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American Morning
'90-Second Pop'; Death of Johnnie Cochran Being Felt Throughout the Country
Aired March 30, 2005 - 09:30 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Back to the headlines again. Here is Kelly Wallace with those.
Good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you again. Good morning again, everyone. Here are some of those stories now in the news.
The Vatican confirming Pope John Paul II is getting nutrition from a nasal tube. That announcement coming shortly after the pope appeared at his window overlooking St. Peter's Square today. The feeding tube is meant to help the 84-year-old pontiff regain his strength following last month's tracheotomy.
Supporters and parents of Terri Schiavo now awaiting a decision from the federal appeals court. Bob and Mary Schindler through their attorney filed an emergency petition in an effort to have Schiavo's feeding tube reinserted. The court has allowed them to file that petition. Still no word if the judges will actually hear the case.
First lady Laura Bush taking a very quick tour of Afghanistan. And on the plane trip there she spoke about the Schiavo case and living wills.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: I hear the numbers of people inquiring about living wills or writing living wills increased dramatically and I think that's really good.
The president and I both have living wills, and of course our parents do, and they wanted us to always be aware of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: The first lady, again, talking on the plane ride to Afghanistan.
During the trip, the first lady met with women training to be teachers. Mrs. Bush says she's been waiting a very long time to tell the women of Afghanistan that the women of America stand with them.
She also met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and U.S. troops in the region.
And some beaches in southern Florida remain closed this morning after hundreds of migrating sharks swarmed the shoreline. Experts say they were chasing bait fish, some coming only within 20 feet of the beach. They are apparently black-tip sharks. The species is not man eating, but has been blamed for biting some swimmers and surfers in the past, which means I would be not going near the water if I were (INAUDIBLE).
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: What difference does it make if they're not man eating? They still bite you.
WALLACE: Exactly.
HEMMER: Why did we have to see that? Sharks and snakes this time of year.
COSTELLO: It's spring.
(LAUGHTER)
HEMMER: Thanks, Carol.
See you, Kelly.
WALLACE: Sure.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about Indonesia now.
Frantic rescue efforts underway there after Monday's 8.7 magnitude earthquake. Officials estimate as many as 1,000 people have died. Most of the victims were on the remote island of Nias, just 75 miles from the quake's epicenter.
CNN's Hugh Riminton is in Medan, Indonesia.
Hugh, you had a chance to visit the islands of Nias. How bad was the damage?
HUGH RIMINTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A desperately painful day on this island. It's extremely remote. It's off the west coast of Sumatra, jutting out into the Indian Ocean, not far from where the epicenter was from the earthquake that caused the tsunami, of course, back in December.
For about 12 hours I walked around the main town of Ghulin Satali (ph) and I can tell you that the commercial district of this town had been absolutely obliterated, flattened. There were people desperately trying to scramble through beneath the concrete slabs to try to find people alive, to try to find bodies of loved ones even as aftershocks continued.
The force of this earthquake was something that's just hard to believe. The roads were all snaked into odd shapes, great chasms that had emerged across the tarmac areas. And at one point between the islands, only airport and the main town, that road had been completely cut off by massive (INAUDIBLE) landslides as a consequence of the gigantic shake.
And tonight, as it is night over here now, people again are spending another night out away from shelter if they can make it, because they don't want to be in buildings when these aftershocks continue.
COSTELLO: Hugh, it does seem after, you know, the December earthquake and tsunami that recovery efforts are going better this time around. Is that your sense?
RIMINTON: Certainly.
I mean, they have the benefit in a way of what happened in December. There are so many experts who are close by on the northern path, particularly, of the island of Sumatra -- U.N., World Health Organization, lots of other aid agencies.
And whatever people might think about the U.N., they do contain some of the world's top experts at getting into these disaster things, making a quick assessment and then getting other experts in onto the ground. They also have the infrastructure, they've got helicopters and the like. And that's what we have been seeing -- really very, very speedily given the isolation of this island.
They have been getting helicopters in and expertise and have been able to do some of the immediate medical work and evacuate people off. I'm sure that would not have happened had they not had the much larger catastrophe of the tsunami just three months ago -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Hugh Riminton reporting live from Indonesia this morning.
Thank you.
HEMMER: Back in this country now, Carol, the death of Johnnie Cochran, one of America's best-known trial lawyers, is being felt throughout the country and, in fact, all the way to the Michael Jackson case in California.
Ted Rowlands back in Santa Maria, California.
Johnnie Cochran represented Michael Jackson about 12 years ago. How did the Jackson camp respond to the passing from yesterday, Ted?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bill, we were just getting word that Johnnie Cochran had passed when court ended yesterday. And when Michael Jackson left court, typically it's a time where you can ask questions of Jackson.
Because it wasn't confirmed, we didn't ask Jackson at that time anything about the passing of Johnnie Cochran. They later did react.
Of course, Johnnie Cochran did represent Michael Jackson during a 1993 investigation on allegations of child abuse. It was Johnnie Cochran that came in and engineered a civil settlement which ultimately kept Michael Jackson away from any criminal prosecution, because the alleged victim in that case did not cooperate with investigators and therefore Jackson avoided any criminal prosecution.
Later last night, Michael Jackson did issue a statement saying, quote, "Johnnie Cochran was a great humanitarian. I loved him and I will miss him. I am proud to have called him my friend."
That a portion of the statement that Michael Jackson issued yesterday.
We do expect that he may make another statement about Johnnie Cochran when leaving court here in Santa Maria later today.
HEMMER: All right, Ted, let's talk about the Michael Jackson case of 2005 now. What do you expect today?
ROWLANDS: When court resumes, we're going to hear more testimony from a corporate flight attendant who yesterday said that she served Michael Jackson wine in a Diet Coke can because she said he is a very private drinker, but she said she could see everything in the plane and says she never saw him give wine to the alleged victim in this case.
In fact, she described the alleged victim as a hellion, saying that he was rambunctious and she said he was an embarrassment on her flight. This is a prosecution witness that in the end really helped out the defense.
Later we do expect to hear from Dr. Stan Katz. This is the individual that first interviewed the alleged victim, so the jury may be exposed once again to the gory details of the allegations of sexual abuse against Michael Jackson through Dr. Stan Katz.
HEMMER: Ted Rowlands, thanks, in Santa Maria this morning -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Eyewitness details of the Red Lake School shootings are coming out today as the community prepares to bury its ninth victim.
A government official tells "USA Today" the gunman, Jeff Weise, was hit twice in a shootout with police before killing himself. The paper also has a deputy's account of how Weise was firing blindly into school rooms.
And as Keith Oppenheim reports, the arrest of the tribal chairman's son could mean there was a wider plot involving more people and more targets.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FLOYD JOURDAIN, RED LAKE TRIBAL LEADER: Our community is devastated by this event. KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a tight-knit community, the connections could be uncomfortably close. A day after the shootings at the Red Lake Indian Reservation, the tribal leader, Floyd Jourdain Junior, led off a news conference.
JOURDAIN: We look forward to your continued support.
OPPENHEIM: Immediately followed by Michael Tabman, the FBI special agent in charge.
Tabman was asked about 16-year-old Jeffrey Weise, the troubled teen who allegedly shot and killed his grandfather, three other adults, five students and then himself.
UNIDENTIFIED FBI AGENT: At this time we believe he acted alone, but we certainly have to explore all possibilities.
OPPENHEIM: The twist in the tale is that now tribal leader Jourdain acknowledges that his son, Louis, has been arrested.
Louis Jourdain was escorted out of federal court in Duluth. The "Minneapolis Star Tribune" reports he has been charged with conspiracy, plotting with Weise to attack Red Lake High School.
HOWIE PADILLA, "MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE": They had been planning it for about a year and possibly Jeff had done it maybe at a different time than what was planned is what's being alleged out there.
OPPENHEIM: In a statement, Floyd Jourdain said, "My heart is heavy as a result of the tragic events that unfolded here at our nation, but it is with optimism that I state my son Louis' innocence. I know my son and he is incapable of committing such an act."
As for Jeff Weise, investigators are still trying to understand why. And now the question is, who else is involved? Was Weise a troubled loner plotting his attack by himself or did he share his ideas and plans with others?
LEE COOK, AMERICAN INDIAN STUDIES, BEMIDJI STATE UNIVERSITY: I know the FBI is investigating now with the understanding that there were other young people involved and that there are other young people that at least sort of knew that this kid was going to do something; that other homes had been searched and other computers had been taken with the notion of looking for the interconnect between Jeff and his friends.
OPPENHEIM: In the meantime, Red Lake High School remains closed.
The school's principal tells CNN the damage inside is so great the building may stay shut for the rest of the year.
More than a week after the shootings, the mourning goes on. Funerals for teacher Neva Rogers and security guard Derrick Brun.
FRANCIS BRUN, VICTIM'S FATHER: The tragedy is too great for many people to bear right now. We want to, you know, go put Derek at rest.
OPPENHEIM: In a close-knit population of just a bit more than 5,000 people, it may be difficult to come to terms with what happened.
Tribal members are now just learning the son of their leader, and possibly others, might have known something, might have been able to do something to stop the deadly shootings.
Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Some of Floyd Jourdain's political opponents want him to resign now, but Jourdain has been a popular leader. He received more votes than any other candidate for chairman.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Blockbuster has to pay up for its no late fees campaign. Is there money in it for you? We'll check that out with Andy, "Minding Your Business" on that in a moment.
COSTELLO: And Madonna is at it again. A new controversy for The Material Girl, and we've got the pictures to prove it. "90-Second Pop" next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: This is a remix, isn't it? It's even worse than the original. Welcome back, everybody. Wednesday edition of "90-Second Pop." Our panel today, Amy Barnett is back with us from "Teen People."
Amy, good morning.
AMY BARNETT, "TEEN PEOPLE": Good morning.
HEMMER: Ten days by my watch, this guy right here, Toure, is still married, our pop culture correspondent.
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: And still happily married.
HEMMER: Happily married, right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We should ask if his wife is still happy, too.
HEMMER: Rita! Jessi Klein from VH-1's "Best Week Ever."
Nice to see you again. Jess, good morning to you.
JESSI KLEIN, COMEDIAN: Thank you.
HEMMER: Let's start with Madonna. Let's show them the pictures. She's out with her husband, Guy Richey. She's dressed like a nun. He's dressed like the pope. Kind of questionable timing, Toure.
TOURE: Well, you know, are we really supposed to be outraged about this? Madonna has been appropriating religious iconography for shock value for years, now perhaps decades even. Whatever! I mean, really, come on.
KLEIN: Yes, I think the Catholic Church has to look at this from the perspective of, these two are capable of much worse. They made "Swept Away" together, far more offensive than this could ever be.
BARNETT: Well, I just don't understand. I feel like it's totally blown out of proportion. Like, why is the Catholic Church now denouncing Madonna again? I thought they put her on a bullet train to hell a decade ago.
(CROSSTALK)
TOURE: Exactly.
BARNETT: And (UNINTELLIGIBLE) on her hand.
HEMMER: She's Esther now, right? She's not Madonna.
TOURE: Oh!
BARNETT: Whatever. Well, I mean, is Esther now upgraded to the first-class sleeper berth on the bullet train to hell?
TOURE: Even with Esther, even with this picture, which is a little weird, but that's not what the outrage is about. Think about the '80s. It was Michael Jackson, Prince and Madonna, right? And superstardom will mess your head up. But she is the most normal out of all three of them. Who would have thought that?
HEMMER: Well, I think she's done much worse actually. I think it's kind of tame if you go back and look at her career.
TOURE: Yes.
HEMMER: Next topic, the Williams sisters.
KLEIN: The Williams sisters.
HEMMER: They're going to have a reality show, and it has nothing do with tennis.
KLEIN: Nothing to do with tennis. Venus and Serena will are going to have their own reality show on ABC Family. And the whole push of this is, we're just going to see them kind of hanging out, just hanging out, maybe going on some dates, hanging out with their family.
HEMMER: Jessi, are you going to watch this?
KLEIN: Well, here's the thing. I'm going to tell you why. I'm excited to see what endorsement deal they get, because they're such big stars. And I want to know what clothing line wants to be the official line of zoning out on your couch, talking on the phone.
TOURE: This is definitely going to be a fun show, because they're kooky. They're like big kids in a candy store with all of this money. They're trying to find themselves. They've been on the tennis court all their lives, but they're constantly, I want to design, I want to do this, I want to travel.
BARNETT: Really.
KLEIN: And then there's their dad.
TOURE: And then there's their dad.
HEMMER: Oh, he could be the star of the show actually.
(CROSSTALK)
TOURE: If Richard is in the show, it's going to be great, because he is the king of kooky.
HEMMER: Yes, listen, anytime these guys go on tour, they always talk about when they were younger, teenagers, when they're in cities like Paris they go to the museums first before they go to the tennis court.
BARNETT: Well, I don't know. I am totally going to watch this. I think it's going to be like "The Contender" meets "The Simple Life." Like, who is not going to watch this? But what I really want to know is what's up with Serena and Brett Ratner? Like, I'm really hoping...
KLEIN: Yes.
BARNETT: ... that there's a subplot in there about Serena and Brett Ratner, the ultimate odd couple.
HEMMER: Let's leave it there. Thanks to all three of you.
Here's Carol.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: The biggest competition for Apple's iPod. You might be able to find it at the candy store. Andy explains in "Minding Your Business," next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: An iconic candy device is going digital, and Blockbuster has to pay up for its late-fee fiasco. Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business." Does that mean money for me?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: No, not unless you're part of the class-action thing, settlement. I mean, are you?
COSTELLO: No. SERWER: All right, then no money for you. I'm not sure what an iconic candy dispenser is, but that's all right, Carol, you're doing OK.
COSTELLO: Thanks.
SERWER: You're welcome.
Let's check out the markets first of all, because we have good news here. Look at that. It's a rebound from about 75 days in a row that we have been down, and I am only exaggerating slightly. Rebound from yesterday, GDP number was OK, end-of-quarter window dressing. That means money managers buying stocks to make their portfolios look good.
Let's talk about the Blockbuster situation, though, Carol, and you know, they introduced this no late-fee program January 1st. There is only one problem with the program, it really wasn't true. At least that's what the company is sort of acknowledging today, because they are paying out 47 states $630,000 because it was misleading. I shouldn't say wasn't true, it was very misleading, because the way it worked is you could get a DVD or a video for seven days, and then return it without any late fee, but if you went over seven days, you'd own it, and you'd have to pay the difference. That's kind of a late fee.
COSTELLO: Would you have to pay to buy it?
SERWER: You would pay between $8 and $20. You owned it.
COSTELLO: I'd rather pay the late fee.
SERWER: You'd rather pay the late fee.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: I'LL you why it is a terrible idea. My kids never, ever, ever return tapes to Blockbuster on time, ever. And this kind of thing would put me in bankruptcy, because they just pile up in the basement, and once in a while I find them down there. At $2 a day, it;s affordable, but if you are going to start buying all of the movies.
SERWER: The company says it's changing the way it's promoting this campaign. Convergence has been one of the holy grail words for media and technology CEO's for years, which means sort of putting together different pieces of things in terms of technology and products, and making it all work. And I'm happy to report that the day of convergence has finally arrived.
What I have here is a Pez dispenser. That's an iconic candy dispenser that you were referring to. Pumba and not Timo (ph), Santa Clause, what were they doing? Why didn't they get me Pumba and Timo. They got me Pumba and Santa Clause here. They're going to put an MP3 player into a Pez dispenser.
CAFFERTY: You can shoot songs right into your mouth. SERWER: They're not even going to have candy in them. There's actually one interesting thing. Subways in New York City, there's been reports of crime is up significantly, and the reason is because people have these iPods and you've got the ear things, and it means I've a $300 little device in my pocket, rob me, so maybe if you got this...
COSTELLO: Yes, that's clandestine.
CAFFERTY: You still have to wear the little earpiece.
SERWER: Yes, that's true, especially when you've got Santa Clause. Look kinds of silly maybe, don't you think, Jack?
CAFFERTY: Yes, I do.
HEMMER: Thank you, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
HEMMER: One final batch, Question of the Day.
CAFFERTY: Yes, should jurors be allowed to use the Bible during deliberations, particularly in a capital murder case? A death sentence thrown out in Colorado because the jurors used the Bible to reach their decision.
George writes, "Jack, last time I looked, our country was a secular state with separation of church and state. While I deplore the criminal act, I am also certain the judge instructed the jury to base the decision on the facts of the case. Shame on the jury."
Gerilea (ph) in California: "Imagine the confusion with 12 jurors trying to interpret laws by applying 12 different schools of thought from various religions. We'll be stoning women or sacrificing our firstborn child."
And Reg in Ontario writes, "Of course they should have been allowed to use the Bible. The shorter ones need something to sit on."
SERWER: That's good. I like that. Or a telephone book.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: He was off his game this morning.
SERWER: It's the warm weather up there.
CAFFERTY: And so am I, because I chose to read it.
Speaking of games, it's been a stormy offseason for baseball but, opening day just around the corner. CNN LIVE TODAY will talk with one of the game's ambassadors, Cal Ripkin Jr. I am jealous. Find out what he thinks the sport has to do to turn its image. That's in the next hour with Rick and Daryn.
AMERICAN MORNING back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: As we celebrate our 25th anniversary this year, June 1st, 1980, CNN brings you some of the biggest stories over the past 25 years.
Daniel Sieberg has more now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Top 25 technology breakthroughs that changed the world and our lives during CNN's first 25 years. We asked experts to come up with a list. Number 15, video games. The entertainment choice among younger generations and more profitable now than movies.
Number 14, DNA testing, identifying the uniqueness of each person that can help reunite families or identify criminals.
Tuning in at number 13, satellite TV and radio, a better way to transmit images and sound into your home or car.
Number 12, fiberoptics, like the world using pulses of light to communicate over great distances, from long distance telephone calls to the Internet.
Number 11, space. Man landed on the moon, proven there was water on Mars, and an international effort has orbited a working space station. But there's still more out there. Stay tuned as we count down to No. 1.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: And Sunday night at 8:00 Eastern here on CNN, we'll look back at the top 25 technology breakthroughs, and we will reveal No. 1.
Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired March 30, 2005 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Back to the headlines again. Here is Kelly Wallace with those.
Good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you again. Good morning again, everyone. Here are some of those stories now in the news.
The Vatican confirming Pope John Paul II is getting nutrition from a nasal tube. That announcement coming shortly after the pope appeared at his window overlooking St. Peter's Square today. The feeding tube is meant to help the 84-year-old pontiff regain his strength following last month's tracheotomy.
Supporters and parents of Terri Schiavo now awaiting a decision from the federal appeals court. Bob and Mary Schindler through their attorney filed an emergency petition in an effort to have Schiavo's feeding tube reinserted. The court has allowed them to file that petition. Still no word if the judges will actually hear the case.
First lady Laura Bush taking a very quick tour of Afghanistan. And on the plane trip there she spoke about the Schiavo case and living wills.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: I hear the numbers of people inquiring about living wills or writing living wills increased dramatically and I think that's really good.
The president and I both have living wills, and of course our parents do, and they wanted us to always be aware of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: The first lady, again, talking on the plane ride to Afghanistan.
During the trip, the first lady met with women training to be teachers. Mrs. Bush says she's been waiting a very long time to tell the women of Afghanistan that the women of America stand with them.
She also met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and U.S. troops in the region.
And some beaches in southern Florida remain closed this morning after hundreds of migrating sharks swarmed the shoreline. Experts say they were chasing bait fish, some coming only within 20 feet of the beach. They are apparently black-tip sharks. The species is not man eating, but has been blamed for biting some swimmers and surfers in the past, which means I would be not going near the water if I were (INAUDIBLE).
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: What difference does it make if they're not man eating? They still bite you.
WALLACE: Exactly.
HEMMER: Why did we have to see that? Sharks and snakes this time of year.
COSTELLO: It's spring.
(LAUGHTER)
HEMMER: Thanks, Carol.
See you, Kelly.
WALLACE: Sure.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about Indonesia now.
Frantic rescue efforts underway there after Monday's 8.7 magnitude earthquake. Officials estimate as many as 1,000 people have died. Most of the victims were on the remote island of Nias, just 75 miles from the quake's epicenter.
CNN's Hugh Riminton is in Medan, Indonesia.
Hugh, you had a chance to visit the islands of Nias. How bad was the damage?
HUGH RIMINTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A desperately painful day on this island. It's extremely remote. It's off the west coast of Sumatra, jutting out into the Indian Ocean, not far from where the epicenter was from the earthquake that caused the tsunami, of course, back in December.
For about 12 hours I walked around the main town of Ghulin Satali (ph) and I can tell you that the commercial district of this town had been absolutely obliterated, flattened. There were people desperately trying to scramble through beneath the concrete slabs to try to find people alive, to try to find bodies of loved ones even as aftershocks continued.
The force of this earthquake was something that's just hard to believe. The roads were all snaked into odd shapes, great chasms that had emerged across the tarmac areas. And at one point between the islands, only airport and the main town, that road had been completely cut off by massive (INAUDIBLE) landslides as a consequence of the gigantic shake.
And tonight, as it is night over here now, people again are spending another night out away from shelter if they can make it, because they don't want to be in buildings when these aftershocks continue.
COSTELLO: Hugh, it does seem after, you know, the December earthquake and tsunami that recovery efforts are going better this time around. Is that your sense?
RIMINTON: Certainly.
I mean, they have the benefit in a way of what happened in December. There are so many experts who are close by on the northern path, particularly, of the island of Sumatra -- U.N., World Health Organization, lots of other aid agencies.
And whatever people might think about the U.N., they do contain some of the world's top experts at getting into these disaster things, making a quick assessment and then getting other experts in onto the ground. They also have the infrastructure, they've got helicopters and the like. And that's what we have been seeing -- really very, very speedily given the isolation of this island.
They have been getting helicopters in and expertise and have been able to do some of the immediate medical work and evacuate people off. I'm sure that would not have happened had they not had the much larger catastrophe of the tsunami just three months ago -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Hugh Riminton reporting live from Indonesia this morning.
Thank you.
HEMMER: Back in this country now, Carol, the death of Johnnie Cochran, one of America's best-known trial lawyers, is being felt throughout the country and, in fact, all the way to the Michael Jackson case in California.
Ted Rowlands back in Santa Maria, California.
Johnnie Cochran represented Michael Jackson about 12 years ago. How did the Jackson camp respond to the passing from yesterday, Ted?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bill, we were just getting word that Johnnie Cochran had passed when court ended yesterday. And when Michael Jackson left court, typically it's a time where you can ask questions of Jackson.
Because it wasn't confirmed, we didn't ask Jackson at that time anything about the passing of Johnnie Cochran. They later did react.
Of course, Johnnie Cochran did represent Michael Jackson during a 1993 investigation on allegations of child abuse. It was Johnnie Cochran that came in and engineered a civil settlement which ultimately kept Michael Jackson away from any criminal prosecution, because the alleged victim in that case did not cooperate with investigators and therefore Jackson avoided any criminal prosecution.
Later last night, Michael Jackson did issue a statement saying, quote, "Johnnie Cochran was a great humanitarian. I loved him and I will miss him. I am proud to have called him my friend."
That a portion of the statement that Michael Jackson issued yesterday.
We do expect that he may make another statement about Johnnie Cochran when leaving court here in Santa Maria later today.
HEMMER: All right, Ted, let's talk about the Michael Jackson case of 2005 now. What do you expect today?
ROWLANDS: When court resumes, we're going to hear more testimony from a corporate flight attendant who yesterday said that she served Michael Jackson wine in a Diet Coke can because she said he is a very private drinker, but she said she could see everything in the plane and says she never saw him give wine to the alleged victim in this case.
In fact, she described the alleged victim as a hellion, saying that he was rambunctious and she said he was an embarrassment on her flight. This is a prosecution witness that in the end really helped out the defense.
Later we do expect to hear from Dr. Stan Katz. This is the individual that first interviewed the alleged victim, so the jury may be exposed once again to the gory details of the allegations of sexual abuse against Michael Jackson through Dr. Stan Katz.
HEMMER: Ted Rowlands, thanks, in Santa Maria this morning -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Eyewitness details of the Red Lake School shootings are coming out today as the community prepares to bury its ninth victim.
A government official tells "USA Today" the gunman, Jeff Weise, was hit twice in a shootout with police before killing himself. The paper also has a deputy's account of how Weise was firing blindly into school rooms.
And as Keith Oppenheim reports, the arrest of the tribal chairman's son could mean there was a wider plot involving more people and more targets.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FLOYD JOURDAIN, RED LAKE TRIBAL LEADER: Our community is devastated by this event. KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a tight-knit community, the connections could be uncomfortably close. A day after the shootings at the Red Lake Indian Reservation, the tribal leader, Floyd Jourdain Junior, led off a news conference.
JOURDAIN: We look forward to your continued support.
OPPENHEIM: Immediately followed by Michael Tabman, the FBI special agent in charge.
Tabman was asked about 16-year-old Jeffrey Weise, the troubled teen who allegedly shot and killed his grandfather, three other adults, five students and then himself.
UNIDENTIFIED FBI AGENT: At this time we believe he acted alone, but we certainly have to explore all possibilities.
OPPENHEIM: The twist in the tale is that now tribal leader Jourdain acknowledges that his son, Louis, has been arrested.
Louis Jourdain was escorted out of federal court in Duluth. The "Minneapolis Star Tribune" reports he has been charged with conspiracy, plotting with Weise to attack Red Lake High School.
HOWIE PADILLA, "MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE": They had been planning it for about a year and possibly Jeff had done it maybe at a different time than what was planned is what's being alleged out there.
OPPENHEIM: In a statement, Floyd Jourdain said, "My heart is heavy as a result of the tragic events that unfolded here at our nation, but it is with optimism that I state my son Louis' innocence. I know my son and he is incapable of committing such an act."
As for Jeff Weise, investigators are still trying to understand why. And now the question is, who else is involved? Was Weise a troubled loner plotting his attack by himself or did he share his ideas and plans with others?
LEE COOK, AMERICAN INDIAN STUDIES, BEMIDJI STATE UNIVERSITY: I know the FBI is investigating now with the understanding that there were other young people involved and that there are other young people that at least sort of knew that this kid was going to do something; that other homes had been searched and other computers had been taken with the notion of looking for the interconnect between Jeff and his friends.
OPPENHEIM: In the meantime, Red Lake High School remains closed.
The school's principal tells CNN the damage inside is so great the building may stay shut for the rest of the year.
More than a week after the shootings, the mourning goes on. Funerals for teacher Neva Rogers and security guard Derrick Brun.
FRANCIS BRUN, VICTIM'S FATHER: The tragedy is too great for many people to bear right now. We want to, you know, go put Derek at rest.
OPPENHEIM: In a close-knit population of just a bit more than 5,000 people, it may be difficult to come to terms with what happened.
Tribal members are now just learning the son of their leader, and possibly others, might have known something, might have been able to do something to stop the deadly shootings.
Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Some of Floyd Jourdain's political opponents want him to resign now, but Jourdain has been a popular leader. He received more votes than any other candidate for chairman.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Blockbuster has to pay up for its no late fees campaign. Is there money in it for you? We'll check that out with Andy, "Minding Your Business" on that in a moment.
COSTELLO: And Madonna is at it again. A new controversy for The Material Girl, and we've got the pictures to prove it. "90-Second Pop" next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: This is a remix, isn't it? It's even worse than the original. Welcome back, everybody. Wednesday edition of "90-Second Pop." Our panel today, Amy Barnett is back with us from "Teen People."
Amy, good morning.
AMY BARNETT, "TEEN PEOPLE": Good morning.
HEMMER: Ten days by my watch, this guy right here, Toure, is still married, our pop culture correspondent.
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: And still happily married.
HEMMER: Happily married, right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We should ask if his wife is still happy, too.
HEMMER: Rita! Jessi Klein from VH-1's "Best Week Ever."
Nice to see you again. Jess, good morning to you.
JESSI KLEIN, COMEDIAN: Thank you.
HEMMER: Let's start with Madonna. Let's show them the pictures. She's out with her husband, Guy Richey. She's dressed like a nun. He's dressed like the pope. Kind of questionable timing, Toure.
TOURE: Well, you know, are we really supposed to be outraged about this? Madonna has been appropriating religious iconography for shock value for years, now perhaps decades even. Whatever! I mean, really, come on.
KLEIN: Yes, I think the Catholic Church has to look at this from the perspective of, these two are capable of much worse. They made "Swept Away" together, far more offensive than this could ever be.
BARNETT: Well, I just don't understand. I feel like it's totally blown out of proportion. Like, why is the Catholic Church now denouncing Madonna again? I thought they put her on a bullet train to hell a decade ago.
(CROSSTALK)
TOURE: Exactly.
BARNETT: And (UNINTELLIGIBLE) on her hand.
HEMMER: She's Esther now, right? She's not Madonna.
TOURE: Oh!
BARNETT: Whatever. Well, I mean, is Esther now upgraded to the first-class sleeper berth on the bullet train to hell?
TOURE: Even with Esther, even with this picture, which is a little weird, but that's not what the outrage is about. Think about the '80s. It was Michael Jackson, Prince and Madonna, right? And superstardom will mess your head up. But she is the most normal out of all three of them. Who would have thought that?
HEMMER: Well, I think she's done much worse actually. I think it's kind of tame if you go back and look at her career.
TOURE: Yes.
HEMMER: Next topic, the Williams sisters.
KLEIN: The Williams sisters.
HEMMER: They're going to have a reality show, and it has nothing do with tennis.
KLEIN: Nothing to do with tennis. Venus and Serena will are going to have their own reality show on ABC Family. And the whole push of this is, we're just going to see them kind of hanging out, just hanging out, maybe going on some dates, hanging out with their family.
HEMMER: Jessi, are you going to watch this?
KLEIN: Well, here's the thing. I'm going to tell you why. I'm excited to see what endorsement deal they get, because they're such big stars. And I want to know what clothing line wants to be the official line of zoning out on your couch, talking on the phone.
TOURE: This is definitely going to be a fun show, because they're kooky. They're like big kids in a candy store with all of this money. They're trying to find themselves. They've been on the tennis court all their lives, but they're constantly, I want to design, I want to do this, I want to travel.
BARNETT: Really.
KLEIN: And then there's their dad.
TOURE: And then there's their dad.
HEMMER: Oh, he could be the star of the show actually.
(CROSSTALK)
TOURE: If Richard is in the show, it's going to be great, because he is the king of kooky.
HEMMER: Yes, listen, anytime these guys go on tour, they always talk about when they were younger, teenagers, when they're in cities like Paris they go to the museums first before they go to the tennis court.
BARNETT: Well, I don't know. I am totally going to watch this. I think it's going to be like "The Contender" meets "The Simple Life." Like, who is not going to watch this? But what I really want to know is what's up with Serena and Brett Ratner? Like, I'm really hoping...
KLEIN: Yes.
BARNETT: ... that there's a subplot in there about Serena and Brett Ratner, the ultimate odd couple.
HEMMER: Let's leave it there. Thanks to all three of you.
Here's Carol.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: The biggest competition for Apple's iPod. You might be able to find it at the candy store. Andy explains in "Minding Your Business," next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: An iconic candy device is going digital, and Blockbuster has to pay up for its late-fee fiasco. Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business." Does that mean money for me?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: No, not unless you're part of the class-action thing, settlement. I mean, are you?
COSTELLO: No. SERWER: All right, then no money for you. I'm not sure what an iconic candy dispenser is, but that's all right, Carol, you're doing OK.
COSTELLO: Thanks.
SERWER: You're welcome.
Let's check out the markets first of all, because we have good news here. Look at that. It's a rebound from about 75 days in a row that we have been down, and I am only exaggerating slightly. Rebound from yesterday, GDP number was OK, end-of-quarter window dressing. That means money managers buying stocks to make their portfolios look good.
Let's talk about the Blockbuster situation, though, Carol, and you know, they introduced this no late-fee program January 1st. There is only one problem with the program, it really wasn't true. At least that's what the company is sort of acknowledging today, because they are paying out 47 states $630,000 because it was misleading. I shouldn't say wasn't true, it was very misleading, because the way it worked is you could get a DVD or a video for seven days, and then return it without any late fee, but if you went over seven days, you'd own it, and you'd have to pay the difference. That's kind of a late fee.
COSTELLO: Would you have to pay to buy it?
SERWER: You would pay between $8 and $20. You owned it.
COSTELLO: I'd rather pay the late fee.
SERWER: You'd rather pay the late fee.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: I'LL you why it is a terrible idea. My kids never, ever, ever return tapes to Blockbuster on time, ever. And this kind of thing would put me in bankruptcy, because they just pile up in the basement, and once in a while I find them down there. At $2 a day, it;s affordable, but if you are going to start buying all of the movies.
SERWER: The company says it's changing the way it's promoting this campaign. Convergence has been one of the holy grail words for media and technology CEO's for years, which means sort of putting together different pieces of things in terms of technology and products, and making it all work. And I'm happy to report that the day of convergence has finally arrived.
What I have here is a Pez dispenser. That's an iconic candy dispenser that you were referring to. Pumba and not Timo (ph), Santa Clause, what were they doing? Why didn't they get me Pumba and Timo. They got me Pumba and Santa Clause here. They're going to put an MP3 player into a Pez dispenser.
CAFFERTY: You can shoot songs right into your mouth. SERWER: They're not even going to have candy in them. There's actually one interesting thing. Subways in New York City, there's been reports of crime is up significantly, and the reason is because people have these iPods and you've got the ear things, and it means I've a $300 little device in my pocket, rob me, so maybe if you got this...
COSTELLO: Yes, that's clandestine.
CAFFERTY: You still have to wear the little earpiece.
SERWER: Yes, that's true, especially when you've got Santa Clause. Look kinds of silly maybe, don't you think, Jack?
CAFFERTY: Yes, I do.
HEMMER: Thank you, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
HEMMER: One final batch, Question of the Day.
CAFFERTY: Yes, should jurors be allowed to use the Bible during deliberations, particularly in a capital murder case? A death sentence thrown out in Colorado because the jurors used the Bible to reach their decision.
George writes, "Jack, last time I looked, our country was a secular state with separation of church and state. While I deplore the criminal act, I am also certain the judge instructed the jury to base the decision on the facts of the case. Shame on the jury."
Gerilea (ph) in California: "Imagine the confusion with 12 jurors trying to interpret laws by applying 12 different schools of thought from various religions. We'll be stoning women or sacrificing our firstborn child."
And Reg in Ontario writes, "Of course they should have been allowed to use the Bible. The shorter ones need something to sit on."
SERWER: That's good. I like that. Or a telephone book.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: He was off his game this morning.
SERWER: It's the warm weather up there.
CAFFERTY: And so am I, because I chose to read it.
Speaking of games, it's been a stormy offseason for baseball but, opening day just around the corner. CNN LIVE TODAY will talk with one of the game's ambassadors, Cal Ripkin Jr. I am jealous. Find out what he thinks the sport has to do to turn its image. That's in the next hour with Rick and Daryn.
AMERICAN MORNING back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: As we celebrate our 25th anniversary this year, June 1st, 1980, CNN brings you some of the biggest stories over the past 25 years.
Daniel Sieberg has more now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Top 25 technology breakthroughs that changed the world and our lives during CNN's first 25 years. We asked experts to come up with a list. Number 15, video games. The entertainment choice among younger generations and more profitable now than movies.
Number 14, DNA testing, identifying the uniqueness of each person that can help reunite families or identify criminals.
Tuning in at number 13, satellite TV and radio, a better way to transmit images and sound into your home or car.
Number 12, fiberoptics, like the world using pulses of light to communicate over great distances, from long distance telephone calls to the Internet.
Number 11, space. Man landed on the moon, proven there was water on Mars, and an international effort has orbited a working space station. But there's still more out there. Stay tuned as we count down to No. 1.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: And Sunday night at 8:00 Eastern here on CNN, we'll look back at the top 25 technology breakthroughs, and we will reveal No. 1.
Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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