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American Morning
U.S. Embassy in Athens Attacked Overnight; Ice and Snow Could Cripple Center of the Country; More Troops to Iraq: Selling the President's Plan
Aired January 12, 2007 - 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: Breaking news. The U.S. embassy is attacked overnight in Athens by a rocket-propelled grenade.
ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: Storm warning. Ice and snow could cripple the center of the country this weekend. One million people may lose power.
O'BRIEN: And "Words That Changed a Nation." The words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. prescient in Memphis, still resonating today on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Good morning, Friday, January 12th.
I'm Miles O'Brien.
CHO: And I'm Alina Cho, in today for Soledad.
Thanks for joining us.
O'BRIEN: We begin in Greece and an attack on the U.S. Embassy there. Authorities there investigating a rocket attack at the embassy in Athens.
A grenade hit the building, causing minor damage. No one hurt. The rocket apparently fired from a street just beyond the embassy gates. The U.S. ambassador to Greece is condemning the attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES REIS, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO GREECE: There could be no justification for such a senseless act of violence. I have talked to the minister of foreign affairs. She has assured me that the government will do all it can to find who did this, how it was done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Police are investigating claims a left-wing group called The Revolutionary Struggle may be responsible.
Reporter Anthee Carassava joining on the phone from Athens with the latest. She's right outside the embassy.
Anthee, what do we know?
ANTHEE CARASSAVA, JOURNALIST: Well, Miles, traffic here has resumed, but the police presence here, as you get (ph) to it, we see authorities and Greek investigators scouring the embassy and buildings near the U.S. compound, collecting evidence that will help them answer the main question now of who was behind this missile attack against the embassy.
Authorities have ruled out this being the work of a foreign terrorist organization like al Qaeda. They say they received an anonymous -- they received a call by an anonymous caller who rang a security company to claim responsibility on behalf of a group called The Revolutionary Struggle.
Now, officials here are investigating whether in fact that claim is true. They have been suggesting throughout the day, this morning, that the attack may have been waged by what they called remnants of Greece's deadliest terrorist organization, November 17. Now, that group was disbanded a couple of years ago, but authorities have repeatedly said that the group has not been eradicated in its entirety.
Now, the first conclusion, officials here are saying can be drawn from this attack, is that Greece is obviously facing a resurgence of terrorism, and American interests are at the center of this resurgence -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Anthee, would this group be known to have any links to al Qaeda or any other Islamist terror group?
CARASSAVA: No. As far as we know, this group emerged in 2003, staging a bomb attack at a -- at a courthouse complex.
It has evolved in the last three years radically, almost changing tactics, becoming an aggressive terrorist group. It recently -- it has staged six attacks since 2003. The latest one, the last one was in May, when it tried to kill and assassinate a -- the former culture minister.
O'BRIEN: Anthee Carassava, journalist on the scene there at the embassy in Athens.
We'll check back with you later -- Alina.
CHO: Here at home, just about every where you look winter weather is making news. Storm warnings, freezing rain, wind chills, flooding, and a new warning this morning about a massive ice storm brewing.
CNN's Rob Marciano in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, for us, and severe weather expert Chad Myers at the CNN weather center.
Let's begin with Chad.
Hey, Chad. Good morning.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Alina.
(WEATHER REPORT) CHO: Thanks.
As you heard from Chad a moment ago, another winter storm is heading for the Rockies. Bitter cold, and the fourth -- yes, fourth -- snowstorm in a month in Colorado today.
CNN's Rob Marciano doing duty in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
Rob, good morning.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Alina.
Just in the last couple of hours, the cold air that Chad has been talking about has arrived here in the northern mountains of Colorado as that cold air begins to slide down to the south. With it, some snow.
There are snow advisories and winter storm warnings for a good chunk of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, down across the lower lands. And the Mile High City of Denver, three to six inches of snow expected to fall.
But as Chad mentioned, the big story is going to be the cold air, zero degrees there likely hovering throughout the day. And that cold air sliding down to the southeast part of the state where cattle ranchers still dealing with dead cattle and potentially more cattle head being lost over the next couple of days, potentially a loss of $10 million or more if they lose another 5,000 to 10,000 cattle. They're actually having trouble burying those cattle with all of them dying along the farms.
And with the ice storm coming, Alina, in the next couple of days, with that cold air moving into that area, this is going to be a story that not only it's going to be a big weather story today, tomorrow and Sunday, but likely right on through the beginning part of next week.
Back to you.
CHO: All right. Oh, boy. I hope you can squeeze in a little bit of skiing, Rob.
Rob Marciano, live for us in Steamboat Springs.
Rob, thanks.
O'BRIEN: And more important, get it on the expense report.
The White House plan to escalate the war in Iraq drawing fire from many fronts. In San Francisco, several hundred people hit the streets to protest President Bush's new Iraq war plan.
Demonstrators angry the president is sending nearly 20,000 more troops to the war. Most there want to see them come home now. Some demanding President Bush be impeached.
Fresh evidence this morning that the Bush administration has a hard sell ahead to convince Americans that adding more troops is a plan for success. The results of a new CNN Opinion Research Poll are just out.
Our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, has the numbers for us from Washington.
Good morning, Bill.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Miles.
Well, how did the president's speech on Iraq go over? We have the answer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good evening.
SCHNEIDER (voice over): Wednesday night, President Bush spoke dramatically about the high stakes in Iraq.
BUSH: It is the decisive, ideological struggle of our time.
SCHNEIDER: And his new plan for dealing with it.
BUSH: So I've committed more than 20,000 additional American troops to Iraq.
SCHNEIDER: The public's response? Two to one negative. In fact, half the public say they strongly oppose the troop buildup.
Leading Democrats denounce the president's proposal.
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D), MAJORITY WHIP: The president's plan moves the American commitment in Iraq in the wrong direction.
SCHNEIDER: Democratic voters are virtually united in their opposition. Eighty-eight percent oppose the buildup. And the president's base? Two-thirds of Republican voters support President Bush on Iraq.
But we're beginning to hear criticism from Republican politicians.
SEN. CHUCK HAGEL (R), NEBRASKA: I think this speech given last night by this president represents the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam.
SCHNEIDER: He speaks for the 30 percent of Republican voters who oppose Mr. Bush's plan.
BUSH: Our troops will have a well-defined mission.
SCHNEIDER: The public does not agree. Only 35 percent believe President Bush has a clear plan for Iraq. That's up a bit from the 25 percent who felt that way before he spoke. But 63 percent of Americans still don't see a clear plan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER: Maybe this speech didn't work because only 43 percent of Americans watched it. But even among those who saw it, only 27 percent said it made them more likely to support the president's policies. Half said it made no difference -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Bill Schneider in Washington.
Thank you.
The poll we just reported about is part of a new partnership. Today CNN announcing the CNN Opinion Research Corporation Poll. We plan to bring you the most accurate, the most insightful public opinion polling anywhere, any time -- Alina.
CHO: An alert now for all travelers about a safety concern in your hotel. Should all hotel rooms be equipped with a carbon monoxide detector? The father of a man who died of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning at a hotel in Florida is speaking out, and only to CNN.
Suzanne Candiotti live for us from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Susan, good morning.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alina.
A criminal investigation is now winding down into what was behind a case of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning that claimed the life of a young man at a Key West hotel. A state attorney will decide whether to press criminal charges. But the tragedy has caused one father who lost his son to start a new mission involving carbon monoxide detectors.
He spoke exclusively with CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI (voice over): Two days after Christmas at the Doubletree Grand Key Resort in Key West, Richard Lueders lost his only son Thomas to apparent carbon monoxide poisoning. The fire chief says he suspects a malfunctioning boiler next to their room was to blame. The state fire marshal says there's no record the boiler was ever inspected.
RICHARD LUEDERS, FATHER OF CARBON MONOXIDE VICTIM: We believe that some good needs to come of this incredibly tragic situation.
CANDIOTTI: Twenty-six-year-old Thomas Lueders was on a holiday trip with his dad to the Florida Keys.
LUEDERS: My last vision of Tom was on the bed in the room, reading a book. I remember falling in the shower, and then I think I tried to get up, and that was pretty much when the lights went out. CANDIOTTI: When Lueders came to the next day, he was in an oxygen chamber. No one told him about his son.
LUEDERS: A feeling came over me, and frankly, I felt Tom's presence. When that happened, I knew he was gone.
CANDIOTTI: Lueders later learned other hotel guests fell ill from CO poisoning in the same room five days earlier.
LUEDERS: It just leaves you just completely perplexed. How could it -- how could it be, you know?
CANDIOTTI: Citing an ongoing investigation, neither the hotel nor its management company would answer any questions about the incidents. The hotel does not now have CO detectors, but told CNN it plans to install them when it reopens.
LUEDERS: What happened to Tom should not have happened to anyone in this country. And for want of a $20 carbon monoxide detector.
CANDIOTTI: Eleven states require CO monitors in homes. Only seven of those states also require them in hotels.
After five La Quinta desks suffered carbon monoxide poisoning near Denver in 2001, the hotel chain began installing detectors on some of its properties. Marriott requires them at all of its hotels. Hilton and Holiday Inn did not respond.
Richard Lueders vows to fight for laws making CO monitors mandatory in every state.
(on camera): What do you think Tom would think of this, your efforts?
LUEDERS: I think he would be happy to know that we would be doing the best we could to be sure that he was the last person to have this kind of experience.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: Currently, there are no federal regulations governing the installation of carbon monoxide detectors in hotels. This is a matter left up to the states, to your individual cities or counties where you live.
And this is what a typical carbon monoxide detector looks like. They run anywhere from $20 to $50, depending on how many bells and whistles they have. And it is important, Mr. Lueders says, in his opinion, to travel with one in your suitcase wherever you go -- Alina.
CHO: Good advice.
Susan Candiotti live from Ft. Lauderdale for us.
Susan, thank you.
We want to tell you about the passing of a pioneer. Jane Bolin, America's first black female judge, has died.
Judge Bolin, who steadfastly fought for racial equality from the bench, was 98 years old. A number of firsts for Bolin. The first black female graduate of Yale Law School, and the first black woman admitted to the New York State Bar -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Coming up, the words that changed a nation and the final stop in Dr. Martin Luther King's civil rights battle. We'll hear from the people who were with him in Memphis on that fateful day and we'll see the slip of paper he carried with him until the day he died.
Plus, some insurance relief, finally, for the owners of a home destroyed by Katrina, but what will it mean for other Gulf Coast residents?
That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: A quarter past the hour. Are you heading out the door? Let's get a quick check of the traveler's forecast. Chad Myers has his hands full today.
(WEATHER REPORT)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All week we've been following Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on his journey for civil rights, from his first pulpit in Montgomery, Alabama, to Birmingham, the march on Washington, Selma, and today we travel to Memphis.
By the mid-1960s, Dr. King was taking on poverty. as well as racism, as issues that prevented blacks from achieving the American dream. The King estate allowed us rare access to Dr. King's private papers, including the handwritten note that he carried with him until the day he was killed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN (voice over): Early in 1968, black garbage workers went on strike over low wages in Memphis, Tennessee.
REV. BILLY KYLES: Many of them could work the whole month and still qualify for welfare. That's how low the wages were.
S. O'BRIEN: Garbage piled up. When talks broke down, police maced black workers in the street. Reverend Billy Kyles asked Dr. King to come to Memphis. King's staff opposed it.
KYLES: So Martin got word of it and said, "Wait a minute. No, no, no, no, no. The garbagemen? These are the folks we're talking about, the working poor. We've got to go to Memphis." S. O'BRIEN: King came, made a speech, and agreed to lead a protest march. But it all fell apart when black youth began breaking store windows. Police attacked with billy clubs and tear gas. King had failed to prevent what he had always preached against, violence.
KYLES: He said, "We've got to have a peaceful march in Memphis."
S. O'BRIEN: King returned on April 3, 1968, staying at the Lorraine Motel. In the traveling case he was carrying, this quote from a well-worn scrap of paper...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Gandhi speaks for us. In the midst of death, life persists. In the midst of darkness, life persists. We are today in the midst of death and darkness. We can strengthen life and live by our personal acts by saying no to violence, by saying yes to life."
S. O'BRIEN: That night, King spoke to an overflow crowd at a black church.
KYLES: But he talked about death more than I heard him talk about it.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER: Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountain top.
S. O'BRIEN: Andrew Young told me it was a speech Dr. King often made when times were dangerous.
AMB. ANDREW YOUNG, FMR. KING AIDE: Because he had done it before and we had gone on to the next place, I wasn't really taking it serious. It was just a great speech. But I never thought I was listening to his last speech.
KING: So I'm happy tonight. I'm not worried about anything! I'm not fearing any man! Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the lord!
(APPLAUSE)
KYLES: He gave it all, and somehow I guess he knew that would be his last hurrah.
S. O'BRIEN: The next evening, on April 4th, Dr. King was scheduled to have dinner at the home of Reverend Kyles.
KYLES: I said, "Guys, come on. Let's go."
S. O'BRIEN: In a boardinghouse bathroom across the street, a rifle poked out as Dr. King walked on to the motel balcony.
KYLES: Before I could get to the stairs, a shot rang out -- kapaya (ph)! Blood was everywhere.
The police were coming. I hollered to them, "Call an ambulance on your police radio. Dr. King has been shot!"
And they said, "Where did the shot coming from?" So there's a famous picture pointing to the building across the street.
I took a spread from one of the beds and covered him from his neck down. He never spoke a word.
S. O'BRIEN: Left behind in his papers that day, this sermon with a lasting thought...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "The major problem of life is learning how to handle the costly interruptions -- the door that slams shut, the plan that got sidetracked, the marriage that failed, or that lovely poem that didn't get written because someone knocked on the door."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: Martin Luther King Jr., dead at the age of 39. His dream would live on and change our nation.
Many of the private papers you've seen in our weeklong series will go on display at the Atlanta History Center this coming Monday, which is Dr. King's birthday.
And stay tuned for CNN PRESENTS, an hour-long special on Dr. King's "Words That Changed a Nation." It's on Saturday, February 10th, and then runs again on Sunday, February 11th, right here on CNN.
We're back with more AMERICAN MORNING right after this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Twenty-five minutes past the hour.
Who won the video game war over the holidays? We told you a little about that, you might say, before Christmas.
Ali Velshi is here "Minding Your Business."
Sony versus Wii.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sony versus Wii, and then you remember Microsoft came out with its Xbox...
M. O'BRIEN: I paid dearly for one of those suckers, yes. Yes.
VELSHI: So you wouldn't think that would be in contention. Xbox.
M. O'BRIEN: Xbox wins.
VELSHI: Xbox sold more unites in December than Sony or Nintendo.
M. O'BRIEN: Here's my theory on this.
VELSHI: What's that?
M. O'BRIEN: You want my theory?
VELSHI: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: They finally have software for it.
VELSHI: They've got software. They've had a year head start.
M. O'BRIEN: Right.
VELSHI: So you've got software.
Number two, as you know from the PlayStation 3, they just couldn't move enough of them into the stores.
M. O'BRIEN: They sold everything they made.
VELSHI: So 490,000 PS3s in December, about 604,000 of the Wiis, also had some problems getting enough of them around. But Xbox 360s, buy them whenever you wanted to, and people bought them.
M. O'BRIEN: I would have predicted more Wiis would have sold.
VELSHI: I would have predicted, too, but, again, there were as many Xbox 360s as you need. With Wii and PS3, they ran short of them.
M. O'BRIEN: Interesting. Interesting (INAUDIBLE) to that story.
VELSHI: I know.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, Ali. Thank you.
VELSHI: See you.
M. O'BRIEN: Have a good weekend.
VELSHI: Thank you. You too.
CHO: All right.
Let's go> now to Betty Nguyen and T.J. Holmes at the CNN Center in Atlanta.
So, what do you guys have coming up this weekend?
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, hey there, Alina. We have a busy weekend ahead for you. You will want to tune in for the latest, of course, on that ice storm.
T.J. HOLMES< CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Weather just doesn't stop around here. We're going to have the up-to-the-minute information on the winter weather.
NGUYEN: Also, get this -- pets on prescriptions. Oh yes.
Is Fido fat? Well, they have a pill for that. Maybe your cat's depressed. Yes, they have a pill for that, too.
We'll ask a nationally-known veterinarian if it's really necessary to put your pets on drugs.
Also...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): To find good workers, more and more employers like many lenders and insurers are prescreening candidates using their financial history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Got bad credit? It could cost you that new job you applied for. Thank goodness CNN did not check my credit before they hired me.
NGUYEN: Mine too!
HOLMES: Well, our expert -- our consumer expert, Gerri Willis, is going to explain the connection.
NGUYEN: By the way, T.J., I need a loan.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: And you've heard of "Snakes on a Plane," right? Well, how about a scorpion on a plane?
No -- no movie here. We're going to talk to a man who was bitten by one of these on a flight home from Vermont.
HOLMES: Yes. And we're going to have the scorpion here live as well, of course.
Never a dull moment on "CNN SATURDAY and SUNDAY MORNING" with me and Betty. That's beginning tomorrow at 7:00 Eastern.
Hope to see you guys there.
CHO: All right.
M. O'BRIEN: That's what I call a scoop. You've got the scorpion live. Not bad.
HOLMES: We've got the scorpion.
M. O'BRIEN: All right.
How did that scorpion get through security? I still don't get it.
Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, a cease-fire in the war-ravaged Darfur region of Sudan. We'll talk to the man who helped broker the deal, New Mexico's governor, Bill Richardson.
And what do you think about -- what do you think you know about cancer? And what you think you know about it could be endangering your health.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be here to talk about controlling cancer in advance of an important program he has this weekend.
And exotic mortgages. Doesn't look so exotic there.
Anyway, Gerri Willis will show you some of the things people should be wary of with these loans.
You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.
There's an exotic place.
The most news in the morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
O'BRIEN: Good morning to you, Friday, January 12th. I'm Miles O'Brien.
CHO: And I'm Alina Cho, in today for Soledad. Thanks for joining us.
O'BRIEN: There may be new hope this morning for people in Sudan, in the Darfur region specifically. A peace agreement yesterday, and it calls for a 60-day cease-fire between the Sudanese government and the rebel militias in the Darfur region. If it holds -- that's a big if -- it will stop the genocide that has killed an estimated 200,000 and displaced 2 1/2 million others.
Former U.N. ambassador and governor now of New Mexico, bill Richardson, helped broker the deal. He just returned from Sudan yesterday. He joins us from Santa Fe to talk about it a little bit more.
Governor, welcome back.
Tell us about this. There have been out cease-fires in this Darfur problem in the past. What is possibly different about this one?
GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D), NEW MEXICO: Well, what is possibly different is that the government of the Sudan has agreed to it. And the good news is that, again, late last night I saw a report that the government of Sudan had agreed once again to the 60-day cease-fire that I negotiated with the president. We had a written document that basically outlined the agreement. So that's good news.
Now, there's going to be glitches down the road, because there have been cease-fires before that have been violated. What is different now is that the rebels -- I visited with the rebels with witnesses. They confirm that they would respect the 60-day cease- fire. So I believe right now we have a real opportunity. The United Nations is in the region, Jan Eliasson, the U.N. Envoy. He's met with the government. They've confirm the cease-fire. Now it's up to the rebels. But I predict there will be glitches.
So the good news is that for the first time we have a real opportunity for at least a 60-day cessation of hostilities so that they can come together and stop some of that killing, and famine and rape in a war that's killed close to 500,000 human beings. So there's hope, there's hope.
O'BRIEN: You mentioned the United Nations. To this point, the government there has blocked United Nations peacekeepers from coming in there. A lot of people will tell you that that is a real linchpin, a real key to a long-lasting solution. Did you make any progress on that front?
RICHARDSON: We made a little progress. The president of Sudan, President Bashir, did tell me he would accept u.n. Technical personnel as part of that force. But he's moving in the right direction. Initially, months ago he said just African troops, just organization of African Unity troops. Now he's giving a little bit on technical logistics, administrative personnel.
My hope is that with the Bush administration, the United Nations, the international community, surrounding African states, they'll persuade them that the U.N. peacekeepers are the best to keep the peace, that they're trained, they're strong. That has to be an essential ingredient.
But before that happens, having this cease-fire temporarily to stop some of the killing, to deal with the boundary issues and the border fighting, this is an enormously important first step, and hopefully, it's going to stick.
O'BRIEN: You mentioned the Bush administration, though. The Bush administration has such a full plate. We've been talking about Iraq, there's North Korea, there's Iran, Somalia, the Horn of Africa, a problem right now. Should the Bush administration be doing more focused on Sudan?
RICHARDSON: Well, they have, I believe, a good policy. And I've been coordinating with them. I wasn't out there freelancing. In fact, I went at the request of the Save Darfur Coalition, a grassroots movement in the United States that's done great work in quelling some of the violence and helping people in the Sudan.
So what we need here is not blaming others; it's for the whole international community -- the United States, European Nations, the United Nations, the African Union -- to seize this moment, this really positive movement of a 60-day cease-fire, and bring people together and say, we've got to stop this killing, let's work out the details of the peacekeeping a little bit later, but at the moment stop the ravaging of human beings, the rapes, the famine, the force that has displaced over two million human beings, and let's at least use the 60-day cease-fire as a step in the right direction.
But there are going to be glitches. I won't be surprised soon if somebody says, well, you know, I don't kind of agree to this, but I've had witnesses, I had reporters there talking to both sides, and the good news is that the government of the Sudan, which has been mainly the problem in the past, once again late last night reiterated that they agreed with the 60-day cease-fire and that they would move forward with peace talks. So we've got a lot of hope going on.
O'BRIEN: I'm sorry, we're running out of time, but I do want to ask you -- you're a person who is often talked about as someone with presidential aspirations. We've been watching the president talk about sending more troops to Iraq.
If you were the president right now, what would you do in Iraq?
RICHARDSON: Well, for one, I wouldn't send 20,000 more troops. I think that would be a big mistake. What I would do is I would bring people together. I would bring the region together. I would redeploy those forces that we have in Iraq into where we really need America's security needs, and that's in Afghanistan, to fight international terrorism, to stop nuclear proliferation.
I would then have a peace conference of surrounding states. I would talk to Syria. I would talk directly to Iran, as the Iraq Study Group did. And I would simply say that you've got to look at the Middle East as a whole. You've got to bring alliances to support America's positions.
We're isolated out there, so I would start a withdrawal. I would tie it to a political solution, and then finally, I would redeploy those troops where America really needs that help, and that is, fighting Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, dealing with international terrorism threats, and finally, the biggest security need America has, stopping weapons of mass destruction in homeland security, in our ports, loose nuclear weapons. And then I would simply say, the United States is going to take the moral lead in the world, and we have failed to do that.
O'BRIEN: Governor, are you running? Are you running?
RICHARDSON: I didn't hear you.
O'BRIEN: Are you running?
RICHARDSON: I'm going to decide this month. I'm going to decide this month. Right now I'm very happy about this peace agreement in the Sudan, and I've got to deal with my New Mexico legislature. But as I've always said, I'll make a decision this month.
O'BRIEN: Governor Bill Richardson, former U.N. ambassador as well, thanks for your time -- Alina. RICHARDSON: Thank you.
CHO: Nearly 1/2 million Americans are diagnosed with cancer each year. It's no longer the death sentence it often was a generation ago, but there's still a lot more work to be done before a cure is found.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now from the CNN Center with a preview of "Saving Your Life," a CNN special.
And, Sanjay, every time we hear the word cancer, it seems the words early detection follow. That's really key, isn't it?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is very key, but you know, one of the amazing things is we did a lot of homework working on this special, is that as much as we talk about cancer, as much as we've done pieces on it on CNN and other news organizations, a lot of people still don't understand exactly what you can do right now to try and beat it, to try and protect yourself, to try to get screened. One of the things you can do to sort of make your best defense a very good offense.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
Just how much control do we have over whether we get cancer?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Honestly, I don't think I have much control. I just hope I don't get it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: None at all.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think I have control.
GUPTA: A new poll commissioned by the American Cancer Society found more than 1/3 of those surveyed, 36 percent, believe they have little or no control over reducing their risk of getting cancer. Genes do play a role, but diet and lifestyle account for more than half the cases of cancer in this country. That's according to the American Cancer Society. That's more than 250,000 preventable cancer deaths every year.
Smoking, of course, is at the top of the list of cancer risks. And America's 45 million smokers are certainly raising their chances of getting many types of cancer. Unhealthy diet and lack of exercise contribute to 1/3 of cancer deaths.
COLLEN DOYLE, AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: Largely, many cancers are prevented through these healthy behaviors, like not smoking, like getting exercise, like maintaining a healthy weight, and people really aren't aware that they do have some control over their cancer risk.
GUPTA: Doctors say Americans also need to do a better job of getting screened for cancer. Catch it early, and the chances of surviving the dreaded disease improves dramatically.
Dr. Jim Hobbs, an expert on rural health care, says lack of insurance or transportation are two reasons people don't get screened. Human nature is another.
JIM HOTIZ, ALBANY AREA PRIMARY HEALTH CARE CENTERS: It's kind of like a terrorist -- you know, the fear that there's a cell that's become an alien within your body that can kill you, and people don't want to know about that; they want to put their head in the sand about it.
GUPTA: With cancer, knowledge can be a lifesaver.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: And you know, we are teaming one Lance Armstrong to bring you this special this weekend called saving your life, and we're real specific here about things you can do right now to try and reduce your chances of getting cancer. We wanted to make sure that we brought that knowledge to anyone who had watched.
Also, you know, one of the things I asked lance To do ahead of the special is write a post for a blog on CNN.com. And it really tapped into something, I think, Alina, talking about more than 1.4 million people actually looking at that post. It was remarkable.
A lot of people actually sending in their own iReports as well, which are just amazing. I just wanted to share a couple with you quickly, if we have time. One came from Alisa (ph). This is a woman who wrote, "I tried to be the one to decide when my hair was gone, but no matter what I did, chemo was determined to decide for me. I'm married with a 3-year-old. It's very important that I beat this." And that's Alisa, and she has just two rounds of chemo to go. So good luck to you.
Also, Mike. Mike sent in an iReport, among many iReports that we got. And he wrote this, at 22, I lost my right testicle. Chemotherapy found its way into a once-healthy body. Despite the nightmare, I have found a higher purpose to make this world a better place. Mike has been medically discharged from the Air Force. He's now cancer-free and is eager to return to a life of service.
We got so many stories like this, Alina. It is remarkable. You're going to hear some of those this weekend, and you're going to hear a lot more about what you can do right now to protect yourself against cancer.
CHO: It's going to be an emotional hour, I'm sure. Sanjay, thank you very much.
Don't forget, you can catch "Saving Your Life," Dr. Sanjay Gupta's special with Lance Armstrong, both Saturday and Sunday night. That's at 8:00 Eastern time right here on CNN -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING -- Clint Eastwood versus Clint Eastwood in the Golden Globe Awards. Go ahead, make his day. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING the most news in the morning, right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (WEATHER REPORT)
CHO: Just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, we'll look at so-called exotic mortgages with Gerri Willis. We'll show you why you should be weary of some loans.
Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING. We're coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: If you're in the market for a home, you'd better listen up. There are a lot of mortgages out there that may seem too good to be true. Hang onto your wallet. The so-called exotic loans can mean big trouble for borrowers.
Our personal finance editor, Ms. Gerri Willis, she's here to explain exotic loans for us. What are they?
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDTIOR: Well, they are very confusing to regular consumers, and they're complicated. Forget the plain-vanilla 30-year fixed mortgage. We're talking about payment- option loans, where you have four ways of paying your loan, the least of which is one that increases your loan balance every month, Miles. There's also interest-only loans, where you pay only the interest every month. These aren't in favor of consumers. They really don't help them.
O'BRIEN: Well, it does lower the monthly payment, but...
WILLIS: Lowers the monthly payment, but in the long-run, you owe far more.
O'BRIEN: You end up owing more, perhaps even more than your place is worth at times.
What is the biggest problem?
WILLIS: Well, the biggest problem is you're building debt, rather than taking it away.
Take this example from bankrate.com. Now here's a $350,000 payment option loan made at 6.5 percent. And as you can see, the minimum payment should be about $1,200 a month, if you're making that minimum payment. However, after five years, if you've only made the minimum payment, that rate resets and you owe $2,600 each and every month. Your mortgage has effectively doubled.
Now, we talked to John Taylor, the CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, about the factors going on here, what are borrowers up against. And he said last year 29 percent of borrowers effectively had no equity in their homes, which is very bad news. There are lots of reasons for that -- no down payment, values are going down, appraisals aren't good. Lots of concerns out there. And this is changing the way homeownership works in America.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN TAYLOR, NATL. COMM. REINVESTMENT COALITION: The whole notion of using a home to build wealth for your family and having a stable environment is in jeopardy when you have no equity in that home, and the value of the home is decreasing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIS: So, Americans have to be very, very careful about the mortgages that they get, Miles.
O'BRIEN: Now, some people kind of go into this with a disadvantage.
WILLIS: Absolutely true. John Taylor had some really interesting information about the disadvantages Some Americans face out in the marketplace. His organization sent out mystery shoppers. These were African-Americans, whites, who went in with the same credit histories, the same kind of job background, and they went out to get mortgages, and what they found is that 45 percent of whites had a chance of getting a better mortgage.
Look at this, white borrowers are going to get a better deal in the mortgage marketplace 45 percent of the time, whether the terms are the interest rate or you know, whether it's some of the wacky things we just described.
O'BRIEN: That's a pretty serious allegation to be going on.
WILLIS: Yes, it is.
O'BRIEN: What could a borrower do not to get stuck?
WILLIS: Well, there are lots of things you can do to make sure you get the loan you need. No. 1, stay in the mainstream. Get that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. That's the easiest thing to get. Know your credit score before you even stop shopping for a loan, and you really need to educate yourself. One great place to go, hud.gov/buying. They have all kinds of great ideas for you to make sure that you're getting the loan that you need.
And we'll be talking more about this on "OPEN HOUSE," Saturday morning, 9:30 a.m. Eastern, right here on CNN. And we'll also be talking about home gyms.
Do you have a home gym, Miles?
O'BRIEN: Yes, good thing for your clothes, to hang your clothes on, right? Isn't that what you use them for?
WILLIS: No, we have ideas that you'll actually use.
O'BRIEN: Excellent. Thank you very much, Gerri.
WILLIS: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: We'll be watching this weekend. CHO: You do a little running, a little working out.
Here's a quick look at what "CNN NEWSROOM" is working on for the top of the hour.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: See these stories in the CNN NEWSROOM -- round two: Congress questioning the president's top war advisers again today on the new Iraq strategy. Live coverage ahead.
The Plain States stocking up on sand. A major ice storm brewing for the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm mom forever and ever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Fourteen years in the making, New Hampshire parents finally adopt their daughter. You're in the NEWSROOM 9:00 a.m. Eastern, 6:00 Pacific.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Welcome back. Director Clint Eastwood tried something new, and guess what? He's getting rewarded for it. He's up for two Golden Globes on Monday for best director for two movies, both films taking on the same story.
CNN entertainment reporter Sibila Vargas reports from Los Angeles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "Flags of Our Fathers" tells about soldiers fighting one of the most famous battles in history.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: The heroes of Iwo Jima.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: "Letters From Iwo Jima" describes the same battle from the Japanese side. Two movies, same battle, same director, Clint Eastwood.
(on camera): An unusual perspective.
RICHARD SCHICKEL, "TIME" MAGAZINE FILM CRITIC": A Japanese- language film, taking the Japanese point of view in World War II. I mean, I think it's unique. I don't know of anything quite like it.
VARGAS (voice-over): Also remarkable, the timing of both films. Eastwood shot both "Flags" and "Iwo Jima" back to back. SCHICKEL: The script was written by a young woman sort of helping on research with Paul Haggis, was who writing "Flags," showed it to Clint, and he said, that's good, let's do that.
(on camera): Eastwood's unconventional approach is paying off bigtime at this year's Golden Globes. He got best director nods for both films, the first time in Globe history that a person has ban been nominated twice in the directing category.
MIKE FLEEMAN, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: He put out two of the arguably best movies of his career.
VARGAS (voice-over): Eastwood is a longtime favorites at the Golden Globes, winning three for directing, "Bird" in 1989, "Unforgiven in "1993," and most recently "Million Dollar Baby."
HILLARY SWANK, ACTRESS: Because I know if you train me right, I'm going to be a champ.
VARGAS: Critics say it's because Eastwood finds a way to stay ahead of the game.
SCHICKEL: I think he's always looking for something that refreshes the genre. Yes, it looks like a genre movie. It looks like a boxing movie, it looks like a war movie. But when you get into the movie, it's something different.
FLEEMAN: He's doing the kinds of stuff at his age that cutting edge indie directors would only dare to do.
VARGAS: Like making history with two compelling war stories.
Sibila Vargas, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: We are way out of time for the entire week on AMERICAN MORNING. Thanks for being with us.
CHO: "CNN NEWSROOM" with Tony Harris and Heidi Collins begins right now.
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