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More Police Testimony in Peterson Trial After Confrontation Erupts in Courtroom

Aired June 15, 2004 - 13:34   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.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush pledging time troops and money to make sure Afghanistan doesn't become, in his words, a terrorist factory again. Mr. Bush welcomed Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the White House today and outlined steps the U.S. is taking to help rebuild that country.
Pakistani security forces shot and killed a suspected al Qaeda member at a checkpoint near Afghanistan earlier today. Pakistan says people inside a car opened fire on the troops and they shot back. Several people were wounded. Three were arrested.

Fifteen days until the scheduled transfer of power in Iraq. Among the arrangements being ironed out right now, what happens to Saddam Hussein? The International Red Cross says Saddam must be charged or given to the Iraqis before the handover. President Bush says security issues still have to be worked out.

More police testimony in the Scott Peterson trial a day after confrontation in the courtroom. CNN's Rusty Dornin is at the courthouse in Redwood City, California with the latest -- Rusty.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, prosecutors are really trying to lay the groundwork to show that the police conducted a very thorough investigation.

Now, on the other hand, of course, defense attorney Mark Geragos is trying to show they did shoddy police work, that they didn't follow up on a lot of different clues.

Up on the stand right now is Officer John Evers. We're hearing another of a pair of officer's eyes what they saw that night Laci Peterson disappeared both at the house and in the park. Nothing new, really. Talked about how Scott told him he went fishing that day. And that he said to him when he asked him what kind of bait he was using and what kind of fish he was fishing for that he did not know.

He also however said there was no obvious evidence of a struggle in the house and that also coincides with testimony from other officers.

Of course there was fireworks in the courtroom yesterday with Mark Geragos calling for a mistrial. He claimed that two of the police officers had basically fabricated stories on the spot about Scott Peterson, throwing down a flashlight and then swearing after he had had an interview with one of the officers. The judge turned down that request.

We're expecting to hear from Officer John Evers for most of the day -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now, rusty, does Geragos have a specific target, or are we talking about the entire police department here?

DORNIN: Well I think he want to shoot holes in much of their investigation, but he is primarily talking about two lead investigators, we believe the two lead detectives in the case, he claims that outright lied. So there should be a lot of fireworks in the courtroom when those two take the stand. We're not sure if that's going to happen this week or next week.

PHILLIPS: Rusty Dornin, live from Redwood City, thanks.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: News across America now. A real-life drama plays out literally at the gates of Hollywood. Two neighbors brutally killed, an homeless man in custody. One of the victims was 91-year-old Robert Lees who penned several "Abbott and Costello" movies. The suspect was picked up outside Paramount Studios after security guards saw his picture at a police news conference. Authorities still trying to sort this one out.

And folks in Louisiana truing to figure out who will stop the rain. Incessant, heavy rains are pouring on the southeastern part of the state for the second straight day. Minor flooding as a result. People soaked and worried that the worst may be yet to come.

It's a growing faith, but it has no name. Still to come, non- traditional ways to stay rooted in spiritual ground.

And it's a big collaboration to help Americans fight fat. We'll get the skinny on who's involved.

And later, those Clinton portraits, well, they get a mixed reaction. Not unlike the Clintons. Are they an accurate depiction, we wonder? We'll take the question to the streets of New York with Jeanne Moos when LIVE FROM... rolls on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Big news at the Southern Baptist Convention, where delegates voted to split with another major Baptist group. Delegates meeting in Indiana approved a plan to break off from the World Baptists Alliance. Veteran officials say the alliance leans too far to the left politically. The Southern Baptists Convention is America's largest Protestant denomination, 16 million members. Nearly twice that number consider themselves spiritual, but not part of an organized religious group.

A look at that growing trend from CNN's Adaora Udoji in our series "Keeping The Faith."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to be talking about Zen and creativity.

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nestled among this crowd exploring the Zen of creativity is Manda Stretch on a quest to find a religion.

MANDA STRETCH, SEEKING ALTERNATIVE RELIGION: I've done a little bit of all of them and I kind of came to my own sense of my own connection to God or spirit.

UDOJI: That journey is shared by millions of Americans, including the rich and famous, some traveling on unconventional paths. Superstar Madonna, along with Britney Spears and Demi Moore have shined new light on Kabbalah, the ancient study of Jewish mysticism.

At the Laughing Lotus, they search for inner peace in yoga. Others study Wicca or witchcraft but that's ancient traditions tied to nature, not hexes.

PHYLLIS CUROTT, AUTHOR, "BOOK OF SHADOWS": We seek to learn from the earth. The earth for us is because it's the embodiment of the divine it's our spiritual teacher.

UDOJI: Surveys show Wicca is the fastest-growing alternative religion though their numbers are small, roughly 150,000 people compared to traditional truth seekers.

Nearly half the country 160 million adults identify themselves as Christians, according to a City University of New York study. Overall, 81 percent identify with a specific religion, seven million with Judaism, anywhere from one to seven million with Islam depending on the study.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Religion has remained attractive to people and has answered many of their deepest needs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I sort of think of myself as being on sort of a path or a journey.

UDOJI: It's a path conventional or not Americans are embracing, seeking the road to enlightenment.

Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: "Grooving on God, Religion and Pop Culture," the next part of our keeping faith series, debuts tonight on "ANDERSON COOPER 360" 7:00 p.m. Eastern, 4:00 Pacific.

PHILLIPS: Three major health organizations are joining forces in a new campaign to fight fat. The goal is to help Americans recognize how obesity is hazardous to your health.

Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen here with the details now in our Daily Dose of our health news.

Give it to us.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you've got these three big group, Kyra. You've got the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association and American Cancer Society, getting together in an unprecedented way to say, you know what, two out of three Americans die because of these three diseases, and it's time to do something about it.

And so what they've done is they've put together this PSA. And it's very interesting, it shows this woman who's driving. She's obviously a little scared of what's going on outside, locks her door, carries her keys like little swords there. She locks her apartment, all to protect herself from the outside, and then she goes home and eats cake and lights up a cigarette. And so the message is, protect yourself from yourself, don't worry so much about the external, protect yourself from yourself, lose weight, stop smoking, and all of the above.

And what they're trying to -- The message that they're trying to get out here, is that patients need to be proactive about their health care and ask their doctors certain questions. For example, this group says ask your doctor, am I at the right weight? How can I lose weight? And what screening tests should I have?

And they give a schedule for when people should have certain screening tests, for example. Get your blood pressure tested at least once every two years. Have your cholesterol checked every five years. And have your blood glucose checked every three years after the age of 45.

Now, you might think, why are these three groups getting together to tell Americans to ask their doctors for screening tests? Shouldn't the doctors be doing that? And part of this, Kyra, is sort of the reality in this country , that doctors don't have enough time as they used to, and doctors aren't always great about preventive care. So a big chunk of this message from these three highly respected groups is patients need to get their doctors to be more proactive about preventative care.

PHILLIPS: All right, there are so many diets out there. Do these three groups prefer one in particular?

COHEN: You know what, they're taking great pains not to prefer one over the other. They don't want to get caught in the diet wars. And so what these three groups are saying is, you know what, need to eat less and you need to move more. You simply need to burn more calories than you're actually taking in in the form of food. So it's a very simple message.

PHILLIPS: All right, well we hear that simple message all the time, right. So what is going to make this campaign work when all the other ones, or so many of them have failed?

COHEN: Right, exactly. And I asked them that. I said, you know what, everyone expects this for years and years. Why do you think you folks are going to succeed? Basically, their hope is that when Americans hear there's one set of lifestyle changes you can make to help avoid these three decisions, then Americans will sit up and pay attention. Now maybe they will, maybe they won't. That remains to be seen.

PHILLIPS: All right, Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.

COHEN: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: All right, Still to come on CNN's LIVE FROM, it's a picture worth a million words, and it's getting a mouthful of reaction. When we return, no holding back on how people really feel about the Clinton portrait.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: John Kerry trying to keep his focus on the economy as he campaigns in New Jersey and Ohio. Kerry says the Bush White House is handing tax cuts to the wealthy at the expense of the middle class. He says the administration plans budget cut in education, and veteran program. Kerry says, quote, "If you think that's compassionate conservatism, then Dick Cheney is Mr. Rogers."

There was a temporary truce in the political slug fest in Washington yesterday. President Bush praised his predecessor at the White House, unveiling of a new presidential portrait. But what does the public think about the Clinton portrait? CNN's Jeanne Moos hit the streets to find out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's bad enough having your picture taken. But having your portrait publicly unveiled?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the artist is being extraordinarily kind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bill looks about 20 years younger.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He looks a little dry. Like -- maybe he had a bad night.

MOOS: But the Clintons had a good day at the White House though George W. Did joke about Mr. Clinton's optimism.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I mean after all, you got to be optimistic to give six months of your life running the McGovern campaign in Texas.

MOOS: Bill Clinton turned red laughing. Laughter is not something one sees in presidential portraits, except Ronald Reagan's. \

Mr. Clinton was painted by the artist Simmie Knox, the first African-American to paint an official presidential portrait.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's a really stupid color tie.

MOOS: Mr. Clinton was dressed practically like his portrait. The president told of getting offers from plastic surgeons while he was in the White House.

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Saying, if you would just let me straighten your nose and take the bags out from under your eyes. It was like if you only had a different face you'd be handsome.

MOOS: The first lady broke with tradition in two ways -- the big smile, and...

(on camera): ... this is the first first lady ever painted in a paints suit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe she wears pants in the relationship.

MOOS (voice-over): All the other first ladies are dressed in dainty gowns, looking a little like, dare we say, Stepford wives?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We always want to look our very best.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On her best day, she never looked that good.

MOOS (on camera): You don't think? I think on her best day she looked this good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the way all that stuff there -- it takes that...

MOOS: What stuff are we talking about?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you know are the chin stuff.

MOOS (voice-over): Being a famous portrait means having to take it on the chin and everywhere else.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(MARKET UPDATE)

O'BRIEN: You don't have to be 1 in a million, it's actually 1 in 125. Coming up in our second hour of LIVE FROM..., who's banking the dough, how do they do it? We'll have some practical tips for you. We'll talk to the author of "The Automatic Millionaire." It really can't be that easy but we'll ask him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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


Aired June 15, 2004 - 13:34   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush pledging time troops and money to make sure Afghanistan doesn't become, in his words, a terrorist factory again. Mr. Bush welcomed Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the White House today and outlined steps the U.S. is taking to help rebuild that country.
Pakistani security forces shot and killed a suspected al Qaeda member at a checkpoint near Afghanistan earlier today. Pakistan says people inside a car opened fire on the troops and they shot back. Several people were wounded. Three were arrested.

Fifteen days until the scheduled transfer of power in Iraq. Among the arrangements being ironed out right now, what happens to Saddam Hussein? The International Red Cross says Saddam must be charged or given to the Iraqis before the handover. President Bush says security issues still have to be worked out.

More police testimony in the Scott Peterson trial a day after confrontation in the courtroom. CNN's Rusty Dornin is at the courthouse in Redwood City, California with the latest -- Rusty.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, prosecutors are really trying to lay the groundwork to show that the police conducted a very thorough investigation.

Now, on the other hand, of course, defense attorney Mark Geragos is trying to show they did shoddy police work, that they didn't follow up on a lot of different clues.

Up on the stand right now is Officer John Evers. We're hearing another of a pair of officer's eyes what they saw that night Laci Peterson disappeared both at the house and in the park. Nothing new, really. Talked about how Scott told him he went fishing that day. And that he said to him when he asked him what kind of bait he was using and what kind of fish he was fishing for that he did not know.

He also however said there was no obvious evidence of a struggle in the house and that also coincides with testimony from other officers.

Of course there was fireworks in the courtroom yesterday with Mark Geragos calling for a mistrial. He claimed that two of the police officers had basically fabricated stories on the spot about Scott Peterson, throwing down a flashlight and then swearing after he had had an interview with one of the officers. The judge turned down that request.

We're expecting to hear from Officer John Evers for most of the day -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now, rusty, does Geragos have a specific target, or are we talking about the entire police department here?

DORNIN: Well I think he want to shoot holes in much of their investigation, but he is primarily talking about two lead investigators, we believe the two lead detectives in the case, he claims that outright lied. So there should be a lot of fireworks in the courtroom when those two take the stand. We're not sure if that's going to happen this week or next week.

PHILLIPS: Rusty Dornin, live from Redwood City, thanks.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: News across America now. A real-life drama plays out literally at the gates of Hollywood. Two neighbors brutally killed, an homeless man in custody. One of the victims was 91-year-old Robert Lees who penned several "Abbott and Costello" movies. The suspect was picked up outside Paramount Studios after security guards saw his picture at a police news conference. Authorities still trying to sort this one out.

And folks in Louisiana truing to figure out who will stop the rain. Incessant, heavy rains are pouring on the southeastern part of the state for the second straight day. Minor flooding as a result. People soaked and worried that the worst may be yet to come.

It's a growing faith, but it has no name. Still to come, non- traditional ways to stay rooted in spiritual ground.

And it's a big collaboration to help Americans fight fat. We'll get the skinny on who's involved.

And later, those Clinton portraits, well, they get a mixed reaction. Not unlike the Clintons. Are they an accurate depiction, we wonder? We'll take the question to the streets of New York with Jeanne Moos when LIVE FROM... rolls on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Big news at the Southern Baptist Convention, where delegates voted to split with another major Baptist group. Delegates meeting in Indiana approved a plan to break off from the World Baptists Alliance. Veteran officials say the alliance leans too far to the left politically. The Southern Baptists Convention is America's largest Protestant denomination, 16 million members. Nearly twice that number consider themselves spiritual, but not part of an organized religious group.

A look at that growing trend from CNN's Adaora Udoji in our series "Keeping The Faith."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to be talking about Zen and creativity.

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nestled among this crowd exploring the Zen of creativity is Manda Stretch on a quest to find a religion.

MANDA STRETCH, SEEKING ALTERNATIVE RELIGION: I've done a little bit of all of them and I kind of came to my own sense of my own connection to God or spirit.

UDOJI: That journey is shared by millions of Americans, including the rich and famous, some traveling on unconventional paths. Superstar Madonna, along with Britney Spears and Demi Moore have shined new light on Kabbalah, the ancient study of Jewish mysticism.

At the Laughing Lotus, they search for inner peace in yoga. Others study Wicca or witchcraft but that's ancient traditions tied to nature, not hexes.

PHYLLIS CUROTT, AUTHOR, "BOOK OF SHADOWS": We seek to learn from the earth. The earth for us is because it's the embodiment of the divine it's our spiritual teacher.

UDOJI: Surveys show Wicca is the fastest-growing alternative religion though their numbers are small, roughly 150,000 people compared to traditional truth seekers.

Nearly half the country 160 million adults identify themselves as Christians, according to a City University of New York study. Overall, 81 percent identify with a specific religion, seven million with Judaism, anywhere from one to seven million with Islam depending on the study.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Religion has remained attractive to people and has answered many of their deepest needs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I sort of think of myself as being on sort of a path or a journey.

UDOJI: It's a path conventional or not Americans are embracing, seeking the road to enlightenment.

Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: "Grooving on God, Religion and Pop Culture," the next part of our keeping faith series, debuts tonight on "ANDERSON COOPER 360" 7:00 p.m. Eastern, 4:00 Pacific.

PHILLIPS: Three major health organizations are joining forces in a new campaign to fight fat. The goal is to help Americans recognize how obesity is hazardous to your health.

Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen here with the details now in our Daily Dose of our health news.

Give it to us.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you've got these three big group, Kyra. You've got the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association and American Cancer Society, getting together in an unprecedented way to say, you know what, two out of three Americans die because of these three diseases, and it's time to do something about it.

And so what they've done is they've put together this PSA. And it's very interesting, it shows this woman who's driving. She's obviously a little scared of what's going on outside, locks her door, carries her keys like little swords there. She locks her apartment, all to protect herself from the outside, and then she goes home and eats cake and lights up a cigarette. And so the message is, protect yourself from yourself, don't worry so much about the external, protect yourself from yourself, lose weight, stop smoking, and all of the above.

And what they're trying to -- The message that they're trying to get out here, is that patients need to be proactive about their health care and ask their doctors certain questions. For example, this group says ask your doctor, am I at the right weight? How can I lose weight? And what screening tests should I have?

And they give a schedule for when people should have certain screening tests, for example. Get your blood pressure tested at least once every two years. Have your cholesterol checked every five years. And have your blood glucose checked every three years after the age of 45.

Now, you might think, why are these three groups getting together to tell Americans to ask their doctors for screening tests? Shouldn't the doctors be doing that? And part of this, Kyra, is sort of the reality in this country , that doctors don't have enough time as they used to, and doctors aren't always great about preventive care. So a big chunk of this message from these three highly respected groups is patients need to get their doctors to be more proactive about preventative care.

PHILLIPS: All right, there are so many diets out there. Do these three groups prefer one in particular?

COHEN: You know what, they're taking great pains not to prefer one over the other. They don't want to get caught in the diet wars. And so what these three groups are saying is, you know what, need to eat less and you need to move more. You simply need to burn more calories than you're actually taking in in the form of food. So it's a very simple message.

PHILLIPS: All right, well we hear that simple message all the time, right. So what is going to make this campaign work when all the other ones, or so many of them have failed?

COHEN: Right, exactly. And I asked them that. I said, you know what, everyone expects this for years and years. Why do you think you folks are going to succeed? Basically, their hope is that when Americans hear there's one set of lifestyle changes you can make to help avoid these three decisions, then Americans will sit up and pay attention. Now maybe they will, maybe they won't. That remains to be seen.

PHILLIPS: All right, Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.

COHEN: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: All right, Still to come on CNN's LIVE FROM, it's a picture worth a million words, and it's getting a mouthful of reaction. When we return, no holding back on how people really feel about the Clinton portrait.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: John Kerry trying to keep his focus on the economy as he campaigns in New Jersey and Ohio. Kerry says the Bush White House is handing tax cuts to the wealthy at the expense of the middle class. He says the administration plans budget cut in education, and veteran program. Kerry says, quote, "If you think that's compassionate conservatism, then Dick Cheney is Mr. Rogers."

There was a temporary truce in the political slug fest in Washington yesterday. President Bush praised his predecessor at the White House, unveiling of a new presidential portrait. But what does the public think about the Clinton portrait? CNN's Jeanne Moos hit the streets to find out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's bad enough having your picture taken. But having your portrait publicly unveiled?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the artist is being extraordinarily kind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bill looks about 20 years younger.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He looks a little dry. Like -- maybe he had a bad night.

MOOS: But the Clintons had a good day at the White House though George W. Did joke about Mr. Clinton's optimism.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I mean after all, you got to be optimistic to give six months of your life running the McGovern campaign in Texas.

MOOS: Bill Clinton turned red laughing. Laughter is not something one sees in presidential portraits, except Ronald Reagan's. \

Mr. Clinton was painted by the artist Simmie Knox, the first African-American to paint an official presidential portrait.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's a really stupid color tie.

MOOS: Mr. Clinton was dressed practically like his portrait. The president told of getting offers from plastic surgeons while he was in the White House.

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Saying, if you would just let me straighten your nose and take the bags out from under your eyes. It was like if you only had a different face you'd be handsome.

MOOS: The first lady broke with tradition in two ways -- the big smile, and...

(on camera): ... this is the first first lady ever painted in a paints suit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe she wears pants in the relationship.

MOOS (voice-over): All the other first ladies are dressed in dainty gowns, looking a little like, dare we say, Stepford wives?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We always want to look our very best.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On her best day, she never looked that good.

MOOS (on camera): You don't think? I think on her best day she looked this good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the way all that stuff there -- it takes that...

MOOS: What stuff are we talking about?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you know are the chin stuff.

MOOS (voice-over): Being a famous portrait means having to take it on the chin and everywhere else.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(MARKET UPDATE)

O'BRIEN: You don't have to be 1 in a million, it's actually 1 in 125. Coming up in our second hour of LIVE FROM..., who's banking the dough, how do they do it? We'll have some practical tips for you. We'll talk to the author of "The Automatic Millionaire." It really can't be that easy but we'll ask him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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