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American Morning
Poison Cake; Update on Michael Jackson Case; '90-Second Pop'
Aired November 19, 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. It's 7:30 here in New York City.
There are new developments in the Michael Jackson matter this morning that we'll talk about in a moment here. We'll talk about the photos seized by police at Jackson's estate. Some of them have been unsealed now by prosecutors. And also there is this pornography producer who is suing Michael Jackson. We'll try and put all of this together with Court TV's Lisa Bloom in a moment here.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: He's got a lot going on legally speaking lately.
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Also, another hearing today for two 13-year-old girls from suburban Atlanta. They are charged with multiple counts of assault with the intent to commit murder. It's all stemming from accusations that they fed classmates a poison cake. A report on that is ahead.
HEMMER: That is a sordid story, too, out of Georgia.
O'BRIEN: Yes, very bizarre. All of that, but first a check of the headlines. Heidi Collins in for us this morning.
Nice to see you.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Nice to see you, too. And nice to see you, everybody.
"Now in the News" this morning.
President Bush heads to Chile today for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit. And the president will spend the weekend arguing for new measures to open world trade. He's also expected to talk about the fight against terrorism.
Meanwhile, anti-globalization demonstrators yesterday clashed with police. Some protesters 200 were reportedly arrested earlier this week.
Signs of a possible peace deal in Sudan. The Sudanese government and rebel officials signed a pledge in front of a special session of the U.N. Security Council, agreeing to work toward formally ending the 21-year-old civil war. It is the first time the warring sides have put a deadline in writing before the Security Council. Palestinian officials say Yasser Arafat's nephew will travel to Paris today to review his uncle's medical records. French doctors have refused to disclose Arafat's cause of death to anyone other than a family member. Arafat's nephew is also the Palestinian representative to the United Nations. Yasser Arafat died in Paris on November 11.
And a journalist in Rhode Island faces up to six months in prison for protecting one of his sources. Reporter Jim Taricani refused a court order to reveal who gave him information about a city official apparently accepting a bribe. A federal judge found Taricani guilty of criminal contempt yesterday. Sentencing is set for next month.
O'BRIEN: It will be very interesting to see what kind of time he gets, if he gets time at all. And that would really make a big difference...
COLLINS: That's right. He made a choice there, didn't he?
O'BRIEN: Yes. All right, Heidi, thanks.
COLLINS: You bet.
O'BRIEN: Two Atlanta-area teenagers will face a judge today on assault charges for allegedly serving poison cake to their classmates.
CNN's Eric Phillips has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIC PHILIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Two 13-year-old girls, their wrists shackled, their futures uncertain, arrested after baking a cake for their seventh grade classmates in Marietta, Georgia, that authorities say was tainted. More than a dozen of the youngsters who ate a piece of the cornbread case Tuesday were rushed to the hospital.
SOON HAM, VICTIM: In the incident, apparently it looks like a normal cake. But when you put it in your mouth, it's really bad.
PHILIPS: The two girls appeared at a preliminary hearing Wednesday and were charged with 12 counts of aggravated assault with intent to murder. Alan (ph), the father of one of the girls, says his daughter had no malicious intent. To her, it was just a joke.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A prank. A bad prank. What more can you call it? It wasn't anybody trying to kill anybody.
PHILIPS: Tests will determine what was put in the cake. But Alan's (ph) daughter has been charged with committing a terrorist act for what she allegedly said was in the cake.
DET. W.A. DELK, COBB COUNTY POLICE DEPT.: One of the defendants, SAD, made an announcement there was bleach in the cake.
PHILIPS: The district attorney says he needs to verify the contents of the cake before he makes a final decision on charges.
PAT HEAD, COBB COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: It could be that it stays serious, or it could be that the analysis of the cake says that there was nothing in there that was that harmful.
PHILIPS: Alan (ph) says his daughter denies putting bleach in the cake, but admits to mixing in glue, and that she's feeling a range of emotions, including remorse. So is he.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fear I might not see my daughter for several years and that my daughter's life could be ruined.
PHILIPS: The girls are being held in juvenile detention. A hearing later today will determine if they'll stay there or be released to their parents.
Eric Philips, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: If the assault charges stick, the girls cannot be tried as adults. Authorities aren't sure when those test results on the cake will be ready -- Bill.
HEMMER: Soledad, prosecutors unsealed never-before-seen pictures of Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch, while one of his former business associates is now suing the pop star for more than $2 million.
Court TV's Lisa Bloom now with me here in New York again.
Good morning to you, Lisa.
LISA BLOOM, COURT TV: Good morning.
HEMMER: A couple things to get to here, first about the photos. We're going to put them on the screen to show our viewers at home. How significant are they? And what do we see in these pictures?
BLOOM: Well, because of the gag order in this case, we've had very few. This is Bradley Miller's office. Now, he was the private investigator, defense sources say, was hired by Mark Geragos. And in a recent ruling, the judge said that items obtained from Bradley Miller's office are admissible.
The real point here from the prosecutor's point of view is that the items were in plain view. As you can see, like in many offices, it's a little messy. There are papers and items lying around. And because they were in plain view, it was appropriate for them to be seized.
This is inside Michael Jackson's home. Michael Jackson, as is commonly known, has a lot of memorabilia. He's got the knight in shining armor. In the right corner at the bottom, there is a statue of a little boy with just a shirt and a hat on. Apparently that's a little boy from "Peter Pan." I think it's Wendy's little brother from "Peter Pan." He has a lot of child-like items, Mickey Mouse statues, things of that nature, in his home.
HEMMER: But is there anything you could use in a court case that you see in those photos?
BLOOM: Probably not. I mean, those were the photos used by police to get through the home, to get the lay of the land essentially.
HEMMER: OK.
BLOOM: But not much more than that.
HEMMER: Let's move on to this business associate. His name is Marc Schaffel, right?
BLOOM: Yes.
HEMMER: Am I saying it the right way?
BLOOM: Schaffel, yes.
HEMMER: What is his story? He's a producer.
BLOOM: Right.
HEMMER: But he's suing Michael Jackson for what?
BLOOM: Well, for $3 million for unpaid loans and a lack of payment on business contracts.
But what's interesting about the case, first of all, this is one of the un-indicted co-conspirators in the criminal case. Prosecutors say this man, along with four others, conspired with Michael Jackson to keep the boy in the molestation case at Neverland. He wouldn't let him leave until the boy made statements favorable to Michael Jackson.
In this case, he paints Jackson as a man really spiraling out of control, with a serious alcohol and drug problem, for example, unable to pay his bills and paying some of his friends to issue public statements of support.
HEMMER: Those are very strong charges.
BLOOM: They are.
HEMMER: Why are we to believe this guy?
BLOOM: Well, that will be played out in the civil case. But this is a man who very was close to Michael Jackson. He's been sued by a number of other business associates, some of them successful. Marcel Alvorem (ph) back in 2002 won a multimillion-dollar judgment against Jackson.
But the idea that Marlon Brando was paid $1 million to publicly support Jackson on camera, Elizabeth Taylor paid $6,000 in jewelry to support Michael Jackson in the molestation case, those are pretty explosive allegations.
HEMMER: You're suggestion, though, is that this witness could help the prosecutors build their case.
BLOOM: Well, absolutely. You know, whenever there's an un- indicted co-conspirator, prosecutors want that witness to flip, to turn on the main defendant, which in this case is Jackson. Is this man working closely with prosecutors at this time? We don't know. But we do know that he's clearly hostile to Jackson by virtue of this case.
HEMMER: When this is all over, could they come back and indict a guy like this?
BLOOM: They absolutely could. And prosecutors say that they intend to, him as well as the four other un-indicted co-conspirators.
HEMMER: So why would he cooperate...
BLOOM: Well, because he may get immunity.
HEMMER: ... if he knows he's going down?
BLOOM: Well, because if he flips and he testifies for the prosecution, he may get immunity. He won't have any criminal problems down the line.
HEMMER: Thanks, Lisa. Have a good weekend, OK?
BLOOM: Thank you. You too.
HEMMER: Court TV's Lisa Bloom with us again today -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: The man who was once known as the snaggle-toothed killer is getting an extreme makeover. Ray Krone was cleared of murder by DNA evidence after 10 years in prison. Well, now "Extreme Makeover" TV show is going to fix the crooked teeth, which were a key piece of evidence against him. Bite marks on the victim were erroneously thought to match Krone's teeth. Krone says that he's hoping a new look will help him start his new life.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: In a moment here, Andy has got a market preview on a Friday, "Minding Your Business." He'll tell us what we need to know.
O'BRIEN: And then a little bit later on, 90-second poppers soak up the SpongeBob -- easy for me to say -- SpongeBob SquarePants movie. Will it put a squeeze on the competition at the box office? A look at that's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everybody. Back to Jack and the "Question of the Day," and a good one, too. JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Bill, says that fresh intelligence suggests Iran is working on a program to arm its missiles with nuclear warheads. "The Washington Post" quotes two U.S. officials, who claim Powell's information is based on one single unvetted source. Iran claims that its nuclear program is all about power plants. If you believe that, call me. I've got some real estate I'll lay off on your at a good price.
Britain, France and Germany are suggesting that diplomacy is the best approach to Iran.
"The New York Times" called this whole thing -- quote -- " an eerie repetition of the prelude to the war in Iraq."
A pretty interesting observation there.
The question is: What should be done about Iran's nuclear weapons program?
Rob in Sarasota says: "It's unfortunate, but the only way to rid Iran of their nuclear desires is to connect the dots: Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq. And while we're at it, we probably ought to go all the way to the Red Sea and take out Syria before they obtain nuclear weapons."
Johnny writes: "If the intelligence should prove to be true, and that's a big if, the United States and George Bush have been granted a valuable, yet undeserved, chance to redeem themselves in the eyes of the world. This time allow the U.N. inspectors to actually complete their job."
Elizabeth in Galloway, New Jersey: "We should finish one war before we start another. We should watch them, but we can't afford to continue fighting everyone. They are already sending men in their 50s to fight in this war" -- the one in Iraq. "Next, it will be little old grandmothers like me."
And finally, Howell in Orin, Missouri: "We should invade Iran, combine it with Iraq, and rename the new country irate. Is you would say, Jack, this part of the world is starting to make my teeth hurt."
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Yes.
CAFFERTY: Amen.
Coming up this weekend on "IN THE MONEY," we invite you to join us. We're going to talk about the surprising ways that guns might be made safer if manufacturers changed their ways. What we're talking about, for example, is guns that have hair triggers, where if you drop them they sometimes will fire even though nobody has intentionally pulled the trigger. A look at safer firearms Saturday at 1:00, Sunday at 3:00, plus a plethora of other meaningful and life-altering topics.
HEMMER: Oh, yes.
CAFFERTY: We'll expect your attendance, and please try to be on time.
HEMMER: Done.
O'BRIEN: Really, life-altering?
CAFFERTY: Yes.
SERWER: Mild-altering, that's what I like to say.
O'BRIEN: Oh, definitely.
SERWER: Mind-altering.
CAFFERTY: It depends on what kind of life you've got.
SERWER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks.
CAFFERTY: Sure.
O'BRIEN: Let's wrap up Wall Street's action and also get a preview of what's going to happen today. Andy Serwer has also got the important NFL picks.
SERWER: The all-important, the mind-altering football picks, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: ""Minding Your Business," good morning.
SERWER: Yes, good morning to you.
Let's talk about the markets. Yesterday, stocks up again. The Dow was up 23 points, you can see here.
Altria was what boosted the market, which is the old Philip Morris, you may remember. That stock has been really moving over the past couple of years.
This morning, Disney should be very active. They announced earnings up over 24 percent. You know, with all of the trouble that Michael Eisner has been in, all of the criticism and all of the fire he's been under, listen to this: Disney stock versus Viacom versus Time Warner versus the stock market over the past one year, two years, five years, Disney wins. One year, two years, five years versus all of those other companies versus the stock market.
CAFFERTY: That is very...
SERWER: It's very surprising.
CAFFERTY: It's depressing.
SERWER: It's very depressing. And it's very -- boom. Yes. that was the sound of Time Warner stock.
OK.
CAFFERTY: All right, Andy.
(CROSSTALK)
SERWER: Let's talk about football, though, because that's not as depressing, especially if you're Soledad O'Brien, the leader of the pack. She's leading in the picks, and I'm there and then Jack -- well, Jack doesn't pick football.
CAFFERTY: How am I doing?
O'BRIEN: He's not that great.
SERWER: Jack stirs the pot on this program, and that's what he does. OK, this week, the Atlanta Falcons versus the New York Giants. New York Giants is going to be starting Eli Manning. I'm picking the Giants. He's the next Ben Roethlisberger. Big Blue is going to do it. Well, Atlanta has got a pretty good defense, so I'm kind of...
HEMMER: In a blue state, too, by the way.
SERWER: Yes. Well yes. OK, the Green Bay Packers versus the Houston Texans. No let down for the Packers.
HEMMER: Yes.
SERWER: They're going four in a row. I'm going for them. And how about the Monday night game? The New England Patriots versus the Kansas City Chiefs. I'm going with the Chiefs even though they've got this Blaylock (ph) guy in for Priest Holmes.
Now, for a promo, I think ABC should get Tom Brady in a towel. And then he could drop it, and Jennifer Garner from "Alias" could -- maybe not. I don't know. Do you think they're going to do that?
O'BRIEN: You know, it worked so well the first time around.
SERWER: It worked so well and we're still talking about it.
O'BRIEN: Maybe not.
CAFFERTY: Did you get a new writer? That's pretty good stuff this morning.
O'BRIEN: I know. Wow!
SERWER: This stuff actually comes in from my own mind-altering, altered mind, Jack. It's hard to imagine.
O'BRIEN: He warmed up all week, so Friday he's really on it.
SERWER: That's it.
O'BRIEN: All right, Andy, thanks.
SERWER: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, Jude Law is the sexiest man alive. That's from "People" magazine. What does "90-Second Pop" have to say about that? It's next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: SpongeBob, you sexy thing! Good morning. "90-Second Pop" on a Friday with our gang of three this morning. Toure is CNN's pop correspondent. Sarah Bernard -- hello. We're still on me.
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: Oh, now you.
O'BRIEN: We just dissed you hard. We just missed you.
TOURE: I know.
O'BRIEN: Let's move on to Sarah Bernard.
SARAH BERNARD, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: Hi.
O'BRIEN: Contributing editor for "New York" magazine. And B.J. Sigesmund, there he is, staff editor for "US Weekly."
Good morning to all of you.
B.J. SIGESMUND, STAFF EDITOR, "US WEEKLY": Good morning.
O'BRIEN: Let's get right to it. And, Sarah, you're going to start. Jude Law.
BERNARD: Let's just look at this first.
O'BRIEN: Shall we?
(CROSSTALK)
BERNARD: Shall we? Yum. There he is. There he is. So, Jude Law is the sexiest man alive.
O'BRIEN: Duh!
BERNARD: Not that surprising...
O'BRIEN: Right.
BERNARD: ... to a lot of people. But I think, you know, some people actually have argued this title. And I think it's just because he is...
O'BRIEN: They're jealous?
BERNARD: Well, they're jealous. But also, the sexiest man alive traditionally has some kind of mystery. Johnny Depp was the sexiest man alive last year. And Jude Law, one problem with Jude Law is that he is everywhere. He had six movies this fall, and he's just kind of saturated the market, even himself.
SIGESMUND: Right. And so far, not one of those movies has actually been a success.
TOURE: Oh, that's (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
SIGESMUND: Although it's not necessarily Jude Law's fault. He was very good in "Alfie." It was the script that was terrible, but...
O'BRIEN: And it does not say best actor man alive.
SIGESMUND: No, no. But, you know...
BERNARD: Just the sexiest.
SIGESMUND: ... for a guy...
BERNARD: No, but that's a good point, because he cannot still open a movie.
TOURE: True.
BERNARD: And open a movie means that even if the movie is terrible, people will see it because you're in it.
SIGESMUND: Right.
BERNARD: And "Alfie" only made 6.2 million.
TOURE: It's interesting because we've talked before about how commitment is in and people break up and lose Q rating and lose image. Jude broke up, got divorced from his wife and child, and still didn't lose...
O'BRIEN: Children, he had I think three.
BERNARD: Three.
TOURE: ... any bit of popularity at all, which is kind of interesting. Somehow he's been able to keep it going.
BERNARD: That's (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
TOURE: Definitely.
SIGESMUND: He's always taken supporting roles, and he was so good in "Cold Mountain" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley."
O'BRIEN: "The Talented Mr. Ripley," he was great.
SIGESMUND: And the most underrated movie in the last two years, "Gattaca," also which I loved. He was so great in that. But it's...
TOURE: That was the most underrated?
SIGESMUND: Yes, it was terrific. O'BRIEN: That's another topic, though.
SIGESMUND: Yes.
O'BRIEN: That's not on my list of things to talk about. And I think we can really say he is the sexiest man alive.
BERNARD: Done, yes.
O'BRIEN: He can open a movie, but he's not that great of an actor. But...
BERNARD: He's cute.
O'BRIEN: He's cute. And that's what we're judging him on today. You go, Jude. We love you.
Moving on, talk about other sexy men alive, B.J.
SIGESMUND: Oh!
O'BRIEN: SpongeBob versus "National Treasure." What's "National Treasure" about, and who's in it?
SIGESMUND: "National Treasure" is a very typical Jerry Bruckheimer movie, starring Nic Cage. They're back to doing what they do best. Nic Cage plays this treasure hunter who becomes convinced that there's a map to riches on the back of the Declaration of Independence. Yes, that very likely story...
O'BRIEN: Isn't that on display somewhere?
SIGESMUND: Yes. So he has to steal it.
O'BRIEN: Oh.
SIGESMUND: And then, you know, find out other bad guys are chasing him and that kind of thing. And the movie is not getting very good reviews.
O'BRIEN: No. How is SpongeBob doing?
SIGESMUND: SpongeBob is probably going to be the No. 1 movie of the weekend, either that or "The Incredibles." It's going to be neck and neck. And SpongeBob, the reviews are much better. This is the big smash series Nickelodeon that's very silly. But you should know that one-third of its audience is adults. Well, that is maybe teenagers and young adults.
BERNARD: The voices, though, they have such interesting people being the voices, like Scarlet Johansson is one of them.
SIGESMUND: Yes, she plays the mermaid.
O'BRIEN: She plays the girl. SIGESMUND: And Alec Baldwin is in it, and David Hasselhoff is in it playing himself. But the star is SpongeBob and Plankton, his archrival, who tries to take over the town of Bikini Bottom through mind control.
BERNARD: Oh, that's (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
O'BRIEN: I'm like, yes, I know all about this. We watch this a lot. OK, I watch it. I have to say though, "The Incredibles" we're not talking about it today really, but that rocked.
TOURE: Go see it again and again and again.
SIGESMUND: Yes, that rocks.
O'BRIEN: That was a great movie.
TOURE: Yes.
O'BRIEN: I would see that again. One hundred best movie clips is getting their own TV show. Do you think that's going to work or not?
TOURE: No, it's movie lines.
O'BRIEN: Movie -- right quotes from movies.
TOURE: Everybody has got that quote that you can spit off.
O'BRIEN: What's your favorite?
TOURE: Say hello to my little friend. And it just ends the conversation. You know exactly what that is about.
BERNARD: People like me say it. What is it from?
TOURE: It's from "Scarface." It's like the key moment.
SIGESMUND: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Oh.
TOURE: Gito (ph) (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the room.
BERNARD: I know, I know.
TOURE: ... with a big huge gun. Say hello to my little friend. It has killed all of the bad guys.
O'BRIEN: How about this one? Accent? What accent? From "Working Girls."
(CROSSTALK)
TOURE: Yes.
BERNARD: Oh!
O'BRIEN: She's like that not on the list, though.
TOURE: It should be.
SIGESMUND: No.
BERNARD: Maybe it is.
TOURE: It should be.
SIGESMUND: My favorite is, I'll have what she's having.
O'BRIEN: Oh, yes.
BERNARD: Oh! From "When Harry Met Sally."
O'BRIEN: So, can it sustain a show, though? I mean...
TOURE: Well, I mean, you know...
O'BRIEN: It's like we've done the show now, and it's only been 30 seconds. We get it.
BERNARD: Oh, that's right.
TOURE: It's just fun to just sort of listen and talk and go back and forth, oh, I remember that, oh, I remember that, and just that key line of dialogue that just -- you know, it just nailed everything down.
SIGESMUND: Sarah, what's yours?
BERNARD: Mine is from "Superman." Remember that line where Lois was falling from a building and he saves her. And he's like, don't worry, Lois, I've got you. And she's like, you've got me? Who's got you?
O'BRIEN: Who's got you?
BERNARD: That was my favorite.
O'BRIEN: But, so is it just going to be -- I mean, are they going to have a panel? I know there's a pick from the...
SIGESMUND: I think five voters -- American Film Institute voters are picking from among 1,500 lines or something...
BERNARD: Right, it's kind of s survey.
SIGESMUND: ... to vote on the best of all times.
O'BRIEN: Yes, but if it's a survey -- look, if people sit around and talk about what that movie meant to them, that's going to...
(CROSSTALK) SIGESMUND: We can't even get 90 seconds out of it.
O'BRIEN: We're done. We're going to end early because we've used it all up. There are going to be a lot more...
(CROSSTALK)
TOURE: We can talk about football or something like the Patriots and the Chiefs.
O'BRIEN: Hey, I'm winning in the picks, have you noticed?
SIGESMUND: Very nice.
BERNARD: That sounds like SpongeBob.
O'BRIEN: My secret weapon is Todd Boneman (ph). He does my picks for me. I love him for it.
SIGESMUND: Cool.
O'BRIEN: You guys, as always, thank you very much.
Bill -- back to you.
HEMMER: You guys could always go back to Jude Law.
O'BRIEN: Do you know what?
HEMMER: I mean, how does he get his hair that way? Have you seen this, Toure? Is he taking lessons from you or what?
TOURE: Not from me. Maybe from beads.
BERNARD: Yes.
SIGESMUND: Yes, yes.
(CROSSTALK)
SIGESMUND: I'm starting to work Jude Law today.
HEMMER: Have a great weekend, guys. We'll get a break here. In a moment, today's top stories, including more on the Vioxx controversy. Some say the FDA had a conflict of interest that kept it from protecting the public. If that's the case, what now? We'll have a look, top of the hour here after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired November 19, 2004 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. It's 7:30 here in New York City.
There are new developments in the Michael Jackson matter this morning that we'll talk about in a moment here. We'll talk about the photos seized by police at Jackson's estate. Some of them have been unsealed now by prosecutors. And also there is this pornography producer who is suing Michael Jackson. We'll try and put all of this together with Court TV's Lisa Bloom in a moment here.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: He's got a lot going on legally speaking lately.
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Also, another hearing today for two 13-year-old girls from suburban Atlanta. They are charged with multiple counts of assault with the intent to commit murder. It's all stemming from accusations that they fed classmates a poison cake. A report on that is ahead.
HEMMER: That is a sordid story, too, out of Georgia.
O'BRIEN: Yes, very bizarre. All of that, but first a check of the headlines. Heidi Collins in for us this morning.
Nice to see you.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Nice to see you, too. And nice to see you, everybody.
"Now in the News" this morning.
President Bush heads to Chile today for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit. And the president will spend the weekend arguing for new measures to open world trade. He's also expected to talk about the fight against terrorism.
Meanwhile, anti-globalization demonstrators yesterday clashed with police. Some protesters 200 were reportedly arrested earlier this week.
Signs of a possible peace deal in Sudan. The Sudanese government and rebel officials signed a pledge in front of a special session of the U.N. Security Council, agreeing to work toward formally ending the 21-year-old civil war. It is the first time the warring sides have put a deadline in writing before the Security Council. Palestinian officials say Yasser Arafat's nephew will travel to Paris today to review his uncle's medical records. French doctors have refused to disclose Arafat's cause of death to anyone other than a family member. Arafat's nephew is also the Palestinian representative to the United Nations. Yasser Arafat died in Paris on November 11.
And a journalist in Rhode Island faces up to six months in prison for protecting one of his sources. Reporter Jim Taricani refused a court order to reveal who gave him information about a city official apparently accepting a bribe. A federal judge found Taricani guilty of criminal contempt yesterday. Sentencing is set for next month.
O'BRIEN: It will be very interesting to see what kind of time he gets, if he gets time at all. And that would really make a big difference...
COLLINS: That's right. He made a choice there, didn't he?
O'BRIEN: Yes. All right, Heidi, thanks.
COLLINS: You bet.
O'BRIEN: Two Atlanta-area teenagers will face a judge today on assault charges for allegedly serving poison cake to their classmates.
CNN's Eric Phillips has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIC PHILIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Two 13-year-old girls, their wrists shackled, their futures uncertain, arrested after baking a cake for their seventh grade classmates in Marietta, Georgia, that authorities say was tainted. More than a dozen of the youngsters who ate a piece of the cornbread case Tuesday were rushed to the hospital.
SOON HAM, VICTIM: In the incident, apparently it looks like a normal cake. But when you put it in your mouth, it's really bad.
PHILIPS: The two girls appeared at a preliminary hearing Wednesday and were charged with 12 counts of aggravated assault with intent to murder. Alan (ph), the father of one of the girls, says his daughter had no malicious intent. To her, it was just a joke.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A prank. A bad prank. What more can you call it? It wasn't anybody trying to kill anybody.
PHILIPS: Tests will determine what was put in the cake. But Alan's (ph) daughter has been charged with committing a terrorist act for what she allegedly said was in the cake.
DET. W.A. DELK, COBB COUNTY POLICE DEPT.: One of the defendants, SAD, made an announcement there was bleach in the cake.
PHILIPS: The district attorney says he needs to verify the contents of the cake before he makes a final decision on charges.
PAT HEAD, COBB COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: It could be that it stays serious, or it could be that the analysis of the cake says that there was nothing in there that was that harmful.
PHILIPS: Alan (ph) says his daughter denies putting bleach in the cake, but admits to mixing in glue, and that she's feeling a range of emotions, including remorse. So is he.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fear I might not see my daughter for several years and that my daughter's life could be ruined.
PHILIPS: The girls are being held in juvenile detention. A hearing later today will determine if they'll stay there or be released to their parents.
Eric Philips, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: If the assault charges stick, the girls cannot be tried as adults. Authorities aren't sure when those test results on the cake will be ready -- Bill.
HEMMER: Soledad, prosecutors unsealed never-before-seen pictures of Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch, while one of his former business associates is now suing the pop star for more than $2 million.
Court TV's Lisa Bloom now with me here in New York again.
Good morning to you, Lisa.
LISA BLOOM, COURT TV: Good morning.
HEMMER: A couple things to get to here, first about the photos. We're going to put them on the screen to show our viewers at home. How significant are they? And what do we see in these pictures?
BLOOM: Well, because of the gag order in this case, we've had very few. This is Bradley Miller's office. Now, he was the private investigator, defense sources say, was hired by Mark Geragos. And in a recent ruling, the judge said that items obtained from Bradley Miller's office are admissible.
The real point here from the prosecutor's point of view is that the items were in plain view. As you can see, like in many offices, it's a little messy. There are papers and items lying around. And because they were in plain view, it was appropriate for them to be seized.
This is inside Michael Jackson's home. Michael Jackson, as is commonly known, has a lot of memorabilia. He's got the knight in shining armor. In the right corner at the bottom, there is a statue of a little boy with just a shirt and a hat on. Apparently that's a little boy from "Peter Pan." I think it's Wendy's little brother from "Peter Pan." He has a lot of child-like items, Mickey Mouse statues, things of that nature, in his home.
HEMMER: But is there anything you could use in a court case that you see in those photos?
BLOOM: Probably not. I mean, those were the photos used by police to get through the home, to get the lay of the land essentially.
HEMMER: OK.
BLOOM: But not much more than that.
HEMMER: Let's move on to this business associate. His name is Marc Schaffel, right?
BLOOM: Yes.
HEMMER: Am I saying it the right way?
BLOOM: Schaffel, yes.
HEMMER: What is his story? He's a producer.
BLOOM: Right.
HEMMER: But he's suing Michael Jackson for what?
BLOOM: Well, for $3 million for unpaid loans and a lack of payment on business contracts.
But what's interesting about the case, first of all, this is one of the un-indicted co-conspirators in the criminal case. Prosecutors say this man, along with four others, conspired with Michael Jackson to keep the boy in the molestation case at Neverland. He wouldn't let him leave until the boy made statements favorable to Michael Jackson.
In this case, he paints Jackson as a man really spiraling out of control, with a serious alcohol and drug problem, for example, unable to pay his bills and paying some of his friends to issue public statements of support.
HEMMER: Those are very strong charges.
BLOOM: They are.
HEMMER: Why are we to believe this guy?
BLOOM: Well, that will be played out in the civil case. But this is a man who very was close to Michael Jackson. He's been sued by a number of other business associates, some of them successful. Marcel Alvorem (ph) back in 2002 won a multimillion-dollar judgment against Jackson.
But the idea that Marlon Brando was paid $1 million to publicly support Jackson on camera, Elizabeth Taylor paid $6,000 in jewelry to support Michael Jackson in the molestation case, those are pretty explosive allegations.
HEMMER: You're suggestion, though, is that this witness could help the prosecutors build their case.
BLOOM: Well, absolutely. You know, whenever there's an un- indicted co-conspirator, prosecutors want that witness to flip, to turn on the main defendant, which in this case is Jackson. Is this man working closely with prosecutors at this time? We don't know. But we do know that he's clearly hostile to Jackson by virtue of this case.
HEMMER: When this is all over, could they come back and indict a guy like this?
BLOOM: They absolutely could. And prosecutors say that they intend to, him as well as the four other un-indicted co-conspirators.
HEMMER: So why would he cooperate...
BLOOM: Well, because he may get immunity.
HEMMER: ... if he knows he's going down?
BLOOM: Well, because if he flips and he testifies for the prosecution, he may get immunity. He won't have any criminal problems down the line.
HEMMER: Thanks, Lisa. Have a good weekend, OK?
BLOOM: Thank you. You too.
HEMMER: Court TV's Lisa Bloom with us again today -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: The man who was once known as the snaggle-toothed killer is getting an extreme makeover. Ray Krone was cleared of murder by DNA evidence after 10 years in prison. Well, now "Extreme Makeover" TV show is going to fix the crooked teeth, which were a key piece of evidence against him. Bite marks on the victim were erroneously thought to match Krone's teeth. Krone says that he's hoping a new look will help him start his new life.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: In a moment here, Andy has got a market preview on a Friday, "Minding Your Business." He'll tell us what we need to know.
O'BRIEN: And then a little bit later on, 90-second poppers soak up the SpongeBob -- easy for me to say -- SpongeBob SquarePants movie. Will it put a squeeze on the competition at the box office? A look at that's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everybody. Back to Jack and the "Question of the Day," and a good one, too. JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Bill, says that fresh intelligence suggests Iran is working on a program to arm its missiles with nuclear warheads. "The Washington Post" quotes two U.S. officials, who claim Powell's information is based on one single unvetted source. Iran claims that its nuclear program is all about power plants. If you believe that, call me. I've got some real estate I'll lay off on your at a good price.
Britain, France and Germany are suggesting that diplomacy is the best approach to Iran.
"The New York Times" called this whole thing -- quote -- " an eerie repetition of the prelude to the war in Iraq."
A pretty interesting observation there.
The question is: What should be done about Iran's nuclear weapons program?
Rob in Sarasota says: "It's unfortunate, but the only way to rid Iran of their nuclear desires is to connect the dots: Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq. And while we're at it, we probably ought to go all the way to the Red Sea and take out Syria before they obtain nuclear weapons."
Johnny writes: "If the intelligence should prove to be true, and that's a big if, the United States and George Bush have been granted a valuable, yet undeserved, chance to redeem themselves in the eyes of the world. This time allow the U.N. inspectors to actually complete their job."
Elizabeth in Galloway, New Jersey: "We should finish one war before we start another. We should watch them, but we can't afford to continue fighting everyone. They are already sending men in their 50s to fight in this war" -- the one in Iraq. "Next, it will be little old grandmothers like me."
And finally, Howell in Orin, Missouri: "We should invade Iran, combine it with Iraq, and rename the new country irate. Is you would say, Jack, this part of the world is starting to make my teeth hurt."
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Yes.
CAFFERTY: Amen.
Coming up this weekend on "IN THE MONEY," we invite you to join us. We're going to talk about the surprising ways that guns might be made safer if manufacturers changed their ways. What we're talking about, for example, is guns that have hair triggers, where if you drop them they sometimes will fire even though nobody has intentionally pulled the trigger. A look at safer firearms Saturday at 1:00, Sunday at 3:00, plus a plethora of other meaningful and life-altering topics.
HEMMER: Oh, yes.
CAFFERTY: We'll expect your attendance, and please try to be on time.
HEMMER: Done.
O'BRIEN: Really, life-altering?
CAFFERTY: Yes.
SERWER: Mild-altering, that's what I like to say.
O'BRIEN: Oh, definitely.
SERWER: Mind-altering.
CAFFERTY: It depends on what kind of life you've got.
SERWER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks.
CAFFERTY: Sure.
O'BRIEN: Let's wrap up Wall Street's action and also get a preview of what's going to happen today. Andy Serwer has also got the important NFL picks.
SERWER: The all-important, the mind-altering football picks, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: ""Minding Your Business," good morning.
SERWER: Yes, good morning to you.
Let's talk about the markets. Yesterday, stocks up again. The Dow was up 23 points, you can see here.
Altria was what boosted the market, which is the old Philip Morris, you may remember. That stock has been really moving over the past couple of years.
This morning, Disney should be very active. They announced earnings up over 24 percent. You know, with all of the trouble that Michael Eisner has been in, all of the criticism and all of the fire he's been under, listen to this: Disney stock versus Viacom versus Time Warner versus the stock market over the past one year, two years, five years, Disney wins. One year, two years, five years versus all of those other companies versus the stock market.
CAFFERTY: That is very...
SERWER: It's very surprising.
CAFFERTY: It's depressing.
SERWER: It's very depressing. And it's very -- boom. Yes. that was the sound of Time Warner stock.
OK.
CAFFERTY: All right, Andy.
(CROSSTALK)
SERWER: Let's talk about football, though, because that's not as depressing, especially if you're Soledad O'Brien, the leader of the pack. She's leading in the picks, and I'm there and then Jack -- well, Jack doesn't pick football.
CAFFERTY: How am I doing?
O'BRIEN: He's not that great.
SERWER: Jack stirs the pot on this program, and that's what he does. OK, this week, the Atlanta Falcons versus the New York Giants. New York Giants is going to be starting Eli Manning. I'm picking the Giants. He's the next Ben Roethlisberger. Big Blue is going to do it. Well, Atlanta has got a pretty good defense, so I'm kind of...
HEMMER: In a blue state, too, by the way.
SERWER: Yes. Well yes. OK, the Green Bay Packers versus the Houston Texans. No let down for the Packers.
HEMMER: Yes.
SERWER: They're going four in a row. I'm going for them. And how about the Monday night game? The New England Patriots versus the Kansas City Chiefs. I'm going with the Chiefs even though they've got this Blaylock (ph) guy in for Priest Holmes.
Now, for a promo, I think ABC should get Tom Brady in a towel. And then he could drop it, and Jennifer Garner from "Alias" could -- maybe not. I don't know. Do you think they're going to do that?
O'BRIEN: You know, it worked so well the first time around.
SERWER: It worked so well and we're still talking about it.
O'BRIEN: Maybe not.
CAFFERTY: Did you get a new writer? That's pretty good stuff this morning.
O'BRIEN: I know. Wow!
SERWER: This stuff actually comes in from my own mind-altering, altered mind, Jack. It's hard to imagine.
O'BRIEN: He warmed up all week, so Friday he's really on it.
SERWER: That's it.
O'BRIEN: All right, Andy, thanks.
SERWER: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, Jude Law is the sexiest man alive. That's from "People" magazine. What does "90-Second Pop" have to say about that? It's next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: SpongeBob, you sexy thing! Good morning. "90-Second Pop" on a Friday with our gang of three this morning. Toure is CNN's pop correspondent. Sarah Bernard -- hello. We're still on me.
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: Oh, now you.
O'BRIEN: We just dissed you hard. We just missed you.
TOURE: I know.
O'BRIEN: Let's move on to Sarah Bernard.
SARAH BERNARD, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: Hi.
O'BRIEN: Contributing editor for "New York" magazine. And B.J. Sigesmund, there he is, staff editor for "US Weekly."
Good morning to all of you.
B.J. SIGESMUND, STAFF EDITOR, "US WEEKLY": Good morning.
O'BRIEN: Let's get right to it. And, Sarah, you're going to start. Jude Law.
BERNARD: Let's just look at this first.
O'BRIEN: Shall we?
(CROSSTALK)
BERNARD: Shall we? Yum. There he is. There he is. So, Jude Law is the sexiest man alive.
O'BRIEN: Duh!
BERNARD: Not that surprising...
O'BRIEN: Right.
BERNARD: ... to a lot of people. But I think, you know, some people actually have argued this title. And I think it's just because he is...
O'BRIEN: They're jealous?
BERNARD: Well, they're jealous. But also, the sexiest man alive traditionally has some kind of mystery. Johnny Depp was the sexiest man alive last year. And Jude Law, one problem with Jude Law is that he is everywhere. He had six movies this fall, and he's just kind of saturated the market, even himself.
SIGESMUND: Right. And so far, not one of those movies has actually been a success.
TOURE: Oh, that's (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
SIGESMUND: Although it's not necessarily Jude Law's fault. He was very good in "Alfie." It was the script that was terrible, but...
O'BRIEN: And it does not say best actor man alive.
SIGESMUND: No, no. But, you know...
BERNARD: Just the sexiest.
SIGESMUND: ... for a guy...
BERNARD: No, but that's a good point, because he cannot still open a movie.
TOURE: True.
BERNARD: And open a movie means that even if the movie is terrible, people will see it because you're in it.
SIGESMUND: Right.
BERNARD: And "Alfie" only made 6.2 million.
TOURE: It's interesting because we've talked before about how commitment is in and people break up and lose Q rating and lose image. Jude broke up, got divorced from his wife and child, and still didn't lose...
O'BRIEN: Children, he had I think three.
BERNARD: Three.
TOURE: ... any bit of popularity at all, which is kind of interesting. Somehow he's been able to keep it going.
BERNARD: That's (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
TOURE: Definitely.
SIGESMUND: He's always taken supporting roles, and he was so good in "Cold Mountain" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley."
O'BRIEN: "The Talented Mr. Ripley," he was great.
SIGESMUND: And the most underrated movie in the last two years, "Gattaca," also which I loved. He was so great in that. But it's...
TOURE: That was the most underrated?
SIGESMUND: Yes, it was terrific. O'BRIEN: That's another topic, though.
SIGESMUND: Yes.
O'BRIEN: That's not on my list of things to talk about. And I think we can really say he is the sexiest man alive.
BERNARD: Done, yes.
O'BRIEN: He can open a movie, but he's not that great of an actor. But...
BERNARD: He's cute.
O'BRIEN: He's cute. And that's what we're judging him on today. You go, Jude. We love you.
Moving on, talk about other sexy men alive, B.J.
SIGESMUND: Oh!
O'BRIEN: SpongeBob versus "National Treasure." What's "National Treasure" about, and who's in it?
SIGESMUND: "National Treasure" is a very typical Jerry Bruckheimer movie, starring Nic Cage. They're back to doing what they do best. Nic Cage plays this treasure hunter who becomes convinced that there's a map to riches on the back of the Declaration of Independence. Yes, that very likely story...
O'BRIEN: Isn't that on display somewhere?
SIGESMUND: Yes. So he has to steal it.
O'BRIEN: Oh.
SIGESMUND: And then, you know, find out other bad guys are chasing him and that kind of thing. And the movie is not getting very good reviews.
O'BRIEN: No. How is SpongeBob doing?
SIGESMUND: SpongeBob is probably going to be the No. 1 movie of the weekend, either that or "The Incredibles." It's going to be neck and neck. And SpongeBob, the reviews are much better. This is the big smash series Nickelodeon that's very silly. But you should know that one-third of its audience is adults. Well, that is maybe teenagers and young adults.
BERNARD: The voices, though, they have such interesting people being the voices, like Scarlet Johansson is one of them.
SIGESMUND: Yes, she plays the mermaid.
O'BRIEN: She plays the girl. SIGESMUND: And Alec Baldwin is in it, and David Hasselhoff is in it playing himself. But the star is SpongeBob and Plankton, his archrival, who tries to take over the town of Bikini Bottom through mind control.
BERNARD: Oh, that's (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
O'BRIEN: I'm like, yes, I know all about this. We watch this a lot. OK, I watch it. I have to say though, "The Incredibles" we're not talking about it today really, but that rocked.
TOURE: Go see it again and again and again.
SIGESMUND: Yes, that rocks.
O'BRIEN: That was a great movie.
TOURE: Yes.
O'BRIEN: I would see that again. One hundred best movie clips is getting their own TV show. Do you think that's going to work or not?
TOURE: No, it's movie lines.
O'BRIEN: Movie -- right quotes from movies.
TOURE: Everybody has got that quote that you can spit off.
O'BRIEN: What's your favorite?
TOURE: Say hello to my little friend. And it just ends the conversation. You know exactly what that is about.
BERNARD: People like me say it. What is it from?
TOURE: It's from "Scarface." It's like the key moment.
SIGESMUND: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Oh.
TOURE: Gito (ph) (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the room.
BERNARD: I know, I know.
TOURE: ... with a big huge gun. Say hello to my little friend. It has killed all of the bad guys.
O'BRIEN: How about this one? Accent? What accent? From "Working Girls."
(CROSSTALK)
TOURE: Yes.
BERNARD: Oh!
O'BRIEN: She's like that not on the list, though.
TOURE: It should be.
SIGESMUND: No.
BERNARD: Maybe it is.
TOURE: It should be.
SIGESMUND: My favorite is, I'll have what she's having.
O'BRIEN: Oh, yes.
BERNARD: Oh! From "When Harry Met Sally."
O'BRIEN: So, can it sustain a show, though? I mean...
TOURE: Well, I mean, you know...
O'BRIEN: It's like we've done the show now, and it's only been 30 seconds. We get it.
BERNARD: Oh, that's right.
TOURE: It's just fun to just sort of listen and talk and go back and forth, oh, I remember that, oh, I remember that, and just that key line of dialogue that just -- you know, it just nailed everything down.
SIGESMUND: Sarah, what's yours?
BERNARD: Mine is from "Superman." Remember that line where Lois was falling from a building and he saves her. And he's like, don't worry, Lois, I've got you. And she's like, you've got me? Who's got you?
O'BRIEN: Who's got you?
BERNARD: That was my favorite.
O'BRIEN: But, so is it just going to be -- I mean, are they going to have a panel? I know there's a pick from the...
SIGESMUND: I think five voters -- American Film Institute voters are picking from among 1,500 lines or something...
BERNARD: Right, it's kind of s survey.
SIGESMUND: ... to vote on the best of all times.
O'BRIEN: Yes, but if it's a survey -- look, if people sit around and talk about what that movie meant to them, that's going to...
(CROSSTALK) SIGESMUND: We can't even get 90 seconds out of it.
O'BRIEN: We're done. We're going to end early because we've used it all up. There are going to be a lot more...
(CROSSTALK)
TOURE: We can talk about football or something like the Patriots and the Chiefs.
O'BRIEN: Hey, I'm winning in the picks, have you noticed?
SIGESMUND: Very nice.
BERNARD: That sounds like SpongeBob.
O'BRIEN: My secret weapon is Todd Boneman (ph). He does my picks for me. I love him for it.
SIGESMUND: Cool.
O'BRIEN: You guys, as always, thank you very much.
Bill -- back to you.
HEMMER: You guys could always go back to Jude Law.
O'BRIEN: Do you know what?
HEMMER: I mean, how does he get his hair that way? Have you seen this, Toure? Is he taking lessons from you or what?
TOURE: Not from me. Maybe from beads.
BERNARD: Yes.
SIGESMUND: Yes, yes.
(CROSSTALK)
SIGESMUND: I'm starting to work Jude Law today.
HEMMER: Have a great weekend, guys. We'll get a break here. In a moment, today's top stories, including more on the Vioxx controversy. Some say the FDA had a conflict of interest that kept it from protecting the public. If that's the case, what now? We'll have a look, top of the hour here after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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