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Sarah Palin Returns; Americans Wait to Hear from Loved Ones; Amazon.com Strikes Deal with USPS; Students Thwart Intruder, Get Probation; Miley Lights Up on Stage

Aired November 11, 2013 - 10:30   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The church of big government. That certainly was the theme.

Joining me now is CNN political commentator Ana Navarro. She's in New York, and in Wisconsin, CNN commentator and ESPN senior writer L.Z. Granderson. Welcome to you both.

L.Z. GRANDERSON, SENIOR WRITER, ESPN: Good morning.

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: Good morning, so -- so Ana, is Sarah Palin's message resonating again (ph) for most Republicans?

NAVARRO: Carol, you I don't know what to tell you. I think look, Sarah Palin is no longer a Republican elected official. She's a commentator. She's somebody wanting to sell books.

I think that when she says something controversial when she does this type of thing and then gets attention by what she's surely going to call the lame stream media, which I think means you and me, it's good for book sales, it's good for attention, it's good for getting on the air waves and having her name mentioned.

So you know this is what it is. I don't think she is -- I don't think most Republicans know she said this. If we weren't talking about it today, I wouldn't have known. So I don't think it's even on the radar screen for most folks.

COSTELLO: Oh that is harsh. I think, L.Z., she would call you and I godless as well.

GRANDERSON: Well you know, I'm just glad that she's back because maybe we can get some more imitations from Tina Fey. I mean, what she did during that time, the reaction (ph) was just genius. And so, if Sarah Palin coming back means more Tina Fey, then I say by gosh let's have more of Sarah Palin.

COSTELLO: I don't want to sit here and slam Sarah Palin because her words do resonate for a certain segment of the population. And they really do believe that Christianity is under attack somehow and that secular forces are trying to stamp it out. Do you see that, Ana?

NAVARRO: Well look, I don't. I'm a Christian. I'm a Catholic. I love Christmas. I celebrate it for an entire month, you know, so and I don't -- I don't feel any sort of attack on Christmas. I'm sure that some people some places where there is attacks where people are not for the holidays where people have issues.

But you know, we live in America where there's freedom of expression. You can either express your love of Christmas or you can express your distaste for Christmas, and that's just the country we live in. But it doesn't mean that anybody is going to go to jail or that there is going to any punitive action, really, attached to it. And if they try to limit something like that, you can always go to court and get it resolved in the courts. So I say to people just go and celebrate we're getting pretty close to the holiday season and let's just do it up.

GRANDERSON: I mean that's absolutely correct, Carol. I mean, the truth of the matter is, is that if you look at every holiday that we have, basically you know with the exception of maybe Hanukkah, there are consumerism sales attached to them. We're talking about Thanksgiving Day sales that happen before Thanksgiving.

There are Veteran Day sales happening right now that has nothing to do with veterans. If there any attack on our holidays, it's because we've attached consumerism into it, we attached monetizing into it. It's not just about Christmas and Sarah Palin and everyone else that think along her path need to remember that the holiday season isn't just about Christianity. There are other faiths out there that the Constitution protects.

So if you're just passionate about protecting Christianity and Christmas, you also need to be this passionate about making sure that Ramadan has protection. You need to make sure that Hanukkah has protection. You need to make sure that atheism, which is a form of expression, has protection.

So if you're really that concerned, then pick up the banner and fight for everyone. Not just your own --

(CROSSTALK)

NAVARRO: How is Kwanza doing? L.Z., how is Kwanza are doing come on?

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: I know but isn't that exactly the thing that she's talking about? That we're over emphasizing everything and Christmas is really celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. So why should we have Nativity scenes in prominent view?

GRANDERSON: Listen, the birth of Jesus Christ didn't even happen on December 25th. So she's really --

COSTELLO: Oh come on, but that's -- that's when we celebrate his birth.

GRANDERSON: Yes you know what? So we've already massaged the meaning of Christmas to fit our needs. So if we've already done that in her lifetime in this country.

I mean think about the fact, in God we trust. That wasn't something that was in our currency for the long haul. That wasn't a response to Russian and making sure that we were anti-Russia because the Russians were atheist. That's what our political movement god trust in our country.

We keep massaging these things in U.S. history to make it seem as if our forefathers were these biblical pastors. You know tying them in the Bible and saying this is the way things have to be. That's just isn't what history has taught us.

And once again, we have someone using fear, using faith as a way to motivate people to the polls as opposed to just educating them.

COSTELLO: Well Ana and let's --

NAVARRO: She's not trying to motivate them to the polls, L.Z., she's trying to motivate them to the book store. I mean let's you know let's at least make a difference between political and consumerism as you call it. It's two different things right now.

GRANDERSON: That helps her. If she's shown has any kind of political power still, that also helps her book sales. She can't seem to be getting people -- in any form or passion, which is why she's so sort of attached herself with (inaudible) within it's popularity in Texas. If she can still show some sort of political power -- show some political powers rather, that still helps her book sales as well.

COSTELLO: All right we're going to have to end it there sadly because I have been enjoying this actually. L.Z. Granderson, Ana Navarro thanks so much.

GRANDERSON: Thank you.

COSTELLO: It is Veterans Day. It's the day we set aside to honor the men and women who have served this country. This is what it looks like at Arlington National Cemetery now at the "Tomb of the Unknowns".

President Obama is set to lay a wreath there in the next hour just one of many events honoring our nation's service members today.

Also any minute now the Air Force Band will begin their concert. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: A state of calamity has been declared in the Philippines. The survivors of the super typhoon struggle to rebuild their lives, lives that were shuttered in that massive storm. The impact being felt thousands of miles away in Los Angeles where many Filipinos are anxiously awaiting word that their loved ones are OK. Stephanie Elam has that side of the story for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NINO ARENA, SISTER IN TYPHOON DISASTER AREA: It's sickening.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Since typhoon Haiyan hit, Nino Arena and his sister Marie have been scouring social media looking for any sign that their half-sister Dailyn (ph) Arena is alive.

ARENA: I want it to be daylight over there so that at least we get more progress and we get more news.

ELAM: The family believes that 20-year-old Dailyn (ph) rode out the storm at her job with APAC customer service just south of hard hit Tacloban City in Palo instead of heading back to her home in Jaro.

ARENA: She commutes every day. But for this particular day she decided to stay there because of the bad weather. The last text message we got from her is just her asking if her mom is OK.

ELAM: For Nino the pictures of aftermath of the typhoon hit home.

ARENA: I studied in that city, Tacloban. And looking at the images and looking at the people there, I could -- I could see myself in that place. I could see my half-sister in that place. It's very personal.

ELAM: Perhaps the strongest tropical cyclone in recorded history, Typhoon Haiyan slammed the Philippines with a force three and half times stronger than Hurricane Katrina in 2005. That unnerves Nino who is constantly swapping messages with Dailyn's brother. He's safe in Manila.

ARENA: Construction is strong but it has only a ground floor and really it's close to the water.

ELAM: Despite the devastatingly high number of people that may have died, Nino remains optimistic.

(on camera): How is the hope level within your family?

ARENA: It's high. We believe in divine intervention and we believe that she made it.

ELAM: Stephanie Elam, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: For more on how you can help the survivors of this disaster in the Philippines, visit cnn.com/impact.

Checking our "Top Stories" at 42 minutes past.

Under intense criticism for her report on the Benghazi attack, CBS's "60 Minutes" has issued another apology and retraction. Correspondent Lara Logan interviewed British security officer Dylan Davies last month who gave a quite riveting account of responding to the attack at the compound in Benghazi, said he actually hit an Al Qaida fighter with a rifle butt. But last week in "New York Times" reported that Davies told by a completely different story that he did not even go to the compound that night. Logan delivered this statement on air.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARA LOGAN, CBS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: On Thursday night, when we discovered the account he gave the FBI was different than what he told us, we realized we had been misled. And it was a mistake to include him in our report. For that, we are very sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: "60 Minutes" gave no background information on why it used Davies in the first place -- remains under fire for that.

Richie Incognito says he is not a racist and those vulgar text messages sent to Jonathan Martin, well they were a sign of love. For the first time, since Martin left the Miami Dolphins Incognito was telling his side of the story. The suspended Dolphins lineman talked with Fox Sports reporter Jay Glazer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHIE INCOGNITO, MIAMI DOLPHINS LINEMAN: This is isn't an issue about bullying. This is an issue of my and Jon's relationship where I may, I have taken stuff too far. And I didn't know it was hurting him. My actions were coming from a place of love.

No matter how bad and how vulgar it sounds, that's how we communicate. That's how our friendship was. And those are the facts and that's what I'm accountable for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The Dolphins play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tonight without the -- without Incognito because he's been suspended. Martin will also not be there because he remains -- well he's away from the team because he wants to be.

The book "I Am Malala" has been banned by thousands of private schools in Pakistan. Malala wrote her memoire after the Talibans tried to kill her. Surviving the attack made her an international celebrity. Some Pakistani officials reportedly can see that Malala is a role model for Pakistani girls, but they say her book has become, a quote, "Tool in the hands of the western powers."

The Olympic torch is back on earth after its stay on the International Space Station. Three crew members brought it back this morning. The torch wasn't lit during the journey because of safety rules. The torch even went along on a spacewalk. Other torches have gone up on U.S. space shuttles in the past.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, it's no secret that the U.S. Postal Service has been struggling financially. But a new deal with Amazon could change that. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: If you're going to get a head start on your holiday shopping, Amazon is there for you. The company is teaming up with the U.S. Postal Service to deliver packages to your doorstep on Sundays. It's no secret that the postal service has struggled financially, so this could actually be beneficial for the post office as well.

Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange to tell us more. Good morning.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Carol. Yes, this whole thing starts this Sunday so whatever you ordered from Amazon could arrive at your doorstep on a Sunday. And with the help of the U.S. Postal Service? Yes because the USPS needs all the business it can get as it continues to be mired in its financial crisis.

So even as USPS was talking about cutting Saturday delivery for general mail, package delivery will now expand an extra day. Now a Postal Service spokeswoman says while the amount of mail that ship has declines -- package shipments which are more profitable are increasing.

And the Postal Service actually wants to form similar agreements with other retailers. So yes, the Postal Service is getting creative after losing almost $16 billion in just the fiscal year of 2012 --

COSTELLO: Oh. And Alison I just wanted -- do you have -- would you have to pay extra for Sunday delivery?

KOSIK: Good question. No. There's not going be an extra charge to get a delivery on Sunday but if you signed up for Amazon Prime which comes with that annual fee, you can place orders as late as a Friday to get those items on a Sunday. And according to the "Wall Street Journal", if you order something on Amazon, you're not going to be able to specify a Sunday delivery. It's just always an option there.

Keep in mind also, this Sunday shipping, as it begins to roll out, it's only going to be available right now in New York and L.A. but the company is expecting to expand -- expecting to extent the service to Dallas, Houston, New Orleans and Phoenix next year -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Alison Kosik -- thanks so much.

Checking our top stories at 50 minutes past.

A 16-year-old boy is facing attempted murder charges after police say he shot two people at a skating rink in New York City's Bryant Park. Reports say a 14-year-old boy was shot in the back and his family fears he may never walk again. The second victim, 20, was shot in the leg. An argument over a coat is believed to have sparked the shooting.

More than 180,000 pounds of salad products are being recalled over e Coli concerns. California based Glass Onion Catering is recalling ready to eat salads and sandwich wraps and chicken and ham after more than a dozen people got sick. For a full list of the recalled items, go to fda.gov.

Two students at Gonzaga University in Spokane have been placed on probation after stopping a home invasion. It turns out they used a handgun to scare off an intruder at their school-owned apartment. Unfortunately, having a weapon on university property violated Gonzaga's no firearms policy.

Upon being reprimanded, one of the students was unapologetic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIK FAGAN, UNIVERSITY OF GONZAGA STUDENT: Even given the findings today, I would not change any of my actions on that night. I stand by every action I took.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Police also confiscated a shotgun the two students had in their apartment. The man who tried to enter that apartment was a six- time convicted felon.

A modern day Bonnie and Clyde team has been arrested after a year-long spree of bank robberies in Florida and Alabama. A husband and wife were suspected of stealing more than $50,000 in more than a dozen stickups. The couple had been under surveillance by the FBI for months.

And happening right now, let's take you live to Arlington National Cemetery. President Obama about to honor the nation's war dead with a wreath-laying at the "Tomb of the Unknowns" -- that is about to get underway. It will be followed by an observance event which will also be held at the cemetery.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The memory of Hannah Montana officially goes up in smoke. This time a barely clothed Miley Cyrus smokes weed on stage in another apparent bid for attention. Yes, no doubt about that one, Nischelle Turner. That looks like a joint to me or a split -- if you're a hipster.

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: OK, I'm going to call you out because just last hour, you said "I don't want to talk about this."

COSTELLO: I really don't.

TURNER: And now you want me to talk about it.

COSTELLO: My producers are making me. I'm going to have a talk with them after the show. TURNER: So now we're going to throw them under the bus. Well, you know what; we will talk about it because it is getting headlines today. Miley Cyrus knows what gets attention and she's grabbing a lot of the headlines once again today after smoking like you said what appears to a joint at the MTV European Music Awards.

She also wore marijuana leaf emblems in her ear phones during her performance. The show was in Amsterdam and they obviously have a much more lax and open attitude about marijuana. You know, Miley has been open about her feelings for pot and ecstasy. Last month, according to this "Rolling Stone" article that she participated in, she revealed that she smoked a joint with (inaudible) and she also said that Ecstasy and pot are, quote, "happy drugs".

And we all remember the video of her smoking what she claimed was salvia and not pot. Not to mention she does kind of drop names, name check molly or ecstasy in her hit "We can't Stop". And by the way, she also got an award for best video for "Wrecking Ball" which is clearly very secondary to the performance.

I should note that the incident with the -- shall we say -- funny cigarette was caught by photographers. It reportedly has been taken out of the version of the show that will air on MTV in the United States, though.

COSTELLO: Well, you know the ecstasy part is the part that bothers me. I mean she's celebrating that drug which could be really dangerous. I don't know.

TURNER: All of it -- I mean all of it is a bit much. All of it, you know, what people do and kind of things they participate in is one thing. She is still very impressionable. And I don't want to say everybody has to be a role model. But she's very impressionable to a lot of young girls. I just wish she would just think about that for 2.6 seconds before she does the next thing.

COSTELLO: Yes, me too. Nischelle Turner thanks so much.

TURNER: All right.

COSTELLO: Checking some top stories at 58 minutes past. In Massachusetts a swimmer was safely plucked from the ocean after treading water for about an hour. The person was not wearing a wet suite or any other protection. The water was 52 degrees.

Expectations are low as we wait for the first official enrollment numbers for Obamacare this week. Officials have indicated they expect very low numbers after a rocky roll-out of the website last month. And that's putting pressure on the White House to delay the March 31st registration deadline. But so far, the administration has resisted those calls.

New details this morning from that deadly cougar attack at the large cat sanctuary in Oregon. The woman killed on Saturday has been identified as 36-year-old Renee Radziwon. Officials say Radziwon appear to be alone in the enclosure with the big cat when she was killed and that would violate the park policy requiring staff members to work in pairs when animals. Radziwon had been a keeper of the sanctuary for eight years.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello. "Legal View" with Ashleigh Banfield starts no.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Ashleigh Banfield. It's Monday, the 11th day of the 11th month. It's Veterans Day. Welcome to Legal view. It's nice to have you with us today.

It's been 95 years since the official end to what the world then referred to as the war to end all wars -- if only that had been the case. As all U.S. Presidents do on this date at this hour on this month, President Obama and many others are honoring America's war dead with a ceremony at the Arlington Cemetery. As the bells toll, let's listen in live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)