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American Morning
A Retraction and an Apology From 'Newsweek'; Bold Claims That Al Qaeda Has Been Crippled in Pakistan
Aired May 17, 2005 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A retraction and an apology from "Newsweek" over its article on Koran desecration. What happens now in Muslim countries? Can the outrage be contained?
We go on "Terror's Trail" this morning. Bold claims that al Qaeda has been crippled in Pakistan. Our terror expert tells us if it's true.
And may the hype be with you. "Star Wars Episode Three" about to open and it's got fans in an all out frenzy on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
S. O'BRIEN: Good morning.
Welcome back, everybody.
Bill's got another day off today, but Miles O'Brien is helping us out this morning.
Thank you very much for that.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's good to be here.
Do you think they did the entire "Star Wars" marathon in those suits?
S. O'BRIEN: I'm sure they did.
M. O'BRIEN: The storm trooper suits?
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: OK.
S. O'BRIEN: I'm sure they're comfortable, too.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. I'm sure they enjoyed it.
We're going to talk to the director of the emergency management in Florida about this year's hurricane forecast. As Chad said yesterday, it's important, first of all, to know where you live.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: And there are some other things you have to do, too.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes. Some seriously bad numbers coming out of that forecast.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: A worse forecast than last year, but that doesn't necessarily mean it'll be a worse year.
M. O'BRIEN: Exactly.
S. O'BRIEN: That's ahead this morning.
Jack is with us, as well -- good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Coming up in "The Cafferty File," gay marriage in Massachusetts marks an anniversary.
Kids are getting kicked out of school at an alarming rate and they're a lot younger than you might think.
And chillax and enjoy Americans' favorite words that you won't find in a dictionary.
S. O'BRIEN: I love them you do the hip and happening words.
CAFFERTY: That's me.
M. O'BRIEN: They just roll off the top.
S. O'BRIEN: Don't they?
All right, Jack, thanks.
CAFFERTY: Hip and happening.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's get to the headlines with Carol Costello -- good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Good morning, everyone.
Now in the news, another U.S. soldier has been killed in Iraq. The military says a roadside bomb went off next to a coalition patrol near Tikrit, which is north of Baghdad. A second American was wounded in that attack. In the meantime, U.S. troops and insurgents are clashing in Mosul. Heavy machine gun fire has been reported in the area. No word on any casualties.
British parliament member George Galloway is vowing to set the record straight over allegations he profited from the Saddam Hussein regime. Galloway is due to appear at a hearing before a Senate panel in less than two hours. Lawmakers accused him last week of accepting vouchers for 20 million barrels of oil from Saddam Hussein between 2000 and 2003.
The man convicted of killing 5-year-old Samantha Runnion could be heading to death row. A judge must now decide whether to uphold a jury's recommended death sentence for Alejandro Avila. Avila was convicted in the killing and sexual assault of Runnion, who he snatched from outside of her home in 2002. Sentencing is set for July 22.
And in Utah, people in Salt Lake City are surveying damage from a massive wind storm. Take a look at this. Gusts of up to 80 miles per hour uprooted trees, downed power lines. Some 18, 000 people were without power last night and Interstate 15 was closed down at one point when three trucks flipped over on their sides. I'm talking big trucks, too, semis. No injuries reported, but people cleaning up the damage this morning.
S. O'BRIEN: They almost look like they're made of, you know, that tar type material.
(CROSSTALK)
M. O'BRIEN: Like tarps. Like a big sail.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: You know, when you're in a cross wind beside a truck, speed up or just get away from the darned thing, don't you think?
S. O'BRIEN: That is true.
COSTELLO: Yes. Flee.
M. O'BRIEN: Flee. Flee the scene.
S. O'BRIEN: That's the (INAUDIBLE)...
M. O'BRIEN: If you get pulled over, you have a good excuse. I'm fleeing, officer.
S. O'BRIEN: Carol, thank you.
Well, "Newsweek" is now fully retracting its story that U.S. interrogators desecrated the Koran.
The magazine's Washington bureau chief told us just a few minutes ago what they're doing to correct their mistakes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN KLAIDMAN, "NEWSWEEK" D.C. BUREAU CHIEF: What we've done is to lay out in as much detail as we can, as we've learned the facts, what mistakes we made, how we believe we made them. And we will continue to look at our processes, our reporting methods, questions about sourcing. We're going to go back and learn from the mistakes we made so that we don't repeat them in the future. (END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: Dana Bash live at the White House for us this morning -- Dana, what's the White House reaction to the retraction? Do they think that it's the -- going far enough?
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, in a word, no, Soledad.
You know, it was here at the White House yesterday morning that the White House launched an administration-wide effort to push "Newsweek" to retract its story. Now they got what they wanted, essentially. But they say it is a good first step, but now they want "Newsweek," they want the magazine to launch their own effort in the Muslim media to explain exactly how they got it wrong.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: Damage has been done. And what this report did was provide people who are opposed to the United States and who are on the other side of the war on terrorism with the ability to go out and exploit this report for their own purposes. They've used it to incite violence, violence that has led to the deaths of individuals.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: The violence that Scott McClellan was talking about, of course, was some -- were some riots last week in Afghanistan that resulted in the deaths of at least 15 people, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the region. Interestingly, last week the chairman of the joint chiefs, Richard Myers, said he thought the violence stemmed not from the "Newsweek" article, but perhaps from Afghanistan's reconciliation process. But now, Soledad, U.S. officials say that they are launching their own effort to try to get the apology, now retraction, out into the Muslim media. But they do say they are very concerned that this has already done irreparable damage to the U.S. image abroad because essentially they admit privately here, it didn't need much help. The U.S. image abroad, especially in this region, was already not very good -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: I imagine that's going to be a tough road to hoe considering even the retraction of the article necessarily not going to be believed in that region.
Dana Bash is at the White House for us this morning.
Dana, thank you -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: And let's put that question to our terrorism analyst, Peter Bergen.
Is the damage done? Is it irrevocable -- Peter, good to have you with us this morning.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Good to see you, Miles. No, nothing is irrevocable. You know, our numbers, the United States' numbers in Indonesia were very, very low as a result of the Iraq war. As a result of the U.S. military actions in Indonesia after the tsunami, the United States' favorability ratings went up. So none of these things are permanent.
However, that -- the Muslim world feels, many people feel that the war on terrorism is a war, actually, against Islam itself. And whether it's Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo, or now the allegations about the Koran, this plays into a narrative where the United States is attacking the religion itself.
And, you know, there's a very -- there's a great deal of unfavorability for the United States. In Saudi Arabia, our favorability ratings are 3 percent. When you poll on the question in Pakistan, on bin Laden's favorability, he has a 65 percent favorability rating, which is higher than President Bush has in this country.
So when you have that kind of sentiment and then you throw in these kinds of reports, you have a very combustible mixture, as we're seeing on the camera.
M. O'BRIEN: And I guess a point worth making here is that it does, whether the story is true or not -- and apparently it's not true -- it does fit into a larger pattern. It sounds as if it could be true, in other words. BERGEN: Indeed. And, you know, I think "Newsweek" has made it clear that they're going to continue investigating this story. They may have retracted this particular part of the story, but they are not saying that there is no evidence that this ever happened.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
All right, let's move on now. And we'll roll the animation on "Terror's Trail." Pakistan saying again that they have broken the back of al Qaeda. I think they said it back in February, saying it again now. Explain if that is possible, to break the back of al Qaeda. It's not a centralized organization, is it? BERGEN: Well, that's a good point, Miles. I mean, I think that Pakistani government officials have said a lot of different things. I mean at one point President Musharraf himself said that bin Laden was definitely dead and we know now that he's definitely alive.
I think this statement has a little more credibility than previous statements. There have been far fewer attacks on Western targets in Pakistan. We saw attacks on the U.S. consulate in Karachi, three of them, in the two years after 9/11; attacks on a Sheraton Hotel in Karachi; the murder of Danny Perle, also in Karachi. These kinds of things we're not seeing so much of. There was also two attempts, two very serious attempts to assassinate President Musharraf in the 2003 time frame. We're not seeing that anymore.
So I think al Qaeda has been damaged in Pakistan, no doubt about it. Six very senior leaders have been arrested, most recently this man by the name of al Libbi, who has been described as the number three in al Qaeda, which I think is something of an exaggeration. But nonetheless, we have seen a, you know, a rolling up of the senior leadership in Pakistan.
M. O'BRIEN: But no Osama bin Laden. BERGEN: No Osama...
M. O'BRIEN: What about that? And if, in fact, Osama bin Laden were to be captured, would that be the end for al Qaeda? BERGEN: It wouldn't be the end for -- it would be the end of al Qaeda, the formal organization. It wouldn't be the end of al Qaeda the larger kind of movement that bin Laden has sort of set in process. And, you know, that's good news and bad news. The organization is what did 9/11. The movement is what did the attacks in Madrid back in 2004.
So I think we're going to see more of those kind of smaller type attacks whether bin Laden is alive or dead. I don't think that they're capable of doing anything on the scale of 9/11 at this point.
M. O'BRIEN: Peter Bergen on "Terror's Trail."
Thanks for joining us. BERGEN: Thank you.
M. O'BRIEN: Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: A last minute compromise could head off the so- called nuclear option in the Senate. Democrats would allow the Senate to vote on five of the president's judicial nominees and Republicans would not change the Senate's rules allowing the minority to filibuster certain nominees.
Senator John McCain this morning talked about the chances of reaching a compromise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: It's hard to say. There's a lot of cross pressures. There's a lot of activity on both extremes of the political spectrum. It's hard to know. We'll know more today. But it's very tough and there's enormous pressures being applied to all members.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: Senator McCain says a compromise would improve the atmosphere in Washington. But he says the country is very bitter and partisan and so is Congress.
Let's get right to the weather.
It's 11 minutes after the hour.
And Chad Myers is at the CNN Center with the latest forecast for us -- Chad, what are you looking at this morning?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: A fairly tranquil day today, Soledad. That's the great news.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: Well, it is well known that a low fat diet is good for your heart. But can it also prevent a deadly disease? Dr. Gupta explains, up next.
M. O'BRIEN: A dire forecast for the 2005 storm season, as the hardest hit areas still dig out from the 2004 hurricanes.
S. O'BRIEN: And if this is the sixth "Star Wars" movie from George Lucas, why are we calling it "Episode Three?" We've got a "Star Wars" explainer coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.
We are "Paging Dr. Gupta" now about diet and cancer prevention. A new study suggests that a low fat diet can reduce the risk of cancer recurrence.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us with details.
So this study was in women who had had breast cancer, right?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Early stage breast cancer, post-menopausal women between the ages of 48 and 79, which is a large chunk of the women who have breast cancer. What's significant about this, this may be the first time that a lifestyle intervention could actually positively affect breast cancer outcome, specifically, recurrence, in this case.
A really interesting study. It needs to be duplicated a couple of times for people to start abiding by this, but interesting. Two hundred thousand women or so a year get breast cancer and the big concern, obviously, is after they get treated, will it come back? That's a serious issue.
And this theory has been out there for some time, almost three decades, that if you're on a lower fat diet, you may actually have a lower chance of getting a recurrence. So they decided to put it to the test.
Specifically, they took around 2, 400 post-menopausal women. Fourteen hundred or so were put on a regular diet, specifically, as for the specifics here, that means 51 grams of fat a day; 975 were on a lower fat diet, 33 grams of fat a day. Again, what exactly does that mean? We asked the lead author to explain exactly the type of diet that these women were on.
Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ROWAN CHLEBOWSKI, HARBOR-UCLA MEDICAL CENTER: Instead of French toast or a sweet roll in the morning, they'd have coffee with -- or they'd have cereal with milk. Instead of chips or cheese and crackers in the afternoon, they'd have popcorn. They would still continue eating red meat, many women did, except they watched the portion size. They were shown how to cook without, with minimal oil.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: So that's how he put it in terms of dietary changes.
What they found after five years, those women on the lower fat diet, of all the women, they had a 24 percent reduction, risk reduction in terms of a breast cancer recurrence. What was striking, though, was that in women who were estrogen negative, meaning that they didn't have receptors for estrogen on their cancer, they had a 42 percent lower risk of cancer after five years, as well. So a really significant impact in that particular group.
S. O'BRIEN: So, then, of course, the question is why? And what's the link between the fat and the estrogen?
GUPTA: Right. And that was what the theory was for some time was, look, you know, people who are eating higher fat diets tend to have more circulating estrogen. Estrogen is the fuel for breast cancer, so it all makes sense. Cut down the fat, cut down the fuel.
What they found, though, was that the women who had the most profound impact didn't have estrogen receptors. So it actually isn't an estrogen link here. Really interesting. And this might be the first time they're actually alluding to this. It could have more to do with insulin than with estrogen.
They need to study this more, but this is where they're headed.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, you keep saying they need to study this more, meaning how do we gauge this study? It needs more research? We shouldn't believe it fully yet?
GUPTA: This is how I put it. For a long time they believed this to be true. Now there's a single study showing that, in fact, the outcome is what they expected it to be. Now they've got to figure out the mechanics of this. What exactly happened here? What exactly is causing this? Is it the insulin, is it the estrogen? And if they can figure that out and duplicate this, they might be able to better target women with breast cancer and reduce their chance of recurrence.
I will also say this, that everyone agrees that a low fat diet is a good thing.
S. O'BRIEN: It's healthy anyway.
GUPTA: It's healthy anyway. So it's not a big stretch.
S. O'BRIEN: Is there a takeaway, though, for women who don't have breast cancer? Can you say wow, so if I eat a low fat diet, then maybe my chances of getting breast cancer?
GUPTA: I'm always against over reaching because this study was specifically done in women who had breast cancer, early stage, and were post-menopausal.
Again, I think a low fat diet is a good idea, but I'm not going to say look, for women who have never had breast cancer, this is going to prevent it from happening. Do it anyways, just because it's good for you.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Sanjay, thanks.
GUPTA: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Weather forecasters predict it is going to be a nasty hurricane season. And even after what happened last year, millions of people in harm's way. Well, they aren't ready yet. Go get your plywood now. We'll talk to an emergency official about getting ready, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Did you ever wonder what they do for fun in Lithuania? Well, there it is. Dozens of teams competing in the annual flying bikes competition, although flying is a bit of a stretch here.
S. O'BRIEN: There you go. They're doing it.
M. O'BRIEN: A little bit of glide there. They're made out of old bikes, everything from tires, paper mache, armchairs and wicker baskets. Points are given for distance off that ramp and for elegance when hitting the water.
S. O'BRIEN: That one is not going to work.
M. O'BRIEN: No elegance there, yes. Those magnificent men and their flying machines kind of thing.
Anyhow.
S. O'BRIEN: Hi, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Good morning.
The Question of the Day has to do with the showdown that looms now in the so-called nuclear option for ending Senate filibusters on judicial nominees. Negotiations between Bill Frist and Harry Reid fell apart yesterday and the confrontation could come as soon as tomorrow, when Frist is expected to put forward a vote on two of Bush's nominees. Democrats have vowed to filibuster both of them. Senator Frist could then seek a change in Senate rules that would bar the use of the filibuster for the judicial nominees.
The question is should that happen or not?
Terry in North Carolina writes: "The partisan hacks who brought us the Schiavo fiasco shouldn't even think about touching the world's greatest deliberative body until a few of them take some remedial education courses. They are the blind leading the near-sighted."
William writes: "No one should be confirmed to a federal judgeship without 60 or more votes. If presidents knew they had to have some bipartisan support for their appointments to these lifetime positions that can affect the nation's future for decades, maybe they would nominate some -- they would not nominate some of the bozos that they currently select.
John in Illinois: "Filibusters should not be allowed regarding judicial nominees. Here in Illinois, there are hundreds of people sitting in county jails for months awaiting trial due to a lack of judges."
And Ann in Pennsylvania writes: "The Senate acts like children. They need to line up all the nominees and play a game of red light/green light."
S. O'BRIEN: That's kind of a funny suggestion. It's probably not going to happen, but a funny suggestion.
CAFFERTY: It couldn't hurt.
S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Jack.
Yes.
Well, reaction to the "Newsweek" mess is not limited to the political arena. Late night comedian Jay Leno couldn't resist taking a couple of jabs himself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO, " COURTESY NBC)
JAY LENO, HOST: ... for publishing a story that said that U.S. interrogators at Guantanamo Bay flushed a copy of the Koran down the toilet. It turns out the story is not true. The reporters, of course, will be punished in the usual way. They'll be given jobs at CBS. That'll be the (INAUDIBLE) at CBS.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: That was kind of funny.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes, it was OK. It was OK.
All right, up next, a decision you have to sleep on. Expert advice on how to buy a mattress could save you hundreds of dollars if you do it right now. But wait, there's more.
AMERICAN MORNING continues in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Get the latest news every morning in your e-mail. Sign up for AMERICAN MORNING "Quick News" at cnn.com/am. Still to come this morning, the calm before the storms. Forecasters say this hurricane season may be worse than last year. We're going to hear just how they're bracing for it in Florida, where they are still recovering from all of last year's damage.
Stay with us.
AMERICAN MORNING continues in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: We welcome you back to the half hour with that nice looking shot out of Milwaukee. That shot is coming to us courtesy of our affiliate, WTMJ. It looks like good weather. It's supposed to be a nice day here.
M. O'BRIEN: A good morning in Milwaukee.
S. O'BRIEN: It's supposed to be a nice week here, and a good weekend, for a change, not that I'm bitter about last weekend, but I just kind of sound that way.
Welcome back.
M. O'BRIEN: Lingering aftertastes of last weekend still there, huh?
S. O'BRIEN: You think? A little? Yes, it is. I'm not over it yet.
M. O'BRIEN: So sorry.
S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back.
It's just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Bill Hemmer has the day off, still golfing.
But Miles O'Brien is helping us out today -- good morning.
M. O'BRIEN: 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.
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Aired May 17, 2005 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A retraction and an apology from "Newsweek" over its article on Koran desecration. What happens now in Muslim countries? Can the outrage be contained?
We go on "Terror's Trail" this morning. Bold claims that al Qaeda has been crippled in Pakistan. Our terror expert tells us if it's true.
And may the hype be with you. "Star Wars Episode Three" about to open and it's got fans in an all out frenzy on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
S. O'BRIEN: Good morning.
Welcome back, everybody.
Bill's got another day off today, but Miles O'Brien is helping us out this morning.
Thank you very much for that.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's good to be here.
Do you think they did the entire "Star Wars" marathon in those suits?
S. O'BRIEN: I'm sure they did.
M. O'BRIEN: The storm trooper suits?
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: OK.
S. O'BRIEN: I'm sure they're comfortable, too.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. I'm sure they enjoyed it.
We're going to talk to the director of the emergency management in Florida about this year's hurricane forecast. As Chad said yesterday, it's important, first of all, to know where you live.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: And there are some other things you have to do, too.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes. Some seriously bad numbers coming out of that forecast.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: A worse forecast than last year, but that doesn't necessarily mean it'll be a worse year.
M. O'BRIEN: Exactly.
S. O'BRIEN: That's ahead this morning.
Jack is with us, as well -- good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Coming up in "The Cafferty File," gay marriage in Massachusetts marks an anniversary.
Kids are getting kicked out of school at an alarming rate and they're a lot younger than you might think.
And chillax and enjoy Americans' favorite words that you won't find in a dictionary.
S. O'BRIEN: I love them you do the hip and happening words.
CAFFERTY: That's me.
M. O'BRIEN: They just roll off the top.
S. O'BRIEN: Don't they?
All right, Jack, thanks.
CAFFERTY: Hip and happening.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's get to the headlines with Carol Costello -- good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Good morning, everyone.
Now in the news, another U.S. soldier has been killed in Iraq. The military says a roadside bomb went off next to a coalition patrol near Tikrit, which is north of Baghdad. A second American was wounded in that attack. In the meantime, U.S. troops and insurgents are clashing in Mosul. Heavy machine gun fire has been reported in the area. No word on any casualties.
British parliament member George Galloway is vowing to set the record straight over allegations he profited from the Saddam Hussein regime. Galloway is due to appear at a hearing before a Senate panel in less than two hours. Lawmakers accused him last week of accepting vouchers for 20 million barrels of oil from Saddam Hussein between 2000 and 2003.
The man convicted of killing 5-year-old Samantha Runnion could be heading to death row. A judge must now decide whether to uphold a jury's recommended death sentence for Alejandro Avila. Avila was convicted in the killing and sexual assault of Runnion, who he snatched from outside of her home in 2002. Sentencing is set for July 22.
And in Utah, people in Salt Lake City are surveying damage from a massive wind storm. Take a look at this. Gusts of up to 80 miles per hour uprooted trees, downed power lines. Some 18, 000 people were without power last night and Interstate 15 was closed down at one point when three trucks flipped over on their sides. I'm talking big trucks, too, semis. No injuries reported, but people cleaning up the damage this morning.
S. O'BRIEN: They almost look like they're made of, you know, that tar type material.
(CROSSTALK)
M. O'BRIEN: Like tarps. Like a big sail.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: You know, when you're in a cross wind beside a truck, speed up or just get away from the darned thing, don't you think?
S. O'BRIEN: That is true.
COSTELLO: Yes. Flee.
M. O'BRIEN: Flee. Flee the scene.
S. O'BRIEN: That's the (INAUDIBLE)...
M. O'BRIEN: If you get pulled over, you have a good excuse. I'm fleeing, officer.
S. O'BRIEN: Carol, thank you.
Well, "Newsweek" is now fully retracting its story that U.S. interrogators desecrated the Koran.
The magazine's Washington bureau chief told us just a few minutes ago what they're doing to correct their mistakes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN KLAIDMAN, "NEWSWEEK" D.C. BUREAU CHIEF: What we've done is to lay out in as much detail as we can, as we've learned the facts, what mistakes we made, how we believe we made them. And we will continue to look at our processes, our reporting methods, questions about sourcing. We're going to go back and learn from the mistakes we made so that we don't repeat them in the future. (END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: Dana Bash live at the White House for us this morning -- Dana, what's the White House reaction to the retraction? Do they think that it's the -- going far enough?
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, in a word, no, Soledad.
You know, it was here at the White House yesterday morning that the White House launched an administration-wide effort to push "Newsweek" to retract its story. Now they got what they wanted, essentially. But they say it is a good first step, but now they want "Newsweek," they want the magazine to launch their own effort in the Muslim media to explain exactly how they got it wrong.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: Damage has been done. And what this report did was provide people who are opposed to the United States and who are on the other side of the war on terrorism with the ability to go out and exploit this report for their own purposes. They've used it to incite violence, violence that has led to the deaths of individuals.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: The violence that Scott McClellan was talking about, of course, was some -- were some riots last week in Afghanistan that resulted in the deaths of at least 15 people, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the region. Interestingly, last week the chairman of the joint chiefs, Richard Myers, said he thought the violence stemmed not from the "Newsweek" article, but perhaps from Afghanistan's reconciliation process. But now, Soledad, U.S. officials say that they are launching their own effort to try to get the apology, now retraction, out into the Muslim media. But they do say they are very concerned that this has already done irreparable damage to the U.S. image abroad because essentially they admit privately here, it didn't need much help. The U.S. image abroad, especially in this region, was already not very good -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: I imagine that's going to be a tough road to hoe considering even the retraction of the article necessarily not going to be believed in that region.
Dana Bash is at the White House for us this morning.
Dana, thank you -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: And let's put that question to our terrorism analyst, Peter Bergen.
Is the damage done? Is it irrevocable -- Peter, good to have you with us this morning.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Good to see you, Miles. No, nothing is irrevocable. You know, our numbers, the United States' numbers in Indonesia were very, very low as a result of the Iraq war. As a result of the U.S. military actions in Indonesia after the tsunami, the United States' favorability ratings went up. So none of these things are permanent.
However, that -- the Muslim world feels, many people feel that the war on terrorism is a war, actually, against Islam itself. And whether it's Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo, or now the allegations about the Koran, this plays into a narrative where the United States is attacking the religion itself.
And, you know, there's a very -- there's a great deal of unfavorability for the United States. In Saudi Arabia, our favorability ratings are 3 percent. When you poll on the question in Pakistan, on bin Laden's favorability, he has a 65 percent favorability rating, which is higher than President Bush has in this country.
So when you have that kind of sentiment and then you throw in these kinds of reports, you have a very combustible mixture, as we're seeing on the camera.
M. O'BRIEN: And I guess a point worth making here is that it does, whether the story is true or not -- and apparently it's not true -- it does fit into a larger pattern. It sounds as if it could be true, in other words. BERGEN: Indeed. And, you know, I think "Newsweek" has made it clear that they're going to continue investigating this story. They may have retracted this particular part of the story, but they are not saying that there is no evidence that this ever happened.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
All right, let's move on now. And we'll roll the animation on "Terror's Trail." Pakistan saying again that they have broken the back of al Qaeda. I think they said it back in February, saying it again now. Explain if that is possible, to break the back of al Qaeda. It's not a centralized organization, is it? BERGEN: Well, that's a good point, Miles. I mean, I think that Pakistani government officials have said a lot of different things. I mean at one point President Musharraf himself said that bin Laden was definitely dead and we know now that he's definitely alive.
I think this statement has a little more credibility than previous statements. There have been far fewer attacks on Western targets in Pakistan. We saw attacks on the U.S. consulate in Karachi, three of them, in the two years after 9/11; attacks on a Sheraton Hotel in Karachi; the murder of Danny Perle, also in Karachi. These kinds of things we're not seeing so much of. There was also two attempts, two very serious attempts to assassinate President Musharraf in the 2003 time frame. We're not seeing that anymore.
So I think al Qaeda has been damaged in Pakistan, no doubt about it. Six very senior leaders have been arrested, most recently this man by the name of al Libbi, who has been described as the number three in al Qaeda, which I think is something of an exaggeration. But nonetheless, we have seen a, you know, a rolling up of the senior leadership in Pakistan.
M. O'BRIEN: But no Osama bin Laden. BERGEN: No Osama...
M. O'BRIEN: What about that? And if, in fact, Osama bin Laden were to be captured, would that be the end for al Qaeda? BERGEN: It wouldn't be the end for -- it would be the end of al Qaeda, the formal organization. It wouldn't be the end of al Qaeda the larger kind of movement that bin Laden has sort of set in process. And, you know, that's good news and bad news. The organization is what did 9/11. The movement is what did the attacks in Madrid back in 2004.
So I think we're going to see more of those kind of smaller type attacks whether bin Laden is alive or dead. I don't think that they're capable of doing anything on the scale of 9/11 at this point.
M. O'BRIEN: Peter Bergen on "Terror's Trail."
Thanks for joining us. BERGEN: Thank you.
M. O'BRIEN: Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: A last minute compromise could head off the so- called nuclear option in the Senate. Democrats would allow the Senate to vote on five of the president's judicial nominees and Republicans would not change the Senate's rules allowing the minority to filibuster certain nominees.
Senator John McCain this morning talked about the chances of reaching a compromise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: It's hard to say. There's a lot of cross pressures. There's a lot of activity on both extremes of the political spectrum. It's hard to know. We'll know more today. But it's very tough and there's enormous pressures being applied to all members.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: Senator McCain says a compromise would improve the atmosphere in Washington. But he says the country is very bitter and partisan and so is Congress.
Let's get right to the weather.
It's 11 minutes after the hour.
And Chad Myers is at the CNN Center with the latest forecast for us -- Chad, what are you looking at this morning?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: A fairly tranquil day today, Soledad. That's the great news.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: Well, it is well known that a low fat diet is good for your heart. But can it also prevent a deadly disease? Dr. Gupta explains, up next.
M. O'BRIEN: A dire forecast for the 2005 storm season, as the hardest hit areas still dig out from the 2004 hurricanes.
S. O'BRIEN: And if this is the sixth "Star Wars" movie from George Lucas, why are we calling it "Episode Three?" We've got a "Star Wars" explainer coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.
We are "Paging Dr. Gupta" now about diet and cancer prevention. A new study suggests that a low fat diet can reduce the risk of cancer recurrence.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us with details.
So this study was in women who had had breast cancer, right?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Early stage breast cancer, post-menopausal women between the ages of 48 and 79, which is a large chunk of the women who have breast cancer. What's significant about this, this may be the first time that a lifestyle intervention could actually positively affect breast cancer outcome, specifically, recurrence, in this case.
A really interesting study. It needs to be duplicated a couple of times for people to start abiding by this, but interesting. Two hundred thousand women or so a year get breast cancer and the big concern, obviously, is after they get treated, will it come back? That's a serious issue.
And this theory has been out there for some time, almost three decades, that if you're on a lower fat diet, you may actually have a lower chance of getting a recurrence. So they decided to put it to the test.
Specifically, they took around 2, 400 post-menopausal women. Fourteen hundred or so were put on a regular diet, specifically, as for the specifics here, that means 51 grams of fat a day; 975 were on a lower fat diet, 33 grams of fat a day. Again, what exactly does that mean? We asked the lead author to explain exactly the type of diet that these women were on.
Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ROWAN CHLEBOWSKI, HARBOR-UCLA MEDICAL CENTER: Instead of French toast or a sweet roll in the morning, they'd have coffee with -- or they'd have cereal with milk. Instead of chips or cheese and crackers in the afternoon, they'd have popcorn. They would still continue eating red meat, many women did, except they watched the portion size. They were shown how to cook without, with minimal oil.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: So that's how he put it in terms of dietary changes.
What they found after five years, those women on the lower fat diet, of all the women, they had a 24 percent reduction, risk reduction in terms of a breast cancer recurrence. What was striking, though, was that in women who were estrogen negative, meaning that they didn't have receptors for estrogen on their cancer, they had a 42 percent lower risk of cancer after five years, as well. So a really significant impact in that particular group.
S. O'BRIEN: So, then, of course, the question is why? And what's the link between the fat and the estrogen?
GUPTA: Right. And that was what the theory was for some time was, look, you know, people who are eating higher fat diets tend to have more circulating estrogen. Estrogen is the fuel for breast cancer, so it all makes sense. Cut down the fat, cut down the fuel.
What they found, though, was that the women who had the most profound impact didn't have estrogen receptors. So it actually isn't an estrogen link here. Really interesting. And this might be the first time they're actually alluding to this. It could have more to do with insulin than with estrogen.
They need to study this more, but this is where they're headed.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, you keep saying they need to study this more, meaning how do we gauge this study? It needs more research? We shouldn't believe it fully yet?
GUPTA: This is how I put it. For a long time they believed this to be true. Now there's a single study showing that, in fact, the outcome is what they expected it to be. Now they've got to figure out the mechanics of this. What exactly happened here? What exactly is causing this? Is it the insulin, is it the estrogen? And if they can figure that out and duplicate this, they might be able to better target women with breast cancer and reduce their chance of recurrence.
I will also say this, that everyone agrees that a low fat diet is a good thing.
S. O'BRIEN: It's healthy anyway.
GUPTA: It's healthy anyway. So it's not a big stretch.
S. O'BRIEN: Is there a takeaway, though, for women who don't have breast cancer? Can you say wow, so if I eat a low fat diet, then maybe my chances of getting breast cancer?
GUPTA: I'm always against over reaching because this study was specifically done in women who had breast cancer, early stage, and were post-menopausal.
Again, I think a low fat diet is a good idea, but I'm not going to say look, for women who have never had breast cancer, this is going to prevent it from happening. Do it anyways, just because it's good for you.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Sanjay, thanks.
GUPTA: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Weather forecasters predict it is going to be a nasty hurricane season. And even after what happened last year, millions of people in harm's way. Well, they aren't ready yet. Go get your plywood now. We'll talk to an emergency official about getting ready, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Did you ever wonder what they do for fun in Lithuania? Well, there it is. Dozens of teams competing in the annual flying bikes competition, although flying is a bit of a stretch here.
S. O'BRIEN: There you go. They're doing it.
M. O'BRIEN: A little bit of glide there. They're made out of old bikes, everything from tires, paper mache, armchairs and wicker baskets. Points are given for distance off that ramp and for elegance when hitting the water.
S. O'BRIEN: That one is not going to work.
M. O'BRIEN: No elegance there, yes. Those magnificent men and their flying machines kind of thing.
Anyhow.
S. O'BRIEN: Hi, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Good morning.
The Question of the Day has to do with the showdown that looms now in the so-called nuclear option for ending Senate filibusters on judicial nominees. Negotiations between Bill Frist and Harry Reid fell apart yesterday and the confrontation could come as soon as tomorrow, when Frist is expected to put forward a vote on two of Bush's nominees. Democrats have vowed to filibuster both of them. Senator Frist could then seek a change in Senate rules that would bar the use of the filibuster for the judicial nominees.
The question is should that happen or not?
Terry in North Carolina writes: "The partisan hacks who brought us the Schiavo fiasco shouldn't even think about touching the world's greatest deliberative body until a few of them take some remedial education courses. They are the blind leading the near-sighted."
William writes: "No one should be confirmed to a federal judgeship without 60 or more votes. If presidents knew they had to have some bipartisan support for their appointments to these lifetime positions that can affect the nation's future for decades, maybe they would nominate some -- they would not nominate some of the bozos that they currently select.
John in Illinois: "Filibusters should not be allowed regarding judicial nominees. Here in Illinois, there are hundreds of people sitting in county jails for months awaiting trial due to a lack of judges."
And Ann in Pennsylvania writes: "The Senate acts like children. They need to line up all the nominees and play a game of red light/green light."
S. O'BRIEN: That's kind of a funny suggestion. It's probably not going to happen, but a funny suggestion.
CAFFERTY: It couldn't hurt.
S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Jack.
Yes.
Well, reaction to the "Newsweek" mess is not limited to the political arena. Late night comedian Jay Leno couldn't resist taking a couple of jabs himself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO, " COURTESY NBC)
JAY LENO, HOST: ... for publishing a story that said that U.S. interrogators at Guantanamo Bay flushed a copy of the Koran down the toilet. It turns out the story is not true. The reporters, of course, will be punished in the usual way. They'll be given jobs at CBS. That'll be the (INAUDIBLE) at CBS.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: That was kind of funny.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes, it was OK. It was OK.
All right, up next, a decision you have to sleep on. Expert advice on how to buy a mattress could save you hundreds of dollars if you do it right now. But wait, there's more.
AMERICAN MORNING continues in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Get the latest news every morning in your e-mail. Sign up for AMERICAN MORNING "Quick News" at cnn.com/am. Still to come this morning, the calm before the storms. Forecasters say this hurricane season may be worse than last year. We're going to hear just how they're bracing for it in Florida, where they are still recovering from all of last year's damage.
Stay with us.
AMERICAN MORNING continues in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: We welcome you back to the half hour with that nice looking shot out of Milwaukee. That shot is coming to us courtesy of our affiliate, WTMJ. It looks like good weather. It's supposed to be a nice day here.
M. O'BRIEN: A good morning in Milwaukee.
S. O'BRIEN: It's supposed to be a nice week here, and a good weekend, for a change, not that I'm bitter about last weekend, but I just kind of sound that way.
Welcome back.
M. O'BRIEN: Lingering aftertastes of last weekend still there, huh?
S. O'BRIEN: You think? A little? Yes, it is. I'm not over it yet.
M. O'BRIEN: So sorry.
S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back.
It's just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Bill Hemmer has the day off, still golfing.
But Miles O'Brien is helping us out today -- good morning.
M. O'BRIEN: 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.
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