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ISIS Deadline for Swap at Any Moment; More Snow, Cold Follow "Wicked Storm"; Romney Tests New Themes in Speech

Aired January 29, 2015 - 09:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me.

That ISIS deadline now just minutes away. A key Washington ally faces a gut-wrenching decision. ISIS says it will murder this Jordanian pilot unless Jordan hands over this woman. She is on death row in Jordan. A would-be suicide bomber in an attack that killed dozens of people.

And possibly hanging in the balance of that prisoner's swap, the life of another ISIS hostage. This Japanese war journalist is at the center of the demands and threats. A fellow prisoner also from Japan has already been killed.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is following every development. Jomana joins us from Amman, Jordan.

Tell us more.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, we're hearing from the Jordanian government in the last hour saying they are willing to release Sajida al-Rishawi as they said they would do yesterday. But they're saying they will not do that unless they receive a proof of life. They say for weeks now, they have asked ISIS through the indirect channels they've been using for these negotiations to provide them with proof of life, but they say they have nothing to prove that that pilot, Muath al-Kasasbeh, is still alive.

Another issue here, Carol, is Jordan is saying they are ready to release her in exchange for the Jordanian pilot. But that's not what ISIS is offering. ISIS's demand is an exchange, Kenji Goto for Sajida Rishawi, otherwise, they will the Jordanian pilot.

And now, as you mention, with this deadline up, if this deadline is, in fact, at this time as we believe in that message purportedly from ISIS, it's not looking good. Jordan -- Jordanian officials in the last half hour saying Sajida al-Rishawi is still in Jordan and she is still in prison. Now, we have to wait and see what ISIS will do, this unpredictable and brutal organization. COSTELLO: All right. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh, thanks so much.

Let's talk about the weather now. The big dig-out is winding down in Boston. People needed a yard stick to measure the snow from this wicked storm. The record-breaking blizzard blanketing the city this week.

But that didn't stop one man from showing his Boston pride. Check out the symbolic snapshot. A bartender, a five-time runner of the marathon, battling conditions to uncover the race's finish line. Talk about Boston strong, right?

Unfortunately, just as people were finally finishing their shoveling, a new system could leave crews cleaning up all over again.

Jennifer Gray is in Boston this morning.

Good morning.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning to you, Carol.

Look at all of this snow behind me. Some people are still digging their cars out as we speak. A lot of those secondary roads still haven't been plowed and more snow on the way.

However, I was just talk to go a local that walked by about five minutes ago. He said, you know what, when there's this much snow on the ground, a couple more inches, it doesn't matter.

But to some people, it really does. That's what Boston could see over the next couple of days. We're actually tracking a storm system that's going to pull through and actually dump a couple of inches of snow on Boston any time between tonight through the early morning hours of Saturday morning. So, we will be watching that.

It's also going to make for extremely windy conditions and temperatures are going to stay very, very cold. We are barely going to get to freezing today, and will be in the teens for high temperatures for the weekend.

Of course, the wind chill this morning was well below zero. So, it has been cold and will continue to stay cold.

Now, we do have another system on the way, just as if that wasn't bad enough. We're going to see another one come in by Monday. That could also add a couple more inches to the Northeast. So, we'll be watching that one -- still a little early to tell exactly the track on that. We have a couple more days to watch it.

But nonetheless, Carol, it looks like we're going to see more snow in Boston. Of course, the travel ban was pretty controversial here. Of course, the governor did address it in a press conference. Listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOV. CHARLIE BAKER (R), MASSACHUSETTS: I do not want the travel ban to become the first lever that everybody pulls every time we have a snowstorm. We've been quite successful as a commonwealth for managing through snowstorms for a fairly high degree of success. And I don't view this as something you would do except in extreme situations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRAY: Of course, the travel ban is what kept the people off the roads and it allowed the plows to get in and clear the roads so quickly. So, the city's back up and running in a matter of no time. But, of course, those decisions will be made as we go along, Carol. Yes, a lot of snow here in Boston, and it's January. 'tis the season for snow here in the Northeast.

COSTELLO: That is very true, Jennifer Gray. Thank you so much.

Still to come on the NEWSROOM: barbecue must make Mitt Romney saucy. Just hours after chowing down on pulled pork in Mississippi, the GOP hopefully slams Hillary Clinton for being out of touch.

Our experts debate whether either of them really connects with the poor or the middle class, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: All right. More breaking news to tell you: a terrible situation unfolding in Mexico City south of it. This was a maternity hospital. A truck carrying gas crashed into this hospital and exploded. We understand according to officials, 54 people were injured, including 22 children. There are still people trapped in this maternity hospital. Rescuers are just arriving on the scene trying to get people out.

When we know more about this situation, of course, we'll bring you back to Mexico City.

On to American politics now. It may be a bit too early to call it the campaign trail, but Mitt Romney is taking his message on the road. He's been slammed as too rich and too out of touch with everyday Americans. Now, he says he wants to tackle this country's, quote, "chronic generational poverty."

In a speech yesterday at Mississippi State University, Mitt Romney said, quote, "The rich have done historically well. I'm concerned about the middle class and poor in this country."

Romney also made what the "Boston Globe" described as a campaign style stop at a local barbecue joint. With its reporter noting that Romney stepped out of its black SUV, quote, "wearing Hudson jeans, open collared shirt proclaiming, 'I like pulled pork'."

I don't know. Do you know what Hudson jeans are? They're not so cheap. They're like 200 bucks a pair, but, hey, he's admitting now, he's wealthy and he can afford them. Let's talk about all of this and the new Mitt Romney. Joining me now

Republican National Committee communications director Sean Spicer, Democratic strategist and former senior adviser to Hillary Clinton, Kiki McLain, and CNN's global affairs analyst, Kimberly Dozier, CNN global economic analyst, Rana Foroohar.

Welcome to all of you. I'm glad you're here.

KIKI MCLEAN, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO HILLARY CLINTON: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning.

So, Sean, Romney showed up joking about his wealth and talking about his Mormon faith -- all good. But here's the question: even if voters do see a different Mitt Romney, how will they know it's the real Mitt Romney?

SEAN SPICER, RNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Well, I think you and I talked about this before. But we've got about 28 or so candidates that are really looking at this race. Each one of them is going to make a case to the Republican voters that they're the best -- they've got the best policies and they relate best to them.

So, Mitt Romney is out there testing the waters. It looks like he's trying to do it differently than did he last time. But I think you're seeing that with a lot of our candidates going out there making the case.

It's going to be up to our activists and to our grassroots voters to decide who's making that best case and I'll leave it up to them.

COSTELLO: But will it be difficult for Mitt Romney, Sean, to demonstrate who the real Mitt Romney is to the voters because they didn't know last time around?

SPICER: Well, again -- I mean, that's up to Mitt Romney to decide what parts -- I mean, I think Romney really is a guy that has done a lot for his community. He's been very generous to folks. I think that he looks at the campaign in terms of -- the last campaign as something that his experience as a governor, as an executive, as someone who saved the Olympics really would benefit the United States.

I think in retrospect, he's looking at it saying I think if people cared a lot more about me and my beliefs, he's trying to share that. But again, each of these candidates has to figure out how to best communicate that.

I mean, Hillary Clinton is in a similar boat where she's trying to figure out how does a woman who has made all of this money and done very well for herself while in public office communicate it after comments that she was dead broke with two mansions and flying around that she relates to people. So --

COSTELLO: You're absolutely right about that, Sean. That is my next question. I'll pose this to Kiki. There are reports Mitt Romney is selling his house with the car

elevator and rumor has it his legal residents will be Utah and not Massachusetts. But I think it will take more than that to make up for the infamous 47 percent comment, although he's already started jabbing at Hillary Clinton for her wealth and her missteps because Sean is right about this, remember when she said this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: We came out of the White House not only dead broke but in debt. We struggled to piece together the resources for mortgages for houses, for Chelsea's education. You know, it was not easy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So, Kiki, most politicians are wealthy. Can't we just be honest with that? Can't we just stop the "we're just like you" stuff? Can't they just sit in a restaurant, eating caviar because we get it?

MCLEAN: I don't think that's what they all come from. There are some people who may have done well in their life and maybe that's not what they come from and that's not what informs their values.

I don't think it's surprising that Governor Romney wanted to throw a couple of shots. He's trying to generate a little more enthusiasm for his potential candidacy and his party. What we didn't hear at least in all the coverage I read because I was not in Mississippi for the speech, we didn't hear him talk about what he wants to do for people who are living in poverty and he doesn't have a big track record on that.

I think if Secretary Clinton decides to run for president, she'll have that conversation with the American people and she'll talk about the policies and she'll talk about her record starting in her early 20s as a young staffer for the children's defense fund and the kind of fight that she's put up her whole fight in advocating for children and families.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: But she can't escape she's a very wealthy woman who makes a lot of money for speaking for an hour in front of groups across the country.

MCLEAN: But the questions you're raising, Carol, are about tactics. That's what Governor Romney talked about are tactics.

Let's talk about real issues. I think what's really important going into 2016 because the most critical consumer of a campaign are the American voters. They get it. There's a reason Governor Romney didn't get elected last time and there are certainly reasons why people win and lose primaries.

And that's what the issues in the debates are about. So, Secretary Clinton decides to pursue that path, she'll have that conversation with the American people.

COSTELLO: OK. So there was a little red meat in Romney's speech because he did describe some ways in which he wants to help the middle class. Here are a couple of them. He wants to create work charter schools, he wanted kids to have life coaches. I wasn't quite sure what that meant. He wants people to have incentives to get married because, of course, that means that your financial life will be a lot easier. He wants to provide incentives for employers to hire first- time job seekers.

So, Rana, as I said, I'm not sure what the life coach is. Maybe he meant mentors, I don't know. But the other stuff sounds a lot -- well, it sounds safe, bipartisan ideas. The question is will any of these ideas solve the wage gap?

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: No. These are really things at the margins. I do think it's interesting though, Mr. Mitt Romney, Mr. 47 percent, is talking about these issues. But I think that what this says is that the wage stagnation problem, the plight of the middle class is going to be the economic issue for the election in 2016 on both sides of the aisle and that both sides are going to have to come up with an answer for that.

I don't hear that here. I think these are very minor things that could help with the margins. They don't address the core issue.

COSTELLO: Sean, what do you think?

SPICER: Hey, Carol --

COSTELLO: No, go ahead, Sean. What do you think?

SPICER: I was going to say, I mean, I know that, you know, it was just Romney's comment on 47 percent got brought up. He was in the spotlight the last cycle.

But I think equally as important and what you're going to hear a lot this cycle is that Hillary Clinton went out and said, don't let anybody fool you. Businesses and corporations don't create jobs. To the average person out there whether or not you're a worker or an actual employer, that just doesn't pass, you know, economics 101.

(CROSSTALK)

MCLEAN: Sean, you know that -- Sean knows that quote was taken out of context and she was referring to trickle down economics.

(CROSSTALK)

SPICER: No, no, no. It was never taken out of context. She actually said it.

MCLEAN: Yes.

SPICER: So, no, no, in the same way that everybody -- wait. Wait. Hold on. MCLEAN: Sean, out of context refers to the full discussion. Read the

full transcript. Sean, you know it.

(CROSSTALK)

SPICER: So you like the --

MCLEAN: Back to Governor Romney --

SPICER: You like the 47 percent on Governor Romney.

MCLEAN: Sean, take the full transcript.

SPICER: The comment that Governor Romney said, take it out of context, OK, great.

MCLEAN: I didn't, Sean. I didn't say that today.

SPICER: It's taken out of context today.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: Let's get to the underlying issue. Let's go to the underlying issue and what exactly will help the middle class and the poor in America.

So, Rana, you're an economist. What will help?

FOROOHAR: Well, unfortunately, it's not short-term fixes. We need a total overhaul of the educational system. I think we need some major tax reform that really addresses the fact that we're living in a new age. Globalization is not stopping. Tech-related job is going to get bigger as a trend and affect more middle class jobs. We really need to address the short-termism in the markets.

You know, a lot of businesses are pushed to make decisions that might be good for shareholders but actually aren't good for underlying growth and job creation. That's something that can be addressed with the tax system. You know, we should take on, I think, short-termism and I think that's going to be an issue for Romney to address because private equity is a part of that.

COSTELLO: All right. On to foreign policy right now. Kimberly, I know you've been waiting patiently. Here it is.

This is what Romney said about is, quote, ISIS represents a new level of threat given its oil revenues, vast territory and ability to recruit even in the west. I don't know how the president expects to defeat the jihadist if he won't even call them what they are. So Mr. Romney's solution appears to be -- call ISIS Islamic terrorists and stop being timid, Mr. Obama.

It's got to be more than that, right?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, he is echoing what a lot of special operations officials have been saying at a conference this week. The former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency came out and lashed out against the agency that he's just left. You have to call them Islamic militants. That makes you identify what's driving them and you can come up with the right tools to combat them.

Romney also struck out at Hillary Clinton on her foreign policy record on two areas, Russia and Benghazi saying that in the Russian case she favored a reset and now look. Russia has invaded Ukraine. That is something that she has been trying to reset ever since then positioning herself to run.

On Benghazi she has said I will testify before the new Benghazi investigation committee, and that will give her a chance hopefully to erase that piece of tape that's going to haunt her when she said, what difference does it make? She was referring to questions did the administration change the talking points describing the Benghazi attack, but it has come to reflect -- did she really value the loss of four American lives there? She wants to erase that.

She also has to show that she's not going to lose temper this time around under questioning because that's not very presidential.

COSTELLO: Yes. Kiki, do you agree?

MCLEAN: Well, listen, I think in the hearing a lot of Americans saw, she didn't lose her temper, she showed her passion and the deep, deep heartbreak that many Americans, most importantly the family members of those Americans serving who were lost, those four American lives. She showed a passion for them and her concern for them and their families.

I think that on Governor Romney's attempt to take a shot at her on Russia, the reality is as secretary of state she has a terrific track record there. She is the person who really brought Russia around and got them into the coalition to put more stringent binds on Iran, which temporarily slowed down their nuclear growth. She's the one who pushed forward the new START treaty and this is the leader who actually very early on -- watch out for Putin, I don't trust him, we're talking about a former KGB officer.

Think not a lot of room there. Like I said earlier, Governor Romney is trying to generate a little enthusiasm in his party for a potential candidacy and that's where we're going.

COSTELLO: Before my time is up, Sean, I want you to have the last word.

SPICER: Yes, I would say the greatest accomplishment of Hillary Clinton as secretary of state may be she can give a good Vladimir Putin impersonation. But that's where it stops. I mean, Russia's reset is a failure, North Africa is a failure, the Middle East.

She's given a good impersonation of Vladimir Putin, and I think that's where her accomplishment ends a story of state.

COSTELLO: All right. I have to end there. Sean Spicer, Kiki McLean, Kimberly Dozier, Rana Foroohar, thanks to all of you. I appreciate it.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, man best known as beast mode may be soon known as repeat mode as Marshawn Lynch face it is media one more time.

Andy Scholes live in Phoenix this morning.

ANDY SCHOLES, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, good morning, Carol. Yes, Lynch started with I'm just here so I don't get fined. Then he goes on to, you know why I'm here. What will he do today?

We'll discuss when NEWSROOM continues.

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COSTELLO: Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch is at it again, not playing ball with the media yesterday. The NFL just isn't happy about that.

Andy Scholes live in Arizona with more.

Good morning.

SCHOLES: Good morning, Carol.

Yes, Marshawn lynch is not budging when it comes to answering questions from sports reporters like me. On Tuesday at media day, he repeated "I'm just here so I won't get fined" 29 times and he got up and left. And yesterday, he had a new phrase ready for us. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARSHAWN LYNCH, SEAHAWKS: So ain't nothing changed from yesterday. You know why I'm here. You know why I'm here. Y'all know why I'm here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: So, he said "you know why I'm here" 14 times before leaving after the mandatory five minutes.

Lynch is putting on these short performances because he was repeatedly looking at a $500,000 fine if he refused to talk to the media during Super Bowl week.

It turns out, though, he may get fined anyway. ESPN is reporting the league may penalized Lynch for wearing his beat mode hat over the last two days, it's against the NFL rules to promote your own brand or brands that conflict with league's partners during interviews.

Lynch's teammates, they say they have his back, he's being who he s. They think the league should be spending more time dealing with other issues as opposed to finding Lynch for things like a hat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KAM CHANCELLOR, SEAHAWKS SAFETY: It's childish. They focus on the wrong things. It's about the game, the Patriots versus the Seahawks. It's not about a hat. It's about this game. They take it away from us.

It's not about a hat. It's about football. The people with the media, the people want to see us guys play football. They don't care about a hat. They want us to go out and vow to compete and show good sportsmanship.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: So, the Patriots and Seahawks players will talk one last time today. Lynch has one more chance to say something and nothing all at the same time.

All right. On the Patriots side of things, Tom Brady, he's got the sniffles. He said his kids and wife Gisele are also sick. He's been under the weather the last four or five days. Brady told ESPN he's using an old remedy of eating lots of garlic and should be 100 percent by the time the Super Bowl rolls around on Sunday. He did practice yesterday with no issues.

In the NBA last night, no LeBron, no problem for the Cleveland Cavaliers. With LeBron sitting out with a sore wrist, Kyrie Irving had the game of his life, he hit 11 three-pointers including the within to seal the win over the Blazers. He finished with 55 points in the game. That's one point shy of LeBron's franchise record.

Was that performance enough to make the all-star team?

We'll find out tonight when the reserves for the game are announced on "Inside the NBA" on TNT. Also a doubleheader on tap, nuggets at Grizzlies, followed by the Bulls at the 12-34 Kobe-less Lakers.

And, Carol, Charles Barkley said the next time the Lakers were on TNT, he wasn't even going to come. He wasn't going to show up to work. I bet he shows up tonight, Carol, but he's not going to be happy.

COSTELLO: I don't think so either. Andy Scholes, thanks so much.

And the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a break.

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