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American Morning
Zacarias Moussaoui Trial; Understanding Cancer; Filmmaker Gordon Parks Dies
Aired March 08, 2006 - 06:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody.
We're expecting more dramatic testimony today in the penalty trial for Zacarias Moussaoui. If you remember, he is the only person convicted in the U.S. in connection with the September 11 attacks.
Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena has our story this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The focus today in the Moussaoui trial is expected to shift a bit. So far, we've heard a lot about al Qaeda and the September 11 attacks. Now we expect to hear about Moussaoui's time in the United States before he was arrested, starting with his time in Norman, Oklahoma, where he attended the same flight school that several al Qaeda operatives attended before him.
Prosecutors, for the most part, spent yesterday questioning an FBI agent about exactly how the September 11 attacks were carried out and the precise steps that the hijackers took, which the government contends mirror exactly what Moussaoui did when he got here. For example, signing up for a jet simulator training, or purchasing short- blade knives.
Now, the defense, meanwhile, argues that Moussaoui didn't follow the al Qaeda rulebook at all, and, in fact, had absolutely no contact whatsoever with any of the September 11 hijackers.
Moussaoui, for his part, stayed very quiet during the testimony, but each and every time he left that courtroom, he stood up and screamed, "God curse America and god bless Osama bin Laden!" It's becoming a very regular routine.
Kelli Arena, CNN, Alexandria, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: And just about half past the hour. Let's get a look at some of the other stories making news as well. Carol's got that in the newsroom.
Hey, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
We begin in Iraq, where a series of explosions rocked the Iraqi capital today. At least four were killed.
And there's been a gruesome discovery in western Baghdad. The bodies of more than a dozen men found inside of a minibus. An official telling CNN they were found strangled with their hands tied behind their backs.
In Houston, more finger pointing at the Enron trial with the prosecutor's star witness back on the stand this morning. Former chief financial officer Andrew Fastow is considered to be the architect of cooking Enron's books. He says he had former CEO Jeffrey Skillings's blessing. Skilling apparently told him, "Get me as much of that juice as you can."
The controversy over the port security deal just will not go away. A measure blocking the deal will be attached to a mass spending bill when the House Appropriations Committee meets today. It has the support of some top Republicans. Right now, the Dubai-based company is under a second review.
And "Desperate Housewives" star Teri Hatcher is revealing something truly personal from her childhood. Hatcher says she was sexually abused by an uncle. She says she kept it secret until 2002, when one of his other victims committed suicide.
The actress tells "Vanity Fair" magazine she helped prosecutors build up evidence against her uncle and eventually he ended up behind bars. The reason she didn't come forward sooner is because she didn't want to end up on the front page of a tabloid. And look where she ended up this morning, right here. Come on out on the front page of a tabloid.
So there you have it -- Miles.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Some things you can't control.
Thank you very much, Carol Costello.
Let's get a check of the forecast. Chad Myers at the CNN Center.
Good morning, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Miles.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Chad.
Lung cancer is the deadliest of all cancers, and yet it gets less attention than many other diseases. Now the death of Dana Reeve may serve as a wakeup call in Washington.
Tom Foreman with that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In the shadow of the Capitol, Sheila Ross is a rarity, a one-time big smoker twice diagnosed and treated for lung cancer, yet alive and fighting for change.
SHEILA ROSS, CANCER SURVIVOR: This is a political problem. It's not a science problem.
The money for research and the money for screening and early detection is going to the cancers that have large political constituency. It's not going to a cancer like lung cancer, even though it's the biggest single killer, because there are not enough survivors to give it political power.
FOREMAN: It's a terrible truth. The tsunami killed fewer people than died from lung cancer in America last year, 163,000. And only 15 percent of people diagnosed are alive five years later.
Laurie Fenton is with the Lung Cancer Alliance.
LAURIE FENTON, LUNG CANCER ALLIANCE: More than breast, prostate, colon, liver, kidney, pancreas, melanoma cancers combined. That's what lung cancer does every year. It takes the lives of all of those diseases combined every year. And that has to change.
FOREMAN: The 1998 legal settlement with the big tobacco companies was supposed to change things, sending hundreds of millions of dollars to states to replace money spent on tobacco-related illness. But that money has generally not gone to lung cancer research, detection or treatment.
CHERYL HEALTON, AMERICAN LEGACY FOUNDATION: It's been spent to build prisons, to build roads, to do heavens knows what things, but all sorts of projects that are not even health related, let alone related to tobacco.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fifty thousand people die each year from second-hand smoke.
FOREMAN: Some of the settlement money has been used to counteract the $40 million a day big tobacco is using to market its products.
HEALTON: But in comparison of the arsenal on the other side, it is a David versus Goliath battle, no question about it.
FOREMAN: So the battle to change public policy toward this disease largely falls on the ever-falling army of survivors. That's why Sheila Ross, who spent her life working in politics, says she'll spend the rest of it on this issue.
ROSS: It's almost inevitable that my lung cancer will recur.
FOREMAN (on camera): You expect it?
ROSS: I fully expect it. But before I get sick again, I'm going make as much noise as I can on Capitol Hill. Lung cancer is a horrible way to die. We can't continue to ignore it. FOREMAN (voice over): Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: Our 9:000 Eastern hour of AMERICAN MORNING, two and a half hours from now, will be devoted to understanding cancer and the risks you may face.
Lance Armstrong is among our special guests. We'll also take your questions. You can send us an e-mail now at CNN.com/am. There's an e-mail button there. Or feel free to instant message us. CNN_AM is the IM address on AOL.
All that is ahead starting at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time.
Also coming up, we will talk about Dana Reeve's powerful role in politics and examine her legacy in Washington.
S. O'BRIEN: Plus, we'll remember another pioneer. Gordon Parks, the first African-American to direct a major Hollywood film, is dead. We'll take a look at his impact on American culture.
M. O'BRIEN: And later, that book we've all been talking about, a new book that claims to have proof positive Barry Bonds used steroids to keep up with homerun record-holder Mark McGwire.
Shocking stuff. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: We've got the death of another great American to report today. Gordon Parks, the pioneer in photography and filmmaking, died on Tuesday in New York.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN (voice over): Gordon Parks was a legend behind the camera. He spent more than 20 years as a photographer for "LIFE" magazine, covering everything from fashion to politics to sports. Parks is best known, perhaps, for his gritty photo essays on poverty in the U.S. and abroad and on America's civil rights movement.
In a 1998 interview with CNN, Parks talked about his passion.
GORDON PARKS, PHOTOGRAPHER & FILMMAKER: The important thing about trying to show bigotry with a camera was that you just couldn't photograph a bigot and write "bigot" underneath the photograph. You had to go to the source of bigotry, which is how people lived and what they were suffering.
S. O'BRIEN: Parks also wrote books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, including the best-selling autobiographical novel "The Learning Tree."
In 1969, Gordon Parks turned his talent to Hollywood, becoming the first major black movie director. He made a film version of his story, and then two years later came this.
"Shaft" was his breakout film and a box office smash. On three of his other movies he even composed the music. Though he never formally studied music, Parks wrote a piano concerto, a symphony and a ballet based on the life of Martin Luther King Jr.
Gordon Parks said his body of work should be a lesson to all.
PARKS: So many people could do so many things if they just tried, but they are frightened off because they haven't been trained to do this or trained to do that. I just picked up a $7.50 camera and went to work.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: Just before he turned 90 I had a chance to give him an award...
M. O'BRIEN: Oh, yes?
S. O'BRIEN: ... presented by the Harlem School of the Arts. And -- and he was remarkable. He had a tremendous amount of help. And people literally had to help him up.
And he accepted the award. And then he sat at the piano and played magnificently for a long time for the audience.
M. O'BRIEN: Wow.
S. O'BRIEN: It was amazing.
M. O'BRIEN: What a moment, yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, I will never forget that.
M. O'BRIEN: So he was very sharp all the way to the end, then, yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, absolutely. He was 93 years old when he passed.
A short break. We're back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: We've got Andy "Minding Your Business" in just a moment. First, though, let's get a look at the headlines. Carol's got that. She's in the newsroom.
Hey, Carol. Good morning.
COSTELLO: Yes, actually, we have a developing story, Soledad, in New Jersey. In Kearny, New Jersey, there's a big fire there. Let's take a look at the pictures now.
These are live pictures, actually. You can see the smoke billowing from the building. This is an apartment building, as I said, in Kearny, New Jersey.
Seventy firefighters on the scene fighting this thing. As you can see, the fire has poked holes through the roof. We don't know of any injuries, but that doesn't mean there aren't any injuries. We're going to keep our eye on this and when we find out more we'll pass it along.
In other news this morning, Iran says it will continue to pursue its nuclear research no matter what. Earlier this morning, the U.S. issued a statement calling on Iran to stop uranium enrichment or face consequences. The head of the U.N. atomic agency is expected to give a statement later this morning. When that happens, we'll pass it along to you.
President Bush will be on the Gulf Coast in a few hours for another look at hurricane recovery efforts. And while he's there, the president will talk about the nearly $20 billion hurricane funding request he sent to Congress. His first stop will be New Orleans, and then he'll go to Gulfport, Mississippi.
Attorneys for Zacarias Moussaoui suggest the FBI knew more about al Qaeda's plans for 9/11 than Moussaoui did. Moussaoui's lawyers are trying to take the focus off of him, but the self-proclaimed al Qaeda member is not helping his cause. During a break in testimony, Moussaoui shouted, "God curse America, bless Osama bin Laden!"
The penalty phase of his trial set to resume later today.
And more drinking, more sex, that's what a majority of college- aged women say about their behavior during their spring breaks. But medical experts are urging girls not to go wild during their vacations. The American Medical Association says wild images may contribute to women acting more recklessly and it could put them in dangerous situations.
So don't do it. It's just not cool. I mean, you see all these pictures of women acting -- well, it's just disgusting, Chad. It really is.
MYERS: I understand, Carol. I mean, that's just -- that's just beach mentality at some point in time. That's why I always went skiing.
COSTELLO: Good for you.
MYERS: Good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Chad. Thank you.
MYERS: You're welcome.
M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Chad.
No such thing as too many Starbucks. ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "FORTUNE": That's true.
S. O'BRIEN: New York City would be the indication of that, right?
SERWER: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
SERWER: That's it, just what the world needs now, especially at this time of morning, more Starbucks. The company says they are not in danger of overbuilding, says they're going to be rolling out 1,300 new stores in the USA this year.
M. O'BRIEN: Where?
(CROSSTALK)
SERWER: They've already got 7,600. Well, there's one on every corner, so they're going to put one in the middle of the block.
(LAUGHTER)
SERWER: I mean, there's no question.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
SERWER: No, listen, we just went to their Web site and I found -- you know, just looking for towns that didn't have Starbucks, Telluride, Colorado, no Starbucks, according to the Web site. Selma, Alabama, no Starbucks.
M. O'BRIEN: There you go.
SERWER: You know, so there's places. Highways, also. They're going to put them on highways.
S. O'BRIEN: They could be putting a lot more, like, up in Harlem.
SERWER: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Because the truth is, you bring in a Starbucks, you improve the real estate, the neighborhood gets better, more people move in.
SERWER: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: You know. It brings other issues, too.
M. O'BRIEN: Coffee brings prosperity.
S. O'BRIEN: Especially a Starbucks, yes.
M. O'BRIEN: They're not franchises, right?
SERWER: No.
S. O'BRIEN: No.
M. O'BRIEN: They're all company stores. Interesting.
SERWER: That's right. That's right. And they're going to be doing the breakfast thing. They have breakfast sandwiches up in Washington State.
(CROSSTALK)
S. O'BRIEN: The food is...
M. O'BRIEN: The food sucks.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
SERWER: OK. Memo to Starbucks.
All right. Now I've got another one.
S. O'BRIEN: Maybe just not as good as the coffee.
SERWER: Right.
Now, listen to this. This is truly scary.
Microsoft says it needs to get really competitive. I mean, this from a company that -- wow.
OK. They're going to be unveiling a new search engine called Microsoft Live, and that's because MSN really hasn't exactly been beating up on Yahoo! or Google.
M. O'BRIEN: To say the least.
SERWER: Yes. MSN -- MSN's market share in search went down three points to 11 percent last year. Google has nearly 50 percent.
S. O'BRIEN: Wow.
SERWER: So you can see here...
S. O'BRIEN: What is Yahoo!? Do you know?
SERWER: I don't know what that is, but somewhere in between. Somewhere in between.
(LAUGHTER)
SERWER: But this live.com, which is actually a pretty decent URL, if you ask me -- and they're going to be rolling everything into it. So, MSN and then also Hotmail eventually is going to become live.com.
S. O'BRIEN: It's a much better URL. SERWER: So you will know that.
S. O'BRIEN: Which I think is a good, big chunk of your search.
SERWER: Right. Right.
S. O'BRIEN: I think it makes a big difference.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, but really, taking a swipe at Google, that's not easy. I mean, they just -- they own this thing.
SERWER: They do. And when you think -- I mean, it's sort of become a generic word for searching.
S. O'BRIEN: Right.
SERWER: Google someone. I mean, when you've got that kind of brand power, it's hard to beat.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: It's a good URL.
SERWER: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Andy. Thank you.
SERWER: You're welcome.
S. O'BRIEN: A look at the top stories ahead this morning.
Bombings in India kill 14 people.
Police find the bodies of 18 men in Baghdad.
The FBI stepping up its search for a fugitive mobster.
Andrew Fastow takes the stand again in the Enron criminal trial.
And damaging details of Barry Bonds' alleged drug use. We're going to take a look at the book that claims to prove that Bonds was juiced.
Stay with us. We're back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: At an age when most baseball players are breaking down, Barry Bonds was breaking out. He became a homerun machine, all the while denying he used performance-enhancing drugs.
Now with Bonds on the verge of becoming baseball's all-time homerun king, a new book proves proof positive he was juiced.
Here's Ray DeLessio (ph).
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): He was jealous of Mark McGwire. That's why Barry Bonds turned to steroids after the 1998 season, according to a new book titled "Game of Shadows."
An excerpt from the book appears in this week's issue of "Sports Illustrated." Among other things, the book asserts that by 2001, when Bonds broke McGwire's single season homerun record, the giant slugger was using six different performance-enhancing drugs and ingesting as many as 20 pills at a time.
The book was written by two reporters from the "San Francisco Chronicle" who say they compiled the information over a two-year investigation.
MARK FAINARU-WADA, "GAME OF SHADOWS": We have very good sources and very good people we've talked to both providing us information about -- about Bonds, as well as, again, documents from the BALCO case. And we'd like to think it is a definitive accounting of not only what he used, but why he used it and to the extent that he used it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bonds, who was at the Giants spring training facility in Arizona on Tuesday, had this to say when asked about the book: "I won't even look at it. For what? There's no need to."
During a 2003 investigation into the Bay Area Lab Cooperative, Bonds testified before a grand jury that he never knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs. Something he has always maintained.
The seven-time National League MVP is seven homeruns away from passing Babe Ruth on the all-time list and is 48 away from breaking Hank Aaron's mark of 755. Should Bonds break the record, the debate will rage about its validity.
TOM VERDUCCI, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": I think the commissioner of baseball has been pretty clear. He does not want to touch the record book at all. It's a messy road to try to go down, because obviously there were many other players who used drugs during the '90s into the 2000s. He doesn't want to go down that path.
On the other hand, I think every fan, anybody who cares about the game is going to come to their own conclusions. And I think any reasonable person who reads this book will determine that Barry Bonds did use drugs for a long period of time, and therefore they can't take his records as genuine or legitimate. I think the one place, the own place where his reputation is truly safe is San Francisco.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ray DeLessio (ph), CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: The book "Game of Shadows" will be published later this month. As we approach the top of the hour, let's check the forecast. Chad with that.
Hello, Chad.
MYERS: I mean, Miles, how do we know that Babe Ruth didn't use steroids?
M. O'BRIEN: Well, that's a shocking allegation you make.
S. O'BRIEN: Please.
MYERS: I'm just kidding.
M. O'BRIEN: He might -- he might have been drinking a little bit. But anyway, let's...
MYERS: I'm pretty sure they didn't exist back then. Yes.
(WEATHER REPORT)
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