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American Morning
Behind-the-Scenes Look at Security Operations at Super Bowl; '90-Second Pop'
Aired February 07, 2005 - 09:30 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. Just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. Bill Hemmer is off today. Rob Marciano has been kind enough to fill in for Bill.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: My pleasure.
O'BRIEN: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Nice to be with you this morning.
It seems that prospective jurors want to get in on the Michael Jackson case, but some court observers wonder if they're there for right reasons. We'll look at that ahead.
MARCIANO: Also the Super Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida was a major test of homeland security. We'll find out if they made the grade. That's just ahead.
O'BRIEN: First, though, another check of the headlines. Heidi Collins helping us out this morning.
Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, guys. And good morning to you, everybody.
Now in the news this morning, CNN has learned Iraqi insurgents have made two recent attempts to down U.S. cargo planes. Military sources say the latest attempt took place yesterday. A C-17 was targeted while taking off from Baghdad International Airport, but was not struck. On Friday, a C-130 taking off West of Baghdad reported it came under fire, but also was not hit. In both cases, the planes proceeded without incident.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice predicting tomorrow's Mideast summit in Egypt will be a success. Rice is now heading to Rome, following separate talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Before leaving the Middle East, Rice pledged $40 million in immediate aid to the Palestinians.
The Vatican says the pope will stay hospitalized for a few more days as a precaution. The pope gave a brief blessing from his hospital window yesterday in Rome. Vatican officials say the 84-year- old pontiff continues to improve and spends some hours every day out of bed. Another medical update is expected later on this week. We'll keep our eye on that for you.
Back to you.
O'BRIEN: The pope actually normally gets a three-week break. So right now he's sort of at the beginning at that start of that break. So he'll three weeks to be out of kind of the media glare.
COLLINS: And out of the hospital hopefully.
MARCIANO: He deserves a have a case, at the least.
O'BRIEN: Do you get any time off when you're pope?
Thanks, Heidi. Appreciate it.
Questioning of prospective jurors was supposed to start today in Michael Jackson's child-molestation case. But because of a death in the family of Jackson's lead lawyer, the questioning has been postponed.
Here's CNN's Miguel Marquez.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The trial of Michael Jackson underway as is the pop star's media push.
MICHAEL JACKSON, ENTERTAINER: Please keep an open mind and let me have my day in court.
MARQUEZ: With his first of many days in court looming, Jackson released a videotaped statement on his Web site on the eve of jury selection. By the end of the week, Jackson went to even greater lengths to get his message out. In an interview taped two weeks ago, but only released after jury selection had begun, the pop star told FOX's Geraldo Rivera, who says he is an advocate for Jackson, that his celebrity made him vulnerable.
JACKSON: The bigger the star, the bigger the target. I'm not trying to say I'm the super-duper star.
MARQUEZ: Day one of the star's trial attracted media from around the world to the California farming town of Santa Maria. Fans were there too, but in fewer numbers than his original arraignment last year. This time, Jackson was all business, arriving early and only a quick wave to fans. In court, when prospective jurors entered, Jackson was professional and attentive, even at one point taking notes.
PROFESSOR LAURIE LEVENSON, LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL: It doesn't surprise me that Michael Jackson is on a short leash from his lawyer right now, that he's behaving himself, because he has to.
MARQUEZ: Laurie Levenson, a former Federal prosecutor says, selecting a jury may be difficult, given that 250 residents jumped so quickly to serve on a trial that could last six months. LEVENSON: Some of them may want to be there to try to help Michael Jackson and others might want to be there to get Michael Jackson, because they think he's been acting above the law.
MARQUEZ: The whittling down of 250 prospective jurors to 12 is now postponed because of a death in the family of Jackson lawyer Tom Mesereau. Jury selection is set to resume February 14th.
Miguel Marquez, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Michael Jackson is charged with four counts of child molestation -- Rob.
MARCIANO: The New England Patriots weren't the only victors last night. The law-enforcement agents watching over Super Bowl XXXIX are big winners, too.
In our CNN Security Watch, CNN's Susan Candiotti joins us from Jacksonville, Florida with an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at security operations.
Good morning, Susan.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Law enforcement especially relieved the game went off without any major security hitches, especially after a year and a half of planning. We got an inside look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): While two teams were doing battle on the gridiron, a third team was in the middle of its own gameplan, using everything from satellite images of Jacksonville down to schematics of stadium club-level ceiling, hundreds of agents, federal, state and local agencies stood by in case of trouble.
As it turns out, the biggest story wasn't the game, but a jam- packed activities nearby, reminiscent of the park bombing at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If an individual, a lone wolf-type character, like Eric Rudolph per se, were to show up, the most vulnerable area of course is the NFL venues that are not at the Super Bowl.
CANDIOTTI: A few hours before the game began, a possible problem. Radar aboard this homeland security aircraft picked up a small plane close to penetrating a 30-mile wide no-fly zone. The plane was ordered to put down.
RON GUIRRERI, HOMELAND SECURITY: It landed at an outlying field, and it was met by investigators.
CANDIOTTI: But no threat was found. That information went straight to the man in charge of Super Bowl XXXIX security, Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford at his command post.
Perhaps his biggest get of the night was this man, Deion Rich, famous for faking his way into more than 30 Super Bowls, the Kentucky Derby and the Academy Awards. This time he was arrested with an alleged phony ticket.
SHERIFF JOHN RUTHERFORD, JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA: He's, I believe, trying to embarrass law enforcement, show that the security is not that good.
CANDIOTTI: In section 119, a minor fan fight in the seats.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the closest camera.
CANDIOTTI: A battery of more than 200 cameras allowed authorities to pinpoint where it happened. For the Coast Guard, no breaches to its 14-mile safety zone on the St. John's River.
Yet, by game's end, the sheriff was not ready to call his security team's work a success.
RUTHERFORD: Once we help get all of these fans moved out of Jacksonville and get back to where they reside, that'll will be our -- that's when we're going to start celebrating the end of this game.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: So a successful Super Bowl wrap for all involved would be a safe and hassle-free departure for some 24,000 fans flying the of Jacksonville during today.
Back to you, Rob.
MARCIANO: I hope that happens, Susan. Thanks very much. Susan Candiotti live for us in Jacksonville, Florida.
And stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Many soldiers returning from combat are left with physical injuries, but often it's the emotional wounded that take longer to heal.
CNN's Dan Lothian has the story of how one Massachusetts community is working to make soldiers' transitions home a little bit easier.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going back to school, though.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Marine Jerry Sparks (ph) survived two tours of duty on the front lines in Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I was an inch left or right, I would have been dead. LOTHIAN: From the war-torn streets of Falluja and Baghdad, Sparks returned to his Massachusetts home, uninjured physically, but not, he says, emotionally.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like day to day. You know, like I'm talking to you now and I'm relaxed, you know, it's good, but there's other days where I have bad days, I don't sleep, I have nightmares.
LOTHIAN: His mother, who is part of a veteran support group, and for years has been outspoken about the challenges facing men and women returning from the battlefield, says when her son returned home his pain was instantly visible.
BETH PRINCIOTTA, JERRY'S MOTHER: The first thing I noticed was a the shell shock in his eyes. Excuse me. The light that I had sent him off with was not there.
LOTHIAN: That's why she joined veterans and other experts in a community summit near Boston, all hoping to help returning combat soldiers readjust to civilian life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're coming home in droves, and we have to find them, we have to tell them what's available to them.
LOTHIAN: Such as mental health counseling, religious support, financial advice and help with possible domestic violence issues.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These men and women volunteered to serve and protect us. Now we in the community must be there for them.
LOTHIAN (on camera): This effort, say experts, is especially critical because they insist soldiers returning home from the battlefield are typically unwilling to ask for help, even if their problems or their symptoms are severe.
(voice-over): Spark stays pride keeps some soldiers from seeking help. Knowing that a community cares...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because the community don't alienate us, you know.
LOTHIAN: ... and is reaching out, he says, will help heal the ugly scars of war.
Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Massachusetts veterans services will send the names of returning combat soldiers to their hometown veterans agents to jumpstart that outreach effort.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: If you're in the market for a new car, Motown may have the best new reason yet to buy. Andy's "Minding Your Business," just ahead.
Plus, what was the best Super Bowl commercial? Pepsi's P. Diddy is just one of the contenders. "90-Second Pop" coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: All right. We know why that's running, Paul McCartney, of course. It's time for a Monday edition of "90-Second Pop." The gang's all here this morning. Andy Borowitz from Borowitzreport.com. Jessica Shaw from "Entertainment Weekly." Toure, CNN pop culture correspondent.
Good morning. Good morning. Good morning.
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: Hello.
JESSICA SHAW, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: Did you all stay up to watch the game?
TOURE: Of course.
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: Yes.
SHAW: Yes. I stayed up to watch Paul and to hear that song.
O'BRIEN: What did you think of him overall? Good, bad?
BOROWITZ: We'll get to that.
TOURE: Oh, god, what a (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
O'BRIEN: Well, you know, we'll talk about that in just a moment. But first let's talk about the commercials.
TOURE: Which, in general, were a bit of a snore.
O'BRIEN: A snore?
TOURE: I think the game was more...
O'BRIEN: This is an exciting "90-Second Pop."
TOURE: Well, no, the pop can be interesting if the subjects are boring. And the game was better than the commercials. I think Madison Avenue is generally lacking in creativity right now.
O'BRIEN: Because they're afraid.
TOURE: Well, partly because they're afraid, and partly because they think every design problem can be fixed by stuffing in a celebrity or three or four or five, like...
O'BRIEN: But some of the commercials mocked that.
TOURE: Yes.
O'BRIEN: That was kind of cute.
TOURE: Yes, which is -- oh, but mocking that is going into that at the same time.
O'BRIEN: I feel like I'm in an English literature class where we're deconstructing something.
TOURE: You are.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the ones that you liked the best. What was your favorite?
TOURE: Well, my favorite of the whole night was at the Anheuser- Busch for the soldiers coming home and being applauded by people. It was moving. It was heart-warming. It was honest.
O'BRIEN: Let's watch it for those who missed it.
TOURE: Let's see it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: I've got to tell you, when I saw this, I mean, I got all choked up. I think this is a beautiful commercial. It was really nice.
TOURE: And you know, now we can guarantee that this will happen in airports all over the place, though it did happen after 9/11. I remember standing out in the street, fire trucks going by and people spontaneously applauding in the middle...
SHAW: You're choked up again.
O'BRIEN: I know. It's...
SHAW: You're almost crying.
TOURE: She needs a hug.
O'BRIEN: Can I get a tissue, please?
TOURE: Should we talk amongst ourselves?
O'BRIEN: It's a very...
TOURE: Paul McCartney. Paul McCartney.
O'BRIEN: Exactly. Let's move into the boring. I actually agree with you. And I think it would happen anyway. I think people will be applauding the soldiers when they come back.
TOURE: Absolutely.
O'BRIEN: I thought that was a nice ad. All right. Then there was the P. Diddy ad for Diet Pepsi...
TOURE: Yes.
O'BRIEN: ... which I thought was hilarious. I did not cry at this one. Let's...
BOROWITZ: I found it moving actually.
O'BRIEN: Now the whole point, his car breaks down. He hitches a ride on a Pepsi truck.
TOURE: But this is so Puffy's life, that the least little weird things happen, everyone latches onto it like he's the coolest kid in school and suddenly...
O'BRIEN: Because, of course, people pick up on the trend...
TOURE: Yes.
O'BRIEN: ... and everyone goes out and starts getting a Pepsi truck.
TOURE: And by the end, Carson Daly (ph) is driving a Pepsi truck, because he thinks that's what Puffy thinks is cool.
BOROWITZ: Right.
TOURE: And that's what Puffy's life is like.
O'BRIEN: I love that. I think it's funny, because, again, it was sort of self-mocking with all of the celebrities taking part in it.
TOURE: Right, right.
O'BRIEN: It was very cute. Then there was the one that you liked, the MasterCard.
TOURE: Mastercard, yes, there was...
O'BRIEN: And I thought this was kind of lame.
TOURE: But there were two great ones where you had a whole bunch of different mythologies all combined into one. MasterCard got all of the great food characters. And Emerald Nut got all of the great mythologies from childhood together, Santa and the Easter Bunny.
O'BRIEN: I'm obviously just not that deep. I didn't get it. That was, like, boring.
BOROWITZ: But in terms of misfires, though, the MBNA ad, you had Gladys Knight and rugby. Want what went wrong? What went wrong?
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: Yes, unbelievable. It was a magic combination.
O'BRIEN: All right, let's...
SHAW: It was a huge missed opportunity. Cialis should have sponsored the halftime show.
O'BRIEN: Oh. Segueing us nicely into the halftime show. I didn't think it was so bad. People were just so bored.
BOROWITZ: Well...
O'BRIEN: I thought it was OK.
SHAW: If you're going to get a 62-year-old guy to do halftime show, he's definitely your guy. I mean...
BOROWITZ: You know, I thought his performance was OK. I mean...
O'BRIEN: The fireworks?
BOROWITZ: You know, the songs, though, these songs for the record are 40 years old, except "Live and Let Die," which was something for the kids. It was 30 years old. But Paul McCartney is great, but he is looking so much like Angela Lansbury now, it is like really disturbing me. I'm sorry. I thought it was, like, is this "Murder She Wrote?" One of those musicals segments? I don't know. Other than that, great.
O'BRIEN: You loved it.
BOROWITZ: You know, a couple years ago they had a great one. I mean, MTV is getting a bad rap because of last year's show. But remember a few years ago they had, you know, Aerosmith, Gwen Stephanie, Sting? And it was like...
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: It was sort of a mess, but it was something for everybody. I think, like, next year, let's have a little entertainment. Let's just put entertainment back in the halftime show.
SHAW: I think we should all just be very grateful that when Paul McCartney took off his jacket that he didn't take off his shirt as well.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
O'BRIEN: You know what? That's what we would be talking about today.
TOURE: I just kept thinking of them coming into Shea Stadium in the '60s, you know, as a foursome. And now it's just him and Ringo left. And, like, you know, he's basically the last man standing. It's like wow! That's kind of sad.
O'BRIEN: A bummer read on top of the boring concert.
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: But it's also like in his age, it's like, baby, you can drive my car, because I just failed my eye test, you know.
O'BRIEN: On that happy note, "90-Second Pop" is over.
We'll go back to Rob -- Rob.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: Thanks, Soledad.
The big three carmakers have big problems on their hands, but you can take advantage of it. Andy's "Minding Your Business," next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: If you're in the market for an SUV, now is a good time to go shopping. Andy Serwer can tell us why. He's "Minding Your Business." I'm guessing the price of gas hasn't gone down a whole lot. That must be another reason.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: No, financing is the reason, Rob, and the price of gas is going up, but we'll get to that in one second.
Let's check in on the markets, first of all. We've kind of been around level. And now we're down one. Well, that's not good. But if we keep watching that little bird, it will probably go up, because not a whole lot going on on Wall Street this morning. Big question of the day is Wall Street's been eying President Bush's $2.5 trillion budget, trying to sort through that, trying to figure out what that means. Obviously we will be covering that today and in the coming days as well.
I don't know if you saw this commercial last night at Super Bowl, we've been talking a lot about the commercials, where the guy's sitting next to his talking dog, the talking dog tries to get him to take him out for a walk, and he goes, well, you know, this car company has got a great new leash. And the guy goes, no, dummy, that was new lease. And the dog goes, oh, well. Anyway -- I thought it was pretty funny. We never talked about that one.
Anyway, there's a whole lot going on in the world of car financing. Adn the big three -- that would be GM, Ford and Chrysler -- have very high inventories of SUVs, and guess what that means? Zero percent financing is back. This is one of those deals that's great for the customers and bad for the companies, as you can imagine. Sixty months of zero-percent financing available at those three companies coming up. So be watching that. This is a "Wall Street Journal" story. Crossover wagons obviously really eating into this business, and they did this last year. But now they feel compelled to do it again because inventories have gotten big again.
MARCIANO: Some of the crossovers are snazzy looking. They make a nice compromise.
SERWER: Yes, they have. And they have really eaten into that SUV market, and with gas prices higher you can understand that.
MARCIANO: Meanwhile, mark down Andy for liking the talking dog commercial.
SERWER: I like that. No one else. I love the talking animal ones. I don't know if you saw the one with Burt Reynolds and the bear.
O'BRIEN: That was cute.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, that's good. That's good. They had a couple of commercials for cars that aren't even out yet yesterday, Cadillac and Mustang.
SERWER: Yes, the Mustang with the frozen guy. That was cute.
CAFFERTY: Pretty funny.
MARCIANO: I liked that one.
O'BRIEN: Talking about retirement.
CAFFERTY: Yes. I'm ready.
(LAUGHTER)
MARCIANO: That was perfect.
CAFFERTY: The question is this, how are you planning for your retirement? This is pretty cute. John in Lynch Station, Virginia, "Jack, my retirement plan is to be elected to Congress and use their retirement plan."
See, those guys don't have to worry about Social Security or all of the health insurance or all of that stuff, because they're different from us. They got a weasel deal. They retire with their full salary for the rest of their lives, people in Congress and the Senate. All of their medical stuff's paid. The reason Social Security doesn't get fixed is because it doesn't apply to the politicians. If politicians had to worry about Social Security, we wouldn't be having this conversation."
O'BRIEN: Was that a letter?
CAFFERTY: No, that was my letter. I wrote that to myself.
Reinhard in Rutherford, New Jersey writes, "When I came to America in 1964, I joined the Army. I got the princely sum of $78 a month. I had a savings bond taken from my pay each month. Later I learned how to really invest. I did not expect the government to take care of me as I aged."
And John writes, "With escalating deficits caused by the war in Iraq, the pressures on the current Social Security system and the increasing ratio of workers to retirees, I don't envision retirement unless I win the lottery."
O'BRIEN: I think there are a lot of people who go along with that. That's why so many people play that.
CAFFERTY: I don't think I got one letter that said, gee, I'm really set for a great retirement, and I can hardly wait, because I got plenty of money and -- I didn't get any of those.
SERWER: Well, those people are asleep.
CAFFERTY: That's right. They don't have to get up and go to work. That's a good point.
O'BRIEN: That's right, Andy. Good thinking.
Thanks, Jack.
Coming up on CNN, decide your old TV didn't cut it for the big game last night? "CNN LIVE TODAY" has the top five tips on buying a new big screen LCD or new plasma TV, including one with that warrant. That's a good idea. That's in the next hour with Rick Sanchez and Betty Nguyen.
AMERICAN MORNING is back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired February 7, 2005 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. Just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. Bill Hemmer is off today. Rob Marciano has been kind enough to fill in for Bill.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: My pleasure.
O'BRIEN: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Nice to be with you this morning.
It seems that prospective jurors want to get in on the Michael Jackson case, but some court observers wonder if they're there for right reasons. We'll look at that ahead.
MARCIANO: Also the Super Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida was a major test of homeland security. We'll find out if they made the grade. That's just ahead.
O'BRIEN: First, though, another check of the headlines. Heidi Collins helping us out this morning.
Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, guys. And good morning to you, everybody.
Now in the news this morning, CNN has learned Iraqi insurgents have made two recent attempts to down U.S. cargo planes. Military sources say the latest attempt took place yesterday. A C-17 was targeted while taking off from Baghdad International Airport, but was not struck. On Friday, a C-130 taking off West of Baghdad reported it came under fire, but also was not hit. In both cases, the planes proceeded without incident.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice predicting tomorrow's Mideast summit in Egypt will be a success. Rice is now heading to Rome, following separate talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Before leaving the Middle East, Rice pledged $40 million in immediate aid to the Palestinians.
The Vatican says the pope will stay hospitalized for a few more days as a precaution. The pope gave a brief blessing from his hospital window yesterday in Rome. Vatican officials say the 84-year- old pontiff continues to improve and spends some hours every day out of bed. Another medical update is expected later on this week. We'll keep our eye on that for you.
Back to you.
O'BRIEN: The pope actually normally gets a three-week break. So right now he's sort of at the beginning at that start of that break. So he'll three weeks to be out of kind of the media glare.
COLLINS: And out of the hospital hopefully.
MARCIANO: He deserves a have a case, at the least.
O'BRIEN: Do you get any time off when you're pope?
Thanks, Heidi. Appreciate it.
Questioning of prospective jurors was supposed to start today in Michael Jackson's child-molestation case. But because of a death in the family of Jackson's lead lawyer, the questioning has been postponed.
Here's CNN's Miguel Marquez.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The trial of Michael Jackson underway as is the pop star's media push.
MICHAEL JACKSON, ENTERTAINER: Please keep an open mind and let me have my day in court.
MARQUEZ: With his first of many days in court looming, Jackson released a videotaped statement on his Web site on the eve of jury selection. By the end of the week, Jackson went to even greater lengths to get his message out. In an interview taped two weeks ago, but only released after jury selection had begun, the pop star told FOX's Geraldo Rivera, who says he is an advocate for Jackson, that his celebrity made him vulnerable.
JACKSON: The bigger the star, the bigger the target. I'm not trying to say I'm the super-duper star.
MARQUEZ: Day one of the star's trial attracted media from around the world to the California farming town of Santa Maria. Fans were there too, but in fewer numbers than his original arraignment last year. This time, Jackson was all business, arriving early and only a quick wave to fans. In court, when prospective jurors entered, Jackson was professional and attentive, even at one point taking notes.
PROFESSOR LAURIE LEVENSON, LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL: It doesn't surprise me that Michael Jackson is on a short leash from his lawyer right now, that he's behaving himself, because he has to.
MARQUEZ: Laurie Levenson, a former Federal prosecutor says, selecting a jury may be difficult, given that 250 residents jumped so quickly to serve on a trial that could last six months. LEVENSON: Some of them may want to be there to try to help Michael Jackson and others might want to be there to get Michael Jackson, because they think he's been acting above the law.
MARQUEZ: The whittling down of 250 prospective jurors to 12 is now postponed because of a death in the family of Jackson lawyer Tom Mesereau. Jury selection is set to resume February 14th.
Miguel Marquez, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Michael Jackson is charged with four counts of child molestation -- Rob.
MARCIANO: The New England Patriots weren't the only victors last night. The law-enforcement agents watching over Super Bowl XXXIX are big winners, too.
In our CNN Security Watch, CNN's Susan Candiotti joins us from Jacksonville, Florida with an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at security operations.
Good morning, Susan.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Law enforcement especially relieved the game went off without any major security hitches, especially after a year and a half of planning. We got an inside look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): While two teams were doing battle on the gridiron, a third team was in the middle of its own gameplan, using everything from satellite images of Jacksonville down to schematics of stadium club-level ceiling, hundreds of agents, federal, state and local agencies stood by in case of trouble.
As it turns out, the biggest story wasn't the game, but a jam- packed activities nearby, reminiscent of the park bombing at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If an individual, a lone wolf-type character, like Eric Rudolph per se, were to show up, the most vulnerable area of course is the NFL venues that are not at the Super Bowl.
CANDIOTTI: A few hours before the game began, a possible problem. Radar aboard this homeland security aircraft picked up a small plane close to penetrating a 30-mile wide no-fly zone. The plane was ordered to put down.
RON GUIRRERI, HOMELAND SECURITY: It landed at an outlying field, and it was met by investigators.
CANDIOTTI: But no threat was found. That information went straight to the man in charge of Super Bowl XXXIX security, Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford at his command post.
Perhaps his biggest get of the night was this man, Deion Rich, famous for faking his way into more than 30 Super Bowls, the Kentucky Derby and the Academy Awards. This time he was arrested with an alleged phony ticket.
SHERIFF JOHN RUTHERFORD, JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA: He's, I believe, trying to embarrass law enforcement, show that the security is not that good.
CANDIOTTI: In section 119, a minor fan fight in the seats.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the closest camera.
CANDIOTTI: A battery of more than 200 cameras allowed authorities to pinpoint where it happened. For the Coast Guard, no breaches to its 14-mile safety zone on the St. John's River.
Yet, by game's end, the sheriff was not ready to call his security team's work a success.
RUTHERFORD: Once we help get all of these fans moved out of Jacksonville and get back to where they reside, that'll will be our -- that's when we're going to start celebrating the end of this game.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: So a successful Super Bowl wrap for all involved would be a safe and hassle-free departure for some 24,000 fans flying the of Jacksonville during today.
Back to you, Rob.
MARCIANO: I hope that happens, Susan. Thanks very much. Susan Candiotti live for us in Jacksonville, Florida.
And stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Many soldiers returning from combat are left with physical injuries, but often it's the emotional wounded that take longer to heal.
CNN's Dan Lothian has the story of how one Massachusetts community is working to make soldiers' transitions home a little bit easier.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going back to school, though.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Marine Jerry Sparks (ph) survived two tours of duty on the front lines in Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I was an inch left or right, I would have been dead. LOTHIAN: From the war-torn streets of Falluja and Baghdad, Sparks returned to his Massachusetts home, uninjured physically, but not, he says, emotionally.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like day to day. You know, like I'm talking to you now and I'm relaxed, you know, it's good, but there's other days where I have bad days, I don't sleep, I have nightmares.
LOTHIAN: His mother, who is part of a veteran support group, and for years has been outspoken about the challenges facing men and women returning from the battlefield, says when her son returned home his pain was instantly visible.
BETH PRINCIOTTA, JERRY'S MOTHER: The first thing I noticed was a the shell shock in his eyes. Excuse me. The light that I had sent him off with was not there.
LOTHIAN: That's why she joined veterans and other experts in a community summit near Boston, all hoping to help returning combat soldiers readjust to civilian life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're coming home in droves, and we have to find them, we have to tell them what's available to them.
LOTHIAN: Such as mental health counseling, religious support, financial advice and help with possible domestic violence issues.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These men and women volunteered to serve and protect us. Now we in the community must be there for them.
LOTHIAN (on camera): This effort, say experts, is especially critical because they insist soldiers returning home from the battlefield are typically unwilling to ask for help, even if their problems or their symptoms are severe.
(voice-over): Spark stays pride keeps some soldiers from seeking help. Knowing that a community cares...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because the community don't alienate us, you know.
LOTHIAN: ... and is reaching out, he says, will help heal the ugly scars of war.
Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Massachusetts veterans services will send the names of returning combat soldiers to their hometown veterans agents to jumpstart that outreach effort.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: If you're in the market for a new car, Motown may have the best new reason yet to buy. Andy's "Minding Your Business," just ahead.
Plus, what was the best Super Bowl commercial? Pepsi's P. Diddy is just one of the contenders. "90-Second Pop" coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: All right. We know why that's running, Paul McCartney, of course. It's time for a Monday edition of "90-Second Pop." The gang's all here this morning. Andy Borowitz from Borowitzreport.com. Jessica Shaw from "Entertainment Weekly." Toure, CNN pop culture correspondent.
Good morning. Good morning. Good morning.
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: Hello.
JESSICA SHAW, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: Did you all stay up to watch the game?
TOURE: Of course.
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: Yes.
SHAW: Yes. I stayed up to watch Paul and to hear that song.
O'BRIEN: What did you think of him overall? Good, bad?
BOROWITZ: We'll get to that.
TOURE: Oh, god, what a (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
O'BRIEN: Well, you know, we'll talk about that in just a moment. But first let's talk about the commercials.
TOURE: Which, in general, were a bit of a snore.
O'BRIEN: A snore?
TOURE: I think the game was more...
O'BRIEN: This is an exciting "90-Second Pop."
TOURE: Well, no, the pop can be interesting if the subjects are boring. And the game was better than the commercials. I think Madison Avenue is generally lacking in creativity right now.
O'BRIEN: Because they're afraid.
TOURE: Well, partly because they're afraid, and partly because they think every design problem can be fixed by stuffing in a celebrity or three or four or five, like...
O'BRIEN: But some of the commercials mocked that.
TOURE: Yes.
O'BRIEN: That was kind of cute.
TOURE: Yes, which is -- oh, but mocking that is going into that at the same time.
O'BRIEN: I feel like I'm in an English literature class where we're deconstructing something.
TOURE: You are.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the ones that you liked the best. What was your favorite?
TOURE: Well, my favorite of the whole night was at the Anheuser- Busch for the soldiers coming home and being applauded by people. It was moving. It was heart-warming. It was honest.
O'BRIEN: Let's watch it for those who missed it.
TOURE: Let's see it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: I've got to tell you, when I saw this, I mean, I got all choked up. I think this is a beautiful commercial. It was really nice.
TOURE: And you know, now we can guarantee that this will happen in airports all over the place, though it did happen after 9/11. I remember standing out in the street, fire trucks going by and people spontaneously applauding in the middle...
SHAW: You're choked up again.
O'BRIEN: I know. It's...
SHAW: You're almost crying.
TOURE: She needs a hug.
O'BRIEN: Can I get a tissue, please?
TOURE: Should we talk amongst ourselves?
O'BRIEN: It's a very...
TOURE: Paul McCartney. Paul McCartney.
O'BRIEN: Exactly. Let's move into the boring. I actually agree with you. And I think it would happen anyway. I think people will be applauding the soldiers when they come back.
TOURE: Absolutely.
O'BRIEN: I thought that was a nice ad. All right. Then there was the P. Diddy ad for Diet Pepsi...
TOURE: Yes.
O'BRIEN: ... which I thought was hilarious. I did not cry at this one. Let's...
BOROWITZ: I found it moving actually.
O'BRIEN: Now the whole point, his car breaks down. He hitches a ride on a Pepsi truck.
TOURE: But this is so Puffy's life, that the least little weird things happen, everyone latches onto it like he's the coolest kid in school and suddenly...
O'BRIEN: Because, of course, people pick up on the trend...
TOURE: Yes.
O'BRIEN: ... and everyone goes out and starts getting a Pepsi truck.
TOURE: And by the end, Carson Daly (ph) is driving a Pepsi truck, because he thinks that's what Puffy thinks is cool.
BOROWITZ: Right.
TOURE: And that's what Puffy's life is like.
O'BRIEN: I love that. I think it's funny, because, again, it was sort of self-mocking with all of the celebrities taking part in it.
TOURE: Right, right.
O'BRIEN: It was very cute. Then there was the one that you liked, the MasterCard.
TOURE: Mastercard, yes, there was...
O'BRIEN: And I thought this was kind of lame.
TOURE: But there were two great ones where you had a whole bunch of different mythologies all combined into one. MasterCard got all of the great food characters. And Emerald Nut got all of the great mythologies from childhood together, Santa and the Easter Bunny.
O'BRIEN: I'm obviously just not that deep. I didn't get it. That was, like, boring.
BOROWITZ: But in terms of misfires, though, the MBNA ad, you had Gladys Knight and rugby. Want what went wrong? What went wrong?
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: Yes, unbelievable. It was a magic combination.
O'BRIEN: All right, let's...
SHAW: It was a huge missed opportunity. Cialis should have sponsored the halftime show.
O'BRIEN: Oh. Segueing us nicely into the halftime show. I didn't think it was so bad. People were just so bored.
BOROWITZ: Well...
O'BRIEN: I thought it was OK.
SHAW: If you're going to get a 62-year-old guy to do halftime show, he's definitely your guy. I mean...
BOROWITZ: You know, I thought his performance was OK. I mean...
O'BRIEN: The fireworks?
BOROWITZ: You know, the songs, though, these songs for the record are 40 years old, except "Live and Let Die," which was something for the kids. It was 30 years old. But Paul McCartney is great, but he is looking so much like Angela Lansbury now, it is like really disturbing me. I'm sorry. I thought it was, like, is this "Murder She Wrote?" One of those musicals segments? I don't know. Other than that, great.
O'BRIEN: You loved it.
BOROWITZ: You know, a couple years ago they had a great one. I mean, MTV is getting a bad rap because of last year's show. But remember a few years ago they had, you know, Aerosmith, Gwen Stephanie, Sting? And it was like...
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: It was sort of a mess, but it was something for everybody. I think, like, next year, let's have a little entertainment. Let's just put entertainment back in the halftime show.
SHAW: I think we should all just be very grateful that when Paul McCartney took off his jacket that he didn't take off his shirt as well.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
O'BRIEN: You know what? That's what we would be talking about today.
TOURE: I just kept thinking of them coming into Shea Stadium in the '60s, you know, as a foursome. And now it's just him and Ringo left. And, like, you know, he's basically the last man standing. It's like wow! That's kind of sad.
O'BRIEN: A bummer read on top of the boring concert.
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: But it's also like in his age, it's like, baby, you can drive my car, because I just failed my eye test, you know.
O'BRIEN: On that happy note, "90-Second Pop" is over.
We'll go back to Rob -- Rob.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: Thanks, Soledad.
The big three carmakers have big problems on their hands, but you can take advantage of it. Andy's "Minding Your Business," next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: If you're in the market for an SUV, now is a good time to go shopping. Andy Serwer can tell us why. He's "Minding Your Business." I'm guessing the price of gas hasn't gone down a whole lot. That must be another reason.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: No, financing is the reason, Rob, and the price of gas is going up, but we'll get to that in one second.
Let's check in on the markets, first of all. We've kind of been around level. And now we're down one. Well, that's not good. But if we keep watching that little bird, it will probably go up, because not a whole lot going on on Wall Street this morning. Big question of the day is Wall Street's been eying President Bush's $2.5 trillion budget, trying to sort through that, trying to figure out what that means. Obviously we will be covering that today and in the coming days as well.
I don't know if you saw this commercial last night at Super Bowl, we've been talking a lot about the commercials, where the guy's sitting next to his talking dog, the talking dog tries to get him to take him out for a walk, and he goes, well, you know, this car company has got a great new leash. And the guy goes, no, dummy, that was new lease. And the dog goes, oh, well. Anyway -- I thought it was pretty funny. We never talked about that one.
Anyway, there's a whole lot going on in the world of car financing. Adn the big three -- that would be GM, Ford and Chrysler -- have very high inventories of SUVs, and guess what that means? Zero percent financing is back. This is one of those deals that's great for the customers and bad for the companies, as you can imagine. Sixty months of zero-percent financing available at those three companies coming up. So be watching that. This is a "Wall Street Journal" story. Crossover wagons obviously really eating into this business, and they did this last year. But now they feel compelled to do it again because inventories have gotten big again.
MARCIANO: Some of the crossovers are snazzy looking. They make a nice compromise.
SERWER: Yes, they have. And they have really eaten into that SUV market, and with gas prices higher you can understand that.
MARCIANO: Meanwhile, mark down Andy for liking the talking dog commercial.
SERWER: I like that. No one else. I love the talking animal ones. I don't know if you saw the one with Burt Reynolds and the bear.
O'BRIEN: That was cute.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, that's good. That's good. They had a couple of commercials for cars that aren't even out yet yesterday, Cadillac and Mustang.
SERWER: Yes, the Mustang with the frozen guy. That was cute.
CAFFERTY: Pretty funny.
MARCIANO: I liked that one.
O'BRIEN: Talking about retirement.
CAFFERTY: Yes. I'm ready.
(LAUGHTER)
MARCIANO: That was perfect.
CAFFERTY: The question is this, how are you planning for your retirement? This is pretty cute. John in Lynch Station, Virginia, "Jack, my retirement plan is to be elected to Congress and use their retirement plan."
See, those guys don't have to worry about Social Security or all of the health insurance or all of that stuff, because they're different from us. They got a weasel deal. They retire with their full salary for the rest of their lives, people in Congress and the Senate. All of their medical stuff's paid. The reason Social Security doesn't get fixed is because it doesn't apply to the politicians. If politicians had to worry about Social Security, we wouldn't be having this conversation."
O'BRIEN: Was that a letter?
CAFFERTY: No, that was my letter. I wrote that to myself.
Reinhard in Rutherford, New Jersey writes, "When I came to America in 1964, I joined the Army. I got the princely sum of $78 a month. I had a savings bond taken from my pay each month. Later I learned how to really invest. I did not expect the government to take care of me as I aged."
And John writes, "With escalating deficits caused by the war in Iraq, the pressures on the current Social Security system and the increasing ratio of workers to retirees, I don't envision retirement unless I win the lottery."
O'BRIEN: I think there are a lot of people who go along with that. That's why so many people play that.
CAFFERTY: I don't think I got one letter that said, gee, I'm really set for a great retirement, and I can hardly wait, because I got plenty of money and -- I didn't get any of those.
SERWER: Well, those people are asleep.
CAFFERTY: That's right. They don't have to get up and go to work. That's a good point.
O'BRIEN: That's right, Andy. Good thinking.
Thanks, Jack.
Coming up on CNN, decide your old TV didn't cut it for the big game last night? "CNN LIVE TODAY" has the top five tips on buying a new big screen LCD or new plasma TV, including one with that warrant. That's a good idea. That's in the next hour with Rick Sanchez and Betty Nguyen.
AMERICAN MORNING is back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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