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Michael Jackson Potential Jurors Go Through Screening; Space Shuttle Columbia Astronauts Remembered; Rapper Snoop Dogg Accused of Rape
Aired February 01, 2005 - 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: "Now in the News," the Pentagon is examining a photo posted on an Islamist Web site purportedly of a U.S. soldier being held hostage. The Al Mujahedin Brigade is threatening to behead the man if the U.S. doesn't release Iraqi prisoners. Military officials haven't confirmed any soldier is missing or captured.
A guilty plea in the Abu Ghraib Prison scandal, Sergeant Javal Davis pleaded guilty to three of five charges, including battery, in exchange for an 18-month prison sentence. Davis' trial was scheduled to begin tomorrow.
This is Tom Ridge's last day as homeland security secretary. In his farewell to employees yesterday, Ridge said his department has brought America one step closer to greater security for generations to come. Confirmation hearings for that man nominated to succeed him, Michael Chertoff, begins tomorrow.
It's been a solemn day at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A service was held for seven astronauts killed aboard Space Shuttle Columbia which broke apart as it entered Earth's atmosphere two years ago today.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Three hundred more prospective jurors are at a Santa Maria, California, courthouse being questioned for the Michael Jackson child molestation trial. Jackson is also back in court for day two of jury selection. There he is under the umbrella wearing black today, gold trim, we're told.
Is it really possible to find 12 impartial men and women to judge someone who spent so much of his life in the spotlight? CNN's Jason Caroll takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It all seems so familiar. Sunday, on the eve of his trial, Michael Jackson released a statement on the Internet.
MICHAEL JACKSON, SINGER: And I have great faith in our justice system. Please keep an open mind.
CARROLL: In fact, we have seen Jackson do this before. In 1993, after a teenaged boy accused him of sexual molestation, Jackson released a four-minute statement proclaiming his innocence. The following year, an out of court settlement of the ensuing lawsuit reportedly cost Jackson $20 million.
Michael Jackson's been on everyone's cultural radar since he was a little boy. We all know his songs, his music videos like "Billie Jean," "Beat It" and "Thriller" were the must-see-TV of the '80s and '90s.
Society can forgive celebrities for being eccentric, but sometimes the arc of celebrity goes through a crash and burn phase. Billions of people around the world saw Michael Jackson's looks change and his behavior change. And many made up their minds.
In New York...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wouldn't be able to be objective.
CARROLL: In Los Angeles...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The possibility of people getting on the jury that are already biased to Michael's guilt, it's inevitable.
CARROLL: Maybe not. Here's what the law requires.
LAURIE LEVINSON, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL: Michael Jackson is not entitled to a jury of other pop stars. That's not what "jury of your peers" means. It simply means a fair jury from the community that will keep an open mind and decide the case on the evidence.
CARROLL (on camera): The task of finding jurors is done during a process called voir dire. That's when attorneys on both sides can question potential jurors about their ability to be impartial. That process in the Jackson case could take up to two weeks.
JULIE BLACKMAN, TRIAL STRATEGY CONSULTANT: It will be challenging, and it will be very important for them to be asking detailed questions of people about what they do know and what they've thought about what they know, so that they get not only a sense of what information people have collected, but how they've passed judgment on it if they have.
CARROLL: Julie Blackman is a jury consultant who has worked on high-profile cases such as Martha Stewart and hotel heiress Leona Helmsley. Her advice to attorneys in the Jackson case...
BLACKMAN: I think they have to talk to the jurors about the importance of separating the press reports from what happens in the courtroom.
CARROLL: And the press reports are sure to keep coming as the Jackson trial draws near.
Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: So what will it take to find those 12 jurors plus alternates? Let's get some insight from George Washington University law professor Paul Butler. He joins us from our D.C. bureau.
Professor Butler, good to see you again.
PAUL BUTLER, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Good afternoon, Miles. It's good to be here.
O'BRIEN: All right. What's interesting to me is, so far they've interviewed 300-plus actually, probably 600 now. And the proportion of people who are willing to give up their lives and spend six months on this trial is right around 50 percent, which is very high, I'm told, according to experts. Normally it would be about a quarter of those that would say they could do it. What does that tell you?
BUTLER: Well, I think it's encouraging. The judge here lectured the jurors before this selection process began. And he told them that their service is not only an important part of our criminal justice system, it's actually a fundamental aspect of our democracy. And that message seems to have sunk in.
O'BRIEN: Now, wait. What I'm driving at here, don't you think they're just kind of lured by the celebrity of all this? Maybe they're thinking book deal? Maybe they're -- some sort of stealth juror kind of arrangement?
BUTLER: You know, Miles, I really don't think so, because if you look at jurors in other high-profile cases, most of them haven't made a lot of money. Maybe they're on TV a day or two after the case ends. But is that worth giving up five months of your life? I don't think so. And most jurors I think are really in it to fulfill their civic obligations.
O'BRIEN: Well, so how do you explain the high percentage there in Santa Barbara County?
BUTLER: I think a lot has to do with the judges reminding the potential jurors that our democracy doesn't work unless people, whether it's soldiers or individual jurors in individual cases, are willing to make sacrifice. We all have to pitch in. And I think that's what a large percentage of these people want to do.
O'BRIEN: How key is the issue of race in selection for this jury? Let's, first of all, talk about it from the prosecution's perspective.
BUTLER: Well, the prosecution has to say it doesn't make a difference. Legally Mr. Jackson is not entitled to have any African- Americans on his jury. And if we look at the potential pool, it seems rather likely that he won't. Only about 5 percent or less of the population of that area...
O'BRIEN: It's 2.3 percent according to the latest Census information, Santa Barbara's African-Americans list themselves that way, which is less than half of the norm for California, 72 percent white. So yes, that will be difficult. What is the defense's strategy in all that? BUTLER: The defense is going to say that there's not going to be any confidence in the verdict, unless Mr. Jackson has a representative jury that includes African-Americans. They'll point to studies that suggest that blacks get a fairer trial if they have three or four, at least, blacks on their jury.
So they'll try to move again for a change of venue, and they'll certainly carefully look at every potential black juror who comes along to make sure that the prosecutors don't try to get rid of them for the wrong reason.
O'BRIEN: Now, help me clear up one thing, which I think is a myth. I think there's an assumption out there, maybe from the movies, that they try to find people who don't know anything about the case. Well, if you really did find somebody who didn't know anything about this case, wouldn't you be a little worried about that person?
BUTLER: Absolutely, Miles. You don't want and don't expect in this case to find a juror who never heard of Michael Jackson, who doesn't know that Michael Jackson has been accused of serious crimes because that would mean that that person's not in touch with reality, she's not living on the planet. So what you want is people who can say, I can put aside what I think I know, and only listen to the evidence that the judge allows.
O'BRIEN: And that's something you sort of have to take at face value. How, in the time allotted -- of course, we're talking about a month here just to get to this point, the time allotted, can lawyers really get an honest answer from folks on that?
BUTLER: Well, they believe they can. Again, the first stage is for jurors to fill out an extensive questionnaire. Then the second stage is for individual questions where each side, defense and prosecution, and then the judge will all be able to carefully look at these people and to determine whether they really can be objective.
O'BRIEN: All right. So you think net-net here that a month from now, if we were to take, there would be a decent jury that would be palatable to both sides in this case?
BUTLER: No, I don't.
(LAUGHTER)
BUTLER: Again, the defense is going to have concerns if there are no African-Americans on the jury. So I think that that's a flag right there. So I think that hopefully both sides will say, even if it's not a representative jury or a jury with any blacks on it, it's a jury that can be fair and objective.
O'BRIEN: Paul Butler, esquire, teaches the law at George Washington University. Thanks for your time.
BUTLER: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: Kyra. PHILLIPS: Other news across America now, a college near Syracuse, New York, is canceling a speaking invitation after receiving death threats. Shortly after the 9/11 attacks, University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill praised the terrorists and compared their victims to Nazis. His essay got little attention until Hamilton College recently invited him to speak. Churchill has resigned as the department chair, but he's remaining on as a faculty member.
Firefighters in Allentown, Pennsylvania, are containing a colossal gasoline pipeline blaze. About 30 people had to evacuate nearby homes and businesses. No injuries reported.
Some 700 college students are safely back in Hawaii after a terrifying experience on the high seas. A 50-foot wave slammed into a semester-at-sea research vessel. Students recalled the event today on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID WELCH, SEMESTER-AT-SEA: It was very freaky in the morning when we were woken up and told to put our life jackets on and then make our way to the fifth deck. Women and children first, and then men. You don't know what to think. You could be dying in half an hour. There was really no way to know what was going to happen. So yes, I was a little bit panicked.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, that wave damaged the ship's engines and injured two crew members. The ship has now arrived in Honolulu.
O'BRIEN: Can you imagine if you're on your way to the fifth deck and you say Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet? You'd be pretty panicked, wouldn't you?
PHILLIPS: I don't know if I'd panic, I might get a little excited if I saw Leo.
O'BRIEN: "King of the world."
All right. Don't let your dream trip to the Super Bowl turn into a nightmare.
PHILLIPS: A warning about some of those air fare and hotel offers coming up.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Some major legal trouble for rapper Snoop Dogg and the Walt Disney Company.
And "The Sopranos" show is going, going, gone to the highest bidder. I'll explain when LIVE FROM continues.
PHILLIPS: Plus, the shot of the day from Jordan Snipes in a college hoops game...
O'BRIEN: That was not the shot. PHILLIPS: That was not it. That's your typical three-point...
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: There it is! There it is!
I can watch that all day long. And so that's what we'll do, we'll come back and we'll just watch it.
PHILLIPS: He didn't win $1 million, though.
O'BRIEN: For the remainder of the program, we'll just watch it over and over again.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
PHILLIPS: Well, one pop diva is focusing more on her career, just as another one is scaling back. HBO decides who gets to rerun "The Sopranos" and a big-name rapper refuses to take the ugly rap on an ugly accusation. CNN entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas in Los Angeles with the details -- Sibila.
VARGAS: That's right, Kyra. Rapper Snoop Dogg is being sued. The rapper-turned-actor stands accused of rape by a makeup artist. Makeup artist Kylie Bell is suing Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, for $25 million. Bell is alleging the rapper and three of his associates raped her after offering her champagne and apparently spiking it with some type of drug.
The alleged incident happened two years ago on the set of the "Jimmy Kimmel Live" show. The makeup artist alleges it happened in the rap star's dressing room after Snoop Dogg finished taping a segment of the show, where he was a guest co-host. Bell is also suing ABC and its parent company, the Walt Disney Company, as well as the "Jimmy Kimmel Live" show.
An ABC spokesperson issued this statement, quote: "There is simply no merit to the charges against the company." Unquote. And Snoop Dogg's publicist says, "It is truly unfortunate that Ms. Bell has chosen to follow the increasingly common path of misusing the legal system as a means of extracting financial gain from entertainers and other celebrities. We are confident that in the case, Ms. Bell's claims against Snoop Dogg will be rejected."
Well, in other news, A&E is celebrating after winning a bidding war to air reruns of the show "The Sopranos." Let's just say they made HBO an offer they couldn't refuse. A&E shelled out a record- breaking $2.5 million per episode for the gangster drama. A&E plans to begin airing "The Sopranos" in the fall 2006, after "The Sopranos"' sixth and final season concludes on HBO.
And speaking of conclusions, Cher says she's ready to finally hang up her touring hat.
(MUSIC)
The singer says she's bringing her farewell tour to end and giving up her life on the road for good. Cher's farewell "Never Can Say Goodbye" tour is scheduled to wrap up April 30th at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Why L.A.? And are you sure she's really going to end this tour? I don't know if I believe it.
VARGAS: I know. I mean, how long has this tour been going on? I thought she was gone, like, three years ago. And here she is again. Well, in that particular venue in Los Angeles, the Hollywood Bowl, is where she first performed with Sonny Bono some 40 years ago, so there's definitely some sentimental value there.
Now, and speaking of other singers, she's gone from dancing to belting out tunes to judging on "American Idol," but apparently Paula Abdul is tired of sitting on the sidelines. Abdul, who hit it big with a string of hits such as "Forever Your Girl" and "Straight Up Now Tell Me," says she misses singing.
The 42-year-old says after that the season of "American Idol," she'll dedicate more time to her singing career. And it will be interesting to see if she puts out a comeback album. And I'm sure that -- you know, Kyra, you're a fan. I'm a fan. But what about Miles?
PHILLIPS: I don't know. I'm a fan of your singing. Miles got all excited that you belted out a tune again.
O'BRIEN: Sibila does more singing than any correspondent in network television.
PHILLIPS: You like that.
O'BRIEN: I do. It kind of makes -- I'm always wondering what it's going to be.
VARGAS: I love to sing for you guys. I just -- I can't help it. I almost feel as if I don't do it, I'm letting you guys down.
O'BRIEN: You know who's big on it, too, is Robin Meade on "HEADLINE." So if I could get the two of you to do a duet.
PHILLIPS: That's true. Oh my gosh, Robin Meade. She is amazing.
VARGAS: I'm into it. I'm into it. Can you guys hook me up?
PHILLIPS: Yes, we'll get you a little duet going on.
VARGAS: All right, cool.
O'BRIEN: Well, thanks, Sibila.
He's a famous pitchman, and he didn't even know it. That is just one of the many popular stories on cnn.com right now. We'll show you what else is getting a lot of hits, as they say in that biz. Up next.
PHILLIPS: And is there a level playing field for coaches in the NFL? That story just ahead on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Well, this is the kind of shot players dream of. Game's in overtime, everything's on the line, and then at the buzzer, that impossible last-minute heave which usually just goes as an airball. Check this out. This is Gilford (ph). George Snipes (ph), yes, hurls the basketball like a baseball, and there you have it. Kisses the rafters, drops through the hoop, swoosh! nothing but net. Swing. Gilford wins, beating league leader Randolph (ph) 9189 stunning their fans in Ashland, Virginia, last night. The rest is basketball history as they say.
PHILLIPS: Don't forget LIVE FROM. But of course keeping current is just a click away. Veronica De La Cruz and the CNN.com is tracking these popular stories on the web. What are they?
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Kyra. The top stories now on the web: number one, unwitting coffee model awarded $15.6 million. Now, this man was the "Taster's Choice" coffee man for years, and he didn't even know it. Now, Russell Chrisoff (ph) was a former model. He did a photo shoot years ago. He thought that nothing ever came of those pictures. Then he walks into a store, and he sees himself on a container of "Taster's Choice."
And let's just say, Kyra, that this man is finally getting paid.
Now, in second place, huge wave damages college-at-sea ship. And I know you guys talked about this one earlier. So I'm not going to get into too much detail. But if you'd like the details, you can, of course, go to CNN.com. And we also have video of that story.
Now, in third position, Super Bowl to feature tiny turf cam. This year, a whole new way to watch the Super Bowl, these tiny turf cams are going to be providing a bird's-eye view. Again, the details at CNN.com.
Now, Kyra, the way that we track these stories is we look at which stories are getting the most clicks. And we do give you the top ten stories and they're updated every 20 minutes. Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: All right. CNN.com. Thanks, Veronica.
Well, the Transportation Department issuing a bit of a warning. Last-minute Super Bowl packages might leave you out in the cold as far as the game is concerned.
O'BRIEN: You've got to be careful. I think there are only about 36 hotel rooms in Jacksonville. And there's going to be about 9 million people going there.
PHILLIPS: The mayor of Jacksonville is going to call you up and be very upset. O'BRIEN: They're bringing in cruise ships and sending people down to St. Augustine. They're screaming at us because Michael Jackson is moving in Santa Maria.
PHILLIPS: Not quite sure where he's going.
O'BRIEN: There's some of his legal team there.
PHILLIPS: It's the Jacko watch.
O'BRIEN: Actually...
PHILLIPS: I think we might have missed him. Did we miss him?
O'BRIEN: I don't know. Did we miss him? All right. We're going to try to retrack that, as we say, in the racket here. Let's do it real quick. Can we spool it up right now? Do we have it on the back row?
PHILLIPS: We're getting the big reverse. (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Here we go.
O'BRIEN: Let's do it right now. This is Santa Maria, second day of jury selection.
PHILLIPS: Here it comes. Ready?
O'BRIEN: There he is, wearing black, gold trim. Out he goes through the metal detector. His attorneys following him, off to lunch, they go. We'll try to get you the menu a little later.
PHILLIPS: Second day of jury selection. Don't forget to add that.
O'BRIEN: I said that already. You weren't listening.
PHILLIPS: I'm sorry.
O'BRIEN: Susan Lisovicz, let's talk about Jacksonville where they're bringing in cruise ships, motor homes, double wides, people renting out their homes, right?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, you're talking to me! I'm sorry.
PHILLIPS: Poor Susan. Susan, I know you were captivated by Michael Jackson...
LISOVICZ: I was stunned.
PHILLIPS: Coming out of the courtroom.
O'BRIEN: She was wondering where she could get a black suit just like it.
LISOVICZ: Well, he was wearing white yesterday, black today. I've got black on, too, but I don't have the gold epaulets and all the trim. What I do have to tell you is if that last-minute Super Bowl package sounds too good to be true, chances are it probably is. The Department of Transportation says some high-priced air and lodging packages to Sunday's Super Bowl include everything but a ticket to the game. It recommends paying with a credit card to get some degree of protection from scams. Make sure the package description explicitly includes a ticket to the game. And remember that if the tour package does include tickets but fails to provide them, then customers are eligible for a full refund of the package price. By the way, the face value of the average Super Bowl ticket is about $500. But they're going right now for as much as $8,000 apiece. Kyra and Miles, a seat on my couch goes for free.
PHILLIPS: We'll join you.
O'BRIEN: And you get to see the commercials, which you would miss if you paid the $8,000. Thank you, Susan Lisovicz. We do appreciate that.
Let's get back to Santa Maria, California. CNN's Miguel Marquez is watching the second day of jury selection there, the Michael Jackson case -- Miguel.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, things seem to be going pretty darn well here, Miles, because they seem to be wrapped up with this part of the process. The judge deciding that they have enough prospective jurors to now go to what they call voir dire, or where the defense and the prosecution questions those prospective jurors and tries to come up with 12 men and women from northern Santa Barbara County and eight alternates.
Now, we're waiting for Mr. Jackson to leave here. You can see these three SUVs here are the ones that brought him in. And he is standing somewhere right over near the courthouse entrance, getting ready to leave on a lunch break here. It's not clear if he's going to have to come back this afternoon because the judge seems to have decided that they have enough jurors to go forward.
What will happen now is that all those jurors will go to their questionnaires, a seven-page questionnaire that they'll fill out. Once they have done that, then the lawyers for the defense, their jury consultant and lawyers for the prosecution and their jury consultant will go through that -- those questionnaires and figure out which jurors are -- will pass muster with them, which ones do they like on paper. Once they decide which jurors they can deal with then, then they'll bring in that smaller pool of jurors and begin questioning them, and it's a process called voir dire, where they start to really question them about their knowledge of the case, their feelings about Michael Jackson, their backgrounds and what they do. And it looks like quicker than anyone expected, we may be having a jury and getting this trial under way -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Still, a long way to go, though, as that questioning occurs, Miguel, right? And each team has the opportunity to discard, if you will, numbers of candidates as they go along the way? MARQUEZ: Yes, they do. And the question is still can they still get 12 men and eight men and women and eight alternates out of the prospective jury pool that they have right now. That's still an open question. And once, even they do get those jurors set, then it's a very long trial ahead -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right. Miguel, thank you.
PHILLIPS: Miguel Marquez live from Santa Maria there. Once again, Jackson arriving in court on the second day of jury selection in the trial, child molestation. We'll continue to follow it. Quick break. More LIVE FROM right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired February 1, 2005 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: "Now in the News," the Pentagon is examining a photo posted on an Islamist Web site purportedly of a U.S. soldier being held hostage. The Al Mujahedin Brigade is threatening to behead the man if the U.S. doesn't release Iraqi prisoners. Military officials haven't confirmed any soldier is missing or captured.
A guilty plea in the Abu Ghraib Prison scandal, Sergeant Javal Davis pleaded guilty to three of five charges, including battery, in exchange for an 18-month prison sentence. Davis' trial was scheduled to begin tomorrow.
This is Tom Ridge's last day as homeland security secretary. In his farewell to employees yesterday, Ridge said his department has brought America one step closer to greater security for generations to come. Confirmation hearings for that man nominated to succeed him, Michael Chertoff, begins tomorrow.
It's been a solemn day at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A service was held for seven astronauts killed aboard Space Shuttle Columbia which broke apart as it entered Earth's atmosphere two years ago today.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Three hundred more prospective jurors are at a Santa Maria, California, courthouse being questioned for the Michael Jackson child molestation trial. Jackson is also back in court for day two of jury selection. There he is under the umbrella wearing black today, gold trim, we're told.
Is it really possible to find 12 impartial men and women to judge someone who spent so much of his life in the spotlight? CNN's Jason Caroll takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It all seems so familiar. Sunday, on the eve of his trial, Michael Jackson released a statement on the Internet.
MICHAEL JACKSON, SINGER: And I have great faith in our justice system. Please keep an open mind.
CARROLL: In fact, we have seen Jackson do this before. In 1993, after a teenaged boy accused him of sexual molestation, Jackson released a four-minute statement proclaiming his innocence. The following year, an out of court settlement of the ensuing lawsuit reportedly cost Jackson $20 million.
Michael Jackson's been on everyone's cultural radar since he was a little boy. We all know his songs, his music videos like "Billie Jean," "Beat It" and "Thriller" were the must-see-TV of the '80s and '90s.
Society can forgive celebrities for being eccentric, but sometimes the arc of celebrity goes through a crash and burn phase. Billions of people around the world saw Michael Jackson's looks change and his behavior change. And many made up their minds.
In New York...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wouldn't be able to be objective.
CARROLL: In Los Angeles...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The possibility of people getting on the jury that are already biased to Michael's guilt, it's inevitable.
CARROLL: Maybe not. Here's what the law requires.
LAURIE LEVINSON, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL: Michael Jackson is not entitled to a jury of other pop stars. That's not what "jury of your peers" means. It simply means a fair jury from the community that will keep an open mind and decide the case on the evidence.
CARROLL (on camera): The task of finding jurors is done during a process called voir dire. That's when attorneys on both sides can question potential jurors about their ability to be impartial. That process in the Jackson case could take up to two weeks.
JULIE BLACKMAN, TRIAL STRATEGY CONSULTANT: It will be challenging, and it will be very important for them to be asking detailed questions of people about what they do know and what they've thought about what they know, so that they get not only a sense of what information people have collected, but how they've passed judgment on it if they have.
CARROLL: Julie Blackman is a jury consultant who has worked on high-profile cases such as Martha Stewart and hotel heiress Leona Helmsley. Her advice to attorneys in the Jackson case...
BLACKMAN: I think they have to talk to the jurors about the importance of separating the press reports from what happens in the courtroom.
CARROLL: And the press reports are sure to keep coming as the Jackson trial draws near.
Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: So what will it take to find those 12 jurors plus alternates? Let's get some insight from George Washington University law professor Paul Butler. He joins us from our D.C. bureau.
Professor Butler, good to see you again.
PAUL BUTLER, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Good afternoon, Miles. It's good to be here.
O'BRIEN: All right. What's interesting to me is, so far they've interviewed 300-plus actually, probably 600 now. And the proportion of people who are willing to give up their lives and spend six months on this trial is right around 50 percent, which is very high, I'm told, according to experts. Normally it would be about a quarter of those that would say they could do it. What does that tell you?
BUTLER: Well, I think it's encouraging. The judge here lectured the jurors before this selection process began. And he told them that their service is not only an important part of our criminal justice system, it's actually a fundamental aspect of our democracy. And that message seems to have sunk in.
O'BRIEN: Now, wait. What I'm driving at here, don't you think they're just kind of lured by the celebrity of all this? Maybe they're thinking book deal? Maybe they're -- some sort of stealth juror kind of arrangement?
BUTLER: You know, Miles, I really don't think so, because if you look at jurors in other high-profile cases, most of them haven't made a lot of money. Maybe they're on TV a day or two after the case ends. But is that worth giving up five months of your life? I don't think so. And most jurors I think are really in it to fulfill their civic obligations.
O'BRIEN: Well, so how do you explain the high percentage there in Santa Barbara County?
BUTLER: I think a lot has to do with the judges reminding the potential jurors that our democracy doesn't work unless people, whether it's soldiers or individual jurors in individual cases, are willing to make sacrifice. We all have to pitch in. And I think that's what a large percentage of these people want to do.
O'BRIEN: How key is the issue of race in selection for this jury? Let's, first of all, talk about it from the prosecution's perspective.
BUTLER: Well, the prosecution has to say it doesn't make a difference. Legally Mr. Jackson is not entitled to have any African- Americans on his jury. And if we look at the potential pool, it seems rather likely that he won't. Only about 5 percent or less of the population of that area...
O'BRIEN: It's 2.3 percent according to the latest Census information, Santa Barbara's African-Americans list themselves that way, which is less than half of the norm for California, 72 percent white. So yes, that will be difficult. What is the defense's strategy in all that? BUTLER: The defense is going to say that there's not going to be any confidence in the verdict, unless Mr. Jackson has a representative jury that includes African-Americans. They'll point to studies that suggest that blacks get a fairer trial if they have three or four, at least, blacks on their jury.
So they'll try to move again for a change of venue, and they'll certainly carefully look at every potential black juror who comes along to make sure that the prosecutors don't try to get rid of them for the wrong reason.
O'BRIEN: Now, help me clear up one thing, which I think is a myth. I think there's an assumption out there, maybe from the movies, that they try to find people who don't know anything about the case. Well, if you really did find somebody who didn't know anything about this case, wouldn't you be a little worried about that person?
BUTLER: Absolutely, Miles. You don't want and don't expect in this case to find a juror who never heard of Michael Jackson, who doesn't know that Michael Jackson has been accused of serious crimes because that would mean that that person's not in touch with reality, she's not living on the planet. So what you want is people who can say, I can put aside what I think I know, and only listen to the evidence that the judge allows.
O'BRIEN: And that's something you sort of have to take at face value. How, in the time allotted -- of course, we're talking about a month here just to get to this point, the time allotted, can lawyers really get an honest answer from folks on that?
BUTLER: Well, they believe they can. Again, the first stage is for jurors to fill out an extensive questionnaire. Then the second stage is for individual questions where each side, defense and prosecution, and then the judge will all be able to carefully look at these people and to determine whether they really can be objective.
O'BRIEN: All right. So you think net-net here that a month from now, if we were to take, there would be a decent jury that would be palatable to both sides in this case?
BUTLER: No, I don't.
(LAUGHTER)
BUTLER: Again, the defense is going to have concerns if there are no African-Americans on the jury. So I think that that's a flag right there. So I think that hopefully both sides will say, even if it's not a representative jury or a jury with any blacks on it, it's a jury that can be fair and objective.
O'BRIEN: Paul Butler, esquire, teaches the law at George Washington University. Thanks for your time.
BUTLER: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: Kyra. PHILLIPS: Other news across America now, a college near Syracuse, New York, is canceling a speaking invitation after receiving death threats. Shortly after the 9/11 attacks, University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill praised the terrorists and compared their victims to Nazis. His essay got little attention until Hamilton College recently invited him to speak. Churchill has resigned as the department chair, but he's remaining on as a faculty member.
Firefighters in Allentown, Pennsylvania, are containing a colossal gasoline pipeline blaze. About 30 people had to evacuate nearby homes and businesses. No injuries reported.
Some 700 college students are safely back in Hawaii after a terrifying experience on the high seas. A 50-foot wave slammed into a semester-at-sea research vessel. Students recalled the event today on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID WELCH, SEMESTER-AT-SEA: It was very freaky in the morning when we were woken up and told to put our life jackets on and then make our way to the fifth deck. Women and children first, and then men. You don't know what to think. You could be dying in half an hour. There was really no way to know what was going to happen. So yes, I was a little bit panicked.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, that wave damaged the ship's engines and injured two crew members. The ship has now arrived in Honolulu.
O'BRIEN: Can you imagine if you're on your way to the fifth deck and you say Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet? You'd be pretty panicked, wouldn't you?
PHILLIPS: I don't know if I'd panic, I might get a little excited if I saw Leo.
O'BRIEN: "King of the world."
All right. Don't let your dream trip to the Super Bowl turn into a nightmare.
PHILLIPS: A warning about some of those air fare and hotel offers coming up.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Some major legal trouble for rapper Snoop Dogg and the Walt Disney Company.
And "The Sopranos" show is going, going, gone to the highest bidder. I'll explain when LIVE FROM continues.
PHILLIPS: Plus, the shot of the day from Jordan Snipes in a college hoops game...
O'BRIEN: That was not the shot. PHILLIPS: That was not it. That's your typical three-point...
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: There it is! There it is!
I can watch that all day long. And so that's what we'll do, we'll come back and we'll just watch it.
PHILLIPS: He didn't win $1 million, though.
O'BRIEN: For the remainder of the program, we'll just watch it over and over again.
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(WEATHER REPORT)
PHILLIPS: Well, one pop diva is focusing more on her career, just as another one is scaling back. HBO decides who gets to rerun "The Sopranos" and a big-name rapper refuses to take the ugly rap on an ugly accusation. CNN entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas in Los Angeles with the details -- Sibila.
VARGAS: That's right, Kyra. Rapper Snoop Dogg is being sued. The rapper-turned-actor stands accused of rape by a makeup artist. Makeup artist Kylie Bell is suing Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, for $25 million. Bell is alleging the rapper and three of his associates raped her after offering her champagne and apparently spiking it with some type of drug.
The alleged incident happened two years ago on the set of the "Jimmy Kimmel Live" show. The makeup artist alleges it happened in the rap star's dressing room after Snoop Dogg finished taping a segment of the show, where he was a guest co-host. Bell is also suing ABC and its parent company, the Walt Disney Company, as well as the "Jimmy Kimmel Live" show.
An ABC spokesperson issued this statement, quote: "There is simply no merit to the charges against the company." Unquote. And Snoop Dogg's publicist says, "It is truly unfortunate that Ms. Bell has chosen to follow the increasingly common path of misusing the legal system as a means of extracting financial gain from entertainers and other celebrities. We are confident that in the case, Ms. Bell's claims against Snoop Dogg will be rejected."
Well, in other news, A&E is celebrating after winning a bidding war to air reruns of the show "The Sopranos." Let's just say they made HBO an offer they couldn't refuse. A&E shelled out a record- breaking $2.5 million per episode for the gangster drama. A&E plans to begin airing "The Sopranos" in the fall 2006, after "The Sopranos"' sixth and final season concludes on HBO.
And speaking of conclusions, Cher says she's ready to finally hang up her touring hat.
(MUSIC)
The singer says she's bringing her farewell tour to end and giving up her life on the road for good. Cher's farewell "Never Can Say Goodbye" tour is scheduled to wrap up April 30th at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Why L.A.? And are you sure she's really going to end this tour? I don't know if I believe it.
VARGAS: I know. I mean, how long has this tour been going on? I thought she was gone, like, three years ago. And here she is again. Well, in that particular venue in Los Angeles, the Hollywood Bowl, is where she first performed with Sonny Bono some 40 years ago, so there's definitely some sentimental value there.
Now, and speaking of other singers, she's gone from dancing to belting out tunes to judging on "American Idol," but apparently Paula Abdul is tired of sitting on the sidelines. Abdul, who hit it big with a string of hits such as "Forever Your Girl" and "Straight Up Now Tell Me," says she misses singing.
The 42-year-old says after that the season of "American Idol," she'll dedicate more time to her singing career. And it will be interesting to see if she puts out a comeback album. And I'm sure that -- you know, Kyra, you're a fan. I'm a fan. But what about Miles?
PHILLIPS: I don't know. I'm a fan of your singing. Miles got all excited that you belted out a tune again.
O'BRIEN: Sibila does more singing than any correspondent in network television.
PHILLIPS: You like that.
O'BRIEN: I do. It kind of makes -- I'm always wondering what it's going to be.
VARGAS: I love to sing for you guys. I just -- I can't help it. I almost feel as if I don't do it, I'm letting you guys down.
O'BRIEN: You know who's big on it, too, is Robin Meade on "HEADLINE." So if I could get the two of you to do a duet.
PHILLIPS: That's true. Oh my gosh, Robin Meade. She is amazing.
VARGAS: I'm into it. I'm into it. Can you guys hook me up?
PHILLIPS: Yes, we'll get you a little duet going on.
VARGAS: All right, cool.
O'BRIEN: Well, thanks, Sibila.
He's a famous pitchman, and he didn't even know it. That is just one of the many popular stories on cnn.com right now. We'll show you what else is getting a lot of hits, as they say in that biz. Up next.
PHILLIPS: And is there a level playing field for coaches in the NFL? That story just ahead on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Well, this is the kind of shot players dream of. Game's in overtime, everything's on the line, and then at the buzzer, that impossible last-minute heave which usually just goes as an airball. Check this out. This is Gilford (ph). George Snipes (ph), yes, hurls the basketball like a baseball, and there you have it. Kisses the rafters, drops through the hoop, swoosh! nothing but net. Swing. Gilford wins, beating league leader Randolph (ph) 9189 stunning their fans in Ashland, Virginia, last night. The rest is basketball history as they say.
PHILLIPS: Don't forget LIVE FROM. But of course keeping current is just a click away. Veronica De La Cruz and the CNN.com is tracking these popular stories on the web. What are they?
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Kyra. The top stories now on the web: number one, unwitting coffee model awarded $15.6 million. Now, this man was the "Taster's Choice" coffee man for years, and he didn't even know it. Now, Russell Chrisoff (ph) was a former model. He did a photo shoot years ago. He thought that nothing ever came of those pictures. Then he walks into a store, and he sees himself on a container of "Taster's Choice."
And let's just say, Kyra, that this man is finally getting paid.
Now, in second place, huge wave damages college-at-sea ship. And I know you guys talked about this one earlier. So I'm not going to get into too much detail. But if you'd like the details, you can, of course, go to CNN.com. And we also have video of that story.
Now, in third position, Super Bowl to feature tiny turf cam. This year, a whole new way to watch the Super Bowl, these tiny turf cams are going to be providing a bird's-eye view. Again, the details at CNN.com.
Now, Kyra, the way that we track these stories is we look at which stories are getting the most clicks. And we do give you the top ten stories and they're updated every 20 minutes. Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: All right. CNN.com. Thanks, Veronica.
Well, the Transportation Department issuing a bit of a warning. Last-minute Super Bowl packages might leave you out in the cold as far as the game is concerned.
O'BRIEN: You've got to be careful. I think there are only about 36 hotel rooms in Jacksonville. And there's going to be about 9 million people going there.
PHILLIPS: The mayor of Jacksonville is going to call you up and be very upset. O'BRIEN: They're bringing in cruise ships and sending people down to St. Augustine. They're screaming at us because Michael Jackson is moving in Santa Maria.
PHILLIPS: Not quite sure where he's going.
O'BRIEN: There's some of his legal team there.
PHILLIPS: It's the Jacko watch.
O'BRIEN: Actually...
PHILLIPS: I think we might have missed him. Did we miss him?
O'BRIEN: I don't know. Did we miss him? All right. We're going to try to retrack that, as we say, in the racket here. Let's do it real quick. Can we spool it up right now? Do we have it on the back row?
PHILLIPS: We're getting the big reverse. (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Here we go.
O'BRIEN: Let's do it right now. This is Santa Maria, second day of jury selection.
PHILLIPS: Here it comes. Ready?
O'BRIEN: There he is, wearing black, gold trim. Out he goes through the metal detector. His attorneys following him, off to lunch, they go. We'll try to get you the menu a little later.
PHILLIPS: Second day of jury selection. Don't forget to add that.
O'BRIEN: I said that already. You weren't listening.
PHILLIPS: I'm sorry.
O'BRIEN: Susan Lisovicz, let's talk about Jacksonville where they're bringing in cruise ships, motor homes, double wides, people renting out their homes, right?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, you're talking to me! I'm sorry.
PHILLIPS: Poor Susan. Susan, I know you were captivated by Michael Jackson...
LISOVICZ: I was stunned.
PHILLIPS: Coming out of the courtroom.
O'BRIEN: She was wondering where she could get a black suit just like it.
LISOVICZ: Well, he was wearing white yesterday, black today. I've got black on, too, but I don't have the gold epaulets and all the trim. What I do have to tell you is if that last-minute Super Bowl package sounds too good to be true, chances are it probably is. The Department of Transportation says some high-priced air and lodging packages to Sunday's Super Bowl include everything but a ticket to the game. It recommends paying with a credit card to get some degree of protection from scams. Make sure the package description explicitly includes a ticket to the game. And remember that if the tour package does include tickets but fails to provide them, then customers are eligible for a full refund of the package price. By the way, the face value of the average Super Bowl ticket is about $500. But they're going right now for as much as $8,000 apiece. Kyra and Miles, a seat on my couch goes for free.
PHILLIPS: We'll join you.
O'BRIEN: And you get to see the commercials, which you would miss if you paid the $8,000. Thank you, Susan Lisovicz. We do appreciate that.
Let's get back to Santa Maria, California. CNN's Miguel Marquez is watching the second day of jury selection there, the Michael Jackson case -- Miguel.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, things seem to be going pretty darn well here, Miles, because they seem to be wrapped up with this part of the process. The judge deciding that they have enough prospective jurors to now go to what they call voir dire, or where the defense and the prosecution questions those prospective jurors and tries to come up with 12 men and women from northern Santa Barbara County and eight alternates.
Now, we're waiting for Mr. Jackson to leave here. You can see these three SUVs here are the ones that brought him in. And he is standing somewhere right over near the courthouse entrance, getting ready to leave on a lunch break here. It's not clear if he's going to have to come back this afternoon because the judge seems to have decided that they have enough jurors to go forward.
What will happen now is that all those jurors will go to their questionnaires, a seven-page questionnaire that they'll fill out. Once they have done that, then the lawyers for the defense, their jury consultant and lawyers for the prosecution and their jury consultant will go through that -- those questionnaires and figure out which jurors are -- will pass muster with them, which ones do they like on paper. Once they decide which jurors they can deal with then, then they'll bring in that smaller pool of jurors and begin questioning them, and it's a process called voir dire, where they start to really question them about their knowledge of the case, their feelings about Michael Jackson, their backgrounds and what they do. And it looks like quicker than anyone expected, we may be having a jury and getting this trial under way -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Still, a long way to go, though, as that questioning occurs, Miguel, right? And each team has the opportunity to discard, if you will, numbers of candidates as they go along the way? MARQUEZ: Yes, they do. And the question is still can they still get 12 men and eight men and women and eight alternates out of the prospective jury pool that they have right now. That's still an open question. And once, even they do get those jurors set, then it's a very long trial ahead -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right. Miguel, thank you.
PHILLIPS: Miguel Marquez live from Santa Maria there. Once again, Jackson arriving in court on the second day of jury selection in the trial, child molestation. We'll continue to follow it. Quick break. More LIVE FROM right after this.
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