President Bush Set to Meet With Vladimir Putin; Jury For Jackson
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: First this hour, President Bush arrives in the Slovak Republic for his meeting tomorrow with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mr. Bush spent the day in Germany, and he met this afternoon with American troops at a spirited rally along the Rhine River. Now, earlier, he spoke once again of his personal warmth for President Putin, but he also expressed concerns about the state of Russia's democracy.</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have got a close relationship with Vladimir on a personal basis. I have -- I expressed some concerns at the European Union yesterday about some of the decisions, such as freedom of the press that our mutual friend has made. And I look forward to talking to him about his decision-making process.</s>PHILLIPS: CNN's Jill Dougherty is standing by live in the Slovak capital, where Mr. Bush arrived just about an hour ago. She has more on the Bush/Putin get-together -- hi, Jill.</s>JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Hey, Kyra. Well, you know, this is actually the 12th meeting between Presidents Bush and Putin. And we're expecting that there will be together for about 2 1/2 hours at Bratislava Castle, which you can see right over my shoulder. You know, these are two men who consider each other partners, but this partnership is running into some stormy weather. And it's over the issue of values.</s>DOUGHERTY (voice-over): It's the linchpin of George W. Bush's foreign policy, freedom and democracy.</s>BUSH: So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.</s>DOUGHERTY: Almost four years ago, when Mr. Bush first met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Slovenia, it seems he had found a kindred spirit when it came to democratic values.</s>BUSH: I was able to get a sense of his soul. This is a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country.</s>DOUGHERTY: Now the Bush administration says it's worried about the country Mr. Putin is creating.</s>CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: It is important that Russia make clear to the world that it is intent on strengthening the rule of law, strengthening the role of an independent judiciary, permitting a free and independent press to flourish. These are all the basics of democracy.</s>DOUGHERTY: When it comes to people power, revolutions like Ukraine's, George Bush may think it's democracy in action, but Vladimir Putin does not.</s>VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The most dangerous is to think up a system of permanent resolution. Now, the Rose Revolution or the Blue Resolution, of course we should support and help democracies. But if we embark on the road of permanent revolutions, nothing good will come from this.</s>DOUGHERTY: A senior U.S. diplomat says President Bush will raise the issue of values -- quote -- "as a friend who wants to be a partner, not to isolate Russia." But Mr. Putin thinks isolating Russia may be what George Bush has in mind.</s>PUTIN (through translator): I don't think this is the purpose of the American policy, although we will have a meeting with President Bush that's scheduled for the near future. And I will certainly ask him if this is really the case.</s>BUSH: The door is open.</s>DOUGHERTY: While the U.S. president may be on a mission to spread democracy throughout the world, the Russian president says his country already has democracy, Russian style.</s>DOUGHERTY: And, in fact, yesterday, Mr. Putin addressed that issue of democracy. He said that Russia is going to pursue democracy, but it's going to be according to the realities of life in Russia today, as he put it -- back to you, Kyra.</s>PHILLIPS: Jill Dougherty, thank you so much. And a dozen down and eight to go in the trial of Michael Jackson. A jury has been seated and now lawyers are on the hunt for alternates. Let's get the lowdown and the breakdown from CNN's Miguel Marquez at the courthouse in Santa Maria -- Miguel.</s>MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this thing is moving quicker than any of us thought. The jury, the 12 jurors from Santa Barbara County that will judge Michael Joe Jackson, are now set, consists of four women and eight men. There is three Hispanics on that jury that we can tell and one Asian. That person lists their first language as Indonesian. There are no African-American on this jury, though. One juror was just dismissed a short time ago. The court is still in session. They're still dismissing jurors. This person was dismissed in the process for selecting eight those eight alternate jurors. And he may have been dismissed for cause, because he's a friend of one of the detectives for Santa Barbara County. He's a friend of his brother.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was my turn to get up there and they asked me the questions. And that's it. And it's time to go now.</s>QUESTION: Why do you think you were excused?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably because -- because</s>MARQUEZ: Now, among those who will judge Mr. Jackson, the oldest is a 79-year-old female retiree. The youngest is a 20-year-old assistant head cashier. Some of the other people, a 51-year-old female computer programmer, a 62-year-old male civil engineer, a 44- year-old female -- woman who works for the Department of Social Services, a 42-year-old woman who is an educational aide for special education, and a 50-year-old female who is a horse trainer. Those are most of the people who will be judging Jackson. And now it's a matter of getting to opening statements, which could happen as soon as next week -- back to you.</s>PHILLIPS: All right. Another big story there in Southern California is a day of havoc. The relentless rains are finally moving out, but still no end to the mudslides, rock slides and flooding currently blamed for at least nine deaths in that state, tens of millions of dollars in damages. Homes have been destroyed or declared unlivable. And the record rains have left so much moisture that the mudslide threat is likely to linger for weeks.</s>JOHN VIDOVICH, LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT: More rain means more damage. Currently, since last Thursday, we've had approximately nine inches of rain here in Los Angeles, 34 inches for the area. We're approaching the record of 38 inches set in the late 1800s. Our concern is, once the sun does come out again, the threat has not subsided. The earth is going to continue to move for several weeks. So, we're not out of the woods even after we get our sunshine back.</s>PHILLIPS: And the latest rains have made it the wettest 12 months in more than 100 years for the city of Los Angeles. Since the start of January, storms have caused more than $50 million worth of damage in Los Angeles alone. A new book by Pope John Paul II is out today in Italy. And it's raising protests from some Jews. And it may also offend gays. In Rome, CNN international correspondent Walter correspondent has the details.</s>WALTER RODGERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The 84-year-old pope showed his steel again. This time in a new articulating the ideology of his faith. John Paul II held his weekly audience on the day his new book Memory and Identity went on sale. Don't be fooled by the innocuous title. It has an edge. The aging pontiff attacks homosexual marriage as part of a new ideology of evil which he said insidiously threatens society. (on camera): The book also condemns abortion. Not a surprise, except that the pope calls it legalized extermination, similar to what was practiced in some formally totalitarian countries. That passage offended some Jews, who saw the pope equating abortion with their holocaust. (voice-over): Not so, said a leading Vatican cardinal.</s>CARDINAL JOSEPH RATZINGER, DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH: It's not true. The pope does not compare holocaust with abortion.</s>RODGERS: Still, one Jewish critic took the pontiff to task for trying to impose Rome's anti-abortion doctrine on non-Catholics.</s>AMOS LUZZATTO, UNION OF ITALIAN JEWISH COMMUNITIES: If it is their opinion, they cannot impose to me their opinion. If it is their belief, they cannot impose to me their belief.</s>RODGERS: John Paul II also revisits the 1981 assassination attempt in which a Turk nearly killed him. But he sheds no new light on why, leaving speculation afloat. Some have guessed the KGB or the Mafia, or even enemies inside the Vatican did it.</s>ROBERT MICKENS, THE TABLET: We really don't know. Because the secrets are born and die right inside the place. And it's hard to figure out when you don't have private investigators -- or, you know, public investigations going on, and when it's all handled from the Vatican itself.</s>RODGERS: When near death, the pope affirms he was practically on the other side and was saved only by the intercession of the Virgin Mary.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This pope is very mystical. And his adoration of Mary, it's a veneration, but it's an adoration that is mystical.</s>RODGERS: This professor of international law at Oxford purchased an early copy.</s>INGRID FRANKOPAN, INTERNATIONAL LAW PROFESSOR, OXFORD UNIVERSITY: He seems to be, you know, like a sport of sportsman running a marathon. And he doesn't give up.</s>RODGERS: Memory and Identity does not seem likely to rival "The da Vinci Code" in terms of sales, but the pope's book has its own audience. Walter Rodgers, CNN Rome.</s>PHILLIPS: Ahead on LIVE FROM, exotic animals for sale? Americans are keeping them as pets, but it's not all cute and cuddly. A look at the cruel underbelly of this four-legged trade, that's next. And later:</s>ROBERT LACEY, ROYAL BIOGRAPHER: It's clearly a sign of royal unhappiness.</s>PHILLIPS: Royal rejection. The queen refuses to attend her son's civil ceremony. Is it a scheduling conflict or the cold shoulder?