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American Morning

California Court Says State Cannot Limit Marriage to Partners of Opposite Sex; Book About Finding Purpose Through God May Have Helped Ashley Smith Calm Atlanta Shooting Suspect

Aired March 15, 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.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody.
Just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Bill Hemmer has got the day off. I think he's snowboarding, actually.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Is he? He likes to do that. He's young enough.

O'BRIEN: Yes, he is.

Jack is filling in for him this morning.

Coming up, the major decision in California. A judge says that the state cannot ban same-sex marriage. But the battle does not end there. We'll explain.

CAFFERTY: Also, chapter and verse on the bestselling book Ashley Smith read to her captor, "The Purpose Driven Life." We'll look at the book's message, which is there are no accidents, except once in a while this program.

O'BRIEN: Only rarely.

CAFFERTY: Its way at the back of the book on the last page, a little postscript. Once in a while, AMERICAN MORNING.

O'BRIEN: Asterisk.

First, though, let's get right to the headlines. Kelly Wallace is in for us this morning.

Good morning.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Soledad, and Jack. Good morning again, everyone. Here are some of the stories we're following now in the news. We begin in the Middle East. Israel set to hand over the West Bank town of Jericho to Palestinian security forces tomorrow. That's to be followed by another handover of another town early next week. That deal was worked out during talks between both sides.

Meanwhile, Palestinian factions are now starting talks in Cairo. They are discussing the possibility of a formal cease-fire with Israel.

In Colorado now, a 14-year-old girl is being held without bond after her arrest for suspicion in her father's death. Police say the girl told them she shot her father in an attempt to end his suffering after he failed at suicide. Investigators, though, say her story is inconsistent, and that so far, there is no suicide note. They also say they are troubled she chose to shoot her father, rather than call for help.

Convicted murderer Scott Peterson finds out tomorrow if he will face the death penalty, his formal sentencing scheduled for tomorrow. Meanwhile, his attorneys have filed a motion for a new trial. They claim the prosecution withheld key evidence that they say could have led to a different verdict in the case.

And an airline pilot who suffered eye damage from a laser will be among those testifying before a House panel this morning. This is an issue you probably heard about, lawmakers looking into possible dangers from lasers beamed into cockpits of commercial airliners. They want to know how the FAA is handling these incidents. The FBI says more than a dozen aircraft have been targeted in recent months. A lot of incidents they're looking into.

CAFFERTY: All right, thanks, Kelly.

WALLACE: Sure.

CAFFERTY: A California court says the state cannot limit marriage to partners of the opposite sex.

Rusty Dornin has the report now from San Francisco.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Stewart Gaffney and John Lewis found out there was a ruling, they rushed down to where it all began, San Francisco City Hall. One of the first 10 same-sex couples to be married here a little over a year ago, they were part two of lawsuits aimed at overturning the state's ban on gay marriage.

STUART GAFFNEY, SAME-SEX PARTNER: We couldn't ask for a better anniversary present, and it's a beautiful day. We're so happy.

DORNIN: Superior court Judge Richard Kramer ruled same-sex marriage cannot be prohibited solely because California has always done so before. The decision went on to say that people have the fundamental right to choose who they want to marry. No way, say opponents who call the ruling a great disappointment. An appeal? Of course.

TERRY THOMPSON, ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND: What this does, it puts rocket fuel under this federal marriage amendment, and I think that it's going to be people all across the country that are very upset about this and will energize them to promote the federal marriage amendment. DORNIN: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom ignited the firestorm February of 2004, when he told a city clerk to give same-sex couples marriage licenses. Four weeks and 4,000 marriages later, the state supreme court forced the city to stop. And last August, the court nullified the marriages.

MYR. GAVIN NEWSOM, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: We just celebrated their one-year anniversary, but this is, in some respects, an even greater celebration, because every single one of those couples didn't come here just for themselves, but came here to make a statement.

DORNIN: Gay marriage proponents point to the California supreme court's decision in 1948 to overturn laws prohibiting inter racial marriage, and say this ruling is a major step in that same direction.

But it could take months or years for the issue to be decided. Gaffney and Lewis say no matter what the court says, they're in it for better or for worse.

Rusty Dornin, CNN, San Francisco.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAFFERTY: This decision is likely headed for California's supreme court. Mayor Newsom says marriage licenses will not be issued until the issue has been decided -- not issued to same-sex couples -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: A book about finding your purpose through God may have helped Ashley Smith calm Atlanta shooting suspect Brian Nichols. She read to him from the book while he held her hostage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHLEY SMITH, TAKEN HOSTAGE BY COURTHOUSE SHOOTING SUSPECT: I got my Bible, and I got a book called "The Purpose Driven Life." I turned it to the chapter that I was on that day, which was chapter 33, and I started to read the first paragraph of it. After I read it, he said, "Stop. Will you read it again?" I said yes, I'll read it again. So I read it again to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: "The Purpose Driven Life" is by Rick Warren. It's been on "The New York Times" bestseller list for 111 weeks. That's more than two years if you do the math. It's currently number three on the "Times" list of advice books. Since Ashley Smith mentioned it Sunday night, the book jumped from number 72 on amazon.com's top seller's list to No. 2.

Steve Waldman is the founder of beliefnet.com.

I want to talk about the amazing success of the book. For those who are not familiar, in a nutshell, it says, God's got a plan for you, and it's your job here on Earth to figure out what God's plan is. Why has that resonated so well, even before it came became so popular. STEVE WALDMAN, BELIEFNET.COM: Yes, 20 million copies, and this means if you combine "The South Beach Diet" and "The Da Vinci Code," and Bill Clinton and Hillary, all those combined together didn't sell as much as this one book. This is the book of the last two years.

O'BRIEN: Why?

WALDMAN: Well, it's interesting, part of it is that it's not a self-help book. He very consciously says this. This is not about finding your inner meaning. It's not about helping yourself. It's about serving God. It's a very religious book. I mean, that may be an obvious thing to say. But you know, it's a hopeful book, but it is very Christ-centered, evangelical, Christian book, and it says that because you were created by God, you have a purpose that is God's purpose.

I want to read to everyone chapter 33, because that's what Ashley Smith said she read, she said the first paragraph, "We serve God by serving others," it says. "The world defines greatness in terms of power, possessions, prestige and position. If you can demand service from others, you've arrived. In our self-serving culture with its me first mentality, acting like a servant is not a popular concept."

For some reason, it was that that struck Brian Nichols. He said, read it again, and she said, OK, and read it again. Why do you think that's so important?

WALDMAN: Well, it's pretty amazing when you think about the circumstance. This is someone who has just killed people. She knows that.

O'BRIEN: Allegedly.

WALDMAN: Allegedly, I'm sorry.

O'BRIEN: And that -- and yet she read to him about being a servant. She wasn't reading to him about being forgiven or about finding meaning inside himself. It's about serving other people.

O'BRIEN: I couldn't figure out why he would find meaning in that paragraph. Why do you think?

WALDMAN: Well, I think because there's nothing more empowering than feeling like you can help someone else. So you can tell someone, oh, you're worthwhile, you're in God's image, you're worthwhile, but it's much less powerful than to say, in fact, you are so worthwhile that you can serve someone else, and that, I think, is for someone who -- to use the religious language, someone who might think of themselves as a wretch to be told actually you can be a servant and help someone else can be a very powerful message.

O'BRIEN: We heard Ashley Smith say in her press conference, that she felt that her whole role in this was a God thing, I think was her quote. Why was it not just a coincidence thing for those who maybe are less religious? Why do you think it's a God thing? WALDMAN: Well, I think she believes, and it's one of the arguments of this book, that things like that don't happen for -- as accidents, that you are here for a purpose, that God has created this purpose for you from before you were born, and that you have to figure out what it is. But that if you do that, you're going to have a much more meaningful life and have more of a connection to the divine.

O'BRIEN: She's only 26 years old, and she has lived a long and tough life in those 26 years. I mean, her husband dies in her arms. She's got a 5-year-old child. She's had lots and lots and lots of trouble. Do you think that now she's found her purpose, that this moves her to a new phase?

WALDMAN: Well, she seems to believe so. And obviously, faith played an important role in that moment in two ways. One was obviously connecting with Nichols himself. But the other, obviously, was helping her through this. You know, this was a pretty extraordinary situation. I would love to think that I could have that sense of calm, but I doubt it. And she did. And there was something about her faith that enabled her to view this as a moment where she could show her purpose.

O'BRIEN: It's fascinating.

Rick Warren, who's the author of "The Purpose Driven Life," wrote an e-mail that said this, "I understand Miss Smith shared a portion from the chapter on servanthood with Mr. Nichols, which seemed to have a positive impact on his life. Jesus sometimes calls us in some of the most difficult situations to be an advocate for him and the message he represented while on this Earth." In some ways, he really does say it best.

It's nice to see you. Thank you for talking with us this morning. It's been fascinating.

WALDMAN: Thank you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: We are taking a trip, by the way, this morning with disco diva. Gloria Gaynor joins Toure for a look at a new tribute to disco's glory days.

But first, let's give you a little disco trivia: What city was the home to the first discotheque? Was it London? Was it New York? Was it Paris?

Jack, I know, you know the answer to this.

CAFFERTY: Yes, it was...

O'BRIEN: We'll give out the answer after the break. What do you think?

CAFFERTY: Berlin.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Here was the question we asked before the break. What city was the home to the first discotheque? Believe it or not, the answer is, C, Paris. American jazz music was played there in nightclubs during World War II. And in fact, the word "discotheque" is French for "record library." Discotheque sounds better.

Remember the Bee Gees? What about The Hustle?

Well, CNN's pop culture correspondent Toure takes us on a tour of an exhibit where if you're not careful, you might catch the next Saturday night fever.

TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: Oh, gosh that's awful.

O'BRIEN: That kind of worked. I didn't write it, but it kind of worked.

TOURE: I know that jive turkeys like Jack think disco is dead, but it's not. Disco dominated the latter half of the '70s, arriving before AIDS, but after the pill, leading to a combination of innocence and decadence. Disco was enthralled with sexual liberation, and grooves so cold they could make the dead dance and clubbing all night long, especially at the legendary Studio 54.

The Experience Music Project has constructed an homage to disco that is traveling the country. Right now, it's in New York. I went by to hang out with a true disco diva.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOURE (on camera): Has disco survived? Yes! Unfortunately, still got the disco ball. Still got the music. And, unfortunately, we still have the velvet rope. This is what Studio 54 was all about, people begging to get in to the club. But here, at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, everyone gets in.

(voice-over): We boogied in with Gloria Gaynor.

GLORIA GAYNOR, DISCO DIVA: This outfit, I'll never forget it, because I'm driving down the street in a limo, and all of a sudden, I yell, "Stop!" And the driver went screech! It was in the window of Norma Kamali's store on 57th Street. And I just -- I was in love with it.

TOURE: Now you did "I Will Survive," which the song continues to survive.

GAYNOR: Absolutely.

TOURE: When you were recording the song did you have any idea, oh, this is going to be a big hit.

GAYNOR: Oh, yes. Oh, yes. We knew from the moment we read the lyrics that this was a timeless lyric that everyone was going to be able to relate to. TOURE (voice-over): The exhibit brought back all sorts of far- out memories.

(on camera): Which one was she?

GAYNOR: I remember seeing Patti in this outfit and thinking, they have landed.

TOURE (voice-over): Few groups dressed more boss than the Bee Gees, whose soundtrack to "Saturday Night Fever" was the biggest selling album of its time.

GAYNOR: I want to tell you this is the first white group that were ever able -- this was black clothes, OK? These were black clothes.

TOURE (on camera): What does disco say about that late '70s period?

GAYNOR: Music is always indicative of the social climate, and the climate at the time was just peace and love and get away from all of the fighting.

TOURE (voice-over): Disco was a happy music, but disco had enemies, including some jive turkeys who once burned a whole pile of disco vinyl. Studio 54 was the center of the disco universe, and when it closed in 1980, most people felt that was the death of disco.

But, of course, disco never dies.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TOURE: Yes, Gloria Gaynor still looks fantastic and she still records. She's working on a gospel album, and she's got a DVD about the history of disco coming out, called "Disco Spinning the Story." You've heard of the double entendre. That's perhaps the double cliche. I have a slew of disco MP3s on my iPod that I'm going to play for Jack as soon as we get done with this.

O'BRIEN: All right, Toure, thanks -- Jack.

CAFFERTY: Actually I used to go to Studio 54 in the late '70s and hang out there.

O'BRIEN: Did you really?

CAFFERTY: Yes.

TOURE: Tell us about it.

O'BRIEN: And?

CAFFERTY: There's no time.

Andy is "Minding Your Business" this morning. He'll tell us how a glass of orange juice could cost you $100. That's next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAFFERTY: Retail sales report is just out. With that and a look at the markets, Andy Serwer is here "Minding Your Business."

Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you, Jack.

Yes, let's talk about the markets first of all.

Yesterday, a good one for investors. The Dow up 30 points, Nasdaq up 9 points.

And as Jack has just said, retail sales came in for the month, up 0.5 percent, which is pretty good. Auto sales goods, and futures have been boosted by that. Of course the price of oil still a problem. It's $55, bucking up against that October high.

A couple of stories we're looking at this morning. You know orange juice used to sell itself -- filled with vitamins, had some commercials with Anita Bryant on them, some commercials with Burt Reynolds which were cool going back. But of course the carb, the low- carb craze has hurt sales of orange juice, even though that craze seems to have abided.

Still, sales have been down. Now the Florida Department of Citrus is fighting back. They are fanning out across the state, visiting restaurants like Perkins and Denny's and awarding servers a silver dollar if they offer customers a glass of orange juice.

Yes, it has come to this. Now, there's no word on whether they get extra money for offering vodka to go along with it.

CAFFERTY: How come people don't want to drink orange juice.

SERWER: There's still the vitamins, but there's the carbs. I know, people are too concerned about this.

OK, let's talk about a shoe store company. I mean, this is big, big stuff. DSW, you may remember this name. They filed a document to go public, so they're going public. So big deal. Companies go public in this country every day. But you may remember last week, DSW alerted the rest of the world that their credit ratings have been compromised.

In other words, their accounts, at 103 stores. So I just found it a little curious, Jack, that one week ago they said that there was all this problem with their customer accounts at 103 stores, and that actually some fraud had been committed, and that this week they're seeing fit to go public and raise a ton of money.

CAFFERTY: Incredible.

SERWER: Isn't it?

CAFFERTY: Are you looking at this with a jaundiced eye?

SERWER: Slightly. Yes, I am slightly jaundiced.

CAFFERTY: So am I.

Here's the File. In the past, soldiers shipping out for duty, especially reservists with little advance warning, had to give up pets to shelters, or even, in the worst case, have them put to sleep. Now, there are foster-care organizations available to members of the military that will match owners with families willing to take care of the soldier's pets until their tours of duty overseas are over and they come home.

Operation Noble Foster matches called up cat owners, while military pets foster project offers the same service for cats dogs, birds, fish, even horses. And the services are free to the military. That's a good thing.

Waiter, there's something in my soup, and it's not a piece of hair. Wyoming health inspectors have reported cases of tongue rings and other facial piercings falling into food in restaurants meals. The reports have prompted Wyoming's Food Safety Council to recommend banning facial piercings for restaurant workers who prepare food.

A doctor at an Oregon health sciences university says he knows of no documented cases of food-borne illnesses resulting from facial piercing. Still, infections or not...

O'BRIEN: You could break a tooth.

SERWER: Only in Wyoming, too, what's interesting. Not California.

CAFFERTY: I would guess if you profile the 50 states, Wyoming probably has the fewest facial piercings of any state in the Union. Just a guess.

Last week, the New Jersey legislature, wrestling with the issue of whether a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable. This week, they're working on whether or not New Jersey is nice enough. Lawmakers are considering a resolution encouraging state residents to join a campaign toward civility. Assemblyman John Braminek (ph) says that the people just aren't as nice to each other in New Jersey as they were in decades past. After all, one former governor once joked that the official bird in New Jersey is the middle finger.

O'BRIEN: You're from Jersey, right, Jack?

CAFFERTY: I'm from Reno, Nevada, but I continue to the civility in the state of New Jersey at the present time, because that's where I live.

SERWER: I know you do.

O'BRIEN: Just checking. Thanks, Jack.

O'BRIEN: Today's top stories are straight ahead.

CAFFERTY: Three hours is a long time.

O'BRIEN: It really is.

Also, this morning, this little boy, some are calling him a miracle baby. Dr. Gupta tells us about the random test that detected an incredibly rare disease.

Stay with us. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired March 15, 2005 - 08:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody.
Just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Bill Hemmer has got the day off. I think he's snowboarding, actually.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Is he? He likes to do that. He's young enough.

O'BRIEN: Yes, he is.

Jack is filling in for him this morning.

Coming up, the major decision in California. A judge says that the state cannot ban same-sex marriage. But the battle does not end there. We'll explain.

CAFFERTY: Also, chapter and verse on the bestselling book Ashley Smith read to her captor, "The Purpose Driven Life." We'll look at the book's message, which is there are no accidents, except once in a while this program.

O'BRIEN: Only rarely.

CAFFERTY: Its way at the back of the book on the last page, a little postscript. Once in a while, AMERICAN MORNING.

O'BRIEN: Asterisk.

First, though, let's get right to the headlines. Kelly Wallace is in for us this morning.

Good morning.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Soledad, and Jack. Good morning again, everyone. Here are some of the stories we're following now in the news. We begin in the Middle East. Israel set to hand over the West Bank town of Jericho to Palestinian security forces tomorrow. That's to be followed by another handover of another town early next week. That deal was worked out during talks between both sides.

Meanwhile, Palestinian factions are now starting talks in Cairo. They are discussing the possibility of a formal cease-fire with Israel.

In Colorado now, a 14-year-old girl is being held without bond after her arrest for suspicion in her father's death. Police say the girl told them she shot her father in an attempt to end his suffering after he failed at suicide. Investigators, though, say her story is inconsistent, and that so far, there is no suicide note. They also say they are troubled she chose to shoot her father, rather than call for help.

Convicted murderer Scott Peterson finds out tomorrow if he will face the death penalty, his formal sentencing scheduled for tomorrow. Meanwhile, his attorneys have filed a motion for a new trial. They claim the prosecution withheld key evidence that they say could have led to a different verdict in the case.

And an airline pilot who suffered eye damage from a laser will be among those testifying before a House panel this morning. This is an issue you probably heard about, lawmakers looking into possible dangers from lasers beamed into cockpits of commercial airliners. They want to know how the FAA is handling these incidents. The FBI says more than a dozen aircraft have been targeted in recent months. A lot of incidents they're looking into.

CAFFERTY: All right, thanks, Kelly.

WALLACE: Sure.

CAFFERTY: A California court says the state cannot limit marriage to partners of the opposite sex.

Rusty Dornin has the report now from San Francisco.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Stewart Gaffney and John Lewis found out there was a ruling, they rushed down to where it all began, San Francisco City Hall. One of the first 10 same-sex couples to be married here a little over a year ago, they were part two of lawsuits aimed at overturning the state's ban on gay marriage.

STUART GAFFNEY, SAME-SEX PARTNER: We couldn't ask for a better anniversary present, and it's a beautiful day. We're so happy.

DORNIN: Superior court Judge Richard Kramer ruled same-sex marriage cannot be prohibited solely because California has always done so before. The decision went on to say that people have the fundamental right to choose who they want to marry. No way, say opponents who call the ruling a great disappointment. An appeal? Of course.

TERRY THOMPSON, ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND: What this does, it puts rocket fuel under this federal marriage amendment, and I think that it's going to be people all across the country that are very upset about this and will energize them to promote the federal marriage amendment. DORNIN: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom ignited the firestorm February of 2004, when he told a city clerk to give same-sex couples marriage licenses. Four weeks and 4,000 marriages later, the state supreme court forced the city to stop. And last August, the court nullified the marriages.

MYR. GAVIN NEWSOM, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: We just celebrated their one-year anniversary, but this is, in some respects, an even greater celebration, because every single one of those couples didn't come here just for themselves, but came here to make a statement.

DORNIN: Gay marriage proponents point to the California supreme court's decision in 1948 to overturn laws prohibiting inter racial marriage, and say this ruling is a major step in that same direction.

But it could take months or years for the issue to be decided. Gaffney and Lewis say no matter what the court says, they're in it for better or for worse.

Rusty Dornin, CNN, San Francisco.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAFFERTY: This decision is likely headed for California's supreme court. Mayor Newsom says marriage licenses will not be issued until the issue has been decided -- not issued to same-sex couples -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: A book about finding your purpose through God may have helped Ashley Smith calm Atlanta shooting suspect Brian Nichols. She read to him from the book while he held her hostage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHLEY SMITH, TAKEN HOSTAGE BY COURTHOUSE SHOOTING SUSPECT: I got my Bible, and I got a book called "The Purpose Driven Life." I turned it to the chapter that I was on that day, which was chapter 33, and I started to read the first paragraph of it. After I read it, he said, "Stop. Will you read it again?" I said yes, I'll read it again. So I read it again to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: "The Purpose Driven Life" is by Rick Warren. It's been on "The New York Times" bestseller list for 111 weeks. That's more than two years if you do the math. It's currently number three on the "Times" list of advice books. Since Ashley Smith mentioned it Sunday night, the book jumped from number 72 on amazon.com's top seller's list to No. 2.

Steve Waldman is the founder of beliefnet.com.

I want to talk about the amazing success of the book. For those who are not familiar, in a nutshell, it says, God's got a plan for you, and it's your job here on Earth to figure out what God's plan is. Why has that resonated so well, even before it came became so popular. STEVE WALDMAN, BELIEFNET.COM: Yes, 20 million copies, and this means if you combine "The South Beach Diet" and "The Da Vinci Code," and Bill Clinton and Hillary, all those combined together didn't sell as much as this one book. This is the book of the last two years.

O'BRIEN: Why?

WALDMAN: Well, it's interesting, part of it is that it's not a self-help book. He very consciously says this. This is not about finding your inner meaning. It's not about helping yourself. It's about serving God. It's a very religious book. I mean, that may be an obvious thing to say. But you know, it's a hopeful book, but it is very Christ-centered, evangelical, Christian book, and it says that because you were created by God, you have a purpose that is God's purpose.

I want to read to everyone chapter 33, because that's what Ashley Smith said she read, she said the first paragraph, "We serve God by serving others," it says. "The world defines greatness in terms of power, possessions, prestige and position. If you can demand service from others, you've arrived. In our self-serving culture with its me first mentality, acting like a servant is not a popular concept."

For some reason, it was that that struck Brian Nichols. He said, read it again, and she said, OK, and read it again. Why do you think that's so important?

WALDMAN: Well, it's pretty amazing when you think about the circumstance. This is someone who has just killed people. She knows that.

O'BRIEN: Allegedly.

WALDMAN: Allegedly, I'm sorry.

O'BRIEN: And that -- and yet she read to him about being a servant. She wasn't reading to him about being forgiven or about finding meaning inside himself. It's about serving other people.

O'BRIEN: I couldn't figure out why he would find meaning in that paragraph. Why do you think?

WALDMAN: Well, I think because there's nothing more empowering than feeling like you can help someone else. So you can tell someone, oh, you're worthwhile, you're in God's image, you're worthwhile, but it's much less powerful than to say, in fact, you are so worthwhile that you can serve someone else, and that, I think, is for someone who -- to use the religious language, someone who might think of themselves as a wretch to be told actually you can be a servant and help someone else can be a very powerful message.

O'BRIEN: We heard Ashley Smith say in her press conference, that she felt that her whole role in this was a God thing, I think was her quote. Why was it not just a coincidence thing for those who maybe are less religious? Why do you think it's a God thing? WALDMAN: Well, I think she believes, and it's one of the arguments of this book, that things like that don't happen for -- as accidents, that you are here for a purpose, that God has created this purpose for you from before you were born, and that you have to figure out what it is. But that if you do that, you're going to have a much more meaningful life and have more of a connection to the divine.

O'BRIEN: She's only 26 years old, and she has lived a long and tough life in those 26 years. I mean, her husband dies in her arms. She's got a 5-year-old child. She's had lots and lots and lots of trouble. Do you think that now she's found her purpose, that this moves her to a new phase?

WALDMAN: Well, she seems to believe so. And obviously, faith played an important role in that moment in two ways. One was obviously connecting with Nichols himself. But the other, obviously, was helping her through this. You know, this was a pretty extraordinary situation. I would love to think that I could have that sense of calm, but I doubt it. And she did. And there was something about her faith that enabled her to view this as a moment where she could show her purpose.

O'BRIEN: It's fascinating.

Rick Warren, who's the author of "The Purpose Driven Life," wrote an e-mail that said this, "I understand Miss Smith shared a portion from the chapter on servanthood with Mr. Nichols, which seemed to have a positive impact on his life. Jesus sometimes calls us in some of the most difficult situations to be an advocate for him and the message he represented while on this Earth." In some ways, he really does say it best.

It's nice to see you. Thank you for talking with us this morning. It's been fascinating.

WALDMAN: Thank you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: We are taking a trip, by the way, this morning with disco diva. Gloria Gaynor joins Toure for a look at a new tribute to disco's glory days.

But first, let's give you a little disco trivia: What city was the home to the first discotheque? Was it London? Was it New York? Was it Paris?

Jack, I know, you know the answer to this.

CAFFERTY: Yes, it was...

O'BRIEN: We'll give out the answer after the break. What do you think?

CAFFERTY: Berlin.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Here was the question we asked before the break. What city was the home to the first discotheque? Believe it or not, the answer is, C, Paris. American jazz music was played there in nightclubs during World War II. And in fact, the word "discotheque" is French for "record library." Discotheque sounds better.

Remember the Bee Gees? What about The Hustle?

Well, CNN's pop culture correspondent Toure takes us on a tour of an exhibit where if you're not careful, you might catch the next Saturday night fever.

TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: Oh, gosh that's awful.

O'BRIEN: That kind of worked. I didn't write it, but it kind of worked.

TOURE: I know that jive turkeys like Jack think disco is dead, but it's not. Disco dominated the latter half of the '70s, arriving before AIDS, but after the pill, leading to a combination of innocence and decadence. Disco was enthralled with sexual liberation, and grooves so cold they could make the dead dance and clubbing all night long, especially at the legendary Studio 54.

The Experience Music Project has constructed an homage to disco that is traveling the country. Right now, it's in New York. I went by to hang out with a true disco diva.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOURE (on camera): Has disco survived? Yes! Unfortunately, still got the disco ball. Still got the music. And, unfortunately, we still have the velvet rope. This is what Studio 54 was all about, people begging to get in to the club. But here, at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, everyone gets in.

(voice-over): We boogied in with Gloria Gaynor.

GLORIA GAYNOR, DISCO DIVA: This outfit, I'll never forget it, because I'm driving down the street in a limo, and all of a sudden, I yell, "Stop!" And the driver went screech! It was in the window of Norma Kamali's store on 57th Street. And I just -- I was in love with it.

TOURE: Now you did "I Will Survive," which the song continues to survive.

GAYNOR: Absolutely.

TOURE: When you were recording the song did you have any idea, oh, this is going to be a big hit.

GAYNOR: Oh, yes. Oh, yes. We knew from the moment we read the lyrics that this was a timeless lyric that everyone was going to be able to relate to. TOURE (voice-over): The exhibit brought back all sorts of far- out memories.

(on camera): Which one was she?

GAYNOR: I remember seeing Patti in this outfit and thinking, they have landed.

TOURE (voice-over): Few groups dressed more boss than the Bee Gees, whose soundtrack to "Saturday Night Fever" was the biggest selling album of its time.

GAYNOR: I want to tell you this is the first white group that were ever able -- this was black clothes, OK? These were black clothes.

TOURE (on camera): What does disco say about that late '70s period?

GAYNOR: Music is always indicative of the social climate, and the climate at the time was just peace and love and get away from all of the fighting.

TOURE (voice-over): Disco was a happy music, but disco had enemies, including some jive turkeys who once burned a whole pile of disco vinyl. Studio 54 was the center of the disco universe, and when it closed in 1980, most people felt that was the death of disco.

But, of course, disco never dies.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TOURE: Yes, Gloria Gaynor still looks fantastic and she still records. She's working on a gospel album, and she's got a DVD about the history of disco coming out, called "Disco Spinning the Story." You've heard of the double entendre. That's perhaps the double cliche. I have a slew of disco MP3s on my iPod that I'm going to play for Jack as soon as we get done with this.

O'BRIEN: All right, Toure, thanks -- Jack.

CAFFERTY: Actually I used to go to Studio 54 in the late '70s and hang out there.

O'BRIEN: Did you really?

CAFFERTY: Yes.

TOURE: Tell us about it.

O'BRIEN: And?

CAFFERTY: There's no time.

Andy is "Minding Your Business" this morning. He'll tell us how a glass of orange juice could cost you $100. That's next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAFFERTY: Retail sales report is just out. With that and a look at the markets, Andy Serwer is here "Minding Your Business."

Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you, Jack.

Yes, let's talk about the markets first of all.

Yesterday, a good one for investors. The Dow up 30 points, Nasdaq up 9 points.

And as Jack has just said, retail sales came in for the month, up 0.5 percent, which is pretty good. Auto sales goods, and futures have been boosted by that. Of course the price of oil still a problem. It's $55, bucking up against that October high.

A couple of stories we're looking at this morning. You know orange juice used to sell itself -- filled with vitamins, had some commercials with Anita Bryant on them, some commercials with Burt Reynolds which were cool going back. But of course the carb, the low- carb craze has hurt sales of orange juice, even though that craze seems to have abided.

Still, sales have been down. Now the Florida Department of Citrus is fighting back. They are fanning out across the state, visiting restaurants like Perkins and Denny's and awarding servers a silver dollar if they offer customers a glass of orange juice.

Yes, it has come to this. Now, there's no word on whether they get extra money for offering vodka to go along with it.

CAFFERTY: How come people don't want to drink orange juice.

SERWER: There's still the vitamins, but there's the carbs. I know, people are too concerned about this.

OK, let's talk about a shoe store company. I mean, this is big, big stuff. DSW, you may remember this name. They filed a document to go public, so they're going public. So big deal. Companies go public in this country every day. But you may remember last week, DSW alerted the rest of the world that their credit ratings have been compromised.

In other words, their accounts, at 103 stores. So I just found it a little curious, Jack, that one week ago they said that there was all this problem with their customer accounts at 103 stores, and that actually some fraud had been committed, and that this week they're seeing fit to go public and raise a ton of money.

CAFFERTY: Incredible.

SERWER: Isn't it?

CAFFERTY: Are you looking at this with a jaundiced eye?

SERWER: Slightly. Yes, I am slightly jaundiced.

CAFFERTY: So am I.

Here's the File. In the past, soldiers shipping out for duty, especially reservists with little advance warning, had to give up pets to shelters, or even, in the worst case, have them put to sleep. Now, there are foster-care organizations available to members of the military that will match owners with families willing to take care of the soldier's pets until their tours of duty overseas are over and they come home.

Operation Noble Foster matches called up cat owners, while military pets foster project offers the same service for cats dogs, birds, fish, even horses. And the services are free to the military. That's a good thing.

Waiter, there's something in my soup, and it's not a piece of hair. Wyoming health inspectors have reported cases of tongue rings and other facial piercings falling into food in restaurants meals. The reports have prompted Wyoming's Food Safety Council to recommend banning facial piercings for restaurant workers who prepare food.

A doctor at an Oregon health sciences university says he knows of no documented cases of food-borne illnesses resulting from facial piercing. Still, infections or not...

O'BRIEN: You could break a tooth.

SERWER: Only in Wyoming, too, what's interesting. Not California.

CAFFERTY: I would guess if you profile the 50 states, Wyoming probably has the fewest facial piercings of any state in the Union. Just a guess.

Last week, the New Jersey legislature, wrestling with the issue of whether a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable. This week, they're working on whether or not New Jersey is nice enough. Lawmakers are considering a resolution encouraging state residents to join a campaign toward civility. Assemblyman John Braminek (ph) says that the people just aren't as nice to each other in New Jersey as they were in decades past. After all, one former governor once joked that the official bird in New Jersey is the middle finger.

O'BRIEN: You're from Jersey, right, Jack?

CAFFERTY: I'm from Reno, Nevada, but I continue to the civility in the state of New Jersey at the present time, because that's where I live.

SERWER: I know you do.

O'BRIEN: Just checking. Thanks, Jack.

O'BRIEN: Today's top stories are straight ahead.

CAFFERTY: Three hours is a long time.

O'BRIEN: It really is.

Also, this morning, this little boy, some are calling him a miracle baby. Dr. Gupta tells us about the random test that detected an incredibly rare disease.

Stay with us. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.

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