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American Morning

Journalists Wounded; The Enron Trial; Actors Honored; Sex & Feminism; Welcome to the Future

Aired January 30, 2006 - 06:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody, and welcome. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Miles O'Brien.

ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff, his cameraman victims of a roadside bomb in Iraq, now in Germany for treatment. We'll have an update on their condition.

S. O'BRIEN: Dozens of miners are trapped this hour underground in Canada, but it seems that good, quick thinking may have helped prevent a major tragedy. We've got that story just ahead.

And the death toll is climbing. Rescue efforts have been abandoned in the wake of that massive roof collapse in Poland. The grim task of recovery is now under way.

M. O'BRIEN: The main event after the Enron collapse. The two at the top of the failed company begin their trial today. We have a preview for you.

And going for broke, but no hardware this time. "Brokeback Mountain" gets shut out at an awards ceremony. We'll tell you who won instead.

S. O'BRIEN: Welcome, everybody.

Let's begin with the condition of ABC's Bob Woodruff and Doug Vogt, as well, his cameraman. Both are in intensive care at the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany this morning. Woodruff, the new co-anchor of ABC "World News Tonight" and Vogt, his cameraman, seriously injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq on Sunday.

Let's get right to Chris Burns. He's live for us in Landstuhl.

Chris, good morning. How are they doing? Do we know yet?

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Soledad, we don't know, because, at this point, they just got here this morning. And they're looking, doctors of course are looking at them, putting them through tests.

We do hear that they are in ICU. So it is -- they're in serious condition, but stabilized after Sunday's incident in which they were travelling in an Iraqi military vehicle that was traveling along with a U.S. 4th Infantry Division patrol as well. They had helmets on, they had body armor on, but they were in the hatch. They were standing in the hatch of that Iraqi military vehicle, and that's when that roadside bomb went off. That's when they got injured.

We hear they have head injuries and broken bones, but doctors here are taking another look at them to see just how serious the situation is before they send them back on to the United States -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: All right. Well we're all waiting to hear any news from there. Medical facility there, my understanding was that it only treats military personnel. Is that not the case?

BURNS: Well that is usually the case. You know thousands of American troops have gone through this hospital. This is the biggest hospital outside the U.S. for the military. Thousands have gone here through -- from Afghanistan, from Iraq.

But they do make exceptions. They made exceptions for civilians, for former hostages in the past, for Mr. Woodruff and Mr. Vogt, and also for myself. I was dying -- almost dying of double pneumonia back during the Kosovo War of 1999. I was medevaced on a C-130 from Albania back over here, and they saved my life -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Wow! Well let's hope that they can do the same for these gentlemen as well.

Chris Burns for us this morning.

Thanks -- Chris.

BURNS: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Well obviously we'll continue to check in with you throughout the morning as we wait for any word on the condition of both Bob Woodruff and his cameraman as well -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Now to Saskatchewan, Canada, and a fire in a mine and what appears to be a more hopeful scenario than what we have seen in West Virginia. Seventy miners safe and sound. Within the last hour, many of them emerged from the mine more than 24 hours after they were trapped underground by that fire.

The American-owned potash mine is in southeastern Saskatchewan, about 125 miles from the North Dakota border. When the miners first smelled smoke deep inside the mine, they headed for safe rooms. Those rooms have their own supply of food, water and most importantly, oxygen.

S. O'BRIEN: Jury selection begins today in Houston for the federal Enron trial. Enron founder Ken Lay and former CEO Jeffrey Skilling face nearly 40 charges, including fraud and conspiracy. Lay told CNN on Sunday, though, he's very optimistic. And Skilling says that if they can find 12 people who haven't made up their minds, they're in good shape.

CNN's Chris Huntington is in Houston for us. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Today, the big event, the trial that the Justice Department has been working for for more than four years. The culmination of all the work that federal prosecutors have done, in a sense, against all the corporate criminals. Jeffrey Skilling and Ken Lay, the big fish at Enron, finally having their day in court. And really, for many of the thousands of investors who got burned by Enron, this is payback time.

The crux of the government's case against Skilling and Lay is that they conspired with others to prop up the appearance of Enron's profitability and high debt primarily through the use of improper, off-book transactions.

Now the trial could go on for three or four months. You're going to hear from former Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow who has pleaded guilty and is going to testify as the star witness for the government. He knows how these deals were put together and he has a lot that could incriminate Skilling and Lay. If they are convicted on all charges, they could spend the rest of their lives behind bars.

Chris Huntington, CNN, Houston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Let's get right to a forecast.

Chad Myers is back. He's at the CNN Center for us this morning.

Good morning -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Soledad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

Back to you in New York.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Chad, thank you.

MYERS: You're welcome.

M. O'BRIEN: On a night for actors to honor their own, one Hollywood film crashed the Screen Actors Guild Awards party.

CNN's Sibila Vargas with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MORGAN FREEMAN, ACTOR: "Crash."

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The ensemble cast of "Crash" was the big winner of the night for best performances in a motion picture.

DON CHEADLE, "CRASH": We believe that it really celebrates the definition of what an ensemble is all about. I mean there are 74 of us.

VARGAS: "Crash," a film about racial tension, pulled off a surprise upset over the much-hyped film "Brokeback Mountain."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And it ain't going to be that way.

VARGAS: Individual actors honored for their film roles, including the recent Golden Globe winners Philip Seymour Hoffman for "Capote."

PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN, "CAPOTE": In cold blood.

VARGAS: And Reese Witherspoon for her portrayal of June Carter Cash in "Walk the Line."

REESE WITHERSPOON, "WALK THE LINE": I wanted to be a country western singer when I was little. And I went to a camp. I sang there. And they told me no matter what I did, please don't ever sing ever again.

VARGAS: In supporting film roles, Rachel Weisz won top honors once again for her performance in "The Constant Gardener." And Paul Giamatti thanked his fellow actors for honoring his work in "Cinderella Man."

PAUL GIAMATTI, "CINDERELLA MAN": There are weird, interesting people in our business, and I'm proud to be numbered among them.

VARGAS: Television ensembles receiving awards included ABC's "Lost" in a dramatic series and "Desperate Housewives" for best TV comedy cast. "Housewives" star Felicity Huffman was also honored for her individual work on the show.

FELICITY HUFFMAN, "DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES": I'm such an old broad. I've had so many times where I haven't worked for a long time.

SEAN HAYES, "WILL & GRACE": Karen.

VARGAS: Sean Hayes, star of the sitcom "Will & Grace," received his third SAG Award for best performance in a TV comedy.

HAYES: I know everyone in Hollywood, you know, knows that it's such a risk to play a gay character.

VARGAS: Kiefer Sutherland picked up the best dramatic award for "24." Golden Globe winner Sandra Oh picked up another prize for acting in "Grey's Anatomy." And the Emmy and Golden Globe winner S. Epatha Merkerson picked up her third award for the TV movie "Lackawanna Blues."

S. EPATHA MERKERSON, "LACKAWANNA BLUES": I'm not 37 and I'm not a size two, you know what I'm saying? And a lot of women are like me.

VARGAS: Shirley Temple Black received a standing ovation when she was honored with her Lifetime Achievement Award.

SHIRLEY TEMPLE BLACK, HONORED BY SAG: For those of you who want to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, start early.

VARGAS: Sibila Vargas, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: "Brokeback Mountain," which has been getting a lot of Oscar buzz, was in fact shut out at the awards ceremony, really.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, really (ph).

M. O'BRIEN: Hey, it's tough. And that should add a little suspense to what happens tomorrow when they announce the nominations for the Academy Awards. Of course it will be nominated, I would think.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, but the awards themselves.

M. O'BRIEN: Who knows?

S. O'BRIEN: It could be really close.

M. O'BRIEN: It could go either way. It's not the lock on that we thought.

S. O'BRIEN: No.

Ahead this morning, big news for millions of Americans who are living with diabetes. We're going to tell you how long it's going to be before the insulin inhaler is available.

M. O'BRIEN: Also, the end of an era. After more than 18 years at the helm of the Fed, the Chairman, Alan Greenspan, presides over his last meeting in that job. And, as always, when he speaks, we will listen very carefully. Details coming up.

S. O'BRIEN: And later this morning, does sex and feminism go hand in hand? Some women think so and point to the new Playboy bunny as proof. Of course we've got pictures. That's in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: It's about 11 minutes past the hour.

Carol Costello in the newsroom this morning checking news.

Hello -- Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And what better place to be, right?

M. O'BRIEN: It's a good place to be, yes.

COSTELLO: Good morning, everyone.

Crews in Poland say they are shifting from rescue to recovery efforts now. They are tearing down the remains of a collapsed exhibition hall. We have new pictures to show you this morning. You see the buildings roof fell, killing at least 67 people and wounding some 160 others. A national period of mourning in Poland will continue until Wednesday.

In Iraq, Saddam Hussein's defense team is threatening to boycott the proceedings. The new chief judge threw out Hussein's half brother during Sunday's hearing after he called the court -- quote -- "the daughter of a whore." Hussein and his entire defense team then walked out. Proceedings are set to resume on Wednesday, but, well, we'll keep watching.

A filibuster effort over U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito could be a bust, according to Republicans and even some Democrats. A Senate vote to confirm Alito is scheduled for tomorrow, but some Democratic lawmakers say they'll try to continue debate. Alito supporters, however, say they have enough votes to block a filibuster.

Some diabetics will soon have another option in controlling their blood sugar levels. Pfizer hoping to begin selling a type of insulin that can be inhaled, potentially eliminating the need to use needles. The FDA has just approved the new inhaled version. It's called Exubera. But word is the new treatment may cost a lot more and there are some other downsides as well. We'll talk to the doctor who took part in the clinical trials for Exubera later on on AMERICAN MORNING.

And champion golfer Tiger Woods is off to a roaring start in the new year. Woods won his fourth Buick International in San Diego setting a new record. And it wasn't easy. He fended off a three-way playoff, at one point, in the tournament. Eight players shared the lead. The win was also Woods' first since turning 30.

And for all of you dog lovers out there, it is your year. In Hong Kong and around the world they are ringing in the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Dog. There were the usual parades with dragons and dancers. And for the first time in a dozen years, fireworks were allowed in many Chinese cities, including Beijing.

So happy day -- Chad.

MYERS: Happy Dog Year.

COSTELLO: That's right, doggone it.

MYERS: So does that mean it's going to last seven years?

(LAUGHTER)

MYERS: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Which actually means 49.

MYERS: Right, which means in seven years I'll only be 44.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Chad, thank you.

The Fed, Alan Greenspan in the spotlight on Wall Street this week.

Carrie Lee has got our "Financial News Update."

Good morning.

CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Two days left for Fed Chief Alan Greenspan.

S. O'BRIEN: We've been doing this Fed (ph) countdown for a while.

LEE: I know. I know. Well 18 years, quite a legend here. But today is the start of the two-day Federal Reserve meeting. Tomorrow we will get the latest and Greenspan's final decision on interest rates. A lot of folks on Wall Street expecting another quarter point hike. That would bring the federal funds rate to 4.5 percent.

Now of course here higher rates curb inflation, lower rates curb an ailing economy. The question is what's going to happen down the road when Greenspan finishes? Take a look there, you can see pretty steady increases since the beginning of 2004.

A couple of things for Bernanke and Greenspan lately to consider, GDP, the gross domestic product, a broad range of how our economy is faring, grew much slower than expected during the fourth quarter. We got that information last week. Also, we'll get the latest on jobs coming up. The housing market has been strong. So a lot of things to contemplate here.

Let's talk about Ben Bernanke a little bit. He is going to be taking over. He is a former Fed governor, most recently on the White House Council of Economic Advisors. Spent most of his years, though, in academia, running Princeton's Economic Department. And here's a rather humbling statistic, Miles and Soledad, he scored 1,590 on his SATs out of 1,600. I mean I scored just...

S. O'BRIEN: What happened to the last 10...

M. O'BRIEN: What did he get wrong?

LEE: I scored just 1,589, so I don't know.

(LAUGHTER)

LEE: Not.

M. O'BRIEN: A little resume padding there, Carrie, maybe?

S. O'BRIEN: I want to know the 10 points he missed.

LEE: I know. Exactly, what did he miss, one question, right?

S. O'BRIEN: (INAUDIBLE) math section.

LEE: But a couple of things Bernanke has to consider, as I said, the housing bubble, number one. Also trade and budget deficits, which seem to be growing at a record every month. And of course high energy prices. So he's known as an inflation hawk, focusing really on inflation as a target. We'll see what happens, but the decision coming on Tuesday.

S. O'BRIEN: Two days to go. Wow!

LEE: Yes. And futures looking a little weak for today, by the way.

S. O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you.

LEE: OK.

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Carrie.

Let's get right back to Carol. She's in the newsroom again for a look at what's coming up this morning.

COSTELLO: I am, indeed.

Coming up, a new brand of silk (ph) called feminists, women who use sex to their own advantage and call it empowering. But are the Pussycat Dolls or the new Playboy Bunnies really a sign of progress for women? We'll take a closer look next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: I like that intro he made. I kind of like that.

S. O'BRIEN: It's pretty good (ph).

COSTELLO: Maybe you heard Playboy is reinventing the Playboy Bunny Club. Yes, the men's club, complete with waitresses dressed in ears and tails. It will hit the Palms in Las Vegas in May. Some say it begs the question, why? Well some say it's because feminism has a whole new definition now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO (voice-over): The good old days when men were men and women were, well, bunnies. Back in the '60s, Hugh Hefner's image of the scantily clad girl next door, the one you could look at but couldn't touch, raised the temperatures of American men, while occasionally raising the ire of American women.

But times have changed, and the bunny is bouncing back, only now it has teeth. Playboy will soon open a new nightclub at America's new playground, Vegas. And Italian designer Roberto Cavalli has made over the legendary costume, updating cute and fluffy with rock 'n' roll and S&M.

CHRISTIE HEFNER, CHMN., PLAYBOY ENTERPRISES INC.: It's one of those iconic creations that it's wonderful to do variations on, but you don't want to get too far afield from that which makes it so well known and popular. COSTELLO: But what's making the bunny popular again isn't as important as who is making it popular. While "Playboy" magazine may still be aimed at men, for the past couple of years the logo has shown up more and more on women, and that started a hot debate.

ARIEL LEVY, "FEMALE CHAUVINIST PIGS": I think with American's you know reinvigorated interest and all things bimbo, the time is again right to try to sell American strengths or buy women dressed as porno stuffed animals. I think it will work right now.

COSTELLO: In "Female Chauvinist Pigs," author Ariel Levy looks at the rise of what she calls raunch culture in America. Seems like everywhere you look these days, what used to offend women is now enthralling them. The question is, does it all prove that sexual empowerment is the new feminism?

LEVY: I don't necessarily think it shows that, because what it really shows is that women are just reiterating one very commercial shorthand for sexiness.

COSTELLO (on camera): The stereotype of the stodgy, unsexy feminist of old has given way to a new brand of feminism. These women say they have come far enough where they can use sex for their own personal advantage or sex for their own pleasure. But is this really progress?

(voice-over): The Pussycat Dolls are an L.A. burlesque troop that now sells millions of CDs, along with a supposed message of female empowerment. Their claim, there's a Pussycat Doll in every woman.

Then there's adult film icon Jenna Jameson who titled her memoir "How to Make Love Like a Porn Star." It went on to become a best seller.

Emily Scarlet Kramer is one half of a two-woman team that created "Cake," a group known for throwing wild parties where professional women are encouraged to let loose. Think "Sex in the City" on steroids.

EMILY SCARLET KRAMER, "CAKE" ENTERTAINMENT: I don't see a trend of women using their sexuality in negative ways. I see a trend...

COSTELLO (on camera): Using their sexuality only in positive ways. That's hard to believe.

KRAMER: No, in complex ways. Each woman decides for herself what is right and wrong for her life. And this is a feminist idea.

COSTELLO (voice-over): Back to the bunny. Ironically, these days Playboy and its retro image seem almost quaint. And Christie Hefner says that is a selling point.

HEFNER: It's permissibly sexy, you know. It's not the statement of wearing a T-shirt that says I'm a porn star.

COSTELLO: But if it involves nothing more than fulfilling a male fantasy, can it really be called feminism?

LEVY: Your sexuality can have something to do with your own pleasure and desires and shouldn't be all about putting on a show that involves implants and polyester underpants.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: You know the really interesting thing is in talking to mothers, because the generation gap is so apparent because young women don't really understand at all what the feminist movement was about. They just think it's old and antiquated and they don't get it. So there's a real disconnect there in the way that young women think over women in their 30s and 40s and 50s think about feminism and what it really means.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, I would think (ph). Yes, I would be interested to see. I mean I've got to imagine that are those young girls you know think that the half-dressed, naked chicks doing the whole...

M. O'BRIEN: Not in my house, I'm telling you that. Connery O'Brien, you're not dressing that way, girl.

COSTELLO: I'm telling you, good luck. Good luck, because it's hard to control them.

S. O'BRIEN: OK, sure, daddy.

M. O'BRIEN: Can't control them. Is that what you're trying to tell me?

COSTELLO: I think young women have a mind of their own.

S. O'BRIEN: How old is she now, 11?

M. O'BRIEN: Be 11 going on 40.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, you've got two more years, pretty much (ph).

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Sure.

S. O'BRIEN: A look at the morning's top stories are straight ahead this morning, including the long-awaited start of one of the biggest corporate corruption trials in U.S. history.

Plus, a recap of last night's Screen Actors Guild Awards. "Walk the Line's" Reese Witherspoon was one of the big winners. Wasn't her movie, though, that upstaged Oscar favorite "Brokeback Mountain." Can you guess what it was? We'll show you straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREA MILLER, FOUNDER & PRES., TANGO MEDIA: My name is Andrea Miller. I'm 34. And I'm the founder and President of Tango Media. I'm in a great career. But nevertheless, I really feel that ticking clock.

Right now I probably average about 16-hour days. Like any entrepreneur will tell you, you live it and breathe it. Years go by and that's essentially all you do. When I thought about being a mom, it was one of these things that you just feel like, well, of course I'm going to be. But I'm one of these people, I think, like a lot of women, who, frankly, hadn't planned. And suddenly you're 34 and you're trying to have a child and the doctors are saying, hey, guess what.

I think our lifestyle timeline has gotten out of sync with our fertility timeline. So my wish for the future would be for science to advance to the point where women had many more options and had more control of their fertility.

M. O'BRIEN (on camera): Andrea represents an entire generation of working women who want to further their careers and yet someday still have kids. How close are we to the day when they can have it all?

(voice-over): This man believes he has the answer. Dr. Alan Copperman is a fertility specialist at New York's Mount Sinai Medical Center. Every day he sees patients just like Andrea whose careers may be rising but whose prospects for pregnancy are falling fast.

DR. ALAN COPPERMAN, MOUNT SINAI MEDICAL CENTER: Most of that is really related to a decline in egg quality with aging. When you're 21, 90 percent of your eggs are chromosomally normal. And when you're 41, 90 percent of the eggs are chromosomally abnormal.

M. O'BRIEN: For a woman who wants to postpone pregnancy, in vitro fertilization is an option. And thousands of babies have been conceived from frozen embryos. But what if you don't have a partner and want to wait until you do to conceive? Copperman says this is the future, freezing a woman's actual eggs.

COPPERMAN: We can thaw them out, fertilizing them by taking a singular sperm and putting him right through this egg which has been frozen and thawed and then implanting them.

M. O'BRIEN: But does it work? Worldwide, fewer than 200 babies have been born from frozen eggs, though several recent clinical trials suggest the success rate is growing.

And it's not cheap. The procedure today costs $10,000 and up. But in the future...

COPPERMAN: The hope is that the cost is going to come down to make this more affordable and that the success rate is going to get better and better. Ten years from now it's my hope that I could sit there with a patient, like Andrea or anybody else, and say that it is safe and it's effective.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Still to come, just when you think you have heard the last on government ineptitude post Katrina, there is more. Did FEMA turn down help from another agency? If so, why? Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING for answers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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