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Sperm Donor Liable for Child Support; Patrick Dempsey's New Job; Representative Pelosi to Visit "30 Rock"; Census Controversy; Oregon Scores Rare 1-Point Safety; Career Advice in a Slow Economy

Aired January 04, 2013 - 10:30   ET

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

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Ben, William signed a contract with the women. What is your argument for the legality of this contract? Was there an attorney involved with this?

BENOIT SWINNEN, ATTORNEY, SWINNEN & ASSOCIATES: There was no attorney involved with this contract at all. The main argument for the legality is that when they signed this contract was entered into, there was no child. And the rights -- and the rights of -- the child were not bargained away. You cannot exist before conception I think. Even the most conservative views would agree with that so --

BLACKWELL: Was there money exchanged hands here? Were you paid, William?

WILLIAM MAROTTA, MIGHT HAVE TO PAY CHILD SUPPORT AFTER SPERM DONATION: I'm sorry? Yes.

BLACKWELL: How much?

MAROTTA: I'm sorry I didn't understand the question.

BLACKWELL: Were you paid for your donation?

MAROTTA: Oh, no.

BLACKWELL: You were not paid. OK. Do you believe this is politically motivated or financially motivated? Because we know that there was $6,000 of support from the state for this child, and we know that Kansas has now voted to outlaw same-sex marriage. I'll start with you, Ben, is it political? Is it financial?

SWINNEN: My understanding or my interest would be that there is a political motivation. We had sent a letter to the state outlining our position before they filed. And we didn't even get an answer. The state just went ahead and filed without even responding to our letter.

So I would -- I am inclined to believe that this is politically motivated. I've also had contact with prior senior members of the department and it's my understanding it would have been a discretionary decision to be made to go ahead or not go ahead on this case.

And in view of the millions of dollars that the state rightfully collects from biological fathers, this $6,000 looks so de minimis in that picture. And the cost to the state to bring this case far outweighs any benefit the state would get out of it.

BLACKWELL: But you do understand that this could be a precedent for men who are with women, maybe a one-night stand, that they can say, hey, she wanted a child, I offered my portion of the deal, I'm not really involved. I mean, this could be a precedent for -- for that type of transaction.

SWINNEN: I fully understand. It's just under the facts of this case, and we are very comfortable that we can provide evidence that the contract was entered into before any donation occurred. We are also very confident that we can demonstrate that the only donation was in a cup. That is an evidentiary issue. That is not a substantive issue.

BLACKWELL: And William, have you ever met this child?

MAROTTA: My wife and I were at a local carnival a few months ago and crossed paths with Jennifer and the child, yes.

BLACKWELL: If you are found to have to after this lawsuit or after this effort to get you to pay child support, you have to pay child support, will you then go after visitation rights and kind of fill out the role of a father?

MAROTTA: No. Because I'm not her parent. That's Jennifer and Angie.

BLACKWELL: OK. Would you, knowing what you know now, do it again? Would you respond to the Craigslist ad?

MAROTTA: Probably not.

BLACKWELL: OK. William Marotta and Ben Swinnen, thank you very much for speaking with us this morning.

MAROTTA: Thank you for your interest.

SWINNEN: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Let's get to the medical side of this story and bring back our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. Elizabeth, this -- Elizabeth this story has so many moving parts, so many unusual parts. We've heard from Mr. Marotta, what does Kansas say?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The state of Kansas says legally speaking he's the father. If they had gone to a doctor and the doctor had done the insemination, he would be fine, because there would be documentation that he was a sperm donor. But they -- they don't have that documentation from a physician. For all they know Marotta and the bio mom, the biological mom were lovers and that's how they conceived the child. They need that documentation, so they say he's the dad. He ought to be paying up.

BLACKWELL: So, we've got this document that there was written up at the home. He went over and took his -- his donation. How often does this happen? It seems really rare.

COHEN: You know what; it's not as rare as you think. We were talking to a lawyer who specializes in reproductive rights and she said she's got a lot of calls about this, and here's why, to do an artificial insemination with a doctor is about $3,000.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

COHEN: And it often doesn't work the first time. It often takes several tries, so $3,000, $6,000, $9,000 I mean, it's a lot of money. It's a lot cheaper to just get someone to come on over with their donation and then do it yourself at home.

BLACKWELL: And that's what happened here, he just walked over with his donation a few times and there it was.

COHEN: That's how we understand it. We don't know exactly what technique they used, I don't even want to go there, but there is a problem with DIY inseminations because that sperm hasn't been tested for sexually transmitted diseases, hasn't been tested for genetic diseases that could be passed on to the child.

I get why people do it themselves, but really from a medical point of view, don't do it, go to a doctor. And plus you won't be asked to pay up three years later.

BLACKWELL: Yes, good advice, all right Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.

COHEN: Thanks.

BLACKWELL: Patrick Dempsey must really love Washington state because the Hollywood actor now owns a Seattle-based coffee chain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Actress Brigitte Bardot may soon seem a little less French and a little more Russian. Bardot is requesting Russian nationality in a protest to a plan to euthanize two elephants in a French zoo. And she might have some luck. Russia just granted citizenship to Gerard Depardieu who is angry over high French taxes.

Actor Patrick Dempsey is getting into the coffee business and the most powerful woman in Congress is heading to television. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT'S A.J. Hammer has the whole scoop from New York. It's good to have you with us, A.J. Let's talk first --

A.J. HAMMER, HLN HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Hey, Victor.

BLACKWELL: -- about this coffee for --

HAMMER: Yes.

BLACKWELL: -- for Patrick Dempsey.

HAMMER: This is actually a pretty cool story. Patrick is telling people he's going to become a part owner in a Seattle coffee chain, the "Grey's Anatomy" star and his fellow investors are actually poised to take control of Tully's Coffee, it's a very well-known collection of more than 40 coffee shops with more than 500 employees in Seattle. And Dempsey tweeted out his satisfaction after beating out the other bidders, among them Starbucks.

Here's what he said -- "We met the green monster, looked her in the eye, and she blinked, we got it. Thank you, Seattle."

So now, Dempsey, of course, is famous for playing a Seattle doctor on "Grey's" and he had another connection to the city that he's really developed a very big relationship and a connection with over the years. The final verdict on the sale has to come from a bankruptcy court. The judge is expected to issue a final ruling on the bid on the 11th.

The cost of the chain reportedly more than $9 million and Victor, it is obviously great to see that all those jobs I mentioned, 500 jobs, being saved will be a big, big thing for Seattle, and I know it was a big motivating factor for Patrick Dempsey getting involved here.

BLACKWELL: Yes, certainly will. Let's talk about House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi going to prime-time television.

HAMMER: Ah, yes, "The Washington Post" broke this news, Nancy Pelosi reportedly going to be appearing in the finale of "30 Rock." Now we don't yet know what her role's going to be in the episode. I imagine she's going to play herself, but you never know, she did tell "The Post" that she was flattered to be asked and she basically took the part because she said she'd do almost anything that Tina Fey asked her to do she also said that shooting the finale was an awful lot of fun. Pelosi has had a very public relationship with "30 Rock" star Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin over the years so it's not a huge surprise.

And it was probably a pretty comfortable situation I'm guessing, Victor, a lot more fun than battling over the fiscal cliff.

BLACKWELL: Yes, probably, just a little bit, just a little bit more fun. A.J. Hammer in New York, thanks.

HAMMER: You got it.

BLACKWELL: And for more, watch SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, 11:00 Eastern on HLN.

Is being Hispanic an ethnicity, or is it a race? A new question on census forms is stirring up some controversy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Checking "Top Stories".

The health of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is in a delicate state. A top Venezuelan official says Chavez is battling a severe lung infection that has caused respiratory failure. Chavez has been hospitalized in Cuba since undergoing cancer surgery last month.

We're getting a new look at Princess Diana long before she became a member of the royal family. Now, this photo of Diana Spencer was taken when she was a teenager reportedly during a Swiss holiday but written on the photos the words "Do not publish." It's remained hidden all these years until now as its being put up for auction through R&R Auctions in New Hampshire. It's not known who the man in the image is.

In money, would you pick electricity over speed? Well, it looks like Chevy customers are picking electricity. In 2012 more people bought a Chevy Volt than a Chevy Corvette. Now the Corvette, you know, is one of Chevrolet's best-known brands, but more than 23,000 people bought the electric Chevy Volt. Only 14,000 purchased Corvettes.

Two teenagers in Arizona had to cling to a tree for four hours. Look at this picture and imagine four hours. This frozen lake around them started to crack. The boys had decided to walk across the lake to pick up one of their brothers, and rescue crews were called and they used a boat to free these teenagers. Except for being, well, of course, cold, they're OK.

A possible change to the census is stirring controversy. Being Hispanic could be changed from a question of ethnicity to a question of race and that's getting some opposition from Latino advocacy groups.

Rafael Romo is following the story for us this morning. Rafael, these kinds of changes are not uncommon, so why specifically is this getting so much attention? Why is this so controversial?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SR. LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: That's right. Well, number one what the census is trying to do is to accurately reflect the changes in the population, the demographics in the country, that's what they do, that's their goal. That's their and mission.

Thanks to that Latinos are 52 million according to the most recent count and comprised 16.7 percent of the population. But now they have found out that many Latinos when it comes to race do not choose one race, more than 90 percent of Latinos are saying other race, and it has become indeed the third largest group when it comes to the census.

And then it is a very complicated question, because just to give you an idea, for example, take my own case. I come from an indigenous Mexican father and a Spanish white mother, so what am I? And that's the kind of question that the census is trying to -- to find an answer for, because Latinos can be of any race. They come from different parts of Latin America and different parts of the world. And so it is very difficult, it is very challenging, to paint an accurate picture of who they are here in the United States.

BLACKWELL: And it's emotional sometimes because you have to choose, you have to choose your mother or choose your father. In this case is this a done deal or could there be some change because of all the controversy and outcry?

ROMO: Well, it's in the middle of the conversation right now. Latino groups are talking to the U.S. census and they are trying to let them know what their concerns are and, again, the main concern is that people are counted accurately. But just to give you an idea, I was looking at a study conducted by the Pew Hispanic center last year --

BLACKWELL: Yes. ROMO: -- which says that a majority, 51 percent, of Hispanics say they identify by their family's country of origin which as you can imagine, you're talking more than two dozen countries in Latin America --

BLACKWELL: Yes.

ROMO: -- that in itself is a challenge. Only 24 percent prefer to identify themselves as Hispanic or Latino and only 21 percent call themselves Americans, so it's a very difficult question when it comes to labels.

BLACKWELL: Yes, the effort is to try to clear up some of the confusion, but it's hard to choose.

ROMO: It is. It is exactly right. And the bottom line is that people have to be counted so that this nation is accurately represented.

BLACKWELL: All right. Rafael Romo, thank you.

ROMO: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Chip Kelly doesn't have much time to celebrate Oregon's Fiesta Bowl victory. NFL teams are calling. We'll talk about it in sports.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Time for sports. Bleacher Report's Vince Cellini is here, the Fiesta Bowl played last night in Arizona; I've never heard of a one-point safety.

VINCE CELLINI, BLEACHER REPORT: I haven't either until I saw it.

BLACKWELL: So, with that I don't know much about -- I'll give it to you.

CELLINI: Let's look into it. Stay with me. It happened once in Division I in 2004, Texas and Texas A&M but as you said in the Fiesta Bowl it happened again. Here's how it went down. Oregon's trying for an extra point, Kansas State defender picks it up, retreats back in the end zone and laterals to a teammate and that's ruled a one-point safety for Oregon. It's an obscure rule.

In the NFL this play would be dead, but in college because he went back to the end zone and they were caught, it is one point for Oregon, and it was that kind of a night for the Ducks as they beat Kansas State 35-17, and they finish at 12-1.

Now, the real question is, was that the last hurrah for Chip Kelly, the head coach of Oregon? A lot of teams love his high-powered offense and he is in demand. Reports have him being pursued by at least three NFL teams -- the Browns, the Bills, and the Eagles. Because this is the time of year when these guys and the NFL comes calling for some of these high-profile coaches. But one coach reportedly staying in place now is Penn State's Bill O'Brien. Recently named the big ten coach of the year. What a job he did at Penn State in light of all the scandals there. He's a former New England Patriot offensive coordinator, and he led Penn State to 8- 4 this season in his first year as the head coach, again, took over an impossible task and he did a terrific job.

All right, more coaching possibilities now from the NFL. Rumors this week have fired eagles coach Andy Reid heading to Arizona. Now he's apparently this close to wrapping up a contract with the Kansas City Chiefs. And the Chiefs, by the way, just parted ways with general manager Scott Pioli on Friday morning after four seasons. So they're now looking for a head coach and a general manager. We'll keep an eye on that.

And I'll leave you with this. This has to be one of the sickest dunks of the season in the NBA.

BLACKWELL: Oh, I love this.

Unbelievable.

Late in the game, Pablo Pergioni (ph), a bad pass waist high and J.R. Smith goes up and gets it and throws it down against the spurs in a 100-83 win over San Antonio. This was unbelievable. Take a look at that. Making your teammate look good. J.R. Swish.

BLACKWELL: Carmelo can't stay in his seat.

CELLINI: No. But adding insult to injury for the Spurs in this game, early in the first quarter their seven-game win streak snapped and they lost Steven Jackson as he steps on the foot of a waitress who's apparently serving the New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg right on the sideline, so Jackson was out tripping over a waitress. Had to leave the game.

BLACKWELL: I don't want to use the word conspiracy, but how obscure is it to have the mayor, the waitress somewhere where Steven Jackson could strip -- trip, did I just say that word, could trip over her? Nobody laugh. Nobody laugh.

CELLINI: It makes for a good tip, though. Nice job.

BLACKWELL: Thank you very much.

CELLINI: And we want to let you know you can get all the major sports stories on bleacherreport.com including a preview of the Cotton Bowl featuring Heisman winner Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M versus Oklahoma. It should be a good one.

BLACKWELL: Vince Cellini.

CELLINI: Watch your step around here. Don't trip.

BLACKWELL: No. I'm Victor Blackwell, thanks for joining us today. CNN NEWSROOM will continue with Ashleigh Banfield after this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Roughly 12 million Americans are without work, nearly 5 million for a half year or more. So, career counselors across the country are starting 2013 with a clear message -- keep hanging on.

ROSEMARY HAEFNER, CAREERBUILDER: It's a lot slower than we would all like, but it's incredibly competitive right now whether you're working or not working. And I think that individuals who have that advantage of having employment right now should make sure they're taking full advantage of that.

FOREMAN: That, they say, means three things -- first, ask for opportunity. Build your professional network inside and outside of your office. Workers who go unnoticed are often the first to go out the door.

TRACY WILEN-DAUGENTI, APOLLO RESEARCH INSTITUTE: They don't raise their hand. They don't raise their hand for the difficult project. They don't ask for lateral moves. They don't ask for more responsibilities. They don't join teams. These are things that companies look for, for people for the longer haul.

FOREMAN: She works for the Apollo Research Institute which promotes further education, and that's what many job advisers say is the second key, take advantage of every training opportunity.

HAEFNER: Good times - or tough times, you should always be looking at how you're going to be developed in growing your skills whether for your current employer or your current position or perhaps something on, you know, down the road.

FOREMAN: Reporter: and lastly -- unlike the unhappy guys in the movie "Office Space" embrace all sorts of technology.

WILEN-DAUGENTI: By the year 2020, over 70 percent of jobs will have a technology component and I think that's very important for people to understand for longevity and for employment in the future.

FOREMAN: Staying employed this year will be easier in some fields than in others, of course. For example, jobs in health care and business services like sales are expected to be plentiful. And as 2013 goes on, the job market is predicted to pick up steam setting the stage for better days in the next new year.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Nice to see you. I'm Ashleigh Banfield. Welcome to the show.

We'd like to start with the December jobs report or at least the jobs report. The U.S. economy ended the year by adding 155,000 jobs while unemployment held steady at 7.8 percent. And for those of you who are keeping track at home, the U.S. economy added 1.84 million jobs for 2012.

So, if we take a look at the big board, well, that's maybe not what we all expected to see, we're in the red, but only by a wee bit, Christine Romans is here with me and she's far better at analyzing whether we should have an up or down arrows today. Should we have had enough arrows.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That should be exactly what you see right there, because I'm going to tell you, this is a job market that is treading water and it basically exactly in December looked just like November. The end of the year you saw just enough job creation, Ashleigh, to absorb new workers into the workforce but not to meaningfully lower the unemployment rate. So you've got -- I would say a job market that's treading water here overall. That's how I would describe it.