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American Morning

Clinton Prepares for Surgery; Mount St. Helens Spreads Ash

Aired March 09, 2005 - 08:00   ET

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

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


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
The violence in Iraq spiking again. Suicide bombers striking across the country and dozens found killed execution style in the western desert.

Watching the volcano Mount Saint Helens with its biggest blast of smoke and ash in months.

The Northeast waking to another icy blast of winter. And when the snow falls, it can lead to an invisible danger, all this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

Welcome back, everybody.

Other stories making news this morning.

Another rally in the Middle East today, this one in Syria. Demonstrators there voicing support for the government. Coming up, we're going to talk to somebody who knows a lot about this region and talk about expectations in this Lebanon-Syria dilemma. That's ahead.

HEMMER: Also, Darryl Strawberry is back in, well, kind of back in a New York Mets uniform. The former slugger turns 43 on Saturday. He's a hit at spring training so far this year. He's a special instructor for the Mets. We'll talk to him in a moment about his return to baseball after so many trials and tribulations and also this ongoing issue about steroids in the upcoming season. The Straw is our guest, in a moment here.

O'BRIEN: I'm looking forward to that. I really, I mean, I think lots of people have sort of a soft spot in their heart for him.

HEMMER: And he has a soft spot, too.

We'll get to it.

O'BRIEN: Hi, Jack.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: You're out of breath? You came sprinting through the studio.

CAFFERTY: I've been here for hours.

O'BRIEN: You liar.

CAFFERTY: Waiting for this opportunity.

O'BRIEN: Good morning.

Take the opportunity.

CAFFERTY: Coming up in "The Cafferty File," Wednesday, time for "Things People Say." A man who did a prison sentence for rape says sensitivity is his biggest problem. The mayor of Las Vegas compares himself to George Washington. And a man who says 40 is old unless you're sleeping with Cher.

O'BRIEN: We're looking forward to that.

Thank you, Jack.

Let's get right to the headlines.

CAFFERTY: I'm still out of breath.

O'BRIEN: Are you?

Here, it's all right. It's going to be all right. We're going to toss it to Carol and it'll be all right -- Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'll take it away.

Good morning, guys.

HEMMER: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning to all of you.

Dozens of casualties following two suicide bombings in Iraq. Police say a bomber drove a garbage truck packed with explosives near a hotel in central Baghdad. The blast leaving a giant crater. U.S. troops now marking off the site. Within hours, another bombing, this one on the road leading to a U.S. base.

Pope John Paul II making a brief appearance this morning. The pope waved to the crowds. You see him there in his hospital window. He offered the crowd a blessing. You can hear the crowd cheering below. It is his first appearance in three days and that's the third time he's appeared at the window at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome.

President Bush focusing on his energy policy today. The president set to visit a research lab in Columbus, Ohio. He is making a case for so-called clean coal technology. It's a way to reduce the sulfur content of coal, which contributes to acid rain. The trip comes one day after President Bush gave a major address on the war on terror.

And let's talk about the weather for a bit. Oh, it's chilly, downright frigid in parts of the Northeast. Some areas in Massachusetts getting hit with up to eight inches of snow. It is already on the ground there. The weather making for a messy commute this morning, causing major traffic delays.

But get this -- spring is less than two weeks away -- Soledad, March 20 is the day to look forward to.

O'BRIEN: Carol, I'm going to guess that even after March 20, we're going to be talking about cold weather.

COSTELLO: You're probably right.

O'BRIEN: I'll put some money on that with you.

Thanks, Carol.

Well, former President Bill Clinton is going to have surgery tomorrow. He's got a rare complication from the heart surgery that he had last September.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us this morning -- nice to see you.

Good morning.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you.

Yes, the procedure is called decortication. Apparently after his operation in September -- we covered this, obviously, a lot back at that time. I talked to his doctors right after his operation and they said he had had a small amount of fluid buildup in his chest cavity after that first operation. That's not uncommon. About 85 percent of the people do get that.

What happened, though, is a lot of that fluid turned into some scar and started to affect his breathing. He started to have some symptoms, difficulty breathing when walking up hills, for example, some pain. Well, you know, there's no one better than the patient or president to describe this.

Here's how he put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I found this condition when I did my regular tests and they said I was in the top 5 percent of men my age in health. But they took a routine x-ray and found out that I had a lot of fluid buildup here, which is quite rare once the fluid goes down. And so all they have do to is drain it and take that little peel and hold the fluid out. It's a routine sort of deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP) GUPTA: He describes that as a peel and actually it's sort of like a peel, an orange peel, almost, compressing his lung. Fluid and inflammation sort of accumulating together, doing that. The procedure, again, is going to require general anesthesia. Put him in the hospital for three to 10 days. And, again, you know, this is, again, a consequence of his operation that he had back in September.

Real quick, take a look at these images here. You can get a sense of what it looks like. That's the lungs, obviously, sort of going into the chest. And there is some scar tissue that builds up like an orange peel and makes it hard for the lung to expand.

O'BRIEN: I was sort of surprised to hear that he knew about this before he went on this trip in Southeast Asia, which had been devastated by the tsunami, so obviously not the best medical care there should something have happened.

Was it a mistake? I mean were doctors concerned about him traveling through Asia or is it not a big deal?

GUPTA: Well, you know, it's funny, I think the doctors probably were concerned and I know that most doctors probably would have said listen, we'd be more comfortable if you stay in the country. But knowing Bill Clinton, of course, and his schedule, how crazy it is, it was probably difficult to keep him here.

Listen, they called it elective and I think that may be over extending. It's a schedule operation, for sure. But this is something that he needs to have done. If he doesn't have it done, he'll find -- have continued problems with his breathing, continued pressure on his lung and his heart, and that could possibly make him, you know, to the point where he's bedridden, he really can't do anything.

So it's not really elective like a nose job, for example, is an elective operation.

O'BRIEN: But certainly he could kind of pick the time when he wanted it done, it sounds like.

How much danger, outside of just the danger you have when you go under for surgery generally, how much danger is he in in undergoing this particular surgery?

GUPTA: I think any chest surgeon would say that any time they open the chest and do an operation like this, they don't take it lightly, for sure. But, compared to the operation that he had back in September, which was the bypass operation and they stop his heart and they put new blood vessels in, that's much more of a significant operation in terms of risks than this operation.

So, you know, if you had to put it on a scale, maybe this would be a four or a five and that's closer to a nine or a 10.

O'BRIEN: He certainly looks calm about the whole thing. He's playing a little golf today. GUPTA: Golf today, O.R. tomorrow.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

All right, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Thanks, Sanjay.

GUPTA: All right.

See you.

O'BRIEN: Bill.

HEMMER: Soledad, geologists are hoping to get a look inside Mount Saint Helens today after fresh signs of activity there. That volcano emitted a column of steam, smoke and ash on Tuesday. That was after a small earthquake. The six mile high plume sent clouds of ash to areas about 75 miles away from that mountain.

Katharine Barrett is live near Vancouver, Washington

Any indication this is a sign of more activity and a bigger eruption?

Katharine -- good morning.

KATHARINE BARRETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill and Soledad.

Well, scientists here say not necessarily. They still characterize this recent event as a small explosive event, even though it was probably nearly twice as high, that ash plume, as the last one that we saw back in October. They say it's a small event. They say it's to be expected in this very, very active phase that is building a new lava dome inside the Mount Saint Helens crater. They say, again, while this particular explosion caught them a little bit by surprise, they had been forecasting this kind of sudden explosive event.

So they say it's not necessarily an indication, again, of something much, much bigger brewing -- Bill.

HEMMER: You say this caught them a bit by surprise. There was one report, Katharine, that says the equipment around the mountain did not detect this particular explosion.

Is that causing any concern as a result?

BARRETT: Well, they've had trouble because the mountain has been so active. There have been rock falls and continued small explosions and jets of steam that have been knocking out instruments for months now. They lost a couple of their monitoring stations in January in a big rock fall inside the crater. They did detect a slight up tick in earthquake activity before this happened, but they didn't really read it as a sign of an imminent explosion and then, of course, once the explosion happened, they immediately stopped receiving signals from five out of seven of their monitoring stations in the crater, which meant that they really weren't sure what was going on until they saw this huge stream of smoke and ash come up from the crater.

HEMMER: Katharine Barrett, thanks, Vancouver, Washington, watching it for us there.

Chad Myers also watching it today at the CNN Center.

More on this, with this big plume of smoke going off, huh -- Chad, good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's actually ash, too, up in the sky, and that's the problem. You don't want the airplanes to be flying into the ash. It's very corrosive and very abrasive. You don't want them into the jet engines.

As the steam went up, as the ash and all the cloud cover went up, it started moving on off to the east and now a little bit to the southeast. It's actually right to the border now of Montana. If you're flying to or through the west, especially the northwest, the planes are going to have fly around that little plume and you may delay yourself maybe 15 or 20 minutes.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Another large pro-Syrian demonstration going on right now. It's in Syria's capital, Damascus. Add to that the massive rally that we saw on Tuesday in Lebanon and you might conclude that there is at least as much support for Syria to stay in Lebanon as there is for it to leave. You're looking at live pictures, in fact, of this rally getting underway in Damascus.

Fawaz Gerges is a professor of international affairs and Middle Eastern studies at Sarah Lawrence College.

This morning, nice to have you as our guest.

FAWAZ GERGES, PROFESSOR, SARAH LAWRENCE COLLEGE: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: It's very complicated what is happening here. And, of course, the dynamic involves not only Syria and Lebanon, but the entire Middle East and the United States, as well.

Let's walk through it as best as we can.

GERGES: Sure.

O'BRIEN: First, we have these live pictures going on right now in Syria, in Damascus, in support for President Assad. Not quite as popular as yesterday's rally...

GERGES: Yes.

O'BRIEN: ... which we saw hundreds of thousands of people gathering in Lebanon in support, it seemed, of Syria.

GERGES: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Does that mean that actually there's much more support for Syria and Syrian troops in Lebanon than many most people thought?

GERGES: I think let's remember, Soledad, that Hezbollah, or the Party of God, is the best organized and the most powerful political force in Lebanon. And Hezbollah can mobilize tens of thousands of supporters at a moment's notice. And yesterday, of course, Hezbollah and the pro-Syrian elements did that in support of the -- or in the anti-opposition forces.

But let's remember, Soledad, that the Lebanese are not divided over reclaiming their sovereignty and independence from Syria. They're divided over the future direction of their country. So the support yesterday that Hezbollah and the pro-Syrian elements put on the street does not mean they want Syria to stay in Lebanon. They meant they are really worried about what comes after Syria leaves Lebanon.

O'BRIEN: So you're saying, to a large degree, it's more about concerns -- it's more anti-American and pro-Hezbollah than anti- Syrian?

GERGES: Absolutely. I mean this is really the point. What we need to understand, Soledad, is that U.N. Resolution 1559 has two components. One component says Syria must pull out its military and security forces and there's no timetable for that. And another component says the Lebanese government must disarm militias, existing militias, and we know...

O'BRIEN: Hezbollah.

GERGES: And we know that the only militia that exists in Lebanon is Hezbollah. Hezbollah has, in fact, is the only state within a state in Lebanon.

So in a way, Soledad, what we need the American public to realize is that Hezbollah and the opposition yesterday, that it basically went on the street, they are afraid that Hezbollah is being targeted, that after Syria leaves Lebanon, that Hezbollah will be the second -- I mean the next target on America's list.

O'BRIEN: But if Lebanese want the Syrian troops out, and polls seem to indicate that...

GERGES: Absolutely. Yes.

O'BRIEN: ... isn't Hezbollah taking a real risk if they're saying exactly the opposite? I mean obviously Hezbollah is funded, in large part, by Syria.

So aren't they going against their own people?

GERGES: You are absolutely correct, Soledad. We should not be misled by the huge crowd we saw yesterday on the cameras here, that is, Hezbollah was able to put hundreds of thousands of people on the streets. Hezbollah always played the card, well, look, we are above the political fray. We are a resistance movement. We represent all the Lebanese. Yesterday, Hezbollah basically said, well, listen, we are part of the fray, we are a factional party, we are going against the wishes of mainstream Lebanese. I think Hezbollah, the loss to Hezbollah yesterday was a critical loss in status, in image and prestige, as well.

O'BRIEN: And we'll see how it plays out in the future.

Fawaz Gerges, nice to have you for insight on a very complicated issue.

Appreciate it -- Bill.

HEMMER: There is an invisible danger lurking under streets and sidewalks. Could you be actually electrocuted just by walking on the sidewalk? A closer look at that hidden risk.

Also, a boat on the verge of being sucked through a dam. A woman pulled to safety, but her friend was not so lucky. We'll talk to him after he literally went over the edge.

And Darryl Strawberry has had his share of problems -- drugs and a bout with cancer. Now he's back at spring training. We'll talk to him live after a break here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Six to 10 inches of snow in Boston this morning means more than the usual dangerous street conditions. Snow can help make a deadly connection between people, their pets and underground electrical currents.

Dan Lothian has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the unseen danger lurking under streets and sidewalks that rises to the surface, sometimes with deadly results. ;

KYLE DEVITO, DOG ELECTROCUTED: And we were really close. He was like my best friend.

LOTHIAN: Thirteen-year-old Kyle Devito's Christmas present, a year-old boxer named Cassias, was electrocuted on a Boston area sidewalk last week.

K. DEVITO: He stepped in like the patch of dirt and he just started to like shake and yelp. And he fell down.

LOTHIAN: Enstar, the electric utility company, took full responsibility. A live electrical wire left behind after a light pole was removed caused the deadly charge.

PAUL DEVITO, SON'S DOG ELECTROCUTED: He went out in the morning to walk his dog and he found that something could be so unsafe.

LOTHIAN: Across the Northeast, more evidence. Last week, a black Lab was zapped in downtown Boston and a Wheaton terrier puppy on a Greenwich Village sidewalk. Both survived.

Last month in Bethesda, Maryland, a volunteer paramedic performed CPR to revive his dog, he says was electrocuted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I noticed that she had -- she had stopped breathing and her heart had stopped.

LOTHIAN (on camera): The problem is more pronounced during winter months, especially in areas where there is a lot of snow on the ground. The moisture mixed with salt, a potentially deadly combination, conducting stray electrical currents. Sometimes just stepping on a manhole cover could mean trouble.

(voice-over): And humans are in danger, too. Thirty-year-old Jodie Lane died last August in New York City after she stepped on an electrified metal service box.

What's being done? In Boston and New York City, the utility companies are searching for hot spots. Records are also being reviewed in order to identify any old lines. Boston Mayor Tom Menino is putting together a task force to investigate hot spots. And Kyle's family has hired a lawyer. To get the company to act, they're asking Enstar for a settlement equal to the company's CEO's salary, $740,000.

P. DEVITO: It didn't have to happen to us if they had been a little more mindful.

LOTHIAN: Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

O'BRIEN: Enstar, in fact, is offering to pay the Devitos $200,000 -- Bill.

HEMMER: After battling colon cancer and drug addiction,

Darryl Strawberry is back in the game. This week, Strawberry reunited with his former team, the New York Mets. He began his baseball career with the Mets about 20 years ago.

Darryl Strawberry is at the Mets spring training camp in Port Saint Lucie, Florida.

Darryl, good morning to you.

DARRYL STRAWBERRY, NEW YORK METS: Hey, good morning, Bill.

How you doing?

HEMMER: Good luck to you.

I'm doing fine. The guy, the Yankee fans on our floor, by the way, were just chanting "Darryl, Darryl!" during the commercial break. So you are not forgotten, by the way.

What brings you back to spring training? Why are you there?

STRAWBERRY: Well, I think because it was a great opportunity. You know, Omar came over as the general manager, and Jim Duquette and Jeff Wilpon. I think, you know, they had some of the '86 Mets here and, you know, they called me up and asked me would I come down here and participate in spring training and try to help out with some of the young guys.

I think the thing is, is they're trying to bring back the winning tradition back to the Mets. You know, we had so many great years over there in the '80s and some great teams. And I think they're just really trying to get back to the winning attitude.

HEMMER: You know, Darryl, here's what I read. You want to help some of these young people make the right choices.

STRAWBERRY: Right.

HEMMER: And to quote you, you said you want to make sure that they "don't make some of the mistakes I made in life."

How will you do that?

STRAWBERRY: Yes, no question about it. I mean I just, you know, I like to tell young players, you know, about decision-making, you know? My decision-making wasn't wise enough and I made a lot of bad choices. So, you know, I try to, you know, guide them in their direction. You know, being a baseball player and in professional sports and everything, with all the things that are temptations to them, you know, I try to help young players understand that, you know, they don't have to fall into them.

HEMMER: Yes. You know, listen, I think it's really difficult to talk about baseball and not talk about steroids, especially coming into this season.

STRAWBERRY: Right.

HEMMER: As a player, did you witness steroid abuse?

STRAWBERRY: Well, personally I never witnessed any steroid abuse, you know, from players. But, you know, I knew guys who were getting a lot bigger than the normal, you know. So, you know, personally I never had to use any steroids to be a home run hitter and I was truly grateful for that because, you know, it's not the effect that it's going to have on the players that's playing today, you know? It's the effect it's going to have on the younger guys that's coming up behind them that's thinking, you know, this is what I have to do to be able to perform at this level and be successful.

And when -- and in real reality you don't. All you have to do is be natural and work hard and lift weights and, you know, let your natural talent be, because you've been given a gift to play baseball or any sports and steroids are going to pay the price, you know, physically for a person later on down the line.

HEMMER: Yes, listening to beginning of your answer, I think you were implying that you knew it was going on.

Was that a fair read on my part?

STRAWBERRY: Well, anybody that plays sports knows what's going on, you know? I mean when a guy, you know, comes, you know, twice as big as he was, you know, a year ago or two years. But, you know, it's a normal thing, you know? But, you know, we have clubhouse codes and we just don't break those codes.

HEMMER: Yes.

How do you think that's going to affect the sport this season? I mean already guys like Jason Giambi is taking the fields and you hear people up there in the stands yelling "Steroids! Steroids!"

What is the impact on the sport now?

STRAWBERRY: Well, it's made it very difficult, you know, on the sports of baseball, you know, the impact. And, you know, everybody's talking, you know, really, really talking about are these guys legit home run hitters. Most of them are, you know. But, you know, most of them, you know, whatever has happened in their personal life of making a choice to do that, that was a choice that they made. And hopefully, you know, Jason can recover, because Jason is a great guy, just like anybody else, you know?

But, you know, I think, you know, to enhance your performance, you don't really need anything. And I hope, you know, I hope baseball is really worked hard to get this under control and allow these guys to get back on the right track and do the right thing.

HEMMER: Hey, good luck to you and thanks for stopping by today.

I know your son D.J. has had an outstanding career at the University of Maryland in basketball, nonetheless.

STRAWBERRY: Yes.

HEMMER: And it looks like your 10-year-old might be more interested in basketball than baseball at this point, all right.

STRAWBERRY: No question, man. You know, my kids are all about basketball, my boys. But I'm happy for them.

HEMMER: Good deal.

Happy birthday this weekend, too, 43 on Saturday.

Thanks.

STRAWBERRY: All right.

HEMMER: Darryl Strawberry in Port Saint Lucie.

STRAWBERRY: All right.

HEMMER: Back in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Here's Jack again, The Question of the Day.

CAFFERTY: Thanks, Bill.

The Army is having recruiting problems, particularly among blacks and women. In 2000, African-Americans made up 23 1/2 percent of Army recruits. Today, it's less than 14 percent. Similarly, women have declined from 22 percent of recruits to 17 percent during the same period. Tough to tell whether it's opposition to the wars going on in the Middle East or perhaps the economy improving and thus providing better job opportunities at home. But either way it's a problem for Uncle Sam.

The question this morning is how should the U.S. Army go about attracting more minorities and women?

Dean in New Jersey writes: "It might be good to revisit the idea of conscripting certain convicts for service in the Army. This could ease overcrowding in the prison system, as well as give some wayward youths a new direction in life."

Stephen in California writes: "They should recruit all those illegal aliens who are overrunning our borders. Open up some new boot camps on the border and if they're willing to fight for the right to be here, give them citizenship after their tour of duty is up."

That ain't a bad idea.

Tom in Florida writes: "I'm surprised you didn't offer a third and fourth possible reason for the decline in women and minority recruits. Three, poor treatment of injured soldiers and psychologically affected soldiers, cuts in veterans' benefits and services, and involuntary extension of tours of duty; and, four, poor treatment of and limited advancement opportunities for women and minorities in the armed forces."

Theresa writes in New York: "From a woman's point of view, the Army needs to stop all this violence, get rid of the drab colors and accessorize, accessorize, accessorize."

HEMMER: Yes, that'll do it, huh?

O'BRIEN: Yes. She's -- you don't want to be wearing pink or red out in the field. I would imagine that's a bad idea.

CAFFERTY: Or anywhere else, in my case.

O'BRIEN: Thanks, Jack.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Here's a question for you. Is there a conspiracy? Theresa Heinz Kerry has a possible new theory on why some votes didn't go her husband's way. That's ahead this morning.

Plus, a daring boat rescue. An amazing survivor's story. A man who was sucked right through a dam.

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.

Just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Coming up this morning, President Bush's speech on Tuesday -- pushing again for the spread of democracy in the Middle East. Is he actually sowing the seeds of revolution? Kamber and May will take that on.

HEMMER: Also, have you seen these amazing pictures out of Texas?

O'BRIEN: Yes.

HEMMER: Unbelievable stuff. The woman saved from this boat on the surveillance tape here may have had the easy part. We'll talk to the man who was with her. He's also inside that boat, but only for a short time. He was flushed literally through the dam's flood gate and sent about a half mile down the river. He's alive. He'll give us his story in a moment here.

Wow!

O'BRIEN: Those pictures are pretty incredible.

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Aired March 9, 2005 - 08:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
The violence in Iraq spiking again. Suicide bombers striking across the country and dozens found killed execution style in the western desert.

Watching the volcano Mount Saint Helens with its biggest blast of smoke and ash in months.

The Northeast waking to another icy blast of winter. And when the snow falls, it can lead to an invisible danger, all this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

Welcome back, everybody.

Other stories making news this morning.

Another rally in the Middle East today, this one in Syria. Demonstrators there voicing support for the government. Coming up, we're going to talk to somebody who knows a lot about this region and talk about expectations in this Lebanon-Syria dilemma. That's ahead.

HEMMER: Also, Darryl Strawberry is back in, well, kind of back in a New York Mets uniform. The former slugger turns 43 on Saturday. He's a hit at spring training so far this year. He's a special instructor for the Mets. We'll talk to him in a moment about his return to baseball after so many trials and tribulations and also this ongoing issue about steroids in the upcoming season. The Straw is our guest, in a moment here.

O'BRIEN: I'm looking forward to that. I really, I mean, I think lots of people have sort of a soft spot in their heart for him.

HEMMER: And he has a soft spot, too.

We'll get to it.

O'BRIEN: Hi, Jack.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: You're out of breath? You came sprinting through the studio.

CAFFERTY: I've been here for hours.

O'BRIEN: You liar.

CAFFERTY: Waiting for this opportunity.

O'BRIEN: Good morning.

Take the opportunity.

CAFFERTY: Coming up in "The Cafferty File," Wednesday, time for "Things People Say." A man who did a prison sentence for rape says sensitivity is his biggest problem. The mayor of Las Vegas compares himself to George Washington. And a man who says 40 is old unless you're sleeping with Cher.

O'BRIEN: We're looking forward to that.

Thank you, Jack.

Let's get right to the headlines.

CAFFERTY: I'm still out of breath.

O'BRIEN: Are you?

Here, it's all right. It's going to be all right. We're going to toss it to Carol and it'll be all right -- Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'll take it away.

Good morning, guys.

HEMMER: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning to all of you.

Dozens of casualties following two suicide bombings in Iraq. Police say a bomber drove a garbage truck packed with explosives near a hotel in central Baghdad. The blast leaving a giant crater. U.S. troops now marking off the site. Within hours, another bombing, this one on the road leading to a U.S. base.

Pope John Paul II making a brief appearance this morning. The pope waved to the crowds. You see him there in his hospital window. He offered the crowd a blessing. You can hear the crowd cheering below. It is his first appearance in three days and that's the third time he's appeared at the window at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome.

President Bush focusing on his energy policy today. The president set to visit a research lab in Columbus, Ohio. He is making a case for so-called clean coal technology. It's a way to reduce the sulfur content of coal, which contributes to acid rain. The trip comes one day after President Bush gave a major address on the war on terror.

And let's talk about the weather for a bit. Oh, it's chilly, downright frigid in parts of the Northeast. Some areas in Massachusetts getting hit with up to eight inches of snow. It is already on the ground there. The weather making for a messy commute this morning, causing major traffic delays.

But get this -- spring is less than two weeks away -- Soledad, March 20 is the day to look forward to.

O'BRIEN: Carol, I'm going to guess that even after March 20, we're going to be talking about cold weather.

COSTELLO: You're probably right.

O'BRIEN: I'll put some money on that with you.

Thanks, Carol.

Well, former President Bill Clinton is going to have surgery tomorrow. He's got a rare complication from the heart surgery that he had last September.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us this morning -- nice to see you.

Good morning.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you.

Yes, the procedure is called decortication. Apparently after his operation in September -- we covered this, obviously, a lot back at that time. I talked to his doctors right after his operation and they said he had had a small amount of fluid buildup in his chest cavity after that first operation. That's not uncommon. About 85 percent of the people do get that.

What happened, though, is a lot of that fluid turned into some scar and started to affect his breathing. He started to have some symptoms, difficulty breathing when walking up hills, for example, some pain. Well, you know, there's no one better than the patient or president to describe this.

Here's how he put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I found this condition when I did my regular tests and they said I was in the top 5 percent of men my age in health. But they took a routine x-ray and found out that I had a lot of fluid buildup here, which is quite rare once the fluid goes down. And so all they have do to is drain it and take that little peel and hold the fluid out. It's a routine sort of deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP) GUPTA: He describes that as a peel and actually it's sort of like a peel, an orange peel, almost, compressing his lung. Fluid and inflammation sort of accumulating together, doing that. The procedure, again, is going to require general anesthesia. Put him in the hospital for three to 10 days. And, again, you know, this is, again, a consequence of his operation that he had back in September.

Real quick, take a look at these images here. You can get a sense of what it looks like. That's the lungs, obviously, sort of going into the chest. And there is some scar tissue that builds up like an orange peel and makes it hard for the lung to expand.

O'BRIEN: I was sort of surprised to hear that he knew about this before he went on this trip in Southeast Asia, which had been devastated by the tsunami, so obviously not the best medical care there should something have happened.

Was it a mistake? I mean were doctors concerned about him traveling through Asia or is it not a big deal?

GUPTA: Well, you know, it's funny, I think the doctors probably were concerned and I know that most doctors probably would have said listen, we'd be more comfortable if you stay in the country. But knowing Bill Clinton, of course, and his schedule, how crazy it is, it was probably difficult to keep him here.

Listen, they called it elective and I think that may be over extending. It's a schedule operation, for sure. But this is something that he needs to have done. If he doesn't have it done, he'll find -- have continued problems with his breathing, continued pressure on his lung and his heart, and that could possibly make him, you know, to the point where he's bedridden, he really can't do anything.

So it's not really elective like a nose job, for example, is an elective operation.

O'BRIEN: But certainly he could kind of pick the time when he wanted it done, it sounds like.

How much danger, outside of just the danger you have when you go under for surgery generally, how much danger is he in in undergoing this particular surgery?

GUPTA: I think any chest surgeon would say that any time they open the chest and do an operation like this, they don't take it lightly, for sure. But, compared to the operation that he had back in September, which was the bypass operation and they stop his heart and they put new blood vessels in, that's much more of a significant operation in terms of risks than this operation.

So, you know, if you had to put it on a scale, maybe this would be a four or a five and that's closer to a nine or a 10.

O'BRIEN: He certainly looks calm about the whole thing. He's playing a little golf today. GUPTA: Golf today, O.R. tomorrow.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

All right, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Thanks, Sanjay.

GUPTA: All right.

See you.

O'BRIEN: Bill.

HEMMER: Soledad, geologists are hoping to get a look inside Mount Saint Helens today after fresh signs of activity there. That volcano emitted a column of steam, smoke and ash on Tuesday. That was after a small earthquake. The six mile high plume sent clouds of ash to areas about 75 miles away from that mountain.

Katharine Barrett is live near Vancouver, Washington

Any indication this is a sign of more activity and a bigger eruption?

Katharine -- good morning.

KATHARINE BARRETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill and Soledad.

Well, scientists here say not necessarily. They still characterize this recent event as a small explosive event, even though it was probably nearly twice as high, that ash plume, as the last one that we saw back in October. They say it's a small event. They say it's to be expected in this very, very active phase that is building a new lava dome inside the Mount Saint Helens crater. They say, again, while this particular explosion caught them a little bit by surprise, they had been forecasting this kind of sudden explosive event.

So they say it's not necessarily an indication, again, of something much, much bigger brewing -- Bill.

HEMMER: You say this caught them a bit by surprise. There was one report, Katharine, that says the equipment around the mountain did not detect this particular explosion.

Is that causing any concern as a result?

BARRETT: Well, they've had trouble because the mountain has been so active. There have been rock falls and continued small explosions and jets of steam that have been knocking out instruments for months now. They lost a couple of their monitoring stations in January in a big rock fall inside the crater. They did detect a slight up tick in earthquake activity before this happened, but they didn't really read it as a sign of an imminent explosion and then, of course, once the explosion happened, they immediately stopped receiving signals from five out of seven of their monitoring stations in the crater, which meant that they really weren't sure what was going on until they saw this huge stream of smoke and ash come up from the crater.

HEMMER: Katharine Barrett, thanks, Vancouver, Washington, watching it for us there.

Chad Myers also watching it today at the CNN Center.

More on this, with this big plume of smoke going off, huh -- Chad, good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's actually ash, too, up in the sky, and that's the problem. You don't want the airplanes to be flying into the ash. It's very corrosive and very abrasive. You don't want them into the jet engines.

As the steam went up, as the ash and all the cloud cover went up, it started moving on off to the east and now a little bit to the southeast. It's actually right to the border now of Montana. If you're flying to or through the west, especially the northwest, the planes are going to have fly around that little plume and you may delay yourself maybe 15 or 20 minutes.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Another large pro-Syrian demonstration going on right now. It's in Syria's capital, Damascus. Add to that the massive rally that we saw on Tuesday in Lebanon and you might conclude that there is at least as much support for Syria to stay in Lebanon as there is for it to leave. You're looking at live pictures, in fact, of this rally getting underway in Damascus.

Fawaz Gerges is a professor of international affairs and Middle Eastern studies at Sarah Lawrence College.

This morning, nice to have you as our guest.

FAWAZ GERGES, PROFESSOR, SARAH LAWRENCE COLLEGE: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: It's very complicated what is happening here. And, of course, the dynamic involves not only Syria and Lebanon, but the entire Middle East and the United States, as well.

Let's walk through it as best as we can.

GERGES: Sure.

O'BRIEN: First, we have these live pictures going on right now in Syria, in Damascus, in support for President Assad. Not quite as popular as yesterday's rally...

GERGES: Yes.

O'BRIEN: ... which we saw hundreds of thousands of people gathering in Lebanon in support, it seemed, of Syria.

GERGES: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Does that mean that actually there's much more support for Syria and Syrian troops in Lebanon than many most people thought?

GERGES: I think let's remember, Soledad, that Hezbollah, or the Party of God, is the best organized and the most powerful political force in Lebanon. And Hezbollah can mobilize tens of thousands of supporters at a moment's notice. And yesterday, of course, Hezbollah and the pro-Syrian elements did that in support of the -- or in the anti-opposition forces.

But let's remember, Soledad, that the Lebanese are not divided over reclaiming their sovereignty and independence from Syria. They're divided over the future direction of their country. So the support yesterday that Hezbollah and the pro-Syrian elements put on the street does not mean they want Syria to stay in Lebanon. They meant they are really worried about what comes after Syria leaves Lebanon.

O'BRIEN: So you're saying, to a large degree, it's more about concerns -- it's more anti-American and pro-Hezbollah than anti- Syrian?

GERGES: Absolutely. I mean this is really the point. What we need to understand, Soledad, is that U.N. Resolution 1559 has two components. One component says Syria must pull out its military and security forces and there's no timetable for that. And another component says the Lebanese government must disarm militias, existing militias, and we know...

O'BRIEN: Hezbollah.

GERGES: And we know that the only militia that exists in Lebanon is Hezbollah. Hezbollah has, in fact, is the only state within a state in Lebanon.

So in a way, Soledad, what we need the American public to realize is that Hezbollah and the opposition yesterday, that it basically went on the street, they are afraid that Hezbollah is being targeted, that after Syria leaves Lebanon, that Hezbollah will be the second -- I mean the next target on America's list.

O'BRIEN: But if Lebanese want the Syrian troops out, and polls seem to indicate that...

GERGES: Absolutely. Yes.

O'BRIEN: ... isn't Hezbollah taking a real risk if they're saying exactly the opposite? I mean obviously Hezbollah is funded, in large part, by Syria.

So aren't they going against their own people?

GERGES: You are absolutely correct, Soledad. We should not be misled by the huge crowd we saw yesterday on the cameras here, that is, Hezbollah was able to put hundreds of thousands of people on the streets. Hezbollah always played the card, well, look, we are above the political fray. We are a resistance movement. We represent all the Lebanese. Yesterday, Hezbollah basically said, well, listen, we are part of the fray, we are a factional party, we are going against the wishes of mainstream Lebanese. I think Hezbollah, the loss to Hezbollah yesterday was a critical loss in status, in image and prestige, as well.

O'BRIEN: And we'll see how it plays out in the future.

Fawaz Gerges, nice to have you for insight on a very complicated issue.

Appreciate it -- Bill.

HEMMER: There is an invisible danger lurking under streets and sidewalks. Could you be actually electrocuted just by walking on the sidewalk? A closer look at that hidden risk.

Also, a boat on the verge of being sucked through a dam. A woman pulled to safety, but her friend was not so lucky. We'll talk to him after he literally went over the edge.

And Darryl Strawberry has had his share of problems -- drugs and a bout with cancer. Now he's back at spring training. We'll talk to him live after a break here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Six to 10 inches of snow in Boston this morning means more than the usual dangerous street conditions. Snow can help make a deadly connection between people, their pets and underground electrical currents.

Dan Lothian has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the unseen danger lurking under streets and sidewalks that rises to the surface, sometimes with deadly results. ;

KYLE DEVITO, DOG ELECTROCUTED: And we were really close. He was like my best friend.

LOTHIAN: Thirteen-year-old Kyle Devito's Christmas present, a year-old boxer named Cassias, was electrocuted on a Boston area sidewalk last week.

K. DEVITO: He stepped in like the patch of dirt and he just started to like shake and yelp. And he fell down.

LOTHIAN: Enstar, the electric utility company, took full responsibility. A live electrical wire left behind after a light pole was removed caused the deadly charge.

PAUL DEVITO, SON'S DOG ELECTROCUTED: He went out in the morning to walk his dog and he found that something could be so unsafe.

LOTHIAN: Across the Northeast, more evidence. Last week, a black Lab was zapped in downtown Boston and a Wheaton terrier puppy on a Greenwich Village sidewalk. Both survived.

Last month in Bethesda, Maryland, a volunteer paramedic performed CPR to revive his dog, he says was electrocuted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I noticed that she had -- she had stopped breathing and her heart had stopped.

LOTHIAN (on camera): The problem is more pronounced during winter months, especially in areas where there is a lot of snow on the ground. The moisture mixed with salt, a potentially deadly combination, conducting stray electrical currents. Sometimes just stepping on a manhole cover could mean trouble.

(voice-over): And humans are in danger, too. Thirty-year-old Jodie Lane died last August in New York City after she stepped on an electrified metal service box.

What's being done? In Boston and New York City, the utility companies are searching for hot spots. Records are also being reviewed in order to identify any old lines. Boston Mayor Tom Menino is putting together a task force to investigate hot spots. And Kyle's family has hired a lawyer. To get the company to act, they're asking Enstar for a settlement equal to the company's CEO's salary, $740,000.

P. DEVITO: It didn't have to happen to us if they had been a little more mindful.

LOTHIAN: Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

O'BRIEN: Enstar, in fact, is offering to pay the Devitos $200,000 -- Bill.

HEMMER: After battling colon cancer and drug addiction,

Darryl Strawberry is back in the game. This week, Strawberry reunited with his former team, the New York Mets. He began his baseball career with the Mets about 20 years ago.

Darryl Strawberry is at the Mets spring training camp in Port Saint Lucie, Florida.

Darryl, good morning to you.

DARRYL STRAWBERRY, NEW YORK METS: Hey, good morning, Bill.

How you doing?

HEMMER: Good luck to you.

I'm doing fine. The guy, the Yankee fans on our floor, by the way, were just chanting "Darryl, Darryl!" during the commercial break. So you are not forgotten, by the way.

What brings you back to spring training? Why are you there?

STRAWBERRY: Well, I think because it was a great opportunity. You know, Omar came over as the general manager, and Jim Duquette and Jeff Wilpon. I think, you know, they had some of the '86 Mets here and, you know, they called me up and asked me would I come down here and participate in spring training and try to help out with some of the young guys.

I think the thing is, is they're trying to bring back the winning tradition back to the Mets. You know, we had so many great years over there in the '80s and some great teams. And I think they're just really trying to get back to the winning attitude.

HEMMER: You know, Darryl, here's what I read. You want to help some of these young people make the right choices.

STRAWBERRY: Right.

HEMMER: And to quote you, you said you want to make sure that they "don't make some of the mistakes I made in life."

How will you do that?

STRAWBERRY: Yes, no question about it. I mean I just, you know, I like to tell young players, you know, about decision-making, you know? My decision-making wasn't wise enough and I made a lot of bad choices. So, you know, I try to, you know, guide them in their direction. You know, being a baseball player and in professional sports and everything, with all the things that are temptations to them, you know, I try to help young players understand that, you know, they don't have to fall into them.

HEMMER: Yes. You know, listen, I think it's really difficult to talk about baseball and not talk about steroids, especially coming into this season.

STRAWBERRY: Right.

HEMMER: As a player, did you witness steroid abuse?

STRAWBERRY: Well, personally I never witnessed any steroid abuse, you know, from players. But, you know, I knew guys who were getting a lot bigger than the normal, you know. So, you know, personally I never had to use any steroids to be a home run hitter and I was truly grateful for that because, you know, it's not the effect that it's going to have on the players that's playing today, you know? It's the effect it's going to have on the younger guys that's coming up behind them that's thinking, you know, this is what I have to do to be able to perform at this level and be successful.

And when -- and in real reality you don't. All you have to do is be natural and work hard and lift weights and, you know, let your natural talent be, because you've been given a gift to play baseball or any sports and steroids are going to pay the price, you know, physically for a person later on down the line.

HEMMER: Yes, listening to beginning of your answer, I think you were implying that you knew it was going on.

Was that a fair read on my part?

STRAWBERRY: Well, anybody that plays sports knows what's going on, you know? I mean when a guy, you know, comes, you know, twice as big as he was, you know, a year ago or two years. But, you know, it's a normal thing, you know? But, you know, we have clubhouse codes and we just don't break those codes.

HEMMER: Yes.

How do you think that's going to affect the sport this season? I mean already guys like Jason Giambi is taking the fields and you hear people up there in the stands yelling "Steroids! Steroids!"

What is the impact on the sport now?

STRAWBERRY: Well, it's made it very difficult, you know, on the sports of baseball, you know, the impact. And, you know, everybody's talking, you know, really, really talking about are these guys legit home run hitters. Most of them are, you know. But, you know, most of them, you know, whatever has happened in their personal life of making a choice to do that, that was a choice that they made. And hopefully, you know, Jason can recover, because Jason is a great guy, just like anybody else, you know?

But, you know, I think, you know, to enhance your performance, you don't really need anything. And I hope, you know, I hope baseball is really worked hard to get this under control and allow these guys to get back on the right track and do the right thing.

HEMMER: Hey, good luck to you and thanks for stopping by today.

I know your son D.J. has had an outstanding career at the University of Maryland in basketball, nonetheless.

STRAWBERRY: Yes.

HEMMER: And it looks like your 10-year-old might be more interested in basketball than baseball at this point, all right.

STRAWBERRY: No question, man. You know, my kids are all about basketball, my boys. But I'm happy for them.

HEMMER: Good deal.

Happy birthday this weekend, too, 43 on Saturday.

Thanks.

STRAWBERRY: All right.

HEMMER: Darryl Strawberry in Port Saint Lucie.

STRAWBERRY: All right.

HEMMER: Back in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Here's Jack again, The Question of the Day.

CAFFERTY: Thanks, Bill.

The Army is having recruiting problems, particularly among blacks and women. In 2000, African-Americans made up 23 1/2 percent of Army recruits. Today, it's less than 14 percent. Similarly, women have declined from 22 percent of recruits to 17 percent during the same period. Tough to tell whether it's opposition to the wars going on in the Middle East or perhaps the economy improving and thus providing better job opportunities at home. But either way it's a problem for Uncle Sam.

The question this morning is how should the U.S. Army go about attracting more minorities and women?

Dean in New Jersey writes: "It might be good to revisit the idea of conscripting certain convicts for service in the Army. This could ease overcrowding in the prison system, as well as give some wayward youths a new direction in life."

Stephen in California writes: "They should recruit all those illegal aliens who are overrunning our borders. Open up some new boot camps on the border and if they're willing to fight for the right to be here, give them citizenship after their tour of duty is up."

That ain't a bad idea.

Tom in Florida writes: "I'm surprised you didn't offer a third and fourth possible reason for the decline in women and minority recruits. Three, poor treatment of injured soldiers and psychologically affected soldiers, cuts in veterans' benefits and services, and involuntary extension of tours of duty; and, four, poor treatment of and limited advancement opportunities for women and minorities in the armed forces."

Theresa writes in New York: "From a woman's point of view, the Army needs to stop all this violence, get rid of the drab colors and accessorize, accessorize, accessorize."

HEMMER: Yes, that'll do it, huh?

O'BRIEN: Yes. She's -- you don't want to be wearing pink or red out in the field. I would imagine that's a bad idea.

CAFFERTY: Or anywhere else, in my case.

O'BRIEN: Thanks, Jack.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Here's a question for you. Is there a conspiracy? Theresa Heinz Kerry has a possible new theory on why some votes didn't go her husband's way. That's ahead this morning.

Plus, a daring boat rescue. An amazing survivor's story. A man who was sucked right through a dam.

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.

Just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Coming up this morning, President Bush's speech on Tuesday -- pushing again for the spread of democracy in the Middle East. Is he actually sowing the seeds of revolution? Kamber and May will take that on.

HEMMER: Also, have you seen these amazing pictures out of Texas?

O'BRIEN: Yes.

HEMMER: Unbelievable stuff. The woman saved from this boat on the surveillance tape here may have had the easy part. We'll talk to the man who was with her. He's also inside that boat, but only for a short time. He was flushed literally through the dam's flood gate and sent about a half mile down the river. He's alive. He'll give us his story in a moment here.

Wow!

O'BRIEN: Those pictures are pretty incredible.

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