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CNN Live At Daybreak
Pain at the Pump; Major New Developments in Life or Death Legal Struggle
Aired March 21, 2005 - 06:00 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It started as a family matter, now it is so much more. Straight ahead on DAYBREAK, major new developments in a life or death legal struggle.
And pain at the pump -- if you need to fill up this morning, get ready to shell out some big bucks.
It's Monday, March 21.
You are watching DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
Now in the news, a federal judge is studying the Terri Schiavo case right now to decide whether to order her feeding tube reinserted. President Bush overnight signed into law an emergency bill that shifts her case to the federal courts. Congress rushed the measure through in an extraordinary weekend session.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is on her way back from China. She's been trying to get the Chinese to help move North Korea back to the negotiating table for nuclear talks.
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan is calling for wide ranging changes in the agency, including expanding the 15-member Security Council to 24.
And if you didn't know already, gas prices have hit another record high. Nationwide, the average price for a gallon of self serve regular, $2.10. Analysts expect gas prices to go even higher.
Again, Chad, care to make a bet?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No. I just think it's bad karma to even try that but...
COSTELLO: Oh, you've got that right.
MYERS: Yes, you know, some of the downtown in the city gas pumps that are paying an awful lot of money for the real estate they're on, some of those are even higher than that. Some of those numbers are much, much higher.
Good morning, everybody.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Talk about high drama, consider this. The House of Representatives meets late into the night, votes 203-58 to send Terri Schiavo's case to the federal courts. Someone then wakes up the president. He signed the bill at 1:11 a.m. Eastern.
The larger question this morning, is it a constitutional issue or a political one?
Part of the debate in Congress for you overnight now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. BARNEY FRANK (D), MASSACHUSETTS: I have no right to make that decision and I have no information for it. Separation of powers. When they wrote the constitution, they weren't kidding around. They made some sensible distinctions. We legislate on broad policy.
REP. JOSEPH PITTS (R), PENNSYLVANIA: This woman needs help, not a death sentence. She needs the warmth of a family that cares for her. She needs the help of doctors who want to treat her instead of recommending that she die.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Want more? Forty-seven Democrats went with Republicans in (INAUDIBLE) this bill. According to sources, Republicans have said this is a tough issue for the Democrats, so did they bow to political pressure?
CNN Radio's Dick Uliano has been up for a long time today.
He joins us now live from Washington -- good morning, Dick.
DICK ULIANO, CNN RADIO CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol.
COSTELLO: So in watching this drama play out, give us your thoughts. What happened? Describe the mood.
ULIANO: Well, first of all, it certainly was an absolutely extraordinary day in Washington. I cannot recall, in more than two decades in Washington, members of the House and the Senate being in session, the halls busy with lobbying on, of all days, Palm Sunday. It's just not the kind of thing you see in the Capitol.
But this was an emergency session called by supporters who suggest this was a noble effort to side with life and allow one final bid for this young brain damaged woman to live in Florida. And opponents arguing, no, this was an unnecessary intrusion, a violation of the separation of powers by the majority Republicans, who control Congress.
But as you pointed out, Carol, when the dust settled, the bill which turns this matter over to a federal court, allowing another court review of this case, passed overwhelmingly.
COSTELLO: Tell me about the Democrats, the 47 Democrats who went with the Republicans.
Why was that, Dick?
ULIANO: Well, simply because this really was a matter that, for individuals, spoke to people's hearts. Some people, regardless of whether they are liberals or conservatives, knew before they boarded planes from their home district, exactly how they were going to vote, and obviously most of them voted in favor of allowing a federal court review.
You know, it's important to point out, this law that was passed by Congress and signed by the president after midnight does not restore the feeding tube to brain damaged Terri Schiavo. What it does is it allows a federal court to review this case.
Well, the opponents said well, you know, you're big footing, you're stepping all over the Florida courts. And the supporters said well, look, you know, Scott Peterson, who's sitting on death row in San Quentin, he'll get a federal court review. The man accused of kidnapping the little girl in Florida and killing her, he'll get a federal court review. Why not do this for this -- for Terri Schiavo?
COSTELLO: We're going to talk much more about that in the minutes to come on DAYBREAK.
Dick Uliano live from Washington this morning.
Now the intense interest in this case has kept many up all night long. These pictures are from Florida overnight. People passing by stopped at CNN's monitors to check out the latest developments. You see them looking there to see what happened. Then at 1:11 a.m. Eastern it did happen. The president signed the bill aimed at keeping Terri Schiavo alive.
Reaction now from her father.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB SCHINDLER, SR., FATHER: I asked her if she was ready to take a little ride. And I told her that we were going to take her for a little trip and take her outside and get her some breakfast. And that got a big smile out of her face, so help me god. So she seemed to be very pleased. And we're pleased and, you know, we're very thankful for both the House and the Senate for passing this bill and saving, literally saving Terri's life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: He's intimating that Terri Schiavo understood him. Michael Schiavo, Terri's husband, says no way is that possible.
We want to show you some pictures now of Terri Schiavo now and then. Let's put them on the screen. Beaming and beautiful here. And then you can see that famous videotape, short hair, August 2001. This is the last time the public has seen Terri Schiavo, a different woman altogether.
This morning, we're waiting for Terri Schiavo to be moved from a hospice to a hospital at some point. And while we wait, analysis.
Barry Silver is a civil rights attorney and a rabbi.
Good morning.
BARRY SILVER, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Good morning.
How are you, Carol?
COSTELLO: I'm fine.
I want to read you part of a statement from the governor of Florida, Jeb Bush. It reads, in part: "Certainly an incapacitated person deserves at least the same protection afforded criminals sentenced to death."
Is he right? Is this the same thing?
SILVER: No, it's not the same thing. Criminals who are sentenced to death are also entitled to dignity. These criminals sentenced to death get more health care than the millions of people who have no insurance. This woman, Terri Schiavo, is tragic, but she has had review after review after review.
And Jeb Bush, like the Republicans who passed this law, are just doing it for political reasons. I believe that's primarily it. And there was a memo sent in the Senate saying that this is a great political issue, the radical right is going to love this. And, as usual, the radical right is taking our country in a radically wrong direction.
COSTELLO: Well, let me interrupt you for just a second, because they would argue why not have it go to the federal courts? Why not once and for all have this decided in the federal court? What harm could there be?
SILVER: The harm is that they are turning the law on its head and abusing the separation of powers. Carol, every day, unfortunately, there are many, many people, thousands of people are faced with a similar decision, a do not resuscitate order. Would these people suggest that all of these cases have a federal review and go to such extraordinary lengths? It is simply not practical and it is crass political power...
COSTELLO: Is this what will come of that? Is this that will -- like from now on, every person in a similar state will be due a federal review? Is that what this legislation means, this new law?
SILVER: It should mean that, if these people are consistent, which they're not. How do they justify having this type of review for Terri Schiavo just because the radical right has rallied behind this and not having it for everybody else? I could very easily see every person in the country who doesn't like a decision regarding a do not resuscitate now saying that a precedent has been set and they want to have millions of dollars spent for a session of Congress and they want to have millions of dollars spent to keep somebody alive against their express wishes.
The people behind this have ignored the Florida courts. They've ignored the husband of this woman. They've ignored the woman herself.
COSTELLO: Well, let me put this by you for just a second.
The federal judge that's now reviewing this case, he's reviewing it right now, as we speak, he could well decide not to reinstate Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. It really still is up to Florida. It's in the federal courts, I understand.
But that could happen, right?
SILVER: It could happen. Or he might decide to start all over again and ignore the will of the people and the courts. You know, Florida has a right of privacy in which the citizens of Florida voted to guarantee the right of privacy. The Florida Supreme Court said that that right of privacy is most paramount at a time when someone is deciding when they want to leave this Earth and under what circumstances.
The rights of Terri Schiavo, as expressed to many people, is being ignored by the court system and this agony is being prolonged.
COSTELLO: Well, we'll see what happens...
SILVER: You're right, Carol. You're right, the harm of this is not that great, but the precedent that it's setting is horrendous.
COSTELLO: Barry Silver joining us live from Florida this morning.
Thank you.
Terri Schiavo's husband Michael is telling his side of the story. He'll be a guest on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING." That gets started in less than an hour from now, at 7:00 a.m. Eastern.
Shifting focus now to Florida again, where authorities in Citrus County are awaiting results of the autopsy on the body of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford. John Evander Couey, a registered sex offender, is being held in the Citrus County jail. Couey has yet to be charged in Jessica's death. But police in Georgia, where he was arrested, say Couey confessed to kidnapping and killing the girl. And the sheriff in Citrus County says, "I've got my man."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF JEFF DAWSY, CITRUS COUNTY, FLORIDA: The first thing I'd like to confirm is that John Couey did enter that residence. John Couey did progress to Jessica's bedroom, woke her up and took her out of that home.
The second thing I'd like to confirm to you is that there is indications of some sort of sexual assault on Jessica.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Jessica's body was found over the weekend buried behind a house right across the street from the Lunsford home. Her father says he can't believe the horror that happened just steps away from where he lived.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK LUNSFORD, JESSICA'S FATHER: I want to see everything changed. I mean this shouldn't have happened. It shouldn't have happened this way. I mean he lived across the street from me and to know that my daughter was over there and he took her life in front of my face and there was nothing I could do about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Police say he may have kept her hostage for one or two days, this Couey person. You'll want to see "Protecting Our Children," a special edition of "NEWSNIGHT WITH AARON BROWN." That airs at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 Pacific time on CNN.
When you need an answer in cyberspace, where do you turn? One popular online answer man could be part of a mega deal today.
And a holy week, a holy woman -- it's not just a Catholic thing. We'll look at a religious trend -- revering the Virgin Mary. And could she have been a feminist?
Later, baseball and steroids back in the news. What did one slugger's ex-girlfriend have to say about his past?
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Monday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Time now for a little "Business Buzz."
Everyone's favorite online butler may be answering to a new boss soon.
Carrie Lee joins us with more on this story -- good morning, Carrie.
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
We're talking about Ask Jeeves. A lot of people are familiar with that name. And according to published reports, IAC Interactive Corp. -- IACI is the ticker symbol -- is going to reportedly buy Ask Jeeves for $2 billion. Now, this according to published reports. The "Wall Street Journal," though, actually broke this story. And this price would mark a 40 percent premium for Ask Jeeves' shareholders. So this could be an interesting stock to watch today.
Interactive is run by media mogul Barry Diller and in the Interactive umbrella, they contain mostly travel sites -- Expedia, which is going to be spun off; as well as Hot Wire. They also own Ticket Master, Match.com and Evite. And this deal really marks a change, as Internet companies are once again hot properties.
Remember recently, for over $400 million, the "New York Times" bought About.com. Also, Dow Jones bought Marketwatch.com for over $5 million.
So call it merger Monday once again. But it's going to be an interesting day.
COSTELLO: Maybe the industry just fixed itself.
LEE: Well, you know, it's all about ad revenues. And the reason Interactive would want Ask Jeeves is to become stronger, become a more formidable competitor to names like Google, Microsoft and Yahoo!.
COSTELLO: Carrie Lee, thank you.
LEE: OK.
COSTELLO: When we come back, her role in one church is unmistakable. Her role in some others is growing. As Christians celebrate their holiest week, we look at one woman's position in biblical history.
And a life and death decision in Florida. When politics and morality meet.
DAYBREAK we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is Holy Week, the week before Easter, for Christians around the world. The talk this year seems to be centered not on Jesus, but his mother, Mary. She made the cover of "Time" magazine as a rather mysterious figure. Could it be she's been misunderstood over time? Could Mary be a feminist?
Nancy Dallavale is an associate professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut.
She's an expert in the meeting of feminist thought and Catholic theology.
Welcome.
NANCY DALLAVALE, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, RELIGIOUS STUDIES: Hello.
Glad to be here.
COSTELLO: It's an interesting concept.
But why all of a sudden all this interest in Mary?
DALLAVALE: Well, I think there is feminist interest in Mary and there has always been interest in Mary among the broad spectrum of the Catholic faithful. I think in some ways because we are interested in women, we are interested in Mary. And as the story of women becomes more complex, we become more interested in having a more complex telling of this person, rather than the plaster statue on the pedestal.
COSTELLO: Yes, but isn't it sad, because I'm sure that a lot of the interest has come from "The Da Vinci Code."
DALLAVALE: Well, that's right. And, of course, you know, I want to say, you've made a mistake. No, that's about Mary of Magdala, but, of course, everyone brings these two together. And it's important that they be seen in some way in some kind of dialogue.
What's been problematic is that the reason why Mary of Magdala has come forward is -- where Mary of Nazareth has been seen as the mother, she has been seen as the prostitute, as if there are only two job descriptions for women. This is a problem.
COSTELLO: That is a problem.
So, tell us more about this notion of Mary as a feminist of her time.
DALLAVALE: Well, let's say this. Well, let's -- we'll maybe set aside the word feminist. Let's say that what we want to see is the thing that feminist want, which is to see women as they are. And so the work, for example, of Elizabeth Johnson has asked to see what did it mean to be a poor woman running a household in an occupied situation? What must her life concretely have been like?
Was it like the Medieval stories of being in a walled garden reading a book? No. She was probably illiterate. She was struggling. Her fingernails are broken. She is working hard. She has a sturdy, small frame. She is running a household. That is what the story is about.
COSTELLO: The thing is, is you never really hear that kind of history preached about in church.
DALLAVALE: Right.
COSTELLO: I mean, I know nothing about Mary except that she's the mother of Jesus and that she was very loyal to him and she, you know, the story of Bethlehem. But we never hear anything more.
Why really is that?
DALLAVALE: Well, in some ways that's a plus in that the story of Mary, for Christians, is about Jesus. And so all the things that, for example, Catholicism has come to believe about Mary, that her own conception was immaculate, that she didn't undergo bodily death but instead was taken up to be with god, are stories about trying to preserve this woman because of the things we've said about Christ, to make sure that this is the appropriate vessel for Christ.
Now, faithful women look at that and they want to be disciples and that seems like it doesn't leave much room for being a real person.
COSTELLO: True.
Well, I'm sure there will be much more to come during this Holy Week about Mary.
Thank you very much for joining us this morning.
DALLAVALE: Oh, thank you so much.
COSTELLO: Nancy Dallavale from Fairfield University.
DALLAVALE: Bye-bye.
COSTELLO: Still to come, from the halls of Congress to a federal court, the Terri Schiavo case comes a long way in a short time. Coming up, we'll have the latest on this rapidly developing story.
And an ex-girlfriend takes a swing at Barry Bonds. We'll tell you what she had to say. I bet you can guess.
You're watching DAYBREAK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired March 21, 2005 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It started as a family matter, now it is so much more. Straight ahead on DAYBREAK, major new developments in a life or death legal struggle.
And pain at the pump -- if you need to fill up this morning, get ready to shell out some big bucks.
It's Monday, March 21.
You are watching DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
Now in the news, a federal judge is studying the Terri Schiavo case right now to decide whether to order her feeding tube reinserted. President Bush overnight signed into law an emergency bill that shifts her case to the federal courts. Congress rushed the measure through in an extraordinary weekend session.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is on her way back from China. She's been trying to get the Chinese to help move North Korea back to the negotiating table for nuclear talks.
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan is calling for wide ranging changes in the agency, including expanding the 15-member Security Council to 24.
And if you didn't know already, gas prices have hit another record high. Nationwide, the average price for a gallon of self serve regular, $2.10. Analysts expect gas prices to go even higher.
Again, Chad, care to make a bet?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No. I just think it's bad karma to even try that but...
COSTELLO: Oh, you've got that right.
MYERS: Yes, you know, some of the downtown in the city gas pumps that are paying an awful lot of money for the real estate they're on, some of those are even higher than that. Some of those numbers are much, much higher.
Good morning, everybody.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Talk about high drama, consider this. The House of Representatives meets late into the night, votes 203-58 to send Terri Schiavo's case to the federal courts. Someone then wakes up the president. He signed the bill at 1:11 a.m. Eastern.
The larger question this morning, is it a constitutional issue or a political one?
Part of the debate in Congress for you overnight now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. BARNEY FRANK (D), MASSACHUSETTS: I have no right to make that decision and I have no information for it. Separation of powers. When they wrote the constitution, they weren't kidding around. They made some sensible distinctions. We legislate on broad policy.
REP. JOSEPH PITTS (R), PENNSYLVANIA: This woman needs help, not a death sentence. She needs the warmth of a family that cares for her. She needs the help of doctors who want to treat her instead of recommending that she die.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Want more? Forty-seven Democrats went with Republicans in (INAUDIBLE) this bill. According to sources, Republicans have said this is a tough issue for the Democrats, so did they bow to political pressure?
CNN Radio's Dick Uliano has been up for a long time today.
He joins us now live from Washington -- good morning, Dick.
DICK ULIANO, CNN RADIO CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol.
COSTELLO: So in watching this drama play out, give us your thoughts. What happened? Describe the mood.
ULIANO: Well, first of all, it certainly was an absolutely extraordinary day in Washington. I cannot recall, in more than two decades in Washington, members of the House and the Senate being in session, the halls busy with lobbying on, of all days, Palm Sunday. It's just not the kind of thing you see in the Capitol.
But this was an emergency session called by supporters who suggest this was a noble effort to side with life and allow one final bid for this young brain damaged woman to live in Florida. And opponents arguing, no, this was an unnecessary intrusion, a violation of the separation of powers by the majority Republicans, who control Congress.
But as you pointed out, Carol, when the dust settled, the bill which turns this matter over to a federal court, allowing another court review of this case, passed overwhelmingly.
COSTELLO: Tell me about the Democrats, the 47 Democrats who went with the Republicans.
Why was that, Dick?
ULIANO: Well, simply because this really was a matter that, for individuals, spoke to people's hearts. Some people, regardless of whether they are liberals or conservatives, knew before they boarded planes from their home district, exactly how they were going to vote, and obviously most of them voted in favor of allowing a federal court review.
You know, it's important to point out, this law that was passed by Congress and signed by the president after midnight does not restore the feeding tube to brain damaged Terri Schiavo. What it does is it allows a federal court to review this case.
Well, the opponents said well, you know, you're big footing, you're stepping all over the Florida courts. And the supporters said well, look, you know, Scott Peterson, who's sitting on death row in San Quentin, he'll get a federal court review. The man accused of kidnapping the little girl in Florida and killing her, he'll get a federal court review. Why not do this for this -- for Terri Schiavo?
COSTELLO: We're going to talk much more about that in the minutes to come on DAYBREAK.
Dick Uliano live from Washington this morning.
Now the intense interest in this case has kept many up all night long. These pictures are from Florida overnight. People passing by stopped at CNN's monitors to check out the latest developments. You see them looking there to see what happened. Then at 1:11 a.m. Eastern it did happen. The president signed the bill aimed at keeping Terri Schiavo alive.
Reaction now from her father.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB SCHINDLER, SR., FATHER: I asked her if she was ready to take a little ride. And I told her that we were going to take her for a little trip and take her outside and get her some breakfast. And that got a big smile out of her face, so help me god. So she seemed to be very pleased. And we're pleased and, you know, we're very thankful for both the House and the Senate for passing this bill and saving, literally saving Terri's life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: He's intimating that Terri Schiavo understood him. Michael Schiavo, Terri's husband, says no way is that possible.
We want to show you some pictures now of Terri Schiavo now and then. Let's put them on the screen. Beaming and beautiful here. And then you can see that famous videotape, short hair, August 2001. This is the last time the public has seen Terri Schiavo, a different woman altogether.
This morning, we're waiting for Terri Schiavo to be moved from a hospice to a hospital at some point. And while we wait, analysis.
Barry Silver is a civil rights attorney and a rabbi.
Good morning.
BARRY SILVER, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Good morning.
How are you, Carol?
COSTELLO: I'm fine.
I want to read you part of a statement from the governor of Florida, Jeb Bush. It reads, in part: "Certainly an incapacitated person deserves at least the same protection afforded criminals sentenced to death."
Is he right? Is this the same thing?
SILVER: No, it's not the same thing. Criminals who are sentenced to death are also entitled to dignity. These criminals sentenced to death get more health care than the millions of people who have no insurance. This woman, Terri Schiavo, is tragic, but she has had review after review after review.
And Jeb Bush, like the Republicans who passed this law, are just doing it for political reasons. I believe that's primarily it. And there was a memo sent in the Senate saying that this is a great political issue, the radical right is going to love this. And, as usual, the radical right is taking our country in a radically wrong direction.
COSTELLO: Well, let me interrupt you for just a second, because they would argue why not have it go to the federal courts? Why not once and for all have this decided in the federal court? What harm could there be?
SILVER: The harm is that they are turning the law on its head and abusing the separation of powers. Carol, every day, unfortunately, there are many, many people, thousands of people are faced with a similar decision, a do not resuscitate order. Would these people suggest that all of these cases have a federal review and go to such extraordinary lengths? It is simply not practical and it is crass political power...
COSTELLO: Is this what will come of that? Is this that will -- like from now on, every person in a similar state will be due a federal review? Is that what this legislation means, this new law?
SILVER: It should mean that, if these people are consistent, which they're not. How do they justify having this type of review for Terri Schiavo just because the radical right has rallied behind this and not having it for everybody else? I could very easily see every person in the country who doesn't like a decision regarding a do not resuscitate now saying that a precedent has been set and they want to have millions of dollars spent for a session of Congress and they want to have millions of dollars spent to keep somebody alive against their express wishes.
The people behind this have ignored the Florida courts. They've ignored the husband of this woman. They've ignored the woman herself.
COSTELLO: Well, let me put this by you for just a second.
The federal judge that's now reviewing this case, he's reviewing it right now, as we speak, he could well decide not to reinstate Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. It really still is up to Florida. It's in the federal courts, I understand.
But that could happen, right?
SILVER: It could happen. Or he might decide to start all over again and ignore the will of the people and the courts. You know, Florida has a right of privacy in which the citizens of Florida voted to guarantee the right of privacy. The Florida Supreme Court said that that right of privacy is most paramount at a time when someone is deciding when they want to leave this Earth and under what circumstances.
The rights of Terri Schiavo, as expressed to many people, is being ignored by the court system and this agony is being prolonged.
COSTELLO: Well, we'll see what happens...
SILVER: You're right, Carol. You're right, the harm of this is not that great, but the precedent that it's setting is horrendous.
COSTELLO: Barry Silver joining us live from Florida this morning.
Thank you.
Terri Schiavo's husband Michael is telling his side of the story. He'll be a guest on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING." That gets started in less than an hour from now, at 7:00 a.m. Eastern.
Shifting focus now to Florida again, where authorities in Citrus County are awaiting results of the autopsy on the body of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford. John Evander Couey, a registered sex offender, is being held in the Citrus County jail. Couey has yet to be charged in Jessica's death. But police in Georgia, where he was arrested, say Couey confessed to kidnapping and killing the girl. And the sheriff in Citrus County says, "I've got my man."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF JEFF DAWSY, CITRUS COUNTY, FLORIDA: The first thing I'd like to confirm is that John Couey did enter that residence. John Couey did progress to Jessica's bedroom, woke her up and took her out of that home.
The second thing I'd like to confirm to you is that there is indications of some sort of sexual assault on Jessica.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Jessica's body was found over the weekend buried behind a house right across the street from the Lunsford home. Her father says he can't believe the horror that happened just steps away from where he lived.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK LUNSFORD, JESSICA'S FATHER: I want to see everything changed. I mean this shouldn't have happened. It shouldn't have happened this way. I mean he lived across the street from me and to know that my daughter was over there and he took her life in front of my face and there was nothing I could do about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Police say he may have kept her hostage for one or two days, this Couey person. You'll want to see "Protecting Our Children," a special edition of "NEWSNIGHT WITH AARON BROWN." That airs at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 Pacific time on CNN.
When you need an answer in cyberspace, where do you turn? One popular online answer man could be part of a mega deal today.
And a holy week, a holy woman -- it's not just a Catholic thing. We'll look at a religious trend -- revering the Virgin Mary. And could she have been a feminist?
Later, baseball and steroids back in the news. What did one slugger's ex-girlfriend have to say about his past?
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Monday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Time now for a little "Business Buzz."
Everyone's favorite online butler may be answering to a new boss soon.
Carrie Lee joins us with more on this story -- good morning, Carrie.
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
We're talking about Ask Jeeves. A lot of people are familiar with that name. And according to published reports, IAC Interactive Corp. -- IACI is the ticker symbol -- is going to reportedly buy Ask Jeeves for $2 billion. Now, this according to published reports. The "Wall Street Journal," though, actually broke this story. And this price would mark a 40 percent premium for Ask Jeeves' shareholders. So this could be an interesting stock to watch today.
Interactive is run by media mogul Barry Diller and in the Interactive umbrella, they contain mostly travel sites -- Expedia, which is going to be spun off; as well as Hot Wire. They also own Ticket Master, Match.com and Evite. And this deal really marks a change, as Internet companies are once again hot properties.
Remember recently, for over $400 million, the "New York Times" bought About.com. Also, Dow Jones bought Marketwatch.com for over $5 million.
So call it merger Monday once again. But it's going to be an interesting day.
COSTELLO: Maybe the industry just fixed itself.
LEE: Well, you know, it's all about ad revenues. And the reason Interactive would want Ask Jeeves is to become stronger, become a more formidable competitor to names like Google, Microsoft and Yahoo!.
COSTELLO: Carrie Lee, thank you.
LEE: OK.
COSTELLO: When we come back, her role in one church is unmistakable. Her role in some others is growing. As Christians celebrate their holiest week, we look at one woman's position in biblical history.
And a life and death decision in Florida. When politics and morality meet.
DAYBREAK we'll be right back.
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COSTELLO: It is Holy Week, the week before Easter, for Christians around the world. The talk this year seems to be centered not on Jesus, but his mother, Mary. She made the cover of "Time" magazine as a rather mysterious figure. Could it be she's been misunderstood over time? Could Mary be a feminist?
Nancy Dallavale is an associate professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut.
She's an expert in the meeting of feminist thought and Catholic theology.
Welcome.
NANCY DALLAVALE, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, RELIGIOUS STUDIES: Hello.
Glad to be here.
COSTELLO: It's an interesting concept.
But why all of a sudden all this interest in Mary?
DALLAVALE: Well, I think there is feminist interest in Mary and there has always been interest in Mary among the broad spectrum of the Catholic faithful. I think in some ways because we are interested in women, we are interested in Mary. And as the story of women becomes more complex, we become more interested in having a more complex telling of this person, rather than the plaster statue on the pedestal.
COSTELLO: Yes, but isn't it sad, because I'm sure that a lot of the interest has come from "The Da Vinci Code."
DALLAVALE: Well, that's right. And, of course, you know, I want to say, you've made a mistake. No, that's about Mary of Magdala, but, of course, everyone brings these two together. And it's important that they be seen in some way in some kind of dialogue.
What's been problematic is that the reason why Mary of Magdala has come forward is -- where Mary of Nazareth has been seen as the mother, she has been seen as the prostitute, as if there are only two job descriptions for women. This is a problem.
COSTELLO: That is a problem.
So, tell us more about this notion of Mary as a feminist of her time.
DALLAVALE: Well, let's say this. Well, let's -- we'll maybe set aside the word feminist. Let's say that what we want to see is the thing that feminist want, which is to see women as they are. And so the work, for example, of Elizabeth Johnson has asked to see what did it mean to be a poor woman running a household in an occupied situation? What must her life concretely have been like?
Was it like the Medieval stories of being in a walled garden reading a book? No. She was probably illiterate. She was struggling. Her fingernails are broken. She is working hard. She has a sturdy, small frame. She is running a household. That is what the story is about.
COSTELLO: The thing is, is you never really hear that kind of history preached about in church.
DALLAVALE: Right.
COSTELLO: I mean, I know nothing about Mary except that she's the mother of Jesus and that she was very loyal to him and she, you know, the story of Bethlehem. But we never hear anything more.
Why really is that?
DALLAVALE: Well, in some ways that's a plus in that the story of Mary, for Christians, is about Jesus. And so all the things that, for example, Catholicism has come to believe about Mary, that her own conception was immaculate, that she didn't undergo bodily death but instead was taken up to be with god, are stories about trying to preserve this woman because of the things we've said about Christ, to make sure that this is the appropriate vessel for Christ.
Now, faithful women look at that and they want to be disciples and that seems like it doesn't leave much room for being a real person.
COSTELLO: True.
Well, I'm sure there will be much more to come during this Holy Week about Mary.
Thank you very much for joining us this morning.
DALLAVALE: Oh, thank you so much.
COSTELLO: Nancy Dallavale from Fairfield University.
DALLAVALE: Bye-bye.
COSTELLO: Still to come, from the halls of Congress to a federal court, the Terri Schiavo case comes a long way in a short time. Coming up, we'll have the latest on this rapidly developing story.
And an ex-girlfriend takes a swing at Barry Bonds. We'll tell you what she had to say. I bet you can guess.
You're watching DAYBREAK.
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