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American Morning
Recruiting Stand-Down; World Shaker Quake; '90-Second Pop'
Aired May 20, 2005 - 07:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, it's Friday.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yea!
HEMMER: I said it's Friday!
O'BRIEN: I hear you, sister. Woo hoo!
HEMMER: Come on. It's 7:30 here in New York. Good morning, everybody.
If you're just joining us today, stunning new findings about the power of that tsunami back in December. This is startling.
O'BRIEN: Scientists are now saying that it had the force of 5 million -- million -- atom bombs, the size of the one that was dropped on Nagasaki. It shook the entire earth. We're going to talk to one of the scientists who has been studying the quake this morning.
HEMMER: And they're still learning so much, too, about what happened back then also.
First, back to the headlines. First time to say hello and good morning to Carol Costello.
How are you doing?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good. Good morning to both of you.
HEMMER: Good morning.
COSTELLO: Good morning to all of you.
"Now in the News."
There are new developments this morning in the case of those two missing children in Idaho. They may -- may -- have been spotted. A new tip has investigators searching for a tall man and a light-colored van, now possibly in northwestern Montana. Eight-year-old Shasta and 9-year-old Dylan Groene have not been seen since their mother, older brother and another victim were found dead on Monday. Their father has an emotional message.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE GROENE, FATHER OF MISSING CHILDREN: If they can see me or hear me I want them to know and I know that they know I love them, and I need them back with me. Everybody is praying for them. And all I can tell them is just please hang in there. This will be over soon. They're coming home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: This could help some $70,000 now pledged in award money for that case.
The Department of Defense is condemning the release of the photographs you're about to see. They showing Saddam Hussein in his underpants supposedly from inside his prison in Iraq. The British tabloid "Sun" published these photos under the headline, the "Tyrant's in His Pants." U.S. officials call the photos a breach and a possible violation of the Geneva Convention, and they are promising an aggressive investigation.
First Lady Laura Bush is speaking out about last week's security breach in Washington while traveling to the Middle East. She says President Bush should have been told immediately that a small plane had entered the no-fly zone instead of being allowed to continue his bike ride in Maryland.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, sure, I mean, I think he should have been interrupted, but I'm not going to second guess the Secret Service with him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The first lady made the comment on her way to Jordan. She says part of the mission during her trip is to help repair the U.S. image overseas.
Jurors in the Michael Jackson trial will hear more from celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos today. His testimony was cut short last week because of a scheduling conflict. But the jurors will not hear from CNN's own talk show host Larry King. He has been dismissed as a potential witness. Larry was expected to testify about a meeting he once had with the lawyer for the accuser's family. Proceedings resume later this morning.
And the first hurricane this year in the Pacific, Adrian, pounding Central America. The storm unleashed heavy rain and 80-mile- per-hour winds on El Salvador some 35 miles west of the capital. Tens of thousands forced from their homes, but Adrian has now been downgraded now to, what, Chad a tropical storm now.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Back to the story mentioned a few moments ago now. It's going to be anything but business as usual today for the U.S. Army recruiters. They're suspending operations for a nationwide review of recruiting practices. It's called a stand-down, all in response to allegations of improper conduct by some recruiters.
And Kelly Wallace has been looking into this. She joins me now.
Good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
We are told it is the first such stand-down of Army recruiters in 20 years specifically to go over the rules and ethics governing military recruiting. And it comes at a very tough time for the Army, as recruiters have been struggling more than ever before to convince men and women to enlist.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE (voice over): More than 7,500 Army recruiters around the country won't be recruiting Friday. Instead, they'll spend the day discussing what's right and what's wrong, because of allegations like these. A Houston recruiter threatening a young man with arrest if he didn't sign up. And Denver-area recruiters helping a student get a fake diploma and pass a drug test.
That student, 17-year-old David McSwane. He posed as a high school dropout with a drug problem for a story for his high school paper.
He recently talked with CNN's Thelma Gutierrez and shared audiotapes he says he made of conversations with the recruiters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They accepted my diploma and all that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that's what they told us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. I mean -- all right. So, they don't know that it's fake or anything? I'm not going to get in trouble?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right, you won't. No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, cool.
WALLACE: The U.S. Army's top recruiting commander.
MAJ. GEN. MICHAEL ROCHELLE, U.S. ARMY RECRUITING COMMAND: The actions of a few have reflected very, very badly on many of us, myself included. And we're all injured by that.
WALLACE: The stakes couldn't be higher with the war in Iraq making Army recruiting increasingly difficult. The Army missed its monthly recruiting goals for February, March and April. Part of the problem: Parents discouraging their sons and daughters from enlisting.
Nineteen-year-old Andree Sajous, a freshman at City College of New York, says her mom would never let her join the military.
ANDREE SAJOUS, COLLEGE FRESHMAN: She was like, no. She was, like, you could get killed. Her main concern is you could get killed. WALLACE: With wary parents in mind, the Army recently rolled out some new television ads. Other ammunition: Offering sign-up bonuses of up to $20,000 and adding nearly 1,500 recruiters since last year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: And to put this all in perspective, to give you a sense of the challenges ahead for Army recruiters, the Army hopes to enlist 80,000 new recruits this fiscal year, Bill. And as of this point, it is more than 15 percent below its year-to-date goals.
HEMMER: So, it's getting close, but it's not as dramatic as some others would suggest.
WALLACE: Yes, but the fact that it's missed its recruiting goals for three months in a row, and especially now as it's going to the summer, high school students, college students getting out, a prime recruiting season. A tough time.
HEMMER: What are you picking up in D.C.? What's congressional reaction to this? What are they saying at the Pentagon regarding this?
WALLACE: The sense is the military is getting applauded, because these reports came out just a few weeks ago really, and that the Army responded fairly quickly with this one-day stand-down to review its operations. So, there's a sense of some applause for the military taking steps. But critics are saying one day, eight hours of training isn't going to do it. It has to be continued, and that's what recruiters say they'll do.
HEMMER: Thank you Kelly. Good to see you. Have a good weekend.
WALLACE: You too.
HEMMER: All right -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, the earthquake that caused December's devastating tsunamis was five million times more powerful than the bomb that wiped out Nagasaki. Geologists now say the quake measured between 9.1 and 9.3, strong enough to literally shake the entire world.
The quake and the tsunamis that followed killed nearly 170,000 people in seven countries. Indonesia was hit the hardest. Reconstruction there is expected to cost $4 billion to $5 billion.
Now that scientists have put together all of their findings, they say they are absolutely stunned by what they're seeing.
Charles Ammon is an earthquake seismologist at Penn State University.
Nice to talk to you. Thanks for being with us this morning. Stunned is a word that we're hearing over and over. How surprised are you by the findings? CHARLES AMMON, PENN STATE UNIVERSITY: Well, this is a monster earthquake. It's incredible how large it is even after months of looking at the data and discussing it with other seismologists. Looking at other earthquakes, smaller ones now, they really do seem very small compared to this one.
O'BRIEN: So, when you consider the duration of this quake, how does that specifically compare to your average quake?
AMMON: A small earthquake might last less than a second. A moderate earthquake might last a few seconds. This earthquake lasted 500 to 600 seconds. It ruptured for about 9 to 10 minutes.
O'BRIEN: What about the impact of the earthquake? We mentioned that it was really, literally, felt and impacted the entire world.
AMMON: Right. In the last 15 to 20 years, we've been deploying modern digital instruments to record, among other things, all earthquakes and earthquakes of this size. And this earthquake just produced one of the greatest data sets that we've ever had to study a large earthquake. It produced ground motions globally that were on the order of a half-an-inch, which is a remarkable amount of deformation or distortion of the planet.
O'BRIEN: Three-and-a-half-inch shift in Sri Lanka alone and a long crack. Give me a sense of how unusual that size, that depth crack is.
AMMON: Well, to put the size of this earthquake into perspective, it was about 1,300 kilometers long, which is roughly 700 to 800 miles. That's the distance from northern Florida to southern New England. And, you know, this -- it ruptured in about 10 minutes. So, the earthquake rupture itself was traveling at a few thousand miles per hour. If you look at the aftershock region for this earthquake, it's roughly the size of California. It's a huge earthquake.
O'BRIEN: We mentioned that scientists were able to put together all sorts of data to come up with -- excuse me -- to come up this final finding. Give me a sense of, outside of the underwater cameras that we know about, what else were scientists able to use?
AMMON: I'm not sure I heard the question. I'm sorry.
O'BRIEN: Outside of the underwater cameras that we've heard about, give me a sense of what other technology really helped you all pull together and figure out the overall impact of this quake.
AMMON: Oh, well, the technology that we used primarily in our studies were seismometers that are deployed globally that run 24 hours a day seven days a week and record all large earthquakes. So, those data are freely available. They are distributed over the Internet. So, the entire seismological community gets the data in almost near real time. Those data, you know, they're designed to stay on scale for such a large event. They did well. About 90 percent of the stations operated as designed, and a lot of the stations are in rather difficult to get to regions. So that's, you know, a real tribute to the people who maintain and install those networks.
O'BRIEN: And there were satellites as well. Do you think that something of this size, an earthquake of this size, could happen again?
AMMON: Yes. Well, there are actually five earthquakes that we know of in recent times that are in this category -- two in the 1950s and two in the 1960s and then the 2004 earthquake. So, these earthquakes are rare, fortunately, but they are part of normal plate tectonic processes. So, they will happen again in the future.
O'BRIEN: That's pretty remarkable. Professor Charles Ammon joining us this morning. Thanks for your time, professor. Appreciate it.
AMMON: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: In Thailand, the grim search reassumes for the bodies of tsunami victims. At least 3,000 people are still listed as missing in Thailand, many of them believed to be foreign tourists. Thai officials agreed to restart the search after an appeal by the relatives of the missing. Of the death toll throughout the region, nearly 5,400 people were killed by the tsunamis in Thailand alone.
HEMMER: Three thousand missing. You were there in December and January.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
HEMMER: I bet those numbers don't surprise you, do they?
O'BRIEN: No, not at all.
HEMMER: Let's get a break here. In a moment, The Gap is hoping looser waistlines will tighten sagging sales. Andy is "Minding Your Business" in a moment on that story.
O'BRIEN: And if you are not a "Star Wars" fan, no worries. The poppers join us with some action-packed movie picks. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Illegal immigrants cost us billions of dollars when it comes to health care, law enforcement and other issues. But legal and illegal immigrants help drive prices down on goods and services. Some say America is too addicted to those lower prices to do anything about realistically securing our borders. We'll take a look at that question on "IN THE MONEY" Saturday at 1:00, Sunday at 3:00. Eastern.
O'BRIEN: Don't miss it, right? We're going to find out.
Well, executives at The Gap are hoping some fresh ideas will help boost sales. That and a preview of today's action on Wall Street, Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business." Good morning.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good mornings, Soledad.
The Chicago Bulls couldn't do it. The Los Angeles Lakers couldn't do it either. The market did it yesterday. A four-peat. Up four days in a row. And we're liking that a lot. The Dow up 28 points. You can see here, green ink across the board. The five-peat may prove difficult, however, as futures are lower this morning. But we shall see.
Let's talk a little bit about The Gap. Since hitting the wall in 2002, The Gap has staged a comeback of sorts. But it's been uneven. Yesterday, the company announced sales that slumped a bit. And in the wake of that announcement, announced a revamping of some of their clothing lines, particularly women's clothing lines. A company executive said they want to now go to a fresh, casual American style. I thought that's what they always did.
Then there were talking about having more versatile outfits for women, Soledad. Instead of selling slacks for work and an outfit for the weekend, an outfit for going out at night, it would be one outfit. Do women want that? You tell me.
O'BRIEN: I don't go out at night. So it doesn't matter.
SERWER: Oh, OK. Stretch your bikinis was another thing they were looking to make. OK.
O'BRIEN: Definitely don't need that.
SERWER: Yes. I don't know where I stand on that. I'm not going to touch it. Then better-fitting maternity clothes.
O'BRIEN: An oxymoron.
SERWER: Yes, I was going to say, what's up with that? Better- fitting maternity clothes. I thought they weren't supposed to fit.
Doris and Donald Fisher founded The Gap in 1969 in San Francisco. The Gap was the generation gap. That's where the name comes from.
O'BRIEN: Fall into The Gap.
SERWER: That's right. I remember that too, yes.
O'BRIEN: Andy, thanks.
SERWER: You're welcome.
HEMMER: Talking about women, the "Question of the Day," too. Back with Jack on that.
CAFFERTY: Thank you, Bill.
The House Armed Services Committee passed a measure yesterday that would bar women from direct ground combat. The Army says it already upholds the Pentagon's policy that prohibits women from serving in direct combat when the units they support are called into battle. The women are ordered to stay behind. But in Iraq, there is no behind the lines anywhere. The nature of the insurgency means the troops -- men and women -- can come under attack in Iraq at any moment.
Meanwhile, the Army has missed its recruiting target three months in a row.
The question is this: Should women be allowed to serve in direct ground combat?
Michael in Ohio writes: "Since recruitment levels are dropping for the Army and Marines, and since Bush is openly opposed to a draft by his own words, there's no other alternative but to put women in combat roles."
Ann in Pennsylvania: "There may be some women who are both physically and mentally capable of handling ground combat. Most are not. Ground combat does not mean just firing a weapon. Many times hand to hand combat is also used."
Dean in New Jersey writes: "The age-old reasoning was that for reproductive reasons, men were more expendable than women. It was more prudent that only men face direct ground combat. But nowadays, the world is grossly overpopulated. So, such reasoning does not stand up to scrutiny."
Patricia in Indiana: "I find it ironic this subject comes up when recruiters are having a tough time getting people to enlist. Recruiters have always gone to high schools, but they are there in greater numbers and more frequently now."
And Shirley in Florida writes: "I was the first on my street to burn my bra. We needed some freedom, but overall the whole thing was a disaster. Gender roles are more important than we ever guessed. Women who can should be grateful they can stay home and spank their dreadful children. They certainly shouldn't be on the battlefield."
SERWER: A lot of issues there.
O'BRIEN: Well, she's got a lot going on under that e-mail.
SERWER: I think so.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks.
Well, this season's "Apprentice" has been chosen. But what happens next season? Will Donald Trump be fired because of Martha Stewart? "90-Second Pop" is just ahead. Stay with us. You're watching American.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: "90-Second Pop" on a Friday, starring Toure, CNN's pop culture correspondent. Amy Barnett from "Teen People." And B.J. Sigesmund from "Us Weekly."
Good morning. Good morning. Good morning.
B.J. SIGESMUND, STAFF EDITOR, "US WEEKLY": Good morning.
AMY BARNETT, "TEEN PEOPLE": Good morning.
O'BRIEN: Let's get right to it. "The Apprentice," how did it end?
BARNETT: Kendra Todd won. The overwhelming favorite won. And it was so cool. But I know. But I was so mad. I really wanted there to be, like, the surprise finale. The ending was so incredibly boring. I wanted (INAUDIBLE) to win. But instead, he took the typical choice. Kendra Todd, she did kill it on the last task.
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: She did. She did.
BARNETT: I know.
TOURE: You couldn't pick anyone but Kendra. I'm so disappointed in Tana. She was a chump at the end. She is the mid-western mom.
BARNETT: She fell apart. She fell apart.
TOURE: She can't make her team like her.
O'BRIEN: OK. But here's the question. The ratings were up. I mean, you were obviously not the only person who found it boring.
BARNETT: Right.
SIGESMUND: Yes, the ratings are down, and they're hoping that Martha Stewart's show, "The Apprentice" Martha Stewart will refresh the franchise. And we're going to have a double-dose in the fall. Martha Stewart at 8:00 and Donald Trump at 9:00.
BARNETT: But don't you think -- I think Martha has got a real chance to unseat the Donald. I think she does, because she's got an opportunity to do better casting. This last season's show, the casting was so boring. There are no Omarosa (ph) like characters. You know, she could do better casting and put them in more...
TOURE: Well, there were a couple of crazy sisters.
BARNETT: Well, you know, obviously...
TOURE: If Donald is...
(CROSSTALK)
TOURE: But Donald's imperiousness is what we love and Martha doesn't have that.
BARNETT: But we're all fascinated by Martha. I mean, we don't know... O'BRIEN: Well, you know, I think it's going to be a strong first season no matter what. Let's move on to our next topic. For those of us who will not be seeing "Star Wars" -- I haven't seen the last, like, 12 of them or whatever number there is. There certainly are other options. "Monster-in-Law," which is Jane Fonda and J.Lo.
TOURE: Please, don't go see "Monster-in-Law." Look, the more money we give to J. Lo, the longer she will stick around.
O'BRIEN: I'm just reading what else...
BARNETT: You're the only black man in America who does not like J. Lo.
TOURE: Oh, no, I'm not.
BARNETT: It's shocking. It's just shocking.
O'BRIEN: Also "Kicking and Screaming" with Will Ferrell is another option. What else is out there?
TOURE: Well, there are two great movies, "Crash," which is this great little independent movie, written by the guy who wrote "Million Dollar Baby" about race and racism. And that's funky Don Cheadle. Incredible cast in "Crash." Ludacris, as you see there. Lauren Tate (ph). I could go on for two minutes naming the cast. "Layer Cake," though...
O'BRIEN: I've never even heard of that. What's "Layer Cake?"
TOURE: That's a funky little British film, a gangster movie, great visual flair. And Jude Law's little sexy girlfriend, Sienna Miller, is in it. And it's great fun. This is one of these great gangster movie with, you know, great visuals.
SIGESMUND: And this one stars Daniel Craig, who might be the next Bond. So, it's also worth seeing it for that.
O'BRIEN: Oh, for those of us who are James Bond fans.
TOURE: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Interesting.
BARNETT: If you're not going to go see "Star Wars," just stay home, though, I think.
(CROSSTALK)
BARNETT: To be culturally literate right now, you have to go see "Star Wars," just...
(CROSSTALK)
TOURE: No, you don't. It's so 1970s.
BARNETT: It is iconic. It is iconic. You have to go see it.
TOURE: At this point if you're into "Star Wars" you're a geek.
(CROSSTALK)
BARNETT: I'm a geek. I'm a geek, then.
SIGESMUND: Careful, careful, Toure.
O'BRIEN: Moving on, let's talk about the up-front version 2.0, because CBS now and Fox revealed their up-front.
SIGESMUND: Right.
O'BRIEN: Let's start with Fox. What's coming back and what's new?
SIGESMUND: Well, first of all, Fox renewed "Arrested Development"...
O'BRIEN: Yea!
SIGESMUND: ... which I was psyched about. That's a big deal. Fox is the network of "American Idol" and "The Simple Life" and a lot of reality shows. So, they are trying to grow up. And they have green-lit a lot of dramas and a lot of comedies. And the comedy that I'm most into is "Kitchen Confidential." It's based on the Anthony Bourdain book that was a best seller. This it's a Darren Star production. It's about a celebrity chef. And it stars Bradley Cooper from "Alias."
And also on Fox, there's a show called "Reunion," which I think sounds interesting. It's a high-concept show that spans over 20 years in one season. It starts off with a bunch of high school seniors in 1986. And every week it will advance one year until 2005, when they're at the funeral for one of them. So that's really interesting.
O'BRIEN: Oh, that's an interesting concept. Quickly, give me CBS.
SIGESMUND: And then CBS, conversely, is trying to attract younger viewers. Now they've canceled "Judging Amy." They canceled "Joan of Arcadia." They are trying to get 20-somethings to watch. And one of their shows stars Alison Hanigan from "American Pie." It's called "How I Met Your Mother." It stars her and Neil Patrick, better known as "Doogie Houser, M.D."
BARNETT: Yes, I just don't understand how CBS is going to attract younger viewers with this show that stars the Fonz and Rizzo (ph) and then a show that stars Doogie Houser.
O'BRIEN: OK. You're such a naysayer.
(CROSSTALK)
SIGESMUND: Stockard Channing is on the "West Wing." TOURE: Why is NBC bringing back "Joey" again? Do they think we're so stupid we'll fall for it again.
O'BRIEN: OK. We talked about NBC's up-front.
TOURE: I'm still blown away.
O'BRIEN: We need to move on. We'll see how they do. You guys, as always, I thank you very much.
We want to mention you should stay tuned to CNN this weekend for your complete guide to summer entertainment from movies to concerts to theme parks. A.J. Hammer, Karyn Bryant, Sibila Vargas are going to have your hot ticket to summer fun. That's on Saturday, 6:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN -- Bill,
HEMMER: Soledad, thanks.
Top stories in a moment here, including this terrifying piece of videotape on the highway this week. An officer mowed down by this SUV. He survives with barely a scratch. He is our guest live when we continue at the top of the hour.
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Aired May 20, 2005 - 07:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, it's Friday.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yea!
HEMMER: I said it's Friday!
O'BRIEN: I hear you, sister. Woo hoo!
HEMMER: Come on. It's 7:30 here in New York. Good morning, everybody.
If you're just joining us today, stunning new findings about the power of that tsunami back in December. This is startling.
O'BRIEN: Scientists are now saying that it had the force of 5 million -- million -- atom bombs, the size of the one that was dropped on Nagasaki. It shook the entire earth. We're going to talk to one of the scientists who has been studying the quake this morning.
HEMMER: And they're still learning so much, too, about what happened back then also.
First, back to the headlines. First time to say hello and good morning to Carol Costello.
How are you doing?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good. Good morning to both of you.
HEMMER: Good morning.
COSTELLO: Good morning to all of you.
"Now in the News."
There are new developments this morning in the case of those two missing children in Idaho. They may -- may -- have been spotted. A new tip has investigators searching for a tall man and a light-colored van, now possibly in northwestern Montana. Eight-year-old Shasta and 9-year-old Dylan Groene have not been seen since their mother, older brother and another victim were found dead on Monday. Their father has an emotional message.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE GROENE, FATHER OF MISSING CHILDREN: If they can see me or hear me I want them to know and I know that they know I love them, and I need them back with me. Everybody is praying for them. And all I can tell them is just please hang in there. This will be over soon. They're coming home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: This could help some $70,000 now pledged in award money for that case.
The Department of Defense is condemning the release of the photographs you're about to see. They showing Saddam Hussein in his underpants supposedly from inside his prison in Iraq. The British tabloid "Sun" published these photos under the headline, the "Tyrant's in His Pants." U.S. officials call the photos a breach and a possible violation of the Geneva Convention, and they are promising an aggressive investigation.
First Lady Laura Bush is speaking out about last week's security breach in Washington while traveling to the Middle East. She says President Bush should have been told immediately that a small plane had entered the no-fly zone instead of being allowed to continue his bike ride in Maryland.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, sure, I mean, I think he should have been interrupted, but I'm not going to second guess the Secret Service with him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The first lady made the comment on her way to Jordan. She says part of the mission during her trip is to help repair the U.S. image overseas.
Jurors in the Michael Jackson trial will hear more from celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos today. His testimony was cut short last week because of a scheduling conflict. But the jurors will not hear from CNN's own talk show host Larry King. He has been dismissed as a potential witness. Larry was expected to testify about a meeting he once had with the lawyer for the accuser's family. Proceedings resume later this morning.
And the first hurricane this year in the Pacific, Adrian, pounding Central America. The storm unleashed heavy rain and 80-mile- per-hour winds on El Salvador some 35 miles west of the capital. Tens of thousands forced from their homes, but Adrian has now been downgraded now to, what, Chad a tropical storm now.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Back to the story mentioned a few moments ago now. It's going to be anything but business as usual today for the U.S. Army recruiters. They're suspending operations for a nationwide review of recruiting practices. It's called a stand-down, all in response to allegations of improper conduct by some recruiters.
And Kelly Wallace has been looking into this. She joins me now.
Good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
We are told it is the first such stand-down of Army recruiters in 20 years specifically to go over the rules and ethics governing military recruiting. And it comes at a very tough time for the Army, as recruiters have been struggling more than ever before to convince men and women to enlist.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE (voice over): More than 7,500 Army recruiters around the country won't be recruiting Friday. Instead, they'll spend the day discussing what's right and what's wrong, because of allegations like these. A Houston recruiter threatening a young man with arrest if he didn't sign up. And Denver-area recruiters helping a student get a fake diploma and pass a drug test.
That student, 17-year-old David McSwane. He posed as a high school dropout with a drug problem for a story for his high school paper.
He recently talked with CNN's Thelma Gutierrez and shared audiotapes he says he made of conversations with the recruiters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They accepted my diploma and all that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that's what they told us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. I mean -- all right. So, they don't know that it's fake or anything? I'm not going to get in trouble?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right, you won't. No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, cool.
WALLACE: The U.S. Army's top recruiting commander.
MAJ. GEN. MICHAEL ROCHELLE, U.S. ARMY RECRUITING COMMAND: The actions of a few have reflected very, very badly on many of us, myself included. And we're all injured by that.
WALLACE: The stakes couldn't be higher with the war in Iraq making Army recruiting increasingly difficult. The Army missed its monthly recruiting goals for February, March and April. Part of the problem: Parents discouraging their sons and daughters from enlisting.
Nineteen-year-old Andree Sajous, a freshman at City College of New York, says her mom would never let her join the military.
ANDREE SAJOUS, COLLEGE FRESHMAN: She was like, no. She was, like, you could get killed. Her main concern is you could get killed. WALLACE: With wary parents in mind, the Army recently rolled out some new television ads. Other ammunition: Offering sign-up bonuses of up to $20,000 and adding nearly 1,500 recruiters since last year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: And to put this all in perspective, to give you a sense of the challenges ahead for Army recruiters, the Army hopes to enlist 80,000 new recruits this fiscal year, Bill. And as of this point, it is more than 15 percent below its year-to-date goals.
HEMMER: So, it's getting close, but it's not as dramatic as some others would suggest.
WALLACE: Yes, but the fact that it's missed its recruiting goals for three months in a row, and especially now as it's going to the summer, high school students, college students getting out, a prime recruiting season. A tough time.
HEMMER: What are you picking up in D.C.? What's congressional reaction to this? What are they saying at the Pentagon regarding this?
WALLACE: The sense is the military is getting applauded, because these reports came out just a few weeks ago really, and that the Army responded fairly quickly with this one-day stand-down to review its operations. So, there's a sense of some applause for the military taking steps. But critics are saying one day, eight hours of training isn't going to do it. It has to be continued, and that's what recruiters say they'll do.
HEMMER: Thank you Kelly. Good to see you. Have a good weekend.
WALLACE: You too.
HEMMER: All right -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, the earthquake that caused December's devastating tsunamis was five million times more powerful than the bomb that wiped out Nagasaki. Geologists now say the quake measured between 9.1 and 9.3, strong enough to literally shake the entire world.
The quake and the tsunamis that followed killed nearly 170,000 people in seven countries. Indonesia was hit the hardest. Reconstruction there is expected to cost $4 billion to $5 billion.
Now that scientists have put together all of their findings, they say they are absolutely stunned by what they're seeing.
Charles Ammon is an earthquake seismologist at Penn State University.
Nice to talk to you. Thanks for being with us this morning. Stunned is a word that we're hearing over and over. How surprised are you by the findings? CHARLES AMMON, PENN STATE UNIVERSITY: Well, this is a monster earthquake. It's incredible how large it is even after months of looking at the data and discussing it with other seismologists. Looking at other earthquakes, smaller ones now, they really do seem very small compared to this one.
O'BRIEN: So, when you consider the duration of this quake, how does that specifically compare to your average quake?
AMMON: A small earthquake might last less than a second. A moderate earthquake might last a few seconds. This earthquake lasted 500 to 600 seconds. It ruptured for about 9 to 10 minutes.
O'BRIEN: What about the impact of the earthquake? We mentioned that it was really, literally, felt and impacted the entire world.
AMMON: Right. In the last 15 to 20 years, we've been deploying modern digital instruments to record, among other things, all earthquakes and earthquakes of this size. And this earthquake just produced one of the greatest data sets that we've ever had to study a large earthquake. It produced ground motions globally that were on the order of a half-an-inch, which is a remarkable amount of deformation or distortion of the planet.
O'BRIEN: Three-and-a-half-inch shift in Sri Lanka alone and a long crack. Give me a sense of how unusual that size, that depth crack is.
AMMON: Well, to put the size of this earthquake into perspective, it was about 1,300 kilometers long, which is roughly 700 to 800 miles. That's the distance from northern Florida to southern New England. And, you know, this -- it ruptured in about 10 minutes. So, the earthquake rupture itself was traveling at a few thousand miles per hour. If you look at the aftershock region for this earthquake, it's roughly the size of California. It's a huge earthquake.
O'BRIEN: We mentioned that scientists were able to put together all sorts of data to come up with -- excuse me -- to come up this final finding. Give me a sense of, outside of the underwater cameras that we know about, what else were scientists able to use?
AMMON: I'm not sure I heard the question. I'm sorry.
O'BRIEN: Outside of the underwater cameras that we've heard about, give me a sense of what other technology really helped you all pull together and figure out the overall impact of this quake.
AMMON: Oh, well, the technology that we used primarily in our studies were seismometers that are deployed globally that run 24 hours a day seven days a week and record all large earthquakes. So, those data are freely available. They are distributed over the Internet. So, the entire seismological community gets the data in almost near real time. Those data, you know, they're designed to stay on scale for such a large event. They did well. About 90 percent of the stations operated as designed, and a lot of the stations are in rather difficult to get to regions. So that's, you know, a real tribute to the people who maintain and install those networks.
O'BRIEN: And there were satellites as well. Do you think that something of this size, an earthquake of this size, could happen again?
AMMON: Yes. Well, there are actually five earthquakes that we know of in recent times that are in this category -- two in the 1950s and two in the 1960s and then the 2004 earthquake. So, these earthquakes are rare, fortunately, but they are part of normal plate tectonic processes. So, they will happen again in the future.
O'BRIEN: That's pretty remarkable. Professor Charles Ammon joining us this morning. Thanks for your time, professor. Appreciate it.
AMMON: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: In Thailand, the grim search reassumes for the bodies of tsunami victims. At least 3,000 people are still listed as missing in Thailand, many of them believed to be foreign tourists. Thai officials agreed to restart the search after an appeal by the relatives of the missing. Of the death toll throughout the region, nearly 5,400 people were killed by the tsunamis in Thailand alone.
HEMMER: Three thousand missing. You were there in December and January.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
HEMMER: I bet those numbers don't surprise you, do they?
O'BRIEN: No, not at all.
HEMMER: Let's get a break here. In a moment, The Gap is hoping looser waistlines will tighten sagging sales. Andy is "Minding Your Business" in a moment on that story.
O'BRIEN: And if you are not a "Star Wars" fan, no worries. The poppers join us with some action-packed movie picks. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Illegal immigrants cost us billions of dollars when it comes to health care, law enforcement and other issues. But legal and illegal immigrants help drive prices down on goods and services. Some say America is too addicted to those lower prices to do anything about realistically securing our borders. We'll take a look at that question on "IN THE MONEY" Saturday at 1:00, Sunday at 3:00. Eastern.
O'BRIEN: Don't miss it, right? We're going to find out.
Well, executives at The Gap are hoping some fresh ideas will help boost sales. That and a preview of today's action on Wall Street, Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business." Good morning.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good mornings, Soledad.
The Chicago Bulls couldn't do it. The Los Angeles Lakers couldn't do it either. The market did it yesterday. A four-peat. Up four days in a row. And we're liking that a lot. The Dow up 28 points. You can see here, green ink across the board. The five-peat may prove difficult, however, as futures are lower this morning. But we shall see.
Let's talk a little bit about The Gap. Since hitting the wall in 2002, The Gap has staged a comeback of sorts. But it's been uneven. Yesterday, the company announced sales that slumped a bit. And in the wake of that announcement, announced a revamping of some of their clothing lines, particularly women's clothing lines. A company executive said they want to now go to a fresh, casual American style. I thought that's what they always did.
Then there were talking about having more versatile outfits for women, Soledad. Instead of selling slacks for work and an outfit for the weekend, an outfit for going out at night, it would be one outfit. Do women want that? You tell me.
O'BRIEN: I don't go out at night. So it doesn't matter.
SERWER: Oh, OK. Stretch your bikinis was another thing they were looking to make. OK.
O'BRIEN: Definitely don't need that.
SERWER: Yes. I don't know where I stand on that. I'm not going to touch it. Then better-fitting maternity clothes.
O'BRIEN: An oxymoron.
SERWER: Yes, I was going to say, what's up with that? Better- fitting maternity clothes. I thought they weren't supposed to fit.
Doris and Donald Fisher founded The Gap in 1969 in San Francisco. The Gap was the generation gap. That's where the name comes from.
O'BRIEN: Fall into The Gap.
SERWER: That's right. I remember that too, yes.
O'BRIEN: Andy, thanks.
SERWER: You're welcome.
HEMMER: Talking about women, the "Question of the Day," too. Back with Jack on that.
CAFFERTY: Thank you, Bill.
The House Armed Services Committee passed a measure yesterday that would bar women from direct ground combat. The Army says it already upholds the Pentagon's policy that prohibits women from serving in direct combat when the units they support are called into battle. The women are ordered to stay behind. But in Iraq, there is no behind the lines anywhere. The nature of the insurgency means the troops -- men and women -- can come under attack in Iraq at any moment.
Meanwhile, the Army has missed its recruiting target three months in a row.
The question is this: Should women be allowed to serve in direct ground combat?
Michael in Ohio writes: "Since recruitment levels are dropping for the Army and Marines, and since Bush is openly opposed to a draft by his own words, there's no other alternative but to put women in combat roles."
Ann in Pennsylvania: "There may be some women who are both physically and mentally capable of handling ground combat. Most are not. Ground combat does not mean just firing a weapon. Many times hand to hand combat is also used."
Dean in New Jersey writes: "The age-old reasoning was that for reproductive reasons, men were more expendable than women. It was more prudent that only men face direct ground combat. But nowadays, the world is grossly overpopulated. So, such reasoning does not stand up to scrutiny."
Patricia in Indiana: "I find it ironic this subject comes up when recruiters are having a tough time getting people to enlist. Recruiters have always gone to high schools, but they are there in greater numbers and more frequently now."
And Shirley in Florida writes: "I was the first on my street to burn my bra. We needed some freedom, but overall the whole thing was a disaster. Gender roles are more important than we ever guessed. Women who can should be grateful they can stay home and spank their dreadful children. They certainly shouldn't be on the battlefield."
SERWER: A lot of issues there.
O'BRIEN: Well, she's got a lot going on under that e-mail.
SERWER: I think so.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks.
Well, this season's "Apprentice" has been chosen. But what happens next season? Will Donald Trump be fired because of Martha Stewart? "90-Second Pop" is just ahead. Stay with us. You're watching American.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: "90-Second Pop" on a Friday, starring Toure, CNN's pop culture correspondent. Amy Barnett from "Teen People." And B.J. Sigesmund from "Us Weekly."
Good morning. Good morning. Good morning.
B.J. SIGESMUND, STAFF EDITOR, "US WEEKLY": Good morning.
AMY BARNETT, "TEEN PEOPLE": Good morning.
O'BRIEN: Let's get right to it. "The Apprentice," how did it end?
BARNETT: Kendra Todd won. The overwhelming favorite won. And it was so cool. But I know. But I was so mad. I really wanted there to be, like, the surprise finale. The ending was so incredibly boring. I wanted (INAUDIBLE) to win. But instead, he took the typical choice. Kendra Todd, she did kill it on the last task.
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: She did. She did.
BARNETT: I know.
TOURE: You couldn't pick anyone but Kendra. I'm so disappointed in Tana. She was a chump at the end. She is the mid-western mom.
BARNETT: She fell apart. She fell apart.
TOURE: She can't make her team like her.
O'BRIEN: OK. But here's the question. The ratings were up. I mean, you were obviously not the only person who found it boring.
BARNETT: Right.
SIGESMUND: Yes, the ratings are down, and they're hoping that Martha Stewart's show, "The Apprentice" Martha Stewart will refresh the franchise. And we're going to have a double-dose in the fall. Martha Stewart at 8:00 and Donald Trump at 9:00.
BARNETT: But don't you think -- I think Martha has got a real chance to unseat the Donald. I think she does, because she's got an opportunity to do better casting. This last season's show, the casting was so boring. There are no Omarosa (ph) like characters. You know, she could do better casting and put them in more...
TOURE: Well, there were a couple of crazy sisters.
BARNETT: Well, you know, obviously...
TOURE: If Donald is...
(CROSSTALK)
TOURE: But Donald's imperiousness is what we love and Martha doesn't have that.
BARNETT: But we're all fascinated by Martha. I mean, we don't know... O'BRIEN: Well, you know, I think it's going to be a strong first season no matter what. Let's move on to our next topic. For those of us who will not be seeing "Star Wars" -- I haven't seen the last, like, 12 of them or whatever number there is. There certainly are other options. "Monster-in-Law," which is Jane Fonda and J.Lo.
TOURE: Please, don't go see "Monster-in-Law." Look, the more money we give to J. Lo, the longer she will stick around.
O'BRIEN: I'm just reading what else...
BARNETT: You're the only black man in America who does not like J. Lo.
TOURE: Oh, no, I'm not.
BARNETT: It's shocking. It's just shocking.
O'BRIEN: Also "Kicking and Screaming" with Will Ferrell is another option. What else is out there?
TOURE: Well, there are two great movies, "Crash," which is this great little independent movie, written by the guy who wrote "Million Dollar Baby" about race and racism. And that's funky Don Cheadle. Incredible cast in "Crash." Ludacris, as you see there. Lauren Tate (ph). I could go on for two minutes naming the cast. "Layer Cake," though...
O'BRIEN: I've never even heard of that. What's "Layer Cake?"
TOURE: That's a funky little British film, a gangster movie, great visual flair. And Jude Law's little sexy girlfriend, Sienna Miller, is in it. And it's great fun. This is one of these great gangster movie with, you know, great visuals.
SIGESMUND: And this one stars Daniel Craig, who might be the next Bond. So, it's also worth seeing it for that.
O'BRIEN: Oh, for those of us who are James Bond fans.
TOURE: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Interesting.
BARNETT: If you're not going to go see "Star Wars," just stay home, though, I think.
(CROSSTALK)
BARNETT: To be culturally literate right now, you have to go see "Star Wars," just...
(CROSSTALK)
TOURE: No, you don't. It's so 1970s.
BARNETT: It is iconic. It is iconic. You have to go see it.
TOURE: At this point if you're into "Star Wars" you're a geek.
(CROSSTALK)
BARNETT: I'm a geek. I'm a geek, then.
SIGESMUND: Careful, careful, Toure.
O'BRIEN: Moving on, let's talk about the up-front version 2.0, because CBS now and Fox revealed their up-front.
SIGESMUND: Right.
O'BRIEN: Let's start with Fox. What's coming back and what's new?
SIGESMUND: Well, first of all, Fox renewed "Arrested Development"...
O'BRIEN: Yea!
SIGESMUND: ... which I was psyched about. That's a big deal. Fox is the network of "American Idol" and "The Simple Life" and a lot of reality shows. So, they are trying to grow up. And they have green-lit a lot of dramas and a lot of comedies. And the comedy that I'm most into is "Kitchen Confidential." It's based on the Anthony Bourdain book that was a best seller. This it's a Darren Star production. It's about a celebrity chef. And it stars Bradley Cooper from "Alias."
And also on Fox, there's a show called "Reunion," which I think sounds interesting. It's a high-concept show that spans over 20 years in one season. It starts off with a bunch of high school seniors in 1986. And every week it will advance one year until 2005, when they're at the funeral for one of them. So that's really interesting.
O'BRIEN: Oh, that's an interesting concept. Quickly, give me CBS.
SIGESMUND: And then CBS, conversely, is trying to attract younger viewers. Now they've canceled "Judging Amy." They canceled "Joan of Arcadia." They are trying to get 20-somethings to watch. And one of their shows stars Alison Hanigan from "American Pie." It's called "How I Met Your Mother." It stars her and Neil Patrick, better known as "Doogie Houser, M.D."
BARNETT: Yes, I just don't understand how CBS is going to attract younger viewers with this show that stars the Fonz and Rizzo (ph) and then a show that stars Doogie Houser.
O'BRIEN: OK. You're such a naysayer.
(CROSSTALK)
SIGESMUND: Stockard Channing is on the "West Wing." TOURE: Why is NBC bringing back "Joey" again? Do they think we're so stupid we'll fall for it again.
O'BRIEN: OK. We talked about NBC's up-front.
TOURE: I'm still blown away.
O'BRIEN: We need to move on. We'll see how they do. You guys, as always, I thank you very much.
We want to mention you should stay tuned to CNN this weekend for your complete guide to summer entertainment from movies to concerts to theme parks. A.J. Hammer, Karyn Bryant, Sibila Vargas are going to have your hot ticket to summer fun. That's on Saturday, 6:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN -- Bill,
HEMMER: Soledad, thanks.
Top stories in a moment here, including this terrifying piece of videotape on the highway this week. An officer mowed down by this SUV. He survives with barely a scratch. He is our guest live when we continue at the top of the hour.
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