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American Morning
Standoff Over Outside of Home of Opposition Leader Benazir Bhutto; Former U.S. Ambassador to United Nations John Bolton Discusses New Book
Aired November 09, 2007 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: A standoff is now over outside of the home of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. There was a struggle to try to set her free after police surrounded her home in concentric rings of barbed wire, police, and concrete barriers. She was even seen on a megaphone demanding that they stand down.
Well, now it looks like she will not make it to that planned protest against the president. You're looking at new video just coming into us now. She was protesting the fact that the current president, Pervez Musharraf, tossed out the country's constitution, arresting, she says, several members of her party, as well.
Our state department correspondent Zain Verjee joins us on the phone from Islamabad. We've been getting these alerts fast and furious. It seems like the situation's been changing minute by minute there when it comes to this standoff, Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It really is, and it seems to have died down now. She's finished making her speech, and she's gone back inside. But it was a real test of wills and a show of defiance for Benazir Bhutto here in the capital city Islamabad. She is under lockdown at her home. Hundreds of police and security forces were out in full force, and they absolutely refused to let her out.
She tried to get out. Some of her supporters cut through some of the barbed wire, and they just drove the car through really, really strongly. But they were unable to go through the layers, really very many layers of security forces with AK-47s, two trucks, barbed wires, cement blocks. More security forces, riot police outside. There were about seven layers. There was no way she could cut through that.
She was in a white bullet-proof car speaking on a megaphone, criticizing General Pervez Musharraf, saying Pakistan is under attack, and she had a message for the police blocking her way as well. She said "get out of the way, please. We are not the enemy." The supporters were chanting "down with Musharraf." And some of them were picked up and dragged away -- Kiran?
CHETRY: So we've talked a lot about the tensions mounting. What about the violence? Have we seen anybody harmed or killed in these clashes that have been taking place between the protesters and police?
VERJEE: Well, there was some violence around the area where she called the rally, in a place called Rawalpindi. It's a military garrison town. It's a half an hour away from Islamabad, and she's called a rally, but police have sealed off all the streets. But nonetheless, the supporters came from all over the country, and there were major clashes on the outskirts between them and the police. They used tear gas and rubber bullets.
Also, we're hearing from police sources that there was a bomb blast in Peshawar at the house of a federal minister and four people have been killed -- Kiran?
CHETRY: All right, Zain Verjee. We'll be checking in with you throughout the morning as things certainly change there and the tensions increase this morning in Islamabad. -- John?
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Also new this morning -- New York City's former top cop expected to surrender to the feds today to face criminal charges. Sources say Bernard Kerik will be indicted in federal district court in New York on tax fraud, corruption and conspiracy.
The government claims Kerik took tens of thousands of dollars in services from benefactors, never reported it as income. Earlier this year, Kerik rejected a plea deal, insisting he never did anything wrong. Kerik was New York City's police commissioner on 9/11 and was once nominated by President Bush to head the Department of Homeland Security.
Michael Mukasey has been confirmed as the next U.S. attorney general. Last night's Senate vote was 53-40. Six Democrats and Independent Joe Lieberman voted with Republicans to approve Mukasey. Mukasey's nomination ran into some trouble when he refused to say whether waterboarding was a form of torture.
President Bush issued a statement thanking the Senate, saying that the retired judge will be an "outstanding attorney general."
And former President George Bush blasting those who are criticizing his son's decision to invade Iraq in the handling of the war. Bush 41 says too many people have forgotten what he calls the "extraordinary brutality of Saddam Hussein's Iraq." According to the elder Bush, we can't go back to the status quo and things wouldn't be better in the Middle East if Saddam Hussein was still in power -- Kiran?
CHETRY: The man who shot and paralyzed Alabama Governor George Wallace back in 1972 is expected to be released from a Maryland prison today. Arthur Bremer shot Wallace during a presidential campaign stop.
Wallace, a Democrat, was forced to quit his bid for the White House. He died in 1998. Bremer, who is now 57 years old, has served 35 of a 53-year sentence.
A questionable Halloween costume has the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in hot water. In fact, Democrats are now calling to put on hold Julie Myers's confirmation to the position of assistant Homeland Security secretary. Myers hosted a Halloween party where an employee showed up wearing dark make-up, dreadlocks, and prison stripes. She even posed in a photo with him and was a member of a three-judge panel that awarded him the most original costume.
Myers later says it was inappropriate, that she didn't realize the employee had disguised his skin color. She apologized to Homeland Security staff in an e-mail, but some lawmakers say she needs to do more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. SAM BROWNBACK (R), KANSAS: I asked her to reach out to groups like NAACP and others. She said that they would do that, to describe and discuss what took place and what actions they're taking in the future, and outreach efforts that they're making.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Myers faces a possible Senate vote on her nomination next week.
Well, a record number of Americans say that most members of Congress don't deserve to be re-elected, according to a new CNN opinion research poll that was released within the last hour. It says that if elections for Congress were held today, according to the people poll, Democrats would get 53 percent of the vote, Republicans 42 percent of the vote.
Now when asked if Democrats should be re-elected, 50 percent said yes. Asked the same question about current incumbent Republicans, only 38 percent said yes.
ROBERTS: Environmentalists are racing to save marine life in San Francisco Bay this morning. On Wednesday, a ship collided with a support tower on the bay bridge. The accident ripped a large gash in the ship, and 58,000 gallons of oil spilled out. The coast guard says oil has been washing up as far as 40 miles north of San Francisco. So far, at least six birds have died. Dozens of others have been found covered in oil.
Damaging testimony against O.J. Simpson in a pretrial hearing in Las Vegas. Sports memorabilia dealer Bruce Fromong described the night that he says Simpson burst into a Las Vegas hotel room with a group of armed men. Fromong says Simpson led the group as they robbed sports memorabilia items from the room. Simpson claims the collectibles were rightfully his. The hearing will determine if the case will go to trial.
Celebrities are joining the striking writers on the picket lines in Los Angeles and New York. There was a protest in front of our building, the Time Warner Center, here yesterday. Julianne Moore, David Duchovny, and Tim Robbins say -- or they were just some of the stars who came out rather, to show support for union members who want residual payments when their work is offered on DVDs and the Internet. Tim Robbins says he thinks that the strike could go on for a long time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TIM ROBBINS, MEMBER, WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA: I think there is a very strong resolve with a strike of the union members. I think it will last as long as it takes to get the producers to negotiate with everyone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: One of the shows hurt by the strike is FOX's "24." FOX says "24" will not air a new season early next year because only eight episodes were written before the strike, and they say it's important for the show's continuity to have all 24 episodes ready to go -- Kiran?
CHETRY: It's time now to check in with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents for other stories new this morning. And Rob Marciano at our weather update desk is tracking extreme weather, actually in England today. Preparations for what could be a major tidal surge. Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, METEOROLOGIST: That's right, Kiran. All for the most part quiet here in the U.S., at least for the time being. But England and the North Sea really getting a storm this morning.
Let's take a look at some of the video that they showed that's coming into us fresh that has the preparations for England, London, the Greater Yarmouth area. The storm right now peaking. So this video just a tad old. Let's show you where the action is here on Google earth.
What they're worrying about is a storm surge coming up up river, which is completely possible and has happened in the past. Here's the North Sea. You've got north winds coming in. We'll zoom in just a little bit more and show you exactly what's happening near the channel.
We've had wind gusts in Brussels over 60 miles an hour, so that's an issue and big-time waves there. But in London, up through the Thames River, they're worried about a storm surge coming up this way, and that's happened in the past. So they've actually built a barrier to protect against up to a five-foot surge. Do you see that as we zoom in a little bit closer?
Right in through here. And word out of London this morning is that the storm surge has not reached that barrier, and the storm surge did not get over five feet. So that's certainly good news.
All right, we'll come back to the U.S. and show you what's happening here. This little storm which is very tranquil this morning may very well turn into something a little bit more significant as we head towards the weekend. This low again in to this area and then shoot up to New England coastline, and this will bring in some waves and maybe a storm surge for Boston harbor later on this weekend. Kiran, back up to you.
CHETRY: Sounds good, Rob, thanks a lot. Well, a health scare scandal is coming to life that you simply won't believe. Our Veronica De La Cruz is following a story out of California. Hi, Veronica.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you. Yes, "L.A. Times" Web site is where this story is at, and really is one of those stories that you can't help but get fired up about. The "L.A. Times" reporting this morning that Woodland Hills based medical insurer Health Net, Inc., has offered and paid bonuses to employees based on the money they saved for the company.
Now, sounds like a good thing until you hear how they bumped the bottom line. They dropped sick policyholders, about 1,600 in all left without coverage and those who canceled their policies benefited. We're going to be telling you more about all of this, including some of the lawsuits that we've seen come from all this.
Pretty shocking story out of California this morning.
CHETRY: It really is. Veronica, thanks a lot.
DE LA CRUZ: Of course.
CHETRY: John?
ROBERTS: Well, if you've got a big night of poker playing ahead, you might want to rethink it. Concerns this morning over -- get this -- poker chips that may contain harmful amounts of lead.
CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta at the medical update desk for us this morning. And Sanjay, it was our Arizona affiliate, KNXV, that did some testing on these chips. They say that they found 160, 160 times the EPA limit of lead. Put that in context for us. How much lead is that?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, let me put in context first by saying this -- there is no acceptable, safe level of lead for the body, and that's something we've talked about a lot in the wake of all these Chinese toy recalls. So 160 times would be considered very toxic, there's no question about that.
Let me also tell you something else that I think puts even more context. And that is, in the 1960s, 60 micrograms per deciliter was considered an acceptable level of lead. Today, it's about 10 micrograms per deciliter, and many people are coming back and saying even that's too high. So the science continues to catch up, John, with what's an acceptable level.
Having said all that, you know, for a child, for example, to get sick from this, they'd have to actually chew on this or bite the poker chips, for example. A lot of people take these home apparently, and the kids may use them as toys, so that could be a problem.
But kids are especially vulnerable. Their neurological systems are more affected by the lead, and they absorb lead more quickly. So they can get some of the symptoms associated with lead poisoning, stomach aches, as you can see there -- muscle weakness, brain damage, mental and physical growth problems. But again, you know, a lot of that's based on extreme sort of ingestion of this lead off the poker chips, John.
ROBERTS: And obviously, there wouldn't be a lot of children in the casino where the poker chips were being used. But here's a fascinating aspect to this study that they did. What they found that when they dropped the poker chips -- and you know how much poker chips are tossed around in casinos --
GUPTA: Right.
ROBERTS: They actually emitted lead dust. What kind of a danger does that represent?
GUPTA: Well, we looked into that because we were sort of fascinated by some of the images as well. You see the chip dropping and sort of particles coming off there. You can inhale the stuff as well, not just ingest it but inhaling can have an impact as well.
But some of the same things apply here. It's hard to figure out exactly how much you'd have to inhale for it to start to become a problem. This just hasn't really been tested that well. What they sort of concluded was the people that probably work at these casinos maybe at the most risk, but adults can have problems with lead poisoning as well.
We do think about kids primarily, but adults can have some of the symptoms associated with lead poisoning. Some of them are similar to the kids. But irritability, poor muscle coordination, nerve damage, reproduction problems, but in higher levels probably, John, with the children. This is interesting stuff. We're learning a lot more about it with the Chinese toys and now the stories as well.
ROBERTS: Yes. You know, we banned lead in this country three decades ago and now it's back to haunt us again.
GUPTA: Exactly. And it's still in a lot of homes, and that's something for a lot of people to pay attention to in that lead-based paint.
ROBERTS: Sanjay Gupta for us this morning and the dangers of lead paint on poker chips. Thanks, Sanjay. GUPTA: All right.
ROBERTS: We'll see you a little bit later on this morning -- Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, a built upgrade bus safety tops your "Quick Hits" now. It was motivated by a deadly bus crash earlier this year in Atlanta. You may remember these pictures. It involves an Ohio college baseball team.
Two senators have now proposed a federal law requiring seat belts and other safety changes on buses that travel long-distances on the nation's highways. Seven people were killed, including five Bluffton University baseball players.
Minnesota lawmakers are meeting to discuss today whether to establish a financial fund for victims of the I-35W bridge collapse. They've been debating the possibility of a 9/11-style compensation fund.
Some are concerned about promising state money before an investigation determines why the bridge fell. Thirteen people were killed and more than 100 injured when that bridge simply gave way back in August.
We went to the United Nations to add some muscle to U.S. diplomacy. Now he's become one of the administration's toughest critics when it comes to showdowns with Iran and North Korea.
So what did he have to say about the current crisis in Pakistan? Ambassador John Bolton joins us live, next on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: And welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Some of the stories and shots that you have to see today. A car stalling on the tracks of the Long Island railroad yesterday in an amazing rescue moments before impact. We're going to show you in a second what was left of the car. An off-duty NYPD officer and her husband pulled a 63-year-old woman from it right before it was rammed by the train.
Like a scene out of "The Cantina" and "Star Wars," Toyota's Tommy robot plays a tune in Detroit. Tommy's 4'9", weighing about 88 pounds, and he plays a mean trumpet. His lips actually replicate human vibration, and his fingers can move like yours and mine.
And this was a sunset in paradise. It was sent from one of our viewers who was on a belated honeymoon with his wife on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii. Boy, isn't that beautiful?
And if you've got a shot to send us, please do. It's amhotshots@CNN.com. Include your name, where you're from and a little about the picture or video, and please make sure the image is yours and not someone else's -- John?
ROBERTS: Seventeen minutes now after the hour now. We have been watching the volatile situation unfolding in Pakistan this morning. My next guest has got some powerful and controversial ideas about the ways the U.S. diplomacy needs to change overseas.
Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton's got a new book out. It's called "Surrender Is Not An Option," and he joins me now. Ambassador Bolton, good to see you.
JOHN BOLTON, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: Nice to be here.
ROBERTS: Great read for me because, you know, all those years of following you guys around the world with the White House press corps filled in a lot of the blanks.
BOLTON: Oh, good, good.
ROBERTS: A peek behind the curtain, very fascinating stuff. So Pakistan -- what do you see as being the eventual outcome of this, and what can the U.S. do to try to influence events there?
BOLTON: Well, it's obviously very distressing. I think it's important people understand, this is not a choice between democracy and Benazir Bhutto on one side and martial law and Pervez Musharraf on the other.
This is a choice right now between secure command and control over Pakistan's nuclear weapons arsenal on the one hand and chaos on the other. We have chaos, we could have a radical Islamist regime in charge of those weapons.
ROBERTS: You know, the people that we've seen Musharraf arresting are not Islamic radicals. They're attorneys. They're lawyers, judges.
BOLTON: I think part of the problem is that we don't have a very good idea of what the situation is. I think unfortunately, we've contributed to it. And this is one of these things where events can spiral out of control. And if they do that and those nuclear weapons fall into the hands of terrorists, we're all in much worst shape.
ROBERTS: Is Benazir Bhutto the savior of Pakistan that she and her supporters would like to portray her as? Here's a person who was kicked out of office twice for corruption.
BOLTON: Right. You know, just because she's a Harvard graduate doesn't mean she's the salvation for Pakistan. Her administration was sadly no better than most other civilian administrations in Pakistan.
That's why they call the military the steel skeleton there. We may not like it, but it's a fact of life in that country.
ROBERTS: Your book goes into a lot of detail about trying to get Iran to give up its nuclear program. And, of course, that reached a new milestone this week when Ahmadinejad said that they have 3,000 of these centrifuges now capable of converting uranium hexafluoride into highly enriched uranium. Are we at a tipping point here in this standoff, and are you concerned that Israel may try to take preemptive action?
BOLTON: I think we may be past the tipping point. I think Iran clearly now has the scientific and technical mastery it needs to get to nuclear weapons. I'd analogize this to 1936, when Hitler marched into the Rhineland. You know, in retrospect, if Britain and France had done some about that violation of the Versailles Treaty at that time, we might have been spared World War Two. We're at the point now where if Iran gets nuclear weapons, the entire situation in the Middle East changes dramatically.
ROBERTS: And, of course, Hitler was appeased when he was beginning his early march. And you and your book have accused the state department of trying to appease Iran, throwing too many carrots. There's an excerpt in the book where you talked about going to a French restaurant with Condoleezza Rice, in which you ordered carrot soup, and so what you're quietly making a point.
Senator Chuck Hagel came out yesterday, though, very critical of the way that this White House is dealing with Iran. Take and listen to what he said, and I want to ask you about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK HAGEL (R), NEBRASKA: Now is the time for the United States to actively pursue and offer a direct, unconditional, and comprehensive talks with Iran. We cannot afford to refuse to consider this strategic choice any longer.
ROBERTS: Direct, unconditional, and comprehensive talks with Iran. Your opinion of that suggestion?
BOLTON: I think that would be a bad mistake. Look, when you go back to the days of the cold war and we had great leaders like Dean Acheson, they knew you didn't negotiate with the Soviets until you were in a position of strength. And we're not in that position now.
And on the nuclear issue, I don't think Iran is going to be chitchatted out of its nuclear weapons. They've been pursuing it, 20- year-long strategic position to acquire this capability. They're very close to it. We've missed a lot of opportunities, precisely by engaging in diplomacy via the European Union.
ROBERTS: You don't seem to have in this book any great admiration for the way either Colin Powell or Condoleezza Rice handled the situation in dealing with Iran. Did they blow it?
BOLTON: Well, I think by deferring to the Europeans in what actually became an obsession with the technique of diplomacy, as if that's a policy objective rather than an instrument of foreign policy, we gave the Iranians something they couldn't buy and that was time. Time to get the necessary science and technology to get the nuclear weapons. That's why we're at such a dangerous point today.
ROBERTS: The book is called "Surrender Is Not An Option," a really interesting memoir from John Bolton, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, also the undersecretary of state for arms control and proliferation. Thanks for being with us.
BOLTON: Glad to be here.
ROBERTS: Always good to see you. Goodbye, sir -- Kiran?
CHETRY: A Dallas hospital has a list of 6,400 people who, if they become patients, will get special treatment. The list contains the names of wealthy high-profile people who are donors or may become donors. The UT Southwestern Medical Center defends the list saying that the benefits are only limited to a greeting at a door, an escort to an appointment or free parking. The hospital is claiming that no one gets preferential medical treatment or free care. And it brings us to this morning's "Quick Vote" question. We ask you, should hospitals have a VIP patient program? Cast your vote at CNN.com/AM.
Right now, 14 percent of you say yes, 86 percent say no. We'll continue to tally the votes throughout the morning.
And fed chief Ben Bernanke goes before Congress. A warning on more hard times to come for the nation's economy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Well, the weather outside isn't exactly frightful, but the first sign of the holiday season is rolling into New York City right now. These are pictures of the Rockefeller Center christmas tree.
The 84-foot Norway Spruce just arrived on Manhattan, on the island of Manhattan on the back of a truck. Crews drove the tree in from Connecticut where it was cut down by hand yesterday. The tree will eventually be adorned with thousands of lights, and there will be a lighting ceremony coming up on the 28th of November.
CHETRY: Boy.
ROBERTS: Right in front of my house.
CHETRY: I know. You have a great view. I wonder if you're going to get any sleep once it's lit 24/7. You're going to be like Jerry Seinfeld.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you guys want to give your address out while we're on TV, too? The tree, of course, is significant because this is now very clearly the beginning of the holiday shopping season and there are some clouds above us. So while the weather may not be frightful, but it might be coming in this morning.
We have new news from Wachovia, which is the fourth largest bank in the country. I said fifth earlier, it's the fourth. And it is announcing that its loan exposure to -- its exposure to these subprime-backed mortgage products, whatever you want to call them, is going to be above $2 billion.
Now, whether that's good news that they're coming out and telling us this now or this is just continued bad news, I've got to admit, for those of you out here watching this, it must be hard to follow exactly what's going on because I do this all the time and it's hard to follow.
ROBERTS: What's worrisome is Wachovia is a very conservative financial institution.
VELSHI: And this is the problem. We do not know how big this is, and that's what Ben Bernanke was on Congress talking about yesterday. They were asking him how bad this is. Congressmen were saying, how bad is this going to get? And he said the economy, do not be mistaken, is absolutely going to slow.
In the last quarter, the third quarter, we had growth of 3.9 percent. For those of you who need to know, that's pretty good. He said we are not going to get that in the future. It's going to slow down in the next few months, and it's going to be tough. He stopped short of calling it a recession, but he did say we are in for some tough times. So, hopefully, that spruce will get people spruced up for shopping.
ROBERTS: At least brighten up the season.
VELSHI: Yes, exactly.
ROBERTS: Thanks.
A look at a story coming up now that you just can't miss. Has this ever happened to you? You swear, swear you remember something that never happened?
CHETRY: That's right. Or you think it actually did happen, but others are telling you it never happened. Well, scientists say that it really is all in your head, how your brain and why your brain makes these false memories that really feel like they're absolutely true.
Sanjay Gupta is going to join us to talk about that story and today's headlines when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.
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KIRAN CHETRY, CNN, ANCHOR: And welcome back. It's Friday, November 9th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN, ANCHOR: And good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Breaking news in this morning from Pakistan where an intense standoff appears to be over, outside of the home of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. There was a struggle to set her free after police surrounded her home in barbed wire and concrete barricades. She was seen in these pictures on a megaphone, demanding that the police stand down, but now it looks as though she will not make it to a planned protest against President Pervez Musharraf in the nearby town of Rawalpindi. Apparently, she's gone back inside her home now.
A warning from the FBI this morning, Al Qaeda may be plotting attacks against shopping malls in Chicago and Los Angeles. The FBI says the warning is just a precaution and cannot confirm whether the threats are credible. They add that this is not the first time that malls have been allegedly targeted during the holiday shopping season.
CHETRY: Also new this morning, nine Iranians held by the U.S. military in Iraq have been released to Iraqi authorities now. The nine were part of 20 Iranians in U.S. custody. The military says they pose no security risk and have no intelligence value. Two of the prisoners, however, are associated with Iran's Quds force, a group the U.S. government has recently designated as a supporter of terrorism. The prisoners will be returned to Iran. Well in one of the rosiest assessments of the Iraq war so far, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell says the war is winding down and pointed to reports of declining troop death tolls in Iraq. He says there will soon be fewer and fewer troops in Iraq and fewer and fewer casualties. This comes as democrats in congress are pushing for immediate troop withdrawal to be attached to a new war-spending bill.
And ready for another war, if necessary, defense officials are saying that a plan of attack is in place if the U.S. decides to launch strikes against Iran. According to the "Associated Press," naval and air strikes could target nuclear installations. Also, Iran's ballistic missile sites, republican guard bases and naval warfare assets that Tehran could use to clog a vital artery for the world's oil supply. President Bush has said he hopes that diplomacy will solve the nuclear standoff.
Well, what's the greatest story ever told? Ask the man who created the weather channel and he'll tell you it's global warming. John Coleman posted a blog on icecap.us, making his position quite clear, saying "it's the greatest scam in history. I'm amazed, appalled, and highly offended by it. Global warming, it is a scam. Some dastardly scientists with environmental and political motives manipulated long term scientific data to create an illusion of rapid global warming." Coleman did stress that it doesn't mean he's against conservation.
ROBERTS: 33 minutes now after the hour. Ever remember a certain event in a certain way only to find out that it might not have happened at all for that matter? There could be a reason behind that. Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us to unlock a memory mystery. What have you got for us this morning, Sanjay?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Fascinating stuff, John. Talking about memory and the brain. It's a very fertile area of research, a lot of people looking into this. For a long time it was believed that sometimes you could have false memories, where you sort of have the gist of the situation, but you don't quite have the details. They thought it was a memory that was stored in the same place as other memories, just wasn't as strong, and that's compared to true memories, where you remember every single thing about the situation. You remember for example, Ali Velshi was wearing a striped shirt with a polka dot tie with a pinstriped suit. Remember those specific details, those are true memories, but what we find now according to a study out of Johns Hopkins is that they're stored in very different areas of the brain.
Let me show you something here. It's fascinating. First of all, this is known as the middle temporal lobe. This area right here where you sort of see the back and forth. That is where you sort of have that should say true memories. It says false memories, we'll get that right, but that's actually true memories, that's where they're stored. You compare for example to where false memories are stored, and that's in a totally different area of the brain. I'm not sure whether we have that graphic or not.
But basically, that area of the brain is sort of more in the front and more in the side of the brain there. In these areas, you can see several different areas where you sort of have false memories where you sort of get the gist of it. The brain is sort of compensating for something where it didn't quite remember everything, and now we find that instead of being a weaker memory in the same area of the brain, it's in a totally different area of the brain altogether.
ROBERTS: So Sanjay, is there any reason why our brains do this? Is there any potential use to us of it doing that?
GUPTA: Well, it appears to be a compensatory mechanism. Our brains simply don't like not to remember something altogether. So if something's happened and we can't remember it, we still want to get the sort of gist of the situation, sort of the global aspect of the situation, because it might be important. It might be important for our survival in some way, for example, or it might just be important to remember for some reason. But for whatever reason, it just didn't stick into that middle temporal, that very sort of true memory area, and that might be a compensatory mechanism.
ROBERTS: All right. Sanjay Gupta for us this morning with the fascinating findings on that. Sanjay, thanks. Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, a drug ring uncovered on campus. This is a middle school campus, though. The Albuquerque School District says two 7th graders were busted for dealing coke at Wilson Middle School. Two other students were suspended. One was reportedly caught with five baggies full of cocaine. School officials say they were tipped off by another student who saw the dealing and did the right thing and reported it.
Did they miss the shuttle? Nah, just the crew of the International Space Station. They're going to be up there for a while. They have some work outside to do today. We're going to have more on the mission, ahead.
Plus, was it a message of hate put up by a student in a Houston high school or a different kind of message? An unusual twist to this story. We'll have it next on AMERICAN MORNING.
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ROBERTS: Welcome back to the most news in the morning here on CNN. A chopper save tops your "Quick Hits" now. Firefighters hanging from a helicopter rescued two women off of the smoking roof of a burning condo building in Tokyo. The fire broke out on the top floor of the seven-story building, plucking them to safety there.
Happening right now, a space walk outside the International Space Station. The shuttle's gone home, but the two astronauts are going to be out there for more than six hours, not just walking around. They're getting ready to move the harmony utility hub of the International Space Station to its permanent home. It provides electrical power to the International Space Station.
And putting the finishing touches on the world's first, that that look like something familiar? Yes, toilet house. The two-story home is being built in South Korea to commemorate the inaugural meeting later on this month of the World's Toilet Association. Yep. So we said, the World Toilet Association.
Our Rob Marciano is checking out the extreme weather today across the country. Rob, are you going to ruin my commute to DC today?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: Yes, either that, or the World's Toilet Association might do that as well. We've got a little bit of rain moving into the DC area. Some pinks mixing in here as well, indicating there might be a little bit of mixed precipitation, but it's really not all that bad. You really have to go up to the high country of Pennsylvania or at least the Allegheny Plateau to see any sort of action as far as the white is concerned.
As a matter of fact, much of the country, almost 90 percent of it, pretty quiet. I mean, you've got to go to the pacific northwest, Seattle to see any sort of real rainfall, and that's going to be a pretty quiet for much of the country, right on through the weekend. But this action, which is southern of the Ohio River Valley, is an area of low pressure, and that's going to head off to the coastline and create a bit of a nor'easter. This one, things are really going to intensify, but it looks like at this point it's going to be far enough offshore to where it's not really going to hammer the east coast. But folks who live on the cape and through Boston could see 8 to 12-foot seas, 30 to 45 mile-per-hour winds are entirely possible, and this is comes on the heels of what was Noel, which came through the area last weekend with winds up and over hurricane force.
So looks like the folks in eastern Massachusetts are getting the brunt of the weather of late, considering they have, well, I guess the best team in football, the best team in baseball as well. I guess you've got to pay the price with mother nature at some point.
ROBERTS: Somebody's got to rain on their parade, Rob.
MARCIANO: That's right.
ROBERTS: Rob, thanks. Kiran.
MARCIANO: You got it.
CHETRY: Well, an update now on a story that we've been following this week on AMERICAN MORNING. This online hoax in Seattle, where the names, addresses, and photos of four young women, all roommates, ended up on craigslist. The girls say that men started arriving at their house in the middle of the night. Well, we talked to them yesterday and they said that craigslist wasn't being very helpful.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FELINE, VICTIM OF ONLINE HOAX: I think up until this point they have not done enough. I know that we previously contacted them and they basically said, if we can find the ad, then --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If we find the ad. FELINE: If we can find the ad, they'll be happy to remove it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, now they tell us that craigslist is helping them figure out who posted their information. The girls say they may have the e-mail or say they do now have the e-mail as well as the IP addresses of the computer that the info was originally posted on. So hopefully, this means they'll stop getting knocks on the door at 2:00 in the morning with men, bottles flying, things like that.
Well, it's a message that brings back memories of segregation and it's gotten a Houston high school student suspended. School officials say the student put signs over two water fountains, designating one for whites and one for "colored." The signs caused a lot of controversy, partly because the student who put them up is black.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK COMINSKY, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: Surprising twist, and I'm not quite sure what it could be. But we are concerned that whenever those symbols are used that they have an impact on people because of their historical significance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: The student was also ticketed for disorderly conduct.
ROBERTS: Is it the great American smoke-in? Your "Quick Hits" now. A report by the Centers for Disease Control says after declining more than 15 percent from 1997 to 2004, adult smoking rates have not changed over the past three years. The CDC also found the number of high school students smoking has slightly increased after more than a decade of steep declines.
An Oregon man accused of espionage, but it's not the case of selling government secrets. He was trying to sell Nike's secrets. Police say the 53-year-old suspect wrote letters to Nike's competitors, claiming to have inside information on their unreleased fall 2008 catalog. He said he was willing to leak the information to the highest bidder. The FBI set up a sting and nabbed the guy trying to sell the information for $2,000. Not a big pay day for him.
And a possible scandal at one of the nation's largest publicly traded managed health care companies. Wait until you hear this. Hear why more than 1,500 patients were left without coverage and who got to pocket the money that was saved.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Coming up now on 13 minutes to the top of the hour. If you're just joining us, here's a look at what's making headlines this morning. Democracy on hold and the Pakistani president's most outspoken opponent is not going anywhere right now. A standoff is over outside of Benazir Bhutto's home. There was an intense struggle for a while to set her free. Supporters were trying to tear through barbed wire after police surrounded the place. She came out and demanded that they stand down, but now it looks like she won't make it to a planned rally against the president in Rawalpindi. He has temporarily suspended the constitution and declared a state of emergency. We'll have a live report from the scene coming up for you at the top of the hour.
Published reports out this morning say drug maker Merck is expected to settle nearly all of the lawsuits related to the painkiller Vioxx. That's nearly $5 billion in claims. Vioxx was approved for sale back in 1999 to fight arthritis and other types of pain. Merck pulled it off the market in 2004 because of heart safety concerns.
Former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik expected to surrender to federal authorities today. Sources say Kerik will be indicted on criminal charges of tax fraud, corruption, and conspiracy. Kerik rejected a plea deal earlier this year.
The senate has confirmed Michael Mukasey as attorney general. Mukasey got solid support from republicans and grudging approval from democrats who are angered by his refusal to say water boarding is torture.
The man who shot and paralyzed Alabama Governor George Wallace, back in 1972, is expected to be released from a Maryland prison today. These are pictures from the incident. Arthur Bremer shot Wallace during a presidential campaign stop. Bremer is now 57 years old. He served 35 years of a 53-year sentence. That's the headlines. Now let's go over to Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, some disturbing news this morning about one of the nation's largest managed health care companies, where employee bonuses tied to dropped policy. A stunning story today that you found.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: It is. It is a shocking story out of California. We found this on the "L.A. Times" web site. Basically, what's going on here is that the newspaper is reporting that California based Health Net, Inc. avoided paying more than $35 million in medical expenses by rescinding about 1600 policies over the course of 6 years. And get these, those policies were linked to employee bonuses. Now, all this being brought to light because of a case that went to arbitration. Patsy Bates sued the company after her coverage was rescinded during chemo therapy treatment for breast cancer.
During arbitration, Health Net fought hard to keep all those documents secret, arguing that they contain proprietary information, they could embarrass the company, but the judge ruled that the documents be made public and here's what those documents are showing. The "L.A. Times" shows from 2002 to 2006, Health Net paid their senior analysts in charge of cancellations, more than $20,000 in bonuses.
For example, in 2005, the company's goal for the senior analysts in charge of rescission was to save Health Net at least $6.5 million under nearly 300 rescissions. She saved them an estimated $7 million, which prompted her supervisor to write this in her review -- "Barbara's successful execution of her job responsibilities have been vital to the profitability of individual and family policies." That's something that was found in her review.
And now most insurers do maintain that cancellations are necessary to root out fraud, keep premiums affordable, and you'll often find that individual coverage is issued only to the healthiest applicants who have to disclose those preexisting conditions. So you know, all of this coming to light now through arbitration. Again, I said that those documents being unsealed by the judge. And I do have to say we did try unsuccessfully to contact Health Net Inc., and we have yet to receive a response from them. But of course, you can get all the information into this story at latimes.com.
CHETRY: It is just fascinating when you read some of the tales. They say she still has a catheter embedded in her chest where she was receiving chemotherapy drugs. She can't get anyone to do the surgery to remove it because she doesn't have insurance. It's mind boggling.
DE LA CRUZ: Unbelievable. And I know there are a lot of stories out there, and you know, maybe you can share your thoughts with us in am@cnn.com. It will be a place where you can send us an e-mail.
ROBERTS: Well, on the flip side of that coin, a Dallas hospital has a list of 6400 people who, if they become patients, will get special treatment. The list contains the names of wealthy, high- profile people who are either donors or may become donors. The UT Southwestern Medical Center defends its list, saying that benefits are limited to a greeting at the door, an escort to an appointment or free parking. The hospital insists no one gets preferential medical treatment or free care.
And that brings us to this morning's "Quick Vote" question -- Should hospitals have a V.I.P. patient program? Cast your vote at cnn.com/am. Right now 15 percent of you say yes. 85 percent say no, they shouldn't. We'll continue to tally the votes throughout the morning.
CHETRY: Adding oil to the reserves. Your "Quick Hits" now. The Energy Department will go ahead with plans to put 12.3 million barrels of oil into the strategic petroleum reserve. Some democrats are against the move, saying commercial supplies are tight and prices are high. President Bush hosting Angela Merkel at her Crawford Ranch this weekend. Merkel will arrive later today in a nuclear standoff with Iran, expected to be a top priority. Both leaders have said that they want to keep nuclear weapons out of Tehran's hands. German Chancellor Angela Merkel at his Crawford Ranch. She will arrive later today and the nuclear standoff with Iran expected to be a top private. Both leaders have said they want to keep nuclear weapons out of Tehran's hands.
And Mr. Potatohead already in the National Toy Hall of Fame. He's going to be getting some company, though. The new toys inducted in the Toy Hall of Fame this year. We're going to show you some of them after the break.
ROBERTS: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING could your iPod or iPhone be poisoning you? How rocking out to your favorite songs could expose you to deadly chemicals. Dr. Sanjay Gupta sorts out fact from fiction, next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Retired baseball players can make the Hall of Fame, and so, apparently, can retired video games. The Atari 2600 looks awfully ancient compared to today's video games, but the National Toy Hall of Fame is recognizing its impact. The 2600 with the single-button joystick was home to famous games like Pac-man, Frogger, and Space Invaders.
CHETRY: That was like cutting edge.
ROBERTS: It was.
CHETRY: ... when I was growing up.
ROBERTS: Can I tell you? I did a story on that when it first came out, shows you how old I am. Raggedy Ann and the kite are going to be joining Atari in the Hall of Fame this year. Of course, and all of them join the venerable Mr. Potatohead.
CHETRY: Also known as Ali Velshi's long-lost brother. [laughter] Just kidding.
ALI VELSHI, "MINDING YOUR BUSINESS:" That is uncanny.
CHETRY: You are way cuter than Mr. Potatohead.
ROBERTS: Uncanny.
CHETRY: How about it? That's a good way to make us all feel pretty old though. The Atari 2600 in the Hall of Fame.
VELSHI: Yes. It's all retro. What's old is new again.
CHETRY: Including you.
VELSHI: However it might be new but it doesn't necessarily sell. Here's a story for you - at Sotheby's held an auction a couple of nights ago in New York. You know this painting "Wheatfield," "The Fields," you might know it as, Vincent Van Gogh. Unsold. It was supposed to collect $28 to $35 million. Top works by Vaughan and Picasso all came up short. A number of other Picassos failed to sell. Of 78 lots up on offer at Sotheby's, 20 didn't get buyers at all.
Now, for those of you who weren't in the bidding ford, may not matter for you. There is a broader implication to this; however, and that is this big art market we've seen for the last couple years has been really an outcome of the stock markets and the hedge fund markets, in particular. And this is to some people a sign that this is weakening. Sotheby's was downplaying this, but Sotheby's is a publicly traded company. Stock was down 30 percent yesterday. There are some people who believe this may be the beginning of the end for these guys. We also had October sales out yesterday from stores. CHETRY: Right.
VELSHI: The luxury goods' stores didn't all do too badly. Nordstrom was down a little bit, but Sachs, Neiman were both up. So, unclear but it's interesting if this whole sub prime credit crisis is working its way up the chain to those who you don't think are necessarily affected by this sort of thing. And with all this financial news, wait to see what happens. We're coming up to bonus season. You know, a lot of these high-end things depend on the bonuses that Wall Street gets. So interesting story - if you're looking for a painting, they're available cheap.
CHETRY: Although and Britney Spears did buy her third Mercedes of the year yesterday. So if she's helping the economy in some small way.
ROBERTS: And a Matisse just sold for $33 million last week, so maybe Van Gogh is out of vogue.
VELSHI: Some things that are old are new again.
ROBERTS: There you go.
VELSHI: Glasses up.
ROBERTS: Give us the finger - there you go.
CHETRY: That finger, not the other one. Thank you, Ali.
ROBERTS: A look at a story coming up in our next half hour that you can't miss. Just about everybody got an iPod and iPhones, too. Thousands of you couldn't wait to get your hands to an Apple iPhone either.
CHETRY: Now there's a consumer watchdog group that says what we should now, there's something we should know about using the iPod, in particular that you may be getting a toxic dose of chemicals. We'll explain. Sanjay Gupta breaks it down for us. The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
ROBERTS: Breaking news, lock down in Pakistan. Barbed wire and barricades stop a planned protest by Benazir Bhutto. Toxic toy. In a coma for 6 hours after swallowing a toy tainted with the date rape drug. This morning, a mother and son tell their shocking story. Plus, danger calling. Could the headphones in your new iPhone of iPod be bad for your health. We're paging Dr. Gupta on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And good morning to you. Thanks very much for being with us on this Friday, 9th of November. I'm John Roberts.
CHETRY: And I'm Kiran Chetry.
We have breaking news on the struggle for democracy and the situation going on right now in Pakistan. Police have barred opposition leader Benazir Bhutto from attending a massive rally against President Pervez Musharraf and his cancellation of the constitution. They barricaded her home with concrete, barbed wire, police. She was seen speaking into a microphone that was being blared on a loud speaker demanding that they stand down. But now it looks like she will not make it to the protest that she was supposed to lead.
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