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American Morning
Passenger Stuck on JetBlue Planes for Hours; Giuliani Leads McCain in Polls; Losing Weight May Decrease Need for Knee Replacements; Dollar Coin Series to Feature U.S. Presidents
Aired February 15, 2007 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: Arwa Damon in Baghdad with the latest -- Arwa.
ARWA DAMON, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: Miles, good morning.
Well, it has been the question of the day for quite some time now, the whereabouts of radical Shia Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. According to U.S. officials, the U.S. military, and now according to a senior member of the Iraqi government very close to the Iraqi prime minister, he is, in fact, in Iran. However, according to his office, he is still in Iraq.
A spokesman coming out earlier this morning saying it was all lies, it was all stories. He was most definitely in Iraq. Bottom line is, even if he is in Iran, it's really not something that is unusual. He has made at least half a dozen official visits there in the past, and has also made a number of personal visits. He does maintain close ties to Iran -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: So, put it in perspective, then. If he goes there frequently, why all the fuss over this particular trip?
DAMON: Miles, it really depends on how you look at it. If you look at it from the U.S. administration's perspective, from the White House perspective, they are making the claim he's there fleeing this crackdown, this new Baghdad security plan, that perhaps might be targeting him. But the thing is, that is just a claim that the White House is making at this point. Until Muqtada al-Sadr, himself, pops out in Iraq or Iran, there's really is no confirming his whereabouts, or why he might have fled Iraq -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Arwa Damon in Baghdad. Thank you.
Soledad.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: Also, for the first time we heard about this group, the Qodz in Iraq, they are this elite security force. The question now, are they undermining security within Iraq -- they are in Iran, are they undermining security in Iraq?
The president, at his news conference yesterday, held off on directly accusing Iran's presidents and top leaders of directing the Qodz. CNN's Ed Henry is live from the White House for us this morning.
Ed, this is question that you put directly to the president?
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good morning, Soledad.
You know, in the last few days it has really looked like various officials in the administration have not been on the same page about this information about Iran. The president got irritated when I persisted to ask him about it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY (voice over): President Bush was confronted with questions of credibility about the claims by an anonymous, but high-level U.S. intelligence briefer, made Sunday that top Iranian officials are supplying weapons to Shiite militias in Iraq.
(On camera): Some of those contradictions, Mr. President --
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There is no contradiction, that the weapons were there, and they were provided by the Qodz Force.
HENRY (voice over): Mr. Bush was referring an elite section of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, which is part of the government, but he seemed to pull back from previous charges that high-level Iranian officials were responsible.
BUSH: What we don't know is whether or not the head leaders of Iran ordered the Qodz Force to do what they did.
HENRY: That squares with General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, who said while the explosive devices are manufactured in Iran --
GEN. PETER PACE, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: That does not translate to that the Iranian government, per se, for sure is directly involved in doing this.
HENRY: But the president's comments flatly contradict what that anonymous intelligence briefer said Sunday in Baghdad during an off- camera briefing with reporters.
(On camera): They said the highest levels of the Iranian government yesterday --
BUSH: Let me -- let me finish, Ed. I can't say it more plainly. There are weapons in Iraq that are harming U.S. troops because of the Qodz Force. As you know, I hope, the Qodz Force is a part of the Iranian government. Whether Ahmadinejad ordered the Qodz force to do this, I don't think we know.
HENRY: Mixed signals are fueling questions about whether the White House is relying on flawed intelligence, just like in the run-up to the Iraq war.
(On camera): What assurances can you give the American people that the intelligence this time will be accurate?
BUSH: I don't think we know who picked up the phone and said, the Qodz Force go do this. What matters is that we are responding. The idea that somehow we are manufacturing the idea that the Iranians are providing IEDs is preposterous, Ed.
HENRY (voice over): The president seemed frustrated with continued questions about whether the maneuvering is building a new case for a war with Iran.
BUSH: No it means I'm trying to protect our troops.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY: Now some new information just coming in from my colleague, Barbara Starr, at the Pentagon, that General Peter Pace is expected to have a media availability later today. All eyes will be on that to see exactly how he puts this, given this confusion over the last couple of days.
Other information that we have gotten is that apparently this anonymous intelligence briefer just went apparently a little too far, in saying the highest levels of the Iranian government are behind this. That begs the question why the administration has taken so long to clarify those comments, Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: That's a big going too far. That's a critical piece of information.
HENRY: Especially given what happened in the run-up to the Iraq war. I think that's the bottom line here. The administration knows full well about the credibility questions. And you would think that in this case they would want to make sure they had all their ducks in a row, Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: One would think. Ed Henry, for us at the White House this morning. Thank you, Ed.
HENRY: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: Also this morning, we'll hear from the president. He is set to give a speech on the war on terror, expecting that at 10:00 a.m. Eastern. We will carry that for you live when it happens -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: The storm is over but the mess remains this morning. Take a look at how it looks across much of the Northeast and New England this morning. Snowplows, snow blowers, people still digging out after record-setting snowfalls.
There's some danger on the road. Be careful out there. Take a look at this tape, that's coming up here. It comes from near Cincinnati. FedEx truck, whoa. Slam into a car and then a police cruiser, where that dashboard camera is located. An officer responding to an accident when his cruiser got hit.
As you can see, it spun around in the opposite direction. Let's look at it one more time here. Slick roads, obviously. Whoa. Amazingly no one was seriously hurt in that crash. Boy, it sure points out the danger out there.
CNN's Greg Hunter is in Albany, New York. More than 20 inches of snow there, a lot of wind there expected today.
Not much yet, but it's still early, isn't it, Greg?
GREG HUNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is still early.
I'm standing on top of a pile of snow in a parking lot. This is to the extreme, it's about 15 feet tall. And I have to hand it to the road crews who are in Albany -- they didn't pile up snow this high, the road crews, this is a parking lot -- but they started plowing snow right away. As soon as the snow started falling, the trucks were out. And they started plowing snow.
And any car on the street that should have been removed got plowed in. On top of that, those cars will be ticketed and towed.
But the crews worked just about 24 hours, nonstop, to make sure the roads are clear. Now, they are still slick but the roads are clear and the snow has really mounted up on the side of the highway, or the side of the roads.
Another thing that they're worried about is high winds coming later today. As much as 40-mile-per-hour winds. Right now it's about 9 degrees. The snow is really dry. It's -- it doesn't really make a good snowball. So later on today, when the winds pick up, what they're worried about this plowed snow, all nicely stacked up, will blow everywhere and blow into big drifts.
That's what they are concerned about later today. Let's hope it doesn't drift up too much. Back to you, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, Greg Hunter. Thanks you very much.
Coming up in about 10 minutes, we will check in with our snow and Severe Weather Expert Chad Myers.
Now the story everyone is talking about, weather related. The flights to nowhere. Kind of like an episode of "The Twilight Zone." Hundreds of passengers trapped on JetBlue airliners, up to seven of them, for at least eight hours maybe more at New York's JFK Airport. These are cell phone pictures taken from -- by the trapped passengers on just one of the flights. Short time ago, we spoke to one of the passengers who was trapped, Wallace Turbeville. He described what it was like to be on that plane for so long.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE TURBEVILLE, TRAPPED ON PLANE FOR 8 HOURS: First of all, you got to know various members of the passenger list, there. You got to understand what their frustrations were.
What would happen is, from time to time, people would have just have outbursts. And especially this one gentleman who was very claustrophobic. So, basically once every half hour or so he would start slamming his fists, throwing things, screaming and that sort of thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: Turbeville says he wasn't bothered that much. He says he's been on 12-hour flights across the Pacific. However, he does say that crew could have provided more information to the passengers -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: There's a high alert right now in Spain for one of Europe's highest profile terror trials, for the bombing of commuter trains in Madrid on 3/11, 2004, that was Spain's version of 9/11. It killed 191 people, injured nearly 2,000 others. CNN International Security Correspondent Paula Newton is in Madrid for that trial.
Good morning, Paula.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INT'L. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
This morning, Soledad, the judge wasted no time in getting this trial under way. One of the alleged ring leaders wasted no time in saying he wouldn't be cooperating. That's unnerving for Spaniards here, Soledad. They have been waiting for answers and they have been waiting now for almost three years.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON (voice over): Two years, 11 months, and four days later the sirens dissolve into silence. The silence turned to rage. But now there are just questions. And that unsettling thought among Spaniards that somehow the terrorists got the better of them, chocked up a victory.
GUSTAVO DE ARISTEGUI, LAWMAKER, AUTHOR, "JIHAD IN SPAIN": Of course it was, in their eyes, it was the biggest blow they have given as Islamic terrorists.
NEWTON: It wasn't just the remote controlled slaughter, or all the fear and anxiety that it bred. Three days after the bombings, Spaniards voted out the government that sent troops to Iraq, and voted in a government that withdrew those troops.
Later, 29 suspects were rounded up and are now facing trial. Among them, a handful of alleged ring leaders, like Moroccan immigrant Jamal Zugum (ph). Judicial inquiries in Spain have suggested he is linked to Al Qaeda. But the community where he prayed is waiting for solid proof. Madrid's Muslim leaders claim whatever happened, it was not nurtured in their mosques, or by the Moroccan community.
SAIF BEN ABDANOUR, ISLAMIC CULTURE CENTER (through translator): Still nobody knows why this happened. We all know that a small cell was responsible for the carnage. A matter before a judge now and we in this community don't feel implicated.
NEWTON: Al Qaeda, though, is implicated in a martyrdom video by one suspect it's singled out as a source of inspiration. But did it provide more than that? Seven suspects blew themselves up in a standoff with police in the Madrid suburb of Leganez (ph). They will never face a trial, or any of the questions about Al Qaeda.
Even so, the key question remains how much influence did Al Qaeda have among Spain's Muslim immigrants. Spaniards are hoping to learn more from the trial, it's a crucial question that the country's North African immigrant population grows, and Al Qaeda's influence in North Africa, especially Morocco and Algeria grows, too.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: That is the key, the piece of the puzzle that is missing here, Soledad. They want to know what involvement had -- Al Qaeda had in the plot, and what it might have in store for Spain and Europe to come.
And, Soledad, I should add that the victims family from 9/11, yesterday, sent a letter to the victims families here, sending their support, and hoping that they get the answers and the closure they're looking for -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: We'll see if by the end of that trial, they do get some of those answers. Paula Newton, for us this morning, in Madrid. Thank you.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: You making lunch for the kids? PBJs? If so, listen up, we have word of a salmonella outbreak in peanut butter. Nearly 300 cases in 39 states, connected to tainted peanut butter from a ConAgra plant in Georgia. It affects Peter Pan or Great Value Peanut Butters. The jars all have the product code 2111 printed on the lid. So far it has made people sick primarily in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee and Missouri. One in five of those people had to go to the hospital, no deaths are reported -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: First the whiteout and now the wind. Chad is not going to bluster about the bluster in the Northeast. He will give us details, straight facts, straight ahead.
And could they be in trouble in Iraq? The president blames the Iranian Qodz Force for killing U.S. soldiers. But who are they? And who do they take orders from? We will take a closer look, straight ahead, this morning. You are watching AMERICAN MORNING, most news in the morning is right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: The most news in the morning is here on CNN.
There is new information out of Iraq this morning, an aid to the prime minister, Nouri Al-Maliki says that the radical Shiite Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has left Iraq, and is now in Iran.
And some new pressure on Iraqi insurgents today. The U.S. military is launching Operation Law & Order, staging multiple raids against militias in Baghdad.
It's a quarter past the hour. Let's get right to Chad Myers at the CNN Weather Center.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: The Bush administration continuing to try to build its case against Iran trying to prove there's a link between Tehran and the violence inside Iraq. The president is now pointing the finger at the Iranian Qodz Force, a commando force that operates outside Iranian borders.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: There are weapons in Iraq that are harming U.S. troops because of the Qodz Force. And as you know, I hope, that the Qodz Force is a part of the Iranian government. Whether Ahmadinejad ordered the Qodz Force do this, I don't think we know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: So who are the Qodz? And who do they answer to? CNN's Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour, in London this morning, with some answers for us.
Good morning, Christiane. Who are the Qodz?
CHRISTIAN AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Qodz Force means Jerusalem. Qodz is the Arabic word for Jerusalem. It is a division of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. And like all the military and all the other kinds of forces and ministries in Iran, it is nominally under the direct orders, or rather supervision of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, like all the military and other kinds of arms of foreign policies, and military policy in Iran.
As you know, both President Bush and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace, have stepped back from earlier rhetoric that suggested the Iranian government may be directly ordering attacks against coalition forces in Iraq.
What we know about the Qodz Force is that they are a division that was created shortly after the Iranian revolution back in 1979. That they responsible, I'm told, for sort of international -- you know, affairs. They are like many, many places, in many parts of the world, an arm that is attached to international diplomacy, I'm told.
Many of the Qodz forces, I'm told, are also attached as military attaches like many other countries have around the world, in their embassies, whether it's the U.S. embassy, the British embassy, all the other embassies around the world have their cultural, diplomatic, scientific, educational, and military attaches. I'm told members of the Qodz Force are operational and officially sanctioned in many, many place, in such in such a way.
Obviously, the Iranians, I've been speaking today with very highly placed people. They obviously deny that the Qodz Force is in any way sanctioned, or involved, in operations against American forces in Iraq. They say that the first to suffer for that kind of instability in Iraq would be Iran. They say that is not their mission right now.
In addition, they're saying that the Qodz Force, as I said, are known and they're there in many countries, including in Iraq, as officially sanctioned people attached to the embassy. Back to you.
M. O'BRIEN: Christiane, is it possible they would be operating without direct orders from Ahmadinejad's office? Could they have that much autonomy?
AMANPOUR: First and foremost, Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, does not order the military into anything. These orders come from the supreme leader. As you may know, there are layers of authority in Iran. The chief responsible for foreign policy, nuclear policy, military policy, all of that, is the supreme leader, not the president of Iran.
When I asked that very question, is it possible for the Qodz Force to be involved in any kind of military operations unknown officially, I was told absolutely not. Furthermore I was told it is absolutely not in Iran's strategic interest, or in its strategic mission at this time, to be doing that kind of thing.
M. O'BRIEN: But this -- just for a second there, just to pose a little bit of a devil's advocate here -- it would be in the interest of the Iranians to ensure that the Shias prevail, one way or another, in Iraq, right?
AMANPOUR: Well, clearly the Shia are the Iranian's allies, but from what I'm told, the Shia are also the American's allies. And Iran -- some in Iran believe that the Shia are a group that can be a bridge between Iran and Iraq. That's something that some people there believe can be possible. It's their way of reaching the Americans.
When I asked about evidence that was produced in Baghdad by the military commanders, evidence such as serial numbers, such as pictures of these weapons, such as IEDs, and things like that of IRGC guards, I was told, look, the Iranian border right now is very, very porous. Anybody can buy anything, any kind of weapons. It does not mean to say because weapons made in Iran are being used in Iraq that those are sanctioned officially by Iran.
And they, as I say, my sources completely deny there's official sanction of that kind of activity. I asked about, well, what about this IED that has been found? The answer was well, you know that in today's days of technological ability, you can do anything with IEDs and passports and the like.
So, in other words, the message from Iran is a strong denial that they're involved in any of this. And a strong denial that it would be in their interest to be involved in any of this.
M. O'BRIEN: Christian Amanpour from London, thank you.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Straight ahead this morning, when he talks Wall Street listens. We will tell you what Ben Bernanke said that sent the Dow to an all-time high.
Plus, another unwanted side effect from being even just a little bit overweight. We'll tell you how one extra pound can lead to serious knee pain, and much worse. That story ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. We're back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: It seems like only yesterday we were celebrating the Dow at 12,000. Now we're flirting with 13,000. It's 25 minutes past the hour, Stephanie Elam, "Minding Your Business".
Good morning, Stephanie.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Yesterday it was all about Valentine's Day, taking a look at all things red, but the markets were green yesterday. That's a good thing. Taking a look at the Dow, it was up 87 points, coming in at 12741. The old record was set on February 1st. This is the 28th record close since the beginning of October. So, if you are keeping track of that, there.
Also, October 19th was the first time we closed over 12,000. And yesterday, beyond having a banner day and ending at a new record, we also had an intraday high as well. The main reason why this is, is because of Ben Bernanke. The Fed chairman was speaking, yesterday, to a Senate panel and it's his comments actually led to this rally here, as far as the markets are concerned.
Taking a look at what he said. He said the economy should grow modestly for the year. Also saying that inflation seems like it's continuing to ease. That means we are in the sweet spot, or what some people will call, Soledad, as the Goldilocks economy. Because it's not too hot, it's not too cold, it's just right.
S. O'BRIEN: Just right.
ELAM: So, good news here for the markets. Second day in a row we saw a lift.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, we like to hear that. Stephanie Elam, thank you very much.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm hungry for porridge, right now.
S. O'BRIEN: Most stories in the morning.
Coming up next, imagine this, you are stuck on a plane waiting to take off, for hours and hours and hours. Ripple effects of that are still being felt this morning. We will hear from some very angry passengers.
In case you just weren't sure, it turns out former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is in it -- in the race. Confirmed it to Larry King last night. He's running for president and now, at least one poll has him right at the top of the heap.
Plus, a surprise stunt to tell you about, inside the courtroom at the Lewis Scooter Libby trial -- from the jury. We'll tell you what they did straight ahead. You are watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Where is Muqtada al-Sadr? New information coming in this morning from Iraqi officials.
S. O'BRIEN: Flights to nowhere. Steamed passengers stuck on JetBlue planes for hours. Many of them are furious this morning.
M. O'BRIEN: And keep the change. The government rolling out its newest dollar coin. We'll ask the top man at the mint, is this what America really needs on this AMERICAN MORNING?
S. O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. It's Thursday, February 15. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. We're glad you're with us.
We begin this half hour with those long flights to nowhere and passengers seeing red over JetBlue. The airline beloved by passengers and by Wall Street dealing with its first big black eye.
Hundreds of passengers in at least seven planes stuck on the tarmacs at Kennedy Airport for hour upon hour yesterday. They wouldn't let anybody off.
CNN's Carol Costello with the grim tale.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR (voice-over): They are frustrated, they're uncomfortable, many are anxious and hungry. And they are literally trapped on JetBlue Flight 751 bound for Cancun but going nowhere.
Passengers took these photos during the eight hours they were literally trapped on the tarmac in New York's Kennedy Airport, victims of the winter weather gripping the northeast and also victims of what JetBlue admits were unacceptable decisions.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean it was just sitting there and sitting there. And they would say that they were going to pull us into the gate. And they never did. They had -- you know, there was very little food. It was just a nightmare.
COSTELLO: This trip from hell started just after 8 in the morning when the plane pulled back from the gate and got in line for deicing. The airline says it was anticipating a break in the weather, but that never materialized.
Then JetBlue says there were no gates available and some of the plane's wheels actually froze to the ground. So people on Flight 751 waited and waited and waited.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was no power, and it was hot. There was no air. They kept having to open the actual plane doors so we could breathe comfortably.
COSTELLO: Hours went by with no movement and no information. One passenger said it was like being held hostage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody gave us any answers. They kept telling us, "We know as much as you do."
And I said, "I don't work here. You work here. Give me answers."
"We have no answers." That's all we were getting all day.
COSTELLO: After more than eight hours, buses were finally brought in to take the passengers back to the terminal.
In a statement, JetBlue conceded it should have returned Flight 751 to a gate.
(on camera) The airline is apologizing to the passengers and offering them a full refund as well as a free round trip ticket.
Carol Costello, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: We're hearing reports that passengers are still in line at JFK this morning, waiting for new flights out of here on JetBlue. Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, I spoke to one of the hostages -- I mean passengers. At least he's home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE TURBEVILLE, STUCK ON PLANE FOR EIGHT HOURS: Well, at first it was -- the implication was sometime soon. But very soon after that we sort of banded together with a crew because they didn't know what was going on either.
And then later, when people got even more frustrated, the crew got more defensive. But for the most part, it was just "We don't know, nobody will tell us." And the crew was making telephone calls to friends in the organization, trying to find out what was going on.
(END VIDEO CLIP) M. O'BRIEN: Turbeville says the flight crew could have done a better job, though, letting passengers know what was going on -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Happening this morning, we're getting new indications out of Iraq that the anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has left Iraq and is now in Iran. An adviser to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki says al-Sadr left for Iran a few days ago.
Security forces in Iraq this morning have closed parts of the border with Iran. It's part of a larger crackdown on groups that are believed to be smuggling supplies to militant groups.
In Madrid, Spain, this morning the terror trial for 29 suspects accused in the deadly commuter train bombings back in March of 2004. A hundred and ninety-one people died in the attack.
President Bush talks about America's war on terror in a speech this morning in Washington, D.C., focusing on Iraq and Afghanistan. CNN is going to carry the speech live. That happens at 10 a.m. Eastern Time -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Rudy Giuliani is in, and he's the front-runner. The former New York mayor spilled the beans last night to who else? Our Larry King.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, who has formed an exploratory committee for the 2008 presidential race, which usually leads to an advisory committee and a maybe (ph) committee. Are you running or not?
RUDY GIULIANI (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes, I'm running, sure.
KING: Are you? When -- do you make an official announcement or is this it, here right now?
GIULIANI: I guess you do...
KING: "I just said I'm running."
GIULIANI: I guess you do one of these things, and you do it four times, or five times in a day so I can, you know, get on your show and about five others.
KING: So you're running?
GIULIANI: Yes, I'm running.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: Running, and he's got a double digit lead over the man you saw there just briefly, John McCain. We asked Bill Schneider to take a look at the numbers. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING: Are you running or not?
GIULIANI: Yes, I'm running.
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Rudy Giuliani is not just getting in; he's also taking off. Last month, the "USA Today"/Gallup poll had Giuliani and John McCain running neck and neck among Republicans nationwide. Now Giuliani has moved to a sizable lead over McCain. What's driving it?
GIULIANI: I think they will on the basis of leadership. I think they -- I think they will on the basis of, ultimately, we need someone who we think can handle this country at a time of war.
SCHNEIDER: Giuliani is 9/11. That's what gave him the image of strong, decisive leadership, the same image President Bush used to have. McCain is becoming more identified with a different Bush image, Iraq.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The commander of the multinational forces, Iraq, now General David Petraeus, and all United States personnel under his command, should receive from Congress the full support necessary to carry out the United States' mission in Iraq.
SCHNEIDER: McCain and Giuliani both support the president on Iraq. It's a matter of which image the Republicans want to present to voters next year. The Bush of 9/11 got re-elected in 2004. The Bush of Iraq got defeated in 2006.
Some social conservatives are determined to block Giuliani.
TONY PERKINS, FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL: I think Giuliani is -- is unacceptable from the outset.
SCHNEIDER: Giuliani will never be a favorite of social conservatives, but he's trying to make himself not unacceptable to them.
GIULIANI: I'm pro choice, yes, but I'm also, as you know, always have been, against abortion, hate abortion, don't like it.
SCHNEIDER: In the end, Giuliani is relying on the halo effect of 9/11 that voters will set aside litmus tests for leadership.
GIULIANI: You can never find a candidate you agree with 100 percent of the time. I don't agree with myself 100 percent of the time. So how are you going to find a candidate...
KING: You think they'll vote for you?
GIULIANI: I think they will, I think they will. I think they will on the basis of leadership.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: Bill Schneider with us live now.
Bill, at this juncture -- we've got to remind ourselves, it's very early here. It doesn't seem like it with all the talk we have about it.
SCHNEIDER: Right.
M. O'BRIEN: At this juncture, a lot of this is name recognition, isn't it?
SCHNEIDER: Of course it is name recognition. And the record shows that very often among Democrats, the early front-runner, a year before the first votes are cast, the early front-runner often does not win.
In 1987 that was Gary Hart. In 2003, it was Howard Dean. Neither of them got the nomination.
Among Republicans, however, they often do go with their front- runner. Bob Dole was the front-runner before in 1995, before '96, and George W. Bush was the front-runner. That was largely name recognition where people might have thought he was his father, but he ultimately became the nominee and then the president.
M. O'BRIEN: So that's interesting. Do you think that -- get your crystal ball out. Do you think -- will that pattern hold this time around or is there something more complicated this go-around?
SCHNEIDER: There is something more complicated. And that's the fact that there's no vice president. There's no president running. So that it's more wide open than usual.
I think a lot of it is going to be determined by what the polls are showing. Democrats ask all the time can Hillary Clinton be elected? That's the question on a lot of their minds. Republicans ask a similar question but a little bit different. They say which Republican has the best chance of beating Hillary Clinton? She is the central figure in this whole thing, and what the polls show about her is going to be very important.
M. O'BRIEN: Once again, the prospects of a Giuliani/Clinton match-up.
SCHNEIDER: All New York.
M. O'BRIEN: All-New York match-up. All right, Bill Schneider, thanks for your time -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Like a subway series.
M. O'BRIEN: It's like that. Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, the testimony is all done in the perjury trial of Scooter -- Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Next for the defense and the prosecution are the closing arguments, which will begin on Tuesday. Final day of testimony was highlighted by arguments over evidence.
Libby is charged with lying during the investigation of the identity leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame. He never took the stand in his trial.
There was a lighter moment at the trial, too. Thirteen jurors entered the courtroom wearing red t-shirts with a little white heart on them celebrating Valentine's Day. The defense prosecution, even the judge got a little chuckle out of it right before they went back to their work.
M. O'BRIEN: They have a heart.
Still to come, knee surgery. There's one way you can avoid going under the knife. And that may be just skipping that cheeseburger and going for the salad bar. We'll explain. Sanjay Gupta is in the house.
And you she might have been the queen of the Nile but she was no beauty queen, at least by our standards. Yes, that's Cleopatra there, and she's no Elizabeth Taylor. The most news in the morning right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.
The House is expected to vote on a resolution tomorrow expressing disapproval of the president's plan to send more troops into Iraq.
And people across the northeast are digging out this morning after a record-breaking snowstorm. Over 25 inches fell over 24 hours in some places -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, got some knee pain? There's fresh evidence the real problem starts somewhere else. Doctors say the knee bone is connected to the jawbone. And you can avoid the knife by putting down that fork full of pie.
Sanjay Gupta with a "Fit Nation" report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. ARTHUR RAINES, ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON: This is bone on bone. There's no space here compared to here. There's bone on bone here.
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Joseph Harris had both knees replaced two years ago when he was 53. He blames it on playing football when he was younger and gaining weight when he was older.
JOSEPH HARRIS, KNEE REPLACEMENT PATIENT: I said if I slow down, maybe it will slow down the degenerative process of the knees. Of course, slowing it down at the same time, I gained 35 pounds.
GUPTA: Every extra pound of weight you carry is an extra four pounds of pressure on your knees.
RAINES: And multiply that by the thousands of steps an average human being takes each day. That's a significant amount of force.
GUPTA: And a recent study found more than 400,000 Americans have knee replacements every year. Experts say that number could increase by eight times by the year 2030, in many cases because of extra weight.
RAINES: Over the past 15 years, I mean, we're doing knee replacements in pains with arthritis in their 40s now, in their 50s. Sixty is a young patient to me.
GUPTA: Added to which, knees only last 15 to 20 years. So having surgery younger means patients may have to go for more replacements. At $31,000 a pop, knee surgery could end up costing Americans tens of billions of dollars. But some of that could be avoided by dropping that extra weight.
RAINES: Just a few pounds of weight loss can give you a significant relief in knee pain. And that might be one of the first steps in treating your knee problem.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: Forty-five minutes past the hour. Chad Myers is watching it all, watching the weather, that big snowstorm that in some places is still going on, isn't it, Chad? Good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Chad. Thank you. Can you believe nobody got hurt in that accident? Isn't that amazing?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely can't believe it. Especially that little Ford Taurus.
S. O'BRIEN: ... off to the side are the cop and somebody else, who he was there helping. There were a lot of people right there.
MYERS: Absolutely.
S. O'BRIEN: Nobody injured.
All right, Chad. Thanks.
MYERS: You're welcome.
S. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, more on the story we've been telling you about all morning. Those passengers who were stranded for hours on end on JetBlue planes at Kennedy Airport. Well, one woman says she's not going to take it anymore. She's got a list of demands. We'll tell you what she wants. Plus, former NBA star Tim Hardaway is feeling the heat this morning after some comments. He says he hates gays. Could rehab be in his future? Take a look at that straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: You know, they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but to many people it looks like the queen of the Nile, not so much of a beauty queen.
A 2,000-year-old coin is giving us a fresh look at Cleopatra. And you can be the judge. I think she's no Elizabeth Taylor. That's Elizabeth Taylor there on the right in the 1963 film.
Then again, look at Marc Antony. He was no Richard Burton. Maybe they were considered handsome for their time.
M. O'BRIEN: Hollywood might have gotten a hold of that a little bit. Anyway.
S. O'BRIEN: Also this morning, the mint rolling out the new dollar coin. It features American presidents. The question, of course, is the third time the charm?
M. O'BRIEN: Will these coins succeed where the other two versions failed? And is the failure of the dollar bill now just a matter of time?
Edmund Moy, director of the U.S. Mint, joins us now with word on the president series of dollar coins.
Good to have you with us today.
EDMUND MOY, DIRECTOR, U.S. MINT: Great to be with you. I've got a great idea, though.
M. O'BRIEN: What?
MOY: A Soledad coin.
M. O'BRIEN: A Soledad coin?
MOY: That would really go.
S. O'BRIEN: Don't you have to be dead?
M. O'BRIEN: She has to be dead for 20 years, thought, doesn't she?
S. O'BRIEN: You have to be dead, forget it.
M. O'BRIEN: You don't want that. Let's talk about this. Why the push for coins?
MOY: Well, I think the timing is right. When go to a vending machine you have to spend a lot of quarters in order to buy whatever. And even in parking meters, it costs you a quarter to buy 7 1/2 minutes. You've got to carry a sack of quarters around with you in order to, if you're lucky enough, to find a parking spot.
So I think the timing is right. Where the economics work out, where Americans will find this more convenient.
S. O'BRIEN: Is the fact that the quarter program or kids, you know, and some grown-ups, too, were collecting quarters to find out about the states, was it so successful that you said this is a great model for the dollar?
MOY: It is so successful: 140 million Americans are collecting the state quarters, including a bunch of anxious nieces and nephews, who think that their uncle, the mint director, can get them the quarter that they're missing.
S. O'BRIEN: Come on. You can't do that? You can't hook them up?
MOY: But you know, that is exactly right. The presidential dollar coin program was based off of the quarter program. It's a series of coins. We found Americans just love looking through their change every couple months to see what that new design is.
S. O'BRIEN: I do like the quarter program. My family -- kids like it, too. But here's my problem with this. Sorry, but I've got to say it.
M. O'BRIEN: We have to demonstrate. Quarter versus dollar here. Let's put this up here.
S. O'BRIEN: Right. I mean, you dig in your handbag.
M. O'BRIEN: Will you be able to tell the difference?
S. O'BRIEN: And it kind feels like a quarter. And actually, because they give these out in the New York City subway system as change, I've given them away, thinking I was giving a quarter, and I was actually giving away a couple bucks.
MOY: Well, what we found is the golden color helps. Having -- we're highlighting the nation's mottos, which are E. Pluribus Unum and In God We Trust. Those are around the edge of the coin. So when you look at the coins side -- on the sideways, you'll easily distinguish them from the rest of your change.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. We've got an enlarged version here.
MOY: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: But you know, I've got to say, some of this is just people getting used to it. But it does requires -- I mean, it's the same person on the quarter and the dollar. And I guess you chose that for a reason. Do you think he's good luck for coins or for the dollar or something? Maybe so. I don't know. But in any case, it's going to take a lot of time for people to get used to this. Isn't it?
S. O'BRIEN: Does it mean the dollar goes away? I mean, is this really the first step toward losing the bill?
MOY: Oh, no. No this is offered concurrent to the dollar. And it was specifically done this way to...
S. O'BRIEN: I love the guy from the mint bringing in the stack of cash.
M. O'BRIEN: This is great. You can come by any time.
MOY: I finally have a job where I make a lot of money, but of course, none of it's mine.
M. O'BRIEN: It will be better when he comes out with the hundred dollar coins.
S. O'BRIEN: A comedian, too. I love it.
Edmund Moy, he's the director of the U.S. Mint. And thanks for coming in. Do we get to keep these?
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. We'll just have some samples. Appreciate that. Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: Hey. Hey.
M. O'BRIEN: Thanks for dropping by. I appreciate that. I just want to compare. That's research. Thank you very much.
Still to come on the program, Camel cigarettes prettying up their packs. Will the new Joe Camel catch the eyes of lady smokers?
You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Couple of companies are trying to lure more women. It is 56 minutes past the hour, and Stephanie Elam is "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Good morning.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
That's right. We have here a story of who's actually doing the shopping. Let's start off with Wal-Mart/Sam's Club. They obviously know the numbers here: 80 percent of shopping done for households is done by moms. So they're target -- trying to target women to get them into their stores.
Now previously, most of the stores had targeted business owners, because they wanted them coming in to buy things in bulk. But they realize they can get the mothers in there, so they've actually brought in their advertising message to appeal to both consumers and also business owners. And they've increased and upgraded their offerings of jewelry, wine and electronics.
They're also working on broadening their apparel in the stores to see if they can get more of that money coming from the mothers.
Now another company that is also trying to get more women would be Camel. That brand of cigarettes, which is owned by R.J. Reynolds, is starting up a new variety of the Camel brand, which as you know, has really targeted men over many decades so far. But now they're coming out with one called Camel No. 9. This is according to the "New York Times".
And the name sounds a little bit like the song "Love Potion No. 9" or like Chanel 19 or any of those sort of big popular women brands there. But they're saying the name is supposed to reference the idea to being dressed to the nines, interestingly enough.
The slogan there is "light and luscious." And it has packaging that has no Camel on it, whatsoever, and has a lot softer colors, as well, and flowers in the ads. Interesting take here on how they're going to try to get women to start smoking their other brand here for Camel.
Back to you, Soledad and Miles.
S. O'BRIEN: Interesting. The number of female smokers had gone down in past years. But actually, maybe they're hoping they can reverse that trend.
ELAM: Right. There's about half of...
S. O'BRIEN: Light and luscious?
ELAM: I know. It's interesting. And about half of smokers, adult smokers in the country are women. So there's a lot of money in there for them.
S. O'BRIEN: Stephanie Elam, "Minding Your Business" this morning. Thanks, Steph.
M. O'BRIEN: Coming up on the top of the hour, Chad Myers at the CNN weather center.
Chad, what's the big story?
MYERS: I guess the amount of snow that's already come down: Stratford, New York; St. Johnsville -- there you go, Piseco. Man, the numbers now, just shoveling out.
This is not lake effect snow. Lake effect snow trying to set up. And in fact, lake effect snow warnings for the Oswego County area for later on today as the lake effect sets up. It's not setting up yet. We'll have to keep watching it. Could be a bunch more snow where they certainly don't want any more.
The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
M. O'BRIEN: The war on terror. President Bush to speak about Afghanistan and Iraq in just a couple hours. What about Iran?
S. O'BRIEN: A nightmare to nowhere. A black eye for JetBlue after hundreds of people are trapped on JetBlue flights for hours.
And caught on tape and feeling the heat. Former NBA star Tim Hardaway tells a radio station he hates gays. We'll hear him in his own words this morning.
M. O'BRIEN: And taking the pain away. What might be a better way to keep your kids from getting the flu, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Good morning to you. Thursday, February 15. I'm Miles O'Brien.
S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien. Thanks for being with us.
Let's begin with the war on terror this morning. The president is getting ready to make a speech about Afghanistan. We're expecting it at 10 a.m. Eastern Time. That's just in about two hours from now. But of course, it's the questions about Iran that are dogging the president.
CNN's Ed Henry has been asking some of those tough questions. He's at the White House this morning.
Hey, Ed. Good morning.
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. That's right. The president will be delivering this speech this morning about the war on terror to a conservative think tank.
The focus will be about where Afghanistan is headed. Of course, a war that the U.S. thought had been won, but now the Taliban has had a resurgence.
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