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CNN Live Today
Martha Stewart Press Conference; Protesters on Floor of London's House of Commons
Aired September 15, 2004 - 11:29 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Martha Stewart is holding a news conference any moment to discuss her prison sentence. Stewart faces five months behind bars, but is out during an appeal. There is speculation she may go ahead and serve the sentence to get the matter behind her. We will bring you the news conference live from New York City as soon as it gets started.
Meanwhile, while we wait stand by for that to happen, and before we go back to our Ivan coverage, let's bring in our head legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin on the phone to talk about what we might hear from Martha Stewart today.
Jeff, good morning.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning, Daryn.
KAGAN: And what do you think we're going to hear from Martha Stewart today?
TOOBIN: Well, I think there may be a recognition of reality, which is that this appeal is very much an uphill climb. This was a very fairly tried case by Judge Miriam Cedarbaum. I think overturning this case is extremely unlikely.
However, extending this appeal will likely go on for many, many months, leaving her business empire very much on hold. She may simply decide, look, I want to serve my five months. Five months will go quickly, and then get back to work, and start putting her business back together.
KAGAN: And in terms of where she is supposed to be serving that term, you made an interesting point back a few months ago when she was sentenced, about how actually being a woman hurts Martha Stewart in this case, because there aren't a lot of places, or any place really, for female white-collar criminals to go and serve their time.
TOOBIN: That's true. There are so few female white-collar criminals that all the prisons for women tend to be higher security. She is likely to go to Danbury, which is near her home in Connecticut, and, you know, that's not something out of a bad movie, it's not a torture chamber, but it's a pretty tough prison. And white-collar criminals who are male have more options for lesser security prisons, but I think Danbury is very likely where she'll end up, possibly Alderson, West Virginia, but more likely Danbury.
KAGAN: There was a story in "The New York Post" a couple weeks ago, saying that Danbury they were so crowded, they really didn't have room for her.
TOOBIN: That's the big issue. That is a big issue. And one of the things that any federal prisoner has to do while waiting to report is to wait for a vacancy. And one of the things you learn when you're a prisoner and not a CEO is you do what you're told and you show up when you're told and you can't decide when you report to prison. It's the Bureau of Prisons that decides, not you.
KAGAN: All right, we're going to have you standby, and as we said, we expect that news conference from New York City with Martha Stewart to begin any minute. When it does, you viewers will see it here on CNN, and Jeff will check back in with you to get your take on what Martha Stewart has to say.
Meanwhile, while we stand by for the Martha Stewart news conference, let's check in on Hurricane Ivan. Take a look at this, these pictures coming to us from NASA, an image from space showing just how massive the hurricane is, the storm nearly 200 miles wide, and its uncertain path creates a danger zone that stretches some 330 miles across four different states.
(WEATHER UPDATE)
HEMMER: In the meantime, Daryn, the governor of Florida Jeb Bush was caught wearing a button last week. It's reported that the button said "I survived damn near everything." When you consider Ivan, Frances before that, Charley before that, this part of the country really has taken a full frontal so far from the hurricane season.
And yet, if you can believe the forecasters, September and October's normally your busiest seasons, not the month of August, where we had eight strong storms come through this area. Evacuations in order here, and in place for Mobile, Alabama. If projections are right and that eye comes on shore here, some time in the middle of the night, a lot of people right here right now getting ready for that. In fact, the evacuation order changed, based on past history.
I-65 runs north out of Mobile, up into Montgomery, Alabama. They changed the southbound lanes, reversed them to go northbound. So now you have twice the amount of asphalt to take cars, and people and residents out of this area in southern Alabama. Further west, though, in New Orleans, we are hearing now that perhaps New Orleans might get lucky through this, can't say for certain, because no one knows. That's the way the mayor was talking. That's the way the Hurricane Center was talking about an hour ago down in Miami.
Jason Bellini's watching the front there.
Jason, good morning to you in New Orleans.
JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
We're on the streets of the French Quarter, where they're still people milling about, even though all the shops are closed. They closed around yesterday afternoon, still people walking around, people who have not evacuated, either who chose not to leave or could not leave for that matter in there (ph).
A few people who I'm here with right now I want to introduce you to, Bill, and they were not able to leave. I'm with Pam and Tim Roberts -- I'm sorry, Pam Roberts, Keith Roberts, and Tim Candiano (ph). They're all here stuck because of the fact you were here for a conference and your flights were canceled. Tell me about that.
PAM ROBERTS: Well, we flew in Sunday. There was a conference my husband was attending, and Tim Candiano (ph), and I came along...
KAGAN: We're going to interrupt this. We'll get back to Jason Bellini in just a moment.
Martha Stewart beginning her news conference in New York City.
(BEGIN LIVE NEWS CONFERENCE -- JOINED IN PROGRESS)
MARTHA STEWART: ... living, that's what we call this area. And it's the downtown offices of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. We call it the Starrett-Lehigh offices.
On this beautiful light-filled floor, many of my colleagues work on the creation and design of many of the products manufactured for our merchandising businesses. For recipes are developed, tested, and photographed here. Our Internet services are devised and maintained here. Marketing and advertising materials for our businesses are created here. And the company and other meetings are conducted in this great hall.
We're happy to have found this wonderful New York space and transformed it into a bright and useful work space.
Today, I have something of great personal and professional importance to share with all of you, but before I begin, I want you to know that it is the day before my mother's 90th birthday and the eve of Rosh Hashana. And I apologize for any of you who are going to be celebrating a happy and healthy new year and for having this on this day, but that's the way it worked out.
Please let me introduce, sitting down at the table here: Charles Koppelman, a member of our board; Tom Siekman, who is the chairman of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Board of Directors; Sharon Patrick, president and CEO of our company; and members of my appeals team, Walter Dellinger from Washington, Martin Weinberg -- excuse me, David Chesnoff from Las Vegas, and Martin Weinberg from Boston. Martin just walked into our extra clean windows back there, and I hope you didn't break your nose.
This morning, Walter Dellinger -- who, as you know, is heading my appeals process -- delivered a letter by hand to the chambers of Judge Miriam Cedarbaum. The letter Mr. Dellinger submitted stated that, although we are grateful for the judge's stay of my sentence pending the resolution of my appeal, I had decided to ask her Honor to vacate that stay of sentence and to begin the prison designation process.
This process includes the immediate notification of the Bureau of Prisons about my decision, being designated by that Bureau of Prisons to a facility, surrendering to the Bureau of Prisons on the appointed day, and beginning my period of incarceration as soon as possible, without waiting for the appeals process to be completed.
Why? There has been much speculation why I might do this, and many of the reasons speculated upon are not accurate or meaningful. I would like to explain to you from my perspective why I have decided on this course of action at this time.
I suppose the best word to use for this very harsh and difficult decision is finality, and my intense desire and need to put this nightmare behind me, both personally and professionally. I must reclaim my good life. I must return to my good works, and allow those around me who work with me to do the same.
The past two years and seven months -- and it has been that long -- have been a time of immense difficulty, immense sacrifice, and immense agony, not only for me, but for my loved ones: my daughter, Alexis; the rest of my family; my friends; my colleagues; and all of our business partners; and all the related people of our extended family who depend on the good works of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia for their livelihoods and day-to-day existence.
The only way to reclaim my life and the quality of life for all those related to me with certainty now is to serve my sentence, surrender to the authorities so that I can quickly return as soon as possible to the life and the work that I love. I have labored long and hard to build this company, and I love the company, my colleagues, and what we create very much. I cannot bear any longer the prolonged suffering, while I and my legal team await vindication in the next step of the legal process, the appeal.
And although I and my attorneys firmly believe in the strength of that appeal, recent delays and extensions have now made it abundantly clear that my appeal will not be heard until sometime next year. So, I have decided to serve my sentence now, to put this nightmare behind me and get on with my life and living as soon as possible. Believe me when I tell you that I fully understand importance of closure, not only to my family, friends, and supporters, but especially to our loyal and caring employees, our loyal and steadfast advertisers, our wonderfully supportive business partners.
It has been a trying and long ordeal for all of us, and it is time to get it all behind us -- behind me so we can move forward.
I know I have a very tough five months ahead of me, but I understand, too, that I will get through those months, knowing that I have the ability to return to my productive and normal life, my interesting work and future business opportunities, supported through the ordeal by my friends and colleagues and loved ones. I am very sad knowing that I will miss holiday season -- Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's -- always an opportunity to celebrate family, friends, and religious traditions that mean so much to many of us. And I will miss all of my pets -- my two beloved, fun-loving dogs, my seven lively cats, my canaries, my horses, and even my chickens. It's odd what becomes of immense importance when one realizes one's freedom is about to become curtailed, and it is frightening and difficult to have to grasp those realizations.
Unfortunately, there is no way to know today exactly when or how long it will take the Bureau of Prisons to be able to arrange for me to begin serving my sentence or where I will serve it. I do hope that there will be room at the Danbury facility, which is the prison nearest to my home and close enough so that my 90-year-old mother and others can visit me. I hope, too, that I will be able to begin serving my sentence in the very near future, because I would like to be back as early in March as possible, in order to plant the new spring garden and to truly get things growing again.
As you can imagine, going to jail voluntarily, prematurely before my appeal can be heard is an extremely difficult decision, especially when you believe you have a very strong appeal and may not have to serve that sentence.
According to a recent article in "The New York Times" by Jim Holt, America accounts for 25 percent of the world's prison population, despite the fact we have just five percent of its population. I will be joining more than two million other souls who are serving time. But I know I am doing the right thing for me and for my family, my colleagues, and my company. And the relief I feel at putting an end to all of this is great.
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia is a unique, progressive, and creative company. I know I have the full support of the management team and the Board of Directors going forward through this five month- period. And in turn, I have great confidence in the team's ability to manage the good works of the company. I firmly believe in the future of this company and know that its best days are still ahead of it.
I have complete faith in our Board of Directors -- excuse me. I have complete faith in our Board of Directors, who will help guide our company through this last hurdle with their expert advice and goodwill.
Our management team -- headed by Sharon Patrick, Gael Towey, Suzanne Sobel, Lauren Stanich, Margaret Roach, Dora Cardinale, Heidi Diamond, Jim Follo, and Jay Dubiner, among others -- our creative and editorial managers, and our hundreds of employee will continue to produce and expand our wonderful publications, mind-boggling numbers of excellent products, while they continue to enrich people's lives by providing the most unique and outstanding how-to content and products for the home and homemakers.
I am so proud of all of them. They are extraordinary. And I thank them from the bottom of my heart. I really will miss all of you, and I can't wait to return to working with all of you as soon as possible.
And I must thank our loyal customers, our supporters, and our friends, and all of our advertisers. Please know that I understand your special needs, your special requirements, and I thank you for your help and your support and your loyalty.
I hope that by ending the uncertainty and the awkwardness and the awfulness, we can return to better times quickly and efficiently. I cannot express enough gratitude to my family, my friends -- both old and new -- co-workers and business partners, and of course, the million of fans who have written and e-mailed me countless encouraging notes, watched our shows, read our magazines and books, purchased our products, and supported our brands. You, like my family, mean the world to me. I am eternally grateful.
And I just have one little joke, because despite what you all might think, I have do a sense of humor. And I was walking -- I was walking in front of the General Motors building the other day, and there were a group of very well-dressed businessmen standing outside. And they looked at me, recognized me, and said, "Oh, she's out already." Well, I hope that my time goes as fast as that.
And unfortunately, I will not be able to take any of your questions today. But everyone on the stage will be available in a few minutes to answer your questions. Thanks again for attending today's meeting, and I'll see you next year.
(APPLAUSE)
(END LIVE NEWS EVENT)
KAGAN: "I'll see you next year," the final words there from Martha Stewart, making the announcement at her company headquarters, that she is asking the judge in her case to vacate the stay of sentence that she had originally asked for while her case was on appeal.
She says it's time to begin her prison sentence and get it over as soon as possible. She is looking for some closure in this, and the desire, she said, and the need to get back to -- and put this chapter behind her. She said it's been a difficult two years and seven months.
Our Jeffrey Toobin listening in to the news conference.
Jeff, interesting to hear Martha Stewart point out that even though she is interesting to begin the prison season, it's unclear when or where she will do that.
TOOBIN: That's right. Just overall, Daryn, this was a smart move by Martha Stewart. She was facing reality. And the words she used, "finality in a personal and business sense," I think is exactly right.
What the stock market doesn't like, and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia is a public company, is uncertainty. And if her appeal went forward, she would really have no way of knowing when next year, or even if it would be the following year, that she would actually begin serving her sentence. This way, she knows she'll be out of prison sometime early next year, and it just makes a lot more sense. KAGAN: She was doing the math, and she said that this way, she would be out in March, or by March, where she could plant new spring flowers, and watch other things grow as well. It sounds like she also is thinking about her company.
TOOBIN: I think that's right. And my guess is that the Bureau of Prisons will probably take about a month to assign her to a prison, which would mean that she'd probably be out by spring.
And I think it will go quickly. I think five months will go quickly for her, and she is vigorous and active, and she'll be in a position early next year to start putting her company back together, which has suffered terribly during her legal ordeal, and this way she really will have a chance to do it, as opposed to the lingering uncertainty, which really might kill the company.
KAGAN: Jeffrey Toobin. Jeff, thanks for your insight there on Martha Stewart's legal case, certainly not the last we have heard from Martha Stewart, nor the last you've heard from us. We still have a lot more ahead. We're going to fit in a quick break and be back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Your "Daily Dose" of health news now. Experts say that treating high blood pressure among Medicare beneficiaries would save tens of thousands of lives and pay for itself. An estimated 65 million Americans, or one-third of U.S. adults, have high blood pressure. The experts say treated with the disease -- with drugs, diet and exercise would lead to fewer cases of stroke, heart attacks, and other coronary problems.
The flu is sending more people to the hospital, and the flu season appears to be getting longer -- that is according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It blames the rising numbers in part on an aging population that is more susceptible to influenza.
And this may be some sobering news for some bar hoppers. A new study suggesting that mixing alcohol with an energy drink may not prolong that alcohol buzz. The findings go against popular beliefs about the effects of energy drinks.
To get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, logon to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library, and information on diet and fitness. The address is cnn.com/health.
And now, news out of London, breaking news about another security breach. This time, the House of Commons. Apparently, at least five protesters opposed -- they're opposed to the ban on fox hunting. They burst into the floor of Britain's Parliament on Wednesday. It was an extraordinary breach of security.
These are live pictures that we're seeing. So, perhaps -- it looks like -- there we go. This would be them, hopefully, bursting on -- there you go, there you see the pictures. Now, so to explain what you just saw there, five protesters opposed to the ban on fox hunting, they burst on to that Parliament floor, and yelled about why they want fox hunting to continue. In England -- now, keep in mind, this is the same week that a man dressed in a Batman suit was able to breach security at Buckingham Palace and stand on the outside for a number of hours as he protested what he thought was a lack of fathers' rights. All that news from London.
Much more news ahead, coming up here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rhonda Schaffler at the New York Stock Exchange, where profit concerns are weighing on Wall Street today. Coca-Cola, for instance, is down more than four percent. It warned its profit will come in well below analysts' estimates for the third quarter and second half of the year.
Coke says it didn't react fast enough to a downturn in the beverage market. Let's see how bad the downturn is overall -- the Dow off some 66 points. Interesting note, though -- stock of Martha Stewart's company is moving higher on the big board. And the Nasdaq, too, is moving lower.
That's it from Wall Street. Back now to Daryn.
KAGAN: All right, Rhonda, thank you for all that.
That's going to do it for me, Daryn Kagan. A happy new year to many of you out there.
We toss up to Wolf Blitzer in Washington, D.C. -- Wolf?
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Aired September 15, 2004 - 11:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Martha Stewart is holding a news conference any moment to discuss her prison sentence. Stewart faces five months behind bars, but is out during an appeal. There is speculation she may go ahead and serve the sentence to get the matter behind her. We will bring you the news conference live from New York City as soon as it gets started.
Meanwhile, while we wait stand by for that to happen, and before we go back to our Ivan coverage, let's bring in our head legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin on the phone to talk about what we might hear from Martha Stewart today.
Jeff, good morning.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning, Daryn.
KAGAN: And what do you think we're going to hear from Martha Stewart today?
TOOBIN: Well, I think there may be a recognition of reality, which is that this appeal is very much an uphill climb. This was a very fairly tried case by Judge Miriam Cedarbaum. I think overturning this case is extremely unlikely.
However, extending this appeal will likely go on for many, many months, leaving her business empire very much on hold. She may simply decide, look, I want to serve my five months. Five months will go quickly, and then get back to work, and start putting her business back together.
KAGAN: And in terms of where she is supposed to be serving that term, you made an interesting point back a few months ago when she was sentenced, about how actually being a woman hurts Martha Stewart in this case, because there aren't a lot of places, or any place really, for female white-collar criminals to go and serve their time.
TOOBIN: That's true. There are so few female white-collar criminals that all the prisons for women tend to be higher security. She is likely to go to Danbury, which is near her home in Connecticut, and, you know, that's not something out of a bad movie, it's not a torture chamber, but it's a pretty tough prison. And white-collar criminals who are male have more options for lesser security prisons, but I think Danbury is very likely where she'll end up, possibly Alderson, West Virginia, but more likely Danbury.
KAGAN: There was a story in "The New York Post" a couple weeks ago, saying that Danbury they were so crowded, they really didn't have room for her.
TOOBIN: That's the big issue. That is a big issue. And one of the things that any federal prisoner has to do while waiting to report is to wait for a vacancy. And one of the things you learn when you're a prisoner and not a CEO is you do what you're told and you show up when you're told and you can't decide when you report to prison. It's the Bureau of Prisons that decides, not you.
KAGAN: All right, we're going to have you standby, and as we said, we expect that news conference from New York City with Martha Stewart to begin any minute. When it does, you viewers will see it here on CNN, and Jeff will check back in with you to get your take on what Martha Stewart has to say.
Meanwhile, while we stand by for the Martha Stewart news conference, let's check in on Hurricane Ivan. Take a look at this, these pictures coming to us from NASA, an image from space showing just how massive the hurricane is, the storm nearly 200 miles wide, and its uncertain path creates a danger zone that stretches some 330 miles across four different states.
(WEATHER UPDATE)
HEMMER: In the meantime, Daryn, the governor of Florida Jeb Bush was caught wearing a button last week. It's reported that the button said "I survived damn near everything." When you consider Ivan, Frances before that, Charley before that, this part of the country really has taken a full frontal so far from the hurricane season.
And yet, if you can believe the forecasters, September and October's normally your busiest seasons, not the month of August, where we had eight strong storms come through this area. Evacuations in order here, and in place for Mobile, Alabama. If projections are right and that eye comes on shore here, some time in the middle of the night, a lot of people right here right now getting ready for that. In fact, the evacuation order changed, based on past history.
I-65 runs north out of Mobile, up into Montgomery, Alabama. They changed the southbound lanes, reversed them to go northbound. So now you have twice the amount of asphalt to take cars, and people and residents out of this area in southern Alabama. Further west, though, in New Orleans, we are hearing now that perhaps New Orleans might get lucky through this, can't say for certain, because no one knows. That's the way the mayor was talking. That's the way the Hurricane Center was talking about an hour ago down in Miami.
Jason Bellini's watching the front there.
Jason, good morning to you in New Orleans.
JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
We're on the streets of the French Quarter, where they're still people milling about, even though all the shops are closed. They closed around yesterday afternoon, still people walking around, people who have not evacuated, either who chose not to leave or could not leave for that matter in there (ph).
A few people who I'm here with right now I want to introduce you to, Bill, and they were not able to leave. I'm with Pam and Tim Roberts -- I'm sorry, Pam Roberts, Keith Roberts, and Tim Candiano (ph). They're all here stuck because of the fact you were here for a conference and your flights were canceled. Tell me about that.
PAM ROBERTS: Well, we flew in Sunday. There was a conference my husband was attending, and Tim Candiano (ph), and I came along...
KAGAN: We're going to interrupt this. We'll get back to Jason Bellini in just a moment.
Martha Stewart beginning her news conference in New York City.
(BEGIN LIVE NEWS CONFERENCE -- JOINED IN PROGRESS)
MARTHA STEWART: ... living, that's what we call this area. And it's the downtown offices of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. We call it the Starrett-Lehigh offices.
On this beautiful light-filled floor, many of my colleagues work on the creation and design of many of the products manufactured for our merchandising businesses. For recipes are developed, tested, and photographed here. Our Internet services are devised and maintained here. Marketing and advertising materials for our businesses are created here. And the company and other meetings are conducted in this great hall.
We're happy to have found this wonderful New York space and transformed it into a bright and useful work space.
Today, I have something of great personal and professional importance to share with all of you, but before I begin, I want you to know that it is the day before my mother's 90th birthday and the eve of Rosh Hashana. And I apologize for any of you who are going to be celebrating a happy and healthy new year and for having this on this day, but that's the way it worked out.
Please let me introduce, sitting down at the table here: Charles Koppelman, a member of our board; Tom Siekman, who is the chairman of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Board of Directors; Sharon Patrick, president and CEO of our company; and members of my appeals team, Walter Dellinger from Washington, Martin Weinberg -- excuse me, David Chesnoff from Las Vegas, and Martin Weinberg from Boston. Martin just walked into our extra clean windows back there, and I hope you didn't break your nose.
This morning, Walter Dellinger -- who, as you know, is heading my appeals process -- delivered a letter by hand to the chambers of Judge Miriam Cedarbaum. The letter Mr. Dellinger submitted stated that, although we are grateful for the judge's stay of my sentence pending the resolution of my appeal, I had decided to ask her Honor to vacate that stay of sentence and to begin the prison designation process.
This process includes the immediate notification of the Bureau of Prisons about my decision, being designated by that Bureau of Prisons to a facility, surrendering to the Bureau of Prisons on the appointed day, and beginning my period of incarceration as soon as possible, without waiting for the appeals process to be completed.
Why? There has been much speculation why I might do this, and many of the reasons speculated upon are not accurate or meaningful. I would like to explain to you from my perspective why I have decided on this course of action at this time.
I suppose the best word to use for this very harsh and difficult decision is finality, and my intense desire and need to put this nightmare behind me, both personally and professionally. I must reclaim my good life. I must return to my good works, and allow those around me who work with me to do the same.
The past two years and seven months -- and it has been that long -- have been a time of immense difficulty, immense sacrifice, and immense agony, not only for me, but for my loved ones: my daughter, Alexis; the rest of my family; my friends; my colleagues; and all of our business partners; and all the related people of our extended family who depend on the good works of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia for their livelihoods and day-to-day existence.
The only way to reclaim my life and the quality of life for all those related to me with certainty now is to serve my sentence, surrender to the authorities so that I can quickly return as soon as possible to the life and the work that I love. I have labored long and hard to build this company, and I love the company, my colleagues, and what we create very much. I cannot bear any longer the prolonged suffering, while I and my legal team await vindication in the next step of the legal process, the appeal.
And although I and my attorneys firmly believe in the strength of that appeal, recent delays and extensions have now made it abundantly clear that my appeal will not be heard until sometime next year. So, I have decided to serve my sentence now, to put this nightmare behind me and get on with my life and living as soon as possible. Believe me when I tell you that I fully understand importance of closure, not only to my family, friends, and supporters, but especially to our loyal and caring employees, our loyal and steadfast advertisers, our wonderfully supportive business partners.
It has been a trying and long ordeal for all of us, and it is time to get it all behind us -- behind me so we can move forward.
I know I have a very tough five months ahead of me, but I understand, too, that I will get through those months, knowing that I have the ability to return to my productive and normal life, my interesting work and future business opportunities, supported through the ordeal by my friends and colleagues and loved ones. I am very sad knowing that I will miss holiday season -- Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's -- always an opportunity to celebrate family, friends, and religious traditions that mean so much to many of us. And I will miss all of my pets -- my two beloved, fun-loving dogs, my seven lively cats, my canaries, my horses, and even my chickens. It's odd what becomes of immense importance when one realizes one's freedom is about to become curtailed, and it is frightening and difficult to have to grasp those realizations.
Unfortunately, there is no way to know today exactly when or how long it will take the Bureau of Prisons to be able to arrange for me to begin serving my sentence or where I will serve it. I do hope that there will be room at the Danbury facility, which is the prison nearest to my home and close enough so that my 90-year-old mother and others can visit me. I hope, too, that I will be able to begin serving my sentence in the very near future, because I would like to be back as early in March as possible, in order to plant the new spring garden and to truly get things growing again.
As you can imagine, going to jail voluntarily, prematurely before my appeal can be heard is an extremely difficult decision, especially when you believe you have a very strong appeal and may not have to serve that sentence.
According to a recent article in "The New York Times" by Jim Holt, America accounts for 25 percent of the world's prison population, despite the fact we have just five percent of its population. I will be joining more than two million other souls who are serving time. But I know I am doing the right thing for me and for my family, my colleagues, and my company. And the relief I feel at putting an end to all of this is great.
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia is a unique, progressive, and creative company. I know I have the full support of the management team and the Board of Directors going forward through this five month- period. And in turn, I have great confidence in the team's ability to manage the good works of the company. I firmly believe in the future of this company and know that its best days are still ahead of it.
I have complete faith in our Board of Directors -- excuse me. I have complete faith in our Board of Directors, who will help guide our company through this last hurdle with their expert advice and goodwill.
Our management team -- headed by Sharon Patrick, Gael Towey, Suzanne Sobel, Lauren Stanich, Margaret Roach, Dora Cardinale, Heidi Diamond, Jim Follo, and Jay Dubiner, among others -- our creative and editorial managers, and our hundreds of employee will continue to produce and expand our wonderful publications, mind-boggling numbers of excellent products, while they continue to enrich people's lives by providing the most unique and outstanding how-to content and products for the home and homemakers.
I am so proud of all of them. They are extraordinary. And I thank them from the bottom of my heart. I really will miss all of you, and I can't wait to return to working with all of you as soon as possible.
And I must thank our loyal customers, our supporters, and our friends, and all of our advertisers. Please know that I understand your special needs, your special requirements, and I thank you for your help and your support and your loyalty.
I hope that by ending the uncertainty and the awkwardness and the awfulness, we can return to better times quickly and efficiently. I cannot express enough gratitude to my family, my friends -- both old and new -- co-workers and business partners, and of course, the million of fans who have written and e-mailed me countless encouraging notes, watched our shows, read our magazines and books, purchased our products, and supported our brands. You, like my family, mean the world to me. I am eternally grateful.
And I just have one little joke, because despite what you all might think, I have do a sense of humor. And I was walking -- I was walking in front of the General Motors building the other day, and there were a group of very well-dressed businessmen standing outside. And they looked at me, recognized me, and said, "Oh, she's out already." Well, I hope that my time goes as fast as that.
And unfortunately, I will not be able to take any of your questions today. But everyone on the stage will be available in a few minutes to answer your questions. Thanks again for attending today's meeting, and I'll see you next year.
(APPLAUSE)
(END LIVE NEWS EVENT)
KAGAN: "I'll see you next year," the final words there from Martha Stewart, making the announcement at her company headquarters, that she is asking the judge in her case to vacate the stay of sentence that she had originally asked for while her case was on appeal.
She says it's time to begin her prison sentence and get it over as soon as possible. She is looking for some closure in this, and the desire, she said, and the need to get back to -- and put this chapter behind her. She said it's been a difficult two years and seven months.
Our Jeffrey Toobin listening in to the news conference.
Jeff, interesting to hear Martha Stewart point out that even though she is interesting to begin the prison season, it's unclear when or where she will do that.
TOOBIN: That's right. Just overall, Daryn, this was a smart move by Martha Stewart. She was facing reality. And the words she used, "finality in a personal and business sense," I think is exactly right.
What the stock market doesn't like, and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia is a public company, is uncertainty. And if her appeal went forward, she would really have no way of knowing when next year, or even if it would be the following year, that she would actually begin serving her sentence. This way, she knows she'll be out of prison sometime early next year, and it just makes a lot more sense. KAGAN: She was doing the math, and she said that this way, she would be out in March, or by March, where she could plant new spring flowers, and watch other things grow as well. It sounds like she also is thinking about her company.
TOOBIN: I think that's right. And my guess is that the Bureau of Prisons will probably take about a month to assign her to a prison, which would mean that she'd probably be out by spring.
And I think it will go quickly. I think five months will go quickly for her, and she is vigorous and active, and she'll be in a position early next year to start putting her company back together, which has suffered terribly during her legal ordeal, and this way she really will have a chance to do it, as opposed to the lingering uncertainty, which really might kill the company.
KAGAN: Jeffrey Toobin. Jeff, thanks for your insight there on Martha Stewart's legal case, certainly not the last we have heard from Martha Stewart, nor the last you've heard from us. We still have a lot more ahead. We're going to fit in a quick break and be back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Your "Daily Dose" of health news now. Experts say that treating high blood pressure among Medicare beneficiaries would save tens of thousands of lives and pay for itself. An estimated 65 million Americans, or one-third of U.S. adults, have high blood pressure. The experts say treated with the disease -- with drugs, diet and exercise would lead to fewer cases of stroke, heart attacks, and other coronary problems.
The flu is sending more people to the hospital, and the flu season appears to be getting longer -- that is according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It blames the rising numbers in part on an aging population that is more susceptible to influenza.
And this may be some sobering news for some bar hoppers. A new study suggesting that mixing alcohol with an energy drink may not prolong that alcohol buzz. The findings go against popular beliefs about the effects of energy drinks.
To get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, logon to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library, and information on diet and fitness. The address is cnn.com/health.
And now, news out of London, breaking news about another security breach. This time, the House of Commons. Apparently, at least five protesters opposed -- they're opposed to the ban on fox hunting. They burst into the floor of Britain's Parliament on Wednesday. It was an extraordinary breach of security.
These are live pictures that we're seeing. So, perhaps -- it looks like -- there we go. This would be them, hopefully, bursting on -- there you go, there you see the pictures. Now, so to explain what you just saw there, five protesters opposed to the ban on fox hunting, they burst on to that Parliament floor, and yelled about why they want fox hunting to continue. In England -- now, keep in mind, this is the same week that a man dressed in a Batman suit was able to breach security at Buckingham Palace and stand on the outside for a number of hours as he protested what he thought was a lack of fathers' rights. All that news from London.
Much more news ahead, coming up here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rhonda Schaffler at the New York Stock Exchange, where profit concerns are weighing on Wall Street today. Coca-Cola, for instance, is down more than four percent. It warned its profit will come in well below analysts' estimates for the third quarter and second half of the year.
Coke says it didn't react fast enough to a downturn in the beverage market. Let's see how bad the downturn is overall -- the Dow off some 66 points. Interesting note, though -- stock of Martha Stewart's company is moving higher on the big board. And the Nasdaq, too, is moving lower.
That's it from Wall Street. Back now to Daryn.
KAGAN: All right, Rhonda, thank you for all that.
That's going to do it for me, Daryn Kagan. A happy new year to many of you out there.
We toss up to Wolf Blitzer in Washington, D.C. -- Wolf?
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