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American Morning
'Gimme a Minute'; 'Paging Dr. Gupta'
Aired September 10, 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, that is a beautiful shot this Friday morning, of the Empire State Building right here in New York City I'm told. That shot coming to us from the Time-Warner Center, isn't that beautiful?
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Beautiful shot. Beautiful day.
COLLINS: It is a beautiful day here. Unfortunately that's not the case in many other parts of the world. In fact we are, of course, still watching Hurricane Ivan and where it will go next.
Chad Myers is coming up in just a few minutes with a forecast for this morning and the next few days. Things are looking pretty frightening there.
O'BRIEN: Also, the third anniversary of the 9/11 attacks is tomorrow. We probably don't need to remind you of that. In a few moments we'll go back to Ground Zero to see how the World Trade Center site is being transformed.
COLLINS: All right. We are going to check on the stories now in the news, though, first this morning with Daryn Kagan. She is at the CNN Center once again. Daryn, hello.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Heidi, good morning to you. We have new details about the church explosion we told you about some 15 minutes ago. Images coming into CNN. Officials in Connecticut say the church was leveled by an explosion about an hour and a half ago.
No word on any injuries. More details as this developing story becomes available.
People across Jamaica are bracing for the arrival of Hurricane Ivan. The monster storm is expected to hit the island later tonight. The hurricane's current path might -- might put it over the Florida Keys by Monday.
In ten minutes, Chad Myers traces the path of the storm.
Washington D.C.'s Reagan National Airport is the first in the country to test passenger's boarding passes for explosives residue. The Transportation Security Administration launched this project this week. Passenger's chosen for secondary screenings will have their boarding passes tested while undergoing other checks.
Two Georgia men will be in court this morning. They are being arraigned for allegedly luring two young girls from their home via the Internet. Both in their 20s, they are being held on statutory rape and molestation charges.
Police say they lured two 15-year-old girls from their Houston homes. A nationwide Amber Alert was issued for the girls after they left home on Tuesday. Back up to you in New York.
COLLINS: All right Daryn. Thanks so much for that -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Let's head to the campaign trail, shall we? President Bush stumping for votes yesterday in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. I think it was his 36th visit there.
The president heads to West Virginia and Ohio today. Other battleground states. The Bush campaign bus will stop in the towns of Huntington, West Virginia before heading to Portsmith and then Chillicothe, Ohio.
Senator John Kerry is looking for votes today in Missouri and Pennsylvania. The latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll shows President Bush leading Senator Kerry in the Show Me State.
Ed Henry is live in St. Louis with the Kerry campaign. Ed how are they going to respond to these numbers?
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning Miles. Senior Democrats have been urging John Kerry to get more aggressive, to pick up those poll numbers. So far Kerry is not criticizing the president, not commenting on the questions about the president's service in the National Guard.
But on just about every other topic, Kerry is letting loose on the president.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY (voice-over): Battered by Republican jabs, John Kerry continues to punch back. At the National Baptist Convention in New Orleans, he took some of his biggest swings at President Bush yet, using the Biblical parable of the Good Samaritan to question Bush's claim of compassionate conservatism.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: For four years, George W. Bush may have talked about compassion, but he's walked right by. He's seen people in need, but he's crossed over to the other side of the street.
HENRY: Speaking to a mostly black audience, Kerry chose his words carefully to stoke anger about the president's domestic agenda.
KERRY: Reduce taxes for the few and reduced opportunities for the middle class and for those struggling to get into it are taking us back to a two Americas, separate and unequal. Our cities and our communities are being torn apart by forces that are just as divisive and destructive as Jim Crow.
Crumbling schools that are robbing our children of their potential, rising poverty, rising crime, drugs and violence. And I say again, where are the deeds? Where is the substance of our faith?
HENRY: The Bush-Cheney campaign said the speech was full of baseless, misleading attacks. One of the sharpest divisions between the candidates is over health care, with Kerry slamming the president for hiking Medicare premiums.
The senator has started running health care ads in specific markets visited by the president, such as Portsmith, Ohio today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Health care costs are skyrocketing and family wages are down $1500. It's time for a new direction.
HENRY: The Bush-Cheney camp is firing back with a new ad entitled, "Medicare Hypocrisy." It takes aim at the fact that Kerry voted five times to raise Medicare premiums.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY: At this community center in St. Louis this morning John Kerry will be talking about Medicare and his health care reform plan.
Yesterday his wife Teresa made a little bit of a splash by saying the Kerry health plan is so good, quote, only an idiot wouldn't like this -- of course there are idiots, end quote.
I can guarantee, almost, that Senator Kerry will not be quite that blunt when he sits down with senior citizens this morning, Miles.
O'BRIEN: Always outspoken Teresa Heinz Kerry. A lot of folks would say maybe Mr. Kerry should be a little more blunt.
HENRY: They've been urging him, senior Democrats including Bill Clinton and others, have been saying get out there, hit President Bush hard on these domestic issues. All this week John Kerry has been doing that, but the poll numbers still not going up just yet Miles.
O'BRIEN: Ed Henry in St. Louis thanks very much -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Presidential politics also on the minds of our "Gimme A Minute" crew this morning. They're here to wrap this week's big stories, so joining us from Washington, Jonah Goldberg, editor for "National Review" online.
Donna Brazile, Democratic strategist and CNN contributor.
And in New York, comedienne Jessie Klein, a contributor to VH1. To the three of you this morning, thanks so much, guys, for being here.
All right, let's get the clock started. Get this party started, I guess we could say.
Jonah, let's begin with you. Vice President Cheney warning voters this week that if they, quote, make the wrong choice on Election Day then, quote, the danger is that we'll get hit again. That a fair comment? JONAH GOLDBERG, NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE: No, it's not, but I'm also not sure it's a completely fair reading. I do think that Cheney misspoke and he shouldn't have said it, and what he said but, if you look at it in context, I think he was talking about how we have a stark choice in philosophies between two different kinds of foreign policy.
COLLINS: Donna, did Cheney misspeak?
DONNA BRAZILE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I think he said it and he went over the line. Let me just say this. Some Americans will take a chance on putting a new president in the White House who will have the resolve to fight terrorism and keep us safe.
COLLINS: Jessie, wrap it up for us.
JESSIE KLEIN, COMEDIAN: Well, you know, I think Cheney seems to know an awful lot about what will happen to us if Kerry gets elected and it just leads me to wonder if Cheney himself has something planned.
COLLINS: All right. Thanks so much guys. I want to go on now with Donna.
There's a survey out there -- 34,000 people in 35 countries around the world found that if they could vote in our election, which isn't going to happen -- but if they did the world would choose Kerry.
Apparently only three countries that would choose Bush. Donna, should the United States care about information like this?
BRAZILE: Well, let's hope they have some relatives back in the United States who are registered to vote and they can encourage them to go ahead and send an absentee ballot on their behalf.
COLLINS: All right, Jonah?
GOLDBERG: Well, you know, John Kerry is cosmopolitan and cosmopolitan literally means citizen of the world, so it's not shocking that his fellow citizens would want him in office. I think it's actually pretty bad for John Kerry because it feeds this notion that John Kerry is more concerned about, you know, being a citizen of the world than he is being a citizen of the United States. I don't think that's fair but that's the stereotype on him.
COLLINS: OK, Jessie, who does this bode better for? Bush or Kerry?
KLEIN: Well, you know, I guess I would just say that it's really easy to take polls like this at face value. If you do subtle analysis on it I would just say that the world really seems to hate Bush.
COLLINS: All right, well, Jonah last one is up for you. You ready? We've been talking all morning about CBS and the "60 Minutes" -- the documents that they have been airing about President Bush's National Guard service. Now this morning -- reports out today saying that some of those documents could be fake. They're questioning the authenticity of them. CBS, though, standing by this story. What do you think has happened here and will it impact the election in any way, Jonah?
GOLDBERG: Well, even before the story that they were faked came out I didn't think that this was going to be a big story. We've heard this before, it happened in 2000, the American people sort of have already processed this information. But I do think some of them probably are forgeries and I think it is fascinating that "The Washington Post" and "The New York Times" couldn't find a single forensic expert to say that these things looked like they were real.
COLLINS: Donna, your thoughts? Fake or real?
BRAZILE: Well, I don't know if they are fake or real but what is real is that the president must continue to answer whether or not he fulfilled his obligation in the National Guard.
COLLINS: And Jessie.
KLEIN: Well, I guess what I would say is I don't know if these documents are fake or real but the fact that Bush seems to have led us into the war in Iraq based on information that wasn't necessarily real -- that hasn't really effected his standings in the polls, so I think he's going to be fine.
COLLINS: All right, you made it just before the bell. And last thing guys we've always got to cover what we didn't cover.
Donna, go ahead and start us off here.
BRAZILE: Well, you probably have covered it and in fact I'm glad you have but I have to say it. In 72 hours because the United States Senate and Congress won't act, those lethal assault weapons will be back on out streets.
I hope they don't get in the hands of the wrong people.
COLLINS: All right, Donna thanks for that. And Jonah? What have we missed this week?
GOLDBERG: Well, I've got to tell you guys -- Ed Henry stole my undercovered story of the week about Teresa Heinz Kerry saying...
COLLINS: No!
GOLDBERG: ... anyone who disagrees with him -- with John Kerry -- is an idiot. And since I just drove cross-country from Seattle to Washington, D.C., every story is undercovered because I didn't catch any other news.
COLLINS: All right, Jonah. And finally, Jessie Klein.
KLEIN: I guess I kind of have to agree. I feel like what was missing this week was pretty much coverage of anything that was truly substantive to the election. We're too much time about the Vietnam stuff.
COLLINS: All right. To all three of you this morning, certainly do appreciate it, as always.
Donna Brazile, Jonah Goldberg, and Jessie Klein. Thanks again guys.
BRAZILE: Thanks, Heidi.
GOLDBERG: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Got to get Jonah an XM radio or something.
The third anniversary of the 9/11 attacks is not free from controversy especially when it comes to the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site. Jason Carroll has our story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ground Zero is undergoing an evolution, filmmakers capturing the change with time-lapse photography, the rubble logged on, the rebuilding underway.
But not without controversy.
ANTHONY GARDNER, COALITION OF 9/11 FAMILIES: We're not obstructionists. We just value our national heritage.
CARROLL: Anthony Gardner's brother worked in the Twin Towers and was killed on 9/11. Gardner says the footprints of the buildings are tangible. Steel and concrete and should be preserved.
GARDNER: The scar that the World Trade Center -- the attacks -- made on the fabric of our country is there; it's in that ground.
CARROLL: Part of that ground was used for the new train station, which has already reopened. A memorial will honor the footprints above ground, with reflecting pools. Below it calls for exposing some bedrock. It's still in the design phase. Completion 2009. The centerpiece of the skyline, the 1776-foot tall Freedom Tower, which had its cornerstone laying this past July.
But there is controversy here too. Danny Libeskind's design was chosen during an international competition, but the site's developer got his own architect. The result to one critic...
PAUL GOLDBERGER, AUTHOR, UP FROM ZERO: They've created a kind of awkward hybrid that's not the best of either one.
CARROLL: Libeskind is now suing a developer over money. The group overseeing the rebuilding says enough is enough.
KEVIN RAMPLE, LOWER MANHATTAN DEVELOPMENT: Now, the architects have to stop feeling sorry for themselves quite frankly. The real victims on this site are the 2800 people who were lost that day. CARROLL: The Freedom Tower will be ready for occupancy in 2008. The only constant during so much change, the emotional attachment to the thousands who visit every day.
SHANNON ROSSMILLER, MONTANA TOURIST: I remember going up in those towers years ago and it's hard to believe they're gone. For real. To see it for my own eyes.
CARROLL: A lot has changed in three years, but it's still called Ground Zero. Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: The World Trade Center Memorial at Ground Zero is scheduled for completion in the year 2009.
COLLINS: A story we've been following all morning for you of course Chad Myers tracking Ivan at the CNN Center now.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING everyone knows binge drinking is a problem on college campus' but the latest study even shocks the experts. We're "Paging Dr. Gupta."
COLLINS: Plus, Charley and Frances were financially devastating for Florida. What happens if Ivan hits? Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" on that. Stay with us here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: All right, we're "Paging Dr. Gupta" this morning about an age-old problem on college campuses. A new study suggests binge drinking is more extreme than we thought and it comes on the heels of an alcohol related death of a student in Colorado.
Sanjay is at the CNN Center. Good morning, Sanjay.
GUPTA: Good morning, Miles. Yes, the memorial services are going to be today. A 19-year-old college sophomore died this past Sunday at Colorado State University. Her name is Samantha Spady.
Her blood alcohol level at the time of her death .43 according to local newspaper reports. That's five times the legal limit to drive.
The fraternity house has been suspended by Colorado State University. A criminal investigation is now underway, but it raises some larger issues about binge drinking overall on campus. These stories are not uncommon. We've talked about them before on AMERICAN MORNING.
And now there's a new study that's actually come out by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation. Finds that many young people drink at levels far larger, far more than previously believed.
They used to define binge drinking as five drinks or more at any given time. Now they've got a new study -- they looked at 1,000 male college students and found that 50 or more occasions in a month, 24 or more drinks were consumed. Obviously, that's a level of drinking at which you become comatose or pass out.
Again, many of those previous research studies, Miles, seems like the problem is much more severe than we thought. This time of year, the beginning of a school year, is the most problematic time of year and it's freshmen that are the most vulnerable to these sort of binge drinking episodes, Miles.
O'BRIEN: And it has been my impression over the years, Sanjay that it effects men more than women. We just told folks about the death of that 19-year-old woman. Do we have -- do the statistics break it down by sex?
GUPTA: They did break it down by sex. For the men it was definitely much more dramatic. About 50 or more occasions where 24 or more drinks were consumed. For women, though, while the amount of drinking is about the same, the number of occasions is fewer.
About half or so. So it's happening in females, women as well, especially on college campuses, especially among freshmen although drinking as much alcohol although on fewer occasions Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right well what can be done to stop all this binge drinking particularly underage binge drinking?
GUPTA: Well I mean first of all campuses, universities are already starting to recognize this problem more than they ever have before. Remember it's been a problem for a long time.
But there are specific steps that are taking place. First of all, they are trying to restrict the number of places where alcohol can be purchased near campuses. Police enforcement is getting stronger and I think also there's strict enforcement of events, specifically fraternity events, things like that, that encourage underage drinking. Those things are all happening. I think the message really is when you -- you know five or more drinks is what was considered binge drinking before.
Twenty-four or more drinks -- that is the point where you start to become comatose. People start to develop alcohol poisoning and as we saw in this situation people can die. So that's really a message that needs to get out to college students and it's starting to get out there, Miles.
O'BRIEN: Let's hope they're listening. Sanjay Gupta thanks very much -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Still to come, business is not back to normal in Florida. Can the Sunshine State survive another hit? Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: As you would imagine, Florida is bracing for a third storm in the trilogy. It's putting quite a spin on the state's economy and Andy Serwer is here "Minding Your Business" now.
Man, I mean just an awful lot of money...
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: A lot of money. It's probably going to be about $10 billion for the first two hurricanes. Of course, Charley was $7 billion and Frances is going to be somewhere close to that, probably a little bit less.
A lot of money. And think about what's going on with insurance agents going down there and trying to assess damage. The big question: say you live in a place like Lake Wales, Florida which was hit by both of them. Your patio got hit by Charley and then the roof got damaged by Frances.
You know what do they do? Do they take that into account? It's unclear -- we're actually checking with some insurance companies right now. And then if Ivan comes and wrecks the pool I mean all bets are off.
Lost wages in Florida, this is a big deal here. Now the average family in Florida spends about $425 preparing for a hurricane. The average wages for a family in Florida, $675. I mean, you do the math there. It's not a very good proposition.
A lot of people out of work of course because of the hurricane as well so that's difficult.
Now, and look -- that's Ivan right there I guess coming closer and closer.
Here's a really interesting little spin as well so to speak. Who is benefiting? Interesting here. Nail companies. The National Nail Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan sells $180,000 of nails a month. Last month, $310,000 worth -- that was because of Charley, not even including Frances.
Air conditioning repair companies. One company doing 1,000 calls a day to fix A/C units. Car dealers -- you might not think about that but people have to buy new cars. Hotels very much of a mixed bag because obviously they're not getting tourism but people are staying in hotels who are evacuating.
So, you know the whole economy sort of turned upside down. People are going to have to come in there to work to repair things, though.
COLLINS: You think lumber too, wouldn't you?
SERWER: Oh, yes, plywood in very short supply, Heidi and generators they just they can't get enough of them for Home Depot and Lowe's to sell right now. You can see right there supplies at the big orange store there and just a lot of activity.
Not necessarily as much of it -- as much of a bad thing as you would think. I mean you think it would just be devastation but actually some businesses do OK out of this. COLLINS: Maybe that's the upside at least for now. All right, Andy thanks.
O'BRIEN: Of course the key is keeping those supplies in there, isn't it? Obviously that limits your ability to make money off of it. All right, let's talk EBay and we're shifting gears here.
Andy Borowitz -- oh, we're not doing e-mail?
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: No.
O'BRIEN: Oh.
BOROWITZ: No, never mind. We're doing "The Borowitz Report."
O'BRIEN: "The Borowitz Report." Jack Cafferty is gone; I'm a substitute. What the heck do I know?
BOROWITZ: Good night everybody; it's been a great show. "The Borowitz Report" -- news you cannot use.
Congratulations are in order for President Bush who has made "The Oxford Dictionary" of famous quotations for his now-famous "axis of evil" speech. But shame on the Oxford folks for missing these quotations from our always-quotable president who said:
"The future will be better tomorrow." And of course, "One word sums up the responsibility of any governor, and that one word is 'to be prepared'".
And why would they leave out this gem from John Kerry? "I will not appoint somebody who's about to undo Roe v. Wade. I've said that before, but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't be prepared to appoint somebody who has a different point of view."
The reason this did not make the cut is because the Oxford people had no idea what that meant.
Now what's the biggest challenge facing a rebel group trying to achieve independence? Finding good office help, yes. The National Socialist Council fighting to separate from the nation of India has published want ads for office secretaries and assistants.
Now I've also heard that the International Anarchist Movement really needs help with filing.
And from the word of justice, German authorities are wrestling with how to punish a man accused of throwing a mushy tomato at a member of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's government.
Now apparently using the principle let the punishment fit the tomato, a soft red tomato would carry a lesser charge than a harder green one so I thought maybe it's time for a color coded system of tomato threat levels...
SERWER: Here we go. BOROWITZ: Yellow meaning high, red meaning elevated, and green meaning severe.
SERWER: Fried green severe.
BOROWITZ: There you go, good idea.
COLLINS: Andy thanks so much for that.
O'BRIEN: Andy appreciate it. Very helpful.
SERWER: Where is Naugaland (ph)?
BOROWITZ: They're trying to separate from India.
COLLINS: We don't know.
BOROWITZ: So somewhere, I would guess, in the Indian region.
SERWER: Yes, in the subcontinent.
O'BRIEN: They make Naugahyde there.
COLLINS: Are we done? Still to come this morning, menacing skies once again threaten to overtake the so-called Sunshine State. We are tracking Hurricane Ivan for you and of course tell you where it's headed next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired September 10, 2004 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, that is a beautiful shot this Friday morning, of the Empire State Building right here in New York City I'm told. That shot coming to us from the Time-Warner Center, isn't that beautiful?
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Beautiful shot. Beautiful day.
COLLINS: It is a beautiful day here. Unfortunately that's not the case in many other parts of the world. In fact we are, of course, still watching Hurricane Ivan and where it will go next.
Chad Myers is coming up in just a few minutes with a forecast for this morning and the next few days. Things are looking pretty frightening there.
O'BRIEN: Also, the third anniversary of the 9/11 attacks is tomorrow. We probably don't need to remind you of that. In a few moments we'll go back to Ground Zero to see how the World Trade Center site is being transformed.
COLLINS: All right. We are going to check on the stories now in the news, though, first this morning with Daryn Kagan. She is at the CNN Center once again. Daryn, hello.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Heidi, good morning to you. We have new details about the church explosion we told you about some 15 minutes ago. Images coming into CNN. Officials in Connecticut say the church was leveled by an explosion about an hour and a half ago.
No word on any injuries. More details as this developing story becomes available.
People across Jamaica are bracing for the arrival of Hurricane Ivan. The monster storm is expected to hit the island later tonight. The hurricane's current path might -- might put it over the Florida Keys by Monday.
In ten minutes, Chad Myers traces the path of the storm.
Washington D.C.'s Reagan National Airport is the first in the country to test passenger's boarding passes for explosives residue. The Transportation Security Administration launched this project this week. Passenger's chosen for secondary screenings will have their boarding passes tested while undergoing other checks.
Two Georgia men will be in court this morning. They are being arraigned for allegedly luring two young girls from their home via the Internet. Both in their 20s, they are being held on statutory rape and molestation charges.
Police say they lured two 15-year-old girls from their Houston homes. A nationwide Amber Alert was issued for the girls after they left home on Tuesday. Back up to you in New York.
COLLINS: All right Daryn. Thanks so much for that -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Let's head to the campaign trail, shall we? President Bush stumping for votes yesterday in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. I think it was his 36th visit there.
The president heads to West Virginia and Ohio today. Other battleground states. The Bush campaign bus will stop in the towns of Huntington, West Virginia before heading to Portsmith and then Chillicothe, Ohio.
Senator John Kerry is looking for votes today in Missouri and Pennsylvania. The latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll shows President Bush leading Senator Kerry in the Show Me State.
Ed Henry is live in St. Louis with the Kerry campaign. Ed how are they going to respond to these numbers?
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning Miles. Senior Democrats have been urging John Kerry to get more aggressive, to pick up those poll numbers. So far Kerry is not criticizing the president, not commenting on the questions about the president's service in the National Guard.
But on just about every other topic, Kerry is letting loose on the president.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY (voice-over): Battered by Republican jabs, John Kerry continues to punch back. At the National Baptist Convention in New Orleans, he took some of his biggest swings at President Bush yet, using the Biblical parable of the Good Samaritan to question Bush's claim of compassionate conservatism.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: For four years, George W. Bush may have talked about compassion, but he's walked right by. He's seen people in need, but he's crossed over to the other side of the street.
HENRY: Speaking to a mostly black audience, Kerry chose his words carefully to stoke anger about the president's domestic agenda.
KERRY: Reduce taxes for the few and reduced opportunities for the middle class and for those struggling to get into it are taking us back to a two Americas, separate and unequal. Our cities and our communities are being torn apart by forces that are just as divisive and destructive as Jim Crow.
Crumbling schools that are robbing our children of their potential, rising poverty, rising crime, drugs and violence. And I say again, where are the deeds? Where is the substance of our faith?
HENRY: The Bush-Cheney campaign said the speech was full of baseless, misleading attacks. One of the sharpest divisions between the candidates is over health care, with Kerry slamming the president for hiking Medicare premiums.
The senator has started running health care ads in specific markets visited by the president, such as Portsmith, Ohio today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Health care costs are skyrocketing and family wages are down $1500. It's time for a new direction.
HENRY: The Bush-Cheney camp is firing back with a new ad entitled, "Medicare Hypocrisy." It takes aim at the fact that Kerry voted five times to raise Medicare premiums.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY: At this community center in St. Louis this morning John Kerry will be talking about Medicare and his health care reform plan.
Yesterday his wife Teresa made a little bit of a splash by saying the Kerry health plan is so good, quote, only an idiot wouldn't like this -- of course there are idiots, end quote.
I can guarantee, almost, that Senator Kerry will not be quite that blunt when he sits down with senior citizens this morning, Miles.
O'BRIEN: Always outspoken Teresa Heinz Kerry. A lot of folks would say maybe Mr. Kerry should be a little more blunt.
HENRY: They've been urging him, senior Democrats including Bill Clinton and others, have been saying get out there, hit President Bush hard on these domestic issues. All this week John Kerry has been doing that, but the poll numbers still not going up just yet Miles.
O'BRIEN: Ed Henry in St. Louis thanks very much -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Presidential politics also on the minds of our "Gimme A Minute" crew this morning. They're here to wrap this week's big stories, so joining us from Washington, Jonah Goldberg, editor for "National Review" online.
Donna Brazile, Democratic strategist and CNN contributor.
And in New York, comedienne Jessie Klein, a contributor to VH1. To the three of you this morning, thanks so much, guys, for being here.
All right, let's get the clock started. Get this party started, I guess we could say.
Jonah, let's begin with you. Vice President Cheney warning voters this week that if they, quote, make the wrong choice on Election Day then, quote, the danger is that we'll get hit again. That a fair comment? JONAH GOLDBERG, NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE: No, it's not, but I'm also not sure it's a completely fair reading. I do think that Cheney misspoke and he shouldn't have said it, and what he said but, if you look at it in context, I think he was talking about how we have a stark choice in philosophies between two different kinds of foreign policy.
COLLINS: Donna, did Cheney misspeak?
DONNA BRAZILE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I think he said it and he went over the line. Let me just say this. Some Americans will take a chance on putting a new president in the White House who will have the resolve to fight terrorism and keep us safe.
COLLINS: Jessie, wrap it up for us.
JESSIE KLEIN, COMEDIAN: Well, you know, I think Cheney seems to know an awful lot about what will happen to us if Kerry gets elected and it just leads me to wonder if Cheney himself has something planned.
COLLINS: All right. Thanks so much guys. I want to go on now with Donna.
There's a survey out there -- 34,000 people in 35 countries around the world found that if they could vote in our election, which isn't going to happen -- but if they did the world would choose Kerry.
Apparently only three countries that would choose Bush. Donna, should the United States care about information like this?
BRAZILE: Well, let's hope they have some relatives back in the United States who are registered to vote and they can encourage them to go ahead and send an absentee ballot on their behalf.
COLLINS: All right, Jonah?
GOLDBERG: Well, you know, John Kerry is cosmopolitan and cosmopolitan literally means citizen of the world, so it's not shocking that his fellow citizens would want him in office. I think it's actually pretty bad for John Kerry because it feeds this notion that John Kerry is more concerned about, you know, being a citizen of the world than he is being a citizen of the United States. I don't think that's fair but that's the stereotype on him.
COLLINS: OK, Jessie, who does this bode better for? Bush or Kerry?
KLEIN: Well, you know, I guess I would just say that it's really easy to take polls like this at face value. If you do subtle analysis on it I would just say that the world really seems to hate Bush.
COLLINS: All right, well, Jonah last one is up for you. You ready? We've been talking all morning about CBS and the "60 Minutes" -- the documents that they have been airing about President Bush's National Guard service. Now this morning -- reports out today saying that some of those documents could be fake. They're questioning the authenticity of them. CBS, though, standing by this story. What do you think has happened here and will it impact the election in any way, Jonah?
GOLDBERG: Well, even before the story that they were faked came out I didn't think that this was going to be a big story. We've heard this before, it happened in 2000, the American people sort of have already processed this information. But I do think some of them probably are forgeries and I think it is fascinating that "The Washington Post" and "The New York Times" couldn't find a single forensic expert to say that these things looked like they were real.
COLLINS: Donna, your thoughts? Fake or real?
BRAZILE: Well, I don't know if they are fake or real but what is real is that the president must continue to answer whether or not he fulfilled his obligation in the National Guard.
COLLINS: And Jessie.
KLEIN: Well, I guess what I would say is I don't know if these documents are fake or real but the fact that Bush seems to have led us into the war in Iraq based on information that wasn't necessarily real -- that hasn't really effected his standings in the polls, so I think he's going to be fine.
COLLINS: All right, you made it just before the bell. And last thing guys we've always got to cover what we didn't cover.
Donna, go ahead and start us off here.
BRAZILE: Well, you probably have covered it and in fact I'm glad you have but I have to say it. In 72 hours because the United States Senate and Congress won't act, those lethal assault weapons will be back on out streets.
I hope they don't get in the hands of the wrong people.
COLLINS: All right, Donna thanks for that. And Jonah? What have we missed this week?
GOLDBERG: Well, I've got to tell you guys -- Ed Henry stole my undercovered story of the week about Teresa Heinz Kerry saying...
COLLINS: No!
GOLDBERG: ... anyone who disagrees with him -- with John Kerry -- is an idiot. And since I just drove cross-country from Seattle to Washington, D.C., every story is undercovered because I didn't catch any other news.
COLLINS: All right, Jonah. And finally, Jessie Klein.
KLEIN: I guess I kind of have to agree. I feel like what was missing this week was pretty much coverage of anything that was truly substantive to the election. We're too much time about the Vietnam stuff.
COLLINS: All right. To all three of you this morning, certainly do appreciate it, as always.
Donna Brazile, Jonah Goldberg, and Jessie Klein. Thanks again guys.
BRAZILE: Thanks, Heidi.
GOLDBERG: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Got to get Jonah an XM radio or something.
The third anniversary of the 9/11 attacks is not free from controversy especially when it comes to the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site. Jason Carroll has our story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ground Zero is undergoing an evolution, filmmakers capturing the change with time-lapse photography, the rubble logged on, the rebuilding underway.
But not without controversy.
ANTHONY GARDNER, COALITION OF 9/11 FAMILIES: We're not obstructionists. We just value our national heritage.
CARROLL: Anthony Gardner's brother worked in the Twin Towers and was killed on 9/11. Gardner says the footprints of the buildings are tangible. Steel and concrete and should be preserved.
GARDNER: The scar that the World Trade Center -- the attacks -- made on the fabric of our country is there; it's in that ground.
CARROLL: Part of that ground was used for the new train station, which has already reopened. A memorial will honor the footprints above ground, with reflecting pools. Below it calls for exposing some bedrock. It's still in the design phase. Completion 2009. The centerpiece of the skyline, the 1776-foot tall Freedom Tower, which had its cornerstone laying this past July.
But there is controversy here too. Danny Libeskind's design was chosen during an international competition, but the site's developer got his own architect. The result to one critic...
PAUL GOLDBERGER, AUTHOR, UP FROM ZERO: They've created a kind of awkward hybrid that's not the best of either one.
CARROLL: Libeskind is now suing a developer over money. The group overseeing the rebuilding says enough is enough.
KEVIN RAMPLE, LOWER MANHATTAN DEVELOPMENT: Now, the architects have to stop feeling sorry for themselves quite frankly. The real victims on this site are the 2800 people who were lost that day. CARROLL: The Freedom Tower will be ready for occupancy in 2008. The only constant during so much change, the emotional attachment to the thousands who visit every day.
SHANNON ROSSMILLER, MONTANA TOURIST: I remember going up in those towers years ago and it's hard to believe they're gone. For real. To see it for my own eyes.
CARROLL: A lot has changed in three years, but it's still called Ground Zero. Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: The World Trade Center Memorial at Ground Zero is scheduled for completion in the year 2009.
COLLINS: A story we've been following all morning for you of course Chad Myers tracking Ivan at the CNN Center now.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING everyone knows binge drinking is a problem on college campus' but the latest study even shocks the experts. We're "Paging Dr. Gupta."
COLLINS: Plus, Charley and Frances were financially devastating for Florida. What happens if Ivan hits? Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" on that. Stay with us here on AMERICAN MORNING.
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O'BRIEN: All right, we're "Paging Dr. Gupta" this morning about an age-old problem on college campuses. A new study suggests binge drinking is more extreme than we thought and it comes on the heels of an alcohol related death of a student in Colorado.
Sanjay is at the CNN Center. Good morning, Sanjay.
GUPTA: Good morning, Miles. Yes, the memorial services are going to be today. A 19-year-old college sophomore died this past Sunday at Colorado State University. Her name is Samantha Spady.
Her blood alcohol level at the time of her death .43 according to local newspaper reports. That's five times the legal limit to drive.
The fraternity house has been suspended by Colorado State University. A criminal investigation is now underway, but it raises some larger issues about binge drinking overall on campus. These stories are not uncommon. We've talked about them before on AMERICAN MORNING.
And now there's a new study that's actually come out by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation. Finds that many young people drink at levels far larger, far more than previously believed.
They used to define binge drinking as five drinks or more at any given time. Now they've got a new study -- they looked at 1,000 male college students and found that 50 or more occasions in a month, 24 or more drinks were consumed. Obviously, that's a level of drinking at which you become comatose or pass out.
Again, many of those previous research studies, Miles, seems like the problem is much more severe than we thought. This time of year, the beginning of a school year, is the most problematic time of year and it's freshmen that are the most vulnerable to these sort of binge drinking episodes, Miles.
O'BRIEN: And it has been my impression over the years, Sanjay that it effects men more than women. We just told folks about the death of that 19-year-old woman. Do we have -- do the statistics break it down by sex?
GUPTA: They did break it down by sex. For the men it was definitely much more dramatic. About 50 or more occasions where 24 or more drinks were consumed. For women, though, while the amount of drinking is about the same, the number of occasions is fewer.
About half or so. So it's happening in females, women as well, especially on college campuses, especially among freshmen although drinking as much alcohol although on fewer occasions Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right well what can be done to stop all this binge drinking particularly underage binge drinking?
GUPTA: Well I mean first of all campuses, universities are already starting to recognize this problem more than they ever have before. Remember it's been a problem for a long time.
But there are specific steps that are taking place. First of all, they are trying to restrict the number of places where alcohol can be purchased near campuses. Police enforcement is getting stronger and I think also there's strict enforcement of events, specifically fraternity events, things like that, that encourage underage drinking. Those things are all happening. I think the message really is when you -- you know five or more drinks is what was considered binge drinking before.
Twenty-four or more drinks -- that is the point where you start to become comatose. People start to develop alcohol poisoning and as we saw in this situation people can die. So that's really a message that needs to get out to college students and it's starting to get out there, Miles.
O'BRIEN: Let's hope they're listening. Sanjay Gupta thanks very much -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Still to come, business is not back to normal in Florida. Can the Sunshine State survive another hit? Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: As you would imagine, Florida is bracing for a third storm in the trilogy. It's putting quite a spin on the state's economy and Andy Serwer is here "Minding Your Business" now.
Man, I mean just an awful lot of money...
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: A lot of money. It's probably going to be about $10 billion for the first two hurricanes. Of course, Charley was $7 billion and Frances is going to be somewhere close to that, probably a little bit less.
A lot of money. And think about what's going on with insurance agents going down there and trying to assess damage. The big question: say you live in a place like Lake Wales, Florida which was hit by both of them. Your patio got hit by Charley and then the roof got damaged by Frances.
You know what do they do? Do they take that into account? It's unclear -- we're actually checking with some insurance companies right now. And then if Ivan comes and wrecks the pool I mean all bets are off.
Lost wages in Florida, this is a big deal here. Now the average family in Florida spends about $425 preparing for a hurricane. The average wages for a family in Florida, $675. I mean, you do the math there. It's not a very good proposition.
A lot of people out of work of course because of the hurricane as well so that's difficult.
Now, and look -- that's Ivan right there I guess coming closer and closer.
Here's a really interesting little spin as well so to speak. Who is benefiting? Interesting here. Nail companies. The National Nail Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan sells $180,000 of nails a month. Last month, $310,000 worth -- that was because of Charley, not even including Frances.
Air conditioning repair companies. One company doing 1,000 calls a day to fix A/C units. Car dealers -- you might not think about that but people have to buy new cars. Hotels very much of a mixed bag because obviously they're not getting tourism but people are staying in hotels who are evacuating.
So, you know the whole economy sort of turned upside down. People are going to have to come in there to work to repair things, though.
COLLINS: You think lumber too, wouldn't you?
SERWER: Oh, yes, plywood in very short supply, Heidi and generators they just they can't get enough of them for Home Depot and Lowe's to sell right now. You can see right there supplies at the big orange store there and just a lot of activity.
Not necessarily as much of it -- as much of a bad thing as you would think. I mean you think it would just be devastation but actually some businesses do OK out of this. COLLINS: Maybe that's the upside at least for now. All right, Andy thanks.
O'BRIEN: Of course the key is keeping those supplies in there, isn't it? Obviously that limits your ability to make money off of it. All right, let's talk EBay and we're shifting gears here.
Andy Borowitz -- oh, we're not doing e-mail?
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: No.
O'BRIEN: Oh.
BOROWITZ: No, never mind. We're doing "The Borowitz Report."
O'BRIEN: "The Borowitz Report." Jack Cafferty is gone; I'm a substitute. What the heck do I know?
BOROWITZ: Good night everybody; it's been a great show. "The Borowitz Report" -- news you cannot use.
Congratulations are in order for President Bush who has made "The Oxford Dictionary" of famous quotations for his now-famous "axis of evil" speech. But shame on the Oxford folks for missing these quotations from our always-quotable president who said:
"The future will be better tomorrow." And of course, "One word sums up the responsibility of any governor, and that one word is 'to be prepared'".
And why would they leave out this gem from John Kerry? "I will not appoint somebody who's about to undo Roe v. Wade. I've said that before, but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't be prepared to appoint somebody who has a different point of view."
The reason this did not make the cut is because the Oxford people had no idea what that meant.
Now what's the biggest challenge facing a rebel group trying to achieve independence? Finding good office help, yes. The National Socialist Council fighting to separate from the nation of India has published want ads for office secretaries and assistants.
Now I've also heard that the International Anarchist Movement really needs help with filing.
And from the word of justice, German authorities are wrestling with how to punish a man accused of throwing a mushy tomato at a member of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's government.
Now apparently using the principle let the punishment fit the tomato, a soft red tomato would carry a lesser charge than a harder green one so I thought maybe it's time for a color coded system of tomato threat levels...
SERWER: Here we go. BOROWITZ: Yellow meaning high, red meaning elevated, and green meaning severe.
SERWER: Fried green severe.
BOROWITZ: There you go, good idea.
COLLINS: Andy thanks so much for that.
O'BRIEN: Andy appreciate it. Very helpful.
SERWER: Where is Naugaland (ph)?
BOROWITZ: They're trying to separate from India.
COLLINS: We don't know.
BOROWITZ: So somewhere, I would guess, in the Indian region.
SERWER: Yes, in the subcontinent.
O'BRIEN: They make Naugahyde there.
COLLINS: Are we done? Still to come this morning, menacing skies once again threaten to overtake the so-called Sunshine State. We are tracking Hurricane Ivan for you and of course tell you where it's headed next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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