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Waiting for Birth of Royal Baby; Cop Suspended for Leaking Photos; Kirk Cameron versus Facebook; Pope Francis on His Way to Brazil
Aired July 22, 2013 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We're anxiously awaiting word of the world's newest celebrity about to arrive, at least we hope so. Let's take you to Buckingham Palace because the Queen just arrived home. And the way we know that is the flag being raised over Buckingham Palace. Now the Queen will go into the palace and she will wait by a specially encrypted phone for the call that comes from St. Mary's Hospital. That's where Kate and Prince William are awaiting the birth of their first child. It's pretty exciting stuff.
CNN Royal commentator Katie Nicholl is outside Buckingham Palace. She also serves as the royal correspondent for the British Newspaper "The Mail" on Sunday. Welcome.
KATIE NICHOLL, CNN ROYAL COMMENTATOR: Thank you. You can see the flag flying behind me Carol?
COSTELLO: Yes. Does this mean it will happen soon?
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NICHOLL: Well it's possibly. I just spoken to the Queen's private secretary -- press secretary rather who said that the Queen was on her way. Sure enough, she literally just swept through the gates of Buckingham Palace. I expect she'll be making herself a cup of tea and a cucumber sandwich, looking after her Corgys but as you rightly point out -- waiting, as we all are, for the news.
But for the Queen that will come on a specially encrypted phone that cannot be hacked, tampered with and that direct line of communication straight from William to the current monarch. It's very important, as modern a couple as this is, that certain parts of royal protocol are adhered to and this is one of them.
COSTELLO: This is where the queen will be the first -- and I'm just wondering what the specially encrypted phone looks like. I imagine it's like a --
NICHOLLS: It's something out of it -- something James Bond (inaudible) I expect; but probably something actually terribly simple.
COSTELLO: Probably so. So Prince William -- speaking of simple, Prince William and Kate they are in that delivery room by themselves with a team of doctors awaiting the birth of their child just like any other couple.
NICHOLL: Yes they are. And you know, we are now quite far into the labor. I mean nine hours that's quite long -- I would be very surprised at this stage if Catherine hadn't been offered any pain relief. You know possibly gas and air I'm sure she will have that possibly an epidural because nine hours in, you know, apart from the pain Carol it's also the tiredness of the whole thing.
They don't call it labor for nothing. It's hard work. And I expect even with all the air conditioning units that they are probably pumping out it is probably still pretty tough going for her.
COSTELLO: Well I can imagine her cursing her husband like many -- no I'm just kidding. No you do feel like that, don't you?
NICHOLL: I know.
COSTELLO: Go ahead.
NICHOLL: No I'm going to say, absolutely. And the Duchess of Cambridge is known for her manners for always being impeccably polite so I think we'd all forgive her a few swear words at Prince William because those labor pains especially when you're doing it naturally are really quite like nothing else you've ever experienced.
But as I said I'm sure she would have been offered some form of pain relief by this stage. Because nine hours you know that's a fair, that's a significant period of time to come through.
COSTELLO: So after she has the baby how long will she stay at St. Mary's?
NICHOLL: OK, well that really depends. If it is a smooth labor, if there are no complications then really there is no reason why she shouldn't be in and out within 24 hours. And if there are complications, and at least there is nothing to suggest there is I'd like to add, but if there were to be possibly you might see a longer hospital visit. And they would want to make sure that babies had all relevant checks, the mother is comfortable and that you know Kate is really ready with William to come out and face this barrage of press, the world's media that are waiting outside the Lindo Wing.
And you know one would forgive them if they perhaps needed a few hours I don't know maybe even a day to just prepare themselves for that because those very special hours after you've had your baby something really to be -- to be savored and to be enjoyed. So I don't think they'll be in any hurry.
COSTELLO: Yes that's true. That's very true. Katie Nicholl thanks so much. And of course we'll continue to follow the coming royal birth.
Checking our top stories now it's 34 minutes past the hour. The death toll is rising in northwest China following a strong earthquake. At least 89 people have been killed and hundreds of others are injured. Rescue teams have been sent to the scene and the Red Cross Society of China is sending tents and other supplies.
Police at East Cleveland, Ohio have arrested a man after finding the bodies of three women wrapped in plastic. They say Michael Madison was renting a garage where one of the decomposed bodies was found and police fear there could be many more bodies. The identities of the victims and the causes of death might not be known for several days.
A Massachusetts police sergeant has been suspended for leaking photos of the night the Boston bombing suspect was captured. Today there's a Facebook page dedicated to try to save Sergeant Sean Murphy's job with nearly 40,000 likes. I asked Murphy's lawyer about the outpouring of support.
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LEONARD KESTEN, ATTORNEY FOR SGT SEAN MURPHY: I'm not surprised. What he -- he did the right thing. I'm not surprised. He's gotten a lot of support from victims' families who've reached out to him. They are not surprised at the public support.
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COSTELLO: Sergeant Murphy will have an initial meeting with the state police tomorrow. They'll decide whether or not further punishment is in -- well is warranted. He could be fired.
Evangelical actor Kirk Cameron's religious beliefs get him blocked on Facebook. How users voted to kick his Christian movie off the social media Web site and how Kirk Cameron got it back on.
You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.
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KIRK CAMERON, ACTOR: That is the question that wrecks people's faith.
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COSTELLO: Good morning and welcome back. It's 39 minutes past the hour. I'm Carol Costello.
Evangelical actor Kirk Cameron is celebrating a big win over Facebook this morning. His upcoming Christian movie "Unstoppable" had been blocked from Facebook as it kicked off. But this morning "Unstoppable" is officially back on Facebook at least the trailer is. The former "Growing Pains" star successfully launched a campaign to get it unblocked. Cameron says Facebook initially called the content abusive, spammy and unsafe. In the film Cameron examines why God allows bad things to happen to good people. Listen.
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CAMERON: I want you to come on this journey with me to discover the answer to this age-old question: if God is good, why is there so much suffering? Why all the pain? Why does he allow evil in a world when he could stop it?
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COSTELLO: So Facebook and YouTube by the way blocked that trailer. And Cameron had to fight you know with his Facebook friends to get it back on. And we wondered why it was blocked in the first place.
I am joined now by digital advertising and media expert Rebecca Lieb. Welcome Rebecca.
REBECCA LIEB, DIGITAL ADVERTISING & MEDIA EXPERT: Hello Carol. Thanks so much for having me.
COSTELLO: OK, thanks for trying to solve the mystery. Because you might not agree with Cameron's views but this trailer doesn't appear to be abusive or unsafe or spammy. What gives?
LIEB: It isn't abusive, unsafe or spammy at all. I think what this points to is a problem in the system. Kirk Cameron has made a lot of inflammatory remarks lately that have alienated a lot of people. He has been on this network making remarks against homosexuality and against gay marriage. He therefore has quite a few detractors.
And the most realistic hypothesis although Facebook has not said specifically why they banned this video is that a lot of people reported him and his links as spam. So this was voted out by the crowd.
This points to a flaw in how Facebook is determining what actually is unsafe or spam. It would seem more natural that users could flag something that is then under examination by Facebook and human -- investigated by humans rather than machines before it's kicked off the air -- or --
COSTELLO: Right so Facebook users shouldn't get -- shouldn't get to censor the content.
And just to remind people what Cameron has said in the past. In the past he's called homosexuality unnatural and destructive to the foundations of civilizations. He has reedited Darwin on "The Origin of Species", called Darwin a racist and a Nazi. And he's defended Todd Aiken the politician who asserted that women could somehow magically protect themselves from quote "legitimate rape".
So did Facebook just assume these kinds of things would be in the movie or was it just that people flag Kirk Cameron's trailer and Facebook said oh got to ban that?
LIEB: My assumption is he was flagged by a ground swell of people who disagree with his political views although in this case it really was a violation of his First Amendment rights. Whether you agree or disagree with his position it is very easy to see if you watch this trailer that there is nothing spammy and no hate language involved whatsoever. I can't speak for the content of the film but the trailer is certainly G-rated. COSTELLO: Well the interesting thing is on Kirk Cameron's Facebook page he asked fellow Christians to defend him and they did by the thousands and thousands and then Facebook I guess was forced to put the trailer back on?
LIEB: It seems like people are voting and media attention. Look at us here on the air discussing this right now. This whole episode has turned into a big major win for Kirk Cameron. So anything his detractors try to do to deflect attention away from this film has absolutely backfired.
COSTELLO: All right, Rebecca Lieb thanks so much. We appreciate you being with us this morning.
COSTELLO: We've been on royal baby watch for weeks now and the day is finally here. Kate is in labor. But how long will it last? We'll be right back.
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COSTELLO: First time, I hear that music, it cracks me up for some reason.
OK. We're talking about Kate, she's in labor. So, the question this morning natural or Caesarian -- that question among other questions. Big bucks are riding on this royal birth. Just how different is having a baby in the United Kingdom compared to having a child here in the United States? I'm thinking not much different. But maybe I'm wrong, Elizabeth Cohen.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the basics are the same, right? We are all women right? So we are going to give birth the same way. However, I was in London last month at a hospital -- at a maternity hospital or a hospital that has a maternity unit. And the differences were really quite amazing because in England there is much more of an emphasis on having what they call a normal birth.
COSTELLO: Normal?
COHEN: Normal birth. That is the way that they phrase it, a normal birth, meaning that they would like as little medical intervention as possible.
COSTELLO: And that means no epidural?
COHEN: They use epidurals way less than we do. It is about three out of ten get epidurals. In this country it is at least six out of ten women get epidurals.
So, I know your face, you poor thing.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: They have to use something because it is quite painful, obviously. COHEN: Yes, you know, they do. So they encourage women to move around. They say that that really helps when you move around. You don't focus on the pain so much. They encourage women to get into birthing tubs. They call it aquadural. And they say that that can be just as good as an epidural.
Having given birth, I don't know that I would have found that to be true but they -- the midwives say that that is true.
COSTELLO: I've also heard laughing gas.
COHEN: Laughing gas -- yes, they actually use laughing gas a lot. When I looked in the room and saw this woman using laughing gas I almost fell over because I don't think we do that here in the United States. I have never anyone but they have this little thing that they hold and they put in their mouth and they breathe it in whenever they want. Like the doctors that administer it they just sort of, you know, breathe it in when they're having a contraction.
COSTELLO: So when you say laughing gas, is that the stuff you get at the dentist? I mean what is that?
COHEN: Yes. It doesn't actually make you laugh. But I asked the woman using it and I said, "Are you laughing?" She said "Nothing is funny right now" because she was in the deep of throes of labor but yes, it's like the kind of gas that they use as an anesthetic. It's for pain.
It's just that you're laughing.
COSTELLO: I am laughing. I don't know. I just hope poor Kate has her baby soon because it has been nine hours now.
COHEN: I hope so too but it may not -- you know, it's the first baby so nine hours is nothing. This might take a while.
COSTELLO: OK. Well, we'll be following --
COHEN: As someone who has done it a few times it can take a while, yes.
COSTELLO: More than once.
Thanks Elizabeth we appreciate it.
The first Latin American named pope heads to Rio de Janeiro. Coming up, will recent widespread protests against public services there change the way the People's Pope interacts with the faithful?
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COSTELLO: All right. You're looking at St. Mary's Hospital in London. That's where the Duchess of Cambridge is giving birth to a new prince or princess. This is the same place where William and Harry were born. The family will announce when the baby is born by posting its birth time and weight on a scroll outside of Buckingham Palace. So we will not learn the child's name for a few days.
Welcome back to our special coverage. I'm Carol Costello.
Prince Charles, as you might well expect, is among those eagerly awaiting the birth of the royal baby, his first grandchild. Moments ago spectators greeting the prince during a stop in Yorkshire are having a bit of fun about the royal baby and the idea of triplets.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congratulations sir. It's triplets.
Well, I just felt like saying "Congratulations sir. It's triplets." Just for a bit of fun and not knowing what it's going to be or if it is going to be a boy or a girl. I thought get the --
He was very jolly. Everyone is excited in the country and just waiting to see what happens and the big day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think it could be triplets?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, who knows?
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COSTELLO: OK. You can see all of Great Britain pretty darned excited as are many people here in the United States. That is the hospital. Of course, the first person to know will not be Prince Charles, actually the queen. She is now at Buckingham Palace sitting beside a specially encrypted phone awaiting for word from the hospital on whether the baby has been born.
Checking other top stories this morning at 53 minutes past. The U.S. military is trying to figure out how to recover four bombs that were jettisoned near the Great Barrier Reef off Australia. Two marine planes dropped the bombs because they didn't have enough fuel to land with the bombs on board. Two of the bombs were non-explosive and the other two were disarmed before they were dropped. The pilots were careful to drop the loads away from the reef which is home to nearly 1,500 species of fish.
Wal-Mart is describing a Washington, D.C. bill that requires retailers to pay a living wage in the city, quote, "arbitrary and discriminatory".
One of the co-sponsors of the bill explained to me the reasoning behind that bill moments ago.
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VINCENT ORANGE (D), WASHINGTON, DC CITY COUNCIL: The District of Columbia offers a larger more concentrated consumer base with disposable income. And that's the reason why other retailers are knocking on our doors and would like to come in. But we cannot have them pay poverty wages and have the taxpayers of the District of Columbia pick up social costs. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Councilman Orange says he wants Wal-Mart to pay $12.50 per hour. The minimum wage in Washington, D.C. hovers around $8.25. The bill is now on the mayor's desk. He could veto it. We won't know for a few weeks though.
Pope Francis is on his way to Brazil for the first international trip of his papacy. As the first Latin-American pope, he will be visiting the Latin American country with the world's largest Catholic population about 191 million faithful. An historic trip, no question, but it's also presenting a few challenges including security.
CNN's Miguel Marquez is in Rio de Janeiro. Good morning Miguel.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning there Carol. Yes, this is part carnival, part presidential election, part rock concert. They are testing the sound stage here on Copacabana where a million pilgrims are expected to gather for a mass on Thursday by the pope. The main mass on Sunday will be 2.5 million perhaps they're expecting, perhaps even more than that showing up outside of Rio -- a huge logistical effort by the city here.
The mayor is saying it is the biggest, the most complex event that they have ever put on. There are tens of thousands of military. The Brazilian military has taken over security for this event because a lot of protests are planned. As many as six protests reported.
The Pope now in the air; we expect protests to greet him when he gets here. We will see how the day unfolds from there. It is going to be an interesting few days for the Pope. He has a lot on his schedule while here. And will make himself as available to people across Rio as possible -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well, I know he is there for World Youth Day. What do you think his message will be?
MARQUEZ: Well, the message is to ask the youth of the world to go out and do good deeds, essentially. They want everybody here to be spokespersons for the church out in the world. And that's the big push that they are making.
Clearly the church here in Brazil has shrunk even though there are more Catholics here than any other country. It used to be 92 percent Catholic; now, it's somewhere under a third of the country is Catholic. Evangelical churches have taken over more.
So they want to capture sort of the youth vote. They want young people engaged in the church and going out and evangelizing and taking up the cause for the church outside of this event -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Miguel Marquez, reporting live from Rio de Janeiro this morning. Thank you.
That's it for me. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Carol Costello. CNN NEWSROOM continues after a break.
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