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109th Congress Back in Business Today

Aired January 04, 2005 - 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: And if you're taking the family to Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida, well, bring some more money. Prices are rising $2 a day to nearly 56 bucks for adults, almost $46 for children. Walt Disney World, Sea World, Universal Orlando, have also raised their prices recently.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Updating the tsunami disaster and the world's response to it, the Marines have landed, landed specifically in Sri Lanka. They stepped off a giant C-5A transport plane in Colombo, fanning out to help in the giant relief effort. Along with the Marines come heavy-lift helicopters, bulldozers, generator, tons of food, water, and medical supplies.

Secretary of State Colin Powell, Florida Governor Jeb Bush, visiting hard-hit Indonesia and Thailand meanwhile. Powell says the massive relief effort may help Muslim nations see the United States in a better light. And he rejects charges the U.S. was too slow to get started with that relief effort.

U.N. officials say the latest figures show more than 155,000 people perished in the disaster zone. Thousands more remain missing. Medical facilities are overflowing with the injured.

Our CNN correspondents are stationed all across the region. Fourteen reporters in fours nations, bringing you the latest on the tsunami disaster and the long road back to recovery.

The tsunami crisis, the focus of two former presidents, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, now leading the charge for private donation to help out those in need as a result of the tsunami. They both appeared last night on "LARRY KING LIVE."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FMR. PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: I want people here at home in America and throughout the world that are listening to this program to know that if you only have $1, $5, $10 to give, if you -- a million of you do that, you'll make a huge difference. And it will make a difference, and because of the technology today, you can give it and direct it.

GEORGE H.W. BUSH: FMR. PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: It's important to get the money, but it's important that it be delivered properly, and that it go into the hands of those who have limited overhead, but are willing to deliver the money, to get the goods, and get them into the areas that are required. It -- I think they're going about it in the right way. (END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: The 109th Congress is back in business today. Lull in the session right there, the U.S. Senate beginning its work. There's been a few speeches. Dick Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, was speaking just a few moments ago. High on their agenda, of course, will be the tsunami-relief effort, how much to be given, when it would be given what, what funding it will come from, what bucket of money.

CNN's Ed Henry, right there, on Capitol Hill watching this for us -- Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Miles.

That's right, the new Congress opened up shop about noon Eastern Time. And you're right, the tsunami relief has vaulted to the top of the agenda, but first a little bit of housekeeping in the Senate. Vice President Cheney was swearing in freshmen and newly re-elected senators.

Kind of a funny moment when the vice president swore in Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy. You will remember that the vice president directed a four-letter word at Mr. Leahy last year on that very Senate floor.

Also some new faces, Barack Obama from Illinois, Ken Salazar of Colorado.

Now after the presidential inauguration later this month, republicans hope to use their expanded majorities in the House and Senate to pass the president's ambitious second-term agenda.

But for now, the focus is on tsunami relief, and everything kicked off today in the Senate with a prayer from the Senate chaplain, Barry Black.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARRY BLACK, SENATE CHAPLAIN: Lord, make us your eyes, ear, feet and hands, to bring solace to those who suffer. Guide us as we seek to help the hurting, and empower the global humanitarian effort.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Now this afternoon, both the House and Senate will be passing resolutions that express their condolences to the tsunami victims, but also offering their support for the $350 million relief package that President Bush has already pledged. Those resolutions also keep the door open to Congress later this month, expanding the relief package. After lawmakers get a chance to assess the situation and see if they need to fund even more relief, one of the many lawmakers heading to the region tonight, in fact, is Senate majority leader Bill Frist. He spoke a little while ago on the Senate floor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. BILL FRIST (R), MAJORITY LEADER: By their own initiative, private individuals and charity, nongovernment organizations and businesses have raised millions of dollars to aid the tsunami victims. I am filled with admiration for the compassion demonstrated by our fellow citizens.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: And one more interesting note: In order to encourage more of those private donations that Senator Frist and also the former President's Clinton and Bush have been talking about, Senators Max Baucus and Chuck Grassley are introducing legislation today that would allow U.S. taxpayers to claim a tax deduction in tax year 2004, even if they offer up a tsunami donation in 2005. Obviously, the devastation, the disaster, took place on December 26th. It was so late in the last tax year, people may now be making donations that they will not be able to take a deduction for more than a year. Those senators now trying to make sure -- encourage more donations by allowing people to take the deduction last year -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Ed, as lawmakers consider where to find the money to help out in all this, is anybody taking a good, hard look at $18 million set aside for Iraq reconstruction?

HENRY: That's right, Senator Leahy, who I mentioned earlier, in fact, has called on the president to take a look at the fact that a lot of that Iraqi reconstruction money has not been spent yet. And Senator Leahy has suggested maybe money should be tapped from those accounts and be used for tsunami relief. But I can tell you, A lot of Republicans up here, also the White House, clearly, they do not want to get the Iraq situation tangled up in tsunami relief; they'd rather keep it as a clean bill and focus just on tsunami relief, not get it tangled in Iraq -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Ed Henry on Capitol Hill, thanks much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: It's not a good travel day across much of the country. A key north-south passage remains shut down, and there could be similar problems in other parts of the U.S. before the day is over.

Did the maker of a very popular antidepressant know about harmful side effects. Eli Lilly responds to concerns about Prozac. We're just hours away from the crowning of a national champ in college football. A live report from Miami is still to come this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Well, did you hear about the Grapevine? California's famous Grapevine looking more like the polar expressway. Folks there are just about to lose their mind. A 40-mile stretch of Interstate 5 remains shut down for a second day because of snow and ice. About two feet of snow have fallen in the mountains north of L.A., the latest in a string of winter storms. I-5 is known to locals as the Grapevine, the main link between northern and Southern California. California may have the worst, but by no means the only big weather problems out there.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Well, now the new revelations about the anti- depressant Prozac and potentially troubling side effects. How much did drugmakers know when did they did know it? For more on that, I'm joined by CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. Big story today.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is a big story today. And we broke this story -- CNN broke this story last night. And today we spoke with Eli Lilly and they confirmed that the documents we're about to discuss are, indeed, theirs. The documents were obtained by CNN from a congressional source and appear to show that Lilly, the maker of Prozac, knew more than a decade ago that there were more reports of suicides when patients took Prozac than when patients took four other anti-depressants.

Now, let's take a look at the specific numbers. The documents showed there were at least 12 times more suicide attempts reported when patients took Prozac, compared to patients on any of four other anti-depressants and at least twice as many reports of psychotic depression when patients took Prozac. Now, the data cited by the documents looked at 14,198 reports to the Food and Drug Administration and showed 3.7 percent of those reports were for attempted suicide and 2.3 percent were for psychotic depression.

Now, it's important to point out that the data is based on reports of adverse side effects made to the FDA. In other words, incidents where things went wrong. An Eli Lilly doctor had this response. He said, "We do not believe these data, for a number of reasons, are terribly useful, or informative in terms of suggesting anything about a causal link between the drug and the adverse events being reported." Eli Lilly also emphasized that these numbers were not part of a formal study, but were reports sent in by doctors.

PHILLIPS: All right so, of course, a lot of people are going to want to know if they're taking Prozac what do they do now?

COHEN: Right. It leaves questions for people taking Prozac. And it's important to remember that some people say Prozac has helped treat their depression and they've had great success on this drug. And so you should always consult your doctor before changing your medication or before you stop the use of any medication.

PHILLIPS: All right. Great job on that report. Thanks, Elizabeth.

COHEN: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's the battle for the national championship, although -- hey, I know, I think I sunk because of who's ahead right now. Auburn might want to argue that statement, though. Oklahoma and USC -- did I say USC? Did I say go Trojans? What makes tonight's Orange Bowl game a historic matchup? We'll tell you.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Coming up on LIVE FROM, a sticky situation for doughnut chain Krispy Kreme. I'll have the details right after the break, so stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Canceled flights, missing luggage, security hassles. Such is the news these days about flying. But now, here's something that might actually make you want to book a flight. Delta reportedly is planning to slash fares and relax some restrictions.

Max Hartshorne, he tracks the airlines for gonomad.com and he joins us from Springfield, Massachusetts, to talk more about this. So Max, we actually have some good news?

MAX HARTSHORNE, GONOMAD.COM: We do have good news, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK, but we're not really talking about it, but we are kind of talking about it because you have the scoop.

HARTSHORNE: It's good news for people because it could be a trend that will be followed by a lot of the other large airlines. Seeing the Saturday night stay be removed in this article in "Time" magazine and also simplifying the fares is great news for travelers and it could bode well if the other carriers follow suite, which they often have done.

PHILLIPS: All right, let's tell folks what we're talking about. A couple articles came out, saying that Delta really isn't making an official statement, but we seem to have found out somehow, they'll be cutting the change fees, right, and also the Saturday night stay and also slashing fares. Give us the details on these things.

HARTSHORNE: OK, well, what they started with was -- in Cincinnati in August, they started with their simple fares. And what the idea was to -- Cincinnati was a very expensive place to fly out of, and they simplified it, so there was two first-class fare structures and six economy-class fare structures. They eliminated the rule about having to stay over Saturday night. They changed it from $100, they changed the ticket to $50. And all in all, sales have been tremendous in the Cincinnati market. And their -- obviously, the next step could be to roll that out on a large scale, to more of their hubs.

PHILLIPS: Now this is supposed to all go into effect tomorrow, is that right?

HARTSHORNE: Say that again, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Is it supposed to go into effect tomorrow?

HARTSHORNE: I have not been able to confirm -- at this point, when I called Delta, they weren't able to confirm it to us. One of our travel editors, Kent St. John (ph), wrote a piece about it on gonomad. All the details are on the Web site. So if you want to get some more, you can find out that. But we weren't able to get any kind of a confirmation yet out of Delta. They're pretty hush hush about it at this point. PHILLIPS: All right, well, we're looking at the Web site right now,. This is your Web site, gonomad.com. Tell us what else we can find on the Web site besides just what's taking place at Delta, and maybe the good news we're going to hear about tomorrow. What else can we find on this Web site?

HARTSHORNE: Well, the main thing to know about gonomad is that there's a lot of wonderful places to travel, and our articles are about adventure, excitement, ecotourism, volunteering. The important thing to remember is tsunami affected a small part of Asia. There's a lot of Thailand, there's a lot of Sri Lanka, there's a beautiful lot of India that people can travel to. And the best thing you can do right now is go on gonomad, and go on a trip, and plan an exciting trip to someplace. Remember how big the area of South Asia is, and remember there are still people going every day. We have a correspondent who's going to Thailand tomorrow, going up -- actually, he's going tomorrow to Chang Mai (ph).

There's a lot of Asia, a lot of it isn't affected by the tsunami, and our readers are the people that are still traveling, and that's the best thing you do.

PHILLIPS: That's true. There's a lot of fascinating Buddhist history there, and that is a tremendous way to help that subcontinent right now, is go and visit.

My final question, these changes going on with Delta, could we see a domino effect, could we see other airlines doing the same? Could we see airlines buying out other airlines as these change go into effect?

HARTSHORNE: Well, I definitely think you're going to find that airlines copy each other, and Delta has led the way a number of times. They led the way on cutting airline commissions for agencies. They led the way on nonsmoking. So I do think that when you look at the success of Southwest, you look at the success of Jetblue, maybe even the hub-and-spokes system will eventually go the way of the dinosaur. I do think that airlines copy each other, and this is going to be good news for travelers, and I think it's going to really bode well for Delta.

PHILLIPS: Gonomad.com. Max Hartshorne, thanks so much for your time today.

HARTSHORNE: Thanks. Nice to see you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, nice to see you -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Some excitement and anticipation building for the No. 1 game in college football. Southern California -- that's Kyra's team -- and Oklahoma face off tonight in the Orange Bowl for the national championship. But could another team steal their glory? CNN's Michelle Bonner joining us with the rough duty in Miami.

Hello, Michelle. MICHELLE BONNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles. You know, you're right, the BCS not without controversy this year. We will talk about Auburn in just a bit, and the fact -- how they could actually factor into the national championship.

But you know what, on paper and really off paper, considering the storylines here, this has got to be about as good as a matchup for a national championship game that you could possibly get. You have two undefeated teams vying for the national championship, which feature four of the top five Heisman vote-getters, including Oklahoma quarterback Jason White and USC quarterback Matt Leinart. Jason White won the Heisman Trophy last year, Matt Leinart won it this year. And The matchup, as far as the head to head match-up between these two, it will be the first time ever that two Heisman winners have played each other in a game.

Now SC coach Pete Carroll saying he can't imagine that ever happening again. Of course the passing games of both teams matched by the running games of USC's Reggie Bush and Oklahoma freshman Adrian Peterson, both Heisman finalist. Peterson finishing second in the voting, the highest a freshman has ever finished in the Heisman voting.

So how good are these two? Well, Washington Skate coach Bill Dova (ph) says whenever Reggie Bush lines up against a linebacker, you might as well break out the USC fight song. As for Peterson, his numbers are absolutely stellar -- 11 100-yard games this year; they played 12 games.

Now of course getting back to the controversy, many have argued that Auburn, who is undefeated, should have been playing in the national championship game. Now they beat Virginia Tech in last night's Sugar Bowl, which means their finish their son 13-0. Now no team has ever finished a season 13-0 and not won the national championship. So Auburn certainly making a bit of a case to garner a share of the title, which could prove difficult if USC should win big tonight, since they've been No. 1 all season. But if Oklahoma wins, and especially if they don't play well, then there is certainly room for argument.

Now, Miles, the difference between USC sharing the title last year, they were No. 1 in both polls. So when they didn't play in the national championship game and they finished off their season, they ended up sharing the title with LSU. That is not the case for auburn this year. And, Miles, though, the argument here is that a team that is 13-0, undefeated on their entire season, especially after winning the SEC championship, it's hard to deny them a share of the title -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: I should say so. But the BCS was supposed to get rid of all these little controversies towards the end of the bowl season. It's not worked out that way at all, has it?

BONNER: It has not. And if you ask anyone, they will say the same answer. If you ask the question, what can they do to fix the BCS, pretty much 99 out of 100 will say a playoff. Have two teams. Now whoever the winner of the game is tonight, have them go ahead and play Auburn to determine the outright national champion.

O'BRIEN: You know, I'm sure the schools wouldn't mind that, just means more revenue. All right, Michelle Bonner, thanks.

BONNER: Exactly, more money it make sense, right?

PHILLIPS: All right. Kyra Phillips, who will be -- I know where you'll be tonight. You're going to be...

PHILLIPS: I know you're rooting for USC, because you love me, so you love USC.

O'BRIEN: Only because I love you, only because I love you, otherwise I don't really care about USC a bit. But I wish you well, you and your Trojans on to glory tonight and all that stuff, all right.

PHILLIPS: Thank you very much. That's right. Go SC. Go Trojans. I can't say it enough. Miles went to Georgetown. That's a whole other story.

Thanks, Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right.

PHILLIPS: Miles' other favorite, Krispy Kreme and the shareholders. They're losing a lot of dough today.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

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Aired January 4, 2005 - 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: And if you're taking the family to Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida, well, bring some more money. Prices are rising $2 a day to nearly 56 bucks for adults, almost $46 for children. Walt Disney World, Sea World, Universal Orlando, have also raised their prices recently.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Updating the tsunami disaster and the world's response to it, the Marines have landed, landed specifically in Sri Lanka. They stepped off a giant C-5A transport plane in Colombo, fanning out to help in the giant relief effort. Along with the Marines come heavy-lift helicopters, bulldozers, generator, tons of food, water, and medical supplies.

Secretary of State Colin Powell, Florida Governor Jeb Bush, visiting hard-hit Indonesia and Thailand meanwhile. Powell says the massive relief effort may help Muslim nations see the United States in a better light. And he rejects charges the U.S. was too slow to get started with that relief effort.

U.N. officials say the latest figures show more than 155,000 people perished in the disaster zone. Thousands more remain missing. Medical facilities are overflowing with the injured.

Our CNN correspondents are stationed all across the region. Fourteen reporters in fours nations, bringing you the latest on the tsunami disaster and the long road back to recovery.

The tsunami crisis, the focus of two former presidents, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, now leading the charge for private donation to help out those in need as a result of the tsunami. They both appeared last night on "LARRY KING LIVE."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FMR. PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: I want people here at home in America and throughout the world that are listening to this program to know that if you only have $1, $5, $10 to give, if you -- a million of you do that, you'll make a huge difference. And it will make a difference, and because of the technology today, you can give it and direct it.

GEORGE H.W. BUSH: FMR. PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: It's important to get the money, but it's important that it be delivered properly, and that it go into the hands of those who have limited overhead, but are willing to deliver the money, to get the goods, and get them into the areas that are required. It -- I think they're going about it in the right way. (END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: The 109th Congress is back in business today. Lull in the session right there, the U.S. Senate beginning its work. There's been a few speeches. Dick Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, was speaking just a few moments ago. High on their agenda, of course, will be the tsunami-relief effort, how much to be given, when it would be given what, what funding it will come from, what bucket of money.

CNN's Ed Henry, right there, on Capitol Hill watching this for us -- Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Miles.

That's right, the new Congress opened up shop about noon Eastern Time. And you're right, the tsunami relief has vaulted to the top of the agenda, but first a little bit of housekeeping in the Senate. Vice President Cheney was swearing in freshmen and newly re-elected senators.

Kind of a funny moment when the vice president swore in Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy. You will remember that the vice president directed a four-letter word at Mr. Leahy last year on that very Senate floor.

Also some new faces, Barack Obama from Illinois, Ken Salazar of Colorado.

Now after the presidential inauguration later this month, republicans hope to use their expanded majorities in the House and Senate to pass the president's ambitious second-term agenda.

But for now, the focus is on tsunami relief, and everything kicked off today in the Senate with a prayer from the Senate chaplain, Barry Black.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARRY BLACK, SENATE CHAPLAIN: Lord, make us your eyes, ear, feet and hands, to bring solace to those who suffer. Guide us as we seek to help the hurting, and empower the global humanitarian effort.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Now this afternoon, both the House and Senate will be passing resolutions that express their condolences to the tsunami victims, but also offering their support for the $350 million relief package that President Bush has already pledged. Those resolutions also keep the door open to Congress later this month, expanding the relief package. After lawmakers get a chance to assess the situation and see if they need to fund even more relief, one of the many lawmakers heading to the region tonight, in fact, is Senate majority leader Bill Frist. He spoke a little while ago on the Senate floor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. BILL FRIST (R), MAJORITY LEADER: By their own initiative, private individuals and charity, nongovernment organizations and businesses have raised millions of dollars to aid the tsunami victims. I am filled with admiration for the compassion demonstrated by our fellow citizens.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: And one more interesting note: In order to encourage more of those private donations that Senator Frist and also the former President's Clinton and Bush have been talking about, Senators Max Baucus and Chuck Grassley are introducing legislation today that would allow U.S. taxpayers to claim a tax deduction in tax year 2004, even if they offer up a tsunami donation in 2005. Obviously, the devastation, the disaster, took place on December 26th. It was so late in the last tax year, people may now be making donations that they will not be able to take a deduction for more than a year. Those senators now trying to make sure -- encourage more donations by allowing people to take the deduction last year -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Ed, as lawmakers consider where to find the money to help out in all this, is anybody taking a good, hard look at $18 million set aside for Iraq reconstruction?

HENRY: That's right, Senator Leahy, who I mentioned earlier, in fact, has called on the president to take a look at the fact that a lot of that Iraqi reconstruction money has not been spent yet. And Senator Leahy has suggested maybe money should be tapped from those accounts and be used for tsunami relief. But I can tell you, A lot of Republicans up here, also the White House, clearly, they do not want to get the Iraq situation tangled up in tsunami relief; they'd rather keep it as a clean bill and focus just on tsunami relief, not get it tangled in Iraq -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Ed Henry on Capitol Hill, thanks much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: It's not a good travel day across much of the country. A key north-south passage remains shut down, and there could be similar problems in other parts of the U.S. before the day is over.

Did the maker of a very popular antidepressant know about harmful side effects. Eli Lilly responds to concerns about Prozac. We're just hours away from the crowning of a national champ in college football. A live report from Miami is still to come this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Well, did you hear about the Grapevine? California's famous Grapevine looking more like the polar expressway. Folks there are just about to lose their mind. A 40-mile stretch of Interstate 5 remains shut down for a second day because of snow and ice. About two feet of snow have fallen in the mountains north of L.A., the latest in a string of winter storms. I-5 is known to locals as the Grapevine, the main link between northern and Southern California. California may have the worst, but by no means the only big weather problems out there.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Well, now the new revelations about the anti- depressant Prozac and potentially troubling side effects. How much did drugmakers know when did they did know it? For more on that, I'm joined by CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. Big story today.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is a big story today. And we broke this story -- CNN broke this story last night. And today we spoke with Eli Lilly and they confirmed that the documents we're about to discuss are, indeed, theirs. The documents were obtained by CNN from a congressional source and appear to show that Lilly, the maker of Prozac, knew more than a decade ago that there were more reports of suicides when patients took Prozac than when patients took four other anti-depressants.

Now, let's take a look at the specific numbers. The documents showed there were at least 12 times more suicide attempts reported when patients took Prozac, compared to patients on any of four other anti-depressants and at least twice as many reports of psychotic depression when patients took Prozac. Now, the data cited by the documents looked at 14,198 reports to the Food and Drug Administration and showed 3.7 percent of those reports were for attempted suicide and 2.3 percent were for psychotic depression.

Now, it's important to point out that the data is based on reports of adverse side effects made to the FDA. In other words, incidents where things went wrong. An Eli Lilly doctor had this response. He said, "We do not believe these data, for a number of reasons, are terribly useful, or informative in terms of suggesting anything about a causal link between the drug and the adverse events being reported." Eli Lilly also emphasized that these numbers were not part of a formal study, but were reports sent in by doctors.

PHILLIPS: All right so, of course, a lot of people are going to want to know if they're taking Prozac what do they do now?

COHEN: Right. It leaves questions for people taking Prozac. And it's important to remember that some people say Prozac has helped treat their depression and they've had great success on this drug. And so you should always consult your doctor before changing your medication or before you stop the use of any medication.

PHILLIPS: All right. Great job on that report. Thanks, Elizabeth.

COHEN: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's the battle for the national championship, although -- hey, I know, I think I sunk because of who's ahead right now. Auburn might want to argue that statement, though. Oklahoma and USC -- did I say USC? Did I say go Trojans? What makes tonight's Orange Bowl game a historic matchup? We'll tell you.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Coming up on LIVE FROM, a sticky situation for doughnut chain Krispy Kreme. I'll have the details right after the break, so stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Canceled flights, missing luggage, security hassles. Such is the news these days about flying. But now, here's something that might actually make you want to book a flight. Delta reportedly is planning to slash fares and relax some restrictions.

Max Hartshorne, he tracks the airlines for gonomad.com and he joins us from Springfield, Massachusetts, to talk more about this. So Max, we actually have some good news?

MAX HARTSHORNE, GONOMAD.COM: We do have good news, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK, but we're not really talking about it, but we are kind of talking about it because you have the scoop.

HARTSHORNE: It's good news for people because it could be a trend that will be followed by a lot of the other large airlines. Seeing the Saturday night stay be removed in this article in "Time" magazine and also simplifying the fares is great news for travelers and it could bode well if the other carriers follow suite, which they often have done.

PHILLIPS: All right, let's tell folks what we're talking about. A couple articles came out, saying that Delta really isn't making an official statement, but we seem to have found out somehow, they'll be cutting the change fees, right, and also the Saturday night stay and also slashing fares. Give us the details on these things.

HARTSHORNE: OK, well, what they started with was -- in Cincinnati in August, they started with their simple fares. And what the idea was to -- Cincinnati was a very expensive place to fly out of, and they simplified it, so there was two first-class fare structures and six economy-class fare structures. They eliminated the rule about having to stay over Saturday night. They changed it from $100, they changed the ticket to $50. And all in all, sales have been tremendous in the Cincinnati market. And their -- obviously, the next step could be to roll that out on a large scale, to more of their hubs.

PHILLIPS: Now this is supposed to all go into effect tomorrow, is that right?

HARTSHORNE: Say that again, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Is it supposed to go into effect tomorrow?

HARTSHORNE: I have not been able to confirm -- at this point, when I called Delta, they weren't able to confirm it to us. One of our travel editors, Kent St. John (ph), wrote a piece about it on gonomad. All the details are on the Web site. So if you want to get some more, you can find out that. But we weren't able to get any kind of a confirmation yet out of Delta. They're pretty hush hush about it at this point. PHILLIPS: All right, well, we're looking at the Web site right now,. This is your Web site, gonomad.com. Tell us what else we can find on the Web site besides just what's taking place at Delta, and maybe the good news we're going to hear about tomorrow. What else can we find on this Web site?

HARTSHORNE: Well, the main thing to know about gonomad is that there's a lot of wonderful places to travel, and our articles are about adventure, excitement, ecotourism, volunteering. The important thing to remember is tsunami affected a small part of Asia. There's a lot of Thailand, there's a lot of Sri Lanka, there's a beautiful lot of India that people can travel to. And the best thing you can do right now is go on gonomad, and go on a trip, and plan an exciting trip to someplace. Remember how big the area of South Asia is, and remember there are still people going every day. We have a correspondent who's going to Thailand tomorrow, going up -- actually, he's going tomorrow to Chang Mai (ph).

There's a lot of Asia, a lot of it isn't affected by the tsunami, and our readers are the people that are still traveling, and that's the best thing you do.

PHILLIPS: That's true. There's a lot of fascinating Buddhist history there, and that is a tremendous way to help that subcontinent right now, is go and visit.

My final question, these changes going on with Delta, could we see a domino effect, could we see other airlines doing the same? Could we see airlines buying out other airlines as these change go into effect?

HARTSHORNE: Well, I definitely think you're going to find that airlines copy each other, and Delta has led the way a number of times. They led the way on cutting airline commissions for agencies. They led the way on nonsmoking. So I do think that when you look at the success of Southwest, you look at the success of Jetblue, maybe even the hub-and-spokes system will eventually go the way of the dinosaur. I do think that airlines copy each other, and this is going to be good news for travelers, and I think it's going to really bode well for Delta.

PHILLIPS: Gonomad.com. Max Hartshorne, thanks so much for your time today.

HARTSHORNE: Thanks. Nice to see you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, nice to see you -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Some excitement and anticipation building for the No. 1 game in college football. Southern California -- that's Kyra's team -- and Oklahoma face off tonight in the Orange Bowl for the national championship. But could another team steal their glory? CNN's Michelle Bonner joining us with the rough duty in Miami.

Hello, Michelle. MICHELLE BONNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles. You know, you're right, the BCS not without controversy this year. We will talk about Auburn in just a bit, and the fact -- how they could actually factor into the national championship.

But you know what, on paper and really off paper, considering the storylines here, this has got to be about as good as a matchup for a national championship game that you could possibly get. You have two undefeated teams vying for the national championship, which feature four of the top five Heisman vote-getters, including Oklahoma quarterback Jason White and USC quarterback Matt Leinart. Jason White won the Heisman Trophy last year, Matt Leinart won it this year. And The matchup, as far as the head to head match-up between these two, it will be the first time ever that two Heisman winners have played each other in a game.

Now SC coach Pete Carroll saying he can't imagine that ever happening again. Of course the passing games of both teams matched by the running games of USC's Reggie Bush and Oklahoma freshman Adrian Peterson, both Heisman finalist. Peterson finishing second in the voting, the highest a freshman has ever finished in the Heisman voting.

So how good are these two? Well, Washington Skate coach Bill Dova (ph) says whenever Reggie Bush lines up against a linebacker, you might as well break out the USC fight song. As for Peterson, his numbers are absolutely stellar -- 11 100-yard games this year; they played 12 games.

Now of course getting back to the controversy, many have argued that Auburn, who is undefeated, should have been playing in the national championship game. Now they beat Virginia Tech in last night's Sugar Bowl, which means their finish their son 13-0. Now no team has ever finished a season 13-0 and not won the national championship. So Auburn certainly making a bit of a case to garner a share of the title, which could prove difficult if USC should win big tonight, since they've been No. 1 all season. But if Oklahoma wins, and especially if they don't play well, then there is certainly room for argument.

Now, Miles, the difference between USC sharing the title last year, they were No. 1 in both polls. So when they didn't play in the national championship game and they finished off their season, they ended up sharing the title with LSU. That is not the case for auburn this year. And, Miles, though, the argument here is that a team that is 13-0, undefeated on their entire season, especially after winning the SEC championship, it's hard to deny them a share of the title -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: I should say so. But the BCS was supposed to get rid of all these little controversies towards the end of the bowl season. It's not worked out that way at all, has it?

BONNER: It has not. And if you ask anyone, they will say the same answer. If you ask the question, what can they do to fix the BCS, pretty much 99 out of 100 will say a playoff. Have two teams. Now whoever the winner of the game is tonight, have them go ahead and play Auburn to determine the outright national champion.

O'BRIEN: You know, I'm sure the schools wouldn't mind that, just means more revenue. All right, Michelle Bonner, thanks.

BONNER: Exactly, more money it make sense, right?

PHILLIPS: All right. Kyra Phillips, who will be -- I know where you'll be tonight. You're going to be...

PHILLIPS: I know you're rooting for USC, because you love me, so you love USC.

O'BRIEN: Only because I love you, only because I love you, otherwise I don't really care about USC a bit. But I wish you well, you and your Trojans on to glory tonight and all that stuff, all right.

PHILLIPS: Thank you very much. That's right. Go SC. Go Trojans. I can't say it enough. Miles went to Georgetown. That's a whole other story.

Thanks, Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right.

PHILLIPS: Miles' other favorite, Krispy Kreme and the shareholders. They're losing a lot of dough today.

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