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American Morning

Cheney's Misfire; Katrina Report; Cartoon Outrage; Minding Your Business; Little Magic Pill?

Aired February 15, 2006 - 07:30   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Testify. So it should be interesting.
Also in the headlines this morning, three children in Baghdad killed by a roadside bomb on their way to school. The bomb was apparently planted near a grade school. The attack, one of several across Baghdad this morning. At least 11 people have been killed.

Zacarias Moussaoui will not be in court as lawyers question perspective jurors of the penalty phase of his trial. That's because he has been getting a little loud at trial. He's been barred for yelling at the judge and telling jurors yet again, I am al Qaeda. Moussaoui has pleaded guilty to terrorism charges. He could face the death penalty.

A man in Florida is expected to face some serious charges for running a sophisticated marijuana operation underneath his house. Police found a secret passage way in the man's master bedroom. It leads to an underground complex. Inside the complex, 850 pot plants. Estimated street value, nearly $1 million.

There was some trouble onboard an Alaska Airlines jet bound for Denver last night. A cabin pressure problem forced the plane to return to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport about 15 minutes after takeoff. At least five passengers had to be treated by paramedics for things like ear and sinus pain.

And the best in show, well this year he's an egghead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Best in show at the 130th Annual Westminister Dog Show is the colored bull terrier (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rufus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The colored bull terrier. The first time such a dog has won since 1918. His name is Rufus. The judge praised what he called a classic profile for a bull terrier and that means he has a perfectly egg-shaped head. That's what won him the contest. And I guess he's going home, Zain, and he's going to have a big old steak dinner.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Did you watch the contest? COSTELLO: No.

VERJEE: All right.

COSTELLO: But I wish I would have.

VERJEE: Carol, thank you.

COSTELLO: Sure.

VERJEE: This morning, the man shot by Vice President Dick Cheney remains in the hospital and he's going to be staying there for at least a week. Harry Whittington took a turn for the worse on Tuesday when doctors revealed that the bird shot he had been hit with traveled to his heart. Ed Lavandera has more on his condition. Ed's live outside the hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Ed, how's he doing this morning?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he is back in the intensive care unit of this hospital. In fact, doctors say what had happened yesterday is that Mr. Whittington suffered a minor heart attack because he is essentially filled with about dozens and dozens of these little bebes from that shotgun blast. One of those little bebes has moved its way and what was originally described as superficial wounds, one of those little bebes has moved its way to his heart and is lodged in his heart.

However, doctors don't know exactly where in the heart it is but it caused a lot of discomfort. But Mr. Whittington did not show any of the classic signs of a heart attack. No chest pain and no shortness of breath.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER BANKO, HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATOR: There's no plans to do surgery to remove that bird shot. It's fixed in the heart at this point in time. However, it will require that we monitor Mr. Whittington for up to another seven days in the hospital to make sure no more bird shot moves into vital organs, as well as that piece of bird shot doesn't move anywhere else in the heart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: Now despite having what doctors say is as many as a hundred of these bebes inside his body, this is the only one they say that they are concerned about. After this news came out yesterday, Vice President Dick Cheney, we understand, put a calling into Mr. Whittington and offered him well and offered him to help with anything that he might need as he continues to undergo treatment here for what we expect will be another seven days.

But there's also one other thing to point. Any updates about his condition might be very short and coming over the next couple of days. Mr. Whittington's family has requested that no more updates about his condition be put out by the hospital here. Zain.

VERJEE: Ed Lavandera reporting. Thanks, Ed.

Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's going to be a Katrina day on Capitol Hill. Michael Chertoff, the secretary of Homeland Security, facing a congressional gauntlet as criticism about Katrina, before, during and after, the government response to it, is aimed squarely at him. At the core of all this is a congressional report which offers scathing criticism from the president on down to the response to that devastating storm. In essence, lives could have been saved if the leadership in this country and at the state and local level had acted in a more proactive way. What a terrible statement to make. Connecticut Congressman Christopher Shays is a member of the House Committee issuing that report.

Congressman Shays, post-9/11, to look at this and realize that the government was so reactive is very disheartening.

REP CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, (R) CONNECTICUT: It was disheartening. It was disheartening when we saw it unfold. And as we did our investigation, we realized that the White House was basically in a fog. The Department of Homeland Security was totally disengaged, particularly the secretary, Mr. Chertoff. And with FEMA and the director of FEMA, Mr. Brown, he was negligent.

MILES O'BRIEN: Negligent. When you say "negligent," what do you mean? Was he not paying attention? Was he waiting for advice from underlings? What was happening?

SHAYS: All of the above. All of the above. He was simply not exercising the authority that he had. You know, he said, let FEMA be FEMA, and in essence that's what Chertoff did. He just said, FEMA, you take care of it. He didn't go down to see what happened until he went with the president on Wednesday. So Mr. Brown was given the authority. But with Mr. Chertoff, he could have declared this a catastrophic event. And instead of waiting for the states to ask for help, and they waited too long, we could have just started to give them help and that would have been, I think, made a big difference.

MILES O'BRIEN: So FEMA was cut lose and FEMA had been demoted as a bureaucracy simultaneously. That's a bad combination.

SHAYS: Well, I mean, in essence, they were -- I don't think they were demoted. I've never bought that argument. But they were -- what Chertoff said is, FEMA do as you always do. But the problem was, they hadn't planned well for this. We had a tabletop exercise called Hurricane Pam in Louisiana. We predicted basically what would happen in that storm. Communications hadn't been repaired since 9/11. In other words, improved. Hurricane Pam told us communication needed to be improved and they weren't. And then you, obviously, have a governor who waited too long and a mayor who waited too long in Louisiana to start the evacuation. Nineteen hours before this storm hit. In spite of the fact that you had the weather station folks tell them on Saturday, this is going to be a storm of almost biblical proportions.

MILES O'BRIEN: Kind of a perfect storm when you think about it.

SHAYS: Yes.

MILES O'BRIEN: The administration knew this one was coming. Yesterday in the White House briefing room, the White House spokesman offered a defense to Mr. Chertoff. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: In fact, Secretary Chertoff is doing a great job at the Homeland Security Department. The president appreciates the strong leadership. He is someone who is committed to doing everything he can to protect the American people and to continue to take steps to make sure we are better prepared to respond to the threats that we face. Whether those threats are natural disasters, or those threats are from terrorism or other incidents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MILES O'BRIEN: He didn't say that Chertoff was doing a heck of a job, but he did say he was doing a good job. The administration is supporting Chertoff. A lot of people would tell you that it isn't Chertoff's fault. That the way this structure has been set up, and the overall focus on terrorism as opposed to natural disasters is the issue.

SHAYS: I think that's baloney. I mean, for more than one reason. The consequence of a catastrophe, whether it's natural made or induced by terrorism, in many cases is the same. But he had the authority to declare this a catastrophic event. Why did he wait until Wednesday to go down there? I mean, I would of thought as soon as we saw people in the Superdome on Tuesday after the Monday storm, we would have sent our soldiers in, we would of -- frankly, I wish the president had simply gone to Louisiana, gone into the Superdome and said, I'm not leaving until everyone is out safe.

MILES O'BRIEN: Should Mr. Chertoff step down? Would you call for his resignation?

SHAYS: No, I think the jury's still out. And I think in part because in other areas he is doing a good job. But when it came to this storm, he was totally and completely, in my judgment and the judgment of the committee, disengaged.

MILES O'BRIEN: Congressman Christopher Shays, thanks for being with us this morning.

SHAYS: Thank you.

MILES O'BRIEN: This morning's Senate hearing, which includes Michael Chertoff's testimony, is scheduled to begin at 11:15 Eastern. We'll, of course, be following it for you and have live coverage for you here on CNN all throughout the day, as well as CNN Pipeline. We've told you about those 11,000 FEMA trailers. The ones that are sinking in the mud in Arkansas instead of being put to use by Katrina victims. Homeland Security's inspector general says they're in such bad shape many of them might have to be trashed. Last night the acting FEMA director, David Paulison, told Anderson Cooper that's not true.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID PAULISON, ACTING FEMA DIRECTOR: I sent staff out today to look at the mobile homes after the reports last night on TV and listening to the inspector general. The mobile homes are fine. There's not one mobile home that's been damaged. They're going to be usable. Mobile homes last a long time, 15, 20 years. So we are going to use them. I don't know where the information came from that the inspector general got because somebody gave him bad information.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MILES O'BRIEN: Now the inspector general says of 25,000 trailers and modular homes built for Katrina victims, few will ever be used. And $857 million is going down the drain.

And a reminder, "Anderson Cooper 360" can be seen every week night 10:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

Zain.

VERJEE: Miles, there have been huge protests in the Arab and the Muslim world over cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a terrorist. Those protests have now turned anti-American. In Pakistan, at least three people were killed in clashes with police today. An American flag was burned in one city. Demonstrators also set fire to a KFC restaurant. Dozens of protesters were hurt. CNN's Senior International Correspondent Matthew Chance joins us live now. He's just returned from Denmark. Now that's where the cartoons were first published last year and then reprinted in other European newspapers.

Matthew, first of all, just explain why the anger has been directed at the U.S. now.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a good question. Because over the past several weeks, when this violence really started to pour out onto the streets across the Muslim world, it was, first and foremost, directed towards Denmark, the Danish government, the Danish newspaper which last September, of course, first published these 12 cartoons depicting the Muslim Prophet Muhammad.

But again in Pakistan, and we've seen this elsewhere as well, that violence has spread out to take in other symbols of the west as well. We saw them burning the U.S. flag today. Also a fried chicken restaurants. Symbols of the west again attacked in the Pakistani city of Lahore.

So there's been a number of attacks against U.S. symbols, against western symbols. I think that's because many Muslims see this controversy over the cartoons as merely a battle in a war they believe is being waged against them, against Muslims, against Islam. That's how many Muslims see the war on terror that the U.S. is, of course, fighting around the world.

Zain.

VERJEE: What are Muslim leaders doing to end this?

CHANCE: Well, I think in the case of Pakistan, the government is doing whatever it can to try and curb this violence. They were -- the police were using tear gas and batons to try and disburse the crowds. But certainly there's been a degree of fanning of the flames, if you will, by other governments in the region, Syria, Iran has been accused by western governments of using this as a political tool, a stick with which to beat the west, if you will.

But at the same time, I don't think that even though some governments may be using this for their own political objectives, it shouldn't undermine the sense in which many Muslims do feel genuinely offended and that's why we're seeing, I think first and foremost, all this violence on the streets still.

VERJEE: CNN's Matthew Chance reporting. Thanks, Matthew.

Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN: Let's check back on the weather. Bonnie Schneider at the Weather Center.

Bonnie.

(WEATHER REPORT)

VERJEE: Andy's "Minding Your Business" just ahead.

What's coming up?

ANDY SERWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Zain, a couple of Valentine's Day presents you might have missed. A new tax break for parents sending their kids to college. Plus, the "Sports Illustrated"" swimsuit issue on your iPod. Stay tuned. Coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MILES O'BRIEN: Andy Serwer is back. He's our best in show, you might say.

SERWER: I'm sort of like Rufus then?

MILES O'BRIEN: Yes, you are. You're a news dog. A news hound.

SERWER: Woof. OK.

MILES O'BRIEN: Yes, sniffing out those investment and business things for us.

SERWER: I am. OK.

Let's talk about prepaid tuition plans. A little noticed change in the president's budget made this a better deal for parents saving money for kids going to college. You know these prepaid tuition plans are available in some states, 13 states, where you can set aside money either in a lump sum or in payments for kids to go to a state university within that state. I find it somewhat confining, and there are some wrinkles that, of course, your kid, guess what, decides to go to college in another state or gets into Harvard.

MILES O'BRIEN: No refund?

SERWER: Well, what you can do is apply the money. But it's not a straight shot.

Anyway, the way the tax law works, it actually helps you out because before aid would be reduced by the dollar amount that you pulled out of the plan. Now the plans are treated as an asset, which means that you can get more federal aid for your kids if you saved money in this plan.

MILES O'BRIEN: What's the big advantage to these plans? I mean -- or why not just save the money on your own?

SERWER: The big advantage of these plans is if (ph) you aren't saving money. I think it's better to save money on your own.

MILES O'BRIEN: OK.

SERWER: You have more flexibility. I mean it just helps people who can't get over the hump to save money for college. And it sounds good. I mean some people -- my kids going to the University of Florida no matter what. The kid is 11 years old and agrees with you. When the kid's a senior in high school, it works out, fine, you're done. But how often is that the case?

MILES O'BRIEN: How often are you born to be a Gator? You never know.

SERWER: Exactly. He might even turn out to be a Seminole.

MILES O'BRIEN: Oh, boy, them's fighting words there.

SERWER: Right. Yes.

MILES O'BRIEN: Let's move on and talk about something really important now.

SERWER: Yes.

MILES O'BRIEN: And this is the swimsuit edition of "SI."

SERWER: Yes. And, you know how the "SI" swimsuit edition came out and "Sports Illustrated" magazine also owned by Time Warner, our parent company. But it was something to entice readers between the end of football season and baseball season. It started years ago. Now, of course, it is a huge behemoth of an industry.

MILES O'BRIEN: Kind of spring training.

SERWER: $35 million of advertising. One in five Americans looks at this thing -- for the articles. Now they've just signed a deal, surprise, surprise, with Apple so you can download videos of the making of the making of the making of on to your iPod. Eight videos, $1.99 each. Not a surprise, really, right? But I can see you're enthralled by the expression on your face.

MILES O'BRIEN: Are you talking?

SERWER: Are you talking to me?

MILES O'BRIEN: Are you still going? Blah blah blah.

SERWER: Wait. Can we get a picture of his face and show them -- look. Yes. All right. OK.

MILES O'BRIEN: OK, Andy, that's great.

SERWER: Heidi Klum, I'm not. Rufus, maybe.

MILES O'BRIEN: OK, Rufus.

SERWER: Yes.

MILES O'BRIEN: All right. Let's get -- send it over to Zain.

VERJEE: Thanks, boys.

Coming up, one pill to help you lose weight, quit smoking and reduce the risk for diabetes and heart disease. It sounds too good to be true, but it may already be a reality.

And later, U.S. Gold Medalist Joey Cheek joins us live. The speed skater got a $25,000 bonus for his Olympic win, but he gave it all up for a good cause. We'll hear what his story is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERJEE: How about a single pill to curb your cravings, help you quit smoking, lower your risk for diabetes, as well as heart disease. Too good to be true, right? Is that what you're thinking? Well, clinical trials on a drug called Rimonabant have been promising. Dr. Pamela Peeke is the assistant professor of medicine at the University of Maryland and she's also the author of "Body for Life for Women." She joins us from Washington D.C.

Thanks for being with us.

DR PAMELA PEEKE, "BODY FOR LIFE FOR WOMEN": Hello.

VERJEE: Hi.

I'm a little skeptical about this. One little pill to do all that.

PEEKE: All right. For everyone out there with gerth control issues, this is not a diet pill. This is a brand new, hot category of medications that actually do quite a few things. The first thing is doesn't do is allow to you drop boat loads of weight. Actually five to 10 percent of your body weight. But what it does do is it allow you to target the most toxic weight on the human body, and that's to much body fat deep inside your belly.

Now this system is called a endocannabinoid system. Boy, that's a mouth wrencher isn't it?

VERJEE: Yes.

PEEKE: And the pill actually is called a cannabinoid (ph) one receptor blocker for crying out loud. What it actually originates from, and this is a brand new system we're looking at, is a certain illicit drug, and that's marijuana, that was discovered many years ago to give you, well, the munchies.

VERJEE: OK.

PEEKE: And when scientists found this out, they thought, well, heck, it's coming from this endocannabinoid system. Why not block it and then see whether or not this could help us with obesity and overweight.

VERJEE: Does it really work? I mean, OK, dealing with obesity and overweight is one thing, but a single pill to deal with that, as well as diabetes, as well as heart disease? I mean, is that true? I mean, does it really work?

PEEKE: Actually, yes. Zain, it's very interesting. What this drug does is it really looks at cardio metabolic risk factors. That's what we're looking at now. We're looking at everything from being able to improve your cholesterol profile by bringing up your good cholesterol, bringing down triglycerides, at the same time improving insulin so that you have a decreased incidence of diabetes, and at the same time bringing down your actual gerth. Now in these studies we saw this.

VERJEE: OK. What do the studies say about side effects?

PEEKE: Now the side effects include everything from nausea to mood, depression and anxiety. There was a high drop-off rate. But you want to know something, this was an excellent study done by top- notch investigators. And guess what? You know, the grand majority of people did quite well.

And on the overall, guess what? Here's the new hot stuff out of this. One, you did drop five to 10 percent of your body weight. It was mostly around that belly fat. But you were able to improve these cardio metabolic risk factors and keep them improved for two years and even beyond that.

VERJEE: So who should use it and who shouldn't? I mean you've already said, you know, look, this is not a diet pill.

PEEKE: That's right. Well, the first thing this is, this is doctor prescribed. So physicians are first going to get a metabolic profile on you. Got to get some blood here. Blood letting. And then when we see where your cholesterol, your triglycerides, your insulin, your blood pressure, measure your gerth. If you're a woman, it should be below 35 inches, a man below 40 inches. Once we see that and see that you're either at high risk or already have the problem, then this would be an ideal medication to help you.

VERJEE: Would you vouch for this pill? I mean . . .

PEEKE: At this point in time, the . . .

VERJEE: It's not already approved yet, right?

PEEKE: Yes, I know. The FDA is currently removing Rimonabant. However, looking at the current studies and seeing the way we're able to affect people in the long-term, I would say this is very promising. But, remember, not a diet pill. This is helping us reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

VERJEE: OK. Promising, but no guarantees.

PEEKE: Well, long-term.

VERJEE: Dr. Pamela Peeke, thanks for being with us.

PEEKE: Thank you.

VERJEE: Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN: In a moment, we'll meet the gold medalist with a heart of gold. U.S. Speed Skater Joey Cheek gave away his $25,000 Olympic bonus all for a good cause. He'll join us live ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MILES O'BRIEN: Good morning. I'm Miles O'Brien.

VERJEE: And I'm Zain Verjee in for Soledad.

MILES O'BRIEN: A storm of questions for Michael Chertoff. The Homeland Security chief comes to the Senate today to answer for FEMA's failures during Hurricane Katrina.

Vice President Cheney's hunting partner takes a turn for the worse. When will the VP take a turn before the cameras. Live to the White House we go.

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