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Jordan Claims Terror Attack Foiled; Fighting Continues in Fallujah; Michael Jackson Shuffles Defense Team

Aired April 26, 2004 - 14:00   ET

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

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


(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Azme told me that this would be the first chemical suicide attack that al Qaeda would execute.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A CNN exclusive, alleged terrorists confess their plot to interviewers, but are they telling the whole truth?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And fierce fighting in Iraq. U.S. Marines respond with firepower in Fallujah.

PHILLIPS: Retracing the last steps of Princess Di, investigators return to the scene of her death.

O'BRIEN: Rip current warning, why you should pay attention to one of the biggest hazards to your vacation.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien.

PHILLIPS: I'm Kyra Phillips. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM... starts right now.

O'BRIEN: U.S. officials say three Americans have died today in violence in Iraq. Two killed when a building went up in a massive explosion during an Army raid in Baghdad. The Army says the raid was aimed at a chemist suspected of arming insurgents with some sort of chemical munitions. After the explosion, which also wounded five American troops, Iraqi youth danced on Humvees wrecked by that blast and stole some equipment.

In Najaf, several hundred Americans moved into forward positions today within eyesight of the city's sacred mosques. Najaf is the city south of Baghdad where a Shiite cleric wanted for murder is entrenched with his private militia. U.S. officials say the heavily armed insurgents are using Muslim shrines for cover which, of course, would complicate a move to recapture that city.

Meantime today, a Marine was killed in Fallujah in a furious battle with the Sunni insurgency there. Pool reporter Karl Penhaul was in the thick of the fighting. He filed this report when it was finally over.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KARL PENHAUL, POOL REPORTER: Early in the morning a platoon of U.S. Marines, and the U.S. networks pool was accompanying them on this mission, moved forward about 200 yards deeper in to the city of Fallujah. They crossed across the cemetery that you may be able to see behind me, about 200 yards across there, they crossed under cover of darkness and occupied two buildings on the other side.

The aim of that was to set up a position that's deeper inside Fallujah and also to overlook suspected insurgent positions. The situation there remained calm. Only sporadic gunfire in the course of four or five hours. And then in the words of one Marine, all hell broke loose.

Insurgent gunmen appeared to have amassed those two buildings and opened fire on the Marine platoon with rockets, with mortars and with automatic weapons fire. Some of those rockets came in the window, mortar rounds were exploding all around that building. And for the space of about an hour, an hour-and-a-half, the Marines held on in those buildings, fighting back and firing back.

Two U.S. Army tanks were called in. They drew up to positions behind the buildings and exchanged gunfire with the insurgents. Cobra attack helicopters were also called in. At that point, the platoon commander issued the order for his Marines to pull out and they did so. But at that stage already four Marines were seriously wounded according to Captain Douglas Zembiec, commander of the company. Six other Marines had received superficial shrapnel wounds according to the captain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: That report from pool reporter Karl Penhaul. A commander at the scene said the Marines in the fight were heavily outnumbered and had to fight like lions to get out alive.

PHILLIPS: The government of Jordan believes it's foiled a major al Qaeda plot to strike the U.S. embassy, the prime minister's office and other sensitive targets in Amman. Now an extraordinary taped confessions made available to CNN by the Jordanian government, the alleged al Qaeda operatives describe how their terror plot was to work and talk about its alleged mastermind.

Here is the exclusive report from CNN's John Vause.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jordanian special forces raiding an apartment house in Amman in the hunt for an al Qaeda cell. Some of the suspects are killed, others arrested, ending what Jordanian intelligence says was a bold plan to use chemical weapons and truck bombs in their capital; targets including Jordanian intelligence headquarters, the prime minister's office and the U.S. embassy. The Jordanian government fears the death toll could have run into the thousands, more deadly even than 9/11.

For the first time the alleged plotters were interviewed on videotape, aired on Jordanian TV. CNN obtained copies of the tapes from the Jordanians. This man revealing his orders came from a man named Azme Jayoussi, the cell's alleged ringleader.

HUSSEIN SHARIF (through translator): The aim of this operation was to strike Jordan and the Hashemite royal family, a war against the crusaders and infidels. Azme told me that this would be the first chemical suicide attack that al Qaeda would execute.

VAUSE: Also appearing on the tape, Azme Jayoussi, who says his orders came from this man, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the same man the U.S. says is behind many of the violent attacks in Iraq.

AZME JAYOUSSI, ACCUSED PLOTTER (through translator): I took advanced explosives course, poisons, high level, then I pledged allegiance to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, to obey him without any questioning, to be on his side. After this Afghanistan fell. I met Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq.

VAUSE: Al Jayoussi was only shown in profile. He had marks on his hand, neck and face. The Jordanians who taped the confessions say the suspect suffered the injuries during the arrest. CNN was not allowed access to any of those arrested. The Jordanian government says this plot is only the latest attempt by al Qaeda to destabilize this country.

ASMA KHADER, JORDANIAN MINISTER OF STATE: Jordan was fighting this type of plans years now, and the security forces were able to confront them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: That was our John Vause in Amman. Now here is CNN national security correspondent David Ensor in Washington.

What's the reaction from U.S. officials -- David.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, U.S. officials are saying that the capture of this group with this massive -- with these tons of chemicals is clearly a big deal. But there is disagreement among U.S. officials over whether the chemicals really were intended to create chemical weapons, a toxic cloud kind of a weapon, or whether they were intended simply to create large conventional explosives.

At issue is the large quantity that was captured along with these men of sulfuric acid. Now U.S. scientists say that sulfuric acid can be used as a blister agent, but it is more commonly used, and in these quantities more commonly expected to have been used, to increase the size of a conventional explosion.

So there is this debate within the U.S. intelligence community over whether these men really did plan a chemical weapons sort of crime spree or whether they were simply trying to have very large explosions take place at the U.S. embassy and the other sites that you mentioned in Amman -- Kyra. PHILLIPS: Well, you listen to these confessions, David, and I have to ask you in any way do these confessions or maybe things that came from these individuals that were not on tape, is it helping U.S. intel agencies at all, other leads?

ENSOR: Well, I can tell that you the U.S. intelligence community is following this case very closely and with a great deal of interest. They have their own scientists going over the chemicals. The operations people are very interested in the interrogation information from the Jordanians. And this is a country which has pretty good cooperation with the United States. So you can expect that the information that the Jordanians have will probably, just about all of it, be reaching the United States.

That said, this is a Jordanian case, a Jordanian breakthrough. U.S. officials are simply watching and following very closely. They feel it is a major win for the anti-terrorist side, but they're not breathing easy yet. They say that Zarqawi is -- and his group, which they believe this is part of, are capable of all sorts of things and there may be additional plots that are still out there -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: National security correspondent, David Ensor, thanks.

And you can tune in tonight for more exclusive details from John Vause and new pictures on "NEWSNIGHT WITH AARON BROWN." That's 10 p.m. Eastern, 7 Pacific right here on CNN.

O'BRIEN: French investigators and London's police chief retrace the last steps of Princess Diana. We'll show you what they hope to find out just ahead.

ADRIAN BASCHUK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Kobe Bryant is back in court facing rape charges. I'm Adrian Baschuk live in Eagle, Colorado. Find out next why the judge has issued a new hearing to take place on a controversial topic.

O'BRIEN: And marketing food for what's not in it. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the skinny on counting your carbs a little later on LIVE FROM...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: News across America now. Flooding in parts of Arkansas and Oklahoma this weekend put homes under water. It's also been fatal. Swollen creek waters killed two campers in Oklahoma. In Arkansas, the search continues today for a two-year-old boy swept away by floodwaters. His sister was killed in that incident.

The piano man bangs a sour cord on a Long Island road. Singer Billy Joel lost control of his car on a rain-slicked street. He hit a house yesterday. Police say there was no evidence of alcohol or drug involvement. It was Joel's third car accident in two years. No one was seriously hurt.

Kobe Bryant goes from the basketball court to the court of law only hours after playing in the NBA playoffs. Bryant returns to a Colorado courtroom in his sexual assault case. With more on the Bryant case, CNN's Adrian Baschuk joins us now live from Eagle, Colorado.

Hello, Adrian.

BASCHUK: Miles, good afternoon. Today is the eighth scheduled -- and this is key, scheduled round of motion hearings in this case so far. The accuser's family claims that days like this takes a heavy emotional toll on the accuser. The defense claims that days like this takes a heavy professional toll on Kobe Bryant. Luckily for the both of them, these hearings are conducted behind closed doors so we won't find out for one, two, maybe even three weeks what the judge rules on these pivotal matters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASCHUK (voice-over): Kobe Bryant is back in court just hours after his Lakers beat the Rockets in an overtime playoff victory. Today his defense team looks for a legal victory after Judge Terry Ruckriegle ruled last week that the accuser's medical records will remain sealed and confidential.

Still the defense will be able to call witnesses to testify about her medical and psychological condition.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The real battle is are the suicide attempts going to be admissible? They're closely related in time and they show a state of mind -- a disturbed state of mind.

BASCHUK: Today's closed door pretrial hearings will determine what portions of the accuser's sexual past will be admitted into trial as evidence, a defense challenge to the state's rape shield law.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the prosecution loses the rape shield hearing, or the motion to suppress, expect an appeal which will further delay things in this case.

BASCHUK: The accuser's mother has written the judge a letter pleading for a speedy trial because she says hundreds of death threats have been made against her daughter's life. She spoke out at a National Victims Rights Week rally in Denver last week.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to thank my daughter for teaching me about courage. I'm proud to be her mom.

BASCHUK: Wednesday the judge is expected to address a possible trial date. Legal experts say if motions are still being argued in May, don't look for a trial to start until August.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASCHUK: And motions certainly will continue, as I said, this was the last of the scheduled motion hearings. There is going to have to be another one. The judge ordering a hearing to be held to discuss how the accuser will be referred to in open court proceedings. The prosecution repeatedly calls her "the victim." The defense argues and has brought this debate forward, saying that he has to be called "the alleged victim." -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Adrian Baschuk, thanks very much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Whether or not she gets prison time, Martha Stewart knows what she'll be doing at least until the year 2009.

And legal maneuvers, Michael Jackson has got a new lawyer, how will that affect his strategy to fight molestation charges?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sweet, luxurious, with lots of gadgets. But is this car a Skoda?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: News around the world now. Retracing Princess Diana's final steps. Britain's most senior police officer, Sir John Stevens, was in Paris today to follow the route that she took the night she was killed in that car crash back in 1997. Britain's royal coroner has ordered an investigation into allegations that the princess was murdered.

For the first time in more than 50 years the British could be forced to carry ID papers. Proposed cards include fingerprints, facial dimensions and iris images. Pilot trials with 10,000 volunteers began across the country today. The cards aren't expected to be required until 2013. The government says they will help crack down on terrorism, identity theft and legal (sic) immigration.

(MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: She had a sense of style, uncanny business savvy and a passion for glamour. Cosmetics icon Estee Lauder died Saturday in her New York home. CNN's Ali Velshi looks at how Lauder used a family recipe to revolutionize the beauty industry.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALI VELSHI, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Estee Lauder started selling skin care products that her Hungarian uncle cooked up on a stove. And by the late 1940s, Estee Lauder Inc. was born. In the early days she traveled the country selling her wares in upscale department stores like Neiman-Marcus. Today Estee Lauder products are sold in 130 countries to the tune of more than $5 billion.

Lauder introduced her first fragrance in 1953. Back then European-style skin repair creams were fashionable. Lauder's version was Re-nutriv. It sold for $115 per pound in 1960. The '60s saw her tackle the men's fragrance market with the introduction of Aramis. By 1968 she ventured into hypoallergenic skin care with the launch of Clinique.

In 1972, she stepped out of the president's job, which went to her son Leonard. But she stayed on as CEO. And by 1988, the company controlled a third of the prestige cosmetics market in the United States. Over the next decade Lauder unveiled the botanical cosmetic line Origins, bought the makeup company Mac, even Bobbi Brown's Essential Cosmetic line.

Like many powerful women, Estee Lauder was criticized by some. In a 1985 unauthorized biography, author Lee Israel criticized Lauder for her cutthroat business methods and ruthless social climbing.

(on camera): Macy's is one of those places that you can buy Estee Lauder products, 90 percent of Estee Lauder is still controlled by the company. Son Leonard is the chairman. Later this year, grandson William assumes the role of CEO. And while Estee Lauder herself hasn't had an official title in the company for some years, the empire she built more than 60 years ago is today stronger than ever.

Ali Velshi, CNN Financial News, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back to the CNN Center in Atlanta. This is LIVE FROMM..., and I'm Miles O'Brien.

PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. Here is what is all new this half hour.

Dancing defense teams, Michael Jackson hires a new lawyer. Will this one be able to keep him from dancing on the cars and get him to court on time?

O'BRIEN: Looks like he wants somebody taller.

And rip currents, they're cause for most rushes to the rescue off of the Florida coast. What you need to watch for.

But first, the top stories we're following right now.

PHILLIPS: The U.S. is offering aid to North Korea following that fatal train explosion. Secretary of State Colin Powell calls the blast a humanitarian tragedy. He says the U.S. is working with the U.N. to give financial assistance to North Korea.

Cadets, the Constitution and the court, the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeals case involving prayer and the Virginia Military Institute. An appeals court ruled earlier that reading prayer before supper at VMI violates the separation of church and state in the Constitution.

The largest wildfire in Southern California this year is dying down. Firefighters have the 2300-acre blaze about 90 percent contained. That fire had threatened some 400 homes near San Diego County and has destroyed two mobile homes. An overheated motor home started that blaze yesterday.

O'BRIEN: Michael Jackson plays musical chairs with his defense team in his child molestation case. Mark Geragos, Benjamin Brafman are out. High profile attorney Thomas Mesereau is in. CNN's Ted Rowlands remains on the case. He joins us now from Los Angeles.

Hello, Ted.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles. And the reason that Brafman and Geragos are out, well, that depends on who you talk to. We're getting different theories from different sides and different stories from the attorneys and from Jackson himself.

It is expected that the judge in this case in Santa Barbara County will be officially notified of this change at some point today via conference call. And then it will be solidified later this week, probably Friday.

The change was made over the weekend. The two lawyers claim that they stepped down because of complicated legal issues that have come up in recent weeks. Jackson, in a statement released this morning, however, says that he fired the two and seems to indicate that he was unhappy with the amount of attention that the two lawyers were giving him.

Jackson says: "It imperative that I have the full attention of those who are representing me. My life is at stake. Therefore, I must feel confident that my interests are of the highest priority. "

Los Angeles-based attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. has been added to the Jackson legal defense team. Mesereau Jr. represented Robert Blake in his murder trial until recently. Those two parted company, citing irreconcilable differences, which has opened up Mesereau to represent Jackson.

Mesereau had no comment last night when he arrived back here in Los Angeles after a weekend of visiting Michael Jackson and his family in Orlando, Florida. Mesereau says he'll be with Jackson on Friday for an arraignment following the grand jury indictments which were handed down under seal last week.

Friday's court appearance is expected to be another spectacle. Jackson supporters are being urged to go to Santa Barbara County and Santa Maria to represent themselves and support Michael Jackson. In fact, Michael Jackson's Web site, again today they are offering free bus rides that wants to go from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara County to support Michael Jackson -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Ted Rowlands, in Los Angeles, thank you very much.

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


Aired April 26, 2004 - 14:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Azme told me that this would be the first chemical suicide attack that al Qaeda would execute.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A CNN exclusive, alleged terrorists confess their plot to interviewers, but are they telling the whole truth?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And fierce fighting in Iraq. U.S. Marines respond with firepower in Fallujah.

PHILLIPS: Retracing the last steps of Princess Di, investigators return to the scene of her death.

O'BRIEN: Rip current warning, why you should pay attention to one of the biggest hazards to your vacation.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien.

PHILLIPS: I'm Kyra Phillips. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM... starts right now.

O'BRIEN: U.S. officials say three Americans have died today in violence in Iraq. Two killed when a building went up in a massive explosion during an Army raid in Baghdad. The Army says the raid was aimed at a chemist suspected of arming insurgents with some sort of chemical munitions. After the explosion, which also wounded five American troops, Iraqi youth danced on Humvees wrecked by that blast and stole some equipment.

In Najaf, several hundred Americans moved into forward positions today within eyesight of the city's sacred mosques. Najaf is the city south of Baghdad where a Shiite cleric wanted for murder is entrenched with his private militia. U.S. officials say the heavily armed insurgents are using Muslim shrines for cover which, of course, would complicate a move to recapture that city.

Meantime today, a Marine was killed in Fallujah in a furious battle with the Sunni insurgency there. Pool reporter Karl Penhaul was in the thick of the fighting. He filed this report when it was finally over.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KARL PENHAUL, POOL REPORTER: Early in the morning a platoon of U.S. Marines, and the U.S. networks pool was accompanying them on this mission, moved forward about 200 yards deeper in to the city of Fallujah. They crossed across the cemetery that you may be able to see behind me, about 200 yards across there, they crossed under cover of darkness and occupied two buildings on the other side.

The aim of that was to set up a position that's deeper inside Fallujah and also to overlook suspected insurgent positions. The situation there remained calm. Only sporadic gunfire in the course of four or five hours. And then in the words of one Marine, all hell broke loose.

Insurgent gunmen appeared to have amassed those two buildings and opened fire on the Marine platoon with rockets, with mortars and with automatic weapons fire. Some of those rockets came in the window, mortar rounds were exploding all around that building. And for the space of about an hour, an hour-and-a-half, the Marines held on in those buildings, fighting back and firing back.

Two U.S. Army tanks were called in. They drew up to positions behind the buildings and exchanged gunfire with the insurgents. Cobra attack helicopters were also called in. At that point, the platoon commander issued the order for his Marines to pull out and they did so. But at that stage already four Marines were seriously wounded according to Captain Douglas Zembiec, commander of the company. Six other Marines had received superficial shrapnel wounds according to the captain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: That report from pool reporter Karl Penhaul. A commander at the scene said the Marines in the fight were heavily outnumbered and had to fight like lions to get out alive.

PHILLIPS: The government of Jordan believes it's foiled a major al Qaeda plot to strike the U.S. embassy, the prime minister's office and other sensitive targets in Amman. Now an extraordinary taped confessions made available to CNN by the Jordanian government, the alleged al Qaeda operatives describe how their terror plot was to work and talk about its alleged mastermind.

Here is the exclusive report from CNN's John Vause.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jordanian special forces raiding an apartment house in Amman in the hunt for an al Qaeda cell. Some of the suspects are killed, others arrested, ending what Jordanian intelligence says was a bold plan to use chemical weapons and truck bombs in their capital; targets including Jordanian intelligence headquarters, the prime minister's office and the U.S. embassy. The Jordanian government fears the death toll could have run into the thousands, more deadly even than 9/11.

For the first time the alleged plotters were interviewed on videotape, aired on Jordanian TV. CNN obtained copies of the tapes from the Jordanians. This man revealing his orders came from a man named Azme Jayoussi, the cell's alleged ringleader.

HUSSEIN SHARIF (through translator): The aim of this operation was to strike Jordan and the Hashemite royal family, a war against the crusaders and infidels. Azme told me that this would be the first chemical suicide attack that al Qaeda would execute.

VAUSE: Also appearing on the tape, Azme Jayoussi, who says his orders came from this man, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the same man the U.S. says is behind many of the violent attacks in Iraq.

AZME JAYOUSSI, ACCUSED PLOTTER (through translator): I took advanced explosives course, poisons, high level, then I pledged allegiance to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, to obey him without any questioning, to be on his side. After this Afghanistan fell. I met Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq.

VAUSE: Al Jayoussi was only shown in profile. He had marks on his hand, neck and face. The Jordanians who taped the confessions say the suspect suffered the injuries during the arrest. CNN was not allowed access to any of those arrested. The Jordanian government says this plot is only the latest attempt by al Qaeda to destabilize this country.

ASMA KHADER, JORDANIAN MINISTER OF STATE: Jordan was fighting this type of plans years now, and the security forces were able to confront them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: That was our John Vause in Amman. Now here is CNN national security correspondent David Ensor in Washington.

What's the reaction from U.S. officials -- David.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, U.S. officials are saying that the capture of this group with this massive -- with these tons of chemicals is clearly a big deal. But there is disagreement among U.S. officials over whether the chemicals really were intended to create chemical weapons, a toxic cloud kind of a weapon, or whether they were intended simply to create large conventional explosives.

At issue is the large quantity that was captured along with these men of sulfuric acid. Now U.S. scientists say that sulfuric acid can be used as a blister agent, but it is more commonly used, and in these quantities more commonly expected to have been used, to increase the size of a conventional explosion.

So there is this debate within the U.S. intelligence community over whether these men really did plan a chemical weapons sort of crime spree or whether they were simply trying to have very large explosions take place at the U.S. embassy and the other sites that you mentioned in Amman -- Kyra. PHILLIPS: Well, you listen to these confessions, David, and I have to ask you in any way do these confessions or maybe things that came from these individuals that were not on tape, is it helping U.S. intel agencies at all, other leads?

ENSOR: Well, I can tell that you the U.S. intelligence community is following this case very closely and with a great deal of interest. They have their own scientists going over the chemicals. The operations people are very interested in the interrogation information from the Jordanians. And this is a country which has pretty good cooperation with the United States. So you can expect that the information that the Jordanians have will probably, just about all of it, be reaching the United States.

That said, this is a Jordanian case, a Jordanian breakthrough. U.S. officials are simply watching and following very closely. They feel it is a major win for the anti-terrorist side, but they're not breathing easy yet. They say that Zarqawi is -- and his group, which they believe this is part of, are capable of all sorts of things and there may be additional plots that are still out there -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: National security correspondent, David Ensor, thanks.

And you can tune in tonight for more exclusive details from John Vause and new pictures on "NEWSNIGHT WITH AARON BROWN." That's 10 p.m. Eastern, 7 Pacific right here on CNN.

O'BRIEN: French investigators and London's police chief retrace the last steps of Princess Diana. We'll show you what they hope to find out just ahead.

ADRIAN BASCHUK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Kobe Bryant is back in court facing rape charges. I'm Adrian Baschuk live in Eagle, Colorado. Find out next why the judge has issued a new hearing to take place on a controversial topic.

O'BRIEN: And marketing food for what's not in it. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the skinny on counting your carbs a little later on LIVE FROM...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: News across America now. Flooding in parts of Arkansas and Oklahoma this weekend put homes under water. It's also been fatal. Swollen creek waters killed two campers in Oklahoma. In Arkansas, the search continues today for a two-year-old boy swept away by floodwaters. His sister was killed in that incident.

The piano man bangs a sour cord on a Long Island road. Singer Billy Joel lost control of his car on a rain-slicked street. He hit a house yesterday. Police say there was no evidence of alcohol or drug involvement. It was Joel's third car accident in two years. No one was seriously hurt.

Kobe Bryant goes from the basketball court to the court of law only hours after playing in the NBA playoffs. Bryant returns to a Colorado courtroom in his sexual assault case. With more on the Bryant case, CNN's Adrian Baschuk joins us now live from Eagle, Colorado.

Hello, Adrian.

BASCHUK: Miles, good afternoon. Today is the eighth scheduled -- and this is key, scheduled round of motion hearings in this case so far. The accuser's family claims that days like this takes a heavy emotional toll on the accuser. The defense claims that days like this takes a heavy professional toll on Kobe Bryant. Luckily for the both of them, these hearings are conducted behind closed doors so we won't find out for one, two, maybe even three weeks what the judge rules on these pivotal matters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASCHUK (voice-over): Kobe Bryant is back in court just hours after his Lakers beat the Rockets in an overtime playoff victory. Today his defense team looks for a legal victory after Judge Terry Ruckriegle ruled last week that the accuser's medical records will remain sealed and confidential.

Still the defense will be able to call witnesses to testify about her medical and psychological condition.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The real battle is are the suicide attempts going to be admissible? They're closely related in time and they show a state of mind -- a disturbed state of mind.

BASCHUK: Today's closed door pretrial hearings will determine what portions of the accuser's sexual past will be admitted into trial as evidence, a defense challenge to the state's rape shield law.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the prosecution loses the rape shield hearing, or the motion to suppress, expect an appeal which will further delay things in this case.

BASCHUK: The accuser's mother has written the judge a letter pleading for a speedy trial because she says hundreds of death threats have been made against her daughter's life. She spoke out at a National Victims Rights Week rally in Denver last week.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to thank my daughter for teaching me about courage. I'm proud to be her mom.

BASCHUK: Wednesday the judge is expected to address a possible trial date. Legal experts say if motions are still being argued in May, don't look for a trial to start until August.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASCHUK: And motions certainly will continue, as I said, this was the last of the scheduled motion hearings. There is going to have to be another one. The judge ordering a hearing to be held to discuss how the accuser will be referred to in open court proceedings. The prosecution repeatedly calls her "the victim." The defense argues and has brought this debate forward, saying that he has to be called "the alleged victim." -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Adrian Baschuk, thanks very much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Whether or not she gets prison time, Martha Stewart knows what she'll be doing at least until the year 2009.

And legal maneuvers, Michael Jackson has got a new lawyer, how will that affect his strategy to fight molestation charges?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sweet, luxurious, with lots of gadgets. But is this car a Skoda?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: News around the world now. Retracing Princess Diana's final steps. Britain's most senior police officer, Sir John Stevens, was in Paris today to follow the route that she took the night she was killed in that car crash back in 1997. Britain's royal coroner has ordered an investigation into allegations that the princess was murdered.

For the first time in more than 50 years the British could be forced to carry ID papers. Proposed cards include fingerprints, facial dimensions and iris images. Pilot trials with 10,000 volunteers began across the country today. The cards aren't expected to be required until 2013. The government says they will help crack down on terrorism, identity theft and legal (sic) immigration.

(MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: She had a sense of style, uncanny business savvy and a passion for glamour. Cosmetics icon Estee Lauder died Saturday in her New York home. CNN's Ali Velshi looks at how Lauder used a family recipe to revolutionize the beauty industry.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALI VELSHI, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Estee Lauder started selling skin care products that her Hungarian uncle cooked up on a stove. And by the late 1940s, Estee Lauder Inc. was born. In the early days she traveled the country selling her wares in upscale department stores like Neiman-Marcus. Today Estee Lauder products are sold in 130 countries to the tune of more than $5 billion.

Lauder introduced her first fragrance in 1953. Back then European-style skin repair creams were fashionable. Lauder's version was Re-nutriv. It sold for $115 per pound in 1960. The '60s saw her tackle the men's fragrance market with the introduction of Aramis. By 1968 she ventured into hypoallergenic skin care with the launch of Clinique.

In 1972, she stepped out of the president's job, which went to her son Leonard. But she stayed on as CEO. And by 1988, the company controlled a third of the prestige cosmetics market in the United States. Over the next decade Lauder unveiled the botanical cosmetic line Origins, bought the makeup company Mac, even Bobbi Brown's Essential Cosmetic line.

Like many powerful women, Estee Lauder was criticized by some. In a 1985 unauthorized biography, author Lee Israel criticized Lauder for her cutthroat business methods and ruthless social climbing.

(on camera): Macy's is one of those places that you can buy Estee Lauder products, 90 percent of Estee Lauder is still controlled by the company. Son Leonard is the chairman. Later this year, grandson William assumes the role of CEO. And while Estee Lauder herself hasn't had an official title in the company for some years, the empire she built more than 60 years ago is today stronger than ever.

Ali Velshi, CNN Financial News, New York.

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O'BRIEN: Welcome back to the CNN Center in Atlanta. This is LIVE FROMM..., and I'm Miles O'Brien.

PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. Here is what is all new this half hour.

Dancing defense teams, Michael Jackson hires a new lawyer. Will this one be able to keep him from dancing on the cars and get him to court on time?

O'BRIEN: Looks like he wants somebody taller.

And rip currents, they're cause for most rushes to the rescue off of the Florida coast. What you need to watch for.

But first, the top stories we're following right now.

PHILLIPS: The U.S. is offering aid to North Korea following that fatal train explosion. Secretary of State Colin Powell calls the blast a humanitarian tragedy. He says the U.S. is working with the U.N. to give financial assistance to North Korea.

Cadets, the Constitution and the court, the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeals case involving prayer and the Virginia Military Institute. An appeals court ruled earlier that reading prayer before supper at VMI violates the separation of church and state in the Constitution.

The largest wildfire in Southern California this year is dying down. Firefighters have the 2300-acre blaze about 90 percent contained. That fire had threatened some 400 homes near San Diego County and has destroyed two mobile homes. An overheated motor home started that blaze yesterday.

O'BRIEN: Michael Jackson plays musical chairs with his defense team in his child molestation case. Mark Geragos, Benjamin Brafman are out. High profile attorney Thomas Mesereau is in. CNN's Ted Rowlands remains on the case. He joins us now from Los Angeles.

Hello, Ted.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles. And the reason that Brafman and Geragos are out, well, that depends on who you talk to. We're getting different theories from different sides and different stories from the attorneys and from Jackson himself.

It is expected that the judge in this case in Santa Barbara County will be officially notified of this change at some point today via conference call. And then it will be solidified later this week, probably Friday.

The change was made over the weekend. The two lawyers claim that they stepped down because of complicated legal issues that have come up in recent weeks. Jackson, in a statement released this morning, however, says that he fired the two and seems to indicate that he was unhappy with the amount of attention that the two lawyers were giving him.

Jackson says: "It imperative that I have the full attention of those who are representing me. My life is at stake. Therefore, I must feel confident that my interests are of the highest priority. "

Los Angeles-based attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. has been added to the Jackson legal defense team. Mesereau Jr. represented Robert Blake in his murder trial until recently. Those two parted company, citing irreconcilable differences, which has opened up Mesereau to represent Jackson.

Mesereau had no comment last night when he arrived back here in Los Angeles after a weekend of visiting Michael Jackson and his family in Orlando, Florida. Mesereau says he'll be with Jackson on Friday for an arraignment following the grand jury indictments which were handed down under seal last week.

Friday's court appearance is expected to be another spectacle. Jackson supporters are being urged to go to Santa Barbara County and Santa Maria to represent themselves and support Michael Jackson. In fact, Michael Jackson's Web site, again today they are offering free bus rides that wants to go from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara County to support Michael Jackson -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Ted Rowlands, in Los Angeles, thank you very much.

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