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Jury Deliberates Over Pittman Trial; DNA Test Confirms Parents of Baby 81

Aired February 14, 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: A jury in Charleston, South Carolina, is about to start deliberating the case of a youth charged with murdering his grandparents while on the prescription drug Zoloft. CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is covering the trial -- Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what the jury's going to have to start deciding -- right after lunch, they'll start the deliberations -- is did Chris Pittman know right from wrong when he killed his grandparents? His lawyers argue that because he was taking the antidepressant Zoloft, he was unable to know right from wrong, legally or morally. Well, the closing arguments just finished today. They were very passionate on both sides. We'll hear first from the defense, and then from the prosecution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL WALDNER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: In this community, in this state and in this country, we do not convict children for murder when they've been ambushed by chemicals that have destroyed their ability to reason.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, either he shot grandma first or grandpa first, we don't know. But we know one went in his mouth and one went into her head. And by his statement, he pumped it again, fired another shot, pumped it again, and fired a fourth shot. Now, ladies and gentlemen, I don't care how old he is, the state submits that is as malicious a killing and murder as you're ever going to find.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: Now, Chris Pittman did kill his grandparents. That's not in question. What's in question is did he have criminal intent at that time, when he was 12 years old? The presumption in South Carolina is that you can't have criminal intent, you're not capable of forming criminal intent at age 14 and younger. The judge instructed the jury about this. And he did tell the jury that if they found him guilty, that would mean that the state had rebutted that presumption, had somehow managed to overcome it.

PHILLIPS: All right, Elizabeth Cohen. Continuing to follow the trial. Thank you -- Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN: Scientists in New York are studying two more people to see if they are the source of a possibly more aggressive strain of the AIDS virus. The drug-resistant strain turned up in a man last week. One of the researchers who discovered HIV insists there's no evidence of a new AIDS super-virus.

Floodwaters receding and Arizona residents are cleaning up after a winter storm that pounded the state over the weekend. Forecasters predict more rain or snow around Thursday.

In Seattle, a woman who served seven years in prison for having sex with her sixth grade student has now set a date to marry him. Mary Kay Letourneau was a 34-year-old schoolteacher when she began her affair with the 12-year-old. They have two children together. April 16th is listed as the wedding date on an online bridal registry, in case you want to give them something.

PHILLIPS: Well, in Sri Lanka, the tug of war over Baby 81 is over. A DNA test has settled the custody fight for the tiny tsunami survivor. Our Suhasini Haidar says that the boy will be reunited with his parents finally on Wednesday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUHASINI HAIDAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Baby 81 will now formally get his parents and his name back. The Sri Lankan court on Monday announced that the 3-month-old tsunami survivor's DNA matched that of these Jenita and Murugupillai Jeyarajah, the couple that fought in court for him. The boy, named Abilass by his parents, was found just after the tsunami hit, alone on a pile of debris. He was taken to the local hospital, the 81st tsunami victim to be admitted there. When they heard of the discovery, the Jeyarajahs say they rushed to the hospital to claim him.

But so did at least nine other sets of parents, all saying he was their lost son. The Jeyarajahs had lost all the baby's documents to the tsunami, and hospital authorities decided to keep and care for the boy until they had directions from the district court. The case went on for weeks and soon became a symbol of the trauma of so many other parents in the tsunami-torn nation who had also lost their children to the waves. Though the Jeyarajahs were the only couple to officially register a claim for the little boy, the court ordered a DNA test, prolonging their wait and agony.

The Jeyarajahs say their patience was running thin and were arrested briefly when they tried to force their way into the hospital to take the baby and threatened to commit suicide. With Monday's pronouncement, they say their anxiety is at an end. The judge has asked now internationally famous Baby 81 to be brought to court on Wednesday, where he'll be handed over to his overjoyed parents. And the Jeyarajahs, including unwitting baby Abilass, can finally begin to put the tsunami and all that followed behind them.

Suhasini Haidar, CNN, New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Ray Charles proved to be a genius last night at the Grammys. Of course we already knew that. His final album, "Genius Loves Company," was the big winner. Complete wrap-up of the awards, live from on LIVE FROM, from L.A. If you know what I mean. PHILLIPS: It's time for violent video games to take a time-out. Well, politicians in one city aren't playing around.

O'BRIEN: And if you hurry, can you catch art history in the making. in New York Central Park. Yep, folks, that's art right there. That's art, yep.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: And now, live from Paws for Pets. Call it a little canine valentine for dog lovers.

O'BRIEN: All right, here's our tale. Of course, you know, we are champions of the mutt on LIVE FROM. Of course, Kyra is a -- not a dog lover. But for those of us who love dogs...

PHILLIPS: I'm allergic to them. I just don't like your dog.

O'BRIEN: We like pound puppies. Annie and Peanut in particular, but we like all mutts. Anyway, let's put those wonderful mutts aside and let's talk about those purebreds at the Westminister Kennel Club Show. This year, three new breeds first step paw into the ring.

PHILLIPS: First up, the dog that looks like a cartoon come to life. The neopolitan mastiff. But don't let him hear you snickering because they are descended from Roman war dogs.

O'BRIEN: I wonder if he'll grow into that suit.

PHILLIPS: It feels like velvet.

O'BRIEN: Also, a Westminster debutante this year after countless hours of grooming? I guess. Let's get the "Queer Eye" guy on that one. The black russian terrier, affectionately known as the russian pearl. A little tease job there, you might say.

PHILLIPS: All right. This final freshman. Aw.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: He's so cute. Glen of Imaal terrier, named for a remote valley in Ireland.

O'BRIEN: Sweet little thing.

PHILLIPS: All right. Knock down a Guinness with that one.

O'BRIEN: We like that one.

PHILLIPS: Sentimental favorite, the late Ray Charles dominated the Grammys last night. His final album, "Genius Loves Company," you've got to pick it up, it's awesome, it picked up eight awards. But he wasn't the only big winner of the evening. Our pop culture correspondent Toure dishes out the cheers and the jeers. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The 47th Grammys were a tribute to the late Ray Charles.

JOE ADAMS, RAY CHARLES' MANAGER: Humbly we accept the Grammy, sincerely, we say thanks.

TOURE: He won eight Grammys, including Album and Record of the Year for "Genius Loves Company," a collection of duets. Including one with Norah Jones, who grabbed three herself.

NORAH JONES, RECORD OF THE YEAR WINNER: To stand, you know, two feet away from Ray Charles and watch him sing. And I didn't even want to open my mouth.

TOURE: Alicia Keys won four, including Best R&B Contemporary. Kanye West lost Best New Artist to Maroon 5. When he won Best Rap Album, no one knew what he'd say. But he was classy.

KANYE WEST, BEST RAP ALBUM: If you had the opportunity to play this game of life, you need to appreciate every moment.

TOURE: His speech moved a lot of people.

BONO, MUSICIAN: It's not jive. It's not doing it because it looks good in the ghetto. He's doing it because it's on his mind and in his heart.

TOURE: Kanye took us to church performing "Jesus Walks."

And Melissa Etheridge, bald from her battle with cancer, brought down the house, covering Janis Joplin, "Another Little Piece of My Heart" with Joss Stone.

The show's only sour note arrived when the J.Lo and Marc Anthony duet devolved into a Spanish soap opera disaster.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TOURE: There were no wardrobe malfunctions, but J.Lo surely had a career malfunction. Now stop me if I'm getting too Dr. Phil here, but she seemed to have this weird way of becoming a new person in each relationship. The J.Lo who was with Puffy was not the Jennifer (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- Bennifer is not the Mrs. Anthony of today. I think I'm going to call her "La Lopez."

PHILLIPS: "La Lopez." I like disaster. I think disaster was good enough.

TOURE: Oh, it was a disaster.

PHILLIPS: And the dress. It was like a really bad...

TOURE: There was no love eyes. There was -- it was just -- yuck. PHILLIPS: Yes. Bad. We'll move on. I'm with you on that one. All right. Ray Charles. We've got to talk about Ray Charles. "Genius Loves Company." we got to interview Billy Preston last week, Toure. And he was talking about the album. It is just awesome.

TOURE: Really? That makes one of us, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Oh, no!

TOURE: I think we've got to have a "keep it real" moment. "Genius Loves Company" was not the best album in contention last night, but Ray Charles was the best artist perhaps in the whole house. He's a legend. This was the music industry's last chance to stand and applaud him. And they took it. And you can't discount the Jamie Foxx effect. But I think if you don't have the movie and you don't have his untimely passing, then perhaps this whole night goes differently, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Interesting. All right. I think you and I are going to keep going back and forth, because you're going to talk about Kanye West now. And I want to know why you think he lost best new artist. I was a little turned off by him last week when he wanted to change his moniker to "The Face" because he said he was going to be the face of the Grammys. And I was like, give me a break. Whatever happened to humility?

TOURE: Well, you know, this is hip-hop, Kyra. Arrogance is part of the whole thing. I mean, look, Kanye had the best album that was in contention for Album of the Year. So for him to lose to the awful Maroon 5 was shocking to me. But even more shocking than that was his mature reaction. I mean, just like he did at the AMAs, we expected him to act a fool. That's what he did when he lost to Gretchen Wilson in Best New Artist at the American Music Awards. But he was surprisingly classy.

PHILLIPS: You don't like Maroon 5, huh? Boy, you I are on opposite ends.

TOURE: Well, Kyra, we're together on the dogs.

PHILLIPS: Yes. And that's true. I know. How about those dogs, huh?

TOURE: Yes. How about them?

PHILLIPS: All right. Bill Clinton, winning a Grammy, not for his saxophone playing.

TOURE: Right.

PHILLIPS: Obviously. Let's talk about his voice.

TOURE: Yes. Well, he won for Best Spoken Word Album for "My Life" which isn't really an album, but I didn't make up the category. Some other fun facts from the night. Loretta Lynn, no nominations at the Country Music Awards, but her album, "Van Lear Rose," in collaboration with the great Jack White, won Best Country Album last night. Jon Stewart won best comedy album. Rod Stewart, no relation, finally won after 13 nominations. He's no longer the Susan Lucci of the Grammys. And Britney Spears won her first Grammy for Best Dance Recording. And you know, if they'll give her a Grammy, then anyone can win. And by the way, Jimi Hendrix, Curtis Mayfield and The Pretenders have never won a Grammy.

PHILLIPS: Oh.

O'BRIEN: This is my point. This is why it's a sham.

PHILLIPS: No. You and I have a thing with Britney Spears.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: But they never pick the thing that is good. Right?

PHILLIPS: Is it too political, Toure? It's political.

TOURE: Kanye had the best album in this group. So it doesn't surprise me that they didn't go for Kanye. Last year they went for Outkast, which is more avant garde hip-hop, which is easier for them to understand. That was the best album that year. But this year, should have been Kanye, but God bless, Ray Charles deserves that last pinnacle in his career. So I loved that that happened.

PHILLIPS: Yes. Right on. I'm with you on that one. Thanks, Toure. Let's argue again sometime.

TOURE: I'm sure we will.

PHILLIPS: All right.

O'BRIEN: All right. There's a new fight shaping up over video games. Local lawmakers in the District of Columbia want to ban the sale of sexually explicit violent games to anyone under 18. The idea is being opposed by a number of groups, including, get this, some parents.

Lindsey Arent explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LINDSEY ARENT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Michelle Wilson's sons put the popular skateboarding videogame "Tony Hawk" on their Christmas list, she didn't think twice until she says she saw the profanity, hostage taking and physical beatings in the video.

MICHELLE WILSON, PARENT: My God, and they played it and they said, oh, this is a cool game. And I went down there and looked at it and I thought, oh, OK. That's not cool. That's not good. I bought that?

ARENT: The Wilsons say they work hard to shield their kids from inappropriate content. But it's tough. ANDREW WILSON, PARENT: We see a consistency in the level of violence, cursing, sexual content from the television to the Internet and to the video.

ARENT: Dr. Michael Brodie is the head of the Television and Media Committee of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry. After studying the effect of TV violence on children, he sees a direct link between violent video games and aggressive juvenile behavior.

DR. MICHAEL BRODY, CHILD PSYCHIATRIST: The person watching the game becomes embedded in the context of the game. If you watch these first-person shooter games, for example, you are the one who's doing the shooting.

ARENT: Now D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and the city council want to fight back.

(on camera): Under a proposed measure, a store that sells games rated Mature to kids 17 and younger, could lose its business license or face a $10,000 fine.

(voice-over): The video game industry says its five-tier rating system makes game content clear to parents.

DOUG LOWENSTEIN, ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE ASSN: It's not up to any member of the city council of the District of Columbia or anywhere else to tell me or any other parent, I don't want you to have this. It's up to the parent to make those choices.

ARENT: The ACLU says such restrictions violate free speech saying: "Videogames, just like books, movies, art and TV programs' violent content all enjoy the protection of the First Amendment."

For Jinhee Wilde, censoring her son's video games isn't the answer.

JINHEE WILDE, PARENT: You cannot legislate and regulate everything. At some point parents have to step in and do what they need to do. Legislators can't control what is happening inside of my home either.

ARENT: But the D.C. measure may face an uphill battle. Efforts in three other states have been overturned in federal appeals courts.

Lindsey Arent for CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: That's one of the smartest parents I've heard in a story lately. I mean, it is the parents' responsibility. How hard is that for people to get in their head?

PHILLIPS: You jump in, take charge, tell the kids what they can, can't do with the videos.

O'BRIEN: Hello. Hello. Thank you very much. All right. PHILLIPS: Instant messaging.

O'BRIEN: She's preaching to the choir.

PHILLIPS: All right. Coming up next, is candy the way to your loved ones hearts? Straight to their booty.

O'BRIEN: That's not so dandy for Sandy. She doesn't like chocolate.

PHILLIPS: I just expand. I'm already having a hard enough...

O'BRIEN: Yes, you do.

PHILLIPS: ... getting into my pants. A Valentine's Day chocolate quiz from the cnn.com desk. Miles' favorite segment.

O'BRIEN: And speaking of Kyra's expansion, fast food and fast beverages, on the menu when we check Wall Street in a few moments. Are they good for the, ahem, bottom line, if you will?

PHILLIPS: Special sauce right there.

And later on LIVE FROM, talk about sauce. A look add "Juiced," Jose Canseco's new tell-all book about steroids and baseball. Oh, Jose, at it again. Talk talk talk talk talk...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ: If you're searching for the perfect way to woo that special someone before you write your forget-me-not, CNN.com takes you straight to the heart of Valentine. For inspiration, we have an audio slide show of historic love letters including romantic words from John Hancock whose sweet nothings were interrupted by a declaration of independence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm greatly hurried. I'm now going to sign General Washington's commission. Yours forever, John Hancock.

PHILLIPS: From sweet nothings to sweet treats. Test your knowledge when it comes to chocolate. For example, do you know how chocolate chip cookies came to be and when the first batch was baked? Take our chocolate quiz to find out. From the dot-com news desk in Atlanta, I'm Veronica De La Cruz. Have a happy Valentine's.

PHILLIPS: Happy Valentine's Day there, sweetheart.

O'BRIEN: Oh, thank you, thank you.

PHILLIPS: Thanks for the flowers and the candy. I love you, too.

O'BRIEN: Yes, they're coming next year. They'll be there next year.

PHILLIPS: We might think that gas station coffee is pretty much synonymous with motor oil. Unless you go to some specific stations.

O'BRIEN: You know, there's a station here in town that has some pretty good coffee.

PHILLIPS: Really?

O'BRIEN: Well, Exxon is trying to work on changing that. Because this coffee thing is huge. I just paid nearly 4 bucks for a latte. It took them 20 minutes to make it before I got on the air here. And I'm thinking this is nuts. This is nuts.

PHILLIPS: Maybe David Haffenreffer will send you a little card, you know, a special card.

DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Starbucks card.

PHILLIPS: Yes, exactly. There you go.

O'BRIEN: Sure.

PHILLIPS: For Valentine's Day.

HAFFENREFFER: That would mean free coffee for Miles, of course.

PHILLIPS: Guys don't do that with each other. They don't send each other Valentines, Kyra. I'll talk to you later.

HAFFENREFFER: Evolved men, Miles.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Not everyone is in love with the idea of Valentine's Day. In fact, some have strong feelings against it. Yes! Say it ain't so.

PHILLIPS: And we're live from California where the Michael Jackson jury selection is back in full swing. We'll take you to the show.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Here's what's going on. Now in the news closing arguments ended a short while ago in Charleston, South Carolina. Now up to a jury to decide whether Christopher Pittman is guilty of double murder. Pittman, now 15, says the prescription drug Zoloft caused him to kill his grandparents three years ago. The U.S. Senate meeting right now to consider whether to approve nominee Michael Chertoff as the new secretary of homeland security. A vote's scheduled for tomorrow. Chertoff expected to win approval.

But Alberto Gonzales is a nominee no more. He was sworn in this morning as the nation's new attorney general. He replaces John Ashcroft who left the post last month.

And finally a traditional treat for your Valentine's sweet, It's a sour note with U.S. lawmakers. Democratic Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa says the chocolate industry hasn't moved quickly enough.

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


Aired February 14, 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: A jury in Charleston, South Carolina, is about to start deliberating the case of a youth charged with murdering his grandparents while on the prescription drug Zoloft. CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is covering the trial -- Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what the jury's going to have to start deciding -- right after lunch, they'll start the deliberations -- is did Chris Pittman know right from wrong when he killed his grandparents? His lawyers argue that because he was taking the antidepressant Zoloft, he was unable to know right from wrong, legally or morally. Well, the closing arguments just finished today. They were very passionate on both sides. We'll hear first from the defense, and then from the prosecution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL WALDNER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: In this community, in this state and in this country, we do not convict children for murder when they've been ambushed by chemicals that have destroyed their ability to reason.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, either he shot grandma first or grandpa first, we don't know. But we know one went in his mouth and one went into her head. And by his statement, he pumped it again, fired another shot, pumped it again, and fired a fourth shot. Now, ladies and gentlemen, I don't care how old he is, the state submits that is as malicious a killing and murder as you're ever going to find.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: Now, Chris Pittman did kill his grandparents. That's not in question. What's in question is did he have criminal intent at that time, when he was 12 years old? The presumption in South Carolina is that you can't have criminal intent, you're not capable of forming criminal intent at age 14 and younger. The judge instructed the jury about this. And he did tell the jury that if they found him guilty, that would mean that the state had rebutted that presumption, had somehow managed to overcome it.

PHILLIPS: All right, Elizabeth Cohen. Continuing to follow the trial. Thank you -- Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN: Scientists in New York are studying two more people to see if they are the source of a possibly more aggressive strain of the AIDS virus. The drug-resistant strain turned up in a man last week. One of the researchers who discovered HIV insists there's no evidence of a new AIDS super-virus.

Floodwaters receding and Arizona residents are cleaning up after a winter storm that pounded the state over the weekend. Forecasters predict more rain or snow around Thursday.

In Seattle, a woman who served seven years in prison for having sex with her sixth grade student has now set a date to marry him. Mary Kay Letourneau was a 34-year-old schoolteacher when she began her affair with the 12-year-old. They have two children together. April 16th is listed as the wedding date on an online bridal registry, in case you want to give them something.

PHILLIPS: Well, in Sri Lanka, the tug of war over Baby 81 is over. A DNA test has settled the custody fight for the tiny tsunami survivor. Our Suhasini Haidar says that the boy will be reunited with his parents finally on Wednesday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUHASINI HAIDAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Baby 81 will now formally get his parents and his name back. The Sri Lankan court on Monday announced that the 3-month-old tsunami survivor's DNA matched that of these Jenita and Murugupillai Jeyarajah, the couple that fought in court for him. The boy, named Abilass by his parents, was found just after the tsunami hit, alone on a pile of debris. He was taken to the local hospital, the 81st tsunami victim to be admitted there. When they heard of the discovery, the Jeyarajahs say they rushed to the hospital to claim him.

But so did at least nine other sets of parents, all saying he was their lost son. The Jeyarajahs had lost all the baby's documents to the tsunami, and hospital authorities decided to keep and care for the boy until they had directions from the district court. The case went on for weeks and soon became a symbol of the trauma of so many other parents in the tsunami-torn nation who had also lost their children to the waves. Though the Jeyarajahs were the only couple to officially register a claim for the little boy, the court ordered a DNA test, prolonging their wait and agony.

The Jeyarajahs say their patience was running thin and were arrested briefly when they tried to force their way into the hospital to take the baby and threatened to commit suicide. With Monday's pronouncement, they say their anxiety is at an end. The judge has asked now internationally famous Baby 81 to be brought to court on Wednesday, where he'll be handed over to his overjoyed parents. And the Jeyarajahs, including unwitting baby Abilass, can finally begin to put the tsunami and all that followed behind them.

Suhasini Haidar, CNN, New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Ray Charles proved to be a genius last night at the Grammys. Of course we already knew that. His final album, "Genius Loves Company," was the big winner. Complete wrap-up of the awards, live from on LIVE FROM, from L.A. If you know what I mean. PHILLIPS: It's time for violent video games to take a time-out. Well, politicians in one city aren't playing around.

O'BRIEN: And if you hurry, can you catch art history in the making. in New York Central Park. Yep, folks, that's art right there. That's art, yep.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: And now, live from Paws for Pets. Call it a little canine valentine for dog lovers.

O'BRIEN: All right, here's our tale. Of course, you know, we are champions of the mutt on LIVE FROM. Of course, Kyra is a -- not a dog lover. But for those of us who love dogs...

PHILLIPS: I'm allergic to them. I just don't like your dog.

O'BRIEN: We like pound puppies. Annie and Peanut in particular, but we like all mutts. Anyway, let's put those wonderful mutts aside and let's talk about those purebreds at the Westminister Kennel Club Show. This year, three new breeds first step paw into the ring.

PHILLIPS: First up, the dog that looks like a cartoon come to life. The neopolitan mastiff. But don't let him hear you snickering because they are descended from Roman war dogs.

O'BRIEN: I wonder if he'll grow into that suit.

PHILLIPS: It feels like velvet.

O'BRIEN: Also, a Westminster debutante this year after countless hours of grooming? I guess. Let's get the "Queer Eye" guy on that one. The black russian terrier, affectionately known as the russian pearl. A little tease job there, you might say.

PHILLIPS: All right. This final freshman. Aw.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: He's so cute. Glen of Imaal terrier, named for a remote valley in Ireland.

O'BRIEN: Sweet little thing.

PHILLIPS: All right. Knock down a Guinness with that one.

O'BRIEN: We like that one.

PHILLIPS: Sentimental favorite, the late Ray Charles dominated the Grammys last night. His final album, "Genius Loves Company," you've got to pick it up, it's awesome, it picked up eight awards. But he wasn't the only big winner of the evening. Our pop culture correspondent Toure dishes out the cheers and the jeers. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The 47th Grammys were a tribute to the late Ray Charles.

JOE ADAMS, RAY CHARLES' MANAGER: Humbly we accept the Grammy, sincerely, we say thanks.

TOURE: He won eight Grammys, including Album and Record of the Year for "Genius Loves Company," a collection of duets. Including one with Norah Jones, who grabbed three herself.

NORAH JONES, RECORD OF THE YEAR WINNER: To stand, you know, two feet away from Ray Charles and watch him sing. And I didn't even want to open my mouth.

TOURE: Alicia Keys won four, including Best R&B Contemporary. Kanye West lost Best New Artist to Maroon 5. When he won Best Rap Album, no one knew what he'd say. But he was classy.

KANYE WEST, BEST RAP ALBUM: If you had the opportunity to play this game of life, you need to appreciate every moment.

TOURE: His speech moved a lot of people.

BONO, MUSICIAN: It's not jive. It's not doing it because it looks good in the ghetto. He's doing it because it's on his mind and in his heart.

TOURE: Kanye took us to church performing "Jesus Walks."

And Melissa Etheridge, bald from her battle with cancer, brought down the house, covering Janis Joplin, "Another Little Piece of My Heart" with Joss Stone.

The show's only sour note arrived when the J.Lo and Marc Anthony duet devolved into a Spanish soap opera disaster.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TOURE: There were no wardrobe malfunctions, but J.Lo surely had a career malfunction. Now stop me if I'm getting too Dr. Phil here, but she seemed to have this weird way of becoming a new person in each relationship. The J.Lo who was with Puffy was not the Jennifer (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- Bennifer is not the Mrs. Anthony of today. I think I'm going to call her "La Lopez."

PHILLIPS: "La Lopez." I like disaster. I think disaster was good enough.

TOURE: Oh, it was a disaster.

PHILLIPS: And the dress. It was like a really bad...

TOURE: There was no love eyes. There was -- it was just -- yuck. PHILLIPS: Yes. Bad. We'll move on. I'm with you on that one. All right. Ray Charles. We've got to talk about Ray Charles. "Genius Loves Company." we got to interview Billy Preston last week, Toure. And he was talking about the album. It is just awesome.

TOURE: Really? That makes one of us, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Oh, no!

TOURE: I think we've got to have a "keep it real" moment. "Genius Loves Company" was not the best album in contention last night, but Ray Charles was the best artist perhaps in the whole house. He's a legend. This was the music industry's last chance to stand and applaud him. And they took it. And you can't discount the Jamie Foxx effect. But I think if you don't have the movie and you don't have his untimely passing, then perhaps this whole night goes differently, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Interesting. All right. I think you and I are going to keep going back and forth, because you're going to talk about Kanye West now. And I want to know why you think he lost best new artist. I was a little turned off by him last week when he wanted to change his moniker to "The Face" because he said he was going to be the face of the Grammys. And I was like, give me a break. Whatever happened to humility?

TOURE: Well, you know, this is hip-hop, Kyra. Arrogance is part of the whole thing. I mean, look, Kanye had the best album that was in contention for Album of the Year. So for him to lose to the awful Maroon 5 was shocking to me. But even more shocking than that was his mature reaction. I mean, just like he did at the AMAs, we expected him to act a fool. That's what he did when he lost to Gretchen Wilson in Best New Artist at the American Music Awards. But he was surprisingly classy.

PHILLIPS: You don't like Maroon 5, huh? Boy, you I are on opposite ends.

TOURE: Well, Kyra, we're together on the dogs.

PHILLIPS: Yes. And that's true. I know. How about those dogs, huh?

TOURE: Yes. How about them?

PHILLIPS: All right. Bill Clinton, winning a Grammy, not for his saxophone playing.

TOURE: Right.

PHILLIPS: Obviously. Let's talk about his voice.

TOURE: Yes. Well, he won for Best Spoken Word Album for "My Life" which isn't really an album, but I didn't make up the category. Some other fun facts from the night. Loretta Lynn, no nominations at the Country Music Awards, but her album, "Van Lear Rose," in collaboration with the great Jack White, won Best Country Album last night. Jon Stewart won best comedy album. Rod Stewart, no relation, finally won after 13 nominations. He's no longer the Susan Lucci of the Grammys. And Britney Spears won her first Grammy for Best Dance Recording. And you know, if they'll give her a Grammy, then anyone can win. And by the way, Jimi Hendrix, Curtis Mayfield and The Pretenders have never won a Grammy.

PHILLIPS: Oh.

O'BRIEN: This is my point. This is why it's a sham.

PHILLIPS: No. You and I have a thing with Britney Spears.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: But they never pick the thing that is good. Right?

PHILLIPS: Is it too political, Toure? It's political.

TOURE: Kanye had the best album in this group. So it doesn't surprise me that they didn't go for Kanye. Last year they went for Outkast, which is more avant garde hip-hop, which is easier for them to understand. That was the best album that year. But this year, should have been Kanye, but God bless, Ray Charles deserves that last pinnacle in his career. So I loved that that happened.

PHILLIPS: Yes. Right on. I'm with you on that one. Thanks, Toure. Let's argue again sometime.

TOURE: I'm sure we will.

PHILLIPS: All right.

O'BRIEN: All right. There's a new fight shaping up over video games. Local lawmakers in the District of Columbia want to ban the sale of sexually explicit violent games to anyone under 18. The idea is being opposed by a number of groups, including, get this, some parents.

Lindsey Arent explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LINDSEY ARENT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Michelle Wilson's sons put the popular skateboarding videogame "Tony Hawk" on their Christmas list, she didn't think twice until she says she saw the profanity, hostage taking and physical beatings in the video.

MICHELLE WILSON, PARENT: My God, and they played it and they said, oh, this is a cool game. And I went down there and looked at it and I thought, oh, OK. That's not cool. That's not good. I bought that?

ARENT: The Wilsons say they work hard to shield their kids from inappropriate content. But it's tough. ANDREW WILSON, PARENT: We see a consistency in the level of violence, cursing, sexual content from the television to the Internet and to the video.

ARENT: Dr. Michael Brodie is the head of the Television and Media Committee of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry. After studying the effect of TV violence on children, he sees a direct link between violent video games and aggressive juvenile behavior.

DR. MICHAEL BRODY, CHILD PSYCHIATRIST: The person watching the game becomes embedded in the context of the game. If you watch these first-person shooter games, for example, you are the one who's doing the shooting.

ARENT: Now D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and the city council want to fight back.

(on camera): Under a proposed measure, a store that sells games rated Mature to kids 17 and younger, could lose its business license or face a $10,000 fine.

(voice-over): The video game industry says its five-tier rating system makes game content clear to parents.

DOUG LOWENSTEIN, ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE ASSN: It's not up to any member of the city council of the District of Columbia or anywhere else to tell me or any other parent, I don't want you to have this. It's up to the parent to make those choices.

ARENT: The ACLU says such restrictions violate free speech saying: "Videogames, just like books, movies, art and TV programs' violent content all enjoy the protection of the First Amendment."

For Jinhee Wilde, censoring her son's video games isn't the answer.

JINHEE WILDE, PARENT: You cannot legislate and regulate everything. At some point parents have to step in and do what they need to do. Legislators can't control what is happening inside of my home either.

ARENT: But the D.C. measure may face an uphill battle. Efforts in three other states have been overturned in federal appeals courts.

Lindsey Arent for CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: That's one of the smartest parents I've heard in a story lately. I mean, it is the parents' responsibility. How hard is that for people to get in their head?

PHILLIPS: You jump in, take charge, tell the kids what they can, can't do with the videos.

O'BRIEN: Hello. Hello. Thank you very much. All right. PHILLIPS: Instant messaging.

O'BRIEN: She's preaching to the choir.

PHILLIPS: All right. Coming up next, is candy the way to your loved ones hearts? Straight to their booty.

O'BRIEN: That's not so dandy for Sandy. She doesn't like chocolate.

PHILLIPS: I just expand. I'm already having a hard enough...

O'BRIEN: Yes, you do.

PHILLIPS: ... getting into my pants. A Valentine's Day chocolate quiz from the cnn.com desk. Miles' favorite segment.

O'BRIEN: And speaking of Kyra's expansion, fast food and fast beverages, on the menu when we check Wall Street in a few moments. Are they good for the, ahem, bottom line, if you will?

PHILLIPS: Special sauce right there.

And later on LIVE FROM, talk about sauce. A look add "Juiced," Jose Canseco's new tell-all book about steroids and baseball. Oh, Jose, at it again. Talk talk talk talk talk...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ: If you're searching for the perfect way to woo that special someone before you write your forget-me-not, CNN.com takes you straight to the heart of Valentine. For inspiration, we have an audio slide show of historic love letters including romantic words from John Hancock whose sweet nothings were interrupted by a declaration of independence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm greatly hurried. I'm now going to sign General Washington's commission. Yours forever, John Hancock.

PHILLIPS: From sweet nothings to sweet treats. Test your knowledge when it comes to chocolate. For example, do you know how chocolate chip cookies came to be and when the first batch was baked? Take our chocolate quiz to find out. From the dot-com news desk in Atlanta, I'm Veronica De La Cruz. Have a happy Valentine's.

PHILLIPS: Happy Valentine's Day there, sweetheart.

O'BRIEN: Oh, thank you, thank you.

PHILLIPS: Thanks for the flowers and the candy. I love you, too.

O'BRIEN: Yes, they're coming next year. They'll be there next year.

PHILLIPS: We might think that gas station coffee is pretty much synonymous with motor oil. Unless you go to some specific stations.

O'BRIEN: You know, there's a station here in town that has some pretty good coffee.

PHILLIPS: Really?

O'BRIEN: Well, Exxon is trying to work on changing that. Because this coffee thing is huge. I just paid nearly 4 bucks for a latte. It took them 20 minutes to make it before I got on the air here. And I'm thinking this is nuts. This is nuts.

PHILLIPS: Maybe David Haffenreffer will send you a little card, you know, a special card.

DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Starbucks card.

PHILLIPS: Yes, exactly. There you go.

O'BRIEN: Sure.

PHILLIPS: For Valentine's Day.

HAFFENREFFER: That would mean free coffee for Miles, of course.

PHILLIPS: Guys don't do that with each other. They don't send each other Valentines, Kyra. I'll talk to you later.

HAFFENREFFER: Evolved men, Miles.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Not everyone is in love with the idea of Valentine's Day. In fact, some have strong feelings against it. Yes! Say it ain't so.

PHILLIPS: And we're live from California where the Michael Jackson jury selection is back in full swing. We'll take you to the show.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Here's what's going on. Now in the news closing arguments ended a short while ago in Charleston, South Carolina. Now up to a jury to decide whether Christopher Pittman is guilty of double murder. Pittman, now 15, says the prescription drug Zoloft caused him to kill his grandparents three years ago. The U.S. Senate meeting right now to consider whether to approve nominee Michael Chertoff as the new secretary of homeland security. A vote's scheduled for tomorrow. Chertoff expected to win approval.

But Alberto Gonzales is a nominee no more. He was sworn in this morning as the nation's new attorney general. He replaces John Ashcroft who left the post last month.

And finally a traditional treat for your Valentine's sweet, It's a sour note with U.S. lawmakers. Democratic Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa says the chocolate industry hasn't moved quickly enough.

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