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CNN Live Today

Report: Iraq Situation Deteriorating; Senators Speak Out on Intelligence Reform; Baseball & Steroids

Aired December 07, 2004 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Stories that are "Now in the News."
The move toward a major overall haul of U.S. intelligence could begin today with a vote by the House of Representatives. A compromise has now been reached on the major roadblocks to reform legislation. In fact, just minutes from now, Maine senator, Susan Collins, and Connecticut senator, Joe Lieberman, are going to be talking to reporters about this bill.

We're monitoring that. As a matter of fact, as soon as it happens, we're going to let you listen in as well.

Also, a look at America at work. A government report says that worker productivity growth slowed in the third quarter, its slowest pace in two years. Experts say that productivity slowdown means that businesses might need to hire more workers to try and get the job done.

Also, CNN has learned that up to 600 U.S. Marines are going to be sent to the Philippines to help with relief efforts after a recent series of severe storms there. A Pentagon official says the Marines could stay up to 45 days. Two major typhoons have killed hundreds of people. Tens of thousands have been displaced by the storms.

And President Bush is heading to -- speaking of Marines -- to Camp Pendleton in California. He'll deliver his thanks for the sacrifices being made in Iraq. Camp Pendleton has one of the highest casualty rates of any U.S. military facility sending troops to Iraq.

Stay tuned for live coverage of Mr. Bush's address right here on CNN.

It is one minute after 11:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 8:00 a.m., of course, out West. And from the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Rick Sanchez.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, Rick Sanchez.

SANCHEZ: Hi, Daryn Kagan.

KAGAN: I'm Daryn Kagan.

Let's get started this hour with a classified cable from the CIA station chief in Baghdad. "The New York Times" obtained the cable.

It says the report is unvarnished, candid and pessimistic. It reportedly predicts the situation in Iraq is getting worse and may not get better anytime soon for the U.S. troops who face insurgents every day. That stands in sharp contrast to the public face put on the Iraq situation by the Bush team.

Let's bring in Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.

Barbara, good morning.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn.

Well, the battle for Falluja may be over, but as you say, the insurgency is Iraq is still showing its teeth, and it does seem to have considerable power. A number of recent attacks in the last several days killing dozens of Iraqis across the country. And now U.S. officials in Iraq growing increasingly concerned that it is indeed the Iraqis who are being targeted more and more.

Now, yesterday, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, on his way to Kuwait, spoke to reporters about how the power of the insurgency continues to catch everyone by surprise. Here's a bit of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: But I don't think anyone would say that the intelligence left anyone with the impression that you'd be in the degree of insurgency you're in today and resistance on the part of a mixture of Ba'athists and pro-dictatorship, pro-Saddam people mixed in with some foreign terrorists and extremists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: But Secretary Rumsfeld also going on to say that he still has hope. If things do get better in Iraq, that U.S. troops might be out of that country at the end of the next President Bush term, then in four years or so. But officials saying that is very dependent on the level of violence and whether Iraqi security forces can really take over the load, the mission for security in Iraq.

Officials at the U.S. Central Command saying the same thing, if things were to get better, they would hope to shift the U.S. mission to more of a training mission for Iraqis rather than a frontline combat mission. But the way the insurgency is going at the moment, that is all very problematic. The major goal on the table, get the security situation in Iraq under control for those January elections, and make sure the country truly does not descend into civil war -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Barbara, thank you.

SANCHEZ: Three troops -- three years, I should say -- pardon me -- after U.S. troops routed the Taliban, Afghanistan today inaugurated its first democratically-elected president. It is Hamid Karzai.

He took the oath in front of 150 VIPs. Among them, Vice President Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, our secretary of defense. Karzai says that his inauguration opens a new era of peace and prosperity, and he thanked the United States for its help in transforming Afghanistan from a terrorist haven to a democracy. Mr. Cheney had praise for the people of Afghanistan as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Whatever challenges may come, the people of Afghanistan can count on the friendship and support of the people of the United States. President Bush and I have confidence in the future of a free Afghanistan because we have immense respect for its people and for the leader they have chosen. In his life as an Afghan patriot, President Karzai has taken incredible personal risk and made many sacrifices.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: We'll have more on that story in just a bit.

Right now, we're going to go live to Washington, D.C. Senators talking about the compromise on the 9/11 bill. Let's listen in.

(INTERRUPTED BY LIVE EVENT)

KAGAN: We've been listening to a news conference with some senators in Washington, D.C. on the intelligence bill and the wake of 9/11, one that got hung up in Congress. A couple of Republican congressmen raising some concerns about the chain of command with military intelligence, also immigration reform. They worked out a compromise on the chain of command with the military intelligence, not so with immigration reform.

Let's bring our Ed Henry in, who covers this for us on Capitol Hill, and talk about why one went through and one didn't, and how they're finally going to get this bill done.

Ed, hello.

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

Well, you know, a lot of Republican leaders up here are whispering that they were telling the White House for weeks that they really had to focus on the chain of command issue, that that had more resonance within the House Republican conference, that it was a more serious issue to the leaders up here in terms of the war on terror. Solving Duncan Hunter's concern that a new director of national intelligence could interfere with the military's chain of command and put -- potentially put troops in harm's way in the middle of the war on terror.

So that's why -- and I can tell you, there's a lot frustration among Republicans here on the Hill. They feel that the White House ignored that strategy for a long time and focused too much on James Sensenbrenner's immigration concerns.

And instead, in recent days, the White House finally listened to Republican leaders here on the Hill, according to the Hill people, and basically started focusing more on that chain of command issue. Vice President Cheney, as you heard Susan Collins there say, making phone calls himself yesterday, working out the language to please Duncan Hunter. He got on board and endorsed this yesterday.

And as you suggest, the person who still is unhappy, though, is James Sensenbrenner, because now he's left out in the cold basically. He's been promised a vote on his immigration provisions next year. But all throughout this process, James Sensenbrenner has said that's not good enough to him because he feels this was must-pass legislation, this 9/11 intel reform bill.

But the immigration provisions are controversial. And it's harder to get them through alone.

He thought that by attaching them to a must-pass bill, they might finally get through. But I can tell you, people like Susan Collins feel, if the immigration provisions had been added, the whole bill would have unraveled.

So what you're hearing from some lawmakers is that the bottom line is this is not a perfect deal. But this is the best deal that they could get right now. And they felt like it was better to do something than nothing -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Ed, as you said, James Sensenbrenner not a happy congressman today. Let's listen to some sound from him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMES SENSENBRENNER (R), WISCONSIN: I think the compromise is incomplete, but they do have the signatures to bring the bill to the floor, and it will pass. So the fight now is to make sure that we get a vote early next year on driver's licenses and the asylum reform in order to complete the job.

I think Congress' job is to prevent a terrorist attack from happening rather than managing the consequences of it. And good intelligence is useless without good homeland security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: That was Congressman Sensenbrenner from Wisconsin. We're going to move on. Ed Henry on Capitol Hill, thank you for that.

HENRY: Thank you, Daryn.

SANCHEZ: So if you're feeling a little bit sick, do you still go to work? Because, after all, you want to be a good employee and you want to do the right thing. Well, there's a -- there's a study out that we're going to share with you that tells you whether you're doing the right thing or the wrong thing by your company when you do that.

KAGAN: Plus, protecting Saudi Arabia's most valuable asset, how failure to secure that nation's oil production could devastate the world's economy. SANCHEZ: And up next, Bud Selig and baseball's steroid scandal. Will he finally do something about it? What the commissioner has to say about Senator John McCain's threat to do something about it if he doesn't do something about it. We'll put it all together for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back to CNN LIVE TODAY. I'm Rick Sanchez.

Turning now to the update on the nation's flu vaccine supply. About 30 minutes ago, you may have see it right here -- may have seen it, I should say, right here on our air.

Health and Human Services secretary Tommy Thompson announced that the United States is buying some four million additional doses of flu vaccine from Canada and Germany. Now, that's to help ease the shortages, of course, of the U.S. supply.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOMMY THOMPSON, HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: The CDC will distribute the new doses to communities they deem to be most in need based upon the criteria that we've already set out that all of you have. They will present more details on this distribution in the very near future. These doses of vaccine are in addition to our existing supply of 61 million doses of influenza vaccine, which includes about 58 million doses of a Aventis injectable vaccine and three million doses of FluMist nasal spray.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Now, between existing supplies and those from the private sector, Thompson estimates there will be enough vaccine to treat tens of millions of Americans.

KAGAN: We're looking at steroid use in Major League Baseball. Will the players union finally move and make a change to their collective bargaining agreement they have with the owners? The Players union is meeting in Arizona today. Our Matt Morrison is in Phoenix. He joins us with an update.

Matt, good morning.

MATT MORRISON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn.

Published reports indicate that there is a proposal on the table between the major league officials and the Players union. The Players union executive board is set to meet and discuss that in their meetings here this week.

Now, in light of recent events, particularly the leaked testimony in the BALCO lab case last week, these annual baseball union meetings are taking on a whole new sense of urgency.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MORRISON (voice-over): Amid a major credibility crisis, the subject of steroid use is issue number one at the baseball Players union executive board meetings in Arizona.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I hope that they will come out of that meeting with an agreement to act with the baseball owners. The owners have to sit down and negotiate as well, because the owners did not negotiate a strong agreement last time. So they bear responsibility for this as well.

MORRISON: Senator McCain said if the owners and Players union don't make strides to change the steroid policy, he'll introduce legislation in January to instigate government involvement. The baseball commissioner, Bud Selig, responded with a statement, saying, "We would prefer to resolve the problem directly with the Players association and jointly implement a much stronger drug testing policy." Going on to say, "If we cannot resolve this issue privately, I gladly will accept whatever help is offered by Senator McCain to achieve our ultimate goal."

MCCAIN: The fact is that there's a growing belief on the part of high school athletes that the only way they can make it in the big leagues is to take, ingest these performance-enhancing drugs into their bodies, which is incredibly damaging. That's really the problem here.

MORRISON: The baseball players union, under the direction of Don Fehr, is considered the strongest union in sports with a collective bargaining agreement that runs through 2006. If the executive board doesn't agree to readjust its steroid policy, the future of baseball carries a question mark.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MORRISON: And Senator McCain has indicated he will be here, in his home state this week, with plans of meeting with the union chief, Donald Fehr, in order, perhaps, Daryn, to underscore how serious he is about government involvement.

KAGAN: And Matt, you mentioned that the players union in baseball is the strongest union in all professional sports. Unheard of, even that they would consider making these changes in the middle of the agreement, which doesn't end until 2006. How big of a change are they talk about making?

MORRISON: Well, that is -- that is something that is up for discussion. Now, the commissioner, Bud Selig, said that he would like to see a new steroid policy modeled on the one that is currently in place in the minor leagues.

Now, of course minor league professionals are not governed by the same contract as the major league players union. This contract for the minor leaguers requires four tests per year, in season, out of season, much more stringent in both execution and in punishment for those players. So that's the baseball side of it. The players union aren't likely to give that much concession. Just the fact they would open the contract is a step forward for them.

So it remains to be seen. But somewhere between what Bud Selig wants and what the policy is now, you'd expect they'd have to make some movement in order to help damage repair in this credibility issue.

KAGAN: Yes. And then there are those wondering what you're -- what you're protecting from in the first place. Just trying to keep players healthy.

Matt Morrison in Phoenix. Thank you for that.

MORRISON: Oh, you're welcome, Daryn.

SANCHEZ: Not to mention, in many places it's also illegal, by the way.

KAGAN: Well, yes, there's that. And then Colorado is talking about taking steps of their own. You have John McCain, as Matt was mentioning, of course. We could talk steroids all day long.

SANCHEZ: Something is going to happen.

KAGAN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Just how severe.

KAGAN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: We're going to bring you the weather and let you know how severe that is, especially in parts of the West, like California, where many of you are watching us.

And then this...

(MUSIC)

KAGAN: A couple years at the Grammys -- a couple years ago she got it all. She took home a ton of Grammys. But Will Alicia Keys get more Grammys? We are just minutes away from finding out this year's Grammy nominees.

SANCHEZ: Goody, goody.

KAGAN: Goody, goody. And we'll tell you who they are. We'll explain that Usher is a singer, not a group.

(LAUGHTER)

KAGAN: And also, some possible front-runners.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

KAGAN: He's a person, Usher. Yes.

SANCHEZ: Thank you.

Also, still to come, details on the invasion of biblical proportions. We'll have it all for you. Stay there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

SANCHEZ: Oh, yes. In about 10 minutes we're going to know if top- selling artist, Usher, will usher in a handful of Grammy nominations. How did I do, Daryn?

KAGAN: Very good.

SANCHEZ: Thank you.

KAGAN: That's Usher.

SANCHEZ: I was doing pretty good with that, huh?

KAGAN: That was Usher, the man who was singing there on the screen. That's Usher.

SANCHEZ: Unlike the guy at the theater who seats you.

KAGAN: Also an usher, but this is a name and a person, not a group.

SANCHEZ: Taking notes as we go.

KAGAN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: The recording academy is going to name the nominees in Los Angeles. The top-selling acts like Usher and Kanye West and Gretchen Wilson.

KAGAN: She's country. Gretchen Wilson, big rising country star.

SANCHEZ: You keep helping me.

KAGAN: Sibila is going to explain it all to you, actually.

SANCHEZ: Yes, in fact, let's do that. CNN entertainment correspondent, Sibila Vargas, is -- she's in Hollywood with all the cool people following this kind of stuff.

(SPEAKING SPANISH). It's a pleasure to meet you, Sibila. How are you?

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Rick.

It's really exciting right now as we prepare for the list -- the nomination list for the 47th annual Grammy Awards. And right behind me we're going to have stars like Gretchen Wilson, Anita Baker, old favorites like Earth, Wind and Fire. So as you can imagine, it's really exciting right now, as music will give the names out for its highest honors.

SANCHEZ: Who's going to win this thing? I mean, let's just cut right to the chase here.

VARGAS: You know, I'm having a little problem hearing you, but I just want to let you know that this year, the R&B and hip-hop factor is going to be pretty big. Last year, with Beyonce and Outkast and Jay-Z, it was pretty enormous. Really, the impact was definitely felt. And I think this year is going to be a continuation of that, primarily because of two cats, two guys, as we call them in music, musical cats.

We're talking about Usher, of course, and Kanye West. Usher did phenomenally well this year. He sold over seven million copies of his album, "Confessions."

Four hit singles on that album alone. So he's definitely had a huge impact in the music industry.

And as well, as like listening to him on the radio. It seems like for the last six months that's all we hear.

Kanye West is another one who has burst on to the music scene just recently. This is a man who was a producer. And with his debut album, "College Dropout," he's done phenomenally well, 2.5 million albums already sold. He's definitely a force to contend with.

So I think that we're going to be hearing these two names over and over and over again. It's definitely a year for Kanye West and Usher as well.

SANCHEZ: Wasn't there -- can you hear me now, by the way? Can you hear me?

VARGAS: I could hear you a little bit.

SANCHEZ: All right. I'll try and talk very slowly.

There was a controversy with Kanye about trying to kind of change the tone of the music to a certain extent, was there not? How did that go over, and what effect or talk is it spurring there where you are today?

VARGAS: You know what, Rick? I could hardly hear you right now, but let me tell you about another thing -- another highlight that we may be able to see.

Brian Wilson, he's going to get the People of the Year Award this year at the Grammys, which is a huge and prestigious award. A lot of people are saying that his last album, "Smile," was probably one of his personal best.

Prince is another musician who came on to the scene. Again, he's made a tremendous comeback with "Musicology." And let's not forget about Mr. Ray Charles. His album posthumous album, "Genius Loves Company," is well critically praised. It's done very well.

And I think it has a lot to do with the fact that "Ray," the bio pic, is doing very well. And it has a lot of Oscar buzz. And it's really kind of reinvigorated interest in this man, what he's -- the impact he's made not only to the world, but especially to the music industry.

SANCHEZ: Good stuff. You can't hear me, but I'm saying thank you for that report, nonetheless.

VARGAS: Thanks, Rick.

SANCHEZ: And hopefully we'll clear up a little bit of that audio problem. And maybe we'll be able to hook up with her again so she can teach me -- not you, but me, a few things about it.

KAGAN: No, I have things to learn in the music -- that Ray Charles album, by the way, is amazing.

SANCHEZ: I've heard it's fabulous.

KAGAN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: I've heard the movie is great.

KAGAN: Well, there's the movie. But then in this last CD, which was done right before he died, he pairs up with all these famous artists and does these duets. Like Norah Jones is on there, Michael McDonald, you just saw there, James Taylor.

I have it. You can borrow it.

SANCHEZ: OK. I'll do that.

KAGAN: OK.

SANCHEZ: That way I don't have to buy my own.

KAGAN: Jacqui Jeras is here free with music -- with music -- with weather.

Hello.

(WEATHER REPORT)

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Aired December 7, 2004 - 11:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Stories that are "Now in the News."
The move toward a major overall haul of U.S. intelligence could begin today with a vote by the House of Representatives. A compromise has now been reached on the major roadblocks to reform legislation. In fact, just minutes from now, Maine senator, Susan Collins, and Connecticut senator, Joe Lieberman, are going to be talking to reporters about this bill.

We're monitoring that. As a matter of fact, as soon as it happens, we're going to let you listen in as well.

Also, a look at America at work. A government report says that worker productivity growth slowed in the third quarter, its slowest pace in two years. Experts say that productivity slowdown means that businesses might need to hire more workers to try and get the job done.

Also, CNN has learned that up to 600 U.S. Marines are going to be sent to the Philippines to help with relief efforts after a recent series of severe storms there. A Pentagon official says the Marines could stay up to 45 days. Two major typhoons have killed hundreds of people. Tens of thousands have been displaced by the storms.

And President Bush is heading to -- speaking of Marines -- to Camp Pendleton in California. He'll deliver his thanks for the sacrifices being made in Iraq. Camp Pendleton has one of the highest casualty rates of any U.S. military facility sending troops to Iraq.

Stay tuned for live coverage of Mr. Bush's address right here on CNN.

It is one minute after 11:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 8:00 a.m., of course, out West. And from the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Rick Sanchez.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, Rick Sanchez.

SANCHEZ: Hi, Daryn Kagan.

KAGAN: I'm Daryn Kagan.

Let's get started this hour with a classified cable from the CIA station chief in Baghdad. "The New York Times" obtained the cable.

It says the report is unvarnished, candid and pessimistic. It reportedly predicts the situation in Iraq is getting worse and may not get better anytime soon for the U.S. troops who face insurgents every day. That stands in sharp contrast to the public face put on the Iraq situation by the Bush team.

Let's bring in Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.

Barbara, good morning.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn.

Well, the battle for Falluja may be over, but as you say, the insurgency is Iraq is still showing its teeth, and it does seem to have considerable power. A number of recent attacks in the last several days killing dozens of Iraqis across the country. And now U.S. officials in Iraq growing increasingly concerned that it is indeed the Iraqis who are being targeted more and more.

Now, yesterday, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, on his way to Kuwait, spoke to reporters about how the power of the insurgency continues to catch everyone by surprise. Here's a bit of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: But I don't think anyone would say that the intelligence left anyone with the impression that you'd be in the degree of insurgency you're in today and resistance on the part of a mixture of Ba'athists and pro-dictatorship, pro-Saddam people mixed in with some foreign terrorists and extremists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: But Secretary Rumsfeld also going on to say that he still has hope. If things do get better in Iraq, that U.S. troops might be out of that country at the end of the next President Bush term, then in four years or so. But officials saying that is very dependent on the level of violence and whether Iraqi security forces can really take over the load, the mission for security in Iraq.

Officials at the U.S. Central Command saying the same thing, if things were to get better, they would hope to shift the U.S. mission to more of a training mission for Iraqis rather than a frontline combat mission. But the way the insurgency is going at the moment, that is all very problematic. The major goal on the table, get the security situation in Iraq under control for those January elections, and make sure the country truly does not descend into civil war -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Barbara, thank you.

SANCHEZ: Three troops -- three years, I should say -- pardon me -- after U.S. troops routed the Taliban, Afghanistan today inaugurated its first democratically-elected president. It is Hamid Karzai.

He took the oath in front of 150 VIPs. Among them, Vice President Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, our secretary of defense. Karzai says that his inauguration opens a new era of peace and prosperity, and he thanked the United States for its help in transforming Afghanistan from a terrorist haven to a democracy. Mr. Cheney had praise for the people of Afghanistan as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Whatever challenges may come, the people of Afghanistan can count on the friendship and support of the people of the United States. President Bush and I have confidence in the future of a free Afghanistan because we have immense respect for its people and for the leader they have chosen. In his life as an Afghan patriot, President Karzai has taken incredible personal risk and made many sacrifices.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: We'll have more on that story in just a bit.

Right now, we're going to go live to Washington, D.C. Senators talking about the compromise on the 9/11 bill. Let's listen in.

(INTERRUPTED BY LIVE EVENT)

KAGAN: We've been listening to a news conference with some senators in Washington, D.C. on the intelligence bill and the wake of 9/11, one that got hung up in Congress. A couple of Republican congressmen raising some concerns about the chain of command with military intelligence, also immigration reform. They worked out a compromise on the chain of command with the military intelligence, not so with immigration reform.

Let's bring our Ed Henry in, who covers this for us on Capitol Hill, and talk about why one went through and one didn't, and how they're finally going to get this bill done.

Ed, hello.

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

Well, you know, a lot of Republican leaders up here are whispering that they were telling the White House for weeks that they really had to focus on the chain of command issue, that that had more resonance within the House Republican conference, that it was a more serious issue to the leaders up here in terms of the war on terror. Solving Duncan Hunter's concern that a new director of national intelligence could interfere with the military's chain of command and put -- potentially put troops in harm's way in the middle of the war on terror.

So that's why -- and I can tell you, there's a lot frustration among Republicans here on the Hill. They feel that the White House ignored that strategy for a long time and focused too much on James Sensenbrenner's immigration concerns.

And instead, in recent days, the White House finally listened to Republican leaders here on the Hill, according to the Hill people, and basically started focusing more on that chain of command issue. Vice President Cheney, as you heard Susan Collins there say, making phone calls himself yesterday, working out the language to please Duncan Hunter. He got on board and endorsed this yesterday.

And as you suggest, the person who still is unhappy, though, is James Sensenbrenner, because now he's left out in the cold basically. He's been promised a vote on his immigration provisions next year. But all throughout this process, James Sensenbrenner has said that's not good enough to him because he feels this was must-pass legislation, this 9/11 intel reform bill.

But the immigration provisions are controversial. And it's harder to get them through alone.

He thought that by attaching them to a must-pass bill, they might finally get through. But I can tell you, people like Susan Collins feel, if the immigration provisions had been added, the whole bill would have unraveled.

So what you're hearing from some lawmakers is that the bottom line is this is not a perfect deal. But this is the best deal that they could get right now. And they felt like it was better to do something than nothing -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Ed, as you said, James Sensenbrenner not a happy congressman today. Let's listen to some sound from him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMES SENSENBRENNER (R), WISCONSIN: I think the compromise is incomplete, but they do have the signatures to bring the bill to the floor, and it will pass. So the fight now is to make sure that we get a vote early next year on driver's licenses and the asylum reform in order to complete the job.

I think Congress' job is to prevent a terrorist attack from happening rather than managing the consequences of it. And good intelligence is useless without good homeland security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: That was Congressman Sensenbrenner from Wisconsin. We're going to move on. Ed Henry on Capitol Hill, thank you for that.

HENRY: Thank you, Daryn.

SANCHEZ: So if you're feeling a little bit sick, do you still go to work? Because, after all, you want to be a good employee and you want to do the right thing. Well, there's a -- there's a study out that we're going to share with you that tells you whether you're doing the right thing or the wrong thing by your company when you do that.

KAGAN: Plus, protecting Saudi Arabia's most valuable asset, how failure to secure that nation's oil production could devastate the world's economy. SANCHEZ: And up next, Bud Selig and baseball's steroid scandal. Will he finally do something about it? What the commissioner has to say about Senator John McCain's threat to do something about it if he doesn't do something about it. We'll put it all together for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back to CNN LIVE TODAY. I'm Rick Sanchez.

Turning now to the update on the nation's flu vaccine supply. About 30 minutes ago, you may have see it right here -- may have seen it, I should say, right here on our air.

Health and Human Services secretary Tommy Thompson announced that the United States is buying some four million additional doses of flu vaccine from Canada and Germany. Now, that's to help ease the shortages, of course, of the U.S. supply.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOMMY THOMPSON, HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: The CDC will distribute the new doses to communities they deem to be most in need based upon the criteria that we've already set out that all of you have. They will present more details on this distribution in the very near future. These doses of vaccine are in addition to our existing supply of 61 million doses of influenza vaccine, which includes about 58 million doses of a Aventis injectable vaccine and three million doses of FluMist nasal spray.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Now, between existing supplies and those from the private sector, Thompson estimates there will be enough vaccine to treat tens of millions of Americans.

KAGAN: We're looking at steroid use in Major League Baseball. Will the players union finally move and make a change to their collective bargaining agreement they have with the owners? The Players union is meeting in Arizona today. Our Matt Morrison is in Phoenix. He joins us with an update.

Matt, good morning.

MATT MORRISON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn.

Published reports indicate that there is a proposal on the table between the major league officials and the Players union. The Players union executive board is set to meet and discuss that in their meetings here this week.

Now, in light of recent events, particularly the leaked testimony in the BALCO lab case last week, these annual baseball union meetings are taking on a whole new sense of urgency.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MORRISON (voice-over): Amid a major credibility crisis, the subject of steroid use is issue number one at the baseball Players union executive board meetings in Arizona.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I hope that they will come out of that meeting with an agreement to act with the baseball owners. The owners have to sit down and negotiate as well, because the owners did not negotiate a strong agreement last time. So they bear responsibility for this as well.

MORRISON: Senator McCain said if the owners and Players union don't make strides to change the steroid policy, he'll introduce legislation in January to instigate government involvement. The baseball commissioner, Bud Selig, responded with a statement, saying, "We would prefer to resolve the problem directly with the Players association and jointly implement a much stronger drug testing policy." Going on to say, "If we cannot resolve this issue privately, I gladly will accept whatever help is offered by Senator McCain to achieve our ultimate goal."

MCCAIN: The fact is that there's a growing belief on the part of high school athletes that the only way they can make it in the big leagues is to take, ingest these performance-enhancing drugs into their bodies, which is incredibly damaging. That's really the problem here.

MORRISON: The baseball players union, under the direction of Don Fehr, is considered the strongest union in sports with a collective bargaining agreement that runs through 2006. If the executive board doesn't agree to readjust its steroid policy, the future of baseball carries a question mark.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MORRISON: And Senator McCain has indicated he will be here, in his home state this week, with plans of meeting with the union chief, Donald Fehr, in order, perhaps, Daryn, to underscore how serious he is about government involvement.

KAGAN: And Matt, you mentioned that the players union in baseball is the strongest union in all professional sports. Unheard of, even that they would consider making these changes in the middle of the agreement, which doesn't end until 2006. How big of a change are they talk about making?

MORRISON: Well, that is -- that is something that is up for discussion. Now, the commissioner, Bud Selig, said that he would like to see a new steroid policy modeled on the one that is currently in place in the minor leagues.

Now, of course minor league professionals are not governed by the same contract as the major league players union. This contract for the minor leaguers requires four tests per year, in season, out of season, much more stringent in both execution and in punishment for those players. So that's the baseball side of it. The players union aren't likely to give that much concession. Just the fact they would open the contract is a step forward for them.

So it remains to be seen. But somewhere between what Bud Selig wants and what the policy is now, you'd expect they'd have to make some movement in order to help damage repair in this credibility issue.

KAGAN: Yes. And then there are those wondering what you're -- what you're protecting from in the first place. Just trying to keep players healthy.

Matt Morrison in Phoenix. Thank you for that.

MORRISON: Oh, you're welcome, Daryn.

SANCHEZ: Not to mention, in many places it's also illegal, by the way.

KAGAN: Well, yes, there's that. And then Colorado is talking about taking steps of their own. You have John McCain, as Matt was mentioning, of course. We could talk steroids all day long.

SANCHEZ: Something is going to happen.

KAGAN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Just how severe.

KAGAN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: We're going to bring you the weather and let you know how severe that is, especially in parts of the West, like California, where many of you are watching us.

And then this...

(MUSIC)

KAGAN: A couple years at the Grammys -- a couple years ago she got it all. She took home a ton of Grammys. But Will Alicia Keys get more Grammys? We are just minutes away from finding out this year's Grammy nominees.

SANCHEZ: Goody, goody.

KAGAN: Goody, goody. And we'll tell you who they are. We'll explain that Usher is a singer, not a group.

(LAUGHTER)

KAGAN: And also, some possible front-runners.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

KAGAN: He's a person, Usher. Yes.

SANCHEZ: Thank you.

Also, still to come, details on the invasion of biblical proportions. We'll have it all for you. Stay there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

SANCHEZ: Oh, yes. In about 10 minutes we're going to know if top- selling artist, Usher, will usher in a handful of Grammy nominations. How did I do, Daryn?

KAGAN: Very good.

SANCHEZ: Thank you.

KAGAN: That's Usher.

SANCHEZ: I was doing pretty good with that, huh?

KAGAN: That was Usher, the man who was singing there on the screen. That's Usher.

SANCHEZ: Unlike the guy at the theater who seats you.

KAGAN: Also an usher, but this is a name and a person, not a group.

SANCHEZ: Taking notes as we go.

KAGAN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: The recording academy is going to name the nominees in Los Angeles. The top-selling acts like Usher and Kanye West and Gretchen Wilson.

KAGAN: She's country. Gretchen Wilson, big rising country star.

SANCHEZ: You keep helping me.

KAGAN: Sibila is going to explain it all to you, actually.

SANCHEZ: Yes, in fact, let's do that. CNN entertainment correspondent, Sibila Vargas, is -- she's in Hollywood with all the cool people following this kind of stuff.

(SPEAKING SPANISH). It's a pleasure to meet you, Sibila. How are you?

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Rick.

It's really exciting right now as we prepare for the list -- the nomination list for the 47th annual Grammy Awards. And right behind me we're going to have stars like Gretchen Wilson, Anita Baker, old favorites like Earth, Wind and Fire. So as you can imagine, it's really exciting right now, as music will give the names out for its highest honors.

SANCHEZ: Who's going to win this thing? I mean, let's just cut right to the chase here.

VARGAS: You know, I'm having a little problem hearing you, but I just want to let you know that this year, the R&B and hip-hop factor is going to be pretty big. Last year, with Beyonce and Outkast and Jay-Z, it was pretty enormous. Really, the impact was definitely felt. And I think this year is going to be a continuation of that, primarily because of two cats, two guys, as we call them in music, musical cats.

We're talking about Usher, of course, and Kanye West. Usher did phenomenally well this year. He sold over seven million copies of his album, "Confessions."

Four hit singles on that album alone. So he's definitely had a huge impact in the music industry.

And as well, as like listening to him on the radio. It seems like for the last six months that's all we hear.

Kanye West is another one who has burst on to the music scene just recently. This is a man who was a producer. And with his debut album, "College Dropout," he's done phenomenally well, 2.5 million albums already sold. He's definitely a force to contend with.

So I think that we're going to be hearing these two names over and over and over again. It's definitely a year for Kanye West and Usher as well.

SANCHEZ: Wasn't there -- can you hear me now, by the way? Can you hear me?

VARGAS: I could hear you a little bit.

SANCHEZ: All right. I'll try and talk very slowly.

There was a controversy with Kanye about trying to kind of change the tone of the music to a certain extent, was there not? How did that go over, and what effect or talk is it spurring there where you are today?

VARGAS: You know what, Rick? I could hardly hear you right now, but let me tell you about another thing -- another highlight that we may be able to see.

Brian Wilson, he's going to get the People of the Year Award this year at the Grammys, which is a huge and prestigious award. A lot of people are saying that his last album, "Smile," was probably one of his personal best.

Prince is another musician who came on to the scene. Again, he's made a tremendous comeback with "Musicology." And let's not forget about Mr. Ray Charles. His album posthumous album, "Genius Loves Company," is well critically praised. It's done very well.

And I think it has a lot to do with the fact that "Ray," the bio pic, is doing very well. And it has a lot of Oscar buzz. And it's really kind of reinvigorated interest in this man, what he's -- the impact he's made not only to the world, but especially to the music industry.

SANCHEZ: Good stuff. You can't hear me, but I'm saying thank you for that report, nonetheless.

VARGAS: Thanks, Rick.

SANCHEZ: And hopefully we'll clear up a little bit of that audio problem. And maybe we'll be able to hook up with her again so she can teach me -- not you, but me, a few things about it.

KAGAN: No, I have things to learn in the music -- that Ray Charles album, by the way, is amazing.

SANCHEZ: I've heard it's fabulous.

KAGAN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: I've heard the movie is great.

KAGAN: Well, there's the movie. But then in this last CD, which was done right before he died, he pairs up with all these famous artists and does these duets. Like Norah Jones is on there, Michael McDonald, you just saw there, James Taylor.

I have it. You can borrow it.

SANCHEZ: OK. I'll do that.

KAGAN: OK.

SANCHEZ: That way I don't have to buy my own.

KAGAN: Jacqui Jeras is here free with music -- with music -- with weather.

Hello.

(WEATHER REPORT)

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