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White House Kicks Off Annual Easter Egg Roll; The Millennial Project; Rain Relief on the Way. Aired 10:30-11a ET
Aired April 06, 2015 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get right to CNN's Sunlen Serfaty. She drew the lucky straw. She's at the White House for all of the action. Tell us more.
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Carol -- in just a few minutes we'll hear from President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama who'll speak on the Truman balcony. Unfortunately this year for a lot of kids that came out, they won't be seeing Malia or Sasha. Michelle Obama saying in an interview this morning that they are at school today so, they won't be taking part in this year's Easter egg roll.
But this is clearly a tradition that President Obama enjoys. We've seen him in years past come out and read stories to kids, really get in there and roll eggs with the kids on the south lawn of the White House.
[10:30:10] You know, this year they're expecting 35,000 people over the course of the day here on the south lawn from all 50 states. Families could enter a lottery and if they won they got tickets to come here and spend time on the south lawn of the White House.
(inaudible) says this coincides with the fifth-year anniversary of Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" campaign so they're play up the fitness element big and the healthy eating big as well.
And we know a little bit about what the Obama family did for Easter yesterday. We know they went to church. They also, according to Michelle Obama, the girls got iTunes gift cards in their Easter baskets but we know that Sunny and Bo didn't get very many gifts according to first lady Michelle Obama -- their first dogs they don't get any treats because Bo apparently has a bad stomach -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Ok. Enough said. Sunlen Serfaty -- thanks so much. I appreciate it. We'll get back to you.
Still to come, when you hear the word "millennial", what comes to your mind? I talked with members of this much maligned generation to hear their thoughts on politics, marriage and more after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Ok. I just wanted to take one more look at the Easter egg roll with those little guys. Who knows what the world will look like when the kids rolling those Easter eggs grow up. [10:35:09] They're known right now as Gen-Z. But right now you
could say the focus is on millennials which brings me to my millennial project.
A few weeks back a group of journalism students from my alma mater Kent State University came to pick my brain about their future careers. I ended up picking their brains about marriage, religion and politics. It was enlightening.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: When people say "millennials are so entitled and selfish and self-absorbed". What goes through your mind?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that everyone just kind of sees, you're this 20-something that's just coming in that thinks you rule the world but you don't know anything.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We grew up in a world where you have to prove yourself every day in order to make something out of it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of people think that we have this attitude that everything is supposed to be handed to us, that we think we're so special. And it just makes me want to look around like are you talking to me? You know, I'm graduating college. I've worked really hard for this.
COSTELLO: How many of you want to get married? All of you. How many of you want to get married by the age of 26? By the age of 30? Better. By the age of 40? I mean every poll shows that young people are waiting longer and longer to get married. Why do you think that is?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Society expects us to graduate, to go to college, to get married, to get a job and do all of those things. But right now I'm 21 years old and I'm thousands of dollars in debt. That wasn't something my parents were.
COSTELLO: When you get married will you consider yourself the primary bread winner in the family?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not opposed to finding a woman that has larger salary than me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The stigma in the past was, you know, the man has to be the bread winner and, you know, women are to take care of the children. And there are a lot of things that we've have learned from their mistakes that we're changing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you be a stay at home dad?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would. I would.
COSTELLO: Really?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think you have to look at the bigger picture. What's best for my family? What's best for my kids? At the end of the day, you know, what's best for me as well.
COSTELLO: Would it be ok with most of you if you never got married?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would have a very hard time justifying spending $20,000 on a wedding when I could go to Europe.
COSTELLO: Some people would say by that attitude you are undermining the moral foundation of this country.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But Europe.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't go to college for four years to be a mom. I didn't -- there's no housewife degree.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't really think now is the time where you want to stay home and raise a family.
COSTELLO: How many of you would say that you're really religious? Explain to me why young people aren't as religious as they once were.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think for a lot of college students, there are a lot of restrictions within a religion.
COSTELLO: You're not interested in the church telling you what to do with your life? You just as soon figure it out yourself?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly. I want to make my own decisions based on my own morals and what I believe.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sundays aren't sacred anymore like they were before. I have a bible app on my phone. I can stream my church service on Sunday mornings.
COSTELLO: Would it be fair to say you found organized religion as kind of hypocritical?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe a little bit like politics that people our age feel like most religious institutions are just that; an institution that doesn't practice what they preach so why would you want to identify with that?
COSTELLO: Did any of you guys vote in the last election? How many of you are really excited to vote in the 2016 presidential election? When you look at what's going on in Congress today, what goes through your mind?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The only thing you really hear is the struggle to work down, you know, the aisle for Democrats and Republicans to work together.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It just really seems like especially with our generation advocating for social change so much, you know, we don't want to hear about how Congress isn't working together. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have lots of support for gay marriage in
our generation, a lot of support for women's rights and I think that's where the interest is.
COSTELLO: Do you admire any one politician out there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wouldn't say that I admire everything that President Obama does, for instance. But I think since he's been in office it's shown me a lot more realization of America today.
COSTELLO: Did that surprise you when President Obama got elected into office that there would be that much vitriol directed at him?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I assumed racism was close to being over. Boy, was I wrong. Everyday I think about whether my race is going to affect whether I get a job or not in certain markets.
[10:40:01] COSTELLO: What would you say to those politicians who would say that your generation is just idealistic and you really don't know what you're talking about?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When we struggle to pay groceries, pay rent and have student loans -- you know, those really don't come into play in our minds.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Keep in mind this is just a small sample of a generation that's filled with 80 million people. Maybe these young women and men will soften their views as time marches on. Did you? I know what you think.
Tweet me or visit my Facebook page, Facebook.com/carolCNN. And thanks for your comments in advance.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a historic drought so why are some California lawns still lush and green? We'll talk about that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: A little rain relief is heading to parts of drought- stricken California. One to two inches expected to fall over the next few days. Unfortunately, it will not be enough to put a dent in the problem. More than 66 percent of the state remains under extreme or exceptional drought. Puddle pics erupting on Twitter though over the weekend -- a welcome sign for many this Easter. They only (inaudible) have in San Francisco that a smidgen of rain fell in San Francisco are saying yay, but as I said, it's not nearly enough.
Last week the governor there, Jerry Brown, issued an historic mandate cutting water usage statewide by 25 percent. A big difference for the haves and have nots.
[10:45:00] Check out these mega mansions and their lush lawns. These photos taken just two days ago and don't tell me they're not using water to make that grass green. Exactly how is California rationing out its most valuable resource?
Christine Romans is following this story for us.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And this won't be voluntary this time. Jerry Brown is saying this is going to be mandatory and he's going to make sure that they pay fines -- people pay fines if they are using water for things like their lawn, for cemeteries, for golf courses. They're going to have to find new ways and new irrigation ways.
He says the fine will be $500 and he's going to make sure they pay. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JERRY BROWN (D), CALIFORNIA: Each water district that actually delivers waters to water the homes and businesses they carried out. We have a state water board that oversees the relationship with all these local districts. There are hundreds of them. And so if they don't comply, people can be fined $500 a day. The districts can go to court and get a cease-and-desist order. The enforcement mechanism is powerful. In a drought of this magnitude you have to change that behavior and you have to change it substantially.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Now, these are for people and for businesses, it's not for agriculture. Agriculture use 80 percent of the water in this state. And we're talking about almonds here. Look at almonds -- 2,126 gallons of water to make one pound of almonds; Beef 1,875 gallons to make one pound of beef; walnuts -- look at that 1,226. You're talking all kinds of different fruits and vegetables.
It is quite frankly the produce aisle for the country and because it's so important for groceries around the country, Jerry Brown is saying that agriculture will be exempt. They are really looking for water.
COSTELLO: So will we feel the pinch at the supermarket?
ROMANS: Yes.
COSTELLO: And what products --
ROMANS: We already have. And over the past year you probably noticed that berries, fruits and vegetables have all gone up. Broccoli up 11 cents over the past year; grapes cost more; melons cost more -- these are all things that are grown in California -- peppers.
In some cases you can switch -- you can switch -- you know, you can switch from one thing for another thing if you would like. Will behavior change? If prices keep going up, yes, they will. I will say though for a lot of farmers, one relief for them has been the lower gas prices. It costs less to ship their goods. So that's been a little bit of relief even as it's been really, really hard for them on the water front. COSTELLO: All right. Christine Romans, many thanks. It's
really scary in California right at the moment.
Checking some top stories for you at 47 minutes past the hour --
The Justice Department now launching a criminal investigation into the company responsible for spraying a chemical that may have severely sickened a Delaware family. It happened last month when they were vacationing at a villa in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
We're told the father is still unable to talk or move. His wife is now in occupational therapy and their teenage sons remain in critical condition.
Questions swirling around Hillary Clinton this morning in her all but announced run for president. We're told she made a few new hires to her communication team and aides have been instructed to be ready starting today for a campaign rollout. Hillary Watch picked up steam last week when her team signed a lease for office space in Brooklyn.
And it's opening day for major league baseball -- that's a holiday in my book. The Blue Jays will visit the Yankees at 1:05 Eastern for the first of 14 games -- Yankees? What about the Detroit Tigers taking on the Minnesota Twins, people? All right.
Let's talk about the Yankees for a little bit more because I kind of enjoy this story line. One to watch: the return of Alex Rodriguez. The 39-year-old is expected to put on the pinstripes in his first regular season game since 2013. We'll see if he's still got it.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM -- fast cars, big explosions and box office gold. Stay here for a look at "Fast and Furious 7's record setting opening weekend."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:52:02] COSTELLO: Brian Stelter, I keep staring at this picture of the south lawn of the White House. At any moment the President and the first lady are expected to pop out on the balcony there and say a few comments and fun comments and the White House Easter bunny is supposed to be out there.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: This is my favorite tradition of all the traditions.
COSTELLO: It's awesome. It's mine too because it's happy. You can see how beautiful Washington, D.C. is and the White House. We don't really center on the good things that happen in D.C. often and this gives us a chance to do just that -- right.
STELTER: They are getting actually something done.
COSTELLO: That's right. They're rolling those Easter eggs and they're getting the job done.
STELTER: It makes us all want to be a kid again. COSTELLO: I know wouldn't it be fun to be out there? It looks
like it's a beautiful day.
STELTER: Doesn't have to be the White House. Just to be back to the days where you could go hunting for Easter eggs in the backyard.
COSTELLO: Oh, yes.
STELTER: It's always a good time.
COSTELLO: Did you always find them all?
STELTER: Every year my dad would leave church early. I could never figure out why and when we got home somehow there were Easter eggs all hidden throughout the backyard. I don't want to tell you how old I was before I finally figured out the connection.
COSTELLO: When you were 20 you finally figured out, my gosh, my dad -- it was my dad who was hiding those Easter eggs.
STELTER: And don't tell me about Santa Claus, Carol.
COSTELLO: I won't. I'll keep that a secret. I still believe in him myself.
Ok. The President is coming out on the balcony of the south lawn of the White House along with the first lady, I presume. The first daughters will not be making an appearance because they have to be in school today.
There's the Easter bunny. I saw his ear. There he is. Let's listen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, I need four girls.
(STAR-SPANGLED BANNER)
[10:56:16] COSTELLO: Ok. That was the ID for Girls -- this is a band and I wish I was more in tune with that generation -- let's listen.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Happy Easter. We are so blessed to have this beautiful day and to have so many friends in our backyard. And Malia and Sasha, they had a little school stuff going on today but they want to send their love. Bo and Sunny are here along with the Easter bunny.
And you know, this is always one of our favorite events. We hope you guys are having fun.
This is a particularly special Easter egg roll because we've actually got a birthday to celebrate. It is the fifth anniversary of the first lady's Let's Move initiative.
And to help us celebrate, we've got the outstanding young group Fifth Harmony here to help us sing happy birthday. Everybody ready to sing happy birthday? All right. Fifth Harmony.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello. Hi. Thank you so much to the President and first lady for having us. It's such an honor and so incredibly cool to be singing at the White House. Thank you so much.
We're so honored to be here to help sing Miss Obama's initiative a happy birthday. We think it's really cool that helps people all over the nation want to be active and want to be healthy. It's awesome.
And because it's a special occasion we wanted to present you, guys a birthday cake. Happy birthday. Happy Easter. Let's move. Give me five.
COSTELLO: Ok. While they celebrate the birthday and sing the happy birthday song, I'm going to say good-bye. Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello.
AT THIS HOUR WITH BOLDUAN AND BERMAN after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
