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American Morning

Remembering Ronald Reagan; 'Paging Dr. Gupta'

Aired June 08, 2004 - 08:30   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: I want to bring in two of those people who came to pay their respects today, Jeanine and Dan Potter, two Californians from nearby Santa Clarita, California, and they're taking warmth today because they've been out here essentially for 10 hours, and now just wrapping up their visit here.
Good morning to you.

JEANINE POTTER: Hello.

HEMMER: Where are your clothes, by the way? I know these are heat-warming blankets.

DAN POTTER: We often -- we forget. Sometimes in California, you forget. I didn't think we'd be here this long. Halfway through the night my wife says, do you have a blanket or anything in the car?

J. POTTER: I was freezing.

HEMMER: Well, think you said something important. You didn't think you would be here that long. How long did you think the wait would be?

J. POTTER: No. We thought it would be about three hours.

HEMMER: In total it's been what, then?

J. POTTER: We've been here for 10 hours.

D. POTTER: Ten hours, 12 hours including the freeway time. So...

J. POTTER: Yes.

HEMMER: What did it mean to you to come here today?

D. POTTER: Well, i've always -- President Reagan means a lot to us here in California, especially here in this valley, not just as a president, but also as the governor, even as far back as the president of the Screen Actors' Guild. He just means a lot to us, and so this is the last time, and it's an opportunity for us to say goodbye.

HEMMER: How much total time did you get inside the library, around the casket?

J. POTTER: About a half hour, don't you think?

D. POTTER: Actually, You could have taken as long as you wanted. No one is rushing us along.

J. POTTER: You circled. You went all the way around it. That was really nice.

HEMMER: Give our viewers a sense of the feeling that was inside there when you were there, Jeanine?

J. POTTER: Just peaceful. You could feel respect. Just -- if we could, all of us, just be as special as he is, this would be a better world.

HEMMER: How about you, Dan? What did it feel like for you?

D. POTTER: I was most impressed with the military. These soldiers were impeccable. They were just standing erect, protecting the coffin, standing there, just giant of men, and when you have a son that's in the Air Force, it makes you want to cry.

HEMMER: Thanks for sharing with us today.

J. POTTER: Thank you.

HEMMER: And I understand now you have to go to work?

J. POTTER: Yes, he goes...

D. POTTER: My boss is probably watching this now out of Chicago.

HEMMER: Good luck, OK, and get warm.

J. POTTER: Thank you.

HEMMER: Really appreciate your time, Jeanine and Dan Potter here in California.

I want to take our viewers now to Washington D.C. That's where the focus will shift truly tomorrow. The state funeral will continue tomorrow night there in the national cathedral on Friday morning.

Ed Henry there on Capitol Hill. This is going to be a monster task for security. They're all getting ready already at this point. To Ed Henry now.

Good morning, Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

That's right, there was a memo just sent out yesterday to senators, saying that basically this has now been elevated to a national security special event. The classification, the significance there, is that this puts it on par with the national political convention, also puts the Secret Service in charge. Everybody also is on a high alert. Capitol Police officers here have had to cancel any vacations they may have had. They're working longer shifts.

To put this all in perspective, the last time we had a state funeral like this for a United States president, 1973, of course, with Lyndon Johnson. And the bottom line there is that were only 40,000 people filing through at that point. Now we're expecting at least 100,000 people. Yesterday, Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer said it could be as much as 150,000 people, given this outpouring of support, and also the biggest difference from 1973 is that that was long before 9/11. Everybody on a higher state of alert now, but Chief Gainer basically said yesterday that he'll be ready for the task.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF TERRANCE GAINER, D.C. CAPITOL POLICE: I think the challenge will be moving people through the line solemnly but expeditiously, so the thousands of people can have an opportunity to view the remains.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: And, Bill, basically, they do not -- police official it's are saying do not bring backpacks, do not bring cameras. Also they want cell phones turned off. They want to make this go as smoothly as possible. They don't want any distractions. They want to keep it moving, keep it solemn as well.

And what Chief Gainer pointed out, is that there was some practice that they had very recently, as you know, with the opening of the new World War II Memorial, right here on the National Mall. Many dignitaries, tens of thousands of people here, including former President Bush and former presidents, Bush and Clinton. They think that was a good practice run, very recently, and they're going to be up to the task -- Bill.

HEMMER: Ed, thanks for that. Ed Henry live on Capitol Hill.

Back here in Simi Valley, again, as the mourners continue to stream around the casket of Ronald Reagan, it is almost daybreak here, and this library truly is enormous on the inside.

In one portion of the library, there's an exact replica of the Oval Office as it was when Ronald Reagan was president. And one of the architects tells a great story. He says when Ronald Reagan came to inspect the area, when they were building it, they told the former president that the ceiling was not high enough to make the dimensions perfect, an Ronald Reagan said, well, just take it into the ground, dig it into the ground. And sure enough, you drop down about five feet inside the library in order to make the exact replica fit the size and dimensions.

On that desk, two signs. The famous sign, "It can be done." That sat on his desk for eight years in the Oval Office. And the other one, a quote from Ronald Reagan. I'm quoting now. It says, "There is no limit on what a man can do or where he can go, if he doesn't mind who gets the credit," a quote from Ronald Reagan that sits on that desk inside the library here in Simi Valley.

Much more to talk about. We'll talk with the library director in a moment here, try to get a firm figure on the number of people who come out here. Soledad, I told you about an hour ago, the early estimates said 17,000, but that was literally eight hours ago, and as the stream continues, the stream of buses behind me, we know we're well past that number at this point.

More in a moment here.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It certainly looks that way, Bill. Thanks.

For hundreds of National Guard and Reserve soldiers needing medical treatment, life is now on hold because they are not regular army.

Here's a look from our national correspondent Gary Tuchman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John Ramsey injured his shoulders and arms serving in Iraq and Kuwait. He's angry at the Army.

JOHN RAMSEY, ARMY VETERAN: The army is no longer an Army. It's a business. That's what it's come down to. It's a business.

TUCHMAN: Ramsey says he's not getting first-class attention in the military hospital, because he was in the National Guard, and not in the regular Army. He is one of hundreds of National Guard and Reserve soldiers at Fort Stewart, Georgia, who are on what the Army calls medical hold. They aren't ready to resume normal duties, and in most cases, they have to continue living at the fort to receive the Army's full medical treatment.

Ramsey says he's fulfilled his military commitment and wants to return to his home to his family in Florida, but the military won't authorize free medical treatment anywhere but Fort Stewart.

RAMSEY: There's been some points that I just wanted to quit, just give up and, you know, go home and figure out how to pay for it myself.

TUCHMAN: Fort Stewart's garrison commander, Colonel John Kidd, wasn't available for an on-camera interview, but did talk with us by phone.

COL. JOHN KIDD, FT. STEWART GARRISON COMMANDER: A system is not in place to just allow soldiers to go home and sit at home, you know, and wait for their leg, or their arm or shoulder to heal up.

TUCHMAN: Most of the medical-hold patients live in air- conditioned trailers, four to a room, a step up from the non-air conditioned cement barracks where they lived last year, when many complaints started coming in, complaints that included charges of second-rate medical care for Reservists and Guardsmen.

The Army says an overwhelming patient load last year did indeed lead to troubling problems, but now...

KIDD: I can't say we're problem-free here, but we've made some good efforts.

TUCHMAN: Not good enough, though, for some, like John Ramsey.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Hinesville, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: John Ramsey said he receives phone calls nearly every day from health care providers, trying to collect more than the $15,000 in unpaid medical bills that he owes.

Still to come this morning, one more reason why you can't drag your teenager out of bed in the morning. Dr. Sanjay Gupta stops by to tell us what you can do to fight the latest culprit.

Plus, Iraq tries to make its case against Saddam Hussein. We'll tell you who officials want to talk to. That's ahead as we continue right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Forty million Americans have chronic sleep problems, and according to a new study, teenagers who spend a lot of time watching television are more likely to be sleep deprived as they get older.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us from the CNN Center with details on this new study.

Hey, Sanjay. Good morning.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

No one gets enough sleep. I mean, that's been known for a long time. And there are some consequences of watching too much television. That's also been known for some time. But now the two are linked. Actually watching too much television might caught sleep disturbances in adolescents that might persist in their early adulthood.

This is sort of interesting stuff. They talked specifically about teenagers who watch three hours or more of television, which is the average, and that doesn't include video games or other sorts of things.

They also found that people by the time their seven years old will have watched seven to 10 years of television.

Now this study, actually coming out of the Archives in Pediatrics, followed children along for eight years, 759 families and they looked at these kids who watched three hours or more of television, and found that they had two or more sleep disturbances throughout the night that persisted. Again, frequent awakenings, they might stay awake longer, they might have nightmares, things like that, that all were in some way related to television, they say.

They also found that if you cut the television down to an hour or less per day, then you immediately had those sleep habits improve.

The question was, researchers were trying to figure why are these two things linked? They found that people who watch excessive television also tend to have higher levels of inactivity. They might have heightened alertness right before they go to sleep. They might also have physiological stimulation, so their heart rate or their blood pressure go up. Frightening or traumatic content certainly can lead to nightmares as well. All of this sort of adding to a growing body of evidence, Soledad, that television is bad for you, in this case, specifically with regards to your sleep -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: And specifically with regard to teenagers. Is there a sense then that the teenagers need more sleep or it's more important for them to get their sleep than adults?

GUPTA: You know, the age-old question, of how much sleep do you need? That sort of pertains here as well. We can say this, that children and adolescents need more sleep than adults, 8.5 to 9.5 hours. The average, we look that up as well, 6.5 to 7.5, so a of couple hours behind what most adolescents should be getting.

The problem, if you're not getting enough sleep, besides feeling sleepy, which a lot people will feel the next day, there are other problems in terms of your physiological status, trouble thinking, learning, which is really important as you're going to school. Obviously, altered metabolism, weakened immune function, fatigue and depressed mood.

Why do we sleep, Soledad? That's an age-old question as well. People believe we sleep so that we can store memories, so that experiences that you have throughout the day will actually go from the conscience to the subconscious level when you sleep. Also people who are growing need to sleep more. You actually do a lot your growing when you're asleep -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Interesting. All right, Sanjay, thanks.

GUPTA: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, authorities in Italy may have made a huge break in the Madrid train bombing investigation. That's ahead in just a few minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Nearly 47 minutes past the hour. Time to take a look at some of today's other news with Daryn Kagan in Atlanta.

Hey, Daryn. Good morning again.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Soledad, good morning again to you. Three Italians held hostage in Iraq for nearly two months have been freed. The Italian foreign ministry confirming that information to CNN just a short while ago. The three are said to be in good condition.

Meanwhile, more violence in Iraq. Two car bomb explosions rocked separate cities today. An American soldier was killed in an explosion. Several other were wounded. And in Mosul, at least nine Iraqi civilian were killed in a bombing there. Witnesses reported seeing three men in a taxi just before it exploded.

Authorities in Italy say they've arrested a man believed to have masterminded the train attacks in Madrid. The arrest comes after a three-month probe into the March 11th bombings. Authorities also arrested a second person. Both men are charged with belonging to an international terrorism organization. A third man has been detained for further questioning. Other arrests are expected elsewhere in Europe.

Iraq and the Middle East are expected to dominate the agenda at the G-8 summit on Georgia's Sea Island. The summit gets under way today under tight security. Some 20,000 law enforcement officers and National Guard troops are paroling the area, hoping to keep protesters back. The summit wraps up on Thursday.

And Lightening things up, from the world of sports, in hockey, the Tampa Bay Lightning captured their first Stanley Cup title. Rostelyn Fedotenko (ph) scoring both goals for the Lightning, beat the Calgary Flames 2-1 in game seven of the NHL finals. As for the fans, you can say they are just a little bit pumped up in Tampa. The city is planning a celebration for tomorrow.

And, Soledad, just to show you how this franchise turned around its fate, back in 2001, they played in the same arena as the arena football team. The arena football team was outdrawing the Tampa Bay Lightning.

O'BRIEN: I was going to say, Daryn, I don't know a whole heck of a lot about sports. I'm saying Tampa? Hockey? What?

KAGAN: Tampa? Yes, it's not a natural.

O'BRIEN: Well, congratulations to them, right?

KAGAN: Absolutely.

O'BRIEN: Good for them. It's the start of a dynasty I bet.

KAGAN: Absolutely. I feel it.

O'BRIEN: I feel it, too.

Daryn, thanks.

Business news now. One company is paying people, believe it or not, not to buy its product. Another saying, try it, you'll like it. With that and a preview of the markets this morning, Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business."

(CROSSTALK)

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Well, we'll talk about it. It's all about testing, letting consumers try out products before they buy. Testing, testing, one, two, three. First of all, let's start with General Motors. A new program rolling out today, going through July 6th. You try one of their cars overnight, Soledad, an SUV or a sedan, and then, if you buy a competitor's car, they will pay you $250. So, in other words, you try out a Hummer, let's say, and then you go buy a Toyota the next day. They'll give you $250.

O'BRIEN: Is there like a time limit? I mean, it has to be the next day?

SERWER: No, no, before July 6th. So, you know, pretty novel idea there.

Let's talk about the next testing program. Maytag, washers, dryers, dish washers, microwave ovens. You go into a Maytag store and you try out their appliances. Literally, you can bring your laundry to a Maytag dealer, or you can bake cookies in one of their ovens and try it out, OK?

O'BRIEN: It's actually a good idea.

SERWER: It's kind of cool. I'm thinking about gaming the system here.

OK, let's start with the GM thing. Say you want to bring a Hummer to a party. You know you're going to buy a party. You go overnight, you get the $250.

(CROSSTALK)

SERWER: They do that.

OK, then also with the Maytag thing. First day you bring your whites, then you bring your colors, then you bring your delicates on day three.

O'BRIEN: My washer and dryer not working right now, not completely hooked up because we moved. I need a place to wash my clothes. This might be a really good idea.

SERWER: Right to the Maytag store, right?

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the market a little bit. Preview it for us?

SERWER: Let's do that. Yes, yesterday, a great day for the markets, stocks soaring, optimism about the economy, lower oil prices as well. You can see over 2000 on the Nasdaq, triple digits on the Dow. This morning, though, looking a little bit weaker. The futures, maybe some profit-taking. Techs are weak. Yesterday, actually, the third biggest day of the year for the S&P 500, so nice stuff happening there.

O'BRIEN: All right, good. Thanks, Andy. Appreciate it.

SERWER: You're welcome.

O'BRIEN: Let's head back out to Bill in Simi Valley, California -- Bill.

HEMMER: Hey, Soledad. Thanks for that. Other than Nancy Reagan, it's likely nobody knew the late president's private side better than the White House photographer. Some of the Reagan's unguarded moments, still to come here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. Time to check in with Jack and the Cafferty File.

Hello.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Hello there.

If you lost the rent money on Smarty Jones over there at the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, here's a chance to recoup. British bookmakers are offering three to one that Jennifer Lopez and this guy, Marc Anthony, will be divorced by the end of this year, three to one. Lopez, of course, has been married twice, each time for a little more than a year. She broke off her engagement to Ben Affleck earlier this year. The bookies are also quoting 14-1 that she and -- Lopez and Affleck rather will be married by the end ever the year, and the odds are 10,000 to 1 that anybody gives a damn.

Somebody wrote to me said, "The next time Jennifer Lopez gets married, I'm throwing minute rice."

Infidelity may be genetic, according to a British study. Professor Tim Spectre (ph) of London found that if one of a pair of female twins has a history of infidelity, the chances are her sister would cheat, were 55 percent. So we want to get her number right away. In general, about 23 percent of women are unfaithful. Spectre stressed that genes alone don't determine if someone will cheat on their partner, and he stops short of saying that there is a single infidelity gene.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg apparently running out of things to do, so now he's getting tough on noise, and here's how he's going to do it. Changes to the city's anti-noise ordinance include the following: Ice cream trucks will have to stop playing music. Come on! I love this. Dogs will have five minutes to bark, then they have to stop during the night. Ten minutes during the bay. After those time limits, you have to shoot your dog. Bars and air conditioners will be subject to noise-control rules, and fines will range from $45 to $25,000. That's just silly.

O'BRIEN: Ice cream truck guys face a 25 grand fine for that little jingle? That's not that loud. CAFFERTY: No, it's not.

O'BRIEN: What about car alarms? Where is that on list?

CAFFERTY: Garbage trucks, horns, sirens, idiots walking the streets...

O'BRIEN: Drunk people walking the streets.

CAFFERTY: ... screaming at the top of their lungs, people urinating on buildings.

O'BRIEN: That's actually not that loud.

CAFFERTY: I mean, your honor -- well, if you're standing on a bridge.

O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks.

Still to come this morning, lots of people think the Internet is the best way to find a good deal at a hotel room, but actually, there might be a better way. We've got some tips from "Consumer Reports" just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired June 8, 2004 - 08:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: I want to bring in two of those people who came to pay their respects today, Jeanine and Dan Potter, two Californians from nearby Santa Clarita, California, and they're taking warmth today because they've been out here essentially for 10 hours, and now just wrapping up their visit here.
Good morning to you.

JEANINE POTTER: Hello.

HEMMER: Where are your clothes, by the way? I know these are heat-warming blankets.

DAN POTTER: We often -- we forget. Sometimes in California, you forget. I didn't think we'd be here this long. Halfway through the night my wife says, do you have a blanket or anything in the car?

J. POTTER: I was freezing.

HEMMER: Well, think you said something important. You didn't think you would be here that long. How long did you think the wait would be?

J. POTTER: No. We thought it would be about three hours.

HEMMER: In total it's been what, then?

J. POTTER: We've been here for 10 hours.

D. POTTER: Ten hours, 12 hours including the freeway time. So...

J. POTTER: Yes.

HEMMER: What did it mean to you to come here today?

D. POTTER: Well, i've always -- President Reagan means a lot to us here in California, especially here in this valley, not just as a president, but also as the governor, even as far back as the president of the Screen Actors' Guild. He just means a lot to us, and so this is the last time, and it's an opportunity for us to say goodbye.

HEMMER: How much total time did you get inside the library, around the casket?

J. POTTER: About a half hour, don't you think?

D. POTTER: Actually, You could have taken as long as you wanted. No one is rushing us along.

J. POTTER: You circled. You went all the way around it. That was really nice.

HEMMER: Give our viewers a sense of the feeling that was inside there when you were there, Jeanine?

J. POTTER: Just peaceful. You could feel respect. Just -- if we could, all of us, just be as special as he is, this would be a better world.

HEMMER: How about you, Dan? What did it feel like for you?

D. POTTER: I was most impressed with the military. These soldiers were impeccable. They were just standing erect, protecting the coffin, standing there, just giant of men, and when you have a son that's in the Air Force, it makes you want to cry.

HEMMER: Thanks for sharing with us today.

J. POTTER: Thank you.

HEMMER: And I understand now you have to go to work?

J. POTTER: Yes, he goes...

D. POTTER: My boss is probably watching this now out of Chicago.

HEMMER: Good luck, OK, and get warm.

J. POTTER: Thank you.

HEMMER: Really appreciate your time, Jeanine and Dan Potter here in California.

I want to take our viewers now to Washington D.C. That's where the focus will shift truly tomorrow. The state funeral will continue tomorrow night there in the national cathedral on Friday morning.

Ed Henry there on Capitol Hill. This is going to be a monster task for security. They're all getting ready already at this point. To Ed Henry now.

Good morning, Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

That's right, there was a memo just sent out yesterday to senators, saying that basically this has now been elevated to a national security special event. The classification, the significance there, is that this puts it on par with the national political convention, also puts the Secret Service in charge. Everybody also is on a high alert. Capitol Police officers here have had to cancel any vacations they may have had. They're working longer shifts.

To put this all in perspective, the last time we had a state funeral like this for a United States president, 1973, of course, with Lyndon Johnson. And the bottom line there is that were only 40,000 people filing through at that point. Now we're expecting at least 100,000 people. Yesterday, Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer said it could be as much as 150,000 people, given this outpouring of support, and also the biggest difference from 1973 is that that was long before 9/11. Everybody on a higher state of alert now, but Chief Gainer basically said yesterday that he'll be ready for the task.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF TERRANCE GAINER, D.C. CAPITOL POLICE: I think the challenge will be moving people through the line solemnly but expeditiously, so the thousands of people can have an opportunity to view the remains.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: And, Bill, basically, they do not -- police official it's are saying do not bring backpacks, do not bring cameras. Also they want cell phones turned off. They want to make this go as smoothly as possible. They don't want any distractions. They want to keep it moving, keep it solemn as well.

And what Chief Gainer pointed out, is that there was some practice that they had very recently, as you know, with the opening of the new World War II Memorial, right here on the National Mall. Many dignitaries, tens of thousands of people here, including former President Bush and former presidents, Bush and Clinton. They think that was a good practice run, very recently, and they're going to be up to the task -- Bill.

HEMMER: Ed, thanks for that. Ed Henry live on Capitol Hill.

Back here in Simi Valley, again, as the mourners continue to stream around the casket of Ronald Reagan, it is almost daybreak here, and this library truly is enormous on the inside.

In one portion of the library, there's an exact replica of the Oval Office as it was when Ronald Reagan was president. And one of the architects tells a great story. He says when Ronald Reagan came to inspect the area, when they were building it, they told the former president that the ceiling was not high enough to make the dimensions perfect, an Ronald Reagan said, well, just take it into the ground, dig it into the ground. And sure enough, you drop down about five feet inside the library in order to make the exact replica fit the size and dimensions.

On that desk, two signs. The famous sign, "It can be done." That sat on his desk for eight years in the Oval Office. And the other one, a quote from Ronald Reagan. I'm quoting now. It says, "There is no limit on what a man can do or where he can go, if he doesn't mind who gets the credit," a quote from Ronald Reagan that sits on that desk inside the library here in Simi Valley.

Much more to talk about. We'll talk with the library director in a moment here, try to get a firm figure on the number of people who come out here. Soledad, I told you about an hour ago, the early estimates said 17,000, but that was literally eight hours ago, and as the stream continues, the stream of buses behind me, we know we're well past that number at this point.

More in a moment here.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It certainly looks that way, Bill. Thanks.

For hundreds of National Guard and Reserve soldiers needing medical treatment, life is now on hold because they are not regular army.

Here's a look from our national correspondent Gary Tuchman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John Ramsey injured his shoulders and arms serving in Iraq and Kuwait. He's angry at the Army.

JOHN RAMSEY, ARMY VETERAN: The army is no longer an Army. It's a business. That's what it's come down to. It's a business.

TUCHMAN: Ramsey says he's not getting first-class attention in the military hospital, because he was in the National Guard, and not in the regular Army. He is one of hundreds of National Guard and Reserve soldiers at Fort Stewart, Georgia, who are on what the Army calls medical hold. They aren't ready to resume normal duties, and in most cases, they have to continue living at the fort to receive the Army's full medical treatment.

Ramsey says he's fulfilled his military commitment and wants to return to his home to his family in Florida, but the military won't authorize free medical treatment anywhere but Fort Stewart.

RAMSEY: There's been some points that I just wanted to quit, just give up and, you know, go home and figure out how to pay for it myself.

TUCHMAN: Fort Stewart's garrison commander, Colonel John Kidd, wasn't available for an on-camera interview, but did talk with us by phone.

COL. JOHN KIDD, FT. STEWART GARRISON COMMANDER: A system is not in place to just allow soldiers to go home and sit at home, you know, and wait for their leg, or their arm or shoulder to heal up.

TUCHMAN: Most of the medical-hold patients live in air- conditioned trailers, four to a room, a step up from the non-air conditioned cement barracks where they lived last year, when many complaints started coming in, complaints that included charges of second-rate medical care for Reservists and Guardsmen.

The Army says an overwhelming patient load last year did indeed lead to troubling problems, but now...

KIDD: I can't say we're problem-free here, but we've made some good efforts.

TUCHMAN: Not good enough, though, for some, like John Ramsey.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Hinesville, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: John Ramsey said he receives phone calls nearly every day from health care providers, trying to collect more than the $15,000 in unpaid medical bills that he owes.

Still to come this morning, one more reason why you can't drag your teenager out of bed in the morning. Dr. Sanjay Gupta stops by to tell us what you can do to fight the latest culprit.

Plus, Iraq tries to make its case against Saddam Hussein. We'll tell you who officials want to talk to. That's ahead as we continue right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Forty million Americans have chronic sleep problems, and according to a new study, teenagers who spend a lot of time watching television are more likely to be sleep deprived as they get older.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us from the CNN Center with details on this new study.

Hey, Sanjay. Good morning.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

No one gets enough sleep. I mean, that's been known for a long time. And there are some consequences of watching too much television. That's also been known for some time. But now the two are linked. Actually watching too much television might caught sleep disturbances in adolescents that might persist in their early adulthood.

This is sort of interesting stuff. They talked specifically about teenagers who watch three hours or more of television, which is the average, and that doesn't include video games or other sorts of things.

They also found that people by the time their seven years old will have watched seven to 10 years of television.

Now this study, actually coming out of the Archives in Pediatrics, followed children along for eight years, 759 families and they looked at these kids who watched three hours or more of television, and found that they had two or more sleep disturbances throughout the night that persisted. Again, frequent awakenings, they might stay awake longer, they might have nightmares, things like that, that all were in some way related to television, they say.

They also found that if you cut the television down to an hour or less per day, then you immediately had those sleep habits improve.

The question was, researchers were trying to figure why are these two things linked? They found that people who watch excessive television also tend to have higher levels of inactivity. They might have heightened alertness right before they go to sleep. They might also have physiological stimulation, so their heart rate or their blood pressure go up. Frightening or traumatic content certainly can lead to nightmares as well. All of this sort of adding to a growing body of evidence, Soledad, that television is bad for you, in this case, specifically with regards to your sleep -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: And specifically with regard to teenagers. Is there a sense then that the teenagers need more sleep or it's more important for them to get their sleep than adults?

GUPTA: You know, the age-old question, of how much sleep do you need? That sort of pertains here as well. We can say this, that children and adolescents need more sleep than adults, 8.5 to 9.5 hours. The average, we look that up as well, 6.5 to 7.5, so a of couple hours behind what most adolescents should be getting.

The problem, if you're not getting enough sleep, besides feeling sleepy, which a lot people will feel the next day, there are other problems in terms of your physiological status, trouble thinking, learning, which is really important as you're going to school. Obviously, altered metabolism, weakened immune function, fatigue and depressed mood.

Why do we sleep, Soledad? That's an age-old question as well. People believe we sleep so that we can store memories, so that experiences that you have throughout the day will actually go from the conscience to the subconscious level when you sleep. Also people who are growing need to sleep more. You actually do a lot your growing when you're asleep -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Interesting. All right, Sanjay, thanks.

GUPTA: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, authorities in Italy may have made a huge break in the Madrid train bombing investigation. That's ahead in just a few minutes.

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O'BRIEN: Nearly 47 minutes past the hour. Time to take a look at some of today's other news with Daryn Kagan in Atlanta.

Hey, Daryn. Good morning again.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Soledad, good morning again to you. Three Italians held hostage in Iraq for nearly two months have been freed. The Italian foreign ministry confirming that information to CNN just a short while ago. The three are said to be in good condition.

Meanwhile, more violence in Iraq. Two car bomb explosions rocked separate cities today. An American soldier was killed in an explosion. Several other were wounded. And in Mosul, at least nine Iraqi civilian were killed in a bombing there. Witnesses reported seeing three men in a taxi just before it exploded.

Authorities in Italy say they've arrested a man believed to have masterminded the train attacks in Madrid. The arrest comes after a three-month probe into the March 11th bombings. Authorities also arrested a second person. Both men are charged with belonging to an international terrorism organization. A third man has been detained for further questioning. Other arrests are expected elsewhere in Europe.

Iraq and the Middle East are expected to dominate the agenda at the G-8 summit on Georgia's Sea Island. The summit gets under way today under tight security. Some 20,000 law enforcement officers and National Guard troops are paroling the area, hoping to keep protesters back. The summit wraps up on Thursday.

And Lightening things up, from the world of sports, in hockey, the Tampa Bay Lightning captured their first Stanley Cup title. Rostelyn Fedotenko (ph) scoring both goals for the Lightning, beat the Calgary Flames 2-1 in game seven of the NHL finals. As for the fans, you can say they are just a little bit pumped up in Tampa. The city is planning a celebration for tomorrow.

And, Soledad, just to show you how this franchise turned around its fate, back in 2001, they played in the same arena as the arena football team. The arena football team was outdrawing the Tampa Bay Lightning.

O'BRIEN: I was going to say, Daryn, I don't know a whole heck of a lot about sports. I'm saying Tampa? Hockey? What?

KAGAN: Tampa? Yes, it's not a natural.

O'BRIEN: Well, congratulations to them, right?

KAGAN: Absolutely.

O'BRIEN: Good for them. It's the start of a dynasty I bet.

KAGAN: Absolutely. I feel it.

O'BRIEN: I feel it, too.

Daryn, thanks.

Business news now. One company is paying people, believe it or not, not to buy its product. Another saying, try it, you'll like it. With that and a preview of the markets this morning, Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business."

(CROSSTALK)

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Well, we'll talk about it. It's all about testing, letting consumers try out products before they buy. Testing, testing, one, two, three. First of all, let's start with General Motors. A new program rolling out today, going through July 6th. You try one of their cars overnight, Soledad, an SUV or a sedan, and then, if you buy a competitor's car, they will pay you $250. So, in other words, you try out a Hummer, let's say, and then you go buy a Toyota the next day. They'll give you $250.

O'BRIEN: Is there like a time limit? I mean, it has to be the next day?

SERWER: No, no, before July 6th. So, you know, pretty novel idea there.

Let's talk about the next testing program. Maytag, washers, dryers, dish washers, microwave ovens. You go into a Maytag store and you try out their appliances. Literally, you can bring your laundry to a Maytag dealer, or you can bake cookies in one of their ovens and try it out, OK?

O'BRIEN: It's actually a good idea.

SERWER: It's kind of cool. I'm thinking about gaming the system here.

OK, let's start with the GM thing. Say you want to bring a Hummer to a party. You know you're going to buy a party. You go overnight, you get the $250.

(CROSSTALK)

SERWER: They do that.

OK, then also with the Maytag thing. First day you bring your whites, then you bring your colors, then you bring your delicates on day three.

O'BRIEN: My washer and dryer not working right now, not completely hooked up because we moved. I need a place to wash my clothes. This might be a really good idea.

SERWER: Right to the Maytag store, right?

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the market a little bit. Preview it for us?

SERWER: Let's do that. Yes, yesterday, a great day for the markets, stocks soaring, optimism about the economy, lower oil prices as well. You can see over 2000 on the Nasdaq, triple digits on the Dow. This morning, though, looking a little bit weaker. The futures, maybe some profit-taking. Techs are weak. Yesterday, actually, the third biggest day of the year for the S&P 500, so nice stuff happening there.

O'BRIEN: All right, good. Thanks, Andy. Appreciate it.

SERWER: You're welcome.

O'BRIEN: Let's head back out to Bill in Simi Valley, California -- Bill.

HEMMER: Hey, Soledad. Thanks for that. Other than Nancy Reagan, it's likely nobody knew the late president's private side better than the White House photographer. Some of the Reagan's unguarded moments, still to come here on AMERICAN MORNING.

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O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. Time to check in with Jack and the Cafferty File.

Hello.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Hello there.

If you lost the rent money on Smarty Jones over there at the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, here's a chance to recoup. British bookmakers are offering three to one that Jennifer Lopez and this guy, Marc Anthony, will be divorced by the end of this year, three to one. Lopez, of course, has been married twice, each time for a little more than a year. She broke off her engagement to Ben Affleck earlier this year. The bookies are also quoting 14-1 that she and -- Lopez and Affleck rather will be married by the end ever the year, and the odds are 10,000 to 1 that anybody gives a damn.

Somebody wrote to me said, "The next time Jennifer Lopez gets married, I'm throwing minute rice."

Infidelity may be genetic, according to a British study. Professor Tim Spectre (ph) of London found that if one of a pair of female twins has a history of infidelity, the chances are her sister would cheat, were 55 percent. So we want to get her number right away. In general, about 23 percent of women are unfaithful. Spectre stressed that genes alone don't determine if someone will cheat on their partner, and he stops short of saying that there is a single infidelity gene.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg apparently running out of things to do, so now he's getting tough on noise, and here's how he's going to do it. Changes to the city's anti-noise ordinance include the following: Ice cream trucks will have to stop playing music. Come on! I love this. Dogs will have five minutes to bark, then they have to stop during the night. Ten minutes during the bay. After those time limits, you have to shoot your dog. Bars and air conditioners will be subject to noise-control rules, and fines will range from $45 to $25,000. That's just silly.

O'BRIEN: Ice cream truck guys face a 25 grand fine for that little jingle? That's not that loud. CAFFERTY: No, it's not.

O'BRIEN: What about car alarms? Where is that on list?

CAFFERTY: Garbage trucks, horns, sirens, idiots walking the streets...

O'BRIEN: Drunk people walking the streets.

CAFFERTY: ... screaming at the top of their lungs, people urinating on buildings.

O'BRIEN: That's actually not that loud.

CAFFERTY: I mean, your honor -- well, if you're standing on a bridge.

O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks.

Still to come this morning, lots of people think the Internet is the best way to find a good deal at a hotel room, but actually, there might be a better way. We've got some tips from "Consumer Reports" just ahead.

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