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CNN Live At Daybreak
Jury's Decides to Sentence Scott Peterson to Death; Continuing Fallout From Withdrawal of Bernard Kerik
Aired December 14, 2004 - 06:00 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Straight ahead on DAYBREAK, the jury has spoken. Scott Peterson faces the harshest penalty.
And new questions about Bernard Kerik's past. They're not just about his nanny.
Plus...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's beautiful. There's nothing like this back home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: You've got that right. Surf's up, dude. You will not believe these gnarly waves.
It is Tuesday, December 14.
You are watching DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
Thank you for waking up with us.
I'm Carol Costello live from the Time Warner Center in New York.
Let's get right to the headlines now.
Afghan security forces have reportedly captured Taliban leader Mullah Omar's security chief. The military commander was nabbed in Kandahar. Authorities are hoping that he can lead U.S. and Afghan forces to his boss.
For the second day in a row, Iraqi insurgents strike at a checkpoint into Baghdad's green zone. At least two people have been killed, 13 others wounded. It comes as the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff arrives in the Iraqi capital.
In Baghdad Province, two U.S. Marines with the 1st Expeditionary Force are killed in action. Since Sunday, nine Marines have died in action in Iraq, two on Monday and seven in Al Anbar Province.
And two passenger trains collide in northern India, killing more than 20 people. A railway official says fog could have played a role. To the forecast center now.
Rob Marciano in for Chad for a last day.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. I'm going to be sad to leave you, Carol, but I know you're going to be happy to see Chad. And reports of friends who saw him yesterday, looking a little ragged around the edges. So he couldn't wait to get out of the house, at least for an hour or so.
COSTELLO: I bet.
MARCIANO: So he might be happy to get back to work tomorrow.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Appropriate justice, that's what one juror said after recommending the death penalty for Scott Peterson. The judgment comes nearly two years after Laci Peterson was first reported missing.
CNN's Ted Rowlands has more on the jury's decision from Redwood City, California.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We, the jury in the above entitled cause, fix the penalty at death.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After hearing five and a half months of testimony and deliberating for 11 hours and 30 minutes, the jury that found Scott Peterson guilty of murder decided his fate should be death.
RICHELLE NICE, PETERSON TRIAL JUROR: Scott Peterson was Laci's husband, Conner's daddy. Someone should have -- the one person that should have protected them.
STEVE CARDOSI, JURY FOREMAN: It just seemed to be the appropriate justice for the crime given the nature and how personal it really was against his wife and his child.
ROWLANDS: Scott Peterson had no visible reaction when the verdict was read. His family sat silently behind him, seemingly expecting what was to come. Afterwards, jurors said the fact that the bodies of Laci Peterson and her unborn son were found where Peterson was fishing was a key part of the case.
GREG BERATLIS, PETERSON TRIAL JUROR: For her to be where she was found and to go through what seemed to be, in the end, to me, a charade, it just wasn't, it wasn't fair.
ROWLANDS (on camera): Peterson will remain here in Redwood City until the sentence is finalized on February 25. The judge in the case does have the option of reducing the sentence from death down to life without parole. That decision will be announced on the 25th. If the judge makes no change, Peterson will then be shipped off to San Quentin, presumably for the rest of his life.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Redwood City, California.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: There are 641 inmates on California's death row and the state has executed just 10 people since 1978. So Scott Peterson may not ever face execution and it's more likely he will die of old age in prison.
To talk more about the verdict, Amanda Grove from Court TV.
Good morning, Amanda.
AMANDA GROVE, COURT TV CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: How likely would the judge reduce the sentence to life?
GROVE: I would think it would be virtually impossible.
COSTELLO: I would think so, too.
You know, I listened to the jurors a lot yesterday, very eloquent. But they talked a lot about Scott Peterson's lack of emotion and very little bit about hard core evidence in this case.
Did that surprise you?
GROVE: No. I think they were commenting sort of on the human level on the lack of affect. We saw this man in the courtroom. They watched him look at autopsy photos, dead photos of his wife, her in her prime, when she was pregnant. They were looking at him for some sign of humanity. And that's an important part of anyone's consideration of guilt or innocence and the appropriate penalty.
COSTELLO: But don't attorneys tell their clients don't show any emotion in court?
GROVE: No, I don't think so. You tend to tell your clients, listen, wear a suit, maybe leave off the jury. But when it comes to emotion, especially when you've lost your whole family, that's a time when emotion is appropriate.
COSTELLO: But I can tell you that everybody shows their emotion in different ways. Maybe he's just an emotionalist guy.
GROVE: Well, that's what the defense argued in the penalty phase. They wanted the jurors to understand that that's the way he was raised, that's the way his parents are, they're just not emotional. But we have to be real here. Jurors do not leave their common sense outside. And when someone is innocent and they've lost their wife and their unborn child, it's a tragedy. When someone's killed them and feels remorse, that's a tragedy. Either way, some emotion would have helped to humanize Scott Peterson. It makes it very easy to send him to death. COSTELLO: OK, let's talk about Mark Geragos and the kind of job that he did as Peterson's defense attorney.
GROVE: Tough questions.
You know, Mark Geragos is now up for a lot of criticism because he lost a very high profile case. We can second guess him, but the fact remains he did make some mistakes as far as most people's opinion in the law. One being they felt that he promised too much. He got up there and said I'm going to prove this man is stone cold innocent. He didn't do that. His defense was weak. His main medical expert was practically laughed off the stand.
Then he did something that jurors don't know about but we do, the boat that he had used in an exhibit that was ultimately passed on by the judge he parked by the courthouse, causing such a speculate, causing so much hostility. That was, you know, a question for the California bar.
COSTELLO: Yes, but don't you wonder about his future? Because he certainly didn't do this trial for the money, because he probably got very little money. He really did it for the publicity and it hasn't been great publicity for him.
GROVE: I'm not really worried about Mark Geragos' future. You know, Winona and Michael Jackson and Scott Peterson, he's a high profile lawyer. He takes these cases because he wants to. And you get the good and you get the bad.
COSTELLO: Amanda Grove from Court TV, thanks so much for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
GROVE: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Talk about skeletons in the closet, apparently there are a lot of them in Bernard Kerik's. As you know, he bowed out of the nomination for homeland security secretary. While Kerik says it's his fault and nobody else's, both President Bush and former New York Mayor Rudi Giuliani are now facing criticism over the nomination.
Our Mary Snow did some investigating.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three days after pulling the plug on his own nomination to be homeland security director, Bernard Kerik showed up for work, facing questions about business associates and women. BERNARD KERIK, FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY NOMINEE: After I withdrew, naturally, you know, it was sort of like a snowball rolling downhill. It just gets bigger and bigger.
SNOW: Kerik's surprise withdrawal to be considered for the cabinet post has sparked questions over whether the nanny issue was the real reason he bowed out of the running. A flurry of reports on Kerik's past have been coming out, including one in Monday's "New York Times." That called into question a link to a friend with a questionable battleground.
KERIK: During my friendship with Mr. Ray, we were extremely close. I never knew him to be associated with anyone that was involved in organized crime or criminal activity.
SNOW: But Kerik's current boss, Rudy Giuliani, indicated he still has questions.
RUDOLPH GIULIANI (R), FORMER NEW YORK MAYOR: Well, I think that's something I'll explore, you know, privately with Bernie. It's not right to comment on that. I especially would avoid it.
SNOW: Giuliani says he personally apologized to President Bush at the White House Sunday night. Kerik said he had a close relationship with a female subordinate at the corrections department while he served as commissioner and a very close relationship to book publisher Judith Regan. Questions about that tie came up in 2001, while Kerik served as New York's police commissioner. Regan believed her cell phone and jewelry were stolen during a visit to Fox News. Four homicide detectives were dispatched to I guess several Fox employees.
ROBERT SIMELS, NEW YORK CITY ATTORNEY: They sought to have each of my clients submit to fingerprint analysis, polygraphs, in order to find Judith Regan's cell phone.
SNOW: Kerik's lawyer says officers did show up, but that Kerik did not send them.
(on camera): One other issue that's being raised is how much Rudy Giuliani, who's been talked about as a possible presidential contender in 2008, will be damaged by all of this.
Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: Despite the Kerik embarrassment, President Bush is moving ahead with other cabinet changes. The president's latest nominee is Michael Leavitt to head the Department of Health and Human Services. Leavitt currently serves as Environmental Protection Agency administrator. Prior to that, he was governor of Utah.
President Bush calls him a man of great compassion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Governor Leavitt was a leader in welfare reform, resource management and environmental stewardship. He improved child welfare services in his state and made strides toward expanding access to health care for children. He made government services more accessible through the Internet and he always insisted that the government remain accountable to the people that it serves.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: A man of great compassion, Mr. Leavitt may be, but he has a big job ahead. And by that we mean he'll have to tackle the debates on importing prescription drugs and federally funded stem cell research.
Let's head live to Washington now and CNN Radio's Dick Uliano -- good morning, Dick.
DICK ULIANO, CNN RADIO CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Do we know where Mr. Leavitt stands on these issues?
ULIANO: Well, you know, what's clear, Carol, is that Mike Leavitt is going to head, you know, truly one of the gargantuan federal agencies. I mean this agency has a half trillion dollar budget, 67,000 employees. It oversees the Centers for Disease Control, the Food and Drug Administration, the big programs Medicare and Medicaid. So he's got a big job ahead. This is one of the most important posts in the cabinet.
And, by the way, a former Health and Human Services secretary, Donna Shalala, in the Clinton administration, says that Mike Leavitt, the former governor of Utah and EPA administrator, is a very skillful administrator and a manager. So, she -- he at least appears to get the endorsement or the vote of former Secretary Shalala -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes, but not much else is clear about where exactly he stands on many issues as they relate to health.
ULIANO: Well, you know, the issues such as the bioethics issues and other health issues, he's the president's choice. He's the president's cabinet member. He's going to have to fall in line with what the president wants. Of course, you know President Bush really likes loyalty and certainly the administration will be disciplined enough that the cabinet members would hew to the president's line. So, you know, he has hit work cut out.
And the president, by the way, must still find an EPA chief now and continue the hunt for a secretary for the other enormous federal agency, the Department of Homeland Security. So that's what's ahead.
COSTELLO: I was just going to ask you if you had any guesses on who would the frontrunner be now for Homeland Security?
ULIANO: Well, some of the possible choices, Asa Hutchinson's name comes up. He's an undersecretary at Homeland Security. He's worked on border security. He headed the Drug Enforcement Administration. And another name is White House Homeland Security Adviser Fran Townsend. And some lawmakers are proposing Senator Lieberman, who proposed the agency.
But similar to HHS, this is another huge federal agency. Remember, the law that created it drew together 22 different federal agencies under one roof. So presumably the president's going to want to look for someone who can manage this huge agency. COSTELLO: And he also has to appoint a new intelligence director. But that's a whole another story.
Dick Uliano...
ULIANO: Yes, a good point. I was just going to say, he's expected to sign that bill into law creating the new intelligence director, on Friday -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Dick Uliano reporting live from Washington.
Thank you.
ULIANO: Sure.
COSTELLO: Much more to come on DAYBREAK.
Plan on rubbing elbows at the company Christmas party? We'll tell you how to keep from rubbing people the wrong way.
And the nation's largest phone company wants to get larger. Verizon might take a run at Sprint.
Also, magazine covers, newspapers, your TV screen -- Scott Peterson's been there. Two of our top talkers weigh in on the media blitz.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Tuesday morning, December 14.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
COSTELLO: Time now for a little "Business Buzz."
Call it telecom frenzy. There's another looming deal among cell phone companies. Is your cell phone operator selling you out and making money off you? Oh, I'll bet the answer is yes.
Carrie Lee has the story live from the NASDAQ market site -- good morning.
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know they're making money, Carol, right? That's the whole point.
COSTELLO: Yes.
LEE: But it could cause a possible hang-up here for a deal we told you about last week in the telecom sector. According to the "Wall Street Journal," Verizon Communications may be looking to make a potential bid for Sprint. The problem is that Sprint and Nextel Communications were talking, with Sprint making a tentative $35 billion deal with Nextel. So if Verizon takes over Sprint, well, then, Sprint's proposed marriage with Nextel could be off for good.
So clearly there's some play within this space here.
The news came out that Verizon just received the OK from its current wireless partner, Vodafone, to make bid for Sprint. And that could have been a major hurdle for the deal.
So, again, Carol, this -- at this time, according to the "Wall Street Journal," nothing written in stone here. The bottom line, though, when consolidation happens in an industry, that means, of course, there are fewer players, and that can mean higher prices. So that's something that consumers will have to keep in mind.
We'll be keeping an eye on all of these stocks today.
Meanwhile, futures for today's session looking flat to weak. Technology issues looking especially weak ahead of the Federal Reserve decision. Wall Street widely expecting a 1/4 point hike in interest rates for the fifth meeting, the fifth 1/4 point hike. We will get the decision officially at about 2:15 today -- back to you.
COSTELLO: All right, we'll wait for word.
Carrie Lee live from the NASDAQ market site.
Thank you.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 6:18 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
The jury says Scott Peterson should be put to death. The judge still must decide whether to take their recommendation or give Peterson life in prison without parole. The final sentencing is scheduled for February 25.
For the second day in a row, a car bomb has exploded near the green zone in Baghdad. Two people are dead, another 13 injured. No Americans are among the wounded.
In money news, listen to this. Mistakes cost Medicare about $20 billion this year. A government report says the improper payments were partially due to unnecessary procedures. A portion of the payment errors may also have been due to fraud.
In culture, Regis Philbin will ring in the new year. He's replacing Dick Clark on Clark's traditional new year's Rocking Eve broadcast. Clark is recovering from a minor stroke suffered last week.
In sports, it looks like pitcher Pedro Martinez is leaving the world champion Red Sox. Reports say Martinez will join the New York Mets once contract terms are worked out. The deal is expected to be worth more than $50 million for four years -- Rob.
MARCIANO: Yes, but, Carol, you know how much it costs to live in New York City. I mean, there's the cost of living. Plus you've got to pay the posse. I mean it's just troubling.
COSTELLO: Oh, you know, I never thought of those things. You're right.
MARCIANO: Good luck, Pedro.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
Still to come on DAYBREAK, we all have to hobnob a little bit during the holidays, don't we? You know, that office Christmas party? Coming up, suggestions to make your holiday partying pay off in your profession.
We'll be back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: You know that Shania Twain song? It fits with this story. You need to impress some coworkers or their spouses at the company holiday party this year?
Our DAYBREAK contributor J.J. Ramberg joins us with some tips on rubbing people the right way.
J.J. RAMBERG, DAYBREAK CONTRIBUTOR: Well, that's the key, right? Because it's so tricky. When you're at a holiday party, it's the perfect place to network. You get to meet your boss. You can meet your boss's boss. If you're at another party and you're looking for a job, you can meet someone there. But you have to be incredibly careful that you are not rubbing them the wrong way, as you just said.
And we talked to some communication experts to see what are some tips that we can have for holiday parties.
And Diane Diresta, who is one of these experts, gave us some advice on selling yourself without exactly selling yourself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIANE DIRESTA, PRESIDENT, DIRESTA COMMUNICATIONS: You want to talk about yourself as a package of skills, because people will say what do you do, what's your background? Never ask for a job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAMBERG: Now, she says this is the key tip, never ask for a job. It's completely inappropriate to be at a holiday party and ask for a job.
But we got some other tips.
Right? I mean it's annoying to be at a party and have someone coming up to you.
But some other tips to sort of ask for a job, to get to the point where you can.
COSTELLO: Oh, so you can ask for a job, but not really ask.
RAMBERG: Exactly.
So where are some of the ideas. One is be sure that you have a goal. So go in there and know exactly who you want to meet and exactly what you want to tell them, so you can be efficient, which isn't so fun maybe for a holiday party. But we're networking here.
A second one is prepare an elevator speech. So this is a 15 second speech that you have if you get in front of someone you want to talk to -- here's who I am, here's what I want to do, without saying it exactly like that. But sell this package of skills, like she said.
The third thing is leave your resume at home. This is not a place to be handing out your resume. You can hand out your business cards, but only if it seems appropriate and somebody is asking for your contact information. And then follow up with a note after. And this is when you can be a little bit more obvious about what you want to do.
But this is -- holiday parties are a time to meet people and a great time to meet people.
COSTELLO: Yes, but whatever you do, do not have fun.
RAMBERG: You can have a little fun. Just be careful how much you drink.
COSTELLO: I know. That's the biggest mistake people make, they just, because you're nervous and you just keep, you know, and then...
RAMBERG: And then the next morning I'm like oh.
COSTELLO: What did I say?
J.J. Ramberg, thanks for joining DAYBREAK.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: And good morning to you.
Thank you for waking up with us.
I'm Carol Costello live from the Time Warner Center in New York.
Let's get right to the headlines now.
A car bombing today in Baghdad kills two people and injures 13 more. It happened near a green zone checkpoint. That's where the Iraqi government and the U.S. coalition are headquartered. A suicide bomber struck in the same area on Monday, killing at least eight people. Also in Baghdad, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Richard Myers arrived this morning with some celebrity company. He'll emcee a show for the troops featuring comedian Robin Williams and the former NFL quarterback John Elway.
Former General Tommy Franks is one of three men getting the Medal of Freedom from President Bush today. Franks commanded the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Former CIA Director George Tenet and former Iraqi Administrator Paul Bremer will also receive the nation's highest civilian honor.
And French President Jacques Chirac was on hand for the opening of the world's tallest road bridge. Yes, this bridge reaches 1,125 feet high at one point. It's expected to make travel quicker between Paris and Barcelona, Spain.
To the forecast center and Rob, who's in for Chad this morning -- good morning.
MARCIANO: Cool looking bridge.
COSTELLO: Yes.
MARCIANO: A little style there, as well.
Hey, it's colder here in Atlanta than it is in New York right now. Can you believe that?
COSTELLO: No.
MARCIANO: I know you were driving to work in your fancy car this morning. You probably didn't...
COSTELLO: Yes, right.
MARCIANO: You had the heat seaters on and the heat cranking and it felt pretty good.
COSTELLO: Sure.
(WEATHER REPORT)
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 December 14, 2004 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Straight ahead on DAYBREAK, the jury has spoken. Scott Peterson faces the harshest penalty.
And new questions about Bernard Kerik's past. They're not just about his nanny.
Plus...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's beautiful. There's nothing like this back home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: You've got that right. Surf's up, dude. You will not believe these gnarly waves.
It is Tuesday, December 14.
You are watching DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
Thank you for waking up with us.
I'm Carol Costello live from the Time Warner Center in New York.
Let's get right to the headlines now.
Afghan security forces have reportedly captured Taliban leader Mullah Omar's security chief. The military commander was nabbed in Kandahar. Authorities are hoping that he can lead U.S. and Afghan forces to his boss.
For the second day in a row, Iraqi insurgents strike at a checkpoint into Baghdad's green zone. At least two people have been killed, 13 others wounded. It comes as the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff arrives in the Iraqi capital.
In Baghdad Province, two U.S. Marines with the 1st Expeditionary Force are killed in action. Since Sunday, nine Marines have died in action in Iraq, two on Monday and seven in Al Anbar Province.
And two passenger trains collide in northern India, killing more than 20 people. A railway official says fog could have played a role. To the forecast center now.
Rob Marciano in for Chad for a last day.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. I'm going to be sad to leave you, Carol, but I know you're going to be happy to see Chad. And reports of friends who saw him yesterday, looking a little ragged around the edges. So he couldn't wait to get out of the house, at least for an hour or so.
COSTELLO: I bet.
MARCIANO: So he might be happy to get back to work tomorrow.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Appropriate justice, that's what one juror said after recommending the death penalty for Scott Peterson. The judgment comes nearly two years after Laci Peterson was first reported missing.
CNN's Ted Rowlands has more on the jury's decision from Redwood City, California.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We, the jury in the above entitled cause, fix the penalty at death.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After hearing five and a half months of testimony and deliberating for 11 hours and 30 minutes, the jury that found Scott Peterson guilty of murder decided his fate should be death.
RICHELLE NICE, PETERSON TRIAL JUROR: Scott Peterson was Laci's husband, Conner's daddy. Someone should have -- the one person that should have protected them.
STEVE CARDOSI, JURY FOREMAN: It just seemed to be the appropriate justice for the crime given the nature and how personal it really was against his wife and his child.
ROWLANDS: Scott Peterson had no visible reaction when the verdict was read. His family sat silently behind him, seemingly expecting what was to come. Afterwards, jurors said the fact that the bodies of Laci Peterson and her unborn son were found where Peterson was fishing was a key part of the case.
GREG BERATLIS, PETERSON TRIAL JUROR: For her to be where she was found and to go through what seemed to be, in the end, to me, a charade, it just wasn't, it wasn't fair.
ROWLANDS (on camera): Peterson will remain here in Redwood City until the sentence is finalized on February 25. The judge in the case does have the option of reducing the sentence from death down to life without parole. That decision will be announced on the 25th. If the judge makes no change, Peterson will then be shipped off to San Quentin, presumably for the rest of his life.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Redwood City, California.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: There are 641 inmates on California's death row and the state has executed just 10 people since 1978. So Scott Peterson may not ever face execution and it's more likely he will die of old age in prison.
To talk more about the verdict, Amanda Grove from Court TV.
Good morning, Amanda.
AMANDA GROVE, COURT TV CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: How likely would the judge reduce the sentence to life?
GROVE: I would think it would be virtually impossible.
COSTELLO: I would think so, too.
You know, I listened to the jurors a lot yesterday, very eloquent. But they talked a lot about Scott Peterson's lack of emotion and very little bit about hard core evidence in this case.
Did that surprise you?
GROVE: No. I think they were commenting sort of on the human level on the lack of affect. We saw this man in the courtroom. They watched him look at autopsy photos, dead photos of his wife, her in her prime, when she was pregnant. They were looking at him for some sign of humanity. And that's an important part of anyone's consideration of guilt or innocence and the appropriate penalty.
COSTELLO: But don't attorneys tell their clients don't show any emotion in court?
GROVE: No, I don't think so. You tend to tell your clients, listen, wear a suit, maybe leave off the jury. But when it comes to emotion, especially when you've lost your whole family, that's a time when emotion is appropriate.
COSTELLO: But I can tell you that everybody shows their emotion in different ways. Maybe he's just an emotionalist guy.
GROVE: Well, that's what the defense argued in the penalty phase. They wanted the jurors to understand that that's the way he was raised, that's the way his parents are, they're just not emotional. But we have to be real here. Jurors do not leave their common sense outside. And when someone is innocent and they've lost their wife and their unborn child, it's a tragedy. When someone's killed them and feels remorse, that's a tragedy. Either way, some emotion would have helped to humanize Scott Peterson. It makes it very easy to send him to death. COSTELLO: OK, let's talk about Mark Geragos and the kind of job that he did as Peterson's defense attorney.
GROVE: Tough questions.
You know, Mark Geragos is now up for a lot of criticism because he lost a very high profile case. We can second guess him, but the fact remains he did make some mistakes as far as most people's opinion in the law. One being they felt that he promised too much. He got up there and said I'm going to prove this man is stone cold innocent. He didn't do that. His defense was weak. His main medical expert was practically laughed off the stand.
Then he did something that jurors don't know about but we do, the boat that he had used in an exhibit that was ultimately passed on by the judge he parked by the courthouse, causing such a speculate, causing so much hostility. That was, you know, a question for the California bar.
COSTELLO: Yes, but don't you wonder about his future? Because he certainly didn't do this trial for the money, because he probably got very little money. He really did it for the publicity and it hasn't been great publicity for him.
GROVE: I'm not really worried about Mark Geragos' future. You know, Winona and Michael Jackson and Scott Peterson, he's a high profile lawyer. He takes these cases because he wants to. And you get the good and you get the bad.
COSTELLO: Amanda Grove from Court TV, thanks so much for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
GROVE: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Talk about skeletons in the closet, apparently there are a lot of them in Bernard Kerik's. As you know, he bowed out of the nomination for homeland security secretary. While Kerik says it's his fault and nobody else's, both President Bush and former New York Mayor Rudi Giuliani are now facing criticism over the nomination.
Our Mary Snow did some investigating.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three days after pulling the plug on his own nomination to be homeland security director, Bernard Kerik showed up for work, facing questions about business associates and women. BERNARD KERIK, FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY NOMINEE: After I withdrew, naturally, you know, it was sort of like a snowball rolling downhill. It just gets bigger and bigger.
SNOW: Kerik's surprise withdrawal to be considered for the cabinet post has sparked questions over whether the nanny issue was the real reason he bowed out of the running. A flurry of reports on Kerik's past have been coming out, including one in Monday's "New York Times." That called into question a link to a friend with a questionable battleground.
KERIK: During my friendship with Mr. Ray, we were extremely close. I never knew him to be associated with anyone that was involved in organized crime or criminal activity.
SNOW: But Kerik's current boss, Rudy Giuliani, indicated he still has questions.
RUDOLPH GIULIANI (R), FORMER NEW YORK MAYOR: Well, I think that's something I'll explore, you know, privately with Bernie. It's not right to comment on that. I especially would avoid it.
SNOW: Giuliani says he personally apologized to President Bush at the White House Sunday night. Kerik said he had a close relationship with a female subordinate at the corrections department while he served as commissioner and a very close relationship to book publisher Judith Regan. Questions about that tie came up in 2001, while Kerik served as New York's police commissioner. Regan believed her cell phone and jewelry were stolen during a visit to Fox News. Four homicide detectives were dispatched to I guess several Fox employees.
ROBERT SIMELS, NEW YORK CITY ATTORNEY: They sought to have each of my clients submit to fingerprint analysis, polygraphs, in order to find Judith Regan's cell phone.
SNOW: Kerik's lawyer says officers did show up, but that Kerik did not send them.
(on camera): One other issue that's being raised is how much Rudy Giuliani, who's been talked about as a possible presidential contender in 2008, will be damaged by all of this.
Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: Despite the Kerik embarrassment, President Bush is moving ahead with other cabinet changes. The president's latest nominee is Michael Leavitt to head the Department of Health and Human Services. Leavitt currently serves as Environmental Protection Agency administrator. Prior to that, he was governor of Utah.
President Bush calls him a man of great compassion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Governor Leavitt was a leader in welfare reform, resource management and environmental stewardship. He improved child welfare services in his state and made strides toward expanding access to health care for children. He made government services more accessible through the Internet and he always insisted that the government remain accountable to the people that it serves.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: A man of great compassion, Mr. Leavitt may be, but he has a big job ahead. And by that we mean he'll have to tackle the debates on importing prescription drugs and federally funded stem cell research.
Let's head live to Washington now and CNN Radio's Dick Uliano -- good morning, Dick.
DICK ULIANO, CNN RADIO CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Do we know where Mr. Leavitt stands on these issues?
ULIANO: Well, you know, what's clear, Carol, is that Mike Leavitt is going to head, you know, truly one of the gargantuan federal agencies. I mean this agency has a half trillion dollar budget, 67,000 employees. It oversees the Centers for Disease Control, the Food and Drug Administration, the big programs Medicare and Medicaid. So he's got a big job ahead. This is one of the most important posts in the cabinet.
And, by the way, a former Health and Human Services secretary, Donna Shalala, in the Clinton administration, says that Mike Leavitt, the former governor of Utah and EPA administrator, is a very skillful administrator and a manager. So, she -- he at least appears to get the endorsement or the vote of former Secretary Shalala -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes, but not much else is clear about where exactly he stands on many issues as they relate to health.
ULIANO: Well, you know, the issues such as the bioethics issues and other health issues, he's the president's choice. He's the president's cabinet member. He's going to have to fall in line with what the president wants. Of course, you know President Bush really likes loyalty and certainly the administration will be disciplined enough that the cabinet members would hew to the president's line. So, you know, he has hit work cut out.
And the president, by the way, must still find an EPA chief now and continue the hunt for a secretary for the other enormous federal agency, the Department of Homeland Security. So that's what's ahead.
COSTELLO: I was just going to ask you if you had any guesses on who would the frontrunner be now for Homeland Security?
ULIANO: Well, some of the possible choices, Asa Hutchinson's name comes up. He's an undersecretary at Homeland Security. He's worked on border security. He headed the Drug Enforcement Administration. And another name is White House Homeland Security Adviser Fran Townsend. And some lawmakers are proposing Senator Lieberman, who proposed the agency.
But similar to HHS, this is another huge federal agency. Remember, the law that created it drew together 22 different federal agencies under one roof. So presumably the president's going to want to look for someone who can manage this huge agency. COSTELLO: And he also has to appoint a new intelligence director. But that's a whole another story.
Dick Uliano...
ULIANO: Yes, a good point. I was just going to say, he's expected to sign that bill into law creating the new intelligence director, on Friday -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Dick Uliano reporting live from Washington.
Thank you.
ULIANO: Sure.
COSTELLO: Much more to come on DAYBREAK.
Plan on rubbing elbows at the company Christmas party? We'll tell you how to keep from rubbing people the wrong way.
And the nation's largest phone company wants to get larger. Verizon might take a run at Sprint.
Also, magazine covers, newspapers, your TV screen -- Scott Peterson's been there. Two of our top talkers weigh in on the media blitz.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Tuesday morning, December 14.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
COSTELLO: Time now for a little "Business Buzz."
Call it telecom frenzy. There's another looming deal among cell phone companies. Is your cell phone operator selling you out and making money off you? Oh, I'll bet the answer is yes.
Carrie Lee has the story live from the NASDAQ market site -- good morning.
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know they're making money, Carol, right? That's the whole point.
COSTELLO: Yes.
LEE: But it could cause a possible hang-up here for a deal we told you about last week in the telecom sector. According to the "Wall Street Journal," Verizon Communications may be looking to make a potential bid for Sprint. The problem is that Sprint and Nextel Communications were talking, with Sprint making a tentative $35 billion deal with Nextel. So if Verizon takes over Sprint, well, then, Sprint's proposed marriage with Nextel could be off for good.
So clearly there's some play within this space here.
The news came out that Verizon just received the OK from its current wireless partner, Vodafone, to make bid for Sprint. And that could have been a major hurdle for the deal.
So, again, Carol, this -- at this time, according to the "Wall Street Journal," nothing written in stone here. The bottom line, though, when consolidation happens in an industry, that means, of course, there are fewer players, and that can mean higher prices. So that's something that consumers will have to keep in mind.
We'll be keeping an eye on all of these stocks today.
Meanwhile, futures for today's session looking flat to weak. Technology issues looking especially weak ahead of the Federal Reserve decision. Wall Street widely expecting a 1/4 point hike in interest rates for the fifth meeting, the fifth 1/4 point hike. We will get the decision officially at about 2:15 today -- back to you.
COSTELLO: All right, we'll wait for word.
Carrie Lee live from the NASDAQ market site.
Thank you.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 6:18 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
The jury says Scott Peterson should be put to death. The judge still must decide whether to take their recommendation or give Peterson life in prison without parole. The final sentencing is scheduled for February 25.
For the second day in a row, a car bomb has exploded near the green zone in Baghdad. Two people are dead, another 13 injured. No Americans are among the wounded.
In money news, listen to this. Mistakes cost Medicare about $20 billion this year. A government report says the improper payments were partially due to unnecessary procedures. A portion of the payment errors may also have been due to fraud.
In culture, Regis Philbin will ring in the new year. He's replacing Dick Clark on Clark's traditional new year's Rocking Eve broadcast. Clark is recovering from a minor stroke suffered last week.
In sports, it looks like pitcher Pedro Martinez is leaving the world champion Red Sox. Reports say Martinez will join the New York Mets once contract terms are worked out. The deal is expected to be worth more than $50 million for four years -- Rob.
MARCIANO: Yes, but, Carol, you know how much it costs to live in New York City. I mean, there's the cost of living. Plus you've got to pay the posse. I mean it's just troubling.
COSTELLO: Oh, you know, I never thought of those things. You're right.
MARCIANO: Good luck, Pedro.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
Still to come on DAYBREAK, we all have to hobnob a little bit during the holidays, don't we? You know, that office Christmas party? Coming up, suggestions to make your holiday partying pay off in your profession.
We'll be back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: You know that Shania Twain song? It fits with this story. You need to impress some coworkers or their spouses at the company holiday party this year?
Our DAYBREAK contributor J.J. Ramberg joins us with some tips on rubbing people the right way.
J.J. RAMBERG, DAYBREAK CONTRIBUTOR: Well, that's the key, right? Because it's so tricky. When you're at a holiday party, it's the perfect place to network. You get to meet your boss. You can meet your boss's boss. If you're at another party and you're looking for a job, you can meet someone there. But you have to be incredibly careful that you are not rubbing them the wrong way, as you just said.
And we talked to some communication experts to see what are some tips that we can have for holiday parties.
And Diane Diresta, who is one of these experts, gave us some advice on selling yourself without exactly selling yourself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIANE DIRESTA, PRESIDENT, DIRESTA COMMUNICATIONS: You want to talk about yourself as a package of skills, because people will say what do you do, what's your background? Never ask for a job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAMBERG: Now, she says this is the key tip, never ask for a job. It's completely inappropriate to be at a holiday party and ask for a job.
But we got some other tips.
Right? I mean it's annoying to be at a party and have someone coming up to you.
But some other tips to sort of ask for a job, to get to the point where you can.
COSTELLO: Oh, so you can ask for a job, but not really ask.
RAMBERG: Exactly.
So where are some of the ideas. One is be sure that you have a goal. So go in there and know exactly who you want to meet and exactly what you want to tell them, so you can be efficient, which isn't so fun maybe for a holiday party. But we're networking here.
A second one is prepare an elevator speech. So this is a 15 second speech that you have if you get in front of someone you want to talk to -- here's who I am, here's what I want to do, without saying it exactly like that. But sell this package of skills, like she said.
The third thing is leave your resume at home. This is not a place to be handing out your resume. You can hand out your business cards, but only if it seems appropriate and somebody is asking for your contact information. And then follow up with a note after. And this is when you can be a little bit more obvious about what you want to do.
But this is -- holiday parties are a time to meet people and a great time to meet people.
COSTELLO: Yes, but whatever you do, do not have fun.
RAMBERG: You can have a little fun. Just be careful how much you drink.
COSTELLO: I know. That's the biggest mistake people make, they just, because you're nervous and you just keep, you know, and then...
RAMBERG: And then the next morning I'm like oh.
COSTELLO: What did I say?
J.J. Ramberg, thanks for joining DAYBREAK.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: And good morning to you.
Thank you for waking up with us.
I'm Carol Costello live from the Time Warner Center in New York.
Let's get right to the headlines now.
A car bombing today in Baghdad kills two people and injures 13 more. It happened near a green zone checkpoint. That's where the Iraqi government and the U.S. coalition are headquartered. A suicide bomber struck in the same area on Monday, killing at least eight people. Also in Baghdad, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Richard Myers arrived this morning with some celebrity company. He'll emcee a show for the troops featuring comedian Robin Williams and the former NFL quarterback John Elway.
Former General Tommy Franks is one of three men getting the Medal of Freedom from President Bush today. Franks commanded the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Former CIA Director George Tenet and former Iraqi Administrator Paul Bremer will also receive the nation's highest civilian honor.
And French President Jacques Chirac was on hand for the opening of the world's tallest road bridge. Yes, this bridge reaches 1,125 feet high at one point. It's expected to make travel quicker between Paris and Barcelona, Spain.
To the forecast center and Rob, who's in for Chad this morning -- good morning.
MARCIANO: Cool looking bridge.
COSTELLO: Yes.
MARCIANO: A little style there, as well.
Hey, it's colder here in Atlanta than it is in New York right now. Can you believe that?
COSTELLO: No.
MARCIANO: I know you were driving to work in your fancy car this morning. You probably didn't...
COSTELLO: Yes, right.
MARCIANO: You had the heat seaters on and the heat cranking and it felt pretty good.
COSTELLO: Sure.
(WEATHER REPORT)
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