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Winter Olympics Commence in Sochi, Russia; Woody Allen Writes Op-Ed Denying Child Molestation Accusations; Business Hit by Bad Weather; California Suffering Drought; Attorney General to Announce New Federal Policy on Gay Marriage

Aired February 08, 2014 - 14:30   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Welcome to the CNN Newsroom.

Just in to CNN, a historic announcement from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder involving same-sex marriage in America. In a speech tonight, Holder will announce the Justice Department's plan to extend the federal government's recognition of same-sex marriages even in the 34 states that don't consider it legal. I want to go straight to CNN's Erin McPike in Washington. So Erin, Holder, is preparing for this major announcement that will take place later on this evening. Where will it be and what will be said?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, he's in New York City tonight headline a human right's campaign annual gala at the Waldorf. This is a move by the Obama administration to extend federal recognition to married same-sex couples in all the states, even those that don't recognize marriage at legal right now.

According to excerpts of tonight's speech obtained by CNN's justice reporter Evan Perez, Attorney General Eric Holder will say, quote, "Just like during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, the stakes involved in this generation's struggle for LGBT equality could not be higher. At attorney general I will not let this department be simply a bystander during this important moment in history."

He'll also explain also what the action will do, which is give same- sex couples in civil and criminal couples the same legal rights as all married couples. And that means if someone refuses to testify in a case involving his or her spouse, the federal government won't object even if the couple is one of the states where same-sex marriage is not legal. These rights will also grant privileges to federal inmates in same-sex marriages and full rights to expand to same-sex couples involved in bankruptcy cases in every state.

I also note the number of states affected now just down one to 33 in June when a new law goes into effect in Illinois, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And then let's talk about the timing, Erin. This taking place right during the winter Olympic games, and there's a lot of pressure on Olympic sponsors to condemn Russia's anti-gay law. MCPIKE: Fred, that's right. And that law penalizes people there who promote gay materials in Russia. And I would also point out some protesters were arrested just this week in Moscow and St. Petersburg for peaceful demonstrations. And since it was enacted last year, it has stirred controversy really all over the globe and led gay rights activists to apply more pressure to both the International Olympic Committee and the companies underwriting these games in Sochi.

WHITFIELD: Erin McPike, thank you so much. Bring us more as you get it. Appreciate that.

All right, so speaking of those winter games in Sochi, the U.S. has just added another medal to the tally board. Bronze in the moguls, thanks to Hannah Kearney. The U.S. also snagged the first Olympic gold of the games. It's from U.S. snowboarder Sage Kotsenburg. Sage tweeting out "Wow, I just won the Olympics! Bringing back the first gold to the USA." CNN's Rachel Nichols is in Sochi with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He is the first gold medalist at these games, but the 20-year-old American Sage Kotsenburg does not exactly fit the profile of the clean cut, intense Olympic athlete of days' past.

SAGE KOTSENBURG, U.S. GOLD MEDALIST: My mentality isn't about training or, like, you know, going in the gym and making myself better at snowboarding in the gym. That's not really how I like to do it.

NICHOLS: The night before the event, Kotsenburg wasn't visualizing his run. Instead he was tweeting photos of himself making the Olympic rings out of onion rings. Then after making it out of the semi- finals, he tweeted, "Whoa, how random is this? I made the finals at the Olympics." Twitter loves Kotsenburg too. Voters have been circulating comparing him to Sean Penn's "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" character Jeff Spicoli, which Kotsenburg found thrilling.

KOTSENBURG: That is sick. I'm so down with that. That is pretty awesome that someone did that. I'm stoked to see that. Good old Spicoli.

NICHOLS: Kotsenburg hails from Park City, Utah. But none of his family or friends made the trip here to Sochi. He said they get too nervous watching him, and in turn they make him, quote, "Too stressed out." Instead, Kotsenburg called his dad after medaling.

KOTSENBURG: He was like, "What?" And they had it on speaker phone. Everyone was there. It was like the coolest moment ever, hearing their voices and they were so stoked.

NICHOLS: Kotsenburg said he plans to spend the rest of the Olympics thinking of creative selfie pictures he can take with his new medical, watching other events, and eating more onion rings.

KOTSENBURG: It feels like I'm living in a dream. I have really no idea, actually. It feels so random. NICHOLS: In Sochi, Rachel Nichols, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, congrats to him.

All right, with all the excitement over Kotsenburg snagging the gold on that slope style event, it's hard to believe snowboarding's popularity is actually declining. A little later on in the show we'll talk with a ski expert about the downward trend and safety concerns on Olympic snowboard courses.

All right, Woody Allen is telling his side of the story in an ongoing feud with his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow and former partner Mia Farrow. In a new op-ed in the "New York Times," Allen said he never molested Dylan and he blames Mia Farrow for planting the story in Dylan's mind. Alexander Field is following the story for us. So Alexandra, tell us more.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, in this op-ed, which will be published tomorrow, Woody Allen actually says that he doesn't doubt his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow has actually come to believe she was molested. But he categorically denies doing it and he continues to say it is his ex, Mia Farrow, embittered by their separation more than 20 years ago, who he says sort of coached the seven-year-old at the time to make these allegation.

Here is what Woody Allen wrote in his op-ed. He said, quote, "I did not molest Dylan. I loved her and hope one day she will grasp how she has been cheated out of a loving father and exploited by a mother more interested in her own festering anger than her daughter's well-being."

The op-ed itself was released last night, giving Dylan Farrow some time to read it, and she put her own response out there. She wrote an open letter detailing the alleged abuse. Here is what she had to say about Woody Allen's defense. She writes, "Once again Woody Allen is attacking me and my family in an effort to discredit and silence me. But nothing he says and writes can change the truth. For 20 years I have never wavered in describing what he did to me. I will carry the memories of surviving these experiences for the rest of my life." And she goes on to characterize the piece written by Woody Allen as being full of lies and distortions. Fred?

WHITFIELD: And tell us more about what he -- what he said or other details he may have given about Mia Farrow?

FIELD: Well, this sort of dredges up a lot of the things you'll remember seeing in the headlines more than 20 years ago. You'll remember that this couple separated after 12 years together, and that following that separation, of course, Woody Allen went on to marry Soon Yi, the adopted daughter of Mia Farrow and composer Andre Previn. The two have gone on. They've been married 16 years. Woody Allen in his piece especially blames Mia Farrow or accuses her of continuing to be bitter, the couple, again, married 16 years now gone on to adopt two children of their own, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Alexandra Field, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

In a Florida courtroom, a man on trial for killing a teenager in a fight over loud music. We'll tell you what he's saying to justify what happened.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: There's have been some intense moments today as the trial of a Florida man accused of murdering a teenager during a fight over loud music. Michael Dunn admits opening fire on Jordan Davis' car as the two were arguing over the volume of Davis' music. But he says it was self-defense and claims that Davis was armed. Today's rare Saturday court session focused on testimony from an evidence technician. The tech testified he didn't find any weapon in the teen's car but admitted he was never told to search the surrounding areas.

The U.S. State Department is urging North Korea to immediately release American Kenneth Bae on humanitarian grounds. The State Department announced Friday that Bae has been moved from a hospital to a labor camp. A pro-North Korean publication says Bae has been held at the camp for about three weeks. The State Department says it's deeply concerned about his health. He was arrested in 2012 while leading a tour group. The father of three was sentenced for 15 years for what the North Koreans call a, quote, "serious crime."

For the first time after that news, Kenneth Bae's sister talks to CNN. That's today at 5:00 eastern time. It's part of a CNN exclusive about a new effort to free Kenneth Bae that could include you. The announcement of this new campaign exclusively in the CNN Newsroom with Don Lemon.

All right, now to Tennessee where a couple is facing murder charges for allegedly forcing the man's five-year-old daughter to drink excessive amounts of water and grape soda. Prosecutors say all that liquid caused the sodium level in Alexa Linboom's body to plummet and triggered fatal brain swelling. The couple is also accused of child neglect and child abuse.

Two men convicted of a triple murder as teenagers are free after spending 21 years in a New York prison. New DNA evidence proves Anthony Yarbough and Sharrif Wilson could not have killed Yarbough's mother, sister, and cousin. The Brooklyn D.A. says the 1992 convictions would not stand up in court again.

He says he survived a drift in the ocean for more than a year. But when he finally washed ashore in the Marshall Islands, a lot of people doubted his story. Jose Salvador Alvarenga insists he is telling the truth, saying he survived on rain water, turtles, and birds. His doctors say he's recovering.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. KENNAR BRIAND, CHIEF OF STAFF, MAJURO HOSPITAL: You know, we had staff come in from the program to check up on him, his mental status, and he seems -- you know, a bit off, but maybe it's due to him being in, in the open for so many months and not talking to people. But I think he's finally getting it back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Alvarenga left the hospital yesterday.

Team USA's first 2014 gold goes to a snowboarder. And while that sport booms at the Olympics, you're actually seeing a big drop on the regular slopes. Why is that happening? Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Winter games in Sochi, and the U.S. has just added a bronze medal to our tally board. It was in the moguls, and it's all thanks to Hannah Kearney. So the race is on with team USA slipping to fourth place on the medal board. But whatever the medal's standing, the U.S. can claim the game's first gold medal, which went to U.S. snowboarder Sage Kotsenburg.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOTSENBURG: That was the best run of my life, hands down. And I was dropping in and there was really -- mine, I didn't -- I try not to put too much pressure other than myself. I ride really bad when I kind of start overthinking things. So I tried having this laid back mellow mentality.

And before my run I was like, hey. Bill, this is the U.S. team coach, I'm like, I might do a 1,620 Japan. It's never done before. I nerve even tried it before. He's like, you're in the finals of the Olympics so you might as well go all-out. I called my brother. Might try 1,620 japan. My brother was like, what? Send it, I guess. You're at the Olympics.

And I dropped in. I was this is go, coming to the last jump. This is going too well. I have to definitely do the 1,620. And I just threw it and halfway through the air, it's coming around perfect, and it ended up coming around just like the l,260 but a full 360 more, but felt a little of the same feeling. I put my legs down right when I felt it, and it was unreal. I could not believe riding out of it that I landed that first try.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And thank goodness you did. Thank goodness for the 1,620 Japan, that move. You nailed it. This is the first time slope style was an event at the winter games. The same event American Shaun White withdrew from, calling it intimidating. White says he wants to focus on the half-pipe. That's what he's known for.

Shaun White wasn't the only one with concerns. Changes were made to that slope style course after a border crashed and broke his collarbone in training. And even more concerns are on the skiing side. The men's downhill course is so steep skiers could hit speeds 90 miles an hour, one American calling it unrelenting.

And on the women's side, a jump put skiers in the air so long during practice that officials only let three women try before changing the course. One said she felt like she was never going to land. Mark Perruzi with "Outside" magazine and also the former editor in chief of "Ski" magazine joining me live no from Denver. Good to see you.

MARK PERUZZI, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "OUTSIDE" MAGAZINE: Good to see you. Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: So are these courses too dangerous or is that the way the supposed to be, you've got to push the limits?

PERUZZI: Well, downhill has always been incredibly dangerous, but they started putting in safety rules about 20 years ago with three layers of fencing and having helicopters on hand. Those helicopters are there for a reason. But this course is just new to most of the racers. They've only seen it once before and the snow conditions were quite different. It was really warm and slow, which can be dangerous as well. But right now it's fast. And you're exactly right. They're hitting speeds of 90 miles an hour right from the get-go. And they needed to drop some of the jumps down, because they were pretty much going the distance of a football field as 70 or 80 miles an hour, which is pretty terrifying.

WHITFIELD: Is it your worry, even though we're now two or three -- three days now into competition that perhaps some of these athletes will get used to it, that given some of the competitions began before the opening ceremony, but that some of these athletes will simply get used to it, or do you forecast that are going to be serious injuries along the way, more so?

PERUZZI: Yes, I don't want to predict any injuries. I think the downhillers will get a good handle on that course, because they do so much scouting, and they're used to varying terrain. Where it's a little different is in the slope style event that you mentioned. They're looking for very similar conditions from course to course, and that's where the safety lies is being incredible consistent. So when a jump gets a little bit flat, and the landing on a jump gets flat and you taking a lot of air and coming down hard, that's where a lot of injuries can occur.

So when you're getting inverted and doing multiple off-access tricks you kind of need to know where the land is. That's going to be a little tricky for them.

WHITFIELD: You mentioned --

PERUZZI: Why Shaun White pulled out.

WHITFIELD: You mentioned the newest snowboarding event. So it's very interesting because you've got now two snowboarding events in Sochi. Slope style and parallel slalom. But then we're hearing on the regular slopes, you, I, and everybody else skis on, apparently it's wilting and that skiing is now on the rise, kind of, you know -- bumping snowboarding's popularity. How is that? Why is that?

PERUZZI: There's also half-pipe at the Olympics. Don't forget about the half-pipe, where Shaun White will be competing. WHITFIELD: That's not new, though.

PERUZZI: No, no. Not new.

WHITFIELD: I was just mentioning the debuts snowboarding events.

PERUZZI: Yes. Snowboarding is in a slight decline right now, and it wasn't really predicted. And there are a lot of reasons people are throwing out for why that is. The economy, you know, the nature of trends. But a theory that I proposed in our article recently in "Outside" magazine is the sport was mis-marketed the essentially. It was built up as a -- as a kind of winter equivalent of skateboarding, and targeted almost exclusively at teenaged boys. And the user group has matured. About h45 percent are over the age of 25, snowboarders, and there are quite a few snowboarding couples. You don't see them in the media. And women haven't really grown with the sport very much. There are about 35 percent women in the sport, and that number has been flat for a decade.

WHITFIELD: Wow, hard to believe.

PERUZZI: More recently we've seen -- yes. We've seen younger users not entering the sport. So it's at a 14-year low for people around the age of 13 and under.

WHITFIELD: All right, well, we'll see if post-Olympics they'll be a resurgence. Usually the Olympic games, all of a sudden people get out there and start thinking they can do what they're seeing on the tube and also get out and snowboard in bigger numbers. Mark Perruzi, thanks so much. Appreciate your time.

PERUZZI: It could get a bump. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, we're going to get a little air next hour, but in a different way. We've got news coming up involving the U.S. attorney general, Eric Holder, set to make a historic announcement tonight on same-sex marriages in the U.S. We'll tell you what he's likely to say.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: New York Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez has given up his fight against his suspension for alleged steroid use. In papers filed in federal court yesterday he withdrew his lawsuit against Major League Baseball, the commissioner and the player's union. The 162- game suspension will cost Rodriguez $25 million in salary. CNN has not yet heard back from his representative.

And more trouble for pop start Justin Bieber. The FAA is looking into allegations that passengers on his plane interfered with the crew during a flight from Toronto to New Jersey last week. Sources say he and his father verbally abused a flight attendant after she asked them to stop smoking pot. The pilots reportedly had to put on oxygen masks to avoid inhaling the marijuana smoke. The 19-year-old faces assault charges in Toronto, a DUI in Florida, and could be charged with felony vandalism in Los Angeles. And a golfer is singing the praises are Clint Eastwood. Steve John, who runs the Pebble Beach Pro-Am tournament, started choking on some food. Next thing you know, the famous actor was performing the Heimlich maneuver. The 83-year-old star lifted the 202 pound man in the air three times.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE JOHN, AT&T PEBBLE BEACH NATIONAL PRO-AM DIRECTOR: I was eating appetizers and actually drinking water, and I guess I threw a piece of cheese in that wasn't going to work down the same pipe as the water, and it, I just choked, was choking. And Clint could see I was choking, and he just grabbed my arm, turned me around and performed Heimlich on me and saved my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow. Eastwood says he's never had to perform the Heimlich maneuver but just reacted quickly when he saw the panic in John's eyes.