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Titan Secrets; Fate of Army Reservist in Hands of Jury; Golden Globe Awards
Aired January 14, 2005 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT: A little bit of space history being made. This hour, pictures from the surface of the second largest moon in the solar system, Titan, due to come back. You'll see them here on LIVE FROM.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, prison scandal trial. His face made the front page around the world. Now his fate is being decide inside Ft. Hood, Texas. Did Army Specialist Charles Graner lead abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Rising water forces hundreds of people from their homes. Intense watch over a dam that might not be able to hold back the flood.
NGUYEN: And actress Alfre Woodard joins a star set of cast tonight to honor Martin Luther King, and she joins us this hour for the LIVE FROM interview.
From the CNN Center here in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen.
WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Kyra Phillips is off. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM begins right now.
NGUYEN: You can count on the fingers of just one hand the planets or planetary bodies on which mankind has landed a spacecraft. And today, from all indications, we've reached the pinky.
Add Titan to that very exclusive list, beginning with the moon, Venus, Mars and Jupiter, and add Huygens to your interplanetary lexicon, alongside Apollo, Voyager and Rover. LIVE FROM's own space nut Miles O'Brien is keeping minute-by-minute tabs on the little probe's exploits on the largest moon of Saturn and he joins us now with all those details.
Hey there, Miles.
O'BRIEN: Hello, Betty.
Astronomical company, I guess you could say. Yes, it was everything they could have expected at the European Space Agency, Darmstadt, Germany. They hitched a ride to Saturn, the Saturn system, and Titan on board the Cassini spacecraft built by NASA at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It's truly kind of international "we are the world" type of event.
Nevertheless, this particular probe, only nine feet in diameter, kind of looks like a grade B science fiction flying saucer-type device, did what it was supposed to do, enduring 3,500 degree temperatures and hurdling along at 12,000 miles an hour deep into the haze of the moon Titan. And as it hurdled down, it sent back information, gathered information, and perhaps rewrote a bunch of textbooks.
Let's take a look at the animation as to what happened as it went down early in the morning. And we will take a look at that actually a little bit later on LIVE FROM.
In the meantime, we're waiting for those pictures which are due in about 45 minutes. And as soon as we se them, you'll see them, too -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Miles, what are we hoping to learn from these pictures?
O'BRIEN: Well, this really gives us an opportunity to see what's on that surface of Titan. Is it solid, or is it perhaps covered with lakes made of methane?
And what's interesting about Titan is scientists are pretty convinced that given the atmosphere of it and the way the atmosphere is made, that it is very likely a lot like Earth was four billion years ago before life ever took hold here. And thus, it's sort of like looking at a time capsule, sort of Earth, early Earth or baby earth in a deep freeze. So it could be interesting for you.
NGUYEN: Yes, very fascinating. Can't wait to see those pictures. All right, Miles. We'll check in with you just a little bit later. Thank you -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: The fate of the Army reservist who says he was only following orders when Iraqi prisoners were abused and degraded at Abu Ghraib is now in the hands of a jury. Four officers and six enlisted members got the case against Charles Graner after closing arguments this morning at Graner's court-martial at Fort Hood, Texas.
CNN's Susan Candiotti is there.
And they've been deliberating, what, about an hour and a half now?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fredricka. So the question really before them is will Specialist Charles Graner be found guilty of a prison scandal now known around the world, or will the jury in this case agree with Graner's defense, that he was just a soldier, a long way from home, who said that the orders he got were simply to abuse prisoners were reasonable and that they were legal. Now, here is a look at the five charges against Specialist Charles Graner.
There are two counts of conspiracy to abuse prisoners. And there is one count of dereliction of duty. The others, there are four counts of a charge of maltreatment of prisoners and two specifications or counts of aggravated assault. Finally, one charge of indecent assault on a prisoner. Now, Specialist Charles Graner was smiling as he strode into court this day. He said he felt fantastic about how things have been going. His parents have been at his side throughout, telling us that they love their son and that they are proud of him.
Now, in closing arguments, the defense referred to some of the same photographs that the prosecution has been showing all along, including the one of the naked human being pyramid. The defense explains it this way. They describe it as a cheerleader stack, saying there was nothing wrong with it, no one had any discomfort, no one, they said, was injured.
Prosecutors countered that if the same thing had happened to American soldiers, there is no question that this was abuse. And, in fact, that photograph is the very last thing that this jury saw before they began deliberations. Prosecutors telling them that this cannot become a photograph that will be used for -- as a recruitment technique for the U.S. Army -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Susan Candiotti from Fort Hood. Thanks so much -- Betty.
NGUYEN: And Abu Ghraib itself is in the news today with a violent escape of 28 prisoners late yesterday. A group was being moved by bus to a jail in Baghdad a few miles away when someone undid the ropes that were binding their wrists -- when some of those prisoners undid those ropes and overpowered the guards.
Now, four guards and the driver were badly beaten. One police officer was shot. Thirty-eight prisoners fled, but 10 were recaptured. All are accused of crimes against Iraqis, ranging from theft to murder. A government source tells CNN the escapes may have -- escapees may have had some help from police.
WHITFIELD: Tough talk and now second thoughts now from President Bush? They're some of his most famous expressions about Osama bin Laden and the war in Iraq. But now the president says his words had unintended consequences. Here are the comments and question from 2003 and 2001.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There are some who feel like that, you know, the conditions are such that they can attack us there. My answer is bring 'em on.
I want justice. And there is an old poster out West, as I recall, that said, "Wanted dead or alive."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Well, President Bush says he didn't rehearse the "dead or alive" comment and calls it an example of his plain talk. And he worries some interpreted the "bring 'em on" comment as defiance in the face of danger. He says that certainly wasn't the case. NGUYEN: Well, you've seen the pictures. This is a winter that won't be long forgotten in many parts of the country. But it's rain, not snow, that's causing some of the biggest trouble.
In Corona, California, all eyes on a cracked dam on the Green River. Water is being released to reduce the pressure on the structure, and police say there's no imminent danger. Still, though, the residents of 840 homes have been evacuated as a precaution.
CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen joins us now with much more on all these weather happenings.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Thank you, Dave.
Now, across California, floods and mudslides have claimed 28 lives. Experts say the storms will cost the state more than $100 million in damage to homes and roads.
Flooding is also a problem across Ohio. Overflowing rivers and streams are forcing evacuations and making travel in that region just a mess.
And here surfing of a different kind in Hawaii. Check it out. It's still a tropical paradise on the lower elevations, but the big island summits are covered in snow, and temperatures have dipped into the 20s.
A winter weather warning was in effect for the area earlier this week. That's something you don't see very often, snow in Hawaii.
WHITFIELD: Not quite.
NGUYEN: No.
Well, the slow process of recovering from that devastating Asian tsunami goes on.
WHITFIELD: And we're still getting some pretty extraordinary pictures. Later on LIVE FROM, some new amateur video of what happened when the waves hit.
And up next, the education investigations probes into a payment made to conservative talk show host Armstrong Williams to get him to promote the president's education policy. We'll go in depth straight ahead.
And later, an all-star cast to get set to commemorate a significant moment in the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We'll talk with one of the performers straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, we have some good news for college-bound kids, a plan to hike the amount of financial aid for low-income students. WHITFIELD: Always good news. Kathleen Hays joins us now from the Stock Exchange with a little bit more on that.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Lights, camera, awards. Hollywood's annual gold rush begins in earnest this weekend when the Golden Globe Awards will be handed out. They're considered an important predictor of who will win at the Academy Awards next month.
CNN entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas joins us now from Beverly Hills.
Hello to you.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Hello to you. I'm here at the "InStyle" tent where this place is going to be transformed into a wonderful after-hours Hollywood party after the Golden Globes.
So, you know, Fredricka, you were just saying -- you know, Charlize Theron, she won for "Monster" last year at the Golden Globes and then she went on to get the Oscar. The same with "Mystic River's" Sean Penn.
But how much of a predictor is the Golden Globes to getting Oscar gold? Well, here to answer that question is Mr. Todd O'Neil, film expert extraordinaire.
You are an expert. I mean, not only in the Golden Globes. I mean, you have a Golden Globe.
TODD O'NEIL, SR. EDITOR, "IN TOUCH WEEKLY": Yes, I have a Golden Globe. This is -- I own this as part of my personal collection. This is the award that "Ben-Hur" won for best picture here back in 1959. And of course it went on from here to the Oscars to set the all-time record.
VARGAS: Wow. And you were telling me something very interesting about this Foreign Press Assocation?
O'NEIL: Yes, the foreigners misspelled the word "foreign" in Foreign Press Association.
VARGAS: That's kind of cute.
O'NEIL: It is kind of cute, isn't it?
VARGAS: All right. So tell me, I mean, is it a predictor? Is it a true predictor? I mean, what are...
O'NEIL: That's the big story this year. Because last year, Sibila, they nailed is 100 percent. They even forecast the Oscar in the screenplay race. Remember, it was the big year for "Lord of the Rings."
VARGAS: Yes, that was huge.
O'NEIL: So maybe it was easy because we knew it was going to win best picture, director and screenplay. But it also got the supporting actor categories.
VARGAS: Yes. And let's talk about the -- the leading ladies in the drama category. Imelda Staunton, I've been hearing some wonderful things about her. But, again, she's up against some Hollywood royalty. You've got Nicole Kidman, Uma Thurman, Hilary Swank.
O'NEIL: Right. And I think she's going to win here.
We give actual racetrack odds at goldderby.com, which is my Web site. And we give her 8-5 odds to win. And sometimes the foreign journalists here like to give it to foreigners.
VARGAS: Yes.
O'NEIL: But I don't think Imelda can win at the Oscars. So if they do this kind of Brenda Blethyn thing with "Secrets and Lies," which is the precedent here recently who is an actress very similar, an unknown British actress to Imelda Staunton...
VARGAS: Right.
O'NEIL: ... who is up this year for "Vera Drake," for another Mike Leigh movie, if they do that again, I don't think it can translate to the Oscars. So it will be interesting to see.
Last year, the Oscars moved up one month. So now there's just a few weeks separating the Globes and the Oscars. Right now is when the Oscar voters will be filling up their ballots.
VARGAS: Right. And Hilary Swank may take it, though, with -- you think she might be more of a contender for the Academy Awards?
O'NEIL: Yes, and Annette Bening.
VARGAS: Annette Bening, right. She's in the comedy category at the Golden Globes.
O'NEIL: At the Golden Globes. But I think what we're going to see at the Oscars a face-off between Hilary Imeldan and Annette.
VARGAS: Interesting. OK. Let's talk about the best male in a drama category.
O'NEIL: Right.
VARGAS: Javier Bardem, hearing a lot of things about him. Again, he is also, you know a foreigner.
O'NEIL: And we give him the best odds to win best drama actor here at the Globes. And he'll be the first foreign language performance ever to win if we're right at Gold Derby.
But he's up against Johnny Depp, who has a lot of voter support here, and Leo DiCaprio. But Leo's lost three times. Johnny's lost four times here.
VARGAS: But aren't they due?
O'NEIL: They're due.
VARGAS: Right.
O'NEIL: And I think they know it here. So if Leo wins here, I think he can go on to win the Oscar. But if he doesn't win here, I don't think he can. And Johnny, the same thing. So a lot depends on these Globes.
VARGAS: Yes. And speaking about Leo, he is in this incredible -- "The Aviator," Martin Scorsese. And a lot of people say it's his year and also the year of "The Aviator."
O'NEIL: Right. Yes. And it will be the year of Hollywood, Sibila, because the big story nobody is talking about right now is, if this movie takes off here and goes where no movie has ever gone before, over the best picture finish line at the Oscars, it will be the first time in Hollywood history that a movie about Hollywood won Hollywood's top award. Isn't that fascinating?
VARGAS: That is fascinating. But it is also up against "Million Dollar Baby," which I hear wonderful things about.
O'NEIL: Right.
VARGAS: And doesn't the Hollywood Foreign Press like Clint Eastwood?
O'NEIL: They do. They've twice given him the award for best director.
But I think they're looking for the new talent now. I've sensed that here. That's what they do best, actually.
So I would be more inclined to suspect they would go after "Finding Neverland" than "Million Dollar Baby." The Oscars are different. "Million Dollar Baby" will be more of a contender there. But here I think "Neverland" is.
VARGAS: OK. So, overall, it's going to be a lot of surprises, it seems.
O'NEIL: Oh, I know. It's going to be a great Globe-watching year.
VARGAS: Well, thank you so much for joining us.
O'NEIL: OK. Thanks.
VARGAS: It's been a pleasure, Tom O'Neal.
Fred, back to you.
WHITFIELD: All right, Sibila. Thanks so much.
And, of course, we'll be watching your special throughout the weekend. "The Road to Gold" throughout the weekend.
NGUYEN: Looking forward to the show, yes.
WHITFIELD: I just said that, didn't I, throughout the weekend? That's right, starting tomorrow.
NGUYEN: During the weekend.
Our next guest is no stranger to the Golden Globes. She took one home in 1997 for her role in the television series "Ms. Ever's Boys."
WHITFIELD: And tonight actress Alfre Woodard will take to the stage, along with some other actors and some Nobel Prize laureates to honor the civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. That's straight ahead. We'll talk to her about why tonight is so special on so many levels.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, we have a storm in the making, the controversy over government payments to conservative talk show hosts, Armstrong Williams, that just won't go away. Now Education Secretary Rod Paige wants a probe, and both Republicans and Democrats are asking just how widespread is this practice?
Well, joining me now to talk about the issue, CNN contributor and former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr.
Thanks for being with us.
BOB BAR, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Always a pleasure.
NGUYEN: Well, let's talk about that. Rod Paige wants this investigation to go under way, but earlier he said that everything was legal. What does this tell you?
BARR: Well, a couple of things. One, they have something to be worried about. It's my understanding that the Justice Department may be initiating a probe also.
So you're going to have three probes possibly going on at the same time. Congressional probes in both the House and the Senate to look into whether or not federal funds have been used for purposes other than the purposes for which Congress appropriated the money. Secondly, an internal inspector general probe at the Department of Education. And thirdly, and perhaps the most serious, is if the Justice Department launches a probe into possible criminal wrongdoing.
NGUYEN: That's a lot of probes. And people following this story have a lot to put -- get their mind around with all of these probes. So tell us exactly, what do you have to determine first? Is it simple whether this act was illegal?
BARR: The act certainly was, first and foremost, incredibly stupid for the Bush administration and the Department of Justice to have -- the Department of Education to have allowed this to happen. Secondly, from a journalistic standpoint, it clearly was unethical.
The 64,000 question which you just put your finger on is whether or not it was illegal. It appears to me to have been very likely illegal because there are clear prohibitions in federal law that prohibit federal agencies from paying money to propagandize federal programs.
So what a -- what somebody has to do when they look at this is, one, they have to see what exactly were the monies paid for, out of what account were they paid, and what restrictions in particular might there have been on that particular account. Because it might be that not only is it generally unlawful, but it might have been in violation of a specific appropriation.
NGUYEN: So what could come out of this? What are the consequences? Could you see Armstrong William's give the money back?
BARR: Well, I doubt that he would want to do that. I mean, it's a significant amount of money for -- for somebody in his situation. The real problem is going to be the people at the Department of Education. Either they were incredibly stupid or they deliberately violated federal law. And either way, those particular people, one, ought to be fired, and, secondly, they may be facing a criminal prosecution.
NGUYEN: Do you think this is a widespread situation that with all of these investigations we're going to see more cases like this?
BARR: You never know, but I kind of doubt it. Because the federal law on this, and the perception generally in Washington, is so clear, everybody understands, or at least everybody up to this point understands you don't do this. So when we conducted oversight when I was up in Congress for eight years, we found very, very few instances like this. And I would be surprised if it's widespread.
NGUYEN: And quickly, we're out of time, but how much does politics play in all of this?
BARR: It's a definite black eye for the Bush administration, and it's one of their own making.
NGUYEN: All right. Bob Barr, we appreciate your time and your insight. Thank you.
BARR: Sure.
NGUYEN: There's more LIVE FROM coming up. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired January 14, 2005 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT: A little bit of space history being made. This hour, pictures from the surface of the second largest moon in the solar system, Titan, due to come back. You'll see them here on LIVE FROM.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, prison scandal trial. His face made the front page around the world. Now his fate is being decide inside Ft. Hood, Texas. Did Army Specialist Charles Graner lead abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Rising water forces hundreds of people from their homes. Intense watch over a dam that might not be able to hold back the flood.
NGUYEN: And actress Alfre Woodard joins a star set of cast tonight to honor Martin Luther King, and she joins us this hour for the LIVE FROM interview.
From the CNN Center here in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen.
WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Kyra Phillips is off. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM begins right now.
NGUYEN: You can count on the fingers of just one hand the planets or planetary bodies on which mankind has landed a spacecraft. And today, from all indications, we've reached the pinky.
Add Titan to that very exclusive list, beginning with the moon, Venus, Mars and Jupiter, and add Huygens to your interplanetary lexicon, alongside Apollo, Voyager and Rover. LIVE FROM's own space nut Miles O'Brien is keeping minute-by-minute tabs on the little probe's exploits on the largest moon of Saturn and he joins us now with all those details.
Hey there, Miles.
O'BRIEN: Hello, Betty.
Astronomical company, I guess you could say. Yes, it was everything they could have expected at the European Space Agency, Darmstadt, Germany. They hitched a ride to Saturn, the Saturn system, and Titan on board the Cassini spacecraft built by NASA at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It's truly kind of international "we are the world" type of event.
Nevertheless, this particular probe, only nine feet in diameter, kind of looks like a grade B science fiction flying saucer-type device, did what it was supposed to do, enduring 3,500 degree temperatures and hurdling along at 12,000 miles an hour deep into the haze of the moon Titan. And as it hurdled down, it sent back information, gathered information, and perhaps rewrote a bunch of textbooks.
Let's take a look at the animation as to what happened as it went down early in the morning. And we will take a look at that actually a little bit later on LIVE FROM.
In the meantime, we're waiting for those pictures which are due in about 45 minutes. And as soon as we se them, you'll see them, too -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Miles, what are we hoping to learn from these pictures?
O'BRIEN: Well, this really gives us an opportunity to see what's on that surface of Titan. Is it solid, or is it perhaps covered with lakes made of methane?
And what's interesting about Titan is scientists are pretty convinced that given the atmosphere of it and the way the atmosphere is made, that it is very likely a lot like Earth was four billion years ago before life ever took hold here. And thus, it's sort of like looking at a time capsule, sort of Earth, early Earth or baby earth in a deep freeze. So it could be interesting for you.
NGUYEN: Yes, very fascinating. Can't wait to see those pictures. All right, Miles. We'll check in with you just a little bit later. Thank you -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: The fate of the Army reservist who says he was only following orders when Iraqi prisoners were abused and degraded at Abu Ghraib is now in the hands of a jury. Four officers and six enlisted members got the case against Charles Graner after closing arguments this morning at Graner's court-martial at Fort Hood, Texas.
CNN's Susan Candiotti is there.
And they've been deliberating, what, about an hour and a half now?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fredricka. So the question really before them is will Specialist Charles Graner be found guilty of a prison scandal now known around the world, or will the jury in this case agree with Graner's defense, that he was just a soldier, a long way from home, who said that the orders he got were simply to abuse prisoners were reasonable and that they were legal. Now, here is a look at the five charges against Specialist Charles Graner.
There are two counts of conspiracy to abuse prisoners. And there is one count of dereliction of duty. The others, there are four counts of a charge of maltreatment of prisoners and two specifications or counts of aggravated assault. Finally, one charge of indecent assault on a prisoner. Now, Specialist Charles Graner was smiling as he strode into court this day. He said he felt fantastic about how things have been going. His parents have been at his side throughout, telling us that they love their son and that they are proud of him.
Now, in closing arguments, the defense referred to some of the same photographs that the prosecution has been showing all along, including the one of the naked human being pyramid. The defense explains it this way. They describe it as a cheerleader stack, saying there was nothing wrong with it, no one had any discomfort, no one, they said, was injured.
Prosecutors countered that if the same thing had happened to American soldiers, there is no question that this was abuse. And, in fact, that photograph is the very last thing that this jury saw before they began deliberations. Prosecutors telling them that this cannot become a photograph that will be used for -- as a recruitment technique for the U.S. Army -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Susan Candiotti from Fort Hood. Thanks so much -- Betty.
NGUYEN: And Abu Ghraib itself is in the news today with a violent escape of 28 prisoners late yesterday. A group was being moved by bus to a jail in Baghdad a few miles away when someone undid the ropes that were binding their wrists -- when some of those prisoners undid those ropes and overpowered the guards.
Now, four guards and the driver were badly beaten. One police officer was shot. Thirty-eight prisoners fled, but 10 were recaptured. All are accused of crimes against Iraqis, ranging from theft to murder. A government source tells CNN the escapes may have -- escapees may have had some help from police.
WHITFIELD: Tough talk and now second thoughts now from President Bush? They're some of his most famous expressions about Osama bin Laden and the war in Iraq. But now the president says his words had unintended consequences. Here are the comments and question from 2003 and 2001.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There are some who feel like that, you know, the conditions are such that they can attack us there. My answer is bring 'em on.
I want justice. And there is an old poster out West, as I recall, that said, "Wanted dead or alive."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Well, President Bush says he didn't rehearse the "dead or alive" comment and calls it an example of his plain talk. And he worries some interpreted the "bring 'em on" comment as defiance in the face of danger. He says that certainly wasn't the case. NGUYEN: Well, you've seen the pictures. This is a winter that won't be long forgotten in many parts of the country. But it's rain, not snow, that's causing some of the biggest trouble.
In Corona, California, all eyes on a cracked dam on the Green River. Water is being released to reduce the pressure on the structure, and police say there's no imminent danger. Still, though, the residents of 840 homes have been evacuated as a precaution.
CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen joins us now with much more on all these weather happenings.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Thank you, Dave.
Now, across California, floods and mudslides have claimed 28 lives. Experts say the storms will cost the state more than $100 million in damage to homes and roads.
Flooding is also a problem across Ohio. Overflowing rivers and streams are forcing evacuations and making travel in that region just a mess.
And here surfing of a different kind in Hawaii. Check it out. It's still a tropical paradise on the lower elevations, but the big island summits are covered in snow, and temperatures have dipped into the 20s.
A winter weather warning was in effect for the area earlier this week. That's something you don't see very often, snow in Hawaii.
WHITFIELD: Not quite.
NGUYEN: No.
Well, the slow process of recovering from that devastating Asian tsunami goes on.
WHITFIELD: And we're still getting some pretty extraordinary pictures. Later on LIVE FROM, some new amateur video of what happened when the waves hit.
And up next, the education investigations probes into a payment made to conservative talk show host Armstrong Williams to get him to promote the president's education policy. We'll go in depth straight ahead.
And later, an all-star cast to get set to commemorate a significant moment in the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We'll talk with one of the performers straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, we have some good news for college-bound kids, a plan to hike the amount of financial aid for low-income students. WHITFIELD: Always good news. Kathleen Hays joins us now from the Stock Exchange with a little bit more on that.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Lights, camera, awards. Hollywood's annual gold rush begins in earnest this weekend when the Golden Globe Awards will be handed out. They're considered an important predictor of who will win at the Academy Awards next month.
CNN entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas joins us now from Beverly Hills.
Hello to you.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Hello to you. I'm here at the "InStyle" tent where this place is going to be transformed into a wonderful after-hours Hollywood party after the Golden Globes.
So, you know, Fredricka, you were just saying -- you know, Charlize Theron, she won for "Monster" last year at the Golden Globes and then she went on to get the Oscar. The same with "Mystic River's" Sean Penn.
But how much of a predictor is the Golden Globes to getting Oscar gold? Well, here to answer that question is Mr. Todd O'Neil, film expert extraordinaire.
You are an expert. I mean, not only in the Golden Globes. I mean, you have a Golden Globe.
TODD O'NEIL, SR. EDITOR, "IN TOUCH WEEKLY": Yes, I have a Golden Globe. This is -- I own this as part of my personal collection. This is the award that "Ben-Hur" won for best picture here back in 1959. And of course it went on from here to the Oscars to set the all-time record.
VARGAS: Wow. And you were telling me something very interesting about this Foreign Press Assocation?
O'NEIL: Yes, the foreigners misspelled the word "foreign" in Foreign Press Association.
VARGAS: That's kind of cute.
O'NEIL: It is kind of cute, isn't it?
VARGAS: All right. So tell me, I mean, is it a predictor? Is it a true predictor? I mean, what are...
O'NEIL: That's the big story this year. Because last year, Sibila, they nailed is 100 percent. They even forecast the Oscar in the screenplay race. Remember, it was the big year for "Lord of the Rings."
VARGAS: Yes, that was huge.
O'NEIL: So maybe it was easy because we knew it was going to win best picture, director and screenplay. But it also got the supporting actor categories.
VARGAS: Yes. And let's talk about the -- the leading ladies in the drama category. Imelda Staunton, I've been hearing some wonderful things about her. But, again, she's up against some Hollywood royalty. You've got Nicole Kidman, Uma Thurman, Hilary Swank.
O'NEIL: Right. And I think she's going to win here.
We give actual racetrack odds at goldderby.com, which is my Web site. And we give her 8-5 odds to win. And sometimes the foreign journalists here like to give it to foreigners.
VARGAS: Yes.
O'NEIL: But I don't think Imelda can win at the Oscars. So if they do this kind of Brenda Blethyn thing with "Secrets and Lies," which is the precedent here recently who is an actress very similar, an unknown British actress to Imelda Staunton...
VARGAS: Right.
O'NEIL: ... who is up this year for "Vera Drake," for another Mike Leigh movie, if they do that again, I don't think it can translate to the Oscars. So it will be interesting to see.
Last year, the Oscars moved up one month. So now there's just a few weeks separating the Globes and the Oscars. Right now is when the Oscar voters will be filling up their ballots.
VARGAS: Right. And Hilary Swank may take it, though, with -- you think she might be more of a contender for the Academy Awards?
O'NEIL: Yes, and Annette Bening.
VARGAS: Annette Bening, right. She's in the comedy category at the Golden Globes.
O'NEIL: At the Golden Globes. But I think what we're going to see at the Oscars a face-off between Hilary Imeldan and Annette.
VARGAS: Interesting. OK. Let's talk about the best male in a drama category.
O'NEIL: Right.
VARGAS: Javier Bardem, hearing a lot of things about him. Again, he is also, you know a foreigner.
O'NEIL: And we give him the best odds to win best drama actor here at the Globes. And he'll be the first foreign language performance ever to win if we're right at Gold Derby.
But he's up against Johnny Depp, who has a lot of voter support here, and Leo DiCaprio. But Leo's lost three times. Johnny's lost four times here.
VARGAS: But aren't they due?
O'NEIL: They're due.
VARGAS: Right.
O'NEIL: And I think they know it here. So if Leo wins here, I think he can go on to win the Oscar. But if he doesn't win here, I don't think he can. And Johnny, the same thing. So a lot depends on these Globes.
VARGAS: Yes. And speaking about Leo, he is in this incredible -- "The Aviator," Martin Scorsese. And a lot of people say it's his year and also the year of "The Aviator."
O'NEIL: Right. Yes. And it will be the year of Hollywood, Sibila, because the big story nobody is talking about right now is, if this movie takes off here and goes where no movie has ever gone before, over the best picture finish line at the Oscars, it will be the first time in Hollywood history that a movie about Hollywood won Hollywood's top award. Isn't that fascinating?
VARGAS: That is fascinating. But it is also up against "Million Dollar Baby," which I hear wonderful things about.
O'NEIL: Right.
VARGAS: And doesn't the Hollywood Foreign Press like Clint Eastwood?
O'NEIL: They do. They've twice given him the award for best director.
But I think they're looking for the new talent now. I've sensed that here. That's what they do best, actually.
So I would be more inclined to suspect they would go after "Finding Neverland" than "Million Dollar Baby." The Oscars are different. "Million Dollar Baby" will be more of a contender there. But here I think "Neverland" is.
VARGAS: OK. So, overall, it's going to be a lot of surprises, it seems.
O'NEIL: Oh, I know. It's going to be a great Globe-watching year.
VARGAS: Well, thank you so much for joining us.
O'NEIL: OK. Thanks.
VARGAS: It's been a pleasure, Tom O'Neal.
Fred, back to you.
WHITFIELD: All right, Sibila. Thanks so much.
And, of course, we'll be watching your special throughout the weekend. "The Road to Gold" throughout the weekend.
NGUYEN: Looking forward to the show, yes.
WHITFIELD: I just said that, didn't I, throughout the weekend? That's right, starting tomorrow.
NGUYEN: During the weekend.
Our next guest is no stranger to the Golden Globes. She took one home in 1997 for her role in the television series "Ms. Ever's Boys."
WHITFIELD: And tonight actress Alfre Woodard will take to the stage, along with some other actors and some Nobel Prize laureates to honor the civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. That's straight ahead. We'll talk to her about why tonight is so special on so many levels.
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NGUYEN: Well, we have a storm in the making, the controversy over government payments to conservative talk show hosts, Armstrong Williams, that just won't go away. Now Education Secretary Rod Paige wants a probe, and both Republicans and Democrats are asking just how widespread is this practice?
Well, joining me now to talk about the issue, CNN contributor and former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr.
Thanks for being with us.
BOB BAR, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Always a pleasure.
NGUYEN: Well, let's talk about that. Rod Paige wants this investigation to go under way, but earlier he said that everything was legal. What does this tell you?
BARR: Well, a couple of things. One, they have something to be worried about. It's my understanding that the Justice Department may be initiating a probe also.
So you're going to have three probes possibly going on at the same time. Congressional probes in both the House and the Senate to look into whether or not federal funds have been used for purposes other than the purposes for which Congress appropriated the money. Secondly, an internal inspector general probe at the Department of Education. And thirdly, and perhaps the most serious, is if the Justice Department launches a probe into possible criminal wrongdoing.
NGUYEN: That's a lot of probes. And people following this story have a lot to put -- get their mind around with all of these probes. So tell us exactly, what do you have to determine first? Is it simple whether this act was illegal?
BARR: The act certainly was, first and foremost, incredibly stupid for the Bush administration and the Department of Justice to have -- the Department of Education to have allowed this to happen. Secondly, from a journalistic standpoint, it clearly was unethical.
The 64,000 question which you just put your finger on is whether or not it was illegal. It appears to me to have been very likely illegal because there are clear prohibitions in federal law that prohibit federal agencies from paying money to propagandize federal programs.
So what a -- what somebody has to do when they look at this is, one, they have to see what exactly were the monies paid for, out of what account were they paid, and what restrictions in particular might there have been on that particular account. Because it might be that not only is it generally unlawful, but it might have been in violation of a specific appropriation.
NGUYEN: So what could come out of this? What are the consequences? Could you see Armstrong William's give the money back?
BARR: Well, I doubt that he would want to do that. I mean, it's a significant amount of money for -- for somebody in his situation. The real problem is going to be the people at the Department of Education. Either they were incredibly stupid or they deliberately violated federal law. And either way, those particular people, one, ought to be fired, and, secondly, they may be facing a criminal prosecution.
NGUYEN: Do you think this is a widespread situation that with all of these investigations we're going to see more cases like this?
BARR: You never know, but I kind of doubt it. Because the federal law on this, and the perception generally in Washington, is so clear, everybody understands, or at least everybody up to this point understands you don't do this. So when we conducted oversight when I was up in Congress for eight years, we found very, very few instances like this. And I would be surprised if it's widespread.
NGUYEN: And quickly, we're out of time, but how much does politics play in all of this?
BARR: It's a definite black eye for the Bush administration, and it's one of their own making.
NGUYEN: All right. Bob Barr, we appreciate your time and your insight. Thank you.
BARR: Sure.
NGUYEN: There's more LIVE FROM coming up. Stay with us.
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