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Quick Guide & Transcript: Moussaoui trial enters penalty phase, Bush seeks line-item veto power
RELATEDCNN STUDENT NEWS(CNN Student News) -- March 7, 2006 Quick GuideConspirator Sentencing - Discuss whether a confessed al Qaeda conspirator should receive the death penalty. Line-item Veto - Find out what a line-item veto is, and learn why President Bush wants it as an option. Car Crash Safety - Check out which mid-size cars fared the best in the IIHS' new crash ratings. TranscriptTHIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. MONICA LLOYD, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to CNN Student News on this Tuesday, March 7th. I'm Monica Lloyd. Prosecutors and defense attorneys go head-to-head over what kind of punishment an al Qaeda conspirator should get. President Bush tries to convince Congress to give him a little extra leeway when it comes to approving laws. And crash test dummies show researchers which vehicles are safest when it comes to mid-sized car collisions. First Up: Conspirator Sentencing LLOYD: Will the only person charged in the U.S. in the September 11th terrorist attacks get life in prison, or the death penalty? That's the question jurors now have to answer. The panel was seated yesterday in the sentencing phase of Zacharias Moussaoui's federal trial in Alexandria, Virginia. Last April, Moussaoui pleaded guilty to all six terrorism-related charges against him. Kelly Arena tells us what jurors heard during yesterday's opening statements. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KELLI ARENA, CNN REPORTER: As Moussaoui sat defiantly looking at the jury, the government described him as a proud and unrepentant terrorist. Inside the courtroom, surrounded by intense security, prosecutor Rob Spencer told jurors Moussaoui '... lied so murderers could follow.' The government's main argument: If Moussaoui had told the truth about what his al Qaeda brothers were up to when he was arrested in august 2001, the FBI and other agencies may have been able to stop the September 11th attacks. In his opening statement, Spencer told the jury that Moussaoui's lies killed the 9-11 victims, as surely as if Moussaoui had been at the controls of one of the four planes that day. ANDY MCCARTHY, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: If he had a role and carried it out..then he's as liable as Mohammed Atta is. ARENA: But Ed MacMahon--one of Moussaoui's court-appointed defense attorneys told jurors the government's case is speculative at best--that Moussaoui did not know any specifics of the 9-11 plot, and that in fact, al Qaeda viewed him as a liability of sorts--in one operative's words--cuckoo. Macmahon said no one should be executed on such flimsy evidence, even an admitted al Qaeda member. Moussaoui remained silent, refraining from his trademark outbursts. He never once looked at the spectators, some victim family members among them, including Hamilton Peterson who lost his father and stepmother. HAMILTON PETERSON, 9-11 FAMILY MEMBER: It's a very proud moment in American history. Because we're showing the world that even when someone can wreak the types of havoc he did, that we are still a fair country. ARENA: The trial will dredge up the horror of that day and the controversy over what the government did and didn't do to protect its citizens. As defense attorney Ed MacMahon said...'The nation cried then...and there probably won't be a dry eye in the courtroom when all is said and done.' Kelli Arena, CNN Alexandria, Virginia. (END VIDEO CLIP) Word to the Wise CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS REPORTER: A Word to the Wise... veto: (noun) the presidential power to prevent a bill approved by Congress from becoming law a line-item veto is the power to turn down certain parts of a bill Source: www.wordcentral.com Spoken Word PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: They need to get the President the line item veto. Congress gave the president the line-item veto in 1996 but because of problems with the way the law was written, the Supreme Court struck it down. That should not be the end of the story. So in my State of the Union I called for new legislation creating a line-item veto that will meet Supreme Court standards. Today I am sending Congress legislation that will meet standards and give me the authority to strip special interests spending and earmarks out of a bill and then send them back to Congress for an up or down vote. Line-item Veto LLOYD: Why would a president want the line-item veto? One reason - to cut down on so-called "pork-barrel" spending. That's political slang used for some special government projects. For example, let's say a member of Congress wants to get government funds to build a bridge in his or her home state. On a large bill, like the budget, that representative may work in a line approving money for the bridge. If the president approves the bill as a whole, that money goes with it. But President Bush wants authority to strike out those "lines," if he sees fit - just like President Clinton wanted in 1996. CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin explains why it could be an uphill battle, to get that power. Some constitutional scholars say President Bush's proposed version could get the supreme court's okay. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: The Supreme Court in recent years has been very insistent about clear structures for each branch of government. Congress passes a law...the president really has only one choice, he can sign it, or he can veto it, two choices. But, he can't pick and choose what parts of the bill he likes and only approve that part. That was the problem with the 1996 law, and that's was why the Supreme Court struck it in 1998. What the president is trying to do is get around that with this proposal which sends it as a whole back to Congress. I think it's still got a lot of problems. Probably its biggest problem is political rather than legal. There's not great groundswell of support on Congress for this idea. So, it may never get to a legal test of it, because it may never get passed. (END VIDEO CLIP) Women's History Month: Sandra Day O'Connor DEANNA MORAWSKI, CNN REPORTER: Sandra Day O'Connor was the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court. Born in El Paso, Texas in 1930, O'Connor grew up on a large family ranch in Arizona. She earned undergraduate and law degrees from Stanford University, but was unable to get a job with a law firm because she was a woman. After holding various jobs in the legal field and starting to raise a family, O'Connor became an assistant attorney general for the state of Arizona... Then a republican lawmaker in the state senate, where she served as majority leader - the first woman in the United States to hold such a position. She also served as a judge at a county superior court and a state court of appeals. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan nominated her to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court. She was confirmed unanimously by the Senate, and was sworn in as the first female justice in history. During her 24 years on the high court, O'Connor was considered a decisive swing vote in many key decisions. She retired from the bench in 2006. Celebrating the achievements of Sandra Day O'Connor...This Women's History Month. Promo LLOYD: Maybe you already knew about Sandra Day O'Connor. But do you know who the first woman was to serve as U.S. Secretary of State? That's part of our interactive, Women's History Month quiz. Profiles, photos and free learning activities are all at our web site, all for Women's History Month. Car Crash Safety LLOYD: One thing you can count on if you get a car made within the past nine years: it has airbags. Government laws require this for the same reason that many local laws, require you to wear a helmet when hopping on your bicycle - it's safer that way. As Kyung Lah reports, some new cars protect you better than others. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KYUNGH LAH, CNN REPORTER: Seven new and redesigned mid-size cars were crushed, mangled and tested at 40 miles per hour..to determine how safe you'd be inside in the event of a crash. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says the two priciest of the bunch rated the best for all sides of crash protection. SUSAN FERGUSON, IIHS, SENIOR VP RESEARCH: The winners in this test were the BMW 3 series and the Lexus IS. LAH: But the IIHS says you don't have to break the bank for a highly rated car. The moderately priced 2006 Hyundai Sonata showed the biggest improvement from past crash tests. The bonus for consumers: it comes with a standard side airbag. FERGUSON: We see more fatalities in frontal crashes but side impact crashes tend to be more injurious. LAH: Also improving this year... The Pontiac G6. But the newly designed Ford Fusion earned the lowest overall ratings from the IIHS. FERGUSON: Although it ranked acceptable in our frontal crash tests. We tested the version without the optional side airbag in our side impact tests and it actually rated poor. So I think overall, that actually puts the Ford Fusion right at the bottom of the pack. LAH: Ford points out the fusion meets all federal motor vehicle safety standards and that the side impact issue is being addressed saying quote: "2007 models will offer side airbags and air curtains as standard equipment for enhanced head and chest protection, underscoring Ford's commitment to safety." LAH: The IIHS says that its test does help the car companies overall improve their safety from year to year. The 1995-98 Sonata, for example, tested poorly, and this year's model, improved remarkably. In Washington, Kyungh Lah, CNN Student News. (END VIDEO CLIP) Before We Go LLOYD: Before we go... Maybe you learned at your last slumber party that pillows make great weapons. You don't have to tell these folks, in Portland, Oregon. If it's not obvious why they call themselves the "pillow fight club," don't ask unless you're ready to get socked. Softly, of course! One of the few rules for these pillow poppers, is that nothing heavy is allowed in their cottony cases. Another is, don't hit the defenseless-- Only cushion carriers are fair game. Goodbye LLOYD: And that takes the fight out of us today! For CNN Student News, I'm Monica Lloyd. See you Wednesday! 
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