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American Morning
Storm Season; 'Star Wars' Returns
Aired May 17, 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning to you. Coming up, we'll talk hurricanes with Florida's director of emergency management. We'll give you some practical tips after some dire warnings from the forecasters.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Chad's got more of that ahead.
First, though, the headlines with Carol Costello.
Good morning again.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning to all of you.
Now in the news, "Newsweek's" Washington bureau chief says the magazine is going to go back and learn from its mistakes. The report, alleging U.S. interrogators desecrated the Koran, has been blamed for massive anti-American riots in Afghanistan that left at least four people dead. The magazine has now retracted the story. White House officials call it a good first step, but say more will have to be done.
Sentencing this morning for an Army Reservist convicted in the Abu Ghraib military abuse scandal. A military jury found Specialist Sabrina Harman guilty of six of the seven charges against her. She faces up to five-and-a-half years in prison for her role in the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners.
The Transportation Security Administration is now allowing cigarette lighters on flights, so long as they are empty and in checked baggage. The makers of Zippo lighters applauding this decision, saying its sales could have dropped as much as 30 percent because of the ban. Despite the change, cigarette lighters are still not allowed in carry-ons.
Mexico's President Vicente Fox is inviting civil rights leaders Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson to come to Mexico and help him fight for immigration and civil rights. This after a controversial comment made by Fox, where he said Mexican immigrants take U.S. jobs that not even blacks want to do. Fox says he regrets the remarks. Sharpton is calling on Fox to issue a formal apology.
And hundreds of thousands are gathering in Havana, Cuba this morning. These are live pictures just into us. Look at them. It's being billed as the biggest anti-American protest ever. Cuban leader Fidel Castro has called for this demonstration. His government claiming the U.S. allowed a known terrorist, a known Cuban terrorist, to enter the United States with a false passport and hide out from justice in Cuba. The man has long denied any wrongdoing. So we'll keep you posted on that.
S. O'BRIEN: And of course whenever they have those impressive shows of force with Cuban people, it's like, they come to your house and tell you where to go and when they'd like to see you for the protest and you better be there.
M. O'BRIEN: You were invited.
S. O'BRIEN: We expect to see you there. I'm always amazed when they say another impressive rally. It's like yes, they bus people in and they have them stand there and wave flags.
M. O'BRIEN: You think they don't want to hear four hours of Fidel?
S. O'BRIEN: I have no idea.
M. O'BRIEN: Wow.
S. O'BRIEN: But I do know how it works. .
All right, batten down the hatches, folks. Government forecasters are predicting another above-average Atlantic hurricane season, beginning June 1st. As you well know, 12 to 15 tropical storms predicted, seven to nine will reach hurricane strength, three to five should be major.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: The forecast is a bit unsettling for Floridians after last year's record four hurricanes in 40 days. That was something. Charley, Frances, Ivan and Gene caused about $40 billion in damage.
Craig Fugate, director of Florida's Division of Emergency Management joining us from Tallahassee.
Craig, chances of that happening again pretty slim, right?
CRAIG FUGATE, DIRECTOR, FLORIDA EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: We definitely hope so.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Let's hope for that. Let's listen, Michael Brown, your counterpart at the federal level, the FEMA director, he had something interest to say which should make us think with how we prepare.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL D. BROWN, FEMA DIRECTOR: I saw men and women from fire departments, police departments, volunteer organizations, urban- search-and-rescue teams, medical teams that did everything they could to protect property and save lives. They put their lives in danger to help fellow Americans. So I say to you who have not yet prepared, you ought to then to do whatever you can to prepare now so that you're not the one that has them put their lives in danger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: I haven't seen it put quite in those stark terms before, Craig. But why don't you elaborate on that point a little bit and make sure people understand they sort of have a responsibility here.
FUGATE: Well, that's what we try to tell people, preparing for disasters, particularly hurricanes, it's team effort. Everybody's got to prepare. And If you're one of the people who says, I'm going to ride the storm out, you you're not just putting yourself and maybe your family at risk, but at some point you may dial 9-1-1 and ask those responders to come save you, and it may be so dangerous that we have to make a decision, do we put their lives at risk to save yours?
M. O'BRIEN: All right, let's go through some tips we found on your own Web site. Floridadisaster.org is the place. Even if you're not in Florida, good place to go if you're in a hurricane-prone state for some practical tips. First of all, know your home's vulnerability. In other words, are you low-lying, where are you? Is it storm surge? Or is it wind you should be worried about? How do you go about doing that, though?
FUGATE: Well, the easiest way to do this is go to your county emergency management agency. And if you're on the coast, find out if you're in an evacuation zone. If you are, your plan should be to evacuate, not ride the storm out. If you're not, assess your home, make sure it's up to code and look at fortifying your home with shutters or plywood coverings on your windows, so you'll be safe when the storm strikes.
M. O'BRIEN: Safe room in your home. What does that mean?
FUGATE: That's the same thing we tell people in tornado areas, is know where that interior room or closet is that you can go to during the height of the storm. Again, when you're staying home, it doesn't mean that your home won't suffer damage, but we want to make sure you have a safe place to go with your family, because oftentimes evacuating hundreds of miles is not answer the for a lot of Florida residents.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, determine escape routes. That's fairly self-evident. Sort of drive your way through to so you know which way you'll go. Of course if you end up in a traffic jam, that might fail.
Have an out-of-state friend as a family contact. That's an idea a lot of folks probably don't think about.
Now here's one I'm sure a lot of pet owners probably don't consider fully: Make a plan now for what to do with your pets, because in many cases, you're going to going to a place where you can't bring them, right?
FUGATE: Absolutely. We used to tell people, leave your pets behind with plenty of food and water. That's a really bad message. You need to plan ahead for your pets. Over half the people in the United States have animals. They're part of your family. Plan ahead. Make sure you have a plan for your pet, as well as the rest of your family.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, and what can you do, though?
FUGATE: There's a lot of other options. Many counties now in Florida are now doing pet-friendly shelters.
M. O'BRIEN: Really?
FUGATE: Contact your local humane society and other groups to find out, what are your options in your communities? But again, we always tell you, your best place to go is with friends and family, and hopefully your pets will be welcome with you.
M. O'BRIEN: I just want to button up with the last two we picked out. Check your insurance coverage. You may not be properly covered. Know your insurance agent's number. And then stock nonperishable emergency supplies in a disaster-supply kit. And on that Web site, there are some specific things you should have in the kit.
Craig, we wish you well this season. Let's hope that everybody is listening and preparing.
FUGATE: Thank you very much.
M. O'BRIEN: Thanks for your time. Craig Fugate is the director of Florida's Division of Emergency Management.
And in case you're wondering, here are the names on this year's storm list: Arlene, Bret, Cindy, Dennis, Emily, Franklin, Gert, Harvey, Irene, Jose, Katrina, Lee, Maria, Nate, Ophelia, Philippe, Rita, Stan, Tammy, Vince and Wilma. We hope we don't get to know Wilma, Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes. we hope we don't get to know any of them actually.
Miles, thanks.
Well, for all you Star Wars fanatics, only about 39 hours to go before "Star Wars Episode III" opens here in America. This morning, we're starting our own Star Wars trilogy on AMERICAN MORNING. Episode I answers all your plot questions.
Sibila Vargas has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A long time ago in theaters across the galaxy, there was Star Wars.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Use the force, Luke. (END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: "The Empire Strikes Back."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: I am your father.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: And "Return of the Jedi."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: I've got to save you.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: You already have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: The space epics made creator George Lucas a gazillionaire. And fans love them, though some could have gone without the Ewoks.
But followers of the force noticed these movies were numbered four, five and six, implying three prequels. Sure enough, eventually Lucas delivered "The Phantom Menace," "Attack of the Clones," and now, "Revenge of the Sith."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Every single Jedi is now an enemy of the republic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: As "Episode 3" begins, the galaxy is torn by a war that will end with the destruction of the noble Jedi council, mystical defenders of the peace and with the republic replaced by an empire and its fearsome death star. At the center of the saga is Anakin Skywalker, AKA Darth Vader. Evil, powerful, we know from the original trilogy, he's the father of twins Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia and that was a student of Obi-Wan Kenobi before betraying the virtuous the Jedi Knights and turning to the dark side. "Revenge of the Sith" promises to show us how he went from the Jedi's hope to the epitome of evil.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: You were the chosen one!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: We'll see how his forbidden romance with Padme Amidala figures into his break with the Jedi, and the part played by the scheming Palpatine as he goes from senator to chancellor to emperor. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: The dark side of the force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: As for computer-generated characters, good news. More Yoda, less Jar Jar. And what of Lucas' Laurel and Hardy-esque robots, C3PO and R2D2? The earlier prequels showed how they teamed up. Perhaps this chapter will reveal how they wound up with Princess Leia and became the first "Star Wars" characters we met 28 years ago.
Silbia Vargas, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: Tomorrow, the AMERICAN MORNING Star Wars trilogy continues with "Episode Two: The Marketing of the Star Wars Saga." I like our own trilogy.
M. O'BRIEN: I think people will be lining up to see the whole thing in its entirety, in costume.
S. O'BRIEN: Why just three? Why stop there? We can milk it for a lot more. Guys, get back to the drawing table.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, some good news about gas prices. Andy is "Minding Your Business" next with some details.
S. O'BRIEN: And if you had a hard time getting up this morning, maybe it's your mattress. Maybe it's that you get up at 3:30 every morning. Who knows? But we've got tips on how to pick of the perfect mattress for the perfect price. That's up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Well, you sure wouldn't buy a car without taking it for a test drive, and yet many will buy a mattress sight unseen over the phone or on the Internet.
"Consumer Reports" editor Tod Marks says that's a bad idea. He says buying a mattress should literally be a hands-on decision, maybe a back-o0n decision. He joins us with some tips. Nice to see you. Good morning.
TOD MARKS, "CONSUMER REPORTS": Good morning.
S. O'BRIEN: "Consumer Reports" tackling mattresses now. All right, what one? What's the best mattress?
MARKS: Well, I wish I could give you the definitive answer. The fact of the matter is -- the comforting part, pretty much all but the cheapest beds are very well made and they'll last a long time. Will they be as comfortable over the long haul? Maybe not. That's why we can tell you what toaster to buy, what car to buy, but we can't tell you what bed to buy. It's purely subjective.
S. O'BRIEN: There are lots of myths about mattresses. And we're going to run through a bunch of them. I've always thought -- people say, you know, if you need a -- if your back is hurting, make sure you get a nice firm mattress. Is that true? Firmer is better?
MARKS: Oh, in the old days, they used to tell you to put a board under your bed. The fact of the matter is, there's no objective studies that tell us what mattress firmness is best. What's good for you may be very bad for me. But as you age, softness does become more important.
S. O'BRIEN: Coil count. Again, they say it's critical. Do you know how many coils you have? I went -- when we went bed shopping, I'm like coil count. I'm like, OK, does that matter?
MARKS: Well, you know, the fact of the matter, coil count is largely irrelevant. Anything around 400 coils in a queen-sized bed is more than enough to do a good job. Beds, in fact, are over-engineered to do the job that they're asked to do. Again, all but the cheapest will stand up. Coil count isn't so much what counts. What really counts is how springy the bed is. It's the gauge of the wire used in the coils. A thin gauge is soft and bouncy, a thicker gauge is firmer and stiffer.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, I see.
MARKS: Like a sport car suspension.
S. O'BRIEN: Higher price means a better bed, because you assume quality of materials, workmanship. No?
MARKS: Well, you know, that's the old line. The more you spend, the better you get. That's not necessarily true. Pay around $800 for a queen-sized mattress list price and you're getting a pretty good bed. Beds can go up to $4,000, $5,000 or more. There are a lot of specialty beds today out there that appeal to all segments of the market. You've got memory foam, you've got springs, you've got waterbeds. You've got all kinds of beds. But the fact of the matter is, price is not really that much of an issue. It's personal comfort.
S. O'BRIEN: If you're restless, you say, don't blame the bed. I assumed if you're not having a good night's sleep -- no?
MARKS: Hey...
S. O'BRIEN: Get a new bed.
MARKS: We spend a third of our life in bed. Think about it. 80 or 24 or hours, roughly. So anything that's going to pray on that, kind of make you think that if I'm not sleeping the way I should, it's got to be the bed. But the fact of the matter is, it's your diet, it's your age, it's your stress level, whether you've had a little drink before you've gone to bed. All these factors play into how well you sleep at night. And the bed is one part of the equation. A big part, but certainly not the only part. S. O'BRIEN: You must buy the boxspring. We're talking about the mattress, we're talking about comfort. But the box spring, too. They don't come together necessarily.
MARKS: Well, you know, some do, some don't. The box spring is relatively cheap to make. We actually looked at a lot of beds and we found that whether you bought high in the line or low in the line, the company used the same box spring. There's a lot of profit to be made in these boxes. Mattresses cost more to make. But you really should buy -- the integrity of your box spring should be good. In other words, if you're switching from a two-sided bed that you flip, to a one-sided bed, which is very popular today, you really want to make sure that you have a box spring that's designed to work with the bed you have. But you don't necessarily have to buy the box to ensure that your warranty is preserved.
S. O'BRIEN: So go for the cheaper box spring, at least 800 bucks on your mattress, and make sure it's comfortable for you, and you're in pretty good shape.
MARKS: That's a good start.
S. O'BRIEN: Tod Marks, nice to have you. Thanks for talking with us.
MARKS: You're welcome.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, no more lying around for us. Still to come, gas prices. Andy Serwer will tell us what you'll pay to fill up the tank this week. Stay with us for hopefully some good news on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Prices keep falling at the gas pump. Wal-Mart arrives in Amish country. With those stories, and a Wall Street preview and a look at the latest inflation numbers, Andy Serwer is here "Minding Your Business."
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: That's kind of a mix of things.
CAFFERTY: Busy guy today.
SERWER: Let's talk about gasoline prices, Jack. As you indicated, the news is good. Prices fell again. We're now at the lowest levels in seven weeks; $2.16 is the national average. That's down 2.3 cents over the past 14 days.
Here we go. These are some cities, prices. Houston comes in at the low end. And wouldn't it be great to see gas below $2 again? I'd like that. That would be fun for the summertime. And as usual, the California cities very high. Yes, let's talk about the Wal-Mart story. They're opening a new store in Middlefield, Ohio. And check this out, this is 30 miles east of Cleveland, and yes, it's Amish country. And so to accommodate local customers, they're there will be hitching posts at this new Wal- Mart, which opens tomorrow, for the horse and buggies to tie up. So the members of the Amish can go in and buy garden hose and other things that you buy -- there you go. So you buy at Wal-Mart. Because the Amish need to go to Wal-Mart, just like everyone else does.
CAFFERTY: Tie your kids to the railing too.
SERWER: Yes, you could. You could. I could just see the Cafferty family. Or maybe not. I'm sorry. Never mind.
CAFFERTY: It's all right, Andy.
SERWER: Let's talk about the markets. Yesterday a good one across the board on Wall Street. The Dow up more than 100 points. You can see here, lower oil prices giving a nice boost to the stock.
Couple things crossing the tape, though, this morning. Wholesale inflation numbers for the month of April coming in a bit higher than anticipated. Core rate 0.3 percent for you economic types out there. Housing starts up nicely, though. Rebounding from a poor March. Strong, up 11 percent in April. And that's it.
CAFFERTY: Thanks, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
CAFFERTY: Time for the "File."
Same-sex marriage legal in Massachusetts for a year now, and here's the score: 6,100 same-sex couples have tied the knot. That's one out of every six licenses issued in Massachusetts. Two-thirds of the same-sex weddings, female couples. Number of divorce petitions in the last year, three. Polls continue to indicate Americans are opposed to same-sex marriage. "Boston Globe" poll says people disapprove of gay and lesbian couples being allowed to get married by a margin of 50 to 37 percent. Since 2004, 14 states have amended their constitutions to ban gay marriage.
Editors of the Miriam-Webster dictionaries asked people for the favorite words that aren't in the dictionary, and they got thousands of online submissions. The following non-word were entered most often, beginning with "ginormous," which is an adjective meaning bigger than gigantic and bigger than enormous.
"Confuzzled" is an adjective meaning confused and puzzled at the same time. I have that on my business card.
"Chillax" is a verb, as in chill out and relax.
And then "phonecrastinate," a verb meaning to put off answering the phone until the caller I.D. displays the incoming name and number.
And you also have phone-ignore, which means you don't answer at all.
Act up in preschool, get tossed out on your keester. A nationwide study by Yale University found preschoolers three times more likely to get kicked out of school than older public school counterparts. Boys get kicked out of preschool four-and-a-half times as often as girls. African-American preschoolers twice as likely to be expelled as white or Latino children, and five times as likely as Asian-Americans.
The higher expulsion rates for preschoolers are due in part to the lack of statewide disciplinary standards. These are private schools, and because of that, they don't have to take as much guff from the kids as public schools do. They just run them out the door. The study's researchers worry that the lack of support for troubled children could lead parents to view their child as an educational failure before kindergarten.
SERWER: Wow.
S. O'BRIEN: Maybe not an educational failure, but an obnoxious little brat, could be.
SERWER: Yes, discipline problems. Maybe it's too much sugar.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, you bite people, you're out. I agree with that rule.
SERWER: Yes, the biters.
M. O'BRIEN: Reform school for you, 4-year-old.
SERWER: Tie them up to the hitching post.
S. O'BRIEN: Good file, Jack, thanks,
Well, a showdown looms in the Senate over Judicial nominees. Ahead, Senator John McCain on his behind-the-scenes efforts to hammer out a compromise on filibusters. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired May 17, 2005 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning to you. Coming up, we'll talk hurricanes with Florida's director of emergency management. We'll give you some practical tips after some dire warnings from the forecasters.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Chad's got more of that ahead.
First, though, the headlines with Carol Costello.
Good morning again.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning to all of you.
Now in the news, "Newsweek's" Washington bureau chief says the magazine is going to go back and learn from its mistakes. The report, alleging U.S. interrogators desecrated the Koran, has been blamed for massive anti-American riots in Afghanistan that left at least four people dead. The magazine has now retracted the story. White House officials call it a good first step, but say more will have to be done.
Sentencing this morning for an Army Reservist convicted in the Abu Ghraib military abuse scandal. A military jury found Specialist Sabrina Harman guilty of six of the seven charges against her. She faces up to five-and-a-half years in prison for her role in the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners.
The Transportation Security Administration is now allowing cigarette lighters on flights, so long as they are empty and in checked baggage. The makers of Zippo lighters applauding this decision, saying its sales could have dropped as much as 30 percent because of the ban. Despite the change, cigarette lighters are still not allowed in carry-ons.
Mexico's President Vicente Fox is inviting civil rights leaders Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson to come to Mexico and help him fight for immigration and civil rights. This after a controversial comment made by Fox, where he said Mexican immigrants take U.S. jobs that not even blacks want to do. Fox says he regrets the remarks. Sharpton is calling on Fox to issue a formal apology.
And hundreds of thousands are gathering in Havana, Cuba this morning. These are live pictures just into us. Look at them. It's being billed as the biggest anti-American protest ever. Cuban leader Fidel Castro has called for this demonstration. His government claiming the U.S. allowed a known terrorist, a known Cuban terrorist, to enter the United States with a false passport and hide out from justice in Cuba. The man has long denied any wrongdoing. So we'll keep you posted on that.
S. O'BRIEN: And of course whenever they have those impressive shows of force with Cuban people, it's like, they come to your house and tell you where to go and when they'd like to see you for the protest and you better be there.
M. O'BRIEN: You were invited.
S. O'BRIEN: We expect to see you there. I'm always amazed when they say another impressive rally. It's like yes, they bus people in and they have them stand there and wave flags.
M. O'BRIEN: You think they don't want to hear four hours of Fidel?
S. O'BRIEN: I have no idea.
M. O'BRIEN: Wow.
S. O'BRIEN: But I do know how it works. .
All right, batten down the hatches, folks. Government forecasters are predicting another above-average Atlantic hurricane season, beginning June 1st. As you well know, 12 to 15 tropical storms predicted, seven to nine will reach hurricane strength, three to five should be major.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: The forecast is a bit unsettling for Floridians after last year's record four hurricanes in 40 days. That was something. Charley, Frances, Ivan and Gene caused about $40 billion in damage.
Craig Fugate, director of Florida's Division of Emergency Management joining us from Tallahassee.
Craig, chances of that happening again pretty slim, right?
CRAIG FUGATE, DIRECTOR, FLORIDA EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: We definitely hope so.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Let's hope for that. Let's listen, Michael Brown, your counterpart at the federal level, the FEMA director, he had something interest to say which should make us think with how we prepare.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL D. BROWN, FEMA DIRECTOR: I saw men and women from fire departments, police departments, volunteer organizations, urban- search-and-rescue teams, medical teams that did everything they could to protect property and save lives. They put their lives in danger to help fellow Americans. So I say to you who have not yet prepared, you ought to then to do whatever you can to prepare now so that you're not the one that has them put their lives in danger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: I haven't seen it put quite in those stark terms before, Craig. But why don't you elaborate on that point a little bit and make sure people understand they sort of have a responsibility here.
FUGATE: Well, that's what we try to tell people, preparing for disasters, particularly hurricanes, it's team effort. Everybody's got to prepare. And If you're one of the people who says, I'm going to ride the storm out, you you're not just putting yourself and maybe your family at risk, but at some point you may dial 9-1-1 and ask those responders to come save you, and it may be so dangerous that we have to make a decision, do we put their lives at risk to save yours?
M. O'BRIEN: All right, let's go through some tips we found on your own Web site. Floridadisaster.org is the place. Even if you're not in Florida, good place to go if you're in a hurricane-prone state for some practical tips. First of all, know your home's vulnerability. In other words, are you low-lying, where are you? Is it storm surge? Or is it wind you should be worried about? How do you go about doing that, though?
FUGATE: Well, the easiest way to do this is go to your county emergency management agency. And if you're on the coast, find out if you're in an evacuation zone. If you are, your plan should be to evacuate, not ride the storm out. If you're not, assess your home, make sure it's up to code and look at fortifying your home with shutters or plywood coverings on your windows, so you'll be safe when the storm strikes.
M. O'BRIEN: Safe room in your home. What does that mean?
FUGATE: That's the same thing we tell people in tornado areas, is know where that interior room or closet is that you can go to during the height of the storm. Again, when you're staying home, it doesn't mean that your home won't suffer damage, but we want to make sure you have a safe place to go with your family, because oftentimes evacuating hundreds of miles is not answer the for a lot of Florida residents.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, determine escape routes. That's fairly self-evident. Sort of drive your way through to so you know which way you'll go. Of course if you end up in a traffic jam, that might fail.
Have an out-of-state friend as a family contact. That's an idea a lot of folks probably don't think about.
Now here's one I'm sure a lot of pet owners probably don't consider fully: Make a plan now for what to do with your pets, because in many cases, you're going to going to a place where you can't bring them, right?
FUGATE: Absolutely. We used to tell people, leave your pets behind with plenty of food and water. That's a really bad message. You need to plan ahead for your pets. Over half the people in the United States have animals. They're part of your family. Plan ahead. Make sure you have a plan for your pet, as well as the rest of your family.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, and what can you do, though?
FUGATE: There's a lot of other options. Many counties now in Florida are now doing pet-friendly shelters.
M. O'BRIEN: Really?
FUGATE: Contact your local humane society and other groups to find out, what are your options in your communities? But again, we always tell you, your best place to go is with friends and family, and hopefully your pets will be welcome with you.
M. O'BRIEN: I just want to button up with the last two we picked out. Check your insurance coverage. You may not be properly covered. Know your insurance agent's number. And then stock nonperishable emergency supplies in a disaster-supply kit. And on that Web site, there are some specific things you should have in the kit.
Craig, we wish you well this season. Let's hope that everybody is listening and preparing.
FUGATE: Thank you very much.
M. O'BRIEN: Thanks for your time. Craig Fugate is the director of Florida's Division of Emergency Management.
And in case you're wondering, here are the names on this year's storm list: Arlene, Bret, Cindy, Dennis, Emily, Franklin, Gert, Harvey, Irene, Jose, Katrina, Lee, Maria, Nate, Ophelia, Philippe, Rita, Stan, Tammy, Vince and Wilma. We hope we don't get to know Wilma, Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes. we hope we don't get to know any of them actually.
Miles, thanks.
Well, for all you Star Wars fanatics, only about 39 hours to go before "Star Wars Episode III" opens here in America. This morning, we're starting our own Star Wars trilogy on AMERICAN MORNING. Episode I answers all your plot questions.
Sibila Vargas has our report.
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SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A long time ago in theaters across the galaxy, there was Star Wars.
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UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Use the force, Luke. (END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: "The Empire Strikes Back."
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UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: I am your father.
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VARGAS: And "Return of the Jedi."
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UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: I've got to save you.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: You already have.
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VARGAS: The space epics made creator George Lucas a gazillionaire. And fans love them, though some could have gone without the Ewoks.
But followers of the force noticed these movies were numbered four, five and six, implying three prequels. Sure enough, eventually Lucas delivered "The Phantom Menace," "Attack of the Clones," and now, "Revenge of the Sith."
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UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Every single Jedi is now an enemy of the republic.
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VARGAS: As "Episode 3" begins, the galaxy is torn by a war that will end with the destruction of the noble Jedi council, mystical defenders of the peace and with the republic replaced by an empire and its fearsome death star. At the center of the saga is Anakin Skywalker, AKA Darth Vader. Evil, powerful, we know from the original trilogy, he's the father of twins Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia and that was a student of Obi-Wan Kenobi before betraying the virtuous the Jedi Knights and turning to the dark side. "Revenge of the Sith" promises to show us how he went from the Jedi's hope to the epitome of evil.
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UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: You were the chosen one!
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VARGAS: We'll see how his forbidden romance with Padme Amidala figures into his break with the Jedi, and the part played by the scheming Palpatine as he goes from senator to chancellor to emperor. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: The dark side of the force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.
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VARGAS: As for computer-generated characters, good news. More Yoda, less Jar Jar. And what of Lucas' Laurel and Hardy-esque robots, C3PO and R2D2? The earlier prequels showed how they teamed up. Perhaps this chapter will reveal how they wound up with Princess Leia and became the first "Star Wars" characters we met 28 years ago.
Silbia Vargas, CNN, Los Angeles.
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S. O'BRIEN: Tomorrow, the AMERICAN MORNING Star Wars trilogy continues with "Episode Two: The Marketing of the Star Wars Saga." I like our own trilogy.
M. O'BRIEN: I think people will be lining up to see the whole thing in its entirety, in costume.
S. O'BRIEN: Why just three? Why stop there? We can milk it for a lot more. Guys, get back to the drawing table.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, some good news about gas prices. Andy is "Minding Your Business" next with some details.
S. O'BRIEN: And if you had a hard time getting up this morning, maybe it's your mattress. Maybe it's that you get up at 3:30 every morning. Who knows? But we've got tips on how to pick of the perfect mattress for the perfect price. That's up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
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S. O'BRIEN: Well, you sure wouldn't buy a car without taking it for a test drive, and yet many will buy a mattress sight unseen over the phone or on the Internet.
"Consumer Reports" editor Tod Marks says that's a bad idea. He says buying a mattress should literally be a hands-on decision, maybe a back-o0n decision. He joins us with some tips. Nice to see you. Good morning.
TOD MARKS, "CONSUMER REPORTS": Good morning.
S. O'BRIEN: "Consumer Reports" tackling mattresses now. All right, what one? What's the best mattress?
MARKS: Well, I wish I could give you the definitive answer. The fact of the matter is -- the comforting part, pretty much all but the cheapest beds are very well made and they'll last a long time. Will they be as comfortable over the long haul? Maybe not. That's why we can tell you what toaster to buy, what car to buy, but we can't tell you what bed to buy. It's purely subjective.
S. O'BRIEN: There are lots of myths about mattresses. And we're going to run through a bunch of them. I've always thought -- people say, you know, if you need a -- if your back is hurting, make sure you get a nice firm mattress. Is that true? Firmer is better?
MARKS: Oh, in the old days, they used to tell you to put a board under your bed. The fact of the matter is, there's no objective studies that tell us what mattress firmness is best. What's good for you may be very bad for me. But as you age, softness does become more important.
S. O'BRIEN: Coil count. Again, they say it's critical. Do you know how many coils you have? I went -- when we went bed shopping, I'm like coil count. I'm like, OK, does that matter?
MARKS: Well, you know, the fact of the matter, coil count is largely irrelevant. Anything around 400 coils in a queen-sized bed is more than enough to do a good job. Beds, in fact, are over-engineered to do the job that they're asked to do. Again, all but the cheapest will stand up. Coil count isn't so much what counts. What really counts is how springy the bed is. It's the gauge of the wire used in the coils. A thin gauge is soft and bouncy, a thicker gauge is firmer and stiffer.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, I see.
MARKS: Like a sport car suspension.
S. O'BRIEN: Higher price means a better bed, because you assume quality of materials, workmanship. No?
MARKS: Well, you know, that's the old line. The more you spend, the better you get. That's not necessarily true. Pay around $800 for a queen-sized mattress list price and you're getting a pretty good bed. Beds can go up to $4,000, $5,000 or more. There are a lot of specialty beds today out there that appeal to all segments of the market. You've got memory foam, you've got springs, you've got waterbeds. You've got all kinds of beds. But the fact of the matter is, price is not really that much of an issue. It's personal comfort.
S. O'BRIEN: If you're restless, you say, don't blame the bed. I assumed if you're not having a good night's sleep -- no?
MARKS: Hey...
S. O'BRIEN: Get a new bed.
MARKS: We spend a third of our life in bed. Think about it. 80 or 24 or hours, roughly. So anything that's going to pray on that, kind of make you think that if I'm not sleeping the way I should, it's got to be the bed. But the fact of the matter is, it's your diet, it's your age, it's your stress level, whether you've had a little drink before you've gone to bed. All these factors play into how well you sleep at night. And the bed is one part of the equation. A big part, but certainly not the only part. S. O'BRIEN: You must buy the boxspring. We're talking about the mattress, we're talking about comfort. But the box spring, too. They don't come together necessarily.
MARKS: Well, you know, some do, some don't. The box spring is relatively cheap to make. We actually looked at a lot of beds and we found that whether you bought high in the line or low in the line, the company used the same box spring. There's a lot of profit to be made in these boxes. Mattresses cost more to make. But you really should buy -- the integrity of your box spring should be good. In other words, if you're switching from a two-sided bed that you flip, to a one-sided bed, which is very popular today, you really want to make sure that you have a box spring that's designed to work with the bed you have. But you don't necessarily have to buy the box to ensure that your warranty is preserved.
S. O'BRIEN: So go for the cheaper box spring, at least 800 bucks on your mattress, and make sure it's comfortable for you, and you're in pretty good shape.
MARKS: That's a good start.
S. O'BRIEN: Tod Marks, nice to have you. Thanks for talking with us.
MARKS: You're welcome.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, no more lying around for us. Still to come, gas prices. Andy Serwer will tell us what you'll pay to fill up the tank this week. Stay with us for hopefully some good news on AMERICAN MORNING.
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S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Prices keep falling at the gas pump. Wal-Mart arrives in Amish country. With those stories, and a Wall Street preview and a look at the latest inflation numbers, Andy Serwer is here "Minding Your Business."
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: That's kind of a mix of things.
CAFFERTY: Busy guy today.
SERWER: Let's talk about gasoline prices, Jack. As you indicated, the news is good. Prices fell again. We're now at the lowest levels in seven weeks; $2.16 is the national average. That's down 2.3 cents over the past 14 days.
Here we go. These are some cities, prices. Houston comes in at the low end. And wouldn't it be great to see gas below $2 again? I'd like that. That would be fun for the summertime. And as usual, the California cities very high. Yes, let's talk about the Wal-Mart story. They're opening a new store in Middlefield, Ohio. And check this out, this is 30 miles east of Cleveland, and yes, it's Amish country. And so to accommodate local customers, they're there will be hitching posts at this new Wal- Mart, which opens tomorrow, for the horse and buggies to tie up. So the members of the Amish can go in and buy garden hose and other things that you buy -- there you go. So you buy at Wal-Mart. Because the Amish need to go to Wal-Mart, just like everyone else does.
CAFFERTY: Tie your kids to the railing too.
SERWER: Yes, you could. You could. I could just see the Cafferty family. Or maybe not. I'm sorry. Never mind.
CAFFERTY: It's all right, Andy.
SERWER: Let's talk about the markets. Yesterday a good one across the board on Wall Street. The Dow up more than 100 points. You can see here, lower oil prices giving a nice boost to the stock.
Couple things crossing the tape, though, this morning. Wholesale inflation numbers for the month of April coming in a bit higher than anticipated. Core rate 0.3 percent for you economic types out there. Housing starts up nicely, though. Rebounding from a poor March. Strong, up 11 percent in April. And that's it.
CAFFERTY: Thanks, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
CAFFERTY: Time for the "File."
Same-sex marriage legal in Massachusetts for a year now, and here's the score: 6,100 same-sex couples have tied the knot. That's one out of every six licenses issued in Massachusetts. Two-thirds of the same-sex weddings, female couples. Number of divorce petitions in the last year, three. Polls continue to indicate Americans are opposed to same-sex marriage. "Boston Globe" poll says people disapprove of gay and lesbian couples being allowed to get married by a margin of 50 to 37 percent. Since 2004, 14 states have amended their constitutions to ban gay marriage.
Editors of the Miriam-Webster dictionaries asked people for the favorite words that aren't in the dictionary, and they got thousands of online submissions. The following non-word were entered most often, beginning with "ginormous," which is an adjective meaning bigger than gigantic and bigger than enormous.
"Confuzzled" is an adjective meaning confused and puzzled at the same time. I have that on my business card.
"Chillax" is a verb, as in chill out and relax.
And then "phonecrastinate," a verb meaning to put off answering the phone until the caller I.D. displays the incoming name and number.
And you also have phone-ignore, which means you don't answer at all.
Act up in preschool, get tossed out on your keester. A nationwide study by Yale University found preschoolers three times more likely to get kicked out of school than older public school counterparts. Boys get kicked out of preschool four-and-a-half times as often as girls. African-American preschoolers twice as likely to be expelled as white or Latino children, and five times as likely as Asian-Americans.
The higher expulsion rates for preschoolers are due in part to the lack of statewide disciplinary standards. These are private schools, and because of that, they don't have to take as much guff from the kids as public schools do. They just run them out the door. The study's researchers worry that the lack of support for troubled children could lead parents to view their child as an educational failure before kindergarten.
SERWER: Wow.
S. O'BRIEN: Maybe not an educational failure, but an obnoxious little brat, could be.
SERWER: Yes, discipline problems. Maybe it's too much sugar.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, you bite people, you're out. I agree with that rule.
SERWER: Yes, the biters.
M. O'BRIEN: Reform school for you, 4-year-old.
SERWER: Tie them up to the hitching post.
S. O'BRIEN: Good file, Jack, thanks,
Well, a showdown looms in the Senate over Judicial nominees. Ahead, Senator John McCain on his behind-the-scenes efforts to hammer out a compromise on filibusters. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
Stay with us.
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