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Tropical Storm Andrea Hitting Florida; Judge's Ruling Could Save Girl's Life; Paris Jackson Attempts Suicide; CNN Welcomes George Stroumboulopoulos.

Aired June 06, 2013 - 11:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: 'Tis the season. I want to take you back to George Howell in Clearwater, Florida. He's there for the first tropical storm of the season, Andrea, is hitting the west coast of Florida. Our specific severe weather expert is there as well.

George, for the people that are there, it's awful, awful weather. It's dangerous, too?

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ashleigh, absolutely. From our vantage point here, what a difference 30 minutes makes. Because just a few minutes ago -- you saw it -- we had the strong winds coming in here. Winds have died down a bit. We had that torrential rainfall. I had to take my red jacket off. It was drenched from all rain that came in here. Still, this is how it's been all day, these off again, on again showers as the storm bands continue to come into the Florida coastline area. And there is always a concern about flooding as it drops all of that rainfall. I believe there is a concern from three to six inches of rainfall that could flood parts of the coastline and also that coastal flooding from storm surge that is higher than the average storm surge, about one three feet higher, that's what's expected.

But I did want to ask Chad Myers, because, Chad, I know you are looking at the radar, we got hit with a bad storm band that came through. Is there more coming through the Tampa area?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Everything I see for you is probably no, unless another band forms to your west, and I don't see it. The next band, which would be out here, very close to the center of circulation, not really an eye but it's almost an eye, you can kind of see it right there, would be on towards Newport Richie, towards Cedar Key and Jacksonville. There is an awful lot of weather to your south, George. It is coming into the southwestern part of Florida. We even have now tornado warnings for around Venice, Florida. This pink area from Sarasota, southward, almost to Ft. Meyers. Every time a big cell comes in it could be spinning. The whole thing is spinning. So one small spin. Remember these are not EF-3s or 4s. George, you'll be just fine. Even if you see, take cover. Wind will be 90 miles per hour with any one of those cells. I don't see any more for you. Most of them to the south.

BANFIELD: Good to know. Thank you.

MYERS: Thanks.

BANFIELD: Thank you, both, Chad Myers and George Howell.

Good to see you a little dryer, George.

A young girl and her parents are praying for a lung transplant. Now a judge has ruled in this child's favor, but will it be enough? That clock is still ticking. Will a lung donor emerge?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: There is nothing like the sound of a little girl's voice as she hears the news that she may just survive a disease that is on the verge of killing her. Sarah parents have just told her a federal judge intervened in her case to make it easier for her to get a life saving transplant.

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(SHOUTING)

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BANFIELD: Little Sarah Murnaghan, just 10-years-old, has been slowly dying of cystic fibrosis in a Pennsylvania hospital, bound by red tape that kept her off a golden list, an adult list of potential lung recipients. But now because of that judge's ruling donor lungs could come in at any moment and Sarah could be saved.

CNN's Jason Carroll joins us live now.

Are we any closer to finding out if there is a donor nearby in the pipeline, Jason?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are a lot of variables that will play out when it comes to whether or not a donor will become available for Sarah Murnaghan. She has to be a match for this donor that eventually may or may not come forward. So a lot of things still have to play out in terms of whether or not they will find a match. In ten days now they have because of this legal decision.

I also want to bring something else up here, Ashleigh, within the past few minutes, I received a letter, a copy of a letter from Kathleen Sebelius' office. Ed the v it is directed to Dr. John Roberts. Dr. John Roberts is the head of the organ procurement that organization basically manages the donor list. Basically, this letter says, "As you are already aware yesterday, "Judge Michael Bielson (ph), a federal judge in Pennsylvania, issued an order requiring me to direct OPTN" -- once again, that itself the organ procurement and transplantation network -- "to immediately cease application of the under 12 rule. I understand that in compliance with the judge's order, last night at 10:34 p.m. eastern time, OPTN created a second candidate record for Miss Murnaghan with a birth date that makes the system treat her as a 12-year-old." As you know, Ashleigh, this issue is about age. Sarah is 10 years old. Adult list says you got to be 12 years or older in order to be on that list. So apparently, what they've done is created a new birth date so she can then get into this computer system and try and get that organ donation.

BANFIELD: How? It's such a bizarre pattern of how they have to go about this. But keep us -- the clock is really ticking, so keep us posted on whether --

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: Yeah, this could happen so fast, too. So let us know, Jason, if something comes through.

Jason Carroll reporting for us live.

You know, further in the "Legal Briefs," it is hard to imagine there is any downside to saving a little girl. Does it mean that somebody else could die because of this? Does it mean the court is playing God and decide who can get a chance to live and who doesn't? Is this a legal mess that is brewing?

Let's bring in our defense attorney, Midwin Charles, today and legal analyst, Lisa Bloom, from AVVO.com via Skype.

Midwin, I'll start with you.

It does seem odd that a court can do this. It seems so right and yet there do seem to be questions looming.

MIDWIN CHARLES, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, this is what courts do. They often step in and issue decisions that are immediate and necessary when prompted by applicants or appellants looking for relief. One of the big issues here, as you've said if your introduction, is age. This young girl is 10-years-old. The adult list requires her to be 12. What this decision does is it opens the floodgates now and allows for possibilities for children to be on that list. And, remember, there are still deciding factors that would allow someone to be able access that lung such as proximity, the lung factor, how difficult their situation is. So there are a lot of things that come into play. She doesn't automatically get bumped up onto the list, her family never asked for her to be given that special treatment.

BANFIELD: But he she is so dire at this point. In some reports, she's at the top of all lists at this point as well.

Lisa, that brings me to the question, if a 10-day injunction, who knows if there will be a donor within 10 day. Once that runs out, is there a case to be made if there is time for discrimination? Age discrimination?

LISA BLOOM, LEGAL ANALYST, AVVO.COM: Well, first of all, if the time runs out, if it's not day nine and she doesn't have a transplant, I would expect her family to go in and seek another injunction or an amendment to this injunction. The big question have I have is why on earth in the first place are adults given priority for lung transplants over children. Wouldn't we think if you have to make a terrible choice between saving a life, you would save the life of a child over the life of an adult? Perhaps there is a medical reason children can't get adult lung transplants. Maybe they are less likely to work in a child. I don't know. This case the judge said she is appropriate to get a lung transplant, I think the whole policy should be re-visited and all children have priority.

BANFIELD: I can imagine, Lisa and Midwin, some of the criteria that has to consider is longevity of life, the ability to use those organs for the longest and most successful period. Perhaps that gives the children the advantage. I'm not sure.

Thank you both.

Our next case, Paris Jackson, Michael Jackson's child, now in the hospital after her family is in the middle of a multi-million dollar lawsuit. The daughter of Michael Jackson does more than a cry for help after strange YouTube videos and some depressing tweets. The stress and the strain of being a teenager, whose every movement is in the spot the light.

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BANFIELD: Those close to the Jackson family are calling it a cry for help. Michael Jackson's only daughter, Paris, is recovering this morning after being rushed to the hospital earlier yesterday. Sources say she cut one of her wrists and that a suicide prevention hotline operator called 911 after speaking to the 15-year-old girl. Jackson has been tweeting about her troubles recently. One of the tweets said using a Beatles song, "Yesterday, all my troubles seem so far away, now it looks as though they're here to stay."

Our legal team joins me again, AVVO.com legal analyst, Lisa Bloom, and defense attorney, Midwin Charles, is joining me.

This comes with a high-profile trial we've been covering. The Jackson family is suing the promoter AEG over Michael Jackson's death, saying this is a wrongful death.

I want to hold up a couple New York papers. So you can see this media coverage, "Jackson Curse" has been so intense over this young girl. "Paris, Suicide Drama."

Lisa, let me begin with you.

You are out there in California. There is a lot of coverage nationally. There is a lot of coverage locally. This child has been deposed twice in the AEG case, apparently in tears both times. She is expected to have to walk into that courtroom and testify about all of this. It all seems like -- it just doesn't seem worth it for this family. Yet, are they suggesting that the pressure might be too much for this girl? BLOOM: Listen, teenage depression and even suicide is a very complicated subject, and I'm not here to say the lawsuit is the only reason, but I will also say that I handle wrongful death cases in my law firm, and I always tell my clients before they begin to think long and hard about bringing children into it. Because the kind of questions that she would have had to answer in her deposition and at the trial that's under way right now are questions like tell me about the moment you found out that your father had died, tell me about how upsetting this is, do you think your father is a drug addict? These are gut wrenching questions for the loss of a loved one for an adult. For a 15-year-old, it's overwhelming. Remember, this is a civil case about AEG. This is about money damages. I think it's appropriate to ask the question, was it worth it?

Midwin, under cross examination -- all cross examinations are blistering and some more than other -- could you see an AEG defense attorney saying, you just attempted suicide, water your mental state? I mean, could this be used against her?

CHARLES: Of course. I think it can. I think that's exactly what they're going to do. Lisa raises a very good point. Was the family aware of the depth at which these attorneys would go after tease children? Any time you file a wrongful death suit, these kinds of questions are yes, unfortunately, I do see these attorneys doing that. And frankly, that is their job. It is not their job to go easy on her and be soft on her. It is their job to defend themselves in this civil case. And it's unfortunate, but it is what it is.

BANFIELD: It is what it is. And it's just sad. These are kids. They're just kids, period.

Lisa Bloom, Midwin Charles, thank you both. Appreciate it.

Coming up, I'm a Canadian, now American. I came to CNN. So did George Stroumboulopoulos. He's Canadian. He's coming to CNN. You're going to meet the man who does not anchor "Good Morning, America."

(LAUGHTER)

He's coming up right after the break.

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There is nothing like a good Canadian. I'm here to say it.

(LAUGHTER)

And I got a fellow Canadian joining me now here.

George Stroumboulopoulos, nice to have you here. Welcome to the good old U.S. of A.

GEORGE STROUMBOULOPOULOS, JOINING CNN: How are you?

BANFIELD: I'm fine. You're joining us. You have a brand new show that will be on Friday nights all summer long. You don't take any time off, is that it?

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: What else am I going to do? I don't have any pets. I don't have any dependents. I have motorcycles and shelves in my life.

(LAUGHTER)

BANFIELD: What's the show all about?

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: It's a talk show and an interview show. I'm going to sit down with two or three guests each night and just kind of dig into it. As an interviewer, sort of want to act as this emotional archaeologist. And I like digging into stories and trying to relate it to people.

(CROSSTALK)

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: You find these artifacts in their stories and you try to use it to put stuff in a context, maybe connect to people at home, bit of wide-eyed extravaganza is part of it. It's fun. We're going to do that each Friday night, but the first one's on Sunday after the ball game.

BANFIELD: How much grief have you been catching for the whole George Stephanopoulos?

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: I'll take it. I'll take it, because Stephanopoulos is so well respected.

BANFIELD: You were on there this morning with --

(CROSSTALK)

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: I spoke to his wife on the phone, which is always weird. But she's so cool.

BANFIELD: Does she get you mixed up?

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: She was on the phone and started talking to me and then I started engaging and I forgot I was on TV and George hung up.

(LAUGHTER)

BANFIELD: OK. Since you're here, straight from good Canada up north, I have a quiz for you.

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: I'll fail, but go for it.

BANFIELD: I passed, a perfect score on my American citizen.

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: Is that what this is?

BANFIELD: It's better than that, better than that.

(LAUGHTER)

Are you ready for this? Question number one, in the War of 1812, who prevailed, U.S. or Canada?

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: Technically, it was a draw, but we won, Canada.

BANFIELD: Oh, you're good. Which U.S. president got stuck in a bathtub?

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: A U.S. president got stuck in a bathtub? Which one didn't?

(LAUGHTER)

I don't know. Roosevelt?

BANFIELD: It was Taft. You got to know that one.

How many pounds of bacon does the average American consume every year?

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: As a vegan, I no longer know bacon statistics. How many pounds of bacon each year? God, if the answer's more than three we have --

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: Go bigger. So bigger.

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: 12.

BANFIELD: We got Burger King here.

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: More than 12 pounds of bacon a year?

BANFIELD: 17.9 pounds.

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: That's too much hog, man.

BANFIELD: You're going to have to revisit that whole vegan thing I think.

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: Wow.

BANFIELD: Who is CNN's worldwide president?

Jeff Zucker.

BANFIELD: You are in very good standing.

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: I better know that.

BANFIELD: Wise choice.

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: I was going to say Wolf Blitzer, but --

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: Wolf is like the Neil Young of CNN. I say that as a complement.

BANFIELD: Winnipeg boy.

(CROSSTALK)

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: And Toronto. Wolf, so Jeff and Wolf.

BANFIELD: This is a really important one. It's thick and wonky. Who is America's biggest trading partner?

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: Canada.

BANFIELD: Nice. He pointed to himself.

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: I'm sure China doesn't like that, but Canada.

BANFIELD: For now it's Canada.

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: Because we have oil and soft wood lumber in Canada.

BANFIELD: And all that water and timber and minerals and George Stroumboulopoulos.

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: Who's your first big guest coming up on Sunday?

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: Martin Short. Keanu Reeves and I are going on a motorcycle ride. He's passionate about building this new kind of bike, so he's letting me test-drive his bike. So it's Keanu Reeves, Martin Short. We have all kinds of guests like Bill Maher, Howell Mandell coming up.

BANFIELD: Do you have a rule one Canadian every show?

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: At one point, I was like there's two and a half Canadians on this show. We're going to have to make a change.

BANFIELD: You could have included two and a half in the title.

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: Two and a half Canadians.

BANFIELD: It's very successful. It's tested.

(LAUGHTER)

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: No kidding.

BANFIELD: Welcome to CNN.

(CROSSTALK)

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: Taft got stuck in a bathtub?

BANFIELD: He got stuck in the bathtub. STROUMBOULOPOULOS: What happened?

BANFIELD: Google the pictures. It's something else.

STROUMBOULOPOULOS: Seriously? That's so weird.

(LAUGHTER)

BANFIELD: George "not Stephanopoulos" Stroumboulopoulos joining us here on CNN.

Thanks so much.

So just to reiterate, Martin Short and Keanu Reeves kick off the series. 10:00 p.m. eastern time, right after the season finale of "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown." Not a Canadian but a very nice man.

Thank you, everyone, for watching. AROUND THE WORLD starts right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. government makes Verizon turn over millions of Americans phone records. Is it an invasion of privacy, or crucial tool in the fight against terror?

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Now, this picture has become a symbol of protest of the movement in turkey. Who is the lady in red?

MALVEAUX: And Brazil is no longer happy with its so-called "I'm Happy to Be a Prostitute" campaign. That's right. We're going to tell you why the health minister changed his mind.

Welcome to AROUND THE WORLD. I'm Suzanne Malveaux.