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CNN Live At Daybreak
Previewing Tonight's Vice Presidential Debate; Latest Developments With Mount Saint Helens
Aired October 05, 2004 - 05:00 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.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
From the CNN Global Headquarters here in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen in for Carol Costello.
Now in the news, two men a breath away from the presidency. It's their first and only campaign debate. Vice presidential candidates John Edwards and Dick Cheney go head to head tonight in Cleveland. The stakes could be high amid a presidential race that seems to be a dead heat.
Meanwhile, Mount Saint Helens doesn't have much company this morning. Authorities have closed off an eight mile radius around the cranky volcano, which has been spewing steam and ash. Scientists warn a larger eruption could be in the works.
This is just a taste of what some people in Colorado saw bearing down on them. There were reports of almost a dozen tornadoes after a string of thunderstorms hit northeast of Denver. No reports of injuries, though.
And let's talk about those tornadoes -- Chad, are more in store today?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Could be. Probably New Mexico. Yes, that one there was only just a couple of miles from, actually, the airport, way out there, Denver International. It used to be Stapleton and then they moved it way out of town, way east of town. It takes you almost an hour to go from downtown to the airport now. And so it really wasn't as close to Denver, maybe, as it looked. But obviously they had pictures of that. That was pretty amazing. That tornado actually was attached to the cloud, even though it looked like it was just a dust devil.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Twenty-eight days to go before the national election and the two men who could be a heartbeat away from the Oval Office are heading for a showdown. Who do you think will do a better job in tonight's vice presidential debate? A CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll taken over the weekend asked more than 1,000 registered and likely voters and it seems they're about evenly split -- 42 percent picked John Edwards, 40 percent Dick Cheney; 15 percent just aren't sure. The poll has an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Well, one thing is for sure, tonight's debate will feature a big contrast in styles.
CNN's senior political correspondent Candy Crowley has a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It may not prove pivotal. It will almost surely be pretty darned interesting. The silver tongued southerner who sugarcoats his attack dog role with a smile and a drawl.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president needs to get out of fantasy land and come back to reality.
CROWLEY: Versus the unflappable westerner who pivots from avuncular to acid without changing tone.
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: John Kerry gives every indication that his repeated efforts to cast and recast and redefine the war on terror.
CROWLEY: Cheney is the elder by a dozen years, the more experienced by decades. Former White House chief of staff, former congressman, former secretary of defense, boardroom big shot of Halliburton in the Clinton years, and, arguably, the most powerful vice president in history. Edwards is a first term senator fresh off a career as a successful personal injury trial lawyer.
EDWARDS: My leadership would come from out here in the real world.
CROWLEY: Edwards hopes to counter Cheney's experience with energy, Cheney's gravitas with the common touch and an ability to move voters in much the same way he surely moved juries.
EDWARDS: Somewhere in America a mother sits at her kitchen table. She can't sleep because she's worried. She can't pay her bills.
CROWLEY: Edwards was named "People" magazine's sexiest politician. Cheney was not, duly noted with a humor that reinforced the experience gap.
CHENEY: Senator Edwards -- I shouldn't call him John, I don't know him that well -- but Senator Edwards, of course, it is alleged got his job because he's charming, sexy, good looking and has great hair. I said, how do you think I got the job? Why do they laugh when I say that?
CROWLEY: Cheney and Edwards arrive at the debate with polar opposite challenges. For all his gravitas, Cheney needs to guard against being too dark.
CHENEY: Because if we make the wrong choice then the danger is that we'll get hit again.
CROWLEY: And for all his charm, Edwards cannot be seen as too light.
EDWARDS: I've come to the conclusion that what George Bush really believes is he believes that he's like Ken Lay and America's his Enron.
CROWLEY: Now, about vice presidential debates...
SEN. LLOYD BENTSEN (D), FORMER VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.
CROWLEY: Lloyd Bentsen cleaned Dan Quayle's clock that night in October of '88. A month later Quayle was elected vice president of the United States.
In fact, no paragraph in history tells of a vice presidential debate turning an election. Still, history books are made for asterisks and campaigns are measured by daily ups and downs. A strong Cheney performance could put a placeholder in the polls until President Bush can redeem himself from a less than stellar first debate and a good showing from John Edwards would put more wind behind John Kerry.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Cleveland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: So, we're asking you this morning who's your choice for vice president and why is he the better man?
That takes us to our e-mail Question of the Day. Why do you think your V.P. choice will win the debate?
Drop us a line at daybreak@cnn.com.
It could be a sign of what the nation might see in less than a month from now. Election officials report long lines as voter registration deadlines fell Monday in more than a dozen states. People in Illinois and New Mexico face deadlines today to register. Meantime, Florida officials say they've been flooded with registration forms. And this newly registered voter says she can't wait to cast her ballot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's very important to vote. I want my vote to count. Florida is a swing state. I just moved from Texas and I'm real excited that I get to vote in Florida.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Officials are also busy in Ohio, the site of tonight's V.P. debate. Election boards in Cleveland and Cincinnati have already processed twice the number of registrations as they did in 2000.
Well, the rumbling continues in the Northwest. Two more venting episodes at Mount Saint Helens have scientists bracing for what seems like what is inevitable.
CNN's Miguel Marquez has more on the ice and fire that could spell the violent return of the volcano.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Blowing off some steam, magma deep below Mount St. Helens continues pushing skyward. The only question, when it hits the surface, how big will it be?
TOM PIERSON, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: What we're expecting is a blast of ash that will rise quickly up in the air tens of thousands of feet, form a column, an ash column, and then a big expanding ash cloud that will then drift with the wind.
MARQUEZ: Geologists believe the molten rock is new magma from deep down. They believe it's now a half mile, maybe closer, to the surface. They say it is rich in super compressed carbon dioxide gas bubbles, and when the cork pops, it could be explosive.
PIERSON: Then if you do that with, you know, billions and billions and billions of bubbles, all at once you form enough -- the equivalent energy of nuclear bombs.
MARQUEZ: Geologists say they know what's happening beneath the surface based on what they see above. The dome of the volcano is now deforming, or growing, by the tens, maybe hundreds of feet. Surrounding it, a glacier, 80 million cubic meters of water and ice.
PIERSON: Well, the amount of magma coming could easily melt a lot of ice up there.
MARQUEZ: If and when the mountain blows its top, it's going to have plenty of company. Rob and Colleen (ph) Grant cut their beach vacation short and aren't going home until they see the lava flow.
ROB GRANT, TORNADO WATCHER: We have to call the kids and say it will be a few more days. I don't think they'll mind.
MARQUEZ: Geologists don't believe there will be enough magma or enough heat to melt enough glacier ice to cause severe flooding. But they also say it's a volcano. It can do whatever it wants.
Miguel Marquez, CNN, near Mount Saint Helens, Washington.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
NGUYEN: News across America now.
Federal investigators are trying to determine what happened when an experienced pilot plunged into the ground. Check out this video. It happened during a weekend air show in New Mexico. Hundreds of people watched as the stunt plane failed to pull up. The pilot was killed.
A Maryland man is in jail after workers at his home found a huge amount of child pornography. Prosecutors seized enough videotapes n photographs to fill almost two dozen boxes. Robert Medvee, seen here, is facing 96 child pornography charges. The workers were fixing the house after it had been hit by a tornado which was spawned by hurricane Ivan.
Was Scott Peterson trying to hide? Prosecutors presented witnesses who talk about changes Peterson made shortly before his arrest. That included dying his hair blonde and buying a used Mercedes under his mother's name. Peterson's defense says he was just trying to evade the media. Meanwhile, a booming business is being done outside the Santa Maria, California courtroom. Several different T-shirt designs have been popping up during the 19 weeks of the trial.
Martha Stewart says she is accustomed to working hard. But is she ready for work in a prison? We'll tell you how she's spending her last few days of freedom in about five minutes.
Before America heads to the polls, Afghanistan is holding its own presidential election. How one candidate stands out from all the rest at 32 after the hour.
Then, curses, cloning and stem cell research -- is there something written into a California proposal that voters don't know about? We'll try and crack the code on the controversy. That's at 45 after.
But right now, here's a look at what else is making news this Tuesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
NGUYEN: Your news, money, weather and sports.
The time right now is 5:13 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
John Edwards and Dick Cheney square off tonight in the first and only vice presidential debate before the November election. CNN will have live coverage beginning at 7:00 Eastern and plenty more on the debate throughout DAYBREAK this morning.
A successful flight for Space Ship One. The experimental craft managed its second trip into space in the past week, to claim the $10 million X Prize. The prize was offered to promote commercial space flight.
Now to money, country star Reba McEntire is joining Jennifer Lopez and Olsen twins as celebrities with their own clothing lines. The Reba Collection is being developed by Dillard's Department Stores for sale in their 147 locations.
In culture, the government wants you to go digital. The FCC is launching a nationwide campaign to tout the advantages of digital television. Congress set a December 2006 deadline for all broadcasters to send a digital signal. But consumers will need a high definition television to see those signals.
And in sports, the Kansas City Chiefs finally won a game. Running back Priest Holmes rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Chiefs to a 27-24 win over the Baltimore Ravens. Priest Holmes, a former U.T. Longhorn, one of my guys -- Chad.
MYERS: I'll tell you what, though. You know, I watched a game a little bit last night. But you've got to be excited about major league baseball starting tonight -- Dodgers, Cardinals, Twins, Yankees, we're going to be all over that tomorrow.
So, hey, good morning everybody.
Good morning, Betty.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Martha Stewart is due to begin serving her five month sentence at a West Virginia prison on Friday. But she hasn't let the impending jail time slow her down.
CNN's Allan Chernoff takes a look at Stewart's new home and her plans for a final night of freedom.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS (voice-over): Martha Stewart on the beach this past weekend, in the Bahamas for the wedding of her friend and publicity adviser Susan Magrino. Stewart was at the exclusive Ocean Club, where beachfront suites cost $1,450 a night, including tax.
By Friday, Martha Stewart will be sharing a cubicle like this at the federal prison in Alderson, West Virginia. Ms. Stewart can expect nighttime visits from prison guards.
Claire Hanrahan is a former inmate.
CLAIRE HANRAHAN, FORMER INMATE: If you pull the sheet over yourself at night just to give yourself some sense of boundaries, the prison guards are allowed, they say we must see flesh, ladies, when they do their midnight counts. So you could expect, and several times I was awakened in the night with a guard pulling the sheet off of me.
CHERNOFF: A tough transition from a bathing suit to prison khakis and working for $0.12 an hour. Martha Stewart is to serve a five month term at Alderson for having lied to federal investigators about her sale of stock in a biotech company. Ms. Stewart decided to serve her sentence even as her lawyers appeal her conviction.
MARTHA STEWART: And I'll be back. I will be back. Whatever I have to do in the next few months, I hope the months go by quickly. I'm used to all kinds of hard work. CHERNOFF (on camera): Martha Stewart will have a final opportunity to enjoy high living before giving up her freedom. Her friend Susan Magrino is renting out the Four Seasons Restaurant Thursday night to celebrate her marriage. Cocktails are at 7:00. That would still give Martha Stewart enough time to meet her court ordered deadline to report to prison by 2:00 the next day.
Allan Chernoff, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Shaquille O'Neal goes on the defensive and has some blistering words for former teammate Kobe Bryant. We'll hear his answer to the million dollar question. That's ahead.
And our e-mail Question of the Day. Why do you think your vice presidential choice will win the debate? E-mail us at the address on your screen. It is daybreak@cnn.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Last week's Bush-Kerry debate is apparently providing unlimited material for comedians. In our look at late night laughs, here's David Letterman taking a jab at President Bush.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, COURTESY CBS/WORLDWIDE PANTS)
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST: Experts are saying if this had been a game show, Bush would have gone home with a handshake and a quart of motor oil. I enjoyed the debates. I watched with mom, and it was funny, mom did a vodka shot every time somebody said mixed message.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Can you imagine what they're going to say tonight after the vice presidential debate?
MYERS: You know, I don't know what that debate is going to be like.
NGUYEN: I think it's going to be a heated one.
MYERS: It could be a lot of fun. It might be.
NGUYEN: Yes, it's going to be exciting, very interesting.
MYERS: There will probably be higher ratings than the last one.
NGUYEN: I'm looking forward to it.
All right, thank you, Chad.
Well, time now for our DAYBREAK "Eye Opener."
Now, this may sound more like the latest Disney film, but in Britain one mutt got the best of the dog catcher. Check it out. And it was all caught on tape. The dog managed to escape his cage at a London shelter and quite literally let the dogs out. Then the pooches pilfered food from the kitchen, of course, before being caught the next morning. Didn't they know to run? The ringleader is now being housed in a more secure cage. Look at that. That's what dogs do, though.
In Atlantic City, New Jersey, a concert of bings, beeps and buzzers as the finals of the world's biggest slot tournament was played. A 34-year-old from New Orleans walked away with the million dollar first prize. Around 6,000 players took part in slot tournaments across the country in an effort to make these finals. The million dollar prize is paid out over 20 years.
Big slot player, Chad?
MYERS: No.
NGUYEN: No? I don't like it either.
MYERS: They just take your money.
NGUYEN: Yes, exactly. You just throw it in.
The Shaq and Kobe -- that feud may be dying down just a little bit. Bryant is no longer talking about their time together and refused to answer questions about his comments to Colorado police. Now, Bryant had told investigators that O'Neal paid several women to keep quiet. But during a media day for the Miami Heat, Shaq called Kobe a joke and told reporters that he knew all about the story all along.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHAQUILLE O'NEAL: I'll just tell you what type of person I am. I knew that he did that during the whole season, but did I say anything about it the whole season? No. That tells you what type of guy I am and it tells you what type of guy he is.
QUESTION: You knew that during the season?
O'NEAL: Come on, man, I know the day he did it. I know the day he did it. But did I say anything? No. Because I'm, OK, I'm cool with it. When people get in trouble, you know, you know what type of people they are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: O'Neal makes his first trip back to L.A. to meet the Lakers on Christmas Day and no doubt that game sold out in just five minutes.
MYERS: Is that right? Well, there you go.
NGUYEN: People want to see them duke it out.
MYERS: It sells tickets, I guess.
NGUYEN: Absolutely.
All right, here's what's all new in the next half hour.
They're the critical backups to this presidential campaign. When it comes to demeanor, Dick Cheney and John Edwards come off as polar opposites. In 30 minutes, we'll show you why opposites don't seem to attract.
This is DAYBREAK for Tuesday.
And CNN is live in Cleveland as Dick Cheney and John Edwards square off for the second in command title. Anderson Cooper, Paula Zahn, Wolf Blitzer and CNN's election team kick off our primetime coverage. That's tonight at 7:00 Eastern. And don't forget Friday, the presidential candidates rev up for round two in St. Louis, Missouri.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired October 5, 2004 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
From the CNN Global Headquarters here in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen in for Carol Costello.
Now in the news, two men a breath away from the presidency. It's their first and only campaign debate. Vice presidential candidates John Edwards and Dick Cheney go head to head tonight in Cleveland. The stakes could be high amid a presidential race that seems to be a dead heat.
Meanwhile, Mount Saint Helens doesn't have much company this morning. Authorities have closed off an eight mile radius around the cranky volcano, which has been spewing steam and ash. Scientists warn a larger eruption could be in the works.
This is just a taste of what some people in Colorado saw bearing down on them. There were reports of almost a dozen tornadoes after a string of thunderstorms hit northeast of Denver. No reports of injuries, though.
And let's talk about those tornadoes -- Chad, are more in store today?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Could be. Probably New Mexico. Yes, that one there was only just a couple of miles from, actually, the airport, way out there, Denver International. It used to be Stapleton and then they moved it way out of town, way east of town. It takes you almost an hour to go from downtown to the airport now. And so it really wasn't as close to Denver, maybe, as it looked. But obviously they had pictures of that. That was pretty amazing. That tornado actually was attached to the cloud, even though it looked like it was just a dust devil.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Twenty-eight days to go before the national election and the two men who could be a heartbeat away from the Oval Office are heading for a showdown. Who do you think will do a better job in tonight's vice presidential debate? A CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll taken over the weekend asked more than 1,000 registered and likely voters and it seems they're about evenly split -- 42 percent picked John Edwards, 40 percent Dick Cheney; 15 percent just aren't sure. The poll has an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Well, one thing is for sure, tonight's debate will feature a big contrast in styles.
CNN's senior political correspondent Candy Crowley has a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It may not prove pivotal. It will almost surely be pretty darned interesting. The silver tongued southerner who sugarcoats his attack dog role with a smile and a drawl.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president needs to get out of fantasy land and come back to reality.
CROWLEY: Versus the unflappable westerner who pivots from avuncular to acid without changing tone.
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: John Kerry gives every indication that his repeated efforts to cast and recast and redefine the war on terror.
CROWLEY: Cheney is the elder by a dozen years, the more experienced by decades. Former White House chief of staff, former congressman, former secretary of defense, boardroom big shot of Halliburton in the Clinton years, and, arguably, the most powerful vice president in history. Edwards is a first term senator fresh off a career as a successful personal injury trial lawyer.
EDWARDS: My leadership would come from out here in the real world.
CROWLEY: Edwards hopes to counter Cheney's experience with energy, Cheney's gravitas with the common touch and an ability to move voters in much the same way he surely moved juries.
EDWARDS: Somewhere in America a mother sits at her kitchen table. She can't sleep because she's worried. She can't pay her bills.
CROWLEY: Edwards was named "People" magazine's sexiest politician. Cheney was not, duly noted with a humor that reinforced the experience gap.
CHENEY: Senator Edwards -- I shouldn't call him John, I don't know him that well -- but Senator Edwards, of course, it is alleged got his job because he's charming, sexy, good looking and has great hair. I said, how do you think I got the job? Why do they laugh when I say that?
CROWLEY: Cheney and Edwards arrive at the debate with polar opposite challenges. For all his gravitas, Cheney needs to guard against being too dark.
CHENEY: Because if we make the wrong choice then the danger is that we'll get hit again.
CROWLEY: And for all his charm, Edwards cannot be seen as too light.
EDWARDS: I've come to the conclusion that what George Bush really believes is he believes that he's like Ken Lay and America's his Enron.
CROWLEY: Now, about vice presidential debates...
SEN. LLOYD BENTSEN (D), FORMER VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.
CROWLEY: Lloyd Bentsen cleaned Dan Quayle's clock that night in October of '88. A month later Quayle was elected vice president of the United States.
In fact, no paragraph in history tells of a vice presidential debate turning an election. Still, history books are made for asterisks and campaigns are measured by daily ups and downs. A strong Cheney performance could put a placeholder in the polls until President Bush can redeem himself from a less than stellar first debate and a good showing from John Edwards would put more wind behind John Kerry.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Cleveland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: So, we're asking you this morning who's your choice for vice president and why is he the better man?
That takes us to our e-mail Question of the Day. Why do you think your V.P. choice will win the debate?
Drop us a line at daybreak@cnn.com.
It could be a sign of what the nation might see in less than a month from now. Election officials report long lines as voter registration deadlines fell Monday in more than a dozen states. People in Illinois and New Mexico face deadlines today to register. Meantime, Florida officials say they've been flooded with registration forms. And this newly registered voter says she can't wait to cast her ballot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's very important to vote. I want my vote to count. Florida is a swing state. I just moved from Texas and I'm real excited that I get to vote in Florida.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Officials are also busy in Ohio, the site of tonight's V.P. debate. Election boards in Cleveland and Cincinnati have already processed twice the number of registrations as they did in 2000.
Well, the rumbling continues in the Northwest. Two more venting episodes at Mount Saint Helens have scientists bracing for what seems like what is inevitable.
CNN's Miguel Marquez has more on the ice and fire that could spell the violent return of the volcano.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Blowing off some steam, magma deep below Mount St. Helens continues pushing skyward. The only question, when it hits the surface, how big will it be?
TOM PIERSON, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: What we're expecting is a blast of ash that will rise quickly up in the air tens of thousands of feet, form a column, an ash column, and then a big expanding ash cloud that will then drift with the wind.
MARQUEZ: Geologists believe the molten rock is new magma from deep down. They believe it's now a half mile, maybe closer, to the surface. They say it is rich in super compressed carbon dioxide gas bubbles, and when the cork pops, it could be explosive.
PIERSON: Then if you do that with, you know, billions and billions and billions of bubbles, all at once you form enough -- the equivalent energy of nuclear bombs.
MARQUEZ: Geologists say they know what's happening beneath the surface based on what they see above. The dome of the volcano is now deforming, or growing, by the tens, maybe hundreds of feet. Surrounding it, a glacier, 80 million cubic meters of water and ice.
PIERSON: Well, the amount of magma coming could easily melt a lot of ice up there.
MARQUEZ: If and when the mountain blows its top, it's going to have plenty of company. Rob and Colleen (ph) Grant cut their beach vacation short and aren't going home until they see the lava flow.
ROB GRANT, TORNADO WATCHER: We have to call the kids and say it will be a few more days. I don't think they'll mind.
MARQUEZ: Geologists don't believe there will be enough magma or enough heat to melt enough glacier ice to cause severe flooding. But they also say it's a volcano. It can do whatever it wants.
Miguel Marquez, CNN, near Mount Saint Helens, Washington.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
NGUYEN: News across America now.
Federal investigators are trying to determine what happened when an experienced pilot plunged into the ground. Check out this video. It happened during a weekend air show in New Mexico. Hundreds of people watched as the stunt plane failed to pull up. The pilot was killed.
A Maryland man is in jail after workers at his home found a huge amount of child pornography. Prosecutors seized enough videotapes n photographs to fill almost two dozen boxes. Robert Medvee, seen here, is facing 96 child pornography charges. The workers were fixing the house after it had been hit by a tornado which was spawned by hurricane Ivan.
Was Scott Peterson trying to hide? Prosecutors presented witnesses who talk about changes Peterson made shortly before his arrest. That included dying his hair blonde and buying a used Mercedes under his mother's name. Peterson's defense says he was just trying to evade the media. Meanwhile, a booming business is being done outside the Santa Maria, California courtroom. Several different T-shirt designs have been popping up during the 19 weeks of the trial.
Martha Stewart says she is accustomed to working hard. But is she ready for work in a prison? We'll tell you how she's spending her last few days of freedom in about five minutes.
Before America heads to the polls, Afghanistan is holding its own presidential election. How one candidate stands out from all the rest at 32 after the hour.
Then, curses, cloning and stem cell research -- is there something written into a California proposal that voters don't know about? We'll try and crack the code on the controversy. That's at 45 after.
But right now, here's a look at what else is making news this Tuesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
NGUYEN: Your news, money, weather and sports.
The time right now is 5:13 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
John Edwards and Dick Cheney square off tonight in the first and only vice presidential debate before the November election. CNN will have live coverage beginning at 7:00 Eastern and plenty more on the debate throughout DAYBREAK this morning.
A successful flight for Space Ship One. The experimental craft managed its second trip into space in the past week, to claim the $10 million X Prize. The prize was offered to promote commercial space flight.
Now to money, country star Reba McEntire is joining Jennifer Lopez and Olsen twins as celebrities with their own clothing lines. The Reba Collection is being developed by Dillard's Department Stores for sale in their 147 locations.
In culture, the government wants you to go digital. The FCC is launching a nationwide campaign to tout the advantages of digital television. Congress set a December 2006 deadline for all broadcasters to send a digital signal. But consumers will need a high definition television to see those signals.
And in sports, the Kansas City Chiefs finally won a game. Running back Priest Holmes rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Chiefs to a 27-24 win over the Baltimore Ravens. Priest Holmes, a former U.T. Longhorn, one of my guys -- Chad.
MYERS: I'll tell you what, though. You know, I watched a game a little bit last night. But you've got to be excited about major league baseball starting tonight -- Dodgers, Cardinals, Twins, Yankees, we're going to be all over that tomorrow.
So, hey, good morning everybody.
Good morning, Betty.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Martha Stewart is due to begin serving her five month sentence at a West Virginia prison on Friday. But she hasn't let the impending jail time slow her down.
CNN's Allan Chernoff takes a look at Stewart's new home and her plans for a final night of freedom.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS (voice-over): Martha Stewart on the beach this past weekend, in the Bahamas for the wedding of her friend and publicity adviser Susan Magrino. Stewart was at the exclusive Ocean Club, where beachfront suites cost $1,450 a night, including tax.
By Friday, Martha Stewart will be sharing a cubicle like this at the federal prison in Alderson, West Virginia. Ms. Stewart can expect nighttime visits from prison guards.
Claire Hanrahan is a former inmate.
CLAIRE HANRAHAN, FORMER INMATE: If you pull the sheet over yourself at night just to give yourself some sense of boundaries, the prison guards are allowed, they say we must see flesh, ladies, when they do their midnight counts. So you could expect, and several times I was awakened in the night with a guard pulling the sheet off of me.
CHERNOFF: A tough transition from a bathing suit to prison khakis and working for $0.12 an hour. Martha Stewart is to serve a five month term at Alderson for having lied to federal investigators about her sale of stock in a biotech company. Ms. Stewart decided to serve her sentence even as her lawyers appeal her conviction.
MARTHA STEWART: And I'll be back. I will be back. Whatever I have to do in the next few months, I hope the months go by quickly. I'm used to all kinds of hard work. CHERNOFF (on camera): Martha Stewart will have a final opportunity to enjoy high living before giving up her freedom. Her friend Susan Magrino is renting out the Four Seasons Restaurant Thursday night to celebrate her marriage. Cocktails are at 7:00. That would still give Martha Stewart enough time to meet her court ordered deadline to report to prison by 2:00 the next day.
Allan Chernoff, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Shaquille O'Neal goes on the defensive and has some blistering words for former teammate Kobe Bryant. We'll hear his answer to the million dollar question. That's ahead.
And our e-mail Question of the Day. Why do you think your vice presidential choice will win the debate? E-mail us at the address on your screen. It is daybreak@cnn.com.
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NGUYEN: Last week's Bush-Kerry debate is apparently providing unlimited material for comedians. In our look at late night laughs, here's David Letterman taking a jab at President Bush.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, COURTESY CBS/WORLDWIDE PANTS)
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST: Experts are saying if this had been a game show, Bush would have gone home with a handshake and a quart of motor oil. I enjoyed the debates. I watched with mom, and it was funny, mom did a vodka shot every time somebody said mixed message.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Can you imagine what they're going to say tonight after the vice presidential debate?
MYERS: You know, I don't know what that debate is going to be like.
NGUYEN: I think it's going to be a heated one.
MYERS: It could be a lot of fun. It might be.
NGUYEN: Yes, it's going to be exciting, very interesting.
MYERS: There will probably be higher ratings than the last one.
NGUYEN: I'm looking forward to it.
All right, thank you, Chad.
Well, time now for our DAYBREAK "Eye Opener."
Now, this may sound more like the latest Disney film, but in Britain one mutt got the best of the dog catcher. Check it out. And it was all caught on tape. The dog managed to escape his cage at a London shelter and quite literally let the dogs out. Then the pooches pilfered food from the kitchen, of course, before being caught the next morning. Didn't they know to run? The ringleader is now being housed in a more secure cage. Look at that. That's what dogs do, though.
In Atlantic City, New Jersey, a concert of bings, beeps and buzzers as the finals of the world's biggest slot tournament was played. A 34-year-old from New Orleans walked away with the million dollar first prize. Around 6,000 players took part in slot tournaments across the country in an effort to make these finals. The million dollar prize is paid out over 20 years.
Big slot player, Chad?
MYERS: No.
NGUYEN: No? I don't like it either.
MYERS: They just take your money.
NGUYEN: Yes, exactly. You just throw it in.
The Shaq and Kobe -- that feud may be dying down just a little bit. Bryant is no longer talking about their time together and refused to answer questions about his comments to Colorado police. Now, Bryant had told investigators that O'Neal paid several women to keep quiet. But during a media day for the Miami Heat, Shaq called Kobe a joke and told reporters that he knew all about the story all along.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHAQUILLE O'NEAL: I'll just tell you what type of person I am. I knew that he did that during the whole season, but did I say anything about it the whole season? No. That tells you what type of guy I am and it tells you what type of guy he is.
QUESTION: You knew that during the season?
O'NEAL: Come on, man, I know the day he did it. I know the day he did it. But did I say anything? No. Because I'm, OK, I'm cool with it. When people get in trouble, you know, you know what type of people they are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: O'Neal makes his first trip back to L.A. to meet the Lakers on Christmas Day and no doubt that game sold out in just five minutes.
MYERS: Is that right? Well, there you go.
NGUYEN: People want to see them duke it out.
MYERS: It sells tickets, I guess.
NGUYEN: Absolutely.
All right, here's what's all new in the next half hour.
They're the critical backups to this presidential campaign. When it comes to demeanor, Dick Cheney and John Edwards come off as polar opposites. In 30 minutes, we'll show you why opposites don't seem to attract.
This is DAYBREAK for Tuesday.
And CNN is live in Cleveland as Dick Cheney and John Edwards square off for the second in command title. Anderson Cooper, Paula Zahn, Wolf Blitzer and CNN's election team kick off our primetime coverage. That's tonight at 7:00 Eastern. And don't forget Friday, the presidential candidates rev up for round two in St. Louis, Missouri.
We'll be right back.
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