Martha Stewart Leaves Her Prison Days Behind Her
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Martha Stewart leaves her prison days behind her. But the homemaking guru isn't done serving her sentence. And amending the Scholastic Aptitude Test. You know it as the SAT. Those annoying analogies go away, replaced with a little controversy. And later, the sister of Michael Jackson's accuser returns to the witness stand. Today, we'll find out how damaging her testimony has been so far. It is Friday and you are watching DAYBREAK. Good Friday morning to you. From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Kelly Wallace, in today for Carol Costello. Now in the news, she's out. Martha Stewart arrived at her New York estate about three hours ago. You are looking now at live pictures of her estate in Bedford, New York. She will begin serving five months under house arrest after serving five months behind bars for lying about a stock sale. We will have live reports in just two minutes. Canine search teams plan to stop looking for a missing Florida girl today. Nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford disappeared from her home more than a week ago. Authorities say there are no named suspects or strong leads. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is reportedly warning the U.S. not to be aggressive. The Dow Jones News Wire says Chavez will cut oil supplies to the U.S. if Washington tries to "hurt Venezuela." Last month, Chavez accused the U.S. of trying to assassinate him. The State Department called the allegation "ridiculous." And President Bush is heading on the road again. He is pushing his Social Security plan in a 60 city, 60 day blitz. The president will be in New Jersey this morning and at the University of Notre Dame this afternoon. To the Weather Center now again -- and hello to Chad. Chad, did you ever notice on Friday, everyone seems to have a really big smile on their face?</s>CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I think it's the added coffee.</s>WALLACE: I think so. You think?</s>MYERS: Good morning, Kelly.</s>WALLACE: Good morning.</s>MYERS: Yes, I'm still on my second cup or so here.</s>WALLACE: Well, day one of Martha Stewart's new life is our top story. The domestic diva is enjoying the comforts of her home this morning, after being released from a West Virginia prison just after midnight. We have two live reports. CNN's Deborah Feyerick is at the West Virginia airport where Stewart boarded a private jet home. And CNN's Allan Chernoff is at Stewart's Bedford, New York estate. We begin with you, Deb. It was quick but dramatic, right?</s>DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Definitely quick and definitely dramatic. And, boy, what a difference a day makes. Yesterday at this hour, Martha Stewart was getting up to begin her final day of prison duties. Today, she's back on her own schedule. She can sleep late if she so chooses. Martha Stewart leaving prison yesterday at about 12:30 in the morning. She did not linger. She did not spend one moment more than she had to. She arrived directly at the airport. And then came the million dollar moment that you referred to -- the smile, the wave, the bounce in her step. She even spontaneously kissed one man waiting just at the bottom of the steps, who seemed to be a part of the crew, after she apparently recognized him. She did bring with her only a few belongings, really, a box, which seemed to be sort of one of the boxes that you carry paper in, and also a small black duffle bag. She has vowed to remember the women she met here. She put a posting on her Web site that reads: "You can be sure that I will never forget the friends that I met here, all they have done to help me over these five months, their children and the stories they have told me." And then she settled in for the hour long plane ride home, saying also, it would be good to be back home -- Kelly.</s>WALLACE: All right, Deborah Feyerick reporting throughout the evening for us from West Virginia. Thanks so much, Deborah. We'll talk to you in a little bit. Business wise, Martha Stewart is better off now than when she entered prison. You may wonder how. Well, CNN senior correspondent Allan Chernoff joins us from outside Stewart's estate in Bedford, New York -- and Allan, what is the scene like there now?</s>ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now quiet, of course. The sun just rising. But it was 2:00 in the morning when Martha Stewart arrived at Westchester Airport, not far from here. A half hour later, her convoy of three cars was driving up a dirt road right nearby here. And shortly thereafter Martha Stewart finally was back home after five months in prison. Now, of course, she has five more months of home confinement. And she's got an estate here that runs 153-acres. That's larger than the Alderson Prison in West Virginia. But she's not going to be permitted to roam around on that estate. She actually will be restricted to her residence there and by Sunday night she has to meet with her probation officer. She's going to have an ankle bracelet that will be affixed to her. It will be connected via radio waves to a transmitter in her home, which will be hooked up to a phone line. If she leaves the home, the probation officer will know about it. Now, Martha Stewart will be permitted out of the house 48 hours a week. She'll be allowed to visit doctors, shop for groceries, go to church and go to the office if she so desires. She certainly does have plenty of work. Martha Stewart, of course, a very busy person. She plans to write a column for her magazine. She plans two television shows, "The Apprentice," her own version of it; and also a new syndicated program that will premier in the fall. So Martha Stewart certainly has plenty on her plate. She'll be busy. But right now certainly catching up on her sleep -- Kelly, back to you.</s>WALLACE: And, Allan, I know you've been talking to some of the leaders of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. I know they're very excited. What kind of role do they see her playing in the company now that she's out of prison?</s>CHERNOFF: Right. Kelly, as you know, Martha Stewart is the founder of the company and the former chairman and chief executive. Right now she does not have an executive role at the company. But they plan to have her very involved in the company. Martha Stewart has been basically the creative force. She has approved all the major projects there. And they are looking for creative input from Martha Stewart. They want to show her the new products that are coming out. The company has a new line of bedding, new ready-to-assemble furniture that is going to be sold at Kmart. They have another new furniture line coming out, a baking book coming out later this year, lots of new projects. And, Kelly, they also are looking into greatly expanding. They are considering, according to the chief executive, considering going into the food business, prepared foods, perhaps frozen foods. They are also thinking of a variety of new ways to deliver their content, over the Internet; also, they plan to package Martha Stewart's TV programs into DVDs, into videos. So lots of projects at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Martha Stewart is going to have plenty to occupy herself with.</s>WALLACE: And, Allan, lots of smiles, I'm sure, at the company. That stock price has been going only in one direction, it seems, for most of the time that she was in jail, right?</s>CHERNOFF: Yes. During the time she was in jail, the stock price actually doubled. So she has come out of jail, believe it or not, worth about $500 million more than she did when she entered jail. So once again, Martha Stewart is a billionaire. One note to that, Kelly, though, very interesting, yesterday the stock price rose, but that was the first increase in six days. For five days, the stock price actually took a little bit of a hit. On Wall Street, there's a thing such as buying on the news and then selling right afterward. And it seems that may have happened here. So some people perhaps lightening up on the stock -- Kelly.</s>WALLACE: Right, I know. A lot of analysts thinking that that stock price might come down in the weeks and months ahead. Allan, thanks so much. Allan Chernoff reporting live from Bedford, New York for us this morning. More "News Across America" now. Two painters were left dangling 10 floors above a downtown Los Angeles street after their scaffolding broke. It took rescuers about 40 minutes to pull them through a window. Luckily, they were both wearing their safety harnesses. Neither was seriously injured. Texas Border Patrol agents successfully delivered a baby after picking up the immigrant mother. The 27-year-old woman was just six months pregnant. Authorities say the woman had been abandoned by an immigrant smuggler because she couldn't keep up. The baby is in intensive care at a Corpus Christi hospital. And a special memorial exhibit has opened at Syracuse University. The exhibit, called "Faces of the Fallen," features pictures of more than 1,400 American soldiers killed in Iraq. Creators of the show intend to eventually send the original portraits of the soldiers to their families. Well, life in a fish bowl -- Martha Stewart, as you know, is out of prison and ready to entertain you. But can she whip up a recipe for TV ratings success? And aptitude versus attitude -- new changes on the SAT. Will it help or hurt your college bound child? And the sister of Michael Jackson's accuser prepares for a second day of testimony. We'll have a live report on the latest courtroom testimony. But first, here is a look at what else is making news this Friday morning, March 4.