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President Bush Pushes Detainee Legislation; Ford Cuts More Jobs; Army Hospitals Busy in Baghdad; Health Officials Warn of Bagged Spinach
Aired September 15, 2006 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, HOST: Hello. I'm Carol Lin at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Kyra Phillips has the day off.
We're going to be talking about the GOP divide. The nation's war on terror creates new battle lines in Washington. Republicans split over the legal rights of terror suspects. We're live from the White House and Capitol Hill.
And Ford job cuts. Two plants shut down, 14,000 salaried workers released. Buy-out offers go to 75,000 workers. Can the automaker get itself back on track?
Bag the bagged spinach. Warnings of a deadly E. coli outbreak. Illnesses now reported in 10 states. What you need to know before eating your greens, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
We begin with the war on terror abroad. It brings up political battles here at home. At a news conference you may have seen live right here on CNN, President Bush faced repeated questions about his efforts to modify U.S. terror policies and the rebellion those proposals have caused in his own party.
Our White House correspondent, Elaine Quijano, joins me now.
Elaine, first the big highlights from what the president had to say.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Carol.
Well, this news conference was really another chance for President Bush to press his case on why he believes Congress must act quickly to pass his proposed detainee legislation.
Right now, the bottom line is that the president is not getting what he wants. He is running into some staunch opposition from some fellow Republicans, prominent senators.
President Bush argues that Common Article III of the Geneva Conventions, outlining detainee treatment, is simply too vague, specifically a phrase that bans, quote, outrages upon personal dignity. Now, the president says that U.S. interrogators need that to be clarified so they can do their jobs and not worry about being prosecuted for war crimes. Without that clarification, the president says today the CIA program cannot go on. But he was asked about the argument from senators that any, quote unquote, "clarification" of Common Article III would open the door for countries like Iran and North Korea to apply their own interpretations if U.S. personnel were captured. Here's how the president responded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You can give a hypothetical about North Korea or any other country. The point is that the program is not going to go forward if our professionals do not have clarity in the law, and the best way to provide clarity in the law is to make sure the Detainee Treatment Act is the crux of the law. That's how we define Common Article III. And it's such a good standard for the countries that you just talked about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: And just a point of clarification. The Detainee Treatment Act specifically prohibits, quote, "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."
Now, as for President Bush's message, there is certainly a sense of urgency to it, Carol. There are a couple of countdown clocks ticking away, if you will. There are only about two weeks left until members of Congress head home to campaign full time. And of course, we're now less than two months away from the all important congressional midterm elections -- Carol.
LIN: So Elaine, clarification, though, on specifically what the president wants, the language that he wants. Does he want the language about degradation of prisoners taken out specifically? Because they haven't said. They just keep saying legal clarification. What do they specifically want?
QUIJANO: Well, he wants that same language that was in the McCain amendment, the Detainee Treatment Act, prohibiting, quote, "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."
Now, I'm certainly not a lawyer, but what I can tell you is that, from the president's perspective, that would, in fact, give more protection to the CIA interrogators so they would, in fact, be able to extract more information.
The argument from the other side is that, in fact, it could make U.S. personnel more susceptible to arbitrary interpretations by other countries. So, a lot of confusing legal twists and turns. But the president, bottom line, says that this definition, as it stands now under Article III is just too vague and there needs to be clarification before the CIA program can go on.
LIN: Is it fair to say, thought, that Senator John McCain, a former POW, who's taken his position on this, is a pretty tough guy to beat on this issue. How does the White House feel about this?
QUIJANO: Well, absolutely. And in fact, the White House fully recognizes that. It is a difficult situation, a predicament if you will, because this was a moment when the White House had hoped to be helping, essentially, get Republicans back into Congress with those congressional midterm elections. This was supposed to be the time in which Republicans were going to be drawing contrasts between Democrats on this issue of national security.
Now President Bush is finding himself in that very awkward political position of having to fight back not Democrats on this issue but fellow Republicans.
LIN: Elaine Quijano, live at the White House. Thank you very much.
In fact, let's head over to Capitol Hill. That's where our Dana Bash is standing by with reaction to the president's news conference.
Dana, in a lot of heated reaction, for example, Republican Representative Peter King, we have a quote here. I want to get your response to this. He says, "I just think John McCain is wrong on this. If we capture bin Laden tomorrow, and we have to hold his head under water to find out when the next attack is going to happen, we ought to be able to do that."
Now that pretty much boils it down in a nutshell the critics of John McCain's resolution.
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're right, it says in a very vivid way the same thing that President Bush tried to say over and over again in his press conference, which is that he believes that -- that this legislation he's pushing is vital, in his words, to keeping a program going to be able to get information from terror detainees to prevent future attacks. It's as simple from their perspective as that.
And that is the same kind of thing we're going to hear in an even louder, more aggressive way in the next week, because the House is going to bring up legislation that the president wants. The Senate, of course, as we've been talking about, is split on this issue, but they are likely to take it up as soon as next week, as well. So, you're going to see even more of a press from the White House and their allies, many allies here on Capitol Hill, saying the same kind of thing that Peter King says.
On the other hand, Carol, you do have, as you were talking about with Elaine, Senator John McCain and his allies, Senator McCain, somebody who everybody agrees has a lot of moral authority on an issue like this, on terror detainees and on the whole issue of prisoners, because of course, he was a prisoner of war for many years in Vietnam.
So, he's somebody who politically it is, perhaps, hard to go up against on this issue. But he is going to try to make the case aggressively that he believes his position is right.
LIN: Dana, leading up to the elections. I mean, there was a strategy that the GOP had, right, to build momentum to keep the House and the Senate. This couldn't have been in their strategy playbook. BASH: Not at all. You know, it's interesting, because no matter who you talk to, Republicans here on Capitol Hill, whether it's those who agree with the president, whether it's those who agree with Senator McCain, Senator Warner. None of them want this to be happening right now.
It is really -- you can sense that it's really wrenching for them politically to have to go through this. But at the same time, both say that this is really one of those rare occasions, frankly, where they have very strong and staunch policy differences on something that they all think is very important.
So it is certainly not what they planned in terms of the Republican political strategy but something that they're going to continue to go with.
Now, there are some trying to find a silver ling saying, well, any time we talk about terrorism, any time we talk about, you know, fighting terrorism, we're not talking about Iraq, which is the thing that is overshadowing the president and, of course, Republicans here in Congress, moving towards November, Carol.
LIN: So Dana, what about the Democrats? Are they on the sidelines right now?
BASH: You know, it's really interesting to watch the Democrats, Carol.
Really one of the first responses that we've gotten already since the president's news conference was from the Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer, who is in charge of electing Democrats to the Senate this year. And his statement is quite telling what their strategy is.
He says that when conservative military men like John McCain, John Warner, Lindsay Graham and Colin Powell stand up to the president, it shows how wrong and isolated the White House is.
So, that really just sums it up. As you said, they are sort of standing on the sidelines. They're letting the Republicans duke it out among themselves. And essentially letting Senator McCain do their political dirty work for them, if you will. But this is something that -- that they didn't expect either, but they're not unhappy about it.
LIN: Dana Bash, live at Capitol Hill. Boy, exciting times there right now. We'll see what happens. Appreciate it.
Now, overall, the president's job approval rating is still low but steady. Our latest poll of polls finds the president's average rating at 40 percent, same as a month ago. But it's up from a late August showing of 37 percent. But that's within the poll's margin of error. I'll be talking more about those poll numbers and gas prices with our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider.
In the meantime, back for more repairs. Additional job cuts announced today in Detroit by Ford Motor Company. The big overhaul announced in January, apparently not enough to rescue the ailing automaker. With more on that, live from the New York Stock Exchange, CNN's Susan Lisovicz.
Susan, this is the big business news of the day.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is a big -- the big business news of the day and for months to come. It is going to be a story that unfolds to see if it works.
Ford today announcing it will lay off 10,000 more salaried workers on top of the 4,000 job cuts made earlier this year. The combined cuts represent about a third of Ford's North American white collar work force.
In addition, Ford announcing buy-outs to all 75,000 of its hourly union workers and shutting down two more manufacturing plants. The move's design to accelerate the company's way forward plan, which aims to lower costs by $5 billion by the end of '08 and return Ford to profitability.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK FIELDS, EVP, FORD: The future cannot be delivered without changing our business model and addressing our uncompetitive cost position. The reality is that our business today is structured around a model that worked well for us a decade ago but is no longer viable today.
Going forward, we must take a conservative and realistic view of our revenue and cost position. We must base our business on the customer, and that includes aligning our structure, our production, and our capacity with customer demand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LISOVICZ: Investors here, though, are not buying Ford's plan for profitability. For the third straight day Ford is the most actively traded issue at the NYSE, its shares tumbling 12 percent.
The company originally intended to cut 25,000 to 30,000 jobs by 2012. It's moving up the time table by four years.
As for the buy-outs, workers are eligible for one of eight different options, depending on age and seniority. The highest amount offered, $140,000 available to workers with 30 years of experience. They'll also keep their pensions but have to forfeit their retirement health care coverage -- Carol.
LIN: Susan, why is Ford in this situation? What's behind the problems?
LISOVICZ: Well, there are a bunch of problems. The business model way more expensive than its Japanese competitors.
But if you had to narrow it down to one thing that's really put Ford, and GM for that matter, on the ropes, it's high gas prices, which have prompted a slump in sales of big SUVs and pickup trucks. The American car makers rely heavily on those gas guzzlers for the bulk of their profits.
They're also facing stiff competition from Japanese rivals like Toyota and Honda, which have focused their strategy on building smaller more fuel efficient cars. They've steadily eaten away at the market share of the big three with Toyota actually topping Ford's U.S. sales for the first time ever in July.
It's a tough atmosphere for a new executive to step into, but it's exactly the challenge facing Alan Mulally, Ford's new CEO. He replaces Bill Ford, the company founder's great-grandson, although Ford will remain on as chairman. Mulally officially takes over on October 1.
He's not had a hand in devising the job cuts or buyout program, but it will be his job to put them into effect.
And I'll be back with more market reaction to this big restructuring a little bit later on in the program. Back to you, Carol.
LIN: You got it, Susan.
Also later in the CNN newsroom, Lou Dobbs is going to weigh in. He's going to be my guest in the 3 p.m. hour, and you're surely going to want to join us for that. Lou has covered the auto industry for decades.
In the meantime, missing in Iraq. Our big story yesterday, that attack on more than two dozen American soldiers, and out of that, an American soldier now unaccounted for after a suicide bombing west of Baghdad.
Two U.S. troops were killed in yesterday's attack; 30 were hurt. Now estimates put the total number of wounded since the war began at about 20,000. And about half of those are considered serious injuries. The number of American military dead in Iraq since March 2003 is 2,680.
Our Cal Perry was at an Army hospital in Baghdad when yesterday's casualties first arrived. These are pictures you will only see on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAL PERRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A mass casualty situation. Many wounded on the way.
We had gone to the busiest combat hospital in Iraq with a plan to cover the U.S. military's grim milestone. We'd been at the hospital only about an hour.
Bloodied and screaming, U.S. soldiers stream into the combat hospital, 25 in total, many fighting for their lives. It had been a truck bomb attack on a 4th Infantry Division fixed position in Baghdad. The U.S. soldiers had apparently been caught off guard.
Some of the wounded arrive wearing sneakers rather than their usual combat gear.
Even as the casualties were still coming, Major General James Thurman slips in. He's the commander of the 4th Infantry Division, here to comfort and console his men.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is he going to be OK?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's going to be fine, sir.
PERRY: In this war it's a question. Is he or she going to be OK? That has been asked nearly 23,000 times. The answers have not always been what families wanted to hear.
Close to 2,700 U.S. soldiers killed; 20,000 wounded with more than 9,000 unable to return to duty. Many of those unable to return to their units head home with devastating injuries.
(on camera) Without the quick medical response already in place by the U.S. military, the death toll would be far higher. This landing zone at the 10th CASH in Baghdad, on any given day, is literally buzzing with activity.
(voice-over) All over Iraq, from Baghdad to Ramadi, Fallujah to the Triangle of Death, these three years prove the U.S. is in the grips of a bloody fight.
Of the 25 casualties brought in from the attack on the 4th Infantry Division, one later succumbed to his wounds. Another soldier died at the scene of the attack.
Through the day, a tense struggle to keep the death toll from growing higher. Many soldiers sent to surgery to get them stable enough to fly out to hospitals in Germany and then to the U.S.
(on camera) It's all in the hands of these doctors, medics and nurses to ensure that more U.S. soldiers return home to their families than those that die here in Iraq.
Cal Perry, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Our senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta knows how those Army hospitals work. He's been there. He's going to join me in the next hour of the NEWSROOM.
Now step away from spinach. Ten states now reporting an outbreak of a potentially deadly bacteria. The feds sound the alarm and say even rinsing or cooking won't remove this bug. The NEWSROOM's got the latest on the lethal leafy greens.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LIN: Doctors, teachers, moms agree. Eat your veggies to stay healthy. But after a multi-state outbreak of E. Coli sickens dozens and even kills someone, Uncle Sam says bag the bagged spinach, at least for now.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta with more on the good greens gone bad.
Sanjay, I tuned in to your report this morning, and I was shocked. I mean, you perceive it to be clean. Right? And healthy.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You do. And we perceive it to be healthy, as well.
This is a very large, very comprehensive advisory, as well. You typically hear about these advisories for a specific product and a specific area. We're talking about the entire country and all bagged fresh spinach, which is very interesting.
It's also interesting to me that, you know, you can still buy it. In fact, this was bought last night. We just got some more today. So it's still on the store shelves, as well.
The advisory going out, saying, in fact, it could be contaminated with a very virulent, very pathogenic problem strain of the E. coli virus. And it actually, as you know, has led to the death of one woman in Wisconsin.
Now they're saying 10 states are being affected. I think we have a map showing how disparate this is across the country. What this map doesn't show is something we learned just a few minutes ago, is that Kentucky, as well, now is now added to the list of states, so this -- the cases appear to be increasing.
And I talked to the FDA officials. And they just don't know from where this is coming yet, which is why this is sort of a comprehensive ban. It's an investigation. They're trying to figure it out.
LIN: That bagged spinach, though, what would be different about it than just fresh spinach you would get on the shelf?
GUPTA: I asked the same question, and it's shoe leather sort of investigating on their part. The only reason they're saying bagged spinach is because all the cases they have now, the one thing they had in common was that they all had eaten bagged spinach.
Now, could it also affect spinach that's sorted with other greens, for example? Possibly, he says. But for now the advisory is just for the bagged green spinach.
LIN: All right. So what about other veggies? You know, you're going to the supermarket today, you're making some decisions. Broccoli, romaine lettuce, carrots that are also bagged.
GUPTA: They are bagged, and they're saying they're all safe for now. And in fact, this advisory just applying to the spinach, again, for the simple reason that the only thing all these cases seem to have in common is that each person had had bagged fresh spinach.
It is a difficult situation for them. They don't want to start, you know, banning vegetables sort of across the board. But they are concerned that, for some reasons, the distributor of bagged fresh spinach got contaminated somewhere along the line.
LIN: What about cooking? Because you say that even cooking it is not going to necessarily keep you from getting sick.
GUPTA: Yes, and they're real specific about this. They're saying throw it out. Don't bother trying to cook it or wash it. I asked the same question.
What they say is, in the process of cooking it, Carol, let's say you take a bag like this, and you open it up and then you put some of it in a frying pan. In that whole process, you're probably going to contaminate your own hands.
LIN: OK. And other food that you might be cooking.
GUPTA: And then your other food, and then you may get sick as a result. It costs about three bucks. Their advice is just throw it out and go ahead and just lose the $3.
LIN: What are the symptoms in case people have eaten bagged spinach and they're concerned that -- first of all, would their symptoms have already shown by now? How long does it take? And how do you know?
GUPTA: The symptoms can take anywhere from a couple days to a week or so to appear. They can be somewhat vague, as you can see there. Diarrhea, vomiting, anemia, which is not something you really recognize yourself, but someone might look very pale, for example. Kidney failure.
The biggest thing, really, Carol, is that if you've eaten bagged fresh spinach and you have this -- these sorts of symptoms that seem unusual to you, you should probably get it checked out.
LIN: OK.
GUPTA: Statistically, you're very unlikely to have an E. coli infection, but it is something worth pursuing.
LIN: And it kills you, what, because you get dehydrated because you're so sick?
GUPTA: Well, what happens -- actually, it's interesting. There's a syndrome that's called hemolytic uremic syndrome. In a nutshell, it causes your kidneys to sort of shut down.
And this is the bacteria sort of affecting your entire body, including the kidneys. And that's what happens sometimes. Very rarely does someone die from this sort of infection. But a lot of people can get very sick.
LIN: All right. Sanjay, thank you very much for being with us. We've got a couple of other subjects to talk about with you...
GUPTA: Yes. Looking forward to it.
LIN: ... coming up, including your genius series. So we look forward to talking to you the next hour.
GUPTA: Thanks, Carol.
LIN: In the meantime, a bomb ploy uncovered. Two teenage boys in custody and a small town on edge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It freaks me out a lot, because you know, I could -- I went to school today. I could have been blown up. You know what I mean? Yes. It's pretty scary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: We're going to show you the weapons and give you the detail when you join us back here in the NEWSROOM.
And the overhaul of Ford. Can the troubled automaker still be repaired?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: We've got some new findings that contradict how Canadian college shooter Kimveer Gill was killed. Montreal police say Gill's preliminary autopsy shows he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police initially said they had killed him in a shootout. Now that's after he went on a shooting spree at Dawson College, killing a person and wounding 20. And what you're looking at here is video from the videophone that a student took as he caught some of the action as police started closing in.
In Wisconsin, another possible tragedy, though, averted. Just take a look at some of the weaponry that police confiscated yesterday from the homes of two Green Bay teenagers. Police say the teens were close to launching a Columbine-style attack on their high school. A resource officer apparently caught wind of the plan and tipped off school officials. Police say suicide notes found from both boys suggest the plot was all too real.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the very near future, something was going to take place. They did tell their friends that they were depressed, wanted to die by suicide by cop, and may explode the bombs at East High School.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LIN: While news of the plot and its similarity to Columbine have rattled students, parents and faculty.
Reporter Jay Olstad (ph) of CNN affiliate WLUK has more on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Obviously it's scary.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a parent's worst nightmare.
JAY OLSTAD (ph), WLUK REPORTER: A nightmare that is the playing out in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think anybody anywhere in our nation can say I'm 100 percent safe, and so is my neighborhood, and so is my community. I think this is the reality.
OLSTAD: That reality started to settle in at the East High School soccer game Thursday night. Although the school would not threat news media in, plenty of parents spoke to us outside.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your heart sinks to your stomach when you think what could have happened. I'm really appreciative of how the school officials handled the situation. Thankfully the kids at school are safe.
OLSTAD: Some parents were learning more about two male 17-year- old East High School students, who allegedly had stockpiled weapons at their homes. Apparently they were on a death wish, possibly even bringing that wish to school grounds.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm very surprised that students would have that type of negative thoughts.
OLSTAD: The school sent home this letter to parents. In it, the principal wrote, "The police feel that no students or staff were are in danger, and that there are no other threats." It goes on to read, "It was the diligence of the students of East High School that alerted us the situation -- and we thank them for coming forward."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm pretty thankful.
OLSTAD: And so do their fellow students.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It freaks me out a lot, because you know, I went to school today, I could have been blown up, you know what I mean. But yes, it's pretty scary.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Sure was. Now several students are hurt in western Michigan, where a school bus reportedly hit a car that ran a stop sign in foggy weather. The impact was so forceful it knocked the bus on its side. Police say five of the children's injuries are serious. Drastic cuts at Ford Motor Company. The automaker announced this morning it's slashing thousands of jobs and closing more plants. The cuts part of Ford's ongoing plan to get back in the black. Executives say it is painful but critical for the company's survival.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK FIELDS, EXEC. V.P. & PRES., THE AMERICAS: Cannot be delivered without changing our business model, and adjusting our uncompetitive cost position. The reality is that our business today is structured around a model that worked well for us a decade ago, but it's no longer viable today.
Going forward, we must take a conservative and realistic view of our revenue and cost position. We must base our business on the customer, and that includes aligning our structure, our production and our capacity with customer demand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Here's Ford's plan -- cut 14,000 salaried positions. That's about a third of Ford's North American management team. All 75,000 U.S. hourly workers will be offered buyouts. No details until next month. The United Auto Workers union says that some employees will be offered as much as $140,000. In exchange, they'll to forfeit some retirement benefits. Ford announced in January it would cut 30,000 manufacturing jobs. The company hopes to do that by 2008, four years earlier than planned.
And two more plants are going on the chopping block, bringing the number of planned closures to 16. Ford is also suspending its dividend payment. All these moves aimed at saving $5 billion over the next two years.
Today's developments follow the same road taken by General Motors and Chrysler. So joining us from Ann Arbor Csabe Csere, editor-in- chief of "Car and Driver" magazine.
Csabe, this has to come as, boy, a shock to all of those families of those works. When you hear $140,000 buyout in lieu of some benefits, is that a good deal?
CSABE CSERE, "CAR AND DRIVER" MAGAZINE: Well, it's hard to say because these UAW workers have jobs with very high wages, they have excellent medical care, they have very good pension benefits. So that's what they're giving up in exchange for the $140,000. And when they walk away from this job they're not likely to find another job that has either the same wage level or benefit level. So, you know, they're kind of taking a risk here. But if they don't walk away, they might be laid off involuntarily without a big benefit a couple years down the road.
LIN: Where do these hourly workers end up going? What happens to them?
CSERE: It's hard to say. GM went through just this program about six months ago, and some 39,000 GM workers took the buy-out, which was over one quarter of the workforce. And it's just too early to say where they end up. Because right now, in Michigan in particular, we already have the highest unemployment rate in the country. So other jobs that are similar are very hard to find around here.
LIN: American autoworkers, they build the most popular car in the country, the Toyota Camry. So it's not the workers. What is it that management is doing wrong?
CSERE: I'd say there is a couple of things. One is that a lot of the American car companies, including Ford, haven't invested sufficiently in product over the last 10 years.
And the other thing is that for a long time with cheap gas prices it was very easy to make very good profits on large pickup trucks and large SUVs. And suddenly the gas price went up virtually overnight, but it takes three or four years to rearrange your product strategy to match that. And all of these companies are caught out by that.
LIN: Well, other companies like Toyota, they've got the Prius. They've got some other hybrid models. Where is Ford's Prius? It's not hard to see that gas prices have been going up for quite sometime.
CSERE: Well, but they really haven't. They've been going up for about a year, and it actually takes three or four to turn around your product cycle. Ford actually has a Hybrid escape. They were the first with the hybrid SUV, and they're going to do more versions of that vehicle and putting that hybrid power train in some mainstream sedans. You know, the fact is that the last gas crisis was 25 years ago. Everyone back then were predicting gas prices were going up, and all those predictors were wrong for 24 years.
LIN: Csabe, it seems the word Ford, the name Ford, is starting to be equated with mediocrity, not the first car lot that you're going to go to test drive. What's it going to take? I mean, do you see a day when the company would have to drop the name Ford, reinvent itself in the same way that Airtran had to reinvent itself after an air crash -- rather Valujet rather, to become Airtran?
CSERE: No, I can't see that. The name Ford has huge amount of equity. It has a lot of brand recognition. And if Ford comes out with contemporary products that are what the customer wants, the name's going to be fine.
And what this restructuring does, is it gives Ford a few years of breathing room. It gets their cost structure in line, and they have to use this to come out with attractive product, because otherwise they're going to through the same thing again three or four years down the road.
LIN: Csabe Csere, always greet have you. Thank you very much, with "Car and Driver" magazine.
Good news, though, for people who drive cars -- if not build them. The price of gasoline is going in reverse. CNN's Bill Schneider is going to join us in the next hour to explain what the turnaround could mean for November's elections.
In the meantime, NEWSROOM is going to be, well, jazzing things up with Brooke Anderson of "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT."
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, Carol.
Well, it's been home to the likes of Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, many, many others. Coming up, I'm going to tell you who will be right here on this stage, this weekend for the 49th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival. That's when CNN NEWSROOM returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Just to get you in the mood there. Five hundred artists, seven stages and California's gorgeous Pacific Ocean -- it sounds like another tough assignment for CNN entertainment reporter Brooke Anderson. She joins us in Monterey, nirvana for jazz lovers.
Hey, Brooke.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: That's right. Hi there, Carol. I'm having a great time.
What a beautiful, idyllic setting for the 49th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival. I'm here on the main stage, the Lyons Stage. It's actually named after the founder of the festival, jazz D.J., the late Jimmy Lyons.
But if you take a look around me, they are setting up behind me right now for a sound check for the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, who will be performing tonight. This is the main arena. There are seven different stages.
If we could take a look from a different perspective, this seats about 6,500 people. Forty thousand people in all are expected over the course of the next three days to listen to some great jazz. Those tickets sold out in July so it's a very popular event every single year.
Founded in 1958, it has attracted top talent since then. Take a listen to this. Dizzy Gillespie, Louie Armstrong, Sarah Vaughn, Etta James, Duke Ellington -- the list really does go on and on and on. And back in the late '60s, when they had the Monterey Pop Festival right here on this stage, Jimi Hendrix has performed, also Janice Joplin, The Mamas and the Papas, so tremendous talent have graced Monterey to play their music.
And this weekend will be no different. Bonnie Raitt is going to be here, make her festival debut -- long-awaited debut -- also blues man Keb' Mo', trumpeter Chris Botti, Roy Hargrove, and many, many more. As we mentioned more than 500 artists.
You may also see Clint Eastwood walking around. He has been a long-time supporter of the Monterey Jazz Festival and jazz education and appreciation. He has been on the board here since 1992. Back in 1971 -- look at this. We're taking a look at the clip. His movie "Play Misty for Me" actually filmed here at the Monterey Jazz Festival. That's him walking through the crowd right here in this arena at the Lyons Stage. So, pretty cool, and I'm going to talk with Clint Eastwood coming up in about an hour. He's going to stop by for a brief chat.
Also President Bush and the first lady are fans of jazz. In fact, last night they hosted a White House dinner to honor the 20th anniversary of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. Thelonious Monk has played here in the past as well.
So more than 40,000 people expected to attend, as I said, so it's a very exciting weekend, not only for jazz and the artists but also for the fans -- Carol.
LIN: Yes, and I thought -- when I saw that piano, Brooke, I thought you were going to, you know, let out a tune there. I thought you might be inspired.
ANDERSON: You know, I'm not going to subject you to "Chopsticks" this time. Maybe another time.
LIN: We'll see what Clint Eastwood plays. We'll see what happens.
ANDERSON: He does play. He's a pretty accomplished pianist and composer. He has composed music for a number of his movies including "Mystic River," so we'll see what happens.
LIN: All right. Looking forward to it. Thanks, Brooke.
Also coming up, creativity and genius. Meet a young author who started writing a best-selling novel when he was just 15. He's going to explain the key to unlocking your child's brilliance. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
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LIN: That music. You know, it's almost creepy. But, actually, this is really interesting. All this week, Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been talking about intelligence and creativity ahead of his hour-long special on Sunday. Sanjay joins me now with the final part of his series, "GENIUS: QUEST FOR EXTREME BRAIN POWER."
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So you like the title? Pretty cool, yes?
LIN: It's kind of long, but it's good. But this 15-year-old is -- he's got me so jealous.
GUPTA: He is amazing. And it speaks a lot to this link between creativity and intelligence, I think. Chris Paolini, who we're talking about, when he was 15 years old, he wrote a book for practice, he tells me, that went on to become a national best-seller and is now being turned into a major motion picture. But it's what he really taught me about how people come up with novel ideas, come up with ideas out of nowhere. Take a listen.
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CHRISTOPHER PAOLINI, AUTHOR, "ERAGON": Magic can yield unexpected results when the ancient words are combined in new ways.
GUPTA (voice-over): Christopher Paolini is a writer, 22 years old. He lives in Montana's Paradise Valley, just north of Yellowstone Park. It's some of the wildest and most beautiful country you'll ever see.
PAOLINI: All through these mountains I hike every chance I get.
GUPTA: He grew up here, a gifted child with an intense homeschool education. He finished high school before he was old enough for a drivers' license.
PAOLINI: When I graduated, I really didn't have a lot to do because, you know, if you look around us, you can't just go to the nearest mall or movie theater. I decided to try to write a story. So "Eragon" was my practice book.
GUPTA: That practice book was about a 15-year-old boy and his newfound dragon, doing battle against an evil empire.
PAOLINI: Before him lay Palankar (ph) Valley, exposed like an unrolled map.
GUPTA: The Paolini family spent a year promoting "Eragon" on their own until it caught attention of novelist Carl Hiassen and his publisher. Within months, it was a number one bestseller. Paolini's second book, "Eldest," also hit number one. And while he finishes the trilogy's final chapter, "Eragon" is headed for the big screen in December.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One false move, one reckless decision and everything is lost.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm the writer, and I say we go.
PAOLINI: It was a story that I really empathized with and related to about, you know, a young man coming of age.
GUPTA: Paolini says many children have a spark of genius inside,but they need the right environment, free to pursue their passion.
(on camera): Are you happy you studied this way?
PAOLINI: Very. I think I learned a lot more doing it this way. I was able to pursue my own interests. And if I had gone through a regular school, the education may have been fine, but I would never have had the time to write a book. I think many people underestimate the importance of having time to just sit and think and daydream. Because "Eragon" was my daydreams.
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GUPTA: That's quite a daydream, for sure. And, you know, the interesting thing Chris told me, as well, is a lot about what parents and other children can learn about his educational experiences, about the way that he was actually taught. It gave him time to do things like this book.
LIN: Now, he was homeschooled. Do you think that made a difference?
GUPTA: I think so for sure for him. In his case, it really was about having the time to do other things. It was very -- it wasn't as structured as a regular school, so as a result, he can go at his own pace with certain subjects. And the things he really loved to do, he focused much more on. So as a young person, he already started to develop his niche of interests, which I thought was very interesting.
LIN: Dragons.
GUPTA: Dragons.
LIN: In the middle of nowhere! But do you really believe this was his practice book? It's too good to be true.
GUPTA: What he told me was, look, he had all this time on his hands. He lives in this beautiful place in Montana. He doesn't go to the mall or the movies and things like that. So he said, I just want to write 400 to 500 pages, just pick a story and just start writing. And that was what he wanted to do. As he started to get into it, he said, wow, this is really something, it's pretty good. And he started shopping it around, and it turned into what it is today.
LIN: So Sanjay, if you have taken one thing away from this genius series, what would it be?
GUPTA: It would be that there are a lot of smart people in the world. There are a lot of people who are good at getting lots of information into their head and recalling that information well. What makes a genius is someone who thinks about all of the different facts that are out there, and somehow puts them together in novel ways that people haven't thought about. That -- those are the people who change the world, those are the people who are true geniuses.
LIN: It is rocket science, then.
GUPTA: It is rocket science.
LIN: All right. Thanks, Sanjay.
GUPTA: Thank you.
LIN: Fascinating.
GUPTA: Thank you. LIN: Fascinating.
Well, a star seeks help. George Clooney on a mission to save lives in Darfur, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
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LIN: Father and son, journalist and actor. Nick and George Clooney combining their talents to try to save lives in Darfur. CNN's John Roberts sat down with them.
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JOHN ROBERTS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Can you, as a well- known figure worldwide, really do anything?
GEORGE CLOONEY, ACTOR/ACTIVIST: Mmm-hmm.
ROBERTS: Can you really make a difference?
G. CLOONEY: Well, here's the difference. And, no, I can't make a difference, because I'm not a policy-maker, and I have been elected to no office, and I'm not in -- I'm not a politician.
What I can do is -- you know, Kofi Annan got up and gave a great speech, and nobody saw it. And, if I stand next to him, the cameras follow. So, if that's what I can do to help move that along, I will do it as often as possible.
ROBERTS: Nick, are we reaching crunch time here with the situation in Darfur?
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NICK CLOONEY, ACTIVIST/JOURNALIST: We're on the clock.
We're down to the 30th of September. That's when the A.U. goes. You know, that's when the African Union gets out of there, or at least are scheduled to do so far. And, if that happens, they are twisting in the wind on a gossamer thread, and they're -- Jan Egeland has said they will lose 100,000 people a month if the non-governmental organizations get out of there because of lack of security, which, of course, they would do.
ROBERTS: Mmm-hmm.
Has President Bush done enough on this, George?
G. CLOONEY: Here's what I feel like with President Bush. He has certainly taken the lead on this, and he has -- much more so than most members of the Security Council done that.
There is a lot more you can do. You can start by naming an envoy, a big one, and go get Colin Powell or -- I don't know -- Al Gore, whoever it is, that can go in there and have some real heft to sit down with Bashir and have the conversation. ROBERTS: How was your first experience at the Security Council?
G. CLOONEY: Really fun.
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G. CLOONEY: I say do it every day.
ROBERTS: Is it frustrating when you sit down in that room and it kind of keeps going around and around in circles?
G. CLOONEY: It is, because we have stood in -- we have stood on the border of Darfur, and we have stood in Oure Cassoni and Abeche and in south Sudan in towns like Jacques (ph), and seen people laying there dead, and seen absolutely no reason at all for it to happen.
And then to have a bunch of people sitting in a room saying, we understand it's bad, that we will get back to you, and you go, no, getting back to us isn't an option.
ROBERTS: George, you have said before -- you said when you came back that you were kind of late coming to this particular issue.
G. CLOONEY: Sure.
ROBERTS: But, when you reflect back on your -- on the trip that you made to Sudan and to Chad to see the refugee camps, how were you struck by what you saw?
G. CLOONEY: I think everybody gets the idea of us saying, it's the most horrific thing that a human being could do to another human being, for very -- for absolutely no reason at all.
Having said that, if you see it yourself, it is -- it's -- I mean, it takes your breath away, that kind of cruelty. I have never seen anything like it.
ROBERTS: What were you struck most by, Nick?
N. CLOONEY: They are the loneliest people I ever saw, John. They are all alone. They got no government, got no money, got no property, got no cattle, got no goats, got no donkeys -- got no children, in some cases. They are the loneliest folks. They're all by themselves.
All they got is us.
ROBERTS: Not particularly speaking to this issue, but why do you take up causes? Angelina Jolie told us in a recent interview -- she said that, I get paid a silly amount of money for what I do.
G. CLOONEY: Sure.
ROBERTS: I would like to give something back.
What is it for you? G. CLOONEY: I like getting paid a lot of money, as well.
No, you know, I -- you do it because you are part of the human race and because, you know, if you had the opportunity -- I think anyone who has the opportunity would do it. So, I'm in the position to do it. And I think I don't know would be -- I think I would be a real failure as a human being if I don't. You know, I'm terrified of not actually contributing, when I'm in the position to contribute.
ROBERTS: And you contribute not only through charities, but also in some of the work that you have done on pieces like "Syriana," "Good Night, and Good Luck." What give you more satisfaction, doing a film that or -- or doing, you know, the "Ocean's" films, other stuff like that?
G. CLOONEY: The "Ocean's" films pay me. I got paid $1 for the other films. So, the "Ocean" films pay very nicely. And, then, those make you feel good. So, you know, you sort of -- although I -- I like doing the "Ocean's" films a lot, too.
But, you know, what makes you feel good is that all of them make -- put me in the position that I can somehow, for some reason, get in front of the National Security Council and ask them to do whatever they can to help people.
ROBERTS: Good luck with your work, gentlemen. Good to talk with you.
(CROSSTALK)
G. CLOONEY: We really appreciate it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Darfur is going to be one of our big subjects coming up on CNN over the weekend.
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