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What's Fueling Rising Gas Prices?; Cancer Risk; Lower Standards?; Bush Talks Energy
Aired March 09, 2005 - 14:00 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, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush in Columbus, Ohio. We expect to hear from him live this hour, talking about energy. When he talks about it, we'll have it for you.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And is psychology rather than supply and demand fueling rising gas prices? Why some experts believe we're paying a fear premium at the pump.
PHILLIPS: Women and cancer. A new report suggests that the behavior of other people could put women at a higher risk for developing breast cancer.
O'BRIEN: Keeping a close eye on the volcano. A huge plume of smoke and an earthquake at Mount St. Helens. Scientists are wondering where they're going to go when the volcano blows.
From the CNN Washington newsroom, I'm Miles O'Brien.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN Center in Atlanta. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
Tired of paying a premium for regular gas and a king's ransom for premium? Well, here's the nicest way that we can put it. In a month or two, we may be looking back on this as the good old days.
Self-serve regular now averages $2 a gallon. Analysts expect to see $2.15 by summer. Now here enters President Bush, who sees an opportunity to get his long-stalled energy proposals on the fast track in Congress.
If you've forgotten, and many people in Washington have, the Bush plan stresses conservation, alternative sources and greater U.S. production. In the meantime, pity your friends in Bridgeport, California, currently paying the nation's highest price, $2.79 a gallon. And envy Rock Springs, Wyoming, with the cheapest gas, a mere $1.72.
Now, in Columbus, Ohio, where the president is today, gas is still on the low end, $1.95 a gallon. He's due to speak momentarily. And CNN will bring that to you live as soon as it happens.
O'BRIEN: Supply and demand is the cry of economists at times like these. But when it comes to gas, that may not be the whole story. Here's CNN's Brian Todd.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At pump after pump, customers practically choke up as they fill up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's taking, like, about $40, when it used to take, like, $20.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That just cost me $55. And a month ago, I think it was $48.
TODD: That's in California, where the price of self-serve regular gas is at about $2.20 a gallon, higher than most places. But gas prices are shooting up everywhere in the U.S., the national average now at just under $2 a gallon for self-serve regular. The U.S. government says prices will hit new record highs this driving season between April and September, a national average of 2.10 a gallon.
LLEWELLYLN KING, "THE ENERGY DAILY": The real problem is that the world oil supply is extraordinarily fragile.
TODD: Fragile not necessarily in volume, say the experts, but in other areas. Refining and shipping capacities stretched thin. Demand from the United States, and lately India and China, going way up. And listen to what a Saudi official and an independent expert volunteered about the terrorism factor.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: We are paying some kind of fear premium for the price of oil right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that puts a fear premium on crude oil.
TODD: Energy experts say oil markets, like others, are psychologically driven.
KING: I, for example, would suggest, as you notice, every time a pipeline in Iraq is blown up, there's a spike in price. Now, should that move, that kind of violence against oil move, into Saudi Arabia, it would be a very serious problem.
TODD: Saudi Arabia has already been hit. A series of attacks on oil company compounds in 2003 and 2004 killed dozens of foreign workers. Experts believe many refineries are well-secured. The vulnerabilities lie in the pipelines, ports and housing complexes. And there is another threat.
BERGEN: We don't know if al Qaeda has penetrated the Saudi oil business. But it would be kind of surprising if it hadn't, because this is the largest industry in the kingdom. Clearly, bin Laden enjoys a fair amount of support in certain circles.
TODD (on camera): And not even three months ago, bin Laden issued a taped message, urging his followers to continue their attacks on the oil industry. Experts say that's part of al Qaeda's broader strategy to hurt Western economies. And even the possibility of attack is one reason many people will be hurting at the pumps this summer.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: The president of the United States in Columbus, Ohio. As a matter of fact, he's just gotten on stage there. He's being introduced.
He's going to talk about some ways to offer relief on gas prices. We will bring it to you live as soon as he gets to the meat of the matter on gas prices. That should happen very shortly.
Meanwhile, Mount St. Helens blowing off steam again today, but nothing compared to the plume of smoke that shot up yesterday nearly seven miles high. Ash fell as far as 90 miles away. The visual drama aside, a government scientist classifies this eruption as -- and we quote now -- "pretty small potatoes." Apparently that's a technical seismological term.
On the other side of the country, that brief touch of spring that teased the Northeast gives way to a blast of winter seen here. Parts of New England, it was 60 degrees at the start of the week and now this... the storm that dropped more than a half a foot of snow drifted out to sea, leaving subzero wind-chills behind it.
PHILLIPS: And this just into CNN. It's a story we've been following for you throughout the day. And it's the hikers that were stranded in Tennessee.
Now this coming straight out of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The officials there say they sent a helicopter to rescue one of the hikers that was said to be suffering from hypothermia after he had been stranded in this area with his three other friends.
The others were able to walk down without a problem, come down the mountain with rangers. But this one hiker was having physical problems, we're told, due to the hypothermia.
Well, now we're told an Air National Guard helicopter has dispatched to get that hiker, taking him to the University of Tennessee Medical Center. We're told right now he is alert and has a normal temperature. So we'll make sure we keep you updated on this stranded hiker. Three OK, one en route to the medical center there at the University of Tennessee.
Now, "USA Today" is reporting that a new finding that secondhand smoking causes breast cancer. Tobacco companies say the finding gives little weight to studies finding no connection. CNN senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Scientists at the Air Resources Board, a reputable California agency, concluding today that secondhand smoke causes breast cancer. Obviously, a controversial study that has stirred up a lot of controversy regarding cancer research, as well as tougher tobacco standards. Let me bring you up to speed here. Again, this is a reputable organization here that has not conducted any new studies, but instead reviewed about 1,000 existing human studies trying to find not only a link between secondhand smoke and breast cancer, but an actual cause and effect relationship.
For a long time, everyone's known that secondhand smoke just is not good for you. In fact, it has demonstrated a cause and effect relationship with several different things, including 40,000 deaths or so a year from heart disease due to secondhand smoke.
Also, all sorts of respiratory problems, including asthma, bronchitis, and cancer. But lung cancer, about 3,000 deaths a year. In fact, they've gone so far as to be able to determine how much exposure increases your risk of lung cancer from secondhand smoke. And here's what they found.
Workplace exposure, for example, 20-plus years, a 25 percent increase lung cancer risk. Spouse smoking for 30-plus years, a 23 percent increase. Social settings such as the bar or restaurants, 20- plus years, a 26 percent increase. And if you add all these things up, you can have up to a 32 percent increased risk for lung cancer.
But again, no one in the past has actually demonstrated a cause and effect relationship between secondhand smoke and breast cancer. About 1,000 studies done, looking at human studies, also placing increased weight in the toxicology studies of animal studies in the past, looking at those secondhand smoke chemicals in animals and trying to figure out how much of a weight they play in terms of actually causing breast cancer.
Lots of information coming in about this. The National Cancer Institute, the American College of Cancer, and the CDC all looking at this data right now, trying to figure out whether or not this is going to change any of their guidelines. That hasn't happened yet. As that's happening, we'll be sure to bring that to you here on CNN.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And one in every seven women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, and about 40,000 die each year. Tonight at 8:00 Eastern, Paula Zahn introduces us to several people affected by that disease, both victims and their loved ones: Carly Simon, Lynn Redgrave, Tommy Thompson and Paula's own mother. Breast cancer survivor stories tonight, 8:00 Eastern, only on CNN.
O'BRIEN: As we told you just a few moments ago, we're expecting President Bush to talk about gas prices. As a matter of fact, he is already speaking to that crowd in Columbus. We will bring it to you as soon as he gets to the issue of energy prices.
Meanwhile, a faithful 15-year-old said that today his dream came true. The reason, the pope made a surprise appearance at his hospital window, delighting the gathered crowd. We'll have more on how he is recuperating a little later on LIVE FROM.
And are Charles and Camilla getting an early wedding present? A new tribute to the couple will soon be in the mail. We'll deliver that one a little later on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: An unpopular opinion generating controversy at the U.S. Naval Academy. A professor at the Annapolis institution charges the college's admissions policy is severely flawed and that preferential treatment is going to three groups of midshipmen. CNN senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre brings us the story you will see only on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): According to one outspoken academy professor, half of the brigade of midshipmen got into Annapolis through set-asides, lower standards for racial minorities, star athletes or sailors who have shown potential. "Weaker academics means weaker officers," he says, "officers who may one day have their finger on the button or the trigger."
Some minority students were outraged.
ADAM YANG, MIDSHIPMAN, 1ST CLASS: The fundamental flaw in his argument was that weaker academics make weaker officers. But academics isn't the definition of a good officer.
MCINTYRE: As part of a regular feature called "Nobody Asked Me, But," Annapolis English Professor Bruce Fleming wrote in last month's "Proceedings" magazine, "The academy can do better." "Set-asides," he wrote, "slow class discussions and take seats that better applicants could have filled."
(on camera): So what were you thinking when you wrote this?
PROF. BRUCE FLEMING, U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY: Well, my concern is for the well-being of the Navy and Marine Corps.
MCINTYRE: What kind of reaction are you getting from the students?
FLEMING: Well, a number of them have come in to tell me that I'm saying things they're not allowed to say, and bully for me, and they're really glad I did it. And a number of them are either writing or saying that they don't agree and want to let me know that, too.
MCINTYRE: And isn't that what campus dialogue is supposed to be about?
FLEMING: At some level I couldn't be happier.
MCINTYRE (voice-over): The academy's superintendent, the equivalent of the school's president, was furious.
(on camera): Is Professor Fleming in any trouble?
ADM. RODNEY REMPT, SUPERINTENDENT, U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY: No, not at all.
MCINTYRE (voice-over): Admiral Rempt can't fire a tenured professor for speaking out, but he can and did upbraid him. "I would have expected a faculty member with almost 18 years here to exercise better judgment," he wrote in a memo to Fleming. "Your action has served to needlessly criticize the academy, our admissions board and every midshipmen."
(on camera): The Naval Academy disputes the idea that it has lower standards for some applicants and insists its whole person admissions policy looks at far more than just academics.
(voice-over): And the academic insists there are no quotas or racial preferences to achieve diversity.
REMPT: We're looking for people who certainly have academic smarts, but also have the physical toughness and the determination and the basic leadership skills.
MCINTYRE: Xochitl Piedra is a Mexican-American and a standout on the women's soccer team. Just because she needed some extra help to get through engineering, academy officials argued, doesn't mean she won't excel as a leader.
XOCHITL PIEDRA, MIDSHIPMAN 1ST CLASS: I think I'll be able to take care of my people, which is one of the most important things about being an officer.
MCINTYRE: While the midshipmen provided to CNN interviews all supported the official view, Professor Fleming said his e-mails were split 50-50. One student wrote, "The only reason that anybody would be opposed to your article would be if they recognized its truth and were threatened by it."
But another argued, "The last thing the fleet needs is 4,000 straight-A students." And some cited examples of poor students who went on to succeed. Senator John McCain graduated from Annapolis in 1958, fifth in his class, fifth from the bottom.
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, Annapolis.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: News "Around the World" now.
Twenty-nine children in the Philippines dead, and the mayor of their town blames undercooked cassava balls. Thirty-five other youngsters are in critical condition. The vendor who sold the fried cassava balls also critically ill after eating some to try to show there was nothing wrong with them.
Pope John Paul II still too frail to hold his weekly Wednesday general audience, but he blessed a large crowd today from his window of his hospital room in Rome. The pontiff is recovering from a tracheotomy and some other ailments.
After three weeks of protests against Syria's troop presence in Lebanon, supporters of Syria's government are now having their say. Tens of thousands of Syrians marched in Damascus today in favor of President Assad. The rally follows yesterday's huge pro-Syria demonstration in Beirut, Lebanon.
PHILLIPS: Well, she was a princess, an international icon, and now Diana is a ballet. Is it a touching tribute or shameless cashing in? It depends on whom you ask. We're going to have some answers later on LIVE FROM.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz live at the New York Stock Exchange. The days of filing for personal bankruptcy and wiping out all your debts could soon be gone for many folks. I'll have the latest on the sweeping changes to the bankruptcy law right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Live to Columbus, Ohio, right now. The president of the United States speaking at the Battelle Memorial Institute on -- it's actually an energy research lab. He's talking about his energy policy. Let's listen in.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... the possibility of blackout are legitimate concerns for all Americans. And all these uncertainties about energy supply are a drag on our economy.
It is difficult for entrepreneurs to risk capital when they cannot predict the size of next month's energy bill. If small businesses have the choice between adding a new worker or keeping the machines running, they're not going to do much hiring. As you learned here in Ohio in the summer of 2003, it's hard to plan with confidence if you're not sure the lights are going to stay on.
During my second week as president, as Sam (ph) pointed out, I put together a taskforce to address America's energy challenges. Energy consumption was growing, costs were rising. We had an unreliable power grid, and we were dependent on foreign energy.
This taskforce sent back 100 recommendations to improve energy policy. And we put some of them into effect.
I mean, we've streamlined the permit process to encourage exploration for oil and gas. We filled the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to improve our security during a time of war. We promoted new forms of energy conservation at government facilities. We increased weatherization assistance by nearly 50 percent to help more low-income families insulate their homes and save on their heating bills.
We've done some practical, commonsense things. But I readily concede, these are first steps. This country must do more, and it requires legislative approval by the United States' Congress.
To meet America's energy needs in the 21st century, we need a comprehensive national energy policy. It's time for Congress to act, as I said earlier.
A sound energy bill must meet four objectives. We must promote conservation and efficiency, increase domestic production, diversify our energy supply, and modernize our energy infrastructure. And as we pursue all these goals, we will also uphold our responsibility to be good stewards of the environment.
The first objective of a sound energy bill is to encourage the use of technology to improve energy conservation. We're constantly searching for smarter ways to meet our energy needs. We're constantly looking for new technologies to help Americans conserve.
I mean, it makes sense, doesn't it? If you want to become less dependent on foreign sources of energy, we've got to be better conservers of energy. The more we conserve, the less we use. And the less we use, the less dependent we are on foreign sources of energy.
One of the reasons I went to Battelle was I wanted to see what innovative ideas they had about energy conservation, what were some of the true brains of America thinking about when it comes to encouraging energy conservation. I saw an efficient, affordable water heater that extracts heat from the air and converts it into energy that can warm your water in the shower. See, that's energy conservation.
The Department of Energy is supporting dozens of other creative technologies just like that one. That will increase conservation.
We're helping to develop lighter automobile parts that will save weight without sacrificing safety. That is a good way to conserve energy.
We've got flat-panel computer screens that can operate around the clock and consume very little power. That makes sense.
There's traffic signals that give off more light while taking in less electricity. Today you can store your food in super-efficient refrigerators that use less energy than a 75-watt light bulb.
I mean, we're making progress about using technologies that will enable us to conserve. We're also applying practical technologies to help Americans make better choices about energy consumption. We want to help you make good choices so you become better conservers of energy.
Devices called smart meters show how much energy you're using and then calculate exactly what that energy is going to cost you. It seems like a practical idea, doesn't it, here's what you're using, and if you use it at this hour, this is what it costs? It will help you plan. It will help you better conserve. It will give you incentives to turn off the lights the next time you leave the room.
The federal government is helping consumers make wise decisions at the store by placing ENERGY STAR labels on the most efficient products. If you're interested in joining in this important cause of conserving energy, look for the ENERGY STAR label.
I proposed tax credits for drivers who choose fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles. We want to encourage you to make good choices.
Innovators are advancing technology every day. And America needs to be the world leader when it comes to energy conservation.
Secondly, we need to encourage more energy production at home. If you want to become less dependent on foreign sources of energy, you need to find more energy here.
The need is clear. Over the past three years, America's energy consumption has increased by more than 3 percent, yet our domestic energy production has decreased by 2 percent. That means we're relying more on energy from foreign countries. That's what that means.
We now import more than half our oil from abroad. Think about that. More than half of the oil that we consume in order to maintain our lifestyles comes from overseas or abroad. And our dependence is growing. We're becoming more reliant upon natural gas, and a lot of it is coming from outside our borders.
I believe that creates a national security issue and an economic security issue for the United States. And that's why it's important for us to utilize the resources we have here at home in environmentally-friendly ways.
Increasing our energy security begins with a firm commitment to America's most abundant energy sources -- source, and that is coal. Our nation is blessed with enough coal to last another 250 years. We've got a lot of it.
In Ohio, you know the importance of coal firsthand. If you don't, listen to this.
When you plug in a television or charge a cell phone or use electricity, there's a 90 percent chance that that electricity is coming from coal. Coal is at the heart of Ohio's energy strategy, and it should be at the heart of America's energy strategy. Coal presents an environmental challenge, and I know that.
Most of Ohio's coal is high in sulfur. And that makes it harder for your good state to meet strict air quality standards.
That's why clean coal technology is critical to the future of this country. It's critical to the future of the state. It's critical for the job creators of your state.
PHILLIPS: Conserving energy so the U.S. is less dependent on foreign countries. That's the president, what he has to say there.
The core of his speech, as he speaks at the Batelle Memorial Institute and Energy Research Lab in Columbus, Ohio, not to be left by the roadside, of course, on the energy debate. But congressional Democrats who say relief from America's gas pains is spelled "SPR," that's the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and maintained by the government in the case of dire emergency, which the Bush administration says the present situation is not.
New York senator -- senior senator, rather, disagrees.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: The president is in Ohio talking about energy. But if you ask most Americans what do they want, they want someone to do something about the price coming down now. The president, instead of going out to Ohio and making a political speech, should turn the spigot and bring prices down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: So the price of oil dictates the price of gas. And the price of both dictate or heavily influence the price of many other things. And many other things influence them. You got all that?
Fear not. CNN's Kathleen Hays is the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of insights and examples to try to sort it all out? Right, for us? No, but it's timely. The president pushing his energy legislation and plan. We've got higher gas prices. It all fits well together.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
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Aired March 9, 2005 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush in Columbus, Ohio. We expect to hear from him live this hour, talking about energy. When he talks about it, we'll have it for you.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And is psychology rather than supply and demand fueling rising gas prices? Why some experts believe we're paying a fear premium at the pump.
PHILLIPS: Women and cancer. A new report suggests that the behavior of other people could put women at a higher risk for developing breast cancer.
O'BRIEN: Keeping a close eye on the volcano. A huge plume of smoke and an earthquake at Mount St. Helens. Scientists are wondering where they're going to go when the volcano blows.
From the CNN Washington newsroom, I'm Miles O'Brien.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN Center in Atlanta. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
Tired of paying a premium for regular gas and a king's ransom for premium? Well, here's the nicest way that we can put it. In a month or two, we may be looking back on this as the good old days.
Self-serve regular now averages $2 a gallon. Analysts expect to see $2.15 by summer. Now here enters President Bush, who sees an opportunity to get his long-stalled energy proposals on the fast track in Congress.
If you've forgotten, and many people in Washington have, the Bush plan stresses conservation, alternative sources and greater U.S. production. In the meantime, pity your friends in Bridgeport, California, currently paying the nation's highest price, $2.79 a gallon. And envy Rock Springs, Wyoming, with the cheapest gas, a mere $1.72.
Now, in Columbus, Ohio, where the president is today, gas is still on the low end, $1.95 a gallon. He's due to speak momentarily. And CNN will bring that to you live as soon as it happens.
O'BRIEN: Supply and demand is the cry of economists at times like these. But when it comes to gas, that may not be the whole story. Here's CNN's Brian Todd.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At pump after pump, customers practically choke up as they fill up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's taking, like, about $40, when it used to take, like, $20.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That just cost me $55. And a month ago, I think it was $48.
TODD: That's in California, where the price of self-serve regular gas is at about $2.20 a gallon, higher than most places. But gas prices are shooting up everywhere in the U.S., the national average now at just under $2 a gallon for self-serve regular. The U.S. government says prices will hit new record highs this driving season between April and September, a national average of 2.10 a gallon.
LLEWELLYLN KING, "THE ENERGY DAILY": The real problem is that the world oil supply is extraordinarily fragile.
TODD: Fragile not necessarily in volume, say the experts, but in other areas. Refining and shipping capacities stretched thin. Demand from the United States, and lately India and China, going way up. And listen to what a Saudi official and an independent expert volunteered about the terrorism factor.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: We are paying some kind of fear premium for the price of oil right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that puts a fear premium on crude oil.
TODD: Energy experts say oil markets, like others, are psychologically driven.
KING: I, for example, would suggest, as you notice, every time a pipeline in Iraq is blown up, there's a spike in price. Now, should that move, that kind of violence against oil move, into Saudi Arabia, it would be a very serious problem.
TODD: Saudi Arabia has already been hit. A series of attacks on oil company compounds in 2003 and 2004 killed dozens of foreign workers. Experts believe many refineries are well-secured. The vulnerabilities lie in the pipelines, ports and housing complexes. And there is another threat.
BERGEN: We don't know if al Qaeda has penetrated the Saudi oil business. But it would be kind of surprising if it hadn't, because this is the largest industry in the kingdom. Clearly, bin Laden enjoys a fair amount of support in certain circles.
TODD (on camera): And not even three months ago, bin Laden issued a taped message, urging his followers to continue their attacks on the oil industry. Experts say that's part of al Qaeda's broader strategy to hurt Western economies. And even the possibility of attack is one reason many people will be hurting at the pumps this summer.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: The president of the United States in Columbus, Ohio. As a matter of fact, he's just gotten on stage there. He's being introduced.
He's going to talk about some ways to offer relief on gas prices. We will bring it to you live as soon as he gets to the meat of the matter on gas prices. That should happen very shortly.
Meanwhile, Mount St. Helens blowing off steam again today, but nothing compared to the plume of smoke that shot up yesterday nearly seven miles high. Ash fell as far as 90 miles away. The visual drama aside, a government scientist classifies this eruption as -- and we quote now -- "pretty small potatoes." Apparently that's a technical seismological term.
On the other side of the country, that brief touch of spring that teased the Northeast gives way to a blast of winter seen here. Parts of New England, it was 60 degrees at the start of the week and now this... the storm that dropped more than a half a foot of snow drifted out to sea, leaving subzero wind-chills behind it.
PHILLIPS: And this just into CNN. It's a story we've been following for you throughout the day. And it's the hikers that were stranded in Tennessee.
Now this coming straight out of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The officials there say they sent a helicopter to rescue one of the hikers that was said to be suffering from hypothermia after he had been stranded in this area with his three other friends.
The others were able to walk down without a problem, come down the mountain with rangers. But this one hiker was having physical problems, we're told, due to the hypothermia.
Well, now we're told an Air National Guard helicopter has dispatched to get that hiker, taking him to the University of Tennessee Medical Center. We're told right now he is alert and has a normal temperature. So we'll make sure we keep you updated on this stranded hiker. Three OK, one en route to the medical center there at the University of Tennessee.
Now, "USA Today" is reporting that a new finding that secondhand smoking causes breast cancer. Tobacco companies say the finding gives little weight to studies finding no connection. CNN senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Scientists at the Air Resources Board, a reputable California agency, concluding today that secondhand smoke causes breast cancer. Obviously, a controversial study that has stirred up a lot of controversy regarding cancer research, as well as tougher tobacco standards. Let me bring you up to speed here. Again, this is a reputable organization here that has not conducted any new studies, but instead reviewed about 1,000 existing human studies trying to find not only a link between secondhand smoke and breast cancer, but an actual cause and effect relationship.
For a long time, everyone's known that secondhand smoke just is not good for you. In fact, it has demonstrated a cause and effect relationship with several different things, including 40,000 deaths or so a year from heart disease due to secondhand smoke.
Also, all sorts of respiratory problems, including asthma, bronchitis, and cancer. But lung cancer, about 3,000 deaths a year. In fact, they've gone so far as to be able to determine how much exposure increases your risk of lung cancer from secondhand smoke. And here's what they found.
Workplace exposure, for example, 20-plus years, a 25 percent increase lung cancer risk. Spouse smoking for 30-plus years, a 23 percent increase. Social settings such as the bar or restaurants, 20- plus years, a 26 percent increase. And if you add all these things up, you can have up to a 32 percent increased risk for lung cancer.
But again, no one in the past has actually demonstrated a cause and effect relationship between secondhand smoke and breast cancer. About 1,000 studies done, looking at human studies, also placing increased weight in the toxicology studies of animal studies in the past, looking at those secondhand smoke chemicals in animals and trying to figure out how much of a weight they play in terms of actually causing breast cancer.
Lots of information coming in about this. The National Cancer Institute, the American College of Cancer, and the CDC all looking at this data right now, trying to figure out whether or not this is going to change any of their guidelines. That hasn't happened yet. As that's happening, we'll be sure to bring that to you here on CNN.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And one in every seven women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, and about 40,000 die each year. Tonight at 8:00 Eastern, Paula Zahn introduces us to several people affected by that disease, both victims and their loved ones: Carly Simon, Lynn Redgrave, Tommy Thompson and Paula's own mother. Breast cancer survivor stories tonight, 8:00 Eastern, only on CNN.
O'BRIEN: As we told you just a few moments ago, we're expecting President Bush to talk about gas prices. As a matter of fact, he is already speaking to that crowd in Columbus. We will bring it to you as soon as he gets to the issue of energy prices.
Meanwhile, a faithful 15-year-old said that today his dream came true. The reason, the pope made a surprise appearance at his hospital window, delighting the gathered crowd. We'll have more on how he is recuperating a little later on LIVE FROM.
And are Charles and Camilla getting an early wedding present? A new tribute to the couple will soon be in the mail. We'll deliver that one a little later on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: An unpopular opinion generating controversy at the U.S. Naval Academy. A professor at the Annapolis institution charges the college's admissions policy is severely flawed and that preferential treatment is going to three groups of midshipmen. CNN senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre brings us the story you will see only on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): According to one outspoken academy professor, half of the brigade of midshipmen got into Annapolis through set-asides, lower standards for racial minorities, star athletes or sailors who have shown potential. "Weaker academics means weaker officers," he says, "officers who may one day have their finger on the button or the trigger."
Some minority students were outraged.
ADAM YANG, MIDSHIPMAN, 1ST CLASS: The fundamental flaw in his argument was that weaker academics make weaker officers. But academics isn't the definition of a good officer.
MCINTYRE: As part of a regular feature called "Nobody Asked Me, But," Annapolis English Professor Bruce Fleming wrote in last month's "Proceedings" magazine, "The academy can do better." "Set-asides," he wrote, "slow class discussions and take seats that better applicants could have filled."
(on camera): So what were you thinking when you wrote this?
PROF. BRUCE FLEMING, U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY: Well, my concern is for the well-being of the Navy and Marine Corps.
MCINTYRE: What kind of reaction are you getting from the students?
FLEMING: Well, a number of them have come in to tell me that I'm saying things they're not allowed to say, and bully for me, and they're really glad I did it. And a number of them are either writing or saying that they don't agree and want to let me know that, too.
MCINTYRE: And isn't that what campus dialogue is supposed to be about?
FLEMING: At some level I couldn't be happier.
MCINTYRE (voice-over): The academy's superintendent, the equivalent of the school's president, was furious.
(on camera): Is Professor Fleming in any trouble?
ADM. RODNEY REMPT, SUPERINTENDENT, U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY: No, not at all.
MCINTYRE (voice-over): Admiral Rempt can't fire a tenured professor for speaking out, but he can and did upbraid him. "I would have expected a faculty member with almost 18 years here to exercise better judgment," he wrote in a memo to Fleming. "Your action has served to needlessly criticize the academy, our admissions board and every midshipmen."
(on camera): The Naval Academy disputes the idea that it has lower standards for some applicants and insists its whole person admissions policy looks at far more than just academics.
(voice-over): And the academic insists there are no quotas or racial preferences to achieve diversity.
REMPT: We're looking for people who certainly have academic smarts, but also have the physical toughness and the determination and the basic leadership skills.
MCINTYRE: Xochitl Piedra is a Mexican-American and a standout on the women's soccer team. Just because she needed some extra help to get through engineering, academy officials argued, doesn't mean she won't excel as a leader.
XOCHITL PIEDRA, MIDSHIPMAN 1ST CLASS: I think I'll be able to take care of my people, which is one of the most important things about being an officer.
MCINTYRE: While the midshipmen provided to CNN interviews all supported the official view, Professor Fleming said his e-mails were split 50-50. One student wrote, "The only reason that anybody would be opposed to your article would be if they recognized its truth and were threatened by it."
But another argued, "The last thing the fleet needs is 4,000 straight-A students." And some cited examples of poor students who went on to succeed. Senator John McCain graduated from Annapolis in 1958, fifth in his class, fifth from the bottom.
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, Annapolis.
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O'BRIEN: News "Around the World" now.
Twenty-nine children in the Philippines dead, and the mayor of their town blames undercooked cassava balls. Thirty-five other youngsters are in critical condition. The vendor who sold the fried cassava balls also critically ill after eating some to try to show there was nothing wrong with them.
Pope John Paul II still too frail to hold his weekly Wednesday general audience, but he blessed a large crowd today from his window of his hospital room in Rome. The pontiff is recovering from a tracheotomy and some other ailments.
After three weeks of protests against Syria's troop presence in Lebanon, supporters of Syria's government are now having their say. Tens of thousands of Syrians marched in Damascus today in favor of President Assad. The rally follows yesterday's huge pro-Syria demonstration in Beirut, Lebanon.
PHILLIPS: Well, she was a princess, an international icon, and now Diana is a ballet. Is it a touching tribute or shameless cashing in? It depends on whom you ask. We're going to have some answers later on LIVE FROM.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz live at the New York Stock Exchange. The days of filing for personal bankruptcy and wiping out all your debts could soon be gone for many folks. I'll have the latest on the sweeping changes to the bankruptcy law right after this break.
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PHILLIPS: Live to Columbus, Ohio, right now. The president of the United States speaking at the Battelle Memorial Institute on -- it's actually an energy research lab. He's talking about his energy policy. Let's listen in.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... the possibility of blackout are legitimate concerns for all Americans. And all these uncertainties about energy supply are a drag on our economy.
It is difficult for entrepreneurs to risk capital when they cannot predict the size of next month's energy bill. If small businesses have the choice between adding a new worker or keeping the machines running, they're not going to do much hiring. As you learned here in Ohio in the summer of 2003, it's hard to plan with confidence if you're not sure the lights are going to stay on.
During my second week as president, as Sam (ph) pointed out, I put together a taskforce to address America's energy challenges. Energy consumption was growing, costs were rising. We had an unreliable power grid, and we were dependent on foreign energy.
This taskforce sent back 100 recommendations to improve energy policy. And we put some of them into effect.
I mean, we've streamlined the permit process to encourage exploration for oil and gas. We filled the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to improve our security during a time of war. We promoted new forms of energy conservation at government facilities. We increased weatherization assistance by nearly 50 percent to help more low-income families insulate their homes and save on their heating bills.
We've done some practical, commonsense things. But I readily concede, these are first steps. This country must do more, and it requires legislative approval by the United States' Congress.
To meet America's energy needs in the 21st century, we need a comprehensive national energy policy. It's time for Congress to act, as I said earlier.
A sound energy bill must meet four objectives. We must promote conservation and efficiency, increase domestic production, diversify our energy supply, and modernize our energy infrastructure. And as we pursue all these goals, we will also uphold our responsibility to be good stewards of the environment.
The first objective of a sound energy bill is to encourage the use of technology to improve energy conservation. We're constantly searching for smarter ways to meet our energy needs. We're constantly looking for new technologies to help Americans conserve.
I mean, it makes sense, doesn't it? If you want to become less dependent on foreign sources of energy, we've got to be better conservers of energy. The more we conserve, the less we use. And the less we use, the less dependent we are on foreign sources of energy.
One of the reasons I went to Battelle was I wanted to see what innovative ideas they had about energy conservation, what were some of the true brains of America thinking about when it comes to encouraging energy conservation. I saw an efficient, affordable water heater that extracts heat from the air and converts it into energy that can warm your water in the shower. See, that's energy conservation.
The Department of Energy is supporting dozens of other creative technologies just like that one. That will increase conservation.
We're helping to develop lighter automobile parts that will save weight without sacrificing safety. That is a good way to conserve energy.
We've got flat-panel computer screens that can operate around the clock and consume very little power. That makes sense.
There's traffic signals that give off more light while taking in less electricity. Today you can store your food in super-efficient refrigerators that use less energy than a 75-watt light bulb.
I mean, we're making progress about using technologies that will enable us to conserve. We're also applying practical technologies to help Americans make better choices about energy consumption. We want to help you make good choices so you become better conservers of energy.
Devices called smart meters show how much energy you're using and then calculate exactly what that energy is going to cost you. It seems like a practical idea, doesn't it, here's what you're using, and if you use it at this hour, this is what it costs? It will help you plan. It will help you better conserve. It will give you incentives to turn off the lights the next time you leave the room.
The federal government is helping consumers make wise decisions at the store by placing ENERGY STAR labels on the most efficient products. If you're interested in joining in this important cause of conserving energy, look for the ENERGY STAR label.
I proposed tax credits for drivers who choose fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles. We want to encourage you to make good choices.
Innovators are advancing technology every day. And America needs to be the world leader when it comes to energy conservation.
Secondly, we need to encourage more energy production at home. If you want to become less dependent on foreign sources of energy, you need to find more energy here.
The need is clear. Over the past three years, America's energy consumption has increased by more than 3 percent, yet our domestic energy production has decreased by 2 percent. That means we're relying more on energy from foreign countries. That's what that means.
We now import more than half our oil from abroad. Think about that. More than half of the oil that we consume in order to maintain our lifestyles comes from overseas or abroad. And our dependence is growing. We're becoming more reliant upon natural gas, and a lot of it is coming from outside our borders.
I believe that creates a national security issue and an economic security issue for the United States. And that's why it's important for us to utilize the resources we have here at home in environmentally-friendly ways.
Increasing our energy security begins with a firm commitment to America's most abundant energy sources -- source, and that is coal. Our nation is blessed with enough coal to last another 250 years. We've got a lot of it.
In Ohio, you know the importance of coal firsthand. If you don't, listen to this.
When you plug in a television or charge a cell phone or use electricity, there's a 90 percent chance that that electricity is coming from coal. Coal is at the heart of Ohio's energy strategy, and it should be at the heart of America's energy strategy. Coal presents an environmental challenge, and I know that.
Most of Ohio's coal is high in sulfur. And that makes it harder for your good state to meet strict air quality standards.
That's why clean coal technology is critical to the future of this country. It's critical to the future of the state. It's critical for the job creators of your state.
PHILLIPS: Conserving energy so the U.S. is less dependent on foreign countries. That's the president, what he has to say there.
The core of his speech, as he speaks at the Batelle Memorial Institute and Energy Research Lab in Columbus, Ohio, not to be left by the roadside, of course, on the energy debate. But congressional Democrats who say relief from America's gas pains is spelled "SPR," that's the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and maintained by the government in the case of dire emergency, which the Bush administration says the present situation is not.
New York senator -- senior senator, rather, disagrees.
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SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: The president is in Ohio talking about energy. But if you ask most Americans what do they want, they want someone to do something about the price coming down now. The president, instead of going out to Ohio and making a political speech, should turn the spigot and bring prices down.
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PHILLIPS: So the price of oil dictates the price of gas. And the price of both dictate or heavily influence the price of many other things. And many other things influence them. You got all that?
Fear not. CNN's Kathleen Hays is the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of insights and examples to try to sort it all out? Right, for us? No, but it's timely. The president pushing his energy legislation and plan. We've got higher gas prices. It all fits well together.
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