Audra McDonald, Yo-Yo Ma perform in Carnegie Hall celebration
Four-time Tony winner Audra McDonald stars in 'Private Practice.' Photo credit: Nonesuch
Audra McDonald is one of Broadway’s best singers, and PBS will showcase the “Private Practice” star in the Carnegie Hall 120th Anniversary Concert.
The event taped May 5. PBS will air it at 8 tonight on WMFE-Channel 24.
Four-time Tony winner McDonald will sing a medley of Duke Ellington songs, including “Solitude,” “Sophisticated Lady,” “On a Turquoise Cloud” and “It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got That Swing.”
The special also features pianist Emanuel Ax, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Gil Shaham and the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Alan Gilbert.
Ax, Ma and Shaham perform Beethoven’s Triple Concerto in C major, Op. 56. There are performances of Antonin Dvo?ák’s Carnival Overture and George Gershwin’s An American in Paris.
Casey Anthony: Did her defense team go too far?
Jose Baez and Casey Anthony in court Saturday. Photo credit: Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel
Did Jose Baez’s opening statement in the Casey Anthony case seem aimed at people who believe in conspiracy theories?
Conspiracy theories are a staple of our culture, from the John F. Kennedy assassination to Barack Obama’s birth, from Area 51 to “The X-Files.” I’ve heard from readers who thought Baez went too far by stringing too many outlandish points together, and Nancy Grace agreed this morning on “Good Morning America.”
“If Tot Mom Casey Anthony had stuck with a straight accident defense, saying that she was negligent and the child drowned and then she panicked, didn’t want to tell her mother and hid the crime to make it look like a murder, she would have fared better,” Grace said.
Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee.
Anthony damaged her defense by alleging that father George Anthony disposed of the body and that mother Cindy Anthony left a ladder attached to the pool, allowing Caylee access, Grace added.
Another problem for the defense? Both parents did “exceptionally well” on the stand last week, Grace said.
On “Today,” former prosecutor Susan Filan said the defense had gone “in a very difficult direction” with this “all-or-nothing strategy” that you either have to believe everybody else or Casey Anthony. “They’ve painted themselves into a very bad corner, and they’re in a tough spot now,” Filan added.
The trial continues Tuesday morning. On “Good Morning America,” Ashleigh Banfield provided a preview. “Both sides are agreeing that Casey was lying all along, but the question now is really what the jurors are going to think Casey was trying to hide,” Banfield said. Banfield noted that George and Cindy Anthony have walked by Casey without making eye contact or mouthing words to their daughter.
“Just know the jury is taking that all that in,” Cynthia McFadden added.
On “GMA,” Grace noted that when “Cindy Anthony broke down on the stand, ‘Tot Mom’ was sitting there shaking her head no, no with a stone face.”
But on “Today,” Filan predicted that the jury will decide the case on evidence. She predicted the prosecution will continue to build its case brick by brick while that the defense had put forth such a strong theory that it had something to prove.
On Fox News’ “Geraldo at Large” on Sunday, Geraldo Rivera was struck by how much lack-of-remorse evidence was introduced at trial. He rated as “slim” the chances of a guilty verdict being upheld on appeal.
But in a good panel discussion, former prosecutor Joey Jackson told Rivera, “The problem is that Jose Baez opened the door. He asked questions about the mother’s good character and whether she was a good mother.” And Jackson noted that when Baez moved for mistrial, Chief Judge Belvin Perry reminded the attorney: You asked about Anthony’s mothering.
Judge Alex Ferrer told Rivera that the lack-of-remorse evidence shows consciousness of guilt.
Rivera responded that the evidence seemed more to show ”consciousness of irresponsibility.”
Prosecutor Stacey Honowitz agreed with that point, but added that Anthony’s demeanor was all relevant at trial and predicted there would be a capital-murder conviction.
“Let’s put some money on that,” Rivera said.
Casey Anthony: Is Jose Baez pulling a Columbo?
Peter Falk promoted a 'Columbo' movie in 2003. Photo credit: Damian Dovarganes/ABC
What was the most-talked-about development last week in the Casey Anthony trial?
The opening statements, by the defense and the prosecution, would win many votes. But Jose Baez’s cross examination of George Anthony seemed the high point because the questioning was so, well, confounding.
In his opening statement, Baez accused George Anthony of sexually molesting his daughter and covering up the drowning death of his granddaughter. Casey Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee.
The prosecution called George Anthony as its first witness, and he denied abusing Casey or knowing that Caylee had drowned. When it was time to question George, Baez didn’t seem prepared.
“It fell completely flat,” said WKMG-Channel 6 legal analyst Mark O’Mara this morning on “Flashpoint.” ”He had a great opportunity to cross examine this person and he never made any real inroads.”
WKMG anchor Lauren Rowe wondered, “Is this sloppy lawyering? Is it not being prepared? Or is there a method to what seems like madness?”
O’Mara said he hoped that defense attorneys Baez and Cheney Mason had a plan after having two and a half years to prepare. ”His [Baez's] beginning is now a Columbo effect of how to present a case,” O’Mara said. “He seems to be bumbling, and not making a lot of headway, but maybe, Columbo does get the answer at the end. We’ll see.”
Ah, Columbo, one of TV’s greatest heroes, played brilliantly by Peter Falk. Is Baez pulling a Columbo? Or is it sacrilege to compare Baez to Columbo?
Baez’s cross examination of George Anthony drew a lot of attention. “One could argue that the move that he [Baez] pulled on George was in fact a sleazy maneuver,” WFTV-Channel 9 legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said.
WFTV anchor Josh Benson said the defense in the opening statement “called Casey a victim and dropped bombshell after bombshell about what they say really happened to Caylee.” Benson also added that “many say that Jose Baez delivered a strong opening statement.”
But WKMG’s O’Mara said that Baez’s opening statement mandated that Casey Anthony will have to take the stand.
The defense said that Caylee had died by drowning. Yet WFTV pulled out an Aug. 14, 2008, jail tape in which the visiting Cindy told inmate Casey that someone was speculating that Caylee had drowned. Casey dismissed that notion then, saying sarcastically, “Surprise, surprise.”
Reporters were studying the interaction — or lack thereof — between Cindy Anthony and her daughter on Saturday.
WFTV’s Kathi Belich described Cindy Anthony’s behavior. “She never looked at Casey the whole time she was in court, sending a clear message to the jury,” Belich said. “Casey appeared downright angry after the first time her mother testified.”
WKMG’s Mike DeForest said, “Cindy Anthony walked out of the courtroom without ever looking over at her daughter. Across the room, Casey Anthony watched her mother leave and began saying something to her attorney that we could not hear, then she began to cry.”
WESH-Channel 2’s Bob Kealing said that Casey had gone into “an angry fit” after her mother left the stand and the jury was out of the room. “It was Casey at her most emotional in three years of court hearings,” Kealing said.
Kealing also observed that the jurors were “looking confused and transfixed” when Tony Lazzaro read text messages between himself and former girlfriend Casey.
WKMG’s Mike DeForest highlighted that Cindy Anthony cried when looking at photographs of Caylee’s bedroom, “but Casey Anthony showed no emotion, something at least one juror noticed.” DeForest added that Casey “began to wipe away tears” when Caylee’s toys were displayed.
What’s up for the jury this holiday weekend? Jacqueline Fell of Central Florida News 13 said the jurors will get to see their families Sunday. “Judge Perry tells them he has something special planned for Memorial Day,” Fell added.
What’s coming next week? Cindy Anthony will continue her testimony Tuesday morning. WFTV’s Sheaffer said that Lee Anthony, Casey’s brother, will testify before law enforcement officers take the stand.
Sheaffer also predicted that Baez will adopt a different approach in questioning Cindy Anthony. “He doesn’t have to attack her, and as a matter of fact, if he does, he’s going to pay a big price for that with this jury,” Sheaffer said.
What do you think?
Casey Anthony: Does Cindy Anthony help or hurt state?
Cindy Anthony cries during testimony today. Photo credit: Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel
Cindy Anthony’s tearful testimony dominated reporting today of her daughter’s murder trial.
Wall-to-wall trial coverage could be found on Central Florida News 13, WOFL-Channel 35 and WRDQ-Channel 27, the sister station of WFTV-Channel 9. WFTV later picked up the trial, and many news organizations also streamed the trial. Casey Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee.
WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said that Cindy was “a very powerful witness for the state” and that she “lends George credibility.”
The defense has alleged that George Anthony, Casey’s father, sexually abused his daughter and helped cover up his granddaughter’s drowning death. George Anthony denied the accusations on the witness stand.
Cindy “undercuts the defense argument that George is a monster,” Sheaffer said. “I think this reinforces and strengthens George’s testimony.”
Later, Cindy gave detailed testimony about Casey’s comments about Zanny the nanny, a figure who doesn’t exist. Casey Anthony listened stonily to her mother. Cindy’s testimony, Sheaffer said, revealed “the intricacies of the lies that Casey told.” Sheaffer said, “It’s astounding.”
Casey Anthony cries during a recess today. Photo credit: Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel
During a break in Cindy’s testimony, Casey Anthony could be seen crying. “Earlier, Cindy began crying about things and Casey really had no reaction at all,” WFTV’s Steve Barrett said. “Now Casey’s very, very emotional. But earlier, when Cindy kind of lost it on the stand there, Casey didn’t have any reaction.”
Jacqueline Fell of Central Florida News 13 said that Cindy’s “tears started coming” the minute that prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick asked Cindy about granddaughter Caylee.
WOFL’s Shannon Butler said was struck by Casey’s emotion. “There is a lot of emotion from Casey Anthony,” she said. “Now what that is, I don’t know. You can tell there is some tension between her and her mother while her mother’s on the stand. I think those tears … I don’t know that you can fake that.”
After court adjourned, Fell of Central Florida News 13 said, “What a day!”
News 13 offered footage of the shaken Cindy Anthony leaving the court after testifying. George Anthony had his arm around his wife as she shook her head. “He’s holding on to her quite tightly,” Fell said.
News 13 also shared footage of Casey Anthony crying when she saw her parents embrace before walking out of the courtroom. “She was very upset,” Fell said of Casey. “Not really sure exactly what started it.”
Brad Conway, former attorney for George and Cindy Anthony, served as analyst for WOFL. He analyzed testimony from Tony Lazzaro, former boyfriend of Casey, who read text messages between Lazzaro and his former girlfriend. In one message, Casey called herself “the dumbest person and the worst mother. I honestly hate myself.”
Conway called the text messages by Casey “blatant lies” and saw no half-truths in them. “Lazzaro’s got a serious concern for what’s happened and where Caylee is, and Casey continues to lie,” Conway said.
The stations had predicted that the state would try to get to Cindy Anthony’s 911 call before court adjourned, but that didn’t happen. On WOFL, Conway said “it was a big mistake” for the state not to get to the 911 call today.
Casey Anthony: Did George Anthony help or hurt defense?
Casey Anthony in court today. Photo credit: Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel
George Anthony returned to the stand today in daughter Casey’s murder trial and talked about smelling death in her car.
WESH-Channel 2’s Bob Kealing said that defense attorney Jose Baez had made “some good points in front of the jury asking George Anthony why he didn’t immediately call 911 as a former law enforcement officer if he smelled that smell of death coming from the trunk.”
Kealing later highlighted the strong response from the state. Prosectuor Jeff Ashton asked George Anthony, “If you took that little girl’s body and took it down and dumped it in the swamp, then there’d be no evidence in her car, would there?”
No, George Anthony replied. Kealing said that George Anthony “looked wrung out” after testifying today.
WKMG-Channel 6 legal analyst Mark O’Mara said Baez “was sowing those seeds of reasonable doubt” and “it may grow out to be something.” O’Mara said George’s testimony today was probably better for the defense than the state.
But O’Mara cautioned that Baez’s “sarcasm” and “aggressive attitude” toward the grandfather could cost the defense with the jury.
WKMG anchor Lauren Rowe said the average person would probably wonder why George hadn’t called 911.
WOFL-Channel 35 reporter Holly Bristow said the exchanges between Baez and George Anthony were closely studied by jurors. “I did notice that one juror was at the edge of his seat, kind of looking back and forth almost like he was watching a ping-pong game,” she said. She noticed that three other jurors were intent on taking good notes.
Simon Birch, a tow yard manager, testified that he recognized that the smell from Casey’s car was that of a corpse. “I think it’s extremely, extremely powerful and hurtful [to the defense],” WKMG legal analyst Mark NeJame said. “They’re going to be able to connect her with the child in that car.”
WFTV-Channel 9 legal analyst Bill Sheaffer agreed that Birch was a crucial witness. “He is familiar with the smell of trash, he is familiar with the smell of human decomposition, and can tell the difference,” Sheaffer said. “He was a very important witness to the state.”
Judge O.H. Eaton Jr., WESH’s analyst, said Birch’s testimony was “pretty powerful” and “unchallenged.” And Eaton added, “The smell of a human body in a trunk is pretty good evidence of a homicide.”
Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee.
WKMG’s Tony Pipitone contrasted several contradictions in the testimony between Birch and George Anthony. Birch said George talked of Caylee being missing; George denied that. Birch said George mentioned that Casey’s car had been at Amscot for three days before it was towed; George denied that. But Pipitone ended his segment with prosecutor Ashton’s withering question to George about dumping Caylee’s body.
WKMG anchor Erik von Ancken said the Ashton-George Anthony exchange “seemed to blow a hole in the defense’s theory … that George was an accomplice.”
Early Friday, the defense asked for a mistrial, complaining that testimony about Casey was irrelevant character assassination.
Chief Judge Belvin Perry asked how often Baez had asked whether Anthony was a good mother and rejected the mistrial request.
WESH analyst Eaton explained that the defense was arguing that testimony about her was “really nothing more than evidence of bad character or evidence of lack of remorse, both of which are generally inadmissible in a criminal trial.” But Eaton added that Perry is allowing the testimony for showing the circumstances of the case. The cumulative information about Casey’s life when Caylee was missing makes “accidental death a hard sell,” Eaton added.
Mallory Parker, Lee Anthony’s fiancee, teared up when she testified that Casey and Caylee had “a very special bond.”
WESH’s Amanda Ober highlighted that ”Casey began to weep” at that moment and that Parker’s statement “almost seemed as favorable for the defense.” WFTV’s Jeff Deal said Parker’s comments produced “the only real emotion we saw from her [Casey] today.”
Casey Anthony: WFTV expands trial coverage, drops Oprah Winfrey
Casey Anthony listens to Mallory Parker's testimony today. Photo credit: Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel
WFTV-Channel 9 saw that competitors were scoring big ratings with extensive daytime coverage of the Casey Anthony trial.
So WFTV and sister station WRDQ-Channel 27 will split covering the trial for its duration.
“We have to be in the game,” WFTV news director Bob Jordan said Friday. “We’re not going to sit here and let them take this.”
Viewers can watch the Anthony murder trial from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays on WRDQ. At 4 p.m., WFTV takes over and drops reruns of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” Jordan stresses that Oprah fans can catch the reruns at 9 weeknights on WRDQ.
“We’re here to serve an audience. The market has more interest in Casey on trial than in repeats of a show that has been canceled,” Jordan said. Winfrey’s show ended its 25-year run Wednesday.
On Saturdays, WFTV will offer trial coverage during morning news, then WRDQ takes over at 9 a.m. until court adjourns.
“Our thinking is there is great interest in this,” Jordan said. “There’s probably greater interest in sustained coverage than we anticipated, and we’re responding accordingly.”
Jordan cited the high ratings scored by Central Florida News 13 and Fox-owned WOFL-Channel 35 for prompting WFTV’s change in covering the Anthony trial. News 13 is available to customers of Bright House Networks.
WKMG-Channel 6 offers the full trial on digital channel 6.2, which is 463 on Bright House Networks and 220 on Comcast. WKMG will break into its regular lineup for crucial moments, such as opening statements and George Anthony’s testimony, said WKMG news director Steve Hyvonen. The station also assesses on a daily basis whether to offer specials at 5 p.m. and preempt “Dr. Phil.”
‘American Idol’: Still the country’s favorite TV show
Scotty McCreery enjoys his moment of triumph on 'American Idol.' Photo credit: Michael Becker/Fox
Another television season ended Wednesday night, and “American Idol” named another winner.
But “American Idol” was the biggest winner this season: The Wednesday performance show was the most-watched program this season.
CBS was the most-watched network for the eighth time in nine years. Fox was the favorite of the 18-to-49 age group for a seventh consecutive year. Here are the prime-time averages for the season: CBS with 11.6 million viewers, Fox with 9.8 million, ABC with 8.5 million, NBC with 7 million and The CW with nearly 2 million.
Here are the season’s most-watched series:
1. “American Idol” Wednesday, Fox, 25.9 million viewers
2. “American Idol” Thursday, Fox, 23.8 million
3. “Dancing With the Stars” Monday, ABC, 21.9 million
4. Sunday Night Football, NBC, 21 million
5. “NCIS,” CBS, 19.4 million
6. “Dancing With the Stars” Tuesday, ABC, 18.6 million
7. “NCIS: Los Angeles,” CBS, 16.5 million
8. “The Mentalist,” CBS, 15.3 million
9. “Criminal Minds,” CBS, 14 million
10. “CSI,” CBS, 13.6 million
Here are the favorite shows of the 18-to-49 age group:
1. “American Idol” Wednesday
2. Sunday Night Football
3. “American Idol” Thursday
4. “The Voice,” NBC
5. (tie) “Dancing With the Stars” Monday
“Modern Family,” ABC
7. “The OT,” Fox
8. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS
9. (tie) “Grey’s Anatomy,” ABC
“Survivor: Nicaragua,” CBS
Casey Anthony: Former boyfriend said she was ‘having a grand old time’
Casey Anthony in court today. Photo credit: Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel
Day two in the Casey Anthony murder trial, and the prosecution focused on her behavior after her child was dead.
WESH-Channel 2 anchor Martha Sugalski said, “The state continued in its quest to make Casey out as a party girl.” Former boyfriend Tony Lazzaro and four of his acquaintances testified.
“All four testifed that when they asked Casey about Caylee, she testified that her daughter was with the nanny,” WESH anchor Jim Payne said.
WFTV-Channel 9’s Kathi Belich saw two bombshells in today’s testimony. Lazzaro testified about shopping at Blockbuster with Anthony shortly after prosecutors believe she murdered her child. He described her demeanor as “happy, happy to see me, having a grand old time.”
Another bombshell for Belich: Maria Kissh, an Anthony acquaintance, talked about riding in Anthony’s car “during the time prosecutors believe Caylee’s body was or had been in Casey’s trunk,” the WFTV reporter said.
WKMG-Channel 6’s Tony Pipitone said video of Anthony with Lazzaro at Blockbuster was “perhaps most damaging for the defense” because that showed Anthony just hours after Caylee was seen alive.
On day two, the state “shifted to the life Casey Anthony was living or trying to live,” Pipitone said. “The so-far unspoken motive, the state is suggesting, of course, is she wanted to live that life without Caylee.”
Anthony’s defense team said Tuesday that the toddler drowned in the family pool in June 2008.
Belich highlighted that the defense objected to hot-body photos of her coming into the trial, “even though it goes along with defense theory of abuse causing her bizarre behavior.”
WESH’s Bob Kealing said the jury “took close notice” of the hot-body photos and several jurors took notes.
WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said, “The jury is going to start questioning where is the defense going with this.”
Another memorable bit of commentary: When Baez started questioning Lazzaro about whether Anthony talked about murdering someone, the camera caught Sheaffer rolling his eyes.
WKMG’s Pipitone said Baez’s approach in questioning Lazzaro “doesn’t show consciousness of guilt, as the state claims; but rather it shows a woman who’s traumatized, emotionally crippled, trying to hide her feelings.” The defense cited sexual abuse as the reason for Anthony’s reaction.
Casey Anthony: How did Jose Baez do on cross examination?
George Anthony was the first witness in the murder trial of his daughter, Casey Anthony. Photo credit: Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel
Casey Anthony’s defense team — specifically Jose Baez — was drawing withering reviews for the cross examination of George Anthony this afternoon.
“The defense was obviously not prepared,” said WKMG-Channel 6 legal analyst Mark NeJame. “It’s because they were so unprepared, it ended it early. It ended it on a high for the prosecution on the first day.”
WKMG legal analyst Mark O’Mara was astounded that the defense wasn’t ready for the cross examination of the star witness in the case. O’Mara said that Baez’s approach should have been: “I’m ready to rip apart the dad who abused my client.”
WOFL-Channel 35 legal analyst Diana Tennis said the state put George Anthony on the stand first to take the sting out the defense’s allegation that George had abused Casey. “He seemed pretty straightforward and I think pretty credible,” Tennis said of George. But she added that Baez’s cross examination exposed that the Anthonys seem to be in denial just about everything.
WFTV-Channel 9 reporter Kathi Belich said that Baez “tried to hammer George with questions, but Chief Judge Belvin Perry stopped it. The defense accused George of sexually abusing Casey from when she was a child and claimed it got worse as she got older. They tried to use it explain Casey’s lies.”
Casey Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee.
WESH-Channel 2’s Bob Kealing said that Baez “seemed to fumble” in questioning George and that “by the end of the day, the jury seemed to be tiring a little bit of what appeared to be miscues.”
Kealing highlighted Baez’s claim that George had found Caylee’s body in the swimming pool and yelled at Casey afterward. On the witness stand, George denied that and said when he heard that accusation “it hurt really bad.” WKMG offered a fast recap of George denying the defense’s claims that he had knowledge about his granddaughter’s death.
How did the opening statements rate? WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said the defense “told a compelling new story today” that ”doesn’t completely ring true,” Belich said. But Sheaffer said the prosecution’s opening statement was “powerful and even cast suspicion on Casey’s new claims,” Belich added.
Yet by day’s end, the focus had shifted to Baez’s questioning of George. WKMG’s NeJame cited Baez’s “lack of experience for such a big case” and described it as a “horrendous” cross examination.
WKMG’s O’Mara predicted that Baez will have to have Casey Anthony testify, because she has to talk about the alleged sexual abuse.
NeJame predicted that the defense couldn’t rebound from the bad first impression. But O’Mara said there are a lot of rounds to go.
WOFL’s Tennis agreed there was a long way to go. “It’s going to go up and down, it’s going to continue to be an amusement ride, if you will,” she said. “If the defense can get everybody obsessed with was she sexually abused, was it the pool, was it not the pool, at the end they’re going to be able to say, ‘You know what? You don’t know. If you don’t know, it’s not guilty.’ “
Casey Anthony: Jose Baez says that Caylee drowned
Casey Anthony in court today. Photo credit: Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel
“I’d like to tell you what happened,” defense attorney Jose Baez said in his opening statement at the Casey Anthony trial this afternoon.
Baez said the issue was how Caylee Anthony died and not how Casey Anthony, his client, behaved over 31 days.
Baez’s comment was an answer to prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick’s detailed opening statement about Anthony’s behavior after the toddler disappeared. Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee.
“This is not a murder case, this is not a manslaughter case,” Baez said.
Baez said Caylee died by drowning in the family pool on June 16, 2008.
Baez said that Casey was guilty of not doing the right thing and calling authorities.
Baez hinted at secrets and dysfunction in the Anthony family. Baez later said that George Anthony had started touching Casey inappropriately when she was 8. And he told jurors they would hear about bizarre family behavior.
Sex abuse changes people, Baez said. George Anthony could be seen sitting stoically in court.
Baez said these secrets would come out during the trial. After Caylee died, Baez said Casey went into denial. He said she made up lies to get by.