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American Morning

Troops Held; Police Ambush in Fairfax County, Virginia; 'Fat Man Walking'; Bush Poll Numbers

Aired May 09, 2006 - 08:59   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A state of emergency right now in Florida. At least 50 wildfires are burning. The National Guard has been called in to help out.
Three Virginia police officers ambushed at their own police station. Now the search for answers. What led a teenager to carry out the attack?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Ephedra may be banned yet again. The government back in court trying to keep the diet supplement off of drugstore shelves.

And are you having grapefruit juice this morning? If you are, you're going to want to listen up. There's an important report ahead for you.

And this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE VAUGHT, WALKING FROM COAST TO COAST: The scale, the pedometers, the miles, they mean nothing. It's been -- it's been the journey. It's been the experience that's really counted, really mattered.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Well, it's been quite an experience and quite a long journey. He's a guy who calls himself "Fat Man Walking". This morning, he is just a few miles from the end of his journey. We'll take you coast to coast with Steve Vaught on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Welcome, everybody.

M. O'BRIEN: Good to have you with us this morning.

A state of emergency right now in east central Florida. Fifty wildfires there have destroyed thousands of acres. The National Guard rushing to help. Governor Jeb Bush says most of the fires were probably caused by people.

The thick smoke also causing a traffic nightmare this morning. A 12-mile stretch of heavily-traveled Interstate 95 is closed from Edgewater, Florida, north to Port Orange. Florida Highway Patrol says the road could be reopened, however, in the next hour.

Chad Myers in the weather center with a look at what's ahead for those trying to battle these fires -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: At least a little bit of rain, Miles.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Chad.

Firefighters in California battling a big one right now. Let's take a look at these pictures. A popular restaurant going up in smoke in Hermosa Beach, just south of L.A. The fire began this morning. No word of any injuries or what triggered the fire -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: The Pentagon is holding up the deployment of 3,500 soldiers to Iraq. Is this the beginning of a draw-down?

Let's get right to CNN senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre.

Hey, Jamie. Good morning.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Well, if you ask the Pentagon, they'll say it's not part of a draw-down, but the fact is it's part of that plan that they've yet to put into place to reduce the number of U.S. forces in Iraq. Here's how it works.

The 3,500 U.S. troops that are part of the 2nd Brigade 1st Infantry Division are going to hold in Schweinfurt, Germany. They were supposed to go to Iraq this month. And -- but U.S. commanders have not yet made a decision about reducing force levels there. But, when they do, this is how they would do it -- the 133,000 U.S. troops that are in Iraq now will be gradually rotated out over the next year, and they'll be replaced. But if they don't replace all of them, they're hoping to get down to about 100,000 troops by the end of the year.

That still, though, has to be based on the security situation on the ground and the capability of Iraqi forces, and the institution of that new government. So they haven't made those decisions yet, but by not sending the troops they're opening the possibility of those further troop reductions later this year -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: So, are they also opening the possibility that those 3,500 troops could be deployed not now, necessarily, but later?

MCINTYRE: Absolutely. In fact, they're not off the hook. They're on standby in Germany, they're just not going to go this month, as they were going to. But if the security situation worsens, if the recommendation from General Casey is that they can't make those troop reductions, then the troops would go later this year.

S. O'BRIEN: Jamie McIntyre for us this morning. Jamie's at the Pentagon, of course. Thanks, Jamie -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: A detective and mother of two young children is dead, two other officers injured this morning after a shootout at a police station in suburban Washington, Fairfax County, Virginia. Police say a teenage gunmen targeted the officers during a shift change.

Carol Costello in the newsroom with more -- Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Miles.

Good morning to all of you.

And Fairfax County Police do believe this was the work of one gunman, 18-year-old Michael Kennedy. He crouched between two cars, they say, armed with a high-powered rifle and two handguns, and then he simply opened fire as police officers left the station.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO (voice over): A police station in Fairfax, Virginia, the unlikely scene of a deadly shootout between cops and a lone gunman. Police say the suspect pulled into the station parking lot at about 3:30 Monday afternoon and immediately opened fire on police. Three officers hit, one a female detective. A nine-year veteran of the force was killed in the crossfire.

CHIEF DAVID ROHRER, FAIRFAX COUNTY POLICE: This is the first officer that we have lost to an assailant.

COSTELLO: One of the two wounded officers is in critical condition following surgery. The other officer suffered only minor wounds.

The gunman, who police have not identified, died at the scene. He was said to be heavily armed, carrying a rifle and two handguns. Official say the suspect tried unsuccessfully to steal a pickup truck from one civilian before confronting another.

MARY ANN JENNINGS, FAIRFAX COUNTY POLICE SPOKESWOMAN: He was able to hijack at gunpoint a van. That van was driven onto the parking lot at the Sully station, and it's my understanding that he was outside the van, at least part of the time, when he was shooting.

COSTELLO: In a tragic irony, the shooting occurred on the same day the department was honoring officers who died this the line of duty. Now, as Fairfax Police begin their investigation, they're mourning the loss of one of their own.

ROHRER: The Fairfax County Police Department I'm very proud of. And we have a family, obviously, ourselves. My 1,320 officers, plus our civilian employees and all of our volunteers are grieving now as well.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: And as for why, well, police say they had arrested this kid on a warrant for carjacking. He was free on $33,00 bond.

"The Washington Post" went out and interviewed some former classmates. He graduated from high school. The classmates they quoted said they were not surprised. In fact, he was caught carrying a knife at school at one point, and they also said he dressed in heavy Army jackets and was very quiet.

The detective that was killed in this case had two small children. And she was also married to a fellow detective in the Fairfax County Police Department.

S. O'BRIEN: A sad story there, isn't it?

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Carol -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: A look at what's happening "In America" this morning.

A new report says Duke University officials were slow to respond to rape allegations against the men's lacrosse team. It put some of the blame on the Durham Police, who initially told the university the accuser's story wasn't credible. Two Duke lacrosse players now face charges in the case.

A big show of support for Congressman Patrick Kennedy by Democrats in Rhode Island. They had endorsed his reelection at their convention on Monday.

The congressman wasn't there. He's in rehab at the Mayo Clinic for what he's calling an addiction to painkillers. This happened after he crashed his car, you'll recall, on Capitol Hill just last week.

In Ohio, closing arguments today at the trial of a priest who is accused of murdering a nun 26 years ago. On Monday, a forensic anthropologist testified for the defense that investigators at the crime scene all those years ago may have mishandled and, therefore, compromised some evidence.

In New Orleans, devastated Ninth Ward, a refreshing bit of good news this morning. Tap water in some parts of that neighborhood has been declared safe to drink by health officials. Hurricane Katrina destroyed not only homes in the Ninth Ward -- you can see the pictures there, obviously -- but it also damaged water and sewer lines.

Illusionist David Blaine came up short, two minutes short of the world record. He had been chained, you'll recall, Houdini-style. He was trying to hold his breath under water for about nine minutes. After a week of being in that man-sized fish bowl, well, the body wasn't cooperating. Divers had to help Blaine out after seven minutes and eight seconds.

We're going to talk this morning with Blaine's coach about how David's doing today. That's coming up on AMERICAN MORNING. And the guy who calls himself "Fat Man Walking". Have you heard about this guy? He's walking from California to New York, and really, very, very close to New York.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes. And he's not quite as fact as when he started.

S. O'BRIEN: Right.

M. O'BRIEN: A hundred pounds lighter, as a matter of fact.

He happens to be in Saddle Brook, New Jersey, as we speak. That's about 10 miles from New York City, his final destination. We get more on his trek from Kemberly Richardson of our New York affiliate WABC.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEMBERLY RICHARDSON, REPORTER, WABC (voice over): We caught up with Steve Vaught just outside of Fairfield, New Jersey, with stress fractures and blisters on both feet. He was about 24 miles from reaching his final stop, New York City. But how he got this far is what makes this father of two so remarkable. He left San Diego April 10th of last year and walked the whole way.

VAUGHT: The change comes from duress. The change comes from hardship. And getting through those things is really -- is really a character-building thing if you make it so.

RICHARDSON: Step by step, he made it through Los Angeles, Flagstaff, St. Louis and Harrisburg. Why? Well, when the scale hit 410 pounds, Steve decided it was time to make a life change, and so he started walking. But over the time what he calls his walk of self discovery has evolved into so much more than just a weight loss plan.

VAUGHT: I've really come to understand that weight loss has very little to do with your body and almost everything to do with your mind. It's the condition you find yourself in emotionally that causes you to get to a point where you get to 400 pounds.

RICHARDSON: During his cross-country journey, Steve celebrated his 40th birthday, walked through the desert, 123 degrees, the plains, 15 degrees. He takes short breaks and even has a Web site fatmanwalking, where fans track his every move. And that show of support, he says, is what keeps him going.

VAUGHT: For me, the scale, the pedometers, the miles, they mean nothing. It's been -- it's been the journey. It's been the experience that's really counted, really mattered.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: That report is from Kemberly Richardson from our affiliate WABC in New York.

As we say, he lost 100 pounds, and he's going to be at the George Washington Bridge, supposedly, according to his site, at 5:30 p.m. local time.

S. O'BRIEN: If he's only 10 miles away...

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: ... and he's going to be on the Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge...

M. O'BRIEN: That's what I hear.

S. O'BRIEN: ... which is what, a couple miles' span, yes?

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, a couple miles across.

S. O'BRIEN: One mile, maybe, let's say.

M. O'BRIEN: No, it's more than a mile.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's say he's got nine miles to walk.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Why is it going to take him to 5:30? It's only 9:00 in the morning here.

M. O'BRIEN: Media. He's probably stopping for interviews. That's probably what it is, you know? Anyway...

(CROSSTALK)

S. O'BRIEN: I'm close to my goal, but first this press conference.

M. O'BRIEN: But first another press conference.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, my goodness.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, it's good. He's raising awareness. He's making people think about walking.

S. O'BRIEN: Good for him.

M. O'BRIEN: And how far you shouldn't walk. You know, really...

S. O'BRIEN: Apparently, he's got stress fractures and blisters. I mean, of course, yes?

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: He's in tough shape, but...

M. O'BRIEN: Anyway...

S. O'BRIEN: It's the journey inside he says that matters.

M. O'BRIEN: ... he has a story to tell. S. O'BRIEN: Yes, he does.

Do you drink grapefruit juice?

M. O'BRIEN: No, I hate it.

S. O'BRIEN: Really? I'm not a big fan of it either. But a lot of people are, and apparently if you drink it and you're taking certain medicines, it could actually be very, very dangerous.

M. O'BRIEN: I never would have guessed that.

S. O'BRIEN: It makes the medication much stronger. I know. Who knew?

M. O'BRIEN: All right.

S. O'BRIEN: We're going to talk about that in "House Call" this morning.

M. O'BRIEN: You'll want to listen up if you've got some grapefruit juice on your kitchen table right now.

Also, President Bush's approval ratings hovering at a low of 30 still. So, what's keeping him mired in the land of unpopularity? We'll take a look.

S. O'BRIEN: And then later, make way for progress. There it goes.

You do that very well, actually. That's Miles providing the soundtrack.

The latest Vegas casino to disappear in a big, old cloud of dust. We'll tell you the story behind this one just ahead.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: There's some new poll numbers out, and they will test the best spinners the GOP can muster. The president still stuck in the mid-30s. Not a good place to be with the midterm elections upon us.

CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider joining us from Washington.

Bill, always a pleasure to have you with us to interpret the numbers.

First of all, let's look at the headline number, which is the approval ratings currently. And the numbers, as you can see right there, current approval rating, drum roll, please, 34 percent approval, 58 percent disapproval.

Not good, huh?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Very not good. And another Gallup poll that came out yesterday showed 31 percent approval.

Numbers in the low 30s are very bad. Only three presidents have dipped that low since Harry Truman -- Jimmy Carter, who did not get re-elected, his own father, the elder George Bush, who did not get reelected, and, of course, Richard Nixon. Their experience showed that once they dipped below 35 percent, they never got above 40 percent again.

M. O'BRIEN: OK. So it's difficult to get out of that particular piece of geography in the polls, huh? And, I mean, you know...

SCHNEIDER: Very tough.

M. O'BRIEN: OK. Let's move on and talk about immigration for just a moment.

Sympathy for illegal immigrants, people in general perhaps, because of the demonstrations, I don't know -- I'd like your interpretation on that -- have a little less sympathy for illegal immigrants now. Fifty-seven percent now, as opposed to 70 percent in April.

What's going on there?

SCHNEIDER: Well, I think there is a backlash against the protests by the illegal immigrants and their supporters. And as you saw, that's a 13-point drop from 70 to 57 percent. But still, keep in mind, even so, most Americans continue to express sympathy for illegal immigrants and their families. They still take a basically positive view of those people.

M. O'BRIEN: And, of course, the president's stance has been in keeping with that, so you would think that would play to his favor.

SCHNEIDER: Well, yes, but the guest worker program is not particularly popular because people think that would bring yet more illegal immigrants into the country. Americans want tough border security. No question about it. They've -- two-thirds favor a law that would toughen border security with Mexico and also make it harder for illegal immigrants who come to this country to find jobs.

At the same time, take a look at this. Eighty-one percent of Americans say they favor a bill that would allow illegal immigrants who have been in the United States at least five years to stay and apply for citizenship if they have a job and pay back taxes.

M. O'BRIEN: Wait a minute, isn't that amnesty?

SCHNEIDER: Isn't that amnesty? A very good question.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes. SCHNEIDER: Well, that's why we asked half of the people polled a slightly different question. What about giving "amnesty" to those people under the same conditions? And we found out that 72 percent say yes. Call it amnesty, and support does go down a bit from 81 to 72 percent, but it it's still very, very strong.

M. O'BRIEN: So, there's -- nine percent of the people out there are confused about what amnesty is, I guess, huh?

SCHNEIDER: Well, the argument you hear in Congress -- and a lot of Americans understand this -- is that earned citizenship is not the same thing as amnesty. A lot of critics say, oh, yes, it is. But to a lot of Americans, if you say you have to be here five years, have a job, pay back taxes, pay a fine, and learn English, you are earning your way to citizenship, and that's not the same thing to many Americans, apparently.

M. O'BRIEN: So there's a semantic discussion on how you -- how you define amnesty. Amnesty -- people think amnesty, they think you're just waving a wand and you're forgiven. It's not quite that.

SCHNEIDER: It's not quite that. And those who support the Senate bill, like John McCain and Ted Kennedy, say this bill is not amnesty. They make that distinction, and apparently a lot of Americans get that.

M. O'BRIEN: Will this continue to be an issue as these midterm elections come up in Congress, or do you think it's going to be oil or Iraq?

SCHNEIDER: Well, Iraq tends to dominate the agenda. We asked people who disapprove of President Bush's job performance what the main reason is, and a majority say their biggest complain is in Iraq. Americans are being killed in Iraq, and the public wants to know that the end is in sight. They want to see American troops start to come home. That's bound to be the biggest issue, as long as Americans are getting killed.

Gas prices, of course, are going to be big because two-thirds of Americans say they are creating a financial hardship. And if Congress can't pass immigration reform, remember, it's Congress that's on the ballot, not President Bush. They could be in trouble, too, because they look like a Congress that can't get very much done.

M. O'BRIEN: Bill Schneider, thank you very much for helping us walk through those numbers.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

M. O'BRIEN: Always a pleasure -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, grapefruit juice, part of a healthy diet, of course. But mixed with certain drugs it could actually be dangerous. We're going to take a look at "House Call" in just a few moments. And then later, illusionist David Blaine, he's pulled out of the man bowl, the man-sized fish bowl, without setting that world record. We'll check in with his trainer and find out what went wrong.

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Today's "House Call" this morning. Got grapefruit juice on your table? It certainly has its health benefits, but when it's mixed with certain medicines it could be dangerous.

CNN medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is live in Atlanta for us this morning.

Hey, Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Soledad, it's morning time, many people may be drinking grapefruit juice. It's good for you in so many ways, full of Vitamin C. However, it has been known for a while that grapefruit juice does not mix well with certain medicines, and now researchers think they figured out why.

They discovered a compound called phuranacumarins (ph) that appear to do something interesting to the medicines. It amplifies the effect of the medicine. So your body thinks it's almost as if you've taken three times as much medicine as you've actually taken.

So, what kind of medicines are we talking about? Several. And some of them are quite commonly used medicines.

For example, grapefruit juice appears to interact with cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins, which many people take; high blood pressure drugs also very common; and immuno-suppressant drugs as well. So doctors say the bottom line here is that what you need to do is, if you've been drinking grapefruit juice with these medicines for years and you've been OK and haven't suffered any ill- effects, they say you're probably all right. If you haven't been drinking grapefruit juice with them, it's maybe not such a great idea to start -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Are there other foods that have these phuranacumarins (ph) in them?

COHEN: Phuranacumarins (ph) -- you said that exactly right. There are some other foods that have them.

For example, parsley, figs, parsnips, and, of course, grapefruit itself. But none of them appear to have as much as the juice. There's something about the way that the juice is processed that gives it more of this compound. But you will find it in celery, you will find it some in some other foods as well. S. O'BRIEN: So then, do doctors say, listen, if you're taking these drugs -- I mean, the drugs you talked about cover a really wide spectrum. I mean, a lot of people are on statins. Does that mean no grapefruit juice, no grapefruit if you're taking statins, or what?

COHEN: Well, unfortunately, what they can't say is don't take it for an hour before and an hour after. They haven't really fine-tuned it that much. So the doctors who did the research said, look, it's probably best to just avoid it. However, they also added that if for years you've been taking your statin with a glass of grapefruit juice and you haven't had anything bad happen, you're probably all right.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, that doesn't sound like -- I mean, if I heard that, well, if nothing bad happens, keep going, that sounds bizarre.

COHEN: Well...

S. O'BRIEN: And does that mean -- I mean, what would the bad thing be? Would it -- would you be throwing up? Would you feel sick? Would it -- could you be having bad things happening that you physically don't even notice?

COHEN: Well, there's a variety of things. And indeed, you might not necessarily notice some of them, although your doctor would.

But what's important to note here is that not everyone has this reaction when they take their medicine with grapefruit juice. It depends on the medicine you're taking. It depends on the brand of grapefruit juice you're drinking. It even can depend on what time of year it's harvested.

So, there are a lot of variations here, and they're just now starting to look into this. But they do know that there's a wide variety of reactions that people have when they drink grapefruit juice with medicine.

S. O'BRIEN: Wow. That is such an intriguing study.

All right. Elizabeth Cohen for us this morning.

COHEN: Thanks.

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Elizabeth -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: David Blaine's much ballyhooed stay in a human aquarium ended without him setting a world record. So, what went wrong? We'll ask his coach and trainer.

Plus, a house of cards falls on the Vegas Strip, the latest casino to go up in smoke. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(NEWSBREAK) M. O'BRIEN: In about 30 minutes sentencing resumes for the man held responsible for a hundred deaths in the Rhode Island nightclub three years ago. The families of those victims are getting a chance to tell their story.

AMERICAN MORNING's Dan Lothian with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's unimaginable pain triggered by a devastating fire. Gripping, emotional, often graphic memories.

PAULA MCLAUGHLIN, SISTER OF VICTIM: Have you ever had to receive a plastic bag filled with what was left of your little brother's belongings? They smelled so toxic of fire and smoke that you had to soak them in bleach just so you could hold on to them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How much (INAUDIBLE) of our lives? We never had a chance to say goodbye, to kiss him one last time, or to even touch that face we loved so much.

TIMOTHY MICHELI, VICTIM'S FATHER: Sammy, what would I do without you? Today, I know. It is a pain from the very core of my heart. A victim impact statement.

LOTHIAN: One by one, relatives of the station nightclub victims pour out of their hearts at the sentencing hearing for Daniel Biechele, the van tour manager who set off the pyrotechnics display three years ago which turned deadly. As Biechele listens and waits to hear the sentence, relatives of some of the victims say they already feel locked in eternal despair.

EILEEN DIBONAVENTURE, VICTIM'S MOTHER: Our family name ended when our son perished that horrible night. We will never see our son pursue his dreams, or marry or be able to enjoy grandchildren. We have been sentenced to life without parole.

JESSICA GARVEY, VICTIM'S SISTER: No child should ever have to ask why his mother is in a casket and why we can't see her. How can you answer his questions of how and why when we didn't understand it all ourselves?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just have to spend the rest of our lives wondering what might have been.

LOTHIAN: Time may heal, but for many here, three years seems like three seconds.

TAMMY AYER, VICTIM'S TWIN SISTER: It hurts so bad. I think that's why I cannot heal or let go from all of this.

SUZANNE FOX, VICTIM'S FAMILY SPOKESMAN: But this is not about forgiveness. Make no mistake, there is not a shred of forgiveness in my heart. And I suspect there never will be.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I don't think we could have survived.

LOTHIAN: Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: The tour manager, Daniel Biechele, pleaded guilty to 100 count of involuntary manslaughter. Under the plea deal, he's expected to spend less than 10 years in prison. More families expected to testify when they hearings gets be underway in about 30 minutes -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: That is such a sad story. That is such a sad story.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: After seven days it came down to seven minutes and eight seconds, to be precise, about two minutes shy of what David Blaine needed to set a world record for holding his breath underwater. The man has spent a week in that big man-bowl a few blocks from us in Lincoln Center was simply not in very good shape after all that time underwater. I guess I could have told you that. Kirk Krack is Blaine's coach and trainer.

Kirk, it was a long week. He wasn't doing so well. Were you surprise he didn't make the record.

KIRK KRACK, DAVID BLAINE'S COACH: No, not at all. If he hadn't been seven days -- 100 percent he would have done it.

M. O'BRIEN: So it begs the question, why do the seven days in the water before you try to set a record like this.

KRACK: Well, you know, David's a magician. He's also an artist. So I think what you saw there was some performance art, and he had this vision.

M. O'BRIEN: Enhance the spectacle and the interest, I guess, for the event itself.

KRACK: Absolutely.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, so back us up to last night, when it came time for him to remove the breathing an rat us and start holding his breath, what were you telling him?

KRACK: Well, basically Just trying to get him to remove the audience and the show and everything, and just really focus himself, and you know, the thing he had to go through and kind of relax, and calm and get into his space.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, that's not easy to do when you've been under that kind of stress for such time. What was he saying to you in response to all that?

KRACK: Well, he really wasn't saying anything.

M. O'BRIEN: Really?

KRACK: He was just concentrating on his breathing. But you know, just looking at his body language, you could see was relaxed and he was ready to go, but there were some issues that also came up in the meantime.

M. O'BRIEN: Tell us about the issues.

KRACK: Well, the way he was going to be shackled and restrained put him off balance, and that wasn't anticipated, and so that became a big problem that we had to try and alleviate, and in the end it ended up taking away from his overall breath-up and caused him more stress

M. O'BRIEN: Oh, really? So you had to actually try the setup to see if he could be properly balanced. That was one little thing that was forgotten, huh?

KRACK: Well, there were issues in his skin and how it was working, so adjustments needed to be made just to give him comfort and allow him to do it.

M. O'BRIEN: Now you are a free diver by trade and helped him on this. And you've held your breath in the order of seven minutes. You've done this.

KRACK: Shy of seven minutes.

M. O'BRIEN: What is the technique that allows you to hold your breath that long?

KRACK: Well, static apnea (ph) breath-hold is basically an athletic endeavor like anything. So a big thing for us would be getting a tolerance to increasing in carbon dioxide and decreasing oxygen, as well as its cardio-training and a number of other things. A big factor is brining out Memalian (ph) diving reflexes, the same things that whales, seals and dolphins go through.

M. O'BRIEN: And you're basically trying to stop a reflex action from occurring, which would make you want to breathe, right?

KRACK: Yes, but really we're trying to induce a reflex action, micratia cardia (ph), slowing of the heart, which is the oxygen- conserving mechanism.

M. O'BRIEN: Oh, interesting. So you have to stop one, start another. And you really have to train your body to do this.

Was he in pretty good shape, do you think, to break the record, if he didn't have all of the other factors involved?

KRACK: Yes, he was in excellent shape. Again, seven-and-a-half days took the toll on him, and just the stress of escape side of his event, you know, certainly didn't work in his favor.

M. O'BRIEN: As you look back on the whole week, it was quite a spectacle, quite a wild ride. What were the high point and the low point of the week?

KRACK: I think the high point was seeing him adapt to the water. He actually got to the point where he was sleep diving, we'd say, where he'd wake up in the middle of the night, wave to the crowd when maybe people weren't there, mumble a little bit, and then go back to sleep.

M. O'BRIEN: Really? Wow.

KRACK: So that was interesting just to see his adaptation and how comfortable he got in the fish tank, I guess.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, right. And what were the low points, aside from last night not making the records. I think he went into the sphere exhausted and tired just from -- leading up to it, and that was certainly a disappointment. Had he been in better shape and more rested that, you know, would have been better for him.

M. O'BRIEN: Is he going try it again?

KRACK: I hope he does. He shouldn't be disappointed by the time he got at all. I mean, only a handful of people can get to those times, let alone seven days in the sphere and the things he had to challenge himself with.

M. O'BRIEN: It was quite a spectacle.

And he is still in the hospital this morning, but doing fine, right?

KRACK: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: So he'll be out. And I assume he'll probably want to take a nice sauna or something, something dry.

KRACK: I would imagine.

M. O'BRIEN: Head to the desert.

KRACK: Exactly.

M. O'BRIEN: Krick Krack, thank you very much for dropping by, and good luck next time. Keep us posted. I'm sure you will -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" just ahead. What are we talking about?

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Soledad, I've got a story about one of the greatest IPO ideas ever to come down the pike. It's about a company in the business of crazy chickens. The crazy chicken IPO coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Let's check gas prices, if we must Tensions over the Iranian nuclear issue driving up the gas prices. Latest gas gauge, national average, $2.90 for unleaded regular. One month ago, $2.64. A year ago, $2.19. You know, there are alternatives to gasoline we must consider. Take a look at this car. It runs on compressed natural gas.

S. O'BRIEN: It didn't look like a new car.

M. O'BRIEN: It looked like a very old car.

S. O'BRIEN: It looked like a Bondo-mobile (ph), if you know what I mean.

SERWER: Repo man.

M. O'BRIEN: Two-dollars and twenty-nine cents at this station in Phoenix, and there are very few stations where you can get the stuff. But you could fill it up at home with the right gear. It would cost you $2,000 to $3,000. I don't think you can retrofit your barbecue, which would be the typical thing to do, right?

S. O'BRIEN: Or completely illogical thing to do, and dangerous, too.

M. O'BRIEN: Bad idea. Don't do that at home.

If that is too expensive for you go this way, the Bondo-mobile. Go to this way. What's that, a Palomino (ph)?

S. O'BRIEN: It looks like a paint (ph) pony.

M. O'BRIEN: A paint, yes, (INAUDIBLE).

Arlington, Texas is the location. Eagan Settle (ph) is the rider. He looks good in the saddle there. He's got that American flag deal going, and looks very patriotic. He takes his horse trailer to work, and then he's got his pickup with the trailer there, and he uses his trusty steed to run errands. Now he claims he saved $565 in four weeks. That's a lot of errands. That doesn't make sense to me. What's he paying in shoes for the horse?

(CROSSTALK)

M. O'BRIEN: There you go. All those things. I'm not buying the math on that, but we nonetheless submit it for your approval.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

S. O'BRIEN: You guys heard the story, right? No warning, but two very big surprises for mom. Tracy Watson (ph) in Alabama, she went into labor a month early, happened yesterday. With the help of her 8-year-old daughter, Nicole, she was able to deliver her twins, one in the bathroom, one in the living room.

Here's Nicole.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) NICOLE HOLMES, HELPED MOTHER GIVE BIRTH: My mama, she said the baby is coming out, then I ran, and I caught it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: The babies coming and I caught it. It turns out that mom and both boys, you can see right there, are doing just fine. Nicole, big sister, says she that held on to one of the babies until the paramedics arrived, and I just kept holding the baby and saying, hi, I'm your big sister. Hi, I'm your big sister.

Isn't that cute? Cute girl.

M. O'BRIEN: That's so sweet. Good for her.

S. O'BRIEN: She'll be a big help. If from day one, she's catching the babies, then forget it, she's going to be awesome.

M. O'BRIEN: She can babysit at my house any time.

S. O'BRIEN: Absolutely.

M. O'BRIEN: That's great.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's get right Daryn. She's got a look at what's happening coming up at the top of the hour.

Hey, Daryn.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: You're just sitting there thinking, I am so glad I didn't have the baby in the living room or the bathroom.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, with drugs, I'm all about the epidural.

KAGAN: Good girl.

All right, coming up at the top of the hour, we're going to meet a man who was laughing all of the way to the bank, the fuel bank.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE; I kind of show them my slips, you know, and add them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Buy it low, pump it high. That guy is loving it. Fuel bankers cheat rising gas prices.

And Let's hope these gal had a full tank.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just relax, fellows, he's not going get away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE). Did she throw something out of the vehicle, throwing looked like paperwork or something out of the vehicle?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He threw the shoes out of the window in the number-one lane.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: You heard it right -- the high heels are flying at 100 miles an hour. We'll fill you in on the San Diego shoe thieves and their freeway feat -- F-E-A-T. We go all out for LIVE TODAY.

S. O'BRIEN: They threw high heels out the window?

KAGAN: I mean, you want to talk a crime?

S. O'BRIEN: Exactly. Are they still there! Daryn!

KAGAN: You do not do that!

S. O'BRIEN: Get someone over there!

KAGAN: You do not do that. They've gone over the edge, exactly.

S. O'BRIEN: It's ridiculous. Prison for those guys.

KAGAN: Absolutely.

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Daryn.

Let's talk this morning about Pulitzer Prize-winning author. His name is David Remnick. He has a new book out. It's called "Reporting" and it's a compilation of some of his greatest essays over the years. We're going to talk to him about that. That's coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: David Remnick has built a reputation for writing insightful, revealing profiles for "The Washington Post" and at "The New Yorker" magazine, as well, where he's been an editor for nearly 20 years. His new anthology of his work at "The New Yorker" is out. It covers lots of ground. The book's called "Reporting."

David Remnick joins us this morning. It's nice to see you. This is a terrific book. I loved it. And I was reading it on vacation. But it's called "Reporting," not editing, and you're in editing.

DAVID REMNICK, "REPORTING": No. God Forbid. I've only been editing for seven years, I promise, not 20. Otherwise I'd be (INAUDIBLE).

S. O'BRIEN: But why did you -- why, as an editor, do you feel the need to get in field and report?

REMNICK: To get out of the house. I mean, otherwise I'd only see the world through a window. And I need once in a while to get out of Manhattan, to get out of an office tower, to see the world, to go to -- in my case, to go to my stomping grounds in, say, Russia, where I lived for four years in the Middle East or around Hurricane Katrina. I don't do it very often. The magazine and editing the magazine is my first responsibility, but I need to get out once in a while.

S. O'BRIEN: How did you pick what was going make it into the book? Because you've had, you know, by my count, a couple hundred pieces that could have been in there.

REMNICK: Yes. Well, some pieces are no good. If you look back and they yellow -- with reason, they yellow. And so you try to see which pieces might stand up over time and might have some meaning in the political moment or otherwise. So it might be entertaining.

S. O'BRIEN: Tell me about the meaning behind Al Gore, which is the piece you begin with, 2004.

REMNICK: Right.

S. O'BRIEN: And it's a really interesting portrait. I mean, it's painful in some ways.

REMNICK: It's painful both ways. You know, Al Gore, imagine this experience. Here's the guy who won the presidential election by half a million popular votes, and yet he didn't assume the presidency for reasons that we all know. And he kind of goes out into the wilderness and gets lost for a little while, and then he makes us come back and makes ferocious speeches against the Bush administration. Will he run? Will he not? Anybody that voted for him looks at him with enormous longing and pain, because I don't think they think the direction of the Bush administration is what they even remotely hoped for. And so he feels a certain kind of pain. People look at him with pity.

S. O'BRIEN: But he says he's not going to run again when you ask him.

REMNICK: I don't know that that's case. I'm not sure that Al Gore is up for the psycho drama of a Gore versus Hillary nomination race in a couple of years. That would be almost too much for journalists to hope for, wouldn't it?

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, wouldn't that be a lot of fodder? You write a lot about Hamas and the victory where -- I remember the AP and the reporters who were reporting for us live from Palestinian territories were sort of like, people who won are walking around dazed.

REMNICK: Right. I think Hamas never expected -- Hamas, of course, is the mark of Islamist fundamentalists in making its way into the Israeli/Palestinian conflict really for the first time in a major way. And I think Hamas was hoping for and maybe even expecting a strong second place showing. Now they've assume responsibilities of power.

S. O'BRIEN: And all the problems that come with that.

REMNICK: And it's a very difficult time, and it's a question of how much will they change. Meanwhile, Israel has changed enormously in terms of public opinion. Public opinion from the left all the way to the center right now is in favor of a two-state solution and evacuating most of the settlements, with the exceptions of some large settlement blocks in the West Bank. So things are going off in two different directions at the same time, unfortunately, and yet again, we have a confounding situation in that area.

S. O'BRIEN: You write about Don DeLillo, who's my favorite author.

REMNICK: Oh yes?

S. O'BRIEN: Who doesn't do a lot of interviews.

REMNICK: No, not at all.

S. O'BRIEN: Nobody knows about him. In a word, what's he like?

REMNICK: He's a very quiet and yet ferocious writer. The secret with meeting a lot of writers is that their outward appearance, the way they are sitting here talking, is very mild-mannered and yet they are a cauldron of emotion and knowledge and imagination and surprise. And that's DeLillo.

S. O'BRIEN: It is a great essay.

REMNICK: Thanks so much.

S. O'BRIEN: Nice to see you, David Remnick. The book is called "Reporting." It is terrific. I loved it.

Short break. We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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