Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Today
Bush Nominates Mike Leavitt as HHS Secretary; Golden Globe Nominations Announced; Man, 80, Rescued at Sea
Aired December 13, 2004 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CO-HOST: Let's take a look at what's happening right now in the news.
The jury in the Scott Peterson double murder trial is set to resume deliberations this hour. The trial is in the sentencing phase, and the jury is trying to decide whether Peterson should receive a death sentence or life in prison without parole. We'll have a live report from the courthouse just ahead.
And you saw it live here on CNN. Just moments ago, President Bush nominated Environmental Protection Agency administrator Mike Leavitt to head the Department of Health and Human Services. Leavitt served as governor of Utah before joining the Bush administration last year.
His nomination fills one of the last two openings in President Bush's second-term cabinet. More details just ahead in a live report.
Sources tell CNN that NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe will resign today, accepting an offer to become chancellor of Louisiana State University. O'Keefe is a Louisiana native who came to NASA in 2001. He presided over the space agency during the Colombia shuttle disaster and the subsequent investigation and reorganization.
And security concerns in Spain: 70,000 soccer fans safely evacuated a stadium in Madrid last night after a bomb threat. That threat was phoned into a Basque newspaper. The Basque separatist group ETA has issued similar warnings before, a series of explosions in Spanish cities in recent days.
Keeping you informed, CNN is the most trusted name in news.
We are just a minute past 11 a.m. on the East Coast, just past 8 a.m. on the west coast. Good morning once again. I'm Daryn Kagan.
RICK SANCHEZ, CO-HOST: And I'm Rick Sanchez. And here we go with the very latest.
One down and one to go. We get started with more cabinet choices from President Bush. With today's nomination, there's just one empty seat left at the table.
White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is joining us this morning to bring us up to date on the very latest goings on at the White House -- Suzanne. SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rick, here's what the numbers look like. Fifteen cabinet positions, nine who are resigning, six who are staying on. The nominees named for all of them except for one, and that is homeland security. That is still a big mystery.
But just moments ago, President Bush named his choice for health and human services secretary to replace Tommy Thompson, his pick being Michael Leavitt. He's the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. He's a three-term governor.
He is a man that President Bush said just moments ago shares his priorities in shaping Medicare, as well as shaping the department.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In this new term, we will implement the first ever prescription drug benefit for seniors under Medicare.
We will expand federal cooperation with faith-based groups that provide essential services, such as counseling and treatment for addictions.
We will continue pursuing the great promise of medical research, always ensuring that the work is carried out with vigor and moral integrity.
We will not relent in our efforts to protect the American people from disease and the use of disease as a weapon against us. Mike Leavitt is the right leader to lead HHS in meeting all these vital commitments.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Now, somewhat of a surprise to the White House press corps, as because as recently as this past week, the top -- the front runner, of course, named for this position was Dr. Mark McClellan. He is the Medicare chief of the country, also former commissioner of FDA and the brother of White House press secretary Scott McClellan.
But White House officials say that the president wanted him to stay in his post, that he serves a very valuable service. That is, of course, to push forward the drug prescription plan for Medicare, particularly when it goes into full effect in 2006.
But of course, Mike Leavitt faces a number of serious challenges with this department. We're talking about major budget cuts and also, of course, trying to sell this prescription drug plan that polls show is quite unpopular with seniors and critics say is largely ineffective -- Daryn, Rick.
SANCHEZ: I'll take it. Suzanne Malveaux, following that for us. We thank you for bringing us up to date on things there at the White House.
Now, let do this. Let's check this morning's headlines out of Iraq.
Seven U.S. Marines have been killed in a security operation in a province west of Baghdad. The military is not going to release details of the deaths as of yet. It does say that that would put U.S. personnel at greater risk. It was the bloodiest day for the Marines since the Falluja operation.
Suicide car bombing in Baghdad killed at least eight people and wounded 5. It occurred at a checkpoint outside the area housing the interim government and the U.S. embassy.
Also worth noting, it was a year ago today U.S. troops pulled Saddam Hussein out of that cramped and dark spider hole, as it was often called back then, near his hometown in Tikrit.
Saddam Hussein has been publicly once since then -- at a court hearing was the only time he was seen publicly. He's going to face war crimes trial, but no clear indication on exactly when that will happen.
You can always log on to CNN.com of .com/Iraq any time you're away from your television to check on the situation in Iraq. And you can sign up for breaking news e-mail alerts so you're always informed.
KAGAN: Now to California. The 12 men and women who will recommend either life or death for Scott Peterson begin a third day of work this hour.
Our Rusty Dornin is outside the courthouse in Redwood City, California, live with us this morning.
Good morning, Rusty.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.
The jurors arrived just about 10 minutes ago, debarking from two sheriff's department buses. Not a lot of smiles this morning, looking very serious, ready to get down to work.
This jury has deliberated 8 1/2 hours. That's already about an hour longer than they took to come up with a guilty conviction for Scott Peterson.
Now, this of course, is the second full day of deliberations. Most of the court watchers here thought that Friday would be the day that a verdict would be delivered.
Now, Friday also became quite an event here, quite a spectacle, a lot of people showing up, expecting something to happen. Things are pretty quiet here this morning.
Legal analysts say if there is a hung jury, that there will be problems. There will be a whole other drama unfolding here, as they will have to pick a new penalty phase jury.
This jury would be dismissed. A new penalty phase jury would have to be picked and they would have to hear all of the evidence from the trial again, plus the penalty phase portion of the trial.
More likely to happen would be that prosecutors would drop the demand for the death penalty and Scott Peterson would automatically be sentenced to life in prison without parole. So we'll just have to see what happens -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Rusty, the first time this jury went to deliberate, there were all sorts of signs that things were not going well in the jury room. Any -- any signs at this penalty phase?
DORNIN: All quiet from the jury room. The judge even said from the bench the other day that they hadn't heard a peep from the jury, no notes, no requests, no anything.
So it looks -- he claimed they were hard at work, and so hopefully they're hard at work and will be coming up with a verdict sometime soon.
KAGAN: And this is a jury that's sequestered, which tends to encourage them to come to a decision more quickly.
DORNIN: Especially after you know, and before the holidays, too.
KAGAN: Yes.
DORNIN: We're approaching the holidays. They just spent the weekend sequestered, not allowed to watch a lot of different TV programs, only allowed to watch sports and entertainment. They can only have people -- they can only call out. They can't have people call in. So it's pretty restrictive quarters that they're living in.
KAGAN: All right. Rusty Dornin from Redwood City, California. Rusty, thank you.
SANCHEZ: Yes. This is the Kumbaya jury, as opposed to the one jurors No. 5 and 7. They were not getting along, would you say?
KAGAN: I think that would be the way to put it.
SANCHEZ: Well, it's an amazing survivor story. It's coming from Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IGNACIO SIBERIO, RESCUED AT SEA: I had one thought that I put as a fixation right here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Find out how this 80-year-old survived 18 hours stranded at sea after he lost his boat in the Atlantic.
SANCHEZ: Also, Hollywood gold rush. We're going to have a look at the surprise nominations and some of the stars who aren't on this year's list. PHILLIPS: And how about a beauty contest that recognizes women for the best plastic surgery? All right. All that and more, coming up on CNN LIVE TODAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GWEN STEFANI, ACTRESS/MUSICIAN: I would like to use this occasion to publicly thank Mr. Hughes for the opportunity he gave me. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: The cast of "Aviator" could be thanking everyone come globe time. The movie about the lives and loves of a young Howard Hughes, landed a Golden Globe nomination in the Best Film, Drama, category.
The Globe nominations kick off another Hollywood awards season. In years like this one, no clear frontrunner; it sometimes helps define the contenders. And it all leads up to Oscar season, which is the big Mack Daddy of all.
Joining me now from New York to talk about the apparent winners and losers, Tom O'Neil, editor of "In Touch Weekly."
Good morning.
TOM O'NEIL, EDITOR, "IN TOUCH WEEKLY": Good morning, Daryn.
KAGAN: This begins the fun time for us.
O'NEIL: It sure does. Love our awards season.
KAGAN: Yes, and before we really get into Golden Globes, let's explain who the Golden Globes really are and who are picking these nominees and ultimately the awards.
O'NEIL: All right. These are members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. These are journalists who write for newspapers back in Cairo and Sweden, and they're looking for the hottest new trends and stars.
So these awards tend to favor the new emerging talent in Hollywood, whereas the Oscars and the Emmys tend to favor the establishment.
KAGAN: And it's like 90 people, right? We're not -- it's a small group.
O'NEIL: It's a very small group, yes. KAGAN: OK. Now that we have that out of the way, let's talk about some of the people they picked out: "Aviator." We just showed that clip. Leonardo DiCaprio. They would love to see him on their red carpet come January.
O'NEIL: They sure would. But they've never seen him at the podium. One of the big surprises about the Globes is as much as they love those young heartthrob stars like Tom Cruise, who's won a ton of these Golden Globes. So has Jim Carrey. Leo has never won. He's been nominated and has lost four -- actually, he's been nominated three times. This is his fourth.
Johnny Depp, who's also in this category, nominated for "Finding Neverland," has never won, either. So this poses an interesting face- off today.
KAGAN: Now a movie that is a surprise just because there aren't a lot of big stars in it, but getting a lot of buzz, is "Sideways." And that got a lot of nominations this morning.
O'NEIL: Yes. It actually got the most nominations there. And this got seven. And I think that's the big breakout story today. "Sideways" now seems to be changing direction and heading towards the Oscars in an ominous way.
If I were Scorsese and Leo with "The Aviator," I'd be very worried about this movie, because it just swept all the critics awards. It won L.A. Film Critics on Saturday. It probably will win this afternoon with the New York film critics. And seven nominations? Wow.
KAGAN: Big, big for what some might consider a little movie.
Let's go on to television, because the Golden Globes, they do acknowledge television, as well. "Desperate Housewives" picking up some -- some nods there this morning.
O'NEIL: Yes, in the comedy category. That's what you love about the Globes, is that they have separate races for comedy and drama. And things don't always conform to categories, so here we have this drama, this campy drama. They put it in comedy because it's campy.
But nobody's laughing today in the household of Eva Langoria, the only "Desperate Housewife" not nominated, of course. She's paying for her sins on that show. If you watch it, you know what I mean.
KAGAN: It's one of the best storylines as well.
O'NEIL: Yes.
KAGAN: "Sex in the City," that show came up. Sara Jessica Parker came up. "Sex in the City?" Isn't that, like, 10 years ago already?
O'NEIL: It does feel like ten years. And normally these Globes do not honor off-the-air shows. Sometimes the stars come in, but we did notice that "Friends" and "Fraser" weren't nominated today.
KAGAN: So that's a big no. And who else got snubbed, Tom?
O'NEIL: Well, here's the big -- I think somebody is going to awards Hades today among the Golden Globes, because "Passion of the Christ" is not nominated for best foreign language film.
It wasn't eligible for best drama picture because of those subtitles. And Clint Eastwood, who has never been nominated for an acting award at the Globes, was snubbed today, even though -- here's what's interesting, Daryn -- he was nominated for best director, best composer. His daughter was named Miss Golden Globe.
KAGAN: We should say, there is a tradition there that they pick the daughter of a famous star, or son, to help hand out the awards.
O'NEIL: Yes, yes.
KAGAN: We will see you on the red carpet.
O'NEIL: OK. And GoldDerby.com has got the full list of frontrunners and racetrack odds issued right now.
KAGAN: And a way of explaining these awards like no one else.
O'NEIL: Thanks, Daryn.
KAGAN: I will tell you that. Tom O'Neil, thank you.
O'NEIL: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: You know, it's kind of hard to grasp what this one person went through. Here's part of the story, much more ahead.
He came up from a dive off the coast of the Florida Keys. And when he came up, he realized his boat was gone. It drifted away.
KAGAN: That's a bad day.
SANCHEZ: Can you imagine?
KAGAN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: His story, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: A Coast Guard assessment team has now reached the side of a freighter that was stranded off the coast of Alaska.
The ship broke apart last Wednesday and had been oozing oil and diesel fuel there. The freighter is loaded with more than 500,000 gallons of oil and fuel, threatening a wildlife refuge teeming with sea lions, seals and otters in that strait you see right there.
Also this story that we've been telling you about. It's an 80- year-old diver. He's recovering today in Florida after being literally stranded at sea. Eighty years old, mind you.
He was rescued yesterday in the cold, rough waters off of the Florida Keys after clinging to a buoy for some 18 hours.
Reporter Tina Varona of CNN affiliate WFOR in Miami has this story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TINA VARONA, WFOR REPORTER (voice-over): Ignacio Siberio spent the day with friends and family in the comforts of his own home, a far cry from trying to survive in the chilly ocean water.
SIBERIO: I relax everything, no matter how cold you feel.
VARONA: For the past 60 years, this 80-year-old fitness guru has been diving faithfully every weekend. But this time he dove straight into danger.
SIBERIO: I saw the boat going far, far, far to the gulf.
VARONA: The boat's anchor gave way to the windy conditions, leaving Ignacio stranded.
SIBERIO: I had one thought, that I put a fixation here: I cannot do this to my family.
VARONA: With that determination, he grabbed this buoy and held on for dear life.
SIBERIO: I couldn't have spent the night in the same place. I would have been dragged or pushed by the current.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we were worried.
VARONA: When Ignacio didn't return home, his family contacted the Coast Guard. An all-out search and rescue was under way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a map that we use to coordinate our search efforts.
VARONA: After several hours the search was called off. By daybreak, Ignacio knew it was swim or die. After five straight hours, a boat would finally come into sight. It was Ignacio's friend and nephew.
SIBERIO: The feeling to see friendly people that give you a hand is very rewarding.
CARLOS LOPEZ, SIBERIO'S NEPHEW: He wasn't shaking. He was in excellent shape.
VARONA: Ignacio was eventually found by Conquique (ph), five miles from where he began. His boat literally drifted off the map.
(on camera) Will you go out on the boat again? SIBERIO: Oh, sure. Oh, sure.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Tina Varona of the station WFOR in Miami.
Ignacio says, by the way, that he can't wait to dive back into the water next weekend. And we'll let you know how he does.
KAGAN: I bet he does great.
Another story on the water. We're going to show you live pictures we're getting in from Jacksonville, Florida. A ship just back into port. It is the USS John F. Kennedy. It has spent six months overseas, mainly in the Persian Gulf, its job: supporting troops on the ground in Iraq. To that, we say welcome home.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
KAGAN: And it looks like a nice day in Jacksonville, I would say. Jacqui Jeras handling that for us.
HI, Jacqui.
(WEATHER REPORT)
SANCHEZ: Hey, Jacqui, thanks so much. Good job with that.
KAGAN: The group freedom -- the group Freedom Call Foundation is helping American troops in Iraq as well as Afghanistan stay in touch.
SANCHEZ: And family members can use this to dial them up via satellite video conferencing. And best of all -- here's the best thing about all this: it's free.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today we're going to be connecting about -- it looks like about 30 family members to about six Marines at Camp Falluja.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, baby.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's been there since September, around the second week of September. And we miss him dearly, first of all. And he's expected to be back home around March.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We miss you, deeply. But we are supporting everything that you do.
DOUG DANGREMOND, SBC COMMUNICATIONS: The opportunity really started out as a small, couple people who wanted to do a video call. And so we started to do this in the larger audience. And we've done about five or six of these now across the country. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's not just representing his family. He's representing all of Americans in the country. So you can't beat that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... Gulf War. So we're not new at how we have to handle this. We have to be strong because that's what he'd want us to do.
DANGREMOND: I think it's just a great opportunity for us to show and the community to show support to the soldiers in Iraq and remember that it's not just about the soldiers but their families and the hardships that they endure along with them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can't wait to hug you. Get back on American your ground, ground so you can stay this time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is Christmas. This is the 25th right here. I don't think we could have received a better gift than this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Well, that's neat that they can see their loved ones like that. It's more than just a phone call.
SANCHEZ: Can you imagine? And they're separated for such a long period of time. Many of them are like newlyweds. Like newlyweds or just newlyweds.
KAGAN: Or feel like it because they rarely see each other.
We're working on having our own reunions here.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
KAGAN: On CNN.
SANCHEZ: On "AMERICAN MORNING."
KAGAN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Thursdays and Fridays. We'll have two this week for you.
KAGAN: And if people sleep in, they can stay. We'll show them later during our show.
Freedom Calls Foundation is a nonprofit charity. You can donate to help keep the video calls coming. It's FreedomCalls.org.
SANCHEZ: Now, if you feel your teenager is headed for some trouble, here's an idea for you: send him to prison.
KAGAN: That's a little severe there. A modern day version of Scared Straight, educating kids about the price of crime.
SANCHEZ: And she's lead actress in the new movie about Howard Hughes, the one we told you about earlier. Cate Blanchett joins us live right here to talk about Leo, "The Aviator," Katharine Hepburn, among a few things.
(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 December 13, 2004 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CO-HOST: Let's take a look at what's happening right now in the news.
The jury in the Scott Peterson double murder trial is set to resume deliberations this hour. The trial is in the sentencing phase, and the jury is trying to decide whether Peterson should receive a death sentence or life in prison without parole. We'll have a live report from the courthouse just ahead.
And you saw it live here on CNN. Just moments ago, President Bush nominated Environmental Protection Agency administrator Mike Leavitt to head the Department of Health and Human Services. Leavitt served as governor of Utah before joining the Bush administration last year.
His nomination fills one of the last two openings in President Bush's second-term cabinet. More details just ahead in a live report.
Sources tell CNN that NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe will resign today, accepting an offer to become chancellor of Louisiana State University. O'Keefe is a Louisiana native who came to NASA in 2001. He presided over the space agency during the Colombia shuttle disaster and the subsequent investigation and reorganization.
And security concerns in Spain: 70,000 soccer fans safely evacuated a stadium in Madrid last night after a bomb threat. That threat was phoned into a Basque newspaper. The Basque separatist group ETA has issued similar warnings before, a series of explosions in Spanish cities in recent days.
Keeping you informed, CNN is the most trusted name in news.
We are just a minute past 11 a.m. on the East Coast, just past 8 a.m. on the west coast. Good morning once again. I'm Daryn Kagan.
RICK SANCHEZ, CO-HOST: And I'm Rick Sanchez. And here we go with the very latest.
One down and one to go. We get started with more cabinet choices from President Bush. With today's nomination, there's just one empty seat left at the table.
White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is joining us this morning to bring us up to date on the very latest goings on at the White House -- Suzanne. SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rick, here's what the numbers look like. Fifteen cabinet positions, nine who are resigning, six who are staying on. The nominees named for all of them except for one, and that is homeland security. That is still a big mystery.
But just moments ago, President Bush named his choice for health and human services secretary to replace Tommy Thompson, his pick being Michael Leavitt. He's the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. He's a three-term governor.
He is a man that President Bush said just moments ago shares his priorities in shaping Medicare, as well as shaping the department.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In this new term, we will implement the first ever prescription drug benefit for seniors under Medicare.
We will expand federal cooperation with faith-based groups that provide essential services, such as counseling and treatment for addictions.
We will continue pursuing the great promise of medical research, always ensuring that the work is carried out with vigor and moral integrity.
We will not relent in our efforts to protect the American people from disease and the use of disease as a weapon against us. Mike Leavitt is the right leader to lead HHS in meeting all these vital commitments.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Now, somewhat of a surprise to the White House press corps, as because as recently as this past week, the top -- the front runner, of course, named for this position was Dr. Mark McClellan. He is the Medicare chief of the country, also former commissioner of FDA and the brother of White House press secretary Scott McClellan.
But White House officials say that the president wanted him to stay in his post, that he serves a very valuable service. That is, of course, to push forward the drug prescription plan for Medicare, particularly when it goes into full effect in 2006.
But of course, Mike Leavitt faces a number of serious challenges with this department. We're talking about major budget cuts and also, of course, trying to sell this prescription drug plan that polls show is quite unpopular with seniors and critics say is largely ineffective -- Daryn, Rick.
SANCHEZ: I'll take it. Suzanne Malveaux, following that for us. We thank you for bringing us up to date on things there at the White House.
Now, let do this. Let's check this morning's headlines out of Iraq.
Seven U.S. Marines have been killed in a security operation in a province west of Baghdad. The military is not going to release details of the deaths as of yet. It does say that that would put U.S. personnel at greater risk. It was the bloodiest day for the Marines since the Falluja operation.
Suicide car bombing in Baghdad killed at least eight people and wounded 5. It occurred at a checkpoint outside the area housing the interim government and the U.S. embassy.
Also worth noting, it was a year ago today U.S. troops pulled Saddam Hussein out of that cramped and dark spider hole, as it was often called back then, near his hometown in Tikrit.
Saddam Hussein has been publicly once since then -- at a court hearing was the only time he was seen publicly. He's going to face war crimes trial, but no clear indication on exactly when that will happen.
You can always log on to CNN.com of .com/Iraq any time you're away from your television to check on the situation in Iraq. And you can sign up for breaking news e-mail alerts so you're always informed.
KAGAN: Now to California. The 12 men and women who will recommend either life or death for Scott Peterson begin a third day of work this hour.
Our Rusty Dornin is outside the courthouse in Redwood City, California, live with us this morning.
Good morning, Rusty.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.
The jurors arrived just about 10 minutes ago, debarking from two sheriff's department buses. Not a lot of smiles this morning, looking very serious, ready to get down to work.
This jury has deliberated 8 1/2 hours. That's already about an hour longer than they took to come up with a guilty conviction for Scott Peterson.
Now, this of course, is the second full day of deliberations. Most of the court watchers here thought that Friday would be the day that a verdict would be delivered.
Now, Friday also became quite an event here, quite a spectacle, a lot of people showing up, expecting something to happen. Things are pretty quiet here this morning.
Legal analysts say if there is a hung jury, that there will be problems. There will be a whole other drama unfolding here, as they will have to pick a new penalty phase jury.
This jury would be dismissed. A new penalty phase jury would have to be picked and they would have to hear all of the evidence from the trial again, plus the penalty phase portion of the trial.
More likely to happen would be that prosecutors would drop the demand for the death penalty and Scott Peterson would automatically be sentenced to life in prison without parole. So we'll just have to see what happens -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Rusty, the first time this jury went to deliberate, there were all sorts of signs that things were not going well in the jury room. Any -- any signs at this penalty phase?
DORNIN: All quiet from the jury room. The judge even said from the bench the other day that they hadn't heard a peep from the jury, no notes, no requests, no anything.
So it looks -- he claimed they were hard at work, and so hopefully they're hard at work and will be coming up with a verdict sometime soon.
KAGAN: And this is a jury that's sequestered, which tends to encourage them to come to a decision more quickly.
DORNIN: Especially after you know, and before the holidays, too.
KAGAN: Yes.
DORNIN: We're approaching the holidays. They just spent the weekend sequestered, not allowed to watch a lot of different TV programs, only allowed to watch sports and entertainment. They can only have people -- they can only call out. They can't have people call in. So it's pretty restrictive quarters that they're living in.
KAGAN: All right. Rusty Dornin from Redwood City, California. Rusty, thank you.
SANCHEZ: Yes. This is the Kumbaya jury, as opposed to the one jurors No. 5 and 7. They were not getting along, would you say?
KAGAN: I think that would be the way to put it.
SANCHEZ: Well, it's an amazing survivor story. It's coming from Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IGNACIO SIBERIO, RESCUED AT SEA: I had one thought that I put as a fixation right here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Find out how this 80-year-old survived 18 hours stranded at sea after he lost his boat in the Atlantic.
SANCHEZ: Also, Hollywood gold rush. We're going to have a look at the surprise nominations and some of the stars who aren't on this year's list. PHILLIPS: And how about a beauty contest that recognizes women for the best plastic surgery? All right. All that and more, coming up on CNN LIVE TODAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GWEN STEFANI, ACTRESS/MUSICIAN: I would like to use this occasion to publicly thank Mr. Hughes for the opportunity he gave me. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: The cast of "Aviator" could be thanking everyone come globe time. The movie about the lives and loves of a young Howard Hughes, landed a Golden Globe nomination in the Best Film, Drama, category.
The Globe nominations kick off another Hollywood awards season. In years like this one, no clear frontrunner; it sometimes helps define the contenders. And it all leads up to Oscar season, which is the big Mack Daddy of all.
Joining me now from New York to talk about the apparent winners and losers, Tom O'Neil, editor of "In Touch Weekly."
Good morning.
TOM O'NEIL, EDITOR, "IN TOUCH WEEKLY": Good morning, Daryn.
KAGAN: This begins the fun time for us.
O'NEIL: It sure does. Love our awards season.
KAGAN: Yes, and before we really get into Golden Globes, let's explain who the Golden Globes really are and who are picking these nominees and ultimately the awards.
O'NEIL: All right. These are members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. These are journalists who write for newspapers back in Cairo and Sweden, and they're looking for the hottest new trends and stars.
So these awards tend to favor the new emerging talent in Hollywood, whereas the Oscars and the Emmys tend to favor the establishment.
KAGAN: And it's like 90 people, right? We're not -- it's a small group.
O'NEIL: It's a very small group, yes. KAGAN: OK. Now that we have that out of the way, let's talk about some of the people they picked out: "Aviator." We just showed that clip. Leonardo DiCaprio. They would love to see him on their red carpet come January.
O'NEIL: They sure would. But they've never seen him at the podium. One of the big surprises about the Globes is as much as they love those young heartthrob stars like Tom Cruise, who's won a ton of these Golden Globes. So has Jim Carrey. Leo has never won. He's been nominated and has lost four -- actually, he's been nominated three times. This is his fourth.
Johnny Depp, who's also in this category, nominated for "Finding Neverland," has never won, either. So this poses an interesting face- off today.
KAGAN: Now a movie that is a surprise just because there aren't a lot of big stars in it, but getting a lot of buzz, is "Sideways." And that got a lot of nominations this morning.
O'NEIL: Yes. It actually got the most nominations there. And this got seven. And I think that's the big breakout story today. "Sideways" now seems to be changing direction and heading towards the Oscars in an ominous way.
If I were Scorsese and Leo with "The Aviator," I'd be very worried about this movie, because it just swept all the critics awards. It won L.A. Film Critics on Saturday. It probably will win this afternoon with the New York film critics. And seven nominations? Wow.
KAGAN: Big, big for what some might consider a little movie.
Let's go on to television, because the Golden Globes, they do acknowledge television, as well. "Desperate Housewives" picking up some -- some nods there this morning.
O'NEIL: Yes, in the comedy category. That's what you love about the Globes, is that they have separate races for comedy and drama. And things don't always conform to categories, so here we have this drama, this campy drama. They put it in comedy because it's campy.
But nobody's laughing today in the household of Eva Langoria, the only "Desperate Housewife" not nominated, of course. She's paying for her sins on that show. If you watch it, you know what I mean.
KAGAN: It's one of the best storylines as well.
O'NEIL: Yes.
KAGAN: "Sex in the City," that show came up. Sara Jessica Parker came up. "Sex in the City?" Isn't that, like, 10 years ago already?
O'NEIL: It does feel like ten years. And normally these Globes do not honor off-the-air shows. Sometimes the stars come in, but we did notice that "Friends" and "Fraser" weren't nominated today.
KAGAN: So that's a big no. And who else got snubbed, Tom?
O'NEIL: Well, here's the big -- I think somebody is going to awards Hades today among the Golden Globes, because "Passion of the Christ" is not nominated for best foreign language film.
It wasn't eligible for best drama picture because of those subtitles. And Clint Eastwood, who has never been nominated for an acting award at the Globes, was snubbed today, even though -- here's what's interesting, Daryn -- he was nominated for best director, best composer. His daughter was named Miss Golden Globe.
KAGAN: We should say, there is a tradition there that they pick the daughter of a famous star, or son, to help hand out the awards.
O'NEIL: Yes, yes.
KAGAN: We will see you on the red carpet.
O'NEIL: OK. And GoldDerby.com has got the full list of frontrunners and racetrack odds issued right now.
KAGAN: And a way of explaining these awards like no one else.
O'NEIL: Thanks, Daryn.
KAGAN: I will tell you that. Tom O'Neil, thank you.
O'NEIL: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: You know, it's kind of hard to grasp what this one person went through. Here's part of the story, much more ahead.
He came up from a dive off the coast of the Florida Keys. And when he came up, he realized his boat was gone. It drifted away.
KAGAN: That's a bad day.
SANCHEZ: Can you imagine?
KAGAN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: His story, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: A Coast Guard assessment team has now reached the side of a freighter that was stranded off the coast of Alaska.
The ship broke apart last Wednesday and had been oozing oil and diesel fuel there. The freighter is loaded with more than 500,000 gallons of oil and fuel, threatening a wildlife refuge teeming with sea lions, seals and otters in that strait you see right there.
Also this story that we've been telling you about. It's an 80- year-old diver. He's recovering today in Florida after being literally stranded at sea. Eighty years old, mind you.
He was rescued yesterday in the cold, rough waters off of the Florida Keys after clinging to a buoy for some 18 hours.
Reporter Tina Varona of CNN affiliate WFOR in Miami has this story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TINA VARONA, WFOR REPORTER (voice-over): Ignacio Siberio spent the day with friends and family in the comforts of his own home, a far cry from trying to survive in the chilly ocean water.
SIBERIO: I relax everything, no matter how cold you feel.
VARONA: For the past 60 years, this 80-year-old fitness guru has been diving faithfully every weekend. But this time he dove straight into danger.
SIBERIO: I saw the boat going far, far, far to the gulf.
VARONA: The boat's anchor gave way to the windy conditions, leaving Ignacio stranded.
SIBERIO: I had one thought, that I put a fixation here: I cannot do this to my family.
VARONA: With that determination, he grabbed this buoy and held on for dear life.
SIBERIO: I couldn't have spent the night in the same place. I would have been dragged or pushed by the current.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we were worried.
VARONA: When Ignacio didn't return home, his family contacted the Coast Guard. An all-out search and rescue was under way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a map that we use to coordinate our search efforts.
VARONA: After several hours the search was called off. By daybreak, Ignacio knew it was swim or die. After five straight hours, a boat would finally come into sight. It was Ignacio's friend and nephew.
SIBERIO: The feeling to see friendly people that give you a hand is very rewarding.
CARLOS LOPEZ, SIBERIO'S NEPHEW: He wasn't shaking. He was in excellent shape.
VARONA: Ignacio was eventually found by Conquique (ph), five miles from where he began. His boat literally drifted off the map.
(on camera) Will you go out on the boat again? SIBERIO: Oh, sure. Oh, sure.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Tina Varona of the station WFOR in Miami.
Ignacio says, by the way, that he can't wait to dive back into the water next weekend. And we'll let you know how he does.
KAGAN: I bet he does great.
Another story on the water. We're going to show you live pictures we're getting in from Jacksonville, Florida. A ship just back into port. It is the USS John F. Kennedy. It has spent six months overseas, mainly in the Persian Gulf, its job: supporting troops on the ground in Iraq. To that, we say welcome home.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
KAGAN: And it looks like a nice day in Jacksonville, I would say. Jacqui Jeras handling that for us.
HI, Jacqui.
(WEATHER REPORT)
SANCHEZ: Hey, Jacqui, thanks so much. Good job with that.
KAGAN: The group freedom -- the group Freedom Call Foundation is helping American troops in Iraq as well as Afghanistan stay in touch.
SANCHEZ: And family members can use this to dial them up via satellite video conferencing. And best of all -- here's the best thing about all this: it's free.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today we're going to be connecting about -- it looks like about 30 family members to about six Marines at Camp Falluja.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, baby.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's been there since September, around the second week of September. And we miss him dearly, first of all. And he's expected to be back home around March.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We miss you, deeply. But we are supporting everything that you do.
DOUG DANGREMOND, SBC COMMUNICATIONS: The opportunity really started out as a small, couple people who wanted to do a video call. And so we started to do this in the larger audience. And we've done about five or six of these now across the country. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's not just representing his family. He's representing all of Americans in the country. So you can't beat that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... Gulf War. So we're not new at how we have to handle this. We have to be strong because that's what he'd want us to do.
DANGREMOND: I think it's just a great opportunity for us to show and the community to show support to the soldiers in Iraq and remember that it's not just about the soldiers but their families and the hardships that they endure along with them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can't wait to hug you. Get back on American your ground, ground so you can stay this time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is Christmas. This is the 25th right here. I don't think we could have received a better gift than this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Well, that's neat that they can see their loved ones like that. It's more than just a phone call.
SANCHEZ: Can you imagine? And they're separated for such a long period of time. Many of them are like newlyweds. Like newlyweds or just newlyweds.
KAGAN: Or feel like it because they rarely see each other.
We're working on having our own reunions here.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
KAGAN: On CNN.
SANCHEZ: On "AMERICAN MORNING."
KAGAN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Thursdays and Fridays. We'll have two this week for you.
KAGAN: And if people sleep in, they can stay. We'll show them later during our show.
Freedom Calls Foundation is a nonprofit charity. You can donate to help keep the video calls coming. It's FreedomCalls.org.
SANCHEZ: Now, if you feel your teenager is headed for some trouble, here's an idea for you: send him to prison.
KAGAN: That's a little severe there. A modern day version of Scared Straight, educating kids about the price of crime.
SANCHEZ: And she's lead actress in the new movie about Howard Hughes, the one we told you about earlier. Cate Blanchett joins us live right here to talk about Leo, "The Aviator," Katharine Hepburn, among a few things.
(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
