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Obamacare Turns Five; Afghan President to Address Congress; Kraft and Heinz Merger to Create Food Giant; The Disappearing Dead Sea. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired March 25, 2015 - 10:30   ET

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

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[10:30:27] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

The controversial Affordable Care Act better known as Obamacare turned five years old this week. At any moment now, President Obama is expected to speak at an event commemorating the date.

CNN White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski is covering this for us. Good morning, Michelle.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Carol.

Right -- get ready for a big, big victory lap from the White House. I mean they've been touting the benefits of Obamacare for months especially as milestones were reached or as new periods of time emerged with more people signing up.

So today after five years they're going to lay it out there. We're going to hear the President talk about how more than 16 million people have signed up, how it's eliminated people going off of insurance and getting canceled because of pre-existing conditions, that women now pay less, also the savings that the administration has identified per family and on and on and on.

I mean their take is that this not only works but as they put it, it works better than expected. Now, that said, there's still plenty of critics out there. There are still attempts to repeal it or defund parts of it. There's a big lawsuit pending that could really derail the whole thing potentially. It's not without controversy to this day.

I think it's interesting to note that one of the biggest most vocal critics of Obamacare is Senator Ted Cruz who just announced he is running for president but it also just emerged that he's going on Obamacare. I mean he says he needs to comply with the law and he believes in complying with the law.

However, he does have other options out there so now his people are saying, well, it's not for sure he's going to go on Obamacare but we'll see. So I think it will be interesting to hear if the President makes mention of that. Kind of the -- The irony of one of his chief critics using the system that the President insists is working with flying colors -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes. We'll see if the President sends an old "Thanks Ted" out to Mr. Cruz.

Michelle Kosinski -- thanks so much.

At the top of the hour, Afghan president Ashraf Ghani will be speaking to a joint meeting of congress -- the address, coming a day after President Obama's decision to keep nearly 10,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan through the end of the year. Ghani says his country needs help training security forces and batting al Qaeda and ISIS.

Senior international correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, live in Kabul this morning. So Nick, how is the news playing in Afghanistan?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Afghan president of the new administration here considers it such a departure from that which preceded it by Washington, of course, asked for this slight change in the drawdown speed. Of those remaining 10,000 U.S. troops.

I should point out -- Carol, we're not talking about seismic changes compared to 100,000 troops that were once here in Afghanistan. This is 4,300 soldiers. Most of them involved in training who will stay here perhaps as long as an extra 12 months. But Barack Obama was keen to point out they will all be back inside the U.S. embassy by the end of 2016.

So he remains, the U.S. President, who wanted to be the man who ended the war in Afghanistan and Iraq as well but at the same time wants to (inaudible) too, by being clear that he wasn't the man who continue to switch drawdown pace when Afghanistan still faces threats, severe ones, from the Taliban and ISIS trying to reach their tentacles out there as well and to this often-fractured society.

But Carol, we got a bit of a feeling ourselves at the kind of volatility here in the capital. Seven lives lost when a substantial blast went off just not far from where I'm standing. About 400 meters near the Defense and Finance Ministries here in the city center.

Roughly rush hour when bureaucrats will be heading home at the end of their working week here in Afghanistan. Seven killed including a child, 36 wounded -- that's the kind of daily violence Afghans live with day by day. The Americans are, it's clear, leading perhaps the White House wants to show an enduring extra level of support than they previously advertised but those 4,300 may help training. It's going to be the Afghan security forces that will do the brunt of the fighting and they are suffering very hard at the moment both losing many in their numbers and also according to figures from the Pentagon, losing tens of thousands over the years to perhaps desertion -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Nick Paton Walsh reporting live from Kabul, Afghanistan, this morning.

We now know two Americans were among the 150 people onboard Germanwings Flight 9525. That's according to the airline's CEO. We're waiting to find out their names and where they're from. Of course, we'll bring you that information as soon as we can.

In the meantime, at the crash site investigators have started the grim process of identifying bodies and more DNA results could take weeks.

[10:35:01] We also have new information about the plane's black boxes. The cockpit voice recorder has been recovered and is in Paris right now. Although damaged, officials say they'll have it up and working within a matter of hours.

I'll be right back.

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COSTELLO: All right. Let's go back to the French Alps. These podiums are setting up, awaiting the presence of those three world leaders from Spain, France, and Germany. They're at the crash site. They're greeting recovery workers and talking with military personnel. We do expect them to talk about the crash at any moment and, of course, when they do, we'll take you back to the French Alps.

Also, in Washington, President Obama is about to speak on the fifth anniversary of Obamacare -- his signature legislation. It will be interesting to hear what he has to say in light of Ted Cruz joining in Obamacare. Of course, when the President speaks, we'll bring you some of his remarks as well.

In other news this morning, a $36 billion deal has investors looking for a place at the table. It was announced this morning that Mac and Cheese maker Kraft Foods will buy ketchup maker Heinz. It's a deal that would create the third largest food and beverage company in North America.

Chief business correspondent Christine Romans is following this story. Why?

[10:40:02] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's a very big deal because it looks as though 3G Capital which owns Heinz along with Warren Buffett think there's value in Kraft and Kraft shares right now are up about 33 percent -- Carol. So this puts together Jell-O, Bagel Bites, Coolwhip, Oscar Mayer Meats, Kool-Aid -- all of these things, you know. I keep calling it the Mac and Cheese and Ketchup merger but it's, you know, nothing to make fun of. It's a very, very big deal.

They're hoping to save about $1.5 billion the next couple of years. You know what that means? That means they put the two companies together and they find ways to save money. That could be closing out certain kinds of brands that maybe don't make a lot of money. It could be job cuts. We don't know for sure. But they're going to put these two companies together and make money from those two companies.

It's also kind of interesting as a renaissance for the packaged food business because there's been a lot of talk lately about how consumer tastes are moving so quickly -- Carol. They want fresh food. They want organic food. I mean when you talk to health experts, even our own Dr. Sanjay Gupta, he says avoid that part of the grocery story. Go around the edges where it's all fresh. So these big companies have to find a way to tailor to changing tastes.

Warren Buffett I think hinted at this, by the way. So he's part of this deal. He owns a big chunk of Heinz -- Heinz buying Kraft. In his letter to shareholders this year he said "We have our lines in the water." And I think that was a signal that they are out there. They're looking for good deals and this was the deal that they got. So Kraft and Heinz under one roof -- Kraft shares are exploding today. If you have Kraft anywhere in your portfolio, you're having a very nice day.

COSTELLO: I don't -- alas. Christine Romans, many thanks.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: I understand the President is about to approach the podium. Can we go back to that site live? I don't think the President is swimming. Although it would be a very interesting place to hold a press conference.

ROMANS: That's Bill Weir. There's the President. He's about to speak on the fifth anniversary of Obamacare.

Let's listen.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you. Thank you so much, everybody. Thank you. Thank you.

Everybody have a seat.

Thank you, Doctor, for that introduction. I want to thank Sylvia Burwell, our outstanding head of Health and Human Services. We've got some wonderful members of Congress here today who helped make this happen. And I want to offer a heartfelt thanks to all of the top medical professionals who are here today.

We've got hospital leaders. We've got healthcare CEOs, doctors, patients, advocates, consumer groups, Democrats and Republicans who have all come together and spent time and effort to make the Affordable Care Act and America's healthcare system work even better.

What your efforts have meant is the start of a new phase where professionals like you and organizations like yours come together in one new network with one big goal and that is to continue to improve the cost and quality of healthcare in America.

A lot of you have already taken steps on your own. The American Cancer Society that's represented here is committed to teaching its members about how new patient centered approaches can improve cancer care. Governor Markell of Delaware who's here has set a goal of having 80 percent of his citizens receive care through new and improved payment and delivery models within five years. Dr. Glen Madrid of Grand Junction, Colorado is using a new care model that allowed him to hire case coordinators and use better technology that patients have access to him 24/7. I don't know when that lets him sleep but his patients are sleeping better. And these are examples of efforts that show we don't need to reinvent the wheel. You are already figuring out what works to reduce infections in hospitals or help patients with complicated needs. What we have to do is to share these best practices, these good ideas, including new ways to pay for care so that we are rewarding quality. That's what this network is all about.

In fact, just five years in, the Affordable Care Act has already helped improve the quality of healthcare across the board. A lot of the attention has been rightly focused on people's access to care. And that obviously was a huge motivator for us passing the Affordable Care Act making sure that people who didn't have health insurance had the security of health insurance.

But what was also a central notion in the Affordable Care Act was we had an inefficient system with a lot of waste that didn't always deliver the kind of quality that was needed that often put healthcare providers in a box where they wanted to do better for their patients but financial incentives were skewed the other way.

[10:45:02]And so the work that we've been able to do is already spurring the kinds of changes that we had hoped for. It's helped reduce hospital re-admission rates dramatically. It's a major reason why we have seen 50,000 fewer preventable patient deaths in hospitals. And if you want to know what that means, ask Alicia Cole who suffers -- Alicia is right here -- who suffers long-term effects of hospital acquired infection. And she's here today because she doesn't want anybody else to endure what she has. It's preventable.

If we set up good practices and financial incentives, reimbursements incentives are aligned with those best practices. So making sure that the Affordable Care Act works as intended to not only deliver access to care but also to improve the quality of care and the cost of care, that's something that requires all of us to work together.

COSTELLO: All right. We're going to break away. President Obama -- touting his signature legislation Obamacare, it's the fifth-year anniversary.

Let's head back to Washington and check in with our White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski. Good morning.

KOSINSKI: Hey Carol. You can consider this almost a big birthday party that the administration is throwing for Obamacare touting how well it's working and some of the claims they are making are pretty big. I mean they are saying that not only is it working but it's working better than expected.

And that's kind of an interesting statement. I mean does that mean it's better than they expected it to and did they not expect it to work so well. But that's what they are saying.

And also they're saying that there are Americans alive today because of Obamacare. We've heard some of this over the past few months too at certain events surrounding the Affordable Care Act. They would have testimonials from Americans who had these really extraordinary stories. Things like the treatment that they desperately needed that turned out to be life saving and wasn't going to be covered under their old plan or they were canceled on their old insurance. It wouldn't have covered say their cancer treatment and then Obamacare swooped in and saved the day.

I mean those are the kind of stories that the administration really has been wanting to highlight. The critics though are absolutely still out there. And I think it really kind of hits home when you look at some of the numbers. There have been six votes in Congress to repeal Obamacare and more than 50 votes to defund chunks of it. And those efforts continue including lawsuits to try to derail the system -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Michelle Kosinski, I'm sure you'll talk about this throughout the day on CNN. Thanks so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, one of the world's most unbelievable bodies of water. We'll take a deep dive into the Dead Sea with "THE WONDER LIST's" Bill Weir. That's next.

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[10:51:30] COSTELLO: "THE WONDER LIST's" Bill Weir is going to new depths for his next show. He's traveling to the Dead Sea in the Middle East. The body of water is unlike any other and has its own unique place in history. Check it out.

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BILL WEIR, CNN HOST: As we drive down, down, down below sea level, ears are popping, we see a liquid victim of all that conflict -- a lake unlike any other, smooth as blueberry yogurt. Just imagine the elation of ancient travelers seeing it for the first time -- water in the desert.

But then they got close and crunched across a bizarre beach of salt and instead of cool refreshment, found a thick mineral soup that stings the eyes and burns the tongue. No wonder that for centuries the Dead Sea filled visitors with dread.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Early Christian pilgrims said that "Well, we believe the Dead Sea is a mouth of hell." The actual mouth of hell.

WEIR: Others saw it and fell madly in love. Romantic types like Barbara Krieger.

BARBARA KRIEGER, AUTHOR: You could see the wrinkles of age and conflict in the very lines of the mountain ranges and then to have this intense blue, I had never seen anything like it.

WEIR: Barbara wrote one of the definitive histories of the Dead Sea and like any good guide, she has us start our quest by checking a map and long before Google, there was the floor of St. George's Cathedral in Madaba, Jordan. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: I want to see more.

WEIR: Come along, Carol.

COSTELLO: That was awesome.

WEIR: Thank you. Yes, it's a great place if you've never been.

COSTELLO: So you went in --

WEIR: I went in, yes. And we did the float which is very bizarre.

COSTELLO: Well, describe it.

WEIR: It's almost like a viscous liquid, you know, very hot -- almost too hot but you just bob like a cork. You need a little bit of core muscle to keep your head out of the water but you could nap floating in this water.

But I went there really because it's going away. ?the Dead Sea is disappearing at a rate of about three to four feet a year because the Jordan River, the holiest river to Christians is almost dead. And it's an amazing intriguing story of politics and hope.

I found a little grain of hope in this story.

COSTELLO: So back to why the Jordan River is drying up, is it because of severe drought? Is it because --

WEIR: It's water management. It's not the friendliest neighbors in the world damming and diking and ditching that river to feed their populations, to water their crops. Every society does it but not a lot of cooperation.

What I found is I went there thinking, all right, World War III will be fought over water. But in desert communities, there's a certain reverence. There's a knowledge that knows that if your enemy is thirsty they are more militant, they're more violent. And so even when things get really bad in Gaza or between Jordan and Jerusalem, the back channels for water managers are still open. So if there's a path to peace in the Middle East, it probably has something to do with water.

COSTELLO: Wow.

WEIR: Exactly.

COSTELLO: That's fascinating.

WEIR: That was what I said.

COSTELLO: Because they'll withhold food shipments -- right. But not water. WEIR: But not water. But not water. And there's a big plan that Jordanians and Israelis, Palestinians actually are in on this. In order to save the Dead Sea they want to build a pipeline and bring the Red Sea water -- like 50 miles -- into the Dead Sea. Some environmentalists don't love that idea.

But you have to understand, Israel leads the world in desalination. They almost have enough technology to water their entire nation and they could share it with their neighbors.

[10:55:00] So again, I went here thinking man, this is going to be depressing, more of the headlines that we see everyday about violence there but I met some amazing folks and came away with some real seeds of hope.

COSTELLO: It's so beautiful. I could just stare at that picture all day. It's so gorgeous.

Back to what it felt like because I was listening to the woman you interviewed and she said some people thought it would suck you right into hell.

WEIR: Exactly, you know, if you look at early Christian pilgrims when they wrote. The said that waters of the Dead Sea were so deadly that if your horse drank it, you would die. Or if a viper bit your horse, it would kill the rider. There are these just sort of apocryphal horror stories about this place.

It's where Lot's wife turned back to look at Sodom and Gomorrah turned into a pillar of salt. They saw it as proof of an angry god. But then people realized wait a minute, this a source of minerals and health elixirs. People go there for psoriasis and other skin diseases. It's a source of salt that you put on your food. It's sort of the center of health and wealth but just as people figured out, wait a minute, this is a special lake, it began to go away.

And now these massive sinkholes are opening up on either bank swallowing up army camps and date orchards and so a lot of folks back there wondering what's next.

COSTELLO: I cannot wait to see the special. Thank you so much for being with me.

WEIR: Thank you -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I appreciate it. As always be sure to take the plunge on "THE WONDER LIST" this Sunday 10:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN. I'll be right back.

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COSTELLO: They always say anything can happen on live TV. CNN's Jeanne Moos shows us one reporter got quite an earful during his encounter with an exotic moth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've seen news people bug out over a spider.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just don't lay there --

MOOS: Swallow a fly. Ingest a grasshopper but WTTG's Bob Barnard didn't even realize that this African moon moth was leaving a little love deposit in his ear.

BOB BARNARD, WTTG: Oh, it bit me. No, it didn't. It didn't. I'll let him hang out there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They don't have any mouth part. They can't eat as an adult.

MOOS: The live shot at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History's Butterfly Pavilion was flitting along.

BARNARD: And this African moon moth is mating with my earlobe.

MOOS: Bob thought he was joking. But this is one moth that didn't need to be egged on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The moth was being very friendly.

MOOS: But the reporter wasn't the only one who got an earful. Next thing you know the moth was going up the arm of the butterfly pavilion's manager.

BARNARD: He's tired of me.

MOOS: Flapping in his ear. The live shot ended gracefully and then --

BARNARD: When we leave the pavilion, we check ourselves to make sure we don't have butterflies on us and we notice that there was two little white dots in my ear. And then I looked in the reporter's ear.

MOOS: This is what he saw. The reporter tweeted out the photo of his own ear saying "yuck". Others chimed in "yikes". "So gross". But relax. Turns out the African moon moth hadn't mated so the eggs were unfertilized which means that no little caterpillars could have hatched up there.

The African moon moth lives for only a few days but at least this one created a buzz and left a reporter not with egg on his face but in his ear.

Jeanne Moos, CNN --

BARNARD: Mating with my earlobe.

MOOS: New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: I got nothing.

Thanks you so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello.

"AT THIS HOUR" with Berman and Bolduan starts now.