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Fitness Guru Calls Enforces Lifestyle Changes
Aired March 18, 2004 - 13:30 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Idaho held its Democratic caucuses a month ago and holds its presidential primary two months from now. So why is John Kerry spending five whole days there? Two letters: R&R.
Democratic nominee-to-be and wife Teresa arrived last night in Twin Falls for a campaign respite at their vacation home near the town of Ketchum.
Earlier today, he blasted the Bush administration for what he called failed military and diplomatic policies that Kerry says drive potential allies away.
The Democrat also called for a military family's bill of rights, beginning with health insurance for veterans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need a commander in chief who honors and supports them for real. A commander in chief who repays their risks on the battlefield by providing them with the best weapons and protections as they two go battle. A commander in chief who recognizes their commitment and sacrifice, and offers their families a decent life here at home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, his campaign flopped, but Howard Dean's funding and organizational skills are undisputed by most.
Drawing now on those virtual strengths, the former presidential hopeful is launching Democracy for America, it is called, a grassroots campaign, largely online, to recruit and boost Democratic candidates in state and local races all across the country.
Dean says he's looking for independent thinkers and straight talkers.
Today on "INSIDE POLITICS," the impact of Iraqi violence on the U.S. presidential race: 3:30 Eastern, 12:30 Pacific, right here on CNN. It's hosted by our chief straight talker, Judy Woodruff.
Major league baseball facing some tough pitches of late, mainly those steroid accusations, and now the big leagues are ready to put a stop to at least one questionable supplement. We're not talking about sunflower seeds here.
PHILLIPS: Or bubblegum.
O'BRIEN: Or bubblegum, either.
PHILLIPS: Not getting enough from your personal trainer? Well, try one that not only watches your weight, but also your weight. Holly Firfer here with more on that.
And yes, the madness begins. From Vegas to the office pool, the NCAA basketball tournament is a cash cow for many people. We'll bet on that, right ahead.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM with Kyra Phillips and Miles O'Brien.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Amid a stinging steroid scandal, major league baseball is adding a controversial supplement to its list of banned substances. The sale of THG was banned by the federal government last October after researchers ruled it's just too dangerous.
Now, the sale of THG was banned by the federal government last October, after researchers ruled it was dangerous. Baseball officials say keeping it from players is an important step in developing a zero tolerance policy against performance enhancing drugs.
PHILLIPS: So if your brain is to blame for wrecking your diet, how about training it to do some good? Medical correspondent holly Firfer jobs us now with a new workout program. To sort of get us...
HOLLY FIRFER, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Something different.
PHILLIPS: ... excited.
FIRFER: Imagine being able to train your brain and -- you know, to train your mind to actually crave healthy foods, regular exercise. Seems impossible, right? Well, that's exactly what trainer David Kirsch promises he'll do.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID KIRSCH, WELLNESS TRAINER: I guarantee you I will give you exactly what you want. The results, physical results. You'll feel great; you'll look great.
FIRFER (voice-over): All for a mere $275 an hour for each personal session.
The former lawyer turned wellness trainer is part of a small group of menu monitors now sprouting up in New York and Los Angeles.
KIRSCH: Frog jumps are really great. I say, I've never seen a frog with a flabby butt.
FIRFER: These days, it's not enough to have a trainer hovering over you in the gym as you sweat and flex your way to body beautiful. KIRSCH: If you just train somebody and you don't address nutrition, which I think is 70 percent towards the success of any program, then you're really not giving them a full service.
FIRFER: Stephanie Fray employs Kirsch to govern her gym routine and her munching habits.
STEPHANIE FRAY, CLIENT: When I see him in the mornings, I know he can tell from my face and my body how I ate the day before. And I'm very conscious of that, and for me, I need that. I need that little bit of policing.
FIRFER: And forget about sneaking out on your own.
KIRSCH: I'll call restaurants and I'll say, "Look, Stephanie is coming and just make sure the bread is not on the table. Make sure there's no dressing on the salad, no butter. Do not even bring a dessert menu."
FIRFER: Kirsch's principles are based on the idea of building a sound mind and sound body, the very title of his book where he maps out his version of the food and fitness gospel.
Here, sauteed equals sinful. Steamed says wholesome.
Kirsch's commitment to success extends beyond the studio. For $60 a day, his food delivery service will drop off gourmet styled low- fat meals at your door.
It's no wonder he has a loyal following.
KIRSCH: Once they start, they don't stop. I've had a client for 16 years, one client. And I don't know. I haven't had a relationship go that long yet.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FIRFER: Now, you don't really need to spend a fortune to get in shape. If you can afford a day with Kirsch, great. But the message is, sometimes you just can't do it alone.
Find a support group, some friends perhaps, to help you stay on track. Let them police you and you police them. And stay on target to reach your target.
And as David says, it's not just working out in the gym; you need to watch your entire lifestyle.
But I've got to tell you, Kyra, I just -- you can imagine, $275. Great if you can do it, but how about cut a deal. You come with me; I'll go with you. We'll be fine.
PHILLIPS: We'll go to support each other. Miles is, like, forget that, I'm going to be miserable.
O'BRIEN: I mean, what is the point of going to the restaurant, no bread, no butter, no -- I mean, just stay home. Save yourself a lot of money.
FIRFER: It's social. It's a social occasion.
O'BRIEN: I am hereby offering to...
PHILLIPS: Socially miserable and hungry.
O'BRIEN: Anybody who wants it, $100 a day, I'll be happy to call the cafeteria downstairs and no butter for you, Kyra, or whatever.
PHILLIPS: Thanks a lot, Holly.
O'BRIEN: It's a deal, come on. That's more than 50 percent off.
PHILLIPS: Go to the gym now. Let us know how it was.
FIRFER: I will.
O'BRIEN: All right. Well, something's got the Big Apple all abuzz.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's dreamy and creamy. It's better than having a lover if you don't have one. It's better than Lotto.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: What?
O'BRIEN: What? The Lotto. Yes, the Lotto.
All right. Jeanne Moos fills us in on the delicious details, coming up.
And Fred Katayama joins us for another check on Wall Street. You've got to play to win, right, Fred?
FRED KATAYAMA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Miles. Well, canning spam is proving tougher than lawmakers thought. And that's leading Internet users to log off. Details on that story and more when LIVE FROM continues after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: This just in from the Chicken Little desk: an asteroid will pass close to earth tonight, 5:08 p.m. Eastern time, as a matter of fact. Only 25,000 miles away. That's about as far up as a communications satellite is from where we are right now.
It's only 100 feet in diameter, so it's not something that would cause any great problem if it hit us with a bulls-eye, but you'd certainly know about it if it came our way.
Now, of course, asteroids have shaped our history over the eons. Sixty-five million years ago, as Kyra well knows, a huge, huge hunk of rock caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. Although there still is a bit of scientific debate over this.
But it was over miles in diameter, six miles across. It came toward Earth and hit what is now the Yucatan Peninsula, thus paving the way for the rise of mammals and ultimately all the condos on the Yucatan Peninsula.
Now later, in the course of history -- just to tell you this is not just stuff that happened 65 million years ago. Kyra, you know where that is. That's Siberia. Tanguska, 1908, June of 1908. That's the only warm time in Siberia, I believe, is June.
PHILLIPS: June and July, actually.
O'BRIEN: And one of these things came down, a big rock. It actually exploded above the surface at an altitude of about five miles. Released a 12-megaton blast, flattening all those trees. Of course, nobody knows about it because it was Siberia. There wasn't anybody there to see it.
Now, let's take a look at meteor craters. You've been out to this part of the world.
Let's zoom in using our keyhole technology her to Meteor Crater. Have you seen this in person, Kyra? It's quite a sight to see.
About 50,000 years ago, a big rock came down to Meteor Crater and left this hole about -- well, it's two and a half miles in circumference, over a mile across. It's about 500 feet deep. It's quite a sight to see.
And beyond that, beyond that spectacle, didn't cause any significant impact.
Now, more recently, back in '92, remember this. This is a great piece of videotape. Peekskill, New York, look at this. This is a huge hunk of asteroid. You'd call it a shooting star, but it's actually a piece of meteorite coming across the sky, October of '92, was videotaped by spectators at a football game.
Some of the debris hit that Chevy there. And how would you like that for an insurance claim? "I got struck by an asteroid." Yes, right, pal.
Now just let me give you the big picture here. Take a look at this scene. Look at this scene real quick, though. This is where we live.
We are in the middle of an area of earth-crossing asteroids. The average interval between impacts for fairly large objects about every 300 years. And the average interval between impacts for areas that are populated, every 3,000 years.
Here's a stat to remember. You're safer -- excuse me, it is riskier just living on Earth -- the possibility of an asteroid attack is greater than flying on a commercial aircraft.
So if an asteroid's coming your way, get in a plane and you'll be safe.
PHILLIPS: And fly somewhere.
O'BRIEN: And fly somewhere, but where are you going to go?
PHILLIPS: It's tough.
O'BRIEN: So enjoy the show if you can see it tonight. You need binoculars and you really can't see it from North America, but nevertheless, submitted for your approval.
PHILLIPS: Call in. Let us know. Give us your video.
O'BRIEN: ALL RIGHT.
(STOCK REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Any kind of a toddler will love this story. And you should keep this in mind when you're scolding said toddler for messing with the remote.
Twenty-month-old Billy D'Onofrio of Brewster, New Jersey -- New York, I should say, was just doing what toddlers do every day of the week.
He got a hold of the TV remote. He opened up the battery compartment. But his fiddle fingers must have had the Midas touch, because one of the battery was purple and had the word "winner" on it.
Not sure if he could read that, but his parents did. And they hadn't noticed that there was a special battery put into the remote. They were stunned to learn it was a contest winner worth $100,000.
And little Billy, I guess, is either going to Disney World or college, or something.
PHILLIPS: Let's push the college.
O'BRIEN: Yes, college. Good idea.
PHILLIPS: Come up in the second hour of LIVE FROM, airline passengers who make you sick, literally. How airlines are putting a stop to the spread of sickness in the air.
O'BRIEN: LIVE FROM continues right after we take a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: More blasts heard in Baghdad. Another car bomb attack, this time in Basra. Stepping up the violence on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the war in Iraq.
O'BRIEN: Is one of Osama bin Laden's top lieutenants close to being captured? Pakistan's president telling CNN armed forces have surrounded a high-value target. TED ROWLAND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ted Rowland in Las Vegas where the suspected Ohio freeway sniper is apparently cooperating with authorities. We'll have the very latest on the case, coming up.
PHILLIPS: Screening sick flyers. What airlines and health officials are doing from keeping deadly diseases from showing up on the next flight.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips.
O'BRIEN: I'm miles O'Brien. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
Closing in on al Qaeda. Reports this hour that Pakistani troops may have surrounded Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's right-hand man and the second most important man in that terrorist organization.
Hundred of Pakistani troops said to be involved in the operation near the Afghanistan border.
In an exclusive interview with CNN's Aaron Brown, Pakistani President Musharraf would only say Pakistani forces believe they have surrounded what he called a high value target.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PAKISTANI PRESIDENT: And the army has surrounded -- they surrounded the whole area. It is a very neutral (ph) -- about 30 kilometers. They've taken on the whole (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Then they have surrounded the whole area.
And now, including this day, this was completed by early morning today and they asked locals, women and children, to move out which many did and then they started pounding the area with artillery and helicopters also.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: This is not some small firefight. This is heavy weaponry that's being launched there.
MUSHARRAF: Yes. Yes but the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) started being offered by the people there. We feel that there may be a high value target. I can't say who but they are giving fierce battle at the moment. They are not coming out in spite of the fact that we have pounded them with artillery.
I spoke to the corps commander just now. I knew you were going to ask me this question so I wanted to be current on it. The net is there. They are there. They see very strong dug-in positions. The houses actually there are almost forts. They are mud forts and all these forts are occupied and they are dug in and they are giving fierce resistance. So, he's relatively sure there's a high value target there.
BROWN: I'm now worried you've anticipated all my questions. When you talk about high value targets you know how Americans are going to hear that. We're talking about the top one or two al Qaeda leaders, bin Laden.
MUSHARRAF: Zawahiri.
BROWN: Do you think they're there?
MUSHARRAF: I'm not going to say that because my previous experience is whenever I say it then headlines come that he says well he is there or something like that. I can't. It would just be a guess but I think very likely there is a high value target.
BROWN: Is it --
MUSHARRAF: Who I don't know.
BROWN: I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Now you can see the remainder of that interview tonight on "NEWSNIGHT." That's at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time.
PHILLIPS: Well, as we reported, Pakistani troops believing they have surrounded al Qaeda's number two Ayman al-Zawahiri. On the phone with us now from Islamabad CNN National Security Analyst Ken Robinson, he's been in country. Ken, with this developing news since you and I talked this morning what do you think with regard to these reports?
KEN ROBINSON, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST (via telephone): Well, what's interesting is speaking with senior Pakistani army officials they were describing the tactics which were being used, which included very aggressive enforcement of homes that they had barricaded.
They called them fortresses in this village and they said that they -- the enemy that they were up against was using very sophisticated mortar techniques using mortaring shells against their forces and using target reference points that had been pre-registered.
In other words, they had anticipated that at one point they would have to defend this location and they had very significant defenses outlaid for them and that's why the casualties were so high.
PHILLIPS: Well, when talking about rules in engagement with regard to Pakistani troops if indeed this is Ayman al-Zawahiri that is in this area that has now been surrounded, what are the rules of engagement? Is it to get in there and bring him out alive and take him into custody or is it to -- or is that necessarily not the objective?
ROBINSON: Well, one of the things that the generals, the Pakistani generals that we spoke to yesterday and today stressed was that one of the things in this engagement that caused things to slow down was their concern for collateral damage on innocent civilians and, again, they addressed the village and they got the women and children, as many as would come out, to come out before they continued their attack but they've been applying very stressful combat power on there.
They did not specifically say whether it was a dead or alive situation. They simply said that it was their intent to kill or capture all the enemy foreign fighters who were in their borders.
PHILLIPS: Well, what you know about al Qaeda's number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri, is this somebody that would come out alive or die what he would believe to be as a martyr?
ROBINSON: I cannot believe that we would see Ayman al-Zawahiri or Osama bin Laden captured alive. I believe that they both would probably fight to the death. Ayman al-Zawahiri was the leader of Egyptian Islamic Jihad leading a very lethal terrorist organization in Egypt before he linked up with bin Laden and he's the guy who really took bin Laden over the edge in terms of getting more lethal in his own thought processes.
PHILLIPS: And these are all Pakistani troops that have this area surrounded. Are there any U.S. troops involved, Special Operations, Special Forces?
ROBINSON: There are a mixture of forces right now. There are Pakistani military special operations tactics forces, a quick reaction force, that was designed to respond to actionable intelligence and then there are tribal militias which are also involved in the tribal areas.
Musharraf met with several of the tribal leaders in that area three days ago to secure their support and to secure his ability to move his army in there. As well there's the Frontier Corps who is there and the regular army conducting these cordon and search operations. No one in the government of Pakistan has mentioned the presence of U.S. forces.
PHILLIPS: If indeed this is al-Zawahiri and he is captured, Ken, do troops believe on the Pakistani side and also U.S. side that he would have information for sure leading to Osama bin Laden, whether he is dead or alive?
ROBINSON: Every one of these captures which has occurred in Pakistan, if you think back to Khalid Sheikh Mohammad or Binalsheibh, each one of them has been found with computer disks, with Rolodexes with pocket litter, all of which have led to more intelligence which has led to more arrests and I suspect that in this case we'll find the same thing because it's clear that they weren't expecting the surprise visit that they got the other day when this offensive operation started.
So, it's likely that they will be able to get more actionable intelligence. The question is where is Osama bin Laden? There are many who opine here that they're not going to find him in a cave but find him somewhere in Pakistan.
PHILLIPS: Long term strategy with al Qaeda, you met with a number of key leaders, both political and military wise while you spent time in country there. What do you know about the president's strategy?
ROBINSON: Well, President Musharraf has a strategy which he calls enlightened moderation. One of those things is to change the realities on the ground. It's his interest to take moderate Muslims and try to convince all Muslims to reject extremism and work on economic development, social development, work on the economy.
His two-pronged approach is to moderate that behavior within the Muslim community and also to reach out to the west to have a resolve for political responses not just the military hammer but also to think about ways to help the Muslim leadership to be able to nurture justice to help the Muslim world with economic development, to take these disenfranchised people that they have in their population, the hungry, the poor and raise their standard of living to the point that they're not longer hopeless because hopelessness is one of the oxygens for terrorism.
PHILLIPS: Our Ken Robinson, CNN Security Analyst right there on the front lines in Pakistan. Thanks so much, Ken.
And if you're just tuning in it's a story we're continuing to follow right now, Pakistani troops believing that they have surrounded al Qaeda's number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri in an operation near the Afghan border. We're getting in information in details as the story develops. We'll continue to keep you updated.
Well it's another night of brazen attacks in Baghdad. No fewer than three apparent rocket or rocket-propelled grenade explosions near a hotel, the Central Bank and the Ministry of Oil. We have no word yet on damage or casualties.
But earlier today on the eve of the first anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion, at least two Iraqi civilians were killed in a firefight in Fallujah. We understand that U.S. forces came under fire from a mosque and fired back.
And far to the south in Basra at least three Iraqis are dead after another car bombing outside another hotel, two suspects under arrest, a third reportedly was stabbed to death by furious passersby.
U.S. forces now say seven people killed in yesterday's explosion at Baghdad's Mount Lebanon Hotel. That's a sizeable reduction from the 28 that were estimated that were killed yesterday.
CNN's Walter Rodgers is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALTER RODGERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The acrid smell of smoke hung over much of Baghdad, even when the sun came up, 12 hours after a car bomb destroyed a mixed residential and commercial neighborhood. The destruction and visions of death will remain long after the scorched smell is washed away.
Many people are listed as having been killed, over 40 injured in Wednesday night's blast, said to have been caused by 1,000 pounds of plastic explosives packed into a vehicle.
U.S. military authorities believe the explosives may also have detonated a large artillery shell in the car, as far as a kilometer away buildings rumbled on their foundations.
At the site of the vehicle bomb outside the Mount Lebanon Hotel, a deep crater has now filled with water from fire trucks trying to extinguish the blaze ignited by the blast. Reportedly it took fire trucks half an hour to reach the scene.
Iraqi police seem to have lacked discipline and did not have a recovery plan, according to one eyewitness. When U.S. soldiers came to help, raging Iraqis at first tried to drive them off. The Arab street needed someone to blame and the U.S. soldiers were convenient.
American authorities responsible for security in Baghdad now believe the murderous car bomb was the work of Islamist militants out to thwart American efforts to establish order and a civil society.
The fingers all seem to point at Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's group or another Islamist group Ansar al-Islam. Predictably, I overheard one Iraqi at the bomb site this morning blaming the Israelis.
The neighborhood seemed an unlikely target for an attack. It is a mixed Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish area.
(on camera): This bombing does not bode well for the coming weeks and months in Iraq, especially with U.S. officials now openly predicting the violence will be repeated and is likely to increase.
Walter Rodgers, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: President Bush today is saluting the U.S. military base that has sacrificed more than any other to the U.S. cause in Iraq. He is at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. That's home to the 101st Airborne Division.
CNN's White House Correspondent Dana Bash is there -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, the president's message here today is essentially job well done. The president came to say that they have done, he believes, a great job over the past year in Iraq, first of all getting rid of Saddam Hussein but also he said taking the steps that were necessary to try to start to begin to build a democracy.
Now, 20,000 members of the 101st Airborne, as you mentioned, were there. They just recently returned. They were in the audience and it was quite a set of images for the president, the commander-in-chief, as he is involved in this election year and touting his national security credentials. These are pictures that are hard to beat by any challenger.
Now many of the folks here participated in some of the key assaults and operations during the war, including capturing and killing Uday and Qusay Hussein, so one year later the president came to say thanks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: One year ago tomorrow, the armed forces of the United States entered Iraq to end the regime of Saddam Hussein. After his years of defiance, we gave the dictator one final chance. He refused and so in one year's time Saddam Hussein has gone from a palace to a bunker to a spider hole to jail.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: And, President Bush also had a not-so-subtle message to the troops essentially telling them not to listen to his Democratic opponent. He has been saying most recently yesterday that President Bush has not been doing what it takes to support the military financially in combat and also for their families here at home.
The president said he certainly has done that, also said that it was important to support the troops with the $87 billion spending bill that was passed in Congress. Senator Kerry did not vote for that.
Now the president also had and is actually at this hour going to meet with some families of those who did not come home. Sixty of the 564 troops killed in Iraq were from this base, so the President and Mrs. Bush are meeting with some of their families at this hour -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Dana Bash, Fort Campbell.
(INTERRUPTED BY BREAKING NEWS)
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Aired March 18, 2004 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Idaho held its Democratic caucuses a month ago and holds its presidential primary two months from now. So why is John Kerry spending five whole days there? Two letters: R&R.
Democratic nominee-to-be and wife Teresa arrived last night in Twin Falls for a campaign respite at their vacation home near the town of Ketchum.
Earlier today, he blasted the Bush administration for what he called failed military and diplomatic policies that Kerry says drive potential allies away.
The Democrat also called for a military family's bill of rights, beginning with health insurance for veterans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need a commander in chief who honors and supports them for real. A commander in chief who repays their risks on the battlefield by providing them with the best weapons and protections as they two go battle. A commander in chief who recognizes their commitment and sacrifice, and offers their families a decent life here at home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, his campaign flopped, but Howard Dean's funding and organizational skills are undisputed by most.
Drawing now on those virtual strengths, the former presidential hopeful is launching Democracy for America, it is called, a grassroots campaign, largely online, to recruit and boost Democratic candidates in state and local races all across the country.
Dean says he's looking for independent thinkers and straight talkers.
Today on "INSIDE POLITICS," the impact of Iraqi violence on the U.S. presidential race: 3:30 Eastern, 12:30 Pacific, right here on CNN. It's hosted by our chief straight talker, Judy Woodruff.
Major league baseball facing some tough pitches of late, mainly those steroid accusations, and now the big leagues are ready to put a stop to at least one questionable supplement. We're not talking about sunflower seeds here.
PHILLIPS: Or bubblegum.
O'BRIEN: Or bubblegum, either.
PHILLIPS: Not getting enough from your personal trainer? Well, try one that not only watches your weight, but also your weight. Holly Firfer here with more on that.
And yes, the madness begins. From Vegas to the office pool, the NCAA basketball tournament is a cash cow for many people. We'll bet on that, right ahead.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM with Kyra Phillips and Miles O'Brien.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Amid a stinging steroid scandal, major league baseball is adding a controversial supplement to its list of banned substances. The sale of THG was banned by the federal government last October after researchers ruled it's just too dangerous.
Now, the sale of THG was banned by the federal government last October, after researchers ruled it was dangerous. Baseball officials say keeping it from players is an important step in developing a zero tolerance policy against performance enhancing drugs.
PHILLIPS: So if your brain is to blame for wrecking your diet, how about training it to do some good? Medical correspondent holly Firfer jobs us now with a new workout program. To sort of get us...
HOLLY FIRFER, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Something different.
PHILLIPS: ... excited.
FIRFER: Imagine being able to train your brain and -- you know, to train your mind to actually crave healthy foods, regular exercise. Seems impossible, right? Well, that's exactly what trainer David Kirsch promises he'll do.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID KIRSCH, WELLNESS TRAINER: I guarantee you I will give you exactly what you want. The results, physical results. You'll feel great; you'll look great.
FIRFER (voice-over): All for a mere $275 an hour for each personal session.
The former lawyer turned wellness trainer is part of a small group of menu monitors now sprouting up in New York and Los Angeles.
KIRSCH: Frog jumps are really great. I say, I've never seen a frog with a flabby butt.
FIRFER: These days, it's not enough to have a trainer hovering over you in the gym as you sweat and flex your way to body beautiful. KIRSCH: If you just train somebody and you don't address nutrition, which I think is 70 percent towards the success of any program, then you're really not giving them a full service.
FIRFER: Stephanie Fray employs Kirsch to govern her gym routine and her munching habits.
STEPHANIE FRAY, CLIENT: When I see him in the mornings, I know he can tell from my face and my body how I ate the day before. And I'm very conscious of that, and for me, I need that. I need that little bit of policing.
FIRFER: And forget about sneaking out on your own.
KIRSCH: I'll call restaurants and I'll say, "Look, Stephanie is coming and just make sure the bread is not on the table. Make sure there's no dressing on the salad, no butter. Do not even bring a dessert menu."
FIRFER: Kirsch's principles are based on the idea of building a sound mind and sound body, the very title of his book where he maps out his version of the food and fitness gospel.
Here, sauteed equals sinful. Steamed says wholesome.
Kirsch's commitment to success extends beyond the studio. For $60 a day, his food delivery service will drop off gourmet styled low- fat meals at your door.
It's no wonder he has a loyal following.
KIRSCH: Once they start, they don't stop. I've had a client for 16 years, one client. And I don't know. I haven't had a relationship go that long yet.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FIRFER: Now, you don't really need to spend a fortune to get in shape. If you can afford a day with Kirsch, great. But the message is, sometimes you just can't do it alone.
Find a support group, some friends perhaps, to help you stay on track. Let them police you and you police them. And stay on target to reach your target.
And as David says, it's not just working out in the gym; you need to watch your entire lifestyle.
But I've got to tell you, Kyra, I just -- you can imagine, $275. Great if you can do it, but how about cut a deal. You come with me; I'll go with you. We'll be fine.
PHILLIPS: We'll go to support each other. Miles is, like, forget that, I'm going to be miserable.
O'BRIEN: I mean, what is the point of going to the restaurant, no bread, no butter, no -- I mean, just stay home. Save yourself a lot of money.
FIRFER: It's social. It's a social occasion.
O'BRIEN: I am hereby offering to...
PHILLIPS: Socially miserable and hungry.
O'BRIEN: Anybody who wants it, $100 a day, I'll be happy to call the cafeteria downstairs and no butter for you, Kyra, or whatever.
PHILLIPS: Thanks a lot, Holly.
O'BRIEN: It's a deal, come on. That's more than 50 percent off.
PHILLIPS: Go to the gym now. Let us know how it was.
FIRFER: I will.
O'BRIEN: All right. Well, something's got the Big Apple all abuzz.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's dreamy and creamy. It's better than having a lover if you don't have one. It's better than Lotto.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: What?
O'BRIEN: What? The Lotto. Yes, the Lotto.
All right. Jeanne Moos fills us in on the delicious details, coming up.
And Fred Katayama joins us for another check on Wall Street. You've got to play to win, right, Fred?
FRED KATAYAMA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Miles. Well, canning spam is proving tougher than lawmakers thought. And that's leading Internet users to log off. Details on that story and more when LIVE FROM continues after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: This just in from the Chicken Little desk: an asteroid will pass close to earth tonight, 5:08 p.m. Eastern time, as a matter of fact. Only 25,000 miles away. That's about as far up as a communications satellite is from where we are right now.
It's only 100 feet in diameter, so it's not something that would cause any great problem if it hit us with a bulls-eye, but you'd certainly know about it if it came our way.
Now, of course, asteroids have shaped our history over the eons. Sixty-five million years ago, as Kyra well knows, a huge, huge hunk of rock caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. Although there still is a bit of scientific debate over this.
But it was over miles in diameter, six miles across. It came toward Earth and hit what is now the Yucatan Peninsula, thus paving the way for the rise of mammals and ultimately all the condos on the Yucatan Peninsula.
Now later, in the course of history -- just to tell you this is not just stuff that happened 65 million years ago. Kyra, you know where that is. That's Siberia. Tanguska, 1908, June of 1908. That's the only warm time in Siberia, I believe, is June.
PHILLIPS: June and July, actually.
O'BRIEN: And one of these things came down, a big rock. It actually exploded above the surface at an altitude of about five miles. Released a 12-megaton blast, flattening all those trees. Of course, nobody knows about it because it was Siberia. There wasn't anybody there to see it.
Now, let's take a look at meteor craters. You've been out to this part of the world.
Let's zoom in using our keyhole technology her to Meteor Crater. Have you seen this in person, Kyra? It's quite a sight to see.
About 50,000 years ago, a big rock came down to Meteor Crater and left this hole about -- well, it's two and a half miles in circumference, over a mile across. It's about 500 feet deep. It's quite a sight to see.
And beyond that, beyond that spectacle, didn't cause any significant impact.
Now, more recently, back in '92, remember this. This is a great piece of videotape. Peekskill, New York, look at this. This is a huge hunk of asteroid. You'd call it a shooting star, but it's actually a piece of meteorite coming across the sky, October of '92, was videotaped by spectators at a football game.
Some of the debris hit that Chevy there. And how would you like that for an insurance claim? "I got struck by an asteroid." Yes, right, pal.
Now just let me give you the big picture here. Take a look at this scene. Look at this scene real quick, though. This is where we live.
We are in the middle of an area of earth-crossing asteroids. The average interval between impacts for fairly large objects about every 300 years. And the average interval between impacts for areas that are populated, every 3,000 years.
Here's a stat to remember. You're safer -- excuse me, it is riskier just living on Earth -- the possibility of an asteroid attack is greater than flying on a commercial aircraft.
So if an asteroid's coming your way, get in a plane and you'll be safe.
PHILLIPS: And fly somewhere.
O'BRIEN: And fly somewhere, but where are you going to go?
PHILLIPS: It's tough.
O'BRIEN: So enjoy the show if you can see it tonight. You need binoculars and you really can't see it from North America, but nevertheless, submitted for your approval.
PHILLIPS: Call in. Let us know. Give us your video.
O'BRIEN: ALL RIGHT.
(STOCK REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Any kind of a toddler will love this story. And you should keep this in mind when you're scolding said toddler for messing with the remote.
Twenty-month-old Billy D'Onofrio of Brewster, New Jersey -- New York, I should say, was just doing what toddlers do every day of the week.
He got a hold of the TV remote. He opened up the battery compartment. But his fiddle fingers must have had the Midas touch, because one of the battery was purple and had the word "winner" on it.
Not sure if he could read that, but his parents did. And they hadn't noticed that there was a special battery put into the remote. They were stunned to learn it was a contest winner worth $100,000.
And little Billy, I guess, is either going to Disney World or college, or something.
PHILLIPS: Let's push the college.
O'BRIEN: Yes, college. Good idea.
PHILLIPS: Come up in the second hour of LIVE FROM, airline passengers who make you sick, literally. How airlines are putting a stop to the spread of sickness in the air.
O'BRIEN: LIVE FROM continues right after we take a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: More blasts heard in Baghdad. Another car bomb attack, this time in Basra. Stepping up the violence on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the war in Iraq.
O'BRIEN: Is one of Osama bin Laden's top lieutenants close to being captured? Pakistan's president telling CNN armed forces have surrounded a high-value target. TED ROWLAND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ted Rowland in Las Vegas where the suspected Ohio freeway sniper is apparently cooperating with authorities. We'll have the very latest on the case, coming up.
PHILLIPS: Screening sick flyers. What airlines and health officials are doing from keeping deadly diseases from showing up on the next flight.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips.
O'BRIEN: I'm miles O'Brien. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
Closing in on al Qaeda. Reports this hour that Pakistani troops may have surrounded Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's right-hand man and the second most important man in that terrorist organization.
Hundred of Pakistani troops said to be involved in the operation near the Afghanistan border.
In an exclusive interview with CNN's Aaron Brown, Pakistani President Musharraf would only say Pakistani forces believe they have surrounded what he called a high value target.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PAKISTANI PRESIDENT: And the army has surrounded -- they surrounded the whole area. It is a very neutral (ph) -- about 30 kilometers. They've taken on the whole (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Then they have surrounded the whole area.
And now, including this day, this was completed by early morning today and they asked locals, women and children, to move out which many did and then they started pounding the area with artillery and helicopters also.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: This is not some small firefight. This is heavy weaponry that's being launched there.
MUSHARRAF: Yes. Yes but the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) started being offered by the people there. We feel that there may be a high value target. I can't say who but they are giving fierce battle at the moment. They are not coming out in spite of the fact that we have pounded them with artillery.
I spoke to the corps commander just now. I knew you were going to ask me this question so I wanted to be current on it. The net is there. They are there. They see very strong dug-in positions. The houses actually there are almost forts. They are mud forts and all these forts are occupied and they are dug in and they are giving fierce resistance. So, he's relatively sure there's a high value target there.
BROWN: I'm now worried you've anticipated all my questions. When you talk about high value targets you know how Americans are going to hear that. We're talking about the top one or two al Qaeda leaders, bin Laden.
MUSHARRAF: Zawahiri.
BROWN: Do you think they're there?
MUSHARRAF: I'm not going to say that because my previous experience is whenever I say it then headlines come that he says well he is there or something like that. I can't. It would just be a guess but I think very likely there is a high value target.
BROWN: Is it --
MUSHARRAF: Who I don't know.
BROWN: I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Now you can see the remainder of that interview tonight on "NEWSNIGHT." That's at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time.
PHILLIPS: Well, as we reported, Pakistani troops believing they have surrounded al Qaeda's number two Ayman al-Zawahiri. On the phone with us now from Islamabad CNN National Security Analyst Ken Robinson, he's been in country. Ken, with this developing news since you and I talked this morning what do you think with regard to these reports?
KEN ROBINSON, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST (via telephone): Well, what's interesting is speaking with senior Pakistani army officials they were describing the tactics which were being used, which included very aggressive enforcement of homes that they had barricaded.
They called them fortresses in this village and they said that they -- the enemy that they were up against was using very sophisticated mortar techniques using mortaring shells against their forces and using target reference points that had been pre-registered.
In other words, they had anticipated that at one point they would have to defend this location and they had very significant defenses outlaid for them and that's why the casualties were so high.
PHILLIPS: Well, when talking about rules in engagement with regard to Pakistani troops if indeed this is Ayman al-Zawahiri that is in this area that has now been surrounded, what are the rules of engagement? Is it to get in there and bring him out alive and take him into custody or is it to -- or is that necessarily not the objective?
ROBINSON: Well, one of the things that the generals, the Pakistani generals that we spoke to yesterday and today stressed was that one of the things in this engagement that caused things to slow down was their concern for collateral damage on innocent civilians and, again, they addressed the village and they got the women and children, as many as would come out, to come out before they continued their attack but they've been applying very stressful combat power on there.
They did not specifically say whether it was a dead or alive situation. They simply said that it was their intent to kill or capture all the enemy foreign fighters who were in their borders.
PHILLIPS: Well, what you know about al Qaeda's number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri, is this somebody that would come out alive or die what he would believe to be as a martyr?
ROBINSON: I cannot believe that we would see Ayman al-Zawahiri or Osama bin Laden captured alive. I believe that they both would probably fight to the death. Ayman al-Zawahiri was the leader of Egyptian Islamic Jihad leading a very lethal terrorist organization in Egypt before he linked up with bin Laden and he's the guy who really took bin Laden over the edge in terms of getting more lethal in his own thought processes.
PHILLIPS: And these are all Pakistani troops that have this area surrounded. Are there any U.S. troops involved, Special Operations, Special Forces?
ROBINSON: There are a mixture of forces right now. There are Pakistani military special operations tactics forces, a quick reaction force, that was designed to respond to actionable intelligence and then there are tribal militias which are also involved in the tribal areas.
Musharraf met with several of the tribal leaders in that area three days ago to secure their support and to secure his ability to move his army in there. As well there's the Frontier Corps who is there and the regular army conducting these cordon and search operations. No one in the government of Pakistan has mentioned the presence of U.S. forces.
PHILLIPS: If indeed this is al-Zawahiri and he is captured, Ken, do troops believe on the Pakistani side and also U.S. side that he would have information for sure leading to Osama bin Laden, whether he is dead or alive?
ROBINSON: Every one of these captures which has occurred in Pakistan, if you think back to Khalid Sheikh Mohammad or Binalsheibh, each one of them has been found with computer disks, with Rolodexes with pocket litter, all of which have led to more intelligence which has led to more arrests and I suspect that in this case we'll find the same thing because it's clear that they weren't expecting the surprise visit that they got the other day when this offensive operation started.
So, it's likely that they will be able to get more actionable intelligence. The question is where is Osama bin Laden? There are many who opine here that they're not going to find him in a cave but find him somewhere in Pakistan.
PHILLIPS: Long term strategy with al Qaeda, you met with a number of key leaders, both political and military wise while you spent time in country there. What do you know about the president's strategy?
ROBINSON: Well, President Musharraf has a strategy which he calls enlightened moderation. One of those things is to change the realities on the ground. It's his interest to take moderate Muslims and try to convince all Muslims to reject extremism and work on economic development, social development, work on the economy.
His two-pronged approach is to moderate that behavior within the Muslim community and also to reach out to the west to have a resolve for political responses not just the military hammer but also to think about ways to help the Muslim leadership to be able to nurture justice to help the Muslim world with economic development, to take these disenfranchised people that they have in their population, the hungry, the poor and raise their standard of living to the point that they're not longer hopeless because hopelessness is one of the oxygens for terrorism.
PHILLIPS: Our Ken Robinson, CNN Security Analyst right there on the front lines in Pakistan. Thanks so much, Ken.
And if you're just tuning in it's a story we're continuing to follow right now, Pakistani troops believing that they have surrounded al Qaeda's number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri in an operation near the Afghan border. We're getting in information in details as the story develops. We'll continue to keep you updated.
Well it's another night of brazen attacks in Baghdad. No fewer than three apparent rocket or rocket-propelled grenade explosions near a hotel, the Central Bank and the Ministry of Oil. We have no word yet on damage or casualties.
But earlier today on the eve of the first anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion, at least two Iraqi civilians were killed in a firefight in Fallujah. We understand that U.S. forces came under fire from a mosque and fired back.
And far to the south in Basra at least three Iraqis are dead after another car bombing outside another hotel, two suspects under arrest, a third reportedly was stabbed to death by furious passersby.
U.S. forces now say seven people killed in yesterday's explosion at Baghdad's Mount Lebanon Hotel. That's a sizeable reduction from the 28 that were estimated that were killed yesterday.
CNN's Walter Rodgers is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALTER RODGERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The acrid smell of smoke hung over much of Baghdad, even when the sun came up, 12 hours after a car bomb destroyed a mixed residential and commercial neighborhood. The destruction and visions of death will remain long after the scorched smell is washed away.
Many people are listed as having been killed, over 40 injured in Wednesday night's blast, said to have been caused by 1,000 pounds of plastic explosives packed into a vehicle.
U.S. military authorities believe the explosives may also have detonated a large artillery shell in the car, as far as a kilometer away buildings rumbled on their foundations.
At the site of the vehicle bomb outside the Mount Lebanon Hotel, a deep crater has now filled with water from fire trucks trying to extinguish the blaze ignited by the blast. Reportedly it took fire trucks half an hour to reach the scene.
Iraqi police seem to have lacked discipline and did not have a recovery plan, according to one eyewitness. When U.S. soldiers came to help, raging Iraqis at first tried to drive them off. The Arab street needed someone to blame and the U.S. soldiers were convenient.
American authorities responsible for security in Baghdad now believe the murderous car bomb was the work of Islamist militants out to thwart American efforts to establish order and a civil society.
The fingers all seem to point at Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's group or another Islamist group Ansar al-Islam. Predictably, I overheard one Iraqi at the bomb site this morning blaming the Israelis.
The neighborhood seemed an unlikely target for an attack. It is a mixed Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish area.
(on camera): This bombing does not bode well for the coming weeks and months in Iraq, especially with U.S. officials now openly predicting the violence will be repeated and is likely to increase.
Walter Rodgers, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: President Bush today is saluting the U.S. military base that has sacrificed more than any other to the U.S. cause in Iraq. He is at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. That's home to the 101st Airborne Division.
CNN's White House Correspondent Dana Bash is there -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, the president's message here today is essentially job well done. The president came to say that they have done, he believes, a great job over the past year in Iraq, first of all getting rid of Saddam Hussein but also he said taking the steps that were necessary to try to start to begin to build a democracy.
Now, 20,000 members of the 101st Airborne, as you mentioned, were there. They just recently returned. They were in the audience and it was quite a set of images for the president, the commander-in-chief, as he is involved in this election year and touting his national security credentials. These are pictures that are hard to beat by any challenger.
Now many of the folks here participated in some of the key assaults and operations during the war, including capturing and killing Uday and Qusay Hussein, so one year later the president came to say thanks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: One year ago tomorrow, the armed forces of the United States entered Iraq to end the regime of Saddam Hussein. After his years of defiance, we gave the dictator one final chance. He refused and so in one year's time Saddam Hussein has gone from a palace to a bunker to a spider hole to jail.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: And, President Bush also had a not-so-subtle message to the troops essentially telling them not to listen to his Democratic opponent. He has been saying most recently yesterday that President Bush has not been doing what it takes to support the military financially in combat and also for their families here at home.
The president said he certainly has done that, also said that it was important to support the troops with the $87 billion spending bill that was passed in Congress. Senator Kerry did not vote for that.
Now the president also had and is actually at this hour going to meet with some families of those who did not come home. Sixty of the 564 troops killed in Iraq were from this base, so the President and Mrs. Bush are meeting with some of their families at this hour -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Dana Bash, Fort Campbell.
(INTERRUPTED BY BREAKING NEWS)
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