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Amazon Hiring; Hillary Clinton: The Miniseries; Weiner Down in the Polls But Not Giving Up; Seeing Red Over Red Light Ticket
Aired July 30, 2013 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, I'm Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining us.
Checking our "Top Stories" it's 32 minutes past the hour. A fire official says equipment failure and human error may have caused last night's terrifying explosions at a Florida propane tank. Eight workers suffered injuries when propane tank cylinders exploded. The fire is now out, the cause still under investigation.
Maybe a big break in the rash of vandalism incidents hitting D.C. monuments -- a 58 woman is -- a 58-year-old woman rather is now charged with defacing the National Cathedral with splashes of green paint. Tian Jiamel was carrying a can of paint when she was placed under arrest. Splotches of green paint have also been found at the Lincoln Memorial and a statue at the Smithsonian Castle.
Hawaii has survived a brush with Flossie. Now a tropical depression, Flossie whipped the island chain with torrential rain, gusty winds and rough surf. Schools were closed, and residents and vacationers had to hunker down. And there were also scattered power outages. Flossie is expected to push on past the state today.
Amazon is hiring. The company has announced plans to hire 7,000 workers nationwide; 5,000 of them in warehouses, 2,000 of them at customer service.
CNN's Maggie Lake is here. And I know you just talked to an Amazon executive, Dave Clark and they're going to pay above the minimum wage. Tell us about it.
MAGGIE LAKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's news we don't usually hear, isn't it, Carol? They are going to pay above the minimum wage. And part of this is clearly when you're a company like Amazon and you are so focused on customer service you need employees who are happy and are going to stick around. And Amazon actually has a pretty high turnover rate, one of the highest in the "Fortune 500". So they're clearly looking to address that.
But listen, the company executives are also well aware of the debate, the larger debate we're having in this country about the quality of jobs that are being created. We are seeing jobs increased but a lot of them are out there sort of lower level in the service sector. Jobs that are really hard to support a family on. And I put that to David Clark who was in Chattanooga, Tennessee where one of these fulfillment centers is being opened. The President is going there later today. And I asked him about the quality of these jobs. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CLARK, AMAZON'S V.P. WORLDWIDE OPERATIONS & CUSTOMER SERVICE: We think these are great jobs. Now these jobs pay typically 30 percent more than a traditional retail job. They're full-time jobs. They start with benefits on day one. Our employees are stock owners and participate in stock programs for the companies. We have 401(k)s that are matched by the company.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAKE: And Carol, the other thing they're talking about is the fact that they have a program called career choice, where they pay for their employees to go back to school. Hopefully skills that will help them move up the ladder at Amazon, but if not they can take it to another job to sort of fulfill themselves. So they are hoping they can keep employees working at Amazon, attract the right kind of employees but also no doubt that's something that the President is going to touch on, that sort of educating, training up the workforce to hopefully move on to a better job.
COSTELLO: So Maggie why can a company like Amazon you know gladly pay their workers above the minimum wage while the owners of other companies say we just can't afford it.
LAKE: Well it depends on the size of the company and how deep their pockets are and interestingly, Carol, Amazon is one of these in an unusual position where they operate on razor thin profit margins, they pump all of the money that they make and they make a lot of it, pump it back into the company, invest it back into the company and they get away with it.
A lot of investors really believe in the vision of Jeff Bezos and so they continue to buy the stocks and stay committed to the company even though they continue to pour all their money back in.
Not always the case when it comes to other companies, shareholders demand that they get some of that money. I mean if you're a small business owner obviously you're not in the same position, so Amazon able to do right now what a lot of other companies can't do, but a lot of officials and a lot of employees wish they would.
COSTELLO: All right Maggie Lake reporting for us. Many thanks.
Coming up in the NEWSROOM, Hillary Clinton is getting the Hollywood treatment. And yes, that's Diane Lane. She may be playing -- actually she's going to play Hillary Clinton in a miniseries. We'll tell you all about it, next.
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COSTELLO: It has been a jam-packed week for Hillary Clinton and it's only Tuesday. Just one day after her lunch with President Obama, the former Secretary of State sat down for breakfast this morning with Joe Biden. The two potential rivals for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination are dining at the Vice President's official residence, the Naval Observatory in Washington. We'll keep you posted.
Oh and did I mention there's going to be a miniseries coming out about Hillary Clinton and that the actress Diane Lane is now taking on the role of the former First Lady for the upcoming NBC miniseries?
CNN's Jake Tapper has more for you.
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JAKE TAPPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Clinton, a name in the national spotlight since as long as any 25-year-old can remember. His campaign, his campaign, his scandal, her campaign, her cabinet appointment, and well, you get the idea.
And now as the glare of 2016 lays in wait for Hillary Clinton's possible presidential journey, Hollywood is seeking to capitalize on it all. NBC announced over the weekend that it will produce a four- hour miniseries based on the former first lady and the role of Rodham will go to Diane Lane. Her most recent role was as Superman's earth mom in "Man of Steel" this summer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mrs. Kent, I'm Lois Lane from "The Daily Planet".
TAPPER: Perhaps more relevant she played a secret service agent looking into a murder at the White House in the 1997 Wesley Snipes thriller "Murder at 1600".
DIANE LANE, ACTRESS: The president and the first lady, they were in the White House.
TAPPER: This latest project will return Lane to that setting with a different kind of scandal afoot, the one involving the President and Monica Lewinsky. NBC says the miniseries will begin at that period and time and proceed through today.
BRIAN STEINBERG, SENIOR TV EDITOR, VARIETY MAGAZINE: She's a compelling figure, she's polarizing sometimes and she has been in the public eyes for years making controversial decisions.
TAPPER: Lane is far from the first to portray HRC.
EMMA THOMPSON, ACTESS: Jack could also be a great man.
TAPPER: Emma Thompson played a Hillary-like character in the film version of "Primary Colors". A fictionalized story based on the Clintons.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've had some tough times with our marriage, but we worked them out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love your outfit.
TAPPER: "Saturday Night Live" had Amy Poehler her facing her character head-on in 2008.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ha, ha.
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Do I really laugh like that.
TAPPER: And more recently Sigourney Weaver stepped into her pants suits to play a strikingly familiar character in the 2012 series "Political Animals".
SIGOURNEY WEAVER, ACTRESS: Seeing as I'm the nation's leading diplomat.
TAPPER: Weaver's character was divorced and of course as we know, the real Clintons remain together and at least one of them has given thought to who could best portray them in the movies. Bill Clinton sat down with Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein on CNN last year.
HARVEY WEINSTEIN, PRODUCER: If I were to make a movie about your life, who would you want to play you, Mr. President?
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Gosh, I don't know. I don't know, I would trust your judgment more than mine on that.
WEINSTEIN: Brad Pitt, George Clooney?
B. CLINTON: Pretty good-looking, but you know you could put bulbous things on his nose. You could do make up with them.
WEINSTEIN: And Hillary? Who would you play Hillary in this movie?
B. CLINTON: Meryl Streep?
STEINBERG: Those are very challenging project for any actor or actress to play this kind of you know larger-than-life personality who's had a big hand in running the country and the world.
TAPPER: There are of course any number of potential problems in producing a film about a character who in real life may be trying to cast herself as Commander-in-Chief. Conservatives are suspicious that this NBC miniseries will be a puff piece, one that ultimately observes as an infomercial for the Clinton candidacy. NBC insists it will be quote, "Even-handed in terms of criticism and praise when it comes to dealing with Clinton and her work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: And we should also note that CNN Films is planning a documentary project on Hillary by academy award winning producer Charles Ferguson and since it's a documentary, of course, the role of Hillary Clinton will be played by Hillary Clinton.
Jake Tapper, CNN, Washington.
COSTELLO: OK. Some things the Clintons are reportedly running from -- that would be the Anthony Weiner sexting scandal. But the hits keep on coming. Sydney Leathers appeared on Howard Stern this morning. We'll let you hear what she said, next.
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COSTELLO: Anthony Weiner is way down in the polls, but the woman behind his latest sexting scandal, well she's still very much on the public air waves. In fact she took to the air waves against this morning to tell her story to Howard Stern.
Sydney Leathers said she thought she was in love with Weiner at the time of the sexting. But things fizzled because Weiner was clingy and quote, "like a needy girlfriend".
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SYDNEY LEATHERS, ANTHONY WEINER'S SEXTING PARTNER: There were times he talked multiple times of the day. He was like a needy girlfriend or something --
HWARD STERN, RADIO HOST: Yes.
LEATHERS: -- he was a clingy person. It actually was a turnoff. That's part of why things started to fizzle out because he was clingy with me. He would get pissy with me over, you know, guys complimenting me on Facebook.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Late-night comedians are piling on, too.
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CONAN O'BRIEN, TALK SHOW HOST: Bill Clinton, former president Bill Clinton is reportedly very upset that Anthony Weiner is comparing his sexting scandal to Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky. Clinton is upset, yes. Today Bill Clinton said real men cheat in person. True story.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And it will just keep going on like that. CNN's Rosa Flores is live in New York with more. Good morning.
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. You know, that interview with Sydney Leathers really gives us a timeline of events. She says that she e-mailed Anthony Weiner after his first sexting scandal saying, quote, "I'm disappointed." Well, lo and behold a year later he e-mails her back saying, quote, "I'm really sorry I let you down." Before you knew it, she says, they were sexting several times a day while Huma was out traveling.
Despite all these scandalous details, Weiner remains in the race.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DENISE SAMPSON STEPHENS, NEW YORK VOTER: As a candidate you should have moral values and right now I think that his moral values are shot.
FLORES: Harsh words and even a harsher reality for the embattled mayoral candidate, Anthony Weiner. His poll numbers plummeting from first to fourth in a new Quinnipiac University poll; the survey conducted after a new round of lewd internet chats were revealed.
Take a look, the former congressman's support dropping ten percentage points in just five days from 26 percent to 16 percent.
ANTHONY WEINER, MAYORAL CANDIDATE, NEW YORK: I'm going to leave this to the people of the city of New York to decide. Period, end of conversation --
FLORES: His vow to stay in the race angering the Clintons, a source close to the political power couple tells CNN that her livid with Weiner personally, because they care about Huma. Adding salt to the wound, Democratic candidate for comptroller, Eliot Spitzer, trying to resurrect his own career after his own sex scandal, is turning his back on Weiner.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're not going to vote for Anthony Weiner, can you just say that now? You don't think he should be mayor of New York.
ELIOT SPITZER, FORMER GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK: Fair point. That is correct.
WEINER: I'm interested in what pundits say. I'm interested in what other politicians say, but not that much.
FLORES: Despite all, he continues campaigning across the city and finding supporters at every stop, wooing voters in Queens with a little Mandarin. Making it clear he's fighting for every vote he can get.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FLORES: Anthony Weiner attended a candidate panel earlier today, and he has two more events this evening. And let me tell you something Carol, you know, we've all been looking for Huma Abedin at these events to see if she's an attendant and she has been a no-show so far. But we're keeping an eye out and CNN -- I should also add that at every single one of these events there's lot of people there in attendance, and they always welcome Weiner with applause -- Carol.
COSTELLO: But the polls are terrible for him now. Rosa Flores, thanks so much.
Checking our top stories at 50 minutes past, the sports world mourning the death of former Major League Baseball pitcher, Frank Castillo. Authorities say he drowned in a lake near Phoenix while boating with a friend. Castillo played for teams including the Chicago Cubs, the Boston Red Sox, the Florida Marlins and the Detroit Tigers. He was 44 years old.
An influential government health panel wants heavy smokers screened. It's recommending people who have smoked at least a pack of cigarettes a day for 30 years get annual CT scans to check for lung cancer. Experts say that could save 20,000 lives every year.
Flossie is weakening after slamming Hawaii. It's now a tropical depression. Earlier Flossie whipped the island chain with torrential rain, gusty winds and rough surf. Schools had to be closed. Residents and vacationers had to hunker down. And there were reports of thousands of power outages.
We'll be right back.
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COSTELLO: They look pretty darn tiny here, and they are, but they're going to be big old pandas soon. These pandas, these twin newborn giant pandas were born at the Atlanta Zoo, and they're gaining weight rapidly. One of the cubs has actually tripled his weight in just two weeks to 361 grams. The little brothers -- they were born on July 15th.
They're so pink, aren't they? They don't even look like pandas yet. Anyway, they're the first giant panda twins born in the United States in 25 years.
Did he or didn't he? A Vermont man is adamant he did not run a red light and he's not backing down, and I mean he's not backing down. Jeanne Moos has more.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a ticket for a red light that had a Vermont motorist seeing red.
JASON LAWTON, SHELBURNE POLICE OFFICER: You think I'm being silly?
ROD MACIVER, ARTIST: I think you're being ridiculous.
MOOS: Let's back up a minute. Shelburne Police Officer Jason Lawton was in his cruiser waiting for this light to change when he saw a pickup truck go through the intersection. The officer then followed the pickup for about two miles before pulling it over.
MACIVER: I went through a red light?
LAWTON: Yes.
MACIVER: I did not.
MOOS: Artist Rod MacIver was adamant that he didn't run any light, but he later apologized for his belligerence.
LAWTON: I'm telling you the reason why I stopped you --
MACIVER: Well, I think you're completely out to lunch. What are you doing, smoking pot or something?
LAWTON: Is this how it's going to go?
MACIVER: Yes, absolutely.
LAWTON: Really?
MACIVER: Yes, I want you to charge me for going through a red light.
LAWTON: Do you?
MACIVER: Yes. Miles ago. Miles ago.
MOOS: The officer did ticket him for running the light, and when MacIver filed a complaint, he said he got this e-mail from the officer's superior, Sergeant Allen Fortin: "I reviewed this tape. You were in violation and when you were stopped, you asked (screamed) at the officer, to issue you the ticket, so please feel free to contest the ticket."
MacIver did, but first he asked for the dash cam video.
(on camera): So how hard was it to get hold of that dash cam video? MacIver said it took weeks. He kept having to ask for it over and over, about five phone calls, a couple of e-mails. He had to pay a $45 fee.
(voice-over): When he finally got it, MacIver watched his pickup go through a yellow light before it turned red. A judge dismissed the ticket, but MacIver decided to sue in small claims court for $2,000, about what he estimated all the time he'd spent was worth, and to make a point.
MACIVER: I am driven by their lack of honesty.
MOOS: CNN tried to contact the attorney for the officers but got no response. The officers didn't show up for a court proceeding Friday, waiting in the nearby coffee shop.
The officer who wrote the ticket told the traffic judge that he thought he saw the truck run the light, but admitted the video showed he was wrong.
MACIVER: And he is going to learn a difficult lesson out of this.
MOOS: A lesson taught by a guy who got caught red-handed, not running a red light.
MACIVER: I want you to leave me alone, go and do your job and find somebody who broke the law.
LAWTON: I'll be right back with you.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: Don't mess with someone named MacIver.
Thanks for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello.
CNN NEWSROOM continues after a break.
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