Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Baby Cambridge Named George; What Drives Anthony Weiner And Huma Abedin To Keep On In Mayoral Race?; Update On Whitey Bulger Trial; New Home Sales Jumped To Five-Year High In June

Aired July 24, 2013 - 15:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Ah, cue the music. Baby Cambridge stole many hearts before the world even knew his name.

But now we can put a name to the little face that we saw just about this time yesterday, George Alexander Louis, to be known as His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge.

Christiane Amanpour, our CNN chief international correspondent, is live for us in London in Trafalgar Square.

And, Christiane, we know this is the first prince of Cambridge in more than 100 years. The last was a George. It was Albert who then became George VI, the queen's father.

Give me more historic context here.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, sometime in the next century, perhaps there'll be a George VII reigning over this land.

I'm here in Trafalgar Square where, obviously, this is where all the fountains turned blue the night the baby was born. It's also dotted with lots of statues, including George IV, who wasn't that remarkable; George III, his predecessor, "Mad King George," who lost the colonies, which became America; and George VI, as you've been saying, who is this baby's great-great-great grandfather, was the subject of the film that everybody in America knows, which was "The King's Speech.

So the question is, I don't know why it's Alexander. I can only assume, but I could be entirely wrong, that -- Prince Philip is Greek, his great grandfather and maybe it's for Alexander the Great. Who knows?

And Louis, Louis is important to this family. As you know, Prince William's name is also Louis, the last of his four Christian names. And Louis Mountbatten, Lord Louis Mountbatten was a favorite uncle of Prince Charles, the last viceroy of India, and a very prominent member of the royal family. He was assassinated by an IRA bomb back in the late '70s.

BALDWIN: So names aside for a moment, what is the young couple up to? Because we saw the car. We saw them leave St. Mary's yesterday. They went to Kensington Palace, but now they are off yet again.

AMANPOUR: Brooke, I'm going to say you really don't expect me to answer that. I know you don't because I have absolutely no idea. None whatsoever.

All I know is what the palace has said. And that is they want to spend some alone time.

BALDWIN: They are apparently spending alone time at the Middletons' home in -- I believe you say Bucklebury. Bucklebury is the parents' home in the country.

AMANPOUR: There you go. You say it better than I do, yes.

BALDWIN: Christiane Amanpour ...

AMANPOUR: That's right, Kate's parents, indeed.

BALDWIN: Thank you. Enjoy the blue fountains in Trafalgar Square. We appreciate it very much.

From royal baby we go to back here at home, and the big story that's been percolating, Anthony Weiner and his news. You know the story.

2011, remember, he resigned from Congress amid that sexting scandal two years ago. Again, fighting calls to step down.

Weiner is trying to make a political comeback by running for mayor of New York City, but it turns out these inappropriate pictures and the texts from Weiner did not end when he left Congress. He kept sexting for another year.

So now he's battling to take the spotlight off of his personal problems, focus it on the issues that matter to the people of New York City, even as one of his opponents and two big New York newspapers call on him to quit the race.

Then you have his wife, Huma Abedin, standing by him. Abedin is known to be intensely private. but she steps out in the September issue of "Harper's Bazaar" to explain her decision to hit the campaign trail with her husband.

This is part of the article. Quote, "While he's the same public servant who wants what's best for the people he represents, he's now something else, a better man. New Yorkers will have to decide for themselves whether or not to give him a second chance."

She goes on. "I had to make that same decision for myself, for my son, for our family. And I know in my heart that I made the right one."

Chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash, she covered his resignation once upon a time. She's back on the beat, back in New York for us on this one.

Also Simone Bienne is a relationship expert joining us from Los Angeles. So, ladies, welcome.

Dana Bash, I go to you first because I know Anthony Weiner is out and about. Our cameras caught up with him today, saying this isn't about me, this is about the economy, this is about education.

Clearly he's trying to keep the focus, "trying," the operative word, to keep the focus on the issues. How is that working?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We'll see. He hasn't had any public events yet. I'm currently at Case University in the downtown part of Manhattan, and he is going to have an event here on housing.

Later tonight he's going to go to another borough, the Bronx, to talk about education, so he's very much trying to keep his public schedule as if nothing ever happened yesterday, as if TheDirty.com -- you can't make this up, TheDirty.com -- published these photographs of him and these sexts that he had exchanges with, a 22-year-old woman, apparently, a year ago, a year after he resigned from Congress.

But in his comments to CNN and other reporters who caught up with him right outside of his house this morning, he not only talked about the issues and looking forward, he also said the citizens will decide.

Translation, he's not going anywhere. He's staying on the ballot. He's staying in this race. And I have not heard anything to counter that from anybody who's close to him.

BALDWIN: Dana, I want to come back to you on the polls.

But, Simone, based upon -- listen, we don't know what happens behind closed doors. We're not in on their -- presumably their therapy sessions.

But based upon what he know, based upon what we've heard, some of us, on The Dirty, how do you describe Weiner's behavior?

SIMONE BIENNE, RELATIONSHIP EXPERT: It's despicable, actually. In the sense that this isn't a college kid, this is a 48-year-old man who clearly needs his ego stroked by getting the attention of young women.

But what's very interesting is how he chose to act out wasn't in a relational sense. So this could be an indication that he has some kind of intimacy disorder. It could be that he is just completely narcissistic.

He sees his role as a politician, well, this is what men do. This is what politicians do. He could be addicted to the thrill of the power and the thrill-seeking. I mean, who knows? It would be fascinating to be part of their therapy sessions.

But I'm very interested, Brooke, in her role as well, standing by her man, because I think all three of us women, if we were having a cocktail right now, we would be discussing this thinking, what's going on? BALDWIN: And a lot of people are saying, how can she stand by her man? A lot of people, perhaps, see a sliver of themselves in Huma Abedin.

How does one, how does a wife in a situation like this -- and, again, you know, she reiterated in front of all those cameras yesterday, we decided together to have him run for mayor, we are putting this behind us, I have forgiven him.

Describe the process for someone like her.

BIENNE: I think because she obviously works in politics herself, she has power in the White House, so she could be politically motivated.

Obviously, she worked for Hillary Clinton. There could be an incentive there. We saw the success of Hillary Clinton's career.

So she could be fiercely ambitious. And if he succeeds, then in some senses she succeeds. If he doesn't succeed, then this will all be for nothing.

But it could also be part of her cultural expectations of what a wife must do. And, look, we all know that women like to take care of men. Potentially, women can rescue the damaged guy. This could be a good fit for her.

But, again, as you say, Brooke, if only we were in on those therapy sessions.

BALDWIN: Well, we're not. And, you know, listen, I wish them the best.

BASH: Thank goodness for that.

BALDWIN: Thank goodness for that. You took the words out of my mouth, Dana Bash.

But let's talk about the race because the numbers, at least the polls that I've seen, you know, before this whole thing broke, you know, indicate that a lot of New Yorkers support Anthony Weiner.

BASH: A lot more than maybe people on the outside would have thought initially, but the thing to keep in mind about this mayor's race, it is a multicandidate race. And the way it works is that if they don't get a certain level of support, then there's a runoff.

So, you know, Anthony Weiner was basically running for the runoff, like all of the candidates are here. And I've talked to some sort of Democratic power brokers here in the city as I've been here, and, you know, they made the case that some of those -- his opponents were actually going easy on him so far. And the reason is because they wanted to run against him in the runoff because they thought that would be the easiest way to win and head to Gracie Mansion.

The other thing to keep in mind is that some of the polls that showed him doing OK, considering, were not of likely voters, but of sort of general voters. And there's a big difference when you look at likely voters and sort of more of the general electorate.

BALDWIN: Dana Bash, Simone Bienne, thank you both, ladies. We appreciate it very much.

Coming up, we're just learning about Trayvon Martin's father, speaking right now on Capitol Hill. We will take you there live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Want to get you straight to Capitol Hill to the father of Trayvon Martin who was shot and killed last February.

This is his father, Tracy Martin. He is speaking at the first meeting, the inaugural meeting of the congressional caucus on black men and boys.

Let's listen.

TRACY MARTIN, TRAYVON MARTIN'S FATHER: First of all, I'd like to thank the members of Congress for having me here today.

It's certainly an honor and a pleasure, not only to me, but to my family as well, to the Martin family, to the Fulton family. This definitely means a lot.

First of all, I would just like to take this time to let everyone know some of the things that they really didn't know about Trayvon.

First of all, when we talk about one of the greatest gifts that a man can receive from a woman, I think that greatest gift would be a son, and just to have your son's life taken away from you when you've molded him in becoming an upstanding citizen of this country is heart wrenching. That's something that you can never get over.

I always say that Trayvon was my hero. He saved my life, and not to be there in his time of need, it's real troublesome not to be able to save my son's life. And to have his name slandered and demonized, I think as a father, I think is real important, and my message to the world is that we won't let this verdict sum up who Trayvon was.

I vow to do everything in my power not to give up the fight for him, not only the fight for Trayvon, but the fight for so many other young black and brown boys of this country.

BALDWIN: Tracy Martin speaking. This is his opening statement, again, to the congressional caucus on black men and boys, speaking about his slain son, Trayvon Martin, right there on Capitol Hill.

Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: It is probably the dirtiest word a mobster can utter. Can you guess? Rat.

And the former right-hand man of James "Whitey" Bulger used it today in court, in reference to his former boss, Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi, back on the stand today.

Flemmi was asked if he liked being called a rat. Flemmi's response, "I don't think anyone likes it. I don't think Mr. Bulger likes it, either."

CNN's Deborah Feyerick has been sitting in this courtroom, listening back and forth, all this testimony, all these weeks.

Tell me, when Steve Flemmi said that, did Bulger react?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know that "Whitey" Bulger gets completely hot under the collar when anybody calls him a rat.

Every time he's had an outburst in court, dropping the "F-bomb," it's always because somebody called him an FBI informant. It's almost as if he's fighting for his legacy.

In his mind, he doesn't believe that he provided the FBI with information, and that's what the defense is trying to show.

But the defense also interestingly enough today, when "The Rifleman" Flemmi was on the stand said, quote, "A rat is someone who scurries around and feeds on other people, isn't it?"

And Flemmi responded, "It was quid pro quo. It was survival." And one of the big issues because of this is that, you know, the fact that they were informing for the FBI, a lot of people think this reign of terror here in south Boston was allowed to go on because of this relationship.

But it was a very sick relationship, and when the see the body language between the two men, I'm pretty sure that when it comes to "Whitey" Bulger hate is an underestimation of what he feels for Stephen Flemmi.

BALDWIN: So from the "F-bomb" being dropped in court to a talk of rats, to pretty gruesome testimony, too.

FEYERICK: Yeah. There's a lot of gruesome testimony, and that's what this is all about. For the families who sit in that court, day in and day out, listening to the horrendous details of how the loved ones were murdered, this is very, very real for them.

And there was the brother of this beautiful 26-year-old woman, Debbie Davis, who was in court, and I asked him today, I said, you know, look, you hear how they strangled -- how Bulger strangled her allegedly with his bare hands all the way down the stairs to the basement, you hear how they basically folded her into this fetal position and then tied her in a tarp and dumped her body.

You know, and I said, looking at this two men, they were the last two men to see your sister alive, and you know, he was really -- it's so real to him, and that's why this trial is so important to all the families who are sitting in that court and putting themselves through this horrific testimony. BALDWIN: Day in and day out.

Deborah Feyerick for us in Boston, Deborah, thank you.

A possible plea deal is being discussed in this case of Ariel Castro. The Ohio man is facing 977 charges, including kidnapping and rape.

Castro appeared in court today less than two weeks before the trial is at the time to begin. His attorneys and prosecutors acknowledge they are talking about a plea deal.

Castro is charged with holding three women in his home for a decade. If the case goes to trial, all these women, Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight, and Gina DeJesus, would likely have to face Castro in court.

Coming up next, a crocodile, a trainer, and a live performance, ladies and gentlemen, need I say more? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: On the very day that President Obama challenged Republicans to help inject economic life into the middle class, new home sales jumped to a five-year high in June.

Christine Romans looks at the vastly improving picture on housing.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, the housing recovery kicked into high gear this spring. That's the report from real estate tracker, Zillow.

Like politics, all real estate is local, and that's key here. Zillow says the strength is widespread. Why? Mortgage rates are low, home prices were super cheap in some bubble areas like Phoenix and Las Vegas, and there aren't a lot of homes for sale.

Zillow expects home values to rise another five percent over the next 12 months nationwide, and by 10 percent or more in the five markets here.

Now investors and cash buys are big players, but first-time homebuyers are only 30 percent of home sales. Traditionally they buy about 40 percent of homes. There is some worry that young families and newly married couples are missing out on the housing recovery.

The National Association of Realtors says mortgage lending is still tight and first-timers are having trouble finding the house they want in their price range.

Another big question now, will rising mortgage rates cool the enthusiasm for real estate? The 30-year-fixed-rate mortgage, now 4.37 percent. That's up one full percentage point in a year, but it is still well below the average for mortgage rates post-World War II, about 6.5 percent.

So if you already own your own home, it is still a good time to refinance the mortgage before rates move higher. Brooke?

BALDWIN: Christine, thank you.

Before I let you go, some of the biggest stories in a flash, we call it "Rapid Fire." Roll it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN (voice-over): Beginning with this, look at these pictures here, dramatic new footage, this is the 5.9 quake that hit northwest China this week. You see people going about their day, ground starts to rumble. People are running in the streets. They're getting in their cares.

Chinese state media reported at least 89 people are dead, five missing, and nearly 600 injured.

Also some new video I want to show you here. This was the Southwest Airlines jet crash landing at New York's LaGuardia Airport. This was Monday night.

So the NTSB says the jet's gear collapsed backwards into the plane's body, sending sparks and flames shooting. You can see the smoke coming from that aircraft.

The Boeing 737 skidded more than 2,000 feet before stopping. Nine people suffered minor injuries. NTSB investigating.

And now to this, no matter how many times you stick your head in a crocodile's mouth, not a good idea because the jaws -- the jaws will get you, the trainer in Thailand lucky he did not become this crocodile's lunch.

The trainer has been doing this stunt for years and years. I guess the stunt is sticking the head in the crocodile's mouth. I don't know really know. Animal got spooked. You see what happened.

His face required about 30 stitches, but I'm happy to tell you he's already back at work. No thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

And on that, I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll be back here tomorrow. See you then.

Now, John Berman and "THE LEAD."