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You're Only as Old as You Feel; Jeb Bush Explores Presidential Bid; Alan Gross Released from Cuba; Obama to Announce Policy Changes with Cuba

Aired December 17, 2014 - 08:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Here we go with the five things you need to know for your new day.

At number one, a major theater chain has pulled the movie "The Interview" after cyber attackers infiltrated Sony Pictures, threaten attacks on theaters showing thee firm. The New York premier of the film also canceled.

Pakistan is in mourning. It is burying its dead after Tuesday's horrific Taliban attack at a military school where 145 people were killed, 132 of them children.

Australian's prime minister demanding a joint investigation into the siege in Sydney. He wants to know how the gunman was able to legally obtain a weapon and get citizenship to their country.

The family of the man fatally shot by police inside an Ohio Wal-Mart as he held a bb gun is suing the retail giant and the police. John Crawford III's family is seeking at least $75,000 in restitution.

Russia's economy teetering on the edge of disaster. Questions looming into whether President Obama's sanctions against the country played a role into the financial markets demise.

We do update those five things to know, so make sure you visit newdaycnn.com for the latest.

All right. Are we ready for a new edition of "New Day, New You." You know the old saying, you're only as old as you feel? Oh, turns out it might be true. Oh, that's a good thing if scientists out of the U.K. have it right. Joining us, our youthful and wise chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Good morning to you, my dear. All right, talk to us about this. Is there science behind this that if we feel younger, we will live longer? What did they find out?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, people have believed this, obviously, for a long time. And people have been trying to add meat on the bones in terms of scientific study. This is an interesting study which is why we decided to bring it to you today. But about 6,500 people were part of the study. The average age was

around 65. And what they found, they asked them, how old do you feel? These were all people who had similar health profiles, similar base line health. The people who felt the youngest when they went and followed them over the next eight years, they were the most likely, almost twice as likely to still be alive as compared to people who felt older than their actual age. So, again, they controlled for this whole notion of, what is your health profile right now.

PEREIRA: Right.

GUPTA: All of that is the same, just, how do you feel? That was the question they asked in terms of your age and the people who felt younger seemed to have the most likelihood of still being alive eight years later.

PEREIRA: So is there a scientific determination of when old age actually begins now? Is it when he get gray hairs and wrinkles or is it when we feel like we've gotten old? What is it?

GUPTA: When does old age begin? You know, it's the - it's the age old question. You know, it's interesting, it very much depends on who's answering the question. You ask a 65-year-old, when does old age begin, they're more likely to say 70. Ask a 70-year-old, they're more likely to say 75. You see how that goes. It's always a little bit older, typically, than you are.

If you ask all commers (ph), at least in the United States, the average age is around 65 years old. But that's also because of the construction around retirement probably and people leaving their professional lives around that age. We know between the age of 30 and 70 on average we age about a percent and a half a year between 30 and 70. So you can sort of -- we do get gray hairs. Half of our hairs have turned gray by age 50. You know, we start to lose some of the collagen in our skin. So these physical signs of aging. But in terms of when old age begins, you know, that's very much up to the person who's being asked.

PEREIRA: All right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, we'll explore this a little further we hope because I want to know the secret. Thanks so much.

GUPTA: You got it. Thank you.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Olive oil, that's the secret.

All right, meanwhile, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush announcing he's actively exploring a presidential run. What does that mean for other Republicans' road to the White House or even Hillary Clinton? We'll discuss.

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CAMEROTA: Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush announcing on Facebook that he has decided to actively explore the possibility of running for president. That's his direct quote. He's also going to establish a leadership, political action committee to start the process. So what does this mean for any other would-be candidates? Joining us to discuss is CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist Paul Begala, he's the senior adviser for the super PAC Priorities USA Action, and CNN political commentator and Republican strategist Ana Navarro. Ana is also a longtime friend and supporter of the former Florida governor, Jeb Bush.

Great to have both of you.

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thanks, Alisyn.

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: OK, Ana, let me start with you. How does Jeb's announcement change the landscape for everyone?

NAVARRO: You know, frankly, what it tells us is that Jeb is taking the next step. He's a very disciplined guy. He has set a timeline for himself by the end of this year. He could have either pulled the plug or move to the next phase. He is moving to the next phase.

You know, Alisyn, I'm not sure that it should affect other candidates because I think running for president is a very personal, individualized decision. Each of them have to look at their own circumstances, their own time lines and weigh their own consideration. And they should do what Jeb is doing. Jeb isn't running, looking at the rest of this field. He's running, looking inside himself. That's what everybody needs to do.

CAMEROTA: Right. But, Paul, if you are another Republican from, say, I don't know, Florida, then does it change your calculus?

BEGALA: I think it does. I don't know that it will, but it should. It should. I think Ana's right - well, I think Ana's right in an ideal world. And I'm sure she's right about Jeb. Nobody's closer to Jeb Bush.

My experience is, most people who decide to run for president do it backwards. They don't think, do I have the skills. They think, well, I'm better than that knucklehead. And Jeb getting in I think could, should, crowd out a lot of other candidates. He's a very formidable guy. Very difficult for me to see Marco Rubio, also of Florida, being able to find much space in a primary where Jeb is already running.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: You know, you can could/should all day, Mr. Begala, but, Ana, the problem is that there is a must here, which is, you must have your candidate come out of the primaries as unscathed as possible because you've got to take on the general and you may have a very formidable candidate on the other sides. So, if Jeb comes into the primary, you tell me why he wins and how easily or difficult would that happen.

NAVARRO: Look, I don't know - I don't know how easily or difficult it will be and we really won't know until we know what the rest of the field looks like. What I do know is that he's given a lot of thought to the kind of candidate he wants to be and the kind of campaign he wants to run. And you're not going to see a guy who's going to bend himself into a pretzel shape to try to accommodate groups or pander to one group or another and change his principles and his convictions midstream in a primary. So either folks are going to find that refreshing, they're going to judge him on his complete record as governor, they're going to get to know him, Jeb, not just the last name, or they're not. I would say to folks, give the guy a chance, listen to him, judge him on his position and vision and then we go from there. But if it means, you know, shifting, zigzagging way right to then zigzag to the middle, that's something that he's hell bent on not doing and that he's very cognizant cost Mitt Romney the general last time.

CAMEROTA: Paul, let's talk about a candidate you know well, and that's Hillary Clinton. Here is the latest poll of what many people think we will see in 2016, and that is Hillary Clinton against Jeb Bush. This is a Bloomberg Politics poll. It was taken last week. And 43 percent to Hillary Clinton, 37 percent to Jeb Bush. What do you think, Paul, is in Hillary's mind today after the Jeb announcement?

BEGALA: Oh, I think it's probably -- it's a good thing that Michael Bloomberg, who owns Bloomberg, is a billionaire because he wasted his money with that poll. Any poll - I mean I suppose it's good. My friend Hillary is leading Ana's friend, Jeb, but I think both Ana and I would tell you, those e polls are absolutely worthless this far out. We're a long, long way out. And I would not -- to quote his big brother, I would not misunderestimate Jeb Bush. He is a very, very formidable guy.

CAMEROTA: But what about Hillary? But --

CUOMO: That was a shot he just took, by the way.

CAMEROTA: I heard that. But what --

BEGALA: But he's a smarter younger brother. It's like a - it's like -

CAMEROTA: But -

CUOMO: The Afrado (ph) family.

BEGALA: You know, Afrado was the older brother, but then Michael was the younger one. Sometimes, Chris, those little brothers are smarter than the big brothers, don't you think?

CAMEROTA: Oh, wow, he's pandering and it's working. Look, it's working on Chris.

But, Paul, seriously, does this change Hillary's calculation?

BEGALA: Not at all. Not at all. No, it doesn't.

CUOMO: Who sizes up better against Hillary than Jeb Bush on the other side of the fence?

BEGALA: Look, I actually think there's a lot of talent over there. I really --

CUOMO: Who's better?

BEGALA: I really - I don't know about better because we haven't put them on a track yet. You can't know how a horse is going to run. But the Republicans, the last time, frankly, had a very weak field. They really did. And Mitt Romney was the class of the field, but that's like a very low bar, like being the sexiest member of the Supreme Court. It was a lame field. They had one good candidate. This will be a very strong field for the Republicans, you watch.

CAMEROTA: Your analogies are fun, Paul.

NAVARRO: And I don't think - you know, I don't think -- I suspect in the Clinton household right now, nobody is surprised that Jeb has taken this next move. In fact, the last conversations I've had with Bill Clinton, you know, he's been predicting this move for a while. So -- and he loves to be a political prognosticator. So I don't think it changes Hillary's notion or Hillary's timeline at all. She's got to - she's got to decide if she's going to run and only if she's not going to run does she have to say something soon because unlike Jeb, Hillary does freeze the rest of the Democrat field and is the undisputed front runner on the Democrat side.

CAMEROTA: And, Paul, very quickly, you know, this - obviously Jeb's announcement wasn't a particular surprise, but the timing was a surprise.

CUOMO: And the method.

CAMEROTA: Oh, and the method, yes, through Facebook, and the timing before the holidays. What do you think was going on there?

BEGALA: I do think Jeb has -- he's got to get out there. I think this is smart because he hasn't run first for anything since 2002, which is probably a good thing. But also, he needs to get out there. He is now trailing in some polls. Even Dr. Ben Carson, who's never run for anything. He's a neurosurgeon from Baltimore. A very impressive neurosurgeon, but has never run for anything. And so Jeb's got to get out there now, I think, to reintroduce himself and, frankly, to distinguish himself from his brother.

CAMEROTA: All right, Ana, Paul, great to see you guys.

BEGALA: Thanks.

CAMEROTA: Thank you.

NAVARRO: Thanks.

CUOMO: All right, change the topic. We have this week's "Human Factor." Are you ready? Tourette's syndrome. You've heard of it. It's a neurological condition. It causes a person to make involuntary sounds and movements. A young singer/songwriter with the disorder is hoping to help others face their challenges and live their dreams. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is back and he has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jamie Grace grew up dreaming of becoming a singer-songwriter. But before he could begin pursuing a career in music, she got some news that put her dreams on hold. At the age of 12, Jamie was diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome.

JAMIE GRACE, SINGER-SONGWRITER: I wanted to be a singer. I had no idea what Tourette's Syndrome was. All I found were clips from movies of these actors yelling and cursing. And I remember sitting there at 11- year-old and just crying my eyes out and I spent the next years just being absolutely miserable.

GUPTA: Instead of letting her condition silence her, Jamie turned to YouTube. Just two years after her diagnosis, Jamie began posting videos of herself singing. She got the attention of record labels and an online audience.

GRACE: I didn't blow up like Justin Bieber did, but I had a really cool response.

GUPTA: Now, she's using her stage and her story to inspire others.

Jamie started her own foundation, I'm a Fighter. It's a place where people dealing with illnesses and challenges can share stories and find support.

GRACE: It's daily stories of fighters, a little kid with cancer or a hardworking father. It's been really cool to be able to build that community. I really hope that my songs connect with people and I really want to bring them encouragement.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CUOMO: We do have major breaking news for you right now. Alan Gross, an American contractor who is imprisoned in Cuba for the past five years, there is word now he has been released. He's on a plane right now returning home from Havana. This is part of a deal for his freedom. Three members of a spy ring known as the Cuban Five are being sent back to Cuba.

CAMEROTA: Gross was jailed for bringing satellite communications equipment to Cuba as part of a U.S. pro-democracy program. We are also hearing that President Obama is set to announce a major overhaul of the U.S. Cuba policy. We have complete coverage of this breaking news for you, but let's get first to our global affairs correspondent, Elise Labott. Elise, what do we know?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Chris and Alisyn, as you said, it is a landmark deal between the U.S. and Cuba. Cuba has released Alan Gross as a humanitarian gesture. His health really failing and the U.S., naturally, his family very concerned about him. But, in addition, the U.S. and Cuba swapping spies. The U.S. releasing those three Cuban intelligence agents, part of the

so called Cuban Five. Cuba also releasing a U.S. intelligence asset been in jail in Cuba for more than 20 years. Administration officials tell me with Gross's humanitarian release and the subsequent spy swap, President Obama is set to announce later today the most sweeping overhaul in U.S. policy towards Cuba since the embargo was imposed in 1961. And the initiatives the president will announce today include a major relaxing of travel restrictions for Americans.

That means a general license, if you will, to travel to Cuba for practically anything but tourism, a resumption of banking between U.S. and Cuban banks, an increase in those remittances Americans can send back to their families back home in Cuba. The president will also allow expanded commercial and export sales of goods and services to Cuba, and officials are telling me President Obama will move to restore formal diplomatic ties with Cuba, see about taking Cuba off the state sponsor of terrorism list.

Why now? Officials say there have been some modest reforms on the island, they want to encourage that. They stress this is not a reward for the Castro regime, but they say a recognition the embargo is not working, and if the U.S. wants change in Cuba it needs to engage more with the people and the Cuban government. President Obama is going to make that announcement later today, and officials stress not letting up on those human rights.

CAMEROTA: Elise, this is a major sea change that you're announcing. It was just earlier this month that Alan Gross's wife, Judy Gross, made this heartfelt plea for her husband's release. She said Alan is resolved that he will not endure another year in prison in Cuba. I'm afraid we are at the end. She thought that he wouldn't last another year. How quickly did all of this come together?

LABOTT: Well, you know, the talks have been going on in fits and starts for the better part of a year, Alisyn. The U.S. was very clear they did not want this to be a swap, if you will, of spies. They do not consider Alan Gross a spy. As you know, he was a U.S. AID contractor there trying to deliver cell phones to the area. The Cubans said he was trying to foment a Cuban spring, if you will. But they said he was not a spy, so they really had to have this other part of the deal. And as those talks began to increase and things got more clear, more things became part of that deal. Now Cuba also agreeing to release 53 political prisoners from a list provided by the United States. Also, allow more access to the internet and for the international Red Cross to come back for the first time in years.

I'm told in recent months the Vatican has gotten involved and is now a guarantor of this process, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Elise Labott, thanks so much for all of that breaking news.

CUOMO: All right, the policy changes on the half of U.S. is going to be very controversial, but let's get right to Havana right now because Cuba is where we just saw this big move, releasing not only 53 of their own political prisoners, but an American as well, Alan Gross. We have Patrick Oppmann there. Patrick, when did you get the word that he was going to be gone? How did it go getting him to the plane and getting him on his way home?

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, this has been going on for weeks and you just have to wonder what's going through Alan Gross's mind as he does leave Cuba across the straits of Florida. You know, he's already spent five years in Cuban prison. He's missed so much of his life back in the United States. He wasn't there when his mother passed away, he wasn't there when his daughter fell ill with cancer. He really thought he'd never be able to return to his country. Of course was sent here on a U.S. government mission to bring internet to the Cuban people. This is still one of the countries that has very little internet access and that was his mission.

He was caught here, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison. And he, as of recently, just a few weeks ago, said he didn't know if he would ever leave Cuban prison. So you have to think what's going through his mind? An incredibly sense of relief as well the Cuban intelligence agents that are being returned. One of them was facing a double life prison in U.S. federal prison. So, basically a death sentence. So for them, for these individuals being returned to Cuba, they're going to face celebrations here, they will be treated as heroes. It will probably be the biggest celebration we've seen since Elian Gonzalez was returned to Cuba.

So certainly a major campaign by the part of the Cuban government which has really used Alan Gross as a bargaining chip to bring their agents back. And when they do return here to Cuba, you expect to see major celebrations. But what Elise was just talking about, it's going to take really weeks if not more to sort through the impact that it's going to have on regular Cubans' lives. This is going to have major shifts when you're talking about more money, more Americans coming to Cuba. Really, a loosening of relations that we've not seen in some years here.

CUOMO: Right, and it's interesting you bring up Elian Gonzalez. That's obviously a situation that involved talks at the highest levels. What do we know about this time? Did this involve Fidel's brother, Raul Castro, speaking directly to the White House?

OPPMANN: Yes, that's our understanding that there's been communication at the highest levels of the government. There have been all sorts of back channels, whether it's been the Vatican, other heads of state. And, you know, we need to mention Alan Gross's attorney, Scott Gilbert, who at this point has probably spent more time in Cuba than just about any other American. He's been here every month talking with Cubans, negotiating, carrying messages back and forth and really done the impossible in a lot of ways because people thought Alan Gross was going to die in prison.

CUOMO: Right.

CAMEROTA: Right.

OPPMANN: His health has been deteriorating.

CUOMO: Right. OPPMANN: We're told he can't walk, that really he had just given up hope, and it turns out that hope was not lost, that he will return to the United States today and this is the end of the nightmare for him and his family.

CUOMO: All right, so that's the word from Havana. Thank you very much. And obviously this is going to be about the controversy of changing U.S. policy. The Cuban community and the United States, you know, very forth right about believing that Cuba needs to be sanctioned, so it will be interesting to hear what the word is from change.

CAMEROTA: Let's bring in Christiane Amanpour. She's listening to this breaking news as we are. Christiane, what do you think the significance is?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is huge and if the president of the United States is actually going to announce a resumption of diplomatic ties between the United States and Cuba, this is a major big deal as Elise has just reported. It's not just about these individuals. They are sort of the obvious face saving, if you like, human manifestation of what appears to be a major policy change by the United States.

Europe, where I am right now, has long said, along with more and more Americans, that obviously this policy of the last 50 years has failed. The policy was enacted to remove the regime in Cuba and to, or to, change the position and policy of the regime in Cuba by punitive means, and it simply hasn't worked. So, I've been talking and been traveling to Cuba many, many years, talking to "The New York Times" editorial writer who, as you all know, has done major full-length editorials about this, calling for "The New York Times" a different policy with the United States and Cuba. And he has said that one of the things the United States has found is that in all of their bilateral meetings, in the hemisphere there, Cuba is a major thorn in the side.

Also, engagement by Europe, by Canada, and others has had a mitigating effect on Cuba. Now, obviously critics in the United States will say their human rights policy remains lamentable. But the feeling is that to try to change that through engagement is better. And in the politics of the U.S., very, very importantly, major people in the Democratic party, for instance, Hillary Clinton, former Florida governor, Chris, have all talked about the failure of this policy, and demographics in the United States have shown that this policy of hard line sanctions is no longer a majority policy amongst Cuban Americans, even though there are very high profile members of the Senate who believe it still should be enacted. By and large the Cuban Americans have changed in where they view America and Cuban relations. So, this is a very big deal.

CUOMO: All right, Christiane. Thank you very much.

Let's get back to Cuba. We are on the ground there obviously in Havana with Patrick Oppmann. Let me ask you something. Patrick, what is the word about what this means among Cuban people? Is this something that they've looked forward to? What is the hope now? OPPMANN: The hope is tremendous, Chris. Cubans look towards the

United States, their relatives in the United States, they want to have more contact with the United States, the contact that only really under the Obama administration we've seen unlimited Cuban American visits to Cuba, unlimited remittances. That means they have been able to send money. It's a small thing, but it's had a major impact here.

People are able to see their families again, able to open up businesses that are financed from the United States. So to take off some of those shackles and, you know, some of these other things, it's really almost for myself a (INAUDIBLE) process because it is going to be such a big change. But it shows, you know, a lot of the behind the scenes diplomacy that we've seen now for months and years.

And all along we've heard that the major impediment to getting a more normal relationship between the U.S. and Cuba has been Alan Gross. But Cuba on their part, they've said that, even more important than lifting the embargo for Cuban President Raul Castro is return of these three intelligence agents that he sent to the United States.

You know, I covered their trial in Miami almost 15 years ago and it was very controversial in Miami. You can expect in Miami there might be some protests today because these are people that the Cuban American community in Miami, the exile community, saw as traitors. But, you know, you have to give something to get something and it seems that President Obama has decided to stake out as one of his major policy initiatives normalizing the relationship with Cuba.

And certainly the steps that are announced today are going to go a long way, much further than perhaps any administration in living memory to try and reach a normal, racial, sane policy with Cuba and perhaps create a better future for the Cuban people.

CAMEROTA: Patrick Oppmann, thanks so much for the reporting.

CNN is the only American network in Cuba on the ground this morning. So it sounds like the floodgates are about to open personally and financially.

CUOMO: It's going to be very interesting to get reporting off the ground about what this fuels for people there. But there's going to just this much reaction if not more back here. There are generations of Cuban Americans who believe that they had their lives and what matter to them most stripped by that administration that is still in place.

There's a lot of coverage for us to do on this major breaking news. Let's get you to the "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello for more -- Carol.