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American Morning
Michael Jackson Trial; Florida Delivering Its New Message to Criminals
Aired April 27, 2005 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. The endless cycle of extreme demand and the high cost for energy. Today the president offers his answer, to build America out of the crisis.
In the Michael Jackson trial, his ex-wife expected on the stand as early as today.
And Florida delivering its new message to criminals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You attack people on the street, you run the risk of being shot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: The governor signs a bill on the use of deadly force. Personal protection or public menace? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING, with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody, and welcome.
Jurors are getting an up-close look into Michael Jackson's inner circle now, and they're about to get a look at his married life as well. More discussion this morning about what his ex-wife is going to say on the stand. Courtroom observer Anne Bremner is going to join us again this morning.
HEMMER: Oh, the guilty pleasure continues in Santa Maria.
Also this morning here, some guys who struck it rich digging in their backyard. We'll look what it takes today to find the buried treasure from the 19th century. Who might have been hiding so much money? These guys are going to keep on digging, too. Is there more in that backyard? We'll talk to them this morning.
O'BRIEN: They say it might be worth $100,000. Good for them.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Probably a guy with no faith in the Social Security system. Speaking of which, for the last two months, President Bush has been bouncing around the country trying to drum up support for the partial privatization of Social Security. It ain't going to happen. Democrats remain opposed. Now a lot of Republicans are expressing doubts. So once again, the government is managing to look a serious problem right in the eye, and at the end of the day do nothing. We're going to take a closer look at what maybe ought to be done in a few minutes.
HEMMER: All right, Jack, thanks for that.
Let's also start with the president today, talking about the nation's energy needs in a speech later this afternoon, all this against the backdrop of soaring gas prices and the approach of the busy summer driving season. Also, some new polling numbers shows the president's energy policies are not playing that well this with the American public.
To the White House and Elaine Quijano this morning. What are the new plans to be expected here today, Elaine? Good morning there.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill.
Well, senior administration officials say that the president's remarks will focus largely on the role technology can play in helping to meet America's energy needs. Now the president is going to outline, as you mentioned, a number of proposals. First, the president will talk about a plan to help speed up the rate, essentially, at which new nuclear power plants are built in the United States. Officials say that the last one came online in the U.S. in the early 1990s.
Secondly, the president will also propose building new oil refineries on closed military sites. Now, you'll recall that it was just a couple days ago that President Bush came out of a meeting with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah without promises, without securing promises that Saudi Arabia would increase short-term oil production, perhaps provide some relief from high prices at the pumps. Well, after that meeting, the Saudis themselves, in fact, raised concerns about America's limited refinery capacity.
And today the president is expected to call on federal agencies to explore with state and local communities some ways to get new refinery expansion in the United States. Other initiatives, the president is expected to discuss ways to increase the nation's supply of natural gas and reduce prices. The president also would like to expand his tax-credit proposal in order to include vehicles that use this new clean diesel technology. And he's also expected to touch on the idea of expanding international cooperation in order to promote greater use of cleaner technologies.
Now all of this coming at a time when the president is finding his overall approval rating hovering at just below 50 percent, and specifically, with regard to energy, a look at a new "Washington Post"/ABC News poll finds when it comes to the issue of energy, 54 percent of Americans disapprove of the way the president is handling energy policy, with 35 percent saying they approve.
In terms of these initiatives and any short-term relief, the White House continues to say that these high energy prices have been a problem that have been years in the making, and they say undoing it will take some time as well. By the way, Bill, the president set to deliver those remarks this afternoon at a conference of the Small Business Administration -- Bill.
HEMMER: Specifically, these numbers probably reflect the price of a gallon for people all across the country. Will there be anything today specifically that addresses that in the near term?
QUIJANO: No magic wand can be waved. President Bush has said himself, essentially, that when it comes to these short-term outlooks, it's very difficult. The White House is looking at things long term. Again, their line is that this is not something that can be fixed overnight, but the president will likely continue to call on Congress to pass his stalled energy bill, and also look at these initiatives as a way to help solve the problem down the road, but unlikely to hear anything in the short term -- Bill.
HEMMER: We'll be watching and listening from here. Thanks, Elaine Quijano at the White House -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, it is billed as the prosecution's big finish. Debbie Rowe, Michael Jackson's ex-wife and mother of his two oldest children, set to take the stand in just a few hours to testify against the pop star in his child-molestation trial.
CNN's Ted Rowlands reports from Santa Maria, California.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Debbie Rowe, Michael Jackson's ex-wife, is expected on the stand this morning. What she says could make or break the conspiracy portion of the prosecution's case against Jackson. Rowe is expected to say that Jackson himself is in the middle of a deal to get her to participate in a pro-Michael Jackson video.
CRAIG SMITH, LEGAL ANALYST: Given what they're left with, Debbie Rowe is probably their strongest way to finish up. She brings with her the aura that she's an insider and has information to tell about what really went on with Michael Jackson and what it's like to live there.
ROWLANDS: But Rowe may be unable or unwilling to say too much about Jackson. She's currently involved in a custody battle with him, and Judge Rodney Melville has indicated that he plans to restrict her testimony.
ANDREW COHEN, LEGAL ANALYST: And I think she's going to given instant credibility because of who she is, her relationship with Jackson and what she may know. And the unanswered question is, how much does she get to say before Thomas Mesereau and the judge cut her off?
ROWLANDS: In court yesterday, a travel consultant said she was told by a Jackson associate to arrange a one-way trip for the accuser's family to Brazil. A former Jackson photographer then took the stand and said he overheard a telephone conversation about, quote, "getting the family out of the country."
Prosecutors hope both witnesses will help bolster the claim that Jackson and his associates planned to force the accuser's family to Brazil. The same travel consultant has been questioned by the FBI about her role in secretly videotaping Jackson on a private flight that she organized.
(on camera): The photographer, Hamid Moslehi, will be on the stand when court resumes. Debbie Rowe is expected to be next. Prosecutors say they will be finished presenting evidence in their case by the end of the week.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Santa Maria, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Debbie Rowe, now a witness for the prosecution. Her testimony, though, likely to focus on what's described as a highly scripted interview in which Rowe defended her ex-husband.
Joining us from Seattle, Washington, criminal defense attorney Anne Bremner.
Anne, as always, nice to see you.
Let's get right to it.
ANNE BREMNER, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nice to see you.
O'BRIEN: We heard in Ted's piece that in fact the judge has said he's going to likely restrict the testimony coming from Debbie Rowe. First of all, is she necessarily a terrific witness for the prosecution?
BREMNER: You know, I don't know. There's going to be a little Rowe over row in this case, or a row, as the British would say. She's going to be a mixed bag, I think, because she's, in a way, locked and loaded with her finger on the trigger with the gun pointed at Michael Jackson's head, because if he is convicted, then by default, she's going to have custody of those children and win her case. So that of course is something the defense is going to be bring out.
For the prosecution, though, she's somebody that's looked into the private world of Michael Jackson for those jurors, and also help with this whole idea everyone's been scripted and controlled by Michael Jackson, not just by his coconspirators, but she can tie in Michael Jackson.
O'BRIEN: I mean, everybody talked about the testimony of the accuser's mother as being a little on the nutty side. But if you have someone like Debbie Rowe come in and say, I was pressured into this videotape, too, are there moments where the mother's testimony actually -- the travel agent said, you know, she was working on tickets to Brazil. Does someone who came across as nutty to a lot of courtroom observers like yourself suddenly seem not so nutty? BREMNER: Exactly. You know, we talked before, there's a circus outside the courtroom, a circus inside, and a lot of people said a circus in this mother's head. But guess what, it's all corroborated. A lot of it is corroborated. And it's all about corroboration, corroboration, corroboration. You know, there was a one-way ticket for that family to Brazil. And we have surveillance tapes, audio tapes, and then Debbie Rowe saying, this happened to me, too. so this is very important testimony for the prosecution.
O'BRIEN: At the same time, Debbie Rowe, like everybody else apparently in the trial, has a ton of baggage. Do we know exactly how much the judge is going to limit -- frankly, what people want to hear is talking about her personal life with Michael Jackson, less about the videotape, I think it's fair to say, from people who are kind just kind of watching from the outside.
BREMNER: Right.
O'BRIEN: Do we know for certain that she's not going to talk about those things because of the judge's restrictions?
BREMNER: You know, what the judge said, Soledad, is that he's going to see how we go. He's going to limit as they go along. And so there could be a whole lot of different areas that are gotten into, and including this what did Michael Jackson do on a daily basis? Was he around boys? I think there's some allegations in the custody battle that we may hear here about how he may be unfit to parent these children. And so -- and also, the question that's been raised is, was she a surrogate, or did they have children the old-fashioned way?
O'BRIEN: What did you think of her as the final witness, going out with a bang no matter what, strong or...
BREMNER: I don't know.
O'BRIEN: And I never hear you hedge. You never hedge.
BREMNER: I know, but...
O'BRIEN: You're like, uh. Come on.
BREMNER: This one, you know, I see her as somebody that could yet another unguided missile. And I think the state needs to start -- you know, they needed to start strong, they didn't. They need to end strong, and I don't know if this is the way to end the case. The strongest part of the case was that pattern evidence.
O'BRIEN: You know you've used the words "unguided missile" for almost every single witness they've had.
BREMNER: I'm sorry.
O'BRIEN: That's all right. That's all right.
BREMNER: Off they go.
O'BRIEN: It's been that kind of case. Attorney Anne Bremner in Seattle for us this morning.
Anne, nice to see you as always. Thanks -- Bill.
BREMNER: Nice to see you. Thanks.
HEMMER: From Arizona, baby makes five. A surrogate mother in Phoenix doing well after giving birth to quintuplets. Teresa Anderson delivered the five boys on Tuesday. The parents, Luisa Gonzalez and Enrique Moreno, say they are very thankful.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUISA GONZALEZ, MOTHER: When I see them, my first baby, I was start crying. I've been waiting for this moment for long, long time.
ENRIQUE MORENO, FATHER: I can't describe how I feel when I see the first baby coming out of there. It's amazing. We're very thankful, everybody, and God first.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Here's the update we have today. One of the babies has a heart defect. It will require surgery. But the other four are said to be doing A-OK. We'll talk to the doctor who delivered the babies in our next hour.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Well, some police in suburban Washington can now add buffalo herding skills to their resumes after having corralled nine bison that escaped from a nearby farm. Ouch! That poor guy got stomped on a little. It wasn't easy, as you can see. Some creative officers, though, got the idea to use lounge chairs. It's not really clear how the buffalo escaped. Several major roadways, including a section of the Baltimore beltway, had to be shutdown because of that. All the buffalo were eventually corralled and they returned to the farm.
HEMMER: How about these guys hopping the net.
O'BRIEN: What are they thinking about? Look at this. I mean, you could easily get gored.
HEMMER: Yes, I have to figure one of those guys spent a summer in Wyoming, huh, earlier in life, on the ranch.
O'BRIEN: I wouldn't do that.
HEMMER: Chalk one up for creativity, too.
X marking the spot in a man's backyard. Two friends find buried treasure worth a whole lot of loot. The mystery is how it got there. We'll talk about it.
O'BRIEN: Also, we're talking about the new law that lets people shoot first, ask questions later. It's supposed to stop crime, but will it let somebody get away with murder?
HEMMER: Also, a follow-up. A convicted killer and the woman who vanished with him 11 years ago. Did the FBI know she was alive the entire time and keep it a secret? That's ahead this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Governor Jeb Bush has signed Florida's so-called "Shoot First, Ask Questions Later" gun bill. That measure allows Florida gun owners to use deadly force if they fear their own lives. Supporters say that law will help deter crime in the Sunshine State, but others say it allows police to get away with murder.
Here's John Zarrella this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A year and a half ago, Greg Drewes lost his only son.
JOHN DREWES, VICTIM'S FATHER: That's him, that's Mark. That's about three weeks before it happened.
ZARRELLA: The man who shot and killed Mark Drewes said he was sorry.
JAY LEWIS, DEFENDANT: I want to apologize to the Drewes family for their loss and for the mistake I made that night. And every day I think about your son.
ZARRELLA: The night he died, Mark Drewes and some friends were playing door-knocking pranks. Jay Levens told police he was scared. He had heard sounds outside his door, thought it was a burglar. When he opened the door, Levens said he thought Drewes was armed and turning towards him. He shot Drewes in the back. Levens pleaded guilty to manslaughter. If the incident happened today there might have been no punishment for the man who shot Greg Drewes's son.
DREWES: It's a bad joke. It's an unbelievable, bad joke.
ZARRELLA: Under a new Florida law, the state attorney who handled the case says he might not have been able to file criminal charges.
BARRY KRISCHER, PALM BEACH CO. STATE ATTORNEY: It was my belief that it was as reasonable for him to have merely shut the door, rather than pull the trigger. Under this law, he has no obligation to shut the door. Under this law, he has a right to stand there and shoot.
ZARRELLA: The legislation, signed into law by Governor Jeb Bush, says any person can stand their ground, meet force with force, if he or she believes it's necessary to prevent death or bodily harm. There is no longer a duty to retreat, whether in your house, your car or on the street. Common sense, says the governor. GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: When there's a life-threatening situation, to have to retreat and put yourself in a very precarious position defies common sense.
ZARRELLA: The Florida legislature overwhelmingly supported the bill, which was backed by the National Rifle Association. It's the kind of law the NRA says will reduce crime rates.
MARION HAMMER, NRA ACTIVIST: The law is constructed to give law- abiding people the right to protect themselves when they are attacked. I think the message to criminals is going to be -- you break into a home, you run the risk of being shot. You attack people on the street, you run the risk of being shot.
ZARRELLA: Greg Drewes fears some people will simply take advantage of it.
DREWES: You shoot somebody in anger, what are you going to say? I did it -- I made a mistake. I wasn't in danger at all. Take me away? They're all going to lie. They're all going to say, I did it protecting myself. I was in definite fear of my life.
ZARRELLA: Some states already have similar measures. Critics say the laws give people the opportunity to use deadly force even when it isn't necessary. Supporters say law-abiding people can now protect themselves without fear of prosecution.
John Zarrella, CNN, Boca Raton, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: And the new Florida gun law takes effect on the first of October -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, Bill, coming up this morning, we'll tell you the story of two friends who are doing a little yardwork. Well, turns out they hit paydirt. Now they're $100,000 richer. We'll tell you what they found, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. The president, who we mentioned a few moments ago, focusing today on energy and gas prices. And Andy Serwer is focusing on it as well. First check, "Minding Your Business."
Morning.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning.
The president will announce a new plan this afternoon that he hopes will alleviate some of the nation's energy problems. There are a lot of components to this plan. One very interesting part will be a proposal to build new oil refineries on the nation's military bases. We need new oil refineries in this country. In 1980, there were 300 oil refineries. Today, there are 149. A lot of them have been closed down for environmental reasons. We know we need them, but no one wants them in their town, and there's no reason to believe that that's not going to change anytime soon. They're very dangerous. You may remember just a couple months ago in Texas City, Texas a giant explosion at a BP refinery killed 15. Military -- but there's pictures of that.
And the military bases, a lot of them are unused and vacant, and so this is a proposal to put A and B together. Another point will be to expand the nation's nuclear power plant facilities. In 1986, there were 101 nuclear power plants in the United States. Today, there are 104. Barely any growth at all. They're all operating at 100 percent capacity. Same with oil refineries. So you know, this is one of these things, we know we need them, but where are we going to put them? Where are we going to put them?
HEMMER: Sure. The last one was built when? What year?
SERWER: The last oil refinery was built in 1976.
HEMMER: Wow.
CAFFERTY: Nobody wants to build them, because they'll lose money off of them.
HEMMER: They're cost a billion dollars to build.
CAFFERTY: Yes, even at $60 a barrel, nobody is going to invest the money necessary to build a refinery because it's a loss leader.
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: As the Pentagon continues to revamp the military in this country, too, and there's a good chance right now that more base closings could happen this year. The announcements will come, and this is a perfect place to go.
SERWER: It's government property, so you know, that might make it a lot easier to put them up there. But you're right about the economics problems, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Yes, nobody is going to build these unless they can make a profit, unless the government builds them.
SERWER: That's right, the government may get in the business of it.
CAFFERTY: There you go.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about Social Security.
CAFFERTY: Well, let's do, since I'm getting close.
President Bush's two-month odyssey aimed at convincing the country to restructure Social Security is coming to an end mercifully, and so apparently is any hope of him succeeding. Tuesday's Senate Finance Committee Meeting on the president's plan made it very clear that privatization is going nowhere. Democrats continue to be united in opposition. Republican support is now faltering as well. And with congressional elections 17 months away, don't hold your breath waiting for any signs of political courage on the issue of Social Security.
Here's the question, since the government continues to do nothing, what would you do about Social Security? It's your retirement plan. Fix it.
SERWER: There's a lot of question about whether it's actually a crisis or not, you know, how serious the problem is.
O'BRIEN: Well, the money is going to run out. I mean, there's some debate, I think, over the actual debate, but there's no question that there's a big old problem looming at least on the horizon. But I wonder what percentage of your responses are going to be serious with some good ideas, and what percentage are going to be the ones you call your people.
SERWER: Yes.
HEMMER: Maybe we should ask A-Rod, because apparently he's hot right now. Yankees last night, on fire. Three home runs, ten RBIs, a grand slam. They beat the Angels 12-4 the final last night. This is all the talk today...
SERWER: He doesn't have to worry about his retirement, by the way.
HEMMER: No, he does not, and I'll tell you what...
SERWER: No, he's set for life.
HEMMER: Yankee fans are getting their $180 million worth as of last evening.
O'BRIEN: So that little kid was right. Did he go to the game? Remember the kid said he was going to be the good luck charm.
SERWER: Of course, yes, a couple days later.
O'BRIEN: Yes, exactly. It's a very slow good luck charm.
(CROSSTALK)
SERWER: It works.
O'BRIEN: Thanks, Jack.
Well, there is much more AMERICAN MORNING right after this short break.
Ahead, on "90-Second Pop," Brad and Angelina's romp on the beach. One magazine pays big bucks for the pictures. But were they staged?
Plus, why Fox is hopping mad. We've got the scoop on the "American Idol" expose, later on AMERICAN MORNING.'
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired April 27, 2005 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. The endless cycle of extreme demand and the high cost for energy. Today the president offers his answer, to build America out of the crisis.
In the Michael Jackson trial, his ex-wife expected on the stand as early as today.
And Florida delivering its new message to criminals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You attack people on the street, you run the risk of being shot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: The governor signs a bill on the use of deadly force. Personal protection or public menace? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING, with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody, and welcome.
Jurors are getting an up-close look into Michael Jackson's inner circle now, and they're about to get a look at his married life as well. More discussion this morning about what his ex-wife is going to say on the stand. Courtroom observer Anne Bremner is going to join us again this morning.
HEMMER: Oh, the guilty pleasure continues in Santa Maria.
Also this morning here, some guys who struck it rich digging in their backyard. We'll look what it takes today to find the buried treasure from the 19th century. Who might have been hiding so much money? These guys are going to keep on digging, too. Is there more in that backyard? We'll talk to them this morning.
O'BRIEN: They say it might be worth $100,000. Good for them.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Probably a guy with no faith in the Social Security system. Speaking of which, for the last two months, President Bush has been bouncing around the country trying to drum up support for the partial privatization of Social Security. It ain't going to happen. Democrats remain opposed. Now a lot of Republicans are expressing doubts. So once again, the government is managing to look a serious problem right in the eye, and at the end of the day do nothing. We're going to take a closer look at what maybe ought to be done in a few minutes.
HEMMER: All right, Jack, thanks for that.
Let's also start with the president today, talking about the nation's energy needs in a speech later this afternoon, all this against the backdrop of soaring gas prices and the approach of the busy summer driving season. Also, some new polling numbers shows the president's energy policies are not playing that well this with the American public.
To the White House and Elaine Quijano this morning. What are the new plans to be expected here today, Elaine? Good morning there.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill.
Well, senior administration officials say that the president's remarks will focus largely on the role technology can play in helping to meet America's energy needs. Now the president is going to outline, as you mentioned, a number of proposals. First, the president will talk about a plan to help speed up the rate, essentially, at which new nuclear power plants are built in the United States. Officials say that the last one came online in the U.S. in the early 1990s.
Secondly, the president will also propose building new oil refineries on closed military sites. Now, you'll recall that it was just a couple days ago that President Bush came out of a meeting with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah without promises, without securing promises that Saudi Arabia would increase short-term oil production, perhaps provide some relief from high prices at the pumps. Well, after that meeting, the Saudis themselves, in fact, raised concerns about America's limited refinery capacity.
And today the president is expected to call on federal agencies to explore with state and local communities some ways to get new refinery expansion in the United States. Other initiatives, the president is expected to discuss ways to increase the nation's supply of natural gas and reduce prices. The president also would like to expand his tax-credit proposal in order to include vehicles that use this new clean diesel technology. And he's also expected to touch on the idea of expanding international cooperation in order to promote greater use of cleaner technologies.
Now all of this coming at a time when the president is finding his overall approval rating hovering at just below 50 percent, and specifically, with regard to energy, a look at a new "Washington Post"/ABC News poll finds when it comes to the issue of energy, 54 percent of Americans disapprove of the way the president is handling energy policy, with 35 percent saying they approve.
In terms of these initiatives and any short-term relief, the White House continues to say that these high energy prices have been a problem that have been years in the making, and they say undoing it will take some time as well. By the way, Bill, the president set to deliver those remarks this afternoon at a conference of the Small Business Administration -- Bill.
HEMMER: Specifically, these numbers probably reflect the price of a gallon for people all across the country. Will there be anything today specifically that addresses that in the near term?
QUIJANO: No magic wand can be waved. President Bush has said himself, essentially, that when it comes to these short-term outlooks, it's very difficult. The White House is looking at things long term. Again, their line is that this is not something that can be fixed overnight, but the president will likely continue to call on Congress to pass his stalled energy bill, and also look at these initiatives as a way to help solve the problem down the road, but unlikely to hear anything in the short term -- Bill.
HEMMER: We'll be watching and listening from here. Thanks, Elaine Quijano at the White House -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, it is billed as the prosecution's big finish. Debbie Rowe, Michael Jackson's ex-wife and mother of his two oldest children, set to take the stand in just a few hours to testify against the pop star in his child-molestation trial.
CNN's Ted Rowlands reports from Santa Maria, California.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Debbie Rowe, Michael Jackson's ex-wife, is expected on the stand this morning. What she says could make or break the conspiracy portion of the prosecution's case against Jackson. Rowe is expected to say that Jackson himself is in the middle of a deal to get her to participate in a pro-Michael Jackson video.
CRAIG SMITH, LEGAL ANALYST: Given what they're left with, Debbie Rowe is probably their strongest way to finish up. She brings with her the aura that she's an insider and has information to tell about what really went on with Michael Jackson and what it's like to live there.
ROWLANDS: But Rowe may be unable or unwilling to say too much about Jackson. She's currently involved in a custody battle with him, and Judge Rodney Melville has indicated that he plans to restrict her testimony.
ANDREW COHEN, LEGAL ANALYST: And I think she's going to given instant credibility because of who she is, her relationship with Jackson and what she may know. And the unanswered question is, how much does she get to say before Thomas Mesereau and the judge cut her off?
ROWLANDS: In court yesterday, a travel consultant said she was told by a Jackson associate to arrange a one-way trip for the accuser's family to Brazil. A former Jackson photographer then took the stand and said he overheard a telephone conversation about, quote, "getting the family out of the country."
Prosecutors hope both witnesses will help bolster the claim that Jackson and his associates planned to force the accuser's family to Brazil. The same travel consultant has been questioned by the FBI about her role in secretly videotaping Jackson on a private flight that she organized.
(on camera): The photographer, Hamid Moslehi, will be on the stand when court resumes. Debbie Rowe is expected to be next. Prosecutors say they will be finished presenting evidence in their case by the end of the week.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Santa Maria, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Debbie Rowe, now a witness for the prosecution. Her testimony, though, likely to focus on what's described as a highly scripted interview in which Rowe defended her ex-husband.
Joining us from Seattle, Washington, criminal defense attorney Anne Bremner.
Anne, as always, nice to see you.
Let's get right to it.
ANNE BREMNER, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nice to see you.
O'BRIEN: We heard in Ted's piece that in fact the judge has said he's going to likely restrict the testimony coming from Debbie Rowe. First of all, is she necessarily a terrific witness for the prosecution?
BREMNER: You know, I don't know. There's going to be a little Rowe over row in this case, or a row, as the British would say. She's going to be a mixed bag, I think, because she's, in a way, locked and loaded with her finger on the trigger with the gun pointed at Michael Jackson's head, because if he is convicted, then by default, she's going to have custody of those children and win her case. So that of course is something the defense is going to be bring out.
For the prosecution, though, she's somebody that's looked into the private world of Michael Jackson for those jurors, and also help with this whole idea everyone's been scripted and controlled by Michael Jackson, not just by his coconspirators, but she can tie in Michael Jackson.
O'BRIEN: I mean, everybody talked about the testimony of the accuser's mother as being a little on the nutty side. But if you have someone like Debbie Rowe come in and say, I was pressured into this videotape, too, are there moments where the mother's testimony actually -- the travel agent said, you know, she was working on tickets to Brazil. Does someone who came across as nutty to a lot of courtroom observers like yourself suddenly seem not so nutty? BREMNER: Exactly. You know, we talked before, there's a circus outside the courtroom, a circus inside, and a lot of people said a circus in this mother's head. But guess what, it's all corroborated. A lot of it is corroborated. And it's all about corroboration, corroboration, corroboration. You know, there was a one-way ticket for that family to Brazil. And we have surveillance tapes, audio tapes, and then Debbie Rowe saying, this happened to me, too. so this is very important testimony for the prosecution.
O'BRIEN: At the same time, Debbie Rowe, like everybody else apparently in the trial, has a ton of baggage. Do we know exactly how much the judge is going to limit -- frankly, what people want to hear is talking about her personal life with Michael Jackson, less about the videotape, I think it's fair to say, from people who are kind just kind of watching from the outside.
BREMNER: Right.
O'BRIEN: Do we know for certain that she's not going to talk about those things because of the judge's restrictions?
BREMNER: You know, what the judge said, Soledad, is that he's going to see how we go. He's going to limit as they go along. And so there could be a whole lot of different areas that are gotten into, and including this what did Michael Jackson do on a daily basis? Was he around boys? I think there's some allegations in the custody battle that we may hear here about how he may be unfit to parent these children. And so -- and also, the question that's been raised is, was she a surrogate, or did they have children the old-fashioned way?
O'BRIEN: What did you think of her as the final witness, going out with a bang no matter what, strong or...
BREMNER: I don't know.
O'BRIEN: And I never hear you hedge. You never hedge.
BREMNER: I know, but...
O'BRIEN: You're like, uh. Come on.
BREMNER: This one, you know, I see her as somebody that could yet another unguided missile. And I think the state needs to start -- you know, they needed to start strong, they didn't. They need to end strong, and I don't know if this is the way to end the case. The strongest part of the case was that pattern evidence.
O'BRIEN: You know you've used the words "unguided missile" for almost every single witness they've had.
BREMNER: I'm sorry.
O'BRIEN: That's all right. That's all right.
BREMNER: Off they go.
O'BRIEN: It's been that kind of case. Attorney Anne Bremner in Seattle for us this morning.
Anne, nice to see you as always. Thanks -- Bill.
BREMNER: Nice to see you. Thanks.
HEMMER: From Arizona, baby makes five. A surrogate mother in Phoenix doing well after giving birth to quintuplets. Teresa Anderson delivered the five boys on Tuesday. The parents, Luisa Gonzalez and Enrique Moreno, say they are very thankful.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUISA GONZALEZ, MOTHER: When I see them, my first baby, I was start crying. I've been waiting for this moment for long, long time.
ENRIQUE MORENO, FATHER: I can't describe how I feel when I see the first baby coming out of there. It's amazing. We're very thankful, everybody, and God first.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Here's the update we have today. One of the babies has a heart defect. It will require surgery. But the other four are said to be doing A-OK. We'll talk to the doctor who delivered the babies in our next hour.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Well, some police in suburban Washington can now add buffalo herding skills to their resumes after having corralled nine bison that escaped from a nearby farm. Ouch! That poor guy got stomped on a little. It wasn't easy, as you can see. Some creative officers, though, got the idea to use lounge chairs. It's not really clear how the buffalo escaped. Several major roadways, including a section of the Baltimore beltway, had to be shutdown because of that. All the buffalo were eventually corralled and they returned to the farm.
HEMMER: How about these guys hopping the net.
O'BRIEN: What are they thinking about? Look at this. I mean, you could easily get gored.
HEMMER: Yes, I have to figure one of those guys spent a summer in Wyoming, huh, earlier in life, on the ranch.
O'BRIEN: I wouldn't do that.
HEMMER: Chalk one up for creativity, too.
X marking the spot in a man's backyard. Two friends find buried treasure worth a whole lot of loot. The mystery is how it got there. We'll talk about it.
O'BRIEN: Also, we're talking about the new law that lets people shoot first, ask questions later. It's supposed to stop crime, but will it let somebody get away with murder?
HEMMER: Also, a follow-up. A convicted killer and the woman who vanished with him 11 years ago. Did the FBI know she was alive the entire time and keep it a secret? That's ahead this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Governor Jeb Bush has signed Florida's so-called "Shoot First, Ask Questions Later" gun bill. That measure allows Florida gun owners to use deadly force if they fear their own lives. Supporters say that law will help deter crime in the Sunshine State, but others say it allows police to get away with murder.
Here's John Zarrella this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A year and a half ago, Greg Drewes lost his only son.
JOHN DREWES, VICTIM'S FATHER: That's him, that's Mark. That's about three weeks before it happened.
ZARRELLA: The man who shot and killed Mark Drewes said he was sorry.
JAY LEWIS, DEFENDANT: I want to apologize to the Drewes family for their loss and for the mistake I made that night. And every day I think about your son.
ZARRELLA: The night he died, Mark Drewes and some friends were playing door-knocking pranks. Jay Levens told police he was scared. He had heard sounds outside his door, thought it was a burglar. When he opened the door, Levens said he thought Drewes was armed and turning towards him. He shot Drewes in the back. Levens pleaded guilty to manslaughter. If the incident happened today there might have been no punishment for the man who shot Greg Drewes's son.
DREWES: It's a bad joke. It's an unbelievable, bad joke.
ZARRELLA: Under a new Florida law, the state attorney who handled the case says he might not have been able to file criminal charges.
BARRY KRISCHER, PALM BEACH CO. STATE ATTORNEY: It was my belief that it was as reasonable for him to have merely shut the door, rather than pull the trigger. Under this law, he has no obligation to shut the door. Under this law, he has a right to stand there and shoot.
ZARRELLA: The legislation, signed into law by Governor Jeb Bush, says any person can stand their ground, meet force with force, if he or she believes it's necessary to prevent death or bodily harm. There is no longer a duty to retreat, whether in your house, your car or on the street. Common sense, says the governor. GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: When there's a life-threatening situation, to have to retreat and put yourself in a very precarious position defies common sense.
ZARRELLA: The Florida legislature overwhelmingly supported the bill, which was backed by the National Rifle Association. It's the kind of law the NRA says will reduce crime rates.
MARION HAMMER, NRA ACTIVIST: The law is constructed to give law- abiding people the right to protect themselves when they are attacked. I think the message to criminals is going to be -- you break into a home, you run the risk of being shot. You attack people on the street, you run the risk of being shot.
ZARRELLA: Greg Drewes fears some people will simply take advantage of it.
DREWES: You shoot somebody in anger, what are you going to say? I did it -- I made a mistake. I wasn't in danger at all. Take me away? They're all going to lie. They're all going to say, I did it protecting myself. I was in definite fear of my life.
ZARRELLA: Some states already have similar measures. Critics say the laws give people the opportunity to use deadly force even when it isn't necessary. Supporters say law-abiding people can now protect themselves without fear of prosecution.
John Zarrella, CNN, Boca Raton, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: And the new Florida gun law takes effect on the first of October -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, Bill, coming up this morning, we'll tell you the story of two friends who are doing a little yardwork. Well, turns out they hit paydirt. Now they're $100,000 richer. We'll tell you what they found, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. The president, who we mentioned a few moments ago, focusing today on energy and gas prices. And Andy Serwer is focusing on it as well. First check, "Minding Your Business."
Morning.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning.
The president will announce a new plan this afternoon that he hopes will alleviate some of the nation's energy problems. There are a lot of components to this plan. One very interesting part will be a proposal to build new oil refineries on the nation's military bases. We need new oil refineries in this country. In 1980, there were 300 oil refineries. Today, there are 149. A lot of them have been closed down for environmental reasons. We know we need them, but no one wants them in their town, and there's no reason to believe that that's not going to change anytime soon. They're very dangerous. You may remember just a couple months ago in Texas City, Texas a giant explosion at a BP refinery killed 15. Military -- but there's pictures of that.
And the military bases, a lot of them are unused and vacant, and so this is a proposal to put A and B together. Another point will be to expand the nation's nuclear power plant facilities. In 1986, there were 101 nuclear power plants in the United States. Today, there are 104. Barely any growth at all. They're all operating at 100 percent capacity. Same with oil refineries. So you know, this is one of these things, we know we need them, but where are we going to put them? Where are we going to put them?
HEMMER: Sure. The last one was built when? What year?
SERWER: The last oil refinery was built in 1976.
HEMMER: Wow.
CAFFERTY: Nobody wants to build them, because they'll lose money off of them.
HEMMER: They're cost a billion dollars to build.
CAFFERTY: Yes, even at $60 a barrel, nobody is going to invest the money necessary to build a refinery because it's a loss leader.
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: As the Pentagon continues to revamp the military in this country, too, and there's a good chance right now that more base closings could happen this year. The announcements will come, and this is a perfect place to go.
SERWER: It's government property, so you know, that might make it a lot easier to put them up there. But you're right about the economics problems, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Yes, nobody is going to build these unless they can make a profit, unless the government builds them.
SERWER: That's right, the government may get in the business of it.
CAFFERTY: There you go.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about Social Security.
CAFFERTY: Well, let's do, since I'm getting close.
President Bush's two-month odyssey aimed at convincing the country to restructure Social Security is coming to an end mercifully, and so apparently is any hope of him succeeding. Tuesday's Senate Finance Committee Meeting on the president's plan made it very clear that privatization is going nowhere. Democrats continue to be united in opposition. Republican support is now faltering as well. And with congressional elections 17 months away, don't hold your breath waiting for any signs of political courage on the issue of Social Security.
Here's the question, since the government continues to do nothing, what would you do about Social Security? It's your retirement plan. Fix it.
SERWER: There's a lot of question about whether it's actually a crisis or not, you know, how serious the problem is.
O'BRIEN: Well, the money is going to run out. I mean, there's some debate, I think, over the actual debate, but there's no question that there's a big old problem looming at least on the horizon. But I wonder what percentage of your responses are going to be serious with some good ideas, and what percentage are going to be the ones you call your people.
SERWER: Yes.
HEMMER: Maybe we should ask A-Rod, because apparently he's hot right now. Yankees last night, on fire. Three home runs, ten RBIs, a grand slam. They beat the Angels 12-4 the final last night. This is all the talk today...
SERWER: He doesn't have to worry about his retirement, by the way.
HEMMER: No, he does not, and I'll tell you what...
SERWER: No, he's set for life.
HEMMER: Yankee fans are getting their $180 million worth as of last evening.
O'BRIEN: So that little kid was right. Did he go to the game? Remember the kid said he was going to be the good luck charm.
SERWER: Of course, yes, a couple days later.
O'BRIEN: Yes, exactly. It's a very slow good luck charm.
(CROSSTALK)
SERWER: It works.
O'BRIEN: Thanks, Jack.
Well, there is much more AMERICAN MORNING right after this short break.
Ahead, on "90-Second Pop," Brad and Angelina's romp on the beach. One magazine pays big bucks for the pictures. But were they staged?
Plus, why Fox is hopping mad. We've got the scoop on the "American Idol" expose, later on AMERICAN MORNING.'
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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