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American Morning

Kobe Bryant Sexual Assault Case Ends in Settlement; Florida Sinkhole Widens

Aired March 03, 2005 - 08:30   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: Good morning, everybody. Welcome back. 8:30 here in New York.
In a moment, after months and months of legal battles, the sexual assault allegations against Kobe Bryant are ending in total silence. We'll talk to Jeff Toobin about the final settlement in the case and will we ever know how much money changed hands? Also, find out who might be the biggest loser in all this. We'll get to Jeff in a moment here.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Also this morning, a pretty amazing scene in Florida. Have you seen this? This huge, huge sinkhole. It is threatening to swallow home after home in Lake City. We're going to take you live to that town and find out if they can do anything about it.

HEMMER: Bigger and bigger.

Back to Carol Costello, also here, with the headlines. Good morning, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Good morning to all of you.

"Now in the News," authorities in Chicago on the lookout for two men they're calling persons of interest in the shooting deaths of a federal judge's family. Police still not calling them suspects, but say they may help in the investigation. These are pictures of them. Judge Joan Lefkow says she knew her job could put her family at risk. Actually, she knew it could put her at risk, but she never thought it would endanger her family. Her mother and her husband were killed. The family is preparing for the funerals on Saturday.

A former army sergeant who deserted his post nearly 40 years ago is now applying for a U.S. passport. Charles Jenkins says he has no plans to move back to the United States, but he does want to visit his 91-year-old mother. She lives in North Carolina. Jenkins and his family have been living in Japan since he turned himself in last year.

In California, Michael Jackson set to be back in court for a third day of testimony in his child molestation trial. A photographer assigned to film Jackson's Neverland Ranch expected to take the stand today.

And millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett now traveling over the California coast, his mission to go around the world without stopping. Sir Richard Branson, who financed the trip, said Fossett hit some bumps along the way. In fact, he lost some fuel. But despite those fuel troubles, Fossett is expected to land back in Kansas in about four hours or so. We're expecting more news from the Fossett camp within the hour.

HEMMER: You think they would have weighed that plane before they took off, huh, Carol?

COSTELLO: I know, it's disturbing, isn't it?

HEMMER: Well, maybe we'll get some answers as we go throughout the morning. Thanks for that, Carol. Kobe Bryant's legal troubles are now over. He has reached a final settlement with the woman who accused him of sexual assault in Colorado. Reporters pressing Kobe Bryant for details after last night's game in Boston.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kobe, do you have any comment on the settlement of your legal case? Is it a weight off your mind?

KOBE BRYANT, LOS ANGELES LAKERS: Gentlemen, anybody with basketball questions, gentlemen?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you feel any freer, any looser, out on the court today, Kobe than maybe other games?

BRYANT: Um, no. Just normal, business as usual.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You seemed to be having a good time in the locker room before the game. Obviously, there are reports that it's been settled.

BRYANT: Anybody with any basketball questions?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: That was Kobe Bryant last night. This morning, here's Jeff Toobin, back with us. Our senior legal analyst. Good morning.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Hi.

HEMMER: We may not get any answers after all of this. Surprised at all the settlement's done?

TOOBIN: Not at all. This is a classic example of both sides having something to gain from settling this case and they have.

HEMMER: Let's talk about Kobe Bryant. What has he gained? Well, he loses money, we know that.

TOOBIN: He loses money, but this is a guy who signed $120 million contract before this season. He's got a lot of money. He gets this behind him. He doesn't have to testify in public. This story as a legal matter is over. And he gets to limit his damage. And he can afford paying her a lot of money. HEMMER: Tell me what the accuser gets. She took the case from Colorado out to California to push the civil side.

TOOBIN: And remember, the reason the case fell apart in the criminal side was that she didn't want to take the stand. So she doesn't have to take the stand in the civil case now because it's settled. She's now pregnant, married. Her life has moved on. She gets a very nice chunk of change. We don't know how much it is, but presumably it's a lot. And she doesn't have to testify. So she gets money and gets to get on with her life.

HEMMER: I'm reading something. "I was dead right on this one." The words of Jeff Toobin.

TOOBIN: That's right. I've made many incorrect predictions on this show and elsewhere, but it is true that I did predict this case would settle. And notice, it did settle right on the eve of Kobe Bryant's deposition in the case, so he didn't have to testify again about it. So I mean, it really was in his interest to get rid of it and he did.

HEMMER: So then last night with these reporters in Boston is similar to what he's saying today, he doesn't have to go on record.

TOOBIN: He doesn't have to talk about it anymore and his reputation, to the extent -- it survived this whole incident, is not damaged. But here's another place where I was wrong, where I thought this whole thing would hurt him a lot more than it did. You know, he was not booed any more than any other player particularly. His career has continued unimpeded. So I thought this would impact him a lot more than it did. In endorsements a little bit, but other than that, not really.

HEMMER: Thanks, Jeff. And again, we don't have any word on the financial settlement.

TOOBIN: But I bet it leaks out eventually.

HEMMER: Thank you. We'll look for that.

Also, one other note, here. Martha Stewart expected to get out of jail tomorrow. In fact, She should be released by this time Friday morning. She has served five month for lying about a stock sale. She will serve another five months of home confinement. CNN will present a "people in the News" hour in conjunction with that release that includes exclusive prison footage and looks at how life behind bars has changed her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD FEIGEN, FRIEND OF MARTHA STEWART: She's achieved a certain kind of serenity. She didn't used to listen much. She knew what she should do and went about it. I mean, now she listens.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HEMMER: The entire hour, "People in the News" with Martha Stewart, comes your way tonight at 10:00 Eastern, 7:00 on the West Coast with Paula Zahn. You can see it right here on CNN -- Soledad?

O'BRIEN: A enormous sinkhole is threatening Lake City, Florida. It is already the size of a football field. At least 11 families have evacuated and the town's been watching it all night.

Angela Spears from our affiliate WTLV is in Lake City this morning. Angela, good morning to you. Do you have any idea what exactly was the cause of this massive sinkhole?

ANGELA SPEARS, REPORTER, LAKE CITY, FLORIDA: Good morning to you, Soledad. What authorities here in Lake City have been telling me -- that they believe that this is an effect from last year's hurricanes that hit Florida. But let me show you just how big this sinkhole is. Take a look here behind me. It is enormous.

I've been talking with people for the past couple of days. They tell me it's unbelievable. They've never seen anything this huge. If you take a look there, you can see a shed and a home. Those two buildings are in danger of coming into the sinkhole. There was a piece of slab underneath the doors of that shed yesterday. That fell down. And a couple of hours ago this morning, Soledad, there was a huge tree in front of the house. That fell into the sinkhole.

This has been causing problems since this past Tuesday. That's when water started gushing in from a nearby lake. There have been evacuations, there is water boil in effect, as well. Big news here, the sinkhole authorities have brought in prisoners to try to put sand bags in here to stop the water flow. That really hasn't helped. They're going to try it again today.

I've been told, this is mother nature at work and you kind of have to let it run its course. The homeowners are here, I have been talking with them. You know, one of the homeowners, she's trying to stay in good spirits, Soledad. She put this sign in front of her home. "For Sale by owner, waterfront property." She's trying to be optimistic about this.

O'BRIEN: I guess, you know, that's a silver lining if you ever heard of one. You know, we can see how giant it is. But how deep is it, Angela?

SPEARS: Oh, I would say it's more than 60 feet deep. I mean, it is just way down there, Soledad. It's huge. Like I said, it's larger than a football field. I've been told -- you see this little line that's back here? This yellow line? We are not to step in front of that, authorities have told us, because it's just dangerous. Because they're afraid that the land could give way. And dirt keeps falling off too, as well.

O'BRIEN: Wow. All right. Angela Spears, thanks for that update. That is just remarkable. Those poor people who own that waterfront property. Angela, thanks.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: What exactly with black box warnings? We keep hearing about them when it comes to dangerous drug side effects. But too many people don't know what they are. Dr. Sanjay Gupta tries to clear up the confusion in a moment.

O'BRIEN: And what's the best way to fix your credit score? Money expert Suze Orman has advice that might go against the conventional wisdom. That's coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Suze Orman is to money matters as Dr. Phil is to relationships. Her latest book of financial advice is aimed squarely at Generation Debt, people in their 20s and 30s, and is called "The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke."

Suze Orman joins us this morning. Nice to see you, Suze.

SUZE ORMAN, PERSONAL FINANCE EXPERT: Thank you, my friend.

O'BRIEN: Thanks for talking with us. You talk a lot about -- in this book, your fico score. Am I pronouncing that right? The fico score? What the heck is your fico score and why is it so important?

ORMAN: Girlfriend, you have one and every single person watching this show this morning has one. Your fico score determines the actual interest rates that you pay on credit cards, home loans, automobile loans. It also determines if a landlord will rent to you, if an employer in many circumstances, will hire you and what your insurance premiums happen to be. So if your car insurance premium is really high, it might just be because you have too much credit card debt on department store credit cards and that affects your insurance premiums.

O'BRIEN: So it's not just sort of how much money you necessarily owe on your credit cards or even your history with credit cards. It's a combination of things, right, that they're looking in your fico score?

ORMAN: Yes. Your mix of credit, your payment history, how much debt you owe on these credit cards, to your credit limit ratios, everything. And it is this one score that can make a serious difference in your life. So when you are broke, especially when are you young, let's say you want to buy a home. Do you know the difference in $150,000 mortgage? That's not that much today. 30 years. If you had a fico score in the 500 range versus a fico score in the 700 range, your monthly payments would be different by $375 a month.

O'BRIEN: Wow.

ORMAN: Simply because had you different fico scores.

O'BRIEN: OK, so you're aiming, you say, for the best -- is between 720 and 850 for best fico score. ORMAN: That's right.

O'BRIEN: 500 to 559 is the worst fico. OK, so here are some tips on how to raise your fico score. Some seem to be a little bit obvious. Always pay your bills on time, even, in fact, if it's just the minimum payment. That seems like good common sense. But this one, avoid department store credit cards, even if they offer a discount. Why?

ORMAN: Yes. Here you are, you have all this stuff in your arms.

O'BRIEN: And 10 percent off. Open up and you go, oh, my god, $700 I'm about to buy. That saves me $70. And you say OK. Do you remember a second ago how I just said that your car insurance premiums, for instance, are based on an insurance score which is a derivative of your fico score.

If you charge more than 50 percent of your available credit on department store credit cards, not Visa, not MasterCard, but department stores, that gets reported to your credit report. The insurance companies look at that. And because you've used more than 50 percent of your available credit at department stores, don't be surprised that you get a 20 percent increase in your car insurance, even though you haven't had an accident or any tickets.

O'BRIEN: So you've saved 70 bucks, but could have lost a lot more than that?

ORMAN: You could be paying $70-80 per month more in car insurance premiums alone.

O'BRIEN: And how about this? Canceling your credit card can hurt and not help your fico score. I would have thought, you know, cancel them, clear out your debt, that's a good thing.

ORMAN: No, it's a horrible thing. You see, that's why it's so important that we always have the right information and that we save money simply by knowing these things. 40 percent of your fico score is made up of your debt, how much you owe, to your credit limit ratio and your credit history. If you close down your credit cards, you are closing down your credit history and you are increasing your debt to credit limit ratio, which dinks you 40 percent on your fico score. Do not, and I repeat, do not close down credit cards. It will hurt you in the long run.

O'BRIEN: You got also some controversial advice, I thought, in the book about your 401(k). You say invest in your 401(k), but not always.

ORMAN: Not always.

O'BRIEN: Why not?

ORMAN: Listen, your 401(k) offers a match. You put in $1, they give you 50 cents. That's an automatic 50 percent return on your money. I don't care what situation you're in, credit card debt, you don't have a pot to pee in, you still always take advantage of that.

However, every corporation maxes out at a certain point. They won't contribute to it any more or some don't corporations don't contribute at all. If that is the situation, you are far better off today if you are young, if you are fabulous and you are broke. Therefore you have credit card debt, possibly at an 18 percent interest rate. Don't contribute to your 401(k) plans after that point.

Take that money, pay off your credit card debt. You pay off your credit card debt, your fico score goes up. Your fico score goes up, the interest rates that you pay on car loans, insurance, mortgages, goes down. You save more money in the long run. That's how you get out of broke.

O'BRIEN: Well, I'm not young and I'm not fabulous and I'm not quite broke, but this is very good advice, not only for the 25-year- olds, but really, I think, for everybody. It's really good advice.

ORMAN: It is.

O'BRIEN: Suze Orman, always nice to chat with you and catch up with you.

ORMAN: Thanks, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Appreciate it.

HEMMER: We are "Paging Dr. Gupta" now about so-called black box warnings for prescription drugs. The FDA is now debating the safety of some popular painkillers. Sanjay explains what the black box option means for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now, remembering that medicine, did it cause any problems when you were taking it before?

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dr. Adrienne Mims finds herself talking about drug safety more and more these days. Patients are concerned about recent FDA warnings and are confused what exactly a black box warning means.

DR. ADRIENNE MIMS, KAISER PERMANENTE: When it's issued by the FDA, it means that this is the most serious of the warnings that there could be complications, including death, from the use of a medication.

GUPTA: Problem is, how many patients actually see the warnings in those little inserts?

MIMS: If a consumer got the actual black box warning, they often toss them and they probably should toss them because it's not really written in patient language.

GUPTA: Nowadays, many pharmacies provide easier to understand inserts, but the message is the same. MIMS: Nothing is safe for everybody. And so whenever you get a medication, even over-the-counter, do look at the warnings.

GUPTA (on camera): Now the FDA does not keep track of the number of drugs that carry these black boxes, but it is estimated that several hundred of the approximately 10,000 it has approved do carry these warnings.

(voice-over): The best advice is to be an educated patient. For example, know if you're in the subset of patients that may be harmed by a drug. With ace inhibitors, a heart medicine, pregnant women can be affected. With oral contraceptives, smokers need to be careful. Antidepressants will soon carry labels for children and adolescents. And a decision on labeling for arthritis medicines called cox-2 inhibitors is now under consideration by the FDA.

MIMS: Let's try another maneuver.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

HEMMER: One other note on the story. Sanjay, thanks for that. The FDA has just asked Congress for more control over drug labels. More later on this -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: You can't get your hockey fix because of the NHL lockout? Why not just go buy the whole league? Andy explains that when he's "Minding Your Business," up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: A pair of investors -- when they talk about buying the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. What about the NHL? Here with that and a look at the markets is Andy Serwer, "Minding Your Business."

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: It's for sale. And you know, everything has its price, Jack.

Let's talk about yesterday. Kind of a drag for investors. The Dow down about 18 points. Yesterday, Greenspan's testimony throwing a little cold water on the party. This morning though, things looking a little brighter. Retailers just out with their numbers for February. Actually surprisingly good, particularly Wal-Mart. And also potentially a big deal in the oil pat. Chevron Texaco taking a close look at Unocal, according to published reports.

OK, let's talk hockey. It appears that a Wall Street buyout firm is interested in buying the NHL. Lock, stock and barrel. The whole thing. A Canadian newspaper is reporting a meeting took place up there in the Great White North between Bain Capital, which is a buy- out company based in Boston and some of the owners. They want to buy the league for $3.5 billion. Now, let's talk about what that means. First of all, we talked about the Ducks being for sale the other day for about $50-75 million. CAFFERTY: Disney's team.

SERWER: That's Disney. So you've got 30 teams. That would value them at a $117 million each, which seems like on the high side, considering the league has lost $500 million over the past two years. Who would want to buy this?

CAFFERTY: Well, maybe, I mean some of the teams obviously worth more. Some are worth less, depending on the markets.

SERWER: The Rangers, the Bruins, the Maple Leafs. That kind of things. But some of these small markets...

CAFFERTY: So maybe you buy them and cut the league back down.

SERWER: That's what's probably going to happen. I really think that's going to happen. Now here's a couple other things. The Yankees worth $800 million plus. The Redskins worth a billion. Manchester United, the soccer team in the UK, supposedly the most valuable sports franchise, worth over $1 billion. So just to give you some perspective. One team worth a third of the whole league. No word on whether the owners are going to accept it. You've got to get 30 of these people to agree, which is very difficult. But what a mess.

CAFFERTY: Of course they ain't making any money right now, are they?

SERWER: No, they're not. So the alternative might be looking pretty good here.

CAFFERTY: Well they might be able to make a deal.

SERWER: Trying to put the biscuit in the basket.

CAFFERTY: There you go. Thanks, Andy. Time for "The File."

We have an update on the Borgata babes, billed as the sexiest cocktail waitresses in Atlantic City. Andy loves this story. Two weeks ago, we told you the Borgata threatened to fire any babes who gained more than seven percent of their body weight. Casino policy requires the servers to be weighed periodically. The local cocktail servers union cried foul and filed a grievance against the casino. Yesterday the Borgata rejected the grievance and says it will continue to weigh the babes. Stay tuned.

If you're young, unemployed and have a bank account of $10 million, there's a reality television show just for you. It's called "Survival of the Richest." Producers are coming to New York to do a casting call next week. They want eight contestants for the show, which will air on the WB. These rich layabouts will be given an actual job and will have to prove to their families they can make it in the real world.

Textile heir Cody Franchetti (ph) had this to say to the "New York Daily News": "$10 million? That's not survival of the richest. That's survival of the mildly rich."

SERWER: Oh, Cody.

CAFFERTY: Jay Leno wants the judge in the Michael Jackson case to clarify the gag order or lift it. Leno's been subpoenaed and he may, in fact, wind up testifying at Jackson's trial. In the meantime, Leno continues to poke fun at the easiest target on the planet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE TONIGHT SHOW")

JAY LENO, "TONIGHT SHOW" HOST: The prosecuting attorney, Tom Sneddon, said that Jackson presided over Neverland as a kind of haven for adolescent boys who were allowed to skip school, drink alcohol, view pornography and stay up all night. You know, you take Michael out of the picture, that's not a bad deal.

Michael Jackson claims that his partners would sleep in the bed while he slept on the floor. You know, it's the same arrangement the Clintons have.

(END VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE TONIGHT SHOW")

CAFFERTY: Now in the actual tape, the people laughed when he told those jokes.

SERWER: We'll laugh. We'll laugh.

CAFFERTY: But we edited the laughs out. Because we wanted to save like one and a half seconds. The "Cafferty File" was had yesterday. We mentioned a German study published in the "New England Journal of Medicine" that said staring at a woman's breasts for a few minutes each day will cut a man's risk of stroke in half. Well, it wasn't and it doesn't. It was an Internet hoax and we fell for it. You have my apologies. But what a great idea.

O'BRIEN: Well, duh, it was a hoax. That was a ridiculous medical study.

CAFFERTY: I'm not as smart as you are. I'm much more gullible than you are.

HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.

O'BRIEN: On certain topics, yes.

CAFFERTY: On most things.

HEMMER: We'll get the top stories in a moment here. Also, new developments on a story, watching all morning long. Steve Fossett's dramatic race against time and an empty gas tank. Will he make history today? A live update from mission control out in Salina, Kansas, ahead here on AMERICAN MORNING.

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


Aired March 3, 2005 - 08:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. Welcome back. 8:30 here in New York.
In a moment, after months and months of legal battles, the sexual assault allegations against Kobe Bryant are ending in total silence. We'll talk to Jeff Toobin about the final settlement in the case and will we ever know how much money changed hands? Also, find out who might be the biggest loser in all this. We'll get to Jeff in a moment here.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Also this morning, a pretty amazing scene in Florida. Have you seen this? This huge, huge sinkhole. It is threatening to swallow home after home in Lake City. We're going to take you live to that town and find out if they can do anything about it.

HEMMER: Bigger and bigger.

Back to Carol Costello, also here, with the headlines. Good morning, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Good morning to all of you.

"Now in the News," authorities in Chicago on the lookout for two men they're calling persons of interest in the shooting deaths of a federal judge's family. Police still not calling them suspects, but say they may help in the investigation. These are pictures of them. Judge Joan Lefkow says she knew her job could put her family at risk. Actually, she knew it could put her at risk, but she never thought it would endanger her family. Her mother and her husband were killed. The family is preparing for the funerals on Saturday.

A former army sergeant who deserted his post nearly 40 years ago is now applying for a U.S. passport. Charles Jenkins says he has no plans to move back to the United States, but he does want to visit his 91-year-old mother. She lives in North Carolina. Jenkins and his family have been living in Japan since he turned himself in last year.

In California, Michael Jackson set to be back in court for a third day of testimony in his child molestation trial. A photographer assigned to film Jackson's Neverland Ranch expected to take the stand today.

And millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett now traveling over the California coast, his mission to go around the world without stopping. Sir Richard Branson, who financed the trip, said Fossett hit some bumps along the way. In fact, he lost some fuel. But despite those fuel troubles, Fossett is expected to land back in Kansas in about four hours or so. We're expecting more news from the Fossett camp within the hour.

HEMMER: You think they would have weighed that plane before they took off, huh, Carol?

COSTELLO: I know, it's disturbing, isn't it?

HEMMER: Well, maybe we'll get some answers as we go throughout the morning. Thanks for that, Carol. Kobe Bryant's legal troubles are now over. He has reached a final settlement with the woman who accused him of sexual assault in Colorado. Reporters pressing Kobe Bryant for details after last night's game in Boston.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kobe, do you have any comment on the settlement of your legal case? Is it a weight off your mind?

KOBE BRYANT, LOS ANGELES LAKERS: Gentlemen, anybody with basketball questions, gentlemen?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you feel any freer, any looser, out on the court today, Kobe than maybe other games?

BRYANT: Um, no. Just normal, business as usual.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You seemed to be having a good time in the locker room before the game. Obviously, there are reports that it's been settled.

BRYANT: Anybody with any basketball questions?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: That was Kobe Bryant last night. This morning, here's Jeff Toobin, back with us. Our senior legal analyst. Good morning.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Hi.

HEMMER: We may not get any answers after all of this. Surprised at all the settlement's done?

TOOBIN: Not at all. This is a classic example of both sides having something to gain from settling this case and they have.

HEMMER: Let's talk about Kobe Bryant. What has he gained? Well, he loses money, we know that.

TOOBIN: He loses money, but this is a guy who signed $120 million contract before this season. He's got a lot of money. He gets this behind him. He doesn't have to testify in public. This story as a legal matter is over. And he gets to limit his damage. And he can afford paying her a lot of money. HEMMER: Tell me what the accuser gets. She took the case from Colorado out to California to push the civil side.

TOOBIN: And remember, the reason the case fell apart in the criminal side was that she didn't want to take the stand. So she doesn't have to take the stand in the civil case now because it's settled. She's now pregnant, married. Her life has moved on. She gets a very nice chunk of change. We don't know how much it is, but presumably it's a lot. And she doesn't have to testify. So she gets money and gets to get on with her life.

HEMMER: I'm reading something. "I was dead right on this one." The words of Jeff Toobin.

TOOBIN: That's right. I've made many incorrect predictions on this show and elsewhere, but it is true that I did predict this case would settle. And notice, it did settle right on the eve of Kobe Bryant's deposition in the case, so he didn't have to testify again about it. So I mean, it really was in his interest to get rid of it and he did.

HEMMER: So then last night with these reporters in Boston is similar to what he's saying today, he doesn't have to go on record.

TOOBIN: He doesn't have to talk about it anymore and his reputation, to the extent -- it survived this whole incident, is not damaged. But here's another place where I was wrong, where I thought this whole thing would hurt him a lot more than it did. You know, he was not booed any more than any other player particularly. His career has continued unimpeded. So I thought this would impact him a lot more than it did. In endorsements a little bit, but other than that, not really.

HEMMER: Thanks, Jeff. And again, we don't have any word on the financial settlement.

TOOBIN: But I bet it leaks out eventually.

HEMMER: Thank you. We'll look for that.

Also, one other note, here. Martha Stewart expected to get out of jail tomorrow. In fact, She should be released by this time Friday morning. She has served five month for lying about a stock sale. She will serve another five months of home confinement. CNN will present a "people in the News" hour in conjunction with that release that includes exclusive prison footage and looks at how life behind bars has changed her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD FEIGEN, FRIEND OF MARTHA STEWART: She's achieved a certain kind of serenity. She didn't used to listen much. She knew what she should do and went about it. I mean, now she listens.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HEMMER: The entire hour, "People in the News" with Martha Stewart, comes your way tonight at 10:00 Eastern, 7:00 on the West Coast with Paula Zahn. You can see it right here on CNN -- Soledad?

O'BRIEN: A enormous sinkhole is threatening Lake City, Florida. It is already the size of a football field. At least 11 families have evacuated and the town's been watching it all night.

Angela Spears from our affiliate WTLV is in Lake City this morning. Angela, good morning to you. Do you have any idea what exactly was the cause of this massive sinkhole?

ANGELA SPEARS, REPORTER, LAKE CITY, FLORIDA: Good morning to you, Soledad. What authorities here in Lake City have been telling me -- that they believe that this is an effect from last year's hurricanes that hit Florida. But let me show you just how big this sinkhole is. Take a look here behind me. It is enormous.

I've been talking with people for the past couple of days. They tell me it's unbelievable. They've never seen anything this huge. If you take a look there, you can see a shed and a home. Those two buildings are in danger of coming into the sinkhole. There was a piece of slab underneath the doors of that shed yesterday. That fell down. And a couple of hours ago this morning, Soledad, there was a huge tree in front of the house. That fell into the sinkhole.

This has been causing problems since this past Tuesday. That's when water started gushing in from a nearby lake. There have been evacuations, there is water boil in effect, as well. Big news here, the sinkhole authorities have brought in prisoners to try to put sand bags in here to stop the water flow. That really hasn't helped. They're going to try it again today.

I've been told, this is mother nature at work and you kind of have to let it run its course. The homeowners are here, I have been talking with them. You know, one of the homeowners, she's trying to stay in good spirits, Soledad. She put this sign in front of her home. "For Sale by owner, waterfront property." She's trying to be optimistic about this.

O'BRIEN: I guess, you know, that's a silver lining if you ever heard of one. You know, we can see how giant it is. But how deep is it, Angela?

SPEARS: Oh, I would say it's more than 60 feet deep. I mean, it is just way down there, Soledad. It's huge. Like I said, it's larger than a football field. I've been told -- you see this little line that's back here? This yellow line? We are not to step in front of that, authorities have told us, because it's just dangerous. Because they're afraid that the land could give way. And dirt keeps falling off too, as well.

O'BRIEN: Wow. All right. Angela Spears, thanks for that update. That is just remarkable. Those poor people who own that waterfront property. Angela, thanks.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: What exactly with black box warnings? We keep hearing about them when it comes to dangerous drug side effects. But too many people don't know what they are. Dr. Sanjay Gupta tries to clear up the confusion in a moment.

O'BRIEN: And what's the best way to fix your credit score? Money expert Suze Orman has advice that might go against the conventional wisdom. That's coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Suze Orman is to money matters as Dr. Phil is to relationships. Her latest book of financial advice is aimed squarely at Generation Debt, people in their 20s and 30s, and is called "The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke."

Suze Orman joins us this morning. Nice to see you, Suze.

SUZE ORMAN, PERSONAL FINANCE EXPERT: Thank you, my friend.

O'BRIEN: Thanks for talking with us. You talk a lot about -- in this book, your fico score. Am I pronouncing that right? The fico score? What the heck is your fico score and why is it so important?

ORMAN: Girlfriend, you have one and every single person watching this show this morning has one. Your fico score determines the actual interest rates that you pay on credit cards, home loans, automobile loans. It also determines if a landlord will rent to you, if an employer in many circumstances, will hire you and what your insurance premiums happen to be. So if your car insurance premium is really high, it might just be because you have too much credit card debt on department store credit cards and that affects your insurance premiums.

O'BRIEN: So it's not just sort of how much money you necessarily owe on your credit cards or even your history with credit cards. It's a combination of things, right, that they're looking in your fico score?

ORMAN: Yes. Your mix of credit, your payment history, how much debt you owe on these credit cards, to your credit limit ratios, everything. And it is this one score that can make a serious difference in your life. So when you are broke, especially when are you young, let's say you want to buy a home. Do you know the difference in $150,000 mortgage? That's not that much today. 30 years. If you had a fico score in the 500 range versus a fico score in the 700 range, your monthly payments would be different by $375 a month.

O'BRIEN: Wow.

ORMAN: Simply because had you different fico scores.

O'BRIEN: OK, so you're aiming, you say, for the best -- is between 720 and 850 for best fico score. ORMAN: That's right.

O'BRIEN: 500 to 559 is the worst fico. OK, so here are some tips on how to raise your fico score. Some seem to be a little bit obvious. Always pay your bills on time, even, in fact, if it's just the minimum payment. That seems like good common sense. But this one, avoid department store credit cards, even if they offer a discount. Why?

ORMAN: Yes. Here you are, you have all this stuff in your arms.

O'BRIEN: And 10 percent off. Open up and you go, oh, my god, $700 I'm about to buy. That saves me $70. And you say OK. Do you remember a second ago how I just said that your car insurance premiums, for instance, are based on an insurance score which is a derivative of your fico score.

If you charge more than 50 percent of your available credit on department store credit cards, not Visa, not MasterCard, but department stores, that gets reported to your credit report. The insurance companies look at that. And because you've used more than 50 percent of your available credit at department stores, don't be surprised that you get a 20 percent increase in your car insurance, even though you haven't had an accident or any tickets.

O'BRIEN: So you've saved 70 bucks, but could have lost a lot more than that?

ORMAN: You could be paying $70-80 per month more in car insurance premiums alone.

O'BRIEN: And how about this? Canceling your credit card can hurt and not help your fico score. I would have thought, you know, cancel them, clear out your debt, that's a good thing.

ORMAN: No, it's a horrible thing. You see, that's why it's so important that we always have the right information and that we save money simply by knowing these things. 40 percent of your fico score is made up of your debt, how much you owe, to your credit limit ratio and your credit history. If you close down your credit cards, you are closing down your credit history and you are increasing your debt to credit limit ratio, which dinks you 40 percent on your fico score. Do not, and I repeat, do not close down credit cards. It will hurt you in the long run.

O'BRIEN: You got also some controversial advice, I thought, in the book about your 401(k). You say invest in your 401(k), but not always.

ORMAN: Not always.

O'BRIEN: Why not?

ORMAN: Listen, your 401(k) offers a match. You put in $1, they give you 50 cents. That's an automatic 50 percent return on your money. I don't care what situation you're in, credit card debt, you don't have a pot to pee in, you still always take advantage of that.

However, every corporation maxes out at a certain point. They won't contribute to it any more or some don't corporations don't contribute at all. If that is the situation, you are far better off today if you are young, if you are fabulous and you are broke. Therefore you have credit card debt, possibly at an 18 percent interest rate. Don't contribute to your 401(k) plans after that point.

Take that money, pay off your credit card debt. You pay off your credit card debt, your fico score goes up. Your fico score goes up, the interest rates that you pay on car loans, insurance, mortgages, goes down. You save more money in the long run. That's how you get out of broke.

O'BRIEN: Well, I'm not young and I'm not fabulous and I'm not quite broke, but this is very good advice, not only for the 25-year- olds, but really, I think, for everybody. It's really good advice.

ORMAN: It is.

O'BRIEN: Suze Orman, always nice to chat with you and catch up with you.

ORMAN: Thanks, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Appreciate it.

HEMMER: We are "Paging Dr. Gupta" now about so-called black box warnings for prescription drugs. The FDA is now debating the safety of some popular painkillers. Sanjay explains what the black box option means for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now, remembering that medicine, did it cause any problems when you were taking it before?

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dr. Adrienne Mims finds herself talking about drug safety more and more these days. Patients are concerned about recent FDA warnings and are confused what exactly a black box warning means.

DR. ADRIENNE MIMS, KAISER PERMANENTE: When it's issued by the FDA, it means that this is the most serious of the warnings that there could be complications, including death, from the use of a medication.

GUPTA: Problem is, how many patients actually see the warnings in those little inserts?

MIMS: If a consumer got the actual black box warning, they often toss them and they probably should toss them because it's not really written in patient language.

GUPTA: Nowadays, many pharmacies provide easier to understand inserts, but the message is the same. MIMS: Nothing is safe for everybody. And so whenever you get a medication, even over-the-counter, do look at the warnings.

GUPTA (on camera): Now the FDA does not keep track of the number of drugs that carry these black boxes, but it is estimated that several hundred of the approximately 10,000 it has approved do carry these warnings.

(voice-over): The best advice is to be an educated patient. For example, know if you're in the subset of patients that may be harmed by a drug. With ace inhibitors, a heart medicine, pregnant women can be affected. With oral contraceptives, smokers need to be careful. Antidepressants will soon carry labels for children and adolescents. And a decision on labeling for arthritis medicines called cox-2 inhibitors is now under consideration by the FDA.

MIMS: Let's try another maneuver.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

HEMMER: One other note on the story. Sanjay, thanks for that. The FDA has just asked Congress for more control over drug labels. More later on this -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: You can't get your hockey fix because of the NHL lockout? Why not just go buy the whole league? Andy explains that when he's "Minding Your Business," up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: A pair of investors -- when they talk about buying the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. What about the NHL? Here with that and a look at the markets is Andy Serwer, "Minding Your Business."

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: It's for sale. And you know, everything has its price, Jack.

Let's talk about yesterday. Kind of a drag for investors. The Dow down about 18 points. Yesterday, Greenspan's testimony throwing a little cold water on the party. This morning though, things looking a little brighter. Retailers just out with their numbers for February. Actually surprisingly good, particularly Wal-Mart. And also potentially a big deal in the oil pat. Chevron Texaco taking a close look at Unocal, according to published reports.

OK, let's talk hockey. It appears that a Wall Street buyout firm is interested in buying the NHL. Lock, stock and barrel. The whole thing. A Canadian newspaper is reporting a meeting took place up there in the Great White North between Bain Capital, which is a buy- out company based in Boston and some of the owners. They want to buy the league for $3.5 billion. Now, let's talk about what that means. First of all, we talked about the Ducks being for sale the other day for about $50-75 million. CAFFERTY: Disney's team.

SERWER: That's Disney. So you've got 30 teams. That would value them at a $117 million each, which seems like on the high side, considering the league has lost $500 million over the past two years. Who would want to buy this?

CAFFERTY: Well, maybe, I mean some of the teams obviously worth more. Some are worth less, depending on the markets.

SERWER: The Rangers, the Bruins, the Maple Leafs. That kind of things. But some of these small markets...

CAFFERTY: So maybe you buy them and cut the league back down.

SERWER: That's what's probably going to happen. I really think that's going to happen. Now here's a couple other things. The Yankees worth $800 million plus. The Redskins worth a billion. Manchester United, the soccer team in the UK, supposedly the most valuable sports franchise, worth over $1 billion. So just to give you some perspective. One team worth a third of the whole league. No word on whether the owners are going to accept it. You've got to get 30 of these people to agree, which is very difficult. But what a mess.

CAFFERTY: Of course they ain't making any money right now, are they?

SERWER: No, they're not. So the alternative might be looking pretty good here.

CAFFERTY: Well they might be able to make a deal.

SERWER: Trying to put the biscuit in the basket.

CAFFERTY: There you go. Thanks, Andy. Time for "The File."

We have an update on the Borgata babes, billed as the sexiest cocktail waitresses in Atlantic City. Andy loves this story. Two weeks ago, we told you the Borgata threatened to fire any babes who gained more than seven percent of their body weight. Casino policy requires the servers to be weighed periodically. The local cocktail servers union cried foul and filed a grievance against the casino. Yesterday the Borgata rejected the grievance and says it will continue to weigh the babes. Stay tuned.

If you're young, unemployed and have a bank account of $10 million, there's a reality television show just for you. It's called "Survival of the Richest." Producers are coming to New York to do a casting call next week. They want eight contestants for the show, which will air on the WB. These rich layabouts will be given an actual job and will have to prove to their families they can make it in the real world.

Textile heir Cody Franchetti (ph) had this to say to the "New York Daily News": "$10 million? That's not survival of the richest. That's survival of the mildly rich."

SERWER: Oh, Cody.

CAFFERTY: Jay Leno wants the judge in the Michael Jackson case to clarify the gag order or lift it. Leno's been subpoenaed and he may, in fact, wind up testifying at Jackson's trial. In the meantime, Leno continues to poke fun at the easiest target on the planet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE TONIGHT SHOW")

JAY LENO, "TONIGHT SHOW" HOST: The prosecuting attorney, Tom Sneddon, said that Jackson presided over Neverland as a kind of haven for adolescent boys who were allowed to skip school, drink alcohol, view pornography and stay up all night. You know, you take Michael out of the picture, that's not a bad deal.

Michael Jackson claims that his partners would sleep in the bed while he slept on the floor. You know, it's the same arrangement the Clintons have.

(END VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE TONIGHT SHOW")

CAFFERTY: Now in the actual tape, the people laughed when he told those jokes.

SERWER: We'll laugh. We'll laugh.

CAFFERTY: But we edited the laughs out. Because we wanted to save like one and a half seconds. The "Cafferty File" was had yesterday. We mentioned a German study published in the "New England Journal of Medicine" that said staring at a woman's breasts for a few minutes each day will cut a man's risk of stroke in half. Well, it wasn't and it doesn't. It was an Internet hoax and we fell for it. You have my apologies. But what a great idea.

O'BRIEN: Well, duh, it was a hoax. That was a ridiculous medical study.

CAFFERTY: I'm not as smart as you are. I'm much more gullible than you are.

HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.

O'BRIEN: On certain topics, yes.

CAFFERTY: On most things.

HEMMER: We'll get the top stories in a moment here. Also, new developments on a story, watching all morning long. Steve Fossett's dramatic race against time and an empty gas tank. Will he make history today? A live update from mission control out in Salina, Kansas, ahead here on AMERICAN MORNING.

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