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American Morning
Some Support Slow For Hurricane Victims; New Book About "The National Enquirer"
Aired August 17, 2004 - 9:30 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: Right on time at 9:30 here in New York. The Dow rallying yesterday, up about 130 points. The Dow starts today, the Dow 30 anyway, at 9,954.
The Nasdaq market cites 1782, up about 25 points yesterday's trading as well. Decent day for stocks. We'll see which way we go today.
Good morning and welcome back.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Just about half past the hour now on this AMERICAN MORNING.
In a moment, we're going to go back live to Florida where folks are still, as you would imagine, cleaning up after Charley. Some smaller towns are not getting the same kind of support that others are getting.
CNN's Ed Lavandera is there. He's going to tell us a little bit more about that.
HEMMER: We talked to you about these barrier islands, too, Santa Belle and the others still not accessible by the residents there, so we will follow that.
Sanjay is back this hour talking about a young woman who is fighting cancer and needs a transplant to survive. She's run into a problem because of her ethnicity. Now she and her family are working to make sure that others like her get the help that they need. So, Sanjay has that story in a moment.
COLLINS: Plus, after decades in tabloids, a former editor tells all. Iain Calder used to run the "National Enquirer," now he has a new book. It's called "The Untold Story."
He's got some great tales including one about Michael Jackson's infamous hyperbaric chamber. So, we're going to talk to Calder about that.
HEMMER: Stay tuned.
COLLINS: And many other pictures, too.
HEMMER: I'm certain.
In the meantime, though, the aftermath of Charley, now day four. Rescue efforts in the areas hardest hit by that storm have come to an end, but recovery work is just beginning.
Here's a look at the latest numbers we have after Charley's wrath: 19 deaths linked to the storm; the latest damage estimate is $11 billion; 760,000 homes and businesses still without electricity; about 2,300 still in shelters there; 11,000 have applied for disaster aid so far; and the state has requested housing for 10,000 Floridians.
Some new pictures too of emergency efforts in Punta Gorda, Florida -- FEMA providing meals, emergency housing, clothing and other aid at nearly 60 locations and from about 100 emergency response vehicles in that area. Nearly 800,000 homes and businesses, as we mentioned earlier, still without power today.
Also in Punta Gorda, which took a direct hit on that storm, search and rescue efforts have ended there. And Ed Lavandera is live there this morning again with us.
Ed, good morning.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill. Well that is the good news, that search and rescue efforts -- you know, there had been concerns that there were still people missing because of Hurricane Charley. And the emergency management director here saying yesterday he just doesn't think that's the case anymore.
Behind me you can see the efforts to get food, ice and water to all the residents who are streaming through here and picking up what they can from the National Guard, and then they can drive on.
But as all of this attention has been paid here to the coastal towns, you drive inland a little bit, and people there are hoping that they're not going to be neglected either.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): Take Highway 17-East away from Florida's Gulf Coast and planted among the orange groves you'll drive into the working-class town of Arcadia.
It's 30 miles from the seafront towns that have been getting all the attention in the wake of Hurricane Charley, but to people here, it might as well be a million miles away.
JANET WYATT, ARCADIA RESIDENT: The fact of life is Arcadia in DeSoto County is backwater, it doesn't matter who is hardest hit, we're going to get power well after the coastal towns. You know that when you move here.
LAVANDERA: Arcadia is a town of about 7,000 people but also a home to thousands of migrant workers who live off the seasonal citrus industry.
REV. GREG FRY, ST. EDMUNDS EPISCOPAL CHURCH: Everybody here in Arcadia who really make a living from hand-to-mouth, they're going to be hurting for a long time. And they're not going to get the attention that some of the other places will be getting. LAVANDERA: That's why Janet Wyatt takes care of those around her, covering a window for an elderly man who struggles to take care of himself.
And it's why Rev. Greg Fry wants to get the roof that was ripped off his church repaired quickly. He thinks it will give people around here something to smile about.
FRY: At this point in time, the reality of it, the shock of it hasn't worn off yet. We still have folks literally walking around in a daze.
I pulled on it, and it actually rang.
LAVANDERA: The bell in St. Edmunds Episcopal Church still tolls for a city that feels when it comes to getting through a tragedy, it's people can always count on each other to help them make it through.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(on camera): Well, it's still early, so we'll have to wait and see how the fears of many of residents of Arcadia play out in the days ahead because we know that with almost close to a million people without power and water that it will still take several weeks to get most of that straightened out for most people.
So, the efforts continue, especially here along the coastlines where the vast majority of the people who were affected by this storm live -- Bill?
HEMMER: And watch those high temperatures again today, mid- August in southern Florida.
Ed Lavandera, thanks in Punta Gorda -- Heidi?
COLLINS: 35 minutes past the hour now.
We're going to look at some of the day's headlines with Carol Costello. To Chicago this time, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Indeed, thank you, Heidi.
A United Airlines flight bound for Vancouver, Canada is scheduled to depart Chicago's O'Hare Airport this morning after being grounded on the count of engine trouble. Seventy-four people were evacuated yesterday after sparks were seen shooting from the plane's engine.
Lawmakers are now gathered on Capitol Hill for more discussions on the 9/11 report. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will face the armed services committee within a half hour.
The acting CIA director and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff also scheduled to appear.
A new development in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case, details of his accuser's sex life will be allowed at trial. The prosecution's case suffered a setback when the Colorado Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal on the matter.
And talk show host Oprah Winfrey is expected to return to court today but not as a plaintiff or a defendant, she was chosen to serve as one of 12 jurors in a Chicago murder trial. The billionaire celebrity will receive $17.20 a day for her work.
Back to New York now.
COLLINS: All right, Carol Costello, thanks so much for that.
We're going to get a look at the weather now for the day ahead. Chad Myers standing by to do just that.
Good morning to you, Chad.
MYERS: Good morning, Heidi.
Things look great across the country today. Very few airport delays, if any, even though there was some fog earlier, nothing reported slowed down right now.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MYERS: Back to you in New York.
HEMMER: Chad, thanks for that.
Now to medical news, five million people currently enrolled in the National Marrow Donor program, yet there is no match for 70 percent of those in need of stem cell transplants.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta has a story of one courageous young woman now in the fight of her life. And the good doctor is back with us.
Good morning.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Those numbers that you just quoted get even worse when you talk about people of certain ethnicities.
Here is a story of one woman really told thorough her own eyes and her own community's eyes, through her own video.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): Pia Awal, she is a 29-year-old beautiful woman. In so many ways she's living the dream, working with children as a schoolteacher and recently engaged to be married.
PIA AWAL, NEEDS STEM CELL TRANSPLANT: The kids got me a gift today for our engagement.
TIM DUTTA, PIA AWAL'S FINANCE: For our engagement.
AWAL: Today was supposed to be our party. GUPTA: But that party didn't happen because Pia also has cancer. In fact, on the day she and fiance Tim Dutta expected to be at their engagement party, she's in the hospital undergoing rounds of chemo.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you ready for your treatment, Pia?
GUPTA: She has had a relapse of the disease she thought she beat two years ago, acute myelogenous leukemia, a cancer of the blood in which immature white blood cells reproduce at an alarming rate.
AWAL: You know, scheduling your treatment and finding a donor, it's like, it's hard. It's hard to make that your life. It's hard to just have that be your focus instead of, you know, my job or career.
GUPTA: Doctors now say Pia's best chance is getting a stem cell transplant, but of course a transplant needs a donor.
DUTTA: (INAUDIBLE) and for Pakistanis, there is less than 50,000 donors in this whole world, so the chances of her surviving this donor is one in 20,000, one in 100,000.
GUPTA: But the community has rallied. The desperate need to find a donor has spurred family and friends to organize donor drives. They have gathered over 4,000 possible donors at 65 drives in 15 cities.
AWAL: I feel so excited by this because, you know, not only will we potentially have helped me, but we're potentially helping so many, you know, hundreds of other people who may need a stem cell transplant.
GUPTA: Still for now, the odds have not been in Pia's favor, so she and an entire community continue to wait.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(on camera): And this past weekend was Indian Independence Day, and that really spurned on a bunch more rallies, 97 more drives trying to find a donor for Pia.
Matchpia.org is the name of the Web site.
About 1 in 20,000 to a 100,000 chance of actually finding that person. It becomes much harder with people of certain ethnicities.
HEMMER: Is it just a question of numbers then when you talk about minority patients or is there more to it?
GUPTA: It really is just a question of numbers. You have to find somebody who has a genetic match, has a lot of the same ethnicity characteristics. There are fewer South Asians in this country.
HEMMER: And very true. When you say stem cell transplants, I think immediately we start thinking about the debate over embryonic stem cell research. This is different? GUPTA: This is different. You know, when you talk about bone marrow transplants, which is a term a lot more people understand and have known for some time, that's really stem cells.
What you're finding in bone marrow are stem cells, cells that can really grow in to any kind of cell. Those are the cells you need.
In Pia's case, you can also get the stem cells actually from just the blood of a donor. Finding that donor, though, still the key.
HEMMER: Well, we wish her the best too.
COLLINS: Sanjay, thanks.
Still to come this morning, can you really believe the stuff you read in the "National Enquirer"? Well, how do they get those amazing pictures, too?
We're going to get the inside scoop on "The Enquirer" from any well-placed source.
HEMMER: Very well placed, too.
Also, one state making it easier to buy prescription drugs out of Canada, defying the White House on that. We'll find out what's happening with Christine Romans working for Andy today.
Back in a moment here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Inquiring minds want to know, right? Well, our next guest has taken that to the bank. Iain Calder's 20 years at the helm of "National Enquirer" featured all the news that's fit to sensationalize.
But the mother of all supermarket tabloids also managed to compete with mainstream media. Calder's new book, "The Untold Story" is his inside scoop on "The Enquirer's" success.
And Iain Calder joins us now. Good morning to you. Thanks for being here.
IAIN CALDER, AUTHOR, "THE UNTOLD STORY": Good morning. Thank you for having me.
COLLINS: Now you and the magazine, of course, have gone and gotten these incredible pictures over the time that you have been there, and very hard to get pictures, too.
Talk to us first about Elvis Presley in his coffin and how you got those pictures.
CALDER: Well, Elvis Presley's coffin ended up being the largest selling issue we ever had, 6.7 million.
COLLINS: Wow.
CALDER: And when Elvis died, we knew it was one of the big, big stories of all time. So, the first thing I did was to send a whole team of reporters and editors to Memphis with $100,000 in their pockets. And we got some wonderful stories.
Now these stories included the exclusive interview with Ginger Alden who was in bed with him just before he died and actually found the body. We also got an exclusive story on the ambulance people who came to actually collect the body.
So, we got wonderful stories, but we didn't have the picture. We finally got the picture. We tried all different kinds of ways. And we couldn't do it because his body lay in-state and people went past the coffin, but he was protected by his friends...
COLLINS: Sure.
CALDER: ... you know, the Memphis Mafia, so no one could take a picture of him.
So, what we did was we watched Graceland, one of our photographers, until one of the relatives actually came out of the house. So, our photographer followed him to a local bar, followed him into the bathroom and went up to him and said, "If you take a really nice picture of Elvis, we'll give you a lot of money."
So, the guy says, "Sure."
So, the next day, we give him a foolproof camera. He then goes in to Graceland, and after the viewing time is over, all the guys go and have drinks and they have a party, et cetera.
In the middle of the night, he sneaks away from the party, goes and takes a picture of Elvis.
Now, we flew him back to Lantana and he said, "I've got four pictures." So, we're waiting breathlessly as these pictures are developed. The first picture is of the guy that took the picture. He had the camera around the wrong way.
COLLINS: Oh no.
CALDER: The next picture was of a chandelier about Elvis's head. So, we're going, my goodness.
The third picture, bingo. That was the great picture of Elvis's coffin. And I've got to say, it was a sellout. And people were actually calling me and offering me $50 for a copy of it.
Also, I was told that in the South a couple of robbers came in with guns in to a small store. Instead of stealing money, they stole all the copies of "The Enquirer."
COLLINS: Well, what is it about pictures like that? I mean there have been so many. Michael Jackson in the hyperbaric chamber, Gary Hart with Donna Rice, all of these pictures. What is it that fascinates people about pictures like that?
CALDER: Well, for "The Enquirer" when a story broke, a major story broke, our millions and millions and millions of potential readers would always say, I wonder what "The Enquirer" will have. And it was our job to either get the best story or the best picture to satisfy these individual readers.
And that was my job, was to think like my average reader, which was a woman, maybe in her 40s and actually go out and get it. And I had the greatest reporting team in the history, I think, of American journalism.
COLLINS: So, what about that? A great reporting team -- there are critics who say, well there is no fact checking. They just wrote anything they wanted. If somebody told them a story, they'd put it down.
How did you compete with the mainstream media?
CALDER: I'm really happy you asked that question. That's one of the reasons I wrote the book. People who didn't read us got the impression that we didn't do real stories, that we made things up. And this book shows that behind the scenes how we got these big stories and the tremendous lengths we went to, to get them.
And if people read the book, they'll understand. It's very cheap to make up stories. We had the largest editorial budget of anyone, including "Time" magazine, to get stories and to get pictures. And really, we, I think, did a pretty good job.
COLLINS: I am sure it is a fascinating read, as "National Enquirer" has been for so long, the book as well. Iain Calder, former editor of "National Enquirer."
Thanks so much for your time.
CALDER: Thank you very much.
COLLINS: Still to come this morning, is the state of Illinois breaking federal law? The FDA thinks so. And they're ready to make an example of the state.
Stay with us here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. Checking the markets today. Also, the state of Illinois goes against the feds to help its residents save on drugs, controversial without question.
Christine Romans back with us here "Minding Your Business" working for Andy. First, the markets. What's happening?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Markets are higher. Dow is up at least 50 points here and -- 52. There it is. 10,000, back above 10,000. Pier 1 Imports up $1.35 because Berkshire Hathaway, which is run by Warren Buffett, bought 8 million shares, according to the latest filings.
And what happens when the billionaire starts buying a stock, well all those little guys run after his coattails and star buying it too.
HEMMER: That they do.
ROMANS: So, on Wall Street today, Pier 1 Imports doing quite well.
HEMMER: See if the Midas man can work his magic again.
What's going on in Illinois when it comes to prescription drugs?
ROMANS: Well, the FDA says, you know, it is illegal to buy drugs from overseas, to re-import these drugs, American drugs from Canada and Ireland and other places. But Illinois says, you know what, we're going to do it anyway.
They are defying the Food and Drug Administration, and they are putting together a plan for their residents to be able to buy about 100 different drugs that you buy long-term supplies of, like heart medication and cholesterol medication.
They're going to buy, for example, a three-month supply of Lipitor in the U.S. costs $214. Imported from Canada, its $162. From the U.K. -- look at Ireland, $144.
Orders are going to start in a about a month. The state, rather, is looking for 25 to 50 percent discounts on all of these drugs to what savings to what you would normally pay if you were just going to here. It's going to save a lot of money.
HEMMER: Just the other day, though, we were talking about Vermont doing it.
ROMANS: Vermont.
HEMMER: What's the difference in Illinois?
ROMANS: Well, the difference is Illinois is going to go forward. Now the FDA hasn't sued yet, but it's interesting in this Q&A about, you know, what does it mean?
Illinois says it is not illegal. The FDA says it is illegal. Illinois says, we are going to do this because it's just not fair. These prices are not fair. It's not fair that we can't bring these drugs in cheaper. It's not fair that Americans have to pay more.
In Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, the governor there, was like today will be a big announcement. He's going to take this -- he's going to take on the FDA on this one.
HEMMER: All right, Christine. We'll watch that. ROMANS: Sure.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good for him. I hope he wins.
COLLINS: Jack now, "Question of the Day."
CAFFERTY: "Question of the Day," Tom Harkin, who flew Navy jets at one time and is now a member of the U.S. Senate called the vice president a coward yesterday, saying that he ducked service in Vietnam and that he was courageous and willing to share other people's son's blood in a war.
The campaign is getting testy on this issue. Is a candidates military record fair game, is the question.
Kathleen in Lansdale, Pennsylvania said: "Neither Kerry's record nor Bush's National Guard record should be used for politics. Those people are fighting the Vietnam War all over again. It's a non- issue."
Nora in New York says: "Beyond belief. The Republicans made military service a campaign issue during President Clinton's two bids for the White House, yet now when their two top candidates both avoided going to Vietnam, this is no longer an issue."
And Al in Burnsville, Minnesota: "Of course military records are fair game for evaluating a commander-in-chief. What we really need is a constitutional requirement that a candidate for president must have served a full tour of duty in the armed forces of United States. Gender," says Al, "makes no difference."
COLLINS: All right, Jack thanks so much for that.
Still to come now, an Olympic update. Can the U.S. women continue their tremendous run? And also take our Olympics quiz: Which country has won the most medals at the Olympic games without ever actually hosting the games?
Stay with us for the answer here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Before the break, we asked you which country has won the most medals in the Olympic games without ever actually hosting the games?
HEMMER: Good question.
COLLINS: Well, the answer now, yes, you guessed it everybody, Hungary.
Maybe not.
HEMMER: Come on.
COLLINS: OK. Meanwhile...
CAFFERTY: My "Question of the Day" went pretty good with this stuff.
COLLINS: All right, well just for that, I'm going to give you some more Olympic scoop.
The U.S. women's softball team looking pretty unbeatable. The team competed -- or completed that is -- its fourth shutout in a row this morning...
HEMMER: Bravo.
COLLINS: ... to beat China 4-0.
We should say, now that I've already blown it for you people wanting to watch later on. Don't listen right now if you don't want to know the outcome of some of these events.
They have yet to let a single run in the Olympic competition, outscoring their opponents 24-0.
In the pool now, American Michael Phelps won a bronze but lost his chance for seven gold medals, yes. The Thorpedo, that Australian guy, Ian Thorpe, beat Phelps to the gold in the 200-meter freestyle, so kind of sad for him there.
HEMMER: To bronze and a gold, so far, though for Phelps.
COLLINS: Yes, I mean that's not bad.
ROMANS: That's unbelievable.
HEMMER: He's 19. Keep it going.
Listen, we've got to go because Jack's got to get home so he can watch the Olympics on TV.
CAFFERTY: Watch the Olympics, yes.
HEMMER: On his TV, so enjoy.
CAFFERTY: I wonder what network it will be on today.
HEMMER: You get one guess.
Here's Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center.
Good morning, Daryn.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. You guys have a great day in New York City.
HEMMER: You do the same.
KAGAN: We'll get started.
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 August 17, 2004 - 9:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Right on time at 9:30 here in New York. The Dow rallying yesterday, up about 130 points. The Dow starts today, the Dow 30 anyway, at 9,954.
The Nasdaq market cites 1782, up about 25 points yesterday's trading as well. Decent day for stocks. We'll see which way we go today.
Good morning and welcome back.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Just about half past the hour now on this AMERICAN MORNING.
In a moment, we're going to go back live to Florida where folks are still, as you would imagine, cleaning up after Charley. Some smaller towns are not getting the same kind of support that others are getting.
CNN's Ed Lavandera is there. He's going to tell us a little bit more about that.
HEMMER: We talked to you about these barrier islands, too, Santa Belle and the others still not accessible by the residents there, so we will follow that.
Sanjay is back this hour talking about a young woman who is fighting cancer and needs a transplant to survive. She's run into a problem because of her ethnicity. Now she and her family are working to make sure that others like her get the help that they need. So, Sanjay has that story in a moment.
COLLINS: Plus, after decades in tabloids, a former editor tells all. Iain Calder used to run the "National Enquirer," now he has a new book. It's called "The Untold Story."
He's got some great tales including one about Michael Jackson's infamous hyperbaric chamber. So, we're going to talk to Calder about that.
HEMMER: Stay tuned.
COLLINS: And many other pictures, too.
HEMMER: I'm certain.
In the meantime, though, the aftermath of Charley, now day four. Rescue efforts in the areas hardest hit by that storm have come to an end, but recovery work is just beginning.
Here's a look at the latest numbers we have after Charley's wrath: 19 deaths linked to the storm; the latest damage estimate is $11 billion; 760,000 homes and businesses still without electricity; about 2,300 still in shelters there; 11,000 have applied for disaster aid so far; and the state has requested housing for 10,000 Floridians.
Some new pictures too of emergency efforts in Punta Gorda, Florida -- FEMA providing meals, emergency housing, clothing and other aid at nearly 60 locations and from about 100 emergency response vehicles in that area. Nearly 800,000 homes and businesses, as we mentioned earlier, still without power today.
Also in Punta Gorda, which took a direct hit on that storm, search and rescue efforts have ended there. And Ed Lavandera is live there this morning again with us.
Ed, good morning.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill. Well that is the good news, that search and rescue efforts -- you know, there had been concerns that there were still people missing because of Hurricane Charley. And the emergency management director here saying yesterday he just doesn't think that's the case anymore.
Behind me you can see the efforts to get food, ice and water to all the residents who are streaming through here and picking up what they can from the National Guard, and then they can drive on.
But as all of this attention has been paid here to the coastal towns, you drive inland a little bit, and people there are hoping that they're not going to be neglected either.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): Take Highway 17-East away from Florida's Gulf Coast and planted among the orange groves you'll drive into the working-class town of Arcadia.
It's 30 miles from the seafront towns that have been getting all the attention in the wake of Hurricane Charley, but to people here, it might as well be a million miles away.
JANET WYATT, ARCADIA RESIDENT: The fact of life is Arcadia in DeSoto County is backwater, it doesn't matter who is hardest hit, we're going to get power well after the coastal towns. You know that when you move here.
LAVANDERA: Arcadia is a town of about 7,000 people but also a home to thousands of migrant workers who live off the seasonal citrus industry.
REV. GREG FRY, ST. EDMUNDS EPISCOPAL CHURCH: Everybody here in Arcadia who really make a living from hand-to-mouth, they're going to be hurting for a long time. And they're not going to get the attention that some of the other places will be getting. LAVANDERA: That's why Janet Wyatt takes care of those around her, covering a window for an elderly man who struggles to take care of himself.
And it's why Rev. Greg Fry wants to get the roof that was ripped off his church repaired quickly. He thinks it will give people around here something to smile about.
FRY: At this point in time, the reality of it, the shock of it hasn't worn off yet. We still have folks literally walking around in a daze.
I pulled on it, and it actually rang.
LAVANDERA: The bell in St. Edmunds Episcopal Church still tolls for a city that feels when it comes to getting through a tragedy, it's people can always count on each other to help them make it through.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(on camera): Well, it's still early, so we'll have to wait and see how the fears of many of residents of Arcadia play out in the days ahead because we know that with almost close to a million people without power and water that it will still take several weeks to get most of that straightened out for most people.
So, the efforts continue, especially here along the coastlines where the vast majority of the people who were affected by this storm live -- Bill?
HEMMER: And watch those high temperatures again today, mid- August in southern Florida.
Ed Lavandera, thanks in Punta Gorda -- Heidi?
COLLINS: 35 minutes past the hour now.
We're going to look at some of the day's headlines with Carol Costello. To Chicago this time, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Indeed, thank you, Heidi.
A United Airlines flight bound for Vancouver, Canada is scheduled to depart Chicago's O'Hare Airport this morning after being grounded on the count of engine trouble. Seventy-four people were evacuated yesterday after sparks were seen shooting from the plane's engine.
Lawmakers are now gathered on Capitol Hill for more discussions on the 9/11 report. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will face the armed services committee within a half hour.
The acting CIA director and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff also scheduled to appear.
A new development in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case, details of his accuser's sex life will be allowed at trial. The prosecution's case suffered a setback when the Colorado Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal on the matter.
And talk show host Oprah Winfrey is expected to return to court today but not as a plaintiff or a defendant, she was chosen to serve as one of 12 jurors in a Chicago murder trial. The billionaire celebrity will receive $17.20 a day for her work.
Back to New York now.
COLLINS: All right, Carol Costello, thanks so much for that.
We're going to get a look at the weather now for the day ahead. Chad Myers standing by to do just that.
Good morning to you, Chad.
MYERS: Good morning, Heidi.
Things look great across the country today. Very few airport delays, if any, even though there was some fog earlier, nothing reported slowed down right now.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MYERS: Back to you in New York.
HEMMER: Chad, thanks for that.
Now to medical news, five million people currently enrolled in the National Marrow Donor program, yet there is no match for 70 percent of those in need of stem cell transplants.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta has a story of one courageous young woman now in the fight of her life. And the good doctor is back with us.
Good morning.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Those numbers that you just quoted get even worse when you talk about people of certain ethnicities.
Here is a story of one woman really told thorough her own eyes and her own community's eyes, through her own video.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): Pia Awal, she is a 29-year-old beautiful woman. In so many ways she's living the dream, working with children as a schoolteacher and recently engaged to be married.
PIA AWAL, NEEDS STEM CELL TRANSPLANT: The kids got me a gift today for our engagement.
TIM DUTTA, PIA AWAL'S FINANCE: For our engagement.
AWAL: Today was supposed to be our party. GUPTA: But that party didn't happen because Pia also has cancer. In fact, on the day she and fiance Tim Dutta expected to be at their engagement party, she's in the hospital undergoing rounds of chemo.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you ready for your treatment, Pia?
GUPTA: She has had a relapse of the disease she thought she beat two years ago, acute myelogenous leukemia, a cancer of the blood in which immature white blood cells reproduce at an alarming rate.
AWAL: You know, scheduling your treatment and finding a donor, it's like, it's hard. It's hard to make that your life. It's hard to just have that be your focus instead of, you know, my job or career.
GUPTA: Doctors now say Pia's best chance is getting a stem cell transplant, but of course a transplant needs a donor.
DUTTA: (INAUDIBLE) and for Pakistanis, there is less than 50,000 donors in this whole world, so the chances of her surviving this donor is one in 20,000, one in 100,000.
GUPTA: But the community has rallied. The desperate need to find a donor has spurred family and friends to organize donor drives. They have gathered over 4,000 possible donors at 65 drives in 15 cities.
AWAL: I feel so excited by this because, you know, not only will we potentially have helped me, but we're potentially helping so many, you know, hundreds of other people who may need a stem cell transplant.
GUPTA: Still for now, the odds have not been in Pia's favor, so she and an entire community continue to wait.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(on camera): And this past weekend was Indian Independence Day, and that really spurned on a bunch more rallies, 97 more drives trying to find a donor for Pia.
Matchpia.org is the name of the Web site.
About 1 in 20,000 to a 100,000 chance of actually finding that person. It becomes much harder with people of certain ethnicities.
HEMMER: Is it just a question of numbers then when you talk about minority patients or is there more to it?
GUPTA: It really is just a question of numbers. You have to find somebody who has a genetic match, has a lot of the same ethnicity characteristics. There are fewer South Asians in this country.
HEMMER: And very true. When you say stem cell transplants, I think immediately we start thinking about the debate over embryonic stem cell research. This is different? GUPTA: This is different. You know, when you talk about bone marrow transplants, which is a term a lot more people understand and have known for some time, that's really stem cells.
What you're finding in bone marrow are stem cells, cells that can really grow in to any kind of cell. Those are the cells you need.
In Pia's case, you can also get the stem cells actually from just the blood of a donor. Finding that donor, though, still the key.
HEMMER: Well, we wish her the best too.
COLLINS: Sanjay, thanks.
Still to come this morning, can you really believe the stuff you read in the "National Enquirer"? Well, how do they get those amazing pictures, too?
We're going to get the inside scoop on "The Enquirer" from any well-placed source.
HEMMER: Very well placed, too.
Also, one state making it easier to buy prescription drugs out of Canada, defying the White House on that. We'll find out what's happening with Christine Romans working for Andy today.
Back in a moment here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Inquiring minds want to know, right? Well, our next guest has taken that to the bank. Iain Calder's 20 years at the helm of "National Enquirer" featured all the news that's fit to sensationalize.
But the mother of all supermarket tabloids also managed to compete with mainstream media. Calder's new book, "The Untold Story" is his inside scoop on "The Enquirer's" success.
And Iain Calder joins us now. Good morning to you. Thanks for being here.
IAIN CALDER, AUTHOR, "THE UNTOLD STORY": Good morning. Thank you for having me.
COLLINS: Now you and the magazine, of course, have gone and gotten these incredible pictures over the time that you have been there, and very hard to get pictures, too.
Talk to us first about Elvis Presley in his coffin and how you got those pictures.
CALDER: Well, Elvis Presley's coffin ended up being the largest selling issue we ever had, 6.7 million.
COLLINS: Wow.
CALDER: And when Elvis died, we knew it was one of the big, big stories of all time. So, the first thing I did was to send a whole team of reporters and editors to Memphis with $100,000 in their pockets. And we got some wonderful stories.
Now these stories included the exclusive interview with Ginger Alden who was in bed with him just before he died and actually found the body. We also got an exclusive story on the ambulance people who came to actually collect the body.
So, we got wonderful stories, but we didn't have the picture. We finally got the picture. We tried all different kinds of ways. And we couldn't do it because his body lay in-state and people went past the coffin, but he was protected by his friends...
COLLINS: Sure.
CALDER: ... you know, the Memphis Mafia, so no one could take a picture of him.
So, what we did was we watched Graceland, one of our photographers, until one of the relatives actually came out of the house. So, our photographer followed him to a local bar, followed him into the bathroom and went up to him and said, "If you take a really nice picture of Elvis, we'll give you a lot of money."
So, the guy says, "Sure."
So, the next day, we give him a foolproof camera. He then goes in to Graceland, and after the viewing time is over, all the guys go and have drinks and they have a party, et cetera.
In the middle of the night, he sneaks away from the party, goes and takes a picture of Elvis.
Now, we flew him back to Lantana and he said, "I've got four pictures." So, we're waiting breathlessly as these pictures are developed. The first picture is of the guy that took the picture. He had the camera around the wrong way.
COLLINS: Oh no.
CALDER: The next picture was of a chandelier about Elvis's head. So, we're going, my goodness.
The third picture, bingo. That was the great picture of Elvis's coffin. And I've got to say, it was a sellout. And people were actually calling me and offering me $50 for a copy of it.
Also, I was told that in the South a couple of robbers came in with guns in to a small store. Instead of stealing money, they stole all the copies of "The Enquirer."
COLLINS: Well, what is it about pictures like that? I mean there have been so many. Michael Jackson in the hyperbaric chamber, Gary Hart with Donna Rice, all of these pictures. What is it that fascinates people about pictures like that?
CALDER: Well, for "The Enquirer" when a story broke, a major story broke, our millions and millions and millions of potential readers would always say, I wonder what "The Enquirer" will have. And it was our job to either get the best story or the best picture to satisfy these individual readers.
And that was my job, was to think like my average reader, which was a woman, maybe in her 40s and actually go out and get it. And I had the greatest reporting team in the history, I think, of American journalism.
COLLINS: So, what about that? A great reporting team -- there are critics who say, well there is no fact checking. They just wrote anything they wanted. If somebody told them a story, they'd put it down.
How did you compete with the mainstream media?
CALDER: I'm really happy you asked that question. That's one of the reasons I wrote the book. People who didn't read us got the impression that we didn't do real stories, that we made things up. And this book shows that behind the scenes how we got these big stories and the tremendous lengths we went to, to get them.
And if people read the book, they'll understand. It's very cheap to make up stories. We had the largest editorial budget of anyone, including "Time" magazine, to get stories and to get pictures. And really, we, I think, did a pretty good job.
COLLINS: I am sure it is a fascinating read, as "National Enquirer" has been for so long, the book as well. Iain Calder, former editor of "National Enquirer."
Thanks so much for your time.
CALDER: Thank you very much.
COLLINS: Still to come this morning, is the state of Illinois breaking federal law? The FDA thinks so. And they're ready to make an example of the state.
Stay with us here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. Checking the markets today. Also, the state of Illinois goes against the feds to help its residents save on drugs, controversial without question.
Christine Romans back with us here "Minding Your Business" working for Andy. First, the markets. What's happening?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Markets are higher. Dow is up at least 50 points here and -- 52. There it is. 10,000, back above 10,000. Pier 1 Imports up $1.35 because Berkshire Hathaway, which is run by Warren Buffett, bought 8 million shares, according to the latest filings.
And what happens when the billionaire starts buying a stock, well all those little guys run after his coattails and star buying it too.
HEMMER: That they do.
ROMANS: So, on Wall Street today, Pier 1 Imports doing quite well.
HEMMER: See if the Midas man can work his magic again.
What's going on in Illinois when it comes to prescription drugs?
ROMANS: Well, the FDA says, you know, it is illegal to buy drugs from overseas, to re-import these drugs, American drugs from Canada and Ireland and other places. But Illinois says, you know what, we're going to do it anyway.
They are defying the Food and Drug Administration, and they are putting together a plan for their residents to be able to buy about 100 different drugs that you buy long-term supplies of, like heart medication and cholesterol medication.
They're going to buy, for example, a three-month supply of Lipitor in the U.S. costs $214. Imported from Canada, its $162. From the U.K. -- look at Ireland, $144.
Orders are going to start in a about a month. The state, rather, is looking for 25 to 50 percent discounts on all of these drugs to what savings to what you would normally pay if you were just going to here. It's going to save a lot of money.
HEMMER: Just the other day, though, we were talking about Vermont doing it.
ROMANS: Vermont.
HEMMER: What's the difference in Illinois?
ROMANS: Well, the difference is Illinois is going to go forward. Now the FDA hasn't sued yet, but it's interesting in this Q&A about, you know, what does it mean?
Illinois says it is not illegal. The FDA says it is illegal. Illinois says, we are going to do this because it's just not fair. These prices are not fair. It's not fair that we can't bring these drugs in cheaper. It's not fair that Americans have to pay more.
In Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, the governor there, was like today will be a big announcement. He's going to take this -- he's going to take on the FDA on this one.
HEMMER: All right, Christine. We'll watch that. ROMANS: Sure.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good for him. I hope he wins.
COLLINS: Jack now, "Question of the Day."
CAFFERTY: "Question of the Day," Tom Harkin, who flew Navy jets at one time and is now a member of the U.S. Senate called the vice president a coward yesterday, saying that he ducked service in Vietnam and that he was courageous and willing to share other people's son's blood in a war.
The campaign is getting testy on this issue. Is a candidates military record fair game, is the question.
Kathleen in Lansdale, Pennsylvania said: "Neither Kerry's record nor Bush's National Guard record should be used for politics. Those people are fighting the Vietnam War all over again. It's a non- issue."
Nora in New York says: "Beyond belief. The Republicans made military service a campaign issue during President Clinton's two bids for the White House, yet now when their two top candidates both avoided going to Vietnam, this is no longer an issue."
And Al in Burnsville, Minnesota: "Of course military records are fair game for evaluating a commander-in-chief. What we really need is a constitutional requirement that a candidate for president must have served a full tour of duty in the armed forces of United States. Gender," says Al, "makes no difference."
COLLINS: All right, Jack thanks so much for that.
Still to come now, an Olympic update. Can the U.S. women continue their tremendous run? And also take our Olympics quiz: Which country has won the most medals at the Olympic games without ever actually hosting the games?
Stay with us for the answer here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Before the break, we asked you which country has won the most medals in the Olympic games without ever actually hosting the games?
HEMMER: Good question.
COLLINS: Well, the answer now, yes, you guessed it everybody, Hungary.
Maybe not.
HEMMER: Come on.
COLLINS: OK. Meanwhile...
CAFFERTY: My "Question of the Day" went pretty good with this stuff.
COLLINS: All right, well just for that, I'm going to give you some more Olympic scoop.
The U.S. women's softball team looking pretty unbeatable. The team competed -- or completed that is -- its fourth shutout in a row this morning...
HEMMER: Bravo.
COLLINS: ... to beat China 4-0.
We should say, now that I've already blown it for you people wanting to watch later on. Don't listen right now if you don't want to know the outcome of some of these events.
They have yet to let a single run in the Olympic competition, outscoring their opponents 24-0.
In the pool now, American Michael Phelps won a bronze but lost his chance for seven gold medals, yes. The Thorpedo, that Australian guy, Ian Thorpe, beat Phelps to the gold in the 200-meter freestyle, so kind of sad for him there.
HEMMER: To bronze and a gold, so far, though for Phelps.
COLLINS: Yes, I mean that's not bad.
ROMANS: That's unbelievable.
HEMMER: He's 19. Keep it going.
Listen, we've got to go because Jack's got to get home so he can watch the Olympics on TV.
CAFFERTY: Watch the Olympics, yes.
HEMMER: On his TV, so enjoy.
CAFFERTY: I wonder what network it will be on today.
HEMMER: You get one guess.
Here's Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center.
Good morning, Daryn.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. You guys have a great day in New York City.
HEMMER: You do the same.
KAGAN: We'll get started.
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