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Investigators Search Jackson Ranch; Uncle Sam's Kids

Aired December 03, 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: As we told you at the top of the hour, sheriff's investigators in California are once again searching Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch. CNN's Miguel Marquez is following the story for us from Los Angeles. Miguel, what do you know?
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this would be the third search warrant served on Neverland ranch. The first two were on 11/17 of last year, just about a year ago now, when his ranch was initially searched. Two warrants on that day. A third warrant today.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff's officials do tell us that a warrant was searched this morning at 9:00 a.m. They expect that investigators will be up at Neverland ranch for much of the day there. They are there right now. There is also another warrant for Neverland ranch, issued back in February of this year. That one was to search the computer hard drives of those computers that were pulled out of Neverland ranch from the first search.

It's not clear what investigators are looking for in this latest search of Neverland ranch, but at one point during the various hearings they've had in this trial, the judge, Rodney Melville, told the prosecutor's office, are we going to keep searching? Are we ever going to stop searching and get on with this case because this case is going to trial, he says, on January 31st of next year. That's when jury selection is expected to start.

And next Monday is yet another hearing in this case and we expect once the new year starts, it's going to be almost nonstop hearings until this case begins on January 31st -- Tony.

HARRIS: Okay. Miguel, so the last -- let me just sort of make sure I'm clear here. The last search warrant was issued and conducted in February, is that correct?

MARQUEZ: It was a search warrant issued in order to search the hard drives of computers that they pulled out of Neverland ranch from last year.

HARRIS: I see. I see.

MARQUEZ: This current search warrant, we're not entirely clear what they're looking for, if they're looking at specific areas of Neverland ranch, if they're looking for something specific on Neverland ranch, if the material they have gathered so far has led them to want something more for Neverland ranch. But they've certainly been up there quite a bit and this is yet another search of properties you know, of Michael Jackson in this case.

HARRIS: Give me a sense -- I'm just trying to set up a timeline of when the last time -- when the last time was when the investigators were actually in Neverland. Was that last year or was that during the course of this year?

MARQUEZ: It would have been last year, November 17th of last year, just about a year ago when they first searched Neverland ranch. That's what kicked off this entire investigation. A couple of other locations were searched that day in Los Angeles. A couple of locations in Los Angeles, but Neverland has certainly been the crux and the place where most of the evidence in this case seems to have come so far. Investigators seem to believe there's more material up there.

HARRIS: OK. Miguel, stand by. We'll give you an opportunity to work your phones and your sources. But stand by. We'll come back to you in a few minutes for an update -- Kyra.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Harvey Levin with "Celebrity Justice" on the phone with us now. Harvey, you've been following this case for a number of years, what do you know at this point?

HARVEY LEVIN, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": OK, here's what I'm being told. There have been rumblings about this and from what I'm gathering now, this is not something that was just done on the spur of the moment, but there seemed to be something curious going on all this week with Santa Barbara officials.

And I think this is the fruition of it all. I think the key to all of this is on Monday, there's a deadline in the case. And the deadline is that the prosecution has to turn all of their evidence over to the defense. And given that, that there is this looming deadline, it may be that the prosecutors and/or the Sheriff's Department have decided that they have to button something up quickly, that they don't have, in order to comply with the judge's order to turn everything over.

So I know that they seized a ton of stuff over at Neverland in the other raids. And that it took them a long time to go through it, partly because the judge wouldn't let them evaluate some of it until recently. So, from what I'm hearing, they really didn't know what they had until they were able to go through everything and then maybe they're lacking something as part of the case that they're building that they finally discovered because they're finally allowed to go through all the evidence. And that's what this may be, buttoning up their case quickly before this deadline approaches on Monday.

PHILLIPS: And the trial's supposed to be in January of 2005, right?

LEVIN: The trial's supposed to be January.

PHILLIPS: OK, so what did they seize last time, Harvey, and could they be going after the same type of evidence now that they did last time? LEVIN: Well, they seized a lot of stuff, Kyra. They seized computers, they seized notes, they seized all sorts of things. And some of the stuff that they took, the defense was arguing was protected by lawyer/client privilege, that they had exceeded the bounds of the search warrant. And just fairly recently, the judge basically ruled on all of this evidence on what was fair game and what wasn't.

So they were kind of sitting on a lot of -- I'm not talking about five or six or seven things. I'm talking about thousands of items that they took. It doesn't mean that it's all relevant to the case. But they weren't allowed to go through it until the judge gave the green light.

And you know, one of the things they're trying to do is -- this boy has painted a picture of Michael Jackson showing them pictures of naked women on computers and other photographs. The boy's brother has said the same thing. They've talked about where certain items were in the home, and one of the things they did in the search is to see if the boy's story rings true by finding what the boy said would be found. So that's a big part of their case, just to verify whether these kids are telling the truth or not.

PHILLIPS: You really think this trial is going to happen in January. I mean, you're an attorney. There's a lot involved here.

LEVIN: I mean, there's so much involved here. Do I think it's going to start in January? Probably not. I mean, there's so much going on behind the scenes in this case involving the boy's family, involving the prosecution's case and involving Michael Jackson. I'm not sure that anybody is ready right now. I mean, I know that the defense is really putting on a full-court press, taking a look at the families to see if they can poke holes in the story and to see if there are ulterior motives.

And, you know, I have a feeling that they wouldn't object too much if the trial was pushed a little bit because the next couple of weeks are going to be dead weeks because everybody's on vacation. It would be really shocking to me if it happened.

PHILLIPS: Harvey Levin with "Celebrity Justice." Harvey, thank you so much.

LEVIN: My pleasure.

PHILLIPS: Just tuning in, once again, a search warrant right now served at Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch. Investigators, as Harvey saying, probably looking for last-minute evidence as a deadline approaches that the prosecution has to have all of its evidence to hand over to the defense to get ready for this trial in January, where Michael Jackson faces charges of child molestation.

HARRIS: And we've seen time and time again in these cases where discovery issues, turning information over to the other side, can really bog down these cases. Let's bring in Miguel Marquez again. And Miguel, you talked to Sergeant Pappas, who confirmed for us that the actual warrant was served and that the search was ongoing. What was he able to tell you?

MARQUEZ: Sergeant Chris Pappas is the public information officer for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's office and he was able to tell CNN this morning that, in fact, a search warrant had been issued, that it had been served on Neverland ranch starting at 9:00 Pacific Time this morning, and that most likely, investigators were going to be up there much of the day going through Neverland right now. They are on the premises going through it.

This would be the second time that sheriffs' investigators have been on Neverland ranch in the past year in connection to this case. It would also be the third or -- the fourth search warrant that's been served either on Neverland or materials gathered from Neverland ranch. The first one, of course, being the one that kicked all of us off on November 17th of last year, when investigators went in full force, spent much of the day, a very long day there gathering up evidence, everything from computers, as Harvey said, a lot of paperwork, a lot of physical material, as well. At one point they cut the top off one of Mr. Jackson's mattresses and took that with them as well, which is apparently fairly typical in molestation cases.

And they have tons of material from there and also, as Harvey said, they are pushing up -- both prosecutors and defense are pushing up against the judge's clock of getting all of that material they're going to build their case on to the judge so that he can make a decision as to what is going to be allowed in this case and what isn't. And this trial, the judge says, will start on January 31, and he seems very, set on that date. We kind of expect it to slip but this judge has cleared the calendar for much of December and much of January for all those pretrial hearings that we've been seeing along the way. And he wants to get juries -- he wants to get juries -- the jury seated and the jury selection started by January 31 of this year.

At Neverland Ranch, right now, investigators are going through Mr. Jackson's Neverland Ranch. Again, it's not clear exactly what area of Neverland Ranch they are going through or if there's something specific they are looking for. But we do know that at this point, they are searching Neverland Ranch once again -- Tony.

HARRIS: I'll tell you, it just seems so odd, Miguel. It's been such a long time from this search to the last search. What are they looking for?

And I'm sure you'll keep asking that question. We appreciate it. Thank you, Miguel.

MARQUEZ: Sure.

HARRIS: Ahead, what to tell kids when mom or dad gets deployed.

PHILLIPS: Well, it can be tough for many of them, that's for sure. Our guest straight ahead nicknamed them Uncle Sam's kids. We're going to talk about her new books.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: When duty calls, thousands of American military men and women answer. And often they leave behind families who have to deal with mom or dad being gone for months at a time.

How do the kids deal with the stress of having a parent at war? A marine wife and mother of three, came up with a creative way to cope. She's written a couple of books to ease the anxiety of military children or Uncle Sam's kids, as she calls them.

Angela Sportelli-Rehak, joins me from Princeton, New Jersey. Angela, good to see you.

ANGELA SPORTELLI-REHAK, AUTHOR, "WHEN DUTY CALLS": Thank you for having me today.

HARRIS: Help us understand how difficult these deployments are for children and talk us through it from your own experience.

SPORTELLI-REHAK: Oh, my experience have -- has been varied. I've been a Marine Corps wife for over 20 years. And I have experienced my husband deploying through Desert Shield, as well as Enduring Freedom. And depending on the ages of my children when they were toddlers, they experienced senses of regression, withdrawal. As teenagers, they went through feelings of abandonment and anger. So it's been very difficult.

HARRIS: What's the ange (ph) range -- age range of the kids that you are trying to reach with these books?

SPORTELLI-REHAK: Right now, these books I would say K through fourth grade.

HARRIS: K through four?

SPORTELLI-REHAK: Yes, ideal.

HARRIS: And what is it that you're trying to say to them?

Give us a sense of the words you're using to try to reach them and help them understand what is a very difficult time.

SPORTELLI-REHAK: Basically, I wrote the books with the mind-set of letting them know that they are special in the respect. They are Uncle Sam's kids. I wanted to instill a sense of patriotism and pride in what they are doing. And I dedicated the book to America's unsung heroes, because I feel so many times they don't have a say. A mom gets activated overseas or dad has to get orders across country, and often they just have to take the brunt of it and go with the flow. So they have a very important part, I feel, in contributing to our nation's freedom.

HARRIS: What's been the reception to the books and who is buying them?

SPORTELLI-REHAK: The reception has been really wonderful. The Marine Corps has purchased many that they've implemented in their family resource programs. The army has used the books overseas in a library program where they videotape the soldiers reading the books home to their children. They're being distributed through many of our Barnes and Nobles and Waldenbooks just for grandparents or aunts or uncles who want to know what it's like to serve.

HARRIS: Angela, help me set this section of the book up. It's about the stars. Set this up and then I'm going to read a little bit about it.

SPORTELLI-REHAK: OK.

HARRIS: The candy stars. Can you set that up for us?

You know the portion of the book I'm talking about? No, no, no, let me read it.

SPORTELLI-REHAK: Yes, yes. I'm sorry, I am misunderstanding your question.

HARRIS: OK. OK. Just set that up, before I read it. The section of the book where you're talking about the candy stars in the jar for the kids.

SPORTELLI-REHAK: Yes, yes. Yes, I said. The picture -- the candy stars, the reason that I did the stars was because I wanted to offer a coping mechanism for our children. When my husband went away, I said to the children, I'd like you to eat a star every day. And every day that daddy was gone, they would have a star and when the jar was empty, he would be home.

HARRIS: OK. Here it is. The stars are a reminder that I will be home with each of you as soon as I can. Each night before you say your bedtime prayers, I want you to look out of your window and wish upon the brightest star you can find. When you find it, eat a piece of candy. Wherever I am, I will be wishing on that same bright star, and I'll remember that each night you eat one is a day closer to me coming home.

SPORTELLI-REHAK: Yes.

HARRIS: Those words really resinate -- resonate. The kids really get it, they really understand it?

SPORTELLI-REHAK: They do. And you know, there are so many wonderful coping techniques that families do. That was something that we did. And it was just to remind them, that no matter where dad or mom are in the world, that they are a family. And you know, when they go to bed at night and they say their bedtime prayers or they look up into the sky and wonder, where is dad or where is mom, it's just a reminder that they're right here inside of them.

HARRIS: Yes. How important is the attitude of the stay-at-home parent through all of this?

SPORTELLI-REHAK: Oh, very important. And it's such a burden sometimes to the parent who is left behind, because they have to deal with all of the responsibilities, you know. It's no longer a shared situation. So, it's very important for the mom or dad who is left at home to never lose a sense of him or herself, to become involved in the community and to keep active in whatever it is that helps them, whether it's reaching out to church members or families or anything.

HARRIS: Angela, good to see you.

SPORTELLI-REHAK: Good to see you.

HARRIS: Happy holidays.

SPORTELLI-REHAK: And thank you so much for having me.

HARRIS: Oh, it's our pleasure. Let me just remind people of the book, again, it's Uncle Sam's Kids and the latest is "When Duty Calls."

Angela, good to see you.

SPORTELLI-REHAK: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: So, how low can they go?

America's big superstores is under pressure to cut prices even further. We've got the details.

And next hour, the top 10 list of Christmas songs. What would you pick?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Well, Wal-Mart is not -- wow, not having a very jolly holiday season. So now it's going to some rather extraordinary lengths to attract some shoppers.

PHILLIPS: Rhonda Schaffler, not just the greeters anymore when they walk into the door, they are so cute with their little smiley stickers.

RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, that wasn't getting enough people into the store to shop. What Wal-Mart has had to do is do what every other retailer has and that is cut prices. We've been reporting since Black Friday, Wal-Mart had some disappointing sales. And that's obviously one of the most important shopping days of the year. So to try to make up for that, what Wal- Mart is doing is cutting prices on some of its most popular items by as much as one-third. And this does start today. The discounted items include everything from portable DVD players to Elmo toys. And it's going to be an advertising blitz. For the first time, Wal-Mart plans to run full-page newspaper ads. They'll also run ads on television and radio and, of course, this could be great news for consumers. When big retailers like Wal-Mart cut prices, others may of course follow suit.

HARRIS: We love to hear that.

PHILLIPS: Wall Street, got to tell us what's going on with the chipmaker.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

HARRIS: Rhonda, thank you. We will check the headlines next.

PHILLIPS: We're also following developments in the Michael Jackson case. A search warrant is being carried out right now as we speak.

HARRIS: Plus, the most popular holiday songs of all time. Find out who -- yes, you know he's going to be on the list, of course.

PHILLIPS: Oh, Bing, he's such a charmer. Look at this.

HARRIS: Come on. He's Bing Crosby.

PHILLIPS: Why can't courting be like this nowadays.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired December 3, 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: As we told you at the top of the hour, sheriff's investigators in California are once again searching Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch. CNN's Miguel Marquez is following the story for us from Los Angeles. Miguel, what do you know?
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this would be the third search warrant served on Neverland ranch. The first two were on 11/17 of last year, just about a year ago now, when his ranch was initially searched. Two warrants on that day. A third warrant today.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff's officials do tell us that a warrant was searched this morning at 9:00 a.m. They expect that investigators will be up at Neverland ranch for much of the day there. They are there right now. There is also another warrant for Neverland ranch, issued back in February of this year. That one was to search the computer hard drives of those computers that were pulled out of Neverland ranch from the first search.

It's not clear what investigators are looking for in this latest search of Neverland ranch, but at one point during the various hearings they've had in this trial, the judge, Rodney Melville, told the prosecutor's office, are we going to keep searching? Are we ever going to stop searching and get on with this case because this case is going to trial, he says, on January 31st of next year. That's when jury selection is expected to start.

And next Monday is yet another hearing in this case and we expect once the new year starts, it's going to be almost nonstop hearings until this case begins on January 31st -- Tony.

HARRIS: Okay. Miguel, so the last -- let me just sort of make sure I'm clear here. The last search warrant was issued and conducted in February, is that correct?

MARQUEZ: It was a search warrant issued in order to search the hard drives of computers that they pulled out of Neverland ranch from last year.

HARRIS: I see. I see.

MARQUEZ: This current search warrant, we're not entirely clear what they're looking for, if they're looking at specific areas of Neverland ranch, if they're looking for something specific on Neverland ranch, if the material they have gathered so far has led them to want something more for Neverland ranch. But they've certainly been up there quite a bit and this is yet another search of properties you know, of Michael Jackson in this case.

HARRIS: Give me a sense -- I'm just trying to set up a timeline of when the last time -- when the last time was when the investigators were actually in Neverland. Was that last year or was that during the course of this year?

MARQUEZ: It would have been last year, November 17th of last year, just about a year ago when they first searched Neverland ranch. That's what kicked off this entire investigation. A couple of other locations were searched that day in Los Angeles. A couple of locations in Los Angeles, but Neverland has certainly been the crux and the place where most of the evidence in this case seems to have come so far. Investigators seem to believe there's more material up there.

HARRIS: OK. Miguel, stand by. We'll give you an opportunity to work your phones and your sources. But stand by. We'll come back to you in a few minutes for an update -- Kyra.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Harvey Levin with "Celebrity Justice" on the phone with us now. Harvey, you've been following this case for a number of years, what do you know at this point?

HARVEY LEVIN, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": OK, here's what I'm being told. There have been rumblings about this and from what I'm gathering now, this is not something that was just done on the spur of the moment, but there seemed to be something curious going on all this week with Santa Barbara officials.

And I think this is the fruition of it all. I think the key to all of this is on Monday, there's a deadline in the case. And the deadline is that the prosecution has to turn all of their evidence over to the defense. And given that, that there is this looming deadline, it may be that the prosecutors and/or the Sheriff's Department have decided that they have to button something up quickly, that they don't have, in order to comply with the judge's order to turn everything over.

So I know that they seized a ton of stuff over at Neverland in the other raids. And that it took them a long time to go through it, partly because the judge wouldn't let them evaluate some of it until recently. So, from what I'm hearing, they really didn't know what they had until they were able to go through everything and then maybe they're lacking something as part of the case that they're building that they finally discovered because they're finally allowed to go through all the evidence. And that's what this may be, buttoning up their case quickly before this deadline approaches on Monday.

PHILLIPS: And the trial's supposed to be in January of 2005, right?

LEVIN: The trial's supposed to be January.

PHILLIPS: OK, so what did they seize last time, Harvey, and could they be going after the same type of evidence now that they did last time? LEVIN: Well, they seized a lot of stuff, Kyra. They seized computers, they seized notes, they seized all sorts of things. And some of the stuff that they took, the defense was arguing was protected by lawyer/client privilege, that they had exceeded the bounds of the search warrant. And just fairly recently, the judge basically ruled on all of this evidence on what was fair game and what wasn't.

So they were kind of sitting on a lot of -- I'm not talking about five or six or seven things. I'm talking about thousands of items that they took. It doesn't mean that it's all relevant to the case. But they weren't allowed to go through it until the judge gave the green light.

And you know, one of the things they're trying to do is -- this boy has painted a picture of Michael Jackson showing them pictures of naked women on computers and other photographs. The boy's brother has said the same thing. They've talked about where certain items were in the home, and one of the things they did in the search is to see if the boy's story rings true by finding what the boy said would be found. So that's a big part of their case, just to verify whether these kids are telling the truth or not.

PHILLIPS: You really think this trial is going to happen in January. I mean, you're an attorney. There's a lot involved here.

LEVIN: I mean, there's so much involved here. Do I think it's going to start in January? Probably not. I mean, there's so much going on behind the scenes in this case involving the boy's family, involving the prosecution's case and involving Michael Jackson. I'm not sure that anybody is ready right now. I mean, I know that the defense is really putting on a full-court press, taking a look at the families to see if they can poke holes in the story and to see if there are ulterior motives.

And, you know, I have a feeling that they wouldn't object too much if the trial was pushed a little bit because the next couple of weeks are going to be dead weeks because everybody's on vacation. It would be really shocking to me if it happened.

PHILLIPS: Harvey Levin with "Celebrity Justice." Harvey, thank you so much.

LEVIN: My pleasure.

PHILLIPS: Just tuning in, once again, a search warrant right now served at Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch. Investigators, as Harvey saying, probably looking for last-minute evidence as a deadline approaches that the prosecution has to have all of its evidence to hand over to the defense to get ready for this trial in January, where Michael Jackson faces charges of child molestation.

HARRIS: And we've seen time and time again in these cases where discovery issues, turning information over to the other side, can really bog down these cases. Let's bring in Miguel Marquez again. And Miguel, you talked to Sergeant Pappas, who confirmed for us that the actual warrant was served and that the search was ongoing. What was he able to tell you?

MARQUEZ: Sergeant Chris Pappas is the public information officer for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's office and he was able to tell CNN this morning that, in fact, a search warrant had been issued, that it had been served on Neverland ranch starting at 9:00 Pacific Time this morning, and that most likely, investigators were going to be up there much of the day going through Neverland right now. They are on the premises going through it.

This would be the second time that sheriffs' investigators have been on Neverland ranch in the past year in connection to this case. It would also be the third or -- the fourth search warrant that's been served either on Neverland or materials gathered from Neverland ranch. The first one, of course, being the one that kicked all of us off on November 17th of last year, when investigators went in full force, spent much of the day, a very long day there gathering up evidence, everything from computers, as Harvey said, a lot of paperwork, a lot of physical material, as well. At one point they cut the top off one of Mr. Jackson's mattresses and took that with them as well, which is apparently fairly typical in molestation cases.

And they have tons of material from there and also, as Harvey said, they are pushing up -- both prosecutors and defense are pushing up against the judge's clock of getting all of that material they're going to build their case on to the judge so that he can make a decision as to what is going to be allowed in this case and what isn't. And this trial, the judge says, will start on January 31, and he seems very, set on that date. We kind of expect it to slip but this judge has cleared the calendar for much of December and much of January for all those pretrial hearings that we've been seeing along the way. And he wants to get juries -- he wants to get juries -- the jury seated and the jury selection started by January 31 of this year.

At Neverland Ranch, right now, investigators are going through Mr. Jackson's Neverland Ranch. Again, it's not clear exactly what area of Neverland Ranch they are going through or if there's something specific they are looking for. But we do know that at this point, they are searching Neverland Ranch once again -- Tony.

HARRIS: I'll tell you, it just seems so odd, Miguel. It's been such a long time from this search to the last search. What are they looking for?

And I'm sure you'll keep asking that question. We appreciate it. Thank you, Miguel.

MARQUEZ: Sure.

HARRIS: Ahead, what to tell kids when mom or dad gets deployed.

PHILLIPS: Well, it can be tough for many of them, that's for sure. Our guest straight ahead nicknamed them Uncle Sam's kids. We're going to talk about her new books.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: When duty calls, thousands of American military men and women answer. And often they leave behind families who have to deal with mom or dad being gone for months at a time.

How do the kids deal with the stress of having a parent at war? A marine wife and mother of three, came up with a creative way to cope. She's written a couple of books to ease the anxiety of military children or Uncle Sam's kids, as she calls them.

Angela Sportelli-Rehak, joins me from Princeton, New Jersey. Angela, good to see you.

ANGELA SPORTELLI-REHAK, AUTHOR, "WHEN DUTY CALLS": Thank you for having me today.

HARRIS: Help us understand how difficult these deployments are for children and talk us through it from your own experience.

SPORTELLI-REHAK: Oh, my experience have -- has been varied. I've been a Marine Corps wife for over 20 years. And I have experienced my husband deploying through Desert Shield, as well as Enduring Freedom. And depending on the ages of my children when they were toddlers, they experienced senses of regression, withdrawal. As teenagers, they went through feelings of abandonment and anger. So it's been very difficult.

HARRIS: What's the ange (ph) range -- age range of the kids that you are trying to reach with these books?

SPORTELLI-REHAK: Right now, these books I would say K through fourth grade.

HARRIS: K through four?

SPORTELLI-REHAK: Yes, ideal.

HARRIS: And what is it that you're trying to say to them?

Give us a sense of the words you're using to try to reach them and help them understand what is a very difficult time.

SPORTELLI-REHAK: Basically, I wrote the books with the mind-set of letting them know that they are special in the respect. They are Uncle Sam's kids. I wanted to instill a sense of patriotism and pride in what they are doing. And I dedicated the book to America's unsung heroes, because I feel so many times they don't have a say. A mom gets activated overseas or dad has to get orders across country, and often they just have to take the brunt of it and go with the flow. So they have a very important part, I feel, in contributing to our nation's freedom.

HARRIS: What's been the reception to the books and who is buying them?

SPORTELLI-REHAK: The reception has been really wonderful. The Marine Corps has purchased many that they've implemented in their family resource programs. The army has used the books overseas in a library program where they videotape the soldiers reading the books home to their children. They're being distributed through many of our Barnes and Nobles and Waldenbooks just for grandparents or aunts or uncles who want to know what it's like to serve.

HARRIS: Angela, help me set this section of the book up. It's about the stars. Set this up and then I'm going to read a little bit about it.

SPORTELLI-REHAK: OK.

HARRIS: The candy stars. Can you set that up for us?

You know the portion of the book I'm talking about? No, no, no, let me read it.

SPORTELLI-REHAK: Yes, yes. I'm sorry, I am misunderstanding your question.

HARRIS: OK. OK. Just set that up, before I read it. The section of the book where you're talking about the candy stars in the jar for the kids.

SPORTELLI-REHAK: Yes, yes. Yes, I said. The picture -- the candy stars, the reason that I did the stars was because I wanted to offer a coping mechanism for our children. When my husband went away, I said to the children, I'd like you to eat a star every day. And every day that daddy was gone, they would have a star and when the jar was empty, he would be home.

HARRIS: OK. Here it is. The stars are a reminder that I will be home with each of you as soon as I can. Each night before you say your bedtime prayers, I want you to look out of your window and wish upon the brightest star you can find. When you find it, eat a piece of candy. Wherever I am, I will be wishing on that same bright star, and I'll remember that each night you eat one is a day closer to me coming home.

SPORTELLI-REHAK: Yes.

HARRIS: Those words really resinate -- resonate. The kids really get it, they really understand it?

SPORTELLI-REHAK: They do. And you know, there are so many wonderful coping techniques that families do. That was something that we did. And it was just to remind them, that no matter where dad or mom are in the world, that they are a family. And you know, when they go to bed at night and they say their bedtime prayers or they look up into the sky and wonder, where is dad or where is mom, it's just a reminder that they're right here inside of them.

HARRIS: Yes. How important is the attitude of the stay-at-home parent through all of this?

SPORTELLI-REHAK: Oh, very important. And it's such a burden sometimes to the parent who is left behind, because they have to deal with all of the responsibilities, you know. It's no longer a shared situation. So, it's very important for the mom or dad who is left at home to never lose a sense of him or herself, to become involved in the community and to keep active in whatever it is that helps them, whether it's reaching out to church members or families or anything.

HARRIS: Angela, good to see you.

SPORTELLI-REHAK: Good to see you.

HARRIS: Happy holidays.

SPORTELLI-REHAK: And thank you so much for having me.

HARRIS: Oh, it's our pleasure. Let me just remind people of the book, again, it's Uncle Sam's Kids and the latest is "When Duty Calls."

Angela, good to see you.

SPORTELLI-REHAK: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: So, how low can they go?

America's big superstores is under pressure to cut prices even further. We've got the details.

And next hour, the top 10 list of Christmas songs. What would you pick?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Well, Wal-Mart is not -- wow, not having a very jolly holiday season. So now it's going to some rather extraordinary lengths to attract some shoppers.

PHILLIPS: Rhonda Schaffler, not just the greeters anymore when they walk into the door, they are so cute with their little smiley stickers.

RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, that wasn't getting enough people into the store to shop. What Wal-Mart has had to do is do what every other retailer has and that is cut prices. We've been reporting since Black Friday, Wal-Mart had some disappointing sales. And that's obviously one of the most important shopping days of the year. So to try to make up for that, what Wal- Mart is doing is cutting prices on some of its most popular items by as much as one-third. And this does start today. The discounted items include everything from portable DVD players to Elmo toys. And it's going to be an advertising blitz. For the first time, Wal-Mart plans to run full-page newspaper ads. They'll also run ads on television and radio and, of course, this could be great news for consumers. When big retailers like Wal-Mart cut prices, others may of course follow suit.

HARRIS: We love to hear that.

PHILLIPS: Wall Street, got to tell us what's going on with the chipmaker.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

HARRIS: Rhonda, thank you. We will check the headlines next.

PHILLIPS: We're also following developments in the Michael Jackson case. A search warrant is being carried out right now as we speak.

HARRIS: Plus, the most popular holiday songs of all time. Find out who -- yes, you know he's going to be on the list, of course.

PHILLIPS: Oh, Bing, he's such a charmer. Look at this.

HARRIS: Come on. He's Bing Crosby.

PHILLIPS: Why can't courting be like this nowadays.

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