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CNN Live Today

White House Reacts to Syrian Pledge, Iraqi Shooting; 'Legal Briefs'

Aired March 07, 2005 - 10:30   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.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Syria is committing to the first stage of withdrawing its troops from Lebanon and says the pullback will begin later this month. Syria has faced growing international pressure to remove its 14,000 troops from Lebanon. The White House and other world capitols have voiced skepticism at Syria's pledge.
In Los Angeles, candidates seeking the mayor's office spanned out across that city this weekend, trying to rally last-minute support before tomorrow's election. Incumbent James Hahn canvassed south Los Angeles and visited a series of predominantly African-American churches. There are 12 candidates in this race, virtually assuring that there will be a runoff in just over two months.

And Boeing CEO Harry Stonecipher has been forced to resign due to what the company says was an improper relationship with an unidentified female executive. The company says the relationship violated Boeing's code of conduct. We'll have details in today's business report.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And here's a situation for the White House this morning. You might say there's good news regarding Syria, bad news, though, surrounding the U.S. shooting of an Italian agent and journalist.

CNN's White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux, I understand, you just attended that so-called gag order and formal briefing for reporters. You're joining us, you may be able to add something to this. Do you?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rick, we have some reaction. First of all, from the Italian journalist, the suggestion that she made that perhaps U.S. military targeted her convoy, which resulted in that shootout that took place. Now the administration, the press secretary out of that gaggle, called that suggestion absurd. He said the fact that U.S. men and women in uniform would deliberately target a civilian, absolutely absurd. He also talked about the conditions around the shooting, they talked about the fact that this road to the airport in Baghdad considered one of most dangerous roads in Iraq.

But he also wanted to make sure, to reassure people that the United States, of course, regrets the incident. That President Bush called Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi on Friday. That also, Secretary Rice and Secretary Rumsfeld called their counterparts over the weekend to make sure that U.S. and Italian relations, essentially, stay strong. And he said that they are remaining strong. But of course a very difficult situation, awkward situation for this White House to deal with.

Now when it comes to, of course, the other matter. This is Syria, the announcement from Syria and Lebanese presidents that they have some agreement here that's on the table, perhaps to withdraw some troops by the end of March and then negotiate the rest on later date. Scott McClellan, very careful in his reaction to this. He said they haven't seen all the details, they're still looking at what that particular accord means. But he said the bottom line here is the administration has not changed its point of view. They are requiring, as they say, the international community for the complete and immediate withdrawal of Syrian troops out of Lebanon that anything short of that would not be acceptable -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: Given the fact that there's an ambulance behind you and I don't even know how you were able to keep your focus, talking while that was going on, we'll let you go and we'll catch up with you a little bit later. Suzanne Malveaux at the White House, thanks.

KAGAN: Right now let's take a look at what's on the docket today in our "Legal Briefs." The sister of Michael Jackson's accuser returns to the witness stand this morning in Santa Maria, California. She has testified the singer held family members against their will and pressured them to praise Jackson in the video. Jackson's accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy at his Neverland Ranch. During cross- examination, the woman admitted she once accused her own father of molesting her, holding her prisoner and making terrorist threats.

SANCHEZ: In New York, a jury resumes deliberating the fate of former WorldCom chief Bernie Ebbers. Jurors will decide whether Ebbers orchestrated an $11 billion accounting scheme that drove WorldCom into bankruptcy. Ebbers is charged with fraud, conspiracy and lying to the Security and Exchange Commission.

KAGAN: Less than two hours from now, jurors in the Robert Blake murder trial are expected to get down to business, picking up where they left off on Friday. The 71-year-old actor is charged with killing his wife Bonny Lee Bakley. During closing arguments, Blake's attorney attacked the credibility of two witnesses and accused police of bungling the investigation.

SANCHEZ: And that takes us right into our legal wrap-up with our legal eagle. Former U.S. attorney Kendall Coffey is joining us now from Miami and we're going to start, Kendall, with the Michael Jackson case. Interesting because the way this is presented, they say Jackson is a sexual predator who molested the boy. They say the boy's mother is a woman who was bent on trying to be obsessed with celebrities and seek money from them. Is there a possibility, and I guess this is what the jury will have to decide, right, that both of these accusations may be correct?

KENDALL COFFEY, FMR. U.S. ATTORNEY: And that's a fascinating point. They're not necessarily inconsistent. In fact, who is it that would be put into harm's way in front of Michael Jackson, perhaps in his bedroom, except the child of a family that was very reckless about the well-being of their kid, that was frankly scheming and scamming for money. It's entirely possible the both, as you say, the prosecution and defense theories could have some validity here.

SANCHEZ: But it seems that they may have been hurt with the story of them being held captive and the story that they were -- somehow being held against their own will. That testimony doesn't seem to be holding up very well, does it? I mean, a lot of these jurors would say to themselves, probably, Kendall, boy, I wish I would be held in those conditions.

COFFEY: Well, not only that. There's no gun to their head, there's no real strong reason why they couldn't have gotten out, contacted somebody in any of ways. And let's face, it's a big disconnect for this family to be gushing about Mr. Wonderful on the video footage and at the same time coming into court and trying to trash Mr. Predator in front of the jury. So lots of, lots of credibility problems with respect to this accuser, anyway.

SANCHEZ: In other words, you kind of can't have it both ways, huh?

COFFEY: Well, they tried to. But I think it's going to create questions for the jury.

SANCHEZ: Jay Leno suddenly has come into play in this case. And it's interesting because the judges told him, look you can't do -- you can't talk about Michael Jackson as a joke in your monologue because you could possibly be called as a witness. So here's what he's doing to get around this. I want you to look at this with us, Kendall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE TONIGHT SHOW")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. So let's see what's new in the Michael Jackson trial. Or as we like to call it, diary of a mad white woman.

(END VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE TONIGHT SHOW")

SANCHEZ: It's kind of funny what they're doing, but at the same time they're just continuing to put this case up there in the limelight in Hollywood and all over the country, aren't they?

COFFEY: Well, it's this first amendment thing. I know it frustrates the judge. The judge would like all of us to stop talking about the case and let the jury do their job. But the reality is that Jay Leno's got a first amendment right to wisecrack about the Michael Jackson trial and he's offered in his motions to say that he's not going to discuss whatever testimony he might actually present. I think sooner or later the judge has got to take the gag off of Jay Leno.

SANCHEZ: By the way, before we leave Jackson and move into Robert Blake, which I want to ask you about, what would you call it at this point, as far as the case is concerned? Is it a wash? What have you seen? Where -- which way is it leaning?

COFFEY: I think the defense is counterpunching pretty well. The key thing is going to be whether or not before the sister gets off the stand, her credibility continues to crumble or whether she does some turn around and comes off as maybe a little confused, maybe a little sympathetic, but an honest 18-year-old.

SANCHEZ: Now let talk about Robert Blake. And this jury has really something to think about in this case because a lot of people are saying that there's enough information there that may lead them to believe that maybe he may have done it, but there's a big difference between maybe and, boy, we got a smoking gun. What do you think?

COFFEY: Well, you know, circumstantial cases about murdering a wife can, in fact, result in convictions. We just saw that with Scott Peterson. Here, what's ironic is I think the prosecution's relying heavily on the two stuntmen who said Blake solicited them. But you know, Rick, so is the defense. There is so much baggage on these two stuntmen. In one case, their own family members are saying they're lying. Both of them apparently had major drug problems and odd sort of drug-induced delusions, that I think Blake's got a fighting chance.

SANCHEZ: But there really isn't a smoking gun in this case, correct?

COFFEY: No, there's no smoking gun. And in fact, the things that modern juries look for, some convincing forensics, are totally missing. In fact, the defense forensics expert said when he examined Robert Blake that the limited amount of gunpowder he had on him was inconsistent with being the shooter and really was probably attributable to the fact that Blake had his own gun, which, by the way, clearly was not the murder weapon in this particular homicide.

SANCHEZ: Interesting cases. We'll continue to follow them for you. Kendall Coffey, joining us from Miami. Thank you, Kendall.

COFFEY: Hey, thanks, Rick.

KAGAN: Another legal item here that's been the same for past eight years, this law has, but a change may be on the way. Could be a boost in income for some workers. We'll tell you how.

SANCHEZ: Also, out of jail Friday and Monday, the domestic diva goes back to work. Full details. Yes, more Martha straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

Let's see how beautiful business is on this day.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

KAGAN: Homemaking expert Martha Stewart is wasting no time. She's back on the job, meeting today with employees of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia in Manhattan. Stewart was released Friday from a West Virginia prison. She's on house detention, but she is allowed to work 48 hours a week.

You do that math, you can go to work every single day.

SANCHEZ: Yes, because how do you measure it anyway? You can be in your home sitting there on a computer working.

KAGAN: But if you're 48 hours that's a full work week.

SANCHEZ: Yes, some people put in more from time to time.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: This is going to raise some salaries, but will it also survive to see the light of day?

KAGAN: Still to come, two plans on Capitol Hill to bring minimum wage workers more money.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: If you drive a small car or if you are shopping for one, you might want to take note of some results from crash tests. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says its recent side-impact crash tests show the majority of small cars were rated poor. The Dodge Neon scored the worst performance of that group. Also receiving a poor rating, the Ford Focus, VW's New Beetle, Hyundai's Elantra and Nissan Sentra.

SANCHEZ: On Capitol Hill today, the Senate is going to look at two plans with a common goal, raising the nation's minimum wage from its current $5.15.

CNN's Kareen Wynter crunches the numbers for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The minimum wage has not been changed in eight years. Today, the U.S. Senate will vote on raising the pay scale, but by how much? Democrats want to bump the current $5.15 hourly minimum wage by more than $2, bringing it to $7.25, to be distributed over a two year period.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: I do think we would have a very strong Democratic vote and a commitment to raising the minimum wage.

WYNTER: The Republican plan calls for a smaller increase. Republicans like Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum are recommending a $1.10 increase over 18 months, as well as tax breaks for small businesses. They also want greater flexibility in the 40 hour work week, something Democrats oppose, seeing it as a way to deny overtime pay.

But there's agreement that the minimum wage legislation should be tacked onto new bankruptcy rules to tighten restrictions on those who declare bankruptcy. Senator Edward Kennedy says that in the eight years since the last boost to the minimum wage, members of Congress have raised their own salaries seven times. But it's an argument that cuts little ice in the more conservative House, where the Republican leadership says it has no plans to take up the minimum wage legislation. (on camera): Senator Kennedy also argued the Republican plan would benefit around two million Americans, whereas his proposal would aim to triple that.

Kareen Wynter, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: It is just about 10:50 on the East Coast, just about 7:50 for you on West Coast.

SANCHEZ: Stay with us. We'll be back with a quick check of several things including your morning forecast.

Also...

KAGAN: Cowabunga -- grab one very big surfboard. Surf's up. They're going for a record. We'll tell you about that.

SANCHEZ: It is big, isn't it?

Also, rap and hip-hop in church? Sounds like a bad fit, but one New York church says, no, we can pull this off. We'll tell you how and why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Rapper Kanye West recently won a Grammy for his song "Jesus Walks." Now hip-hop is breaking barriers again as another rapping legend brings the music genre to church.

CNN's Claire Leka spoke to Kurtis Blow about the hip-hop church and the message behind the music.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLAIRE LEKA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's standing room only every Thursday night at the Greater Hood AME Zion Church in Harlem.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yo!, we do things just a little bit different at the Hip-Hop Church.

LEKA: Because hip-hop is in the house. Hip-hop was born in the inner city and is now the hottest music in the country. But it can be raw and sometimes vulgar. Now it's proclaiming the name of Jesus in an effort to bring young people to church, like 16-year-old Donovan Bratton.

DONOVAN BRATTON, HIP-HOP CHOIR: The music is a good part about it, but I think like my reverend, he preaches a good message and this is very positive for kids.

Yes, we know the devil is trying to break us down.

LEKA: Rap legend Kurtis Blow is one of the founders of the Hip- Hop Church in New York City.

KURTIS BLOW, FORMER RAPPER: We come to rhyme.

We're just coming back to the roots, you know? And it's basically like nowadays hip-hop is being blamed for a lot of violent things in our society like the brawls in basketball.

Yes, I'm Kurtis Blow and I want you to know that these are the boys.

LEKA: Kurtis Blow is widely considered in the music industry to be one of the founding fathers of hip-hop music, with his hit song, "The Breaks," two decades ago. But it's been a long journey from that life to this one.

BLOW: I left the music industry about 10, 15 years ago. And it was basically because my style of music became unorthodox. And I was really depressed about it.

LEKA: That's when he says he found god. And he's now studying to be a minister. Blow, along with his partners, Reverends Darren Ferguson and Steven Pogue (ph), say most conventional churches just don't get it.

REV. DARREN FERGUSON, HIP-HOP CHURCH: In order to reach people, you have to speak their language. And the language of young people is hip-hop.

LEKA: It's also closing the generation gap. This mother and daughter have even joined the hip-hop choir together.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's the music. It's the people. It's the spiritual feeling that you get.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Praise him, praise him, praise him like you just don't care.

LEKA: Claire Leka, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(WEATHER REPORT)

SANCHEZ: You're going to love this next story. You're going to love this next story because you're a California girl.

KAGAN: I am.

SANCHEZ: So this is like your thing.

KAGAN: Totally.

SANCHEZ: All we need is, like, music in the background.

Go ahead, tell them about it.

KAGAN: We're talking about surfers talking about hanging 10.

Do you know why it's called hanging 10?

SANCHEZ: Beacuse their toes are hanging out.

KAGAN: Ten toes outside of the board.

Look at this, there's a lot of hanging 10 on this. The owner of an Australian surfboard company says his creation can hold up to 47 surfers at a time. This is more than just an attempt at a world record. The 25-foot long board will be used to raise victims -- money for the victims of the tsunami that struck Asia in December.

SANCHEZ: That's like hanging 470 then.

KAGAN: Doing the math there.

SANCHEZ: I had to. I'm a little slow.

Well, what some call common wisdom may be an old wives tale.

KAGAN: Now research on the importance of milk for kids. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will have that straight ahead.

SANCHEZ: Also, he's one of modern music's biggest talents, and he's going to join us live right here in the studio, none other than Elvis Costello delivers. The second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY. That begins right now.

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 7, 2005 - 10:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Syria is committing to the first stage of withdrawing its troops from Lebanon and says the pullback will begin later this month. Syria has faced growing international pressure to remove its 14,000 troops from Lebanon. The White House and other world capitols have voiced skepticism at Syria's pledge.
In Los Angeles, candidates seeking the mayor's office spanned out across that city this weekend, trying to rally last-minute support before tomorrow's election. Incumbent James Hahn canvassed south Los Angeles and visited a series of predominantly African-American churches. There are 12 candidates in this race, virtually assuring that there will be a runoff in just over two months.

And Boeing CEO Harry Stonecipher has been forced to resign due to what the company says was an improper relationship with an unidentified female executive. The company says the relationship violated Boeing's code of conduct. We'll have details in today's business report.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And here's a situation for the White House this morning. You might say there's good news regarding Syria, bad news, though, surrounding the U.S. shooting of an Italian agent and journalist.

CNN's White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux, I understand, you just attended that so-called gag order and formal briefing for reporters. You're joining us, you may be able to add something to this. Do you?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rick, we have some reaction. First of all, from the Italian journalist, the suggestion that she made that perhaps U.S. military targeted her convoy, which resulted in that shootout that took place. Now the administration, the press secretary out of that gaggle, called that suggestion absurd. He said the fact that U.S. men and women in uniform would deliberately target a civilian, absolutely absurd. He also talked about the conditions around the shooting, they talked about the fact that this road to the airport in Baghdad considered one of most dangerous roads in Iraq.

But he also wanted to make sure, to reassure people that the United States, of course, regrets the incident. That President Bush called Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi on Friday. That also, Secretary Rice and Secretary Rumsfeld called their counterparts over the weekend to make sure that U.S. and Italian relations, essentially, stay strong. And he said that they are remaining strong. But of course a very difficult situation, awkward situation for this White House to deal with.

Now when it comes to, of course, the other matter. This is Syria, the announcement from Syria and Lebanese presidents that they have some agreement here that's on the table, perhaps to withdraw some troops by the end of March and then negotiate the rest on later date. Scott McClellan, very careful in his reaction to this. He said they haven't seen all the details, they're still looking at what that particular accord means. But he said the bottom line here is the administration has not changed its point of view. They are requiring, as they say, the international community for the complete and immediate withdrawal of Syrian troops out of Lebanon that anything short of that would not be acceptable -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: Given the fact that there's an ambulance behind you and I don't even know how you were able to keep your focus, talking while that was going on, we'll let you go and we'll catch up with you a little bit later. Suzanne Malveaux at the White House, thanks.

KAGAN: Right now let's take a look at what's on the docket today in our "Legal Briefs." The sister of Michael Jackson's accuser returns to the witness stand this morning in Santa Maria, California. She has testified the singer held family members against their will and pressured them to praise Jackson in the video. Jackson's accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy at his Neverland Ranch. During cross- examination, the woman admitted she once accused her own father of molesting her, holding her prisoner and making terrorist threats.

SANCHEZ: In New York, a jury resumes deliberating the fate of former WorldCom chief Bernie Ebbers. Jurors will decide whether Ebbers orchestrated an $11 billion accounting scheme that drove WorldCom into bankruptcy. Ebbers is charged with fraud, conspiracy and lying to the Security and Exchange Commission.

KAGAN: Less than two hours from now, jurors in the Robert Blake murder trial are expected to get down to business, picking up where they left off on Friday. The 71-year-old actor is charged with killing his wife Bonny Lee Bakley. During closing arguments, Blake's attorney attacked the credibility of two witnesses and accused police of bungling the investigation.

SANCHEZ: And that takes us right into our legal wrap-up with our legal eagle. Former U.S. attorney Kendall Coffey is joining us now from Miami and we're going to start, Kendall, with the Michael Jackson case. Interesting because the way this is presented, they say Jackson is a sexual predator who molested the boy. They say the boy's mother is a woman who was bent on trying to be obsessed with celebrities and seek money from them. Is there a possibility, and I guess this is what the jury will have to decide, right, that both of these accusations may be correct?

KENDALL COFFEY, FMR. U.S. ATTORNEY: And that's a fascinating point. They're not necessarily inconsistent. In fact, who is it that would be put into harm's way in front of Michael Jackson, perhaps in his bedroom, except the child of a family that was very reckless about the well-being of their kid, that was frankly scheming and scamming for money. It's entirely possible the both, as you say, the prosecution and defense theories could have some validity here.

SANCHEZ: But it seems that they may have been hurt with the story of them being held captive and the story that they were -- somehow being held against their own will. That testimony doesn't seem to be holding up very well, does it? I mean, a lot of these jurors would say to themselves, probably, Kendall, boy, I wish I would be held in those conditions.

COFFEY: Well, not only that. There's no gun to their head, there's no real strong reason why they couldn't have gotten out, contacted somebody in any of ways. And let's face, it's a big disconnect for this family to be gushing about Mr. Wonderful on the video footage and at the same time coming into court and trying to trash Mr. Predator in front of the jury. So lots of, lots of credibility problems with respect to this accuser, anyway.

SANCHEZ: In other words, you kind of can't have it both ways, huh?

COFFEY: Well, they tried to. But I think it's going to create questions for the jury.

SANCHEZ: Jay Leno suddenly has come into play in this case. And it's interesting because the judges told him, look you can't do -- you can't talk about Michael Jackson as a joke in your monologue because you could possibly be called as a witness. So here's what he's doing to get around this. I want you to look at this with us, Kendall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE TONIGHT SHOW")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. So let's see what's new in the Michael Jackson trial. Or as we like to call it, diary of a mad white woman.

(END VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE TONIGHT SHOW")

SANCHEZ: It's kind of funny what they're doing, but at the same time they're just continuing to put this case up there in the limelight in Hollywood and all over the country, aren't they?

COFFEY: Well, it's this first amendment thing. I know it frustrates the judge. The judge would like all of us to stop talking about the case and let the jury do their job. But the reality is that Jay Leno's got a first amendment right to wisecrack about the Michael Jackson trial and he's offered in his motions to say that he's not going to discuss whatever testimony he might actually present. I think sooner or later the judge has got to take the gag off of Jay Leno.

SANCHEZ: By the way, before we leave Jackson and move into Robert Blake, which I want to ask you about, what would you call it at this point, as far as the case is concerned? Is it a wash? What have you seen? Where -- which way is it leaning?

COFFEY: I think the defense is counterpunching pretty well. The key thing is going to be whether or not before the sister gets off the stand, her credibility continues to crumble or whether she does some turn around and comes off as maybe a little confused, maybe a little sympathetic, but an honest 18-year-old.

SANCHEZ: Now let talk about Robert Blake. And this jury has really something to think about in this case because a lot of people are saying that there's enough information there that may lead them to believe that maybe he may have done it, but there's a big difference between maybe and, boy, we got a smoking gun. What do you think?

COFFEY: Well, you know, circumstantial cases about murdering a wife can, in fact, result in convictions. We just saw that with Scott Peterson. Here, what's ironic is I think the prosecution's relying heavily on the two stuntmen who said Blake solicited them. But you know, Rick, so is the defense. There is so much baggage on these two stuntmen. In one case, their own family members are saying they're lying. Both of them apparently had major drug problems and odd sort of drug-induced delusions, that I think Blake's got a fighting chance.

SANCHEZ: But there really isn't a smoking gun in this case, correct?

COFFEY: No, there's no smoking gun. And in fact, the things that modern juries look for, some convincing forensics, are totally missing. In fact, the defense forensics expert said when he examined Robert Blake that the limited amount of gunpowder he had on him was inconsistent with being the shooter and really was probably attributable to the fact that Blake had his own gun, which, by the way, clearly was not the murder weapon in this particular homicide.

SANCHEZ: Interesting cases. We'll continue to follow them for you. Kendall Coffey, joining us from Miami. Thank you, Kendall.

COFFEY: Hey, thanks, Rick.

KAGAN: Another legal item here that's been the same for past eight years, this law has, but a change may be on the way. Could be a boost in income for some workers. We'll tell you how.

SANCHEZ: Also, out of jail Friday and Monday, the domestic diva goes back to work. Full details. Yes, more Martha straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

Let's see how beautiful business is on this day.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

KAGAN: Homemaking expert Martha Stewart is wasting no time. She's back on the job, meeting today with employees of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia in Manhattan. Stewart was released Friday from a West Virginia prison. She's on house detention, but she is allowed to work 48 hours a week.

You do that math, you can go to work every single day.

SANCHEZ: Yes, because how do you measure it anyway? You can be in your home sitting there on a computer working.

KAGAN: But if you're 48 hours that's a full work week.

SANCHEZ: Yes, some people put in more from time to time.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: This is going to raise some salaries, but will it also survive to see the light of day?

KAGAN: Still to come, two plans on Capitol Hill to bring minimum wage workers more money.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: If you drive a small car or if you are shopping for one, you might want to take note of some results from crash tests. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says its recent side-impact crash tests show the majority of small cars were rated poor. The Dodge Neon scored the worst performance of that group. Also receiving a poor rating, the Ford Focus, VW's New Beetle, Hyundai's Elantra and Nissan Sentra.

SANCHEZ: On Capitol Hill today, the Senate is going to look at two plans with a common goal, raising the nation's minimum wage from its current $5.15.

CNN's Kareen Wynter crunches the numbers for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The minimum wage has not been changed in eight years. Today, the U.S. Senate will vote on raising the pay scale, but by how much? Democrats want to bump the current $5.15 hourly minimum wage by more than $2, bringing it to $7.25, to be distributed over a two year period.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: I do think we would have a very strong Democratic vote and a commitment to raising the minimum wage.

WYNTER: The Republican plan calls for a smaller increase. Republicans like Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum are recommending a $1.10 increase over 18 months, as well as tax breaks for small businesses. They also want greater flexibility in the 40 hour work week, something Democrats oppose, seeing it as a way to deny overtime pay.

But there's agreement that the minimum wage legislation should be tacked onto new bankruptcy rules to tighten restrictions on those who declare bankruptcy. Senator Edward Kennedy says that in the eight years since the last boost to the minimum wage, members of Congress have raised their own salaries seven times. But it's an argument that cuts little ice in the more conservative House, where the Republican leadership says it has no plans to take up the minimum wage legislation. (on camera): Senator Kennedy also argued the Republican plan would benefit around two million Americans, whereas his proposal would aim to triple that.

Kareen Wynter, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: It is just about 10:50 on the East Coast, just about 7:50 for you on West Coast.

SANCHEZ: Stay with us. We'll be back with a quick check of several things including your morning forecast.

Also...

KAGAN: Cowabunga -- grab one very big surfboard. Surf's up. They're going for a record. We'll tell you about that.

SANCHEZ: It is big, isn't it?

Also, rap and hip-hop in church? Sounds like a bad fit, but one New York church says, no, we can pull this off. We'll tell you how and why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Rapper Kanye West recently won a Grammy for his song "Jesus Walks." Now hip-hop is breaking barriers again as another rapping legend brings the music genre to church.

CNN's Claire Leka spoke to Kurtis Blow about the hip-hop church and the message behind the music.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLAIRE LEKA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's standing room only every Thursday night at the Greater Hood AME Zion Church in Harlem.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yo!, we do things just a little bit different at the Hip-Hop Church.

LEKA: Because hip-hop is in the house. Hip-hop was born in the inner city and is now the hottest music in the country. But it can be raw and sometimes vulgar. Now it's proclaiming the name of Jesus in an effort to bring young people to church, like 16-year-old Donovan Bratton.

DONOVAN BRATTON, HIP-HOP CHOIR: The music is a good part about it, but I think like my reverend, he preaches a good message and this is very positive for kids.

Yes, we know the devil is trying to break us down.

LEKA: Rap legend Kurtis Blow is one of the founders of the Hip- Hop Church in New York City.

KURTIS BLOW, FORMER RAPPER: We come to rhyme.

We're just coming back to the roots, you know? And it's basically like nowadays hip-hop is being blamed for a lot of violent things in our society like the brawls in basketball.

Yes, I'm Kurtis Blow and I want you to know that these are the boys.

LEKA: Kurtis Blow is widely considered in the music industry to be one of the founding fathers of hip-hop music, with his hit song, "The Breaks," two decades ago. But it's been a long journey from that life to this one.

BLOW: I left the music industry about 10, 15 years ago. And it was basically because my style of music became unorthodox. And I was really depressed about it.

LEKA: That's when he says he found god. And he's now studying to be a minister. Blow, along with his partners, Reverends Darren Ferguson and Steven Pogue (ph), say most conventional churches just don't get it.

REV. DARREN FERGUSON, HIP-HOP CHURCH: In order to reach people, you have to speak their language. And the language of young people is hip-hop.

LEKA: It's also closing the generation gap. This mother and daughter have even joined the hip-hop choir together.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's the music. It's the people. It's the spiritual feeling that you get.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Praise him, praise him, praise him like you just don't care.

LEKA: Claire Leka, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(WEATHER REPORT)

SANCHEZ: You're going to love this next story. You're going to love this next story because you're a California girl.

KAGAN: I am.

SANCHEZ: So this is like your thing.

KAGAN: Totally.

SANCHEZ: All we need is, like, music in the background.

Go ahead, tell them about it.

KAGAN: We're talking about surfers talking about hanging 10.

Do you know why it's called hanging 10?

SANCHEZ: Beacuse their toes are hanging out.

KAGAN: Ten toes outside of the board.

Look at this, there's a lot of hanging 10 on this. The owner of an Australian surfboard company says his creation can hold up to 47 surfers at a time. This is more than just an attempt at a world record. The 25-foot long board will be used to raise victims -- money for the victims of the tsunami that struck Asia in December.

SANCHEZ: That's like hanging 470 then.

KAGAN: Doing the math there.

SANCHEZ: I had to. I'm a little slow.

Well, what some call common wisdom may be an old wives tale.

KAGAN: Now research on the importance of milk for kids. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will have that straight ahead.

SANCHEZ: Also, he's one of modern music's biggest talents, and he's going to join us live right here in the studio, none other than Elvis Costello delivers. The second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY. That begins right now.

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