Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

U.S. Military Helicopter Crashes in Iraq; Nuclear Diplomacy; Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.

Aired January 16, 2006 - 10:59   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, are you ready to reverse the aging process with some huffing and puffing? Apparently you can. At least that's what two experts believe. We'll hear from them in the next hour.
Also ahead, an awards show guru joins me with more on tonight's Golden Globes, including predictions on some surprise winners you might want to watch out for.

The second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins right now.

Let's go ahead and take a look at what's happening "Now in the News."

Government offices across the country are closed today. Americans paying tribute to the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. On this federal holiday, ceremonies are taking place in a number of cities, including right here in Atlanta. A service getting under way in the last hour at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Dr. King preached the last eight years of his life.

Along the Afghan-Pakistani border, officials say a suicide bomber has killed at least 22 people. Officials say the bomber was on a motorcycle, set off the device in the downtown area of the Afghan border town of Spinboldak, that at least 20 other people were wounded.

Vice President Dick Cheney is on another trip to the Middle East. He left Washington yesterday for stops in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Today, Kuwait was added to his schedule. He'll stop in the small country to pay respect to the Kuwaiti emir who died yesterday.

For the third time in a week and a half, an American military helicopter has crashed in Iraq. A military official tells CNN the helicopter went down about 18 miles north of Baghdad earlier today. We're told the chopper was being used by the Army's Task Force Ironhorse. It's not clear what caused the helicopter to go down. There are no words yet on any casualties.

The family of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says he moved his eyelids briefly. That's 12 days after suffering a massive stroke. That's according to a hospital statement.

It's not clear if the development has any medical significance for the 77-year-old leader. Mr. Sharon remains in a Jerusalem hospital where he's still said to be in critical but stable condition.

Good morning to you on this Monday morning. Welcome to CNN LIVE TODAY.

Checking some of the time around the world, just after 8:00 a.m. in Los Angeles, and just after 11:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, where the city is celebrating the life of Martin Luther King Jr.

From CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Daryn Kagan.

Topping the news this hour, for the third time in a week and a half, a U.S. military helicopter has crashed in Iraq.

Our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, is following that story -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, the U.S. military is releasing few details at this hour about the helicopter, except that we are told it's the kind of helicopter that usually has a two-person crew.

Meanwhile, insurgents in Iraq have given a videotape to the Al- Jazeera network that purports to show the shooting down of a U.S. helicopter. The video, it claims to have shot down a U.S. Apache helicopter. An Apache does have a two-person crew.

You can see what appears to be some kind of shoulder-fired missile being launched in this video. But again, no confirmation from the U.S. military yet of exactly what kind of helicopter or whether or not the crew survived.

This is the third time in 10 days that a U.S. helicopter has gone down in Iraq. Just on Friday, a two-person helicopter was shot down, a reconnaissance helicopter known as a Kiawa helicopter. And then a week ago, a Black Hawk carrying 12 people crashed. But in that case, although it's still under investigation, the U.S. military is indicating that bad weather might have been a factor in that crash.

But again, underscoring the danger of operating these helicopters in a war zone, when you're fighting an insurgency on the ground that is trying to do everything to bring those helicopters down.

KAGAN: Jamie McIntyre live from the Pentagon.

Jamie, thank you.

There are escalating tensions over Iran's nuclear program and how your gas tank may get caught in the middle of a diplomatic tussle. Iran today says that it's going ahead with nuclear fuel research despite threats of sanctions from the West. If sanctions were imposed, one top official in the hard-line regime suggests Iran might retaliate by driving up world oil prices.

Iran is the world's fourth largest crude exporter. Even though the U.S. doesn't buy Iranian oil, American motorists would likely feel the bite of volatile oil prices.

One key senator says the U.S. can't let Iran use oil as an economic weapon even if it means paying more at the pump. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I think that the president is faced with no good option. But I think as opposed to the Iranian's proceeding, and some say as short a period of six months, they will have at least acquired the technological capability, if not the absolute manufacture of these weapons, and the possibility of Israel feeling they may have to act, or them acting against Israel. These are a set of bad options, but if the price of oil has to go up, then that's a consequence we would have to suffer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Meanwhile, world powers are meeting in London today about Iran. They hope to decide on the next step, perhaps sending the matter to the U.N. Security Council.

Now, that could be the first step in a long road to sanctions. The London meeting includes five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council: China, Russia, the U.S., Britain and France. China, with a Security Council veto, could block sanctions to guard its lucrative trade deals with Iran.

Germany joined the London talks today. Germany, along with Britain and France, had led nuclear negotiations with Iran over the past two years. The talks broke off late last year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK STRAW, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: Iran was declared noncompliant with its obligations under the Nonproliferation Treaty back in September. It has been for Iran ever since then to prove that its nuclear program is entirely for peaceful purposes. Not the other way around. And far from proving that, they've raised further suspicions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: So, would sanctions work? Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice suggests that Iranians won't stand for them in this age of satellite dishes and Internet.

Our senior U.N. correspondent, Richard Roth, joins us from New York this morning.

Richard, any talk of sanctions at the U.N.?

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Not yet. Greece, which sits on the Security Council, the ambassador's statement this morning probably sums up the mood here. He says, "We're waiting to see what happens from the London conference. I'm taking it step by step."

Of course it will be the big powers who are meeting in London that will determine how things go here. It's too early to say that sanctions are imminent. In fact, there are many diplomats who are saying first let's see some proof, let's see if the International Atomic Energy Agency refers the matter here.

They've kind of been on hold, Daryn, for a couple of years here. But what's important is that, unlike the Iraq war, you would have France and other Europeans on the side of the U.S. on a bid for sanctions.

KAGAN: And why is it different than Iraq? What different interests does countries like Britain -- well Britain's already in, but like France and Germany have with Iran?

ROTH: Well, this time, there's perhaps more of a perceived threat when you're talking about nuclear research, nuclear enrichment of uranium. And that may, indeed, carry more weight with other countries which may have thought that Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction.

The idea for the U.S. is to isolate China and Russia, countries which would be opposed initially to sanctions. And it could be a gradual sanctions approach involving the usual tactics here: travel bans on senior Iranian officials, asset freezes. Not an immediate economic embargo and things like that were slapped against Saddam Hussein.

KAGAN: Richard Roth live at the U.N.

Thank you.

And today marking the 20th anniversary of a national holiday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Looking at live pictures from the annual tribute service for the slain civil rights leader here in Atlanta.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As I was -- as Reverend Warnock (ph) was headed to his seat, I said...

KAGAN: The service is being held at Ebenezer Baptist Church where Dr. King preached the last eight years of his life.

CNN's Rusty Dornin is standing by. She is outside the church.

Rusty, good morning.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

As you mentioned, an incredible amount of history at the old Ebenezer Baptist Church, including the civil rights movement, but especially as regards to Martin Luther King Jr.'s family. He preached here for eight years, his father preached here, and his mother was killed by a mentally ill young man in the 1970s.

Inside the church, as you said, it's invitation only. The governor of Georgia is here. The mayor of Atlanta listening to speeches, songs, praying, celebrating this 20th anniversary of the federal holiday.

However, overshadowing all these festivities is a controversy among the King children. Now, one set of brother and a sister want to see the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change sold to the National Park Service.

They want this to happen. They feel it would be run better because the center has fallen in to disrepair over the last few years and needs an $11 million facelift.

However, another son, Martin Luther King III, and his sister, Bernice, very upset about that. They said it will dilute the message of their father to have it in the hands of the federal government.

Now, the National Park Service is no stranger to the legacy of Martin Luther King. I'll show you why.

Now, Ebenezer Baptist Church is right here. Next door is the King Center for Social Change. But across the street is also a preservation area, an historic preservation center dedicated to Martin Luther King. It has a civil rights museum and also a new church called the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

They are running tours. They also have several historic exhibits and run tours of Martin Luther King Jr.'s home, which is down the street.

So no stranger there to the legacy of King. But as I said, one of the sons, one of the daughters upset that the federal government will have anything to do with their father's legacy.

After the ceremonies today, they will gather again downtown Atlanta, and there will be a march and a rally here at the King Center this afternoon -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Rusty Dornin, downtown Atlanta.

Thank you.

President Bush is marking the King holiday with various appearances in Washington. About two hours ago, the president went to the National Archives to view the display of the original Emancipation Proclamation. Later today, Mr. Bush will head to Georgetown University to speak at a Let Freedom Ring celebration.

We'll have live coverage beginning at 3:30 Eastern.

Frustration, confusion and downright anger.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I've blown up at people that I had no right blowing up at.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Pharmacists have feelings, too. You're going to hear about the problems with Medicare's new drug program and how you can avoid some of the headaches. Plus, how would you like to turn back the hands of time? Then stick around to meet a couple authors. They say they have a cure for the common signs of aging.

And later, hopeless housewives, cowboys in love with each other, and a few other favorites. We'll hit the red carpet for a preview of tonight's Golden Globe Awards.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: AT&T launches a new salvo in the battle against cable companies.

I'm Susan Lisovicz in New York.

The company is dropping the price of its high-speed Internet service to lure customers away from dial-up accounts and cable companies such as Comcast. New customers can sign up for DSL service starting at $14.99 a month. That's $2 less than the current and within four cents of the $14.95 deal it offered last summer. But there's always a catch.

The new price is only good for six months. AT&T now has 6.5 million Internet customers, and it's trying to catch up to Comcast, which has about 7.7 millions.

And that's a quick look at business news. CNN LIVE TODAY continues after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Women of the world, unite. Men, we're talking to you, too.

How would you like to live a healthier, happier, thinner, younger life, even beyond 60, 70 or beyond that? Dr. Henry Lodge and his star patient, Chris Crowley, say they have the prescription to keep you looking and feeling younger.

Their first book was for men. And now there's "Younger Next Year for Women" to address our concerns about health and aging.

I recently had a chance to talk with Dr. Lodge and Chris Crowley about their newest book.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: So your target audience, I would imagine, it sounds to me like women over 50, perhaps?

CHRIS CROWLEY, "YOUNGER NEXT YEAR": Well, over 40, really. It makes sense to start this as soon as -- well, any old time. But from 40 on, it makes a world of sense.

KAGAN: And why men? DR. HENRY LODGE, "YOUNGER NEXT YEAR": Because women are changing from a slightly earlier point than men. You know, the stakes are so much higher for women in terms of bone mass, muscle mass, et cetera, that building a strong physical base from the start puts you in shape for those 30 or 40 years women are going to live after menopause.

KAGAN: So I want to go through some of the tips. I was doing a little checklist myself to see how good I'm doing on this. I've got to say...

CROWLEY: Not too bad?

KAGAN: I'm doing OK.

LODGE: Good for you.

KAGAN: First of all, exercise. Why is exercise so important, doctor?

LODGE: Because exercise changes your body, and that changes your life. You know, the role of exercise biologically is about far more than being fit. It's about being healthy throughout and about being optimistic and strong.

So the point is that women need to be strong and then fit for the years they're going to have.

KAGAN: Spend less than you make. Women need to be financially responsible for themselves, don't they?

CROWLEY: Women -- yes, an awful lot of women in America wind up in a bum spot, have a huge percentage of women wind up near the poverty level in America. The time to think about that is certainly when you're 40, and maybe a little sooner.

KAGAN: And I'm going to quote you here in the book. It says, "Quit eating crap."

CROWLEY: Yes. Quit eating crap.

KAGAN: It's on the list. These are not my words.

LODGE: Yes. You know, and nutrition is so incredibly important for our bodies. And we all know what we're supposed to be doing. So the nutrition chapters are quite detailed, but the basic message is, hey, this is your life, it's worth living it right.

KAGAN: And that was the one I'd have to say I did the worst on.

CROWLEY: Me, too.

KAGAN: Good. At least we have a little confessional here going.

You say care. What do you mean by care?

CROWLEY: We have a whole separate brain that's just designed to be interacting with other people, an emotional brain. We're designed as mammals to be involved with each other, the hunting packs to cooperate. That's how we got where we are.

If you don't do it will kill you. There's a tendency, especially for men, to get isolated when they get older. Bad idea. It makes you -- it wrecks your life. You've got to be involved.

KAGAN: Which leads you to connect and commit.

CROWLEY: Same thing.

KAGAN: I think women are more likely to commit, aren't they, than men?

LODGE: Women are better at aging in general than men. One of the things that comes out of this book is you are dramatically better. You bring more resources in, and they count for more.

So we are wired to be emotionally connected, to be friends, to be caring about each other. There's a biology of that that keeps you healthy, and of course it's what makes life rich. And women start out with far broader platforms and far more natural gifts at doing that than we do.

KAGAN: I've got to tell you, something on the book jacket I think borders on irresponsible. I've got to tell you as a woman.

LODGE: Oh boy.

KAGAN: When you say -- there's a little asterisk, and it says, "Turn back your biological clock." Now, when you read further, you're talking about aching joints and your organs and things. But a woman sees that, and she's going to think oh, wow, I can have a baby much later in life.

CROWLEY: Oh, wow.

KAGAN: And the truth is, when a woman sees "biological clock," that's what she's thinking about.

LODGE: But there's a reason that we put that in there, which is that women see their biological clock running down in that sense, and menopause at the end of things. And our point is that menopause is the new starting line for this generation of women.

You're going to live 30 or 40 years after menopause. Your biological clock doesn't start, stop then. A whole new biological clock starts. And that's the point. Those are the years that count.

KAGAN: And time to start taking care of yourself.

LODGE: Exactly.

KAGAN: Thanks. As a woman, I say thank you.

CROWLEY: There you go. KAGAN: Thanks for being here with us.

LODGE: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And if you'd like more information, you can check out the Web site. It is youngernextyear.com. And design your own personalized fitness plan.

Jacqui Jeras is keeping an eye on the weather.

Looking great.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Thank you. I'd like to be a year younger.

KAGAN: No, see, we've talked about this. If you're going to lie about your age you lie up.

JERAS: You lie up?

KAGAN: Yes. Like, if I tell you I'm -- well, if I tell you I'm 24, you're like, ooh, that's some hard living. But if I tell you I'm 64, you're like honey, you look good.

(LAUGHTER)

JERAS: All right, then.

Well, hey, if you want to get outside and take care of yourself or go inside and get to the treadmill today, perfect activity if you live across parts of the South. Do your exercise indoors here.

We've got some wet weather rolling through. Of course we've been very concerned about this area because of the fire danger. Still concerned about that despite this rain coming in. It's really not going to put much of a dent in it, unfortunately.

And it's a fairly strong cold front. We'll see a very significant difference in the temperatures between today and tomorrow. And those two things clashing together bringing a slight risk of severe thunderstorms late this afternoon and this evening throughout the lower Mississippi River Valley.

Very strong winds pulling behind that system all across the plains. We've got advisories from North Dakota, extending down through Kansas.

Also some very windy conditions across the Pacific Northwest. We have high wind warnings all along the Oregon coast, where winds could gust as strong as 60 miles per hour. Strong winds all the way down through California, too, and a high risk of some rip currents right into the coastal areas in particular.

Elsewhere, in terms of temperatures, we're pretty moderate across much of the West. You're right at the freezing mark for your highs today in Denver. Look at all the warm air across the South once again.

The northeast in the big chill, but look at tomorrow's forecast. That front to the nation's midsection today heads eastward, brings in rain. A threat of slight risk of severe thunderstorms here, and temperatures begin to warm up into the northeast -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right, Jacqui. Thank you.

And when we come back, a teenager in Florida killed by police gunfire. What happened when he holed himself up in a school rest room? We are following the story live as it was unfolding on Friday. We'll tell you now what happens next for the boy's family.

Plus a killer on death row. Will he be spared because of his age and his condition? The clock is taking in the case against Clarence Ray Allen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: In our "Daily Dose" of health news, more problems for the new Medicare prescription drug program. A lot of people who signed up for the coverage have had trouble getting the drugs that they need. And that's causing headaches for patients and pharmacists alike.

Dan Lothian has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVE BERNARDI, PHARMACIST: Johnson Drug.

Sure, I've got to go to a different spot for that. Hold on.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At this Massachusetts drugstore, a real mom-and-pop business, owner and pharmacist Steve Bernardi says the new Medicare drug program has turned his life upside down.

BERNARDI: There's so much confusion. We're trying to take care of everyone.

LOTHIAN: Filling prescriptions for seniors and the disabled, a few pills at a time.

BERNARDI: Did you try calling them again?

LOTHIAN: Even if he can't verify if they or the drugs they want are covered.

BERNARDI: Thank you, too. Sorry for your wait.

LOTHIAN: Bernardi, who owns this business with his wife Diane (ph) hopes the government will eventually pay them back.

(on camera): You've been giving away medication? BERNARDI: That's right.

LOTHIAN (voice-over): He keeps track of those orders on this clipboard and marks the prescription bag with a yellow slip of paper.

BERNARDI: See, yellow, yellow, yellow. All of these people, even though they had information and said they were signed up, they had filled out the paperwork, they weren't in the system.

LOTHIAN: So Bernardi and his other pharmacists spend as much time on the phone as they do dealing with prescriptions, dealing with customers who can't figure out which health plan covers their drugs.

BERNARDI: I know it happens, and I know what you're saying.

LOTHIAN: And they spend time on hold for up to two hours to get answers from insurance plans. The frustration level here is rising.

BERNARDI: I mean, there's just mental and emotional damage. I mean, I've blown up at people that I had no right blowing up at.

(on camera): In an effort to clear up some of the confusion, this pharmacy is reaching out to its customers, bringing in an expert to give advice and answer questions two days a week.

(voice-over): The new benefit, known as Medicare Part D, aims to make prescription drugs more affordable for seniors and the disabled.

ROBERT SARGENT, SENIOR CITIZEN: One good thing about it, some people is going to get coverage that otherwise couldn't afford it.

BERNARDI: It's just crazy. Not fair to anybody.

LOTHIAN: Pharmacist Steve Bernardi knows the system will work itself out, but he worries the high prices small business pay to keep prescriptions filled will never be fully repaid.

Dan Lothian, CNN, Waltham, Massachusetts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: So the Bush administration says it is responding to the problems with the new Medicare drug program. According to "The New York Times," the administration sent a directive to insurers over the weekend. It requires them to provide a 30-day supply of any drug the beneficiary was previously taking, and it says the poor must not be charged more than $5 for brand name drugs and $2 for generic versions.

And this programming note for you. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt will be answering viewers' Medicare questions. He'll be a guest on CNN's "LIVE FROM" today at 2:30 Eastern.

You can e-mail your questions to livefrom@cnn.com.

On top of all this, it's the height of flu season. And the CDC is warning about two drugs that are ineffective in fighting this year's flu virus.

The agency says the drugs Amantadine and Rimantadine should not be prescribed to newer drugs. Tamiflu and Relenza are still effective against this season's flu strain. The CDC says there's no shortage of either of those drugs.

For your daily dose of health news online, log on to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical stories, special reports and a health library. The address is CNN.com/health.

Coming up in the next half-hour, the stars come out tonight for one of the biggest bashes, complete with bad behavior in Hollywood. Who stands to win big? A look at the Golden Globe nominees coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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