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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Aaron Hernandez's Home Searched; A House Divided; Food Network Cuts Ties With Paula Deen; Box Office Deja Vu; From Child To Adult To Caregiver; Moving In With Grandma

Aired June 21, 2013 - 16:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST? Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. In 1994 just called and wants its sports lead back. The story of a talented football player suddenly tied up in a murder investigation. He takes off in a white SUV. Sounds familiar?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you just tell us, are you being arrested? Have you been asked to turn yourself in? Why won't you tell us what happened?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Well, this time the athlete in question is Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, who is tangled in a federal investigation after the body of his friend, 27-year-old Odin Lloyd was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds less than a mile from the NFL star's mansion in North Attleboro, Massachusetts.

Authorities searched the home Tuesday. ABC News is reporting that the 23-year-old intentionally destroyed his sophisticated home security system and smashed his cell phone before handing over the fragments to investigators. CNN has not been able to confirm that.

The victim's sister, Olivia Thibou tells CNN that the two men were at a Boston night club together Friday night and that Lloyd was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OLIVIA THIBOU, SISTER OF ODIN LLOYD: I was not there, but I do know they did go out this weekend.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And they went together to a night club?

THIBOU: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As far as you know, did they ever have any angry words between them?

THIBOU: Not that I know of.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you talked to your brother a lot, didn't you?

THIBOU: Almost every day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Now Hernandez is not talking, but the whole country is talking about Hernandez. Joining me now is "Boston Globe" metro reporter, Mark Arsenault, who has been following every twist and turn in this story. Mark, first of all, tell us about the video police from Monday morning.

MARK ARSENAULT, METRO REPORTER, "BOSTON GLOBE": We've been able to report today, Jake, in today's paper is that the police have recovered video. We're not exactly sure of the source. Very likely could be security video from the Dorchester neighborhood where Odin Lloyd was from. And on that video, a man who appears to be Aaron Hernandez with Lloyd in his company and this would be just as a matter of hours before Lloyd's found less than a mile from Hernandez's house in North Attleboro.

TAPPER: No charges had been filed, but it's not the first time Hernandez has been questioned over gun violence. Another friend claimed Hernandez shot his eye out after an argument at a strip club in Miami back in February. Tell us about that.

ARSENAULT: This is a bizarre coincidence that these two incidents would come to light at about the same time. Last week a friend or former friend now of Hernandez filed a federal lawsuit against him in Florida claiming that after an argument at a strip club known as Tootsie's in the Miami area. They were in the car when Hernandez pointed a gun at him, either intentionally or through gross negligence, pulled the trigger.

The bullet left according to his friend, Mr. Alex Bradley, the bullet took out his right eye and caused severe damaged that required multiple surgeries and he is going to be disfigured for life. He's suing Hernandez for a cash settlement in court. The sketchy part about is back in February when this happened, local police investigated and Bradley claimed not to know who shot him at that time.

TAPPER: There have also been reports tying Hernandez to gang activity in his native Bristol, Connecticut and also that he had what might call maturity issues. Was it a thing for the Patriots to take a chance on this guy? Do they have to discuss it?

ARSENAULT: I'm sure they have to discuss it. I mean, every player you draft is someone of a chance. He was a fourth round pick so not a huge investment, however, they knew about the failed drug test in college. They knew they were getting a high risk/high reward player. He's been fantastic on the field when he's been healthy. He's a potential up-and-coming NFL super star before this incident happened. Now we wonder if he'll ever see the field again.

TAPPER: All right, Mark Arsenault from the "Boston Globe," thank you so much. ARSENAULT: Anytime, Jake.

TAPPER: Coming up in our "Politics Lead," it's amateur hour on Capitol Hill, that's the charge. We're not talking about an open mic night in Congress. We're talking about what Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said about her Republican colleagues.

Plus the "Pop Culture Lead," you might as well stay home and watch reruns this summer because the theatres are chock full of warmed over sequels of movies you've already seen. Is Hollywood completely out of ideas? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. Now it's time for the "Politics Lead." Call it the canary in the coal mine on Capitol Hill. The coal mine is the deeply divided House of Representatives and rigor mortis is already setting in for the canary. A $500 billion farm bill just imploded in the House, in a defeat that speaks volumes about what's happening or more accurately what's not happening on Capitol Hill. The GOP says the Dems torpedoed the bill by pulling support at the last minute, but Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, pegged it all on the Republican leadership.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPRESENTATIVE NANCY PELOSI (D), MINORITY LEADER: If we ever came to you when we had the majority and said we didn't pass a bill because we didn't get enough Republicans votes that is silly. It's sad. It's juvenile. It's unprofessional. It's amateur hour, anything else?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: anything else? I love that. Anything else? Well, for starters everyone wants to know if the same partisan problem is in store for the immigration reform bill, which could see a vote in the Senate at soon as Monday night on a key amendment on border security.

Let's bring in our political panel to hash it, CNN political contributor and Democratic strategist Donna Brazile, former spokeswoman for Rick Santorum, Alice Stewart and CNN's chief political analyst Gloria Borger. Gloria, can the House get its act together --

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITCAL ANALYST: No.

TAPPER: No.

BORGER: There's such dysfunction there now that you'd have to be Pollyanna to say, yes, suddenly they're going to get over this. They're going to pass immigration reform. Immigration reform is going to pass out of the Senate probably with a very big margin. And now that the House speaker has said that he needs to have a majority of his majority and lay down the law.

Because, by the way, he needed to keep his speakership and that was probably a prerequisite for keeping his speakership, I don't see how you get around that. I really don't. So I -- I think that at a certain point unless the Democrats are willing to do what Nancy Pelosi said they were not willing to do on this farm bill, it's going to be very difficult. Maybe the Democrats will save the day.

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I keep saying Speaker Pelosi, but it's Leader Pelosi. Leader Pelosi made it very clear if you want our vote, you must basically have our input. What the Republicans want, they want their cake and they want to eat it as well, plus ice cream. She's been very clear that Democrats will support these measures if Democrats are able to have some input. Without it, they are -- they basically have to rally their base to get everybody on board.

TAPPER: Alice, what are you hearing from Republicans on Capitol Hill? Do they think that immigration reform has a chance in the House?

ALICE STEWART, FORMER SPOKESWOMAN FOR RICK SANTORUM: Well, if we can continue to make sure that border security is a top priority, and that's always been what the conservative Republican group has said, that has to be the top priority.

TAPPER: This is a new amendment being introduced by Corker and Hoven and that might be voted on Monday, is that going to be enough?

STEWART: That's a great first start. I'm hearing that will be enough to help bridge the divide, but that's the key. Making sure that's the top priority and not going ahead with what is for all intents and purposes amnesty. Here's the key is that this is one of the many issues is I've been with the governor with when you have a divided house and senate in legislative process.

It starts with the top. It starts with having conversations from the front end. And Marco Rubio's spokesperson said if legislation was like sausage making, then the Obama administration is like a bunch of vegetarians. We have to have these conversations on the front end. Here we are, July 4th --

BORGER: When you talk to people at the White House, their point of view is, look, we can't get publicly involved in this because then we're going to hurt Republicans who actually want to vote for this bill. That we kind of get in the way, but behind the scenes they are talking to staffers on the Republican side. They are talking to staffers --

TAPPER: That's actually being held -- the fact that these conversations are going on behind closed doors is being used against Marco Rubio and other Republicans --

BORGER: Exactly.

TAPPER: -- by conservatives who oppose the bill.

BRAZILE: Because two-thirds of the Republicans are in the so-called gerrymandered districts. They want to campaign against the Obama administration and against Democrats.

TAPPER: I think there actually are people who actually oppose this immigration reform bill.

BRAZILE: Of course, no question. But since 2007, we have met every metric on border security that's been laid out. In 2007 was the last time we had immigration reform measures put up and then it failed. We have 1,969 miles of the border. We spent billions of dollars. I don't think that's the real issue. The real issue is the whole citizenship issue and many Republicans have a problem with that. The Steve King amendment, the anti-dreamer act --

TAPPER: I want to ask a question. You're in the real world talking to grass roots Republicans. Is it enough to have all this new border security if the price is all these new citizens who were originally undocumented illegal immigrants?

STEWART: We can't have automatic amnesty. Those here in D.C. need to look at not what's best for their election. They have to look at what's best for the big picture. We have to stop the river flooding of people coming across the border and bring it down to a trickle. That's the most important thing. And we need to make sure those who are here illegally go to the back of the line and start the legal process after that. Border security is the most important.

TAPPER: All right, Alice Stewart, Donna Brazile, Gloria Borger, thank you so much. "Godfather" part three, an upset. Sometimes movies are so bad they make us think different about the original, but Hollywood keeps making them because why have an original thought when people keep buying tickets? Our "Pop Lead" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. This just in to CNN, some things not even a heaping helping of Krispy Kreme bread pudding can fix. Moments ago, the Food Network announced that it is cutting ties with Paula Deen after the celebrity chef admitting using ugly racist slurs in the past including the "n" word. Several videos of Deen apologizing have hit the web in just the past hour or so, apparently too little or too late.

Now to our "Pop Culture Lead," listen up, kids, we're going to spill the secret to making it in the Hollywood biz. Step one, make an even halfway decent movie. Step two, make it again and again and again. That's it, you're done. This summer's box office line up has been about as original as a beat in the P. Diddy song. But you can't blame it all on Hollywood. After all, the reasons the sequels keep coming is because we keep going back for more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER (voice-over): Yes, it's "Fast and Furious 6." You heard me right, six. You've never seen this before? Nonsense, Paul Walker, you've seen this five times before. In fact, this summer is filled to the brim with sequels, 17 in fact. Yes, 17, the most in a decade. Second helpings of the new "Star Trek" franchise and "Monsters Inc.," third helpings of "Iron Man," "Hangover" and something called "Hatchet." And of course for those who just cannot fill up with enough diesels "Fast and Furious 6." Universal Studios is already planning production for a seventh and eighth "Fast and Furious." It seems clear that this summer commerce has not only won, it has destroyed art in a huge spectacle with explosions and CGI.

GRADY SMITH, FILM WRITER, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY": The international box office has become essential to studios' finances and around the world it's much easier to sell a movie that's already been sold before. So studios are increasingly relying on sequels because it's a sure thing for a global audience.

TAPPER: Why? Well, the first six "Fast and Furious" films made more than $2 billion worldwide. This latest one alone has already made more than $500 million. Not all sequels are horrible, of course. I'm not just talking about "The Godfather Part 2."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm smart and I want respect!

TAPPER: Playwrights of all sequels from (inaudible) to maybe even Shakespeare. We have high hopes for some of the newer efforts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: America, did you miss my hot breath in your ear?

TAPPER: It's been nearly ten years since we first Ron Burgundy, but almost a decade later, Paramount Pictures hopes would be just as charmed him when "Anchor Man 2" is released this December. The largest artistic question is where are all the original stories that these films are crowding out?

SMITH: Original stories are tough sells at the box office because not only do you have to introduce all these characters to audiences then you also have to say this movie is good and come see it. It's a two- step process.

TAPPER: So all you smart screenwriters take note, "Dumb and Dumber To" has also just received the green light.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you're telling me there's a chance.

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TAPPER: And we just learned some big news regarding yet another franchise that will not be going away anytime soon. Robert Downy, Jr. has just signed on to appear in two more "Avengers" movies playing, of course, his Iron Man character.

When Hollywood needed an actor to capture the essence of one of the most dynamic, complicated and innovative icons of the 21st Century, they turned to a guy who once played in a movie called "Dude, Where's My Car." But it turned Ashton Kutcher might make for a pretty good Steve Jobs, after all we're getting our first look at the trailer for the upcoming bio-pic "Jobs." The movie stars Kutcher as the Apple co- founder and follows his life from 1971 to his death in 2011. Take a look at just how much they look alike. "Jobs" opens in theatres nationwide on August 16th. Coming up, he's not supersized anymore but Morgan Spurlock is still going all in for his new CNN show "INSIDE MAN." I'll sit down to talk with him about his latest project and his Grandma Tootie next.

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TAPPER: THE LEAD, it's now time for our "Buried Lead," stories we don't think are getting enough coverage. This is a growing problem facing millions of American maybe even you, transitioning from depending upon your parents to taking care of your parents. New research shows you're not alone. Nearly four in ten adults in the U.S. are caring for a loved one.

The number is up almost 10 percent from just three years ago. For Morgan Spurlock, this issue is personal. In an upcoming episode of his new CNN show "INSIDE MAN," Spurlock moves in with his 91-year-old grandmother, Tootie.

Earlier I spoke with Spurlock about his new show and his grandmother, a woman who obviously does not know where the snooze button is.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MORGAN SPURLOCK, HOST, CNN'S "INSIDE MAN": You're already up and all over the place. Can I get you anything, Tootie?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

SPURLOCK: Tootie, what time did you wake up?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: About 2:00.

SPURLOCK: I love that she's up two hours before I was. She's a machine, you can't stop her.

TAPPER: Welcome to the CNN family, Morgan.

SPURLOCK: Thank you.

TAPPER: How is living with Tootie, besides the obvious lack of sleep?

SPURLOCK: I think any time you move in with an old lady, the comedy is going to end soon. That's one of the things I love about this episode. To go back to Virginia and move in with my grandmother was a real highlight.

TAPPER: This episode talks about nursing facilities, end of life options, problems such as dementia. What did you learn? What do we all have coming down the pike here?

SPURLOCK: Well, I think the biggest thing that comes out of the show is you start to realize that most of us don't plan for it. Most of us think we're going to live forever and have this great healthy life and it's one of those things you need to start planning as soon as you can for those years because those final years become incredibly expensive and those are a lot of the things we touch on. TAPPER: We've been talking about an episode coming later in the series, but your debut show this weekend is about medical marijuana. We're actually just a few blocks away from a medical marijuana dispensary here in Washington, D.C. tell us about your experience.

SPURLOCK: One of the things we want to do is explore this whole idea of the legalization of marijuana. I worked at the largest medical marijuana dispensary in the United States. They sell about $25 million of cannabis a year. We wanted to get into this debate and the question of is it valuable, should it be legalized? What kind of an impact does it have on our culture?

TAPPER: Any conclusions?

SPURLOCK: I think the biggest thing you start to realize and what was shocking to me is when I first went there, I kind of imagined a bunch of stoners coming out with their cards saying, dude, I'm just here to get some good weed. And you start to see along the way there are people who are really benefiting from this medical marijuana, people who have become addicted to medications like OxyContin and once they get off of those, they're able to have a reasonably functional life with their family.

TAPPER: Morgan, thanks for joining us.

SPURLOCK: Good seeing you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: You can watch Morgan Spurlock's new show "INSIDE MAN" this Sunday at 10 p.m. Eastern only on CNN.

Hash tag, you're it. We asked you what you'd be most excited about if the FAA relaxed their gadget rules and "Anthony Weiner tweets," "liftoff." And Twitter user, Ana Rivera sent it, "Watching Dr. Who."

Make sure to follow me on Twitter @jaketapper and also @theleadcnn and check out our show page at cnn.com/thelead for videos, blogs and extras. That's it for THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. I turn you over to Jim Acosta, who is filling in for Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM" -- Jim.