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American Morning
Bush's Campaign Unveiling First Television Advertising Today; Jury in Bizarre Texas Murder Case Must Now Decide Sentence
Aired March 04, 2004 - 07:00 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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Senator Kerry has been in Washington long enough to take both sides on just about every issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BILL HEMMER, HOST: Good morning. President Bush the candidate firing from both barrels, going after John Kerry by name, and releasing new TV ads for the first time today.
The jury reaches its verdict in the trial that shocked Houston. What happens to the woman who stabbed her husband 193 times?
And the European country held hostage by blackmailers. Did the government put its citizens at risk?
All ahead this morning on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, HOST: Good morning, welcome everybody.
The other big story that we're following this morning, one of the most powerful men in entertainment has seen much of his authority stripped away. Michael Eisner lost his job as chairman of Disney yesterday.
Andy Serwer is going to talk about that, he's going to be here in a moment to splay (ph) all the particulars.
HEMMER: Also from spring training the controversy over steroids in baseball overshadowing just about everything.
Also how it's effecting Barry Bonds, one of the best players in the game today. What one of his former teammates had to say, something that is sure to upset the slugger out of San Francisco. We'll get to it.
O'BRIEN: Mr. Cafferty, good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN: How are you doing, Soledad?
President Bush's TV ads for his reelection campaign on the air starting yesterday. They contain, some of them, pictures from September 11th and the aftermath of Ground Zero and not everybody thinks that's a great idea. We'll talk about it.
O'BRIEN: Look forward to that. Let's get to our top stories this morning.
The top U.S. official in Iraq, Paul Bremer, says the coalition is bolstering police forces along Iraq's borders. The strength in security is in response to Tuesday's deadly bombings in Baghdad and Karbala.
Bremer says it is, quote, "increasingly apparent that militants from outside the country are responsible for the terror acts." U.S. and Iraqi officials blame both attacks on a wanted insurgent Musab al Zarqawi.
In Haiti, rebel leader Guy Philippe says that his forces will lay down their weapons. Philippe says the decision follows a meeting with the head of the U.S. Marine contingent in Haiti. The Marines are now fanning out across Haiti's capitol as part of a stepped up presence there.
In California, jury selection begins today in the Scott Peterson double murder trial. Potential jurors will be asked questions ranging from what stickers are on their car bumpers to whether they've ever had extra-marital affairs. It would take a month to pick the jury. Peterson is charged with killing his wife Laci and their unborn son.
The mayor of New Paltz, New York has pleaded not guilty to charges connected with same sex marriages. Mayor Jason West is charged with 19 criminal counts for some of the wedding ceremonies that he has already conducted.
New York's Attorney General has urged officials to stop same sex weddings. Meanwhile Multnomah County in Oregon began granting gay marriage licenses yesterday. Oregon's governor has asked for a legal opinion on the matter.
In California, a rescued sea lion has been released back to the ocean. The 321-pound male sea lion named Chippy was returned to the ocean yesterday, three weeks after a bullet was removed from his head. Highway patrol officers rescued Chippy last month, about 60 miles away from the Pacific Ocean. A satellite-tracking tab will help doctors follow his movement for six months.
HEMMER: Remember Eric Estrada? CHIPS? California Highway Patrol?
O'BRIEN: Totally different story?
HEMMER: I'll bet you a jellybean that's how that seal got its name.
O'BRIEN: Oh, you think?
HEMMER: Chippy. O'BRIEN: No, not a chance. How do you think he got there? Sixty miles from the ocean.
HEMMER: I guess he did a lot of this.
Chad Myers is on assignment; here's Ron Marciano kicking off this morning.
Good morning Rob, nice to have you, good morning.
(WEATHER UPDATE)
HEMMER: Rob thanks.
Politics starts us off. President Bush's campaign unveiling his first television advertising today. Those ads will air in most battleground states and on several national cable networks including this one, CNN.
Here's a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: I know exactly where I want to lead this country. I know what we need to do to make the world more free and more peaceful; I know what we need to do to make sure every person has a chance at realizing the American dream.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: More on this now; let's start at the White House and Suzanne Malveaux for more -- good morning there.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning Bill.
The Bush campaign is going to blitz the airwaves today with $10 million worth of these ads; we're talking in at least 17 key battleground states.
President Bush is in California for two days and that is where he has launched his campaign and he's also launched some attacks against Senator Kerry. Yesterday for the first time he mentioned his opponent by name.
He portrayed Kerry as a waffler, weak on national security, aimed at expanding the federal government and undoing progress on the economy.
At a fundraiser last night in Los Angeles, where he raised more than $800,000, he gave his stump speech a test drive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: He spent two decades in Congress; he built up quite a record. In fact, Senator Kerry has been in Washington long enough to take both sides on just about every issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: So already, Bill, you can tell let the jabs begin here.
President Bush is in California. That is where, of course, he lost California to Al Gore by eleven percentage points back in 2000.
The Republicans concede that it is going to be difficult, actually, to win that very valuable state but, again, they believe that with Republican governor Schwarzenegger at the helm they believe that at least they'll be competitive -- Bill.
HEMMER: Suzanne, thanks from the front lawn this morning.
In a speech last night in Dallas, Bush campaign adviser Karen Hughes accused Senator Kerry of having what she calls a little message clarity problem.
Also, Hughes, a long time adviser to President Bush, thanked Democratic primary voters for choosing Senator Kerry as the presumptive presidential nominee.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREN HUGHES, BUSH CAMPAIGN ADVISER: I have to thank Howard Dean for making John Kerry look electable.
His voting record is out of step with mainstream America; he's -- I saw a recent analysis that said he's even more liberal that Massachusetts' other Senator Ted Kennedy, who's well known.
But I think the real area of his voting record that is most vulnerable at a time when our nation is at war is the fact that he has voted against, consistently, so many defense funding measures, so many of the defense weapons and the intelligence agency that we are relying on to protect us from further terror attacks, and I think that is the area where he is most vulnerable on his record.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: That was last night in Dallas.
This morning we'll hear from Karen Hughes at the half hour. Soledad talks with her here on AMERICAN MORNING.
Now Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Busy shareholders have spoken and the board has listened. Michael Eisner lost the chairmanship -- Disney stockholders angry with Eisner's performance as chairman and CEO and withheld support for him at yesterday's annual meeting in Philadelphia.
The board agreed to name former Senator George Mitchell to serve as chairman. Eisner remains the CEO and he says that he and the board are listening to their shareholders.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL EISNER, CEO, DISNEY COMPANY: The messages that we're getting from that kind of vote are multiple and they are about corporate America, they are about messages to other corporations and there are obviously certain people that -- that are not happy with me personally, I guess.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Andy Serwer's MONEY AND BUSINESS this morning. Good morning to you.
He says the messages were multiple and also loud and clear apparently.
ANDY SERWER, FORTUNE MAGAZINE: Yes, they are loud and clear, Soledad.
I want to take you back a little bit and talk about Michael Eisner's career.
How did he get in this place to begin with? When he came in to become CEO of this company in 1984 Disney was sleepy and lost its luster. He came in, revived the movie business, increased the merchandising, increased the theme parks.
Then, in 1994, his longtime associate Frank Wells passed away. This is sort of his second act.
And things began to sort of go down hill for him there. The ABC transaction, buying ABC never really worked out.
Over expanded the stores somewhat, and then he clashed with executives like Jeffrey Katzenberg, Michael Ovitz and then recently Steve Jobs.
Since then, obviously the sledding has been very, very difficult for him.
O'BRIEN: So the job now is split before Senator -- former Senator George Mitchell and Michael Eisner will keep the CEO-ship.
SERWER: Right.
O'BRIEN: What really changes then in that scenario?
SERWER: Well, there are some critics who say not a lot because George Mitchell is a long time associate and friend of Michael Eisner so if this was a movie and we had a trailer it would be this is not over.
I think that that's very much the case. Of course, you have Comcast waiting in the wings, wanting to take this company over so that's also there as well; Michael Eisner's contract expires in 2006. He very much wants to go out on his own terms, Soledad. There's still going to be pressure.
The average CEO stays in his job seven to nine years. He's been there 20 years; it will be 22, that's a long time.
O'BRIEN: Yes, and he may not stay after that. We'll see. Andy Serwer, thanks we'll see you at the bottom of the hour.
SERWER: That's right.
HEMMER: This note from Europe, the justice minister of France is vowing to quickly capture a group threatening to blow up railway tracks unless it receives millions in ransom.
The government facing criticism, but trying to keep the threat secret as it investigates the threats first made public yesterday were sent back in December for the first time the offices of French President Jacques Chirac in the interior minister.
Also a computer cell phone chip smaller than a fingernail may have helped nab a man who was suspected of masterminding the 9/11 attacks.
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed arrested last March in Pakistan.
Now word coming that authorities intercepted a cell phone call on April of 2002 that lasted less than a minute involved no conversation, but authorities recognized a certain brand of cell phone chip that is favored they say by terrorists and from there it led them ultimately to the trail of Mohammed in Pakistan.
You can see that story in "The New York Times," there's a lot more going to come out on this war on terror in the years to come about how they tracked these men down.
O'BRIEN: Yes, fascinating.
HEMMER: It will be absolutely fascinating.
O'BRIEN: To be able to trace them, the technology they used, really amazing.
Well still to come this morning a woman who says she stabbed her husband nearly 200 times in self-defense. The jury reaches the verdict. We're going to take you live to Houston for that.
HEMMER: Also these are tense times for Martha Stewart. Jury begins a second day of deliberations this morning.
O'BRIEN: And Dr. Sanjay Gupta returns to Iraq nearly a year after war began. The medical situation there has reached crisis proportions. He's going to tell us what he found at the head as AMERICAN MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HEMMER: After convicting a woman who stabbed her husband almost 200 times, the jury in a bizarre Texas murder case must now decide her sentence.
Lawyers for Susan Wright claim her husband was abusive and that she killed him in self-defense. Jurors (UNINTELLIGIBLE) before the verdict yesterday, the prosecution closed with a graphic reenactment of the crime.
Gail DeLaughter is a reporter for KTRH Radio, she was in the courtroom and joins us live now from Houston, Texas.
Gail, good morning to you and thanks for your time on this.
GAIL DELAUGHTER, KTRH RADIO REPORTER: Hi.
HEMMER: What was the prosecution trying to do with this, again, with the bed in the courtroom?
DELAUGHTER: What they wanted to do is plant a very, very graphic visual image in the jury's mind. Actually brought the bed into the courtroom, they had another prosecutor act as the victim. He was a volunteer; he was actually tied to the bed.
Kelly Siegler, who is a very well-respected prosecutor here in Howard's County reenacted what she believed Susan Wright did the night that she stabbed her husband.
He was tied to the bed. Kelly Siegler had a knife; she was over the other prosecutor with a knife and left this very, very graphic visual image in the mind of the jurors.
HEMMER: And you have some very graphic testimony throughout this entire case. Five and a half hours of deliberations yesterday, Gail. Why was the defense case not convincing?
DELAUGHTER: Well, Susan Wright was on the stand -- she did take the stand in her own defense and she was cross-examined for about three hours. Her story was picked apart. There were also some elements that happened after her husband was killed.
He was killed on a Monday then on Tuesday she goes to her doctor with some wounds on her hands saying that she was attacked by her husband. On Wednesday she goes to authorities to get a protective order and also to file charges against her husband.
So there was a whole trail of evidence that she left trying to cover her tracks and I think that's what really tripped her up.
HEMMER: Two of the things though here. She never denied stabbing her husband, right? And she admitted to burying him in the backyard. That pretty much stacks it against you.
DELAUGHTER: She said that she went into this sort of out of body state when it happened; she really didn't know it was going on; she said at one point she felt like she was hovering towards the ceiling looking down at herself stabbing her husband.
She claimed at one point that after the ligatures that were around his wrist and around his ankles she said she tied them there to drag him out to the back yard to bury him.
And she had reasons for everything that she did but in the long run they just didn't match up.
HEMMER: Earlier in our program we mentioned that the town of Houston has been shocked by this case. Is that accurate?
DELAUGHTER: It's an incredible case on so many levels. I mean you've got the bed being tied to the bed, being buried in the backyard, the number of stab wounds, close to 200, so there's just so many lurid elements to this case, just every little thing about it seems to be pretty unusual.
HEMMER: One more point here, Gail before I let you go. Penalty phase continues today. What are the options now for jurors?
DELAUGHTER: Wide range of options here. She could get anything from probation to life in prison. It is sort of unusual in Texas; we do offer probation as an option.
Usually that's used in a situation where a wife kills a husband in an abusive situation or a parent -- a child kills a parent. But from everyone that we've talked to, they believe that she will do some jail time.
HEMMER: Gail Delaughter we'll be watching it from here. Thanks; live in Houston Texas -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: The Martha Stewart jurors return to work this morning for their first full day of deliberations after getting the case yesterday afternoon. The jury asked to review testimony of the government's star witness, Douglas Fanueil and also to examine phone records from the day that Stewart sold the ImClone stock that's in question.
CNN's Senior Legal Analyst Jeff Toobin has been in the courtroom from the very beginning. Nice to see you.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Hi.
O'BRIEN: And he's going back again today.
TOOBIN: Oh yes just to do the waiting.
O'BRIEN: As the case went to the jury, did Martha Stewart's demeanor change at all?
TOOBIN: Not a bit. She has model decorum in the courtroom. She has not grimaced, she has not rolled her eyes, she has not laughed, she has not sighed. She sits there and passively throughout the trial and that's how she behaves on the day the case went to the jury. O'BRIEN: Early in the deliberations, almost immediately the jurors started asking to review some of the evidence again. What does that say to you?
TOOBIN: Well, a lot of evidence they asked for. First they asked for most of Fanueil testimony. That took most of the day for the lawyer's to organize it all.
Then at the very end of the day, very close to 5:00 they sent a note asking for a lot more evidence, including testimony about Stewart's statement to investigators, how they -- the records kept of what her testimony was because remember there is no transcript, there's no tape recording, it's just the agent's notes.
Charts of the stock trades. Looks like a very meticulous jury and not a quick deliberation.
O'BRIEN: So then who does that help? The defense or the prosecution?
TOOBIN: I think that would be considered a good note for the prosecution...
O'BRIEN: Why?
TOOBIN: Because the defense argument here is just throw it out; Fadal's not believable the whole case is just all wrong. The prosecution asked for a meticulous, step-by-step evaluation of the evidence. I think the prosecution is more happy with this note than the defense is.
But this is not a clear -- not a clear one.
O'BRIEN: The judge gave instructions to the jurors that last about 90 minutes then the alternate jurors were dismissed and that was a weird request.
TOOBIN: It was.
O'BRIEN: The alternate and the regular jurors asked to have like a final lunch together.
TOOBIN: Interesting. Well, I certainly -- I -- you know you often see kind of team spirit developing among jurors but what happened here is the jury instructions finished right before noon and she said well now I have the sad duty of dismissing the alternates.
As soon as the jury went into the deliberation room, a note came out and said you know we want to have one last lunch together including with the alternates. It suggests to me -- I don't want to read too much into it but it does suggest to me this will not be a jury that wants to be a hung jury. This is a team spirit, cohesive, you know we'll see when they get into the evidence but they seem inclined to think as a group so far.
O'BRIEN: When do you head back to the courtroom this morning? TOOBIN: Ten o'clock -- ten to five has been the deliberation schedule. I think a verdict today is really unusual. Friday is a common time for verdicts but you know this is complicated. I would bet on going into next week.
O'BRIEN: All right we will see. Jeff Toobin thanks as always -- Bill.
HEMMER: Soledad gets a break here in a moment. Serious accusations about Barry Bonds and steroids. This time from a former teammate.
That story is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: The boys of summer are back at work preparing for a new baseball season but controversy off the field is what has fans talking and one of baseball's biggest stars is right in the middle of it.
Here's Josie Burke.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSIE BURKE, CNN SPORTS: Barry Bonds is going through the rituals of spring training without addressing the latest allegations linking him to performance enhancing drugs. It's a topic that's hard to avoid.
JASON SCHMIDT, GIANTS PITCHER: I don't know anything about it, so.
UNKNOWN MALE: Come to the park to play baseball, that's what I do.
BURKE: One former Bonds teammate did not shy away from the subject during a radio interview this week.
RICK BALLOU, RADIO PERSONALITY: Are you telling us that in your opinion, Andy, it looks like he has taken steroids?
ANY VAN SLYKE, BONDS TEAMMATE, 1987-1992: Oh, unequivocally, he's taken them. Without equivocation he's taken them and you know I can say that with -- you know -- with utmost certainty.
BURKE: Both the Giants and Baseball have taken steps to curtail the speculation. Last week, a team attorney addressed San Francisco players and advised them against talking about Bonds and steroids.
Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig issued a similar directive to the club executives and owners under his direction. But no one has silenced the fans.
UNKNOWN MALE: There is so much evidence now against it they're leading to the fact that he used it it's kind of sad in my estimation. UNKNOWN FEMALE: That doesn't necessarily mean that Barry Bonds took the steroids; maybe he did, maybe he didn't but we'll have to wait and see what comes out.
BURKE: Bonds did speak briefly with reporters on Wednesday. He did not talk about steroids but he did allow, however, that he' spent part of Tuesday, quote, Playing with my computer and trying to avoid the TV as much as possible. Josie Burke, CNN, Scottsdale, Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Other players facing allegations of steroid use are New York Yankees Jason Giambi and also Gary Sheffield.
HEMMER: It's going to be a tough, tough baseball season.
Question for you, though. If you were taking steroids and you stopped at the end of last season, say mid-October. We're now five months down the road. Does that get out of your system? If you do a urine test is it undetectable or not?
O'BRIEN: I don't know about THG you wonder if it is undetectable after how much time.
CAFFERTY: I'm curious about the baseball teams instructions to its players, don't talk about it and the league's instruction, don't talk about it.
HEMMER: Bud Selig said that.
CAFFERTY: I mean, come on. You know, that's the story, that's the issue, there is a lot of evidence suggesting that it's a real story and a real issue and baseball's attitude is let's don't talk about it.
HEMMER: And that's the way they say hey slap a gag order on because they're going to try to cover their tracks if indeed there's evidence that they need to attend to. And at this point they have a lot of issues on the table. So anyway, question of the day, what's happening?
CAFFERTY: Don't talk about it. I don't want to talk about it.
President Bush's campaign commercials are on the air as of yesterday and they include images of ground zero and the September 11th terrorist attacks.
The commercials show the World Trade Center devastation, an American flag flying over the wreckage, as well as a one-second shot of firefighters removing the remains of a victim from the debris.
One of the New York papers this morning quotes families of people who died in that tragedy as being furious. They accuse the president of exploiting this national tragedy for political gain. It remains to be seen how the rest of the country will react to these commercials. Administration officials defend the spots saying that the imagery is appropriate because September 11th is, quote, a "defining moment" of these times, unquote.
So the question this morning is this: Is it appropriate to use images of September 11th in political commercials. You can e-mail us your thoughts on that at am@cnn.com.
And we're going to talk about it.
O'BRIEN: I have writers as well that arms about it apparently the union supports Senator Kerry but they also are echoing what some of the family members seem to be saying.
CAFFERTY: You'll see what the nation thinks. Thanks Jack.
Still to come this morning after a 15-month hiatus TV's favorite dysfunctional mob family returns.
Our 90-second pop panel has a look at that, plus "Starsky and Hutch" returns. Those stories are ahead as AMERICAN MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Rainy day today in Manhattan. Boy, blowing right across the sidewalks here.
Good morning, 7:30 here in New York.
President Bush on the offensive today releasing TV ads in a number of key battleground states, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida, West Virginia.
In a few moments we'll talk about those ads. One of the president's most trusted advisers, Karen Hughes, get into some of the controversial matters involved there.
And, we're off and running in the election of 2004.
O'BRIEN: Yes, we are. Also it is time to break out the body bags. The Sopranos back for it's 5th season. This Sunday the 90- second pop gang is with us to talk a little bit more about what we can expect from the hit drama.
And also what's new this time around.
HEMMER: Apparently a pretty good plot with Tony.
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Today; Jury in Bizarre Texas Murder Case Must Now Decide Sentence>
Aired March 4, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Senator Kerry has been in Washington long enough to take both sides on just about every issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BILL HEMMER, HOST: Good morning. President Bush the candidate firing from both barrels, going after John Kerry by name, and releasing new TV ads for the first time today.
The jury reaches its verdict in the trial that shocked Houston. What happens to the woman who stabbed her husband 193 times?
And the European country held hostage by blackmailers. Did the government put its citizens at risk?
All ahead this morning on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, HOST: Good morning, welcome everybody.
The other big story that we're following this morning, one of the most powerful men in entertainment has seen much of his authority stripped away. Michael Eisner lost his job as chairman of Disney yesterday.
Andy Serwer is going to talk about that, he's going to be here in a moment to splay (ph) all the particulars.
HEMMER: Also from spring training the controversy over steroids in baseball overshadowing just about everything.
Also how it's effecting Barry Bonds, one of the best players in the game today. What one of his former teammates had to say, something that is sure to upset the slugger out of San Francisco. We'll get to it.
O'BRIEN: Mr. Cafferty, good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN: How are you doing, Soledad?
President Bush's TV ads for his reelection campaign on the air starting yesterday. They contain, some of them, pictures from September 11th and the aftermath of Ground Zero and not everybody thinks that's a great idea. We'll talk about it.
O'BRIEN: Look forward to that. Let's get to our top stories this morning.
The top U.S. official in Iraq, Paul Bremer, says the coalition is bolstering police forces along Iraq's borders. The strength in security is in response to Tuesday's deadly bombings in Baghdad and Karbala.
Bremer says it is, quote, "increasingly apparent that militants from outside the country are responsible for the terror acts." U.S. and Iraqi officials blame both attacks on a wanted insurgent Musab al Zarqawi.
In Haiti, rebel leader Guy Philippe says that his forces will lay down their weapons. Philippe says the decision follows a meeting with the head of the U.S. Marine contingent in Haiti. The Marines are now fanning out across Haiti's capitol as part of a stepped up presence there.
In California, jury selection begins today in the Scott Peterson double murder trial. Potential jurors will be asked questions ranging from what stickers are on their car bumpers to whether they've ever had extra-marital affairs. It would take a month to pick the jury. Peterson is charged with killing his wife Laci and their unborn son.
The mayor of New Paltz, New York has pleaded not guilty to charges connected with same sex marriages. Mayor Jason West is charged with 19 criminal counts for some of the wedding ceremonies that he has already conducted.
New York's Attorney General has urged officials to stop same sex weddings. Meanwhile Multnomah County in Oregon began granting gay marriage licenses yesterday. Oregon's governor has asked for a legal opinion on the matter.
In California, a rescued sea lion has been released back to the ocean. The 321-pound male sea lion named Chippy was returned to the ocean yesterday, three weeks after a bullet was removed from his head. Highway patrol officers rescued Chippy last month, about 60 miles away from the Pacific Ocean. A satellite-tracking tab will help doctors follow his movement for six months.
HEMMER: Remember Eric Estrada? CHIPS? California Highway Patrol?
O'BRIEN: Totally different story?
HEMMER: I'll bet you a jellybean that's how that seal got its name.
O'BRIEN: Oh, you think?
HEMMER: Chippy. O'BRIEN: No, not a chance. How do you think he got there? Sixty miles from the ocean.
HEMMER: I guess he did a lot of this.
Chad Myers is on assignment; here's Ron Marciano kicking off this morning.
Good morning Rob, nice to have you, good morning.
(WEATHER UPDATE)
HEMMER: Rob thanks.
Politics starts us off. President Bush's campaign unveiling his first television advertising today. Those ads will air in most battleground states and on several national cable networks including this one, CNN.
Here's a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: I know exactly where I want to lead this country. I know what we need to do to make the world more free and more peaceful; I know what we need to do to make sure every person has a chance at realizing the American dream.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: More on this now; let's start at the White House and Suzanne Malveaux for more -- good morning there.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning Bill.
The Bush campaign is going to blitz the airwaves today with $10 million worth of these ads; we're talking in at least 17 key battleground states.
President Bush is in California for two days and that is where he has launched his campaign and he's also launched some attacks against Senator Kerry. Yesterday for the first time he mentioned his opponent by name.
He portrayed Kerry as a waffler, weak on national security, aimed at expanding the federal government and undoing progress on the economy.
At a fundraiser last night in Los Angeles, where he raised more than $800,000, he gave his stump speech a test drive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: He spent two decades in Congress; he built up quite a record. In fact, Senator Kerry has been in Washington long enough to take both sides on just about every issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: So already, Bill, you can tell let the jabs begin here.
President Bush is in California. That is where, of course, he lost California to Al Gore by eleven percentage points back in 2000.
The Republicans concede that it is going to be difficult, actually, to win that very valuable state but, again, they believe that with Republican governor Schwarzenegger at the helm they believe that at least they'll be competitive -- Bill.
HEMMER: Suzanne, thanks from the front lawn this morning.
In a speech last night in Dallas, Bush campaign adviser Karen Hughes accused Senator Kerry of having what she calls a little message clarity problem.
Also, Hughes, a long time adviser to President Bush, thanked Democratic primary voters for choosing Senator Kerry as the presumptive presidential nominee.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREN HUGHES, BUSH CAMPAIGN ADVISER: I have to thank Howard Dean for making John Kerry look electable.
His voting record is out of step with mainstream America; he's -- I saw a recent analysis that said he's even more liberal that Massachusetts' other Senator Ted Kennedy, who's well known.
But I think the real area of his voting record that is most vulnerable at a time when our nation is at war is the fact that he has voted against, consistently, so many defense funding measures, so many of the defense weapons and the intelligence agency that we are relying on to protect us from further terror attacks, and I think that is the area where he is most vulnerable on his record.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: That was last night in Dallas.
This morning we'll hear from Karen Hughes at the half hour. Soledad talks with her here on AMERICAN MORNING.
Now Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Busy shareholders have spoken and the board has listened. Michael Eisner lost the chairmanship -- Disney stockholders angry with Eisner's performance as chairman and CEO and withheld support for him at yesterday's annual meeting in Philadelphia.
The board agreed to name former Senator George Mitchell to serve as chairman. Eisner remains the CEO and he says that he and the board are listening to their shareholders.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL EISNER, CEO, DISNEY COMPANY: The messages that we're getting from that kind of vote are multiple and they are about corporate America, they are about messages to other corporations and there are obviously certain people that -- that are not happy with me personally, I guess.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Andy Serwer's MONEY AND BUSINESS this morning. Good morning to you.
He says the messages were multiple and also loud and clear apparently.
ANDY SERWER, FORTUNE MAGAZINE: Yes, they are loud and clear, Soledad.
I want to take you back a little bit and talk about Michael Eisner's career.
How did he get in this place to begin with? When he came in to become CEO of this company in 1984 Disney was sleepy and lost its luster. He came in, revived the movie business, increased the merchandising, increased the theme parks.
Then, in 1994, his longtime associate Frank Wells passed away. This is sort of his second act.
And things began to sort of go down hill for him there. The ABC transaction, buying ABC never really worked out.
Over expanded the stores somewhat, and then he clashed with executives like Jeffrey Katzenberg, Michael Ovitz and then recently Steve Jobs.
Since then, obviously the sledding has been very, very difficult for him.
O'BRIEN: So the job now is split before Senator -- former Senator George Mitchell and Michael Eisner will keep the CEO-ship.
SERWER: Right.
O'BRIEN: What really changes then in that scenario?
SERWER: Well, there are some critics who say not a lot because George Mitchell is a long time associate and friend of Michael Eisner so if this was a movie and we had a trailer it would be this is not over.
I think that that's very much the case. Of course, you have Comcast waiting in the wings, wanting to take this company over so that's also there as well; Michael Eisner's contract expires in 2006. He very much wants to go out on his own terms, Soledad. There's still going to be pressure.
The average CEO stays in his job seven to nine years. He's been there 20 years; it will be 22, that's a long time.
O'BRIEN: Yes, and he may not stay after that. We'll see. Andy Serwer, thanks we'll see you at the bottom of the hour.
SERWER: That's right.
HEMMER: This note from Europe, the justice minister of France is vowing to quickly capture a group threatening to blow up railway tracks unless it receives millions in ransom.
The government facing criticism, but trying to keep the threat secret as it investigates the threats first made public yesterday were sent back in December for the first time the offices of French President Jacques Chirac in the interior minister.
Also a computer cell phone chip smaller than a fingernail may have helped nab a man who was suspected of masterminding the 9/11 attacks.
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed arrested last March in Pakistan.
Now word coming that authorities intercepted a cell phone call on April of 2002 that lasted less than a minute involved no conversation, but authorities recognized a certain brand of cell phone chip that is favored they say by terrorists and from there it led them ultimately to the trail of Mohammed in Pakistan.
You can see that story in "The New York Times," there's a lot more going to come out on this war on terror in the years to come about how they tracked these men down.
O'BRIEN: Yes, fascinating.
HEMMER: It will be absolutely fascinating.
O'BRIEN: To be able to trace them, the technology they used, really amazing.
Well still to come this morning a woman who says she stabbed her husband nearly 200 times in self-defense. The jury reaches the verdict. We're going to take you live to Houston for that.
HEMMER: Also these are tense times for Martha Stewart. Jury begins a second day of deliberations this morning.
O'BRIEN: And Dr. Sanjay Gupta returns to Iraq nearly a year after war began. The medical situation there has reached crisis proportions. He's going to tell us what he found at the head as AMERICAN MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HEMMER: After convicting a woman who stabbed her husband almost 200 times, the jury in a bizarre Texas murder case must now decide her sentence.
Lawyers for Susan Wright claim her husband was abusive and that she killed him in self-defense. Jurors (UNINTELLIGIBLE) before the verdict yesterday, the prosecution closed with a graphic reenactment of the crime.
Gail DeLaughter is a reporter for KTRH Radio, she was in the courtroom and joins us live now from Houston, Texas.
Gail, good morning to you and thanks for your time on this.
GAIL DELAUGHTER, KTRH RADIO REPORTER: Hi.
HEMMER: What was the prosecution trying to do with this, again, with the bed in the courtroom?
DELAUGHTER: What they wanted to do is plant a very, very graphic visual image in the jury's mind. Actually brought the bed into the courtroom, they had another prosecutor act as the victim. He was a volunteer; he was actually tied to the bed.
Kelly Siegler, who is a very well-respected prosecutor here in Howard's County reenacted what she believed Susan Wright did the night that she stabbed her husband.
He was tied to the bed. Kelly Siegler had a knife; she was over the other prosecutor with a knife and left this very, very graphic visual image in the mind of the jurors.
HEMMER: And you have some very graphic testimony throughout this entire case. Five and a half hours of deliberations yesterday, Gail. Why was the defense case not convincing?
DELAUGHTER: Well, Susan Wright was on the stand -- she did take the stand in her own defense and she was cross-examined for about three hours. Her story was picked apart. There were also some elements that happened after her husband was killed.
He was killed on a Monday then on Tuesday she goes to her doctor with some wounds on her hands saying that she was attacked by her husband. On Wednesday she goes to authorities to get a protective order and also to file charges against her husband.
So there was a whole trail of evidence that she left trying to cover her tracks and I think that's what really tripped her up.
HEMMER: Two of the things though here. She never denied stabbing her husband, right? And she admitted to burying him in the backyard. That pretty much stacks it against you.
DELAUGHTER: She said that she went into this sort of out of body state when it happened; she really didn't know it was going on; she said at one point she felt like she was hovering towards the ceiling looking down at herself stabbing her husband.
She claimed at one point that after the ligatures that were around his wrist and around his ankles she said she tied them there to drag him out to the back yard to bury him.
And she had reasons for everything that she did but in the long run they just didn't match up.
HEMMER: Earlier in our program we mentioned that the town of Houston has been shocked by this case. Is that accurate?
DELAUGHTER: It's an incredible case on so many levels. I mean you've got the bed being tied to the bed, being buried in the backyard, the number of stab wounds, close to 200, so there's just so many lurid elements to this case, just every little thing about it seems to be pretty unusual.
HEMMER: One more point here, Gail before I let you go. Penalty phase continues today. What are the options now for jurors?
DELAUGHTER: Wide range of options here. She could get anything from probation to life in prison. It is sort of unusual in Texas; we do offer probation as an option.
Usually that's used in a situation where a wife kills a husband in an abusive situation or a parent -- a child kills a parent. But from everyone that we've talked to, they believe that she will do some jail time.
HEMMER: Gail Delaughter we'll be watching it from here. Thanks; live in Houston Texas -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: The Martha Stewart jurors return to work this morning for their first full day of deliberations after getting the case yesterday afternoon. The jury asked to review testimony of the government's star witness, Douglas Fanueil and also to examine phone records from the day that Stewart sold the ImClone stock that's in question.
CNN's Senior Legal Analyst Jeff Toobin has been in the courtroom from the very beginning. Nice to see you.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Hi.
O'BRIEN: And he's going back again today.
TOOBIN: Oh yes just to do the waiting.
O'BRIEN: As the case went to the jury, did Martha Stewart's demeanor change at all?
TOOBIN: Not a bit. She has model decorum in the courtroom. She has not grimaced, she has not rolled her eyes, she has not laughed, she has not sighed. She sits there and passively throughout the trial and that's how she behaves on the day the case went to the jury. O'BRIEN: Early in the deliberations, almost immediately the jurors started asking to review some of the evidence again. What does that say to you?
TOOBIN: Well, a lot of evidence they asked for. First they asked for most of Fanueil testimony. That took most of the day for the lawyer's to organize it all.
Then at the very end of the day, very close to 5:00 they sent a note asking for a lot more evidence, including testimony about Stewart's statement to investigators, how they -- the records kept of what her testimony was because remember there is no transcript, there's no tape recording, it's just the agent's notes.
Charts of the stock trades. Looks like a very meticulous jury and not a quick deliberation.
O'BRIEN: So then who does that help? The defense or the prosecution?
TOOBIN: I think that would be considered a good note for the prosecution...
O'BRIEN: Why?
TOOBIN: Because the defense argument here is just throw it out; Fadal's not believable the whole case is just all wrong. The prosecution asked for a meticulous, step-by-step evaluation of the evidence. I think the prosecution is more happy with this note than the defense is.
But this is not a clear -- not a clear one.
O'BRIEN: The judge gave instructions to the jurors that last about 90 minutes then the alternate jurors were dismissed and that was a weird request.
TOOBIN: It was.
O'BRIEN: The alternate and the regular jurors asked to have like a final lunch together.
TOOBIN: Interesting. Well, I certainly -- I -- you know you often see kind of team spirit developing among jurors but what happened here is the jury instructions finished right before noon and she said well now I have the sad duty of dismissing the alternates.
As soon as the jury went into the deliberation room, a note came out and said you know we want to have one last lunch together including with the alternates. It suggests to me -- I don't want to read too much into it but it does suggest to me this will not be a jury that wants to be a hung jury. This is a team spirit, cohesive, you know we'll see when they get into the evidence but they seem inclined to think as a group so far.
O'BRIEN: When do you head back to the courtroom this morning? TOOBIN: Ten o'clock -- ten to five has been the deliberation schedule. I think a verdict today is really unusual. Friday is a common time for verdicts but you know this is complicated. I would bet on going into next week.
O'BRIEN: All right we will see. Jeff Toobin thanks as always -- Bill.
HEMMER: Soledad gets a break here in a moment. Serious accusations about Barry Bonds and steroids. This time from a former teammate.
That story is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: The boys of summer are back at work preparing for a new baseball season but controversy off the field is what has fans talking and one of baseball's biggest stars is right in the middle of it.
Here's Josie Burke.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSIE BURKE, CNN SPORTS: Barry Bonds is going through the rituals of spring training without addressing the latest allegations linking him to performance enhancing drugs. It's a topic that's hard to avoid.
JASON SCHMIDT, GIANTS PITCHER: I don't know anything about it, so.
UNKNOWN MALE: Come to the park to play baseball, that's what I do.
BURKE: One former Bonds teammate did not shy away from the subject during a radio interview this week.
RICK BALLOU, RADIO PERSONALITY: Are you telling us that in your opinion, Andy, it looks like he has taken steroids?
ANY VAN SLYKE, BONDS TEAMMATE, 1987-1992: Oh, unequivocally, he's taken them. Without equivocation he's taken them and you know I can say that with -- you know -- with utmost certainty.
BURKE: Both the Giants and Baseball have taken steps to curtail the speculation. Last week, a team attorney addressed San Francisco players and advised them against talking about Bonds and steroids.
Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig issued a similar directive to the club executives and owners under his direction. But no one has silenced the fans.
UNKNOWN MALE: There is so much evidence now against it they're leading to the fact that he used it it's kind of sad in my estimation. UNKNOWN FEMALE: That doesn't necessarily mean that Barry Bonds took the steroids; maybe he did, maybe he didn't but we'll have to wait and see what comes out.
BURKE: Bonds did speak briefly with reporters on Wednesday. He did not talk about steroids but he did allow, however, that he' spent part of Tuesday, quote, Playing with my computer and trying to avoid the TV as much as possible. Josie Burke, CNN, Scottsdale, Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Other players facing allegations of steroid use are New York Yankees Jason Giambi and also Gary Sheffield.
HEMMER: It's going to be a tough, tough baseball season.
Question for you, though. If you were taking steroids and you stopped at the end of last season, say mid-October. We're now five months down the road. Does that get out of your system? If you do a urine test is it undetectable or not?
O'BRIEN: I don't know about THG you wonder if it is undetectable after how much time.
CAFFERTY: I'm curious about the baseball teams instructions to its players, don't talk about it and the league's instruction, don't talk about it.
HEMMER: Bud Selig said that.
CAFFERTY: I mean, come on. You know, that's the story, that's the issue, there is a lot of evidence suggesting that it's a real story and a real issue and baseball's attitude is let's don't talk about it.
HEMMER: And that's the way they say hey slap a gag order on because they're going to try to cover their tracks if indeed there's evidence that they need to attend to. And at this point they have a lot of issues on the table. So anyway, question of the day, what's happening?
CAFFERTY: Don't talk about it. I don't want to talk about it.
President Bush's campaign commercials are on the air as of yesterday and they include images of ground zero and the September 11th terrorist attacks.
The commercials show the World Trade Center devastation, an American flag flying over the wreckage, as well as a one-second shot of firefighters removing the remains of a victim from the debris.
One of the New York papers this morning quotes families of people who died in that tragedy as being furious. They accuse the president of exploiting this national tragedy for political gain. It remains to be seen how the rest of the country will react to these commercials. Administration officials defend the spots saying that the imagery is appropriate because September 11th is, quote, a "defining moment" of these times, unquote.
So the question this morning is this: Is it appropriate to use images of September 11th in political commercials. You can e-mail us your thoughts on that at am@cnn.com.
And we're going to talk about it.
O'BRIEN: I have writers as well that arms about it apparently the union supports Senator Kerry but they also are echoing what some of the family members seem to be saying.
CAFFERTY: You'll see what the nation thinks. Thanks Jack.
Still to come this morning after a 15-month hiatus TV's favorite dysfunctional mob family returns.
Our 90-second pop panel has a look at that, plus "Starsky and Hutch" returns. Those stories are ahead as AMERICAN MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Rainy day today in Manhattan. Boy, blowing right across the sidewalks here.
Good morning, 7:30 here in New York.
President Bush on the offensive today releasing TV ads in a number of key battleground states, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida, West Virginia.
In a few moments we'll talk about those ads. One of the president's most trusted advisers, Karen Hughes, get into some of the controversial matters involved there.
And, we're off and running in the election of 2004.
O'BRIEN: Yes, we are. Also it is time to break out the body bags. The Sopranos back for it's 5th season. This Sunday the 90- second pop gang is with us to talk a little bit more about what we can expect from the hit drama.
And also what's new this time around.
HEMMER: Apparently a pretty good plot with Tony.
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Today; Jury in Bizarre Texas Murder Case Must Now Decide Sentence>
