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American Morning
Michael Jackson's Defense Winds Down; Ultimate "Jeopardy!"
Aired May 24, 2005 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And the mayor of Spokane, Washington, Jim West, is apologizing for what he calls poor judgment in his private life, but he says he will not step down from office. The FBI looking into claims West offered jobs to men he met over the Internet. West spoke publicly for the first time about the probe since returning from a temporary leave of absence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR JAMES WEST, SPOKANE, WASHINGTON: I returned to City Hall last week. I was incredibly humbled by the reaction and support I received from city employees. When all investigations are concluded, I expect to be exonerated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: City council is planning to vote next week on a resolution calling for West to resign, so I guess not everybody was supportive.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm sure they're all very qualified candidates.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: She says with diplomacy. Thank you, Carol.
Jay Leno, keep an eye out for him today at the Michael Jackson trial. "The Tonight Show" host expected to be one of the final witnesses for the defense.
Attorney Anne Bremner in court on Monday, back today from Santa Maria. Good morning, Anne.
ANNE BREMNER, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: What will Jay Leno offer the defense on that stand?
BREMNER: He's going to testify -- he's basically going to attack the credibility of the accuser, that -- he's going to say that the accuser called him with the mother egging on the accuser, and the accuser's asking for money from Leno. Leno was so concerned about the call, he made a police report. You know, this is really important not only to show for the defense this is a family of drifters, a den of thieves -- you know, folks that are practiced in the art of deception -- but also, the accuser denied the conversation, so if Jay Leno comes in and says the opposite, this will be a big win for the defense in terms of attacking the accuser's credibility. HEMMER: So essentially you're saying Leno comes in there and casts this net of suspicion over the accuser's mother, right?
BREMNER: No, over both of them, over the accuser and the accuser's mother. Because the accuser is the one that supposedly made the call and he testified in court he never made that call.
HEMMER: And if Leno does that, in your estimation, how much of a home run could that be in front of jurors?
BREMNER: You know, I think it could be huge. You know, they didn't get Larry King on last week. We all expected him to come in and say, you know, Santa Maria, hello. That's star power. Now we do have Jay Leno, who will be in front of the jury. And if his testimony is as we believe it will be from what we've heard in opening statements, it could be a huge home run. He's very well-loved, he's funny. But what about the cross-examination and the jokes he's made about Michael Jackson?
HEMMER: Well, a very good point there, too. What did he say? During this week he said he was going to call Michael Jackson to make sure they're not wearing the same outfits?
BREMNER: I know. We're all expecting him in his pajamas and his bunny slippers with the umbrella, remember?
HEMMER: Right-o. Take me back to yesterday. Again, the defense went after the accuser's mother. How effective were they, Anne?
BREMNER: They were very effective. What they showed were two things. One is she lied on welfare application -- and that's a felony -- saying she didn't -- she had gotten a settlement from JCPenney's. Where there was a box saying have you received any moneys from settlements or lottery, etc., she checked no and she did that repeatedly.
Second, there was an editor from the newspaper who talked about her trying getting money for her son's cancer treatment when it was paid for. And this witness felt really duped by the mother. And she was a very aggressive witness, somebody that felt as if she'd been -- had a fraud almost perpetrated on her by the accuser's mother. So two big witnesses for the defense yesterday going right after the mother's credibility.
HEMMER: So, essentially, the defense is out there trying to say the mother's whacked? But even if they're effective at proving that in court, does any of this testimony go toward convincing the jurors that this kid was not molested by Michael Jackson?
BREMNER: You know, they're sure trying. And what they're trying to say is that she's driving the bus and the children are on board. And so that all of her deception -- basically, she's let the -- had the children follow suit in a divorce case and a JCPenney case. But you know what? Out here in Santa Maria, you know, this is Anytown, USA, everyman jury. You know, the nut of this case, and I'm not talking about a nut like Michael Jackson, but the nut of the case is the molestation and it's still there. And that's what they have to decide and this mother's credibility -- they could at and think she's a liar and a thief, and a wacko and still find guilt in this case.
HEMMER; One final thing here. When you watched the jurors on that, in that box out there in Santa Maria, California, are they still interested or do you find them getting bored?
BREMNER: They are.
HEMMER: They are, you're saying?
BREMNER: They're very interested. There's been some really dull days. I mean, every trial has them. And you know, with technical evidence, forensic evidence. But even those days, they really, really pay attention. They're always on time. You know, they laugh at the judge. They're very appropriate and they're hard working and they've been here for a long time. No one's ever called in sick. No misconduct. And they pay attention and they take lots of notes.
HEMMER: Keep your eye out for Jay Leno. We'll be watching from there.
BREMNER: Yes, it's going to be to wild today.
HEMMER: Thanks, in Santa Maria, California. Here's Soledad.
O'BRIEN: New details now on a huge security breach that we told you about on Monday. We're now told that the total number of bank accounts affected could be more than a million. Authorities also say it appears to be an inside job. Here's CNN's Chris Huntington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The U.S. Treasury is calling it the biggest breach of bank security in U.S. history. Hackensack, New Jersey Police cracked the case following up on a residential burglary. They say this man, Orazin "Ozzy" Lembo, masterminded a scheme to illegally sell personal information and bank account numbers of at least 676,000 people to a collection agency. Authorities say Lembo had help, highly placed insiders at Bank of America, Wachovia, PNC Financial, Commerce Bank and the New Jersey Department of Labor.
Hackensack police Chief Ken Zisa says Lembo called his operation DRL Associates, and ran it from his residence at this condominium complex. Siza says authorities are still learning about Lembo's operation and his intentions.
CHIEF KEN ZISA, HACKENSACK POLICE: Accounts were being looked at, and certainly that is a great cause for concern, as well as being unlawful. But we also have a concern as to how that information would ultimately be used. Certainly, identity theft is of great concern as it relates to this case. HUNTINGTON: According to Zisa, the scam worked like this, Lembo would get names and Social Security Numbers from a collection agency who wanted to find out bank account information. Lembo's associates such as this Commerce Bank manager and his assistant manager, would cross-check the names against bank account information. They are among 10 people arrested in the operation. Lembo would pay the operatives $10 per match, but would sell the information back to the collection agency for as much as $150.
Authorities believe Lembo operated the scam for nearly four years and may have made as much as $4 million. Commerce Bank could not be reached for comment, Deiva (ph), Wachovia, and PNC have notified customers and are cooperating with authorities.
(on camera): Law enforcement authorities tell CNN they have not found any evidence of identity theft. We tried to reach Mr. Lembo and his attorney, but could not. He is charged with nine crimes, including racketeering. If convicted on all counts, he faces a cumulative total of 130 years in prison and fines of more than $1 million.
Chris Huntington, CNN, Hackensack, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Authorities say the next phase in the investigation, looking into the firms that bought some of the stolen data.
HEMMER: Soledad, Bill Maher has always been known for his provocative opinions. This time he has provoked a Congressman out of Alabama. Representative Spencer Bachus says he wants Bill Maher's HBO show off the air for comments he made early this month saying the military has already picked "all the low-flying Lynndie England fruit and now we need warm bodies."
Bachus says Maher's comments border on treason. He's demanding the comedian's show be pulled immediately. Maher has responded, saying he has quote, "the highest regard for the men and women serving the country." End quote.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Well, if two words ever defined a person and a product, they were these:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY THE TIGER: They're grrrreat! Flakes are grrrreat!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Thurl Ravenscroft, the voice of Kellogg's Tony the Tiger, died on Sunday of prostate cancer. Ravenscroft's the voice, the cartoon pitchman for Frosted Flakes for more than 50 years. He was also the voice of several characters in popular Disney movies. Ravenscroft was 91 years old. HEMMER: Here's to him, huh? Favorite cereal. They're grrrreat!
Coming up next here, meet the three finalists vying for the title of ultimate "Jeopardy!" champ. Record-holder Ken Jennings and the two other contestants are live in our studio and they are some smart folks, too.
O'BRIEN: Yes, they are. But first, some trivia with a special "Jeopardy!" twist for you this morning. Here's a clue. This man wrote the music that accompanies Final Jeopardy! We're going to have the question for you after the break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Before the break, we gave you this "Jeopardy!" clue: This man wrote the music that accompanies Final Jeopardy! You're listening to it right now. The question is, who is Merv Griffin? Griffin created "Jeopardy!" back in 1963.
So who has the smarts to be "Jeopardy!"'s ultimate champion? Ken Jennings, the reigning quiz show king, is back for an encore and a shot at the $2 million prize in "Jeopardy!"'s super tournament. Two challengers, though, are trying to dethrone him. They're all with us this morning. Ken Kennings, Jerome Vered and Brad Rutter. Nice to have you guys.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: This is pre-taped, so you all know who won. Want to tell me?
BRAD RUTTER, "JEOPARDY!" FINALIST: Is it pre-taped?
JEROME VERED, "JEOPARDY!" FINALIST: Really? I don't remember taping...
O'BRIEN: I knew you weren't going to give in.
KEN JENNINGS, ULTIMATE "JEOPARDY" CHAMP: I think we're taping it sometime later today.
O'BRIEN: Give me the -- is there a different strategy preparing for this kind of three-day tournament, as opposed to how you prepare for the show?
VERED: Sleep is a good idea. I wish I will have done more of that.
JENNINGS: There's definitely a higher pressure knowing you're playing against people who are like, "Jeopardy!"'s very best. You know, that sort of ups the ante a bit.
O'BRIEN: How do you change your strategy, though? I mean, I don't even know how you study for it in the first place?
VERED: Well, since we knew that Ken was on, we could bone up on Utah information. Trying to get rid of like the little bit of advantage he might have.
RUTTER: And also, with the three-day final that comes into play with Daily Double wagering and Final Jeopardy! wagering and stuff like that.
O'BRIEN: So there's a lot of...
RUTTER: You don't want to take yourself out of it too early and leave yourself...
VERED: I wish I'd known that, as well, before.
O'BRIEN: A lot of strategy. Now, as it stands right now, you're in third place.
JENNINGS: I am. I am very closely in last night.
O'BRIEN: Yes, it's very close. $18,000 to $16,400 to $16,000. So you're all pretty...
RUTTER: We might as well not have even played last night.
O'BRIEN: Well, you get the money. What -- are you worried about that?
JENNINGS: Not much. Like, that's -- in "Jeopardy!" world, that's an effective tie. You know, one Daily Double wager and that's all they have.
O'BRIEN: You're so cool. You're like, listen, I won $2.5 million, I'm not worried about the 60. You won $2.5. Jerome, you were a $100,000 winner. And you were, Brad, a little over $1 million. $1.1 million. And this back before the rules changed, so there were a lot of -- you were limited to five days, right?
VERED: Right, and my -- actually, there's $100,000 tournament winners. My $100,000 was actually five days of regular play. So it was a little bit different, but yes, it was back when we could only go five days, so -- we kept having the opportunities with the jealousy and sadness. Don't pretend -- lots of people say, oh, I wonder if I could have gotten 11 days or 12 days and they...
O'BRIEN: I mean, but seriously, do you ever think about that? I mean, you say jealousy.
VERED: Now?
RUTTER: I would never have gotten a chance to play on in the $1 million tournament if I hadn't been on in the five-day limit days. So that -- you'll hear no complaints from me.
O'BRIEN: All right. Upsides and downsides. Now, you're playing for $2 million. Does that add a certain amount of pressure to it or does it really not make a difference?
RUTTER: Surprisingly enough -- you know, these guys are both such nice guys.
O'BRIEN: Oh, you all love each other. What kind of fun interview is this going to be?
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Should we hold hands and do "Kumbaya"? I'm feeling it.
RUTTER: But it's true.
VERED: Soledad, they're both going down.
O'BRIEN: Finally, a little drama. That's what I'm looking for. You really all get along like you're kind of doing now or is this, you know, friends behind the scenes?
VERED: We don't really know each other well enough to hate each other yet.
O'BRIEN: I like the way you added yet. That's helpful.
JENNINGS: There's almost always a surprising amount of collegiality on "Jeopardy!" between the contestants.
O'BRIEN: Really? Why?
JENNINGS: Yes, you sort of feel like you're in this together. I don't know, it's pretty much an illusion, because you're not really in this together. But the game is so much fun to play, I think everyone's sort of enjoying that vibe together.
RUTTER: And also no matter what happens at the end of the three days, you know, the one of us who comes in at third will be taking home a quarter million dollars anyway, so...
O'BRIEN: That's right, because the loser does really -- well, I mean, the person who's last, gets his quarter million and then half a million if you come in second. That's true.
VERED: But also, it's been 145 people that were in this tournament and all of them were at least teen champion winners or five-day winners until now, and then Ken. So we all have -- you know, there aren't that many people who have been there, that have shared this kind of experience. I'm sure anyone in like in a certain profession goes into sort of a convention, you're not necessarily there, like, to say how I am I going to get business from someone else. You're there to share what you have common. And it's something that a lot of people don't share. So it was fun for us.
O'BRIEN: Oh, back to the "Kumbaya." You're right, I hear you.
VERED: And then you scope them out.
O'BRIEN: And try to kill them.
RUTTER: I always steal from Groucho Marx and say I cannot wouldn't want to be the member of a club that would have me as a member. But I think the "Jeopardy!" champions club is one I'd make an exception for.
O'BRIEN: Yes, I bet, I bet. If you win the $2 million, what are you going to do with it?
VERED: Well, Soledad, how about -- let's all go out to dinner, what do you think?
O'BRIEN: Yes, I love -- when you say we all go out, you mean we, right?
RUTTER: We're all friendly.
VERED: It's Hollywood. We're all friends.
O'BRIEN: And me, too. You guys, as always, it's nice to say good luck.
RUTTER: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: May the best man prevail. We appreciate you joining us this morning. That's Ken Jennings and Jerome Vered and Brad Rutter. Thanks for being with us -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Soledad. 12 minutes before the hour. Back to Daryn Kagan. What's coming up next hour on "LIVE TODAY"? What you working on?
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we got a lot going on, Bill.
Coming up the top of the hour, will the compromise hold? The Senate is back in session this morning. We're expecting a vote on one of President Bush's judicial nominees very soon. We are live on Capitol Hill.
Also from Washington, the debate over stem cell research heats up in the House. We'll go behind the headlines and show you the science involved and what's at stake.
All that's coming up. Right now, you guys have about 12 minutes left of work.
HEMMER: We do. Thank you, Daryn. See you then, OK?
In a moment here, we'll look at how credit card companies are helping to protect online shoppers from I.D. theft. It is a big topic and Andy is talking about it next. "Minding Your Business" when we come back right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Well, I.D. theft is a theme this segment. A city-wide opportunity to shred identity theft and what credit card companies are now doing to fight fraud. Back to Andy Serwer, watching this and the markets. ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE": Let's start off with the markets, Bill. Sad to say, stocks trading lower at this hour, down 38. A little bit of a breather after the past couple sessions, where we've seen the market rise a lot, almost 400 points over the past five sessions or so.
Let's talk about some security issues here. First of all, credit cards. $788 million of fraud perpetrated on Americans last year through credit cards alone. And the credit card companies are beginning to fight back using new technology. You're seeing this more in Europe than here. The companies a little bit slow to grasp onto some of the newer technologies. It costs a lot of money.
One thing that they're going to be looking at very closely is adding an LCD component to the card with a paper-thin battery in the card itself, with one of these number-generating FAABs (ph), just like this right here. Actually in the card, so that numbers are changing on the LCD, which are hooked up or connected to or synched to a mainframe computer somewhere to prevent fraud. How exactly that will work and why that will make our lives easier is unclear to me at the present time.
O'BRIEN: Because you have to have the card.
SERWER: You'd have the card, exactly, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: ... change.
HEMMER: Hey, if I've been ripped off, man, I'll take one of those things any day.
SERWER: Well, these things are kind of difficult, because you always have to have this with you at all times, which, you know, who needs that?
Now, talking about the shredding story. This is kind of fun. Down in Houston way, of course, that's where Enron was headquartered. Authorities are having "Shredder Weekend." That's right, this Saturday at four area malls, citizens will be allowed to come and shred up to ten boxes of documents, compliments of the city of Houston and a company called Shred It. And you know, this relates to identity theft, too, because everyone's talking about online identify theft, but most of it actually occurs by people dumpster diving and looking at old credit card records.
HEMMER: Wow, there you go.
SERWER: And so...
HEMMER: I tell you, I love my shredder. All that angst, you stick it in there at the end of the day.
SERWER: I'd like to get one of those.
O'BRIEN: Oh, it's great.
HEMMER: Enjoy.
O'BRIEN: You get rid of a lot of frustration.
SERWER: Yes.
HEMMER: Thanks, Andy.
O'BRIEN: Last look at the "Question of the Day." Good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Should convicted murderers be shackled when appearing in court for sentencing? The Supreme Court of the United States ruled no yesterday, saying that it denies them their right to due process. This is just during the sentencing phase. They've already been convicted of the murder.
D.C. writes: "This is another example of the liberal nuts taking better care of the convicts than the public. What about the rights of the people working in the courtroom? Don't they have a right to be safe at work?"
Frank in Dyresburg, Tennessee: "Maybe the Supremes who voted against shackles and chains in these situations should spend a few months in state courtrooms or night courts in places like New York, Los Angeles and Houston."
And Dee in Jacksonsville, Florida: "Somehow I'm thinking an individual who makes the choice to violate the law and commit murder would think nothing of injuring anyone in an effort to escape from justice. Let's pull our heads out and check for daylight."
O'BRIEN: How'd the e-mails basically run? You only had a couple of people who thought it was a brilliant idea.
CAFFERTY: Yes, well, most people don't. If you have any common sense at all, this is just stupid. I mean, they've been convicted of murder. Don't we have DNA tests to prove now whether or not the convictions will hold up?
SERWER: But it's the sentencing part, so the thinking is that it would prejudice a jury and they'd give the person, say, 20 more years because they were in chains.
CAFFERTY: This is the same jury that convicted them during a weeks-long trial. They already have an opinion of this dirtbag, excuse me, this defendant.
SERWER: Alleged dirtbag.
(CROSSTALK)
SERWER: They just don't know what the dirtbag's sentence is.
CAFFERTY: You had that guy take that gun away from that deputy down in Atlanta, go in the courtroom and kill a judge because he didn't have any kind of restraining stuff on him. It's just nonsense.
HEMMER: On a related -- I thought Judge Lefkow showed an awful lot of strength last week going before Congress.
CAFFERTY: This is the woman who's family was killed in Chicago. But I mean, you know, that's just -- it makes no sense at all. Pardon me, I'm beginning to stutter. It's time to call it a day.
SERWER: Well, we all agree. Take a nap!
O'BRIEN: Pull you down. Thanks, Jack.
Coming up tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING, part three of our series, "Surviving Family Vacations." We're going to help you choose the right theme park. Be sure to catch AMERICAN MORNING. We begin at 7:00 a.m. Eastern time.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Aaron Brown's got a preview of what's coming up tonight on "NEWSNIGHT."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP))
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Miss O'Brien. Tonight on the program, the game machine down in the den. The next generation might take over your entire house, reshape your life and make a few big companies even bigger. How the Xbox and the Playstation are evolving and what they are turning into.
That story, plus the top news of the day, morning papers and everything else that makes "NEWSNIGHT," "NEWSNIGHT," CNN tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern -- Soledad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Mr. Brown.
HEMMER: We got to run, huh, Miss O'Brien?
O'BRIEN: We do, we're out of time.
HEMMER: We'll see you tomorrow. Here's Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center. Hey, Daryn, good morning.
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Aired May 24, 2005 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And the mayor of Spokane, Washington, Jim West, is apologizing for what he calls poor judgment in his private life, but he says he will not step down from office. The FBI looking into claims West offered jobs to men he met over the Internet. West spoke publicly for the first time about the probe since returning from a temporary leave of absence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR JAMES WEST, SPOKANE, WASHINGTON: I returned to City Hall last week. I was incredibly humbled by the reaction and support I received from city employees. When all investigations are concluded, I expect to be exonerated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: City council is planning to vote next week on a resolution calling for West to resign, so I guess not everybody was supportive.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm sure they're all very qualified candidates.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: She says with diplomacy. Thank you, Carol.
Jay Leno, keep an eye out for him today at the Michael Jackson trial. "The Tonight Show" host expected to be one of the final witnesses for the defense.
Attorney Anne Bremner in court on Monday, back today from Santa Maria. Good morning, Anne.
ANNE BREMNER, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: What will Jay Leno offer the defense on that stand?
BREMNER: He's going to testify -- he's basically going to attack the credibility of the accuser, that -- he's going to say that the accuser called him with the mother egging on the accuser, and the accuser's asking for money from Leno. Leno was so concerned about the call, he made a police report. You know, this is really important not only to show for the defense this is a family of drifters, a den of thieves -- you know, folks that are practiced in the art of deception -- but also, the accuser denied the conversation, so if Jay Leno comes in and says the opposite, this will be a big win for the defense in terms of attacking the accuser's credibility. HEMMER: So essentially you're saying Leno comes in there and casts this net of suspicion over the accuser's mother, right?
BREMNER: No, over both of them, over the accuser and the accuser's mother. Because the accuser is the one that supposedly made the call and he testified in court he never made that call.
HEMMER: And if Leno does that, in your estimation, how much of a home run could that be in front of jurors?
BREMNER: You know, I think it could be huge. You know, they didn't get Larry King on last week. We all expected him to come in and say, you know, Santa Maria, hello. That's star power. Now we do have Jay Leno, who will be in front of the jury. And if his testimony is as we believe it will be from what we've heard in opening statements, it could be a huge home run. He's very well-loved, he's funny. But what about the cross-examination and the jokes he's made about Michael Jackson?
HEMMER: Well, a very good point there, too. What did he say? During this week he said he was going to call Michael Jackson to make sure they're not wearing the same outfits?
BREMNER: I know. We're all expecting him in his pajamas and his bunny slippers with the umbrella, remember?
HEMMER: Right-o. Take me back to yesterday. Again, the defense went after the accuser's mother. How effective were they, Anne?
BREMNER: They were very effective. What they showed were two things. One is she lied on welfare application -- and that's a felony -- saying she didn't -- she had gotten a settlement from JCPenney's. Where there was a box saying have you received any moneys from settlements or lottery, etc., she checked no and she did that repeatedly.
Second, there was an editor from the newspaper who talked about her trying getting money for her son's cancer treatment when it was paid for. And this witness felt really duped by the mother. And she was a very aggressive witness, somebody that felt as if she'd been -- had a fraud almost perpetrated on her by the accuser's mother. So two big witnesses for the defense yesterday going right after the mother's credibility.
HEMMER: So, essentially, the defense is out there trying to say the mother's whacked? But even if they're effective at proving that in court, does any of this testimony go toward convincing the jurors that this kid was not molested by Michael Jackson?
BREMNER: You know, they're sure trying. And what they're trying to say is that she's driving the bus and the children are on board. And so that all of her deception -- basically, she's let the -- had the children follow suit in a divorce case and a JCPenney case. But you know what? Out here in Santa Maria, you know, this is Anytown, USA, everyman jury. You know, the nut of this case, and I'm not talking about a nut like Michael Jackson, but the nut of the case is the molestation and it's still there. And that's what they have to decide and this mother's credibility -- they could at and think she's a liar and a thief, and a wacko and still find guilt in this case.
HEMMER; One final thing here. When you watched the jurors on that, in that box out there in Santa Maria, California, are they still interested or do you find them getting bored?
BREMNER: They are.
HEMMER: They are, you're saying?
BREMNER: They're very interested. There's been some really dull days. I mean, every trial has them. And you know, with technical evidence, forensic evidence. But even those days, they really, really pay attention. They're always on time. You know, they laugh at the judge. They're very appropriate and they're hard working and they've been here for a long time. No one's ever called in sick. No misconduct. And they pay attention and they take lots of notes.
HEMMER: Keep your eye out for Jay Leno. We'll be watching from there.
BREMNER: Yes, it's going to be to wild today.
HEMMER: Thanks, in Santa Maria, California. Here's Soledad.
O'BRIEN: New details now on a huge security breach that we told you about on Monday. We're now told that the total number of bank accounts affected could be more than a million. Authorities also say it appears to be an inside job. Here's CNN's Chris Huntington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The U.S. Treasury is calling it the biggest breach of bank security in U.S. history. Hackensack, New Jersey Police cracked the case following up on a residential burglary. They say this man, Orazin "Ozzy" Lembo, masterminded a scheme to illegally sell personal information and bank account numbers of at least 676,000 people to a collection agency. Authorities say Lembo had help, highly placed insiders at Bank of America, Wachovia, PNC Financial, Commerce Bank and the New Jersey Department of Labor.
Hackensack police Chief Ken Zisa says Lembo called his operation DRL Associates, and ran it from his residence at this condominium complex. Siza says authorities are still learning about Lembo's operation and his intentions.
CHIEF KEN ZISA, HACKENSACK POLICE: Accounts were being looked at, and certainly that is a great cause for concern, as well as being unlawful. But we also have a concern as to how that information would ultimately be used. Certainly, identity theft is of great concern as it relates to this case. HUNTINGTON: According to Zisa, the scam worked like this, Lembo would get names and Social Security Numbers from a collection agency who wanted to find out bank account information. Lembo's associates such as this Commerce Bank manager and his assistant manager, would cross-check the names against bank account information. They are among 10 people arrested in the operation. Lembo would pay the operatives $10 per match, but would sell the information back to the collection agency for as much as $150.
Authorities believe Lembo operated the scam for nearly four years and may have made as much as $4 million. Commerce Bank could not be reached for comment, Deiva (ph), Wachovia, and PNC have notified customers and are cooperating with authorities.
(on camera): Law enforcement authorities tell CNN they have not found any evidence of identity theft. We tried to reach Mr. Lembo and his attorney, but could not. He is charged with nine crimes, including racketeering. If convicted on all counts, he faces a cumulative total of 130 years in prison and fines of more than $1 million.
Chris Huntington, CNN, Hackensack, New Jersey.
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O'BRIEN: Authorities say the next phase in the investigation, looking into the firms that bought some of the stolen data.
HEMMER: Soledad, Bill Maher has always been known for his provocative opinions. This time he has provoked a Congressman out of Alabama. Representative Spencer Bachus says he wants Bill Maher's HBO show off the air for comments he made early this month saying the military has already picked "all the low-flying Lynndie England fruit and now we need warm bodies."
Bachus says Maher's comments border on treason. He's demanding the comedian's show be pulled immediately. Maher has responded, saying he has quote, "the highest regard for the men and women serving the country." End quote.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Well, if two words ever defined a person and a product, they were these:
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TONY THE TIGER: They're grrrreat! Flakes are grrrreat!
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O'BRIEN: Thurl Ravenscroft, the voice of Kellogg's Tony the Tiger, died on Sunday of prostate cancer. Ravenscroft's the voice, the cartoon pitchman for Frosted Flakes for more than 50 years. He was also the voice of several characters in popular Disney movies. Ravenscroft was 91 years old. HEMMER: Here's to him, huh? Favorite cereal. They're grrrreat!
Coming up next here, meet the three finalists vying for the title of ultimate "Jeopardy!" champ. Record-holder Ken Jennings and the two other contestants are live in our studio and they are some smart folks, too.
O'BRIEN: Yes, they are. But first, some trivia with a special "Jeopardy!" twist for you this morning. Here's a clue. This man wrote the music that accompanies Final Jeopardy! We're going to have the question for you after the break. Stay with us.
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O'BRIEN: Before the break, we gave you this "Jeopardy!" clue: This man wrote the music that accompanies Final Jeopardy! You're listening to it right now. The question is, who is Merv Griffin? Griffin created "Jeopardy!" back in 1963.
So who has the smarts to be "Jeopardy!"'s ultimate champion? Ken Jennings, the reigning quiz show king, is back for an encore and a shot at the $2 million prize in "Jeopardy!"'s super tournament. Two challengers, though, are trying to dethrone him. They're all with us this morning. Ken Kennings, Jerome Vered and Brad Rutter. Nice to have you guys.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: This is pre-taped, so you all know who won. Want to tell me?
BRAD RUTTER, "JEOPARDY!" FINALIST: Is it pre-taped?
JEROME VERED, "JEOPARDY!" FINALIST: Really? I don't remember taping...
O'BRIEN: I knew you weren't going to give in.
KEN JENNINGS, ULTIMATE "JEOPARDY" CHAMP: I think we're taping it sometime later today.
O'BRIEN: Give me the -- is there a different strategy preparing for this kind of three-day tournament, as opposed to how you prepare for the show?
VERED: Sleep is a good idea. I wish I will have done more of that.
JENNINGS: There's definitely a higher pressure knowing you're playing against people who are like, "Jeopardy!"'s very best. You know, that sort of ups the ante a bit.
O'BRIEN: How do you change your strategy, though? I mean, I don't even know how you study for it in the first place?
VERED: Well, since we knew that Ken was on, we could bone up on Utah information. Trying to get rid of like the little bit of advantage he might have.
RUTTER: And also, with the three-day final that comes into play with Daily Double wagering and Final Jeopardy! wagering and stuff like that.
O'BRIEN: So there's a lot of...
RUTTER: You don't want to take yourself out of it too early and leave yourself...
VERED: I wish I'd known that, as well, before.
O'BRIEN: A lot of strategy. Now, as it stands right now, you're in third place.
JENNINGS: I am. I am very closely in last night.
O'BRIEN: Yes, it's very close. $18,000 to $16,400 to $16,000. So you're all pretty...
RUTTER: We might as well not have even played last night.
O'BRIEN: Well, you get the money. What -- are you worried about that?
JENNINGS: Not much. Like, that's -- in "Jeopardy!" world, that's an effective tie. You know, one Daily Double wager and that's all they have.
O'BRIEN: You're so cool. You're like, listen, I won $2.5 million, I'm not worried about the 60. You won $2.5. Jerome, you were a $100,000 winner. And you were, Brad, a little over $1 million. $1.1 million. And this back before the rules changed, so there were a lot of -- you were limited to five days, right?
VERED: Right, and my -- actually, there's $100,000 tournament winners. My $100,000 was actually five days of regular play. So it was a little bit different, but yes, it was back when we could only go five days, so -- we kept having the opportunities with the jealousy and sadness. Don't pretend -- lots of people say, oh, I wonder if I could have gotten 11 days or 12 days and they...
O'BRIEN: I mean, but seriously, do you ever think about that? I mean, you say jealousy.
VERED: Now?
RUTTER: I would never have gotten a chance to play on in the $1 million tournament if I hadn't been on in the five-day limit days. So that -- you'll hear no complaints from me.
O'BRIEN: All right. Upsides and downsides. Now, you're playing for $2 million. Does that add a certain amount of pressure to it or does it really not make a difference?
RUTTER: Surprisingly enough -- you know, these guys are both such nice guys.
O'BRIEN: Oh, you all love each other. What kind of fun interview is this going to be?
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Should we hold hands and do "Kumbaya"? I'm feeling it.
RUTTER: But it's true.
VERED: Soledad, they're both going down.
O'BRIEN: Finally, a little drama. That's what I'm looking for. You really all get along like you're kind of doing now or is this, you know, friends behind the scenes?
VERED: We don't really know each other well enough to hate each other yet.
O'BRIEN: I like the way you added yet. That's helpful.
JENNINGS: There's almost always a surprising amount of collegiality on "Jeopardy!" between the contestants.
O'BRIEN: Really? Why?
JENNINGS: Yes, you sort of feel like you're in this together. I don't know, it's pretty much an illusion, because you're not really in this together. But the game is so much fun to play, I think everyone's sort of enjoying that vibe together.
RUTTER: And also no matter what happens at the end of the three days, you know, the one of us who comes in at third will be taking home a quarter million dollars anyway, so...
O'BRIEN: That's right, because the loser does really -- well, I mean, the person who's last, gets his quarter million and then half a million if you come in second. That's true.
VERED: But also, it's been 145 people that were in this tournament and all of them were at least teen champion winners or five-day winners until now, and then Ken. So we all have -- you know, there aren't that many people who have been there, that have shared this kind of experience. I'm sure anyone in like in a certain profession goes into sort of a convention, you're not necessarily there, like, to say how I am I going to get business from someone else. You're there to share what you have common. And it's something that a lot of people don't share. So it was fun for us.
O'BRIEN: Oh, back to the "Kumbaya." You're right, I hear you.
VERED: And then you scope them out.
O'BRIEN: And try to kill them.
RUTTER: I always steal from Groucho Marx and say I cannot wouldn't want to be the member of a club that would have me as a member. But I think the "Jeopardy!" champions club is one I'd make an exception for.
O'BRIEN: Yes, I bet, I bet. If you win the $2 million, what are you going to do with it?
VERED: Well, Soledad, how about -- let's all go out to dinner, what do you think?
O'BRIEN: Yes, I love -- when you say we all go out, you mean we, right?
RUTTER: We're all friendly.
VERED: It's Hollywood. We're all friends.
O'BRIEN: And me, too. You guys, as always, it's nice to say good luck.
RUTTER: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: May the best man prevail. We appreciate you joining us this morning. That's Ken Jennings and Jerome Vered and Brad Rutter. Thanks for being with us -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Soledad. 12 minutes before the hour. Back to Daryn Kagan. What's coming up next hour on "LIVE TODAY"? What you working on?
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we got a lot going on, Bill.
Coming up the top of the hour, will the compromise hold? The Senate is back in session this morning. We're expecting a vote on one of President Bush's judicial nominees very soon. We are live on Capitol Hill.
Also from Washington, the debate over stem cell research heats up in the House. We'll go behind the headlines and show you the science involved and what's at stake.
All that's coming up. Right now, you guys have about 12 minutes left of work.
HEMMER: We do. Thank you, Daryn. See you then, OK?
In a moment here, we'll look at how credit card companies are helping to protect online shoppers from I.D. theft. It is a big topic and Andy is talking about it next. "Minding Your Business" when we come back right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Well, I.D. theft is a theme this segment. A city-wide opportunity to shred identity theft and what credit card companies are now doing to fight fraud. Back to Andy Serwer, watching this and the markets. ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE": Let's start off with the markets, Bill. Sad to say, stocks trading lower at this hour, down 38. A little bit of a breather after the past couple sessions, where we've seen the market rise a lot, almost 400 points over the past five sessions or so.
Let's talk about some security issues here. First of all, credit cards. $788 million of fraud perpetrated on Americans last year through credit cards alone. And the credit card companies are beginning to fight back using new technology. You're seeing this more in Europe than here. The companies a little bit slow to grasp onto some of the newer technologies. It costs a lot of money.
One thing that they're going to be looking at very closely is adding an LCD component to the card with a paper-thin battery in the card itself, with one of these number-generating FAABs (ph), just like this right here. Actually in the card, so that numbers are changing on the LCD, which are hooked up or connected to or synched to a mainframe computer somewhere to prevent fraud. How exactly that will work and why that will make our lives easier is unclear to me at the present time.
O'BRIEN: Because you have to have the card.
SERWER: You'd have the card, exactly, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: ... change.
HEMMER: Hey, if I've been ripped off, man, I'll take one of those things any day.
SERWER: Well, these things are kind of difficult, because you always have to have this with you at all times, which, you know, who needs that?
Now, talking about the shredding story. This is kind of fun. Down in Houston way, of course, that's where Enron was headquartered. Authorities are having "Shredder Weekend." That's right, this Saturday at four area malls, citizens will be allowed to come and shred up to ten boxes of documents, compliments of the city of Houston and a company called Shred It. And you know, this relates to identity theft, too, because everyone's talking about online identify theft, but most of it actually occurs by people dumpster diving and looking at old credit card records.
HEMMER: Wow, there you go.
SERWER: And so...
HEMMER: I tell you, I love my shredder. All that angst, you stick it in there at the end of the day.
SERWER: I'd like to get one of those.
O'BRIEN: Oh, it's great.
HEMMER: Enjoy.
O'BRIEN: You get rid of a lot of frustration.
SERWER: Yes.
HEMMER: Thanks, Andy.
O'BRIEN: Last look at the "Question of the Day." Good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Should convicted murderers be shackled when appearing in court for sentencing? The Supreme Court of the United States ruled no yesterday, saying that it denies them their right to due process. This is just during the sentencing phase. They've already been convicted of the murder.
D.C. writes: "This is another example of the liberal nuts taking better care of the convicts than the public. What about the rights of the people working in the courtroom? Don't they have a right to be safe at work?"
Frank in Dyresburg, Tennessee: "Maybe the Supremes who voted against shackles and chains in these situations should spend a few months in state courtrooms or night courts in places like New York, Los Angeles and Houston."
And Dee in Jacksonsville, Florida: "Somehow I'm thinking an individual who makes the choice to violate the law and commit murder would think nothing of injuring anyone in an effort to escape from justice. Let's pull our heads out and check for daylight."
O'BRIEN: How'd the e-mails basically run? You only had a couple of people who thought it was a brilliant idea.
CAFFERTY: Yes, well, most people don't. If you have any common sense at all, this is just stupid. I mean, they've been convicted of murder. Don't we have DNA tests to prove now whether or not the convictions will hold up?
SERWER: But it's the sentencing part, so the thinking is that it would prejudice a jury and they'd give the person, say, 20 more years because they were in chains.
CAFFERTY: This is the same jury that convicted them during a weeks-long trial. They already have an opinion of this dirtbag, excuse me, this defendant.
SERWER: Alleged dirtbag.
(CROSSTALK)
SERWER: They just don't know what the dirtbag's sentence is.
CAFFERTY: You had that guy take that gun away from that deputy down in Atlanta, go in the courtroom and kill a judge because he didn't have any kind of restraining stuff on him. It's just nonsense.
HEMMER: On a related -- I thought Judge Lefkow showed an awful lot of strength last week going before Congress.
CAFFERTY: This is the woman who's family was killed in Chicago. But I mean, you know, that's just -- it makes no sense at all. Pardon me, I'm beginning to stutter. It's time to call it a day.
SERWER: Well, we all agree. Take a nap!
O'BRIEN: Pull you down. Thanks, Jack.
Coming up tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING, part three of our series, "Surviving Family Vacations." We're going to help you choose the right theme park. Be sure to catch AMERICAN MORNING. We begin at 7:00 a.m. Eastern time.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Aaron Brown's got a preview of what's coming up tonight on "NEWSNIGHT."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP))
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Miss O'Brien. Tonight on the program, the game machine down in the den. The next generation might take over your entire house, reshape your life and make a few big companies even bigger. How the Xbox and the Playstation are evolving and what they are turning into.
That story, plus the top news of the day, morning papers and everything else that makes "NEWSNIGHT," "NEWSNIGHT," CNN tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern -- Soledad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Mr. Brown.
HEMMER: We got to run, huh, Miss O'Brien?
O'BRIEN: We do, we're out of time.
HEMMER: We'll see you tomorrow. Here's Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center. Hey, Daryn, good morning.
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