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American Morning

Chicago Killings Suspect; Jackson Trial Spectacle; New SAT

Aired March 11, 2005 - 08:59 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: DNA ties an out-of-work electrician to the grisly murders of a federal judge's husband and mother. A cigarette found at the scene could hold the key to the case.
Michael Jackson more than an hour late for his trial, causing quite a stir outside the courthouse. Did it overshadow testimony from his accuser?

And Bill Clinton's surgery. Doctors say it was tricky but still a success. Details on his recovery on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Nine o'clock on a Friday. Good to have you along with us today.

Good morning to you as well.

O'BRIEN: And likewise.

HEMMER: We're going to get back to California. We can't leave this story for too long, Michael Jackson's bizarre spectacle yesterday. Could that now hurt his standing with the judge, the jury and even his own attorney?

And on top of all this, what we have not talked about much today, is the testimony of the accuser. How damaging was that yesterday? We'll get to all that with Jeff Toobin in a moment here.

O'BRIEN: Also, you know, the brand S.A.T. tomorrow makes its big debut. And there are a lot of big changes to the exam. Remember the perfect score used to be a 1600?

HEMMER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Now it's a 2400. There's a whole new section and some tougher questions have been added. We've got a few tips for students who are about to take it.

HEMMER: I like it. My niece is about to S.A.T.urday.

O'BRIEN: Well, we've got some tips for her then.

HEMMER: And she's ready. All right.

Here's Jack again. JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Should the judge have revoked Michael Jackson's bail and tossed him in the cooler for that stunt he pulled yesterday? AM@CNN.com.

HEMMER: All right, Jack. Thanks for that.

Back to the headlines, too. Here's Carol Costello with us.

Good morning.

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

"Now in the News," President Bush is hoping to gather some support for his Social Security reforms in the South. In just about an hour the president is set to speak in Memphis, Tennessee. He'll be in northern Louisiana later today as part of a 60-day, 60-stop campaign to win support about restructuring Social Security.

There is word this morning the U.S. will negotiate with Iran on its nuclear program. Senior officials say the Bush administration is likely to adopt a European proposal offering Iran modest economic incentives. The official announcement is expected some time today. In exchange, the EU would agree to seek U.N. sanctions against Iran if it does not fulfill its international agreements.

Out in California, still no verdict in the Robert Blake murder trial. Jurors set to resume deliberations later today. They've been working behind closed doors since closing arguments wrapped up on March 4. Blake is accused of killing his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley.

And former President Bill Clinton's surgery is a success. Clinton is resting now at New York Presbyterian Hospital after having scar tissue and fluid removed from around his left lung. The procedure was a follow-up to his heart surgery six months ago, but not everything went exactly as planned. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will have more details just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

HEMMER: All right. The recovery continues. Thanks, Carol.

O'BRIEN: Thanks, Carol.

Well, Chicago police now have strong evidence, including DNA, in the killings of a judge's husband and her mother. The suspect Bart Ross killed himself on Wednesday night. And details of what was going on in his life have been coming out ever since.

Chris Lawrence live in Chicago for us on the latest on the investigation.

Hey, Chris. Good morning.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Soledad.

Well, investigators rushed through these DNA tests. And they got a match between Bart Ross and a cigarette butt that was found in Judge Joan lefkow's home.

Now, they did not find the murder weapon, but detectives did discover a shell casing in his house that matches the shell casings from the murders. And with all the other evidence, it's enough for police to say Ross is the killer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE (voice-over): According to neighbors, Bart Ross didn't talk much. But when he did, he let loose about the courts and hospitals that he said ruined his life.

MERCEDES RIVERA, NEIGHBOR: But nobody would listen to him. So that's why he was really angry.

LAWRENCE: First with doctors in Chicago who couldn't cure the cancer eating away his face.

DON ROSE, ACQUAINTANCE: He looked OK. He had some teeth missing, but then he took out his prosthesis to show me what had happened. And there was -- like a partial jaw came out, and then his face sort of collapsed inward.

LAWRENCE: Don Rose hired Ross as an electrician on and off for years. They used to talk casually about politics until Ross tried to sue the University of Illinois Medical Center for malpractice and not one attorney would take his case.

ROSE: At one point his case was all he could talk about.

LAWRENCE: Ross put his own complaint, a rambling 130 pages in the lawsuit that was eventually dismissed by Judge Joan Lefkow. A letter sent to a Chicago TV station and signed "Bart Ross" said, "Judge Lefkow to her neighbors is a church-going angel. To me, Judge Lefkow is a Nazi-style criminal and terrorist."

ROSE: It was very clear that over the years this obsession that he had, which was quite understandable, had become really paranoia.

LAWRENCE: In the letter, the writer compares himself to a soldier, defending himself against the doctors, lawyers and judges he perceived as enemies. "They practically murdered me, and in this way, they murdered husband and mother of Judge Lefkow. And although I killed them, I am not a murderer, as U.S. soldiers who kill innocent Afghans and Iraqis are not considered murderers."

The letter signs off saying, "I am already dead." And by Thursday, the important parts of Bart Ross' life were carted away as animal control officers took away his dog and police collected the last bits of evidence from his home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: Now, neighbors tell us that he lived alone, but Ross really doted on that dog "Buddy." They'd even see him walking the Newfoundland a couple times a day -- Soledad. O'BRIEN: The judge in this case who had this terrible double tragedy, any reaction, any word from her?

LAWRENCE: Well, she left Chicago. She's on her way to Denver to bury her mother this weekend. And she told "The New York Times" as she was leaving that in some ways she's relieved because -- that it didn't have anything to do with the white supremacist movement, because she feels her children are safer. But she's just heartbroken that her husband and mother had to die over something like this.

O'BRIEN: Chris Lawrence reporting for us this morning. Chris, thanks -- Bill.

HEMMER: Soledad, Michael Jackson's trial has now recessed until Monday. That's when the defense will resume its cross-examination of Jackson's 15-year-old accuser. The boy took the stand on Thursday, testifying that Jackson molested him twice, gave him booze and showed him pornography.

But the star witness testimony was only part of the story from yesterday, and bizarre events that Miguel Marquez was there to witness. Watch from yesterday and have a look here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: The judge in the Michael Jackson case gave the pop star one hour. An hour ago he said, "You have one hour to show up here at the courthouse." He issued a bench warranted.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It will be very interesting to see what deputies do when he gets here. And then certainly, once he gets into court, what the judge decides to do.

He showed up here looking not so great in pajamas and slippers and hair undone. The judge came onto the stand there -- or onto the bench a short time ago and admonished jurors, telling them not to draw any inference as to Mr. Jackson's guilt or innocence because he had to order him here today. Mr. Jackson is in court now, in those pajamas, hair unkempt, to say the least, and slippers, listening to his accuser testify.

I haven't played with walkie-talkies since I was a kid, but we are getting updates from a listening room not too far from here. It's quite a little chain of information we have going here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Back with a walkie-talkie, Miguel Marquez, up early this morning.

Good morning, Miguel. Give us an idea, by the way, this atmosphere as you're waiting for Jackson to show up yesterday.

MARQUEZ: Yes, we all know something was kind of up around 20 after 8:00 here. And when we got word that Mr. Jackson was not showing and a bench warranted had been issued, I mean, the first thing that shot through my mind was I can't imagine this guy coming to court every day chained in a prison jumpsuit, in an orange jumpsuit. I mea, that's what really started the clock ticking. And then you had this inherent drama of this clock ticking down to the one-hour mark.

HEMMER: So then take us forward to the PJs and the uncombed hair. The reaction then was what?

MARQUEZ: Well, disbelief, maybe. It's been -- I've been covering this now for over a year, and it's hard to have disbelief in a case that's had just so many twists and turns.

The drama was just so palpable out here. And when he arrived, I mean, the fact that they drove up so quickly into this area, and then when he got out so slowly, and it was just -- it was one of those things that reveals itself. It was disbelief. It's like, he's in what, pajamas?

HEMMER: And what about his attorney, Thomas Mesereau? What was he doing during this time?

MARQUEZ: That guy, I actually felt badly for him. I don't know if you're supposed to feel badly for lawyers, but the guy was -- you know, he was out here. Typically he meets Jackson right out in front as they pull up. It's normally an organized affair.

Yesterday he was doing every sort of pacing in every sort of corner in every alcove of that area over there, on his cell phone on and off throughout the morning. He was like -- he was like a teenager waiting for his prom date. It was amazing.

HEMMER: All right. Miguel, thanks. We'll wait until Monday, when court resumes there.

Back to our legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, here in New York City.

Good morning to you.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Weird enough for you?

HEMMER: I'm telling you. Well, it's not over yet. In fact, it may be just beginning.

Let's talk about the evidence first. Did the accuser lay out his case yesterday effectively on the stand?

TOOBIN: You know, fortunately for the prosecution, the accuser, it appears, was a far better witness than his brother and his sister who testified right before him. You know, he laid out a lot of detail, very appealing character.

Just remember, you know, this is a kid who had a 16-pound tumor removed from his stomach. The jury is going to be automatically favorably disposed towards someone who went through such an ordeal, a child much less. But, you know, the cross-examination has just begun. And there's going to be plenty of it. HEMMER: Let's talk about the cross-examination, because now you have the accuser's word, and you can run that right alongside his brother's testimony from earlier in the week. There seems to be a bit of a controversy over whether or not it was red wine or white wine, a Diet Coke can or a 7 UP can.

How significant?

TOOBIN: You know, very hard to tell, because jurors are often sympathetic to children as witnesses regarding things like inconsistencies because they say, well, he's just a kid, how can he remember? Some of the more significant issues are, you know, was it two cases of abuse, two incidents of abuses, or was it four? I mean, the accuser seemed uncertain.

And then the larger issue of, why didn't you complain to somebody, why didn't you go to the police? Why didn't you complain to your mother? Why -- how did you let this continue? That's something that jurors will undoubtedly have questions about.

HEMMER: Take that a step further. Mesereau said they claimed that they were trapped or they were held. Was it "hostage?" Was that the word at Neverland?

TOOBIN: Well, it's -- right. One of the charges against Jackson is that he conspired with his assistants to unlawfully detain, essentially to kidnap this family. And that clearly is the weakest part of this case. Because it's come out over and over again that this family was coming and going, that the mother was getting bikini waxes, and here the kid is saying, I came back after supposedly I was detained by Jackson.

HEMMER: And Mesereau says, "You escaped from Neverland, you went back a few days later, didn't you?" he asked. "And then you escaped from Neverland a second time. There were three escapes in all, right?"

TOOBIN: Right. And how silly is that, that the idea that these people were, you know, not really free to leave? Obviously, that's a weak part of the case.

HEMMER: Now, you've been inside this courtroom. Where the bank of jurors are sitting, how much can they see of Michael Jackson, how much can they see of his wardrobe? How much would they see of these PJs and sandals from yesterday?

TOOBIN: They can't really see much below his chest because the jury is well off to his left. There's the -- there's there -- where the lawyers stand between them. I mean, they can see his head and not a lot more. I think the real issue about yesterday's bizarre events has much more to do with the judge and Jackson than the jury and Jackson.

HEMMER: How so?

TOOBIN: Because this is really strike 2.5 with the judge in terms of his being late, his being, you know, not respectful of the court's procedures. This judge is really going to lock him up the next time there's any suggestion of weirdness.

HEMMER: Like three strikes and you're out is what you're saying?

TOOBIN: Three strikes and you're out. And he was pretty close yesterday.

What was interesting is the judge ordered the bench warrant and the revocation of bail before he heard any explanation. So he was angry to start with. He later yielded on that. But this judge is not happy with, you know, this diva-like behavior.

HEMMER: And bail is $3 million.

TOOBIN: Bail is $3 millions, which even for Michael Jackson is a nice piece of change.

HEMMER: I agree with that. Enjoy your weekend. And wait until...

TOOBIN: It's been a long week.

HEMMER: ... Monday, because who knows what goes down then.

TOOBIN: Exactly.

HEMMER: See you later -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Let's get right back to Chad Myers at the CNN Center for a look at the weather.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Hey, do you want to do a quiz?

HEMMER: Sure.

O'BRIEN: You know about this new S.A.T.? High school students go tomorrow.

HEMMER: So I hear.

O'BRIEN: They've changed it completely. Now three sections, no longer two sections, 2400 points is what you can get if you get 100 percent. Here you go. Ready?

This is the question: "Although the presidential candidate was (blanked) repeatedly by his opponent, he refused to (blank) and instead focus on the issues in the election."

Here are your choices: A is extolled and prevaricate; B is derided and capitulate; C is slandered and reciprocate; D is admired and relinquish; and E is vindicated and submit.

A little complicated. We'll see how you do. Mr. Hemmer, you've got through the commercial break to figure it out just like everybody else does.

HEMMER: All right. Got it.

O'BRIEN: We're going to give the answer to that question coming up in just a few moments. Also, we're going to talk to an expert about how your kids can do better on this test.

HEMMER: All right. Sanjay is back in a moment, too, talking about former President Bill Clinton and what he has to do now in order to recover. We'll get to that in a second.

O'BRIEN: And one small woman, right there, she's scoring more points than Allen Iverson. Her hoop dreams are sending kids to college who never would have had a chance before. We'll tell you her story ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: OK. Here was the question. Before the break we asked you this question. It's from the verbal section of the new S.A.T.

It goes like this: "Although the presidential candidate was (blanked) repeatedly by his opponent, he refused to (blank) and instead focused only on the issues of the election.

We went through the choices for you. Here they are again: extolled and prevaricate, derided and capitulate, slandered and reciprocate, admired and relinquish and vindicated and submit.

Mr. Hemmer, your answer is?

HEMMER: Yes. My English teacher is telling me C, as in "Charlie."

O'BRIEN: Are you getting help?

Mr. Hemmer would be right. The answer is slandered and reciprocate.

The real deal, though, of course, happens tomorrow for high school students across the country who are taking this revamped S.A.T. Jennifer Karan is the national director of the S.A.T. and A.C.T. program. She's with the Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions. Joins us a little bit to talk about all these changes.

Why the changes?

JENNIFER KARAN, KAPLAN TEST PREP: The test is designed to be a predictor of students' success their freshman year of college. And as it stood, it really wasn't doing its job very well. So there were changes that needed to be made.

O'BRIEN: So let's talk more specifically about the changes. What went away and what was added?

KARAN: Analogies, dreaded or loved, depending on who you are, went way.

O'BRIEN: I loved those.

KARAN: Quantitative comparisons went away. And in their place were some more reading comprehension questions, some more difficult math questions, and a brand new writing sections consisting of a timed essay and a series of multiple choice questions, testing students' knowledge of grammar.

O'BRIEN: So now, instead of 1600, which was considered like the amazingly fabulous score, the new high score is 2400 points because there are three sections.

KARAN: Right.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk a little bit more about this essay section. What do kids expect when they open up to a new section and they've never seen anything like it before?

KARAN: It's going to be a little bit challenging for them. It asks them to write a persuasive essay, something that a lot of students haven't really seen before, and it asks them to do so in 25 minutes.

They're really trying to put out a completed rough draft, which is the goal of this particular exercise since they can't put together a polished piece of work. But the grading might be somewhat different than what they would expect to see in their typical English classrooms.

O'BRIEN: Let's run through an example not of the essay question, but of another question from the verbal section. Here you go.

You have to identify which word is incorrect. Let's put it up on the screen so folks can read along with us.

"Lost in a snowstorm and low on food, the three skiers had to share one granola bar between them." And then also no error is highlighted there. So people would then have to do what, pick...

KARAN: Pick the correct answer choice, a, b, c, or d, and then the other option is no error in the sentence at all.

O'BRIEN: Shall I take a guess?

KARAN: Sure.

O'BRIEN: I was an English major. I was going to say D, between, because, of course, between is between two people, among would be for three.

KARAN: Absolutely.

O'BRIEN: Oh, thank god. Amazing. Amazing.

You know, we're laughing about this, but I would imagine lots of high school students are very panicked. We mentioned that you're with Kaplan. There is no time between now and tomorrow to enroll for a test prep kind of course.

KARAN: Right.

O'BRIEN: What can people do?

KARAN: People -- at this point in time, if they're preparing for tomorrow's test, they want to make sure that they know where their test site is, where their classroom is in that particular test site. So take a test drive over there if you haven't done so already.

Make sure your pencils are sharpened. It sounds trivial, but you don't want to be scrambling in the morning. And pack a snack of complex carbohydrates that you can keep your energy up. The new test is three hours and 45 minutes long.

O'BRIEN: It's much longer than the old test.

KARAN: Real challenge for kids to maintain that focus and concentration.

O'BRIEN: There is time to go through a practice test. Because is there a big improvement in scores with people who just have sort of worked through the test?

KARAN: Absolutely. The practice test can do two things for kids. It can get them accustomed to the timing and the structure of the test and the directions, which obviously don't change. But also can really give them a sense of confidence because they know what the experience is going to be like.

O'BRIEN: We certainly wish everybody good luck.

KARAN: Absolutely.

O'BRIEN: Thanks, Jennifer.

KARAN: Thank you so much.

O'BRIEN: Nice to see you.

KARAN: Pleasure.

O'BRIEN: Let's go back to Bill.

HEMMER: I got that one wrong.

O'BRIEN: Ah-ha.

(LAUGHTER)

HEMMER: President Clinton now recovering from surgery to remove tissue and fluid from his lungs. Sanjay is back in a moment. Explains why doctors had to change their gameplan midway.

Back in a moment after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Back to Jack, "Question of the Day."

CAFFERTY: Lots of e-mails today.

Michael Jackson is making a mockery of his trial. It started back there when he was leaving court after his arraignment last year. He got up on his car and was dancing around. That's pretty stupid.

And then yesterday he took stupidity to another level, showing up more than an hour and a half late in his pajamas. The judge at one point threatened to revoke his bail and toss him in the cooler, but at the last minute he relented and Jackson was allowed to get away with it, despite the fact that his behavior mocked the court and mocked the jury and mocked the judge and mocked the alleged victim, this little boy he's accused of molesting who, in fact, was testifying yesterday.

So the question is whether or not the judge did the right thing in revoking the bail, or should he have done that -- or not revoking the bail, or should he have revoked it and thrown him in jail?

Bob in Maryland writes: "Jackson has ailments of convenience. A few nights of sleeping on a concrete slab might cure him."

Amy in Virginia writes: "He has a gillion employees and he couldn't get one person to go back to the house for a pair of pants? I think the pajama bottoms were a deliberate attempt to intimidate the victim. I bet the victim has seen those pajama bottoms before."

Tammy in Minnesota writes: "In the real world, Michael Jackson's bail would have been revoked. Got to wonder about this judge and the circus he's running."

And Fred in Texas writes: "No, no, no. If you have any compassion for the jailers, please do not revoke the man's bail."

O'BRIEN: That's sort of funny.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Although, I have to say, I kind of agree with whoever that was who wrote about doesn't he have someone who can run to the store and...

CAFFERTY: Of course. They've got nine guys to carry an umbrella and there's no rain. Somebody could go get a pair of pants.

O'BRIEN: But interesting theories about that. Some people said maybe he's trying to elicit sympathy.

HEMMER: Sure.

CAFFERTY: With the umbrella? What's with the umbrella?

O'BRIEN: No, with the -- well, you know, sun damage could be terrible.

CAFFERTY: Sun damage? You couldn't do any more damage to that face.

HEMMER: Skin damage.

CAFFERTY: That face is...

O'BRIEN: I'm throwing out theories, Jack.

CAFFERTY: You could go to Earl Scheib and get that thing spray painted.

HEMMER: But what she's saying, Jack, he's in the hospital, right? And he has to make his case. So he shows up in court in his pajamas to show his jurors and the judge and everybody else watching that...

O'BRIEN: In pain.

HEMMER: Yes, that he's...

CAFFERTY: Michael Jackson runs into a public hospital because -- plus, there's two versions of this back pain thing.

HEMMER: I can't make sense of it for you, Jack.

CAFFERTY: No, but there were two versions. We had some woman on here this morning very early in the first hour...

O'BRIEN: The first person, right.

CAFFERTY: ... saying that he woke up with the pain.

HEMMER: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

CAFFERTY: And one of his lawyers yesterday said he stumbled and hurt himself. So those things don't work.

There's two versions of this back pain. And this whole thing is a joke. Give me some room here. Come on.

HEMMER: And you know what? More on Monday.

CAFFERTY: I mean, I was born at night, but it wasn't last night.

O'BRIEN: And guess what, Jack?

CAFFERTY: What?

O'BRIEN: Feel like you haven't heard enough about Michael Jackson? We got -- we're going to. Even more ahead coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) O'BRIEN (voice-over): Ahead on "90-second Pop," what a thriller. Michael Jackson's late and on the verge of being arrested, shows up to court in his PJs. What is up with that bizarre behavior?

Could Sponge Bob make kids gay? This long-awaited public service announcement finally reveals. What's all the fuss about? That and more on AMERICAN MORNING.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired March 11, 2005 - 08:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: DNA ties an out-of-work electrician to the grisly murders of a federal judge's husband and mother. A cigarette found at the scene could hold the key to the case.
Michael Jackson more than an hour late for his trial, causing quite a stir outside the courthouse. Did it overshadow testimony from his accuser?

And Bill Clinton's surgery. Doctors say it was tricky but still a success. Details on his recovery on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Nine o'clock on a Friday. Good to have you along with us today.

Good morning to you as well.

O'BRIEN: And likewise.

HEMMER: We're going to get back to California. We can't leave this story for too long, Michael Jackson's bizarre spectacle yesterday. Could that now hurt his standing with the judge, the jury and even his own attorney?

And on top of all this, what we have not talked about much today, is the testimony of the accuser. How damaging was that yesterday? We'll get to all that with Jeff Toobin in a moment here.

O'BRIEN: Also, you know, the brand S.A.T. tomorrow makes its big debut. And there are a lot of big changes to the exam. Remember the perfect score used to be a 1600?

HEMMER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Now it's a 2400. There's a whole new section and some tougher questions have been added. We've got a few tips for students who are about to take it.

HEMMER: I like it. My niece is about to S.A.T.urday.

O'BRIEN: Well, we've got some tips for her then.

HEMMER: And she's ready. All right.

Here's Jack again. JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Should the judge have revoked Michael Jackson's bail and tossed him in the cooler for that stunt he pulled yesterday? AM@CNN.com.

HEMMER: All right, Jack. Thanks for that.

Back to the headlines, too. Here's Carol Costello with us.

Good morning.

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

"Now in the News," President Bush is hoping to gather some support for his Social Security reforms in the South. In just about an hour the president is set to speak in Memphis, Tennessee. He'll be in northern Louisiana later today as part of a 60-day, 60-stop campaign to win support about restructuring Social Security.

There is word this morning the U.S. will negotiate with Iran on its nuclear program. Senior officials say the Bush administration is likely to adopt a European proposal offering Iran modest economic incentives. The official announcement is expected some time today. In exchange, the EU would agree to seek U.N. sanctions against Iran if it does not fulfill its international agreements.

Out in California, still no verdict in the Robert Blake murder trial. Jurors set to resume deliberations later today. They've been working behind closed doors since closing arguments wrapped up on March 4. Blake is accused of killing his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley.

And former President Bill Clinton's surgery is a success. Clinton is resting now at New York Presbyterian Hospital after having scar tissue and fluid removed from around his left lung. The procedure was a follow-up to his heart surgery six months ago, but not everything went exactly as planned. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will have more details just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

HEMMER: All right. The recovery continues. Thanks, Carol.

O'BRIEN: Thanks, Carol.

Well, Chicago police now have strong evidence, including DNA, in the killings of a judge's husband and her mother. The suspect Bart Ross killed himself on Wednesday night. And details of what was going on in his life have been coming out ever since.

Chris Lawrence live in Chicago for us on the latest on the investigation.

Hey, Chris. Good morning.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Soledad.

Well, investigators rushed through these DNA tests. And they got a match between Bart Ross and a cigarette butt that was found in Judge Joan lefkow's home.

Now, they did not find the murder weapon, but detectives did discover a shell casing in his house that matches the shell casings from the murders. And with all the other evidence, it's enough for police to say Ross is the killer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE (voice-over): According to neighbors, Bart Ross didn't talk much. But when he did, he let loose about the courts and hospitals that he said ruined his life.

MERCEDES RIVERA, NEIGHBOR: But nobody would listen to him. So that's why he was really angry.

LAWRENCE: First with doctors in Chicago who couldn't cure the cancer eating away his face.

DON ROSE, ACQUAINTANCE: He looked OK. He had some teeth missing, but then he took out his prosthesis to show me what had happened. And there was -- like a partial jaw came out, and then his face sort of collapsed inward.

LAWRENCE: Don Rose hired Ross as an electrician on and off for years. They used to talk casually about politics until Ross tried to sue the University of Illinois Medical Center for malpractice and not one attorney would take his case.

ROSE: At one point his case was all he could talk about.

LAWRENCE: Ross put his own complaint, a rambling 130 pages in the lawsuit that was eventually dismissed by Judge Joan Lefkow. A letter sent to a Chicago TV station and signed "Bart Ross" said, "Judge Lefkow to her neighbors is a church-going angel. To me, Judge Lefkow is a Nazi-style criminal and terrorist."

ROSE: It was very clear that over the years this obsession that he had, which was quite understandable, had become really paranoia.

LAWRENCE: In the letter, the writer compares himself to a soldier, defending himself against the doctors, lawyers and judges he perceived as enemies. "They practically murdered me, and in this way, they murdered husband and mother of Judge Lefkow. And although I killed them, I am not a murderer, as U.S. soldiers who kill innocent Afghans and Iraqis are not considered murderers."

The letter signs off saying, "I am already dead." And by Thursday, the important parts of Bart Ross' life were carted away as animal control officers took away his dog and police collected the last bits of evidence from his home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: Now, neighbors tell us that he lived alone, but Ross really doted on that dog "Buddy." They'd even see him walking the Newfoundland a couple times a day -- Soledad. O'BRIEN: The judge in this case who had this terrible double tragedy, any reaction, any word from her?

LAWRENCE: Well, she left Chicago. She's on her way to Denver to bury her mother this weekend. And she told "The New York Times" as she was leaving that in some ways she's relieved because -- that it didn't have anything to do with the white supremacist movement, because she feels her children are safer. But she's just heartbroken that her husband and mother had to die over something like this.

O'BRIEN: Chris Lawrence reporting for us this morning. Chris, thanks -- Bill.

HEMMER: Soledad, Michael Jackson's trial has now recessed until Monday. That's when the defense will resume its cross-examination of Jackson's 15-year-old accuser. The boy took the stand on Thursday, testifying that Jackson molested him twice, gave him booze and showed him pornography.

But the star witness testimony was only part of the story from yesterday, and bizarre events that Miguel Marquez was there to witness. Watch from yesterday and have a look here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: The judge in the Michael Jackson case gave the pop star one hour. An hour ago he said, "You have one hour to show up here at the courthouse." He issued a bench warranted.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It will be very interesting to see what deputies do when he gets here. And then certainly, once he gets into court, what the judge decides to do.

He showed up here looking not so great in pajamas and slippers and hair undone. The judge came onto the stand there -- or onto the bench a short time ago and admonished jurors, telling them not to draw any inference as to Mr. Jackson's guilt or innocence because he had to order him here today. Mr. Jackson is in court now, in those pajamas, hair unkempt, to say the least, and slippers, listening to his accuser testify.

I haven't played with walkie-talkies since I was a kid, but we are getting updates from a listening room not too far from here. It's quite a little chain of information we have going here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Back with a walkie-talkie, Miguel Marquez, up early this morning.

Good morning, Miguel. Give us an idea, by the way, this atmosphere as you're waiting for Jackson to show up yesterday.

MARQUEZ: Yes, we all know something was kind of up around 20 after 8:00 here. And when we got word that Mr. Jackson was not showing and a bench warranted had been issued, I mean, the first thing that shot through my mind was I can't imagine this guy coming to court every day chained in a prison jumpsuit, in an orange jumpsuit. I mea, that's what really started the clock ticking. And then you had this inherent drama of this clock ticking down to the one-hour mark.

HEMMER: So then take us forward to the PJs and the uncombed hair. The reaction then was what?

MARQUEZ: Well, disbelief, maybe. It's been -- I've been covering this now for over a year, and it's hard to have disbelief in a case that's had just so many twists and turns.

The drama was just so palpable out here. And when he arrived, I mean, the fact that they drove up so quickly into this area, and then when he got out so slowly, and it was just -- it was one of those things that reveals itself. It was disbelief. It's like, he's in what, pajamas?

HEMMER: And what about his attorney, Thomas Mesereau? What was he doing during this time?

MARQUEZ: That guy, I actually felt badly for him. I don't know if you're supposed to feel badly for lawyers, but the guy was -- you know, he was out here. Typically he meets Jackson right out in front as they pull up. It's normally an organized affair.

Yesterday he was doing every sort of pacing in every sort of corner in every alcove of that area over there, on his cell phone on and off throughout the morning. He was like -- he was like a teenager waiting for his prom date. It was amazing.

HEMMER: All right. Miguel, thanks. We'll wait until Monday, when court resumes there.

Back to our legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, here in New York City.

Good morning to you.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Weird enough for you?

HEMMER: I'm telling you. Well, it's not over yet. In fact, it may be just beginning.

Let's talk about the evidence first. Did the accuser lay out his case yesterday effectively on the stand?

TOOBIN: You know, fortunately for the prosecution, the accuser, it appears, was a far better witness than his brother and his sister who testified right before him. You know, he laid out a lot of detail, very appealing character.

Just remember, you know, this is a kid who had a 16-pound tumor removed from his stomach. The jury is going to be automatically favorably disposed towards someone who went through such an ordeal, a child much less. But, you know, the cross-examination has just begun. And there's going to be plenty of it. HEMMER: Let's talk about the cross-examination, because now you have the accuser's word, and you can run that right alongside his brother's testimony from earlier in the week. There seems to be a bit of a controversy over whether or not it was red wine or white wine, a Diet Coke can or a 7 UP can.

How significant?

TOOBIN: You know, very hard to tell, because jurors are often sympathetic to children as witnesses regarding things like inconsistencies because they say, well, he's just a kid, how can he remember? Some of the more significant issues are, you know, was it two cases of abuse, two incidents of abuses, or was it four? I mean, the accuser seemed uncertain.

And then the larger issue of, why didn't you complain to somebody, why didn't you go to the police? Why didn't you complain to your mother? Why -- how did you let this continue? That's something that jurors will undoubtedly have questions about.

HEMMER: Take that a step further. Mesereau said they claimed that they were trapped or they were held. Was it "hostage?" Was that the word at Neverland?

TOOBIN: Well, it's -- right. One of the charges against Jackson is that he conspired with his assistants to unlawfully detain, essentially to kidnap this family. And that clearly is the weakest part of this case. Because it's come out over and over again that this family was coming and going, that the mother was getting bikini waxes, and here the kid is saying, I came back after supposedly I was detained by Jackson.

HEMMER: And Mesereau says, "You escaped from Neverland, you went back a few days later, didn't you?" he asked. "And then you escaped from Neverland a second time. There were three escapes in all, right?"

TOOBIN: Right. And how silly is that, that the idea that these people were, you know, not really free to leave? Obviously, that's a weak part of the case.

HEMMER: Now, you've been inside this courtroom. Where the bank of jurors are sitting, how much can they see of Michael Jackson, how much can they see of his wardrobe? How much would they see of these PJs and sandals from yesterday?

TOOBIN: They can't really see much below his chest because the jury is well off to his left. There's the -- there's there -- where the lawyers stand between them. I mean, they can see his head and not a lot more. I think the real issue about yesterday's bizarre events has much more to do with the judge and Jackson than the jury and Jackson.

HEMMER: How so?

TOOBIN: Because this is really strike 2.5 with the judge in terms of his being late, his being, you know, not respectful of the court's procedures. This judge is really going to lock him up the next time there's any suggestion of weirdness.

HEMMER: Like three strikes and you're out is what you're saying?

TOOBIN: Three strikes and you're out. And he was pretty close yesterday.

What was interesting is the judge ordered the bench warrant and the revocation of bail before he heard any explanation. So he was angry to start with. He later yielded on that. But this judge is not happy with, you know, this diva-like behavior.

HEMMER: And bail is $3 million.

TOOBIN: Bail is $3 millions, which even for Michael Jackson is a nice piece of change.

HEMMER: I agree with that. Enjoy your weekend. And wait until...

TOOBIN: It's been a long week.

HEMMER: ... Monday, because who knows what goes down then.

TOOBIN: Exactly.

HEMMER: See you later -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Let's get right back to Chad Myers at the CNN Center for a look at the weather.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Hey, do you want to do a quiz?

HEMMER: Sure.

O'BRIEN: You know about this new S.A.T.? High school students go tomorrow.

HEMMER: So I hear.

O'BRIEN: They've changed it completely. Now three sections, no longer two sections, 2400 points is what you can get if you get 100 percent. Here you go. Ready?

This is the question: "Although the presidential candidate was (blanked) repeatedly by his opponent, he refused to (blank) and instead focus on the issues in the election."

Here are your choices: A is extolled and prevaricate; B is derided and capitulate; C is slandered and reciprocate; D is admired and relinquish; and E is vindicated and submit.

A little complicated. We'll see how you do. Mr. Hemmer, you've got through the commercial break to figure it out just like everybody else does.

HEMMER: All right. Got it.

O'BRIEN: We're going to give the answer to that question coming up in just a few moments. Also, we're going to talk to an expert about how your kids can do better on this test.

HEMMER: All right. Sanjay is back in a moment, too, talking about former President Bill Clinton and what he has to do now in order to recover. We'll get to that in a second.

O'BRIEN: And one small woman, right there, she's scoring more points than Allen Iverson. Her hoop dreams are sending kids to college who never would have had a chance before. We'll tell you her story ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: OK. Here was the question. Before the break we asked you this question. It's from the verbal section of the new S.A.T.

It goes like this: "Although the presidential candidate was (blanked) repeatedly by his opponent, he refused to (blank) and instead focused only on the issues of the election.

We went through the choices for you. Here they are again: extolled and prevaricate, derided and capitulate, slandered and reciprocate, admired and relinquish and vindicated and submit.

Mr. Hemmer, your answer is?

HEMMER: Yes. My English teacher is telling me C, as in "Charlie."

O'BRIEN: Are you getting help?

Mr. Hemmer would be right. The answer is slandered and reciprocate.

The real deal, though, of course, happens tomorrow for high school students across the country who are taking this revamped S.A.T. Jennifer Karan is the national director of the S.A.T. and A.C.T. program. She's with the Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions. Joins us a little bit to talk about all these changes.

Why the changes?

JENNIFER KARAN, KAPLAN TEST PREP: The test is designed to be a predictor of students' success their freshman year of college. And as it stood, it really wasn't doing its job very well. So there were changes that needed to be made.

O'BRIEN: So let's talk more specifically about the changes. What went away and what was added?

KARAN: Analogies, dreaded or loved, depending on who you are, went way.

O'BRIEN: I loved those.

KARAN: Quantitative comparisons went away. And in their place were some more reading comprehension questions, some more difficult math questions, and a brand new writing sections consisting of a timed essay and a series of multiple choice questions, testing students' knowledge of grammar.

O'BRIEN: So now, instead of 1600, which was considered like the amazingly fabulous score, the new high score is 2400 points because there are three sections.

KARAN: Right.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk a little bit more about this essay section. What do kids expect when they open up to a new section and they've never seen anything like it before?

KARAN: It's going to be a little bit challenging for them. It asks them to write a persuasive essay, something that a lot of students haven't really seen before, and it asks them to do so in 25 minutes.

They're really trying to put out a completed rough draft, which is the goal of this particular exercise since they can't put together a polished piece of work. But the grading might be somewhat different than what they would expect to see in their typical English classrooms.

O'BRIEN: Let's run through an example not of the essay question, but of another question from the verbal section. Here you go.

You have to identify which word is incorrect. Let's put it up on the screen so folks can read along with us.

"Lost in a snowstorm and low on food, the three skiers had to share one granola bar between them." And then also no error is highlighted there. So people would then have to do what, pick...

KARAN: Pick the correct answer choice, a, b, c, or d, and then the other option is no error in the sentence at all.

O'BRIEN: Shall I take a guess?

KARAN: Sure.

O'BRIEN: I was an English major. I was going to say D, between, because, of course, between is between two people, among would be for three.

KARAN: Absolutely.

O'BRIEN: Oh, thank god. Amazing. Amazing.

You know, we're laughing about this, but I would imagine lots of high school students are very panicked. We mentioned that you're with Kaplan. There is no time between now and tomorrow to enroll for a test prep kind of course.

KARAN: Right.

O'BRIEN: What can people do?

KARAN: People -- at this point in time, if they're preparing for tomorrow's test, they want to make sure that they know where their test site is, where their classroom is in that particular test site. So take a test drive over there if you haven't done so already.

Make sure your pencils are sharpened. It sounds trivial, but you don't want to be scrambling in the morning. And pack a snack of complex carbohydrates that you can keep your energy up. The new test is three hours and 45 minutes long.

O'BRIEN: It's much longer than the old test.

KARAN: Real challenge for kids to maintain that focus and concentration.

O'BRIEN: There is time to go through a practice test. Because is there a big improvement in scores with people who just have sort of worked through the test?

KARAN: Absolutely. The practice test can do two things for kids. It can get them accustomed to the timing and the structure of the test and the directions, which obviously don't change. But also can really give them a sense of confidence because they know what the experience is going to be like.

O'BRIEN: We certainly wish everybody good luck.

KARAN: Absolutely.

O'BRIEN: Thanks, Jennifer.

KARAN: Thank you so much.

O'BRIEN: Nice to see you.

KARAN: Pleasure.

O'BRIEN: Let's go back to Bill.

HEMMER: I got that one wrong.

O'BRIEN: Ah-ha.

(LAUGHTER)

HEMMER: President Clinton now recovering from surgery to remove tissue and fluid from his lungs. Sanjay is back in a moment. Explains why doctors had to change their gameplan midway.

Back in a moment after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Back to Jack, "Question of the Day."

CAFFERTY: Lots of e-mails today.

Michael Jackson is making a mockery of his trial. It started back there when he was leaving court after his arraignment last year. He got up on his car and was dancing around. That's pretty stupid.

And then yesterday he took stupidity to another level, showing up more than an hour and a half late in his pajamas. The judge at one point threatened to revoke his bail and toss him in the cooler, but at the last minute he relented and Jackson was allowed to get away with it, despite the fact that his behavior mocked the court and mocked the jury and mocked the judge and mocked the alleged victim, this little boy he's accused of molesting who, in fact, was testifying yesterday.

So the question is whether or not the judge did the right thing in revoking the bail, or should he have done that -- or not revoking the bail, or should he have revoked it and thrown him in jail?

Bob in Maryland writes: "Jackson has ailments of convenience. A few nights of sleeping on a concrete slab might cure him."

Amy in Virginia writes: "He has a gillion employees and he couldn't get one person to go back to the house for a pair of pants? I think the pajama bottoms were a deliberate attempt to intimidate the victim. I bet the victim has seen those pajama bottoms before."

Tammy in Minnesota writes: "In the real world, Michael Jackson's bail would have been revoked. Got to wonder about this judge and the circus he's running."

And Fred in Texas writes: "No, no, no. If you have any compassion for the jailers, please do not revoke the man's bail."

O'BRIEN: That's sort of funny.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Although, I have to say, I kind of agree with whoever that was who wrote about doesn't he have someone who can run to the store and...

CAFFERTY: Of course. They've got nine guys to carry an umbrella and there's no rain. Somebody could go get a pair of pants.

O'BRIEN: But interesting theories about that. Some people said maybe he's trying to elicit sympathy.

HEMMER: Sure.

CAFFERTY: With the umbrella? What's with the umbrella?

O'BRIEN: No, with the -- well, you know, sun damage could be terrible.

CAFFERTY: Sun damage? You couldn't do any more damage to that face.

HEMMER: Skin damage.

CAFFERTY: That face is...

O'BRIEN: I'm throwing out theories, Jack.

CAFFERTY: You could go to Earl Scheib and get that thing spray painted.

HEMMER: But what she's saying, Jack, he's in the hospital, right? And he has to make his case. So he shows up in court in his pajamas to show his jurors and the judge and everybody else watching that...

O'BRIEN: In pain.

HEMMER: Yes, that he's...

CAFFERTY: Michael Jackson runs into a public hospital because -- plus, there's two versions of this back pain thing.

HEMMER: I can't make sense of it for you, Jack.

CAFFERTY: No, but there were two versions. We had some woman on here this morning very early in the first hour...

O'BRIEN: The first person, right.

CAFFERTY: ... saying that he woke up with the pain.

HEMMER: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

CAFFERTY: And one of his lawyers yesterday said he stumbled and hurt himself. So those things don't work.

There's two versions of this back pain. And this whole thing is a joke. Give me some room here. Come on.

HEMMER: And you know what? More on Monday.

CAFFERTY: I mean, I was born at night, but it wasn't last night.

O'BRIEN: And guess what, Jack?

CAFFERTY: What?

O'BRIEN: Feel like you haven't heard enough about Michael Jackson? We got -- we're going to. Even more ahead coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) O'BRIEN (voice-over): Ahead on "90-second Pop," what a thriller. Michael Jackson's late and on the verge of being arrested, shows up to court in his PJs. What is up with that bizarre behavior?

Could Sponge Bob make kids gay? This long-awaited public service announcement finally reveals. What's all the fuss about? That and more on AMERICAN MORNING.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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