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American Morning
Motive for Murder?; '90-Second Pop'
Aired May 11, 2005 - 07:31 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, everybody. Welcome back. It's about half past the hour, 7:30 here in New York.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up this morning, we have more on these two little girls who were murdered in Zion, Illinois. The father of one of them is now accused in the crimes. He's expected to appear in court this morning. The state prosecutor for the case explains much more in just a moment.
HEMMER: And what a shot for that community.
Back to the headlines, though. Here's Kelly Wallace working for Carol Costello.
Welcome back and good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Good to be here. Thanks, Bill. And good morning, everyone.
Here are some of those other stories "Now in the News."
More than 50 people have been killed and dozens more wounded in a series of attacks in Iraq. In Tikrit, a car bomb going off at a busy intersection where a crowd of Iraqi workers were gathering. Within hours, insurgents set off attacks in five other locations, including a car bombing outside a police station in southern Baghdad. No word on any U.S. casualties.
North Korea is reportedly taking steps to boost its nuclear capabilities. Within the last two hours, the North Korean news agency reported it's finished removing thousands of spent fuel rods from a reactor at its main nuclear complex. Removing those rods would allow for reprocessing to make plutonium. The announcement coming just days after the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency said North Korea could have material for as many as six nuclear weapons.
In California, actor Macaulay Culkin could testify as early as today in the Michael Jackson trial. Culkin is expected to refute claims anything inappropriate happened between him and the entertainer. Meanwhile, one of the defense witnesses admits he lied to investigators when he told them he did not know children were staying overnight in Jackson's bedroom.
The so-called runaway bride, Jennifer Wilbanks, is now in treatment to address -- quote -- "physical and mental issues." According to a statement released by a PR firm for her church, Wilbanks voluntarily checked into an in-patient treatment program. Officials in Duluth, Georgia, say they will decide by early next week whether to charge Wilbanks for lying to authorities.
And a Swiss resort is going to extra measures to protect its ski runs. The group has wrapped part of a glacier in cloth to prevent it from melting. The sheet is just a fraction of an inch thick, but made of synthetic fibers to keep out ultraviolet rays. Environmental groups remain skeptical. They say that sheet won't solve the problem of global warming. Interesting stuff there.
It's time now to get a check of the weather.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: In Illinois now, a father accused of killing his daughter and her best friend is expected in court today. Jerry Hobbs was arrested on Tuesday, just one day after he led police to the bodies of his 8-year-old daughter, Laura Hobbs, and 9-year-old Krystal Tobias.
Michael Waller is the Lake County state's attorney.
Mr. Waller, good morning. Thanks for talking with us.
When did you first suspect Laura Hobbs' father was, in fact, the suspect here?
MICHAEL WALLER, LAKE COUNTY STATE'S ATTORNEY: Well, he became a suspect about a day into the investigation. He was questioned originally as a family member, which is standard operating procedure in a homicide investigation. And then, some of his answers piqued the interest of the investigators, and he became a suspect sometime yesterday.
O'BRIEN: Can you be more specific when you say piqued the interest of investigators, what do you mean?
WALLER: Well, what's standard in a homicide investigation is that family members are interviewed to find out associates and where the victim was and details of that nature. And Hobbs' reactions were atypical of a father whose daughter had just been murdered, and that piqued their interest. And then, some of his answers really didn't add up. And that led them to further questioning and ultimately to evidence that resulted in the charges.
O'BRIEN: He has a criminal background as well. What can you tell us about his background?
WALLER: Well, I don't know a lot about that at this point. We've focused in this case, I know that he was recently released from the Texas Department of Corrections, being released on a charge of aggravated assault in which he attacked family members with a chainsaw. Other than that, we don't have all of the details yet. We're -- or I should say I don't know them. Investigators have some of those details. I'm just not aware of them at this moment.
O'BRIEN: He was the one, who, along with Laura's grandfather, discovered the bodies of both of the girls on Monday morning. Do you think he acted alone?
WALLER: Yes, we believe he acted alone. It would be very unusual to have two people involved in a horrendous crime like this. Fortunately, there's very few people that would ever commit a crime like this, let alone getting two of them together at the same time.
O'BRIEN: You mentioned the horrible nature of the crime. Have you thought about a motive? I mean, what happened here?
WALLER: Well, in a horrendous, horrific crime like this -- and I've been in this business a long time -- I've never actually been able to articulate a motive. I think what you had is a person who is unlike the rest of us, and he can't control his rage. And something set him off, and it was resulting in one of the most brutal, vicious attacks on two little girls that I've ever seen.
O'BRIEN: Have you been able to determine was it some kind of a dispute with Laura's mother? Was it a dispute with the little girl and her friend?
WALLER: Well, there was a minor issue with the discipline of Laura, which, you know, having kids myself, I would say it's something that happens in families. And that -- the way that was resolved, apparently, didn't sit too well with Hobbs, and that was a factor in this. But, you know, as I said a moment ago, you can't ever really rationally account for behavior like this. It's so horrendous and, fortunately, so outside the realm of normal human activity.
O'BRIEN: That being said, do you now know the circumstances? Do you believe he followed the girls into the woods where they were riding a bike? Or do you think he lured them into the woods?
WALLER: No. They were having -- Monday was Mother's Day. And unlike the weather right now, it was a beautiful day. And kids were out, and they were riding their bikes. And he, you know, went looking for his daughter to bring her home, and he obviously had some other things on his mind. But, you know, they had no reason to be concerned or be fearful of him at that point. You know, he was the father of one girl, and the other girl was her best friend.
O'BRIEN: Michael Waller is Lake County state's attorney. Thanks for talking with us. And good luck in the rest of your investigation.
WALLER: OK, thank you.
O'BRIEN: The bond hearing for Jerry Hobbs is set for 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. And you want to stay tuned to CNN for the latest details on this case -- Bill.
HEMMER: A tough, tough story.
It's 21 minutes now before the hour. From North Carolina now, remember the story I talked about the other day? Apparently, there is a conclusion reached between this preacher who crossed the line between the church and politics. The Reverend Chan Chandler has resigned. Chandler reportedly forced out nine members of his congregation when they refused to support President Bush. Church members say Chandler endorsed President Bush from the pulpit and said that anyone who voted for John Kerry last November need to -- quote -- "repent or resign." The nine parishioners said they were told to leave during a church gathering just about a week ago.
Investors are getting the jitters after a major airline announcing it is in big trouble. Andy has that in "Minding Your Business."
And the Stones are rolling on again. Combined age is 242. Another tour this summer, and the 90-second poppers weigh in on that ahead this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Let's get right to Jack with the "Question of the Day."
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Here we go again. Merry Christmas to the taxpayers from your Uncle Sam and the courts. United Airlines got permission from a court to just walk away from its pension obligations yesterday, $3.2 billion worth. Guess who is going to pay it? The federal government, that would be us; 134,000 employees will get short-changed. They'll get reduced pensions.
And the ruling potentially sets a dangerous precedent. If United is allowed to walk away from its pension obligations, how long before all of the other airlines want to do the same thing? It's a way to save a lot of money, lay the obligation off on the government.
But what about other industries, like maybe the auto makers? The Federal Pension Agency, which guarantees these things, would soon be overwhelmed.
The question is this: Should United be allowed to default on its pension obligations? Surprisingly not a lot of you think this is a great idea.
Steve in North Carolina: "No corporation should be allowed to default on its pension plan. This is money that should have been put aside and not touched for any reason except to pay its rightful owners. This is not United's money. It belongs to the retired employees of United Airlines."
Arthur in New Jersey: "It's a tough question. If you don't allow United to default, then they'll likely go out of business and lay off all of their employees. Even if we do allow United to default, they'll probably go out of business anyway, then regroup and reemerge as a completely new airline offering a 401(k) plan to employees."
Bill in Minnesota writes: "Let's boycott United into bankruptcy to teach executives that pension commitments are as important as executive salary, benefits, and bonus commitments."
Elaine in New York writes: "'The Senate and House passed a bill to make the filing of bankruptcy by an average American more difficult, if possible at all. At the same time, the government has made it easier and more lucrative for corporations to file bankruptcy, negating their financial responsibilities."
And Sherwood writes from Florida: "Pension funds, like Social Security, are not the problem. It's all these old people we have to get rid of."
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Wow!
HEMMER: I bet Shirley is about 70 years old, what do you think?
SERWER: Twenty-six.
CAFFERTY: If we just wouldn't have the old people there would be no problem with pensions or Social Security.
HEMMER: That's it!
O'BRIEN: Executives at the company are who are sort of doing...
SERWER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: You know, it would solve a lot of problems.
CAFFERTY: Yes, don't give them any ideas.
SERWER: It's scary.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack. You're talking about United. Andy is talking about Delta. More trouble for Delta Airlines, huh, Andy? Good morning.
SERWER: Yes. Good morning. What a situation we have here. Delta, the nation's third-largest airline, warned yesterday that if conditions didn't improve, it would be filing bankruptcy soon.
Now, you may remember last fall, it warned it was going to file bankruptcy possibly. It got a reprieve in the form of additional financing.
Yesterday, the stock fell 10 percent. Now, let's see what's happened since last fall. In the first quarter, look at this. This is what we call a ski slope chart. This is Delta over the past -- of this decade, losing 90 percent of its value. You can see that. In the first quarter, Delta lost $1.1 billion.
HEMMER: That is all downhill.
SERWER: It sure is. And $884 million in fuel costs. That's 50 percent more than last year. And here, this ties directly into what Jack was saying. Delta says it will have to pay $3.1 billion in pension payments over the next three years. They say they may have to sell assets or cut costs. What do you think that means?
Let's talk about the markets a little bit yesterday.
HEMMER: Yes, a down day, huh?
SERWER: Yes, a lot of stuff happening. Delta, of course, was a highlight. Also, steel stocks were down. And also, rumors that hedge funds had suffered severe losses investing in GM. That pulled financial stocks down. So, you can see a lot of red ink there. This morning, though, there may be a little bit of a bounce-back after sort of a traumatic day.
HEMMER: That Delta chart looks like a giant slalom. All downhill.
SERWER: All downhill.
CAFFERTY: Thirty billion in losses total for the airlines since 2001.
SERWER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: That's a lot of money.
O'BRIEN: Yes, that's a lot of money.
SERWER: It sure is.
O'BRIEN: All right, Andy, thanks.
SERWER: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, the wedding they're talking about from Hollywood to Nashville. We'll put our 90-second spin on Renee Zellweger's marriage to country star Kenny Chesney. That's next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: It's time for another edition of the critically- acclaimed "90-Second Pop", critically acclaimed by us with our stars, Toure, pop culture correspondent for CNN. Karyn Bryant, co-host of "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." And Andy Borowitz from borowitzreport.com.
Good morning.
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: So, who knew that Renee Zellweger and Kenny Chesney were even dating? They got hitched in the Virgin Islands, a lovely ceremony.
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: After two weeks of dating. What could you possibly know in two weeks?
KARYN BRYANT, CNN CO-HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Here's the thing. Obviously Carolina Herrera knew, because she had to go in for a fitting for her dress not too long ago.
TOURE: The dress. BRYANT: They met at the benefit for the tsunami relief. And apparently, only a few weeks ago, he was even saying publicly that he was single, kind of hemming and hawing and hemming and hawing, but supposedly it's just been a quick two-week thing. And what do you know? She has a history of dating musicians certainly. So, she must know her type.
BOROWITZ: Jack White.
BRYANT: Jack Black -- I mean, Jack White. Jack White from the White Stripes.
BOROWITZ: White Stripes. White Stripes.
TOURE: When did she go from the brilliant Jack White to this country guy?
BOROWITZ: You know, it's easy to make fun of it. I've got to say, it was the most moving wedding I have ever attended. It just put the whole Madonna-Guy Richey thing to shame. It was wonderful.
O'BRIEN: A 15-minute ceremony.
BOROWITZ: Right.
O'BRIEN: He actually wrote a song.
BRYANT: Based on...
O'BRIEN: On the movie, her character. So, maybe he's had a crush on her for a really long time.
BRYANT: Well, he has said so, that he had thought that she was his favorite actress, you know, a long time ago. Her line, "You had me at hello" from "Jerry Maguire, he wrote a song, "You had me from hello."
O'BRIEN: Here it is.
BRYANT: They got married in St. John at his place. I mean, I think it's sweet.
BOROWITZ: She married him in spite of that song, which I think is really -- that's true love, I think.
BRYANT: I thought that was kind of nice.
TOURE: Prince couldn't pull Cindy Crawford with "Cindy C." I mean, it's a better song than this.
BOROWITZ: Right.
TOURE: Remember that?
O'BRIEN: Yes, sure, but I just think it's a nice thing. Let's move on. BOROWITZ: It is.
BRYANT: It's sweet.
O'BRIEN: Yes, I totally agree.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
O'BRIEN: "American Idol" final four.
TOURE: Yes. Unfortunately, once again, I watched American karaoke. And it seems like we have a tale of two shows.
O'BRIEN: Who are the four people, first?
TOURE: Vonzell and Bo are the quality members who are remaining. Carrie and Anthony need to go as soon as possible. They're adding nothing at this point. And Vonzell actually earned extra style points last night for her dad in the canary yellow suit. Yes! Score right there. Oh, sorry. Rabble rousing again. Bring it down a little bit.
O'BRIEN: How was Paula Abdul in the wake of her "SNL" appearance?
TOURE: Paula is fine. The whole thing so is yesterday. He says he had...
O'BRIEN: Ouch!
TOURE: Corey Clark or whatever said he has some extra evidence. Whatever, dude! Go away. You had your moment. It's over. Try to sing.
BOROWITZ: I've got to say, I disagree. To me, I watch that show, and all I am watching now is Paula. I'm not watching anything on stage. I actually want to vote on what is wrong with Paula. I think that would be a better show.
BRYANT: The audience had signs, you know, "We love you Paula."
BOROWITZ: I do, too.
BRYANT: They definitely sort of went over and above to sort of show their support for her. I think Vonzell faltered on her first song. She picked it up on her second song. Bo was pretty good. Yes, Anthony...
O'BRIEN: Who wins do you think?
TOURE: Vonzell.
BRYANT: No, no, no.
O'BRIEN: I said Carrie.
BRYANT: No, no. I think, you know what? Bo will probably win, but I think Carrie has a strong shot.
TOURE: Carrie, she's pathetic.
BRYANT: She doesn't move, but she...
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: You two can continue this debate off camera while we talk about the Rolling Stones.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
O'BRIEN: The combined age of the Rolling Stones is 242. I've got a list. Mick Jagger is 61. Keith Richards is also 61. Charlie Watts is 63. Ron Wood is the youngster at 57.
BOROWITZ: Combined, they're as old as Cher. It's amazing!
O'BRIEN: They're touring.
BOROWITZ: Yes, they're touring. And I've got to say, it's easy to take a shot at them. I'm going to this tour. They rock. They're old, but they rock. I think they're out of the tradition of like classic blues' musicians. They look -- I will say, they like human corpses now. It is like watching an episode of "CSI" or something when you watch them. But they sound as good as they've ever sounded. You've got to go see their concert.
BRYANT: It's a great band. It's a great band.
TOURE: I'm not paying $100 to see them do the same old songs again. And there's a new album coming out. I'm not paying $10 to hear that.
BOROWITZ: I'm going to score some free tickets from a friend in Canada. But they're awesome.
BRYANT: I'm going with you, Andy.
TOURE: But, I mean, in the '60s, if I told you the Beatles would last 10 years and the Stones would go on forever, you'd be like, you are insane!
BRYANT: No.
BOROWITZ: No.
BRYANT: No, no, no, I don't think so. I think I would have said, you know, the Stones are all about the groove, they're all about, like you said, the blues, the feeling.
BOROWITZ: Right.
BRYANT: That's going to last more than...
O'BRIEN: Toure, even I'm going to the Stones, and I don't even get out of the house.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
BRYANT: There you go.
BRYANT: It's nonsense! You don't even know who T.I. is. What does that mean?
O'BRIEN: I didn't say I was cool. I said I was going.
You guys, as always, I thank you.
And, of course, when Karyn Bryant isn't playing with us on "90- Second Pop," she is co-hosting "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" at 7:00 Eastern on Headline Prime. Two generations of "Star Trek" stars are live in a special week-long series about the end of the TV series "Enterprise." And also there is some behind the scenes footage of TV's "Amazing Race." Karyn has got all of that today.
Thank you very much. Nice to see you guys -- Bill.
HEMMER: Karyn is busy.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
HEMMER: Thanks.
CNN week continues on "Jeopardy!". All week in fact. And last week, it was Christiane's turn to give the clue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: CNN for 200.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take a look.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, I'm Christiane Amanpour of CNN. Millions of people have come here to Vatican City to this basilica to present their final respects to Pope John Paul II.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pam?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is St. Peter's?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: I think that was the easiest question all week. More later tonight. More CNN personalities throughout the week, in fact. It is our week to be on "Jeopardy!" as we celebrate our 25 years on the air here.
In a moment, sleepless in America. Millions of Americans wage a nightly battle with insomnia. We're "Paging Dr. Gupta" today for some relief ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired May 11, 2005 - 07:31 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, everybody. Welcome back. It's about half past the hour, 7:30 here in New York.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up this morning, we have more on these two little girls who were murdered in Zion, Illinois. The father of one of them is now accused in the crimes. He's expected to appear in court this morning. The state prosecutor for the case explains much more in just a moment.
HEMMER: And what a shot for that community.
Back to the headlines, though. Here's Kelly Wallace working for Carol Costello.
Welcome back and good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Good to be here. Thanks, Bill. And good morning, everyone.
Here are some of those other stories "Now in the News."
More than 50 people have been killed and dozens more wounded in a series of attacks in Iraq. In Tikrit, a car bomb going off at a busy intersection where a crowd of Iraqi workers were gathering. Within hours, insurgents set off attacks in five other locations, including a car bombing outside a police station in southern Baghdad. No word on any U.S. casualties.
North Korea is reportedly taking steps to boost its nuclear capabilities. Within the last two hours, the North Korean news agency reported it's finished removing thousands of spent fuel rods from a reactor at its main nuclear complex. Removing those rods would allow for reprocessing to make plutonium. The announcement coming just days after the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency said North Korea could have material for as many as six nuclear weapons.
In California, actor Macaulay Culkin could testify as early as today in the Michael Jackson trial. Culkin is expected to refute claims anything inappropriate happened between him and the entertainer. Meanwhile, one of the defense witnesses admits he lied to investigators when he told them he did not know children were staying overnight in Jackson's bedroom.
The so-called runaway bride, Jennifer Wilbanks, is now in treatment to address -- quote -- "physical and mental issues." According to a statement released by a PR firm for her church, Wilbanks voluntarily checked into an in-patient treatment program. Officials in Duluth, Georgia, say they will decide by early next week whether to charge Wilbanks for lying to authorities.
And a Swiss resort is going to extra measures to protect its ski runs. The group has wrapped part of a glacier in cloth to prevent it from melting. The sheet is just a fraction of an inch thick, but made of synthetic fibers to keep out ultraviolet rays. Environmental groups remain skeptical. They say that sheet won't solve the problem of global warming. Interesting stuff there.
It's time now to get a check of the weather.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: In Illinois now, a father accused of killing his daughter and her best friend is expected in court today. Jerry Hobbs was arrested on Tuesday, just one day after he led police to the bodies of his 8-year-old daughter, Laura Hobbs, and 9-year-old Krystal Tobias.
Michael Waller is the Lake County state's attorney.
Mr. Waller, good morning. Thanks for talking with us.
When did you first suspect Laura Hobbs' father was, in fact, the suspect here?
MICHAEL WALLER, LAKE COUNTY STATE'S ATTORNEY: Well, he became a suspect about a day into the investigation. He was questioned originally as a family member, which is standard operating procedure in a homicide investigation. And then, some of his answers piqued the interest of the investigators, and he became a suspect sometime yesterday.
O'BRIEN: Can you be more specific when you say piqued the interest of investigators, what do you mean?
WALLER: Well, what's standard in a homicide investigation is that family members are interviewed to find out associates and where the victim was and details of that nature. And Hobbs' reactions were atypical of a father whose daughter had just been murdered, and that piqued their interest. And then, some of his answers really didn't add up. And that led them to further questioning and ultimately to evidence that resulted in the charges.
O'BRIEN: He has a criminal background as well. What can you tell us about his background?
WALLER: Well, I don't know a lot about that at this point. We've focused in this case, I know that he was recently released from the Texas Department of Corrections, being released on a charge of aggravated assault in which he attacked family members with a chainsaw. Other than that, we don't have all of the details yet. We're -- or I should say I don't know them. Investigators have some of those details. I'm just not aware of them at this moment.
O'BRIEN: He was the one, who, along with Laura's grandfather, discovered the bodies of both of the girls on Monday morning. Do you think he acted alone?
WALLER: Yes, we believe he acted alone. It would be very unusual to have two people involved in a horrendous crime like this. Fortunately, there's very few people that would ever commit a crime like this, let alone getting two of them together at the same time.
O'BRIEN: You mentioned the horrible nature of the crime. Have you thought about a motive? I mean, what happened here?
WALLER: Well, in a horrendous, horrific crime like this -- and I've been in this business a long time -- I've never actually been able to articulate a motive. I think what you had is a person who is unlike the rest of us, and he can't control his rage. And something set him off, and it was resulting in one of the most brutal, vicious attacks on two little girls that I've ever seen.
O'BRIEN: Have you been able to determine was it some kind of a dispute with Laura's mother? Was it a dispute with the little girl and her friend?
WALLER: Well, there was a minor issue with the discipline of Laura, which, you know, having kids myself, I would say it's something that happens in families. And that -- the way that was resolved, apparently, didn't sit too well with Hobbs, and that was a factor in this. But, you know, as I said a moment ago, you can't ever really rationally account for behavior like this. It's so horrendous and, fortunately, so outside the realm of normal human activity.
O'BRIEN: That being said, do you now know the circumstances? Do you believe he followed the girls into the woods where they were riding a bike? Or do you think he lured them into the woods?
WALLER: No. They were having -- Monday was Mother's Day. And unlike the weather right now, it was a beautiful day. And kids were out, and they were riding their bikes. And he, you know, went looking for his daughter to bring her home, and he obviously had some other things on his mind. But, you know, they had no reason to be concerned or be fearful of him at that point. You know, he was the father of one girl, and the other girl was her best friend.
O'BRIEN: Michael Waller is Lake County state's attorney. Thanks for talking with us. And good luck in the rest of your investigation.
WALLER: OK, thank you.
O'BRIEN: The bond hearing for Jerry Hobbs is set for 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. And you want to stay tuned to CNN for the latest details on this case -- Bill.
HEMMER: A tough, tough story.
It's 21 minutes now before the hour. From North Carolina now, remember the story I talked about the other day? Apparently, there is a conclusion reached between this preacher who crossed the line between the church and politics. The Reverend Chan Chandler has resigned. Chandler reportedly forced out nine members of his congregation when they refused to support President Bush. Church members say Chandler endorsed President Bush from the pulpit and said that anyone who voted for John Kerry last November need to -- quote -- "repent or resign." The nine parishioners said they were told to leave during a church gathering just about a week ago.
Investors are getting the jitters after a major airline announcing it is in big trouble. Andy has that in "Minding Your Business."
And the Stones are rolling on again. Combined age is 242. Another tour this summer, and the 90-second poppers weigh in on that ahead this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Let's get right to Jack with the "Question of the Day."
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Here we go again. Merry Christmas to the taxpayers from your Uncle Sam and the courts. United Airlines got permission from a court to just walk away from its pension obligations yesterday, $3.2 billion worth. Guess who is going to pay it? The federal government, that would be us; 134,000 employees will get short-changed. They'll get reduced pensions.
And the ruling potentially sets a dangerous precedent. If United is allowed to walk away from its pension obligations, how long before all of the other airlines want to do the same thing? It's a way to save a lot of money, lay the obligation off on the government.
But what about other industries, like maybe the auto makers? The Federal Pension Agency, which guarantees these things, would soon be overwhelmed.
The question is this: Should United be allowed to default on its pension obligations? Surprisingly not a lot of you think this is a great idea.
Steve in North Carolina: "No corporation should be allowed to default on its pension plan. This is money that should have been put aside and not touched for any reason except to pay its rightful owners. This is not United's money. It belongs to the retired employees of United Airlines."
Arthur in New Jersey: "It's a tough question. If you don't allow United to default, then they'll likely go out of business and lay off all of their employees. Even if we do allow United to default, they'll probably go out of business anyway, then regroup and reemerge as a completely new airline offering a 401(k) plan to employees."
Bill in Minnesota writes: "Let's boycott United into bankruptcy to teach executives that pension commitments are as important as executive salary, benefits, and bonus commitments."
Elaine in New York writes: "'The Senate and House passed a bill to make the filing of bankruptcy by an average American more difficult, if possible at all. At the same time, the government has made it easier and more lucrative for corporations to file bankruptcy, negating their financial responsibilities."
And Sherwood writes from Florida: "Pension funds, like Social Security, are not the problem. It's all these old people we have to get rid of."
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Wow!
HEMMER: I bet Shirley is about 70 years old, what do you think?
SERWER: Twenty-six.
CAFFERTY: If we just wouldn't have the old people there would be no problem with pensions or Social Security.
HEMMER: That's it!
O'BRIEN: Executives at the company are who are sort of doing...
SERWER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: You know, it would solve a lot of problems.
CAFFERTY: Yes, don't give them any ideas.
SERWER: It's scary.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack. You're talking about United. Andy is talking about Delta. More trouble for Delta Airlines, huh, Andy? Good morning.
SERWER: Yes. Good morning. What a situation we have here. Delta, the nation's third-largest airline, warned yesterday that if conditions didn't improve, it would be filing bankruptcy soon.
Now, you may remember last fall, it warned it was going to file bankruptcy possibly. It got a reprieve in the form of additional financing.
Yesterday, the stock fell 10 percent. Now, let's see what's happened since last fall. In the first quarter, look at this. This is what we call a ski slope chart. This is Delta over the past -- of this decade, losing 90 percent of its value. You can see that. In the first quarter, Delta lost $1.1 billion.
HEMMER: That is all downhill.
SERWER: It sure is. And $884 million in fuel costs. That's 50 percent more than last year. And here, this ties directly into what Jack was saying. Delta says it will have to pay $3.1 billion in pension payments over the next three years. They say they may have to sell assets or cut costs. What do you think that means?
Let's talk about the markets a little bit yesterday.
HEMMER: Yes, a down day, huh?
SERWER: Yes, a lot of stuff happening. Delta, of course, was a highlight. Also, steel stocks were down. And also, rumors that hedge funds had suffered severe losses investing in GM. That pulled financial stocks down. So, you can see a lot of red ink there. This morning, though, there may be a little bit of a bounce-back after sort of a traumatic day.
HEMMER: That Delta chart looks like a giant slalom. All downhill.
SERWER: All downhill.
CAFFERTY: Thirty billion in losses total for the airlines since 2001.
SERWER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: That's a lot of money.
O'BRIEN: Yes, that's a lot of money.
SERWER: It sure is.
O'BRIEN: All right, Andy, thanks.
SERWER: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, the wedding they're talking about from Hollywood to Nashville. We'll put our 90-second spin on Renee Zellweger's marriage to country star Kenny Chesney. That's next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: It's time for another edition of the critically- acclaimed "90-Second Pop", critically acclaimed by us with our stars, Toure, pop culture correspondent for CNN. Karyn Bryant, co-host of "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." And Andy Borowitz from borowitzreport.com.
Good morning.
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: So, who knew that Renee Zellweger and Kenny Chesney were even dating? They got hitched in the Virgin Islands, a lovely ceremony.
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: After two weeks of dating. What could you possibly know in two weeks?
KARYN BRYANT, CNN CO-HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Here's the thing. Obviously Carolina Herrera knew, because she had to go in for a fitting for her dress not too long ago.
TOURE: The dress. BRYANT: They met at the benefit for the tsunami relief. And apparently, only a few weeks ago, he was even saying publicly that he was single, kind of hemming and hawing and hemming and hawing, but supposedly it's just been a quick two-week thing. And what do you know? She has a history of dating musicians certainly. So, she must know her type.
BOROWITZ: Jack White.
BRYANT: Jack Black -- I mean, Jack White. Jack White from the White Stripes.
BOROWITZ: White Stripes. White Stripes.
TOURE: When did she go from the brilliant Jack White to this country guy?
BOROWITZ: You know, it's easy to make fun of it. I've got to say, it was the most moving wedding I have ever attended. It just put the whole Madonna-Guy Richey thing to shame. It was wonderful.
O'BRIEN: A 15-minute ceremony.
BOROWITZ: Right.
O'BRIEN: He actually wrote a song.
BRYANT: Based on...
O'BRIEN: On the movie, her character. So, maybe he's had a crush on her for a really long time.
BRYANT: Well, he has said so, that he had thought that she was his favorite actress, you know, a long time ago. Her line, "You had me at hello" from "Jerry Maguire, he wrote a song, "You had me from hello."
O'BRIEN: Here it is.
BRYANT: They got married in St. John at his place. I mean, I think it's sweet.
BOROWITZ: She married him in spite of that song, which I think is really -- that's true love, I think.
BRYANT: I thought that was kind of nice.
TOURE: Prince couldn't pull Cindy Crawford with "Cindy C." I mean, it's a better song than this.
BOROWITZ: Right.
TOURE: Remember that?
O'BRIEN: Yes, sure, but I just think it's a nice thing. Let's move on. BOROWITZ: It is.
BRYANT: It's sweet.
O'BRIEN: Yes, I totally agree.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
O'BRIEN: "American Idol" final four.
TOURE: Yes. Unfortunately, once again, I watched American karaoke. And it seems like we have a tale of two shows.
O'BRIEN: Who are the four people, first?
TOURE: Vonzell and Bo are the quality members who are remaining. Carrie and Anthony need to go as soon as possible. They're adding nothing at this point. And Vonzell actually earned extra style points last night for her dad in the canary yellow suit. Yes! Score right there. Oh, sorry. Rabble rousing again. Bring it down a little bit.
O'BRIEN: How was Paula Abdul in the wake of her "SNL" appearance?
TOURE: Paula is fine. The whole thing so is yesterday. He says he had...
O'BRIEN: Ouch!
TOURE: Corey Clark or whatever said he has some extra evidence. Whatever, dude! Go away. You had your moment. It's over. Try to sing.
BOROWITZ: I've got to say, I disagree. To me, I watch that show, and all I am watching now is Paula. I'm not watching anything on stage. I actually want to vote on what is wrong with Paula. I think that would be a better show.
BRYANT: The audience had signs, you know, "We love you Paula."
BOROWITZ: I do, too.
BRYANT: They definitely sort of went over and above to sort of show their support for her. I think Vonzell faltered on her first song. She picked it up on her second song. Bo was pretty good. Yes, Anthony...
O'BRIEN: Who wins do you think?
TOURE: Vonzell.
BRYANT: No, no, no.
O'BRIEN: I said Carrie.
BRYANT: No, no. I think, you know what? Bo will probably win, but I think Carrie has a strong shot.
TOURE: Carrie, she's pathetic.
BRYANT: She doesn't move, but she...
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: You two can continue this debate off camera while we talk about the Rolling Stones.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
O'BRIEN: The combined age of the Rolling Stones is 242. I've got a list. Mick Jagger is 61. Keith Richards is also 61. Charlie Watts is 63. Ron Wood is the youngster at 57.
BOROWITZ: Combined, they're as old as Cher. It's amazing!
O'BRIEN: They're touring.
BOROWITZ: Yes, they're touring. And I've got to say, it's easy to take a shot at them. I'm going to this tour. They rock. They're old, but they rock. I think they're out of the tradition of like classic blues' musicians. They look -- I will say, they like human corpses now. It is like watching an episode of "CSI" or something when you watch them. But they sound as good as they've ever sounded. You've got to go see their concert.
BRYANT: It's a great band. It's a great band.
TOURE: I'm not paying $100 to see them do the same old songs again. And there's a new album coming out. I'm not paying $10 to hear that.
BOROWITZ: I'm going to score some free tickets from a friend in Canada. But they're awesome.
BRYANT: I'm going with you, Andy.
TOURE: But, I mean, in the '60s, if I told you the Beatles would last 10 years and the Stones would go on forever, you'd be like, you are insane!
BRYANT: No.
BOROWITZ: No.
BRYANT: No, no, no, I don't think so. I think I would have said, you know, the Stones are all about the groove, they're all about, like you said, the blues, the feeling.
BOROWITZ: Right.
BRYANT: That's going to last more than...
O'BRIEN: Toure, even I'm going to the Stones, and I don't even get out of the house.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
BRYANT: There you go.
BRYANT: It's nonsense! You don't even know who T.I. is. What does that mean?
O'BRIEN: I didn't say I was cool. I said I was going.
You guys, as always, I thank you.
And, of course, when Karyn Bryant isn't playing with us on "90- Second Pop," she is co-hosting "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" at 7:00 Eastern on Headline Prime. Two generations of "Star Trek" stars are live in a special week-long series about the end of the TV series "Enterprise." And also there is some behind the scenes footage of TV's "Amazing Race." Karyn has got all of that today.
Thank you very much. Nice to see you guys -- Bill.
HEMMER: Karyn is busy.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
HEMMER: Thanks.
CNN week continues on "Jeopardy!". All week in fact. And last week, it was Christiane's turn to give the clue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: CNN for 200.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take a look.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, I'm Christiane Amanpour of CNN. Millions of people have come here to Vatican City to this basilica to present their final respects to Pope John Paul II.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pam?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is St. Peter's?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: I think that was the easiest question all week. More later tonight. More CNN personalities throughout the week, in fact. It is our week to be on "Jeopardy!" as we celebrate our 25 years on the air here.
In a moment, sleepless in America. Millions of Americans wage a nightly battle with insomnia. We're "Paging Dr. Gupta" today for some relief ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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