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President Bush to Address Annual Conference of the National Guard; Discussion With Mayor of New Orleans

Aired September 14, 2004 - 10:29   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: The incumbent, meanwhile, is wrapping up his second day of campaigning in Colorado. A lot of eyes already turned to his visit later this morning in Las Vegas. President Bush will address the Annual Conference of the National Guard, but will he mention the controversy over his Vietnam-era service in that Branch?
Our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux traveling with the president. She is in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

Suzanne, good morning.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

This is a southern suburb of Denver, and the president is expected to address, talking about health care specifically. Colorado a very interesting place. Four years ago, it was were solidly Republican. Now it is up for grabs, and Republicans taking nothing for granted.

But as you had mentioned, of course, the big story we anticipate today is going to be later when the president addresses the National Guard Association in Las Vegas. He's going to be thanking the Guardsmen for their service in Afghanistan in Iraq. We're told by Bush aides that this was actually arranged a long time ago, much before the controversy over the president's own Guard service, which aides say he is not going to be addressing that specifically. He is going to say that he is proud of his service in the Texas Air National Guard.

Of course, the controversy, Daryn, as you know, over unexplained gaps in his service during the time of the Vietnam War, those newly discovered documents that call into question whether or not Mr. Bush met all of his requirements or received preferential treatment. Those documents, which first aired on CBS News, now being questioned for their authenticity by news organizations, as well as analysts.

And so far, the White House position has been they do not know whether they're forgeries, they don't care, they said the president fulfilled his duty, that he served honorably.

But yesterday, it was the first lady who went in front of this controversy. She weighed in in an interview before Radio Iowa.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, they probably are altered, and they probably are forgeries, and I think that's terrible, really. I think it's a terrible -- I mean, that's actually one of the risks you take when you run for public office or when you're in the public eye for any reason, and that, obviously, a lot of things were said about you that aren't true, and that's the drawback, that's the one thing that's not great about serving in public office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Now, White House spokesman Claire Buchanan (ph) and other Bush campaign officials say that she is speaking her own opinion; this does not mean that the White House is conducting an investigation into those documents, whether or not they're forgeries.

Should also let you know, Daryn, as well before the president even addresses the National Guard, there is going to be a news conference of family members of those who are in the Guard. They are going to go before the cameras, and say that they feel the president has betrayed them, that these are people who wanted to serve their country, but serve their country at home. They did not expect these kind of extended tours of duty overseas. Some of them say that this is a war that is based on lies, quite a bit of controversy over this issue that we expect, Daryn, to emerge, and still, big question whether or not the president is going to address this. So far, we've been told not to expect for him to address his service specifically -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right, Suzanne Malveaux in Colorado, thank you.

Well, you can consider this another chapter in the increasingly bitter presidential race. Bookstores today begin selling a tabloid biography on George W. Bush and his family.

Our Jason Carroll looks beyond the cover.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's an explosive charge in a tell-all book, but did author Kitty Kelley accurately reflect what Sharon Bush told her? Sharon Bush, the ex-wife of the president's brother Neil, says no.

According to the book, Sharon Bush told Kelley, George W. used cocaine with one of his brothers at Camp David when their father was president. But on NBC's "Today" show, Sharon Bush she says, "I never saw the use of cocaine, and I am sticking by it. I have to set the record straight." She went on to say, "I couldn't imagine that if someone did see that, they would reveal that to Kitty Kelley."

In the past, when asked about drug abuse, George W. Bush simply admitted to having made youthful mistakes.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Over 20 years ago, I did some things that, when I was young, I made mistakes. And I've learned from the mistakes. And that's all I intend to talk about it.

CARROLL: Sharon Bush's attorney says allegations about drug abuse in George W.'s later adult years should not be linked to his client.

DAVID BERG, ATTORNEY FOR SHARON BUSH: The guy is, you know, he's a reformed drinker. He is, he obviously did cocaine in his past, because of his answers to questions about it. But this is not something that can be attributed to Sharon.

CARROLL: Kelley stands by the accuracy of the allegations. The author also says Neal Bush threatened his ex-wife for cooperating with the book, saying she would end up in a dark alley.

President Bush's campaign spokesman said Monday, "The president categorically and adamantly denies the charges in the book. Kitty Kelley has made a career out of lies. This is more of the same."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: You can call it 2004, a space odyssey. This is a look at Ivan, the irrepressible, as seen from outer space. These images courtesy of the folks at NASA. The space agency is eying Ivan from unique vantage points, like the International Space Station and earth orbiting satellites.

As we have been reporting, the hurricane is now in the Gulf of Mexico. It could strike Florida to Louisiana within the next 48 hours. So preparation for Hurricane Ivan are well under way in New Orleans.

Mayor Ray Nagin can you tell us what is going on there.

Mr. Mayor, I'd like to say good morning, but I realize it's a busy and very serious morning for you folks there.

MYR. RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: Well, yes, Daryn, it is a very busy morning for us. We're preparing like this storm will hit New Orleans, or within the New Orleans area, and have some significant impact, negative impact on the city.

And so you've already declared a state of emergency, well-known that your city sits below sea level. What's your biggest concern at this point?

NAGIN: Well, you know, the city basically sits like a bowl, and most of the city is under sea level. As a matter of fact, if you visit our city and you will notice that ships are passing along the river, you will see that the ships are basically above your head. So if we get a storm like Ivan to hit us directly or to become really close to us, then we could have a situation where we have 12 to 18 feet of water throughout the city.

KAGAN: Which is not going to be a good thing, to say the least. You have about a half million people, not a lot of time on your side. Where are half million people supposed to go, Mr. Mayor? NAGIN: Well, that's the big challenge with this storm. It got into the Gulf and then it started moving pretty fast. And if you remember, it was originally scheduled to head for Florida. So our evacuation time was minimized to the point where we have 24 to 36 hours to evacuate, whereas most of the time we need 72 hours. So we're encouraging everyone to leave, and a lot of people are leaving. But if they can't leave, then we're encouraging them to do what we call vertical evacuation, and that's to basically go to hotels and high-rise buildings in the city.

KAGAN: Fascinating. Ivan's predicted perhaps by the time it gets there to be a category three. New Orleans knows only too well what a category-three storm can do. Back in 1965, Hurricane Betsy, taking, I think, 110 lives and doing major damage.

NAGIN: Well, you've done your homework. Hurricane Betsy is the last category three that has hit us. This storm is even more concerning than Betsy. It's 100 miles from the start to the eye. And then another 100 miles from the eye to the back. So if it hits us directly, we will have to deal with this storm dumping lots of water, and rain and wind for over 20 hours, and that's what we're really concerned about.

KAGAN: Well, we wish you the best, and all the folks in New Orleans. And you know that your city has millions of fans across the country who have visited there on numerous occasions. So a lot of good wishes heading your way.

KAGAN: Thank you so much, Daryn. And hopefully we'll dodge this bullet. And hello to my friends in Atlanta.

NAGIN: There you go.

Mayor Ray Nagin, thank you so much. Good luck with the storm.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: All right, Jacqui, thank you for that -- I think. Information's important.

OK, we're going to take a flashback to your grateful past. Do you remember filmstrips? Now think about it. It's those machines, and literally a strip of film that went through? Well, an author of a new book on filmstrips is going to talk to me about those post-World War II-era subtle messages inside the classroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rhonda Schaffler at the New York Stock Exchange, where stocks aren't making any big moves as oil prices rise yet again.

The Dow Industrial Average right now off five points, and the Nasdaq down three.

MGM is in focus once again this morning, after the company agreed late yesterday to be acquired by a group led by Japanese electronics maker Sony. MGM's main asset is a library of thousands of titles, including the "Rocky" and James Bond movies. The cable TV giant Comcast is also part of the deal, giving it lots of content for its On Demand service.

On the jobs front, a new survey says that the hiring outlook remains the strongest it's been since the late '90s. Staffing firm Manpower says 20 percent of employers plan to add to their workforces in the fourth quarter. That's twice as many as last year, but the figure is unchanged from the second and third quarters this year.

Employers might be demonstrating a bit of caution because of rising health care costs. It's one of the uncertainties surrounding the election. Among the employers looking to add staff in the last three months of the year, manufacturers and retailers were the most optimistic.

That's the very latest news from Wall Street. CNN's LIVE TODAY continues in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Familiar sights and sounds of a time gone by. Do you remember filmstrips? If you're younger tan 30, you probably don't, so just hang on for the rest of us. Remember they taught you all about the moon missions, minding your manners, and the meaning of milk? Major lessons for children at the time.

Well, another lesson you may have learned back then, there was a filmstrip out there apparently called "Change Your Underwear Twice a Week." It's now also the title of a new book.

The book details how film projectors were used to show us popular films. Remember these? This is a filmstrip projector. Happened after World War II.

Danny Gregory is the book's author. He's joining me in New York. Danny, good morning.

DANNY GREGORY, AUTHOR, "CHANGE YOUR UNDERWEAR": Good morning.

KAGAN: Got to tell you, at the risk of getting myself and some other people around here, I heard about filmstrips, I got so excited. It's a flashback to the past of our school days.

GREGORY: Absolutely. You remember dimming the lights, pulling down the shades, and that beep sound as they went from image to image.

KAGAN: To go forward. OK. Now, you, for some reason, really love filmstrips, because you decided to write a book about that. How did you pitch that, and how did you sell that?

GREGORY: Well, you know, I found that -- I found a couple of filmstrips in a flea market. I'd completely forgotten what they were, as well.

KAGAN: Right.

GREGORY: And I started to show them to friends of mine, people who were my age. And everybody said, "Oh, yeah, I remember those." Turns out there were people in the publishing industry who had the same experience.

KAGAN: Ah, very good.

GREGORY: And so, there's a lot of interest there.

KAGAN: And so, you look at a lot of different subjects that we watched when we were kids, and the title of your book, "Change Your Underwear Twice a Week," hygiene, I guess, being among the topics.

GREGORY: Yes.

KAGAN: Why did you pick that one particular for the title of your book?

GREGORY: Well, it seems like a representation of the kind of ridiculous lessons that found in a lot of the filmstrips. That one comes from a filmstrip that tells you how to dress appropriately, meaning wear a coat in the wintertime, don't wear a coat in the summertime. And there were a lot of other lessons like that, which made me wonder, why exactly were we being taught that? Why did somebody go to the trouble of making these filmstrips, and why did schools buy them?

KAGAN: Somebody did in the school budget.

There were also -- these were also big in social studies.

GREGORY: Absolutely, yes. They covered all sorts of fields. What does a mailman do? What does a policeman do? Where does milk come from? Those kinds of topics. In the book, you'll find filmstrips on the story of trailers, all the important roles that trailers play in our society, buses and so forth, very important lessons that have meant a lot to us in the ensuing years.

KAGAN: Now you go back, and look at some of these -- we're looking at one that's called "People are People the World Over" -- they look very dated, almost stereotypical in some of the ways that they talk about how families live around the world.

GREGORY: Well, this filmstrip is from 1949, so it is pretty dated. What's interesting about it is the things that were taught about people from foreign countries. For instance, here, the family from Egypt, their donkeys are descended from those in the Bible. We learn that Chinese people are afraid of having their photographs taken.

KAGAN: Oh, important.

GREGORY: We learn that Africans go out and make their clothing out of leaves each day. So, you know, when it comes down to one sentence about a country, you know, that's really cutting it close. KAGAN: Pretty simplistic there.

So I hadn't thought about filmstrips in years, then I started thinking about your book, well, what happened to them? I guess by the way of technology they just went away.

GREGORY: Well, It was technology, it was also a change, really, in education. By the 1960s, late '60s, the spirit of education had changed. Teachers really didn't want to teach in this kind of formal way so much. By the late '70s, of course, videotapes had come in, and now we have PCs and the Internet. So while filmstrips, you know, they don't go away, they simply sit and molder in drawers and in flea markets. But there's still a lot of them in libraries in schools around the country.

KAGAN: You used to have to kind of wind them up in those little film containers. Thanks for the blast to the past.

GREGORY: It's a pleasure.

KAGAN: Good luck with the book. Danny Gregory, it's called "Change Your Underwear Twice a Week," good advice if we've ever passed any along here on CNN LIVE TODAY.

Thank you so much.

GREGORY: Thanks.

KAGAN: Well, talk about a fresh look at yearnings from yesteryear, a popular new D.C. comic book series imagines the personal lives of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. It's called "Identity Crisis," and you can catch up with the caped crusaders by clicking on to CNN.com/showbiz/books.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's take a look at stories making news coast to coast, some unbelievable video coming to us from Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Now watch this, police could not believe what they were seeing, a suspect dumping a baby out of his car. Amazingly the baby wasn't hurt. The 23-year-old man behind the wheel, suspected of domestic abuse, died in the ensuing high-speed chase.

Completely different type of story -- two outs, top of the ninth, and the drama is off the field, not on. Texas ranger reliever Frank Francisco lashes out at fans last night, tossing a chair into the stands. It hit a woman, broke her nose. That ignited a scuffle that led to a 19-minute delay in that game.

Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey had a big surprise to kick off her 19th season on the air and at the top of the all daytime top programs in the U.S. She shared the keys, so to speak, to her success with an extraordinarily lucky audience.

Here now is CNN's Keith Oppenheim. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARLI KUCERA, AUDIENCE MEMBER: I wrote an e-mail just about him and how he needs a new car and all this stuff.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Karli Kucera corresponded with the "Oprah" show, thinking her fiance could use some new wheels. When they were invited to last Thursday's taping of the Oprah Winfrey show.

OPRAH WINFREY, DAYTIME TALKSHOW HOST: All right, open your boxes.

OPPENHEIM: They were stunned at what they both got.

For the kickoff of her 19th season, Oprah announced everyone in the audience, that's 276 people, got a brand new Pontiac G-6 sports sedan, about $7 million worth of merchandise, donated by General Motors. The Oprah show calls it their "wildest dreams come true" season. And cars were not the only gifts.

(on camera): One woman who spent her teenage years in foster care was given a four-year scholarship from SBC Communications. And a family with eight foster children got a $130,000 check from Oprah's Angel Network to cover costs of buying a new home.

(voice-over): As for the cars, the Pontiacs in this lot were just for show. The lucky guests are making custom orders.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it's our FedEx package just straight from Oprah.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That they told us we'd get about our car.

OPPENHEIM: Marcy Neeswender (ph) and Melissa Clark of Iowa are happily opening mail, making plans for turning their dreams into a reality, which in this case means picking colors, inside and out, for two new cars that came by complete surprise.

Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: All right, get tough. Following the footsteps of her famous father, Laila Ali is making a name for herself in boxing. The gloves are off, thanks goodness, because she's going to stop by to see me. That's why I'm playing nice.

The second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins right now.

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 September 14, 2004 - 10:29   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: The incumbent, meanwhile, is wrapping up his second day of campaigning in Colorado. A lot of eyes already turned to his visit later this morning in Las Vegas. President Bush will address the Annual Conference of the National Guard, but will he mention the controversy over his Vietnam-era service in that Branch?
Our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux traveling with the president. She is in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

Suzanne, good morning.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

This is a southern suburb of Denver, and the president is expected to address, talking about health care specifically. Colorado a very interesting place. Four years ago, it was were solidly Republican. Now it is up for grabs, and Republicans taking nothing for granted.

But as you had mentioned, of course, the big story we anticipate today is going to be later when the president addresses the National Guard Association in Las Vegas. He's going to be thanking the Guardsmen for their service in Afghanistan in Iraq. We're told by Bush aides that this was actually arranged a long time ago, much before the controversy over the president's own Guard service, which aides say he is not going to be addressing that specifically. He is going to say that he is proud of his service in the Texas Air National Guard.

Of course, the controversy, Daryn, as you know, over unexplained gaps in his service during the time of the Vietnam War, those newly discovered documents that call into question whether or not Mr. Bush met all of his requirements or received preferential treatment. Those documents, which first aired on CBS News, now being questioned for their authenticity by news organizations, as well as analysts.

And so far, the White House position has been they do not know whether they're forgeries, they don't care, they said the president fulfilled his duty, that he served honorably.

But yesterday, it was the first lady who went in front of this controversy. She weighed in in an interview before Radio Iowa.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, they probably are altered, and they probably are forgeries, and I think that's terrible, really. I think it's a terrible -- I mean, that's actually one of the risks you take when you run for public office or when you're in the public eye for any reason, and that, obviously, a lot of things were said about you that aren't true, and that's the drawback, that's the one thing that's not great about serving in public office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Now, White House spokesman Claire Buchanan (ph) and other Bush campaign officials say that she is speaking her own opinion; this does not mean that the White House is conducting an investigation into those documents, whether or not they're forgeries.

Should also let you know, Daryn, as well before the president even addresses the National Guard, there is going to be a news conference of family members of those who are in the Guard. They are going to go before the cameras, and say that they feel the president has betrayed them, that these are people who wanted to serve their country, but serve their country at home. They did not expect these kind of extended tours of duty overseas. Some of them say that this is a war that is based on lies, quite a bit of controversy over this issue that we expect, Daryn, to emerge, and still, big question whether or not the president is going to address this. So far, we've been told not to expect for him to address his service specifically -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right, Suzanne Malveaux in Colorado, thank you.

Well, you can consider this another chapter in the increasingly bitter presidential race. Bookstores today begin selling a tabloid biography on George W. Bush and his family.

Our Jason Carroll looks beyond the cover.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's an explosive charge in a tell-all book, but did author Kitty Kelley accurately reflect what Sharon Bush told her? Sharon Bush, the ex-wife of the president's brother Neil, says no.

According to the book, Sharon Bush told Kelley, George W. used cocaine with one of his brothers at Camp David when their father was president. But on NBC's "Today" show, Sharon Bush she says, "I never saw the use of cocaine, and I am sticking by it. I have to set the record straight." She went on to say, "I couldn't imagine that if someone did see that, they would reveal that to Kitty Kelley."

In the past, when asked about drug abuse, George W. Bush simply admitted to having made youthful mistakes.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Over 20 years ago, I did some things that, when I was young, I made mistakes. And I've learned from the mistakes. And that's all I intend to talk about it.

CARROLL: Sharon Bush's attorney says allegations about drug abuse in George W.'s later adult years should not be linked to his client.

DAVID BERG, ATTORNEY FOR SHARON BUSH: The guy is, you know, he's a reformed drinker. He is, he obviously did cocaine in his past, because of his answers to questions about it. But this is not something that can be attributed to Sharon.

CARROLL: Kelley stands by the accuracy of the allegations. The author also says Neal Bush threatened his ex-wife for cooperating with the book, saying she would end up in a dark alley.

President Bush's campaign spokesman said Monday, "The president categorically and adamantly denies the charges in the book. Kitty Kelley has made a career out of lies. This is more of the same."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: You can call it 2004, a space odyssey. This is a look at Ivan, the irrepressible, as seen from outer space. These images courtesy of the folks at NASA. The space agency is eying Ivan from unique vantage points, like the International Space Station and earth orbiting satellites.

As we have been reporting, the hurricane is now in the Gulf of Mexico. It could strike Florida to Louisiana within the next 48 hours. So preparation for Hurricane Ivan are well under way in New Orleans.

Mayor Ray Nagin can you tell us what is going on there.

Mr. Mayor, I'd like to say good morning, but I realize it's a busy and very serious morning for you folks there.

MYR. RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: Well, yes, Daryn, it is a very busy morning for us. We're preparing like this storm will hit New Orleans, or within the New Orleans area, and have some significant impact, negative impact on the city.

And so you've already declared a state of emergency, well-known that your city sits below sea level. What's your biggest concern at this point?

NAGIN: Well, you know, the city basically sits like a bowl, and most of the city is under sea level. As a matter of fact, if you visit our city and you will notice that ships are passing along the river, you will see that the ships are basically above your head. So if we get a storm like Ivan to hit us directly or to become really close to us, then we could have a situation where we have 12 to 18 feet of water throughout the city.

KAGAN: Which is not going to be a good thing, to say the least. You have about a half million people, not a lot of time on your side. Where are half million people supposed to go, Mr. Mayor? NAGIN: Well, that's the big challenge with this storm. It got into the Gulf and then it started moving pretty fast. And if you remember, it was originally scheduled to head for Florida. So our evacuation time was minimized to the point where we have 24 to 36 hours to evacuate, whereas most of the time we need 72 hours. So we're encouraging everyone to leave, and a lot of people are leaving. But if they can't leave, then we're encouraging them to do what we call vertical evacuation, and that's to basically go to hotels and high-rise buildings in the city.

KAGAN: Fascinating. Ivan's predicted perhaps by the time it gets there to be a category three. New Orleans knows only too well what a category-three storm can do. Back in 1965, Hurricane Betsy, taking, I think, 110 lives and doing major damage.

NAGIN: Well, you've done your homework. Hurricane Betsy is the last category three that has hit us. This storm is even more concerning than Betsy. It's 100 miles from the start to the eye. And then another 100 miles from the eye to the back. So if it hits us directly, we will have to deal with this storm dumping lots of water, and rain and wind for over 20 hours, and that's what we're really concerned about.

KAGAN: Well, we wish you the best, and all the folks in New Orleans. And you know that your city has millions of fans across the country who have visited there on numerous occasions. So a lot of good wishes heading your way.

KAGAN: Thank you so much, Daryn. And hopefully we'll dodge this bullet. And hello to my friends in Atlanta.

NAGIN: There you go.

Mayor Ray Nagin, thank you so much. Good luck with the storm.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: All right, Jacqui, thank you for that -- I think. Information's important.

OK, we're going to take a flashback to your grateful past. Do you remember filmstrips? Now think about it. It's those machines, and literally a strip of film that went through? Well, an author of a new book on filmstrips is going to talk to me about those post-World War II-era subtle messages inside the classroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rhonda Schaffler at the New York Stock Exchange, where stocks aren't making any big moves as oil prices rise yet again.

The Dow Industrial Average right now off five points, and the Nasdaq down three.

MGM is in focus once again this morning, after the company agreed late yesterday to be acquired by a group led by Japanese electronics maker Sony. MGM's main asset is a library of thousands of titles, including the "Rocky" and James Bond movies. The cable TV giant Comcast is also part of the deal, giving it lots of content for its On Demand service.

On the jobs front, a new survey says that the hiring outlook remains the strongest it's been since the late '90s. Staffing firm Manpower says 20 percent of employers plan to add to their workforces in the fourth quarter. That's twice as many as last year, but the figure is unchanged from the second and third quarters this year.

Employers might be demonstrating a bit of caution because of rising health care costs. It's one of the uncertainties surrounding the election. Among the employers looking to add staff in the last three months of the year, manufacturers and retailers were the most optimistic.

That's the very latest news from Wall Street. CNN's LIVE TODAY continues in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Familiar sights and sounds of a time gone by. Do you remember filmstrips? If you're younger tan 30, you probably don't, so just hang on for the rest of us. Remember they taught you all about the moon missions, minding your manners, and the meaning of milk? Major lessons for children at the time.

Well, another lesson you may have learned back then, there was a filmstrip out there apparently called "Change Your Underwear Twice a Week." It's now also the title of a new book.

The book details how film projectors were used to show us popular films. Remember these? This is a filmstrip projector. Happened after World War II.

Danny Gregory is the book's author. He's joining me in New York. Danny, good morning.

DANNY GREGORY, AUTHOR, "CHANGE YOUR UNDERWEAR": Good morning.

KAGAN: Got to tell you, at the risk of getting myself and some other people around here, I heard about filmstrips, I got so excited. It's a flashback to the past of our school days.

GREGORY: Absolutely. You remember dimming the lights, pulling down the shades, and that beep sound as they went from image to image.

KAGAN: To go forward. OK. Now, you, for some reason, really love filmstrips, because you decided to write a book about that. How did you pitch that, and how did you sell that?

GREGORY: Well, you know, I found that -- I found a couple of filmstrips in a flea market. I'd completely forgotten what they were, as well.

KAGAN: Right.

GREGORY: And I started to show them to friends of mine, people who were my age. And everybody said, "Oh, yeah, I remember those." Turns out there were people in the publishing industry who had the same experience.

KAGAN: Ah, very good.

GREGORY: And so, there's a lot of interest there.

KAGAN: And so, you look at a lot of different subjects that we watched when we were kids, and the title of your book, "Change Your Underwear Twice a Week," hygiene, I guess, being among the topics.

GREGORY: Yes.

KAGAN: Why did you pick that one particular for the title of your book?

GREGORY: Well, it seems like a representation of the kind of ridiculous lessons that found in a lot of the filmstrips. That one comes from a filmstrip that tells you how to dress appropriately, meaning wear a coat in the wintertime, don't wear a coat in the summertime. And there were a lot of other lessons like that, which made me wonder, why exactly were we being taught that? Why did somebody go to the trouble of making these filmstrips, and why did schools buy them?

KAGAN: Somebody did in the school budget.

There were also -- these were also big in social studies.

GREGORY: Absolutely, yes. They covered all sorts of fields. What does a mailman do? What does a policeman do? Where does milk come from? Those kinds of topics. In the book, you'll find filmstrips on the story of trailers, all the important roles that trailers play in our society, buses and so forth, very important lessons that have meant a lot to us in the ensuing years.

KAGAN: Now you go back, and look at some of these -- we're looking at one that's called "People are People the World Over" -- they look very dated, almost stereotypical in some of the ways that they talk about how families live around the world.

GREGORY: Well, this filmstrip is from 1949, so it is pretty dated. What's interesting about it is the things that were taught about people from foreign countries. For instance, here, the family from Egypt, their donkeys are descended from those in the Bible. We learn that Chinese people are afraid of having their photographs taken.

KAGAN: Oh, important.

GREGORY: We learn that Africans go out and make their clothing out of leaves each day. So, you know, when it comes down to one sentence about a country, you know, that's really cutting it close. KAGAN: Pretty simplistic there.

So I hadn't thought about filmstrips in years, then I started thinking about your book, well, what happened to them? I guess by the way of technology they just went away.

GREGORY: Well, It was technology, it was also a change, really, in education. By the 1960s, late '60s, the spirit of education had changed. Teachers really didn't want to teach in this kind of formal way so much. By the late '70s, of course, videotapes had come in, and now we have PCs and the Internet. So while filmstrips, you know, they don't go away, they simply sit and molder in drawers and in flea markets. But there's still a lot of them in libraries in schools around the country.

KAGAN: You used to have to kind of wind them up in those little film containers. Thanks for the blast to the past.

GREGORY: It's a pleasure.

KAGAN: Good luck with the book. Danny Gregory, it's called "Change Your Underwear Twice a Week," good advice if we've ever passed any along here on CNN LIVE TODAY.

Thank you so much.

GREGORY: Thanks.

KAGAN: Well, talk about a fresh look at yearnings from yesteryear, a popular new D.C. comic book series imagines the personal lives of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. It's called "Identity Crisis," and you can catch up with the caped crusaders by clicking on to CNN.com/showbiz/books.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's take a look at stories making news coast to coast, some unbelievable video coming to us from Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Now watch this, police could not believe what they were seeing, a suspect dumping a baby out of his car. Amazingly the baby wasn't hurt. The 23-year-old man behind the wheel, suspected of domestic abuse, died in the ensuing high-speed chase.

Completely different type of story -- two outs, top of the ninth, and the drama is off the field, not on. Texas ranger reliever Frank Francisco lashes out at fans last night, tossing a chair into the stands. It hit a woman, broke her nose. That ignited a scuffle that led to a 19-minute delay in that game.

Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey had a big surprise to kick off her 19th season on the air and at the top of the all daytime top programs in the U.S. She shared the keys, so to speak, to her success with an extraordinarily lucky audience.

Here now is CNN's Keith Oppenheim. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARLI KUCERA, AUDIENCE MEMBER: I wrote an e-mail just about him and how he needs a new car and all this stuff.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Karli Kucera corresponded with the "Oprah" show, thinking her fiance could use some new wheels. When they were invited to last Thursday's taping of the Oprah Winfrey show.

OPRAH WINFREY, DAYTIME TALKSHOW HOST: All right, open your boxes.

OPPENHEIM: They were stunned at what they both got.

For the kickoff of her 19th season, Oprah announced everyone in the audience, that's 276 people, got a brand new Pontiac G-6 sports sedan, about $7 million worth of merchandise, donated by General Motors. The Oprah show calls it their "wildest dreams come true" season. And cars were not the only gifts.

(on camera): One woman who spent her teenage years in foster care was given a four-year scholarship from SBC Communications. And a family with eight foster children got a $130,000 check from Oprah's Angel Network to cover costs of buying a new home.

(voice-over): As for the cars, the Pontiacs in this lot were just for show. The lucky guests are making custom orders.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it's our FedEx package just straight from Oprah.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That they told us we'd get about our car.

OPPENHEIM: Marcy Neeswender (ph) and Melissa Clark of Iowa are happily opening mail, making plans for turning their dreams into a reality, which in this case means picking colors, inside and out, for two new cars that came by complete surprise.

Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: All right, get tough. Following the footsteps of her famous father, Laila Ali is making a name for herself in boxing. The gloves are off, thanks goodness, because she's going to stop by to see me. That's why I'm playing nice.

The second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins right now.

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