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American Morning
Katrina Hearings; Welcome to the Future; Cell-Uoid
Aired February 02, 2006 - 06:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The Senate wants more answers about Hurricane Katrina. A day after the mayor speaks the governors are in the hot seat.
An apology for Cindy Sheehan. It seems her t-shirt wasn't really grounds for getting kicked out of the State of the Union speech.
And amazing pictures showing just another danger for police. A car too close. We've got more of this video just ahead.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Who asked for what, and when did they make the call? It's one of our stories this morning. That is really the crux of today's Senate hearings into Hurricane Katrina and the federal response to it.
CNN's Andrea Koppel is in Washington for us this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Today's hearing deals with the responses of Mississippi and Alabama to Hurricane Katrina. The witnesses include Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour and Kathleen Blanco from Louisiana. Blanco got national attention in the days immediately following Katrina for not asking for federal assistance fast enough.
This will be the committee's 15th hearing on Katrina, and you can look for it to touch on just about everything: evacuations, maintaining law and order, search and rescue and care of the needy.
This committee expects to deliver its final report on lessons learned from Katrina in March, just about two or so months before the start of this year's hurricane season.
On Wednesday, Mayor Ray Nagin testified before the committee, where he was forced to explain the 24-hour delay in mandatory evacuations.
Andrea Koppel, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin is going to be joining us live in our next hour to talk about his testimony and also the progress being made in that city.
Lots of other stories to get to as well this morning. Let's get right to Carol. She's got an update for us from the newsroom.
Good morning again.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I do. Good morning to all of you.
A disturbing story to tell you about out of Massachusetts this morning, a possible hate crime involving a gun and a hatchet. And the suspect is still on the loose. We're still working to sort out all of the details, but here's what we know. It seems a man walked into a bar, asked the bartender if it was a gay bar, and then he started attacking people with a hatchet. And once he was wrestled to the ground the man pulled out a gun and he started shooting. At least two people were wounded. And as I said, we're still sorting out the details here, and when we get them we'll pass them along, of course.
President Bush back on the road today, trying to sell the agenda he put out in his State of the Union address. President Bush picking up from his trip Wednesday to Tennessee. Today he heads to Minnesota to kick off his drive to make America's workers more competitive and to recruit 70,000 more teachers for math and science courses. Other stops tomorrow take the president to New Mexico and to Texas.
Antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan is getting an apology. The antiwar activist was arrested shortly before the president's State of the Union address. Capitol police say she was charged with unlawful conduct after refusing to cover an antiwar slogan on her t-shirt. Now they're saying they're sorry. She had posted a message Wednesday saying she planned to file a suit charging a violation of her right to free speech. The police also apologized to the wife of a Florida congressman. She was escorted out of the address for wearing a t- shirt in support of the troops.
A Florida deputy is nursing some scrapes and bruises after an accident that could have killed him. The deputy's dashboard camera catches it all on tape. Just as he's writing a driver a ticket, another car zooms by and hits him. Remarkably, he's OK. Did you see it there? It turns out the other driver is an elderly woman. She was on her way to the hospital. No word yet if she'll be charged with anything.
And the "Black Widow," well, she strikes again. Her area this time, the international grilled cheese eating championship in New York's Times Square. I know Miles was front and center in the audience. Susan Tom (ph) is the 100-pound darling of the competitive eating circuit. She ate 26 grilled cheese sandwiches in just 10 minutes to take the title. She also holds the title for cheesecake with 11 pounds in just eight minutes. It's amazing.
M. O'BRIEN: I don't know how she does it. It mystifies me.
COSTELLO: She has a great metabolism, I'll say that for her, unless she doesn't eat for days after these contests.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, she's a runner. She's actually pretty athletic.
S. O'BRIEN: She's athletic.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, and since...
COSTELLO: But 11 pounds of cheesecake!
M. O'BRIEN: No, I don't know -- she must have a hollow leg.
S. O'BRIEN: That's a tenth of her body weight. She only weighs 100 pounds.
M. O'BRIEN: She's obviously expanded her stomach over the years, just, you know, by...
S. O'BRIEN: It's gross. I'm sorry. You look at the pictures and it's gross. I've seen those contests live. Yuck!
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. I mean, there is no other term but yuck. But you get on TV...
S. O'BRIEN: But congratulations to you. Eight thousand dollars.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: That's a lot of bucks.
M. O'BRIEN: That's a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, let's check the forecast now. Chad Myers, how many grilled cheese sandwiches do you think you could do?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Probably four. But I thought all she got was that plate. And I'm thinking she ate all of that cheese and all she got was a plate. At least she got a few bucks.
S. O'BRIEN: Eight thousand dollars.
M. O'BRIEN: She actually does it for a living, yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: She goes around and does this stuff.
MYERS: But Kobiachi (ph) is the one who eats all of those hot dogs at Coney Island.
S. O'BRIEN: Right, right.
M. O'BRIEN: Right, right. But hasn't she won that one, too? I think she's been there, too.
MYERS: She's done very well.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, the Kama Sutra, more than just an ancient sex god, it is now a modern menace to computer users. We'll tell you how to avoid a worm attack.
S. O'BRIEN: Then later this morning, nobody likes to hear a cell phone at the movies, but one film festival has cell phones that are mandatory. We'll explain just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: What if you could trick your brain into helping you lose weight? Sound too good to be true? Well, science may be on the path to making it happen. Welcome to the future.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I started seeing doctors because of other medical problems. I have high blood pressure as well as high cholesterol. And I learned that these health issues were linked to my weight. My ideal weight would be 145.
Most of these diet remedies out today are geared towards people whose metabolisms are all working OK. Mine has slowed down to almost a crawl.
I've read all of the books. I've seen all of the commercials. But there just doesn't seem to be anything out there. If there was a magic potion, it would be possible to reach that weight. But right now, all of the things that are out on the market does not seem to be geared towards middle-aged women like myself.
M. O'BRIEN: Inez isn't really expecting a quick fix, but she does have reason to worry. Three out of 10 adult Americans are categorized as obese with an increased risk for type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
If diet and exercise aren't enough, can science provide the solution?
(voice over): Dr. Louis Eronie (ph) is an obesity expert at the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not just a lack of willpower, as many people think.
M. O'BRIEN: The key, he says, is our growing understanding of a complex body mechanism that makes it virtually impossible for the obese to lose weight and keep it off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are mechanisms that have evolved over eons to try to prevent you from starving to death. So what I mean is you cut down on your food intake, and you body tries to make you hungry.
M. O'BRIEN: And no matter how much willpower you've got it's a battle that's hard to win.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your brain, in a sense, loses control of your weight. It's an actual physical barrier.
M. O'BRIEN: A barrier science is beginning to overcome. Near term, there's the prescription fat blocker, Xenical. Just last week, a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended its approval as the first weight loss pill sold over the counter. It's not a magic bullet, though. You still need to exercise, take vitamin supplements, and the drug can have gastrointestinal side effects.
Another drug in the pipeline controls appetite a whole different way. It targets the same receptors in the brain that cause marijuana smokers to get the munchies. The FDA may rule on that one by spring.
There are literally a hundred other drugs in development to treat obesity. Within the next decade, says Eronie (ph), one might be the big breakthrough.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know what is controlling these processes now. And now that we understand, I think that we're going to be able to control body weight completely.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If I hit my goal weight, my life would be much better because I would be healthier, and I would be on the road to having a very long life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: Right now there are three weight loss drugs approved for the market. All work in ways that are very different. All of them have some very serious side effects.
Good morning, Andy.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Miles. Good morning, Soledad.
I've got some business news to tell you about. What giant oil company has become a political football? Only it's not what you think. Liberals say buy gas here, and conservatives are urging a boycott. Stay tune for that coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, who is this? Sheena Easton.
SERWER: Yes. Wow!
S. O'BRIEN: Dolly Parton.
(CROSSTALK)
SERWER: Wrong genre. It's not a country song.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, exactly.
SERWER: OK?
M. O'BRIEN: It kind of sounds like Dolly Parton.
S. O'BRIEN: Wow!
SERWER: No, no.
(CROSSTALK)
M. O'BRIEN: Work with me.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, Pete, you liar.
SERWER: No.
M. O'BRIEN: These are two good guys.
SERWER: No.
M. O'BRIEN: Isn't it great? What did I say?
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
SERWER: The check's in the mail.
S. O'BRIEN: Business news with Andy in just a moment. First, though, headlines with Carol in the newsroom.
Good morning.
COSTELLO: Good morning. Good morning to all of you.
The trial of Saddam Hussein on hold until February 13. The chief judge adjourned court after hearing testimony from two witnesses. None of the defendants interrupted the testimony, probably because they were not there. They all boycotted it. The trial resumed this morning without any of the eight defendants. You see the empty chairs. Hussein and four other defendants are boycotting the proceedings because they say the judge is biased. The three other defendants are out for disorderly conduct.
Andrea Yates may await her next trial at a mental hospital. A Texas judge is allowing Yates to leave jail and spend the next two months at a mental hospital. But her family doesn't know if it can afford the $200,000 bond. Yates had admitted drowning her five children in a bathtub back in 2001. She faces charges in three of those deaths. Her retrial is set for March 20.
It is now up the Senate to extend the Patriot Act. The measure is set to expire tomorrow. The House has agreed to give it another few weeks. Some lawmakers hope the extension will give them more time to work out changes to make the Patriot Act more friendly to civil liberties.
A West Virginia coal mine is shutting down temporarily today for safety checks. The inspection is coming in the wake of recent mine accidents that have killed 16 miners in the last month. The state's governor, Joe Manchin, asked for the mines to be shut down after two more deaths on Wednesday. Each safety check is expected to take no more than a few hours, depending on the size of the mine.
And top this, Kobe Bryant. New York senior guard, Epiphanny Prince, set a national high school girls' basketball record. Get this: She scored 113 points in one game! Prince made 54 of her 60 shots from the field. That would be 90 percent. Final score, 137-32. And not surprisingly, "USA Today" had an epiphany and ranked Epiphanny number two in the country. She'll actually play at Rutgers next season. Epiphanny and her coach will join us later on in the show. And I can't wait to hear from her. Good for you, Epiphanny!
Today is Groundhog Day. It's Groundhog Day. Get it? Maybe not. It's the day of the year when grown men wear top hats. This is a live picture. You can see them wearing top hats. They're waiting for that chubby, furry rodent to come out from a wooden stump. And then, of course, the groundhog will predict the winter, Punxsutawney Phil. Will it be an early spring? Will it be a long winter? Punxsutawney Phil will make his appearance in about an hour.
I always love it. Oh, look at the groundhog hat, Chad.
MYERS: That is so awesome.
COSTELLO: It is. I wish you had one.
MYERS: Oh, I have something better for a little bit later.
COSTELLO: Oh, no!
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: We've got a boycott against an oil company. Andy Serwer is here to explain.
SERWER: Yes. And usually when you think about boycotts against an oil company, you might imagine it would be a liberal group protesting, say environmental policies. But this one is turned on its head. A conservative group, the American Family Association, is calling for a boycott of Citgo, which is the oil company owned by the Venezuelan government, which, of course, is headed by Hugo Chavez, that thorn in President Bush's side.
Donald Wildmon, the head of the American Family Association, says it doesn't make sense to purchase gasoline from a country that wants to bring down the U.S. government. He says, I think the man -- referring to Chavez -- wants to be the next Fidel Castro. Well, he sort of actually is.
S. O'BRIEN: (INAUDIBLE). SERWER: Yes. Meanwhile on the other side -- yes. On the other side of the political aisle liberal groups are encouraging consumers to buy gasoline from Citgo to protest President Bush's policies. A Web site, commondreams.com, says buy you gas at Citgo, join the boy -- the buycott (ph) -- excuse me -- the buycott (ph). I can't even say it. The buycott (ph). And it has a store locator at the Web site.
M. O'BRIEN: Or it could be a boynot (ph).
SERWER: Right. To find a Citgo station near you. And can you imagine some gas jockey working at a Citgo, and all of a sudden liberals and conservatives descend upon his station...
S. O'BRIEN: Duking it out.
SERWER: ... and fighting each other, and say Can I just check your oil, please?
S. O'BRIEN: Right.
SERWER: You know? I mean, this is really...
M. O'BRIEN: Where do you get your oil checked these days?
SERWER: Maybe in New Jersey.
M. O'BRIEN: Oh, in Jersey. That's the only place.
SERWER: Full-serve gas stations.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
SERWER: But 14,000 Citgo gas stations across the country are now becoming the center of a political debate.
S. O'BRIEN: I knew that was coming.
SERWER: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Chavez was just too much.
SERWER: Asking for it, right?
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
SERWER: Goading.
S. O'BRIEN: He was certainly pushing.
SERWER: Right.
S. O'BRIEN: All right.
M. O'BRIEN: An incendiary debate, you might say.
SERWER: Ooh, easy. No, no smoking there in the store. M. O'BRIEN: You could say that, yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, Steven Spielberg may have met his match, a kid with a RAZR phone. We're going to take you to a film festival. Have you heard about this, where it pays to kind of phone it in? They're using cell phones. We'll explain coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Let's face it, when it comes to making movies there are times when it feels that Hollywood just phones it in. Well, Jeannie Moos went to one film festival, where phoning it in is not such a bad thing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Calling all movie directors. At the CellFlix festival, there is no red carpet to roll out. No one will ask you...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who are you wearing?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Prada.
MOOS: You can skip the three-hour epics. We're talking 30- second movies, shot with a cell phone.
(on camera): Mike, what was your budget for this film?
MIKE POTTER, DIRECTOR, "CHEAT": It started at zero.
MOOS (voice-over): Speaking, where else, on a cell phone, festival winner Mike Potter said his movie "Cheat" took half-an-hour to shoot. It stars his grandparents, Fred and Rosemary.
POTTER: They have a very endearing relationship.
MOOS: "Cheat" was one of 178 submissions to Ithaca College's CellFlix festival. Finalists planted their cell phone cameras on escalators and under trains.
But Mike Potter's 30-second love story won the $5,000 prize. Here is the film in its entirety.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have this game we play on Sunday, my Rosemary and I. I call out a headline. Rosemary, Bruschi's not gonna play on Sunday. And if she correctly guesses the headline, I give her a kiss.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, that's true.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I gotta tell you something, sometimes I cheat.
MOOS: OK, so they had to do the kiss three times to get it just right, and shooting with a cell phone invites complications.
(on camera): Mike, you never missed any cell phone calls while you were shooting, did you?
POTTER: I had it ring once. I think it was my girlfriend.
MOOS: How can you shoot yourself and know what you got?
(voice-over): Some of us have enough trouble making a phone call, let alone a movie.
And talk about multitasking with your cell. A Dutch comedy show foresees cell phones that shave, cell phones that iron, cell phones you can make grilled cheese in, even cell phones that you can order to self-destruct.
This may be Mike Potter's first movie-making award, but already he's issuing a challenge.
POTTER: I challenge Mr. Steven Spielberg, the great storyteller, to a cell phone film battle.
MOOS: Even ET didn't know how to use a cell phone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ET, phone home.
MOOS: Steven Spielberg, phone Mike Potter.
POTTER: Let's take away the budget. Let's take away the big- name actors, and let's compete on a smaller screen.
MOOS: Smaller pictures. Now, that's something Norma Desmond knew a thing or two about.
WILLIAM HOLDEN, ACTOR: You used to be in silent pictures. Used to be big.
MOOS (on camera): I am big! It is the pictures that got small!
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: So we're going to try the same thing.
M. O'BRIEN: We have been challenged by the boss. Kim Bundy (ph) says make a movie. So have you been storyboarding all morning?
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: You've got it all figured out.
S. O'BRIEN: We have 30 seconds to do -- each of us do our own little movie. I'm really trying to figure out how to draft my kids to play their various roles.
M. O'BRIEN: I think the kid involvement is important. It's crucial as a matter of fact.
S. O'BRIEN: I'm going to win.
M. O'BRIEN: Oh, yes?
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: Oh!
S. O'BRIEN: So it's only 30 seconds, Bonnie, is that right?
M. O'BRIEN: We'll see. May the better filmmaker win. Let me see. I'm going to start working on things.
S. O'BRIEN: Hey, do you want to be in my film?
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, let me see. All right.
S. O'BRIEN: Greg (ph), Phil (ph)?
M. O'BRIEN: Chad, let's check the weather before the top of the hour, shall we?
(WEATHER REPORT)
MYERS: The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
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