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American Morning: Wake Up Call

Amanda Knox Pleads Her Case; Gay Marriage, Health Care On Docket; New Law Stops San Francisco Effort; Alibaba Interested In Buying Yahoo

Aired October 03, 2011 - 05:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Just moments ago, American student, Amanda Knox, made a plea of innocence before an Italian court. We'll play her last words before a judge for you. Now, we wait for the jury to decide her fate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I saw the plane go down, down, down. I said, oh, my God, oh, my God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Also this morning, a dangerous night for airline passengers, nearly 20 people are injured because of severe turbulence on two different flights.

And another fall from grace for Tiger Woods. It's something we have not seen in 15 years.

Good morning to you. It is Monday, October 3rd. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.

I'm Carol Costello, joining you live this morning from New York.

We begin, of course, with that breaking news on the Amanda Knox murder appeal trial in Italy. The 24-year-old American could learn at any moment if she will be cleared of murder, in the murder of her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, which happened four years ago now. Knox addressed the court just moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMANDA KNOX, APPEALING MURDER CONVICTION (through translator): I want to go back home. I want to go back to my life. I don't want to be tarnished, to have my life, my future taken away from me for things that I haven't committed because I am innocent. I am innocent. Raffaelle is innocent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: CNN's Paula Newton is live outside of the prison where Amanda Knox will be held while the jury deliberates. She joins us live from there now.

Paula, we heard Amanda in her own words. So, what's next?

PAULA KNOX, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: She will arrive at this prison in about 15, 20 minutes and what a day it will be for her. The judge has already said he does not expect to return back until at least 8:00 p.m. local tonight. That's 2:00 p.m. our time back home.

She got up, and what was different this time, Carol, than other times, she didn't have a prepared statement. She might have. She perhaps discarded it. Perhaps she committed it to memory.

She got up. She was not composed enough to speak at first. And she said, "I am afraid." The judge said, "You can sit down." She said basically, "No, I'll stay standing."

And she basically categorically underscored what she's been trying to tell jurors before her for four years now, "I did not kill. I did not rape. I did not steal, I was not there."

And as we just heard, she underscored her innocence again.

What was interesting here is this was more of a heartfelt emotional plea. She's made them before. But this time, she seemed to go off-script and just plead, literally, as she said, plead for her life in front of this jury for what she says is something she did not do -- Carol.

COSTELLO: She was in tears for much of that statement. Her Italian was very fluent. She's much better at speaking of language. So, maybe it will be more effective.

Remind us what could happen, what the judge or the jury rather, could decide.

NEWTON: So, this is an appeals process. So, either the last conviction will be upheld, which means she stays in jail for 26 years. Or that appeal, it will be sustained, in the sense that they will reform it, they will exonerate her and throw it out the original verdict. That means she goes home.

In between, there is another option, though, that is that her sentence will be reduced and she will be exonerated just for some crimes. What does that mean? She served almost four years. Does that mean it will be time served? Or it could be a sentence much more than that.

You know, a lot has been made of the fact that if she is exonerated in this, that she is a flight risk. And what she and her lawyer continue to underscore is, look, I just want to go home. The Italian justice system will continue to go on, I'm here for something I did not do, I just want to go home. I'm not running away from anything.

COSTELLO: As far as public opinion in Perugia, Italy -- I mean, has it turned in her favor? Do people think she's still guilty?

NEWTON: I've been covering this for a few years now, and, you know, there are a couple of things. Yes, definitely I've seen a turn in public opinion. And speaking to local journalists here, they say it's definitely there, that that's true.

The problem, though, is that what's come out of this is basically an indictment of the Italian justice system. What the defense lawyers call shoddy police work, prosecutors who made up fantasies about what happened in that room, and that's what many Italians seem to be uncomfortable with. They don't want to make it seem as if it's the Italian justice system that's on the hook here.

At the same time, many people are sympathetic to what Amanda Knox has been saying now and when they look at what's happened with the DNA evidence. They said, look, there's no trace of Amanda even being in the room of where Meredith Kercher was murdered -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Paula Newton thanks so much. Paula Newton joining us from outside of the jail where Amanda Knox is returning to. She made her statement before the judge and the jury in that Italian courtroom in Perugia, Italy.

She was in tears, she said I am innocent. I just want to return to my life. And she also mentioned her roommate who had been so brutally raped and murdered. She said, I miss her, she was my best friend.

We will continue to monitor the jury deliberations in the Amanda Knox trial. We'll bring you the ruling live as soon as the jury reaches a decision. But that decision is not expected to come until at least 2:00 p.m. Eastern, that's our time.

Another closely-watched trial, that's of Michael Jackson's doctor. Today, jurors are expected to hear from two emergency room doctors, who tried to bring the pop icon back to life before declaring him dead. Three of Dr. Conrad Murray's girlfriends are also expected on the witness stand. They're expected to discuss their conversations with Murray before he realized that Jackson had stopped breathing.

Jackson's mother will not be in the Los Angeles courtroom today. She took Jackson's three children to Canada to attend last night's premiere of Cirque du Soleil's tribute to Jackson. A source close to the family said she will not return until at least next Monday.

Be glad you were not flying JetBlue or Lufthansa over the weekend. Severe turbulence hit planes from both airlines yesterday. It happened to a JetBlue airbus flying from Puerto Rico to Boston. Six passengers suffered back or neck injuries and one suffered a serious burn from coffee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I saw the plane go down, down, down. I said oh, my God. Oh, my God.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was so scary. I thought, my God, this could be it. But it didn't last that long. It was quite a surprise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The Lufthansa plane ran into rough air on a flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Munich, Germany. It was diverted to Boston with 11 injured passengers. No word on the extent of their injuries.

What started as a protest against Wall Street and whatever is gaining steam nationwide.

This melee erupted Saturday when police arrested more than 700 demonstrators as they attempted to march across a bridge into Lower Manhattan. The demonstrators are part of the occupy Wall Street protest. They've been protesting everything from what they call Wall Street greed to high prices at the gas station and inadequate health insurance. Their movement has inspired similar protests in several other cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle.

Another setback of sorts for Tiger Woods. For the first time in 15 years, he is not listed as one of golf's top 50 players. According to the official world golf rankings, Woods entered the weekend holding down the 50th spot, but he was knocked out of it as another player tied for fifth at the Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland and moved ahead of him. So I guess now Tiger Woods is listed as 51.

Let's head to Atlanta and Yankees fan, Rob Marciano.

Did you -- did you hear that the Tigers won game two yesterday?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I forgot, I didn't see that part. I'm still wallowing in the victory of the Yankees in game one, of course, which was a two-day game as you may remember. So, it counts twice as much because --

COSTELLO: But, no, it doesn't.

Good morning, Rob.

MARCIANO: Good morning. Great weekend of baseball, and football as well. And it certainly felt like a fall weather, across much of the eastern third of the country. A chill in the air and we've got a couple of storms to deal with and maybe some travel delays in some spots as well.

So, we'll start you off with that. New York metro, the stubborn system going to create more in the way of unsettled weather today. So, we'll probably see over an hour, maybe in Boston, also, could see some heavy rain with some of these showers popping over.

And we're kind of book-ending the country with a couple of storms, one of which is going to head into the Northwest and San Francisco.

But look at some of these temperatures this morning, into the 40s to start off your day. First week of the October. Forty-seven in Memphis, 46 degrees in Atlanta -- those peaches got a little bit of chicken skin going on as far as it being a little chilly this morning.

All right. There are your two storms, in the middle part of the country. It will be windy, but dry. This system out west is pretty impressive.

Look at the pinwheel making its way toward Vancouver, Canada. But it's also going to bring it some snow. How about this? First, winter storm watches up of the season -- six to 12 inches of snow above 7,000 feet in the Sierra Nevadas.

Seventy-six in Atlanta, it will be 59 degrees in New York City, 85 in Salt Lake City. Kind of out there, Yellowstone National Park.

Got a little iReport that I want to share with you. Kind of the beauty shot, the Grand Prismatic Geyser. Some folks were out there hiking along and checking out the scene -- and there you go.

Look at the color popping, huh?

COSTELLO: Oh!

MARCIANO: Nature at its finest there in Yellowstone. I had a feeling that was taken, if not a few days ago, maybe a few weeks ago when it was a little bit -- when the sun was a little high in the sky. But if you've never been to Yellowstone, seeing Old Faithful, this is Old Faithful. If you haven't seen it, it's a sight to behold.

COSTELLO: That picture, it looks fake.

MARCIANO: Doesn't it?

Quite honestly, I haven't checked it out that much. It might be. We have people for that. It's a gorgeous shot.

Good Monday morning to you, Carol.

COSTELLO: We have crack people.

Good Monday morning to you, too. And thanks for sharing that beautiful photo.

In the news today, we're going to go back to Italy. Matthew Chance inside the courtroom for the Amanda Knox appeal trial. He sat through her entire statement before the judge and jury. We'll go back live to Italy and talk with Matthew Chance, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Twelve minutes past the hour. Good Monday morning to you.

American Amanda Knox pleading to an Italian jury to overturn her murder conviction. Her emotional statement came just a short time ago.

CNN's senior international correspondent Matthew Chance joins us now. He's outside the courthouse now. But he actually was inside.

And Matthew, before we get to it -- let's hear a bit of what Amanda Knox had to say before judge and jury.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KNOX (through translator): I want to go back home. I want to go back to my life. I don't want to be punished -- to have my life, my future taken away from me for things that I haven't committed, because I am innocent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Matthew Chance live in Perugia, Italy.

So, Matthew, you were inside that courtroom. You heard it live and in person. Amanda Knox was very emotional.

CHANCE: She was. She looked very emotional, actually when she arrived in the court. She was being escorted, as she always is, by the various police officers. Escort her into the court. She had her head hung down, she looked extremely pale indeed.

First, to speak was her former boyfriend, Raffaelle Sollecito. He was very emotional. He made that point to the judge and jury, saying he wanted to say lot more, but he couldn't.

But it was when Amanda Knox stood up to address that jury and address the judges in that court. This must have been the biggest speech of her life, to plead her innocence, to insist that she was not guilty of killing Meredith Kercher. She was very upset indeed. The judge said at one point she could sit down if she wanted to. But she didn't.

She kept on standing. She managed to compose herself and say what she wanted to say. Her parents told us earlier that she had been months working on the contents of that address to the judge and the jury and as you just heard, she insisted that she did not kill Meredith Kercher. She insisted she was innocent. She spoke with Meredith Kercher as someone who was a friend who she lost.

She also spoke about the police here in Perugia. Said that she went to them out of duty, initially on November the 1st, 2007, after November the 1st, 2007, when the murder took place. And she felt she had been betrayed by them. She felt that she's essentially had not been given a fair hearing by the authorities.

So, it was a very emotional plea. It lasted about 15 minutes, I'd say or so.

The court is now retired. The judge saying that we're not going to have a verdict until about, not before 8:00 local time -- which is in about just under nine hours from now, Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes. Matthew, we're looking at the van that's transporting Amanda Knox back to jail. That's where she will be awaiting word from the jury about whether or not they've upheld her appeal.

You talk about her statement and how she was working on it for months. Usually in past court proceedings, she read from a prepared statement. This time it seemed quite extemporaneous.

She also mentioned that "the things that they are saying about me," and this is -- I'm quoting her, are not true. We've heard Amanda Knox being described as a femme fatale, as a Jessica Rabbit type.

I mean, were her words effective?

CHANCE: Yes. Yes, we'll see. I mean, certainly, what she was referring to then, was the fact that she's been sort of painted by some quarters in the media, but particularly the prosecution, as this scarlet woman, this person who indulged in extreme activities, I think was the words of one prosecution lawyer.

One of them said that she had a split personality, was angelic on one side, but demonic and satanic on the other side. So, I think she was turning to that jury in her own words, and remember, she was speaking fluent Italian. The past several years in jail, she's only managed to perfect her Italian spoken language. So I think that may have had a really important impact as well.

But she was trying to make the point to the jury, that she is not as she's been painted by the prosecution. And that's something that was backed up again by Raffaelle Sollecito as well, because he also spoke. He pulled out a bracelet which he was wearing on his wrist, saying he had been wearing it since he was put in prison. On it was written, "Free Amanda and Raffaelle."

And he said he wanted this bracelet to be a part of the history. He wanted it to be part of the past. That was his kind of emotional plea.

And that was, you know, of reflective of what Amanda Knox had to say as well, Carol.

COSTELLO: And as I said, Amanda Knox has been transported back to jail. Well she will be awaiting the jury and the judge's decision.

Matthew Chance joining us live from Perugia, Italy -- we thank you.

And as Matthew told us, the decision is not expected to come for hours and hours. We're expecting it around 2:00 p.m. Eastern. That's our time. And, of course, we'll continue to monitor the jury deliberations in the Knox trial. We'll bring you the ruling live as soon as the jury reaches a decision.

We're going to take a quick break at 17 minutes past the hour. We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's 19 minutes past the hour. Good morning to you.

Scientists are sounding the alarm in one part of the world where they are celebrating big progress in another.

Let's go to Hong Kong and Kristie Lu Stout.

The bad news, scientists are concerned about another hole in the ozone. Tell us about that.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. This is a very significant story. Ozone loss over the Arctic was so severe this year, the scientists say it could be called another ozone hole.

According to an article in "Nature," about 13 miles above the north pole, some 80 percent of the ozone is lost. The cause here is an unusually long period of cold weather that activates these ozone- destroying chemicals. And while the Antarctic hole remains stable, you are seeing these major changes above the Arctic and researchers are call for more work into why.

Back to you, Carol.

COSTELLO: Kristie Lu Stout, thanks very much, reporting live from Hong Kong.

GOP candidate Herman Cain is on a roll. He's hoping to shake things up in the 2012 race. And today, he's meeting with -- well, you know who he is meeting with today. That would be Donald Trump. We'll tell you about that next.

It's 20 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Twenty-three minutes past the hour.

Time now for your Political Ticker with Pam Kirkland of "Morning Briefing" Sirius POTUS. She's live from Washington.

Good morning.

PAM KIRKLAND, SIRIUS POTUS: Good morning, Carol. How are you this morning?

COSTELLO: I'm terrific, as I'm sure you are -- getting up so early in the morning. Let's talk about Herman Cain, shall we? He's supposed to meet with Donald Trump today.

He's been on quite a roll.

KIRKLAND: He has been on quite a roll. He'll be in the Big Apple today, as you said, scheduled to meet with Donald Trump where the two I'm sure plan to talk politics, business, maybe a little pizza. According to Trump, all of the GOP candidates have reached out to meet with him, and for the support in their presidential campaigns. Herman Cain is just the latest of the field who's going to meet at Trump Towers.

Rick Perry and Mitt Romney actually met with Trump just a few weeks ago. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann reportedly met with him earlier this year. Sarah Palin even met with him, though we don't know her presidential ambitions. And she met with him for a slice of pizza back in May during her One Nation bus tour.

COSTELLO: How could we have forgotten that?

Let's talk about Senator John McCain. He has a warning to the New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. There's all this talk about him getting into the presidential race. It has not stopped.

But John McCain issued a warning. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: If Governor Christie decides to run, I wish him luck. I think there is a bit of a caution that always, the swimming pool looks a lot better until you jump right in. The water may not be quite as warm as you think.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Yes. Just ask Rick Perry. But if Christie is going to run, he's going to have to make a decision very soon. The Florida primary is moving up.

KIRKLAND: Exactly, the buzz now is that the Christie team is assessing how fast they could put together a winning 2012 campaign. We're getting close to the start of the primary season and Christie is expected to announce within days whether he will join the presidential fray.

But the Florida GOP may have thrown a wrench in his plan. Last week, they announced it would hold its primary on January 31st. And that's going to bump up the whole nominating calendar. So now Christie and Sarah Palin for that matter, suddenly have less than -- at least a month less to pull a campaign together to compete in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.

COSTELLO: Understood. We're going to talk to Senator John McCain a little later on "AMERICAN MORNING."

Pam Kirkland from "Morning Briefing" on Sirius XM Radio -- thanks so much for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.

A vote of confidence for the Obama administration from a very unlikely source. Coming up, what former Vice President Dick Cheney said about the president.

And California shoots down San Francisco's attempt to ban circumcisions. We'll have details, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Good morning to you.

It is Monday, October 3rd. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.

I'm Costello Carol, joining us live from New York this morning. It is 30 minutes past the hour.

A very emotional appeal from American Amanda Knox, pleading with an Italian jury to overturn her murder conviction. It happened just moments ago. Here's part of what Knox said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMANDA KNOX, APPEALING MURDER CONVICTION (through translator): He was always kind to me. My friend has been murdered, and I've always wanted justice for her. I'm not escaping the truth. And I've never tried to escape the truth. I insist on the truth. I insist that after four desperate years, I insist my innocence, our innocence, because it is true, and it's got to be defended and recognized.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Knox and her former Italian boyfriend were convicted of killing Knox's British roommate, Meredith Kercher, four years ago. Both maintain their innocence. The jury is expected to issue its ruling around 2:00 p.m. Eastern today. CNN will bring it to you live when it happens.

The U.S. Supreme Court back in session today. Several justices took part in the annual red mass yesterday. It's traditionally held on the Sunday before the high court's new term begins. This new session tees up the justices for a bunch of controversial rulings, including one on gay marriage and another on immigration. President Obama's health care bill is also on the docket. Justices haven't said yet whether they'll actually take up that issue, but most analysts say they will.

A vote of confidence for the Obama administration from former vice president, Dick Cheney. On CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley, Cheney backed President Obama's decision to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I think the decision has been made with respect to allowing gays to serve openly in the military is a good one. I think it's the right thing to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Cheney also gave a thumb's up for that U.S. drone strike that killed a top al Qaeda operative, but still wants an apology from the president. He's upset that the -- that Mr. Obama said the Bush administration overreacted to the September 11th attacks. Leon Panetta is on his first trip to the Middle East since being appointed defense secretary. He plans to press both Israeli and Palestinian leaders to engage in talks. His trips will also include stops in Egypt, and a NATO meeting in Brussels. Our Erin Burnett spoke with Panetta just before he left. She asked him about that U.S. drone strike that killed a terrorist who was also an American citizen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEON PANETTA, DEFENSE SECRETARY: This individual was clearly a terrorist. And yes, he was a citizen, but if you're a terrorist, you're a terrorist. And, that means that we have the ability to go after those who would threaten to attack United States and kill Americans. There's no question that the authority and the ability to go after a terrorist is there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Watch the rest of Erin's exclusive interview with Leon Panetta when her new show, "Out Front" premieres tonight at seven o'clock eastern.

California's governor has signed a bill into law that stops local governments from banning male circumcision. A San Francisco group opposed the practice and wanted the procedure cut citywide. It was on the city's November 8th ballot, but a judge ordered it removed, saying the state should not regulate such a practice.

After an inspection of the Washington Monument was called off Friday, they'll try it again today. Friday's check was canceled because it was too windy, and workers up there were worried about their safety. They're examining the monument after that 5.8 magnitude earthquake back in August put a couple of cracks in it. Right now, the monument is close to the public. They hope to wrap up the inspection by October 14th.

Another company saying yahoo. We'll tell you who may be in the market for the company when we come back. It's 34 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Thirty-five minutes past the hour. Investors are sighing a bit in relief this morning. The third quarter is finally over. The Dow was down 12 percent for the quarter, the worst performance in more than two years.

But alas, today is another day and another quarter. There's the deja vu thing happening all over again. Stocks in Asia fell today. European markets don't look much better, and Dow futures, well, they're down, too.

Much of the market turmoil is because of Greece and that sparked protests in the streets of Athens. Late last night, Greece announced it had adopted a draft budget for 2012, but it will miss key targets for deficit reduction. That means it may not get bailout money promised by the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank, and the European Commission. Without that funding, Greece could run out of money later this month. In other words, hold on to your seats.

Another possible suitor for Yahoo. Can you say alibaba, the CEO of the Chinese Internet Conglomerate says his company would be interested in buying Yahoo. That news sent Yahoo stock up three percent in after-hours trading. And Microsoft maybe hunkering to get in on the action again. Microsoft bid $47 billion for Yahoo in 2008. Yahoo said then, no thanks.

President Obama blasting Republican candidates for failing to defend a gay soldier at a recent GOP debate. His strong words after audience members booed the soldier coming up.

But first, check out today's "Get Smart" question. People from which country spend the most time on Facebook. Is it A. Australia, B. The United States, or C. Singapore? We'll have the answer in two minutes. It's 37 minutes past.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Thirty-nine minutes past the hour. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.

Now, back to today's "Get Smart" question. People from which country spend the most time on Facebook? Is it A. Australia, B. The United States, or C. Singapore? The answer is -- C. Singapore. According to a study done by the data-monitoring firm, Experian, users in Singapore spend about 39 minutes on the site per visit. The united states, by the way, ranked sixth with about 21 minutes per visit.

Now, to our "Political Ticker," let's bring in CNN political reporter, Shannon Travis. He's live for us from Des Moines, Iowa. Good morning, Shannon.

SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER (on the phone): Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Herman Cain is on quite a roll. He was on "Leno." He's going to visit Donald Trump later today, and he's up in the polls, but his campaign suffered this major setback. What does this mean, Shannon?

TRAVIS: Yes. It suffered a major setback. I was the first to report the story over the weekend, Carol. His communications director, Ellen Carmichael, is (ph) resigning from the campaign. Now, this is major for a few reasons. One, the National Press Corps, the political press corps has a really good relationship with Ellen Carmichael.

His new person whose name is J.D. Gordon will have to reestablish all of those ties, all of those connections with the press corps. Obviously, right now, as you just mentioned, Herman Cain is on a roll. So, that's one thing. Also, this comes on the heels of two other staffers resigning in June. I reported on that as well. So, some people are wondering, you know, are there more shoes to drop in the Cain campaign? Are there going to be, you know, other resignations. Right now, there's a lot of questions, but we do know that one high-profile resignation is raising a lot of eyebrows -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Could it be that Herman Cain has very little money left? I mean, what's the reason for these defections?

TRAVIS: You know, I spoke with Ellen Carmichael after that question. She said it's for professional and personal reasons. It's certainly a question about how much money Herman Cain has. There are also questions about whether he has the campaign structure in the early states, New Hampshire, Iowa, Nevada, South Carolina that may get whether, you know, he has the staffing and the money to pay for those staffers.

So, those are genuine questions. We should -- we should know a little bit more about the money part once he releases his latest fundraising (ph) -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Well, we can determine at least one question that Herman Cain will be asking Donald Trump today. Can I have your rolodex and do you have any money to give me? Those are two things Herman Cain might be discussing with Donald Trump.

TRAVIS: Well, Donald Trump can do things roll in his campaign to be like (INAUDIBLE)

COSTELLO: Maybe. Who knows? Herman Cain, you know, he's enjoyable to listen to. He's very charismatic. And he comes up with things that really catch people's attention like this. He wants to revamp -- "hail to the chief." Did he say how, Shannon?

TRAVIS: He was on Fox News yesterday, and he said he wants to give it a fresher sound. You know, Herman Cain is a businessman. So, he says all brands pass to have a new look, new feel. He did say that it wouldn't be a hip-hop sound that he would give it if he became president, but that he'd want to put more gospel beats, his words, not mine, to "hail to the chief." I wonder if Will.I.Am is available for the remix -- Carol.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: Now, that would be an interesting pairing, wouldn't it? Let's talk about President Obama, because he gave a very powerful speech over the weekend. He was reacting to that gay soldier being booed at last month's GOP debate. Here's a clip from the debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN HILL, SERVING IN IRAQ: 2010 when I was deployed to Iraq I had to lie about who I was because I'm a gay soldier. Do you intend to circumvent the progress that's been made for gay and lesbian soldiers in the military?

(CHANTING) boo!

RICK SANTORUM, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes, I would say any type of sexual activity has absolutely no place in the military.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So, Shannon, President Obama over the weekend, called out Republican candidates because, on stage, they didn't say anything about the booing. Let's listen to that.

TRAVIS: That's right. It's the first time President Obama reacted to what happened, what you just played. I'm going to read you just a quick quote. The president said, quote, "You want to be commander-in-chief? You can start by standing up for the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States even when it is not politically convenient." Harsh words from President Obama to his presidential competitors.

COSTELLO: All right. Shannon Travis joining us live from Des Moines, Iowa. Thanks to you.

Now, let's head to Atlanta and check in with Rob Marciano. Any flight delays expected today?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, I think so. We have a stubborn system across the northeast that will probably give you some fits in the way of some flight delays there. So, let's highlight some of the major airports, all of them actually in the arc, LaGuardia, Newark and JFK. Boston, you'll see sporadic heavy rain showers. Same deal in D.C. and Philly.

And in San Francisco, actually, we've got a decent storm system that's heading that way, but the temperatures are the big story this morning, into the 40s as far south as Memphis and Atlanta. So, a bit of a chill in the air there. In between, windy and on the warm side. So, not too bad there.

This storm system, a pretty strong one, heading into the Pacific Northwest, and it is strong enough to bring our first winter storm watches of the season to the high country, the Sierra Nevada. Six to 12 inches of snow is expected above the 7,000-foot mark there. Another note, we've been talking about Ophelia. At one point, it was a Category 4 hurricane. Right now, it's a strong tropical storm with 70-mile-an-hour winds, and it is currently taking its aim on Newfoundland, Canada there.

In other news, in Vegas, they're unveiling, Carol, a new slot machine, and it's a tribute to none other than Michael Jackson, itself, as the manslaughter trial surrounds that case. The -- apparently, I'm trying to get a good look at this thing. Maybe they haven't released pictures, but basically, you can sit in the thing, it's got four screens.

You see Michael Jackson's videos. The seat actually rumbles with the beat and some of the songs all while gambling away. "Bet it," I would assume is the phrase they use as opposed to "Beat It." (LAUGHTER)

MARCIANO: Get to Vegas.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: That's interesting. It's just another way to make you spend more money. Rob Marciano, thank you very much.

MARCIANO: All right. You're welcome.

The American, Amanda Knox, pleads her case. Will an Italian jury now overturn her murder conviction? We'll have a live report from the courthouse. That's coming up next.

But first, on this day in history back in 1995, you probably remember where you were when this happened. A jury found O.J. Simpson not guilty in the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. The nine-month trial captured international attention and sparked a lot of debate. It's 46 minutes past the hour.

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COSTELLO: Good morning to you. It is Monday, October 3rd. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. I'm Carol Costello joining you live from New York. It is, oh, just about ten minutes until the top of the hour.

The American student, Amanda Knox, made an emotional appeal overnight to get her murder conviction overturned. Now, her fate will be, once again, decided by an Italian jury. She spoke before that jury just a short time ago. Let's listen.

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KNOX (through translator): I am the same person I was four years ago, exactly the same person. The only thing that is different from now from four years ago is my suffering. In four years, I've lost my friends in the most terrible and unexplainable way. My trust in the authorities and the police has been damaged. I had to face charges that were totally unfair without any basis.

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COSTELLO: Amanda Knox is now been taken by van to the jail to await that jury's decision. Becky Anderson is live outside of the courthouse. Becky, this was very -- this was a very emotional statement from Amanda Knox. She was crying through a lot of it.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, speaking Italian, back now at the prison, which is about 40 minutes from here. This is the courthouse where the jury is now deliberating. We've been told not to expect a verdict on this appeal for about eight hours. They will be considering the pleas of innocence from both Amanda Knox today and from her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito. And both impassioned, saying they weren't there. Amanda Knox said that she didn't kill anybody. She didn't rape anybody. She's never stolen anything. I mean, really emotional stuff as they spoke for about 15 minutes each. The key here is the DNA evidence, Carol.

Forensics suggesting certainly according to two independent experts, forensics suggests that the DNA on a bra clasp and on a knife that prosecutors say was used to kill Meredith Kercher in 2007 is questionable and not enough to convict these two of the crime of murder. So, we now wait to hear what the jury will decide.

Five women, three men, two of those men are part of the judging facility here. One of whom is the presiding judge, and they will guide this jury on exactly what they should decide. As I say, probably not for about eight hours from now -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And this jury, they could come up -- they could make a number of rulings. Tell us about the various rulings they could make.

ANDERSON: That's right. So, this was a conviction for murder, of course, murder of Meredith Kercher back in 2007. The convictions coming down in 2009. That verdict could be overturned. If it were to be overturned, that would mean that Sollecito and Amanda Knox were effectively free.

They would have to go back to the prison to pick up their things, to sign out effectively, but after that, Amanda Knox could, she could return to Seattle and what is probably the next plane and (INAUDIBLE) also be upheld, which would mean (INAUDIBLE).

COSTELLO: OK. So, those various scenarios, you know, the number of decisions that the jury could come up with. You heard they could overturn the verdict altogether and that means Amanda Knox would be on her way home.

The verdict could be partially overturned, which means Knox could be acquitted on murder charges and other charges, but not for other charges -- but not for defamation, because she has been convicted of that, because she accused a man of killing Amanda Knox, a man who was later cleared.

And of course, the first verdict could be upheld and her sentence could be lengthened. She could be sentenced to life in prison. We'll just have to await what the jury decides. And as you heard Becky Anderson said, that won't happen for about eight hours. Of course, we're continuing to monitor the jury deliberations, and we'll bring you that ruling live as soon as the jury reaches a decision.

Outraged customers are coming up with strategies to avoid Bank of America's plan to charge five bucks to use a debit card, but it's actually the bank that may get the last laugh. We'll explain in a live report from the NASDAQ MarketSite. It's six minutes until the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: Three minutes until the top of the hour. Good morning. When Wall Street is occupied and the markets are down, one has to wonder just how bad is the economy. Comedian, Jay Leno, has a few suggestions. Here's your punch line.

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JAY LENO, HOST, THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO: The economy is so bad, people in Beverly Hills are being forced to lose weight just by diet and exercise. Can you imagine?!

(APPLAUSE)

LENO: The economy is so bad, I saw Chef Boyardee eating top ramen noodles.

(APPLAUSE)

LENO: The economy is so bad, Nancy Grace has stopped doing the cha-cha and is now showing her Ta Tas. Have you heard that?

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COSTELLO: That was so bad. Let's head to the NASDAQ MarketSite. Carter Evans joins us. And I guess, we must look at the numbers, huh?

CARTER EVANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Right. But, you know what, it's a new week. So, you never know what a new week holds, although, lately it hasn't been so good. We are going to get a reading on manufacturing today and construction spending. Also, we're going to hear about auto sales for the month of September.

We get the employment report at the end of the week. So, we'll find out what September's unemployment rate is. Our futures this morning? Not looking so good. More concern about the debt crisis over in Europe that's driving things a little lower today.

COSTELLO: OK. Tell us about this Bank of America thing.

EVANS: Oh, yes.

COSTELLO: Because a lot of people are angry that they're now charging for the use of debit cards.

EVANS: Yes. So many people angry about this. It's the big story on CNNMoney.com. Talking about how Bank of America may get the last laugh, anyway. You know, since Bank of America proposed or said that it's going to start charging debit card users a $5 fee in the new year, people have come out all over the place saying, they're going to leave Bank of America.

They're going to take their money somewhere else. Well, this story talks about how difficult that is these days and how likely most people will just move their purchases over to credit cards. Well, banks make more money on credit cards in the first place, especially when you run up a debt, and then, they get to charge you interest on that money. So one way or the other, this article says, Bank of America wins.

COSTELLO: Oh, that hurts.

EVANS: Yes.

COSTELLO: There aren't a lot of small banks, either. You only have the major banks really to choose from. They're all going to charge.

EVANS: I got to tell you, you got to go to the Internet. Those internet banks that do not have the overhead of brick-and-mortar stores, they will actually pay you back when you get charged a fee to use another bank's ATM.

COSTELLO: OK. I'm going there right now. Well, maybe not right now.

EVANS: All right. A little bit later.

COSTELLO: OK. Carter Evans, thanks so much.

"AMERICAN MORNING" continues right now.