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American Morning

New Attorney General?; 'Jena 6' Case: Thousands Expected to March; Kids and Tonsils

Aired September 17, 2007 - 08:00   ET

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

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. Thanks very much for joining us on this Monday, September 17th. A very busy Monday morning.
I'm John Roberts.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry.

We're glad you're with us.

We begin at the White House, where this morning President Bush is set to introduce the man he would like to be his next attorney general. The announcement came in a Rose Garden ceremony this morning that he is nominating retired federal judge Michael Mukasey to replace Alberto Gonzales.

We go to CNN's justice correspondent, Kelli Arena, for more on who this nominee is, and his background as well, live in Washington this morning.

Hi, Kelli.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kiran.

Well, Michael Mukasey, he is, as you said, a retired federal judge from New York. He was appointed by Ronald Reagan.

Now, he's considered somewhat of an authority on national security issues and he has a long history of hearing terrorism cases. Most notably, he sent Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman to prison for life. Now, the blind sheikh, you may remember, was convicted of plotting against targets in New York City. Mukasey also handled the early case against Jose Padilla, the former enemy combatant.

Most recently, Mukasey has been advising the Giuliani campaign. A busy man.

So many liberals actually like this choice. New York Senator Chuck Schumer, for one, put out a statement yesterday saying that he believes Mukasey is independent, that he'll uphold the law. But some conservatives are somewhat disappointed in this pick.

It's not his terrorism record that they have a problem with. It's some other issues. Some cite his record on abortion, others say that they don't think that he has the national stature to do what needs to be done over at the Department of Justice. But at this stage in the game, political analysts say it really doesn't seem likely that Republican lawmakers will kick up too much of a fuss against the president's pick and say that Mukasey is very likely to be confirmed -- Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Kelli Arena in Washington with more on the new attorney general nominee.

Thanks.

ARENA: You're welcome.

ROBERTS: Thousands of people from across the country are expected to join civil rights leaders in a march in the small town of Jena, Louisiana, on Thursday. It comes after a Louisiana appeals court threw out the conviction of one of the six black teenagers accused of beating a white classmate.

Our Sean Callebs is live in Jena, Louisiana. He brings us the very latest in a real turnaround here, Sean, and one that a lot of people are very happy about.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed. A lot of people in this town are happy about it, but a lot are not happy at all with the attention. And 17-year-old Mychal Bell remains in LaSalle Parish jail, where he has been since December.

Now, even though the appeals court overturned his conviction, don't expect the jail doors to swing open anytime soon. D.A. Reed Walters has two weeks to re-file charges in juvenile court. And a planned demonstration, this massive demonstration by civil rights leaders, is still scheduled for this coming Thursday.

This is an issue that has bitterly divided this predominantly white town.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAROL POWELL LEXING, MYCHAL BELL'S ATTORNEY: Sometimes people can't see race problems if they've been involved in and embedded in it for so long. You can't -- you can't see it. And you might think that nothing is wrong, but other people can see it. And I think within yourself, you know something is wrong.

JANICE DOSHER, JENA RESIDENT: I just think it's an untrue statement about Jena. I just don't believe, you know, that there's not that much racism. I know in every place there's probably some, but not to the extent that it's been, you know, portrayed over the media.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: Now, before Bell's conviction was overturned, he was scheduled to be sentenced this coming Thursday. That is the reason the civil rights demonstration by Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and others is scheduled for that day. John, I have to tell you, we've been here all weekend. The mood in this town is certainly tense. They view the national media attention, as well as the civil rights demonstration, as agitation from outsiders. There's also a lot going on behind the scenes.

In a couple of hours, there will be a court hearing in the courthouse behind me. And that is an effort to try and get the judge who is overseeing Bell's case recused -- John.

ROBERTS: And this all started, Sean, when a group of African- American kids sat underneath a tree which typically has been preserved for white students. Incredible.

CALLEBS: Well, it goes back to apparently there were some nooses that were hung from that tree as well. That is what is blamed for starting this racial strife that led to the fight with those kids who have now become known as the Jena 6 against Justin Barker.

ROBERTS: Unbelievable.

Sean Callebs for us this morning in Jena, Louisiana.

Sean, thanks very much -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, here's a look at some of the other headlines new this morning.

(NEWSBREAK)

CHETRY: Well, it's time now to check in with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents for other stories new this morning.

With all the attention focused on what former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan has to say, let's not forget what current Fed chief Ben Bernanke could say this week as the Fed meets to consider a rate cut.

Ali Velshi has been covering this for us this morning and has a look ahead.

What's your best assessment about what they could do at this meeting?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In between my reading of Greenspan's new book.

CHETRY: Right, exactly.

VELSHI: You know, right now we've got futures pointing to a lower open. We're a little bit more than an hour away from the open, and this typically happens in a week when there's a Fed meeting that we expect will actually mean something.

The Fed is expected to cut rates tomorrow. And as a result of that, people who are investing in stocks are sort of sitting on the sidelines until they hear more about what the Fed is going to do. What's the long term for a stock market? Well, let's go back to Alan Greenspan and what he told "Fortune's" managing editor, Andy Serwer in an interview that you can see on money.com.

He said, "... The Fed is going to have to be tighter," which means it's going to increase interest rates, and that "... means stock prices are going to have some difficulty moving forward. Shorter term, clearly, it's got problems with very significant credit disruptions and turmoil." And he goes on to say that it's hard to cut rates without triggering inflation.

So Alan Greenspan saying that we might have some problems on the stock market.

If you want to see more of that interview, go to money.com, Andy Serwer's interview with Alan Greenspan.

We'll be covering economic news all this week, with the Fed's expected announcement tomorrow afternoon. And then on Thursday, Ben Bernanke's testimony before Congress -- Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. We look forward to it all.

Thanks, Ali.

VELSHI: OK.

(WEATHER REPORT)

ROBERTS: Coming up now to 10 minutes after the hour. Kids today are still having their tonsils removed, but the reason why they're having them removed has changed dramatically over the years.

Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now from Boston to explain.

So, why are the kids getting their tonsils out?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: They're getting their tonsils out for different reasons, but something that's really interesting that I think a lot of parents don't know and that they really should know is that kids are getting their tonsils out much more often now compared to 30 years ago. In fact, twice as often as they used to. But the reason is not infections, which was the main reason years ago. The reason why is breathing problems -- sleep apnea, snoring, problems like that.

Now, infections still happen in this new study that just came out. Had some -- had an interesting detail in it, John. It said that girls ages 18 to 22, they had infections that led to tonsillectomies much more often, three times as often as boys their age. No one really knows why -- John.

ROBERTS: So, how can a parent tell if a child has a problem with sleep apnea that might require a tonsillectomy?

COHEN: Right. You really need to be vigilant. And you will see the signs if they're there.

A parent really needs to watch their child sleep. And if you -- or listen to them also. If you hear them snoring often and if you hear them breathing loudly, either while they're sleeping or while they're awake, that's a sign that you need to bring them to the doctor. Also, if they're sleepy a lot during the day, it may be because they're not breathing well and sleeping well at night.

ROBERTS: So, are we talking about very young kids? I got my tonsils out when I was 3, but it was because of an infection. But are we talking about the same age range here with this?

COHEN: Right, we're talking about some of the same age -- some of the same age ranges. Tonsils come out in all different time, younger kids, older kids. For the sleeping, some of that, some of the obstruction issues that parents also need to think about, really, at any age is obesity. It might be a problem with the tonsils, but sleep apnea can also be because of obesity.

ROBERTS: Interesting information.

Elizabeth Cohen for us this morning from Boston.

Elizabeth, thanks.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: And welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.

Some of the most compelling shots today, this Monday, coming from a typhoon in South Korea. Typhoon Nari washed away roads, flooded farmlands. Disaster officials say at least nine people are dead and hundreds are now homeless.

Well, the floodwater is just picking up cars, leaving them in piles after more than 15 inches of rain came down in the southern part of the country. It's making a search for survivors that much more difficult.

And also, as cars like these were getting crushed, 15,000 air travelers were stranded and hundreds of international flights had to be canceled as well, all because of that typhoon -- John.

ROBERTS: O.J. Simpson behind bars this morning. He was arrested yesterday in Las Vegas in connection with an alleged break-in and robbery, and he can be heard on an audiotape of the incident.

He has been charged with robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, among other things, and is being held without bail. Simpson, of course, is no stranger to legal troubles. He was acquitted in 1995 of killing his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ron Goldman.

Joining us from California this morning is Ron Goldman's sister, Kim Goldman. Kim, first of all, let me ask you, what are your thoughts about O.J. being in jail today in Las Vegas?

KIM GOLDMAN, RON GOLDMAN'S SISTER: Well, I won't lie to you, I did let out a little chuckle yesterday when I heard that he was arrested. If, in fact, he is responsible for breaking in to somebody's room with a gun, I hope that he pays dearly for it.

ROBERTS: You heard a little bit of that audiotape. You probably heard the explanations all weekend.

Does that audiotape contrast with what you had heard earlier?

GOLDMAN: You know what? To be honest with you, it was hard for me to hear what was on the audiotape. But I've heard, you know, conflicting reports.

I've heard a lot of people say and explain, you know, different versions of what has happened. I think it might be premature for us to be making any -- any -- jumping to any conclusions. But the fact that they arrested him, I'm sure they probably have a pretty strong case already against him.

ROBERTS: Right.

This was all about sports memorabilia. And after the civil verdict in which you were awarded -- you and your family and the family of Nicole Brown Simpson were awarded millions and millions of dollars, there was a question of where some of the sports memorabilia went.

Did you believe that some of this might be what you were entitled to?

GOLDMAN: Well, I don't know how many people remember, but right after the civil verdict, the judge had ordered some seizing of some of his property to be liquidated to satisfy the judgment. And the day before that was supposed to happen, a bunch of it just disappeared and we were never able to recover it. I'm not sure if that's any of this.

A couple of years ago we were ordered to have some things turned over. This may or may not have been it. But he obviously has some value to it.

ROBERTS: We should also point out that the book, "If I Did It," (sic) is number two on Amazon today. It was number one until the Greenspan book came out.

It was a very controversial decision for your family after you were awarded the rights to this book to publish it. Why did you decide to put it out after so long, being so adamant that this should never see the light of day?

GOLDMAN: Well, I think back in November of 2006 when we first heard about it, we were provided with a very different set of facts that we had a couple of months ago. And quite frankly, when we -- when we tried to stop him from profiting from it, we never really realized that it would then be awarded to us.

He and his fake company that his kids signed off on with him forced the book into bankruptcy court, and as a result of that, it was seized by the bankruptcy court and then awarded to us.

ROBERTS: Right, but...

GOLDMAN: So we were forced to publish it. It's a court order.

ROBERTS: All right. But why did you want to publish it?

GOLDMAN: It's a court order. We were obligated -- we're obligated by the court to monetize that asset to satisfy all of his debt.

ROBERTS: Right.

GOLDMAN: It's either -- the judge ordered that book to be published.

ROBERTS: How much money have you made off of it so far?

GOLDMAN: Oh, I have no idea. It's still very much in the infancy stages. It just was released a couple of days ago. So I have no idea.

ROBERTS: Right. This whole thing about that book caused a real rift with the Brown family. Have you spoken with them at all about it?

GOLDMAN: You know, sadly people are focusing so much on a rift between our family. We very much can appreciate and understand where Denise Brown stands on this issue. We have valiantly pursued justice on behalf of my brother for the last 13 years, and that's been a strong focus of ours. And this is the only way for us to get it.

Denise doesn't have to share in that opinion. And that's OK. She's entitled to have her opinion, which is different from ours.

ROBERTS: All right.

Kim Goldman joining us this morning from Canyon Country, California.

Kim, thanks very much. Good to see you this morning.

GOLDMAN: Thanks, John.

ROBERTS: Kiran.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to American morning.

Well, when money matters and matters of the heart collide, husbands and wives often feel the strain on theirir marriage.

Well, as CNN's personal finance editor Gerri Willis tells us, whether you're in your 30s, 40s, or 50s, talking with your spouse is the key.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR (voice over): Alex and Sophie Savvis are on vacation in New York, thinking more about spending than saving.

ALEX SAVVIS, TOURIST: As you can see from the bangs we're carrying, today was not a problem for money.

WILLIS: But they say back home in Australia, they sometimes disagree about money matters.

A. SAVVIS: I'm a bit of a stickler for, just because it's on sale doesn't mean you have to buy it.

SOPHIE SAVVIS, TOURIST: If it's on special, I like to buy it because it's on special. And it's bargain.

WILLIS: They're not alone. Experts say about 85 percent of married couples can't talk about money without fighting.

So how do you make your marriage as well as your money last a lifetime?

In your 30s, don't take this advice...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never talk about money. Just assume there's enough of it. You'll be all right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bad advice.

WILLIS: You bet it is.

STEVE PYBRUM, AUTHOR, "MONEY AND MARRIAGE": You need to set some priorities and then begin to discuss and make a list of the financial impact and the financial goals that you've now set for each other to be able to accomplish what you want to do in the next five years.

WILLIS: In your 40s, it may be time for some help.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're both bad with money.

PYBRUM: Married people just have to come to the party and understand they may need some outside help to be able to get to discuss the core issues that help them more happily be able to talk about the finances of their married household.

WILLIS: In your 50s, if you're thinking about remarrying...

PYBRUM: You should think about a premarital agreement. And all the premarital agreement does, it sets out your rules for your marriage.

WILLIS: Most important, say experts, don't wait until there are financial problems to sit down and talk with your spouse about money. Invest the time now and the payoff could be a richer marriage.

Gerri Willis, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: There you go. We'll have you smiling in no time if you listen to Gerri.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: What a pretty shot this morning coming to us from KUSA, Denver, Colorado. This morning, 63 degrees, shaping up to be about 77 with a chance of thunderstorms today. But nonetheless, the clouds making for a beautiful sunrise this morning.

ROBERTS: Very, very ominous-looking clouds over the (INAUDIBLE) this morning.

CHETRY: Well, welcome back once again. Great to have you with us. It's Monday, September 17th.

I'm Kiran Chetry.

ROBERTS: And good morning to you. I'm John Roberts.

We begin this morning with a major announcement at the White House in a Rose Garden ceremony. At 10:30 a.m. Eastern, President Bush will name retired federal judge Michael Mukasey as the nominee to replace outgoing Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

And of course we'll bring you that announcement live here on CNN.

Also new this morning, a ruling against Microsoft. A European Union court upheld an antitrust order in a $613,000,000 fine against Microsoft. The court said Microsoft is guilty of using monopoly power because consumers who buy the Windows Operating System have no choice but to take the Windows Media Player that's included with it. The company can still appeal to the E.U.'s highest court.

France said the world should be prepared for war if Iran builds a nuclear weapon. The French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner says that Europe might come up with its own sanctions if Iran keeps ignoring U.N. sanctions that demand it stop enriching iridium. He did not elaborate though on the war talk.

An American security firm no longer allowed to work in Iraq. The country's interior ministry took away Blackwater Security Consulting's license after some contractors were blamed for a gun battle that killed eight civilians over the weekend. Iraq says it is investigating the incident and could refer those responsible to its justice system.

CHETRY: Well, billionaire Richard Branson pledging $200,000 to help fund the defense for Kate and Gerry McCann. They've, of course, as you've been following the story had been named suspects in the disappearance of their four-year-old daughter, Madeleine. The McCann's plan to buy advertising in the newspapers and television across Europe to keep the search for Madeleine a priority.

You could find much more, by the way, about the McCanns on a special Anderson Cooper is airing tonight, 10:00 p.m., Eastern.

And Tiger Woods has yet another title under his belt as well as an $11 million prize. He wrapped up the PGA's tour championship yesterday. It earns him the inaugural Fedex Cup. Woods shot a final round four under par 66 to finish 23 shots under par.

ROBERTS: Well, it is time for the Monday issue of the political hot topics. We call it the ballot jackpot because who knows what topic we're going to pull out of here.

CHETRY: Well, we put one hot topic in each ballot, stuffed the box, then we draw them out, and we have our guests weigh in. And joining us today, we have Democratic strategist Stephanie Cutter. Good to see you this morning, Stephanie. And Republican strategist, Terry Holt. Terry, welcome as well. All right. Let's get to the first topic. Let's see what we're talking about here. Not cheating.

ROBERTS: You just dove right in.

CHETRY: Rudy versus Hillary. All right, we have both the GOP presidential contender as well as Hillary, the Democratic presidential contender. They were supposed to go up against each other in New York and of course because of reasons like Rudy's cancer, they were not able to. But now it seems like that they're not wasting any time. Terry, are they just drawing unnecessary attention to the competition this early or is it good that they're going out swinging?

TERRY HOLT, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, part of becoming the nominee for either party is demonstrating that you've got what it takes to take on the other party. You've got to prove that you're best able to take on the other party's nominee and beat them. So part of Mr. Giuliani's goal here is to separate himself from the field and show that he's got the toughness and the agility and the campaign as well as the vision to beat Hillary Clinton. And you know what? I've got to agree that at least in this case, this is Muhammad Ali versus Walt Frazier. This is the one that we all want to see in terms of passion and TV ratings. I'm not sure, yet, that -- that the country is ready for an all-New York presidential campaign.

ROBERTS: I don't know, we'll see. But Stephanie Cutter, do you think Rudy should be spending as much time attacking Hillary Clinton. Shouldn't he be trying to win the Republican nomination first?

STEPHANIC CUTTER, KERRY '04 COMMUNICATIONS DIR.: Well, I think that's part of his strategy to win the Republican nomination. I think he's doing it for two reasons. One, he's running a general election campaign and trying to make himself the inevitable candidate. Number two, I think we've seen him drop by. in some polls, as much as ten points into the last couple of weeks. And there's no better way to rally the Republican base than to go after Clinton.

ROBERTS: OK. Let's go with topic number two here. I think my hand stuck in the box. No, here we are. Greenspan-ing the GOP. So, what about it, Terry? Greenspan saying the GOP Republicans basically abandoned their principles, they cut taxes, increased spending and they lost all sense of fiscal discipline. Do you want to take that one on?

HOLT: I would say that the minority leaders, the Republican leaders and the House Representatives might agree with you. Over the course of the last seven or eight years, we spent way too much money. We didn't talk enough about cutting spending. And I'm not sure that most Republicans wouldn't agree with Mr. Greenspan. I would want to ask Mr. Greenspan today though, what he thinks about the Democrats, the majority in the House, and the Senate wants to put together a trillion dollar tax package that includes hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes. How does Greenspan think of that?

CUTTER: All right. Let me grab another one out here. Moving on, Stephanie, I'd like you to address this one. Moveon.org, of course, the General Petraeus or general betray-us ad with a little bit of a fallout for moveon.org. They actually didn't find support in some of the corners that they expected from that ad. Now they're attacking Rudy Giuliani. Is this also going to backfire and that it helps establish Rudy Giuliani as the main GOP contender?

CUTTER: Well, first of all, I don't think that you saw as much opposition to the ad on the democratic side as one would think?

CHETRY: Well, they've spoken against Harry Reid, John Kerry, I mean, the list goes on and on. A lot of people saying attacking General Petraeus' character is not really the way to go to criticize the Iraq war.

CUTTER: Right, but that criticism was fairly muted. And I think they ended up raising a lot of money off of that ad. In terms of the ad against Rudy Giuliani, it probably helps his candidacy because moveon has become a boogeyman on the right just like various democratic candidates are. But what it does do to hurt Rudy is it goes right after the core of his candidacy, the entire rationale for his running. He's strong on security. He reminds people that he actually wasn't there when duty called.

ROBERTS: Hey, Stephanie, real, real quick -- Are Democrats afraid to take on moveon.org, speak out against them?

CUTTER: Are they afraid? Well, I mean, you just said that several Democrats spoke out against them last week. I think that moveon is a...

ROBERTS: The, you know, the criticisms were very mild.

CUTTER: I agree with you. Moveon is a democratic grassroots establishment made up mostly of progressives, not all progressives. You know, it is separate from the Democratic Party. Just like there are various organizations on the right, when they agree it is an important, powerful relationship. When they disagree, no one is afraid to stand up and say so.

CHETRY: Terry, is it a Christmas present for the GOP, the louder moveon.org gets in then the more extreme?

HOLT: Well, moveon -- this is a marriage of convenience between the Democratic Party and moveon. They're crazy and they are too liberal for the mainstream, except when they serve a great purpose. I think the democratic candidates are somewhat afraid to talk about move-on. They've become the liberal special interest group. They're the face of the wacko-left. And yet they do serve a great purpose for the party to motivate and intensify their base. I think it's a wash. Everybody wants moveon for their own reasons.

CUTTER: Can I make one point?

ROBERTS: Real quick, Steph.

CUTTER: Their position on the war happens to be the position of more than 60% of the American people. What Terry just called 60 percent of the American people are crazy.

HOLT: And we would never eve have gone in to Afghanistan...

But we would never had gone in to Afghanistan if move-on had been in charge of this country.

CUTTER: Oh, Terry. Do acknowledged that 60 percent of the country is against this war?

HOLT: We would have not gone anywhere...

ROBERTS: All right.

CHETRY: You know what it is? It's progressive or it's wacko depending on which side of the screen you're on this morning.

Stephanie Cutter and Terry Holt. As always, great job. Thanks for being with us.

CUTTER: Thank you.

HOLT: Thanks, guys.

ROBERTS: A busy night for the censors at the Emmy Awards. Several stars had to be muted. Will tell you why and we'll also tell you about who went home with the trophy. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. Your "Quick Hits" now. Jodie Foster's vigilante thriller, "The Brave One" brought in $40 million to be make it the weekend's top-grossing movie. It derailed last week's winner "3:10 to Yuma" which was in second place with $9 million.

Hope you stay to have room for soup because government officials in Venezuela cut up 4,000 gallons of it in one big pot. They're trying to claim the world record for the biggest bowl of soup. Venezuela's food minister says it's enough to feed 70,000 people.

And it's not quite Mt. Rushmore, but it's not bad. Check this out -- a giant corn maze designed to honor the late President Gerald Ford. It looks a little bit like Einstein.

CHETRY: Or Einstein.

ROBERTS: And or Einstein. It works two ways. It was carved at farm close to where Ford grew up in Michigan.

Forty-one minutes after the hour, Rob Marciano checking out the extreme weather for us today. What do you got in the radar screen, Rob?

MARCIANO: We got a little bit of action across northeastern Florida, John. Last night, yesterday afternoon, in Cape Coral, Florida, saw a tornado. Did some damage. Some video of it -- the funnel clouds spotted by a number of people and it did touch down briefly and caused some damage to power lines, polls being knocked down, and also a couple of cars being flipped up and over each other. So, not good news there.

All right, Jacksonville down to Daytona Beach -- we're looking at rain here. This is part of a dying front and a pretty good pressure gradient so high surfing advisories are out. High pressure blowing in some easterly winds for those folks. And also, keeping the northeast relatively cool right now. So enjoy that, kind of fall in the air but things are going to start to move, slowly. And then we're going to get some warming across much of the eastern third of the country. Temperatures in the 90s across the Plain States. But it's also going to push in a lot of tropical moisture across parts of Florida and even through parts of the coastal communities of Georgia and South Carolina.

We have a couple of waves that we're watching here in the tropics. This is what's left of tropical storm Ingrid. It is dissipating. I wouldn't call it dead yet but we're certain it's not much of a threat as it was a couple of days ago. 90 degrees in Kansas City. 68 in New York. Definitely feeling like fall. But you'll see temperatures rise rather rapidly over the next couple of days. So enjoy the fall weather while it lasts. It will be back in a couple of weeks. No problem there. Kiran, back to you.

CHETRY: All right. So you checked the calendar for me. So does it officially start the 21st or the 22nd this year?

MARCIANO: 23rd.

CHETRY: The 23rd. All right. Squeeze out the last few days of summer. You're right. Thanks, Rob.

Well, we're going to introduce you to two twin 9-year-olds that not many can say they're doing this. They're making money doing what they love and being together, and they are quite an internet sensation.

AMERICAN MORNING Chris Lawrence has their story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are the new sensation of skate boarding. Created by fearless talent and a father's creative marketing.

MICHAEL PUEHSE, FATHER OF THE TWINS: Tristan, try to hit that 180. Thank you, that was sweet.

LAWRENCE: 9-year-old twins, Nick and Tristan Puehse built a following on the internet.

When we go to a lot of places, you know parks, even if we're not skating sometimes and people will recognize them from being on youtube.

LAWRENCE: That video got three million hits and led to an appearance on the "Ellen Degeneres Show."

ELLEN DEGENERES, HOST: Please welcome from Single Springs, California, the Puehse twins.

LAWRENCE: For three years, the dad taped the boys and sent the videos to potential sponsors. Today, 14 major companies supply everything they need to keep skating.

PUEHSE: And the only thing that they asked Tristan and Nick use their equipment, whether it's clothing or skateboards and you know, use that stuff when they're skating.

LAWRENCE: Skateboarding is a multibillion dollar industry. Sports Psychology Professor Gloria Solomon says companies are investing millions of dollars in kids 7, 8, 9 years old, even if the sponsors never say you have to win; some kids can feel pressured to succeed.

ASST. PROF. GLORIA SOLOMON, CA STATE UNV. SACRAMENTO: He's having fun, just enjoying it and loves it and wakes up wanting to do it. That's great. If he's getting a little sponsorship on the side -- if that becomes the primary reason for doing it, then the young man is going to get himself in a little bit of trouble.

LAWRENCE: The twins are home schooled and their parents say that they'll support the boys, skate boarding or not.

If you wanted to, do you feel like you could quit tomorrow?

PUEHSE TWINS: I guess, but that's not going to happen. LAWRENCE: Why not?

PUEHSE TWINS: Because I like it so much that I don't want to quit.

LAWRENCE: And with moves like this --

PUEHSE: Sweet line, Nick, looks awesome.

LAWRENCE: That's bad news for the competition. Chris Lawrence, CNN, Sacramento.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: Adorable. And very talented. Good for them.

ROBERTS: I love the fact that Dad had to pick him off of the park.

CHETRY: How about that?

ROBERTS: That he was great.

CHETRY: Discovered on youtube, once again.

ROBERTS: The hats... one day they'll grow into their hats.

CHETRY: Yes, exactly.

Will see you in the NEWSROOM. Just minutes away, Heidi Collins at the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead. Good morning, Heidi.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, O.J. Simpson's new legal drama on the NEWSROOM run-down this morning. Of course, the one-time murder defendant sitting in a Las Vegas jail right now. Simpson facing felony armed robbery charges.

And is this the next attorney general? Sources say President Bush is about to nominate retired judge, Michael Mukasey.

And a Louisiana district attorney planning an appeal in the racially charged Jena Six case. A court tossing a conviction against one young defendant. We'll tell you about that.

And also, breaking news, when it happens, you're in the NEWSROOM at the top of the hour on CNN. John, we're also going to have the tail hook landing that I was able to do on the U.S.S. Eisenhower this weekend and boy what a thrill that was.

ROBERTS: How did that go? You were pretty excited about the whole thing.

COLLINS: Yes.

ROBERTS: And rightly so. COLLINS: It was very cool. You travel from zero degrees as you do this dissent in the actual tail hook landing from about 105 miles per hour to zero in three seconds. And then when you take off, it's about zero to 128 miles per hour in three seconds. So, yes, it's quite a jolt.

ROBERTS: Thrill a second. Looking forward to seeing that. Thanks.

COLLINS: OK.

ROBERTS: Your "Quick Hits" now, Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he would recommend vetoing a plan by Senate Democrats to give troops more rest between deployments in Iraq. He says it's a dangerous back door way to draw down forces. John McCain is declaring his religion, although it's a different religion than we're used to. McCain said this weekend that he's a Baptist and has been one for years. McCain has long identified himself as Episcopalian but now says he is a member of the North Phoenix Baptist Church in Arizona. He said this while he was in South Carolina which happens coincidentally to be a heavily Baptist state.

A busy night for the censors at the Emmy Awards. Several stars had to be bleeped. We'll tell you who and why? We'll also tell you about who went home with the trophies ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Well, Sally Field probably didn't feel like Fox really, really liked her all that much last night. The Emmy Award winner was wrapping up her speech when Fox cut her off a little early. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SALLY FIELD, EMMY AWARD WINNER: Let's face it, if the mothers ruled the world, there would be no --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Well, it looked like the end of "The Sopranos." Was it the right move? What did Sally have to say about it? Lola Ogunnaike joins us now to discuss that and some of the stuff. Hits and misses with the Emmy wrap-up. So was it the right move? What did she say?

LOLA OGUNNAIKE: It depends what size of the fence you're on. If you are on the side of Fox, you're airing on the side of caution, and you're saying, 'look, no drama, no controversy. Let's keep it simple. We don't want FCC fines.'

ROBERTS: Wardrobe... language malfunctions.

Exactly but if you're on the side of the viewer and you want something entertaining or you feel like it's an opportunity for someone to get a point across and all eyes on them, then it was the wrong move. ROBERTS: What was her reaction?

OGGUNAIKE: Her reaction was hmmm, she wavered a bit. She stood behind what she said, but she did say that the GD together -- not such a smart move.

ROBERTS: Yes. So these things are all about the red carpet, all about fashion, who was wearing what, who looked good, who looked bad, hits and misses. So...

OGGUNAIKE: Yes. It's all about who looks good, who had on a great gown. I think America Ferrera looked gorgeous. She was in a bright cobalt blue strapless dress with a belt, accenting her waist, making her look very thin. She was far from ugly.

ROBERTS: No "Ugly Betty" there.

OGGUNAIKE: And Helen Miren was giving you sex appeal. This woman she was tanned. She had on a gorgeous, gorgeous violet dress. She had her arms out, the hair was great. She was working.

ROBERTS: Let's not see the queen.

OGGUNAIKE: Oh no. She was not giving you dowdy queen at all. Mrs. Ellen Pompeo. She was rocking a pompadour, not a good look. Very (INAUDIBLE) frankenstein. Not chic at all. I was not impressed.

ROBERTS: She's one of my favorites.

OGGUNAIKE: Well, she usually hits but this was a miss. Hayden Panettieri. She was drowning in a sea of a dress. I don't know what that was. She looked like she parachuted into the thing and she had the cast of "Heroes" underneath it with her.

ROBERTS: Who do you thinks said, 'Oh, you look great in there.'

OGGUNAIKE: I don't know, that stylist is in the unemployment line right now looking for a job, my friend.

ROBERTS: Lola, thanks very much.

OGGUNAIKE: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Coming up, flowers in the fall. Why New York's taxi fleet is in full bloom? The man behind the wheel of this project joins Kiran live outside. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

COLLINS: See these stories in the NEWSROOM.

O.J. Simpson jailed without bail in Las Vegas. His first court appearance on robbery charges scheduled for Thursday.

Michael Mukasey. Sources say that President Bush will nominate the federal judge to be attorney general.

Cooler weather, getting firefighters assist in California. And the man who lost an arm to a gator is saved by picnicking nurses. NEWSROOM at the top of the hour on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: All right, welcome back to AMERCIAN MORNING. You know, if you're looking around out here outside of the CNN studios at the Time-Warner Center, you may get something interesting about the taxis today. They're decorated. And really this is no accident. This is a project by "Portraits of Hope." It's called Garden in Transit. And it's all for a good cause. Joining me now, the project's co-founder, Ed Massey. So you have helped do your part to beautify New York City. When people drive by and see these taxis decorated with the beautiful flower patterns, what are they looking at?

ED MASSEY, "PORTRAITS OF HOPE": Right now, 23,000 children from the New York metropolitan area, in the hospitals, schools, after- school programs have wonderfully created what we called "Garden in Transit." They have hand painted about 27,000 panels, 80,000 flowers are adorning the taxis right now. So kids with special brushes that we designed for hospitals and all inclusive, we would like all children from very young to teenagers to really get involved in something that's historic.

CHETRY: What is the point of your project? What are you aiming to do to help these kids?

MASSEY: This is about goal orientation. It's for children that are in schools to really think big. And it's very rare in life that a child at a very young age said they could build a bridge or something that could affect millions upon millions of people. So, for them, it's part of this unity about collaborative effort. For the kids in the hospitals, it's part of their creative therapy. We bring kids out of isolation. Children coming from burn trauma recovery or orthopedic surgery. And they're really contributing so the whole world gets to see something magnificent.

CHETRY: And they've done some beautiful designs. In the past, you had them decorate buildings, blimps, and other things like that. You've chosen taxis. There's 13,000 taxis all around New York City. How did taxis get involved in the project?

MASSEY: It's one of those. It's first of all the only icon in the world that we know off that's actually being transformed even for a short period of time. But it's always in movement so this is a constant reminder for all New Yorkers and for people all over the world that these are done by precious kids. And the kids should be involved globally on high profile projects and because the New York taxi is one of the icons that goes from uptown, downtown. It will be seen every moment of the day.

CHETRY: What has been the reaction when you asked the various taxicab owners, 'hey will you put some of these children's artworks on the car?'

MASSEY: They are getting really supportive. We just started. We're almost at 1800 taxis, and there's 13,000 in just about five days. We're hoping that all New York rallies behind this project. It's the only time in our lives to celebrate the 100th year birthday that you'll see New York really come to life like this.

CHETRY: It is neat. You know, you can see that some of the taxis going right around here at Columbus Circle that also had the pattern. I just thought, wow, you know, it's just your average New Yorker. Wow, I wonder why the taxis are painted. Well, now we know. What did the children say when you told them that your paintings are going to be all over New York?

MASSEY: You know, we're getting e-mails from students, from family members, and hospitals. They are so excited. You know, their pointing down. We've already heard from drivers that children and their families are pointing because all the kids sign their panels. They get to autograph and they pick their colors. They really have a sense of ownership to these taxis and we want all of New York to rally behind it. This is a wonderful opportunity. Mayor Bloomberg gave this golden opportunity to all these kids. And now we hope the city just rallies behind. We don't want to see another yellow taxi on the city's streets.

CHETRY: Yes, without flowers. Well, you guys did a great thing. This is very interesting. Where can people go to find out more?

MASSEY: Please go to portraitsofhope.org. We're a small non- profit. We're always in need of funding. We want to get every painting that a child did on a taxi. We don't want to leave them in the crates so anyone that can support us right now this is an opportunity to get onboard and write a small check, and also sponsor a taxi.

CHETRY: That's right and in doing your part, you beautify New York in a small way. Or actually could be a big way if every single taxi has this on it. Well, I see them all over the place so it is catching on. Ed Massey, the Garden in Transit with the "Portraits of Hope." Thanks for being with us.

MASSEY: Thank you so much.

CHETRY: John.

ROBERTS: Boy, it is so unlike New York to see a gaily decorated taxi like that but such a great idea.

CHETRY: It really is.

ROBERTS: Fantastic. Hey, thanks so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. Kiran, I'll see you tomorrow.

CHETRY: That's right. All right. Well, right now we're going to head back out to Atlanta. CNN NEWSROOM with Heidi Collins starts right now.

COLLINS: Our top story at this hour -- O.J. Simpson behind bars and apparently caught on tape too. He is charged in an armed robbery. You can hear that confrontation for yourself. Before we play that audio though, some details --police say Simpson was among an armed group of men who burst into a hotel room. We will tell you all about that. Coming up, right here, in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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