Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

'Kamber & May'; 'Paging Dr. Gupta'

Aired March 02, 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: 8:30 in New York. We said the snow was going to melt yesterday, and it id. All the streets are clear very fast.
In a moment here, we'll get much more on this train report out of Spain. Investigators working the Madrid train bombing saying they found a computer disk with information on it and maps on it for New York City's Grand Central Station.

Our bureau chief in Madrid is Al Goodman. He's standing by in a moment. We'll get to Al.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Also this morning, Kamber and May join us, talking about some new comments from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, putting pressure in a big way on Syria. We'll talk about whether this is the best approach when trying to get some results out of Damascus.

HEMMER: First, though, straightaway to Spain right now, and these reports about our Security Watch this morning and the terrorists in Spain that may have been scouting a location here in New York City. The Madrid newspaper, "El Mundo" is reporting that today, and our Madrid bureau chief is Al Goodman by way of videophone now.

Al, what do you have for us?

AL GOODMAN, CNN MADRID BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Bill.

Well, of course, there is concern because this information about Grand Central Station, New York, according to the newspaper report, was found in a Madrid apartment shortly after the Madrid train bombings of last march 11th, almost a year ago, that killed 191 people. This is what the newspaper report looked like here in El Mundo.

Now what we have been able to confirm, Bill, from a U.S. embassy official in Madrid, is that in December of 2004, last December, U.S. authorities did receive information about Grand Central Station from Spanish law enforcement agencies. The Spanish side that we've talked to is only willing to confirm that there's ongoing contact between Spain and the United States, the law enforcement officials, the terrorism and the movement of terrorists, because that's in the mutual interest of both countries, but they don't want to get into specifics.

Now there are a lot of unanswered questions in this "El Mundo" report, Bill, and specifically whether the three individual whose were arrested in this apartment in Madrid, where this information about Grand Central was found, whether they have any link at all to that information, or whether they even had anything to do with preparing it or knew it was in the apartment they were in -- Bill.

HEMMER: Good questions to ask. We'll try to flesh them out throughout the day. Al Goodman, thanks, in Madrid.

And stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Thirty-two minutes past the hour. Back to the headlines and Carol Costello.

Good morning.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Thank you. Good morning to all of you.

Now in the news two suicide bombings to tell you about in Iraq this morning. The first attack in central Baghdad, near an army recruiting center. And then two hours later, another blast went off in southern Baghdad, targeting an Iraqi military convoy, 13 people killed in all in those attacks. Dozens more wounded.

In California, the fate of actor Robert Blake could soon be in the hands of a jury. Closing arguments in the case are set to get under way in just about four hours. Prosecutors accuse Blake of shooting his wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley, in may of 2001. If convicted, he could face life in prison.

Word of a possible settlement this morning in the civil case against Kobe Bryant. Bryant was scheduled to give a deposition last week, but that was canceled. There are some reports out there that Bryant and his accuser have reached that settlement. And when asked by CNN, the lawyer for Kobe Bryant's accuser gave us that standard line, he will neither confirm nor deny. But you know what that usually means.

And more people than ever are chatting on cell phones while behind the wheel. A new survey from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found 8 percent of drivers were using cell phones during daylight hours in their cars last year. That's twice as many since four years ago. A spokesman for the agency says talking on the phone can hurt a driver's performance. But apparently, people don't much care.

HEMMER: If you're going to do it, wear the earpiece.

COSTELLO: A lot of people do. I've seen that.

HEMMER: A lot of people do.

O'BRIEN: It's a law here in New York.

COSTELLO: They look like they're crazy, though, and talking to themselves, don't they?

O'BRIEN: Yes, but they're safer.

Carol, thanks.

The Bush administration sees Syria as a major obstacle to democracy in the Middle East. The White House turning up pressure on Damascus for directly or indirectly interfering in Lebanon, Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian peace effort.

Democratic consultant Victor Kamber in Las Vegas this morning, former RNC communications director Cliff May in Washington D.C.

Let's talk about this, guys. Good morning. Nice to see you guys.

VICTOR KAMBER, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: Good morning.

CLIFF MAY, FMR. RNC COMM. DIR.: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: Cliff, we're going to start with you -- tough words for Syria from Condoleezza Rice. Let's listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECY. OF STATE: The Syrians should recognize that they are a destabilizing factor right now in the Middle East, and they're isolated. The Syrians need to recognize this is not a question about other people's policies; this is a question about Syria's policies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Cliff, question goes to you. Will isolation work for Syria?

MAY: yes, I think the pressure, the isolation, I think it may work. I think it's exactly right of the secretary of state to be putting pressure on Syria, to end its occupation of Lebanon. It's treated Lebanon for too long like a colony. It's attempted to swallow it. It's squeezed money out of it. It's had its agents all over there. And of course what we've had in recent days is the insurgency against the U.S. being plotted out of Syria, we've had the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister. I think that adds Syrian involvement clearly. And the most recent terrorist attack in Israel had Syrian fingerprints all over it. So it's time to not court, Bashar Assad (ph), the dictator of Syria. It's time to begin to apply real pressure, and I think Condi Rice is doing that.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about Lebanon. The government, as you both know, resigned, en masse in a way, on Monday. Egyptian president is calling for election reform. Iraq and the Palestinian territories had elections. Vic, doesn't President Bush get a lot of the credit for all of these?

KAMBER: Well, he's trying to get it. They've already coined a phrase, I guess it's what, what domino democracy, they're calling it. We have no stabilization in that part of the world. Look what's happened in Iraq since the election, which is horrendous. And the two worst dictators on the list of 10 are our friends over there, and we're not talking about democracy in Saudi Arabia; we're not talking about democracy with Gadhafi.

So, you know, I think it's a little too early to give plaudits and kudos to the president of the United States. It's good that we're out there, that we're trying to help, but we really need to bring world leaders, other world groups into this if we're hoping that democracy is going to flourish in that part of the world.

O'BRIEN: My guess is cliff doesn't think it's too early to give president of the United States, am I right.

MAY: I give most credit to the Lebanese who are out there marching every day. It's what people are calling Seder (ph) Revolution, a kind of echo of the Orange Revolution in Kiev. I give the most credit to the people of Iraq who risked their lives to vote, but none of this would be happening had it not been for President Bush's policies. Everybody understands that. And yes, we are pushing for democracy everywhere.

But, Vic, you can't do it everywhere...

KAMBER: Saudi Arabia, Libya?

MAY: Yes, even in Saudi Arabia. And I've got problems with Saudi Arabia. They had a sort of elections. Women couldn't vote yet, but they had local elections. They know things have to change.

Look at Egypt. Mubarak is now saying for the first time in their history, they will have contested elections. We have to keep the pressure there.

You're right, Gadhafi is a dreadful guy, but he's given up his weapons of mass destruction. Don't stop the pressure there either. You've got to understand, Victor, there's something going on in the Middle East, and give President Bush the credit he deserves for having been the catalyst for this revolution.

KAMBER: Until we have a stabilized Iraq, you cannot share credit until we have the stabilized situation, and we do not have a stabilized -- an election does not provide stabilization or democracy, Cliff.

MAY: I'm for stabilization, I'm for beating the enemy in Iraq. That doesn't mean what you suggested before, an exit strategy, let's get out and leave the place to Zarqawi and the suicide bombers.

KAMBER: I've never said that Cliff, never said that.

MAY: You disagree with Ted Kennedy? You don't want an exit strategy?

KAMBER: I've said to you we need to bring other parts of the world in, we need to have...

MAY: What do you mean other parts of the world in? Look, let me tell you something...

KAMBER: France, Germany.

O'BRIEN: Yes, and you're taking it a whole other different direction, guys, an area we could definitely talk about, but we're out of time. Thanks, as always, Victor Kamber, and also Cliff May joining us.

Nice to see you guys -- Bill.

HEMMER: About 22 minutes before the hour now, should the NFL stand for the "national fat league?" There's a new study in this week's journal of the American Medical Association that says more than half of professional football players could be considered medically obese. That study says almost all of the players are overweight, and 56 percent qualify as obese. About 26 percent qualify as severely obese and 3 percent morbidly obese. Guards had the highest body-mass index. Defensive backs had the lowest BMI.

The NFL says that study is flawed though, because BMI is a height-to-weight ratio, and does not consider that muscle weighs more than fat.

Here's a wild story. We can confirm it by videotape. A 22- pound, 100-year-old lobster has been caught. Born before the Titanic sank, before the first World War, before New Mexico and Arizona were U.S. states, Bubba was roaming the waters at Nantucket Island, in Massachusetts. Bubba now set to live out his days at the Pittsburgh Zoo, unless he outlives that zoo.

I wonder what Bubba's BMI is.

O'BRIEN: Could happen.

HEMMER: How do they know he's 100 by the way?

O'BRIEN: There's a certain ratio that goes with how much weight you gain per year in a lobster.

HEMMER: Really?

O'BRIEN: Yes. I lived in Boston. I know that.

HEMMER: It's not like tree rings, huh?

O'BRIEN: Kind of like tree rings. Growth is correlated to how big you are and how many years on the planet.

HEMMER: Bubba can play in the NFL.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: In a moment here, his life's work was treating a rare disease, one that struck only one out of 1,000 people. But an incredible twist of fate, a doctor now finds himself fighting the same battle his patients once faced. His inspiring story in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: "Paging Dr. Gupta" now about a physician whose life's work has been treating patients with Lou Gehrig's Disease. But now in a terrible twist of fate, the crusading doctor has been diagnosed with the fatal illness himself.

Sanjay has his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As a doctor, 56-year-old Richard Olney has dedicated his life for caring for and about people with ameotropic (ph) lateral sclerosis, or ALS. Most call it Lou Gehrig's disease. In 1993, he founded the ALS Center at the University of San Francisco.

But now the neurologist is a patient himself. In June, he was diagnosed with fatal disease, and he made the shocking discovery.

DR. RICHARD OLNEY, ALS PATIENT: The first clear neurological symptom was my right leg getting stiff and moving more slowly.

GUPTA: That was August of 2003. At first, his doctors thought it was a compressed disk. But after three operations, he was getting worse. It was then he said he knew ALS was the likely culprit.

(on camera): It's a disease that causes nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord to degenerate. Muscles become weak and immobile. But the mind remains sharp. The intellect is unaffected. In 10 percent of cases, the cause is genetic. The other 90 percent, we just don't know. And there is no cure.

OLNEY: I was disappointed to have that diagnosis, but I was most concerned with how it would affect my wife and children.

GUPTA: Paula, his wife of 30 years, says she never thought it would happen to him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I couldn't believe it. He suspected that he had it sooner than it was called. And I said, no, no, you can't be right, you can't be. And he was.

GUPTA: Some patients live years with ALS. But for Olney, the disease is progressing very quickly. He had to retire from patient care a month after being diagnosed. But while it has slowed him down physically, he is still actively involved in research at the center now run by a doctor he once mentored.

DR. CATHERINE LOMEN-HOERTH, USCF'S ALS CENTER: To have someone we've known for so long develop this, particularly after his hard work with the disease, just was devastating.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good job. GUPTA: Now Olney spends time in physical therapy, while trying to get the word out about ALS, and he spends time with his son Nick and his daughter Amy. Both have moved back home. And he and Paula say they are at peace with what has come to pass.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We put one foot in front of the other. We don't -- we just take it one day at a time. We don't look too far forward. That's a little too scary.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: That was Sanjay Gupta reporting. Some 5,600 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with ALS each year, as many as those with multiple sclerosis. But Dr. Olney says M.S. gets more attention, because most patients can live a normal life span, while ALS patients live, on average, two to five years from the time of diagnosis -- Bill.

HEMMER: Thanks, Soledad.

In a moment here, the big three automakers run into a bit of trouble, but is that good news for you? Andy's "Minding Your Business" in a moment here as we continue live in New York City on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Reasons to smile. One of them is a new customer rewards program for anti-wrinkle treatments. I don't know why that's in my segment, but it is. Here with the details and the market preview is Andy Serwer, "Minding Your Business."

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Just a coincidence, I'm sure.

CAFFERTY: Of course.

SERWER: You know these people writing this stuff.

OK, let's talk about the markets first of all yesterday, folks. A good one for investors. Dow was up 63 points. Nasdaq, up as well. There you go. Some weakness probably today, though.

One thing here going on, car sales very weak. They're down 3.6 percent this year, much more at the big U.S. automakers. G.M. sales down 12.7 percent. Get this, Jack, I checked it out. 40 years ago, G.M. stock sold for $50. Today, $35.

CAFFERTY: Well, that's progress.

SERWER: Can you imagine that? 40 years and it's down $15. Unbelievable.

CAFFERTY: And it's considered a blue chip.

SERWER: Yes.

CAFFERTY: As opposed to a cow chip or buffalo chip a blue chip.

SERWER: Greenspan testifying today. You know, commerce and the medical profession have long had an uneasy relationship. But it's getting closer. Get a load of this. It's is a rewards program for people who choose to use the therapy restalyne, which is a botox-like injection thing to get rid of wrinkles. The more you go, the more you get. The more injections you get, the more money, the more gifties you get. See here, you go one time, you get a little $15 Visa debit card. You go again, you get some Barnes & Noble coupons.

And you know, this stuff lasts six months and you're supposed to go about four times. There you go. So over the -- yes, these pictures are always tough to look at. That's actually botox, because restaylne is closer to the mouth, my understanding is. Kind of competing therapies. But you know, obviously, the conflicts of interest there are -- sort of run rampant, I think.

CAFFERTY: Wait till they put one out for Viagra.

SERWER: I think they've got something of a rewards program, if you get it more. The more you get, the more you save.

CAFFERTY: That's enough.

SERWER: Yep.

CAFFERTY: Time for "The File" now. Wednesday, "Things People Say." Beginning with this.

"Press passes can't be that hard to come by if the White House allows that old Arab Helen Thomas to sit within yards of the president." This is that super-sensitive conservative commentator Ann Coulter, defending an ex-White House reporter who was kicked out of the White House for using a fake name. Helen Thomas recently retired as the senior White House correspondent. She worked there for 44 years.

"Many of them don't say who they are anymore, because the culture has said it's not socially acceptable to be a Democrat." New Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, off and running, insisting that the country has plenty of silent Democrats.

"We don't get it. We think Canada would want to be in the room, deciding what to do about an incoming missile that might be headed toward Canada." U.S. ambassador Paul Celucci on Canada's decision to opt out of U.S. missile defense program.

I like this. "The babies are amazing, how they begin each day all warm and sleepy and smelling of promise." Julia Roberts, talking about her newborn twins.

O'BRIEN: My kids don't smell of promise.

SERWER: Who wrote that for her? You know. Her publicist wrote that.

O'BRIEN: Smelling of promise. I've never heard that before.

SERWER: Yes, no. That's something a parent just doesn't say.

CAFFERTY: You are all are such -- it was a very nice thing. Here's the last one.

"Our study indicates that engaging in this activity a few minutes daily cuts the risk of a stroke and heart attack in half. We believe that by doing so consistently, the average man can extend his life four to five years." This is a German study published in "The New England Journal of Medicine" that says staring at the charms of a well-endowed female for ten minutes is roughly equivalent to a 30- minute aerobic workout. Meaning the crew on this broadcast will live to be 300 years old.

HEMMER: Yes, they will. Check out the sidewalk.

O'BRIEN: Bunch of guys in Germany did that study, obviously. Please.

SERWER: Are they living longer over there?

CAFFERTY: I don't know.

HEMMER: Results to be determined in time. Thank you, Jack.

Top stories in a moment here. Also, the Michael Jackson case. One piece of evidence reportedly moves the singer to tears in court. We'll take you live to Santa Maria, California. Also, Jeff Toobin inside that courtroom is back in the studios in New York. Toobin's up in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Good morning. There's a developing story from Spain today. Investigators working the Madrid train bombings, turning up a possible link to New York's Grand Central terminal.

Martha Stewart about to walk out of prison this week. What must she do to restore her image?

And Meet the Gunners. A rare look at the fight for survival along the battle lines in Baghdad. Inside a filmmaker's mission on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING, with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.

O'BRIEN: Good morning, welcome back, everybody. Day three of the Michael Jackson trial starts with some big questions about the defense's strategy. Jackson's attorney hinting yesterday that the singer might actually take the stand. Jeff Toobin has a seat in the courtroom. He's going to tell us about that. Plus, some bruising cross-examination for the very first witness. HEMMER: Also, Dennis Rader charged with ten counts of murder in the BTK serial killings. But it might not end there. Cold cases around the state of Kansas now being opened and we'll talk to one sheriff about whether or not he might connect a 1977 murder to the BTK suspect.

O'BRIEN: Jack's back with the "Question of the Day." Good morning.

CAFFERTY: Good morning. Should it be permissible for the Ten Commandments to be displayed in government buildings in this country? The Supreme Court of the United States is going to hear arguments on that question. Ironically, an image of Moses carrying two stone tablets, which contained the original Ten Commandments, is visible on the ceiling of the Supreme Court chambers. Do you think it should be or not? Am@cnn.com.

HEMMER: All right, Jack, thanks.

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 March 2, 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: 8:30 in New York. We said the snow was going to melt yesterday, and it id. All the streets are clear very fast.
In a moment here, we'll get much more on this train report out of Spain. Investigators working the Madrid train bombing saying they found a computer disk with information on it and maps on it for New York City's Grand Central Station.

Our bureau chief in Madrid is Al Goodman. He's standing by in a moment. We'll get to Al.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Also this morning, Kamber and May join us, talking about some new comments from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, putting pressure in a big way on Syria. We'll talk about whether this is the best approach when trying to get some results out of Damascus.

HEMMER: First, though, straightaway to Spain right now, and these reports about our Security Watch this morning and the terrorists in Spain that may have been scouting a location here in New York City. The Madrid newspaper, "El Mundo" is reporting that today, and our Madrid bureau chief is Al Goodman by way of videophone now.

Al, what do you have for us?

AL GOODMAN, CNN MADRID BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Bill.

Well, of course, there is concern because this information about Grand Central Station, New York, according to the newspaper report, was found in a Madrid apartment shortly after the Madrid train bombings of last march 11th, almost a year ago, that killed 191 people. This is what the newspaper report looked like here in El Mundo.

Now what we have been able to confirm, Bill, from a U.S. embassy official in Madrid, is that in December of 2004, last December, U.S. authorities did receive information about Grand Central Station from Spanish law enforcement agencies. The Spanish side that we've talked to is only willing to confirm that there's ongoing contact between Spain and the United States, the law enforcement officials, the terrorism and the movement of terrorists, because that's in the mutual interest of both countries, but they don't want to get into specifics.

Now there are a lot of unanswered questions in this "El Mundo" report, Bill, and specifically whether the three individual whose were arrested in this apartment in Madrid, where this information about Grand Central was found, whether they have any link at all to that information, or whether they even had anything to do with preparing it or knew it was in the apartment they were in -- Bill.

HEMMER: Good questions to ask. We'll try to flesh them out throughout the day. Al Goodman, thanks, in Madrid.

And stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Thirty-two minutes past the hour. Back to the headlines and Carol Costello.

Good morning.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Thank you. Good morning to all of you.

Now in the news two suicide bombings to tell you about in Iraq this morning. The first attack in central Baghdad, near an army recruiting center. And then two hours later, another blast went off in southern Baghdad, targeting an Iraqi military convoy, 13 people killed in all in those attacks. Dozens more wounded.

In California, the fate of actor Robert Blake could soon be in the hands of a jury. Closing arguments in the case are set to get under way in just about four hours. Prosecutors accuse Blake of shooting his wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley, in may of 2001. If convicted, he could face life in prison.

Word of a possible settlement this morning in the civil case against Kobe Bryant. Bryant was scheduled to give a deposition last week, but that was canceled. There are some reports out there that Bryant and his accuser have reached that settlement. And when asked by CNN, the lawyer for Kobe Bryant's accuser gave us that standard line, he will neither confirm nor deny. But you know what that usually means.

And more people than ever are chatting on cell phones while behind the wheel. A new survey from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found 8 percent of drivers were using cell phones during daylight hours in their cars last year. That's twice as many since four years ago. A spokesman for the agency says talking on the phone can hurt a driver's performance. But apparently, people don't much care.

HEMMER: If you're going to do it, wear the earpiece.

COSTELLO: A lot of people do. I've seen that.

HEMMER: A lot of people do.

O'BRIEN: It's a law here in New York.

COSTELLO: They look like they're crazy, though, and talking to themselves, don't they?

O'BRIEN: Yes, but they're safer.

Carol, thanks.

The Bush administration sees Syria as a major obstacle to democracy in the Middle East. The White House turning up pressure on Damascus for directly or indirectly interfering in Lebanon, Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian peace effort.

Democratic consultant Victor Kamber in Las Vegas this morning, former RNC communications director Cliff May in Washington D.C.

Let's talk about this, guys. Good morning. Nice to see you guys.

VICTOR KAMBER, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: Good morning.

CLIFF MAY, FMR. RNC COMM. DIR.: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: Cliff, we're going to start with you -- tough words for Syria from Condoleezza Rice. Let's listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECY. OF STATE: The Syrians should recognize that they are a destabilizing factor right now in the Middle East, and they're isolated. The Syrians need to recognize this is not a question about other people's policies; this is a question about Syria's policies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Cliff, question goes to you. Will isolation work for Syria?

MAY: yes, I think the pressure, the isolation, I think it may work. I think it's exactly right of the secretary of state to be putting pressure on Syria, to end its occupation of Lebanon. It's treated Lebanon for too long like a colony. It's attempted to swallow it. It's squeezed money out of it. It's had its agents all over there. And of course what we've had in recent days is the insurgency against the U.S. being plotted out of Syria, we've had the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister. I think that adds Syrian involvement clearly. And the most recent terrorist attack in Israel had Syrian fingerprints all over it. So it's time to not court, Bashar Assad (ph), the dictator of Syria. It's time to begin to apply real pressure, and I think Condi Rice is doing that.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about Lebanon. The government, as you both know, resigned, en masse in a way, on Monday. Egyptian president is calling for election reform. Iraq and the Palestinian territories had elections. Vic, doesn't President Bush get a lot of the credit for all of these?

KAMBER: Well, he's trying to get it. They've already coined a phrase, I guess it's what, what domino democracy, they're calling it. We have no stabilization in that part of the world. Look what's happened in Iraq since the election, which is horrendous. And the two worst dictators on the list of 10 are our friends over there, and we're not talking about democracy in Saudi Arabia; we're not talking about democracy with Gadhafi.

So, you know, I think it's a little too early to give plaudits and kudos to the president of the United States. It's good that we're out there, that we're trying to help, but we really need to bring world leaders, other world groups into this if we're hoping that democracy is going to flourish in that part of the world.

O'BRIEN: My guess is cliff doesn't think it's too early to give president of the United States, am I right.

MAY: I give most credit to the Lebanese who are out there marching every day. It's what people are calling Seder (ph) Revolution, a kind of echo of the Orange Revolution in Kiev. I give the most credit to the people of Iraq who risked their lives to vote, but none of this would be happening had it not been for President Bush's policies. Everybody understands that. And yes, we are pushing for democracy everywhere.

But, Vic, you can't do it everywhere...

KAMBER: Saudi Arabia, Libya?

MAY: Yes, even in Saudi Arabia. And I've got problems with Saudi Arabia. They had a sort of elections. Women couldn't vote yet, but they had local elections. They know things have to change.

Look at Egypt. Mubarak is now saying for the first time in their history, they will have contested elections. We have to keep the pressure there.

You're right, Gadhafi is a dreadful guy, but he's given up his weapons of mass destruction. Don't stop the pressure there either. You've got to understand, Victor, there's something going on in the Middle East, and give President Bush the credit he deserves for having been the catalyst for this revolution.

KAMBER: Until we have a stabilized Iraq, you cannot share credit until we have the stabilized situation, and we do not have a stabilized -- an election does not provide stabilization or democracy, Cliff.

MAY: I'm for stabilization, I'm for beating the enemy in Iraq. That doesn't mean what you suggested before, an exit strategy, let's get out and leave the place to Zarqawi and the suicide bombers.

KAMBER: I've never said that Cliff, never said that.

MAY: You disagree with Ted Kennedy? You don't want an exit strategy?

KAMBER: I've said to you we need to bring other parts of the world in, we need to have...

MAY: What do you mean other parts of the world in? Look, let me tell you something...

KAMBER: France, Germany.

O'BRIEN: Yes, and you're taking it a whole other different direction, guys, an area we could definitely talk about, but we're out of time. Thanks, as always, Victor Kamber, and also Cliff May joining us.

Nice to see you guys -- Bill.

HEMMER: About 22 minutes before the hour now, should the NFL stand for the "national fat league?" There's a new study in this week's journal of the American Medical Association that says more than half of professional football players could be considered medically obese. That study says almost all of the players are overweight, and 56 percent qualify as obese. About 26 percent qualify as severely obese and 3 percent morbidly obese. Guards had the highest body-mass index. Defensive backs had the lowest BMI.

The NFL says that study is flawed though, because BMI is a height-to-weight ratio, and does not consider that muscle weighs more than fat.

Here's a wild story. We can confirm it by videotape. A 22- pound, 100-year-old lobster has been caught. Born before the Titanic sank, before the first World War, before New Mexico and Arizona were U.S. states, Bubba was roaming the waters at Nantucket Island, in Massachusetts. Bubba now set to live out his days at the Pittsburgh Zoo, unless he outlives that zoo.

I wonder what Bubba's BMI is.

O'BRIEN: Could happen.

HEMMER: How do they know he's 100 by the way?

O'BRIEN: There's a certain ratio that goes with how much weight you gain per year in a lobster.

HEMMER: Really?

O'BRIEN: Yes. I lived in Boston. I know that.

HEMMER: It's not like tree rings, huh?

O'BRIEN: Kind of like tree rings. Growth is correlated to how big you are and how many years on the planet.

HEMMER: Bubba can play in the NFL.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: In a moment here, his life's work was treating a rare disease, one that struck only one out of 1,000 people. But an incredible twist of fate, a doctor now finds himself fighting the same battle his patients once faced. His inspiring story in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: "Paging Dr. Gupta" now about a physician whose life's work has been treating patients with Lou Gehrig's Disease. But now in a terrible twist of fate, the crusading doctor has been diagnosed with the fatal illness himself.

Sanjay has his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As a doctor, 56-year-old Richard Olney has dedicated his life for caring for and about people with ameotropic (ph) lateral sclerosis, or ALS. Most call it Lou Gehrig's disease. In 1993, he founded the ALS Center at the University of San Francisco.

But now the neurologist is a patient himself. In June, he was diagnosed with fatal disease, and he made the shocking discovery.

DR. RICHARD OLNEY, ALS PATIENT: The first clear neurological symptom was my right leg getting stiff and moving more slowly.

GUPTA: That was August of 2003. At first, his doctors thought it was a compressed disk. But after three operations, he was getting worse. It was then he said he knew ALS was the likely culprit.

(on camera): It's a disease that causes nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord to degenerate. Muscles become weak and immobile. But the mind remains sharp. The intellect is unaffected. In 10 percent of cases, the cause is genetic. The other 90 percent, we just don't know. And there is no cure.

OLNEY: I was disappointed to have that diagnosis, but I was most concerned with how it would affect my wife and children.

GUPTA: Paula, his wife of 30 years, says she never thought it would happen to him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I couldn't believe it. He suspected that he had it sooner than it was called. And I said, no, no, you can't be right, you can't be. And he was.

GUPTA: Some patients live years with ALS. But for Olney, the disease is progressing very quickly. He had to retire from patient care a month after being diagnosed. But while it has slowed him down physically, he is still actively involved in research at the center now run by a doctor he once mentored.

DR. CATHERINE LOMEN-HOERTH, USCF'S ALS CENTER: To have someone we've known for so long develop this, particularly after his hard work with the disease, just was devastating.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good job. GUPTA: Now Olney spends time in physical therapy, while trying to get the word out about ALS, and he spends time with his son Nick and his daughter Amy. Both have moved back home. And he and Paula say they are at peace with what has come to pass.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We put one foot in front of the other. We don't -- we just take it one day at a time. We don't look too far forward. That's a little too scary.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: That was Sanjay Gupta reporting. Some 5,600 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with ALS each year, as many as those with multiple sclerosis. But Dr. Olney says M.S. gets more attention, because most patients can live a normal life span, while ALS patients live, on average, two to five years from the time of diagnosis -- Bill.

HEMMER: Thanks, Soledad.

In a moment here, the big three automakers run into a bit of trouble, but is that good news for you? Andy's "Minding Your Business" in a moment here as we continue live in New York City on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Reasons to smile. One of them is a new customer rewards program for anti-wrinkle treatments. I don't know why that's in my segment, but it is. Here with the details and the market preview is Andy Serwer, "Minding Your Business."

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Just a coincidence, I'm sure.

CAFFERTY: Of course.

SERWER: You know these people writing this stuff.

OK, let's talk about the markets first of all yesterday, folks. A good one for investors. Dow was up 63 points. Nasdaq, up as well. There you go. Some weakness probably today, though.

One thing here going on, car sales very weak. They're down 3.6 percent this year, much more at the big U.S. automakers. G.M. sales down 12.7 percent. Get this, Jack, I checked it out. 40 years ago, G.M. stock sold for $50. Today, $35.

CAFFERTY: Well, that's progress.

SERWER: Can you imagine that? 40 years and it's down $15. Unbelievable.

CAFFERTY: And it's considered a blue chip.

SERWER: Yes.

CAFFERTY: As opposed to a cow chip or buffalo chip a blue chip.

SERWER: Greenspan testifying today. You know, commerce and the medical profession have long had an uneasy relationship. But it's getting closer. Get a load of this. It's is a rewards program for people who choose to use the therapy restalyne, which is a botox-like injection thing to get rid of wrinkles. The more you go, the more you get. The more injections you get, the more money, the more gifties you get. See here, you go one time, you get a little $15 Visa debit card. You go again, you get some Barnes & Noble coupons.

And you know, this stuff lasts six months and you're supposed to go about four times. There you go. So over the -- yes, these pictures are always tough to look at. That's actually botox, because restaylne is closer to the mouth, my understanding is. Kind of competing therapies. But you know, obviously, the conflicts of interest there are -- sort of run rampant, I think.

CAFFERTY: Wait till they put one out for Viagra.

SERWER: I think they've got something of a rewards program, if you get it more. The more you get, the more you save.

CAFFERTY: That's enough.

SERWER: Yep.

CAFFERTY: Time for "The File" now. Wednesday, "Things People Say." Beginning with this.

"Press passes can't be that hard to come by if the White House allows that old Arab Helen Thomas to sit within yards of the president." This is that super-sensitive conservative commentator Ann Coulter, defending an ex-White House reporter who was kicked out of the White House for using a fake name. Helen Thomas recently retired as the senior White House correspondent. She worked there for 44 years.

"Many of them don't say who they are anymore, because the culture has said it's not socially acceptable to be a Democrat." New Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, off and running, insisting that the country has plenty of silent Democrats.

"We don't get it. We think Canada would want to be in the room, deciding what to do about an incoming missile that might be headed toward Canada." U.S. ambassador Paul Celucci on Canada's decision to opt out of U.S. missile defense program.

I like this. "The babies are amazing, how they begin each day all warm and sleepy and smelling of promise." Julia Roberts, talking about her newborn twins.

O'BRIEN: My kids don't smell of promise.

SERWER: Who wrote that for her? You know. Her publicist wrote that.

O'BRIEN: Smelling of promise. I've never heard that before.

SERWER: Yes, no. That's something a parent just doesn't say.

CAFFERTY: You are all are such -- it was a very nice thing. Here's the last one.

"Our study indicates that engaging in this activity a few minutes daily cuts the risk of a stroke and heart attack in half. We believe that by doing so consistently, the average man can extend his life four to five years." This is a German study published in "The New England Journal of Medicine" that says staring at the charms of a well-endowed female for ten minutes is roughly equivalent to a 30- minute aerobic workout. Meaning the crew on this broadcast will live to be 300 years old.

HEMMER: Yes, they will. Check out the sidewalk.

O'BRIEN: Bunch of guys in Germany did that study, obviously. Please.

SERWER: Are they living longer over there?

CAFFERTY: I don't know.

HEMMER: Results to be determined in time. Thank you, Jack.

Top stories in a moment here. Also, the Michael Jackson case. One piece of evidence reportedly moves the singer to tears in court. We'll take you live to Santa Maria, California. Also, Jeff Toobin inside that courtroom is back in the studios in New York. Toobin's up in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Good morning. There's a developing story from Spain today. Investigators working the Madrid train bombings, turning up a possible link to New York's Grand Central terminal.

Martha Stewart about to walk out of prison this week. What must she do to restore her image?

And Meet the Gunners. A rare look at the fight for survival along the battle lines in Baghdad. Inside a filmmaker's mission on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING, with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.

O'BRIEN: Good morning, welcome back, everybody. Day three of the Michael Jackson trial starts with some big questions about the defense's strategy. Jackson's attorney hinting yesterday that the singer might actually take the stand. Jeff Toobin has a seat in the courtroom. He's going to tell us about that. Plus, some bruising cross-examination for the very first witness. HEMMER: Also, Dennis Rader charged with ten counts of murder in the BTK serial killings. But it might not end there. Cold cases around the state of Kansas now being opened and we'll talk to one sheriff about whether or not he might connect a 1977 murder to the BTK suspect.

O'BRIEN: Jack's back with the "Question of the Day." Good morning.

CAFFERTY: Good morning. Should it be permissible for the Ten Commandments to be displayed in government buildings in this country? The Supreme Court of the United States is going to hear arguments on that question. Ironically, an image of Moses carrying two stone tablets, which contained the original Ten Commandments, is visible on the ceiling of the Supreme Court chambers. Do you think it should be or not? Am@cnn.com.

HEMMER: All right, Jack, thanks.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com