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American Morning

End of Shock Radio?; Schwarzenegger Spreads Environment Message

Aired April 13, 2007 - 06:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Defying terror. An emergency session of the Iraqi parliament this morning, a day after a brazen bombing raises troubling security concerns. Today there are new clues that point to an inside job.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Face to face. Don Imus meets late into the night with the women from the Rutgers basketball team whom he insulted. Forced off the air, could he find a new career on satellite radio.

S. O'BRIEN: Sweetheart deal. The World Bank head pulled (ph). Wolfowitz is under fire today, accused of arranging a pay hike for his girlfriend.

M. O'BRIEN: And a grand entrance. A car comes barreling through a pharmacy, but the cops say these guys didn't find what they were looking for.

S. O'BRIEN: We're live this morning from Baghdad, from Washington, D.C., from New York on this AMERICAN MORNING.

M. O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome, everybody. It's Friday, April 13th. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. Thanks for being with us. We begin in Iraq where authorities suspect that bombing at the parliament building was an inside job. They've detained three cafeteria workers for questioning. It was a brazen attack at the very heart of the struggling Iraqi government. Eight died in the suicide bombing, one of them a lawmaker. A special session of parliament now underway and there is plenty of tough talk condemning the attack, the worst ever inside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. For the very latest, let's go live now to Kyra Phillips in Baghdad.

Kyra.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sorry about that, Miles. Somebody was talking in my ear. Could you just tell me what the last things was that you said?

M. O'BRIEN: Just take it away, Kyra. Tell us what you know.

PHILLIPS: All right. This is what I have, the latest information with regard to the cafeteria workers is that you're right, we had reported that overnight that possibly -- one of my sources had told me that possibly there was an infiltrator within the cafeteria work staff. Someone that might have even bypassed those checkpoints. And sure enough, when we were able to get up this morning, we've got confirmation that three cafeteria workers have been detained -- I believe you said that -- in addition to some security personnel as well. And, also, there might be a couple members of parliament that may be under investigation.

So you're looking at the pictures now. We got these actually overnight. Al Hurra TV was able to bring us what that bombing looked like from the inside when an interview was taking place. Pretty compelling pictures and sound. People trying to figure out how to get out of there, what was going on, if anybody was injured.

We're still getting a lot of back and forth on the numbers of how many injured, how many have died. We can confirmed that one lawmaker was killed. Here's a little bit about him. Sunni lawmaker Mohamad Alwat (ph), a part of the national dialog front. Eleven seats on that front. Miles, he's known to be very outspoken about the government. That group has been outspoken about the government. He also sits on a committee that deals with security and defense. Not sure if he was targeted in this attack, but he is the one that has lost his life.

A special session taking place right now. A lot of condolences to him, his family. Flowers were put on his chair and we're still trying to get information about others that were injured or possibly killed in that attack.

Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Kyra, who will lead this investigation? Will it be a U.S. investigation or an Iraqi investigation?

PHILLIPS: That's a great question because I've been getting a lot of my information from both sides, from U.S. sources and also Iraqi sources. And that's what they're trying to figure out. And that's what one of the biggest problems is here in Iraq is, who is going to take the lead? Whether it's investigations, whether it's security, whether it's check points for the Green Zone.

As you know, the U.S. has given over control to the Iraqis and to this private security firm, Triple Canopy (ph). So when you were going into the Green Zone, you never really saw U.S. troops. Maybe every now and then you would see one right there at the front. Now Major General William Caldwell saying, we're going to have to take a look at that. We might have to get more involved. Not quite sure yet how that would be.

And then the minister of interior today, during this special session of parliament, he's in charge of all Iraqi police forces. He said, I want my men to take over the security specifically for the parliament. So it's a tug of war, Miles. Not quite sure who will take the lead on the investigation or the security changes.

A lot of changes, though, in security today. It took twice as long to get in there and twice as long going out. And there are many more people doing intense searches at each one of those check points.

M. O'BRIEN: Kyra Phillips in Baghdad, thank you very much.

Big questions this morning. How could it possibly have happened. Coming up at 6:20 Eastern, we're going to be joined by Rear Admiral Mark Fox. He is the deputy spokesman for the multinational force in Iraq. We'll ask him about it.

Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: The Pentagon is trying to keep Iran from getting its aging fleet of F-14 fighter jets off the ground again. It announced new restrictions on the sale of any surplus parts that could be used in those planes. Over 160,000 components, right down to the nuts and the bolts. Iran has about 50 F-14 tomcats bought from the United States back when Iran was an ally. Now that's before the 1979 Islamic revolution. There's no word on just how many of them need repairing in order to get into the sky.

A strong earthquake hit Mexico early this morning. It knocked out power in parts of Mexico City. It send residents into the streets in their pajamas. A Minnesota family who was vacationing in Acapulco say they literally flew out of bed when the quake struck just after midnight local time. No reports of any death at this point, serious injuries or major damage. The earthquake lasted just about a minute.

M. O'BRIEN: It's the end of a radio era this morning. For the first time in more than three decades, Don Imus is off the air and out of a job. The other shoe dropped yesterday. CBS firing him the day after NBC dropped him from his TV simulcast. This as Imus met with the women of the Rutgers University basketball team, whom he offended, and he apologized to them face-to-face. The pressure on Imus seemed to grow every day after he made the racist and sexist remark. His program brought in $20 million a year for CBS. The coach of the Rutgers women's team says that meeting with Imus was very productive. CNN's Deborah Feyerick was there. She has more.

Hey, Deb.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Miles.

Well, the meeting lasted for about two and a half hours. A sources inside said some of the players were crying during the very emotional meeting. They just couldn't understand why Imus had targeted them using such hateful language. The woman kept repeating, why us? Why us? And they also said, we want you to feel the apology, not just say the words. Now the team is deciding whether to accept that apology. And they may have something more to say today. But just before midnight last night, they did gather on the steps and their coach spoke for the team.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIVIAN STRINGER, RUTGERS WOMENS BASKETBALL COACH: Hopefully we can put all of this behind us and look forward to a much more productive society. So we'll look forward to things and that's really what we would like to do, is to go forward and to let the healing process begin. (END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Now as for Imus, he left. His wife hugged some of the players who were there. He did not say anything to any of the reporters, just got into his stretch limousine and then pulled away. It's not clear whether he'll have a comment today or any sort of a statement. He had been pushing for an apology or to apologize to the women's team and that came.

Miles, Soledad.

M. O'BRIEN: Deborah Feyerick, thank you very much.

Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, the New Jersey governor, John Corzine, was supposed to be hosting that meeting between Don Imus and the Rutgers women, but he never made it to the meeting. Governor Corzine was seriously injured when the SUV that he was riding in crashed near Atlantic City. He had surgery overnight. He has numerous broken bones. He's in critical but stable condition this morning. Doctors say his injuries are significant, but they're not life threatening. There is no word at this point on whether the govern was wearing a seat belt when the crash took place. Of course, our best wishes go to the governor for a speedy recovery, and his family as well.

The district attorney who prosecuted the case against those three former Duke University lacrosse players is going to be fighting to keep his law license today. Those players cleared of sexual assault charges earlier in the week. The Durham D.A., Mike Nifong, is now up on ethics charges with the North Carolina State Bar for the way he handled the case. The state called him a rogue prosecutor for bringing the charges against the players.

And yesterday Nifong apologized, saying in a written statement, "to the extent that I made judgments that ultimately proved to be incorrect, I apologize to the three students that were wrongly accused." No decisions are expected on Nifong's law license today. His full case will not be heard until June. Lawyers for the players have not said whether they plan to sue Nifong. They also have said that they haven't ruled it out either.

M. O'BRIEN: And another apology to tell you about this morning. This one from World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz, who may have helped his female companion, Shaha Riza (ph), get a pay raise and a desirable transfer to the State Department.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL WOLFOWITZ, PRESIDENT, WORLD BANK: I made a mistake, for which I am sorry. But let me also ask for some understanding. Not only was this a painful, personal dilemma, but I had to deal with it when I was new to this institution and I was trying to navigate in unchartered waters.

(END VIDEO CLIP) M. O'BRIEN: Employees at the World Bank are calling for his resignation. Wolfowitz was a deputy defense secretary and was one of the key architects of the Iraq War. Employees had already questioned his suitability (ph) for the World Bank post. The bank board has not yet decided whether he should be fired.

In Washington today, the fight over the U.S. attorneys that were fired continues. And the focus is now on some missing e-mail. Democrats in Congress want to know why so many e-mails written by White House staffers, but sent on Republican Party account, are missing. The e-mails were erased. The White House calling it an accident, but the Senate judiciary chairman, Patrick Leahy, says he's not buying that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. PATRICK LEAHY, CHAIRMAN, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: I don't believe that. I don't believe that. You can't erase e-mails. Not today. They've gone through too many servers. They can't say that they've been lost. That's like saying the dog ate my homework.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: Some Democrats believe the staffers used the party e-mail accounts to cover their tracks as they pursued the dismissal of those prosecutors for political reasons.

Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, you know, it's supposed to be the safest place in Baghdad, so how exactly did it happen? This morning we're going to talk to an American commander on the ground. Talk about how that suicide bombing inside the Green Zone took place.

And the Great Lakes may still be great, but one is not nearly as cold always it used to be. Global warming fears hit one of America's largest water supplies.

And then this. A daring drugstore smash and grab, with kind of a strange ending, too. We'll tell you what happens stright ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: A couple of dispatches this morning from our cars in stores desk.

First, in Ohio, a car drives into the front window of a combination appliance store and tanning salon. Appliance store and tanning salon. That's a story on its own right. Police say two cars collided in the parking lot and this driver must have stepped on the gas instead of the break. No one seriously hurt. Not even the driver of the car. So, what, you think I need a refrigerator and I need a healthy tan?

S. O'BRIEN: You get it all done at one stop and (INAUDIBLE). M. O'BRIEN: But, wait, there's more. Alabama, Easter Sunday, a car smashing into a pharmacy.

S. O'BRIEN: Wow.

M. O'BRIEN: A purposeful smash as you can see there. Police think the driver and the passenger were trying to steal some drugs. Smash and grab in a big way. There they are running out. You see they're empty handed, though. At night, the drugs are in a safe, thieves.

S. O'BRIEN: Duh.

M. O'BRIEN: Amazingly . . .

S. O'BRIEN: What do you think, they leave the drugs and narcotics out on the shelves?

M. O'BRIEN: No. They get locked up. And the pharmacy is already back in business. Police are still searching for those suspect. I bet they find them.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, because they have their car in the middle as evidence.

M. O'BRIEN: No. You're assuming they used their car. Maybe they didn't.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, yes, that's true. It could be.

M. O'BRIEN: It's possible.

S. O'BRIEN: Or at least their fingerprints, maybe.

M. O'BRIEN: Potentially.

S. O'BRIEN: Weird but true.

Coming up at quarter past the hour. Time to check in with Chad Myers, who's at the CNN Weather Center for us, watching some severe weather for us.

Hey, Chad, good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: The Great Lakes are getting warmer, and that's not great news for people who are concerned about global warming and climate change. Scientists are most worried about Lake Superior in particular, the largest of the Great Lakes and, of course, the coldest one, being the most northern one. And perched on the shores of Lake Superior this morning, in Duluth, Minnesota, is where we find CNN's Keith Oppenheim with the latest on all that.

Keith, what are the scientists telling you? KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, first of all, I'm on the Blue Heron. This is a research vessel that's used by scientists at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. And what those scientists are telling me is that the water temperatures, the surface water temperatures of Lake Superior have gone up 4.5 degrees since 1979. That is considered a huge leap. And it has folks up here wondering and worrying about the future.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OPPENHEIM, (voice over): Look at the waves of ice on Lake Superior. And probably the last thing you'd think about is global warming.

JAY AUSTIN, OCEANOGRAPHER, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA-DULUTH: I'm just going to put it back on.

OPPENHEIM: I talked to oceanographer Jay Austin and suddenly you realize that secrets lie beneath.

AUSTIN: The rates of change in Superior are some of the fastest rates of temperature change that, to my knowledge, have been observed anywhere in the world.

OPPENHEIM: Austin analyzed government data from three buoys across Lake Superior, which measured water temperature since 1979. Austin crunched the numbers with geologist Steve Coleman (ph).

STEVE COLEMAN, GEOLOGIST: What astounded us when we first discovered it was that the water temperatures were warming faster than the air temperatures around them.

OPPENHEIM: In fact, in roughly 25 years, Lake Superior's water temperatures went up 4.5 degrees, almost twice as much as the air temperature. These scientists believe warmer air is melting the lake's ice cover earlier. Ice that normally keeps heat away from the water.

ADAM LUCK, FISHERMAN: As you take that ice away, you allow more heat into the lake earlier in the season.

OPPENHEIM: Adam Luck, a fisherman, wonders whether warming weather could have a profound impact.

LUCK: A lot of the fish in the lake, you know, they're cold water fish. They like the colder temperature. And the raising water temperatures has got to affect the fish.

OPPENHEIM: Indeed, some scientists say warmer water in Superior could be an invitation to predatory fish, like Asian carp, fish that normally can't stand Superior's cold, but thrive elsewhere and reek havoc on habitat. Other concerns, warmer water could mean stormier weather, more evaporate and less water, which could make it tougher for ships to carry full loads.

MELANIE NAPOLEON, SHEDD AQUARIUM: If this trend continues over time, we're going to see a really different place than the place that we're used to.

OPPENHEIM: But some scientists say, climate change here isn't necessarily bad.

Is it possible that warming water here could mean more fish?

TOM HRABIK, BIOLOGIST, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: It could mean better reproduction, yes, for some of the species, certainly.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OPPENHEIM: We're back live with a view of the ice here in Duluth. And, Miles, the scientists here are telling me that if trends continue, there could be little to no ice in an average year by 2040. That's just 33 years away.

Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: No more ice fishing, huh? Let's put this in perspective. Four and a half degrees over that span of time. A lot of people would say, well, that doesn't sound like much. That's a big deal, isn't it?

OPPENHEIM: It is a big deal. But really the question is, whether it's a good or a bad thing. And the scientists really don't exactly know yet. They're careful, but they're being wise to point out that what they really have to study is what the impact of this could be. As you heard in that piece, there could be more native fish, a good thing. There could be more invasive fish, not necessarily a good thing. So what really the long-term impact is, a big question at this point.

M. O'BRIEN: Keith Oppenheim in Duluth, Minnesota, thank you.

So just how security is Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone? A lot of people asking that after the deadly suicide bombing right there. We're going to talk to the U.S. commanders, one of the commanders, in Baghdad about it.

You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: In Baghdad, there is no place like the Green Zone. There's no place safer than inside the heavily fortified perimeter. So that's why this scene was so stunning. At least eight people killed, including one member of Iraq's parliament yesterday. Rear Admiral Mark Fox is in the Green Zone with us this morning, or the International Zone as they like to call it there.

Admiral Fox, good to have you with us.

I want to show our viewers what you know well. That just to get to that parliament building, how difficult it is. There are no less than five separate stops, as we take a look at our Google map technology, along the way where you face a check of some kind, x-ray machines, bomb sniffing dogs, body searches, full body scanners. The question we all have this morning is, given all those layers, how can this possibly happen?

REAR ADMIRAL MARK FOX, MULTINATIONAL FORCE, IRAQ: Well, first of all, I'd like to express condolence on the part of the multinational force to all those who were killed or injured, the families of those who were killed. It was a reprehensible attack against the people of Iraq.

In answer to your question. Any time you're dealing with somebody who's willing to commit suicide to attack you, that's a security challenge that's very difficult to deal with.

M. O'BRIEN: You still have to get the bomb inside the perimeter. How could that be? We know this morning that authorities are talking to three cafeteria employees there, as well as some security guards there. Is it your feeling this is an inside job?

FOX: You know, the investigation is being conducted by the government of Iraq and we in the coalition force are assisting in every way that we can. But I think it shows that where you -- those of us who are into the business of building only -- you know, we have to protect everything and those who attack only have to be successful once. So when you see something like this where there's an attack, just like when we were attacked in our nation, it's an opportunity to draw together and have a unifying opportunity. And, in fact, that's exactly what you see going on right now. The council of representatives are meeting as we speak, just less than a block way, in the same building that was bombed yesterday.

M. O'BRIEN: Help us understand who is responsible for security right now. Is it strictly an Iraqi affair or is the U.S. involved? Is it a mix? How does that go?

FOX: Well, there's a mix -- there is different levels of responsibilities in different portions of the International Zone. The council of representatives meet in a convention center and the government of Iraq is responsible for the security in that building.

M. O'BRIEN: Do you think there should be a surge, if you will, in security forces on the part of the U.S. inside the Green Zone?

FOX: Well, actually, the plan that we are in the process of executing is about a little over halfway in terms of the number of forces. We will be using all of the appropriate tools and techniques to be able to counter these types of attacks. But I've got to remind you that the international zone is not in a force field, it's not inside of an hermetically sealed bubble. It's a part of Baghdad that's the size of the city of Detroit.

M. O'BRIEN: But should there be more U.S. forces focused on security inside the Green Zone?

FOX: Well, I think that the U.S. forces that are come over here will be used by the commanders in an appropriate way to accomplish our overall mission here. So I wouldn't necessarily say that more forces are necessarily what the right answer is going to be.

M. O'BRIEN: Rear Admiral Mark Fox, who is the deputy spokesman of the multinational force in Iraq, thank you very much for being with us.

FOX: Glad to be with you today, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Business news now. Merck's new pain killer gets hit with a setback, but the drug maker comes out strong in its court battles over Vioxx. It is 26 minutes past the hour. Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business."

Good morning.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

S. O'BRIEN: It's kind of a mixed bag for them.

VELSHI: Yes, it is a mixed bag and Merck is really an embattled company. They've had a lot of problems over the last year. And yesterday, let you what happened.

They've got this new drug called Arcoxia. It's a Cox-2 inhibitor, like Vioxx and other drugs. Vioxx was pulled off the market in 2005. Well, yesterday an FDA advisory panel voted 20 to one against Arcoxia. Now that's not a final ruling, but it is viewed as advice by the FDA, which will rule on this drug later on.

The panel said it had concerned about the overall cardiovascular safety of the drug and other Cox-2 inhibitors. The only Cox-2 inhibitor still on the market in the United States is Celebrex. Arcoxia is approved in 63 countries. But we'll have to see whether this -- whether other approvals come for Cox-2 drugs in the future.

Now a little dark cloud over the economic skies at the end of the week. The jobless claims numbers from this week came in higher than expected. And 342,000 people claimed new unemployment benefits last week, and that's about 19,000 more than were expected. The total number of U.S. workers who are on unemployment rolls, not working, is about 2.5 million. But that said, U.S. unemployment numbers are still below 5 percent, which is historically low.

And finally, in Apple's version of rock, paper, scissors, the i- Phone trumps Leopard. Leopard is Apple's new operating system for Mac computers, which was supposed to be released in late June. They've now pushed that back to October because, Apple says, all of its resources have to be put behind i-Phone, which is also scheduled for release in late June and they really want to get it out there.

Because unlike Leopard, i-Phone is going to appeal to people beyond Mac users. There's some talk that as soon as i-Phone comes out, it's going to own about 1 percent of the cellular phone market, which is huge and growing. So Apple holding off on Leopard, coming out with i-Phone. M. O'BRIEN: All right. Let's hope those i-Phones work well.

VELSHI: Let's hope so for them.

S. O'BRIEN: Ali, thanks.

Top stories of the morning coming up next, including Imus's next move. Out of one job, but could a next job give him even more viewers and more money?

And a world of trouble for one of the most powerful former members of the Bush administration. Could Paul Wolfowitz's latest job be brought down by a romantic dalian (ph)?

And what can money (INAUDIBLE) tell us about chronic disease? We'll tell you straight ahead.

You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. It is Friday, April 13th.

I'm Soledad O'Brien.

M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien.

We're glad you're with us.

Several big stories on the radar this morning, including a late- night meeting between Don Imus and the Rutgers players he insulted. We'll tell you about the meeting and whether satellite radio could be Imus's next stop.

S. O'BRIEN: And new problems overnight for World Bank head Paul Wolfowitz. The former White House official is in some serious hot water, accused of arranging a nice pay hike for his girlfriend.

M. O'BRIEN: Then a little monkey business. A new discovery in monkeys is raising new hope for treating diseases in humans. We'll tell you about that.

S. O'BRIEN: First, though, "It's a very productive meeting." That is how the coach of the Rutgers basketball team described their three-hour sit-down with Don Imus that took place last night. The team is now deciding whether they'll accept Imus's apology. They might actually have more to say some time today.

CBS fired Imus on Thursday, a day after NBC pulled the plug on its TV simulcast.

So, what's the fallout and what's next for Imus?

CNN's Allan Chernoff is live for us at CBS headquarters in New York this morning. Hey, Allan. Good morning.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

The firing of Don Imus by CBS could lead to bigger changes in broadcasting, at least if you believe what the executives at CBS are saying about their move. Could this actually be the beginning of the end of the shock-jock era?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOWARD STERN, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: This broadcast is history in the making.

CHERNOFF (voice over): Shock-jock Howard Stern left the public airwaves for satellite radio. So did controversial radio hosts Opie and Anthony.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our first day on XM Satellite Radio.

CHERNOFF: But a source in the industry says there's no opportunity now for Imus on satellite radio, especially since Sirius and XM are hoping to gain government approval for a planned merger.

PAUL LA MONICA, CNNMONEY.COM: Satellite radio can't afford the risk right now. Simply put, they just need to steer clear of any more controversy that could possibly derail their merger plans.

DON IMUS, FMR. RADIO HOST: And sometimes we go too far.

CHERNOFF: Indeed, the collapse of Imus, an original shock-jock, could mark a threshold, a change in attitudes about public vulgarity. In cutting ties to Don Imus, both CBS and NBC say they hope to clean up the airwaves.

STEVE CAPUS, NBC NEWS PRESIDENT: This had touched a nerve. And the comment that came through to us time and time again was, when is enough going to be enough?

CHERNOFF: CBS CEO Les Moonves told his staff in a memo, "Firing Imus is an effort to curb offensive speech in American pop culture. In taking him off the air, I believe we take an important and necessary step in changing that culture, which extends far beyond the walls of our company."

JESSE JACKSON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: ... more inclusive.

CHERNOFF: Minority leaders who called for Imus's firing say their campaign on all kinds of media companies is just getting started.

REV. AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: We're going to be looking around the television industry and the music industry. And clearly, I think that all of them ought to know that there is no one that does not, in our judgment, get a pass here. I think from musicians on. (END VIDEOTAPE)

CHERNOFF: Of course, easier said than done. Controversial and sometimes offensive comments very frequently lead to big ratings on radio and television. And nasty lyrics certainly have not hurt the music industry. So many people may be fed up, but those who aren't, will they actually stop buying and stop tuning in?

S. O'BRIEN: I was waiting for the answer to that, Allan. Will they, I guess, is exactly the question.

But here's my question for you. I mean, often, you know, it's about the green, as everybody has been saying over the last few days. What kind of financial hit do people estimate that CBS is really going to take in this?

CHERNOFF: Well, a source who's very familiar with the numbers tells me that CBS actually is not going to be taking such a big hit. Imus does deliver revenues to the company of as much as $20 million, but he's got a big salary, big expenses, and the bottom line for CBS, it's only about $2 million in profit. Compare that to corporate profits at this company of $1.6 billion last year. CBS can handle it -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Allan Chernoff for us this morning.

Thank you, Allan.

Also this morning, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine is recuperating from serious injuries that he suffered in a car accident on Thursday. He was actually on his way to host that meeting that took place between Don Imus and the women from Rutgers basketball team and the coach.

The SUV he was driving in crashed near Atlantic City. Corzine had surgery overnight to repair numerous broken bones. Doctors says his injuries are significant, but they are not life-threatening. There's no word on whether he was wearing a seat belt or not.

Of course, we wish him the very best for a speedy recovery.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Arnold Schwarzenegger is on the road spreading his message that concern for the environment is cool and sexy. The so- called "Green Giant" wants to push for things like environmentally- correct green Hummers.

CNN's Mary Snow with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): He's on a mission to save the planet. But first, Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is trying to pump some sex appeal into environmentalists.

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: We have to make it mainstream, we have to make it sexy. We have to make it attractive so that everyone wants to participate.

SNOW: Schwarzenegger says he's familiar with polishing images, and he says environmentalists could take a lesson from bodybuilders.

SCHWARZENEGGER: Like bodybuilders, environmentalists were also thought of being kind of weird and strange and fanatics, and they're the kind of serious tree huggers, as you know. Environmentalists were no fun.

SNOW: And Schwarzenegger is trying to make them cool and edgy. He says just like his 1977 movie "Pumping Iron" made bodybuilding mainstream, the same can be done with environmentalists, but without sacrificing for the cause.

SCHWARZENEGGER: We don't have to take away the cars from the people, the SUV, the Hummers, and the muscle cars. No. That formula is a formula for failure.

SCHWARZENEGGER: His solution, drive environmentally-friendly Hummers, like his, that run on biofuel and hydrogen fuel. Before his Hummers went green, he was the target of protests for driving gas- guzzlers. One environmental group in California gives him a mixed record. The California League of Conservation Voters did not endorse him last year in his election bid, but says Schwarzenegger is evolving.

RICO MASTRODONATO, CALIF. LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS: We're excited, and I think the environmental movement across the country, more or less, in the state of California is grateful that he's taking this issue on and being so visible about it.

SNOW (on camera): Environmentalists say one concern they do have about Schwarzenegger's message is that it doesn't stress sacrifice. They say, yes, technology can go a long way to changing energy use, but they say consumers must also change some of their habits.

Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: And Governor Schwarzenegger will bring his green message to MTV's "Pimp My Ride" for a special Earth Day show where they'll give a 1965 Chevy Impala what they're calling a one-of-a-kind ecological alteration. That will be must-see TV.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Sales numbers for chain stores are out this morning. We take a look at some of the winners and some of the losers.

A few minutes before the top of the hour. Ali Velshi "Minding Your Business".

Hello, Ali.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to both of you.

Every month we look at same store sales, which are a comparison of the chain store sales that were open at least a year. So it doesn't measure new stores that have opened. And because we're a nation of shoppers, it tells us sort of what we were spending money on and what we think.

Let's have a look at some of the winners. This is just a sampling of some of the best performers in March.

You know, some of the problems in March were that the weather in February was so bad that in March people came out to shop, feeling fresh about their clothes. So American Eagle, look at that, 20 percent better this March than the previous March. Kohl's 16.8 percent better. And Nordstrom, even better than was expected, 15 percent, like Saks and the other luxury retailers. They're doing fine right now.

Let's take a look at a couple of the losers. Sharper Image, which has been in decline for so long, 29 percent worse this March than last march. And Wilson's Leather, a 10th straight month of declining sales, 16.8 percent lower.

There's another company I wanted to talk about. It didn't seem to be on that chart. Maybe we've got video of it. It was up. It was one of those companies that were up.

Victoria's Secret. Limited Brands -- Limited Brands...

M. O'BRIEN: I knew you were headed down that path.

VELSHI: ... they did well, 8 percent higher. In fact...

S. O'BRIEN: They make other stuff other than just underwear, you know.

M. O'BRIEN: Who cares?

VELSHI: The other divisions of Limited Brands, Limited stores and Bath & Body Works both did better than the Victoria's Secret group...

M. O'BRIEN: They make wings. They make wings.

VELSHI: ... but we just don't have any video of that. So...

S. O'BRIEN: And you don't even want to bother looking for it, either.

VELSHI: Yes. But April's -- you know, with the March weather getting a little colder, maybe we won't see as much lingerie. Or maybe you buy more lingerie in the cold weather. I don't know how that works.

S. O'BRIEN: You're out of your depth on this one.

VELSHI: I'm out of my depth.

Back to you.

M. O'BRIEN: Can we get back to that tape one more time?

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks very much, Ali.

No, we certainly don't need to. Thank you very much.

M. O'BRIEN: OK. All right.

(NEWSBREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

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