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American Morning
Maiden Flight of Airbus A380; Young Girls and Steroids
Aired April 27, 2005 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Opening bell from Wall Street a few short seconds ago. Wal-Mart doing the honors today. For the Dow 30, 10,151 is your opening mark, off about 91 points in trading on Tuesday. Another down day there. Nasdaq, well below 2,000 now. 1,927, off about 23 points in trading yesterday. Open for business now.
Good morning, everybody, on this AMERICAN MORNING. Good to have you along with us today. It is Wednesday here and something amazing today in aviation history. The world's largest passenger plane made its first flight. And you know who's really jacked up about this today? Our man Richard Quest. He's in Toulouse, France, and we're going to talk to him in a moment here, right where the plane came down just about an hour ago.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Also this morning, some shocking reports about little girls using steroids, the same steroids that body-builders use. Apparently, these girls want to have sculpted bodies like models long before their bodies are finished growing. The author of a book on aggression is girls is going to help us on this one.
HEMMER: Wow. What a story that is, too. We'll get to that. First, though, the headlines. And we get to Carol Costello now. Good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning to all of you.
"Now in the News," an Algerian man faces up 35 years in prison for plotting to attack the Los Angeles Airport. Ahmed Ressam known as the Millennium Bomber, is set to be sentenced in a Seattle courtroom in next two hours. Ressam was caught on the U.S./Canada border with a car full of explosives in late 1999.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Capitol Hill right now. He's among those testifying this morning on the Patriot Act. The Senate Select Intelligence Committee is trying to decide if the measure has been useful in fighting terrorism. The hearing is about to get underway. You're looking at live picture from Capitol Hill. FBI director Robert Mueller and CIA head Porter Goss also expected to testify here.
President Bush unveiling his new energy policy today. Sources say the president's plans include turning old military bases into refineries and encouraging the construction of new nuclear plants. The president is calling on Congress to give him an energy bill by this summer. The president's speech is set to take place at about 2:00 p.m. Eastern. CNN, of course, will provide you live coverage.
In California, Michael Jackson's ex-wife and the mother of two of his children, set to take the stand today. Prosecutors want Debbie Rowe to testify about a videotaped interview she gave two years ago defending Jackson. Rowe says it was highly scripted and that she did the interview in the hopes of gaining greater access to her children.
And remember the dress Judy Garland wore as Dorothy in the 1939 classic "The Wizard of Oz"? Not exactly that one, but another one. I'm talking about the blue and white gingham frock. Remember that? Well, it has been sold for more than $250,000. An unnamed phone buyer purchased the dress at a London auction house earlier today. Toto not included.
O'BRIEN: We'll know who it is if we see them wearing the dress.
COSTELLO: It's true.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Big day today for the history of air travel. The world's largest passenger plane made its flying debut. It's 555 seats. It's an Airbus A380. Took its bow on a test run over Toulouse, France today. Four aisles in the passenger section, it can carry 35 percent more people than its closest rival. And some of the double decker planes will feature cocktail bars, double beds, rather, and massage parlors.
Richard Quest has been waiting for this thing for a long time. He's in Toulouse, France. Hello, Richard!
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill.
You know, it's about at least ten years since Boeing and Airbus both held a joint study to see whether a big plane was profitable, that we've all been looking. But there it is. And you know something, Bill? It flies. It took off, it stayed in the air for four hours. It went up. It went down. They brought the wheels up, they put the flaps down. They actually did a fully-fledged test flight. And then just about an hour ago it touch down here in Toulouse.
What you're looking at now is the sort of scrub as the test pilots are in the middle of there. Bill, everything about this plane is huge. It can carry over 800 passengers, not that most airlines will use it like that. 555 is the number. It weighs more than anything else. When it took off today, 421 tons. So a record has already been broken, Bill. The heaviest plane flew from Toulouse today.
It has been -- you know, I can't help feeling that in Boeing in Chicago and Seattle, they will be thinking, all right, so Airbus has built a big plane. Will they ever make money on it? And that, Bill, is the key question.
HEMMER: Yes, very good question, too. What do you think is the demand out there, Richard? You're a business reporter, as well. What kind of an impact could this have on air travel?
QUEST: This plane is designed for one specific route or type of route. Sydney to Los Angeles. Singapore to London. Frankfurt to San Francisco. Those very densely traveled routes where you need high capacity, but airports are restricted or they're simply not -- the bums on the seats, there's not the room. It is not designed for New York to Miami, Chicago to Dallas, Seattle to Atlanta. No way. You need frequency there.
For these other big routes, you want lots of seats and the only way you can do it with airports that are congested is with a behemoth like that. So it's very, very small number of routes that you would ever make money running an A380.
HEMMER: Hey, well done, Richard. Good to see you. From Toulouse, France, Richard Quest there, from overseas -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, suburban Chicago police want to know why a kidnapped teenager's desperate calls for help last week seem to have been ignored by emergency operators. Chris Lawrence has the 911 tapes in a violent case that has police second-guessing now their procedures.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This suburban Chicago teenager spent his last moments on a cell phone, begging police to save his life.
DAVID STEEVES, KIDNAPPED IN CHICAGO: Oh my God, you guys, please help me, please help me. Oh, my God, please help me.
LAWRENCE: David Steeves is dead and police in Elgin, Illinois, are conducting an internal investigation to see if more could have been done to save him. Police say these two men robbed him and stuffed him in the trunk of his mother's car. That's when he pulled out his cell phone and called 911.
STEEVES: My name is David Steeves. Please find me. I'm in trouble right now.
911 DISPATCHER: What's your name?
STEEVES: David Steeves. I'm on -- we're going fast, man.
911 DISPATCHER: Stay on the phone with me.
STEEVES: I'm in a trunk right now. I don't know where I'm at.
911 DISPATCHER: All right. Stay on the phone, man.
STEEVES: Oh being my God! My God. Please help me. Please help me. Oh my God, please help me!
LAWRENCE: The call was disconnected and the operator thought it could be a prank. 911 DISPATCHER TO POLICE: Every time the call taker tries to call the subject back, he hangs up. He won't give his name the way we can understand what he's saying. All he says is he's moving fast and traveling South Street in the trunk a green Toyota Corolla and then he hang ups. Call taker thinks it could be a prank, but it isn't definite on it.
LAWRENCE (on camera): For the next 15 minutes, police talked to some local teenagers nearby to see if one of them made the call. When an officer determined they didn't, he told operator to clear what he called this prank call.
(voice-over): Police kept looking for that car and six days later, they found it, with Steeves still in the trunk, shot to death. These two men have been charged with his murder. Steeves' family has supported the police, calling their efforts tireless and diligent. But investigators still want to find out if everyone involved acted appropriately.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: And in fact, David Steeves was kidnapped on April 8th. Police were able to find his body six days later -- Bill.
HEMMER: Now 21 minutes now before the hour. And our "House Call" this morning, an alarming number of American girls, some as young as the age of nine, are using body-building steroids. There's new research finding that five percent of middle school girls and seven percent of high school girls have admitted to trying steroids at least once.
Well, Rachel Simmons is an author. She's written the book "Odd Girl Out," which looks at aggression in young girls. She's my guest here in New York. Good morning to you, Rachel.
RACHEL SIMMONS, AUTHOR, "ODD GIRL OUT": Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: Why would someone at that age turn to steroids?
SIMMONS: Well, I think you have a couple reasons. The research is showing that girl athletes are now using the substances, but we're also seeing girls using it as part of a constellation of supplements to diets. So along with diuretics and amphetamines, we're now seeing girls using steroids.
HEMMER: So they're using steroids to get a better body or they're using steroids to perform better on the soccer field?
SIMMONS: I think we're seeing two different kinds of uses. Some girls are athletes, and along with playing like the boys, they're using steroids like the boys.
HEMMER: What kind of steroids? Is this human growth hormone, is this over-the-counter? What is it? SIMMONS: Well, we're looking at illegal anabolic steroids that kids are getting obtaining online, that they're getting possibly from parents and coaches, although that's, I think, a small number where they're getting them from.
HEMMER: Where are they learning this, by the way?
SIMMONS: Well, I think, again, it's sort of part of if you want to play like the boys, then you're going to have to stimulate your muscles like the boys. I think maybe this is one of the undersides of equality with boys, right? We've given girls everything that boys have.
HEMMER: You say that -- two things to clear up here. Steroid use may also represent the underside of what you've just mentioned here, becoming more equal with boys.
SIMMONS: That's right.
HEMMER: You find that competition at that age?
SIMMONS: Well, I think you -- what -- Title IX, for example, opened up the resources to girl. We're giving girls the same uniforms, the same access to playing time, the same number of games that boys have, and if you're going to give girls the potential to go as far as boys, then you're going to see girls using the same stimulants and resources that boys are using, for better or for worse.
HEMMER: The second point, you're saying in general we as a society we tend to identify problems in girls only after we have identified them in boys first.
SIMMONS: It's true. I think similarly the work that I do is about aggression in girls, bullying in girls. We tend to think about a bully as a physical boy, not a psychological girl. Similarly, when we think about steroids, we're always looking at the boys. Now we're finally taking a look at girls.
HEMMER: Some of the side effects, increased facial hair, deepening of the voice, lost of feminine characteristic, menstrual cycle changes. If you're a parent watching a segment like this, what do you as a parent tell your kid? And how do you talk to them?
SIMMONS: Honestly, the best thing to tell a teenage girl is your voice is going to get deeper, you're going to get facial hair, you might have male-pattern baldness. You can tell a girl you might have risk of heart attack and stroke, but most teenage girls are going to react pretty strongly to hearing that they're going to start looking and sounding like boys.
HEMMER: I have to tell you, when we first heard about this, we were a bit surprised by it. Were you as well?
SIMMONS: I was a bit surprised by it, but I'm not entirely surprised by it, because, for example, the feminine body ideal has really gone from the Twiggy, skinny, waify look to more of a muscular look. We see stars like Madonna, for example, with these very toned arms. And while I think some people might say, oh, wow, it's great that girls aren't going to be skinny and twiggy anymore, I think that would be a mistake because we've got yet another perfectionist ideal that we're holding girls to.
HEMMER: It's an interesting topic, and thanks for sharing with us, Rachel Simmons -- Soledad.
SIMMONS: Thanks for having me.
O'BRIEN: Well, "90-Second Pop" is straight ahead this morning. Brad and Angelina caught frolicking on the beach, but did they get caught on purpose? A look at that up next, on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: This is my new favorite song. It's like a head-banging song. Who is it? Who sings it?
COSTELLO: Gwen Stefani.
O'BRIEN: Oh, sorry. I have four children. I don't listen to music anymore unless it's like for preschoolers.
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: Rappie, rappie (ph).
O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome. It's time for the Wednesday edition of "90-Second Pop." Let me introduce you to our pop panelists this morning. B.J. Sigesmund from "Us Weekly." Carol Costello is pinch hitting for us this morning.
Good morning.
And Andy Borowitz from borowitzreport.com.
We have so much to talk about. Let's get to it.
We're going to start with "Us Weekly," because these pictures made a lot of money.
B.J. SIGESMUND, "US WEEKLY": Amazing, aren't they?
O'BRIEN: Well, I don't know if they're amazing. Let's take a look at them first. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt finally in the same shot, and look at little Maddox, who is so adorable, also in the same shot. But this is like the big romantic? It doesn't look that romantic.
SIGESMUND: I think these pictures are awesome. And we can only show two of them on CNN this morning. The magazine, which is out this week, has 12 full pages of them. And they tell a beautiful story. Brad and Angelina walking along the beach...
COSTELLO: Oh! SIGESMUND: Hold on, Carol. Walking along the beach with Maddox building sand castles. Angelina is holding a pail, bringing more water to Brad and Maddox. And, you know, if these two are involved, it definitely brings more level to the certainty that they are romantically involved.
O'BRIEN: Before I let the panel take exception to some of that, I want to point out what you can see right there, right there, that's from the movie, "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," right?
SIGESMUND: Yes, that looks like a still from the movie.
O'BRIEN: I mean, because they're hugging and kissing. But, like, I sort of thought salacious pictures, hugging and kissing. You don't see that.
SIGESMUND: But, you know, that's sort of the point, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: They're in so in love they don't kiss anymore?
SIGESMUND: No, but actually..
BOROWITZ: They just build things out of sand now.
SIGESMUND: Well, any couple...
BOROWITZ: That's the hot thing that couples do.
SIGESMUND: Any couple that comes in the public eye in a controversial way, you don't want the first picture of them together in a big kiss.
O'BRIEN: Staged.
SIGESMUND: This is a way of breaking the story softly if they are romantically involved.
BOROWITZ: Are you, like, going to choreograph their first fight for us? That would be really great if they just have like a fight.
SIGESMUND: OK, Carol, bring it on.
COSTELLO: You mean they knew that photographers were there, and they were doing this just as an entree.
BOROWITZ: Right.
SIGESMUND: Well, there has been speculation that they did know that a photographer was there.
O'BRIEN: Yes, I mean, they're on an empty beach in Kenya, for god's sake.
COSTELLO: And they're clothed! They're not even in bathing suits.
BOROWITZ: And they had a crew working on that castle the night before, too.
O'BRIEN: And the truth is, anytime you're with your 3-year-old, it's so not romantic anyway. This really could be true reality. All right.
SIGESMUND: Thank you Soledad.
O'BRIEN: You're welcome, B.J. You know I'm here for you.
We're talking about Paula Abdul again.
BOROWITZ: Why not?
O'BRIEN: There is -- because, you know, she's had a tough time. ABC News has got this special edition of "Primetime Live."
BOROWITZ: Right.
O'BRIEN: They're going to have a big expose. They haven't exactly said what they're going to be talking about.
BOROWITZ: Right.
O'BRIEN: So, what do we know?
BOROWITZ: Well, it's all going to be scandal time at "American Idol." And I guess they're not saying what's in there. I guess what's being alleged is that they're going to talk about potential inappropriate contact or activity between Paula, who seems like such a beacon of stability to me, and one of the contestants. But Paula, you know, in the past...
O'BRIEN: Wait. So, she's hooked up with a contestant?
BOROWITZ: Well, that's the alleged -- allegedly. There have always been rumors about her and costars. I mean, back in the '90s remember her and MC Scat Cat. There was that whole thing. So, I don't know. I mean, I just don't know what to believe. I don't really know.
SIGESMUND: And it's interesting, because Martin Singer, Paula Abdul's lawyer, is on the aggressive, trying to prevent ABC "Primetime Live" from doing this expose, which is scheduled for the sweeps.
BOROWITZ: Right.
O'BRIEN: Which everybody knows, it generally means, you know, if you've got your lawyers, big guns out, it kind of means there might be something there, right?
BOROWITZ: It's those lawsuits flying back between, like, ABC and Fox. So, you wonder, like, who is the winner. I think Court TV. I think Court TV will be the winner.
O'BRIEN: When they run the whole thing.
You guys, I thank you very much. Bill, back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: All right, Soledad, thanks.
Next hour, CNN comes your way with "CNN LIVE TODAY" and Daryn Kagan.
What you working on, Daryn? Good morning.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We have quite a bit for you, Bill. If you're feeling pain at the gas pump, some help may actually be on the way. And it could make those hot hybrid vehicles even hotter. We'll explain that.
Plus more on President Bush's new energy plan. Also it is a beautiful day in the neighborhood. We will remember the wisdom of Mr. Rogers. His widow, Joanne, has written a book with some of the best thoughts of Mr. Rogers. It's a good, warm feeling to visit with Mrs. Rogers.
HEMMER: Warm and fuzzy.
KAGAN: Yes.
HEMMER: Well, we're going nowhere. We'll see you then Daryn, thanks.
Next here on AMERICAN MORNING, an author finds out the hard way why it's really a bad idea to mess with Steve Jobs. Andy has that after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Still talking about that money story from last hour. An author finding out the hard way you don't cross Steve Jobs. Bad move. That and a check of the markets, early action, now here's Andy Serwer. What happened with this? First the markets, then we'll talk about that.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" COLUMNIST: Well, Steve Jobs is a guy who likes to control things, let's just say.
Let's talk about the market, though, first of all. Dow slipping 48 points. And here we go again. Amazon.com down six percent, to $30. They announced numbers after the closing bell yesterday that Wall Street was not too pleased with.
Now, here's a story about Steve Jobs. An author, Jeffrey Young, is writing a book about him called "Icon: The Greatest Second Act in Business." And Steve Jobs is a private guy, but he's also a controlling person who likes to control the press, P.R. He also runs a company which has gotten very litigious these days. They've sued a number of Web sites, they sued that kid at Harvard University who was allegedly printing secrets about the new computers they were going to be putting out and that sort of things. This guy has a book that's about to come out. He must be loving this publicity. And the company, Steve Jobs, did not like the book. And so he asked Apple and Steve Jobs to say, well, what's wrong with the book? Can you correct anything in the book? And they said, the only way to correct this book is for you not to publish it. Well, he's going to go ahead and publish it.
He did write a book earlier about Jobs, which wasn't so complimentary. He says this one's a little more complimentary. In response, apparently, Apple has removed all books published by John Wiley from its stores, which is, coincidentally, the same publisher that publishing Jeffrey Young's book. So in other words, there are a lot of computer manuals and other books about Apple computer in Apple stores...
HEMMER: That is nasty.
SERWER: ... and Apple has taken them away. You could, of course, still get all these books at amazon.com or Barnes and Noble's or Border's, so you know, they don't sell a huge number of these books there, but it's significant.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Don't they understand, though? Doesn't Jobs get it? I mean, he sells i-Pods. He knows how to sell those. He's selling this guy's books for him. Doesn't he -- don't they understand that?
SERWER: Exactly. His name is Jeff Young and the book's called "Icon." That's what we're talking about.
HEMMER: And you just sold a few more.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: This is a book that eight people might buy otherwise, now eight million people might buy it.
SERWER: It's a book about Steve Jobs.
CAFFERTY: Exactly.
SERWER: I mean, it's just crazy. He should be a little smarter than that.
CAFFERTY: They don't get it.
SERWER: I agree with you.
HEMMER: Thank you, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: "Question of the Day," a final look.
CAFFERTY: Mercifully, we're about -- kind of sad. What would you do about Social Security? Because the president's deal for two months now, flying around on Air Force One on your dime, trying to peddle this privatization thing, well, it ain't happening. So we thought we'd ask you what you'd do about it.
Dick in Fleischmanns, New York, writes: "There are a lot of people in this country who don't need their Social Security check each month. Why not offer them" -- this is a good idea -- "why not them offer them a tax incentive to forgo either three or six or all 12 of their monthly Social Security payments?"
Athena in Texas writes: "Leave the current plan in place and improve funding. Increase or eliminate the cap on Social Security wages. My salary is greater than $100,000 and I would never notice the removal of the cap!" Which I think kicks -- what is it, $90,000 now?
SERWER: 90, yes.
CAFFERTY: And Maria writes: "Since the inception of Social Security, we're living longer, healthier lives, thanks to advancement in medicine and technology. A solution would be to raise the eligible age for Social Security benefits. If you're living longer and healthier, you should be working longer." I'm not sure I agree with that. I mean, how 'bout we don't work longer and still live longer and healthier and then we can have a few yuks at the back end of this life instead of only when we're kids. How about that for a game plan?
SERWER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Well, everyone's entitled to their opinion on how they think they should pick things. That could be yours.
CAFFERTY: And it is.
HEMMER: Hey, did you hear about the buffalo herd?
SERWER: Yes, I did.
HEMMER: That wound up on the tennis court. See this? It happened yesterday, about 24 hours ago.
SERWER: This is great. This is great. No!
O'BRIEN: The lawn chairs.
HEMMER: Videotape...
SERWER: Go get 'em, Smoky.
HEMMER: These guys are on the loose, right? About a dozen of them? The police can't...
SERWER: In Baltimore.
HEMMER: Yes, well, outside of Baltimore. They can't control them, so one guy gets the smart idea, let's funnel them into a nearby tennis court. SERWER: Doubles, anyone?
HEMMER: That's where they went.
SERWER: Look at that. Right over the net.
CAFFERTY: That looked like Sabrina Williams going over the net -- what's her name? Going over the net there.
O'BRIEN: Oh, that is...
SERWER: The buffalo that ate Baltimore. Get out. Watch out.
CAFFERTY: Serena. Not Sabrina. Serena.
SERWER: Serena, yes.
HEMMER: Easy now.
O'BRIEN: Please.
HEMMER: That's in Baltimore yesterday.
CAFFERTY: John C. Davenport, jumping the net.
HEMMER: Break here, back in a moment. One final word after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Aaron's got a preview of what's coming up tonight on "NEWSNIGHT."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Soledad. Tonight on "NEWSNIGHT," before 9/11, one of the early victories in the war on terror and one of the early heroes, as well. A grandmother who went up against a bomber and won.
We'll tell you her story, plus all the day's other news, morning papers, and everything else that makes "NEWSNIGHT, "NEWSNIGHT." CNN tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern -- Soledad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Aaron, thanks. We're out of time. That's it.
HEMMER: Yes we are.
O'BRIEN: We're done for today.
HEMMER: I'm thinking we bring back the three guys with the cash tomorrow. They had a story to tell.
SERWER: Later in the afternoon. See what... (CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: They're going to be on the third ring of Saturn, 11:30, 12:00.
HEMMER: Jack, I think they were on the second ring when they were sitting on this couch.
SERWER: Yes, sir.
HEMMER: Inside story. Here's Daryn Kagan. How are you, Daryn? Good morning.
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 27, 2005 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Opening bell from Wall Street a few short seconds ago. Wal-Mart doing the honors today. For the Dow 30, 10,151 is your opening mark, off about 91 points in trading on Tuesday. Another down day there. Nasdaq, well below 2,000 now. 1,927, off about 23 points in trading yesterday. Open for business now.
Good morning, everybody, on this AMERICAN MORNING. Good to have you along with us today. It is Wednesday here and something amazing today in aviation history. The world's largest passenger plane made its first flight. And you know who's really jacked up about this today? Our man Richard Quest. He's in Toulouse, France, and we're going to talk to him in a moment here, right where the plane came down just about an hour ago.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Also this morning, some shocking reports about little girls using steroids, the same steroids that body-builders use. Apparently, these girls want to have sculpted bodies like models long before their bodies are finished growing. The author of a book on aggression is girls is going to help us on this one.
HEMMER: Wow. What a story that is, too. We'll get to that. First, though, the headlines. And we get to Carol Costello now. Good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning to all of you.
"Now in the News," an Algerian man faces up 35 years in prison for plotting to attack the Los Angeles Airport. Ahmed Ressam known as the Millennium Bomber, is set to be sentenced in a Seattle courtroom in next two hours. Ressam was caught on the U.S./Canada border with a car full of explosives in late 1999.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Capitol Hill right now. He's among those testifying this morning on the Patriot Act. The Senate Select Intelligence Committee is trying to decide if the measure has been useful in fighting terrorism. The hearing is about to get underway. You're looking at live picture from Capitol Hill. FBI director Robert Mueller and CIA head Porter Goss also expected to testify here.
President Bush unveiling his new energy policy today. Sources say the president's plans include turning old military bases into refineries and encouraging the construction of new nuclear plants. The president is calling on Congress to give him an energy bill by this summer. The president's speech is set to take place at about 2:00 p.m. Eastern. CNN, of course, will provide you live coverage.
In California, Michael Jackson's ex-wife and the mother of two of his children, set to take the stand today. Prosecutors want Debbie Rowe to testify about a videotaped interview she gave two years ago defending Jackson. Rowe says it was highly scripted and that she did the interview in the hopes of gaining greater access to her children.
And remember the dress Judy Garland wore as Dorothy in the 1939 classic "The Wizard of Oz"? Not exactly that one, but another one. I'm talking about the blue and white gingham frock. Remember that? Well, it has been sold for more than $250,000. An unnamed phone buyer purchased the dress at a London auction house earlier today. Toto not included.
O'BRIEN: We'll know who it is if we see them wearing the dress.
COSTELLO: It's true.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Big day today for the history of air travel. The world's largest passenger plane made its flying debut. It's 555 seats. It's an Airbus A380. Took its bow on a test run over Toulouse, France today. Four aisles in the passenger section, it can carry 35 percent more people than its closest rival. And some of the double decker planes will feature cocktail bars, double beds, rather, and massage parlors.
Richard Quest has been waiting for this thing for a long time. He's in Toulouse, France. Hello, Richard!
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill.
You know, it's about at least ten years since Boeing and Airbus both held a joint study to see whether a big plane was profitable, that we've all been looking. But there it is. And you know something, Bill? It flies. It took off, it stayed in the air for four hours. It went up. It went down. They brought the wheels up, they put the flaps down. They actually did a fully-fledged test flight. And then just about an hour ago it touch down here in Toulouse.
What you're looking at now is the sort of scrub as the test pilots are in the middle of there. Bill, everything about this plane is huge. It can carry over 800 passengers, not that most airlines will use it like that. 555 is the number. It weighs more than anything else. When it took off today, 421 tons. So a record has already been broken, Bill. The heaviest plane flew from Toulouse today.
It has been -- you know, I can't help feeling that in Boeing in Chicago and Seattle, they will be thinking, all right, so Airbus has built a big plane. Will they ever make money on it? And that, Bill, is the key question.
HEMMER: Yes, very good question, too. What do you think is the demand out there, Richard? You're a business reporter, as well. What kind of an impact could this have on air travel?
QUEST: This plane is designed for one specific route or type of route. Sydney to Los Angeles. Singapore to London. Frankfurt to San Francisco. Those very densely traveled routes where you need high capacity, but airports are restricted or they're simply not -- the bums on the seats, there's not the room. It is not designed for New York to Miami, Chicago to Dallas, Seattle to Atlanta. No way. You need frequency there.
For these other big routes, you want lots of seats and the only way you can do it with airports that are congested is with a behemoth like that. So it's very, very small number of routes that you would ever make money running an A380.
HEMMER: Hey, well done, Richard. Good to see you. From Toulouse, France, Richard Quest there, from overseas -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, suburban Chicago police want to know why a kidnapped teenager's desperate calls for help last week seem to have been ignored by emergency operators. Chris Lawrence has the 911 tapes in a violent case that has police second-guessing now their procedures.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This suburban Chicago teenager spent his last moments on a cell phone, begging police to save his life.
DAVID STEEVES, KIDNAPPED IN CHICAGO: Oh my God, you guys, please help me, please help me. Oh, my God, please help me.
LAWRENCE: David Steeves is dead and police in Elgin, Illinois, are conducting an internal investigation to see if more could have been done to save him. Police say these two men robbed him and stuffed him in the trunk of his mother's car. That's when he pulled out his cell phone and called 911.
STEEVES: My name is David Steeves. Please find me. I'm in trouble right now.
911 DISPATCHER: What's your name?
STEEVES: David Steeves. I'm on -- we're going fast, man.
911 DISPATCHER: Stay on the phone with me.
STEEVES: I'm in a trunk right now. I don't know where I'm at.
911 DISPATCHER: All right. Stay on the phone, man.
STEEVES: Oh being my God! My God. Please help me. Please help me. Oh my God, please help me!
LAWRENCE: The call was disconnected and the operator thought it could be a prank. 911 DISPATCHER TO POLICE: Every time the call taker tries to call the subject back, he hangs up. He won't give his name the way we can understand what he's saying. All he says is he's moving fast and traveling South Street in the trunk a green Toyota Corolla and then he hang ups. Call taker thinks it could be a prank, but it isn't definite on it.
LAWRENCE (on camera): For the next 15 minutes, police talked to some local teenagers nearby to see if one of them made the call. When an officer determined they didn't, he told operator to clear what he called this prank call.
(voice-over): Police kept looking for that car and six days later, they found it, with Steeves still in the trunk, shot to death. These two men have been charged with his murder. Steeves' family has supported the police, calling their efforts tireless and diligent. But investigators still want to find out if everyone involved acted appropriately.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: And in fact, David Steeves was kidnapped on April 8th. Police were able to find his body six days later -- Bill.
HEMMER: Now 21 minutes now before the hour. And our "House Call" this morning, an alarming number of American girls, some as young as the age of nine, are using body-building steroids. There's new research finding that five percent of middle school girls and seven percent of high school girls have admitted to trying steroids at least once.
Well, Rachel Simmons is an author. She's written the book "Odd Girl Out," which looks at aggression in young girls. She's my guest here in New York. Good morning to you, Rachel.
RACHEL SIMMONS, AUTHOR, "ODD GIRL OUT": Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: Why would someone at that age turn to steroids?
SIMMONS: Well, I think you have a couple reasons. The research is showing that girl athletes are now using the substances, but we're also seeing girls using it as part of a constellation of supplements to diets. So along with diuretics and amphetamines, we're now seeing girls using steroids.
HEMMER: So they're using steroids to get a better body or they're using steroids to perform better on the soccer field?
SIMMONS: I think we're seeing two different kinds of uses. Some girls are athletes, and along with playing like the boys, they're using steroids like the boys.
HEMMER: What kind of steroids? Is this human growth hormone, is this over-the-counter? What is it? SIMMONS: Well, we're looking at illegal anabolic steroids that kids are getting obtaining online, that they're getting possibly from parents and coaches, although that's, I think, a small number where they're getting them from.
HEMMER: Where are they learning this, by the way?
SIMMONS: Well, I think, again, it's sort of part of if you want to play like the boys, then you're going to have to stimulate your muscles like the boys. I think maybe this is one of the undersides of equality with boys, right? We've given girls everything that boys have.
HEMMER: You say that -- two things to clear up here. Steroid use may also represent the underside of what you've just mentioned here, becoming more equal with boys.
SIMMONS: That's right.
HEMMER: You find that competition at that age?
SIMMONS: Well, I think you -- what -- Title IX, for example, opened up the resources to girl. We're giving girls the same uniforms, the same access to playing time, the same number of games that boys have, and if you're going to give girls the potential to go as far as boys, then you're going to see girls using the same stimulants and resources that boys are using, for better or for worse.
HEMMER: The second point, you're saying in general we as a society we tend to identify problems in girls only after we have identified them in boys first.
SIMMONS: It's true. I think similarly the work that I do is about aggression in girls, bullying in girls. We tend to think about a bully as a physical boy, not a psychological girl. Similarly, when we think about steroids, we're always looking at the boys. Now we're finally taking a look at girls.
HEMMER: Some of the side effects, increased facial hair, deepening of the voice, lost of feminine characteristic, menstrual cycle changes. If you're a parent watching a segment like this, what do you as a parent tell your kid? And how do you talk to them?
SIMMONS: Honestly, the best thing to tell a teenage girl is your voice is going to get deeper, you're going to get facial hair, you might have male-pattern baldness. You can tell a girl you might have risk of heart attack and stroke, but most teenage girls are going to react pretty strongly to hearing that they're going to start looking and sounding like boys.
HEMMER: I have to tell you, when we first heard about this, we were a bit surprised by it. Were you as well?
SIMMONS: I was a bit surprised by it, but I'm not entirely surprised by it, because, for example, the feminine body ideal has really gone from the Twiggy, skinny, waify look to more of a muscular look. We see stars like Madonna, for example, with these very toned arms. And while I think some people might say, oh, wow, it's great that girls aren't going to be skinny and twiggy anymore, I think that would be a mistake because we've got yet another perfectionist ideal that we're holding girls to.
HEMMER: It's an interesting topic, and thanks for sharing with us, Rachel Simmons -- Soledad.
SIMMONS: Thanks for having me.
O'BRIEN: Well, "90-Second Pop" is straight ahead this morning. Brad and Angelina caught frolicking on the beach, but did they get caught on purpose? A look at that up next, on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: This is my new favorite song. It's like a head-banging song. Who is it? Who sings it?
COSTELLO: Gwen Stefani.
O'BRIEN: Oh, sorry. I have four children. I don't listen to music anymore unless it's like for preschoolers.
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: Rappie, rappie (ph).
O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome. It's time for the Wednesday edition of "90-Second Pop." Let me introduce you to our pop panelists this morning. B.J. Sigesmund from "Us Weekly." Carol Costello is pinch hitting for us this morning.
Good morning.
And Andy Borowitz from borowitzreport.com.
We have so much to talk about. Let's get to it.
We're going to start with "Us Weekly," because these pictures made a lot of money.
B.J. SIGESMUND, "US WEEKLY": Amazing, aren't they?
O'BRIEN: Well, I don't know if they're amazing. Let's take a look at them first. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt finally in the same shot, and look at little Maddox, who is so adorable, also in the same shot. But this is like the big romantic? It doesn't look that romantic.
SIGESMUND: I think these pictures are awesome. And we can only show two of them on CNN this morning. The magazine, which is out this week, has 12 full pages of them. And they tell a beautiful story. Brad and Angelina walking along the beach...
COSTELLO: Oh! SIGESMUND: Hold on, Carol. Walking along the beach with Maddox building sand castles. Angelina is holding a pail, bringing more water to Brad and Maddox. And, you know, if these two are involved, it definitely brings more level to the certainty that they are romantically involved.
O'BRIEN: Before I let the panel take exception to some of that, I want to point out what you can see right there, right there, that's from the movie, "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," right?
SIGESMUND: Yes, that looks like a still from the movie.
O'BRIEN: I mean, because they're hugging and kissing. But, like, I sort of thought salacious pictures, hugging and kissing. You don't see that.
SIGESMUND: But, you know, that's sort of the point, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: They're in so in love they don't kiss anymore?
SIGESMUND: No, but actually..
BOROWITZ: They just build things out of sand now.
SIGESMUND: Well, any couple...
BOROWITZ: That's the hot thing that couples do.
SIGESMUND: Any couple that comes in the public eye in a controversial way, you don't want the first picture of them together in a big kiss.
O'BRIEN: Staged.
SIGESMUND: This is a way of breaking the story softly if they are romantically involved.
BOROWITZ: Are you, like, going to choreograph their first fight for us? That would be really great if they just have like a fight.
SIGESMUND: OK, Carol, bring it on.
COSTELLO: You mean they knew that photographers were there, and they were doing this just as an entree.
BOROWITZ: Right.
SIGESMUND: Well, there has been speculation that they did know that a photographer was there.
O'BRIEN: Yes, I mean, they're on an empty beach in Kenya, for god's sake.
COSTELLO: And they're clothed! They're not even in bathing suits.
BOROWITZ: And they had a crew working on that castle the night before, too.
O'BRIEN: And the truth is, anytime you're with your 3-year-old, it's so not romantic anyway. This really could be true reality. All right.
SIGESMUND: Thank you Soledad.
O'BRIEN: You're welcome, B.J. You know I'm here for you.
We're talking about Paula Abdul again.
BOROWITZ: Why not?
O'BRIEN: There is -- because, you know, she's had a tough time. ABC News has got this special edition of "Primetime Live."
BOROWITZ: Right.
O'BRIEN: They're going to have a big expose. They haven't exactly said what they're going to be talking about.
BOROWITZ: Right.
O'BRIEN: So, what do we know?
BOROWITZ: Well, it's all going to be scandal time at "American Idol." And I guess they're not saying what's in there. I guess what's being alleged is that they're going to talk about potential inappropriate contact or activity between Paula, who seems like such a beacon of stability to me, and one of the contestants. But Paula, you know, in the past...
O'BRIEN: Wait. So, she's hooked up with a contestant?
BOROWITZ: Well, that's the alleged -- allegedly. There have always been rumors about her and costars. I mean, back in the '90s remember her and MC Scat Cat. There was that whole thing. So, I don't know. I mean, I just don't know what to believe. I don't really know.
SIGESMUND: And it's interesting, because Martin Singer, Paula Abdul's lawyer, is on the aggressive, trying to prevent ABC "Primetime Live" from doing this expose, which is scheduled for the sweeps.
BOROWITZ: Right.
O'BRIEN: Which everybody knows, it generally means, you know, if you've got your lawyers, big guns out, it kind of means there might be something there, right?
BOROWITZ: It's those lawsuits flying back between, like, ABC and Fox. So, you wonder, like, who is the winner. I think Court TV. I think Court TV will be the winner.
O'BRIEN: When they run the whole thing.
You guys, I thank you very much. Bill, back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: All right, Soledad, thanks.
Next hour, CNN comes your way with "CNN LIVE TODAY" and Daryn Kagan.
What you working on, Daryn? Good morning.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We have quite a bit for you, Bill. If you're feeling pain at the gas pump, some help may actually be on the way. And it could make those hot hybrid vehicles even hotter. We'll explain that.
Plus more on President Bush's new energy plan. Also it is a beautiful day in the neighborhood. We will remember the wisdom of Mr. Rogers. His widow, Joanne, has written a book with some of the best thoughts of Mr. Rogers. It's a good, warm feeling to visit with Mrs. Rogers.
HEMMER: Warm and fuzzy.
KAGAN: Yes.
HEMMER: Well, we're going nowhere. We'll see you then Daryn, thanks.
Next here on AMERICAN MORNING, an author finds out the hard way why it's really a bad idea to mess with Steve Jobs. Andy has that after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Still talking about that money story from last hour. An author finding out the hard way you don't cross Steve Jobs. Bad move. That and a check of the markets, early action, now here's Andy Serwer. What happened with this? First the markets, then we'll talk about that.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" COLUMNIST: Well, Steve Jobs is a guy who likes to control things, let's just say.
Let's talk about the market, though, first of all. Dow slipping 48 points. And here we go again. Amazon.com down six percent, to $30. They announced numbers after the closing bell yesterday that Wall Street was not too pleased with.
Now, here's a story about Steve Jobs. An author, Jeffrey Young, is writing a book about him called "Icon: The Greatest Second Act in Business." And Steve Jobs is a private guy, but he's also a controlling person who likes to control the press, P.R. He also runs a company which has gotten very litigious these days. They've sued a number of Web sites, they sued that kid at Harvard University who was allegedly printing secrets about the new computers they were going to be putting out and that sort of things. This guy has a book that's about to come out. He must be loving this publicity. And the company, Steve Jobs, did not like the book. And so he asked Apple and Steve Jobs to say, well, what's wrong with the book? Can you correct anything in the book? And they said, the only way to correct this book is for you not to publish it. Well, he's going to go ahead and publish it.
He did write a book earlier about Jobs, which wasn't so complimentary. He says this one's a little more complimentary. In response, apparently, Apple has removed all books published by John Wiley from its stores, which is, coincidentally, the same publisher that publishing Jeffrey Young's book. So in other words, there are a lot of computer manuals and other books about Apple computer in Apple stores...
HEMMER: That is nasty.
SERWER: ... and Apple has taken them away. You could, of course, still get all these books at amazon.com or Barnes and Noble's or Border's, so you know, they don't sell a huge number of these books there, but it's significant.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Don't they understand, though? Doesn't Jobs get it? I mean, he sells i-Pods. He knows how to sell those. He's selling this guy's books for him. Doesn't he -- don't they understand that?
SERWER: Exactly. His name is Jeff Young and the book's called "Icon." That's what we're talking about.
HEMMER: And you just sold a few more.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: This is a book that eight people might buy otherwise, now eight million people might buy it.
SERWER: It's a book about Steve Jobs.
CAFFERTY: Exactly.
SERWER: I mean, it's just crazy. He should be a little smarter than that.
CAFFERTY: They don't get it.
SERWER: I agree with you.
HEMMER: Thank you, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: "Question of the Day," a final look.
CAFFERTY: Mercifully, we're about -- kind of sad. What would you do about Social Security? Because the president's deal for two months now, flying around on Air Force One on your dime, trying to peddle this privatization thing, well, it ain't happening. So we thought we'd ask you what you'd do about it.
Dick in Fleischmanns, New York, writes: "There are a lot of people in this country who don't need their Social Security check each month. Why not offer them" -- this is a good idea -- "why not them offer them a tax incentive to forgo either three or six or all 12 of their monthly Social Security payments?"
Athena in Texas writes: "Leave the current plan in place and improve funding. Increase or eliminate the cap on Social Security wages. My salary is greater than $100,000 and I would never notice the removal of the cap!" Which I think kicks -- what is it, $90,000 now?
SERWER: 90, yes.
CAFFERTY: And Maria writes: "Since the inception of Social Security, we're living longer, healthier lives, thanks to advancement in medicine and technology. A solution would be to raise the eligible age for Social Security benefits. If you're living longer and healthier, you should be working longer." I'm not sure I agree with that. I mean, how 'bout we don't work longer and still live longer and healthier and then we can have a few yuks at the back end of this life instead of only when we're kids. How about that for a game plan?
SERWER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Well, everyone's entitled to their opinion on how they think they should pick things. That could be yours.
CAFFERTY: And it is.
HEMMER: Hey, did you hear about the buffalo herd?
SERWER: Yes, I did.
HEMMER: That wound up on the tennis court. See this? It happened yesterday, about 24 hours ago.
SERWER: This is great. This is great. No!
O'BRIEN: The lawn chairs.
HEMMER: Videotape...
SERWER: Go get 'em, Smoky.
HEMMER: These guys are on the loose, right? About a dozen of them? The police can't...
SERWER: In Baltimore.
HEMMER: Yes, well, outside of Baltimore. They can't control them, so one guy gets the smart idea, let's funnel them into a nearby tennis court. SERWER: Doubles, anyone?
HEMMER: That's where they went.
SERWER: Look at that. Right over the net.
CAFFERTY: That looked like Sabrina Williams going over the net -- what's her name? Going over the net there.
O'BRIEN: Oh, that is...
SERWER: The buffalo that ate Baltimore. Get out. Watch out.
CAFFERTY: Serena. Not Sabrina. Serena.
SERWER: Serena, yes.
HEMMER: Easy now.
O'BRIEN: Please.
HEMMER: That's in Baltimore yesterday.
CAFFERTY: John C. Davenport, jumping the net.
HEMMER: Break here, back in a moment. One final word after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Aaron's got a preview of what's coming up tonight on "NEWSNIGHT."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Soledad. Tonight on "NEWSNIGHT," before 9/11, one of the early victories in the war on terror and one of the early heroes, as well. A grandmother who went up against a bomber and won.
We'll tell you her story, plus all the day's other news, morning papers, and everything else that makes "NEWSNIGHT, "NEWSNIGHT." CNN tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern -- Soledad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Aaron, thanks. We're out of time. That's it.
HEMMER: Yes we are.
O'BRIEN: We're done for today.
HEMMER: I'm thinking we bring back the three guys with the cash tomorrow. They had a story to tell.
SERWER: Later in the afternoon. See what... (CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: They're going to be on the third ring of Saturn, 11:30, 12:00.
HEMMER: Jack, I think they were on the second ring when they were sitting on this couch.
SERWER: Yes, sir.
HEMMER: Inside story. Here's Daryn Kagan. How are you, Daryn? Good morning.
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