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CNN Live At Daybreak
Latest on Situation in Falluja; Examining Controversy Over Relationship Between FDA and Drug Manufacturers
Aired November 19, 2004 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A poisonous prank or attempted murder? The debate over the cake.
Also...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do not want to go through this again ever again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: War's impact on one family. They say they've given enough. Now they're fighting their own battle with the U.S. military.
And the jaw dropping ads that spell it out to a tough audience -- men.
It is Friday, November 19.
You are watching DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
Thank you for waking up with us and man, happy Friday.
I'm Carol Costello.
There is a lot going on this morning.
Let's check the headlines now, shall we?
Protesters demonstrate in Santiago, Chile ahead of President Bush's trip there today. The president is heading to a 21-nation summit of Pacific Rim leaders. Topping his agenda, gathering support to halt North Korea's nuclear program.
The nation's debt ceiling is going up. The House of Representatives has approved raising the ceiling by $800 billion. Right now it's $7.4 trillion. It'll go to $8.2 trillion when President Bush signs the measure on Monday.
At a special meeting of the U.N. Security Council today in Kenya, a Sudanese government official and a rebel negotiator pledged to end 21 years of civil war by the end of the year.
To the forecast center in Atlanta.
Happy Friday.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: To, you, too, Carol.
I wish I had better news for your weekend weather but...
COSTELLO: Oh, no.
MYERS: You know, you get to be with your husband. It's OK.
COSTELLO: Yes. He can hold the umbrella.
MYERS: Exactly. There's always somebody getting wet. There's a song about that.
Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: You know what's really funny, Chad?
MYERS: What's that?
COSTELLO: You know those big furry boots that are in style now?
MYERS: Yes, of course.
COSTELLO: Everyone is wearing them, even though it was like nearly 60 degrees yesterday.
MYERS: They had to break them in.
COSTELLO: I know. It just looked silly.
MYERS: And spray them with waterproofer.
COSTELLO: Yes. Well, they'll need them this weekend, so that's good.
MYERS: That's right.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: President Bush leaves today for Chile and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting. Ahead of his visit, protests in the capital and elsewhere. Police had to disperse protesters who set fires in one city. And as you can imagine, security has been tightened for the summit, which officially opens tomorrow.
Among the president's goals, gathering a united front against North Korea's nuclear program, dealing with China's booming economy and its trade relations with Washington and continuing to encourage the fight against global terrorism. U.S. troops in Falluja are searching for pockets of insurgents still left in the war torn city. They found one house suspected of being a center for terrorist activities. Let's see what they found today.
Jane Arraf is with the U.S. Army unit in the city.
She joins us now with more -- good morning, Jane.
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
We've been driving through the city taking a look, and still no civilians out here in the part that we're in. And we're nearing the center of town and there is extensive damage. But right now where they're setting up, that there has to be a center for civilians who come in when they're allowed to come back into the city and seek compensation and other things.
Still scattered fighting throughout Falluja, Carol. A major part of the insurgency appears to be either dead or eliminated. But as these soldiers and Marines drive through the streets, there are still scattered gunmen taking shots at them -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I know that the Army unit that you're with made a big find yesterday.
Is there any new information on that, Jane?
ARRAF: The counterintelligence people are going through those houses again today and one of those was a house, part of a complex believed to be the safe house of two top lieutenants of Abu Musab al- Zarqawi in the southeast of Falluja, one of the strongholds of foreign fighters.
Now, the Army discovered documents. They discovered a letter to Zarqawi and a letter from Zarqawi asking for information about how the fight was going, as well as computer disks, weapons and essentially a complex of buildings, heavily fortified and surrounded by weapons. It was the area where the Army had the most fierce resistance as they moved into Falluja.
It's believed that senior leaders of the Zarqawi network, if they were indeed here, may have escaped before the battle started, but that midlevel leadership appears to be dead -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Jane Arraf reporting from Falluja this morning.
Coming up just after the half hour, we'll go to the war room. We'll get an idea of what troop morale is like as many face another holiday away from home. And we'll check the latest combat rotation and military procedures when it comes to going back into battle after being wounded.
Now to the nation's capital. On Monday, President Bush is expected to sign a bill that raises the nation's borrowing limit by $800 billion. The House approved the measure largely along party lines, by a vote of 208-204. This all happened late last night. The Senate has also approved the increase. The new federal borrowing cap would be a mind boggling $8.18 trillion. That's 70 percent of the entire U.S. economy.
Is Vioxx, is the Vioxx recall just the tip of the iceberg? An FDA scientist told a Senate committee that other drugs could cause deadly problems, too. Congress is looking into the Vioxx problem now.
Is the relationship between the FDA and the drug companies too cozy?
CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Vioxx hearings have left many people wondering how could a drug that causes heart attacks get approved by the Food and Drug Administration? Doesn't the United States have the best, most rigorous drug approval process in the world?
The answer to that question has to do with a common misperception. Many people think it's the FDA that conducts studies on drugs before they go on the market. In fact, the pharmaceutical companies do the studies on their own drugs. The FDA just reviews their data. And more and more observers, such as Dr. Jerry Avorn, author of the book "Powerful Medicines," thinks this system doesn't make much sense.
DR. JERRY AVORN, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL: I think we need to have a more vigilant and aggressive FDA.
COHEN: One problem, he says, the salaries of the FDA reviewers are paid in part by the drug companies. The pharmaceutical industry spends hundreds of millions of dollars on so-called user fees to the FDA and some say that makes for too cozy of a relationship.
AVORN: And it really needs to be a tough agency that is going to really ask some very demanding questions, because we're talking about chemicals that people put into their body that can alter their health for good or for ill.
ALAN GOLDHAMMER, PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH AND MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA: We've seen these allegations of the coziness between the industry and the Food and Drug Administration. We think that they really are not true.
COHEN: In fact, the pharmaceutical industry says...
GOLDHAMMER: The process for approving new drugs by the Food and Drug Administration is working quite well.
COHEN: The industry points out that it spends years testing each drug on animals and then on humans, and the FDA then takes about a year to review those studies and often asks for even more data. But others say that pulling Vioxx and other drugs off the market because of safety worries is proof that somehow, somewhere the system is falling short.
Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: In News Across America this morning, road rage may have led to a shooting spree at a St. Petersburg, Florida mall. A lone gunman shot two Radio Shack employees and one customer before killing himself. One of the employees and the customer died in the shooting. The third victim suffered serious injuries. Police say the gunman was involved in a road rage incident before the shooting and may have had some lingering -- and may have had some mental problems, as well.
In Phoenix, Arizona, three drugstore employees walked away unharmed after being held hostage for about two hours. The hostage taker is in critical condition after shooting himself in the head. Police believe the man was trying to rob a Walgreen's Drugstore.
A local news reporter is facing up to six months in prison for refusing to reveal a source. Jim Taricani of station WJAR in Providence, Rhode Island was found guilty of criminal contempt by a federal judge. Taricani wouldn't tell the court who gave him an FBI videotape showing an alleged bribe to a Providence city official.
Two adolescent girls are facing some serious criminal charges and a father is apologizing for what he calls a prank that went terribly wrong.
More from CNN's Eric Philips.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ERIC PHILIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two 13-year-old girls, their wrists shackled, their futures uncertain, arrested after baking a cake for their seventh grade classmates in Marietta, Georgia that authorities say was tainted. More than a dozen of the youngsters who ate a piece of the cornbread, cake Tuesday were rushed to the hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the inside it probably looks like a normal cake. But then when you put it in your mouth, it's really bad.
PHILIPS: The two girls appeared at a preliminary hearing Wednesday and were charged with 12 counts of aggravated assault with intent to murder.
"Alan," the father of one of the girls, says his daughter has no malicious intent. To her, it was just a joke.
"ALAN," FATHER OF SUSPECT: A prank, a bad prank. What more can you call it? It wasn't anybody trying to kill anybody.
PHILIPS: Tests will determine what was put in the cake. But "Alan's" daughter has been charged with committing a terrorist act for what she allegedly said was in the cake. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the girls SAD made an announcement that there was bleach in the cake.
PHILIPS: The district attorney says he needs to verify the contents of the cake before he makes a final decision on charges.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It could be that it stays serious or it could be that the analysis of the cake says that there was nothing in there that was that harmful.
PHILIPS: "Alan" says his daughter denies putting bleach in the cake, but admits to mixing in glue, and that she's feeling a range of emotions, including remorse. So is he.
"ALAN": Fear that I might not see my daughter for several years and that my daughter's life could be ruined.
PHILIPS: The girls are being held in juvenile detention. A hearing later today will determine if they'll stay there or be released to their parents.
Eric Philips, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: And in the spirit of full disclosure, the father you saw on this story is an occasional freelance writer for CNN.
Howard Stern is making no apologizes. At 18 minutes after the hour, we'll tell you what the shock jock has to say about the FCC, while he's surrounded by strippers.
A family says they've given enough. If you've ever seen the movie "Saving Private Ryan," you will appreciate this story. At 36 minutes past, a Connecticut family wages a battle to get their son out of the war zone.
And the shocking truth of it all. At 49 minutes after, an ad campaign designed to raise awareness instead is raising a few eyebrows.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 5:14 eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
It's a case of every vote counts. Washington State still doesn't have a new governor. Election officials are getting ready to recount 2.8 million ballots. Right now, only 261 votes separate the two candidates.
The government is looking into the possibility of a new case of mad cow disease here in the United States. USDA officials aren't saying where the animal was, just that it never entered the food chain.
In money news, former Viacom chief Mel Karmazin is now the CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio. Karmazin was a casualty of the June management shakeup at Viacom. The news sent Sirius shares up 20 percent in after hours trading.
In culture, actor Robin Williams is being honored at the Golden Globe Awards in January. Williams, who has won five Golden Globes, will receive the Cecil B. DeMille award for career achievement.
In sports, Lou Holtz is reportedly retiring at the end of this football season as coach at South Carolina. The buzz is, oh, Steve Spurrier. He's lined up to replace him. That explains things -- Chad.
MYERS: It does. And why he didn't want the Florida job and why he didn't want some of the pro jobs that were being offered back to him.
COSTELLO: Exactly.
MYERS: Let me see how many zeroes are on the end of that contract.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
At a special U.N. meeting in Africa today, Sudanese government officials and rebel leaders have signed a tentative agreement to end their 21-year civil war by the end of the year.
John Danforth is the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN DANFORTH, U.S. AMBASSADOR, TO U.N.: The process of turning Sudan into a prosperous nation at peace with itself and its neighbors, must move forward immediately. Sudan must become a nation that respects human rights and that replaces violence with political dialogue. This process must proceed with dispatch, without posturing, without grandstanding, without empty words.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: This meeting in Kenya is a rare one for the Security Council outside of its New York headquarters.
With more on this tentative settlement in Sudan, Charlayne Hunter-Gault.
She joins us live from Nairobi this morning.
Is this the real deal and will they follow it there?
CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, what a difficult question you're asking. You know, the Security Council hopes it's the real deal and Ambassador Danforth has said that this is a historic occasion and even though there have been deals on paper before, he believes and the Security Council believes that the fact that the 15 members of the Council have acted as witnesses, have put their names to this memorandum of understanding, he believes that this witnessing of the international community will, in fact, put pressure on the rebels and the government in the north to abide by their word and sign this deal by December 31 -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So as for the people of Sudan, I've seen so many heartbreaking stories of, you know, women who have no place to go living in tent cities. They don't have enough to eat. The humanitarian -- it's in crisis right now.
So what happens now in the short-term?
HUNTER-GAULT: Well, in the short-term, as Secretary General Kofi Annan said on yesterday at this meeting, the humanitarian aid agencies must be given access. You know, there are militias in the region of Darfur that are running wild. They're raping women, killing people, pillaging and there has been very little access by the international humanitarian community.
And now they're calling on the government of Sudan to make sure that these rebels, whom they are accused of backing, get reigned in so that some aid can go to the people who are making such horrifying pictures on the television and living such horrible existences in reality -- Carol.
COSTELLO: OK, so a last question. Who is going to make sure -- I mean who is going to keep the rebels in check if the government was with them? I mean it just, it seems hard to believe that the government is really going to crack down and stop the fighting.
HUNTER-GAULT: Another tough question. But what the Security Council here has done this time, rather than threatening to impose sanctions or an arms embargo or an oil embargo, they've said if you commit yourself to peace and reign in these militias, both in the north and the south, because both sides are doing bad things, is what they're saying, we will ensure that the international community bring in millions of dollars to help you rebuild your country, which, after all, has been at war for 21 years.
So they're holding out the carrot of millions of dollars in the hope that it will buy peace -- Carol.
COSTELLO: We hope so.
Charlayne Hunter-Gault from Nairobi this morning.
All right, let's talk about the "Monday Night Football" controversy. Yes, we have to do that again, because it seems to have taken on a life of its own. It all stems from the opening skit from last Monday's telecast. Oh, let's see it again, shall we?
The skit shows Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens and actress Nicollette Sheridan. Of course, Sheridan is from the ABC show "Desperate Housewives." She dropped her towel and jumps into his arms. The NFL complained. ABC apologized. And now Terrell Owens, of all people, says he's sorry, too.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TERRELL OWENS, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES: I felt like it was clean. The organization thought it was a clean skit and I think it just really got taken out of context, you know, with a lot of people and I apologize for that and obviously our organization has to, after they, you know, really went back to see what was shown. And, you know, we're just trying to move on from that and, you know, and just keep it going, you know? I don't think, personally, I didn't think it would have offended anyone and, you know, if it did, you know, we apologize.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: It was a clean skit. After all, Nicollette Sheridan had obviously just taken a shower.
Shock jock Howard Stern took some shots at the FCC while celebrating his move off of the free airwaves.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD STERN, RADIO PERSONALITY: The death of the FCC interference. The death of the FCC. Down with the FCC!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: He had a bunch of strippers surrounding him, by the way. Just so you know, huge FCC fines led Stern to announce that he's taking his road show to satellite radio provider Sirius. Satellite radio is not under the same rules as regular free radio, commercial radio. As part of his move, Stern gave away thousands of free radios and satellite radio subscriptions at a rally in New York City.
We're going to talk more about this in the 6:00 hour of DAYBREAK.
The "Monday Night Football" and Howard Stern controversies aren't the only ones. Last week, dozens of ABC affiliates refused to show the movie "Saving Private Ryan." They were afraid that graphic violence and language in the movie could lead to fines from the FCC. But the film had been shown twice before on broadcast TV without incident.
That leads us to this morning's e-mail question. Do you think the FCC has gone too far? Send your thoughts to us, daybreak@cnn.com. has the FCC gone too far? Daybreak@cnn.com. And, of course, we will read your e-mails later on in the show.
Still to come this morning, we'll see what David Letterman has to say about the opening of the Clinton Presidential Library.
And it's an American revolution all over again at the MTV Europe Awards ceremony. We'll tell you about that.
You are watching DAYBREAK for Friday, November 19.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MYERS: If you were anywhere near a TV, Carol, yesterday, you are probably sick of looking at the Clinton Library and hearing all about it.
COSTELLO: Oh come on!
MYERS: Oh my gosh, we...
COSTELLO: Come on!
MYERS: We had it on every 15 minutes like for 24 hours.
COSTELLO: But some of the speeches from the former presidents were so glowing in regards to Bill Clinton...
MYERS: Yes, you are correct. You are correct. And we -- and a lot of folks thought it looked a little bit weird. But I'll tell you what, when you saw it on the air, when you saw it live, it really looked good. It looked like a great big piece of architecture. It's what everybody was talking about.
COSTELLO: Yes, including David Letterman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, COURTESY CBS/WORLDWIDE PANTS)
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST: Well, I guess we all know what happened earlier today down there in Little Rock, Arkansas, the opening of the Clinton Presidential Library. Did you hear about this? Big, big event down there. President Bush was actually there. It was a good day for him. He raised $6.5 million. He was, President Bush actually was very excited to be there because, you know, he'd never been to a library before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MYERS: Bada bing!
COSTELLO: He gave the most eloquent speech, though. He was very funny, President Bush.
MYERS: That's good. I didn't see that.
COSTELLO: And President Clinton was behind him laughing. It was like they were old friends.
MYERS: Well, all the presidents were there? Was there any...
COSTELLO: All of them?
MYERS: Well, not George Washington.
COSTELLO: I don't think Gerald Ford was there.
MYERS: Gerald Ford.
COSTELLO: But I think everyone else was.
MYERS: That's great.
COSTELLO: But I watched quite a bit of it. It was quite in -- Chad, you should watch it on tape.
MYERS: Oh, I'll TiVo it next time it's on, when they rerun it.
COSTELLO: Good idea.
Time for our DAYBREAK "Eye-Openers" now.
How's this for an elaborate street light? The 20th annual UNICEF holiday snowflake chandelier was lit above the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street here in New York. I was caught in the middle of that and believe me, it was hell. The chandelier itself is beautiful. It was the largest in the world. It measures 16 feet wide and is adorned with 12,000 crystals. I was speaking of the crowds. They were amazingly large.
One concerned citizen took matters and an alligator into his own hands. Walter Ignasiak hunted down and caught this six foot long gator when fish and wildlife officials did not respond to his call. The gator had been scaring the residents and pets of Parkland, Florida for weeks.
Outkast was the bigger winner at last night's MTV Europe Music Awards. They walked away with the best group award and their song "Hey 'Ya" won for best song and best video. Britney Spears won for best female artist.
Here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.
Traveling over the river and through the woods could take longer, especially if you are behind the wheel. We'll get some travel tips from consumer reporter Julie Vallese.
And you think you've got spam? One of the guys who started it all is drowning in it. Four million spams a week. We'll find out in our Web clicks from New York and Atlanta.
This is DAYBREAK for a Friday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired November 19, 2004 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A poisonous prank or attempted murder? The debate over the cake.
Also...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do not want to go through this again ever again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: War's impact on one family. They say they've given enough. Now they're fighting their own battle with the U.S. military.
And the jaw dropping ads that spell it out to a tough audience -- men.
It is Friday, November 19.
You are watching DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
Thank you for waking up with us and man, happy Friday.
I'm Carol Costello.
There is a lot going on this morning.
Let's check the headlines now, shall we?
Protesters demonstrate in Santiago, Chile ahead of President Bush's trip there today. The president is heading to a 21-nation summit of Pacific Rim leaders. Topping his agenda, gathering support to halt North Korea's nuclear program.
The nation's debt ceiling is going up. The House of Representatives has approved raising the ceiling by $800 billion. Right now it's $7.4 trillion. It'll go to $8.2 trillion when President Bush signs the measure on Monday.
At a special meeting of the U.N. Security Council today in Kenya, a Sudanese government official and a rebel negotiator pledged to end 21 years of civil war by the end of the year.
To the forecast center in Atlanta.
Happy Friday.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: To, you, too, Carol.
I wish I had better news for your weekend weather but...
COSTELLO: Oh, no.
MYERS: You know, you get to be with your husband. It's OK.
COSTELLO: Yes. He can hold the umbrella.
MYERS: Exactly. There's always somebody getting wet. There's a song about that.
Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: You know what's really funny, Chad?
MYERS: What's that?
COSTELLO: You know those big furry boots that are in style now?
MYERS: Yes, of course.
COSTELLO: Everyone is wearing them, even though it was like nearly 60 degrees yesterday.
MYERS: They had to break them in.
COSTELLO: I know. It just looked silly.
MYERS: And spray them with waterproofer.
COSTELLO: Yes. Well, they'll need them this weekend, so that's good.
MYERS: That's right.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: President Bush leaves today for Chile and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting. Ahead of his visit, protests in the capital and elsewhere. Police had to disperse protesters who set fires in one city. And as you can imagine, security has been tightened for the summit, which officially opens tomorrow.
Among the president's goals, gathering a united front against North Korea's nuclear program, dealing with China's booming economy and its trade relations with Washington and continuing to encourage the fight against global terrorism. U.S. troops in Falluja are searching for pockets of insurgents still left in the war torn city. They found one house suspected of being a center for terrorist activities. Let's see what they found today.
Jane Arraf is with the U.S. Army unit in the city.
She joins us now with more -- good morning, Jane.
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
We've been driving through the city taking a look, and still no civilians out here in the part that we're in. And we're nearing the center of town and there is extensive damage. But right now where they're setting up, that there has to be a center for civilians who come in when they're allowed to come back into the city and seek compensation and other things.
Still scattered fighting throughout Falluja, Carol. A major part of the insurgency appears to be either dead or eliminated. But as these soldiers and Marines drive through the streets, there are still scattered gunmen taking shots at them -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I know that the Army unit that you're with made a big find yesterday.
Is there any new information on that, Jane?
ARRAF: The counterintelligence people are going through those houses again today and one of those was a house, part of a complex believed to be the safe house of two top lieutenants of Abu Musab al- Zarqawi in the southeast of Falluja, one of the strongholds of foreign fighters.
Now, the Army discovered documents. They discovered a letter to Zarqawi and a letter from Zarqawi asking for information about how the fight was going, as well as computer disks, weapons and essentially a complex of buildings, heavily fortified and surrounded by weapons. It was the area where the Army had the most fierce resistance as they moved into Falluja.
It's believed that senior leaders of the Zarqawi network, if they were indeed here, may have escaped before the battle started, but that midlevel leadership appears to be dead -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Jane Arraf reporting from Falluja this morning.
Coming up just after the half hour, we'll go to the war room. We'll get an idea of what troop morale is like as many face another holiday away from home. And we'll check the latest combat rotation and military procedures when it comes to going back into battle after being wounded.
Now to the nation's capital. On Monday, President Bush is expected to sign a bill that raises the nation's borrowing limit by $800 billion. The House approved the measure largely along party lines, by a vote of 208-204. This all happened late last night. The Senate has also approved the increase. The new federal borrowing cap would be a mind boggling $8.18 trillion. That's 70 percent of the entire U.S. economy.
Is Vioxx, is the Vioxx recall just the tip of the iceberg? An FDA scientist told a Senate committee that other drugs could cause deadly problems, too. Congress is looking into the Vioxx problem now.
Is the relationship between the FDA and the drug companies too cozy?
CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Vioxx hearings have left many people wondering how could a drug that causes heart attacks get approved by the Food and Drug Administration? Doesn't the United States have the best, most rigorous drug approval process in the world?
The answer to that question has to do with a common misperception. Many people think it's the FDA that conducts studies on drugs before they go on the market. In fact, the pharmaceutical companies do the studies on their own drugs. The FDA just reviews their data. And more and more observers, such as Dr. Jerry Avorn, author of the book "Powerful Medicines," thinks this system doesn't make much sense.
DR. JERRY AVORN, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL: I think we need to have a more vigilant and aggressive FDA.
COHEN: One problem, he says, the salaries of the FDA reviewers are paid in part by the drug companies. The pharmaceutical industry spends hundreds of millions of dollars on so-called user fees to the FDA and some say that makes for too cozy of a relationship.
AVORN: And it really needs to be a tough agency that is going to really ask some very demanding questions, because we're talking about chemicals that people put into their body that can alter their health for good or for ill.
ALAN GOLDHAMMER, PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH AND MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA: We've seen these allegations of the coziness between the industry and the Food and Drug Administration. We think that they really are not true.
COHEN: In fact, the pharmaceutical industry says...
GOLDHAMMER: The process for approving new drugs by the Food and Drug Administration is working quite well.
COHEN: The industry points out that it spends years testing each drug on animals and then on humans, and the FDA then takes about a year to review those studies and often asks for even more data. But others say that pulling Vioxx and other drugs off the market because of safety worries is proof that somehow, somewhere the system is falling short.
Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: In News Across America this morning, road rage may have led to a shooting spree at a St. Petersburg, Florida mall. A lone gunman shot two Radio Shack employees and one customer before killing himself. One of the employees and the customer died in the shooting. The third victim suffered serious injuries. Police say the gunman was involved in a road rage incident before the shooting and may have had some lingering -- and may have had some mental problems, as well.
In Phoenix, Arizona, three drugstore employees walked away unharmed after being held hostage for about two hours. The hostage taker is in critical condition after shooting himself in the head. Police believe the man was trying to rob a Walgreen's Drugstore.
A local news reporter is facing up to six months in prison for refusing to reveal a source. Jim Taricani of station WJAR in Providence, Rhode Island was found guilty of criminal contempt by a federal judge. Taricani wouldn't tell the court who gave him an FBI videotape showing an alleged bribe to a Providence city official.
Two adolescent girls are facing some serious criminal charges and a father is apologizing for what he calls a prank that went terribly wrong.
More from CNN's Eric Philips.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ERIC PHILIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two 13-year-old girls, their wrists shackled, their futures uncertain, arrested after baking a cake for their seventh grade classmates in Marietta, Georgia that authorities say was tainted. More than a dozen of the youngsters who ate a piece of the cornbread, cake Tuesday were rushed to the hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the inside it probably looks like a normal cake. But then when you put it in your mouth, it's really bad.
PHILIPS: The two girls appeared at a preliminary hearing Wednesday and were charged with 12 counts of aggravated assault with intent to murder.
"Alan," the father of one of the girls, says his daughter has no malicious intent. To her, it was just a joke.
"ALAN," FATHER OF SUSPECT: A prank, a bad prank. What more can you call it? It wasn't anybody trying to kill anybody.
PHILIPS: Tests will determine what was put in the cake. But "Alan's" daughter has been charged with committing a terrorist act for what she allegedly said was in the cake. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the girls SAD made an announcement that there was bleach in the cake.
PHILIPS: The district attorney says he needs to verify the contents of the cake before he makes a final decision on charges.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It could be that it stays serious or it could be that the analysis of the cake says that there was nothing in there that was that harmful.
PHILIPS: "Alan" says his daughter denies putting bleach in the cake, but admits to mixing in glue, and that she's feeling a range of emotions, including remorse. So is he.
"ALAN": Fear that I might not see my daughter for several years and that my daughter's life could be ruined.
PHILIPS: The girls are being held in juvenile detention. A hearing later today will determine if they'll stay there or be released to their parents.
Eric Philips, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: And in the spirit of full disclosure, the father you saw on this story is an occasional freelance writer for CNN.
Howard Stern is making no apologizes. At 18 minutes after the hour, we'll tell you what the shock jock has to say about the FCC, while he's surrounded by strippers.
A family says they've given enough. If you've ever seen the movie "Saving Private Ryan," you will appreciate this story. At 36 minutes past, a Connecticut family wages a battle to get their son out of the war zone.
And the shocking truth of it all. At 49 minutes after, an ad campaign designed to raise awareness instead is raising a few eyebrows.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday morning.
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COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 5:14 eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
It's a case of every vote counts. Washington State still doesn't have a new governor. Election officials are getting ready to recount 2.8 million ballots. Right now, only 261 votes separate the two candidates.
The government is looking into the possibility of a new case of mad cow disease here in the United States. USDA officials aren't saying where the animal was, just that it never entered the food chain.
In money news, former Viacom chief Mel Karmazin is now the CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio. Karmazin was a casualty of the June management shakeup at Viacom. The news sent Sirius shares up 20 percent in after hours trading.
In culture, actor Robin Williams is being honored at the Golden Globe Awards in January. Williams, who has won five Golden Globes, will receive the Cecil B. DeMille award for career achievement.
In sports, Lou Holtz is reportedly retiring at the end of this football season as coach at South Carolina. The buzz is, oh, Steve Spurrier. He's lined up to replace him. That explains things -- Chad.
MYERS: It does. And why he didn't want the Florida job and why he didn't want some of the pro jobs that were being offered back to him.
COSTELLO: Exactly.
MYERS: Let me see how many zeroes are on the end of that contract.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
At a special U.N. meeting in Africa today, Sudanese government officials and rebel leaders have signed a tentative agreement to end their 21-year civil war by the end of the year.
John Danforth is the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
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JOHN DANFORTH, U.S. AMBASSADOR, TO U.N.: The process of turning Sudan into a prosperous nation at peace with itself and its neighbors, must move forward immediately. Sudan must become a nation that respects human rights and that replaces violence with political dialogue. This process must proceed with dispatch, without posturing, without grandstanding, without empty words.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: This meeting in Kenya is a rare one for the Security Council outside of its New York headquarters.
With more on this tentative settlement in Sudan, Charlayne Hunter-Gault.
She joins us live from Nairobi this morning.
Is this the real deal and will they follow it there?
CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, what a difficult question you're asking. You know, the Security Council hopes it's the real deal and Ambassador Danforth has said that this is a historic occasion and even though there have been deals on paper before, he believes and the Security Council believes that the fact that the 15 members of the Council have acted as witnesses, have put their names to this memorandum of understanding, he believes that this witnessing of the international community will, in fact, put pressure on the rebels and the government in the north to abide by their word and sign this deal by December 31 -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So as for the people of Sudan, I've seen so many heartbreaking stories of, you know, women who have no place to go living in tent cities. They don't have enough to eat. The humanitarian -- it's in crisis right now.
So what happens now in the short-term?
HUNTER-GAULT: Well, in the short-term, as Secretary General Kofi Annan said on yesterday at this meeting, the humanitarian aid agencies must be given access. You know, there are militias in the region of Darfur that are running wild. They're raping women, killing people, pillaging and there has been very little access by the international humanitarian community.
And now they're calling on the government of Sudan to make sure that these rebels, whom they are accused of backing, get reigned in so that some aid can go to the people who are making such horrifying pictures on the television and living such horrible existences in reality -- Carol.
COSTELLO: OK, so a last question. Who is going to make sure -- I mean who is going to keep the rebels in check if the government was with them? I mean it just, it seems hard to believe that the government is really going to crack down and stop the fighting.
HUNTER-GAULT: Another tough question. But what the Security Council here has done this time, rather than threatening to impose sanctions or an arms embargo or an oil embargo, they've said if you commit yourself to peace and reign in these militias, both in the north and the south, because both sides are doing bad things, is what they're saying, we will ensure that the international community bring in millions of dollars to help you rebuild your country, which, after all, has been at war for 21 years.
So they're holding out the carrot of millions of dollars in the hope that it will buy peace -- Carol.
COSTELLO: We hope so.
Charlayne Hunter-Gault from Nairobi this morning.
All right, let's talk about the "Monday Night Football" controversy. Yes, we have to do that again, because it seems to have taken on a life of its own. It all stems from the opening skit from last Monday's telecast. Oh, let's see it again, shall we?
The skit shows Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens and actress Nicollette Sheridan. Of course, Sheridan is from the ABC show "Desperate Housewives." She dropped her towel and jumps into his arms. The NFL complained. ABC apologized. And now Terrell Owens, of all people, says he's sorry, too.
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TERRELL OWENS, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES: I felt like it was clean. The organization thought it was a clean skit and I think it just really got taken out of context, you know, with a lot of people and I apologize for that and obviously our organization has to, after they, you know, really went back to see what was shown. And, you know, we're just trying to move on from that and, you know, and just keep it going, you know? I don't think, personally, I didn't think it would have offended anyone and, you know, if it did, you know, we apologize.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: It was a clean skit. After all, Nicollette Sheridan had obviously just taken a shower.
Shock jock Howard Stern took some shots at the FCC while celebrating his move off of the free airwaves.
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HOWARD STERN, RADIO PERSONALITY: The death of the FCC interference. The death of the FCC. Down with the FCC!
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COSTELLO: He had a bunch of strippers surrounding him, by the way. Just so you know, huge FCC fines led Stern to announce that he's taking his road show to satellite radio provider Sirius. Satellite radio is not under the same rules as regular free radio, commercial radio. As part of his move, Stern gave away thousands of free radios and satellite radio subscriptions at a rally in New York City.
We're going to talk more about this in the 6:00 hour of DAYBREAK.
The "Monday Night Football" and Howard Stern controversies aren't the only ones. Last week, dozens of ABC affiliates refused to show the movie "Saving Private Ryan." They were afraid that graphic violence and language in the movie could lead to fines from the FCC. But the film had been shown twice before on broadcast TV without incident.
That leads us to this morning's e-mail question. Do you think the FCC has gone too far? Send your thoughts to us, daybreak@cnn.com. has the FCC gone too far? Daybreak@cnn.com. And, of course, we will read your e-mails later on in the show.
Still to come this morning, we'll see what David Letterman has to say about the opening of the Clinton Presidential Library.
And it's an American revolution all over again at the MTV Europe Awards ceremony. We'll tell you about that.
You are watching DAYBREAK for Friday, November 19.
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MYERS: If you were anywhere near a TV, Carol, yesterday, you are probably sick of looking at the Clinton Library and hearing all about it.
COSTELLO: Oh come on!
MYERS: Oh my gosh, we...
COSTELLO: Come on!
MYERS: We had it on every 15 minutes like for 24 hours.
COSTELLO: But some of the speeches from the former presidents were so glowing in regards to Bill Clinton...
MYERS: Yes, you are correct. You are correct. And we -- and a lot of folks thought it looked a little bit weird. But I'll tell you what, when you saw it on the air, when you saw it live, it really looked good. It looked like a great big piece of architecture. It's what everybody was talking about.
COSTELLO: Yes, including David Letterman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, COURTESY CBS/WORLDWIDE PANTS)
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST: Well, I guess we all know what happened earlier today down there in Little Rock, Arkansas, the opening of the Clinton Presidential Library. Did you hear about this? Big, big event down there. President Bush was actually there. It was a good day for him. He raised $6.5 million. He was, President Bush actually was very excited to be there because, you know, he'd never been to a library before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MYERS: Bada bing!
COSTELLO: He gave the most eloquent speech, though. He was very funny, President Bush.
MYERS: That's good. I didn't see that.
COSTELLO: And President Clinton was behind him laughing. It was like they were old friends.
MYERS: Well, all the presidents were there? Was there any...
COSTELLO: All of them?
MYERS: Well, not George Washington.
COSTELLO: I don't think Gerald Ford was there.
MYERS: Gerald Ford.
COSTELLO: But I think everyone else was.
MYERS: That's great.
COSTELLO: But I watched quite a bit of it. It was quite in -- Chad, you should watch it on tape.
MYERS: Oh, I'll TiVo it next time it's on, when they rerun it.
COSTELLO: Good idea.
Time for our DAYBREAK "Eye-Openers" now.
How's this for an elaborate street light? The 20th annual UNICEF holiday snowflake chandelier was lit above the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street here in New York. I was caught in the middle of that and believe me, it was hell. The chandelier itself is beautiful. It was the largest in the world. It measures 16 feet wide and is adorned with 12,000 crystals. I was speaking of the crowds. They were amazingly large.
One concerned citizen took matters and an alligator into his own hands. Walter Ignasiak hunted down and caught this six foot long gator when fish and wildlife officials did not respond to his call. The gator had been scaring the residents and pets of Parkland, Florida for weeks.
Outkast was the bigger winner at last night's MTV Europe Music Awards. They walked away with the best group award and their song "Hey 'Ya" won for best song and best video. Britney Spears won for best female artist.
Here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.
Traveling over the river and through the woods could take longer, especially if you are behind the wheel. We'll get some travel tips from consumer reporter Julie Vallese.
And you think you've got spam? One of the guys who started it all is drowning in it. Four million spams a week. We'll find out in our Web clicks from New York and Atlanta.
This is DAYBREAK for a Friday morning.
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