Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
"The Interview" Starts Christmas Day; Pope Blasts Brutal Persecution of Christians; Health: Top 10 Stories of 2014; FAA Calls for Drone Safety
Aired December 25, 2014 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're able to gather with family and friends because our troops are able to hug theirs good-bye and step forward to serve. After a long day, we can come home because they're willing to leave their families and deploy. We can celebrate the holidays because they're willing to miss their own.
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: So as our troops continue to transition back home, back to our businesses, our schools, our congregations and our communities it's up to all of us to serve them as well as they've served us. You can visit joiningforces.gov to find out how you can honor, support the troops and veterans in your communities. That's something we can do not only during the holiday season, but all year-round.
B. OBAMA: So Merry Christmas everybody. May God bless you all. And we wish you and your family a happy and healthy 2015.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: The first family is spending the holidays in Hawaii.
Today families across the country will be celebrating Christmas by spending time with family, unwrapping presents and eating some delicious food, I'm sure. If getting out and going to the movies Christmas Day is your family tradition, you can catch the controversial comedy "The Interview" at select theaters across the country. Now the FBI though is gearing up to make sure moviegoers are protected after threats from cyber hackers.
CNN's justice correspondent Pamela Brown has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The phones are ringing off the hook at West End Theater in Washington, D.C. So many people calling for tickets to see the controversial film "The Interview".
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Someone told me that you might have more tickets for "The Interview" tomorrow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. We're working on it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are entering into the most dangerous country on earth.
BROWN: A flood of independent theaters across the country are stepping up to show the comedy about the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un after major movie chains pulled out fearing retaliation from hackers.
JOSH LEVIN, WEST END CINEMA: Very simply it's intolerable that somebody can bully or use the threat or intimidation to keep people from expressing themselves artistically.
BROWN: Just a few days ago, hackers sent an ominous message promising a present on Christmas Day if the movie is shown.
SETH ROGEN, ACTOR: You want us to kill the leader of North Korea.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What?
BROWN: Overnight the FBI sent to their cyber task forces across the country a roster of the more than 200 theaters screening the movie. They're speaking to theater owners about any potential threat from the same North Korean hackers the U.S. said attacked Sony.
ROBERT BAER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: The FBI understands that the North Koreans are unpredictable. They've always been unpredictable. The FBI has to consider the possibility the North Koreans would employ some sort of physical violence against these theaters.
BROWN: In the nation's capital, West End Theater's management waited anxiously for the film to be delivered.
LEVIN: Let's just hope that FedEx doesn't have any flat tires.
BROWN: They've already talked with D.C. police.
LEVIN: We're not taking any extraordinary steps. We are anticipating a smooth day.
BROWN: The movie is also now available online.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: It's an act of defiance by Sony because after all, the hackers have said if you do release this movie, we're going to release more of your private, stolen information.
BROWN: A risk Sony is willing to take as movie houses around the country get their Christmas delivery of the film just in time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "The Interview".
BROWN: Pamela Brown, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE) KAYE: Pope Francis stepped up his usual call for peace today by
elevating refugees in the war against ISIS. The Pope's annual Christmas message focused on what he calls the brutal persecutions of Christians and other ethnic and religious groups in Iraq and Syria. In a Christmas Eve phone call to Iraqi refugees, the Pope said "You are like Jesus on Christmas night. There was no room for him either."
CNN senior Vatican analyst John Allen, joining me now from Rome to talk about this. John, good morning; what do you make of the Pope's message?
JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN ANALYST: Hi there, Randi. First of all, Merry Christmas to you. You know, listen, we normally think about Christmas as a time of kind of holiday good cheer. And there was some of that in the experience of the Pope in the square today when he delivered his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" message to the city and the world.
I mean there was a ban, for example, from the Italian Carabinieri, the national police to play holiday music. But for the most part this was a visibly somber and clearly worried Pope Francis about the state of the world.
As you noted, he began with a message of sympathy for victims of ISIS violence in Iraq and Syria, calling on the international community to make sure the refugees there could make it through the winter. He became visibly emotional talking about the suffering of children around the world. He said that far too many children are abused and exploited. He mentioned not only victims of abortion, but also children who are swept up in conflict situations, who are forcibly enrolled as child soldiers who are dying, as he described it, under bombardments.
He said this year on Christmas, there are so many tears that are being added to the tears of the Infant Jesus. He also condemned what he called the silent complicity of a globalization of indifference.
So this was a very sober wake-up call from the Pope, Randi. But I think at the bottom of it is, what he was trying to say is these situations aren't immutable. It's not that they can't be changed. He was calling on people to get their act together and to try to do something about it.
KAYE: Yes, he has a way of doing that in a very unique way for sure. John, what's on tap for the Pope come 2015?
ALLEN: Well look Randi, as I've told you before, I think this Pope ought to come with a warning label that says, "Caution, predictions are hazardous to your health." I mean you never know what the guy's going to do.
But that said, if we just look at the schedule that's already on the books, he's going to be making a trip to Sri Lanka and the Philippines in January. In February, he's going to be creating new cardinals. Over the summer we're expecting him to release an encyclical letter, the most important form of papal teaching on the environment. In September he's going to be in the United States visiting certainly Philadelphia and probably also New York and Washington. In October he's convening a summit of bishops from around the world to debate hot button issues about the family including the role of homosexuals in the church and whether divorce and remarried Catholics ought to be able to get communion.
I mean listen, Randi, it shapes up as another extremely eventful year for an activist Pope.
KAYE: Yes. That is a perfect way to describe him. John Allen, thank you very much. And have a nice holiday.
ALLEN: You, too.
KAYE: Thank you. We'll be right back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TECH. SGT. JEANETTE BARRY: Greetings, I'm Technical Sergeant Jeanette Barry (ph) stationed here at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska. I'd like to say happy holidays to my family in Marino Valley, California and my grandma, Mom Rose in Los Angeles, California.
Happy holidays again. Have a happy New Year. And I'll see you in 2015.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SGT. 1ST CLASS WEBB: Hi, this is Sergeant First Class Webb, with 311th ESC-G6. Just wanted to give a shout-out to all of my fellow members here at the 311th -- this will be my last Christmas with you guys. It's been an honor. It's been a pleasure. I'm going to miss each and every one of you.
Give a shout-out to my section, G6, to family programs, to Miss Jennings, (inaudible) to everyone who has helped me along the way. Give a shout-out to my family also all the way in Jacksonville, Florida. I love you guys, I miss you guys. Merry Christmas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: The Ebola epidemic was easily the biggest headline in health news this year. But other stories made long lasting impressions. CNN's Sanjay Gupta and Elizabeth Cohen count down the top ten.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: If you are what you eat, then what you probably are is confused. 2014 finally brought some transparency to our food. In February the Food and Drug Administration announced proposed changes to nutrition labels. It was the first overhaul in more than two decades.
M. OBAMA: Families deserve more and better information about the food they eat.
GUPTA: In late November the FDA ruled that establishments that sell prepared foods and have 20 or more locations have to post calorie counts, clearly and conspicuously on their menus, their menu boards and displays. Companies will now have until November 2015 to comply.
BRITTANY MAYNARD: I will die upstairs in my bedroom that I share with my husband, with my mother and my husband by my side.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: In October 29-year-old Brittany Maynard became the face of the controversial Right to Die Movement when she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer and given just six months to live. Maynard didn't want her family to watch her die in pain, so she moved to Oregon to take advantage of the state's Death with Dignity Law.
This is not a third world country. This is a major city in West Virginia. On January 9th, a chemical spill at Freedom Industries released thousands of gallons of toxic chemicals into the Elk River and from there into Charleston's water supply.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't wash with it. Don't shower with it. Don't drink with it.
COHEN: Hospitals in the area told CNN they didn't know of any illnesses related to the contamination, but the economic impact was real.
GUPTA: Heroin made a big comeback in 2014 as more people began using this as a cheaper alternative to costly prescription pain killers. Use of an antidote for an overdose is also on the rise, the drug is called Narcan. You're watching it in action right now. Meloxone (ph) as it's also known is now distributed to addicts, their friends and family as well as first responders across the country.
2014 may go down as the year cigarettes went up in smoke. On February 5th, CVS, the nation's second largest pharmacy chain announced it would stop selling tobacco products in all of its 7,800 locations, doing all of it by 2015. The company made good on the promise early and on September 3rd, pulled all tobacco products from its shelves. CVS said this would cost the company $2 billion a year, but that selling tobacco was also against its moral and ethical principles as a health care company.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, we've been reporting on your program on these delays and poor care at these hospitals --
COHEN: CNN has spent more than a year investigating delays in care at Veterans Affairs hospitals. Our Drew Griffin and his team exposed systematic problems throughout the VA and CNN's reporting found that thousands of veterans across the country were waiting months, even years to see a doctor. CNN's reporting also uncovered VA workers cooking the books to cover up long wait times. Congressional hearings were held and VA Secretary Eric Shinseki
was forced to resign. President Obama brought in a new secretary, Bob McDonald who has vowed to clean up the VA.
7.1 million more people had health insurance this year under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. As you probably know, Obama care mandates that Americans be covered by an insurance plan or pay a penalty.
GUPTA: Last year I had somewhat of an epiphany about weed. This plant can have some real medicinal benefits.
Marijuana is better than all those pills for you in terms of treating?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
GUPTA: We saw families pack up and move across the country to get access to the only medicine that seemed to work for their children in states where medical marijuana is legal. Two states, Colorado and Washington also legalized all forms of marijuana, including recreational use.
COHEN: On September 24th, a New Jersey four-year-old died in his sleep, it was the first death health investigators could link to enterovirus D68 which can cause severe respiratory symptoms. By the time the scare settled EVD68 had sickened hundreds of children in nearly all 50 states.
GUPTA: Without a doubt, the biggest health headline of the year, Ebola.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ebola.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ebola.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ebola.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ebola.
GUPTA: He had been exposed to Ebola while in Liberia.
What began as a single case in guinea last December has grown into an epidemic of unprecedented portions. In the first of its kind maneuver, two aid workers, Dr. Kent Brantley and Nancy Writebol were med-evac'd back to United States from Liberia. They survived, followed by others thanks in part to the selfless work of doctors, nurses and other health care workers who literally put their own lives on the line.
As 2014 comes to a close, the World Health Organization tallies more than 6,000 deaths among roughly 18,000 sick. The outbreak in West Africa is far from over, but early stage vaccine trials are under way, and they do look promising.
(END VIDEOTAPE) KAYE: And you can catch the "TOP TEN OF 2014" special with
Brooke Baldwin on CNN on Sunday evening 6:30 Eastern time.
Checking some top stories now, at least six protesters are arrested in Berkeley, Missouri on the day after Antonio Martin, a black 18-year-old was shot to death. He had allegedly pointed a loaded pistol at a police officer. According to police, protesters attempted to break into a nearby store smashing windows and doors. The crowd also staged a die-in while several hundred others shut down Interstate 170.
JetBlue meanwhile is offering free flights for officers wishing to attend the funerals of two NYPD officers murdered last weekend. Two police officers from each department in the country will be allowed to fly to New York City at no charge. Officer Rafael Ramos will be laid to rest on Saturday in Queens. The services for Officer Wenjian Liu have not been finalized. JetBlue says it is working to bring Liu's family here from China.
One of America's most iconic cars is being called the worst. The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited leads Consumer Reports' worst value saying it's quote, "hard-riding, ponderous, uncomfortable and unreliable." And if that wasn't enough, the Jeep costs 77 cents a mile to operate compared to 52 cent for the top rated Toyota Camry Hybrid.
Still to come, by now living rooms across America are covered with torn paper. And a big number of those unwrapped gifts are drones. We have the FAA's holiday response as more rookie flyers take to the skies next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Many won't have to be dreaming of a white Christmas. They are actually going to be getting one. Jennifer Grey is in Atlanta and she's tracking all the fresh flakes for us. Jennifer, I know you've been busy tracking Santa as well. Good morning to you.
JENNIFER GREY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning to you, Randi.
Yes. Santa had a busy night, started out in the North Pole and then one of his first stops, Moscow. We actually have some video of him sweeping through the skies there on his way to deliver presents. Didn't stay long though because he was off to his next stop and it was actually the birthplace of Jesus; stopped in Bethlehem for a quick trip and then made his way to Africa for all the good girls and boys there.
And then just several hours ago wrapped up things in the United States, visited New York City all the way to L.A. and sweeping back to the North Pole.
So he is a tired guy this morning but we are left with presents and we also have another gift of sorts. Some folks waking up to a white Christmas, snow on the ground, especially in the Rockies. In fact, travel though is going to be treacherous over the next 24 hours or so. We have a lot of snow falling in Northern Plains and the upper Midwest. We also have very windy conditions.
The northeast though did not have a white Christmas. It was all rain for you. We have a couple little snowflakes falling across northern New England. But we are going to see breezy conditions there as well. So, windy conditions could slow you down if you are traveling a little later this afternoon.
Also the radar out in the west, we're looking at some snow in Wyoming and Colorado and those higher elevations especially. We are going to see anywhere from say two to four inches of snow, some isolated amounts up to eight.
So Randi, a lot of folks waking up to a white Christmas however, with those windy conditions, it may be best to stay indoors and just snuggle up this Christmas day.
KAYE: Yes. Sure is going to be pretty though with all that snow.
GREY: Yes, for sure.
KAYE: Jennifer Grey, thank you very much. Merry Christmas to you as well.
GREY: Merry Christmas.
KAYE: They are the hot item under the tree -- drones. An influx of people are expected to be flying unmanned aircraft like the one that you've seen here after gifts are unwrapped this morning. But before you could tear off the bow, the FAA launched a safety campaign, perhaps a way to ensure that you don't get coal next year. Here is CNN's Rene Marsh.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Drones are in high demand this holiday. Industry analysts estimate companies like Amazon are selling 10,000 to 15,000 recreational drones every month.
PATRICK EGAN, DRONE INDUSTRY ANALYST: Now we're ramping up to Christmas, there's really no telling. It's just going to be a big drone Christmas. I think Christmas Day there's going to be tons of drones out there playing around.
MARSH: The soaring sales are alarming federal regulators who fear more drones in the sky will mean more crashes. Watch as this drone slams into a building. Here is another where the pilot loses control.
EGAN: You have a lot of inexperienced people pulling them out of the boxes on Christmas morning and flying them around. They'll be probably some going down in different places.
MARSH: The FAA just released a video and Web site as part of a safety campaign days before Christmas. And there's reason for concern. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had a drone come within 50 feet of us.
MARSH: From July to November, there were more than two dozen reports of drones nearly hitting commercial passenger planes.
EGAN: Put yourself in the position of where you would be if you were flying and think to yourself is that safe?
MARSH: The rules are stay below 400 feet, away from airports and crowds and always keep the drone in your line of sight.
After the gifts are unwrapped, the industry estimates tens of thousands of additional people will be flying drones. But with thousands already in the air, some are asking whether the safety campaign came soon enough.
Rene Marsh, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Still to come, a homeless man given $100 and he walks right into a liquor store. The surprising twist to this story you have to see. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: $100 in the hands of a homeless man -- cameras secretly recording how he would spend the money. Alison Kosik with the astonishing results.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: When YouTube star Josh Paler Lin famous for making prank videos like sex with your girlfriend and Mafia murder came up with the idea to give a homeless man $100 it wasn't charity. He wanted to track how the homeless man would spend the cash.
JOSH PALER LIN, YOUTUBE STAR: Hey.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, how are you doing?
LIN: Good, how are you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm all right.
LIN: I'm Josh. Nice to meet you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was just trying to make enough to get something to eat.
LIN: I just want to like to give back to people. It's not going to be that much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, anything is appreciated.
LIN: Good. This is a hundred bucks here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No way.
LIN: Yes, keep it. It's your money now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I hug you?
LIN: Yes, yes. Sure.
KOSIK: With the promise to spend the $100 well, Lin waited secretly filming. The man's first stop after getting the money -- a liquor store.
LIN: Keep filming.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He just came out of there.
LIN: What did he get? Let's go.
KOSIK: Loaded down with two full bags from the liquor store, the man makes his way to a park, followed all along by Lin and his camera.
Inside the bags -- no liquor, no booze -- just food.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's giving them food.
LIN: I want to talk to him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want some potatoes too?
Those are two hot burgers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey. What are you doing here?
LIN: I was following you the entire time. After I gave you the money -- my cameraman is right there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh yes.
LIN: Do you even know them?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
LIN: I feel like I owe you an apology. You went to a liquor store -- right, earlier?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You thought I was going to get all smacked up drunk.
LIN: I thought you're going to -- actually I though you're going to buy alcohol or something.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. But there's things money can't buy. I get a happiness out of what I'm doing. KOSIK: A man with nothing to give caught giving all that he has
and Lin, the famous YouTube prankster left speechless.
LIN: Good seeing you guy. Can't believe that just happened. Wow.
KOSIK: A video made with the idea of exposing the homeless left simply exposing a man who defied stereotypes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: That's pretty amazing. A fund-raising page has been started to help the man get back on his feet. And in just the last three days, almost $90,000 has been donated. Amazing.
Well, thanks so much for joining me today. I'm Randi Kaye.
"@THIS HOUR" starts right now and Ashleigh Banfield is in the chair.
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN HOST: We almost match. This is so Christmasy. Merry Christmas.
KAYE: Merry Christmas to you.
BANFIELD: First of all, how did we get this shift?
KAYE: I don't know. I do this every year.
BANFIELD: But you know what, I'm going to sparkle it up a little bit. I got your Christmas cookie. I don't know if the camera can catch it. It is actually a home baked chocolate chip cookie, not by me --
KAYE: You're very busy.
BANFIELD: By Charlie (inaudible) our producer baked these for the crew today.
KAYE: How nice.
BANFIELD: That's a bow from --
(CROSSTALK)
KAYE: I'm going to unwrap this right away actually since I get off camera.
BANFIELD: You have been waiting for two hours here with nothing to eat.
KAYE: Yes, exactly. Thank you. Thank you Charlie. Appreciate that.
BANFIELD: Merry Christmas. Have a wonderful holiday my friend.
KAYE: You too. You too.
BANFIELD: We're going to -- we're going to take things away. We've got a lot on the agenda as well. Thank you for that -- Randi.
It is a film that could potentially start a cyber war. It's called "The Interview". But you know that. You might also know it hits the big screen --
