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Pope Francis is Time's Person of the Year; Elian Gonzalez Blames U.S. for Cuba's Woes; New GM CEO First Woman to Run U.S. Automaker

Aired December 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: How close was the vote?

RADHIKA JONES, DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR, "TIME" MAGAZINE: It was a really tough choice this year with Pope Francis and Edward Snowden. You have two people with an interesting amount in common, if you think about it. They're both totally new to the global stage.

We hadn't heard of Pope Francis really unless you were a diehard Vatican watcher before nine months ago. Edward Snowden of course came out of nowhere with his NSA leaks. And -- and they are people who've really opened up conversations that are so important related to the way we live now. Snowden about technology and surveillance and privacy, the Pope as you said about poverty and inequality and -- and a kind of global attention to people who have been overlooked.

So it was a really difficult decision in the end we felt -- we felt that Pope Francis partly because of his position and his reach had the power to influence more people. But I think both of them have been extremely influential this year.

COSTELLO: Well you know what some critics are going to say that you made the least controversial choice.

JONES: It's interesting. People forget that Pope Francis is himself quite conversational. You know partly because he's talking about difficult issues historically for the church, like homosexuality or the role of women in the church. You know, there's this perception that he's more liberal.

In fact, in terms of doctrine he's really quite conservative. And there are a lot of people who are concerned that he won't do enough to move the Catholic Church forward.

COSTELLO: You're right, though. People are talking about the Catholic Church once again and they're talking about things other than the sexual abuse scandal right. So the Pope has at least changed the conversation, which is a big deal.

JONES: It is a big deal for a huge institution like the church 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide. But he's reaching a lot more people than that. And it's interesting he's so not unlike Edward Snowden, he's very savvy about, you know, how to reach people and how to get his message across.

So I think we'll be seeing much more from Pope Francis in the years to come.

COSTELLO: Radhika Jones from "Time" magazine thanks so much for joining me this morning. I appreciate it.

JONES: Thank you for having me.

COSTELLO: Anytime.

Just ahead in the NEWSROOM, remember this? How could you forget? That was Elian Gonzalez in the closet the face of an international custody battle when federal agents stormed the Florida home. Eventually as you know he was sent back to Cuba. Well now nearly 14 years later, Elian has some harsh words for the U.S. government.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Elian Gonzalez was the face of an international custody battle nearly 14 years ago. This is the photo most of us remember as federal agents stormed his relatives' home in Miami to return him to his father in Cuba. CNN caught up with Elian in Ecuador and he's not holding back his opinions about the relations between the United States and his home country. He blames the U.S. for Cuba's economic troubles.

Rosa Flores is following that story from New York. Good morning.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well good morning Carol.

Now you probably remember this. When this happened, experts were saying that Elian Gonzalez would probably have some long lasting trauma because of everything that he went through. Well here we are, more than a decade later, he's 20 years old and he's speaking for himself not only about how he's doing but about the U.S. embargo on Cuba.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES (voice over): This is how the world remembers Elian Gonzalez.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They got the boy. They got the boy.

FLORES: A frightened six-year-old getting pulled from his Miami family's home by federal agents and sent to Cuba to live with his father. That was in 2000. This is him today. He's 20 -- a cadet at a military school in Cuba studying engineering.

Gonzalez says he hasn't suffered any long lasting psychological trauma from the international custody battle. He spoke to CNN while traveling outside of Cuba for the first time since his ordeal attending a youth conference in Ecuador. He's now an outspoken Fidel Castro supporter blaming Cuba's economic crisis on the U.S.

He says it's America's unfair blockade that caused a critical economic situation in Cuba and that many have died trying to reach America. His mother was one of them. Back in 1999 she and nine others died trying to reach Florida. Elian survived and was placed with relatives in Miami. The messy aftermath launched worldwide headlines intensifying the already heated U.S.-Cuba relations.

JANET RENO, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: It is time for this little boy, who has been through so very much, to move on with life at his father's side.

FLORES: Since his return to Cuba, he's been hailed a hero. For the past 13 years -- Fidel and Raul Castro regulars at his birthday parties.

He says, he remembers little about his mother, the youth conference he's attending is known for promoting the very leftist views his mother died trying to protect him from.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Now Elian Gonzalez did an interview with a Cuban newspaper. And here is what he said about Fidel Castro. And I'm going to quote here, "Fidel Castro for me is like a father. I don't profess to have any religion. But if I did, my God would be Fidel Castro."

So Carol that tells us a lot about what he thinks now and what I think the big question now is, is what is he going to do now? What is he going to do later? What is he going to do in Cuba?

COSTELLO: Well and I still -- we have to remember that when Elian Gonzalez went back to Cuba and his father is the Cuban government took them in and took care of them. So what else would Elian think?

FLORES: Well, one of the other things that I've been doing is I've been reading Spanish newspapers because these are the newspapers that are quoting him directly. And one of the other quotes that really stood out to me, Carol is that he said that in Cuba and I'm going to quote again here, "In Cuba I enjoy freedoms that I couldn't enjoy in the United States."

And we should also point out that this youth conference that he is attending in Ecuador, there are a lot of different, I guess, themes around this youth conference that are in relation to, for example, socialism. And -- and so this could be interesting --

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: Yes because I'm wondering what freedoms he enjoys in Cuba that he couldn't enjoy in the United States. Like what exactly are those freedoms?

FLORES: You know, in another newspaper, I did -- there was another quote about him saying, something about well, "In the United States, I would probably be pulled into politics." I mean in the United States, "I would probably be pulled to be a singer or an entertainer." Things like that. And he said "In Cuba, I don't have to do that."

So it's interesting how just the mentality, especially for a kid that was so close to being just a regular American, that we would normally see here in the United States but for the fact that he got pulled from his family in Miami and taken to Cuba. So I think it's going to be interesting to see, Carol, what happens with him especially because he is such an icon in Cuba. And Fidel and Raul Castro have been attending his birthday parties. He's hailed a hero. So what's next?

COSTELLO: We'll see. Rosa Flores thanks. Interesting story.

A programming note for you. Tonight's CNN's Anderson Cooper has a special report of the Newtown shooting anniversary called "HONORING THE CHILDREN". It takes a look at Sandy Hook's parents turning their heartbreak into lasting legacies. It airs tonight 10:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Her presence marks a milestone in the U.S. automotive industry. I'm talking about Mara Barra, the new CEO of General Motors and the first woman to run a major auto maker. She joins just 21 other women at the top of a "Fortune 500" company.

But a new report shows that woman continue to face hurdles on their climb to the top of the corporate ladder. CNN digital correspondent Kelly Wallace joins me now.

And Kelly I know there's a study you're going to tell us about. What does it say?

KELLY WALLACE, CNN DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes it's a new report by this nonprofit group Catalyst that doesn't have a lot of good news when it comes to women. It found for the eighth consecutive year, no significant movement when it comes to the number of women serving on corporate boards. This year, 16.9 percent of the board seats held by women versus 16.6 percent last year -- so not a significant uptick.

Same story when you look at the number of woman who are serving as executive officers. For four years, no real change. This year, 14.6 percent of women in the executive officers -- last year, 14.3 percent.

And Carol, whenever I look at these reports and these stories on them, the big question is why. And one reason I've been hearing from a lot of experts is the composition of boards and who the board is looking for. If boards are only looking for current or former CEOs, well, guess what, just as you talked about, there are fewer women CEOs than male CEOs.

And part of the problem could be or part of the answer could be looking at a more diverse pool of candidates when you are trying to seat that board.

COSTELLO: Boards also seek very wealthy people, right?

WALLACE: Excuse me?

COSTELLO: They also seek very wealthy people to serve on board -- correct? So that could be another problem because while there are many wealthy women in the world, there are many more wealthy men at the top of the ladder.

WALLACE: Yes. I mean -- and you know, I talked to one male CEO who said, look, this is about talent. It's not about equity or fairness. He says if he's trying to pick an all-star team, right, if he only looks at men but he doesn't look at all the best women, well guess what, there might be some amazing women out there who are better than some of the male candidates.

So the focus is really putting diversity, having the best men and the best women on your leadership team. And the research has shown, it's proven, Carol, that those companies that have the most diversity at the top, they tend to see results when it comes to the bottom line.

COSTELLO: Amen, sister.

There is a pit of bright news. A new Pew study found that for millennials the gender pay gap is now the narrowest in history with young women earning 93 percent as much as men. Good news right?

WALLACE: That is -- that is great news. Young women are starting off better than we did -- right; the gap narrower than ever before as you said. Young women have gone -- many young women have more credentials, you know when it comes to schooling than men. The key though, Carol, is keeping that up. Because what the studies seem to find is that as women get closer to motherhood and dealing with those issues, they tend to not keep up that same gender pay parity. So no pressure on all these millennial women, ladies, but we're expecting to you to keep that up -- 10, 20, 30 years from now.

COSTELLO: Exactly. If you read the study, it is very interesting. It's on my Facebook page. It should be 100 percent -- not just 93 percent.

WALLACE: Exactly.

COSTELLO: But we're getting closer.

WALLACE: We're getting closer.

COSTELLO: But the other disturbing thing is that the majority of young women still don't believe there's a lot of upward mobility in the corporate world. And that is a problem because if you don't have hope you're going to go there, sometimes you don't try.

WALLACE: It is so crucial Carol. And that's why the news by GM is so huge -- to have the first female head of a U.S. auto maker. Now for young girls everywhere, they can put, right, that on their list of things that they think they can do. So I think as you see more and more women in positions of leadership, younger women can say, OK, I can do that too.

And also, Carol, I mean this came out when we were talking a lot about Sheryl Sandberg and the whole leaning in notion; it's also as women talk realistically about what it takes. There are sacrifices to make. No one can have it all. But you can be a top CEO of a company and still have a family and still have a marriage and still care about charitable causes and do other things. The key is talking about how you do it. And all the sacrifices it takes to get there.

COSTELLO: You know what the key is really? Finding the right husband. That's the key. Isn't that true? A husband willing to share in child-rearing duties, support your career, et cetera, et cetera, right?

WALLACE: It is. It's very important. I mean Sheryl Sandberg said it very clearly. One of the most important things is picking the right partner. We talk about it with a smile. But if you have to have partnership, if your husband does share or your partner does share in child care and other household responsibilities, it allows you to do more in the corporate world.

We all joke, men and women, we all need a wife or an assistant or partner to do what we want to do. Some of us are lucky to have one.

COSTELLO: I know. I know I am. And I know you are too.

WALLACE: I am, yes. Of course.

COSTELLO: Thanks so much Kelly.

WALLACE: Sure thing.

COSTELLO: For more on Kelly's thoughts, go to cnn.com/kellywallace.

Checking other top stories this morning at 50 minutes past.

Right now Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is testifying on Capitol Hill. We just heard Republican Congressman Fred Upton who is the chairman of the Energy and Congress Committee ask her about delaying the launch of healthcare.gov, if she regrets actually not doing that, you know, in light of all the problems. Here is her response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. FRED UPTON (R), ENERGY AND CONGRESS COMMITTEE: Knowing what you know today, you would have started the launch October 1st?

KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: I would have probably done a slower launch maybe with fewer people and some additional beta testing which is part of what has happened frankly in the early months of the launch.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Sebelius' testimony comes as the administration announced today 365,000 people have signed up for new health insurance so far through Obamacare; much lower, of course, than the goal of seven million by March.

The National Security Agency taking a cue from Madison Avenue -- that's according to the "Washington Post". The paper says the spy agency uses Internet tracking files called "cookies" to pinpoint potential targets for government hacking. Cookies make it easier for the NSA to zero in on someone already under suspicion.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, it's one of the movies getting a lot of buzz for this year's SAG awards, we'll talk about the nominees -- next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The nominations are out for the 20th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. A movie about the life of a slave and a TV series about a family man turned drug dealer lead the way. I bet you can guess what those shows are.

Nischelle Turner joins us from Los Angeles with more. Good morning.

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hey good morning -- Carol. Yes, with the nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Awards, this is when we really know that Awards season is underway. These are actors nominating actors. So when actors are nominated for this award, they really take this one to heart because it's their peers that are acknowledging them.

So the nominations were just announced and I'll go over some of the big categories for you. First of all, in the best ensemble category -- the SAGs don't don't do a best picture, they do a best ensemble which recognizes all of the actors in a movie.

So here's the nominations for the Best Ensemble in a motion picture. They're "12 years a Slave", "American Hustle", "August Osage County", "Dallas Buyers Club" and Lee Daniels', "The Butler".

Now in the best acting category for best actor in a motion picture, there was also Bruce Dern for Nebraska, Chiwetel Ejiofor for "12 Years a Slave", Tom Hanks for Captain Phillips, Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club and Forest Whitaker in "The Butler". And in the female category for actress -- Cate Blanchett and "Blue Jasmine" was nominated this morning.

Sandra Bullock for "Gravity" was nominated. Judy Dench for "Philomena", Meryl Streep for "August Osage County" and Emma Thompson for "Saving Mr. Banks". They do both television and movies for the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

And in the television awards, you talked about "Breaking Bad" they lead the way in nominations of the television site for four awards. And "12 Years a Slave" also had four nominations this morning for the Screen Actors' Guild. By the way, it's the 20th anniversary for Screen Actors' Guild this morning so -- this year -- so their momentous day for them.

COSTELLO: Yes, interesting. Thanks for sharing, Nischelle. We appreciate it.

TURNER: Sure. COSTELLO: Every now and then we get a reminder of just how serious the TSA is when it comes to keeping weapons off planes. The latest reminder comes from where a woman learned hard way that airport security does not play around when it comes to toy guns.

CNN's Jeanne Moos has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONENT: Airport security socked it to this cowboy sock puppet for packing a pistol while being packed in a carry- on bag. And it wasn't just any sock puppet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean to kill you in one minute, net.

MOOS: He was modeled after the one-eyed star of "True Grit" Rooster Cogburn -- Rooster Monkburn as in monkey. It's what his creator calls him.

Phyllis May sells pop culture sock monkeys out of her home in Redmond Washington. But on the way through security in St. Louis, the TSA disarmed her monkey. Drop it Rooster. Actually rooster's pistol was about this big; not nearly as impressive as the ones favored by rooster's namesake. Phyllis described the TSA agent is saying, this is a gun. Phyllis replies, it's not a gun. It's a prop for my monkey. But security confiscated it nonetheless.

The TSA's policy is that out of an abundance of caution, realistic replicas of firearms are prohibited in carry-on bags. Here is one reason.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To show you how lethal these are.

MOOS: Miniature pistols can pack a punch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE; Here we go, cover your ears. That was a bull's eye. There is the exit wound.

MOOS: A few years back a traveler at LaGuardia had a necklace similar to this one confiscated. He was planning on wearing it in a Kanye West wrapper skirt with his niece. No dice. The sock monkey got lots of sympathy. Good job there, officer, TSA, you really protected us from that terrorist sock puppet.

Not since sock puppets were used to reenact the movie "Flight" have puppets caused such brouhaha. In aviation circles, if it hadn't been Rooster, it could have been Wonder Woman suspected of being an underwear bomber.

Moral of the story, don't let your soft puppets carry when they're being carried on.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Thanks so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello. "LEGAL VIEW" with Ashleigh Banfield Starts now.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello everyone. I'm Ashleigh Banfield. It is Wednesday, January (SIC) 11th. Welcome to "LEGAL VIEW".

And happening right now, a National Transportation Safety Board hearing on the crash of Asiana Airlines plane in San Francisco. That Boeing 777 crash back in July killing three people and injuring 181. And this morning we're learning, get this, that it could have been because the pilots were relying too much on their automated computers to fly and land the plan.

Our Renee Marsh is here to explain it all to us. So Renee, walk me through why we're perhaps just learning about this now and just how serious is it that this could be about reliance on computers?

RENEE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ashleigh, number one, this is serious. This is major information that we now know. And this information was just released by the NTSB just moments before this hearing got underway today.

Here's what we know. We know that Asiana Flight 214 came in too low and too slow at San Francisco's Airport. But now new information from the NTSB is painting a picture about possibly why. We know three major things. I'll tell you, Ashleigh, they are mind boggling. Imagine a few possibilities here. You're a passenger on a plane and a pilot in the cock pit either didn't fully understand how to operate the automated systems in the cockpit, or they weren't probably monitoring the systems.