the violent rappers. I mean, I'm not saying that violence, we should be proponents of urban violence. At the same time, beef between rappers is a big part of what you urban culture is about. You know, you had the sort of biggie Tupac beef. You had Nas and Jay-Z. I mean, I just don't know if this is going to go anywhere.
Plus, I hear there's going to be a little bit of a (UNINTELLIGIBLE), if you will.
TOURE: Yes.
BARRETT: And I think that's the word that was used by G-Unit to describe, you know, what's going on today. I think that The Game and 50 are meeting up somewhere, you know, Harlan Prior (ph) and working it out.
TOURE: I mean, you can't say because you're a recording artist you can't protect yourself. Right? If somebody attacks you, you can't do anything because you're on the air. So that's kind of ridiculous.
But the 50/Game thing is now over. I think what was at the heart of it is that 50 was jealous that he didn't get to use Dr. Dre as much as he wanted on his albums, because Dre was working with The Game last year getting his album together. Dr. Dre, Jimmy Ivy (ph), the head of Interscope, and Eminem called 50 Cent and they said enough. You are embarrassing the label. Stop. So, 50 Cent said OK.
HEMMER: Meanwhile...
BOROWITZ: If there's a slot open in the G-Unit, I am available. I don't work Jewish holidays. Other than that I'm available.
HEMMER: Thanks, good to have you guys here, Toure, Amy, and Andy. Like our gang, Amy and Andy. See you later OK.
Here's Soledad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: It might soon be harder to recover from bankruptcy. With that story, also a check on Wall Street, Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business." Good morning. Want to start with Wall Street?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Let's do that. This cold weather here in the Northeast wreaking havoc on oil prices and that's sending stocks down. We'll go to the big board right now. As the price of oil is hitting $55 a barrel, the stocks are down. The Dow's down 25. Also higher interest rates in Europe not helping out.
As far as the bankruptcy laws go, Soledad, it's going to be harder to cry financial uncle very soon. It appears almost certain the Senate will pass and the president will sign a bankruptcy reform bill. The Senate's working on it right now. It will make it much more difficult for Americans to qualify for the fresh start, where you simply erase your debts. And more and more Americans will have find repayment plans.
This is the first time bankruptcy laws have been reformed since 1978 and since then, bankruptcies are up eightfold. That's why credit card companies and banks and other big businesses say this reform was needed. Of course, consumer advocates say this is going to hurt ordinary Americans. So we'll have to see how that pans out. But it looks almost certain that's going to happen.
And just finally a note here about the Bernie Ebbers trial. It will be day four of jury deliberations. The jury asking for more evidence. And you know, the pendulum could be swinging here because as is typical, the longer the jury's out, the better it is for defendant. It seems to indicate there are questions about the prosecution's case.
O'BRIEN: It's not necessarily open and shut case, in the mind of the jurors at least, and they're still hashing it out. Interesting. All right, Andy, thanks.
HEMMER: CNN turns 25 this year. June 1st, in fact. And this month, we count down the top 25 people who changed the way the world does business since 1980. Here's Susan Lisovicz.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The top 25 business leaders who changed the way the world does business during CNN's first 25 years. We asked the writers of "Fortune" magazine to compile a list. Here are numbers 15 through 11.
At 15, restless entrepreneur Jim Clark. He founded several billion dollar companies, including Silicon Graphics, Healtheon and Netscape. The Netscape Internet browser opened up the Web up to anyone with a PC and phone line.
At number 14, Ted Turner. He was cable when cable wasn't cool.
TED TURNER, FOUNDER, CNN: I dedicate the news channel for America. The Cable News Network.
LISOVICZ: Turner changed TV and the way we watch it with the 24- hour news channel.
Lucky number 13, John Reed, former CEO of Citigroup. Reed was instrumental in the rise of the ATM and the credit card, changing the way Americans use and manage their money.
The junk bond king cashes in at number 12. Michael Milken transformed the corporate takeover with the use of high-yield junk bonds. He told us nothing caught up him.
At 11, Andy Grove, founder and former CEO of Intel. Grove marketed microchip that still powers most PCs. Stay tuned as we count down to number one.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HEMMER: Thanks for being with us today. We dedicate this broadcast to Dan Rather, 24 years on the air. Tonight his final broadcast.
SERWER: I'm going to watch that.
COSTELLO: Oh, it will be so interesting to see what he has to say.
(CROSSTALK)
SERWER: He won't say courage, I bet.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: See the first nine years, he's number one in the ratings.
O'BRIEN: But it's so inappropriate. At the end of 24 years.
HEMMER: He's stuck on the contract bandwagon over here, isn't he?
SERWER: No, don't say that.
O'BRIEN: Aw, man, come on.
HEMMER: We've got to go. Here is Rick and Daryn at the CNN Center. Jack, heal your bruises for tomorrow. Good morning, guys.
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Aired March 9, 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: Welcome back, everybody. It's exactly half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. Golf great Greg Norman is teaming up with former Presidents Clinton and Bush for a charity tournament today, this just one day before President Clinton has surgery. Greg Norman -- I can say that, Norman is going to join us. He's our guest, just ahead.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also, Sanjay's back in a moment, too, explaining this new study, reported in "USA Today," front page news in fact, that links breast cancer with secondhand smoke. It is alarming, but there are still some questions about the study, and Sanjay will answer those in a moment.
O'BRIEN: Before that, though, let's get another check of the headlines with Carol Costello. Good morning again.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Good morning to all of you.
Now in the news, another round of deadly attacks in Iraq, including a suicide bombing in Baghdad, carried out with a garbage truck.
Aneesh Raman is there now.
Aneesh, tell us more.
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning.
That suicide bomber detonating in a courtyard outside the Ministry of Agriculture after he was fired upon by guards trying to prevent the truck from going forward. Two of the guards were killed, 22 others were injured. It is likely, officials say, that the intended target was the Al Sadir (ph) Hotel, next to the ministry, and known to house a large number of Westerners.
Also today, Carol, a suicide bombing taking place in Ramadi, at a military checkpoint there. No word yet on casualty numbers or the extent of damage.
But perhaps the most gruesome news today, coming west of the capital city, near the Iraq/Syrian border, where 26 bodies have been found, all shot to death, all in civilian clothing. It is likely to be the work of insurgents. That is a hotbed area, and the U.S. Marines have been operating there, Carol, since late February.
COSTELLO: Aneesh Raman, live in Baghdad this morning, thank you.
Thousands of demonstrators in Syria's capital of Damascus right now. They're showing support for the Syrian president, Bashar Assad. He's come under pressure from President Bush and other world leaders, who are demanding Syria pull all troops out of Lebanon.
Some big news from the baseball world may soon be heading to Capitol Hill. A congressional committee will likely subpoena some current and former players. Mark McGwire, Jason Giambi and Jose Canseco could be among the names. A House committee want to hear from these athletes in connection with the use of steroids in baseball. Canseco has admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs. That hearing is set for next week.
And we've been talking about it for weeks. It is time to say goodbye to news man Dan Rather. He sit in anchor chair tonight for the last time on the CBS Evening News, exactly 24 years after taking over for Walter Cronkite. Bob Schieffer, host of "Face the Nation," will replace Rather for the time being, and I can't wait to watch tonight, because it will be bittersweet.
HEMMER: The end of another era.
O'BRIEN: Well, former President Bill Clinton is scheduled for surgery tomorrow. It's not keeping him, though, off the golf course today. He, along with former President George Bush, hit the course in just a few hours. They're going to try to raise money for tsunami victims. Golf legend Greg Norman organized the charity event. It's called Three Friends, One Goal.
Mr. Norman live from Hobe Sound in Florida this morning. Nice to see you. Thanks for talking with us.
GREG NORMAN, GOLFER: Yes, good morning.
O'BRIEN: We've talked all morning about the former president's upcoming surgery tomorrow, heart surgery. They're going to cut his chest open. Are you surprised that he's out there today, playing golf?
NORMAN: No, not at all. He's -- excuse me, he's been very excited about this day. I've known from the time we locked the March 9th date in there that he'd been looking forward to it tremendously.
And quite honestly, we talked about his surgery last night, and he's not that bothered about it. And to him, the priority is the mission statement he's been tasked with by President Bush 43 to team up with President Bush 41 to raise as much money as they can for tsunami, and he knows, being here today is very, very important, and crucial to that. We have raised a tremendous amount of money for a one-day effort. North of $1.8 million as we sit here right now.
So he understands that it's an important day for him, and he loves to play golf, irrespective of what the rain is out here. Both President Bush and President Clinton are golf fanatics, and golf has been a tremendous denominator for not only our friendship, but the ability to raise this amount of money.
O'BRIEN: How much in fact does their presence bring to your event that allows you to raise all that money for the tsunami victims?
NORMAN: Well, when you think about the magnitude and the personality and what both these presidents have and represent, they're two former presidents to the United States, two very, very powerful men. But at the same time, they're two wonderful gentlemen. They love their position. They're very, very natural and calm and collected in any environment they're in. They're both intellectually very, very smart gentlemen. And just to be around them, it's a joy, just sit down and have a common conversation or dinner with them. They're human beings, just like we are. They put their pants on the same way we do every morning. And just to be able to have a general conversation with them about life if general, both of them. And I respect both of them tremendously, irrespective what political position or sides they both represent.
There is an unbelievable underlying current here that goes to show you that irrespective of how you feel about certain issues in life, whether it's political or whether it's life in general, a friendship and a relationship can still be fostered, still be generated going on for a common benefit, which is the tsunami. We've been -- we in the United States and in Australia are very, very fortunate that we are lucky individuals to live in two great countries like we do. And to see something as a natural disaster like what happened on December 24th happen, the whole world reaches out.
And one thing I just admire about Americans and Australians is the philanthropic attitude of the individuals, of the private sector. It is just unbelievable. It's never ending. And just like here at the Medalist (ph) Golf Club, and my friends, who aren't Medalist members, and corporate America, who come down here today under these conditions and donate their time and money is just -- I applaud all of them, because it just means so much to them. Obviously, it was instrumental having both the presidents here.
O'BRIEN: It certainly is nice to see them representing both sides of aisle, but finding common ground in order to raise money for a really good cause. You yourself as well, because it sounds like you're struggling with a little cold. We certainly appreciate you standing out there in the rain a little bit this morning.
Greg Norman joining us. Good luck with the fund-raiser today -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Soledad. Raising money for the tsunami victims is just one of the things Bill Clinton has done since leaving office, but certainly not the only thing.
Here's Kelly Wallace with that this morning.
Good morning to you.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not the only thing, Bill. Good morning to you. Because former President Bush called Bill Clinton "the Energizer Bunny," and he certainly has lived up to that title over the past several months, because think about this, typically, you hear someone recovering from open-heart surgery taking several months to recover. But in Bill Clinton's case, it was just several weeks before he was back out on the road.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE (voice-over): The former rivals, reading from the same script. This upcoming surgery is nothing to worry about.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's no big deal, and you know, I felt well enough to go to Asia to try to keep up with President Bush.
GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You should have seen him going, town to town, country to country, Energizer Bunny here, he killed me, but...
WALLACE: Even 43 joined in, noting how 41 and 42 would be playing golf today to raise money for tsunami victims.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It goes to show how sick he is.
WALLACE: And that's the message Bill Clinton has been trying to send ever since his quadruple-bypass in early September. Just seven weeks later, he was on the road, turning out thousands in Philadelphia for Democrat John Kerry.
CLINTON: If this isn't good for my heart, I don't know what is. Thank you.
WALLACE: He looked thinner, frail, older.
But just three weeks later, he was on the road again, for the rain-soaked dedication of his new library in Little Rock.
CLINTON: If my beloved mother were here, she would remind me that rain is liquid sunshine, and that I shouldn't complain about this.
WALLACE: In early January, he teamed up with the former president to lead a tsunami fund-raising drive. The two making the rounds on television...
CLINTON: He's in better shape than I am. I'm having heart surgery. He's jumping out of airplanes.
WALLACE: ... before leaving last month to tour areas devastated by the tsunami.
During that trip, Wolf Blitzer asked Mr. Clinton how he was feeling.
BLITZER: I feel great. I confess, you know, it was tiring.
WALLACE: And so many are asking, did all the travel and all the activity contribute in even the slightest way to his current condition?
DR. ALLAN SCHWARTZ, SURGEON: The short answer is no, that it's not -- this type of complication, is not known to be related to activity in any way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: In fact, the president's doctors diagnosed this condition before his trip to Asia. And, Bill, after the surgery, he's expected to resume work without any limitations and his exercise, which we hear is walking up to four miles a day.
HEMMER: So once he recovers, he'll be able to do anything he wants?
WALLACE: Anything he wants.
HEMMER: And play golf today.
WALLACE: Play golf today and get out on the road and do whatever he can.
HEMMER: Thanks, Kelly -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Andy's "Minding Your Business" this morning. He's going to tell us how Congress might make it harder for you to pay off your debt.
Then, "The Contender" jumping into the reality ring. Did it deliver a knockout, or is it already down for the count? "90-Second Pop" is up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: According to "USA Today," a new study has found a link between secondhand smoke and a disease that kills 40,000 women in the U.S. every single year. Researchers in California say inhaling secondhand smoke causes breast cancer, especially in younger women.
Senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta's got more on this.
Good morning.
SANJAY GUPTA, SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
And, you know, the cause is sort of the definitive word here. For a long time, people have known that secondhand smoke was bad for you. In fact it was linked to all sorts of different thing, including breast cancer in the past. But this cause-and-effect thing was something that people have been struggling with for some time.
Couple things to point out: secondhand smoke, first of all, also known as environmental tobacco smoke, that comes from the end of your cigarette before you've puffed or it comes out of your mouth after you've taken a drag, as you know. Both of those are considered secondhand smoke. And it has been definitively linked with cardiac deaths, 40,000 of them, in fact, in the past. It's also been linked with lung cancer, about 3,000 cases of lung cancer a year as well, and other respiratory problems, asthma and bronchitis, things like that.
Some of the specifics, though -- how much of a problem is it? Depending on your exposure, that's how you sort of calculate that. And that's been done pretty significantly. Workplace exposure, for example, 20-plus years, you get a 25 percent increase, again, in your risk for lung cancer. If your spouse smoke, 30-plus years, a 23 percent increase. And in social setting, 20-plus years, you get a 26 percent increase.
All this for lung cancer, though, Soledad, this is the first time really talking about breast cancer. And it appears to definitively be hitting younger women more, and they appear more vulnerable as well. All this is new, but it's based on analyzing old studies and sort of putting a new spin on it.
O'BRIEN: Do we have any idea what the percentage risk increase in the workplace, whether your spouse smokes, on and on and on, for breast cancer, not just for lung cancer?
GUPTA: Haven't got that information yet, and that's part of what they're going to be doing. This is a pretty reputable California agency that looked at this data. They're now going to submit it and get that kind of analysis, longer term.
But this wasn't a clinical trial. This wasn't a study where you say, OK, listen, we're going to see this group of women who are exposed to secondhand smoke and this group of women who are not and compare them. This was looking backwards, retrospectively, at a bunch of existing data, trying to figure this out.
O'BRIEN: Who else besides younger women, which seems to be the issue here, are at risk from secondhand smoke? And also why just younger women, do you think?
GUPTA: Yes, you know, it's a couple of things. Children also appear to be more vulnerable, your first question.
What I found so fascinating about this is, they talked about secondhand smoke and active smoking. And they actually found with regards to breast cancer, secondhand smoke appeared to be more of a problem than active smoking. Why? This goes back to your younger women question as well. It appears that active smoking, it's bad for you, no question, but it also suppresses your estrogen a little bit. That's important because estrogen is what ultimately fuels, provides a fuel for breast cancer.
So active smoking does two things. It's bad for you, yes, in terms of lung, but it suppresses your estrogen which may make your risk of breast cancer a little bit lower than if you just got the secondhand smoke. O'BRIEN: So, women who are exposed to secondhand smoke are actually at higher risk than women who are puffing on the cigarette themselves?
GUPTA: For breast cancer specifically, and that's the theory right now. A lot of studies being done on this, obviously. A lot of people looking into this. But again, this cause and effect between secondhand smoke and breast cancer, first time we're hearing about this.
O'BRIEN: And obviously, as you say, they're going to be doing much more research, breaking down the percentages, of course. A percentage risk increase is going to be important.
Sanjay, thanks, as always.
GUPTA: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: A special edition of "PAULA ZAHN NOW", tonight, "Survivor Stories:" people who have taken on and beaten breast cancer. That's on CNN tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time -- Bill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Do we even like that song?
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: Nah.
HEMMER: Marginal. Hey, it's Wednesday, "90-Second Pop." Here are the pop players. Andy Borowitz is back with us, the ambassador of humor at Borowitzreport.com. I live that. Amy Barnett is back today from "Teen People."
Amy, nice to see you.
Thank you.
HEMMER: And the prince of urban populism, Toure.
TOURE: Were you and Soledad really fighting outside?
HEMMER: We had this scum battle. You heard the Reverend Sharpton mention that, yes.
TOURE: I heard the Reverend Sharpton talk about that.
HEMMER: Yes, we kind of sneaked in today.
Listen, let's talk about "The Contender." It premiered on Monday night on NBC. Not a whole lot of people watched it. Is it hitting the mat as opposed to getting off and running?
TOURE: You know, I have loved so many of NBC's reality shows. They have had a history of doing smart ones. This one, I can't watch it. I tried to watch it. And my eyeballs were like repelled from the screen. I don't know what happened. AMY BARNETT, "TEEN PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: And it's really sad. This was to be Sylvester Stallone's big comeback, you know.
HEMMER: And Sugar Ray Leonard is involved, too.
BARNETT: But, I mean, really for Sly, this could have been so huge. I mean, it could have been the show. It could have been the magazine, which looks like midlife crisis monthly. I think he should go back to opening Planet Hollywoods, like, in Madagascar. I mean, there has got to be a need there.
BOROWITZ: I think this show needs a twist. Like maybe the winner on "The Contender" could get to beat up the winner on "American Idol." That I would pay to see.
HEMMER: You know, I think you should be a producer on the show. A lot of people did not watch this on Monday night. It's got, what, 14 more shows to go. But I think there's an underlying drama in this. One of the players commits suicide after the series is shot. Does that add to the plot in this show?
TOURE: I don't know. I mean, every week you've got two guys fighting each other, which is better perhaps than "The Apprentice," where they're just doing, you know, happy tasks. So you want to see that fight. But, I mean, you know, I don't know if this is even going to make it to the end at this rate.
HEMMER: Well, it's not going to make it anymore for here, because we're on to our next topic.
TOURE: Do you think...
HEMMER: Go ahead.
TOURE: Do you think the Brigitte Nielsen's show will get better ratings than Sly's show? That would be embarrassing.
BARRETT: I think Jackie Stallone versus Brigitte Nielsen. There we go.
HEMMER: I like it. Let's talk about 50 Cent and The Game. F-I- D-D-Y.
BOROWITZ: You get (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for pronouncing that properly.
HEMMER: Thank you very much. He's worth more than 50 Cent now. You've got this rap war under way essentially. And Al Sharpton was just talking about it a few moments ago here about what he would like to see imposed if you're involved in violence, about cracking down on record sales, et cetera. Where is this argument going?
BARRETT: I just don't think that you can really say to urban radio stations that they need to ban the violent rappers. I mean, I'm not saying that violence, we should be proponents of urban violence. At the same time, beef between rappers is a big part of what you urban culture is about. You know, you had the sort of biggie Tupac beef. You had Nas and Jay-Z. I mean, I just don't know if this is going to go anywhere.
Plus, I hear there's going to be a little bit of a (UNINTELLIGIBLE), if you will.
TOURE: Yes.
BARRETT: And I think that's the word that was used by G-Unit to describe, you know, what's going on today. I think that The Game and 50 are meeting up somewhere, you know, Harlan Prior (ph) and working it out.
TOURE: I mean, you can't say because you're a recording artist you can't protect yourself. Right? If somebody attacks you, you can't do anything because you're on the air. So that's kind of ridiculous.
But the 50/Game thing is now over. I think what was at the heart of it is that 50 was jealous that he didn't get to use Dr. Dre as much as he wanted on his albums, because Dre was working with The Game last year getting his album together. Dr. Dre, Jimmy Ivy (ph), the head of Interscope, and Eminem called 50 Cent and they said enough. You are embarrassing the label. Stop. So, 50 Cent said OK.
HEMMER: Meanwhile...
BOROWITZ: If there's a slot open in the G-Unit, I am available. I don't work Jewish holidays. Other than that I'm available.
HEMMER: Thanks, good to have you guys here, Toure, Amy, and Andy. Like our gang, Amy and Andy. See you later OK.
Here's Soledad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: It might soon be harder to recover from bankruptcy. With that story, also a check on Wall Street, Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business." Good morning. Want to start with Wall Street?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Let's do that. This cold weather here in the Northeast wreaking havoc on oil prices and that's sending stocks down. We'll go to the big board right now. As the price of oil is hitting $55 a barrel, the stocks are down. The Dow's down 25. Also higher interest rates in Europe not helping out.
As far as the bankruptcy laws go, Soledad, it's going to be harder to cry financial uncle very soon. It appears almost certain the Senate will pass and the president will sign a bankruptcy reform bill. The Senate's working on it right now. It will make it much more difficult for Americans to qualify for the fresh start, where you simply erase your debts. And more and more Americans will have find repayment plans.
This is the first time bankruptcy laws have been reformed since 1978 and since then, bankruptcies are up eightfold. That's why credit card companies and banks and other big businesses say this reform was needed. Of course, consumer advocates say this is going to hurt ordinary Americans. So we'll have to see how that pans out. But it looks almost certain that's going to happen.
And just finally a note here about the Bernie Ebbers trial. It will be day four of jury deliberations. The jury asking for more evidence. And you know, the pendulum could be swinging here because as is typical, the longer the jury's out, the better it is for defendant. It seems to indicate there are questions about the prosecution's case.
O'BRIEN: It's not necessarily open and shut case, in the mind of the jurors at least, and they're still hashing it out. Interesting. All right, Andy, thanks.
HEMMER: CNN turns 25 this year. June 1st, in fact. And this month, we count down the top 25 people who changed the way the world does business since 1980. Here's Susan Lisovicz.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The top 25 business leaders who changed the way the world does business during CNN's first 25 years. We asked the writers of "Fortune" magazine to compile a list. Here are numbers 15 through 11.
At 15, restless entrepreneur Jim Clark. He founded several billion dollar companies, including Silicon Graphics, Healtheon and Netscape. The Netscape Internet browser opened up the Web up to anyone with a PC and phone line.
At number 14, Ted Turner. He was cable when cable wasn't cool.
TED TURNER, FOUNDER, CNN: I dedicate the news channel for America. The Cable News Network.
LISOVICZ: Turner changed TV and the way we watch it with the 24- hour news channel.
Lucky number 13, John Reed, former CEO of Citigroup. Reed was instrumental in the rise of the ATM and the credit card, changing the way Americans use and manage their money.
The junk bond king cashes in at number 12. Michael Milken transformed the corporate takeover with the use of high-yield junk bonds. He told us nothing caught up him.
At 11, Andy Grove, founder and former CEO of Intel. Grove marketed microchip that still powers most PCs. Stay tuned as we count down to number one.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HEMMER: Thanks for being with us today. We dedicate this broadcast to Dan Rather, 24 years on the air. Tonight his final broadcast.
SERWER: I'm going to watch that.
COSTELLO: Oh, it will be so interesting to see what he has to say.
(CROSSTALK)
SERWER: He won't say courage, I bet.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: See the first nine years, he's number one in the ratings.
O'BRIEN: But it's so inappropriate. At the end of 24 years.
HEMMER: He's stuck on the contract bandwagon over here, isn't he?
SERWER: No, don't say that.
O'BRIEN: Aw, man, come on.
HEMMER: We've got to go. Here is Rick and Daryn at the CNN Center. Jack, heal your bruises for tomorrow. Good morning, guys.
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