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Obama: Immigration System "Broken"; Secretary Kerry Visits Afghanistan; Autopsy for Ex Pat Russian Tycoon; Brown University Student Missing; Trading Paint and Punches; Ellis Island to Stay Closed for Now; New Jersey's Mystery Mega Millionaire

Aired March 25, 2013 - 14:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: America's immigration system is broken. These are words from President Obama today, while welcoming 28 new American citizens at a White House naturalization ceremony. The president went on to say, it's time to work out the courage to do what's right. He called on Congress to start fixing the country's broken immigration system.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: If he we want to keep attracting the best and the brightest that the world has to offer, we have to do a better job of welcoming them.

We have known for years our immigration system is broken, that we're not doing enough to harness the talent and ingenuity of all those who want to work hard and find a place here in America.

And after avoiding the problem for years, the time has come to fix it once and for all. The time has come for a comprehensive, sensible immigration reform.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And the president says he wants to sign a new bill into law as soon as possible.

Meantime, Secretary of State John Kerry has dropped into Afghanistan, unannounced. He's there to smooth over relations with President Hamid Karzai, who recently accused the United States of colluding with the Taliban.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT HAMID KARZAI, AFGHANISTAN (through translation): There are ongoing talks between Taliban, Americans, and foreigners in Europe and in the Gulf States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Both the U.S. and Afghanistan are looking to stabilize the war-torn country, ahead of 2014, when Karzai leaves office and the remaining U.S. troops head home.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is traveling with Secretary Kerry. He is in Kabul, Afghanistan, and joins me by phone. Nick, Kerry has a history with the Afghan leader here. Tell me what was achieved with today's talks?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Yes, I mean, today was all about using the long history and self-confessed friendship to try to smooth over the rift, but the acrimony in the atmosphere after the comments you mentioned were made, still very much hanging in the air.

A detention center passed over to Afghan in control today and talk of future cooperation, but you can't really get away from the fact there has been a bad month in the past, and really President Hamid Karzai's remarks were designed to do make Afghans feel he's increased support here.

So that's still in the background. America needs the relationship with Kabul to be very strong and they have to instead rely upon a friendship between the new secretary of state and the Afghan president. Not good days -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Nick Paton Walsh in Kabul on the phone. Nick, thank you.

Coming up next, the mystery deepens after the death of a well known critic of Russia's president. New clues may reveal exactly how this tycoon died.

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BALDWIN: Now to the hottest stories in a flash, rapid fire, roll it. First up, today's scheduled autopsy on former Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky may unravel the mystery of how he died.

Berezovsky made a huge fortune in the days after the great gap of the Soviet Union. He was also a one-time ally turned political enemy of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Berezovsky was found dead Saturday in his London area home.

The search for a missing Brown University student has been extended to now Boston and Philadelphia. The 22-year-old Sunil Tripathi was last seen nine days ago. He was on leave from school, but was still living in the area of Providence, Rhode Island, where Brown is. His family has been canvassing neighborhoods with missing person flyers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAVI TRIPATHI, MISSING MAN'S BROTHER: Just, like, go to the playgrounds, between sets, he was a musician, into classical music.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Police have found the missing man's cell and wallet in his apartment. The boys of NASCAR at it again, three-time cup winner Tony Stewart didn't like the way Joey Logano blocked him when Stewart made a move Sunday to take the lead. So Stewart, as you can see, went after Logano. The pit crews quickly separated the drivers, but how angry was Stewart? Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY STEWART, NASCAR DRIVER: What do you think I was mad about? Some little -- down to the infield, he wants to -- everybody else and he drives like a little -- I'm going to bust his --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks, Tony.

STEWART: Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Joey Logano disagrees, of course. He said he was only trying to protect his spot in the race.

New York's iconic Ellis Island won't be opening anytime soon. The National Park Service says damage from Superstorm Sandy is so severe they don't even have a projected reopening date. Repairs could cost in the neighborhood of $59 million.

And if you are in New Jersey, a mega millionaire may be among you. Lottery officials just announced that winning Powerball ticket for a $338 million jackpot was sold at Eagle Liquors in Passaic, New Jersey. One winning ticket was sold. Lottery officials say, so far, no one's claimed the prize.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAROLE HEDINGER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NEW JERSEY LOTTERY: The winners have one year to come forward. I would like to to say, it is not unusual that somebody winning a prize this large, whether a sole person or a group of people, they often take their time, we don't hear from them right away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Take their time. Maybe draft up some legal papers, I don't know, maybe a few.

Coming up next, my hot topics panel faces off. A couple of things we're talking about. We're talking Michael Bloomberg, spending millions of dollars in this debate over guns.

Plus, more and more American women are having babies before tying the knot. What does that say about our society?

And a new movie about terrorists taking over the White House is a box office hit over the weekend. My panelists are standing by. They're revealed, next.

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BALDWIN: For the next 20 minutes or so, we're going to take on the hot stories trending today. We start with this, billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg putting up some big bucks in the name of gun control.

He is taking $12 million out of his own pocket, and putting it toward a massive ad campaign, which he hopes will influence the debate over gun control measures. The ads will hit the airwaves in 13 states. It begins tomorrow and just take a look at one of these ads.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My dad taught me to hunt and I'll teach my kids. I owned a gun all my life and I'll fight for my right to keep it. Background checks have nothing to do with taking guns away from anyone. Closing loopholes will stop criminals and the dangerously mentally ill from buying guns. That protects my rights, and my family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell Congress, don't protect criminals. Vote to protect gun rights and our families with comprehensive background checks. Demand action now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So one of the questions we wanted to ask today, can money buy gun control? Let me ask my two gentlemen standing by for me, Jim Sharpe, conservative radio host at News Talk 550 in Phoenix, and Chris Frates, national correspondent, "National Journal."

Gentlemen, welcome to both of you. And before we kick this off, let me show this poll first. And as we talk about that, you can see from December when the shooting in Newtown happened to now, now 43 percent of Americans actually favor major restrictions on guns versus, you know, 10 percent higher in December.

My question is this, Jim, let me begin with you, there really was this sense, in Newtown, that real change was going to happen. You saw that the polls there, what has happened in the past 100 or so days? Do you think it has changed the mind of those 10 percent?

JIM SHARPE, RADIO HOST 550 KFYI: Well, I think what really has changed minds is the fact that people have had a chance to now stop and think about this. I mean, I think we're doing the families in Newtown a real disservice if we jumped and just did the first thing that came to mind.

I think we've seen over and over again that there is just a lot of things that don't work in all of this. I think everything needs to be looked at, that's for sure. But we don't want to jump and do the wrong thing.

And this plan by Michael Bloomberg, of course, is -- you know, Michael Bloomberg himself stated he wants to go after the assault weapons ban. So it's kind of a smoke screen, what Michael Bloomberg is doing there. BALDWIN: He says that, but again specifically these two ads, you know, are with regard to these background checks. Chris Frates, what do you think about this 10 percent? There was such a ground swell back in December post Newtown and now 10 percent fewer Americans favor, we're talking major changes in gun control. Why do you think?

CHRIS FRATES, NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, "NATIONAL JOURNAL": Well, I think what we're seeing is why the president and the vice president and congressional Democrats wanted to strike while the iron was hot. Because the longer this goes on, the more disinterested people become and the easier it is to build opposition to this.

What Michael Bloomberg is trying to do is change that narrative. He sees the polls, gets the polls, he understands this. He's playing a little bit of the NRA's game here. The NRA has been very, very effective by going into members of Congress' states and districts and running ads saying that, you know, whatever they oppose, they're very effective and members have lost seats.

So what you're seeing now is Michael Bloomberg trying to change that conversation to become more pro gun control gun legislation.

BALDWIN: Listen, money buys power, whether you're the NRA or perhaps you're Michael Bloomberg and with the $12 million out of his own pocket for the background checks, for these ads, I want you to hear both sides here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (I), NEW YORK: I think I have a responsibility and I think you and all of your viewers have responsibilities to try to make this country safer for our families and for each other.

And if I can do that, by spending some money, and taking the NRA from being the only voice to being one of the voices, so the public can understand the issues, I think my money would be well spent.

WAYNE LAPIERRE, CEO, NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION: Criminals aren't going to be checked. They're not going to do this. The shooters in Tucson, Aurora, in Newtown, they're not going to be checked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Jim, to you first, what do you think needs to happen if anything for Mayor Bloomberg to get his way?

SHARPE: Well, I think -- I think what he's doing is probably going to be fairly effective. The way I view this, it is not --

BALDWIN: You think so?

SHARPE: Well, I think he can be somewhat effective. I think we do have to look at the possibility of expanding background checks, but what they're talking about, universal background checks would mean a guy I grew up with in Northern Arizona who may look very similar to this guy sitting on his truck tailgate holding his gun with a dilapidated building in the background and it is just -- it is so -- it is very atypical.

You know, I would have to force him to go through a background check. It will add to the cost of transferring weapons. We have, actually, you know, we're free to have commerce in this country. We're free to have these guns according to the second amendment. Why these restrictions and why take this down to that level?

BALDWIN: Yes, talking to our folks who cover Congress for CNN on the Hill, you know, it sounds like reading between the political tea leaves if anything will happen, it would be the background checks and it is interesting you say maybe Bloomberg will be successful.

Jim Sharpe, conservative radio host at News Talk 550, I appreciate you, Jim. Chris Frates, don't move a muscle. We're sticking with you the rest of the panel.

Coming up, what is behind the spike behind more mothers, fewer marriages here as people are aging, 20 somethings? My panel weighs in on the changing American family and why so many people are putting off marriage next.

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BALDWIN: You know that old rhyme, first comes love then comes marriage, then comes baby in the baby carriage. Well, that -- there's a study that basically says that rhyme, it's a little out of date these days, especially if you're working or lower class woman.

The study found that more than half of those first time moms are not married. And that is just one of the statistics we found here in the study by the National Marriage Foundation called "Knot Yet, The Cost of Delayed Marriage in America." Why are we seeing more babies and 20 somethings and fewer wedding rings?

Let me bring the panel in. Rita Davis, Atlanta correspondent for cocoafab.com, reality TV personality, Rebecca Cardin, comedian and host of the Paul Mecurio podcast, Mr. Paul Mecurio and Chris Frates back with us.

So I did a little check on the commercial break. So it sounds like the ladies, myself included, not married. The guys are, so we can make this kind of personal. We don't have to go there, but to the ladies, let me ask you this.

You know, why do you think this whole thing is about how people are waiting later to get married? Why do you think people are waiting later to get married if at all these days?

REBECCA CARDON, REALITY TV PERSONALITY: I personally think that marriage is an ill conceived antiquated institution that was created by people that didn't live past 30. So, sure, you could conceivably look at somebody and say, I will be with you for the rest of my life because that's, like, five years. It makes perfect sense. I just -- I don't know. I think the urgency is not as where it used to be. We don't need men as much as we used to. Women are --

PAUL MECURIO, COMEDIAN: Brooke, I think we deglamorized marriage in this culture. Look at "Real Housewives." That show, that makes marriage look like the hunger games. I mean, you know, so I don't think it is the kind of thing anybody wants to live up to.

And so I agree on some levels, marriage might be the issue, but also the issue is I think these people that are having these babies out of wedlock feel disenfranchised.

In other words, economically, they're sort of depressed. They don't have the sort of opportunities that maybe more well educated people have. So I blame Congress in some way, to leaving these people out in the cold. I think there say lesson here.

Like in sex ed class, they have kids carry around babies so they know what it is like, baby dolls, so they know what it is like to take care of a baby. I think congress should have to carry around 20 something dolls.

And if the doll goes below the poverty line, they have to listen to a lecture by Nancy Pelosi. That's my idea.

BALDWIN: I was waiting, trying to understand where you were going. I'm kind of with you. But actually to your point, this is something I read in this article in the "Wall Street Journal," to your point about maybe feeling disenfranchised.

So here's the quote, "Many whose jobs do not give them membership in the professional class turn to a traditional source of young adult identity, parenthood, for meaning, for satisfaction.

So young women often drift unintentionally into parenthood with men whom they believe are not good enough to marry or not ready for it." So there is a trend here, and it is tougher for middle class Americans, but then you look at the -- if you read this article, it talks about, look, if you're college educated, it is a pretty sweet deal.

FRATES: Right. And, Brooke, I think this has to do a lot more with economics than anything else. You look at some of the challenges of lower middle class and working class 20 somethings, they have a high school diploma, but probably no college or some college.

Particularly for men who are low skilled. Wages are declining. They're not exactly the -- they don't have best prospects. Women are realizing that and while they are kind of hooking up and maybe having babies with these folks. They're not staying together in a traditional family structure.

BALDWIN: And repercussions for the babies.

FRATES: Repercussions for the baby and you start this cycle all over again. Whereas if you have a college education, you're building a career, you're building a foundation, and then you wait until you are set before maybe you go look for a mate. Those are two different things we're seeing between the classes right now in America.

BALDWIN: Rita, I want to hear from you. I haven't heard from you. You get the final word on this one.

RITA DAVIS, ATLANTA CORRESPONDENT, COCOAFAB: I think the media pretty much has made this big fascination, you know, with baby, the celebrity baby, celebrity baby bump and the different sightings and what not.

And you know, one of the biggest things on cocoafab.com are major topics, your Kimye and Beyonce and baby boom sightings and what not. I think, you know, with Hollywood, they kind of glamorize, you know, being 16 and pregnant.

You know, there are these shows specifically these teenagers that are cast for being 16 and pregnant. With that socioeconomic class you spoke of, if there is not that parent or that head of the household who has gone on past high school, it is kind of like, OK, you know what, we surpassed teenage.

But we're going into our 20s, if they don't have that person that encourages them past high school, because they have yet to do it themselves, then they're kind of lost. What are they doing past their 20s, having babies?

BALDWIN: For 20 somethings, blame pop culture for sort of the romantization of parenthood. We have to leave it there. It is interesting.

Let's talk about this, though, I don't know if you saw this movie over the weekend, the president held hostage in a fire fight breakdown in west wing. This new movie is out about terrorists taking over the White House. Is this too close to real life? Is this just entertainment? We'll weigh in on that next.

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BALDWIN: The kidnapped president, fire fights through the west wing, national landmarks reduced to rubble. I'm talking about the new film called "Olympus has Fallen." A new action flick brought in $30 million over the past weekend.

The film earned its R-rating with gory gun fights and seems people didn't shy away from watching the National Mall get torn to shreds by fictional North Korean terrorists.

So back to the panel here. Paul, I want you weighing in on this off the top. I mean, is this like a little --

MECURIO: Because I look like an action hero, right?

BALDWIN: That's why I'm going with you, perfectly. Seriously though, I mean, is this too close to home or is it a movie, people, like this is entertainment?

MECURIO: I mean, look, it is a movie, it is a bit of a fantasy. We're obsessed with seeing -- we like to see things destroyed in this country, unfortunately. If the Hindenburg happens today, people would not be going, no, the humanity. It is the way we're trained right now.

I think as far as Washington is concerned, it is not necessarily that we want to see the end of Washington, D.C. per se or the destruction of Washington, D.C., we want to see something happening in Washington, D.C. that's all.

BALDWIN: You and Washington, Paul. I don't know what's going on today. Let me read this, I'm a big fan of David Edlesteen, he said the carnage, cruel and crude. Waves of people go down in showers of gore.

The audience trying to cheer when a pretty Asian terrorist gets her head blown off. He goes on, violation and vengeance suggested a kind of addiction, I don't know what it means, but I know they're not movie, they're fixes. Rebecca, fixes, addiction, what is with our country's obsession with violence?

CARDON: People want to see their greatest fears realized in a safe environment and I think that's what's going on here. Personally, for me, this movie is like a sharp stick in my eye. I will not be watching it.

It is like banging my head against the trash can. I don't think so. It leaves me feeling so empty at the end, like having sex with somebody I don't like. I can't do it. I just can't. I can't.

BALDWIN: Not touching that. Rita, last word, last word.

DAVIS: Pretty much I haven't seen the movie just yet, but I've seen the trailer. I haven't seen it just yet, but I plan on seeing it. I'd like to say, you know what? Any and everything that could be close to reality, I want to see it because if I see the signs, I know I need to run. It is a little, I think a little -- really violent, and, but, it is fiction. It is just a movie. People have to understand that.

BALDWIN: Rita Davis, Rebecca Cardon, Paul Mercurio and Chris Frates, my thanks to you all. Hot topics panel on this Monday, appreciate it.

Now this -- questions of a conspiracy by a white supremacist gang in the murder of a prison chief.