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American Morning
President Bush Considers Inviting Iran Into World Trade Organization; "90 Second Pop" Looks at the Oscars
Aired February 28, 2005 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone -- 08:30 here in New York.
Good morning. I'm Bill Hemmer along with Carol Costello. Good morning to you.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I am in for Soledad...
HEMMER: (OFF MIC).
COSTELLO: ... because she is out in Los Angeles.
HEMMER: Covering the Oscars.
We'll get back to Soledad in a few moments, looking at the fashion from last night, Carol...
COSTELLO: Something Bill is expert at.
HEMMER: You got it.
Who looked great and who did not?
Rachel Zalis of "Glamour" magazine is with Soledad and will be talking about the best dressed stars from last evening.
They had a telestrator last night on TV Guide Channel. Did you see that?
COSTELLO: A telestrator?
HEMMER: With Joan Rivers and her daughter, Melissa, yes.
COSTELLO: So, they pointed things out on people's bodies?
HEMMER: They were pointing things out, what looked good, what did not -- jewelry, dresses...
COSTELLO: That's just wrong. That is wrong. Also coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, from Rome, the pope said to be recovering now without any complication -- the Vatican releasing its first medical bulletin in three days. That happened just a few hours ago.
Sanjay joins us to explain what comes next in the pope's rehabilitation. HEMMER: Also, the headlines, Kelly Wallace with us this morning. Good morning to you.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good Monday morning to you; and good morning, again, everyone.
Now in the news. It is being called the single, deadliest attack in Iraq. Police say a suicide attacker drove a powerful car bomb in through a group of police recruits today.
More than 120 people are dead, dozens more injured -- the blast taking place in Hillah, about 55 miles south of Baghdad.
There could be a court appearance as early as today for the suspect in the BTK serial killer case. Dennis Rader was arrested Friday outside of Wichita, Kansas.
Authorities accuse the 59-year-old of being linked to the killings of at least 10 people between 1974 and 1991. BTK stands for bind, torture and kill.
In New York, former WorldCom chief, Bernie Ebbers, expected to take a stand today. Lawyers say Ebbers will testify in his own defense when court resumes next hour.
Ebbers is accused of orchestrating an $11 billion accounting fraud driving WorldCom into the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. Ebbers denies all charges against him.
And deja vu in Palm Bay, Florida, at least 14 families there are homeless after a tornado ripped through the region yesterday. The trail of wooden beams and shingles is nothing new. Many of the homes were hit by last summer's hurricanes.
At least five people are recovering with injuries, apparently none of them serious.
Not a lot of good news for those people there.
HEMMER: It's been its tough 12 months when you get hit twice.
WALLACE: Absolutely.
HEMMER: Thanks, Kelly.
WALLACE: Sure.
COSTELLO: We did get a bit of new information on the pope's condition this morning. He's eating. He's sitting up. Still, where paging for Dr. Gupta, this morning, about the pope's health crisis.
Sanjay is at the CNN Center now. It all sounds positive, Sanjay.
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, probably not as much of a crisis as we had originally thought back on Thursday, certainly four days now after the operation. Lots of concerns in these first few days by doctors. Typically after an operation like this, the biggest one being infection. Would he develop a pneumonia-like infection, and if so, could that be treated adequately?
It does not look like that has developed.
Also, getting -- just simply getting him up out of bed, you can see that has happened. Actually, at the window there, waving as well.
He appears to be eating well, also. And the question now a lot of people have been asking is about the speaking. Apparently he's already started some rehabilitation to learn how to breathe properly so that he might be able to speak with this trach device in place, as well.
Again, that might take place over the next several days, Carol.
COSTELLO: I know he's going through rehab to learn to speak with that. It seemed as if, you know, that picture we just saw of the pope in the hospital window, that he moved to cover his trach.
GUPTA: Yes.
COSTELLO: And that's really how he'll be able to speak in the days to come, right?
GUPTA: Yes, it's a really interesting point here. You know, when have this tracheostomy device, it's actually sitting in your wind pipe. I actually have one here with me.
Let me just show you real quick -- this actually sitting in the wind pipe like this. To speak, typically, you have to cover this up so that the air does not come out the trach device, but instead goes through the vocal cords and out the mouth.
Sometimes these are also fit with a one-way valve for that purpose as well. The harder part really, Carol, is just learning how to do it. That does take rehab, some rehab, some training to be able to do that.
It can be done. But that, still, may be several days down the line, Carol.
COSTELLO: And you know the pope was itching to get out of the hospital. When might that happen?
GUPTA: You know, it's hard to say with him. I don't know that he is going to be free and clear of this for some time. Remember, Carol, he was in the hospital at the beginning of February, as well. My bet is that he never fully recovered from his illness that time.
So, I think they're going to be a little bit more cautious, although keeping in mind as well that the Vatican, itself, has a pretty good medical facility. So they may actually transfer him from the hospital to that Vatican medical facility. That could happen later on this week.
Another update, the next update, actually, planned for Thursday. So we won't hear anything for a few days, probably, from Rome.
COSTELLO: Sanjay, thank you.
GUPTA: Thank you.
HEMMER: Twenty-five minutes now before the hour.
Is the White House now making diplomatic overtures to Iran, and if so, is this the right strategy?
From Las Vegas, today, democratic consultant, Victor Kamber, who is out in Vegas.
Victor, good morning to you there.
VICTOR KAMBER, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: Also, in Washington, Cliff May, former RNC communications director, now with the Foundation for the Defense of the Democracies.
Cliff, good morning to you, as well.
CLIFF MAY, FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES: Good morning.
HEMMER: I don't know if you saw the front page of the "Washington Post" this morning talking about an overtures to Tehran to, perhaps, invite Tehran into the World Trade Organization.
Is this the right strategy for negotiating with Tehran today?
KAMBER: Who are you asking, Bill?
HEMMER: I'm sorry. It's Cliff first.
MAY: Yes, look, there are no good options were Iran is concerned, only less bad options.
For 25 years, this regime has been sponsoring terrorism and inciting hatred against the United States. The most important thing is that the Mullahs do not get nuclear weapons.
I have nothing against letting them into the World Trade Organization if that's a way that we can do it. But in addition to offering carrots, we better have some sticks prepared, too.
HEMMER: Victor, he says no bad options. Do you agree?
KAMBER: Well, my problem is that this schizophrenic nature of the Bush administration.
We were told this one of axis of evils. And it would seem to me you isolate an evil. You, you know, you cut this cancer out, the sore out. On the other hand, I'm not looking for another war.
I do believe in diplomacy, so I'd like to understand really what it is about Iran before we start giving incentives to them.
HEMMER: It got our attention this morning.
MAY: Let me...
HEMMER: Yes, go ahead, Cliff, quickly.
MAY: Well, I'll tell you what it is about Iran. The people of Iran are more pro-American than probably the people of anywhere else in the broader Middle East. The people of Iran, we know, don't want these Mullahs continuing to destroy their country as they have for the past 25 years.
Our goal has to be to get the Mullahs back in the mosques, to get democracy going there, and to make sure that there aren't nuclear weapons in Iran because they'll leak out of Iran.
HEMMER: Iran is our first topic, Russia is our second topic.
Victor, to you now. John McCain over the weekend on a talk show said Vladimir Putin is behaving somewhat like a spoiled child.
He talked about repressing free press. He talked about interfering in elections in Ukraine. And also, there was a suggestion to kick Russia out of the Group of 8.
Do you agree with John McCain, that he says Vladimir Putin right now is a spoiled child?
KAMBER: Well, again -- and I'm not one here to sit and defend George Bush. I mean, it was McCain and Cliff that helped get Bush into office.
Just a week ago, Bush was saying some of the same things about the premier. And then he goes to meet with him, and he says gee, this man talks the truth. Mr. Putin, whenever he says something, it's something you can believe.
You know, one, we don't kick them out unilaterally. I think we need to deal with our allies. We need to figure out what works best in terms of how to deal with Russia.
I do think that Russia is not totally to be trusted, but I'm not sure our president is total to be trusted from what he says. And John McCain helped put him there.
HEMMER: "MEET THE PRESS" yesterday, William Safire -- Cliff, jump on this. He said that Bush blanked when he met with Vladimir Putin. Do you agree?
MAY: You know, I'm not sure that's true, although I understand what he is saying. Look, I think in private, Bush was probably pretty tough with Putin, saying how disappointed he was. At the press conference, Bush was careful to keep the focus, the entire time, on Russia's retreat from democracy. He did it diplomatically.
But I do think that John McCain -- and by the way, Joe Lieberman -- are correct in saying that if Putin continues in the direction he is going, away from democracy, away from freedom, and by the way, giving technology and fuel to the Iranians to make nuclear weapons, we've got to do something about it.
The one thing is to be honest.
KAMBER: That's not what Bush said.
MAY: He doesn't belong in the club of democratic nations.
What's that?
KAMBER: That's not what Bush said. Bush, on democracy, said Putin is going in the right direction because he gave me his word. And he gave him his word on the nuclear, that he would not arm Iran. And Bush accepted it.
MAY: Yes.
What you are talking about there was wishful thinking on Bush's part.
KAMBER: That may be.
MAY: It's was called diplomacy.
KAMBER: That's your president.
MAY: It was diplomacy.
KAMBER: That's your president. That's right.
HEMMER: We will see...
MAY: You know what, it's both of our...
HEMMER: We will see, gentlemen...
MAY: Victor, it's both of our president...
KAMBER: I understand it's both of our president.
MAY: I'm saying that John McCain...
KAMBER: I just didn't help him get there.
MAY: I'm saying John McCain and Joe Lieberman, as a Democrat like you are, are right when they say they have got to be sticks as well as carrots. Victor, you only want to use carrots with all of these dictators....
HEMMER: And we will see, ultimately, if something was said in private that was not spoken in public.
Gentlemen, thanks to both of you.
MAY: Thank you.
KAMBER: Thank you.
HEMMER: And I will remember your names next time. Clifford May, Victor Kamber -- see you guys. Enjoy Vegas.
KAMBER: See you, Bill.
HEMMER: Bye, bye.
COSTELLO: They were feisty, weren't they?
No apologies, California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, did take steroids when he was a bodybuilder. He admitted that to ABC's George Stephanopoulos. But, he says the performance enhancing drugs he used were legal; and no, he has absolutely no regrets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: I have no regrets about it because at that time it was something new that came on the market, and we went to the doctor and did it under doctor's supervision.
We were experimenting with it. It was a new thing. So, you can't roll the clock back and say now I would change my mind or anything because for those days, that's what we did.
And I was the first one always to say, yes, that is what I did without denying it or talking about, no, I never took it or anything like this. That's what we did in those days. But I would strongly recommend that people do not take drugs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Schwarzenegger added that he has nothing against athletes who take legal substances to improve their performance.
Let's head down to Atlanta to check out the weather.
I don't see any snowflakes yet, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No, you won't just yet, but it's on its way, Carol. Trust me.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MYERS: Carol?
HEMMER: You're not making her happy, Chad. She up here griping and moaning.
MYERS: Hey, she moved there on purpose.
HEMMER: I mean, it's just it's north.
COSTELLO: I did? I can't believe I did that.
HEMMER: It's Winter.
Come on.
COSTELLO: Oh, please. Like you love it.
HEMMER: It will melt by Wednesday. See you, Chad.
Disney decides there is no place for hockey pucks in the magic kingdom. What's happening to the not so Mighty Ducks? Andy has that in a moment here "Minding Your Business".
COSTELLO: And the only thing more important than the awards, themselves, are the fashions. A look at the best and worst of the red carpet next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Time now for Oscar fashion analysis on the red carpet, from the strapless to the speechless.
Back to L.A., and Rachel Zalis is now with Soledad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And we're talking fashion with Rachel Zalis. She's the West Coast editor for "Glamour" magazine.
Nice to see you.
RACHEL ZALIS, WEST COAST EDITOR, "GLAMOUR" MAGAZINE: Hi, so good to see you.
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much. So, what did you love.
ZALIS: I have to say, I think the women kind of played it safe, kind of polished and perfect. But I have to give my best improved to Natalie Portman. I loved her.
I mean she went from being in this white, sort of baggy, caz (ph) dress at the Golden Globes to this...
O'BRIEN: She looked horrible at the Golden Globes.
ZALIS: Yes -- did not like the Golden Globes. Here she shows up like this pewter goddess with the diamond tiara, the hair flawlessly put back. I just -- I loved, loved, loved her look.
O'BRIEN: I thought Hilary Swank looked the best.
ZALIS: Oh, you did?
O'BRIEN: The best of the best of the best with the back thing, cut out.
ZALIS: Right. What a body, right?
O'BRIEN: Now, who was Natalie Portman and who was Hilary Swank in?
ZALIS: Natalie was in Asben (ph). And Hilary was in Guy Laroche. And I love, I love about Hilary that you see her very covered up in the front, and she turns around and you see the most beautiful back side.
O'BRIEN: In the navy blue.
ZALIS: Navy -- big trend. Huge trend.
O'BRIEN: Blue was a big trend?
ZALIS: A lot of women in blue.
O'BRIEN: Who else had blue?
ZALIS: Kate Winslet, Charlize, Salma Hayek, who I also loved.
I think a lot of the girls were very, like, simple in their hair and their makeup. And here she comes out, and she is like hottie...
O'BRIEN: Those boobs.
ZALIS: ... boobs, her little hair, the like smoky eye. I mean she was on fire. I know the party I was at, all the guys were talking about Salma Hayek.
O'BRIEN: Charlize Theron looked like she was wearing the same dress, almost, that Nicole Kidman wore...
ZALIS: Yes.
O'BRIEN: ... last year.
ZALIS: Yes, very similar. This was Dior. I think it was a little more embellished. I don't know, to me, she's like the Grace Kelly of our generation. Just like blond bombshell walks out on that carpet, and she owns that carpet.
I think she's always gorgeous.
O'BRIEN: I thought a lot of the women looked great.
ZALIS: Yes.
O'BRIEN: I mean, stylists hard at work this time around.
Renee Zellweger, except for the fact that she couldn't walk in that red dress, looked great when she stood still. But do you see how everybody else was walking off the stage and she was like, I'm coming, I'm coming.
ZALIS: Shuffling along...
O'BRIEN: Wait for me. Wait for me.
ZALIS: Yes, but you know, red was a big -- you know, actually, it was really nice to see color. We had reds, and yellows, and blues and, you know, all sorts of jewel tones.
I mean, look at you in the red dress. Hello.
O'BRIEN: Call me a trend follower, absolutely.
ZALIS: Renee and Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Who didn't you like.
ZALIS: Well, I have to say I didn't love Melanie Griffith. She, you know, has this great body, but she was wearing sort of a very like sparkly blue dress that was a little ill fitted for her.
You know, and she's a lovely woman. I didn't love...
O'BRIEN: She was walking with a cane, for some reason. I think she hurt her foot.
ZALIS: Yes, OK, so we better be nice. We better be nice. I take it back.
O'BRIEN: Of course a cane never really helps your outfit, you know.
ZALIS: I know, absolutely.
I thought Sophie looked very pretty in the white.
O'BRIEN: I loved her outfit.
ZALIS: I just thought it was a little bit more bridal than Oscar. And I have to say, I love Scarlet Johansson. I think she is old Hollywood glamour with the blond hair and red lips.
O'BRIEN: What was with her hair? It looked like a frizzy perm.
ZALIS: I now, it was like going to the prom perm. I don't know what happened. And the vintage broaches in the hair, I didn't love that, exactly. O'BRIEN: How about the guys? Chris Rock, I liked his -- and I mean, usually I don't even notice what the guys are wearing. Chris Rock looked good.
ZALIS: Chris is so hot. You know, he is on fire. You know, he was wearing Sean John, you know, Puffy's line for the red carpet with the white tie.
O'BRIEN: Jamie Foxx, purple suit? What did you think of that?
ZALIS: You know, you've got to give him credit. A lot of guys, it's like -- what are they going to wear, black or navy? You know, he just kind of, you know, he's great. I think he can take chances out of anybody.
O'BRIEN: If anybody can wear a purple suit, it's Jamie Foxx.
ZALIS: Absolutely. And he gives the best speeches known to mankind. So we've got to give him a little.
And I thought Thomas Hayden's shirt was great with the pink tie. I like a guy that's willing to take a little chance, you know.
O'BRIEN: Those men looked pretty good this year.
ZALIS: Yes.
O'BRIEN: There were a lot of fashion trends.
Rachel Zalis of "Glamour" magazine, nice to see you, thanks.
ZALIS: Good to see you. Thank you.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
HEMMER: The pink tie goes with the Pinot Noir (ph) gray, does it not?
COSTELLO: It does, indeed.
HEMMER: Maybe.
Soledad talks to Jamie Foxx next hour here on AMERICAN MORNING, as well -- Carol?
COSTELLO: Sean John -- Jamie Foxx was wearing.
HEMMER: Yes. What are you laughing about?
COSTELLO: Because you knew that. He knew that. He knew.
HEMMER: I was watching the red carpet with a bunch of friends, last night.
COSTELLO: Really?
HEMMER: Getting the lowdown, yes.
COSTELLO: Really?
HEMMER: Yes, so I could be intelligent about this today with you.
COSTELLO: I'm impressed.
HEMMER: How am I doing?
COSTELLO: You're doing great.
Andy is "Minding Your Business" this morning. He'll tell you how you can own Engelbert Humperdinck's gold plated headboard, something you have always wanted.
That's coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Disney dumps the ducks. And if you're in the market for a used, heart-shaped tub -- now, hey, there's a great idea -- we've got just the deal for you.
Andy Serwer is here "Minding Your Business".
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Kind of an offbeat and depressing business segment I'm going to be doing right now.
CAFFERTY: Failures.
SERWER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: You have a list of failures.
SERWER: Yes, some losers, failures, we're good at that.
Let's talk about the markets, last week, a good one for investors. We had a lousy start to the week and then ended on an note. You can see here the Dow up 0.5 percentage point.
Futures flat this morning.
OK, let's talk about the NHL. Let's talk about the Mighty Ducks. Disney has been trying to sell this hockey team for years. They have finally succeeded, selling to a gentleman named Henry Samueli, who owns the facility where the Ducks play.
Is it a good time to be selling a hockey team when there's no season or buying one? I don't know how that works. You know, it's an interesting little strategy here.
By the way, Disney bought this for about $50 million in '92. They're selling it for about $50 million today. HEMMER: Oh.
CAFFERTY: Another good idea Disney had.
SERWER: Yes, well that's right. And you know, these big media companies have been divesting these sports teams. Remember, they're going to synergy...
CAFFERTY: Sure.
SERWER: ... and put the all the sports with the entertainment. You've got the News Corp selling the Dodgers; our company selling the Hawks; Disney sold the Angels before this.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
SERWER: So, it didn't really work out.
Another thing that didn't really work out, ultimately, was Mt. Airy lodge. This is kind of a regional story. But this was a mainstay resort in the Northeast in the Poconos, the mountains in Eastern Pennsylvania for years, and years and years.
Kind of a tacky place, really -- let's be honest. It closed a couple years back. Now they're going to be auctioning off some of the items from this facility, including the heart-shaped hot tubs, the mainstay of vacationing in the Poconos.
And this place was very successful. Engelbert Humperdinck was -- this is the suite where he stayed. He used to perform there. After the lovin', he'd be right up there in that suite.
CAFFERTY: What do you mean he used to perform there?
SERWER: He used to perform there, Jack.
CAFFERTY: You mean sing.
SERWER: Yes, after the lovin'. Yes, I did.
(LAUGHTER)
SERWER: All manner of speaking.
You can get his headboard there, Jack, a gold-plated headboard they're going to be auctioning off. And this place was hot, you know, but if you're going to go up there, bring your coat because there's no heat.
CAFFERTY: Yes, bring some Lysol, too.
SERWER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: Who knows what's been on...
SERWER: I guarantee you there are some pink Champale bottles floating around.
CAFFERTY: There you go. Used to perform there?
SERWER: He sure did.
CAFFERTY: Old Engelbert.
SERWER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: Seventy percent of single, Japanese women have no intention of getting married. A survey in the "Yomiuri" (ph) newspaper says most single, Japanese prefer not to marry and think they can live happily alone for the rest of their lives.
This not good news in a country with a rapidly declining birth rate and one of the world's largest economies. The newspaper thinks the results are part of a recent trend among single women who no longer attach a social stigma to not be married.
It's also not exactly a ringing endorsement of Japanese men.
Jawbones become headphones with Hasbro's new musical toothbrush. This is a cute idea -- tooth tunes, a battery operated toothbrush that contains a tiny microchip that stores one song.
When you start brushing, the sound vibrations pass through the bristles, through the tooth to the jawbone and directly to your inner ear. The song plays for two minutes, which is the amount of time dentists recommend you brush your teeth.
The price tag, less than $10.
SERWER: My kids are going to want that.
CAFFERTY: There you go.
CNN's financial news reporter, Myron Kandel, is retiring from this company after 25 years. Mike was one of the first people to reach out to me when I joined CNN eight years ago. He helped create business journalism on television. He launched CNN's "MONEYLINE." He hired Lou Dobbs. It was there that he gained a reputation for tough commentary.
When Time Warner released the record "Cop Killer" by rapper Ice- T, Kandel criticized his boss at the time, Gerald Levin, for "trying to cloak this garbage as freedom of expression."
He kept his job anyway.
Good guy, Myron Kandel, who took time when he didn't have to, to show this greenhorn the ropes. Thanks, Mike.
HEMMER: Well done.
SERWER: I'd like to second that because he was so generous with his time. HEMMER: Terrific guy.
SERWER: And he had such a high level of integrity. The only thing -- I don't want to sound like one of those people at CBS -- but Myron, you have a very messy office.
HEMMER: Tell it like it is, Andy.
SERWER: I mean, really, it was legendary, don't you think? You know, it was unbelievable -- cluttered. But he's a great guy.
COSTELLO: Well, to make up for that, you should get him Engelbert Humperdinck's heart-shaped bathtub.
SERWER: He'd find a place for it there, believe me.
HEMMER: Listen, any time you walk up and down the hall, Myron Kandel has time for you.
SERWER: Yes, great guy.
HEMMER: Always has.
Good luck, Mike.
Well done, Jack.
Well, top stories in a moment, here, when we continue. Also, just moments after the biggest night of his life, Jamie Foxx talks with Soledad.
Her conversation on the very happy and very thankful actor evening as we continue after this.
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 February 28, 2005 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone -- 08:30 here in New York.
Good morning. I'm Bill Hemmer along with Carol Costello. Good morning to you.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I am in for Soledad...
HEMMER: (OFF MIC).
COSTELLO: ... because she is out in Los Angeles.
HEMMER: Covering the Oscars.
We'll get back to Soledad in a few moments, looking at the fashion from last night, Carol...
COSTELLO: Something Bill is expert at.
HEMMER: You got it.
Who looked great and who did not?
Rachel Zalis of "Glamour" magazine is with Soledad and will be talking about the best dressed stars from last evening.
They had a telestrator last night on TV Guide Channel. Did you see that?
COSTELLO: A telestrator?
HEMMER: With Joan Rivers and her daughter, Melissa, yes.
COSTELLO: So, they pointed things out on people's bodies?
HEMMER: They were pointing things out, what looked good, what did not -- jewelry, dresses...
COSTELLO: That's just wrong. That is wrong. Also coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, from Rome, the pope said to be recovering now without any complication -- the Vatican releasing its first medical bulletin in three days. That happened just a few hours ago.
Sanjay joins us to explain what comes next in the pope's rehabilitation. HEMMER: Also, the headlines, Kelly Wallace with us this morning. Good morning to you.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good Monday morning to you; and good morning, again, everyone.
Now in the news. It is being called the single, deadliest attack in Iraq. Police say a suicide attacker drove a powerful car bomb in through a group of police recruits today.
More than 120 people are dead, dozens more injured -- the blast taking place in Hillah, about 55 miles south of Baghdad.
There could be a court appearance as early as today for the suspect in the BTK serial killer case. Dennis Rader was arrested Friday outside of Wichita, Kansas.
Authorities accuse the 59-year-old of being linked to the killings of at least 10 people between 1974 and 1991. BTK stands for bind, torture and kill.
In New York, former WorldCom chief, Bernie Ebbers, expected to take a stand today. Lawyers say Ebbers will testify in his own defense when court resumes next hour.
Ebbers is accused of orchestrating an $11 billion accounting fraud driving WorldCom into the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. Ebbers denies all charges against him.
And deja vu in Palm Bay, Florida, at least 14 families there are homeless after a tornado ripped through the region yesterday. The trail of wooden beams and shingles is nothing new. Many of the homes were hit by last summer's hurricanes.
At least five people are recovering with injuries, apparently none of them serious.
Not a lot of good news for those people there.
HEMMER: It's been its tough 12 months when you get hit twice.
WALLACE: Absolutely.
HEMMER: Thanks, Kelly.
WALLACE: Sure.
COSTELLO: We did get a bit of new information on the pope's condition this morning. He's eating. He's sitting up. Still, where paging for Dr. Gupta, this morning, about the pope's health crisis.
Sanjay is at the CNN Center now. It all sounds positive, Sanjay.
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, probably not as much of a crisis as we had originally thought back on Thursday, certainly four days now after the operation. Lots of concerns in these first few days by doctors. Typically after an operation like this, the biggest one being infection. Would he develop a pneumonia-like infection, and if so, could that be treated adequately?
It does not look like that has developed.
Also, getting -- just simply getting him up out of bed, you can see that has happened. Actually, at the window there, waving as well.
He appears to be eating well, also. And the question now a lot of people have been asking is about the speaking. Apparently he's already started some rehabilitation to learn how to breathe properly so that he might be able to speak with this trach device in place, as well.
Again, that might take place over the next several days, Carol.
COSTELLO: I know he's going through rehab to learn to speak with that. It seemed as if, you know, that picture we just saw of the pope in the hospital window, that he moved to cover his trach.
GUPTA: Yes.
COSTELLO: And that's really how he'll be able to speak in the days to come, right?
GUPTA: Yes, it's a really interesting point here. You know, when have this tracheostomy device, it's actually sitting in your wind pipe. I actually have one here with me.
Let me just show you real quick -- this actually sitting in the wind pipe like this. To speak, typically, you have to cover this up so that the air does not come out the trach device, but instead goes through the vocal cords and out the mouth.
Sometimes these are also fit with a one-way valve for that purpose as well. The harder part really, Carol, is just learning how to do it. That does take rehab, some rehab, some training to be able to do that.
It can be done. But that, still, may be several days down the line, Carol.
COSTELLO: And you know the pope was itching to get out of the hospital. When might that happen?
GUPTA: You know, it's hard to say with him. I don't know that he is going to be free and clear of this for some time. Remember, Carol, he was in the hospital at the beginning of February, as well. My bet is that he never fully recovered from his illness that time.
So, I think they're going to be a little bit more cautious, although keeping in mind as well that the Vatican, itself, has a pretty good medical facility. So they may actually transfer him from the hospital to that Vatican medical facility. That could happen later on this week.
Another update, the next update, actually, planned for Thursday. So we won't hear anything for a few days, probably, from Rome.
COSTELLO: Sanjay, thank you.
GUPTA: Thank you.
HEMMER: Twenty-five minutes now before the hour.
Is the White House now making diplomatic overtures to Iran, and if so, is this the right strategy?
From Las Vegas, today, democratic consultant, Victor Kamber, who is out in Vegas.
Victor, good morning to you there.
VICTOR KAMBER, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: Also, in Washington, Cliff May, former RNC communications director, now with the Foundation for the Defense of the Democracies.
Cliff, good morning to you, as well.
CLIFF MAY, FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES: Good morning.
HEMMER: I don't know if you saw the front page of the "Washington Post" this morning talking about an overtures to Tehran to, perhaps, invite Tehran into the World Trade Organization.
Is this the right strategy for negotiating with Tehran today?
KAMBER: Who are you asking, Bill?
HEMMER: I'm sorry. It's Cliff first.
MAY: Yes, look, there are no good options were Iran is concerned, only less bad options.
For 25 years, this regime has been sponsoring terrorism and inciting hatred against the United States. The most important thing is that the Mullahs do not get nuclear weapons.
I have nothing against letting them into the World Trade Organization if that's a way that we can do it. But in addition to offering carrots, we better have some sticks prepared, too.
HEMMER: Victor, he says no bad options. Do you agree?
KAMBER: Well, my problem is that this schizophrenic nature of the Bush administration.
We were told this one of axis of evils. And it would seem to me you isolate an evil. You, you know, you cut this cancer out, the sore out. On the other hand, I'm not looking for another war.
I do believe in diplomacy, so I'd like to understand really what it is about Iran before we start giving incentives to them.
HEMMER: It got our attention this morning.
MAY: Let me...
HEMMER: Yes, go ahead, Cliff, quickly.
MAY: Well, I'll tell you what it is about Iran. The people of Iran are more pro-American than probably the people of anywhere else in the broader Middle East. The people of Iran, we know, don't want these Mullahs continuing to destroy their country as they have for the past 25 years.
Our goal has to be to get the Mullahs back in the mosques, to get democracy going there, and to make sure that there aren't nuclear weapons in Iran because they'll leak out of Iran.
HEMMER: Iran is our first topic, Russia is our second topic.
Victor, to you now. John McCain over the weekend on a talk show said Vladimir Putin is behaving somewhat like a spoiled child.
He talked about repressing free press. He talked about interfering in elections in Ukraine. And also, there was a suggestion to kick Russia out of the Group of 8.
Do you agree with John McCain, that he says Vladimir Putin right now is a spoiled child?
KAMBER: Well, again -- and I'm not one here to sit and defend George Bush. I mean, it was McCain and Cliff that helped get Bush into office.
Just a week ago, Bush was saying some of the same things about the premier. And then he goes to meet with him, and he says gee, this man talks the truth. Mr. Putin, whenever he says something, it's something you can believe.
You know, one, we don't kick them out unilaterally. I think we need to deal with our allies. We need to figure out what works best in terms of how to deal with Russia.
I do think that Russia is not totally to be trusted, but I'm not sure our president is total to be trusted from what he says. And John McCain helped put him there.
HEMMER: "MEET THE PRESS" yesterday, William Safire -- Cliff, jump on this. He said that Bush blanked when he met with Vladimir Putin. Do you agree?
MAY: You know, I'm not sure that's true, although I understand what he is saying. Look, I think in private, Bush was probably pretty tough with Putin, saying how disappointed he was. At the press conference, Bush was careful to keep the focus, the entire time, on Russia's retreat from democracy. He did it diplomatically.
But I do think that John McCain -- and by the way, Joe Lieberman -- are correct in saying that if Putin continues in the direction he is going, away from democracy, away from freedom, and by the way, giving technology and fuel to the Iranians to make nuclear weapons, we've got to do something about it.
The one thing is to be honest.
KAMBER: That's not what Bush said.
MAY: He doesn't belong in the club of democratic nations.
What's that?
KAMBER: That's not what Bush said. Bush, on democracy, said Putin is going in the right direction because he gave me his word. And he gave him his word on the nuclear, that he would not arm Iran. And Bush accepted it.
MAY: Yes.
What you are talking about there was wishful thinking on Bush's part.
KAMBER: That may be.
MAY: It's was called diplomacy.
KAMBER: That's your president.
MAY: It was diplomacy.
KAMBER: That's your president. That's right.
HEMMER: We will see...
MAY: You know what, it's both of our...
HEMMER: We will see, gentlemen...
MAY: Victor, it's both of our president...
KAMBER: I understand it's both of our president.
MAY: I'm saying that John McCain...
KAMBER: I just didn't help him get there.
MAY: I'm saying John McCain and Joe Lieberman, as a Democrat like you are, are right when they say they have got to be sticks as well as carrots. Victor, you only want to use carrots with all of these dictators....
HEMMER: And we will see, ultimately, if something was said in private that was not spoken in public.
Gentlemen, thanks to both of you.
MAY: Thank you.
KAMBER: Thank you.
HEMMER: And I will remember your names next time. Clifford May, Victor Kamber -- see you guys. Enjoy Vegas.
KAMBER: See you, Bill.
HEMMER: Bye, bye.
COSTELLO: They were feisty, weren't they?
No apologies, California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, did take steroids when he was a bodybuilder. He admitted that to ABC's George Stephanopoulos. But, he says the performance enhancing drugs he used were legal; and no, he has absolutely no regrets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: I have no regrets about it because at that time it was something new that came on the market, and we went to the doctor and did it under doctor's supervision.
We were experimenting with it. It was a new thing. So, you can't roll the clock back and say now I would change my mind or anything because for those days, that's what we did.
And I was the first one always to say, yes, that is what I did without denying it or talking about, no, I never took it or anything like this. That's what we did in those days. But I would strongly recommend that people do not take drugs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Schwarzenegger added that he has nothing against athletes who take legal substances to improve their performance.
Let's head down to Atlanta to check out the weather.
I don't see any snowflakes yet, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No, you won't just yet, but it's on its way, Carol. Trust me.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MYERS: Carol?
HEMMER: You're not making her happy, Chad. She up here griping and moaning.
MYERS: Hey, she moved there on purpose.
HEMMER: I mean, it's just it's north.
COSTELLO: I did? I can't believe I did that.
HEMMER: It's Winter.
Come on.
COSTELLO: Oh, please. Like you love it.
HEMMER: It will melt by Wednesday. See you, Chad.
Disney decides there is no place for hockey pucks in the magic kingdom. What's happening to the not so Mighty Ducks? Andy has that in a moment here "Minding Your Business".
COSTELLO: And the only thing more important than the awards, themselves, are the fashions. A look at the best and worst of the red carpet next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Time now for Oscar fashion analysis on the red carpet, from the strapless to the speechless.
Back to L.A., and Rachel Zalis is now with Soledad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And we're talking fashion with Rachel Zalis. She's the West Coast editor for "Glamour" magazine.
Nice to see you.
RACHEL ZALIS, WEST COAST EDITOR, "GLAMOUR" MAGAZINE: Hi, so good to see you.
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much. So, what did you love.
ZALIS: I have to say, I think the women kind of played it safe, kind of polished and perfect. But I have to give my best improved to Natalie Portman. I loved her.
I mean she went from being in this white, sort of baggy, caz (ph) dress at the Golden Globes to this...
O'BRIEN: She looked horrible at the Golden Globes.
ZALIS: Yes -- did not like the Golden Globes. Here she shows up like this pewter goddess with the diamond tiara, the hair flawlessly put back. I just -- I loved, loved, loved her look.
O'BRIEN: I thought Hilary Swank looked the best.
ZALIS: Oh, you did?
O'BRIEN: The best of the best of the best with the back thing, cut out.
ZALIS: Right. What a body, right?
O'BRIEN: Now, who was Natalie Portman and who was Hilary Swank in?
ZALIS: Natalie was in Asben (ph). And Hilary was in Guy Laroche. And I love, I love about Hilary that you see her very covered up in the front, and she turns around and you see the most beautiful back side.
O'BRIEN: In the navy blue.
ZALIS: Navy -- big trend. Huge trend.
O'BRIEN: Blue was a big trend?
ZALIS: A lot of women in blue.
O'BRIEN: Who else had blue?
ZALIS: Kate Winslet, Charlize, Salma Hayek, who I also loved.
I think a lot of the girls were very, like, simple in their hair and their makeup. And here she comes out, and she is like hottie...
O'BRIEN: Those boobs.
ZALIS: ... boobs, her little hair, the like smoky eye. I mean she was on fire. I know the party I was at, all the guys were talking about Salma Hayek.
O'BRIEN: Charlize Theron looked like she was wearing the same dress, almost, that Nicole Kidman wore...
ZALIS: Yes.
O'BRIEN: ... last year.
ZALIS: Yes, very similar. This was Dior. I think it was a little more embellished. I don't know, to me, she's like the Grace Kelly of our generation. Just like blond bombshell walks out on that carpet, and she owns that carpet.
I think she's always gorgeous.
O'BRIEN: I thought a lot of the women looked great.
ZALIS: Yes.
O'BRIEN: I mean, stylists hard at work this time around.
Renee Zellweger, except for the fact that she couldn't walk in that red dress, looked great when she stood still. But do you see how everybody else was walking off the stage and she was like, I'm coming, I'm coming.
ZALIS: Shuffling along...
O'BRIEN: Wait for me. Wait for me.
ZALIS: Yes, but you know, red was a big -- you know, actually, it was really nice to see color. We had reds, and yellows, and blues and, you know, all sorts of jewel tones.
I mean, look at you in the red dress. Hello.
O'BRIEN: Call me a trend follower, absolutely.
ZALIS: Renee and Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Who didn't you like.
ZALIS: Well, I have to say I didn't love Melanie Griffith. She, you know, has this great body, but she was wearing sort of a very like sparkly blue dress that was a little ill fitted for her.
You know, and she's a lovely woman. I didn't love...
O'BRIEN: She was walking with a cane, for some reason. I think she hurt her foot.
ZALIS: Yes, OK, so we better be nice. We better be nice. I take it back.
O'BRIEN: Of course a cane never really helps your outfit, you know.
ZALIS: I know, absolutely.
I thought Sophie looked very pretty in the white.
O'BRIEN: I loved her outfit.
ZALIS: I just thought it was a little bit more bridal than Oscar. And I have to say, I love Scarlet Johansson. I think she is old Hollywood glamour with the blond hair and red lips.
O'BRIEN: What was with her hair? It looked like a frizzy perm.
ZALIS: I now, it was like going to the prom perm. I don't know what happened. And the vintage broaches in the hair, I didn't love that, exactly. O'BRIEN: How about the guys? Chris Rock, I liked his -- and I mean, usually I don't even notice what the guys are wearing. Chris Rock looked good.
ZALIS: Chris is so hot. You know, he is on fire. You know, he was wearing Sean John, you know, Puffy's line for the red carpet with the white tie.
O'BRIEN: Jamie Foxx, purple suit? What did you think of that?
ZALIS: You know, you've got to give him credit. A lot of guys, it's like -- what are they going to wear, black or navy? You know, he just kind of, you know, he's great. I think he can take chances out of anybody.
O'BRIEN: If anybody can wear a purple suit, it's Jamie Foxx.
ZALIS: Absolutely. And he gives the best speeches known to mankind. So we've got to give him a little.
And I thought Thomas Hayden's shirt was great with the pink tie. I like a guy that's willing to take a little chance, you know.
O'BRIEN: Those men looked pretty good this year.
ZALIS: Yes.
O'BRIEN: There were a lot of fashion trends.
Rachel Zalis of "Glamour" magazine, nice to see you, thanks.
ZALIS: Good to see you. Thank you.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
HEMMER: The pink tie goes with the Pinot Noir (ph) gray, does it not?
COSTELLO: It does, indeed.
HEMMER: Maybe.
Soledad talks to Jamie Foxx next hour here on AMERICAN MORNING, as well -- Carol?
COSTELLO: Sean John -- Jamie Foxx was wearing.
HEMMER: Yes. What are you laughing about?
COSTELLO: Because you knew that. He knew that. He knew.
HEMMER: I was watching the red carpet with a bunch of friends, last night.
COSTELLO: Really?
HEMMER: Getting the lowdown, yes.
COSTELLO: Really?
HEMMER: Yes, so I could be intelligent about this today with you.
COSTELLO: I'm impressed.
HEMMER: How am I doing?
COSTELLO: You're doing great.
Andy is "Minding Your Business" this morning. He'll tell you how you can own Engelbert Humperdinck's gold plated headboard, something you have always wanted.
That's coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Disney dumps the ducks. And if you're in the market for a used, heart-shaped tub -- now, hey, there's a great idea -- we've got just the deal for you.
Andy Serwer is here "Minding Your Business".
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Kind of an offbeat and depressing business segment I'm going to be doing right now.
CAFFERTY: Failures.
SERWER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: You have a list of failures.
SERWER: Yes, some losers, failures, we're good at that.
Let's talk about the markets, last week, a good one for investors. We had a lousy start to the week and then ended on an note. You can see here the Dow up 0.5 percentage point.
Futures flat this morning.
OK, let's talk about the NHL. Let's talk about the Mighty Ducks. Disney has been trying to sell this hockey team for years. They have finally succeeded, selling to a gentleman named Henry Samueli, who owns the facility where the Ducks play.
Is it a good time to be selling a hockey team when there's no season or buying one? I don't know how that works. You know, it's an interesting little strategy here.
By the way, Disney bought this for about $50 million in '92. They're selling it for about $50 million today. HEMMER: Oh.
CAFFERTY: Another good idea Disney had.
SERWER: Yes, well that's right. And you know, these big media companies have been divesting these sports teams. Remember, they're going to synergy...
CAFFERTY: Sure.
SERWER: ... and put the all the sports with the entertainment. You've got the News Corp selling the Dodgers; our company selling the Hawks; Disney sold the Angels before this.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
SERWER: So, it didn't really work out.
Another thing that didn't really work out, ultimately, was Mt. Airy lodge. This is kind of a regional story. But this was a mainstay resort in the Northeast in the Poconos, the mountains in Eastern Pennsylvania for years, and years and years.
Kind of a tacky place, really -- let's be honest. It closed a couple years back. Now they're going to be auctioning off some of the items from this facility, including the heart-shaped hot tubs, the mainstay of vacationing in the Poconos.
And this place was very successful. Engelbert Humperdinck was -- this is the suite where he stayed. He used to perform there. After the lovin', he'd be right up there in that suite.
CAFFERTY: What do you mean he used to perform there?
SERWER: He used to perform there, Jack.
CAFFERTY: You mean sing.
SERWER: Yes, after the lovin'. Yes, I did.
(LAUGHTER)
SERWER: All manner of speaking.
You can get his headboard there, Jack, a gold-plated headboard they're going to be auctioning off. And this place was hot, you know, but if you're going to go up there, bring your coat because there's no heat.
CAFFERTY: Yes, bring some Lysol, too.
SERWER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: Who knows what's been on...
SERWER: I guarantee you there are some pink Champale bottles floating around.
CAFFERTY: There you go. Used to perform there?
SERWER: He sure did.
CAFFERTY: Old Engelbert.
SERWER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: Seventy percent of single, Japanese women have no intention of getting married. A survey in the "Yomiuri" (ph) newspaper says most single, Japanese prefer not to marry and think they can live happily alone for the rest of their lives.
This not good news in a country with a rapidly declining birth rate and one of the world's largest economies. The newspaper thinks the results are part of a recent trend among single women who no longer attach a social stigma to not be married.
It's also not exactly a ringing endorsement of Japanese men.
Jawbones become headphones with Hasbro's new musical toothbrush. This is a cute idea -- tooth tunes, a battery operated toothbrush that contains a tiny microchip that stores one song.
When you start brushing, the sound vibrations pass through the bristles, through the tooth to the jawbone and directly to your inner ear. The song plays for two minutes, which is the amount of time dentists recommend you brush your teeth.
The price tag, less than $10.
SERWER: My kids are going to want that.
CAFFERTY: There you go.
CNN's financial news reporter, Myron Kandel, is retiring from this company after 25 years. Mike was one of the first people to reach out to me when I joined CNN eight years ago. He helped create business journalism on television. He launched CNN's "MONEYLINE." He hired Lou Dobbs. It was there that he gained a reputation for tough commentary.
When Time Warner released the record "Cop Killer" by rapper Ice- T, Kandel criticized his boss at the time, Gerald Levin, for "trying to cloak this garbage as freedom of expression."
He kept his job anyway.
Good guy, Myron Kandel, who took time when he didn't have to, to show this greenhorn the ropes. Thanks, Mike.
HEMMER: Well done.
SERWER: I'd like to second that because he was so generous with his time. HEMMER: Terrific guy.
SERWER: And he had such a high level of integrity. The only thing -- I don't want to sound like one of those people at CBS -- but Myron, you have a very messy office.
HEMMER: Tell it like it is, Andy.
SERWER: I mean, really, it was legendary, don't you think? You know, it was unbelievable -- cluttered. But he's a great guy.
COSTELLO: Well, to make up for that, you should get him Engelbert Humperdinck's heart-shaped bathtub.
SERWER: He'd find a place for it there, believe me.
HEMMER: Listen, any time you walk up and down the hall, Myron Kandel has time for you.
SERWER: Yes, great guy.
HEMMER: Always has.
Good luck, Mike.
Well done, Jack.
Well, top stories in a moment, here, when we continue. Also, just moments after the biggest night of his life, Jamie Foxx talks with Soledad.
Her conversation on the very happy and very thankful actor evening as we continue after this.
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