TV Channel 33 Thu Jul 17 13:00:01 2003
>>> the british prime mini pays a visit to president bush, but battles over iraq intelligence and british prisoners at guantanamo bay could test the alliance.
>>> On the 35th anniversary of the baath party's rise to power in iraq, the arab world hears the echo of the party's deposed leader.
>>> And he was considered a pillar in the community, but now, santa monica authorities must consider what to do about an 86-year-old man's deadly mistake.
>>> It's 4:00 P.M. On the east coast and 1:00 in the afternoon out west. Thanks for joining us on "cnn headline news." I'm kris osborn, in today for chuck roberts.
>> And i'm christi paul.
>>> Ahead this half hour -- the emmy award nominations are out, and it was a big day for "sex in the city." We'll tell you how big. And we'll look at a new category for this year, which includes shows like "survivor" and "american idol." First, though, our top story.
>>> British prime minister tony blair is expected to address a joint session of congress any minute now. He plans to touch on a number of topics in his speech, there you see a live picture of the prime minister walking into congress, along with many other people in the area, of course. But of most interest are concerns over the quality of intelligence he used to justify war in iraq. Blair stands by his statement there were intelligence reports indicating iraq was seeking uranium in africa. President bush made the same claim in his state of the union address, quoting british intelligence reports, but that claim has now been discredited.
>>> The man who is taking responsibility for less-than-reliable information in the president's state of the union address never read the document's final draft. George tenet made that admission during a closed-door hearing with the senate intelligence committee yesterday. A democratic senator is also claiming that tenet said a white house official insisted that the president's speech include the dubious claim that iraq tried to buy uranium in africa.
>> Consider these assertions, consider these statements, leading up to our decision to invade. The question we need to ask, the hard question which has to be asked, is whether the intelligence supported the statements. If the intelligence did not, then in fact we have exaggerations and misleading statements which have to be made a part of our record.
>> I think it's absolute nonsense. I think you have to look at the reason why he was making those comments. Maybe he's going back trying to justify his own vote against taking action, against addressing the threats we faced.
>> Senator durbin opposed a congressional resolution last october which authorized the president to take military action against iraq.
>>> Meanwhile, another audiotape said to be of saddam hussein has surfaced. An arabic language tv network played the 15-minute tape today. On it, the speaker urges a holy war against U.S. And british forces, and criticizes the newly formed iraqi governing council. The tape marks the 35th anniversary of baath party's rise to power in iraq. There had been rumors saddam would make some sort of appearance.
>>> U.S. Forces in iraq are taking the anniversary seriously. Over the past 24 hours, military raids have seized more than 50 crates of explosives, 250,000 blasting caps and captured 30 people associated with saddam's former regime. Not all iraqis are happy to see the baath party go. In a baghdad neighborhood, some men held a small rally for saddam. This is the first time the baath party anniversary has not been officially recognized in iraq.
>>> The number of dead now stands at ten, one day after a car plowed through a crowded street market in santa monica. Investigators searched george weller's home to see if the 86-year-old retiree had been taking medication that might have made him unfit to drive. Blood tests came back negative for prescription drugs or alcohol. Police say weller apparently hit the accelerator instead of his brake sending his buick lesabre barrelling for three blocks through the crowd of shoppers. Eight people, including a 3-year-old girl, died at the scene of the accident a ninth died yesterday at the hospital. Reuters is reporting a tenth died a short time ago.
>>> The number of highway deaths in the u.S. Is apparently accelerating. The national highway traffic safety administration says it's at its highest level in 12 years. But in a weird twist, wrecks with injuries are way down. The figures show nearly 43,000 people were killed in car wrecks last year. That's up about 1.5% from the year before. The number of accidents with injuries, however, dropped to a historic low. Government safety experts attribute the upturn in the death rate to more people driving more miles. Alcohol-related fatalities also played a part. They say there are probably fewer injuries in crashes, because vehicles are getting safer and more people are buckling up.
>>> We all know what time it is. Let's get a break it will down on the markets from jennifer westhoven at the new york stock exchange. Hello, jennifer.
>> Reporter: Thanks, kris. Three days of losses for the stock market. For the dow, they were contained. It closes at 9050. The nasdaq and technology stocks hit a lot harder today. The nasdaq down 50 points taking it to 1698 by the end of the session. Little more than 2.5% there. This came after results received with great fanfare from the likes of caterpillar and coca-cola weren't a match for some bad news out there. Ibm tumbled by about 4% today. Nokia, the most popular cell phone company in the world, they're the biggest maker of cell phones, that stock down nearly 20% after a sales warning. That really set the stage for a broad sell-off in technology in general. A lot of concern lately after the nasdaq's recent huge run-up. Since that churn in march, the nasdaq has been up roughly by 30%. Another loser today was capital one. They normally target people with bad credit. They decided to move to people with good credit. Think that sounds like a smart move? Not necessarily. People with bad credit sometimes default and you end up with big losses. But they also pay those big late fees and higher interest rates on those cars. That's seen as very lucrative. A big drop for capital one. Quickly, it may be cold comfort if you've been looking for a job for months. The group that says the official stamp on recession says the recession is over. Only problem with this is they're saying it ended in november 2001. At least it's official. Sfrit back to you.
>> Thank you, jennifer.
>>> Her voice electrified the world of latin music for decades.
>> Now that world is mourning the loss of the woman known as the queen of salsa. After the break, we'll take a closer look at the tributes in today's edition of chris farley's "jukebox." Stay with us. Tds
> >>> >>the music world is mourning the death of a legend. "Time" magazine senior editor chris farley joins us to talk about the tears and the tributes. He's also got the word on the new album from one of r&b's finest voices. Chris? Good to see you.
>> Thanks for having me.
>> I understand we're talking about celia cruz. She's known at queen of salsa which has really catapulted i think in a lot of places recently in terms of the style of that music and the dance.
>> Yeah. She was a terrific performer. She was a leader in her field. She is someone that I had the opportunity to meet a couple years ago. I was in the studio to interview a hip-hop star. That star happened to be recording with celia cruz. I got to see her up close and personal, see her at work. What amazed me is this is a woman who really got into the business over half a century ago and she was still able to hang out with people like the newer stars and make great music. It's a tribute to her greatness. A lot of other pop stars have to pay tribute to her. Jennifer lopez said when she used to come home to her mother's house in the bronx, her mother would be staying celia cruz on the stereo. You won't have a jennifer lopez or shakira or much popular music if cruz hadn't carved out that kind of space for women in salsa or lit continue pop that she did. She was a terrific performer who will be much-missed in the entire music community.
>> How old was she?
>> She was always a little bit coy about her age. She was probably in her 70s but she didn't quite -- people have to have their secrets. That was one of her secrets, exactly how old she really was. But she really sort of took that with her as to how old she really was.
>> Let's talk about somebody else who is hitting the charts this week. Macy gray. A very distinctive voice. Wouldn't you say?
>> She does have a very distinctive voice. Almost too distinctive. She has the kind of voice that i think really pops her out on radio when you hear her. You know that it's macy gray. You know it's someone different, someone contributing different to r & b. But it's sometimes tough to get through an entire album by her because that voice begins to grate sometimes over the course of nine, ten, 11 songs. But let's pause for a little bit off her new album, "the trouble with being myself." The really good thing about macy gray is she is creative with her vocal styling. She writes most of her own music she produced this album herself. She does make it sound like something that is coming out of her, that's coming out of her soul, that's distinctive, that stands out from the rest of pop radio. Not every track on this album is all that great. But there are a couple stand-outs, and i think that will make it worth it for people who really are looking for something different in r & B. It's not a great album but there are some solid tracks on it. I'd like to hear macy gray continue to be herself and continue to do something different and bring a new personal flavor to r & B.
>> With that being a true musician. Chris farley, good to see you.
>> Thanks for having me. Appreciate it.
>>> Unlike the raucous british parliament, a joint session of congress is offering tony blair a chance to speak uninterrupted. Coming up, we'll hear from the prime minister.
>>> After an unprecedented public competition, there could still be more changes coming for the new world trade center site. Stay close.
>>> Take aspirin regularly and you could cut your risk of lung cancer according to a new study. Researchers found women who took the pain killer three or more times a week for six months were half as likely as nonusers to develop the most common form of lung cancer. However, it does have potential side effects so talk to your doctor first.
>>
>>>>> Hewed wed wee ome tck to "cnn headline news." I'm christi paul.
>> And i'm kris osborn, sitting in today for chuck roberts. Time now for a check of the headlines.
>>> Sources say cia director george tenet admitted he never actually read the final draft of president bush's now controversial state of the union address. Tenet has publicly accepted blame for the inclusion of dubious intelligence information about iraq's trying to buy uranium from africa. Lawmaker whose heard the closed-door testimony are now trying to put words in his mouth.
>>> Another audiotape reportedly made by saddam hussein is making the rounds of arab tv network today. The speaker criticizes the formation of iraq's new governing council and urges more attacks on u.S. Troops.
>>> California police are still try fog figure out why an 86-year-old man plowed his car into a crowded street yesterday. The man says his brakes gave out and he might have accidentally hit the gas. Reuters news service says another victim died today bringing the total to ten. More than 50 people were hurt.
>>> As we told you at the top of the show, british prime minister tony blair is speaking to a joint meeting of congress at this hour. Here's a bit of what he's had to say so far.
>> The virus is terrorism whose intent to inflict destruction is unconstrained by human feeling and whose ability to inflict it is in large part about technology. This is a battle that can be won only by armies. We are so much more powerful in all conventional ways than the terrorists, yet even in all our might, we're taught humility. In the end, it is not our power alone that will defeat this evil. Our ultimate weapon is not our guns, but our beliefs.
>> Mr. Blair is the first british prime minister to address congress since march gret thatcher in 1985.
>>> Who shot first? The south says the north started a brief shootout today on the korean peninsula. The north is saying nothing. Troops traded machine gun fire in the demilitarized zone, the buffer created after the korean war to separate the rival nations. The south korean military says it did not suffer any casualties in the exchange between two guard posts. The incident may increase already-high tensions on the korean peninsula, brought on by pyongyang's suspected development of nuclear weapons.
>>> The world's tallest building will grace the spot where the twin towers once stood. As developers get closer to breaking ground, the architect who designed the building is having to compromise his vision. Jay concarol has the story.
>> This is the vision chosen for the world trade center site, the world's tallest building. Acres of space for a memorial. What's seen here may not be what new york city gets. The architect will now have to modify his plan.
>> We're working together. It's going to be the best building in the world and it's going to be spectacular.
>> Reporter: Why is this happening? Because the man whose is building the tower wants more control as he gets closer to break ground. He's the developer, larry silverstein, and he held the least to the twin towers.
>> It's going to and collaboration and be really dramatic.
>> Reporter: In february, his design was chosen during an international competition where even the public participated in choosing the winner. But since then, it became clear, silverstein wanted more commercial spees than the architect envisioned.
>> We're going to put back $6.7 billion worth of buildings.
>> Reporter: The two argued, silverstein now has the upper hand.
>> Reporter: Critics are concerned the desire to build as much commercial space as possible will encroach on the architect's artistic vision for the site.
>> The danger is we don't sustain the integrity of the plan. And for selfish, commercial or economic reasons, that the integrity is undercut.
>> Reporter: A rendition was commissioned on a worst case outcome. It's a world trade center site cluttered with stores overshadowing the memorial. Which impressed how much the plan may be altered, but the new team remained positive. The new team will be under pressure to meet an aggressive deadline set by new york governor george pataki. He wants the new tower done by 2008. The city as well as the world will be watching. Jason carroll, cnn, new york.
>>> Two washington lobbyist groups are taking aim at what they call the country's ten worst gun dealers. The brady campaign to prevent gun violence, united with the million mom march, says federal data shows these dealers sell exceptionally high numbers of guns used in crimes. Badger outdoors incorporated in milwaukee tops the list. The data shows between 1989 and 1996, badger sold 554 guns traced to crime. 27 of them were used in homicides. The groups compiled the list in an effort to get the senate to turn back a piece of gun legislation. They say the bill would deny many victims of gun violence their day in court and would require that many cases that have been upheld in the courts be dismissed.
>>> For the first time ever, the emmies are giving the nod to a new type of show.
>> Wonder what that is. Tune in. Coming up, also the british open gets under way in england and the wind sends scores spiralling. We'll have an update for you when "headline news" continues. Who is in the lead.
>>>> welcome back, everyone. Hbo is the network to beat come emmy time. It raked in 109 nominations today. Nbc got 77. Cbs, 59. In the best comedic actor cad gore, ray romano got a nod for his work on "everybody loves raymond." He's joined by bernie mack.
>>> Some very funny women were also recognized for their work. "Malcom in the middle's" jane kaczmarek led the nominees in the category. It's her fourth straight nomination. She is joined by patricia heaton from "everybody loves raymond." Jennifer aniston in "friends." Debra messing from "will and grace." And "sex and the city" star, sarah jessica parker.
>>> And for the first time ever, the academy is recognizing reality and competition shows. Those nominees are: Cbs' "survivor," fox's "american idol," cbs' "the amazing race," nbc's "100 years of hope and humor" and cbs' "100 years, 100 passions."
>>> Gochl news for you. After the first round of the british open, the winner is the weather. Howling winds sent scores soaring at golf club in england. Only five players finished under par. Weather is a factor. Greg norman who won the british open ten years ago on this very course. He had a round of 69, two under par and one shot behind the tournament's unlikely leader from south africa. Tiger woods lost his ball in the rough on the opening hole. He recovered to finish two over par, five shots out of the lead.
>>> Riders were back in the saddle today for the second half of the tour de france, which picked up after a rest day yesterday. And american lance armstrong has managed to retain his slim lead. Today's stage covered a relatively short and flat 95 miles. Spanish rider juan antonio flecha won with a time of 3 hours, 29 minutes and 33 seconds. Although four-time champ armstrong finished 29th today, he maintains a 21-second lead over the pack. He hopes to extend that lead in tomorrow's individual time trial.
>>> Kobe bryant is not letting the possibility of being charged with sexual assault keep him from making public aexperiences. Bryant and his wife attended the espie awards last night. He was up for the award, best nba player. Co-not win. The district attorney in eagle county, colorado, has still not made a decision whether to file charges against bryant in an alleged incident in vale. An announcement may not come until next week.
>>> Here's a tradition that could make olympic sprinters nervous. It took these georgia brides-to-be about 25 seconds to clear 55 racks at the filene's basement in atlanta this morning. 1,100 designer bridal gowns went on sale for as low as $249. Many of the women -- and yes, some men -- started lining up yesterday afternoon in anticipation of today's sale. Filene's started the tradition 56 years ago at its flagship store in boston.
>> Look at that. And a veil dils appeared in 25 seconds.
>>> We'll be back with the updates on the day's top stories including what british prime minister tony blair had to say to congress.
>>> Bill snide will talk to us about blair's standing with the public back home. This is cnn "headline news". Stick close.
>>> dogged by doubt and questionable intelligence reports, british prime minister tony blair seeks out an audience with leaders on capitol hill.
>>> It may have been an accident, but the driver involved in a deadly crash at a california farmer's market may have to face some serious charges.
>>> And proof positive even the best golfers end up in the rough sometimes. We'll tell you how tiger woods finally fared on day one of the british open.
>>> It's 4:30 in washington and half past midnight in baghdad. This is "cnn headline news." I'm christi paul.
>> And i'm kris osborn. Chuck roberts is off today. Let's get right to our top story.
>>> British prime minister tony blair is addressing right now a joint meeting with congress. He's touched on a number of topics in his speech but hasn't braut up the disputes in intelligence reports claiming iraq tried to buy uranium in africa. He discussed the need for the coalition to finish the job in iraq and afghanistan so the world can see farrelled terrorist states transformed into nations of prosperity.
>> Any time ordinary people are given the chance to choose, the choice is the same. Freedom, not tyranny, democracy, not dictatorship. The rule of law, not the rule of the secret police. The spread of freedom is the best security for the free. It is our last line of defense, and our first line of attack.
>> Blair is the first british prime minister to address congress since mar margaret thatcher in 1985.
>>> U.S. Forces have increased their patrols in iraq. Today is the 35th anniversary of the deposed baath party's rise to power. The baath coup eventually helped saddam hussein become iraq's leader. This is the first time the anniversary has not been officially recognized.
>> That didn't stop 100 people in the city of fallujah from celebrating, though. Some of them chanted "saddam, we'll sacrifice our blood and souls for you." Until this year, july 17th was a holiday in iraq. Members of the country's new governing council canceled it as one of their first acts.
>>> The anniversary also has been marked by the appearance of what's described as a new audiotape from saddam. It has aired on several arab tv networks, which said it was recorded this week. The 15-minute tape praises the baath party, criticizes the new governing council and urges iraqis to continue a holy war against u.S. Forces. People familiar with saddam's voice say the tape sounds authentic, but experts haven't been able to confirm that.
>>> The white house is accusing some lawmakers of trying to put words about iraq into cia director george tenet's mouth. Tenet testified at a closed-door congressional hearing yesterday. A senator at that meeting says tenet named a white house official who insisted president bush's state of the union address include questionable intelligence about iraq's efforts to buy uranium. The white house calls the claim nonsense from a senator who voted against going to war with iraq. Other lawmakers say they just want to get to the bottom of things.
>> We have a responsibility to ask the questions about the collection, the analysis, and the dissemination of the intelligence that is there to protect the american people. To do anything less, to do anything less, is to do less to protect the american people.
>> I believe it will fade. I don't think it's got legs forever. It's political season and we should never take that out of the context here. I don't know that you can. But i think this is a small part of what we're going through now in the political arena. But you got to remember, the policy, i believe, that the bush administration has espoused in iraq is sound policy.
>> Publicly, tenet has accepted responsibility for the use of the uranium information. President bush is saying he still has confidence in tenet, and the white house considers the issue closed.
>>> Police in california are trying to figure out why an elderly man's car plowed into a crowded, open-air farmers' market. Reuters now says ten people were killed and dozens of others were hurt when the car barreled three blocks into the market. It came to rest with a man on the hood and a woman pinned underneath. Police say the 86-year-old driver, russell weller, told them he couldn't stop the car, and he may have hit the accelerator instead of the brake. Witnesses described the scene as complete bedlam.
>> The windshield was shattered. There were dents on the roof of the car indicating possibly people may have been thrown up on to the roof of the car. One person looked to be dragged for what was a block. I want to take a moment to say on behalf of the city of santa monica, our hearts go out to the families of all the victims touched by this tragedy. We're going to do what we can to find out what happened so justice can be done.
>> Santa monica's police chief says weller could face manslaughter charges once the case goes to the district attorney's office. Last night, investigators searched his home looking for prescription drugs or other evidence that could indicate he had a diminished capacity to drive.
>>> Stocks tum daled on wall street today amid reports of disappointing earnings from both ibm and nokia. The dow jones industrials lost 43 points today closing at 9015. The nasdaq composite suffered its biggest loss in two months finishing at 1698. The s&p 500 is down 12 points.
>>> You might say our next segment is for the birds, and you'd be right. We'll introduce you to our special visitor from zoo atlanta, when we return.
>>> And a bit later -- we'll take you to one sale where your sprinting ability could get you a better bargain than how much money you had in your wallet. We'll tell what you this is all about.
>>> Welcome back to animal day at "cnn headline news."
>> Sharon collins is with us with a very special guest. We're going to drop the ticker and give you a better look. Sharon, did you get your sneakers, by chance?
>> Reporter: I am on guard. For those who missed the last chapter for john and sharon at the zoo, this abyssinian likes my toes. John has always been gracious enough to bring us interesting creatures. I've learned that hornbills like doe nail polish. So --
>> actually, your toenails look like little did bits of meat or little grapes. Abby has very good eyes. She egoing to go visit your toes and see if they're edible.
>> Reporter: Actually, he's being nice. He told me earlier my toes looked like pieces of chicken. All those pedicures were for nothing.
>> I have something for abby to distract her. We have a little rubber snake. They eat a lot of lizards and snakes. They'll grab the head of the snake and shake it. Or maybe this is the way we'll do it. Grab the head of the snake. And then they'll shake it. Anyhow, they will take -- the reason they have this long bill right there, actually protects them from getting injured by these snakes or any or lizards that might bite them.
>> Reporter: Sharon's toes are better.
>> When they do grab their provide. So that bill helps them eat snakes.
>> Reporter: There are 54 spees sis of hornbills.
>> That's right. They range across asia, africa, and you won't find them in south or north america. The equivalent in south america you'll find is probably the tucan.
>> I was reading, it's interesting, the females only have like two eggs? And then they kind of put themselves in a prison.
>> Yeah. They'll stay on those eggs and the mail will feed her while she's incue baiting the eggs and she'll come out when they hatch. The mail and female -- it all depends on the particular species. Can you sit?
>> You are kidding.
>> Or him. He does sit on command. Can you sit? Sit. Maybe not. Obeys my every command.
>> Reporter: I can tell you really got him well trained there, john.
>> Thanks, sharon.
>> Reporter: What makes abyssinian hornbills different than others?
>> They're just really large. Most of the other hornbilz hang out in the forest and live in the trees. But these abyssinians and the southern hornbills in africa, as their name says, hank out on the ground. They'll run across the ground in groups and lifting logs and rocks up trying to get under the leaf and under the logs and rocks to get to the frogs and snakes and insects.
>> Reporter: Can he fly?
>> He flies a lot. He -- watch your toes.
>> Reporter: I know. This bird has a thing for me. And i think it's time for abby to go back in his cage. Again, what you may have missed is abby is a male, but for some reason they didn't know that so they named abby, the male, abby.
>> That's right. Not my fault.
>> Reporter: We'll give you that. The abyssinian-crowned hornbill will come back and chase me around the stage a little bit later on. I'm getting my exercise today.
>> Your toe dozen not look like chicken! I promise you.
>> Reporter: I'm getting a complex here. I'm being chased around by a big bird and being told that i've got chicken-like toes.
>> You're both beautiful.
>> Meantime, abby will call his agent and say, eating a snake wasn't part of it.
>>> We'll tell you about the top stories after a quick break.
>>> Thanks for checking back with "cnn headline news." That was an abyssinian you saw a couple of mints ago. We'll show you more in the next hour. I'm christi paul.
>> And i'm kris osborn, in today for chuck roberts. It's time now to update the day's top stories.
>>> British prime minister tony blair is addressing a joint meeting of congress. He talked about a variety of topics, including the middle east peace process. He got a warm welcome on capitol hill especially when he said history would not forgive a failure to act in the face of a menace posd by saddam. A senator says george tenet told lawmakers yesterday a white house official insisted on using the false information. Some say words are being put in tenet's mouth.
>>> And the driver involved in yesterday's deadly crash at a crowded california farmer's market could be charged with manslaughter. The crash killed nine people and injured dozens. People are lining up at the market today to donate blood to the victims.
>>> British prime minister tony blair was on a campaign to quell the criticism he and president bush are facing. Bill schneider is in washington and has more.
>> Reporter: Hi, kristi. The speech tony blair just gave was an effort to not only win the war. More criticism was heard of the war in iraq now that it's -- the fighting is supposedly over. In fact, a lot of the british say they don't trust tony blair. Here is a poll recently taken asking the citizens of great britain, would you trust tony blair further than you could throw him? Here is the number who said, they wouldn'T. Those who agree, i wouldn't trust him further than i can throw him is the majority of the british. That's because he's staked his credibility on the location of those weapons of mass destruction which so far have not turned up. Britain is a furious controversy over whether he was telling the truth when he said the weapons of mass destruction are there, that he has direct evidence that they will be found.
>> All right. Bill, let's talk real quickly though about one point of contention between he and mr. Bush, so to speak, right now. Those, of course, being the british citizens held at guantanamo bay at prisoners. It would lend to the prime minister's credibility if he could persuade mr. Bush to have those prisoners sent back to be tried there.
>> It would. But there are also some worries. One is they may not be able to be charged in britain with a crime because of the way the evidence was gotten against them. They may not stand up in a british court. British home secretary said you better be careful about asking for these prisoners to be sent home. The british are worried they're supposed to be tried in an american military tribunal which could give them the death penalty. It's not accepted in great britain.
>> Good point. Bill schneider, we appreciate it so much. Thank you for the insight.
>>> Who shot first? The south says the north started a brief shootout today on the korean peninsula. The north is saying nothing. Troops traded machine gun fire in the demilitarized zone, the buffer created after the korean war to separate the rival nations. The south korean military says it did not suffer any casualties in the exchange between two guard posts. The incident may increase the high tensions on the korean peninsula, brought on by north korea's suspected development of nuclear weapons.
>>> 15 cubans caught trying to flee the communist island soon will be headed back. The U.S. Coast guard took them into custody today, a day after intercepting their hijacked boat in international waters off the straits of florida. The would-be immigrants fled cuba in a boat owned by a government science firm. They managed to outrun an aerial and marine pursuit by cuban police to make it to international waters. The cubans will remain aboard the boat until at least tomorrow, so immigration officials can interview them.
>>> We're going to talk to julia boorstin. Let's start with economic season.
>> We're in the middle of earnings season. Everyone was paying careful attention to all the announcements coming from all the companies today. Altria, the company formerly known as philly morse was one to come in the news today. It wasn't good. This quarter they posted the third decline in earnings in a row. Altria also owns kraft and they're not having very good results this season. Their cigarette business is struggling because the taxes on cigarettes have gone up in certain regions and they're competing with less expensive gretmakers. One thing that helped them was the fact the dollar was weak. Overall, they're struggling.
>> What about marriott? I understand more bad news in their future as well.
>> Marriott international is the largest U.S. Hotel operator. They own a couple of different big names. They haven't done very well. There are a lot of reasons you can expect for this. There is sars, the war, terrorism and there is bad economy. All of those things discourage people from traveling. Now this quarter their profits dropped 13% -- I'm sorry about that. We'll talk about 13% later. This quarter their quarterly profit dropped. That's not so unexpected because so many things happened in the last quarter. What's particularly bad is the fact that moving forward, they're not expecting their profits to pick up that much soon. A couple months ago every one says once the war is over and this sars crisis is all cleaned up --
[ loss of audio ]
>> we lost julia due to a technical glitch. She was talking about good and bad news. We're going to move on to another story and tell you about two washington lobbyist groups and how they've come out with a list of the ten worst gun dealers. The brady campaign to prevent gun violence united with the million mom march say these dealers sell an exceptionally high number of guns. Badger incorporated tops the list. Data shows between 1989 and 1996 they sold 54 guns related to crimes. The lobbyist says gun crime totals haven't been released for the years after 1996. The group compiled their list to try to turn back legislation to protect the worst players in the gun industry.
>>> We'll talk in the next half hour about bicycle racing and endurance. Lance armstrong had a special visitor today. Will
>>> welcome back. As we edge toward the 5:00 hour eastern time, riders were back in the saddle today for the second half of the tour de france, which picked up after a rest day yesterday. And american lance armstrong has managed to retain his slim lead. Today's stage covered a relatively short and flat 95 miles. Spanish rider juan antonio flecha won with a time of 3 hours, 29 minutes and 33 seconds. Although four-time champ armstrong finished 29th today, he maintains a 21-second lead over the pack. He hopes to extend that in tomorrow's individual time trial.
>>> Extremely windy conditions are keeping golfers out of the swing of things today at the 132nd british open. Greg norman didn't seem to mind the blustery conditions, though. He shot a 69 on the same course where he won the open championship ten years ago. Norman now is one stroke back of first round leader hennie otto, of south africa. Tiger woods got off to a rough start, and we do mean that literally. His drive off the first tee sailed into the rough, and in spite of five minutes of looking, couldn't be found. Woods took a one-stroke penalty, teed off again and finished the hole with a triple bogey seven. He finished the day at two over par.
>>> Former president bill clinton is looking to his hollywood friends to help him cook up some money. And this time, it's not for his legal defense fund. Clinton's library foundation will be what benefits from next month's release of a cookbook featuring 250 recipes from celebrities. The $35 cookbook includes dishes from such names as barbara streisand, muhammad ali and elizabeth taylor. Hillary rodham clinton even shares her recipe for chocolate chip cookies.
>>> You've seen the blood-chilling danger of spain's running of the bulls. Today in atlanta, it was the running of the brides. Bargain shoppers lined up early to get a crack at deeply discounted wedding gowns. Holly firfer braved the crowd, too.
>> Reporter: It's a tradition that started in 1947 at filene's department store in boston. The selling of the wedding dresses. Now just to give you an idea, here in atlanta stores, only been open since april, but already hundreds and hundreds of women were waiting outside of the store as early as 4:30 in the afternoon yesterday to get in line to grab one of the 1,100 dresses that were on the racks. To give you an idea why this is so popular, this wedding dress rodeo as some call it, the dresses are at a deep disc <