Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Possible Juror Misconduct in Peterson Trial; Entertainment News; Trial Over Evolution Teachings; Hostage Standoff Ends in L.A.

Aired November 09, 2004 - 14:30   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.


TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We are following Falluja, where the fight to retake a city and reset the course for a country's future is said to be lop sided and a little ahead of schedule. U.S. commanders sent the Marines infantry soldiers and newly trained Iraqi troops who rolled into Falluja yesterday have taken minimal casualties while inflicting heavy, high death tolls on the enemy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GEN. THOMAS METZ, MULTINATIONAL FORCE CORPS COMMANDER: Enemy casualties, I think, are significantly higher than I expected. And let me just keep it there, as we do not have a -- we have not, so far in Operation Iraqi Freedom, nor will we start body counting. But we have imposed significant casualties against the enemy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: It is still unclear how many insurgents who've been using Falluja as a nerve center slipped away before or during the assault. But General Metz says it's fair to assume terror kingpin Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is among them.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Checking stories now in the news. A top Islamic cleric is on his way to France where Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat has taken a dramatic turn for the worse. Aides say Arafat has suffered a brain hemorrhage and has slipped deeper into a coma.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai tells his government he is working day and night to free three U.N. workers being held hostage. Reuters reports the militants holding the three have extended a deadline until tomorrow for the government to free Taliban prisoners.

And a S.W.A.T. team is combing the Mexican consulate in Los Angeles following a brief and somewhat bizarre hostage standoff. The suspect allegedly forced a female worker outside where he was shot and wounded by police. Now the woman, she is OK. Police still don't have a motive. They want to make sure nobody else is in the building.

We want to go back now to the Scott Peterson trial where deliberations may have hit another snag. A hearing is underway on a possible case of juror misconduct. Now it seems a juror may have been doing his own research on the Internet, something that is not allowed. The jury sat through five grueling months of testimony in the Peterson case. Was it all for nothing?

Well, I want to bring in Trial Attorney Karen Russell who's been watching the proceedings very closely from Seattle.

Hi there. Thanks for joining us.

KAREN RUSSELL, TRIAL ATTORNEY: Hello.

NGUYEN: Well, let's talk about this. This juror may have been doing a little too much investigating on his own. What do you make of that and how is that possible if they're sequestered?

RUSSELL: Well, that's a no-no. And I imagine if he did this research, he did it probably from home before they were sequestered. So, Mark Geragos is likely to file a motion for another mistrial, which is a frequent move that he does. That will preserve the record for appeal if his client is convicted. And, also, he may have a shot depending on whether or not this juror infected other jurors with this research.

NGUYEN: Yes, I wanted to ask you about that because Geragos has called for mistrials throughout all of this. But this one may hold some weight, perhaps?

RUSSELL: Well, yes, absolutely. Well, it depends. They're going to do some research on what kind of research they did. And this is above and beyond the jurors getting in the boat the other day and rocking the boat. So we have a very proactive group of jurors here.

NGUYEN: Yes. And they were in the boat yesterday. They rocked the boat. That was something Mark Geragos was very upset with. Obviously there was some sticking points with this jury. Tell us why that boat was significant. Do you think people are just digging in on a certain aspect of the boat, which is why maybe they can't come to a verdict?

RUSSELL: Well, if you think about it, the strongest evidence against Scott Peterson is that the bodies appeared where he was fishing. So the boat is very pivotal. And if you think about what the judge said in his instruction to the jury, he said, listen, put your egos aside, get along. So it does appear to me that maybe someone or two or three of the jurors, four, have dug in and are maybe fighting with the other jurors.

NGUYEN: But, also, we learned from Rusty Dornin that they asked for 30 pieces of evidence. They're still looking into this. So is it still too soon to say that this is a hung jury, especially after what we've seen today with this juror possibly doing too much investigating on his own?

RUSSELL: Yes, you know, it was a five month trial. So four or five days is not a long time to deliberate. But the judge's instruction does give us a little insight into what's going on. And you also have to remember, these people are sequestered, so there's extra pressure. So if they really are fighting, you have the pressure of being cooped up in a room and not being able to interact with your family. And so that can make things turn for the worse quickly.

NGUYEN: Let's talk a little bit about the makeup of this jury and the foreman in particular. The foreman is an attorney, as well as a doctor. Does that pose any problems in finding a verdict in this case?

RUSSELL: Well, it's a little bit of a mystery that both sides think this was a good juror for them. I mean the prosecution might think because he's an attorney, he's a law and order type. And the defense might think, well, hey, he's going to take beyond a reasonable doubt very, very seriously. So apparently both of them think this guy is good for both sides. So it's hard to say.

NGUYEN: All right. I'm going to put you to the test quickly. Hung jury, are we going to get a verdict here or maybe even a mistrial with this juror who did a little too much digging?

RUSSELL: I'm predicting a hung jury based on what we've seen so far. I don't think that Scott will be exonerated. And a mistrial or a hung jury would be a victory for Geragos.

NGUYEN: All right. Karen Russell, trial attorney in Seattle, thank you for that information today.

RUSSELL: My pleasure.

NGUYEN: Tony?

HARRIS: The power of a sticker. Why one Georgia county is going to court over an evolutionary label in some school textbooks.

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Sibila Vargas. In Hollywood, it's one of those coveted roles in Hollywood but we know what one famous bad boy who said no thanks to 007.

Plus, Confessions from a desperate housewife. All this when LIVE FROM returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Want to get to some news across America now.

A big step toward more freedom for the man who tried to assassinate President Reagan. John Hinckley Jr.'s doctors are endorsing his request to spend four nights a week with his parents every other week. Prosecutors are opposed. A judge will have the final say.

Olympic Hero Michael Phelps is apologizing for last week's drunk driving arrest. He told the Associated Press he, "made a mistake" when he allegedly got behind the wheel of his SUV after he had been drinking. Maryland police say the six-time swimming gold medalist ran a stop sign and officers arrested him for driving under the influence.

And America schools are a melting pot but diversity stops at the head of the class according to a coalition of educating watch dogs. They say minority children performed better with minority teachers and face higher expectations when taught by people from their own race. The group says only 6 percent of America's teachers are African- American and roughly 40 percent of all schools have no minority educators at all.

HARRIS: Well, a trial is underway here in the Atlanta area this week over how a suburban school district teaches evolution. The ACLU and some parents say the school is trying to sneak religion into the classroom. It is the latest chapter in a decades-old debate.

Here's CNN's Gary Tuchman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Marjorie Rogers of Cobb County, Georgia, does not believe in evolution.

MARJORIE ROGERS, PARENT WHO LED STICKER DRIVE: I believe that God created the world in six literal days about 6,000 years ago.

TUCHMAN: But she says she can accept it being taught to public school students in her home county because of this sticker that is in each and every biology textbook there which states, "evolution is a theory, not a fact." The sticker is now the subject of a possibly precedent setting court battle.

MIKE MANELY, PLAINTIFFS ATTORNEY: They want evolution to be impaired. They want evolution instruction to be retarded. So the science teachers can't teach evolution as what it is, fact.

TUCHMAN: Nearly eight decades after John Scopes was convicted of teaching evolution in his Tennessee science class, the debate still rages. This federal court judge in Georgia is now hearing a case which will decide whether the Cobb County sticker amounts to a government endorsement of religion. Marjorie Rogers started the drive to put the stickers in the textbooks and made it clear to the court that . . .

ROGERS: Oh, I think at a minimum the stickers should remain. I don't believe the stickers go far enough.

TUCHMAN: One of the authors of a biology textbook that has been stickered strongly disagrees.

KENNETH MILLER (ph): The first place I think of that I see warning sticks all the time are on cigarette packages.

TUCHMAN: Kenneth Miller declared in court the term theory of evolution is misused by opponents.

KENNETH MILLER: A theory is an explanation that ties together a range of facts. And in this particular point of view, a scientific theory is actually a higher order of truth than a fact is.

TUCHMAN: School districts in many states have had battles over whether to include the teaching of creationism and intelligent design, which holds that a higher intelligence guides the process of creating life. But cases like this making it all the way to court are much more unusual.

The case is expected to last most of the this week. The judge has not yet indicated how long it will take him to issue a decision.

But it will be noticed all across the nation as this legal battle continues to evolve.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: He is the essence of cool and he always gets the girls. So what actor would turn down the chance to be James Bond?

Our Sibila Vargas has the answer and more in our entertainment report. Hello, Sibila!

VARGAS: Hey, Tony.

Well, just about any actor in Hollywood would kill to say those famous lines, the name is Bond, James Bond, but not Colin Farrell. The Irish bad boy says he's not interested in playing 007. Farrell had been rumored to be on a short list of candidates for the roll. But even the present 007 himself, Pierce Brosnan, gave the fellow Irishman his seal of approval. But Colin, who is busy promoting "Alexander" says, no thanks. Other actors who have been named as possibilities to play the debonair spy include Hugh Jackman and Jude Law.

And, Tony, I think maybe your name was being thrown around, as well.

HARRIS: Oh, yes. That's a nightmare. OK.

Sibila, so, let me see, the Country Music Awards are tonight, is that correct?

VARGAS: That's right. The Country Music Awards take center stage in Nashville tonight but there was plenty of two stepping at last night's rehearsals, Tony.

Gretchen Wilson, Brooks & Dunn, Martina McBride and Clint Black were just a few of the country crooners belting it out in preparation for the big night. The 38th Annual Country Music Awards are tonight on CBS.

And from Tennessee to right here in Southern California, it was a star-studded night as celebrities from the big screen and the small screen attended the Louis Vuitton United Cancer Front Gala. The event, hosted by Jamie Foxx, Dustin Hoffman and Sarah Jessica Parker, raises money to help fund the top research scientists in the country. Celebrities came out in droves, including "Desperate Housewife" Marcia Cross, who, like most of us, has lost a loved one to the disease. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIA CROSS, ACTRESS: I lost a lover to brain cancer. So it's important to me and I wish that no one would ever have to suffer that loss but I know it happens all the time and I just don't know why we're still fighting it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VARGAS: It's estimated that last night's event raised $1.5 million for the cause Tony?

HARRIS: Sibila Vargas in Los Angeles.

Good to see you, lady. Take care.

VARGAS: Thanks, Tony.

NGUYEN: What, Tony, you can't see yourself as James Bond?

HARRIS: She took care of me, though, didn't she. She propped me up.

NGUYEN: Didn't you hear all those (INAUDIBLE). I could see you. I could see you.

HARRIS: (INAUDIBLE).

NGUYEN: Not a very good one, but maybe.

We'll have a check of the financial market just ahead.

Sorry, Tony.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: We want to show you pictures just in to CNN of a hostage situation coming to a close just about an hour ago. Maybe less than that. It -- wow, in Los Angeles, you can see police just moving in on the hostage-taker. And you can also see him being shot. He is down on the ground there. And just a moment ago you saw the hostage being moved out of the scene and out of harm's way.

Police there are cuffing the man who we understand is in an area hospital in Los Angeles. He is in critical condition. This is just in from KCLA's (ph) news chopper of the hostage situation coming to a close just a short time ago in Los Angeles.

That, I believe, is a picture of the hostage being moved away from the area. Police moving in and shooting and actually shooting the hostage-taker. He is in critical condition in a Los Angeles hospital. Those pictures just in to us here at CNN.

NGUYEN: And we're being told the hostage is OK. She was not injured in that situation. In other news, the Kerry/Edwards campaign used the analogy of two Americas to show the contrast between the haves and the have-nots. Whether it's real or perceived, it wasn't enough to convince a majority of voters to change presidents. Either way, some serious economic issues may be front and center during Mr. Bush's second term, including jobs and trade.

CNN Financial Reporter Peter Viles explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice-over): President supports see it as an economic vote of confidence.

MARTIN REGALIA, U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: I think on the issues of jobs, the economy and trade, the message is that the American public gets it. They see the data firsthand. And when you look at the economy, you see an economy that's really doing quite well.

VILES: The president's economic priorities, improve the climate for job creation by simplifying what he calls an outdated tax code, making tax cuts permanent and limiting what he calls frivolous lawsuits. But the first real test of his economic mandate could be trade, specifically pushing the Central American Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA, through Congress.

RICHARD MILLS, DEPUTY U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE: The important thing we've always tried to stress is for Americans is that the central American market is a good size market for us. Those countries already enjoy duty-free access for many of their products, and the CAFTA will actually expand our opportunities to sell our goods and services into those markets.

VILES: The president's opponents will argue his trade policies are squeezing the middle class and feeding a trade deficit that's a financial crisis in the making.

THEA LEE, AFL-CIO: The trade deficit's more than 5 percent of GDP right now. It's more than a million dollars a minute that we import more than we export and that's something which is not really sustainable over the long run. We simply cannot continue to consume half a trillion dollars more worth of goods and services than we produce every year.

VILES: Political pressure has not forced the administration to address the trade deficit but market pressure might. The dollar has already fallen to nine-year lows.

Peter Viles, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: For another check of the markets in New York, hello, Rhonda.

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE) HARRIS: Rhonda, thank you. We appreciate it. Thank you.

NGUYEN: And that wraps it up this edition of CNN's LIVE FROM.

HARRIS: Judy Woodruff is up next with "INSIDE POLITICS" -- Judy?

JUDY WOODRUFF, HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": Tony, thank you.

Thank you, Betty.

The fighting continues in the heart of Falluja. We'll talk with the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Dick Lugar about the operation and more.

Plus, Yasser Arafat remains very ill but still alive. We'll have a report from the Paris hospital where the Palestinian leader is staying.

Also, what's next for Senator John Kerry? Our Candy Crowley joins us with a look what the future may hold for the ex-presidential candidate.

"INSIDE POLITICS" begins in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Good afternoon. I'm Betty Nguyen at the CNN center. "INSIDE POLITICS" is next after a look at stories now in the news.

Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat takes a turn for the worse. A Palestinian aide says Arafat has suffered a brain hemorrhage and has slipped deeper into a coma. We have a live report from Paris ahead.

Two days down, several to go. A top U.S. general says American forces face several more days of tough urban combat in Falluja. He also says U.S. casualties have been low and resistance has been lighter than expected.

"INSIDE POLITICS" will have much more on Iraq. That ahead, too.

A standoff, it appears to be over at the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles. Police say they shot and wounded a man who tried to kidnap a female employee. Here's a look at that. Officers say the man had some kind of protest sign around his neck. The woman was not injured.

And a development in the Scott Peterson murder trial. A hearing is underway this hour to discuss possible juror misconduct. There is word one of the jurors may have done some kind of research on his own. If true, that would be grounds for a dismissal.

Now, here's Judy Woodruff with "INSIDE POLITICS".

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

Education; Los Angeles; Hostages and Kidnappings


Aired November 9, 2004 - 14:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We are following Falluja, where the fight to retake a city and reset the course for a country's future is said to be lop sided and a little ahead of schedule. U.S. commanders sent the Marines infantry soldiers and newly trained Iraqi troops who rolled into Falluja yesterday have taken minimal casualties while inflicting heavy, high death tolls on the enemy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GEN. THOMAS METZ, MULTINATIONAL FORCE CORPS COMMANDER: Enemy casualties, I think, are significantly higher than I expected. And let me just keep it there, as we do not have a -- we have not, so far in Operation Iraqi Freedom, nor will we start body counting. But we have imposed significant casualties against the enemy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: It is still unclear how many insurgents who've been using Falluja as a nerve center slipped away before or during the assault. But General Metz says it's fair to assume terror kingpin Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is among them.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Checking stories now in the news. A top Islamic cleric is on his way to France where Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat has taken a dramatic turn for the worse. Aides say Arafat has suffered a brain hemorrhage and has slipped deeper into a coma.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai tells his government he is working day and night to free three U.N. workers being held hostage. Reuters reports the militants holding the three have extended a deadline until tomorrow for the government to free Taliban prisoners.

And a S.W.A.T. team is combing the Mexican consulate in Los Angeles following a brief and somewhat bizarre hostage standoff. The suspect allegedly forced a female worker outside where he was shot and wounded by police. Now the woman, she is OK. Police still don't have a motive. They want to make sure nobody else is in the building.

We want to go back now to the Scott Peterson trial where deliberations may have hit another snag. A hearing is underway on a possible case of juror misconduct. Now it seems a juror may have been doing his own research on the Internet, something that is not allowed. The jury sat through five grueling months of testimony in the Peterson case. Was it all for nothing?

Well, I want to bring in Trial Attorney Karen Russell who's been watching the proceedings very closely from Seattle.

Hi there. Thanks for joining us.

KAREN RUSSELL, TRIAL ATTORNEY: Hello.

NGUYEN: Well, let's talk about this. This juror may have been doing a little too much investigating on his own. What do you make of that and how is that possible if they're sequestered?

RUSSELL: Well, that's a no-no. And I imagine if he did this research, he did it probably from home before they were sequestered. So, Mark Geragos is likely to file a motion for another mistrial, which is a frequent move that he does. That will preserve the record for appeal if his client is convicted. And, also, he may have a shot depending on whether or not this juror infected other jurors with this research.

NGUYEN: Yes, I wanted to ask you about that because Geragos has called for mistrials throughout all of this. But this one may hold some weight, perhaps?

RUSSELL: Well, yes, absolutely. Well, it depends. They're going to do some research on what kind of research they did. And this is above and beyond the jurors getting in the boat the other day and rocking the boat. So we have a very proactive group of jurors here.

NGUYEN: Yes. And they were in the boat yesterday. They rocked the boat. That was something Mark Geragos was very upset with. Obviously there was some sticking points with this jury. Tell us why that boat was significant. Do you think people are just digging in on a certain aspect of the boat, which is why maybe they can't come to a verdict?

RUSSELL: Well, if you think about it, the strongest evidence against Scott Peterson is that the bodies appeared where he was fishing. So the boat is very pivotal. And if you think about what the judge said in his instruction to the jury, he said, listen, put your egos aside, get along. So it does appear to me that maybe someone or two or three of the jurors, four, have dug in and are maybe fighting with the other jurors.

NGUYEN: But, also, we learned from Rusty Dornin that they asked for 30 pieces of evidence. They're still looking into this. So is it still too soon to say that this is a hung jury, especially after what we've seen today with this juror possibly doing too much investigating on his own?

RUSSELL: Yes, you know, it was a five month trial. So four or five days is not a long time to deliberate. But the judge's instruction does give us a little insight into what's going on. And you also have to remember, these people are sequestered, so there's extra pressure. So if they really are fighting, you have the pressure of being cooped up in a room and not being able to interact with your family. And so that can make things turn for the worse quickly.

NGUYEN: Let's talk a little bit about the makeup of this jury and the foreman in particular. The foreman is an attorney, as well as a doctor. Does that pose any problems in finding a verdict in this case?

RUSSELL: Well, it's a little bit of a mystery that both sides think this was a good juror for them. I mean the prosecution might think because he's an attorney, he's a law and order type. And the defense might think, well, hey, he's going to take beyond a reasonable doubt very, very seriously. So apparently both of them think this guy is good for both sides. So it's hard to say.

NGUYEN: All right. I'm going to put you to the test quickly. Hung jury, are we going to get a verdict here or maybe even a mistrial with this juror who did a little too much digging?

RUSSELL: I'm predicting a hung jury based on what we've seen so far. I don't think that Scott will be exonerated. And a mistrial or a hung jury would be a victory for Geragos.

NGUYEN: All right. Karen Russell, trial attorney in Seattle, thank you for that information today.

RUSSELL: My pleasure.

NGUYEN: Tony?

HARRIS: The power of a sticker. Why one Georgia county is going to court over an evolutionary label in some school textbooks.

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Sibila Vargas. In Hollywood, it's one of those coveted roles in Hollywood but we know what one famous bad boy who said no thanks to 007.

Plus, Confessions from a desperate housewife. All this when LIVE FROM returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Want to get to some news across America now.

A big step toward more freedom for the man who tried to assassinate President Reagan. John Hinckley Jr.'s doctors are endorsing his request to spend four nights a week with his parents every other week. Prosecutors are opposed. A judge will have the final say.

Olympic Hero Michael Phelps is apologizing for last week's drunk driving arrest. He told the Associated Press he, "made a mistake" when he allegedly got behind the wheel of his SUV after he had been drinking. Maryland police say the six-time swimming gold medalist ran a stop sign and officers arrested him for driving under the influence.

And America schools are a melting pot but diversity stops at the head of the class according to a coalition of educating watch dogs. They say minority children performed better with minority teachers and face higher expectations when taught by people from their own race. The group says only 6 percent of America's teachers are African- American and roughly 40 percent of all schools have no minority educators at all.

HARRIS: Well, a trial is underway here in the Atlanta area this week over how a suburban school district teaches evolution. The ACLU and some parents say the school is trying to sneak religion into the classroom. It is the latest chapter in a decades-old debate.

Here's CNN's Gary Tuchman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Marjorie Rogers of Cobb County, Georgia, does not believe in evolution.

MARJORIE ROGERS, PARENT WHO LED STICKER DRIVE: I believe that God created the world in six literal days about 6,000 years ago.

TUCHMAN: But she says she can accept it being taught to public school students in her home county because of this sticker that is in each and every biology textbook there which states, "evolution is a theory, not a fact." The sticker is now the subject of a possibly precedent setting court battle.

MIKE MANELY, PLAINTIFFS ATTORNEY: They want evolution to be impaired. They want evolution instruction to be retarded. So the science teachers can't teach evolution as what it is, fact.

TUCHMAN: Nearly eight decades after John Scopes was convicted of teaching evolution in his Tennessee science class, the debate still rages. This federal court judge in Georgia is now hearing a case which will decide whether the Cobb County sticker amounts to a government endorsement of religion. Marjorie Rogers started the drive to put the stickers in the textbooks and made it clear to the court that . . .

ROGERS: Oh, I think at a minimum the stickers should remain. I don't believe the stickers go far enough.

TUCHMAN: One of the authors of a biology textbook that has been stickered strongly disagrees.

KENNETH MILLER (ph): The first place I think of that I see warning sticks all the time are on cigarette packages.

TUCHMAN: Kenneth Miller declared in court the term theory of evolution is misused by opponents.

KENNETH MILLER: A theory is an explanation that ties together a range of facts. And in this particular point of view, a scientific theory is actually a higher order of truth than a fact is.

TUCHMAN: School districts in many states have had battles over whether to include the teaching of creationism and intelligent design, which holds that a higher intelligence guides the process of creating life. But cases like this making it all the way to court are much more unusual.

The case is expected to last most of the this week. The judge has not yet indicated how long it will take him to issue a decision.

But it will be noticed all across the nation as this legal battle continues to evolve.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: He is the essence of cool and he always gets the girls. So what actor would turn down the chance to be James Bond?

Our Sibila Vargas has the answer and more in our entertainment report. Hello, Sibila!

VARGAS: Hey, Tony.

Well, just about any actor in Hollywood would kill to say those famous lines, the name is Bond, James Bond, but not Colin Farrell. The Irish bad boy says he's not interested in playing 007. Farrell had been rumored to be on a short list of candidates for the roll. But even the present 007 himself, Pierce Brosnan, gave the fellow Irishman his seal of approval. But Colin, who is busy promoting "Alexander" says, no thanks. Other actors who have been named as possibilities to play the debonair spy include Hugh Jackman and Jude Law.

And, Tony, I think maybe your name was being thrown around, as well.

HARRIS: Oh, yes. That's a nightmare. OK.

Sibila, so, let me see, the Country Music Awards are tonight, is that correct?

VARGAS: That's right. The Country Music Awards take center stage in Nashville tonight but there was plenty of two stepping at last night's rehearsals, Tony.

Gretchen Wilson, Brooks & Dunn, Martina McBride and Clint Black were just a few of the country crooners belting it out in preparation for the big night. The 38th Annual Country Music Awards are tonight on CBS.

And from Tennessee to right here in Southern California, it was a star-studded night as celebrities from the big screen and the small screen attended the Louis Vuitton United Cancer Front Gala. The event, hosted by Jamie Foxx, Dustin Hoffman and Sarah Jessica Parker, raises money to help fund the top research scientists in the country. Celebrities came out in droves, including "Desperate Housewife" Marcia Cross, who, like most of us, has lost a loved one to the disease. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIA CROSS, ACTRESS: I lost a lover to brain cancer. So it's important to me and I wish that no one would ever have to suffer that loss but I know it happens all the time and I just don't know why we're still fighting it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VARGAS: It's estimated that last night's event raised $1.5 million for the cause Tony?

HARRIS: Sibila Vargas in Los Angeles.

Good to see you, lady. Take care.

VARGAS: Thanks, Tony.

NGUYEN: What, Tony, you can't see yourself as James Bond?

HARRIS: She took care of me, though, didn't she. She propped me up.

NGUYEN: Didn't you hear all those (INAUDIBLE). I could see you. I could see you.

HARRIS: (INAUDIBLE).

NGUYEN: Not a very good one, but maybe.

We'll have a check of the financial market just ahead.

Sorry, Tony.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: We want to show you pictures just in to CNN of a hostage situation coming to a close just about an hour ago. Maybe less than that. It -- wow, in Los Angeles, you can see police just moving in on the hostage-taker. And you can also see him being shot. He is down on the ground there. And just a moment ago you saw the hostage being moved out of the scene and out of harm's way.

Police there are cuffing the man who we understand is in an area hospital in Los Angeles. He is in critical condition. This is just in from KCLA's (ph) news chopper of the hostage situation coming to a close just a short time ago in Los Angeles.

That, I believe, is a picture of the hostage being moved away from the area. Police moving in and shooting and actually shooting the hostage-taker. He is in critical condition in a Los Angeles hospital. Those pictures just in to us here at CNN.

NGUYEN: And we're being told the hostage is OK. She was not injured in that situation. In other news, the Kerry/Edwards campaign used the analogy of two Americas to show the contrast between the haves and the have-nots. Whether it's real or perceived, it wasn't enough to convince a majority of voters to change presidents. Either way, some serious economic issues may be front and center during Mr. Bush's second term, including jobs and trade.

CNN Financial Reporter Peter Viles explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice-over): President supports see it as an economic vote of confidence.

MARTIN REGALIA, U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: I think on the issues of jobs, the economy and trade, the message is that the American public gets it. They see the data firsthand. And when you look at the economy, you see an economy that's really doing quite well.

VILES: The president's economic priorities, improve the climate for job creation by simplifying what he calls an outdated tax code, making tax cuts permanent and limiting what he calls frivolous lawsuits. But the first real test of his economic mandate could be trade, specifically pushing the Central American Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA, through Congress.

RICHARD MILLS, DEPUTY U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE: The important thing we've always tried to stress is for Americans is that the central American market is a good size market for us. Those countries already enjoy duty-free access for many of their products, and the CAFTA will actually expand our opportunities to sell our goods and services into those markets.

VILES: The president's opponents will argue his trade policies are squeezing the middle class and feeding a trade deficit that's a financial crisis in the making.

THEA LEE, AFL-CIO: The trade deficit's more than 5 percent of GDP right now. It's more than a million dollars a minute that we import more than we export and that's something which is not really sustainable over the long run. We simply cannot continue to consume half a trillion dollars more worth of goods and services than we produce every year.

VILES: Political pressure has not forced the administration to address the trade deficit but market pressure might. The dollar has already fallen to nine-year lows.

Peter Viles, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: For another check of the markets in New York, hello, Rhonda.

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE) HARRIS: Rhonda, thank you. We appreciate it. Thank you.

NGUYEN: And that wraps it up this edition of CNN's LIVE FROM.

HARRIS: Judy Woodruff is up next with "INSIDE POLITICS" -- Judy?

JUDY WOODRUFF, HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": Tony, thank you.

Thank you, Betty.

The fighting continues in the heart of Falluja. We'll talk with the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Dick Lugar about the operation and more.

Plus, Yasser Arafat remains very ill but still alive. We'll have a report from the Paris hospital where the Palestinian leader is staying.

Also, what's next for Senator John Kerry? Our Candy Crowley joins us with a look what the future may hold for the ex-presidential candidate.

"INSIDE POLITICS" begins in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Good afternoon. I'm Betty Nguyen at the CNN center. "INSIDE POLITICS" is next after a look at stories now in the news.

Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat takes a turn for the worse. A Palestinian aide says Arafat has suffered a brain hemorrhage and has slipped deeper into a coma. We have a live report from Paris ahead.

Two days down, several to go. A top U.S. general says American forces face several more days of tough urban combat in Falluja. He also says U.S. casualties have been low and resistance has been lighter than expected.

"INSIDE POLITICS" will have much more on Iraq. That ahead, too.

A standoff, it appears to be over at the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles. Police say they shot and wounded a man who tried to kidnap a female employee. Here's a look at that. Officers say the man had some kind of protest sign around his neck. The woman was not injured.

And a development in the Scott Peterson murder trial. A hearing is underway this hour to discuss possible juror misconduct. There is word one of the jurors may have done some kind of research on his own. If true, that would be grounds for a dismissal.

Now, here's Judy Woodruff with "INSIDE POLITICS".

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

Education; Los Angeles; Hostages and Kidnappings