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American Morning
Asia Recovers From Another Quake; Oil-For-Food Report Criticizes Kofi Annan; Judge Accepts Past Molestation Accusations in Jackson Trial
Aired March 29, 2005 - 8:30 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Carol Costello sitting in for her today.
We'll look at the massive evacuation after Monday's earthquake, scattering people by the tens of thousands. Even with no tsunami, could this have proved to be an important life-saving event?
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also in a moment here, this huge decision in Michael Jackson's trial. Accusations about five other boys will be presented to the jury. We'll get perspective from an attorney in the court yesterday who says it looked like the life went out of Jackson on Monday. We'll talk to her in a moment.
COSTELLO: And it had nothing to do with his back this time.
HEMMER: Well, you're right about that.
COSTELLO: Yes.
Good morning, Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Carol and Bill.
Good morning again, everyone. Here are some other stories now in the news.
Supporters of Terri Schiavo's parents expected to hold a vigil next hour. The brain-damaged woman entering her 12th day without food or water this afternoon. Civil rights advocate Jesse Jackson expected at the hospice in Pinellas Park, Florida, later today.
We'll keep an eye on developments there and have much more throughout the morning here on AMERICAN MORNING.
The U.S. Supreme Court looking at the fine line between piracy and technology. The high court could rewrite important copyright rules today in a case involving online file sharing. The outcome could affect how television shows, movies and songs are manufactured.
Gas prices jumping to another record high. According to the Energy Department's weekly survey, an average price per gallon is now $2.15, up almost a nickel from last week. The rising cost of oil being blamed for the boost.
And fans will soon be able to get up close and personal with tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams. The sisters starring in their own reality show for ABC Family. The series will offer a look at their lives off the court. Six episodes expected to start airing in July.
Does everyone have a reality show? That's my question.
(LAUGHTER)
HEMMER: I think you're right.
COSTELLO: It's crazy.
WALLACE: Carol and Bill reality show.
COSTELLO: Ooh, you've got something there, Kelly.
WALLACE: I'll take it to the Hollywood studios, see what they have to say.
HEMMER: Thank you, Kelly.
WALLACE: All right.
HEMMER: Want to get to the story out of Indonesia right now. Rescue workers searching for survivors after that quake yesterday. Government officials say they have found at least 330 bodies so far. That number expected to rise throughout the day. U.N. and Red Cross officials also saying that devastation is not nearly as bad as they initially feared.
As Ram Ramgopal reports today, reaction to Monday's quake was much swifter than it was back in late December.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAM RAMGOPAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a region where the word "tsunami" was almost unknown just three months ago, fear of impending disaster spurred mass evacuations all along the coast.
On December 26th, governments across south and southeast Asia were blamed for not warning their citizens of killer waves following a magnitude 9 earthquake.
This time round, news of the latest great earthquake was out quickly on television, by text messages on mobile phone, and by word of mouth.
Acting on information provided by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii and spurred by international TV reports, governments in India, Sri Lanka and Thailand told millions of residents to seek higher ground. The waves never materialized, but officials say they acted out of abundant caution.
On the streets, a sense of urgency, but there were few reports of panic thousands of kilometers from the epicenter of the quake itself. MAXINE OLSON, U.N. DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM: I think we had a good example of what people worked with the instruments and tools that they had last night to be able to do the best job that they could in order to alert people who were actually on the beaches or near the water. The challenge, of course, is to make that system even better.
RAMGOPAL: Southern Asian governments are planning their own tsunami warning systems. So far, it appears each major country is working on its own individual system to be deployed in a matter of months.
THAKSIN SHINAWATRA, THAI PRIME MINISTER: Even though we don't have our system ready yet, we have a monitoring process that is quite good enough. But we will do better by the end of this month.
RAMGOPAL: At daybreak Tuesday, the waters of the Indian Ocean were calm and the Indian coastline peaceful. A very different picture from the chaos that followed the great waves which struck these shores in December.
(on camera): Across Asia, though, the latest quake has prompted a new sense of urgency to establish a scientific warning system. It's estimated to cost $27 million, but that would be a small price to pay to save thousands of lives.
Ram Ramgopal, CNN, New Delhi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Also, the Associated Press now reporting an aftershock in Indonesia's coast today. The magnitude registered today at 5.8. That word just in a few moments ago -- Carol.
COSTELLO: The leadership of U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan will be strongly criticized today. The independent report on the Oil- for-Food program in Iraq is coming out. It will be made public.
Senior U.N. Correspondent Richard Roth is here to help us sort through this report.
So in a nutshell, if that's possible, what will this report say?
RICHARD ROTH, SENIOR CNN U.N. CORRESPONDENT: The report, which is going to be delivered to Kofi Annan in about 25 minutes by Paul Volcker, is going to criticize Annan for failing to manage the U.N. bureaucracy, especially dealing with the Oil-for-Food program which had problems that they're going to say he should have known about, and also to detect the conflict of interest with having his son, Kojo, work for a company which was awarded a key contract regarding Oil-for- Food and humanitarian shipments.
COSTELLO: Will it say there was a direct link or will Kofi Annan get out of that?
ROTH: Well, they're not going to accuse him of any personal wrongdoing. So I think what will happen is the critics and the people who think the Oil-for-Food program is the worst thing to hit the U.N. in the world are going to continue to hammer away, and those who say other countries should be held more responsible for Oil-for-Food are going to say that Kofi Annan shouldn't really bear that much responsibility.
COSTELLO: You know, many Americans are so angry at Kofi Annan. They don't like him anymore. They really think he's corrupt.
Will he survive this in the long run? I know the report is sort of positive for him, but not really.
ROTH: Kofi Annan is like a CEO and the board is 191 countries, the members of the U.N. But there's one bigger member of that board, the U.S. government, and so far they look like they're going to hang with him. But they will move against him if they feel this report is very damaging, or if many members of Congress say, "We can't support the U.N., we want to cut funding." Then it may get untenable.
COSTELLO: Does the report specifically say how much people profited from the Oil-for-Food program?
ROTH: Well, there's still another report to come regarding other people and governments.
But Annan is not accused of any personal profiting. Kojo Annan received possibly as much as $400,000 from this Swiss-based company Cotecna. They say he was legally employed. Kojo has said it's a witch hunt.
It's not going to be good for the father today, though, who has already said he is disappointed in his son.
COSTELLO: So what's going to happen to the son -- anything?
ROTH: Well, the son is not a U.N. employee.
COSTELLO: I mean criminally, could something happen to him?
ROTH: Well, there are several -- there's a grand jury, there are some congressional committees. There are still a lot of other people, other than Paul Volcker, looking into this. So things are still out on this.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about how the United Nations is dealing with this new earthquake in Indonesia.
ROTH: Well, the U.N. moved quickly. I think they're pretty happy that in some places it was a false alarm and they like the way governments responded to some of the early warning systems that have somehow been put in place. And also it doesn't hurt -- a silver lining in terms of getting more money, even though they say they don't really need it, they almost got 100 percent of the $1 billion asked from member governments of the U.N. to help the victims of the tsunami.
COSTELLO: And that money is now going to the places really in need, because, you know, there was some suspicion that, that money would be held up and not used in the right way or at least held up and not used at all.
ROTH: It's getting there.
For the U.N., they would tell you the real problem -- there is a lot of places in Africa in other crises, no money is coming in and there are people in even worse condition.
COSTELLO: Richard Roth, thanks for stopping by. We appreciate it.
Back to you, Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Carol.
Twenty three minutes now before the hour.
A setback for Michael Jackson. The judge has ruled the prosecution may present evidence of past alleged molestation in order to show what the prosecution says is a pattern of inappropriate behavior.
Anne Bremner is a criminal defense attorney. She was inside the courtroom yesterday.
Anne, good morning to you out there in Santa Maria, California.
ANNE BREMNER, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: You say it looked like the life had come out of Michael Jackson when this ruling was handed down. How did you see that?
BREMNER: He wasn't in court, Bill, at the time that the ruling was handed down. And then we took a recess, and he came in with a lot of fans behind him and a lot of pomp and circumstance. But as he came into the courtroom, everyone turned and looked at him and there was like this moment of silence, and he just looked like the life had gone out of him as he walked into court after that ruling.
HEMMER: Now, you're a criminal defense attorney.
How did you think Tom Sneddon did yesterday? Because there were a number of legal experts who were in that courtroom and say the man was on fire. In what way?
BREMNER: Exactly. That's what I wrote in my notes.
He was on fire. For the first time, he defended his case. He defended his victim. He stood up -- for the first time, he smiled when he won this ruling.
It was a five-star day for Tom Sneddon. He was on fire. It was unbelievable. It was night and day from what we've seen of him in the courtroom.
He's a great lawyer, but yesterday was his finest moment.
HEMMER: I was watching you on another network last night. You said -- and I want to quote you right now -- "Things will never be the same in this case."
How do you believe that? In what way?
BREMNER: Things will never be the same. This was a case where the prosecution had faltered but hadn't failed. But it was looking like Michael Jackson had a chance. But you know that saying, It ain't over 'till it's over?
Well, it's over unless Tom Mesereau can really attack all of these witnesses. But it's not one victim, it's not two victims, it's five. And that's saying once a pedophile, always a pedophile. It's human nature to believe that if someone did -- has a pattern of a certain type of activity, that they're guilty in the instant case.
HEMMER: But from what I understand, though, this is not first- account witnesses. This might be second account or even third-hand account. Is that possible? And if so, how does that hold up for a jury?
BREMNER: What the judge said is his line of demarcation was that he allowed in evidence where there were witnesses to molestation, eyewitnesses. So that's what we do know. That's very important.
These are third-party witnesses, but witnesses that saw acts of grooming and acts of molestation, purportedly. We'll have to see how this plays out, but that's what, at least the evidence has been presented during the course of the arguments.
HEMMER: Let's just understand this. If Macaulay Culkin is put on the stand and he says listen, yes, I slept over, yes, nothing ever happened there. What does the prosecution come back and say? Yes, it did, and we've got this evidence over here? What is that other evidence?
BREMNER: Well, we don't know exactly, but we know about eyewitnesses to Michael Jackson grooming some of the victims, licking on the head, like in this case, underwear on the floor and kids in the bed with him, et cetera. These are some of the things we heard about yesterday. And of course, there's probably a lot more. So these are eyewitness accounts from people that don't have a bias, supposedly, and people that aren't, quote unquote, "victims," that may want money from Michael Jackson.
So they may be more credible to a jury than victims themselves. And the experts say that a lot of the victims want to be protective of Michael Jackson and may not say that he did it. And we've already heard from an expert who said that in his case.
HEMMER: Let's get to one other topic yesterday. George Lopez, the comedian, was on the stand yesterday. He essentially described the accuser's father as an extortionist. How did his testimony go over, Anne? BREMNER: He's funny. Well, he's a comedian. The jurors loved him. Michael Jackson even laughed and the two smiled at each other during the course of his testimony. But did call the father an extortionist and that was a least some boon for the defense in what was a five-star day for the prosecution.
HEMMER: All right. More today. We'll see what happens. Anne Bremner, thanks. Criminal defense attorney in Santa Maria, California, back with us from there.
BREMNER: My pleasure. Thank you.
HEMMER: Carol?
COSTELLO: Just a few minutes ago, we showed you a live water rescue in Maryland. A car got stuck in rising floodwaters. You see it here. That's a actually road. The car is on a road. This is in the town of Crofton, west of Annapolis, in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Rescue workers brought in a raft. You see there. You seem getting the women out of the car and into that raft. We are happy to say she's on dry land now. In the same town, a school bus ran into high waters. No one in either incident was injured.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: One stolen laptop. Thousands of people can be in trouble because of it. Andy explains that in "Minding Your Business" in a moment here.
COSTELLO: Also, America's sleepless nights. We're "Paging Dr. Gupta" for stunning new numbers into just how big this problem is.
But first, this question for you. Are you ready? How many hours on average does a dog sleep each day? Is it A, 10.5, B, 11.5, or C, 12.5 hours? We'll have the answer for you after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Before the break, we asked you this question. How many hours on average does your dog sleep each day? A lot more than you. The answer is A, 10.5 hours. A cat, and I know you're wondering, sleeps an average of 12 hours per day.
We do spring forward this coming weekend, and in the process, we lose an hour's sleep. We're "Paging Dr. Gupta" this morning about a new national sleep study. And as Sanjay tells us, it's a wake-up call for tired Americans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bill Teneyck had reached the end of the line. His heart was failing and his doctors told him he might soon need a heart transplant. But then he learned something that would change everything. He had sleep apnea. BILL TENEYCK, SLEEP APNEA PATIENT: During a measurement of one hour during the night, it showed that I had stopped breathing 33 times, the longest of which was a minute and the shortest of which was 15 seconds.
GUPTA: Important for Teneyck because studies have shown sleep apnea can contribute to heart disease.
DR. THOMAS LORUSSO, N. VA SLEEP DIAGNOSTIC CENTER: What actually happens during a sleep apnea event is when the airway closes, the blood oxygen level drops. So it's really no different than me coming in and putting my hands over your neck.
GUPTA: A new survey from the National Sleep Foundation found one in four respondents were at risk for sleep apnea. And sleep apnea is just one cause of sleep deprivation. Stress can also lead to insomnia. And poor health is just one side-effect from lack of sleep.
The same survey found that 78 percent of those polled said they were getting less sleep because of their partners' sleep problems, and a third said lack of sleep had a negative impact on their sex life. Most importantly, the National Sleep Foundation is warning adults against ignoring sleep problems.
DR. BARBARA PHILLIPS, NATIONAL SLEEP FOUNDATION: Sleep is like anything else. It's like calories or the amount of exercise or hair color. Not one size fits all. But the vast majority of people should do well with between seven and nine hours a night.
GUPTA: If this sounds easier said than done, here are tips on how you might get more sleep. Try to wake up and go to sleep at the same time every day, even on weekends. Avoid caffeine after 2:00 p.m. Keep the bedroom quiet. No working in bed, no TV in bed.
As for Bill, he wears a special mask at night, which helps him breathe easier.
TENEYCK: My heart was able to perform better, because it was getting rest. I think that had I not been diagnosed with sleep apnea, had I not been using this machine for the last five years, I probably would have been history.
GUPTA: And today, he's no longer in need of a heart transplant.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: While seven to nine hours of sleep is optimal, the survey found that Americans on average get 6.9 hours a night.
A single laptop computer disappears and thousands of people could pay the price for it. Andy explains in "Minding Your Business." That's next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HEMMER: Ladies and gentlemen, once again, Mr. Jack Cafferty.
(CROSSTALK)
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: When we can get Rob Marciano? Can we bring him up here?
(LAUGHTER)
HEMMER: I think we can do that by tomorrow.
CAFFERTY: He treats old people with much more respect than Hemmer does.
(LAUGHTER)
It's called an institution of higher learning, but some of the people at the University of California are just plain not very bright.
Andy Serwer has that story and a look at the markets. He's minding your business.
These are morons who made this decision.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" CORRESPONDENT: Well, OK, your words, but no, I think you're right. They're not very smart.
This is Cal Berkeley. We'll get to that in a second.
Let's talk about the market, first of all. Good day for investors, especially for those who invest in Dow stocks. As you can see here, up 42. AIG is a bit unsettled this morning because Hank Greenberg is leaving the company as chairman. And Delta will be another stock to watch today, they're laying off more employees there.
Jack, you were referring to a situation at Cal Berkeley where a laptop was stolen from an office at said university with the identities of 98,000 graduate students and graduate student applicants -- their identities, their Social Securities. The laptop was simply left on a desk and someone walked in and pilfered it. That's stupid right there. But what made matters worse, the university, instead of notifying said 98,000 people, decided to wait a couple weeks because they thought they could catch the thief. They thought they could figure out who it was and catch them.
CAFFERTY: You know, there's a reason I quit college. It may have been something like this -- come on.
SERWER: But, you know, I think the joke's going to be on the thief. I mean, here we have someone who is stealing the identities of graduate students. What are you...
CAFFERTY: Who have no money.
(CROSSTALK)
SERWER: ... credit card limit $25. This guy bought two boxes of Ramen noodles last month, right?
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
SERWER: So that's kind of an interesting one. We will have to see what happens there.
I'm sure we'll be hearing from Cal Berkeley.
CAFFERTY: Let's hope so.
SERWER: Let's hope so.
OK. Another story, this one about Jaguar. Jaguar -- the British car company is owned by Ford these days and it's not doing so well. In fact, CEO Bill Ford called Jaguar, one of his own businesses, a financial dog. Maybe it's because they lost $700 million last year.
CAFFERTY: That's laying it right out there.
SERWER: These car guys are really getting very frank these days.
So they lost $700 million last year. Now they're going to scrap a lot of the low-end cars. The strategy was to make low-end Jaguars, you know, $20,000 ones and $30,000 ones, and it just ain't working out.
CAFFERTY: You know what ruined their company? Calling them Jag- u-ars.
SERWER: Yes, I didn't like that either.
CAFFERTY: They were Jaguars when I was a kid.
SERWER: And that's how we say it here in the U.S.
CAFFERTY: It's like when John Chancellor at NBC News decided one day he was going to become John Chanc-e-llor.
SERWER: Right.
CAFFERTY: Ratings went right down.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: It's like Tony Dorsett and Tony Dor-sett.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: All right, it's time for the file.
And our address, by the way, if you're watching out there at the University of California, it's andyserwer@turner.com -- I don't know his address.
(CROSSTALK)
SERWER: Thank you, Jack, for that piece of information.
CAFFERTY: You talk to them.
SERWER: No, I won't.
CAFFERTY: A professor at the University of Washington is asking Microsoft to improve its grammar check software after finding sentences filled with bad grammar even after being checked by a computer with that software in it. The problem was discovered when a professor gave a student a bad grade for submitting a paper full of grammatical errors. The student complained she had used Microsoft software to check for mistakes. Microsoft argues that grammar is difficult for a computer to master because it requires artificial intelligence that is not available. The other suggestion is learn grammar when you were in the sixth grade like most of us do.
SERWER: Bingo.
CAFFERTY: Now, it's true the nation's college campuses are crawling with liberals. Seventy two percent of college professors describe themselves as liberal, while 15 percent say they're conservative, according to a survey published in the March issue of "Forum." The findings are based on interviews with 1,600 full-time faculty at 180 different schools. Eighty four percent of the professors surveyed favor abortion rights, 67 percent believe homosexuality is acceptable, and 88 percent want more environmental protection even if it raises prices or costs jobs.
Another bomb is being dropped on Japan. Actor Richard Gere was in Tokyo Monday promoting his movie "Shall We Dance," which also stars that great American actress, Jennifer Lopez. Gere is a Buddhist, a strong supporter of the Dalai Lama and a world-renowned authority on almost nothing, and yet he surprised reporters when he suddenly changed the topic from the movie he was there to promote to condemning Europe's plans to lift the arms embargo against China.
Gere also met with Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi and took him for a little turn across the dance floor.
Now, let me tell you something, this video is better than his movie.
(LAUGHTER)
HEMMER: Koizumi is a huge fan of Elvis Presley.
SERWER: I was going to say, you and him sang some Elvis together, didn't you?
HEMMER: When he became prime minister, he put out his 25 favorite Elvis Presley tunes in one CD, distributed all across the country.
COSTELLO: He's a crazy guy. (CROSSTALK)
SERWER: Not a bad dancer too, apparently.
HEMMER: Top stories in a moment here.
Also, one of the biggest archaeological detective stories the past 25 years. Hidden treasure and the people who risk their lives to save it ahead this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
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Aired March 29, 2005 - 8:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Carol Costello sitting in for her today.
We'll look at the massive evacuation after Monday's earthquake, scattering people by the tens of thousands. Even with no tsunami, could this have proved to be an important life-saving event?
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also in a moment here, this huge decision in Michael Jackson's trial. Accusations about five other boys will be presented to the jury. We'll get perspective from an attorney in the court yesterday who says it looked like the life went out of Jackson on Monday. We'll talk to her in a moment.
COSTELLO: And it had nothing to do with his back this time.
HEMMER: Well, you're right about that.
COSTELLO: Yes.
Good morning, Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Carol and Bill.
Good morning again, everyone. Here are some other stories now in the news.
Supporters of Terri Schiavo's parents expected to hold a vigil next hour. The brain-damaged woman entering her 12th day without food or water this afternoon. Civil rights advocate Jesse Jackson expected at the hospice in Pinellas Park, Florida, later today.
We'll keep an eye on developments there and have much more throughout the morning here on AMERICAN MORNING.
The U.S. Supreme Court looking at the fine line between piracy and technology. The high court could rewrite important copyright rules today in a case involving online file sharing. The outcome could affect how television shows, movies and songs are manufactured.
Gas prices jumping to another record high. According to the Energy Department's weekly survey, an average price per gallon is now $2.15, up almost a nickel from last week. The rising cost of oil being blamed for the boost.
And fans will soon be able to get up close and personal with tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams. The sisters starring in their own reality show for ABC Family. The series will offer a look at their lives off the court. Six episodes expected to start airing in July.
Does everyone have a reality show? That's my question.
(LAUGHTER)
HEMMER: I think you're right.
COSTELLO: It's crazy.
WALLACE: Carol and Bill reality show.
COSTELLO: Ooh, you've got something there, Kelly.
WALLACE: I'll take it to the Hollywood studios, see what they have to say.
HEMMER: Thank you, Kelly.
WALLACE: All right.
HEMMER: Want to get to the story out of Indonesia right now. Rescue workers searching for survivors after that quake yesterday. Government officials say they have found at least 330 bodies so far. That number expected to rise throughout the day. U.N. and Red Cross officials also saying that devastation is not nearly as bad as they initially feared.
As Ram Ramgopal reports today, reaction to Monday's quake was much swifter than it was back in late December.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAM RAMGOPAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a region where the word "tsunami" was almost unknown just three months ago, fear of impending disaster spurred mass evacuations all along the coast.
On December 26th, governments across south and southeast Asia were blamed for not warning their citizens of killer waves following a magnitude 9 earthquake.
This time round, news of the latest great earthquake was out quickly on television, by text messages on mobile phone, and by word of mouth.
Acting on information provided by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii and spurred by international TV reports, governments in India, Sri Lanka and Thailand told millions of residents to seek higher ground. The waves never materialized, but officials say they acted out of abundant caution.
On the streets, a sense of urgency, but there were few reports of panic thousands of kilometers from the epicenter of the quake itself. MAXINE OLSON, U.N. DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM: I think we had a good example of what people worked with the instruments and tools that they had last night to be able to do the best job that they could in order to alert people who were actually on the beaches or near the water. The challenge, of course, is to make that system even better.
RAMGOPAL: Southern Asian governments are planning their own tsunami warning systems. So far, it appears each major country is working on its own individual system to be deployed in a matter of months.
THAKSIN SHINAWATRA, THAI PRIME MINISTER: Even though we don't have our system ready yet, we have a monitoring process that is quite good enough. But we will do better by the end of this month.
RAMGOPAL: At daybreak Tuesday, the waters of the Indian Ocean were calm and the Indian coastline peaceful. A very different picture from the chaos that followed the great waves which struck these shores in December.
(on camera): Across Asia, though, the latest quake has prompted a new sense of urgency to establish a scientific warning system. It's estimated to cost $27 million, but that would be a small price to pay to save thousands of lives.
Ram Ramgopal, CNN, New Delhi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Also, the Associated Press now reporting an aftershock in Indonesia's coast today. The magnitude registered today at 5.8. That word just in a few moments ago -- Carol.
COSTELLO: The leadership of U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan will be strongly criticized today. The independent report on the Oil- for-Food program in Iraq is coming out. It will be made public.
Senior U.N. Correspondent Richard Roth is here to help us sort through this report.
So in a nutshell, if that's possible, what will this report say?
RICHARD ROTH, SENIOR CNN U.N. CORRESPONDENT: The report, which is going to be delivered to Kofi Annan in about 25 minutes by Paul Volcker, is going to criticize Annan for failing to manage the U.N. bureaucracy, especially dealing with the Oil-for-Food program which had problems that they're going to say he should have known about, and also to detect the conflict of interest with having his son, Kojo, work for a company which was awarded a key contract regarding Oil-for- Food and humanitarian shipments.
COSTELLO: Will it say there was a direct link or will Kofi Annan get out of that?
ROTH: Well, they're not going to accuse him of any personal wrongdoing. So I think what will happen is the critics and the people who think the Oil-for-Food program is the worst thing to hit the U.N. in the world are going to continue to hammer away, and those who say other countries should be held more responsible for Oil-for-Food are going to say that Kofi Annan shouldn't really bear that much responsibility.
COSTELLO: You know, many Americans are so angry at Kofi Annan. They don't like him anymore. They really think he's corrupt.
Will he survive this in the long run? I know the report is sort of positive for him, but not really.
ROTH: Kofi Annan is like a CEO and the board is 191 countries, the members of the U.N. But there's one bigger member of that board, the U.S. government, and so far they look like they're going to hang with him. But they will move against him if they feel this report is very damaging, or if many members of Congress say, "We can't support the U.N., we want to cut funding." Then it may get untenable.
COSTELLO: Does the report specifically say how much people profited from the Oil-for-Food program?
ROTH: Well, there's still another report to come regarding other people and governments.
But Annan is not accused of any personal profiting. Kojo Annan received possibly as much as $400,000 from this Swiss-based company Cotecna. They say he was legally employed. Kojo has said it's a witch hunt.
It's not going to be good for the father today, though, who has already said he is disappointed in his son.
COSTELLO: So what's going to happen to the son -- anything?
ROTH: Well, the son is not a U.N. employee.
COSTELLO: I mean criminally, could something happen to him?
ROTH: Well, there are several -- there's a grand jury, there are some congressional committees. There are still a lot of other people, other than Paul Volcker, looking into this. So things are still out on this.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about how the United Nations is dealing with this new earthquake in Indonesia.
ROTH: Well, the U.N. moved quickly. I think they're pretty happy that in some places it was a false alarm and they like the way governments responded to some of the early warning systems that have somehow been put in place. And also it doesn't hurt -- a silver lining in terms of getting more money, even though they say they don't really need it, they almost got 100 percent of the $1 billion asked from member governments of the U.N. to help the victims of the tsunami.
COSTELLO: And that money is now going to the places really in need, because, you know, there was some suspicion that, that money would be held up and not used in the right way or at least held up and not used at all.
ROTH: It's getting there.
For the U.N., they would tell you the real problem -- there is a lot of places in Africa in other crises, no money is coming in and there are people in even worse condition.
COSTELLO: Richard Roth, thanks for stopping by. We appreciate it.
Back to you, Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Carol.
Twenty three minutes now before the hour.
A setback for Michael Jackson. The judge has ruled the prosecution may present evidence of past alleged molestation in order to show what the prosecution says is a pattern of inappropriate behavior.
Anne Bremner is a criminal defense attorney. She was inside the courtroom yesterday.
Anne, good morning to you out there in Santa Maria, California.
ANNE BREMNER, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: You say it looked like the life had come out of Michael Jackson when this ruling was handed down. How did you see that?
BREMNER: He wasn't in court, Bill, at the time that the ruling was handed down. And then we took a recess, and he came in with a lot of fans behind him and a lot of pomp and circumstance. But as he came into the courtroom, everyone turned and looked at him and there was like this moment of silence, and he just looked like the life had gone out of him as he walked into court after that ruling.
HEMMER: Now, you're a criminal defense attorney.
How did you think Tom Sneddon did yesterday? Because there were a number of legal experts who were in that courtroom and say the man was on fire. In what way?
BREMNER: Exactly. That's what I wrote in my notes.
He was on fire. For the first time, he defended his case. He defended his victim. He stood up -- for the first time, he smiled when he won this ruling.
It was a five-star day for Tom Sneddon. He was on fire. It was unbelievable. It was night and day from what we've seen of him in the courtroom.
He's a great lawyer, but yesterday was his finest moment.
HEMMER: I was watching you on another network last night. You said -- and I want to quote you right now -- "Things will never be the same in this case."
How do you believe that? In what way?
BREMNER: Things will never be the same. This was a case where the prosecution had faltered but hadn't failed. But it was looking like Michael Jackson had a chance. But you know that saying, It ain't over 'till it's over?
Well, it's over unless Tom Mesereau can really attack all of these witnesses. But it's not one victim, it's not two victims, it's five. And that's saying once a pedophile, always a pedophile. It's human nature to believe that if someone did -- has a pattern of a certain type of activity, that they're guilty in the instant case.
HEMMER: But from what I understand, though, this is not first- account witnesses. This might be second account or even third-hand account. Is that possible? And if so, how does that hold up for a jury?
BREMNER: What the judge said is his line of demarcation was that he allowed in evidence where there were witnesses to molestation, eyewitnesses. So that's what we do know. That's very important.
These are third-party witnesses, but witnesses that saw acts of grooming and acts of molestation, purportedly. We'll have to see how this plays out, but that's what, at least the evidence has been presented during the course of the arguments.
HEMMER: Let's just understand this. If Macaulay Culkin is put on the stand and he says listen, yes, I slept over, yes, nothing ever happened there. What does the prosecution come back and say? Yes, it did, and we've got this evidence over here? What is that other evidence?
BREMNER: Well, we don't know exactly, but we know about eyewitnesses to Michael Jackson grooming some of the victims, licking on the head, like in this case, underwear on the floor and kids in the bed with him, et cetera. These are some of the things we heard about yesterday. And of course, there's probably a lot more. So these are eyewitness accounts from people that don't have a bias, supposedly, and people that aren't, quote unquote, "victims," that may want money from Michael Jackson.
So they may be more credible to a jury than victims themselves. And the experts say that a lot of the victims want to be protective of Michael Jackson and may not say that he did it. And we've already heard from an expert who said that in his case.
HEMMER: Let's get to one other topic yesterday. George Lopez, the comedian, was on the stand yesterday. He essentially described the accuser's father as an extortionist. How did his testimony go over, Anne? BREMNER: He's funny. Well, he's a comedian. The jurors loved him. Michael Jackson even laughed and the two smiled at each other during the course of his testimony. But did call the father an extortionist and that was a least some boon for the defense in what was a five-star day for the prosecution.
HEMMER: All right. More today. We'll see what happens. Anne Bremner, thanks. Criminal defense attorney in Santa Maria, California, back with us from there.
BREMNER: My pleasure. Thank you.
HEMMER: Carol?
COSTELLO: Just a few minutes ago, we showed you a live water rescue in Maryland. A car got stuck in rising floodwaters. You see it here. That's a actually road. The car is on a road. This is in the town of Crofton, west of Annapolis, in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Rescue workers brought in a raft. You see there. You seem getting the women out of the car and into that raft. We are happy to say she's on dry land now. In the same town, a school bus ran into high waters. No one in either incident was injured.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: One stolen laptop. Thousands of people can be in trouble because of it. Andy explains that in "Minding Your Business" in a moment here.
COSTELLO: Also, America's sleepless nights. We're "Paging Dr. Gupta" for stunning new numbers into just how big this problem is.
But first, this question for you. Are you ready? How many hours on average does a dog sleep each day? Is it A, 10.5, B, 11.5, or C, 12.5 hours? We'll have the answer for you after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Before the break, we asked you this question. How many hours on average does your dog sleep each day? A lot more than you. The answer is A, 10.5 hours. A cat, and I know you're wondering, sleeps an average of 12 hours per day.
We do spring forward this coming weekend, and in the process, we lose an hour's sleep. We're "Paging Dr. Gupta" this morning about a new national sleep study. And as Sanjay tells us, it's a wake-up call for tired Americans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bill Teneyck had reached the end of the line. His heart was failing and his doctors told him he might soon need a heart transplant. But then he learned something that would change everything. He had sleep apnea. BILL TENEYCK, SLEEP APNEA PATIENT: During a measurement of one hour during the night, it showed that I had stopped breathing 33 times, the longest of which was a minute and the shortest of which was 15 seconds.
GUPTA: Important for Teneyck because studies have shown sleep apnea can contribute to heart disease.
DR. THOMAS LORUSSO, N. VA SLEEP DIAGNOSTIC CENTER: What actually happens during a sleep apnea event is when the airway closes, the blood oxygen level drops. So it's really no different than me coming in and putting my hands over your neck.
GUPTA: A new survey from the National Sleep Foundation found one in four respondents were at risk for sleep apnea. And sleep apnea is just one cause of sleep deprivation. Stress can also lead to insomnia. And poor health is just one side-effect from lack of sleep.
The same survey found that 78 percent of those polled said they were getting less sleep because of their partners' sleep problems, and a third said lack of sleep had a negative impact on their sex life. Most importantly, the National Sleep Foundation is warning adults against ignoring sleep problems.
DR. BARBARA PHILLIPS, NATIONAL SLEEP FOUNDATION: Sleep is like anything else. It's like calories or the amount of exercise or hair color. Not one size fits all. But the vast majority of people should do well with between seven and nine hours a night.
GUPTA: If this sounds easier said than done, here are tips on how you might get more sleep. Try to wake up and go to sleep at the same time every day, even on weekends. Avoid caffeine after 2:00 p.m. Keep the bedroom quiet. No working in bed, no TV in bed.
As for Bill, he wears a special mask at night, which helps him breathe easier.
TENEYCK: My heart was able to perform better, because it was getting rest. I think that had I not been diagnosed with sleep apnea, had I not been using this machine for the last five years, I probably would have been history.
GUPTA: And today, he's no longer in need of a heart transplant.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: While seven to nine hours of sleep is optimal, the survey found that Americans on average get 6.9 hours a night.
A single laptop computer disappears and thousands of people could pay the price for it. Andy explains in "Minding Your Business." That's next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HEMMER: Ladies and gentlemen, once again, Mr. Jack Cafferty.
(CROSSTALK)
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: When we can get Rob Marciano? Can we bring him up here?
(LAUGHTER)
HEMMER: I think we can do that by tomorrow.
CAFFERTY: He treats old people with much more respect than Hemmer does.
(LAUGHTER)
It's called an institution of higher learning, but some of the people at the University of California are just plain not very bright.
Andy Serwer has that story and a look at the markets. He's minding your business.
These are morons who made this decision.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" CORRESPONDENT: Well, OK, your words, but no, I think you're right. They're not very smart.
This is Cal Berkeley. We'll get to that in a second.
Let's talk about the market, first of all. Good day for investors, especially for those who invest in Dow stocks. As you can see here, up 42. AIG is a bit unsettled this morning because Hank Greenberg is leaving the company as chairman. And Delta will be another stock to watch today, they're laying off more employees there.
Jack, you were referring to a situation at Cal Berkeley where a laptop was stolen from an office at said university with the identities of 98,000 graduate students and graduate student applicants -- their identities, their Social Securities. The laptop was simply left on a desk and someone walked in and pilfered it. That's stupid right there. But what made matters worse, the university, instead of notifying said 98,000 people, decided to wait a couple weeks because they thought they could catch the thief. They thought they could figure out who it was and catch them.
CAFFERTY: You know, there's a reason I quit college. It may have been something like this -- come on.
SERWER: But, you know, I think the joke's going to be on the thief. I mean, here we have someone who is stealing the identities of graduate students. What are you...
CAFFERTY: Who have no money.
(CROSSTALK)
SERWER: ... credit card limit $25. This guy bought two boxes of Ramen noodles last month, right?
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
SERWER: So that's kind of an interesting one. We will have to see what happens there.
I'm sure we'll be hearing from Cal Berkeley.
CAFFERTY: Let's hope so.
SERWER: Let's hope so.
OK. Another story, this one about Jaguar. Jaguar -- the British car company is owned by Ford these days and it's not doing so well. In fact, CEO Bill Ford called Jaguar, one of his own businesses, a financial dog. Maybe it's because they lost $700 million last year.
CAFFERTY: That's laying it right out there.
SERWER: These car guys are really getting very frank these days.
So they lost $700 million last year. Now they're going to scrap a lot of the low-end cars. The strategy was to make low-end Jaguars, you know, $20,000 ones and $30,000 ones, and it just ain't working out.
CAFFERTY: You know what ruined their company? Calling them Jag- u-ars.
SERWER: Yes, I didn't like that either.
CAFFERTY: They were Jaguars when I was a kid.
SERWER: And that's how we say it here in the U.S.
CAFFERTY: It's like when John Chancellor at NBC News decided one day he was going to become John Chanc-e-llor.
SERWER: Right.
CAFFERTY: Ratings went right down.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: It's like Tony Dorsett and Tony Dor-sett.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: All right, it's time for the file.
And our address, by the way, if you're watching out there at the University of California, it's andyserwer@turner.com -- I don't know his address.
(CROSSTALK)
SERWER: Thank you, Jack, for that piece of information.
CAFFERTY: You talk to them.
SERWER: No, I won't.
CAFFERTY: A professor at the University of Washington is asking Microsoft to improve its grammar check software after finding sentences filled with bad grammar even after being checked by a computer with that software in it. The problem was discovered when a professor gave a student a bad grade for submitting a paper full of grammatical errors. The student complained she had used Microsoft software to check for mistakes. Microsoft argues that grammar is difficult for a computer to master because it requires artificial intelligence that is not available. The other suggestion is learn grammar when you were in the sixth grade like most of us do.
SERWER: Bingo.
CAFFERTY: Now, it's true the nation's college campuses are crawling with liberals. Seventy two percent of college professors describe themselves as liberal, while 15 percent say they're conservative, according to a survey published in the March issue of "Forum." The findings are based on interviews with 1,600 full-time faculty at 180 different schools. Eighty four percent of the professors surveyed favor abortion rights, 67 percent believe homosexuality is acceptable, and 88 percent want more environmental protection even if it raises prices or costs jobs.
Another bomb is being dropped on Japan. Actor Richard Gere was in Tokyo Monday promoting his movie "Shall We Dance," which also stars that great American actress, Jennifer Lopez. Gere is a Buddhist, a strong supporter of the Dalai Lama and a world-renowned authority on almost nothing, and yet he surprised reporters when he suddenly changed the topic from the movie he was there to promote to condemning Europe's plans to lift the arms embargo against China.
Gere also met with Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi and took him for a little turn across the dance floor.
Now, let me tell you something, this video is better than his movie.
(LAUGHTER)
HEMMER: Koizumi is a huge fan of Elvis Presley.
SERWER: I was going to say, you and him sang some Elvis together, didn't you?
HEMMER: When he became prime minister, he put out his 25 favorite Elvis Presley tunes in one CD, distributed all across the country.
COSTELLO: He's a crazy guy. (CROSSTALK)
SERWER: Not a bad dancer too, apparently.
HEMMER: Top stories in a moment here.
Also, one of the biggest archaeological detective stories the past 25 years. Hidden treasure and the people who risk their lives to save it ahead this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
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