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Closing Arguments Under Way in First Court-Martial of Abu Ghraib Prison Guard; 'Weekend Movies'
Aired January 14, 2005 - 10:30 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are just on the half hour. Good morning once again. I'm Daryn Kagan.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris.
Here's what's happening now in the news. Let's start in Corona, California, where we're following these amazing pictures out of Corona, where authorities are worried about rainwater that has built up behind a Riverside County dam, and they're evacuating 800 homes as a precaution.
Now you're looking at what is being called a controlled release. A spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers, which controls the Prado Dam says, we are releasing water. It is being retained behind the dam, and we're making normal releases at this moment. And there's your update on the situation in Corona.
A federal judge is expected to rule today on this man's challenge to include a prayer in President Bush's inauguration. Atheists Michael Neudow is challenging those plans, saying invoking the name of Jesus Christ during next week's inauguration will violate his constitutional rights. Neudow lost a similar challenge to a prayer in the Bush inauguration four years ago. He's the same man, you'll remember, who tried to have the words "under God" removed from the Pledge of Allegiance.
Less than three hours ago, the Huygens probe landed on the surface of Saturn's moon Titan. It should have begun feeding data back to NASA just minutes ago. Scientists believe the probe, which has been 25 years in the making, could shed new light on how life evolved on Earth.
This next story could impact you, your health and your wallet. An advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration is expected to announce a decision today on whether a low dose version of the cholesterol drug Mevacor should be sold without a prescription. Advocates say making it more accessible could save lives. Opponents say the lack of medical screening could put lives at risk.
KAGAN: Insurgent attacks top the latest developments from Iraq. Residents of a town north of Baghdad survey the damage after a car bombing. Seven people were killed, including four Iraqi police officers. Thirty other people were wounded in the attack, outside of a mosque. Three U.S. troops were killed yesterday. Two of the dead were Marines conducting security operations in Al Anbar province. The third was a soldier who died in the noncombat death near the city of Mosul.
One-thousand, three-hundred and sixty-five U.S. forces have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
And 28 Abu Ghraib prisoners are at large. The detainees overpowered guards and escaped. The prisoners were on route to a Baghdad courthouse for trial. Several of the prisoners had their hands bound with rope due to a shortage of handcuffs. Those prisoners were able to loosen the ropes and attack the guards.
Closing arguments are under way in the first court-martial of an Abu Ghraib prison guard.
Our national correspondent Susan Candiotti has been following the case Army against Specialist Charles Graner. She joins us from Fort Hood, Texas.
Susan, good morning.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATL. CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.
Yes, prosecutors have just wrapped up their closing arguments after only a half hour or so, and after showing this jury photographs and videotape of the abuse.
For his part, Specialist Charles Graner appeared confident as he walked into court this day. This is the last chance his lawyers have now to make their case to argue that he was just following orders, that military intelligence set the tone for prisoner abuse, and that Graner felt it was his duty to soften up prisoners for questioning.
Prosecutors just finished their very forceful summation before this jury, and I'd like to share with you a couple of quotes. For example, they said, "What we have here is plain abuse, no doubt about it. There is no justification." They ended up their argument by saying this, quote, "Fortunately, he" -- referring to Graner -- "does not have the final word on abuse at Abu Ghraib. You do. And it will speak volumes to the Army, volumes to the country, volumes to the world. And the true word," the prosecutor said, "is guilty as charged."
Now this jury heard from many witnesses throughout this trial, but one witness they did not hear from, Graner himself.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Specialist Charles Graner left court upbeat after a surprise decision not to take the stand to defend himself.
(on camera): Were you disappointed that you didn't get a chance to talk to the jury yourself?
ARMY SPECIALIST CHARLES GRANER: No. No, I wasn't. And I'm still smiling, so.
CANDIOTTI: The decision came from Graner's attorney.
(on camera): You had told the jury during opening statements that they would expect to -- that they could expect to hear from Specialist Graner.
GUY WOMACK, GRANER'S LAWYER: Yes. Through the other evidence. So they've heard from him vicariously. And that's always the best way to do it.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): The defense contends military intelligence set the tone for abuse at Abu Ghraib Prison. It got some support from its last witness, former guard Kenneth Davis. He said on the night this photo was taken, military intelligence seemed to be calling the shots. One guard, Megan Ambuhl, who disclosed she had a brief fling with Graner, said intelligence agents ordered her to watch prisoners in the shower and mock them. Asked did her testimony help Graner, she said, "I hope it did."
So do Graner's parents.
IRMA GRANER, MOTHER: I love my son. My husband loves our son. We both do. And we're very, very proud of him.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: Now, unlike in a civilian trial, at a court-martial, there is no need for a unanimous verdict. In this case, at least seven of the 10 jury members, as they're called, must agree on a conviction in order to convict. Otherwise, there is an automatic acquittal. After a short recess, the defense will begin their closing arguments -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Susan Candiotti from Ft. Hood Texas, thank you.
HARRIS: And let's take a look now at other stories making news from coast to coast.
KAGAN: How about we begin in Ocala (ph), Florida. Steven Ekford's (ph) mother says her son is no terrorist. The 22-year-old waiter has been charged with possessing ricin. The FBI isn't saying how Eckford got the lethal toxin or why. Possession of a biological agent carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
HARRIS: Minnesotans who work outside are going to have to bundle up for the next couple of days. A blast of Arctic air is forecast. That's enough to make even hardened natives shiver. Wind chills could reach 50 below zero in some places tonight? A Minneapolis mailman puts it all into perspective -- well, we don't have the hurricanes or other natural disasters.
KAGAN: And a question, where can you go snowboarding in the morning and surfing in the afternoon? How about the big island of Hawaii? snow falling on the summits of Mt. Aloha (ph) and Mt. Akaye (ph) earlier this week.
I want to go back to the weather story that we are following very closely this morning as it develops in Corona, California, 50 miles east of Los Angeles. On the phone we have with us Corona police Sergeant Scott Musgraves to tell us about the situation with the Prado Dam.
Sergeant, good morning.
SGT. SCOTT MUSGRAVES, CORONA POLICE SPOKESMAN: Good morning.
KAGAN: I understand a number of people have been evacuated near this dam?
MUSGRAVES: Yes, we've evacuated about 840 homes in the Green River area.
KAGAN: And what appears to be the problem? Is there a concern that there is a leak, or that the dam might break?
MUSGRAVES: We were given information that the dam had a possible leak. And in order to mitigate that, water has been released at a higher rate from the dam, and so we're concerned about this particular mobile home park and housing tract that is kind of low toward the water. So we're afraid that the residences might be flooded out.
KAGAN: We of course have been following the weather woes of California over the last week or so, especially following what happened in La Conchita, along the coast there. This seems to be a preventive measure so that you don't have any kind of problems there in Corona?
MUSGRAVES: Yes, it is. At this point we've had no injuries, no property damage at that particular location. But it's a precautionary evacuation.
KAGAN: All right, well, we wish you well with that evacuation. Thank you for that.
MUSGRAVES: OK.
KAGAN: Corona Police Spokesman Scott Musgraves joining us on the phone.
The power of that water speaks for itself, I think, and why they had to get all of those people out of those homes.
HARRIS: And you make the point, five days in a row now we've been talking about this.
(INAUDIBLE) We were talking about rain and flooding out there, and here it is Friday, and it's the same story.
KAGAN: Broken record. You didn't miss anything.
HARRIS: Sure didn't.
KAGAN: Came back three days later. We'll have a lot more on the weather, plus sports. Plus, I'm going to be talking to this woman who has written a book about how French women don't get fat. They eat all that delicious food.
HARRIS: Oh, come on. Really?
KAGAN: I know you don't need to worry about it. So we'll talk about it. Some others do.
HARRIS: Like you do?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
HARRIS: In Atlanta this weekend, events marking both the Martin Luther King holiday and the 40th anniversary of Dr. King's acceptance of the Nobel Peace prize. Well, they're underway. The Atlanta premiere of the play "Speak Truth to Power: Voices From Beyond the Dark" will be held at the church where King preached.
Lynn Redgrave is among the well-known and very talented actors performing tonight. She joins us from the historic Ebeneezer Baptist Church. Lynn Redgrave. Good to see you this morning.
LYNN REDGRAVE, ACTRESS: Oh, thank you. Good to hear you. And exceptionally wonderful to finally be in Martin Luther King's church.
HARRIS: Well, that was my...
REDGRAVE: I've long wanted to visit here.
HARRIS: ... that was my first question. Have you ever set foot in Ebeneezer -- historic Ebeneezer Baptist Church before?
REDGRAVE: This is it. This is my step. I'm very happy and very excited to be a part of this extraordinary performance tonight, which, of course, is part of the Martin Luther King weekend celebrations. What Kerry Kennedy did, this the glorious book, called, "Speaks Truth to Power." And I say glorious because it celebrates the courage of human rights defenders from all over the world.
So tonight, we're performing, reading, a play by Ariel Dorfman based on Kerry Kennedy's book. And I'm in an extraordinary group of people, Sean Penn, Robin Wright Penn, Alfre Woodard, Woody Harrelson, Bob Herbert, the great political columnist from "The New York Times." And we will be telling the stories of these courageous human rights defenders.
HARRIS: Lynn, whose story do you get to tell tonight?
REDGRAVE: I tell several stories, but one of them is of Marina. Pisklakova. Marina's Russian. And in 1993, she started the first domestic abuse hotline in Russia with -- under great difficulty. It all began because her son had a classmate and the classmate's mother was -- when she told her that when she said no to her husband like, I don't have time to put the button on the shirt, her husband would pick up a shoe and hit her.
And she -- this kept happening. And she finally said to Marina, where can I go? Who can I call? And Marina realized that she could call nobody, so she thought, I'm going to do this and she had the courage to start this domestic abuse hotline.
HARRIS: Lynn, what are the similarities in the number of people whose stories will be told tonight? Any common ground, anything that makes their stories, their lives, similar and bind them together?
REDGRAVE: Well, there certainly is, of course, a common ground in that all of them suffered in their different ways. Many of them torture, repression, death to members of the family or to their friends. And they all, out of this horrifically negative experience that they went through, had the courage to turn it into a positive. And their positive was to reach out and help others, often, as I said in the case of Marina Pisklakova at great physical, you know -- I mean, they were definitely in jeopardy. And continue to be in jeopardy.
HARRIS: And the play is "Speak the Truth to Power: Voices From Beyond the Dark." Lynn Redgrave, we appreciate it. Thanks for...
REDGRAVE: "Speak Truth to Power." Just to correct you on the title. Thank you.
HARRIS: Thank you. Well, I appreciate that. Thank you very much.
REDGRAVE: That's OK.
HARRIS: Tonight at 7:00 p.m.
KAGAN: Tough talk and tough love go a long way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)\
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Young man, are you some preacherman? Because God ain't going to do you no good in this neighborhood.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Leave the gym.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I ain't scared of nobody. Because I lay you out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Samuel Jackson pushes his basketball team to the limit and they push back. Up next, a look at his new movie and other films you can catch this holiday weekend.
HARRIS: Plus, who's going to take home an award? Up later, a fool-proof -- fool-proof? -- of predicting Golden Globe winners. And this is what we're working on for next hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "COACH CARTER")
SAMUEL L. JACKSON, ACTOR: All day, baby. All day. Can't stop that! Can't stop that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, coach, your shoe's untied, sir.
JACKSON: Thank you, Mr. (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Whoo, look at that bow! Look at that! I tied that. I tied that.
(END VIDEO CLIP FROM "COACH CARTER")
HARRIS: Samuel L. Jackson is the tough love coach of dead-end kids in a story as old as Hollywood. "Coach Carter" is just one of the new films looking for an audience this weekend.
Joining us to help you choose your weekend movie is Mr. Moviefone himself, Russ Leatherman, whose New Year's resolution, I understand, is kinder, gentler reviews. Yes, yes.
Russ, how's that going so far?
RUSS LEATHERMAN, "MR. MOVIEFONE": You know, it's not working well.
HARRIS: It's not -- no, go ahead.
LEATHERMAN: I was going to say, it worked for about 60 seconds, but then I had to talk about the new movie "Elektra," and then things went way down.
HARRIS: Oh, OK, well, let's hold off on that, all right. Maybe we can start with good news first. Maybe "Coach Carter." This looks and feels like a film we've seen before. Is it?
LEATHERMAN: I think we have seen it before. In fact, we've probably seen it dozens of times. It's a triumph-over-adversity movie. It's really an inspirational kind of movie, and it smells a lot like an ABC after-school special. But I tell you, the thing that makes this movie different is Samuel L. Jackson. This movie is based on a true story about a coach who takes on this group of basketball players, who are really fantastic players, but not getting good grades, and he says to these guys, you guys have to perform at school or I'm going to bench you. He benches the team, which sends the town into an uproar.
And I have to tell you, I really -- I thought that it was going to be just another one of those movies, and for me, Samuel L. Jackson really made it work. I just think he's cool. I like seeing him in almost everything he does. And he really elevates this movie. So I'm in. I say go check out "Coach Carter."
HARRIS: OK, so do we see him in all of Samuel L. Jackson's phases? Do we see him angry? Do we see him, I don't know, being funny and being cool, as you mentioned? Do we see all of that?
LEATHERMAN: We do. We see all of that, and he is all of those things.
HARRIS: Yes.
LEATHERMAN: He is a very cool guy, not only on the screen, but in person, and really is the guy who makes this movie work. So again, it's an average movie with an above-average guy, Samuel L. Jackson, that makes it work. So I'm in, I say go check it out.
HARRIS: OK, Russ, what about "Racing Stripes?" I don't know much about this film. Is this one of those limited release movies that's going to move wide later, or is it a wide release right off the bat today?
LEATHERMAN: Yes, this is a wide release, and it's a new movie really for the family. It's about a little zebra. It's another talking animal movie about this zebra who is abandoned and adopted by this family who lives by a racetrack. So he thinks he's a racing horse. And it's got lots of celebrity voices. You've got David Spade, Whoopi Goldberg, Dustin Hoffman, et cetera. And this is another one of those movies that we've seen 100 times before, but I have to tell you, I really liked it. Yes, I liked it, the kids liked it. It was a lot of fun. So I would say if you've got kids, say under the age of 12, and if you're just looking to go see a movie and have some fun, go see "Racing Stripes." It's amazingly good.
HARRIS: OK, let's test that resolution now -- "Elektra," Jennifer Garner?
LEATHERMAN: I just have nothing to say. If I have to say something nice, then I can't say anything at all. This movie is a spin-off of the movie "Daredevil" with Ben Affleck, and this movie is bad in almost every way. Not only is Jennifer Garner play a one-note character here, but there's not a lot of action. It's really a setup for her to brood and to take long shots of her. As far as the things that make great comic book movies great, this has almost none of those. So -- but I believe she's suffering from the curse of Ben Affleck, OK, which is if you get in a relationship with Ben Affleck, you are going to make terrible movies. I'm sure that's it.
HARRIS: All right, we've got to leave it there. I love the reaction, though. Jennifer Garner? All right, Russ, good to see you.
LEATHERMAN: Have a great weekend, guys.
HARRIS: All right, you, too.
KAGAN: We're going to keep this movie and entertainment theme going. Who's the best of the best in this year's Golden Globe Awards next year -- our next here. We'll, I'll do it next year, too, but meanwhile, our next guest coming up, Tom O'Neil talking about some of the odds he can make predictions, unlike anybody else. Tom will be with us in just a bit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: The Golden Globes kick off this weekend. Big awards season in Hollywood. Tom O'Neil from Goldderby.com is here to tell us more about who he thinks, in his infinite wisdom, is going to win. First to the movies. Went on goldderby.com, you love, love, love "The Aviator." You think it is all about Martin Scorsese and Leonardo Dicaprio.
TOM O'NEILL, AUTHOR, "MOVIE AWARDS": Yes, I think it's an easy bet this year to go all the way to the Oscars, Daryn, because it's a movie about Hollywood, and it's a big movie, and we know that they like best pictures, they go for these big pictures. This will probably have the most Oscar nominations. It's certainly the biggest in terms of length of time. The question is, can it go where no movie has ever gone before? I think the amazing story this year is that if this movie does win the globe this Sunday and does win best picture at the Oscars, do you realize this is going to be the first movie about Hollywood to win Hollywood's top award?
KAGAN: No, I didn't realize that, but you do. That's why we bring you on.
Now I think it is important with the golden globes to keep in mind who they are, what they are and how they have this totally imbalance of power. And how that affects who they pick for winners.
O'NEIL: Yes, it does. And you're referring to the fact that there are only 80-some voters here who are all journalists for foreign countries but you know, Daryn, there are only 60-some members of the New York Film Critics Circle, and only 50-some members of the...
KAGAN: You love the awards. I shouldn't ask you to be unbiased about that. And they are "journalists," with quotes around them.
"Neverland," I saw this movie, loved it. "Johnny Depp," he's been nominated a number of times for Globes, but walked home with the actual globe.
O'NEIL: Right, he's lost four times, and I think he's a front- runner this year in a really close race. Best actor is the race to watch, because he's pitted against Leo Dicaprio, who portrays Howard Hughes, of course, who's lost three times, and then you've got Javier Bardam (ph) as the wild card in the race. Javier plays a quadriplegic who wants to die in "The Sea Inside." He's got a real high cool factor. He's a Spanish actor, and sometimes the Golden Globe voters like to go foreign, because their foreign journalists. And it will be interesting to see who they go with.
KAGAN: Tom, 10 seconds -- what's going to be the bit television story, because of course they award television stars as well?
O'NEIL: "Desperate Housewives" of course will sweep because the journalists love the hot new thing, and there's nothing hotter than "Desperate Housewives."
KAGAN: There you go, or hotter than Tom O'Neil, who will be on the red carpet on the TV Guide Channel. Forget about Joan and Melissa, we're watching you for the inside scoop. Thanks, Tom. Have a great time at the awards.
O'NEIL: Thanks, Daryn. We miss you out here. You should be out here with us covering this.
KAGAN: Thank you. See you another year. Thank you.
HARRIS: Yes, I'll second that, absolutely.
You know, we're following, next hour we'll continue to follow the Prada Dam story out in Corona, California. A controlled release going on right now by the Army Corps of Engineers, but we're following that story from a couple of different angles, and we will pick it up in the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY, which begins right now.
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 January 14, 2005 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are just on the half hour. Good morning once again. I'm Daryn Kagan.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris.
Here's what's happening now in the news. Let's start in Corona, California, where we're following these amazing pictures out of Corona, where authorities are worried about rainwater that has built up behind a Riverside County dam, and they're evacuating 800 homes as a precaution.
Now you're looking at what is being called a controlled release. A spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers, which controls the Prado Dam says, we are releasing water. It is being retained behind the dam, and we're making normal releases at this moment. And there's your update on the situation in Corona.
A federal judge is expected to rule today on this man's challenge to include a prayer in President Bush's inauguration. Atheists Michael Neudow is challenging those plans, saying invoking the name of Jesus Christ during next week's inauguration will violate his constitutional rights. Neudow lost a similar challenge to a prayer in the Bush inauguration four years ago. He's the same man, you'll remember, who tried to have the words "under God" removed from the Pledge of Allegiance.
Less than three hours ago, the Huygens probe landed on the surface of Saturn's moon Titan. It should have begun feeding data back to NASA just minutes ago. Scientists believe the probe, which has been 25 years in the making, could shed new light on how life evolved on Earth.
This next story could impact you, your health and your wallet. An advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration is expected to announce a decision today on whether a low dose version of the cholesterol drug Mevacor should be sold without a prescription. Advocates say making it more accessible could save lives. Opponents say the lack of medical screening could put lives at risk.
KAGAN: Insurgent attacks top the latest developments from Iraq. Residents of a town north of Baghdad survey the damage after a car bombing. Seven people were killed, including four Iraqi police officers. Thirty other people were wounded in the attack, outside of a mosque. Three U.S. troops were killed yesterday. Two of the dead were Marines conducting security operations in Al Anbar province. The third was a soldier who died in the noncombat death near the city of Mosul.
One-thousand, three-hundred and sixty-five U.S. forces have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
And 28 Abu Ghraib prisoners are at large. The detainees overpowered guards and escaped. The prisoners were on route to a Baghdad courthouse for trial. Several of the prisoners had their hands bound with rope due to a shortage of handcuffs. Those prisoners were able to loosen the ropes and attack the guards.
Closing arguments are under way in the first court-martial of an Abu Ghraib prison guard.
Our national correspondent Susan Candiotti has been following the case Army against Specialist Charles Graner. She joins us from Fort Hood, Texas.
Susan, good morning.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATL. CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.
Yes, prosecutors have just wrapped up their closing arguments after only a half hour or so, and after showing this jury photographs and videotape of the abuse.
For his part, Specialist Charles Graner appeared confident as he walked into court this day. This is the last chance his lawyers have now to make their case to argue that he was just following orders, that military intelligence set the tone for prisoner abuse, and that Graner felt it was his duty to soften up prisoners for questioning.
Prosecutors just finished their very forceful summation before this jury, and I'd like to share with you a couple of quotes. For example, they said, "What we have here is plain abuse, no doubt about it. There is no justification." They ended up their argument by saying this, quote, "Fortunately, he" -- referring to Graner -- "does not have the final word on abuse at Abu Ghraib. You do. And it will speak volumes to the Army, volumes to the country, volumes to the world. And the true word," the prosecutor said, "is guilty as charged."
Now this jury heard from many witnesses throughout this trial, but one witness they did not hear from, Graner himself.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Specialist Charles Graner left court upbeat after a surprise decision not to take the stand to defend himself.
(on camera): Were you disappointed that you didn't get a chance to talk to the jury yourself?
ARMY SPECIALIST CHARLES GRANER: No. No, I wasn't. And I'm still smiling, so.
CANDIOTTI: The decision came from Graner's attorney.
(on camera): You had told the jury during opening statements that they would expect to -- that they could expect to hear from Specialist Graner.
GUY WOMACK, GRANER'S LAWYER: Yes. Through the other evidence. So they've heard from him vicariously. And that's always the best way to do it.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): The defense contends military intelligence set the tone for abuse at Abu Ghraib Prison. It got some support from its last witness, former guard Kenneth Davis. He said on the night this photo was taken, military intelligence seemed to be calling the shots. One guard, Megan Ambuhl, who disclosed she had a brief fling with Graner, said intelligence agents ordered her to watch prisoners in the shower and mock them. Asked did her testimony help Graner, she said, "I hope it did."
So do Graner's parents.
IRMA GRANER, MOTHER: I love my son. My husband loves our son. We both do. And we're very, very proud of him.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: Now, unlike in a civilian trial, at a court-martial, there is no need for a unanimous verdict. In this case, at least seven of the 10 jury members, as they're called, must agree on a conviction in order to convict. Otherwise, there is an automatic acquittal. After a short recess, the defense will begin their closing arguments -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Susan Candiotti from Ft. Hood Texas, thank you.
HARRIS: And let's take a look now at other stories making news from coast to coast.
KAGAN: How about we begin in Ocala (ph), Florida. Steven Ekford's (ph) mother says her son is no terrorist. The 22-year-old waiter has been charged with possessing ricin. The FBI isn't saying how Eckford got the lethal toxin or why. Possession of a biological agent carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
HARRIS: Minnesotans who work outside are going to have to bundle up for the next couple of days. A blast of Arctic air is forecast. That's enough to make even hardened natives shiver. Wind chills could reach 50 below zero in some places tonight? A Minneapolis mailman puts it all into perspective -- well, we don't have the hurricanes or other natural disasters.
KAGAN: And a question, where can you go snowboarding in the morning and surfing in the afternoon? How about the big island of Hawaii? snow falling on the summits of Mt. Aloha (ph) and Mt. Akaye (ph) earlier this week.
I want to go back to the weather story that we are following very closely this morning as it develops in Corona, California, 50 miles east of Los Angeles. On the phone we have with us Corona police Sergeant Scott Musgraves to tell us about the situation with the Prado Dam.
Sergeant, good morning.
SGT. SCOTT MUSGRAVES, CORONA POLICE SPOKESMAN: Good morning.
KAGAN: I understand a number of people have been evacuated near this dam?
MUSGRAVES: Yes, we've evacuated about 840 homes in the Green River area.
KAGAN: And what appears to be the problem? Is there a concern that there is a leak, or that the dam might break?
MUSGRAVES: We were given information that the dam had a possible leak. And in order to mitigate that, water has been released at a higher rate from the dam, and so we're concerned about this particular mobile home park and housing tract that is kind of low toward the water. So we're afraid that the residences might be flooded out.
KAGAN: We of course have been following the weather woes of California over the last week or so, especially following what happened in La Conchita, along the coast there. This seems to be a preventive measure so that you don't have any kind of problems there in Corona?
MUSGRAVES: Yes, it is. At this point we've had no injuries, no property damage at that particular location. But it's a precautionary evacuation.
KAGAN: All right, well, we wish you well with that evacuation. Thank you for that.
MUSGRAVES: OK.
KAGAN: Corona Police Spokesman Scott Musgraves joining us on the phone.
The power of that water speaks for itself, I think, and why they had to get all of those people out of those homes.
HARRIS: And you make the point, five days in a row now we've been talking about this.
(INAUDIBLE) We were talking about rain and flooding out there, and here it is Friday, and it's the same story.
KAGAN: Broken record. You didn't miss anything.
HARRIS: Sure didn't.
KAGAN: Came back three days later. We'll have a lot more on the weather, plus sports. Plus, I'm going to be talking to this woman who has written a book about how French women don't get fat. They eat all that delicious food.
HARRIS: Oh, come on. Really?
KAGAN: I know you don't need to worry about it. So we'll talk about it. Some others do.
HARRIS: Like you do?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
HARRIS: In Atlanta this weekend, events marking both the Martin Luther King holiday and the 40th anniversary of Dr. King's acceptance of the Nobel Peace prize. Well, they're underway. The Atlanta premiere of the play "Speak Truth to Power: Voices From Beyond the Dark" will be held at the church where King preached.
Lynn Redgrave is among the well-known and very talented actors performing tonight. She joins us from the historic Ebeneezer Baptist Church. Lynn Redgrave. Good to see you this morning.
LYNN REDGRAVE, ACTRESS: Oh, thank you. Good to hear you. And exceptionally wonderful to finally be in Martin Luther King's church.
HARRIS: Well, that was my...
REDGRAVE: I've long wanted to visit here.
HARRIS: ... that was my first question. Have you ever set foot in Ebeneezer -- historic Ebeneezer Baptist Church before?
REDGRAVE: This is it. This is my step. I'm very happy and very excited to be a part of this extraordinary performance tonight, which, of course, is part of the Martin Luther King weekend celebrations. What Kerry Kennedy did, this the glorious book, called, "Speaks Truth to Power." And I say glorious because it celebrates the courage of human rights defenders from all over the world.
So tonight, we're performing, reading, a play by Ariel Dorfman based on Kerry Kennedy's book. And I'm in an extraordinary group of people, Sean Penn, Robin Wright Penn, Alfre Woodard, Woody Harrelson, Bob Herbert, the great political columnist from "The New York Times." And we will be telling the stories of these courageous human rights defenders.
HARRIS: Lynn, whose story do you get to tell tonight?
REDGRAVE: I tell several stories, but one of them is of Marina. Pisklakova. Marina's Russian. And in 1993, she started the first domestic abuse hotline in Russia with -- under great difficulty. It all began because her son had a classmate and the classmate's mother was -- when she told her that when she said no to her husband like, I don't have time to put the button on the shirt, her husband would pick up a shoe and hit her.
And she -- this kept happening. And she finally said to Marina, where can I go? Who can I call? And Marina realized that she could call nobody, so she thought, I'm going to do this and she had the courage to start this domestic abuse hotline.
HARRIS: Lynn, what are the similarities in the number of people whose stories will be told tonight? Any common ground, anything that makes their stories, their lives, similar and bind them together?
REDGRAVE: Well, there certainly is, of course, a common ground in that all of them suffered in their different ways. Many of them torture, repression, death to members of the family or to their friends. And they all, out of this horrifically negative experience that they went through, had the courage to turn it into a positive. And their positive was to reach out and help others, often, as I said in the case of Marina Pisklakova at great physical, you know -- I mean, they were definitely in jeopardy. And continue to be in jeopardy.
HARRIS: And the play is "Speak the Truth to Power: Voices From Beyond the Dark." Lynn Redgrave, we appreciate it. Thanks for...
REDGRAVE: "Speak Truth to Power." Just to correct you on the title. Thank you.
HARRIS: Thank you. Well, I appreciate that. Thank you very much.
REDGRAVE: That's OK.
HARRIS: Tonight at 7:00 p.m.
KAGAN: Tough talk and tough love go a long way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)\
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Young man, are you some preacherman? Because God ain't going to do you no good in this neighborhood.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Leave the gym.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I ain't scared of nobody. Because I lay you out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Samuel Jackson pushes his basketball team to the limit and they push back. Up next, a look at his new movie and other films you can catch this holiday weekend.
HARRIS: Plus, who's going to take home an award? Up later, a fool-proof -- fool-proof? -- of predicting Golden Globe winners. And this is what we're working on for next hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "COACH CARTER")
SAMUEL L. JACKSON, ACTOR: All day, baby. All day. Can't stop that! Can't stop that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, coach, your shoe's untied, sir.
JACKSON: Thank you, Mr. (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Whoo, look at that bow! Look at that! I tied that. I tied that.
(END VIDEO CLIP FROM "COACH CARTER")
HARRIS: Samuel L. Jackson is the tough love coach of dead-end kids in a story as old as Hollywood. "Coach Carter" is just one of the new films looking for an audience this weekend.
Joining us to help you choose your weekend movie is Mr. Moviefone himself, Russ Leatherman, whose New Year's resolution, I understand, is kinder, gentler reviews. Yes, yes.
Russ, how's that going so far?
RUSS LEATHERMAN, "MR. MOVIEFONE": You know, it's not working well.
HARRIS: It's not -- no, go ahead.
LEATHERMAN: I was going to say, it worked for about 60 seconds, but then I had to talk about the new movie "Elektra," and then things went way down.
HARRIS: Oh, OK, well, let's hold off on that, all right. Maybe we can start with good news first. Maybe "Coach Carter." This looks and feels like a film we've seen before. Is it?
LEATHERMAN: I think we have seen it before. In fact, we've probably seen it dozens of times. It's a triumph-over-adversity movie. It's really an inspirational kind of movie, and it smells a lot like an ABC after-school special. But I tell you, the thing that makes this movie different is Samuel L. Jackson. This movie is based on a true story about a coach who takes on this group of basketball players, who are really fantastic players, but not getting good grades, and he says to these guys, you guys have to perform at school or I'm going to bench you. He benches the team, which sends the town into an uproar.
And I have to tell you, I really -- I thought that it was going to be just another one of those movies, and for me, Samuel L. Jackson really made it work. I just think he's cool. I like seeing him in almost everything he does. And he really elevates this movie. So I'm in. I say go check out "Coach Carter."
HARRIS: OK, so do we see him in all of Samuel L. Jackson's phases? Do we see him angry? Do we see him, I don't know, being funny and being cool, as you mentioned? Do we see all of that?
LEATHERMAN: We do. We see all of that, and he is all of those things.
HARRIS: Yes.
LEATHERMAN: He is a very cool guy, not only on the screen, but in person, and really is the guy who makes this movie work. So again, it's an average movie with an above-average guy, Samuel L. Jackson, that makes it work. So I'm in, I say go check it out.
HARRIS: OK, Russ, what about "Racing Stripes?" I don't know much about this film. Is this one of those limited release movies that's going to move wide later, or is it a wide release right off the bat today?
LEATHERMAN: Yes, this is a wide release, and it's a new movie really for the family. It's about a little zebra. It's another talking animal movie about this zebra who is abandoned and adopted by this family who lives by a racetrack. So he thinks he's a racing horse. And it's got lots of celebrity voices. You've got David Spade, Whoopi Goldberg, Dustin Hoffman, et cetera. And this is another one of those movies that we've seen 100 times before, but I have to tell you, I really liked it. Yes, I liked it, the kids liked it. It was a lot of fun. So I would say if you've got kids, say under the age of 12, and if you're just looking to go see a movie and have some fun, go see "Racing Stripes." It's amazingly good.
HARRIS: OK, let's test that resolution now -- "Elektra," Jennifer Garner?
LEATHERMAN: I just have nothing to say. If I have to say something nice, then I can't say anything at all. This movie is a spin-off of the movie "Daredevil" with Ben Affleck, and this movie is bad in almost every way. Not only is Jennifer Garner play a one-note character here, but there's not a lot of action. It's really a setup for her to brood and to take long shots of her. As far as the things that make great comic book movies great, this has almost none of those. So -- but I believe she's suffering from the curse of Ben Affleck, OK, which is if you get in a relationship with Ben Affleck, you are going to make terrible movies. I'm sure that's it.
HARRIS: All right, we've got to leave it there. I love the reaction, though. Jennifer Garner? All right, Russ, good to see you.
LEATHERMAN: Have a great weekend, guys.
HARRIS: All right, you, too.
KAGAN: We're going to keep this movie and entertainment theme going. Who's the best of the best in this year's Golden Globe Awards next year -- our next here. We'll, I'll do it next year, too, but meanwhile, our next guest coming up, Tom O'Neil talking about some of the odds he can make predictions, unlike anybody else. Tom will be with us in just a bit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: The Golden Globes kick off this weekend. Big awards season in Hollywood. Tom O'Neil from Goldderby.com is here to tell us more about who he thinks, in his infinite wisdom, is going to win. First to the movies. Went on goldderby.com, you love, love, love "The Aviator." You think it is all about Martin Scorsese and Leonardo Dicaprio.
TOM O'NEILL, AUTHOR, "MOVIE AWARDS": Yes, I think it's an easy bet this year to go all the way to the Oscars, Daryn, because it's a movie about Hollywood, and it's a big movie, and we know that they like best pictures, they go for these big pictures. This will probably have the most Oscar nominations. It's certainly the biggest in terms of length of time. The question is, can it go where no movie has ever gone before? I think the amazing story this year is that if this movie does win the globe this Sunday and does win best picture at the Oscars, do you realize this is going to be the first movie about Hollywood to win Hollywood's top award?
KAGAN: No, I didn't realize that, but you do. That's why we bring you on.
Now I think it is important with the golden globes to keep in mind who they are, what they are and how they have this totally imbalance of power. And how that affects who they pick for winners.
O'NEIL: Yes, it does. And you're referring to the fact that there are only 80-some voters here who are all journalists for foreign countries but you know, Daryn, there are only 60-some members of the New York Film Critics Circle, and only 50-some members of the...
KAGAN: You love the awards. I shouldn't ask you to be unbiased about that. And they are "journalists," with quotes around them.
"Neverland," I saw this movie, loved it. "Johnny Depp," he's been nominated a number of times for Globes, but walked home with the actual globe.
O'NEIL: Right, he's lost four times, and I think he's a front- runner this year in a really close race. Best actor is the race to watch, because he's pitted against Leo Dicaprio, who portrays Howard Hughes, of course, who's lost three times, and then you've got Javier Bardam (ph) as the wild card in the race. Javier plays a quadriplegic who wants to die in "The Sea Inside." He's got a real high cool factor. He's a Spanish actor, and sometimes the Golden Globe voters like to go foreign, because their foreign journalists. And it will be interesting to see who they go with.
KAGAN: Tom, 10 seconds -- what's going to be the bit television story, because of course they award television stars as well?
O'NEIL: "Desperate Housewives" of course will sweep because the journalists love the hot new thing, and there's nothing hotter than "Desperate Housewives."
KAGAN: There you go, or hotter than Tom O'Neil, who will be on the red carpet on the TV Guide Channel. Forget about Joan and Melissa, we're watching you for the inside scoop. Thanks, Tom. Have a great time at the awards.
O'NEIL: Thanks, Daryn. We miss you out here. You should be out here with us covering this.
KAGAN: Thank you. See you another year. Thank you.
HARRIS: Yes, I'll second that, absolutely.
You know, we're following, next hour we'll continue to follow the Prada Dam story out in Corona, California. A controlled release going on right now by the Army Corps of Engineers, but we're following that story from a couple of different angles, and we will pick it up in the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY, which begins right now.
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