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CNN Live At Daybreak

Mind of a Pedophile; Sexiest Jobs; Waking the Dead; Julius Erving Interview

Aired April 22, 2005 - 05:30   ET

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


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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
"Now in the News."

Pope Benedict XVI is meeting with the College of Cardinals right now. The cardinals selected him as pope on Tuesday. An inauguration mass is scheduled for Sunday. Up to half a million people and several world leaders are expected.

There is tight security at a courthouse on the outskirts of Madrid today, that's where 24 suspected al Qaeda members went on trial a little more than 15 minutes ago. They're charged with helping plan the 9/11 attacks in the United States.

In Las Vegas, a woman who claims she found part of a finger in a bowl of Wendy's chili in San Jose, California has been placed under arrest. Anna Ayala was arrested on a warrant from the San Jose police. There's a news conference scheduled for 1:00 this afternoon, Chad, and it should be quite interesting.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh my, Carol, I knew there was something going on with that.

COSTELLO: Yes.

MYERS: Hey, good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: All right, thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: We begin this half-hour with a look at sex offenders in America and the move to track them. On Thursday, the Jessica Lunsford Act was introduced in Congress. It's named after this 9- year-old Florida girl who was abducted and killed last month allegedly by a convicted sex offender. It would require states to keep closer tabs on sex offenders.

Her father talks about the proposal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MARK LUNSFORD, JESSICA'S FATHER: I will never see Jessie go on her first date. I will never be a grandfather to her children. There is more to raising a child than bumps and bruises and Band-Aids and bicycles. I will never have those things with Jessie. Eight weeks ago, a repeat sex offender stole this life away from me.

Today, my daughter is gone. But thanks to Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite, and others, the Jessica Lunsford Act will keep her memory alive and help protect other children from Jessie's horrible fate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Police say 46-year-old John Couey has confessed to killing Jessica Lunsford.

The recent spade of child abductions in Florida has put the spotlight on pedophiles. Many people say lock them up and throw away the key, or even worse, but can they be cured?

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the story of one pedophile in his own words.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

"STEVEN," CONVICTED PEDOPHILE: It involved several young male boys over a period of time, from the time I was about 20 to 47, 48 years old. And it wasn't a continuous thing. It was something that went like a broken tire, a flat tire in a car. You'd go along and things would be OK and then you would hit the flat spot and you would abuse.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There's no doubt this 52-year-old man is a pedophile. The bigger question, is he a criminal or a patient?

"STEVEN": I'm the guy that's going to take the long way around a group of kids in a shopping mall.

GUPTA: "Steven," who asked for his name to be changed and to be interviewed in silhouette, spent three years in prison after being convicted of acts of pedophilia as a crime. Today he's being treated for pedophilia as an illness.

Admittedly, it is blurry. Increasingly we medicalize bad behavior. Alcoholism, violence, even murder may all be due to imbalances of chemicals in the brain. But the risk is we may let criminals pay a lesser price for monstrous deeds or punish patients for whom treatment could prevent future crimes.

"STEVEN": It's not a disease, as it's not a bacteria or a virus, it is a mental illness. OK? It's a cognitive dysfunction that people can get. Is somebody born with it? Some people might be born with it.

GUPTA: As for "Steven" himself, he's not sure whether he was born with it. He is sure that for almost 30 years he molested more than a dozen children. It was only the combined force of the police, court and prison that could break "Steven's" cycle of abuse. Pedophilia has been a diagnosable mental illness for decades, simply defined as an abnormal sexual attraction for children.

And while there are no brain scans or blood tests to confirm the diagnoses, there is a battery of treatments, ranging from psychotherapy to antidepressants to forms of chemical castration with antiandrogens, aimed at reducing testosterone and sex drive.

DR. PAUL FEDOROFF, "STEVEN'S" PSYCHIATRIST: The aim of treatment in pedophilia is not for people to stop having sex, but rather to modify their sexual interests so that they become non-criminal.

GUPTA: "Steven's" course involves two strategies, antidepressants to curb sex drive and psychotherapy to understand why he has abused. Now six years after being convicted, he says he no longer thinks of children sexually.

"STEVEN": I don't spend enough time thinking about them to have fantasies. So, it's like a guillotine coming down. There's a child. I remember terrible things happened. I don't want to go there, clank, done, out of it. Let's change our thought pattern, go someplace else.

GUPTA: But can treatment work for everyone? Can pedophilia ever really be cured? Many are cautious, including Dr. Gene Abel, Director of Behavioral Medicine at Emory University.

DR. GENE ABEL, BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE INSTITUTE: Rheumatoid arthritis never goes away. Congestive heart failure is never cured. Diabetes is never cured. This is not cured. This behavior, inappropriate behavior, is not cured. We just help the person stop this behavior.

"STEVEN": I would say when you get to the definition of cured being I don't want to, I don't feel like it and I have no interest, if that's your definition of cured, then you have got a lot of people out there that have been cured. If your definition of to be cured, never ever having had a pedophilic thought in your life, then there is no cure. An alcoholic is not a drunk if he never drinks again, all right? Is he cured? Well might as well be.

GUPTA: As far as pedophiles go, though, for now, at least, they will be treated as both patients and criminals.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: I know Chad gets tons and tons of fan mail, mostly from adoring women, I'm sure, saying how sexy weathermen are. But are they really? Poor Chad, he's getting it this morning.

Well we were wondering what professions top the sexy list. We were wondering that because there is a new list out. CNN's J.J. Ramberg joins me now to answer all of those burning questions.

J.J. RAMBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know what, I'm sorry to say, Chad, if you're listening, you didn't make it.

MYERS: No, I'm pretty sure weathermen are not the sexiest guys on the planet.

RAMBERG: You know what, though, it may not have been on the list. Perhaps if someone actually put weathermen on it would have come up first.

MYERS: It's a good job.

COSTELLO: It's a good job.

MYERS: You just don't get a lot of exercise with this job. And weathermen kind of get bigger and bigger and bigger as their careers go on and on and on.

RAMBERG: There's something sexy to that, maybe, to some people, maybe.

COSTELLO: Yes, to maybe three.

MYERS: Maybe not.

COSTELLO: But anyway, this list was compiled by, what, a survey? Actually, by AOL.

RAMBERG: It's a survey. And I mean just keep in mind, I want to give one caveat, this is by no means a scientific survey. So if you're like...

COSTELLO: Yes, like we care.

RAMBERG: If you're looking for a little sex appeal, just don't go run out and get one of these jobs for that reason. That being said, OK, we've got all our caveats, just guess what's number one. Number one is so obvious.

COSTELLO: It's got to be firefighters.

RAMBERG: Yes, right. I mean people aren't very creative. Or you know firefighters just plain are the sexiest people in the world.

COSTELLO: And any guy in uniform, actually. Like don't people say UPS men are really sexy?

RAMBERG: UPS did not make the top 10.

COSTELLO: Oh no.

RAMBERG: But I have heard that they are sexy also. Well you know in the Reese Witherspoon movie. COSTELLO: Yes.

RAMBERG: Remember it? Anyhow.

COSTELLO: Something with Alabama.

RAMBERG: Or a different Reese Witherspoon...

COSTELLO: "Legally Blonde."

RAMBERG: Anyhow, there's some sexy UPS man in that. But yet policemen and Marines also made this list.

COSTELLO: So go down the top five, because we want to know.

RAMBERG: OK, top five: firefighter. Number two, flight attendant.

COSTELLO: What?

RAMBERG: I know, isn't that interesting. I think people are kind of hearkening back to an old day when...

COSTELLO: To the day.

RAMBERG: Yes, but anyhow, they're still remembering that. Three, CEO, no surprise there. I guess money over time being sexier.

COSTELLO: Yes, money always makes me sexier. Yes.

RAMBERG: Reporter, number four.

COSTELLO: Really?

RAMBERG: Yes.

COSTELLO: Loving that.

RAMBERG: They didn't say anchor, Carol, a reporter.

COSTELLO: Come on, I report, too.

RAMBERG: And number five, interior designer.

So, no, I mean part of the people, the people who kind of...

COSTELLO: Interior designer.

RAMBERG: Yes, you're surprised, right? They said maybe it's because they've been glamorized. Like do you ever see the show "Will & Grace?"

COSTELLO: Yes.

RAMBERG: Grace, in that show, is an interior designer. So the people who were looking at this survey said perhaps you know it seems hip to be an interior designer.

But I'll tell you some of the other ones that I found surprising. Now these aren't ones that were on the list, because they weren't on the survey, but they actually were written in, dental hygienist.

COSTELLO: Yes, and I'll check that.

MYERS: No.

RAMBERG: Have you ever thought of that as a sexy job?

COSTELLO: No, I just think of that as pain cleaning my teeth.

RAMBERG: Yes, right. I mean I guess maybe they think they have to be sexy to make up for...

COSTELLO: For the pain they cause you.

RAMBERG: ... everything like they're giving you. Yes.

Marine, chef, physical therapist apparently is sexy.

COSTELLO: While they're manipulating your body. I can kind of see that.

RAMBERG: That's two. That's two. OK, I've got that down.

And then doctors and lawyers also hit the top 10. That's no surprise.

COSTELLO: No weathermen, Chad, sorry.

MYERS: No, but hey, what about racecar drivers? I thought those guys were like really in the know, in the want.

RAMBERG: Yes. You know what, they did not make the list. But next year, AOL and Salary.com did this survey, we should all write in racecar driver.

MYERS: Yes, then I'll apply for that job.

COSTELLO: Because I think they're much sexier than chefs.

RAMBERG: Yes, chefs.

MYERS: Hey, never trust a skinny chef, they say, right?

COSTELLO: Exactly.

Thank you, J.J., it's been fun.

RAMBERG: Sure.

COSTELLO: We appreciate it.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:43 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

The man elected by the Catholic College of Cardinals is speaking to the group this hour. Pope Benedict XVI was selected on Tuesday. An installation mass is scheduled for Sunday.

In money news, a report in "USA Today" says several states are looking at taking their lottery games to the Internet. Right now 40 states and Washington, D.C. have lotteries.

In culture, a letter signed by 158 authors asked TV talk show host Oprah Winfrey to resume picking new novels for her popular book club. But a spokeswoman for Winfrey's company says there are no plans to do that.

In sports, here's a possible first, University of Utah quarterback Alex Smith could become the first player drafted in the NFL. The Utes' Andrew Bogut could be the top pick in the NBA draft. And as you know, Chad, that draft is this weekend.

MYERS: Is it really?

COSTELLO: Yes.

MYERS: I didn't even realize that.

COSTELLO: Yes. I have a draft party planned, are you kidding.

MYERS: You do not.

COSTELLO: I do too.

MYERS: Are you going to have beer on draft?

COSTELLO: You bet you.

MYERS: All right, well, there you go, draft for the draft.

Good morning, everybody.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: All right, thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: We're going to take a short break. We'll be back with much more. You are watching DAYBREAK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Double trauma for some Israeli settlers in Gaza, the graves of their loved ones will have to be exhumed ahead of Israel's planned pullout and that means more grieving.

CNN's John Vause talked to a member of one grieving family.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nir Rivlin buried his father, Gideon (ph), just three months ago in the only Jewish cemetery in Gaza. He may soon have to bury him again, this time inside Israel.

NIR RIVLIN, GAZA SETTLER: My mom probably would not do it. It would be too difficult for her. Maybe I will be the only one that will do it. But still, to bury him again, I can't imagine what it's going to do.

VAUSE: Gideon Rivlin was a Gaza settler. He built the security fences which protect the settlements from Palestinian militants, the same militants who killed him during this roadside attack in January. His family decided to bury him in Gaza, even though the Israeli government had told them they would soon have to leave their homes, part of the so-called disengagement.

RIVLIN: I knew I want to bury him here because this is what he wanted to do, I think. But still, it's not simple because we knew that all of this process probably going to happen. So we have to remove him from here and emotionally it's not that easy.

VAUSE: Forty-six other families are now facing the same pain and anguish.

BEREL WEIN, RABBI: We're very hesitant on exhuming a body simply because, in our faith, exhuming the body is, so-to-speak, a second death. The family, for instance, has to sit a day of mourning, has to sit shiva on the day that the body is exhumed.

VAUSE (on camera): And to many of the families, simply leaving the graves here isn't an option either. They fear after disengagement the cemetery could well be desecrated. And then there's the question of security. They believe it just wouldn't be safe for Israelis to come here and visit.

(voice-over): Like so many other Jewish settlers, Nir Rivlin is hoping that somehow the disengagement won't go ahead, that they won't have to move his father's body. But that seems unlikely, and Gideon Rivlin will have to wait a little longer before he can rest in peace.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And the Israeli government looks set to delay the Gaza pullout by about three weeks, mostly because of religious reasons. The original date of July 25 coincided with the traditional period of mourning on the Jewish calendar marking the destruction of the first and second temples. Nonetheless, the government says disengagement is on track and it will begin in late August -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And, John, whenever that disengagement does go ahead, will the Israelis be going it alone or will it be coordinated with the Palestinian Authority?

VAUSE: Increasingly it looks like it will be coordinated with the Palestinian Authority. There have been a number of high-level meetings in the last few days. The Israeli Vice Prime Minster Shimon Peres met with the Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei. They were talking about economic issues.

And there's also been a meeting between the Israeli defense minister and also the Palestinian minister for civil affairs. Importantly, they're coordinating security so that this withdrawal doesn't take place under fire from Palestinian militants -- Carol.

COSTELLO: John Vause, reporting live for us this morning, thank you.

Checking other stories from around the globe now, Ecuador's ousted president is hold up inside the Brazilian Embassy in Quito. Brazilian authorities say they have offered Lucio Gutierrez asylum and are trying to get the former leader on a flight to Brazil. A few hearty protesters remained outside after a week of riots in the capital.

Japan's prime minister is working to smooth relations with China by apologizing for Japan's World War II record. There have been days of violent anti-Japan protests in China. Japan's prime minister says he hopes to meet with China's president while both attend the Asia- Africa summit in Jakarta.

And Spain's Lower House of Parliament has approved a measure to legalize same-sex marriage. The move would make Spain the third European nation, joining Belgium and the Netherlands, to legalize gay marriage. The bill still needs to be voted on by Spain's Upper House but has strong support there.

All new in the next hour of DAYBREAK, Ashton Kutcher is betting his derriere that his new movie will be a hit. Tom O'Neil will join us for a look at the new weekend movies and why Ashton is saying he'll pose in his undies if the movie does well.

And what's in a name? Author David Narter tells us how to avoid branding your child for life with a nasty moniker.

And a reminder about monikers, our e-mail "Question of the Morning," what is the worst baby name you have ever heard? We're getting some great ones this morning, and we do appreciate it. The worst one, of course, wins a DAYBREAK mug. DAYBREAK@CNN.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking entertainment headlines this morning.

"A Perfect Storm" made for the perfect movie but not a perfect lawsuit. Florida Supreme Court says the ex-wife of the fisherman whose life the movie was based on cannot sue the studio. She claims the movie portrays her ex-husband in a false life.

And apparently a TV show, a nightclub and a movie career, starring in an Internet sex tape and being a hotel heiress is just not enough for Paris Hilton. She's just signed up with a major Hollywood talent agency to help expand her career and endorsement opportunities.

The NBA playoffs kick off this weekend on ESPN and our own sister station TNT. One man who knows what the playoffs are like is Julius Erving. Basketball fans know him better as Dr. J. I had the chance to talk to him and we covered a lot of ground.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIUS "DR. J" ERVING, FORMER NBA PLAYER: Legends are born when you get to the NBA finals. So the league has wised up, involved a part of its past to enhance its present and get people excited about its future.

COSTELLO: So who will be the legend in this year's playoffs, do you think? Do you have any predictions?

ERVING: Well you have some legends in the making. I think the young players like Carmelo Anthony in Denver who's done a very nice job with his team, Tracy McGrady in Houston, Yao Ming. You know these guys are getting some playoff experience and they're going to go against Shaquille O'Neal who's been around. So it's always a matter of blending the old and the new. And I'm kind of fortunate with my coconspirators that they're allowing the legends to come and participate.

COSTELLO: Well you know you talk about virgining (ph) legends, poor LeBron James.

ERVING: Yes.

COSTELLO: I mean that had to hurt.

ERVING: He's going to have to wait his turn. You know when you really think about it, they were very close, but it's -- you have to earn the right. There's no annotation when it comes to going from regular season to playoffs, you've got to earn the right. And the only way you can do that is by garnering victories.

You know you just don't go and try to join up with a great bunch of guys and become a great team, you have to bring that ability, that cohesiveness, that understanding of the game. And I think LeBron has all those skills. And they were on the road to being great until they fired their coach with 30 games to go. But they probably would have been guaranteed a playoff position had they not made that move.

COSTELLO: OK, I have to ask you about this Gary Sheffield thing, because it just makes me so angry, personally, that he was not punished in any way and baseball decided that he did restrain himself.

ERVING: I don't particularly like Boston, so whatever they do up there is, you know, sorry, with me, I'm a Philly guy.

COSTELLO: But still, if a player shoves the fan, even if the fan taunted him first, hit him first, shouldn't that player be punished?

ERVING: I'm not sure. I think you have to evaluate each situation on an individual basis. And if a player crosses the line, a fan crosses the line, you know sometimes it's a judgment call. And in Sheffield's situation it probably was a judgment call. I don't think the fan is going to sue, because nothing happened to him. Sheffield had, I read that he got hit in the nose and he wanted to retaliate. He restrained himself and he continued to play baseball.

COSTELLO: He didn't restrain himself though, he shoved him before he threw the ball.

ERVING: But I think it's a judgment call. I think you look at each case individually and you know you have to go with what the commissioner decides because that's who's running the show. I mean these are private businesses in a public place, so you know let the warden run the show.

COSTELLO: I wanted to ask you, too, about the loss of your son and how you're coping with that.

ERVING: Well I cope with it every day. It was one of the most devastating things that ever happened. I'm in a unique situation. I lost a brother when I -- when we were teenagers. So, you know, in coping with it and dealing with my children, because of the loss of their brother, I think I was better able to help them to understand the reality. And he got called home and his time on this planet was 19 years. And there's a lot of people who get 90, you know, a lot of people who get 19.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

COSTELLO: In July of 2000, a two month search for the Ervings' missing drug troubled teenaged son Corey ended when his car was found submerged in a pond in Orlando, where he drowned. As you heard Dr. Jay say, he looks to the lord for comfort these days.

The next hour of DAYBREAK starts right now.

Good morning to you.

From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello.

Since it's Friday, we're going to check out the box office offerings with Tom O'Neil. His interpretation of the new Nicole Kidman thriller in about 15 minutes, interesting because it was shot inside the United Nations.

But first, stories in the news this morning.

Sources say the only person charged in the 9/11 terrorist attacks plans to plead guilty today. Zacarias Moussaoui faces a federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia this afternoon. We'll have a live report at the half hour.

At the Vatican, newly named Pope Benedict XVI is meeting this hour with the College of Cardinals. The cardinals voted him to lead the Catholic Church on Tuesday. At three different hospitals, suspicious people have been found poking around, pretending to be unannounced inspectors. The "Washington Post" reporting the fake inspectors have been discovered in Boston, Detroit and Los Angeles. FBI and homeland security agents are now investigating.

At least five homes in Kansas were damaged or destroyed after tornadoes rumbled through the southeastern part of the state. Luckily, no serious injuries reported. Tornado fears also led to the temporary evacuation of a Kansas City airport.

Amazing pictures this morning -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, really.

We actually had the guy, we had Reed on here earlier talking about that stuff. And he was actually hit by some hail with the storm. He said the tornado wasn't the problem, it was all the hail that came out of the cells. And some of that hail was the size of baseballs. And obviously that can not only dent your car, but break your windows in your car. And then you'll obviously -- then you're in a big trouble. And clearly you don't want to be out there in a convertible, either.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Insurgents strike again with deadly precision in Iraq. Six Americans were among 11 people killed in a downed commercial helicopter. It happened just outside of Baghdad. The Americans were security contractors from the Blackwater Consulting company. They were in the country to protect diplomats. The company lost a seventh employee in a separate attack in Iraq.

The president of Blackwater issued this statement. He says: "This is a very sad day for the Blackwater family. We lost seven of our friends to attacks by terrorists in Iraq and our thoughts and prayers go out to their family members."

What happened after that helicopter was shot down is perhaps the most cruel, cowardly act yet by insurgents in Iraq. The lone survivor of a downed helicopter is shot several times -- 15 times, actually, on tape. And you guessed it, the videotape is on the Internet, this time posted by a group calling itself the Islamic Army in Iraq.

Our Arab affairs editor, Octavia Nasr, is live in Atlanta for more on this -- good morning, Octavia.

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: This video is far too graphic to show our viewers.

Can you describe some of what's on it?

NASR: Well, yes. First of all, the video shows the aftermath of the crash. You see the fuselage of the helicopter and you also see bodies, pretty graphic. You hear a man, the cameraman, calling on someone next to him, saying, "Here, here, here, here's the filthy one." He keeps referring to the bodies as "here's the filthy one," "here's another filthy one."

And another man asks the cameraman to get him a close-up shot of those bodies, very graphic, indeed.

Later on, the scene shifts to a green area and a person that is found in a ditch sort of hiding. And he looked like he was pretending to be dead. They call on him to get up. They say in English: "Stand up! Stand up!"

The man lying down in the ditch, he says: "I'm injured. I have a broken leg. Help me. Give me your hand."

And they help him up. They give him their hand, help him out of the ditch. And then there's a little scuffle and they ask him in Arabic whether he has weapons. They repeat the word several times. Obviously the man not understanding what they're saying.

Then they say, "Go! Go! Go!"

You see a scuffle and the man walks away.

Now, the man, interesting, what he's wearing is very interesting. He's wearing like a blue overall and he's wearing like black gloves. You know, we cannot identify the man. We don't know who he is. We...

COSTELLO: Well, let's center on exactly what happened, because this was such a cowardly, cruel act. The man was running away. As he was running -- and limping, because he did have a broken leg -- they shot him 15 times. Before they did it, they said: "We are applying god's law."

The group the Islamic Army has taken responsibility for this.

Who are they? What other cruel acts have they performed?

NASR: Well, they've killed -- they've taken hostages before. They're known for taking hostages. They've executed several hostages. But they became very well known when they took a couple of French journalists hostage. And they released them a few months afterward. This is when the Islamic Army became really in the spotlight.

To go back to the video, Carol, one thing that happened that is extremely important here also shows the cruelty of the insurgents. They tell the man to walk away and then the cameraman tells the gunman to hold it. He said: "One moment. One moment."

And he adjusts his angle. He zooms his camera out and gets a good picture of the victim. And then he says: "OK, now you can go."

And then they say: "We're applying god's law on you."

And, indeed...

COSTELLO: And then they shoot him 15 times, because they wanted this to be on camera.

NASR: Right.

COSTELLO: And now Al Jazeera is showing some of this on their network...

NASR: No, no, no. Let's be very careful here and not...

COSTELLO: OK.

NASR: ... and not, you know, describe what Al Jazeera is airing as the whole thing. They're not airing the whole thing. As a matter of fact, Al Jazeera is airing very little of the video. They're just showing that fuselage in flames. That's all they're airing. And they made it very clear...

COSTELLO: So they're showing no bodies?

NASR: Yes. They made it very clear yesterday that they refuse to show bodies and they refuse to show the execution. They were the first ones to report that there was a man found alive and executed on the scene. But they refuse to show that video.

So it's very important to say that Arab media are dealing with the story in a very responsible way. As a matter of fact, they showed a little less than what we had showed in the piece that CNN put together -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I'm very relieved.

One more question for you.

Since this act was so cruel, might it create more of a backlash against these insurgents?

NASR: Well, there is that chance. You know, if you read the mainstream Arab media and Arab Web sites, you're going to get outrage, people saying things like this is not going to help anybody, this is animalistic, this is not going to help anybody's cause.

But then again, you look at the extremist Web sites and you're going to find cheers and jubilation over the act. As a matter of fact, the video, when we found it, it was described as come in here and see the heroes stomping over the bodies of the Americans.

So you (AUDIO GAP) important to say that this video is found on an extremist Web site. The mainstream Arab media and Arab sites are not, are not cheering this. On the contrary, they're outraged at it. But I think the mood on Arab media right now is that the situation in Iraq is deteriorating fast and then the situation is unbearable and they're very worried about where the country is headed.

COSTELLO: Octavia Nasr, thanks for making things clear and filling us in this morning.

We appreciate it. A U.S. Army sergeant convicted of killing fellow soldiers just before the Iraq war could face the death penalty. A military court has found Sergeant Hasan Akbar guilty in a grenade attack on an Army barracks in Kuwait more than two years ago. Two soldiers were killed in that attack, 14 others injured. Sentencing is scheduled for Monday.

In Ruskin, Florida tomorrow, the funeral for 13-year-old Sarah Lunde. Her body was found last weekend, partially submerged in a pond near her home. A convicted sex offender is charged in Sarah's death.

In Washington, lawmakers proposed the Jessica Lunsford Act (AUDIO GAP) is to keep closer tabs on convicted sex offenders. The 9-year- old Florida girl was abducted and killed last month, allegedly by a convicted sex offender.

Jessica's father Mark called her "the light of his life."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK LUNSFORD, JESSICA LUNSFORD'S FATHER: I will never see Jessie go on her first date. I will never be a grandfather to her children. There's more to raising a child than bumps and bruises, Band-Aids and bicycles. I will never have those things with Jessie.

Eight weeks ago, a repeat sex offender stole this life away from me. Today, my daughter is gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The legislation would require states to verify the locations of sex offenders twice a year.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, chasing down the storm. Hear from one of the men who followed this funnel cloud.

Plus, from nukes to world peace, he asked about it all during his talk in Tehran. Now I will talk to the reporter who landed an interview with the president of Iran.

And we know it's a stretch, but think back to what you were doing in 1981. Now your chance to revisit the "Dynasty" days.

But first, here's a look at what else is happening this Friday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE INTERPRETER," COURTESY UNIVERSAL PICTURES)

SEAN PENN, ACTOR: How did you happen to be up there after hours?

NICOLE KIDMAN, ACTOR: We had an evacuation and I left some of my things in the sound booth. I had to go back for them. PENN: And at that moment there happened to be a couple of fellows talking about an assassination in a language that you and maybe eight other people understand in a room full of microphones?

KIDMAN: Do you think I'm making it up? Why would I report a threat I didn't hear?

PENN: People do.

KIDMAN: I don't.

PENN: Some people like attention.

KIDMAN: I don't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The movie "The Interpreter" comes out this weekend. So are you still wondering what to do this weekend? Here are some thoughts. Take a walk, cut the grass or see that movie. And if you choose a movie, we have more suggestions for you.

I'm joined by Tom O'Neil of "In Touch Weekly."

Welcome back.

I haven't seen you for ages.

TOM O'NEIL, "IN TOUCH WEEKLY": Yes, I missed you.

COSTELLO: Wow!

Let's talk about "The Interpreter," because this is supposed to be a terrific movie. And the unusual thing about this, it was shot inside the United Nations here in New York.

O'NEIL: And, Carol, we being New Yorkers, and West Siders, are such snobs we don't get to that far East Side where the United -- the real surprise about this movie is the setting at the U.N. They have gardens over there. We have to have a date rape picnic is what I was thinking.

COSTELLO: Well, it's right on the East River. It's actually quite a beautiful spot.

O'NEIL: It really is. And it's, it feels historic and it feels important.

The movie is so well stylized, it's so beautifully acted and there's an ache between these characters, who have -- who yearn, you know, lovingly for each other but can't have each other. And that adds a wonderful dimension to it. She's an interpreter at the U.N. who thinks she's overheard a murder plot and he's an FBI agent (AUDIO GAP) protect her. But you don't know if she's in the plot or not in the plot.

The problem is the story is a little traditional. But it doesn't matter. It's so well made, you just go with it.

COSTELLO: So do we see people like Kofi Annan in the movie?

O'NEIL: Yes. It's terrific. Only Sydney Pollack could get away with this, the great director, who gave us "Tootsie" and won the Oscar for "Out of Africa," you know, "The Way We Were." He's one of the great legendary directors and he gave it. It's a wonderful film.

COSTELLO: Oh, I can't wait to see it.

We have some pictures of Nicole Kidman, by the way, on the red carpet.

O'NEIL: Oh, good.

COSTELLO: At the Tribeca Film Festival.

O'NEIL: Yes, where it opened the other night.

COSTELLO: And my producer, Angie Massey (ph), said she looks mighty skinny.

O'NEIL: Yes. We've got to get her to eat, eat.

COSTELLO: Maybe she's just working too hard. I'd like to think she is eating.

O'NEIL: I hope so.

COSTELLO: Oh, man.

OK, let's switch gears and let's not talk about movies for just a second and talk about "Dynasty."

O'NEIL: Why do you cringe?

COSTELLO: Well, why do we want to go back there?

O'NEIL: Because the whole dynasty of diva prime time TV that is so big right now with "Desperate Housewives" began with "Dynasty" in the 1980s, which was the original camp fest movie. This was just like "Desperate Housewives" -- fearlessly campy, beautifully written. The characters feel things (AUDIO GAP). It's absurd but wonderfully written.

COSTELLO: And, you know, I remember times when I, too, fought my rival and fell into a swimming pool and kept pummeling her over and over again, because that happens in real life.

O'NEIL: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: In my world, oh, yes, every day.

O'NEIL: Well, you're referring, of course, to the great bitch fights between Linda Evans and Joan Collins. And it was so -- we hadn't seen that since Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Thank god it was back.

COSTELLO: So what are they going to do, a remake of "Dynasty" on TV? Like I'm not getting it.

O'NEIL: They're thinking of doing a made-for-TV movie...

COSTELLO: Oh.

O'NEIL: ... miniseries version of it (AUDIO GAP).

COSTELLO: I don't think so either. Then we'd have to see all those very large shoulder-padded jackets again and I'm just not ready for that.

O'NEIL: OK.

COSTELLO: Tom O'Neil, thank you.

It's fun. Fun, as usual.

O'NEIL: Thanks.

COSTELLO: Let's talk about the weather now.

In southeastern Kansas, thunderstorms, large hail, heavy rain and this monster tornado. A few homes were damaged or destroyed when the tornado touched down. No injuries reported now, serious injuries, anyway. The man who caught the twister on video is storm chaser Reed Timmer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REED TIMMER, STORM CHASER: Initially, we were in southeast Kansas and we saw the storm develop to our south. And it was beautiful. It had a beautiful, nice, crisp anvil and everything. And so we headed south and punched through the core and had -- got pelted by baseball sized hail. And as it continued south, we saw some rapid rotation in the wall climb (ph).

And then it just headed east and the funnel came down very slowly, a very skinny, beautiful, wide tornado. And, again, there was baseball sized hail being flung around the tornado. (AUDIO GAP) where my bike helmet, so we were a little bit worried about the hail.

But, yes, it was a beautiful tornado and it was a good thing that it was out over (AUDIO GAP).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK, Chad, I want to ask you a few questions.

He calls this a beautiful tornado in the first place, which is kind of strange.

MYERS: It is kind of strange.

COSTELLO: And I wondered, the hail pelting him?

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: How fast was that traveling?

MYERS: Hail can fall somewhere between 95 and 115 miles an hour. That's terminal velocity for a hail storm, Carol. So that is really fast. And even a golf ball sized hail that hits you in the arm will put a good sized welt on your arm. It's like getting hit by a drive from Tiger Woods, I mean, literally. And why he was calling it a beautiful tornado was really -- the word he was describing was really classic, because it was well structured. The storm was very vertical and the storm started out as a rope, got much larger and then went back to a rope again as it got wrapped in rain from another storm that collapsed it.

Two storms collided there and then that actually disintegrated the energy that the tornado was using. So that storm didn't even get into Missouri. It stayed in Kansas. There's going to be...

COSTELLO: Well, you're going to tell us about more nasty weather to come.

MYERS: Lots more. Lots more today.

COSTELLO: OK. We'll listen for your forecast.

Thank you, Chad.

MYERS: You bet.

COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK, in a Virginia courtroom today, the only man ever charged for the 9/11 attacks will enter his guilty plea -- or will he?

And what are Iran's intentions in the world? Only one Western reporter has been able to ask that question in eight years. We'll hear what responses he got from the president of Iran.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Ahead this hour on DAYBREAK, will Pete Rose ever make it into the Baseball Hall of Fame? Bud Selig has something to say about that.

And one syllable or five? Some names are just too awful to give to a child. We'll take a look at the worst with the man who wrote a different kind of baby name book.

And send us your worst, daybreak@cnn.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking on stories from across the globe now, Japanese law makers made their first annual visit to a shrine honoring their war dead. Convicted war criminals are buried here, as well. This year's visit was particularly upsetting to China, especially since Japan is trying to get China to stop anti-Japanese street protests.

Spain's lower house of parliament has approved a measure to legalize same sex marriage. The move would make Spain the third European nation, joining Belgium and the Netherlands, to legalize gay marriage. The bill still needs to be voted on by Spain's upper house, but has strong support there.

And a stand-off near the Muslim holy city of Mecca has entered a second day. Saudi police chased three suspected Islamic militants into a house after a policeman was killed at a security checkpoint shootout. Authorities say the suspects slipped through the checkpoint dressed as women. Islamic militants linked to al Qaeda have been battling Saudi authorities since 2003.

For the first time in eight years, Iran's president has answered questions during an interview with a Western journalist. It's a "G.Q." exclusive and the man who spoke with President Mohammad Khatami joins us live.

He is journalist Hooman Majd.

Thank you for being with us this morning.

HOOMAN MAJD, "G.Q." MAGAZINE: Thank you.

Good morning.

COSTELLO: How did you snag this interview?

MAJD: Well, I -- "G.Q." wanted to see if it was possible to get an interview with Mr. Khatami. And I have friends in Iran that I stayed in touch with on and off over the last 26 years, since the revolution, one of whom I went to college with, who is his chief of staff, Ali Khatami.

And I posed the question, could we do this? And at first the answer was, well, basically he doesn't speak to American journalists. He has spoken to Western journalists sometimes in press conferences, but a sit down interview he hasn't done in a long time.

And then -- but I think being of Iranian extraction, I think, helped. And being able to do it in Farsi, I think, helped, the fact that it was going to be a comfortable interview.

COSTELLO: Right, because you can speak Farsi.

MAJD: I can speak Farsi, yes.

COSTELLO: So as you're sitting down getting ready to interview him, what is it like in the room?

MAJD: It's far more relaxed than you would ever expect it to be. It's -- there is no pomp in the Iranian political system. There's no -- I mean we're sitting in a palace, which was an old shah's palace. But actually the decoration is very simple. He's actually a simple man, it seems. I mean he's a cleric, so I would imagine that he should be simple.

But he, it's very comfortable, very relaxed, very, very charming, as many politicians are, as one would expect him to be. And he just puts you at ease.

COSTELLO: Wow!

Well, let's get to meat of the issue.

You asked him many interesting questions. You know, I guess it surprised me that Iranians are still so upset at when President Bush made them part of this axis of evil.

MAJD: Axis of evil.

COSTELLO: And they still have that axe to grind.

MAJD: They certainly do, yes.

COSTELLO: What did he say about that?

MAJD: Well, I think this big complaint about that was essentially that Iran had, under his administration, had tried to open up to the West. Certainly to Europe it's opened up very much. And to America, there had been some signals with the Clinton administration. And they felt that, you know, with the Taliban, with the fall of the Taliban, who are big enemies of Iran -- and they had helped, they felt like they had helped the United States military by offering to, you know, rescue downed pilots and so on and so forth, that they were on a path to reconciliation with the United States.

And then the axis of evil really took them by surprise. They were like wait a second, what's going on here? We just helped you and here we are now, we're evil?

COSTELLO: Well, of course (AUDIO GAP) completely the opposite way.

I want to talk about nuclear weapons...

MAJD: Yes?

COSTELLO: ... because there is a thought they are developing nuclear weapons.

What did he have to say about them?

MAJD: He thought, in the interview he kind of side-stepped the issue a little bit in saying well, you know, we have the right to do nuclear research and so on and so forth. When before we actually sat down and had the interview, just in standing and talking, he said I know, I know about the nuclear issue. He brought it up himself. He said I know, I know, I know you want to talk about the nuclear issue. And then he said it's, you know, it's ridiculous. They think that we're going to build a nuclear bomb and then hand it to terrorists? Why? You know, and he started laughing, thinking that such a preposterous notion.

And I think he was being genuine. I don't think that he, certainly he or anybody in his administration, would want to hand over a nuclear bomb, even if they were to develop one.

COSTELLO: Well, true. But there is some evidence they are developing something nuclear.

MAJD: It's a separate issue. It's a separate issue. It's a separate issue whether they are developing it or whether they're going to give it to terrorists. And then that's -- I think they separate that issue, too, in their minds. And they're developing something nuclear, no question. No question about that. Something they claim is just for nuclear energy. And, of course, we think that it's likely that once you have nuclear energy, whether you have plans to develop weapons or not, that you probably will.

COSTELLO: Yes, so we're all talking like this?

MAJD: Exactly.

COSTELLO: Yes.

MAJD: Yes.

COSTELLO: Hooman Majd, thank you for joining DAYBREAK this morning.

We appreciate it.

MAJD: Thank you very much.

COSTELLO: Coming up on DAYBREAK, a big day at the Dow. What will Friday hold? Carrie Lee has the "Business Buzz," coming up in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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 22, 2005 - 05:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
"Now in the News."

Pope Benedict XVI is meeting with the College of Cardinals right now. The cardinals selected him as pope on Tuesday. An inauguration mass is scheduled for Sunday. Up to half a million people and several world leaders are expected.

There is tight security at a courthouse on the outskirts of Madrid today, that's where 24 suspected al Qaeda members went on trial a little more than 15 minutes ago. They're charged with helping plan the 9/11 attacks in the United States.

In Las Vegas, a woman who claims she found part of a finger in a bowl of Wendy's chili in San Jose, California has been placed under arrest. Anna Ayala was arrested on a warrant from the San Jose police. There's a news conference scheduled for 1:00 this afternoon, Chad, and it should be quite interesting.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh my, Carol, I knew there was something going on with that.

COSTELLO: Yes.

MYERS: Hey, good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: All right, thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: We begin this half-hour with a look at sex offenders in America and the move to track them. On Thursday, the Jessica Lunsford Act was introduced in Congress. It's named after this 9- year-old Florida girl who was abducted and killed last month allegedly by a convicted sex offender. It would require states to keep closer tabs on sex offenders.

Her father talks about the proposal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MARK LUNSFORD, JESSICA'S FATHER: I will never see Jessie go on her first date. I will never be a grandfather to her children. There is more to raising a child than bumps and bruises and Band-Aids and bicycles. I will never have those things with Jessie. Eight weeks ago, a repeat sex offender stole this life away from me.

Today, my daughter is gone. But thanks to Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite, and others, the Jessica Lunsford Act will keep her memory alive and help protect other children from Jessie's horrible fate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Police say 46-year-old John Couey has confessed to killing Jessica Lunsford.

The recent spade of child abductions in Florida has put the spotlight on pedophiles. Many people say lock them up and throw away the key, or even worse, but can they be cured?

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the story of one pedophile in his own words.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

"STEVEN," CONVICTED PEDOPHILE: It involved several young male boys over a period of time, from the time I was about 20 to 47, 48 years old. And it wasn't a continuous thing. It was something that went like a broken tire, a flat tire in a car. You'd go along and things would be OK and then you would hit the flat spot and you would abuse.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There's no doubt this 52-year-old man is a pedophile. The bigger question, is he a criminal or a patient?

"STEVEN": I'm the guy that's going to take the long way around a group of kids in a shopping mall.

GUPTA: "Steven," who asked for his name to be changed and to be interviewed in silhouette, spent three years in prison after being convicted of acts of pedophilia as a crime. Today he's being treated for pedophilia as an illness.

Admittedly, it is blurry. Increasingly we medicalize bad behavior. Alcoholism, violence, even murder may all be due to imbalances of chemicals in the brain. But the risk is we may let criminals pay a lesser price for monstrous deeds or punish patients for whom treatment could prevent future crimes.

"STEVEN": It's not a disease, as it's not a bacteria or a virus, it is a mental illness. OK? It's a cognitive dysfunction that people can get. Is somebody born with it? Some people might be born with it.

GUPTA: As for "Steven" himself, he's not sure whether he was born with it. He is sure that for almost 30 years he molested more than a dozen children. It was only the combined force of the police, court and prison that could break "Steven's" cycle of abuse. Pedophilia has been a diagnosable mental illness for decades, simply defined as an abnormal sexual attraction for children.

And while there are no brain scans or blood tests to confirm the diagnoses, there is a battery of treatments, ranging from psychotherapy to antidepressants to forms of chemical castration with antiandrogens, aimed at reducing testosterone and sex drive.

DR. PAUL FEDOROFF, "STEVEN'S" PSYCHIATRIST: The aim of treatment in pedophilia is not for people to stop having sex, but rather to modify their sexual interests so that they become non-criminal.

GUPTA: "Steven's" course involves two strategies, antidepressants to curb sex drive and psychotherapy to understand why he has abused. Now six years after being convicted, he says he no longer thinks of children sexually.

"STEVEN": I don't spend enough time thinking about them to have fantasies. So, it's like a guillotine coming down. There's a child. I remember terrible things happened. I don't want to go there, clank, done, out of it. Let's change our thought pattern, go someplace else.

GUPTA: But can treatment work for everyone? Can pedophilia ever really be cured? Many are cautious, including Dr. Gene Abel, Director of Behavioral Medicine at Emory University.

DR. GENE ABEL, BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE INSTITUTE: Rheumatoid arthritis never goes away. Congestive heart failure is never cured. Diabetes is never cured. This is not cured. This behavior, inappropriate behavior, is not cured. We just help the person stop this behavior.

"STEVEN": I would say when you get to the definition of cured being I don't want to, I don't feel like it and I have no interest, if that's your definition of cured, then you have got a lot of people out there that have been cured. If your definition of to be cured, never ever having had a pedophilic thought in your life, then there is no cure. An alcoholic is not a drunk if he never drinks again, all right? Is he cured? Well might as well be.

GUPTA: As far as pedophiles go, though, for now, at least, they will be treated as both patients and criminals.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: I know Chad gets tons and tons of fan mail, mostly from adoring women, I'm sure, saying how sexy weathermen are. But are they really? Poor Chad, he's getting it this morning.

Well we were wondering what professions top the sexy list. We were wondering that because there is a new list out. CNN's J.J. Ramberg joins me now to answer all of those burning questions.

J.J. RAMBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know what, I'm sorry to say, Chad, if you're listening, you didn't make it.

MYERS: No, I'm pretty sure weathermen are not the sexiest guys on the planet.

RAMBERG: You know what, though, it may not have been on the list. Perhaps if someone actually put weathermen on it would have come up first.

MYERS: It's a good job.

COSTELLO: It's a good job.

MYERS: You just don't get a lot of exercise with this job. And weathermen kind of get bigger and bigger and bigger as their careers go on and on and on.

RAMBERG: There's something sexy to that, maybe, to some people, maybe.

COSTELLO: Yes, to maybe three.

MYERS: Maybe not.

COSTELLO: But anyway, this list was compiled by, what, a survey? Actually, by AOL.

RAMBERG: It's a survey. And I mean just keep in mind, I want to give one caveat, this is by no means a scientific survey. So if you're like...

COSTELLO: Yes, like we care.

RAMBERG: If you're looking for a little sex appeal, just don't go run out and get one of these jobs for that reason. That being said, OK, we've got all our caveats, just guess what's number one. Number one is so obvious.

COSTELLO: It's got to be firefighters.

RAMBERG: Yes, right. I mean people aren't very creative. Or you know firefighters just plain are the sexiest people in the world.

COSTELLO: And any guy in uniform, actually. Like don't people say UPS men are really sexy?

RAMBERG: UPS did not make the top 10.

COSTELLO: Oh no.

RAMBERG: But I have heard that they are sexy also. Well you know in the Reese Witherspoon movie. COSTELLO: Yes.

RAMBERG: Remember it? Anyhow.

COSTELLO: Something with Alabama.

RAMBERG: Or a different Reese Witherspoon...

COSTELLO: "Legally Blonde."

RAMBERG: Anyhow, there's some sexy UPS man in that. But yet policemen and Marines also made this list.

COSTELLO: So go down the top five, because we want to know.

RAMBERG: OK, top five: firefighter. Number two, flight attendant.

COSTELLO: What?

RAMBERG: I know, isn't that interesting. I think people are kind of hearkening back to an old day when...

COSTELLO: To the day.

RAMBERG: Yes, but anyhow, they're still remembering that. Three, CEO, no surprise there. I guess money over time being sexier.

COSTELLO: Yes, money always makes me sexier. Yes.

RAMBERG: Reporter, number four.

COSTELLO: Really?

RAMBERG: Yes.

COSTELLO: Loving that.

RAMBERG: They didn't say anchor, Carol, a reporter.

COSTELLO: Come on, I report, too.

RAMBERG: And number five, interior designer.

So, no, I mean part of the people, the people who kind of...

COSTELLO: Interior designer.

RAMBERG: Yes, you're surprised, right? They said maybe it's because they've been glamorized. Like do you ever see the show "Will & Grace?"

COSTELLO: Yes.

RAMBERG: Grace, in that show, is an interior designer. So the people who were looking at this survey said perhaps you know it seems hip to be an interior designer.

But I'll tell you some of the other ones that I found surprising. Now these aren't ones that were on the list, because they weren't on the survey, but they actually were written in, dental hygienist.

COSTELLO: Yes, and I'll check that.

MYERS: No.

RAMBERG: Have you ever thought of that as a sexy job?

COSTELLO: No, I just think of that as pain cleaning my teeth.

RAMBERG: Yes, right. I mean I guess maybe they think they have to be sexy to make up for...

COSTELLO: For the pain they cause you.

RAMBERG: ... everything like they're giving you. Yes.

Marine, chef, physical therapist apparently is sexy.

COSTELLO: While they're manipulating your body. I can kind of see that.

RAMBERG: That's two. That's two. OK, I've got that down.

And then doctors and lawyers also hit the top 10. That's no surprise.

COSTELLO: No weathermen, Chad, sorry.

MYERS: No, but hey, what about racecar drivers? I thought those guys were like really in the know, in the want.

RAMBERG: Yes. You know what, they did not make the list. But next year, AOL and Salary.com did this survey, we should all write in racecar driver.

MYERS: Yes, then I'll apply for that job.

COSTELLO: Because I think they're much sexier than chefs.

RAMBERG: Yes, chefs.

MYERS: Hey, never trust a skinny chef, they say, right?

COSTELLO: Exactly.

Thank you, J.J., it's been fun.

RAMBERG: Sure.

COSTELLO: We appreciate it.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:43 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

The man elected by the Catholic College of Cardinals is speaking to the group this hour. Pope Benedict XVI was selected on Tuesday. An installation mass is scheduled for Sunday.

In money news, a report in "USA Today" says several states are looking at taking their lottery games to the Internet. Right now 40 states and Washington, D.C. have lotteries.

In culture, a letter signed by 158 authors asked TV talk show host Oprah Winfrey to resume picking new novels for her popular book club. But a spokeswoman for Winfrey's company says there are no plans to do that.

In sports, here's a possible first, University of Utah quarterback Alex Smith could become the first player drafted in the NFL. The Utes' Andrew Bogut could be the top pick in the NBA draft. And as you know, Chad, that draft is this weekend.

MYERS: Is it really?

COSTELLO: Yes.

MYERS: I didn't even realize that.

COSTELLO: Yes. I have a draft party planned, are you kidding.

MYERS: You do not.

COSTELLO: I do too.

MYERS: Are you going to have beer on draft?

COSTELLO: You bet you.

MYERS: All right, well, there you go, draft for the draft.

Good morning, everybody.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: All right, thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: We're going to take a short break. We'll be back with much more. You are watching DAYBREAK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Double trauma for some Israeli settlers in Gaza, the graves of their loved ones will have to be exhumed ahead of Israel's planned pullout and that means more grieving.

CNN's John Vause talked to a member of one grieving family.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nir Rivlin buried his father, Gideon (ph), just three months ago in the only Jewish cemetery in Gaza. He may soon have to bury him again, this time inside Israel.

NIR RIVLIN, GAZA SETTLER: My mom probably would not do it. It would be too difficult for her. Maybe I will be the only one that will do it. But still, to bury him again, I can't imagine what it's going to do.

VAUSE: Gideon Rivlin was a Gaza settler. He built the security fences which protect the settlements from Palestinian militants, the same militants who killed him during this roadside attack in January. His family decided to bury him in Gaza, even though the Israeli government had told them they would soon have to leave their homes, part of the so-called disengagement.

RIVLIN: I knew I want to bury him here because this is what he wanted to do, I think. But still, it's not simple because we knew that all of this process probably going to happen. So we have to remove him from here and emotionally it's not that easy.

VAUSE: Forty-six other families are now facing the same pain and anguish.

BEREL WEIN, RABBI: We're very hesitant on exhuming a body simply because, in our faith, exhuming the body is, so-to-speak, a second death. The family, for instance, has to sit a day of mourning, has to sit shiva on the day that the body is exhumed.

VAUSE (on camera): And to many of the families, simply leaving the graves here isn't an option either. They fear after disengagement the cemetery could well be desecrated. And then there's the question of security. They believe it just wouldn't be safe for Israelis to come here and visit.

(voice-over): Like so many other Jewish settlers, Nir Rivlin is hoping that somehow the disengagement won't go ahead, that they won't have to move his father's body. But that seems unlikely, and Gideon Rivlin will have to wait a little longer before he can rest in peace.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And the Israeli government looks set to delay the Gaza pullout by about three weeks, mostly because of religious reasons. The original date of July 25 coincided with the traditional period of mourning on the Jewish calendar marking the destruction of the first and second temples. Nonetheless, the government says disengagement is on track and it will begin in late August -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And, John, whenever that disengagement does go ahead, will the Israelis be going it alone or will it be coordinated with the Palestinian Authority?

VAUSE: Increasingly it looks like it will be coordinated with the Palestinian Authority. There have been a number of high-level meetings in the last few days. The Israeli Vice Prime Minster Shimon Peres met with the Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei. They were talking about economic issues.

And there's also been a meeting between the Israeli defense minister and also the Palestinian minister for civil affairs. Importantly, they're coordinating security so that this withdrawal doesn't take place under fire from Palestinian militants -- Carol.

COSTELLO: John Vause, reporting live for us this morning, thank you.

Checking other stories from around the globe now, Ecuador's ousted president is hold up inside the Brazilian Embassy in Quito. Brazilian authorities say they have offered Lucio Gutierrez asylum and are trying to get the former leader on a flight to Brazil. A few hearty protesters remained outside after a week of riots in the capital.

Japan's prime minister is working to smooth relations with China by apologizing for Japan's World War II record. There have been days of violent anti-Japan protests in China. Japan's prime minister says he hopes to meet with China's president while both attend the Asia- Africa summit in Jakarta.

And Spain's Lower House of Parliament has approved a measure to legalize same-sex marriage. The move would make Spain the third European nation, joining Belgium and the Netherlands, to legalize gay marriage. The bill still needs to be voted on by Spain's Upper House but has strong support there.

All new in the next hour of DAYBREAK, Ashton Kutcher is betting his derriere that his new movie will be a hit. Tom O'Neil will join us for a look at the new weekend movies and why Ashton is saying he'll pose in his undies if the movie does well.

And what's in a name? Author David Narter tells us how to avoid branding your child for life with a nasty moniker.

And a reminder about monikers, our e-mail "Question of the Morning," what is the worst baby name you have ever heard? We're getting some great ones this morning, and we do appreciate it. The worst one, of course, wins a DAYBREAK mug. DAYBREAK@CNN.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking entertainment headlines this morning.

"A Perfect Storm" made for the perfect movie but not a perfect lawsuit. Florida Supreme Court says the ex-wife of the fisherman whose life the movie was based on cannot sue the studio. She claims the movie portrays her ex-husband in a false life.

And apparently a TV show, a nightclub and a movie career, starring in an Internet sex tape and being a hotel heiress is just not enough for Paris Hilton. She's just signed up with a major Hollywood talent agency to help expand her career and endorsement opportunities.

The NBA playoffs kick off this weekend on ESPN and our own sister station TNT. One man who knows what the playoffs are like is Julius Erving. Basketball fans know him better as Dr. J. I had the chance to talk to him and we covered a lot of ground.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIUS "DR. J" ERVING, FORMER NBA PLAYER: Legends are born when you get to the NBA finals. So the league has wised up, involved a part of its past to enhance its present and get people excited about its future.

COSTELLO: So who will be the legend in this year's playoffs, do you think? Do you have any predictions?

ERVING: Well you have some legends in the making. I think the young players like Carmelo Anthony in Denver who's done a very nice job with his team, Tracy McGrady in Houston, Yao Ming. You know these guys are getting some playoff experience and they're going to go against Shaquille O'Neal who's been around. So it's always a matter of blending the old and the new. And I'm kind of fortunate with my coconspirators that they're allowing the legends to come and participate.

COSTELLO: Well you know you talk about virgining (ph) legends, poor LeBron James.

ERVING: Yes.

COSTELLO: I mean that had to hurt.

ERVING: He's going to have to wait his turn. You know when you really think about it, they were very close, but it's -- you have to earn the right. There's no annotation when it comes to going from regular season to playoffs, you've got to earn the right. And the only way you can do that is by garnering victories.

You know you just don't go and try to join up with a great bunch of guys and become a great team, you have to bring that ability, that cohesiveness, that understanding of the game. And I think LeBron has all those skills. And they were on the road to being great until they fired their coach with 30 games to go. But they probably would have been guaranteed a playoff position had they not made that move.

COSTELLO: OK, I have to ask you about this Gary Sheffield thing, because it just makes me so angry, personally, that he was not punished in any way and baseball decided that he did restrain himself.

ERVING: I don't particularly like Boston, so whatever they do up there is, you know, sorry, with me, I'm a Philly guy.

COSTELLO: But still, if a player shoves the fan, even if the fan taunted him first, hit him first, shouldn't that player be punished?

ERVING: I'm not sure. I think you have to evaluate each situation on an individual basis. And if a player crosses the line, a fan crosses the line, you know sometimes it's a judgment call. And in Sheffield's situation it probably was a judgment call. I don't think the fan is going to sue, because nothing happened to him. Sheffield had, I read that he got hit in the nose and he wanted to retaliate. He restrained himself and he continued to play baseball.

COSTELLO: He didn't restrain himself though, he shoved him before he threw the ball.

ERVING: But I think it's a judgment call. I think you look at each case individually and you know you have to go with what the commissioner decides because that's who's running the show. I mean these are private businesses in a public place, so you know let the warden run the show.

COSTELLO: I wanted to ask you, too, about the loss of your son and how you're coping with that.

ERVING: Well I cope with it every day. It was one of the most devastating things that ever happened. I'm in a unique situation. I lost a brother when I -- when we were teenagers. So, you know, in coping with it and dealing with my children, because of the loss of their brother, I think I was better able to help them to understand the reality. And he got called home and his time on this planet was 19 years. And there's a lot of people who get 90, you know, a lot of people who get 19.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

COSTELLO: In July of 2000, a two month search for the Ervings' missing drug troubled teenaged son Corey ended when his car was found submerged in a pond in Orlando, where he drowned. As you heard Dr. Jay say, he looks to the lord for comfort these days.

The next hour of DAYBREAK starts right now.

Good morning to you.

From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello.

Since it's Friday, we're going to check out the box office offerings with Tom O'Neil. His interpretation of the new Nicole Kidman thriller in about 15 minutes, interesting because it was shot inside the United Nations.

But first, stories in the news this morning.

Sources say the only person charged in the 9/11 terrorist attacks plans to plead guilty today. Zacarias Moussaoui faces a federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia this afternoon. We'll have a live report at the half hour.

At the Vatican, newly named Pope Benedict XVI is meeting this hour with the College of Cardinals. The cardinals voted him to lead the Catholic Church on Tuesday. At three different hospitals, suspicious people have been found poking around, pretending to be unannounced inspectors. The "Washington Post" reporting the fake inspectors have been discovered in Boston, Detroit and Los Angeles. FBI and homeland security agents are now investigating.

At least five homes in Kansas were damaged or destroyed after tornadoes rumbled through the southeastern part of the state. Luckily, no serious injuries reported. Tornado fears also led to the temporary evacuation of a Kansas City airport.

Amazing pictures this morning -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, really.

We actually had the guy, we had Reed on here earlier talking about that stuff. And he was actually hit by some hail with the storm. He said the tornado wasn't the problem, it was all the hail that came out of the cells. And some of that hail was the size of baseballs. And obviously that can not only dent your car, but break your windows in your car. And then you'll obviously -- then you're in a big trouble. And clearly you don't want to be out there in a convertible, either.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Insurgents strike again with deadly precision in Iraq. Six Americans were among 11 people killed in a downed commercial helicopter. It happened just outside of Baghdad. The Americans were security contractors from the Blackwater Consulting company. They were in the country to protect diplomats. The company lost a seventh employee in a separate attack in Iraq.

The president of Blackwater issued this statement. He says: "This is a very sad day for the Blackwater family. We lost seven of our friends to attacks by terrorists in Iraq and our thoughts and prayers go out to their family members."

What happened after that helicopter was shot down is perhaps the most cruel, cowardly act yet by insurgents in Iraq. The lone survivor of a downed helicopter is shot several times -- 15 times, actually, on tape. And you guessed it, the videotape is on the Internet, this time posted by a group calling itself the Islamic Army in Iraq.

Our Arab affairs editor, Octavia Nasr, is live in Atlanta for more on this -- good morning, Octavia.

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: This video is far too graphic to show our viewers.

Can you describe some of what's on it?

NASR: Well, yes. First of all, the video shows the aftermath of the crash. You see the fuselage of the helicopter and you also see bodies, pretty graphic. You hear a man, the cameraman, calling on someone next to him, saying, "Here, here, here, here's the filthy one." He keeps referring to the bodies as "here's the filthy one," "here's another filthy one."

And another man asks the cameraman to get him a close-up shot of those bodies, very graphic, indeed.

Later on, the scene shifts to a green area and a person that is found in a ditch sort of hiding. And he looked like he was pretending to be dead. They call on him to get up. They say in English: "Stand up! Stand up!"

The man lying down in the ditch, he says: "I'm injured. I have a broken leg. Help me. Give me your hand."

And they help him up. They give him their hand, help him out of the ditch. And then there's a little scuffle and they ask him in Arabic whether he has weapons. They repeat the word several times. Obviously the man not understanding what they're saying.

Then they say, "Go! Go! Go!"

You see a scuffle and the man walks away.

Now, the man, interesting, what he's wearing is very interesting. He's wearing like a blue overall and he's wearing like black gloves. You know, we cannot identify the man. We don't know who he is. We...

COSTELLO: Well, let's center on exactly what happened, because this was such a cowardly, cruel act. The man was running away. As he was running -- and limping, because he did have a broken leg -- they shot him 15 times. Before they did it, they said: "We are applying god's law."

The group the Islamic Army has taken responsibility for this.

Who are they? What other cruel acts have they performed?

NASR: Well, they've killed -- they've taken hostages before. They're known for taking hostages. They've executed several hostages. But they became very well known when they took a couple of French journalists hostage. And they released them a few months afterward. This is when the Islamic Army became really in the spotlight.

To go back to the video, Carol, one thing that happened that is extremely important here also shows the cruelty of the insurgents. They tell the man to walk away and then the cameraman tells the gunman to hold it. He said: "One moment. One moment."

And he adjusts his angle. He zooms his camera out and gets a good picture of the victim. And then he says: "OK, now you can go."

And then they say: "We're applying god's law on you."

And, indeed...

COSTELLO: And then they shoot him 15 times, because they wanted this to be on camera.

NASR: Right.

COSTELLO: And now Al Jazeera is showing some of this on their network...

NASR: No, no, no. Let's be very careful here and not...

COSTELLO: OK.

NASR: ... and not, you know, describe what Al Jazeera is airing as the whole thing. They're not airing the whole thing. As a matter of fact, Al Jazeera is airing very little of the video. They're just showing that fuselage in flames. That's all they're airing. And they made it very clear...

COSTELLO: So they're showing no bodies?

NASR: Yes. They made it very clear yesterday that they refuse to show bodies and they refuse to show the execution. They were the first ones to report that there was a man found alive and executed on the scene. But they refuse to show that video.

So it's very important to say that Arab media are dealing with the story in a very responsible way. As a matter of fact, they showed a little less than what we had showed in the piece that CNN put together -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I'm very relieved.

One more question for you.

Since this act was so cruel, might it create more of a backlash against these insurgents?

NASR: Well, there is that chance. You know, if you read the mainstream Arab media and Arab Web sites, you're going to get outrage, people saying things like this is not going to help anybody, this is animalistic, this is not going to help anybody's cause.

But then again, you look at the extremist Web sites and you're going to find cheers and jubilation over the act. As a matter of fact, the video, when we found it, it was described as come in here and see the heroes stomping over the bodies of the Americans.

So you (AUDIO GAP) important to say that this video is found on an extremist Web site. The mainstream Arab media and Arab sites are not, are not cheering this. On the contrary, they're outraged at it. But I think the mood on Arab media right now is that the situation in Iraq is deteriorating fast and then the situation is unbearable and they're very worried about where the country is headed.

COSTELLO: Octavia Nasr, thanks for making things clear and filling us in this morning.

We appreciate it. A U.S. Army sergeant convicted of killing fellow soldiers just before the Iraq war could face the death penalty. A military court has found Sergeant Hasan Akbar guilty in a grenade attack on an Army barracks in Kuwait more than two years ago. Two soldiers were killed in that attack, 14 others injured. Sentencing is scheduled for Monday.

In Ruskin, Florida tomorrow, the funeral for 13-year-old Sarah Lunde. Her body was found last weekend, partially submerged in a pond near her home. A convicted sex offender is charged in Sarah's death.

In Washington, lawmakers proposed the Jessica Lunsford Act (AUDIO GAP) is to keep closer tabs on convicted sex offenders. The 9-year- old Florida girl was abducted and killed last month, allegedly by a convicted sex offender.

Jessica's father Mark called her "the light of his life."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK LUNSFORD, JESSICA LUNSFORD'S FATHER: I will never see Jessie go on her first date. I will never be a grandfather to her children. There's more to raising a child than bumps and bruises, Band-Aids and bicycles. I will never have those things with Jessie.

Eight weeks ago, a repeat sex offender stole this life away from me. Today, my daughter is gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The legislation would require states to verify the locations of sex offenders twice a year.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, chasing down the storm. Hear from one of the men who followed this funnel cloud.

Plus, from nukes to world peace, he asked about it all during his talk in Tehran. Now I will talk to the reporter who landed an interview with the president of Iran.

And we know it's a stretch, but think back to what you were doing in 1981. Now your chance to revisit the "Dynasty" days.

But first, here's a look at what else is happening this Friday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE INTERPRETER," COURTESY UNIVERSAL PICTURES)

SEAN PENN, ACTOR: How did you happen to be up there after hours?

NICOLE KIDMAN, ACTOR: We had an evacuation and I left some of my things in the sound booth. I had to go back for them. PENN: And at that moment there happened to be a couple of fellows talking about an assassination in a language that you and maybe eight other people understand in a room full of microphones?

KIDMAN: Do you think I'm making it up? Why would I report a threat I didn't hear?

PENN: People do.

KIDMAN: I don't.

PENN: Some people like attention.

KIDMAN: I don't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The movie "The Interpreter" comes out this weekend. So are you still wondering what to do this weekend? Here are some thoughts. Take a walk, cut the grass or see that movie. And if you choose a movie, we have more suggestions for you.

I'm joined by Tom O'Neil of "In Touch Weekly."

Welcome back.

I haven't seen you for ages.

TOM O'NEIL, "IN TOUCH WEEKLY": Yes, I missed you.

COSTELLO: Wow!

Let's talk about "The Interpreter," because this is supposed to be a terrific movie. And the unusual thing about this, it was shot inside the United Nations here in New York.

O'NEIL: And, Carol, we being New Yorkers, and West Siders, are such snobs we don't get to that far East Side where the United -- the real surprise about this movie is the setting at the U.N. They have gardens over there. We have to have a date rape picnic is what I was thinking.

COSTELLO: Well, it's right on the East River. It's actually quite a beautiful spot.

O'NEIL: It really is. And it's, it feels historic and it feels important.

The movie is so well stylized, it's so beautifully acted and there's an ache between these characters, who have -- who yearn, you know, lovingly for each other but can't have each other. And that adds a wonderful dimension to it. She's an interpreter at the U.N. who thinks she's overheard a murder plot and he's an FBI agent (AUDIO GAP) protect her. But you don't know if she's in the plot or not in the plot.

The problem is the story is a little traditional. But it doesn't matter. It's so well made, you just go with it.

COSTELLO: So do we see people like Kofi Annan in the movie?

O'NEIL: Yes. It's terrific. Only Sydney Pollack could get away with this, the great director, who gave us "Tootsie" and won the Oscar for "Out of Africa," you know, "The Way We Were." He's one of the great legendary directors and he gave it. It's a wonderful film.

COSTELLO: Oh, I can't wait to see it.

We have some pictures of Nicole Kidman, by the way, on the red carpet.

O'NEIL: Oh, good.

COSTELLO: At the Tribeca Film Festival.

O'NEIL: Yes, where it opened the other night.

COSTELLO: And my producer, Angie Massey (ph), said she looks mighty skinny.

O'NEIL: Yes. We've got to get her to eat, eat.

COSTELLO: Maybe she's just working too hard. I'd like to think she is eating.

O'NEIL: I hope so.

COSTELLO: Oh, man.

OK, let's switch gears and let's not talk about movies for just a second and talk about "Dynasty."

O'NEIL: Why do you cringe?

COSTELLO: Well, why do we want to go back there?

O'NEIL: Because the whole dynasty of diva prime time TV that is so big right now with "Desperate Housewives" began with "Dynasty" in the 1980s, which was the original camp fest movie. This was just like "Desperate Housewives" -- fearlessly campy, beautifully written. The characters feel things (AUDIO GAP). It's absurd but wonderfully written.

COSTELLO: And, you know, I remember times when I, too, fought my rival and fell into a swimming pool and kept pummeling her over and over again, because that happens in real life.

O'NEIL: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: In my world, oh, yes, every day.

O'NEIL: Well, you're referring, of course, to the great bitch fights between Linda Evans and Joan Collins. And it was so -- we hadn't seen that since Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Thank god it was back.

COSTELLO: So what are they going to do, a remake of "Dynasty" on TV? Like I'm not getting it.

O'NEIL: They're thinking of doing a made-for-TV movie...

COSTELLO: Oh.

O'NEIL: ... miniseries version of it (AUDIO GAP).

COSTELLO: I don't think so either. Then we'd have to see all those very large shoulder-padded jackets again and I'm just not ready for that.

O'NEIL: OK.

COSTELLO: Tom O'Neil, thank you.

It's fun. Fun, as usual.

O'NEIL: Thanks.

COSTELLO: Let's talk about the weather now.

In southeastern Kansas, thunderstorms, large hail, heavy rain and this monster tornado. A few homes were damaged or destroyed when the tornado touched down. No injuries reported now, serious injuries, anyway. The man who caught the twister on video is storm chaser Reed Timmer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REED TIMMER, STORM CHASER: Initially, we were in southeast Kansas and we saw the storm develop to our south. And it was beautiful. It had a beautiful, nice, crisp anvil and everything. And so we headed south and punched through the core and had -- got pelted by baseball sized hail. And as it continued south, we saw some rapid rotation in the wall climb (ph).

And then it just headed east and the funnel came down very slowly, a very skinny, beautiful, wide tornado. And, again, there was baseball sized hail being flung around the tornado. (AUDIO GAP) where my bike helmet, so we were a little bit worried about the hail.

But, yes, it was a beautiful tornado and it was a good thing that it was out over (AUDIO GAP).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK, Chad, I want to ask you a few questions.

He calls this a beautiful tornado in the first place, which is kind of strange.

MYERS: It is kind of strange.

COSTELLO: And I wondered, the hail pelting him?

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: How fast was that traveling?

MYERS: Hail can fall somewhere between 95 and 115 miles an hour. That's terminal velocity for a hail storm, Carol. So that is really fast. And even a golf ball sized hail that hits you in the arm will put a good sized welt on your arm. It's like getting hit by a drive from Tiger Woods, I mean, literally. And why he was calling it a beautiful tornado was really -- the word he was describing was really classic, because it was well structured. The storm was very vertical and the storm started out as a rope, got much larger and then went back to a rope again as it got wrapped in rain from another storm that collapsed it.

Two storms collided there and then that actually disintegrated the energy that the tornado was using. So that storm didn't even get into Missouri. It stayed in Kansas. There's going to be...

COSTELLO: Well, you're going to tell us about more nasty weather to come.

MYERS: Lots more. Lots more today.

COSTELLO: OK. We'll listen for your forecast.

Thank you, Chad.

MYERS: You bet.

COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK, in a Virginia courtroom today, the only man ever charged for the 9/11 attacks will enter his guilty plea -- or will he?

And what are Iran's intentions in the world? Only one Western reporter has been able to ask that question in eight years. We'll hear what responses he got from the president of Iran.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Ahead this hour on DAYBREAK, will Pete Rose ever make it into the Baseball Hall of Fame? Bud Selig has something to say about that.

And one syllable or five? Some names are just too awful to give to a child. We'll take a look at the worst with the man who wrote a different kind of baby name book.

And send us your worst, daybreak@cnn.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking on stories from across the globe now, Japanese law makers made their first annual visit to a shrine honoring their war dead. Convicted war criminals are buried here, as well. This year's visit was particularly upsetting to China, especially since Japan is trying to get China to stop anti-Japanese street protests.

Spain's lower house of parliament has approved a measure to legalize same sex marriage. The move would make Spain the third European nation, joining Belgium and the Netherlands, to legalize gay marriage. The bill still needs to be voted on by Spain's upper house, but has strong support there.

And a stand-off near the Muslim holy city of Mecca has entered a second day. Saudi police chased three suspected Islamic militants into a house after a policeman was killed at a security checkpoint shootout. Authorities say the suspects slipped through the checkpoint dressed as women. Islamic militants linked to al Qaeda have been battling Saudi authorities since 2003.

For the first time in eight years, Iran's president has answered questions during an interview with a Western journalist. It's a "G.Q." exclusive and the man who spoke with President Mohammad Khatami joins us live.

He is journalist Hooman Majd.

Thank you for being with us this morning.

HOOMAN MAJD, "G.Q." MAGAZINE: Thank you.

Good morning.

COSTELLO: How did you snag this interview?

MAJD: Well, I -- "G.Q." wanted to see if it was possible to get an interview with Mr. Khatami. And I have friends in Iran that I stayed in touch with on and off over the last 26 years, since the revolution, one of whom I went to college with, who is his chief of staff, Ali Khatami.

And I posed the question, could we do this? And at first the answer was, well, basically he doesn't speak to American journalists. He has spoken to Western journalists sometimes in press conferences, but a sit down interview he hasn't done in a long time.

And then -- but I think being of Iranian extraction, I think, helped. And being able to do it in Farsi, I think, helped, the fact that it was going to be a comfortable interview.

COSTELLO: Right, because you can speak Farsi.

MAJD: I can speak Farsi, yes.

COSTELLO: So as you're sitting down getting ready to interview him, what is it like in the room?

MAJD: It's far more relaxed than you would ever expect it to be. It's -- there is no pomp in the Iranian political system. There's no -- I mean we're sitting in a palace, which was an old shah's palace. But actually the decoration is very simple. He's actually a simple man, it seems. I mean he's a cleric, so I would imagine that he should be simple.

But he, it's very comfortable, very relaxed, very, very charming, as many politicians are, as one would expect him to be. And he just puts you at ease.

COSTELLO: Wow!

Well, let's get to meat of the issue.

You asked him many interesting questions. You know, I guess it surprised me that Iranians are still so upset at when President Bush made them part of this axis of evil.

MAJD: Axis of evil.

COSTELLO: And they still have that axe to grind.

MAJD: They certainly do, yes.

COSTELLO: What did he say about that?

MAJD: Well, I think this big complaint about that was essentially that Iran had, under his administration, had tried to open up to the West. Certainly to Europe it's opened up very much. And to America, there had been some signals with the Clinton administration. And they felt that, you know, with the Taliban, with the fall of the Taliban, who are big enemies of Iran -- and they had helped, they felt like they had helped the United States military by offering to, you know, rescue downed pilots and so on and so forth, that they were on a path to reconciliation with the United States.

And then the axis of evil really took them by surprise. They were like wait a second, what's going on here? We just helped you and here we are now, we're evil?

COSTELLO: Well, of course (AUDIO GAP) completely the opposite way.

I want to talk about nuclear weapons...

MAJD: Yes?

COSTELLO: ... because there is a thought they are developing nuclear weapons.

What did he have to say about them?

MAJD: He thought, in the interview he kind of side-stepped the issue a little bit in saying well, you know, we have the right to do nuclear research and so on and so forth. When before we actually sat down and had the interview, just in standing and talking, he said I know, I know about the nuclear issue. He brought it up himself. He said I know, I know, I know you want to talk about the nuclear issue. And then he said it's, you know, it's ridiculous. They think that we're going to build a nuclear bomb and then hand it to terrorists? Why? You know, and he started laughing, thinking that such a preposterous notion.

And I think he was being genuine. I don't think that he, certainly he or anybody in his administration, would want to hand over a nuclear bomb, even if they were to develop one.

COSTELLO: Well, true. But there is some evidence they are developing something nuclear.

MAJD: It's a separate issue. It's a separate issue. It's a separate issue whether they are developing it or whether they're going to give it to terrorists. And then that's -- I think they separate that issue, too, in their minds. And they're developing something nuclear, no question. No question about that. Something they claim is just for nuclear energy. And, of course, we think that it's likely that once you have nuclear energy, whether you have plans to develop weapons or not, that you probably will.

COSTELLO: Yes, so we're all talking like this?

MAJD: Exactly.

COSTELLO: Yes.

MAJD: Yes.

COSTELLO: Hooman Majd, thank you for joining DAYBREAK this morning.

We appreciate it.

MAJD: Thank you very much.

COSTELLO: Coming up on DAYBREAK, a big day at the Dow. What will Friday hold? Carrie Lee has the "Business Buzz," coming up in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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