Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Kmart and Sears Merger; Link Between Sleep Loss & Obesity?

Aired November 17, 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.


RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And here we go, 33 minutes after the hour. I'm Rick Sanchez.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan.

Here's what's happening now in the news: The United Nations says it's investigating reports of equipment transferred from the nuclear facility in Iran after international inspectors had checked out the site. An Iranian opposition group alleges the equipment was moved to a new weapons facility in Tehran. Iran's top nuclear negotiator denies that charge, saying Iran has disclosed all of its nuclear activities to U.N. inspectors.

Fresh nuclear worries today also centering on Russia. According to Russia's News Agency. President Vladimir Putin told senior Russian military leaders that the country is close to acquiring new nuclear weapons systems. He reportedly says the advanced missile technology would put Russia several years ahead of all other countries.

A chief architect of the "no child left behind" law may be in line to become the new education secretary. A short time ago, the president formally nominated Margaret Spellings to replace Rod Paige as head of the Education Department. Spellings has been domestic policy adviser at the White House and was instrumental in drafting the landmark education reform bill.

NASA's need for speed got a huge boost over the Pacific. The unmanned X-43-A successfully reached a speed of nearly 7,000 miles an hour. That's almost 10 times the speed of sound. The test proved that scramjet technology is viable, and could revolutionize rocket science.

SANCHEZ: This may be the best way of looking at this story, or at least presenting it to you. When you're up against Goliath, it makes sense to fight the battle together. May be why Kmart and Sears are now coming together, merging, to combat against Wal-mart, the world's biggest retailer.

CNN Financial correspondent Ali Velshi join us in New York. He's been following this story for us, and brings us the very latest.

I guess we all woke up to this together, huh, Ali?

ALI VELSHI, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, Rick, you're clearly more of an optimist, because the analogy I was using going to use is, you're graduating from high school, you got your prom queen and you got the captain of the football captain, both fairly, you know, good-looking, strong, tough people. Fifteen years later, the football captain's gained a little weight. The prom queen just doesn't look as good as she did. But they hold the promise of having beautiful children. And that's pretty much all I can tell you about this, because nobody today has been able to tell me that these two companies coming together is worth more than they were separately.

There is one standout to this, and that is, the guy behind this deal, Eddie Lampert, a private equity guy who's been buying up stuff. He's the guy who took Kmart out of bankruptcy. He owns 53 percent, or his company owns 53 percent of Kmart. He's been buying up Sears. This guy knows how to make money, and a lot of investors are sitting there, saying, all right, you know what, if anybody can make a go of it, this guy can.

But what does it mean to investors, what does it mean to consumers, what does it mean workers? Well, if you're a worker, I'd be worried, because Lampert knows how to make money by cutting costs, and they want to cut costs in this deal to make both of these companies a little skinnier and make them competitive with the No. 1 and No. 2 in the world of retail in America.

As you know, No. 1 is Wal-Mart, by a longshot. No. 2 Target. Wal-Mart's worth about $250 billion. Target's worth about $47. These two companies together worth about 18.

And the other thing, Rick, is that Lampert's been sell off these Kmarts because the stores were worth more as real estate than they were as a going concern.

What happens here, you've got great brands at Kmart. You got Diehard. You got Kenmore. You got Craftsman. You got Lands' End. Over at Martha Stewart -- you've got Martha Stewart over at Kmart. Do you get to buy these brands at each other's stores? What ends up happening to people who didn't have access to a Kmart, now have it, vice versa. Some Kmarts will become Sears stores.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. They'll probably be more job losses, and probably a few Kmarts closing. But you're absolutely right, they've got to do something to start to move up against the next biggest in the retail world -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: You've explained it very well. Ali Velshi, thanks so much for bringing us that story and putting it in such understandable terms for our viewers as well.

(WEATHER REPORT)

SANCHEZ: We're going to tell you about a situation that's taking place in Colliersville, Tennessee. And this is important, because you may be able to help this family. A little boy has suddenly gone missing. I think we've got a picture. Here he is. The official Amber Alert is out now from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Let me just tell you a little bit about him. He's described as 4'11", blue eyes, brown hair, reported to be wearing green pajamas, disappeared last night some time between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. this morning. The parents say they just woke up and he wasn't there. Once again, we'll keep reminding you of this, because the Amber Alert has been issued. That means there's an all-out lookout right now for this little boy or anything that may be related to him. We'll follow it as we get advisories and information.

There's some of those new picture we got. I'm told by our producers moments ago that we had some fresh picture, video of bloodhounds that have been put into the area, just to see if they can pick up his scent. Don't know if they've picked up the scent, do know that they're canvassing the neighborhood. As you imagine, usually there's a process that goes into effect when something like this happens.

If you live in that area and you know anything at all, you're being asked immediately to call your authorities or the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-TBI-FIND. That's 1-800-TBI-FIND.

KAGAN: Wishing our best to that family in Tennessee.

Apparently there's a connection between how much you sleep and how much you weigh. Our daily dose of health news is coming up next with some surprising results on a new study.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. So you're having a little bit of a problem losing weight? Join the club. Maybe it has to do with your sleeping patterns. That's right. In today's "Daily Dose," want you to think about this, we talk about the link between losing sleep and gaining weight. Here with more, CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

Interesting.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's really an intriguing theory because we're an obese nation, statistically speaking. We're also a sleep-deprived nation. So journalists -- or rather, I'm a journalist, sorry, researchers at Columbia University -- I'm a journalist who went to Columbia University, that's why I'm confused. But researchers at Columbia University said, gee, maybe there's a connection here.

So they looked at data on 9,000 people. And what they find is that those who slept the least were also the most likely to be obese. The numbers are actually pretty staggering. Those who only slept six hours rather than the usual eight were 27 percent more likely to be obese. Those who slept two to five hours were 73 percent more likely to be obese.

Those numbers are really pretty stunning. Now of course, everyone would want to know, gee, why would that be true? One theory is that it's hormonal. There's a hormone that tells your brain, stop eating. And when you don't sleep, levels of that hormone go down. There's another hormone that says, eat, eat. And when you don't sleep, levels of that hormone go up.

So it messes with your hormones when you don't even get enough sleep.

SANCHEZ: Listen, when I know I'm really, really tired, the first thing I want to do is eat.

COHEN: Right. It's your body telling you to do it, for some reason.

SANCHEZ: Yes, somehow you need the extra energy or something. So what are the best tips for getting good sleep because I know so many people tussle with this?

COHEN: Glass of warm milk which your mother always told you. Researchers say that actually is true. And we have some other tips for you.

In addition to drinking that glass of warm milk, you want to set regular bedtimes and wake-up times. Go to bed and wake up at the same time. Avoid caffeine or exercise right before bed. But do get regular exercise during the day. And that will tell your body at nighttime that you ought to be going to sleep.

SANCHEZ: Is there a competing theory to the hormonal theory that you told us about?

COHEN: There is another theory, and it has to do with how we used to live way back before we had electricity. Think about the seasons. During the summer, people would sleep less because the nights were shorter. Summer was also the season when you wanted to go out and forage for food as much as you could.

So some people think, gee, when you're sleeping less, your body is telling you, hey, go out and get food, because it's there, and during the winter you won't be able to. So that's another theory as to why this is true.

SANCHEZ: However if CNN tells you you have to anchor "AMERICAN MORNING" tomorrow and then come back and do Paula Zahn's show the next day, and then it gets a little difficult.

COHEN: That gets very tricky. You really have to watch your weight under that circumstance.

SANCHEZ: Well, thank you for the personal advice. We'll find out how obesity surgery helps patients lose weight, also cure some of their diseases, by logging onto cnn.com/health. At cnn.com/health, there you're going to find the latest medical news, the health library and information on diet and fitness, again, at cnn.com/health. Stay with us. We're coming right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

SANCHEZ: One of the best things we get to do in this business is report good news, and that's what right now. You know that little boy that we've been telling you about, that everyone in this Colliersville area of Tennessee has been looking for, we gave you two bulletins on that. Now we're getting information that little Hunter Wade Craig has been found.

In fact, he was found just moments ago, at a nearby park. Too bad we can't get any real closeup and personal shots. But this is the best we can do for you right now, showing you the picture from above. You can only imagine -- I'm a parent with four kids.

KAGAN: Similar age.

SANCHEZ: Similar age, as a matter of fact, and the joy, the sense of relief that that mom and dad must be feeling right now is just completely indescribable. He disappeared apparently in the middle of the night. They don't know what happened.

But bottom line is he's been found. He was at a local park. We don't know what his condition is, but certainly, if we find anything else out, we'll report it to you.

KAGAN: Those are the kind of endings to Amber Alert stories we like to bring.

SANCHEZ: Isn't that nice.

KAGAN: We're going to take a break. We're back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

SANCHEZ: You know, we are so proud, Daryn and I, to be able to be chosen here at CNN to give you the actual pre-Thanksgiving ritual this year of the turkey pardon, and I thought we did a pretty good job.

KAGAN: Yes, I was wondering where we were going with this, but now I'm picking this up. Each year, the president grands reprieve to some lucky turkey, and an alternate as well.

Did you know who was alternate?

SANCHEZ: Yes, this year. Was it Bacon and Gravy, or...

KAGAN: No, it was Biscuits and Gravy. A Turkey named Bacon is not going to fly.

SANCHEZ: That's true.

KAGAN: Literally.

SANCHEZ: Well, it's in the stuffing, at least my mother does.

The gobblers will now live out the rest of their lives at a replica farm operated by Fairfax County, Virginia. Here now, once again, in case you missed it...

KAGAN: Tada.

SANCHEZ: The big moment.

(MUSIC)

SANCHEZ: I'm not sure what the president's thinking, because he's looking at the turkey. Either get me out of here, or I'm hungry.

KAGAN: A happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

SANCHEZ: Thank you. You're going to take a couple days off, huh?

KAGAN: I'm out of here. I've got some CNN stuff to do, some personal stuff to do, and I'll be back the Monday after Thanksgiving.

SANCHEZ: I'll miss you.

KAGAN:: All right.

But Wolf Blitzer is here to take over.

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 November 17, 2004 - 11:33   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And here we go, 33 minutes after the hour. I'm Rick Sanchez.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan.

Here's what's happening now in the news: The United Nations says it's investigating reports of equipment transferred from the nuclear facility in Iran after international inspectors had checked out the site. An Iranian opposition group alleges the equipment was moved to a new weapons facility in Tehran. Iran's top nuclear negotiator denies that charge, saying Iran has disclosed all of its nuclear activities to U.N. inspectors.

Fresh nuclear worries today also centering on Russia. According to Russia's News Agency. President Vladimir Putin told senior Russian military leaders that the country is close to acquiring new nuclear weapons systems. He reportedly says the advanced missile technology would put Russia several years ahead of all other countries.

A chief architect of the "no child left behind" law may be in line to become the new education secretary. A short time ago, the president formally nominated Margaret Spellings to replace Rod Paige as head of the Education Department. Spellings has been domestic policy adviser at the White House and was instrumental in drafting the landmark education reform bill.

NASA's need for speed got a huge boost over the Pacific. The unmanned X-43-A successfully reached a speed of nearly 7,000 miles an hour. That's almost 10 times the speed of sound. The test proved that scramjet technology is viable, and could revolutionize rocket science.

SANCHEZ: This may be the best way of looking at this story, or at least presenting it to you. When you're up against Goliath, it makes sense to fight the battle together. May be why Kmart and Sears are now coming together, merging, to combat against Wal-mart, the world's biggest retailer.

CNN Financial correspondent Ali Velshi join us in New York. He's been following this story for us, and brings us the very latest.

I guess we all woke up to this together, huh, Ali?

ALI VELSHI, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, Rick, you're clearly more of an optimist, because the analogy I was using going to use is, you're graduating from high school, you got your prom queen and you got the captain of the football captain, both fairly, you know, good-looking, strong, tough people. Fifteen years later, the football captain's gained a little weight. The prom queen just doesn't look as good as she did. But they hold the promise of having beautiful children. And that's pretty much all I can tell you about this, because nobody today has been able to tell me that these two companies coming together is worth more than they were separately.

There is one standout to this, and that is, the guy behind this deal, Eddie Lampert, a private equity guy who's been buying up stuff. He's the guy who took Kmart out of bankruptcy. He owns 53 percent, or his company owns 53 percent of Kmart. He's been buying up Sears. This guy knows how to make money, and a lot of investors are sitting there, saying, all right, you know what, if anybody can make a go of it, this guy can.

But what does it mean to investors, what does it mean to consumers, what does it mean workers? Well, if you're a worker, I'd be worried, because Lampert knows how to make money by cutting costs, and they want to cut costs in this deal to make both of these companies a little skinnier and make them competitive with the No. 1 and No. 2 in the world of retail in America.

As you know, No. 1 is Wal-Mart, by a longshot. No. 2 Target. Wal-Mart's worth about $250 billion. Target's worth about $47. These two companies together worth about 18.

And the other thing, Rick, is that Lampert's been sell off these Kmarts because the stores were worth more as real estate than they were as a going concern.

What happens here, you've got great brands at Kmart. You got Diehard. You got Kenmore. You got Craftsman. You got Lands' End. Over at Martha Stewart -- you've got Martha Stewart over at Kmart. Do you get to buy these brands at each other's stores? What ends up happening to people who didn't have access to a Kmart, now have it, vice versa. Some Kmarts will become Sears stores.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. They'll probably be more job losses, and probably a few Kmarts closing. But you're absolutely right, they've got to do something to start to move up against the next biggest in the retail world -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: You've explained it very well. Ali Velshi, thanks so much for bringing us that story and putting it in such understandable terms for our viewers as well.

(WEATHER REPORT)

SANCHEZ: We're going to tell you about a situation that's taking place in Colliersville, Tennessee. And this is important, because you may be able to help this family. A little boy has suddenly gone missing. I think we've got a picture. Here he is. The official Amber Alert is out now from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Let me just tell you a little bit about him. He's described as 4'11", blue eyes, brown hair, reported to be wearing green pajamas, disappeared last night some time between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. this morning. The parents say they just woke up and he wasn't there. Once again, we'll keep reminding you of this, because the Amber Alert has been issued. That means there's an all-out lookout right now for this little boy or anything that may be related to him. We'll follow it as we get advisories and information.

There's some of those new picture we got. I'm told by our producers moments ago that we had some fresh picture, video of bloodhounds that have been put into the area, just to see if they can pick up his scent. Don't know if they've picked up the scent, do know that they're canvassing the neighborhood. As you imagine, usually there's a process that goes into effect when something like this happens.

If you live in that area and you know anything at all, you're being asked immediately to call your authorities or the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-TBI-FIND. That's 1-800-TBI-FIND.

KAGAN: Wishing our best to that family in Tennessee.

Apparently there's a connection between how much you sleep and how much you weigh. Our daily dose of health news is coming up next with some surprising results on a new study.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. So you're having a little bit of a problem losing weight? Join the club. Maybe it has to do with your sleeping patterns. That's right. In today's "Daily Dose," want you to think about this, we talk about the link between losing sleep and gaining weight. Here with more, CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

Interesting.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's really an intriguing theory because we're an obese nation, statistically speaking. We're also a sleep-deprived nation. So journalists -- or rather, I'm a journalist, sorry, researchers at Columbia University -- I'm a journalist who went to Columbia University, that's why I'm confused. But researchers at Columbia University said, gee, maybe there's a connection here.

So they looked at data on 9,000 people. And what they find is that those who slept the least were also the most likely to be obese. The numbers are actually pretty staggering. Those who only slept six hours rather than the usual eight were 27 percent more likely to be obese. Those who slept two to five hours were 73 percent more likely to be obese.

Those numbers are really pretty stunning. Now of course, everyone would want to know, gee, why would that be true? One theory is that it's hormonal. There's a hormone that tells your brain, stop eating. And when you don't sleep, levels of that hormone go down. There's another hormone that says, eat, eat. And when you don't sleep, levels of that hormone go up.

So it messes with your hormones when you don't even get enough sleep.

SANCHEZ: Listen, when I know I'm really, really tired, the first thing I want to do is eat.

COHEN: Right. It's your body telling you to do it, for some reason.

SANCHEZ: Yes, somehow you need the extra energy or something. So what are the best tips for getting good sleep because I know so many people tussle with this?

COHEN: Glass of warm milk which your mother always told you. Researchers say that actually is true. And we have some other tips for you.

In addition to drinking that glass of warm milk, you want to set regular bedtimes and wake-up times. Go to bed and wake up at the same time. Avoid caffeine or exercise right before bed. But do get regular exercise during the day. And that will tell your body at nighttime that you ought to be going to sleep.

SANCHEZ: Is there a competing theory to the hormonal theory that you told us about?

COHEN: There is another theory, and it has to do with how we used to live way back before we had electricity. Think about the seasons. During the summer, people would sleep less because the nights were shorter. Summer was also the season when you wanted to go out and forage for food as much as you could.

So some people think, gee, when you're sleeping less, your body is telling you, hey, go out and get food, because it's there, and during the winter you won't be able to. So that's another theory as to why this is true.

SANCHEZ: However if CNN tells you you have to anchor "AMERICAN MORNING" tomorrow and then come back and do Paula Zahn's show the next day, and then it gets a little difficult.

COHEN: That gets very tricky. You really have to watch your weight under that circumstance.

SANCHEZ: Well, thank you for the personal advice. We'll find out how obesity surgery helps patients lose weight, also cure some of their diseases, by logging onto cnn.com/health. At cnn.com/health, there you're going to find the latest medical news, the health library and information on diet and fitness, again, at cnn.com/health. Stay with us. We're coming right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

SANCHEZ: One of the best things we get to do in this business is report good news, and that's what right now. You know that little boy that we've been telling you about, that everyone in this Colliersville area of Tennessee has been looking for, we gave you two bulletins on that. Now we're getting information that little Hunter Wade Craig has been found.

In fact, he was found just moments ago, at a nearby park. Too bad we can't get any real closeup and personal shots. But this is the best we can do for you right now, showing you the picture from above. You can only imagine -- I'm a parent with four kids.

KAGAN: Similar age.

SANCHEZ: Similar age, as a matter of fact, and the joy, the sense of relief that that mom and dad must be feeling right now is just completely indescribable. He disappeared apparently in the middle of the night. They don't know what happened.

But bottom line is he's been found. He was at a local park. We don't know what his condition is, but certainly, if we find anything else out, we'll report it to you.

KAGAN: Those are the kind of endings to Amber Alert stories we like to bring.

SANCHEZ: Isn't that nice.

KAGAN: We're going to take a break. We're back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

SANCHEZ: You know, we are so proud, Daryn and I, to be able to be chosen here at CNN to give you the actual pre-Thanksgiving ritual this year of the turkey pardon, and I thought we did a pretty good job.

KAGAN: Yes, I was wondering where we were going with this, but now I'm picking this up. Each year, the president grands reprieve to some lucky turkey, and an alternate as well.

Did you know who was alternate?

SANCHEZ: Yes, this year. Was it Bacon and Gravy, or...

KAGAN: No, it was Biscuits and Gravy. A Turkey named Bacon is not going to fly.

SANCHEZ: That's true.

KAGAN: Literally.

SANCHEZ: Well, it's in the stuffing, at least my mother does.

The gobblers will now live out the rest of their lives at a replica farm operated by Fairfax County, Virginia. Here now, once again, in case you missed it...

KAGAN: Tada.

SANCHEZ: The big moment.

(MUSIC)

SANCHEZ: I'm not sure what the president's thinking, because he's looking at the turkey. Either get me out of here, or I'm hungry.

KAGAN: A happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

SANCHEZ: Thank you. You're going to take a couple days off, huh?

KAGAN: I'm out of here. I've got some CNN stuff to do, some personal stuff to do, and I'll be back the Monday after Thanksgiving.

SANCHEZ: I'll miss you.

KAGAN:: All right.

But Wolf Blitzer is here to take over.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com