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Obama Honors Mandela; World Leaders and Celebrities Attend Memorial; More Snow for Philly, D.C. and New York City; G.M. Names First Female CEO; Bride Accused of Murdering New Husband

Aired December 10, 2013 - 09:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Countless people, known and unknown, to see the dawn of a new day.

Michelle and I are beneficiaries of that struggle. But in America and in South Africa, and in countries all around the globe, we cannot allow our progress to cloud the fact that our work is not yet done. The struggles that follow the victory of formal equality where universal franchise may not be as filled with drama and moral clarity as those that came before but they are no less important.

For around the world today, we still see children suffering from hunger and disease. We still see rundown schools. We still see young people with prospects for the future. Around the world today, men and women are still in prison for their political beliefs and are still persecuted for what they look like and how they worship and who they love.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Mr. Obama's remarks clearly resonated. He received a standing ovation from the dignitaries and others at that stadium in South Africa.

This moment also resonated. President Obama shaking hands with the Cuban President Raul Castro. It is an unprecedented gesture between the two men.

As you well know, Cuba and the United States have not exactly been friendly, although in recent years the ice has melted just a bit.

Our senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta is traveling with the president. He joins us now on the phone.

Good morning, Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. That's right. I just want to caution our viewers that we are in the presidential motorcade as we speak. And so sometimes the Secret Service in their protection of the president can wreak havoc on our cell devices. So I don't want to lose you.

But it was -- it was a stirring tribute to Nelson Mandela. The president's speech was really part history lesson and part celebration of the life of the man known to South Africans as Madiba.

Carol, you just ran through a -- really great highlights from the speech when the president talked about Nelson Mandela being not just -- a prisoner, but also the president who forgave his jailers. But he also tried to make it a message that was tailored not just to a global audience but to a domestic one as well.

You heard the president there talking about children suffering from hunger and disease, rundown schools. Those are issues that people can relate to not just in places like Detroit and other inner cities around the United States but in a lot of countries around the world. So it's a message that was really trying to reach across a global stage.

And at the same time, Carol, what also struck me is how personal the message was. At one point, President Obama said Nelson Mandela makes me want to be a better man. But you mentioned Raul Castro, of course, with nearly 100 world leaders gathered for this event, there were bound to be surprises.

Raul Castro was on the (INAUDIBLE), he was speaking there as well as President Obama. And so really it would have been sort of impolite. It would have been kind of a slap, really, if the president had gone up on stage and not greeted the Cuban leader. That really is sort of par for the course at these types of events.

As you probably also know, Carol, he embraced President Rousseff of Brazil, a country that has been a little steamed at the United States lately because of those NSA surveillance issues. But right now the president is heading away from the stadium, heading back to a rendezvous point before we head to the airport and head back to the United States -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Going back to that handshake, and I'd like -- maybe Scottie can put it back up on the screen. The handshake between Raul Castro and President Obama.

"USA Today" was reporting that last month President Obama and -- Secretary of State Kerry told an audience in Miami, quote, "We have to reject the policies that we put into place in 1961. In other words, it's time to end the nation's cold war standoff with Cuba."

I know what you said about this handshake, Jim, but this surely helps, doesn't it?

ACOSTA: Well, I think we're going to have to see. I mean, keep in mind, at the same time just in the last couple of weeks there was a big protest outside the White House held by the family of Alan Gross, an American who is still being held in Cuba to this day. He's been there for four years. So I'm not sure how much a handshake up on the stage here in Johannesburg is going to melt away this cold war that continues between the United States and Cuba.

Quite frankly, there's still a lot of issues to resolve. But at the same time, it is something that perhaps might start something. We'll have to just wait and see how that works out. The Obama administration has tried to open up things a little bit to the Cuban government, allowing Cuban Americans to travel more frequently to the island and that sort of thing.

But at this point, this whole situation with Alan Gross being kept a prisoner in Cuba is really an impediment to improve relations with the White House. At least according to senior administration officials. They said repeatedly that that -- that that gentleman, Alan Gross, must be released from his imprisonment in Cuba for things to improve between the United States and that country.

COSTELLO: Yes. All right. He's been in prison in Cuba for years and of course his health isn't faring so well. We'll see what happens.

Jim Acosta, reporting live from South Africa.

A-list celebrities and thousands of every day South Africans brave the heavy rains to honor Nelson Mandela. His grandson called Mandela my hero.

Robyn Curnow also live in Johannesburg with some of the morning's best moments.

Robyn, take us back.

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it has just ended, the memorial service for Nelson Mandela and as it started, take a listen.

Song, dance, a celebration of this great man's life. We just saw Winnie Mandela, his ex-wife, hug Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Big smiles on their faces. These two were really the symbols of her Apartheid struggle while he was in jail.

Who else was here? Celebrities, Bono, Charlize Theron, Oprah will be here next Sunday. We also saw leaders, sitting world leaders from more than 19 nations mixed together with tens of thousands of South Africans. All of them here.

Now there was a slight damper, quite heavy rain throughout the service. But that didn't stop people from celebrating and also paying homage to Nelson Mandela.

This is what his grandson Mbuso Mandela had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MBUSO MANDELA, GRANDSON: a group of trees break the angry wind but the tree that towers above the rest is broken by the wind. Child of the wind, of the land. Child of the dreams of a future when black and white, rich or poor, men, women and children must live side by side, dreaming the same dream, realizing at the crucible of time in our land, we salute you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: So these extraordinary scenes continue. The singing, the dancing. And then we see now Nelson Mandela's widow Graca Machel slightly bent over, being escorted out of here under an umbrella. It started to rain again. And people will slowly make their way out of the stadium. And the events, the celebration, the mourning will continue day after day until Sunday. He'll be lying in state for the next three days as of tomorrow. And then his body will be flown to a remote area where he was born, where he grew up and there will be a state funeral there on Sunday.

COSTELLO: All right. Robyn Curnow, thanks so much, reporting live from Johannesburg this morning.

Other news we're following, the ice storm that's gripped the East Coast will stick around for at least another day.

This is a live picture from Pittsburgh where it's 25 degrees and it's now snowing. Philly, New York, and D.C. expected to see plenty of snow in the coming hours. But take a live look now from the nation's capital. Federal offices in D.C. close today because of the weather.

CNN's Chris Lawrence joins us now from the National Mall.

Good morning, Chris.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Carol. Yes, it's like a white blanket is being dropped over the nation's capital here on the National Mall, up the street at the White House as well. Not only the federal government, but most schools in this area are closed, a lot of businesses as well. Not so much for what's already accumulated, obviously, but more about what possibly could come.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE (voice-over): The skiing, the pile-ups, the bitter freezing cold. And it's not over yet. Monday's commutes were nasty. The snow and ice snarling traffic on the ground and the air. Drivers resorted to pushing their cars over slippery overpasses and bridges.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The roads are in terrible shape, slippery, slidy and it's very slow.

LAWRENCE: In New Jersey, thawing ice and rain created major flooding problems in Seaside Heights, causing school closing to and delays.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm panicking. I mean -- you know, It's coming in under the condo. And I'm on the bottom floor. That's the last thing I need, to have, you know, my duct work and everything else destroyed again.

LAWRENCE: Power lines covered in ice left thousands without power, putting utility crews out in full force, trying to restore service before the upcoming storm.

More than 1700 flights were canceled on Monday. Further aggravating travelers, some stuck in airports for days. Road crews working overtime at this hour to keep streets safe for commuters, in hopes of preventing more deadly accidents, like this massive pile-up in Yonkers, New York. Forty people were hurt when slick roads caused 20 cars to collide late Sunday night.

And near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a traffic camera captured this horrifying 30-car pile-up as it happened, with car after car crashing into each other, shutting down the highway.

OFFICER TIM MILLER, GERMANTOWN, WISCONSIN POLICE: And I would see him go southbound and I'd see their taillights disappear in the snow. And then I'd also see their brake lights come on and I'd see the brake lights jump off or go off to the side or spin. And you knew it was just happening and I was just praying to God that nobody was going to die.

LAWRENCE: Same highway, another pileup just a few miles away. One person died when dozens of vehicles rear-ended each other.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: Got to hope we don't see any more accidents like that one. When -- you know, this is exactly the kind of snow that tends to accumulate pretty quickly. It is thick, wet and coming down very, very steadily. And while it is accumulating a bit on the ground and on those of us who are standing outside here, not so much on the roads. It's wet, sure. Little bit slick. But not much accumulation so far -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And that is good news.

Chris Lawrence, thanks so much.

Maybe not the best news, though, in New York City. Let's head there now and check in with Fred Pleitgen.

Fred, what's it like in New York City?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. As you can see, it's sort of eye-flinching snow that's coming down here. It's very wet, very heavy snowflakes that we've got here in the city.

In a certain sense, New York was actually quite lucky this morning because the snow really didn't really kick in until the end of the morning rush hour. I would say it started in earnest in about 8:30, maybe 9:00. So by that time the rush hour had already sort of started to end.

The city itself says that it's prepared for something like this. The Department of Sanitation has said that it's got some 1800 pieces of equipment that are going around the city today, and that includes 365 salt spreaders, of course, spreading that sort of pumpkin colored salt here in the streets.

They go out immediately when something like this starts, when the snow starts coming down. The snow plows generally start working a little later when the snow actually begins to start laying on the ground. That's not the case just yet. It seems as though it's still a little bit too warm. The ground is still a little bit too warm for the snow to actually remain on the ground.

We are expecting some two to four inches here in the New York area. What we're hearing is that there are several schools in the suburbs that have closed for the day. Right now, however, it seems as though here in the city, things are still going quite OK. But the snow is expected to continue -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I think there are problems at the airport, though, so if you're heading to the airport, and you live in New York City or anywhere along the north East Coast, you better call ahead because there are airport delays already.

Thanks so much, Fred Pleitgen, reporting live from New York City.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, General Motors naming its first female CEO. Alison Kosik has all the details.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so that's right. First female CEO. I'll tell you all about her. She's replacing Dan Ackerson. Also GM is today no longer part of the government control. So that story is coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking our top stories, at 17 minutes past the hour.

Iran threatening to kill an historic nuclear deal if Congress passes more economic sanctions. That word comes as bipartisan senators are in close agreement on a new round of sanctions to begin in six months. The Obama administration is fighting back against that plan, calling it counterproductive to the diplomacy now underway.

George Zimmerman's girlfriend says she wants the domestic violence against him dropped. Court document where Samantha Scheibe says she wants a no contact order now lifted. Scheibe is now saying that Zimmerman never pointed a gun at her during an argument last month, disputing what police said she told them.

And fishing on Mars? Well, not exactly. But the NASA rover Curiosity has found evidence of an ancient fresh water lake. The lake could have supported microbes found on earth and caves and the ocean floor. The lake is believed to have been 31 miles long by three miles wide.

And this just in to CNN. General Motors has named product development head Mary Barra as its next CEO. She will be the first female in the company -- first female CEO, I should say, in the company's history, because surely they've had other women workers.

Alison Kosik is following the story from New York.

Tell us more, Alison.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: This is significant because this shows that, you know, a female CEO, yes, at GM. But not just a female CEO at one automaker, she really is the first CEO of the global automotive industry.

You know, men usually hold this title. So, this is why this is getting a lot of buzz right now. Who is Mary Barra? She's 51 years old. She's been with General Motors 33 years. She's really been a superstar at GM, risen through the ranks. She's also known to have really helped in General Motors turn around since General Motors filed for bankruptcy and then came back. She's really helped to sort of develop its product line and helped with customer satisfaction.

So this is making news today. This should go into effect January 15th when Dan Akerson is expected to step down.

Now, the timing of this is also very interesting, because what happened yesterday was the Treasury announced that it sold its final chunk of GM stock. So, you have to remember, when Uncle Sam bailed out General Motors, it wound up pumping in $49 billion into the automaker. But here's the thing. It got back less money, $39 billion. So, guess who got stuck with that difference right there -- taxpayers, $10 billion, were out $10 billion.

But Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said the alternative could have been worse. Others say it was a small price to pay for saving 1.2 million jobs and keeping the Great Recession from becoming the Great Depression.

Now, one of the great fears was that GM's failure could have wiped out suppliers, and that could have set off a chain reaction where Ford might have had to file for bankruptcy because of lack of auto parts. Now, Ford didn't need a bailout.

As for GM stock price, you look at how it's been doing, it's had a really good run this year. It's up about 42 percent -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Wow! That's good news, 42 percent.

KOSIK: You're seeing the government sell at a high point for gm but still having that $10 billion loss, that stings for taxpayers.

COSTELLO: It certainly does. But many jobs were kept, right?

KOSIK: Exactly. And that's the glass half full right there.

COSTELLO: I'm trying.

KOSIK: I know.

COSTELLO: Alison Kosik, thanks so much.

Just ahead in the NEWSROOM, a newlywed bride is accused of killing her husband to escape their eight-day old marriage. But the defense is saying it was a tragic mistake, tragic accident. A report from outside the courtroom after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: In Montana, prosecutors say a woman was so desperate to get out of her marriage, she shoved her husband over a cliff on their honeymoon. Jordan Linn Graham is charged with murdering her husband of only eight days, Cody Johnson.

In the first day of the tria, we hear from friends who felt betrayed by Jordan's constantly changing stories when her husband was first reported missing.

CNN's Kyung Lah is outside the courtroom in Missoula, Montana.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, there's no dispute here about what happened, that Cody Johnson did, indeed, fall to his death. The question is whether or not this is an intentional planned crime or just a terrible accident.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAH (voice-over): Jordan Graham waited for the cameras outside of court. Her murder trial now underway for pushing her husband of eight days in the back, face first, off the sheer cliff at Glacier National Park.

Prosecutors say despite appearing in love in her wedding video, Graham was distraught. Her matron of honor back on the stand today after testifying that just a few days after the wedding, Graham sent numerous text messages, expressing about regret to her marriage to Cody Johnson. Graham texted to her friend, "I should be happy and I'm just not. I've never cried this much in my entire life and even, I don't want to live."

(on camera): What was it like to be in that courtroom and see Jordan?

JENNIFER TOREN, WITNESS: Obviously, it was very nerve racking.

LAH (voice-over): Jennifer Toren, another friend, was visibly shaken after testifying that Graham had lied to her.

Toren testified that one day after Johnson plunged to his death, she got this text from Graham. "Some park buddies from Seattle came to the house yesterday and he went with them. I wasn't there. The last thing he said to me was that he was going for a drive with some friends that were visiting."

It was a bold-faced lie, to cover up that her husband was lying dead at the bottom of a cliff. It would be days before Graham eventually confessed the truth to police.

(on camera): Do you have a second to talk to us?

KRIS MCLEAN, PROSECUTOR: I cannot. I cannot.

LAH: While the prosecutor would not speak on camera, in court, he said, Graham planned and then lied about the murder, driven by her desire to get out of her marriage. Defense attorney say Graham did, indeed, have regrets but called her a naive, socially inept immature young woman, just 21 at the time of her husband's death, the fall just a terrible accident. She says they were fighting, he grabbed her, she pushed him away and he fell to his death.

Why the lies? A young bride afraid that the world wouldn't believe her.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAH: The prosecution continues its case. It is planning on calling approximately 30 witnesses in its attempt to prove that Jordan Graham was a distraught bride with an intent to kill -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Kyung Lah reporting -- thanks.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM: we'll take a deeper look at the legacy of Nelson Mandela as people of all backgrounds come together to pay tribute to the former South African resident. Will his legacy will on?

We'll have that conversation, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)