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Israel: Bodies Of Three Missing Israeli Teens Found; Netanyahu Calls Emergency Meeting; Toronto Mayor Speaks After Rehab; Contraception Ruling Goes Against Obamacare

Aired June 30, 2014 - 15:30   ET

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

MICHAEL OREN, CNN MIDEAST ANALYST: Good afternoon. It's a sad and tragic day for the people of Israel. Over the course of the last 18 days, since the kidnapping of the three teenagers, Israelis have lived with the hope that they could be found and reunited safely with their parents. Their parents have come out and strengthened the Israeli people almost nightly, speaking to the Israeli public, giving us faith, strength, and always kindling hope that these three wonderful young people could be reunited with their families.

That is not the case now. There is in addition to deep sadness in the Israeli public, there's a growing anger and demand for a response. The response will be military, but not just military also diplomatic. There was great frustration within the Israeli leadership. And indeed throughout much of the public to the swift recognition of the unity government between Hamas and Al Fatah, recognition by the United States, and by the Western European countries which Israel thought was swift.

They didn't hold Hamas to any high standards. Obviously was supposed to disavow terror among other conditions. Hamas has not disavowed terror, and now Hamas has been engaged in military operations with Israel for the first time since 2012. Hamas is firing rockets in Southern Israel.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Bigger picture, you had mentioned when we were talking last hour that this story has really resonated and devastated so many people back in Israel. This is something that the news outlets have been covering nonstop. And just to think these three teenage bodies were found in this field, it's horrendous.

OREN: It's horrendous, it has happened in the past. In past years, Palestinian terrorists have killed Israeli hostages and then tried to negotiate for their remains. The Israeli society is highly sensitive to the remains of Israelis and we have in the past actually given up released terrorists from jail in order to get bodies back and reunite them to their families for proper burial.

We don't know if this was the case, if the terrorists involved in this particular murder intended to try to negotiate for them. But in any event, the impact on Israel is going to be profound, as you mentioned and I talked about earlier, the media coverage of this hostage abduction and murder has been around the clock.

It's been 24/7 about the three, the Israeli public has become intimately acquainted with the families of these three young people. We all feel they're part of our family. And I tell you on a personal level, we're sitting at the aspen ideas festival here, and when we heard about it, my wife was in the front row of a conference and just broke out crying. And I think she represents the feeling among all Israelis that we feel like we've lost of our own young people.

BALDWIN: Ages 19, 16 and 16. Michael Oren, thank you so much for joining me here and giving us perspective on what's happened, this gruesome discovery in this field. And Ben Wedeman, my thanks to you.

Totally switching gears here, because we've been watching and waiting for, here he is, Rob Ford, mayor of Toronto, back from rehab after two months, reformed. Let's listen.

MAYOR ROB FORD, TORONTO: Dealing with substance abuse, I was in complete denial. I had convinced myself that I did not have a problem, but it soon became obvious that my alcohol and drug use was having a serious, serious impact on my family and on my health and on my job as mayor. After experiencing some of the darkest moments in my life, I decided that enough was enough.

I had become my own worst enemy. I knew -- I knew it was time to take action. It was time to get help, professional help. This is a decision that will change my life forever. At Green Stone, I worked with a professional team of dedicated doctors, nurses, counselors, and the best trainer anyone could ask for. I underwent hundreds of hours of intensive therapy.

I now know -- I now know the staff at green stone saved my life. They forced me to confront my personal demons. I learned about things like triggers and what happens when you have uncontrollable cravings. I learned that my addiction is really a disease. A chronic medical condition that will require treatment for the rest of my life.

I also learned that I'm not alone fighting this chronic medical condition. I personally saw that this disease touches many lives. It affects people from all walks of life. And we all know someone who has suffered from this terrible disease. At Green Stone, I met others. I met others who, like me, have struggled with the impacts of their substance abuse for years.

Listening to their stories gave me the strength and helped me deal with my own mistakes. Thanks to my treatment, thanks to my treatment, I can proudly say today that I have begun the process of taking control of my life. But folks, this is a long, long road to recovery. And no matter what I do, no matter what I do, he will never be able to change the mistakes I've made in the past.

When I look back on some of the things I have said, and some of the things I did when I was using, I am ashamed, embarrassed, and humiliated. I was wrong and I have no one but no one to blame but myself. I want to sincerely, sincerely apologize, not just to the people of Toronto, but every single person who was hurt by my words and my actions.

It was never, never my intention to embarrass the city or offend my fellow members of council. I deeply, deeply regret some of the personal choices I have made in the past. I now realize that I was blind to the dangers of some of the company I kept and those associations have ended.

My commitment to living clean is now unwavering. To the people of this great city, I want to offer a public apology. I used poor judgment and I take full responsibility for my actions. At Green Stone, I accepted in my position I am held to a higher standard. To my family, and to all those who stood by me during these extremely difficult times, I want to thank you for giving me another chance.

To my fellow counselors, and especially the Kiranstons, for my hurtful and degrading remarks, I offer a deep felt apology for my behavior. To the media, I want to thank you. I want to thank the media for giving me and the residents at Green Stone the privacy we need. But I am not -- I am not asking you for forgiveness. I accept full responsibility for what I have done.

Thankfully we live in a civilized society. A society that realizes that people do make mistakes, and that some people need help, and those who seek that help can be given another chance. Substance abuse is a very, very difficult thing to overcome. But I will keep -- I will keep battling this disease for the rest of my life.

I will continue to receive ongoing professional treatment for my substance abuse problem. I am determined -- I am absolutely determined -- to make myself the best person I can be for my family, for the people of Toronto. And with your support, and with your support, I'm also resolved to continue to work harder than ever for the taxpayers of this great city.

While I know it's just the beginning of my personal journey, and friends, it's a long journey. My resolve as your mayor has not changed. We have accomplished a lot together.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you going to talk about your racial slurs?

FORD: When I was -- when I was first elected in 2010, I promised to stop the gravy train and that's exactly what I have done.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have anything to say to Jews, blacks, South Asians?

FORD: We have moved -- we have moved away from the toxic spend ways of the past and changed the culture --

BALDWIN: OK. We're going to pull away from this. Rob Ford been talking for 10-plus minutes, mayor of Toronto, has been mayor just about his full four-year term. Haven't seen him in two months. Paula Newton covered him for however long this has been going on, saying I was in denial, you know, admitting to being an addict of drugs and alcohol, been in rehab for two months. What was that?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Quite frankly, it's what he should have said months ago. It's what his family members begged him to say, certainly what people of Toronto wanted him to say. Great. He says he's had rehab, he looks much better than he did before, says his commitment to staying clean is unwavering.

BALDWIN: Yes.

NEWTON: But let's be reminded here, this was a shrewd political move what he just did. He wants to continue to be mayor of Toronto. That election campaign is coming up in the fall. He has not pulled out of the race and that's what this is about. This is about him re- launching that political campaign. After doing a mea culpa over and over and over again. And that's what the people of Toronto will be treated to again today.

BALDWIN: You were saying quickly you were covering the missing plane overseas, all around the world, and people asked you, knowing that you were based in Canada, about this mayor. His reputation precedes him, but what about the people of Toronto? Because at the end of the day, those are the ones who matter in terms of re-electing him. How are they feeling about him?

NEWTON: I mean, look, many people are rooting for him from a personal perspective. No one wants to see someone who is hurting. As he said himself, addiction is a chronic disease.

BALDWIN: Very serious.

NEWTON: It's not something to laugh at. The problem was, many people saw him as laughing at it.

BALDWIN: The dancing, the videos --

NEWTON: The denial was the worst and then all those racial slurs and all that discussion going on. It was really unspeakable, most of the things he did. Here's the bottom line, though, Brooke, he will and he can get a second chance. The polls -- Brooke, can you believe it? The polls are so close. He's in second place right now.

The fact is the polls are notoriously unreliable. Right now, he is still second, after having been out of sight for weeks and weeks and weeks. Stay tuned. This isn't going anywhere. I have said many times, you do not count this guy out politically, regardless of what you think of what's gone on in his personal life.

BALDWIN: People have a good redemption story. Maybe they will give him that second chance. Paula Newton, nice to see you in Studio 7. Thank you for coming by and watching that with me.

Just ahead to Washington we go, it's a Supreme Court decision everyone has been waiting for. And in the case of Hobby Lobby, religion, contraception, Obamacare, Hobby Lobby wins. We'll discuss today's major decision, next here on CNN.

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BALDWIN: Two family-owned firms who charge Obamacare trampled their religion have earned the right today from the nation's highest court not to provide insurance for certain forms of contraception. The Green family, founders of Hobby Lobby, and then you have the Hahns Mennonites from Pennsylvania and they have the most divisive case of the U.S. Supreme Court session.

The court's five conservatives came together on this one and they ruled that Obamacare violates federal religious law as it applies to the so-called closely held companies. However, in a scathing dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg warned that the ruling opens the gates for all kinds of companies to seek all kinds of exemptions based upon claims of faith.

Shortly after the ruling, I should point out, the White House did say it will seek some sort of relief on behalf of women affected by this ruling. But a spokesman is suggesting that Congress take the lead on that one

Gloria Borger is our chief political analyst. Gloria, standby with me. Also with me, Jeff Toobin, our CNN senior legal analyst. Jeff Toobin, I want to begin with I alluded to Justice Ginsburg and her wording and specifically the fact that this may not be as narrow a decision as one may have interpreted early this morning because I heard you saying that this could go in quite a few directions.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: It could because the principle is very hard to limit. If you believe that a company, a for-profit company has religious views that the state must respect, the company can assert hose views in a variety of ways. It's not just Evangelical Christianity that is honored by the first amendment. What about a company run by Christian scientists or Jehovah's witness who have very specific views about the kind of medical care that is appropriate?

What about transfusions? What about chemotherapy? What about obviously contraception, which is at the heart of this case. This potentially opens the door to companies saying, we will pay for only the kind of medical care that our religion approves of. And that's a very complicated risk for employees who go to work for those companies.

BALDWIN: These are the "what ifs" and maybes down the road because of specifically this ruling. Gloria Borger, as far as the political narrative concern, Obamacare, this massive big sweeping legislation, how much damage does this one ruling wreak?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it's just one more sort of chink in the armor here, and I think what the administration is going to try and figure out and in fact, the conservative, Justice Alito kind of suggested it.

TOOBIN: The government --

BORGER: Saying let the government pay for this so if these women can't get this type of birth control covered by their employers, well, maybe government subsidies can do that. That's clearly something that that could be considered by regulation. I think what Democrats would like to do, quite honestly, is try and look for a legislative fix that they bring up on the floor of the Senate, which they control and they know that they won't get it passed. But it will be one more opportunity for them to talk about women and the so-called war against women we've heard so much about.

BALDWIN: I see where you're going.

BORGER: They can bring it up on the Senate floor and it becomes an issue in the midterm elections.

BALDWIN: Gosh. It's all related to that. Gloria Borger, Jeff Toobin, thank you both very much. We'll be watching to see how that translates come November.

Meantime next, breaking news, General Motors, just announcing another recall. Eight million vehicles linked to crashes and deaths. Stay right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We have some breaking news in from General Motors. General Motors recalling now more than 8 million cars. Seven crashes and three deaths are linked to this latest GM recall. So this comes just hours after compensation expert, Kenneth Feinberg, unveiled this payment plan for all those victims linked to GM's faulty ignition switches. Those crashes.

Look at your screen here. These are the recalls. This is the latest information you need to know. Look at your screen for the years, you have Chevrolet Malibu, Oldsmobile Intrigue, Alero, Pontiac Grand M, there are more, Chevrolet Impala, Monte Carlo, Pontiac Grand Prix. Make sure you go to cnn.com for the latest make and model and year for those.

It was early Sunday morning and in a matter of seconds the mood on New Orleans Bourbon Street changed from festive to frantic. Look at this video. Look at everyone scattering. This is surveillance video catching the moment when gunshots suddenly rang out and all these innocent bystanders tried anything they could do to rush for cover, seek safety. Nine people were injured. Two critically. Police say the terrifying incident began when two men decided to settle a fight with guns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RONAL SERPAS, NEW ORLEANS POLICE SUPERINTENDENT: This is a heinous crime. This is twos young men both armed with firearms who chose to settle a dispute between themselves without a moment's care for anyone else. I hope they're listening and their friends are listening and their mom and them are listening. We know more about them than they think we know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Take a look at this. New Orleans police today released this photo of one of the men they believe is responsible for the shooting. Both shooters are still at large.

Before I go, just a quick programming note for you. A murder mystery is haunting the San Diego area. A family of four disappears from the suburban home. Joseph McStay, his wife and two young sons gone. No apparent signs of struggle. Their bodies were found buried in shallow graves in the Mojave Desert. The question is who did this? Watch the CNN special "Buried Secrets." That is tomorrow night, 9:00 Eastern here on CNN.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you so much for being with me. I'll see you back here tomorrow. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.