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American Morning
Democratic Candidate John Edwards Sets Press Briefing To Discuss Details of Wife's Medical Condition; A Conversation with White House Press Secretary Tony Snow
Aired March 22, 2007 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: Let's begin with that developing story. Noon announcement is expected today from the Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth. It's expected to be about her health. She's a breast cancer survivor.
Of course, it could affect Edwards presidential campaign. We have complete coverage for you. CNN Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley is in Washington for us. CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is in Atlanta.
Candy, let's begin with you. Good morning.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
What we do know is a lot less than what we're going to find out, I can tell you that. We do know there will be this news conference in North Carolina. As you said, we expect this is about her health, at least according to one source close to the Edwards.
We have also been told as far as his campaign is concerned, we shouldn't, quote, "expect the worse." Which says to me he would not necessarily quit the campaign over whatever we're going to learn about her health. Mrs. Edwards, as you recall, Soledad, had breast cancer towards the end of the 2004 campaign. She went through radiation, she had a lumpectomy, she had chemotherapy. She had been thought to have been in remission.
We know that on Monday she had what was described as a routine check-up. But the doctor called and asked her to come back Wednesday. Edwards cut short his campaign events in Iowa and flew back to be with her Wednesday. And now we know there will be this news conference at noon today in North Carolina -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: We will cover that news conference when it happens. Candy Crowley for us this morning; that news conference scheduled for noon.
Thank you, Candy.
Ahead this morning, we will be talking, too, to CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. She will join us a closer look at some of these things that Candy just pointed out to us. Elizabeth Edwards' health history. She had radiation, lumpectomy and chemotherapy, as well. What could it possibly be this time around? Miles.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: In Washington, that legal tug of war between the White House and Congress nears a breaking point this morning. In the Senate today, another vote slated to authorize, though not issue just yet, subpoenas for some of staffers closest to the president. Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash is on Capitol Hill. Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena is in our Washington bureau. Let's begin with Dana.
Good morning, Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
When that vote comes later this morning, from the Senate Judiciary Committee, it will amount to a double-barreled threat from both sides of the Democratic-run capital.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASH (voice over): Hours after the president warned them not to do it, House Democrats defied him and authorized subpoenas for Karl Rove and other top White House aides.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
BASH: Democrats rejected the proposal for Bush aides to talk to lawmakers in private with no oath and no transcript, but the House Judiciary chairman promised not to issue subpoenas, unless he has to. He called it leverage, a back up plan.
REP. JOHN CONYERS (D-MI), CHMN., JUDICIARY CMTE.: To hold these subpoenas in advance and hope that we will continue the discussions. So far the discussions have been very disappointing.
REP. LINDA SANCHEZ (D-CA): We must prepare for the possibility that the Justice Department and the White House will continue to hide the truth.
BASH: Republicans opposed authorizing subpoenas now saying it was premature and political.
REP. CHRIS CANNON (R-UT): The only purpose of subpoenas issued to the White House now is to fan the flames of and photo opps of partisan controversy, for partisan gain.
BASH: But in the Senate, some of the president's fellow Republicans are siding with Democrats. They, too, have complaints about the White House's take it or leave it offer.
John Cornyn, a staunch Bush ally, tells CNN, "I'm a little bit dubious about an interview behind closed doors. If there's going to be information provided it best be provided in public."
The Senate Judiciary Committee's top Republican agrees. And says he's worried having no transcript, or formal record could create conflicting accounts of what Rove and others say.
SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R-PA), JUDICIARY CMTE.: It would be helpful to have a transcript. My own preference would be to have it open, so that people see what is going on. There's a tremendous amount of public interest.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: Now, Arlen Specter and other Republicans warn if this gets caught in the courts, it could be stuck there for years. That's why amid all of this sound and fury another vote later this mourning to authorize subpoenas for Karl Rove, and others. There is work being done, Miles, behind the scenes by Arlen Specter and we understand by the Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patrick Leahy, to work on a counter offer to send to the White House. Perhaps a compromise, we'll see.
M. O'BRIEN: We'll ask them about that in a little while. Dana Bash, thank.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Meanwhile, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is reaching out to U.S. attorneys. He will meet with them today. For more let's get right to CNN's Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena. She's in Washington this morning.
Hey, Kelli. Good morning.
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
The attorney general is in St. Louis this morning. Justice officials say he will have the first of what they call a series of face-to-face meetings with U.S. attorneys around the country. He's expected to basically apologize in person for how things were handled and he's supposed to lay out an agenda for how things will work between main Justice and those offices in the future. This follows a lunch that he had, yesterday, with four Republican senators from the Judiciary Committee. But he has yet to meet with Democratic lawmakers, yet. Of course, those will be the key meetings -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Is there a date set when he will go to the Hill and meet with everybody? I know the president talked about how he to go to Capitol Hill, but is there official time line when that will happen?
ARENA: There's two-ways of going to the Hill. The first is doing what he's doing now, which is having these informal lunches, and trying to smooth things over, and explain how this all happened and where he's coming from.
The second, of course, is official testimony. Justice is not having the same conflict as the White House is having. Justice officials have said, they would go, they would testify under oath. They would provide everybody that Congress needs to hear from. That testimony has not been scheduled yet.
S. O'BRIEN: Is he confident that he still has this job?
ARENA: Well, I'd say he's sure acting that way. After President Bush made that public statement of support, you know, officials say that Gonzales has a whole new attitude. And he has gone very much on the offensive. You can sense the change over at Justice. He is finally also getting some public support from Republicans.
Yesterday, the Republican National Committee sent a letter out to its Hill Republicans, trying to build support for him, calling Gonzales a man of integrity and high ethical standards. So we are definitely seeing a shift here, Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Kelli Arena, for us this morning. Thank you, Kelli.
ARENA: You're welcome.
S. O'BRIEN: White House Spokesman Tony Snow will be our guest in a few minutes. We're expecting him at 7:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Later this morning we talk to Senator Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. That's coming up in our 8 o'clock Eastern hour -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: The House today is expected to debate the war in Iraq. Specifically, the $124 billion spending bill that calls for U.S. troops to come home by August of next year. A vote is slated for tomorrow.
And a new Pentagon report out this morning calls the American-led reconstruction effort in Iraq chaotic and poorly managed. It blames a lack of oversight of contractors and poor planning, back in 2003, for Iraq's rebuilding struggles today.
Also that leaders failed to predict the insurgency and the collapse of Iraq's government. The report from the Pentagon special inspector general also highlights the disarray between the U.S. Defense Department and the State Department. President Bush meets with his Iraq reconstruction team in Washington today. So far nearly $400 billion in our tax money has been spent to rebuild Iraq.
The Pentagon also confirming overnight a U.S. soldier was killed when insurgents ambushed a patrol in Baghdad. Also new this morning, U.N. Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon is on the ground in Baghdad. It is his first trip to Iraq as the U.N. secretary-general.
Another disturbing report, another series of horror stories at veterans' hospitals and clinics coast to coast. Among the problems at this clinic, in Oregon, a leaky roof and several bat colonies. Officials there apparently reluctant to eradicate them because they say they help to control insects. Other VA facilities have worn out carpets peeling paint, mice and dead bugs. Mold spreading in some patient care areas. The VA's internal investigation was leaked to the Associated Press -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Other news happening in America, the Sago Mine in West Virginia has been shut down. The owners say it has nothing do with that disaster that killed 12 miners last year. They say the price of coal is down and that mine is just not productive.
In New Orleans, there's new word about why the levees failed during Hurricane Katrina. A state report says the Army Corps of Engineers used outdated measurements, sot he levees weren't build high enough. They were one to two feet too low.
In Florida, a brush fire is burning this morning near Floral City; that's about 70 miles north of Tampa; 100 acres burned so far, approximately. Firefighters are worried it could spread. Some homes could be in danger. So far, though, no evacuations to tell about.
In Arkansas, a dramatic rescue caught on tape. Take a look at this. Fayetteville police officers Philip Crosby and Chris Denton pulled Sean Barnes from that burning car. What you are seeing -- these pictures is courtesy of their cruiser's dash cam. The cops were treated for smoke inhalation and burns. Mr. Barnes, who they saved is not in critical condition. They are investigating exactly what caused that car to go up in flames.
In Illinois, another rescue on tape. Two people trapped in their cars by floods. There the car is right there. They were saved, though, by those rescuers right there on tape. Happened after torrential rains in the town of Lake Bluff, Illinois. Sadly they have more severe weather expected right there today.
M. O'BRIEN: On that subject of severe weather, Rob Marciano in for Chad Myers today. He will be coming up shortly.
Plus, more on the announcement coming from the Edwards campaign. Could be about the health of his wife. We'll take a closer look at her battle against breast cancer.
You're watching AMERICAN MORNING, the most news in the morning right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Most news in the morning right here on CNN.
Breaking news from the Horn of Africa, in Somalia; a second day of violent fighting between insurgents and Ethiopian troops. The Ethiopians are there trying to rid Somalia of terrorists linked to Al Qaeda.
And six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program grinding to a halt overnight. The North is demanding to get its hands on frozen bank money before negotiating any further -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Presidential candidate John Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth, are set to make an announcement today at noon. It's expected to involve Mrs. Edwards' health. She is a breast cancer survivor. Discovered a lump in the last days of the 2004 campaign, had a lumpectomy, had chemotherapy. And in October of 2006, we sat down and talked about her treatment and health.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) S. O'BRIEN: February 15, 2005, last round of chemo. How is your health now?
ELIZABETH EDWARDS, JOHN EDWARDS WIFE: It seems to be pretty good. I have a few lingering little things, but I'm honestly, you know, since I don't have cancer, knock on wood.
S. O'BRIEN: We have wood chairs, too.
(LAUGHTER)
EDWARDS: I'm a block head. If I don't have cancer, I can stand any of the other little things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: Let's get right to CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen, in Atlanta.
Elizabeth, you have reported on Mrs. Edwards' health a lot in the past. We know there's a press conference. Beyond that we don't know a whole heck of a lot what can you tell us?
ELIZABETH EDWARDS, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, sources close to Edwards tells CNN, Soledad, that the Edwards are not going before the press to say everything is OK. That's about all that we know now.
Let's take a look at Mrs. Edwards' health history. She 57 years old. She was diagnosed in October of 2004, when she found a lump about the size of a half dollar in her breast while taking a shower.
She was diagnosed with invasive ductal breast cancer. That's a very common type of breast cancer. About 80 percent of all breast cancers are that type. In her book, "Saving Graces", she wrote: "Lump in my breast, bump in the road, just things to be dealt with." And then at the end of the book she wrote: "The cancer seems to be gone."
Unfortunately, though, the reality is when we talk about cancer, sometimes it is not gone even when it seems to be gone. There can be very microscopic metastases that a doctor might miss, just because our tests can't always find tiny, tiny little microscopic metastases in various parts of the body. So, it is possible that something like that has happened.
However, the statistics are definitely in the favor of a woman who has breast cancer. When you look at women in the United States who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, 88 percent of them are alive five years after diagnosis. So about 178,000 diagnosed each year; 88 percent are still alive five years after diagnosis. About 80 percent are alive 10 years after diagnosis.
So thanks to lots of new, very effective treatments, the odds are in a woman's favor -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Those numbers there are good news for her. When I was talking to her about her book, she said the fact that her son Wade had died so tragically when he was young, 16 years old, gave her hope about her own condition. She said listen, Wade was taken from us. There was nothing to be done, but this is something I can fight. I can get in there and fight this. She is a tough, tough nut. You know, I think that's going to help her certainly a lot, whatever this diagnosis is that they will make public at noon.
COHEN: Certainly. Hope is a wonderful thing to have. In fact, doctors will tell you that a person's psychological state and their ability to say, hey, we will fight this and move on. That, that does make a difference in treatment.
Also I think it's interesting that she had that doctor's appointment yesterday, was told you need to come back on Wednesday. That's how quickly doctors can find things and can move on, and can do something. Even though she has had that first round of treatment, the chemo, radiation and surgery, there are other options, if indeed, the cancer has returned.
S. O'BRIEN: I guess we'll wait to hear the details from the campaign. It's terrible that at times like this, of course, many questions about what will happen to that campaign. It's grueling to be campaigning when you're 100 percent healthy, certainly. So the idea that she could undergo treatment, and really be out there on the campaign trail are some realistic questions. Whatever they end up saying at this news conference at noon.
CNN's Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen, thanks. Elizabeth, thanks, as always.
COHEN: Thanks.
S. O'BRIEN: That news conference will take place in Chapel Hill. Scheduled for noon, we will carry it live when it happens -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: About quarter past the hour. Rob Marciano at the Weather Center this morning for Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Some other headlines this morning from the Associated Press.
You feeling like calamari this morning? Well, take a look at this giant squid, this is the largest squid ever caught, as far as we know; 33 feet long, about 990 pounds.
What do you do with a squid like that? Do you make calamari for everybody?
S. O'BRIEN: You swim out of the way.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, you get out of the way! Scientists would like to study it. So what do you do? You really need to defrost it because it's on ice now, to do that. So the question is if you defrost it naturally, it could rot. So they want to find a big microwave to put it in to defrost it quickly so they can study the giant squid.
S. O'BRIEN: That would be weird. They described it as so big that if you were to make rings of calamari out of it, they would be the size of a wheel on a truck. Imagine that, a wheel on a truck. That's how big this giant squid is.
M. O'BRIEN: Flintstone calamari, right there. All right.
Interest rates are holding steady. The Fed chairman making some other news for your money. Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business" next.
And the senator who says global warming is a hoax gets a little hot under the collar. And gets a reminder about who is the boss now. Stay us with for more AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: A heated exchange on Capitol Hill. Al Gore returning to Washington, as we told you yesterday, to discuss global warming, feeling a chill from one senator. The former committee chairman, Republican James Inhofe, of Oklahoma. You've seen here on our program. He believes that climate change is all a big hoax. When he tried to grill Gore, the new chairman of that committee, Democrat Barbara Boxer, of California, reminded Inhofe who has the gavel now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JAMES INHOFE (R-OK): I'm sure you read "The New York Times" article that quoted the scientists -- I mentioned this in my opening statement -- about they're criticizing you for some of your -- being too alarmist and hurting your own cause. I'll ask to you respond in writing for that one, because that would be a very long response, I'm afraid. It seems that --
AL GORE, FMR. VICE PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: Well, I would like to respond
IHOFE: It seems that on global warming in the media --
GORE: May I respond?
(CROSS TALK)
SEN. BARBARA BOXER (D-CA): Excuse me, Senator --
INHOFE: -- join the chorus of --
BOXER: We'll freeze the time for a minute.
INHOFE: Oh, yes.
BOXER: I'm just trying to --
INHOFE: Take your time.
BOXER: We're freezing the time for a minute. I want to talk to you for a minute, please.
Would you agree -- would you agree to let the vice president answer your questions? And then if you want an extra few minutes at the end I'm happy to give it to you. But we're not going to get anywhere. You're asking two questions.
INHOFE: Why don't we do this? At the end you can have as much time as you want to answer all of the questions.
BOXER: No, that isn't the rule. You are not making the rules. You used to when did you this. You don't do this anymore. Elections have consequences.
(LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: You know, it's interesting they both say they're good friends with each other, too. Gore went on to recommend that he and Inhofe set up a private breakfast to discuss global warming. I wonder if there will be a transcript of that. Oh, to be a fly on the wall of that one.
Another hot controversy, this one is over San Francisco's baseball stadium. They're installing solar panels at AT&T Park, home of the Giants; 590 of them, enough to power the scoreboard for the whole season. Sounds good, doesn't it?
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: In ever so sunny San Francisco. Let's hope they get enough sun.
S. O'BRIEN: I was going to say.
M. O'BRIEN: There is that problem. But it turns out Pacific Gas & Electric, the utility there, is charging its customers for the installation. It's about $1.5 million. It's less than a penny per customer according to the power company, but some of the people who pay their bills, for their lights, are a little upset about that.
S. O'BRIEN: I bet they are, even when it's less than a penny. Kind of like, why am I paying for that?
M. O'BRIEN: Barry Bonds could afford it. Why doesn't he pay it?
S. O'BRIEN: Why don't they just pay for it?
M. O'BRIEN: Yeah. S. O'BRIEN: The Fed stays the course. The Dow opens this morning after its biggest jump of the year. It's 25 minutes past the hour that means time for Ali Velshi, who is "Minding Your Business".
(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
S. O'BRIEN: Top stories coming up next. Health concerns for Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of presidential contender John Edwards. She joins her husband for a news conference at noon Eastern today. The latest details are straight ahead this morning.
Plus, subpoena showdown: Another vote is set today on whether White House officials should be forced to testify under oath. The president's press secretary, Tony Snow, will join us next.
And caught on tape, a vicious attack. That bartender, a woman, 130 pounds beaten up by a man who weighs 120 pound more, and he's a Chicago police officer.
We will tell you what's happening now. You are watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Morning. Welcome, everybody. It's Thursday, March 22nd. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm Miles O'Brien. We are glad you are with us this morning.
A developing political story this morning: Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards calling a news conference today. A lot of concern about the health of his wife, Elizabeth, who is recovering from breast cancer. More to come on that just ahead.
S. O'BRIEN: Also, this morning, we're watching a brush fire spreading in Florida, near Tampa. Certainly has residents near there on the edge today.
M. O'BRIEN: Plus an increasingly popular weight-loss surgery, just who should pay for it?
S. O'BRIEN: Also developing, the Senate Judiciary Committee is set to approve subpoenas today for the president's closest adviser and former adviser to testify under oath about the firing of those U.S. attorneys. The president vowed to fight the testimony even though he and the Attorney General Alberto Gonzales admit that mistakes were made.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALBERTO GONZALEZ, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: I acknowledge that mistakes were made here. I think that I did make some mistakes.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Al was right, mistakes were made. He's right, mistakes were made. Mistakes were made.
GONZALEZ: Mistakes were made.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: OK. We get it. Mistakes were made. White House press secretary Tony Snow joins us this morning. Good morning to you sir, nice to see you as always. Mistakes were made. So why not agree to have the people who are most in the know testify under oath about exactly what happened?
TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: OK, a couple of things. Actually the people who know the most will testify under oath. Before we do that, I just want to step aside and say my thoughts and prayers are with John and Elizabeth Edwards, because there are a lot of people around the country who have been through the experience, not only of cancer, but cancer-follow up. So I'd like to lay down that, because trust me, I know.
S. O'BRIEN: I'm sure they appreciate that this morning absolutely and we will agree with you on that one.
Let's get back to -
SNOW: I'll go back to your question, which is why not testify under oath. The fact is, the people who did make the decisions will testify under oath.
S. O'BRIEN: Why not Karl Rove and Harriet Miers? Why not the people who they want to subpoena? Why not have them testify under oath? Why not?
SNOW: Very simple, well, they are on the record, but they're not going to be under oath. First, let me lay out what's going on because it allows you to put my answer in context, then we can dive into the other issues. This is a decision made at the Justice Department after deliberation. You're going to have access to everybody involved in that deliberative process and every communication generated in that process, including communications regarding made available communications between the White House and the Justice Department. When you ask are the key people going to be under oath? Yes. There's another principle, which is Congress doesn't have the legislative - I mean oversight authority over the White House. The constitution says that. What we have done is we've made a very generous and extraordinary offer by saying you need to have at your disposal every single available fact so we're going to make it available. We will make available any communication from the White House to the Justice Department to outsiders to members of Congress --
S. O'BRIEN: It's very, very generous, I understand. Here's my question. You are drawing the line at having a transcript. People hear that and they say why wouldn't you want a transcript of a conversation? Why not?
SNOW: It's a great question.
S. O'BRIEN: Thank you.
SNOW: The answer is that a president relies upon candid advice from his top aides. What you don't want is a situation where you create this Perry Mason or law and order atmosphere where people are grilling aides. Soledad, people would --
S. O'BRIEN: How does a transcript do that? Isn't a transcript just the record of the conversation that the American people can say, wow, that was what was actually said.
SNOW: Because, first -- the American people want the sort of pseudo-courtroom drama or do they want the truth?
S. O'BRIEN: I think the truth.
SNOW: That's an important consideration because we're making available all the facts. What we are not going to do is create a show -- I got the "Financial Times" here, big old picture of Karl Rove. One of the sub texts here is all these people, again, Karl Rove. You know what, wait a minute. What the White House does is we're going to make available every fact and every individual. And you probably know, a lot of people don't, though, is if they go up and talk to Congress, they're going to have to tell the truth. If they don't, they go to jail. That's against the law. So what we're trying to do --
S. O'BRIEN: But let me stop you there at that point right there. You're saying we will have to tell the truth so why bother to take an oath to tell the truth. That's actually counter intuitive. If it doesn't matter, you got to tell the truth any way, then why not take an oath to tell the truth? Why not have a transcript that lays out for everybody the Congress people and the American people, what exactly transpired? I guess for a lot of people, it's that line in the sand that seems a little bit like a strange one.
SNOW: Well it seems like a strange one unless you've actually worked in the White House or -- members of the Senate would get it. If somebody said to Chuck Schumer, you know what, we're going to go in and we're going to have a transcript and we're going to ask you what considerations led your office to put up an ad to go after Pete Domenici with regard to this issue - did any outside fundraisers contact you? Did any outside political advisors...
S. O'BRIEN: I hear you. I get what you are trying to do an analogy, but we are getting a little far afield. Let me ask you a question.
SNOW: Soledad, I do need to answer the question, which is it goes to the nature of advice that you give a president. If presidential aides think that they're going to get hauled up and you have transcripts and people able to sort of generate false drama off that, it is going to have a chilling effect. It would have a chilling effect on the Senate and on the White House.
S. O'BRIEN: Why do you call it false drama, because here, let me finish my question. You call it false drama as if somehow people will waive the actual words that some elected official or not elected official said and that would be somehow unfair. You paint it as if it's partisan and it's not always partisan.
SNOW: You got to be kidding me.
S. O'BRIEN: It's not only partisan. John Cornyn (ph), Republican from Texas says this. I'm a little bit dubious about an interview behind closed doors. If there's going to be information provided, it best be provided in public. He's a Republican from Texas. And then you have Senator Arlen Specter who said this. I got this on tape. Let's listen to it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R) PENNSYLVANIA: It would be very helpful to have a transcript. My own preference would be to have it open so that people see what's going on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: People see what's going on.
SNOW: I understand that. And let me again ask you the very simple question, is there any fact that would be denied to members of Congress? The answer is no. They are going to have the facts.
S. O'BRIEN: Ergo, why not do it on the record? That brings me back to the original question which is, if there's nothing going to be denied, put it on the record, do it under oath. Everybody tells the truth. Everybody knows what happened.
SNOW: It is on the record. What we're trying to avoid is showmanship. We're trying to avoid the show trial. What we're trying to avoid is the notion that somehow -- what this needs to be is a factual interview, not something where people are going to be -- I'm going to go after Karl Rove and you know it's going to happen Soledad. You know it's going to happen.
S. O'BRIEN: They do it in private with a transcript.
SNOW: The real question is, the real question is do you want the truth? Because if you want the truth, we're making it available. If you want extra drama, well, we're not.
S. O'BRIEN: I could ask that same question. Do you want the truth? Maybe the answer would be to get it on a transcript. I got to tell you. I've got three people yelling in my ear. We're out of time. We got to go. I bet half of them are your people. Tony Snow, the White House press secretary, always nice to talk to you. Thanks for being with us.
SNOW: Sorry they're yelling at you Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: That's the way it is. Thanks. Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Fall out this morning after a brutal attack caught on tape involving a female bartender and an off-duty Chicago police officer. Keith Oppenheim with the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the surveillance video, notice the man in the upper right corner of your screen. The bartender, Karolina, didn't know it at the time, but that customer was an off-duty Chicago police officer. Karolina would give her first name only, but agreed to review the tape with me.
KAROLINA, BEATING VICTIM: I (INAUDIBLE) I'm not going to serve you anymore.
OPPENHEIM: Because you're concerned that he's getting wasted.
KAROLINA: Exactly.
OPPENHEIM: He has since been identified as officer Anthony Abotti (ph). At one point, Abotti surprises Karolina and comes around to her side of the bar. But when Abotti bumps into the bar, he explodes. He punches her repeatedly. Keep in mind, according to prosecutors, Abotti is 6'1" and 250 pounds. Carolina says she is 5'4" and 130 pounds. As frightened bystanders keep a distance, Officer Abotti walks away. Karolina gets up despite multiple hits to her back, head and ribs.
DAVID NAVARRO, ASST: COOK CO. STATES ATTORNEY: It is one of the most brutal and savage attacks that I've ever seen caught on tape.
OPPENHEIM: Prosecutors have charged Officer Abotti with aggravated assault, a felony. Abotti's attorneys did not return CNN's calls. Karolina, what is your reaction that the person who beat you is a police officer?
KAROLINA: I couldn't believe it. (INAUDIBLE) He is to serve and protect not to beat up people.
OPPENHEIM: Chicago police released a statement about Officer Abotti which said a recommendation for termination is expected pending the completion of the internal investigation. Karolina says she is left with bad headaches, as you might imagine, bad memories from what happened in this bar. Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Chicago.
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M. O'BRIEN: And prosecutors are investigating a report that after the attack, someone came into the bar and offered the bartender money not to press charges. This could lead to more charges in the case including obstruction of justice.
S. O'BRIEN: You know what's interesting, this happened back in the middle of February (INAUDIBLE) just arrested. He only just now got arrested. There's so many questions in this case that are still unanswered as they say.
M. O'BRIEN: We will be tracking it. S. O'BRIEN: A pretty incredible rescue was caught on tape as well. We want to show you. A man caught in a burning car. Two quick- thinking police officers were able to save him. We'll tell you what happened there.
And then more on the dangers of tainted pet food hitting home. One pet lover is now hitting back at the pet food makers. We'll tell you what she's doing.
In South Carolina, an amendment is aimed at requiring women to get an ultrasound before they have an abortion. As you can imagine it's very controversial. You are watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.
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S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back everybody. The most news in the morning is right here on CNN. Members of the Senate are deciding today whether they will authorize subpoenas to force Karl Rove and other White House officials to testify about those fired U.S. attorneys. A House committee is already approving the subpoena idea. And Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards holds an unexpected news conference today to discuss we're expecting, the health of his wife Elizabeth. She is a breast cancer survivor. Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Firefighters trying to get a brush fire under control in west central Florida. It's burning near Floral City about 70 miles north of Tampa. About 100 acres burned so far. Firefighters warn the fire could spread. There are some homes in danger but no evacuations to report so far.
About quarter of the hour right now. Chad Myers is out. Rob Marciano is in the weather center for him. Good morning Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning Miles: This is the dry season for most of south Florida. But places like Naples and West Palm Beach have seen less than half of what they normally would see for rainfall since January 1. So it's been unusually dry, dry season and when the humidity kicks in around hurricane season, that's when they get most of their rainfall. A couple of showers possible today but probably not enough to dampen those fire worries.
All right, severe thunderstorms, possibly some extreme weather across parts of the lower great lakes. We've seen some heavy rain overnight in parts of northern Chicago. Now the severe thunderstorm threat has moved off to the east. We have a severe thunderstorm watch out now for parts of lower Michigan into northern Indiana until noontime today and until 11:00 a.m. We're looking at this threat for tornadoes just north of St. Louis. Traveling today, we do have some travel issues, Chicago, midway, ground stop over an hour delay already at O'Hare, Philly, a ground stop. And in DC, departure delays there of 45 minutes. Miles, back up to you.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, thank you very much Rob, appreciate that. A court date today for Lisa Nowak, the former astronaut accused of trying to kidnap a romantic rival. It's her arraignment date, but she won't be there. She's already pled not guilty. Nowak incidentally will report next month to her new job with the Navy in Texas.
S. O'BRIEN: Also happening in America this morning, in West Virginia, the Sago mine is shut down. The owners insist it has nothing to do with the explosion and the fire that killed 12 miners last year. They say the price of coal is down and the mine is just not productive.
In New Orleans there's some new word about why the levees failed during hurricane Katrina. A state report says the Army Corps of Engineers used out of date measurements and the levees weren't built high enough. They were one to two feet too low.
In Arkansas, a dramatic rescue caught on tape. Fayetteville police officers Phillip Crosby and Christopher Denton, incredibly brave. They pulled Sean Barnes out of his burning car. You can see the videotape right there. That's actually their cruiser's dash cam capturing these pictures. The police officers had to be treated for smoke inhalation and for burns and the man they were able to save is in critical condition now.
Weeds in California, more than 2,000 marijuana plants worth an estimated $12.5 million were confiscated. The raid was in fairly upscale LA suburb of Diamond Barb (ph). They arrested one person.
M. O'BRIEN: Pat Tillman's former roommate and former teammate headed into combat. This morning, Lance Corporal Jeremy Stat (ph) is with his unit in Iraq. Stat once played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the St. Louis Rams. His friend Tillman, who played with him at Arizona State, who also played in the NFL, was killed by friendly fire, of course, as you know, in Afghanistan. Stat and Tillman, good friends, good roommates and he now following Tillman in honor of his memory.
Royal honors. The queen of England honoring U.S. Marine helicopter pilot Major William Chesreck (ph). She gave him the distinguished flying cross. Chesreck believed to be the first American GI to receive the honor since World War II. The queen gave Chesreck the medal for flying into enemy fire in southern Iraq, hovering under hostile fire, over hostile fire I should say for more than five hours to save an injured British soldier. Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: That was an amazing story, wasn't it?
M. O'BRIEN: It is.
S. O'BRIEN: ... so brave. Coming up this morning, an increasingly common surgery for dramatic weight loss. But now there's a big argument over just who should pay for it and when.
And I want my Apple TV. Ali Velshi is hooking us up. He's minding your business right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
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M. O'BRIEN: Some (INAUDIBLE) headlines this morning. A South Carolina state lawmaker wants women considering an abortion to have an ultrasound first. He thinks seeing the image would make women reconsider. Opponents call it emotional blackmail.
A new study says a diet high in fruits, low in meat can reduce the risk of colon cancer. It's the latest report to claim that eating meat can make you more susceptible to colon cancer.
S. O'BRIEN: No question that lots of people get gastric bypass. It works, a lot of people lose weight, but it's risky and it is also very expensive. It can cost between $10,000 and $20,000 but the procedure is becoming so popular, insurance companies are now stepping in and saying, wait. Wait a long time. Here's CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Last year, Anne Durand was twice her current size. You see, she was immobilized by an illness that caused her constant pain and her weight went up to 287 pounds. Why? Because she couldn't exercise. Her doctor suggested she have gastric bypass surgery. For her, the operation was a success.
ANNE DURAND, GASTRIC BYPASS PATIENT: I became mobile again. I became healthy. My auto immune disease went into remission.
GUPTA: The American Society of Bariatric Surgery says more than 177,000 patients had gastric bypass or stomach banding procedures last year. Designed for people who are considers severely obese or suffering from complications due to their weight, the surgery can be expensive as well as dangerous. That's two things insurance companies don't like to hear.
SUSAN PISANO, AMERICAN HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS: What the health care system is trying to do is get people not to think of this as a quick fix but to look at this surgery thoughtfully.
GUPTA: Tufts health plan in Massachusetts is requiring that some obese patients enter a year-long diet and counseling program before undergoing surgery. Their hope is to have patients lose their weight naturally, without an operation. But some doctors feel the Tufts policy just postpones the inevitable.
DR. FREDERICK FINELLI, WASHINGTON HOSPITAL CENTER: The NIH published this 15 years ago that only about 5 percent of patients, ones that were morbidly obese is going to be able to lose weight by will power alone.
GUPTA: Tufts health plan is not the only insurance company making these changes. In order to keep costs under control, but some bariatic surgeons say it's none of the insurance companies business.
DR. SCOTT SHIKORA, TUFTS NEW ENGLAND MEDICAL CENTER: I think it's unethical for people outside of the clinical arena to make those decisions for us.
GUPTA: Decisions that Ann Durand said she was happy she made without having to weight. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting. GUPTA: Decisions that Anne Durand say she was happy she made without having to wait. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.
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S. O'BRIEN: Be sure to tune into house call with Dr. Sanjay Gupta this weekend. Sanjay checks in on a soldier he operated on while he was reporting, Sanjay was reporting in Iraq. And is it an allergy or is it a cold? How do you tell? How do you treat them? Sanjay's got the answer on house call. That's Sunday and Saturday or Saturday and Sunday at 8:30 a.m. right here on CNN.
M. O'BRIEN: It's good to have a brain surgeon on staff. Comes in handy.
S. O'BRIEN: (INAUDIBLE)
M. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, health concerns on the campaign trail. Elizabeth Edwards joining her husband for a news conference noon Eastern. We'll get the latest from the best political team on television on this announcement.
And Apple venturing into the TV business. Well, sort of. We'll explain. You are watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning right here.
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S. O'BRIEN: Hey, how are you? Apple TV is what Ali Velshi is talking about this morning. It's something that Miles is obsessed with. (INAUDIBLE)
M. O'BRIEN: I wanted to talk about apple tv but you go ahead.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (INAUDIBLE) people can record this. We already know you can do this on your Tivo, (INAUDIBLE) but Apple TV came out yesterday. What's it running for, about 300 bucks. This is like everything Apple makes, it's good-looking.
S. O'BRIEN: What does it do?
VELSHI: Basically, Miles and I have been talking about this in the past. You can download all sorts of video to your computer but who wants to watch it on the computer? You want to watch it on a big screen TV because everybody's got one of those now. This thing wirelessly takes stuff that you downloaded to your computer and allows you to watch it on your TV. Think of it as an iPod for your video. Unlike a Tivo or a DVR, it can't collect information from your TV, from your cable. This is stuff that you downloaded to your computer.
M. O'BRIEN: Would be nice to have one box that did it all.
VELSHI: I agree.
M. O'BRIEN: Got it off the TV, got it off the computer, went to the video store for you, got your CD. VELSHI: And I think we're kind of moving there. The issue here of course is that Apple has got one version. Net gear has got another version. The Xbox 360. It's all about the last 10 feet. How do you get the video from your computer to the place you actually want to watch it and how you do this without having 16 different devices. Apple might eventually have the answer to this. This device is out there. You have to watch us live for the next hour of AMERICAN MORNING. It begins right now.
S. O'BRIEN: Thank you Ali. Campaign announcement, John Edwards and his wife Elizabeth are holding an urgent news conference today with new health questions for her surfacing.
M. O'BRIEN: The next move for the subpoena showdown. Will senators vote to force White House officials to go on the record about those fired U.S. attorneys?
S. O'BRIEN: High-risk hearing. Congress takes a look at those risky sub-prime mortgages today as more and more Americans are losing their homes to foreclosures. We are live this morning from Washington, from South Africa and from Atlanta all on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Welcome back everybody. It's Thursday, March 22nd. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. We're glad you're with us. We begin with the personal and political story of John and Elizabeth Edwards. The two have scheduled a news conference for today noon Eastern from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. This after Elizabeth Edwards, a breast cancer survivor, had a routine follow-up exam. John Edwards canceled a campaign appearance in Iowa after the exam. You will remember, Elizabeth Edwards was treated for breast cancer in the midst of the previous campaign, back in 2004. We have the political and the medical side of this story covered CNN's senior political correspondent Candy Crowley and CNN's Elizabeth Cohen in Atlanta. Let's begin with Candy. Candy, what do we know at this point about what they will say today?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not much, pretty much what you just said. We do have a source close to the Edwards saying that it is about her health. So going on that, I think you have to know, since she had this check up on Monday. He cut short his Iowa campaign tour to come back and visit with the doctors on Wednesday and now we have this news conference on Thursday. So I think we can extrapolate a little bit that we sort of know that we are headed towards some sort of health announcement.
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