Social Security Advertising To Increase Over President's Day Holiday; Baby 81 back at home with parents; Replacement troops being trained in Iraq
Aired February 16, 2005 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening again everyone.
There are many ways of gauging the distance between the fall of Baghdad and today, schools built, an election held, lives lost. Tonight, we look at how many times a unit returns to Iraq, a measure, a rough one in more than one way, not just of the then but the now and also the is and the ought to be.
Almost two years ago, we watched as members of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, the 3rd ID stormed across the desert. That was then. Tonight, Iraq is a different place. The mission is different too, one that begins with a crash course in the now.We begin tonight with CNN's Jane Arraf.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): This is a crash course on Iraq. Battalion Commander Pete Newell is the back seat driver. His replacement is in the front. Newell is showing Roger Cloutier, commander of Task Force 130 of the 3rd Infantry Division the lay of the land.
CDR. PETE NEWELL, BATTALION CMDR., 1ST INFANTRY DIV.: This land is 75 percent Sunni.
ARRAF: Across north central Iraq more than 22,000 U.S. troops are switching out in the space of a few weeks and across the area the soldiers and officers leaving are trying to teach the new troops as much as they can to deal with this dangerous and complex environment.
LT. COL. ROGER CLOUTIER, 3RD INFANTRY DIVISION: So, the hardest thing is how do I extract a year's worth of experience in two weeks of time?
ARRAF: And how do the soldiers absorb it? (on camera): For more than half of these new troops, this is their second deployment in Iraq but they left a year and a half ago and they're going to find that a lot has changed. (voice-over): It's become more dangerous. The units that Newell's task force replaced last year lost two men in their time in Iraq. Newell's task force lost 36. The 3rd Infantry Division took Baghdad in 2003 and left before there was a new Iraqi Army or a new police force. One of the most important things the new troops are learning is who not to shoot that an armed man wearing a ski mask might be an Iraqi policeman trying to protect his identity and not a criminal.Just before heading out on the road, Sergeant Major Darren Bohn (ph) reminds the men how to recognize an Iraqi soldier. They wear old model U.S. uniforms from the first Gulf War.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: AK-47, look for the uniform. If he's ING he'll have like the chocolate chip uniform.
ARRAF: Colonel Newell tells them what danger signs to look for in the crowded market where they're going.
NEWELL: A sure sign that something's not right is people will start running. If people start running before you hear a round go off, start looking for a guy with an RPG.
ARRAF: Newell has spent a year forging a close relationship with Iraqi security forces and earning the trust of local and tribal leaders. One sheikh said of him "He can't be American. He's so patient."
NEWELL: Anybody coming here to do what we do has got to be able to take a multi-faceted approach to dealing with problems and dealing with people.
ARRAF: Cloutier's training in psychological operations and his Master's degree in international relations will serve him well. It's a whirlwind of introductions this one to local mayors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's important to know that most of his soldiers have been here before. Iraq is not necessarily new to them.
ARRAF: They go to the governor's home. Outside are tribal leaders come to pay condolences for the death of two of the governor's bodyguards. Inside there's a test of sorts. Cloutier's cultural training has included how to eat with your hands but this is the first time he's done it for real. His training has not included dancing but here at an Iraqi Army celebration that's part of being one of the guys, as their savvy commander's part of the learning curve in Iraq 2005.Jane Arraf, CNN, Muqtadia (ph), Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: There are people we've been proud to meet in the last few years. They've given a lot and they continue to give. But in each meeting with every introduction there's also a chill that comes from knowing that soldiers fight and sometimes soldiers die.Since arriving back in Iraq, the 3rd Infantry's 1st Brigade has lost three members already, so with mixed feelings now another member of that brigade as he prepared to leave for Iraq, the introduction provided tonight by CNN's Michael Schulder.
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MICHAEL SCHULDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's 4:00 a.m. near Fort Stewart, Georgia and Sergeant Major Bob Gallagher is making his wife coffee and warming her car. She has a long drive ahead of her to a fire station where she's the only woman firefighter in the county.
BOB GALLAGHER: I'll see you later on tonight. I love you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love you too.
B. GALLAGHER: Be safe, all right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
B. GALLAGHER: It's really foggy out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll be fine.
SCHULDER: Only a few more days left until Bob Gallagher heads back to the war in Iraq. The Gallagher's 14-year-old daughter Casey (ph) has already witnessed the toll a long deployment takes on her mother.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's weird because the last time he went over there mom spent like half the time he was over there sitting in bed watching the news. It was just creepy because she wouldn't get up from the bed. She was really sad and all.
SCHULDER: His last time in Iraq, Sergeant Major Gallagher's leadership was tested here beneath the overpasses of Highway 8 at the edge of Baghdad. He and his men are outnumbered by enemy forces. Gallagher is hit by shrapnel in his left calf. A fellow officer works to stop the bleeding while Gallagher limps into position and continues fighting. Gallagher and his men prevail.As a boy, Bob Gallagher did not seem destined to become a leader.
GALLAGHER: Good morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning sergeant major.
GALLAGHER: I was a juvenile delinquent. My mother passed away when I was young, six, seven years old, left my father to raise myself and my two brothers. I did not finish high school. I just decided on my own either I'm going to stay in this town and probably wind up in jail or I'm going to get up and go and I got up and went.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did you do on your time?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I did just a little bit over three miles in 24 and a half minutes.
SCHULDER: He joined the Army, got his high school equivalency diploma and has risen to become the highest ranking non-commissioned officer of the 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Combat Brigade.
GALLAGHER: No problems last night?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, sergeant major.
GALLAGHER: OK, thanks. What's up with you? Need a break? Still got that girlfriend?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
GALLAGHER: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember her name too.
SCHULDER: After this day's rigorous physical training Sergeant Major Gallagher will have what some would call a come to Jesus meeting, a final opportunity to impress upon the several hundred who answer to him what will be required to accomplish the mission and survive. The deployment will be long, 12 to 18 months they're told.
GALLAGHER: I'm telling you it is a marathon.SCHULDER: Twelve to 18 months of vigilance.
GALLAGHER: Supervising and maintenance on your vehicles, you'll pay attention to it more when your happy ass is one of these trucks and it breaks down, you know, three miles down the road.
SCHULDER: Twelve to 18 months protecting each other.
GALLAGHER: Take this to the bank, no one moves alone at any given time, buddy teams at a minimum.
SCHULDER: Twelve to 18 months of staying alive.
GALLAGHER: Helmet, groin protector, hearing protection will be worn, gloves, ballistic eye protection. Of the 42 soldiers that have lost their eyesight, I believe that all 42 were not wearing protective lenses. It's non-negotiable platoon sergeants. Make sure your squad leaders know and understand that. With that uniform I can guarantee that the effects from direct fire or indirect fires will be reduced.This is the helmet I was wearing in Mogadishu. That's shrapnel from an RPG blast.
SCHULDER: Twenty-three years of front line experience including the deadly battle in Somalia, known as Black Hawk Down, are some of the reasons Gallagher's men and women trust him.
GALLAGHER: That one right there probably would have put a whopping on me.
SCHULDER: Reasons for his wife to lose sleep.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can't take it one day at a time. It just gets too much. You know, you take it one week at a time and end of the month you check it off, you know, and just wait and just wait for him to come back.
SCHULDER: One last thing about Bob Gallagher we learned while looking at what he calls his ten square feet of wall space where photos of his past military battles hang.When this is all over if you want one more picture on that wall what kind of picture do you envision? What would you like to see?
GALLAGHER: Being at a retirement ceremony upright, walking with a smile on my face with my wife on my arm.
SCHULDER: Michael Schulder, CNN, outside Fort Stewart, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: We have much more to come tonight beginning with a question.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. MICHEL DUBOIS, NYU PAIN MANAGEMENT CENTER: What number would you put to your pain, zero is no pain and ten maximum possible?
ASHLEY TAYLOR, PAIN PATIENT: Now it's about six.
BROWN (voice-over): Doctors can ask you where it hurts but can they tell you why it hurts? With painkillers in the spotlight we look at the nature of pain itself.Elsewhere, the end of a mother's heartache quietly, we'll tell you the story of the happy ending for Baby 81.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll spend what it takes. It's going to be a long campaign.
BROWN: Separating the noise from the facts on Social Security, facts tonight.And the mutt owner makes room on the program and on the set for a pure bred dog or two and we'll ask what makes them tick, the dogs as well? You said it.
This is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: The safety and effectiveness of Vioxx, Celebrex and Bextra were questioned and debated at an FDA hearing today. As a class these drugs are known as Cox-2 inhibitors. They're used to treat chronic pain like arthritis. Vioxx already off the market because it increases the risk in some people of heart attack and stroke. Celebrex and Bextra are still available but studies suggest they could impact the heart as well. The hearings continue tomorrow and Friday. It should result in recommendation on how the drugs should be used in the future if at all. Those recommendations will affect millions who live with pain, especially those with pain that is difficult, if not impossible to diagnose.
Here's Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the prick of a needle to a broken bone, physical pain is familiar to all of us but what happens when pain can't be measured?
TAYLOR: Walking around is very difficult and it usually takes just a few minutes before I get very tired and I have to rest and even when I do rest I don't feel better.
GUPTA: Since the age of ten, Ashley Taylor has felt pain in her neck, shoulders, back and legs. Now 20 years old she's seen neurologists, rheumatologists, even psychiatrists. In all, Ashley has been to more than 20 different doctors in just the past few years.
TAYLOR: Doctors don't know. I've had x-rays done and MRIs and numerous blood tests and a spinal tap and everything is negative, everything is OK and no doctor can tell me what's going on.
GUPTA: It's more than discomfort. She takes up to seven pain pills a day, including Celebrex and Vicodin and had to drop out of school last semester.
DUBOIS: A young lady who obviously you expect to be in perfect health who is going through a critical time of her life with a major handicap. Our role is to try to help her going.
(UNINTELLIGIBLE).
GUPTA: Despite all the advances of modern medicine, when doctors measure pain they rely primarily on the verbal analog scale.
DUBOIS: What number would you put to your pain, zero is no pain and ten maximum possible?
TAYLOR: Now it's about six.
GUPTA: A complicated name for a simple test. How much does it hurt on a scale from zero to ten?
DUBOIS: Since it is a subjective measurement based only on the patient's feedback you can imagine situations where the patient is not truthful when he reports his or her pain.
GUPTA: And there are variations. What one person calls a nine could easily be a four for another. While there is no reliable way to gauge honesty in these tests, the pain is very real to patients like Ashley.
TAYLOR: Right now I just have to learn to live with the pain as best as I can because it's not going away anytime soon.
GUPTA: A somewhat immeasurable price for a frustratingly immeasurable pain.Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: One programming note, tomorrow on the program we look at how the Cox-2 inhibitor drugs were heavily marketed to physicians and patients and how those doctors and those who suffer with pain must now balance the benefits of the drugs against the potential risks. That's tomorrow here on NEWSNIGHT.
Other news tonight, Andy Warhol once said that everyone will be famous for 15 minutes. Over the last few nights, we've been reporting the story of a 4-month-old Sri Lankan boy Named Abhilash, just an infant yet known around the world as Baby 81, famous long before he'll ever know what fame means.Tonight what is probably the final public chapter in the saga of a young life from Sri Lanka, CNN's Satinder Bindra.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Home at last, the infant known for so long simply as Baby 81 sleeps fitfully under the watchful and loving eyes of his parents.For seven weeks, they've tried to get custody of their 4-month- old son. So have eight other couples until DNA tests led to this. This court handed over Sri Lanka's most famous and pampered baby back to the mother who tried so desperately to hold onto him through the tsunami.
"I went without food and sleep for days" says mother Junita Jeyarajah. "Now, I'm very happy."
Hundreds packed this courtroom. Baby 81 arrived escorted by a police guard. With his parents watching nervously Baby 81 slept through most of the proceedings, getting up just once for a little lunch.
The baby that was found among the debris on the beach has become an icon of suffering, the suffering of his parents and others across Sri Lanka have led to a worldwide outpouring of sympathy.
To show their appreciation and as an offering to the gods, the entire Jeyarajah family smashed 101 coconuts at this temple. Later, the Jeyarajahs took Abhilash to their old home, which was completely destroyed by the tsunami.
There they changed him from hospital clothes to his own. Many family members, including his grandmother broke down. Even though the Jeyarajahs have finally got their most cherished wish, they say they're not planning any parties."We won't be celebrating" says father Murugupillai Jeyarajah "because 30,000 people have lost their lives." All that matters, the Jeyarajahs say, is that Abhilash is home and all they want to do is raise him as a normal child.
Satinder Bindra CNN, Kalmunai, Eastern Sri Lanka.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: In a moment, a return to the more sobering news of the day, first the testimony of the country's top spy and the possibility of the next major terrorist attack and that it might be nuclear.And later, separating the facts from the considerable noise on Social Security and the competing plans to change it, a break first.
From New York this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Two demonstrations in one today in Lebanon. Hundreds of thousands of people lining the streets of Beirut to remember Rafik Hariri, the country's assassinated former prime minister, many of them also demonstrating against Syria, the nation they believe was behind the bombing that killed him on Monday.In Washington, the message to the Senate Intelligence Committee today stark and clear, messages concerning terrorism and the spread of nuclear weapons. Delivering the news the country's top intelligence officials, the story delivered to us tonight by our National Security Correspondent David Ensor.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At his first appearance on Capitol Hill as intelligence chief, Porter Goss said the top threat to the nation's national security remains terrorism, causing mass casualties.
PORTER GOSS, DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE: It may be only a matter of time before al Qaeda or other groups attempt to use chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons. We must focus on that.
ENSOR: Russian reports say terrorists may have stolen some nuclear materials in Russia in recent years leading to concern about a possible dirty radioactive bomb.
SEN. JOHN ROCKEFELLER (D), VICE CHMN., INTELLIGENCE CMTE.: Can you assure the American people that the material missing from Russian nuclear sites has not found its way into terrorist hands?
GOSS: No, I can't make that assurance.
ENSOR: Homeland security official James Loy said though that the most likely next attack will be a conventional one, along the same lines that troops are facing in Iraq.
JAMES LOY, DEP. SECY. DEPT. OF HOMELAND SECURITY: We think we are most likely to be attacked with a vehicle borne improvised explosive device because that's the weapon of choice around the world.
ENSOR: Goss spoke of evidence both Iran and North Korea are moving ahead with nuclear weapons programs. Reflecting the criticism of the CIA about intelligence prior to the 9/11 attacks and on Iraq's weapons or lack thereof before the war, he stressed that the agency is getting more aggressive.
GOSS: Our officers are taking risks and I will be asking them to take more risks, justifiable risks because I would be much happier here explaining why we did something than why we did nothing.
ENSOR: On December 17th, President Bush signed an intelligence reform law creating a new director of national intelligence who will be Porter Goss' boss once selected. Democratic Senator Rockefeller said the president is taking too long making his choice.
ROCKEFELLER: Two months have now passed since the bill signing ceremony and the position of director of national intelligence remains vacant, not even a person nominated. To me this is unacceptable.ENSOR: But the Republican chairman said the decision is too important to be rushed.
SEN. PAT ROBERTS (R), CHMN., INTELLIGENCE CMTE.: It is I think crucially important not only in terms of timing but to get the right person.ENSOR: What Goss did not discuss in the open hearing but what U.S. officials confirm is that CIA officials are growing uneasy about holding Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah, Ramzi Binalshibh and other top al Qaeda prisoners indefinitely at undisclosed locations overseas.
(END VIDEOATAPE)
ENSOR: Sources say the CIA wants to scale back its role running secret prisons around the world. The question, said one, is what is the end game for these people and that's a difficult question being quietly posed to the Justice Department and the White House -- Aaron.
BROWN: Two questions. First and quickly on both I guess, do we have any idea how many prisoners around the world the CIA is, in fact, holding?
ENSOR: They've never given a number publicly but talking to people who have some dealings with this, I would put it around a couple of dozen.
BROWN: OK. And on the question of the national intelligence chief hearing any buzz on the timing there?
ENSOR: We're hearing a lot of buzz this evening here in Washington, Aaron, on that one, a lot of suggestions it could be as early as tomorrow, people noting the president has a free schedule tomorrow and so -- and a lot of rumors that he has made his choice and will announce it very soon, a lot of people speculating about who it could be.
BROWN: Well, we'll find out more tomorrow. Thank you David, David Ensor in Washington for us tonight.
ENSOR: That's right.
BROWN: The president was in New Hampshire today again selling his plan for revamping Social Security and privatizing a portion of it, though it remains to be seen what the precise contours of the president's plan may be. He did, though, for the first time yesterday indicate he might accept raising the ceiling on Social Security taxes. Currently every dollar you make above $90,000 is not taxed for Social Security purposes. The president says he's open to a change there.This much is already clear. There's going to be a lot of noise in this debate, a lot of noise, paid for by a lot of money and somewhere in that noise there actually will be some facts, a bit of both now from CNN's Ed Henry.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John Castellani, President of the Business Roundtable, has formed a new coalition spending at least $20 million to promote the president's Social Security plan, the latest salvo in an ad war expected to dwarf the epic healthcare battle of a decade ago.
JOHN CASTELLANI, PRESIDENT, BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE: We'll spend what it takes. It's going to be a long campaign.
HENRY: Democrats believe these Fortune 200 corporations have been sent on a rescue mission.
SENATE MAJORITY LEADER HARRY REID (D), NEVADA: The way the Bush Social Security is going they'll need to spend tens of millions of dollars because it's not doing well at all.
HENRY: But Democrats are playing the same game. CNN has learned a powerful labor union, the 1.4 million member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, is leading a new coalition to defeat the Bush plan. The former campaign manager for ex-Senator Tom Daschle, Steve Hildebrand, will be running the coalition, which faces an uphill fight.In addition to the Business Roundtable, conservative groups like Club for Growth and Progress for America are providing cover for the president with millions of dollars in TV ads.
REP. EARLY POMEROY (D), NORTH DAKOTA: They want to privatize Social Security and they've gotten them to pony up vast sums of money and now they're about to roll a big lie out across the country in paid media advertising.
HENRY: But both sides have gotten caught bending the truth. The liberal group Moveon.org has been running TV ads charging the president's plan will lead to "the working retirement." The highly- respected independent group FactCheck.org points out the Move On ad falsely accuses the Bush plan of cutting benefits by 46 percent.In his State of the Union, meanwhile, the president said Social Security is headed for bankruptcy but even when the system faces trouble decades down the road it would still pay out a large share of benefits now promised.
The TV ads intensify next week when members of Congress head home for the President's Day recess. At their town hall meetings, Democrats will be armed with talking points claiming the president wants to create a crisis where none exists. Republicans will show off a new DVD of the president making his case.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But if we approach the Social Security debate with courage and honesty, we can succeed.
HENRY (on camera): Congressional Republicans are privately still very nervous that the Social Security issue could blow up in their faces, but they believe the president will be their best weapon. Ed Henry, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Still to come tonight on the program, they're certainly beautiful. They're definitely champions, but are they pets or something else? And finding light love at light speed. The company selling that possibility is a company "On the Rise."
Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Every dog shall have its day, except for the canine creme de la creme, who get two days, it turns out, every year at New York's Madison Square Garden. The annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is a serious piece of business. What makes it so wonderful is that it's also just a little bit weird. Where else can you hear someone say to a dog, as reported in "The Boston Globe": "Hold still, girl. We've just got the grease pencil and the hairspray left to do"? I love that quote. Carlee was judged to be the top dog last night. The German shorthaired pointer also happened to look like an actual dog out there, instead of some Barbie-gone-bad version of a dog. Joining me now to add to their -- their insight to this subject, Leslie Padgett, the editor of "New York Dog" magazine. There's a magazine for everything. And Jim Deppen, a dog breeder fresh from the show, and his 195 -- 185 pound? -- 185 pounds sidekick, Sirius Black. That is a -- for people who are trying to figure out, what kind of dog is it?
JIM DEPPEN, DOG BREEDER: Neapolitan mastiff.
BROWN: And there are many different mastiff dogs? Is that it? I mean, this is...
DEPPEN: There's a variety of different mastiffs out there.
BROWN: Yes.
DEPPEN: Five or six different varieties of mastiff. And this one happens to be the one from Italy.
BROWN: And this is one -- this was in the show, actually.
DEPPEN: He was in the competition, yes.
BROWN: And he didn't win it, but the fact that he got there, that was pretty cool.
DEPPEN: It was an award of merit this year. BROWN: Here's my question. Here's a question.
DEPPEN: OK.
BROWN: Do you think of him as a pet?
DEPPEN: Absolutely.
BROWN: Really?
DEPPEN: Best pet you could ever have.
BROWN: I'm not -- you know, a pet like here, Rover, go get, bring it back?
DEPPEN: Well...
BROWN: Roll over.
DEPPEN: Neapolitans basically look at that job as something that the Border collies and the golden retrievers should do. Their job is more utilitarian in the fact that they're a guard dog and they're going to sit there and protect you. And their loyalty and their job is basically to serve and protect.
BROWN: Does the magazine -- is the magazine catering to Jim, who's -- you're a professional breeder of dogs.
DEPPEN: Sure.
BROWN: Right. Or is it to people like me, who go to the pound and get this little mutt and race around the backyard with it, to be honest?
LESLIE PADGETT, EDITOR, "THE NEW YORK DOG MAGAZINE": Well, we cater to all types of dog owners, because we really believe there's a special relationship between dogs and their owners. And it's very much turning into almost like a parent-child relationship, where the person -- the dog is a part of the family and sleeps with you at night. And I'm sure...BROWN: Like in the bed?
PADGETT: In the bed.
(LAUGHTER)
BROWN: I find that weird, too. That's the truth. That's not allowed in -- not in our house, no.
PADGETT: Well, sure. They're definitely treating them like members of the family. I mean...
BROWN: So you don't think it's particularly odd if you see a dog dressed up in a raincoat, galoshes and a hat?
PADGETT: Absolutely not. They need the protection from the elements, just like we do. And that's...
BROWN: No, actually, they don't.
(LAUGHTER)
BROWN: That's the -- the great thing about a dog is that they don't need to wear a raincoat, galoshes and a hat.
PADGETT: Well, some dogs don't necessarily function that well in rainy season. So...
BROWN: I wrote today in the e-mail we send to viewers that, in trying to understand the way breeders look at dogs and the way people who follow the competition look at it, that it's really -- you have to sort of see it as art, kind of a living art. Does that seem over the top?
DEPPEN: No, it's exactly that. I mean, you look at this dog here, and I don't think there's another piece of living art that's like that. And what's really interesting about the Neapolitan is that, like a fingerprint, each one of them is individual. You won't find any one of them that's exactly the same as the other. You might look out into a ring of Dobermans or rottweilers or, say, poodles, and you look at all of them, and you say, oh, there's a whole class of white standard poodles standing out there or black and tan Dobermans. When you look at this breed here, you see Neapolitan. You recognize it if you understand and know the breed. But then you start to actually look at them and every single dog has its own individual...
BROWN: But when people, like, show Dobermans, something I know about that much about, OK, they do see the distinction between Doberman Fido and Doberman Rover. I may not see it. Leslie may not see it, but they seem to tell. That's how these dogs win, right?
DEPPEN: Well, the judge is trained, and they have to learn to train their eye to look at the different idiosyncrasies and the small, small detail between each of those dogs and how they relate to the standard.
BROWN: Who's the market for the magazine? What kind of articles are in the magazine?
PADGETT: Well, we cover a lot of different topics.
BROWN: I hope so.
(LAUGHTER)
PADGETT: Obviously.
BROWN: Yes.
PADGETT: We cater to dog owners and what things...
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: What's your cover story?
PADGETT: Well, for the next issue, we're covering the doggie dating scene and how dogs are now used as date bait. We also do dogs...
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: Wait, dogs aren't dating.
PADGETT: No, dogs aren't dating, but dogs are used as date bait.
BROWN: It's a way to get a date.
PADGETT: Absolutely. Dogs are a test for potential daters and potential partners that say, love me, love my dog. We're also doing dogs on Atkins, how to get your dog past a co-op board.
BROWN: Are you guys serious, or is this a joke?
PADGETT: Oh, we're absolutely serious.
BROWN: This is serious.
PADGETT: We take topics that we feel would pertain to us, and we then relay them to the dogs. So we're absolutely serious.
BROWN: OK. In the -- how many big dog competitions are there a year?
DEPPEN: Oh, there's thousands.
BROWN: They go on every week somewhere?
DEPPEN: Every weekend. You know, 52 -- almost 52 weekends a year, you can be out showing your dogs. But the number of big dog shows like Westminster or, say, the World Dog Show or Crufts, there's a handful of those that are recognized throughout the world.
BROWN: And the sort of investment that someone would make to train a top dog would be what? Hundreds of thousands of dollars or tens of thousands of dollars?
DEPPEN: Well, it's all indicative of that particular breed. I mean, you might spend more money to campaign some sporting dogs. I mean, you look at the dog that took best in show last night.
BROWN: Yes.
DEPPEN: The training of that animal was probably the least of their expenses. It was the time and the travel and the advertising, the promotion. All of the behind to promote and push that dog throughout the whole entire year is where you really find the expense.
BROWN: It's -- I'm fascinated by this. I mean, it's just -- you get that I see dogs differently, just -- I just want to roll around with them and, yes.
DEPPEN: Not as a commodity.
BROWN: Yes.
DEPPEN: Right.
BROWN: Nice to meet you. Thanks for bringing the dog in. That's -- or the dog brought you in. I'm not sure which it was.
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: Nice meeting you, too, Leslie. Thank you.
DEPPEN: Thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: We'll take a break. We'll continue in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: That dog was something, wasn't it?
A few other stories that made news around the country today, this one something as well.
A high school chemistry teacher in Orlando, Florida, arrested and charged with showing his students how to make bombs. Police say the investigation began after a student detonated an explosive device -- that would be a bomb -- on a golf course and videotaped it. They also say the teacher admitted to exploding four bombs on a ball field behind the school. They don't make chemistry teachers like they used to.
In Boulder, Colorado, anything but pennies from heaven. Two children out playing discovered a duffel bag stuffed with cash, more than $80,000. Police say the size of the stash and the way the money was packaged seemed to indicate it may have been part of a drug transaction. Someone's not very happy.
In Washington tonight, word that Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania is battling Hodgkin's disease, a cancer of the lymph system. In a statement, the 75-year-old Pennsylvania Republican said -- quote -- "I've beaten a brain tumor, bypass heart surgery, and many tough political opponents. I'm going to beat this, too." And we hope he's right.
In sports -- and you'd be amazed at how seldom we say that around here -- the National Hockey League announced it is canceling its season. The league and its players tried one last time, but failed to end a five-month-old lockout over salaries, though the players did offer to give back a quarter of their pay. For the first time since 1919, there will be no fight -- kind of a hockey pun there -- for the Stanley Cup.
During the long years of apartheid, millions of black South Africans had no rights in their own country. Archbishop Desmond Tutu never stopped encouraging his people to believe that freedom was possible. But he told them it could only flourish if freedom was brought about without violence. Desmond Tutu's heroic story now as we continue our anniversary series "Then and Now."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU, HELPED END APARTHEID: Our struggle is going to succeed because it is a just struggle.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: During the dark days of apartheid in South Africa, me he was the voice of hope.
TUTU: This must be the last of its kind!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Archbishop Desmond Tutu always claimed he was a leader by default, but e used his faith to inspire black South Africans to fight for freedom peacefully. In honor of his battle against apartheid, Tutu won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. And when apartheid crumbled 10 years later, President Nelson Mandela pointed to Tutu to lead the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, to help South Africa deal with the crimes committed during apartheid.
TUTU: We must face this ghastly past and not pretend it never happened.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Often, the truth of the past was painful, even reducing Tutu to tears. Now, age 73, Tutu is still outspoken on issues around the world, from war to crimes committed in the name of God.
TUTU: God is not a Christian. Nor is God a Muslim. All -- all are God's children.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Despite a battle with prostate cancer in 1987, Tutu continues to inspire nonviolent political change around the world and works with the peace center that bears his name.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: OK, picture this. In the amount of time it takes to tell this story, you could discover your future spouse. And if this were a Hollywood love story, you might call it "Gone in 60 Seconds Meets On the Rise."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEN DECKINGER, CEO, HURRYDATE: And here we go. HurryDate!
ADELE TESTANI, PRESIDENT, HURRYDATE: HurryDate!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, did you bring a resume?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Steve 52.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) 13.
DECKINGER: HurryDate is basically a dating company with the idea of cutting to the chase and the idea of getting people to meet people quickly and efficiently and in a fun way.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where are you from?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sorry. Middle Village, Queens.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't say that. You're the one that just said that. DECKINGER: We do that in two ways. One is, we throw parties around the country where people go on 20 four-minute dates. And then we also offer online dating.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sorry. It was important. I went to the bathroom.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.TESTANI: First, you sign up at our Web site at HurryDate.com. You'll pick a party that's right for you. We have tons of different age ranges.
DECKINGER: We do tons of different niches. We'll do different ethnic groups. We do all types of gender references, whatever you want.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even better.
TESTANI: You show up the night of the party, and you get a scorecard and a name tag. And our hosts will literally start blowing a whistle every time you have one of your four-minute dates.
DECKINGER: Rotate!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was really nice meeting you.
TESTANI: You'll look at their number on their name tag, then open up a scorecard and find that number and circle either a yes or a no, just to say if you want to see them again.
DECKINGER: After the party, everyone goes back to the HurryDate Web site, and our computer matches everybody up; 95 percent of the people who come to HurryDate get at least one match from the party.
TESTANI: And, on average, most people actually get about three to five matches per party.
DECKINGER: Welcome to HurryDate world headquarters. Hey.
TESTANI: Hey, welcome.
DECKINGER: This is where we basically run our whole business. This is our favorite success wall.
TESTANI: Eighty-three. We love them, part of our little HurryDate family.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a tough city to like get into the whole dating scene.
DECKINGER: We started in New York City in May 2001, and we do HurryDates on a regular basis in roughly 65 cities right now. There are several thousands of people HurryDating monthly. A HurryDate party costs between $30 and $37, depending on the city that you live in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've never been to one of these things before. Have you?
TESTANI: There are actually a lot of tips for any dating situation, but especially at a HurryDate party. The biggest one is to just take a deep breath, relax, and have fun with it. Don't take it too seriously. You know, it is just a party.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's only been like 20 seconds, but it feels more like 30, doesn't it?
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shut up? Wow.
DECKINGER: Differentiation is key in HurryDate. As long as you can stick out from the crowd, you're golden.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you met any cool guys, besides me, of course?
TESTANI: When we hear about our success stories, that's what it's all about, you know, that we are bringing these people together. It's just amazing that just Ken and I are creating these...
DECKINGER: That's what is call.
TESTANI: You know, true love.
DECKINGER: Yes.
TESTANI: It's really cool.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very nice to meet you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very nice meeting you.
TESTANI: Even if there's not marriages or engagements out of it, that's not even really how we define success.
DECKINGER: You make a friend, whatever you want. As long as you got something out of HurryDate and you had a good time, it's a success.
DECKINGER: This is your last date. Yay!
TESTANI: Yay!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: HurryDating, doggie dating. What is going on here? The dog will bring in morning papers after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(ROOSTER CROWING)
BROWN: Okeydokey, time to check morning papers around the country and around the world, a lot of good ones today, so I need to move sort of briskly.
"The Christian Science Monitor." "Bush Administration Blurs Media Boundary. Controversy Over a 'Journalist' -- in quote -- "Adds to the Buzz About Message Control in the Capital." This is the Jeff Gannon story chapter, about six now. It's actually -- it's kind of uncomfortable for the White House on this, in my view. This is the story I like most, though. "States Shore Up Support For Troops. From Life Insurance to Utility Bills and Tuition, There's a Surge of Support For Part-Time Soldiers," says "The Christian Science Monitor." And out West in Portland, Oregon there seems evidence that that is in fact true, not that "The Christian Science Monitor" would put something that was untrue on the front page. "Soldiers: Gene's Got Your Back." "A Tavern Owner in Tangent, Oregon" -- I hope I pronounced that right -- "Aids Families of Oregonians Serving in Iraq." So, good for him.
Now, two different ways to headline Social Security and Alan Greenspan today. "The Washington Times." "Greenspan Backs Social Security Plan," which kind of makes it sound like Greenspan backs the Social Security plan.
"San Antonio Express-News," same testimony, same Greenspan. "Social Security Caution Is Urged. Greenspan Says Bush on Right Track, But Private Retirement Accounts Shouldn't Be Rushed. Fed Chairman Concerned About the Impact on the Deficit."
How are we doing on time?
Thank you.
I knew you'd get there.
"Colorado's Top Dog Earns a Spot on the Couch." That's the winning dog, Carlee. And maybe that's her trainer. I can't -- yes. "The Des Moines Register." Nothing that I cared about today, as it turned out.
"The Detroit News." OK. "Game Over. Impasse: $6.5 Million Difference Kills Season. Impact: Metro Businesses, Fans End Up as Big Losers." Future: NHL's Existence in Doubt Beyond This Season." That's why they call Detroit hockey town USA, isn't it? Now, where is it that the owners were forced to pay the players all this money? I never understand that part of these stories.
"The Philadelphia Inquirer." NHL is -- it's a good hockey town also. They put the NHL on the front page. But I just love the way this story is laid out. "Avalanche of Details From Probe. Transcripts and Other Evidence Flesh Out Prosecutors' Portrait of Pay- to-Play at City Hall."
Weather tomorrow in Chicago is "rude."
Wrap it up in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Soledad O'Brien with a look ahead at tomorrow's "AMERICAN MORNING."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Aaron. Tomorrow on "AMERICAN MORNING," the guy who wrote "Honeymoon With My Brother." It starts with that guy getting stood up at the altar, and it gets better from there. Actually, it's a moving story about how a single event led two brothers on a journey that would end up completely transforming their lives. Now Hollywood can't wait to get its hands on the story. We talk to them CNN tomorrow 7:00 a.m. Eastern -- Aaron.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Soledad, thank you. Tomorrow, right here, we'll take a look at the controversy over painkillers Vioxx and the rest, how they were marketed, and the other side of the story, which is patients who very much still want to take these drugs, despite the risks -- that and much more right here on NEWSNIGHT tomorrow at 10:00 Eastern time.
"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" next for most of you. We'll see you tomorrow. Good night for all of us.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
CNN's NewsNight where the experts deal Anti-Semitism
The Muslim community of DC are running into conflict with their holidays and the Jews according to CNN's NewsNight is the issue.
This from the e-mail:
"On to the other controversy of the evening - religion in schools. We report on a school where 30% of the kids are Jewish, so the school is closed on Jewish holidays. And now, although smaller in number, Muslims want the school to be closed to honor their holidays as well. If some kids get school off on their religious holidays, why shouldn't others? A look at that question and how school systems are handling changing demographics."
ALSO AT THIS SCHOOL are Christians that receive the traditional holidays off. But according to the CNN NewsNight e-mail it is the Jews that get the preference. Granted the Muslims are challenged to get their needs met and they need to pursue equity at any American School but to single out Jews is nothing short of Anti-Semitic.
That is CNN NewsNight's Sharon von Zwieten work of art. I cannot believe it has been better than a year or more that this bigot actually gets away with it all. Then again the Neocon Devout are tuning into the womanizers at FOX.
This from the e-mail:
"On to the other controversy of the evening - religion in schools. We report on a school where 30% of the kids are Jewish, so the school is closed on Jewish holidays. And now, although smaller in number, Muslims want the school to be closed to honor their holidays as well. If some kids get school off on their religious holidays, why shouldn't others? A look at that question and how school systems are handling changing demographics."
ALSO AT THIS SCHOOL are Christians that receive the traditional holidays off. But according to the CNN NewsNight e-mail it is the Jews that get the preference. Granted the Muslims are challenged to get their needs met and they need to pursue equity at any American School but to single out Jews is nothing short of Anti-Semitic.
That is CNN NewsNight's Sharon von Zwieten work of art. I cannot believe it has been better than a year or more that this bigot actually gets away with it all. Then again the Neocon Devout are tuning into the womanizers at FOX.
Producer Shift at CNN
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: February 16, 2005
CNN, which has been retooling its programming in a bid to close the ratings gap with Fox News, has replaced the senior executive producer of the prime-time program "NewsNight With Aaron Brown," a spokeswoman said last night.
The senior producer, Sharon Van Zwieten, who held the post for about a year, was succeeded by Wil Surratt, executive producer of CNN's morning show, "American Morning," said Christa Robinson, a CNN senior vice president.
In informal remarks yesterday to the network's employees, Jonathan Klein, president of CNN's domestic operations, said, "This move puts us in a better position to win," Ms. Robinson said. CNN is a unit of Time Warner.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/16/business/media/16cnn.html?ex=1189483200&en=35a620c826a2add2&ei=5070
Published: February 16, 2005
CNN, which has been retooling its programming in a bid to close the ratings gap with Fox News, has replaced the senior executive producer of the prime-time program "NewsNight With Aaron Brown," a spokeswoman said last night.
The senior producer, Sharon Van Zwieten, who held the post for about a year, was succeeded by Wil Surratt, executive producer of CNN's morning show, "American Morning," said Christa Robinson, a CNN senior vice president.
In informal remarks yesterday to the network's employees, Jonathan Klein, president of CNN's domestic operations, said, "This move puts us in a better position to win," Ms. Robinson said. CNN is a unit of Time Warner.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/16/business/media/16cnn.html?ex=1189483200&en=35a620c826a2add2&ei=5070
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
The Religious Bigotry of NewsNight's Morning Papers Segment
There is only ONE religious newsprint to note:
To understand the personal implications, there is a long history between myself and Morning Papers:
http://www.earthrescue911.org/press.htm
Click on "Story of the Rooster" for PDF.
Tonight's installment of Anti-Semitism:
BROWN: Morning papers after the break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) (ROOSTER CROWING)
BROWN: A lot of good morning papers today, so let's move quickly through them.
"Philadelphia Inquirer"
"Dallas Morning News"
"The Detroit Free Press."
"The Detroit News."
"The Christian Science Monitor"
"Cincinnati Enquirer."
"Chicago Sun-Times" "relapse"
To understand the personal implications, there is a long history between myself and Morning Papers:
http://www.earthrescue911.org/press.htm
Click on "Story of the Rooster" for PDF.
Tonight's installment of Anti-Semitism:
BROWN: Morning papers after the break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) (ROOSTER CROWING)
BROWN: A lot of good morning papers today, so let's move quickly through them.
"Philadelphia Inquirer"
"Dallas Morning News"
"The Detroit Free Press."
"The Detroit News."
"The Christian Science Monitor"
"Cincinnati Enquirer."
"Chicago Sun-Times" "relapse"
Thursday, February 10, 2005
The Religious Bigotry of The CNN NewsNight Morning Papers Segment 2.9.05
BROWN: Morning papers after the break. Wow. What was that?
(ROOSTER CROWING)
BROWN: OK, time to check morning papers.
"The Shanghai Daily"
"Christian Science Monitor"
"The Dallas Morning News,"
"San Antonio Express-News,"
"The Boston Herald"
"The Guardian,"
"The Miami Herald."
"The Detroit News."
Weather in Chicago, "monotonous."
(ROOSTER CROWING)
BROWN: OK, time to check morning papers.
"The Shanghai Daily"
"Christian Science Monitor"
"The Dallas Morning News,"
"San Antonio Express-News,"
"The Boston Herald"
"The Guardian,"
"The Miami Herald."
"The Detroit News."
Weather in Chicago, "monotonous."
Tuesday, February 8, 2005
The Religious Bigotry of NewsNight's Morning Papers Segment 2.8.05 Would the recording of Nazi Germany Demand Anything Less?
Our own reality program continues with morning papers after the break.
(ROOSTER CROWING)
BROWN: That's pretty cool. Tomorrow, I think -- I think it's tomorrow -- begins the year of the rooster.
"The Christian Science Monitor."
"The Dallas Morning News"
"The Washington Times"
"Rocky Mountain News"
"The Fairchild Connection."
"The Des Moines Register."
(The Chicago Sun Times) The weather tomorrow in Chicago is "rush slush."
(ROOSTER CROWING)
BROWN: That's pretty cool. Tomorrow, I think -- I think it's tomorrow -- begins the year of the rooster.
"The Christian Science Monitor."
"The Dallas Morning News"
"The Washington Times"
"Rocky Mountain News"
"The Fairchild Connection."
"The Des Moines Register."
(The Chicago Sun Times) The weather tomorrow in Chicago is "rush slush."
Thursday, February 3, 2005
MSNBC seeks potential for a job for Aaron as a candidate
The Vine: CNN toying with new 'NewsNight' (click here)
1 November 2005 | The Hollywood Reporter | See recent The Hollywood Reporter news »
NEW YORK -- Has CNN come to the end of the road in its pairing of Aaron Brown and Anderson Cooper on a recently expanded NewsNight? Speculation is rampant that CNN is weighing the possibility of keeping Cooper as anchor of the 10 p.m. EST edition of NewsNight while shifting Brown to anchor a new 7 p.m. edition of the show, which is now the home of Anderson Cooper 360. Brown had been anchoring the 10 p.m. NewsNight newscast as a solo act until early September, when CNN expanded the program to two hours to cover the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast region. Cooper, who has reported for extended periods of time from the road, has been a permanent part of the show after CNN decided to shelve its regular 11 p.m. repeat of Lou Dobbs Tonight. Now, according to sources, CNN is weighing the possibility of splitting up the show and giving Cooper the high-profile 10 p.m. slot. A CNN rep said that no final decisions have been made on the future of NewsNight. No matter what happens, neither Cooper nor Brown will be on the air for CNN this week. Both anchors are on vacation. »
Permalink | Report a problem
Top of the 'Morning' for CNN's Bondy
1 March 2005 | The Hollywood Reporter | See recent The Hollywood Reporter news »
NEW YORK -- There's a change at the top of American Morning, CNN's weekday morning show. Monday is the first day on the job for Kim Bondy, whose new job is exec producer for American Morning and CNN's vp morning programming. She replaces Wilson Surratt, who last week was named exec producer of NewsNight with Aaron Brown. Bondy, whose new job is New York-based along with the show, previously was based in Atlanta as CNN's vp franchise development. Her promotion was announced Monday morning during a staff meeting with CNN president Jon Klein. »
Permalink | Report a problem
Carlson ties up MSNBC anchor spot
3 February 2005 | The Hollywood Reporter | See recent The Hollywood Reporter news »
NEW YORK -- MSNBC has hired former Crossfire co-host Tucker Carlson to anchor a 9 p.m. program. Carlson left CNN last month after talks to give him his own show on that network failed. He had been a co-host of the debate show Crossfire since the late '90s and also had substituted on other CNN shows, including NewsNight With Aaron Brown in the last week of 2004. MSNBC has been looking for a permanent host for the 9 p.m. time slot since Deborah Norville quit last month
Wednesday, February 2, 2005
Bush to Appoint Commission to Investigate Pre-War Intelligence; Bodice-Ripping Super Bowl Halftime Show Causes Uproar
Bush to Appoint Commission to Investigate Pre-War Intelligence; Bodice-Ripping Super Bowl Halftime Show Causes Uproar
Aired February 2, 2004 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening again, everyone.First of all I want you to know that we have taken extra care to make sure that whatever else happens tonight there will not be a costume malfunction on this program.If you're just sitting there waiting for me to rip off part of my shirt as some cheap ratings stunt in hopes that you'll watch the entire program, including the commercials, you are out of luck. The shirt stays on. So do the pants.Sometimes I do the program without my shoes but that's as far as I'm willing to go, yet another sign of how hopelessly behind the times we are here at NEWSNIGHT.Further, we have no intention of telling you how to stay in the game, if you know what I mean, and if you don't know what I mean think of throwing a football through a tire. That'll explain it.Also to my knowledge there will not be a moment where we all get a good hearty laugh out of animal flatulence. We will, however, deal with the Super Bowl halftime show but should this program run longer than four hours please call a doctor immediately.We'll begin the whip with more serious stuff though. To the White House and CNN's Dana Bash, Dana a headline please.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Aaron, after months of resisting the idea of a commission to look into pre-war intelligence the president has reversed course. He is now embracing the idea. The Democrats say what he's planning isn't truly independent. They're not buying it -- Aaron.
BROWN: Dana, thank you.To the campaign trail, South Carolina, Frank Buckley is there, Frank a headline.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Aaron, on the last full day of campaigning before round three of the Democratic primaries and caucuses a new poll suggests that in a head-to-head match up with President George W. Bush two of the Democratic candidates could win -- Aaron.
BROWN: Frank, thank you. Now to Washington and an ominous discovery in the mailroom of the Senate majority leader tonight, Jeanne Meserve with the headline -- Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, let's call it a potentially ominous discovery. A homeland security official tells us that a substance found in Senator Bill Frist's mailroom this afternoon has tested positive for ricin in preliminary tests. These tests often unreliable further testing being done. However, law enforcement officials telling CNN that the preliminary testing was confusing and inconsistent. We are waiting for a press conference from the Capitol Police shortly, which we hope will clarify the situation -- Aaron.
BROWN: Thank you, Jeanne.And back to the water cooler story of the day, if not all time, the Super Bowl halftime show, Jen Rogers with part of that story from L.A. -- Jen
.JEN ROGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Aaron. That's right. You know all the people could talk today -- about today wasn't the game winning field goal, that 85-yard record breaking touchdown pass. It was Janet and Justin, that's right. But it turns out besides being good for the water cooler this stunt could have repercussions from Washington.
BROWN: Jen, thank you. We'll get back to you and the rest shortly.Also on the program tonight we revisit some voters in Arizona we met last October, hear how they have gone from undecided to decided before tomorrow's primary.Segment 7 tonight you will meet Jay Williams (ph), a fantastic young kid who was about to break out as a star in the NBA until a devastating motorcycle accident. He talks about his long road back tonight.And, for the really big finale, why morning papers of course and I wonder what will be on the morning papers as they make their way to your doorstep tomorrow? Hum, all of that and more in the one hour ahead.We begin with the president's decision to do what less than a week ago he said was premature, probably not necessary. The president will appoint a commission to, among other things, look at the intelligence that he used to take the country to war.It was a tacit admission that the intelligence was wrong but the president's decision has not satisfied everyone, rarely does, but this question keeps coming up again and again. If the president makes the appointment how independent will the commission actually be?From the White House tonight here's CNN's Dana Bash.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASH (voice-over): Little more than a week after outgoing weapons inspector David Kay declared weapons of mass destruction likely won't be found in Iraq, President Bush under mounting political pressure now says he'll appoint a commission to find out why.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm putting together an independent bipartisan commission to analyze where we stand, what we can do better as we fight this war against terror.
BASH: Mr. Bush invited Dr. Kay to the White House for a private briefing from the man who declared: "We were all wrong." The White House is actively assembling a nine-person panel which they compared to the Warren Commission set up after JFK's assassination. The panel will focus not just on intelligence in Iraq but take a broader look at gaps in other crucial areas like North Korea and Iran.
SCOTT REED, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT:I think the administration recognize that this issue was starting to get a head of steam with the American people, with members of Congress and, you know, every once in a while in politics you just (unintelligible) for what's going to happen.
BASH: The White House officials are informally consulting with some in Congress on the commission's makeup and mandate. It will be appointed only by the president by executive order. Democrats question whether that is truly independent.
SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D), MINORITY LEADER: We can't have the president or anybody else dictating how that commission is going to work and the nominees who will be involved.
BASH: While the latest CNN/USA Today Gallup poll still shows most Americans don't think the president deliberately misled them on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, a major rationale for war, nine months before election day there are growing misgivings about the war itself. Just 49 percent of Americans think going to war in Iraq was worth it, down ten points in under three weeks. Bush officials are still careful to say Saddam Hussein was a threat and do not concede, even when pressed, intelligence on Iraq's illicit weapons was flawed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: And another thing that's really (unintelligible) Democrats on Capitol Hill and on the campaign trail is the fact that this commission's deadline is likely not going to be until after the election. That makes this whole idea of creating a commission, Democrats say, look a lot like a political ploy -- Aaron.
BROWN: Well, without calling it or characterizing it as a ploy or not someone at the White House must have thought, we would assume, that it does make it less of an issue in the sense they can say look a commission is investigating this.
BASH: That's right and, you know, that is what they have been saying all along. They've been saying that a committee in the Senate, a committee in the House have been looking at this. Other areas, the CIA, other places they've all been investigating Iraq.But what the White House is trying to do is make this into a broader, look, the White House spokesman Scott McClellan must have said the word broad about 20 times today in his press conference. They say that this is about looking at not just Iraq but about North Korea, about the whole war on terrorism, about the entire intelligence community at large.
BROWN: Dana, thank you, Dana Bash at the White House tonight.With his testimony last week in the Senate, former U.S. weapons inspector David Kay pretty much assured that this issue is not going to go away anytime soon. Clearly it's not now. One question tonight how much mileage will the White House get out of today's announcement, if any?Dana Milbank is covering this all for the "Washington Post," pleased to have him with us tonight. It's good to see you. Let's talk for a minute about the evolution of the administration's position on this because it seems to me at least the middle of last week they were arguing that no commission was necessary at all.
DANA MILBANK, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, "WASHINGTON POST": Yes. The White House says they never really flatly opposed it, although I think we might be able to find them actually flatly opposing it.But more they were saying let's wait until the Iraq survey group has done its job and that was really a way of saying well let's wait until next year because everybody realized that's going to take another year or so to do that.Some people in the White House began to realize though, wait a second, maybe Kay is giving us an opportunity here. He's not blaming us. He's blaming the CIA and the intelligence. If we get onboard, get out in front of this steamroller and start driving it then perhaps we can have this independent commission and that will put it -- they have to wait for the survey group to be done anyway so we're into 2005 and we're reelected so it doesn't really matter what happens then.
BROWN: I guess what I'm trying to figure out is was there a moment where their view of a commission changed. Did something happen in the White House that led them to go from let's let the survey group do its work to we best form a commission or we're going -- we'll be buried by this?
MILBANK: Well, as I understand it, there was something of an argument inside. There are still some people inside who say well the White House should come out, the president should come out and say what everybody else seems to be realizing, what Kay said and what seems patently obvious to everybody and that is the intelligence leading to the allegations, leading to the war in Iraq were wrong.Now, if you listen very carefully the president is not saying it was wrong. Scott McClellan is not saying it was wrong. But by having the commission you can put off saying it was wrong that much longer.So, it's not like suddenly everybody in the White House is won over to the idea that commissions are terrific things. You can rest pretty well assured that they don't have any particular need for a commission. This is a White House that likes to have centralized control, does not like to let things get out of their hands but they realize that tactically this is very useful for them to do so sometime towards the end of last week the people advocating this got the upper hand.
BROWN: Isn't this -- I'll withdraw the sentence I wrote a little earlier if you disagree but isn't this a tacit admission that the intelligence was wrong?
MILBANK: Well, of course it is and if you talk to people in the White House privately, I mean they're not, they're not dumb. Obviously they see what Kay has said. They see what's on the news reports. They know that the intelligence was wrong.But what they've realized, and this happened last summer when they admitted that the allegations about Iraq getting uranium in Africa was put in the State of the Union address, they acknowledged that was wrong and it led to this tidal wave of criticism. Everybody pounced on that and used that admission to hammer away at the White House.What they're realizing is it does them no good to say we were wrong. It projects weakness. It invites attacks from the Democrats, so they're actually -- they realize of course that it was wrong but they cannot acknowledge it. So, the commission implicitly acknowledges what the president and his people cannot say explicitly or at least are not willing to say explicitly right now.
BROWN: Hearing any names?
MILBANK: For the commission?
BROWN: Yes.
MILBANK: Well, if we did we'd report them tomorrow in the "Washington Post."
BROWN: You know somehow I knew you'd say that. Thank you. Good to have you with us telling us what you can before you publish tomorrow. Thank you.
MILBANK: Thank you, Aaron.
BROWN: Dana Milbank who covers the White House and other matters for the "Washington Post" well and aggressively. On to an inquiry of an all together different sort so tell me did you hear the one about the Super Bowl halftime show? You did? Hum. All that's been said about it, and a lot has and will continue to be, the thing that stands out in all of this to me is I finally came to understand why TIVO has that quick backup button. How did they know?Anyway, the federal government is now on the case, vowing to uncover the truth. Thank goodness.Here's CNN's Jen Rogers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROGERS (voice-over): First there was the kiss. Now there's the rip.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was shocked.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Disgusting, inappropriate for television, very inappropriate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The way the game was going I thought that was the best highlight of it all.
ROGERS: The racy conclusion to the Super Bowl's halftime show certainly grabbed fans' attention and it turns out the governments as well. Monday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell launched an investigation saying he is outraged.
MICHAEL POWELL, CHAIRMAN, FCC: I thought it was outrageous and I was deeply disappointed as I sat there with my two children and I knew immediately this would cause great outrage by the American people which it did.
ROGERS: CBS, which aired the Super Bowl, MTV which produced the halftime show and Justin Timberlake, the bodice ripper himself all but characterized the moment as unrehearsed and unplanned.For her part, Janet Jackson issued a statement late Monday saying: "The decision to have a costume reveal at the end of my halftime show performance was made after final rehearsals. MTV was completely unaware of it. It was not my intention that it go as far as it did. I apologize to anyone offended, including the audience, MTV, CBS and the NFL."Apologies aside, many believe the stunt could end up boosting Jackson's bottom line.
JENNY ELISCU, "ROLLING STONE" MAGAZINE: I think probably from a PR standpoint it is a good move for her because controversy generates album sales.
ROGERS: The timing for Janet Jackson, some say, couldn't be better. Her new album hits stores this spring.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROGERS: Now, good timing for Jackson but tough timing for stations that actually aired the Super Bowl and that is because Chairman Powell has really been cracking down and getting much more aggressive on indecency. And, in fact, Congress has a bill making its way through that could increase the fines tenfold of where they are right now.And one more thing, Aaron, I do want to point out that you just were talking about your new appreciation of TIVO, well TIVO actually coming out with a press release saying that the Justin Timberlake/Janet Jackson moment drew the biggest spike ever in terms of audience reaction that the company has ever measured and one can only imagine what is being traded over the Internet tonight.
BROWN: One does not even want to imagine what is being traded over the Internet tonight. Jen, thank you very much, nice job today.Ahead on the program we'll spend a little bit more time on this Super Bowl mess. We'll get the perspective of a couple of folks, Jeff Greenfield among them, Dave Ross from CBS radio joins us to weigh in as well. It is the water cooler story of the day.But up next the last hours of campaigning as Democratic presidential candidates try and win over the undecided votes who head to the polls tomorrow and they have to do it with their shirts on.And in Segment 7 tonight the story of Jay Williams, an up-and- coming pro basketball star on the road back after a devastating motorcycle accident. You'll appreciate athletes a little more tonight on NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Just hours ago now until the voting begins in seven states holding Democratic primaries or caucuses tomorrow, the stage bigger, the voters more diverse, the dynamic different from two weeks ago.Frontrunner John Kerry now hoping to cement a growing lead, his opponents bent on breaking the winning streak. The conventional wisdom is the seven states tomorrow may well serve to at least winnow the field, though none of the candidates is willing to concede that much, not yet.Here's CNN's Frank Buckley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY (voice-over): John Edwards came home to Seneca, South Carolina.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's a great honor for me to be back in my birthplace.
BUCKLEY: His candidacy getting a huge boost by a new CNN/USA Today Gallup poll indicating that he is one of only two Democratic candidates who could beat President George Bush is the election were held today.Frontrunner John Kerry wins the hypothetical content by seven points, Edwards a virtual unknown on the national political stage before his second place finish in Iowa beats Mr. Bush 49 to 48 percent.
EDWARDS: On the way here about 45 minutes ago I saw a national poll showing that I am already beating George Bush.
BUCKLEY: Edwards' homecoming celebration came on a day that saw sniping among the Democrats. Former frontrunner Howard Dean going after Kerry on Kerry's familiar line about going after special interests. Over the weekend records revealed that Kerry has accepted more money from lobbyists than any other U.S. Senator.
HOWARD DEAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have got to change this country fundamentally, change what's going on in Washington, stand up for ordinary Americans so that we control the government and not special interests and corporations. And, John, don't let the door hit you on the way out.
BUCKLEY: Kerry responded.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't know whatever happened to Governor Dean's positive campaign but it's the shortest lived positive campaign I've ever seen.
BUCKLEY: Polls show Kerry leading in five of the seven February 3 states. Wesley Clark is ahead in some polls in Oklahoma in a very tight race. It's Edwards who is winning in South Carolina. And after a series of satellite interviews with South Carolina TV stations, Senator Kerry whispered to an aide, overheard by a pool reporter, "Edwards says he's the only one who can win states in the south. He can't win his own state," which prompted an immediate response from Edwards.
EDWARDS: Here's what happened. I took on the Helms political machine, beat the incumbent Republican Senator and now I am your Senator from North Carolina, not Jesse Helms.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY: Now, despite the fact that the CNN poll suggests that either Edwards or Kerry would beat George Bush in a head-to-head match-up today, no one is suggesting that that's the outcome of an election in November. It's way too early for that. The Democrats have been in the news a lot lately and voters have been listening to that but there's been very little negative information about the candidates out there so far. But I talked to a couple of political analysts tonight, Aaron, who said that this poll result is huge for John Edwards. John Edwards is a guy that very few people knew about just a few weeks ago. Now he's seen as a legitimate contender against George W. Bush in a general election. It's big news for John Edwards -- Aaron.
BROWN: That's a great caveat and a P.S. to it all. I think it puts the poll in better context. The overall poll itself may not tell us something but it does say something about Senator Edwards and his quest. We appreciate your reporting today, Frank. Thank you very much, Frank Buckley in South Carolina. We'll see him tomorrow.Of the seven states in play tomorrow, Arizona offers the biggest, second biggest prize, 55 delegates. Only Missouri with 74 has more. In Iowa and New Hampshire many voters were undecided until the very end and what they decided may well shape some of tomorrow's votes. A few days ago we went back to Arizona to see how things have changed, how minds have changed since the fall.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN (voice-over): We met them first back last fall, a debate in October in Arizona. Like half the Democrats in the state at the time they were undecided then. They came to the debate to ask.
PAULETTE POHLMANN, ARIZONA DEMOCRAT: There is so much hate for the United States right now and how would you use your position as president to uplift the world to a place that would take us out of that darkness?
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: America is a country from the heart.
BROWN: And sometimes they answered.
EDWARDS: Karen, how long have you been without any kind of coverage for your prescription drugs?
POHLMANN: It's been over a year.
EDWARDS: Over a year.BROWN: And they thought the debate would help them decide which turned out to be wishful thinking.
KAREN DICKINSON, ARIZONA DEMOCRAT: I came away from the debate with the same feeling of this is just rhetoric.
POHLMANN: I had a lot of information coming at me about, particularly from the media and from print journalists but I -- I had to do a lot of research on my own.
BROWN: Now a lot has happened since last October, most notably one state's caucuses.
KERRY: I love New Hampshire.
BROWN: And another state's primary.
PAT CANTELME, ARIZONA DEMOCRAT: Between Iowa and just prior to New Hampshire I made up my mind.
BROWN: Some stars have dimmed. Others, like John Edwards, brighten.
POHLMANN: And he came in second in Iowa and he came in third in New Hampshire. That was when my own faith in my first impressions were reinstated.
BROWN: It isn't a position on health care or the economy that's driving decisions. It's not Iraq or gay marriage. It is something else, something more basic, perhaps the most basic reason of all.
CANTELME: I was looking to see what candidate I thought would resonate with the public and have the best chance to beat President Bush.
POHLMANN: I think there's a lot of agreement that in the collective of people who would like to see a different direction in the presidential administration.
BROWN: Strip away everything else. Strip away the debates and the ads, the speeches and the pundits and what has moved the undecideds is simple. They pick the guy they think can win come November.
POHLMANN: I've made the decision that I'm going to vote for John Edwards.
CANTELME: Senator Kerry for president.
DICKINSON: My husband and I, it's been a great debate between us and a lot of soul searching but it's going to be John Kerry.
BROWN: They all agree on the reason they've made their choice if not on the choice itself.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Arizona and six others tomorrow.Still ahead on NEWSNIGHT, the $500 billion problem. That's how the president's new budget is in the red, how deep. Some details on that and more as NEWSNIGHT continues from New York.(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Tonight we have a much better idea of how our tax dollars will be spent in the next fiscal year. President Bush delivered his budget for 2005 to the Congress today.Some of the details have been dribbling out for several days, the (unintelligible) a third price tag for the Medicare overhaul for one but the extent of the new spending and the scope of the resulting cuts is now official in black and white and red.Here's CNN's Kathleen Koch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hand delivered to lawmakers, President Bush's biggest budget yet, a whopping $2.4 trillion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now I got to get busy reading it.KOCH: There is more money for defense, for homeland security, for NASA's mission to Mars and for some education and job training programs but 63 government programs will be trimmed and 65 eliminated all together.BUSH: We're calling upon Congress to be wise with the taxpayers' money and we look forward to working with them to bring a fiscal discipline to the appropriations process.
KOCH: But Democrats charge President Bush's budget is anything but disciplined.
SEN. KENT CONRAD (D), NORTH DAKOTA: This elephant won't fly. This president's plan won't lift off the ground. It is so burdened by deficit and debt that it fundamentally threatens our economic security.
KOCH: One point of contention, the budget estimates the cost of the Medicare overhaul and prescription drug plan will be one third higher than lawmakers were told it would be when they voted for it.Also, President Bush left out of the budget money needed next year to keep U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The omission could add $50 billion or more to the record $521 billion deficit created by the president's budget. Even some Republicans worry it is gushing red ink.
SEN. DON NICKLES, CHAIRMAN, BUDGET COMMITTEE: I believe that the deficits are too high, $500 billion deficits are not acceptable.
KOCH: Political analysts say economic conservatives, the base of the Republican Party are nearing revolt.
REED: They don't like the fact that spending has grown and it feels like it's out of control. The Medicare news last week was bad.KOCH (on camera): And then there was that vow in the State of the Union that the president will cut the budget deficit in half within five years. Mr. Bush insists his new budget is on track to keep that promise.Kathleen Koch, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Now, we'll look at some of the other stories in the business world. This is our Moneyline Roundup of course. Blimpie, International, I love that name, plans to open a sandwich shop or many of them actually in Wal-Marts across the country. In all, Blimpie intends to open more than 100 of its express restaurants this year. The first will debut in Florida in April. Get ready.Turning to the economy and a pair of seemingly positive reports on growth, looked that way to us, starting with the closely-watched purchasing managers' report which said manufacturing activity rose for the eighth straight month and jumped to a 20-year high in January. Also the Commerce Department said the nation's construction spending rose in December.Some good news on the economy today; however, both reports fell below estimates which results in a mixed day on Wall Street. Can't make those people can you? The Dow and the S&P were up a little bit, NASDAQ fell again.Still to come on NEWSNIGHT: the Super Bowl and questions of whether there were more personal fouls committed during the commercials and halftime than during the game itself, this important question after the break. Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: The FCC is on the case. Back to the Super Bowl. Times change; 28 years old, Carol Channing was the big-name entertainer at halftime. Super Bowl XIV was a salute to the big band era. How quaint does that sound tonight? Chubby Checker appeared during Super Bowl XXII, along with those symbols of Americans sex, the Rockettes. Tony Bennett, fully clothed, as I remember it, appeared on Super Bowl XXIX. Admit it. You don't remember any of them, not a one. The bar has now been raised -- or perhaps lowered -- to meet the culture or imitate it. Here's our senior analyst, Jeff Greenfield.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST (voice-over): Oh, where to begin? Well, it's hard to beat Justin Timberlake's explanation. Wardrobe malfunction, he called it. Wardrobe malfunction? Houston, we have a problem. Or maybe we should check out MTV's heartfelt apology -- quote -- "The tearing of Janet Jackson's costume was unrehearsed, unplanned, completely unintentional and was inconsistent with assurances we had about the content of the performance. MTV regrets this incident occurred and we apologize to anyone who was offended by it" -- unquote. Well, apology accepted, except there was this comment on MTV's Web site after Justin got something off her chest. -- quote -- "Jaws across the country hit the carpet at exactly the same time. You know what we're talking about, Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake and a kinky finale that rocked the Super Bowl to its core." Yes, baby. CBS said -- quote -- "We attended all rehearsals throughout the week, and there was no indication that any such thing would happen." Really? So they were OK with this? The National Football League -- remember they staged a game of some sort yesterday -- said -- quote -- "It's unlikely that MTV will produce another Super Bowl halftime." Yes, because, given MTV's track record during the past decade or so, why would anyone even imagine they might throw in a shock or two? (on camera): The fact is, when it comes to the sleaze factor in mass media, there's more than enough hypocrisy to go around. All of our biggest media giants, including the one that owns CNN, have made gobs of money appealing to the public's endless taste for the naughty, the bawdy and the tawdry. (voice-over): In fact, in the middle of the Super Bowl, CBS, you know, the network so offended by Janet Jackson's mammary, ran this promo showing a child ogling a nearly naked backside. And the commercials, all of which CBS approved for air and which cost some $2.3 million per 30 seconds, featured, among many other things, a flatulent horse and a monkey making sexual advances to a girl. And, by the way, remember this Pepsi ad starring a presidential nominee, a hot young woman and a highly enthusiastic dog? Yes, good taste is timeless. (on camera): In every survey, the public says it is appalled by media sleaze. It says it wants to see more documentaries and high- minded dramas. It never says it wants to see nearly-naked women wrestling with each other or kinky threesomes confessing all to a leering talk show host or secret celebrity sex tapes. Nope, never says it, and never stops watching. Jeff Greenfield, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: So, what to make of all of this? We certainly have been talking about it all day here at NEWSNIGHT.Dave Ross is host of the aptly named "Dave Ross Show" in Seattle and a national syndicated CBS radio commentator. He joins us from Seattle. So does Alan Light join us from here in New York. He's editor in chief of a new music magazine called "Tracks." He's also been the editor of "Spin" and "Vibe" and a senior writer at "Rolling Stone." And we're glad to have them both.David, are we actually shocked or are we just pretending to be shocked because we know we're supposed to be?
DAVE ROSS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I think it's the latter, Aaron. I certainly -- as a matter of fact, to be totally honest, I didn't know even it had happened. I saw a crawl, I think on CNN, saying, "Janet Jackson Apologizes." I immediately went back to the TiVo and am probably single-handedly responsible for about 500,000 of those TiVo hits. But, no, I think -- I have a feeling that al Qaeda must have sabotaged the costume in some way, because there's no way that Justin really wanted to rip all of it off.
BROWN: No, I'm sure not.
ROSS: Just some of it off.
BROWN: Just some of it.
ROSS: Just some of it.
BROWN: Did your listeners talk about it today? And were they -- I mean, Seattle is a pretty calm group, when they're not overcaffeinated. Were they appalled or did they find some amusement in it all?
ROSS: They feigned appropriate shock, Aaron. And we discussed whether the FCC should investigate it. And they felt kind of like Howard Dean does, that they would prefer an investigation of whatever happened to those weapons, rather than whether this was intentional or not.
BROWN: Alan, is this -- should we be shocked? In a sense, isn't this what MTV and sort of kid culture is right now?
ALAN LIGHT, EDITOR IN CHIEF, "TRACKS": Well, I think, by and large, that's very true.And I think the Super Bowl halftime show was Up With People or Gloria Estefan.
BROWN: Yes.
LIGHT: The notion was, we'll bring in MTV. We'll give it edge and energy and rock 'n' roll. And, you know, this is everything, in theory, that the NFL was going for, making this shift to having MTV produce the halftime show. It's 28 hours later and it's what we're all still talking about it. I doubt that they think that that ultimately is a failure.
BROWN: So, you have a kind of cynical suspicion that maybe they're feigning outrage themselves, because they're getting a ton and a half of attention.
LIGHT: As was pointed out in Jeff's piece, there's not a whole lot of room for improvisation and accident in the halftime show of the most watched television event of the year.
BROWN: Yes.
LIGHT: I don't really believe that it went completely -- everybody went nuts and the cameras didn't know where to go and, all of sudden, this happened.
BROWN: Yes, that is a stretch, isn't it?
LIGHT: Whether it was supposed to be, he would tear some off or all off, OK, maybe there's degrees to talk about. But in terms of the direction of what this was going to be, I have a hard time believing that this was a complete surprise to everybody at CBS and the NFL.
BROWN: Dave, setting aside for a minute whether seeing a bare breast on television for a nanosecond is going to corrupt the nation's youth, let me suggest there's actually something serious and troubling in all of this, which was the whole scene. The whole scene was inappropriately sexual.
ROSS: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: The end game was basically, if you can't get the girl to take her clothes off, just rip them off.
ROSS: Yes, exactly. Well, that was what surprising to me, although I'll tell you, the thing, Aaron, that first caught my attention not so much the Janet Jackson-Justin Timberlake dance. I thought he was going to get her pregnant right on that stage. But, actually, before that, Kid Rock's lyrics.
BROWN: Yes.
ROSS: I starting hearing him talking about the IRS and meth labs and stuff like this. And I said, oh, so we hear all this and now we're going to go and play some good old American football.
BROWN: Yes.
ROSS: But I think that, you know, the point's been made that the executives who booked this booked it intentionally because they wanted it to be edgy. Clearly, they wanted to appeal to a younger demographic. And so to profess shock at this point is kind of disingenuous. And it happens in radio, too. They will book the edgiest deejay they can find. And then they egg on a couple of people to make love in the cathedral, and they say, oh, we had no idea this would happen.
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: Actually, had the Janet Jackson moment not happened, I actually assumed the problem was going to be the guy wearing the American flag and ripping it off. ROSS: Yes. BROWN: That, actually, in the moment we're in, is pretty tasteless. Are kids, Alan, looking at us right now, these old people that we are -- or I am -- and just laughing at us making a big fuss over this?
LIGHT: Mostly I think yes. I do think -- look, for all of this said, I do think it's a surprise and a line that we didn't expect to go past, to end up with a breast bared at halftime at the Super Bowl. But...
BROWN: Because, if it happened at the Grammys, we would talk about it, but -- I'm not sure we would do it.
(CROSSTALK)
LIGHT: But this is the biggest mass, mainstream event of the entire year. That said, you know, especially, as you said, surrounded by ads joking about passing gas and wearing nothing under your kilt and all the other ways to cut through the clutter that you saw through the entire game, I think kids are thinking, why is this one second, as we have seen on other award shows, other MTV shows, other reality shows, Howard Stern's show, is this a big deal?
BROWN: Yes.
LIGHT: I don't think, if it got this kind of coverage, that kids would still be talking about it that much.
BROWN: Nice to meet you. Thanks for coming in.
LIGHT: Thanks so much, Aaron.
BROWN: David, it's good to see you. It's been a while. We always enjoy you, though. Thank you very much.
ROSS: Thanks, Aaron.
BROWN: Dave Ross in Seattle, Alan Light here in New York.We'll see if this story lasts another day or not. You know cable. It probably will. Ahead on NEWSNIGHT, a different sort of sports story, this one about a young man you will want to root for, I believe it, Jay Williams and his long road back, a story of courage and more, as NEWSNIGHT continues from New York.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Well, we can say one good thing about the Super Bowl dust-up. This time, it wasn't the athletes who acted like jerks. We tend to think of modern athletes that way, too rich, too spoiled, too drugged, too selfish, too a lot of things none of us like very much. And the danger of that thinking is not that it's sometimes right. It's that it is sometimes wrong. And Jay Williams proves it, though you may never see this good kid perform ever again, not a perfect good, a good kid, a hardworking kid, a role model sort of kid who, in one moment of being a kid, learned a good deal about being a man.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAY WILLIAMS, CHICAGO BULLS: I remember the colors of the car that I saw when I was going towards it in the air. And I remember the pole that I was going towards. And, you know, I was going fast, at a fast speed. I remember a lot of pain. BROWN: Twenty-two-year-old Jay Williams is talking about the night he almost died.
WILLIAMS: The first thing I thought about wasn't that, I feel pain. It was that, I threw it all away.
BROWN: Until that accident, Jay Williams was a basketball star, A star at Duke, where he went to college, the second player chosen in the NBA draft 18 months ago, a three-year, $13.5 million contract under his belt from the Chicago Bulls. And that was just the start of a career. Jay Williams was also just a kid who acted like a kid and thought like a kid.
WILLIAMS: You kind of think that you're invincible, not that you can't get hurt, but, no, I don't think that can happen to me. So it kind of broke -- it really broke my heart.
BROWN: A broken pelvis, a severed nerve, three of his four knee ligaments torn in the left leg, his left leg, all of that caused him to grow up. A hospital bed will do that to a young man.
WILLIAMS: I was in the bed for a long time on my back. And I couldn't move, couldn't really do anything. My leg hurt every time somebody touched it. It's been a difficult adjustment, but it's getting better and better each day.
BROWN: For all intents and purposes, this is his new home, the sports medicine complex at Duke University, where his rehabilitation is both relentless and painful, but hardly guarantees he will play again. So to the weights and the exercise bike, he's added a religious medal given to him by a special friend.
MIKE KRZYZEWSKI, DUKE UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL COACH: I gave him a holy medal. I'm Catholic and it's something that I've had for years. And I just gave it to him. I said, this is yours, but I'm only lending it to you. And I said, I want you to use it and it's very special to me. And -- I'm going to cry here -- I said, the night you -- the night you come back and play your first NBA game, you give it back to me and I'll be there.
WILLIAMS: Being weak at the time, when I saw his face, it just -- it inspired me. It inspired me to say, OK, I can get through this. It's going to be a long journey.
BROWN: Riding a motorcycle is against a standard NBA player's contract. And the Chicago Bulls would have been within their rights not to pay him a dime. But they did. They gave him more than $3 million this year and another $3 million to forego the remainder of his lucrative contract. They may have given up on him. Most people in the sport have. But Jay Williams still believes.
WILLIAMS: It's a trying experience. But I think that the great part about it is, you know, throughout my life, a lot of people have always looked at me, playing basketball, oh, he's a man. Look at his body type. He's a man. He plays like a man. And it is not until now that I'm finding out what it is to be a man, how it is to go through pain every day, but, at the same time, to try to persevere and to have the big picture down the road and keep fighting for my dream. I am really fighting for my dream.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: A kid worth rooting for. Morning papers after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: OK, time to check morning papers from around the country and around the world. I'm sure there's none of that Super Bowl nonsense in any of the papers. That's just a cable TV thing. And the papers wouldn't stoop to that, would they?
Well, "The International Herald Tribune" didn't, at least, published in France, but not, as a viewer said the other day, a French newspaper, published by "The New York Times." "Bush Budget Focus: Anti-Terror Fight, Military and Security Programs Benefit, While '05 Domestic Spending Is Limited." Anything else on the front page? Well, yes, but nothing that cool.
Now, "The Times, a London paper, kind of center-right paper. "Spies Must Tell How They Got Iraq Wrong." Doesn't that sound familiar? That could have happened in the United States. We had to go to a foreign paper for that? My goodness. Oh, wait, down at the bottom. "How Super Bowl Was Shocked From Top to Bottom." It's news everywhere. I'm sure they're laughing trying to figure out what football is. Here's the right lead.
"The Boston Herald" got it right. It led with the football player. "Superstar." It was a great football game, wasn't it? Yes. And that halftime show, who will remember, though? Anyway, that's Tom Brady. He was the MVP, I guess, right? But that other kid did pretty good, didn't he? That was cool.
"The Philadelphia Inquirer." Up at the top here, it's not really a front-page story. It's a teaser, but it's close enough for my taste. "Janet Jackson Offers Apology. She Didn't Mean for It to Go That Far, She Said Last Night. A Red Lace Garment Was Supposed to Remain During Her Super Bowl Duet, But it Didn't." Don't you hate when that happens? I know I do. "Kerry's Momentum Faces Seven-State Test today." That would be tomorrow, unless you're watching the replay, in which case, it would be today. And "Bush Sets His Course on Budget." That's how they lead.
"The Chattanooga Times Free Press" leads the budget story a little bit differently. "Bush '05 Budget Proposal Faces Record Deficits," not the kind of lead that will make the White House all that happy, will it?
"The Richmond Times-Dispatch." We haven't had this one for a while. What I found interesting about this, this is a Virginia newspaper. That's tobacco country. "Survey: Many Back Higher Tobacco Taxes; 71 Percent Would Support an Increase of 75 Cents a Pack to Address the State's Shortfall." And let's just go to -- I have to find it. I know when you do morning papers at home, you sometimes have this problem as well.
"The Chicago Sun-Times." "Janet's Wardrobe Malfunction." Who was the P.R. person who came up with that phrase, by the way, wardrobe malfunction? The weather in Chicago tomorrow -- oh, I hate when they do that -- "The groundhog says..." -- so we don't know what the weather will be tomorrow. Well, actually, I can tell you, it's going to be 30 degrees, a heat wave. That's morning papers. We'll update -- literally update -- the day's top story in just a moment. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Well, as we reported at the top of program tonight, a white powdery substance was found today in the mailroom of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. A government official says that initial tests -- and initial tests are aren't necessarily definitive -- were positive for the highly toxic poison, the compound ricin. CNN's Jeanne Meserve has been tracking this down, trying to get more information, as they produce more tests or more test results. Jeanne, where are we on this?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, we've been told to expect a press conference in about 15 minutes by the head of the U.S. Capitol Police and also by Senator Bill Frist. We hope that will further illuminate the situation. But here's what we know right now. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Capitol Police says, a substance found in Senator Bill Frist's mailroom this afternoon tested positive for a hazardous substance. And a Homeland Security official tells CNN, the substance was ricin, a poison made from castor beans. These tests are preliminary. Let me emphasize that, preliminary. And they are not considered reliable. Further analysis is being done at the Army lab at Fort Detrick, Maryland. And, according to the Homeland Security official, some results from that testing may be back Tuesday. The substance described as resembling paper dust by the Capitol Police was found in Senator Frist's mailroom in the Dirksen Senate Office Building at 3:00 this afternoon. It was coming out of an envelope. The Capitol Police spokesperson says there is nothing in the content of that letter that constitutes a threat. Ricin is an extremely dangerous poison, which, according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, can cause death 36 to 48 hours after it's inhaled. If ingested or injected, it can also cause death, but ricin poisoning is not contagious.Let me emphasize once again, Aaron, these are preliminary test results. Many times, more thorough testing will turn up a completely contradictory result -- back to you.
BROWN: And, at 11:15 Eastern time, or about 16 minutes from now, we expect to learn more, but how much more, we don't know, right?
MESERVE: Exactly right.
BROWN: All right, so, what we'll do is, we'll hang around here until they say what they're going to say. And we'll put that on the air, so all of you can hear it. And we'll what they know when they know it. But, for now, I guess, for most of you, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" is next. And we'll see you in a little bit.
Good night for all of us at NEWSNIGHT. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.comIntelligence; Bodice-Ripping Super Bowl Halftime Show Causes Uproar>
Aired February 2, 2004 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening again, everyone.First of all I want you to know that we have taken extra care to make sure that whatever else happens tonight there will not be a costume malfunction on this program.If you're just sitting there waiting for me to rip off part of my shirt as some cheap ratings stunt in hopes that you'll watch the entire program, including the commercials, you are out of luck. The shirt stays on. So do the pants.Sometimes I do the program without my shoes but that's as far as I'm willing to go, yet another sign of how hopelessly behind the times we are here at NEWSNIGHT.Further, we have no intention of telling you how to stay in the game, if you know what I mean, and if you don't know what I mean think of throwing a football through a tire. That'll explain it.Also to my knowledge there will not be a moment where we all get a good hearty laugh out of animal flatulence. We will, however, deal with the Super Bowl halftime show but should this program run longer than four hours please call a doctor immediately.We'll begin the whip with more serious stuff though. To the White House and CNN's Dana Bash, Dana a headline please.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Aaron, after months of resisting the idea of a commission to look into pre-war intelligence the president has reversed course. He is now embracing the idea. The Democrats say what he's planning isn't truly independent. They're not buying it -- Aaron.
BROWN: Dana, thank you.To the campaign trail, South Carolina, Frank Buckley is there, Frank a headline.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Aaron, on the last full day of campaigning before round three of the Democratic primaries and caucuses a new poll suggests that in a head-to-head match up with President George W. Bush two of the Democratic candidates could win -- Aaron.
BROWN: Frank, thank you. Now to Washington and an ominous discovery in the mailroom of the Senate majority leader tonight, Jeanne Meserve with the headline -- Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, let's call it a potentially ominous discovery. A homeland security official tells us that a substance found in Senator Bill Frist's mailroom this afternoon has tested positive for ricin in preliminary tests. These tests often unreliable further testing being done. However, law enforcement officials telling CNN that the preliminary testing was confusing and inconsistent. We are waiting for a press conference from the Capitol Police shortly, which we hope will clarify the situation -- Aaron.
BROWN: Thank you, Jeanne.And back to the water cooler story of the day, if not all time, the Super Bowl halftime show, Jen Rogers with part of that story from L.A. -- Jen
.JEN ROGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Aaron. That's right. You know all the people could talk today -- about today wasn't the game winning field goal, that 85-yard record breaking touchdown pass. It was Janet and Justin, that's right. But it turns out besides being good for the water cooler this stunt could have repercussions from Washington.
BROWN: Jen, thank you. We'll get back to you and the rest shortly.Also on the program tonight we revisit some voters in Arizona we met last October, hear how they have gone from undecided to decided before tomorrow's primary.Segment 7 tonight you will meet Jay Williams (ph), a fantastic young kid who was about to break out as a star in the NBA until a devastating motorcycle accident. He talks about his long road back tonight.And, for the really big finale, why morning papers of course and I wonder what will be on the morning papers as they make their way to your doorstep tomorrow? Hum, all of that and more in the one hour ahead.We begin with the president's decision to do what less than a week ago he said was premature, probably not necessary. The president will appoint a commission to, among other things, look at the intelligence that he used to take the country to war.It was a tacit admission that the intelligence was wrong but the president's decision has not satisfied everyone, rarely does, but this question keeps coming up again and again. If the president makes the appointment how independent will the commission actually be?From the White House tonight here's CNN's Dana Bash.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASH (voice-over): Little more than a week after outgoing weapons inspector David Kay declared weapons of mass destruction likely won't be found in Iraq, President Bush under mounting political pressure now says he'll appoint a commission to find out why.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm putting together an independent bipartisan commission to analyze where we stand, what we can do better as we fight this war against terror.
BASH: Mr. Bush invited Dr. Kay to the White House for a private briefing from the man who declared: "We were all wrong." The White House is actively assembling a nine-person panel which they compared to the Warren Commission set up after JFK's assassination. The panel will focus not just on intelligence in Iraq but take a broader look at gaps in other crucial areas like North Korea and Iran.
SCOTT REED, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT:I think the administration recognize that this issue was starting to get a head of steam with the American people, with members of Congress and, you know, every once in a while in politics you just (unintelligible) for what's going to happen.
BASH: The White House officials are informally consulting with some in Congress on the commission's makeup and mandate. It will be appointed only by the president by executive order. Democrats question whether that is truly independent.
SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D), MINORITY LEADER: We can't have the president or anybody else dictating how that commission is going to work and the nominees who will be involved.
BASH: While the latest CNN/USA Today Gallup poll still shows most Americans don't think the president deliberately misled them on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, a major rationale for war, nine months before election day there are growing misgivings about the war itself. Just 49 percent of Americans think going to war in Iraq was worth it, down ten points in under three weeks. Bush officials are still careful to say Saddam Hussein was a threat and do not concede, even when pressed, intelligence on Iraq's illicit weapons was flawed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: And another thing that's really (unintelligible) Democrats on Capitol Hill and on the campaign trail is the fact that this commission's deadline is likely not going to be until after the election. That makes this whole idea of creating a commission, Democrats say, look a lot like a political ploy -- Aaron.
BROWN: Well, without calling it or characterizing it as a ploy or not someone at the White House must have thought, we would assume, that it does make it less of an issue in the sense they can say look a commission is investigating this.
BASH: That's right and, you know, that is what they have been saying all along. They've been saying that a committee in the Senate, a committee in the House have been looking at this. Other areas, the CIA, other places they've all been investigating Iraq.But what the White House is trying to do is make this into a broader, look, the White House spokesman Scott McClellan must have said the word broad about 20 times today in his press conference. They say that this is about looking at not just Iraq but about North Korea, about the whole war on terrorism, about the entire intelligence community at large.
BROWN: Dana, thank you, Dana Bash at the White House tonight.With his testimony last week in the Senate, former U.S. weapons inspector David Kay pretty much assured that this issue is not going to go away anytime soon. Clearly it's not now. One question tonight how much mileage will the White House get out of today's announcement, if any?Dana Milbank is covering this all for the "Washington Post," pleased to have him with us tonight. It's good to see you. Let's talk for a minute about the evolution of the administration's position on this because it seems to me at least the middle of last week they were arguing that no commission was necessary at all.
DANA MILBANK, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, "WASHINGTON POST": Yes. The White House says they never really flatly opposed it, although I think we might be able to find them actually flatly opposing it.But more they were saying let's wait until the Iraq survey group has done its job and that was really a way of saying well let's wait until next year because everybody realized that's going to take another year or so to do that.Some people in the White House began to realize though, wait a second, maybe Kay is giving us an opportunity here. He's not blaming us. He's blaming the CIA and the intelligence. If we get onboard, get out in front of this steamroller and start driving it then perhaps we can have this independent commission and that will put it -- they have to wait for the survey group to be done anyway so we're into 2005 and we're reelected so it doesn't really matter what happens then.
BROWN: I guess what I'm trying to figure out is was there a moment where their view of a commission changed. Did something happen in the White House that led them to go from let's let the survey group do its work to we best form a commission or we're going -- we'll be buried by this?
MILBANK: Well, as I understand it, there was something of an argument inside. There are still some people inside who say well the White House should come out, the president should come out and say what everybody else seems to be realizing, what Kay said and what seems patently obvious to everybody and that is the intelligence leading to the allegations, leading to the war in Iraq were wrong.Now, if you listen very carefully the president is not saying it was wrong. Scott McClellan is not saying it was wrong. But by having the commission you can put off saying it was wrong that much longer.So, it's not like suddenly everybody in the White House is won over to the idea that commissions are terrific things. You can rest pretty well assured that they don't have any particular need for a commission. This is a White House that likes to have centralized control, does not like to let things get out of their hands but they realize that tactically this is very useful for them to do so sometime towards the end of last week the people advocating this got the upper hand.
BROWN: Isn't this -- I'll withdraw the sentence I wrote a little earlier if you disagree but isn't this a tacit admission that the intelligence was wrong?
MILBANK: Well, of course it is and if you talk to people in the White House privately, I mean they're not, they're not dumb. Obviously they see what Kay has said. They see what's on the news reports. They know that the intelligence was wrong.But what they've realized, and this happened last summer when they admitted that the allegations about Iraq getting uranium in Africa was put in the State of the Union address, they acknowledged that was wrong and it led to this tidal wave of criticism. Everybody pounced on that and used that admission to hammer away at the White House.What they're realizing is it does them no good to say we were wrong. It projects weakness. It invites attacks from the Democrats, so they're actually -- they realize of course that it was wrong but they cannot acknowledge it. So, the commission implicitly acknowledges what the president and his people cannot say explicitly or at least are not willing to say explicitly right now.
BROWN: Hearing any names?
MILBANK: For the commission?
BROWN: Yes.
MILBANK: Well, if we did we'd report them tomorrow in the "Washington Post."
BROWN: You know somehow I knew you'd say that. Thank you. Good to have you with us telling us what you can before you publish tomorrow. Thank you.
MILBANK: Thank you, Aaron.
BROWN: Dana Milbank who covers the White House and other matters for the "Washington Post" well and aggressively. On to an inquiry of an all together different sort so tell me did you hear the one about the Super Bowl halftime show? You did? Hum. All that's been said about it, and a lot has and will continue to be, the thing that stands out in all of this to me is I finally came to understand why TIVO has that quick backup button. How did they know?Anyway, the federal government is now on the case, vowing to uncover the truth. Thank goodness.Here's CNN's Jen Rogers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROGERS (voice-over): First there was the kiss. Now there's the rip.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was shocked.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Disgusting, inappropriate for television, very inappropriate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The way the game was going I thought that was the best highlight of it all.
ROGERS: The racy conclusion to the Super Bowl's halftime show certainly grabbed fans' attention and it turns out the governments as well. Monday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell launched an investigation saying he is outraged.
MICHAEL POWELL, CHAIRMAN, FCC: I thought it was outrageous and I was deeply disappointed as I sat there with my two children and I knew immediately this would cause great outrage by the American people which it did.
ROGERS: CBS, which aired the Super Bowl, MTV which produced the halftime show and Justin Timberlake, the bodice ripper himself all but characterized the moment as unrehearsed and unplanned.For her part, Janet Jackson issued a statement late Monday saying: "The decision to have a costume reveal at the end of my halftime show performance was made after final rehearsals. MTV was completely unaware of it. It was not my intention that it go as far as it did. I apologize to anyone offended, including the audience, MTV, CBS and the NFL."Apologies aside, many believe the stunt could end up boosting Jackson's bottom line.
JENNY ELISCU, "ROLLING STONE" MAGAZINE: I think probably from a PR standpoint it is a good move for her because controversy generates album sales.
ROGERS: The timing for Janet Jackson, some say, couldn't be better. Her new album hits stores this spring.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROGERS: Now, good timing for Jackson but tough timing for stations that actually aired the Super Bowl and that is because Chairman Powell has really been cracking down and getting much more aggressive on indecency. And, in fact, Congress has a bill making its way through that could increase the fines tenfold of where they are right now.And one more thing, Aaron, I do want to point out that you just were talking about your new appreciation of TIVO, well TIVO actually coming out with a press release saying that the Justin Timberlake/Janet Jackson moment drew the biggest spike ever in terms of audience reaction that the company has ever measured and one can only imagine what is being traded over the Internet tonight.
BROWN: One does not even want to imagine what is being traded over the Internet tonight. Jen, thank you very much, nice job today.Ahead on the program we'll spend a little bit more time on this Super Bowl mess. We'll get the perspective of a couple of folks, Jeff Greenfield among them, Dave Ross from CBS radio joins us to weigh in as well. It is the water cooler story of the day.But up next the last hours of campaigning as Democratic presidential candidates try and win over the undecided votes who head to the polls tomorrow and they have to do it with their shirts on.And in Segment 7 tonight the story of Jay Williams, an up-and- coming pro basketball star on the road back after a devastating motorcycle accident. You'll appreciate athletes a little more tonight on NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Just hours ago now until the voting begins in seven states holding Democratic primaries or caucuses tomorrow, the stage bigger, the voters more diverse, the dynamic different from two weeks ago.Frontrunner John Kerry now hoping to cement a growing lead, his opponents bent on breaking the winning streak. The conventional wisdom is the seven states tomorrow may well serve to at least winnow the field, though none of the candidates is willing to concede that much, not yet.Here's CNN's Frank Buckley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY (voice-over): John Edwards came home to Seneca, South Carolina.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's a great honor for me to be back in my birthplace.
BUCKLEY: His candidacy getting a huge boost by a new CNN/USA Today Gallup poll indicating that he is one of only two Democratic candidates who could beat President George Bush is the election were held today.Frontrunner John Kerry wins the hypothetical content by seven points, Edwards a virtual unknown on the national political stage before his second place finish in Iowa beats Mr. Bush 49 to 48 percent.
EDWARDS: On the way here about 45 minutes ago I saw a national poll showing that I am already beating George Bush.
BUCKLEY: Edwards' homecoming celebration came on a day that saw sniping among the Democrats. Former frontrunner Howard Dean going after Kerry on Kerry's familiar line about going after special interests. Over the weekend records revealed that Kerry has accepted more money from lobbyists than any other U.S. Senator.
HOWARD DEAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have got to change this country fundamentally, change what's going on in Washington, stand up for ordinary Americans so that we control the government and not special interests and corporations. And, John, don't let the door hit you on the way out.
BUCKLEY: Kerry responded.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't know whatever happened to Governor Dean's positive campaign but it's the shortest lived positive campaign I've ever seen.
BUCKLEY: Polls show Kerry leading in five of the seven February 3 states. Wesley Clark is ahead in some polls in Oklahoma in a very tight race. It's Edwards who is winning in South Carolina. And after a series of satellite interviews with South Carolina TV stations, Senator Kerry whispered to an aide, overheard by a pool reporter, "Edwards says he's the only one who can win states in the south. He can't win his own state," which prompted an immediate response from Edwards.
EDWARDS: Here's what happened. I took on the Helms political machine, beat the incumbent Republican Senator and now I am your Senator from North Carolina, not Jesse Helms.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY: Now, despite the fact that the CNN poll suggests that either Edwards or Kerry would beat George Bush in a head-to-head match-up today, no one is suggesting that that's the outcome of an election in November. It's way too early for that. The Democrats have been in the news a lot lately and voters have been listening to that but there's been very little negative information about the candidates out there so far. But I talked to a couple of political analysts tonight, Aaron, who said that this poll result is huge for John Edwards. John Edwards is a guy that very few people knew about just a few weeks ago. Now he's seen as a legitimate contender against George W. Bush in a general election. It's big news for John Edwards -- Aaron.
BROWN: That's a great caveat and a P.S. to it all. I think it puts the poll in better context. The overall poll itself may not tell us something but it does say something about Senator Edwards and his quest. We appreciate your reporting today, Frank. Thank you very much, Frank Buckley in South Carolina. We'll see him tomorrow.Of the seven states in play tomorrow, Arizona offers the biggest, second biggest prize, 55 delegates. Only Missouri with 74 has more. In Iowa and New Hampshire many voters were undecided until the very end and what they decided may well shape some of tomorrow's votes. A few days ago we went back to Arizona to see how things have changed, how minds have changed since the fall.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN (voice-over): We met them first back last fall, a debate in October in Arizona. Like half the Democrats in the state at the time they were undecided then. They came to the debate to ask.
PAULETTE POHLMANN, ARIZONA DEMOCRAT: There is so much hate for the United States right now and how would you use your position as president to uplift the world to a place that would take us out of that darkness?
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: America is a country from the heart.
BROWN: And sometimes they answered.
EDWARDS: Karen, how long have you been without any kind of coverage for your prescription drugs?
POHLMANN: It's been over a year.
EDWARDS: Over a year.BROWN: And they thought the debate would help them decide which turned out to be wishful thinking.
KAREN DICKINSON, ARIZONA DEMOCRAT: I came away from the debate with the same feeling of this is just rhetoric.
POHLMANN: I had a lot of information coming at me about, particularly from the media and from print journalists but I -- I had to do a lot of research on my own.
BROWN: Now a lot has happened since last October, most notably one state's caucuses.
KERRY: I love New Hampshire.
BROWN: And another state's primary.
PAT CANTELME, ARIZONA DEMOCRAT: Between Iowa and just prior to New Hampshire I made up my mind.
BROWN: Some stars have dimmed. Others, like John Edwards, brighten.
POHLMANN: And he came in second in Iowa and he came in third in New Hampshire. That was when my own faith in my first impressions were reinstated.
BROWN: It isn't a position on health care or the economy that's driving decisions. It's not Iraq or gay marriage. It is something else, something more basic, perhaps the most basic reason of all.
CANTELME: I was looking to see what candidate I thought would resonate with the public and have the best chance to beat President Bush.
POHLMANN: I think there's a lot of agreement that in the collective of people who would like to see a different direction in the presidential administration.
BROWN: Strip away everything else. Strip away the debates and the ads, the speeches and the pundits and what has moved the undecideds is simple. They pick the guy they think can win come November.
POHLMANN: I've made the decision that I'm going to vote for John Edwards.
CANTELME: Senator Kerry for president.
DICKINSON: My husband and I, it's been a great debate between us and a lot of soul searching but it's going to be John Kerry.
BROWN: They all agree on the reason they've made their choice if not on the choice itself.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Arizona and six others tomorrow.Still ahead on NEWSNIGHT, the $500 billion problem. That's how the president's new budget is in the red, how deep. Some details on that and more as NEWSNIGHT continues from New York.(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Tonight we have a much better idea of how our tax dollars will be spent in the next fiscal year. President Bush delivered his budget for 2005 to the Congress today.Some of the details have been dribbling out for several days, the (unintelligible) a third price tag for the Medicare overhaul for one but the extent of the new spending and the scope of the resulting cuts is now official in black and white and red.Here's CNN's Kathleen Koch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hand delivered to lawmakers, President Bush's biggest budget yet, a whopping $2.4 trillion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now I got to get busy reading it.KOCH: There is more money for defense, for homeland security, for NASA's mission to Mars and for some education and job training programs but 63 government programs will be trimmed and 65 eliminated all together.BUSH: We're calling upon Congress to be wise with the taxpayers' money and we look forward to working with them to bring a fiscal discipline to the appropriations process.
KOCH: But Democrats charge President Bush's budget is anything but disciplined.
SEN. KENT CONRAD (D), NORTH DAKOTA: This elephant won't fly. This president's plan won't lift off the ground. It is so burdened by deficit and debt that it fundamentally threatens our economic security.
KOCH: One point of contention, the budget estimates the cost of the Medicare overhaul and prescription drug plan will be one third higher than lawmakers were told it would be when they voted for it.Also, President Bush left out of the budget money needed next year to keep U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The omission could add $50 billion or more to the record $521 billion deficit created by the president's budget. Even some Republicans worry it is gushing red ink.
SEN. DON NICKLES, CHAIRMAN, BUDGET COMMITTEE: I believe that the deficits are too high, $500 billion deficits are not acceptable.
KOCH: Political analysts say economic conservatives, the base of the Republican Party are nearing revolt.
REED: They don't like the fact that spending has grown and it feels like it's out of control. The Medicare news last week was bad.KOCH (on camera): And then there was that vow in the State of the Union that the president will cut the budget deficit in half within five years. Mr. Bush insists his new budget is on track to keep that promise.Kathleen Koch, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Now, we'll look at some of the other stories in the business world. This is our Moneyline Roundup of course. Blimpie, International, I love that name, plans to open a sandwich shop or many of them actually in Wal-Marts across the country. In all, Blimpie intends to open more than 100 of its express restaurants this year. The first will debut in Florida in April. Get ready.Turning to the economy and a pair of seemingly positive reports on growth, looked that way to us, starting with the closely-watched purchasing managers' report which said manufacturing activity rose for the eighth straight month and jumped to a 20-year high in January. Also the Commerce Department said the nation's construction spending rose in December.Some good news on the economy today; however, both reports fell below estimates which results in a mixed day on Wall Street. Can't make those people can you? The Dow and the S&P were up a little bit, NASDAQ fell again.Still to come on NEWSNIGHT: the Super Bowl and questions of whether there were more personal fouls committed during the commercials and halftime than during the game itself, this important question after the break. Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: The FCC is on the case. Back to the Super Bowl. Times change; 28 years old, Carol Channing was the big-name entertainer at halftime. Super Bowl XIV was a salute to the big band era. How quaint does that sound tonight? Chubby Checker appeared during Super Bowl XXII, along with those symbols of Americans sex, the Rockettes. Tony Bennett, fully clothed, as I remember it, appeared on Super Bowl XXIX. Admit it. You don't remember any of them, not a one. The bar has now been raised -- or perhaps lowered -- to meet the culture or imitate it. Here's our senior analyst, Jeff Greenfield.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST (voice-over): Oh, where to begin? Well, it's hard to beat Justin Timberlake's explanation. Wardrobe malfunction, he called it. Wardrobe malfunction? Houston, we have a problem. Or maybe we should check out MTV's heartfelt apology -- quote -- "The tearing of Janet Jackson's costume was unrehearsed, unplanned, completely unintentional and was inconsistent with assurances we had about the content of the performance. MTV regrets this incident occurred and we apologize to anyone who was offended by it" -- unquote. Well, apology accepted, except there was this comment on MTV's Web site after Justin got something off her chest. -- quote -- "Jaws across the country hit the carpet at exactly the same time. You know what we're talking about, Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake and a kinky finale that rocked the Super Bowl to its core." Yes, baby. CBS said -- quote -- "We attended all rehearsals throughout the week, and there was no indication that any such thing would happen." Really? So they were OK with this? The National Football League -- remember they staged a game of some sort yesterday -- said -- quote -- "It's unlikely that MTV will produce another Super Bowl halftime." Yes, because, given MTV's track record during the past decade or so, why would anyone even imagine they might throw in a shock or two? (on camera): The fact is, when it comes to the sleaze factor in mass media, there's more than enough hypocrisy to go around. All of our biggest media giants, including the one that owns CNN, have made gobs of money appealing to the public's endless taste for the naughty, the bawdy and the tawdry. (voice-over): In fact, in the middle of the Super Bowl, CBS, you know, the network so offended by Janet Jackson's mammary, ran this promo showing a child ogling a nearly naked backside. And the commercials, all of which CBS approved for air and which cost some $2.3 million per 30 seconds, featured, among many other things, a flatulent horse and a monkey making sexual advances to a girl. And, by the way, remember this Pepsi ad starring a presidential nominee, a hot young woman and a highly enthusiastic dog? Yes, good taste is timeless. (on camera): In every survey, the public says it is appalled by media sleaze. It says it wants to see more documentaries and high- minded dramas. It never says it wants to see nearly-naked women wrestling with each other or kinky threesomes confessing all to a leering talk show host or secret celebrity sex tapes. Nope, never says it, and never stops watching. Jeff Greenfield, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: So, what to make of all of this? We certainly have been talking about it all day here at NEWSNIGHT.Dave Ross is host of the aptly named "Dave Ross Show" in Seattle and a national syndicated CBS radio commentator. He joins us from Seattle. So does Alan Light join us from here in New York. He's editor in chief of a new music magazine called "Tracks." He's also been the editor of "Spin" and "Vibe" and a senior writer at "Rolling Stone." And we're glad to have them both.David, are we actually shocked or are we just pretending to be shocked because we know we're supposed to be?
DAVE ROSS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I think it's the latter, Aaron. I certainly -- as a matter of fact, to be totally honest, I didn't know even it had happened. I saw a crawl, I think on CNN, saying, "Janet Jackson Apologizes." I immediately went back to the TiVo and am probably single-handedly responsible for about 500,000 of those TiVo hits. But, no, I think -- I have a feeling that al Qaeda must have sabotaged the costume in some way, because there's no way that Justin really wanted to rip all of it off.
BROWN: No, I'm sure not.
ROSS: Just some of it off.
BROWN: Just some of it.
ROSS: Just some of it.
BROWN: Did your listeners talk about it today? And were they -- I mean, Seattle is a pretty calm group, when they're not overcaffeinated. Were they appalled or did they find some amusement in it all?
ROSS: They feigned appropriate shock, Aaron. And we discussed whether the FCC should investigate it. And they felt kind of like Howard Dean does, that they would prefer an investigation of whatever happened to those weapons, rather than whether this was intentional or not.
BROWN: Alan, is this -- should we be shocked? In a sense, isn't this what MTV and sort of kid culture is right now?
ALAN LIGHT, EDITOR IN CHIEF, "TRACKS": Well, I think, by and large, that's very true.And I think the Super Bowl halftime show was Up With People or Gloria Estefan.
BROWN: Yes.
LIGHT: The notion was, we'll bring in MTV. We'll give it edge and energy and rock 'n' roll. And, you know, this is everything, in theory, that the NFL was going for, making this shift to having MTV produce the halftime show. It's 28 hours later and it's what we're all still talking about it. I doubt that they think that that ultimately is a failure.
BROWN: So, you have a kind of cynical suspicion that maybe they're feigning outrage themselves, because they're getting a ton and a half of attention.
LIGHT: As was pointed out in Jeff's piece, there's not a whole lot of room for improvisation and accident in the halftime show of the most watched television event of the year.
BROWN: Yes.
LIGHT: I don't really believe that it went completely -- everybody went nuts and the cameras didn't know where to go and, all of sudden, this happened.
BROWN: Yes, that is a stretch, isn't it?
LIGHT: Whether it was supposed to be, he would tear some off or all off, OK, maybe there's degrees to talk about. But in terms of the direction of what this was going to be, I have a hard time believing that this was a complete surprise to everybody at CBS and the NFL.
BROWN: Dave, setting aside for a minute whether seeing a bare breast on television for a nanosecond is going to corrupt the nation's youth, let me suggest there's actually something serious and troubling in all of this, which was the whole scene. The whole scene was inappropriately sexual.
ROSS: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: The end game was basically, if you can't get the girl to take her clothes off, just rip them off.
ROSS: Yes, exactly. Well, that was what surprising to me, although I'll tell you, the thing, Aaron, that first caught my attention not so much the Janet Jackson-Justin Timberlake dance. I thought he was going to get her pregnant right on that stage. But, actually, before that, Kid Rock's lyrics.
BROWN: Yes.
ROSS: I starting hearing him talking about the IRS and meth labs and stuff like this. And I said, oh, so we hear all this and now we're going to go and play some good old American football.
BROWN: Yes.
ROSS: But I think that, you know, the point's been made that the executives who booked this booked it intentionally because they wanted it to be edgy. Clearly, they wanted to appeal to a younger demographic. And so to profess shock at this point is kind of disingenuous. And it happens in radio, too. They will book the edgiest deejay they can find. And then they egg on a couple of people to make love in the cathedral, and they say, oh, we had no idea this would happen.
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: Actually, had the Janet Jackson moment not happened, I actually assumed the problem was going to be the guy wearing the American flag and ripping it off. ROSS: Yes. BROWN: That, actually, in the moment we're in, is pretty tasteless. Are kids, Alan, looking at us right now, these old people that we are -- or I am -- and just laughing at us making a big fuss over this?
LIGHT: Mostly I think yes. I do think -- look, for all of this said, I do think it's a surprise and a line that we didn't expect to go past, to end up with a breast bared at halftime at the Super Bowl. But...
BROWN: Because, if it happened at the Grammys, we would talk about it, but -- I'm not sure we would do it.
(CROSSTALK)
LIGHT: But this is the biggest mass, mainstream event of the entire year. That said, you know, especially, as you said, surrounded by ads joking about passing gas and wearing nothing under your kilt and all the other ways to cut through the clutter that you saw through the entire game, I think kids are thinking, why is this one second, as we have seen on other award shows, other MTV shows, other reality shows, Howard Stern's show, is this a big deal?
BROWN: Yes.
LIGHT: I don't think, if it got this kind of coverage, that kids would still be talking about it that much.
BROWN: Nice to meet you. Thanks for coming in.
LIGHT: Thanks so much, Aaron.
BROWN: David, it's good to see you. It's been a while. We always enjoy you, though. Thank you very much.
ROSS: Thanks, Aaron.
BROWN: Dave Ross in Seattle, Alan Light here in New York.We'll see if this story lasts another day or not. You know cable. It probably will. Ahead on NEWSNIGHT, a different sort of sports story, this one about a young man you will want to root for, I believe it, Jay Williams and his long road back, a story of courage and more, as NEWSNIGHT continues from New York.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Well, we can say one good thing about the Super Bowl dust-up. This time, it wasn't the athletes who acted like jerks. We tend to think of modern athletes that way, too rich, too spoiled, too drugged, too selfish, too a lot of things none of us like very much. And the danger of that thinking is not that it's sometimes right. It's that it is sometimes wrong. And Jay Williams proves it, though you may never see this good kid perform ever again, not a perfect good, a good kid, a hardworking kid, a role model sort of kid who, in one moment of being a kid, learned a good deal about being a man.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAY WILLIAMS, CHICAGO BULLS: I remember the colors of the car that I saw when I was going towards it in the air. And I remember the pole that I was going towards. And, you know, I was going fast, at a fast speed. I remember a lot of pain. BROWN: Twenty-two-year-old Jay Williams is talking about the night he almost died.
WILLIAMS: The first thing I thought about wasn't that, I feel pain. It was that, I threw it all away.
BROWN: Until that accident, Jay Williams was a basketball star, A star at Duke, where he went to college, the second player chosen in the NBA draft 18 months ago, a three-year, $13.5 million contract under his belt from the Chicago Bulls. And that was just the start of a career. Jay Williams was also just a kid who acted like a kid and thought like a kid.
WILLIAMS: You kind of think that you're invincible, not that you can't get hurt, but, no, I don't think that can happen to me. So it kind of broke -- it really broke my heart.
BROWN: A broken pelvis, a severed nerve, three of his four knee ligaments torn in the left leg, his left leg, all of that caused him to grow up. A hospital bed will do that to a young man.
WILLIAMS: I was in the bed for a long time on my back. And I couldn't move, couldn't really do anything. My leg hurt every time somebody touched it. It's been a difficult adjustment, but it's getting better and better each day.
BROWN: For all intents and purposes, this is his new home, the sports medicine complex at Duke University, where his rehabilitation is both relentless and painful, but hardly guarantees he will play again. So to the weights and the exercise bike, he's added a religious medal given to him by a special friend.
MIKE KRZYZEWSKI, DUKE UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL COACH: I gave him a holy medal. I'm Catholic and it's something that I've had for years. And I just gave it to him. I said, this is yours, but I'm only lending it to you. And I said, I want you to use it and it's very special to me. And -- I'm going to cry here -- I said, the night you -- the night you come back and play your first NBA game, you give it back to me and I'll be there.
WILLIAMS: Being weak at the time, when I saw his face, it just -- it inspired me. It inspired me to say, OK, I can get through this. It's going to be a long journey.
BROWN: Riding a motorcycle is against a standard NBA player's contract. And the Chicago Bulls would have been within their rights not to pay him a dime. But they did. They gave him more than $3 million this year and another $3 million to forego the remainder of his lucrative contract. They may have given up on him. Most people in the sport have. But Jay Williams still believes.
WILLIAMS: It's a trying experience. But I think that the great part about it is, you know, throughout my life, a lot of people have always looked at me, playing basketball, oh, he's a man. Look at his body type. He's a man. He plays like a man. And it is not until now that I'm finding out what it is to be a man, how it is to go through pain every day, but, at the same time, to try to persevere and to have the big picture down the road and keep fighting for my dream. I am really fighting for my dream.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: A kid worth rooting for. Morning papers after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: OK, time to check morning papers from around the country and around the world. I'm sure there's none of that Super Bowl nonsense in any of the papers. That's just a cable TV thing. And the papers wouldn't stoop to that, would they?
Well, "The International Herald Tribune" didn't, at least, published in France, but not, as a viewer said the other day, a French newspaper, published by "The New York Times." "Bush Budget Focus: Anti-Terror Fight, Military and Security Programs Benefit, While '05 Domestic Spending Is Limited." Anything else on the front page? Well, yes, but nothing that cool.
Now, "The Times, a London paper, kind of center-right paper. "Spies Must Tell How They Got Iraq Wrong." Doesn't that sound familiar? That could have happened in the United States. We had to go to a foreign paper for that? My goodness. Oh, wait, down at the bottom. "How Super Bowl Was Shocked From Top to Bottom." It's news everywhere. I'm sure they're laughing trying to figure out what football is. Here's the right lead.
"The Boston Herald" got it right. It led with the football player. "Superstar." It was a great football game, wasn't it? Yes. And that halftime show, who will remember, though? Anyway, that's Tom Brady. He was the MVP, I guess, right? But that other kid did pretty good, didn't he? That was cool.
"The Philadelphia Inquirer." Up at the top here, it's not really a front-page story. It's a teaser, but it's close enough for my taste. "Janet Jackson Offers Apology. She Didn't Mean for It to Go That Far, She Said Last Night. A Red Lace Garment Was Supposed to Remain During Her Super Bowl Duet, But it Didn't." Don't you hate when that happens? I know I do. "Kerry's Momentum Faces Seven-State Test today." That would be tomorrow, unless you're watching the replay, in which case, it would be today. And "Bush Sets His Course on Budget." That's how they lead.
"The Chattanooga Times Free Press" leads the budget story a little bit differently. "Bush '05 Budget Proposal Faces Record Deficits," not the kind of lead that will make the White House all that happy, will it?
"The Richmond Times-Dispatch." We haven't had this one for a while. What I found interesting about this, this is a Virginia newspaper. That's tobacco country. "Survey: Many Back Higher Tobacco Taxes; 71 Percent Would Support an Increase of 75 Cents a Pack to Address the State's Shortfall." And let's just go to -- I have to find it. I know when you do morning papers at home, you sometimes have this problem as well.
"The Chicago Sun-Times." "Janet's Wardrobe Malfunction." Who was the P.R. person who came up with that phrase, by the way, wardrobe malfunction? The weather in Chicago tomorrow -- oh, I hate when they do that -- "The groundhog says..." -- so we don't know what the weather will be tomorrow. Well, actually, I can tell you, it's going to be 30 degrees, a heat wave. That's morning papers. We'll update -- literally update -- the day's top story in just a moment. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Well, as we reported at the top of program tonight, a white powdery substance was found today in the mailroom of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. A government official says that initial tests -- and initial tests are aren't necessarily definitive -- were positive for the highly toxic poison, the compound ricin. CNN's Jeanne Meserve has been tracking this down, trying to get more information, as they produce more tests or more test results. Jeanne, where are we on this?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, we've been told to expect a press conference in about 15 minutes by the head of the U.S. Capitol Police and also by Senator Bill Frist. We hope that will further illuminate the situation. But here's what we know right now. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Capitol Police says, a substance found in Senator Bill Frist's mailroom this afternoon tested positive for a hazardous substance. And a Homeland Security official tells CNN, the substance was ricin, a poison made from castor beans. These tests are preliminary. Let me emphasize that, preliminary. And they are not considered reliable. Further analysis is being done at the Army lab at Fort Detrick, Maryland. And, according to the Homeland Security official, some results from that testing may be back Tuesday. The substance described as resembling paper dust by the Capitol Police was found in Senator Frist's mailroom in the Dirksen Senate Office Building at 3:00 this afternoon. It was coming out of an envelope. The Capitol Police spokesperson says there is nothing in the content of that letter that constitutes a threat. Ricin is an extremely dangerous poison, which, according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, can cause death 36 to 48 hours after it's inhaled. If ingested or injected, it can also cause death, but ricin poisoning is not contagious.Let me emphasize once again, Aaron, these are preliminary test results. Many times, more thorough testing will turn up a completely contradictory result -- back to you.
BROWN: And, at 11:15 Eastern time, or about 16 minutes from now, we expect to learn more, but how much more, we don't know, right?
MESERVE: Exactly right.
BROWN: All right, so, what we'll do is, we'll hang around here until they say what they're going to say. And we'll put that on the air, so all of you can hear it. And we'll what they know when they know it. But, for now, I guess, for most of you, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" is next. And we'll see you in a little bit.
Good night for all of us at NEWSNIGHT. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.comIntelligence; Bodice-Ripping Super Bowl Halftime Show Causes Uproar>
The Religious Bigotry of NewsNight's Morning Papers Segment 2.
Morning papers are a good thing, too.
(ROOSTER CROWING)
BROWN: OK, time to check morning papers from around the country and around the world.
"Christian Science Monitor"
"The Cincinnati Enquirer"
"San Antonio Express-News"
"The Washington Examiner"
"The Richmond Times-Dispatch"
"The Des Moines Register."
"The Times,"
"The Plaindealer"
(The Chicago Sun Times) That's a good way to end it.No, the weather in Chicago is a good way to end it: "shadowy.
"We'll update our top story on the pope's health after the break.
(ROOSTER CROWING)
BROWN: OK, time to check morning papers from around the country and around the world.
"Christian Science Monitor"
"The Cincinnati Enquirer"
"San Antonio Express-News"
"The Washington Examiner"
"The Richmond Times-Dispatch"
"The Des Moines Register."
"The Times,"
"The Plaindealer"
(The Chicago Sun Times) That's a good way to end it.No, the weather in Chicago is a good way to end it: "shadowy.
"We'll update our top story on the pope's health after the break.
Tuesday, February 1, 2005
The Religious Bigotry of NewsNight's Morning Papers Segment
BROWN: I feel like it's time for morning papers, coming up after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: OK. Watch this, real quick.
Pretend there's a rooster.
"The Christian Science Monitor"
"Dallas Morning News."
"The Miami Herald,"
"Washington Times."
"The Rocky Mountain News."
(The Chicago Sun Times)
The weather tomorrow in Chicago.
(CHIMES)
BROWN: Thank you -- is "grubby." Beats me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: OK. Watch this, real quick.
Pretend there's a rooster.
"The Christian Science Monitor"
"Dallas Morning News."
"The Miami Herald,"
"Washington Times."
"The Rocky Mountain News."
(The Chicago Sun Times)
The weather tomorrow in Chicago.
(CHIMES)
BROWN: Thank you -- is "grubby." Beats me.
The travesty of images continues even post election
Now that Georgie is in office and CNN has used images of soldiers to win they need to live upto the campaign promises of No Draft. In order to do that NewsNight needs to minimize it's "Honor Roll of Military Dead" to stop scaring away likely inductess.
conti2005 - 10:24 PM ET January 31, 2005
(#25753 of 40846)
The Revolt and the Revolting - http://stopwarsaveearth.blogspot.com/ - In God I Trust, Everyone Else I Monitor CNN has no respect. No reverence.
The 'Soldier' Segment to honor 'The Fallen' listed five USA soldiers with names like Castro, Poulin, Sr and Johnson.
They ranged in ages from 21 to 47. To honor 'the fallen' is a wonderful thing.
However.
To exploit the moment for promotion of Bush's agenda is nothing but pure exploitation and a ruthlessness for an agenda that doesn't even allow journalists into Dover.
The moment of disrespect came when Aaron Brown noted "... did you notice one of the soldiers was from Freedom, Maine."
That soldier was chosen to be aired today for THAT specific moment.
It's a darn shame.
Kindly Honor them without exploiting them. If we notice the analogy then it is ours to know and feel without being 'pulled into' a 'commercial for Bush.'
conti2005 - 10:24 PM ET January 31, 2005
(#25753 of 40846)
The Revolt and the Revolting - http://stopwarsaveearth.blogspot.com/ - In God I Trust, Everyone Else I Monitor CNN has no respect. No reverence.
The 'Soldier' Segment to honor 'The Fallen' listed five USA soldiers with names like Castro, Poulin, Sr and Johnson.
They ranged in ages from 21 to 47. To honor 'the fallen' is a wonderful thing.
However.
To exploit the moment for promotion of Bush's agenda is nothing but pure exploitation and a ruthlessness for an agenda that doesn't even allow journalists into Dover.
The moment of disrespect came when Aaron Brown noted "... did you notice one of the soldiers was from Freedom, Maine."
That soldier was chosen to be aired today for THAT specific moment.
It's a darn shame.
Kindly Honor them without exploiting them. If we notice the analogy then it is ours to know and feel without being 'pulled into' a 'commercial for Bush.'
Monday, January 31, 2005
The Religious Bigotry of NewsNight's Morning Papers Segment
BROWN: Well, we hope he's right and we hope it lasts. Morning papers after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: OK, morning papers from around the country and around the world and we'll do both today.
"Rocky Mountain Daily News"
"Arab American News"
"Iran Daily,"
"Cincinnati Enquirer"
"Christian Science Monitor"
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: OK, morning papers from around the country and around the world and we'll do both today.
"Rocky Mountain Daily News"
"Arab American News"
"Iran Daily,"
"Cincinnati Enquirer"
"Christian Science Monitor"
Thursday, January 27, 2005
The Religious Bigotry of NewsNight's Morning Papers Segment
(ROOSTER CROWING)
BROWN: Quick morning papers tonight, dominated by Iraq. Excuse me.
"Christian Science Monitor."
"San Antonio Express-News."
"Stars and Stripes" led. "
"The Detroit Free Press"
"The Chicago Sun-Times" tomorrow is "standoffish."
BROWN: Quick morning papers tonight, dominated by Iraq. Excuse me.
"Christian Science Monitor."
"San Antonio Express-News."
"Stars and Stripes" led. "
"The Detroit Free Press"
"The Chicago Sun-Times" tomorrow is "standoffish."
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