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Witnesses Recant Testimony Putting Man in Jail for Child Molestation; Operation Mountain Storm Concentrates on Afghanistan Border; Scientists Discover What Could be a Tenth Planet; Martha Stewart Resigns from Her Company's Board
Aired March 15, 2004 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, ANCHOR: Changing testimony that could set a man convicted of child molestation free.
KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: a man who has spent almost the last two decades behind bars convicted of child molestation is gaining some rather unlikely allies: the children that testified against him.
I'm Kimberly Osias, live in Bakersfield, details just ahead.
O'BRIEN: The latest this afternoon on U.S. forces and the hunt for Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. We're live with details on that.
And more political punches from the Democratic front-runner. Kerry attacks Bush on homeland security. We have the latest from the campaign trail, of course. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Top stories at this hour.
London's famous underground, the tube as it is commonly known, operating on extra high alert. Police are frisking anyone acting suspiciously. A new poster campaign warns passengers to be vigilant. Officials ratcheted up security, of course, in the wake of the Madrid train bombings.
Police in Pakistan have defused a large bomb left outside the U.S. consulate in Karachi. A videotape shows a man parking a stolen minivan and then walking away. Inside, 200 gallons of liquid explosives linked to a timer and two detonators. Good save there.
Under international criticism, ousted Haitian President Jean- Bertrand Aristide is en route to Jamaica, the island only 115 miles west of Haiti. Aristide has been living in exile in Africa.
Meantime, the first Marine wounded in Haiti has been evacuated to Miami. His injuries described as non-life threatening.
We're watching for a ruling in the high profile child molestation case we've been telling you about. A California judge is set to decide if John Stoll's conviction should be reversed and he should be released on bail after he has spent two decades in prison.
CNN's Kimberly Osias is covering today's ruling. She joins us live now from Bakersfield -- Kimberly.
OSIAS: Hello, Miles.
Well, this is the end of the legal line for 60-year-old John Stoll, the last chance for him to clear his name.
Along with several others back in the '80s, he was convicted of being involved in a so-called sex ring here in Bakersfield. Now for almost 20 years, he has been behind bars, based solely on testimony of six then young men.
Now, those young boys are men, and they have come forward and they have recanted that testimony, saying that they were forced to lie. Four of those men have done that.
Now, the other two, one of those men say he doesn't recall what happened at all. And the last one, John Stoll's own son, Jed, says he's sticking to his story that he was, in fact, molested.
Defense attorneys actually dismiss that, saying that there is a difference in essentially knowing what happened and believing what happened. That Jed Stoll, his son, never really gave specifics on the stand as to what occurred.
He -- Now, John Stoll was convicted without any kind of physical evidence at all. Solely -- There were no medical examinations performed on any of the boys, including 28-year-old Christopher Diuri, who is an auto mechanic here in Bakersfield.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTOPHER DIUTI, RECANTED TESTIMONY: Eventually, I just told them what they were repeated to me. I started singing it back to them. The same things they said to me, I said right back to them. And then they had me say them again up on the stand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OSIAS: This cases raises of course, the psychological issue, the construct of false memories. That is essentially the idea that adults in a position of power can cue a minor to remember something in the way that they want that remembered.
Defense attorneys and prosecution are expected to give closing arguments within the next hour. The defense attorneys are also expected to ask the judge to release John Stoll on his own recognizance, or on bail, until the judge makes a ruling -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Kimberly Osias. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
Some legal briefs making headlines now.
Members of Clergy Now face criminal charges in the same sex marriage disputes. The Associated Press is reporting two ministers in New York are charged with solemnizing marriages without a license. Unitarian ministers Fay Greenleaf and Dawn Sangrey face the same charges as New Paltz mayor Jason West. The pair performed several gay weddings last week.
Testimony resumes in the Jayson Williams murder trial. Harlem Globetrotter Paul Gaffney told the court he witnessed the shotgun blast that killed a limo driver. Williams, a retired NBA star, says shooting was an accident.
Live pictures now coming to us from Portland, Oregon. And this from our affiliate, KOYM. What you're looking at there is a four alarm industrial fine the southeast portion of Portland, Oregon, firefighters battling that blaze, obviously.
Began about 8 a.m. local time -- that would be 11 a.m. Eastern -- at a place called Thermo-Fluids on 101st Avenue in Portland, for those of you familiar with that city.
Thick black smoke billowing out of it. Firefighters on the scene. There are reports that there are oil drums and propane inside which obviously would fuel that blaze. We have no reports of any injuries, however.
We're watching it for you. Once again, four-alarm blaze, firefighters on the scene there in Portland, Oregon. We're watching it.
The American dream of owning a home. President Bush takes a vow for helping make it happen for a record number of Americans. The president is campaigning in Pennsylvania on one bright spot in the economy.
More than 68 percent of Americans are now homeowners. The president says it's all part of his concept of an ownership society. The idea is putting people in charge of their homes, healthcare and retirement.
Today's campaign stops include a visit with a new homeowner and a tour of a new housing development.
The Kerry campaign is not impressed with the home sales numbers. A campaign spokesman said sales may be up, but so are foreclosures and bankruptcies.
Meanwhile the Democratic candidate spoke before a firefighters group in Washington. The Massachusetts senator is pledging to hire 100,000 new firefighters if he makes it to the White House.
Kerry meets with Democratic rival Al Sharpton today in Washington. Kerry has held similar meetings with former Democratic opponents Howard Dean and John Edwards.
Unlike those, Sharpton is still officially in the race. He said he will back Kerry once he claims the nomination.
U.S. forces in Afghanistan have stepped up their offensive against enemy fighters and the No. 1 terrorist, Osama bin Laden. This weekend, the operation turned deadly.
CNN's Ryan Chilcote joins us by videophone from Kabul with the latest.
Hello, Ryan.
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Miles.
Well, a lot of people in the military here in Afghanistan are calling this the forgotten war. They say it's been overshadowed by all the media coverage in Iraq.
But there are 11,500 U.S. service people here, an additional 2,000 from other countries, fighting Taliban and al Qaeda, still in Afghanistan.
And proof of that this weekend, the military is saying they launched a new offensive. They're calling it Operation Mountain Storm. Really an evolution, they say, and perhaps a bit of an intensification of the ongoing operations they've had here to hunt down al Qaeda and Taliban.
Now, the U.S. military saying it killed three people over the weekend, three Taliban fighters, in an air assault. They say they swept in next to a cave and killed three Taliban inside. And over the weekend, detained 13 at an air base just north of Kabul, north of the capitol here in Afghanistan.
Two U.S. airmen were wounded by a mine, the U.S. military saying that those mines were left over from previous wars in Afghanistan.
Now, there is really perhaps an important thing going on here right now in terms of timing, Miles. There's two things, really, to look at.
One is that it is spring now in Afghanistan and that snow in the mountain passes between Afghanistan and Pakistan is beginning to melt. And what the U.S. Military hopes to see, it hopes to see some of the Taliban and al Qaeda that they believe is up there, come out of the cave, come out of the homes and perhaps start to fight.
It is also saying that it is quite happy with what it is seeing in western Pakistan. The Pakistani military putting on a lot of pressure on the tribal people in western Pakistan that are right along that border to either give up any al Qaeda militants there or at least push them out.
The U.S. military hoping that they will get pushed out to the west.
We actually have some amazing video. It's very rare that you get to see pictures from this very remote part of western Pakistan. These are pictures of tribal leaders that say that they are ready to volunteer to hunt down al Qaeda and Taliban in western Pakistan, including, of course, many people say, perhaps even Osama bin Laden, if he is there. Now, the U.S. military saying they hope that will happen. And they are patrolling in an intensified way on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Ryan Chilcote in Kabul, Afghanistan. Thank you very much.
News around the world now.
Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is ruling out peace negotiations with the Palestinians. Ruling them out. This comes a day after a pair of suicide bombers killed ten people and wounded 20 in Israel's port city of Ashdod.
A promise for change in Russia. President Vladimir Putin vowing to bring more stability and order to the country after winning a second term in office. Mr. Putin wrapped up at least 70 percent of the vote in Sunday's election.
It's the most distant object in the solar system, but what exactly is it? We'll take a closer look at the latest object of NASA's affection. We'll just call her Sedna for now.
Also speaking of rock, Prince is finally getting a new throne. We'll have that story just ahead.
And get ready to dig a little deeper the next time you head to the gas station. We know you don't want to hear this. This is take your medicine news. But we'll give you the latest on rising prices at the pump.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Well, it appears, at least if you ask some people, you might have to change the mneumonic, My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizza -- Slices? Because there's an "S" now, potentially.
Meet Sedna, what some are calling maybe the tenth planet? That's a stretch, but let's introduce you to Sedna nevertheless.
This is an image which comes from the Spitzer Space Telescope. It's NASA's orbiting infrared observatory.
And no, NASA did not discover a giant arrow in the cosmos. That arrow is pointing to a red planetoid called Sedna, which may in fact have a moon.
Sedna is about eight billion miles away from us, and is a very, very cold place indeed: 400 degrees below zero for the past four and a half billion years.
And is among the most primordial objects in our solar system. This is in a place that you all know, of course, as the oort cloud. This is where all the comets come from. It's kind of the leftover stuff from the big bang, the ice and the rocks and the stuff, the detritus from the big bang.
In any case, this is about the biggest object in there, but they believe that there are many objects of this ilk, of this size, even though it is only a fraction of the size of the ninth planet, even though that's debatable by some, Pluto.
Look how much farther away it is, though. It's three times farther away from the sun than is Pluto from us. It's a long way away.
Nevertheless, through the magic of technology. And check out this little -- well, I guess you would call it a family portrait. And we'll go through it again.
My very educated -- is that the moon? Yes, that's Mars -- mother just served us nine -- and then you can't see Pluto -- pizzas. That's how you remember it: Mars, right? Venus, Earth -- excuse me, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and now, Sedna.
I started off with Mars. I can't believe that.
All right. Let's move on to more earthly matters. Shall we?
Following her federal felony conviction, Martha Stewart is resigning from her board of her media empire. Details on this developing story now from CNN's Allan Chernoff, who's an New York.
Hello, Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles.
And we understand that the decision from Martha Stewart to actually leave the board of directors of her own company was made a week ago at a board meeting.
The big issue: what role, if any was Martha Stewart going to continue to have at her own company. Now, that's been resolved, the company saying that not only will Stewart resign from the board of director, she will also give up her title as chief creative officer.
She'll take on a new role, which is founding editorial director. What exactly does that mean?
The company is saying that Martha Stewart will write two books that had already been in the works, home keeping and baking. She also will, the company says, take on assignments editorial, magazine writing perhaps and also television assignments.
In addition, the company is saying she'll provide input on Martha Stewart strategy and also help build public profiles for experts at Martha Stewart. Martha Stewart did put out a quick statement herself, saying, quote, "I think it is the right thing to do. I am heartsick about my personal legal situation and deeply sorry for the pain and difficulties it has caused our employees."
Miles, as you know, Ms. Stewart is scheduled to be sentenced on June 17, and legal experts do expect that she will get a term, a jail term of between ten months and 18 months for being convicted to four felonies -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right. CNN's Allan Chernoff in New York. Thank you very much.
(STOCK REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE, MUSICIAN: Can I get some dancers on stage? Can I get some dancers on stage?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: All right. The artist currently known as Prince, along with some of the greatest musicians, will be honored with an award of a lifetime tonight.
Several artists are being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Along with Prince, who is planning to give a live performance, the inductees include, Jackson Browne, the Dells, George Harrison, Bob Seger, Traffic, and ZZ Top. How's that for an illustrious group of rock 'n' rollers?
(STOCK REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Easing transit concerns on the subways. Coming next in our second hour of LIVE FROM, the latest on the Spain terror investigation and Spain's elections. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Terror and politics. Spanish elections cost the U.S. an ally in Iraq. Will the war on terror loom even larger now in American elections?
Convicted but still creative? Martha Stewart redefining her role in the company she founded.
And breaking the ice. A rare glacial crumble, caught on tape. It is our picture of the day.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Molestation; Operation Mountain Storm Concentrates on Afghanistan Border; Scientists Discover What Could be a Tenth Planet; Martha Stewart Resigns from Her Company's Board>
Aired March 15, 2004 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, ANCHOR: Changing testimony that could set a man convicted of child molestation free.
KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: a man who has spent almost the last two decades behind bars convicted of child molestation is gaining some rather unlikely allies: the children that testified against him.
I'm Kimberly Osias, live in Bakersfield, details just ahead.
O'BRIEN: The latest this afternoon on U.S. forces and the hunt for Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. We're live with details on that.
And more political punches from the Democratic front-runner. Kerry attacks Bush on homeland security. We have the latest from the campaign trail, of course. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Top stories at this hour.
London's famous underground, the tube as it is commonly known, operating on extra high alert. Police are frisking anyone acting suspiciously. A new poster campaign warns passengers to be vigilant. Officials ratcheted up security, of course, in the wake of the Madrid train bombings.
Police in Pakistan have defused a large bomb left outside the U.S. consulate in Karachi. A videotape shows a man parking a stolen minivan and then walking away. Inside, 200 gallons of liquid explosives linked to a timer and two detonators. Good save there.
Under international criticism, ousted Haitian President Jean- Bertrand Aristide is en route to Jamaica, the island only 115 miles west of Haiti. Aristide has been living in exile in Africa.
Meantime, the first Marine wounded in Haiti has been evacuated to Miami. His injuries described as non-life threatening.
We're watching for a ruling in the high profile child molestation case we've been telling you about. A California judge is set to decide if John Stoll's conviction should be reversed and he should be released on bail after he has spent two decades in prison.
CNN's Kimberly Osias is covering today's ruling. She joins us live now from Bakersfield -- Kimberly.
OSIAS: Hello, Miles.
Well, this is the end of the legal line for 60-year-old John Stoll, the last chance for him to clear his name.
Along with several others back in the '80s, he was convicted of being involved in a so-called sex ring here in Bakersfield. Now for almost 20 years, he has been behind bars, based solely on testimony of six then young men.
Now, those young boys are men, and they have come forward and they have recanted that testimony, saying that they were forced to lie. Four of those men have done that.
Now, the other two, one of those men say he doesn't recall what happened at all. And the last one, John Stoll's own son, Jed, says he's sticking to his story that he was, in fact, molested.
Defense attorneys actually dismiss that, saying that there is a difference in essentially knowing what happened and believing what happened. That Jed Stoll, his son, never really gave specifics on the stand as to what occurred.
He -- Now, John Stoll was convicted without any kind of physical evidence at all. Solely -- There were no medical examinations performed on any of the boys, including 28-year-old Christopher Diuri, who is an auto mechanic here in Bakersfield.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTOPHER DIUTI, RECANTED TESTIMONY: Eventually, I just told them what they were repeated to me. I started singing it back to them. The same things they said to me, I said right back to them. And then they had me say them again up on the stand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OSIAS: This cases raises of course, the psychological issue, the construct of false memories. That is essentially the idea that adults in a position of power can cue a minor to remember something in the way that they want that remembered.
Defense attorneys and prosecution are expected to give closing arguments within the next hour. The defense attorneys are also expected to ask the judge to release John Stoll on his own recognizance, or on bail, until the judge makes a ruling -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Kimberly Osias. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
Some legal briefs making headlines now.
Members of Clergy Now face criminal charges in the same sex marriage disputes. The Associated Press is reporting two ministers in New York are charged with solemnizing marriages without a license. Unitarian ministers Fay Greenleaf and Dawn Sangrey face the same charges as New Paltz mayor Jason West. The pair performed several gay weddings last week.
Testimony resumes in the Jayson Williams murder trial. Harlem Globetrotter Paul Gaffney told the court he witnessed the shotgun blast that killed a limo driver. Williams, a retired NBA star, says shooting was an accident.
Live pictures now coming to us from Portland, Oregon. And this from our affiliate, KOYM. What you're looking at there is a four alarm industrial fine the southeast portion of Portland, Oregon, firefighters battling that blaze, obviously.
Began about 8 a.m. local time -- that would be 11 a.m. Eastern -- at a place called Thermo-Fluids on 101st Avenue in Portland, for those of you familiar with that city.
Thick black smoke billowing out of it. Firefighters on the scene. There are reports that there are oil drums and propane inside which obviously would fuel that blaze. We have no reports of any injuries, however.
We're watching it for you. Once again, four-alarm blaze, firefighters on the scene there in Portland, Oregon. We're watching it.
The American dream of owning a home. President Bush takes a vow for helping make it happen for a record number of Americans. The president is campaigning in Pennsylvania on one bright spot in the economy.
More than 68 percent of Americans are now homeowners. The president says it's all part of his concept of an ownership society. The idea is putting people in charge of their homes, healthcare and retirement.
Today's campaign stops include a visit with a new homeowner and a tour of a new housing development.
The Kerry campaign is not impressed with the home sales numbers. A campaign spokesman said sales may be up, but so are foreclosures and bankruptcies.
Meanwhile the Democratic candidate spoke before a firefighters group in Washington. The Massachusetts senator is pledging to hire 100,000 new firefighters if he makes it to the White House.
Kerry meets with Democratic rival Al Sharpton today in Washington. Kerry has held similar meetings with former Democratic opponents Howard Dean and John Edwards.
Unlike those, Sharpton is still officially in the race. He said he will back Kerry once he claims the nomination.
U.S. forces in Afghanistan have stepped up their offensive against enemy fighters and the No. 1 terrorist, Osama bin Laden. This weekend, the operation turned deadly.
CNN's Ryan Chilcote joins us by videophone from Kabul with the latest.
Hello, Ryan.
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Miles.
Well, a lot of people in the military here in Afghanistan are calling this the forgotten war. They say it's been overshadowed by all the media coverage in Iraq.
But there are 11,500 U.S. service people here, an additional 2,000 from other countries, fighting Taliban and al Qaeda, still in Afghanistan.
And proof of that this weekend, the military is saying they launched a new offensive. They're calling it Operation Mountain Storm. Really an evolution, they say, and perhaps a bit of an intensification of the ongoing operations they've had here to hunt down al Qaeda and Taliban.
Now, the U.S. military saying it killed three people over the weekend, three Taliban fighters, in an air assault. They say they swept in next to a cave and killed three Taliban inside. And over the weekend, detained 13 at an air base just north of Kabul, north of the capitol here in Afghanistan.
Two U.S. airmen were wounded by a mine, the U.S. military saying that those mines were left over from previous wars in Afghanistan.
Now, there is really perhaps an important thing going on here right now in terms of timing, Miles. There's two things, really, to look at.
One is that it is spring now in Afghanistan and that snow in the mountain passes between Afghanistan and Pakistan is beginning to melt. And what the U.S. Military hopes to see, it hopes to see some of the Taliban and al Qaeda that they believe is up there, come out of the cave, come out of the homes and perhaps start to fight.
It is also saying that it is quite happy with what it is seeing in western Pakistan. The Pakistani military putting on a lot of pressure on the tribal people in western Pakistan that are right along that border to either give up any al Qaeda militants there or at least push them out.
The U.S. military hoping that they will get pushed out to the west.
We actually have some amazing video. It's very rare that you get to see pictures from this very remote part of western Pakistan. These are pictures of tribal leaders that say that they are ready to volunteer to hunt down al Qaeda and Taliban in western Pakistan, including, of course, many people say, perhaps even Osama bin Laden, if he is there. Now, the U.S. military saying they hope that will happen. And they are patrolling in an intensified way on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Ryan Chilcote in Kabul, Afghanistan. Thank you very much.
News around the world now.
Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is ruling out peace negotiations with the Palestinians. Ruling them out. This comes a day after a pair of suicide bombers killed ten people and wounded 20 in Israel's port city of Ashdod.
A promise for change in Russia. President Vladimir Putin vowing to bring more stability and order to the country after winning a second term in office. Mr. Putin wrapped up at least 70 percent of the vote in Sunday's election.
It's the most distant object in the solar system, but what exactly is it? We'll take a closer look at the latest object of NASA's affection. We'll just call her Sedna for now.
Also speaking of rock, Prince is finally getting a new throne. We'll have that story just ahead.
And get ready to dig a little deeper the next time you head to the gas station. We know you don't want to hear this. This is take your medicine news. But we'll give you the latest on rising prices at the pump.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Well, it appears, at least if you ask some people, you might have to change the mneumonic, My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizza -- Slices? Because there's an "S" now, potentially.
Meet Sedna, what some are calling maybe the tenth planet? That's a stretch, but let's introduce you to Sedna nevertheless.
This is an image which comes from the Spitzer Space Telescope. It's NASA's orbiting infrared observatory.
And no, NASA did not discover a giant arrow in the cosmos. That arrow is pointing to a red planetoid called Sedna, which may in fact have a moon.
Sedna is about eight billion miles away from us, and is a very, very cold place indeed: 400 degrees below zero for the past four and a half billion years.
And is among the most primordial objects in our solar system. This is in a place that you all know, of course, as the oort cloud. This is where all the comets come from. It's kind of the leftover stuff from the big bang, the ice and the rocks and the stuff, the detritus from the big bang.
In any case, this is about the biggest object in there, but they believe that there are many objects of this ilk, of this size, even though it is only a fraction of the size of the ninth planet, even though that's debatable by some, Pluto.
Look how much farther away it is, though. It's three times farther away from the sun than is Pluto from us. It's a long way away.
Nevertheless, through the magic of technology. And check out this little -- well, I guess you would call it a family portrait. And we'll go through it again.
My very educated -- is that the moon? Yes, that's Mars -- mother just served us nine -- and then you can't see Pluto -- pizzas. That's how you remember it: Mars, right? Venus, Earth -- excuse me, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and now, Sedna.
I started off with Mars. I can't believe that.
All right. Let's move on to more earthly matters. Shall we?
Following her federal felony conviction, Martha Stewart is resigning from her board of her media empire. Details on this developing story now from CNN's Allan Chernoff, who's an New York.
Hello, Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles.
And we understand that the decision from Martha Stewart to actually leave the board of directors of her own company was made a week ago at a board meeting.
The big issue: what role, if any was Martha Stewart going to continue to have at her own company. Now, that's been resolved, the company saying that not only will Stewart resign from the board of director, she will also give up her title as chief creative officer.
She'll take on a new role, which is founding editorial director. What exactly does that mean?
The company is saying that Martha Stewart will write two books that had already been in the works, home keeping and baking. She also will, the company says, take on assignments editorial, magazine writing perhaps and also television assignments.
In addition, the company is saying she'll provide input on Martha Stewart strategy and also help build public profiles for experts at Martha Stewart. Martha Stewart did put out a quick statement herself, saying, quote, "I think it is the right thing to do. I am heartsick about my personal legal situation and deeply sorry for the pain and difficulties it has caused our employees."
Miles, as you know, Ms. Stewart is scheduled to be sentenced on June 17, and legal experts do expect that she will get a term, a jail term of between ten months and 18 months for being convicted to four felonies -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right. CNN's Allan Chernoff in New York. Thank you very much.
(STOCK REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE, MUSICIAN: Can I get some dancers on stage? Can I get some dancers on stage?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: All right. The artist currently known as Prince, along with some of the greatest musicians, will be honored with an award of a lifetime tonight.
Several artists are being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Along with Prince, who is planning to give a live performance, the inductees include, Jackson Browne, the Dells, George Harrison, Bob Seger, Traffic, and ZZ Top. How's that for an illustrious group of rock 'n' rollers?
(STOCK REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Easing transit concerns on the subways. Coming next in our second hour of LIVE FROM, the latest on the Spain terror investigation and Spain's elections. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Terror and politics. Spanish elections cost the U.S. an ally in Iraq. Will the war on terror loom even larger now in American elections?
Convicted but still creative? Martha Stewart redefining her role in the company she founded.
And breaking the ice. A rare glacial crumble, caught on tape. It is our picture of the day.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Molestation; Operation Mountain Storm Concentrates on Afghanistan Border; Scientists Discover What Could be a Tenth Planet; Martha Stewart Resigns from Her Company's Board>
