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"Blowout: The Gulf Oil Disaster" Premiers; Hillary Clinton Visits Iowa College; Show "New Girl" Hits Home On Police, Racial Profiling. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired April 14, 2015 - 14:30   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.

[14:03:34] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Next Monday marks the fifth anniversary of the worst oil spill in U.S. history. The Deepwater Horizon still in the Gulf of Mexico. It's called "Blowout: The Gulf Oil Disaster." It was April 20, 2010 when the 11 workers were killed and a massive explosion spilled more than 200 million gallons of crude spilling from the busted well. Took almost three months to stem the flow.

CNN investigative correspondent, Drew Griffin, returns to the Gulf Coast to explore the spill's impact now five years later on the people this, the economy, and the environment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Louisiana, the marshes and the shores of these small islands were once covered in oil. Today, from our boat, we spot two dozen workers, wearing face masks, shoveling, working on a stretch of beach. We pull up to take a look.

(on camera): How are you doing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you?

GRIFFIN: Doing good. Drew Griffin with CNN. Nice to meet you. This is Felipe Cousteau.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay away from the hazardous material. It is a cleanup site.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): The hazardous material turned out to be B.P.'s oil, 90-foot long, 30,000 tar mat. We had a small tar ball tested and it matched the oil from the spill.

(on camera): The fact is, five year later, there is still oil, oil in big enough clumps that it needs to be dug up by a crew like this, digging down 30 inches trying to take it and remove it.

[14:35:13] GEOFF MORREL, SVP COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERNAL AFFAIRS: The pockets of tar mats that still exist are in areas that are known to us, but which were deemed by the federal government to be better to leave alone there and let them be naturally exposed to -- through erosion and then for us to clean them. As they appear, we are finding them and removing them. But none of them poses a threat to human or aquatic life.

GRIFFIN (on camera): Is this going to go on for years and years?

MORRELL: However long it goes on the company is committed to cleaning up that is which is exposed and Maconda oil.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: OK. Drew Griffin is here with more on the piece.

I remember standing in waders in the oil five years ago. Flash forward now. How much of the area has been able to recover?

GRIFFIN: The recovery may surprise you. The fish are back, the identity thefts are back, the food is -- oysters are back, the food is safe. There's still oil in tar mats on the beach, but the emotional scar is what struck me.

BALDWIN: How so?

GRIFFIN: There's all these scientific studies out, five years is not enough time to let us know truly to the Gulf of Mexico when dump four million barrels of oil into it. There's a lot of oil, according to scientists still on the floor, the deep ocean floor. They're not sure how it's going to affect or not affect the fish, the Gulf Coast --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Years to come.

GRIFFIN: And you have all these people so heavily invested in the environment there, the fishermen, tourism, they don't know what to do. They don't know. Should I buy another fishing boat, should I not buy another fishing boat? Should I sell the boat? A lot of them have gotten out of the business. They're not sure what the future holds. God forbid we have another disaster, then you've got the whole industry in flux. There is an emotional toll that has been going on for five years, even as nature has shown how resilient she can be.

BALDWIN: Make sure you watch this piece tonight.

Drew Griffin, thank you very much.

It's a special report called "Blowout: The Gulf Oil Disaster," tonight, 9:00 Eastern on CNN.

Meantime, let's go back to Monticello, Iowa. Here she is, Hillary Clinton.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll be graduating in May, and on graduation I'll be heading to Annapolis, the naval academy, to major in systems engineering. HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE:

All right, good luck.

ELLEN CHARMIN (ph), COLLEGE STUDENT: My name is Ellen Charmin (ph). I'm a junior at Monticello High School. I started taking Kirkwood classes my sophomore year. I began taking an online class. I'm currently in the arts and sciences academy. And by the time that I graduate, I'll have 48 credit hours done.

CLINTON: Really?

CHARMIN: Yeah.

Year-and-a-half.

CLINTON: Wow. That's great!

CHARMIN: Yep.

CLINTON: OK.

DIANE TEMPLE, COLLEGE STUDENT: I'm Diane Temple. I'm an away girl at heart. For the last 21 years I've been a high school as an English teacher. I spent six years here part time as an adjunct composition instructor.

CLINTON: Great.

MASON MCLAUGHLIN, COLLEGE STUDENT: I'm Jason McLaughlin. I'm a 7th through 12th grade principal at Central City High School. We're one of the eight partner schools that partner with the facility to send kids of all grades for opportunities. We're happy to have you here. Welcome to Monticello.

CLINTON: Thanks. Thank you.

I'll introduce -- (INAUDIBLE).

CLINTON: That's good. That's a good luck omen.

(LAUGHTER)

MCLAUGHLIN: Yeah.

DREW MULLIN, COLLEGE STUDENT: I'm Drew Mullin. I'm a junior at central city. I'm currently taking auto tech and biotech programs here. I've had a great time. It gives a taste of the college experience. I plan to go on and do something with engineering after I get out of high school.

CLINTON: Great. Good. Thanks.

BETHANY MOORE, COLLEGE STUDENT: I'm Bethany Moore. I'm what they call a non-traditional college student. I'm taking business administration management, and I also am doing the continuing ed program here at Kirkwood. [14:34:24] CLINTON: Great.

Well, first I want thank you, Nick, for having me here and a few of my friends in the college. I just had a terrific tour of the advanced manufacturing laboratory. I got to talk with the instructor and four of the students, all of whom are high school students who are doing what you have described as the great opportunity to mix your high school years with college learning and college credits as you move forward.

And I am really pleased to be at a community college that is visionary and effective and trying to serve as a bridge for people who are non- traditional but coming back to add to their stills all the Beltway high school students who are taking advantage of the opportunities. And the cooperation between the college and the high school is something I want to see a lot more. This is a real model for how we can provide more continuous learning starting in high school but going as far as necessary to help better prepare not only young people but all people for the economy that is awaiting us.

And before we get started -- because I want to hear from each of you, I want more information about what you see as challenges as students and educators and the opportunities you hope to take advantage of -- I just want to tell you a little bit about why I'm here today. I think we all know that Americans have come back from some tough economic times. And our economy and our country are much better off because American families have basically done whatever it took to make it work.

But I think it's fair to say that as you look across the country, the deck is still stacked in favor of those already at the top. And there's something wrong with that. There's something wrong when CEOs make 300 times more than the typical worker. There's something wrong when American workers keep getting more productive, as they have, and as I just saw a few minutes ago, is very possibly possible because of education and stills training, but that productivity is not matched in their paychecks. And there's something wrong when hedge fund managers pay lower tax rates than nurses or the truckers that I saw on I-80 as I was driving here the last two days. And there's something wrong when students and their families have to go deeply into debt to be able to get the education and skills in order to make the best of their own lives. I looked at the figures. The average Iowa graduate from a four-year college comes out with nearly $30,000 in debt. And that's I think the ninth-highest debt load in the country. And people are struggling. I met earlier today with a young student who is piecing together work and loans, knowing full well he's going to come out owing a lot of money.

We're got to figure out in our country how to get back on the right track. And I'm running for president because I think that Americans and their families need a champion, and I want to be this champion. I want to stand up and fight for people so that they cannot just get by, but they get ahead and they can stay ahead.

And a lot of people in the last few days have asking why do you want to do this? What motivates you? I thought a lot about it and I guess the short answer is I've been fighting for children and families my entire adult life, probably because of my mother's example. She had a really difficult childhood, was mistreated, neglected, but she never gave up. She had to basically be on her own at the time she was 14 but she just kept going. My father, who was a small business man, believed you had to work hard to make your way and do what you had to do to be successful, and provided a good living for our family. And then I was thinking, too, about the lessons from my church. You're supposed to give back. You're supposed to do what you can to help others. And that's what I tried to do. And we'll have more time to talk about as that as we go forward.

When I got out of law school, I worked for the Children's Defense Fund. One of the projects there was literally going door to door. This was back in the '70s when kids with disabilities were basically shut out of our schools. And thanks to your great former Senator, Tom Harkin, that's no longer the case. But I was knocking on doors asking is there anybody school age not in school, and finding blind kids and deaf kids and kids in wheel chairs who were just left out.

And I was able in Arkansas to work to try to improve education there and give more kids chances who really deserved them. And as first lady, to fight for health care reform and keep fighting until we get health care insurance for kids. Then as Senator, dealing with the problems that faced New York after 9/11 and trying to help people get what they needed, the victims' families and first responders. It was an incredible honor to do that. Then, as secretary of state, standing up for our country.

So when I look at where we are as a country, I'm so absolutely convinced that there isn't anybody anywhere who can outcompete us, who has better values, who can do more to provide more people the chance to live up to their own God-given potential. But we can't take that for granted. So I want to be the champion who goes to bat for Americans in four big areas, four big fights that I think we have to take on, because there are those who don't agree with what I think we should be doing. And they're pretty powerful forces.

We need to build the economy of tomorrow, not yesterday. We need to strengthen families and communities because that's where it all starts. We need to fix our dysfunctional political system and get unaccountable money out of it once and for all, even if that takes a constitutional amendment, and we need to protect our country from the threats that we see and the ones that are on the horizon.

So I'm here in Iowa to begin a conversation about how we do that and to hear from people about what's on your minds, what the challenges that you see are. And I'll work hard to meet as many people. I'll be rolling out ideas and policies about what I think will work. But I want it to be informed by what's actually working and to build on what works going forward, and to stand up for those who have a different vision of our country, a different one than what I grew up with and a different one than I think is best for everybody.

So with that what I'd love to do is just, you know, ask a few questions and hear -- [14:40:00] BALDWIN: So she's going to take a couple of questions.

But keep in mind, this is significant. We wanted to stay with her for a couple of minutes because this is presidential hopeful, Hillary Clinton. This is the first official campaign event as a candidate for president, and that is in Iowa, of course. Remember how she fared eight years ago, actually, placing third in the caucuses behind then- Senator Barack Obama and then John Edwards, and then Hillary Clinton. Much different landscape here.

I've got Jeff Zeleny with me, Donna Brazile, Margaret Hoover.

I think, Jeff Zeleny, since you've just been covering or -- covering her since the get-go, when you look at the themes, and some of this was echoed from the video announcement Sunday, really the main theme -- economy, economy, economy. And also of trying to be explaining to Americans, yes, you may know us as the Clintons, but let me tell you what -- it was hard work, here's my mom, my dad came from. And sheer, how I got to be who I am today.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: No doubt about it, she's hitting the pause button on celebrity. Millions of Americans have never voted for her before. Didn't vote for her husband before. They don't know the story. They kind of picked up midstream on her celebritiness. She's taking it back a bit. The first time we've heard her amplify what she wants the campaign to be about. Interwoven was a message of how she, to be a champion for people. Not what we heard a rebuttal to Marco Rubio said about her yesterday. I can tell you I remember being on the ground eight years ago at her first rallies. They were loud, raucous affairs, and she was a long distance from everyone. I think this is a good way for her to sit around people and be reintroduced. A quieter tone, trying to take out the celebrity as much as possible. It's not entire possible. This is scripted. I think the message is important.

BALDWIN: Donna Brazile, this is all to your point, too. She wants people to say, yes, I was in the room with Hillary Clinton, yes, I remember meeting Hillary Clinton, not, yes, I was in this stadium with Hillary Clinton.

[14:49:31] DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: The stadium will come because that's also important in a campaign. I think for those American, those Democrats, those progressives, independents who wanted to know exactly why she's running, she said it today, she gave four simple reasons why she's decided to step up. To rebuild our economy, to ensure that we have the skills, the people have the skills that they need, community, families matter, and keeping our countries safe and secure. She made it easy for those you us to know why she's running. She told us, could do it in 30 seconds or less. She's going to have spend thousands of hours in the state of Iowa, going to all colleagues, spreading the message so people will hear it and understand it. And they will feel comfortable standing up for her next February.

BALDWIN: You are right the stadiums will come.

Margaret Hoover, you were watching with me. Your reaction? MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah, I think really

Republicans need to take notice. That was a format that plays to Hillary's strengths, not her weaknesses. Speaking intimately about what motivated her to public service. She as a young woman care good kids with disability and care good making the country better. That is an incredibly as operational, very appealing on -- aspirational, very appealing message. It seems that the small environment where she's speaking not scripted but, you know, rather authentically plays to her best strength. Frankly, you know, Republicans should be wary because that appeals to the generation, it appeals to a new subset of voters that, you're right, don't know her as a celebrity. There's authenticity there that I think has been hard to catch with Hillary Clinton previously.

BALDWIN: OK. Margaret and Donna and Jeff, thanks to all three of you.

Let's move on. Next, what happens when a popular sitcom gets serious? We'll talk one of the stars of the hit show "New Girl," about the recent episode on police and racial profiling in America that's gotten a lot of buzz. Actor Lamorne Morris joins me next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:44:35] BALDWIN: Ferguson, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, much different cases, but all names burned into the nation. Now with more not episode from "New Girl."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAMORNE MORRIS, ACTOR: But I didn't tell her I was a cop. With everything that's been going on I just -- I feel she wouldn't respect me.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Do you know what I think?

MORRIS: No, I don't. This is something you can't understand.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Because I'm not black? Because I don't work for NASA? I can't fix a rocket ship?

MORRIS: If you don't work at NASA, they're not going to just let you walk off the street and fix a rocket ship.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: You're missing my point.

MORRIS: Besides, you lost your right to talk to me about race during the O.J. trial.

UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Why does it have to be a white Bronco? Why not just a Bronco?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: I can talk about this. We grew up together. We went to the same schools.

MORRIS: I love you, but you're white, I'm black. I understand where she's coming from. When we were a kid we would run from the police. Even if we did nothing wrong, it was just out of habit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: He is one of the stars of the show. This was his first episode for the show.

Lamorne Morris joins me live.

Good to see you, sir.

LAMORNE MORRIS, ACTOR: Hey. How are you?

BALDWIN: I am wonderful.

Let's begin with your character. You play this officer. And the backdrop, you lied to this girl, hid the fact that you're a cop. You co-wrote the scenes this. Is a lighter comedic show. You took this and took a serious turn. Why did you want to go there?

MORRIS: I get a lot of feedback on twitter about being a black cop, especially with everything going on in America. And people make jokes fun of the fact that I have a cat named Ferguson which is ironic. After the Darren Wilson situation, I decided -- I actually had a moment where I felt like I didn't want to wear a police uniform anymore on the show. After speaking with Liz Meriwether, the creator, some of my friends, Rob Rozelle, co-author of the show, of the episode, you know, we came to a conclusion that maybe I should write the episode, you know, with them. And add some opinions and also stay in the uniform, but keep the voice of my people, you know, the voice of myself as well as try to show both sides of the fence.

BALDWIN: I understand you talked to a couple of different people. You had to get permission to collaborate and write this real scene.

MORRIS: Yeah.

BALDWIN: But I hear you wanted to be more aggressive and had to tone it down. If you could have written it differently, how would you have done it?

MORRIS: You would have seen -- the show would have been all about Winston. I would have been surrounded by beautiful women, lots of sex scenes.

BALDWIN: Stop it. Stop it.

MORRIS: A lot of girlfriends. Yeah.

BALDWIN: Seriously.

MORRIS: I would put it like this, lots of buzz words were going around in my script. Words like "slaughtered, murdered, brutalized," but you know, you can't -- you can't put that on the show. You can use them in different context, but in this context you wouldn't be able to do that. We had had to turn down the militant side. Like Sid, play both sides of the fence. I am aware that there are two sides to what's been going on.

BALDWIN: Can we -- can we get a little personal as far as -- I knew you grew up on the south side of Chicago.

MORRIS: Yeah.

BALDWIN: And growing up, did you fear the police?

MORRIS: As a kid, I did. As a kid, when you hear the sirens, your automatic reaction is to run. Hearing police sirens --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Why is that? Let me stop you there. Why is that?

MORRIS: It's like it wasn't so much protect and serve. It was more you're in trouble. Even if you did nothing wrong, you assumed -- when you grow up seeing black men in handcuffs, Hispanic men in handcuffs, you just think that, oh, this is what I look like, they're coming for me. As a kid. As you grow older, you start -- I have friends that are cops, you know. My mom, you know, taught me better. So I know that's not the case for all police officers, but when you're young, they all wear the same uniform. It's the same. Like when you see a T-Rex coming, the dinosaur with the short arms, run. That's what police officers look like as a kid.

BALDWIN: Finally, the last couple of seconds I have -- I know you've been active and reading different stories that have been out there involving officer-involved shootings, questions over why individuals have resisted arrest. Big picture, how do you see it all of this?

MORRIS: It's terrible. It's not a good situation. I felt like I should wear a bullet-proof vest when I came here this week to speak to you. But it's, you know --

BALDWIN: You're kidding right?

MORRIS: Like I said, I am kidding. I'll live that to 50 Cent. But I just thought -- you know, when you walk on the street, you'd be a little worried. You'd be a little worried because you don't know if today could be my day. Although, it's -- it's strange. It's strange to see that we're in 2015 and people still have to march and preach and hash tag black lives matter. Duh? Why do I have to tweet this? It's crazy that this is still going on. And it's really upsetting.

[16:00:11] BALDWIN: I really appreciate your coming on.