Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Two Men In China Dead From New H7N9 Flu Strain; Possible Meteorite From Mercury; Formerly "Pregnant Man's" Request For Divorce Denied; Big Night In Television Last Night

Aired April 01, 2013 - 15:30   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And, you know, the week ahead is going to be a quite busy one for jobs, data, all of that, right?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. Quiet day today, but as the week goes on, going to get very busy.

Getting numbers on unemployment claims, private sector hiring, plan layoffs, all that stuff coming out during the week.

The biggie, the big report's coming out Friday. That's the government's official monthly jobs report for March.

The expectation is that employers added 178,000 positions. That would actually mark a pullback from February when employers added 236,000 jobs.

So you may wind up seeing stocks in kind of standby mode until we get that report.

Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, very good. Thanks so much, Alison.

All right, on to China, two men are dead after being infected with the strain of bird flu never before seen in humans.

It's called the H7N9 strain and now China's national health commission is reporting a third person, a woman, being infected. She is in critical condition.

While each live in and around Shanghai, the World Health Organization says there is no sign that they can track the disease from each other.

And scientists might have discovered the first ever meteorite from Mercury. According to Space.com, and Washington University, scientist Tony Irving, a beautiful, bizarre, green rock found in Morocco may be the first from that planet near the sun.

Chad Myers, this is pretty fascinating.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEROLOGIST: NWA-7325 ...

WHITFIELD: Oh, man.

MYERS: ... sounds like an old Northwest flight.

WHITFIELD: A more exotic name would be better.

MYERS: "Big Greenie?" I don't care.

They found a bunch of little pieces of this and they know it's not from Mars because men are from Mars and women are from Venus, and this is a green rock that they believe is from Mercury.

Now, we think of Mercury kind of being the red planet, right? But it is not. Just very low iron in this thing. It is lined up with the magnetite of what would be a rock from Mercury.

How did it get here? Well, they think that a huge asteroid smashed into Mercury at some point, a piece flew off and 4 billion years later it landed in Morocco.

It doesn't appear like anything from Mars ...

WHITFIELD: How do they know? How do they isolate that out?

MYERS: They don't, yet. But they have -- but they have a little guy flying around Mercury and it's seeing this same type of patterns in the magnetic field that this rock has.

It could be just another rock that was near Mercury when Mercury was formed, but, hey, that's 4 billion years ago and we weren't here.

WHITFIELD: How big is that piece? I'm sorry. I'm just saying, shine it up a little bit. It kind of ...

MYERS: As big as your thumb.

WHITFIELD: OK, it could make a nice ring. Shine it up a little bit.

All right, thanks so much, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

MYERS: Appreciate that. Fascinating stuff.

All right, it was a story that made headline around the world. Remember the case of the pregnant man?

Well, now that man is back in the headlines after his request for a divorce was denied. Was his gender a factor? We're "On the Case," next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, do you remember the case of the pregnant man? Here's a reminder. Thomas Beatie made world headlines in 2008 when the transsexual, who was born a woman, but now lives as a man, gave birth to a baby girl.

Well, here he is with his wife on "Larry King."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, TALK SHOW HOST: You run into any legal problems at all?

THOMAS BEATIE: We have, actually, with her birth certificate. In the beginning ...

KING: What does it say?

BEATIE: Well, I filled it out as me, father, Nancy, mother. They changed it last minute and put her as father and me as mother. And then they changed it again and they put us as parents.

That's fine and dandy, but we don't have a domestic partnership. We're not a same-sex marriage. We're legal man and wife.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So just a reminder, Beatie kept his female reproductive organs when he legally became a man 15 years ago.

His baby was conceived through artificial insemination, and the couple, they've since had two babies using a donor's sperm and Beatie's own eggs.

So now, fast track, this story is back in the headlines and in the courts.

CNN legal analyst Sunny Hostin is here. So, Sunny, what is happening?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, what's happening is that Thomas wants a divorce, right? They've been together for nine years, and he wants out. He wants a divorce.

They were married legally in Hawaii as a man and a woman because in Hawaii they did grant him a new birth certificate, a birth certificate as a man.

Well, they moved to Arizona where they filed for divorce and it was quite interesting because the Arizona judge ruled that there was insufficient evidence he was a man when they married and, because Arizona has a ban against same-sex marriage, this judge has said, well, this nine-year union cannot be recognized as valid because in Arizona same-sex marriages aren't allowed.

So a really, really difficult legal point that's very, very nuanced, but they are saying in Arizona that this marriage that was legal in Hawaii is now not legal, never existed in Arizona. WHITFIELD: So what kind of recourse do they have? Does it mean going back to Hawaii where their union is recognized in filing for divorce there? Can you do that?

HOSTIN: Isn't that something?

My understanding is that they're going to be looking at all options. They're going to appeal this decision, but it is sort of that strange place, I think, where people find themselves, both transgendered and same sex.

We know the same-sex marriages are legal in nine states as well as in D.C. perhaps 10 states, depending what the Supreme Court does with that challenge to DOMA in California -- Prop Nine, rather, in California.

But transgendered people are often married in legal marriages. One, when there is this birth certificate that deems the person a male, but other times, Fredricka, when, let's say you have a couple that is married, and someone transitions during the marriage.

Well, if they stay together, that is still considered a heterosexual marriage under the law, and that, again, is a valid marriage.

So it's really an interesting legal question and I oftentimes say, our law hasn't always caught up with the reality of things today, and I think this is one more area where the law just hasn't quite caught up.

WHITFIELD: All right, Sunny Hostin, thanks so much, "On the Case."

All right, it was a surprise blockbuster hit for The History Channel. The epic miniseries, "The Bible," attracted more than 10 million viewers for each show. It received more viewers than "American Idol."

So is "must-see" TV now "must-see" cable? We'll find out next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A huge night for two cable television programs that no one expected to be hits, at least not in the beginning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The king of the Jews.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A big favorite was last night's finale of "The Bible" which featured gut-wrenching scenes of the crucifixion.

No coincidence that the history channel aired it on Easter. Viewers flocked to social media to pour out their emotions. It went head to head with AMC's "The Walking Dead," which also had a monster night, no pun intended.

The gory show about a zombie apocalypse closed out its third season with more than 12 million viewers.

David Alpert is a producer for "The Walking Dead." So, David, good to see you. Congratulations. Who knew that three seasons ago a show about zombies would be such a hit, would have such smash appeal?

What is the appeal? Why are people so hooked?

DAVID ALPERT, PRODUCER, "THE WALKING DEAD": I think that there's -- we're getting sort of two major audiences here.

I think that the first audience, there is a huge audience for genre programming out there that I think has been really historically underserved.

But I think we have something different here in that we're not just making genre programming. We have something that has real and three-dimensional characters. And I think people are really responding to the characters and emotions that they're seeing on television.

WHITFIELD: And then two very important characters died last night. It really has become a signature of the show to kind of get rid of the main characters, which really is the antithesis of what most successful shows would want to adhere to.

ALPERT: You know, I think the thing -- one of the things that's great about our show is when we go into the room, there is no character that is safe. Literally every character is up for discussion at any point in the story demands it.

WHITFIELD: That's crazy stuff.

All right, David, stick around. We're going to bring in Brian Lowry, a critic for "Variety," and our own Nischelle Turner in Los Angeles.

Let's just talk about the big numbers and why these two shows grew to be so popular. "The Walking Dead", "The Bible," Brian, you, too, very different shows, huge audiences nonetheless, simultaneously.

BRIAN LOWRY, COLUMNIST/CRITIC, "VARIETY": Well, I think we're seeing right now where the place where a hit show can come from really anywhere.

We've seen not just on cable, but we've seen PBS get enormous numbers this season with "Downton Abbey." "Duck Dynasty" has become one of the unlikeliest hits on television for A&E.

And right it's really a question of the audience being able to find the shows they want, and watch them in numbers that are sort of eradicating what we traditionally thought of, well, that's an OK rating for a kibble show, but it's not a network worthy rating.

WHITFIELD: OK, Nischelle, I'll bring you into this because these shows ignited social media as well last night.

People just couldn't get enough and they couldn't stop tweeting and talking and all that stuff. What happened?

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely.

I think one of the things that David touched on is very true. It's the unpredictability of "The Walking Dead" that has people so hooked on this.

Like he said, their favorite character could get killed off at any time, so no one knows what's going to happen.

And last night, like you said, we saw 12.4 million people watching the show.

But here's this number that really makes a big point here, Fredricka.

Eight-point-one million of those viewers were from that 18-to-49 demographic. That's a huge number. That has to have "The Walking Dead" jumping for joy.

But you can't forget about "The Bible" series because, while the zombies did kind of eek out the resurrection a little bit, 11.7 million people watched the finale of "The Bible" last night and almost 4 million of those were in that key demographic of 18-to-49.

So people really have taken to these and you're right. Social media was huge. Twitter was ablaze with people talking about their reaction to the crucifixion and also the premiere of "The Walking Dead."

It was a big night all around.

WHITFIELD: OK. And, Dave, back to you. So what is next? How do you keep it fresh?

ALPERT: Honestly, I think that, you know, we're going to go some really interesting places.

If you watched the finale, you know, we obviously went to some really dark places this season, but we ended up with a ray of optimism and hope, and we're going to sort of do our best to sort of, you know, play with that balance as we go forward.

We're going to sort of -- the brick is on the accelerator. Things are going to be bigger, badder, faster and meaner next season.

WHITFIELD: And so, Brian, you know, are networks kind of dead in the water, so to speak?

Can they keep up with this, you know, risk taking that we're seeing on cable television?

LOWRY: They can keep up. There is still enormous hits on network television and they obviously have a huge platform to deliver shows.

But they don't have a default audience anymore. And in the same way that the ceiling has broken for cable, where cable is doing numbers we didn't expect for them, the floor has dropped out for the networks, which is it used to be you could put on a network show and be assured of some audience.

Now you can put on a network show and really lay an egg and just fall flat on your face.

The only thing I would throw out about the ratings, by the way, is those numbers, as big as they are from last night, are very much works in progress.

Once you take additional DVR viewing in, millions more people will watch both shows before the week's up.

WHITFIELD: All right, good point.

Brian Lowry, Dave Alpert, congratulations. Nischelle Turner, thanks as well to all of you for joining us. Appreciate it.

ALPERT: Thank you so much.

LOWRY: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, it's an injury that everyone is talking about today, Kevin Ware's broken leg, happening on live television in front of millions of viewers.

Next, we're talking live to an orthopedic doctor to see what the recovery just might be like.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Graphic, horrific, gruesome, you name it, words everyone is using to describe last night's break injury to Louisville's Kevin Ware, number 5 there in white, oh, going for a block at the top of your screen.

And if you didn't see him get hurt, you're lucky. It is tough to watch, so we kind of blurred it out there.

The reserve guard, he didn't just break his leg. His shinbone actually tore out of the skin, breaking through, and his foot seemed to eerily kind of just dangle while he screamed in agony.

I don't know. My description is probably just as gruesome as you seeing it.

The sights and the sounds brought coaches and players to tears there. The crowd, of course, went silent. His team, the Cardinals, went on to win the big game for him and earn a spot in the Final Four.

Here is Coach Rick Pitino.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK PITINO, LOUISVILLE MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH: If we let up for a second, then Kevin Ware doesn't mean how much he means to us.

I said, we're going to dig in, we're going to play this game to the end, we're going to get him back home, nurse him to good health and we're going to get him to Atlanta.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. And so Atlanta-bound? Is he going to be?

Last night Ware underwent a successful two-hour surgery, and check this out. He's actually up and moving today with crutches as you see in that shot right there. Pretty unbelievable.

Dr. Spero Karas is the director of Emory's orthopedic sports medicine fellowship program. All right, good to see you.

So two-hour surgery, he's up and moving, but it doesn't necessarily mean that he's going to be Atlanta-bound with the team. Maybe in a support role.

But let's talk about what he has gone through. You say this is actually a fairly common kind of break, but we're not used to seeing it on the basketball court.

Maybe on the football field, maybe in a car accident, but not here, and that's why it hurt so much.

DR. SPERO KARAS, EMORY UNIVERSITY: That's true. It's -- we're not familiar with seeing that typically on the basketball court.

These injuries are typically associated with a high-energy type of injury, car accidents, falls, of course being struck on a football field.

So a little unique for a basketball court, but fairly common in the orthopedic community.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness, so the road ahead for him, we've seen the pictures of him looking very I guess encouraging after two hours of surgery, but what next? What kind of therapy is involved here? I know there was a steel rod involved in the placement to kind of bring the bones back together again. How delicate is this recovery?

KARAS: Actually, the steel or more than likely titanium rod that went into Kevin's leg is very, very strong. You see some images on the screen where Kevin is up and walking on crutches. The rod is actually designed withstand his full body weight.

WHITFIELD: That's it, what you brought?

KARAS: That's it, an actual rod not unlike the one placed in Kevin's leg. That is a titanium rod. You can see the rod would bridge the fracture.

Let's say the fracture is somewhere here, then it's locked up top and bottom of the nail. The load this nail could withstand is very tough.

Kevin could be walking with crutches in a week or two.

WHITFIELD: Looking at the rod, I'm feeling faint. This rod is attached to the bone and it will stay there.

KARAS: Inside, the rod drops inside.

WHITFIELD: Inside?

KARAS: Bones are hollow. The rod is designed to stay inside. Can actually stay there forever as long as it doesn't cause any symptoms. Frequently this hardware can stay in.

WHITFIELD: And stays forever.

Talk about his recovery. Will he -- you say it can withstand a lot of weight, but then as an athlete, you know, running, pounding, et cetera, can he look toward being able to return to that kind of athleticism?

KARAS: Un the short term, the open wound -- this was an open fracture so the kind of things we worry about in that situation is the soft tissue injury.

The bone has been securely fixed, in good position, if we can get out of the woods over the next week or two over the soft tissue infection.

WHITFIELD: That involved stitching, putting back together.

KARAS: Right. That will be the initial issue. Then after that, the bone heals very dependable in this setting. It's unlikely it won't heal.

He could have full bone healing within six months and his recovery will begin much sooner than that.

So he could actually conceivably be back if a very athletic situation within six to nine months.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. Very encouraging for him to hear, I'm sure, and anyone else who is watching it. Just sympathizing with that kind of break and his potential as an athlete, you wonder, has it been impaired as a result of that accident?

But you're saying no, he could have a full recovery and be just as athletic and successful as he would have been without the injury.

KARAS: If you're going to pick an injury to the ankle, injury to the knee or an injury in the tibia, I think you'd pick the tibia.

I think his prognosis is good, he'll have a great recovery and he'll get back to everything he wants to.

WHITFIELD: Great to hear. That was painful to watch.

Dr. Karas, thanks so much.

KARAS: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: Coming up next, "The Lead With Jake Tapper." He'll be talking live with one of the few people who can relate to Ware, Joe Theismann.

That's exactly what came to mind for so many of us when we saw that break. He suffered a similar injury back in 1972 playing professional football. The injury ended his career.

An interview with Joe Theismann, next, on "The Lead With Jake Tapper."

Also up next, is someone other than Conrad Murray to blame for Michael Jackson's death?

The singer's mother and children say, yes, and they're headed to court to prove it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, whose controversial life and fatal drug overdose in 2009, will be back in the spotlight tomorrow when his wrongful death lawsuit begins.

His family says promoter, AEG Live, bears the responsibility for his passing and they need to pay up big-time in the billions of dollars.

The lawsuit claims AEG Live hired and supervised former doctor, Conrad Murray, who gave Jackson the powerful drugs to induce sleep.

For his role, Murray is now serving a four-year prison sentence for manslaughter.

That's going to do it for me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. I'll see you back here tomorrow.

"The Lead With Jake Tapper" starts right now.