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New York Attorney General: Gay Marriage Illegal; Portland, Oregon Marries Same-Sex Couples; Kerry in, Edwards Out; Bush Campaigns in California; California Votes for Bond Issue; Martha Stewart Awaits Verdict

Aired March 03, 2004 - 13:00   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.


ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Adaora Udoji in New York. The New York attorney general has just ruled that, as the law stands, same-sex marriages are not legal.
We'll have that story coming up.

MILES O'BRIEN, ANCHOR: In the race for the White House, the real fight begins today, and the president is ready to come out swinging.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it is true this could probably set baseball back worse than the White Sox scandal or something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KYRA PHILLIPS, ANCHOR: Baseball's foul play. A widening steroid scandal threatens America's favorite pastime.

In the CNN Center in Atlanta, hello everyone, I'm Kyra Phillips.

O'BRIEN: And from CNN's Washington newsroom, I'm Miles O'Brien. It's Wednesday, March 3. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

Speaking now, declining to forever hold his peace, the chief law enforcement officer of New York state says the law there prohibits same-sex marriage, and if anybody doesn't like that, he or she can take it up with the courts or the state assembly.

Quoting Eliot Spitzer, the attorney general, "I personally would like to see the law changed, but must respect the law as it stands."

Spitzer spoke out in the face of gay weddings performed or announced in at least two New York towns, New Paltz, as you saw last week, and Nyack. The New Paltz mayor now faces criminal charges.

And CNN's Adaora Udoji is there with the latest -- Adaora.

UDOJI: Miles, indeed, New York's Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has ruled just a half hour ago that same-sex marriages are not legal in New York, at least as the law stands.

That means that state officials should not issue same-sex marriage licenses, nor should officials solemnize marriages between gays and lesbians.

Specifically, Spitzer says the domestic relationships law here in New York refers to brides and grooms and to husbands and wives. He added that though the laws, as you mentioned, raised some issues, equal protection issues, that prosecutors should enforce the law as it is right now.

And of course, that does not bode well for Mayor Jason West here in New Paltz. He tonight will be in court, facing 19 misdemeanor criminal charges of solemnizing marriages among couples that do not have a marriage license.

And this stems from last week, where he oversaw the marriages of 25 gay and lesbian couples.

Now, the mayor had argued that New York law allowed those same- sex marriages, but earlier today, he told us that he planned to plead not guilty to those charges. The penalty is a fine, up to two years in jail and possibly a monetary fine.

But the local prosecutor said he had no intention of trying to lock up the mayor. Essentially, he just wanted him to stop performing those marriages.

And we've already heard from the top law attorney general here in New York today, saying that they are not legal. We are looking to speak with Mayor West later today to find out exactly what his response is to that ruling -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Adaora, when do you expect to hear from the mayor? It sounds like quite a battle is brewing there, potentially.

UDOJI: There's no question both the mayor here of New Paltz and the mayor of Nyack, who announced earlier today he intended to perform same-sex marriages, they feel that the law should abide by this, that they do -- did believe, when we spoke to them earlier, that they were within the rule of law here in New York.

But clearly, Eliot Spitzer, the attorney general, has spoken, and we hope to speak with both mayors, some time very soon.

O'BRIEN: Adaora Udoji, thank you very much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We asked New York defense attorney and former prosecutor Paul Callan whether he wants to walk us through the finer legal points. Luckily, he said, "I do."

Paul, I think that somehow means we are unofficially married now. How are you doing?

PAUL CALLAN, NEW YORK DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Very good. Well, it's a heterosexual marriage so it's still legal under the laws of all states, as far as I can tell.

PHILLIPS: There we go. Good answer. All right. Let's talk about the legality of all of this. First of all, the mayor of New Paltz, if he continues to do this, there's been talk about fines. There's been talk about jail time.

Could he be forced to resign? Could he lose his job?

CALLAN: Well, he could lose his job, if he's convicted of the criminal charges that are being brought against him. And I do know that New York prosecutors, not only in Ulster County, where he is located, which is sort of a rural county in upstate New York, but also in Rockland County, where this town of Nyack is, where a second mayor has considered doing this, are investigating all kinds of approaches to bringing criminal charges.

Now, the one they've come up with now is this sort of minor misdemeanor, solemnizing marriage without a license. But you can be sure there will be fraud charges, official misconduct charges. They're really going to come down on these mayors if they continue to violate New York law.

PHILLIPS: What about all the mayors' employees, the clerk, the assistants, that are going through and helping him get these licenses and pushing them through and making everything, quote/unquote, legal?

CALLAN: Well, I think all of them face potential exposure for entering into a conspiracy with the mayor to violate New York law.

And I will say, though, that it's sort of a stretch to turn it into a criminal case. The Ulster County district attorney has come up with this sort of obscure statute, and he may be able to make out a case. He may not be. We'll see what a judge says about that.

So it's not an easy criminal case to make out, but it's certainly doable by a district attorney.

PHILLIPS: And real quickly. Attorney General coming forward on same-sex marriage, today Eliot Spitzer saying under the state court precedent, "same-sex marriages and civil unions lawfully entered in other jurisdictions outside the state should be recognized in New York."

So it's OK to go out of state, get married, come back and you get all the benefits?

CALLAN: Well, it's interesting, because of course there's -- he was walking a political tight rope. He's a Democratic attorney general with a Republican governor who's opposed to same-sex marriage.

And also, in New York -- and believe me, you're going to see this all over the country -- nobody thought when they wrote the marriage statutes to include the words "man and a woman." So instead, the statutes refer to bride and groom and all kinds of other thing, but most of them don't talk about man and woman.

So a lot of the gay marriage advocates are going to come in and say, "Hey, these laws don't even say it has to be a man and woman." So we're going to see some very interesting court cases as this controversy spreads across the United States.

PHILLIPS: Paul Callan, former New York City prosecutor. Thanks for your time, Paul.

CALLAN: Nice to be here.

PHILLIPS: All right -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Meanwhile, the hour has arrived in Portland, Oregon, marriage licenses handed out to same-sex couples by decree of the county chairwoman. Multnomah County is the latest front in the gay marriage movement.

And we get the story on that from Brian Barker, of our CNN affiliate KATU.

Brian, what's the latest from there?

BRIAN BARKER, KATU CORRESPONDENT: Boy, I'll tell you, huge line, hundreds of people out here getting their marriage certificates.

Of course, this is Portland, Oregon, and out there in the hallway is some sort of controlled chaos. A lot of these people, hundreds of them, have been lined up since around 8 last night. This news just broke last night.

And as we go back in, you can see these people walking in. Now, as we look over to the right are you can see where they're actually issuing the marriage certificates.

Now here in Oregon, the state constitution defines marriage as a civil contract entered into in person between male -- by males at least 17 years of age and females at least 17 years of age. But what the state constitution leaves out is "between."

So this is the legal loophole, some are calling it, that these people are using in order to get married.

And as we see up here on the desk, you can see the people actually applying for and getting their marriage certificates. Many of these people will actually be getting married just in half an hour to an hour.

We're going to talk to this woman right here.

You're waiting to pay for your marriage certificate?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we are.

BARKER: This is historic for Oregon. How do you feel?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm just so overwhelmed right now. I couldn't be happier.

BARKER: And when do you actually tie the knot?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today.

BARKER: All right. That's the -- that's what's happening right here in Portland Oregon, Multnomah County, as hundreds of people officially tie the knot, gay marriages in Oregon.

Back to you.

O'BRIEN: Brian Barker with KATU, thanks very much.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe that in 2004, one united Democratic Party, we can and we will win this election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Kerry on, Edwards out.

For the Massachusetts senator who already held a mighty lead in the Democratic presidential race, Super Tuesday more than lived up to its billing.

For the North Carolina senator who held out hope of an upset, well, there's always next time.

John Kerry carried nine of the ten states holding contests yesterday. And while he doesn't yet have a mathematical lock on the nomination, he's practically untouchable.

CNN's Bob Franken breaks it down.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Presidential candidate John Edwards is about to become former presidential candidate John Edwards. He's holding a news conference this afternoon to announce that he is getting out of the race in favor of John Kerry.

(voice-over) He called himself "the little engine that could," but the little engine finally ran out of steam. It was overwhelmed by the much bigger engine of John Kerry, who now has an uncluttered field.

Kerry all along focused most of his attention on George W. Bush, operating as the person who would be the nominee. Now it's quite clear that he would be. And he's going to have to hone his message a little more so he can focus on the president and also get ready to play defense.

Because now the Republicans know exactly who it is they're going to be facing this year, and they're going to be focusing all the attention on him. No clutter in that field, too.

(on camera) So it's going to become a campaign that goes from the softball -- relative softball of the Democratic campaign to the true hardball of a general election campaign, or perhaps one that even includes some bean balls.

Bob Franken, CNN, Annapolis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: John Edwards plans to quit the race at 4 p.m., a little less than three hours from now in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Last night in Atlanta, he faced his many unhappy returns with remarks that only raised speculation he might wind up on the ticket after all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I also want to take a moment and congratulate my friend, Senator John Kerry.

He's run a strong, powerful campaign. He's been an extraordinary advocate for causes that all of us believe in: more jobs, better health care, a cleaner environment, a safer world.

These are the causes of our party. These are the causes of our country. And these are the causes we will prevail on, come November, you and I together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: You can watch Edwards' exit speech, 4 p.m. Eastern, 1 Pacific, right here on CNN.

The incumbent is in the air this hour, destination is California, a day before his first batch of TV spots goes on the air nationwide.

CNN's Kathleen Koch back at the White House with details on all of that.

Hello, Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miles.

This is just one sign that the Bush/Cheney campaign is beginning, finally, to kick into high gear, these ads costing the campaign some $4.5 million.

They'll start running tomorrow, Thursday in 15 to 17 states that are considered battleground states this election year. Also, will be running nationally on cable systems.

The ads don't mention Mr. Bush's likely opponent. However, they instead focus on the president's record and the challenge he's overcome.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm George Bush and I approve this message. I, George Walker Bush, do solemnly swear...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: Now, as a counterpoint, another series of ads will begin running on Thursday. These, though, anti-Bush ads. And they're funded by the liberal grassroots organization MoveOn.org Voter Fund.

It plans to spend some $1.9 million on these series of ads, criticizing the president's economic policies. They'll also, again, start running Thursday and run for about five days.

Now the president, this morning headed out for Los Angeles, California, keeping with the pattern that we have seen since the primary season began. Basically, the president traveling to an important state, in this case, California, where Democratic candidates have been there in number, pummeling him and his policies in recent days.

This in an attempt not only to recapture the spotlight, but as the White House likes to put it, to set the record straight.

And Mr. Bush also, while there, will be attending the -- a White House conference on faith-based and community initiatives. He'll be making the case that more federal funding needs to go to faith-based groups that provide social services in community, and also attending a few fund-raisers -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Kathleen Koch at the White House, thank you very much.

There were some other noteworthy contests in Super Tuesday states. In California, voters approved Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to keep the state solvent.

The proposal will allow the state to float up to $15 billion in bonds to consolidate California's record debt. The vote, seen as a major victory for Schwarzenegger.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, CALIFORNIA: With the passage of proposition 57, we have removed the financial sword that was hanging over California's head. We can now refinance the inherit inherited debt, and we can move forward.

We have sent a strong signal to Wall Street to let them know that we are putting our problems behind us and that we are getting our act together. So Wall Street, come on back to California, and do business with us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: You can come back and do business with us.

Straight ahead, Martha Stewart can't wait to hear from the 12 most important people in her life right now. We'll have a live report on the wait for her fate.

And signs of water on Mars. Did you hear? Now Miles is swimming with stuff about the red planet. You'll get the latest splash in his Mars minute.

And take a close look at this coin. It's an old dollar, but it's worth a million dollars, because of something that's missing. Here's a hint: it's something you'll find on all your change.

While you're check your pocket, we'll take a break.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Guilty or not guilty? That's the question jurors are deliberating in the Martha Stewart case. Jurors got the case just about 90 minutes ago.

Let's go to CNN financial news correspondent Allan Chernoff. He's in Manhattan.

Allan, what do you know?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNNFN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, the jurors have concluded their lunch, and now deliberations are officially under way.

The 12 men and women will try to determine whether or not Martha Stewart and her stockbroker, Peter Bacanovic, lied to federal investigators about Stewart's sale of ImClone stock back in December of 2001.

The judge, Miriam Cederbaum, began by telling the jurors that "you're performing one of the most sacred obligations of citizenship."

She then talked about the burden of proof. Of course, it is all upon the government. And the government, she said, does have to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. And she emphasized, of course, that each defendant is innocent until proven guilty.

Then she talked about the concept that guilt is personal. She said it's very possible that you may find one defendant guilty without finding the other defendant guilty.

She also emphasized that the fact that Stewart and Bacanovic are being tried together doesn't imply anything. And she emphasized that you cannot read anything into the fact that Ms. Stewart and Mr. Bacanovic did not testify during the trial.

Then she ran through the various counts. Martha Stewart, of course, facing four criminal counts. They are conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and two counts of making false statements. Peter Bacanovic, the stockbroker is facing five criminal counts, being conspiracy, obstruction of justice, false statements, perjury, and making and using false documents.

The judge concluded by telling the jury, it is now your turn to determine the truth -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Allan, could we hear a decision today?

CHERNOFF: Kyra, I frankly would be shocked if we heard a decision today. I'd be shocked if we got one tomorrow morning. There's a lot of material for the jury to go through here.

Keep in mind, also, the jury has just received the indictment. We've had the indictment for weeks and weeks, but the jury has just gotten it from the judge. They have a lot of material to review. And even if they're unanimous, it's going to take them a little time to figure everything out, go through those various counts -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Allan Chernoff, live from Manhattan, thanks.

Other news across America now.

In custody, a woman accused of snatching a baby and torching a house to cover it up, well, she surrendered in Philadelphia. Carolyn Correa says the girl, now 6, is hers.

The case came to light after the child's birth mother saw the girl at a birthday party and recognized her. DNA tests confirmed her suspicions.

Under control: firefighters in Baltimore worked through the night to contain a massive warehouse fire. When it first erupted, flames shot up 75 feet. No one was injured. There's no word on the cause.

On display. The FBI says it plans to make public online photographs of unidentified child pornographers. The initiative is part of the FBI's Innocent Images. It's aimed at identifying and arresting people who distribute child porn online.

O'BRIEN: All right. Let's do the Mars minute, shall we, Kyra? Start the clock.

On the day after the discovery was announced that there was water about four billion years ago on the surface of Mars in this very location. Looks kind of grim right now, but scientists are telling us that if you had been there four billion years ago, you'd be swimming, maybe with the fishes. Who knows?

But nevertheless, take a look at these close-up shots. Right here in the center, these little spherical things are called -- well, the scientists are calling them blueberries. They're kind of formed by concrete, a concrete-like thing. And of course, as everybody knows, concrete needs water. So it is water helped create them.

Also, check out these little holes here and there. Those at one time held crystals that were formed by water and were ultimately washed away by water.

Now, let's look at what's next for Opportunity. Isn't this an incredible shot, this desolate horizon here? About a half a mile away is a crater called Endurance. It's about a 500 foot in diameter crater. Opportunity will head off in that direction, just to see what they will see.

What is next for the scientists? Quickly, let's do a quick -- in bonus time here, the sample return mission, Kyra, coming up in 2013. I know you've got it on your calendar.

In that mission, NASA plans to land a rover somewhere on Mars, get some rocks and then send them back to Earth. Not just pictures, the actual rocks will come back to Earth.

What does that have to do with what happened yesterday? Well, they know of at least one great landing site for that particular mission.

What do you think, Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Miles "Bonus" O'Brien, thank you.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's -- let's take a break now that we're well beyond bonus time.

The fight over Mickey could get a little icky. Disney's embattled chairman faces the fight of his life to stay atop of a media empire. We'll have more on that straight ahead.

CARLOS WASTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Carlos Watson. What does President Bush have to push to come out on top in this campaign? I'll take you live inside his strategy, later on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK REPORT)

O'BRIEN: The death toll continues to rise after yesterday's vicious attacks in Iraq. Who is to blame? Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, she'll have the latest for us coming up.

And now that John Kerry is the man for the Democrats, how will he and George Bush square off in the fight for November? We'll line it up for you when LIVE FROM returns. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Headlines at the half hour. New York's attorney general says gay marriage is illegal.

Eliot Spitzer joined the growing debate today, days after the mayor of New Paltz began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex licenses. Mayor Jason West, now faces criminal charges.

Gay couples in Portland, Oregon, are saying "I do," meanwhile. Marriage licenses being issued there, starting today. The county commission opened the doors to gay marriage yesterday.

Critics, including the chairman of the state's Republican Party, calling it a travesty.

Overseas, Hamas is vowing revenge for a deadly air strike in Gaza. Palestinian security forces say three senior Hamas members were killed in an Israeli missile attack on a car. Israel says the men were involved in several attacks and were planning more.

PHILLIPS: Well, now that John Kerry has a virtual lock on the Democratic nomination, he and President Bush are likely to turn up the heat on each other.

CNN national correspondent Bruce Morton has a look at what sets political rivals apart.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRUCE MORTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the string of primary wins grows, John Kerry sounds more and more like a man who can't wait to run against the president.

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have three words for him we know he understands: bring it on.

MORTON: The president sounds ready, too.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Come November, the voters are going to have a very clear choice.

MORTON: They disagree about everything. The economy.

BUSH: It's a choice between keeping the tax relief that is moving the economy forward, or putting the burden of higher taxes back on the American people.

KERRY: He's not multiplying the jobs he's trying to divide America.

MORTON: On Iraq and terrorism.

BUSH: It is a choice between an America that leads the world with strength and confidence, or an America that is uncertain in the face of danger.

KERRY: There is a better way to make America safe than this president has chosen. This president has in fact, created terrorists where they didn't exist.

MORTON: They're alike in some ways. Both grew up in comfort, went to private schools, went to Yale, joined the secret society Skull and Bones.

George Bush paints Kerry as someone who waffles on the issues.

BUSH: For tax cuts and against them. For NAFTA and against NAFTA. For the Patriot Act and against the Patriot Act. In favor of liberating Iraq and opposed to it.

And that's just one senator from Massachusetts.

MORTON: They differ in that John Kerry went to war, saw combat, killed. George Bush did not. Kerry mentions Bush's aircraft carrier appearance in a flight suit in just about every speech.

KERRY: George Bush thought he could dress up on an aircraft carrier. And he thought he could stand in front of a big sign that said "Mission Accomplished." And he thought you wouldn't notice that people are still dying in Iraq.

MORTON: Hmm. Maybe the general election campaign has already started. These two seem ready.

Bruce Morton, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Tomorrow, the first Bush/Cheney re-election TV ad will be released. Will it take the high road, or will it be the first shot in a war of negativity?

CNN's Carlos Watson joins us now with his political insight. We're going to roll the ad in a minute. But first I want to ask you, where do you think the president stands now? And what does he have to do?

CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: The president's approval numbers, you know, over the last 18 months have dropped from the 70s down to kind of the low 50s. And depending on which poll you believe, it's kind of around 50 percent, around 52 percent.

In a head to head match-up with John Kerry, he's now down by eight points, whereas two months ago, Kyra, he was up 17 points. So another big swing.

So with all that, there are really three things he's got to worry about. One, his lowest numbers, when you dig into the polls, have to do with the economy. So a lot of real worry about the economy.

No. 2, there's a credibility gap, if you will, whether it's been on Iraq and weapons of mass destruction; whether it's been on the cost of Medicare; whether it's been on how many jobs will be created.

And the president would argue the Democrats have unfairly spent literally millions of dollars in portraying that and painting that picture.

And last but not least, a real serious issue that his opponent now, John Kerry, has got very high favorability numbers. If the president's numbers in most polls are in the low 50s, John Kerry's numbers, depending on what polls you believe, are somewhere in the 60s, particularly in a number of the states where he's just recently run and won, and obviously been painted as not only a winner but as a war hero. PHILLIPS: All right. You mentioned that economy, credibility, Kerry's favorability. We just had a chance to see the ad. Let's roll it for our viewers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: I'm George W. Bush and I approved this message.

I, George walker Bush, do solemnly swear...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: All right, what are the messages here?

WATSON: He's trying to remind voters that, in his mind, he's encountered some real challenges. Recession, that you've heard the president say, before, he encountered. The dot com bust, the stock market decline.

And he's saying, on top of those basic economic challenges, he's reminding you that 9/11 had a real impact on the economy. And ultimately, he said, but you know what? We're turning the corner.

We may not be producing as many jobs as we had hoped, 112,000 last month, but we are getting better.

And he would say, by the way, you remember past recessions where the unemployment rate was nine or 10 percent. He would say this one is 5.6 percent. And he's say that's an amazing achievement, not that it's where he wants to be ultimately. But he would say it's an amazing achievement, given all of the challenges that have been placed in front of him.

PHILLIPS: He didn't mention the challenge of corporate corruption.

WATSON: He didn't. And so that's one the president mentions when he talks. You saw him in the one-hour interview with Tim Russert, he mentioned that.

But you know, the White House could have thought a lot of things. They could have thought, hey, we only have 30 seconds and so we don't have a lot of time to talk about everything.

Or they could have thought, things like Enron actually may feel kind of too close to us. And so maybe that's a conversation that, you know, we should leave for another time.

PHILLIPS: All right. As you were getting up here, you were working the sources on the cell phone. You just got off the phone with someone from the Bush campaign.

WATSON: Fresh off the phone.

PHILLIPS: Fresh off the phone. You now, how do they decide how to put these commercials together? They sit in a room. What kind of minds do they have in there? What are the thoughts? What's the process to put something together like that?

WATSON: Well, a lot of smart, a lot of experienced people, people both from the campaign, people involved in the Republican National Committee, people who have been involved at the White House, some people who were formally part of the Bush team and some people like Karen Hughes, who used to work in the White House.

I think what they first and foremost have decided is that they want to put forth a positive message with their television ads. It's a $4.5 million buy. They're going to be on cable. They'll also buy certain networks in local markets.

And I think ultimately, they wanted to have a crisp, clean message that says, you know, you know what, if you're going to vote on us, we're going to make you safer and stronger. Remember, that was at the end of the message.

PHILLIPS: Somebody's got to do the dirty work. Mud slinging has to come in somewhere, doesn't it?

WATSON: Well, and again -- And this is politics. They would argue it's not dirty work if we point out John Kerry's real record. If we point out his record on the environment, if we point out his record on jobs, if we point out real votes on military, on intelligence.

But interestingly enough, you're not seeing it in the television ads.

But of course you will see it in other ways. You'll see surrogates come out and speak.

For example, in Ohio, even while the primary was coming on, the Congressman Rob Portman, a Republican congressman, hosted phone calls where he kind of called Kerry's record into question.

Again, they wouldn't call that negative. They would say, we're trying to set the record straight. And by the way, they would point out the Democrats have spent the last year bashing the president.

PHILLIPS: All right. Carlos Watson. We don't bash anybody around here. Thank you. Only each other.

WATSON: Only each other. Only when we're not having fun.

PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks, Carlos.

WATSON: Good to see you.

PHILLIPS: Miles.

O'BRIEN: During the presidential campaign, violence in Iraq will no doubt be a political hot button.

Today, grieving families in Iraq started burying loved ones killed in suicide attacks yesterday in Baghdad and Karbala. The explosions, targeting Shiite Muslim sites, killed at least 117.

U.S. officials say the attacks have the hallmark of a known Jordanian militant.

Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joining us now with more on the investigation.

Hello, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Miles.

Well, indeed, one day after those terrible attacks in Iraq killed and wounded hundreds, the United States now says there is evidence that this man, the Jordanian terrorist, Abu Musab Zarqawi, who is believed to be hiding in Iraq and has ties to al Qaeda, may have been responsible.

General John Abizaid, testifying on Capitol Hill this morning, laid out the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: The level of organization and the desire to cause casualties among innocent worshipers is a clear hallmark of the Zarqawi network, and we have intelligence that ties Zarqawi to this attack.

We also have intelligence that shows that there is some linkage between Zarqawi and the former regime elements, specifically, the Iraqi intelligence service.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: Now, that last point perhaps being quite important. The belief is these attacks were so well coordinated, really just minutes apart, that it would have required help from Iraqis inside the country, not just outsiders.

One other indicator, Abizaid talked about the fact that leaflets appeared in Baghdad shortly after the attack, indicating that the Americans were responsible, trying to convince Iraqis Americans were behind the attacks.

We also learned a lot more about just how massive these were yesterday. Six suicide bombers, explosives placed in pushcarts, even mortars fired on worshippers on the way to the mosque -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you very much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Story ahead, a steroid scandal hits home for some of major league's biggest stars. And home run king Hank Aaron sounding off about it.

Plus, no more living large if you want fries with that. Details on a super sized move at a fast food giant, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS; Despite the optimism that usually goes along with spring training, there is a black cloud hanging over the sport.

A report by the "San Francisco Chronicle" links some of the biggest names in baseball, including Barry Bonds, to steroids.

Sop what does baseball's all-time home run king think about all this? Hank Aaron spoke today on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANK AARON, MLB ALL-TIME HOME RUN LEADER: It's messy, really, and it's a concern, I guess, of everybody who has ever played the game who are interested in the game.

But I hope that all these allegations -- the one that's been written in the paper, said on television -- that none of this is true. You know, I hope that. But if it is true, this could probably set baseball back worse than the White Sox scandals, I guess.

BILL HEMMER, "AMERICAN MORNING" HOST: Wow, that is a heck of a thing for you to say. A messy situation and setting it back to the situation back in 1919.

Barry Bonds is chasing your record right now. And I just read this statement from his attorney that he made yesterday.

This is what you said about Bonds in November 2002: "It's amazing to see what Barry Bonds has done. I admire his consistency. I would not be surprised to see him break my own record. He's a tremendous hitter in great shape. I've had that record long enough."

If the story continues to swirl around Barry Bonds and if they prove it, how badly does that taint the record he is chasing and also his own reputation in the game today?

AARON: Well, you know, rather than me sit here and say anything about Barry Bonds until something is proven, you know, that he's taken steroids.

The only thing I can say is that he is a terrific ballplayer. He has done some terrific things. And I am just hoping and praying that all of this is just nothing but allegations. That it's nothing -- no truth to anything that I've read in the paper.

And I just -- I just pray that none of this is happening. You know, not only to Barry Bonds, but to any of the athletes. I just hope that all of this is just something that we all dreamed about, and it's going to be passed over.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[PHILLIPS: Well, Aaron says that part of the reason for the allegations is that too many people have direct contact with the players.

Last month, baseball commissioner Bud Selig banned personal trainers, friends and agents from team clubhouses and dugouts.

O'BRIEN: Well, there's nothing strange about a truck hauling a load, right? Well, check out this truck and this load. We'll fill you in on just what it's about after the break.

Plus, if you're a regular super-sizer, you may want to start getting used to some smaller portions.

Rhonda Schaffler always has the super-sized story from the New York stock exchange. Hello, Rhonda.

(STOCK REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Rhonda, thank you very much.

No offense to you, but even in a bull market, it is hard to turn one dollar into a million. The trick is to start with the right dollar, apparently.

This coin you're about to see, 1860, dime a dozen, as it were. But a dollar just like it from 1866 is one of only two struck without the motto "In God We Trust."

The no motto coins, as they are called, worth at least $1 million. It has been missing since a 1967 robbery at a collector's house in Florida.

Now recently, it turned up in a box of coins a Maine librarian received as collateral for a loan. Alas, the librarian can't keep it, because it was stolen property. It's kind of a twisted tale here.

Anyway, its original owner, Willis Dupont, of the Duponts, will -- because he can afford to, will give it to a museum -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, Miles, I'll see you million-dollar dollar and raise you a pot load, or maybe I should say a load of pot.

State police...

O'BRIEN: Speaking of high rollers.

PHILLIPS: Speaking of high rollers -- hey, that's a good one. State police in Indiana this week pulled over a pickup truck that was piled high with one-pound bricks of marijuana.

How high, you ask? So high, they obscured the truck's temporary license plate in the back window, hence, the traffic stop.

Well, the suspects are now being held. And we know gasoline is getting pricey, but not even 18-wheelers have a million bucks in their gas tanks. This rig being the exception. Police in Houston pulled it over, along with a car that had been following it, whereupon dogs sniffed out a million dollars plus stuffed into the fuel tank.

The drivers are still being questioned.

O'BRIEN: Fill it up with Benjamins I guess. There's something to that story that's not quite washing. Is there something more we need to know?

PHILLIPS: I'll fill you in on the details later.

O'BRIEN: OK. Details later. Film at 11, as they say.

PHILLIPS: There you go.

O'BRIEN: All right. Gay marriage is a topic all across the country, again. It continues, from New York to Oregon. The issue is making waves, to say the least. That's coming up in our second hour of LIVE FROM.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Gay marriage: New York's top law enforcer says this should not be happening in the state.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESONDENT: Another day, another city, another state, another crowd of gay and lesbian couples getting married.

I'm Miguel Marquez, live in Portland. I'll tell you about it.

PHILLIPS: The White House showdown: Bush versus Kerry. Which voters will they have to win over?

O'BRIEN: And have you had lunch yet? Before you decide between the salad and the baked potato, what you need to know about the connection between food and your mood.

Here at LIVE FROM, we call that the curse of the Monte Cristo.

From CNN's Washington newsroom, I'm Miles O'Brien.

PHILLIPS: I'm still feeling that curse from last week, Miles. And from the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM, minus the Monte Cristo, starts right now.

Up first this hour, the gay marriage bandwagon rolling from New Paltz to Portland and who knows where in between?

Oregon's largest city is the latest to license same-sex nuptials, while the Green Party mayor of New Paltz, on the outskirts of New York, vows to honor his commitment, even if he has to go to jail.

As always, we go the distance to bring you the details with CNN's Miguel Marquez. He's in Portland. And Adaora Udoji is in New Paltz.

Miguel, we start with you.

MARQUEZ: Kyra, the district attorney -- the county attorney for Multnomah County opened up the doors to gay marriage today, and this is the result.

Dozens, hundreds of gay and lesbian couples lined up around the building. A few protestors outside. I want to show you what's going on inside here, as well.

They come through the palisades here. On a typical day, they process about 60 weddings in the Multnomah County here. Today they believe they may do hundreds and hundreds. It's a little hard to tell.

We do have some pictures from outside. This line wraps all the way around the building at this point, even though it's a very rainy day here in Portland, Oregon.

The county attorney spoke a short time ago as to why exactly she decided to open the doors to gay and lesbian weddings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AGNES BOWLE, MULTNOMAH CO. ATTORNEY: I concluded that the Oregon Constitution prohibits the county from discriminating against same-sex couples when they're applying for marriage licenses because that kind of discrimination based on gender and based on sexual orientation is not allowed in Oregon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: Now, I also asked the county attorney if she had any sense as to whether or not litigation had been filed to stop what is going on here today and she said at this point she does not. The attorney general's office apparently and her office have been in discussions today. She has an opinion out that she has sent to the attorney general and to other counties here and she's now waiting for word back as to whether or not Multnomah County can continue granting licenses -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Miguel, we're pretty amazed by your access there. I don't know if you can maybe turn around and kind of give a feel for how crowded it is in there and have you been talking to a number of these couples? I don't know if they're close enough to you where you could get some comments from them but what are they telling you? Is this just pretty amazing to all of them?

MARQUEZ: It's fairly simple. I mean take a look. This is sort of the head of the line here. All of these people are now filling out applications right immediately in front of us. Beyond that the doors, the line then wraps all the way around the building here. Couples we talked to it's much the same story that we've heard in San Francisco and covering this in other areas. They've been together for many years.

Some of them have kids together. They want the same rights that heterosexual couples enjoy when they get married and they believe it is their equal right to do that and so far, Multnomah County here in Oregon is agreeing -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Miguel Marquez thanks so much.

And encouraged by the White House to pass a constitutional amendment, Congress weighed in today with a hearing. The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and civil rights examined what is called the judicial invalidation of traditional marriage laws. For his part, the top Senate Republican today proposed lawmakers stamp out what he called a wildfire of gay marriages spreading throughout all 50 states.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TN), MAJORITY LEADER: When you have activist judges radically redefining what marriage means and what the law spells out we're going to act.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: In 1996, you may recall Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act that sought to leave the same-sex question to the states. Now to another state, New Paltz and Adaora Odoji following the same story of another of these marriages that have already taken place -- Dora.

ODOJI: Exactly, Kyra. New York's attorney general said he's reviewed. He took a look at the law in the state of New York and has concluded that state officials should not be issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples and that state officials should not solemnize same-sex marriages.

He said at this point the law is very specific in that it excludes marriages between the same sex individuals. He said that although these marriage laws do raise questions about equal protection that those issues should be resolved by the courts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIOT SPITZER, NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) opinion concludes that New York State statutes do not permit same-sex marriages. That is clear from the language of the state, the intent of the legislature in passing the law and the court decisions interpreting the statute. Indeed, the statute repeatedly uses terms, such as husband and wife, and bride and groom.

Therefore, it is my recommendation and my counsel that city and town clerks not issue licenses to same-sex couples and those empowered to preside over marriage ceremonies solemnizing marriages in the word of the statute should not solemnize same-sex marriages.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ODOJI: Now, as you just heard Eliot Spitzer, the Attorney General here in New York is suggesting to prosecutors that they uphold the law and that does not bode well for the mayor here in New Paltz. That's Jason West. He was the mayor who last week solemnized the marriage of 25 same-sex couples here in New Paltz.

The mayor had argued that the New York law allowed for those marriages but prosecutors say he's guilty of violating the law and they have charged him with 19 criminal misdemeanors of solemnizing marriages without the proper marriage licenses. The penalty is a fine possibly or perhaps up to two years in jail.

Earlier, West told us that he plans to plead not guilty to the charges. The prosecutor says he's not trying to put the mayor in jail. He just wanted to stop him from solemnizing those 25 -- to continue rather solemnizing marriages between same-sex couples.

And, as for those 25 who the mayor married last week, Attorney General Spitzer says that the question of whether or not those marriages are valid should be left up to the courts -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Adaora Odoji thank you -- Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now on to the presidential race and with John Kerry securely on his way to winning the Democratic nomination today it all begins in earnest.

As the Democrats had hoped the primary struggle was quick, the results pretty clear right now. Of the 31 contests that began with the Iowa caucuses, Senator Kerry won 28. None of his opponents captured more than a single state. Here's Kerry last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERRY: Tonight, the message could not be clearer. All across our country change is coming to America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Kerry hit the ground running today. He has appeared already in the battleground state of Florida. As for Kerry's competition it has all but collapsed with the fall of John Edwards. After his O-fer on Super Tuesday, Edwards is quitting the contest and, if his words last night are any indication, he's joining the Kerry bandwagon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDWARDS: I also want to take a moment and congratulate my friend Senator John Kerry. He's run a strong, powerful campaign. He's been an extraordinary advocate for causes that all of us believe in, more jobs, better healthcare, a cleaner environment, a safer world. These are the causes of our party. These are the causes of our country and these are the causes we will prevail on come November you and I together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Later this afternoon, Edwards is to make his withdrawal official, about two hours from now. CNN planning live coverage 4:00 p.m. Eastern time from Edwards' home state of North Carolina, his daughter's high school as a matter of fact.

For its part today, the Bush campaign is plunging right into the presidential fray with its first set of ads. The spots were released by the White House today after the president left Washington for a six-day trip to California and Texas. Here's a little sample of that spot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: I'm George W. Bush and I approved this message.

ANNOUNCER: The last few years have tested America in many ways. Some challenges we've seen before and some were like no others but America...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: This particular spot praises the virtues of freedom, family, faith and sacrifice, high road stuff, and it trumpets what it calls the steady leadership in times of change -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, Martha Stewart's fate is now in the hands of the jury. Her defense team says the case against her doesn't make sense. Telling jurors if she did what she's alleged to have done, it couldn't have been done in a dumber fashion but prosecutors say even smart people do dumb things.

Our Mary Snow is in New York where jurors are weighing both arguments -- Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, jury deliberations officially underway after the judge in this case instructed jurors this morning and the case went to jurors about 11:30, the judge telling them that while this case is important to the defendant, it is also important to the government.

The jurors had just one request and that was to be able to have lunch with the alternate jurors before they were dismissed and that was something that the judge granted, the judge telling the jury of eight women and four men, don't yield your position simply because you were outnumbered or outweighed, saying reach a just verdict regardless of the consequences.

She also reminded them, as she has done several times during this trial, that guilt or innocence is personal and that you might find one defendant guilty and not find the other defendant guilty.

There are eight counts in this charge and number nine was dismissed last week. That was the securities fraud charge against Martha Stewart. There are four remaining charges against Stewart.

They consist of a charge of conspiracy, making false statements and obstruction of justice. There are five counts against her co- defendant and stockbroker Peter Bacanovic. Each of these counts carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Mary Snow live from New York -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: News across America now. In Philadelphia, a woman accused of kidnapping a 10-day-old infant six years ago has turned herself into police. Carolyn Correa faces at least 15 charges, including arson, for a fire she's accused of setting to cover up that abduction. The 6-year-old girl is in the custody of New Jersey State Family Services until authorities allow her to be reunited with her birth mother.

In Washington, the FBI says it will turn the virtual tables on those who distribute child pornography. It plans to publicize photos of unknown suspects online in hopes others can identify their faces.

Agents will pose as potential targets or victims and obtain the images through photo swaps, peer-to-peer sites or through other methods. Those pictures will then be published on the FBI website and also on the TV show "America's Most Wanted."

Terror in Iraq, after devastating attacks, what's being done to stop them? America's top man in Iraq speaks out.

And is Israel's new wall a sign of security or oppression or is it a fashion statement? It depends on who you ask.

And the next time you pull up to the fast food drive-through here's a question you will not be asked. We're ordering that one up just ahead on LIVE FROM. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Dropping the hammer on terrorists in Iraq after devastating twin suicide attacks, the U.S.-led coalition is beefing up security. That move comes as Iraqis are mourning the worshippers killed in Tuesday's bombings.

Due to that violence, Iraq's Governing Council is now delaying signing its new constitution until Friday and the U.S. administrator vows foreign terrorists will be kept out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL BREMER, U.S. CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATOR: It is increasingly apparent that a large part of this terrorism comes from outside the country and we are strengthening border protection to counter it. There are 8,000 border police on duty today and more are on the way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Iraqis are reeling with anger and grief and they bury the pilgrims killed in Tuesday's attacks.

Our Brent Sadler reports now from Karbala where many people blame the coalition security failures for their country's instability, while others blame al Qaeda. A word of caution now, the video you're about to see may not be suitable for sensitive viewers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A day of terror followed by a night of subdued anger and sorrow on the streets of Karbala, sorrow for the seventh century martyr Imam Hussein and sorrow for victims of Tuesday's deadly bomb attacks.

Bodies are laid out on the grounds of Karbala's main medical center. Officials here say at least 100 pilgrims died in Karbala alone. Some of these plastic bags contain the pieces of yet more victims who may never be identified.

Survivors were brought to the same hospital. Many are badly burned, their faces blackened by intense heat when explosives detonated. In this ward, a mother has collapsed at the shocking sight of an injured relative while this frantic woman searches in vain for a missing neighbor.

"God punished them" she says. "God take revenge for the innocent people."

Dr. Hassan al-Nasserv led efforts to save lives describing the injuries as horrific and the bombers as indescribably evil.

DR. HASSAN AL-NASSERV, DIR., AL-HUSSEIN HOSPITAL: I don't know but definitely he is not human but was political bounty hunters.

SADLER: Ali Sahib, a Karbala businessman, was knocked unconscious by a bomb. He woke up covered in other people's body parts and knows who to blame.

"They're from al Qaeda" he says "or maybe members of the previous regime."

SADLER: Iraqi investigators here claim the attacks may have been carried out by a group of suicide bombers but improvised explosives may also have been used to kill and maim.

(on camera): In the cold light of the day after, the bloodbath in two cities is being blamed by Iraqi Governing Council and coalition officials on militant extremists bent on sparking sectarian conflicts to wreck an unpredictable transition to democracy.

Brent Sadler CNN, Karbala, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: With no let up in the violence in Iraq one has to question where does the U.S. military go from here?

Our Barbara Starr has some of the answers, joining us from the Pentagon, not good to be in the middle of a civil war, is it Barbara?

STARR: Very tough going for everybody in Iraq right now, Miles, and in the wake of these latest attacks, a lot of questions being raised both in Baghdad and here in Washington today about whether Iraqi security forces are really ready to take over.

On Capitol Hill today, General John Abizaid, the head of the U.S. Central Command, was testifying on that very point. Now he said that the U.S. would stick by its strategy of gradually turning over security to the Iraqi forces and that they would also stick by the Iraqis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: We do not intend in any way, shape or form to abandon these immature security formations to their fate. We will have good levels of coordination and when they want their help, they want help from us we'll come to their aid. And, if they get in trouble and they don't ask for our help, we'll still come to their aid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: Now, of course, the question in the wake of yesterday's bombing is would it have made more difference if there had been more U.S. forces on site when it all happened? Of course, the reaction here in Baghdad, as you see from these pictures Iraqis reacting very unhappily stoning U.S. forces when they did finally show up.

But, of course, there had been a plan to keep U.S. forces out of sight a bit. This was a holy day. The U.S. military did not want to get in the way of the worshippers.

But now questions about whether or not the U.S. really needs to come back out on the front line, at least for a little while and one reaction today, Ambassador Paul Bremer, the head of the coalition provisional authority, saying that the U.S. will work with the Iraqis now to at least step up border security to try and keep some of these foreign fighters that they believe are responsible from coming in across the borders from places like Iran and Syria -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: But, Barbara, you hit on the catch-22. The more the U.S. increases its presence the more visible those forces are, the more they become a target, the more they potentially spark violence.

STARR: This is the real problem for the U.S. What General Abizaid is saying, what most top officials are saying is they really have no choice at this point but to stick with the strategy of at least reducing the visual footprint of the U.S. military because of the very point you raise.

But behind the scenes, they are working very, very hard to get the Iraqis trained up to develop an Iraqi command structure within these security forces so they can operate better.

And they are also now planning to put some special U.S. forces with these Iraqi formations to sort of mentor them, to help them along and get them to be much more capable much more quickly.

No one thinks they're going to be perfectly ready by that June 30th transition date to Iraqi sovereignty but they know they have got to work to get them really in shape as quickly as they can.

O'BRIEN: Iraqification, much easier said than done I guess. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon thank you very much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, slinging mud or keeping it clean, which strategy will win the White House? We'll go inside the campaigns just ahead on LIVE FROM.

And who's clogging up your computer with unwanted e-mails? We're dropping the hammer on the most notorious spammers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MARKET UPDATE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: And welcome back from this Washington newsroom. Miles is with us and I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN Center in Atlanta.

Here's what's all new this half hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think showing the clothes next to it just shows the conflict and the contrast of beautiful clothes and our abnormal life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Making a fashion statement about a controversial wall.

O'BRIEN: And the winning strategy for the White House. What will Bush and Kerry have to do to reach out to the middle of the road if it's still there?

You'd probably like to reach out and smack whomever sends all that spam. I sure would. We're tracking down the top purveyors of unwanted e-mail.

But first the headlines we're watching for you "At This Hour." No spam at all there.

PHILLIPS: (AUDIO GAP) second New York town says he'll start marrying same-sex couples. Nyack Mayor John Shields says he made the decision after state authorities brought charges against the mayor of New Paltz. Shields, who's gay, says he plans to marry his partner in Massachusetts. New York's attorney general says gay marriage is illegal under existing state law.

Same-sex couples in Oregon are jumping on the wedding bandwagon. An official in Multnomah County ordered that marriage licenses be issued to gay and lesbian couples start today. A spokesperson for Oregon's attorney general says stay laws are ambiguous and that meetings with the governor are under way to decide on a marching plan.

It's all up to the jury now in the Martha Stewart case. The judge spent more than an hour and a half laying out instructions for deliberations. The Domestic Diva faces four charges in the sale of her ImClone stock. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of five years.

It's a day that "Dirty Bomb Suspect" Jose Padilla has been waiting for for nearly two years. Padilla got to meet with his attorney for the first time since July 2002. The Padilla case challenged the status of so-called enemy combatants and the U.S. government's terms for holding them. Today's meeting was videotaped with sound by the government. A member of military was present at all times.

O'BRIEN: John Kerry's near sweep of Super Tuesday gives him a virtual lock on the Democratic nomination. You've already heard that by now. But experts say he'll still need to make a strong showing in Florida ultimately. Election watchers are expecting another squeaker with President Bush there come November. Please, no chads. Please.

With more on that, here is CNN's John Zarrella.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Many Florida Democrats didn't wait for Super Tuesday results.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Press the red button and you're done.

ZARRELLA: They are already touching electronic screens at the state's early voting sites.

Coming a week after Super Tuesday, Florida won't play as prominent a role in the primary as Democrats would have liked. But analyst Jim Kane, an expert on Florida politics, believes they will vote in large numbers with one eye on November.

JIM KANE, POLITICAL ANALYST: Those people who will be showing up for the Democratic primary have one goal and one goal only: get rid of George W. Bush. And they're going to vote for the person they think is going to be a winner.

ZARRELLA: Early polls show President Bush with a lead over either Senator Kerry or Senator Edwards in Florida. In a tight race, Kane believes retiring Senator Bob Graham should be the second name on the ticket.

KANE: If I were John Kerry, I'd pick him, and I'd stick him in Florida and never let him get out of the state. And if he does and it's a close race, Bob Graham will count for one, two, maybe three percentage points.

ZARRELLA: The head of the Florida Republican Party says her opponents would be making a big mistake.

CAROL JORDAN, FLORIDA REPUBLICAN PARTY: That, to me, wouldn't be somebody I'd want to run with. I mean, I'm sorry, Bob Graham, Senator Graham, has had great respect in the state of Florida, but I must tell you, his presidential race severely, severely damaged his reputation in this state.

ZARRELLA: Florida, split 50/50, Democrats and Republicans may, again, be too close to call. But Democrats don't believe Ralph Nader will be the same factor he was four years ago.

SCOTT MADDOX, FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY: He would just be used as a wedge tool in the 2004 election, as a spoiler. And I think his supporters see through that, and I don't think he'll get a lot of votes in the state of Florida.

ZARRELLA: Nader got 97,000 votes in 2000. Sixty-five percent of those said in exit polls they would have voted for al gore if Nader wasn't on the ballot.

John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: So both the campaigns will be courting those illusive swing voters. We used to call them "Reagan Democrats" at one time. Nevertheless, it's the folks right in the middle of road. The question is is there still a middle of the road?

To talk about this and some other matters on the day after Super Tuesday, you guess could I call this Super Wednesday, is Bill Schneider. And what makes it more super is we have two Bill Schneiders here. Most programs only give you one. We've got two here.

Bill, good to have you with us. Are there any swing voters left in this country or is it so polarized that everybody is right or left?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: There is a theory that every woman and every man is either a little Democrat or else a little Republican, to paraphrase Gilbert and Sullivan. There is nobody left in the middle.

Well, the middle has been shrinking. But I think there are still some voters there. Yet the parties often behave as if there aren't very many voters and that the way to win elections is to rally the base, to get them out to vote and overwhelm the other side.

Was that what President Bush was doing when he endorsed the constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages, to rally the Republican base? Maybe.

O'BRIEN: All right. Let's go through some talking points. If we were inside these campaigns right now been and we were talking about the items that we would like to have on the agenda, that we would like to take you to the other campaign with, it's diametrically opposed, as it usually is, I suppose.

On the left, George Bush would like to talk about war on terror values, steady leadership. On the right -- and of course we have this backwards because it should be the other way around. But occupation of Iraq, jobs and deficit. So we'll call it screen left.

Bill Schneider, who controls that agenda, who decides which one of those topics is on the tips of our tongues?

SCHNEIDER: Well, they both compete for control of the agenda. The president, of course, is still the president through the end of this year at least. And therefore, he has a lot of clout in determining what's on the agenda. Kerry will try to influence it.

But in the end, you know what influences the agenda really and truly? Events. Events have a way of determining what the candidates talk about. Sometimes the events are unpredictable.

Who predicted that Alan Greenspan would give testimony before the United States Congress and he would say the deficit is a serious problem because it threatens Social Security and we may have to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits? Wow!

Suddenly, the deficits is on the agenda. He did that.

O'BRIEN: All right. But when you start talking about events, the first reaction would be that the president would have a big advantage on that. Because being a president, you can manipulate and move events by coming up with initiatives. So far, the president's been trying that. How much luck has he had?

SCHNEIDER: Not a great deal. This year been a good year for President Bush. That's why he's trying to get a fresh start with new ads.

Look he's had two big initiatives on issues, one was immigration reform. That went nowhere, very unpopular, even within his own party. Another was space exploration. Your favorite subject, Miles. But I'm sad to inform you, it didn't go very far and wasn't very popular.

He then struck out by trying to endorse a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and that only divided the country. He gave a State of the Union Speech which was not very well received and an hour-long interview on "Meet the Press" that didn't get good reviews. So not a good year so far, whereas the Democrats are having a pretty good year.

Here is an irony. Ten candidates competed for the Democratic nomination and nobody in the Republican Party challenged George Bush. Yet, Miles, right now on the starting day of the general election campaign, I would argue that the Democrats are more unified than the Republicans.

O'BRIEN: Boy, there is a little news flash right there. The Democrats more unified than Republicans. All right. Let's finally just a political -- I know you don't even want to talk about this because you think it's a waste of time, but it's still fun!

"New York Times" today, op-ed piece, a New York University Law professor, Steven Gillers (ph), says, Hey, best VP choice for Kerry is this guy -- Bill Clinton. There's nothing in the Constitution, he says, that would stop it. Why not have him as the veep?

SCHNEIDER: Well, because if you had him on the ticket as the president, the election would be all about Bill Clinton. That is not what John Kerry wants. John Kerry wants the election to be about George Bush and his record and his policies.

When an incumbent president runs for reelection, it's supposed to be, and usually is, a referendum on the president. Now Bush would like to make it a referendum on John Kerry, but that's going to be tough to do because Kerry is not the president.

But if Clinton were on the ticket, you can just bet the whole election would just be a vote on Bill Clinton and Bush would probably, my guess is, win that.

O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much, Bill Schneider. Always a pleasure having you join us on this Super Wednesday.

Now Senator John Kerry's last major rival, Senator John Edwards, plans to officially drop out of the race. He all but dropped out last night. We'll carry that for you. It's coming up 4:00 p.m. Eastern live here on CNN. Back to Kyra.

PHILLIPS: This coming just now in to CNN, rebel leader Guy Philippe says that his forces will lay down their arms. This happened as U.S. Marines fanned out from the presidential palace there in Port- au-Prince with their rifles ready to try and restore order amid that country's bloody uprising, as you know.

This coming from Guy Philippe. "Now that there are foreign troops promising to protect the Haitian people and they've given the guarantee to protect the Haitian people, we will lay down our arms."

This coming out after an emergency meeting in Jamaica over the Haiti crisis. Once again, rebel leader Guy Philippe coming forward saying, rebels will lay down their weapons.

Straight ahead, taking a cue from Benneton? Well fashionistas choose Israel's security fence for their latest photo shoot. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: It was a catwalk in a hot zone as an Israeli design house brought high style to Israel's controversial security barrier. Our Chris Burns on the politics of fashion.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On a rocky runway at Israel's self-styled security barrier, they show off a spring fashion line and engage in some adget-prop (ph) geopolitics against a wall, the Israeli government says it's building to stop suicide bombers. Palestinians say it steals their land and cuts off their livelihoods.

The Israeli fashion company Comme-il-faut, French for "as it must be," engaged in politics before last year modeling khakis against the Iraq war. And they're at it again.

SYLVIE GOLDFINER, CEO, COMME-IL-FAUT: I think it's too bad. I think that the way to serve conflicts are not to build walls.

BURNS: Not a bad way to attract media attention either. Trivializing a serious issue?

MAYA ARAZI, FASHION DESIGNER: I don't think anything could trivialize the war. I mean it's a fact. It's a fact that we cannot argue with. And we're just I think showing the clothes next to it just shows the conflict and the contrast of beautiful clothes and our unnormal life.

BURNS: Lunch break with a Palestinian family outside the wall. The father, a blacksmith, says he's lost all his Israeli clients since the wall went up. Daughter Ruadea (ph) sees no future.

(on camera): So you think a fashion shoot helps to bring attention to that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Yes. I'm sure.

BURNS: Without making it less severe and less serious?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, I'm sure. They are famous girls, you know. They will make some eyes on the war.

BURNS (voice-over): It's a harsh awakening for one Israeli model.

MEITAL WEINBERG, FASHION MODEL: I'm -- I live in my bubble in Tel Aviv. I don't know what's going on out there. It's shocking. It just is a wall in front of me. And it's sad.

BURNS (on camera): There are some members of the government saying this is bad taste and they hope you don't even sell one shirt.

ARAZI: Well, we're doing fashion so we're supposed to know about good taste and bad taste. And I think we're dictating good taste in this matter.

BURNS (voice-over): As beauty is in eyes of beholder, so can this barrier be seen by some as an ugly ruinous gash in the landscape, and by others as necessary evil.

Chris Burns, CNN, along the barrier outside Jerusalem. (END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, a plague on your inbox? Spam, spam, spam. See who is the worst offender when it comes to sending you that annoying stuff.

And forgetting something? Why young employees don't take advantage of their 401(k)s.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: They're all getting rid of their spam right there. In Hawaii, spam is practically the state food on your computer. It can give you an upset stomach trying to get rid of it. So can that music.

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECH CORRESPONDENT: Cue the music!

PHILLIPS: Where does it come from? Who is the biggest offender?

SCHNEIDER: Not Monty Python.

Turns out, Kyra, this is a new study. Turns out that the most spam in the world comes from Miles O'Brien's computer. It is true.

PHILLIPS: Why does that not surprise me?

SIEBERG: No. This is a new study from the company in the U.K. called Sophos. They're anti-virus , anti-spam security company. They wanted to see where all the spam messages are coming from in the world. So they decided to take a look.

And we have the results here for you. Rather dubious distinctions for all the countries on this list. Cue the music again.

The first one, third place, a tie with South Korea and China, for 6 percent of the spam in the world. A tie for third place. There's a third place ribbon.

In second place, yes, Canada. And I can say this because I'm Canadian. Stuck in second place.

But, I think we might prefer to be second place in this case, because in No. 1 spot is the United States with 57 percent of spam messages. That's according to Sophos.

So you might wonder -- and there is another 2 percent that sort of lumps everybody together. The Netherlands, Mexico, Australia. We call this the honorable mention category.

So you might wonder why all does this spam come from the U.S.? Well Sophos decided to look into this and part of the reason they're saying is first of all, there are a lot of computers in the U.S. that are on a broadband or high-speed connection. That's appealing to spammers because they can essentially hijack these computers, take them over, and turn them into what's called a sort of zombie spam machine to send out these messages. For example, Russia, which came in at number 28 on the list, actually may have some hackers or rather nefarious groups in Russia that take over computers in the U.S. to send out messages. They look like they're coming from the U.S., but may be controlled from somewhere else.

As well, English is spoken in the U.S. A lot of spammers try to get their messages out in English. And as well, it's simply that a small number of people or spammers are responsible for a large number of messages and they just happen to be in the U.S.

So that's a rather dubious distinction for these countries, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Freedom of spam. Isn't that in out constitution?

SIEBERG: Freedom of spam. Yeah, right.

PHILLIPS: All right. Now I like how said to you how do we get rid of it, and you didn't say how to get rid of it. You said tips on how to limit it.

SIEBERG: Limit it, yes. That's maybe the best you can do at this point is limit it, maybe not get rid of it. We do have tips for people on what you can do.

First of all, don't post your e-mail address on the Web in a public place where people can see it on a Web site or message board. That's where spammers go to harvest these e-mail addresses.

Don't open or reply to spam because that's just telling the spammer that you are a legitimate user and you're reading your e-mail. Don't unsubscribe on those unsuscribe links because that's telling them there is a user on this computer who is essentially reading those messages.

As well, you can set up a secondary or a junk e-mail account, a Web-based account that's free. Use it to log on to a Web site if you need it or may to do some online banking. And you see some other one there. E-mail filters, software.

And again, read privacy policies. That can be very important because you never know where companies are going use your e-mail address. So check the fine print and delete. That's about the only thing you can do.

PHILLIPS: Thank you, Daniel Sieberg.

All right -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Taking a tip from Americans trying to shed their extra large? You might call them SuperSize portions. Mickey-D's trim being the SuperSize menu. You listening Connery O'Brien (ph)? No more SuperSized fries for you.

The company is phasing out its extra large order of french fries and drinks by the end of the year. But just like extra pounds over the holidays, don't look for them to disappear all together. McDonald's will bring the SuperSized items back for special promotions just to taunt us with their voluminous sizes.

PHILLIPS: I'm hungry.

Well, giving up the fries may make some people cranky. No! Yes! The curse of the Monte Crisco. They're loaded with carbs. And a new study finds eating them may destroy your mood. Exploring this relationship between food and mood can make you feel differently about your diet. Here is Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Carbohydrates have been at the center of the diet debate for sometime now. There are all sorts of stores popping up, you can buy low carbohydrate pancake syrup, pancake mix, all sorts of things. Low carbohydrates store you can see up there.

But here is a question for you. An interesting one to consider. What sort of impact does a low carbohydrate diet have on your mood? That's exactly the subject of some research being done at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Judith Wortman (ph) looking at this.

Interesting sort of speculation here. Serotonin at the heart of this. Seems that carbs and very little protein raise your serotonin levels. This is important because serotonin acts as mood stabilizer. It's the same thing that elevates in people that take anti- depressants.

The scenario is this. If you eat a high carbohydrate meal with very little protein, you may feel a little bit better, sort of the comfort food effect afterwards. If you add protein, you don't get as additional benefit.

No one is staying stop your low carbohydrate diet, necessarily, if that's what you're on. But if you're subject to mood changes, vulnerable to those mood changes, someone who takes antidepressants, someone who uses food for emotional stability, there may be something to this whole comfort food notion and it may come in the from of carbohydrates.

Now the Atkins people would quickly counter saying, listen, if you lose weight, you'll feel good in terms of your physical status as well as your overall mood. Plus, if you take a lot of carbohydrates, you may be more subject to sugar crashes later on down the line. That may swing your mood as well. So consider those things.

But that's the subject of the scientific debate that's going on right now. If you're someone who is going to eat carbohydrates, all dietitians recommend the complex carbohydrates more so than the simple ones. Stay away from cakes and cookies.

The ones that are good for you, the whole grains, beans, nuts, and brown or jasmine rice. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(MARKET UPDATE)

O'BRIEN: Here is a guy who doesn't need a 401(k). He's not confused by all those choices. Yes, he's loaded. Right? He'd still like to ditch the media though. Proves that money isn't everything.

Prince Harry. We'll bring you an update on him because you know you're interested in what he's doing. Admit it.

Plus, getting tough. The iron yoga story we promised you yesterday. Get in to the iron lotus position now. We will bring it to you shortly.

And President Bush unleashes his first reelection TV ad. It's big-time on the high road. We of course are always there.

Live from Washington, Atlanta and wherever there is news. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back to LIVE FROM. I'm Miles O'Brien in the Washington newsroom today.

PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips at CNN Center in Atlanta.

Here's what is making news this hour.

Pride in Portland. Oregon's largest county has joined the same- sex marriage movement, hundreds of people now applying for marriage licenses after the county attorneys said refusing to grant them licenses would be unconstitutional. The state's attorney general has yet to rule.

Mixed messages for gay couples in New York. Its attorney general is urging local officials not to conduct same-sex marriages until a court can sort out just what the state law means. The mayors of two small towns say they plan to officiate at "I do"s no matter what.

A vow to disarm, reports coming now from Haiti that rebel forces will lay down their weapons. Their leader, Guy Philippe, reportedly says that's possible because international troops have promised to protect the people. Just yesterday he declared himself head of Haiti's armed forces.

Iraq democracy bound, that's how the U.S. administrator there sees it as the Iraqi Governing Council prepares to sign an interim constitution on Friday. The signing was supposed to take place today, but the country is in mourning following yesterday's deadly terror attacks.

O'BRIEN: Well, we're in the final hour of the Edwards for president 2004 campaign. Up next, Edwards for Kerry. John Kerry's nine-for-10 showing on Super Tuesday didn't quite give him a lock on the Democratic nomination. But it did serve to squeeze out the North Carolina senator, whose only win to date came in his native South Carolina.

After yesterday's unhappy returns and a lavish endorsement of Kerry, we might add, Edwards caught the red eye to Raleigh, where he's due to give his departure address at 4:00 p.m. Eastern, 58 minutes, give or take, from now. You can see that, of course, right here on CNN live. And that all but guarantees, barring some monumental turn of events, a Kerry-Bush contest that will dominate the next eight months. The first batch of Bush TV ads starts tomorrow. Buckle your seat belts.

The incumbent himself is on Air Force One, still about an hour away from LAX.

CNN's Kathleen Koch holding down the big white fort up Pennsylvania Avenue from here.

Kathleen, what's the latest?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, as the president continues on his way westward, the big news here right now is those campaign ads.

The president sees them as really a way to improve his standing with American voters, the president recently having taken quite a hit in the polls, hits from Democratic candidates. The president, though, is described as being very optimistic about his chances of winning reelection to the presidency and also described as being very mindful of not repeating the mistakes that he believes his father made back in 1992.

Now, these ads are all very positive, very upbeat and they focus on Mr. Bush's record and leadership as president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know exactly where I want to lead this country. I know what we need to do to make the world more free and more peaceful. I know what we need to do to make sure every person has a chance at realizing the American dream.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: The Bush/Cheney campaign is spending some $4.5 million on this first ad buy. The ads will run in some 15 to 17 swing states, and then also nationally on cable networks around the country.

Now, President Bush, as I mentioned earlier, who is now heading out on a six-day swing through both California and Texas, is also beginning to size up his likely opponent. The president now we're told is studying transcripts of Senator John Kerry's media interviews, of his debates, getting a feel for the candidate's style, his responses, and also, of course, his record on the issues. The president also taking a moment for a one-on-one chat with candidate Kerry, Mr. Bush calling the Massachusetts senator just before 8:00 last night to congratulate him on his Super Tuesday decisive victories. A Bush campaign spokesman said that the president added that he looks forward to a spirited debate this fall -- Miles.

CNN's Kathleen Koch at the White House, thank you very much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, just moments ago, we told you about rebel leader Guy Philippe declaring himself head of armed forces in Haiti, saying that now that foreign troops have come into the area, he is coming saying they will lay down their weapons.

Lucia Newman had the first interview with Guy Philippe, now has talked to him again.

Lucia, what did he tell you?

LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kyra, I just finished speaking to him. He looked rather emotional.

He said that he had had a meeting early this morning with the head of the U.S. Marine contingent here, and that they had explained, or convinced him that the U.S. Marines would now take charge of the security situation here in Port-au-Prince and therefore they had agreed to hand in their weapons. When I asked him who he would hand them in to, he said Haiti's new president.

And he also told us that in the next 48 hours he would be going back to Cap-Haitien, the city that he took a week ago, and where he was once the police chief and is also Haiti's second most important city. He said he was going back there to explain to his men why this was, in his words, the best thing to do for Haiti. In terms of what he planned to do in the future, he said, we'll wait and see.

He would like to play a role in the future security or army of Haiti, he said, but that would be up to the next government, a very different speech from what we were getting yesterday, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Lucia, with Guy Philippe coming out and making this announcement, does he necessarily speak for all -- for the other rebel leaders that have been involved in what has happened in Haiti?

NEWMAN: Well, that's a very good question. He is said to be the commander of this joint rebel Army, as it were. But we'll have to see whether the others will agree if that is, as he said, the best thing to do.

There are groups in Gonaives and in other parts of the north of Haiti who may or may not decide to follow his example. And also, there are a lot of people who are afraid now that if they put down their weapons there will be reprisals. There are Aristide supporters out there who are still very heavily armed, Kyra. And when I asked him who's going to ensure his own safety, he said God would -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Powerful words. Lucia Newman, live from Port-au- Prince, we thank you very much.

Our other story that we're following this half hour, 25 weddings and a political funeral? Probably not, but the same-sex nuptials performed last Friday in New Paltz, New York, have earned the village mayor misdemeanor charges for solemnizing marriage without a license. He's due in court this evening. And if Jason West was hoping Eliot Spitzer would stand up for him, he was disappointed.

New York's attorney general says state law raises valid constitutional questions but for now it doesn't allow men to marry men or women to marry women or state officials to officiate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIOT SPITZER, NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL: Therefore, it is my recommendation and my counsel that city and town clerks not issue licenses to same-sex couples and those empowered to preside over marriage ceremonies solemnizing marriages in the word of the statute should not solemnize same-sex marriages.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: That not withstanding, the gay mayor of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) a suburb of New York says he'll tie some same-sex knots beginning tomorrow, though he personally plans to wed in Massachusetts.

From San Francisco, California, and New Paltz, New York, to Portland, Oregon, the battle over same-sex marriage moves to a new front.

CNN's Miguel Marquez is there at one of the first ceremonies getting under way. Miguel?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lots and lots of ceremonies getting under way now, Kyra.

The county attorney from Multnomah County here in Oregon deciding that they would open up the doors to gay marriage and the result is dozens, dozens, hundreds, maybe, of gay and lesbian couples coming to the doors, filling out applications here. The line is impressive outside this building, much like we saw in San Francisco, all the way around the building, gay and lesbians waiting for their chance to fill out their application license, pay their $60 fee, and then they have 60 days to take that license.

Unlike San Francisco, they're not actually being married here today. They are -- they're just getting their licenses. And then they have to have those marriages solemnized by some other individual.

I want to bring in a couple here who has just gotten married.

If you could just tell us, how long have you been together? And what is today to you guys?

CLARICE JOHNSON, PLANNING TO MARRY PARTNER: We've been together 27 years. And for us, it's kind of an unexpected opportunity to formalize who and what we are.

MARQUEZ: It's a very bureaucratic process. What was it like going through it today? Was it emotional as well?

TINA EMBERG, PLANNING TO MARRY PARTNER: As I was walking here from my car and I first saw the crowd of people going around the building I started to cry. I was just overcome by emotion, as I am right now when I stop to think about it.

I never really thought it was a big deal. But now that we have the opportunity to get married, we rushed down here and we're just so thrilled to be here, and it's really a festive occasion.

MARQUEZ: You've been together 27 years. What's the point at this point? Why marriage? Why is it so important?

JOHNSON: I think it's -- like I said, it's really making us visible. I mean, so long, gay people's lives have been invisible, not to us, but to the world, and it's just kind of making the circle be complete. This is, you know -- we're here. We're a part of life.

MARQUEZ: Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Good luck to you.

The attorney general's office saying that the governor of Oregon has now directed his office to look into whether or not gay marriages should be legalized and they expect an opinion may be reached by the attorney general sometime next week -- back to you for now.

PHILLIPS: All right, our Miguel Marquez, live from Portland, Oregon, thank you so much.

O'BRIEN: News across America now.

No more supersizing. Sorry. McDonald's says it's dropping the extra-extra-large portions from its menu. It says the move is part of an overall effort to simplify the menu.

The fate of Martha Stewart is in the hands of jurors. They've begun deliberating whether Stewart lied to investigators about her sale of ImClone stock in 2001. The combined charges against Stewart carry up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

And, in Philadelphia, police have charged a woman with kidnapping a 10-day-old girl six years ago; 41-year-old Carolyn Correa surrendered to police yesterday. Delimar Vera, who is now 6 years old, was asleep in her crib when a fire broke out in her home. Now, at the time police concluded her body had been incinerated in the flames. She's in foster care until a judge determines where she should live.

PHILLIPS: Doctors are drawing the line when it comes to prescribing antibiotics. Parents, be warned. You may not get them the next time you go to the pediatrician.

Plus, live from New York, the Janet Jackson buzz. And the media finally catches up with Prince Harry. Find out what he's up to overseas.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: For years, doctors have treated ear infections in kids with antibiotics. But that could soon change. Health officials plan to recommend this spring that doctors stop prescribing antibiotics for most infections. They say half of all antibiotics given to young children are for ear infections. Reducing antibiotics could help prevent kids from building up a resistance to the medication. Experts say most minor ear infections clear up on their own within a week.

O'BRIEN: In other health news, are you a hard body or do you want to be one? Health-conscience Americans always seem to be looking for a new exercise plan. And while some fitness plans prefer weights, others tout the benefits of yoga. And now there's a new approach that kind of combines the two.

Medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta checks it out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tree pose with military press and hammer curl. Familiar sounds you'll here in a not so familiar yoga class. In this New York health and racket club, the ancient art of yoga is pumped up. I decided to take the challenge, and as I found, it doesn't take long to work up a sweat.

ANTHONY CARILLO, CREATOR, IRON YOGA: With your left foot and leg, take a long step back, at least one leg length apart.

GUPTA: Combining weights with yoga is the idea of nationally ranked triathlete Anthony Carillo. He was the first to use weights with familiar yoga poses. Like many well-trained athletes, he wanted to challenge himself further.

CARILLO: I was in a warrior two pose that we did today in class. And as I'm in this pose, I'm thinking, OK, what weight training exercise that I normally do in the weight room can I add to warrior two? So it just made sense that I'm holding dumbbells. One arm could do a lateral raise, and the other arm could do a bicep curl.

GUPTA: Carillo started the pump-up yoga over a year ago. And these days, similar programs are popping up all around the country.

Dozens of health clubs have begun offering yoga classes with weights, bands, balls, and other resistance tools, all designed to draw a wider range of participants.

CARILLO: Some who are serious into the weight training, and circuit training and body sculpting, they sometimes feel that a yoga class won't give them the challenge. And I think now with this new dimension of adding dumbbells and weight training exercises to yoga, it's been able to attract that audience.

GUPTA: With iron yoga, every movement is done with the breath.

CARILLO: Everything's super safe because it's super slow. We're taking four to five seconds concentrically working positively, we're taking four to five seconds eccentrically working negatively.

GUPTA: And after the iron phase of this workout, you'll no doubt look to the cooldown.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: All right. Sit right back and you'll hear a tale of the latest reality TV show. Oh, yes. Can you believe this? Pursuing the prince. The media's dogged pursuit of Prince Harry. Our Charlayne Hunter-Gault with a pretty interesting story.

Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, the odds of being born on Leap Day, February 29, are one in about 1,500. Dustin Hedges (ph) of Newark, Ohio, is a Leap Day baby. So was his daughter, Kaly (ph), born three days ago. And what are the odds of that happening? One in more than two million.

(MARKET UPDATE)

PHILLIPS: Checking entertainment headlines this March 3, the story sounds like a plot for the ultimate buddy picture, successful writer falls ill, a longtime pal and business associate, offers him the kidney he needs to get better. But it's not fiction. It happened to playwright Neil Simon who's recovering from transplant surgery in a New York hospital, along with his longtime press rep, Bill Evans, who donated the kidney.

Is Janet Jackson ready to laugh at herself and the media tornado sparked by recent events at the Super Bowl? Sources say Janet might appear on "Saturday Night Live" in April. No confirmation yet from Jackson's spokesperson or "SNL."

And how is this for a pop culture cocktail? Classic sitcom turned into a reality show? Oh, yes. Our sister station TBS will air a hybrid of "Gilligan's Island" and "Survivor," featuring a real-life skipper, first mate, millionaire couple, movie star, farm girl, and professor. They'll who try to escape a remote island. Let the comic hijinks ensue.

O'BRIEN: Just hit right back and you'll hear a tale of really bad TV.

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: All right. Britain's Prince Harry is on a two-month- long trip to Africa. He's trying to draw attention a devastating disease. Our Charlayne Hunter-Gault picks up the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He arrived like any other boy from Lesotho, but he was following in the footsteps of his late mother, Princess Diana, using his royal presence to draw attention to the plight of AIDS orphans, like 4-year-old Matusi Postsana (ph).

Since arriving in the tiny mountain kingdom of Lesotho, the young prince has also visited AIDS patients, getting a firsthand look at the disease believed to have infected some 31 percent of the country's two million people. Journalists were allowed on this visit, in exchange for privacy for the rest of his time here. The 19-year-old prince was asked what he hoped to achieve.

PRINCE HARRY, UNITED KINGDOM: Recognition for people back in England, to charities in England to sort of recognize Lesotho, a country that needs help, because they haven't got enough help yet.

HUNTER-GAULT: A welcome message to the ears of a young Lesotho royal, the brother of the king.

PRINCE SEEISO, LESOTHO KING'S BROTHER: Well, maybe in a selfish manner, we are hoping to elevate our profile, international profile. But among other things that I hope that he can get away from Lesotho is some personal attachment, not only to the country at large, but to individuals that he is working with. And I think he is beginning to have very close relations with some of the boys that he's working with.

HUNTER-GAULT: Prince Harry will be in Lesotho for the next two weeks mending fences and building bridges.

Charlayne Hunter-Gault, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well that's it for this edition of LIVE FROM. I'm Kyra Phillips in Atlanta.

O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien in Washington. We're glad you joined us.

And now to pick up our coverage is CNN's Judy Woodruff. She's across the room from me right now. She was up all night doing the Super Tuesday thing and on this super Wednesday is going to tell us how the dust has settled on this election campaign.

It's pretty interesting, isn't it?

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: It is super Thursday -- it's Wednesday. That's right. It's not Thursday. It's Wednesday. Miles, right across the room from me, hello. All right, get ready for this. Bush reelection ads are coming tomorrow to a TV near you. I'll speak with the spokesman for the Bush-Cheney reelection team about the new campaign. Plus, he has effectively won the nomination, but the job only gets tougher from here. I'll talk with a top John Kerry aide about the challenges ahead.

Stay with us. I go "INSIDE POLITICS" in three minutes.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Oregon Marries Same-Sex Couples; Kerry in, Edwards Out; Bush Campaigns in California; California Votes for Bond Issue; Martha Stewart Awaits Verdict>


Aired March 3, 2004 - 13:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Adaora Udoji in New York. The New York attorney general has just ruled that, as the law stands, same-sex marriages are not legal.
We'll have that story coming up.

MILES O'BRIEN, ANCHOR: In the race for the White House, the real fight begins today, and the president is ready to come out swinging.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it is true this could probably set baseball back worse than the White Sox scandal or something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KYRA PHILLIPS, ANCHOR: Baseball's foul play. A widening steroid scandal threatens America's favorite pastime.

In the CNN Center in Atlanta, hello everyone, I'm Kyra Phillips.

O'BRIEN: And from CNN's Washington newsroom, I'm Miles O'Brien. It's Wednesday, March 3. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

Speaking now, declining to forever hold his peace, the chief law enforcement officer of New York state says the law there prohibits same-sex marriage, and if anybody doesn't like that, he or she can take it up with the courts or the state assembly.

Quoting Eliot Spitzer, the attorney general, "I personally would like to see the law changed, but must respect the law as it stands."

Spitzer spoke out in the face of gay weddings performed or announced in at least two New York towns, New Paltz, as you saw last week, and Nyack. The New Paltz mayor now faces criminal charges.

And CNN's Adaora Udoji is there with the latest -- Adaora.

UDOJI: Miles, indeed, New York's Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has ruled just a half hour ago that same-sex marriages are not legal in New York, at least as the law stands.

That means that state officials should not issue same-sex marriage licenses, nor should officials solemnize marriages between gays and lesbians.

Specifically, Spitzer says the domestic relationships law here in New York refers to brides and grooms and to husbands and wives. He added that though the laws, as you mentioned, raised some issues, equal protection issues, that prosecutors should enforce the law as it is right now.

And of course, that does not bode well for Mayor Jason West here in New Paltz. He tonight will be in court, facing 19 misdemeanor criminal charges of solemnizing marriages among couples that do not have a marriage license.

And this stems from last week, where he oversaw the marriages of 25 gay and lesbian couples.

Now, the mayor had argued that New York law allowed those same- sex marriages, but earlier today, he told us that he planned to plead not guilty to those charges. The penalty is a fine, up to two years in jail and possibly a monetary fine.

But the local prosecutor said he had no intention of trying to lock up the mayor. Essentially, he just wanted him to stop performing those marriages.

And we've already heard from the top law attorney general here in New York today, saying that they are not legal. We are looking to speak with Mayor West later today to find out exactly what his response is to that ruling -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Adaora, when do you expect to hear from the mayor? It sounds like quite a battle is brewing there, potentially.

UDOJI: There's no question both the mayor here of New Paltz and the mayor of Nyack, who announced earlier today he intended to perform same-sex marriages, they feel that the law should abide by this, that they do -- did believe, when we spoke to them earlier, that they were within the rule of law here in New York.

But clearly, Eliot Spitzer, the attorney general, has spoken, and we hope to speak with both mayors, some time very soon.

O'BRIEN: Adaora Udoji, thank you very much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We asked New York defense attorney and former prosecutor Paul Callan whether he wants to walk us through the finer legal points. Luckily, he said, "I do."

Paul, I think that somehow means we are unofficially married now. How are you doing?

PAUL CALLAN, NEW YORK DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Very good. Well, it's a heterosexual marriage so it's still legal under the laws of all states, as far as I can tell.

PHILLIPS: There we go. Good answer. All right. Let's talk about the legality of all of this. First of all, the mayor of New Paltz, if he continues to do this, there's been talk about fines. There's been talk about jail time.

Could he be forced to resign? Could he lose his job?

CALLAN: Well, he could lose his job, if he's convicted of the criminal charges that are being brought against him. And I do know that New York prosecutors, not only in Ulster County, where he is located, which is sort of a rural county in upstate New York, but also in Rockland County, where this town of Nyack is, where a second mayor has considered doing this, are investigating all kinds of approaches to bringing criminal charges.

Now, the one they've come up with now is this sort of minor misdemeanor, solemnizing marriage without a license. But you can be sure there will be fraud charges, official misconduct charges. They're really going to come down on these mayors if they continue to violate New York law.

PHILLIPS: What about all the mayors' employees, the clerk, the assistants, that are going through and helping him get these licenses and pushing them through and making everything, quote/unquote, legal?

CALLAN: Well, I think all of them face potential exposure for entering into a conspiracy with the mayor to violate New York law.

And I will say, though, that it's sort of a stretch to turn it into a criminal case. The Ulster County district attorney has come up with this sort of obscure statute, and he may be able to make out a case. He may not be. We'll see what a judge says about that.

So it's not an easy criminal case to make out, but it's certainly doable by a district attorney.

PHILLIPS: And real quickly. Attorney General coming forward on same-sex marriage, today Eliot Spitzer saying under the state court precedent, "same-sex marriages and civil unions lawfully entered in other jurisdictions outside the state should be recognized in New York."

So it's OK to go out of state, get married, come back and you get all the benefits?

CALLAN: Well, it's interesting, because of course there's -- he was walking a political tight rope. He's a Democratic attorney general with a Republican governor who's opposed to same-sex marriage.

And also, in New York -- and believe me, you're going to see this all over the country -- nobody thought when they wrote the marriage statutes to include the words "man and a woman." So instead, the statutes refer to bride and groom and all kinds of other thing, but most of them don't talk about man and woman.

So a lot of the gay marriage advocates are going to come in and say, "Hey, these laws don't even say it has to be a man and woman." So we're going to see some very interesting court cases as this controversy spreads across the United States.

PHILLIPS: Paul Callan, former New York City prosecutor. Thanks for your time, Paul.

CALLAN: Nice to be here.

PHILLIPS: All right -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Meanwhile, the hour has arrived in Portland, Oregon, marriage licenses handed out to same-sex couples by decree of the county chairwoman. Multnomah County is the latest front in the gay marriage movement.

And we get the story on that from Brian Barker, of our CNN affiliate KATU.

Brian, what's the latest from there?

BRIAN BARKER, KATU CORRESPONDENT: Boy, I'll tell you, huge line, hundreds of people out here getting their marriage certificates.

Of course, this is Portland, Oregon, and out there in the hallway is some sort of controlled chaos. A lot of these people, hundreds of them, have been lined up since around 8 last night. This news just broke last night.

And as we go back in, you can see these people walking in. Now, as we look over to the right are you can see where they're actually issuing the marriage certificates.

Now here in Oregon, the state constitution defines marriage as a civil contract entered into in person between male -- by males at least 17 years of age and females at least 17 years of age. But what the state constitution leaves out is "between."

So this is the legal loophole, some are calling it, that these people are using in order to get married.

And as we see up here on the desk, you can see the people actually applying for and getting their marriage certificates. Many of these people will actually be getting married just in half an hour to an hour.

We're going to talk to this woman right here.

You're waiting to pay for your marriage certificate?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we are.

BARKER: This is historic for Oregon. How do you feel?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm just so overwhelmed right now. I couldn't be happier.

BARKER: And when do you actually tie the knot?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today.

BARKER: All right. That's the -- that's what's happening right here in Portland Oregon, Multnomah County, as hundreds of people officially tie the knot, gay marriages in Oregon.

Back to you.

O'BRIEN: Brian Barker with KATU, thanks very much.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe that in 2004, one united Democratic Party, we can and we will win this election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Kerry on, Edwards out.

For the Massachusetts senator who already held a mighty lead in the Democratic presidential race, Super Tuesday more than lived up to its billing.

For the North Carolina senator who held out hope of an upset, well, there's always next time.

John Kerry carried nine of the ten states holding contests yesterday. And while he doesn't yet have a mathematical lock on the nomination, he's practically untouchable.

CNN's Bob Franken breaks it down.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Presidential candidate John Edwards is about to become former presidential candidate John Edwards. He's holding a news conference this afternoon to announce that he is getting out of the race in favor of John Kerry.

(voice-over) He called himself "the little engine that could," but the little engine finally ran out of steam. It was overwhelmed by the much bigger engine of John Kerry, who now has an uncluttered field.

Kerry all along focused most of his attention on George W. Bush, operating as the person who would be the nominee. Now it's quite clear that he would be. And he's going to have to hone his message a little more so he can focus on the president and also get ready to play defense.

Because now the Republicans know exactly who it is they're going to be facing this year, and they're going to be focusing all the attention on him. No clutter in that field, too.

(on camera) So it's going to become a campaign that goes from the softball -- relative softball of the Democratic campaign to the true hardball of a general election campaign, or perhaps one that even includes some bean balls.

Bob Franken, CNN, Annapolis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: John Edwards plans to quit the race at 4 p.m., a little less than three hours from now in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Last night in Atlanta, he faced his many unhappy returns with remarks that only raised speculation he might wind up on the ticket after all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I also want to take a moment and congratulate my friend, Senator John Kerry.

He's run a strong, powerful campaign. He's been an extraordinary advocate for causes that all of us believe in: more jobs, better health care, a cleaner environment, a safer world.

These are the causes of our party. These are the causes of our country. And these are the causes we will prevail on, come November, you and I together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: You can watch Edwards' exit speech, 4 p.m. Eastern, 1 Pacific, right here on CNN.

The incumbent is in the air this hour, destination is California, a day before his first batch of TV spots goes on the air nationwide.

CNN's Kathleen Koch back at the White House with details on all of that.

Hello, Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miles.

This is just one sign that the Bush/Cheney campaign is beginning, finally, to kick into high gear, these ads costing the campaign some $4.5 million.

They'll start running tomorrow, Thursday in 15 to 17 states that are considered battleground states this election year. Also, will be running nationally on cable systems.

The ads don't mention Mr. Bush's likely opponent. However, they instead focus on the president's record and the challenge he's overcome.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm George Bush and I approve this message. I, George Walker Bush, do solemnly swear...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: Now, as a counterpoint, another series of ads will begin running on Thursday. These, though, anti-Bush ads. And they're funded by the liberal grassroots organization MoveOn.org Voter Fund.

It plans to spend some $1.9 million on these series of ads, criticizing the president's economic policies. They'll also, again, start running Thursday and run for about five days.

Now the president, this morning headed out for Los Angeles, California, keeping with the pattern that we have seen since the primary season began. Basically, the president traveling to an important state, in this case, California, where Democratic candidates have been there in number, pummeling him and his policies in recent days.

This in an attempt not only to recapture the spotlight, but as the White House likes to put it, to set the record straight.

And Mr. Bush also, while there, will be attending the -- a White House conference on faith-based and community initiatives. He'll be making the case that more federal funding needs to go to faith-based groups that provide social services in community, and also attending a few fund-raisers -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Kathleen Koch at the White House, thank you very much.

There were some other noteworthy contests in Super Tuesday states. In California, voters approved Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to keep the state solvent.

The proposal will allow the state to float up to $15 billion in bonds to consolidate California's record debt. The vote, seen as a major victory for Schwarzenegger.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, CALIFORNIA: With the passage of proposition 57, we have removed the financial sword that was hanging over California's head. We can now refinance the inherit inherited debt, and we can move forward.

We have sent a strong signal to Wall Street to let them know that we are putting our problems behind us and that we are getting our act together. So Wall Street, come on back to California, and do business with us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: You can come back and do business with us.

Straight ahead, Martha Stewart can't wait to hear from the 12 most important people in her life right now. We'll have a live report on the wait for her fate.

And signs of water on Mars. Did you hear? Now Miles is swimming with stuff about the red planet. You'll get the latest splash in his Mars minute.

And take a close look at this coin. It's an old dollar, but it's worth a million dollars, because of something that's missing. Here's a hint: it's something you'll find on all your change.

While you're check your pocket, we'll take a break.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Guilty or not guilty? That's the question jurors are deliberating in the Martha Stewart case. Jurors got the case just about 90 minutes ago.

Let's go to CNN financial news correspondent Allan Chernoff. He's in Manhattan.

Allan, what do you know?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNNFN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, the jurors have concluded their lunch, and now deliberations are officially under way.

The 12 men and women will try to determine whether or not Martha Stewart and her stockbroker, Peter Bacanovic, lied to federal investigators about Stewart's sale of ImClone stock back in December of 2001.

The judge, Miriam Cederbaum, began by telling the jurors that "you're performing one of the most sacred obligations of citizenship."

She then talked about the burden of proof. Of course, it is all upon the government. And the government, she said, does have to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. And she emphasized, of course, that each defendant is innocent until proven guilty.

Then she talked about the concept that guilt is personal. She said it's very possible that you may find one defendant guilty without finding the other defendant guilty.

She also emphasized that the fact that Stewart and Bacanovic are being tried together doesn't imply anything. And she emphasized that you cannot read anything into the fact that Ms. Stewart and Mr. Bacanovic did not testify during the trial.

Then she ran through the various counts. Martha Stewart, of course, facing four criminal counts. They are conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and two counts of making false statements. Peter Bacanovic, the stockbroker is facing five criminal counts, being conspiracy, obstruction of justice, false statements, perjury, and making and using false documents.

The judge concluded by telling the jury, it is now your turn to determine the truth -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Allan, could we hear a decision today?

CHERNOFF: Kyra, I frankly would be shocked if we heard a decision today. I'd be shocked if we got one tomorrow morning. There's a lot of material for the jury to go through here.

Keep in mind, also, the jury has just received the indictment. We've had the indictment for weeks and weeks, but the jury has just gotten it from the judge. They have a lot of material to review. And even if they're unanimous, it's going to take them a little time to figure everything out, go through those various counts -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Allan Chernoff, live from Manhattan, thanks.

Other news across America now.

In custody, a woman accused of snatching a baby and torching a house to cover it up, well, she surrendered in Philadelphia. Carolyn Correa says the girl, now 6, is hers.

The case came to light after the child's birth mother saw the girl at a birthday party and recognized her. DNA tests confirmed her suspicions.

Under control: firefighters in Baltimore worked through the night to contain a massive warehouse fire. When it first erupted, flames shot up 75 feet. No one was injured. There's no word on the cause.

On display. The FBI says it plans to make public online photographs of unidentified child pornographers. The initiative is part of the FBI's Innocent Images. It's aimed at identifying and arresting people who distribute child porn online.

O'BRIEN: All right. Let's do the Mars minute, shall we, Kyra? Start the clock.

On the day after the discovery was announced that there was water about four billion years ago on the surface of Mars in this very location. Looks kind of grim right now, but scientists are telling us that if you had been there four billion years ago, you'd be swimming, maybe with the fishes. Who knows?

But nevertheless, take a look at these close-up shots. Right here in the center, these little spherical things are called -- well, the scientists are calling them blueberries. They're kind of formed by concrete, a concrete-like thing. And of course, as everybody knows, concrete needs water. So it is water helped create them.

Also, check out these little holes here and there. Those at one time held crystals that were formed by water and were ultimately washed away by water.

Now, let's look at what's next for Opportunity. Isn't this an incredible shot, this desolate horizon here? About a half a mile away is a crater called Endurance. It's about a 500 foot in diameter crater. Opportunity will head off in that direction, just to see what they will see.

What is next for the scientists? Quickly, let's do a quick -- in bonus time here, the sample return mission, Kyra, coming up in 2013. I know you've got it on your calendar.

In that mission, NASA plans to land a rover somewhere on Mars, get some rocks and then send them back to Earth. Not just pictures, the actual rocks will come back to Earth.

What does that have to do with what happened yesterday? Well, they know of at least one great landing site for that particular mission.

What do you think, Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Miles "Bonus" O'Brien, thank you.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's -- let's take a break now that we're well beyond bonus time.

The fight over Mickey could get a little icky. Disney's embattled chairman faces the fight of his life to stay atop of a media empire. We'll have more on that straight ahead.

CARLOS WASTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Carlos Watson. What does President Bush have to push to come out on top in this campaign? I'll take you live inside his strategy, later on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK REPORT)

O'BRIEN: The death toll continues to rise after yesterday's vicious attacks in Iraq. Who is to blame? Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, she'll have the latest for us coming up.

And now that John Kerry is the man for the Democrats, how will he and George Bush square off in the fight for November? We'll line it up for you when LIVE FROM returns. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Headlines at the half hour. New York's attorney general says gay marriage is illegal.

Eliot Spitzer joined the growing debate today, days after the mayor of New Paltz began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex licenses. Mayor Jason West, now faces criminal charges.

Gay couples in Portland, Oregon, are saying "I do," meanwhile. Marriage licenses being issued there, starting today. The county commission opened the doors to gay marriage yesterday.

Critics, including the chairman of the state's Republican Party, calling it a travesty.

Overseas, Hamas is vowing revenge for a deadly air strike in Gaza. Palestinian security forces say three senior Hamas members were killed in an Israeli missile attack on a car. Israel says the men were involved in several attacks and were planning more.

PHILLIPS: Well, now that John Kerry has a virtual lock on the Democratic nomination, he and President Bush are likely to turn up the heat on each other.

CNN national correspondent Bruce Morton has a look at what sets political rivals apart.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRUCE MORTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the string of primary wins grows, John Kerry sounds more and more like a man who can't wait to run against the president.

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have three words for him we know he understands: bring it on.

MORTON: The president sounds ready, too.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Come November, the voters are going to have a very clear choice.

MORTON: They disagree about everything. The economy.

BUSH: It's a choice between keeping the tax relief that is moving the economy forward, or putting the burden of higher taxes back on the American people.

KERRY: He's not multiplying the jobs he's trying to divide America.

MORTON: On Iraq and terrorism.

BUSH: It is a choice between an America that leads the world with strength and confidence, or an America that is uncertain in the face of danger.

KERRY: There is a better way to make America safe than this president has chosen. This president has in fact, created terrorists where they didn't exist.

MORTON: They're alike in some ways. Both grew up in comfort, went to private schools, went to Yale, joined the secret society Skull and Bones.

George Bush paints Kerry as someone who waffles on the issues.

BUSH: For tax cuts and against them. For NAFTA and against NAFTA. For the Patriot Act and against the Patriot Act. In favor of liberating Iraq and opposed to it.

And that's just one senator from Massachusetts.

MORTON: They differ in that John Kerry went to war, saw combat, killed. George Bush did not. Kerry mentions Bush's aircraft carrier appearance in a flight suit in just about every speech.

KERRY: George Bush thought he could dress up on an aircraft carrier. And he thought he could stand in front of a big sign that said "Mission Accomplished." And he thought you wouldn't notice that people are still dying in Iraq.

MORTON: Hmm. Maybe the general election campaign has already started. These two seem ready.

Bruce Morton, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Tomorrow, the first Bush/Cheney re-election TV ad will be released. Will it take the high road, or will it be the first shot in a war of negativity?

CNN's Carlos Watson joins us now with his political insight. We're going to roll the ad in a minute. But first I want to ask you, where do you think the president stands now? And what does he have to do?

CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: The president's approval numbers, you know, over the last 18 months have dropped from the 70s down to kind of the low 50s. And depending on which poll you believe, it's kind of around 50 percent, around 52 percent.

In a head to head match-up with John Kerry, he's now down by eight points, whereas two months ago, Kyra, he was up 17 points. So another big swing.

So with all that, there are really three things he's got to worry about. One, his lowest numbers, when you dig into the polls, have to do with the economy. So a lot of real worry about the economy.

No. 2, there's a credibility gap, if you will, whether it's been on Iraq and weapons of mass destruction; whether it's been on the cost of Medicare; whether it's been on how many jobs will be created.

And the president would argue the Democrats have unfairly spent literally millions of dollars in portraying that and painting that picture.

And last but not least, a real serious issue that his opponent now, John Kerry, has got very high favorability numbers. If the president's numbers in most polls are in the low 50s, John Kerry's numbers, depending on what polls you believe, are somewhere in the 60s, particularly in a number of the states where he's just recently run and won, and obviously been painted as not only a winner but as a war hero. PHILLIPS: All right. You mentioned that economy, credibility, Kerry's favorability. We just had a chance to see the ad. Let's roll it for our viewers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: I'm George W. Bush and I approved this message.

I, George walker Bush, do solemnly swear...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: All right, what are the messages here?

WATSON: He's trying to remind voters that, in his mind, he's encountered some real challenges. Recession, that you've heard the president say, before, he encountered. The dot com bust, the stock market decline.

And he's saying, on top of those basic economic challenges, he's reminding you that 9/11 had a real impact on the economy. And ultimately, he said, but you know what? We're turning the corner.

We may not be producing as many jobs as we had hoped, 112,000 last month, but we are getting better.

And he would say, by the way, you remember past recessions where the unemployment rate was nine or 10 percent. He would say this one is 5.6 percent. And he's say that's an amazing achievement, not that it's where he wants to be ultimately. But he would say it's an amazing achievement, given all of the challenges that have been placed in front of him.

PHILLIPS: He didn't mention the challenge of corporate corruption.

WATSON: He didn't. And so that's one the president mentions when he talks. You saw him in the one-hour interview with Tim Russert, he mentioned that.

But you know, the White House could have thought a lot of things. They could have thought, hey, we only have 30 seconds and so we don't have a lot of time to talk about everything.

Or they could have thought, things like Enron actually may feel kind of too close to us. And so maybe that's a conversation that, you know, we should leave for another time.

PHILLIPS: All right. As you were getting up here, you were working the sources on the cell phone. You just got off the phone with someone from the Bush campaign.

WATSON: Fresh off the phone.

PHILLIPS: Fresh off the phone. You now, how do they decide how to put these commercials together? They sit in a room. What kind of minds do they have in there? What are the thoughts? What's the process to put something together like that?

WATSON: Well, a lot of smart, a lot of experienced people, people both from the campaign, people involved in the Republican National Committee, people who have been involved at the White House, some people who were formally part of the Bush team and some people like Karen Hughes, who used to work in the White House.

I think what they first and foremost have decided is that they want to put forth a positive message with their television ads. It's a $4.5 million buy. They're going to be on cable. They'll also buy certain networks in local markets.

And I think ultimately, they wanted to have a crisp, clean message that says, you know, you know what, if you're going to vote on us, we're going to make you safer and stronger. Remember, that was at the end of the message.

PHILLIPS: Somebody's got to do the dirty work. Mud slinging has to come in somewhere, doesn't it?

WATSON: Well, and again -- And this is politics. They would argue it's not dirty work if we point out John Kerry's real record. If we point out his record on the environment, if we point out his record on jobs, if we point out real votes on military, on intelligence.

But interestingly enough, you're not seeing it in the television ads.

But of course you will see it in other ways. You'll see surrogates come out and speak.

For example, in Ohio, even while the primary was coming on, the Congressman Rob Portman, a Republican congressman, hosted phone calls where he kind of called Kerry's record into question.

Again, they wouldn't call that negative. They would say, we're trying to set the record straight. And by the way, they would point out the Democrats have spent the last year bashing the president.

PHILLIPS: All right. Carlos Watson. We don't bash anybody around here. Thank you. Only each other.

WATSON: Only each other. Only when we're not having fun.

PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks, Carlos.

WATSON: Good to see you.

PHILLIPS: Miles.

O'BRIEN: During the presidential campaign, violence in Iraq will no doubt be a political hot button.

Today, grieving families in Iraq started burying loved ones killed in suicide attacks yesterday in Baghdad and Karbala. The explosions, targeting Shiite Muslim sites, killed at least 117.

U.S. officials say the attacks have the hallmark of a known Jordanian militant.

Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joining us now with more on the investigation.

Hello, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Miles.

Well, indeed, one day after those terrible attacks in Iraq killed and wounded hundreds, the United States now says there is evidence that this man, the Jordanian terrorist, Abu Musab Zarqawi, who is believed to be hiding in Iraq and has ties to al Qaeda, may have been responsible.

General John Abizaid, testifying on Capitol Hill this morning, laid out the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: The level of organization and the desire to cause casualties among innocent worshipers is a clear hallmark of the Zarqawi network, and we have intelligence that ties Zarqawi to this attack.

We also have intelligence that shows that there is some linkage between Zarqawi and the former regime elements, specifically, the Iraqi intelligence service.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: Now, that last point perhaps being quite important. The belief is these attacks were so well coordinated, really just minutes apart, that it would have required help from Iraqis inside the country, not just outsiders.

One other indicator, Abizaid talked about the fact that leaflets appeared in Baghdad shortly after the attack, indicating that the Americans were responsible, trying to convince Iraqis Americans were behind the attacks.

We also learned a lot more about just how massive these were yesterday. Six suicide bombers, explosives placed in pushcarts, even mortars fired on worshippers on the way to the mosque -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you very much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Story ahead, a steroid scandal hits home for some of major league's biggest stars. And home run king Hank Aaron sounding off about it.

Plus, no more living large if you want fries with that. Details on a super sized move at a fast food giant, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS; Despite the optimism that usually goes along with spring training, there is a black cloud hanging over the sport.

A report by the "San Francisco Chronicle" links some of the biggest names in baseball, including Barry Bonds, to steroids.

Sop what does baseball's all-time home run king think about all this? Hank Aaron spoke today on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANK AARON, MLB ALL-TIME HOME RUN LEADER: It's messy, really, and it's a concern, I guess, of everybody who has ever played the game who are interested in the game.

But I hope that all these allegations -- the one that's been written in the paper, said on television -- that none of this is true. You know, I hope that. But if it is true, this could probably set baseball back worse than the White Sox scandals, I guess.

BILL HEMMER, "AMERICAN MORNING" HOST: Wow, that is a heck of a thing for you to say. A messy situation and setting it back to the situation back in 1919.

Barry Bonds is chasing your record right now. And I just read this statement from his attorney that he made yesterday.

This is what you said about Bonds in November 2002: "It's amazing to see what Barry Bonds has done. I admire his consistency. I would not be surprised to see him break my own record. He's a tremendous hitter in great shape. I've had that record long enough."

If the story continues to swirl around Barry Bonds and if they prove it, how badly does that taint the record he is chasing and also his own reputation in the game today?

AARON: Well, you know, rather than me sit here and say anything about Barry Bonds until something is proven, you know, that he's taken steroids.

The only thing I can say is that he is a terrific ballplayer. He has done some terrific things. And I am just hoping and praying that all of this is just nothing but allegations. That it's nothing -- no truth to anything that I've read in the paper.

And I just -- I just pray that none of this is happening. You know, not only to Barry Bonds, but to any of the athletes. I just hope that all of this is just something that we all dreamed about, and it's going to be passed over.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[PHILLIPS: Well, Aaron says that part of the reason for the allegations is that too many people have direct contact with the players.

Last month, baseball commissioner Bud Selig banned personal trainers, friends and agents from team clubhouses and dugouts.

O'BRIEN: Well, there's nothing strange about a truck hauling a load, right? Well, check out this truck and this load. We'll fill you in on just what it's about after the break.

Plus, if you're a regular super-sizer, you may want to start getting used to some smaller portions.

Rhonda Schaffler always has the super-sized story from the New York stock exchange. Hello, Rhonda.

(STOCK REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Rhonda, thank you very much.

No offense to you, but even in a bull market, it is hard to turn one dollar into a million. The trick is to start with the right dollar, apparently.

This coin you're about to see, 1860, dime a dozen, as it were. But a dollar just like it from 1866 is one of only two struck without the motto "In God We Trust."

The no motto coins, as they are called, worth at least $1 million. It has been missing since a 1967 robbery at a collector's house in Florida.

Now recently, it turned up in a box of coins a Maine librarian received as collateral for a loan. Alas, the librarian can't keep it, because it was stolen property. It's kind of a twisted tale here.

Anyway, its original owner, Willis Dupont, of the Duponts, will -- because he can afford to, will give it to a museum -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, Miles, I'll see you million-dollar dollar and raise you a pot load, or maybe I should say a load of pot.

State police...

O'BRIEN: Speaking of high rollers.

PHILLIPS: Speaking of high rollers -- hey, that's a good one. State police in Indiana this week pulled over a pickup truck that was piled high with one-pound bricks of marijuana.

How high, you ask? So high, they obscured the truck's temporary license plate in the back window, hence, the traffic stop.

Well, the suspects are now being held. And we know gasoline is getting pricey, but not even 18-wheelers have a million bucks in their gas tanks. This rig being the exception. Police in Houston pulled it over, along with a car that had been following it, whereupon dogs sniffed out a million dollars plus stuffed into the fuel tank.

The drivers are still being questioned.

O'BRIEN: Fill it up with Benjamins I guess. There's something to that story that's not quite washing. Is there something more we need to know?

PHILLIPS: I'll fill you in on the details later.

O'BRIEN: OK. Details later. Film at 11, as they say.

PHILLIPS: There you go.

O'BRIEN: All right. Gay marriage is a topic all across the country, again. It continues, from New York to Oregon. The issue is making waves, to say the least. That's coming up in our second hour of LIVE FROM.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Gay marriage: New York's top law enforcer says this should not be happening in the state.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESONDENT: Another day, another city, another state, another crowd of gay and lesbian couples getting married.

I'm Miguel Marquez, live in Portland. I'll tell you about it.

PHILLIPS: The White House showdown: Bush versus Kerry. Which voters will they have to win over?

O'BRIEN: And have you had lunch yet? Before you decide between the salad and the baked potato, what you need to know about the connection between food and your mood.

Here at LIVE FROM, we call that the curse of the Monte Cristo.

From CNN's Washington newsroom, I'm Miles O'Brien.

PHILLIPS: I'm still feeling that curse from last week, Miles. And from the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM, minus the Monte Cristo, starts right now.

Up first this hour, the gay marriage bandwagon rolling from New Paltz to Portland and who knows where in between?

Oregon's largest city is the latest to license same-sex nuptials, while the Green Party mayor of New Paltz, on the outskirts of New York, vows to honor his commitment, even if he has to go to jail.

As always, we go the distance to bring you the details with CNN's Miguel Marquez. He's in Portland. And Adaora Udoji is in New Paltz.

Miguel, we start with you.

MARQUEZ: Kyra, the district attorney -- the county attorney for Multnomah County opened up the doors to gay marriage today, and this is the result.

Dozens, hundreds of gay and lesbian couples lined up around the building. A few protestors outside. I want to show you what's going on inside here, as well.

They come through the palisades here. On a typical day, they process about 60 weddings in the Multnomah County here. Today they believe they may do hundreds and hundreds. It's a little hard to tell.

We do have some pictures from outside. This line wraps all the way around the building at this point, even though it's a very rainy day here in Portland, Oregon.

The county attorney spoke a short time ago as to why exactly she decided to open the doors to gay and lesbian weddings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AGNES BOWLE, MULTNOMAH CO. ATTORNEY: I concluded that the Oregon Constitution prohibits the county from discriminating against same-sex couples when they're applying for marriage licenses because that kind of discrimination based on gender and based on sexual orientation is not allowed in Oregon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: Now, I also asked the county attorney if she had any sense as to whether or not litigation had been filed to stop what is going on here today and she said at this point she does not. The attorney general's office apparently and her office have been in discussions today. She has an opinion out that she has sent to the attorney general and to other counties here and she's now waiting for word back as to whether or not Multnomah County can continue granting licenses -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Miguel, we're pretty amazed by your access there. I don't know if you can maybe turn around and kind of give a feel for how crowded it is in there and have you been talking to a number of these couples? I don't know if they're close enough to you where you could get some comments from them but what are they telling you? Is this just pretty amazing to all of them?

MARQUEZ: It's fairly simple. I mean take a look. This is sort of the head of the line here. All of these people are now filling out applications right immediately in front of us. Beyond that the doors, the line then wraps all the way around the building here. Couples we talked to it's much the same story that we've heard in San Francisco and covering this in other areas. They've been together for many years.

Some of them have kids together. They want the same rights that heterosexual couples enjoy when they get married and they believe it is their equal right to do that and so far, Multnomah County here in Oregon is agreeing -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Miguel Marquez thanks so much.

And encouraged by the White House to pass a constitutional amendment, Congress weighed in today with a hearing. The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and civil rights examined what is called the judicial invalidation of traditional marriage laws. For his part, the top Senate Republican today proposed lawmakers stamp out what he called a wildfire of gay marriages spreading throughout all 50 states.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TN), MAJORITY LEADER: When you have activist judges radically redefining what marriage means and what the law spells out we're going to act.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: In 1996, you may recall Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act that sought to leave the same-sex question to the states. Now to another state, New Paltz and Adaora Odoji following the same story of another of these marriages that have already taken place -- Dora.

ODOJI: Exactly, Kyra. New York's attorney general said he's reviewed. He took a look at the law in the state of New York and has concluded that state officials should not be issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples and that state officials should not solemnize same-sex marriages.

He said at this point the law is very specific in that it excludes marriages between the same sex individuals. He said that although these marriage laws do raise questions about equal protection that those issues should be resolved by the courts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIOT SPITZER, NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) opinion concludes that New York State statutes do not permit same-sex marriages. That is clear from the language of the state, the intent of the legislature in passing the law and the court decisions interpreting the statute. Indeed, the statute repeatedly uses terms, such as husband and wife, and bride and groom.

Therefore, it is my recommendation and my counsel that city and town clerks not issue licenses to same-sex couples and those empowered to preside over marriage ceremonies solemnizing marriages in the word of the statute should not solemnize same-sex marriages.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ODOJI: Now, as you just heard Eliot Spitzer, the Attorney General here in New York is suggesting to prosecutors that they uphold the law and that does not bode well for the mayor here in New Paltz. That's Jason West. He was the mayor who last week solemnized the marriage of 25 same-sex couples here in New Paltz.

The mayor had argued that the New York law allowed for those marriages but prosecutors say he's guilty of violating the law and they have charged him with 19 criminal misdemeanors of solemnizing marriages without the proper marriage licenses. The penalty is a fine possibly or perhaps up to two years in jail.

Earlier, West told us that he plans to plead not guilty to the charges. The prosecutor says he's not trying to put the mayor in jail. He just wanted to stop him from solemnizing those 25 -- to continue rather solemnizing marriages between same-sex couples.

And, as for those 25 who the mayor married last week, Attorney General Spitzer says that the question of whether or not those marriages are valid should be left up to the courts -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Adaora Odoji thank you -- Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now on to the presidential race and with John Kerry securely on his way to winning the Democratic nomination today it all begins in earnest.

As the Democrats had hoped the primary struggle was quick, the results pretty clear right now. Of the 31 contests that began with the Iowa caucuses, Senator Kerry won 28. None of his opponents captured more than a single state. Here's Kerry last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERRY: Tonight, the message could not be clearer. All across our country change is coming to America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Kerry hit the ground running today. He has appeared already in the battleground state of Florida. As for Kerry's competition it has all but collapsed with the fall of John Edwards. After his O-fer on Super Tuesday, Edwards is quitting the contest and, if his words last night are any indication, he's joining the Kerry bandwagon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDWARDS: I also want to take a moment and congratulate my friend Senator John Kerry. He's run a strong, powerful campaign. He's been an extraordinary advocate for causes that all of us believe in, more jobs, better healthcare, a cleaner environment, a safer world. These are the causes of our party. These are the causes of our country and these are the causes we will prevail on come November you and I together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Later this afternoon, Edwards is to make his withdrawal official, about two hours from now. CNN planning live coverage 4:00 p.m. Eastern time from Edwards' home state of North Carolina, his daughter's high school as a matter of fact.

For its part today, the Bush campaign is plunging right into the presidential fray with its first set of ads. The spots were released by the White House today after the president left Washington for a six-day trip to California and Texas. Here's a little sample of that spot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: I'm George W. Bush and I approved this message.

ANNOUNCER: The last few years have tested America in many ways. Some challenges we've seen before and some were like no others but America...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: This particular spot praises the virtues of freedom, family, faith and sacrifice, high road stuff, and it trumpets what it calls the steady leadership in times of change -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, Martha Stewart's fate is now in the hands of the jury. Her defense team says the case against her doesn't make sense. Telling jurors if she did what she's alleged to have done, it couldn't have been done in a dumber fashion but prosecutors say even smart people do dumb things.

Our Mary Snow is in New York where jurors are weighing both arguments -- Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, jury deliberations officially underway after the judge in this case instructed jurors this morning and the case went to jurors about 11:30, the judge telling them that while this case is important to the defendant, it is also important to the government.

The jurors had just one request and that was to be able to have lunch with the alternate jurors before they were dismissed and that was something that the judge granted, the judge telling the jury of eight women and four men, don't yield your position simply because you were outnumbered or outweighed, saying reach a just verdict regardless of the consequences.

She also reminded them, as she has done several times during this trial, that guilt or innocence is personal and that you might find one defendant guilty and not find the other defendant guilty.

There are eight counts in this charge and number nine was dismissed last week. That was the securities fraud charge against Martha Stewart. There are four remaining charges against Stewart.

They consist of a charge of conspiracy, making false statements and obstruction of justice. There are five counts against her co- defendant and stockbroker Peter Bacanovic. Each of these counts carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Mary Snow live from New York -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: News across America now. In Philadelphia, a woman accused of kidnapping a 10-day-old infant six years ago has turned herself into police. Carolyn Correa faces at least 15 charges, including arson, for a fire she's accused of setting to cover up that abduction. The 6-year-old girl is in the custody of New Jersey State Family Services until authorities allow her to be reunited with her birth mother.

In Washington, the FBI says it will turn the virtual tables on those who distribute child pornography. It plans to publicize photos of unknown suspects online in hopes others can identify their faces.

Agents will pose as potential targets or victims and obtain the images through photo swaps, peer-to-peer sites or through other methods. Those pictures will then be published on the FBI website and also on the TV show "America's Most Wanted."

Terror in Iraq, after devastating attacks, what's being done to stop them? America's top man in Iraq speaks out.

And is Israel's new wall a sign of security or oppression or is it a fashion statement? It depends on who you ask.

And the next time you pull up to the fast food drive-through here's a question you will not be asked. We're ordering that one up just ahead on LIVE FROM. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Dropping the hammer on terrorists in Iraq after devastating twin suicide attacks, the U.S.-led coalition is beefing up security. That move comes as Iraqis are mourning the worshippers killed in Tuesday's bombings.

Due to that violence, Iraq's Governing Council is now delaying signing its new constitution until Friday and the U.S. administrator vows foreign terrorists will be kept out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL BREMER, U.S. CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATOR: It is increasingly apparent that a large part of this terrorism comes from outside the country and we are strengthening border protection to counter it. There are 8,000 border police on duty today and more are on the way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Iraqis are reeling with anger and grief and they bury the pilgrims killed in Tuesday's attacks.

Our Brent Sadler reports now from Karbala where many people blame the coalition security failures for their country's instability, while others blame al Qaeda. A word of caution now, the video you're about to see may not be suitable for sensitive viewers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A day of terror followed by a night of subdued anger and sorrow on the streets of Karbala, sorrow for the seventh century martyr Imam Hussein and sorrow for victims of Tuesday's deadly bomb attacks.

Bodies are laid out on the grounds of Karbala's main medical center. Officials here say at least 100 pilgrims died in Karbala alone. Some of these plastic bags contain the pieces of yet more victims who may never be identified.

Survivors were brought to the same hospital. Many are badly burned, their faces blackened by intense heat when explosives detonated. In this ward, a mother has collapsed at the shocking sight of an injured relative while this frantic woman searches in vain for a missing neighbor.

"God punished them" she says. "God take revenge for the innocent people."

Dr. Hassan al-Nasserv led efforts to save lives describing the injuries as horrific and the bombers as indescribably evil.

DR. HASSAN AL-NASSERV, DIR., AL-HUSSEIN HOSPITAL: I don't know but definitely he is not human but was political bounty hunters.

SADLER: Ali Sahib, a Karbala businessman, was knocked unconscious by a bomb. He woke up covered in other people's body parts and knows who to blame.

"They're from al Qaeda" he says "or maybe members of the previous regime."

SADLER: Iraqi investigators here claim the attacks may have been carried out by a group of suicide bombers but improvised explosives may also have been used to kill and maim.

(on camera): In the cold light of the day after, the bloodbath in two cities is being blamed by Iraqi Governing Council and coalition officials on militant extremists bent on sparking sectarian conflicts to wreck an unpredictable transition to democracy.

Brent Sadler CNN, Karbala, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: With no let up in the violence in Iraq one has to question where does the U.S. military go from here?

Our Barbara Starr has some of the answers, joining us from the Pentagon, not good to be in the middle of a civil war, is it Barbara?

STARR: Very tough going for everybody in Iraq right now, Miles, and in the wake of these latest attacks, a lot of questions being raised both in Baghdad and here in Washington today about whether Iraqi security forces are really ready to take over.

On Capitol Hill today, General John Abizaid, the head of the U.S. Central Command, was testifying on that very point. Now he said that the U.S. would stick by its strategy of gradually turning over security to the Iraqi forces and that they would also stick by the Iraqis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: We do not intend in any way, shape or form to abandon these immature security formations to their fate. We will have good levels of coordination and when they want their help, they want help from us we'll come to their aid. And, if they get in trouble and they don't ask for our help, we'll still come to their aid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: Now, of course, the question in the wake of yesterday's bombing is would it have made more difference if there had been more U.S. forces on site when it all happened? Of course, the reaction here in Baghdad, as you see from these pictures Iraqis reacting very unhappily stoning U.S. forces when they did finally show up.

But, of course, there had been a plan to keep U.S. forces out of sight a bit. This was a holy day. The U.S. military did not want to get in the way of the worshippers.

But now questions about whether or not the U.S. really needs to come back out on the front line, at least for a little while and one reaction today, Ambassador Paul Bremer, the head of the coalition provisional authority, saying that the U.S. will work with the Iraqis now to at least step up border security to try and keep some of these foreign fighters that they believe are responsible from coming in across the borders from places like Iran and Syria -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: But, Barbara, you hit on the catch-22. The more the U.S. increases its presence the more visible those forces are, the more they become a target, the more they potentially spark violence.

STARR: This is the real problem for the U.S. What General Abizaid is saying, what most top officials are saying is they really have no choice at this point but to stick with the strategy of at least reducing the visual footprint of the U.S. military because of the very point you raise.

But behind the scenes, they are working very, very hard to get the Iraqis trained up to develop an Iraqi command structure within these security forces so they can operate better.

And they are also now planning to put some special U.S. forces with these Iraqi formations to sort of mentor them, to help them along and get them to be much more capable much more quickly.

No one thinks they're going to be perfectly ready by that June 30th transition date to Iraqi sovereignty but they know they have got to work to get them really in shape as quickly as they can.

O'BRIEN: Iraqification, much easier said than done I guess. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon thank you very much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, slinging mud or keeping it clean, which strategy will win the White House? We'll go inside the campaigns just ahead on LIVE FROM.

And who's clogging up your computer with unwanted e-mails? We're dropping the hammer on the most notorious spammers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MARKET UPDATE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: And welcome back from this Washington newsroom. Miles is with us and I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN Center in Atlanta.

Here's what's all new this half hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think showing the clothes next to it just shows the conflict and the contrast of beautiful clothes and our abnormal life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Making a fashion statement about a controversial wall.

O'BRIEN: And the winning strategy for the White House. What will Bush and Kerry have to do to reach out to the middle of the road if it's still there?

You'd probably like to reach out and smack whomever sends all that spam. I sure would. We're tracking down the top purveyors of unwanted e-mail.

But first the headlines we're watching for you "At This Hour." No spam at all there.

PHILLIPS: (AUDIO GAP) second New York town says he'll start marrying same-sex couples. Nyack Mayor John Shields says he made the decision after state authorities brought charges against the mayor of New Paltz. Shields, who's gay, says he plans to marry his partner in Massachusetts. New York's attorney general says gay marriage is illegal under existing state law.

Same-sex couples in Oregon are jumping on the wedding bandwagon. An official in Multnomah County ordered that marriage licenses be issued to gay and lesbian couples start today. A spokesperson for Oregon's attorney general says stay laws are ambiguous and that meetings with the governor are under way to decide on a marching plan.

It's all up to the jury now in the Martha Stewart case. The judge spent more than an hour and a half laying out instructions for deliberations. The Domestic Diva faces four charges in the sale of her ImClone stock. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of five years.

It's a day that "Dirty Bomb Suspect" Jose Padilla has been waiting for for nearly two years. Padilla got to meet with his attorney for the first time since July 2002. The Padilla case challenged the status of so-called enemy combatants and the U.S. government's terms for holding them. Today's meeting was videotaped with sound by the government. A member of military was present at all times.

O'BRIEN: John Kerry's near sweep of Super Tuesday gives him a virtual lock on the Democratic nomination. You've already heard that by now. But experts say he'll still need to make a strong showing in Florida ultimately. Election watchers are expecting another squeaker with President Bush there come November. Please, no chads. Please.

With more on that, here is CNN's John Zarrella.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Many Florida Democrats didn't wait for Super Tuesday results.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Press the red button and you're done.

ZARRELLA: They are already touching electronic screens at the state's early voting sites.

Coming a week after Super Tuesday, Florida won't play as prominent a role in the primary as Democrats would have liked. But analyst Jim Kane, an expert on Florida politics, believes they will vote in large numbers with one eye on November.

JIM KANE, POLITICAL ANALYST: Those people who will be showing up for the Democratic primary have one goal and one goal only: get rid of George W. Bush. And they're going to vote for the person they think is going to be a winner.

ZARRELLA: Early polls show President Bush with a lead over either Senator Kerry or Senator Edwards in Florida. In a tight race, Kane believes retiring Senator Bob Graham should be the second name on the ticket.

KANE: If I were John Kerry, I'd pick him, and I'd stick him in Florida and never let him get out of the state. And if he does and it's a close race, Bob Graham will count for one, two, maybe three percentage points.

ZARRELLA: The head of the Florida Republican Party says her opponents would be making a big mistake.

CAROL JORDAN, FLORIDA REPUBLICAN PARTY: That, to me, wouldn't be somebody I'd want to run with. I mean, I'm sorry, Bob Graham, Senator Graham, has had great respect in the state of Florida, but I must tell you, his presidential race severely, severely damaged his reputation in this state.

ZARRELLA: Florida, split 50/50, Democrats and Republicans may, again, be too close to call. But Democrats don't believe Ralph Nader will be the same factor he was four years ago.

SCOTT MADDOX, FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY: He would just be used as a wedge tool in the 2004 election, as a spoiler. And I think his supporters see through that, and I don't think he'll get a lot of votes in the state of Florida.

ZARRELLA: Nader got 97,000 votes in 2000. Sixty-five percent of those said in exit polls they would have voted for al gore if Nader wasn't on the ballot.

John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: So both the campaigns will be courting those illusive swing voters. We used to call them "Reagan Democrats" at one time. Nevertheless, it's the folks right in the middle of road. The question is is there still a middle of the road?

To talk about this and some other matters on the day after Super Tuesday, you guess could I call this Super Wednesday, is Bill Schneider. And what makes it more super is we have two Bill Schneiders here. Most programs only give you one. We've got two here.

Bill, good to have you with us. Are there any swing voters left in this country or is it so polarized that everybody is right or left?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: There is a theory that every woman and every man is either a little Democrat or else a little Republican, to paraphrase Gilbert and Sullivan. There is nobody left in the middle.

Well, the middle has been shrinking. But I think there are still some voters there. Yet the parties often behave as if there aren't very many voters and that the way to win elections is to rally the base, to get them out to vote and overwhelm the other side.

Was that what President Bush was doing when he endorsed the constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages, to rally the Republican base? Maybe.

O'BRIEN: All right. Let's go through some talking points. If we were inside these campaigns right now been and we were talking about the items that we would like to have on the agenda, that we would like to take you to the other campaign with, it's diametrically opposed, as it usually is, I suppose.

On the left, George Bush would like to talk about war on terror values, steady leadership. On the right -- and of course we have this backwards because it should be the other way around. But occupation of Iraq, jobs and deficit. So we'll call it screen left.

Bill Schneider, who controls that agenda, who decides which one of those topics is on the tips of our tongues?

SCHNEIDER: Well, they both compete for control of the agenda. The president, of course, is still the president through the end of this year at least. And therefore, he has a lot of clout in determining what's on the agenda. Kerry will try to influence it.

But in the end, you know what influences the agenda really and truly? Events. Events have a way of determining what the candidates talk about. Sometimes the events are unpredictable.

Who predicted that Alan Greenspan would give testimony before the United States Congress and he would say the deficit is a serious problem because it threatens Social Security and we may have to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits? Wow!

Suddenly, the deficits is on the agenda. He did that.

O'BRIEN: All right. But when you start talking about events, the first reaction would be that the president would have a big advantage on that. Because being a president, you can manipulate and move events by coming up with initiatives. So far, the president's been trying that. How much luck has he had?

SCHNEIDER: Not a great deal. This year been a good year for President Bush. That's why he's trying to get a fresh start with new ads.

Look he's had two big initiatives on issues, one was immigration reform. That went nowhere, very unpopular, even within his own party. Another was space exploration. Your favorite subject, Miles. But I'm sad to inform you, it didn't go very far and wasn't very popular.

He then struck out by trying to endorse a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and that only divided the country. He gave a State of the Union Speech which was not very well received and an hour-long interview on "Meet the Press" that didn't get good reviews. So not a good year so far, whereas the Democrats are having a pretty good year.

Here is an irony. Ten candidates competed for the Democratic nomination and nobody in the Republican Party challenged George Bush. Yet, Miles, right now on the starting day of the general election campaign, I would argue that the Democrats are more unified than the Republicans.

O'BRIEN: Boy, there is a little news flash right there. The Democrats more unified than Republicans. All right. Let's finally just a political -- I know you don't even want to talk about this because you think it's a waste of time, but it's still fun!

"New York Times" today, op-ed piece, a New York University Law professor, Steven Gillers (ph), says, Hey, best VP choice for Kerry is this guy -- Bill Clinton. There's nothing in the Constitution, he says, that would stop it. Why not have him as the veep?

SCHNEIDER: Well, because if you had him on the ticket as the president, the election would be all about Bill Clinton. That is not what John Kerry wants. John Kerry wants the election to be about George Bush and his record and his policies.

When an incumbent president runs for reelection, it's supposed to be, and usually is, a referendum on the president. Now Bush would like to make it a referendum on John Kerry, but that's going to be tough to do because Kerry is not the president.

But if Clinton were on the ticket, you can just bet the whole election would just be a vote on Bill Clinton and Bush would probably, my guess is, win that.

O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much, Bill Schneider. Always a pleasure having you join us on this Super Wednesday.

Now Senator John Kerry's last major rival, Senator John Edwards, plans to officially drop out of the race. He all but dropped out last night. We'll carry that for you. It's coming up 4:00 p.m. Eastern live here on CNN. Back to Kyra.

PHILLIPS: This coming just now in to CNN, rebel leader Guy Philippe says that his forces will lay down their arms. This happened as U.S. Marines fanned out from the presidential palace there in Port- au-Prince with their rifles ready to try and restore order amid that country's bloody uprising, as you know.

This coming from Guy Philippe. "Now that there are foreign troops promising to protect the Haitian people and they've given the guarantee to protect the Haitian people, we will lay down our arms."

This coming out after an emergency meeting in Jamaica over the Haiti crisis. Once again, rebel leader Guy Philippe coming forward saying, rebels will lay down their weapons.

Straight ahead, taking a cue from Benneton? Well fashionistas choose Israel's security fence for their latest photo shoot. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: It was a catwalk in a hot zone as an Israeli design house brought high style to Israel's controversial security barrier. Our Chris Burns on the politics of fashion.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On a rocky runway at Israel's self-styled security barrier, they show off a spring fashion line and engage in some adget-prop (ph) geopolitics against a wall, the Israeli government says it's building to stop suicide bombers. Palestinians say it steals their land and cuts off their livelihoods.

The Israeli fashion company Comme-il-faut, French for "as it must be," engaged in politics before last year modeling khakis against the Iraq war. And they're at it again.

SYLVIE GOLDFINER, CEO, COMME-IL-FAUT: I think it's too bad. I think that the way to serve conflicts are not to build walls.

BURNS: Not a bad way to attract media attention either. Trivializing a serious issue?

MAYA ARAZI, FASHION DESIGNER: I don't think anything could trivialize the war. I mean it's a fact. It's a fact that we cannot argue with. And we're just I think showing the clothes next to it just shows the conflict and the contrast of beautiful clothes and our unnormal life.

BURNS: Lunch break with a Palestinian family outside the wall. The father, a blacksmith, says he's lost all his Israeli clients since the wall went up. Daughter Ruadea (ph) sees no future.

(on camera): So you think a fashion shoot helps to bring attention to that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Yes. I'm sure.

BURNS: Without making it less severe and less serious?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, I'm sure. They are famous girls, you know. They will make some eyes on the war.

BURNS (voice-over): It's a harsh awakening for one Israeli model.

MEITAL WEINBERG, FASHION MODEL: I'm -- I live in my bubble in Tel Aviv. I don't know what's going on out there. It's shocking. It just is a wall in front of me. And it's sad.

BURNS (on camera): There are some members of the government saying this is bad taste and they hope you don't even sell one shirt.

ARAZI: Well, we're doing fashion so we're supposed to know about good taste and bad taste. And I think we're dictating good taste in this matter.

BURNS (voice-over): As beauty is in eyes of beholder, so can this barrier be seen by some as an ugly ruinous gash in the landscape, and by others as necessary evil.

Chris Burns, CNN, along the barrier outside Jerusalem. (END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, a plague on your inbox? Spam, spam, spam. See who is the worst offender when it comes to sending you that annoying stuff.

And forgetting something? Why young employees don't take advantage of their 401(k)s.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: They're all getting rid of their spam right there. In Hawaii, spam is practically the state food on your computer. It can give you an upset stomach trying to get rid of it. So can that music.

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECH CORRESPONDENT: Cue the music!

PHILLIPS: Where does it come from? Who is the biggest offender?

SCHNEIDER: Not Monty Python.

Turns out, Kyra, this is a new study. Turns out that the most spam in the world comes from Miles O'Brien's computer. It is true.

PHILLIPS: Why does that not surprise me?

SIEBERG: No. This is a new study from the company in the U.K. called Sophos. They're anti-virus , anti-spam security company. They wanted to see where all the spam messages are coming from in the world. So they decided to take a look.

And we have the results here for you. Rather dubious distinctions for all the countries on this list. Cue the music again.

The first one, third place, a tie with South Korea and China, for 6 percent of the spam in the world. A tie for third place. There's a third place ribbon.

In second place, yes, Canada. And I can say this because I'm Canadian. Stuck in second place.

But, I think we might prefer to be second place in this case, because in No. 1 spot is the United States with 57 percent of spam messages. That's according to Sophos.

So you might wonder -- and there is another 2 percent that sort of lumps everybody together. The Netherlands, Mexico, Australia. We call this the honorable mention category.

So you might wonder why all does this spam come from the U.S.? Well Sophos decided to look into this and part of the reason they're saying is first of all, there are a lot of computers in the U.S. that are on a broadband or high-speed connection. That's appealing to spammers because they can essentially hijack these computers, take them over, and turn them into what's called a sort of zombie spam machine to send out these messages. For example, Russia, which came in at number 28 on the list, actually may have some hackers or rather nefarious groups in Russia that take over computers in the U.S. to send out messages. They look like they're coming from the U.S., but may be controlled from somewhere else.

As well, English is spoken in the U.S. A lot of spammers try to get their messages out in English. And as well, it's simply that a small number of people or spammers are responsible for a large number of messages and they just happen to be in the U.S.

So that's a rather dubious distinction for these countries, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Freedom of spam. Isn't that in out constitution?

SIEBERG: Freedom of spam. Yeah, right.

PHILLIPS: All right. Now I like how said to you how do we get rid of it, and you didn't say how to get rid of it. You said tips on how to limit it.

SIEBERG: Limit it, yes. That's maybe the best you can do at this point is limit it, maybe not get rid of it. We do have tips for people on what you can do.

First of all, don't post your e-mail address on the Web in a public place where people can see it on a Web site or message board. That's where spammers go to harvest these e-mail addresses.

Don't open or reply to spam because that's just telling the spammer that you are a legitimate user and you're reading your e-mail. Don't unsubscribe on those unsuscribe links because that's telling them there is a user on this computer who is essentially reading those messages.

As well, you can set up a secondary or a junk e-mail account, a Web-based account that's free. Use it to log on to a Web site if you need it or may to do some online banking. And you see some other one there. E-mail filters, software.

And again, read privacy policies. That can be very important because you never know where companies are going use your e-mail address. So check the fine print and delete. That's about the only thing you can do.

PHILLIPS: Thank you, Daniel Sieberg.

All right -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Taking a tip from Americans trying to shed their extra large? You might call them SuperSize portions. Mickey-D's trim being the SuperSize menu. You listening Connery O'Brien (ph)? No more SuperSized fries for you.

The company is phasing out its extra large order of french fries and drinks by the end of the year. But just like extra pounds over the holidays, don't look for them to disappear all together. McDonald's will bring the SuperSized items back for special promotions just to taunt us with their voluminous sizes.

PHILLIPS: I'm hungry.

Well, giving up the fries may make some people cranky. No! Yes! The curse of the Monte Crisco. They're loaded with carbs. And a new study finds eating them may destroy your mood. Exploring this relationship between food and mood can make you feel differently about your diet. Here is Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Carbohydrates have been at the center of the diet debate for sometime now. There are all sorts of stores popping up, you can buy low carbohydrate pancake syrup, pancake mix, all sorts of things. Low carbohydrates store you can see up there.

But here is a question for you. An interesting one to consider. What sort of impact does a low carbohydrate diet have on your mood? That's exactly the subject of some research being done at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Judith Wortman (ph) looking at this.

Interesting sort of speculation here. Serotonin at the heart of this. Seems that carbs and very little protein raise your serotonin levels. This is important because serotonin acts as mood stabilizer. It's the same thing that elevates in people that take anti- depressants.

The scenario is this. If you eat a high carbohydrate meal with very little protein, you may feel a little bit better, sort of the comfort food effect afterwards. If you add protein, you don't get as additional benefit.

No one is staying stop your low carbohydrate diet, necessarily, if that's what you're on. But if you're subject to mood changes, vulnerable to those mood changes, someone who takes antidepressants, someone who uses food for emotional stability, there may be something to this whole comfort food notion and it may come in the from of carbohydrates.

Now the Atkins people would quickly counter saying, listen, if you lose weight, you'll feel good in terms of your physical status as well as your overall mood. Plus, if you take a lot of carbohydrates, you may be more subject to sugar crashes later on down the line. That may swing your mood as well. So consider those things.

But that's the subject of the scientific debate that's going on right now. If you're someone who is going to eat carbohydrates, all dietitians recommend the complex carbohydrates more so than the simple ones. Stay away from cakes and cookies.

The ones that are good for you, the whole grains, beans, nuts, and brown or jasmine rice. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(MARKET UPDATE)

O'BRIEN: Here is a guy who doesn't need a 401(k). He's not confused by all those choices. Yes, he's loaded. Right? He'd still like to ditch the media though. Proves that money isn't everything.

Prince Harry. We'll bring you an update on him because you know you're interested in what he's doing. Admit it.

Plus, getting tough. The iron yoga story we promised you yesterday. Get in to the iron lotus position now. We will bring it to you shortly.

And President Bush unleashes his first reelection TV ad. It's big-time on the high road. We of course are always there.

Live from Washington, Atlanta and wherever there is news. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back to LIVE FROM. I'm Miles O'Brien in the Washington newsroom today.

PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips at CNN Center in Atlanta.

Here's what is making news this hour.

Pride in Portland. Oregon's largest county has joined the same- sex marriage movement, hundreds of people now applying for marriage licenses after the county attorneys said refusing to grant them licenses would be unconstitutional. The state's attorney general has yet to rule.

Mixed messages for gay couples in New York. Its attorney general is urging local officials not to conduct same-sex marriages until a court can sort out just what the state law means. The mayors of two small towns say they plan to officiate at "I do"s no matter what.

A vow to disarm, reports coming now from Haiti that rebel forces will lay down their weapons. Their leader, Guy Philippe, reportedly says that's possible because international troops have promised to protect the people. Just yesterday he declared himself head of Haiti's armed forces.

Iraq democracy bound, that's how the U.S. administrator there sees it as the Iraqi Governing Council prepares to sign an interim constitution on Friday. The signing was supposed to take place today, but the country is in mourning following yesterday's deadly terror attacks.

O'BRIEN: Well, we're in the final hour of the Edwards for president 2004 campaign. Up next, Edwards for Kerry. John Kerry's nine-for-10 showing on Super Tuesday didn't quite give him a lock on the Democratic nomination. But it did serve to squeeze out the North Carolina senator, whose only win to date came in his native South Carolina.

After yesterday's unhappy returns and a lavish endorsement of Kerry, we might add, Edwards caught the red eye to Raleigh, where he's due to give his departure address at 4:00 p.m. Eastern, 58 minutes, give or take, from now. You can see that, of course, right here on CNN live. And that all but guarantees, barring some monumental turn of events, a Kerry-Bush contest that will dominate the next eight months. The first batch of Bush TV ads starts tomorrow. Buckle your seat belts.

The incumbent himself is on Air Force One, still about an hour away from LAX.

CNN's Kathleen Koch holding down the big white fort up Pennsylvania Avenue from here.

Kathleen, what's the latest?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, as the president continues on his way westward, the big news here right now is those campaign ads.

The president sees them as really a way to improve his standing with American voters, the president recently having taken quite a hit in the polls, hits from Democratic candidates. The president, though, is described as being very optimistic about his chances of winning reelection to the presidency and also described as being very mindful of not repeating the mistakes that he believes his father made back in 1992.

Now, these ads are all very positive, very upbeat and they focus on Mr. Bush's record and leadership as president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know exactly where I want to lead this country. I know what we need to do to make the world more free and more peaceful. I know what we need to do to make sure every person has a chance at realizing the American dream.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: The Bush/Cheney campaign is spending some $4.5 million on this first ad buy. The ads will run in some 15 to 17 swing states, and then also nationally on cable networks around the country.

Now, President Bush, as I mentioned earlier, who is now heading out on a six-day swing through both California and Texas, is also beginning to size up his likely opponent. The president now we're told is studying transcripts of Senator John Kerry's media interviews, of his debates, getting a feel for the candidate's style, his responses, and also, of course, his record on the issues. The president also taking a moment for a one-on-one chat with candidate Kerry, Mr. Bush calling the Massachusetts senator just before 8:00 last night to congratulate him on his Super Tuesday decisive victories. A Bush campaign spokesman said that the president added that he looks forward to a spirited debate this fall -- Miles.

CNN's Kathleen Koch at the White House, thank you very much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, just moments ago, we told you about rebel leader Guy Philippe declaring himself head of armed forces in Haiti, saying that now that foreign troops have come into the area, he is coming saying they will lay down their weapons.

Lucia Newman had the first interview with Guy Philippe, now has talked to him again.

Lucia, what did he tell you?

LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kyra, I just finished speaking to him. He looked rather emotional.

He said that he had had a meeting early this morning with the head of the U.S. Marine contingent here, and that they had explained, or convinced him that the U.S. Marines would now take charge of the security situation here in Port-au-Prince and therefore they had agreed to hand in their weapons. When I asked him who he would hand them in to, he said Haiti's new president.

And he also told us that in the next 48 hours he would be going back to Cap-Haitien, the city that he took a week ago, and where he was once the police chief and is also Haiti's second most important city. He said he was going back there to explain to his men why this was, in his words, the best thing to do for Haiti. In terms of what he planned to do in the future, he said, we'll wait and see.

He would like to play a role in the future security or army of Haiti, he said, but that would be up to the next government, a very different speech from what we were getting yesterday, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Lucia, with Guy Philippe coming out and making this announcement, does he necessarily speak for all -- for the other rebel leaders that have been involved in what has happened in Haiti?

NEWMAN: Well, that's a very good question. He is said to be the commander of this joint rebel Army, as it were. But we'll have to see whether the others will agree if that is, as he said, the best thing to do.

There are groups in Gonaives and in other parts of the north of Haiti who may or may not decide to follow his example. And also, there are a lot of people who are afraid now that if they put down their weapons there will be reprisals. There are Aristide supporters out there who are still very heavily armed, Kyra. And when I asked him who's going to ensure his own safety, he said God would -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Powerful words. Lucia Newman, live from Port-au- Prince, we thank you very much.

Our other story that we're following this half hour, 25 weddings and a political funeral? Probably not, but the same-sex nuptials performed last Friday in New Paltz, New York, have earned the village mayor misdemeanor charges for solemnizing marriage without a license. He's due in court this evening. And if Jason West was hoping Eliot Spitzer would stand up for him, he was disappointed.

New York's attorney general says state law raises valid constitutional questions but for now it doesn't allow men to marry men or women to marry women or state officials to officiate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIOT SPITZER, NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL: Therefore, it is my recommendation and my counsel that city and town clerks not issue licenses to same-sex couples and those empowered to preside over marriage ceremonies solemnizing marriages in the word of the statute should not solemnize same-sex marriages.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: That not withstanding, the gay mayor of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) a suburb of New York says he'll tie some same-sex knots beginning tomorrow, though he personally plans to wed in Massachusetts.

From San Francisco, California, and New Paltz, New York, to Portland, Oregon, the battle over same-sex marriage moves to a new front.

CNN's Miguel Marquez is there at one of the first ceremonies getting under way. Miguel?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lots and lots of ceremonies getting under way now, Kyra.

The county attorney from Multnomah County here in Oregon deciding that they would open up the doors to gay marriage and the result is dozens, dozens, hundreds, maybe, of gay and lesbian couples coming to the doors, filling out applications here. The line is impressive outside this building, much like we saw in San Francisco, all the way around the building, gay and lesbians waiting for their chance to fill out their application license, pay their $60 fee, and then they have 60 days to take that license.

Unlike San Francisco, they're not actually being married here today. They are -- they're just getting their licenses. And then they have to have those marriages solemnized by some other individual.

I want to bring in a couple here who has just gotten married.

If you could just tell us, how long have you been together? And what is today to you guys?

CLARICE JOHNSON, PLANNING TO MARRY PARTNER: We've been together 27 years. And for us, it's kind of an unexpected opportunity to formalize who and what we are.

MARQUEZ: It's a very bureaucratic process. What was it like going through it today? Was it emotional as well?

TINA EMBERG, PLANNING TO MARRY PARTNER: As I was walking here from my car and I first saw the crowd of people going around the building I started to cry. I was just overcome by emotion, as I am right now when I stop to think about it.

I never really thought it was a big deal. But now that we have the opportunity to get married, we rushed down here and we're just so thrilled to be here, and it's really a festive occasion.

MARQUEZ: You've been together 27 years. What's the point at this point? Why marriage? Why is it so important?

JOHNSON: I think it's -- like I said, it's really making us visible. I mean, so long, gay people's lives have been invisible, not to us, but to the world, and it's just kind of making the circle be complete. This is, you know -- we're here. We're a part of life.

MARQUEZ: Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Good luck to you.

The attorney general's office saying that the governor of Oregon has now directed his office to look into whether or not gay marriages should be legalized and they expect an opinion may be reached by the attorney general sometime next week -- back to you for now.

PHILLIPS: All right, our Miguel Marquez, live from Portland, Oregon, thank you so much.

O'BRIEN: News across America now.

No more supersizing. Sorry. McDonald's says it's dropping the extra-extra-large portions from its menu. It says the move is part of an overall effort to simplify the menu.

The fate of Martha Stewart is in the hands of jurors. They've begun deliberating whether Stewart lied to investigators about her sale of ImClone stock in 2001. The combined charges against Stewart carry up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

And, in Philadelphia, police have charged a woman with kidnapping a 10-day-old girl six years ago; 41-year-old Carolyn Correa surrendered to police yesterday. Delimar Vera, who is now 6 years old, was asleep in her crib when a fire broke out in her home. Now, at the time police concluded her body had been incinerated in the flames. She's in foster care until a judge determines where she should live.

PHILLIPS: Doctors are drawing the line when it comes to prescribing antibiotics. Parents, be warned. You may not get them the next time you go to the pediatrician.

Plus, live from New York, the Janet Jackson buzz. And the media finally catches up with Prince Harry. Find out what he's up to overseas.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: For years, doctors have treated ear infections in kids with antibiotics. But that could soon change. Health officials plan to recommend this spring that doctors stop prescribing antibiotics for most infections. They say half of all antibiotics given to young children are for ear infections. Reducing antibiotics could help prevent kids from building up a resistance to the medication. Experts say most minor ear infections clear up on their own within a week.

O'BRIEN: In other health news, are you a hard body or do you want to be one? Health-conscience Americans always seem to be looking for a new exercise plan. And while some fitness plans prefer weights, others tout the benefits of yoga. And now there's a new approach that kind of combines the two.

Medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta checks it out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tree pose with military press and hammer curl. Familiar sounds you'll here in a not so familiar yoga class. In this New York health and racket club, the ancient art of yoga is pumped up. I decided to take the challenge, and as I found, it doesn't take long to work up a sweat.

ANTHONY CARILLO, CREATOR, IRON YOGA: With your left foot and leg, take a long step back, at least one leg length apart.

GUPTA: Combining weights with yoga is the idea of nationally ranked triathlete Anthony Carillo. He was the first to use weights with familiar yoga poses. Like many well-trained athletes, he wanted to challenge himself further.

CARILLO: I was in a warrior two pose that we did today in class. And as I'm in this pose, I'm thinking, OK, what weight training exercise that I normally do in the weight room can I add to warrior two? So it just made sense that I'm holding dumbbells. One arm could do a lateral raise, and the other arm could do a bicep curl.

GUPTA: Carillo started the pump-up yoga over a year ago. And these days, similar programs are popping up all around the country.

Dozens of health clubs have begun offering yoga classes with weights, bands, balls, and other resistance tools, all designed to draw a wider range of participants.

CARILLO: Some who are serious into the weight training, and circuit training and body sculpting, they sometimes feel that a yoga class won't give them the challenge. And I think now with this new dimension of adding dumbbells and weight training exercises to yoga, it's been able to attract that audience.

GUPTA: With iron yoga, every movement is done with the breath.

CARILLO: Everything's super safe because it's super slow. We're taking four to five seconds concentrically working positively, we're taking four to five seconds eccentrically working negatively.

GUPTA: And after the iron phase of this workout, you'll no doubt look to the cooldown.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: All right. Sit right back and you'll hear a tale of the latest reality TV show. Oh, yes. Can you believe this? Pursuing the prince. The media's dogged pursuit of Prince Harry. Our Charlayne Hunter-Gault with a pretty interesting story.

Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, the odds of being born on Leap Day, February 29, are one in about 1,500. Dustin Hedges (ph) of Newark, Ohio, is a Leap Day baby. So was his daughter, Kaly (ph), born three days ago. And what are the odds of that happening? One in more than two million.

(MARKET UPDATE)

PHILLIPS: Checking entertainment headlines this March 3, the story sounds like a plot for the ultimate buddy picture, successful writer falls ill, a longtime pal and business associate, offers him the kidney he needs to get better. But it's not fiction. It happened to playwright Neil Simon who's recovering from transplant surgery in a New York hospital, along with his longtime press rep, Bill Evans, who donated the kidney.

Is Janet Jackson ready to laugh at herself and the media tornado sparked by recent events at the Super Bowl? Sources say Janet might appear on "Saturday Night Live" in April. No confirmation yet from Jackson's spokesperson or "SNL."

And how is this for a pop culture cocktail? Classic sitcom turned into a reality show? Oh, yes. Our sister station TBS will air a hybrid of "Gilligan's Island" and "Survivor," featuring a real-life skipper, first mate, millionaire couple, movie star, farm girl, and professor. They'll who try to escape a remote island. Let the comic hijinks ensue.

O'BRIEN: Just hit right back and you'll hear a tale of really bad TV.

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: All right. Britain's Prince Harry is on a two-month- long trip to Africa. He's trying to draw attention a devastating disease. Our Charlayne Hunter-Gault picks up the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He arrived like any other boy from Lesotho, but he was following in the footsteps of his late mother, Princess Diana, using his royal presence to draw attention to the plight of AIDS orphans, like 4-year-old Matusi Postsana (ph).

Since arriving in the tiny mountain kingdom of Lesotho, the young prince has also visited AIDS patients, getting a firsthand look at the disease believed to have infected some 31 percent of the country's two million people. Journalists were allowed on this visit, in exchange for privacy for the rest of his time here. The 19-year-old prince was asked what he hoped to achieve.

PRINCE HARRY, UNITED KINGDOM: Recognition for people back in England, to charities in England to sort of recognize Lesotho, a country that needs help, because they haven't got enough help yet.

HUNTER-GAULT: A welcome message to the ears of a young Lesotho royal, the brother of the king.

PRINCE SEEISO, LESOTHO KING'S BROTHER: Well, maybe in a selfish manner, we are hoping to elevate our profile, international profile. But among other things that I hope that he can get away from Lesotho is some personal attachment, not only to the country at large, but to individuals that he is working with. And I think he is beginning to have very close relations with some of the boys that he's working with.

HUNTER-GAULT: Prince Harry will be in Lesotho for the next two weeks mending fences and building bridges.

Charlayne Hunter-Gault, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well that's it for this edition of LIVE FROM. I'm Kyra Phillips in Atlanta.

O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien in Washington. We're glad you joined us.

And now to pick up our coverage is CNN's Judy Woodruff. She's across the room from me right now. She was up all night doing the Super Tuesday thing and on this super Wednesday is going to tell us how the dust has settled on this election campaign.

It's pretty interesting, isn't it?

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: It is super Thursday -- it's Wednesday. That's right. It's not Thursday. It's Wednesday. Miles, right across the room from me, hello. All right, get ready for this. Bush reelection ads are coming tomorrow to a TV near you. I'll speak with the spokesman for the Bush-Cheney reelection team about the new campaign. Plus, he has effectively won the nomination, but the job only gets tougher from here. I'll talk with a top John Kerry aide about the challenges ahead.

Stay with us. I go "INSIDE POLITICS" in three minutes.

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Oregon Marries Same-Sex Couples; Kerry in, Edwards Out; Bush Campaigns in California; California Votes for Bond Issue; Martha Stewart Awaits Verdict>