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American Morning

Bush to Meet with Senate Republicans; Sectarian Violence Continues to Plague Iraq; Interview With Rep. Jane Harman; Will NYC Ban Transfats?

Aired September 28, 2006 - 08:00   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The polls show the voters are restless, so the GOP not taking any chances. The president heading to the Hill today to talk political turkey.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Most Iraqis say it's time for American troops to go. A new poll is raising more questions about the U.S. presence in Iraq.

M. O'BRIEN: Bill Clinton finding an unlikely ally -- Rudy Giuliani. He says it's not fair to blame Clinton for 9/11.

S. O'BRIEN: In Colorado, a school in shock after a student is killed in a hostage crisis.

M. O'BRIEN: Wildfire on the edge of a California community -- firefighters trying to save homes, but the weather just working against them again on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Good morning to you.

I'm Miles O'Brien.

S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.

President Bush is talking to the party faithful this hour. He's heading to Capitol Hill to address Senate Republicans. Mr. Bush is likely to be asked about that classified intelligence report on terrorism, plus the war in Iraq and November elections, as well.

CNN's Kathleen Koch is at the White House for us.

Andrea Koppel is on Capitol Hill.

Kathleen, let's begin with you -- good morning.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

And there certainly is a lot to talk about when the president goes up to speak to Senate Republicans today. As you mentioned, he will definitely get some questions on the National Intelligence Estimate. That has certainly put the administration on the defensive over whether or not the Iraq war is creating more terrorists worldwide.

Certainly, though, one of the first focuses for the president will be this vote in the Senate today on his measure to try and interrogate suspected terrorists. That bill passed the House yesterday and the president is expected to encourage senators to do the same, send it to his desk so he can sign it by the end of the week.

Now, some Democrats in the House did vote for the measure yesterday. This is something that the Republicans certainly are planning to use to campaign on in the fall, to show their party's commitment to fight terrorism, its tough stand against terrorism.

But many Democrats still have a lot of concerns about the measure. They believe it gives the president far too much latitude in deciding what sorts of aggressive interrogation techniques are or are not acceptable and could, indeed, endanger U.S. soldiers if they were ever taken prisoner -- back to you.

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Kathleen.

The photo-op and the press conference were quite awkward. I mean everybody sort of looked like they didn't quite know what to do.

How did the dinner with President Bush and President Karzai and President Musharraf go?

KOCH: Well, certainly this was a very important dinner, Soledad, between these vital partners with the U.S. in the war on terrorism, both Afghanistan and Pakistan. The leaders have been sniping at each other for months over whether or not eon is doing enough to stop this resurgence in violence, Taliban violence, along their borders.

What we're hearing from one senior administration official is that the dinner was "very productive." It was supposed to be just a one hour dinner. It stretched to two-and-a-half hours. The official said it was cordial. The two men dove into the hot issues, cleared the air right away. They spoke directly to one another.

There were no major breakthroughs, but the official did point out that, yes, afterward, Soledad, they did shake hands.

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks very much.

Kathleen Koch at the White House for us.

KOCH: You bet.

S. O'BRIEN: For more on the morning's GOP summit, let's get right to CNN's Andrea Koppel, who's live for us on Capitol Hill -- good morning, Andrea.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Well, as Kathleen was saying, for President Bush, it was a big victory for the House to pass that military tribunal bill. It's expected to sail through the Senate later today.

But in the lost column for the president is another, one of the two pieces of key anti-terror legislation that he wanted this Congress to get through before they adjourn, and that's the warrantless wiretapping program. That is not likely to pass this year.

In addition, that border security -- that 700 mile fence that -- when they realized they weren't going to get comprehensive immigration reform they had sort of lowered their standard -- that, too, we're hearing from the majority leader, Bill Frist, may not go through before Congress adjourns -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: (AUDIO GAP) all that is sort of adding fuel to the fire, right?

KOPPEL: I'm so sorry, your -- the beginning of your question was clipped.

S. O'BRIEN: I was talking about the leaked intelligence report.

KOPPEL: Right.

S. O'BRIEN: And all of that is going to certainly add fuel to the fire, so to speak.

KOPPEL: Oh, absolutely. And you can see the head of the Senate Democratic campaign committee, Chuck Schumer of New York, positively gloating yesterday in a press conference that they called to, again, hammer away at Republicans and pose very pointed questions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: Are you going to stand by the non-partisan, non-political intelligence estimates that came out of 16 agencies or are you going to be a rubber stamp for George Bush and when he says black is white, you go, indeed, it is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOPPEL: Democrats hoping to pick up some of the six seat difference between them in the Senate, Soledad. So you can expect, as one Democratic aide told me, they are going to keep this issue front and center.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, no question about that.

Andrea Koppel for us on Capitol Hill.

Thanks, Andrea -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: In Iraq, another tough day in what's been a very rough week. Police finding no less than 60 bodies, all showing signs of torture, just in the last 24 hours in Baghdad. The U.S. military now says murders and executions are the leading cause of civilian deaths in Baghdad.

CNN's Arwa Damon is there with more -- Arwa.

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

And they're not just the leading cause of civilian death in Baghdad, they are also the number one fear that civilians have. And when you go and you speak with them, I mean they're more frightened of being a victim of sectarian violence. And they can imagine the horrors that one would go through when they do become a victim of sectarian violence.

In some cases, they've seen it for themselves or they've heard about it happening to their neighbors or seen it happening to their neighbors. This really is the number one concern on almost everyone's mind, especially here in the capital, Baghdad.

And dealing with the issue of militias, who are believed to be responsible for most of the sectarian violence, well, there you cross into not only a military challenge, but also a political challenge. Many of these militias do have affiliations with parties that are part of the Iraqi government. That is just one of the many problems that both the U.S. and the Iraqis face here today.

And there have been a number of attacks in Baghdad in a span of six hours. There were at least eight explosions in the capital alone, in total, killing at least 80 Iraqis, wounding over 50.

And just to bring forward or highlight one of these attacks and the fact that this is a tactic that is being used increasingly by the insurgency, in this attack, it happened on a road in central Baghdad. And explosives were set off. It was a parked car bomb.

When Iraqi security forces responded to the scene, another explosion. In that attack, five Iraqis were killed, two of them police officers, and over 38 were wounded -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Arwa Damon in Baghdad.

Thank you very much.

A pricey U.S. project to rebuild an Iraqi police academy is turning out to be a debacle. The U.S. military admitting the $75 million Baghdad Police Academy is a construction nightmare. Apparently human waste leaks through ceilings into dorm rooms. Floors are having and cracking. One room leaks so badly it's been dubbed "the rainforest."

The police academy was supposed to be a centerpiece of Iraqi reconstruction. Now some of it may have to be torn down.

A large majority of Iraqis want the U.S. out of Iraq. Seventy- one percent of Iraqis say American soldiers should be withdrawn from Iraq within a year. Thirty-seven percent say they should go in the next six months. This from the University of Maryland. Seventy-eight percent say the U.S. military presence causes more conflict than it prevents.

Of the three major ethnic groups, only a majority of the Kurdish population sees the U.S. as a stabilizing force. Ninety-two percent of Sunnis, 62 percent of Shiites approve of attacks on American forces. Overall, 61 percent of Iraqis approve of attacks on U.S. forces. That's up 14 points since January.

This weekend, CNN looks at Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Watch "RUMSFELD: MAN OF WAR," CNN, Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 p.m. Eastern time.

Another echo from that Bill Clinton meltdown on Fox. Mayor Rudy Giuliani is chiming in now, coming to Clinton's defense. The former New York mayor said blaming Clinton for failing to prevent the 9/11 attacks is wrong. Clinton says -- oh, excuse me, Giuliani says Clinton did everything he could -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Classes at a rural Colorado high school have been canceled while the school and the community tries to come to grips with a deadly shooting there. An unidentified gunman took six female students hostage at the school on Wednesday. He later killed one student, then himself, as a police SWAT team moved in to try to end the standoff.

Jim Hooley of our affiliate KMGH is in Bailey, Colorado, just across the street from the school.

JIM HOOLEY, KMGH CORRESPONDENT: Still a lot of questions to be answered here in Bailey, Colorado today. Still no identification of a gunman that entered this school just before noontime yesterday. And still police here are trying to figure out why he did what he did.

They hold a -- they will hold a press conference later on today and we should have a little bit better idea.

But here's what happened, according to the Park County Sheriff's Department.

They say the gunman went into an English classroom yesterday on the second floor of this high school and took at least six female student hostages at about 11:40 in the morning. He told school officials that he had a bomb in his backpack. He also fired several shots inside the classroom at that time.

Deputies began talking to the suspect through a door within minutes of the shots being fired. And through the afternoon, throughout the afternoon, the gunman released several of his hostages. He released four of them and he was using them to tell negotiators of his demands.

Negotiators knew they had to do something. The gunman put a deadline of about 4:00 on his demands. And at that point in time, deputies and the SWAT team members here from Jefferson County, Colorado stormed the classroom, Classroom 206.

The gunman opened fire. He hit a young girl, 16-year-old Emily Keyes, in the head. She died at a hospital a little bit later on. And then the gunman turned the gun-on himself.

Today, this school is closed. It is being treated as a crime scene and still many questions here in Bailey, Colorado.

S. O'BRIEN: Jim Hooley reporting for us this morning.

More than 4,000 firefighters are on the lines right now battling that stubborn wildfire that we've been telling you about for weeks in California.

Now, authorities say the flames are within a half mile of hundreds of homes. Many residents, though, are refusing, reportedly, to evacuate. At least 160,000 acres have burned in the so-called Day Fire. It's now the biggest and longest burning brush fire in California's history and it started on Labor Day.

Meanwhile, in the northern Philippines, a powerful typhoon has knocked over a building. Take a look at that. At least 11 people are dead. Dozens of other people are reported missing. Gale force winds of up to 68 miles an hour, flash flooding and heavy rain continue to pound the area. The typhoon is on course to hit Vietnam next.

That brings us right to the forecast and Chad -- wow, Chad, do you see that picture of that building and that truck that just flipped right over?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It has been a violent year out there in the -- in the western Pacific, for sure, where they have really taken the brunt of what was maybe the el nino winds or the earlier la nina wind. They really got the wind. The warm water over there has just made so many super typhoons.

They have had typhoons, super typhoons, in the water, over 170 miles per hour. But many of them didn't make landfall, but it has been just really a phenomenal year over there. And considering what we've had here in North America, compared to where we were last year and the year before, quite a striking difference.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Parts of the controversial National Intelligence Estimate are declassified. We told you about that yesterday. But Congresswoman Jane Harmon would like to see more. She says there's another big report on Iraq that's waiting in the wings and she says politics is what is holding its release up. We'll ask her about that.

Also, speaking of politics, politics at the pump -- we'll look at how falling prices could affect the outcome on election day.

And a proposed ban on trans fats in New York City restaurants. They're going after your glazed donut, people.

Can we let that happen? Don't we have a constitutional right to French fries?

We'll take a look at this ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) S. O'BRIEN: Checking the Gas Gauge, gas prices are still down from those summer highs. The national average is $2.34 for a gallon of regular unleaded. A month ago, it was $2.84 and a year ago, that gallon cost you $2.81.

A summer of skyrocketing gas prices seemed a big threat to President Bush's party come November. But with gas prices now going down, does that mean that Republican prospects are looking up?

Here's CNN's senior political analyst, Bill Schneider.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): The drop in gasoline prices seems perfectly timed for the midterm election. Democrats insist the issue will still work for them.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), MINORITY LEADER: Energy costs for America's families over -- in the course of a year -- makes a tremendous difference, the increase in energy costs. They will still be an issue in the campaign.

SCHNEIDER: But the latest CNN poll conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation shows a sharp drop in the number of Americans who say gas prices will be an extremely important issue in their vote. Lower gas prices give President Bush an opening to talk up the economy.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our economy is maintaining solid growth and performing in line with expectations.

SCHNEIDER: Do people believe the economy is doing better?

Actually, they do. In early September, 44 percent said the country's economy was in good shape. Now, 59 percent feel that way. Some people believe the fix is in, that President Bush deliberately manipulated gas prices to help Republicans. Energy experts pooh-pooh the idea.

DR. AKSHAY RAO, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: Surely if he picked up the phone and made, you know, five or 10 strategic phone calls, he might be able to influence prices to some degree. But, you know, I think that's a fairly far-fetched theory.

SCHNEIDER: Maybe. But 42 percent of Americans believe it.

The bigger question is this -- if Americans are feeling better about the economy, why aren't Republicans doing better in the polls?

Take a look at people who feel the economy is good, but who oppose the war in Iraq. Which issue counts more?

Three quarters of anti-war voters who feel good about the economy give President Bush a negative job rating. Seventy-one percent say they'll vote for a Democrat for Congress.

(On camera): The reason why gas prices and the economy are not having a big political impact?

One word -- Iraq.

Bill Schneider, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Be sure to get your daily dose of the latest political news. Go right to CNN's new Political Ticker. Go to cnn.com/ticker -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Anderson Cooper now with a look at what's coming up on his program tonight -- Anderson.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, tonight on "360," a devastating war, a shaky peace -- what did Israel's fight with Hezbollah accomplish? Is the terror group back in business and stronger than ever?

We'll go back to the war zone for a progress report.

That's tonight, "360," 10:00 p.m. Eastern -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Anderson.

Coming up, our health series for folks in their 30s and 40s and 50s. Today, how much damage are you doing to your hair in the search for the perfect look?

That's next.

What price vanity?

And later, frightening moments for a family teetering on the edge of a lake after their brakes fail. We'll have that story ahead, as well.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Americans spend billions annually on all manner of hair care products.

But does the quest for the perfect quaff come with another kind of price?

With a look at how follicles fare in our 30s and 40s and 50s, here is our senior medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Beyonce has it. So does McDreamie (ph). And Farrah still has it. We're talking about hair, lots of it. Yet, as we age, even someone with beautiful locks can start to see changes in their hairline. DR. LYNN MCKINLEY-GRANT, WASHINGTON HOSPITAL CENTER: Hair reflects a lot of -- it reflects your heredity. It reflects your health. It reflects what you do externally to your hair in terms of maintaining it.

GUPTA: In our 30s, we begin to notice damage from dying, processing, dying and perming. Hair becomes thinner, more brittle. And a bad diet can damage hair follicles, stunting hair growth.

Thirty-year-old Thandi Warner is a professional stylist. She sees all kinds of problems, from dandruff to split ends. But Thandi has her own hair issues. It isn't growing in properly.

THANDI WARNER, HAIR SPECIALIST: And it's thin in areas, you know, around the front. And my back just takes off and it grows like a weed and the front stays like, you know, it just doesn't grow.

GUPTA: The cause?

Thandi isn't eating well and had lots of stress. Her dermatologist suggested a diet full of vegetables and fruit.

MCKINLEY-GRANT: You have a certain amount of protein in the hair. You do need water. You need vitamins to grow a healthy head of hair.

GUPTA: In our 40s, we get more gray. That's because we begin to lose a pigment in our hair called melanin. It gives hair its color.

MCKINLEY-GRANT: There is not a pill that will get it back. There are things in bottles that will help, yes.

GUPTA: Some people, like "American Idol" Taylor Hicks and Anderson Cooper are prematurely gray. Doctors say it's heredity, along with premature baldness.

In our 40s and 50s, who begin to lose hair faster. More than 50 percent of men over the age of 50 have male pattern hair loss. And once they reach menopause, 40 percent of women will experience hereditary hair loss.

But there is medical help for bald spots.

Also, in our 50s, some people begin to take prescription drugs that affects the hair. Those on high blood pressure and cholesterol medications have thinner hair. Some doctors recommend changing medications if it's making your hair unhealthy.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, mystery solved -- we now know what killed Anna Nicole Smith's son. We'll fill you in on that.

Plus, sex for water? An Arkansas mayor resigns amid charges he had a strange way of settling up some water bills.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Happening This Morning, bloodshed in Baghdad. Police there found 60 bodies in just in the past 24 hours, all showing signs of torture. Meanwhile, a series of bombings across the city has killed at least two Iraqi soldiers. At least 10 others are wounded.

Any moment now, we're expecting to see President Bush. He's supposed to arrive on Capitol Hill. We'll show you the live picture inside the Capitol Building. The president is meeting with GOP lawmakers for a final time before all those lawmakers hit the campaign trail. The meeting comes as the Senate is poised to pass the president's terror detainee bill. The House passed it yesterday. The measure authorizes military trials for detainees and sets rules for how they're questioned.

In Bailey, Colorado, students will not be in school today. This after 16-year-old Emily Keyes was killed yesterday during a hostage crisis. Police say a yet unnamed gunman shot and killed the girl before he committed suicide. The suspect, we're waiting to hear his identification.

Just a few hours from now in Washington, D.C. Hewlett-Packard executives are supposed to testify before a House panel. The panel is looking into H.P.'s use of pretexting to investigate corporate leaks. The company's private eyes posed as board members, employees and reporters to get personal data on the suspected leakers.

And news images to show this morning from the rover Opportunity, showing Mar's Victoria Crater. Scientists want to know if the crater rocks were formed in shallow lakes. And that would suggest, potentially, that Mars once could have supported life.

Welcome back, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. Thanks for being with us.

No sooner had the president released portions of the intelligence report on the war on terror, some Democrats were asking for more. The ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Jane Harman of California, would like the administration to release a similar assessment from the nation's spy agencies, focused squarely on the war in Iraq. But she claims it's deliberately being held under wraps until after the November election.

Congresswoman Harman is our guest this morning.

Good to have you with us.

Why is it -- is her mic working? Go ahead, one more time.

REP. JANE HARMAN (D), CALIFORNIA: Hope you can hear me.

M. O'BRIEN: Oh, we've got you now.

HARMAN: OK.

M. O'BRIEN: Why is it so important, Congresswoman, to get this report out so soon?

HARMAN: Well, you just announced that 60 more tortured bodies were found in Baghdad. The situation in Iraq is deteriorating. We have troops in harm's way. The American people deserve to know, in my view, exactly what the situation is. Most people are very pleased with the quality of the national intelligence estimate key findings on the global terror threat that was released by the White House, under pressure, two days ago.

And I think if there's more information on the situation in Iraq, -- number one, Congress should be told about it, and number two, in a declassified form that protects sources and methods -- the American people and troops in harm's way should know about it.

M. O'BRIEN: That sounds all well and good, but this whole report just was commissioned, I'm told, mid-August. Let's listen to what Tony Snow had to say about the timing on this yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: These reviews take about a year to do. So the idea that it is in, quote "draft form," they're just beginning to do their work on it. And the intelligence committee members, if they don't know it, should. But there is not a waiting Iraq document that reflects a national intelligence estimate that's sitting around gathering dust waiting until after the election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: So apparently it's not soup yet. Are you sure you want it?

HARMAN: Well, I think it is. I hope it isn't soup. I think it is reality, and I think the White House is increasingly an evidence- free zone in this election. And I don't think that Tony Snow knows the facts on this thing. And he can keep denying it and they can keep holding it, but my information is, it's substantially complete, it is highly negative.

I don't want it out because it's negative, I want it out because it is truth. Truth to power is what our intelligence community should do, then the policymakers should be able to read it, quote it accurately and hopefully improve policy. We have a failed strategy in Iraq, and that strategy needs to change now.

M. O'BRIEN: But surely you don't want to have a rush job on this?

HARMAN: Of course not. M. O'BRIEN: The last time we had a rush job on this, we had the WMD report, which came to us, which got -- led the way to us getting into Iraq. So from where you sit, how can you judge whether it is, in fact, a rush or not?

HARMAN: Well, I haven't read it. I only have information that it exists. I -- my information is, all the intelligence products are under wraps at this point. I have read a lot of intelligence products on Iraq over the last year, which were classified, so I'm not going to describe their contents. But I think our policymakers need to stop saying we've turned the corner in Iraq when our intelligence products are saying exactly the opposite.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, let's move away from the issue of timing and just talk about how much of this should get into the public realm. Forming acting director of the Central Intelligence Agency, John McLaughlin, had thoughts on this yesterday. Let's listen to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I think having a political food fight about this estimate will have a chilling effect on analysts. I mean, they write these things as serious documents for serious deliberation, not to be cherry-picked by both sides to score political points.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: Are you cherry picking, and if so, doesn't this put pressure on those analysts, one way or another, to deliver a certain sort of answer?

HARMAN: Well, let's hope we are past that. We've had a very, very bad season for intelligence analysis. What I'm hoping for is that the whole document can be sent up to Congress, so we can see all the qualifiers, all the dissents and so forth. I want it to be a good document.

I have reason to believe that our intelligence community is doing better. Our sources are better, our analysis is better. But if we keep this stuff under lock and key because it doesn't suit the White House version of what it wants to say about Iraq, I think that that is harmful to the morale and the intelligence community.

And let me just add that I, of course, want to protect sources and methods. There's not a chance I want people to know about who our sources are and put them in harm's way, or about the technology that we use. That would be wrong.

M. O'BRIEN: But if you're trying to capture these -- it's sort of like in the midst of a conversation. It would be like having a conversation with you and your staff being released to the public. Isn't it -- that's not the kind of thing...

HARMAN: No.

M. O'BRIEN: ... you necessarily would like out in the public, right?

HARMAN: That's not what I want out in the public. My information is, there's a substantially complete document, stamped draft, so it doesn't have to come up to Congress. And I think that's wrong.

M. O'BRIEN: How did they get it done so quickly, though?

HARMAN: Well, I think that it builds on a lot of other work they've been doing. I don't think it's news that there's a problem in Iraq. And I know there have been a number of intelligence products since that flawed 2002 national intelligence estimate. I read some of them. Some of them are darn good.

So they're building on a record of pretty thoughtful analysis. And I believe there is an essentially complete product in the intelligence community that we're not seeing, the American people aren't seeing and maybe even the policymakers aren't seeing. And I believe the White House continues to say things that don't reflect the accurate intelligence that we have produced.

M. O'BRIEN: You know, you see a lot of classified documents there. There's the president arriving on Capitol Hill. He's going to meet to Senate Republicans. The vice president will be in there. They'll be talking politics.

Let's talk politics for just a moment...

HARMAN: OK.

M. O'BRIEN: ... with the midterm election coming up.

Democrats, it seems to me, have a difficult time coming up with an alternative plan for Iraq. What is your plan? Give us a sense of what you would do...

HARMAN: OK.

M. O'BRIEN: ... if you were in a position to do something about it.

HARMAN: Well, I appreciate that.

M. O'BRIEN: Getting the troops out of Iraq, how would you do it?

HARMAN: Well, let me say two things, Miles. First of all, the president and the vice president are up there, talking to Republicans only. The White House talked to Republicans only about the text of the detention bill that the House passed yesterday, and the text of the bill that I think will overturn the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that's before the House today. Democrats are not included. I am one Democrat who has offered for years to work with this White House on better policy.

But putting that aside, my view on Iraq is that we should redeploy -- that means move our troops to other places in the region -- in order to help us and the Iraqis accomplish three political objectives. Number one, help this government become stable and deliver services. Number two, help this government disarm the militias that are making it impossible to stand up one national Iraqi military.

Number three, help this government -- I mean the Iraqi government, the democratically-elected Maliki government -- persuade the Sunni population, which is a minority which is -- Saddam Hussein was a Sunni -- decide that they have a stake in the government and that they can have a share in the oil revenues and so forth so they stop the insurgency.

I think of all...

M. O'BRIEN: How soon would you do it? How...

HARMAN: ... those things could happen, Iraq succeed.

M. O'BRIEN: How soon would you start pulling troops out, though?

HARMAN: I would start now. I would have the timetable be worked on between -- by our military, working with the Iraqi government. I wouldn't have Congress set the timetable. But I would start now. It sends a clear signal to the Iraqis that they have to take responsibility for their own country. It gets our soldiers out of harm's way and it makes it clear that we're not going to occupy the country or have permanent military bases.

By the way, in the military defense appropriations bill Congress just passed, there is language -- I appreciate the fact that we got language into that bill that says we do not want to have permanent military bases in Iraq against the wishes of the Iraqi people.

M. O'BRIEN: Jane Harman, Democrat from California, thanks for your time.

HARMAN: Thank you, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: The mystery is solved in the death of Anna Nicole Smith's son Daniel. Forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht showed CNN's Larry King the tests show that he died from an overdose of three drugs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CYRIL WECHT, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: He died tragically, and I believe quite accidentally, as a result of the cumulative effect of three brain depressant drugs. Methadone, which is a an analgesic, a painkiller. Zoloft, an anti-depressant. And Lexapro, an antidepressant. We knew about Lexapro, Larry, as you will recall, from the first battery of tests performed on a specimen submitted taking during resuscitation at doctor's hospital. So that came as no surprise. Methadone and Zoloft come as a big surprise to Anna Nicole, to Howard Stern, to the attorneys, to everybody. (END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Twenty-year-old Daniel Smith died on September 10th in a hospital in the Bahamas, where his mother was recuperating after childbirth.

This reminder, you'll want to catch Larry King every night, 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

Happening in America this morning, some questions in Chicago about the death of a 5-year-old girl. The little girl fell into a coma during a trip to the dentist last weekend. She died in a hospital yesterday. Her family says she received a triple dose of sedatives. The dentist is certified to administer anesthesia, and he says he's cooperating fully with investigators.

Terrell Owens says he did not try to kill himself. He expects to practice with his team, the Dallas Cowboys today, for the first time since he fractured his hand two weeks ago. Owens got out of the hospital yesterday after being treated for what he says was a bad reaction from pain pills.

An Arkansas mayor is stepping down amid charges that he offered city water service in exchange for sex. The Waldron mayor, Troy Anderson, faces charges of soliciting and paying for sex from two women. Prosecutors say the 72-year-old also repaid the women by preventing their water from being shut off.

Several stretches of Honolulu -- hi, there you go. Those are the pictures we've been showing you. Those are dark because thieves are stealing the copper wire that connects the lights. The latest theft was more than two and a half miles of copper wire, and it was worth more than $200,000. Police say the thieves strike in broad daylight when the power's off, and they probably come dressed as highway workers.

Some very frightening moments for an Oakland, California woman and her three children, who were in the back of that van there. The brakes failed, the van skidded and plunged into a Lake Merritt in the center of Oakland. Some of the folks who say they saw what happened jumped into the water, tried to pull everybody out of the van. The woman and her children were not seriously injured.

Seven men who were on a fishing expedition are counting their lucky stars this morning. They were rescued by the Coast Guard in the waters off of Atlantic City, New Jersey. The men say they abandoned their 52-foot fishing boat on Saturday because it started to take on water. They used their last signal flare when they were spotted.

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M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, the food police could soon be coming to New York City restaurants. Can they really enforce a ban on transfats? We'll take a look at this.

And it's Thursday. You know what that means, right, Soledad? S. O'BRIEN: It's Miles Cam day, folks.

M. O'BRIEN: She's so well-trained. Excellent. You can e-mail me at milescam@CNN.com. You want to join me today?

S. O'BRIEN: No.

M. O'BRIEN: No, OK.

S. O'BRIEN: I'll join you by logging in, as I always do, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Tune in to Pipeline at 10:30, cnn.com/pipeline, to see the answers. Once again, questions, E-operators standing by. Mielscam@cnn.com. Send them away. Talk about whatever you want. Transfats, space. Transfats in space. Anyway. Stay with us.

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M. O'BRIEN: Talk about a quandary for cops. Imagine them having to enforce a doughnut ban, of all things. Sound absurd? Well, perhaps not too far from the truth before too long in New York City. The health commissioner here says he wants to ban restaurants from using so-called transfats, used in glazed doughnuts, french fries and just about everything else that tastes good. Boston and Chicago considering similar bans.

Are transfats the new secondhand smoke? Dr. Nieca Goldberg is chief of Women's Cardiac Care at Lenox Hill Hospital. She's also the author of "The Woman's Healthy Heart Program: Life Saving Strategies for Preventing and Healing Heart Disease." I think I just read the whole book in the subtitle.

Dr. Goldberg, it's good to have you here.

And you're part of the panel that recommended this ban?

DR. NIECA GOLDBERG, CARDIOLOGIST, LENOX HILL HOSPITAL: Good morning. I think this is a great thing. You know, transfats are a processed cooking oils that lead to increased shelf life in the supermarket. They also clog arteries. They raise levels of bad cholesterol and lower levels of good levels of cholesterol.

M. O'BRIEN: So it's just all about shelf life? It's kind of a cheaper alternative to more -- if there are more healthier fats than this?

GOLDBERG: It's a combination of things, shelf life, cost. But I think what's really important is for people to understand why it's great to be a New Yorker, because walking is the fastest way around town. Smoking has been banned in restaurants. Eating out is a lot of fun, but without transfats, it will also be healthier.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, but will it taste as good?

GOLDBERG: Well, we'll -- we know that some restaurants have already changed here in the city, and they're getting good reviews from their foods.

M. O'BRIEN: Will it be the same kind of glazed doughnut that we like, or will it taste different?

GOLDBERG: Well, we'll have to see what the restaurants will come up. As a cardiologist, I think it's really important to get the information out and take a stand. Because, you know, dead people don't eat in restaurants and can't eat doughnuts.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Well, here's the thing, though. Of course a lot of people get their, you know -- they get concerned about this, because they want to have the right to eat what they want to eat. As a matter of fact, take a look at this. We have a spot which is airing, being re-aired as a result of all this. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Has the war on obesity gone too far?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No soup for you. Only salad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: That's from the Center for Consumer Freedom, and the soup Nazi there. Obviously tongue fully in cheek there. But, you know, restaurant diners having to stand on a scale before they eat. What do you say to those that this is a bit of intrusion on their freedom to choose what they want to eat?

GOLDBERG: I think people need to know what's in your food. And when you go to a restaurant, you can kind of ballpark healthy items -- fruits, vegetables -- but you don't really know a lot about the ingredients that are used. I think this will ultimately lead to longer and healthier lives in the city. And considering heart disease is the leading cause of death and disability in men and women, not only in New York City, but in our country, it's really important to take a public stand to improve heart health.

M. O'BRIEN: Now, they're talking about doing this in Chicago and Boston. Do you expect this will be a trend? Will this become like secondhand smoke?

GOLDBERG: I think very well this can become a trend. Already, they've become transfat-free in Denmark. It's an international issue.

M. O'BRIEN: Really? And how has that gone so far in Denmark?

GOLDBERG: And so far that's been going very well in Denmark.

M. O'BRIEN: Nobody's complaining. Nobody's missing their fries or glazed doughnuts there?

GOLDBERG: No, they're just substituting fats. And they can substitute with healthier fats, like Canola, soy and corn oil. M. O'BRIEN: All right. Dr. Nieca Goldberg, Lenox Hill Hospital, thanks for being with us.

GOLDBERG: Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Coming up next, Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" -- Andy.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" COLUMNIST: Hey, Soledad. Some breaking news from Hewlett-Packard. Another resignation at that company. Plus, one house in Beverly Hills is worth how many in North Dakota? We'll do the math for you.

S. O'BRIEN: A lot, I'm going to guess.

SERWER: Many of them.

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Andy.

Also ahead this morning, going to meet the very latest YouTube sensation. Yes, there he is.

You'll see why he's a rock star. Believe it or not, he used to be the county prosecutor for the county before he was an online celebrity. Kind of a dual life. We'll ask him why he's giving up his day job and what he's doing next, that's ahead.

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(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

M. O'BRIEN: Top stories are also ahead, including President Bush's trip to Capitol Hill. He's there right now. He's meeting with the party faithful, Senate Republicans. Can he rally the troops as the campaign season swings into high gear? We'll go live to Washington for more, ahead.

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