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Families Concerned after CPR Refusal; Menendez Accuser Recants Claims; Zombies Taking Over TV; Surrogate was offered $10,000
Aired March 05, 2013 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Checking our "Top Stories" now, the DOW up more than 100 points after hitting a new record high this morning. That topped the Dow's intraday and closing record set back in October of 2007. Stocks have had a really strong start in 2013 with all three indexes up at least six percent.
The Vatican says most of the cardinal electors have now arrived in Rome, but take a close look at that picture. Yes. The guy on the left is a phony father with a purple scarf tied around his waist. He crashed the party on Monday and apparently he had no problem getting close enough to greet church officials who were arriving. How about that?
Now some other fabulous pictures. Nerd alert. Take a look. This is a picture taken near Saturn's orbit. NASA's unmanned Cassini spacecraft has been sending back pictures of earth's twin Venus as it appears through the rings of Saturn as a single bright white dot. Man that's awesome. The Cassini Mission is a joint space program with other countries exploring Saturn and its moons. And it's awesome.
There is some brand new concern among families with loved ones living at a California retirement facility. A week ago, a nurse refused to provide CPR for a patient who was dying. This despite the urgent pleas that were coming over the phone from a 911 dispatcher.
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GLENWOOD GARDENS: Yes we can't do CPR at this facility.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ok then hand the phone to the passerby. If you can't do it, I need -- hand it to the passerby, I'll have her do it. Or, if you've got any citizen there, I'll have them do it.
GLENWOOD GARDENS: No --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anybody there can do CPR. Give them the phone, please. I understand if you -- if your facility is not willing to do that. Give the phone to that passerby or that stranger, then I'll have her do it, I need -- this woman is not breathing enough. She's going to die if we don't get this started.
(END AUDIO CLIP) BANFIELD: Wow. Fear of liability. That California facility has a policy against its employees providing medical care. And the center is now receiving national attention because the woman who had trouble breathing died.
Lauren Titus from affiliate KERO joins us from Bakersfield, California. And now Lauren it looks like there is at least one family that's had enough and they're going public about this.
LAUREN TITUS, KERO REPORTER: Good morning Ashleigh. That's right. The disturbing 911 call that was made right outside here at Glenwood Gardens is still receiving that national attention. And this morning family members of loved ones who currently live here are second guessing if they should.
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KEN BAUSANO, SON OF GLENWOOD GARDENS RESIDENTS: He said the victim was surrounded by people and it was his impression that someone was doing something. Someone would do something.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there anybody there that is willing to help this lady and not let her die?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not at this time.
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BAUSANO: As it turns out and as we found out later, no one was doing anything.
TITUS: Ken Bausano's mother and father are both residents at Glenwood Gardens and Bausano's father was just steps away when 87-year-old Lorain Bayless collapsed last Tuesday. What happened to the minutes after Bayless collapsed now has the senior living facility facing harsh criticism as highlighted by the frantic 911 call between an emergency dispatcher and the center's resident services director.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This woman's not breathing enough, she's going to die if we don't get this started. Do you understand?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I understand. I am a nurse, but I cannot have our other senior citizens who don't know CPR.
TITUS: It's that policy against helping that now how Bausano second- guessing his next trip to visit his parents.
BAUSANO: I hesitate to walk in knowing that if I have a cardiac arrest no one will do anything until someone with a badge walks in the door.
(END VIDEO CLIP) TITUS: Bayless did later die at a local Bakersfield hospital -- Ashleigh.
BANFIELD: You know, it just defies logic, it defies morality. I get it that there's fine print, but at this point, is there any potential from criminal charges at this point? I mean is there absolute immunity from any kind of criminal action here?
TITUS: Well, at this point the Bakersfield Police Department has launched a criminal investigation. They say that the staff is fully cooperating at this point, but no actual charges have been -- have been made.
BANFIELD: At this point -- Lauren Titus joining us live in California. Thank you for that.
So there is a senator who is none too pleased with some allegations that he spent some time with hookers and now he is speaking out because said hooker is recanting the story. But is there more to it and just how mad is Bob Menendez?
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BANFIELD: A high ranking politician caught up in a scandal after he is accused of having sex with prostitutes and now one of those women says she made that whole story up and was asked to do so for money.
Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey was accused anonymously of partying with hookers in the Dominican Republic and then a prominent political Web site picked up the story and ran with it. Menendez is strongly denying these claims to CNN and he slammed his unidentified accusers.
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SEN. ROBERT MENENDEZ (D), NEW JERSEY: It's amazing to me that anonymous, nameless, faceless individuals on a Web site can drive that type of story into the mainstream. But that's what they've done successfully. Nobody can find them, no one ever met them, no one ever talked to them, but that's where we're at.
So the bottom line is all of those smears are absolutely false and you know that's the bottom line.
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BANFIELD: Senator Menendez made those comments to CNN's chief congressional correspondent you could see her in the interview Dana Bash and she joins me now. Dana, the Senator has spoken out yet again in light of the story developing that this prostitute says she was put up to this and that it was actually scripted for her.
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And according to an affidavit out of the Dominican Republic, she says that she was filmed without her knowledge. She said that I am the person in the video, that's me and those are my words, but this statement is not true. I never agreed to be recorded.
Now as you can imagine, Senator Menendez for the time in a while was eager to talk to reporters. And our Lindy Royce (ph) was there with him, you see the video. He was speaking at the APEC policy conference. Here is what he said.
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MENENDEZ: I don't know more than what I've read, but I do know that from the very beginning, I said that nameless, faceless, anonymous sources took the main, the right-wing blogs, took the story which were just false smears right before an election cycle, attempted to do it then and ultimately drove it into the mainstream press.
But they were never anything other than false smears. I hope that you will all vigorously go after who was the source and purpose as you did go after the story at the time. But you know, we'll continue to look at it as it develops, but it is just part of what I said all along was the case.
BASH: She claims she was paid for this. So who was behind something like this?
MENENDEZ: Your guess is as good as mine. And I certainly hope they find out.
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BASH: And that obviously is the next big important question and that is who was behind this. And when I say "this", it was apparently a lawyer -- a prominent lawyer in the Dominican Republic who arranged for these women to be taped and to be paid.
So who gave the lawyer the money? That is the next thread of this, a very important thread that needs to be pulled. And as you can imagine, Ashleigh we have a team of people trying to get that information, our investigative team going down there.
But one thing I should note is this was obviously the most and is the most salacious part of the Menendez saga. But it does not mean that this is over by a long shot. Because our understanding is that the FBI is investigating other things, other allegations having to do with Senator Menendez and one of his top most prominent donors Salmon Melgen who is a doctor in Florida, he also has work elsewhere in South America.
He is also under investigation and the question is whether Senator Menendez used his influence in a way that he should not have to help his donor. And that is still very much an open question and investigation at the FBI and also here in the Senate Ethics Committee.
BANFIELD: Well good luck getting the answers out of the Dominican Republic, that's not the easiest place in the world to -- to do those investigations. But boy there are some unanswered questions there. Dana bash, great job. Thank you.
Bibles and zombies, our living history and the battles among the undead. It turns out viewers just cannot get enough of either.
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BANFIELD: Turns out the walking can dead just can't beat the bible.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: God warned me. He told me to build a boat.
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BANFIELD: God beats zombies. History's mini-series "The Bible" grabbed 13.1 million viewers on Sunday night. And if you're doing the math that is the year's largest audience for any cable entertainment program.
But right on its heels, the opposite. AMC's "Walking Dead". Yes, "The Walking Dead" had an audience of more than 12 million people. Nischelle Turner joins me now. Listen, that's what we like to say in the entertainment business is a lot of people.
NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a heck of a lot of people. By the way I love that tag line "God Beats Zombies". In our real life, that's a pretty good thing. You know what, Ashleigh, though just this past Sunday you were talking about numbers. The show "Walking Dead" drew 12.3 million people and 7.7 million of them are from that 18 to 49-year-old demographic. That is the demographic that advertisers who spend the money really look at.
And according to Nielsen, a cable series has never drawn that big of an audience in that age group. Presumably now AMC is saying long live those zombies.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Run.
TURNER: Just like the human hunting zombies it creates, there seems to be no stopping AMC's the "Walking Dead". In its third season on the cable channel, the apocalypse horror series has become a ratings juggernaut, making some other networks seem like, well, the "Walking Dead".
12.3 million viewers for a basic cable drama series is unprecedented. And it will allow AMC to take a lot more risks in the future and have people invest more in the programming. Those numbers don't lie.
TURNER: According to the "Hollywood Reporter" ratings for the zombie drama have surpassed those of award winning hits like "The Big Bang Theory" and "Modern Family" in the 18 to 49 demographic, a key target for advertisers. So the "Walking Dead" is part of a growing trend in the television landscape.
More and more viewers migrating to basic cable channels to watch their favorite shows.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Frankly, I'm impressed.
TURNER: And whether it's "Mad Men", "Breaking Bad or violent blood- thirsty zombie, AMC is offering something a lot of broadcast networks aren't. Or in some cases can't.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think AMC is changing the business. What a basic cable network can get away with in terms of violence and sensors. There's no way a network would have been able to make the "Walking Dead" in the way that the fans create it.
TURNERE: But the zombies themselves deserve credit for "The Walking Dead's" uprising. Like the vampire craze we've seen in recent years with the "Twilight" movies and HBO's true blood, zombies seem to be the new it monster in entertainment. Movie audiences can see them this summer chasing down Brad Pitt in "World War Z".
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't be creepy. In the surprise hit "Warm Bodies", a dark comedy about a zombie takeover has earned more than $85 million at the worldwide box office. Star Nicholas Holt has a theory on why zombies are hot in pop culture.
NICHOLAS HALT, ACTOR: There is a twisted fascination with that sort of thing. A lot of us are kind of like zombies in many ways, kind of stumbling through life.
TURNER: And much like the gruesome creatures in the "The Walking Dead" interests in zombies just won't die.
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TURNER: Ok, full disclosure, Ashleigh. I am not a zombie gal. I don't know if you are, but if you're not, we are definitely in the minority.
BANFIELD: Can I tell you something? I feel like I'm watching a thriller video all over again. Awesome. That was so cool. I'm going to watch that show.
TURNER: You're right.
BANFIELD: Nichelle Turner, rocking it for us. Thank you, my friend. Cool stuff.
Ok. Here is a weird question. If somebody offered you $10,000 to get an abortion, could you do that legally? Could you do that morally? That story is next.
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BANFIELD: A woman hired to give birth to another couple's baby, a surrogate, gets an unbelievable offer. The couple whose baby she was carrying tried to pay her to have an abortion. Senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen now with this remarkable story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Crystal Kelley was thrilled when a couple hired her to be their surrogate and carry their baby. The husband and wife were ecstatic, too. Finally they would have the child they had been longing for.
CRYSTAL KELLEY, SURROGATE: She said "pray for a little girl, I want a little girl. And she got a little girl.
COHEN: Was it the little girl she wanted?
KELLEY: No, it wasn't.
COHEN: Ultrasounds halfway through the pregnancy showed the baby girl growing inside her had severe heart defects. A brain abnormality and other medical problems.
KELLEY: They said she had a less than 25 percent chance of being able to have a normal life.
COHEN: Inside Hartford Hospital in Connecticut, the parents, heartbroken, asked Kelley to have an abortion.
KELLEY: I refused. I couldn't do it. I was the one who was feeling her kick and squirm. I knew she had a fighting spirit and I wanted to fight for her.
COHEN: But the parents pleaded with Kelley, genetically this was their baby, she was just carrying her.
KELLEY: They said that they didn't want to bring a baby into the world only for that child to suffer. They said that I should try to be god-like and have mercy on the child and let her go.
COHEN: And what did you say?
KELLEY: I told them that it wasn't their decision to play God.
COHEN: Strong convictions, but would she betray them for the right price? Kelley was a single mom. Money was tight. Through the surrogacy agency, the parents said they would pay her $10,000 to have an abortion.
And when you saw that $10,000 figure did you think maybe I'll do it?
KELLEY: In a weak moment, I asked her to tell them that for $15,000, I would consider going forward with the termination.
COHEN: The parents refused her request and Kelley says she quickly regretted asking for the extra money anyways. Deep down, she knew she could never abort under any circumstance. Once again, they were at a standoff.
CNN reached out to the parents. They didn't respond to repeated calls or e-mails and we're not naming them. Legally, they couldn't force Kelley to have an abortion. So they proposed if you have this baby, we'll give her up and she'll become a ward of the state. KELLEY: I'm not going to let her become one of those forgotten disabled kids that gets lost in the system.
COHEN: Kelley made a bold decision informing the parents at the last second she left the state, pregnant with their baby.
KELLEY: Packed up my van with everything that I could carry, threw my kids in the car. And we drove for two days to Michigan.
COHEN: Under Michigan law, Kelley would be the baby's mother. You were making a decision for a baby that was not genetically yours.
KELLEY: I can't tell you how many people told me that I was bad, that I was wrong, that I should go have an abortion. That I would be damned to hell.
COHEN: She spent the final months of her pregnancy in Michigan and gave birth last June. And here is the baby today. She's eight months old. To protect her privacy, we're not naming her or the family Kelley found to adopt her. Along with her cleft lip and palate and the misshapen ear, she has severe brain and heart problems.
She'll need several risky surgeries to survive. But in many other ways she's developed like other babies. She smiles, babbles and grabs for toys.
COHEN: Some people would say why bring a child into this world who you know is going to have such huge medical problems.
KELLEY: And I say that it's not fair to not give them a chance to overcome them.
COHEN: What if she doesn't walk thought. What if she doesn't talk?
KELLEY: She's still a happy little girl who's going to bring joy in to the lives of everyone who knows her.
COHEN: When you see her now, how does that feel?
KELLEY: It gives me a lot of joy and I know that every single thing that I did was worth it.
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BANFIELD: That was Elizabeth Cohen reporting. And this story is getting a lot of traction and a lot of responses.
Next hour, I'll have a round table discussion not only with Elizabeth, but also on the legal side of all this. Defense attorney Joey Jackson and former Florida circuit court judge David Young is going to join me to weigh in on this. And of course this all comes in the next hour which I'll be doing for you right after this quick break.
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