Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Media Cannot Reveal Accidental Bryant Transcripts; Scott Peterson Trial; Interview With Todd Hamilton

Aired July 20, 2004 - 07:30   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.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We'll look at what led to that.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also, the jury in the Scott Peterson trial is considering new alibi questions, but not the alibi for Scott Peterson. We'll look at questions that are coming up now about registered sex offenders in that case.

COLLINS: Also a little later, we'll talk to Todd Hamilton, who came out of nowhere this weekend to win the British Open. Probably not to him, he came out of nowhere, but it was a long road for him to get there. So, we're going to talk to him all about it with him. Look at that little jump he does right there.

HEMMER: He's going to be sitting right over there, right?

COLLINS: Yes, he is.

HEMMER: And he's always like this, isn't he?

COLLINS: He's very even-keeled.

HEMMER: Just so cool.

COLLINS: That's true.

HEMMER: We'll get to Todd Hamilton in a moment.

First from Colorado, the supreme court there has ruled that details from a closed-door hearing in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault matter, which were accidentally e-mailed over the Internet, cannot be released by the media.

Gary Tuchman has more on that story today in Eagle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): By all accounts, the woman who has accused Kobe Bryant of sexual assault is actively avowed to pursuing the case. But shortly after arriving in court on Monday with the accuser's mother and father, her attorney, John Clune, said the 20--year-old had -- quote --- "considered removing herself from this case" when her name was accidentally put on a court Web site last September, and last month when a court employee inadvertently sent reporters confidential transcripts about her sexual past. CRAIG SILVERMAN COLORADO ATTORNEY: It was a remarkable accusation by John Clune, saying it's not those people who have threatened her life, it's not the legal analysts, it's not the media that have caused this woman problems, it's you, your honor, and your court. Your mistakes are the things that have led her to almost drop this case.

TUCHMAN: But the case continues, with the woman receiving welcome legal news regarding those secret transcripts. The Colorado Supreme Court ruling that despite news media charges that it's a prior restraint, the information from the transcripts cannot be reported for now.

Sexual assault advocates were heartened by the 4-3 decision.

CYNTHIA STONE, COLORADO COALITION AGAINST SEXUAL ASSAULT: We need to protect victims of sexual assault from undue embarrassing, humiliating, irrelevant fishing expeditions into their prior sexual history.

TUCHMAN: Judge Terry Ruckriegle still has to decide how much, if any, of the woman's sexual past will be allowed to be discussed at trial. He also has to decide if it will be televised. One of Kobe Bryant's attorneys argued against cameras in court, saying it would be a -- quote -- "titillating, salacious televised experience."

(on camera): But news media attorneys say it will be responsibly done with a one-hour time delay to edit out any offensive words. It's not known when the judge will make his decision. What we do know from the court is the judge will first make a decision about the relevancy of the woman's sexual past, and that could occur this week.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Eagle Colorado.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: It's week eight of Scott Peterson's double-murder trial, and the defense continues its offensive. Peterson's lead attorney is attacking the investigation, contending the physical evidence is lacking and police work was shoddy.

Gloria Gomez, reporter for Sacramento TV station KOVR, is covering the Peterson trial. She is joining now from the courthouse in Redwood City, California.

Gloria, thanks for being here, as always.

As we were just saying, Mark Geragos is continuing to hammer away at the lack of evidence. Let's first get to Detective Henry Dodge Hendee and the suspicious stains that turned out not to be blood in the truck, also the tool box. How do you think this registered with the jury?

GLORIA GOMEZ, REPORTER, KOVR-TV: I think it was very effective. I mean, yesterday, Mark Geragos, like you said, hammering away at the point that there wasn't any blood found in his truck, none in his tool box, none in the house.

The only blood that was found was the one Scott acknowledged to, and that was during my interview when I asked him was there any anywhere? And he said, yes. In fact, I cut myself in the tool box. So, there should be blood stains on the driver's side door.

Well, sure enough, when detectives actually found that, they tested it. And sure enough, it was Scott Peterson's blood.

So, just showing Mark Geragos to the jury over and over again that there was no forensic evidence found anywhere.

COLLINS: All right. And you also mentioned Geragos, making a case, as we have said, for the shoddy police work. For example, talking about the way he handled Detective Hendee and the pliers with a strand of hair in them -- actually, two strands of hair. What was that exchange like?

GOMEZ: Well, this was a strand of hair found in Scott Peterson's boat. And what it is, it was wrapped around a pair of pliers. Well, when Dodge Hendee collected it, he said that he noticed it was one strand of hair. When they later checked it in the evidence room, he found out that it was two strands of hair.

Mark Geragos questioning him saying, how can one strand of hair magically turn into two strands of hair? And then suggesting to Detective Dodge Hendee that possibly Detective Albro Keeney (ph), one of his favorite targets, that he may have something to do with it. That maybe it was Detective Brocchini, who is one of the lead investigators, maybe he was left alone with the evidence and somehow that one hair turned into two -- implying possibly that Detective Brocchini may have planted evidence.

COLLINS: I'm sure we'll hear more about that.

GOMEZ: Right.

COLLINS: All right, also you reported last night about another line of questioning between Geragos and Detective Hendee regarding a demonstration where what would happen if someone Laci's size was actually thrown out of a boat. But those sort of tests or experiments, if you will, were never done. Any idea why not?

GOMEZ: Well, here's the interesting part. Two weeks ago the jury got to see some pretty amazing demonstrations of a woman Laci's size, pregnant at the time, who fit into the tool box and also in different sections of Scott Peterson's boat. So, Geragos on cross- examination said, I know that you were there during that demonstration. But did they actually put someone in the boat, in the water, to see if someone could be thrown over the boat without it tipping over? Anything like to? And Hendee says, well, not to my knowledge, but I know it can be done.

So, clearly it's showing that the prosecution has not done that experiment, to see if someone could be tossed over the boat without it capsizing. And some speculating, well, why not? Is it because the prosecution is afraid that this experiment will fail, and then they'll have to turn it over to the defense.

COLLINS: And it seems a little bit graphic, too. How is the jury responding to those types of questions?

GOMEZ: Well, when Detective Hendee acknowledged that this experiment had not been done yet to his knowledge, the jury was paying close attention and taking notes at the time. I didn't see any visual reaction from them, like surprise or anything like that. But I did notice they were taking notes during that time. So, obviously they're paying attention to what's being done and what's not being done.

COLLINS: All right. As they should. Gloria Gomez, thanks so much for your time this morning, as always, from KOVR. Thanks -- Bill.

HEMMER: I don't know if you heard about this story or not out of Las Vegas. In a moment here, a well-known singer is no longer welcome at one casino there. It seems a song dedication did not sit very well with the audience, and that's a bit of an understatement.

COLLINS: That's for sure.

And meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon won't be welcome in France anytime soon. We'll tell you about the latest verbal jab thrown between Sharon and Jacques Chirac.

HEMMER: Also, the Cinderella story from the British Open. Todd Hamilton, his wife and the Claret Jug, all here in the studio, still to come this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER BREAK)

HEMMER: French President Jacques Chirac is calling on Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to clarify remarks urging French Jews to leave the country of France. French leaders have called those remarks unacceptable. Mr. Chirac says Mr. Sharon will not be welcome in France until he explains himself. On Sunday, Mr. Sharon told a group of American Jewish leaders that French Jews are under increasing threat from France's large Muslim community and should immigrate to Israel for their safety. That story continues.

Back now with Jack and the "Question of the Day."

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you.

A great story in the "New Yorker." All military personnel can get free cosmetic surgery, including face lifts, nose jobs, breast enlargements, liposuction, all done at the taxpayers' expense. Between 2000 and 2003, Army doctors performed 496 breast enlargements and 1,361 liposuction surgeries. However, for breast enlargements the patients have to supply their own implants. They don't have those apparently.

And Army spokeswoman says they do these procedures -- they do these procedures so the surgeons can have someone to practice on.

The question is: Should the military pay for cosmetic surgery? A lot of really smart-alecky e-mails are coming in here this morning. This is not one of them.

Charlie in Virginia: "The best part of a benefits package that Uncle Sam is offering our voluntary military, it is a very small price to pay for our soldiers placing themselves in harm's way for our country."

And Gary from Waupaca, Wisconsin: "As, a former Navy general surgeon, I can assure you the point of cosmetic surgery is to allow active-duty plastic surgeons to qualify to sit for their board exam in plastic and reconstructive surgery. If they don't get board certified by submitting a certain amount of cases, the media will be all over the military for treating are our fighting men and women with unqualified, non-boarded surgeons. You can't win either way."

Paul in Hellertown, Pennsylvania: "American soldiers daily put their lives and limbs in harm's way, and they do so for an hourly wage that wouldn't impress a Wal-Mart greeter. As a taxpayer I say let them and their families have these benefits and offer them a thank you in the process."

And Tony in Roscoe, Illinois: "If it's cosmetic surgery for Cafferty, by all means, yes."

COLLINS: Yes, maybe new glasses.

CAFFERTY: Well, you know, the glasses broke, but I got through those without the glasses.

COLLINS: You did.

CAFFERTY: It's pretty good. Now I have to go to an eye surgeon, immediately. I'm blind.

COLLINS: All right, Jack, thank you.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

COLLINS: Still to come this morning, Ralph Nader was a thorn in the Democrats' side back in 2000, and it looks like he might be again this year, thanks in part to some Republican help. Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: It is just about 45 minutes past the hour. Time for a look at some of today's other news with Daryn Kagan. Daryn -- good morning.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Heidi, we're going to begin with insurgents in Iraq who have freed a Philippine hostage. Truck driver Angelo de la Cruz has been turned over to the Baghdad embassy of the United Arab Emirates. The release comes a day after Philippine troops completed troops completed their withdrawal from Iraq. Yesterday, insurgents freed an Egyptian truck driver after a Saudi company agreed to end its business in Iraq.

Former President Clinton's national security adviser could face criminal charges. Sandy Berger is the subject of a federal investigation after admitting he removed documents from an archive screening room. Berger took the papers while preparing to testify before the 9/11 commission. Berger says he has returned almost all of the missing documents.

A Senate Intelligence Committee hearing today will look into establishing a director of national intelligence. Such a position is expected to be one of the recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission. President Bush is staying mum on the creation of that new post. He says he'll comment after seeing the report, which is expected, by the way, on Thursday.

Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader will stay on the ballot in Michigan. Nader said yesterday he would not withdraw even though Republicans are largely responsible for keeping his campaign afloat in that state. The GOP has collected thousands of signatures needed to get Nader's name on that state's November ballot.

And finally, the president of Las Vegas' Aladdin Casino says as long as he is at that post, singer Linda Ronstadt will never play there again. Ronstadt was fired on Saturday after praising filmmaker Michael Moore and encouraging her audience to go see Moore's film, "Fahrenheit 9/11." Some in the audience booed. They stormed out. They even ripped down posters of the singer. Ronstadt was escorted off the property.

And just a bit of trivia for you up there in New York. She actually dedicated a song to Michael Moore. That song: "Desperado." So, file that one away.

COLLINS: I'm filing it away.

KAGAN: OK.

COLLINS: All right, Daryn, thanks so much. We'll talk again soon.

Investors are getting pumped up about one biotech stock. With that and a market preview, Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business" this morning. She's in for Andy Serwer.

So, this is exciting.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS: It is exciting. It's not exciting for the overall market, though.

COLLINS: No.

ROMANS: I have to point out that the Dow is...

COLLINS: No. ROMANS: Yes. The drug is exciting. The overall market, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is trekking down back toward 10,000. Another couple days like yesterday and we will be there before too long.

You've got a couple of problems. Oil is nearing $42 a barrel. Gas prices are up two weeks in a row. Consumers are paying 1.93 a gallon for gas. You know, and that that can tap them out a little bit. Earnings and Mr. Greenspan today.

But an exciting stock yesterday, NitroMed. Now, Dr. Sanjay Gupta is going to tell you the nuts and bolts of this later on. Look at this one. It was up 73 percent yesterday. It's a really small biotech company that makes a drug walled BiDil. It's an experimental heart drug. And in a trial, it showed great progress for black heart patients. It stopped the trial and gave it to all of the control group, all 1,000 people, because it showed such promise so quickly that they didn't want to deny it to anybody.

So, that obviously is something that made investors go crazy.

COLLINS: It's huge.

ROMANS: And investors hope that can be on the market by maybe early next year. But NitroMed shares in an overall stuck market really rallied sharply. We'll watch today and see if it can follow through, or if there might have been a little too much hype in it yesterday. We'll see.

COLLINS: All right. We will watch that indeed. And, again, Sanjay will be telling us actually what it does in just a little bit.

ROMANS: Absolutely. And how it works, which I can't tell you.

COLLINS: That's OK. You're just the money kid.

ROMANS: There you go. Exactly.

COLLINS: Thanks, Christine.

HEMMER: Time to buy stock in this guy. Todd Hamilton says he used to feel like he never belonged in the PGA. Well, he does now certainly. We'll talk to the champ after the break on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: For years, he toiled as a pro golfer in the Far East, but in just a matter of days Todd Hamilton went from obscurity to international celebrity by winning the British Open. The 38-year-old Hamilton stunned the golf world and perhaps himself with his victory last weekend in Scotland in a playoff to claim one of golf's four major championships. Nice job!

Todd Hamilton, now the pride of Oquawka, Illinois, joins us with his wife, Jacque.

Thanks for being here, guys. And this is a nice little trophy you got there, the Claret Jug. Look at that thing.

TODD HAMILTON, 2004 BRITISH OPEN CHAMP: This is it. I get it for one year. I think there's two or three of them. One stays in St. Andrew's, but they give the winner the opportunity to carry it around for one year.

COLLINS: Do you sleep with it at night?

T. HAMILTON: No. I doubt if I'll do that.

COLLINS: Well, it has been, you know, just like 48 hours since you actually won. We just saw the footage there. How are you feeling now? I mean, I'm assuming maybe it's settled in a little bit.

T. HAMILTON: It really hasn't. I still -- I'm trying to pinch myself to get over the feeling that, hey, you've done something kind of special here. I think when I get home and see my friends and play golf with my friends, I think then it will start to set in.

COLLINS: You know, a lot of the analysts -- and just as I watched myself -- you were so calm and cool and collected. I mean, you never lost your composure. And I know you have a lot of experience that maybe American golfers haven't had a chance to watch so much being with the Asian Tour. But you actually describe yourself as kind of a nervous guy.

T. HAMILTON: Yes, I'm kind of odd. When I should be nervous I'm not. And when I shouldn't be nervous I am. It doesn't make any sense. I had the same feeling. I won a tournament in March at the Honda Classic in Florida, and I had a very calm feeling that whatever I did, whether I won by five or whether I won by one shot, it was just going to be enough. And I had the same feeling last Sunday.

COLLINS: All right. Well, I know that you call the type of golf that you played, at least throughout this tournament, ugly golf. We're talking about the bump-and-run, which a lot of people don't use so often in these tournaments. But this became incredibly important to you throughout this tournament. Tell me why. Tell me why you felt confident enough to use that sort of golf.

T. HAMILTON: Well, over here in the States, we don't get the chance to really play a lot of low, running shots. The ground over here is very soft, whereas in Scotland it was very hard and firm. With the wind over there, you're better off hitting a low running shot. Most of the times here in the U.S. we just naturally take out our sand wedge or lob wedge and try to loft it as high as we can and get it as close as we can. But in Scotland, England, you have to use a lot of imagination. And that was a shot I actually practiced quite a bit over there.

COLLINS: What about the whole drive for show, put for dough? I mean, for you it's kind of like, chip for dough, right?

T. HAMILTON: Yes. The short game is probably the best part of my game. I always felt that I didn't hit the ball well. I've improved on that, obviously. But I felt, or I feel that if my short game's good and my ball striking is not, I can still compete.

COLLINS: All right. Interesting.

Jacque, I want to get to you quickly. What has this been like? I mean, like, you have been with Todd throughout this entire thing. You guys were high school sweethearts. And now here he sits with this amazing trophy in his lap, finally. What are your thoughts?

JACQUE HAMILTON, TODD HAMILTON'S WIFE: It's amazing, but we always knew he could do it, and it was just a matter of time. But it's been wonderful. But we still -- we can't believe it's real.

COLLINS: You can't believe it's real. And what do the kids say? I know you guys have three kids. And dad has been gone a lot playing on the Asian Tour. I'm sure that's been pretty tough, too.

J. HAMILTON: Yes. They have enjoyed traveling, I think, this year. But they don't really comprehend it quite yet.

COLLINS: How big of a deal it really is.

J. HAMILTON: Right, right. Tonight it will be nice to be at the baseball game.

COLLINS: I want to ask you later off-camera about the putter that I know you have in your bag that's actually a used putter, very old. I'm excited to learn about that.

HEMMER: Do you let people hold that thing?

T. HAMILTON: Sure. I'll get it for you or you can have it for as long as you want.

HEMMER: Yes? That is beautiful.

COLLINS: As long as you want.

HEMMER: Yes. Thank you! On 18, when you bogeyed, did you think you were done?

T. HAMILTON: No. But I knew that it was going to be a tough challenge, the four holes. I was kind of glad that it was actually four holes instead of one.

HEMMER: Why?

T. HAMILTON: Because maybe I was feeling a little bit down about the way I finished. I had done so well for so long. To lose it, or at least lose the chance of winning it right there because of one bad tee shot was kind of disappointing.

HEMMER: You know, but to think about the golfers who were there on that leader board -- Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson...

COLLINS: Everybody was there.

HEMMER: ... Tiger Woods, everybody was there.

T. HAMILTON: It was truly a championship leader board, and I'm very glad that my name ended up on top of it.

HEMMER: Have you read all of this yet?

T. HAMILTON: I have not. My eyes aren't that good.

HEMMER: Champ. Well done. Jacque, congratulations as well.

COLLINS: Yes, congratulations, you guys.

T. HAMILTON: Thank you.

COLLINS: Thanks for being with us.

T. HAMILTON: Appreciate it.

COLLINS: We do appreciate it. Todd Hamilton, wife, Jacque, thanks again.

HEMMER: OK, travel well.

J. HAMILTON: Thanks.

HEMMER: In a moment here, the many sides of Martha Stewart. We'll talk to someone who's been friend of Stewart for almost 25 years. Find out what kind of toll this latest ordeal has taken now on the domestic diva. Back in a moment here at the top of the hour on AMERICAN MORNING.

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


Aired July 20, 2004 - 07:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We'll look at what led to that.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also, the jury in the Scott Peterson trial is considering new alibi questions, but not the alibi for Scott Peterson. We'll look at questions that are coming up now about registered sex offenders in that case.

COLLINS: Also a little later, we'll talk to Todd Hamilton, who came out of nowhere this weekend to win the British Open. Probably not to him, he came out of nowhere, but it was a long road for him to get there. So, we're going to talk to him all about it with him. Look at that little jump he does right there.

HEMMER: He's going to be sitting right over there, right?

COLLINS: Yes, he is.

HEMMER: And he's always like this, isn't he?

COLLINS: He's very even-keeled.

HEMMER: Just so cool.

COLLINS: That's true.

HEMMER: We'll get to Todd Hamilton in a moment.

First from Colorado, the supreme court there has ruled that details from a closed-door hearing in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault matter, which were accidentally e-mailed over the Internet, cannot be released by the media.

Gary Tuchman has more on that story today in Eagle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): By all accounts, the woman who has accused Kobe Bryant of sexual assault is actively avowed to pursuing the case. But shortly after arriving in court on Monday with the accuser's mother and father, her attorney, John Clune, said the 20--year-old had -- quote --- "considered removing herself from this case" when her name was accidentally put on a court Web site last September, and last month when a court employee inadvertently sent reporters confidential transcripts about her sexual past. CRAIG SILVERMAN COLORADO ATTORNEY: It was a remarkable accusation by John Clune, saying it's not those people who have threatened her life, it's not the legal analysts, it's not the media that have caused this woman problems, it's you, your honor, and your court. Your mistakes are the things that have led her to almost drop this case.

TUCHMAN: But the case continues, with the woman receiving welcome legal news regarding those secret transcripts. The Colorado Supreme Court ruling that despite news media charges that it's a prior restraint, the information from the transcripts cannot be reported for now.

Sexual assault advocates were heartened by the 4-3 decision.

CYNTHIA STONE, COLORADO COALITION AGAINST SEXUAL ASSAULT: We need to protect victims of sexual assault from undue embarrassing, humiliating, irrelevant fishing expeditions into their prior sexual history.

TUCHMAN: Judge Terry Ruckriegle still has to decide how much, if any, of the woman's sexual past will be allowed to be discussed at trial. He also has to decide if it will be televised. One of Kobe Bryant's attorneys argued against cameras in court, saying it would be a -- quote -- "titillating, salacious televised experience."

(on camera): But news media attorneys say it will be responsibly done with a one-hour time delay to edit out any offensive words. It's not known when the judge will make his decision. What we do know from the court is the judge will first make a decision about the relevancy of the woman's sexual past, and that could occur this week.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Eagle Colorado.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: It's week eight of Scott Peterson's double-murder trial, and the defense continues its offensive. Peterson's lead attorney is attacking the investigation, contending the physical evidence is lacking and police work was shoddy.

Gloria Gomez, reporter for Sacramento TV station KOVR, is covering the Peterson trial. She is joining now from the courthouse in Redwood City, California.

Gloria, thanks for being here, as always.

As we were just saying, Mark Geragos is continuing to hammer away at the lack of evidence. Let's first get to Detective Henry Dodge Hendee and the suspicious stains that turned out not to be blood in the truck, also the tool box. How do you think this registered with the jury?

GLORIA GOMEZ, REPORTER, KOVR-TV: I think it was very effective. I mean, yesterday, Mark Geragos, like you said, hammering away at the point that there wasn't any blood found in his truck, none in his tool box, none in the house.

The only blood that was found was the one Scott acknowledged to, and that was during my interview when I asked him was there any anywhere? And he said, yes. In fact, I cut myself in the tool box. So, there should be blood stains on the driver's side door.

Well, sure enough, when detectives actually found that, they tested it. And sure enough, it was Scott Peterson's blood.

So, just showing Mark Geragos to the jury over and over again that there was no forensic evidence found anywhere.

COLLINS: All right. And you also mentioned Geragos, making a case, as we have said, for the shoddy police work. For example, talking about the way he handled Detective Hendee and the pliers with a strand of hair in them -- actually, two strands of hair. What was that exchange like?

GOMEZ: Well, this was a strand of hair found in Scott Peterson's boat. And what it is, it was wrapped around a pair of pliers. Well, when Dodge Hendee collected it, he said that he noticed it was one strand of hair. When they later checked it in the evidence room, he found out that it was two strands of hair.

Mark Geragos questioning him saying, how can one strand of hair magically turn into two strands of hair? And then suggesting to Detective Dodge Hendee that possibly Detective Albro Keeney (ph), one of his favorite targets, that he may have something to do with it. That maybe it was Detective Brocchini, who is one of the lead investigators, maybe he was left alone with the evidence and somehow that one hair turned into two -- implying possibly that Detective Brocchini may have planted evidence.

COLLINS: I'm sure we'll hear more about that.

GOMEZ: Right.

COLLINS: All right, also you reported last night about another line of questioning between Geragos and Detective Hendee regarding a demonstration where what would happen if someone Laci's size was actually thrown out of a boat. But those sort of tests or experiments, if you will, were never done. Any idea why not?

GOMEZ: Well, here's the interesting part. Two weeks ago the jury got to see some pretty amazing demonstrations of a woman Laci's size, pregnant at the time, who fit into the tool box and also in different sections of Scott Peterson's boat. So, Geragos on cross- examination said, I know that you were there during that demonstration. But did they actually put someone in the boat, in the water, to see if someone could be thrown over the boat without it tipping over? Anything like to? And Hendee says, well, not to my knowledge, but I know it can be done.

So, clearly it's showing that the prosecution has not done that experiment, to see if someone could be tossed over the boat without it capsizing. And some speculating, well, why not? Is it because the prosecution is afraid that this experiment will fail, and then they'll have to turn it over to the defense.

COLLINS: And it seems a little bit graphic, too. How is the jury responding to those types of questions?

GOMEZ: Well, when Detective Hendee acknowledged that this experiment had not been done yet to his knowledge, the jury was paying close attention and taking notes at the time. I didn't see any visual reaction from them, like surprise or anything like that. But I did notice they were taking notes during that time. So, obviously they're paying attention to what's being done and what's not being done.

COLLINS: All right. As they should. Gloria Gomez, thanks so much for your time this morning, as always, from KOVR. Thanks -- Bill.

HEMMER: I don't know if you heard about this story or not out of Las Vegas. In a moment here, a well-known singer is no longer welcome at one casino there. It seems a song dedication did not sit very well with the audience, and that's a bit of an understatement.

COLLINS: That's for sure.

And meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon won't be welcome in France anytime soon. We'll tell you about the latest verbal jab thrown between Sharon and Jacques Chirac.

HEMMER: Also, the Cinderella story from the British Open. Todd Hamilton, his wife and the Claret Jug, all here in the studio, still to come this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER BREAK)

HEMMER: French President Jacques Chirac is calling on Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to clarify remarks urging French Jews to leave the country of France. French leaders have called those remarks unacceptable. Mr. Chirac says Mr. Sharon will not be welcome in France until he explains himself. On Sunday, Mr. Sharon told a group of American Jewish leaders that French Jews are under increasing threat from France's large Muslim community and should immigrate to Israel for their safety. That story continues.

Back now with Jack and the "Question of the Day."

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you.

A great story in the "New Yorker." All military personnel can get free cosmetic surgery, including face lifts, nose jobs, breast enlargements, liposuction, all done at the taxpayers' expense. Between 2000 and 2003, Army doctors performed 496 breast enlargements and 1,361 liposuction surgeries. However, for breast enlargements the patients have to supply their own implants. They don't have those apparently.

And Army spokeswoman says they do these procedures -- they do these procedures so the surgeons can have someone to practice on.

The question is: Should the military pay for cosmetic surgery? A lot of really smart-alecky e-mails are coming in here this morning. This is not one of them.

Charlie in Virginia: "The best part of a benefits package that Uncle Sam is offering our voluntary military, it is a very small price to pay for our soldiers placing themselves in harm's way for our country."

And Gary from Waupaca, Wisconsin: "As, a former Navy general surgeon, I can assure you the point of cosmetic surgery is to allow active-duty plastic surgeons to qualify to sit for their board exam in plastic and reconstructive surgery. If they don't get board certified by submitting a certain amount of cases, the media will be all over the military for treating are our fighting men and women with unqualified, non-boarded surgeons. You can't win either way."

Paul in Hellertown, Pennsylvania: "American soldiers daily put their lives and limbs in harm's way, and they do so for an hourly wage that wouldn't impress a Wal-Mart greeter. As a taxpayer I say let them and their families have these benefits and offer them a thank you in the process."

And Tony in Roscoe, Illinois: "If it's cosmetic surgery for Cafferty, by all means, yes."

COLLINS: Yes, maybe new glasses.

CAFFERTY: Well, you know, the glasses broke, but I got through those without the glasses.

COLLINS: You did.

CAFFERTY: It's pretty good. Now I have to go to an eye surgeon, immediately. I'm blind.

COLLINS: All right, Jack, thank you.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

COLLINS: Still to come this morning, Ralph Nader was a thorn in the Democrats' side back in 2000, and it looks like he might be again this year, thanks in part to some Republican help. Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: It is just about 45 minutes past the hour. Time for a look at some of today's other news with Daryn Kagan. Daryn -- good morning.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Heidi, we're going to begin with insurgents in Iraq who have freed a Philippine hostage. Truck driver Angelo de la Cruz has been turned over to the Baghdad embassy of the United Arab Emirates. The release comes a day after Philippine troops completed troops completed their withdrawal from Iraq. Yesterday, insurgents freed an Egyptian truck driver after a Saudi company agreed to end its business in Iraq.

Former President Clinton's national security adviser could face criminal charges. Sandy Berger is the subject of a federal investigation after admitting he removed documents from an archive screening room. Berger took the papers while preparing to testify before the 9/11 commission. Berger says he has returned almost all of the missing documents.

A Senate Intelligence Committee hearing today will look into establishing a director of national intelligence. Such a position is expected to be one of the recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission. President Bush is staying mum on the creation of that new post. He says he'll comment after seeing the report, which is expected, by the way, on Thursday.

Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader will stay on the ballot in Michigan. Nader said yesterday he would not withdraw even though Republicans are largely responsible for keeping his campaign afloat in that state. The GOP has collected thousands of signatures needed to get Nader's name on that state's November ballot.

And finally, the president of Las Vegas' Aladdin Casino says as long as he is at that post, singer Linda Ronstadt will never play there again. Ronstadt was fired on Saturday after praising filmmaker Michael Moore and encouraging her audience to go see Moore's film, "Fahrenheit 9/11." Some in the audience booed. They stormed out. They even ripped down posters of the singer. Ronstadt was escorted off the property.

And just a bit of trivia for you up there in New York. She actually dedicated a song to Michael Moore. That song: "Desperado." So, file that one away.

COLLINS: I'm filing it away.

KAGAN: OK.

COLLINS: All right, Daryn, thanks so much. We'll talk again soon.

Investors are getting pumped up about one biotech stock. With that and a market preview, Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business" this morning. She's in for Andy Serwer.

So, this is exciting.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS: It is exciting. It's not exciting for the overall market, though.

COLLINS: No.

ROMANS: I have to point out that the Dow is...

COLLINS: No. ROMANS: Yes. The drug is exciting. The overall market, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is trekking down back toward 10,000. Another couple days like yesterday and we will be there before too long.

You've got a couple of problems. Oil is nearing $42 a barrel. Gas prices are up two weeks in a row. Consumers are paying 1.93 a gallon for gas. You know, and that that can tap them out a little bit. Earnings and Mr. Greenspan today.

But an exciting stock yesterday, NitroMed. Now, Dr. Sanjay Gupta is going to tell you the nuts and bolts of this later on. Look at this one. It was up 73 percent yesterday. It's a really small biotech company that makes a drug walled BiDil. It's an experimental heart drug. And in a trial, it showed great progress for black heart patients. It stopped the trial and gave it to all of the control group, all 1,000 people, because it showed such promise so quickly that they didn't want to deny it to anybody.

So, that obviously is something that made investors go crazy.

COLLINS: It's huge.

ROMANS: And investors hope that can be on the market by maybe early next year. But NitroMed shares in an overall stuck market really rallied sharply. We'll watch today and see if it can follow through, or if there might have been a little too much hype in it yesterday. We'll see.

COLLINS: All right. We will watch that indeed. And, again, Sanjay will be telling us actually what it does in just a little bit.

ROMANS: Absolutely. And how it works, which I can't tell you.

COLLINS: That's OK. You're just the money kid.

ROMANS: There you go. Exactly.

COLLINS: Thanks, Christine.

HEMMER: Time to buy stock in this guy. Todd Hamilton says he used to feel like he never belonged in the PGA. Well, he does now certainly. We'll talk to the champ after the break on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: For years, he toiled as a pro golfer in the Far East, but in just a matter of days Todd Hamilton went from obscurity to international celebrity by winning the British Open. The 38-year-old Hamilton stunned the golf world and perhaps himself with his victory last weekend in Scotland in a playoff to claim one of golf's four major championships. Nice job!

Todd Hamilton, now the pride of Oquawka, Illinois, joins us with his wife, Jacque.

Thanks for being here, guys. And this is a nice little trophy you got there, the Claret Jug. Look at that thing.

TODD HAMILTON, 2004 BRITISH OPEN CHAMP: This is it. I get it for one year. I think there's two or three of them. One stays in St. Andrew's, but they give the winner the opportunity to carry it around for one year.

COLLINS: Do you sleep with it at night?

T. HAMILTON: No. I doubt if I'll do that.

COLLINS: Well, it has been, you know, just like 48 hours since you actually won. We just saw the footage there. How are you feeling now? I mean, I'm assuming maybe it's settled in a little bit.

T. HAMILTON: It really hasn't. I still -- I'm trying to pinch myself to get over the feeling that, hey, you've done something kind of special here. I think when I get home and see my friends and play golf with my friends, I think then it will start to set in.

COLLINS: You know, a lot of the analysts -- and just as I watched myself -- you were so calm and cool and collected. I mean, you never lost your composure. And I know you have a lot of experience that maybe American golfers haven't had a chance to watch so much being with the Asian Tour. But you actually describe yourself as kind of a nervous guy.

T. HAMILTON: Yes, I'm kind of odd. When I should be nervous I'm not. And when I shouldn't be nervous I am. It doesn't make any sense. I had the same feeling. I won a tournament in March at the Honda Classic in Florida, and I had a very calm feeling that whatever I did, whether I won by five or whether I won by one shot, it was just going to be enough. And I had the same feeling last Sunday.

COLLINS: All right. Well, I know that you call the type of golf that you played, at least throughout this tournament, ugly golf. We're talking about the bump-and-run, which a lot of people don't use so often in these tournaments. But this became incredibly important to you throughout this tournament. Tell me why. Tell me why you felt confident enough to use that sort of golf.

T. HAMILTON: Well, over here in the States, we don't get the chance to really play a lot of low, running shots. The ground over here is very soft, whereas in Scotland it was very hard and firm. With the wind over there, you're better off hitting a low running shot. Most of the times here in the U.S. we just naturally take out our sand wedge or lob wedge and try to loft it as high as we can and get it as close as we can. But in Scotland, England, you have to use a lot of imagination. And that was a shot I actually practiced quite a bit over there.

COLLINS: What about the whole drive for show, put for dough? I mean, for you it's kind of like, chip for dough, right?

T. HAMILTON: Yes. The short game is probably the best part of my game. I always felt that I didn't hit the ball well. I've improved on that, obviously. But I felt, or I feel that if my short game's good and my ball striking is not, I can still compete.

COLLINS: All right. Interesting.

Jacque, I want to get to you quickly. What has this been like? I mean, like, you have been with Todd throughout this entire thing. You guys were high school sweethearts. And now here he sits with this amazing trophy in his lap, finally. What are your thoughts?

JACQUE HAMILTON, TODD HAMILTON'S WIFE: It's amazing, but we always knew he could do it, and it was just a matter of time. But it's been wonderful. But we still -- we can't believe it's real.

COLLINS: You can't believe it's real. And what do the kids say? I know you guys have three kids. And dad has been gone a lot playing on the Asian Tour. I'm sure that's been pretty tough, too.

J. HAMILTON: Yes. They have enjoyed traveling, I think, this year. But they don't really comprehend it quite yet.

COLLINS: How big of a deal it really is.

J. HAMILTON: Right, right. Tonight it will be nice to be at the baseball game.

COLLINS: I want to ask you later off-camera about the putter that I know you have in your bag that's actually a used putter, very old. I'm excited to learn about that.

HEMMER: Do you let people hold that thing?

T. HAMILTON: Sure. I'll get it for you or you can have it for as long as you want.

HEMMER: Yes? That is beautiful.

COLLINS: As long as you want.

HEMMER: Yes. Thank you! On 18, when you bogeyed, did you think you were done?

T. HAMILTON: No. But I knew that it was going to be a tough challenge, the four holes. I was kind of glad that it was actually four holes instead of one.

HEMMER: Why?

T. HAMILTON: Because maybe I was feeling a little bit down about the way I finished. I had done so well for so long. To lose it, or at least lose the chance of winning it right there because of one bad tee shot was kind of disappointing.

HEMMER: You know, but to think about the golfers who were there on that leader board -- Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson...

COLLINS: Everybody was there.

HEMMER: ... Tiger Woods, everybody was there.

T. HAMILTON: It was truly a championship leader board, and I'm very glad that my name ended up on top of it.

HEMMER: Have you read all of this yet?

T. HAMILTON: I have not. My eyes aren't that good.

HEMMER: Champ. Well done. Jacque, congratulations as well.

COLLINS: Yes, congratulations, you guys.

T. HAMILTON: Thank you.

COLLINS: Thanks for being with us.

T. HAMILTON: Appreciate it.

COLLINS: We do appreciate it. Todd Hamilton, wife, Jacque, thanks again.

HEMMER: OK, travel well.

J. HAMILTON: Thanks.

HEMMER: In a moment here, the many sides of Martha Stewart. We'll talk to someone who's been friend of Stewart for almost 25 years. Find out what kind of toll this latest ordeal has taken now on the domestic diva. Back in a moment here at the top of the hour on AMERICAN MORNING.

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