Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Obama Talks Economy, Jobs; EPA Says Rules Will Reduce Pollution; Critics Say Gas Prices Will Spike; Billion Dollar Tax Bill?; "Dunk City" In The Sweet 16; Racial Slur Controversy

Aired March 29, 2013 - 14:30   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: New federal rules to cut pollution have now been released, but not everyone thrilled about these here. Here is the deal. The Environmental Protection Agency released a proposal that aims to slash the amount of sulfur in gasoline. Sulfur in gasoline.

Zain Asher live in New York with more on this. And so cleaner air, higher gas --

ZAIN ASHER, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE/BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, Brooke, you know, that's always a trade-off with these types of things. If we do force refineries to limit the amount of sulfur in gasoline, they're saying this will undoubtedly lead to higher gas prices.

Of course, that's the last thing anyone wants. The oil and gas industry says the amount of money it would take to adjust to these standards means that they would have no choice but to pass the costs down to consumers. They are saying it could be 10 cents more a gallon.

The White House, on the other hand, they disagree. They're saying that according to an EPA study, the cost would actually be less than a penny more per gallon. The White House also says that of the 111 refineries that will be covered by this rule, only 16 would have to make major investments in new equipment, to abide by it.

That's because many of these refineries are in places like California that already have similar requirements in place. Either way, we do have some time to figure all this out. If this rule does become final, it wouldn't take effect until 2017. We wouldn't feel an impact for about a decade -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK, well, once we do feel the impact and you hear the grumbling because the prices are going up, Zain Asher, there are benefits, yes, financial and health wise, that could at least offset some of the frustration?

ASHER: Yes, absolutely. There are definitely benefits. First of all, cleaner gasoline would certainly reduce smog. For example, the EPA says that it could also save 2,000 lives as well a year and reduce the chances of childhood asthma.

Also, might not be a bad thing for your car either that's because the more sulfur in your gasoline, the less efficiently your car runs so you end up spending more money on maintenance and that kind of thing as well.

Car companies are generally supportive of the proposed rule because cleaner gasoline would make it easier for them to meet their emission standards -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Zain Asher, thank you very much.

Here is a question. Have you filed your taxes yet? If you have to pay, this might actually feel a little better. Listen to me here, Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg being hit with a whopping estimated billion, billion with a "B," dollar tax bill.

A tax rate 48 percent, this is before factoring in deductions like the $500 million he did donate last year. So how does a billionaire cover the tax bill? Zuckerberg apparently dipped into his Facebook stock, sold about 30 million shares. On paper, this guy is worth about $13 billion.

A new fan favorite making their sweet 16 debut tonight and the campus is pumped. They are buzzing. The nation is watching. So will Florida Gulf Coast University continue the dance, continue the Cinderella run tonight? Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: OK, basketball, are you still looking for a team to root for in the NCAA tourney, look no further than this little school in Florida, Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles. The school in Fort Myers, but the kids call it "Dunk City."

These students have been up since the crack of dawn, 5:00 a.m. to be precise. Nine hours down, seven more to go until tip-off tonight, and they are so proud of their team that has now put their school on the map.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is so incredibly awesome. Like, I would tell people in other states, yes, I go to FGCU and they had no idea. They never heard of it before, they would assume it is a community college or something. So it is really awesome for everybody here in the community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So this is the coach, this is the model wife that everyone is hearing about. Andy Enfield is his name, the breakout star of the tournament along with his team. Then there is tonight's matchup. You have David versus Goliath. The Eagles taking on the school, just about 270 miles up the road in Gainesville.

You heard of them, Florida Gators, so what is not to like about this sort of Florida versus Florida game. Andy Scholes is here to talk to me a little bit more about it. We have talked about this before. Everyone loves a good Cinderella story.

I'm like incredibly frustrated by the tournament. My tar heels, too soon, don't want to talk about it. You find other teams like this 15 seed, the first 15 seed of the tournament, it's a great story.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is a great story. It's one of the best stories we have seen in about a decade. You know, we had George Mason. We had Butler made a couple of runs. Those teams, they squeaked by, they barely got by in a lot of their games.

They're rolling over people, they're dunking on everyone. They got the name dunk city. They beat Georgetown and San Diego State, both by 10 points. You know, you never see a 15 seed win and never see them roll over people the way they're doing right now.

And there are just so many levels to the story. You know, all the players are older than the university itself.

BALDWIN: The university is founded in 1991.

SCHOLES: Yes. No, 1997, they had their first classes and then you have a coach, you know, he's self-made millionaire, marries a supermodel, seems like they'll make a movie about this at some point.

BALDWIN: Could make a movie about it, you know, you go to class and you have the beach not too far away. We have talked before. I mean, I love this -- it is the Cinderella story, I remember living in D.C. at that time when Mason made the final four.

When you look back at how George Mason has done, I mean, at the time, academically, the enrolment of the school was improving. It is a bigger picture story for the school even if they are out after they play Florida tonight.

SCHOLES: Yes, for sure and they said -- first of all, their school is on the beach. They said they're not having problems getting students to come to the university.

BALDWIN: Good point.

SCHOLES: Going to class might be another issue, right. But, yes, like you said, enrolment is going to grow from this. People have been Googling FGCU more than ever before. Their servers have crashed recently.

BALDWIN: Can they win? We're talking Florida Gators here versus this little school that hopes to. Can they pull it off?

SCHOLES: You know, they're a 13-point underdog tonight. That's a big number for a game in the sweet 16, but, they were a 13-1/2-point underdog against Georgetown in the first round and then they were a 7- point underdog against San Diego State. So they have been here before and they succeed here before, and it is definitely, as you said, the David versus Goliath scenario.

BALDWIN: This is a 10:00 p.m. tip-off. SCHOLES: Yes.

BALDWIN: Eastern Time.

SCHOLES: Before this game at Cowboys Stadium there is going to be Michigan versus Kansas, another great game. And then there's another monumental game, Michigan State versus Duke, Izzo versus Krzyzewski that's another great game. And then the overall favorite to win the tournament, Louisville taking on 12-seeded Oregon, we'll see if they can roll over another opponent.

BALDWIN: We'll see who makes it all the way to Atlanta. Andy Scholes, thank you so much.

SCHOLES: You're welcome.

BALDWIN: And sweet 16 fans, stay tuned, top of the hour. We're going to talk live with Florida Gulf Coast students. You can watch March Madness action tonight, of course, on our sister network TBS.

Coming up next, "Hot Topics Panel" time including another possible setback for the Republican Party as they're looking to rebrand, a long time congressman uses a slur and now other Republicans are responding to that.

Also, will freed guns mean less crime? One neighborhood will soon find out. We're going to talk about those two things and my panelists will be revealed next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: OK, this is when we take on the hot stories trending today. Let me get straight to this. An ethnic slur by Alaska Congressman Don Young, the Republican lawmaker in full backpedal mode right now after a radio conversation about how technology was affecting the economy, it turned ugly. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPRESENTATIVE DON YOUNG (R), ALASKA: My father had a ranch. We used to hire 50 to 60 wetbacks to pick tomatoes. You know, it takes two people to pick the same tomatoes now. It's all done by machine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That "W" word referring to people from Mexico who came to the U.S. illegally by crossing the Rio Grande River, Young's comment drawing condemnation for a number of Republicans including House Speaker John Boehner saying this.

Quote, "Congressman Young's remarks were offensive and beneath the dignity of the office he holds. I don't care why he said. There is no excuse and it warrants an immediate apology."

Want to open this up to our panel. Welcoming them all, David Begnaud, host of "Newsbreaker With David Begnaud," Angela Burt Murray, co- founder and editor director of the Cocoa Media Group, David Fastino, actor on the comedy series, "Bad Samaritans," which premiers on Netflix Sunday, and Mo Ivory, host of the "Mo Ivory Show."

So, to all of you, let me begin. We have two Davids, I'm going to begin with David F., let me read part of the apology from this congressman. Quote, "I used a term that was commonly used during my days growing up on a farm in Central California. I know this term is not used in the same way nowadays and I meant no disrespect." Is this an apology or is it a non-apology apology?

DAVID FAUSTINO, ACTOR, "BAD SAMARITANS": I mean, while I understand that, you know, his day was a different time, and things were spoken about differently back then, we are in 2013 now. He is a leader among the people.

And, you know, it just -- I wonder if these guys really think before they open their mouths sometimes. It is just not smart politics and as the Republican Party tries to rebrand itself, it is, like, come on, let's think before we open our mouths.

BALDWIN: David B., you're shaking your head. Why?

DAVID BEGNAUD, HOST, "NEWSBREAKER": Yes, Brooke, it is very simple. Congressman, you were wrong and you ought to apologize. Brooke, I got to tell you. My grandfather died calling black people the "N" word.

You know what? Let me tell you something, he grew up in the Deep South. He grew up -- he was born 90 years ago and he knew better. Despite the fact that I have black members in my own family, my grandfather continued to say that word until he died and he knew better.

If this congressman says age has taught him things and it just is part of his past, you know what, Congressman, you should know better. If anything, you should know better than anybody on this panel, that word, you don't say the word. Age is not an excuse for ignorance. He has to apologize.

BALDWIN: Ladies, I want to hear from you. I'm hearing so far, you know, sort of, shame on you, Congressman. David F. mentioned the word -- the rebranding of the Republican Party. We want to pull back this flashback this sound bite from Bobby Jindal. This is back from January when he said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOVERNOR BOBBY JINDAL (R), LOUISIANA: We have got to stop being the stupid party. I'm serious. It is time for a new Republican Party that talks like adults. It is time for us to articulate our plans and our visions for America in real terms. It is no secret we had a number of Republicans that damaged the brand this year with offensive and bizarre comments, I'm here to say we have had enough of that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Angela, reaction? ANGELA BURT MURRAY, COCOA MEDIA GROUP: I just think that this is a classic example of how the Republicans are not willing to have the tough conversations within their own party. They really need to call Judy Smith, see if she can get away from the set of "Scandal" and come and fix this problem.

This guy said exactly what he meant. And it is up to the voters in his district to say this is unacceptable, you don't represent our values, you don't represent our vote and we're no longer going to have you in office.

BALDWIN: Let me add this, Mo, hang on, because it is not just Republicans. Let's be crystal clear, it is Democrats as well. I saw this came down on our CNN political ticker. There was a tweet from a Democratic lawmaker about March Madness and it had a questionable hash tag.

So here was the tweet, this is from U.S. Representative Bruce Braley from Iowa. Quote, it is official. Ohio State is the luckiest team in the tournament. Hash tag trail of tears.

He apologized this, the tears I was referring to is the tears of Cyclone fans. I have removed the tweet and apologize to anyone who was offended. Mo, I ask the question I ask often on topics like this, though, are we just too sensitive as a society?

MO IVORY, HOST, "THE MO IVORY SHOW": Listen, we could be easily offended as a society. I think sometimes we are. We quickly say it is racism or something like that. But, listen, the Republican Party says they are making a concerted effort to reach out to a specific group, including Hispanics and African-Americans.

And then you turn around and you call that very group one of the most insulting comments you ever could, I believe nothing the GOP says ever, and they make Marco Rubio and the leaders their job that much harder because then they have to come behind.

What do you think Marco Rubio is thinking when somebody makes a statement like that? I have a Mexican grandmother, and she's Mexican and that's so offensive. But for any Hispanic, any minority group, for these comments to continue to come, even --

BALDWIN: From both sides of the aisle, both sides of the aisle.

IVORY: -- yes, but after an autopsy report that says that you are changing because you are examining yourself. They are not examining themselves at all.

BALDWIN: I got to leave it there.

BEGNAUD: Doesn't represent all Republicans.

BALDWIN: Yes, moving on, because I want to talk about this story, I want to talk about this story out of Arizona, Texas and Arizona, free guns, less crime. It's a controversial program now in place in Tucson. Targeting crime by arming people who live in these neighborhoods, what do you think? Free shotguns, good idea, bad idea?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Have you heard about this campaign to give away shotguns, yes, free shotguns. It is called the armed citizen project. A grad student in Houston, Texas, is the one who actually started this idea this year.

The plan is this. To give people shotguns, give people shotguns who are living in particularly high crime areas, and not just give them to them, train them to use them. The program is just ramping up in Tucson.

Tucson, Arizona, same city where Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 18 other people were shot during a meet and greet outside a supermarket. The theory behind the shotgun giveaway, more guns means less crime.

We also have Miguel Marquez who is a CNN correspondent covering the story for us on the phone with me from Tucson, Arizona. So Miguel, I'm going to get to you in just a second. But I want to get some quick reactions on the panel.

Angela, let me begin with you here. What do you think? Good idea, bad idea?

MURRAY: I think this is insane. This is just typical pass the buck government where you expect people in poor communities to police themselves and protect themselves. The government is supposed to be in a place where they can help citizens and have them live in a safe environment.

You have to address the root causes of violence, poor schools, lack of jobs, mistrust of the police, the answer is not to put more shotguns in the communities and turning them into the OK corral like it is out of some sort of western.

BALDWIN: Do any of you think this could be a solid idea?

BEGNAUD: I don't think it is a bad idea. Brooke, you got to remember, just recently, the vice president of the United States held a Facebook Q & A where he suggested if people want to protect themselves, they ought to invest in a shotgun, but not an assault rifle.

I grew up in a family and still today my mother, brother, sister and father all carry handguns. They do so for their own protection. I don't own a gun, but I would consider it. I don't think it is a bad idea. I don't think it is a bad idea.

IVORY: Because we need more guns in low income neighborhoods, because we don't need food, we don't need groceries, we don't need utilities, we don't need --

BALDWIN: I'm hearing -- I'm hearing pros and cons. Miguel Marquez, you're on the ground, you're talking to people there. How is this supposed to work? How do people get the shotguns in the first place and how do they get trained?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): (Inaudible) these three neighborhoods they want to do this in Tucson, people who want a shotgun can apply for it. They'll be vetted, have to go through the background check, through a day's training and then be awarded a shotgun anonymously. That would be citizens who are in that neighborhood.

BALDWIN: David Faustina, I hear you have a shotgun. The idea is to basically let people know, look, we're armed. Tell these criminals hopefully that, you know, that will scare them off. You own a gun. What do you think?

FAUSTINO: I do own a gun for home protection and still can't believe to this day they sold it to me. I don't know that it is the greatest idea to just sort of promote handing out shotguns. I think it is a personal choice, something you have to think long and hard about.

Decide if it is proper for your home and that you have the training. I mean, I just heard Miguel say they are training the citizens. But I don't think more guns, more guns in a crime ridden neighborhood is necessarily going to mean, you know, less violence.

BALDWIN: Let me play this. This is the guy in charge of the whole idea in Tucson. Here is how he explains it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHAUN MCCLUSKY, FORMER TUCSON MAYORAL CANDIDATE: If you're a criminal, are you going to, if you have a placard outside of the neighborhood, says this neighborhood is protected by armed citizens, are you going to break into that neighborhood? Are you going to go to the next neighborhood and the least common denominator?

BALDWIN: Miguel, final question to you. This is Houston, Tucson. This whole group is hoping to do this in, what, 15 cities, correct?

MARQUEZ: They expect to have it in 15 cities by the end of the year. They handed out 13 shotguns so far in Houston. They say by the end of the year, there will be between 50 and 100 shotguns in Houston.

They say Indianapolis is sort of the next big one that they want to take on. But they believe that they'll be able to roll this out in many, many cities within the next 12 months.

BALDWIN: Miguel Marquez in Tucson. By the way, you can watch Miguel's reporting a little later tonight on the whole controversial free gun program. Watch Miguel's full report, "AC 360" at 8:00 Eastern right on CNN.

My panel, David Begnaud, Angela Burt Murray, Mo Ivory, David Faustino, thank you, all, so much. I appreciate it. Hot topics panel on this Friday. Back right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When the housing crash came, no place was hit harder than Georgetown South, a distant suburb of Washington, where the foreclosure rate shot to 30 percent. Some homes plunged in value from $300,000 to just $40,000. People moved out, crime and squalor moved in.

MEG CARROLL, FORMER POLICE OFFICER: This board back here were French glass doors, inside, hard wood, brand-new cabinets.

FOREMAN: But the community never lost its voice. Meg Carroll is part of an aggressive effort by some 50 churches, synagogues and mosques called "Voice." And their mission has been saving communities like this one from ruin, cleaning up, maintaining, and taking care of properties that are abandoned or in the sometimes neglectful hands of banks.

CARROLL: When I say that investors don't care, the same way as homeowners, you can see they don't.

FOREMAN: The goal, keep the neighborhood livable until better times come. Reverend Keith Savage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Banks only listen to other people who have power in organizations.

FOREMAN: By pooling the efforts of many community activists, "Voice" has effectively pushed banks to help pay for financial counseling, more affordable homes here and to help rewrite the loans for families who have stayed through all the turmoil.

REV. KEITH SAVAGE, FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, MANASSAS, VIRGINIA: Most aren't having trouble with the income anymore, but they're having trouble now that they regained their footing, of getting the banks to work with them so that they can keep this community a homeowner occupied community instead of a rental community.

FOREMAN: It has been a long and lonely struggle and the housing rebound seems far away. But in this corner of Virginia, the battle of the home front goes on. Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)