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CNN Live Today

Situation in Haiti Developing by Minute; Kobe Bryant Will Come Face to Face With Accuser

Aired March 01, 2004 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, HOST: The situation in Haiti is developing by the minute. We are getting word that rebels have entered the capital city of Port-au-Prince, making their way toward the palace.
Let's bring in our Lucia Newman in Port-au-Prince with the latest -- Lucia.

LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, I don't know if you can hear me. It's extremely, extremely noisy here. We're driving here behind a caravan of the rebels that has just come into town now on that. They're being led by Guy Philippe, the rebel leader and Louis Jodel Chamblain, the paramilitary and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) leader. The people are out on the streets. They're clapping, cheering, hugging these people. They're dressed in military uniforms. They're very heavily armed with walkie-talkies; very sophisticated bunch. They are here to say, we're back in town. These are members of the former army. And if there's anybody here who doesn't like it, Aristide supporters, they're keeping it very, very quiet indeed.

Daryn, can you still hear me?

KAGAN: Yes, we can hear you. I'm just not sure if you can hear us.

NEWMAN: OK. OK.

KAGAN: Can you hear us?

NEWMAN: They come in. they've gone. They went first straight to the police station in Petionville, which was the anti-Aristide -- the area -- (AUDIO GAP) post (AUDIO GAP) for the opposition. Now they're driving around town stopping at different police stations, moving toward the city. I asked one of the rebels whether they were planning to go to the presidential palace. But I asked one of the rebels whether they were planning to go to the presidential palace. They said no. We also asked one of them whether they were planning to respect the international accords that were called for new elections and a new democratic government. And they kind of shrugged their shoulders at us at this stage -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. Lucia Newman, we're going check in with you throughout the hour and throughout the day here.

Meanwhile, fewer than 100 U.S. Marines are in place in Port-au- Prince, but the U.S. forces could eventually swell to a few hundred. The U.S. is leading the United Nations multinational peacekeeping effort there.

Our CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is looking at that mission.

Barbara, good morning.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn.

Well, the plan now calls for about another 200 Marines to arrive in Port-au-Prince, possibly by the end of today. That flow of forces continuing, joining the Marines already there and other forces. The U.S. hopes this will become the leading edge of an international peacekeeping force, of course, in Haiti. Now, Secretary of State Colin Powell speaking earlier this morning on "AMERICAN MORNING" expressed his hope that the looting and violence will subside.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Pleased that the Haitian National Police have started to restore order. And I'm pleased that the Marines will soon be joined by other nations, and I'm pleased to hear the French have started to arrive. So this will be a multinational force, now endorsed by a U.N. Security Council resolution, to restore stability and help the new Haitian leaders put in place functioning government. Which is what we did not have under president Aristide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: Now, the secretary of state, referring to the fact that a small number of French forces, as well as Canadian forces now arriving in Haiti. Again, expected to grow apart of the multinational peacekeeping force. But for the U.S. forces, the mission will be very specific; they will help secure key assets. So that that peacekeeping force can actually come into Haiti. They will assist in the delivery of humanitarian assistant; protect U.S. citizens and interests, including the embassy. Assist the Coast Guard in returning Haitian refugees, migrants interdicted at sea.

But what the Pentagon wants everyone to understand, Daryn, is that this mission for the U.S. military is one that is very defensive not offensive. They want to go in as a peacekeeping, stabilization force, not interested in getting involved in any shooting or hostilities with these various Haitian factions. The idea is to bring some peace, some stability and let Haitian life begin to return to normal -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Barbara, you briefly mentioned the Coast Guard. But what about the Coast Guard's role in terms of keeping a huge tide of refugees from flooding into the U.S.?

STARR: Well, sources this morning tell us that they have picked up over the last several day, about 1,000 Haitians at sea, people trying to escape Haiti. But the Bush administration policy at the moment is to return those people to Haiti. And that's one of the things the military will help with. When the Coast Guard pulls into port to return those people to Haiti, they need to know they're pulling into a secure port facility. So U.S. troops will assist a bit in that. But the Policy still remains that those people will be returned to Haiti -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.

Barbara, thank you.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus are due to meet this afternoon with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. They'll discuss the next steps in Haiti. Lawmakers in that group lashed out at the handling of the problem by both the U.S. and its allies. They say that inaction undermined the democratically elected Aristide government and set the stage for its collapse.

To Iraq now. Political leaders there have forged an interim constitution and nudged the country closer to Washington's planned handover on June 30. The document will be signed into effect later this week. It moderates Islam's influence, calling it a source of legislation, rather than the source as some lawmakers had sought.

Back here in the states in Eagle, Colorado, Kobe Bryant will come face to face with the 19-year-old woman accusing him of rape. She'll testify in a two-day hearing, in which attorneys for the NBA superstar will argue the woman's sexual history should be admissible in court. That woman is scheduled to testify.

Our national correspondent Gary Tuchman is in Eagle, Colorado, where those proceedings get under way in the next hour.

Gary, good morning.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good morning to you.

If all goes as scheduled, Kobe Bryant and the woman he is accused of raping will be in the same room at the same time, for the first time since June 30, 2003, eight months ago, that night at the lodge and spa at Cordillera. The woman, the accuser has been subpoenaed to testify about parts of her sexual history.

Kobe Bryant arrived here about 50 minutes ago for the two-day hearing, which begins 20 minutes from now. His attorneys want to use part of the woman's sexual history in a trial. They say it's relevant because they claim the woman had sex two times in the days surrounding the incident with Kobe Bryant. And they claim her injuries could have come from somebody else.

Prosecutors say her sexual history is totally irrelevant. They believe Bryant's attorneys are on a, quote, "humiliating fishing expedition." But they did not object to her coming because the judge said she had to come to testify. And it's her testimony that will probably come tomorrow. But this will be the first time she is in court.

There is unfinished business taking place in this two day hearing also. Should this woman's medical records be allowed to be used in the trial? Discussion will take place about that. And also Kobe Bryant talked to police a day after this incident. It was secretly recorded by a police officer. Bryant's attorneys say that recording should not be allowed to be used. They say he was not read his rights. However, prosecutors say he did not have to be read his rights because he was under arrest and he wasn't in custody.

Bryant had a basketball game last night on the East Coast, New Jersey. He actually played until about 10:00 Eastern Time. Then got on a plane, flew here from New Jersey to Colorado and showed up very early for this two-day hearing. He has a game tomorrow night in Atlanta against the Hawks but because his hearing is lasting two days, he will have to miss that game. It will be the first time he misses a game solely because of a court hearing in this case. Last month he also missed a game but he was also injured and he would not have played anyway.

Once again, we do expect the accuser to be here tomorrow in this court room in Eagle, Colorado to face the man she says raped her.

Daryn, back to you.

KAGAN: And Gary, what will be the setup when she has to testify? Kobe Bryant will be in the courtroom and she'll have to be face to face with him? And also, will the media be allowed in there.

TUCHMAN: Yes, she will be face to face with him. It is very doubtful that they will allow the courtroom to be open to news media and public when she does her testimony. But it's not definite yet that the news media won't be allowed inside.

KAGAN: Gary Tuchman in Eagle, Colorado, thank you.

This hour marks the beginning of the end in the Martha Stewart trial. Two days of closing arguments are now under way. Prosecutors present their case first, but without the most serious charge, which was dropped Friday.

Our Mary Snow has been covering the case and she joins us from outside the courthouse.

Mary, good morning.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good morning.

And this is the last chance for attorneys on both sides to make their case to the jury. After five weeks of testimony and evidence, both the prosecution and the defense now focus on closing arguments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW (voice-over): Stewart was smiling Friday after the most serious charge against her of securities fraud was dismissed. Although it carried the harshest possible sentence, some legal experts say it's likely to have little impact. HOWARD WILSON, FORMER PROSECUTOR: The jury is going to hardly notice at the end of the day that one of the charges that they hear about earlier in the case is now gone. So I don't think it's going to have much of an impact at all.

SNOW: While Stewart's team scored a legal win with the dismissal of Count 9, the jury must still decide if there's reasonable doubt about the government's charge that Stewart and her former stockbroker, Peter Bacanovic, lied to government investigators about Stewart's sale of Imclone stock in late 2001. Prosecutors claim the two lied when they said they had an agreement to sell the stock once it hit $60 a share and that Bacanovic altered a document to cover it up.

Closing arguments will be key, since the entire 43-minute Stewart defense case consisted of one witness. Stewart's attorney, during the time she was first interviewed by investigators in 2002.

ROBERT HEIM, FORMER SEC. ATTORNEY: As he said in his opening, this is a circumstantial case. There's no direct evidence on point and there's conflicting testimony. So his closing argument is going to be a critical part of her defense.

SNOW: In an effort to show Stewart and Bacanovic never had an argument; prosecutors relied on the testimony of Bacanovic's former assistant, Doug Faneuil, who swore the agreement never existed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: And while that most serious charge against Stewart was dropped, there are four remaining charges against her, each carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The judge in this case has scheduled deliberations to begin on Wednesday -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Mary Snow in Manhattan, thank you for that.

It has been almost a decade since the Oklahoma City bombing. Terry Nichols is serving federal life sentence. But the state wants their chance to try him. This time the death penalty is an option.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. AL SHARPTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What you're trying to do is try to decide for the voters how we go forward. Or say, the media now is going select candidates.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: We're going forward looking at Super Tuesday. The Democrats go at it again and the debate has a few sharp edges.

And how about winner for best dressed at the Academy Awards? We're talking fashion just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Jury selection gets underway today in the murder trial of Oklahoma City bombing co-conspirator Terry Nichols.

The prosecution is pushing for the death penalty, but as -- excuse me. As Susan Candiotti reports, not everyone agrees with that strategy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over):

Victims' families are divided over a second effort to get a death sentence for Terry Nichols in the Oklahoma City bombing. Roy Sells lost his wife Lee.

ROY SELLS, VICTIM'S HUSBAND: I think he deserves nothing less than the death penalty.

CANDIOTTI: Bud Welch lost his daughter Julie. He says another trial is an expensive waste of time.

BUD WELCH, VICTIM'S FATHER. You know, you go through all of these emotions. It's been nine years now and it's just scraping the scabs off all over again.

CANDIOTTI: When Nichols and Timothy McVeigh were tried separately in federal court, McVeigh was sentenced to death. Nichols was convicted of only being part of the bomb plot and got life in prison without parole. Now the state is putting Nichols on trial on 161 murder counts that were not part of the federal indictment. A recent Oklahoma newspaper poll shows 70 percent opposed to this trial, estimated to cost at least $4 million.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a waste. Waste of money to try him again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not going to bring anybody back and it's not going to change anything.

CANDIOTTI: In a last-minute twist, the FBI has begun an investigation into whether its own agents failed to look hard enough into possible links between white supremacists bank robbers and McVeigh. One of the robbers is ready to testify for the defense that another gang member said they were involved with McVeigh.

And this intriguing note, when first arrested Nichols said a few days before the bombing McVeigh told him something big is going to happen. Nichols replied, "Are you going to rob a bank?"

(on camera): The judge set an early morning hearing on the bank robbery issues, only two hours before the start of jury selection. But has remained firm in his insistence that trial will begin on time. It could last as long as six months.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, McAllister Oklahoma.

(END VIDEOTAPE) KAGAN: And coming up on CNN LIVE TODAY, the Oscars in just two minutes. We have your complete wrap-up of Hollywood's most important night.

And we asked you financial questions and we get the answers from Gerri Willis.

Here's our answer gal.

GERRI WILLIS, CNNfn PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hey, Daryn. Good to see you.

We're answering real estate questions today. We've got a bunch of them. Stay with us on CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: All right. Interest rates are still hovering at record lows. Many homeowner and house hunters are hungry for a hot real estate deal. So much that in recent weeks, we received a lot of e- mails from real estate questions

And who else are we going to call on, but none other than Gerri Willis, our CNN personal finance correspondent to give us the answers.

Gerri, good morning.

WILLIS: Hey, good morning, Daryn. Good to see you.

KAGAN: Let's go right to question No. 1. It has to do with refinancing a home mortgage. Question is, the viewer says that they were taken for a ride. The loan agent promised no closing costs. And just as we're about to write the check, here comes the title company saying it forgot to add one closing cost and tacked on some fees.

Is this the usual way these companies operate? And that's from Sujata?

WILLIS: You know, short answer, Daryn, yes, this is not unusual. This happens too much of the time. And what you need to do to protect yourself is when you first fill out that loan documentation, you're going to get something called a Good Faith Estimate. It is an estimate of your closing cost. You want to go over this really carefully, make sure with your banker that you understand all the terms that are introduced in it. And then right before you close that loan you're going get a HUD-1 Form. And that form will tell you the actual closing costs.

And what you want to know is there a difference between these two? Because in that last 24 hours, you can really hold their feet to the fire and say, I didn't agree to these costs. I want you to get them out of there. And you know, these guys want to do business. They will often kick out excessive costs. But it's up to you to really track them down and understand them -- Daryn.

KAGAN: You can't get very far trying to do any kind of real estate transaction without knowing your credit rating. The big question is what is your credit rating?

This next question comes from Dave. He's had a confusing experience, where he said that he has three different credit ratings. He said he recently sent and he received three different credit scores. The Experian score was almost 100 points lower than the other two -- two others.

Why would there be that much of a difference and which one is correct?

WILLIS: Well, you know, this is a big number. He's talking about 100 points, but it's not unusual to have a difference of say, 40 points. Look, there are three different credit-reporting agencies. They do all their own work. And sometimes they come up with different answers. Now, this would be great if you could get your banker to sign on with just one report, right? But you really can't do it. They're going to see all of the numbers. So if there's a big difference, and it's not in your favor, you really need to go to the credit rating agency, make sure there's no mistake on your report. And if there is, write them a letter about what the problem is and offer them some evidence pressing your case -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Part of this whole process is trying to figure out what kind of mortgage you want. Lot of people are looking at interest only loans. But Brian wants to know what are the dangers involved in interest only mortgage.

WILLIS: Well, you know Daryn, this isn't my favorite kind of mortgage because it discourages people from paying down their principal. All you pay is interest in the first few years of that loan. And the real problem is you may not build equity up in your house. So, you know, there's that big investment but you're only paying interest on it.

The other problem that a lot of people don't think about when they're signing up for the interest-only loan, they're attracted by those low monthly costs on the mortgage. But if the market were to go down and your house were to lose value in the market place and you had to sell, you could find yourself owing more than that house is worth. So people really need to think hard before they sign up for those interest-only mortgages.

KAGAN: Got to be careful.

Gerri, thanks for the answers, appreciate it.

WILLIS: You're welcome.

KAGAN: We are watching your every move. It happens more often than you realize when you surf the Internet. Are companies breaching your right to privacy?

Later, we are all wrap up in the Oscars. But which star was wrapped up in the best dress? All the glamour is coming your way on CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Come Face to Face With Accuser>


Aired March 1, 2004 - 10:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, HOST: The situation in Haiti is developing by the minute. We are getting word that rebels have entered the capital city of Port-au-Prince, making their way toward the palace.
Let's bring in our Lucia Newman in Port-au-Prince with the latest -- Lucia.

LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, I don't know if you can hear me. It's extremely, extremely noisy here. We're driving here behind a caravan of the rebels that has just come into town now on that. They're being led by Guy Philippe, the rebel leader and Louis Jodel Chamblain, the paramilitary and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) leader. The people are out on the streets. They're clapping, cheering, hugging these people. They're dressed in military uniforms. They're very heavily armed with walkie-talkies; very sophisticated bunch. They are here to say, we're back in town. These are members of the former army. And if there's anybody here who doesn't like it, Aristide supporters, they're keeping it very, very quiet indeed.

Daryn, can you still hear me?

KAGAN: Yes, we can hear you. I'm just not sure if you can hear us.

NEWMAN: OK. OK.

KAGAN: Can you hear us?

NEWMAN: They come in. they've gone. They went first straight to the police station in Petionville, which was the anti-Aristide -- the area -- (AUDIO GAP) post (AUDIO GAP) for the opposition. Now they're driving around town stopping at different police stations, moving toward the city. I asked one of the rebels whether they were planning to go to the presidential palace. But I asked one of the rebels whether they were planning to go to the presidential palace. They said no. We also asked one of them whether they were planning to respect the international accords that were called for new elections and a new democratic government. And they kind of shrugged their shoulders at us at this stage -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. Lucia Newman, we're going check in with you throughout the hour and throughout the day here.

Meanwhile, fewer than 100 U.S. Marines are in place in Port-au- Prince, but the U.S. forces could eventually swell to a few hundred. The U.S. is leading the United Nations multinational peacekeeping effort there.

Our CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is looking at that mission.

Barbara, good morning.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn.

Well, the plan now calls for about another 200 Marines to arrive in Port-au-Prince, possibly by the end of today. That flow of forces continuing, joining the Marines already there and other forces. The U.S. hopes this will become the leading edge of an international peacekeeping force, of course, in Haiti. Now, Secretary of State Colin Powell speaking earlier this morning on "AMERICAN MORNING" expressed his hope that the looting and violence will subside.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Pleased that the Haitian National Police have started to restore order. And I'm pleased that the Marines will soon be joined by other nations, and I'm pleased to hear the French have started to arrive. So this will be a multinational force, now endorsed by a U.N. Security Council resolution, to restore stability and help the new Haitian leaders put in place functioning government. Which is what we did not have under president Aristide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: Now, the secretary of state, referring to the fact that a small number of French forces, as well as Canadian forces now arriving in Haiti. Again, expected to grow apart of the multinational peacekeeping force. But for the U.S. forces, the mission will be very specific; they will help secure key assets. So that that peacekeeping force can actually come into Haiti. They will assist in the delivery of humanitarian assistant; protect U.S. citizens and interests, including the embassy. Assist the Coast Guard in returning Haitian refugees, migrants interdicted at sea.

But what the Pentagon wants everyone to understand, Daryn, is that this mission for the U.S. military is one that is very defensive not offensive. They want to go in as a peacekeeping, stabilization force, not interested in getting involved in any shooting or hostilities with these various Haitian factions. The idea is to bring some peace, some stability and let Haitian life begin to return to normal -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Barbara, you briefly mentioned the Coast Guard. But what about the Coast Guard's role in terms of keeping a huge tide of refugees from flooding into the U.S.?

STARR: Well, sources this morning tell us that they have picked up over the last several day, about 1,000 Haitians at sea, people trying to escape Haiti. But the Bush administration policy at the moment is to return those people to Haiti. And that's one of the things the military will help with. When the Coast Guard pulls into port to return those people to Haiti, they need to know they're pulling into a secure port facility. So U.S. troops will assist a bit in that. But the Policy still remains that those people will be returned to Haiti -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.

Barbara, thank you.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus are due to meet this afternoon with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. They'll discuss the next steps in Haiti. Lawmakers in that group lashed out at the handling of the problem by both the U.S. and its allies. They say that inaction undermined the democratically elected Aristide government and set the stage for its collapse.

To Iraq now. Political leaders there have forged an interim constitution and nudged the country closer to Washington's planned handover on June 30. The document will be signed into effect later this week. It moderates Islam's influence, calling it a source of legislation, rather than the source as some lawmakers had sought.

Back here in the states in Eagle, Colorado, Kobe Bryant will come face to face with the 19-year-old woman accusing him of rape. She'll testify in a two-day hearing, in which attorneys for the NBA superstar will argue the woman's sexual history should be admissible in court. That woman is scheduled to testify.

Our national correspondent Gary Tuchman is in Eagle, Colorado, where those proceedings get under way in the next hour.

Gary, good morning.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good morning to you.

If all goes as scheduled, Kobe Bryant and the woman he is accused of raping will be in the same room at the same time, for the first time since June 30, 2003, eight months ago, that night at the lodge and spa at Cordillera. The woman, the accuser has been subpoenaed to testify about parts of her sexual history.

Kobe Bryant arrived here about 50 minutes ago for the two-day hearing, which begins 20 minutes from now. His attorneys want to use part of the woman's sexual history in a trial. They say it's relevant because they claim the woman had sex two times in the days surrounding the incident with Kobe Bryant. And they claim her injuries could have come from somebody else.

Prosecutors say her sexual history is totally irrelevant. They believe Bryant's attorneys are on a, quote, "humiliating fishing expedition." But they did not object to her coming because the judge said she had to come to testify. And it's her testimony that will probably come tomorrow. But this will be the first time she is in court.

There is unfinished business taking place in this two day hearing also. Should this woman's medical records be allowed to be used in the trial? Discussion will take place about that. And also Kobe Bryant talked to police a day after this incident. It was secretly recorded by a police officer. Bryant's attorneys say that recording should not be allowed to be used. They say he was not read his rights. However, prosecutors say he did not have to be read his rights because he was under arrest and he wasn't in custody.

Bryant had a basketball game last night on the East Coast, New Jersey. He actually played until about 10:00 Eastern Time. Then got on a plane, flew here from New Jersey to Colorado and showed up very early for this two-day hearing. He has a game tomorrow night in Atlanta against the Hawks but because his hearing is lasting two days, he will have to miss that game. It will be the first time he misses a game solely because of a court hearing in this case. Last month he also missed a game but he was also injured and he would not have played anyway.

Once again, we do expect the accuser to be here tomorrow in this court room in Eagle, Colorado to face the man she says raped her.

Daryn, back to you.

KAGAN: And Gary, what will be the setup when she has to testify? Kobe Bryant will be in the courtroom and she'll have to be face to face with him? And also, will the media be allowed in there.

TUCHMAN: Yes, she will be face to face with him. It is very doubtful that they will allow the courtroom to be open to news media and public when she does her testimony. But it's not definite yet that the news media won't be allowed inside.

KAGAN: Gary Tuchman in Eagle, Colorado, thank you.

This hour marks the beginning of the end in the Martha Stewart trial. Two days of closing arguments are now under way. Prosecutors present their case first, but without the most serious charge, which was dropped Friday.

Our Mary Snow has been covering the case and she joins us from outside the courthouse.

Mary, good morning.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good morning.

And this is the last chance for attorneys on both sides to make their case to the jury. After five weeks of testimony and evidence, both the prosecution and the defense now focus on closing arguments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW (voice-over): Stewart was smiling Friday after the most serious charge against her of securities fraud was dismissed. Although it carried the harshest possible sentence, some legal experts say it's likely to have little impact. HOWARD WILSON, FORMER PROSECUTOR: The jury is going to hardly notice at the end of the day that one of the charges that they hear about earlier in the case is now gone. So I don't think it's going to have much of an impact at all.

SNOW: While Stewart's team scored a legal win with the dismissal of Count 9, the jury must still decide if there's reasonable doubt about the government's charge that Stewart and her former stockbroker, Peter Bacanovic, lied to government investigators about Stewart's sale of Imclone stock in late 2001. Prosecutors claim the two lied when they said they had an agreement to sell the stock once it hit $60 a share and that Bacanovic altered a document to cover it up.

Closing arguments will be key, since the entire 43-minute Stewart defense case consisted of one witness. Stewart's attorney, during the time she was first interviewed by investigators in 2002.

ROBERT HEIM, FORMER SEC. ATTORNEY: As he said in his opening, this is a circumstantial case. There's no direct evidence on point and there's conflicting testimony. So his closing argument is going to be a critical part of her defense.

SNOW: In an effort to show Stewart and Bacanovic never had an argument; prosecutors relied on the testimony of Bacanovic's former assistant, Doug Faneuil, who swore the agreement never existed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: And while that most serious charge against Stewart was dropped, there are four remaining charges against her, each carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The judge in this case has scheduled deliberations to begin on Wednesday -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Mary Snow in Manhattan, thank you for that.

It has been almost a decade since the Oklahoma City bombing. Terry Nichols is serving federal life sentence. But the state wants their chance to try him. This time the death penalty is an option.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. AL SHARPTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What you're trying to do is try to decide for the voters how we go forward. Or say, the media now is going select candidates.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: We're going forward looking at Super Tuesday. The Democrats go at it again and the debate has a few sharp edges.

And how about winner for best dressed at the Academy Awards? We're talking fashion just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Jury selection gets underway today in the murder trial of Oklahoma City bombing co-conspirator Terry Nichols.

The prosecution is pushing for the death penalty, but as -- excuse me. As Susan Candiotti reports, not everyone agrees with that strategy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over):

Victims' families are divided over a second effort to get a death sentence for Terry Nichols in the Oklahoma City bombing. Roy Sells lost his wife Lee.

ROY SELLS, VICTIM'S HUSBAND: I think he deserves nothing less than the death penalty.

CANDIOTTI: Bud Welch lost his daughter Julie. He says another trial is an expensive waste of time.

BUD WELCH, VICTIM'S FATHER. You know, you go through all of these emotions. It's been nine years now and it's just scraping the scabs off all over again.

CANDIOTTI: When Nichols and Timothy McVeigh were tried separately in federal court, McVeigh was sentenced to death. Nichols was convicted of only being part of the bomb plot and got life in prison without parole. Now the state is putting Nichols on trial on 161 murder counts that were not part of the federal indictment. A recent Oklahoma newspaper poll shows 70 percent opposed to this trial, estimated to cost at least $4 million.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a waste. Waste of money to try him again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not going to bring anybody back and it's not going to change anything.

CANDIOTTI: In a last-minute twist, the FBI has begun an investigation into whether its own agents failed to look hard enough into possible links between white supremacists bank robbers and McVeigh. One of the robbers is ready to testify for the defense that another gang member said they were involved with McVeigh.

And this intriguing note, when first arrested Nichols said a few days before the bombing McVeigh told him something big is going to happen. Nichols replied, "Are you going to rob a bank?"

(on camera): The judge set an early morning hearing on the bank robbery issues, only two hours before the start of jury selection. But has remained firm in his insistence that trial will begin on time. It could last as long as six months.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, McAllister Oklahoma.

(END VIDEOTAPE) KAGAN: And coming up on CNN LIVE TODAY, the Oscars in just two minutes. We have your complete wrap-up of Hollywood's most important night.

And we asked you financial questions and we get the answers from Gerri Willis.

Here's our answer gal.

GERRI WILLIS, CNNfn PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hey, Daryn. Good to see you.

We're answering real estate questions today. We've got a bunch of them. Stay with us on CNN LIVE TODAY.

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KAGAN: All right. Interest rates are still hovering at record lows. Many homeowner and house hunters are hungry for a hot real estate deal. So much that in recent weeks, we received a lot of e- mails from real estate questions

And who else are we going to call on, but none other than Gerri Willis, our CNN personal finance correspondent to give us the answers.

Gerri, good morning.

WILLIS: Hey, good morning, Daryn. Good to see you.

KAGAN: Let's go right to question No. 1. It has to do with refinancing a home mortgage. Question is, the viewer says that they were taken for a ride. The loan agent promised no closing costs. And just as we're about to write the check, here comes the title company saying it forgot to add one closing cost and tacked on some fees.

Is this the usual way these companies operate? And that's from Sujata?

WILLIS: You know, short answer, Daryn, yes, this is not unusual. This happens too much of the time. And what you need to do to protect yourself is when you first fill out that loan documentation, you're going to get something called a Good Faith Estimate. It is an estimate of your closing cost. You want to go over this really carefully, make sure with your banker that you understand all the terms that are introduced in it. And then right before you close that loan you're going get a HUD-1 Form. And that form will tell you the actual closing costs.

And what you want to know is there a difference between these two? Because in that last 24 hours, you can really hold their feet to the fire and say, I didn't agree to these costs. I want you to get them out of there. And you know, these guys want to do business. They will often kick out excessive costs. But it's up to you to really track them down and understand them -- Daryn.

KAGAN: You can't get very far trying to do any kind of real estate transaction without knowing your credit rating. The big question is what is your credit rating?

This next question comes from Dave. He's had a confusing experience, where he said that he has three different credit ratings. He said he recently sent and he received three different credit scores. The Experian score was almost 100 points lower than the other two -- two others.

Why would there be that much of a difference and which one is correct?

WILLIS: Well, you know, this is a big number. He's talking about 100 points, but it's not unusual to have a difference of say, 40 points. Look, there are three different credit-reporting agencies. They do all their own work. And sometimes they come up with different answers. Now, this would be great if you could get your banker to sign on with just one report, right? But you really can't do it. They're going to see all of the numbers. So if there's a big difference, and it's not in your favor, you really need to go to the credit rating agency, make sure there's no mistake on your report. And if there is, write them a letter about what the problem is and offer them some evidence pressing your case -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Part of this whole process is trying to figure out what kind of mortgage you want. Lot of people are looking at interest only loans. But Brian wants to know what are the dangers involved in interest only mortgage.

WILLIS: Well, you know Daryn, this isn't my favorite kind of mortgage because it discourages people from paying down their principal. All you pay is interest in the first few years of that loan. And the real problem is you may not build equity up in your house. So, you know, there's that big investment but you're only paying interest on it.

The other problem that a lot of people don't think about when they're signing up for the interest-only loan, they're attracted by those low monthly costs on the mortgage. But if the market were to go down and your house were to lose value in the market place and you had to sell, you could find yourself owing more than that house is worth. So people really need to think hard before they sign up for those interest-only mortgages.

KAGAN: Got to be careful.

Gerri, thanks for the answers, appreciate it.

WILLIS: You're welcome.

KAGAN: We are watching your every move. It happens more often than you realize when you surf the Internet. Are companies breaching your right to privacy?

Later, we are all wrap up in the Oscars. But which star was wrapped up in the best dress? All the glamour is coming your way on CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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