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World Leaders Agree to Work Together on Iraq Issue; Ukraine Candidates Dispute Election Results; Study Links Obesity to Brain Atrophy
Aired November 23, 2004 - 13:00 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Inside a raid to root out insurgents trying to wreck Iraq's upcoming elections.
What caused a shooting that left six hunters dead? We're LIVE FROM Wisconsin and its community, still trying to figure out what happened.
And anchor away, a big announcement from CBS News anchorman Dan Rather.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. Miles is off today. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
Up first this hour, the road to democracy. The first major conference on the future of Iraq is over. But the participants are pledging their support for the country, far from it.
CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour is in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, with more -- Christiane.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, as conferences go, this wasn't dramatic. But as most of the participants told us, the most dramatic thing was that it happened at all.
Because there were many, many world leaders, rather foreign ministers here, who frankly had disagreed with the United States over the war in Iraq. And who were, today and yesterday, deciding to resolve to put their differences behind them and try to work towards Iraq's political future.
We interviewed the U.S. secretary of state, Colin Powell, a couple of hours ago. And we asked him about the linchpin of American strategy. Those are the elections scheduled in Iraq for the end of January.
And what would happen if the Sunnis in the Sunni parts of the country, which is the heart of the resistance right now, couldn't participate, wouldn't that throw the elections and its legitimacy into doubt?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, there are still 60-plus days to go before we get to the election. And it is our intention to create conditions throughout the whole countryside, so that all parts of Iraq can participate in the election.
AMANPOUR: What happens if you can't, if despite your best efforts, the Sunni dominated areas can't?
POWELL: The Iraqi government and the election commission will have to make a judgment at that point. But we're going under the assumption that we're going to be able to. And I think that's a safe assumption to go on now.
We have significant forces over there. And the Iraqi forces are growing larger and stronger by the day. And hopefully, we'll be able to impose order in the Sunni triangle so that the Sunni people, the citizens have the same opportunity that all others do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: Now, also, the conference participants, most notably, the Arab foreign minister, said that in tandem with Iraqi elections must go a commitment to the Palestinian elections, which are also scheduled for January.
And they did say that in order to simply try to get beyond the violence that is racking this region, not just Iraq, but the whole region, and in order to try to reduce a pool of recruitment for the foot soldiers in the Jihadi war against America, the Palestinian/Israeli conflict must be resolved.
And Secretary Powell told us the U.S. had recommitted itself to re-energizing that peace process and hope that these Palestinian elections would be the first step towards really resolving the issue -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Christiane Amanpour, thank you so much.
And back in this country, a very public move, concerning very secret motions. President Bush is considering whether someone new should be in charge of paramilitary operations.
Meanwhile, the fight continues over a bill that would overhaul U.S. intelligence.
CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is at her post with more -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Kyra.
All of this likely to come right to the front here in about an hour and a half, when Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and General Richard Myers, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, are expected to hold a press conference here in this briefing room. Intelligence reform is very likely to be topic No. 1.
Now, remember, over the weekend, the Intelligence Reform Bill sunk on Capitol Hill over the question of whether defense intelligence efforts, satellites communications, imagery analysis, whether all of that should be transferred from the CIA -- from, excuse me, from the Pentagon over to a new national intelligence director, whether the Pentagon should give up control over billions of dollars of intelligence programs.
Some -- a handful of key Senate Republicans said no, that they couldn't support that bill, that they wanted to keep it within the Pentagon. And, of course, the bill died.
What has happened now is, of course, the chairman of the joint chiefs, General Myers, when asked by the House Republicans, wrote a letter, saying that he wanted to keep things as they were.
And that led the joint chiefs of staff to support the chairman, of course, and say they wanted to keep things the way they were, that they didn't want any of this to go over to a new national intelligence director, that it was important. Keep it in the Pentagon, they say, so soldiers in the field can get intelligence as quickly as they possibly need it.
All of this now causing a huge political mess. And what's very interesting is political lines being crossed. A key Senate Democrat, speaking earlier today in support of the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: The president of the United States is the commander in chief of our armed forces. He supports this bill. He obviously wouldn't support it if he thought it would do any damage to the American military.
So how -- you know, how can two members of the House stand up to the commander in chief and somehow say that they're going to protect the war fighter better than the president and the rest of us are?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: so, Kyra, all remains to be seen. In about an hour and a half, we should hear from the chairman of the joint chiefs and see what he has to say about the top general's supporting or not supporting this very crucial aspect of intelligence reform -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's go from intelligence reform to, to I guess, this talk of maybe mission reform, when we're talking about paramilitary missions.
The CIA, I'm assuming, wanting to hold on to control of this, Barbara, but now there's talk that possibly these missions would be under the Pentagon. A little controversy here.
STARR: Kyra, the 9/11 Commission had a recommendation that CIA paramilitary operations basically now fall under the Pentagon, that they conduct all paramilitary operations.
It was a recommendation that got a very lukewarm reception anywhere. A lot of people thought everything should stay just the way it is. But now the president has asked for a 90-day review of this. We are told by top Pentagon officials that they don't expect it to change. This is an effort to show the White House is trying to, in good faith, to look at the 9/11 Commission recommendations.
These paramilitary operations are some of the most secret, covert operations undertaken by the United States. There's no indication at the moment the Pentagon wants to take them on. They think they have plenty of business just the way things are -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Barbara Starr, thank you so much. We do have this programming note. The Pentagon is scheduled to hold a briefing less than 90 minutes from now. CNN will bring that to you live. so stay with us.
Iconic targets, terrorist and suicide missions. It's proved to be a horrific combination on September 11, 2001. Now Britain is dealing with unconfirmed reports something similar was in the works for its capital.
ITN is among media outlets citing unidentified sources. Here's Nic Robertson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's one of the capital's most famous landmarks. It's the financial heart of London's Docklands (ph). People who work here know it's a potential target. Hundreds have been trained to respond in what the police call Operation Britain.
These pictures are a horrific reminder of the terrible consequences, previously unthinkable, of flying a plane into a building. A remainder, too, of how easy it proved.
A passenger who trained as a pilot strolled through airport security, his heart set on suicide, a mass murder.
I'm told that the plan for the attack on Canary Wharf also involved terrorists would trained as pilot. I've not been told how or when it was uncovered or how close they came.
But this was not the only target. The terrorists were also plotting its claim to crash planes into Heathrow Airport.
This revelation comes just days after the home secretary, David Blunkett, warned that al Qaeda "are on our doorstep and threatening our lives." The threat, he said, "will be demonstrated through the courts in the months to come."
The head of the metropolitan police, John Stevens, claimed last week that "we've thwarted a number of attacks. We've disrupted them."
And MI-5's head, Eliza Manningham-Buller, recently told an employer's conference that their businesses should prepare for terrorist attacks. The authorities have always been reluctant to reveal the warnings they're given. But a year and a half ago, they had no choice. The army surrounded Heathrow. The government were accused of scare mongering.
But they and their advisers insisted then, and do today, that they had a real warning, of shoulder-launched missiles being used to down a plane.
In recent month, MI-5's budget has been doubled, new recruits sought and a unit created to filter all intelligence received.
Security at airports has been stepped up here, in the United States and in much of Europe, although intelligence experts are now focusing on what they believe to be weaker security systems in Eastern Europe.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And the reports were published just before Britain announced new plans to fight crime and terrorism. It wasn't your average government speech. Britain's Queen Elizabeth unveiled the measures during a traditional address to Parliament.
She says the creation of a new agency to tackle organized crime and the introduction of national identity cards are at the heart of the agenda.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUEEN ELIZABETH II, UNITED KINGDOM: My government will legislate to introduce an identity card scheme and will publish proposals to support the continuing fight against terrorism in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Terrorism is also a worry in India today. U.S. diplomatic offices in Mumbai are closed because of security concerns.
The U.S. consulate web site said that intelligence indicates that terrorists may be planning attacks on U.S. interests in Mumbai and New Delhi. The consulate is also warning Americans in India to be extra careful and alert when visiting clubs, restaurants, and other public areas.
Well, there's a big election mess in the world today. It has nothing to do with hanging chads or a butterfly ballot. A losing presidential candidate in Ukraine is warning the country could descend into civil war if the results are not annulled. He's even taken a symbolic oath of office.
Jim Dougherty joins us now by videophone from Kiev.
Jill, what's the deal? JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, it really is an amazing situation. You have two men who are claiming that they actually have won this election.
One of them is the official person. He is the government- supported Viktor Yanukovych, and he is leading, although they haven't come out with a final official result, but he is leading by three percentage points. And in effect that means he has won.
But the opposition candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, is claiming that they election was stolen. And so what Yushchenko has been doing is drawing people into the street.
Demonstrations here in Kiev, the capital, virtually around the clock now. You've had them for two days, and they're calling people back again tomorrow. And they're very, very big demonstrations, Kyra. Tens of thousands of people. So far, very peaceful, I should note.
The one extraordinary moment today, where the candidate, the opposition candidate, Yushchenko, was in the parliament and he actually took a symbolic oath of office as president, putting his hand on the Bible. It was just a symbol, but a very potent symbol.
So they tried a couple of other things, too. A measure of no confidence in the parliament in the election commission. But that didn't work. So it will be back to the streets again and hopefully continuing to be peaceful. But there's no resolution to this in sight.
PHILLIPS: Jill, you're giving us the political perspective from there in-country. We're looking at live picture now, which are pretty amazing. It's even on the front page of "The New York Times" today here in the states.
Can you put into perspective for us, here in the states, of why this is so significant and why we are talking about it globally and not just there locally?
DOUGHERTY: Well, you know, this No. 1, is a big country. We kind of forget that there are 48 million people here. It's a big country. It's a big, industrialized country. And its location has always been very important, midway between Europe and Russia.
And if you want to put it in simple terms, it's a movement either with the opposition candidate, who is a Western-leaning politician. He wants to move Ukraine closer to the West, to move it into Europe, the World Trade Organization, and even NATO.
And the government-supported candidate, who has some of that -- certainly, he's not going to cut the country off from the rest of the world. But he wants to move towards Russia.
So where this country goes and whether the will of the people -- and that's the most important thing. Whether this election really was a correctly carried out -- and whether they were able to have their will respected, is the most important thing. And you have to look at the international observers who said that there were violations. So that's what people are angry about. But, again, so far, in spite of very, very big numbers on the streets, it's been peaceful.
PHILLIPS: Jill Dougherty, joining us live via phone there from Kiev. Thank you so much. We'll follow the story.
Well, back here in the U.S., anchor away. CBS has announced veteran Dan Rather will step down from his post in March. That date will mark 24 years since he took over from Walter Cronkite.
Rather has been under fire lately for his role in a story questioning President Bush's service in the National Guard.
Howard Kurtz, the host of CNN's "RELIABLE SOURCES," joins us now.
Howie, I know you've had a pretty good relationship with Dan Rather. You've talked to him quite a bit since the beginning of this story, with regard to "60 Minutes." What did he tell you last night?
HOWARD KURTZ, HOST, "RELIABLE SOURCES": I've not spoken to him in the last 24 hours, Kyra. But I have talked to people at CBS.
And it's pretty clear that Dan Rather faced a very unpalatable choice. Should he give up the job that he loves that, under ordinary circumstances, he would be gripping with both hands and trying to hold onto? His contract had at least two more years to run.
Or should he step down now before the outside investigative report, commissioned by CBS News, comes in, expected in the next few week, about his botching, and the network's botching of that story about President Bush's National Guard service.
Obviously, Rather deciding today that it would be better for him to step down on his own terms.
PHILLIPS: Looking at his career, I mean this doesn't mean that his career is over, necessarily. Isn't this more of, sort of -- I guess a change in the industry, sort of the end of an age and kind of a beginning of a new era? If we wanted to look at the big picture?
KURTZ: Well, I mean, Dan Rather is going to continue to work for CBS news. He'll be on "60 Minutes." He's not going to ride off into the Texas sunset.
But his career is over, at least as of next March 9, as far as being the face of CBS News. There will be a new anchor sitting in that chair. Right now being we don't know who that is going to be.
And yes, there are a lot of changes. In fact, next week, Tom Brokaw gives up the anchor chair at NBC after a similar two decade, Brian Williams taking over there. So we are seeing a shift in the industry, a new generation, a younger generation, taking over.
Only in this case, I think if Rather had had his way, that shift would have taken place a little bit down the road.
PHILLIPS: Howie, taking a look at two quotes from Dan Rather today. "I've been lucky and blessed over these years to have what is to me, the best job in the world and to have it at CBS News. Along the way, I've had the honor of working with some of the most talented, dedicated professionals in the world, and I'm appreciative of the opportunity to continue doing so in the years ahead."
We seem to be focused on what happened with the "60 Minutes" story, but I guess we can't forget the past 20-plus years and the images we have of Dan Rather and the stories that he's covered and the riveting interviews that he's had.
KURTZ: That's an excellent point. I mean, it is too bad that that -- this self-inflicted wound, this mistake on the National Guard story, is going to be the freshest thing in people's minds with his decision now to step down before that investigation is completed.
But talking about a guy who's worked for CBS News for 40 years, covered the White House under Nixon, interviewed Saddam Hussein in Baghdad just before the war began, and always -- was never chained to the anchor desk.
I often used to talk to him about how he liked -- he would go out and cover hurricanes even at the age of 50 or 60 or 65.
He was a reporter at heart. He made mistakes. He was controversial. He got into that shouting match with then Vice President Bush over the Iran-Contra affair.
So he was sort of the highest voltage, you might say, of the big three anchors. But a lot of accomplishments in that career, as well, that should not be overlooked.
PHILLIPS: Howie, we shouldn't forget that hurricane coverage. I think after we saw that live shot with him holding onto the light pole, we saw every local reporter around the country doing the same thing.
KURTZ: Right.
PHILLIPS: Howie Kurtz, thank you so much.
KURTZ: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, flooded out, rescuers rush in after a woman gets trapped. We're going to have the rest of the story just ahead on LIVE FROM.
And she's 72 and ready to head to a war zone. A grandma volunteers to go where many fear to even step foot into.
Also ahead, remember this? The sandwich with the holy image could now go on record as the most expensive grilled cheese ever. We're going to take a bite out of that one, later on LIVE FROM.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Two people caught up in Friday's basketball brawl are speaking out over what happened and the repercussions that followed.
The fight at the Pacers/Pistons game started on the court and made its way into the stands. Indiana Pacers forward Ron Artest ended up suspended for the entire season. Artest and the man who's accused throwing a drink at him added in their two cents today about what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RON ARTEST, SUSPENDED PACERS PLAYER: I wish that situation had never happened, you know. It wasn't -- it wasn't good at all, you know, for anybody. David Stern, he's been pretty good to me throughout the years, and I don't think it was fair.
JOHN GREEN, POURED DRINK ON RON ARTEST: Ron Artest went through the whole stadium punching people the whole night. That was totally -- he was -- he was being a thug. That's all he was being. I mean, he was -- he was just a time bomb waiting to happen.
As for -- like -- like Ben Wallace said, you know. Do we feel sorry for him? You know, life's too short to feel sorry for anybody. I'll quote him on that. And it is. I don't feel sorry for him. He did what he did. He's got to pay the price.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Well, you can hear what else John Green has to say about Friday night's brawl. He'll be Larry King's guest tonight on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE." That's 9 Eastern, 6 Pacific.
It's that over the river and through the woods time of year again. But if a certain Oklahoma family heads to grandmother's house for the holidays this year, she probably won't be there. She's headed to Iraq.
After a week of training at Fort Bliss, 72-year-old Lena Haddix will head to Germany and then be deployed into the war zone. It's a job this grandmother to eight and great-grandmother to three volunteered to do.
Haddix was a military wife and has worked at the fort's P.X. since 1977. As a civilian employee of the Department of Defense, she's expected to have a similar job in Iraq, working ten hours a day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LENA HADDIX, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE EMPLOYEE: I feel good about going. I'm not scared. Of course, I know there will be times I will be scared, but I'll be -- I'll get over it.
(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: We'll be following her trip.
Other news across America now.
An Arizona woman finds herself up a creek and in serious trouble. That woman got caught up in floodwaters in Flagstaff, Arizona. A couple of dozen firefighters had to paddle in and pull her out to safety.
Texas could see some relief from rain today. Days of heavy rains in south and central Texas have flooded homes and forced highways to close. One traffic-related death is blamed on those storms.
The Coast Guard has snagged millions of dollars worth of cocaine in a series of high sea busts. A Coast Guard cutter based in South Carolina returned yesterday from a two-month patrol. During the operation, it helped seize more than $900 million worth of cocaine. Thirty-three people were arrested.
And back in Texas, a mother accused of an unspeakable crime. Police say Dena Schlosser confessed to cutting off the arms of her 11- month-old daughter. Authorities say that she has a history of postpartum depression. She's charged with capital murder.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM, feel like you're losing your mind? The cure could be losing some weight. New information on the mind-body connection.
Later on LIVE FROM...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need you to show us where your house is. Or he can show us where the house is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody can.
PHILLIPS: Critical mission in Mosul. CNN's Nic Robertson takes you on patrol with Army soldiers trying to wipe out resistance to upcoming elections in Iraq.
Tomorrow on LIVE FROM, planes...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All aboard!
PHILLIPS: ... trains and automobiles. As Americans head home for the holidays, we'll be tracking the delays for the deluge of Thanksgiving travelers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: This is a loaded question. Do you ever feel like you're losing your mind? I think we can all say yes. Well, guess what? It might be your weight that's causing the problem.
Here to explain is CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.
Oh, boy. That's a scary connection.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is a scary connection. And who would have thought?
I mean, everyone knows that there's a link between your weight and heart disease, between your weight and high blood pressure. But now an intriguing study out of Sweden.
What they did is they looked at 290 women over a period of 24 years. And they followed their weight and then they also looked at their brains to see what kind of brain atrophy there had been.
And here's what they found. What they found is that for every point that their BMI went higher, and that's body mass index, which is a measure of weight, every point that it went higher that person had an 11 percent to 14 percent increased risk of having temporal lobe atrophy.
Now, you might say, well, gee, what's a point of BMI? What does that mean, exactly? So we have for you an example.
For example, if a woman -- or person is 5'4" a BMI of 25 would be 145. If it went up just one point, there was that increased risk of that kind of brain atrophy. And that would be 151 pounds. So just that six-pound difference, according to this study, makes a difference in brain atrophy.
And we have a picture of what brain atrophy looks like. A normal brain is on the left. And an atrophied brain is on the right.
PHILLIPS: So how do you know it's not Alzheimer's?
COHEN: You hear brain atrophy, and you think, oh, my goodness.
PHILLIPS: Right.
COHEN: Those poor women. They must not be able to think or do anything. So we want to set the record straight. We're not talking about dementia. We're not talking about Alzheimer's Disease.
People can have brain atrophy and you wouldn't even know it. Goodness, maybe Kyra and I sitting here right now have brain atrophy. It happens and it doesn't necessarily mean there's any kind of limited function. It is just something that can happen. It does not mean dementia. It does not mean Alzheimer's.
PHILLIPS: OK. So then explain the link between the brain atrophy and the obesity. COHEN: They're not really sure. The link is not clear. However, there are a couple of theories. One them is that it's not the fat that's really a problem for the brain. It's what the fat causes.
For example, being overweight can lead to high blood pressure. And perhaps it's the high blood pressure that's causing problems, that's causing changes in the brain. That's one theory. They really don't know.
PHILLIPS: Wow. All right. We'll follow it more. Thanks, Elizabeth Cohen.
COHEN: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: Well, McDonald's CEO is resigning after just seven months on the job. Rhonda Schaffler joins us at the New York Stock Exchange with the details.
What happened, Rhonda?
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Aired November 23, 2004 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Inside a raid to root out insurgents trying to wreck Iraq's upcoming elections.
What caused a shooting that left six hunters dead? We're LIVE FROM Wisconsin and its community, still trying to figure out what happened.
And anchor away, a big announcement from CBS News anchorman Dan Rather.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. Miles is off today. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
Up first this hour, the road to democracy. The first major conference on the future of Iraq is over. But the participants are pledging their support for the country, far from it.
CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour is in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, with more -- Christiane.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, as conferences go, this wasn't dramatic. But as most of the participants told us, the most dramatic thing was that it happened at all.
Because there were many, many world leaders, rather foreign ministers here, who frankly had disagreed with the United States over the war in Iraq. And who were, today and yesterday, deciding to resolve to put their differences behind them and try to work towards Iraq's political future.
We interviewed the U.S. secretary of state, Colin Powell, a couple of hours ago. And we asked him about the linchpin of American strategy. Those are the elections scheduled in Iraq for the end of January.
And what would happen if the Sunnis in the Sunni parts of the country, which is the heart of the resistance right now, couldn't participate, wouldn't that throw the elections and its legitimacy into doubt?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, there are still 60-plus days to go before we get to the election. And it is our intention to create conditions throughout the whole countryside, so that all parts of Iraq can participate in the election.
AMANPOUR: What happens if you can't, if despite your best efforts, the Sunni dominated areas can't?
POWELL: The Iraqi government and the election commission will have to make a judgment at that point. But we're going under the assumption that we're going to be able to. And I think that's a safe assumption to go on now.
We have significant forces over there. And the Iraqi forces are growing larger and stronger by the day. And hopefully, we'll be able to impose order in the Sunni triangle so that the Sunni people, the citizens have the same opportunity that all others do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: Now, also, the conference participants, most notably, the Arab foreign minister, said that in tandem with Iraqi elections must go a commitment to the Palestinian elections, which are also scheduled for January.
And they did say that in order to simply try to get beyond the violence that is racking this region, not just Iraq, but the whole region, and in order to try to reduce a pool of recruitment for the foot soldiers in the Jihadi war against America, the Palestinian/Israeli conflict must be resolved.
And Secretary Powell told us the U.S. had recommitted itself to re-energizing that peace process and hope that these Palestinian elections would be the first step towards really resolving the issue -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Christiane Amanpour, thank you so much.
And back in this country, a very public move, concerning very secret motions. President Bush is considering whether someone new should be in charge of paramilitary operations.
Meanwhile, the fight continues over a bill that would overhaul U.S. intelligence.
CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is at her post with more -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Kyra.
All of this likely to come right to the front here in about an hour and a half, when Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and General Richard Myers, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, are expected to hold a press conference here in this briefing room. Intelligence reform is very likely to be topic No. 1.
Now, remember, over the weekend, the Intelligence Reform Bill sunk on Capitol Hill over the question of whether defense intelligence efforts, satellites communications, imagery analysis, whether all of that should be transferred from the CIA -- from, excuse me, from the Pentagon over to a new national intelligence director, whether the Pentagon should give up control over billions of dollars of intelligence programs.
Some -- a handful of key Senate Republicans said no, that they couldn't support that bill, that they wanted to keep it within the Pentagon. And, of course, the bill died.
What has happened now is, of course, the chairman of the joint chiefs, General Myers, when asked by the House Republicans, wrote a letter, saying that he wanted to keep things as they were.
And that led the joint chiefs of staff to support the chairman, of course, and say they wanted to keep things the way they were, that they didn't want any of this to go over to a new national intelligence director, that it was important. Keep it in the Pentagon, they say, so soldiers in the field can get intelligence as quickly as they possibly need it.
All of this now causing a huge political mess. And what's very interesting is political lines being crossed. A key Senate Democrat, speaking earlier today in support of the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: The president of the United States is the commander in chief of our armed forces. He supports this bill. He obviously wouldn't support it if he thought it would do any damage to the American military.
So how -- you know, how can two members of the House stand up to the commander in chief and somehow say that they're going to protect the war fighter better than the president and the rest of us are?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: so, Kyra, all remains to be seen. In about an hour and a half, we should hear from the chairman of the joint chiefs and see what he has to say about the top general's supporting or not supporting this very crucial aspect of intelligence reform -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's go from intelligence reform to, to I guess, this talk of maybe mission reform, when we're talking about paramilitary missions.
The CIA, I'm assuming, wanting to hold on to control of this, Barbara, but now there's talk that possibly these missions would be under the Pentagon. A little controversy here.
STARR: Kyra, the 9/11 Commission had a recommendation that CIA paramilitary operations basically now fall under the Pentagon, that they conduct all paramilitary operations.
It was a recommendation that got a very lukewarm reception anywhere. A lot of people thought everything should stay just the way it is. But now the president has asked for a 90-day review of this. We are told by top Pentagon officials that they don't expect it to change. This is an effort to show the White House is trying to, in good faith, to look at the 9/11 Commission recommendations.
These paramilitary operations are some of the most secret, covert operations undertaken by the United States. There's no indication at the moment the Pentagon wants to take them on. They think they have plenty of business just the way things are -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Barbara Starr, thank you so much. We do have this programming note. The Pentagon is scheduled to hold a briefing less than 90 minutes from now. CNN will bring that to you live. so stay with us.
Iconic targets, terrorist and suicide missions. It's proved to be a horrific combination on September 11, 2001. Now Britain is dealing with unconfirmed reports something similar was in the works for its capital.
ITN is among media outlets citing unidentified sources. Here's Nic Robertson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's one of the capital's most famous landmarks. It's the financial heart of London's Docklands (ph). People who work here know it's a potential target. Hundreds have been trained to respond in what the police call Operation Britain.
These pictures are a horrific reminder of the terrible consequences, previously unthinkable, of flying a plane into a building. A remainder, too, of how easy it proved.
A passenger who trained as a pilot strolled through airport security, his heart set on suicide, a mass murder.
I'm told that the plan for the attack on Canary Wharf also involved terrorists would trained as pilot. I've not been told how or when it was uncovered or how close they came.
But this was not the only target. The terrorists were also plotting its claim to crash planes into Heathrow Airport.
This revelation comes just days after the home secretary, David Blunkett, warned that al Qaeda "are on our doorstep and threatening our lives." The threat, he said, "will be demonstrated through the courts in the months to come."
The head of the metropolitan police, John Stevens, claimed last week that "we've thwarted a number of attacks. We've disrupted them."
And MI-5's head, Eliza Manningham-Buller, recently told an employer's conference that their businesses should prepare for terrorist attacks. The authorities have always been reluctant to reveal the warnings they're given. But a year and a half ago, they had no choice. The army surrounded Heathrow. The government were accused of scare mongering.
But they and their advisers insisted then, and do today, that they had a real warning, of shoulder-launched missiles being used to down a plane.
In recent month, MI-5's budget has been doubled, new recruits sought and a unit created to filter all intelligence received.
Security at airports has been stepped up here, in the United States and in much of Europe, although intelligence experts are now focusing on what they believe to be weaker security systems in Eastern Europe.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And the reports were published just before Britain announced new plans to fight crime and terrorism. It wasn't your average government speech. Britain's Queen Elizabeth unveiled the measures during a traditional address to Parliament.
She says the creation of a new agency to tackle organized crime and the introduction of national identity cards are at the heart of the agenda.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUEEN ELIZABETH II, UNITED KINGDOM: My government will legislate to introduce an identity card scheme and will publish proposals to support the continuing fight against terrorism in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.
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PHILLIPS: Terrorism is also a worry in India today. U.S. diplomatic offices in Mumbai are closed because of security concerns.
The U.S. consulate web site said that intelligence indicates that terrorists may be planning attacks on U.S. interests in Mumbai and New Delhi. The consulate is also warning Americans in India to be extra careful and alert when visiting clubs, restaurants, and other public areas.
Well, there's a big election mess in the world today. It has nothing to do with hanging chads or a butterfly ballot. A losing presidential candidate in Ukraine is warning the country could descend into civil war if the results are not annulled. He's even taken a symbolic oath of office.
Jim Dougherty joins us now by videophone from Kiev.
Jill, what's the deal? JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, it really is an amazing situation. You have two men who are claiming that they actually have won this election.
One of them is the official person. He is the government- supported Viktor Yanukovych, and he is leading, although they haven't come out with a final official result, but he is leading by three percentage points. And in effect that means he has won.
But the opposition candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, is claiming that they election was stolen. And so what Yushchenko has been doing is drawing people into the street.
Demonstrations here in Kiev, the capital, virtually around the clock now. You've had them for two days, and they're calling people back again tomorrow. And they're very, very big demonstrations, Kyra. Tens of thousands of people. So far, very peaceful, I should note.
The one extraordinary moment today, where the candidate, the opposition candidate, Yushchenko, was in the parliament and he actually took a symbolic oath of office as president, putting his hand on the Bible. It was just a symbol, but a very potent symbol.
So they tried a couple of other things, too. A measure of no confidence in the parliament in the election commission. But that didn't work. So it will be back to the streets again and hopefully continuing to be peaceful. But there's no resolution to this in sight.
PHILLIPS: Jill, you're giving us the political perspective from there in-country. We're looking at live picture now, which are pretty amazing. It's even on the front page of "The New York Times" today here in the states.
Can you put into perspective for us, here in the states, of why this is so significant and why we are talking about it globally and not just there locally?
DOUGHERTY: Well, you know, this No. 1, is a big country. We kind of forget that there are 48 million people here. It's a big country. It's a big, industrialized country. And its location has always been very important, midway between Europe and Russia.
And if you want to put it in simple terms, it's a movement either with the opposition candidate, who is a Western-leaning politician. He wants to move Ukraine closer to the West, to move it into Europe, the World Trade Organization, and even NATO.
And the government-supported candidate, who has some of that -- certainly, he's not going to cut the country off from the rest of the world. But he wants to move towards Russia.
So where this country goes and whether the will of the people -- and that's the most important thing. Whether this election really was a correctly carried out -- and whether they were able to have their will respected, is the most important thing. And you have to look at the international observers who said that there were violations. So that's what people are angry about. But, again, so far, in spite of very, very big numbers on the streets, it's been peaceful.
PHILLIPS: Jill Dougherty, joining us live via phone there from Kiev. Thank you so much. We'll follow the story.
Well, back here in the U.S., anchor away. CBS has announced veteran Dan Rather will step down from his post in March. That date will mark 24 years since he took over from Walter Cronkite.
Rather has been under fire lately for his role in a story questioning President Bush's service in the National Guard.
Howard Kurtz, the host of CNN's "RELIABLE SOURCES," joins us now.
Howie, I know you've had a pretty good relationship with Dan Rather. You've talked to him quite a bit since the beginning of this story, with regard to "60 Minutes." What did he tell you last night?
HOWARD KURTZ, HOST, "RELIABLE SOURCES": I've not spoken to him in the last 24 hours, Kyra. But I have talked to people at CBS.
And it's pretty clear that Dan Rather faced a very unpalatable choice. Should he give up the job that he loves that, under ordinary circumstances, he would be gripping with both hands and trying to hold onto? His contract had at least two more years to run.
Or should he step down now before the outside investigative report, commissioned by CBS News, comes in, expected in the next few week, about his botching, and the network's botching of that story about President Bush's National Guard service.
Obviously, Rather deciding today that it would be better for him to step down on his own terms.
PHILLIPS: Looking at his career, I mean this doesn't mean that his career is over, necessarily. Isn't this more of, sort of -- I guess a change in the industry, sort of the end of an age and kind of a beginning of a new era? If we wanted to look at the big picture?
KURTZ: Well, I mean, Dan Rather is going to continue to work for CBS news. He'll be on "60 Minutes." He's not going to ride off into the Texas sunset.
But his career is over, at least as of next March 9, as far as being the face of CBS News. There will be a new anchor sitting in that chair. Right now being we don't know who that is going to be.
And yes, there are a lot of changes. In fact, next week, Tom Brokaw gives up the anchor chair at NBC after a similar two decade, Brian Williams taking over there. So we are seeing a shift in the industry, a new generation, a younger generation, taking over.
Only in this case, I think if Rather had had his way, that shift would have taken place a little bit down the road.
PHILLIPS: Howie, taking a look at two quotes from Dan Rather today. "I've been lucky and blessed over these years to have what is to me, the best job in the world and to have it at CBS News. Along the way, I've had the honor of working with some of the most talented, dedicated professionals in the world, and I'm appreciative of the opportunity to continue doing so in the years ahead."
We seem to be focused on what happened with the "60 Minutes" story, but I guess we can't forget the past 20-plus years and the images we have of Dan Rather and the stories that he's covered and the riveting interviews that he's had.
KURTZ: That's an excellent point. I mean, it is too bad that that -- this self-inflicted wound, this mistake on the National Guard story, is going to be the freshest thing in people's minds with his decision now to step down before that investigation is completed.
But talking about a guy who's worked for CBS News for 40 years, covered the White House under Nixon, interviewed Saddam Hussein in Baghdad just before the war began, and always -- was never chained to the anchor desk.
I often used to talk to him about how he liked -- he would go out and cover hurricanes even at the age of 50 or 60 or 65.
He was a reporter at heart. He made mistakes. He was controversial. He got into that shouting match with then Vice President Bush over the Iran-Contra affair.
So he was sort of the highest voltage, you might say, of the big three anchors. But a lot of accomplishments in that career, as well, that should not be overlooked.
PHILLIPS: Howie, we shouldn't forget that hurricane coverage. I think after we saw that live shot with him holding onto the light pole, we saw every local reporter around the country doing the same thing.
KURTZ: Right.
PHILLIPS: Howie Kurtz, thank you so much.
KURTZ: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, flooded out, rescuers rush in after a woman gets trapped. We're going to have the rest of the story just ahead on LIVE FROM.
And she's 72 and ready to head to a war zone. A grandma volunteers to go where many fear to even step foot into.
Also ahead, remember this? The sandwich with the holy image could now go on record as the most expensive grilled cheese ever. We're going to take a bite out of that one, later on LIVE FROM.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Two people caught up in Friday's basketball brawl are speaking out over what happened and the repercussions that followed.
The fight at the Pacers/Pistons game started on the court and made its way into the stands. Indiana Pacers forward Ron Artest ended up suspended for the entire season. Artest and the man who's accused throwing a drink at him added in their two cents today about what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RON ARTEST, SUSPENDED PACERS PLAYER: I wish that situation had never happened, you know. It wasn't -- it wasn't good at all, you know, for anybody. David Stern, he's been pretty good to me throughout the years, and I don't think it was fair.
JOHN GREEN, POURED DRINK ON RON ARTEST: Ron Artest went through the whole stadium punching people the whole night. That was totally -- he was -- he was being a thug. That's all he was being. I mean, he was -- he was just a time bomb waiting to happen.
As for -- like -- like Ben Wallace said, you know. Do we feel sorry for him? You know, life's too short to feel sorry for anybody. I'll quote him on that. And it is. I don't feel sorry for him. He did what he did. He's got to pay the price.
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Well, you can hear what else John Green has to say about Friday night's brawl. He'll be Larry King's guest tonight on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE." That's 9 Eastern, 6 Pacific.
It's that over the river and through the woods time of year again. But if a certain Oklahoma family heads to grandmother's house for the holidays this year, she probably won't be there. She's headed to Iraq.
After a week of training at Fort Bliss, 72-year-old Lena Haddix will head to Germany and then be deployed into the war zone. It's a job this grandmother to eight and great-grandmother to three volunteered to do.
Haddix was a military wife and has worked at the fort's P.X. since 1977. As a civilian employee of the Department of Defense, she's expected to have a similar job in Iraq, working ten hours a day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LENA HADDIX, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE EMPLOYEE: I feel good about going. I'm not scared. Of course, I know there will be times I will be scared, but I'll be -- I'll get over it.
(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: We'll be following her trip.
Other news across America now.
An Arizona woman finds herself up a creek and in serious trouble. That woman got caught up in floodwaters in Flagstaff, Arizona. A couple of dozen firefighters had to paddle in and pull her out to safety.
Texas could see some relief from rain today. Days of heavy rains in south and central Texas have flooded homes and forced highways to close. One traffic-related death is blamed on those storms.
The Coast Guard has snagged millions of dollars worth of cocaine in a series of high sea busts. A Coast Guard cutter based in South Carolina returned yesterday from a two-month patrol. During the operation, it helped seize more than $900 million worth of cocaine. Thirty-three people were arrested.
And back in Texas, a mother accused of an unspeakable crime. Police say Dena Schlosser confessed to cutting off the arms of her 11- month-old daughter. Authorities say that she has a history of postpartum depression. She's charged with capital murder.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM, feel like you're losing your mind? The cure could be losing some weight. New information on the mind-body connection.
Later on LIVE FROM...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need you to show us where your house is. Or he can show us where the house is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody can.
PHILLIPS: Critical mission in Mosul. CNN's Nic Robertson takes you on patrol with Army soldiers trying to wipe out resistance to upcoming elections in Iraq.
Tomorrow on LIVE FROM, planes...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All aboard!
PHILLIPS: ... trains and automobiles. As Americans head home for the holidays, we'll be tracking the delays for the deluge of Thanksgiving travelers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: This is a loaded question. Do you ever feel like you're losing your mind? I think we can all say yes. Well, guess what? It might be your weight that's causing the problem.
Here to explain is CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.
Oh, boy. That's a scary connection.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is a scary connection. And who would have thought?
I mean, everyone knows that there's a link between your weight and heart disease, between your weight and high blood pressure. But now an intriguing study out of Sweden.
What they did is they looked at 290 women over a period of 24 years. And they followed their weight and then they also looked at their brains to see what kind of brain atrophy there had been.
And here's what they found. What they found is that for every point that their BMI went higher, and that's body mass index, which is a measure of weight, every point that it went higher that person had an 11 percent to 14 percent increased risk of having temporal lobe atrophy.
Now, you might say, well, gee, what's a point of BMI? What does that mean, exactly? So we have for you an example.
For example, if a woman -- or person is 5'4" a BMI of 25 would be 145. If it went up just one point, there was that increased risk of that kind of brain atrophy. And that would be 151 pounds. So just that six-pound difference, according to this study, makes a difference in brain atrophy.
And we have a picture of what brain atrophy looks like. A normal brain is on the left. And an atrophied brain is on the right.
PHILLIPS: So how do you know it's not Alzheimer's?
COHEN: You hear brain atrophy, and you think, oh, my goodness.
PHILLIPS: Right.
COHEN: Those poor women. They must not be able to think or do anything. So we want to set the record straight. We're not talking about dementia. We're not talking about Alzheimer's Disease.
People can have brain atrophy and you wouldn't even know it. Goodness, maybe Kyra and I sitting here right now have brain atrophy. It happens and it doesn't necessarily mean there's any kind of limited function. It is just something that can happen. It does not mean dementia. It does not mean Alzheimer's.
PHILLIPS: OK. So then explain the link between the brain atrophy and the obesity. COHEN: They're not really sure. The link is not clear. However, there are a couple of theories. One them is that it's not the fat that's really a problem for the brain. It's what the fat causes.
For example, being overweight can lead to high blood pressure. And perhaps it's the high blood pressure that's causing problems, that's causing changes in the brain. That's one theory. They really don't know.
PHILLIPS: Wow. All right. We'll follow it more. Thanks, Elizabeth Cohen.
COHEN: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: Well, McDonald's CEO is resigning after just seven months on the job. Rhonda Schaffler joins us at the New York Stock Exchange with the details.
What happened, Rhonda?
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