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American Morning
House Reinstates Ethics Rules; Police Criticize New Florida Gun Law; Patches Newest Delivery Means for Prescriptions
Aired April 28, 2005 - 08:30 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, CO-HOST: Right near the corner of 51st and Sixth Avenue, come on by.
Good morning, everybody. In a moment here, what happened to make House Republicans do an about face and change the ethics rules again? A big vote last night, Republicans joining Democrats, overwhelming vote in the end, too. Ed Henry will give us the story behind the story in a moment from D.C.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: Also this morning, this new law in Florida allows people to respond to deadly force if they feel that their life is threatened, not only at home but really anywhere in public. This morning, Florida police weigh in. The question, is it going to make their jobs even harder?
HEMMER: Getting a lot of attention, too.
O'BRIEN: Absolutely.
HEMMER: But first to the headlines. Here's Carol Costello, back with those.
Hello.
CAROL COSTELLO, ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Good morning to all of you.
Now in the news, Iraq's new government is finally taking shape. After nearly three months of political wrangling, Iraq's parliament approved a partial cabinet list. Four key posts had to be filled temporarily because of last minute disagreements. And in a stroke of irony, the government's formation comes on the 68th birthday of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
President Bush is set to deliver more specifics on his Social Security plans in a rare primetime news conference. Sources say the president will detail his plans for private retirement accounts. The appearance coincides with the end of a two month campaign blitz for Social Security. Stay tuned to CNN for live coverage of the president's news conference. That starts at 8 p.m. Eastern.
COSTELLO: A plea from Zacarias Moussaoui, the first person convicted in connection with the September 11 terror attacks. Moussaoui told a judge that, if executed, he wants to be buried outside of the United States. Moussaoui pleaded guilty to all charges against him last Friday. No date has been set yet for the penalty phase.
The man suspected of setting dozens of fires in the Washington, D.C., area will be back in court tomorrow for a detention hearing. Thomas Sweatt faces multiple charges. The string of fires left one person dead in 2003.
And a possible first in North America. Officials at Texas A&M University say a team of American and French researchers have successfully cloned a horse. That's him eating. The foal has been named Paris, Texas. Get it? The process apparently took 400 tries over a period of four months. But there you have it, that little guy, the first cloned horse. Paris, Texas.
HEMMER: We've got a sheep, right? We've got a sheep, Dolly. Right?
COSTELLO: Yes. Now, there's a horse. Who knows what's next?
HEMMER: Cow.
COSTELLO: Person. No, I don't think so.
HEMMER: Eventually. Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Sure.
HEMMER: Let's get to Congress right now. Congressional about face paves the way for an ethics investigation of the House majority leader, Tom DeLay. Ed Henry live on Capitol Hill. This bill came down late yesterday, Ed. Good morning.
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good morning, Bill. A dramatic reversal for Republicans who made a political calculation this may be the only way to lift the cloud hanging over Tom DeLay.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How was the conference?
REP. TOM DELAY (R-TX), MAJORITY LEADER: It was a great conference.
HENRY (voice-over): This is why Republicans retreated: the ethics questions swirling around Tom DeLay taking their toll on the majority leader and his party.
DELAY: You guys better get out of my way. Where's our security?
HENRY: back in January, Republicans changed the ethics rules to make it harder to launch investigations of misconduct. Democrats allege this was an attempt to shield DeLay.
Speaker Dennis Hastert insists the changes were meant to protect all members, but he acknowledges the only way to end the controversy is to restore the old rules and let the ethics panel investigate whether DeLay let lobbyists pay for overseas trips. REP. DENNIS HASTERT (R-IL), SPEAKER: Right now, we can't clear his name. The media wants to talk about ethics. And as long as we're at a stalemate that's all is in the press today, is the ethics stalemate. We need to move forward. We need to get this behind us.
HENRY: In private, other Republicans are even blunter. One lawmaker said he's worried the Democratic line of attack that Republicans were being arrogant may be effective, because there's some truth to it.
But there could be political fallout for both parties, as the scrutiny of DeLay has a ripple effect. Republican and Democratic lawmakers are scurrying to amend their own travel records, and staffers flocked to a closed door refresher course on the ethics rules this week.
JASON ROE, HOUSE REPUBLICAN AIDE: I think in a political sense absolutely everyone is concerned this thing is ratcheting up the partisanship.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY: Republicans are especially on edge now, because they do not know how this Tom DeLay probe will end up. But they're vowing to retaliate by pushing for investigations of top Democrats. So the heat could move to the other side, as well.
HEMMER: Ed, here's what I understand. Tom DeLay is going through his travel records over the past decade. You have to think that that paperwork is extensive.
The other reports we're getting you alluding to in your story, that all members of Congress basically are going back over their past bills and statements and payments. What is this doing to the effect of Congress in terms of slowing down day-to-day work, if at all?
HENRY: Well, they're still moving forward with the agenda, and Republicans say it's not stopping them. But they do admit it's been a distraction.
The bottom line is over the last five years, there have been over 5,000 trips funded by private sources for members in both parties, as you mentioned. It's now becoming a problem because there's scrutiny of everybody here.
But a lot of Democrats are insisting that DeLay is a special case. They say that the allegations are much more serious about him, about whether lobbyists or not furnished lavish trips to tens of thousands of dollars overseas. And the heat is still on DeLay. And Republicans privately are admitting, they're still very nervous about how this might wind up -- Bill.
HEMMER: Ed, thanks for that. Ed Henry, working the Capitol Hill with us today -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: The NRA says it is so pleased with a new gun bill passed in Florida, it plans to pedal the idea to other state legislators. The law says that people who are under attack don't have to retreat before responding. It gives them the right to meet force with force. This was already legal in your home, but now it's legal in public places like a park or a mall or a grocery store. You just need a reasonable belief that you're in danger.
To debate this morning, joining me is Palm Bay, Florida, police chief William Berger, and Alachua County Sheriff Stephen Oelrich. Nice to see you, gentlemen. Thanks for talking with me.
Chief Berger, let's begin with you. What do you make of this new law?
CHIEF WILLIAM BERGER, PALM BAY, FLORIDA: Well, of course, you've got to look at the history of the law itself.
Initially, let me tell you, we were kind of caught off guard, law enforcement and through the efforts of both the Florida sheriffs and Florida police chiefs, we took a law that basically said initially, in the language that police officers serving warrants could be subject to deadly force. We also had a condition that a police officer could be held personally liable if, in fact, a person who claimed self-defense was arrested by that police officer. And in custodial fights they said that you could use deadly force to go ahead and stop somebody from taking a child out of a house under law enforcement supervision.
So we've come a long way. It's a law now. The governor signed it. And now, we're going to have to place ourselves, along with the prosecutors, in the position of being kind of a referee and umpire to see what was the intent of the person dealing in this deadly force situation.
O'BRIEN: How much more difficult, then, does it make your job?
BERGER: Well, you know, there's great scrutiny under police shootings. And this is going to be the same thing, because of the fact that what was actually the intent. Was somebody really, the interpretation of what is imminent danger and fear?
A homeless person could come up to somebody. They could be fearful and maybe begging for money. Who knows what the consequences would be? It's really there's a gray area there and it's going to be -- have to be worked out to define that.
O'BRIEN: Sheriff Oelrich, then let's turn the question to you. As we heard from the chief, it's all about the interpretation. Reasonable belief is a very vague term. How do you get around the problems that that could cause?
SHERIFF STEPHEN OELRICH, ALACHUA COUNTY, FLORIDA: Well, I think that this -- most of the whole issue here has been cleaned up for us as sheriffs. The Florida sheriffs' association had the same concerns that Chief Berger brought up about this whole thing about holding prosecutors and sheriffs liable if they prosecuted someone under this that was defending themselves. I really think that this may be overblown. I think it will shake out. Certainly, the mood in Florida, I can tell you right now, is to be -- to be able to defend your home, your business and in your car, because of the spate of different attacks we've had and abductions, kidnappings, those sorts of things.
And so the mood right now in the state of Florida, and I think the legislature has reflected that mood, is that we are able to defend ourselves in our homes, in our cars. And I think it will be much more the situation where you're stop at a light and somebody wants to hijack and pull you out of that car. You now have a much clearer definition of how you can defend yourself. Same way in your business.
O'BRIEN: But -- and forgive me for jumping in here, but isn't -- isn't the concern when sort of it's more vague than that?
I mean, for example, I was, you know, this weekend in the parking lot, trying to get in my car. I look up, there's someone in the passenger seat, and I realize I'm trying to get into the wrong car. This isn't my black Suburban. I'm parked next to her. Theoretically, she could have opened fire. She could have thought I was breaking into her car and trying to carjack it, right?
OELRICH: Well, of course, the operative word you used was theoretically. Yes, we could go all kinds of "what if," "what if," but that's not going to be the situation.
The situation is, is that at that time, if you had a gun in your hand or a knife in your hand and she was inside the car, she would have an indication that she was a threat. But you trying to put the key in the car, the wrong car, even if she was inside, certainly, she wouldn't have justification in those kinds of things.
In the intro, you used the analogy of at the grocery store. I can't math a situation at the grocery store where someone would say that they were threatened at the produce stand. You know, we can go through all these "what if's," but I think the way it's going to shake down is better protection for people in their homes, their businesses and in their vehicles.
O'BRIEN: Chief Berger, do you think that some of the "what if's" I'm raising are sort of too far afield, or can you see them having practical resonance in what you see everyday?
BERGER: Yes, Soledad. And certainly, there's going to be exceptions to that. I think you bring up some very good points. It is -- it's going to be up to law enforcement.
You know, Sheriff Oelrich, I've known him many, many years. He's a very learned person. I know he's enthusiastic about this, but having been the commander of homicide with the Miami Police Department, you know, we had these situations dealing with self- defense. And many times, it's really a question to see the intent.
We know about 55 percent of all homicides in this country are domestic related. In other words, you know that person. And that creates another wrinkle. You know, if we've got a situation where we've got, you know, a husband and wife that are at odds with each other, he's coming over. There's been some domestic violence, theoretically, here's another case that could be "what if," if she used deadly in order against him, feeling that she was going to be assaulted or attacked.
But there's no clear definity (sic) here. And that's what -- what concerns us, again, we're being placed in the role of umpire, referee, with the state prosecutors to say, you know, was this truly imminent harm, imminent danger on the person who -- who used deadly force against another person?
O'BRIEN: Well, it's a new law. We will see how it all shakes out. Gentlemen, Chief Berger and Chief Oelrich (sic), I thank you for your time this morning. I certainly appreciate it.
OELRICH: Thank you.
HEMMER: About 18 minutes before the hour. A check of the weather. Here's Chad Myers back at the CNN center. How goes it?
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Who knew lack of organization would be a good thing. Can't quite get it together, it won't be a storm. Thanks, Chad.
Well, you know what they say. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Congress now taking another stab at the dollar coin. Andy's going to explain.
HEMMER: Also, if you don't like pills and think that shots hurt a bit too much, then maybe you ought to think about a patch. And there are many now to consider, too. We'll get to that after the break on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Sanjay is off today. In medical news, drug patches now offer patients more choices than ever before.
Elizabeth Cohen has more now at the CNN Center. Elizabeth, good morning to you.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bill, usually, when we think about taking medicines, we think about a pill. However, more and more researchers have figured out a way how to get those medicines into a patch.
For example, you can take a patch if you have high blood pressure. You can take them for pain relief. The medicine nitroglycerin comes in a patch for heart disease. There are now a total of 12 patches that have been approved by the FDA.
Let's talk a little bit about how they work. The patch goes on an area of skin. And you can see here that the medicine goes through the pores and actually gets into the body that way. There are several advantages to using a patch rather than a pill. There's quick bloodstream delivery. We just saw on that animation how quickly the medicine can get into the bloodstream. Also, there's a steady medication release. It's more gradual. So you can use it for hours or days or even keep a patch on for a week.
And there are fewer potential side effects, because the medicine doesn't go through your digestive system. So there are fewer gastrointestinal problems, fewer liver problems.
However, there are some disadvantages. For example, the patch causes some people to have a rash or develop skin irritations. The dose variation is tough. Heavier people sometimes need a higher dose, and it's tough to vary the dose when you're talking about a patch. Also, improper application, putting it on wrong. Or sometimes people put a patch on and then put the second patch on without removing the first. And that can lead to some dosage problems.
But all in all, these have been very successful for some types of medicine -- Bill.
HEMMER: If they are so convenient, Elizabeth, why are there only 12 now being offered on the market?
COHEN: The reason for that, Bill, is actually a very technical one. And the reason is that some medicines, the molecules are just too big. And they can't get into the skin. So for that reason, you can't -- you can't take it.
Now, it's interesting. For example, diabetics, it would be great if insulin could be delivered via patch. It would be a great example of a patch medicine, because insulin is something that people, the diabetics need all day, every day. However, that molecule is simply too big; it won't go through the skin.
Now, there is one company that's trying to develop a patch that would have little teeny tiny hair sized needles, and that would help get the medicine in there more effectively. It's not on the market yet, but they're working on it.
HEMMER: So you're saying that there will be more coming then?
COHEN: There probably will be. That's the way it looks.
HEMMER: Thanks, Elizabeth. We'll see you later. Elizabeth Cohen at the CNN Center -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, Bill, just what we've all been waiting for, another dollar coin. Congress goes back to the drawing board. Up next on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.
JACK CAFFERTY, CO-HOST: Here's our government at work again. After two strikeouts, Congress is considering the dollar coin. We've got nothing else going on. Dollar coins. More in on that in the market preview. Andy Serwer, "Minding Your Business."
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning. Maybe the Richard Nixon coin, because they're going to put the presidents on.
CAFFERTY: They are?
SERWER: Richard Nixon coin, or a Bill Clinton coin. What do you think?
CAFFERTY: I like Nixon.
SERWER: All right. I got you. OK. We'll talk about that more in a little bit. Let's talk about the markets yesterday, Jack.
An up day for investors to chew on, which is not a bad thing, of course. This morning we've got a whole lot of stuff going on. Exxon reported record profit, $7.8 billion of profits, this while oil prices and gas prices are going through the roof.
GDP came out. How fast did the economy grow in the first quarter: 3.1 percent. Not bad, but not as good as economists were looking for. We were looking for about 3.6 percent. That's down from the fourth quarter, by the way, which is 3.8 percent. It will be interesting to see how the markets respond.
A new dollar coin. Yes, we have tried this two times previous, Susan B. Anthony, 1979.
O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) those coins.
SERWER: That's right. And Sacagawea, what did she ever -- that's Susan B. Anthony in 1979. There she is. What did she ever do to deserve this fate?
HEMMER: What are you talking about?
CAFFERTY: She helped those guys, Lewis and Clark.
SERWER: Lewis and Clark.
O'BRIEN: Yes. A lot.
SERWER: She did a great -- no, but I'm just saying ridicule, the ridicule is what I was referring to.
Anyway, Congress has approved a new gold colored coin. By the way, Jimmy Carter, the Carter administration called the Susan B. Anthony the dollar of the future. I love that.
CAFFERTY: He had a lot of great ideas.
SERWER: Presidents will be -- the presidents will be on that. And you can get a Clinton or a Nixon or maybe even Ronald Reagan people would like. Franklin Pierce. How about that? They're going to have this new gold coin coming out we talked about last week, by the way. The first ladies will be on that. That's a real gold coin.
And let's see here. Speaking of money this morning, the new Wynn Casino opened in Las Vegas. Big deal. It's $2.7 billion. Three, two, one, go! Get your pack of cigarettes, go in there. Pull the one arm -- look at the crowds. It's amazing the appetite.
O'BRIEN: It says, "We're open."
SERWER: Yes. Well, you know what's really going on here, Soledad, is that Steve Wynn is looking to brand himself, ala Donald Trump.
HEMMER: Sure.
SERWER: It's Wynn, Wynn everything. And before that he hasn't used his name like this. But all throughout the casino, everything is the Wynn Las Vegas, the Wynn this, the Wynn that.
CAFFERTY: What a great name to open a joint in Vegas. Win at Wynn.
SERWER: That's right. That's absolutely right. There's a Ferrari dealership off the casino floor, which is kind of nice.
CAFFERTY: That's pretty cool.
SERWER: When you win a lot, go there and buy a car.
CAFFERTY: All right. Thank you, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
CAFFERTY: Time for the "File."
Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy and Connecticut Representative Russell Deloro (ph) think U.S. workers should have more paid sick leave, seven paid sick days a year. The legislation would extend that benefit to 46 million workers who currently have no paid sick leave.
They think expanding paid sick time will make workers more productive and, Soledad, prevent them from spreading illness in the workplace.
HEMMER: Typhoid Mary.
O'BRIEN: I am so not!
CAFFERTY: Typhoid Mary...
HEMMER: She's kicking me, Jack!
CAFFERTY: A study by the Institute for Women's Policy Research estimated the cost of the bill for businesses would be $20 billion. That would come out to $6 per employee per week.
Manly men are in, metrosexuals are out.
HEMMER: Hey!
CAFFERTY: Bill!
HEMMER: What?
CAFFERTY: Ninety percent of women...
HEMMER: Payback.
O'BRIEN: I didn't say a word!
CAFFERTY: Ninety percent of women say their ideal man is low maintenance and easy going, according to a new poll by Harris Interactive commissioned for Dodge trucks. They make those heavy engines.
HEMMER: Rams.
CAFFERTY: Nearly half of the women said that Mr. Right would spend his money on electrical gadgets rather than cosmetics. And 41 percent said he was a sports fan. Only nine percent of the women think that their man should spend his money on designer clothes.
HEMMER: Amen.
CAFFERTY: And that means this. Womens -- womens -- the womens prefer he-men like Clint Eastwood over the feminine Jude Law. Russell Crowe...
O'BRIEN: I don't know about that.
CAFFERTY: That's not Russell Crowe. That's the wrong graphic.
O'BRIEN: Vin Diesel.
CAFFERTY: We're looking for Russell Crowe.
HEMMER: Stand by.
O'BRIEN: If you want to put Vin Diesel back up, that's fine with me.
CAFFERTY: I'm getting no help here. Russell Crowe, not Leonardo DiCaprio. And then...
HEMMER: There we go.
CAFFERTY: And then, go ahead and put it up again, Vin Diesel.
O'BRIEN: Sigh.
CAFFERTY: Not Johnny Depp. HEMMER: The bald look.
CAFFERTY: Now this next story has -- well, it does have a graphic, actually. Cue up the pictures of the toads, because we're going to need them here in about 10 seconds.
Toads living in a lake in the German city of Hamburg have been exploding...
HEMMER: Kaboom.
CAFFERTY: ... for the past month. Nobody knows why. These are pictures of the unexploded toads.
HEMMER: That's before.
CAFFERTY: Because we don't want to show you the exploded ones, because it's so yucky.
HEMMER: Really?
CAFFERTY: Or icky, as Carol Costello said. Animal welfare workers report 1,000 toads have blown up after their body simply swelled to the bursting point and then kaboom.
Scientists are baffled. They have no idea what's causing it. Some described the scene as something out of a science fiction movie. City residents near Hamburg have been warned to stay away from this pond of death, as they call it.
Exploding toads, only here on "The Cafferty File."
O'BRIEN: It's not a prank? No one is like...
SERWER: Sticking firecrackers in. Yes. Going back to your childhood, Bill, apparently.
What was that fire? Was that a refinery fire or was that -- was that an exploding toad picture?
CAFFERTY: I have given up trying to figure out what pictures are on the screen here. I used to know. Not anymore.
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: It was big...
CAFFERTY: It could be anything. Might be Vin Diesel.
SERWER: Might be Vin Diesel catching fire. There we go.
HEMMER: In a moment here, a tribute to a timeless treat. Only on AMERICAN MORNING. The Twinkie turns 75. Back in a moment after this.
(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 28, 2005 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CO-HOST: Right near the corner of 51st and Sixth Avenue, come on by.
Good morning, everybody. In a moment here, what happened to make House Republicans do an about face and change the ethics rules again? A big vote last night, Republicans joining Democrats, overwhelming vote in the end, too. Ed Henry will give us the story behind the story in a moment from D.C.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: Also this morning, this new law in Florida allows people to respond to deadly force if they feel that their life is threatened, not only at home but really anywhere in public. This morning, Florida police weigh in. The question, is it going to make their jobs even harder?
HEMMER: Getting a lot of attention, too.
O'BRIEN: Absolutely.
HEMMER: But first to the headlines. Here's Carol Costello, back with those.
Hello.
CAROL COSTELLO, ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Good morning to all of you.
Now in the news, Iraq's new government is finally taking shape. After nearly three months of political wrangling, Iraq's parliament approved a partial cabinet list. Four key posts had to be filled temporarily because of last minute disagreements. And in a stroke of irony, the government's formation comes on the 68th birthday of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
President Bush is set to deliver more specifics on his Social Security plans in a rare primetime news conference. Sources say the president will detail his plans for private retirement accounts. The appearance coincides with the end of a two month campaign blitz for Social Security. Stay tuned to CNN for live coverage of the president's news conference. That starts at 8 p.m. Eastern.
COSTELLO: A plea from Zacarias Moussaoui, the first person convicted in connection with the September 11 terror attacks. Moussaoui told a judge that, if executed, he wants to be buried outside of the United States. Moussaoui pleaded guilty to all charges against him last Friday. No date has been set yet for the penalty phase.
The man suspected of setting dozens of fires in the Washington, D.C., area will be back in court tomorrow for a detention hearing. Thomas Sweatt faces multiple charges. The string of fires left one person dead in 2003.
And a possible first in North America. Officials at Texas A&M University say a team of American and French researchers have successfully cloned a horse. That's him eating. The foal has been named Paris, Texas. Get it? The process apparently took 400 tries over a period of four months. But there you have it, that little guy, the first cloned horse. Paris, Texas.
HEMMER: We've got a sheep, right? We've got a sheep, Dolly. Right?
COSTELLO: Yes. Now, there's a horse. Who knows what's next?
HEMMER: Cow.
COSTELLO: Person. No, I don't think so.
HEMMER: Eventually. Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Sure.
HEMMER: Let's get to Congress right now. Congressional about face paves the way for an ethics investigation of the House majority leader, Tom DeLay. Ed Henry live on Capitol Hill. This bill came down late yesterday, Ed. Good morning.
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good morning, Bill. A dramatic reversal for Republicans who made a political calculation this may be the only way to lift the cloud hanging over Tom DeLay.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How was the conference?
REP. TOM DELAY (R-TX), MAJORITY LEADER: It was a great conference.
HENRY (voice-over): This is why Republicans retreated: the ethics questions swirling around Tom DeLay taking their toll on the majority leader and his party.
DELAY: You guys better get out of my way. Where's our security?
HENRY: back in January, Republicans changed the ethics rules to make it harder to launch investigations of misconduct. Democrats allege this was an attempt to shield DeLay.
Speaker Dennis Hastert insists the changes were meant to protect all members, but he acknowledges the only way to end the controversy is to restore the old rules and let the ethics panel investigate whether DeLay let lobbyists pay for overseas trips. REP. DENNIS HASTERT (R-IL), SPEAKER: Right now, we can't clear his name. The media wants to talk about ethics. And as long as we're at a stalemate that's all is in the press today, is the ethics stalemate. We need to move forward. We need to get this behind us.
HENRY: In private, other Republicans are even blunter. One lawmaker said he's worried the Democratic line of attack that Republicans were being arrogant may be effective, because there's some truth to it.
But there could be political fallout for both parties, as the scrutiny of DeLay has a ripple effect. Republican and Democratic lawmakers are scurrying to amend their own travel records, and staffers flocked to a closed door refresher course on the ethics rules this week.
JASON ROE, HOUSE REPUBLICAN AIDE: I think in a political sense absolutely everyone is concerned this thing is ratcheting up the partisanship.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY: Republicans are especially on edge now, because they do not know how this Tom DeLay probe will end up. But they're vowing to retaliate by pushing for investigations of top Democrats. So the heat could move to the other side, as well.
HEMMER: Ed, here's what I understand. Tom DeLay is going through his travel records over the past decade. You have to think that that paperwork is extensive.
The other reports we're getting you alluding to in your story, that all members of Congress basically are going back over their past bills and statements and payments. What is this doing to the effect of Congress in terms of slowing down day-to-day work, if at all?
HENRY: Well, they're still moving forward with the agenda, and Republicans say it's not stopping them. But they do admit it's been a distraction.
The bottom line is over the last five years, there have been over 5,000 trips funded by private sources for members in both parties, as you mentioned. It's now becoming a problem because there's scrutiny of everybody here.
But a lot of Democrats are insisting that DeLay is a special case. They say that the allegations are much more serious about him, about whether lobbyists or not furnished lavish trips to tens of thousands of dollars overseas. And the heat is still on DeLay. And Republicans privately are admitting, they're still very nervous about how this might wind up -- Bill.
HEMMER: Ed, thanks for that. Ed Henry, working the Capitol Hill with us today -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: The NRA says it is so pleased with a new gun bill passed in Florida, it plans to pedal the idea to other state legislators. The law says that people who are under attack don't have to retreat before responding. It gives them the right to meet force with force. This was already legal in your home, but now it's legal in public places like a park or a mall or a grocery store. You just need a reasonable belief that you're in danger.
To debate this morning, joining me is Palm Bay, Florida, police chief William Berger, and Alachua County Sheriff Stephen Oelrich. Nice to see you, gentlemen. Thanks for talking with me.
Chief Berger, let's begin with you. What do you make of this new law?
CHIEF WILLIAM BERGER, PALM BAY, FLORIDA: Well, of course, you've got to look at the history of the law itself.
Initially, let me tell you, we were kind of caught off guard, law enforcement and through the efforts of both the Florida sheriffs and Florida police chiefs, we took a law that basically said initially, in the language that police officers serving warrants could be subject to deadly force. We also had a condition that a police officer could be held personally liable if, in fact, a person who claimed self-defense was arrested by that police officer. And in custodial fights they said that you could use deadly force to go ahead and stop somebody from taking a child out of a house under law enforcement supervision.
So we've come a long way. It's a law now. The governor signed it. And now, we're going to have to place ourselves, along with the prosecutors, in the position of being kind of a referee and umpire to see what was the intent of the person dealing in this deadly force situation.
O'BRIEN: How much more difficult, then, does it make your job?
BERGER: Well, you know, there's great scrutiny under police shootings. And this is going to be the same thing, because of the fact that what was actually the intent. Was somebody really, the interpretation of what is imminent danger and fear?
A homeless person could come up to somebody. They could be fearful and maybe begging for money. Who knows what the consequences would be? It's really there's a gray area there and it's going to be -- have to be worked out to define that.
O'BRIEN: Sheriff Oelrich, then let's turn the question to you. As we heard from the chief, it's all about the interpretation. Reasonable belief is a very vague term. How do you get around the problems that that could cause?
SHERIFF STEPHEN OELRICH, ALACHUA COUNTY, FLORIDA: Well, I think that this -- most of the whole issue here has been cleaned up for us as sheriffs. The Florida sheriffs' association had the same concerns that Chief Berger brought up about this whole thing about holding prosecutors and sheriffs liable if they prosecuted someone under this that was defending themselves. I really think that this may be overblown. I think it will shake out. Certainly, the mood in Florida, I can tell you right now, is to be -- to be able to defend your home, your business and in your car, because of the spate of different attacks we've had and abductions, kidnappings, those sorts of things.
And so the mood right now in the state of Florida, and I think the legislature has reflected that mood, is that we are able to defend ourselves in our homes, in our cars. And I think it will be much more the situation where you're stop at a light and somebody wants to hijack and pull you out of that car. You now have a much clearer definition of how you can defend yourself. Same way in your business.
O'BRIEN: But -- and forgive me for jumping in here, but isn't -- isn't the concern when sort of it's more vague than that?
I mean, for example, I was, you know, this weekend in the parking lot, trying to get in my car. I look up, there's someone in the passenger seat, and I realize I'm trying to get into the wrong car. This isn't my black Suburban. I'm parked next to her. Theoretically, she could have opened fire. She could have thought I was breaking into her car and trying to carjack it, right?
OELRICH: Well, of course, the operative word you used was theoretically. Yes, we could go all kinds of "what if," "what if," but that's not going to be the situation.
The situation is, is that at that time, if you had a gun in your hand or a knife in your hand and she was inside the car, she would have an indication that she was a threat. But you trying to put the key in the car, the wrong car, even if she was inside, certainly, she wouldn't have justification in those kinds of things.
In the intro, you used the analogy of at the grocery store. I can't math a situation at the grocery store where someone would say that they were threatened at the produce stand. You know, we can go through all these "what if's," but I think the way it's going to shake down is better protection for people in their homes, their businesses and in their vehicles.
O'BRIEN: Chief Berger, do you think that some of the "what if's" I'm raising are sort of too far afield, or can you see them having practical resonance in what you see everyday?
BERGER: Yes, Soledad. And certainly, there's going to be exceptions to that. I think you bring up some very good points. It is -- it's going to be up to law enforcement.
You know, Sheriff Oelrich, I've known him many, many years. He's a very learned person. I know he's enthusiastic about this, but having been the commander of homicide with the Miami Police Department, you know, we had these situations dealing with self- defense. And many times, it's really a question to see the intent.
We know about 55 percent of all homicides in this country are domestic related. In other words, you know that person. And that creates another wrinkle. You know, if we've got a situation where we've got, you know, a husband and wife that are at odds with each other, he's coming over. There's been some domestic violence, theoretically, here's another case that could be "what if," if she used deadly in order against him, feeling that she was going to be assaulted or attacked.
But there's no clear definity (sic) here. And that's what -- what concerns us, again, we're being placed in the role of umpire, referee, with the state prosecutors to say, you know, was this truly imminent harm, imminent danger on the person who -- who used deadly force against another person?
O'BRIEN: Well, it's a new law. We will see how it all shakes out. Gentlemen, Chief Berger and Chief Oelrich (sic), I thank you for your time this morning. I certainly appreciate it.
OELRICH: Thank you.
HEMMER: About 18 minutes before the hour. A check of the weather. Here's Chad Myers back at the CNN center. How goes it?
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Who knew lack of organization would be a good thing. Can't quite get it together, it won't be a storm. Thanks, Chad.
Well, you know what they say. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Congress now taking another stab at the dollar coin. Andy's going to explain.
HEMMER: Also, if you don't like pills and think that shots hurt a bit too much, then maybe you ought to think about a patch. And there are many now to consider, too. We'll get to that after the break on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Sanjay is off today. In medical news, drug patches now offer patients more choices than ever before.
Elizabeth Cohen has more now at the CNN Center. Elizabeth, good morning to you.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bill, usually, when we think about taking medicines, we think about a pill. However, more and more researchers have figured out a way how to get those medicines into a patch.
For example, you can take a patch if you have high blood pressure. You can take them for pain relief. The medicine nitroglycerin comes in a patch for heart disease. There are now a total of 12 patches that have been approved by the FDA.
Let's talk a little bit about how they work. The patch goes on an area of skin. And you can see here that the medicine goes through the pores and actually gets into the body that way. There are several advantages to using a patch rather than a pill. There's quick bloodstream delivery. We just saw on that animation how quickly the medicine can get into the bloodstream. Also, there's a steady medication release. It's more gradual. So you can use it for hours or days or even keep a patch on for a week.
And there are fewer potential side effects, because the medicine doesn't go through your digestive system. So there are fewer gastrointestinal problems, fewer liver problems.
However, there are some disadvantages. For example, the patch causes some people to have a rash or develop skin irritations. The dose variation is tough. Heavier people sometimes need a higher dose, and it's tough to vary the dose when you're talking about a patch. Also, improper application, putting it on wrong. Or sometimes people put a patch on and then put the second patch on without removing the first. And that can lead to some dosage problems.
But all in all, these have been very successful for some types of medicine -- Bill.
HEMMER: If they are so convenient, Elizabeth, why are there only 12 now being offered on the market?
COHEN: The reason for that, Bill, is actually a very technical one. And the reason is that some medicines, the molecules are just too big. And they can't get into the skin. So for that reason, you can't -- you can't take it.
Now, it's interesting. For example, diabetics, it would be great if insulin could be delivered via patch. It would be a great example of a patch medicine, because insulin is something that people, the diabetics need all day, every day. However, that molecule is simply too big; it won't go through the skin.
Now, there is one company that's trying to develop a patch that would have little teeny tiny hair sized needles, and that would help get the medicine in there more effectively. It's not on the market yet, but they're working on it.
HEMMER: So you're saying that there will be more coming then?
COHEN: There probably will be. That's the way it looks.
HEMMER: Thanks, Elizabeth. We'll see you later. Elizabeth Cohen at the CNN Center -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, Bill, just what we've all been waiting for, another dollar coin. Congress goes back to the drawing board. Up next on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.
JACK CAFFERTY, CO-HOST: Here's our government at work again. After two strikeouts, Congress is considering the dollar coin. We've got nothing else going on. Dollar coins. More in on that in the market preview. Andy Serwer, "Minding Your Business."
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning. Maybe the Richard Nixon coin, because they're going to put the presidents on.
CAFFERTY: They are?
SERWER: Richard Nixon coin, or a Bill Clinton coin. What do you think?
CAFFERTY: I like Nixon.
SERWER: All right. I got you. OK. We'll talk about that more in a little bit. Let's talk about the markets yesterday, Jack.
An up day for investors to chew on, which is not a bad thing, of course. This morning we've got a whole lot of stuff going on. Exxon reported record profit, $7.8 billion of profits, this while oil prices and gas prices are going through the roof.
GDP came out. How fast did the economy grow in the first quarter: 3.1 percent. Not bad, but not as good as economists were looking for. We were looking for about 3.6 percent. That's down from the fourth quarter, by the way, which is 3.8 percent. It will be interesting to see how the markets respond.
A new dollar coin. Yes, we have tried this two times previous, Susan B. Anthony, 1979.
O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) those coins.
SERWER: That's right. And Sacagawea, what did she ever -- that's Susan B. Anthony in 1979. There she is. What did she ever do to deserve this fate?
HEMMER: What are you talking about?
CAFFERTY: She helped those guys, Lewis and Clark.
SERWER: Lewis and Clark.
O'BRIEN: Yes. A lot.
SERWER: She did a great -- no, but I'm just saying ridicule, the ridicule is what I was referring to.
Anyway, Congress has approved a new gold colored coin. By the way, Jimmy Carter, the Carter administration called the Susan B. Anthony the dollar of the future. I love that.
CAFFERTY: He had a lot of great ideas.
SERWER: Presidents will be -- the presidents will be on that. And you can get a Clinton or a Nixon or maybe even Ronald Reagan people would like. Franklin Pierce. How about that? They're going to have this new gold coin coming out we talked about last week, by the way. The first ladies will be on that. That's a real gold coin.
And let's see here. Speaking of money this morning, the new Wynn Casino opened in Las Vegas. Big deal. It's $2.7 billion. Three, two, one, go! Get your pack of cigarettes, go in there. Pull the one arm -- look at the crowds. It's amazing the appetite.
O'BRIEN: It says, "We're open."
SERWER: Yes. Well, you know what's really going on here, Soledad, is that Steve Wynn is looking to brand himself, ala Donald Trump.
HEMMER: Sure.
SERWER: It's Wynn, Wynn everything. And before that he hasn't used his name like this. But all throughout the casino, everything is the Wynn Las Vegas, the Wynn this, the Wynn that.
CAFFERTY: What a great name to open a joint in Vegas. Win at Wynn.
SERWER: That's right. That's absolutely right. There's a Ferrari dealership off the casino floor, which is kind of nice.
CAFFERTY: That's pretty cool.
SERWER: When you win a lot, go there and buy a car.
CAFFERTY: All right. Thank you, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
CAFFERTY: Time for the "File."
Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy and Connecticut Representative Russell Deloro (ph) think U.S. workers should have more paid sick leave, seven paid sick days a year. The legislation would extend that benefit to 46 million workers who currently have no paid sick leave.
They think expanding paid sick time will make workers more productive and, Soledad, prevent them from spreading illness in the workplace.
HEMMER: Typhoid Mary.
O'BRIEN: I am so not!
CAFFERTY: Typhoid Mary...
HEMMER: She's kicking me, Jack!
CAFFERTY: A study by the Institute for Women's Policy Research estimated the cost of the bill for businesses would be $20 billion. That would come out to $6 per employee per week.
Manly men are in, metrosexuals are out.
HEMMER: Hey!
CAFFERTY: Bill!
HEMMER: What?
CAFFERTY: Ninety percent of women...
HEMMER: Payback.
O'BRIEN: I didn't say a word!
CAFFERTY: Ninety percent of women say their ideal man is low maintenance and easy going, according to a new poll by Harris Interactive commissioned for Dodge trucks. They make those heavy engines.
HEMMER: Rams.
CAFFERTY: Nearly half of the women said that Mr. Right would spend his money on electrical gadgets rather than cosmetics. And 41 percent said he was a sports fan. Only nine percent of the women think that their man should spend his money on designer clothes.
HEMMER: Amen.
CAFFERTY: And that means this. Womens -- womens -- the womens prefer he-men like Clint Eastwood over the feminine Jude Law. Russell Crowe...
O'BRIEN: I don't know about that.
CAFFERTY: That's not Russell Crowe. That's the wrong graphic.
O'BRIEN: Vin Diesel.
CAFFERTY: We're looking for Russell Crowe.
HEMMER: Stand by.
O'BRIEN: If you want to put Vin Diesel back up, that's fine with me.
CAFFERTY: I'm getting no help here. Russell Crowe, not Leonardo DiCaprio. And then...
HEMMER: There we go.
CAFFERTY: And then, go ahead and put it up again, Vin Diesel.
O'BRIEN: Sigh.
CAFFERTY: Not Johnny Depp. HEMMER: The bald look.
CAFFERTY: Now this next story has -- well, it does have a graphic, actually. Cue up the pictures of the toads, because we're going to need them here in about 10 seconds.
Toads living in a lake in the German city of Hamburg have been exploding...
HEMMER: Kaboom.
CAFFERTY: ... for the past month. Nobody knows why. These are pictures of the unexploded toads.
HEMMER: That's before.
CAFFERTY: Because we don't want to show you the exploded ones, because it's so yucky.
HEMMER: Really?
CAFFERTY: Or icky, as Carol Costello said. Animal welfare workers report 1,000 toads have blown up after their body simply swelled to the bursting point and then kaboom.
Scientists are baffled. They have no idea what's causing it. Some described the scene as something out of a science fiction movie. City residents near Hamburg have been warned to stay away from this pond of death, as they call it.
Exploding toads, only here on "The Cafferty File."
O'BRIEN: It's not a prank? No one is like...
SERWER: Sticking firecrackers in. Yes. Going back to your childhood, Bill, apparently.
What was that fire? Was that a refinery fire or was that -- was that an exploding toad picture?
CAFFERTY: I have given up trying to figure out what pictures are on the screen here. I used to know. Not anymore.
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: It was big...
CAFFERTY: It could be anything. Might be Vin Diesel.
SERWER: Might be Vin Diesel catching fire. There we go.
HEMMER: In a moment here, a tribute to a timeless treat. Only on AMERICAN MORNING. The Twinkie turns 75. Back in a moment after this.
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