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Pope Francis Increasing Vatican Transparency; Castro Arraigned; Interview with Kirk Wiebe; Fallout from NSA Leak; "True Blood" Season Six Starts Sunday; From "Child of the Dump" to Star Student; Spurs Cool Off Heat

Aired June 12, 2013 - 09:30   ET

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


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CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. Stories we're watching right now in NEWSROOM at 31 minutes past the hour. After finishing down Tuesday, stocks heading for a higher open. In fact you see stocks up there about 107 points. Ringing the opening bell this morning Gigamon a data software company.

Chrysler has just six days to formally respond to a recall request from the government. We're talking about Jeep Grand Cherokees and Liberty that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says carries a fire risk in rear-end crashes. If Chrysler still says no to the recall, NHTSA will hold a public hearing.

A proposed law in New Jersey has privacy advocates outraged. A New Jersey lawmaker wants police officers to be able to search through a driver's cell phone right after an accident. Officers will be able to see if the driver was talking or texting at the time of the incident if they were able to do this. The ACLU says this kind of search requires a warrant.

For the first time since 2005, Americans' opinions of Former President George W. Bush are more positive than negative. A new poll by Gallup finds 49 percent of people view Bush favorably compared to 46 percent who have an unfavorable opinion.

A stunning revelation coming from the head of the Catholic Church. Pope Francis says there is a gay lobby at the Vatican. The remark came during a weekend meeting with church leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean. The pope mentioned the gay lobby as part of a stream of corruption within the church's central bureaucracy. Barbie Nadeau is the Rome bureau chief at "Newsweek" and "The Daily Beast" correspondent. Welcome Barbie.

BARBIE NADEAU, ROME BUREAU CHIEF, "NEWSWEEK/THE DAILY BEAST": Thank you.

COSTELLO: First of all, ahat does Pope Francis mean by a gay lobby?

NADEAU: This goes back to Benedict XVI, his predecessor who resigned last February amid the scandal. Of course, Benedict XVI's butler was convicted of leaking documents that contain a lot of information about this so-called gay lobby and pressure they could have been under and the fact that some of these men in the Vatican could have been blackmailed because of their affiliation in this so-called gay lobby.

But Pope Francis has made his first 100 days in office really all about transparency, and I think this is just one more example of that. He says what he feels, what he thinks, what he knows and that is something very new in the Vatican.

COSTELLO: Where you know there have been long been rumors that this gay lobby actually drove Pope Benedict from the church. Did Pope Francis give that notion credibility?

NADEAU: Well, you know, these comments that Pope Francis made to this congregation were not meant to be public. This is not a Vatican statement. In fact, the Vatican has been very, very clear about the fact that this was a private conversation for a private audience, and not an actual announcement. But Pope Francis was given a two volume docier containing a lot of information from an investigation that Pope Benedict had ordered, into corruption and financial corruption and into problems with the gay lobby into problems with celibacy. Obviously, sexual orientation with the Catholic Church has to do with celibacy, not so much anything else.

You know, all these sorts of things, you know, rumors swirling around Vatican City, were waiting for Pope Francis when he took office. He's dealing basically with problems of the past. So far we're seeing a pope who is very willing to confront these things head on.

COSTELLO: All right, Barbie Nadeau of "Newsweek" and "The Daily Beast," thanks so much for joining us this morning.

For more on this story and other religious stories check out CNN.com/Belief. Our belief blog is fantastic.

Well, now, we want to go back to Cleveland where an arraignment hearing ended just minutes ago for Ariel Castro. The man accused of imprisoning three women for about a decade.

Pamela Brown was in the courtroom for these proceedings. She joins us live. What was it like inside, Pamela?

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, this arraignment for Ariel Castro was very similar to the first arraignment shortly after he was arrested back in May.

Ariel Castro walked into the courtroom wearing an orange jump suit and he was shackled at his feet, and he was handcuffed. And when he walked in, he kept his head down. He looked despondent, expressionless when he walked in -- emotionless. That is very similar to how he looked before when he made his first court appearance before a judge when he stood there and pleaded not guilty.

Again, didn't look at his attorneys, didn't look at his judge, and it only lasted for about 60 to 90 seconds. So it was very quick, and then he left. After that, Castro's attorney, Craig Weintraub came out and gave a statement to the media and it was interesting because he had a different tone from what we've heard from him before. You may remember there was an interview with Castro's attorney a few weeks ago in which they said that Castro wasn't the monster he's been made out to be in the media.

Today, the attorney actually admitted that some of the charges he faces, some of the 329 charges, are indisputable. So, an admission of sorts that some of those charges can't be contested. Interesting to note, too, today is the first time that his attorneys have actually been able to look at some of the evidence in this case.

So, what it really seems like the trial would hang on is whether the aggravated murder charge is pursued with the death penalty. Here's what the attorney had to say about that.

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CRAIG WEINTRAUB, CASTRO'S DEFENSE ATTORNEY: We are very sensitive to the emotional strain and impact that a trial would have on the women, their families, and this community. Mr. Castro currently faces hundreds of years in prison with the current charges, and it is our hope that we can continue to work towards a resolution to avoid having an unnecessary trial about aggravated murder and the death penalty.

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BROWN: The attorney said that negotiations have not begun with the prosecution, but he did make it clear that he hopes a resolution will be reached before this has to go to trial. And, again, he is almost as though he was speaking to the prosecution urging them to drop the aggravated murder charge and to not pursue any more aggravated murder charges so that Castro doesn't face the death penalty.

COSTELLO: Sounds like he doesn't want a trial at all. We'll see what happens. Pamela Brown reportin live from Cleveland this morning.

Still ahead in NEWSROOM the NSA under fire for spying on Americans. I'll talk to one former employee who tried to blow the whistle on the agency years ago. You'll hear what his experience was like on being a whistleblower.

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COSTELLO: Edward Snowden isn't the first NSA employee who has tried to raise a red flag on how the agency operates. My next guest did the same thing more than a decade ago. Blowing the whistle on what he and his colleague called waste, fraud, and abuse after working at the NSA for decades. His name is Kirk Wiebe and he joins me now from Washington. Welcome.

KIRK WIEBE, NSA WHISTLEBLOWER: Thank you, Carol. Thank you for having me.

COSTELLO: We're glad you're here. You went through the proper channels to complain about the NSA. And many are asking today why Edward Snowden didn't do what you did, go through the proper channels. What happened when you and your colleague did that?

WIEBE: We didn't do very well. We tried to follow proper channels, including going to Congress directly through a staffer that we knew there by the name of Diane Rorke, that worked for HPSSI, the House Permanent Select Subcommittee on Intelligence.

When that didn't work, we ended up filing a DODIG complaint in September of 2002, believing we'd see some results from that. Unfortunately, that investigation, after two and a half years was basically covered up. The report is available on the internet, but is 99.9 percent redacted. So, in essence, we failed going through the prescribed channels.

COSTELLO: So, that Edward Snowden chose not to go through the proper channels doesn't surprise you.

WIEBE: No, it doesn't. Whistleblowers within the intelligence community virtually have no protections. And, in fact , there's been recent legislation proposed to give agency heads the authority even to remove people -- people's retirement pay after retiring from the agency.

COSTELLO: Did you ever feel that your own government was against your efforts, you know, to better the country?

WIEBE: Yes. It was shocking. It began inside NSA first when we had made huge breakthroughs. In fact, the deputy director from NSA back then was Bill Black. And he came down, he was Michael Hayden's deputy. He came down and saw what we had done. He said, my God, you've made major breakthroughs. Why are you being so modest? We weren't being modest, but we were being resisted by various bad culture elements within the NSA, very competitive organization, and people didn't want our solution to be known. However, thinking the deputy director had seen it, we were hopeful something would move forward. Unfortunately, he went completely silent. We got trailblazered (ph).

COSTELLO: The other thing that many people are wondering is, Edward Snowden was a high school dropout, didn't have a college education. Yet, he seemed to have this powerful position within the NSA. How do you think that happened?

WIEBE: It happens for a couple of reasons. There's a great demand for IT, information technology, knowledgeable people. In the entire Washington area, everyone needs it. We're so dependent on IT with our computers and databases, but it's especially important in NSA where one is collecting huge amounts of information. You have to process it, you have to store it, you have to organize it, you have to access it, and perform analysis on it. So, a guy comes along with minimal formal education, but, yet, has a knack for IT. Many of us are aware of 10 or 12 year olds who now build computers. They just have a knack and obviously he became very knowledgeable.

COSTELLO: Last question for you. Do you believe Edward Snowden is a traitor and defector and do you believe he put the country in danger?

WIEBE: I worry about going to China. That's the one bit of a red flag that goes up. Otherwise, I would say he's provided a public service because we were worried about the privacy issues. We had a way to overcome them over a decade ago. They were shunned. When we tried to raise the issue elsewhere through Beltway companies that typically do business, we were told nobody cares about the privacy and we were shocked.

COSTELLO: Kirk Wiebe, NSA whistleblower, thank you so much for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.

WIEBE: My pleasure, thank you.

COSTELLO: Werewolves, shape shifters, fairies and of course vampires, the countdown is on to season six of HBO's "True Blood". Up next in NEWSROOM what's coming out of the coffin next.

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COSTELLO: Come Sunday, it's back to Bon Temps, Louisiana. That's how you pronounce it. I love the show, though. I watch it, I really do. We're talking about the super natural drama of vampires who live among us; the HBO hit TV show "True Blood." The show's stars were out last night in Los Angeles for the season six premier.

CNN's entertainment correspondent Nischelle Turner joins us. Good morning, Nischelle.

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hey good morning. You know what Carol I can bet you're a fan. This show it just kind of grabs people, takes hold and won't let you go. You know vampires have been big for a while now. And this vampire show has this mix of suspense and sex and it's generated a huge devoted fan bases, it's one of HBO's biggest hits.

The early reviews of the premier episode say this show has not lost a step. The "New York Post" review of the first episode said "Instead of blood lust, this show shows lust blood". We caught up with the stars of the show, Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer, last night and they talked about just how this show keeps moving along. Listen.

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ANNA PAQUIN, ACTRESS: I feel like every year we're like oh, my God, how can we top how crazy we went last year. And they always come up with something just you know just takes it over the edge.

STEPHEN MOYER, ACTOR: My mom said you're going to L.A. to be a vampire, a vampire show. And obviously "Twilight" wasn't out, you know, none of it was out, she was like really, darling?

And I was like mom, this is it, this is the one.

(END VIDEO CLIP) TURNER: She was like really? No, you're going to be a street performer I know it. But no really, he did have a job. And by the way Carol, if you didn't know Moyer and Paquin aren't just co-stars, they're married and they have twins.

COSTELLO: Oh that's fantastic. Charlene Harris, you know the author of the series she just released what she says is her last book in the series.

TURNER: Yes.

COSTELLO: So what does that mean for the show?

TURNER: Well, you know, it could mean one thing, but this isn't like a "Game of Thrones" situation where the series try to stick really closely to the material in the books because one of the most popular main characters in the show is just really briefly in the book. So for example, the show should -- will probably continue with a life on its own.

And you know we're just in season six here and she has written the 13th book. So we still have a little ways to go and there's a lot still to play out on the series. There's new characters this year, so we'll have to see the love triangle between you know Sookie and Bill and Eric and kind of see how that all is going to play out. And maybe there will be some new people for them to, I don't know what vampires do, bite.

COSTELLO: Yes you do. Nischelle Turner, thanks so much.

TURNER: All right.

COSTELLO: Tim Tebow takes the field as a Patriot; he talks about what it means to him next in "Bleacher Report."

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think Westerners know of Cambodia primarily through the movie "The Killing Fields."

People don't understand that this is 30 years later. We have really resilient, strong people that if given the opportunity will succeed. This is a new Cambodia. Sukha is a new Cambodian.

SUKHA: Hello, everybody my name is Sukha.

LUANG AM, WRITER: Hi, I'm Luang Am (ph) and I'm the writer of Sukha's story. Sukha, your story for me is a narrative of resiliency and toughness. If you were poor and your family needs you to work in garbage dumps, you don't get to go to school.

SUKHA: I had no choice. I had to work at the dump. It is a bad place. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sukha has been given an opportunity to go to school. For a lot of girls in Cambodia the one way you can have a better future is through study.

SUKHA: My dream is to be a teacher and also run a school by myself to help other girls. Education can solve everything.

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COSTELLO: Sukha is now at the top of her class and teaching English to younger students. To learn more about 10 x 10 fund for girls' education, go to CNN.com/girlrising. The CNN film by the way "GIRL RISING" premiers this Sunday, 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

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COSTELLO: Day three of the NBA finals did not go exactly how the Miami Heat had planned. The veteran Spurs took care of business last night.

Andy Scholes joins us now with "Bleacher Report."

ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: And good morning Carol. In the last 28 years when the NBA finals has been tied at 1-1 the team that has won game three has gone on to win the championship 93 percent of the time. Now that's definitely good news for the Spurs because last night they absolutely crushed the Heat.

LeBron still nowhere to be found, he struggled once again, missed 11 of his first 13 shots. He finished with just 15 points. The Spurs meanwhile they were red hot from beyond the arc. They set an NBA finals record hitting 16 three-pointers.

Danny Green made seven from downtown and led the way with 27 points. Reserve Gary Neal he added six threes -- he had 24 off the bench. The Spurs end up with the third largest victory in finals history, winning 113-77 to take it two games to one lead in the series. Game four is tomorrow night.

Well Tebow mania has arrived in New England. Tim Tebow was in uniform and practiced with the Patriots yesterday during the first day of their three day mini-camp. The Patriots signed Tebow as a quarterback. And he is expected to compete with Ryan Mallett for the right to back up Tom Brady. After yesterday's practice, Tebow did not take any questions but he did talk about joining the Patriots.