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American Morning
Missing Student Found; Martha Stewart Retrial?; Michael Jackson's Cause; Report: Rice 9/11 Speech Focused on Missiles
Aired April 01, 2004 - 9:00 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.
BILL HEMMER CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. A promise in Iraq today that killers in Fallujah will be punished. That city yet again today a scene of violence.
In Wisconsin...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I anticipate the interview with Audrey is going to last for several hours. It's just something that we're going to have to take our time with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Investigators glad to have a missing college student safe at home, but they're still intent on asking her many questions about that ordeal.
And dig a bit deeper for gas money. OPEC cutting oil production. What's the White House's next move on this issue?
Ahead this hour here on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
HEMMER: All right. Good morning; 9:00 here in New York. Soledad has the day off. Heidi Collins with us here in New York.
Welcome again. Nice to have you.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you. Glad to be here.
Other stories that we are following this morning:
Could Martha Stewart get a second chance? Her lawyers now asking for a New trial. And Jeffrey Toobin says they might have a good reason.
HEMMER: I think Toobin's a little squeamish on this one. We'll find out.
COLLINS: They might have a good reason.
HEMMER: He's across the room. Also, another high-profile trial. Jayson Williams moving now into its final stage. What will the prosecution do now that Williams stood up yesterday and told the judge he will not testify on his behalf? A report on that, also. Stay tuned.
COLLINS: Mr. Cafferty, good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: How are you doing, Ms. Collins? Good to be with you.
The bodies of the four Americans murdered in Fallujah yesterday were desecrated, burned and then hung from a bridge while Iraqis danced and celebrated in the streets. How much of that imagery ought to be shown to the American public by the news media? AM@CNN.com.
HEMMER: Response is pretty overwhelming, isn't it?
CAFFERTY: A thousand letters, and we got an hour to go.
HEMMER: Wow. Thank you, Jack.
Top stories now. Let's start in Iraq today.
The top civilian administrator, Ambassador Paul Bremer, condemning those killings in Fallujah of a day ago. Witnesses say insurgents attacked a two-vehicle convoy with grenades and small arms fire, leaving four American civilians dead. Ambassador Bremer saying those responsible for the attack represent the worst of Iraqi society.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMB. PAUL BREMER, CIVIL ADMINISTRATOR IN IRAQ: The acts we have seen were despicable and inexcusable. They violate the tenets of all religions, including Islam, as well as the foundations of civilized society. Their deaths will not go unpunished.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: There are reports of more violence in Fallujah today. Also northwest of Baghdad. We'll get to that also this hour, follow it for you.
More than three dozen NATO troops on a manhunt for a wanted war crimes suspect in Bosnia. Those troops looking for former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic indicted by the U.N. tribunal in The Hague for the 1995 massacre of up to 8,000 Muslims. Karadzic has a $5 million reward posted on him.
U.S. politics now. The Republican National Committee, the RNC, launching a legal assault on anti-Bush groups running ads against the White House. The RNC going after more than two dozen liberal political groups who have reported ties to the Democratic presidential hopeful, John Kerry.
The RNC filing a complaint with the elections commission, the FEC. The Kerry camp issuing a statement today, saying, "The frivolous complaint is not worth the paper it is written on."
After 25 seasons in the NHL, the captain of the New York Rangers, Mark Messier, says he is leaning toward retirement. Forty-three years young. Held a news conference after a 4-3 loss to the Sabers of Buffalo. Asked if it was his final game, Messier said -- and quoting now -- "I would probably say I'm leaning more toward not playing if you had to pick one or the other."
Messier says he's been thinking about retirement for three years. And if he goes, they will miss him greatly. What a career that man has had.
COLLINS: No kidding. You know, I'm thinking about retiring.
HEMMER: Are you really?
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: A missing Wisconsin college student is alive and well this morning. Twenty-year-old Audrey Seiler told police she was kidnapped at knifepoint on Saturday.
Jonathan Freed is live in Madison now with the very latest.
Jonathan, good morning.
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
The search was suspended overnight, but it has resumed again this morning. But police are telling us today that today's effort is going to be somewhat more scaled back compared to yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREED (voice-over): Audrey Seiler was found in a marshy area about two miles from her home when a passerby spotted her and called authorities. Police quickly set up a perimeter and started searching for a suspect, believed armed with a gun and knife.
ASST. CHIEF NOBLE WRAY, MADISON POLICE DEPT.: The suspect was described as a White male in his late 20s to early 30s, 5'11 to six feet tall. Last wearing a black sweatshirt and jeans with a black cap.
FREED: While at the hospital...
KEITH SEILER, FATHER: Just relieved, glad to be warm, to see her friends and family.
FREED: The 20-year-old student at the University of Wisconsin disappeared early Saturday morning. A security camera at her apartment building caught her leaving without a coat. Doctors were impressed by her condition.
DR. PHILIP SCHULTZ, ST. MARY'S EMERGENCY SERVICES: She's really gotten through her ordeal remarkably well physically. She has lots of muscle aches from being confined during this period of time, and she's relatively dehydrated. So what we've been doing basically is replenishing her fluids. But she already looks a lot better than she did when she came in.
FREED: A few hours later, Seiler left the hospital. Investigators paid extra attention to the missing person case because Seiler says she was attacked two months ago, knocked unconscious while out walking after midnight. But she wasn't robbed or badly hurt. During the four-day ordeal her family tried to focus on positive thoughts.
STEPHANIE SEILER, MOTHER: We needed to stay strong for Audrey, and Audrey needed to stay strong for us. And we believed in that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FREED: Now, Audrey Seiler has been back with her family since last night. Police were giving them time to gel again and to relax and to be more comfortable with each other before they begin what they described as a more intensive round of questioning today, expected to last several hours, trying to get at as many details as they possibly can -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Jonathan Freed from Madison this morning. Thanks so much.
Earlier today, I spoke with Officer Larry Kamholz, public information officer for the Madison Police Department about their investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OFFICER LARRY KAMHOLZ, MADISON POLICE DEPT.: This investigation as a whole is just very unique. I mean, there's just so many things about this case. You know, she was attacked and left unconscious, which is very strange. And obviously the abduction itself and us locating her in the place that we did was very unique.
There's a lot of things we have to sit down and go through and try to piece more information together so we can identify the person that's involved. And that's going to take some time here. I anticipate the interview with Audrey is going to last for several hours. But it's just something we have to take our time with and make sure we have the correct and accurate information from Audrey.
COLLINS: As we know, the alleged abductor is a white male, 20 to 30s, last seen wearing a black sweatshirt and hat and jeans. Wondering if you are going on that description, or if there are other leads that you are pursuing at this time?
KAMHOLZ: Well, we're definitely taking that description that we have from Audrey. And that's what we're working on. But we are taking any tips that may come in to us that may help identify this person involved or help lead us to identify the assailant. And obviously, we want to contact them and we will take the appropriate steps in our investigative measures from that point. (END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Officer Kamholz said that a crime scene processing unit will go through the area where Audrey was found today to search for possible evidence there.
HEMMER: About eight minutes past the hour now, Heidi.
Martha Stewart's lawyer says a juror lied about his criminal record, and because of that, they claim Stewart deserves a new trial. Will it fly in court though?
Our legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, back with us here to talk about this.
Good morning. Her attorneys say what about this guy?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: They say that he lied under oath during the jury selection process, during voir dire, and as a result got on to the jury at a false pretense -- under false pretense, and thus she deserves a new trial. That's their argument.
HEMMER: Criminal record pertaining to what?
TOOBIN: Criminal record that he had domestic violence history, and also a history of unpaid debts, as well as possibly stealing from the little league that he helped run in the Bronx, which is a particularly heinous crime, I think. But, seriously, it's awful.
HEMMER: Listen, this juror number eight -- we just saw some videotape -- he was the guy who really held court with all those reporters after the verdict was read.
TOOBIN: Right. As people who were watching after the verdict remember, only one juror came out and held a press conference. And he gave this very kind of outspoken press conference about how this was a victory for the little guy.
Interestingly, I interviewed most of the jurors, or many of the jurors. And his views were very different from other jurors. He saw this...
HEMMER: Really? How so?
TOOBIN: Well, he saw this as kind of a political statement, victory for the little guy. And all the other jurors said to me, look, we were just looking at the evidence, this was just a case about one person. So he was kind of an (UNINTELLIGIBLE), I thought, and he did seem to be trying to get some attention for himself. Now he's getting attention he doesn't like.
HEMMER: You're probably right about that. A quick clip from part of what he said with reporters a couple weeks ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CHAPPELL HARTRIDGE, SERVED AS JUROR IN MARTHA STEWART CASE: What message does this send to investors? Maybe to the middle investor, they may feel a little bit more comfortable that they can invest in the market and not worry about these type of scams where they can lose their 401ks or just lose money on any plain stocks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: I heard somebody say he was a media darling, so composed and so articulate. But the quote you just used is very true: "A victory for the little guy." The question at the heart of this, though, do her attorneys have a case here?
TOOBIN: Well, it's a tough road. Most of the time, judges are very reluctant to give new trials. Especially in something that's sort of tangentially related to the case. What they have to prove, both that he was dishonest and that he was partial.
Dishonest they may be able to prove. But partiality is going to be tougher to prove. The idea that he somehow had an axe to grind against Martha Stewart and wanted to get on the jury to convict her, that's a little different. And I think that's what's going -- that is gonna be what makes this difficult for the defense to win.
HEMMER: Any track record here? Have you seen cases where jurors have come out and said, hey, we got this now?
TOOBIN: There have been cases. Mostly, though, they have to do with jury tampering, where one side or another has actually gone and reached a juror.
You know, in Mafia cases in particular there's been a history of that. But this is pretty unusual. And I think it's a long shot for the defense. But it's very appropriate that they raised it, and the judge, I'm sure, is going to take it seriously.
And he may be looking at criminal charges for lying under oath. I mean, this voir dire was under oath. And if he flat out lied, I wouldn't be surprised to see him prosecuted.
HEMMER: Or to give an OK sign to defense attorneys?
TOOBIN: Well, Tyco jury is still out, day 10. We'll see what happens today.
HEMMER: Thank you much. Talk to you later.
Here's Heidi.
COLLINS: A 32-year-old man has been charged with driving drunk. He's accused of being behind the wheel when a truck swerved into a gas station in Maine and hit a pump, setting off a huge explosion. Take a look at this now.
A dramatic accident as recorded by surveillance camera. A couple pumping gas a few feet from the accident narrowly escaped the ball of flames. Other witnesses at the 7-Eleven helped police in identifying the driver of that truck. Police say additional charges may be filed against the man.
Every time we see this, it's unbelievable.
HEMMER: Look at the people. They just got away. Barely.
A break here in a moment.
OPEC's latest moves may do more than send gas prices soaring. The impact on presidential politics in a moment.
COLLINS: And the king of pop finishes his trip to Washington? How was Michael Jackson received there? That's coming up next.
HEMMER: Also, do you want some free e-mail? Soon you may be able to just Google it.
Still to come here this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Michael Jackson wrapped up his visit to Washington last night with an exclusive dinner in his honor thrown by the top executives of Black Entertainment Television. Jackson was in the nation's capitol for two days of meetings with lawmakers to talk about the fight against AIDS in Africa.
CNN political contributor Donna Brazile was at that dinner last night. She's joining us now from our Washington bureau.
Good morning to you.
DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning.
COLLINS: I want to ask you if you can set the scene for us. We've already said this was a pretty exclusive dinner. What was Michael Jackson doing at the dinner?
BRAZILE: Well, first of all, it really was a fabulous night. Michael was a great hit.
He walked into the room to tremendous applause from what I call business executives to grassroots organizers, ministers, local officials. He worked a receiving line with lots of people, dignitaries, local anchors.
He didn't say much, but he really worked the crowd. And people came away feeling good about Michael Jackson.
COLLINS: Well, Donna, did he say anything about the actual reason why he was there as far as raising awareness about AIDS in Africa?
BRAZILE: Well, not only did Bob Johnson and Deborah Lee (ph), the host, talk about Michael's humanitarian issues, his philanthropy, but Michael privately, as people worked the rope line, talked a little bit about going to Africa. He will be traveling to Africa in the next couple months, East Africa in particular.
We didn't get into a lot of detail in terms of his trip. But we all know that Michael is very concerned about the growing problems of AIDS in Africa. And he wants to lend his voice and credibility and, of course, celebrity to this cause.
COLLINS: But, Donna, what about his credibility? I mean, we also all know that a grand jury is hearing a case of child molestation charges against him. Is this some sort of diversion tactic?
BRAZILE: I don't think so. I think this trip was in the works for some time, at least based on my conversations with a lot of his close people.
He had planned, along with a number of other celebrities, of trying to highlight the problems of AIDS in Africa. Look, Michael Jackson, everyone knows, is in some hot water. And people will rally to his defense. And others will be repulsed by the allegations.
But he deserves to have his day in court. He will have his day in court. And he will be able to prove, hopefully, his accusers wrong.
COLLINS: But what about the liability here? Obviously, you know, he is presumed innocent until proven guilty. We are all aware of that. But at this point, is it risky for a politician to actually be seen maybe in a photograph or something like that with him?
BRAZILE: Well, you know, you've got politicians here in Washington, D.C. who lie all the time, and we are seen with them. I don't have a problem being seen with Michael Jackson. I don't think any politician would.
Look, Michael Jackson brought a tremendous amount of press to Capitol Hill over the last two days. Congressman Sheila Jackson Lee, Jesse Jackson Jr. and others could not have gotten that type of media coverage to talk about the problems of not having adequate congressional funding for AIDS in Africa.
So I think Michael did a world of good in terms of this a budget time on Capitol Hill. And he raised an issue that even President Bush raised last year in the State of the Union.
COLLINS: All right. Donna Brazile, certainly appreciate your insight into the dinner last night. Appreciate that.
BRAZILE: Michael also gave us CDs.
COLLINS: OK. Did he autograph it?
BRAZILE: No. I didn't have the glove, and I was going to get Bill Hemmer an autograph. But I told Michael that he needs to see Bill one on one.
HEMMER: There you go again, Donna. We're going to remember that poster hanging up in your bedroom as a child.
BRAZILE: And going to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) instead of seeing Michael Jackson. I've got a lot of stories I told him.
COLLINS: Oh my goodness. All right. Donna Brazile, we're going to have to leave it there. Thanks so much this morning.
BRAZILE: Thank you.
HEMMER: See you, Donna.
OPEC says it will produce less oil. And the White House trying to get the cartel to change its mind about that decision. With gas prices already at record highs in the U.S., the president, the White House trying to contain the potential for political damage here.
Here's John King this morning in D.C.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): OPEC's decision to cut crude oil production by a million barrels a day was a slap at the Bush White House at a time prices at the pump are a major campaign issue.
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Producers should not take steps that harm American consumers and our economy.
KING: OPEC's rebuke is embarrassing to a president who suggested four years ago that his experience in the energy industry would be a major plus.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The president of the United States must jawbone OPEC members to lower the price.
KING: The price of crude was $28 a barrel then. It is nearly $8 a barrel higher now. The average price of gas is $1.80 a gallon in the United States, and prices top $2 a gallon in some parts of the country. Democratic John Kerry says consumers feeling the pocketbook pinch should blame the president and vice president.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Those aren't Exxon prices. Those are Halliburton prices, ladies and gentlemen.
KING: The White House in turn blames Kerry and other Senate Democrats who have blocked the Bush administration energy bill that would expand domestic production.
MCCLELLAN: We need comprehensive solutions, not patchwork crisis management.
KING: And the Bush campaign is warning consumers things would get worse in a Kerry administration, calling the senator a big fan of higher gas taxes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's John Kerry. He supported the 50-cent a gallon gas tax.
KING: Campaign debate aside, industry analysts say there is really little the government can do day to day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a global commodity market, oil. And the gasoline market in the U.S. responds to that market. And there are certain pressures in place. There's not a lot that the government can do in an immediate way to relieve that.
KING: Individual OPEC members often ignore the cartel's quotas. Administration officials say Russia and other suppliers are also options for keeping supplies stable.
(on camera): So the impact of OPEC's decision may not be clear for several weeks. But that won't stop the campaign finger pointing.
John King, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: One other note on this matter. Senator Kerry calling the administration to raise oil from America's strategic reserves to try and help increase supply and drive prices down. The White House says there are no plans to do that -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Still to come this morning, a young woman is safe at home today after telling police she was taken at knifepoint. But the case is not over. We'll have the very latest on that investigation.
And why didn't Jayson Williams take the stand in his defense after his lawyers said he would?
Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: So welcome back here on AMERICAN MORNING. Good to have you here. Heidi Collins doing the duty here. Soledad is out for a few days here.
Welcome back to New York. Good having you.
COLLINS: Thank you, sir. Appreciate it very much. I'm finally learning my way around a little bit.
HEMMER: Nice. Everything is East, West, North or South.
COLLINS: That's good. That's how I need it.
HEMMER: We're still on a grid here.
COLLINS: All right. I want to let you know about some other stories we are covering this morning.
What exactly was the focus of a speech made by Condoleezza Rice? It was supposed to be delivered on September 11 before the attacks. A report on that in The Washington Post today raising some questions now. Suzanne Malveaux will tell us how this is playing at the White House.
HEMMER: Also, if you followed this trial from yesterday, looking at the Jayson Williams case, probably the hardest decision any attorney or client has to make when telling the court he will not take the stand. A former attorney in a moment who used to represent Jayson Williams from years ago joins us in a moment. Brian Neary is back here to talk about that.
COLLINS: All right. We'll wait for that. Want to get to the news now this morning.
In Madison, Wisconsin, police are meeting again today with Audrey Seiler, a college sophomore who was found alive four days after she vanished. Investigators say a man may suspected in her abduction may still be in the area. Seiler says she was taken at knifepoint by a stranger on Saturday and held captive, but was not hurt. She was found yesterday less than two miles from her apartment.
President Bush expected to sign a bill today making it a separate crime to harm a fetus during an assault on a pregnant woman. The president will sign the Unborn Victims of Violence Act in a rose garden ceremony this afternoon. Supporters have dubbed it the Laci Peterson bill for the California woman killed while eight months pregnant. Her husband has been charged with two counts of murder.
The FDA is allowing companies that makes walnuts to print health claims on packages. The Food and Drug Administration says there is some evidence walnuts are heart healthy and can reduce the risk of heart disease. This decision marks the first time the FDA has given approval for food companies to list supported but not definitive health evidence on labels.
And the stars who do the voices on the "Simpsons" are on strike and reportedly want more dough. The actors who give voice to the cartoon characters like Bart, Homer and Marge want more money. "Daily Variety" is reporting they make $125,000 per episode. They are asking for more than double that and are holding up production for now.
HEMMER: Doh!
COLLINS: Doh! I've got to practice that more.
HEMMER: It's about the only impression I can do.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: There's a report out today on the 9/11 attacks. That day, that morning, apparently, Condoleezza Rice was getting ready to make a policy speech about threats to the U.S. national security, with no mention of Islamic fundamentalism, al Qaeda or Osama bin Laden. Trying to figure out what this means today, Suzanne Malveaux, excerpts from that speech now, and live from the White House.
And what do we know, Suzanne, about the contents that were expected that day? Good morning.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Well, want to emphasize, first of all, that these are excerpts only. It is not the entire speech. But these excerpts have been confirmed by administration officials saying that, yes, they are accurate.
Dr. Rice was to go to Johns Hopkins University on September 11 and deliver a speech. From what we have seen, it is a broad look at the administration's efforts to combat terrorism.
They talk about the need to coordinate efforts in protecting the homeland against weapons of mass destruction. They talk about missiles, car bombs, suitcase bombs, all kinds of ways that they believe that these weapons of mass destruction could be delivered. The focus being on the need to strengthen the missile defense system -- Bill.
HEMMER: Suzanne, we know during that election campaign of 2000, missile defense was a corner stone for President Bush's -- really when he went to the heart of national security, that was his topic. But what are they saying now to defend themselves as to why Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda elements were not mentioned that day or expected?
MALVEAUX: Well, Bill, White House officials are quite angry about this. They really don't believe it's a story, because, essentially -- I have spoken to a number of those on the National Security Council who say it really doesn't matter what this speech said. It's a matter of what actually happened, what type of action that they took.
One official saying that this is the first foreign policy directive this administration carried out, was a directed against eliminating al Qaeda. Another official saying that the man who was in charge of security -- they bring up Richard Clarke, on September 11 -- was making a speech on computer security as one of the planes went through the world towers.
This is something the administration doesn't understand. They're emphasizing that it's about action, it is not necessarily about one particular speech at one time.
They also say, when asked why her speech changed dramatically when she gave that speech to Johns Hopkins about a year afterwards -- it was dramatically different -- they said, well, 9/11 changed everything. It changed the equation.
HEMMER: Interesting point. Suzanne, thanks for that. Still waiting word on the time and date for that testimony, too, for Condoleezza Rice. Thanks.
Heidi? COLLINS: Some of the Pentagon's most sophisticated weapons systems are now deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the latest technology designed to keep more Americans out of harms way is being developed by some of the nation's largest defense contractors.
And joining us now with details is Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.
Barbara, good morning to you.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Heidi.
Well, the latest technology, indeed. An experimental, unmanned warplane is being tested right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice over): A perfect day for flying earlier this month in the California desert. The experimental X-45A drops a 250-pound bomb.
Just one thing. There is no cockpit; there is no pilot on board. Ground stage operators are miles away. This is the first time an unmanned warplane has dropped a weapon. This is the future of warfare.
The Pentagon is testing unmanned warplanes, hoping to make them part of the U.S. arsenal. For the first night of the war in Iraq, it would have been the ultimate stealthy weapon, flying toward Iraqi raiders and missiles without risking a U.S. air crew.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can spot that threat before he spots us.
STARR: These unmanned aircraft will be able to fly at 40,000 feet and at the speed of commercial airplanes. More capable than current drones.
Fleets of unmanned airplanes will move across enemy air space. Some conducting surveillance through onboard cameras, some dropping bombs. But questions of ethics. Even with a human operator able to see the target through onboard sensors, should what is essentially a flying computer be used to attack?
MICHAEL O'HANLON, SENIOR FELLOW, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: You can imagine an unmanned vehicle correctly finding a target. But then maybe a train passes by that target at just that minute with a lot of women and children on board.
STARR: The Pentagon says there are limitations.
MICHAEL FRANCIS, PROGRAM DIRECTOR, DEFNESE ADV. RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY: We still haven't replaced the human computer. The digital computer, as good as it is, can't do some things that we do very well.
(END VIDEOTAPE) STARR: But the next test for this unmanned warplane, Heidi, will come as soon as this weekend.
COLLINS: All right. We'll be looking forward to that.
Barbara, also want to ask you about the latest events in Fallujah. You know, U.S. officials in Baghdad are really talking tough after these incidents. What does that mean? What are you hearing at the Pentagon?
STARR: Well, at this hour, Heidi, a briefing is going on in Baghdad. General Kimmitt, Dan Senor, from the Coalition Provisional Authority, the language this morning very tough.
General Kimmitt has said the U.S. military will move back into Fallujah. The Marines will re-enter the city. He says that it will come at a time and place of the U.S. military's choosing. He says they will capture or kill the people responsible for the horrific attacks yesterday.
And in General Kimmitt's words, he says, "We will pacify Fallujah." So expect to see some serious military action in the hours and days ahead -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr. Thanks so much, Barbara.
HEMMER: About 22 minutes now before the hour, Heidi.
In other news now, the Jayson Williams manslaughter trial about to move now in its final phase. Both sides will deliver closing arguments next week. And the defense resting yesterday after the former star decided not to tell his story in front of the jury.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAYSON WILLIAMS, DEFENDANT: I understand my rights. Under advice of my counsel, I will not testify. I am innocent. I put my trust in god. I have great confidence in this jury.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Now, today, attorney Brian Neary back with us, representing Williams on a gun charge about 10 years ago. He's been with us throughout this case.
Good morning. Welcome back here. What do you think of the move? Are they feeling confident or not about putting Williams out there?
BRIAN NEARY, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think that they believe that they have shown enough reasonable doubt under the state's theory of the case that there's no need for Jayson Williams to actually get up and tell the story.
HEMMER: Because that's one way to think about it. The other way is, hey, if we put him on the stand, we're taking a chance here, and it may cost us.
NEARY: Well, the calculation is always made, do you get more or do you take away from your case by putting someone on the stand. The good part, Jayson would be able to explain what his story was. The bad part might be the explaining of all the things that happened that night, including a possible demonstration with a gun. I don't...
HEMMER: You think that's the biggest concern if you put him on?
NEARY: Well, you also have the possibility of other crimes or other things that they would talk about. But I think they made the calculated decision that the risk was not worth the benefit in putting him on.
HEMMER: Go back to opening statements. Billy Martin all but referred to the fact that he was going put Jayson Williams on the stand, saying, "You will hear from the defendant in this case." The jurors remember that. And if they remember it, does it hurt you in that case?
NEARY: You know, young lawyers are always taught never to promise what you can't deliver. And this might be the Billy Martin exception, the Billy Martin exception to the opening statement rules.
I don't know if they'll remember it; I don't know if they'll hold him to the standard of, you promised that. Because there's been so much in the case. There's been so much information. And the judge is going to remind the jurors, among other things, that the state's got to prove it and that the defendant's absolute right is not to say a word.
HEMMER: Yes. The defense put on five witnesses. The prosecution put on 36. What does that tell you?
NEARY: Well, it tells you that the prosecutor put on everything that they knew about the case. And some of those witnesses, I believe, the defense thinks were very helpful to them, whether it be Gaffney (ph), whether it be some of the other eyewitnesses. Whether it be the people who were at the restaurant, the waitress and the owner who would say that Williams was not drunk.
The five that they brought on did the two key things that the defense needed to do. First, they brought in people to question the credibility of Benoit Benjamin, prosecutor's key witness. Dr. Baden (ph) says that Benjamin couldn't be where he says he was based on principles of science. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) comes in and says that Benoit Benjamin told him something very different.
Then you bring in the experts with regard to the gun malfunction, which is the theory that the gun went off accidentally. So the defense gave the jury the two things that it needs, the credibility against Benoit Benjamin and a plausible theory, a possibility, that the gun malfunctioned.
HEMMER: Now we go to the rebuttal. Prosecution gets the first crack next week. We will see then. Thank you, Brian.
You point?
NEARY: The point is, they're only going bring the gun guy, and then they're going to both have to argue whether or not they have proven their case.
HEMMER: We'll talk to you then. Thanks, Brian.
NEARY: Thanks, Bill.
HEMMER: All right -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Still to come this morning, Jenny from the Block gets back to her roots.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everybody. Breaking news. Major changes to the Dow 30.
Andy Serwer has been talking about this for weeks. And, finally, he gets his wish.
What do we got? Who's in? Who's out?
ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, FORTUNE MAGAZINE: Well, yes. Do you want to talk about the market first? Let's do that quickly.
Dow down a little bit, Nasdaq up a bit. We're going to be trading water today probalby because the big jobs report is tomorrow. Down seven her on the Dow.
Speaking of the Dow, big changes, as you suggested. Three stocks deleted or removed from the Dow Jones industrials and three added. The three companies removed are AT&T -- that was expected at some point.
HEMMER: And you predicted that.
SERWER: That's right. Eastman Kodak also out. And the third one out is International Paper. That's a bit of a surprise. No more paper companies on the Dow.
And added, Verizon, another phone Company. SBC is already on there. That sort of takes AT&T's place. Verizon a much bigger company than AT&T now.
AIG, the giant insurance and financial services company, joining Citigroup and JP Morgan and that group. And then Pfizer would be the third pharmaceutical company after Johnson & Johnson and Merck.
So really interesting. And I'm also very surprised here. I struck out, because I predicted that Federal Express or UPS was going get added, and they weren't. And I know there's going to be some disappointed people at this company. HEMMER: But you called two of the companies that were going to be removed a few weeks ago.
SERWER: Oh, let's be honest. I called two out of the six. That's pretty good at baseball.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: Three is a good hitting average.
HEMMER: You know, it's bad PR for a company to be removed, but it's another indication of the changing economy, too, when we see that lined up.
SERWER: Well, that's right. And those stocks are down, Bill, the ones that were removed. The ones that were added, the stocks are up. And financial services, for instance, a much bigger part of the economy.
HEMMER: I want to squeeze in OPEC, the impact here.
SERWER: Yes. And this is another interesting one.
You know, of course, we've been talking all morning about the production cuts. Guess what? The price of oil is down. And the reason why is because everyone's anticipated this.
People expecting some cheating going on by OPEC members. And so the price of oil slipping below $36.
So everyone's complaining so much about the price of gas. It is high. It's not necessarily the case that it's going to keep going up and up and up.
HEMMER: A converse in logic.
SERWER: Yes.
HEMMER: From 24 hours ago. Thank you, Andy.
SERWER: OK.
HEMMER: Heidi?
COLLINS: Time now for Jack and the Question of the Day.
CAFFERTY: Yes -- 1,100 of you wrote to us on this question about whether the media should show the most graphic images out of Fallujah in Iraq, those desecrated bodies hanging from the bridge. Big-time response.
Vietnam veteran Jim writes: "No. It only encourages the enemy and serve no supportive purpose back home."
Mike in Goldstown, North Carolina: "Why not? People need to see how much the Iraqis love their newfound democracy and how much they love Americans. The people of our democracy believe in well balanced reporting, showing both the good and the bad."
And Tony in Illinois: "Yes, but just make sure that after showing us the images, such as the charred bodies of American civilians hanging from a bridge, you follow it with a clip of President Bush or Mr. Bremer informing us of the great progress being made in Iraq. Keep it balanced."
Again, thank you all for writing. I will take them all home and answer each of them personally sometime in the next week.
HEMMER: You had a very interesting reaction this morning when you saw...
SERWER: Yes. And we saw the New York Times this morning, and I took the newspaper and hid it before my children woke up because it was too graphic.
I mean, we have to report that. It's just a question of how far do you go with the images. That's the real question there.
COLLINS: All right. Thanks so much, guys.
Coming up on CNN, more explosions today in Iraq, while the U.S. vows yesterday's deaths will not go unpunished. Live to Baghdad coming up on "CNN LIVE TODAY" with Daryn Kagan
And AMERICAN MORNING will be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: We've got to run. Same time tomorrow here. Nice of you to spend your day with us -- Andy.
SERWER: Yes, sir.
CAFFERTY: No place I would rather be.
SERWER: Yes. And good to be here, too.
HEMMER: I'm right here with my red neck, white socks and blue ribbon beer. Remember that country song, 1974?
CAFFERTY: I do, as a matter of fact.
COLLLINS: I don't remember it.
SERWER: Put a smile to his face.
HEMMER: It did.
CAVUTO: Good oldies.
HEMMER: I'm telling you.
All right. Here's Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center.
Good morning, Daryn. How are you?
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: You guys have a great day in New York City. We'll get started here in Atlanta.
We are at CNN headquarters. I'm Daryn Kagan. Good morning. We start with the headlines.
A convoy of fuel tankers came under attack today near Baghdad. One truck driver was wounded by the roadside bomb. It was the second such attack in less than an hour on that stretch of highway. An Iraqi civilian was hurt in the first blast. A live report from Baghdad is coming up in just a moment.
On Capitol Hill, a hearing on al Qaeda is under way at this hour in the House, with the Madrid train bombing a prominent focus. Among those testifying, is Jay Coper Black (ph), a senior counterterrorism terrorism official at the State Department. Three suspects in the March 11 train attacks are expected to be arraigned today in Madrid.
In Madison, Wisconsin, so many unanswered questions. That is what a friend of Audrey Seiler says about Seiler's mysterious four-day disappearance. The college sophomore was found alive and in fairly good shape yesterday. A live update on that investigation is just ahead as well.
And badly wounded soldier Jessica Lynch...
Aired April 1, 2004 - 9:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. A promise in Iraq today that killers in Fallujah will be punished. That city yet again today a scene of violence.
In Wisconsin...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I anticipate the interview with Audrey is going to last for several hours. It's just something that we're going to have to take our time with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Investigators glad to have a missing college student safe at home, but they're still intent on asking her many questions about that ordeal.
And dig a bit deeper for gas money. OPEC cutting oil production. What's the White House's next move on this issue?
Ahead this hour here on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
HEMMER: All right. Good morning; 9:00 here in New York. Soledad has the day off. Heidi Collins with us here in New York.
Welcome again. Nice to have you.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you. Glad to be here.
Other stories that we are following this morning:
Could Martha Stewart get a second chance? Her lawyers now asking for a New trial. And Jeffrey Toobin says they might have a good reason.
HEMMER: I think Toobin's a little squeamish on this one. We'll find out.
COLLINS: They might have a good reason.
HEMMER: He's across the room. Also, another high-profile trial. Jayson Williams moving now into its final stage. What will the prosecution do now that Williams stood up yesterday and told the judge he will not testify on his behalf? A report on that, also. Stay tuned.
COLLINS: Mr. Cafferty, good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: How are you doing, Ms. Collins? Good to be with you.
The bodies of the four Americans murdered in Fallujah yesterday were desecrated, burned and then hung from a bridge while Iraqis danced and celebrated in the streets. How much of that imagery ought to be shown to the American public by the news media? AM@CNN.com.
HEMMER: Response is pretty overwhelming, isn't it?
CAFFERTY: A thousand letters, and we got an hour to go.
HEMMER: Wow. Thank you, Jack.
Top stories now. Let's start in Iraq today.
The top civilian administrator, Ambassador Paul Bremer, condemning those killings in Fallujah of a day ago. Witnesses say insurgents attacked a two-vehicle convoy with grenades and small arms fire, leaving four American civilians dead. Ambassador Bremer saying those responsible for the attack represent the worst of Iraqi society.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMB. PAUL BREMER, CIVIL ADMINISTRATOR IN IRAQ: The acts we have seen were despicable and inexcusable. They violate the tenets of all religions, including Islam, as well as the foundations of civilized society. Their deaths will not go unpunished.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: There are reports of more violence in Fallujah today. Also northwest of Baghdad. We'll get to that also this hour, follow it for you.
More than three dozen NATO troops on a manhunt for a wanted war crimes suspect in Bosnia. Those troops looking for former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic indicted by the U.N. tribunal in The Hague for the 1995 massacre of up to 8,000 Muslims. Karadzic has a $5 million reward posted on him.
U.S. politics now. The Republican National Committee, the RNC, launching a legal assault on anti-Bush groups running ads against the White House. The RNC going after more than two dozen liberal political groups who have reported ties to the Democratic presidential hopeful, John Kerry.
The RNC filing a complaint with the elections commission, the FEC. The Kerry camp issuing a statement today, saying, "The frivolous complaint is not worth the paper it is written on."
After 25 seasons in the NHL, the captain of the New York Rangers, Mark Messier, says he is leaning toward retirement. Forty-three years young. Held a news conference after a 4-3 loss to the Sabers of Buffalo. Asked if it was his final game, Messier said -- and quoting now -- "I would probably say I'm leaning more toward not playing if you had to pick one or the other."
Messier says he's been thinking about retirement for three years. And if he goes, they will miss him greatly. What a career that man has had.
COLLINS: No kidding. You know, I'm thinking about retiring.
HEMMER: Are you really?
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: A missing Wisconsin college student is alive and well this morning. Twenty-year-old Audrey Seiler told police she was kidnapped at knifepoint on Saturday.
Jonathan Freed is live in Madison now with the very latest.
Jonathan, good morning.
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
The search was suspended overnight, but it has resumed again this morning. But police are telling us today that today's effort is going to be somewhat more scaled back compared to yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREED (voice-over): Audrey Seiler was found in a marshy area about two miles from her home when a passerby spotted her and called authorities. Police quickly set up a perimeter and started searching for a suspect, believed armed with a gun and knife.
ASST. CHIEF NOBLE WRAY, MADISON POLICE DEPT.: The suspect was described as a White male in his late 20s to early 30s, 5'11 to six feet tall. Last wearing a black sweatshirt and jeans with a black cap.
FREED: While at the hospital...
KEITH SEILER, FATHER: Just relieved, glad to be warm, to see her friends and family.
FREED: The 20-year-old student at the University of Wisconsin disappeared early Saturday morning. A security camera at her apartment building caught her leaving without a coat. Doctors were impressed by her condition.
DR. PHILIP SCHULTZ, ST. MARY'S EMERGENCY SERVICES: She's really gotten through her ordeal remarkably well physically. She has lots of muscle aches from being confined during this period of time, and she's relatively dehydrated. So what we've been doing basically is replenishing her fluids. But she already looks a lot better than she did when she came in.
FREED: A few hours later, Seiler left the hospital. Investigators paid extra attention to the missing person case because Seiler says she was attacked two months ago, knocked unconscious while out walking after midnight. But she wasn't robbed or badly hurt. During the four-day ordeal her family tried to focus on positive thoughts.
STEPHANIE SEILER, MOTHER: We needed to stay strong for Audrey, and Audrey needed to stay strong for us. And we believed in that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FREED: Now, Audrey Seiler has been back with her family since last night. Police were giving them time to gel again and to relax and to be more comfortable with each other before they begin what they described as a more intensive round of questioning today, expected to last several hours, trying to get at as many details as they possibly can -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Jonathan Freed from Madison this morning. Thanks so much.
Earlier today, I spoke with Officer Larry Kamholz, public information officer for the Madison Police Department about their investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OFFICER LARRY KAMHOLZ, MADISON POLICE DEPT.: This investigation as a whole is just very unique. I mean, there's just so many things about this case. You know, she was attacked and left unconscious, which is very strange. And obviously the abduction itself and us locating her in the place that we did was very unique.
There's a lot of things we have to sit down and go through and try to piece more information together so we can identify the person that's involved. And that's going to take some time here. I anticipate the interview with Audrey is going to last for several hours. But it's just something we have to take our time with and make sure we have the correct and accurate information from Audrey.
COLLINS: As we know, the alleged abductor is a white male, 20 to 30s, last seen wearing a black sweatshirt and hat and jeans. Wondering if you are going on that description, or if there are other leads that you are pursuing at this time?
KAMHOLZ: Well, we're definitely taking that description that we have from Audrey. And that's what we're working on. But we are taking any tips that may come in to us that may help identify this person involved or help lead us to identify the assailant. And obviously, we want to contact them and we will take the appropriate steps in our investigative measures from that point. (END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Officer Kamholz said that a crime scene processing unit will go through the area where Audrey was found today to search for possible evidence there.
HEMMER: About eight minutes past the hour now, Heidi.
Martha Stewart's lawyer says a juror lied about his criminal record, and because of that, they claim Stewart deserves a new trial. Will it fly in court though?
Our legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, back with us here to talk about this.
Good morning. Her attorneys say what about this guy?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: They say that he lied under oath during the jury selection process, during voir dire, and as a result got on to the jury at a false pretense -- under false pretense, and thus she deserves a new trial. That's their argument.
HEMMER: Criminal record pertaining to what?
TOOBIN: Criminal record that he had domestic violence history, and also a history of unpaid debts, as well as possibly stealing from the little league that he helped run in the Bronx, which is a particularly heinous crime, I think. But, seriously, it's awful.
HEMMER: Listen, this juror number eight -- we just saw some videotape -- he was the guy who really held court with all those reporters after the verdict was read.
TOOBIN: Right. As people who were watching after the verdict remember, only one juror came out and held a press conference. And he gave this very kind of outspoken press conference about how this was a victory for the little guy.
Interestingly, I interviewed most of the jurors, or many of the jurors. And his views were very different from other jurors. He saw this...
HEMMER: Really? How so?
TOOBIN: Well, he saw this as kind of a political statement, victory for the little guy. And all the other jurors said to me, look, we were just looking at the evidence, this was just a case about one person. So he was kind of an (UNINTELLIGIBLE), I thought, and he did seem to be trying to get some attention for himself. Now he's getting attention he doesn't like.
HEMMER: You're probably right about that. A quick clip from part of what he said with reporters a couple weeks ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CHAPPELL HARTRIDGE, SERVED AS JUROR IN MARTHA STEWART CASE: What message does this send to investors? Maybe to the middle investor, they may feel a little bit more comfortable that they can invest in the market and not worry about these type of scams where they can lose their 401ks or just lose money on any plain stocks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: I heard somebody say he was a media darling, so composed and so articulate. But the quote you just used is very true: "A victory for the little guy." The question at the heart of this, though, do her attorneys have a case here?
TOOBIN: Well, it's a tough road. Most of the time, judges are very reluctant to give new trials. Especially in something that's sort of tangentially related to the case. What they have to prove, both that he was dishonest and that he was partial.
Dishonest they may be able to prove. But partiality is going to be tougher to prove. The idea that he somehow had an axe to grind against Martha Stewart and wanted to get on the jury to convict her, that's a little different. And I think that's what's going -- that is gonna be what makes this difficult for the defense to win.
HEMMER: Any track record here? Have you seen cases where jurors have come out and said, hey, we got this now?
TOOBIN: There have been cases. Mostly, though, they have to do with jury tampering, where one side or another has actually gone and reached a juror.
You know, in Mafia cases in particular there's been a history of that. But this is pretty unusual. And I think it's a long shot for the defense. But it's very appropriate that they raised it, and the judge, I'm sure, is going to take it seriously.
And he may be looking at criminal charges for lying under oath. I mean, this voir dire was under oath. And if he flat out lied, I wouldn't be surprised to see him prosecuted.
HEMMER: Or to give an OK sign to defense attorneys?
TOOBIN: Well, Tyco jury is still out, day 10. We'll see what happens today.
HEMMER: Thank you much. Talk to you later.
Here's Heidi.
COLLINS: A 32-year-old man has been charged with driving drunk. He's accused of being behind the wheel when a truck swerved into a gas station in Maine and hit a pump, setting off a huge explosion. Take a look at this now.
A dramatic accident as recorded by surveillance camera. A couple pumping gas a few feet from the accident narrowly escaped the ball of flames. Other witnesses at the 7-Eleven helped police in identifying the driver of that truck. Police say additional charges may be filed against the man.
Every time we see this, it's unbelievable.
HEMMER: Look at the people. They just got away. Barely.
A break here in a moment.
OPEC's latest moves may do more than send gas prices soaring. The impact on presidential politics in a moment.
COLLINS: And the king of pop finishes his trip to Washington? How was Michael Jackson received there? That's coming up next.
HEMMER: Also, do you want some free e-mail? Soon you may be able to just Google it.
Still to come here this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Michael Jackson wrapped up his visit to Washington last night with an exclusive dinner in his honor thrown by the top executives of Black Entertainment Television. Jackson was in the nation's capitol for two days of meetings with lawmakers to talk about the fight against AIDS in Africa.
CNN political contributor Donna Brazile was at that dinner last night. She's joining us now from our Washington bureau.
Good morning to you.
DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning.
COLLINS: I want to ask you if you can set the scene for us. We've already said this was a pretty exclusive dinner. What was Michael Jackson doing at the dinner?
BRAZILE: Well, first of all, it really was a fabulous night. Michael was a great hit.
He walked into the room to tremendous applause from what I call business executives to grassroots organizers, ministers, local officials. He worked a receiving line with lots of people, dignitaries, local anchors.
He didn't say much, but he really worked the crowd. And people came away feeling good about Michael Jackson.
COLLINS: Well, Donna, did he say anything about the actual reason why he was there as far as raising awareness about AIDS in Africa?
BRAZILE: Well, not only did Bob Johnson and Deborah Lee (ph), the host, talk about Michael's humanitarian issues, his philanthropy, but Michael privately, as people worked the rope line, talked a little bit about going to Africa. He will be traveling to Africa in the next couple months, East Africa in particular.
We didn't get into a lot of detail in terms of his trip. But we all know that Michael is very concerned about the growing problems of AIDS in Africa. And he wants to lend his voice and credibility and, of course, celebrity to this cause.
COLLINS: But, Donna, what about his credibility? I mean, we also all know that a grand jury is hearing a case of child molestation charges against him. Is this some sort of diversion tactic?
BRAZILE: I don't think so. I think this trip was in the works for some time, at least based on my conversations with a lot of his close people.
He had planned, along with a number of other celebrities, of trying to highlight the problems of AIDS in Africa. Look, Michael Jackson, everyone knows, is in some hot water. And people will rally to his defense. And others will be repulsed by the allegations.
But he deserves to have his day in court. He will have his day in court. And he will be able to prove, hopefully, his accusers wrong.
COLLINS: But what about the liability here? Obviously, you know, he is presumed innocent until proven guilty. We are all aware of that. But at this point, is it risky for a politician to actually be seen maybe in a photograph or something like that with him?
BRAZILE: Well, you know, you've got politicians here in Washington, D.C. who lie all the time, and we are seen with them. I don't have a problem being seen with Michael Jackson. I don't think any politician would.
Look, Michael Jackson brought a tremendous amount of press to Capitol Hill over the last two days. Congressman Sheila Jackson Lee, Jesse Jackson Jr. and others could not have gotten that type of media coverage to talk about the problems of not having adequate congressional funding for AIDS in Africa.
So I think Michael did a world of good in terms of this a budget time on Capitol Hill. And he raised an issue that even President Bush raised last year in the State of the Union.
COLLINS: All right. Donna Brazile, certainly appreciate your insight into the dinner last night. Appreciate that.
BRAZILE: Michael also gave us CDs.
COLLINS: OK. Did he autograph it?
BRAZILE: No. I didn't have the glove, and I was going to get Bill Hemmer an autograph. But I told Michael that he needs to see Bill one on one.
HEMMER: There you go again, Donna. We're going to remember that poster hanging up in your bedroom as a child.
BRAZILE: And going to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) instead of seeing Michael Jackson. I've got a lot of stories I told him.
COLLINS: Oh my goodness. All right. Donna Brazile, we're going to have to leave it there. Thanks so much this morning.
BRAZILE: Thank you.
HEMMER: See you, Donna.
OPEC says it will produce less oil. And the White House trying to get the cartel to change its mind about that decision. With gas prices already at record highs in the U.S., the president, the White House trying to contain the potential for political damage here.
Here's John King this morning in D.C.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): OPEC's decision to cut crude oil production by a million barrels a day was a slap at the Bush White House at a time prices at the pump are a major campaign issue.
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Producers should not take steps that harm American consumers and our economy.
KING: OPEC's rebuke is embarrassing to a president who suggested four years ago that his experience in the energy industry would be a major plus.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The president of the United States must jawbone OPEC members to lower the price.
KING: The price of crude was $28 a barrel then. It is nearly $8 a barrel higher now. The average price of gas is $1.80 a gallon in the United States, and prices top $2 a gallon in some parts of the country. Democratic John Kerry says consumers feeling the pocketbook pinch should blame the president and vice president.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Those aren't Exxon prices. Those are Halliburton prices, ladies and gentlemen.
KING: The White House in turn blames Kerry and other Senate Democrats who have blocked the Bush administration energy bill that would expand domestic production.
MCCLELLAN: We need comprehensive solutions, not patchwork crisis management.
KING: And the Bush campaign is warning consumers things would get worse in a Kerry administration, calling the senator a big fan of higher gas taxes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's John Kerry. He supported the 50-cent a gallon gas tax.
KING: Campaign debate aside, industry analysts say there is really little the government can do day to day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a global commodity market, oil. And the gasoline market in the U.S. responds to that market. And there are certain pressures in place. There's not a lot that the government can do in an immediate way to relieve that.
KING: Individual OPEC members often ignore the cartel's quotas. Administration officials say Russia and other suppliers are also options for keeping supplies stable.
(on camera): So the impact of OPEC's decision may not be clear for several weeks. But that won't stop the campaign finger pointing.
John King, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: One other note on this matter. Senator Kerry calling the administration to raise oil from America's strategic reserves to try and help increase supply and drive prices down. The White House says there are no plans to do that -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Still to come this morning, a young woman is safe at home today after telling police she was taken at knifepoint. But the case is not over. We'll have the very latest on that investigation.
And why didn't Jayson Williams take the stand in his defense after his lawyers said he would?
Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: So welcome back here on AMERICAN MORNING. Good to have you here. Heidi Collins doing the duty here. Soledad is out for a few days here.
Welcome back to New York. Good having you.
COLLINS: Thank you, sir. Appreciate it very much. I'm finally learning my way around a little bit.
HEMMER: Nice. Everything is East, West, North or South.
COLLINS: That's good. That's how I need it.
HEMMER: We're still on a grid here.
COLLINS: All right. I want to let you know about some other stories we are covering this morning.
What exactly was the focus of a speech made by Condoleezza Rice? It was supposed to be delivered on September 11 before the attacks. A report on that in The Washington Post today raising some questions now. Suzanne Malveaux will tell us how this is playing at the White House.
HEMMER: Also, if you followed this trial from yesterday, looking at the Jayson Williams case, probably the hardest decision any attorney or client has to make when telling the court he will not take the stand. A former attorney in a moment who used to represent Jayson Williams from years ago joins us in a moment. Brian Neary is back here to talk about that.
COLLINS: All right. We'll wait for that. Want to get to the news now this morning.
In Madison, Wisconsin, police are meeting again today with Audrey Seiler, a college sophomore who was found alive four days after she vanished. Investigators say a man may suspected in her abduction may still be in the area. Seiler says she was taken at knifepoint by a stranger on Saturday and held captive, but was not hurt. She was found yesterday less than two miles from her apartment.
President Bush expected to sign a bill today making it a separate crime to harm a fetus during an assault on a pregnant woman. The president will sign the Unborn Victims of Violence Act in a rose garden ceremony this afternoon. Supporters have dubbed it the Laci Peterson bill for the California woman killed while eight months pregnant. Her husband has been charged with two counts of murder.
The FDA is allowing companies that makes walnuts to print health claims on packages. The Food and Drug Administration says there is some evidence walnuts are heart healthy and can reduce the risk of heart disease. This decision marks the first time the FDA has given approval for food companies to list supported but not definitive health evidence on labels.
And the stars who do the voices on the "Simpsons" are on strike and reportedly want more dough. The actors who give voice to the cartoon characters like Bart, Homer and Marge want more money. "Daily Variety" is reporting they make $125,000 per episode. They are asking for more than double that and are holding up production for now.
HEMMER: Doh!
COLLINS: Doh! I've got to practice that more.
HEMMER: It's about the only impression I can do.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: There's a report out today on the 9/11 attacks. That day, that morning, apparently, Condoleezza Rice was getting ready to make a policy speech about threats to the U.S. national security, with no mention of Islamic fundamentalism, al Qaeda or Osama bin Laden. Trying to figure out what this means today, Suzanne Malveaux, excerpts from that speech now, and live from the White House.
And what do we know, Suzanne, about the contents that were expected that day? Good morning.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Well, want to emphasize, first of all, that these are excerpts only. It is not the entire speech. But these excerpts have been confirmed by administration officials saying that, yes, they are accurate.
Dr. Rice was to go to Johns Hopkins University on September 11 and deliver a speech. From what we have seen, it is a broad look at the administration's efforts to combat terrorism.
They talk about the need to coordinate efforts in protecting the homeland against weapons of mass destruction. They talk about missiles, car bombs, suitcase bombs, all kinds of ways that they believe that these weapons of mass destruction could be delivered. The focus being on the need to strengthen the missile defense system -- Bill.
HEMMER: Suzanne, we know during that election campaign of 2000, missile defense was a corner stone for President Bush's -- really when he went to the heart of national security, that was his topic. But what are they saying now to defend themselves as to why Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda elements were not mentioned that day or expected?
MALVEAUX: Well, Bill, White House officials are quite angry about this. They really don't believe it's a story, because, essentially -- I have spoken to a number of those on the National Security Council who say it really doesn't matter what this speech said. It's a matter of what actually happened, what type of action that they took.
One official saying that this is the first foreign policy directive this administration carried out, was a directed against eliminating al Qaeda. Another official saying that the man who was in charge of security -- they bring up Richard Clarke, on September 11 -- was making a speech on computer security as one of the planes went through the world towers.
This is something the administration doesn't understand. They're emphasizing that it's about action, it is not necessarily about one particular speech at one time.
They also say, when asked why her speech changed dramatically when she gave that speech to Johns Hopkins about a year afterwards -- it was dramatically different -- they said, well, 9/11 changed everything. It changed the equation.
HEMMER: Interesting point. Suzanne, thanks for that. Still waiting word on the time and date for that testimony, too, for Condoleezza Rice. Thanks.
Heidi? COLLINS: Some of the Pentagon's most sophisticated weapons systems are now deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the latest technology designed to keep more Americans out of harms way is being developed by some of the nation's largest defense contractors.
And joining us now with details is Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.
Barbara, good morning to you.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Heidi.
Well, the latest technology, indeed. An experimental, unmanned warplane is being tested right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice over): A perfect day for flying earlier this month in the California desert. The experimental X-45A drops a 250-pound bomb.
Just one thing. There is no cockpit; there is no pilot on board. Ground stage operators are miles away. This is the first time an unmanned warplane has dropped a weapon. This is the future of warfare.
The Pentagon is testing unmanned warplanes, hoping to make them part of the U.S. arsenal. For the first night of the war in Iraq, it would have been the ultimate stealthy weapon, flying toward Iraqi raiders and missiles without risking a U.S. air crew.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can spot that threat before he spots us.
STARR: These unmanned aircraft will be able to fly at 40,000 feet and at the speed of commercial airplanes. More capable than current drones.
Fleets of unmanned airplanes will move across enemy air space. Some conducting surveillance through onboard cameras, some dropping bombs. But questions of ethics. Even with a human operator able to see the target through onboard sensors, should what is essentially a flying computer be used to attack?
MICHAEL O'HANLON, SENIOR FELLOW, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: You can imagine an unmanned vehicle correctly finding a target. But then maybe a train passes by that target at just that minute with a lot of women and children on board.
STARR: The Pentagon says there are limitations.
MICHAEL FRANCIS, PROGRAM DIRECTOR, DEFNESE ADV. RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY: We still haven't replaced the human computer. The digital computer, as good as it is, can't do some things that we do very well.
(END VIDEOTAPE) STARR: But the next test for this unmanned warplane, Heidi, will come as soon as this weekend.
COLLINS: All right. We'll be looking forward to that.
Barbara, also want to ask you about the latest events in Fallujah. You know, U.S. officials in Baghdad are really talking tough after these incidents. What does that mean? What are you hearing at the Pentagon?
STARR: Well, at this hour, Heidi, a briefing is going on in Baghdad. General Kimmitt, Dan Senor, from the Coalition Provisional Authority, the language this morning very tough.
General Kimmitt has said the U.S. military will move back into Fallujah. The Marines will re-enter the city. He says that it will come at a time and place of the U.S. military's choosing. He says they will capture or kill the people responsible for the horrific attacks yesterday.
And in General Kimmitt's words, he says, "We will pacify Fallujah." So expect to see some serious military action in the hours and days ahead -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr. Thanks so much, Barbara.
HEMMER: About 22 minutes now before the hour, Heidi.
In other news now, the Jayson Williams manslaughter trial about to move now in its final phase. Both sides will deliver closing arguments next week. And the defense resting yesterday after the former star decided not to tell his story in front of the jury.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAYSON WILLIAMS, DEFENDANT: I understand my rights. Under advice of my counsel, I will not testify. I am innocent. I put my trust in god. I have great confidence in this jury.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Now, today, attorney Brian Neary back with us, representing Williams on a gun charge about 10 years ago. He's been with us throughout this case.
Good morning. Welcome back here. What do you think of the move? Are they feeling confident or not about putting Williams out there?
BRIAN NEARY, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think that they believe that they have shown enough reasonable doubt under the state's theory of the case that there's no need for Jayson Williams to actually get up and tell the story.
HEMMER: Because that's one way to think about it. The other way is, hey, if we put him on the stand, we're taking a chance here, and it may cost us.
NEARY: Well, the calculation is always made, do you get more or do you take away from your case by putting someone on the stand. The good part, Jayson would be able to explain what his story was. The bad part might be the explaining of all the things that happened that night, including a possible demonstration with a gun. I don't...
HEMMER: You think that's the biggest concern if you put him on?
NEARY: Well, you also have the possibility of other crimes or other things that they would talk about. But I think they made the calculated decision that the risk was not worth the benefit in putting him on.
HEMMER: Go back to opening statements. Billy Martin all but referred to the fact that he was going put Jayson Williams on the stand, saying, "You will hear from the defendant in this case." The jurors remember that. And if they remember it, does it hurt you in that case?
NEARY: You know, young lawyers are always taught never to promise what you can't deliver. And this might be the Billy Martin exception, the Billy Martin exception to the opening statement rules.
I don't know if they'll remember it; I don't know if they'll hold him to the standard of, you promised that. Because there's been so much in the case. There's been so much information. And the judge is going to remind the jurors, among other things, that the state's got to prove it and that the defendant's absolute right is not to say a word.
HEMMER: Yes. The defense put on five witnesses. The prosecution put on 36. What does that tell you?
NEARY: Well, it tells you that the prosecutor put on everything that they knew about the case. And some of those witnesses, I believe, the defense thinks were very helpful to them, whether it be Gaffney (ph), whether it be some of the other eyewitnesses. Whether it be the people who were at the restaurant, the waitress and the owner who would say that Williams was not drunk.
The five that they brought on did the two key things that the defense needed to do. First, they brought in people to question the credibility of Benoit Benjamin, prosecutor's key witness. Dr. Baden (ph) says that Benjamin couldn't be where he says he was based on principles of science. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) comes in and says that Benoit Benjamin told him something very different.
Then you bring in the experts with regard to the gun malfunction, which is the theory that the gun went off accidentally. So the defense gave the jury the two things that it needs, the credibility against Benoit Benjamin and a plausible theory, a possibility, that the gun malfunctioned.
HEMMER: Now we go to the rebuttal. Prosecution gets the first crack next week. We will see then. Thank you, Brian.
You point?
NEARY: The point is, they're only going bring the gun guy, and then they're going to both have to argue whether or not they have proven their case.
HEMMER: We'll talk to you then. Thanks, Brian.
NEARY: Thanks, Bill.
HEMMER: All right -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Still to come this morning, Jenny from the Block gets back to her roots.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everybody. Breaking news. Major changes to the Dow 30.
Andy Serwer has been talking about this for weeks. And, finally, he gets his wish.
What do we got? Who's in? Who's out?
ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, FORTUNE MAGAZINE: Well, yes. Do you want to talk about the market first? Let's do that quickly.
Dow down a little bit, Nasdaq up a bit. We're going to be trading water today probalby because the big jobs report is tomorrow. Down seven her on the Dow.
Speaking of the Dow, big changes, as you suggested. Three stocks deleted or removed from the Dow Jones industrials and three added. The three companies removed are AT&T -- that was expected at some point.
HEMMER: And you predicted that.
SERWER: That's right. Eastman Kodak also out. And the third one out is International Paper. That's a bit of a surprise. No more paper companies on the Dow.
And added, Verizon, another phone Company. SBC is already on there. That sort of takes AT&T's place. Verizon a much bigger company than AT&T now.
AIG, the giant insurance and financial services company, joining Citigroup and JP Morgan and that group. And then Pfizer would be the third pharmaceutical company after Johnson & Johnson and Merck.
So really interesting. And I'm also very surprised here. I struck out, because I predicted that Federal Express or UPS was going get added, and they weren't. And I know there's going to be some disappointed people at this company. HEMMER: But you called two of the companies that were going to be removed a few weeks ago.
SERWER: Oh, let's be honest. I called two out of the six. That's pretty good at baseball.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: Three is a good hitting average.
HEMMER: You know, it's bad PR for a company to be removed, but it's another indication of the changing economy, too, when we see that lined up.
SERWER: Well, that's right. And those stocks are down, Bill, the ones that were removed. The ones that were added, the stocks are up. And financial services, for instance, a much bigger part of the economy.
HEMMER: I want to squeeze in OPEC, the impact here.
SERWER: Yes. And this is another interesting one.
You know, of course, we've been talking all morning about the production cuts. Guess what? The price of oil is down. And the reason why is because everyone's anticipated this.
People expecting some cheating going on by OPEC members. And so the price of oil slipping below $36.
So everyone's complaining so much about the price of gas. It is high. It's not necessarily the case that it's going to keep going up and up and up.
HEMMER: A converse in logic.
SERWER: Yes.
HEMMER: From 24 hours ago. Thank you, Andy.
SERWER: OK.
HEMMER: Heidi?
COLLINS: Time now for Jack and the Question of the Day.
CAFFERTY: Yes -- 1,100 of you wrote to us on this question about whether the media should show the most graphic images out of Fallujah in Iraq, those desecrated bodies hanging from the bridge. Big-time response.
Vietnam veteran Jim writes: "No. It only encourages the enemy and serve no supportive purpose back home."
Mike in Goldstown, North Carolina: "Why not? People need to see how much the Iraqis love their newfound democracy and how much they love Americans. The people of our democracy believe in well balanced reporting, showing both the good and the bad."
And Tony in Illinois: "Yes, but just make sure that after showing us the images, such as the charred bodies of American civilians hanging from a bridge, you follow it with a clip of President Bush or Mr. Bremer informing us of the great progress being made in Iraq. Keep it balanced."
Again, thank you all for writing. I will take them all home and answer each of them personally sometime in the next week.
HEMMER: You had a very interesting reaction this morning when you saw...
SERWER: Yes. And we saw the New York Times this morning, and I took the newspaper and hid it before my children woke up because it was too graphic.
I mean, we have to report that. It's just a question of how far do you go with the images. That's the real question there.
COLLINS: All right. Thanks so much, guys.
Coming up on CNN, more explosions today in Iraq, while the U.S. vows yesterday's deaths will not go unpunished. Live to Baghdad coming up on "CNN LIVE TODAY" with Daryn Kagan
And AMERICAN MORNING will be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: We've got to run. Same time tomorrow here. Nice of you to spend your day with us -- Andy.
SERWER: Yes, sir.
CAFFERTY: No place I would rather be.
SERWER: Yes. And good to be here, too.
HEMMER: I'm right here with my red neck, white socks and blue ribbon beer. Remember that country song, 1974?
CAFFERTY: I do, as a matter of fact.
COLLLINS: I don't remember it.
SERWER: Put a smile to his face.
HEMMER: It did.
CAVUTO: Good oldies.
HEMMER: I'm telling you.
All right. Here's Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center.
Good morning, Daryn. How are you?
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: You guys have a great day in New York City. We'll get started here in Atlanta.
We are at CNN headquarters. I'm Daryn Kagan. Good morning. We start with the headlines.
A convoy of fuel tankers came under attack today near Baghdad. One truck driver was wounded by the roadside bomb. It was the second such attack in less than an hour on that stretch of highway. An Iraqi civilian was hurt in the first blast. A live report from Baghdad is coming up in just a moment.
On Capitol Hill, a hearing on al Qaeda is under way at this hour in the House, with the Madrid train bombing a prominent focus. Among those testifying, is Jay Coper Black (ph), a senior counterterrorism terrorism official at the State Department. Three suspects in the March 11 train attacks are expected to be arraigned today in Madrid.
In Madison, Wisconsin, so many unanswered questions. That is what a friend of Audrey Seiler says about Seiler's mysterious four-day disappearance. The college sophomore was found alive and in fairly good shape yesterday. A live update on that investigation is just ahead as well.
And badly wounded soldier Jessica Lynch...
