Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Intel on North Korean Nukes Stirs Fear; North Carolina Campus on Lockdown; Jay-Z's Open Letter on Cuba; Tiger Woods Four Back at Augusta; Dog Dons Tie, Dines on Peanut Butter

Aired April 12, 2013 - 10:30   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news out of North Carolina for you now. The campus of North Carolina A&T University now on lockdown. This after the school's police department received a report of a man with a weapon. We believe he has a gun. No shots have been fired. A campus-wide search is now under way. I wish I could give you more information but I can't at this moment. But North Carolina's A&T State University now on lockdown. Police looking for a gunman there.

Let's talk politics now. Back to our top story. Congressman Doug Lamborn drops a bombshell in a public meeting about North Korea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DOUG LAMBORN (R), COLORADO: The North currently has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And people armed the world said what? Lamborn's testimony causing anxiety as the Secretary of State John Kerry downplayed his claims during a trip to South Korea today. The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson is doing the same. Here he is in an interview with CNN's Piers Morgan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL RICHARDSON, FORMER U.N. AMBASSADOR: I studied this issue extensively and I'm not sure that information is correct. The problem is, nobody knows because we don't have any hard intelligence there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So let's talk about this. Maria Cardona is a Democratic strategist and CNN contributor. Ron Christie is a former special assistant to President George W. Bush.

Welcome to both of you.

MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good morning, Carol.

RON CHRISTIE, FORMER SPECIAL ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BUSH: Good morning. COSTELLO: Good morning. So first off, this information that slipped out during an Armed Services Committee meeting has pretty much confused the entire country because it's not definitive. It's a guess. So my question this morning, should Congressman Lamborn have divulged this, Ron?

CHRISTIE: Well, having had access to classified information when I worked in the White House I can tell you that the dispersal of such information, whether it's a member of Congress or an Executive Branch official is certainly something not to be taken lightly. If the congressman had information that he obtained in private and in confidence and disclosed that, I think that's something for the House Ethics Committee to consider taking a look at.

COSTELLO: Well, this is what Congressman Lamborn said about his testimony. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAMBORN: I did that properly in that this was declassified, whether it's a mistake or not, I can't answer that. But this is -- given the seriousness of the threat, Anderson, this is something that I think people do need to know about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So he's saying that it wasn't classified but it might have been meant to be classified. He just doesn't really know the answer to that question.

So, Maria, but he says the public has the right to know so I guess the question for you is, how much information do we have the right to know when it comes to situations like this?

CARDONA: Well, if it was information that was meant to be public, then I do think we have the right to know. But that is where the big question lies, Carol. And unfortunately, the congressman -- is not an expert on these issues and I think that if there was any questions in his mind or in the minds of his staff, and as I understand that there was because they went and they double-checked with somebody on whether this was declassified information, then I don't think he should have used this in a public hearing.

They should have been a little bit more careful. I think he's straying way too close to the line of information that, you know, frankly, it is doing exactly what classified information like this could do, which is raising the level of anxiety amongst all of us and I think that that could have been avoided had the congressman been a little bit more careful, double, triple, quadruple checked about this information and then maybe he would have known that it was not meant to be public and that it was actually classified.

Now if it was declassified, it was not his fault. But again, this goes to the kind of responsibility that you have as a member of Congress when you have this kind of information at your fingertips.

COSTELLO: And he is a member of the Armed Services Committee, right?

CHRISTIE: Yes.

COSTELLO: I just wanted to quote something else that Congressman Lamborn said, Ron. And I want to ask you about this. He said this, after divulging the once classified information about North Korean nukes, he said, "I'm concerned we're not going to get the funding from this administration to protect our country like we should."

Now that sounds to me like he's playing politics because he doesn't want those defense cuts to go into effect and he wants more money for the military and maybe this is a way to do that.

CHRISTIE: Well, I would -- I would certainly agree with his sentiment that this administration has shown a willingness to reduce our armed forces capabilities. If you look at our ability to send aircraft carriers around the world, if you look at the fact that the Air Force now has certain combat wings that are not out flying right now due to the sequestration, which the president proposed and signed into law, I do agree with that sentiment.

We need to make sure that the commander-in-chief of this country has the resources and the ability to make sure our men and women who protect us in uniform have the training and the money necessary, and this administration has shown a willingness to slash the Department of Defense and our military. Yes, I'm very concerned about that.

COSTELLO: So -- so, Maria, is it right to be concerned that the president won't pony up the money to protect our country from a possible nuclear war?

CARDONA: I'm sorry, Carol. When you have these kinds of claims coming from a party that actually wanted to go into sequestration, wanted the cuts in sequestration to go into effect, it is the epitome of hypocrisy. So I do not take that seriously. He is absolutely playing politics with the situation that is way too important to be playing politics with.

We need to get to the point where folks who are serious about this issue are talking about it without blame, especially coming from a party who actually touted the sequestration as using it for political leverage when you're talking about a threat level and something that gives all Americans anxiety. Let's get serious about trying to find a solution.

COSTELLO: All right. We'll have to leave it there. Maria Cardona, Ron Christie, many thanks for joining us this morning.

CHRISTIE: Always a pleasure, Carol.

CARDONA: Thanks so much, Carol.

COSTELLO: He has rapped about having 99 problems but is Cuba one of them? Jay-Z answering critics of his recent get-away to Cuba with his wife Beyonce.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

COSTELLO: As we've been telling you, the campus of North Carolina A&T University is still on lockdown. This is near Greensboro, North Carolina. This after the school's police department received a report of a man with a weapon, specifically a gun, near the General Classroom Building.

That man is described as about 5'11", he's wearing a blue jacket, blue jeans, blue cap and white T-shirt. From what we understand, no shots have been fired but students and other people are being told to stay where they are on campus, not to go outside. Those not on campus are being told to stay away until this alert is lifted.

And as you might expect, a campus-wide search is now under way. When we get more information, of course we'll pass it along to you.

All right. Let's talk music, politics, and Jay-Z because he is fed up with all of the critics of his trip to Cuba with his superstar wife, Beyonce. So he's firing back, what else, in song.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY-Z, RAPPER: I done turned Havana to Atlanta. Guayabera shirts and bandanas. Politicians never did (EXPLETIVE DELETED) for me. Except to lie to me, distort history. Obama said, chill, you're going to get me impeached. You don't need this (EXPLETIVE DELETED) anyway, chill with me on the beach.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: I'm sure you got that. Sounds like Jay-Z is saying he got approval to head -- to head south to Cuba from none other than President Obama. But wait, I thought it was the Treasury Department who gave you special permission to go to Cuba. And to White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, who was ready to answer that question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I guess nothing rhymes with Treasury. Because Treasury offers and gives licenses for travel as you know. And the White House has nothing to do with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: It's amazing what the White House correspondents think is funny.

(LAUGHTER)

Joining me now is Grammy Award-winning producer Prince Charles Alexander.

Hi, Prince.

(LAUGHTER)

PRINCE CHARLES ALEXANDER, GRAMMY WINNING MUSIC PRODUCER: Carol, how are you today?

COSTELLO: I'm good. I'm good. I like what you said about Jay-Z's song. I'm just going to read to you what you said in an e-mail. "A pretty good street credible rhyme and beat for someone worth a few $100 million." Well, I guess Jay-Z has come a long way from Brooklyn?

ALEXANDER: Yes. So now instead of the police he's running from the Republican Party. He's got a whole political party that's now chasing him. And, you know, he's actually looking to try to invigorate himself and his image and keep that, like, street cred thing going. So now instead of the hood, he's got Obama, Obama as his boy, and America has his hood. It's interesting how he's weaving the fantasy and the reality together. I think it's fun.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: I know but I'm looking at these pictures of him in Cuba and you talk about street cred. He's in like in a polo shirt and he's smoking a big, fat cigar. He just looks like a rich guy.

ALEXANDER: And, you know, he's got like one of the most notorious young rappers on the scene right now. I think his name is Chef Keef. And he's shouted him out in his composition also just to try to really invigorate that street cred once again. You know, to tell the truth, I like the song. I think it's really interesting. The fact that the Republicans are actually listening to hip-hop, I don't know what that means.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: I think that means they want to bash President Obama because they're still intimating that it was actually President Obama that gave Jay-Z and Beyonce special permission to go to Cuba although the Treasury Department says, no, it was us.

ALEXANDER: Well, you know, and that's where people is showing that yes, I listen to the song but I don't really know hip-hop because it's hip-hop is the newspaper of the streets, basically it's -- and Jay-Z is telling his story and his story and his reality is that he went to Cuba and yes, there probably nothing that rhymes with Treasury. So --

(LAUGHTER)

He's using Obama as a metaphor. So he's got some reality in the song, some fantasy in the song, some pop culture. He shouts out Bob Dylan, he shouts out "Zoolander." How do you get Zoolander in a hip-hop competition. But Jay-Z did it.

COSTELLO: I know. Well, I find it interesting that he chose to respond in a song. Sort of like his wife Beyonce did with that whole thing about the lip-synching thing. I mean, she responded in a song --

ALEXANDER: Even it does --

COSTELLO: He responded in song. Why not just come out and like issue a statement?

ALEXANDER: I don't know this thing about the hip-hop genre being the newspaper of the street really is held to heart by most people that the practice the art form. And in many ways they feel like traditional media will not voice what they're trying to speak about, the way they would voice it. So the best way to contrast is to come out with a song. It seems like he has started a little bit of a controversy. This is interesting to me.

COSTELLO: It is fascinating.

(LAUGHTER)

It will probably go away in the next few days anyway.

ALEXANDER: Yes.

COSTELLO: Prince Charles Alexander, thank you so much for being with us this morning.

ALEXANDER: Thank you, Carol. You have a good day.

COSTELLO: You, too.

The best golfers in the whole world chasing that green jacket. And if history repeats itself, Tiger Woods could have a very memorable Masters. We'll take you live to Augusta next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The Los Angeles Dodgers' $147 million ace will not be pitching any time soon. I'm sure you've seen the pictures by now. Zack Greinke is pitching to Carlos Quentin. Carlos Quentin takes offense to that hit to the shoulder and of course he tackles Zack Greinke. Unfortunately for Greinke he put his shoulder down, his non- pitching shoulder, probably to protect his pitching arm, and broke his collarbone.

The fight continued, both benches cleared. In fact, the fight continued into the parking lot after the game. So be ready for suspension and many, many fines to come. Of course, Zack Greinke will probably be out six to eight weeks with that broken collarbone.

It's been right years since Tiger Woods last won the Masters but his opening round score has led him to three green jackets in the past.

Shane O'Donoghue joins us now from Augusta.

Tiger is only four shots back.

SHANE O'DONOGHUE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He's only four shots back and it's a good trend. You mentioned there as well, Carol. He has done it on three previous occasions. He's a notoriously slow starter here at the Masters. So if that's anything to go by, things are still on track.

And it was a solid but unspectacular performance yesterday. Three birdies, one bogey, a very consistent play but struggled on the greens and he knows that you need patience to win here at the Masters as he articulated when he spoke to the media after the round.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIGER WOODS, CHAMPION GOLFER: This is more so than most courses, you have to be very patient, especially with the greens as soft as they are and as slow as they were. It will -- it will bait you into, you know, firing at some flags. And you've got to be disciplined. It was a good solid day. And I'm 200 par and four back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'DONOGHUE: Tiger limits what he gives away to the press but I think if you read into that you sense the discipline that he has and he's going to need all of that here. There are so many younger players now who don't fear Tiger as they once did. As you mentioned, it's been eight years since he won a Masters. It's been five years since he last won a major so there's a lot of folks, a lot of pressure on him. He's out later this afternoon but he is still very much in the hunt -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I cannot help but notice it is raining behind you. Will there be delays today?

O'DONOGHUE: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

We're hoping not. And look, everyone is out here. They are enjoying the golf but I think this is only going to be around for the next couple of minutes. We avoided a serious downpour last night. It did certainly hit a lot of other areas around Georgia but it's good to see so many people here enjoying the golf and I think they'll be able to continue wearing their shorts very sure.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: So many of these people prepared with their golf umbrellas, too. That's fabulous. Thank you very much, Shane O'Donoghue.

"Talk Back" question for you today, should Social Security be cut? Facebook.com/carolCNN or tweet me @carolCNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: "Talk Back" question today, should Social Security be cut? This from Vincent, "I paid in for 48 years, damn right I'm entitled. Get all the freeloaders off the handouts." This from Christopher, "I'm a millennial, I think it's fine that they cut Social Security, but we should be able to opt out so we can invest in our own 401(k)s."

This from Sharon, "No way. You try living on $17K per year. I worked 40 years and paid into the system. We should take care of our own and the president should keep his word."

Pleas keep the conversation going, Facebook.com/carolCNN or tweet me @carolCNN.

Have you ever watched a dog try to eat peanut butter? Let me tell you, it's really fun. There should be more after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It has been a staple of horror movies for decades, a great skyscraper towers high above a city, a calamity strikes like the one in earthquake and an elevator plunges. Yet that almost never happens in real life because 160 years ago a man just outside of New York drew this diagram on a scrap of paper, a simple idea for a simple invention. His name was Elijah Otis. And Pedro Baranda knows all about him.

PEDRO BARANDA, PRESIDENT, OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY: When he invented the device by which when the rope broke, the platform remained in position and it became safe and that was opened up vertical transportation safely for people and enabled tall buildings.

FOREMAN: Indeed, the elevator's safety brake freed the imaginations and opened the heavens for architects in the rapidly growing cities.

BARANDA: Buildings started to shoot up. First five floors, then 10, 14, 102 floors like here in the Empire State Building.

FOREMAN: This is what it looked like when those elevators were installed in the early 1930s. Today the Otis company lays claimed to elevators all over the planet in the very tallest buildings and fully expects to be climbing to even greater heights as demand for urban offices and homes continues to grow.

BARANDA: There is buildings on the drawing board that are -- that were unimaginable only 10, 15 years ago. So it's -- that's another area for technical challenges and innovations in mega tall buildings.

FOREMAN: In other words, more than a century and a half after Otis started his small company, business is still looking up.

Tom Foreman, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: He's not the first dog to get his jaws all sticky with peanut butters but while wearing a dinner jacket and holding his own spoon? Here's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Why make a sandwich when you can eat peanut butter straight out of the jar?

TREVIN SPENCER, VIDEOTAPED DOG EATING: It's so funny.

MOOS: The dog's name is Odin, the guy laughing is the cameraman and the hands handling the spoon belongs to Odin's owner. And if you think the cameraman's laughter is contagious, just imagine being there.

SPENCER: I was basically crying behind the camera laughing so hard.

MOOS: At least Trevin Spencer could see the action. His roommate and the dog's owner, Ashlin Parker, was underneath the green jacket with her head covered.

SPENCER: She was kind of crouched down hiding behind Odin and her arms are reaching around Odin.

MOOS: The dog himself was wearing a white shirt and vest for the shoot at home in Spokane, Washington.

(On camera): So what inspires someone to make a dog in a suit eating peanut butter video? The answer is two dogs dining with much better manners.

(Voice-over): These two waited patiently for their dinner and actually used silverware to eat, not to mention napkins. They even fed each other. The video that inspired Ashlin and Trevin was uploaded a little over two years ago. When viewers cried fake, the masterminds put out another video revealing their technique.

Ashlin and Trevin decided to re-make the doggie dining classic using peanut butter and arrest this K-9 cinematic history. As one commenter posted, "I'm watching a dog in a suit eating peanut butter. What am I doing with my life?"

(On camera): And what did you do with the leftover peanut butter?

SPENCER: It's actually back in the fridge.

MOOS (voice-over): Waiting for Odin the German Shepherd when he wants seconds. Careful what you eat out of their fridge.

Who cares about peanut butter and jelly? We prefer peanut butter and German Shepherd.

Jeanne Moos, CNN --

SPENCER: It's so funny.

MOOS: New York. (END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: I don't know what to say. I'm Carol Costello. Have a great weekend. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now.