Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Mayor-Go-Round in San Diego; Debunking Heat Myths; "90 Second Pop"

Aired July 27, 2005 - 09:31   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A little past half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. Coming up, San Diego, one step closer to having a mayor, something that seemed next to impossible in recent weeks.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, have you been following what's been going on there? It is just crazy -- I think is a fair way to describe it. The city lost two mayors over four days in a corruption scandal. Now, Tuesday, its second mayoral election in the last nine months. They still don't quite have a mayor, but they're kind of moving in that direction, at least. We're going to find out what's going there.

M. O'BRIEN: Nobody in charge there, right now.

S. O'BRIEN: Kind of.

M. O'BRIEN: We're trying to work that out. Carol Costello, watching headlines for us. Good morning, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning to all of you.

"Now in the News," there's talk of U.S. troops beginning to leave Iraq as early as next spring. That word comes from a top U.S. commander in Iraq, General George Casey, who says troop reduction is possible if progress continues there. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is in Iraq today on a surprise visit. He met with Iraqi leaders and U.S. troops earlier this morning.

For the last 12 hours now, authorities in Aruba have been draining a pond, looking for evidence of the Natalee Holloway case. It's not cheer how long it will take to fully drain this pond. It's near the area where Holloway was last seen nearly two months ago. Investigators also awaiting DNA results on some hairs found on the other side of the island. There is a $1 million reward for Holloway's safe return. One suspect remains in custody.

COSTELLO: We are expecting to get an update on the Space Shuttle Discovery's mission less than two hours from now. The crew is spending time scanning the shuttle for possible damage. NASA says some debris may have broken of during liftoff. You see it highlighted there. Officials say it could possibly be a piece of tile.

And more than 40 deaths being blamed on severe heat, gripping the nation. Along the East Coast, temperatures are expected to be in the upper 90s today, but it's going to feel much worse. There is some relief on the way, though. A cold front is pushing through.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Chad. President Bush, Vice President Cheney, on Capitol Hill today, making the big push with congressional leaders to approve the Central American Free Trade Agreement, CAFTA.

Meanwhile, the White House and Senate Democrats are squaring off over Supreme Court nominee John Roberts. The Bush administration has released some, but not all, the documents Democrats wanted about Roberts' work for past -- for two previous administrations, I should say.

Congressional correspondent Ed Henry on Capitol Hill, tracking all these events for us. Tell us about these documents, Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, so far, Democrats not quite satisfied, and it's a sign that, while this nomination appears to be sailing through, it's starting to hit some speed bumps. Judge Roberts was back on the Hill yesterday, got some warm words from Republican senators Lindsey Graham and Kay Bailey Hutchison. He'll be back for more meetings today.

But we're starting to see some partisan disputes break out over this nomination. Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy upset that the White House released documents from Judge Roberts' time as a young lawyer in the Reagan administration, but refusing to release documents from his time in the first Bush administration.

Then there's this issue of timing for these hearings, widely expected to start right after Labor Day. But Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter yesterday complained that Democrats are trying to push the hearings back to a start of mid-September and also are refusing to commit to a final vote by September 29th. That's making Republicans nervous that maybe this will not get done in time to get Judge Roberts seated by the first Monday in October. So Senator Specter decided to play a little hardball, threatening to start the hearings in the last week of August and break up senators' vacations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ARLEN SPECTER, (R) JUDICIARY COMMITTEE CHMN: The assurances are that we'll vote on September 29. And I say, I don't know that it's realistic to get assurances or commitments, because, as you all know, the Senate operates at the will of any single senator. My wife keeps wanting to know when I'm coming home for dinner, and I say, as soon as the last senator stops talking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Now, as you mention, President Bush on the Hill right now, meeting behind closed doors with House Republicans, trying to rally the troops to push through the Central American Free Trade Agreement he wants, one of many bills stalled on the Hill right now. The White House is confident he's going to get that, as well as the energy bill and the highway bill. Miles, you know how much members of Congress like to bring home the bacon. Plenty of roads and bridges in that highway bill.

M. O'BRIEN: Oh, yes, yes, indeed. Ed Henry on Capitol Hill, thank you very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: All right. Let' continue talking about politics. This time, though, in San Diego, the race for mayor now heading for a runoff. The nation's seventh largest city is in a state of political turmoil. The next mayor's going to be the fourth in the past year alone. And certainly, somebody who can expect to inherit the public's distrust.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONNA FRYE, (D) MAYORAL CANDIDATE: This is just an incredible amazing evening. I am so, so grateful to the people of San Diego for supporting us and supporting my campaign.

S. O'BRIEN (voice-over): Donna Frye, councilwoman and surf shop owner, is hoping to fill the void created by a series of political scandals in San Diego. She led the field of 11 candidates in Tuesday's special election for mayor. In the runoff November 8th, Frye will face the man who seems to have come in second, former police chief Jerry Sanders.

CROWD: Donna, Donna, Donna, Donna, Donna!

S. O'BRIEN: But San Diego's next mayor inherits a city hall in tatters.

JAY LENO, "TONIGHT SHOW" HOST: You ever think, there would be more security being president of Iraq than there is being mayor of San Diego? It's amazing.

S. O'BRIEN: The place that calls itself America's finest city is now being called by some in the media "Enron-by-the-Sea."

BOB KITTLE, "SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE": The city of San Diego is, indeed, in a lot of trouble. This is one of the very worst crises it has faced in its 155-year history.

DICK MURPHY, FMR. SAN DIEGO MAYOR: I am, today, announcing that I will step down.

S. O'BRIEN: Earlier this month, San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy quit in the wake a pension fund scandal. His replacement, city councilman Michael Zucchet held the job for a day before he resigned in disgrace.

MICHAEL ZUCCHET, SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCILMAN: I still can't believe my days of serving this city are over for now.

S. O'BRIEN: He was convicted, along with another council member, of taking bribes from the owner of a strip club.

KITTLE: San Diego's a joke, and it's going to be a joke until we get some strong, ethical leadership at City Hall.

S. O'BRIEN: And that's where Donna Frye says she comes in, hoping to ride a political wave into office and restore America's finest city to fiscal fitness.

FRYE: This is a fight for our city and to return it back to the public.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Tony Perry is the San Diego bureau chief for "The Los Angeles Times." He's in San Diego this morning. Nice to see you.

You know, it's a bad sign when Jay Leno is making jokes about your city. Do you think that this election, even though it's not the final one, is a first step toward kind of giving some credibility back to San Diego politics?

TONY PERRY, "LOS ANGELES TIMES": Well, I think our long civic -- I won't call it a nightmare -- zaniness, farce, whatever you want to call it, is closer to being resolved. We're going to have a runoff November 8th between Frye, the surf shop owner, and Jerry Sanders, the former police chief. And we will, fingers crossed, have an actual functioning mayor possibly by December 1st.

S. O'BRIEN: Now, Donna got 43 percent of the vote, which, of course, is what triggered the runoff. When you consider the attention that all the scandal has gotten, is there a sense, with the turnout overall -- which was not that impressive -- that people don't care?

PERRY: Well, this is summer in San Diego, and beaches are here and Sea World is going great and the zoo is fabulous and the Padres have been winning until recently. There's a lot of other things to do, other than worry about politics. I also think the public hasn't bought into the idea that the local media has been tub-thumping, that this is a crisis, a crisis. I think the voters see it as a problem. I am not sure they're willing to see it as a crisis and rush to the polls looking for a solution.

S. O'BRIEN: Is it a crisis, do you think? I mean, truly, on one hand, it seems at least from here that the local government's kind of imploding. But on the other hand, you look at some of the statistics, I mean, tourism is going great, the housing boom essentially. You know, certainly there are a lot of positives privately, I guess.

PERRY: Sure, this is one of these best of times, worst of times sort of things. San Diego's unemployment is low. There's more building in downtown San Diego than any big city in America. The economy is booming here in San Diego.

The government, because it is basically starved for funds -- this is the capital of the anti-tax movement -- is imploding, not really the services yet. This isn't New York in the 1970s. There isn't garbage in the streets. The cop cars aren't broke down. But the political class is imploding. They're bickering. The city attorney and the city council are basically in a shooting war. Two council members convicted and booted out of office for taking money from a strip club owner.

S. O'BRIEN: Certainly lots of high drama. In a word, who wins?

PERRY: I don't think anybody win. It makes everybody look bad.

S. O'BRIEN: Who win the election, I meant.

PERRY: Oh, I think the odds are Jerry Sanders actually, even though he came in second. The vote was split between Frye, a Democrat, Sanders and a businessman, both Republicans. The conventional thinking is Republicans coalesce around one candidate, Sanders.

S. O'BRIEN: Tony Perry, the San Diego Bureau chief for "The L.A. Times." Nice to see you. Thanks -- Miles.

PERRY: My pleasure.

M. O'BRIEN: This just into CNN. We've been telling you all morning about some significant -- apparently significant arrests in Great Britain in the wake of the July 21st bombing, which of course occurred two weeks to the day -- three weeks to the day after the July 7th bombings that captured -- excuse me, two weeks to the day. And police are telling us -- authorities are telling us one of those arrested today was -- is believed Yasin Hassan Omar, this person captured on that closed-circuit camera television system in London, and one of the four attempted bombers in the July 2st incident.

There were three others arrested in another location, and their links to the July 21st for that matter, July 7th attacks, unclear to us now. And for that matter, we're still unclear on any potential links between the July 21st and July 7th attacks.

Nevertheless, significant arrests for authorities with Yasin Hassan Omar in custody.

All right, let's talk about the heat for a moment. Trying to beat the heat? If it's hot where you are, you probably are. You have probably heard that air-conditioners can cause you some health problems, and that wearing a hat prevents dehydration. Some of what you heard is true, but there are a lot of heat myths that are floating around.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta is never full of hot air, join us from the CNN Center...

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That was good.

He will dispel, separate the fiction from the fact for us, as he always does -- do. Sanjay what can you tell us?

We've got this quiz that we want to try and give you, and our viewers as well, try and sort some of the fact from the fiction, as you way.

Let's work through a couple of these answers. This might be the best way to get at some of the information. First of all, air- conditioning dries out the skin. This has been something that a lot of people believe. In fact, I think we have that somewhere, the answer to that is true. Let me just tell you, air-conditioning does dry out the skin. Air-conditioning actually acts as a dehumidifier. That's the way that it words, taking the humidity out of the air, thus cooling it, but it can dry your skin as well.

Experts say best bet is to actually wet moisturize. Put some moisturizer on just as soon as you get out of the shower. That's going to seal it in for you all day long.

Let's see if we can get to the second question here -- actually sleeping with the A/C on can cause headaches and muscle aches. Again this is something that's floating out there. The answer to that one, again, true, it can cause both muscle aches and headaches. The reason being now, a couple things. When you actually go to sleep, your body cools down naturally. Add to that the A/C, what can happen is that you can actually start to shiver, your muscles tense up. That can cause body aches, and that can cause headaches as well. So both those things can happen from the A/C being on.

Best bet, have some blankets close by and don't let the air blow on you directly. The third thing, really, walking into air- conditioning from the heat can cause a summer cold. A lot of people have had these significant gradients, going in from really, really hot outside to inside. Can it cause a summer cold. The answer if false. It cannot do that. There's no such thing really as a summer cold.

A cold comes from a virus. You can't get a cold from going outside in the cold like your mom may have told you, and you can't get a cold from actually walking into an air-conditioned room from the heat.

Now one thing is when a lot of people are inside, and somebody is sick, you may be likely to actually get sick as a result of it.

And the final thing, wearing a hat -- and you mentioned this one already, Miles -- wearing a hat prevents dehydration. The answer to that is true. Actually hats can be good in both the cold weather and the warm weather. Good in the cold weather, because you'll lose about 40 percent of your heat through your heard, and it can good in the warm weather as well, because it can prevent dehydration, sealing in the moisture, maybe keeping it a little bit cool as well -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Sanjay Gupta, once again clarifying all for us. Thank you very much.

GUPTA: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, a billion-dollar project unveiled today by American Airlines. We are "Minding Your Business" just ahead.

And also ahead in "90-Second Pop," keeping quiet no more. Jane Fonda plans to have her say. We'll hear about her bus tour against the war, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Could you see 90 Second Pop as a dance contest? Wait a minute. Right on is right. Welcome back, everybody. Time for another all new episode of "90 Second Pop."

We are starring this morning Karyn Bryant from "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," Andy Borowitz from BorowitzReport.com, Sarah Bernard from "New York" magazine. Good morning.

ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: Good morning.

S. O'BRIEN: How's everybody? I'm back from vacation and well rested and all.

Anyway, let's get right to it. Jane Fonda in the news because she's speaking out against the war again.

KARYN BRYANT, HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Right.

S. O'BRIEN: The first time she did it, the Vietnam war, it earned the name Hanoi Jane from some very angry vets and other people too.

BRYANT: Exactly. And this time -- she's planning a trip in March. She's going to drive around the country in a bus powered by vegetable oil to protest the war in Iraq. She says that she will also have some families of veterans with her.

But it is definitely, definitely drawing some heat from veterans who are very sick of her, still you know, maintain that she's a traitor and that she's a disgrace to the country for all of the things that she said.

S. O'BRIEN: She told me, when I interviewed her, when her book was out, that that was the biggest miscalculation of her life.

BRYANT: Absolutely.

S. O'BRIEN: So you sort of wonder why you'd kind of do it again.

BRYANT: No, she says it was an incredible lapse of judgment. So I don't know exactly why she's doing it again. Perhaps for...

SARAH BERNARD, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: Maybe because she has a book out this year.

BOROWITZ: I don't know.

(CROSSTALK)

BERNARD: She's got a lot of things going on. She's got -- you know, she had her movie with J. Lo this year. She's had her book. She's really been -- I mean, we haven't heard much from Jane Fonda the last couple years, and now it's like all of this.

BRYANT: Well, plus the fact that they're talking about this, and it's not till next March, the bus tour.

BERNARD: Right.

BOROWITZ: Right.

BRYANT: So it is, perhaps, a way to sort of get your name out there.

BOROWITZ: Do these bus tours work, though? The only successful one I can think of is the Partridge Family. I can't...

S. O'BRIEN: I thought you meant does the vegetable oil actually power the bus?

BOROWITZ: That would be fascinating, too.

BERNARD: The bus might not go anywhere. It might just sort of putter along. Very short ride.

S. O'BRIEN: We'll have to wait till March to see.

OK, can I tell you, I am so loving "So You Think You Can Dance."

(CROSSTALK)

S. O'BRIEN: It's like a train wreck. It's so messy.

BOROWITZ: Right.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's talk about that a little bit. The premise, of course, is to have people who can dance, but in all different kinds of ways, come in and tryout.

BERNARD: That's right. And so dancing is the new singing, apparently, this season. It's the same people who put together "American Idol," but it doesn't exactly have the catchy title and the three judges, which is really the important part.

S. O'BRIEN: There's that one guy. There's...

BERNARD: There's one guy, Nigel Lythgoe who's also a producer of "American Idol," and he's playing the Simon Cowell role. Although he's not nearly as mean or as clever. He'll insult people and then tell them that they get to go to Hollywood. And you're like, wait a minute. You can't do that.

BRYANT: Yes.

BERNARD: You just told him that he's terrible, but you'd like to see what he can do later. It's very strange.

S. O'BRIEN: And the rules are kind of complicated. I mean, you have people doing, like, ethnic dancing and break dancing. BERNARD: There was a woman who was doing some very interesting ballet dancing and then there was a woman who was doing an Irish jig. There was one woman who was so nervous that they had to call the paramedics, because she was crying so hard.

BRYANT: But she won.

BERNARD: But she had made it to the next round. There's some very confusing things going on.

BOROWITZ: I'm excited because I spent so much time in the '80s break dancing. I never thought I'd get to use that skill again. It's very exciting.

(CROSSTALK)

S. O'BRIEN: First a movie role for you, and now you're going to be on a reality TV show.

BOROWITZ: Spin around on my back.

S. O'BRIEN: I knew it.

We're going to leave it there, thanks. Karyn Bryant and Andy and of course, Sarah Bernard.

You don't forget to watch Karyn and "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" on Headline Prime tonight. They've got a special series. It's called "I-Pod Nation." It continues with a look at i-Pod alternatives. That's on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," 7:00 and 11:00 p.m. Eastern time -- Miles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Soledad. Up next, a Cadillac for just 500 bucks? It's true. We're "Minding Your Business" with Andy Serwer, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: American Airlines spending a billion bucks at JFK Airport. Andy Serwer is here with that and more, "Minding Your Business."

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" COLUMNIST: Good morning, Miles.

Let's talk a little bit about the markets. First of all, stocks trading up this hour. Very active day. Earnings season, it is. What do we got here? 20 -- 29 -- 23. Twenty-three points up on the Dow.

S. O'BRIEN: For a sec, 24.04.

SERWER: Well, we could watch it all day.

M. O'BRIEN: No, it's $24.20.

SERWER: Here's what moving the upside. Sprint's going up this morning. So is Boeing. Martha Stewart down a little bit. Some weakness in revenue there, advertising. Martha, time to turn that company around. Amazon up sharply, over $4 to $42. They announced some good news after the bell last night.

American Airlines is introducing -- unveiling, I should say -- a brand-new terminal at JFK Airport here in New York City, and it is huge, big, impressive, massive, $1.1 billion, 1.45 million square feet. It has 10 security lanes. That's good. I hope they're all manned. It has a new baggage system. Uh-oh. Don't know about those. And get this, the admiral's club -- the floor in the shower of the admiral's club will contain exact replicas of the city's manhole covers. Make sure to wear flip-flops.

S. O'BRIEN: Ew.

M. O'BRIEN: Ew, I don't like that.

S. O'BRIEN: Seriously, can they afford that? $1.1 billion, with a company that has huge financial -- does that confuse anybody but me?

SERWER: Well, you know, they have to keep their business going and growing. And, obviously, they need the new capacity out there. But it's a good question.

Now, we were talking earlier about this off camera. And I want to share it with you. How would you like to buy a Cadillac for $500? I think Miles already asked that. You can, but it's only going to have two wheels, and you have to power it yourself. Introducing the Cadillac bike. That's right, the Cadillac bicycle. And, you know, they're rolling this out, kind of to extend the brand a little bit. And some dealers, in fact, are giving away these bikes with the cars. They also have a women's kimono bathrobe -- Cadillac also has -- as well as a Cadillac teddy bear.

S. O'BRIEN: Less than $500, one would assume.

SERWER: Yes, and maybe they'll be throwing those in. And remember that -- the Hummer bike. Hummer's also a G.M. brand. So maybe G.M. is going to have brands -- bikes for every one of its brands.

M. O'BRIEN: I'm trying to figure out if the Cadillac demo matches the mountain bike at all in the first place.

SERWER: No.

M. O'BRIEN: You know. Anyway...

SERWER: I could -- I know where you're going with that question.

M. O'BRIEN: They're busting out, but you know, where are the tail fins? That's all.

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Andy.

SERWER: You're welcome. S. O'BRIEN: A short break. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: You're looking at pictures from Niger. This is -- a little bit earlier, we were getting a live report from Jeff Koinange about really the distressing situation there. We wanted to give some numbers for folks who want to help. You can see them on our screen, if you want to donate, because, obviously, starvation has become a massive, massive problem and these pictures are just utterly heartbreaking. Look at that little boy.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, you know -- and we were talking to Jeff Koinange, who was there and this tragic story -- and take down those numbers, please, if you want to do something. We're talking about, you know, is it too late? And July 3rd, Live 8 Concert, look at this lovely woman there. Interesting story here.

S. O'BRIEN: Wonderful story. This is a young woman named Berhan Waldo (ph), and you'll recall, she is -- that was the picture they showed at the concert -- she walks out. Instead of having an unhappy ending, 20 years later, donations saved her life, and that was sort of the point. It was a really remarkable moment. Got a big hug from Madonna, the crowd cheered. So...

M. O'BRIEN: She was ten minutes from death.

SERWER: Happy ending.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, it was. All right, well, we're out of time. Let's go right to Fredricka Whitfield. She's in Atlanta this morning and will take you through the next few hours on CNN LIVE TODAY.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com