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American Morning
Boeing Laptop Stolen; Balance of Power in Senate; New Military Strategy in Iraq?
Aired December 14, 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: Another laptop gets lost and another big company has some explaining to do to its employees.
Ali Velshi "Minding Your Business."
Good morning, Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm glad I'm minding other people's business, Miles, because I mind my own with my security on my computers and laptops. I don't think anybody's ever taken any document that I haven't shredded or taken anything off of my laptop, but Boeing has now lost a laptop containing the information of 382,000 current and former employees of the company.
Information like home addresses, phone numbers, birth dates and, in some cases, salary information, which is fantastic to go apply for a loan on someone else's name with. Boeing says you need a password to get into the laptop if you happen to find it. So good luck with that one.
You know, a Boeing laptop containing information on about 160,000 current and former employees was stolen in November of 2005, and in April another one with 3,600 employees' information on it was stolen. I think Boeing needs to get some chains for the laptops or something -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Maybe so. All right. Ali Velshi, thank you.
The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING begins right now.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A developing story we're watching for you. Democratic senator Tim Johnson is in critical condition after brain surgery overnight. And it's raising some new questions about a potential power shift in the Senate.
M. O'BRIEN: The country's top medical sleuths finally identify a likely source of that Taco Bell E. coli break.
S. O'BRIEN: In Hollywood this morning, oh, they're on pins and needles. The Golden Globe nominations will be announced in just about 30 minutes. We're going to carry them live for you right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
M. O'BRIEN: Good morning to you, Thursday, December 14th.
I'm Miles O'Brien. S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.
Thanks for being with us.
M. O'BRIEN: The balance of power in the Senate rides on the health of Senator Tim Johnson. The South Dakota Democrat is in critical condition this morning, recovering from brain surgery after what appeared to be a stroke. If he can't serve, Democrats would likely lose their one-vote majority in the Senate.
CNN's Andrea Koppel live for us from Capitol Hill with more.
Good morning, Andrea.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
Well, "surprise and shock," those are the words that one Senate Democratic aide used to describe the mood here on Capitol Hill this morning. Democrats are on pins and needles, Miles, as they wait for word on Senator Johnson's condition, and his prognosis for recovery.
After November's midterm elections, Democrats were poised to take back control of the Senate next month with a 51-49 split. Now, if for some reason he is unable to serve, then it would be up to the South Dakotan governor, who is a Republican, to choose Senator Johnson's replacement, who would likely be a Republican.
That would make it a 50-50 split with the vice president -- in this case, Dick Cheney -- being the deciding vote. That would put control of the Senate again back in Republican hands.
Democrats had been chomping at the bit. They thought that they were going to be running the committees here, running the agenda on the floor of the Senate, as well as the agenda just in general up here. Committee hearings, everything.
Needless to say, Miles, Senator Johnson has a lot of friends here on Capitol Hill. They are first and foremost concerned for his health. But in the back of their minds is the question as to who will control the Senate next year -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Some political concerns as well. Andrea Koppel, thank you.
Joining us now with more on all of this, and Senator Johnson's medical condition, our senior medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He happens to be a brain surgeon as well. Handy to have a brain surgeon around, especially in times like this.
Sanjay, based on what we know, based on the reports, can you make some sort of assessment as to his condition?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know, you can. There's actually a lot of information that we have been given, although there hasn't been a formal sort of press announcement.
A couple of new pieces of information, first of all. We're just learning that in fact he did get out of the operating room at about 12:30 last night. So it was a long operation. But reports are the operation was successful, which is somewhat vague, but they're saying that at this point, and that he remains in critical condition. So three pieces of information there.
But to update people about his condition, what we heard specifically that he was on a phone call with reporters when he started to have some trouble. These are clues, Miles, for doctors. I want you to listen to part of this phone conversation he was actually having when he first got into trouble. And I'll tell you what it means.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
SEN. TIM JOHNSON (D), SOUTH DAKOTA: The money was proposed to be provided a year ago. Second to -- you know, you -- it just is frustrating.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GUPTA: He said it was frustrate at the end there. You heard him. He started to stammer. He started to have some word-finding difficulties as well.
It seemed to come on rather suddenly. All of these things point to the idea that there's probably a problem in his brain that's responsible for speech.
We have a CAT scan basically showing what a hemorrhage in that area of the brain might look like. If there was bleeding in that area of the brain, it could cause the exact sort of symptoms that he just had.
The operation would be to remove that hemorrhage, remove that blood collection, and also remove the source of what caused that blood collection as well. It's this part of the brain I want to show you really quickly, Miles, that we're talking about here.
It's the left side of the brain here, the temporal area. This part of the brain is high-priced real estate when it comes in terms of other parts of the brain.
And here you actually have what's called the motor strip, an area of the brain that's actually responsible for the strength on the opposite side of his body. So we're talking about difficulties with speech. We're talking about difficulties with strength. It is a very significant problem for him -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: And just quickly, Sanjay, what is the recovery, what is the prognosis typically? I know it's very difficult with anything to do with strokes.
GUPTA: It can be, for sure. And it's hard to say, because we are speculating a bit on what's going on with him. But I think it's going to be a long time. You know, we're talking about not days and weeks, but weeks and months, possibly longer, even, for recovery from this sort of thing, in terms of getting back some of the functions that are so intricate to his function.
M. O'BRIEN: Sanjay Gupta, thank you very much.
GUPTA: Thank you.
M. O'BRIEN: Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: On Capitol Hill this morning, incoming speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is going to announce plans for a new House intelligence panel that will have budgetary oversight, too. Now, that was a key recommendation of the 9/11 Commission.
Earlier this morning, we reported that Congressman John Murtha would likely chair that committee. That was inaccurate. But it is expected that the committee would most likely report to Murtha in some way.
Also this morning, Pelosi is expected to unveil new House rules that would include a new independent ethics board that would police lawmakers' behavior.
In Iraq this morning, a mass kidnapping to tell you about in Baghdad. The Associated Press is reporting that as many as 70 people were abducted from a busy shopping area. Apparently here's how it went down. Gunmen wearing outdated police uniforms literally grabbed shopkeepers and shoppers, loaded the people into 10 trucks and then just took off.
And there was another car bombing in Baghdad to tell you about. It's killed two Iraqi police officers. The two apparently were trying to defuse the bomb when it exploded. Nearly 100 people have been killed by car bombs in Iraq in just the last three days -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: The nation's top military leaders are urging President Bush to adopt a new war strategy. Their idea? Shift troops away from combat and toward more of a supporting role. Sources telling "The Washington Post" that the Joint Chiefs of Staff do not support a major troop increase.
CNN's Ed Henry at the White House watching this one.
Ed, good morning.
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good morning, Miles.
Nevertheless, people familiar with these deliberations are telling CNN that in fact the president is still considering sending more troops to Iraq. Obviously it would be a controversial move. But there are a lot of different ideas floating around.
That's why the president has been on this listening tour. He wrapped it up yesterday at the Pentagon. He's trying to figure out the way forward in Iraq.
He's facing criticism that his administration has downplayed the violence in Iraq. That's why yesterday the president was brutally frank in saying that it has been horrific in Iraq in recent weeks. And he also had a direct message to U.S. troops wondering about the next move. He basically told them they're not coming home anytime soon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You have my unshakable commitment in this important fight to help secure the peace for the long term. We're not going to give up. The stakes are too high and the consequences too grave to turn Iraq over to extremists who want to do the American people and the Iraqi people harm.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Now, adding troops in Iraq obviously would be controversial, in part because there are questions about just how many troops the Pentagon has to send and how long they could stay. The military already stretched too thin. But as you heard conservative Ken Adelman say and tell you right here on AMERICAN MORNING yesterday, Miles, this may be the last best chance of winning in Iraq, a surge of troops here for about six months, tens of thousands of troops. And in the words of Adelman, he basically said if that did not work, the troops would have to come out because, in his words, the U.S. could not win -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Ed Henry at the White House.
Thank you.
A developing story we followed for you all morning from London. We're getting the first details on that new report released a short time ago on the death of Princess Diana.
CNN's Paula Hancocks has been watching it for us.
Hello, Paula.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles.
Well, we've just had the official document here. This is just the overview, which is about five or six pages long. The whole thing is about 800 pages long. And throughout it, John Stevens, the former head of the London police, is trying to make it clear that there was no conspiracy to murder.
That was the point of this report. Part of a wide inquest. Was there a conspiracy to murder anybody in that car on August 31, 1997, that crashed into the French tunnel that killed Diana, princess of Wales? He wanted to make it very clear today that there was no foul play.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LORD JOHN STEVENS, INQUIRY CHAIRMAN: Our conclusion is that on the evidence available now, there was no conspiracy to murder any occupants of that car. This was a tragic accident.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANCOCKS: He also said that the report had gone through all the MI5, the MI6 files, and also spoken to the American intelligence services, and showing that there was no relevant information that they had that this could be a conspiracy to murder. He also said there was nothing that would further justify having to talk and interview the royal family any further, showing that obviously he has spoken to those close to Diana, princess of Wales. He would have spoken to Prince Charles, possibly to the princes as well.
So at this point, he also said she was not pregnant at the time of her death. There had been rumors, really, for the past decade almost that she had been pregnant or she was engaged to Dodi al-Fayed, her companion, who also died in that car, or was about to be engaged. He said there was no evidence to prove that -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Paula Hancocks in London.
Thank you -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Officials at George Washington University hospital are expected to hold a news conference on Senator Tim Johnson's condition.
Reporter Sarah Lee is with our affiliate WJLA and she's there this morning.
Sarah, good morning.
SARAH LEE, REPORTER, WJLA: Good morning, Soledad.
Well, clearly a lot of focus on the situation here in Washington, not only because of the sake of the severity of his health condition, but also because of what's at stake as far as the power balance in Congress.
Now, if we could go to a live picture of our camera crew in front of the hospital right now, we are expecting to hear from hospital representatives at any minute now to discuss Senator Johnson's condition. He did have surgery overnight, which we have confirmed was brain surgery. And as you heard from Dr. Sanjay Gupta, he was -- we are told that his surgery was a success.
Now, again, we are awaiting word from representatives from the hospital to come out and talk with us directly at this live press conference, which could begin at any moment.
Again, this is the situation here. Senator Tim Johnson fell ill sometime yesterday after faltering during a radio interview. He made it back to his office in the Senate Hart Building, but then he clearly said that he needed some more help. And he was suffering from what was described to us as stroke-like symptoms, and was brought here. Again, underwent surgery overnight, which has been described to us as being a success. But we will hear more directly from the hospital shortly. And we will have that live for you when it is available to us.
Reporting live from George Washington University Hospital in northwest Washington, Sarah Lee.
Back to you in the studio.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Sarah. Thank you very much.
And of course this is the same hospital where the vice president, Dick Cheney, was treated for his heart problems. Also where President Reagan, you'll remember, back in 1981 was taken after he was shot.
So we're going to be hearing from them and get an update on the senator's condition.
Also happening this morning, in the fight against AIDS, two studies in Africa are finding that the HIV risk in adult men is diminished by about 50 percent when the men are circumcised. The National Institutes of Health announcing the results of a multi-year study in Kenya and in Uganda on almost 8,000 men. And, of course, results very important in Africa, where an estimated 25 million people are infected with HIV.
The government wants to put new suicide warning labels on antidepressants. The Food and Drug Administration says that the drugs increase the risk of suicide for anybody who is 24 and under. Now, warning labels already exist for children and for adolescents. So these new labels would basically expand those warnings.
And take a look at the pictures just in of a fire, an explosion overnight. The Imperial Oil Refinery, it's in Sarnia, Ontario.
Residents were warned to stay indoors, told to keep those windows shut. The fire now reportedly is under control. The warning's been lifted. No injuries have been reported.
Coming up this morning, putting the brakes on a plane that's out of control. We'll get an up-close look at a new runway system that could save lives.
That's ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Developing stories we're following for you this morning.
Democratic senator Tim Johnson is in critical condition after undergoing brain surgery overnight. If he is unable to return to office, Republicans could take control of the new Senate. In London, a new report released this morning rules that the crash that killed Princess Diana was a tragic accident, not a murder plot.
Sixteen minutes past the hour. If you're about to head out the door, let's first check the traveler's forecast for you. Chad's got that.
And it's not a happy report.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm afraid not, not this morning anyway.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: When the weather turns bad, pilots have to be on their toes. Slick runways mean they have little margin for error.
It was just a year ago when a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 overran Chicago's Midway Airport, the runway there, landing in a snowstorm, killing a child. But there is a way to make things safer.
CNN's Jonathan Freed is at Midway this morning with more.
Good morning, Jonathan.
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Jonathan -- good morning, Miles.
They are using runway 22 here at Midway this morning, which means that aircraft are landing and departing to the southwest. But Miles, as you pointed out, a year ago, it was a Southwest Airlines plane that ran into serious trouble on another runway here at Midway.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREED (voice over): It was a surreal scene, a Southwest Airlines 737 sitting in the middle of a busy Chicago street after crashing through a fence at the end of a runway at Midway Airport. The plane's nose crushed a car, killing a 6-year-old boy.
There was a major snowstorm on December 8th last year, with next to no visibility. The aircraft couldn't stop after landing.
A year later, a new emergency stopping system sits at the end of that runway. It's a sloping pad made of crushable concrete that's meant to put the brakes on a plane that's out of control.
NURIA FERNANDEZ, CHICAGO AVIATION COMMISSIONER: Our challenge at Midway in particular is that we are in the midst of a very densely populated community. So we've got residential, commercial, light industrial happening right in the perimeter of our airport.
FREED: The so-called arresting systems are meant to help airports like Midway that can't comply with federal regulations requiring a thousand feet of run-out room at the end of a runway. The concrete pads only need about half that length.
(on camera): So, a year ago, in that snowstorm, the Southwest Airlines plane is coming down this runway right here, 31 Charlie at Midway. And it keeps going past the end of the runway and crashes through that fence right there at the northwest end of the field.
Now, if a similar incident were to happen today, the manufacturer of this stopping or arresting system tells us that the nose of the plane would not travel much farther than that point right there.
How far into the system will the average aircraft travel once the nose gear hits it? How long does it take to stop it?
KENT THOMPSON, ZODIAC ARRESTING SYSTEMS: Well, typically a plane going in at 40 knots might go in for 100 feet or less. Planes going faster, 50 or 60 knots, might go 200 feet or so.
FREED (voice over): Stopping systems like Midway's are now in place at 18 airports across the country, including some of the busiest, like JFK and LaGuardia in New York, Boston, Minneapolis, San Diego and Burbank. Hundreds of airports still need to comply with runway safety area regulations either by finding more runway room or installing a stopping system.
TONY MOLINARO, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION: We feel by the end of this decade, it will be all these buffer systems will be in place at every runway across the country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FREED: So, Miles, here at Midway, we're looking at the end of runway 22 here. The accident happened at the northwest corner of the field, at the end of runway 31 center.
Now, a year later we are still waiting for the official report into the accident. And it is not yet clear whether weather conditions that day, or perhaps a problem with the aircraft's braking system contributed in a significant way to the cause of this accident. Either way, Miles, the airport management here is convinced that if this stopping system had been in place a year ago, that this tragedy would not have happened -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Jonathan, you know, really, when you think of all the airports that are close in to buildings, it should be just mandatory in all those places, shouldn't it?
FREED: It is. And for the last few years, the FAA wants to see at least that 1,000 feet of runway safety area.
And it's a problem for airports like Midway, because you have a choice. You know, are you going to expropriate a couple of neighborhoods in order to come up with an extra few hundred of feet, or, what they're looking at, can you put one of these stopping systems in? Because they need -- here they've got 200 feet or so of that concrete pad. The FAA prefers it to be as much as 600 feet, but they've demonstrated that even 200 feet here, which is what they had room for at Midway because of how packed in it is, is enough to do the job for the size of aircraft that tend to use this field -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, I don't think Chicago and a lot of other cities are going to make new space for airports. Chicago's the city that shut one down, as we all know.
All right. Jonathan Freed at Midway.
Straight ahead, an update on Senator Tim Johnson, hospitalized after undergoing brain surgery. We'll look at what it could mean for the balance of power in the Senate.
And we'll take you live to the Golden Globe nominations in just a few minutes.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Did you know that a nickel is worth more than five cents? Literally, it costs more than five cents to make a nickel. But don't try melting it down.
Ali Velshi can tell you why as he minds your business.
Good morning.
VELSHI: Good morning.
You know, over the last few years, because of demand and growth in Asia, China, India, commodities have become more expensive, and the commodities that go into making pennies and nickels for some time, actually, made them more expensive to make than they're worth. Now, there have been some bills introduced in the last couple of years to eliminate the penny altogether. They haven't succeeded, but the argument is that a penny costs almost two cents to make.
A nickel, the metal that goes into it, costs more than five cents. And when you add the work that goes into making it, it's around eight cents.
Now, as of today, or as of -- it might be today, this week, the U.S. Mint is going to make it illegal to melt coins for their metal value. Up until now it's been illegal to deface or destroy coins for fraudulent uses. You can squish them at souvenir parks and things like that. That's OK. They stop being currency.
But now you can't melt coins for currency value. Apparently, people were actually calling the Mint and saying, are we allowed to do this? The other thing you can't do is ship coins overseas in bigger than bunches of $100 so that people are not buying them overseas and doing this.
Why wasn't this illegal before? Because it wasn't a problem. Because it wasn't worth it to people to pay a cent to melt it down and use it for metal.
M. O'BRIEN: So somewhere there was a big vat and people were just pouring nickels in there and...
VELSHI: The same reason people were stealing cable and overhead wires and in some parts of the world...
S. O'BRIEN: Right, to melt down.
VELSHI: ... that's still popular.
S. O'BRIEN: Eight cents for every nickel, you might as well.
VELSHI: And it happens here in the U.S. I mean -- so don't do it.
S. O'BRIEN: No.
M. O'BRIEN: If you can get a billion nickels, you could make a lot of money off of this.
S. O'BRIEN: It's a $10,000 fine you said, right?
VELSHI: Yes, a $10,000 fine. So don't do that.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm not doing it. I'm out. I'm out.
S. O'BRIEN: That's a lot of nickels.
M. O'BRIEN: I was thinking about it, and I'm out now. Thank you. Thank you.
VELSHI: We'll find a new line of work.
M. O'BRIEN: All right.
Some of the stories we're following right now.
The glitz, the glam and the possibility of an Oscar nod. The Golden Globe nominees announced in minutes. We'll take you to Hollywood.
Plus, how much would you pay to dine with the Louisiana governor, Kathleen Blanco? More than the change in your pocket? More than a nickel? Well, not much more -- ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Developing story we're watching for you -- Democratic Senator Tim Johnson hospitalized in critical condition. A news conference is expected this hour, as new questions surface about a possible power shift in the Senate.
M. O'BRIEN: Well you can blame it on the lettuce -- the country's food safety experts identify a new culprit in that Taco Bell E. coli outbreak.
S. O'BRIEN: And the countdown is on. There is a live picture right now, as they get ready in Beverly Hills to announce the nominees for the 64th annual Golden Globe awards. We're going to bring you an update live in just a moment. See who's named.
S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. It's Thursday, December 14th. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. We're glad you're with us this morning.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's get right to what's happening this morning.
It looks like lettuce is probably the source of that Taco Bell E. coli outbreak. That's according to the Centers for Disease Control. Their investigation narrowed the list of possible sources to lettuce, cheese and ground beef. But now they say lettuce is the most likely culprit.
The outbreak sickened 71 people and forced Taco Bell to temporarily close more than 90 restaurants in the Northeast too. Nearly all the restaurants are open again, but open minus the green onions because it was the green onions that were initially blamed for the outbreak.
In the fight against AIDS, researchers in Africa are finding that circumcising men may reduce the risk of HIV -- a lot. 50 percent maybe. The National Institutes of Health announcing the results of multi-year studies in Kenya and Uganda on almost 8,000 men. An estimated 25 million Africans are infected with HIV.
Take a look at some new pictures of the scene of that mass kidnapping we've been telling you about in Baghdad. The Associated Press is reporting that as many as 70 people were snatched from a shopping area in Baghdad. Gunmen apparently were wearing outdated police uniforms, grabbed shopkeepers and shoppers, loaded them into ten trucks and then just took off.
And just announced this morning, there was no murder conspiracy in the death of Princess Diana and her companion Dodi Fayed back in 1997. That in fact the conclusion of a Scotland Yard report on their three-year investigation into the matter. They're hoping that this final word will end those long-running rumors surrounding Princess Di's fatal car crash -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Democratic Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota in critical condition now after brain surgery overnight in Washington. Johnson apparently suffering a stroke yesterday in the midst of a conference call with reporters.
If Johnson cannot serve in the new Congress, Democrats could lose their one vote majority in the Senate. AMERICAN MORNING'S Bob Franken is here with more on the political ramifications. Good morning, Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. And the Democrats are probably feeling star-crossed this morning while they're also concerned about the health, of course, of Senator Tim Johnson. But they have to worry that the very hard-fought victory, I mean really hard fought that brought them a 51 to 49 majority in the U.S. Senate would suddenly be taken away by fate, if it is a chance that the senator is replaced.
And the Republican governor of South Dakota would replace him with a fellow Republican, which he's allowed to do in that state it would mean that the Senate goes 50-50. There's a tie-breaker here, and it belongs to the vice president of the United States. The president of the Senate.
He's a Republican, of course, and that would mean that suddenly the majority power would go back to the Republicans which would be a major, major disruption. Even though the Democrats control the House of Representatives, a role of the Senate has always been to stop, to slow down the House and that would put the Republicans back in power. But that, of course, is all speculation, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: And at this point, we really don't even know what happened to him or what the prognosis is. So yes, I imagine Democrats, you know, they're concerned about a colleague, but the political calculus is going on.
FRANKEN: Well, you know, it's interesting in Washington, I can tell you that everybody went through this thought process. It's really too bad about Senator Johnson, now what's going to happen.
M. O'BRIEN: Bob Franken right here in New York. Thank you very much.
Joining us to talk more about Senator Johnson's medical condition, our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta at the CNN center. Happens to be a brain surgeon.
Sanjay, let's walk through it first of all. Based on what we know, he endured surgery. I'm sure you've done this type of surgery many times. Is it usually very successful? What are the risks with that surgery?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, the term successful is a little bit of a vague term when it comes to this. The goals of an operation, if this in fact was a hemorrhage, a bleeding within the brain, to remove that blood and then to remove the source of the bleeding as well, and that can be successful. The larger concern is, where exactly that bleeding occurred.
I have a brain model here, Miles I want to show you again because I think this is important in talking specifically about this part of the brain here, which is some of the highest priced real estate, if you will, in the brain. It is responsible for speech. It is responsible for the ability to not only speak, but also to receive speech or understand.
And you also have a part of the brain here that's responsible for strength on the opposite side of the body, the right side of the body in this case. So that's obviously all very important. It is tough to say how much of an impact it's going to have on him.
We don't know obviously exactly what happened to him. But we did hear that radio, that phone conversation he was having with reporters, Miles. I want to play that again for you because it's interesting, you get a lot of clues as to what happened to him. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TIM JOHNSON (D), SOUTH DAKOTA (voice-over): The money was proposed to be provided a year ago. Second -- you know, it just is frustrating.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: What I hear that is that something came on quickly. It started to affect his speech. And most likely is localized this part of the brain. It's hard to say, but that is what I'm sort of piecing together here, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN; All right. So what is the range of recovery from something like this?
GUPTA: Well, you know, they say he's in critical condition now. His operation finished at 12:30 in the morning last night. So it's been about eight hours. I have a feeling we're going to measure his recovery in weeks and months as opposed to hours and days.
Mainly because of the part of the brain, the area of the brain that seems to have been affected by piecing these things together. Recovery, when you're asking the question here, you're probably meaning when is he going to get back to normal. When is he going to be able to speak again, have strength again on the right side of the body and that is just very hard to say. That can take a long time, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Sanjay Gupta, thank you very much.
GUPTA: Thank you, sir.
M. O'BRIEN: Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: The Golden Globe nominations are being announced right now in Beverly Hills. Let's get right to CNN's Sibila Vargas on who's gotten the nods so far. Good morning, Sibila.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. I see you got the memo today to wear this color. But, I digress. Let's get to the minor categories, some of which have been announced. In just a little bit they'll announce the major categories.
But let's get to the Supporting Actor category. Ben Affleck surprised everyone with his nomination for "Hollywoodland." Jack Nicholson will be meeting Mark Wahlberg -- they both were in "The Departed," so they're co-stars and they are going to be battling it out. Brad Pitt for "Babel."
And the big surprise, and actually not so much of a big surprise, I think a lot of people were rooting for him, was Eddie Murphy in "Dreamgirls." He was spectacular in that film. In the female category, Adriana Barraza -- a favorite with a lot of people, she was -- her performance was critically acclaimed and she was in "Babel." Kate Blanchette for "Notes of a Scandal." Jennifer Hudson for "Dreamgirls" and that's been the talk of Tinseltown. She's is from "American Idol." She was a reject. Simon Cowell said she probably wouldn't make it because she didn't fit the mold. Well, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. She's really has been the talk of Tinseltown with her supporting role. She really steals the show. Emily Blunt also for "The Devil Wears Prada." Rinko Kikuchi, and I hope I pronounced that well, she got a nomination today for supporting actress for "Babel."
Moving on to the Best Foreign Film, a couple of surprises there. "Letters from Iwo Jima, that is a Clint Eastwood film, won the National Board of Reviews just recently. So, not a big surprise there. "The Lives of Others," it's a French film, (INAUDIBLE). But the big surprise is "Apocalypto" actually got nominated for Best Foreign Film.
Of course, a lot of people here in Hollywood, at least some of them probably not too happy today. I recently got a chance to speak to Rabbi (INAUDIBLE) who says, oh, you know what, they're starting right now so I've got to kind of dip out of here. But, we'll continue later.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... Rosario Dawson, Jessica Biel and Matthew Perry. Rosario.
ROSARIO DAWSON, ACTRESS: Good morning. Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series Drama, Patrick Dempsey, "Grey's Anatomy." Michael C. Hall, "Dexter." Hugh Laurie, "House." Bill Paxton, "Big Love." Kiefer Sutherland, "24."
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Drama. Patricia Arquette, "Medium." Edie Falco, "The Sopranos." Evangaline Lilly, "Lost." Ellen Pompeo, "Grey's Anatomy." Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer."
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Comedy or Musical. Marcia Cross, "Desperate Housewives." America Ferrera, "Ugly Betty." Felicty Huffman, "Desperate Housewives." Julia Louie Dreyfuss, "The New Adventures of Old Christine." Mary Louise Parker, "Weeds."
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture Drama. Penelope Cruz, "Volver." Judy Dench, "Notes on a Scandal." Maggie Gyllenhaal, "Cherry Baby. Helen Miren, "The Queen." Kate Winslet, "Little Children."
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical. Annette Benning, "Running with Scissors." Toni Colette, "Little Miss Sunshine." Beyonce Knowles, "Dreamgirls." Meryl Streep, "The Devil Wears Prada." Renee Zellweger, "Miss Potter." Thank you. JESSICA BIEL, ACTRESS: Good morning. Best Television Series Drama, "24," "Big Love," "Grey's Anatomy," "Heroes," "Lost."
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical. Sasha Baron Cohen, "Borat, Cultural Leanrings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." Johnny Depp, "Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Man's Chest." Aaron Eckhart, "Thank You for Smoking." Chiwetel Ejiofor, "Kinky Boots." Will Ferrell, "Stranger than Fiction."
Best Television Series, Comedy or Musical. "Desperate Housewives," "Entourage," "The Office," "Ugly Betty," "Weeds."
Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical. "Borat, Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." "The Devil Wears Prada," "Dreamgirls," "Little Miss Sunshine," "Thank You for Smoking."
MATTHEW PERRY, ACTOR: Hi. Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series Comedy or Musical, Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock," Zack Braff, "Scrubs," Steve Carell, "The Office," Jason Lee, "My Name is Earl," Tony Shalhoub, "Monk."
Best Director, Motion Picture. Clint Eastwood, "Flags of our Fathers," Clint Eastwood, "Letters from Iwo Jima." Stephen Freers, "The Queen." Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, "Babel." Martin Scorsese, "The Departed."
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture Drama, Leonardo DiCaprio, "Blood Diamond," Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Departed," Peter O'Toole, "Venus," Will Smith, "The Pursuit of Happyness." Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland."
Best Motion Picture Drama, "Babel," "Bobby," "The Departed," "Little Children," "The Queen." Thanks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, thanks, Rosario, Jessica, and Matthew. And don't forget to watch the Golden Globe awards Monday, January the 15th on NBC. Good day.
S. O'BRIEN: Ending as they always end with a reminder to watch the Golden Globe awards. You heard the list of nominees. Let's get right back to -- where are we going -- back to ...
M. O'BRIEN: Let's go to break, why don't we do that.
S. O'BRIEN: No, let's actually, let's talk more about it. I want to find out ...
M. O'BRIEN: You want to talk more about it?
S. O'BRIEN: I want to find out what the big breaking story is here? Who do we have here for us? Are we back?
M. O'BRIEN: Borat. We have Borat available.. S. O'BRIEN: Well Borat, getting two nods. That's a very good nod there. And also, of course, some big surprises, I think, it's fair to say with Clint Eastwood getting a nod for two of his films as well.
We're going to get more information and see who were the big surprises a little bit later this morning -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Some of the stories we're following this morning. Coming up, a powerful storm pounds parts of the West Coast. Weather expert, severe weather expert, Chad Myers will tell us what these pictures are all about. No, that's not from a polar expedition at the turn of the previous century. That's yesterday.
Plus it's Thursday, and that means it's time for ...
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: Milescam.
M. O'BRIEN: That's getting a little better guys, thank you. Send your questions to milescam@CNN.com. And you'll hear the answers, actually today we're going do it about 10:30 Eastern time. 10:30 Eastern time on the pipeline. It's so busy today, the pipes are filled at 10:00. 10:30, I'll answer them for you. CNN.com/pipeline.
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M. O'BRIEN: All questions you like, anything that's on your mind, feel free to send them. There it is. There's the whole thing. Milescam@CNN.com for the e-mails. Of course a special space shuttle version today if you want to do that. CNN.com/pipeline. The place to see it, 10:30 today. The pipes are all busy at 10:00.
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S. O'BRIEN: "CNN NEWSROOM" is just a few minutes away. Tony Harris is at the CNN Center. He's got a look at what's ahead this morning.
Hey, Tony.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Soledad, good morning.
We have got these stories on the "NEWSROOM" rundown for you this morning. A Democratic senator sidelined by illness. The balance of power in the chamber in question today. We watch for updates on the health of Senator Tim Johnson.
The Joint Chiefs, a report says the military top brass advising against a significant troop increase in Iraq. Yoko Ono accusing her chauffeur of extortion.
John Lennon's widow claiming her driver planned to take her for $2 million. That's quite a ride.
Join Heidi Collins and me in the "NEWSROOM." We get started at the top of the hour right here on CNN -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Tony, we'll catch you then. Thanks.
Ahead this morning, the changing face of Christianity, from patriot pastors to evangelicals who believe that God might be the gateway to wells, CNN's Anderson Cooper takes a look at what it means to be a Christian in 2006. That's ahead.
Stay with us.
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S. O'BRIEN: What's a Christian? Tonight Anderson Cooper examines where followers may have different views on what defines Christianity. Here's a preview of Anderson's SPECIAL REPORT.
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PASTOR RUSSELL JOHNSON, FAIRFIELD CHRISTIAN CHURCH: Secularism, materialism, intellectualism, hedonism...
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Pastor Russell Johnson rallies so-called patriot pastors behind conservative issues. He preaches America is in the grips of a war over its moral soul.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've said, this is a battle between the forces of righteousness and the hordes of hell.
JOHNSON: I do believe there's a battle between right and wrong. I do believe that there is a forces of darkness.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And all God's people shouted...
COOPER: Many Christians believe the end of days prophesies in the bible are happening right now.
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you see what's been happening in the Middle East as the beginning of the end of time?
PASTOR LARRY HUCH, NEW BEGINNINGS CHURCH: The beginning of the end as we know it, yes. Yes. You look at the bible and you will see all these things lining up, and it's not a coincidence.
COOPER: And there is a fast-growing group, millions of Christians who say if you believe, truly believe, you will prosper.
PASTOR CREFLO DOLLAR: The Word of God is the gateway to the world of wealth.
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S. O'BRIEN: "ANDERSON COOPER 360," a special report tonight: What is a Christian? Where do you fit. That's tonight starting at 10:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
M. O'BRIEN: More AMERICAN MORNING straight ahead. Don't forget, it's Miles-cam day over at CNN pipeline. Send your questions to milescam@CNN.com right now. It's a spacewalk day. If you have questions about that solar flare that is going to be out there in the void, will that affect the astronauts? I'll answer that question and anything else you've got on your mind, including our ubiquitous, are Soledad and I married? That's 10:30 Eastern today, new time, 10:30 Eastern. The pipes are all full at 10:00. That's OK, though, but just tune in at 10:00, because the Pipeline is good either way any time. Stay with us.
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