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No Apology from St. Louis Rams; Obama Lays Out Plans to Build Police Trust; President Obama Picks Ash Carter to be Defense Secretary Nominee; Car Sales Highest Since 2001; Janice Dickinson Breaks Down in CNN Interview; U.S. Investigating Baby Seat Recall Timeline
Aired December 02, 2014 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in the NEWSROOM.
JEFF FISHER, ST. LOUIS RAMS HEAD COACH: I firmly believe that I keep sports and politics separate.
COSTELLO: Ferguson feud.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Rams spokesman followed up with CNN making clear they did not apologize. The NFL is also not apologizing.
COSTELLO: The Rams, the NFL, and why sorry is the hardest word to say this morning.
CHARLES BARKLEY, FORMER NBA PLAYER: If it wasn't for the cops we'd be living in the Wild, Wild West in our neighborhood.
COSTELLO: Charles Barkley coming out in support of the grand jury decision.
BARKLEY: Did you know how bad some of these neighborhoods would be if it wasn't for the cops?
COSTELLO: A new interview supporting police officers, calling the Ferguson looters scumbag.
BARKLEY: There's no excuse for those people to be out there burning down people's businesses.
COSTELLO: And presidential push.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to make sure that we're not building a militarized culture inside our local law enforcement.
COSTELLO: President Obama, police, protesters and keeping the peace, but will body cameras really quiet our streets?
Let's talk, live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And good morning, I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.
It is a bizarre twist in the fallout over a protest by five members of the St. Louis Rams football team. As the team and the St. Louis County Police Department get into a war of words over whether or not the team actually said it was sorry, the five receivers put their hands up during Sunday's game against the raiders.
The chief of the St. Louis County Police Jon Belmar says the team apologized in the phone call but the Rams spokesman tells CNN sports, quote, "We did not apologize."
Ed Lavandera joins to us now to cut through the confusion.
Good morning, Ed.
LAVANDERA: Hi, Carol. Well, you know, all of this came out Sunday after five of the St. Louis Rams football players walked on to the football field with their hands up in the "hands up, don't shoot" gesture that has become synonymous here with the Ferguson movement and the St. Louis County Police association took issue with that on Monday.
Rams officials met with two police groups here in the -- in the St. Louis area yesterday, and after that is when all of this started to kind of unravel. A spokesperson for the St. Louis County Police Department said that the chief operating officer of the rams had apologized and then we went back to the Rams, they said that an apology didn't take place and then what was interesting is the St. Louis County Police Department on its twitter feed then put out the definition of an apology writing, "Apology, expression of regret for not being able to do something."
So all of this kind of taking on a bizarre tone as this situation between the Rams and various police organizations here in the St. Louis area reaches another level, but as we mentioned, the NFL is not going to take any action with these players, and the team's coach says that the players won't be disciplined either.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FISHER: They're exercising their right to free speech. They will not be disciplined by the club nor will they be disciplined by the National Football League.
I'm not here for the police. I'm not here -- I'm just good that come out of this because people come together.
KENNY BRITT, RAMS WIDE RECEIVER: It's kind of dangerous down there. None of us want to get up in anything. So we wanted to come out and show our respect to the protesters and people that have actually been doing a heck of a job around the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LAVANDERA: And, Carol, you know, these police organizations say that there are other talks here scheduled for the week ahead between the police groups and the St. Louis Rams, and the St. Louis Rams have also said that they are planning other events with St. Louis Police officers in the coming weeks as well. So we'll have to see how this continues to play out in the days ahead -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes, we will.
Ed Lavandera reporting live from Ferguson this morning.
Many police officers across the country do feel they're being unjustly criticized for doing their job, a dangerous one at that. And now they have a new champion, Charles Barkley. Listen to what Barkley told a Philadelphia sports radio station just after the grand jury's decision.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARKLEY: You have to be really careful with the cops, man. If it wasn't for the cops we'd be living in the Wild, Wild West in our neighborhoods. We can't pick out certain incidents that don't go our way and act like the cops are all bad. I hate when we do that because think about it. Do you know how bad some of these neighborhoods would be if it wasn't for the cops?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: President Obama has a few ideas about how to rebuild trust between the black community and the police. He met with, among others, police chiefs to talk about solutions and came up with a plan that includes, one, overseeing the use of military equipment by local police, creating a task force to establish accountability and trust, and new funding for police body cameras.
Our senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta joins us now with more.
Good morning, Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. That's right. President Obama is vowing to get some results in the aftermath of the unrest in Ferguson. After a series of meetings at the White House, the president unveiled plans that you just mentioned to tighten controls on police department use of military equipment, that was a big controversy when that violence exploded in Ferguson.
A new 21st century policing task force that will be partially led by the former D.C. police chief Charles Ramsey, who is now the top cop in Philadelphia, and a proposal to purchase those body-worn cameras for police officers.
And, Carol, those cameras could go a long way in establishing when officers use appropriate force. But after sitting down with law enforcement officials, civil rights leader, church leaders from across the country President Obama said he understood why so many Americans are calling for changes in police tactics in minority communities.
Here's what the president had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: When I hear the young people around this table talk about their experiences, it violates my belief in what America can be, to hear young people feeling marginalized and distrustful, even after they've done everything right. That's not who we are. And I don't think that's who the overwhelming majority of Americans want us to be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Now as for a presidential trip to Ferguson, it appears that is off at least in the near future. A White House official said a visit was discussed last week, but instead, advisers decided on yesterday's series of meetings for what they're describing is a more comprehensive approach in dealing with this issue.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Eric Holder, who has been the administration's point man on all of this, he was in Atlanta last night speaking to civil rights leaders. Holder said he would unveil new guidelines to help end racial profiling later this week. It should be just a matter of days before we see those proposals from the attorney general -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I'm sure you'll keep us posted.
Jim Acosta reporting live from the White House.
I want to introduce you now to Leighton Watson. He's the president of the Howard University Student Association and he attended yesterday's meeting with President Obama, civil rights leaders, police chiefs and others.
Leighton, welcome.
LEIGHTON WATSON, PRESIDENT, HOWARD UNIVERSITY STUDENT ASSOCIATION: Thank you for having me.
COSTELLO: Thank you for being here. First of all, tell me what it was like.
WATSON: It's an incredible experience any time you get to meet the president but what I was really impressed by was the fact that he was so focused on finding solutions to this problem that's plaguing communities around the nation.
COSTELLO: The president did say things will be different this time going forward. Did you believe him?
WATSON: Yes, I mean, we're a student of a history so we understand the presidential commissions from President Lyndon Johnson in 1965, and how oftentimes task forces are a symbol, people quiet down, and then the results come out and it just sits on a shelf and collects dust. And he was cognizant of that fact, too, so what he told us and what we
believe is that we have the full support of the president behind this task force to find solutions not only because he cares about the issues but because he has a vested interest, because he's been on the other side of being stereotyped and profiled.
COSTELLO: Have you -- have you heard what Charles Barkley said? Did you hear what he told a Philadelphia radio station?
WATSON: Yes, I just heard that, actually, on the show, and my dad is actually a police officer, and so we have these sort of conversations in our house, and for me, it was important that my dad came home every day, so I understand that police officers do an incredible job.
Not all police officers are bad people, but my dad also had to have that same conversation about how I should interact with officers, even though he was an officer himself, because he understood that not everybody has the same training or the same cultural awareness that he had. And I could end up just like Michael Brown, shot dead.
COSTELLO: So when you -- you know, some people have said, you know, this is way overblown and what happened in Ferguson was -- you know, it happened in Ferguson, but it doesn't happen that much across the country. People are exaggerating the problem. What would you say to them?
WATSON: I think the preponderance of these new videos that have come out has shown that when you talk to communities of color across the nation, and they tell these stories about their interactions with the police, they're actually telling the truth. You see videos of people just reaching in their car for license and registration and getting shot at. You see videos of people going to Wal-Mart, picking up a toy gun and being shot and killed. A 12-year-old having a BB gun being shot and killed.
This is happening over and over and over again, and I think seeing that visually is now causing people to see that it's an issue that's widespread.
COSTELLO: Leighton Watson, thank you so much for being with me this morning. I sure appreciate it.
WATSON: Thank you again.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
COSTELLO: All right, we have some breaking news to tell you about. Ashton Carter will be President Obama's choice as the new secretary of Defense barring any last-minute complications.
CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins me now with more and so does White House correspondent Jim Acosta.
Want to start with you, though, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. Well, barring any last-minute complications, barring any last-minute surprises from the president, all indications are now that Ash Carter will be the nominee to replace Chuck Hagel as secretary of Defense.
Ash Carter very well-known around the Pentagon. He served as Hagel's deputy. He has served in a number of jobs in the past to the Pentagon, including being the top acquisition official, essentially the top weapons buyer. He knows the budget. He knows how billions of dollars in taxpayer money is spent buying weapons. With budget cuts coming, he will be very experienced in being able to formulate any budget plan, what to keep, what to cancel potentially.
Those are all the pluses that are seen for Ash Carter. He knows the military, he knows the military leadership.
Part of the big question, and Jim may be much better to answer this, is, does this answer the mail for the White House? They pushed Hagel out saying they wanted to transform to new leadership. Ash Carter very well respected but he really is part of the old existing leadership at the Pentagon. He's been in jobs here before. Will he really be able to deal with that White House micromanagement? Will he be able to offer new ideas and have them accepted -- Carol.
COSTELLO: OK. Jim, take it away.
ACOSTA: Yes. Well, you know, the term White House micromanagement, that seems to be a lasting term in Washington but it certainly has been applied to this White House certainly in recent weeks when it comes to picking this new Defense secretary and as Barbara knows, every step of the way Ash Carter remained on this short list. He's sort of been the last man standing in that Michele Flournoy, she was seen as the top contender and then she pulled herself out of contention.
Senator Jack Reid, he did the same. And then we heard this morning from an administration official that the Homeland Security secretary, Jeh Johnson, who had been on the short list and is widely regarded as being very, very good inside this White House, he is also now not in contention for the job, and so that sort of leaves Ash Carter left.
But just to say a few words about Ash Carter in terms of what the White House perspective is, and I think Barbara knows this as well, is that Ash Carter is very well respected inside this White House. I talked to an administration official last week about this, as a matter of fact, and that person said, you know, Ash Carter has to be on any short list. And in fact he was on the short list the last time around as Barbara notes when Chuck Hagel was picked.
Ash Carter then left the Pentagon. He signed a deal recently with Stanford to do some lecturing out there, so essentially he'll have to, I guess, nix that deal and make himself comfortable over at the Pentagon. But he's certainly known inside this White House as somebody who won't need a tour of the Pentagon. He's very well- regarded and someone who really knows that place very well -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I know. Now for the confirmation process, which should be fun. Barbara -- Barbara Starr, Jim Acosta, thanks so much.
I'll be right back.
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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: OK, this is happy breaking news, I promise.
Car sales at their highest since 2001. Wow. Little sunshine.
Christine Romans is here. That's amazing.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, auto dealers are having sunshine. Look, they have -- last week, it turns out Black Friday wasn't about going to the mall. It's about buying a new ride, because seriously, these are really good numbers, probably fueled by a lot of early Black Friday incentives. Chrysler's numbers are out a 20 percent gain in sales, 20 percent, that makes it the best November since 2001.
Let's think about that. What was happening in 2001, in November 2001. It was after September 11th and there were deals and incentives to get you to buy a car. You're seeing those deals incentives again. You're seeing really cheap promotions.
Over the weekend, you could get an iPad, you could get a television, you could get a Honda accord for $240 a month for three years, nothing down, zero percent financing. All kinds of deals out there.
Plus, gas prices are cheap, people are buying big cars again, Carol, gas prices are cheap and the unemployment rate in October was down to 5.8 percent. People feeling more comfortable about their financial situation and that's why you are seeing these sales.
Really, I would say zooming ahead here. Car sales are one of those indicators of the economy -- look, you have to feel good about things to shell out all that money and people are certainly shelling out all that money.
COSTELLO: I don't know, I still think the wage gap though. I do think people are charging more on their credit cards again which isn't a good thing.
ROMANS: Yes, you're right. And the front page of "The Wall Street Journal" says basic costs squeeze families. That's the big headline in the "Wall Street Journal," that's true, people are spending less to go to the movie. They're spending less on sweater. They spent less at the mall Black Friday, but they are buying cars and that's a bright spot.
COSTELLO: We love our cars in America.
ROMANS: We like big cars again, we like big cars again. COSTELLO: That's not so good. Christine Romans thanks so much.
ROMANS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: Still to come in THE NEWSROOM: former supermodel Janice Dickinson breaks down as she tells CNN in graphic detail what she says Bill Cosby did to her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: What do you want from Bill Cosby right now? What do you need to hear from him? What does he need to do?
JANICE DICKINSON, FORMER SUPERMODEL: I would like Cosby to come out and at least acknowledge --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: But Cosby's attorney is firing back, calling Dickinson a liar. More next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Former supermodel Janice Dickinson is opening up to CNN about the night she said Bill Cosby raped her. Dickinson says Cosby assaulted her in 1982 after they had dinner together in Lake Tahoe. She alleges he gave her a pill and a glass of red wine before she passed out and woke up the next morning in a lot of pain. Dickinson is one of at least 17 women to accuse Cosby of rape. She broke down during an interview with CNN's Fredricka Whitfield.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: What do you want from Bill Cosby right now? What do you need to hear from him? What does he need to do?
DICKINSON: I would like Cosby to come out and at least acknowledge that he is a pig, that he is a monster and he raped me.
WHITFIELD: Thank you, Janice Dickinson. A pleasure.
DICKINSON: Thank you, Ms. Fredricka. Thank you, CNN.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you. I know it's tough.
DICKINSON: I'm sorry. This is --
WHITFIELD: Don't apologize. You know --
DICKINSON: I don't know how to process these emotions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Jean Casarez joins me now to talk more about this.
It was a very powerful interview.
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was extremely powerful. It was raw emotion, after all of these years.
Now, her ghost writer also came forward to CNN, and spoke with Fredricka about why they didn't put it in the book and he says they discussed it at length and he said this is never going to pass the attorneys at Harper Collins. We just can't put it in, so they didn't.
What we don't understand at this point is why something was put in the book that was allegedly not true, that she went to Lake Tahoe, that Bill Cosby wanted relations with her, she said no, he got angry and walked away. That's what we don't know right here.
We do have a statement though from the attorney for Bill Cosby, Martin Singer, and he says, quote, "Janice Dickinson's story accusing Bill Cosby of rape is a lie. There is a glaring contradiction between what she is claiming now for the first time and what she wrote in her own book and what she told the media back in 2002."
And there also was a "New York Observer" article that stated what was in the book. She did an interview on that also.
COSTELLO: And also in that Fredricka Whitfield interview with Janice Dickinson, Dickinson said she'd be glad to take a lie detector test.
CASAREZ: She did. She said bring it on. I mean, she was just bearing her soul in that interview.
And I think she came forward after all these years because she felt a duty. She said in her whole life the regret and resentment of not coming forward with this has been so strong.
COSTELLO: And bear with us, because we're going to play more of Janice Dickinson's interview in the next hour of NEWSROOM.
This morning, we heard from another of Cosby's accusers on "NEW DAY".
CASAREZ: We did. Barbara Bowman is her name, and she has her story, separate and distinct, but with great similarities. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARA BOWMAN, ACCUSES BILL COSBY OF RAPING HER: Unbelievable. I couldn't believe the positive response that came from my goals to talk and speak out to the other women. And I always said right from the beginning, if I could help one woman, it would feel fantastic, and I've helped more than that.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: You have.
BOWMAN: My phone was blowing up, I have phone calls, e-mails, text messages, voice mails that I could not keep up with.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CASAREZ: And, Carol, Attorney Marty Singer also responded to it, saying that it's a decades old discredited acquisition that resurface, just because it's being said doesn't mean it's true.
COSTELLO: And hearing all of the women coming forward and bravely telling their stories and knowing that there's nothing more the legal system can do, right, you wonder how it's going to end. Like, what's the end game here?
CASAREZ: Right. Will it keep coming? Will there be more?
You know, you talk about legal issues, Janice Dickinson potentially has a suit, because there was a specific statement through Bill Cosby saying that she was a liar, and that what was in her book is different from what she is saying now. So, there is a potential --
COSTELLO: So, Bill Cosby could sue Janice Dickinson? Is that what you're talking about?
CASAREZ: I'm saying Janice Dickinson could sue Bill Cosby potential for libel.
COSTELLO: Interesting.
CASAREZ: Yes, we'll see.
COSTELLO: Yes, we'll see.
Jean Casarez, thanks as always.
CASAREZ: Thank you.
COSTELLO: U.S. officials now investigating a manufacturer accused of a dangerous defect that led to the largest child seat recall in U.S. history. More than 6 million seats were recalled earlier this year. But the manufacture Graco could face a multimillion-dollar fine if federal officials find the company delayed notifying regulators about faulty seat buckles.
CNN's Rene Marsh in Washington with more for us.
Good morning.
RENE MARSH, CNN GOVERNMENT REGULATION CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Yes, they could face a $35 million fine. The investigation is into the timeliness of essentially reporting the defects in the harness buckles for certain car seats. Now, federal regulators, they routinely investigate defects, but it's really rare for them to investigate the company's timeliness of reporting the problem.
So, here's what the problem is. There's a difficulty in unlatching the harness buckle. You're looking at them there. Parents complained they've had to in some cases cut their children out of the car seat or remove the entire car seat all together. The question now, did Graco know about the defect sooner but turned a blind eye to perhaps avoid a costly and extremely large recall?
Now, from the beginning, Graco said the complaints about the sticking buckles do not pose a reasonable risk of safety to their users. They say that they, in a statement to us today, say that they thoroughly analyzed all the data related to the buckle and say they took the required action to keep their consumers safe.
They go on to say, Carol, that they stand by their reputation on safety, which they say far exceeds federal government requirements -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Rene Marsh reporting live for us from Washington -- thanks so much.
I'll be right back.
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