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Virginia Judge Sentences Malvo to Life in Prison Without Parole; Peterson Lawyer May Ask to Move Trial Again

Aired March 10, 2004 - 11:30   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, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Let's check the headlines "At This Hour." A Virginia judge sentenced D.C. Lee Boyd Malvo to life in prison without parole this morning. That's the sentence recommended by the jury which decide against the death penalty. Malvo's co-defendant John Muhammad was sentenced to death on Tuesday.
Scott Peterson's lawyer says he may ask to move the trial again. Mark Geragos says a quick look at questionnaires that potential jurors are filling out shows too many people think his client is already guilty. The judge will hear a motion on another change of venue on March 22.

The Asbury Park, New Jersey City Council voted this morning to stop taking applications for same-sex marriages. Instead the city will ask a judge to rule on the matter. New Jersey's attorney general had ordered city officials to stop granting those licenses and threatened criminal prosecution. He made the move after the deputy mayor married two men on Monday.

And the Log Cabin Republicans launched a campaign this morning to stop the proposed constitutional amendment barring gay and lesbian marriage. The group is the largest gay and lesbian Republican organization. President Bush has endorsed the federal marriage amendment.

And speaking of President Bush, he is taking on critics of his record and the economy and jobs. He delivers a speech in the next hour in Ohio. A speech you will see live right here on CNN.

That is a state, Ohio is, hit hard by the loss of manufacturing jobs. Our Kathleen Koch is in Cleveland with a preview of the president's speech. Kathleen, good morning.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. We're told what we're going to be hearing today here in Ohio is a spirited new defense of the president's economic policy. As you mentioned, Ohio has been very hard hit by the recession, losing some 160,000 manufacturing jobs. It's unemployment at 6.2 percent is higher than the national average.

Now the president, as we speak, is visiting not a struggling local company, but a successful one called Thermagon. It makes material used in electronic packaging. The fast growing company was founded by a female entrepreneur who is expected to join the president at his second appearance where he'll be speaking, and that is at a conference on women's entrepreneurship.

And it's at that conference that the president, according to a senior administration official, will extol the virtues of what the president will call free and fair trade.

He will discuss also what he calls the productivity paradox, making the case that while higher productivity leads to higher wages and makes U.S. products more competitive overseas, it can also at the same time lead to job loss or at least slow job creation.

The president also, as has become his habit recently, will take a few swipes at his opponent, Democrat Senator John Kerry. The president will be criticizing those who would respond to what he calls "new challenges in old ways" by, quote, "raising taxes, building walls around our economy and isolating America from the rest of the world."

The president will also repeat his call for his tax cuts to be made permanent. He will be saying that taxing and spending is the enemy of job creation and a recipe for economic disaster.

Now the president will be making these arguments in what is his 15th visit as president to the state of Ohio. Now why Ohio? This is a state that no Republican who has won the White House has -- no Republican has won the White House without also at the same time winning Ohio.

So it's a critical state for the president. One that he took in 2000 by a very slim 4 percentage-point margin. And also of course the president, Daryn, wants to improve on that margin come November. Back to you.

KAGAN: Kathleen Koch in Cleveland, Ohio. Kathleen, thank you.

And of course as I mentioned, we'll be carrying the president's economic speech live. Begins at the top of the hour, noon Eastern, 9:00 a.m. Pacific.

President Bush's all but certain Democrat opponent has taken another big step toward his party's nomination. For more on the latest primary results and the morning's other political headlines, let's join Judy Woodruff in Washington, D.C. Judy, good morning.

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, Daryn. Well, to no one's surprise, John Kerry did run the table in all four of yesterday's Southern primaries. He won Texas, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi.

The victories were all but assured after Senator John Edwards, Kerry's top remaining rival, dropped out of the race last week. Kerry's delegate total now stands at 1,937. That is within easy striking distance of the 2,162 delegates needed to clench the nomination.

Senator Kerry meets with his former rival Howard Dean later today in Washington. Aides say don't expect a Dean endorsement of Kerry, at least not today.

Last night in Chicago, Kerry sounded a theme popular with Howard Dean when he called for political change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe the nation is demanding more than ever before leadership that takes us in a new direction. George Bush will not take us in that direction. I will. We will. Together we will reclaim our democracy and take back the White House in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: John Kerry in Chicago last night.

Well, this morning Republican Senator John McCain had a chance to end speculation about a possible Kerry/McCain Democratic ticket. Asked whether he would entertain such an idea, Senator McCain replied, quote, "John Kerry is a close friend of mine. Obviously, I would entertain it. But I see no scenario where that would happen," end quote.

In a surprise to no one, President Bush now has enough delegates to lock up his party's nomination. Yesterday's Republican primaries including the one in Mr. Bush's home state of Texas, put him over the top. He now has more than 1,300 delegates, 1,255 are needed for the Republican nomination.

The controversy over so-called 527 groups. This afternoon we're going to take a look at the showdown in the Senate as the two sides square off.

Plus, a Republican group takes a strong stand against a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. I will talk with Patrick Guerriero of the Log Cabin Republicans about that group's new ad. All of this and more when I go "INSIDE POLITICS" at 3:30 p.m. Eastern.

Right now, let's go back to Daryn in Atlanta.

KAGAN: Judy, thank you for that. We look forward to seeing you later in the day.

A recount of the primary ballots is under way in one Florida county. The election supervisor in Bay County says all of the nearly 20,000 ballots are being recounted because of what they're calling irregularities. The problems in the Panhandle County won't affect the outcome of the Florida primary. Massachusetts Senator John Kerry won easily, 77 percent of the vote in the Kerry column.

California is taking a look at a novel idea to get more people to vote. Several lawmakers want to let teenagers as young as 14 cast ballots in non-federal elections. Two young people who think that is a very good idea. Elizabeth Gonzales, she is 19 years old and of course she already has the right to vote. And she's in Sacramento.

And in Los Angeles 17-year-old Andrew Steinberg, a member of the California Association of Student Councils who of course is not old enough to vote quite yet.

Good morning to both of you.

(CROSSTALK)

KAGAN: Let's go ladies first. Elizabeth, why do you think it's a good idea?

ELIZABETH GONZALES, SUPPORTS TEEN VOTE: I think that students will become more involved and will be more willing to participate in the politics. I think that this -- by this constitution amendment, more students are going to become more involved in everything in our state, as well as our local government.

KAGAN: Andrew, because you're involved in issue like this, I know you're aware and you probably know that young people who already do have the right to vote don't come out nearly in the numbers that other people would expect them to. Why do you need to give more young people the right to vote?

ANDREW STEINBERG, CALIF. ASSOC. OF STUDENT COUNCILS: Well, I think that giving young people the right to vote is going to be something that really empowers young students.

When you consider that in the last California primary election just last week, only 39 percent of registered voters came out to vote, I don't think teens will have too hard after problem matching 39 percent. They're going to be excited about expressing their right and having their voices heard by the politicians who pay attention to people who go to the polls.

KAGAN: Interesting how they're talking about this in the California legislature, Elizabeth. It's not just by giving a full vote to someone who is 14. They're talking about giving 14 and 15 year-olds, giving them a quarter vote, 16 to 17 year-olds giving them a half vote. What do you think of that idea?

GONZALES: I think that is going to and growing process. I think by giving each of those students -- you're giving a quarter vote and half vote -- I think these students are going to learn how the vote process is worked. And then by the time they are 18 and are able to have that full vote, they're actually going to be excited and motivated to fully express their voting responsibilities.

KAGAN: Andrew, give us a picture of what it's like with the people that you hang out with. Are these people -- you're 17. So are you a senior now?

STEINBERG: Yes.

KAGAN: Are your friends chomping at the bit to get out there and get to the ballot box?

STEINBERG: You know, I think youth are really excited about the opportunity. Right now they don't have the opportunity to have their voice heard. You know, I think that giving youth the opportunity to vote will empower them. And will for the first time allow them to hold their government accountable for things and issues important to them, such as public education.

I think it's something that youth are definitely very excited about. My friends are excited about. You know, they can't wait to be able to vote and to really have an opportunity to have their voice heard in a meaningful way in society.

KAGAN: And, Elizabeth, finally to the people who say, you know what, kids are kids, these are the old fuddy-duddies talking probably, according to you. Kids don't have the judgment, they don't have the perspective, they have no business making the decisions of society. What would you say to that? And what kind of issues do you think would be important to young people?

GONZALEZ: I think that first of all, I would say to these people that there are mature 14, 15, 16, 17 year-olds out there. And that in 1971, when they decided to change the voting age from 21 to 18, a lot of people said the same things, thought it was dumb and everything. But look at it now, these kids are more informed about everything that's going on, through the Internet, radio, television And I think that the issues that are going to matter the most to these students are going to have to deal with education. Anything that affects them personally, I think they're going to be very strongly opinionated about, and I think that this is a perfect opportunity to engage more students in the political process.

KAGAN: Well, clearly, we have skewed this whole argument because we've called on the cream of the crop with two great young people today. So I want to thank both of you, Elizabeth Gonzalez and Andrew Steinberg.

Andrew, when do you turn 18?

STEINBERG: In March, March 20th. Pretty soon.

KAGAN: Happy birthday. And I bet we'll see you at the ballot box in November.

STEINBERG: You bet. Thanks.

GONZALEZ: Thank you.

KAGAN: You got it. All right, Elizabeth and Andrew, thank you so much.

STEINBERG: Thanks.

GONZALEZ: Thank you.

KAGAN: Well, that morning cup of coffee could be better for you than you actually think. Up next, the link between coffee and diabetes. That's in your "Daily Dose" of health news.

And could it be a miracle pill? We'll look at a new drug that many say fights fat and the urge to smoke.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Joining live pictures, this is Van Nuys, California, Southern California, this corporate jet trying to make a landing. Problems with the landing gear, perhaps the tire. Looks like the plane is coming down safely. We've been tracking this as we've been showing you other news. The plane had to make about three passes across the Van Nuys Airport, trying to see what was wrong with the landing gear. It looked like it was down fine. There was a possibility that there was a blown tire. Three people on board this corporate jet. But it looks like the plane is down, and it's down safely, in Van Nuys, California. Good news and a sigh of relief for the three people onboard that corporate jet.

Well, if you're on your second or third cup of coffee this morning, you may be helping your health, believe it or not. There's a new study out, backing up earlier findings that coffee may actually reduce the risk of adult onset diabetes. Researchers in Finland found that women who drank three or four cups a day had a 29 percent lower risk. Men lowered their risk by 27 percent.

On to the one pill to combat the two leading causes of preventable death in the U.S. Researchers say that there's a new pill in development. It appears to help people stop smoking and lose weight all at the same time. In one study, participants taking the drug lost an average of 20 pounds over a year. In another study, smokers taking the drug nearly doubled their chances of quitting compared with those taking dummy pills. More on that as those studies develop. The drug is in the final stages of testing. It could be on the market within a year or two.

For your "Daily Dose" of health news online, log on to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news making headlines. There is also head-to-toe health information from CNN and the Mayo Clinic. The address is CNN.com/health.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: He is an admitted liar and a plagiarist. Now Jayson Blair is hoping you will buy his book. The former "New York Times" reporter resigned last May in the aftermath of scandal that eventually led to the ouster of two top editors. Now he's written a tell-all memoir. It's called "Burning Down My Master's House." In it, Blair says he not only is the "Times" reporter who has played fast and loose with the facts. Here is what he told CNN's "LARRY KING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAYSON BLAIR, FMR. "NYT" REPORTER: A woman reporter who was in New York when she was supposed to be in Maryland, and it had a Maryland dateline on the story, you know, examples of a reporter dressing up as a nurse in the middle of a fire -- excuse me, middle of a plane crash to get the story. You think "New York Post," not "New York Times." You know, that kind of situation puts someone's life in danger for a story. There are plenty of examples like that within the book that suggest to me that there are these journalistic war criminals still at "The New York Times" who have not been caught.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Not too surprisingly, "The New York Times" isn't talking about the book except for this short statement, quote: "The author is an admitted fabricator. We don't intend to respond to Jayson, or to his book.

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

KAGAN: Coming up next, it goes way beyond bad sports. A brutal attack on the ice could send a hockey player someplace more severe than the penalty box.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: The hockey career of a Vancouver all-star Todd Bertuzzi could be on ice. He has been summoned today to Toronto for a hearing by the National Hockey League. You saw the tape there. He decked Steve Moore of the Colorado Avalanche during a match Monday night in Vancouver. That sucker punch has critically injured Moore. He will be hospitalized indefinitely with a broken neck, a concussion and deep cuts suffered with that Bertuzzi hit, when he came from behind, sending his face into the ice. Bertuzzi has already been suspended for the incident. He could face criminal charges off the ice as well.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: And that's going to do it for me, Daryn Kagan.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Parole; Peterson Lawyer May Ask to Move Trial Again>


Aired March 10, 2004 - 11:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Let's check the headlines "At This Hour." A Virginia judge sentenced D.C. Lee Boyd Malvo to life in prison without parole this morning. That's the sentence recommended by the jury which decide against the death penalty. Malvo's co-defendant John Muhammad was sentenced to death on Tuesday.
Scott Peterson's lawyer says he may ask to move the trial again. Mark Geragos says a quick look at questionnaires that potential jurors are filling out shows too many people think his client is already guilty. The judge will hear a motion on another change of venue on March 22.

The Asbury Park, New Jersey City Council voted this morning to stop taking applications for same-sex marriages. Instead the city will ask a judge to rule on the matter. New Jersey's attorney general had ordered city officials to stop granting those licenses and threatened criminal prosecution. He made the move after the deputy mayor married two men on Monday.

And the Log Cabin Republicans launched a campaign this morning to stop the proposed constitutional amendment barring gay and lesbian marriage. The group is the largest gay and lesbian Republican organization. President Bush has endorsed the federal marriage amendment.

And speaking of President Bush, he is taking on critics of his record and the economy and jobs. He delivers a speech in the next hour in Ohio. A speech you will see live right here on CNN.

That is a state, Ohio is, hit hard by the loss of manufacturing jobs. Our Kathleen Koch is in Cleveland with a preview of the president's speech. Kathleen, good morning.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. We're told what we're going to be hearing today here in Ohio is a spirited new defense of the president's economic policy. As you mentioned, Ohio has been very hard hit by the recession, losing some 160,000 manufacturing jobs. It's unemployment at 6.2 percent is higher than the national average.

Now the president, as we speak, is visiting not a struggling local company, but a successful one called Thermagon. It makes material used in electronic packaging. The fast growing company was founded by a female entrepreneur who is expected to join the president at his second appearance where he'll be speaking, and that is at a conference on women's entrepreneurship.

And it's at that conference that the president, according to a senior administration official, will extol the virtues of what the president will call free and fair trade.

He will discuss also what he calls the productivity paradox, making the case that while higher productivity leads to higher wages and makes U.S. products more competitive overseas, it can also at the same time lead to job loss or at least slow job creation.

The president also, as has become his habit recently, will take a few swipes at his opponent, Democrat Senator John Kerry. The president will be criticizing those who would respond to what he calls "new challenges in old ways" by, quote, "raising taxes, building walls around our economy and isolating America from the rest of the world."

The president will also repeat his call for his tax cuts to be made permanent. He will be saying that taxing and spending is the enemy of job creation and a recipe for economic disaster.

Now the president will be making these arguments in what is his 15th visit as president to the state of Ohio. Now why Ohio? This is a state that no Republican who has won the White House has -- no Republican has won the White House without also at the same time winning Ohio.

So it's a critical state for the president. One that he took in 2000 by a very slim 4 percentage-point margin. And also of course the president, Daryn, wants to improve on that margin come November. Back to you.

KAGAN: Kathleen Koch in Cleveland, Ohio. Kathleen, thank you.

And of course as I mentioned, we'll be carrying the president's economic speech live. Begins at the top of the hour, noon Eastern, 9:00 a.m. Pacific.

President Bush's all but certain Democrat opponent has taken another big step toward his party's nomination. For more on the latest primary results and the morning's other political headlines, let's join Judy Woodruff in Washington, D.C. Judy, good morning.

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, Daryn. Well, to no one's surprise, John Kerry did run the table in all four of yesterday's Southern primaries. He won Texas, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi.

The victories were all but assured after Senator John Edwards, Kerry's top remaining rival, dropped out of the race last week. Kerry's delegate total now stands at 1,937. That is within easy striking distance of the 2,162 delegates needed to clench the nomination.

Senator Kerry meets with his former rival Howard Dean later today in Washington. Aides say don't expect a Dean endorsement of Kerry, at least not today.

Last night in Chicago, Kerry sounded a theme popular with Howard Dean when he called for political change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe the nation is demanding more than ever before leadership that takes us in a new direction. George Bush will not take us in that direction. I will. We will. Together we will reclaim our democracy and take back the White House in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: John Kerry in Chicago last night.

Well, this morning Republican Senator John McCain had a chance to end speculation about a possible Kerry/McCain Democratic ticket. Asked whether he would entertain such an idea, Senator McCain replied, quote, "John Kerry is a close friend of mine. Obviously, I would entertain it. But I see no scenario where that would happen," end quote.

In a surprise to no one, President Bush now has enough delegates to lock up his party's nomination. Yesterday's Republican primaries including the one in Mr. Bush's home state of Texas, put him over the top. He now has more than 1,300 delegates, 1,255 are needed for the Republican nomination.

The controversy over so-called 527 groups. This afternoon we're going to take a look at the showdown in the Senate as the two sides square off.

Plus, a Republican group takes a strong stand against a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. I will talk with Patrick Guerriero of the Log Cabin Republicans about that group's new ad. All of this and more when I go "INSIDE POLITICS" at 3:30 p.m. Eastern.

Right now, let's go back to Daryn in Atlanta.

KAGAN: Judy, thank you for that. We look forward to seeing you later in the day.

A recount of the primary ballots is under way in one Florida county. The election supervisor in Bay County says all of the nearly 20,000 ballots are being recounted because of what they're calling irregularities. The problems in the Panhandle County won't affect the outcome of the Florida primary. Massachusetts Senator John Kerry won easily, 77 percent of the vote in the Kerry column.

California is taking a look at a novel idea to get more people to vote. Several lawmakers want to let teenagers as young as 14 cast ballots in non-federal elections. Two young people who think that is a very good idea. Elizabeth Gonzales, she is 19 years old and of course she already has the right to vote. And she's in Sacramento.

And in Los Angeles 17-year-old Andrew Steinberg, a member of the California Association of Student Councils who of course is not old enough to vote quite yet.

Good morning to both of you.

(CROSSTALK)

KAGAN: Let's go ladies first. Elizabeth, why do you think it's a good idea?

ELIZABETH GONZALES, SUPPORTS TEEN VOTE: I think that students will become more involved and will be more willing to participate in the politics. I think that this -- by this constitution amendment, more students are going to become more involved in everything in our state, as well as our local government.

KAGAN: Andrew, because you're involved in issue like this, I know you're aware and you probably know that young people who already do have the right to vote don't come out nearly in the numbers that other people would expect them to. Why do you need to give more young people the right to vote?

ANDREW STEINBERG, CALIF. ASSOC. OF STUDENT COUNCILS: Well, I think that giving young people the right to vote is going to be something that really empowers young students.

When you consider that in the last California primary election just last week, only 39 percent of registered voters came out to vote, I don't think teens will have too hard after problem matching 39 percent. They're going to be excited about expressing their right and having their voices heard by the politicians who pay attention to people who go to the polls.

KAGAN: Interesting how they're talking about this in the California legislature, Elizabeth. It's not just by giving a full vote to someone who is 14. They're talking about giving 14 and 15 year-olds, giving them a quarter vote, 16 to 17 year-olds giving them a half vote. What do you think of that idea?

GONZALES: I think that is going to and growing process. I think by giving each of those students -- you're giving a quarter vote and half vote -- I think these students are going to learn how the vote process is worked. And then by the time they are 18 and are able to have that full vote, they're actually going to be excited and motivated to fully express their voting responsibilities.

KAGAN: Andrew, give us a picture of what it's like with the people that you hang out with. Are these people -- you're 17. So are you a senior now?

STEINBERG: Yes.

KAGAN: Are your friends chomping at the bit to get out there and get to the ballot box?

STEINBERG: You know, I think youth are really excited about the opportunity. Right now they don't have the opportunity to have their voice heard. You know, I think that giving youth the opportunity to vote will empower them. And will for the first time allow them to hold their government accountable for things and issues important to them, such as public education.

I think it's something that youth are definitely very excited about. My friends are excited about. You know, they can't wait to be able to vote and to really have an opportunity to have their voice heard in a meaningful way in society.

KAGAN: And, Elizabeth, finally to the people who say, you know what, kids are kids, these are the old fuddy-duddies talking probably, according to you. Kids don't have the judgment, they don't have the perspective, they have no business making the decisions of society. What would you say to that? And what kind of issues do you think would be important to young people?

GONZALEZ: I think that first of all, I would say to these people that there are mature 14, 15, 16, 17 year-olds out there. And that in 1971, when they decided to change the voting age from 21 to 18, a lot of people said the same things, thought it was dumb and everything. But look at it now, these kids are more informed about everything that's going on, through the Internet, radio, television And I think that the issues that are going to matter the most to these students are going to have to deal with education. Anything that affects them personally, I think they're going to be very strongly opinionated about, and I think that this is a perfect opportunity to engage more students in the political process.

KAGAN: Well, clearly, we have skewed this whole argument because we've called on the cream of the crop with two great young people today. So I want to thank both of you, Elizabeth Gonzalez and Andrew Steinberg.

Andrew, when do you turn 18?

STEINBERG: In March, March 20th. Pretty soon.

KAGAN: Happy birthday. And I bet we'll see you at the ballot box in November.

STEINBERG: You bet. Thanks.

GONZALEZ: Thank you.

KAGAN: You got it. All right, Elizabeth and Andrew, thank you so much.

STEINBERG: Thanks.

GONZALEZ: Thank you.

KAGAN: Well, that morning cup of coffee could be better for you than you actually think. Up next, the link between coffee and diabetes. That's in your "Daily Dose" of health news.

And could it be a miracle pill? We'll look at a new drug that many say fights fat and the urge to smoke.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Joining live pictures, this is Van Nuys, California, Southern California, this corporate jet trying to make a landing. Problems with the landing gear, perhaps the tire. Looks like the plane is coming down safely. We've been tracking this as we've been showing you other news. The plane had to make about three passes across the Van Nuys Airport, trying to see what was wrong with the landing gear. It looked like it was down fine. There was a possibility that there was a blown tire. Three people on board this corporate jet. But it looks like the plane is down, and it's down safely, in Van Nuys, California. Good news and a sigh of relief for the three people onboard that corporate jet.

Well, if you're on your second or third cup of coffee this morning, you may be helping your health, believe it or not. There's a new study out, backing up earlier findings that coffee may actually reduce the risk of adult onset diabetes. Researchers in Finland found that women who drank three or four cups a day had a 29 percent lower risk. Men lowered their risk by 27 percent.

On to the one pill to combat the two leading causes of preventable death in the U.S. Researchers say that there's a new pill in development. It appears to help people stop smoking and lose weight all at the same time. In one study, participants taking the drug lost an average of 20 pounds over a year. In another study, smokers taking the drug nearly doubled their chances of quitting compared with those taking dummy pills. More on that as those studies develop. The drug is in the final stages of testing. It could be on the market within a year or two.

For your "Daily Dose" of health news online, log on to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news making headlines. There is also head-to-toe health information from CNN and the Mayo Clinic. The address is CNN.com/health.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: He is an admitted liar and a plagiarist. Now Jayson Blair is hoping you will buy his book. The former "New York Times" reporter resigned last May in the aftermath of scandal that eventually led to the ouster of two top editors. Now he's written a tell-all memoir. It's called "Burning Down My Master's House." In it, Blair says he not only is the "Times" reporter who has played fast and loose with the facts. Here is what he told CNN's "LARRY KING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAYSON BLAIR, FMR. "NYT" REPORTER: A woman reporter who was in New York when she was supposed to be in Maryland, and it had a Maryland dateline on the story, you know, examples of a reporter dressing up as a nurse in the middle of a fire -- excuse me, middle of a plane crash to get the story. You think "New York Post," not "New York Times." You know, that kind of situation puts someone's life in danger for a story. There are plenty of examples like that within the book that suggest to me that there are these journalistic war criminals still at "The New York Times" who have not been caught.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Not too surprisingly, "The New York Times" isn't talking about the book except for this short statement, quote: "The author is an admitted fabricator. We don't intend to respond to Jayson, or to his book.

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

KAGAN: Coming up next, it goes way beyond bad sports. A brutal attack on the ice could send a hockey player someplace more severe than the penalty box.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: The hockey career of a Vancouver all-star Todd Bertuzzi could be on ice. He has been summoned today to Toronto for a hearing by the National Hockey League. You saw the tape there. He decked Steve Moore of the Colorado Avalanche during a match Monday night in Vancouver. That sucker punch has critically injured Moore. He will be hospitalized indefinitely with a broken neck, a concussion and deep cuts suffered with that Bertuzzi hit, when he came from behind, sending his face into the ice. Bertuzzi has already been suspended for the incident. He could face criminal charges off the ice as well.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: And that's going to do it for me, Daryn Kagan.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Parole; Peterson Lawyer May Ask to Move Trial Again>