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American Morning
Missing Florida Girl; Al Qaeda Attack Message; 'New You Revolution'
Aired March 01, 2005 - 07:28 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The work's begun cleaning up the snow. Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. It's just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Just ahead, a "CNN Security Watch," looking at whether Osama bin Laden is teaming up with the most-wanted man in Iraq in a plot to attack the United States at home. We'll take a look at what U.S. officials are finding out about this potential threat and what they're doing about it.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also this hour, we'll also talk about what's happening in Florida. Police there are said to be scaling back their search for 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford. And apparently, they're still having trouble finding any clue as to what happened to her. We'll talk with the sheriff again this morning, working this case as he has from the very beginning, and find out if they have any leads at all, coming up in a moment.
O'BRIEN: Before that, let's get another check of the headlines. Carol Costello is with us this morning.
Hey, good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back.
O'BRIEN: Thanks.
COSTELLO: You looked fabulous.
O'BRIEN: You know, nine people, nine hours. They can squeeze you into a dress, do your hair and makeup. It was fun.
COSTELLO: And that dress was ooh-la-la! But we're glad you're back.
O'BRIEN: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Good morning, everyone.
"Now in the News."
A new development from the Vatican. Pope John Paul II is said to have regained his speech. Within the hour, a top Vatican cardinal saying the pope has spoken with him this morning. The pope underwent a tracheotomy last week and was said to be improving. He waved from his hospital window in Rome on Sunday. Here in the United States, the suspect in the BTK serial killer case is expected to appear in court for the first time today. 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. Wichita police telling CNN Rader has been cooperating with investigators.
To California now. The first witness in the Michael Jackson molestation trial could take the stand as early as today. Opening statements are set to wrap up when proceedings resume in Santa Maria. With the trial under way, the judge has allowed the release some documents, including a copy of the full indictment against Jackson. It claims the pop star intimidated the accuser's family and even tried to ship them off to Brazil. Jackson is denying all charges.
And let's talk about the weather. Parts of the East Coast are digging out from a major snowstorm. There's up to a foot of snow in Massachusetts and in Connecticut. Elsewhere, states like Virginia are getting hit hard as well. The icy conditions are disrupting the morning commute, causing some flights to stay -- some flights -- hundred of flights to stay grounded. We'll have much more from Chad coming up in just a bit. In fact, I think 200 flights were grounded last night at LaGuardia. Two hundred flights.
HEMMER: It's going to be slow today, too.
O'BRIEN: We landed just at the right time.
COSTELLO: You're kidding?
O'BRIEN: It was just starting to snow. We got in at, like, 3:00 in the afternoon. People were grabbing their bags and running for taxis.
HEMMER: Where was the red dress at that point? Was it at baggage claim or where?
O'BRIEN: Rolled up in a ball at the bottom of my bag until next year.
HEMMER: Well, you looked great.
O'BRIEN: Oh, thank you.
HEMMER: There you are on the red carpet.
O'BRIEN: You know, we had a team of eight people, makeup, hair, the person whose job it is just to zip you into the dress.
HEMMER: Tell us about the dress. Your first Oscars, by the way, right?
O'BRIEN: This was my first, yes. I was shocked I didn't win anything. I had my speech ready.
HEMMER: You went all that way and came back empty-handed. O'BRIEN: I went all that way. I'd like to thank the academy. Yes, it was a Carmen Mark Valvo (ph) dress. Really cute. It was fun.
COSTELLO: Could you breathe?
O'BRIEN: Not at all. You can't breathe. You can't eat.
HEMMER: Right.
O'BRIEN: Literally zipped in.
HEMMER: You sucked it up for a long time.
COSTELLO: Well, it was worth it. You looked great.
HEMMER: Yes, well done.
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.
HEMMER: And welcome home again.
O'BRIEN: Thanks.
HEMMER: Let's get back to Florida right now and the hunt for this missing 9-year-old girl. Jessica Lunsford is her name. The full-scale search, we're told, is now over. But authorities are now awaiting child abduction experts, who on their way to help.
Meanwhile, Jessica's family continues to plead for her safe return.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUTH LUNSFORD, GRANDMOTHER: What I would like to say is, Jesse, I love you and come home. And I'll say it again. Someone that has her, please let her come home. Do not harm her in any way. Little children does not deserve this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Yes. Sheriff Jeff Dawsy of Citrus County, Florida, is with me this morning.
And, Sheriff, good morning to you.
SHERIFF JEFF DAWSY, CITRUS COUNTY, FLORIDA: Good morning, sir.
HEMMER: Are you any closer to finding Jessica?
DAWSY: Well, not really. We haven't got any solid leads. We've got numerous. We're probably closing in to about 1,000 leads we've received from within the state and out of the state of Florida.
HEMMER: We are told Mark Lunsford, her father, and her grandfather, Archie (ph), have both taken computer voice stress tests. What have you learned, Sheriff, from that testing? DAWSY: Well, Mark has actually taken the polygraph and the voice stress, and nothing out of his answers have alarmed us. His dad, the grandfather, is scheduled today to take the polygraph. He did the stress test. There wasn't anything alarming coming out of that at that particular point.
HEMMER: We have some videotape of the interior of Jessica's bedroom. We can show our viewers that this morning now. Inside that bedroom, it looks like any child's bedroom. You have dolls on the dresser, posters on the wall. And a doll or a stuffed animal is apparently missing. Does that provide you with any clue?
DAWSY: Well, it's just another object we need to look for. It does kind of alarm us that that was the only thing taken when the young girl left the residence. There was no shoes. She didn't change clothes. The only item that was taken was the dolphin.
HEMMER: Sheriff, is there any evidence of a break-in?
DAWSY: No. That's what's kind of interesting to us. There's no forced entry that we can validate at this time.
HEMMER: You've indicated a full-scale investigation -- or a search, rather, may be winding down. The investigation, obviously, will continue. What does that mean for the search?
DAWSY: Well, what we did was, you know, we employed the citizens to cover a large area to see if we could find anything quickly. Then we -- the National Center has been working with us through phone calls and presence for quite a while. They brought in a gentleman that works with them.
And then we have gone out received some resources that are local resources, I believe from the state of Florida, that have been trained by the center and certified as true search-and-rescue people. They are going to be brought in, and they are going to be doing a little bit different of a grid search, looking for a little bit different clues. I may have been slightly misinformed yesterday. They're not affiliated so much with the center, as a resource, a center used for as local resource.
HEMMER: Maybe their experience, too, can help here. One final question here, Sheriff. Is there still a possibility that she left on her own?
DAWSY: Well, we just have not been able to validate that that is in her personality. That's the reason why we're not looking at that. She seems to be a very abiding young girl who loved her grandmother very, very much, and her dad. And everything we hear is that this is not what she -- what her makeup is.
HEMMER: Our best to you. Homosassa Springs, that's the sheriff, Jeff Dawsy, back with us in Citrus County. Good luck, Sheriff. Thanks.
DAWSY: Thank you. HEMMER: All right -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: An al Qaeda message about possible attacks on the United States is in our "CNN Security Watch" this morning. Osama bin Laden is apparently directing Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to reach outside Iraq to conduct terrorism.
CNN's homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve in Washington this morning.
Jeanne -- good morning.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
According to officials, the information was contained in a communication from Osama bin Laden to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi that was intercepted overseas. Officials say it does not mention attacks on the U.S. specifically, but that is the inference being made by analysts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASA HUTCHINSON, HOMELAND SECURITY UNDERSECRETARY: It reminds us that al Qaeda is serious about the United States, and that because they're concentrating in other arenas of the world does not mean they've diminished their desire to attack the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: Officials describe the intelligence as credible but not specific, that it says nothing about when, where or how an attack might take place. One official called the intelligence vague and nothing unique.
The Department of Homeland Security says it has no plans to raise the nation's terror threat level, but the information was significant enough for DHS to send out a classified bulletin to homeland security officials and law enforcement.
Zarqawi, who is blamed for scores of attacks in Iraq, pledged his loyalty to bin Laden in October, although we do not know what kind of communication was involved here. A knowledgeable former official said an intercept is notable because Zarqawi is renowned for maintaining exceptionally good communication security. It is one reason he has not yet been apprehended.
In February, CIA Director Porter Goss warned the Senate Intelligence Committee that Zarqawi was trying to establish a safe haven in Iraq from which to operate against Western nations and what he called a posse Muslim government. One expert said that bin Laden's reaching out to Zarqawi may indicate that many al Qaeda units have been defanged and that Zarqawi is now the one able to carry out operations successfully -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Jeanne Meserve in Washington this morning. Jeanne, thanks for that update.
You want to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security -- Bill.
HEMMER: The U.S. government must either charge or release a suspected terrorist who has been jailed for two and a half years. Thirty-three-year-old Jose Padilla, as he now prefers to be called, is suspected of plotting with al Qaeda to detonate a radioactive dirty bomb here in the U.S. Padilla is being held now as a military prisoner since May of 2002. But a federal judge in South Carolina has now ruled the government cannot continue to hold Padilla without charging him with a crime. The government plans to appeal that ruling -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: It's time to take a look at the weather.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: In a moment here, thousands may end up paying a big price for the merger two of big phone companies. Andy takes that call in a moment here, "Minding Your Business."
O'BRIEN: Also, remember this lady, Sandra Garth? She wanted to lose a little weight as part of the "New You Revolution." Now she's got some new motivation, thanks to a little bit of good news from her son in Iraq. Dr. Gupta explains just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Talk about your casual work days here. Jack has got his jeans on.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: I had to walk miles through the snow to get here this morning.
HEMMER: He's got his tennis shoes on.
CAFFERTY: It was very traumatic.
O'BRIEN: Did you get a lot of snow?
CAFFERTY: Probably 9, 10 inches, I'm guessing. I mean, I didn't measure it at 4:00 this morning.
O'BRIEN: No?
CAFFERTY: But when I stepped off the porch, it was up to about mid-calf.
The e-mail answers are a little longer this morning, because of the following question. Seminal events taking place in the Middle East, what will be the result? A lot of demonstrations in Lebanon eventually brought down the longstanding Syrian-backed government. Elections taking place from Iraq and Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Palestine. This last weekend, Egypt's President Mubarak announced that he'll allow his nation's first ever multiparty elections.
The democratic dominoes are in place in the Middle East, but the process continues to be tested by deadly fundamentalist bombings in Iraq and elsewhere.
The question is: Is the Middle East moving toward democracy or further toward instability?
Greg in Nova Scotia writes: "I don't believe the Middle East is at all moving toward democracy, but resting nervously at instability. Democracy seems to be the new buzz word, a solution to all the world's problems. But someone should come up with an antidote for terrorism first."
D.W. in California: "Bush's doctrine of "you're for us or against us" automatically causes instability as countries move from one side of the fence or the other."
Rick in Georgia writes: "The truth is both are probably true. Any move toward democracy in the Middle East is going to create instability."
Dean in New York writes: "I think the question over stability in the Middle East really rests in the hands of the suicide bombers and those who support them. When these people finally come to their senses and realize they're rebels without a cause, then perhaps stability and democracy may be possible."
And the last one, Jerry in Georgia writes: "Oil in the ground creates a slippery situation on the surface. Syria and Iran will never permit Iraq to be stable as long as there's oil in Iraq. The push toward democracy will destabilize other oil-rich countries. As oil demand increases, the situation will get worse. And then there's the rest of the Middle East west of the Red Sea that no one seems to care about, stable or not."
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Someone with a degree in political science there.
O'BRIEN: Clearly.
HEMMER: Yes, very well-thought out.
SERWER: He really thought that out, right?
HEMMER: The story out of Cairo that broke on Sunday kind of flew a little bit below the radar here in this country. But Hosni Mubarak coming out and saying, hey, for the first time in 50 years...
SERWER: Yes.
HEMMER: ... we're going to have open and free and fair elections...
O'BRIEN: Elections.
SERWER: That's big.
HEMMER: ... right into the constitutions. So, we'll see if it sticks. We'll see if it goes that way.
CAFFERTY: You know, those politicians will tell you anything.
HEMMER: Well...
O'BRIEN: Sometimes that's true.
HEMMER: However, we have not heard him speak like that.
SERWER: Yes, he's going to have to deliver to an extent.
HEMMER: How many times have they had one? Five?
CAFFERTY: I don't know. No, it's an interesting time. And whether or not there's a movement under way to perhaps appease the western military and get them the hell out of Iraq and those other places over there by pretending to embrace democracy, so we'll pack up our toys and go home is another theory.
HEMMER: And there's another line of thinking that says be careful what you wish for. You know, if you're going to push for democracy and for elections, just be able to make sure...
O'BRIEN: And the writer...
SERWER: Well, and Iraq...
HEMMER: ... and be willing to accept if a hard-line government comes in.
SERWER: Absolutely.
HEMMER: Good topic. Thanks, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Well, thank you. I walked for miles through the snow to get here this morning.
SERWER: We know. We've heard that.
O'BRIEN: Let's get to the business news. A proposed merger between two telecom giants could result in thousands of job cuts. Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Good morning. Who are we talking about?
SERWER: Good morning, Soledad. We're talking about MCI, Qwest and Verizon, that little dance going on.
Let's check in on the markets, though, first of all. You know, the stock market has been all over the place this year. But guess what? The Dow is almost exactly where it started the year, yesterday down 75 points. We started the year at 10783. You can see we're close to that right now. Those drug stocks yesterday, Biogen (ph) and Elan (ph), dragged the market down. The Nasdaq is down 5 percent on the year. So not doing so well with your tech stocks.
Here's what's going on in telecom land. You may remember that MCI had agreed to be bought by Verizon. And then Qwest stepped in and said, no, no, no, we want to buy MCI. And guess what? They laid out their financial plan, and said, now, to make this deal work, we have to lay off 15,000 people. That's not a good thing.
Verizon said in its transaction it would have to lay off 7,000. So they're not clean there on that slate either. But still, that's a lot of jobs.
And you have to wonder if politicians are going to step in and say, hey, wait a minute, regulators, and say, you know, that's too high a price to pay. And the board of MCI has accepted the Verizon deal, still looking at the Qwest deal. But I'd be interested to see if regulators don't step in with that number.
O'BRIEN: Those are really high numbers. Seven thousand people.
SERWER: That's a lot of people. That's a lot of jobs.
O'BRIEN: That is a lot of jobs.
CAFFERTY: On the other hand, it was the government that deregulated and broke up Ma Bell...
SERWER: Oh, there's that!
CAFFERTY: ... back in the beginning and created all of this.
SERWER: Yes, true. And now we're getting them all back together again.
CAFFERTY: Yes, that's correct.
SERWER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Chickens coming home to roost, I believe is the way they put that.
SERWER: Indeed, yes.
O'BRIEN: Andy, thank you very much.
SERWER: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, home stretch for the "New You Revolution." Today, the Reverend Leigh Ann Raynor comes up with a unique way to kick the habit. How she plans to quit smoking is up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: We are getting close. Week seven of the "New You Revolution" today.
O'BRIEN: And Dr. Sanjay Gupta is at the CNN center.
Sanjay -- good morning to you.
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: It's the home stretch. How is everybody doing?
GUPTA: The people are doing very well. It's hard to believe two months have already come and gone. But all five appear to be well on their way to meeting their goals, which was breaking their bad health habits.
Now, for Leigh Ann, Jonathan and Sandra, there have been some unexpected developments.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEIGH ANN RAYNOR, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: My goal was to lose weight, to start exercising and to learn to cook.
GUPTA (voice over): But Leigh Ann has one other bad habit we really want her to tackle.
RAYNOR: Y'all won't leave me alone about the smoking.
GUPTA: So, we introduced her to her neighbor, who just happens to be the deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, Dr. Len Lichtenfeld.
RAYNOR: I mean, I've been smoking since I was 18, and I'm 49. And in terms of getting emphysema or heart disease, is it too late?
DR. LEN LICHTENFELD, AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: The answer is it's never too late.
GUPTA: She's already taking steps towards quitting. She tried hypnosis again, and she's come up with her own unique nicotine cessation program.
RAYNOR: My little baggy of cigarettes instead of carrying them in the pack. This way, I can keep count of exactly how many I smoke. And each day, I take one away. So, I have you know, one less each day until I get down to about 10. And then we'll see.
GUPTA: She's already smoking half a pack less than she used to.
Jonathan only wanted to stop biting his nails, something he's been quite successful at so far. But exercise and diet was not part of his "New You Revolution." And yet, he's eating better and exercising more. Why?
JONATHAN KARP, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: Just because everybody else is, you know, doing it.
GUPTA: Watching the others made an impression on him.
KARP: I heard Sandra's clip, you know, her battling with depression.
GUPTA: She also suffers from depression.
SANDRA GARTH, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: I was diagnosed with it in 2002.
KARP: You know, I know about depression, too. So I know that that's just good to do. I've been down her road, and something that I didn't want to take pills either. You know, you've got to get out there and be just strong by being active.
GUPTA: Telling a national audience that she suffers from depression was a big step for Sandra, something we didn't know at the beginning of the "New You Revolution." We did, however, know about her son, Casey, and daughter-in-law, Teresa, who are stationed in Iraq. It was a big motivator for Sandra to get healthy. Now, she has more motivation.
GARTH: I got a phone call from Iraq. It was Casey. I knew from his e-mails that Teresa may be back to Germany last week. She is there safe and sound, thank God. And he's going to be leaving the 3rd or the 5th of March.
GUPTA: She'll lose her exercise buddy when grandson, Shannon, returns to his parents. But it's a sacrifice she's happy to make.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
And we just got some updates as well. Sandra's daughter-in-law, we were just talking about, is now in Detroit, and has been reunited with her son. So good news there.
As for Thekla and Harald, you remember them, we thought they might benefit from some encouragement from a couple of last year's "New You" participants.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice over): Thekla Fischer has come a long way in her "New You Revolution." But seven weeks into this, she still has some anxiety about starting a family. So we introduced her to one of last year's "New You" participants, Michael Kirkbride. His wife and fellow "New You-er," Pam, was on a business trip. But daughter Olivia joined her dad in sharing some "New You" wisdom.
THEKLA FISCHER, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: The thing that scares me the most is just the time commitment.
MICHAEL KIRKBRIDE, FMR. "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: It's a constant struggle.
FISCHER: So, how long did it take before she started sleeping through the night? KIRKBRIDE: I think she was six or seven months.
GUPTA: Thekla admits she's more comfortable with children that are old enough to carry on a conversation, but little Olivia found a way to lessen Thekla's fear and open her heart.
2004 "New You-er" Kim Everett and this year participant Harald Fricker joined for the same reasons: lose weight and get healthy.
We thought she might have some words of encouragement for him, so we hooked them up by phone.
KIM EVERETT, FMR. "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: So, I heard you lost 20 pounds. Congratulations on that.
HARALD FRICKER, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: Thank you very much. Yes. It feels great.
GUPTA: Kim is still sticking to her "New You" new habits. She lost 10 pounds last year and has kept it off.
EVERETT: The "New You" just a year ago changed my life. So it's definitely going to change theirs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: And you remember them as well from last year. They both look pretty good.
Of course, you can follow everyone's progress by reading their journals. Just logon to cnn.com/am. One more week, though.
HEMMER: That's right.
O'BRIEN: How great to see them. What a great thing to see Kim looking so great, and then, of course, little baby Olivia so giant now.
HEMMER: What happens next week?
GUPTA: Well, again, it's hard to believe, but next week is the grand finale. Two months come and gone. All five participants, we're going to invite them back to New York to be in the studio with you guys, and we'll let you judge just how much of a difference, how much of a difference the "New You Revolution" has made for them. That's next Tuesday.
HEMMER: That's the fun part, right? Thank you, Sanjay.
GUPTA: Thank you.
HEMMER: Today's top stories in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING. Also, lawyers fire their opening shots in Michael Jackson's case. Find out how Jay Leno could play a role in this case. Back in a moment at the top of the hour here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, BTK suspect Dennis Rader gets his day in court today. But has he already confessed? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
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Aired March 1, 2005 - 07:28 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The work's begun cleaning up the snow. Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. It's just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Just ahead, a "CNN Security Watch," looking at whether Osama bin Laden is teaming up with the most-wanted man in Iraq in a plot to attack the United States at home. We'll take a look at what U.S. officials are finding out about this potential threat and what they're doing about it.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also this hour, we'll also talk about what's happening in Florida. Police there are said to be scaling back their search for 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford. And apparently, they're still having trouble finding any clue as to what happened to her. We'll talk with the sheriff again this morning, working this case as he has from the very beginning, and find out if they have any leads at all, coming up in a moment.
O'BRIEN: Before that, let's get another check of the headlines. Carol Costello is with us this morning.
Hey, good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back.
O'BRIEN: Thanks.
COSTELLO: You looked fabulous.
O'BRIEN: You know, nine people, nine hours. They can squeeze you into a dress, do your hair and makeup. It was fun.
COSTELLO: And that dress was ooh-la-la! But we're glad you're back.
O'BRIEN: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Good morning, everyone.
"Now in the News."
A new development from the Vatican. Pope John Paul II is said to have regained his speech. Within the hour, a top Vatican cardinal saying the pope has spoken with him this morning. The pope underwent a tracheotomy last week and was said to be improving. He waved from his hospital window in Rome on Sunday. Here in the United States, the suspect in the BTK serial killer case is expected to appear in court for the first time today. 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. Wichita police telling CNN Rader has been cooperating with investigators.
To California now. The first witness in the Michael Jackson molestation trial could take the stand as early as today. Opening statements are set to wrap up when proceedings resume in Santa Maria. With the trial under way, the judge has allowed the release some documents, including a copy of the full indictment against Jackson. It claims the pop star intimidated the accuser's family and even tried to ship them off to Brazil. Jackson is denying all charges.
And let's talk about the weather. Parts of the East Coast are digging out from a major snowstorm. There's up to a foot of snow in Massachusetts and in Connecticut. Elsewhere, states like Virginia are getting hit hard as well. The icy conditions are disrupting the morning commute, causing some flights to stay -- some flights -- hundred of flights to stay grounded. We'll have much more from Chad coming up in just a bit. In fact, I think 200 flights were grounded last night at LaGuardia. Two hundred flights.
HEMMER: It's going to be slow today, too.
O'BRIEN: We landed just at the right time.
COSTELLO: You're kidding?
O'BRIEN: It was just starting to snow. We got in at, like, 3:00 in the afternoon. People were grabbing their bags and running for taxis.
HEMMER: Where was the red dress at that point? Was it at baggage claim or where?
O'BRIEN: Rolled up in a ball at the bottom of my bag until next year.
HEMMER: Well, you looked great.
O'BRIEN: Oh, thank you.
HEMMER: There you are on the red carpet.
O'BRIEN: You know, we had a team of eight people, makeup, hair, the person whose job it is just to zip you into the dress.
HEMMER: Tell us about the dress. Your first Oscars, by the way, right?
O'BRIEN: This was my first, yes. I was shocked I didn't win anything. I had my speech ready.
HEMMER: You went all that way and came back empty-handed. O'BRIEN: I went all that way. I'd like to thank the academy. Yes, it was a Carmen Mark Valvo (ph) dress. Really cute. It was fun.
COSTELLO: Could you breathe?
O'BRIEN: Not at all. You can't breathe. You can't eat.
HEMMER: Right.
O'BRIEN: Literally zipped in.
HEMMER: You sucked it up for a long time.
COSTELLO: Well, it was worth it. You looked great.
HEMMER: Yes, well done.
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.
HEMMER: And welcome home again.
O'BRIEN: Thanks.
HEMMER: Let's get back to Florida right now and the hunt for this missing 9-year-old girl. Jessica Lunsford is her name. The full-scale search, we're told, is now over. But authorities are now awaiting child abduction experts, who on their way to help.
Meanwhile, Jessica's family continues to plead for her safe return.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUTH LUNSFORD, GRANDMOTHER: What I would like to say is, Jesse, I love you and come home. And I'll say it again. Someone that has her, please let her come home. Do not harm her in any way. Little children does not deserve this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Yes. Sheriff Jeff Dawsy of Citrus County, Florida, is with me this morning.
And, Sheriff, good morning to you.
SHERIFF JEFF DAWSY, CITRUS COUNTY, FLORIDA: Good morning, sir.
HEMMER: Are you any closer to finding Jessica?
DAWSY: Well, not really. We haven't got any solid leads. We've got numerous. We're probably closing in to about 1,000 leads we've received from within the state and out of the state of Florida.
HEMMER: We are told Mark Lunsford, her father, and her grandfather, Archie (ph), have both taken computer voice stress tests. What have you learned, Sheriff, from that testing? DAWSY: Well, Mark has actually taken the polygraph and the voice stress, and nothing out of his answers have alarmed us. His dad, the grandfather, is scheduled today to take the polygraph. He did the stress test. There wasn't anything alarming coming out of that at that particular point.
HEMMER: We have some videotape of the interior of Jessica's bedroom. We can show our viewers that this morning now. Inside that bedroom, it looks like any child's bedroom. You have dolls on the dresser, posters on the wall. And a doll or a stuffed animal is apparently missing. Does that provide you with any clue?
DAWSY: Well, it's just another object we need to look for. It does kind of alarm us that that was the only thing taken when the young girl left the residence. There was no shoes. She didn't change clothes. The only item that was taken was the dolphin.
HEMMER: Sheriff, is there any evidence of a break-in?
DAWSY: No. That's what's kind of interesting to us. There's no forced entry that we can validate at this time.
HEMMER: You've indicated a full-scale investigation -- or a search, rather, may be winding down. The investigation, obviously, will continue. What does that mean for the search?
DAWSY: Well, what we did was, you know, we employed the citizens to cover a large area to see if we could find anything quickly. Then we -- the National Center has been working with us through phone calls and presence for quite a while. They brought in a gentleman that works with them.
And then we have gone out received some resources that are local resources, I believe from the state of Florida, that have been trained by the center and certified as true search-and-rescue people. They are going to be brought in, and they are going to be doing a little bit different of a grid search, looking for a little bit different clues. I may have been slightly misinformed yesterday. They're not affiliated so much with the center, as a resource, a center used for as local resource.
HEMMER: Maybe their experience, too, can help here. One final question here, Sheriff. Is there still a possibility that she left on her own?
DAWSY: Well, we just have not been able to validate that that is in her personality. That's the reason why we're not looking at that. She seems to be a very abiding young girl who loved her grandmother very, very much, and her dad. And everything we hear is that this is not what she -- what her makeup is.
HEMMER: Our best to you. Homosassa Springs, that's the sheriff, Jeff Dawsy, back with us in Citrus County. Good luck, Sheriff. Thanks.
DAWSY: Thank you. HEMMER: All right -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: An al Qaeda message about possible attacks on the United States is in our "CNN Security Watch" this morning. Osama bin Laden is apparently directing Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to reach outside Iraq to conduct terrorism.
CNN's homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve in Washington this morning.
Jeanne -- good morning.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
According to officials, the information was contained in a communication from Osama bin Laden to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi that was intercepted overseas. Officials say it does not mention attacks on the U.S. specifically, but that is the inference being made by analysts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASA HUTCHINSON, HOMELAND SECURITY UNDERSECRETARY: It reminds us that al Qaeda is serious about the United States, and that because they're concentrating in other arenas of the world does not mean they've diminished their desire to attack the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: Officials describe the intelligence as credible but not specific, that it says nothing about when, where or how an attack might take place. One official called the intelligence vague and nothing unique.
The Department of Homeland Security says it has no plans to raise the nation's terror threat level, but the information was significant enough for DHS to send out a classified bulletin to homeland security officials and law enforcement.
Zarqawi, who is blamed for scores of attacks in Iraq, pledged his loyalty to bin Laden in October, although we do not know what kind of communication was involved here. A knowledgeable former official said an intercept is notable because Zarqawi is renowned for maintaining exceptionally good communication security. It is one reason he has not yet been apprehended.
In February, CIA Director Porter Goss warned the Senate Intelligence Committee that Zarqawi was trying to establish a safe haven in Iraq from which to operate against Western nations and what he called a posse Muslim government. One expert said that bin Laden's reaching out to Zarqawi may indicate that many al Qaeda units have been defanged and that Zarqawi is now the one able to carry out operations successfully -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Jeanne Meserve in Washington this morning. Jeanne, thanks for that update.
You want to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security -- Bill.
HEMMER: The U.S. government must either charge or release a suspected terrorist who has been jailed for two and a half years. Thirty-three-year-old Jose Padilla, as he now prefers to be called, is suspected of plotting with al Qaeda to detonate a radioactive dirty bomb here in the U.S. Padilla is being held now as a military prisoner since May of 2002. But a federal judge in South Carolina has now ruled the government cannot continue to hold Padilla without charging him with a crime. The government plans to appeal that ruling -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: It's time to take a look at the weather.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: In a moment here, thousands may end up paying a big price for the merger two of big phone companies. Andy takes that call in a moment here, "Minding Your Business."
O'BRIEN: Also, remember this lady, Sandra Garth? She wanted to lose a little weight as part of the "New You Revolution." Now she's got some new motivation, thanks to a little bit of good news from her son in Iraq. Dr. Gupta explains just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Talk about your casual work days here. Jack has got his jeans on.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: I had to walk miles through the snow to get here this morning.
HEMMER: He's got his tennis shoes on.
CAFFERTY: It was very traumatic.
O'BRIEN: Did you get a lot of snow?
CAFFERTY: Probably 9, 10 inches, I'm guessing. I mean, I didn't measure it at 4:00 this morning.
O'BRIEN: No?
CAFFERTY: But when I stepped off the porch, it was up to about mid-calf.
The e-mail answers are a little longer this morning, because of the following question. Seminal events taking place in the Middle East, what will be the result? A lot of demonstrations in Lebanon eventually brought down the longstanding Syrian-backed government. Elections taking place from Iraq and Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Palestine. This last weekend, Egypt's President Mubarak announced that he'll allow his nation's first ever multiparty elections.
The democratic dominoes are in place in the Middle East, but the process continues to be tested by deadly fundamentalist bombings in Iraq and elsewhere.
The question is: Is the Middle East moving toward democracy or further toward instability?
Greg in Nova Scotia writes: "I don't believe the Middle East is at all moving toward democracy, but resting nervously at instability. Democracy seems to be the new buzz word, a solution to all the world's problems. But someone should come up with an antidote for terrorism first."
D.W. in California: "Bush's doctrine of "you're for us or against us" automatically causes instability as countries move from one side of the fence or the other."
Rick in Georgia writes: "The truth is both are probably true. Any move toward democracy in the Middle East is going to create instability."
Dean in New York writes: "I think the question over stability in the Middle East really rests in the hands of the suicide bombers and those who support them. When these people finally come to their senses and realize they're rebels without a cause, then perhaps stability and democracy may be possible."
And the last one, Jerry in Georgia writes: "Oil in the ground creates a slippery situation on the surface. Syria and Iran will never permit Iraq to be stable as long as there's oil in Iraq. The push toward democracy will destabilize other oil-rich countries. As oil demand increases, the situation will get worse. And then there's the rest of the Middle East west of the Red Sea that no one seems to care about, stable or not."
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Someone with a degree in political science there.
O'BRIEN: Clearly.
HEMMER: Yes, very well-thought out.
SERWER: He really thought that out, right?
HEMMER: The story out of Cairo that broke on Sunday kind of flew a little bit below the radar here in this country. But Hosni Mubarak coming out and saying, hey, for the first time in 50 years...
SERWER: Yes.
HEMMER: ... we're going to have open and free and fair elections...
O'BRIEN: Elections.
SERWER: That's big.
HEMMER: ... right into the constitutions. So, we'll see if it sticks. We'll see if it goes that way.
CAFFERTY: You know, those politicians will tell you anything.
HEMMER: Well...
O'BRIEN: Sometimes that's true.
HEMMER: However, we have not heard him speak like that.
SERWER: Yes, he's going to have to deliver to an extent.
HEMMER: How many times have they had one? Five?
CAFFERTY: I don't know. No, it's an interesting time. And whether or not there's a movement under way to perhaps appease the western military and get them the hell out of Iraq and those other places over there by pretending to embrace democracy, so we'll pack up our toys and go home is another theory.
HEMMER: And there's another line of thinking that says be careful what you wish for. You know, if you're going to push for democracy and for elections, just be able to make sure...
O'BRIEN: And the writer...
SERWER: Well, and Iraq...
HEMMER: ... and be willing to accept if a hard-line government comes in.
SERWER: Absolutely.
HEMMER: Good topic. Thanks, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Well, thank you. I walked for miles through the snow to get here this morning.
SERWER: We know. We've heard that.
O'BRIEN: Let's get to the business news. A proposed merger between two telecom giants could result in thousands of job cuts. Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Good morning. Who are we talking about?
SERWER: Good morning, Soledad. We're talking about MCI, Qwest and Verizon, that little dance going on.
Let's check in on the markets, though, first of all. You know, the stock market has been all over the place this year. But guess what? The Dow is almost exactly where it started the year, yesterday down 75 points. We started the year at 10783. You can see we're close to that right now. Those drug stocks yesterday, Biogen (ph) and Elan (ph), dragged the market down. The Nasdaq is down 5 percent on the year. So not doing so well with your tech stocks.
Here's what's going on in telecom land. You may remember that MCI had agreed to be bought by Verizon. And then Qwest stepped in and said, no, no, no, we want to buy MCI. And guess what? They laid out their financial plan, and said, now, to make this deal work, we have to lay off 15,000 people. That's not a good thing.
Verizon said in its transaction it would have to lay off 7,000. So they're not clean there on that slate either. But still, that's a lot of jobs.
And you have to wonder if politicians are going to step in and say, hey, wait a minute, regulators, and say, you know, that's too high a price to pay. And the board of MCI has accepted the Verizon deal, still looking at the Qwest deal. But I'd be interested to see if regulators don't step in with that number.
O'BRIEN: Those are really high numbers. Seven thousand people.
SERWER: That's a lot of people. That's a lot of jobs.
O'BRIEN: That is a lot of jobs.
CAFFERTY: On the other hand, it was the government that deregulated and broke up Ma Bell...
SERWER: Oh, there's that!
CAFFERTY: ... back in the beginning and created all of this.
SERWER: Yes, true. And now we're getting them all back together again.
CAFFERTY: Yes, that's correct.
SERWER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Chickens coming home to roost, I believe is the way they put that.
SERWER: Indeed, yes.
O'BRIEN: Andy, thank you very much.
SERWER: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, home stretch for the "New You Revolution." Today, the Reverend Leigh Ann Raynor comes up with a unique way to kick the habit. How she plans to quit smoking is up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: We are getting close. Week seven of the "New You Revolution" today.
O'BRIEN: And Dr. Sanjay Gupta is at the CNN center.
Sanjay -- good morning to you.
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: It's the home stretch. How is everybody doing?
GUPTA: The people are doing very well. It's hard to believe two months have already come and gone. But all five appear to be well on their way to meeting their goals, which was breaking their bad health habits.
Now, for Leigh Ann, Jonathan and Sandra, there have been some unexpected developments.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEIGH ANN RAYNOR, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: My goal was to lose weight, to start exercising and to learn to cook.
GUPTA (voice over): But Leigh Ann has one other bad habit we really want her to tackle.
RAYNOR: Y'all won't leave me alone about the smoking.
GUPTA: So, we introduced her to her neighbor, who just happens to be the deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, Dr. Len Lichtenfeld.
RAYNOR: I mean, I've been smoking since I was 18, and I'm 49. And in terms of getting emphysema or heart disease, is it too late?
DR. LEN LICHTENFELD, AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: The answer is it's never too late.
GUPTA: She's already taking steps towards quitting. She tried hypnosis again, and she's come up with her own unique nicotine cessation program.
RAYNOR: My little baggy of cigarettes instead of carrying them in the pack. This way, I can keep count of exactly how many I smoke. And each day, I take one away. So, I have you know, one less each day until I get down to about 10. And then we'll see.
GUPTA: She's already smoking half a pack less than she used to.
Jonathan only wanted to stop biting his nails, something he's been quite successful at so far. But exercise and diet was not part of his "New You Revolution." And yet, he's eating better and exercising more. Why?
JONATHAN KARP, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: Just because everybody else is, you know, doing it.
GUPTA: Watching the others made an impression on him.
KARP: I heard Sandra's clip, you know, her battling with depression.
GUPTA: She also suffers from depression.
SANDRA GARTH, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: I was diagnosed with it in 2002.
KARP: You know, I know about depression, too. So I know that that's just good to do. I've been down her road, and something that I didn't want to take pills either. You know, you've got to get out there and be just strong by being active.
GUPTA: Telling a national audience that she suffers from depression was a big step for Sandra, something we didn't know at the beginning of the "New You Revolution." We did, however, know about her son, Casey, and daughter-in-law, Teresa, who are stationed in Iraq. It was a big motivator for Sandra to get healthy. Now, she has more motivation.
GARTH: I got a phone call from Iraq. It was Casey. I knew from his e-mails that Teresa may be back to Germany last week. She is there safe and sound, thank God. And he's going to be leaving the 3rd or the 5th of March.
GUPTA: She'll lose her exercise buddy when grandson, Shannon, returns to his parents. But it's a sacrifice she's happy to make.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
And we just got some updates as well. Sandra's daughter-in-law, we were just talking about, is now in Detroit, and has been reunited with her son. So good news there.
As for Thekla and Harald, you remember them, we thought they might benefit from some encouragement from a couple of last year's "New You" participants.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice over): Thekla Fischer has come a long way in her "New You Revolution." But seven weeks into this, she still has some anxiety about starting a family. So we introduced her to one of last year's "New You" participants, Michael Kirkbride. His wife and fellow "New You-er," Pam, was on a business trip. But daughter Olivia joined her dad in sharing some "New You" wisdom.
THEKLA FISCHER, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: The thing that scares me the most is just the time commitment.
MICHAEL KIRKBRIDE, FMR. "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: It's a constant struggle.
FISCHER: So, how long did it take before she started sleeping through the night? KIRKBRIDE: I think she was six or seven months.
GUPTA: Thekla admits she's more comfortable with children that are old enough to carry on a conversation, but little Olivia found a way to lessen Thekla's fear and open her heart.
2004 "New You-er" Kim Everett and this year participant Harald Fricker joined for the same reasons: lose weight and get healthy.
We thought she might have some words of encouragement for him, so we hooked them up by phone.
KIM EVERETT, FMR. "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: So, I heard you lost 20 pounds. Congratulations on that.
HARALD FRICKER, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: Thank you very much. Yes. It feels great.
GUPTA: Kim is still sticking to her "New You" new habits. She lost 10 pounds last year and has kept it off.
EVERETT: The "New You" just a year ago changed my life. So it's definitely going to change theirs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: And you remember them as well from last year. They both look pretty good.
Of course, you can follow everyone's progress by reading their journals. Just logon to cnn.com/am. One more week, though.
HEMMER: That's right.
O'BRIEN: How great to see them. What a great thing to see Kim looking so great, and then, of course, little baby Olivia so giant now.
HEMMER: What happens next week?
GUPTA: Well, again, it's hard to believe, but next week is the grand finale. Two months come and gone. All five participants, we're going to invite them back to New York to be in the studio with you guys, and we'll let you judge just how much of a difference, how much of a difference the "New You Revolution" has made for them. That's next Tuesday.
HEMMER: That's the fun part, right? Thank you, Sanjay.
GUPTA: Thank you.
HEMMER: Today's top stories in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING. Also, lawyers fire their opening shots in Michael Jackson's case. Find out how Jay Leno could play a role in this case. Back in a moment at the top of the hour here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, BTK suspect Dennis Rader gets his day in court today. But has he already confessed? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
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