Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Soldiering On; U.S. Ambassador to Syria Recalled; Chris Rock's Oscar Comments Draw Fire

Aired February 15, 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.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: "Now in the News," a judge gives the minimum sentence, 30 years in prison, to a South Carolina teenager who murdered his grandparents. A jury convicted Chris Pittman this morning after six hours of deliberations. The defense claimed Pittman's judgment was clouded by the antidepressant Zoloft.
The Michael Jackson trial on hold for another week. Jackson in the hospital with the flu. The judge said he got sick on his way to court. The pop star's accused of molesting a young cancer patient. Jury selection resumed just yesterday following another delay.

12 to 15 years in prison. That's the sentence for defrocked priest Paul Shanley, convicted last week of child rape. Shanley must also attend a sex offender program. He was accused of abusing a young parishioner who repressed memories of the abuse for about 20 years.

And there aren't enough beds and food for the nation's needy. That's according to an advocacy group for low-income Americans. The report says emergency food and shelter requests rose so much last year that some soup kitchens and homeless shelters had to turn people away.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The United States is recalling its ambassador to Syria after the assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister. Lebanese opposition leaders say Syria was behind the bombing that killed the Rafik Hariri and 16 others in Beirut yesterday. That bomb was so powerful that investigators still aren't sure how it was set. Hariri was viewed as a conciliator who opposed Syria's presence in Lebanon. Today his son expressed grief.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAAD HARIRI, RAFIK HARIRI'S SON: Today is a great loss for Lebanon, for the family of Hariri and for every Lebanese, for the Arab world. My father served Lebanon all his life. And we will keep serving it also.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like him?

HARIRI: I hope justice will be brought upon those who committed this heinous crime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The Syrian government denies any involvement in that killing. Yesterday an apparent Islamic group released a statement claiming responsibility. O'BRIEN: Other news around the world now.

Celebrations in North Korea. The country marking the 63rd birthday of its leader, Kim Jong-Il. This comes just days after Pyongyang announced it was pulling out of nuclear talks.

A race against time in Northern China. Rescuers searching in subfreezing temperatures for as many as 13 miners who may be trapped following a gas explosion. At least 203 miners were killed. It is China's worst mining disaster in more than 55 years.

And thousands fled for their lives following days of flooding in Venezuela and Colombia. Torrential rains sent rivers over their banks. Hillsides became deadly streams of mud. At least 86 killed, dozens more still missing.

PHILLIPS: Now proof that no bad -- or how bad the blows, some people simply cannot be beaten. Captain David Rozelle is an author, an amputee, but first and foremost, a soldier. CNN's Aaron Brown has his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AARON BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the days after the fall of Baghdad before the car bombings and the IED attacks that seem so commonplace now, David Rozelle's Humvee hit a landmine and David Rozelle nearly lost his life.

CAPT. DAVID ROZELLE, 3RD ARMORED CAVALRY REGIMENT: I remember the looks on the faces of my soldiers. They had to carry me and my litter onto the landing zone to load into the helicopter and saying goodbye to my brothers. I mean it's just gut-wrenching, really gut- wrenching.

BROWN: He would survive but lose his right foot.

ROZELLE: I laid back and really thought about it and it broke my heart and I don't like being still. I like being in motion and to say that you're going to take away one of my feet just, it just -- it hit me. I just, I couldn't even imagine it but I knew it was the only chance.

BROWN: That really is the beginning of Captain Rozelle's story, an amputee with the heart of a soldier, foot gone, heart intact.

ROZELLE: My initial response was I've given enough but my true self and my most inner person, you know, is not -- is not a quitter. I realized I at least needed to see if I can do this. I at least need to prove to myself that I can stay on active duty. I can go back and fight if I have to.

BROWN: As amputees go he was lucky. Others struggled to learn to eat again or take a step again. Rozelle's challenge was to become a soldier again, a step at a time, first walking, then running, then competing. ROZELLE: When I started doing those races I was horribly self conscious of the way I looked. I didn't feel like an athlete and I didn't take myself very seriously. I felt like an amputee. I felt like I was disabled.

BROWN: There were triathlons and iron man relays. There was the New York City marathon and each one brought Rozelle closer to who he was and who he wanted to be.

ROZELLE: And then just the nature of competition as I did more and more events, I won one and as they handed me the trophy, I felt like a stud.

BROWN: In just ten months after he lost that foot David Rozelle won his race, not a marathon, something more.

ROZELLE: I'd won. They found me fit for duty. I'd proven to a board of doctors and the Army, the Department of Defense that I was -- I was fit for duty. OK, now what? That was my goal was to be found fit for duty. It wasn't to go back to Iraq. It's never been my goal is go back to Iraq. It's been to be able to have the ability to take command again. That's all I wanted. So, now I had to make a decision.

BROWN: And, in the end, with the country at war the man with the soldier's heart made the only decision he could.

ROZELLE: When I think about going back, yes, it's going to be hard but it's my duty and if you don't really know what that word means, then you don't understand it. I believe in it because it's who I am. I am a cavalry officer. I've commanded troops before and I'm going back where I have the opportunity to command troops again under the same conditions, plus I was the first amputee to do it. I love it. I'm proud -- I'm proud to serve the American people.

BROWN: We all, I suppose, judge ourselves by different standards but for most at some point we ask how will those who we love most and love us most see us? David Rozelle, now just weeks away from heading back to war, believes he knows.

ROZELLE: The truth is that a man judges himself on how his son perceives him and, although my son only has a perception of how good warm cookies are right now, in 30 years he's going to look at me as an old man and he's going to sit down and think about it and I want him to be proud of me and I think that my son will be proud of what I've done and that's the most important thing to me.

BROWN: Aaron Brown, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: And we'll be proud to have him as our guest. Captain Rozelle will be with us on Friday. And we hope you'll tune in and join us for that.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights -- they're some of America's most treasured documents, but the people who take care of them fear that those treasures could be fading away. We'll tell you what they're doing coming up next.

O'BRIEN: Also ahead on LIVE FROM, rocking the boat? Hollywood's reaction to Chris Rock's Oscar show comments.

PHILLIPS: Bible classes during school hours? One local school board struggled to decide if it's the right thing to do.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: It took five years, cutting-edge science, millions of dollars and endless discussion. The result, nine metal boxes. So what am I talking about? Documents like the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and preserving them. "Saving the National Treasures" is a "Nova" special airing tonight on PBS. Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler, chief of the document conservation lab at the National Archives and records office is one of the stars of this project. She joins us live from D.C., good to see you.

MARY LYNN RITZENTHALER, NATL. ARCHIVES & RECORDS OFFICE: Good afternoon.

(AUDIO GAP)

PHILLIPS: ... the actual -- I guess the first attempt to seal the Declaration of Independence took place. Now this was considered cutting edge at the time, right?

RITZENTHALER: That is definitely correct. In the early 1950s, the National Bureau of Standards used the very best technology of the day to seal up these charters and...

(AUDIO GAP)

PHILLIPS: ... then came in the Buffalo Bug. Tell us what happened.

RITZENTHALER: Well, actually, the Buffalo Bug was one of the things that was the impetus for encasing the documents in the first case. What really began to happen is that the glass that was used in the encasement, from these 1950s-era encasements began to show signs of degradation, and there was concern that as the glass deteriorated, the glass would become cloudy. It would become more difficult to actually see the documents, and also, there could be some...

(AUDIO GAP)

RITZENTHALER: ... degrading began to cause some level of concern and was one of the initiating factors in the re-encasement project.

PHILLIPS: OK. Now, Mary Lynn, this is pretty amazing, you were one of two individuals that for the first time in decades got to i guess cut through the glass and see this document as is for the very first time. Were you nervous, were you afraid you might damage the document?

RITZENTHALER: Well, it was an incredible honor and privilege and yes, I would say at the beginning, we were very nervous, but we had seven encasements to work on, seven pages that comprised the charters of freedom. And we started the transmittal page of the Constitution and that is the one document that is not on exhibit. But we basically were able to refine our techniques and understanding of how the old encasements had been fabricated so that we could safely remove the documents.

I think it's safe to say that at no time during the process of removing and opening the old encasements were the documents every in jeopardy.

PHILLIPS: Wow, well, Mary Lynn, you know, a lot of us have seen the movie "National Treasure" with Nicolas Cage, did you see a treasure map on the back of the Declaration of Independence?

RITZENTHALER: Now that's a very good question. No, we did not. But it was actually pretty amazing when we turned the document over for the very first time -- and there is a legend or a title on the back of the document, and it states very simply, "Original Declaration of Independence," and it has the date. But no sign of a treasure map.

PHILLIPS: That's amazing. OK. So now it's sort of like "CSI: National Treasure." It's you and chemists and physicists and engineers, all coming together as this team. And tell me about these new nine metal boxes, and if you think this will be the last time these documents will ever be unsealed.

RITZENTHALER: I think that it's quite likely that the new encasements will remain sealed for probably the next 100 years. The materials include glass and titanium and aluminum, all materials that were tested. The interior atmosphere within the encasements is an inner gas called argon. And we have the ability to monitor conditions within the encasements to check for the presence of either oxygen or water vapor. And if there are any problems, we have the ability to reopen and reseal these encasements, unlike the earlier National Bureau of Standards encasements which were basically open-once technology.

PHILLIPS: Wow. Well, it's amazing to actually go and see these charters of freedom. But you don't want to miss this PBS special tonight, the "Nova" special airing on PBS. Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler, thank you so much. Fascinating stuff.

RITZENTHALER: You're welcome. And come to the National Archives, see the original.

PHILLIPS: OK. You've got a deal. I'll do that.

RITZENTHALER: OK. All right.

PHILLIPS: Got the inside hook-up. Maybe I can actually touch the Declaration of Independence.

O'BRIEN: You can pick it up and touch it and crumple it up a little bit.

PHILLIPS: Put it in my back pocket.

O'BRIEN: So are Oscar producers nervous about this year's ratings? CNN's Sibila Vargas is taking a pulse on that subject out in L.A.

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Miles. This year's Oscar host, comedian Chris Rock, isn't making the Academy laugh after harsh comments about the show. I'll have the details when CNN's LIVE FROM continues.

PHILLIPS: And Michael Jackson goes to the hospital today instead of the courthouse. We're live from Santa Maria with the update.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Over the years, the Academy Awards have drawn some measure of scorn from critics, viewers and even winners, Marlon Brando, most famously. But what's the world coming to when even the ceremony's host disses the Oscar -- Sibila.

VARGAS: What's the world coming to, Miles? He hasn't even taken to the stage yet at the Oscars, but host Chris Rock's remarks are already causing some heated debate.

In an interview with "Entertainment Weekly," the comedian says that not only has he never cared for the Academy Awards, but he thinks giving awards is an idiotic notion and likened the event to a fashion show.

According to "EW" magazine Rock said the only time he watched was when black actors were nominated saying, quote, "what straight black man sits there and watches the Oscars?" OK. Well, his remarks are being defended by Oscar's producer, Gil Gates, who says he wasn't concerned by Rock's remarks and rejected claims that some members were calling to have the comedian ejected as host. Well, who knows? Maybe a little bit of controversy might actually help the show get ratings. By the looks of this year's Grammy numbers, Oscar is going to need it. Music's finest may have belted it out on the stage but this year's Grammy viewership was the lowest in decades. Of course, the charming ladies of "Wisteria Lane" had a little something to do with it.

The awards show won the 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. hours, but at 9:00 p.m., ABC's runaway hit "Desperate Housewives" outdrew the Grammys by nearly 3 million viewers -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: I understand things got a little bit cool out there in L.A. last night.

VARGAS: It was the coolest of coolest nights as Hollywood's finest turned out for the premiere of "Be Cool," the follow-up of the 1995 film "Get Shorty" which includes a star-studded cast and reunites actors John Travolta and Uma Thurman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UMA THURMAN, ACTRESS: It was actually maybe even better than last time because we got to do it longer. So more is more in my book. But it was wonderful. You know, I think that our first dance in "Pulp Fiction," is probably one of the high points of my whole creative life, and getting to come back and take a stroll around the dance floor with him again is just a complete gift.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VARGAS: That's right. Uma and Travolta will be getting their groove on. You can see them right there. I mean, after all, what would a John Travolta film be without a dance number. And I think when it comes to Uma and John, Miles, it might be even written in their contract.

O'BRIEN: I suppose so. All right.

VARGAS: Maybe.

O'BRIEN: I was wondering if you were going to break into "Night Fever" since we're talking about John Travolta.

VARGAS: Night fever, night fever, oh! Since you said it. Since you said it.

O'BRIEN: Well, that took a lot of prodding, didn't it?

VARGAS: You always put me on the spot there but I had to do it.

O'BRIEN: Entertainment reporter and songstress, Sibila Vargas. Thank you very much.

For years Americans have been popping painkillers like they're candy. But the fix might be coming to an end.

PHILLIPS: I'll be taking one right now after that number.

O'BRIEN: She can sing.

PHILLIPS: David Haffenreffer live from the New York -- I know. What can I tell you? David, she's hot. She's hot.

DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We'll be watching that video at the Christmas party.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

O'BRIEN: CNN's Miguel Marquez standing by at the Michael Jackson trial in California. We'll go there live next. Jackson should have taken a right, he took a left instead, went to the hospital. We'll explain why.

PHILLIPS: Students allowed to leave school for Bible classes? A good use of time or unequal treatment? We're going to talk about it coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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 15, 2005 - 14:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: "Now in the News," a judge gives the minimum sentence, 30 years in prison, to a South Carolina teenager who murdered his grandparents. A jury convicted Chris Pittman this morning after six hours of deliberations. The defense claimed Pittman's judgment was clouded by the antidepressant Zoloft.
The Michael Jackson trial on hold for another week. Jackson in the hospital with the flu. The judge said he got sick on his way to court. The pop star's accused of molesting a young cancer patient. Jury selection resumed just yesterday following another delay.

12 to 15 years in prison. That's the sentence for defrocked priest Paul Shanley, convicted last week of child rape. Shanley must also attend a sex offender program. He was accused of abusing a young parishioner who repressed memories of the abuse for about 20 years.

And there aren't enough beds and food for the nation's needy. That's according to an advocacy group for low-income Americans. The report says emergency food and shelter requests rose so much last year that some soup kitchens and homeless shelters had to turn people away.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The United States is recalling its ambassador to Syria after the assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister. Lebanese opposition leaders say Syria was behind the bombing that killed the Rafik Hariri and 16 others in Beirut yesterday. That bomb was so powerful that investigators still aren't sure how it was set. Hariri was viewed as a conciliator who opposed Syria's presence in Lebanon. Today his son expressed grief.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAAD HARIRI, RAFIK HARIRI'S SON: Today is a great loss for Lebanon, for the family of Hariri and for every Lebanese, for the Arab world. My father served Lebanon all his life. And we will keep serving it also.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like him?

HARIRI: I hope justice will be brought upon those who committed this heinous crime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The Syrian government denies any involvement in that killing. Yesterday an apparent Islamic group released a statement claiming responsibility. O'BRIEN: Other news around the world now.

Celebrations in North Korea. The country marking the 63rd birthday of its leader, Kim Jong-Il. This comes just days after Pyongyang announced it was pulling out of nuclear talks.

A race against time in Northern China. Rescuers searching in subfreezing temperatures for as many as 13 miners who may be trapped following a gas explosion. At least 203 miners were killed. It is China's worst mining disaster in more than 55 years.

And thousands fled for their lives following days of flooding in Venezuela and Colombia. Torrential rains sent rivers over their banks. Hillsides became deadly streams of mud. At least 86 killed, dozens more still missing.

PHILLIPS: Now proof that no bad -- or how bad the blows, some people simply cannot be beaten. Captain David Rozelle is an author, an amputee, but first and foremost, a soldier. CNN's Aaron Brown has his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AARON BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the days after the fall of Baghdad before the car bombings and the IED attacks that seem so commonplace now, David Rozelle's Humvee hit a landmine and David Rozelle nearly lost his life.

CAPT. DAVID ROZELLE, 3RD ARMORED CAVALRY REGIMENT: I remember the looks on the faces of my soldiers. They had to carry me and my litter onto the landing zone to load into the helicopter and saying goodbye to my brothers. I mean it's just gut-wrenching, really gut- wrenching.

BROWN: He would survive but lose his right foot.

ROZELLE: I laid back and really thought about it and it broke my heart and I don't like being still. I like being in motion and to say that you're going to take away one of my feet just, it just -- it hit me. I just, I couldn't even imagine it but I knew it was the only chance.

BROWN: That really is the beginning of Captain Rozelle's story, an amputee with the heart of a soldier, foot gone, heart intact.

ROZELLE: My initial response was I've given enough but my true self and my most inner person, you know, is not -- is not a quitter. I realized I at least needed to see if I can do this. I at least need to prove to myself that I can stay on active duty. I can go back and fight if I have to.

BROWN: As amputees go he was lucky. Others struggled to learn to eat again or take a step again. Rozelle's challenge was to become a soldier again, a step at a time, first walking, then running, then competing. ROZELLE: When I started doing those races I was horribly self conscious of the way I looked. I didn't feel like an athlete and I didn't take myself very seriously. I felt like an amputee. I felt like I was disabled.

BROWN: There were triathlons and iron man relays. There was the New York City marathon and each one brought Rozelle closer to who he was and who he wanted to be.

ROZELLE: And then just the nature of competition as I did more and more events, I won one and as they handed me the trophy, I felt like a stud.

BROWN: In just ten months after he lost that foot David Rozelle won his race, not a marathon, something more.

ROZELLE: I'd won. They found me fit for duty. I'd proven to a board of doctors and the Army, the Department of Defense that I was -- I was fit for duty. OK, now what? That was my goal was to be found fit for duty. It wasn't to go back to Iraq. It's never been my goal is go back to Iraq. It's been to be able to have the ability to take command again. That's all I wanted. So, now I had to make a decision.

BROWN: And, in the end, with the country at war the man with the soldier's heart made the only decision he could.

ROZELLE: When I think about going back, yes, it's going to be hard but it's my duty and if you don't really know what that word means, then you don't understand it. I believe in it because it's who I am. I am a cavalry officer. I've commanded troops before and I'm going back where I have the opportunity to command troops again under the same conditions, plus I was the first amputee to do it. I love it. I'm proud -- I'm proud to serve the American people.

BROWN: We all, I suppose, judge ourselves by different standards but for most at some point we ask how will those who we love most and love us most see us? David Rozelle, now just weeks away from heading back to war, believes he knows.

ROZELLE: The truth is that a man judges himself on how his son perceives him and, although my son only has a perception of how good warm cookies are right now, in 30 years he's going to look at me as an old man and he's going to sit down and think about it and I want him to be proud of me and I think that my son will be proud of what I've done and that's the most important thing to me.

BROWN: Aaron Brown, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: And we'll be proud to have him as our guest. Captain Rozelle will be with us on Friday. And we hope you'll tune in and join us for that.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights -- they're some of America's most treasured documents, but the people who take care of them fear that those treasures could be fading away. We'll tell you what they're doing coming up next.

O'BRIEN: Also ahead on LIVE FROM, rocking the boat? Hollywood's reaction to Chris Rock's Oscar show comments.

PHILLIPS: Bible classes during school hours? One local school board struggled to decide if it's the right thing to do.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: It took five years, cutting-edge science, millions of dollars and endless discussion. The result, nine metal boxes. So what am I talking about? Documents like the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and preserving them. "Saving the National Treasures" is a "Nova" special airing tonight on PBS. Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler, chief of the document conservation lab at the National Archives and records office is one of the stars of this project. She joins us live from D.C., good to see you.

MARY LYNN RITZENTHALER, NATL. ARCHIVES & RECORDS OFFICE: Good afternoon.

(AUDIO GAP)

PHILLIPS: ... the actual -- I guess the first attempt to seal the Declaration of Independence took place. Now this was considered cutting edge at the time, right?

RITZENTHALER: That is definitely correct. In the early 1950s, the National Bureau of Standards used the very best technology of the day to seal up these charters and...

(AUDIO GAP)

PHILLIPS: ... then came in the Buffalo Bug. Tell us what happened.

RITZENTHALER: Well, actually, the Buffalo Bug was one of the things that was the impetus for encasing the documents in the first case. What really began to happen is that the glass that was used in the encasement, from these 1950s-era encasements began to show signs of degradation, and there was concern that as the glass deteriorated, the glass would become cloudy. It would become more difficult to actually see the documents, and also, there could be some...

(AUDIO GAP)

RITZENTHALER: ... degrading began to cause some level of concern and was one of the initiating factors in the re-encasement project.

PHILLIPS: OK. Now, Mary Lynn, this is pretty amazing, you were one of two individuals that for the first time in decades got to i guess cut through the glass and see this document as is for the very first time. Were you nervous, were you afraid you might damage the document?

RITZENTHALER: Well, it was an incredible honor and privilege and yes, I would say at the beginning, we were very nervous, but we had seven encasements to work on, seven pages that comprised the charters of freedom. And we started the transmittal page of the Constitution and that is the one document that is not on exhibit. But we basically were able to refine our techniques and understanding of how the old encasements had been fabricated so that we could safely remove the documents.

I think it's safe to say that at no time during the process of removing and opening the old encasements were the documents every in jeopardy.

PHILLIPS: Wow, well, Mary Lynn, you know, a lot of us have seen the movie "National Treasure" with Nicolas Cage, did you see a treasure map on the back of the Declaration of Independence?

RITZENTHALER: Now that's a very good question. No, we did not. But it was actually pretty amazing when we turned the document over for the very first time -- and there is a legend or a title on the back of the document, and it states very simply, "Original Declaration of Independence," and it has the date. But no sign of a treasure map.

PHILLIPS: That's amazing. OK. So now it's sort of like "CSI: National Treasure." It's you and chemists and physicists and engineers, all coming together as this team. And tell me about these new nine metal boxes, and if you think this will be the last time these documents will ever be unsealed.

RITZENTHALER: I think that it's quite likely that the new encasements will remain sealed for probably the next 100 years. The materials include glass and titanium and aluminum, all materials that were tested. The interior atmosphere within the encasements is an inner gas called argon. And we have the ability to monitor conditions within the encasements to check for the presence of either oxygen or water vapor. And if there are any problems, we have the ability to reopen and reseal these encasements, unlike the earlier National Bureau of Standards encasements which were basically open-once technology.

PHILLIPS: Wow. Well, it's amazing to actually go and see these charters of freedom. But you don't want to miss this PBS special tonight, the "Nova" special airing on PBS. Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler, thank you so much. Fascinating stuff.

RITZENTHALER: You're welcome. And come to the National Archives, see the original.

PHILLIPS: OK. You've got a deal. I'll do that.

RITZENTHALER: OK. All right.

PHILLIPS: Got the inside hook-up. Maybe I can actually touch the Declaration of Independence.

O'BRIEN: You can pick it up and touch it and crumple it up a little bit.

PHILLIPS: Put it in my back pocket.

O'BRIEN: So are Oscar producers nervous about this year's ratings? CNN's Sibila Vargas is taking a pulse on that subject out in L.A.

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Miles. This year's Oscar host, comedian Chris Rock, isn't making the Academy laugh after harsh comments about the show. I'll have the details when CNN's LIVE FROM continues.

PHILLIPS: And Michael Jackson goes to the hospital today instead of the courthouse. We're live from Santa Maria with the update.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Over the years, the Academy Awards have drawn some measure of scorn from critics, viewers and even winners, Marlon Brando, most famously. But what's the world coming to when even the ceremony's host disses the Oscar -- Sibila.

VARGAS: What's the world coming to, Miles? He hasn't even taken to the stage yet at the Oscars, but host Chris Rock's remarks are already causing some heated debate.

In an interview with "Entertainment Weekly," the comedian says that not only has he never cared for the Academy Awards, but he thinks giving awards is an idiotic notion and likened the event to a fashion show.

According to "EW" magazine Rock said the only time he watched was when black actors were nominated saying, quote, "what straight black man sits there and watches the Oscars?" OK. Well, his remarks are being defended by Oscar's producer, Gil Gates, who says he wasn't concerned by Rock's remarks and rejected claims that some members were calling to have the comedian ejected as host. Well, who knows? Maybe a little bit of controversy might actually help the show get ratings. By the looks of this year's Grammy numbers, Oscar is going to need it. Music's finest may have belted it out on the stage but this year's Grammy viewership was the lowest in decades. Of course, the charming ladies of "Wisteria Lane" had a little something to do with it.

The awards show won the 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. hours, but at 9:00 p.m., ABC's runaway hit "Desperate Housewives" outdrew the Grammys by nearly 3 million viewers -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: I understand things got a little bit cool out there in L.A. last night.

VARGAS: It was the coolest of coolest nights as Hollywood's finest turned out for the premiere of "Be Cool," the follow-up of the 1995 film "Get Shorty" which includes a star-studded cast and reunites actors John Travolta and Uma Thurman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UMA THURMAN, ACTRESS: It was actually maybe even better than last time because we got to do it longer. So more is more in my book. But it was wonderful. You know, I think that our first dance in "Pulp Fiction," is probably one of the high points of my whole creative life, and getting to come back and take a stroll around the dance floor with him again is just a complete gift.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VARGAS: That's right. Uma and Travolta will be getting their groove on. You can see them right there. I mean, after all, what would a John Travolta film be without a dance number. And I think when it comes to Uma and John, Miles, it might be even written in their contract.

O'BRIEN: I suppose so. All right.

VARGAS: Maybe.

O'BRIEN: I was wondering if you were going to break into "Night Fever" since we're talking about John Travolta.

VARGAS: Night fever, night fever, oh! Since you said it. Since you said it.

O'BRIEN: Well, that took a lot of prodding, didn't it?

VARGAS: You always put me on the spot there but I had to do it.

O'BRIEN: Entertainment reporter and songstress, Sibila Vargas. Thank you very much.

For years Americans have been popping painkillers like they're candy. But the fix might be coming to an end.

PHILLIPS: I'll be taking one right now after that number.

O'BRIEN: She can sing.

PHILLIPS: David Haffenreffer live from the New York -- I know. What can I tell you? David, she's hot. She's hot.

DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We'll be watching that video at the Christmas party.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

O'BRIEN: CNN's Miguel Marquez standing by at the Michael Jackson trial in California. We'll go there live next. Jackson should have taken a right, he took a left instead, went to the hospital. We'll explain why.

PHILLIPS: Students allowed to leave school for Bible classes? A good use of time or unequal treatment? We're going to talk about it coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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