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Ten American sailors briefly detained after baring into Iranian waters; Tennessee couple who won part of that massive Powerball jackpot did a live national TV interview before claiming the prize; Minnesota Vikings Blair Walsh received an empathy letter from first graders after he missed the shot; Former GOP presidential candidate Lindsey Graham throws his support behind Jeb Bush and takes a swipe at Marco Rubio. 3:30-4p ET
Aired January 15, 2016 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:30:00] CURT GUYETTE, BROKE STORY OF TAINTED FLINT TAP WATER: And so there's definitely things that need to be investigated here. And I believe -- we believe as an organization that people need to be put under oath because things are being said that aren't true. And there needs to be consequences if you're going to not tell the truth and being put under oath and facing perjury charges for not telling the truth is a position that people need to be put in at this point.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: So you think there's a government cover up going on there?
GUYETTE: There's no doubt there was a cover up. As early as February, the USEPA was sending emails to the Michigan department of environmental quality raising questions about tests that were at one home that were showing extremely high levels of lead in their water and they started asking what kind of corrosion control are you using. And they said, well, we are using corrosion control and left it at that. Later they admitted they weren't using corrosion control.
There were reports done by the city under the oversight of the state department of environmental quality that falsified information. They made claims that they had verified the homes that they were testing were homes that were at risk, you know. So every step along the way there are problems that need an official investigation to look into to get to the bottom of what was going on here.
BROWN: And we know that an investigation - yes, that's right, Curt. You brought this to the public. You did your own investigation and now the attorney general announcing today that it is launching an investigation as well.
Curt Guyette, thank you.
GUYETTE: Thank you.
BROWN: Up next, American sailors told to act happy in a video shot by their Iranian captors. New details about how the U.S. Navy ship ended up in Iranian waters.
Plus former GOP presidential candidate Lindsey Graham throws his support behind Jeb Bush and takes a swipe at Marco Rubio. We are live on the campaign trail to get Rubio's response.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:36:08] BROWN: Well, CNN has learned some new information about the ten American sailors briefly detained after baring into Iranian waters. Defense official tells us that those sailors were told to quote "act happy" as their commander apologized to Iran on camera. Apparently he felt like he had no choice.
CNN chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto joins me now for more on this.
What can you tell us about this, Jim?
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think two important things here. One, that clearly the Iranian revolutionary guards who detained these American sailors stage managed the event afterwards. As they are videotaping it, according to the sailors themselves that they were told to act happy, look comfortable there. I mean, you saw that already in some of the images.
First of all, we the upsetting ones as we are seeing there, the sailors on their knees, hands behind their back. It's not an accident that that was filmed. And also not an accident those images were broadcast widely across Iran and put on the front pages of Iranian newspapers. But then also they had had this other side where they see them eating. You have seen those pictures, Pamela, looking happy and smiling and those pictures to sort of convey the message that all was OK. We treated them well even though we captured them. I mean, this is really clearly a propaganda moment.
BROWN: And what exactly happened, though? Because it seems like the picture is sort of becoming more clear. How did they drift into Iranian waters in the first place?
SCIUTTO: Well, granted that these are based on their early debriefs and they are still being debriefed and U.S. defense officials have said that. But early indications are that it was a combination of a navigational error and having some engine problems. That they were transiting and it is possible they may have been trying to cut corners in terms of their course as they are coming close to the islands. But as they were transiting, they may came too close to Iranian territory waters. As they are doing so, they have some engine trouble particularly at the point when the Iranians spotted them. So our understanding is the sailors gave thought to high tailing it out of there. But because they had engine problems, they couldn't do that and they were overtaken. But it does seem to be that they ended up in Iranian waters and should not have. At least that's based on the initial reports.
BROWN: OK. Jim Sciutto, thank you so much. And see you in a few minutes on "the LEAD."
SCIUTTO: That's right. Thanks a lot.
BROWN: Well, Marco Rubio, by the way, will be president of the United States. At least that's what Lindsey Graham said as he endorsed Jeb Bush. You heard that right. Take a listen to this odd statement in a Jeb Bush rally in Charleston today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think Marco Rubio will be president of the United States one day. I think he's one of the most gifted people I have ever met. I like him. But I wasn't ready to be president at 44. Jeb has proven to me that he will stand up to people running against him who are saying things that sound good to some, but will hurt the country and don't have a snowball's chance in hell of ever passing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Joining me now is CNN's Phil Mattingly. He was on the road with Marco Rubio in New Hampshire.
So this was kind of a back handed compliment, I guess. Graham praised hum but also said he is not ready yet. Has Marco Rubio responded to this?
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Slightly off message from the sharp attacks that you have seen from Jeb Bush in Jeb Bush's campaign, sort of. And I think Marco Rubio's response to reporters this morning actually reflected maybe some confusion about what he heard from Lindsey Graham there, not necessarily attacking Lindsey Graham. Using it as a way to brush off Jeb Bush once again. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I like Lindsey very much. And obviously, you know, if this campaign was about who had the most endorsements, Jeb would have had this wrapped up months ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: Pamela, more interesting than the response was actually what he has done the rest of the day. Marco Rubio has concentrated attacks on two people just like the debate last night. Senator Ted Cruz, Governor Chris Christie, relentlessly attacking Chris Christie in a town hall earlier today. So it almost looks as if the endorsement in Jeb Bush in general are not really front and center in Marco Rubio's mind right now. He has moved almost entirely to Chris Christie and Ted Cruz, possibly an indication of how he and his team view this race.
[15:40:21] BROWN: All right. Phil Mattingly, thank you very much for that.
And just moments ago, the Tennessee couple who won part of that massive Powerball jackpot held a news conference with lottery officials. But before they ever got their winnings even confirmed, they did a live national TV interview. A closer look at whether that was good legal advice.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:44:52] BROWN: Moments ago a Tennessee family walked into state lottery offices to verify their claim of a winning Powerball ticket. John Robinson said that he bought the winning ticket at a grocery store right near his home in Montfort, Tennessee. The prize will be roughly $533 million before taxes. And here's the bizarre part. The Robinson family made a splashily appearance on live TV this morning before they even confirmed their winning ticket with state lottery officials. I want you to watch their appearance on NBC's "Today" show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 10:00 she's the one that checked it. She come screaming through the hallway. Check these numbers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I checked them three times. I was like OK. This is for real. He's going to have a heart attack.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've always wanted a horse. I get a horse now. My dad always said if I win the lottery.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I told them I don't think you can avoid it so you might as well go to a national news outlet and let the American people know. American people love winners.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: So Tennessee law requires Powerball winners to come in person with the ticket and hand the state lottery offices. John Robinson did not do that before his "Today" show appearance as we said.
So let's bring attorney Randy Zelin.
Randy, you are a lawyer. If John Robinson was your client, would you have advised him to claim his win on live television before he ever went to lottery offices? I keep thinking what if something happened in the airport from the way from Tennessee to New York. It just makes me nervous even to think about.
RANDY ZELIN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You could have me walk on hot coals, you could stick a needle millimeters from my eye and there is no way on God's green earth that I would have ever permitted him and his family to appear on national television. That goes down in the thing of what exactly were you thinking? And I'm sure he is a lovely man and a confident attorney. It was interesting that he was in the background for the appearance and that's probably telling in terms of the motivation.
But I would love for someone to write in, tweet, do something, put it on a napkin and mail it to me, what could possibly have been a viable legal strategy behind having a client appear on national television with a small piece of paper worth $533 million for the entire world to see.
His picture, his family's picture, boy, somebody might want to have a conversation with him at some point before he collects that money and maybe give him some ideas of their own as what to do with the money. Like I'm going to hold somebody hostage until you cut me a check.
BROWN: So do you have -- is it more of the issue that he did it before they had actually, you know, went to verify the ticket with the lottery or is it just a fact in general that they went on live television?
ZELIN: Well certainly, an excuse could be offered that they were going to go public with it anyway because there's only a handful of states in the country that allow you to remain private. Most states as a (INAUDIBLE), if you will. We are going to give you $533 million, you know what? You're going to do lots of publicity for us. That's what most states require.
But the point is so wait until the last minute, put everything in place, sneak in to the lottery officials, do what you have to do and then disappear. You don't -- there was no point to front the issue. You usually front the issue when there's bad news. You want to get ahead of bad news and put your own spin on it. There was nothing bad about winning $533 million. Keep your head down, keep your mouth shut, do what you have to do legally with lottery officials and then go disappear for a while because you're going to have friends you didn't know existed. You're going to have all kinds of people saying, don't you remember me from when? Why in God's name would you put yourself in a position of being harmed and certainly being attacked, just the whole world descending on you for a piece of your pie?
BROWN: Yes. And you can't ignore the fact the lawyer was standing behind him in the interview. I'm just curious. You know, the Robinsons sent a copy of their ticket to NBC News. NBC says that they did a background check and worked to independently verify their ticket as the winner. But does that matter in a legal sense?
ZELIN: It doesn't matter at all in a legal sense. That was probably more to protect the show from any embarrassment. Lord only knows. Can you imagine when that would have been like if somebody decided, you know what, I really want to be on television so I'll tell them that I have the winning ticket? And then you go in there. You get your couple one-and-a-half minutes worth of fame for the world to see. And then it turns out it was a hoax. So I think that was really more than motivation. But from a legal perspective, the only person that matters is that state lottery official to verify, son, your life is about to change.
BROWN: And there were several hoaxes along the way, but this seems legitimate. And no way you cut it. Congrats to the Robinson family. They are millionaires now regardless of how this played out.
Randy Zelin, thank you very much.
[15:50:01] ZELIN: Thank you.
BROWN: Up next, a Minnesota Viking fans threw their kicker under the bus after he missed a game winning kick in the playoffs. So a group of first graders wrote letters to cheer him up. And he responded by saying thank you in person. I'll speak with the teacher who came up with the lesson on empathy live from her classroom after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:54:36] BROWN: The Seattle Seahawks face the Carolina Panthers this Sunday in the NFL playoffs. But the Seahawks wouldn't have made it this far if it hadn't been for the bad luck of the Minnesota Vikings. Their kicker, Blair Walsh, missed a 27-yard field goal last week ending their hopes of a super bowl title.
As the insults started flying from upset Viking fans, one first grade teacher in Minnesota saw this as a chance to teach her students a lesson in empathy. So she asked them to write letters to Walsh.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[15:55:04] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dear Blair, I feel bad for you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are so, so good at football.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep on trying. We love you so much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know you can do it. You can win the game.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are the best. And maybe you need to practice. Love Cody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: That was absolutely adorable. Local story about those letters went viral and Walsh was so touched he decided to pay a visit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLAIR WALSH, KICKER, MINNESOTA VIKINGS: Thank you very much for all the letters you wrote and the cards. It is a very, very touching to me. It says a lot about you guys that you were willing to do that and to say such nice things. And that cheered me up a lot. And the fact you guys would do that for me, somebody you never met, somebody you don't know, that's huge. And it can help in certain times like these.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: All right. So joining us now live from her classroom in Blaine, Minnesota, is first grade teacher Judie Offerdahl.
Thank you so much for coming on. I see your students very hard at work there in the background. First off, what inspired you to do this and make this a lesson of empathy for your students?
JUDIE OFFERDAHL, FIRST GRADE TEACHER, NORTHPOINT ELEMENTARY: Well, we had been talking about empathy all year. It's something that we focus on. And on Friday we had football Friday. And a lot of my students are Vikings fans. And when I saw Blair miss that field goal, I knew that not only would he feel horrible but the kids would just be crushed. And I just thought we've been writing letters, we've been talking about empathy. What a great teachable moment right now to put in to affect our target of when someone is hurting you can make a difference.
BROWN: Absolutely. And also that, you know, mistakes happen. We all make mistakes in life. What was your reaction when you heard that Blair Walsh would be coming in to thank the kids in person? What was it like for you and for them?
OFFERDAHL: Well, I was just overly excited for them. It was not anything that we even expected. We just really wanted him to get the letters and know that we had written things that might make him feel better and let him know that we had support. So when we learned that he was coming and then found out he made an exception to change his plans around, just so he could visit us, it was definitely phenomenal.
BROWN: Well, we saw a little clip there, but tell us what he was like. You know, after going through this experience and not making the field goal and then he comes in and talk to your students, what was he like?
OFFERDAHL: He just seems like such a great guy, just very genuine and everything that he does it seems like he is just a great role model for kids. One thing that we really took to heart was the fact that he did say, you know, I'm accountable for what I'm doing. And this is what I'm going to do to make it better. I'm going to work and persist. And this is a defining -- this is not a defining moment for me. It's something that I know that I'm going to work past. And I think that's such a great lesson for kids also.
BROWN: Yes, sometimes out of failure comes success. So in this case do you think the lesson worked? Do you think your students have a better understanding of what empathy is?
OFFERDAHL: Most definitely. I think that they do such a great job of that anyway. Kids in my opinion are just inherently kind. And when you give them opportunities to show their kindness, they really step up to the plate. So yes, definitely, I think this is an experience that will last and they will take with them.
BROWN: I think we could all learn from those kids. I just want them to wave if they can hear me. Hi, kids, before we have to go. I don't know if they can. Wave to the camera.
All right, guys. We actually have to go. But, Judie, I really appreciate you talking with us. Thank you so much. And I'll see you later.
That does it for me. "The LEAD" with Jim Sciutto starts right now.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Pam.
To paraphrase field of dreams, is this heaven? No, it's Iowa, where I just sat down with Donald trump. "The LEAD" starts right now.
Opening a rift as wide as Niagara Falls, the gloves come off between New York's Donald Trump and Canadian born Ted Cruz. I will ask the GOP front runner whether he came out of last night's debate even more powerful. They were told to act happy, brand new potentially aggravating details
on the capture of ten U.S. sailors and the making of an Iranian propaganda video that followed. It turns out everything wasn't as hunky-Dori as it seemed.
Plus, the Sean Penn interview about his interview with a sociopath drug lord on the run. Why he says it was not about himself at all?
