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Imus Suspended; Immigration In America; Saving Money Now; President On War Funding
Aired April 10, 2007 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON IMUS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: And I've been conducting a comedy show for 30 years. I can come back and serve hopefully -- hopefully serve the suspension with dignity and come back and create a dialogue. One of the things that we're going to do that we've been talking about for years .
MATT LAUER, "THE TODAY SHOW": Quickly, if you can, Don, I'm running out of time.
IMUS: There ought to be a black person on this show every single day to add some perspective.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Imus appeared yesterday on a radio show hosted by civil rights activist Al Sharpton. Imus apologized for his remarks and Sharpton repeated his demands that the radio host be fired.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Members of the Rutgers basketball team and their coach are due to hold a news conference next hour. CNN's Jim Acosta is on the New Jersey campus.
Jim, any idea how the players will respond? It's interesting, you know, obviously, we haven't heard from any of them yet.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we haven't heard from any of them because basically they've been under some sort of informal gag order. The university has asked the players' not to make any comments. Even asking the players families not to make any comments just to try to control the message, control what's been coming out of this university in response to this controversy.
But, yes, as you mentioned, in about an hour from now, there will be a press conference here. And it almost looks like, you know, this is the post-game press conference that will be occurring here after a Rutgers women's basketball game. But, no, this press conference is not about talking -- not to talk about the game that happened last week, the NCAA National Women's Championship. No, this press conference is about what was said the day after that game when Don Imus went on the radio and made that racial slur directed at this team. Now, Imus has been on this maya culpa tour throughout the last couple of days. He was on his show yesterday morning apologizing. Then the Al Sharpton Show yesterday afternoon. This morning he was "The Today Show" where he mentioned, once again, that he would like to apologize personally to the Rutgers women's team.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON IMUS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I am going to apologize to them and ask them for their forgiveness. I don't expect that and I don't think they have any obligation to either forgive me or to accept my apology. But I have a responsibility to -- and I think it's important. And everybody can say the context is not important, but in every aspect of our lives, it is. And I want these young women to know that I didn't say this out of anger and that I didn't say this out of meanness and I didn't -- I didn't turn my microphone on and say this is what I think of the young women at Rutgers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And it's not clear whether or not the Rutgers women's basketball team will accept that apology. Considering, and let's go back to last Wednesday, those original offending comments that the i- man made on his program last Wednesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IMUS: That's some rough girls from Rutgers, man. They got tattoos and . . .
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some hard-core hos.
IMUS: That's some nappy-headed hos there, I'm going to tell you that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And so, again, the Rutgers women's basketball team will be out here in about an hour from now. They're finally breaking their silence. Finally getting their say on those comments made by Don Imus.
Heidi.
COLLINS: And, Jim, somebody else wants to meet with the basketball team, too?
ACOSTA: Yes, that's right. Apparently the ladies -- the women basketball team is becoming quite popular. Not only does Imus want a meeting with these basketball players, so does Al Sharpton. Al Sharpton saying on his show yesterday that he would like to come down here and talk to these women personally. The governor of New Jersey also reached out to the team yesterday. They met with the university's president yesterday.
So what they thought was just going to be, you know, celebrating their accomplishments in the women's basketball championship -- while they lost, they did make it all of the way to the finals -- they're having to deal with all of this now.
Heidi.
COLLINS: That's for sure, all right. We will be watching it. And, of course, as we have said before, we will bring it to you live right here on the CNN NEWSROOM.
Jim Acosta, thank you.
HARRIS: And a different take now on the Don Imus controversy from someone you might not expect. Former Defense Secretary William Cohen is married to an African-American woman. Cohen and Janet Langhart Cohen have written about their life together in "Love in Black and White." William Cohen talked about Imus with CNN's Wolf Blitzer in "The Situation Room."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, "THE SITUATION ROOM": I want to pick your brain on the whole Don Imus controversy that has now erupted, because I know your wife, Janet, she had an incident. She wrote about it in her first book involving the Imus radio program.
WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: Well, actually, we had hoped we might even go on "The Don Imus Show" . . .
BLITZER: In promoting your most recent book, "Love in Black and White."
COHEN: Right. To talk about racial issues and the hatred that this country has experienced and how blacks have been discriminated against historically and what that has meant. Basically . . .
BLITZER: And Janet, I want to remind our viewers, is African- American.
COHEN: She is a black woman. A very proud, intelligent, dignified, extraordinary woman. And she was referred to on the show at one point when we were married -- they played "Jungle Fever." She was referred to as brown sugar. Another host who has appeared on Imus' show has referred to us as mandingo (ph). So what we wanted to do was to say, you know, words do wound. That the old adage about sticks and stones may break our bones but words will never hurt us, words can hurt.
And I think that's what we wanted to talk about. And we hope that we can continue to talk about this issue. And we will speak whenever we can. But I think that Don Imus, we watch him. We're not friends, but certainly we've been fans of his. We've been entertained. We also have been offended.
And I think what's happened in this particular case is that we need to get back to talking to each other with respect, looking at other people, embracing their diversity, respecting that diversity and not simply mocking people. I think that when we allow the crudity of language. And I might say going beyond the Don Imus situation, when you have a former speaker of the House of Representatives refer to Spanish as a language of the ghetto, that also hurts.
So we have to just take care that we treat people with respect and Don Imus, I think, has indicated he is truly anguished about this and I think it's sincere, from what I've witnessed on it. And I hope we all learn a lesson from this experience.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And again, we expect to hear live next hour from the Rutgers players and coach. CNN, of course, will have live coverage of the news conference. That is scheduled this morning 11:00 Eastern, 8:00 Pacific.
COLLINS: And in the meantime, we want to hear from you. Don Imus, should he stay or should he go? That's an e-mail question we'd like to hear your thoughts on. Go ahead and e-mail us at cnnnewsroom@cnn.com.
HARRIS: A looks now at what's happening in Iraq today. A car bomb killed six people near Baghdad University and a woman blew herself up in a crowd of police recruits in Diyala Province. At least 10 were killed. The military announced four more U.S. troops have died in Iraq. And U.S. and Iraqi forces continue operation Black Eagle. It targets Shiite militia in the south.
COLLINS: We are waiting for President Bush to speak. He is due to address American legion members in Virginia very soon about an emergency spending bill for the Iraq War. Mr. Bush has said he would veto any bill that includes a timetable for pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq. CNN will carry those comments live from the president around 10:25 Eastern.
HARRIS: And before we get to the president, let's get to Chad Myers in the CNN Weather Center.
Hello again, Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: The Rutgers basketball team, again, live in the NEWSROOM. The women respond to Don Imus and his racial remark.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON IMUS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I understand it's not funny. I understand there's no excuse for it. I'm not pretending that there is. I wish I hadn't have said it. I'm sorry I said it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: A radio host tries to atone, but is anyone listening?
COLLINS: Also, it takes money to fight a war. President Bush presses Democrats to write a check with no strings attached. The cash crunch, ahead in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Violence in the workplace. A Michigan man awaits charges after an office shooting. The latest ahead.
COLLINS: She's the mother, but who's the father? Hmm, still waiting on that. We may find out, though, in a short while. DNA never lies, in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And good morning again, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.
A bright college student, but he saw no way out of debt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're pushers. They're credit pushers. And, yes, I am angry that they did that to Shawn (ph) and they do that to so many other college students.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Colleges and banks making deals. Are they also exploiting students? Find out in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: A Michigan man accused of a deadly shooting at his former workplace now awaits charges. Anthony Lacalamita is expected to be arraigned tomorrow. Authorities say he was fired from his job last week in an accounting and business consulting firm. He is accused of returning to the business and opening fire with a shotgun. A woman was killed and two men were wounded in the attack. The suspect was arrested after a high-speed chase.
COLLINS: Another stem cell battle looms between President Bush and Congress. The Senate this morning beginning debate on a bill to clear the way for federal financing of new embryonic stem cell research. A vote expected this week. The measure would reverse the president's ban on taxpayer-funded research using stem cells developed after August 2001. President Bush vetoed a similar bill last year and now he's promising to do it again. Another measure in the Senate calls for the government to set stem cell research guidelines.
HARRIS: Focus on immigration. President Bush pushing Congress to get to work on reform. But for some business owners, the debate is pretty simple. CNN's Dan Lothian has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Nikita Floyd.
NIKITA FLOYD, LANDSCAPE BUSINESS OWNER: All of these stonewalls I built as well.
LOTHIAN: Started his Maryland landscaping business . . .
FLOYD: I'm thinking about doing all knock-out roads across here.
LOTHIAN: With a mower, a rake, and a dream to recruit and hire black workers.
When you first started -- when Floyd first started in the late '80s, you had a lot of blacks who worked for your company, right?
FLOYD: Yes, sir.
LOTHIAN: And you no longer have a lot of blacks working for your company. What happened?
FLOYD: I just think it just became a lack of discipline.
LOTHIAN: They weren't as dedicated?
FLOYD: No, I that weren't as dedicated.
LOTHIAN: Sharp criticism of the very people he had hoped would be the backbone of his company.
FLOYD: When my team is not cooperating with me, if my team calls in, if my team have continuous excuses or reasons why they can't come to work, no project can get done.
LOTHIAN: And that's what you were facing?
FLOYD: Yes. Yes.
LOTHIAN: So this black business owner doesn't have a single black worker on any of his projects.
FLOYD: Sometimes, hey, I do get a little lonely. I mean, I don't speak Spanish.
LOTHIAN: When blacks faded off the payroll, they were replaced by Latinos. He says they are a readily available and dependable labor pool. About 40 immigrants from El Salvador now work for him during peak summer months.
FLOYD: They buy into the American dream and they just really come for a genuine purpose.
LOTHIAN: To work?
FLOYD: Yes, to work. If one person won't show up and another person will, eventually you're going to select that person.
Tell Santos to come here a minute.
LOTHIAN: Santos Medranos has been Floyd's right-hand man for nearly a dozen years, of what is now a $2.5 million business.
SANTOS MEDRANOS, LANDSCAPE FOREMAN: We are hard workers. And we came to America, you know, to work. You know, make life more easy.
LOTHIAN: Floyd says he pays his Latino workers more than the minimum wage, offers them incentives.
Would you hire blacks if the wanted to come?
FLOYD: Of course, yes. I mean, anybody who wants to work.
LOTHIAN: Do black young people out there not want to do this work?
FLOYD: For the most part.
LOTHIAN: His strong words about the work ethic of blacks he has employed is aimed, he says, at teaching discipline and motivating the next generation.
FLOYD: Everybody can't be a rapper or a basketball player. I understood why Oprah moved her school to Africa because of the -- the kids just -- they just don't have the right zeal or the right attitude.
LOTHIAN: Floyd hopes that will change and that blacks now missing on the landscape will return to his payroll, dedicated like these crews.
To the African-American community, what do you have to say?
FLOYD: It's not where you start, it's where you finish.
LOTHIAN: Dan Lothian, CNN, Temple Hills, Maryland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: We are waiting for President Bush to speak now. There's a live shot for you. He's due to address the American Legion members in Virginia any minute about an emergency spending bill. Actually about 10 minutes from now. Sorry about that. For the Iraq War. Mr. Bush has said he will veto any bill that includes a timetable for pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq. CNN will carry those comments live, scheduled to begin, as we said, in just a few minutes.
HARRIS: And he's cranky, his comments bite, but a racial remark by radio and television personality Don Imus gets him suspended.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON IMUS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I'm not a bad person. I'm a good person. But I said a bad thing. But these young women deserve to know that it was not said with malice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Will it be apology accepted? We hear from the women's basketball team at Rutgers University live this morning next hour right here in the NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: So have you checked the calendar? There's no denying it folks. The tax filing deadline is next week. CNN's Stephanie Elam has some advice on how to save money now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's tax season. And here's some good news about new ways you can save money now. First, you can contribute to your 2006 IRA all the way up until tax day. Second, many people will be allowed to deduct their IRA contributions this year. And millions of Americans will be eligible for tax credits for cutting back their energy usage through home improvements like new windows.
Another new thing this year, the IRS will allow filers to split up their returns into as many as three electronically, so there's no excuse for not stashing some away for retirement. And if it's an extra day you need, you got it. April 15th falls on a Sunday this year and April 16th is a new holiday in Washington, D.C., Emancipation Day, so that means as long as your return is postmarked by April 17th, you'll be in the clear.
Stephanie Elam, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: One more quick check of the Dow Jones Industrial averages there. Thirteen points up or so, resting at 12,582. And the Nasdaq also up about eight points or so. We'll follow these numbers for you, as usual. Talk with Susan Lisovicz, if I can talking about all, a little bit later on in the show.
HARRIS: And we are waiting to hear from President Bush this morning. He is about to address American Legion members in Virginia. A live look now at the hall. He will call for an emergency spending bill for Iraq that does not include a timetable for withdrawal. CNN's Susan Malveaux live at the White House.
Suzanne, good morning to you.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
HARRIS: Tell us how the president will attempt to make this case. I guess the real question, will it be much the same that we've heard over the last couple of weeks or maybe something different?
MALVEAUX: Tony, it's going to be much the same. But what you're going to hear essentially is that this is a White House that's trying to shape this debate. The president putting himself before a friendly group, a friendly crowd, the American Legion. And essentially what he's going to say is that, look, it's been 64 days since I've requested this war funding. I am going to veto the current legislation that has been put before me that is with any kind of deadline or timetable of withdrawing U.S. troops.
To underscore that point, he is going to talk about the fact that in the coming days, the Pentagon will have to request, go before members of Congress and say, look, we're going to need to move some funds around. Some $1.6 billion from one account in the military to another account. That is to make up any kind of shortfall for the Iraq War spending.
He is also going to say, as well, Tony, extending an invitation to the leaders, the Democrats, as well as the Republicans, to come to the White House sometime soon to talk about all of this. A way to fund the troops here and in light of the fact that he's going to veto this legislation. Now we asked Dana Perino, the deputy press secretary, why would the Democrats do that? Why would they not see this as a big waste of time? Because she has said, this is not a negotiation. That there's a red line that they have drawn and that is legislation with no strings attached.
Well, the way that they explain this, they say it is not political theater, but they say you may have Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid threatening with legislation to cut off most of the funds for the troops if the president vetos the current legislation, but they believe they have an opening here. That there's some wiggle room. They are talking about what Senator Carl Levin said over the weekend, that perhaps they were able to put forward a bill that would call for a benchmark for Iraqi government to meet, but wouldn't necessarily include a timetable to withdraw U.S. troops.
They point to Senator Barack Obama's comments made last week, that we shouldn't play chicken with funding our troops. So they believe that perhaps the Democrats, in some way, will negotiate themselves and come forward with the different position. At least that's their hope.
Tony.
HARRIS: Yes, that's interesting.
All right, Suzanne, before we go to the president here in just a couple of moments, do we know exactly when the money will run out?
MALVEAUX: We don't know exactly when, but we have a pretty good idea. And different people are using different numbers. The emphasis is very different. You'll hear the president often talk about mid April is when you're going to see the accounts have to shift around. We've heard from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Peter Pace, who talks about mid May as being a critical time where it will affect the training, the tools and the equipment. There is the Congressional Research Service Report, an independent group, they talk about July as being a date. And some Democrats push it back even farther. So you can see where there's a little bit of political jockeying going on with which numbers they emphasize.
Tony.
HARRIS: CNN White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux for us. Suzanne, thank you.
And let's take you to Virginia now and listen to the president.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And we're going to make sure that the care is superb care. I went over there the other day and I made it clear to the caregivers that there were some bureaucratic snafus that were unacceptable. Secretary Gates and our military folks will clean that up. But the care that our troops get from the doctors and nurses is superb care. And we owe those people in the front lines, providing care for the wounded, a real debt of gratitude, just like we owe the families and the soldiers the best health care possible.
I appreciate very much the ROTC scholarships you provide, particularly for George Mason University students. I'm a big believer of education and I know you are as well. Rather than talking on the subject, you're acting. And I appreciate that a lot. But more importantly, the students do, too.
And thanks for sending the care packages to our troops. It matters. Iraq and Afghanistan are far away from home. A little different from the wars you fought, however. There is e-mail today and cell phones. But nevertheless, there is a sense of loneliness that can sometimes affect our troops and the fact that you would take time to send them care packages to remind those who wear the uniform that you support them, a stranger reaches out to them and offers support, I thank you a lot for that.
This is an unusual era in which we live. Defined on September the 11th, 2001. See, that's a date that reminded us the world has changed significantly from what we thought the world was. We thought that oceans and friendly neighbors could protect us from attack. And yet on that day, less than 20 miles from this post, an airplane crashed into the Pentagon and killed 184 men, women and children. An airplane driven by fanatics, and extremists and murderers crashed into the Pentagon. And as you know on that day, nearly 3,000 people died in New York that day. And more would have died had not the people on United Flight 93 showed an incredible courage and saved no telling how many lives out here in Washington, D.C. by taking that plane to the ground.
My attitude about the world changed and I know the attitude about the world for a lot of folks here in America's attitude changed. It reminded me that the most solemn duty of your federal government is to protect the American people from harm. The most solemn duty we have is to protect this homeland.
I vowed that day that we would go on the offense against an enemy. That the best way to defeat this enemy is to find them overseas and bring them to justice so they will not hurt the folks here at home. In other words, we don't have the luxury of hoping for the best, of sitting back and being passive in the face of this threat.
In the past, we would say oceans would protect us and, therefore, what happened overseas may not matter here at home. That's what changed on September the 11th. What happens overseas affects the security of the United States and it's in this nation's interest that we go on the offense and stay on the offense. We want to defeat them there so we don't have to face them here.
On 9/11 we saw that problems originating in a failed and oppressive state 7,000 miles away can bring death to our citizens.
I vowed that, "If you harbor a terrorist, you're equally as guilty as the terrorist." That's a doctrine.
In order for this country to be credible, when the president says something, he must mean it. I meant it.
And the Taliban found out that we meant what we said. And therefore, we ended Al Qaida's safe haven in a failed state.
The two points I want to make is, doctrine matters; and secondly, a failed state can lead to severe consequences for the American people.
And therefore, it's in our interest not only to pursue the enemy overseas, so we don't have to face them here; it's in our interest to spread an alternative ideology to their hateful ideology.
These folks do not believe in the freedom to worship. They don't believe that women have got an equal place in society. They don't believe in human rights and human dignity.
We believe that people have the right to worship the way they see fit. We believe all humans are created equal. We believe in dissent. We believe in public discourse.
Our ideology is based upon freedom and liberty. Theirs is based upon oppression.
And the best way to secure this country in the long run is to offer up an alternative that stands in stark contrast to theirs.
And that's the hard work we're doing in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In Afghanistan, the Taliban that ran that country and provided safe haven to Al Qaida, where thousands of people were able to train in order to be able to launch attacks on innocent people -- innocent Americans, for example -- that Taliban no longer is in power.
And, in fact, there's a young, struggling democracy in Afghanistan.
You know, people in Afghanistan went to the polls and voted. President Karzai is now representing a government of and by and for the people. It's an unimaginable sequence of events. Had you asked people in the mid-1990s, "Is it possible for there to be a democracy in Afghanistan?" they'd probably say, "Of course not."
But there is a democracy in place. And it's in our interest to deny Al Qaida and the Taliban and the radicals and the extremists a safe haven. And it's in our interest to stand with this young democracy as it begins to spread its wings in Afghanistan.
And then we're doing the hard work in Iraq. I made a decision to remove a dictator, a tyrant, who was a threat to the United States, a threat to the free world, and a threat to the Iraqi people. And the world is better off without Saddam Hussein in power.
(APPLAUSE)
And now we're undertaking the difficult and dangerous work of helping the Iraqi people establish a functioning democracy. I think it's necessary work to help them establish a functioning democracy.
It's necessary because it is important for the moderate people, people who want to live in peace and security, to see what is possible in the Middle East.
It is hard work because we face an enemy that understands the consequences of liberty taking root and are willing to kill innocent lives in order to achieve their political objectives.
A minority -- and I emphasize "minority" -- of violent extremists have declared that they want to turn that country into a terrorist base from which to launch an ideological war in the Middle East and attacks on the United States of America. That is the stated objective of Al Qaida in Iraq.
It's important that we listen to the enemy. It's important we take their threats seriously.
In contrast, however, the vast majority of Iraqis have made it clear they want to live in peace. After all, about 12 million of them went to the polls, a feat that was, again, unimaginable in the mid- 1990s. If you would have said, "Can you imagine Iraqis being able to vote for a constitution and then a government under that constitution?" in the mid-1990s, they'd have said, "You're too idealistic. That's impossible." And yet that's what happened.
The terrorists, recognizing that this country was headed toward a society based upon liberty, a society based upon an ideology that is the opposite of what they believe, struck. And they struck by blowing up the golden mosque of Samarra, which is a holy shrine, a holy site. It's a site that a lot of people hold dear in their heart. And they were attempting to provoke retaliation by a segment of that society, the Iraqi Shia.
And they succeeded. And the result was a tragic escalation of violence. And in the face of the violence -- in other words, there was reprisal. People were going to get even. "How dare these people do this?"
And in the face of this violence, I had a choice to make. We could withdraw our troops from the capital of Iraq and hope that violence would not spiral out of control, or we could send reinforcements into the capital in the hopes of quelling sectarian violence in order to give this young democracy time to reconcile, time to deal with the politics necessary for a government that can sustain itself and defend itself to emerge.
I made the decisions after -- to reinforce. But I didn't do it in a vacuum. I called in our military commanders and experts. And I listened to a lot of opinions. And there's a lot of opinions in Washington, D.C...
(LAUGHTER)
... in case you hadn't noticed.
(LAUGHTER)
Opinions that matter a lot to me are what our military folks think. After all, this is a military operation. And as the commander in chief, you must listen to your military and trust their judgment on military matters. And that's what I did.
They recognize what I recognize, and it's important for the American citizens to recognize this: that if we were to have stepped back from Baghdad before the Iraqis were capable of securing their capital, before they had the troops trained well enough to secure the capital, it would have been a vacuum that could have easily been filled by Sunni and Shia extremists, radicals, that would be bolstered by outside forces. In other words, the lack of security would have created an opportunity for extremists to move in.
Most people want to live in peace in Iraq. There are extremists who can't stand the thought of a free society, that would have taken advantage of the vacuum. A contagion of violence could spill out across the country. And in time, the violence could affect the entire region.
What happens in the Middle East matters here in America. The terrorists would have emerged, under this scenario, more emboldened. They would have said, "Our enemy the United States, the enemy that we attacked," turns out to be what they thought: weak in the face of violence, weak in the face of challenge.
They would have been able to more likely recruit.
They would have had a new safe haven from which to launch attacks.
Imagine a scenario in which the extremists are able to control oil revenues to achieve economic blackmail to achieve their objectives.
HARRIS: President Bush in remarks to meshes of the American Legion in Virginia. We expect that at some point in these remarks he will renew his call for a clean bill from Congress to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Haven't heard that yet. But as you heard from Suzanne Malveaux there seems to be room for compromise in the bill the president will ultimately get, perhaps without so many earmarks. And with benchmarks for the Iraqi government. And maybe not such strong language with respect to a date certain for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. The Senate back in session today. The House returns next week. We expect to hear some comments from the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid responding to the president's comments this morning. We'll follow that for you right here in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: The women's basketball team for Rutgers University live in the NEWSROOM at 11:00 Eastern. Their response to Don Imus and his racially sensitive remarks about the players.
And this, do fewer calories add up to a longer life? Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta makes the connection. He's live with more of his special series, "Chasing Life." It's coming up right here in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The numbers from Wall Street there for you. Meanwhile, Don Imus, he has paid a lot of Monday to stir things up on the radio. Today his voice muffled by static. The gruff radio host facing outrage and protests for racially charged comments he made last week. His target, the Rutgers University women's basketball team. Next hour we'll hear from those women and their coach. And right now we're hearing more calls for his firing. His punishment so far, a two-week suspension that he's not contesting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON IMUS, RADIO SHOW HOST: I think it's appropriate, and I am going to try to serve it with some dignity, and a lot of dignity if I can. I've had a long relationship going back to 1971 with the people at NBC, and a long relationship with CBS. And when I talked with Phil Griffin last evening, and he told me that they were suspending me, I expressed to him that -- how I felt about that, and accepted that in the spirit in which it was rendered.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Among those calling for Imus' firing, civil rights activist Al Sharpton. Imus appeared on Sharpton's radio show yesterday, and apologized for his remarks. Imus called himself a good person who made a bad mistake.
HARRIS: And the comments at the center of this, the one comment in particular, Imus referring to the women's team there, members of the women's team at Rutgers as "nappy-headed hos." So we put this question to you, what do you think should happen? Quite simply, should he stay or should he go? You have been sending in wonderful e- mails. I want to read some of them to you now.
Linda writes, "Imus said he made the insult without malice. That's bull. That's an excuse. He should be fired, along with others like him. It's time for decent people to stand up for this kind of indecency."
COLLINS: This one from Greer in Connecticut says, "Rush Limbaugh is offensive just by being on the air. He offends almost anyone everyday, but does anyone make such a big deal about Him? no, because it's expected of him. Reprimand Imus and get on with it. Enough with the 24-hour coverage on every network and cable show."
HARRIS: And this from Mary, "In the words of Flip Wilson, 'Loose lips sinks ships.' Imus' racial comments is just a testimony of who he really is on the inside. This is why it is our duty to make sure his sinking ship is sunk."
COLLINS: And from J.C., "As punishment for his untamed tongue, I'd force him to stay on the air so that everyone could beat him up on a daily basis.
HARRIS: And again, the women's basketball team at Rutgers University getting a lot of attention after the comments by Don Imus. We want to tell you a little bit more about them. The women's basketball team was founded in 1974, and is known as the Scarlet Knights. They made it to the NCAA Final Four in 2000, and this year they were the Big East champs. The head coach and most of the players are African-American. Overall, about 1,000 students compete in this school's sports programs.
COLLINS: The women's basketball team from Rutgers University live in the NEWSROOM, 11:00 Eastern," just 15 minutes from now. Their response to Don Imus and his racially insensitive remarks about the players.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta in New York. We're up here chasing life. There's one diet out there that's been scientifically proven to extend life. I'll give you the details in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You already know to catch us weekday mornings from 9:00 until noon Eastern. But now you can take us with you, make us part of your day-to-day life anywhere on your iPod. The CNN NEWSROOM podcast available 24/7 right on your iPod.
Well, decisions we make every day may add or subtract healthy years from our lives. That's a new book from our Dr. Sanjay Gupta. "Chasing Life" is also a special report this weekend on CNN. The good doctor joins us from New York this morning. And he is talking about food.
Sanjay, great to see you. Congratulations on the book.
GUPTA: Thank you.
HARRIS: Let's talk about food.
GUPTA: Yes, let's talk about chasing life. There's only been one proven way to actually extend life, Tony, in terms of diets, and that's actually something known as a calorie-restriction diet, actually eating fewer calories. A lot of people hear that, and they say, well, easier said than done. What we wanted to do this morning is give you some tools that can actually make it easier for you to cut down calories while actually eating more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice over): Okinawans tend to eat more food than Americans. But are often thinner and live longer. In fact, Okinawa has more centenarians per capita than anywhere else on the planet. You see, that despite eating a greater volume of food, they are consuming fewer calories. That's because much of their diet consists of fruits, vegetables, tofu and soup. And all these foods contain a lot of water. They also follow a tradition called hara hachi bu, pushing away from the table when they're only 80 percent fool.
BARBARA ROLLS, AUTHOR "THE VOLUMETRICS EATING PLAN": So you're starting the day on the run and you get a typical breakfast. And for 400 calories you're going to get three quarters of a cinnamon bun.
GUPTA: Half a world away, Penn State professor Barbara Rolls studies the way Americans eat. She says Americans are eating too much fast food. It's food she calls calorie dense.
ROLLS: And they're sold very cheaply and very conveniently, and they're very easy to overeat.
GUPTA: A burger and a fries, for example, is mostly fat, protein and carbohydrates. Fat is 255 calories per ounce. Carbohydrates and proteins are each 113 calories per ounce. Fruits and vegetables, on the other hand, are mostly water and fiber. Fiber averages 57 calories per ounce. Water zero calories.
Rolls thinks we should eat less calorie dense foods, in other words, more fruits and vegetables, as well as soup. She calls this volume metric eating.
ROLLS: Volume metric helps you feel full with fewer calories. We know that eating foods that are low in calorie density helps to fill you up.
GUPTA: So what about Americans following hara hachi bu?
ROLLS: How do people know if they're 80 percent full if they don't know when they're even 200 percent full?
GUPTA: Instead, Rolls says we should make sure we get full on less.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (on camera): The Okinawans actually practice volume metrics, I think, without really thinking about it. Something we could practice easily here as well. There are some people who take it a step further. They practice something known as CR or calorie- restriction diet. It's pretty amazing.
I had a chance to sit down and have dinner with a couple of these folks. They weigh everything. They weigh every asparagus, tomatoes, every single thing. All that food there, including some tolapia, 639 calories. I wouldn't be able to eat more than 1500 calories a day myself. They believe that restricting calories that much extends life.
Tony.
HARRIS: That feels a bit like a job. I mean, you know, we live fast and active lives. That looks like a lot of work. But I have to ask you, maybe it's worth it. Does eating fewer calories, does it actually make you live longer, Sanjay?
GUPTA: Well, it's so interesting. We've been researching this for about a year now, as you know. First it was in mice. They did these studies. They found something interesting, restricting the calories somewhat, extended their lives about 35 percent. Pretty significant. Decided to do similar studies in primates and they found the same thing.
Now there's been a federally approved study in humans to study this as well. It seems to be that when you restrict your calories you tend to improve some of the biomarkers of aging, those stress busting things. It seems to have an impact. Best advice, never satiate yourself, never fill yourself up to the point where you say, oh, I'm just so full. You don't do that you're going to be on a good road there.
HARRIS: That makes common sense. Why don't more people do this?
GUPTA: Part of the problem, I think, honestly, again, based on the research, is that it takes about 15 minutes for your stomach to send a signal to your brain that you're full. Most of us ...
HARRIS: Damage us.
GUPTA: Most of us can eat a four course meal in 15 minutes. You've eaten so much. How many times 20 minutes later, you get back from the table and say, oh, my gosh, I ate too much. I'm full. Eat a little slower. Eat the water dense foods. It's worth it. We're talking about living longer and healthier.
HARRIS: We can do some damage in 15 minutes. Sanjay, what do you have for us tomorrow?
GUPTA: You know, part of it is I need to put myself to the test here. I can't just talk about it. I've got to practice what I preach. So I decided to figure out what my chances are to live to 100. Putting myself under the microscope. And Tony, if you like, we can put you under the microscope as well, see how long you're going to live. Do you want to know?
HARRIS: Heidi is pointing out the M&Ms that we share on a daily basis here. All right, Sanjay. Appreciate it. Congratulations again on the book.
GUPTA: Thanks.
HARRIS: And again, you can catch all of Sanjay's CNN special "Chasing Life" this Saturday and Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN. Sanjay's book, "Chasing Life" is on sale now. To win a free autographed copy of Sanjay's book, go to CNN.com. That is our website address, CNN.com/chasinglife.
COLLINS: The women's basketball team from Rutgers University live in the NEWSROOM at 11:00 Eastern. Their response to Don Imus and his racially insensitive remarks about the players.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: So all kinds of reaction, this morning to those remarks from radio host Don Imus, our next gust says Imus should resign, or his show should be canceled. Alfred Edmond Jr. is editor in chief of Black Enterprise Magazine. He's also a Rutgers University alumnus. Thanks for your time this morning. You know the comment, he referred to members of the team as some nappy-headed hos. Okay. What are your thoughts?
ALFRED EDMOND JR., EDITOR IN CHIEF, BLACK ENTERPRISE MAGAZINE: It's really ridiculous. Even he understands it's ridiculous. It's the equivalent of just you walking down the street minding your own business and someone walking up and clocking you right in the face. They have done something wonderful in terms of their performance in the NCAA tournament. That should be celebrated. If you couldn't say something positive about it, I'm not sure why you would say anything at all.
HARRIS: Why do you think this kind of thing happens? In general terms, this is a man who's done great work, supporting the causes that he cares about. I'm not sure if he ever raised money for example, for the United Negro College Fund. On one hand, you have a man that does great work and on the other hand, has the capability to offend a lot of people. On balance, what are we to make of this?
EDMOND: Listen, great people and people who do good things get fired all the time. This is not a referendum on what kind of man he is and what his good works are. He has a job. His job is a media personality and a media voice. And he screwed up. People get fired every day. That doesn't mean they're bad people, necessarily. But if you screw up this badly, you deserve to lose your job.
HARRIS: What do you think of the comment from some, that oh he won't be fired because he earns too much money for his broadcast partners?
EDMOND: That's an important point to deal with. This is not just about Imus and his values and what he meant to say. It's about MSNBC and WFAN, it's about the organization and what they stand for for both their audience as well as their ...
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