Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Trial of Susan Pope; Drivers Not Shrugging Off Latest Round of Gas Price Increases

Aired April 25, 2006 - 09:33   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: In the San Francisco Bay Area, an unusual trial with an unusual defendant. It is the strange tale of Susan Pope, who today begins her own defense. She's representing herself. She admits she killed her husband three-and-a-half years ago. He was her therapist when they met when she was a teenager. But she says it wasn't murder; it was self-defense. She claims she was dominated and abused by Felix Polk, but she also claims to be a psychic who fed intelligence to her husband about plots, like 9/11.
Author Carol Pogash is watching this one in the courtroom. She's writing a book about the case pretty of grist for a book on this one.

good to have you with us, Carol.

CAROL POGASH, WRITING ABOUT POLK CASE: Hi. Thanks.

M. O'BRIEN: Let's go through some of these odd quotations. You must have been -- your jaw must have dropped when you heard some of this stuff, even though you know Susan Polk well, or know of her well. First one, she says in the stand, "I don't believe in little green men from Mars, but I do still believe in fairies." Let me give you one more little sample. I don't believe in -- she says this. She laid blame of the terrorist attacks of 9/11 on her husband's failure to report her psychic revelation. She said, "I served my country. For over 25 years, I provided information while in trances to help thwart terrorist attacks here and abroad." And she described the whole case as a nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat thriller, and then finally her son, who had an opportunity to speak, said essentially to her, that she was acting as her own attorney. "You're bonkers. You're cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs," which probably sums it all up.

What -- it's easy to dismiss. What do you think the jury is thinking right now?

POGASH: Well, the prosecution has already shown its case, done its case, so the jury already has a pretty good sense of Susan Polk. She is brilliant, but -- and she says she's not delusional. Well, she says she's a psychic and predicted 9/11. So you know, you figure out what the jurors are going to think. They know her very well by now. Her opening statement, which she delivered yesterday, was brilliant in part, and then she started talking about, you know, 9/11 and she went off the cliff.

Does that mean she's guilty because she's delusional? That's going to be left up to the jurors to decide. M. O'BRIEN: It's interesting. You would think looking at those quotations that she was going after an insanity defense, but can you defend yourself on an insanity defense, even if that were the case?

POGASH: Well, in her case, it's just the opposite. I think she would rather be found -- she would rather be found guilty and competent than not guilty and delusional. She -- that's something that has dogged her all her adult life, that people have said she's delusional, and she doesn't believe she is. So that's -- no. Insanity will not be an issue in this case. At least not -- not an obvious issue, but it's certainly something that -- and I wouldn't say she's insane, but yes, she is delusional, and the jurors have to, you know -- they will have to rely on the judge's instructions whether or not they can take that into account. I would think not.

M. O'BRIEN: Or maybe cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, who knows.

Let's talk about the two sons who are going to testify on behalf of the defense. You have heard from the other son who has actually gone on the prosecution's side. Tell us about that testimony?

POGASH: That was Adam Polk, who is graduating this spring, either magna or summa cum laude from UCLA. He was president of a student body, president of the Honors Society, just you know, the perfect son. He said that at one point his mother asked him, how old were you when your father said I was delusional? He said I brought that to the table, not my father. I brought up the issue of madness. And his testimony was devastating. He said, I know -- I not only believe that you're delusional, I also believe that you're evil, and he said, I could see you killing my father. He said if you were allowed to go free, I would be scared for my life. So it was riveting testimony.

And then yesterday and today we have the testimony of the middle son, Eli, who is in jail right now, and who is saying that his mother was not at all controlling.

M. O'BRIEN: He's in jail on completely separate charges.

POGASH: Yes, very good point, very good point.

M. O'BRIEN: Probation violation, yes. But may have credibility issues with the jury as he defends his mother, right?

POGASH: That's right. That's right.

M. O'BRIEN: And as she questioned him, she be goon question him, she was crying, and he wept. It was very emotional testimony. And so it's almost as if this is two separate families. Their accounts of what happened are diametrically opposed.

Journalist Carol Pogash who's watching this trial from the front row, and writing a book on it. We'll check back with you later. Keep us posted.

POGASH: OK, thanks. SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Just watching a family implode on so many levels, that story. We've been following it for a while.

Drivers, we've been talking a lot about high gas prices. Drivers are not shrugging off the latest round of gas price increases.

And in fact as AMERICAN MORNING's Dan Lothian discovers, people are actually, finally, changing how they live.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It started with a trickle, now it seems like a gush, filling an empty tank is leaving a lot of wallets empty.

LOU SERANO, DRIVER: You do what you have to do, you know, Just work hard and pay gas. That's basically what it is all about.

LOTHIAN: But commuters Kevin Rudden and Jim Cantania are both finding detours around the high gas prices.

One got a new job.

KEVIN RUDDEN, COMMUTER: I looked for a job closer to home.

LOTHIAN: The other got new wheels.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I ride it rain or shine.

LOTHIAN: Rudden, a public relations consultant, says he used to travel 100 miles round trip to work.

RUDDEN: I was purchasing $400 a month in gas. You can just go to you boss and say, gee, gas jumped 20 cents a gallon, can I can have a raise? They'll look at you like you're crazy.

LOTHIAN: So he quit his job for a 20-minute commute.

RUDDEN: You know, after a while, a 20 cent, 30 cent a gallon increase when you have a long commute starts taking a big chunk out of your income.

LOTHIAN: Jim Cantania just bought a motorized bike on eBay. He says he gets 87 miles a gallon, and now fills up just once every three weeks.

JIM CANTANIA, COMMUTER: If you can avoid the highway, and you know, you've got a 15 to 20-mile max ride, then it's great.

LOTHIAN (on camera): There is growing frustration across the country, as people spend more to fill up and spend less on the other things they need.

(voice-over): A poll released before the most recent spike shows 54 percent of Americans are cutting back significantly on household spending because of higher gas prices. RUDDEN: It doesn't make you happy when you hear that the president of ExxonMobil walks away with $400 million retirement package, and you have to think that somebody's getting rich off of you.

LOTHIAN: Many are wondering how much higher gas prices will go and how much more they can take.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Definitely. It's too high.

LOTHIAN: That's why many commuters are changing their routines, in order to get more out of every gallon.

Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: I like that motorized bicycle, 80-something miles to the gallon.

M. O'BRIEN: Think of the exercise you're depriving yourself of. That is a thought.

S. O'BRIEN: That, too.

President Bush scheduled to make some remarks on energy this morning at 10:05 a.m. Eastern time out of Washington D.C. CNN, of course, is going to bring that to you live when it happens.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MARKET REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: "CNN LIVE TODAY" is coming up next.

Hey, Daryn. Good morning.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Soledad.

We're talking money, too, money that vanishes, but you don't spend it. So you ask your bank, well, what's up with that?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He treated me like I was something he stepped in. He just couldn't be bothered.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Crooks cranking out the cash from a Massachusetts ATM. I'm going show you how they did it, and what the bank plans to do about the 5 g's that were stolen.

Plus, East meets West. It's a culture clash. A Hooter's restaurant busts into the scene in Shanghai, skimpy outfits, salty wings, oh my. Chairman Mao rolls over, when LIVE TODAY gets started at the top of the hour.

S. O'BRIEN: Wow! I couldn't tell what they were doing in that shot.

M. O'BRIEN: Exercising.

(CROSSTALK)

KAGAN: You might have a future there, Soledad?

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, God, I hope not, Daryn.

But you know, you never know, right? It's always good to have another skill.

KAGAN: Absolutely.

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Daryn.

Up next, we're going to tell you why it's OK to be clueless. That is, in fact, the message in Terry McMillan's new book. It's geared for college-bound students. The bestselling author joins us next. You'll want to stay tuned for her no-nonsense tips, just ahead.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: She is a best-selling novelist famous for books like "Waiting to Exhale" and "How Stella Got Her Groove Back," but Terry McMillan's latest work is her first piece of non-fiction. She's imparting her wit and wisdom to the college bound in a new book called "It's OK if You're Clueless."

Terry McMillan joins us from San Francisco this morning. Hey, Terry, good morning, nice to see you.

TERRY MCMILLAN, AUTHOR, "IT'S OK IF YOU'RE CLUELESS": Good morning.

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks for talking with us.

MCMILLAN: Nice to see you, too.

S. O'BRIEN: Thank you. Listen, I read that this began as a graduation speech that you didn't want to give. Why not?

MCMILLAN: Well, I wanted to -- I had waited 18 years and stood in the audience like any other parent to watch their child march across the stage and I didn't want to be the quote, unquote, "celebrity mother," but I got talked into it. It took some doing. My son realized that I promised not to embarrass him, so....

S. O'BRIEN: And once he was comfortable with that, then you go ahead.

MCMILLAN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: What did you decide the message would be? I mean, once you finally agree and capitulate, then you have to say, OK, what's my message going to be to these students? Your son Solomon included among the students. What did you decide the message was going to be?

MCMILLAN: Well, first of all, I wanted to be honest. I didn't want to give your everyday run of the mill, you know, you should do this and all about success. I wanted to tell them things that I wish someone had told me. I wanted to be honest with them. Because now times have changed. Everyone is so success-oriented and everyone has to have A.P. classes and it's about perfection. And a lot of these kids are under a lot of stress and I wanted them to know that somebody understood it.

S. O'BRIEN: Which bridges us right to your tips. Number three, don't listen to your parents in the advice you get. There might be parents that say, hey, hey now!

MCMILLAN: Well, I think that a lot of kids -- a lot of parents want their children to -- they want to relive their youth through their kids and they try to impart on their children things that, you know, mistakes that they think that they've made. And also they want their kids to live in their footsteps, but do it with perfection. And I think that's wrong. Kids need to learn how to live their own lives. And you know, guidance is one thing, but to try to create these automatons is a whole other story.

S. O'BRIEN: Tip number 13. College is a place where you can discover who you really are and get an education at the same time. Tell me about that one.

MCMILLAN: Well, a lot of people -- a lot of people mistake being educated and being intelligent. They're two different things. A lot of young people believe that when they go to college, they're there because of what they already know. And they don't understand that it's called an institution of higher learning for a reason. And a lot of them come armed to impress, and they're all there, they got there by the same -- for the same reasons. But it is a place where you can discover who you are. It's one place that -- it's a stepping-stone, I think. And I don't think students should be afraid if they don't find it there.

S. O'BRIEN: It's a nice book. It's a little book and it's a very -- it's a nice book. Your son, who I met at your house -- I didn't even remember this -- many, many years ago, who is now in college, oh, my god. We're all getting so old.

MCMILLAN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Did he take your advice, do you think?

MCMILLAN: Well, yes. He's actually graduating in June, and he graduates in African-American studies and a minor in sound engineering, but he's headed to England or he's going London to major in -- to get a masters in sound engineering and music production because he makes beats. He's like a hip-hopper.

S. O'BRIEN: So he's doing what he loves.

MCMILLAN: He's doing it just the way it should be.

S. O'BRIEN: So it all worked out. Mom set it out, and he did it. Nice to see you, Terry. We're going to talk another time about your new book, which is coming out, about a lot of the latest drama in your life. You know, an issue with your husband, your break-up, et cetera, et cetera. But I want to talk about that book when it comes out. The book now is called "It's OK if You're Clueless" and the author is Terry McMillan. Thanks, Terry, appreciate it.

MCMILLAN: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: This just in to CNN. We have learned that the president, in just a few moments, when he speaks about energy policy, will announce that the United States will no longer be depositing petroleum into the energy reserve, the U.S. energy reserves, petroleum reserves, there to safeguard against possible shortages. Came as an immediate outgrowth of the Arab Oil embargo in the mid-'70s. That would, in turn, allow more oil to be available to be refined and used for consumers. That's just one of the proposals that is floating around there, and we'll hear more from the president very shortly. Back with more in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: That's all the time we have for this edition of AMERICAN MORNING. Thanks for being with us.

S. O'BRIEN: Daryn's going to take you through the next couple of hours on CNN LIVE TODAY. Hey, Daryn, good morning again.

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