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American Morning
Iran's Nuclear Plans; Car Buying Habits; Book Scandal?
Aired April 25, 2006 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Violent clashes in Athens. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is there this morning. Vocal protesters are facing off with police.
Iran's nuclear ambition becomes a rallying point for the Iranian people. They see it as more than just a power struggle.
And gas prices are rising. Prices really changing the way we shop for cars? We'll go on a little shopping trip just ahead this morning.
Good morning. Welcome, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Miles O'Brien. We're glad you're with us.
Carol Costello looking at some headlines for us.
Good morning, -- Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles. Good morning to all of you.
The mother of al Qaeda conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui describing her life as hell. She left Paris for the United States earlier today. She wants to be in the Virginia courtroom when the verdict in the Moussaoui sentencing trial is read. The federal jury is deciding between the death penalty or life in prison for Moussaoui. Deliberations are set to resume any minute now.
President Bush poised to give a massive energy speech. He is expected to announce an investigation into possible price gouging by oil companies. Aides say he'll also outline a four-point short-term plan to try to curb rising prices. CNN will have live coverage. The president expected to take the mike just after 10:0 a.m. Eastern.
Police in Greece clashing with anti-U.S. demonstrators as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is visiting that country. Hundreds of people flooded Athens earlier today. Some threw gasoline bombs and sticks as riot police advanced. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in Greece as part of a five-day visit to Europe. No word on any injuries or arrests.
Nepal celebrating, a very different scene than what we've been seeing the past couple of weeks. Pro-democracy protests had brought the capital of Katmandu to a standstill, but the king is finally giving in to the opposition's demands. He is reinstating the Parliament that was dissolved more than a year ago. Lawmakers are expected to meet for the first time on Friday.
And if you're watching us with a cup of coffee, have another cup. A new study suggests heavy, long-term coffee drinking will not, will not raise the risk of heart disease for most people. Researchers followed around 128,000 people, some for as long as 20 years, but there is a slight catch, you know there's always a slight catch, it does depend on exactly what type of coffee you drink. We will have more in this morning's "House Call. That's coming up in the next hour of AMERICAN MORNING, so you're going to have to wait.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Carol, thanks a lot.
Well Iran says U.N. sanctions will not stop its nuclear plans. Teheran insists the program is peaceful. It's announced its intention to pass on what they know to other countries.
CNN's Aneesh Raman is one of the only American reporters inside of Iran. He's got the peoples' view of their country's fight with the West.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the noisy heart of southern Tehran. A blue collar bustling home to seemingly endless shops and home to some of the strongest supporters of Iran's nuclear energy plan. Gholam, who has owned this shop for 20 years, is one of them.
GHOLAM, SHOP OWNER (through translator): Nuclear energy is the Islamic republic's absolute right and it is the right of the Iranian nation. It has economic benefits.
RAMAN: People here know about the international debate over whether Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons, but they believe the government's denial. And those we spoke with only talk about how nuclear power can help create jobs. Iran's unemployment is at least 12 percent and nearly 70 percent of the country is below 30. Many educated and desperate for work. Those, like Imana (ph) and her friend Homa, who are about to enter Tehran University, who speak with pride of their country's nuclear achievement.
When I heard the news on TV, Homa says, I was so happy. Nuclear energy is my absolute right.
Such pride of peaceful power was the centerpiece in President's Ahmadinejad's press conference Monday, saying Iran would not suspend uranium enrichment for what he says is a peaceful, civilian program. And facing a U.N. deadline, Ahmadinejad warned against sanctions for what he called his nuclear energy program.
(on camera): It is hard to know exactly how many Iranians support their president's nuclear ambition. Harder still to find anyone on the streets that will criticize it in part because the support is genuine. A promise for economic success laced with nationalistic pride. (voice-over): And when it comes to the United States, from Iran's president, tough talk, saying, for example, direct talks with the U.S. over Iraq were off the table.
PRES. MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRAN (through translator): We are basically suspicious of the American government. We don't trust them. Their activities have been taken into consideration. Still, they want to portray themselves as masters.
RAMAN: Iranians have faced U.S. pressure for decades.
The world has threatened us for 28 years, says Hader (ph). When water passes over your head, he shows, it doesn't make any difference how far it goes.
GHOLAM (through translator): America is a good nation and deserves respect, but it is the politicians there who bully the people of the world.
RAMAN: Many say Iran has always been ostracized by the international community and they are prepared for whatever comes next.
Aneesh Raman, CNN, Tehran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: Of course what's happening in Iran has a lot to do with what you're paying for gas at the pump. And all that talk we've been hearing about hybrid cars, as it turns out may be more hot air than cold cash. As it turns out, Americans are still buying those big, gas-guzzlers. And dealers are sitting on a huge supply of the part electric part internal combustion alternative. So what gives?
Let's kick some tires with Frank Marsala. He's the fleet manager at Kendall Toyota where they sell no less than a thousand cars a month. I'm still trying to figure that out, a thousand cars a month.
Frank, you're a busy guy.
FRANK MARSALA, FLEET MANAGER, KENDALL TOYOTA: Yes, -- sir.
M. O'BRIEN: Let me...
MARSALA: Good morning, -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Good morning, good to have you with us. You got a -- if you slide over just a little bit to your left there, there's a white -- that's a Highlander hybrid right behind you there. And...
MARSALA: Yes, sir, it is.
M. O'BRIEN: ... I was doing the math on one of those recently, thinking about getting rid of my Yukon XL, which gets, if I'm lucky, get about 13 miles to the gallon. Drives me crazy. But the truth is that car is too darned expensive to justify it, even at $3 a gallon. Is that why these hybrids aren't moving like you'd like them to? MARSALA: Well, right now, the technology is new, so naturally they're a little bit more expensive. But as gas prices are rising and the customers are changing, they're coming in. We're seeing a lot more customers come in daily looking at the hybrid as an alternative, especially since -- like ours, the Highlander gives you a V-8 performance with four-cylinder economy. That gets 33 miles per gallon.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
MARSALA: And as the prices rise...
M. O'BRIEN: You hit on an important point there, though, because the way the Highlander hybrid is marketed, it's like a lot of -- like the Lexus hybrid, which is the upscale cousin of this.
MARSALA: Right.
M. O'BRIEN: Is on a performance play, in other words, you get decent mileage but, boy, it really has some acceleration.
MARSALA: Exactly.
M. O'BRIEN: Are people still after performance or are they looking for just a mileage play these days?
MARSALA: Well, the performance people are now looking at the Highlander hybrid. Personally, I sold two of them this week as a result of the gas situation. So the performance fellow is starting to look at it. The people that are looking for the economy or are trading out of the big, you know, seven, eight-mile-per-gallon pickup trucks are coming in looking for alternative vehicles that get better mileage that reduce their transportation costs, especially the folks in the trades, you know the electricians, the plumbers, the lawn people that are out there burning gas every day.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, there are people who make their living in their vehicles who don't have a lot of choice, they need a big vehicle whether it's a car service here in New York or a guy with a pickup truck. They don't have a lot of choice. This makes a lot of sense to them. But to go with the bigger car with the part electric. But what about people who are just coming in looking for MPG, period, are there more of those out there now?
MARSALA: Absolutely. We have got folks trading in Lexuses and larger vehicles getting Corollas and Yaruses and Priuses, especially. And the new Camry is coming out in about three weeks.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, and the Camry will be a hybrid, right?
MARSALA: Yes, sir, it will be.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Give me in just in round numbers, a Toyota Highlander, the one you got right there, round numbers, what does that go for?
MARSALA: That particular one would be about $32,000.
M. O'BRIEN: And the conventional version of it would be roughly what?
MARSALA: About 27 comparably equipped.
M. O'BRIEN: OK, so you're talking about a $5,000 premium give or take on these things. Are people making an economic decision as to, you know, what -- how much gas they can buy with 5,000 bucks or are they making a statement when they come in and look for a hybrid?
MARSALA: There's a little bit of both. It used to be most of the time the hybrids were being sold to the folks who wanted to make a statement about the gas prices and the environment. Now there are more people coming in concerned about the cost of driving the vehicle, especially the folks that are driving a lot of miles around town, delivery people, et cetera.
M. O'BRIEN: You know Toyota is sitting in the catbird seat here with the Prius. Not a lot of people know it's been around for about 10 years. It took a long time for it to really take hold. Do you feel like Detroit is in any way in position to respond to the competition you offer on your lot?
MARSALA: Well, I'm sure that they will respond. It just seems like Toyota has jumped the gun and is out there ahead of them, which, to me, is a good thing because I sell Toyotas. And we've got plants all over the United States. So it -- I think it is a good thing.
M. O'BRIEN: Frank Marsala, who is the Fleet Manager there in one of the bigger Toyota dealers in the country, good luck to you and continued success there.
MARSALA: Thank you very much, Miles, have a good day.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, thanks for your time.
President Bush is scheduled to make remarks on energy this morning, 10:05 Eastern in Washington. CNN, of course, will bring that to you live -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: It's 8:39 here in New York. Time for a check of the forecast. Chad's got that.
Hey, Chad, good morning.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Soledad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
Back to you guys.
M. O'BRIEN: We can try.
S. O'BRIEN: No, we really actually we could get used to them very easily. M. O'BRIEN: Please.
S. O'BRIEN: Frankly.
MYERS: I hear you, right.
S. O'BRIEN: But...
M. O'BRIEN: Thanks, -- Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
S. O'BRIEN: Andy is "Minding Your Business." What you got for us?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Soledad, you think the price of gasoline is expensive. What about the price for a gallon of Starbucks coffee or bottled water? Maybe gas is a bargain. We'll tell you all about it coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SERWER: Some old school names.
M. O'BRIEN: It's kind of a time wrap thing there, yes.
SERWER: Old school names.
M. O'BRIEN: Kind of reminds me of needing Pepto-Bismol, you know.
SERWER: Fifty's, 60's, 70's. Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, it's one of those 50's, 60's kind of products that's still with us.
SERWER: It still works.
M. O'BRIEN: You know, it still works well.
SERWER: Take it from me.
M. O'BRIEN: One of the many things you're going to be using to illustrate the price of gas is Pepto-Bismol.
Andy Serwer, you're a genius. I haven't even seen the segment, you're a genius.
SERWER: Well, yes. Well, thank you.
We're all complaining about the price of gas. And it's expensive, historically, up high, not inflation adjusted, but that's another matter, $2.91 the average price for a gallon of unleaded nationwide right now. But how does that stack up against other fluids that we use and consume around the house and all over the place? Let's start out here, bottled water. A little Poland Spring here. Let's see what we've got, $1.19 per 20 ounces. That comes out to be...
S. O'BRIEN: For a gallon?
M. O'BRIEN: God, don't do that to me.
SERWER: ... $7.62 a gallon.
M. O'BRIEN: I can't do math. I mean and we're not even doing Fiji water.
SERWER: Seven sixty-two. Seven...
S. O'BRIEN: Right.
M. O'BRIEN: Fiji water would be more?
SERWER: Right, exactly.
M. O'BRIEN: Right.
SERWER: That's cheap bottle water.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
SERWER: Now Starbucks coffee, what do we got here? This is a 16 ounce for $1.70. That's 13 bucks plus for a gallon of Starbucks coffee.
M. O'BRIEN: What a business that is. Isn't that an amazing business?
SERWER: That's good.
S. O'BRIEN: That is.
M. O'BRIEN: That is a business.
SERWER: And you know what, it's mostly water. Like 98 percent water, right?
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
SERWER: OK.
M. O'BRIEN: So are you.
SERWER: Yes, so is the world. It's getting very cosmic.
M. O'BRIEN: Man!
SERWER: OK. Pepto-Bismol,...
M. O'BRIEN: Settle back down. SERWER: ... which also probably has a lot of water in it, $4.49 for 8 ounces.
S. O'BRIEN: Wow!
SERWER: That's 71 bucks a gallon.
S. O'BRIEN: I was going to say.
SERWER: You got that, Brad, right there?
M. O'BRIEN: But it's so worth it when you need it.
SERWER: Because it makes the tummy feel good.
M. O'BRIEN: When you need it.
SERWER: And you can't say that about you know Chevron.
M. O'BRIEN: Gas, yes, no, I wouldn't do it.
SERWER: No. No.
OK. Then let's move on to the real pricey stuff. Soledad, nail polish.
S. O'BRIEN: I'm going to guess, what is this, three something, this right here?
SERWER: Four fifty-nine. We've got to put some prices.
S. O'BRIEN: Four fifty-nine for how much is this?
SERWER: Half an ounce.
S. O'BRIEN: Half an ounce. So that's...
SERWER: One thousand, one hundred and seventy-five dollars a gallon.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
SERWER: OK.
M. O'BRIEN: Wow!
S. O'BRIEN: One thousand one hundred...
SERWER: A mere bag of shells and that's expensive.
S. O'BRIEN: How much nail polish to drive 70 miles?
SERWER: But if you had a gallon, though, that'd last you a long time.
M. O'BRIEN: Now that's a good business, too. SERWER: Last a gal a long time.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, it sure would.
SERWER: Or a guy a long time.
S. O'BRIEN: It would dry up, actually, before you got to it.
SERWER: Yes. OK, then how about this one, right here, you want to leave that right there? Is that good, Bruce? Lexmark, the printer ink cartridge. This is $32. You know these things are expensive.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
SERWER: You only get a few milliliters. The company wouldn't tell us exactly how much.
(CROSSTALK)
M. O'BRIEN: They wouldn't tell you. Is it a trade secret?
SERWER: But we were able to -- yes, I don't know why exactly.
S. O'BRIEN: And...
SERWER: Six thousand dollars for a gallon of printer ink.
M. O'BRIEN: Wow!
SERWER: So...
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, that is -- you're right, I feel so much better about paying $3 a gallon for gas.
SERWER: Don't you feel better? Everyone should feel so much better. But you know one thing that's really interesting about gasoline, I mean if you think about it, someone is drilling it in Nigeria. It gets refined, then piped, then brought over, then put into a gas pump, then -- I mean there are a lot of processes.
S. O'BRIEN: There are a lot of taxes...
SERWER: There are a lot of -- I mean it is pretty amazing that it's that inexpensive compared to...
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, I mean you would think it would at least be nail polish prices, you know,...
SERWER: Or at least $4.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Please.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
SERWER: Right, it could be.
S. O'BRIEN: And I still think $2 a gallon is high.
SERWER: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Let me show you guys something, talk about a rough night's sleep, take a look at this. Tonight on "PAULA ZAHN NOW," you'll see what happens when mere tossing and turning becomes actually extreme violence.
Here's Allan Chernoff.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): His arms thrash wildly and so do his legs. Every night this is how Billy Sheehan (ph) sleeps or tries to sleep.
BILLY SHEEHAN, SLEEP PROBLEMS: A good night's sleep, been years, 15 years. It's terrible. It's just I toss, I turn, I'm up, I'm down, I'm -- I sit on the end of the bed I'll fall asleep. I'll roll of the bed. I'll hit my head on the dresser.
CHERNOFF: He's turned his bedroom into a battlefield, broken three lamps and a TV set while he was sleeping.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His brain is trying to wake him up to breath, so that's where you see the sudden violent activity. The brain is saying if you don't breathe, this is it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: My gosh, poor guy.
Well find out just how bad it gets for this guy. And we'll show you, too, how his doctors are trying to help him. That's tonight on "PAULA ZAHN NOW," 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
Still to come this morning, novelist Terry McMillan. She's perhaps best known for helping Stella get her groove back. Now she's helping college kids get a clue. We'll talk about her new book.
Plus, controversy surrounding the best selling book called "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life." Plagiarism is being spoken about.
SERWER: There we go again.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm seeing a parallel.
S. O'BRIEN: Or is it coincidence? We'll talk about that just ahead this morning on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: A new novel, pretty well selling, actually, by a student at Harvard University is under fire. It's called "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life." It's by a sophomore whose name is Kaavya Viswanathan. Remarkably similar passages, though, in that book to two other books from another author. Is it coincidence or is it out and out plagiarism?
Joining us this morning from Boston, David Zhou. He's a junior at Harvard. He broke the story for the Harvard "Crimson."
Nice to see you, David, thanks for talking with us. How did the Harvard's "Crimson" get this story?
DAVID ZHOU, REPORTER, HARVARD "CRIMSON": Well on Friday, Soledad, we received a tip, an anonymous tip, and so I went ahead and bought the books on Friday night.
S. O'BRIEN: And you went through them.
ZHOU: I read through them.
S. O'BRIEN: And what happened?
ZHOU: Yes, that's right. I went through both books and some striking similarities just jumped out at me.
S. O'BRIEN: Like?
ZHOU: So I compiled a list of them. And I sent that on to my editors and then we went ahead and ran with the story.
S. O'BRIEN: How many similarities jumped out at you that were able to write down?
ZHOU: Initially I found 12. So 24 passages total, 12 that were comparable to two books. The two books that we initially looked at were "Sloppy Firsts" by Megan McCafferty and then "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed." And then the next day we went ahead and bought the second book by McCafferty, "Second Helpings," and we discovered that there were similarities in there as well.
S. O'BRIEN: Well as a reporter hot on the story, what was your reaction when you first noticed these similarities?
ZHOU: Well when I first noticed these similarities, they were just very striking to me. And as a result, I knew that we warranted a story at that point.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's go through some of these similarities in case people aren't familiar with this story. This one is from "Sloppy Firsts." Here is what the author has written. "Sabrina was the brainy angel. Yet another example of how every girl had to be one or the other: pretty or smart." This is from "Opal Mehta Got Kissed." "Moneypenny was the brainy female character. Yet another example of how every girl had to be one or the other: smart or pretty." Kind of similar.
All right, let's go to another comparison. This is from the book "Second Helpings." "But in a truly sadomasochistic dieting gesture, they chose to buy their diet Cokes at Cinnabon." This one is from "Opal Mehta." "In a truly masochistic gesture, they decided to buy diet Cokes from Mrs. Fields."
You went ahead and called the author. What did she say to you?
ZHOU: That's right. That's right. We were able to reach her on her cell phone Saturday night. And so once I reached her, I informed her that we found these similarities between her book and "Sloppy Firsts." And I asked her how if she could explain that. And what she told me was that she was not going to comment. And that she had no idea what we were talking about.
S. O'BRIEN: Did she seemed surprised? Did she seem calm? Did she seem confused? How would you characterize it?
ZHOU: I think she did seem surprised by the call.
S. O'BRIEN: Here's what she has since said. Let's throw up a little bit of her comments now on the screen there. She says "I'm a huge fan of her work." She's talking about the author, Megan McCafferty, who wrote "Sloppy Firsts" and the follow-up as well, "Second Helpings." And she said, "I'm a huge fan of her work. Can honestly say that any phrasing similarities between her works and mine were completely unintentional and unconscious." And she goes on to say this, "My publisher and I plan to revise my novel for future printings and eliminate any inappropriate similarities."
She has also gone on to say that you know this was just -- that the context of the books are very different, in fact. You've read both, now really all three, do you think that's true that they're not really the same books?
ZHOU: Well, actually, Soledad, today in the "Crimson" we're reporting that we obtained a letter that was sent from Random House to Little Brown. Random House is the publisher of McCafferty's novels and Little Brown is the publisher of Kaavya's novel. And in the letter a lawyer for Random House actually asserts that we are certain that literal copying actually occurred here. And so that's apparently Random House's position is that the mistakes were more than unintentional.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, yes, that sounds like an out and out call about plagiarism. She has said this, "I was surprised and upset to learn that the similarities in my passages were similar to the other ones. The central stories in my book and hers are completely different." Do you believe that to be true having now read all three? Do you think the central stories are different or do you think actually the central stories are the same, too?
ZHOU: Well the plot lines do differ. The similarities are that they talk about the lives of teenage girl living in suburban New Jersey who are about to go to college. The differences are -- lie in the plot. Opal Mehta talks about a girl who is about trying to get into Harvard and she's trying to get a life, so to speak, in order to do that, whereas McCafferty's novels focus on the heroine, Jessica Darling, and talk about her problems and issues.
S. O'BRIEN: Two quick questions for you, what's been the reaction on the campus? Are people upset? Are people -- how would you characterize it?
ZHOU: I think people are very surprised by what has happened. There were a lot of people who were very proud of her achievement and they seemed disappointed that she may have compromised her achievement by these mistakes. But I don't think...
S. O'BRIEN: There's a clause as you know conduct unbecoming to a Harvard man is how they call it.
ZHOU: That's right.
S. O'BRIEN: Which means that you can get kicked out of school even if you, you know, if it's indeed plagiarism, she wouldn't get kicked out for plagiarism but for conduct unbecoming. Do you think that's -- are people talking about that? Is that likely?
ZHOU: Well the "Crimson" actually talked to the Dean of Harvard College, Benedict Gross. And what he said is that plagiarism policies at Harvard only apply to academic course work. But of course there is that line about the conduct unbecoming of a Harvard student. And so as a result, it doesn't look like the plagiarism can get her kicked out of Harvard, but we don't know what else might happen.
S. O'BRIEN: Well interesting story and kind of the latest in a series of alleged plagiarism.
David Zhou of Harvard "Crimson," thanks for talking with us.
ZHOU: Thank you so much, -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Sounds like you have an interesting article out today with some breaking news in there. We'll take a look.
ZHOU: Great. Thank you, -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: A look at the top stories here on AMERICAN MORNING right after our short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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