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CNN Live Saturday
New GPS Technology Used To Track Trash Trucks On Daily Routes; Italian Demonstrators Demand Answers From U.S. Military; Michael Jackson Trial Wraps Up Week One
Aired March 05, 2005 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: It is 2:00 on the East Coast, 9:00 in Beirut. Hello, I'm Andrea Koppel at CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta. Ahead this hour, Syria's president says he will withdraw his country's troops closer to the border of Lebenon, but with no time table. Will that be enough to satisfy the White House and the international community. We will tell you straight ahead.
And a day that went from joy to tragedy. An Italian journalist returns home after being wounded by U.S. soldiers. We'll find out how the Italians are reacting to the attack.
Plus...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody needs to have cookies and candy and peanuts, beef jerky, Slim Jims. Stuff that they can throw in their pocket when they go out on a mission. And I think more than anything, it's a taste of home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOPPEL: Packages from home keep our troops going strong. We'll show you how this small act of kindness makes a big difference. Those stories ahead.
First, headlines now in the news.
There are exclusive new images of one of the most wanted men in the world. CNN recently obtained new pictures of terrorist leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi, a top lieutenant in Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. U.S. claims Zarqawi masterminded and carried out countless attacks on Iraqis and American troops.
While sources tell CNN the man in these photographs is in fact al Zarqawi, it's unclear how recently the photos were taken. Still, they appear to have happened at the same time and place. In the pictures, Zarqawi is bearded and well groomed, and appears relaxed.
Local officials tell CNN Pakistani troops launched a raid on a house near the Afghan border today. Two men suspected of being al Qaeda members were killed, 11 other suspects were arrested. Authorities said the raid led to a fire fight injuring an army captain and a woman. The Marine Corps has suspended 3 more drill instructors after the drowning of a recruit at Paris Island. Jason Tharp died the day after a drill instructor was videotaped grabbing and striking him. Five other Marines had already suspended. Another was placed on administrative duty while the incident is being investigated.
We begin with a tense and dramatic day in the Middle East. Under intense international pressure to pull his troops out of Lebanon, Syria has announced a withdrawal plan. But it falls far short of what President Bush and other world leaders are demanding. CNN's senior international correspondent Brent Sadler is watching the latest events unfold. And he's with us now from Lebanon's capital of Beirut.
So Brent, what is the reaction there?
BRENT SADLER, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Andrea, you can hear some of the reaction, cars honking past Martyr's Square here where there continues to be a rally.
President Bashar al Assad's speech was relayed to the crowd behind me just a couple of hours ago. And they reacted to the president's quite astonishing speech in the eyes of some Lebanese here. He was saying there would be a movement of Syrian forces to the Bakar Valley, that's closer to the Lebanese/Syrian border.
Now, analysts and political opponents of Syria here are saying, is this -- asking is this a withdrawal or is it a redeployment. And that's something that President George W. Bush will be looking at very, very closely, and other world leaders.
The Syrian president has said there will be -- first of all, he used the word withdrawal of Syrian troops to the Bakar, first of all. And then closer to what he said were the areas, the Lebanese and Syrian border areas, but not specific.
More importantly, no specific timetable for a movement of these forces. And no specific reference to any removal from Lebanon of Syria's military intelligence services. And that's been one of the key demands of U.S. president George W. Bush.
So you're seeing a continued rally going on here. Mixed signals coming from people, some saying this is the first round in what they believe could be an important victory, political victory of Syria. Others saying it's too early to say.
Nevertheless, here's what President Bashar al Assad had to tell the Syrian parliament some 2 and a half hours ago about what he thought about the situation between Syria and Lebanon right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BASHAR ASSAD, PRESIDENT OF SYRIA, (through translator): We should not stay one day if there is any consensus asking us to leave. Lebanon -- Syria cannot be in Lebanon to divide. We came there to stop division. So we cannot be a reason for, or a factor in dividing Lebanon. (END VIDEO CLIP)
SADLER: Andrea, one of the main torch bearers of the political opposition Walid Jumblatt, who is in Saudi Arabia said that the Syrian president's speech was positive.
Other political opposition leaders here are not so sure. They're saying they want more clarification, they want to see a timetable and specific Syrian actions to prove to a skeptical Lebanese opposition that the steps that the Syrian president says he's going to take on the ground with Syrian forces will actually be implemented -- Andrea.
KOPPEL: Brent Sadler in Beirut. Thank you so much, Brent.
As we've heard, President Bush is demanding nothing short of a complete withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon. Mr. Bush renewed his demands in his weekly radio address.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: For years, the Lebanese people have suffered from the aftermath of a horrific civil war and occupation by Syria. Lebanese citizens who have watched free elections in Iraq are now demanding the right to decide their own destiny free of Syrian control and domination. Syria has been an occupying force in Lebanon for nearly 3 decades and Syria's support for terrorism remains a key obstacle to peace in the broader Middle East.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
KOPPEL: Mr. Bush says the Unied State and France are working to pass a United Nations resolution that calls for all foreign forces to withdraw from Lebanon.
CNN's Octavia Nasr is with me now to talk about the Arab media's reaction to these developments involving Syria and Lebanon. She's our senior editor for Arab affairs.
And you what I think was so interesting in the story, Octavia, is it just isn't the United States and France who haven't exactly teamed up on a lot of things recently and the international community, but it really is the Arab world: Saudi Arabia and Egypt sending very strong messages to Bashar al Assad. What's been the reaction within the Arab press?
OCTAVIA NASR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very strong messages indeed. He immediately said he doesn't want people to think that he is caving in to that pressure and that he's trying to save face. But you know, and I know, and every observer that watched this speech is drawing their own conclusions that indeed, this is a direct response to the pressure. especially the pressure coming from the Arab world.
KOPPEL: How unusual is it for someone like Bashar al Assad to address his parliament the way he did today?
NASR: Very unusual. The last time he spoke to parliament was when he was sworn in years ago.
KOPPEL: Four years ago?
NASR: Right. This is not a usual feat here. And of course, you saw the pictures, you saw people demonstrating. Look at this parliament, it's a full parliament. People were ready. They were standing up and clapping on cue. People outside, also with the Syrian flags. They were ready for this show, obviously.
KOPPEL: How unusual is it for -- in the case that we just saw, the members of the parliament stand up to clap? Would they get a copy of his speech ahead of time? Do you think this was a genuine show of support? Or is a lot of this orchestrated?
NASR: I'll tell you what experts were saying on Arab media. They were saying that this is really reminiscent of the Saddam Hussein days when everybody is shouting in support of the leader. And when the leader is delivering these speeches, everybody agrees and claps hands. You have to think that this was a bit staged.
Now, the president himself was -- he was going off the script every now and then.
KOPPEL: Yeah. You could see him ad libing.
NASR: Right. He was trying to ad lib. And he did say some interesting things. He said some outrageous things. He talked about the assassination of Yasser Arafat. No one understands where this came from.
So obviously he was emotional. He was kind of hurt. He saw that some Lebanese really betrayed him. He said it clearly. But the -- at the end of the day, people are saying that they were more confused by the speech. That the speech gave no answers to the questions that were on their mind. As we've been reporting, did he say he's withdrawing his troops?
He talked about a complete withdrawal. And yet he talked about withdrawing to the Bekar Valley and then the border with Lebanon. He didn't talk about the Syrian troops going back home, for example. So were waiting for these cues.
So you have Arab experts right now saying if President Bush said that he's not going to accept half solutions, well, he got a little less than half at this point.
KOPPEL: Could have been deliberately misleading to try to buy time, whichever way. But Octavia, thank you very much.
NASR: Anytime.
KOPPEL: Taken hostage in Iraq last month, released from her captors and then hit by U.S. fire, she was on her way to the Baghdad Airport. It all happened when Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena who is back in Rome now. But the Italian people want an American explanation for her injuries. CNN's Alessio Vinci has the dramatic story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Giuliana Sgrena she has an extraordinary story to tell, kidnapped in Iraq a month ago, her captors were said to have executed her just days later. Then, a dramatic video in which she pleaded for her life and for Italy to withdraw troops from Iraq.
Finally, her release, at the hands of a man who paid the ultimate price for her freedom. Nicola Calipari was one of Italy's top intelligence agents in Iraq. He died trying shielded her as U.S. forces opened fire on her car at a checkpoint. She suffered minor wounds to her left shoulder while two other officers in the car were also injured. Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, summoned the U.S. ambassador to Rome, saying someone has to take responsibility for what happened. The U.S. has promised a full investigation.
MEL SEMBLER, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ITALY: Nicola Calipari is a friend and ally to the United States, and today, his heroism must be evident to all of us.
VINCI: Accounts, provided by U.S. forces in Baghdad, indicate that the car in which sgrena was traveling approach the checkpoint at high speed and ignored several warnings to stop.
PIER SCOLARI, PARTNER OF FRM. HOSTAGE (through translator): I have heard it was said that the Americans signaled many times to the car to stop, but Giuliana told me she didn't see anything. They were driving calmly. They had already passed many checkpoints. Therefore, everybody had been informed.
VINCI: What began as a successful operation to free a hostage, quickly turned into a tragedy. Giuliani Sgrena's communist newspaper, "IL Manifesto" was among the most vociferous critics of the U.S. invasion in Iraq. Their headline today, "The agent was assassinated."
In the streets of Rome, as people picked up the morning newspapers, anger and bewilderment.
We were all so happy, says this Marco Baroncelli (PH), a photographer, but after what happened, what can I say? We're all left speechless.
(on camera): The incident will clearly test the strong relations between the U.S. and Italy. And while Americans have promised a full investigation, the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, is likely to come under renewed pressure to rethink his commitment in Iraq, where Italy has more than 3,000 troops. Alessio Vinci CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOPPEL: Her image is everything. And we're hearing now about a kindler, gentler Martha. Will it last? Industry insiders will weigh in.
No place to go, nowhere to hide. GPS is watching.
And supplying an Army in the field from a home in Maryland. It is a story that will touch you no matter where you live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KOPPEL: Martha Stewart is out of prison, but will the domestic business maven be able to reshape her image after her conviction for lying about personal stock sales. CNN's Candy Crowley has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Would you buy linens from this woman? The slimmer, newly tenderized Martha Stewart is banking on it.
ROBERT PASSIKOFF, BRAND KEYS, INC: It's all up to her. I mean, she's still the human embodiment of the brand.
CROWLEY: Robert Passikoff measures consumer loyalty for a living.
MARTHA STEWART, MARTHA STEWART LIVING OMNIMEDIA: The launch of her everyday garden collection.
CROWLEY: From Stewart's haydays at K-Mart to her guilty verdict, her brand loylty numbers had gone from extraordinary, higher than Coke, to disastrous, lower than Enron.
STEWART: It's shameful to me.
CROWLEY: She leaves prison somewhere in between. Turning things around means writing a new myth of Martha.
PASSIKOFF: What you see is a lot of discussion regarding a kinder, gentler Martha Stewart, someone who helped folks out in prison, someone who is understanding. Clearly, that's going to help the image, because what we found out during the trial, that no one -- well, not a lot of people knew, and no one really needed to know, is how mean-spirited she was, and how stingy she was and how unkind she was.
CROWLEY: Even before her release, friends were telling the new story of a woman wronged. Remember, she's still fighting the charges. Who nonetheless indurs prison and emerges both more powerful and more human.
RICHARD FEIGEN, FRIEND OF MARTHA STEWART: She told me she learned a lot about how things are on the other side of the tracks. She knows a lot about these families, cares about them. She's gotten sort of mellow.
CROWLEY: The problem with fiddling with the brand is, you don't want to actually change the brand. The editor of Stewart's magazine wrote this month about Stewart's days in the slammer. "When Martha discovered a set of old molds in the facility's ceramic studio, she decided to cast, paint, and then glaze a nativity scene for her mother as a gift."
And now there she was just after the stroke of midnight, with hair so well-quoifed, it didn't look coifed. A hip outfit selected so carefully, it looked like she threw it on. Even the amount of time from car to plane seemed calibrated, enough time for a wave, too far away for a question.
The cameras were positioned on a flatbed truck provided by Martha's company, a photo op orchestrated by a former Kerry campaign staffer.
ERIC DENZENHALL, CRISIS MANAGER: The only thing that really matters is that core consumers continue to buy her products. The whole idea that she's going to have to get every American of every demographic to love her is ridiculous. She just needs to be able to move her products.
CROWLEY: No grisly ex-con face for this former felon, just smiling, kissing, coco serving, horse petting, dog walking, media loving Martha Stewart. As any good cook will tell you, it's all about presentation.
STEWART: My favorite thing is lemons.
CROWLEY: And need we remind you, Martha Stewart is an excellent cook.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOPPEL: And we are going to have more for you on Martha coming up in our legal segment a little later in the show.
Now, stories in the news across America.
Evanston, Illinois, there was heavy security for federal Judge Joan Lefkow and her children. They attended the funeral for Michael Lefkow today.
The judge found her husband and her mother shot and killed in her home earlier this week.
Lake City Florida, cracks are forming in the foundation of a two- story home. A nearby sinkhole has grown to about 100 feet by 225 feet. Even after 4,500 sand bags were placed around the source of the water to try to keep the hole from getting any larger.
Off the Florida Keys, about 30 stranded dolphins are being moved to rehab centers. Twice that many beached themselves in shallow waters near the town of Marathon. Almost 20 died or had to be euthanized by officials. No one knows, though, why the rough-toothed dolphins came ashore. And this story from Idaho. A cat named Cuddle Bug, insisted on hopping on her owner's car. Tory Hutchinson didn't know the cat was on the roof when she got on Interstate 15, hitting speeds of 75 miles an hour. Another driver let her know the cat was hanging on to the ski rack for dear life. Cuddle Bug's finished the trip inside the car.
And how much you want to bet Cuddle Bug ain't in the mood for cuddling right now.
The first week is over. Just how has Michael Jackson fared? It's the beginning of a long road ahead for the pop star. Our legal round table takes a look.
And big brother is watching. How would you feel if your boss at work monitored your every move?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's moving 58 miles an hour.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOPPEL: Some drivers know exactly what it's like. That story for you, and more straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KOPPEL: More companies are using satellite technology in an effort to hold down costs and keep an eye on their employees and their equipment. Andy Serwer shows how one company knows exactly where its drivers are at any time during their shifts.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDY SERWER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): Drivers who haul trash for Cero Biento have been warned: Cero sees everything.
CERO BIENTO, AUTOMATED WASTE DISPOSAL: He's moving 58 miles an hour in a southwest direction. Shows exactly where he is. He's on Interstate 84 and he just passed South Street.
SERWER: Biento commands a fleet of 250 trash trucks in Connecticut and New York. His company, Automated Waste Disposal, pays for a service backed by a global positioning system to track each of its trucks 24/7. But drivers like Greg Ramos don't seem to mind.
GREG RAMOS, TRASH TRUCK DRIVER: It doesn't bother me at all. As long as you get your job done, you get no hassle, you go without noticing it.
SERWER: Once the transponders are hooked up and mounted on the roof, there's nowhere to hide. Biento can even tell if drivers are stopped at what he calls hot spots, distractions like Dunkin' Doughnuts or local bars. BIENTO: We've also loaded in all of the drivers' homes, so we can tell if they're supposed to be on their route and they're at their house with their wife or their kids or whatever they're doing.
SERWER: Biento says the GPS system from At-Road paid for itself after just two months. For one group of drivers, overtime hours plunged 75 percent in just a week.
BIENTO: It was during the wintertime. And we had discovered he had gone home to his house, parked our vehicle in his driveway, got in his personal vehicle, pickup truck with a plow, and decided to go out and make some extra money plowing snow that day.
SERWER: On your time.
BIENTO: On my time.
SERWER: With an average truck costing $200,000, Biento says he's just protecting the company's investment. But Tom McNally, one of the drivers says, it's changed his daily routine.
TOM MCNALLY, DRIVER: You know, you're standing in line at the deli, and you've got to hurry up, because, you know, big brother's watching you.
SERWER: Andy Serwer, CNN, Danbury, Connecticut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOPPEL: Yes, no more stops at the deli on the boss's dime.
On this weekend's edition from tips from the top, we're going to profile Christine Jacobs, a woman revolutionizing health care.
(BEGIN VIDOETAPE)
CHRISTINE JACOBS, CEO THERAGENICS: If you've got an idea, and you want to effect something in business or in health care, you just don't let anybody deter you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As the head of a $33 million company, Christine Jacobs has the prescription for success. In just five years, she rose from marketing director to president of Theragenics, a leader in the production and sale of an innovative and plantable radioactive device used to treat prostate cancer. Since 1993, when Jacobs became CEO, the company's production capabilities have quadrupled in size.
JACOBS: Leaders can inspire people to go to great heights. I'll take ten average people and if we can get on the same page with the same values, and the same goals, we'll pull off extraordinary things.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOPPEL: She is out of prison. But Martha's legal woes are far from over. Our weekly legal round table is ahead. And from candy bars to toilet paper, they're small gifts from home, but they help soldiers on the road. We'll show you one couple who set up a Web site to send packages on their way. CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KOPPEL: New images obtained by CNN are believed to show one of the most wanted men in the world: terrorist leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi. His network in Iraq has been responsible for attacks on Iraqi and U.S. targets. Sources tell CNN the man in these 6 photographs are in fact Al Zarqawi, who is a top lieutenant of Osama Bin Laden's. It's unclear how recently the photos were taken, but they appear to have been taken at the same time and place. In the pictures, the man believed to be Al Zarqawi is bearded and well trimmed and appears to be pretty relaxed.
Now, a look at the legal week. It began with attention focused on two celebrity cases in California, Michael Jackson and Robert Blake. The actor is accused of shooting and killing his wife outside his favorite Italian restaurant nearly four years ago. The jury is to consider the case against Blake again on Monday.
The Jackson jury heard testimony intended to show his accuser's family is motivated more by money than truth. Walking out of court late Friday the singer said the trial is going very well. Jackson denies the molestation charges.
By week's end, those cases were somewhat upstaged by Martha Stewart's release from federal prison. She's under house arrest for the next five months, but will be allowed to go to work for a few hours, and also host dinner parties.
Digging a little deeper into the legal files, we have with us in New York criminal defense attorney Richard Herman, and in Cleveland, Ohio, Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor. Well Avery, I won't ask you what you think Martha is going to serve at that first dinner party. But I will ask you, I know you probably would love to have gone for that. But I'll ask you what's ahead for Martha on the legal front. She's going to appear before the federal appeals court, I guess, later this month.
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Right, in about two weeks, she has her criminal case being argued by her lawyers before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the second circuit. But there's also another federal trial coming up in the U.S. District Court there in Manhattan. And that's a case, Andrea, brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission. And that's the case, actually, that accuses Martha of being an inside trader. So right now, her lawyers are trying to negotiate with the SEC so that the SEC doesn't bar her forever to be an officer or a shareholder.
KOPPEL: Richard, what else is down the line for Martha in terms of, you know, her future, civil trials and civil cases that are being lodged against her? RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You know, I don't know too many that are going to be coming up in the near future for her. She's got five months that she has to serve in her house. She has 48 hours a day that she can leave, 48 hours a week that she can leave her premises, for work purposes, for worship and medical reasons. She can continue her business during that period of time. They've put a tracking device on her ankle. That is registered in her house. If she steps outside the perimeter, bells and whistles go off and she could be violated on this five-month period. She is still under the auspices of the bureau of prisons.
She is still completing her prison term. She cannot communicate with any of the former inmates that she dealt with. In fact, she can't communicate with any convicted felons here. She has to stay clean. And she has to get through the next five months. That's her major problem right now. Get through the next five months.
KOPPEL: OK, well speaking of five months, Michael Jackson has about five, six months of trial ahead of him. Avery, we know that Martin Bashir was the chief prosecution witness to take the stand, the first one to take the stand, as a matter of fact, and that his documentary "Living with Michael Jackson" was played for the jury. But Bashir refused to answer a couple dozen questions under cross- examination. How do you think that's going to play with the jury?
FRIEDMAN: Well, you know, this is a bizarre case, Andrea, because Martin Bashir has taken the position that what he learned from Michael Jackson is in some fashion shielded by the First Amendment, and by reporters shield law. How this individual is testifying in the first place is beyond me. But in any event, he's in. And what's happening right now is, in the first week of trial, the jury saw the Bashir "Living with Michael Jackson," and that is extremely powerful evidence. In a case that otherwise drips with reasonable doubt, that piece of evidence for the prosecution is very, very strong.
KOPPEL: In the documentary, Richard, we know that -- we hear Michael Jackson in his own words saying that he sleeps in his own bed with children, which was really what set this whole legal case going in the first place. How damaging do you think that's going to be now that the jurors have heard it?
HERMAN: Well, Andrea, the documentary is absolutely devastating. It's devastating to the defense. It's great for the prosecution. Except for the fact that it does not make him a, per se, child molester. At the end of the week, they played the rebuttal video for the jury, and interestingly, that was put on by the prosecution, because they knew that Mesereau was going to do it on the defense portion of the case if they didn't. In that documentary, the members of the family of the accuser all praised Michael Jackson as a father figure, and in fact the mother even testified that -- the mother said in the video that God worked through Michael to help us when we saw no hope.
Michael said there was hope. We were broken, and Michael fixed us. I mean, that is tremendous for the defense in this case. And I don't know how the prosecution overcomes that. I don't understand that.
FRIEDMAN: It's a phony video, that's how. It's a phony video. The whole issue in that is that the prosecution is going to show that these individuals in the video, the family was put off, they were essentially kidnapped and forced to do this.
HERMAN: So Avery --
KOPPEL: Guys, what I was going to say is we actually did hear from the accuser's older sister in court.
FRIEDMAN: Right.
KOPPEL: Who took the stand and said that she heard in her words, she said that Jackson took a special interest in her brother. But couldn't the defense also argue, Richard that she was in the interested party?
HERMAN: She's absolutely an interested party. Any criminal conviction followed by a civil case and multiple, multiple millions of dollars in damages. But Avery, if that was a scripted video, that means the accuser and her family are great actors. And that plays right into the defense of this case, that this is nothing more than a setup by the mother to manipulate her children, and to get --
FRIEDMAN: What does that have to do with the sister? Who will take the third day on the stand this coming Monday. She has no proprietary interest in the outcome. The mom might. But the sister has no proprietary interest. I think she's been an important witness for the prosecution thus far.
HERMAN: Avery, she's the mother's daughter. She's going to reap the benefits from any multiple million dollar verdict in this case.
FRIEDMAN: I disagree with that.
KEOPPEL: Let's agree to disagree for the moment. I want to talk with you about the publicist, Ann Gabrielkite (ph) who had a days worth of testimony on this. Even though she only worked for him for six days, and some analysts are saying that really her testimony was problematic for both sides.
HERMAN: Well, I mean, this was a woman who worked for six days, never met Michael Jackson, never spoke to Michael Jackson, and never once heard Michael Jackson directing this team of co-conspirator handlers. For that reason, I mean, I think her testimony was great for the defense.
KOPPEL: Avery, you were laughing. Do you agree?
FRIEDMAN: It was -- yes, you know, the so-called expert was the girlfriend of one of Michael Jackson's lawyers. They give her $10 grand --
KOPPEL: $20,000. FRIEDMAN: No, no, it was supposed to be $20,000. They only gave her $10,000. She was happy to make $10,000 for six days. She expressed opinions about what she thought was going on. I think the value is at best for the prosecution marginal.
KOPPEL: OK, just very a very quick comment from both of you. We heard Thomas Mesereau, the chief defense attorney, saying that his lead attorney saying he might put Michael on the stand. Good idea, bad idea? Then we're going to wrap.
HERMAN: Horrific idea. The worst thing he could possibly do in this case.
KOPPEL: Avery?
FRIEDMAN: I agree. I think putting Michael Jackson on the stand, I think would be a dream for the prosecution. Andrea, you'll never see it.
KOPPEL: Avery Friedman, Richard Herman thank you gentleman both, we'll see you here next weekend same time.
HERMAN: Thank you have a good day.
FRIEDMAN: Nice to see you. Take care.
KOPPEL: Straight ahead, --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a touch of home. I mean it was everything from raviolis, the baby wipes obviously, toothpaste. Just the stuff that I couldn't get my hands on.
KOPPEL: They are small gifts from the heart. How these care packages raised the spirits of the men and women serving our country.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KOPPEL: One family's effort to bring some of the comforts of home to a relative stationed in Iraq has grown into a steady stream of shipments from here all the way over to there. All in an attempt to help Americans so far away not feel so alone. Beth Nissen explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): When it comes to supplying an army in the field, there are thousands of material specialists, quarter masters and supply officers. And then there are the special forces. Like the Horn family in Maryland.
SUE HORN, ANYSOLIER.COM: We're a family-run effort that's just trying to show our support. And we got a little more involved than most people.
NISSEN: Their involvement began in 2003 when their son Brian was deployed to Iraq, a forward location with no running water, eating only military rations. He soon grew dirty, thin, haggard. MARTY HORN, ANYSOLIER.COM: He finally sent us a couple of pictures. When I showed Sue the pictures, she gasped.
NISSEN: They sent him baby wipes so he could clean his weapon and himself. Sent more food and favorite snacks. Sent enough for him to share with his unit. Brian Horn between deployments remembers that first shipment.
BRIAN HORN, RETURNING FROM IRAQ: It was great it was a touch of home. It was everything from like raviolis, you know, the baby wipes, obviously, toothpaste. Just the stuff that I couldn't get my hands on.
NISSEN: Stuff that most troops in combat units far from the nearest PX still struggle to get their hands on. The Horns devised a plan to get more of these comfort items to more troops. Like getting the word out on just what troops needed and how to send it to them. Marty Horn, a 20-year army veteran now retired, built a Website. ANYSOLDIER.com. He began collecting the names of soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who accepted mail packages and distributed them to their unit. All boxes sent to troops must be addressed to a specific person.
M. HORN: We currently have almost 1,000 contacts over there. Those contacts tell us what they need.
NISSEN: Those posted notes are a window on the war. A soldier with the Tenth Special Forces asks for DVDs to distract from the sounds of bombing. A sergeant working the night shift in a combat support hospital in Baghdad asks for coffee, chocolate, things to help us stay awake. The requests show how eager troops are for distraction. How young many are. How lonely they are. We don't need anything special, just someone to write to noted a sergeant with the first cavalry. A simple letter will do.
From the first, the Horns were struck by how often troops asked for items they could give to local children, especially toys, especially Beanie Babies.
M. HORN: The soldiers love them, because they weigh almost nothing and they fit into a knapsack or rucksack or baggy uniform pants. And as the kids show up, they just whip it out and toss it to a kid and it changes everything.
NISSEN: A Beanie Baby changed everything for one marine convoy in Iraq.
M. HORN: As they are going there's this like 4 or 5-year-old little girl standing in the road. They had met the little girl days before and given her toys. She's standing there with a Beanie Baby in her hands. The convoy is standing there, and they walked up to her and she points. There's an IED in the road.
S. HORN: She saved their lives.
NISSEN: The Horns don't know who sent that Beanie Baby. Don't know how many donors there are. Most of them mail letters and boxes directly to the contact addresses listed on the Website. Others opt to buy pre-assembled treat boxes that their children and their friends assemble and package in the family's suburban ranch house.
S. HORN: Pretty much they always need hygiene items, especially the women. I send a package of toilet paper in every single kit. Everybody needs to have cookies and candy and peanuts, beef jerky, Slim Jims. The stuff that they can throw in their pocket when they go out on a mission. I think more than anything, it's a taste of home.
NISSEN: Getting something from home, hearing from someone back home, keeps the troops going. The Website is full of photos and messages that make that clear.
M. HORN: This is about support, not just stuff. You can't have an army fight something as ugly as this and have bad morale. Anything that improves morale is going to help get these folks back home.
NISSEN: And might give them some measure of comfort until they are. Beth Nissen, CNN, Laplate, Maryland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOPPEL: And that Website is ANYSOLDIER.com.
Home sweet home, from senator back to his home in Alaska. Governor Murkowski tells us why he made the switch. Straight ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KOPPEL: Some people can go home again. Frank Murkowski spent more than two decades representing Alaska in the U.S. Senate. He now governs the land of the midnight sun. Earlier this week, he sat down with Robert Novak for this week's edition of the "Novak Zone."
ROBERT NOVAK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to the "Novak Zone." We're in Washington, D.C. with a man who, after 22 years, left the United States Senate to be elected governor of Alaska. Frank Murkowski. Governor Murkowski, what's the difference between you being a powerful U.S. Senator, a committee chairman and governor of Alaska?
GOVERNOR FRANK MURKOWSKI,(R) ALASKA: Well, as governor you can get things done in a reasonable time frame. As you know, the Senate is a deliberative body. It takes a long time to get things done. And I did have the committee chairmanship of energy. We worked on an energy bill back then. They're still working on an energy bill. Hopefully they'll get an energy bill this time.
NOVAK: Now Alaska, which is a different kind of state, have a lot of federal connections, don't you? The relationship with the federal government is maybe intimate than other states?
MURKOWSKI: It probably is. Because the federal government owns the majority of the land mass. We have a large military population. And we're kind of on a front line of defense in the sense we have the missile defense system now for the United States in Alaska. And it's virtually operational.
NOVAK: Governor, you're here in Washington, just completed recently the National Governor's Conference, maybe just an ordinary person watching the news reports of this would think that perhaps the governors all had their hands out looking for money from the federal government. Is that an unfair characterization?
MURKOWSKI: A little bit. There's a concern over the cost of Medicaid. And that, of course, is something that the states are burdened with. And we're looking for some relief, because the federal government, you know, makes the regulations and the states have to adhere to them. But with increased cost of medical care, increased life expectancy, higher cost of prescription drugs, the states are saying, hey, we've got to have some relief here. We've got to have some flexibility. Because this cost is eating us alive. The federal government isn't necessarily motivated to help the states out because right now the burden is on the state. We would like to put a little bit of it back on the budgetary process.
NOVAK: Governor, Alaska has been in the news in the recent years because of President Bush's proposal for drilling in the Anwar, the Arctic, a wildlife refuge. I guess everybody in Alaska thinks that's a good idea.
MURKOWSKI: Most people do that is right.
NOVACL: But there is a lot of oppositions from filibusters in the Senate. Do you have any hopes of that coming through?
MURKOWSKI: I think so. There's a budget reconciliation process that would bypass the filibuster, where they would only need 50 votes. That's under consideration. We would have had Anwar open today if President Clinton had not vetoed it the last time it passed the Congress. The point is we ought to find out what's there. The geologists simply say it's the most likely area of a major discovery in North America, and we clearly have the technology to do it safely.
NOVAK: Governor, another Alaska issue that's gotten national attention is pay to the people for the ethical treatment of animals. Says that they really object to this fishing of king salmon. They say the salmon feel the pain when they're caught and they should abolish that. Are you going to follow the recommendations?
MURKOWSKI: No, no, I don't think so. While the Alaska salmon, it's good for you. We manage our fisheries on the basis of ensuring that the escapement is there, first. The fish go up the stream, then we allow the commercial activity. We've been having record years in our salmon fisheries, as well as our cod fisheries and halibut fisheries. We do a better job of managing that resource virtually better than any other area in the country, because we still have fish and game in abundance, and we're going to keep it that way.
NOVAK: We don't care if the salmon feel the pain?
MURKOWSKI: I know a Senator who eats a can of salmon every morning. NOVAK: Who is that?
MURKOWSKI: It is Lieberman. It keeps him young, he says it keeps his skin free of wrinkles.
NOVAK: He does look wrinkled. I've seen him. Governor, when you were elected governor and you were in the Senate, were you surprised some people came up with some criticism when your -- you named your daughter Lisa as senator. I think you've been vindicated to a great extent in that choice when she won an election in her own right in the past election. But can you tell us how that is, that you're dealing with a U.S. Senator from your state and you're the governor and she's your daughter? How is that relationship?
MURKOWSKI: We kind of go our independent ways, but we have a very close relationship as, you know, father and daughter. But she's a very strong individual. She has, you know, strong ideas of her own. I attempt to make my thoughts come around once in a while, and she evaluates them and sometimes we get consideration, sometimes we don't.
NOVAK: And now, the big question for Frank Murkowski, governor of Alaska. Governor, you're 71 years old. You've been in public life for a quarter of a century. What do you think is the big lesson you've taken from all of the public service you've participated in?
MUROWSKI: Well, you know, the experience of being in the United States Senate for 22 years was very rewarding. And on the other hand, I was really compelled to address the issue that I felt very strongly about, and that was to build the economy of Alaska. We've come into the union in '59 and we have very little in common with other states, because they built their economy. Our economy is based on resources, our oil, our gas, our timber, fish, minerals, our tourism. And in order to fill that, we have to come to a consensus on how. We have to use technology. We have to have a small environmental footprint. But only with a strong economy can we have quality education, quality health care, and jobs for our young people in rural Alaska. I didn't feel that was occurring. And I didn't feel that I could do as much as I really wanted to do in the Senate. That's why we made the decision to come back to Alaska. We're pleased with that decision. The state's moving ahead. We're going to build a gas line and we are going to get Anwar opened. And it's very gratifying to, I think, grasp, if you will, that you're reaching out for a goal.
NOVAK: Fran Murkowski thank you very much.
MURKOWSKI: You bet Bob, nice to be with you.
NOVAK: And thank you for being in the "Novak Zone."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOPPEL: And you can catch more of Bob Novak and the rest of the "Capital Gang" tonight at 7:00 Eastern. The guest, Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel.
There is more ahead on CNN SATURDAY. At top of the hour, it's "Next@CNN." At 4:00 it is "CNN Live Saturday" with a look at a murder case that has haunted a New York police detective for 15 years.
At 5:00, "People in the News" profiling, who else, Martha Stewart.
But first here's Daniel Sieberg with preview of "Next@CNN."
DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Information extracted from a computer disk may have helped lead investigators to a suspect in the BTK murders. We will see how digital detectives recover electronic secrets.
Also some customer call centers use a machine to find out if callers are getting aggravated.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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 March 5, 2005 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: It is 2:00 on the East Coast, 9:00 in Beirut. Hello, I'm Andrea Koppel at CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta. Ahead this hour, Syria's president says he will withdraw his country's troops closer to the border of Lebenon, but with no time table. Will that be enough to satisfy the White House and the international community. We will tell you straight ahead.
And a day that went from joy to tragedy. An Italian journalist returns home after being wounded by U.S. soldiers. We'll find out how the Italians are reacting to the attack.
Plus...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody needs to have cookies and candy and peanuts, beef jerky, Slim Jims. Stuff that they can throw in their pocket when they go out on a mission. And I think more than anything, it's a taste of home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOPPEL: Packages from home keep our troops going strong. We'll show you how this small act of kindness makes a big difference. Those stories ahead.
First, headlines now in the news.
There are exclusive new images of one of the most wanted men in the world. CNN recently obtained new pictures of terrorist leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi, a top lieutenant in Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. U.S. claims Zarqawi masterminded and carried out countless attacks on Iraqis and American troops.
While sources tell CNN the man in these photographs is in fact al Zarqawi, it's unclear how recently the photos were taken. Still, they appear to have happened at the same time and place. In the pictures, Zarqawi is bearded and well groomed, and appears relaxed.
Local officials tell CNN Pakistani troops launched a raid on a house near the Afghan border today. Two men suspected of being al Qaeda members were killed, 11 other suspects were arrested. Authorities said the raid led to a fire fight injuring an army captain and a woman. The Marine Corps has suspended 3 more drill instructors after the drowning of a recruit at Paris Island. Jason Tharp died the day after a drill instructor was videotaped grabbing and striking him. Five other Marines had already suspended. Another was placed on administrative duty while the incident is being investigated.
We begin with a tense and dramatic day in the Middle East. Under intense international pressure to pull his troops out of Lebanon, Syria has announced a withdrawal plan. But it falls far short of what President Bush and other world leaders are demanding. CNN's senior international correspondent Brent Sadler is watching the latest events unfold. And he's with us now from Lebanon's capital of Beirut.
So Brent, what is the reaction there?
BRENT SADLER, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Andrea, you can hear some of the reaction, cars honking past Martyr's Square here where there continues to be a rally.
President Bashar al Assad's speech was relayed to the crowd behind me just a couple of hours ago. And they reacted to the president's quite astonishing speech in the eyes of some Lebanese here. He was saying there would be a movement of Syrian forces to the Bakar Valley, that's closer to the Lebanese/Syrian border.
Now, analysts and political opponents of Syria here are saying, is this -- asking is this a withdrawal or is it a redeployment. And that's something that President George W. Bush will be looking at very, very closely, and other world leaders.
The Syrian president has said there will be -- first of all, he used the word withdrawal of Syrian troops to the Bakar, first of all. And then closer to what he said were the areas, the Lebanese and Syrian border areas, but not specific.
More importantly, no specific timetable for a movement of these forces. And no specific reference to any removal from Lebanon of Syria's military intelligence services. And that's been one of the key demands of U.S. president George W. Bush.
So you're seeing a continued rally going on here. Mixed signals coming from people, some saying this is the first round in what they believe could be an important victory, political victory of Syria. Others saying it's too early to say.
Nevertheless, here's what President Bashar al Assad had to tell the Syrian parliament some 2 and a half hours ago about what he thought about the situation between Syria and Lebanon right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BASHAR ASSAD, PRESIDENT OF SYRIA, (through translator): We should not stay one day if there is any consensus asking us to leave. Lebanon -- Syria cannot be in Lebanon to divide. We came there to stop division. So we cannot be a reason for, or a factor in dividing Lebanon. (END VIDEO CLIP)
SADLER: Andrea, one of the main torch bearers of the political opposition Walid Jumblatt, who is in Saudi Arabia said that the Syrian president's speech was positive.
Other political opposition leaders here are not so sure. They're saying they want more clarification, they want to see a timetable and specific Syrian actions to prove to a skeptical Lebanese opposition that the steps that the Syrian president says he's going to take on the ground with Syrian forces will actually be implemented -- Andrea.
KOPPEL: Brent Sadler in Beirut. Thank you so much, Brent.
As we've heard, President Bush is demanding nothing short of a complete withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon. Mr. Bush renewed his demands in his weekly radio address.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: For years, the Lebanese people have suffered from the aftermath of a horrific civil war and occupation by Syria. Lebanese citizens who have watched free elections in Iraq are now demanding the right to decide their own destiny free of Syrian control and domination. Syria has been an occupying force in Lebanon for nearly 3 decades and Syria's support for terrorism remains a key obstacle to peace in the broader Middle East.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
KOPPEL: Mr. Bush says the Unied State and France are working to pass a United Nations resolution that calls for all foreign forces to withdraw from Lebanon.
CNN's Octavia Nasr is with me now to talk about the Arab media's reaction to these developments involving Syria and Lebanon. She's our senior editor for Arab affairs.
And you what I think was so interesting in the story, Octavia, is it just isn't the United States and France who haven't exactly teamed up on a lot of things recently and the international community, but it really is the Arab world: Saudi Arabia and Egypt sending very strong messages to Bashar al Assad. What's been the reaction within the Arab press?
OCTAVIA NASR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very strong messages indeed. He immediately said he doesn't want people to think that he is caving in to that pressure and that he's trying to save face. But you know, and I know, and every observer that watched this speech is drawing their own conclusions that indeed, this is a direct response to the pressure. especially the pressure coming from the Arab world.
KOPPEL: How unusual is it for someone like Bashar al Assad to address his parliament the way he did today?
NASR: Very unusual. The last time he spoke to parliament was when he was sworn in years ago.
KOPPEL: Four years ago?
NASR: Right. This is not a usual feat here. And of course, you saw the pictures, you saw people demonstrating. Look at this parliament, it's a full parliament. People were ready. They were standing up and clapping on cue. People outside, also with the Syrian flags. They were ready for this show, obviously.
KOPPEL: How unusual is it for -- in the case that we just saw, the members of the parliament stand up to clap? Would they get a copy of his speech ahead of time? Do you think this was a genuine show of support? Or is a lot of this orchestrated?
NASR: I'll tell you what experts were saying on Arab media. They were saying that this is really reminiscent of the Saddam Hussein days when everybody is shouting in support of the leader. And when the leader is delivering these speeches, everybody agrees and claps hands. You have to think that this was a bit staged.
Now, the president himself was -- he was going off the script every now and then.
KOPPEL: Yeah. You could see him ad libing.
NASR: Right. He was trying to ad lib. And he did say some interesting things. He said some outrageous things. He talked about the assassination of Yasser Arafat. No one understands where this came from.
So obviously he was emotional. He was kind of hurt. He saw that some Lebanese really betrayed him. He said it clearly. But the -- at the end of the day, people are saying that they were more confused by the speech. That the speech gave no answers to the questions that were on their mind. As we've been reporting, did he say he's withdrawing his troops?
He talked about a complete withdrawal. And yet he talked about withdrawing to the Bekar Valley and then the border with Lebanon. He didn't talk about the Syrian troops going back home, for example. So were waiting for these cues.
So you have Arab experts right now saying if President Bush said that he's not going to accept half solutions, well, he got a little less than half at this point.
KOPPEL: Could have been deliberately misleading to try to buy time, whichever way. But Octavia, thank you very much.
NASR: Anytime.
KOPPEL: Taken hostage in Iraq last month, released from her captors and then hit by U.S. fire, she was on her way to the Baghdad Airport. It all happened when Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena who is back in Rome now. But the Italian people want an American explanation for her injuries. CNN's Alessio Vinci has the dramatic story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Giuliana Sgrena she has an extraordinary story to tell, kidnapped in Iraq a month ago, her captors were said to have executed her just days later. Then, a dramatic video in which she pleaded for her life and for Italy to withdraw troops from Iraq.
Finally, her release, at the hands of a man who paid the ultimate price for her freedom. Nicola Calipari was one of Italy's top intelligence agents in Iraq. He died trying shielded her as U.S. forces opened fire on her car at a checkpoint. She suffered minor wounds to her left shoulder while two other officers in the car were also injured. Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, summoned the U.S. ambassador to Rome, saying someone has to take responsibility for what happened. The U.S. has promised a full investigation.
MEL SEMBLER, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ITALY: Nicola Calipari is a friend and ally to the United States, and today, his heroism must be evident to all of us.
VINCI: Accounts, provided by U.S. forces in Baghdad, indicate that the car in which sgrena was traveling approach the checkpoint at high speed and ignored several warnings to stop.
PIER SCOLARI, PARTNER OF FRM. HOSTAGE (through translator): I have heard it was said that the Americans signaled many times to the car to stop, but Giuliana told me she didn't see anything. They were driving calmly. They had already passed many checkpoints. Therefore, everybody had been informed.
VINCI: What began as a successful operation to free a hostage, quickly turned into a tragedy. Giuliani Sgrena's communist newspaper, "IL Manifesto" was among the most vociferous critics of the U.S. invasion in Iraq. Their headline today, "The agent was assassinated."
In the streets of Rome, as people picked up the morning newspapers, anger and bewilderment.
We were all so happy, says this Marco Baroncelli (PH), a photographer, but after what happened, what can I say? We're all left speechless.
(on camera): The incident will clearly test the strong relations between the U.S. and Italy. And while Americans have promised a full investigation, the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, is likely to come under renewed pressure to rethink his commitment in Iraq, where Italy has more than 3,000 troops. Alessio Vinci CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOPPEL: Her image is everything. And we're hearing now about a kindler, gentler Martha. Will it last? Industry insiders will weigh in.
No place to go, nowhere to hide. GPS is watching.
And supplying an Army in the field from a home in Maryland. It is a story that will touch you no matter where you live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KOPPEL: Martha Stewart is out of prison, but will the domestic business maven be able to reshape her image after her conviction for lying about personal stock sales. CNN's Candy Crowley has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Would you buy linens from this woman? The slimmer, newly tenderized Martha Stewart is banking on it.
ROBERT PASSIKOFF, BRAND KEYS, INC: It's all up to her. I mean, she's still the human embodiment of the brand.
CROWLEY: Robert Passikoff measures consumer loyalty for a living.
MARTHA STEWART, MARTHA STEWART LIVING OMNIMEDIA: The launch of her everyday garden collection.
CROWLEY: From Stewart's haydays at K-Mart to her guilty verdict, her brand loylty numbers had gone from extraordinary, higher than Coke, to disastrous, lower than Enron.
STEWART: It's shameful to me.
CROWLEY: She leaves prison somewhere in between. Turning things around means writing a new myth of Martha.
PASSIKOFF: What you see is a lot of discussion regarding a kinder, gentler Martha Stewart, someone who helped folks out in prison, someone who is understanding. Clearly, that's going to help the image, because what we found out during the trial, that no one -- well, not a lot of people knew, and no one really needed to know, is how mean-spirited she was, and how stingy she was and how unkind she was.
CROWLEY: Even before her release, friends were telling the new story of a woman wronged. Remember, she's still fighting the charges. Who nonetheless indurs prison and emerges both more powerful and more human.
RICHARD FEIGEN, FRIEND OF MARTHA STEWART: She told me she learned a lot about how things are on the other side of the tracks. She knows a lot about these families, cares about them. She's gotten sort of mellow.
CROWLEY: The problem with fiddling with the brand is, you don't want to actually change the brand. The editor of Stewart's magazine wrote this month about Stewart's days in the slammer. "When Martha discovered a set of old molds in the facility's ceramic studio, she decided to cast, paint, and then glaze a nativity scene for her mother as a gift."
And now there she was just after the stroke of midnight, with hair so well-quoifed, it didn't look coifed. A hip outfit selected so carefully, it looked like she threw it on. Even the amount of time from car to plane seemed calibrated, enough time for a wave, too far away for a question.
The cameras were positioned on a flatbed truck provided by Martha's company, a photo op orchestrated by a former Kerry campaign staffer.
ERIC DENZENHALL, CRISIS MANAGER: The only thing that really matters is that core consumers continue to buy her products. The whole idea that she's going to have to get every American of every demographic to love her is ridiculous. She just needs to be able to move her products.
CROWLEY: No grisly ex-con face for this former felon, just smiling, kissing, coco serving, horse petting, dog walking, media loving Martha Stewart. As any good cook will tell you, it's all about presentation.
STEWART: My favorite thing is lemons.
CROWLEY: And need we remind you, Martha Stewart is an excellent cook.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOPPEL: And we are going to have more for you on Martha coming up in our legal segment a little later in the show.
Now, stories in the news across America.
Evanston, Illinois, there was heavy security for federal Judge Joan Lefkow and her children. They attended the funeral for Michael Lefkow today.
The judge found her husband and her mother shot and killed in her home earlier this week.
Lake City Florida, cracks are forming in the foundation of a two- story home. A nearby sinkhole has grown to about 100 feet by 225 feet. Even after 4,500 sand bags were placed around the source of the water to try to keep the hole from getting any larger.
Off the Florida Keys, about 30 stranded dolphins are being moved to rehab centers. Twice that many beached themselves in shallow waters near the town of Marathon. Almost 20 died or had to be euthanized by officials. No one knows, though, why the rough-toothed dolphins came ashore. And this story from Idaho. A cat named Cuddle Bug, insisted on hopping on her owner's car. Tory Hutchinson didn't know the cat was on the roof when she got on Interstate 15, hitting speeds of 75 miles an hour. Another driver let her know the cat was hanging on to the ski rack for dear life. Cuddle Bug's finished the trip inside the car.
And how much you want to bet Cuddle Bug ain't in the mood for cuddling right now.
The first week is over. Just how has Michael Jackson fared? It's the beginning of a long road ahead for the pop star. Our legal round table takes a look.
And big brother is watching. How would you feel if your boss at work monitored your every move?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's moving 58 miles an hour.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOPPEL: Some drivers know exactly what it's like. That story for you, and more straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KOPPEL: More companies are using satellite technology in an effort to hold down costs and keep an eye on their employees and their equipment. Andy Serwer shows how one company knows exactly where its drivers are at any time during their shifts.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDY SERWER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): Drivers who haul trash for Cero Biento have been warned: Cero sees everything.
CERO BIENTO, AUTOMATED WASTE DISPOSAL: He's moving 58 miles an hour in a southwest direction. Shows exactly where he is. He's on Interstate 84 and he just passed South Street.
SERWER: Biento commands a fleet of 250 trash trucks in Connecticut and New York. His company, Automated Waste Disposal, pays for a service backed by a global positioning system to track each of its trucks 24/7. But drivers like Greg Ramos don't seem to mind.
GREG RAMOS, TRASH TRUCK DRIVER: It doesn't bother me at all. As long as you get your job done, you get no hassle, you go without noticing it.
SERWER: Once the transponders are hooked up and mounted on the roof, there's nowhere to hide. Biento can even tell if drivers are stopped at what he calls hot spots, distractions like Dunkin' Doughnuts or local bars. BIENTO: We've also loaded in all of the drivers' homes, so we can tell if they're supposed to be on their route and they're at their house with their wife or their kids or whatever they're doing.
SERWER: Biento says the GPS system from At-Road paid for itself after just two months. For one group of drivers, overtime hours plunged 75 percent in just a week.
BIENTO: It was during the wintertime. And we had discovered he had gone home to his house, parked our vehicle in his driveway, got in his personal vehicle, pickup truck with a plow, and decided to go out and make some extra money plowing snow that day.
SERWER: On your time.
BIENTO: On my time.
SERWER: With an average truck costing $200,000, Biento says he's just protecting the company's investment. But Tom McNally, one of the drivers says, it's changed his daily routine.
TOM MCNALLY, DRIVER: You know, you're standing in line at the deli, and you've got to hurry up, because, you know, big brother's watching you.
SERWER: Andy Serwer, CNN, Danbury, Connecticut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOPPEL: Yes, no more stops at the deli on the boss's dime.
On this weekend's edition from tips from the top, we're going to profile Christine Jacobs, a woman revolutionizing health care.
(BEGIN VIDOETAPE)
CHRISTINE JACOBS, CEO THERAGENICS: If you've got an idea, and you want to effect something in business or in health care, you just don't let anybody deter you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As the head of a $33 million company, Christine Jacobs has the prescription for success. In just five years, she rose from marketing director to president of Theragenics, a leader in the production and sale of an innovative and plantable radioactive device used to treat prostate cancer. Since 1993, when Jacobs became CEO, the company's production capabilities have quadrupled in size.
JACOBS: Leaders can inspire people to go to great heights. I'll take ten average people and if we can get on the same page with the same values, and the same goals, we'll pull off extraordinary things.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOPPEL: She is out of prison. But Martha's legal woes are far from over. Our weekly legal round table is ahead. And from candy bars to toilet paper, they're small gifts from home, but they help soldiers on the road. We'll show you one couple who set up a Web site to send packages on their way. CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KOPPEL: New images obtained by CNN are believed to show one of the most wanted men in the world: terrorist leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi. His network in Iraq has been responsible for attacks on Iraqi and U.S. targets. Sources tell CNN the man in these 6 photographs are in fact Al Zarqawi, who is a top lieutenant of Osama Bin Laden's. It's unclear how recently the photos were taken, but they appear to have been taken at the same time and place. In the pictures, the man believed to be Al Zarqawi is bearded and well trimmed and appears to be pretty relaxed.
Now, a look at the legal week. It began with attention focused on two celebrity cases in California, Michael Jackson and Robert Blake. The actor is accused of shooting and killing his wife outside his favorite Italian restaurant nearly four years ago. The jury is to consider the case against Blake again on Monday.
The Jackson jury heard testimony intended to show his accuser's family is motivated more by money than truth. Walking out of court late Friday the singer said the trial is going very well. Jackson denies the molestation charges.
By week's end, those cases were somewhat upstaged by Martha Stewart's release from federal prison. She's under house arrest for the next five months, but will be allowed to go to work for a few hours, and also host dinner parties.
Digging a little deeper into the legal files, we have with us in New York criminal defense attorney Richard Herman, and in Cleveland, Ohio, Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor. Well Avery, I won't ask you what you think Martha is going to serve at that first dinner party. But I will ask you, I know you probably would love to have gone for that. But I'll ask you what's ahead for Martha on the legal front. She's going to appear before the federal appeals court, I guess, later this month.
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Right, in about two weeks, she has her criminal case being argued by her lawyers before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the second circuit. But there's also another federal trial coming up in the U.S. District Court there in Manhattan. And that's a case, Andrea, brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission. And that's the case, actually, that accuses Martha of being an inside trader. So right now, her lawyers are trying to negotiate with the SEC so that the SEC doesn't bar her forever to be an officer or a shareholder.
KOPPEL: Richard, what else is down the line for Martha in terms of, you know, her future, civil trials and civil cases that are being lodged against her? RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You know, I don't know too many that are going to be coming up in the near future for her. She's got five months that she has to serve in her house. She has 48 hours a day that she can leave, 48 hours a week that she can leave her premises, for work purposes, for worship and medical reasons. She can continue her business during that period of time. They've put a tracking device on her ankle. That is registered in her house. If she steps outside the perimeter, bells and whistles go off and she could be violated on this five-month period. She is still under the auspices of the bureau of prisons.
She is still completing her prison term. She cannot communicate with any of the former inmates that she dealt with. In fact, she can't communicate with any convicted felons here. She has to stay clean. And she has to get through the next five months. That's her major problem right now. Get through the next five months.
KOPPEL: OK, well speaking of five months, Michael Jackson has about five, six months of trial ahead of him. Avery, we know that Martin Bashir was the chief prosecution witness to take the stand, the first one to take the stand, as a matter of fact, and that his documentary "Living with Michael Jackson" was played for the jury. But Bashir refused to answer a couple dozen questions under cross- examination. How do you think that's going to play with the jury?
FRIEDMAN: Well, you know, this is a bizarre case, Andrea, because Martin Bashir has taken the position that what he learned from Michael Jackson is in some fashion shielded by the First Amendment, and by reporters shield law. How this individual is testifying in the first place is beyond me. But in any event, he's in. And what's happening right now is, in the first week of trial, the jury saw the Bashir "Living with Michael Jackson," and that is extremely powerful evidence. In a case that otherwise drips with reasonable doubt, that piece of evidence for the prosecution is very, very strong.
KOPPEL: In the documentary, Richard, we know that -- we hear Michael Jackson in his own words saying that he sleeps in his own bed with children, which was really what set this whole legal case going in the first place. How damaging do you think that's going to be now that the jurors have heard it?
HERMAN: Well, Andrea, the documentary is absolutely devastating. It's devastating to the defense. It's great for the prosecution. Except for the fact that it does not make him a, per se, child molester. At the end of the week, they played the rebuttal video for the jury, and interestingly, that was put on by the prosecution, because they knew that Mesereau was going to do it on the defense portion of the case if they didn't. In that documentary, the members of the family of the accuser all praised Michael Jackson as a father figure, and in fact the mother even testified that -- the mother said in the video that God worked through Michael to help us when we saw no hope.
Michael said there was hope. We were broken, and Michael fixed us. I mean, that is tremendous for the defense in this case. And I don't know how the prosecution overcomes that. I don't understand that.
FRIEDMAN: It's a phony video, that's how. It's a phony video. The whole issue in that is that the prosecution is going to show that these individuals in the video, the family was put off, they were essentially kidnapped and forced to do this.
HERMAN: So Avery --
KOPPEL: Guys, what I was going to say is we actually did hear from the accuser's older sister in court.
FRIEDMAN: Right.
KOPPEL: Who took the stand and said that she heard in her words, she said that Jackson took a special interest in her brother. But couldn't the defense also argue, Richard that she was in the interested party?
HERMAN: She's absolutely an interested party. Any criminal conviction followed by a civil case and multiple, multiple millions of dollars in damages. But Avery, if that was a scripted video, that means the accuser and her family are great actors. And that plays right into the defense of this case, that this is nothing more than a setup by the mother to manipulate her children, and to get --
FRIEDMAN: What does that have to do with the sister? Who will take the third day on the stand this coming Monday. She has no proprietary interest in the outcome. The mom might. But the sister has no proprietary interest. I think she's been an important witness for the prosecution thus far.
HERMAN: Avery, she's the mother's daughter. She's going to reap the benefits from any multiple million dollar verdict in this case.
FRIEDMAN: I disagree with that.
KEOPPEL: Let's agree to disagree for the moment. I want to talk with you about the publicist, Ann Gabrielkite (ph) who had a days worth of testimony on this. Even though she only worked for him for six days, and some analysts are saying that really her testimony was problematic for both sides.
HERMAN: Well, I mean, this was a woman who worked for six days, never met Michael Jackson, never spoke to Michael Jackson, and never once heard Michael Jackson directing this team of co-conspirator handlers. For that reason, I mean, I think her testimony was great for the defense.
KOPPEL: Avery, you were laughing. Do you agree?
FRIEDMAN: It was -- yes, you know, the so-called expert was the girlfriend of one of Michael Jackson's lawyers. They give her $10 grand --
KOPPEL: $20,000. FRIEDMAN: No, no, it was supposed to be $20,000. They only gave her $10,000. She was happy to make $10,000 for six days. She expressed opinions about what she thought was going on. I think the value is at best for the prosecution marginal.
KOPPEL: OK, just very a very quick comment from both of you. We heard Thomas Mesereau, the chief defense attorney, saying that his lead attorney saying he might put Michael on the stand. Good idea, bad idea? Then we're going to wrap.
HERMAN: Horrific idea. The worst thing he could possibly do in this case.
KOPPEL: Avery?
FRIEDMAN: I agree. I think putting Michael Jackson on the stand, I think would be a dream for the prosecution. Andrea, you'll never see it.
KOPPEL: Avery Friedman, Richard Herman thank you gentleman both, we'll see you here next weekend same time.
HERMAN: Thank you have a good day.
FRIEDMAN: Nice to see you. Take care.
KOPPEL: Straight ahead, --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a touch of home. I mean it was everything from raviolis, the baby wipes obviously, toothpaste. Just the stuff that I couldn't get my hands on.
KOPPEL: They are small gifts from the heart. How these care packages raised the spirits of the men and women serving our country.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KOPPEL: One family's effort to bring some of the comforts of home to a relative stationed in Iraq has grown into a steady stream of shipments from here all the way over to there. All in an attempt to help Americans so far away not feel so alone. Beth Nissen explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): When it comes to supplying an army in the field, there are thousands of material specialists, quarter masters and supply officers. And then there are the special forces. Like the Horn family in Maryland.
SUE HORN, ANYSOLIER.COM: We're a family-run effort that's just trying to show our support. And we got a little more involved than most people.
NISSEN: Their involvement began in 2003 when their son Brian was deployed to Iraq, a forward location with no running water, eating only military rations. He soon grew dirty, thin, haggard. MARTY HORN, ANYSOLIER.COM: He finally sent us a couple of pictures. When I showed Sue the pictures, she gasped.
NISSEN: They sent him baby wipes so he could clean his weapon and himself. Sent more food and favorite snacks. Sent enough for him to share with his unit. Brian Horn between deployments remembers that first shipment.
BRIAN HORN, RETURNING FROM IRAQ: It was great it was a touch of home. It was everything from like raviolis, you know, the baby wipes, obviously, toothpaste. Just the stuff that I couldn't get my hands on.
NISSEN: Stuff that most troops in combat units far from the nearest PX still struggle to get their hands on. The Horns devised a plan to get more of these comfort items to more troops. Like getting the word out on just what troops needed and how to send it to them. Marty Horn, a 20-year army veteran now retired, built a Website. ANYSOLDIER.com. He began collecting the names of soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who accepted mail packages and distributed them to their unit. All boxes sent to troops must be addressed to a specific person.
M. HORN: We currently have almost 1,000 contacts over there. Those contacts tell us what they need.
NISSEN: Those posted notes are a window on the war. A soldier with the Tenth Special Forces asks for DVDs to distract from the sounds of bombing. A sergeant working the night shift in a combat support hospital in Baghdad asks for coffee, chocolate, things to help us stay awake. The requests show how eager troops are for distraction. How young many are. How lonely they are. We don't need anything special, just someone to write to noted a sergeant with the first cavalry. A simple letter will do.
From the first, the Horns were struck by how often troops asked for items they could give to local children, especially toys, especially Beanie Babies.
M. HORN: The soldiers love them, because they weigh almost nothing and they fit into a knapsack or rucksack or baggy uniform pants. And as the kids show up, they just whip it out and toss it to a kid and it changes everything.
NISSEN: A Beanie Baby changed everything for one marine convoy in Iraq.
M. HORN: As they are going there's this like 4 or 5-year-old little girl standing in the road. They had met the little girl days before and given her toys. She's standing there with a Beanie Baby in her hands. The convoy is standing there, and they walked up to her and she points. There's an IED in the road.
S. HORN: She saved their lives.
NISSEN: The Horns don't know who sent that Beanie Baby. Don't know how many donors there are. Most of them mail letters and boxes directly to the contact addresses listed on the Website. Others opt to buy pre-assembled treat boxes that their children and their friends assemble and package in the family's suburban ranch house.
S. HORN: Pretty much they always need hygiene items, especially the women. I send a package of toilet paper in every single kit. Everybody needs to have cookies and candy and peanuts, beef jerky, Slim Jims. The stuff that they can throw in their pocket when they go out on a mission. I think more than anything, it's a taste of home.
NISSEN: Getting something from home, hearing from someone back home, keeps the troops going. The Website is full of photos and messages that make that clear.
M. HORN: This is about support, not just stuff. You can't have an army fight something as ugly as this and have bad morale. Anything that improves morale is going to help get these folks back home.
NISSEN: And might give them some measure of comfort until they are. Beth Nissen, CNN, Laplate, Maryland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOPPEL: And that Website is ANYSOLDIER.com.
Home sweet home, from senator back to his home in Alaska. Governor Murkowski tells us why he made the switch. Straight ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KOPPEL: Some people can go home again. Frank Murkowski spent more than two decades representing Alaska in the U.S. Senate. He now governs the land of the midnight sun. Earlier this week, he sat down with Robert Novak for this week's edition of the "Novak Zone."
ROBERT NOVAK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to the "Novak Zone." We're in Washington, D.C. with a man who, after 22 years, left the United States Senate to be elected governor of Alaska. Frank Murkowski. Governor Murkowski, what's the difference between you being a powerful U.S. Senator, a committee chairman and governor of Alaska?
GOVERNOR FRANK MURKOWSKI,(R) ALASKA: Well, as governor you can get things done in a reasonable time frame. As you know, the Senate is a deliberative body. It takes a long time to get things done. And I did have the committee chairmanship of energy. We worked on an energy bill back then. They're still working on an energy bill. Hopefully they'll get an energy bill this time.
NOVAK: Now Alaska, which is a different kind of state, have a lot of federal connections, don't you? The relationship with the federal government is maybe intimate than other states?
MURKOWSKI: It probably is. Because the federal government owns the majority of the land mass. We have a large military population. And we're kind of on a front line of defense in the sense we have the missile defense system now for the United States in Alaska. And it's virtually operational.
NOVAK: Governor, you're here in Washington, just completed recently the National Governor's Conference, maybe just an ordinary person watching the news reports of this would think that perhaps the governors all had their hands out looking for money from the federal government. Is that an unfair characterization?
MURKOWSKI: A little bit. There's a concern over the cost of Medicaid. And that, of course, is something that the states are burdened with. And we're looking for some relief, because the federal government, you know, makes the regulations and the states have to adhere to them. But with increased cost of medical care, increased life expectancy, higher cost of prescription drugs, the states are saying, hey, we've got to have some relief here. We've got to have some flexibility. Because this cost is eating us alive. The federal government isn't necessarily motivated to help the states out because right now the burden is on the state. We would like to put a little bit of it back on the budgetary process.
NOVAK: Governor, Alaska has been in the news in the recent years because of President Bush's proposal for drilling in the Anwar, the Arctic, a wildlife refuge. I guess everybody in Alaska thinks that's a good idea.
MURKOWSKI: Most people do that is right.
NOVACL: But there is a lot of oppositions from filibusters in the Senate. Do you have any hopes of that coming through?
MURKOWSKI: I think so. There's a budget reconciliation process that would bypass the filibuster, where they would only need 50 votes. That's under consideration. We would have had Anwar open today if President Clinton had not vetoed it the last time it passed the Congress. The point is we ought to find out what's there. The geologists simply say it's the most likely area of a major discovery in North America, and we clearly have the technology to do it safely.
NOVAK: Governor, another Alaska issue that's gotten national attention is pay to the people for the ethical treatment of animals. Says that they really object to this fishing of king salmon. They say the salmon feel the pain when they're caught and they should abolish that. Are you going to follow the recommendations?
MURKOWSKI: No, no, I don't think so. While the Alaska salmon, it's good for you. We manage our fisheries on the basis of ensuring that the escapement is there, first. The fish go up the stream, then we allow the commercial activity. We've been having record years in our salmon fisheries, as well as our cod fisheries and halibut fisheries. We do a better job of managing that resource virtually better than any other area in the country, because we still have fish and game in abundance, and we're going to keep it that way.
NOVAK: We don't care if the salmon feel the pain?
MURKOWSKI: I know a Senator who eats a can of salmon every morning. NOVAK: Who is that?
MURKOWSKI: It is Lieberman. It keeps him young, he says it keeps his skin free of wrinkles.
NOVAK: He does look wrinkled. I've seen him. Governor, when you were elected governor and you were in the Senate, were you surprised some people came up with some criticism when your -- you named your daughter Lisa as senator. I think you've been vindicated to a great extent in that choice when she won an election in her own right in the past election. But can you tell us how that is, that you're dealing with a U.S. Senator from your state and you're the governor and she's your daughter? How is that relationship?
MURKOWSKI: We kind of go our independent ways, but we have a very close relationship as, you know, father and daughter. But she's a very strong individual. She has, you know, strong ideas of her own. I attempt to make my thoughts come around once in a while, and she evaluates them and sometimes we get consideration, sometimes we don't.
NOVAK: And now, the big question for Frank Murkowski, governor of Alaska. Governor, you're 71 years old. You've been in public life for a quarter of a century. What do you think is the big lesson you've taken from all of the public service you've participated in?
MUROWSKI: Well, you know, the experience of being in the United States Senate for 22 years was very rewarding. And on the other hand, I was really compelled to address the issue that I felt very strongly about, and that was to build the economy of Alaska. We've come into the union in '59 and we have very little in common with other states, because they built their economy. Our economy is based on resources, our oil, our gas, our timber, fish, minerals, our tourism. And in order to fill that, we have to come to a consensus on how. We have to use technology. We have to have a small environmental footprint. But only with a strong economy can we have quality education, quality health care, and jobs for our young people in rural Alaska. I didn't feel that was occurring. And I didn't feel that I could do as much as I really wanted to do in the Senate. That's why we made the decision to come back to Alaska. We're pleased with that decision. The state's moving ahead. We're going to build a gas line and we are going to get Anwar opened. And it's very gratifying to, I think, grasp, if you will, that you're reaching out for a goal.
NOVAK: Fran Murkowski thank you very much.
MURKOWSKI: You bet Bob, nice to be with you.
NOVAK: And thank you for being in the "Novak Zone."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOPPEL: And you can catch more of Bob Novak and the rest of the "Capital Gang" tonight at 7:00 Eastern. The guest, Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel.
There is more ahead on CNN SATURDAY. At top of the hour, it's "Next@CNN." At 4:00 it is "CNN Live Saturday" with a look at a murder case that has haunted a New York police detective for 15 years.
At 5:00, "People in the News" profiling, who else, Martha Stewart.
But first here's Daniel Sieberg with preview of "Next@CNN."
DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Information extracted from a computer disk may have helped lead investigators to a suspect in the BTK murders. We will see how digital detectives recover electronic secrets.
Also some customer call centers use a machine to find out if callers are getting aggravated.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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