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American Morning

Picking A Pope; Midshipman Death

Aired April 13, 2005 - 07:28   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 just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Coming up this morning, another emotional scene at the Vatican. People are lining up today to be among the very first to visit Pope John Paul II's tomb. We're going to find out a little bit more about that and what happens behind the scenes when the cardinals elect the next pope, just ahead.

HEMMER: It all begins Monday, huh? We're watching that chimney.

A tragic mystery, too, at the U.S. Naval Academy, the strange death of Midshipman Jay Dixon. What happened and why his family is now demanding answers. That story in a moment as well.

O'BRIEN: It's a really sad story, too.

Let's get the headlines now. Carol Costello in for us.

Hello. Good morning.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning to all of you.

"Now in the News."

U.S. troops are coming under fire in Baghdad, at least three separate bombings targeting American military convoys in the past seven hours. Some new pictures in to CNN this morning show smoke from one of those blasts. At least eight Iraqis were injured in this incident. There are no immediate reports of American casualties.

That violence coming just hours after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld left Baghdad for Afghanistan. Secretary Rumsfeld meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The two are holding a joint news conference right now. Rumsfeld also meeting with U.S. commanders and with U.S. forces fighting in the war on terror.

The Food and Drug Administration is saying no to silicone implants, at least for now. An advisory panel voted 5-4 against one company's efforts to lift the 13-year-old ban for the gel implants. But a second company is making its case today.

In California, the stepfather of Michael Jackson's accuser is set to be back on the stand this morning. The man had testified Jackson's associate offered the family a college education and a house shortly after the broadcast of a damaging TV documentary on Jackson. The boy's mother could testify later this week.

And in Italy, soccer is getting a reputation in Milan, and it isn't good. A match between two Milan teams was abandoned after fans threw dozens of flares on to the field. Oh, man! That's just wrong. One of them hit A.C. Milan's goalkeeper, as you saw, on the shoulder. Officials tried to restart play, but a ban in the match after more flares were thrown.

People bring flares to soccer games?

HEMMER: I guess they do now.

COSTELLO: I guess that's a new tradition I just don't know about. The goalie is said to be OK. But according to a teammate, he's feeling some pain where he was hit. And, of course, you can certainly understand that.

For a moment there, I thought it was an American basketball game, but it wasn't a chair. They were flares.

O'BRIEN: That's terrible.

COSTELLO: Flares!

O'BRIEN: I mean, you could set someone on fire that way.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

HEMMER: A tough crowd. They better win over there, huh, in Milan.

O'BRIEN: A chair would be bad, too.

COSTELLO: A chair would be bad, too.

O'BRIEN: What is sports getting to? Where is Jack when we need another "Question of the Day?"

HEMMER: He'll be back.

O'BRIEN: Man! All right, Carol, thanks.

COSTELLO: Sure.

O'BRIEN: The public viewing of Pope John Paul II's grave is now under way at the Vatican. The grotto beneath St. Peter's Basilica was opened early this morning. Hundreds of people have already paid their respects. The pope's grave is marked with a simple, white marble slab. It's engraved with his name in Latin and the dates of his papacy. A lily and a candle flank either end.

On Tuesday, cardinals filed by two by two. Today is the sixth of nine days of mourning.

And as the pope's tomb comes into public view, the College of Cardinals is preparing for its conclave to select the next pope. That begins on Monday. But some unofficial politicking may already be going on.

CNN Vatican analyst John Allen is at the Vatican for us this morning.

Hey, good morning. Nice to see you, John.

JOHN ALLEN, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: Hi, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Give me a sense of how this really works. I mean, are we talking about private conversations between the cardinals as the politicking? Is it more formal than that? Is it more informal than that?

ALLEN: Soledad, it's about as informal as it comes. I mean, unlike secular politics, where you have political conventions and you've got platform sessions and then you've got 30-second attack ads and all of that kind of stuff, the politics for the election of a pope takes place entirely behind closed doors. It is a very subtle, a very indirect, genteel kind of process.

What's happening right now is that the cardinals are, of course, meeting every day in these sessions called General Congregations. But these are basically business meetings. Up till just yesterday, they were going through the pope's constitution for how to elect a successor and making sure all of the procedural details were followed.

Yesterday, they got a briefing on the financial situation of the Vatican. Today, some other Vatican offices will be reporting.

But none of that is about building coalitions and deciding who is going to be elected. All of that is happening sort of behind the scenes at dinners, at coffees, at informal get-togethers at some of the national colleges where the cardinals are staying.

And right now, Soledad, as you know, the cardinals have imposed a kind of press blackout, where, formally speaking, they're not talking to us. Now, informally, of course, and on background, we're able to make connections.

What we're hearing is that the dynamics of the early round of that conclave looks like -- that opens on the 18th -- looks like it's going to shape up as a yes or no to the candidacy of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. This is the dean of the College of Cardinals, the German who has been the pope's top doctrinal advisor. There is a solid base of support for him. The question is whether or not it could become two-thirds of the college. And if it doesn't, then some other candidate is going to have to step forward. And right now, it seems quite fluid as to who that other candidate might be -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: When you consider, John, that the world is watching -- I mean, watching really, really closely and every single maneuver, what kind of impact does that have on what the cardinals are doing?

ALLEN: Well, I mean, first of all, it's produced this press blackout. I mean, I think they were aware, as they came out of the funeral last week, that there was an enormous global interest in this process and unprecedented, particularly in terms of the presence of the media. They were concerned, I think, that the media would set the agenda for this event, and that's why they've decided to pull back.

I think the other thing about global interest that's worth mentioning is that the cardinals this week are talking about what they're calling the funeral effect. That is, the way their thinking was changed by watching that enormous outpouring of public devotion and affection, not just in the funeral mass itself, but in the several days when John Paul's body lay in state and people were waiting up to 16 hours...

O'BRIEN: Changed how?

ALLEN: ... just to have a few fleeting seconds in front of it. I think what they took out of that is a sense that the next pope is going to have to be, in a different way, an equally charismatic kind of figure.

O'BRIEN: How long do you think this entire process, once the conclave finally begins to meet, how long does that take? I mean, historically, wasn't there a conclave once that met for three years before they came up with a pope?

ALLEN: Well, the longest conclave of the 20th century was only a little over four days. I talked to one cardinal yesterday, who said that essentially the feeling is they want a conclave that's not too long and not too short. Too short, that is, if it took place in one day or day and a half it would look like they kind of rushed to judgment. Something that took longer than, say, four days would look like they were divided. And, of course, the cardinals don't want to give that impression. They want people to believe the pope has not been elected by just a faction, but has been elected by a genuine consensus.

So, this cardinal, at least, believed the right length of time would be somewhere between two and a half and four days.

Obviously, though, Soledad, what we have to say at this stage is all of this is sort of informed guesswork. What makes this such as fantastic story is that we really don't know what the show is going to be like until the curtain comes up.

O'BRIEN: Fair to say. John Allen, our Vatican analyst for us. Nice to see you, John. Thanks very much -- Bill.

HEMMER: It's about 24 minutes now before the hour.

Military officials are investigating the death of a Navy midshipman believed to have fallen to his death from a dorm at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Chris Lawrence this morning with reaction from those who knew the New Orleans native the best.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): To hear it from his friends and family, Jay Dixon had all the qualities the Marine Corps would love in an officer. He was dedicated, determined, loyal.

DONNA HENDLEY, JAY DIXON'S AUNT: A righteous young man, and he was a gift to us for as long as we had him.

LAWRENCE: Jay's aunt and brother are having trouble coming to grips with his death. He was 21 years old, a third-year man at the Naval Academy. Last weekend, his body was found outside a campus dorm. Naval investigators think he fell from a higher floor. They still have to figure out how.

HENDLEY: It's always time to question when things like this happen. You always wonder why. This makes no sense.

LAWRENCE: Not to his family or teachers at his high school in New Orleans.

MAJ. LESTER AMICK, JAY DIXON'S MENTOR: UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he attained executive officer.

LAWRENCE: Lester Amick is a retired Marine Corps major who runs the school's junior ROTC. He says Jay was a natural leader, one of the best he's seen.

(on camera): I know something like this would affect the whole school. But yet you wrote his application for the Naval Academy. You spent the time with him week in and week out at drills.

AMICK: You get close to them. And when you lose a student who was one of our top students, this is almost like losing family.

LAWRENCE (voice over): It's only been six months since Jay's father died, after a sudden illness. The family says at this point, it has to go on faith.

HENDLEY: We did love that boy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That beautiful boy.

HENDLEY: Beautiful boy. Beautiful, beautiful boy.

LAWRENCE: Jay Dixon died before becoming a Marine Corps officer, but he had already earned the respect of the people who matter most.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Over the years, four midshipmen have fallen from the upper floors of the same dorm. Two died, one accidentally and the other was apparently a suicide.

O'BRIEN: What a terrible story. And six months ago to lose the father. Oh, that's such a heartbreak. It's time to check back on the weather.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: There is word today of another potentially huge case of ID theft. This one involves a credit card company. Andy has that in a moment.

O'BRIEN: Also a little bit later this morning in "90-Second Pop," it looks like the rumors are true. Britney is in the family way. We'll tell you what she told on her Web site.

HEMMER: Oh, yes.

O'BRIEN: Any guess as to what they're going to name the baby? All of that's ahead in "90-Second Pop." Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. Let's get right to Jack. He's got the "Question of the Day."

CAFFERTY: I'm coughing there.

O'BRIEN: Are you OK?

CAFFERTY: Yes, well, thank you. I feel much better now.

O'BRIEN: OK.

CAFFERTY: Cat hunting can soon be legal in Wisconsin. Residents -- the last time -- never mind. Residents voted last night to designate feral cats an unprotected species, like skunks or gophers, which means any domestic cat without a collar that isn't under the owner's direct control is now fair game for hunters, if this thing eventually becomes law.

One animal advocacy group says there are 80 million stray cats in the United States, about as many as there are pets.

The question is this: Should Wisconsin legalize cat hunting?

Kevin in West Longbranch, New Jersey: "History has shown us that no one has the right to rid of earth of a species, human or animal, because of annoyance. The Bible says "thou shalt not kill." And I have yet to find an asterisk that denotes humans only."

Dennis in Illinois writes: "Feral cats are killing and endangering many of songbirds and small mammals. For some reason, cat owners are oblivious to leash laws and think their cats have a right to roam free. This would definitely get them to rethink that."

Johnny in Mississippi: "Are there any accompanying laws as to the proper disposal of the carcasses? Since these animals are not being killed for food, I find the law dangerous and inhuman and potentially a health hazard." James in Illinois writes: "I love cats. They taste just like chicken."

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Yes.

CAFFERTY: And Dean in New Jersey didn't enough sleep either: "As far as I know, cats don't need a license to hunt. They do that naturally, so you don't have to worry about it."

SERWER: That's very good.

O'BRIEN: That's clever.

SERWER: Because the question was, should we legalize cat hunting in Wisconsin?

CAFFERTY: And he says that they don't -- yes.

SERWER: Yes.

HEMMER: We've got to get some folks from Wisconsin on the line, don't we?

SERWER: Yes.

CAFFERTY: Huh?

SERWER: What about Minnesota? What about cat hunting in Minnesota?

HEMMER: They're going squirrels in Minnesota.

SERWER: They sure are.

HEMMER: This is Andy Serwer. And apparently, there's another data release here, identity theft issue out there, a credit card company? What's happening?

SERWER: Yes. No, every day, it seems there's another story about identity theft. This morning, the "Boston Globe" is reporting that General Motors, GM, as sent out a letter to an unknown number of its customers, saying that its GM Mastercard has been compromised, saying that a national retailer's computer system had a safety breach, and your credit card may have been compromised. Now, very mysterious stuff.

We don't know how many people. We don't know what national retailer this is. But one thing we do know, there are Senate hearings today. The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding hearings about this big problem. And guess who is going to be there? Officials from ChoicePoint and officials from LexisNexis. You may remember that yesterday they came clean and announced that over 300,000 accounts had been compromised at one of their subsidiaries.

So, this could be some interesting stuff down there. CAFFERTY: Doesn't that raise the question why they would admit to 300,000 thefts yesterday when they were scheduled to show up to be called before a Senate investigating committee today?

O'BRIEN: Yes.

SERWER: They had to.

CAFFERTY: All of a sudden, they're not the kind, come clean, tell the truth, we're just honest businessmen. It's like we better get this out because the Senate probably knows about.

SERWER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Someone left the zero off the end. It was just a typo.

SERWER: There could be something to that.

HEMMER: Andy, how much of this is coincidence, or how much of this is us paying attention to every story that comes out?

SERWER: Well, there is some of that. And that new law out of California, where companies have to come clean and say that this has happened is also a part of the story. But, you know, this GM thing, obviously there is going to be follow-up on this. Anne (ph) is trying to get to the bottom of that. How may people? What national retailer?

O'BRIEN: What retailer?

SERWER: Exactly.

CAFFERTY: Earlier, I said something about China, their demand for oil being about the same as Italy's. I may have created the impression that their economy was the same as Italy's.

SERWER: Right.

CAFFERTY: It's a bigger economy than Italy's...

SERWER: Right.

CAFFERTY: ... but I think their oil consumption or their demand for oil may be comparable at least.

SERWER: Yes.

CAFFERTY: Or it may all have been wrong...

SERWER: No.

CAFFERTY: ... in which case, please ignore what I said.

SERWER: We'll double check that.

CAFFERTY: It's entirely possible.

SERWER: Thank you. That's right.

O'BRIEN: Thank you, Jack. Thanks, Andy.

Ahead this morning, Mariah Carey, you might want to call her Mimi, she's got a new album out. It's called "The Emancipation of Mimi." Will you stop groaning about it? I'm sure you're going to go out and buy it. Is it enough, though, to end a string of bad publicity and bad reviews? "90-Second Pop" takes a look, up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: I love that song. It's time for "90-Second Pop" on a Wednesday. Our panel of pop stars, Andy Borowitz from Borowitzreport.com. Karyn Bryant, the co-host of "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." And Toure, CNN's pop culture correspondent.

We have got so much to chitchat about this morning, so let's get right to it. Britney in the family way.

KARYN BRYANT, CNN CO-HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Yes.

O'BRIEN: Not quite a shock.

TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: In the family way.

O'BRIEN: What?

ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: It's not just the Cheetos.

O'BRIEN: Hey, don't make fun of pregnant women putting on weight.

BOROWITZ: Oh, sorry.

O'BRIEN: It's a very sensitive topic.

BOROWITZ: My bad. My bad.

O'BRIEN: Not really a surprise, because, of course, everybody knew she had a lot of...

TOURE: We all knew that she was pregnant. Her fetus already has a blog that somebody has been keeping up already. It's a big week for those who married up, first K-Fed and Camilla are having a big week.

O'BRIEN: Kevin Federline, you're talking about.

TOURE: Right.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: You're so hip, sorry. TOURE: I think that this marks the beginning of the end for Britney in a way. The intensity of celebrity will always be there. I mean, pictures of her and her kid, they will be camped outside of the house to get. But the drive that it takes to be the superstar, the tour, the album, the videos, I don't think she's going to have that again when she's got a little baby to take care of and...

O'BRIEN: At the same time...

TOURE: Not that it can't be done.

O'BRIEN: I like Britney. I like Britney a lot. But I've got to tell you, a lot of drinking, a lot of smoking. You know, you get a baby, and suddenly you think I've got to take care of myself.

BRYANT: The reason she's drinking and smoking is she's only 23 or so. I mean, she's so young. This is the thing that worries me is that she's not even mature enough yet. She hasn't grown up enough yet to be a mother. That I find upsetting.

TOURE: Right. I hope she takes motherhood more seriously than she has taken marriage, I hope.

BRYANT: Exactly.

BOROWITZ: I'm very happy for Britney. I think the only dark side of this story is I think Kevin Federline is reproducing at an alarming rate.

O'BRIEN: I agree with you.

BOROWITZ: His (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is everywhere.

O'BRIEN: He's got two kids.

BOROWITZ: Two kids by Char.

BRYANT: With his girlfriend. We don't need more Federlines.

O'BRIEN: No more Federlines.

BOROWITZ: The Federlines are just depleting the world food source.

O'BRIEN: I've got to tell you, I like Britney, and I hope that this whole thing makes her grow up...

BOROWITZ: Me, too.

O'BRIEN: ... and take care of herself and her baby.

BOROWITZ: Totally.

O'BRIEN: She's got a lot of money. She can take care of this kid well as long as she's healthy.

BOROWITZ: Right.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's talk about another drama queen, Mimi. And the girl is from Long Island, so you know I love her. We worked at the Ground Round, right, a million years ago.

TOURE: The Ground Round!

O'BRIEN: And it's all true.

BOROWITZ: The first Ground Round shout-out.

BRYANT: Wow!

O'BRIEN: And now, she's got a new album out called that's "The Emancipation of Mimi." That's her nickname.

BRYANT: Right, that's her nickname. And this is Mariah feeling like she's coming into her own and she's taking possession of her career and really taking charge. She came and sat down with A.J. on our show for a half-hour. I mean, it was a big production. But she was very candid. And, you know, the record has gotten more sort of old school sounds. She's got a lot of, you know, guest stars, Snoop Dogg and, you know, Twista (ph). She's got the Neptunes producing. It's got a lot of hit potential, I do believe. I do believe.

O'BRIEN: I'm sorry, Toure is yawning. I couldn't hear the last part.

BRYANT: I think her fans will be happy.

TOURE: I actually listened to the album, and it was very difficult. I actually had it on yesterday when my wife came home. She said, "Can you please," like, I mean, it's a big torturous, people.

O'BRIEN: Well, what do you mean?

TOURE: It's just droning on. You know the thing with Mariah is there's nothing that really interests me about her as a person. You know these women who are like grown but they have too much little girlness about them? She's one of those. And it's just that there's no bite to it. It's not like my current favorite, MIA. Now, that's the album you need to have in your life right now. This chick from Sri Lanka who grew up in London. This is the album. There it is. There it is, MIA. If you can find it, this is the greatest album.

BOROWITZ: Once again, Toure, not the topic, but...

O'BRIEN: But we saw the graphics for it.

TOURE: Right? Right?

O'BRIEN: All right...

TOURE: And clearly, they were ready. O'BRIEN: And our third drama queen of the morning, Pamela Anderson. OK. We all know the boobs, all about the boobs and bathing suit and the running around on "Baywatch." Come on, it's true. Although I think she's got a pretty good sense of humor. Now she's got a new show.

BOROWITZ: Yes, she has a new show. Pamela Anderson is starring in a new sitcom called "Stacked." Very classy choice. She had been...

O'BRIEN: It's not about the boobs.

BOROWITZ: No, she is playing -- it's called "Stacked," because she works in a bookstore.

O'BRIEN: Oh.

BOROWITZ: And earlier, she had been talking about doing a sitcom where she was going to work in a dentist's office called "Implants," but that did not pan out. But, I mean, I just want to ask one question. Whoever came up with this name, "Stacked," how do you live with yourself?

BRYANT: Yes, really.

BOROWITZ: How do you do that? How do you wake up in the morning knowing you have named a show "Stacked?"

O'BRIEN: How does the show look, outside of the not too classy name?

BOROWITZ: You know, it's kind of -- the guy who created it, I saw him quote in the "Times," said that maybe, just maybe, Pam Anderson can save the sitcom genre. Heaven help us if that's the case. I don't know. It's sort of like two brothers. It's typical sitcom. One is, like, whacky, and one is more serious, which sort of sounds like "Wings." In TV, like, the whacky one always wears, like, a tropical shirt, that type of thing.

BRYANT: I know. I know it's wacky.

BOROWITZ: That means he's unhinged. He's not smoking crack or anything. He's just wearing a crazy shirt. So we have a lot to look forward to.

O'BRIEN: So, you don't sound like you believe in this show at all.

BOROWITZ: Oh, I don't know.

O'BRIEN: You guys...

TOURE: The one person who should have done a reality show and wanted to do a sitcom...

BRYANT: Yes. BOROWITZ: Yes.

TOURE: ... Pam Anderson. I know.

BRYANT: Right, right.

BOROWITZ: Well, we'll see.

O'BRIEN: We'll see how "Stacked" goes. We'll see. It's a terrible name. You guys, we're out of time. As always, I thank you very much.

Let's go back to Bill.

Oh, we want to mention, of course, that you can see the second part of a special interview with Mariah Carey. That's on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on "Headline News" -- Bill.

HEMMER: Good deal. More caffeine over there, by the way. You guys are just getting started.

Top stories in a moment here. Also, the health kick over on "Sesame Street." The Cookie Monster is cutting back. And we are back in a moment.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.


Aired April 13, 2005 - 07:28   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 just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Coming up this morning, another emotional scene at the Vatican. People are lining up today to be among the very first to visit Pope John Paul II's tomb. We're going to find out a little bit more about that and what happens behind the scenes when the cardinals elect the next pope, just ahead.

HEMMER: It all begins Monday, huh? We're watching that chimney.

A tragic mystery, too, at the U.S. Naval Academy, the strange death of Midshipman Jay Dixon. What happened and why his family is now demanding answers. That story in a moment as well.

O'BRIEN: It's a really sad story, too.

Let's get the headlines now. Carol Costello in for us.

Hello. Good morning.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning to all of you.

"Now in the News."

U.S. troops are coming under fire in Baghdad, at least three separate bombings targeting American military convoys in the past seven hours. Some new pictures in to CNN this morning show smoke from one of those blasts. At least eight Iraqis were injured in this incident. There are no immediate reports of American casualties.

That violence coming just hours after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld left Baghdad for Afghanistan. Secretary Rumsfeld meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The two are holding a joint news conference right now. Rumsfeld also meeting with U.S. commanders and with U.S. forces fighting in the war on terror.

The Food and Drug Administration is saying no to silicone implants, at least for now. An advisory panel voted 5-4 against one company's efforts to lift the 13-year-old ban for the gel implants. But a second company is making its case today.

In California, the stepfather of Michael Jackson's accuser is set to be back on the stand this morning. The man had testified Jackson's associate offered the family a college education and a house shortly after the broadcast of a damaging TV documentary on Jackson. The boy's mother could testify later this week.

And in Italy, soccer is getting a reputation in Milan, and it isn't good. A match between two Milan teams was abandoned after fans threw dozens of flares on to the field. Oh, man! That's just wrong. One of them hit A.C. Milan's goalkeeper, as you saw, on the shoulder. Officials tried to restart play, but a ban in the match after more flares were thrown.

People bring flares to soccer games?

HEMMER: I guess they do now.

COSTELLO: I guess that's a new tradition I just don't know about. The goalie is said to be OK. But according to a teammate, he's feeling some pain where he was hit. And, of course, you can certainly understand that.

For a moment there, I thought it was an American basketball game, but it wasn't a chair. They were flares.

O'BRIEN: That's terrible.

COSTELLO: Flares!

O'BRIEN: I mean, you could set someone on fire that way.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

HEMMER: A tough crowd. They better win over there, huh, in Milan.

O'BRIEN: A chair would be bad, too.

COSTELLO: A chair would be bad, too.

O'BRIEN: What is sports getting to? Where is Jack when we need another "Question of the Day?"

HEMMER: He'll be back.

O'BRIEN: Man! All right, Carol, thanks.

COSTELLO: Sure.

O'BRIEN: The public viewing of Pope John Paul II's grave is now under way at the Vatican. The grotto beneath St. Peter's Basilica was opened early this morning. Hundreds of people have already paid their respects. The pope's grave is marked with a simple, white marble slab. It's engraved with his name in Latin and the dates of his papacy. A lily and a candle flank either end.

On Tuesday, cardinals filed by two by two. Today is the sixth of nine days of mourning.

And as the pope's tomb comes into public view, the College of Cardinals is preparing for its conclave to select the next pope. That begins on Monday. But some unofficial politicking may already be going on.

CNN Vatican analyst John Allen is at the Vatican for us this morning.

Hey, good morning. Nice to see you, John.

JOHN ALLEN, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: Hi, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Give me a sense of how this really works. I mean, are we talking about private conversations between the cardinals as the politicking? Is it more formal than that? Is it more informal than that?

ALLEN: Soledad, it's about as informal as it comes. I mean, unlike secular politics, where you have political conventions and you've got platform sessions and then you've got 30-second attack ads and all of that kind of stuff, the politics for the election of a pope takes place entirely behind closed doors. It is a very subtle, a very indirect, genteel kind of process.

What's happening right now is that the cardinals are, of course, meeting every day in these sessions called General Congregations. But these are basically business meetings. Up till just yesterday, they were going through the pope's constitution for how to elect a successor and making sure all of the procedural details were followed.

Yesterday, they got a briefing on the financial situation of the Vatican. Today, some other Vatican offices will be reporting.

But none of that is about building coalitions and deciding who is going to be elected. All of that is happening sort of behind the scenes at dinners, at coffees, at informal get-togethers at some of the national colleges where the cardinals are staying.

And right now, Soledad, as you know, the cardinals have imposed a kind of press blackout, where, formally speaking, they're not talking to us. Now, informally, of course, and on background, we're able to make connections.

What we're hearing is that the dynamics of the early round of that conclave looks like -- that opens on the 18th -- looks like it's going to shape up as a yes or no to the candidacy of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. This is the dean of the College of Cardinals, the German who has been the pope's top doctrinal advisor. There is a solid base of support for him. The question is whether or not it could become two-thirds of the college. And if it doesn't, then some other candidate is going to have to step forward. And right now, it seems quite fluid as to who that other candidate might be -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: When you consider, John, that the world is watching -- I mean, watching really, really closely and every single maneuver, what kind of impact does that have on what the cardinals are doing?

ALLEN: Well, I mean, first of all, it's produced this press blackout. I mean, I think they were aware, as they came out of the funeral last week, that there was an enormous global interest in this process and unprecedented, particularly in terms of the presence of the media. They were concerned, I think, that the media would set the agenda for this event, and that's why they've decided to pull back.

I think the other thing about global interest that's worth mentioning is that the cardinals this week are talking about what they're calling the funeral effect. That is, the way their thinking was changed by watching that enormous outpouring of public devotion and affection, not just in the funeral mass itself, but in the several days when John Paul's body lay in state and people were waiting up to 16 hours...

O'BRIEN: Changed how?

ALLEN: ... just to have a few fleeting seconds in front of it. I think what they took out of that is a sense that the next pope is going to have to be, in a different way, an equally charismatic kind of figure.

O'BRIEN: How long do you think this entire process, once the conclave finally begins to meet, how long does that take? I mean, historically, wasn't there a conclave once that met for three years before they came up with a pope?

ALLEN: Well, the longest conclave of the 20th century was only a little over four days. I talked to one cardinal yesterday, who said that essentially the feeling is they want a conclave that's not too long and not too short. Too short, that is, if it took place in one day or day and a half it would look like they kind of rushed to judgment. Something that took longer than, say, four days would look like they were divided. And, of course, the cardinals don't want to give that impression. They want people to believe the pope has not been elected by just a faction, but has been elected by a genuine consensus.

So, this cardinal, at least, believed the right length of time would be somewhere between two and a half and four days.

Obviously, though, Soledad, what we have to say at this stage is all of this is sort of informed guesswork. What makes this such as fantastic story is that we really don't know what the show is going to be like until the curtain comes up.

O'BRIEN: Fair to say. John Allen, our Vatican analyst for us. Nice to see you, John. Thanks very much -- Bill.

HEMMER: It's about 24 minutes now before the hour.

Military officials are investigating the death of a Navy midshipman believed to have fallen to his death from a dorm at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Chris Lawrence this morning with reaction from those who knew the New Orleans native the best.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): To hear it from his friends and family, Jay Dixon had all the qualities the Marine Corps would love in an officer. He was dedicated, determined, loyal.

DONNA HENDLEY, JAY DIXON'S AUNT: A righteous young man, and he was a gift to us for as long as we had him.

LAWRENCE: Jay's aunt and brother are having trouble coming to grips with his death. He was 21 years old, a third-year man at the Naval Academy. Last weekend, his body was found outside a campus dorm. Naval investigators think he fell from a higher floor. They still have to figure out how.

HENDLEY: It's always time to question when things like this happen. You always wonder why. This makes no sense.

LAWRENCE: Not to his family or teachers at his high school in New Orleans.

MAJ. LESTER AMICK, JAY DIXON'S MENTOR: UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he attained executive officer.

LAWRENCE: Lester Amick is a retired Marine Corps major who runs the school's junior ROTC. He says Jay was a natural leader, one of the best he's seen.

(on camera): I know something like this would affect the whole school. But yet you wrote his application for the Naval Academy. You spent the time with him week in and week out at drills.

AMICK: You get close to them. And when you lose a student who was one of our top students, this is almost like losing family.

LAWRENCE (voice over): It's only been six months since Jay's father died, after a sudden illness. The family says at this point, it has to go on faith.

HENDLEY: We did love that boy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That beautiful boy.

HENDLEY: Beautiful boy. Beautiful, beautiful boy.

LAWRENCE: Jay Dixon died before becoming a Marine Corps officer, but he had already earned the respect of the people who matter most.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Over the years, four midshipmen have fallen from the upper floors of the same dorm. Two died, one accidentally and the other was apparently a suicide.

O'BRIEN: What a terrible story. And six months ago to lose the father. Oh, that's such a heartbreak. It's time to check back on the weather.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: There is word today of another potentially huge case of ID theft. This one involves a credit card company. Andy has that in a moment.

O'BRIEN: Also a little bit later this morning in "90-Second Pop," it looks like the rumors are true. Britney is in the family way. We'll tell you what she told on her Web site.

HEMMER: Oh, yes.

O'BRIEN: Any guess as to what they're going to name the baby? All of that's ahead in "90-Second Pop." Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. Let's get right to Jack. He's got the "Question of the Day."

CAFFERTY: I'm coughing there.

O'BRIEN: Are you OK?

CAFFERTY: Yes, well, thank you. I feel much better now.

O'BRIEN: OK.

CAFFERTY: Cat hunting can soon be legal in Wisconsin. Residents -- the last time -- never mind. Residents voted last night to designate feral cats an unprotected species, like skunks or gophers, which means any domestic cat without a collar that isn't under the owner's direct control is now fair game for hunters, if this thing eventually becomes law.

One animal advocacy group says there are 80 million stray cats in the United States, about as many as there are pets.

The question is this: Should Wisconsin legalize cat hunting?

Kevin in West Longbranch, New Jersey: "History has shown us that no one has the right to rid of earth of a species, human or animal, because of annoyance. The Bible says "thou shalt not kill." And I have yet to find an asterisk that denotes humans only."

Dennis in Illinois writes: "Feral cats are killing and endangering many of songbirds and small mammals. For some reason, cat owners are oblivious to leash laws and think their cats have a right to roam free. This would definitely get them to rethink that."

Johnny in Mississippi: "Are there any accompanying laws as to the proper disposal of the carcasses? Since these animals are not being killed for food, I find the law dangerous and inhuman and potentially a health hazard." James in Illinois writes: "I love cats. They taste just like chicken."

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Yes.

CAFFERTY: And Dean in New Jersey didn't enough sleep either: "As far as I know, cats don't need a license to hunt. They do that naturally, so you don't have to worry about it."

SERWER: That's very good.

O'BRIEN: That's clever.

SERWER: Because the question was, should we legalize cat hunting in Wisconsin?

CAFFERTY: And he says that they don't -- yes.

SERWER: Yes.

HEMMER: We've got to get some folks from Wisconsin on the line, don't we?

SERWER: Yes.

CAFFERTY: Huh?

SERWER: What about Minnesota? What about cat hunting in Minnesota?

HEMMER: They're going squirrels in Minnesota.

SERWER: They sure are.

HEMMER: This is Andy Serwer. And apparently, there's another data release here, identity theft issue out there, a credit card company? What's happening?

SERWER: Yes. No, every day, it seems there's another story about identity theft. This morning, the "Boston Globe" is reporting that General Motors, GM, as sent out a letter to an unknown number of its customers, saying that its GM Mastercard has been compromised, saying that a national retailer's computer system had a safety breach, and your credit card may have been compromised. Now, very mysterious stuff.

We don't know how many people. We don't know what national retailer this is. But one thing we do know, there are Senate hearings today. The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding hearings about this big problem. And guess who is going to be there? Officials from ChoicePoint and officials from LexisNexis. You may remember that yesterday they came clean and announced that over 300,000 accounts had been compromised at one of their subsidiaries.

So, this could be some interesting stuff down there. CAFFERTY: Doesn't that raise the question why they would admit to 300,000 thefts yesterday when they were scheduled to show up to be called before a Senate investigating committee today?

O'BRIEN: Yes.

SERWER: They had to.

CAFFERTY: All of a sudden, they're not the kind, come clean, tell the truth, we're just honest businessmen. It's like we better get this out because the Senate probably knows about.

SERWER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Someone left the zero off the end. It was just a typo.

SERWER: There could be something to that.

HEMMER: Andy, how much of this is coincidence, or how much of this is us paying attention to every story that comes out?

SERWER: Well, there is some of that. And that new law out of California, where companies have to come clean and say that this has happened is also a part of the story. But, you know, this GM thing, obviously there is going to be follow-up on this. Anne (ph) is trying to get to the bottom of that. How may people? What national retailer?

O'BRIEN: What retailer?

SERWER: Exactly.

CAFFERTY: Earlier, I said something about China, their demand for oil being about the same as Italy's. I may have created the impression that their economy was the same as Italy's.

SERWER: Right.

CAFFERTY: It's a bigger economy than Italy's...

SERWER: Right.

CAFFERTY: ... but I think their oil consumption or their demand for oil may be comparable at least.

SERWER: Yes.

CAFFERTY: Or it may all have been wrong...

SERWER: No.

CAFFERTY: ... in which case, please ignore what I said.

SERWER: We'll double check that.

CAFFERTY: It's entirely possible.

SERWER: Thank you. That's right.

O'BRIEN: Thank you, Jack. Thanks, Andy.

Ahead this morning, Mariah Carey, you might want to call her Mimi, she's got a new album out. It's called "The Emancipation of Mimi." Will you stop groaning about it? I'm sure you're going to go out and buy it. Is it enough, though, to end a string of bad publicity and bad reviews? "90-Second Pop" takes a look, up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: I love that song. It's time for "90-Second Pop" on a Wednesday. Our panel of pop stars, Andy Borowitz from Borowitzreport.com. Karyn Bryant, the co-host of "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." And Toure, CNN's pop culture correspondent.

We have got so much to chitchat about this morning, so let's get right to it. Britney in the family way.

KARYN BRYANT, CNN CO-HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Yes.

O'BRIEN: Not quite a shock.

TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: In the family way.

O'BRIEN: What?

ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: It's not just the Cheetos.

O'BRIEN: Hey, don't make fun of pregnant women putting on weight.

BOROWITZ: Oh, sorry.

O'BRIEN: It's a very sensitive topic.

BOROWITZ: My bad. My bad.

O'BRIEN: Not really a surprise, because, of course, everybody knew she had a lot of...

TOURE: We all knew that she was pregnant. Her fetus already has a blog that somebody has been keeping up already. It's a big week for those who married up, first K-Fed and Camilla are having a big week.

O'BRIEN: Kevin Federline, you're talking about.

TOURE: Right.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: You're so hip, sorry. TOURE: I think that this marks the beginning of the end for Britney in a way. The intensity of celebrity will always be there. I mean, pictures of her and her kid, they will be camped outside of the house to get. But the drive that it takes to be the superstar, the tour, the album, the videos, I don't think she's going to have that again when she's got a little baby to take care of and...

O'BRIEN: At the same time...

TOURE: Not that it can't be done.

O'BRIEN: I like Britney. I like Britney a lot. But I've got to tell you, a lot of drinking, a lot of smoking. You know, you get a baby, and suddenly you think I've got to take care of myself.

BRYANT: The reason she's drinking and smoking is she's only 23 or so. I mean, she's so young. This is the thing that worries me is that she's not even mature enough yet. She hasn't grown up enough yet to be a mother. That I find upsetting.

TOURE: Right. I hope she takes motherhood more seriously than she has taken marriage, I hope.

BRYANT: Exactly.

BOROWITZ: I'm very happy for Britney. I think the only dark side of this story is I think Kevin Federline is reproducing at an alarming rate.

O'BRIEN: I agree with you.

BOROWITZ: His (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is everywhere.

O'BRIEN: He's got two kids.

BOROWITZ: Two kids by Char.

BRYANT: With his girlfriend. We don't need more Federlines.

O'BRIEN: No more Federlines.

BOROWITZ: The Federlines are just depleting the world food source.

O'BRIEN: I've got to tell you, I like Britney, and I hope that this whole thing makes her grow up...

BOROWITZ: Me, too.

O'BRIEN: ... and take care of herself and her baby.

BOROWITZ: Totally.

O'BRIEN: She's got a lot of money. She can take care of this kid well as long as she's healthy.

BOROWITZ: Right.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's talk about another drama queen, Mimi. And the girl is from Long Island, so you know I love her. We worked at the Ground Round, right, a million years ago.

TOURE: The Ground Round!

O'BRIEN: And it's all true.

BOROWITZ: The first Ground Round shout-out.

BRYANT: Wow!

O'BRIEN: And now, she's got a new album out called that's "The Emancipation of Mimi." That's her nickname.

BRYANT: Right, that's her nickname. And this is Mariah feeling like she's coming into her own and she's taking possession of her career and really taking charge. She came and sat down with A.J. on our show for a half-hour. I mean, it was a big production. But she was very candid. And, you know, the record has gotten more sort of old school sounds. She's got a lot of, you know, guest stars, Snoop Dogg and, you know, Twista (ph). She's got the Neptunes producing. It's got a lot of hit potential, I do believe. I do believe.

O'BRIEN: I'm sorry, Toure is yawning. I couldn't hear the last part.

BRYANT: I think her fans will be happy.

TOURE: I actually listened to the album, and it was very difficult. I actually had it on yesterday when my wife came home. She said, "Can you please," like, I mean, it's a big torturous, people.

O'BRIEN: Well, what do you mean?

TOURE: It's just droning on. You know the thing with Mariah is there's nothing that really interests me about her as a person. You know these women who are like grown but they have too much little girlness about them? She's one of those. And it's just that there's no bite to it. It's not like my current favorite, MIA. Now, that's the album you need to have in your life right now. This chick from Sri Lanka who grew up in London. This is the album. There it is. There it is, MIA. If you can find it, this is the greatest album.

BOROWITZ: Once again, Toure, not the topic, but...

O'BRIEN: But we saw the graphics for it.

TOURE: Right? Right?

O'BRIEN: All right...

TOURE: And clearly, they were ready. O'BRIEN: And our third drama queen of the morning, Pamela Anderson. OK. We all know the boobs, all about the boobs and bathing suit and the running around on "Baywatch." Come on, it's true. Although I think she's got a pretty good sense of humor. Now she's got a new show.

BOROWITZ: Yes, she has a new show. Pamela Anderson is starring in a new sitcom called "Stacked." Very classy choice. She had been...

O'BRIEN: It's not about the boobs.

BOROWITZ: No, she is playing -- it's called "Stacked," because she works in a bookstore.

O'BRIEN: Oh.

BOROWITZ: And earlier, she had been talking about doing a sitcom where she was going to work in a dentist's office called "Implants," but that did not pan out. But, I mean, I just want to ask one question. Whoever came up with this name, "Stacked," how do you live with yourself?

BRYANT: Yes, really.

BOROWITZ: How do you do that? How do you wake up in the morning knowing you have named a show "Stacked?"

O'BRIEN: How does the show look, outside of the not too classy name?

BOROWITZ: You know, it's kind of -- the guy who created it, I saw him quote in the "Times," said that maybe, just maybe, Pam Anderson can save the sitcom genre. Heaven help us if that's the case. I don't know. It's sort of like two brothers. It's typical sitcom. One is, like, whacky, and one is more serious, which sort of sounds like "Wings." In TV, like, the whacky one always wears, like, a tropical shirt, that type of thing.

BRYANT: I know. I know it's wacky.

BOROWITZ: That means he's unhinged. He's not smoking crack or anything. He's just wearing a crazy shirt. So we have a lot to look forward to.

O'BRIEN: So, you don't sound like you believe in this show at all.

BOROWITZ: Oh, I don't know.

O'BRIEN: You guys...

TOURE: The one person who should have done a reality show and wanted to do a sitcom...

BRYANT: Yes. BOROWITZ: Yes.

TOURE: ... Pam Anderson. I know.

BRYANT: Right, right.

BOROWITZ: Well, we'll see.

O'BRIEN: We'll see how "Stacked" goes. We'll see. It's a terrible name. You guys, we're out of time. As always, I thank you very much.

Let's go back to Bill.

Oh, we want to mention, of course, that you can see the second part of a special interview with Mariah Carey. That's on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on "Headline News" -- Bill.

HEMMER: Good deal. More caffeine over there, by the way. You guys are just getting started.

Top stories in a moment here. Also, the health kick over on "Sesame Street." The Cookie Monster is cutting back. And we are back in a moment.

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