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American Morning
Bush-Sharon Meeting; Update on Michael Jackson Trial
Aired April 11, 2005 - 07:30 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: Welcome back, everyone. It's 7:30 here in New York on a Monday morning.
Jurors in the Michael Jackson trial are set to hear more explosive testimony after some stunning allegations of abuse last week. The question today is whether or not Jackson's lawyers are doing a good job or a good enough job in that courtroom on damage control. We'll talk about that with attorney, Anne Bremner back with us today. She was inside the courtroom last week. Anne is coming up in a moment.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Also, President Bush has an important meeting in just a few hours with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. So, just how much of the current Mideast peace plan is riding on that meeting? We're going to bring you a report from Texas this morning.
HEMMER: Also, the headlines with Carol Costello with us here in New York.
Good morning -- Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Bill. Good morning, Soledad. Good morning to all of you.
"Now in the News.".
One of the biggest Baghdad raids in recent weeks. U.S. military sources say 500 Iraqi and American forces swept through a neighborhood in the capital city, detaining some 65 people. The arrest comes as Iraq's new President Jalal Talabani tells CNN he predicts U.S. forces could leave Iraq within two years. In the meantime, U.S. military sources, cited by "The New York Times," say cuts are expected by early next year. Barbara Starr reports live from the Pentagon later on in the show.
Tight security throughout major cities in China this morning after a weekend of massive anti-Japanese protests. Tens of thousands of demonstrators burned flags, shouted anti-Japanese slogans and threw rocks. The violence was sparked by Japan's bid for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council. Officials from both countries are planning to meet this weekend.
In about two hours, John Bolton is set to face the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Bolton, who is now working under Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, has been tapped as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Critics say Bolton is a hardliner, who once described the U.N. as irrelevant.
And a nationwide manhunt is under way this hour for a suspected killer and rapist. Police say 37-year-old Stephen Stanko (ph) killed at least two people and raped a teenager along South Carolina's Grandstand, all within a 24-hour period. He was last seen in a black 1996 Mazda pickup. The license plate number is 709-PYJ.
And do I even need to tell you this? More pain at the gas pump. The average price jumped nearly 19 cents a gallon nationwide in the last three weeks. That's according to the latest Lundberg survey. The upsurge is due to high crude oil prices, increased demand and higher refinery costs. But industry analysts say gas prices may have peaked or will soon. But right now...
O'BRIEN: No.
COSTELLO: I know, right, 2.29 a gallon nationwide.
O'BRIEN: Want me to tell you about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, too? Or is this not the right time for that?
COSTELLO: Exactly.
O'BRIEN: How many times have we said that it's peaked? That's right, Carol, it's peaked.
COSTELLO: I think it's going to go to $3 a gallon.
O'BRIEN: I completely agree with you.
HEMMER: Well, it's already in some places, in California, there, too.
O'BRIEN: It's 2.29.
COSTELLO: Oh, yes.
O'BRIEN: But overall, the national, I agree with you. I think that could really happen.
COSTELLO: And, boy, are we going to have a lot angry people.
O'BRIEN: They're going to be mad when that happens.
Thanks, Carol.
Well, President Bush meets with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon today for what are expected to be some tough talks on the issue of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Elaine Quijano is at the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas, this morning.
Elaine, good morning to you. What exactly does President Bush hope to accomplish with the visit?
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.
Well, you mentioned the issue of Jewish settlements. President Bush himself indicated a couple days ago on his way back to Texas here that he will raise the issue of expanding Jewish settlements.
Now, this comes in the light of recent calls by Ariel Sharon to expand attractive land just east of Jerusalem. Now, critics say that would alter the face of any future Palestinian state. But Ariel Sharon has argued that that would just be a natural extension of a Jerusalem suburb.
President Bush, though, said that he will make clear that goes against, in his mind, the road map for peace. He's going to talk about that today.
Also, we're expecting him to tell Ariel Sharon that he really needs to work closely with the Palestinian government, specifically Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Now, you'll recall about a year ago, when President Bush signed on to Israel's plan to withdraw from Gaza and parts of the West Bank that it was Yasser Arafat, not Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian people. Now, though, obviously the dynamic has changed. So, President Bush will emphasize that to Ariel Sharon as well.
O'BRIEN: As you well know, Elaine, there is much opposition to this proposed settlement withdrawing. Is there a fear, in fact, in the Bush administration that he may not be able to push that plan through?
QUIJANO: Well, certainly it raises the question of the delicate balance that President Bush is going to have to try and strike. On the one hand, coming down on Ariel Sharon for the settlement expansion plans. At the same time, though, there is the understanding that Ariel Sharon is facing some intense political heat that he's going to need a lot of latitude, a lot of leeway in order to make this a successful withdrawal. That's scheduled to take place just three months from now.
So, with the clock ticking, it is going to be a bit of a tightrope for the U.S. to walk. President Bush certainly is well aware of the difficulties Ariel Sharon is facing at home -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Elaine Quijano is in Crawford, Texas for us this morning. Elaine, thank you for that update -- Bill.
HEMMER: When the Michael Jackson trial resumes this morning, so too will the parade of witnesses testifying about Jackson's alleged past sexual behavior with children. All of it is a part of the prosecution's attempt to show a pattern and a practice of molestation.
Criminal defense attorney Anne Bremner has watched much of that trial from inside the courtroom. She is in Seattle this morning.
Anne, welcome back. And good morning to you.
ANNE BREMNER, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Good morning to you, Bill.
HEMMER: Take us back to last week. One of Jackson's alleged victims is on the stand testifying about inappropriate touching. You believe he was an excellent witness. Why?
BREMNER: Well, because his demeanor was very appropriate. He had nothing to gain by testifying. He was very sincere. He is a youth minister. He cried on the stand when he talked about what happened. And as it's been said, you know, this is God-fearing Santa Maria, and he said the first person he told was God.
HEMMER: How did Thomas Mesereau then counter that, the defense attorney for Michael Jackson?
BREMNER: Well, it was tough, but he did a good job. What he did was establish a lack of memory, that this witness had given four statements before and couldn't remember them, and also brought out that he settled his case.
So, this whole idea that everyone with Michael Jackson has their hand out for money, this is yet another claim the person wanted money from Michael Jackson. So, he brought those things out.
And finally, he minimized the contact by calling it just tickling.
HEMMER: So are you saying...
BREMNER: I don't know...
HEMMER: I'm trying to gauge your analysis here. Is that a wash for jurors?
BREMNER: No, I don't think it was. I think that Mesereau did the best he could. And keep in mind, some of this happened 17 years ago, Bill. So, it would make sense that he wouldn't remember some of the statements given long, long ago.
HEMMER: OK. Now, there's this former security guard. And this gets even more graphic than in the past.
BREMNER: Yes.
HEMMER: He testifies that he saw Michael Jackson in the act of performing oral sex on a young boy at the Neverland Ranch. Tell me about this gentleman and what he had to say.
BREMNER: It was stunning testimony. You could hear a pin drop in the courtroom. It was very, very graphic. He talked about passionate kissing, touching, and he talked about a sex act performed by Michael Jackson on the young man that accused him back in '93 and settled for a substantial amount of money. He saw it. It was clear as day.
He went over, because they had been in the shower, in a Jacuzzi. It didn't look right to him. So, he went over to see what was going on, and what he described was graphic and very compelling. And you could actually visualize it when you heard him testifying.
He described a second act, ironically, in front of a Peter Pan display there at Neverland, where Tinker Bell and Peter Pan light up, where Michael Jackson molested the boy again. Very, very compelling.
HEMMER: Does he have -- Anne, does he have credibility issues?
BREMNER: Huge credibility issues. He sued Michael Jackson for $16 million for basically being falsely fired. And then he was ordered to pay, by a Santa Maria jury, the same jury pool that's hearing this case, for 1.4 million he had to pay Jackson. He had to file for bankruptcy. He was found guilty for civil theft and fraud. And, you know, big credibility problems there in terms of a motive to fabricate against Michael Jackson.
O'BRIEN: Overall, then, Anne, as we enter another week in this case, has the balance tipped one way or the other, in your estimation, based on last week?
BREMNER: I think the balance tipped in favor of the prosecution. You know, I was thinking this morning, is this akin to, like, the Amber Frey testimony in the Scott Peterson case that kind of shifted everything for the prosecution? I don't know that it's gone that far, but it's very compelling testimony. And you can't have every single one of these witnesses lying and only Michael Jackson telling the truth. So, I think the prosecution is definitely ahead. It was quite a week.
HEMMER: We'll watch it again today. Anne Bremner, thanks, in Seattle, criminal defense attorney watching that trial.
BREMNER: Thank you.
HEMMER: Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Some pretty amazing weather video to show you, a tornado touching down in Kansas. It's kind of like something out of "The Wizard Of Oz." There it is right there. This twister was just one of several on Sunday in that state. Nobody reported hurt in yesterday's storms, but some minor damage was reported to several homes.
That brings us right to the weather.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Hungry for a sandwich? One company claims to have reinvented the PB&J. Andy explains, "Minding Your Business" in a moment on that.
O'BRIEN: Plus, crowds cheered outside the royal wedding. But has Camilla really won Britain's heart? "90-Second Pop" is just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) O'BRIEN: Here's an interesting story. Smucker's tries to patent a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. A judge says it's not going to happen. Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Good morning.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you.
O'BRIEN: You can't do that.
SERWER: Yes, this seems kind of obvious. There's a little more to it, and it's kind of funny. The best part of this story is the lawyer's comments, and we'll get to that in a second. Isn't always the lawyer's comments the best part?
Smucker's tried to patent a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It's actually a product pre-made peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It's called the Uncrustables. So, Jack likes these.
O'BRIEN: These are good.
SERWER: He can vouch for these.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: We got some of these the other day.
SERWER: You did?
CAFFERTY: They're terrific.
SERWER: Yes. What it is, they don't have crust on them and they're crimped around the outside, kind of like a pie.
CAFFERTY: Exactly.
SERWER: And so another company was making them. Smucker's said, hey, can we get some protection here? It went to court, and the judge said forget about it. Smucker's, of course, has Jif, too. Remember when peanut butter and jelly merged last year or two years ago?
CAFFERTY: Well, technically, that isn't a sandwich either. It's crimped like a pie crust. A sandwich is two pieces of bread with some stuff in the middle.
SERWER: You sound like one of these lawyers.
O'BRIEN: I was going to say.
SERWER: Listen to some of these lawyers. All right, this one lawyer said, the key question in the case is whether or not it was a new and unobvious to put the jelly inside two of layers of peanut butter.
O'BRIEN: No.
SERWER: No.
CAFFERTY: They charge $750 an hour for this stuff.
SERWER: Here's one more. This is a great one. Some feel as though it was a structural problem that results in the peanut butter and jelly patents. I tend to agree. When I was a kid, my mother used to take a mason jar and push it down over the PB&J to create something a lot like that product ?
O'BRIEN: Oh, what a lie!
SERWER: These guys...
O'BRIEN: I don't know who that was, but it's a lie.
SERWER: That's pretty funny. But Jack's right. I mean, where is the bill being sent to for this?
CAFFERTY: They should call it a peanut butter and Smucker's sandwich.
SERWER: And that would probably be painful.
CAFFERTY: Yes, peanut butter and Smucker's.
SERWER: And that was free advice, wasn't it?
CAFFERTY: Yes. Well, I don't know. If they used it, no, it wasn't free.
SERWER: Then it will not be free.
HEMMER: He'll call his lawyers.
SERWER: Absolutely.
HEMMER: Here's Jack and the "Question of the Day."
CAFFERTY: The sharks are in the water. Thanks, Bill. And they're circling -- where are we? There we are. They're circling House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.
On Sunday, Senate leader Rick Santorum, the number three Republican in the Senate, said DeLay needs to explain his conduct to the public. Representative Christopher Shays went farther and said it's time for DeLay to resign as House majority leader.
DeLay was admonished by House Ethics Committee members last year. There are new reports now surfacing about other stuff. DeLay says the allegations are nothing more than seedy attacks by House Democrats. However, two Republicans are joining the chorus.
The question is this: Should Tom DeLay resign as House majority leader?
John writes in Mississippi: "A leader cannot lead without credibility and respect. DeLay has lost both. His reckless behavior and arrogance have made him insignificant. He needs to go." Buck in Virginia writes: "Mr. DeLay would best serve his constituents and the rest of us by turning himself into the nearest federal correctional facility."
CAFFERTY: But what about the trial? You've got to have like a trial and stuff, right?
SERWER: He's gone.
O'BRIEN: You can't just turn yourself in.
CAFFERTY: I'm here for prison.
Doug in New Jersey writes: "Tom DeLay is only one part of a large disorder in our government, and he should step down to help begin a healing process between the parties, if that's even possible. Meanwhile, he's the gift that keeps on giving to the Democrats."
Jerry in Georgia writes: "Tom DeLay is the personification of the ideal Republican. He represents all the Republican Party stands for and should not yield one inch until the next election when his constituents will decide if he represents American values and principles."
And John in Florida writes: "Why should Tom DeLay resign? He represents Texas, where political ethics is an oxymoron. He's the best politician their money could buy."
HEMMER: This has been an inside-the-Beltway story for a long time. But it's starting to creep out.
CAFFERTY: Yes, it's broken out, I think.
O'BRIEN: And it's amazing to see how the Democrats, once the Republicans picked up on the issue, are like, well, I'm not going to say a word. We're just going to hand it off.
SERWER: Yes, we'll let them do it.
O'BRIEN: And we'll let them do the dirty work.
CAFFERTY: Yes, the Republicans will murder their own in this case.
SERWER: That's the Democrat strategy, usually, by the way.
CAFFERTY: For themselves.
SERWER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Thanks, Jack.
Well, once again, Tiger Woods proves he is the master by winning the green jacket in Augusta. But Tiger could be on the prowl for even bigger things. Do you guys like the way I'm working on Tiger, prowl?
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: "90-Second Pop" is just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. It is time now for a Monday edition of "90-Second Pop." You guys like the music.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: A lot of nodding, a lot of happiness and joy. That's the way they always like to start out this morning. Let's introduce our team. Andy Borowitz, the inventor of borowitzreport.com. Jessica Shaw from "Entertainment Weekly." Toure, CNN's pop culture correspondent.
Nice to see you guys.
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: How are you?
O'BRIEN: Well, you know -- I'm well, thank you. You know, the wedding of Camilla...
JESSICA SHAW, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY": Yea!
O'BRIEN: ... and Prince Charles didn't come anywhere near Toure's nuptials, which were just way over the top.
TOURE: Right.
O'BRIEN: Let's start with the wedding, in fact. And we have some pictures. It wasn't -- the bride did not wear white, but she looked good.
SHAW: She wore off-white to the civil ceremony.
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: Were you there?
SHAW: I wish. No.
TOURE: You do?
SHAW: She was -- you know, it was never going to be...
O'BRIEN: It looked like sort of a gray -- well, this one is white, but then they had the picture of her in kind of the blue almost.
SHAW: Well, that was for the religious ceremony.
O'BRIEN: Oh.
SHAW: Please get your outfits straight.
O'BRIEN: Sorry. BOROWITZ: You will notice, Prince Harry was in his Nazi dress whites, though.
O'BRIEN: Oh, stop! He was not.
BOROWITZ: Oh, he wasn't? All right.
SHAW: The way to tell the difference is that the queen didn't show up to the civil one and decided to show up to the religious one. You know, it wasn't going to be like this huge Charles and Diana thing.
O'BRIEN: Only 20,000 people watched compared to 600 (sic) that watched the lat one.
SHAW: Only 20,000 people watched. But you know what? Nor should it have been. Like, they're in their 50s. It's the second time around.
O'BRIEN: It sounds like you liked it.
TOURE: Like, every wedding is a little different because of how the community around the wedding feels. It becomes, like, a jury of your peers. And this one you can feel people, like, universally kind of snickering, like, behind their back, like, around the world.
SHAW: Apparently...
O'BRIEN: A jury of your peers for your wedding?
TOURE: It is, and they love you for the most part.
SHAW: Well, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) married already.
O'BRIEN: Well, I say this with love to Camilla. I thought she looked pretty nice.
BOROWITZ: She did.
O'BRIEN: I know they've had a little bit of a tough time leading -- what? Up to the wedding. But, hey, it was her wedding day for god's sake.
BOROWITZ: Toure, you're just a big baby.
O'BRIEN: A huge baby. Thank you. What was with the head outfits?
SHAW: Oh, the hats.
O'BRIEN: Oh.
SHAW: Phillip Treacy is going to become, like, the name everyone is going to know in terms of bad headwear. But...
O'BRIEN: Well, to top left here is her daughter. SHAW: Yes, Laura Parker-Bowles, a lot of feathers going on. I actually think Camilla's hat, she had one hat that was so horrible. It sort of looked like a cross between a bird's nest and Freddy Krueger-like claws coming out.
O'BRIEN: Yes, ugly.
BOROWITZ: She looked like a Batman villain.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about something that looked amazing, which was Tiger Woods on the 16th hole.
TOURE: Oh!
BOROWITZ: Yes.
O'BRIEN: I don't even watch golf, and I've watched this shot 100 times, and I've loved it each and every time.
BOROWITZ: Yes. Are we going to take a look at it?
O'BRIEN: Yes. well, I was saying that in the hopes that someone would roll the tape.
TOURE: Look at how the ball waves at the end.
BOROWITZ: Oh.
TOURE: It's just an amazing question mark.
O'BRIEN: It sort of stops dead.
TOURE: And then it just waves at the audience, takes a snap, and says, OK, I'm gone, and it goes in.
BOROWITZ: Oh, now, this is a chip shot on the par 3 16th, which is really awesome if you know what a chip shot on the par 3 16th is, which I do not. But I just want to show that I did my homework. It was amazing. I think that he's back. You know, this is a sport...
O'BRIEN: Really back?
BOROWITZ: Well, you know, I think this is like a cautionary tale for sports doomsayers, because just a few weeks ago everybody was saying he was all washed up, right? Twenty-nine-years old. And I just wan to say that people that are saying that about Mariano Rivera (ph) now...
TOURE: Yes.
BOROWITZ: ... excuse me, can I get some support here.
TOURE: So...
O'BRIEN: And when you're quoted saying that, it's hard to kind of book an interview with the guy a couple weeks later. BOROWITZ: That's true.
SHAW: Well, you know, it's good. It's good. There were people who got to know all of these other golf players like Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson. And, like, you know I thought it was nice that...
TOURE: You're just getting to know them?
SHAW: I'm just getting to know them now. Like, last week...
O'BRIEN: She watches golf like I watch golf.
TOURE: Once in a while. And then like...
SHAW: Like, here are these new golf players.
TOURE: The 16th was a transcendent moment. Even my wife was, like, oh, my god. Like, look at that shot. But just to watch Tiger walk down the green. He's like Denzel, like, the way he walks, the body language. It's amazing. He's so just...
O'BRIEN: Yes, now that he's winning, yes.
BOROWITZ: Prediction, prediction? I think this dude is finally going to get some endorsements. I really do. I think this is his new moment.
O'BRIEN: I've heard there's this new guy, Tiger.
BOROWITZ: Yes, this Tiger fellow.
O'BRIEN: Who is he? He seems like he's great.
Let's talk about movies. "Sahara," No. 1 at the box office.
TOURE: Boring! Let's talk about the real star of the weekend.
O'BRIEN: Penelope Cruz is in it. Matthew McConaughey...
TOURE: Whatever. Like, after "Million Dollar Baby," I came here rang the alarm, right? Like, you must see this movie. "Kung Fu Hustle," everybody in this studio must see it. It was the most...
O'BRIEN: You love to reference, like, how you were right. I just want to point that out.
TOURE: It won't win an Oscar. This is not going to win any Oscars, but this is the most fun.
O'BRIEN: What's it about?
TOURE: It's about a group of gangsters, the toughest gangsters in China go to this little ghetto to beat them up everybody in the ghetto. But the people in the ghetto are the baddest martial arts fighters ever seen in the world. So, it's not going to work out for them, and it's magic realism and it's visually stunning (UNINTELLIGIBLE) at the same time.
O'BRIEN: It's only open in a handful of theaters, right?
TOURE: And if you have time to take off from work today, leave work and go to see this film.
SHAW: OK. Can I just say something now?
O'BRIEN: I'm going.
SHAW: In terms of a movie that made $18.5 million, Matthew McConaughey is kind of back, yes.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
SHAW: I think that...
O'BRIEN: He is so yummy. I'm sorry. We missed him.
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: "Sahara" looks like a movie that if it's on an airplane, I'm not buying the headphones.
O'BRIEN: Oh, really?
BOROWITZ: Yes. It does not...
TOURE: Exactly, exactly.
O'BRIEN: The whole Matthew McConaughey is kind of yummy does just do it for Andy, I guess.
SHAW: Right.
BOROWITZ: No. I loved him in "The Wedding Planner".
O'BRIEN: You guys, that's it. We are out of time. As always, I thank you.
Let's go back to Bill.
HEMMER: Good stuff. Thanks, guys.
In a moment here, top stories here.
Also, if you cannot get enough of that extra hour of sun, after Daylight Savings Time, some lawmakers, if they get their way, there is more where that came from. We'll explain in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.
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Aired April 11, 2005 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone. It's 7:30 here in New York on a Monday morning.
Jurors in the Michael Jackson trial are set to hear more explosive testimony after some stunning allegations of abuse last week. The question today is whether or not Jackson's lawyers are doing a good job or a good enough job in that courtroom on damage control. We'll talk about that with attorney, Anne Bremner back with us today. She was inside the courtroom last week. Anne is coming up in a moment.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Also, President Bush has an important meeting in just a few hours with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. So, just how much of the current Mideast peace plan is riding on that meeting? We're going to bring you a report from Texas this morning.
HEMMER: Also, the headlines with Carol Costello with us here in New York.
Good morning -- Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Bill. Good morning, Soledad. Good morning to all of you.
"Now in the News.".
One of the biggest Baghdad raids in recent weeks. U.S. military sources say 500 Iraqi and American forces swept through a neighborhood in the capital city, detaining some 65 people. The arrest comes as Iraq's new President Jalal Talabani tells CNN he predicts U.S. forces could leave Iraq within two years. In the meantime, U.S. military sources, cited by "The New York Times," say cuts are expected by early next year. Barbara Starr reports live from the Pentagon later on in the show.
Tight security throughout major cities in China this morning after a weekend of massive anti-Japanese protests. Tens of thousands of demonstrators burned flags, shouted anti-Japanese slogans and threw rocks. The violence was sparked by Japan's bid for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council. Officials from both countries are planning to meet this weekend.
In about two hours, John Bolton is set to face the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Bolton, who is now working under Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, has been tapped as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Critics say Bolton is a hardliner, who once described the U.N. as irrelevant.
And a nationwide manhunt is under way this hour for a suspected killer and rapist. Police say 37-year-old Stephen Stanko (ph) killed at least two people and raped a teenager along South Carolina's Grandstand, all within a 24-hour period. He was last seen in a black 1996 Mazda pickup. The license plate number is 709-PYJ.
And do I even need to tell you this? More pain at the gas pump. The average price jumped nearly 19 cents a gallon nationwide in the last three weeks. That's according to the latest Lundberg survey. The upsurge is due to high crude oil prices, increased demand and higher refinery costs. But industry analysts say gas prices may have peaked or will soon. But right now...
O'BRIEN: No.
COSTELLO: I know, right, 2.29 a gallon nationwide.
O'BRIEN: Want me to tell you about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, too? Or is this not the right time for that?
COSTELLO: Exactly.
O'BRIEN: How many times have we said that it's peaked? That's right, Carol, it's peaked.
COSTELLO: I think it's going to go to $3 a gallon.
O'BRIEN: I completely agree with you.
HEMMER: Well, it's already in some places, in California, there, too.
O'BRIEN: It's 2.29.
COSTELLO: Oh, yes.
O'BRIEN: But overall, the national, I agree with you. I think that could really happen.
COSTELLO: And, boy, are we going to have a lot angry people.
O'BRIEN: They're going to be mad when that happens.
Thanks, Carol.
Well, President Bush meets with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon today for what are expected to be some tough talks on the issue of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Elaine Quijano is at the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas, this morning.
Elaine, good morning to you. What exactly does President Bush hope to accomplish with the visit?
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.
Well, you mentioned the issue of Jewish settlements. President Bush himself indicated a couple days ago on his way back to Texas here that he will raise the issue of expanding Jewish settlements.
Now, this comes in the light of recent calls by Ariel Sharon to expand attractive land just east of Jerusalem. Now, critics say that would alter the face of any future Palestinian state. But Ariel Sharon has argued that that would just be a natural extension of a Jerusalem suburb.
President Bush, though, said that he will make clear that goes against, in his mind, the road map for peace. He's going to talk about that today.
Also, we're expecting him to tell Ariel Sharon that he really needs to work closely with the Palestinian government, specifically Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Now, you'll recall about a year ago, when President Bush signed on to Israel's plan to withdraw from Gaza and parts of the West Bank that it was Yasser Arafat, not Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian people. Now, though, obviously the dynamic has changed. So, President Bush will emphasize that to Ariel Sharon as well.
O'BRIEN: As you well know, Elaine, there is much opposition to this proposed settlement withdrawing. Is there a fear, in fact, in the Bush administration that he may not be able to push that plan through?
QUIJANO: Well, certainly it raises the question of the delicate balance that President Bush is going to have to try and strike. On the one hand, coming down on Ariel Sharon for the settlement expansion plans. At the same time, though, there is the understanding that Ariel Sharon is facing some intense political heat that he's going to need a lot of latitude, a lot of leeway in order to make this a successful withdrawal. That's scheduled to take place just three months from now.
So, with the clock ticking, it is going to be a bit of a tightrope for the U.S. to walk. President Bush certainly is well aware of the difficulties Ariel Sharon is facing at home -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Elaine Quijano is in Crawford, Texas for us this morning. Elaine, thank you for that update -- Bill.
HEMMER: When the Michael Jackson trial resumes this morning, so too will the parade of witnesses testifying about Jackson's alleged past sexual behavior with children. All of it is a part of the prosecution's attempt to show a pattern and a practice of molestation.
Criminal defense attorney Anne Bremner has watched much of that trial from inside the courtroom. She is in Seattle this morning.
Anne, welcome back. And good morning to you.
ANNE BREMNER, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Good morning to you, Bill.
HEMMER: Take us back to last week. One of Jackson's alleged victims is on the stand testifying about inappropriate touching. You believe he was an excellent witness. Why?
BREMNER: Well, because his demeanor was very appropriate. He had nothing to gain by testifying. He was very sincere. He is a youth minister. He cried on the stand when he talked about what happened. And as it's been said, you know, this is God-fearing Santa Maria, and he said the first person he told was God.
HEMMER: How did Thomas Mesereau then counter that, the defense attorney for Michael Jackson?
BREMNER: Well, it was tough, but he did a good job. What he did was establish a lack of memory, that this witness had given four statements before and couldn't remember them, and also brought out that he settled his case.
So, this whole idea that everyone with Michael Jackson has their hand out for money, this is yet another claim the person wanted money from Michael Jackson. So, he brought those things out.
And finally, he minimized the contact by calling it just tickling.
HEMMER: So are you saying...
BREMNER: I don't know...
HEMMER: I'm trying to gauge your analysis here. Is that a wash for jurors?
BREMNER: No, I don't think it was. I think that Mesereau did the best he could. And keep in mind, some of this happened 17 years ago, Bill. So, it would make sense that he wouldn't remember some of the statements given long, long ago.
HEMMER: OK. Now, there's this former security guard. And this gets even more graphic than in the past.
BREMNER: Yes.
HEMMER: He testifies that he saw Michael Jackson in the act of performing oral sex on a young boy at the Neverland Ranch. Tell me about this gentleman and what he had to say.
BREMNER: It was stunning testimony. You could hear a pin drop in the courtroom. It was very, very graphic. He talked about passionate kissing, touching, and he talked about a sex act performed by Michael Jackson on the young man that accused him back in '93 and settled for a substantial amount of money. He saw it. It was clear as day.
He went over, because they had been in the shower, in a Jacuzzi. It didn't look right to him. So, he went over to see what was going on, and what he described was graphic and very compelling. And you could actually visualize it when you heard him testifying.
He described a second act, ironically, in front of a Peter Pan display there at Neverland, where Tinker Bell and Peter Pan light up, where Michael Jackson molested the boy again. Very, very compelling.
HEMMER: Does he have -- Anne, does he have credibility issues?
BREMNER: Huge credibility issues. He sued Michael Jackson for $16 million for basically being falsely fired. And then he was ordered to pay, by a Santa Maria jury, the same jury pool that's hearing this case, for 1.4 million he had to pay Jackson. He had to file for bankruptcy. He was found guilty for civil theft and fraud. And, you know, big credibility problems there in terms of a motive to fabricate against Michael Jackson.
O'BRIEN: Overall, then, Anne, as we enter another week in this case, has the balance tipped one way or the other, in your estimation, based on last week?
BREMNER: I think the balance tipped in favor of the prosecution. You know, I was thinking this morning, is this akin to, like, the Amber Frey testimony in the Scott Peterson case that kind of shifted everything for the prosecution? I don't know that it's gone that far, but it's very compelling testimony. And you can't have every single one of these witnesses lying and only Michael Jackson telling the truth. So, I think the prosecution is definitely ahead. It was quite a week.
HEMMER: We'll watch it again today. Anne Bremner, thanks, in Seattle, criminal defense attorney watching that trial.
BREMNER: Thank you.
HEMMER: Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Some pretty amazing weather video to show you, a tornado touching down in Kansas. It's kind of like something out of "The Wizard Of Oz." There it is right there. This twister was just one of several on Sunday in that state. Nobody reported hurt in yesterday's storms, but some minor damage was reported to several homes.
That brings us right to the weather.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Hungry for a sandwich? One company claims to have reinvented the PB&J. Andy explains, "Minding Your Business" in a moment on that.
O'BRIEN: Plus, crowds cheered outside the royal wedding. But has Camilla really won Britain's heart? "90-Second Pop" is just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) O'BRIEN: Here's an interesting story. Smucker's tries to patent a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. A judge says it's not going to happen. Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Good morning.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you.
O'BRIEN: You can't do that.
SERWER: Yes, this seems kind of obvious. There's a little more to it, and it's kind of funny. The best part of this story is the lawyer's comments, and we'll get to that in a second. Isn't always the lawyer's comments the best part?
Smucker's tried to patent a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It's actually a product pre-made peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It's called the Uncrustables. So, Jack likes these.
O'BRIEN: These are good.
SERWER: He can vouch for these.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: We got some of these the other day.
SERWER: You did?
CAFFERTY: They're terrific.
SERWER: Yes. What it is, they don't have crust on them and they're crimped around the outside, kind of like a pie.
CAFFERTY: Exactly.
SERWER: And so another company was making them. Smucker's said, hey, can we get some protection here? It went to court, and the judge said forget about it. Smucker's, of course, has Jif, too. Remember when peanut butter and jelly merged last year or two years ago?
CAFFERTY: Well, technically, that isn't a sandwich either. It's crimped like a pie crust. A sandwich is two pieces of bread with some stuff in the middle.
SERWER: You sound like one of these lawyers.
O'BRIEN: I was going to say.
SERWER: Listen to some of these lawyers. All right, this one lawyer said, the key question in the case is whether or not it was a new and unobvious to put the jelly inside two of layers of peanut butter.
O'BRIEN: No.
SERWER: No.
CAFFERTY: They charge $750 an hour for this stuff.
SERWER: Here's one more. This is a great one. Some feel as though it was a structural problem that results in the peanut butter and jelly patents. I tend to agree. When I was a kid, my mother used to take a mason jar and push it down over the PB&J to create something a lot like that product ?
O'BRIEN: Oh, what a lie!
SERWER: These guys...
O'BRIEN: I don't know who that was, but it's a lie.
SERWER: That's pretty funny. But Jack's right. I mean, where is the bill being sent to for this?
CAFFERTY: They should call it a peanut butter and Smucker's sandwich.
SERWER: And that would probably be painful.
CAFFERTY: Yes, peanut butter and Smucker's.
SERWER: And that was free advice, wasn't it?
CAFFERTY: Yes. Well, I don't know. If they used it, no, it wasn't free.
SERWER: Then it will not be free.
HEMMER: He'll call his lawyers.
SERWER: Absolutely.
HEMMER: Here's Jack and the "Question of the Day."
CAFFERTY: The sharks are in the water. Thanks, Bill. And they're circling -- where are we? There we are. They're circling House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.
On Sunday, Senate leader Rick Santorum, the number three Republican in the Senate, said DeLay needs to explain his conduct to the public. Representative Christopher Shays went farther and said it's time for DeLay to resign as House majority leader.
DeLay was admonished by House Ethics Committee members last year. There are new reports now surfacing about other stuff. DeLay says the allegations are nothing more than seedy attacks by House Democrats. However, two Republicans are joining the chorus.
The question is this: Should Tom DeLay resign as House majority leader?
John writes in Mississippi: "A leader cannot lead without credibility and respect. DeLay has lost both. His reckless behavior and arrogance have made him insignificant. He needs to go." Buck in Virginia writes: "Mr. DeLay would best serve his constituents and the rest of us by turning himself into the nearest federal correctional facility."
CAFFERTY: But what about the trial? You've got to have like a trial and stuff, right?
SERWER: He's gone.
O'BRIEN: You can't just turn yourself in.
CAFFERTY: I'm here for prison.
Doug in New Jersey writes: "Tom DeLay is only one part of a large disorder in our government, and he should step down to help begin a healing process between the parties, if that's even possible. Meanwhile, he's the gift that keeps on giving to the Democrats."
Jerry in Georgia writes: "Tom DeLay is the personification of the ideal Republican. He represents all the Republican Party stands for and should not yield one inch until the next election when his constituents will decide if he represents American values and principles."
And John in Florida writes: "Why should Tom DeLay resign? He represents Texas, where political ethics is an oxymoron. He's the best politician their money could buy."
HEMMER: This has been an inside-the-Beltway story for a long time. But it's starting to creep out.
CAFFERTY: Yes, it's broken out, I think.
O'BRIEN: And it's amazing to see how the Democrats, once the Republicans picked up on the issue, are like, well, I'm not going to say a word. We're just going to hand it off.
SERWER: Yes, we'll let them do it.
O'BRIEN: And we'll let them do the dirty work.
CAFFERTY: Yes, the Republicans will murder their own in this case.
SERWER: That's the Democrat strategy, usually, by the way.
CAFFERTY: For themselves.
SERWER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Thanks, Jack.
Well, once again, Tiger Woods proves he is the master by winning the green jacket in Augusta. But Tiger could be on the prowl for even bigger things. Do you guys like the way I'm working on Tiger, prowl?
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: "90-Second Pop" is just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. It is time now for a Monday edition of "90-Second Pop." You guys like the music.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: A lot of nodding, a lot of happiness and joy. That's the way they always like to start out this morning. Let's introduce our team. Andy Borowitz, the inventor of borowitzreport.com. Jessica Shaw from "Entertainment Weekly." Toure, CNN's pop culture correspondent.
Nice to see you guys.
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: How are you?
O'BRIEN: Well, you know -- I'm well, thank you. You know, the wedding of Camilla...
JESSICA SHAW, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY": Yea!
O'BRIEN: ... and Prince Charles didn't come anywhere near Toure's nuptials, which were just way over the top.
TOURE: Right.
O'BRIEN: Let's start with the wedding, in fact. And we have some pictures. It wasn't -- the bride did not wear white, but she looked good.
SHAW: She wore off-white to the civil ceremony.
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: Were you there?
SHAW: I wish. No.
TOURE: You do?
SHAW: She was -- you know, it was never going to be...
O'BRIEN: It looked like sort of a gray -- well, this one is white, but then they had the picture of her in kind of the blue almost.
SHAW: Well, that was for the religious ceremony.
O'BRIEN: Oh.
SHAW: Please get your outfits straight.
O'BRIEN: Sorry. BOROWITZ: You will notice, Prince Harry was in his Nazi dress whites, though.
O'BRIEN: Oh, stop! He was not.
BOROWITZ: Oh, he wasn't? All right.
SHAW: The way to tell the difference is that the queen didn't show up to the civil one and decided to show up to the religious one. You know, it wasn't going to be like this huge Charles and Diana thing.
O'BRIEN: Only 20,000 people watched compared to 600 (sic) that watched the lat one.
SHAW: Only 20,000 people watched. But you know what? Nor should it have been. Like, they're in their 50s. It's the second time around.
O'BRIEN: It sounds like you liked it.
TOURE: Like, every wedding is a little different because of how the community around the wedding feels. It becomes, like, a jury of your peers. And this one you can feel people, like, universally kind of snickering, like, behind their back, like, around the world.
SHAW: Apparently...
O'BRIEN: A jury of your peers for your wedding?
TOURE: It is, and they love you for the most part.
SHAW: Well, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) married already.
O'BRIEN: Well, I say this with love to Camilla. I thought she looked pretty nice.
BOROWITZ: She did.
O'BRIEN: I know they've had a little bit of a tough time leading -- what? Up to the wedding. But, hey, it was her wedding day for god's sake.
BOROWITZ: Toure, you're just a big baby.
O'BRIEN: A huge baby. Thank you. What was with the head outfits?
SHAW: Oh, the hats.
O'BRIEN: Oh.
SHAW: Phillip Treacy is going to become, like, the name everyone is going to know in terms of bad headwear. But...
O'BRIEN: Well, to top left here is her daughter. SHAW: Yes, Laura Parker-Bowles, a lot of feathers going on. I actually think Camilla's hat, she had one hat that was so horrible. It sort of looked like a cross between a bird's nest and Freddy Krueger-like claws coming out.
O'BRIEN: Yes, ugly.
BOROWITZ: She looked like a Batman villain.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about something that looked amazing, which was Tiger Woods on the 16th hole.
TOURE: Oh!
BOROWITZ: Yes.
O'BRIEN: I don't even watch golf, and I've watched this shot 100 times, and I've loved it each and every time.
BOROWITZ: Yes. Are we going to take a look at it?
O'BRIEN: Yes. well, I was saying that in the hopes that someone would roll the tape.
TOURE: Look at how the ball waves at the end.
BOROWITZ: Oh.
TOURE: It's just an amazing question mark.
O'BRIEN: It sort of stops dead.
TOURE: And then it just waves at the audience, takes a snap, and says, OK, I'm gone, and it goes in.
BOROWITZ: Oh, now, this is a chip shot on the par 3 16th, which is really awesome if you know what a chip shot on the par 3 16th is, which I do not. But I just want to show that I did my homework. It was amazing. I think that he's back. You know, this is a sport...
O'BRIEN: Really back?
BOROWITZ: Well, you know, I think this is like a cautionary tale for sports doomsayers, because just a few weeks ago everybody was saying he was all washed up, right? Twenty-nine-years old. And I just wan to say that people that are saying that about Mariano Rivera (ph) now...
TOURE: Yes.
BOROWITZ: ... excuse me, can I get some support here.
TOURE: So...
O'BRIEN: And when you're quoted saying that, it's hard to kind of book an interview with the guy a couple weeks later. BOROWITZ: That's true.
SHAW: Well, you know, it's good. It's good. There were people who got to know all of these other golf players like Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson. And, like, you know I thought it was nice that...
TOURE: You're just getting to know them?
SHAW: I'm just getting to know them now. Like, last week...
O'BRIEN: She watches golf like I watch golf.
TOURE: Once in a while. And then like...
SHAW: Like, here are these new golf players.
TOURE: The 16th was a transcendent moment. Even my wife was, like, oh, my god. Like, look at that shot. But just to watch Tiger walk down the green. He's like Denzel, like, the way he walks, the body language. It's amazing. He's so just...
O'BRIEN: Yes, now that he's winning, yes.
BOROWITZ: Prediction, prediction? I think this dude is finally going to get some endorsements. I really do. I think this is his new moment.
O'BRIEN: I've heard there's this new guy, Tiger.
BOROWITZ: Yes, this Tiger fellow.
O'BRIEN: Who is he? He seems like he's great.
Let's talk about movies. "Sahara," No. 1 at the box office.
TOURE: Boring! Let's talk about the real star of the weekend.
O'BRIEN: Penelope Cruz is in it. Matthew McConaughey...
TOURE: Whatever. Like, after "Million Dollar Baby," I came here rang the alarm, right? Like, you must see this movie. "Kung Fu Hustle," everybody in this studio must see it. It was the most...
O'BRIEN: You love to reference, like, how you were right. I just want to point that out.
TOURE: It won't win an Oscar. This is not going to win any Oscars, but this is the most fun.
O'BRIEN: What's it about?
TOURE: It's about a group of gangsters, the toughest gangsters in China go to this little ghetto to beat them up everybody in the ghetto. But the people in the ghetto are the baddest martial arts fighters ever seen in the world. So, it's not going to work out for them, and it's magic realism and it's visually stunning (UNINTELLIGIBLE) at the same time.
O'BRIEN: It's only open in a handful of theaters, right?
TOURE: And if you have time to take off from work today, leave work and go to see this film.
SHAW: OK. Can I just say something now?
O'BRIEN: I'm going.
SHAW: In terms of a movie that made $18.5 million, Matthew McConaughey is kind of back, yes.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
SHAW: I think that...
O'BRIEN: He is so yummy. I'm sorry. We missed him.
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: "Sahara" looks like a movie that if it's on an airplane, I'm not buying the headphones.
O'BRIEN: Oh, really?
BOROWITZ: Yes. It does not...
TOURE: Exactly, exactly.
O'BRIEN: The whole Matthew McConaughey is kind of yummy does just do it for Andy, I guess.
SHAW: Right.
BOROWITZ: No. I loved him in "The Wedding Planner".
O'BRIEN: You guys, that's it. We are out of time. As always, I thank you.
Let's go back to Bill.
HEMMER: Good stuff. Thanks, guys.
In a moment here, top stories here.
Also, if you cannot get enough of that extra hour of sun, after Daylight Savings Time, some lawmakers, if they get their way, there is more where that came from. We'll explain in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.
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