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White House's State of the Union Digital Strategy; American Sniper's Fake Baby; First Clues of What Went Wrong On AirAsia Flight; Control of Sanaa Uncertain

Aired January 21, 2015 - 8:00   ET

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

KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: You've been watching the U.S. president lay out his State of the Union Address. You've been watching a replay of that.

I'm Kristie Lu Stout here in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream.

Now in his annual State of the Union Address on Tuesday night, President Barack Obama said he delivered on what voters elected him to do,

to conquer a vicious economic crisis and end ground wars in the Middle East.

Now speaking before now a Republican-led congress, he pushed for new taxes on the wealthy to help the Middle Class. Now climate change took top

billing as well, but Mr. Obama was met with scattered applause when he called it the greatest threat to future generations.

Now mending diplomatic ties with Cuba, another key talking point. Now the president also says he intends to protect a free and open internet,

extending its reach to every classroom and community. Even Mars made the cut this year as Mr. Obama talked about his plan to send American

astronauts to the Red Planet.

Now also noteworthy here was what was not mentioned in the president's address. Now the recent terror attacks in Europe, al Qaeda and the usually

hot topic of gun control.

Now, let's zero in on the president's ambitious new tax plan now. CNN's chief business correspondent Christine Romans joins me now live from

New York.

Christine, good to see you. And please walk us through Mr. Obama's strategy to share the wealth.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he says the American economy is improving and it is strong, but it isn't being shared by

everyone. And there are some tax moves he would like to do to make sure what is a pretty solid American recovery can be shared by everybody in the

Middle Class. So among the things here, child care at the top of the list. He wants a $500 tax credit for couples who have two earners in the

household so that they can get some money back to help pay for their childcare. Also, he wants to triple the childcare tax credit to $3,000 per

child. That is a nod to working families, dual income working families who in many cases are paying more now for childcare than they will eventually

pay for college.

On education, he wants to make the first two years, or two years of community college free, free for millions of Americans. How is he going to

pay for it? A higher capital gains tax. He's going to return that to 28 percent. That was a level paid by investors back in the Reagan

administration. He wants to close a trust fund loop hole that allows very rich people to pass on assets tax free. And he wants to pay for it with a

big fee on the large banks, the mega banks, fees for their risky behavior, that's how he says he would come up with a couple of hundred million

dollars.

It's so interesting, because the issue here is the president at the same time he's saying the economy is strong is saying I need you to do

these things to make it stronger or to make it felt by everyone.

Why isn't the recovery felt by everyone, Kristie Lu? Well, it's because household income, wages, have basically been stagnant now for

years. You've got wages back to 1995 levels, but the cost of doing almost everything else has been going up.

Look at that, the Middle Class income is back to the 1995 levels. So you haven't seen progress in terms wages even as the president rightly

points out the economy has added more jobs last year than any year since 1999. You've got 11 million jobs have been created in the course of his --

in the course of his presidency. And things are looking better in the economy. The middle class doesn't feel it. The president tying this all

up into a middle class economics target for the remainder of his presidency, Kristie.

LU STOUT: It all comes down to income inequality. The numbers tell the story here.

And Christine, in his speech President Barack Obama he sold the story of a U.S. economic revival. He said, quote, "we have risen from

recession." Is that true? I mean, could you give us the true economic picture in America right now?

ROMANS: It has been a recovery, a very clear recovery. Look, I was just in an auto dealership last week where the auto dealer was talking

about how they are selling SUVs. They are selling big cars. But what really got my attention is the commercial vehicles -- big cargo vans,

delivery trucks, these things they're selling them so fast they can barely keep up.

That's a sign to me the economy is getting better, demand is getting better.

The jobs are there, the wages not necessarily with them. But if you are one of the outperformers in the American economy, this is the year to

ask for a raise, because I can also tell you the business leaders in this country are terrified they're going to lose their top talent. They're

terrified of tight labor markets again.

I can't believe I'm even saying that, tight labor markets in America, but in some corners that is what the fear is.

How do you make sure that everyone shares it? The president talked about paying them a fair share, you know, that the rich had to pay their

fair share and then that fair shake is what the middle class gets. That's I think how they're going to frame this. And it does work well if you're

going to try to frame things as the Democratic Party heading into next presidential election. I see a little politics there, too.

LU STOUT: All right, Christine Romans joining us live from New York. Many thanks indeed for that.

Now Mr. Obama seemed upbeat not just only about the economy, but also in areas of foreign policy. A case in point, his remarks on Cuba, which

come just weeks after his decision to thaw relations with America's Communist neighbor.

Now one of his guests during the speech was an American contractor who was recently released from prison in Cuba as part of that landmark deal

with Havana.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And after years in prison, we are overjoyed that Alan Gross is back where he belongs. Welcome

home, Alan. We're glad you're here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Alan Gross saying thank you to the president there.

Now Mr. Obama described Washington's old stance toward Cuba as, quote, long past its expiration date. And he said Congress should begin the work

of ending the embargo.

Now let's get straight to CNN's Patrick Oppmann in Havana now. And Patrick, Alan Gross, he was there at the State of the Union Address. How

was that scene there in Cuba? Was it seen as a thumb in Cuba's eye, or as a symbol of what could come next, a new relationship between Havana and

Washington.

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's start off with the fact that it was seen in Havana at all last night was the

first time the Cubans were able to watch the full State of the Union broadcast live and in Spanish. It was broadcast on the Venezuelan Telesur

network, but that's still available to most Cubans. That had never happened before that they were able to see this broadcast, I should say,

too, in Spanish.

So, Alan Gross, I don't think anyone really noticed that very much. They haven't heard a lot about Alan Gross here over the years, but to hear

the president of the United States saying the embargo should be lifted, that's creating a lot of hope and expectations.

Now we get into the nitty gritty, though, in about any minute now, really Kristie, we're expecting a U.S. delegation to arrive here at the

Place de la Comanciones (ph) in Havana to begin the first round of negotiations. This morning, they're going to be focusing on migration, of

course legal migration. In the afternoon, it gets interesting when we have the highest ranking State Department official to arrive in Havana in over

35 years. And she'll begin talks about normalizing relations, opening up a U.S. embassy in Havana, opening up a Cuban embassy in Washington, D.C.

The U.S. side says they're going to focus more on the nuts and bolts of this, allowing U.S. diplomats to travel outside of Havana, get past

those Cuban restrictions that don't let them travel around the rest of the island, don't let them have, as they say, free access to civil society here

in Havana, get a better idea of what's going on in Cuba.

The Cuban side they tell us that they plan on asking for more big changes. They want to see the full lifting of the embargo. They want to

see certain laws that allow any Cubans to reach the U.S. to stay there permanently. So, they seem not to be put off by the history that's already

been made. They want to see other big changes that happen.

But it is remarkable, though, Kristie to hear both Cuban and U.S. officials talk about if embassies will be opened, but when.

LU STOUT: Yeah, and that is definitely going to be discussed during these highly anticipated, high level talks between Cuban officials and U.S.

officials due to start later today.

Now, about lifting the embargo, President Obama again in the State of the Union Address urged policy makers to lift the embargo in Cuba. That

was heard on television in Spanish translation there in Cuba and raised a sense of optimism. Just remind us the impact that that would have on the

country. If the embargo is lifted, what impact would it have on the people of Cuba?

OPPMANN: It would be enormous. It would really be the end of the Cold War footing that we've had -- the United States has had now for over

50 years. But we need to back up. That's congress's purview. President Obama said he would lift the embargo, but of course he can't. It would

require congress -- we should say a Republican congress. There's some Democratic support, there is even some Republican support. But it seems

very unlikely that President Obama at this point will get the votes to lift the embargo.

Still, you know, little by little we're seeing this long-standing, frankly outdated U.S. policy being chipped away, you know, just President

Obama lifting the travel restrictions, not all the travel restrictions, but many of the travel restrictions mean that Americans will be coming here in

record numbers. And that just that small opening is going to have a major impact on tourism, the Cuban economy and just the fact that Cubans and

Americans for the first time will really get to know each other -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: CNN's Patrick Oppmann reporting live from Havana, Cuba for us. Many thanks indeed for that, Patrick.

Now every year the media get a copy of the State of the Union Address before it's delivered with a few restrictions on reporting it. But this

year in an unprecedented move, the White House posted the entire speech online before the president gave his address.

Now posting this speech online isn't the only new step for the White House, it is aggressively encouraging the public to participate through

social media. And for more on this interactive approach let's go to our senior media correspondent Brian Stelter. He joins us now live.

And Brian, from using medium to all the pre-game tweets, how well do you think the White House used social media for the State of the Union?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Well, they really wanted this State of the Union to go viral. And I understand why, because this was his

second to last speech, his second to last such address to congress. The ratings typically dwindle on television in a president's second term when

it comes to State of the Union Addresses.

So, the White House started weeks ago with what they called spoilers on Facebook, on Twitter and elsewhere. They used LinkedIn. They used the

news site UpWorthy. They went to every place they really could in order to share spoilers from the speech.

And I can show you a couple of example that I thought stood out, Kristie. This first one is from Facebook. This was a video of the

president recorded on Air Force One previewing his plan to make community college free for some Americans. And he recorded it. They put it up on

Facebook. They had 8 million views.

Now at the same time, it was seen a lot more than that on television, but by launching it on Facebook, it was able to reach people directly and

then ensure that people like us here on CNN would also cover it.

And then last night right before the speech, right as the president was getting ready to leave, they posted this Instagram teasing people about

the possibility of a tan suit. Remember he wore a tan suit in August. It got a lot of attention when he did that at a press conference. Well, he

ended up wearing a black suit. But that got a lot of attention online.

And then as you said a couple of minutes before the speech they put up the entire text on Medium. Medium is a website where people can pretty

easily post text or articles or essays, whatever you want really. And so they went ahead and put it online so people could follow along in real-

time.

You know, media outlets like CNN get the speech ahead of time. So reporters like you and me can be reading it, looking for what he says. But

this time this year the public was able to do the same thing.

And it made his off the cuff remarks more interesting, Kristie, because people can see when he was ad-libbing and not just reading the

text.

LU STOUT: I mean, the White House, they were so clever here up until the speech that was made last night. They used Facebook, they used Medium,

they used the hashtag #yeswetan. And then the old switcheroo happened when he did not show up in the tan suit.

Now after the State of the Union what comes next in terms of social media? How will the White House make use of social media to get its

message out? I understand that there's something involving YouTube stars?

STELTER: Yeah, you know, they live annotated the speech on Twitter and YouTube last night. And tomorrow they're going to have the president

be interviewed by three YouTube celebrities. These are people that have millions of followers on YouTube. They're much younger than usual

interviewers of the president. And they're not coming with news backgrounds, they're coming with entertainment backgrounds.

But it's a way for the White House to reach to audiences that frankly didn't watch the speech last night.

You know, last year about 33 million Americans watch the State of the Union at home. I'm guessing the number will be a little lower this year

because this is a lame duck presidency now.

And what the White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer told me was, you know, for many people the idea of appointment TV is becoming an

anachronism. So we've got to find new ways to reach people.

He calls this an and strategy, not an either/or strategy, because of course television and newspapers still matter a lot to this White House,

but they are also using YouTube and LinkedIn and Twitter and all those outlets in order to reach people who might not be watching on TV.

LU STOUT: Well, it's a shifting media landscape afterall. Brian Stelter, always appreciate your reporting. Thank you very much indeed.

Take care.

STELTER: Thanks, you too.

LU STOUT: Now, in a few hours Microsoft will take the wraps off the latest version of the world's most used operating system Windows 10. It is

set to mark a huge change for computing, because it will be one operating system to run on all devices.

Now let's just remind you how it works now. Now take Apple, for instance. iOS runs on iPhones and iPads while Apple's laptops and desktops

run Mac OS.

Right now, Microsoft set up is fairly similar. Windows 8 runs on laptops and tablets, and an entirely separate operating system works for

smartphones. But Windows 10 is going to be different. It will be one operating system for all their devices whether it's a laptop or smartphone.

And it will run the same core software.

Now that means the developers can easily make their apps run everywhere.

Not only that, Microsoft suggests that it will work with the Xbox One as well, meaning that Windows 10 can be on every screen from the one in

your pocket to the one on your TV set.

Now you're watching News Stream. Still to come on the program, France announces new measures to fight terrorism and says it's making progress in

the Paris attacks investigation. We're live with the latest.

Plus, Rebels in Yemen control the presidential palace. The power crisis is ramping up concern that terror groups there could radicalize more

people.

And investigators may be close to learning what caused the crash of AirAsia flight 8501. And now we're hearing the plane was climbing faster

than normal. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: All right. Welcome back.

Japan's prime minister has returned to Tokyo as his government races the clock in a hostage crisis. ISIS has demanded a $200 million ransom for

two Japanese citizens. They appear in a video posted online.

Now the Japanese government says it is working through a third-party nation to communicate with ISIS.

Now meanwhile, France is fortifying itself against future attacks. The country's prime minister just unveiled new anti-terror measures. They

include hiring thousands of workers to beef up the country's intelligence and anti-jihadist units as well as almost $500 million for security. Now

the measures come during heightened concern across Europe about terror attacks.

Now for more, let's head straight to France. Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson joins us live from Paris. And Nick, the French

prime minister said that the number of people inside France with links to terror networks is growing dramatically. So are these new anti-terror

measures enough?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he described the scale of the problem as $3,000 people with jihadi links in the country

that needed monitoring by the security services. He said that radicalization was increasing, that the number of people with jihadi links

to Iraq and Syria had jumped 130 percent last year.

So what he is outlining is a radical overhaul and a huge influx of money to be spent on tackling these issues, on tackling the issue of

radicalization.

They will spend, as you said, close to $500 million to tackle this, close to $300 million of that will go to the interior ministry to be spent

over three years. It will cover things like additional and new and better weapons and bullet proof vests for the police, but there are other things

that money will be spent on. There will be another 50 imams added to the 182 that already go into jails to visit Muslim prisoners there to help

combat radicalization in jails, which is a growing problem, close to 2700 new jobs will be created. And of those 1,100 will be intelligence agents.

So that really shows that the government sees a massive shortcoming here, that it needs a substantial ramp-up to combat this growing problem that

they have.

However, is that enough? Well, certainly the prime minister hopes this is enough to keep and continue the support of the French people here.

He has seen his own ratings in the opinion polls here jump 17 points. So, I think the politicians leading this country really want to keep themselves

ahead of public opinion on this as well as combat radicalism -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right. Nick Robertson, reporting live from Paris for us. Thank you.

Now still to come right here on News Stream, rebel gains in the capital of Yemen threaten the presidency. We've got the latest on the

power struggle in Sanaa next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching News Stream.

Now in Yemen, it is not known who is in charge after Shiite Houthi rebels took over the presidential palace.

Now you're looking at video that was taken inside the capital during the latest clashes between rebels and government forces.

Now Yemen's minister of information tells CNN the country's president is no longer in control. Rebels say they are now responsible for the

president's security after his bodyguards abandoned him.

Now CNN's senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh is in Yemen's capital. He joins us now live.

And Nick, where is the Yemeni leadership and who is in control there?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Really unclear at this stage.

Outside the presidential residents, as you said, there is not the presidential guard that you would normally expect to be securing that

building. They may be inside, but on the outside are groups of at times very young Houthi militiamen.

Now one group you saw in control of a tank. They got up on the tank. And we said who is the president and they indicated actually well we think

it's us. That's only one Houthi group. And I should point out that they're leadership have made it quite clear in the speech they gave

yesterday -- Abdul-Malik al-Houthi he still refers to the president as the president, (inaudible) Hadi.

But it isn't clear where he is. We've not heard from him. We're hearing a lot from his information minister, but I haven't heard anything

definitive from her so far today. She was clear yesterday that she felt that Houthis had staged a coup here.

But the Houthis have not made that explicit in their moves. We are still seeing a city that is tense, but comparatively quiet. Many Houthi

checkpoints around it. A lot of the Houthi presence on the streets. Very little sign that times of the army, the places they were yesterday, they

are not now. And the presidential palace where they stormed yesterday as part of their move to take over the levers of government, well they're

still there certainly.

So, a real sense the balance of power is changing here, or has not already changed definitively. We actually just don't know who is running

the country at the moment -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: And as -- given all this uncertainty -- and as Houthi rebels overtake the presidential palace, how does AQAP, al Qaeda in Yemen,

figure into all this?

WALSH: We also actually don't really now how this will play out for them either. Obviously, any chaos works for their benefit. And that has

been the case in Yemen for roughly about a decade or so now, the more of a foothold they get here really depends on how bad the infrastructure and

institutions are here to try and keep control of them.

There's another issue here, too, that much of this conflict is being viewed on sectarian lines. The Houthi are predominately Shia, tribesmen,

militiamen, political movement, feel disgruntled. They've got their act together significantly and that's why they militarily seized the capital

months ago and are now really pressuring the government back on its back feet, if not entirely out of their roles.

On the other side of the fence against them are often Sunni tribes, often al Qaeda, too. The Houthis do regularly clash with al Qaeda here.

So, one argument is that the stronger the Shia get, the more scared the Sunnis get and the more likely the Sunnis are to look for military help

from the better fighters, i.e. al Qaeda.

So there is a potential here for a two-pronged assistance to them -- Sunni boots on the ground helping them in the local fight, but also the

chaos benefiting them, too.

What we don't know how they fit into this broader political fight happening at the moment. That is still being decided behind closed doors.

People hope, I suppose, by political negotiation. But the streets, really, have been deciding quite where President Hadi sits or stands today --

Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, Nick Paton Walsh with a picture from Sanaa for us. Many thanks indeed for that update.

Now you're watching News Stream right here on CNN. And coming up next, more analysis on President Obama's State of the Union Address.

New he covered a range of issues from the economy to foreign policy. But what did he leave out?

And investigators have uncovered a dangerous move made by AirAsia flight 8501 right before it crashed. Details on that after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.

I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.

Now a Palestinian man is under arrest after Israeli police say that he stabbed nine people on a bus in Tel Aviv. Four of the victims were

seriously wounded. The 23-year-old suspect was shot in the leg by police and is being questioned. A Hamas spokesman praised the knife attack, but

the group did not claim responsibility.

Now Russia's foreign minister says Moscow does not want another Cold War, but the U.S. is threatening global security. It comes after the

American president said Russia has been successfully isolated by sanctions and its economy is in tatters. Now talks with Russia are underway to find

a solution to the crisis in Ukraine.

In his State of the Union Address Barack Obama said he delivered on what voters elected him to do -- conquer a vicious economic crisis and end

ground wars in the Middle East. Now he also called for new taxes on the wealthy and middle class tax cuts.

Now let's dig a bit deeper into what we heard in the U.S. president's State of the Union speech. And let's talk about it with Michelle Kosinski.

And she joins us live now from the White House.

And Michelle, first I wanted to ask you about his tone. I mean, his charm offensive is in full affect. He was also the U.S. president defiant.

He was fired up. How do you think he made his case to improve the Middle Class economy?

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now he used that energy, especially coming off the economy's success. I mean, he got a standing

ovation talking about the U.S. creating 11 million jobs over the last five years. Hard to argue with that. But then he sort of threw down the

gauntlet, challenging Republicans to come up with proposals that are better than what he's proposing saying things like, you know, can you believe that

more than 40 million Americans can't take sick leave from their jobs.

OK, so pass a bill.

You know, it really got a reaction when he said, you know, do you really think it's possible for a family to support itself on less than

$15,000 a year? Try it. And if you don't think so, then pass a bill to raise the minimum wage.

Also when he said, you know, we need to make affordable child care a national priority, some women on the Republican side stood up and applauded

that.

So, he pushed it with that energy using the economy to say, hey, we're doing great. Let's make it easier for everybody especially the Middle

Class to be at least on a fair footing, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yes, and very, very vivid lines delivering that State of the Union Address and how to improve the middle class and the situation for

many workers in the United States.

Now, working with the GOP, then, I mean, can Mr. Obama charm the Republicans to work with him to carry out all these economic plans and

measures?

KOSINSKI: Yeah, and working together was also a big theme, because that has been the big, big problem in Washington. And it just got a lot

worse, because now the president faces both houses of congress controlled by Republicans.

So, he said things like, OK, the Keystone pipeline for example, that oil pipeline that goes from Canada down to the Gulf of Mexico for oil and

natural gas. He said, OK, so I'm going to veto that, basically, but let's set our sights higher than one pipeline, let's pass a bipartisan

infrastructure bill.

Now the Keystone pipeline is sort of a battle in and of itself, but infrastructure, improving the nation's roads, bridges, et cetera is one

area where Republicans and Democrats might actually make some progress.

Even on some of his tax proposals, for example expanding tax credits for education which is a big issue in America. Of course, affording higher

education. As some Republicans go along with that, they agree with that. And the White House keeps touting that many of these tax proposals have at

some time or another actually been proposed or even passed by Republicans.

So kind of setting the groundwork out there for that working together.

The problem is there's a fundamental difference over how to pay for these. Republicans staunchly, staunchly oppose raising taxes on the wealthy

to fund these middle class initiatives. So there has to be some other way going forward.

And very few people think that many, if any, of these tax proposals will make it through, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah. Given those arguments and the political gridlock many challenges ahead for the president.

Michelle Kosinski joining us live from the White House, thank you for that.

Now, to a new clue about what went wrong on the AirAsia plane that crashed into the Java Sea last month.

Now Indonesian officials say radar data shows that the jet climbed very quickly before it went down. Now that is according to AFP and

Reuters.

Now authorities say it one point the plane was climbing at a speed twice what it should have been. A CNN analyst says the plane may have been

caught in an updraft. And experts have long speculated that stormy weather played a role in the crash.

Now AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes spoke to CNN about the first phone call he received about the crash.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY FERNANDES, AIRASIA CEO: There is no amount of rehearsal or practice or reading that can actually prep you for this moment. It is the

single worst feeling I think I've ever had in my life. And it continues to be that, that moment of that phone call will haunt me forever.

We've carried 215 million people, 13 years, very safely. And it is not something that you can really put into words when that call comes through.

But somehow, you have to find the resolve to be strong and get in there and focus on the families and our crew.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: You have to find the resolve to be strong. That was AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes. And he also told us he doesn't know what's

been gleaming from the cockpit voice recorder, which is now in the hands of investigators. He says his priority is to give closure to families.

You're watching News Stream. We'll be back after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now it is nominated for six Oscars, including the coveted best picture award, but even with all the praise surrounding American Sniper, some are

questioning the movie's casting choices.

Now Jeanne Moos reports on the baby that's stealing the show.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: It's hard to resist sniping at "American Sniper" once you noticed what's wrong with this scene.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That baby looks like it's rubber.

MOOS: She may sound like she's crying but she doesn't have a heartbeat and movie goers weren't fooled.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's a fake baby. Like why couldn't they get a real one?

MOOS: Nor was this movie critic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, during that scene which is a heavy scene -- I started laughing. And then I like bite my hand because nobody else was

reacting.

MOOS: But they are now with tweets like if that fake baby from "American Sniper" doesn't get a best supporting fake baby nomination, I'll

be outraged. One moviegoer even posted this doll looked like a Cabbage Patch Kid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't like the hair. MOOS: The hair is caught in the --

Bradley Cooper and his movie wife Sienna Miller did their best to make the fake baby convincing but...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When that baby hit, everything went away except that baby.

MOOS: Journalist Mark Harris joked nice candid shot of one of the actors who worked with Bradley Cooper in "American Sniper". The filmmakers

did try to use a real baby but things went amiss. In a since-deleted tweet, the screenwriter Jason Hall said "Hate to ruin the fun but real baby number

one showed up with a fever and real baby number two was a no show." Director Clint Eastwood voice, "He made the doll, kid". Now dolls are

popping up in mockery.

Why would Clint Eastwood settle for a fake?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eastwood shoots so fast that he's notorious for one or two takes, then you move on. I'm guessing the baby was the last thing he

cared about in that scene.

MOOS: It seems like the kind of thing you can go down to Toys R Us and pick up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

MOOS: But fake baby now has her own Twitter account and tweeted, "I'm not straight from Toys R Us -- thank you very much. In the midst of this

deadly, serious scene -- we're obsessed with Bradley Cooper moving his thumb to make the baby's arm move. Cooper deserves an award for best grunt

while picking up a practically weightless plastic baby.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: That fake baby is just so fake.

Now, before we go, the U.S. president's State of the Union Address it made several firsts for the annual speech. He was the first president to

use the words lesbian, bisexual and transgender in a State of the Union. He also called gay marriage a civil right.

Now another historic first, the mention of Beijing and Putin. Now the president claimed credit for leaving the Russian economy in tatters after

introducing a raft of sanctions alongside western allies.

And Instagram also made the cut this year. He made the first presidential appeal for an Instagram when he asked astronaut Scott Kelly to

Instagram his upcoming year-long stay on board the International Space Station.

And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. But don't go anywhere, World Sport with Alex Thomas is next.

END