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Clinton Tweet Crushes Biotech Stocks; The Pope Comes to America; Petraeus Apologizes; Growing Crisis for Volkswagen. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired September 22, 2015 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:29:48] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: CNN senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny joins me live with Hillary Clinton's plan and more on this story. Good morning.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning -- Carol. When she visits Iowa today, Hillary Clinton will present that plan to control these soaring costs of prescription drugs. Now, it's all part of a week-long focus on health care. And what an example she has now with that price of drugs you just showed.

She is, of course -- she's defending the Affordable Care Act here. But she's talking about how it should be improved upon. One way she's talking about specifically is trying to reign in the high cost of prescription drugs.

She talked about this yesterday during a speech in Louisiana. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Oftentimes these so-called specialty drugs are the only ones on the market, and there's no competition to keep the price down. So, drug companies are charging excessive prices and unethically profiteering. They are even relabeling old drugs as specialty drugs so they can raise the price.

That's why this week I'm announcing a detailed plan to crack down on these expenses. We will start by capping how much you have to pay out of pocket for prescription drugs each month. And we're going to hold drug companies accountable as we work to drive down prices.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So the plan that Secretary Clinton is unveiling today calls for a few changes. Let's take a look at some of the highlights, Carol. One, it would stop advertising subsidies to drug companies. We see, of course, so many of those ads on television. It would also require drug companies to invest in research, not in marketing or profits. It would also cap monthly costs for patients with chronic or serious health conditions. And it would increase competition for generic drugs to drive down prices.

Now, she's also touching on some of the outrage here at the drug companies and the Wall Street for what she sees as price gouging. We heard her in her speech there talk about profiteering. Carol, I can tell you, this is something that resonates with everyone -- Democrats, Republicans alike here, so I think she's touching upon an issue that is going to gain some strength here.

We saw, you know, just in the last 12 hours or so what a simple tweet can do. I think this is an issue she'll be sticking with.

COSTELLO: Let's go back to that pharmaceutical company for just a moment, Turing Pharmaceutical, and its owner. He's a hedge fund guy -- right.

ZELENY: Right.

COSTELLO: So he bought the company a month ago. It was $13.50 a tablet and then it suddenly went to $750 per tablet. Well, it created this Twitter firestorm, angry people tweeting at this guy. His name is Martin Shkreli. He tweeted back, quote, "There seems to be a great medium for socialist and liberal rage. He also called the Daraprim price change a great thing for society and waved off concerns that it will place a further debt burden on middle and low-income patients.

I'm getting this from the "Daily Beast".

He really set up Hillary Clinton great, didn't he? I mean, if she wants to speak to a certain segment of the population.

ZELENY: I mean, Carol, I cannot think of a better way to tee up something like this. Look at all these pictures we're looking at now. The Twitter things he's been firing back. I think he needs to call a PR company ASAP here. I mean he is not exactly handling this in an acceptable manner at all.

You know, we heard Dr. Sanjay Gupta say earlier, yes, drug companies do have to reinvest money. Yes, it is expensive to pay for some of these drugs, to find other companies. People in the pharmaceutical industry certainly cannot be pleased at this new executive here who is certainly not giving their industry a very good name here. And I can tell you this is going to be political fodder for a long time to come here. And he's helping them out fueling this fire.

COSTELLO: All right. Jeff Zeleny -- thanks so much. I appreciate it.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Pope Francis shakes up Catholicism. What the Pope is about to do in the United States that some politicians say he should not.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:38:10] COSTELLO: His popularity is soaring but not everyone is a fan. Pope Francis is shaking things up in the Catholic Church and encouraging debate among the faithful saying this, "Conflicts and disagreements in the church are to be expected, and I would even say needed. They're a sign that the church is alive and that the spirit is still acting, still enlivening her," which is different for a Catholic pope to say, but not everyone agrees.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Five words started it all -- the Pope was talking about gay people who are seeking the lord in good faith. For liberal Catholics who cheered the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to legalize same-sex marriage, it seemed the Pope was on board. But for conservatives, the Vatican's actions, the Pope's words are alarming.

R. ALBERT MOHLER, SOUTHERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY: It's a fascinating discussion inside Catholicism to watch. And any of us looking into that conversation recognize, you've got -- you've got warring visions of both who Pope Francis is and who many want him to be.

COSTELLO: Dr. Mohler who is Southern Baptist says Pope Francis is a master at symbolism but he doesn't dare change church doctrine for fear of splitting the church in two. It's something many conservative Catholics are loathed to talk about publicly.

Monsignor Thomas Bohlin is vicar of Opus Dei.

What's the difference between a liberal Catholic and a conservative Catholic?

MSGR. THOMAS BOHLIN, OPUS: If you know the answer, you can tell me.

COSTELLO: I think I know the answer.

BOHLIN: Well, I think -- the problem is that the best way to look at the question is not to put political views on a reality, which is much more complex. Political views are right and left. It's not a good way of talking about theology.

[10:40:03] COSTELLO: Let's just talk about morality.

BOHLIN: Someone who is a good Catholic, a serious Catholic, a consequent Christian is someone who follows the teaching of Christ and what Jesus laid out for us. And someone who wants to know Jesus, meet Jesus and follow his way, and not just go into follow their own way, but who wants to follow Jesus' way.

COSTELLO: But politics do matter. Catholic conservatives, along with other religious conservatives, are incensed the Pope blames human beings in part for global warming. They accuse the Pope of being a Marxist who wants to spread the wealth to help the poor. And for those who revere the more conservative popes John Paul and Benedict, some are decidedly not happy Francis will speak before a joint session of Congress.

MOHLER: As an Evangelical I'm very concerned that our religious leader -- that the head of a church is being recognized as a head of state and accorded the kind of influence that would normally come from an elected head of government. COSTELLO: Pope Francis is surely aware of the turmoil he has

created. As a wise nun told me, sometimes it's good to shake things up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: For more on the Pope, check out my op-ed. Here's where you find it, the latest entry, "Amid praise, Pope Francis faces criticism from left and right. Just click on opinions at CNN.com, put my name in there and it will come up.

Tonight a CNN special on "THE PEOPLE'S POPE"; join Chris Cuomo as he explores how Pope Francis' story began. That's tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

For one believer the Pope's comments on homosexuality were a turning point. Aaron Ledesma who is the author of the blog "Gay Catholic," says the Pope made him feel loved again when he asked -- when he said those five words, "who am I to judge"?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AARON LEDESMA, BLOGGER: It opened my eyes to the possibility of not having to abandon my faith, to be who I was, who I am. And not to abandon who I am for my faith. And so when he said that, it was a moment of realizing, I am welcomed in the Catholic Church. It definitely was one of the biggest reasons that I do go back to church now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Ledesma received a special invitation from President Obama. He will be attending today's arrival ceremony for Pope Francis at the White House. And that's not making everyone very happy.

Joining me now, Father Bruce Morrill -- he's the chair of Catholic Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School. Welcome sir -- thank you for being here.

FATHER BRUCE MORRILL, VANDERBILT DIVINITY SCHOOL: Thank you so much -- Carol. It's a pleasure.

COSTELLO: Nice to have you here. So, not everybody is happy that President Obama invited gay people to be part of this welcoming ceremony for the Pope because it puts the Pope in a difficult position. Because the Pope isn't exactly embracing same-sex marriage, even though he says, who am I to judge?

MORRILL: Yes. Well, the problem with this kind of analysis and reaction on the part of these conservative people is that they don't recognize that the church has reached out pastorally through the Popes as early as 1970s. Pope Paul VI in the 1970s did a pastoral letter that addressed the top and then, of course, in 1986 as well there was a document from the congregation for doctrine.

The reason I mention this is that the church does not have a position against gays. That's a misrepresentation. But, rather, the church explicitly seeks to be available in doing ministry for all peoples, including homosexual people.

COSTELLO: So, the Pope would not be upset that there are gay people at the welcoming center at the White House?

MORRILL: I think not only would the Holy Father not be upset, I think he'd be grateful. Because everything about his papacy, every message he's giving, especially even in these last two days in Cuba, is encouraging people, including priests and nuns that he met with two nights ago, to reach out and to meet people where they are at and as who they are. That's the key thing.

COSTELLO: Interesting. Because in Philadelphia the archbishop there is kind leery of letting -- there's a lot of LGBT events planned around the Pope's visit, but they're not allowed to get too close to the Pope. In fact, the only -- you know, the World Family event is going to be taking place in Philadelphia. And the only gay Catholic involved is a gay celibate man. He'll be speaking before the Pope arrives.

MORRILL: Yes. Well, I'm glad that you bring up that world meeting of families, which is a program founded by Pope John Paul II a couple of decades ago, meets every three years. Well, the fascinating thing about it is that when I look at the list of people invited to speak, there isn't a great deal of diversity in terms of views and opinions. And yet the Holy Father, in preparing his senate on the family, precisely said a year ago that he wants everyone to feel free and to come from every angle. And he doesn't mind, in fact he said, at times things getting messy.

[10:45:10] COSTELLO: So does that sort of explain this confusion that the Pope creates, especially for -- even for archbishops?

MORRILL: Yes. Well, you know, and then confusion, this is the noun that so often is invoked around these issues. I think the Holy Father would want to see this much more -- if I understand all his words correctly -- he would like this to be much more about a meeting, a discussion, or a word that he's been using repeatedly even in his Cuba segment of his trip was, openness.

But what happens when one does that, is that one loses complete and absolute control, which of course, is a delusion anyway. Instead, one starts to meet people and discuss with people, listen to people. The key thing about the discussion is not that one just flippantly gives up one's own convictions but one starts to understand the other and that reduces conflict and mutual recrimination.

COSTELLO: Father Bruce Morrill, thank you so much for your insight. I appreciate it.

MORRILL: I'm happy to speak with you.

COSTELLO: Thanks so much, Father.

Of course, protecting the Pope is priority number one. To ensure the Pope's safety, the FBI has already set up round-the-clock intelligence centers in all three cities. According to New York police commissioner Bill Bratton, authorities have been studying the Pope's body language so they can anticipate the Pope's movement in a crowd despite the security concerns.

Millions of people are looking forward to the Pope's arrival, including Mayor Bill de Blasio, who I had a chance to talk with not long ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK: My grandparents were Catholic. My mother was Catholic, although she chose to stop practicing at a certain point. I was not brought up in the church. If you come from a Catholic family --

COSTELLO: That's right.

DE BLASIO: you get many, many reference points, many wonderful elements of the faith that are passed on. Catholic guilt, I certainly have my share of that and I wasn't even around for all those services.

So, the fact is, it's a big reference point for me. And this pope makes me very proud of my Catholic heritage because I think he is interpreting the original concepts of the religion so powerfully.

One of the interviews I said the Sermon on the Mount summarizes a lot of what I believe. He's putting that into actions in so many ways. I think that's why people are deeply moved by him.

It's compelling far beyond those conservatives Catholics or Christians. I think people all over the world are seeing someone with a vision of unity and a humility about serving others as actually awakening something in them. In that, he absolutely references the origins of the religion very, very powerfully.

The love he's going to receive here, the outpouring of support he's going to receive here is going to be unbelievable. And people want to feel this magic he brings with him, this clear vision. They want to have a chance to actually be in the presence of that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM -- a shocking admission from Volkswagen: why their American CEO says they, quote, totally screwed up. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:52:50] COSTELLO: A growing crisis for Volkswagen. On Friday U.S. regulators accused the German company of programming 500,000 vehicles to emit lower levels of harmful emissions in tests than they actually do on the roads.

And this morning a stunning admission. Volkswagen now saying the problem is much bigger -- some one million cars worldwide.

Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock exchange covering the story -- Good morning. .

ALISON KOSIK, CNN MONEY REPORTER: Good morning. This could crush Volkswagen's reputation. Volkswagen's own internal investigations found not only did the German carmaker rig the software of half a million cars in the U.S. To make them seem cleaner on the roads, it looks like they did it to 11 million cars worldwide.

Now the company setting aside $7 million, to cover the sots facing $18 billion in federal fines and reports they could face criminal charges. We're see shares of the company tank, not just here but overseas as well. In the past two days they've lost a quarter of their value.

Now come the apologies. Listen to what the head of Volkswagen in the U.S. said last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O'REILLY: Let's be clear about this. Our company was dishonest with the EPA and the California resources board and with all of you. In my German words, we have totally screwed up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: We've totally screwed up. Meantime, there's a real question of whether Volkswagen's German CEO will survive all of this. He's actually apologized for breaking the trust of the customers and the public. But you know, that may not be enough at this point. I just want to be clear about something. In the U.S. We're talking about 500,000 cars affected. Only affecting diesel fueled cars including the Jetta, the Beetle, the Golf, 2009 to 2015. The Passat and Audi A3 from 2009 to 2015.

If you own one, sit tight because it's not yet clear what the fix is. Keep in mind, this is not a safety issue, Carol.

Before I go, I want to let you know the Dow falling 256 points on worries about global pressures on the U.S. I'm keeping an eye on the markets, too -- Carol.

[10:55:00] COSTELLO: Oh, that's ugly. Alison Kosik, many thanks.

KAYE: Sure.

COSTELLO: I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: This just in to CNN, ex-CIA Director General David Petraeus saying he's sorry for, quote, a serious mistake, a reference to an extra-martial affair that cost him his job when he was head of the agency. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID PETRAEUS: Which I think it is appropriate to begin my remarks this morning with an apology. One that I have offered before, but nonetheless, one that I want to repeat to you and to the American public. Four years ago I made a serious mistake, one that brought discredit on me and pain closest -- to those closest to me. It was a violation of the trust placed in me and a breach of the values to which I had been committed throughout my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Petraeus resigned nearly three years ago after it was revealed he had an affair with his Biographer, Paula Broadwell. Petraeus issued that apology earlier today in front of lawmakers at the Senate armed services hearing.

That does it for me today. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Carol Costello.

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