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Frantic Search For Missing Cancer Patient; Republicans Offer "Fiscal Cliff" Plan; New Jersey Governor Wants 100 Percent FEMA Reimbursement; Audio Links Fox News To Petraeus Run; Ambassador En Vogue?; KC Chiefs Tried To Help Belcher, Girlfriend

Aired December 04, 2012 - 14:30   ET

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

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BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Police in Arizona are desperately searching for this 11-year-old leukemia patient. She disappeared six days ago, just one day shy of being released from the hospital, but here's the thing.

Doctors fear this catheter in this girl's heart could possibly lead to an infection, could endanger her life. The girl, she's identified only as Emily, and you see her here walking on the right side of that, with her mother on the left.

This is surveillance video, leaving Phoenix Children's Hospital. The woman allegedly removed the girl's IV, changed her clothes, and walked her out the door. As for why, no one seems to know.

The 11-year-old already had to have her right arm amputated because of an infection and is in desperate need of medical care. Want to bring in Sergeant Steve Martos from the Phoenix Police Department. Sergeant Martos, welcome. Any idea at this hour where Emily is?

SGT. STEVE MARTOS, PHOENIX POLICE: Unfortunately, we don't. We're still out there searching. We're following up on leads. However, sadly at this point we don't know where she's at.

BALDWIN: I understand that U.S. border patrol agents stopped and questioned Emily's father, who is part of this whole, you know, thing recently, what did he say?

MARTOS: Well, unfortunately he didn't provide much information to us. He was stopped as he was entering the United States into Arizona on Saturday night into early Sunday morning.

Border patrol agents on our behalf began speaking to him, he denied any involvement or knowledge about Emily being removed from the hospital and sadly could not provide or did not provide information to us as to where she is.

BALDWIN: So then, Sergeant, the obvious question is, I know this isn't perhaps an answer -- an answer for the hospital, but how does a mother and this child who now has her arm amputated, who is walking around, looks like with an IV, you know, how does she manage to slip past hospital staff? MARTOS: Well, I think as everybody knows, if you're in a hospital, the staff there certainly allow people to walk around and in essence what occurred here. Mom took little Emily out of her room, began walking around the hospital, unbeknownst to hospital staff.

Emily's mother took her into a bathroom, changed her clothes, put a wig on her, removed this IV and walked her out of the hospital. Obviously, that's our concern right now, that she walked her out of the hospital without this catheter being properly sealed.

BALDWIN: What do you know about this having happened before, the same mother removing her daughter from a hospital before this day?

MARTOS: Well, we have heard some of that that has occurred, that there has been history between the mother and father removing Emily from medical care prematurely. We're still trying to follow up on some of that information. We don't have a lot of that at this time. However, again, we have heard that they have removed Emily prematurely.

BALDWIN: Sergeant Martos, we appreciate it. We're going to be talking to a doctor, who of course, isn't the one who cared for Emily, but she can walk us through exactly how dire, of course, the situation is for this little girl with leukemia. Sergeant, thank you.

It is back to the bargaining table after the White House rejects the Republican proposal to avert the fiscal cliff. Coming up next, I'll talk with a hard line conservative and let's ask him if he supports his party's proposal.

Congressman Tom Price is standing by. But first, as Americans worry about what happens after the first of next year, CNN is giving you free advice about your savings account.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there. Here on the "Help Desk," we're talking about putting your money to work. With me this hour are Greg Olson and Carmen Wong Ulrich. Carmen, Tova had a question about her savings.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is earning dreadfully low interest for numerous years. And is there anywhere that I can put my money that it's going to do any better?

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KOSIK: And that's going to be like that for a while with the fed doing its thing, right?

CARMEN WONG ULRICH, PRESIDENT AND CO-FOUNDER, ALTA WEALTH MANAGEMENT: Absolutely. I don't think this is a bad thing. If this is your cash emergency savings that you cannot risk, basically what you're paying is very small opportunity cost like insurance.

So let's say you're earning 1 percent on your savings, right, inflation is eating away at it a little bit. It is certainly a lot lower interest rate than having to go into credit card debt because you have no cash on hand.

So you want to make sure you put it somewhere where at least it is growing a little bit, go online, shop for free, look for online only banks who basically will have about 1.3 percent interest on that and make sure you understand that is sitting there for a reason and that little price you're paying is very worthwhile.

KOSIK: Greg, do you agree?

GREG OLSEN, PARTNER, LENOX ADVISORS: I do. But if there is any money that she might be able to allocate for the stock market, people are living longer and longer, just a little bit of risk capital over time might yield a higher interest rate over time.

KOSIK: OK, great advice, thanks. If you have an issue you want our experts to tackle, upload a 30-second video with your "Help Desk" question to ireport.com.

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BALDWIN: Back to our conversation on the so-called fiscal cliff, the debt reducing tax hikes and federal spending cuts coming January 1st unless Congress and the president act. So now both sides have offers on the table.

You have the Democrats' plan, which would focus debt reduction on higher tax rates for the wealthiest 2 percent. House Republicans, they anted up yesterday with a plan to cut the debt through tax code and spending reforms, not through higher tax rates for the wealthy.

If there is no agreement, you know the deal, everyone, everyone's taxes go up. Representative Tom Price of Georgia joins me now from Capitol Hill. He is a hard line Republican. Congressman, good to see you. Thanks for coming on.

REPRESENTATIVE TOM PRICE (R), GEORGIA: Yes, thank you so much. Good to be with you.

BALDWIN: The Republican plan published yesterday, it is not worthy, Congressman Price, because it would raise more money through the tax system and as we all know, you know, that is a pretty big departure for your Republican Party. I just want to know, do you support this proposal put forward by the speaker of the House?

PRICE: Well, this proposal is just part of the overall package. Remember, this doesn't touch on the debt tax or capital gains or dividends or the alternative minimum tax or the sequester or the --

BALDWIN: So just this proposal? Yes or no, do you support it?

PRICE: I don't believe I can do that given that we don't have the whole package. But, look, this is a very, very sad situation because we don't have the president negotiating in good faith. This is like you offering to buy a car and the salesperson on the other side of the desk saying, OK, we're gone, thanks. And that's not the way a negotiation goes.

BALDWIN: Let me jump in. Let me jump in. Congressman, how come it wouldn't be like the president offering up one price for the car, the Republicans coming forward and saying, well, here is another price for the car, here is another way to pay for it and meet in the middle?

PRICE: Well, and that's exactly what the speaker did yesterday. I don't envy him one bit. Look, he's got a terrible task with negotiating with the president who apparently wants to play politics instead of get serious about the policy.

The speaker and Republican leadership put on the table a good faith offer and the president says no. That's not how you negotiate. It is time to get down to work. It's time to solve the challenges that we have because the alternative is not good for anybody in this country.

BALDWIN: Here's one question then Congressman Price. Why not just go ahead, why not view the 98 percent at the same tax rate, the one Americans are already paying now, you know, do that before the first of the year so taxes at least don't go up for the majority of the country, and then you negotiate the rest in let's say the first four weeks of the New Year. Why not do that now?

PRICE: Well, it is classic Washington quote, "solution," but the problem is it doesn't solve anything. The president's tax increase on the upper two brackets raise enough money to run the federal government, not for eight years, not for eight months, not for eight weeks, but for eight days.

That doesn't solve a thing. So it appears to me the president is simply interested in raising taxes to make a political statement, not to solve a policy issue. We need real solutions. The American people know it. That's what we need to be working on. That's what the negotiations ought to be concentrating on.

BALDWIN: The word out of Washington is pretty pessimistic today about getting any kind of deal averting the fiscal cliff. We're hearing from folks on the Hill. There are no -- there are no private, you know, machinations or talks. That's what we hoped for.

But we're hearing that there is none and I just want to look at quickly here at the big board on Wall Street because this is a perfect sort of illustration. Right now, it's up about 8 points, right around that 13,000 level.

Keep in mind the date is December 4th, 2012. If we go off this cliff, how much do you think the Dow will lose? Congressman Price, can you slap a number on that?

PRICE: No, no way to do that. What I do know --

BALDWIN: How worried are folks on Wall Street?

PRICE: Well, I think they're very worried. But when I talked to folks who are out there trying to create jobs and find some certainty in the market so that they can expand their businesses and create jobs, what they say is that all of this uncertainty hurts.

And so that's why we're so -- I'm confounded by an administration and president who seemingly isn't interested in providing that certainty. That's what we need to work on.

That's what the negotiation process ought to be bringing us, certainty in the tax code certainty in regulatory policy and energy policy, all of the kinds of things that are harming job creation right now. We need jobs. Certainty will get us jobs.

BALDWIN: Your fellow Georgian and your fellow Republican Saxby Chambliss who is up for re-election, he has committed himself to working with the Democrats, to try to resolve some of the critical tax and spending issues. Do you think he's played a constructive role here?

PRICE: Well, what I do know is that what the voters on November 6th said is that we don't want ruling by one party. We want divided government. What they said is go back to Washington and get to work. Provide appropriate leadership and solve these challenges. So whether it is what is happening over in the Senate or in the White House right now, I don't see the kind of leadership coming out of --

BALDWIN: So back to Saxby Chambliss, sir, I'm not hearing praise. Am I to read between the lines in what you're not saying is what you're saying?

PRICE: No, look, this takes two to tango and we don't have the other side tangoing. You can't dance by yourself. When you do, it doesn't work, doesn't look very pretty. So what we need is the administration and the Democrats in the Senate to engage in a positive way, not a negative the way, which is where they are right now.

BALDWIN: Congressman Price, will you mount a primary challenge?

PRICE: I beg your pardon?

BALDWIN: Will you mount a primary challenge against Saxby Chambliss?

PRICE: What we're trying to do right now is to solve the remarkable challenges that we have right now.

BALDWIN: I know. I know maybe you don't want to answer my question. I'm a journalist and I get to ask, can I get a yes or no, sir?

PRICE: No, you can't get a yes or no.

BALDWIN: There we go. Thank you so much. Congressman Tom Price, thanks for joining me, Republican, Georgia, appreciate it.

Getting New Jersey back to pre-Sandy conditions, the cost, billions of dollars. Coming up next, Governor Chris Christie asking FEMA to foot the entire bill.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie isn't shy about asking the federal government for money. He wants FEMA to reimburse the state for 100 percent of its emergency costs following Superstorm Sandy.

You know, FEMA generally reimburses states in the ballpark of 75 percent of costs following disasters like this. The governor says cleaning up and repairing New Jersey after the superstorm could cost nearly $40 billion.

An extramarital affair ended his stellar career of public service. But not so long ago there was some serious talk that General David Petraeus might run for president. Some of that talk apparently even came from the top at Fox News.

"Washington Post" Bob Woodward writes about some private recordings in which Fox News analyst K.T. McFarland meeting with General Petraeus in Afghanistan in the spring of last year delivered a personal message from Fox News Chairman Roger Ales.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He says if you're offered chairman, take it. If you're offered anything else, don't take it, resign in six months and run for president. OK, and I know you're not running for president. But at some point when you go to New York next, you may want to just chat with Roger and Rupert --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, Rupert, look, what I have told people is that, you know, I truly want to continue to serve my country if it is in a -- you know, quite significantly meaningful position and there is all of about two of those in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Howard Kurtz, host of CNN's "RELIABLE SOURCES" and the Washington Bureau chief for the "Daily Beast." Good to see you, sir. Roger Ailes tells "The Post," that yes, he did tell K.T. McFarland, you know, he did make the offer, but that it was more of a -- and I'm quoting, a more of a joke. Do you buy that?

HOWARD KURTZ, HOST, CNN'S "RELIABLE SOURCES": Well, the reason I don't completely buy it is first of all, Ailes is not denying it and also as I've reported in the past, he is a former Republican strategist, has a history of meeting privately with people like Mitt Romney and other presidential candidates on the GOP side when they were running. So he likes to keep his fingers in the political pie a little bit.

BALDWIN: So why would he care Petraeus hadn't run for president? What would be in it for Roger Ailes?

KURTZ: I don't think that's the way to look at it. Roger Ailes I know from having interviewed him a number of times, really cares about the country. He's made no secret of his conservative views. He may have believed that David Petraeus was a great general, would be a great leader for this country.

The problem comes in is one of perception. We don't know because this is just an audiotape involving a Fox contributor, we don't know how serious a courtship this was. But Fox is a news organization that covers Petraeus, that covers presidential politics.

And if somebody from, I don't know, CNN, NBC, ABC had the head of one of those networks met with somebody on the Democratic side, said, you ought to run for president, I think the Fox commentators would be all over it? I think so.

BALDWIN: Ailes also said, K.T. McFarland said she got carried away. This is what he said, his words. It sounds like she thought she was on a secret mission in a Reagan administration. She was way out of line. It is someone's fantasy to make me a kingmaker. It is not my job. Is that a denial?

KURTZ: Well, no, it sort of says the story is not as serious and melodramatic as the audiotape would make it appear and K.T. McFarland was kind of freelancing. At the same time, you don't see any words in there, which roger Riles said I didn't tell her to say that or had nothing to do with it.

He was sending some kind of message to Petraeus. Here's another interesting thing. The idea that Rupert Murdoch, who, of course, controls "News Corp" and Fox News Channel, would bankroll, to use the words from the tape, a Petraeus presidential bid, that's not that farfetched. Murdoch has given seven figure donations in the past to the Republican Party.

BALDWIN: We have that tape. We have that tape and then I'll get your reaction. Let's roll that part of it, the bankrolling part.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell him if I ever ran, I won't, if I ever ran, I would take him up on his offer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, all right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said -- bankroll.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bankroll it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Or maybe I'm confusing that with Rupert.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think. I mean, I know -- bankrolling it is a big --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That might be --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Roger said run and the rest of us are going to be your --

(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: So, I mean, they're kind of laughing about it, but you know, bankroll, that could be Rupert Murdoch putting cash forward for potential Petraeus campaign. You were saying, Howard Kurtz, that it wouldn't be totally farfetched because he's given a ton of money in the campaigns in the past.

KURTZ: He's given a million dollars for the California Republican Party and to conservative causes. I think when he does that, look, Murdoch is free to donate to whoever he wants.

But because he controls not just Fox News, but the "Wall Street Journal," the "Times of London," the "New York Post," I think it does raise questions about the way those news organizations operate if the guy at the top is such an obvious partisan

But the funny thing on the tape, Brooke, is when Petraeus says he couldn't possibly run for president because he loves his wife and she would divorce him. We know what happened in light of the affair with Paula Broadwell.

BALDWIN: Too soon, Howard Kurtz. Howard Kurtz, we'll see you Sunday morning, "RELIABLE SOURCES," thank you.

You might know her from the pages of "Vogue" magazine or the character she inspired in that hit movie "The Devil Wears Prada." But soon we could know Anna Wintour by another name, Ambassador Wintour.

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BALDWIN: Anna Wintour is the high profile editor in chief, of course, of "Vogue," the inspiration for the book and the film "The Devil Wears Prada" and now Bloomberg is reporting that President Obama is considering appointing her to the ambassador of the United Kingdom or France.

CNN correspondent and resident fashionista, hope you don't mind, you are, Alina Cho in New York.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Always flattering me.

BALDWIN: Of course. Let me ask you this, though, why would Anna Wintour even want the job? She's kind of busy as it is.

CHO: She most certainly is very busy. You're talking about the most powerful person in fashion, Brooke, as you know. Listen, this is a story that has been out there for quite some time. It was long rumored, talked about quite a bit in fashion circles during the campaign.

And it was said that she might be given the post of U.S. ambassador to the U.K. Anna Wintour after all is British. And the guessing game even began as to who might replace her at "Vogue." Those rumors over the past several months actually had died down, Brooke, until today. But you can imagine why people are talking about this.

Listen, as one writer put it, the Tea Party has the Koch brothers. Mitt Romney had Bain Capital, but only President Obama has Anna Wintour. Now remember this is a woman who was one of the president's most powerful bundlers of donations.

She raised more than $500,000 toward President Obama's re-election campaign. She held a $40,000 a plate dinner party at Sarah Jessica Parker's townhouse in New York earlier in the fall. She later held lavish fundraisers, star studded by the way, in London and Paris.

BALDWIN: So Alina, she's raised all this money and done so much for the Obamas, what is she saying? What is "Vogue" saying about this?

CHO: You know, vogue will only officially say that these are still rumors and that she's very happy in her current job. Listen, I do know Anna Wintour a little bit, Brooke. And I can tell you that there are people close to her in some circles who would be quite surprised.

Again, she's the most powerful person in fashion. Some have suggested ambassadorial post is a lame duck position that after a couple of years you're out and then what? This is a woman who is a kingmaker in fashion as one publicist said, you can do it without Anna, but it takes a lot longer.

BALDWIN: Alina Cho, we wanted to find out what you were hearing, your sources. We appreciate it. Alina Cho is in New York for us.

More information today is starting to surface about the events leading up to that murder/suicide involving an NFL player and his young girlfriend. The "Kansas City Star" is reporting that the Kansas City Chiefs had been providing counseling for linebacker Jovan Belcher and his girlfriend Kasandra Perkins.

Police tell "The Star" that the couple had been arguing for months before Belcher shot the 22-year-old in their home early Saturday before then shooting himself later in front of his coach.

And this reporting we're getting here from sports illustrated.com, they say Belcher was out partying with another woman the night before the shootings. SI also reporting that Belcher had been drinking.

Let me play something for you. This is Belcher's aunt. She is speaking to reporters outside the couple's Kansas City home.

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MARY KIMBLE, BELCHER'S AUNT: We will cherish the wonderful memories we have of Jovan and pray that those memories will bring us peace as we grapple to understand the unpredictable and tragic ending of his life and the life of Kassandra Perkins.