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Tweets from Hillary; Tear Gas, Barricades, as Protests in Istanbul Grow; Richmond Airport Threatened, Evacuated; Interview with Former Congressman Bob Barr; Peru's Warrior Princess; Study: Overdraft Protection Costly; Tim Tebow to New England Patriots

Aired June 11, 2013 - 09:30   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Daughter Chelsea Clinton said simply, "Welcome, Mom." President Obama also welcomed his former rival. Judging by Hillary Clinton's first tweet, there will be many more.

"Thanks for the inspiration," she said to the creators of the Tumblr parody "Texts from Hillary," which made this photo famous, and then, "I'll take it from here."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: And Carol, it's a pretty impressive debut. She already has more than 300,000 followers in less than 24 hours and being on Twitter, of course, will allow Hillary Clinton not only to connect directly with voters, but also allow her to fundraise, which is very important when you're running for the White House.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I think that's the most important thing of all. Brianna Keilar, thanks so much. Reporting live from the White House this morning.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN BREAKING NEWS.

COSTELLO: All right. We want to take you back to Istanbul, Turkey, because it's getting pretty bad there. You see the smoke in the air, that's actually tear gas. Government forces have been trying to break up protesters who have been protesting in the streets in different parts of Turkey for a couple of days now. Nick Paton Walsh is in the middle of it all. Tell us what's happening, Nick.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, behind me we see this continued standoff between police and protesters down there. They've made now two barricades that are reasonably effective. The first one out of some of the construction site debris they found around here.

They've been throwing rocks at the police and the police respond with substantial amounts of tear gas to clear them away. This continues, frankly, for minutes and hours, another crack there, as well, but we're now into eight hours of this activity. Sometimes we hear a stun grenade go off behind us, too.

Police now into the eighth hour of trying to control the protesters around the square. Sometimes tear gas billows out and obscures our view of much of what is happening, but it's a strange scene, because while there are these clashes happening down side streets and tires on fire, we're also seeing sometimes people what seem to be going about their ordinary business on the other side of the square, taxis simply driving through.

The central greenery here, Gezi park that's been at the heart of the conservationists' protests that began this broader protest movement across the country, that seems to have been left alone. The Istanbul governor certainly said that was the plan. We saw police move into it briefly, then pull out again.

But the question, obviously, now how do police get a lid on what's happening around it now, working out, and coming to a close, many maybe concerned that as Istanbulis wake up or see after work (ph) these continued clashes, they may choose to join the protest. No sign of that as yet, but also no sign of a definitive lid on the unrest behind me.

COSTELLO: All right. Nick Paton Walsh, stay safe. We appreciate your report. Just in case you're wondering, those protesters want the prime minister of Turkey to resign. They say he's imposing conservative Islamic values on citizens and eroding individual rights. We'll take you back to Turkey when we have more information to give you.

Also some breaking news out of Richmond, Virginia. Back here at the United States at the Richmond International Airport. It has been evacuated now for a couple of hours. On the phone with us now is Troy Bell. He's the PR guy at the Richmond International Airport. Troy, hello?

TROY BELL, SPOKESMAN, RICHMOND INTL. AIRPORT: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Tell me what's going on.

BELL: The airport received a threatening call this morning. It was deemed to be serious enough to lead to a terminal evacuation. The call came in between 6:00 and 6:15 local time. The evacuation shortly thereafter. We are still in a state of evacuation, but the terminal sweeps have been complete. The parking decks are clear. At this point, we admitted airline workers and we hope to be able to open the facility to the public here very shortly.

COSTELLO: We found it kind of unusual that the entire airport would be evacuated, and so were the parking garages there. What kind of threat was this?

BELL: Just the nature of the threat. I won't go into specifics, but it was broad and included multiple facilities at RIC.

COSTELLO: So you think you're not going to find anything, right?

BELL: I'm sorry, say again?

COSTELLO: You said you're allowing airport workers to go back inside the terminals, that probably means you don't expect to find anything? BELL: Well, no. We've already completed the sweeps. We had EOD Technicians and canine teams in the terminal building. They go through the public areas first. Those were found to be clear. There were some additional sweeps looking at a baggage makeup area, but at this point, it is clear. We've been able to -- first thing is, the airline employees take their positions, then we'll soon be able to allow customers back into the facility.

COSTELLO: To our viewers, just ignore that banner, you're not looking at Turkey, this is the Richmond International Airport. Thanks for removing that.

I would assume the investigation now returns on whoever called this threat in. Is that an easy kind of investigation? I expect it isn't.

BELL: Well, there's multiple agencies involved with this. We, certainly, had a quick local response. Fortunately, airport police and fire, but also our county (INAUDIBLE) city of Richmond, and then Virginia state police have been great partners. A lot of mutual aid. Folks got involved with that, but you can certainly make assumptions that in terms of an investigation, it will involve both local, state, and federal authorities.

COSTELLO: All right, Troy Bell, I'll let you get back to work, thanks so much for informing us. We appreciate it.

BELL: Thank you.

COSTELLO: NEWSROOM is back in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: When it comes to the NSA spying scandal, my next guest has one thing to say, and that would be, I told you so. Former Republican Congressman Bob Barr warned of government overreach back in 2000, and as a libertarian, he's not exactly in favor of the government interfering in our lives anyway. Congressman Barr joins me now, thanks for coming in.

BOB BARR, FORMER U.S. CONGRESSMAN: I wish it were a more pleasant topic, but it's good to be here.

COSTELLO: Let's start with that, you said, "I told you so," which says to me you're not really surprised by these revelations.

BARR: Not at all. Even before the USA Patriot Act, there were signs we saw in the Congress, at least a number of us saw with Project Epsilon, and Project Carnivore, and some others, that the government was moving far too fast and far too quietly and under the table in the direction of massive databasing of Americans' communications. It accelerated greatly after 9/11 with the Patriot Act and then with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act expansions, and voila, now we have absolute data mining, dragnet data mining, by the government. It's very troubling.

COSTALLO: The president said, though, no one is listening to your phone calls. And Americans aren't being targeted, it's foreigners overseas.

BARR: That's absolutely not true. Americans are being targeted. Americans in this country that have no connection with any illegal activity or terrorist. The president may be technically correct in the standpoint that a lot of the information that the government is gathering is not the phone call conversations themselves, but all sorts of data surrounding that call, which can be just as revealing as the conversation itself.

COSTELLO: So you sound a lot like Edward Snowden, the NSA leaker, so in your mind, should he be charged with a crime?

BARR: That's not really the main question. That will take care of itself. The justice system will handle Mr. Snowden. The real question that the American people and the Congress need to be focusing on is not did Edward Snowden violate the law, but did the U.S. government violate the law? That is the most troubling and much more important question for the American people and for the Congress.

COSTELLO: So, would you consider Snowden more of a whistle-blower?

BARR: Well, like I say, I think it's very, very important what has happened since these revelations came out, at least the issue is before the American people and before the Congress. If we don't do anything about it, if Congress just sort of moves on to something else or focuses just on Edward Snowden, shame on us. This is a real opportunity to develop some real national policy on whether or not we want the government snooping on every man, woman, and child in this country that communicates electronically.

COSTELLO: On the other hand, you look at a bunch of polls available out there, and the majority of the American people aren't that upset about it. They said, you know, I don't have anything to hide, look at my phone records, I don't care.

BARR: That's sort of the Lindsey Graham approach. It's a very childish approach. Gee, if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. Our government, our system of government, was not set up on that basis. Our Bill of Rights protects us, whether or not we think we're doing anything wrong, it protects us against unreasonable searches and seizure, and by any measure what the government is doing is unreasonable.

COSTELLO: Congressman Barr, thank you so much for joining us this morning, we appreciate it.

BARR: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Overdraft protection, you may have signed up for it at your bank to make sure all your transactions go through to protect you, but guess what, opting in for that protection could cost you money.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANA: My name is Sana. This is not a good place for kids. MARIE ARANA, WRITER: La Riconada (ph) for me was an absolutely breath taking experience. I felt I was stepping back in history; something very medieval about it the misery of life, the lack of water and sewage. Education is really very low in the sense of priorities. In the case of Sana, her father was such an inspiration. He said, don't be like me. I never stepped foot inside a school. You can.

SANA (through translator): I found out that my father was dying. I cried and I cried, and I told my mom, mom, don't cry. I will succeed with or without my father.

ARANA: In a place that is dark and ugly in so many ways, this child has such a great appreciation for words.

SANA: My poem would be like an acoustic it would be "I dream of being an engineer. I'm excited to grow. I will never let my dad down, and I will never fall behind."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Oh Sana is currently enrolled in high school and on track to attend college. To learn more about the campaign behind the film "GIRL RISING" and a 10 times 10 fund for girls' education, go to CNN.com/girlrising. The CNN film, "GIRL RISING," premiers this Sunday, June 16th, at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Apple is coming out with a "Kill Switch" for its iPhone and other mobile devices. The "Switch" expected by this fall will allow you to go online and deactivate your phone if your phone is snatched. The move comes as police nationwide call for tech companies to find solutions to discourage Smartphone thefts. We'll have much more on this story in the 10:00 a.m. Eastern hour of NEWSROOM.

To opt in or not? If you're signed up for overdraft protection at your bank, you could be putting yourself at risk for increased costs or having your account closed involuntarily. Oh man, Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange, I thought this was supposed to protect you.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It just never ends does it? Yes so what happened was the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau put together a report, this was group that was created in 2010 to be a voice for everyday people. And what they found out is that checking account customers are racking up hundreds of dollars in overdraft fees each year. They total about $225 on average. And since 2010 banks have actually been required to automatically opt customers out of overdraft protection unless they voluntarily opt in.

Now, depending on the bank, about 10 percent to 40 percent of account holders currently have the protection. But guess what this report found, it found out consumers who opt in actually end up with more fees, with more costs. The CFPB looked at people who are heavy over drafters before 2010 when the rule was put in place and it found out by opting out account holders actually reduced their fees by more than $450. Separately consumers who opt in are more likely to end up with involuntary closures. Meaning the bank will just shut down your account.

Now since negative account balances are a big contributor to the bank shutting you down, that's one factor to consider. Banks make a pretty penny, though -- surprise, surprise -- on these fees. Med says overdraft fees generated about $32 billion -- billion in bank revenues last year.

Is that totally unreasonable? I shouldn't ask you Carol but we'll actually have to see. The CFPB says it's still deciding what its next step is going to be -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So what do you -- what do you do, just ask a lot of questions of your bank if you decide to protect yourself?

KOSIK: Well, should you always ask a lot of questions. But based on this study, it seems to be you're better off opting out and just keeping track of your -- of your purchases. Now, if you make huge purchases let's say if you pay a car payment and you don't want that to bounce or you know you have to pay your rent, you may have to think twice about that. But based on this study, it looks like opting out may save you from you paying these hefty fees -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I think you should keep your money under your mattress. I'm just kidding.

KOSIK: Oh Carol.

COSTELLO: It's really discouraging, though. You put your money in a savings account and you make no interest whatsoever. So why bother, right?

KOSIK: It is very frustrating. You know but you have to also look at -- I know you don't like this, but you've got to look at what the banks are dealing with too, there are low interest rates. It's hard for these banks to make money. So what are they doing, they're finding these loopholes --

COSTELLO: Banks are making money hand over fist. You just said they made $32 billion on overdraft fees.

KOSIK: That's true, yes, but here -- I'm just saying for the other side of it, if we're going to try to be fair and reasonable here, these banks the way they see it, which obviously I don't agree with, the common public doesn't agree with, but this is their way of making up for the fact that interest rates are really low and they're not making the kind of big bucks that they used to make -- Carol.

COSTELLO: You're a nice person, Alison Kosik. That's why --

KOSIK: I'm trying to be fair.

COSTELLO: I know. Alison thanks so much.

Tim Tebow should be back on the practice field today with a new team. We'll talk Patriots when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It is Tebow time in New England. The quarterback is the newest member of the New England Patriots. It is official now. Andy Scholes has more in this morning's "Bleacher Report." Hi Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: Good morning. Tim Tebow is expected to be in uniform later this morning when the Patriots hit the field for their first of their three day mini-camp. Now for a while there it looked like Tebow wasn't going to find a new team this offseason. But Patriots are apparently ready for Tebow mania.

Tim Tebow is signing with the team as a quarterback. And we all know he's not going to be competing with Tom Brady for playing time, but he could be used in certain situations. Bill Belichick loves tough, versatile, smart players and he always finds a way to use them.

And by joining the Patriots Tebow is reunited with Josh McDaniel. McDaniel is currently the offensive coordinator for the Patriots and he was the head coach of the Broncos when they drafted Tebow in the first round. And Coach Belichick is expected to speak about the Tebow's signing at a news conference in the next hour.

And it looks like Patriot nation is ready for Tebow mania. Check out the front page from today's "Boston Herald," it reads "It's our Tebow time, Good God!"

All right, well it looks like the Tiger/Sergio feud has finally been put to bed. The two had a brief exchange and shook hands yesterday on the driving range at the U.S. Open. This was the first time Tiger and Sergio have met face to face since Sergio made a fried chicken comment directed at Woods. Now the U.S. Open kicks off on Thursday. Tiger is part of an all-star opening threesome of himself Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott.

On a Florida court room yesterday things did not go well for Chad Johnson. The former NFL wide receiver was about to have his plea deal for a domestic violence deal accepted, but when the judge told Johnson he should thank his lawyer for his good work, Johnson slapped him on the butt and the whole courtroom started laughing which did not make the judge very happy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's an excellent attorney. He did a good job on you, sir. Do you have any questions of Mr. Swickle.

This isn't a joke.

CHAD OCHOCINCO, ATHLETE: I didn't do it as a joke, ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody in the courtroom was laughing. I'm not accepting these plea negotiations.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SCHOLES: Oh, man. If only he wouldn't have gave his lawyer a little good hustle there he would not have to spend 30 days in jail.

COSTELLO: Did he realize the judge was a woman and he was up on charges of domestic violence for hitting a woman?

SCHOLE: And right after he did it and everyone was laughing, he kept looking around like stop laughing.

COSTELLO: Yes, I bet you. Andy Scholes, thanks so much.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a break.

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