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CNN Live Today
John Kerry Reveals Running Mate
Aired July 06, 2004 - 11:33 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta. The headlines for Tuesday, July 6. John Kerry has revealed his running mate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am pleased to announce, that with your help, the next vice president of the United States of America will be Senator John Edwards from North Carolina.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Edwards will join Kerry at the family farm in Pennsylvania later today. They'll pair up and begin a campaign blitz across several states. It will end in Edwards' home state of North Carolina.
President Bush in a meeting with Iceland's prime minister this morning said that he looked forward to a spirited election contest with the Kerry-Edwards ticket. And Mr. Bush said that Vice President Cheney telephoned Senator Edwards today to welcome him to the race.
Jury deliberations resume this morning in the fraud and conspiracy trial of four former executives with Aldephia Communications. Jurors failed to reach a verdict in their deliberations last week.
And now more on our top story. It's a tale of two Johns. You have Senator John Kerry. He has picked Senator John Edwards of North Carolina to be his running mate. For more on that we're going to bring in our Judy Woodruff who is live in Washington. Judy, good morning. I think we also have Paul Begala with us as well in Washington, D.C.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: You do.
KAGAN: Good morning to both of you.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Daryn, again.
PAUL BEGALA, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": Good morning.
KAGAN: Judy, let me go ahead and start with you. Frist in terms of who is whose vice presidential pick. I want to go back and run a sound bite from the primaries from a debate back in February in Los Angeles. An exchange between the two now -- well, presidential and vice presidential contender. Let's listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: As you listen to the differences between each other tonight and through these dozen or so earlier debates, have you heard anything that either one of you said that would make it impossible for you to run together as a ticket, if it came to that? Do you have any fundamental, philosophical...
(CROSSTALK)
BROWNSTEIN: ... that would make it impossible for to you run together in either order?
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), THEN-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think an Edwards-Kerry ticket would be powerful. And that's the ticket I think we should have.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
LARRY KING, CNN HOST: What a minute...
BROWNSTEIN: Senator Kerry?
KING: Hold it. Are you saying now that if you get this nomination, you will ask him to join you?
EDWARDS: He certainly should be considered. He's a very, very, very good candidate.
(LAUGHTER)
BROWNSTEIN: And?
KING: And where does Edwards stand in your thinking? You have to be thinking about it. If you say you're not thinking about it, you're kidding.
KERRY: I want to thank him for the consideration. I appreciate it.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Kind of a light hearted moment there. But, Judy, you know, it's John Kerry who gets the reputation as flip flopper but it's John Edwards, throughout the campaign, who said he did not want the vice presidential job. And yet for the last few weeks has been campaigning very hard to try to get that.
WOODRUFF: Well, let's be honest, Daryn, they all say that. They say I don't want to be vice president. But when it comes down to it, it's the next best thing. And you are literally a heartbeat away. If anything were to happen, if you're elected vice president and anything happens, you're the president. And clearly John Kerry looked at who could be president.
Although, having said that, you know, it's clear Dick Gephardt, somebody who was in the running, very strongly in the running, has a lot more experience in Washington, in government than John Edwards does.
What this choice says though about John Kerry is he wanted somebody that would excite the voters, excite the electorate get some of those Democrats and Republicans and independents who were on the fence, win them over and, you know, that's what this is all about. It's who is going to help John Kerry win on November 2.
KAGAN: And now to Paul Begala. This announcement wasn't -- actually had leaked. It was just seconds old as news. And the Republicans were already out there saying well, actually, John Edwards was really John Kerry's second choice. Who he really wanted was John McCain.
Let's take a look at the ad the Republicans are putting out there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: It's a big thing this war. It's a fight between right and wrong, good and evil. And should our enemies acquire for their arsenal the chemical, biological and nuclear weapons they seek, this war will become an even bigger thing. It will become a fight for our survival.
America is under attack by depraved enemies who oppose our every interest and hate every value we hold dear. It is the great test of our generation and he has led with great moral clarity and firm resolve. He has not wavered. He has not flinched from the hard choices. He was determined and remains determined to make this world a better, safer, freer place.
He deserves not only our support, but our admiration. That's why I am honored to introduce to you...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: And that from an appearance just within the last few weeks.
Now no one's going to argue with the popularity of John McCain, but the White House wants to make it very clear not only is he going to run with John Kerry, he actually supports this administration.
BEGALA: Well, sort of. You know, George Bush could have picked John McCain. He could have picked any number of very able people that Bush had run against the way that Kerry just did with John Edwards. He could have picked McCain, could have picked Orrin Hatch, could have picked Elizabeth Dole. He picked the guy who was in charge of the process itself. He put Dick Cheney in charge of selecting the best person in the country. Dick Cheney decided, well, gee, I guess that's me.
That's a level of arrogance that's really pretty breath taking.
KAGAN: But let's just talk about it. You have to admit that the idea of a John Kerry,-John McCain ticket was intriguing to a lot of people.
BEGALA: Oh it was intriguing but it was never going to happen. And by the way, both Senator McCain and Senator Kerry say it was never offered. And so the notion that he's a second choice is not actually truthful. It's not plausible.
I would point out though for historical sake that we ought to keep in mind that actually George W. Bush was the American's people second choice in the year 2000 if you actually looked at who voted for Al Gore and who voted for Bush.
So if I were them, I wouldn't be talking a lot about second choices, Daryn.
KAGAN: Well there's going to be a lot of talking going on the next 117 days. And I'm sure you guys will be part of it.
Paul Begala, Judy Woodruff, thank you for that.
WOODRUFF: Thanks, Daryn.
BEGALA: Thanks.
KAGAN: Iraqis are clearing the rock and rubble in Fallujah. This is a day after the U.S. launched an air raid on a house there. The strike was the latest in a series of raids on what U.S. military officials have called safe houses for the network led by fugitive Islamic militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Sources say that eight people were killed in the strike.
Meanwhile an Arabic-language television network says it has received a taped statement from a group that had threatened to kill Zarqawi if he doesn't leave Iraq. The group says that Zarqawi has murdered innocent Iraqis and dishonored the Muslim religion.
And Tony Blair says that authorities may never find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but the British prime minister still defends the invasion of that country, saying that Saddam Hussein was a threat to the world.
He was once thought to be kidnapped and killed. It is now said that he is alive and free. The brother of U.S. Marine Wassef Hassoun says the captured Marine is now safe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAMI HASSOUN, BROTHER OF MISSING MARINE WASSEF HASSOUN: We had a sign that he's alive and he's released. We have no idea where he is. But he's alive and he's released, and we are assured of the sign.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Sami, you say you have gotten a sign. Can you tell us more about that? What sign?
HASSOUN: We have no comments about that right now. That's all we can say. He's alive, we are sure of it, and he is released.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Talking to our Bill Hemmer earlier today here on CNN.
Military officials have not yet responded.
For more on the story now let's go to our Rusty Dornin. She is in Hassoun's hometown of West Jordan, Utah -- Rusty.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, there's not really much of a response here from the family in West Jordan.
I did speak this morning with Corporal Hassoun's brother Mohammed (ph). He said, yes, he had talked to the family in Lebanon. He did not know much more.
Apparently someone did walk up to the door, up to the family home in Lebanon with this sign. Neither the family in Lebanon nor here in West Jordan has spoken directly with Corporal Hassoun.
So still the key emotion here is uncertainty.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DORNIN (voice-over): For the family of Corporal Wassef Hassoun, it's been a roller coaster ride to hell and back.
First the haunting images -- Hassoun blindfolded and the threat of his beheading. Then an unconfirmed report by a militant group claiming to have killed Hassoun. The next day that same group denied it.
Then the group that claims to have kidnapped Hassoun, Islamic Response faxed a message to the Arab network Al-Jazeera. It claimed the Lebanese-born translator had been sent to a safe place after he announced his forgiveness and determination not to return to U.S. armed forces.
The family here in Utah has stayed in seclusion throughout its ordeal, shutting the door to the news media. But the latest twist brought a spokesman down the front steps to tell reporters the family doesn't know what to believe.
TAPEK HASSOUN, HASSOUN FAMILY SPOKESMAN: We pray that the news of his safe release is true.
DORNIN: The family asks that people continue to pray for Hassoun. Meantime neighbors, friends and supporters came by the house to drop notes and flowers. Army Private David Monson (ph) doesn't know Hassoun, but that didn't matter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Having a brother in arms get captured, so we just hope and pray that there will be a resolution to it and he'll come home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DORNIN: So while this latest news, of course, is encouraging to the family here, there is no independent verification directly from Corporal Hassoun, so his fate remains somewhat of a mystery -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And we'll continue to track it from West Jordan, Utah.
Rusty, thank you.
Sobering news in the worldwide war against AIDS. A new report suggests the war is being lost in some places. That is coming up.
And another surprising report, this time the cough therapy you may be giving to your children. How well does it work? We're coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: The head of the U.N. program on HIV-AIDS says that more people than ever are newly infected with the virus and more people are dying. The new U.N. report says that about 38 million people around the world are living with AIDS.
There's a new study here in the U.S. that's showing that cough syrups may not quell your kids' cough.
Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has the details in our "Daily Dose."
Can we add that you are a mother of three so you have kind of your own home private study going?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right.
And I must say, I don't give my kids cough syrup because they can't stand the taste of it.
KAGAN: So that's a different story.
COHEN: That's a whole different story.
But I know that many parents do. Their kids get a cough and they run to the pharmacy and they say, quick, let me figure out which cough syrup am I supposed to give my kids.
There's a whole array of them based on different symptoms that can be confusing, and coughs can be very frustrating. They can take a while to go away. Not only is your child sick, but your child is unable to sleep because they're coughing, which means you are unable to sleep.
It's no wonder that millions and billions of dollars are spent every year on children's cough syrup. So a team of researchers decided to say, hey, do these things really work or is this just marketing?
What they found -- they looked at the two most common ingredients in cough syrup, which is dextramathorofan (ph) and diphenhydramine (ph), and they found that they worked no better than sugar water. They gave kids both and the cough medicines worked no better than sugar water.
This supports what the American Academy of Pediatrics has been saying now for quite a while, which is that not a lot of evidence that these things actually work.
KAGAN: All right. So frustrated parents out there, what are you supposed to do?
COHEN: Well, one thing you might think, oh, gee, should I throw this stuff away that this study says that doesn't work?
And there's an important point to make about this study. In this study, the parents gave their children cough syrup for just one night and then they saw what happened with their cough.
They didn't look at what happened if you gave your cough syrup to your child during the day or for several nights in a row. Maybe it would still work then. That's a possibility.
But even having said that, some parents think that cough syrup is just like candy, just, you know, give it to the child. But you have to remember these cough syrups can have a lot of side effects. They can make your child drowsy, it can make your child restless, you never know quite which one.
(CROSSTALK)
KAGAN: But it still comes down to what do you do when the kid has a cough?
COHEN: So when the kid has a cough what you want to do is think about some other drugs, acetamenophin (ph), Ibuprofen, commonly sold as Tylenol or Advil. Those are often very helpful to help a child with a cough.
Just to feel better, give your child plenty of liquids. That's important. Nose drops, which is a saline solution you put in the child's nose, can help a lot, too. And a humidifier.
So those are some very common sense kind of things that you can do for a child with a cough without giving them a cough syrup.
Also important to know, if you do give a cough syrup, make sure that when you are giving them other stuff, like acetamenophin (ph) or Ibuprofen, that may already be in the cough syrup, you may be double dosing -- not to be confused with daily dosing. You may be double dosing your child.
(CROSSTALK)
KAGAN: Meanwhile, a little dose of something for mom or dad at the end of the day because they are probably going crazy with no sleep.
COHEN: That's right. Coughs are so frustrating, they really are.
KAGAN: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much for that.
And to get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, log on to our Web site. You will find the latest medical news, a health library and information on diet and fitness. The address is cnn.com/health.
We are back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Sometimes it's good to be first, but then it's not good to be wrong. Take a look at the headline in this morning's "New York Post": "Kerry's Choice" Dick Gephardt. Oops. Somewhere President Dewey is having himself a good laugh. Now that was of course the headlines this morning from "The New York Post." It's no longer on their Web site, and in fact they have come out with an apology to their readers. This from the editor-in-chief who says we unreservedly apologize for our readers for the mistake. They thought they had the scoop on the competition.
Well what would Ron Burgundy have to say about that? That is the character that actor Will Farrell plays in his new movie "Anchorman." It's the hot new movie that opens in theaters on Friday. We'll have Will Farrell as my guest. He'll be with me tomorrow morning. He's talking about playing the selfish and chauvinistic title, the character of "Anchorman." He is my guest tomorrow in the 10 a.m. Eastern Hour. We're not really sure if Will Farrell is going to show up or "Ron Burgundy," but that's part of the fun of coming to work.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: And that's going to do it for me, Daryn Kagan. I'll be right back here tomorrow morning.
Meanwhile, Wolf Blitzer continues on his vacation. Betty Nguyen is sitting in for him.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 6, 2004 - 11:33 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta. The headlines for Tuesday, July 6. John Kerry has revealed his running mate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am pleased to announce, that with your help, the next vice president of the United States of America will be Senator John Edwards from North Carolina.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Edwards will join Kerry at the family farm in Pennsylvania later today. They'll pair up and begin a campaign blitz across several states. It will end in Edwards' home state of North Carolina.
President Bush in a meeting with Iceland's prime minister this morning said that he looked forward to a spirited election contest with the Kerry-Edwards ticket. And Mr. Bush said that Vice President Cheney telephoned Senator Edwards today to welcome him to the race.
Jury deliberations resume this morning in the fraud and conspiracy trial of four former executives with Aldephia Communications. Jurors failed to reach a verdict in their deliberations last week.
And now more on our top story. It's a tale of two Johns. You have Senator John Kerry. He has picked Senator John Edwards of North Carolina to be his running mate. For more on that we're going to bring in our Judy Woodruff who is live in Washington. Judy, good morning. I think we also have Paul Begala with us as well in Washington, D.C.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: You do.
KAGAN: Good morning to both of you.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Daryn, again.
PAUL BEGALA, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": Good morning.
KAGAN: Judy, let me go ahead and start with you. Frist in terms of who is whose vice presidential pick. I want to go back and run a sound bite from the primaries from a debate back in February in Los Angeles. An exchange between the two now -- well, presidential and vice presidential contender. Let's listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: As you listen to the differences between each other tonight and through these dozen or so earlier debates, have you heard anything that either one of you said that would make it impossible for you to run together as a ticket, if it came to that? Do you have any fundamental, philosophical...
(CROSSTALK)
BROWNSTEIN: ... that would make it impossible for to you run together in either order?
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), THEN-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think an Edwards-Kerry ticket would be powerful. And that's the ticket I think we should have.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
LARRY KING, CNN HOST: What a minute...
BROWNSTEIN: Senator Kerry?
KING: Hold it. Are you saying now that if you get this nomination, you will ask him to join you?
EDWARDS: He certainly should be considered. He's a very, very, very good candidate.
(LAUGHTER)
BROWNSTEIN: And?
KING: And where does Edwards stand in your thinking? You have to be thinking about it. If you say you're not thinking about it, you're kidding.
KERRY: I want to thank him for the consideration. I appreciate it.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Kind of a light hearted moment there. But, Judy, you know, it's John Kerry who gets the reputation as flip flopper but it's John Edwards, throughout the campaign, who said he did not want the vice presidential job. And yet for the last few weeks has been campaigning very hard to try to get that.
WOODRUFF: Well, let's be honest, Daryn, they all say that. They say I don't want to be vice president. But when it comes down to it, it's the next best thing. And you are literally a heartbeat away. If anything were to happen, if you're elected vice president and anything happens, you're the president. And clearly John Kerry looked at who could be president.
Although, having said that, you know, it's clear Dick Gephardt, somebody who was in the running, very strongly in the running, has a lot more experience in Washington, in government than John Edwards does.
What this choice says though about John Kerry is he wanted somebody that would excite the voters, excite the electorate get some of those Democrats and Republicans and independents who were on the fence, win them over and, you know, that's what this is all about. It's who is going to help John Kerry win on November 2.
KAGAN: And now to Paul Begala. This announcement wasn't -- actually had leaked. It was just seconds old as news. And the Republicans were already out there saying well, actually, John Edwards was really John Kerry's second choice. Who he really wanted was John McCain.
Let's take a look at the ad the Republicans are putting out there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: It's a big thing this war. It's a fight between right and wrong, good and evil. And should our enemies acquire for their arsenal the chemical, biological and nuclear weapons they seek, this war will become an even bigger thing. It will become a fight for our survival.
America is under attack by depraved enemies who oppose our every interest and hate every value we hold dear. It is the great test of our generation and he has led with great moral clarity and firm resolve. He has not wavered. He has not flinched from the hard choices. He was determined and remains determined to make this world a better, safer, freer place.
He deserves not only our support, but our admiration. That's why I am honored to introduce to you...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: And that from an appearance just within the last few weeks.
Now no one's going to argue with the popularity of John McCain, but the White House wants to make it very clear not only is he going to run with John Kerry, he actually supports this administration.
BEGALA: Well, sort of. You know, George Bush could have picked John McCain. He could have picked any number of very able people that Bush had run against the way that Kerry just did with John Edwards. He could have picked McCain, could have picked Orrin Hatch, could have picked Elizabeth Dole. He picked the guy who was in charge of the process itself. He put Dick Cheney in charge of selecting the best person in the country. Dick Cheney decided, well, gee, I guess that's me.
That's a level of arrogance that's really pretty breath taking.
KAGAN: But let's just talk about it. You have to admit that the idea of a John Kerry,-John McCain ticket was intriguing to a lot of people.
BEGALA: Oh it was intriguing but it was never going to happen. And by the way, both Senator McCain and Senator Kerry say it was never offered. And so the notion that he's a second choice is not actually truthful. It's not plausible.
I would point out though for historical sake that we ought to keep in mind that actually George W. Bush was the American's people second choice in the year 2000 if you actually looked at who voted for Al Gore and who voted for Bush.
So if I were them, I wouldn't be talking a lot about second choices, Daryn.
KAGAN: Well there's going to be a lot of talking going on the next 117 days. And I'm sure you guys will be part of it.
Paul Begala, Judy Woodruff, thank you for that.
WOODRUFF: Thanks, Daryn.
BEGALA: Thanks.
KAGAN: Iraqis are clearing the rock and rubble in Fallujah. This is a day after the U.S. launched an air raid on a house there. The strike was the latest in a series of raids on what U.S. military officials have called safe houses for the network led by fugitive Islamic militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Sources say that eight people were killed in the strike.
Meanwhile an Arabic-language television network says it has received a taped statement from a group that had threatened to kill Zarqawi if he doesn't leave Iraq. The group says that Zarqawi has murdered innocent Iraqis and dishonored the Muslim religion.
And Tony Blair says that authorities may never find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but the British prime minister still defends the invasion of that country, saying that Saddam Hussein was a threat to the world.
He was once thought to be kidnapped and killed. It is now said that he is alive and free. The brother of U.S. Marine Wassef Hassoun says the captured Marine is now safe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAMI HASSOUN, BROTHER OF MISSING MARINE WASSEF HASSOUN: We had a sign that he's alive and he's released. We have no idea where he is. But he's alive and he's released, and we are assured of the sign.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Sami, you say you have gotten a sign. Can you tell us more about that? What sign?
HASSOUN: We have no comments about that right now. That's all we can say. He's alive, we are sure of it, and he is released.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Talking to our Bill Hemmer earlier today here on CNN.
Military officials have not yet responded.
For more on the story now let's go to our Rusty Dornin. She is in Hassoun's hometown of West Jordan, Utah -- Rusty.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, there's not really much of a response here from the family in West Jordan.
I did speak this morning with Corporal Hassoun's brother Mohammed (ph). He said, yes, he had talked to the family in Lebanon. He did not know much more.
Apparently someone did walk up to the door, up to the family home in Lebanon with this sign. Neither the family in Lebanon nor here in West Jordan has spoken directly with Corporal Hassoun.
So still the key emotion here is uncertainty.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DORNIN (voice-over): For the family of Corporal Wassef Hassoun, it's been a roller coaster ride to hell and back.
First the haunting images -- Hassoun blindfolded and the threat of his beheading. Then an unconfirmed report by a militant group claiming to have killed Hassoun. The next day that same group denied it.
Then the group that claims to have kidnapped Hassoun, Islamic Response faxed a message to the Arab network Al-Jazeera. It claimed the Lebanese-born translator had been sent to a safe place after he announced his forgiveness and determination not to return to U.S. armed forces.
The family here in Utah has stayed in seclusion throughout its ordeal, shutting the door to the news media. But the latest twist brought a spokesman down the front steps to tell reporters the family doesn't know what to believe.
TAPEK HASSOUN, HASSOUN FAMILY SPOKESMAN: We pray that the news of his safe release is true.
DORNIN: The family asks that people continue to pray for Hassoun. Meantime neighbors, friends and supporters came by the house to drop notes and flowers. Army Private David Monson (ph) doesn't know Hassoun, but that didn't matter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Having a brother in arms get captured, so we just hope and pray that there will be a resolution to it and he'll come home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DORNIN: So while this latest news, of course, is encouraging to the family here, there is no independent verification directly from Corporal Hassoun, so his fate remains somewhat of a mystery -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And we'll continue to track it from West Jordan, Utah.
Rusty, thank you.
Sobering news in the worldwide war against AIDS. A new report suggests the war is being lost in some places. That is coming up.
And another surprising report, this time the cough therapy you may be giving to your children. How well does it work? We're coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: The head of the U.N. program on HIV-AIDS says that more people than ever are newly infected with the virus and more people are dying. The new U.N. report says that about 38 million people around the world are living with AIDS.
There's a new study here in the U.S. that's showing that cough syrups may not quell your kids' cough.
Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has the details in our "Daily Dose."
Can we add that you are a mother of three so you have kind of your own home private study going?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right.
And I must say, I don't give my kids cough syrup because they can't stand the taste of it.
KAGAN: So that's a different story.
COHEN: That's a whole different story.
But I know that many parents do. Their kids get a cough and they run to the pharmacy and they say, quick, let me figure out which cough syrup am I supposed to give my kids.
There's a whole array of them based on different symptoms that can be confusing, and coughs can be very frustrating. They can take a while to go away. Not only is your child sick, but your child is unable to sleep because they're coughing, which means you are unable to sleep.
It's no wonder that millions and billions of dollars are spent every year on children's cough syrup. So a team of researchers decided to say, hey, do these things really work or is this just marketing?
What they found -- they looked at the two most common ingredients in cough syrup, which is dextramathorofan (ph) and diphenhydramine (ph), and they found that they worked no better than sugar water. They gave kids both and the cough medicines worked no better than sugar water.
This supports what the American Academy of Pediatrics has been saying now for quite a while, which is that not a lot of evidence that these things actually work.
KAGAN: All right. So frustrated parents out there, what are you supposed to do?
COHEN: Well, one thing you might think, oh, gee, should I throw this stuff away that this study says that doesn't work?
And there's an important point to make about this study. In this study, the parents gave their children cough syrup for just one night and then they saw what happened with their cough.
They didn't look at what happened if you gave your cough syrup to your child during the day or for several nights in a row. Maybe it would still work then. That's a possibility.
But even having said that, some parents think that cough syrup is just like candy, just, you know, give it to the child. But you have to remember these cough syrups can have a lot of side effects. They can make your child drowsy, it can make your child restless, you never know quite which one.
(CROSSTALK)
KAGAN: But it still comes down to what do you do when the kid has a cough?
COHEN: So when the kid has a cough what you want to do is think about some other drugs, acetamenophin (ph), Ibuprofen, commonly sold as Tylenol or Advil. Those are often very helpful to help a child with a cough.
Just to feel better, give your child plenty of liquids. That's important. Nose drops, which is a saline solution you put in the child's nose, can help a lot, too. And a humidifier.
So those are some very common sense kind of things that you can do for a child with a cough without giving them a cough syrup.
Also important to know, if you do give a cough syrup, make sure that when you are giving them other stuff, like acetamenophin (ph) or Ibuprofen, that may already be in the cough syrup, you may be double dosing -- not to be confused with daily dosing. You may be double dosing your child.
(CROSSTALK)
KAGAN: Meanwhile, a little dose of something for mom or dad at the end of the day because they are probably going crazy with no sleep.
COHEN: That's right. Coughs are so frustrating, they really are.
KAGAN: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much for that.
And to get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, log on to our Web site. You will find the latest medical news, a health library and information on diet and fitness. The address is cnn.com/health.
We are back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Sometimes it's good to be first, but then it's not good to be wrong. Take a look at the headline in this morning's "New York Post": "Kerry's Choice" Dick Gephardt. Oops. Somewhere President Dewey is having himself a good laugh. Now that was of course the headlines this morning from "The New York Post." It's no longer on their Web site, and in fact they have come out with an apology to their readers. This from the editor-in-chief who says we unreservedly apologize for our readers for the mistake. They thought they had the scoop on the competition.
Well what would Ron Burgundy have to say about that? That is the character that actor Will Farrell plays in his new movie "Anchorman." It's the hot new movie that opens in theaters on Friday. We'll have Will Farrell as my guest. He'll be with me tomorrow morning. He's talking about playing the selfish and chauvinistic title, the character of "Anchorman." He is my guest tomorrow in the 10 a.m. Eastern Hour. We're not really sure if Will Farrell is going to show up or "Ron Burgundy," but that's part of the fun of coming to work.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: And that's going to do it for me, Daryn Kagan. I'll be right back here tomorrow morning.
Meanwhile, Wolf Blitzer continues on his vacation. Betty Nguyen is sitting in for him.
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