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New Poll: Clinton Dips Below 50 Percent For First Time; Police: Bangkok Bomber Did Not Act Alone; FDA Approves "Pink Pill"; Ex-Student at Elite School on Trial for Rape. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired August 19, 2015 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00] RICHARD SOCARIDES, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: The media loves --

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: So, you think this is just politics, this isn't a real issue?

SOCARIDES: Well, I think it's a combination of being in the throes of a political campaign. This is an issue that the media loves. I mean, the media loves a contest. Everybody likes a contest. And I think the media mostly is focused on the e-mails. The American people are not interested in e-mails.

CAMEROTA: All right. Richard Socarides, thanks so much for your perspective on all this. Nice to see you.

SOCARIDES: Good to see you.

CAMEROTA: Let's get over to Michaela.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Well, here's something folks are interested in -- a green light for the little pink pill. The FDA approved the so-called female Viagra. But with conditions that include a black box warning. You're going to have all you need to know, coming up ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Lingering questions about Hillary Clinton's e-mail scandal weighing on her presidential ambition. New CNN/ORC poll numbers show that she is below 50 percent for the first time.

[06:35:04] But within her party, she still has a sizable lead over Bernie Sanders and Vice President Joe Biden, who is yet to declare if he's running or not. But now, Republican Democrat Donald Trump breathing down her neck, posing a serious challenge for the first time.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Thai police confirming overnight that the suspected that Bangkok bomber did not act alone. Yesterday, police released this surveillance showing the main suspect leaving a backpack at the blast site before it exploded, killing 20 people. Police say it is likely that a Thai native helped plot Monday's attack. The shrine has since reopened to the public.

CAMEROTA: Women may be able to become Navy SEALs very soon. The chief of naval operations now saying as long as women meet the requisite standards and pass the rigorous training, they should have the opportunity to join the Navy's most elite teams. This at two women are about to become the first female soldier to graduate from the Army's rigorous Rangers School.

PEREIRA: A very relieved Rosie O'Donnell says her daughter Chelsea has been found. O'Donnell tweeted Tuesday night that the 17- year-old was safe with police on the Jersey Shore. The comedian's daughter hadn't been seen for a week.

According to a family statement, Chelsea had stopped taking medication for an undisclosed mental illness and was in need of medical attention. And I think people breathed a sigh of relief, because that was one of the situations where you just are so distraught for a parent. The worst nightmare.

CAMEROTA: Still a lot of questions.

PEREIRA: Of course.

CAMEROTA: I'm interested in what the mental illness is. Since Rosie raised it. I think we could have a conversation about what exactly was going on. And she wasn't abducted, right? She left on her own volition.

CUOMO: No, no, she was not abducted. But I don't know how much personal information I'm interested in about Rosie and her kid. It's her life.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: But it is a window for how difficult it is when you have someone in your family who's dealing with mental illness, how difficult it is to get treatment, to keep them on their treatment, and what happened once they are off their medication and you can't control it.

CAMEROTA: I think those are good conversations about teenagers to have.

CUOMO: Right, right, everybody. Once they are over 18, you can do nothing to make them take their medicine.

PEREIRA: Right.

CAMEROTA: Good point.

CUOMO: So, sheets of rain failing on the Midwest, causing floods and power outages and worse. At Wrigley Field, the storm forced a long rain delay during the Cubs/Tigers game. Meanwhile, you have tropical storm Danny, becoming the first potential Atlantic hurricane of the season.

So, let's get to meteorologist Chad Myers live with more, one of the few men excited about a hurricane.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, not too excited. If it stays in the water, it's OK, you know? But if it hits land, that's when we kind of get a little concern obviously, but it does appear that this thing could get to a tropical storm force 2 hurricane, a cat 2.

Right now, here back to the Midwest, show you where the radar is, where the rain is, where the rain is going to be later on this afternoon. I'm going to move you ahead all the way to 7:00 later on tonight. There will be showers and storms all across the Southeast. Could slow down an airplane or two, although cooler air is coming in. It will make a very nice weekend for all the big cities from Boston, New York, Atlanta, all the way down, even to parts of Florida.

Look, we go from 82, which isn't bad today, all the way into the upper 70s from Friday to Saturday in New York and cooler to the Midwest.

You talked about Danny. This is the satellite presentation. Not that impressive, yet. But it's getting there. It will be the biggest storm of the year. Here it is, wide open ocean, thousands of miles away, nothing to worry about just yet.

But the storm is forecast to get stronger. See the two there? That means category 2 hurricane, 105 miles per hour before it heads toward maybe St. Croix, St. Thomas, simmer down into the Leeward and Windward Islands. We don't just yet because the models are still so far away.

We are talking five days away, even before we get to any island out there. It could turn left. It could turn right, but still forecast, guys, to get stronger from here.

CAMEROTA: All right. Keep an eye on it for us, Chad. Thanks so much.

Well, after rejecting it twice, the FDA approved the use of so- called female Viagra. But the little pink pill has some big, red flags. What you need to know, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:43:06] PEREIRA: Welcome back to NEW DAY.

For men, there's the little blue pill. Now, for women, there's the little pink pill. The FDA has approved the first ever drug to treat sexual dysfunction in women. It is known as the female Viagra. It is not without a share of controversy, including a list of potentially dangerous side effects.

So, we are going to talk to Dr. Jennifer Caudle. She's a family physician at Rowan University. The good doctor joins us now.

Good morning, Dr. C.

DR. JENNIFER CAUDLE, ROWAN UNIVERSITY: Good morning, Michaela. How are you?

PERERIA: I'm good. Chris has been teasing Alisyn and I about this female Viagra. Why are we talking so much about it?

But it has the attention, at least of the female population. So, help us understand how we are all familiar with Viagra and its effects. How does this pill different and what does it do?

CAUDLE: OK. Well, first of all, let me start by saying, this is not the female version of Viagra. Viagra is actually a very different pill that we use for men. This is a medication for women that helps improve sexual desire in women. It's different in that this particular pill works in the brain.

PEREIRA: Ahh.

CAUDLE: It works on all these neurotransmitters and chemicals in the brain. And even though we don't exactly know the exact mechanism, that's how it improves sexual desire in women and the stress that sometimes can come along with that.

PEREIRA: So, we know sexual desire in women can decline after menopause, as we get older, et cetera, et cetera. What kind of population are we talking about? What are the numbers? How many people are suffering from this kind of problem?

CAUDLE: OK. Well, there are many, many women that are suffering from sexual dysfunction of many different types. Remember, there's a whole range of sexual disorders and dysfunction. And when we talk hypoactive sexual desire, this is something that's very common as well.

You know, I think one of the most important thing about this conversation that we are having, about this little pink pill we keep calling it, is that it really is hopefully going to allow women to talk with their doctors about how they are feeling, and what's going on in their lives, something that I don't think always happens.

[06:45:03] PEREIRA: All right. So, the big thing is there's debate, there's been controversy, the FDA failed to pass this, legalize it or approve the drug twice before. In fact, just in June, it was turned down because of risk factors. And this is what is sort of some of the controversy around it.

What are the risk factors and how serious are they, Dr. Caudle?

CAUDLE: Right. Well, that's a really good point, because you're right. This drug was actually denied twice in the past by the FDA. The FDA, those different times said there were problems with how effective the drug was. There were questions about that and also the side effects.

The drug has been approved. What's different you might ask? Well, there have been more studies and there had been two major caveats placed on this medication, OK?

First, a black box warning about the side effects. So, the side effects you ask, what are they? First, one of the major side effects is potentially low blood pressure. Hypotension.

But the second side effect is passing out, or what we call syncope. And this can be particularly dangerous and even worse if a woman were to drink alcohol while taking the medication or if she were on other medications while taking this particular pill. So, those are really important things to keep in mind. And honestly, they are so serious and the FDA is so worried about them, not only do they have a black box warning, but physicians who want to prescribe this medication actually have to undergo a training course and become certified to prescribe it for these very reasons.

So, these are important pros and cons that we really need to be thinking about when we look at this medication.

PEREIRA: An important point to point out, you don't take one if you want to sort of get in the mood, as Viagra is used. You have to take it every night, thus the concern about drinking alcohol, et cetera, because it would be -- it would mean not drinking alcohol in the course of the time you are taking it.

So, where do you stand on it? Do you think this is going to, as some supporters say, the end of gender bias in treating sexual dysfunction?

CAUDLE: You know, look, I hope we are seeing the end of gender bias, whether we have this pill or not. I hope that's the direction we are going in in general.

You know, as a family physician, something I've been thinking about is when I get in the office today, I'm going to have a lot of questions about this medication. I think that there's going to be a lot of good things happening, right? People are going to be talking about women in particular about sexual function, sexual desire and sexuality. That's very important to talk openly.

But I think on the other side, we do have to look at the risks and the potential risks of this medication. You know, there has been a lot of controversy about it. And you mix all these components in the pot, and you're really going to come up with lots of pros and lots of cons.

PEREIRA: OK.

CAUDLE: So, this is where I say that conversation with your doctor is important.

PEREIRA: We love it. And you are our doctor. We appreciate it, Dr. Caudle. Good to have you with us today.

CAUDLE: It's good to see you.

PEREIRA: Did you get answers to your questions, Chris?

CUOMO: It's not about me. You know, as long as you have the intellectual satisfaction of what's going on, with all the neurotransmitters stuff.

CAMEROTA: Intellectual satisfaction.

CUOMO: That's good enough for me.

Jurors will hear more testimony today from an alleged rape victim at the trial that's really rocked an elite New England prep school. Was an alleged assault part of a really sordid school tradition? Where is the consent in this situation?

We have a legal panel weighing in, major ramifications.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[06:52:33] CATHERINE RUFFLE, DEPUTY MERRIMACK COUNTY ATTORNEY: He did this in violation to the duty that he owed her and that he committed that act purposely.

J.W. CARNEY, DEFENSE ATTORNEY FOR OWEN LABRIE: It was a source of pride for girls at the school to be asked to participate with a senior in the senior salute.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: So, that was the prosecutor and defense attorney in the trial of Owen Labrie. He is a former student at the prestigious St. Paul prep school in New Hampshire. He's charged with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old student on campus last year, allegedly as part of a competition known as senior salute.

And that's what the issue becomes. What is on trial here, just this man or is this about the school?

Let's bring in CNN commentator and legal analyst Mel Robbins and HLN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson.

Joey, you understand why I'm teeing it up that way. The school put out a statement we should put up as well. Just to make it clear. They are distancing themselves. "Current allegations about our culture are not emblematic of our school or our values, our rules or the people who represent our student body, alumni, faculty and staff."

But that isn't 100 percent true, is it, in terms of the theory of the defense.

JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, you know, here is the point. Good morning, Mel. Good morning, Chris. It's an interesting dynamic. The school is not on trial, an individual within that school is on trial.

And so, certainly, clearly, if you are the defense, it's individual conduct as to my client, it's about conduct that was consensual in their view, but they also have to tow another line because even if the defense establishes there was consensual sexual activity, still a crime. Far less of a crime --

CUOMO: Statutory?

JACKSON: Exactly, because she is 15.

CUOMO: There's no Romeo and Juliet exemption.

JACKSON: There is, Chris. However, he's within that limitation. In other words, it's four years or less. So, the reality is, you know, it's not because of the four year or less. The fact he was 18 and the fact she was 15 makes no exception, it's a misdemeanor.

But if you can establish it wasn't consensual and no means no, at the end of the day, it's a felony, 10 to 20 years.

CUOMO: Romeo and Juliet exemptions are where you have consensual relationships between people whose ages would have qualified them for a statutory violent action.

All right. So, Mel, let's go to consent, because that's what this becomes all about. We hear about the messages before we hear about the messages after. We hear about what happened during, at least from her perspective so far. What do you make of it?

MEL ROBBINS, CNN COMMENTATOR & LEGAL ANALYST: Well, you know, good morning, guys. I think this is a really tough tight rope walk that Jay Carney is going to try to make and he's the defense attorney.

[06:55:04] By the way, there are only two celebrity defense attorneys in Boston. And one of them is Jay Carney. He is the best of the best.

They are actually arguing, Chris, that there wasn't sex that was consummated that night. And so, if there was no sex, then this is just a hook up and you win the case and he's acquitted.

If you get into whether or not there was actual sex that was happening, I don't want to get too graphic because it's almost 7:00 in the morning, then we go to consensual. And I think those messages beforehand were incredibly important. If they are acting playful, if she's showing up willingly and if the testimony is compelling about the actual moment when the act was happening, he actually could get acquitted.

There's a difference between rape and regret. I think that's the line that Jay Carney is going to try to tow as he defends his client in the case, Chris.

CUOMO: All right. Make sense of this message. Joey and Mel, you weigh in as well. Within a few hours of the encounter, the two were chatting again. This time, when she, supposedly the victim in this, asked Labrie if he used a condom, he put one, he said, half way through. Then the chatter devolved into her lamenting a loss earning, punctuated with ha-ha-has.

Two things about this bothered me -- one, what was going on in the scenario where she would not have been aware of whether or not there was a condom put on? Why? Well, that curiosity speaks to whether or not she was in control of the situation.

JACKSON: Sure.

CUOMO: That somewhat of an obvious moment in this type. And it also speaks to the nature of the activity itself.

JACKSON: It does. Importantly, you can't cherry pick evidence. It has to be evaluated as a whole. And to your text --

CUOMO: This is evidence. He does respond to it. Not like, why would I have had a condom on, it was only a hook up?

JACKSON: Very true.

But you have to look at everything not in isolation, but all together. And what the defense will say is that listen, there were romantic messages exchange, prior, as Mel alluded to.

CUOMO: This is after.

JACKSON: I get it. But prior to, leading to the conclusion that it was a consensual hook up, not sexual. She meant to get together with him, she did get together with him. It was a badge of pride for her in honor, and after the fact speaks of it being a consensual encounter.

CUOMO: Mel, Joey is sweet talking me around what I'm suggesting here, which is that --

JACKSON: They have to.

CUOMO: -- she asks about him putting on a condom. He says I put it on half way through.

ROBBINS: Look, that kind of blows the defense out of the water saying there's no sexual act that occurred, especially when he's admitting that he put it half way through, halfway through the hook up or half way through sex?

You know, I don't know that they are going to change the theory of the case but, look, if it's consensual, it's consensual. And it comes down to, in most rape cases, that are acquaintance rape allegations, do you believe him or do you believe her?

If the jury walks away from this, Chris and Joey, and feels like it was somewhere in the middle, that half way through, as a 15-year- old in her first sexual encounter, she was realizing she was in way over her head. But did she consent? At least under the law that's a question for the jury.

JACKSON: But the problem is, even if there's consensual activity, it's a crime. A much lesser, but a crime --

(CROSSTALK)

JACKSON: Exactly, but a crime nonetheless.

And, of course, they have the physical evidence in terms of the laceration which the attorneys will argue could be made from a number of factors.

CUOMO: Understood, and to Joey's point, once it all comes in --

ROBBINS: From consensual sex.

CUOMO: Right. Once it all comes in, Mel, once it wall comes in, then we'll have a fuller picture of this. This is certainly issues and different angles of observation heading into it. Mel, thank you very much. Joey as well.

JACKSON: Pleasure.

CUOMO: We will stay on this story for you. A lot of news is coming out of the political world as well this morning. So, let's get right to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hillary Clinton is still the candidate to beat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The standard surge is real.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The controversies are starting to weigh on her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trump leading the Republican pack.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trump out front by double digits. The others struggle against them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They need to figure out how they are going to sell their message and stand out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The bomb claiming more than 20 lives and injuring over 100. Local police believe that this was a, quote, "deliberate act of terror". Thai officials are on the hunt for this man.

CUOMO: Hackers released the private information of customers of a cheating website, Ashley Madison, 32 million usernames all now available.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota and Michaela Pereira.

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome back to your NEW DAY. Hillary Clinton is still the candidate to beat. But her support is eroding. For the first time in the race, the Democratic front- runners approval numbers are below 50 percent. Questions about her e- mail use and her trust worthiness having an impact on her presidential ambitions.

CUOMO: Now, Clinton's Republican rival, Donald Trump, is posing a serious threat statistically.