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Weiner's New Sexting Scandal; Ohio Kidnapping Suspect in Court; Ryan Braun Loses Support

Aired July 24, 2013 - 09:30   ET

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

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: CNN also understands from a official here, part of the problem on Monday when the pope's car got stuck in traffic it was the pope himself directing drivers not to avoid the crowds, that the risk level for the pope's trip now raised from medium security, which federal officials here had decided on, to heightened security.

And if you look at those pictures now in Aparecida, you can already a difference. One, there were a lot more uniformed police along the side of that route. Previously they had tons of volunteers here in town to help control the crowds, trying to get at the Pope.

Also you can see his -- the modified Pope mobile just surrounded by the number of personal security. I counted 12 to 15 personal security behind him.

You'll also see more cars in the motorcade, bringing the Pope along in every leg of his journey now. We understand that federal police are now taking -- federal authorities are now taking a bigger part, if not taking over security for the Pope and moving him, getting him point A to point B all in one.

What we understand on Monday is it wasn't so much as a wrong turn it's been decided but that the 12 lanes of traffic he was in and somehow he went over to the wrong side of the lane and ended up in the public area. And that's where things started to go awry -- Carol?

COSTELLO: All right. Miguel Marquez, so we hope for the best. The Pope is going to hold a mass later today. You're going to be covering that, of course, we'll get back to you.

Miguel Marquez live in Rio De Janeiro this morning.

NEWSROOM will continue after a quick break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Two years after a tawdry sexting scandal chased him from Congress, Anthony Weiner is begging for forgiveness again. Turns out Weiner continued to send lewd messages and photos to at least one woman even after he was forced to resign from Congress.

What may be remarkable in all of this is the vocal support he's now getting from his wife. Two years ago, the long-time aide to Hillary Clinton stood by him. She was mostly silent as Weiner fessed up. Now Huma is speaking out for her husband and his bid to become New York City's mayor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUMA ABEDIN, ANTHONY WEINER'S WIFE: It was not an easy choice. In any way, but I made the decision that it was worth staying in this marriage. That was a decision I made for me, for our son, and for our family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: New Yorkers have a lusty appetite for so-called chutzpa but some opinionmakers say Weiner has stepped over the line. The opinion page of the "New York Daily News" says, "A proven liar must not be mayor." It goes on to say Weiner is not fit to lead America's premiere city.

And a "The New York Times" editorial board is equally unforgiving, quote, "It's up to Mr. Weiner if he wants to keep running to count on voters to forgive and forget, and hand him the keys to city hall. But he has already disqualified himself.

CNN's Alina Cho is in New York with more.

Good morning, Alina.

ALINA CHO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning to you. All you have to look -- do is look at the cover of "The New York Post" today to know that this is not a good day for Anthony Weiner.

Take a look at the headline, "Meet Carlos Danger." Of course the reference to the screen name that Weiner allegedly used to send those lewd messages and photos to a 22-year-old woman. Meanwhile on the streets of New York this morning, we were hard pressed to find anyone who said they would vote for Anthony Weiner and nearly everyone we talked to said he should resign.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He should definitely drop out.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: So you think he should resign?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No question. He should resign. It's enough already. I agree with the other candidates that want him to resign. He should resign. At some point it just becomes absurd. And I don't think anyone is going to take him seriously.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How can you repeatedly do this thing? And like, he has no shame. He's like, I'm still running for mayor after this all. And I just wonder about his wife.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think he should be running in the first place. I think it's a waste of his time. I think it makes New York look bad. And I really don't think he's the type of candidate that should even be in the race.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: Of course for now, Anthony Weiner is staying in the race for mayor, in fact, he is planning to hold a mayoral forum tonight on health care, education and housing. Of course his wife Huma has said, I love him, I have forgiven him. I believe him.

But, Carol, the big question is will voters believe in him now? And one interesting to thing to look to going forward, of course, will be the polls. As you well know, he leads one major poll, the Quinnipiac Poll but it will be interesting to see what the numbers look like in the coming weeks when the next polls come out.

COSTELLO: It will be interesting to see what that forum is like tonight, actually.

CHO: You're right.

COSTELLO: Alina Cho --

CHO: We'll be watching that closely today.

COSTELLO: Yes, we will. Alina Cho, thanks so much.

Joining me now to talk about all of this, Hiram College political science professor Jason Johnson, CNN's political commentator Margaret Hoover and clinical psychologist Jeff Gardere.

Welcome to all of you.

JASON JOHNSON, HIRAM COLLEGE POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR: Good morning.

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning, Carol.

JEFF GARDERE, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Thank you.

COSTELLO: OK. Jeff, I'm going to start with you because Anthony Weiner, once the initial scandal is uncovered resigns from Congress, says he's done with that. Poses on the cover of "People" magazine not long after that with his wife and his little baby, and says, we're into counseling, we're getting better.

But during that very time when he posed for "People" magazine he was sexting new pictures with another woman. Like what kind of malady does he have?

GARDERE: Well, certainly he has a sexual compulsion. This is a person who has an addiction to sex. And actually all of this is not surprising to me. People relapse all the time who have these thoughts of addictions and compulsions. And he said yesterday in the press conference that this behavior was behind him.

He's wrong. This behavior is with him. And will always stay with him and that's why he needs to be in recovery. And needs to be in therapy, marriage counseling and perhaps in a 12-step program where he's getting group counseling, supportive counseling to help control his compulsion.

COSTELLO: So it's been less than a year since he stopped sexting. Right? I think I got that right. So if he is voted in as New York City mayor, will he be cured? Can you cure yourself of something like that in such a short period of time?

GARDERE: There is no cure for addiction. There is recovery where you can be clean and sober from that kind of behavior and if he does become mayor, he certainly will have to stay in treatment because the stress of that kind of a position, political position, may throw him back into relapse.

And I think he would do a lot of people good, people who have addictions, by leading from in front and saying, you know what, I have a psychological problem, not a moral problem, a psychological problem. I need help. I need treatment and I'm going to stay in treatment.

COSTELLO: OK. So Margaret, now on to you. And I want to talk about Huma. Because I'm married. And I really love my husband. You're married. And you really, really love your husband. But can you envision standing beside him, knowing what Jeff just said? Because I'm sure she knows that, too. And saying I love him, I think he's a better man, he's cure, let's go.

HOOVER: Look, I think we have to take Huma at her word. I mean, what she did yesterday -- not my joke, Chris Cuomo's -- Huma-nized him, right? I mean, she really did. Dana bear as her own choice.

She was clear, too, about the chronology. I mean, she said the "People" magazine photo shoots were after this August 2012 incident. So apparently she's in the know. And we have to take her word for it. And she has decided not unlike her protege Hillary Clinton that her husband is going to be the best mayor of New York, and she's going to stand by him and support him.

And look, to the extent, remember, Carol, the healing needs to be in the top two of the Democratic primary runoff. If he is in the top two he will be in the runoff for mayor. That's it. That's all we need to do. And he may very well get there because she saved his campaign yesterday.

COSTELLO: So what more does she need to do? I mean, do you think she'll keep talking? Because in my mind she has to. I mean, we're just played a whole bunch of sound bites from New Yorkers who's saying he should drop out.

HOOVER: You certainly did. But there are plenty of people -- look, Carol, there's another guy who's running for city comptroller who, by the way, has arguably created a much -- committed a much harder offense, Eliot Spitzer, which we all know about.

So, I mean, New Yorkers are pretty forgiving people. And he makes this race now about his mayorship and not about his own vulnerabilities. This may very well blow by. There's 45 fays until the Democratic runoff, this could be water under the bridge by then. COSTELLO: OK, so Jason Johnson, I just wanted you to know, I mean, this has all become such a national joke, the blog site Slate has a Carlos Danger name generator. You put your name in and it comes out with a Carlos danger type of name.

So, Jason, in case you're wondering we put your name in. It translates to Julio Adventure. And I -- got nothing -- it just becomes such a joke and do you want -- it's like and then -- I can't even put into words. It's just shocking.

JOHNSON: I can only imagine what my Twitter feed looks like right now. I have to be honest with you. You know, crazier things have happened. I mean, Mark Sanford. Mark Sanford just won, he cheated on his wife and got on national television a couple of years ago and said, I fell in love with another woman.

I mean, you know, we have an amazing elasticity in American politics, in as much as people complain about scandal, scandals still make them pay attention to things. And if Anthony Weiner stays focused, he could end up in the top two. It wouldn't shock me if he ended up making a runoff as embarrassing as this is.

COSTELLO: Is this good for the country? I mean --

JOHNSON: You know, I don't know if good is actually the word. But I think it's realistic. It I mean, it is very fitting that Huma's mentor is Hillary Clinton. Because in a lot of ways she established this. I mean, Hillary Clinton 20, 25 years ago was saying, yes, I know my husband, you know, was probably not the best guy in the world but these other women are worse.

And then she set the precedent for standing by your man no matter what kind of a low-life cheating, you know, guy he turns out to be. And so she's continuing that trend.

I feel bad for any woman who's in the position of having to defend her husband for being such a low-life. But, you know, we've come to accept it. And, you know, McGreevey had a bit of a comeback, Spitzer having a bit of -- Sanford, it happens. And I think it's possible here, too.

COSTELLO: All right. Jason Johnson, Margaret Hoover, Jeff Gardere, thanks so much for the interesting conversation this morning.

GARDERE: Pleasure.

HOOVER: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: You're welcome.

Alex Rodriguez has missed the entire baseball season so far with an injury. Now a new report suggests the Yankees slugger may never, ever again play baseball. And not because he's hurt.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's 48 minutes past the hour, time to check our "Top Stories".

The Massachusetts state police officer who leaked internal photos of the suspected Boston bomber's capture is now on desk duty. Sergeant Shawn Murphy is also no longer a police photographer, a spokesman said. Murphy says he gave the photos to "Boston" magazine because he was furious over how the Boston bombing suspect was portrayed on the cover of "Rolling Stone".

Two teenagers recovering this morning after they fell several hundred feet while hiking Georgia. It happened at the popular Stone Mountain Park. Police say the teenagers were in a restricted area. But one of the boy's dads told CNN affiliate WSB that signs identifying the area as off limits had been taken down.

In Money News, Starbucks jumping on the Greek yogurt band wagon. The coffee giant is partnering with Dannon to create a line of Greek yogurt parfaits that it will sell in its coffee shop starting next spring. A grocery store version is set to be rolled out in 2015.

The CEOs of Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International will be on Capitol Hill today, their testimony comes as members of Congress are pushing a Cruise Ship Passenger Protection Act. The bill would create a hot line for customer complaints and would make it easier to get information about alleged on-board crimes. It would also guarantee passengers a clear summary of their rights.

The man accused of kidnapping and raping three women for nearly a decade was back in court this morning. Ariel Castro has pleaded not guilty. His trial is set to start in just two weeks. But today his attorneys got into a heated debate with the prosecution over access to the evidence against him.

CNN's Martin Savidge is in Cleveland to tell us more. Good morning Martin.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Carol. Yes as you say this is kind of a pre-trial meeting that the judge wanted to basically see how both sides were doing as they prepare to go to trial. You might call it a kind of judicial housekeeping here.

But things did get heated because the defense is now arguing that, look we are less than two weeks away from trial. The jury summons have already gone out and yet they say there is a significant amount of discovery that they need in order to defend their client that they claim that the county right now is withholding.

So there was back and forth in the courtroom. The judge didn't want to hear any speeches but did say "Look, it is up to the prosecution to get that evidence to the defense."

A couple of things to point out to you that were interesting just being in that courtroom is that fact that Ariel Castro is there, not always do defendants show up at these kind of proceedings. But the judge has basically said yes, he's got to be at every one of these court proceedings. That's what the judge wants. Also, the county prosecutor Tim McGinty himself is the one who is arguing on the part of the county prosecutor's office. Usually goes to somebody a little lesser down. So that's interesting and it shows the high-profile nature of this case. What many are looking at is the calendar, August 5th. The trial date and many people in Cleveland cannot believe that the three young women who were rescued would have to relive the horrors on the witness stand.

COSTELLO: God.

SAVIDGE: They believe there is going to be a settlement of some sort but it hasn't happened yet Carol. And as I say, time is ticking down. It would be a huge trial here.

COSTELLO: I know you're there for the duration. Martin Savidge, many thanks. Live from Cleveland this morning.

Baseball star Ryan Braun has admitted to making some mistakes. Now those mistakes are going to cost him right in the wallet. He's also losing the support of his fellow players in Major League Baseball.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: He's sitting out the rest of the season for violating baseball's drug policy. Now Ryan Braun is losing support not only from his sponsors but from his fellow Major League Baseball players. Andy Scholes is here with this morning's "Bleacher Report."

ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: And good morning Carol. The fallout continues for Ryan Braun after his suspension for using performance enhancing drug. The popular convenience store Quick Trip has dropped Braun as a spokesperson. And the Dodgers Matt Kent thinks Braun should lose much, much, much more.

Kent came in second to Braun in 2011 MVP voting and the Dodger's slugger says the award should be taken away from Braun since he used PEDs that season. Now other players have also sounded off on Braun's suspension. The Tigers Max Scherzer, who is 14-1 this season, said "I'm glad he got caught. He went out of his way to try to bring people down and cover up his lies. And now he looks like Lance Armstrong."

All right. Alex Rodriguez meanwhile continues to wait for his suspension. And rumors are it could be worse than what Braun received. According to CBS, A-Rod could get a lifetime ban from baseball. That punishment is usually reserved for third-time offenders. "USA Today" is reporting that A-Rod, unlike Braun, has no interest in negotiating a plea deal and he will appeal any suspension he receives.

All right. A couple of weeks ago we told you about the heartwarming story of 12-year-old Grant Reid. He's a huge Buckeyes fan who named his Cancer Michigan because he wanted to beat it. And after finishing chemotherapy Grant did in fact beat Michigan and now he scored tickets to see his Buckeyes try to do the same thing this season.

Even though he roots for Ohio State, Wolverines head coach Brady Hoak invited Grant and his entire family to the Ohio State-Michigan game this fall in Ann Arbor. After he received the invitation, Grant's dad said it's harder to dislike Michigan now but they're still going to have no problem rooting for the Buckeyes.

COSTELLO: Oh yes it's in your blood. You can't help it.

SCHOLES: Yes it got to root for the Buckeyes in that case.

All right. We see some cool backyard pool shots Carol. But this one has got to be the best. Check it out. Back flip with the feet and he banks it in. Absolutely incredible. I have always been jealous sitting out of the pool watching all of these guys do the back flips off the board Carol because I was never fortunate enough to learn how to do that.

COSTELLO: Me neither, the water always went up my nose. It was painful. That's awesome.

SCHOLES: Yes I go for the cannonball. That's all I was good for.

COSTELLO: And effective in certain circumstances. Andy Scholes thanks so much.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Happening now in the NEWSROOM. The Pope in front of huge crowds right now at a mass in Brazil after security there is raised to high risk levels. Can they keep the Pope safe?

Plus this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY WEINER, MAYORAL CANDIDATE, NEW YORK CITY: there is no question what I did was wrong. This behavior is behind me. I've apologized to my wife.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: A new scandal and a mayor's run this morning threatened, by his side the good wife.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUMA ABEDIN, WIFE OF ANTHONY WEINER: I love him. I have forgiven him. I believe in him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Ahead, the politics and resurrection and question. Can Anthony Weiner be forgiven again? And the royal baby wakes up in his very own crib and meets his great granny for the first time. We'll have all the details in the most over-exposed three-day-old in the world.

CNN NEWSROOM starts now.