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Nurses' Union Endorses Sanders; China Drops Currency against Dollar; North Korea Nuclear Arsenal; "The Seventies": From Disco to Punk; QB Sidelined by Jaw-Breaking Sucker Punch. Aired 9:30-10a ET
Aired August 12, 2015 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:30:00] KAREN HIGGINS, CO-PRESIDENT, NATIONAL NURSES UNITED: And he's been out spoken.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Is doing - Hillary Clinton's doing nothing for you as far as those issues are concerned?
HIGGINS: Well, you know, Hillary - she has not really come out strongly on these issues. And Senator Sanders has. And as much as we would really have liked to be there to support - obviously an organization that's primarily women, to support somebody, you know what, it is more important that we protect the people in this country and we do what's right. And as of right now, Senator Sanders is there. He's speaking to the people.
COSTELLO: So -
HIGGINS: He's meeting all the issues that we really strongly are for. And so, you know -
COSTELLO: So -
HIGGINS: We have to back the candidate that's going to take care of the people.
COSTELLO: The breaking - the breaking the glass ceiling thing isn't working for you?
HIGGINS: You know, Again, I wish I could say that that would be - if Clinton - if Hillary came out and was more strong on the issues, that would have been the possibility. But again, we're more concerned about taking care of everybody in this country and making sure people are getting the health care, getting their education, getting jobs.
COSTELLO: Right. Do you, Karen -
HIGGINS: The fallout is we, unfortunately, see that. So we're going to -
COSTELLO: Karen -
HIGGINS: We have to back the people and he's the one.
COSTELLO: Got it. Do you think he really can win, though? HIGGINS: Well, you know, it's interesting. I think that everybody was
scratching their heads, but I think what is interesting, I think he is speaking to and really outspoken about the issues that really are affecting us day to day. And we're - we're watching the fallout of the economy and the lack of health care and the lack of, you know, tuitions for children to be able to go through school. So I think, when you look at what the people that are showing up to see him, you know what, it is - he is speaking what we are talking about. And I think that is resonating with all of us. We want a change. We have to make a change. And he is talking about the issues that we really feel, for 99 percent of this country, are our issues and we need to get out there and have this - these discussions about this. And he is the only one truthfully that has really been out there saying what we've been saying for the last five years and the public's been saying.
COSTELLO: Thank you very much. Karen Higgins with National Nurses United. Thank you so much for joining me. I appreciate it.
HIGGINS: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Still to come in the - you're welcome.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, how does $2 a gallon gas sound? Pretty good, right? How it could happen, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:36:48] COSTELLO: The opening bell just moments ago. This as major markets around the world sink. In fact, if you take a look at the Dow right now, it's down more than 190 points. Wow. And you can place the blame smack on China. The country dropping its currency sharply against the U.S. dollar, sparking new concerns of a future currency war. So what does this all mean for us, for the future? Christine Romans is here to tell us.
Good morning.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Wow, this is really unexpected. Yesterday and today, China lowering the value of its currency, Carol. And what that does, it helps its own economy, it helps its own exports to the detriment of European exports and American exports. And because the global system is so - the fabric is so tight, when China makes a big move like this, a big move, the biggest move in 20 years or something, a big move like that, it shakes everyone. So around the world, stock markets are reeling. Commodity markets are reeling. You're seeing a flood of money out of commodities and stocks into the bond market, for example. So interest rates are moving as well.
So let me show you how this - how this factors to you, what it's going to mean to you right now, this very moment. It means, refinance your mortgage. These are very, very low interest rates. They're even lower today than they were yesterday. Number two, gas prices are falling. We have oil prices at the lowest since 2009, in part because of the China move. It was already moving lower. I think you're going to see $2 gas by back to school. $2 gas. Market volatility, what does that mean? It means your 401(k) is
getting hit. Your retirement savings today, if it's invested heavily in stocks, is worth less today than it was even a few days ago. The Dow is now negative for the year.
So again, there are ways that this move by China will affect all of us right now.
It's also very political. We are in a political season, an election year. You've already heard Donald Trump, the billionaire, a candidate for the Republican nomination, slamming China, saying China is trying to hurt us, China trying to get the best of us and America doesn't know how to respond to Chinese tactics. You will hear more Republicans talk about this. And, again, I think the next month, the next few weeks, the Chinese premier will be coming to Washington. It's already kind of a strained relationship. So there's political, there's economic and there's your pocketbook and all of that in play right now.
COSTELLO: OK. Well, let's parse that out because is China trying to hurt the United States or is China trying to save its own economy?
ROMANS: China is trying to save its own economy. You had export numbers from China that were very bad recently and that spooked a lot of people around the world. Ironically, China helping itself also helps the rest of the world because when China gets the flu - when China, you know, gets sick, everyone else gets the flu too. So it's a very delicate balance here.
China's always - you know, for years people have said China needs to let its currency float more freely because it keeps tight control of its economy and its currency. Well, now it is, but it's moving lower, so people are saying, well, it's - it's saying it's free market reforms but it really isn't. It's just trying to help itself.
COSTELLO: Christine Romans, many thanks, as always.
ROMANS: Welcome.
COSTELLO: I appreciate it. I'm shooting for $1.99 a gallon. That would be awesome, right?
ROMANS: Are you?
COSTELLO: Disturbing new information this morning out of North Korea, that the secretive country may have stepped up its efforts to make nuclear weapons. Brian Todd has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A key intelligence find, satellite images of snow melt on rooftops. It may seem benign, but this could signify a major upgrade at North Korea's main nuclear facility, Yongbyon, about 50 miles north of Pyongyang. Based on these pictures from early this year, the defense analysts at IHS Jane are saying tonight Kim Jong-un's regime has started operating a second large hall (ph) of centrifuges there.
[09:40:19] KARL DEWEY, PROLIFERATION EDITOR, IHS JANE'S: What we're suggesting is that North Korea has just begun to double its centrifuge enrichment capability.
TODD: Experts say those centrifuges could be working toward civilian nuclear energy, but could also be used to enrich uranium for more nuclear bombs. U.S. intelligence officials say Kim's building his nuclear arsenal at a dangerous rate. According to weapons experts, he may have 10 to 15 bombs right now, possibly 50 to 100 by the end of 2020.
Kim's also being more aggressive on the ground. Tonight, South Korea vows retaliation for land mine blasts that wounded two of its soldiers. Each had to have parts of their legs amputated. It happened last week along the western sector of the demilitarized zone, the world's most heavily fortified border patrolled by a multinational force. The U.S. led U.N. command says North Korean troops had to have crossed the demarcation line recently and planted the mines. It's not just South Korea troops who patrol that area.
PATRICK CRONIN, CENTER FOR A NEW AMERICAN SECURITY: There could be Americans who could be killed by these kinds of systems. And if that happened, the United States would be pressing for a more kinetic response.
TODD: Analyst say there are hundreds if not thousands of American soldiers along the DMZ. Kim Jong-un has purged and executed dozens of top officials of his own regime, but this is believed to be the first time he's targeted anyone outside his country since he took power in late 2011. Why is he lashing out now across his border?
CRONIN: The young general, Kim Jong-un, is extraordinarily frustrated that he's not getting his way, that too many senior officials in the military and in the party are not showing adequate respect. Now, it may be that they are showing respect, but they're afraid to tell the emperor he has no clothes.
TODD: Meaning, they don't want to tell Kim Jong-un that his goal of achieving nuclear and economic success, a program he calls Young Jim (ph), isn't moving fast enough for his liking.
TODD (on camera): How will South Korea retaliate for the land mine blasts? South Korean officials say for the first time in a decade, they're resuming psychological warfare across the border, sending messages over loud speakers to North Korean troops, telling them their leader is doing a bad job and that's a much better world outside. A move that is certain to infuriate Kim Jong-un.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a beauty pageant queen turned con artist. Why she was stripped of her crown, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:47:14] COSTELLO: Checking some top stories for you at 47 minutes past. A just-released federal report shows fewer Americans are now uninsured. The CDC report reveals the number of those uninsured has dropped from 36 million to 29 million in the first quarter of this year. The CDC says the report doesn't address a reason for the drop, but the data seems to support other research that fewer Americans are uninsured because of Obamacare.
And a Pennsylvania beauty queen trading in her stage walk for a perp walk. Her crown and sash yanked after police accuse her of faking cancer in an elaborate scheme. Authorities say Brandi Lee Weaver- Gates told people she had leukemia, then took part in fundraisers to pay for her, quote, "treatment." Police say they found no evidence the pageant princess has ever been under a doctor's care for cancer. She is now charged with felony counts including theft by deception.
This week the CNN original series "THE SEVENTIES" explores the transformation of music throughout the decade, from disco to punk and everything in between. Bill Weir took a walk down memory lane with Sheryl Crow. They talked about some of the greatest artists and albums of the '70s with the help of her personal record collection.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL WEIR, CNN HOST, "THE WONDERLIST": I walked in.
SHERYL CROW, RECORDING ARTIST: Records. This is what you did.
WEIR: Yes, kids. Don't you remember sitting down on the floor and peeling the plastic off for the first time?
CROW: I do. I remember unzipping the zipper of sticky fingers. And like - Yeah. It was an event.
WEIR: All right. So let's go through them. Graham Parsons.
CROW: Graham Parsons. You know, there was a whole period of country music for me that was Emmy Lou Harris and Graham Parsons and the Rolling Stones, for certain. The first two Fleetwood Mac records were absolutely monumental for me because it was the first time that I had seen and heard a woman be able to go out and front a band with her own songs and really rock and yet keep her womanliness. In 1970 I was eight years old. So for ten years in there I got to experience what it was like to hear every different kind of music on the radio.
WEIR: The '60s was about peace and love. The '70s was about the hang over and the walk of shame a little bit.
CROW: Yeah. But then it sort of switched mid-'70s into a more corporate sound. It wasn't as emotional. It was more sort of calculated. And then you also had the introduction with the Bee Gees to disco music.
WEIR: What did you think of disco?
CROW: My strongest memory was getting grounded for sneaking out and going out to see "Saturday Night Fever."
WEIR: You were too young?
CROW: I was too young, yes. I mean, that was, you know, it was PG.
WEIR: That was risque stuff.
CROW: It was risque stuff.
(CLIP FROM "SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER")
[09:50:06] CROW: Makes me sound like I was born in the Dark Ages. But we would dial the radio on on Sunday nights to Chicago to get King Biscuit Flower Hour.
WEIR: Oh, yeah, yeah.
CROW: And that's where we heard what was really happening --
WEIR: What was your first live show?
CROW: My first live show was Peter Frampton.
(CLIP OF PETER FRAMPTON PERFORMING LIVE)
CROW: And it was during "Phantom Comes Alive." I was 13. We drove to the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis and we stood outside the back door waiting for him to come out.
WEIR: There's your boy right there.
CROW: And there he is right there. Gorgeous.
WEIR: Oh my god. And the best part of this album is you get this effect. You know -
CROW: Exactly.
WEIR: You open it up, you get the full Peter.
CROW: Yeah, you get the full - Wow.
(LAUGHTER)
CROW: OK, all right. You said it, not me.
WEIR: You know what I mean.
(CLIP OF PETER FRAMPTON PERFORMING LIVE)
CROW: And then I met him many years later and I told him -- I was in an elevator in Australia and I said, Mr. Frampton, you were my first concert. And he just kind of looked at me like, oh.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WEIR: Now people are coming up to her with those stories.
COSTELLO: (Laughing) That's so awesome. I think Sheryl Crow and I are the same age. So we have many of the same memories.
WEIR: Your first concert?
COSTELLO: My first concert was the Doobie Brothers, not with Michael McDonald, because that was -
WEIR: Sure. The original.
COSTELLO: Right. The original Doobie Brothers.
WEIR: Right.
COSTELLO: It was awesome.
WEIR: They're on my playlist. I - '70s, hands down, for me, favorite decade in music because -
COSTELLO: Really?
WEIR: Because all the cynicism and suspicion of what was going on in the country, it was this great crock pot of art.
COSTELLO: You like disco?
WEIR: No, I don't like disco. Let's not go that far. Which is really just R&B stripped down and (INAUDIBLE) overhyped. But you had punk, the California sound, what was happening at the troubadour, right, you had Led Zeppelin as rock gods.
COSTELLO: Led Zeppelin was awesome. Queen. Queen came out in the '70s, right?
WEIR: Queen was there.
COSTELLO: Sounded different than Queen in the '80s, but it was out.
WEIR: And then we had the embryo of hip-hop. I remember hearing the Sugar Hill Gang on "Soul Train," the first time I heard rap. This episode, too, is -- I think this is the capstone of the whole series -- will make you happy. Some of the other ones --
COSTELLO: Well, it made me happy just looking at her album collection because so many of those albums, well, my older brother and sister had for sure. And I (INAUDIBLE) them and listened to them and then they melted in the sun, Bill.
WEIR: It was an experience. And they melted in the sun. And now all your music is in your phone and it's still soulless.
COSTELLO: No, it's not.
WEIR: We've lost something.
COSTELLO: That's making you sound really old now. It's still awesome. Thanks, Bill Weir, for stopping by.
WEIR: Good to see you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Appreciate it. Remember to watch from disco to punk, CNN's original series "THE SEVENTIES" airs tomorrow night, 9:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Jet versus Jet. Can you believe this? A sucker punch in the locker room lands one player in the E.R. and another in the unemployment line.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:57:12] COSTELLO: The New York Jets have lost two players in the past 24 hours. Starting quarterback Geno Smith will be out for up to ten weeks after he was sucker-punched in the locker room by a teammate.
CNN's sports correspondent Andy Scholes is here. This is just crazy.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: It certainly is, Carol. You know, leave it to the Jets for something like this to happen in their locker room. You know, Geno Smith was in line to be their starting quarterback this season. But now he's going to be out six to ten weeks thanks to back-up linebacker Ik Enemkpali.
Now the two were having a dispute in the locker room when Enemkpali sucker punched Geno Smith. Now ESPN's Adam Schefter is reporting sources tell him that this whole dispute was over $600. Now Jets head coach Todd Bowles called the whole thing childish and when he found about the incident, he immediately cut Enemkpali from the team and this is what he had to say about the whole thing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TODD BOWLES, NEW YORK JETS HEAD COACH: We're not going to tolerate anything like that from anybody. And I told the team that, I addressed them, I don't care who you are. You know, as far as them in the locker room, the veterans have to take care of themselves and they have to police the locker room as well. But when somebody just walks up to you and just takes a shot, you know, that can't be warranted nowhere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Now, Carol, Enemkpali has apologized for this. And Geno Smith actually posted a picture on his Instagram account saying that he hopes to get healthy as soon as possible and be back with the team. But if this whole incident truly was over something as small as $600, it's just so unfortunate, especially for Enemkpali, considering he's now going to lose out on $1.8 million over the rest of his contract that he would have been making with the Jets. COSTELLO: You know, the saddest part is is some Jets fans aren't even
upset. It's just like, oh, yeah, it's the Jets. Maybe we'll get a better quarterback. Who knows.
SCHOLES: They have Ryan Fitzpatrick now who's going to be their starter. And I can speak from experience as a Houston Texans fan, you know, you get the good and bad with Ryan Fitzpatrick. You know, he's not going to go out there and win games single-handedly. I can tell you that.
COSTELLO: OK. Well stay with me for a second because I'm going to take folks out to New York and a courthouse there because Tom Brady and Roger Goodell are expected inside that courthouse at any moment. And, Andy, you know why. It's over that suspension for Tom Brady. The judge in the case, I guess the judge wants the two sides to come together and come to an agreement for the good of football. But I don't see that happening, do you?
SCHOLES: You know, I don't either, Carol. Richard Berman, he's basically pleading with both sides, like hey, you guys, figure this out before it gets to my court next week. Because August 19th, the two sides are going to sit down in front of him and that's when he would supposedly make a decision in this case.
But it seems like both sides are going to stick to their guns. Tom Brady wants zero suspension. He wasnts his four-game suspension completely overturned. He's maintained the entire time that he's done nothing wrong and not hurt the integrity of the game. Well, Roger Goodell insists that, hey, he has the right to suspend you four games and he's going to stick to that.
COSTELLO: OK. So we're going to await that really expensive car to drive up and Tom Brady to exit. We'll keep you posted. Andy Scholes, thanks so much.
The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.
