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American Morning
Senate Showdown; National Sex Offender Registry; '90-Second Pop'
Aired May 23, 2005 - 07:31 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: It feels like a Monday. Good morning, everyone. If you're just waking up, good to have you along with us today.
This could be a critical day today in the battle over that filibuster down in D.C.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: That's right. Moderates in the Senate are planning what could be a key meeting as they try to continue to hammer out a compromise. We're going to talk about that in just a moment.
But first, let's get right to the headlines this morning with Carol Costello.
Good morning.
HEMMER: Hello.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to both of you. Good morning to all of you.
"Now in the News."
More insurgent attacks in Iraq this morning. An aide to Iraq's Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari has been gunned down. Police say he and his driver were killed in a drive-by shooting in central Baghdad. And within the hour, a car bombing at a restaurant in the Iraqi capital. At least three are dead, dozens more injured.
President Bush hosts Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the White House this morning. The Afghan leader spoke Sunday at Boston University's commencement. During talks with President Bush, Karzai is expected to ask for greater control over U.S. military operations in Afghanistan. The two will then hold a joint news conference in the Rose Garden later this morning. CNN will have live coverage beginning at 11:00 Eastern.
A possible new twist in the search for two missing children in northern Idaho. Their father, Steve Groene, says an FBI agent told him he failed parts of a polygraph test. But Groene insists he does not know where his children are. Federal officials are now looking for 8-year-old Shasta and 9-year-old Dylan. CNN has obtained this home video of the girl. It was taken earlier this month. Police say they have received more than 800 tips in the search, but no solid leads. Federal investigators are looking into a small plane crash at Coney Island in New York. The weekend crash killed all four people on board, including two best friends just days away from their high school graduation. The plane had taken off from the Linden Airport in New Jersey for a sight-seeing tour.
And authorities in Atlanta, Georgia, are looking for suspects in a knife fight in connection with singer Bobby Brown. You know, Whitney Houston's husband. Police say Brown was with a group of people celebrating a relative's birthday early this morning in Atlanta's Buckhead (ph) neighborhood. A fight broke out, and two members of Brown's entourage were either cut or stabbed. Brown was reportedly not directly involved in the fight. We'll keep you posted.
O'BRIEN: Trouble follows that man everywhere he goes.
COSTELLO: You're not kidding.
O'BRIEN: Carol, thanks.
Well, with the clock ticking down on a Senate showdown over judicial filibusters, at least a dozen senators are desperately trying to head it off.
Here is CNN's Elaine Quijano.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After days of heated debate last week on Justice Priscilla Owen, President Bush's nominee for the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the Senate could vote whether to do away with the judicial filibuster. The tactic, a Senate tradition more than 200 years old, keeps nominations in limbo by allowing senators to debate indefinitely.
Leaders on both sides say they have the support to win.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, (R) KENTUCKY: We'll go through the night Monday night to make sure everyone has an opportunity to express themselves, and then Tuesday morning we'll have that vote.
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: I feel very comfortable we're going to have the votes. It's an issue that is so important to this country.
QUIJANO: Democrats call any move to wipe out judicial filibusters the nuclear option, because of its politically explosive nature. They want to continue using filibusters to block judicial nominations, and say if Republicans follow through, Democrats will slow Senate business to a crawl.
But moderates from both parties are trying to hammer out a compromise with a crucial face-to-face meeting set for Monday.
SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN, (D) CONNECTICUT: I think as we get close to that moment of truth, when Senator Frist says he's going to push that nuclear button, we centrists are going to come together and find common agreement.
QUIJANO: As for President Bush, the White House says he does not want to interfere in Senate's procedures, although, the president himself recently said it's the Senate's duty to give his nominees an up or down vote.
(on camera): But the situation is delicate for President Bush, at a time when he's looking to get ambitious legislation passed on Social Security and other issues. An explosion on the filibuster fight would only make it harder to get his agenda pushed through Congress.
Elaine Quijano, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Well, the current nominees are being considered for the federal appeals court. At stake, down the road, are likely Supreme Court nominations.
HEMMER: It's 25 minutes now before the hour, Soledad.
There is a National Sex Offender Registry to be available for the first time beginning this summer. We wanted to know today how this will all work.
Tracy Henke is the acting assistant attorney general. She's my guest today in D.C.
Good morning, Ms. Henke. Thank you for your time.
TRACY HENKE, ACTING ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: How does it work?
HENKE: How does it work? Very simply. What the National Sex Offender Registry will do is pull together the existing state databases, the state registries that exist. And, through technology developed by the Department of Justice, we'll be able to link those registries together to create one national public registry.
HEMMER: So, this is a Web site available online?
HENKE: Yes, it will be.
HEMMER: When?
HENKE: The attorney general has challenged us to have 20 states within the first 60 days. As soon as we have those 20 states, we will go live.
HEMMER: Twenty states. Will you get the other 30 to participate?
HENKE: It is our hope we will so by the end of the year. HEMMER: There is a catch here, though. It's my understanding, through reading this information here, this is voluntary. Is that the case for the states, whether or not they participate?
HENKE: It will be voluntary on whether or not they will participate. We don't believe that's going to be an issue. We believe that this is something that the states will be excited to participate in. Quite honestly, we already have four states that have agreed to serve as the pilot. And we are -- the attorney general will be contacting every single governor, and we believe that it will have all 50.
HEMMER: Define this for me, then, Ms. Henke. How will this database help parents across the country keep their kids safer?
HENKE: As you know, Bill, information, knowledge is power. And by having access to information, parenting communities across the country can make some decisions and can determine, for instance, which roads their school -- their child potentially walks to school, potentially where they live. Information can serve as a preventative mechanism.
HEMMER: Marc Klaas is a frequent guest on our program.
HENKE: Yes.
HEMMER: Every single time he comes on our show, he says there has to be a national database that all of the states can link toward one another. Was it his idea that did this?
HENKE: I'm certain that Mr. Klaas, as well as others, have been leading advocates for this, and it is something that is probably past due. And it wasn't until the Justice Department recognized that we had the technology available through, once again, technology that we developed that this could become instantaneous almost without any additional expenditure on the Department of Justice and without any cost to the states.
HEMMER: Jessica Lunsford's case in Florida, she was 9 years old. She was taken from her home and died, literally killed 150 yards from her bedroom. If we did not have the case with John Couey and Jessica Lunsford, would this be happening today?
HENKE: I think that those cases, once again, reminded all of us of the importance of protecting our children. As the attorney general has said, we need to ensure that we protect our children every single day. And that's one of the reasons why he challenged us at the Department of Justice to come up with the national registry. This, once again, they serve as a reminder, and our condolences continue to go to those families.
HEMMER: Twenty states signed up now. We'll watch to see if the other 30 fall in line. Then we'll see ultimately when it comes online this summer. Tracy Henke, thanks for your time, acting assistant U.S. attorney general in D.C. -- Soledad.
HENKE: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: It's time to take a look at the weather this morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Chad, how old is your baby now?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Five months and 24 days.
O'BRIEN: You know, you have about two-and-a-half years before you're dealing with what the people in the next story are dealing with. Let's show you these pictures. A 3-year-old Indiana boy is keeping his eyes and his hands on the prize. Look, he is stuck inside this toy vending machine, because, of course, 3-year-olds get into everything. This was a Wal-Mart in Elkhart. His mom says that he was able to squeeze through the chute after she wouldn't give him the money to play. So, he hung from the crane. He played with the toys for about an hour. Firefighters finally had to come in, remove the back of the machine to take him out, because he wouldn't come out on his own.
HEMMER: Those clamps never work anyway, do they?
O'BRIEN: It's a much more efficient way.
HEMMER: Right. He was just smarter than every other kid out there. I'm not going to put another quarter in that machine and get ripped off.
O'BRIEN: Every 3-year-old would try to do that.
HEMMER: In a moment here, good news for everyone planning to travel by car over Memorial weekend, and there are millions of you planning to do just that. Andy has got the good news. He's "Minding Your Business" in a moment here.
O'BRIEN: And then, in "90-Second Pop" "Revenge of the Sith" battles an enemy far more powerful than Darth Vader, the bootlegger war, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. How are gas prices looking for that long Memorial Day weekend coming up this weekend? And a strong week on Wall Street, the best we've seen in 2005, I do believe.
Here is Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business."
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: That's correct. And there certainly might be a connection there, gas prices, oil prices falling, strong stock market.
HEMMER: Sure.
SERWER: That's it. And it's been a crazy spring with gas prices all over the place, now down sharply again. The national price at 2.15 a gallon for regular unleaded. And it's interesting. Where do you think it was 12 months ago at this time?
HEMMER: Average?
SERWER: Yes.
HEMMER: Right where it is right now.
SERWER: It's just a nickel more. So, with all of that sturm und drong (ph), we're just basically where we were last year. It's pretty amazing.
Let's take a look at the map and see prices across the country. It's always high in California. That's because of taxes. Jackson, Mississippi, has got your low at 1.94.
HEMMER: Let's go to Jackson.
SERWER: Yes, let's go fill up there. And you're seeing variation swings all over the place. People are telling me they're not seeing $1.99 gas in New Jersey. It's 2.20. But that's because prices are changing just day by day.
Let's look at the market. Indeed, a banner one for investors last week. You can see here that's 3 percent across the board like that. Very nice. Do that, extrapolate the whole year, the market will be up 150 percent. The best week of the year. And futures are up this morning. So, we're looking good.
HEMMER: Good deal. Thank you, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
HEMMER: See if we can keep it going today.
O'BRIEN: The "Question of the Day" is about Viagra.
Good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
A couple of hundred convicted level-three sex offenders are getting Viagra through Medicaid on the taxpayers' dime. Alan Hevesi, who is the state controller in New York, found this out. There's a federal mandate that Viagra be paid for by Medicare. The problem is, these people, these level-three offenders, convicted of assaulting children as young as 2 and raping women as old as 90. And they're getting Viagra for free.
The question is: Should Medicaid coverage include sexual potency pills such as Viagra? Almost nobody thinks this is a great idea.
Anthony: "The day Medicaid covers all necessary tests, exams and prescriptions then they can cover any type of erectile dysfunction treatment they want." Lenore in Louisiana writes: "Medicaid's purpose is to provide basic health care and medication. No way should Medicaid provide Viagra from anyone. There are no records showing men dying from not being given Viagra."
Jerry in Georgia writes: "With nearly a fourth of our population having no health insurance, to have the government pay for sexual pleasures is absolutely shameful. Prescribing Viagra to sex offenders should be considered aiding and abetting criminal activities."
Lee in South Carolina writes: "I'm 73. I can barely meet my prescription costs, and yet the government is paying for Viagra for sex offenders. I should have been either a criminal or on welfare."
And Laura in New York writes: "What the world does not need is anymore sexually-aroused old men, and using taxpayer money to create them is a disgrace."
HEMMER: I think they're lined up in one way, Jack. Thank you.
After a break here, "90-Second Pop" is coming your way. Tom Cruise is absolutely gaga over Katie Holmes. Who would not be? And he's not afraid to show it on national TV again and again, and the poppers weigh in. We'll check it out after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: It is time for a Monday edition of "90-Second Pop" with our pop stars this morning. Toure is CNN's pop culture correspondent. Sarah Bernard joins us from "New York" magazine. And Andy Borowitz is from borowitzreport.com.
Good morning.
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: Good morning.
SARAH BERNARD, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: Good morning.
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: How is everyone today?
TOURE: Once you hear Beck, it's a good morning.
O'BRIEN: Oh. I'm so glad that made you happy.
"Revenge of the Sith" did really well, $158 million, I think, it took in over four days. I didn't see it, so they didn't get my 10.50 or whatever the cost is now. But the bad news is people can rip off this movie already.
BOROWITZ: Right. There are a lot of bootleg copies of this thing out there, especially -- and this sort of surprised me -- on the streets of Beijing. They already have this on the streets of Beijing. You can actually buy "Revenge of the Sith" on the street. There is something weird where there are actually the wrong subtitles. The subtitles are from a Dolph Lundgren film, although I think that may actually improve the film. I think when heard this I thought actually "Star Wars" could be really good for China, because China, as we know, has kind of a huge population problem, and "Star Wars" fans aren't known for having lots of sex. So I think it may actually be a good thing.
TOURE: I thought the whole thing -- I was sitting there last night thinking should we go? Should we go? And I said no. I mean, the whole thing feels like required reading.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
TOURE: And that's why I dropped out of graduate school, because I didn't want to do the required reading anymore.
BERNARD: You mean, seeing all three is required?
TOURE: Well, just no, just any "Star Wars" movie, it's like you must go see it. Oh, everyone is talking about it.
O'BRIEN: It's a very exciting (INAUDIBLE).
TOURE: No, I don't want to go see it.
O'BRIEN: I mean...
BOROWITZ: You don't have to see it, because every "Star Wars" film is exactly the same. They're two hours. Let me tell you what it is. There's one hour of people in cloaks speaking nonsense. And then there's one hour of spaceships shooting at each other. That is the film. That is every film.
O'BRIEN: I feel so much better, because now I don't have to go see it.
BOROWITZ: And you don't have to go to Beijing.
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.
BOROWITZ: You can just do it.
O'BRIEN: Tom Cruise is taking to the airways now proclaiming his love for Katie Holmes.
TOURE: Whatever!
O'BRIEN: They're been seen everywhere.
TOURE: Whatever! Don't buy it for one second. Totally fake publicity stunt.
O'BRIEN: He's talking about scientology, which -- this is a guy who is very close-mouthed about these things. He was on "Oprah" apparently, and she says yes, you know, my guy Tom is a friend. He never talks about these things. I've got a really long mic here. TOURE: But, no, I mean, like, I don't buy this. I didn't buy Penelope either. I didn't buy Nicole, for that matter. You know, like, Hollywood has been giving us these publicity stunt and relationship things for decades. So, I mean, just, you know, he needs to have some other person next to him. Fine.
BERNARD: But not necessarily a 26-year-old.
TOURE: And, you know...
BERNARD: I mean.
BERNARD: This is a total change of heart.
TOURE: Well, if you buy it.
O'BRIEN: She's gorgeous and young.
(CROSSTALK)
TOURE: No, but if you on a kind of buy it, then it kind of gives him a sort of innocence, because she's that little young "Dawson's Creek" thing. But, like, you know, just leave me alone. Quit asking...
BOROWITZ: What made me think it was kind of fake was I went to the movies the other day, and I actually saw a trailer for their wedding. And I think that's a sign. It said this time it's personal. I don't know.
BERNARD: But don't you think, as journalists, when you have to deal with these celebrity publicists, you're like, why are they here? They're just getting away. They're so annoying. This is such a good example for why you should actually have a celebrity publicist steering your career.
TOURE: Right.
BERNARD: Because he doesn't have one anymore. His sister is in charge now of everything to do with him. I think...
O'BRIEN: So this is a bad thing?
BERNARD: Yes. I think this whole decision to go with Katie Holmes, which seems a little bit orchestrated, wasn't smart, and the whole bizarreness of his inviting reporters and people...
TOURE: Right.
BERNARD: ... to take tours of the...
TOURE: Scientology.
BERNARD: ... Church of Scientology is a little odd.
TOURE: Any sort of massive proselytizing like that, I'm just against it. I think it's just like morally wrong, you know, to be shoving your religion down someone else's throat.
O'BRIEN: As opposed to just your musical taste, which (INAUDIBLE). Oh, that was a good one! That was so good. Thank you very much.
TOURE: Oh, gosh!
BOROWITZ: Snap.
BERNARD: She was waiting for that all morning.
O'BRIEN: All right, "Desperate Housewives" and it was a good one.
TOURE: Oh, yes.
BERNARD: It was a good one actually.
O'BRIEN: So wrap up what happened.
BERNARD: OK. Well...
TOURE: Well, good luck.
BERNARD: Yes. There are about 20 plotlines that were wrapped up last night. But the main one is that we were always wondering why exactly Mary Alice, the housewife who does the over-voice...
BOROWITZ: Right, the dead one.
BERNARD: ... why she killed herself in the first episode. And now we know, it's because she actually had kind of almost stolen her kid, Zach.
TOURE: Well, she bought a baby.
BERNARD: She bought, but she changed her name.
TOURE: But she didn't steal.
BERNARD: All right, all right, all right. She couldn't have kids.
O'BRIEN: Semantics.
BERNARD: And there was this down on her luck, drug-addicted young woman who had a baby and couldn't care for it. So she, Mary Alice, actually took this baby, who was called Dana, changed his name to Zach, and moved to Wisteria Lane.
O'BRIEN: And that's the Zach we all know and love.
BERNARD: Exactly.
O'BRIEN: As of now, of course...
TOURE: Who is now part of the greatest cliffhanger since J.R. got the house...
O'BRIEN: I was going to get to the cliffhanger.
TOURE: ... locked up. Mike and Susan are in there. Good-bye! Season's over. They're locked in the house with the crazy kid with a gun. Now what?
O'BRIEN: It was a great cliffhanger. It makes you want to...
(CROSSTALK)
BERNARD: I think it's who shot J.R. territory.
BOROWITZ: No, I think this is the cliffhanger I wouldn't wand to see, which is that one of the desperate housewives is killed. We don't know which. The reason that would be good is I think there's a pretty good chance in the off-season that one of the cast members will actually kill one of the others. So, it would cover that.
O'BRIEN: Oh, oh!
O'BRIEN: I was going to say that.
TOURE: Afre Woodard is so great she just gives you, like, twitch of the lip.
O'BRIEN: And then the black neighbor...
BERNARD: Right, and then...
TOURE: And like she's got deep secrets. You know, she's deep just this hello.
BERNARD: But the other main thing is that Rex dies, who is Bree's husband, and now I think Bree is going to be...
TOURE: It's a whole other plot. But did he kill himself, or did he die?
BERNARD: We don't know.
O'BRIEN: Good question. We're out of time. We're looking forward to next season. Thanks, you guys as always -- Bill.
HEMMER: Thanks, Soledad.
It's four minutes before the hour. In a moment here, why some men don't ask for directions when they're lost. There might be a very good scientific reason for it. We're "Paging Dr. Gupta" next hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: In a moment, a popular department store is accused of discrimination for allegedly charging black women more than white women for the same service at its hair salon. That story is at the top of the hour here on a Monday edition of AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome, everybody. Talk this morning that Saddam Hussein might be suing over the pictures that were published of him in his underwear.
HEMMER: We're going to talk to one of Saddam's lawyers in a moment here. We'll get to that story in a moment.
First, Jack Cafferty also with us here. What's coming on in "The File?" Good morning.
CAFFERTY: Coming on "The Cafferty File," Bill, we'll introduce you to the entire class, the graduating class of 2005 in Outlook, Montana. It won't take long.
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Aired May 23, 2005 - 07:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It feels like a Monday. Good morning, everyone. If you're just waking up, good to have you along with us today.
This could be a critical day today in the battle over that filibuster down in D.C.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: That's right. Moderates in the Senate are planning what could be a key meeting as they try to continue to hammer out a compromise. We're going to talk about that in just a moment.
But first, let's get right to the headlines this morning with Carol Costello.
Good morning.
HEMMER: Hello.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to both of you. Good morning to all of you.
"Now in the News."
More insurgent attacks in Iraq this morning. An aide to Iraq's Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari has been gunned down. Police say he and his driver were killed in a drive-by shooting in central Baghdad. And within the hour, a car bombing at a restaurant in the Iraqi capital. At least three are dead, dozens more injured.
President Bush hosts Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the White House this morning. The Afghan leader spoke Sunday at Boston University's commencement. During talks with President Bush, Karzai is expected to ask for greater control over U.S. military operations in Afghanistan. The two will then hold a joint news conference in the Rose Garden later this morning. CNN will have live coverage beginning at 11:00 Eastern.
A possible new twist in the search for two missing children in northern Idaho. Their father, Steve Groene, says an FBI agent told him he failed parts of a polygraph test. But Groene insists he does not know where his children are. Federal officials are now looking for 8-year-old Shasta and 9-year-old Dylan. CNN has obtained this home video of the girl. It was taken earlier this month. Police say they have received more than 800 tips in the search, but no solid leads. Federal investigators are looking into a small plane crash at Coney Island in New York. The weekend crash killed all four people on board, including two best friends just days away from their high school graduation. The plane had taken off from the Linden Airport in New Jersey for a sight-seeing tour.
And authorities in Atlanta, Georgia, are looking for suspects in a knife fight in connection with singer Bobby Brown. You know, Whitney Houston's husband. Police say Brown was with a group of people celebrating a relative's birthday early this morning in Atlanta's Buckhead (ph) neighborhood. A fight broke out, and two members of Brown's entourage were either cut or stabbed. Brown was reportedly not directly involved in the fight. We'll keep you posted.
O'BRIEN: Trouble follows that man everywhere he goes.
COSTELLO: You're not kidding.
O'BRIEN: Carol, thanks.
Well, with the clock ticking down on a Senate showdown over judicial filibusters, at least a dozen senators are desperately trying to head it off.
Here is CNN's Elaine Quijano.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After days of heated debate last week on Justice Priscilla Owen, President Bush's nominee for the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the Senate could vote whether to do away with the judicial filibuster. The tactic, a Senate tradition more than 200 years old, keeps nominations in limbo by allowing senators to debate indefinitely.
Leaders on both sides say they have the support to win.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, (R) KENTUCKY: We'll go through the night Monday night to make sure everyone has an opportunity to express themselves, and then Tuesday morning we'll have that vote.
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: I feel very comfortable we're going to have the votes. It's an issue that is so important to this country.
QUIJANO: Democrats call any move to wipe out judicial filibusters the nuclear option, because of its politically explosive nature. They want to continue using filibusters to block judicial nominations, and say if Republicans follow through, Democrats will slow Senate business to a crawl.
But moderates from both parties are trying to hammer out a compromise with a crucial face-to-face meeting set for Monday.
SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN, (D) CONNECTICUT: I think as we get close to that moment of truth, when Senator Frist says he's going to push that nuclear button, we centrists are going to come together and find common agreement.
QUIJANO: As for President Bush, the White House says he does not want to interfere in Senate's procedures, although, the president himself recently said it's the Senate's duty to give his nominees an up or down vote.
(on camera): But the situation is delicate for President Bush, at a time when he's looking to get ambitious legislation passed on Social Security and other issues. An explosion on the filibuster fight would only make it harder to get his agenda pushed through Congress.
Elaine Quijano, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Well, the current nominees are being considered for the federal appeals court. At stake, down the road, are likely Supreme Court nominations.
HEMMER: It's 25 minutes now before the hour, Soledad.
There is a National Sex Offender Registry to be available for the first time beginning this summer. We wanted to know today how this will all work.
Tracy Henke is the acting assistant attorney general. She's my guest today in D.C.
Good morning, Ms. Henke. Thank you for your time.
TRACY HENKE, ACTING ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: How does it work?
HENKE: How does it work? Very simply. What the National Sex Offender Registry will do is pull together the existing state databases, the state registries that exist. And, through technology developed by the Department of Justice, we'll be able to link those registries together to create one national public registry.
HEMMER: So, this is a Web site available online?
HENKE: Yes, it will be.
HEMMER: When?
HENKE: The attorney general has challenged us to have 20 states within the first 60 days. As soon as we have those 20 states, we will go live.
HEMMER: Twenty states. Will you get the other 30 to participate?
HENKE: It is our hope we will so by the end of the year. HEMMER: There is a catch here, though. It's my understanding, through reading this information here, this is voluntary. Is that the case for the states, whether or not they participate?
HENKE: It will be voluntary on whether or not they will participate. We don't believe that's going to be an issue. We believe that this is something that the states will be excited to participate in. Quite honestly, we already have four states that have agreed to serve as the pilot. And we are -- the attorney general will be contacting every single governor, and we believe that it will have all 50.
HEMMER: Define this for me, then, Ms. Henke. How will this database help parents across the country keep their kids safer?
HENKE: As you know, Bill, information, knowledge is power. And by having access to information, parenting communities across the country can make some decisions and can determine, for instance, which roads their school -- their child potentially walks to school, potentially where they live. Information can serve as a preventative mechanism.
HEMMER: Marc Klaas is a frequent guest on our program.
HENKE: Yes.
HEMMER: Every single time he comes on our show, he says there has to be a national database that all of the states can link toward one another. Was it his idea that did this?
HENKE: I'm certain that Mr. Klaas, as well as others, have been leading advocates for this, and it is something that is probably past due. And it wasn't until the Justice Department recognized that we had the technology available through, once again, technology that we developed that this could become instantaneous almost without any additional expenditure on the Department of Justice and without any cost to the states.
HEMMER: Jessica Lunsford's case in Florida, she was 9 years old. She was taken from her home and died, literally killed 150 yards from her bedroom. If we did not have the case with John Couey and Jessica Lunsford, would this be happening today?
HENKE: I think that those cases, once again, reminded all of us of the importance of protecting our children. As the attorney general has said, we need to ensure that we protect our children every single day. And that's one of the reasons why he challenged us at the Department of Justice to come up with the national registry. This, once again, they serve as a reminder, and our condolences continue to go to those families.
HEMMER: Twenty states signed up now. We'll watch to see if the other 30 fall in line. Then we'll see ultimately when it comes online this summer. Tracy Henke, thanks for your time, acting assistant U.S. attorney general in D.C. -- Soledad.
HENKE: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: It's time to take a look at the weather this morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Chad, how old is your baby now?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Five months and 24 days.
O'BRIEN: You know, you have about two-and-a-half years before you're dealing with what the people in the next story are dealing with. Let's show you these pictures. A 3-year-old Indiana boy is keeping his eyes and his hands on the prize. Look, he is stuck inside this toy vending machine, because, of course, 3-year-olds get into everything. This was a Wal-Mart in Elkhart. His mom says that he was able to squeeze through the chute after she wouldn't give him the money to play. So, he hung from the crane. He played with the toys for about an hour. Firefighters finally had to come in, remove the back of the machine to take him out, because he wouldn't come out on his own.
HEMMER: Those clamps never work anyway, do they?
O'BRIEN: It's a much more efficient way.
HEMMER: Right. He was just smarter than every other kid out there. I'm not going to put another quarter in that machine and get ripped off.
O'BRIEN: Every 3-year-old would try to do that.
HEMMER: In a moment here, good news for everyone planning to travel by car over Memorial weekend, and there are millions of you planning to do just that. Andy has got the good news. He's "Minding Your Business" in a moment here.
O'BRIEN: And then, in "90-Second Pop" "Revenge of the Sith" battles an enemy far more powerful than Darth Vader, the bootlegger war, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. How are gas prices looking for that long Memorial Day weekend coming up this weekend? And a strong week on Wall Street, the best we've seen in 2005, I do believe.
Here is Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business."
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: That's correct. And there certainly might be a connection there, gas prices, oil prices falling, strong stock market.
HEMMER: Sure.
SERWER: That's it. And it's been a crazy spring with gas prices all over the place, now down sharply again. The national price at 2.15 a gallon for regular unleaded. And it's interesting. Where do you think it was 12 months ago at this time?
HEMMER: Average?
SERWER: Yes.
HEMMER: Right where it is right now.
SERWER: It's just a nickel more. So, with all of that sturm und drong (ph), we're just basically where we were last year. It's pretty amazing.
Let's take a look at the map and see prices across the country. It's always high in California. That's because of taxes. Jackson, Mississippi, has got your low at 1.94.
HEMMER: Let's go to Jackson.
SERWER: Yes, let's go fill up there. And you're seeing variation swings all over the place. People are telling me they're not seeing $1.99 gas in New Jersey. It's 2.20. But that's because prices are changing just day by day.
Let's look at the market. Indeed, a banner one for investors last week. You can see here that's 3 percent across the board like that. Very nice. Do that, extrapolate the whole year, the market will be up 150 percent. The best week of the year. And futures are up this morning. So, we're looking good.
HEMMER: Good deal. Thank you, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
HEMMER: See if we can keep it going today.
O'BRIEN: The "Question of the Day" is about Viagra.
Good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
A couple of hundred convicted level-three sex offenders are getting Viagra through Medicaid on the taxpayers' dime. Alan Hevesi, who is the state controller in New York, found this out. There's a federal mandate that Viagra be paid for by Medicare. The problem is, these people, these level-three offenders, convicted of assaulting children as young as 2 and raping women as old as 90. And they're getting Viagra for free.
The question is: Should Medicaid coverage include sexual potency pills such as Viagra? Almost nobody thinks this is a great idea.
Anthony: "The day Medicaid covers all necessary tests, exams and prescriptions then they can cover any type of erectile dysfunction treatment they want." Lenore in Louisiana writes: "Medicaid's purpose is to provide basic health care and medication. No way should Medicaid provide Viagra from anyone. There are no records showing men dying from not being given Viagra."
Jerry in Georgia writes: "With nearly a fourth of our population having no health insurance, to have the government pay for sexual pleasures is absolutely shameful. Prescribing Viagra to sex offenders should be considered aiding and abetting criminal activities."
Lee in South Carolina writes: "I'm 73. I can barely meet my prescription costs, and yet the government is paying for Viagra for sex offenders. I should have been either a criminal or on welfare."
And Laura in New York writes: "What the world does not need is anymore sexually-aroused old men, and using taxpayer money to create them is a disgrace."
HEMMER: I think they're lined up in one way, Jack. Thank you.
After a break here, "90-Second Pop" is coming your way. Tom Cruise is absolutely gaga over Katie Holmes. Who would not be? And he's not afraid to show it on national TV again and again, and the poppers weigh in. We'll check it out after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: It is time for a Monday edition of "90-Second Pop" with our pop stars this morning. Toure is CNN's pop culture correspondent. Sarah Bernard joins us from "New York" magazine. And Andy Borowitz is from borowitzreport.com.
Good morning.
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: Good morning.
SARAH BERNARD, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: Good morning.
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: How is everyone today?
TOURE: Once you hear Beck, it's a good morning.
O'BRIEN: Oh. I'm so glad that made you happy.
"Revenge of the Sith" did really well, $158 million, I think, it took in over four days. I didn't see it, so they didn't get my 10.50 or whatever the cost is now. But the bad news is people can rip off this movie already.
BOROWITZ: Right. There are a lot of bootleg copies of this thing out there, especially -- and this sort of surprised me -- on the streets of Beijing. They already have this on the streets of Beijing. You can actually buy "Revenge of the Sith" on the street. There is something weird where there are actually the wrong subtitles. The subtitles are from a Dolph Lundgren film, although I think that may actually improve the film. I think when heard this I thought actually "Star Wars" could be really good for China, because China, as we know, has kind of a huge population problem, and "Star Wars" fans aren't known for having lots of sex. So I think it may actually be a good thing.
TOURE: I thought the whole thing -- I was sitting there last night thinking should we go? Should we go? And I said no. I mean, the whole thing feels like required reading.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
TOURE: And that's why I dropped out of graduate school, because I didn't want to do the required reading anymore.
BERNARD: You mean, seeing all three is required?
TOURE: Well, just no, just any "Star Wars" movie, it's like you must go see it. Oh, everyone is talking about it.
O'BRIEN: It's a very exciting (INAUDIBLE).
TOURE: No, I don't want to go see it.
O'BRIEN: I mean...
BOROWITZ: You don't have to see it, because every "Star Wars" film is exactly the same. They're two hours. Let me tell you what it is. There's one hour of people in cloaks speaking nonsense. And then there's one hour of spaceships shooting at each other. That is the film. That is every film.
O'BRIEN: I feel so much better, because now I don't have to go see it.
BOROWITZ: And you don't have to go to Beijing.
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.
BOROWITZ: You can just do it.
O'BRIEN: Tom Cruise is taking to the airways now proclaiming his love for Katie Holmes.
TOURE: Whatever!
O'BRIEN: They're been seen everywhere.
TOURE: Whatever! Don't buy it for one second. Totally fake publicity stunt.
O'BRIEN: He's talking about scientology, which -- this is a guy who is very close-mouthed about these things. He was on "Oprah" apparently, and she says yes, you know, my guy Tom is a friend. He never talks about these things. I've got a really long mic here. TOURE: But, no, I mean, like, I don't buy this. I didn't buy Penelope either. I didn't buy Nicole, for that matter. You know, like, Hollywood has been giving us these publicity stunt and relationship things for decades. So, I mean, just, you know, he needs to have some other person next to him. Fine.
BERNARD: But not necessarily a 26-year-old.
TOURE: And, you know...
BERNARD: I mean.
BERNARD: This is a total change of heart.
TOURE: Well, if you buy it.
O'BRIEN: She's gorgeous and young.
(CROSSTALK)
TOURE: No, but if you on a kind of buy it, then it kind of gives him a sort of innocence, because she's that little young "Dawson's Creek" thing. But, like, you know, just leave me alone. Quit asking...
BOROWITZ: What made me think it was kind of fake was I went to the movies the other day, and I actually saw a trailer for their wedding. And I think that's a sign. It said this time it's personal. I don't know.
BERNARD: But don't you think, as journalists, when you have to deal with these celebrity publicists, you're like, why are they here? They're just getting away. They're so annoying. This is such a good example for why you should actually have a celebrity publicist steering your career.
TOURE: Right.
BERNARD: Because he doesn't have one anymore. His sister is in charge now of everything to do with him. I think...
O'BRIEN: So this is a bad thing?
BERNARD: Yes. I think this whole decision to go with Katie Holmes, which seems a little bit orchestrated, wasn't smart, and the whole bizarreness of his inviting reporters and people...
TOURE: Right.
BERNARD: ... to take tours of the...
TOURE: Scientology.
BERNARD: ... Church of Scientology is a little odd.
TOURE: Any sort of massive proselytizing like that, I'm just against it. I think it's just like morally wrong, you know, to be shoving your religion down someone else's throat.
O'BRIEN: As opposed to just your musical taste, which (INAUDIBLE). Oh, that was a good one! That was so good. Thank you very much.
TOURE: Oh, gosh!
BOROWITZ: Snap.
BERNARD: She was waiting for that all morning.
O'BRIEN: All right, "Desperate Housewives" and it was a good one.
TOURE: Oh, yes.
BERNARD: It was a good one actually.
O'BRIEN: So wrap up what happened.
BERNARD: OK. Well...
TOURE: Well, good luck.
BERNARD: Yes. There are about 20 plotlines that were wrapped up last night. But the main one is that we were always wondering why exactly Mary Alice, the housewife who does the over-voice...
BOROWITZ: Right, the dead one.
BERNARD: ... why she killed herself in the first episode. And now we know, it's because she actually had kind of almost stolen her kid, Zach.
TOURE: Well, she bought a baby.
BERNARD: She bought, but she changed her name.
TOURE: But she didn't steal.
BERNARD: All right, all right, all right. She couldn't have kids.
O'BRIEN: Semantics.
BERNARD: And there was this down on her luck, drug-addicted young woman who had a baby and couldn't care for it. So she, Mary Alice, actually took this baby, who was called Dana, changed his name to Zach, and moved to Wisteria Lane.
O'BRIEN: And that's the Zach we all know and love.
BERNARD: Exactly.
O'BRIEN: As of now, of course...
TOURE: Who is now part of the greatest cliffhanger since J.R. got the house...
O'BRIEN: I was going to get to the cliffhanger.
TOURE: ... locked up. Mike and Susan are in there. Good-bye! Season's over. They're locked in the house with the crazy kid with a gun. Now what?
O'BRIEN: It was a great cliffhanger. It makes you want to...
(CROSSTALK)
BERNARD: I think it's who shot J.R. territory.
BOROWITZ: No, I think this is the cliffhanger I wouldn't wand to see, which is that one of the desperate housewives is killed. We don't know which. The reason that would be good is I think there's a pretty good chance in the off-season that one of the cast members will actually kill one of the others. So, it would cover that.
O'BRIEN: Oh, oh!
O'BRIEN: I was going to say that.
TOURE: Afre Woodard is so great she just gives you, like, twitch of the lip.
O'BRIEN: And then the black neighbor...
BERNARD: Right, and then...
TOURE: And like she's got deep secrets. You know, she's deep just this hello.
BERNARD: But the other main thing is that Rex dies, who is Bree's husband, and now I think Bree is going to be...
TOURE: It's a whole other plot. But did he kill himself, or did he die?
BERNARD: We don't know.
O'BRIEN: Good question. We're out of time. We're looking forward to next season. Thanks, you guys as always -- Bill.
HEMMER: Thanks, Soledad.
It's four minutes before the hour. In a moment here, why some men don't ask for directions when they're lost. There might be a very good scientific reason for it. We're "Paging Dr. Gupta" next hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: In a moment, a popular department store is accused of discrimination for allegedly charging black women more than white women for the same service at its hair salon. That story is at the top of the hour here on a Monday edition of AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome, everybody. Talk this morning that Saddam Hussein might be suing over the pictures that were published of him in his underwear.
HEMMER: We're going to talk to one of Saddam's lawyers in a moment here. We'll get to that story in a moment.
First, Jack Cafferty also with us here. What's coming on in "The File?" Good morning.
CAFFERTY: Coming on "The Cafferty File," Bill, we'll introduce you to the entire class, the graduating class of 2005 in Outlook, Montana. It won't take long.
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