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Iraq Seeks U.S. Help; Flexible Spending Accounts; FAA Changes Rules; Gaye's Family Sues; Jon Lester on World Series and Beards

Aired November 01, 2013 - 09:30   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Iraq needs help, as in military help, from the United States. This comes from Iraq's prime minister. The same man who endorsed America's exit from Iraq. Well, it turns out -- it turns out the American military did keep a tight control over al Qaeda and Iraq needs America's help in doing that again. Senior White House correspondent Brianna Keilar is in Washington with more on this story.

Good morning.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Carol, good morning to you.

I think probably a lot of Americans aren't really aware of what's going on in Iraq at this point. They sort of maybe stopped paying attention after U.S. troops left the country. But it's really become a very dire situation and the White House is certainly very concerned about it.

A couple of years ago, President Obama highlighted as U.S. troops were leaving that they were leaving a stable and self-reliant Iraq. A very different picture now. Very violent. The U.N., Carol, actually says that 7,000 Iraqi civilians have died this year. That is on par with 2008. Violence we haven't seen now for about five years.

And that is really the backdrop where you have Prime Minister Maliki coming here to meet President Obama today. We expect that he will be asking for some military assistance. There is right now some fighter jets that are on order from Iraq to the U.S. U.S. officials telling us those are going to continue. That they're also open, perhaps, to giving more intelligence help to Iraq. But it's a very dire situation. And especially, Carol, when you're looking at bordering Syria and Iran and really the issues with the region, the situation in Iraq is very important in relation to the other flashpoints that we're seeing there in the region. So this is a very big deal today.

COSTELLO: A big deal, but is it likely President Obama will be forthcoming with military help from Iraq?

KEILAR: You know, the U.S. says, Carol, that it is open to certain types of military assistance, not closing the door obviously. You see those fighter jets heading to Iraq that are on order. I think the real concern for a lot of Americans would be, are we talking about American boots on the ground in Iraq? Well, you have Maliki, who actually sort of brokered the deal that meant that U.S. troops were leaving entirely. And certainly there's a lot of war-weariness in the U.S. for that to happen. So I think you're talking more about intelligence, material, military equipment going to Iraq from the U.S.

But there's a lot of criticism as well coming from lawmakers, Carol. They feel like Maliki really needs to step it up. They feel like he has empathized a government dominated by Shiites, that it has excluded Sunnis, and they say that that is a situation that's ripe for al Qaeda and its affiliates to exploit. And this is something that we heard from the White House yesterday, Jay Carney saying. So far it hasn't taken hold, but when you have the Sunnis marginalized, it is sort of -- al Qaeda tries to step in and start a sectarian cycle and take advantage of that. So I think the White House and many lawmakers, Republican and Democrat, want to see that change.

COSTELLO: We'll see. Brianna Keilar reporting live from the White House this morning.

Just six people, six, signed up for Obamacare on the federal insurance exchange on day one. That's according to internal documents provided to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Papers detail meetings after the botched launch of the Obamacare website. CNN's Chris Cuomo asked White House Press Secretary Jay Carney about the initial low signup on CNN's "NEW DAY."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CUOMO, ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": The numbers about early returns of who's signing up with Obamacare are terrible. That's just how it is. They're very low. The real question is, how are you going to handle not getting to critical mass, which is the key to making this affordable Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act, that's the affordable piece is this pool of coverage? What do you do if you don't get the numbers you need?

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, first of all, we are going to get the numbers we need. We believe we're going to get the numbers we need. We have a six-month open enrollment period for that reason. And, look, the numbers that have been cited in these reports are from notes and, by definition, when you have a website that isn't functioning well, you're going to have problems. And we've owned up to that repeatedly. This is a -- nobody is more upset than my boss, the president of the United States, with the fact that the website hasn't been working well. That's why he's made sure that we have, you know, really smart people, extra eyes, extra brains on this problem working 24 hours a day to improve the user experience.

When it comes to low numbers early in the enrollment stage, I think we have to look at Massachusetts, which, under Governor Romney, introduced a health care reform plan very similar to what the president has introduced here, and in their first month of enrollment, only 123 people enrolled for premium paying plans in Massachusetts. In the end, they had massive enrollment toward the end of the enrollment period. So, you know, we always expected enrollment figures to be low. We were saying that before October 1st. Obviously the website problems have made it worse. But that's why we're working every day because the website is just a means to an end. The end here is getting affordable health insurance to Americans who haven't had it in the past.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The administration has called in experts from Google and other tech giants to help fix the Obamacare website and say the site should be fixed by the end of November.

Here is something for you to consider if you're going over open enrollment options for your health insurance. The Obama administration is loosening rules covering flexible spending accounts. CNN's Christine Romans joins us from New York with that story.

Good morning, Christine.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

This is great timing for those of you who are going through your open enrollment trying to figure out how much money you should set aside pre-tax dollars to pay your out-of-pocket medical expenses next year. The Treasury Department saying that you will be able to roll over $500 a year if necessary. That's - you remember that use it or lose it rule? For years, if you put money in the flexible spending account and you didn't use all of it, you lost it. Now you will be able to carry over $500 into the next year.

There's some 14 million Americans who use these flexible spending accounts. They're also called FSAs. So this will affect an awful lot of people. You will be able to roll that over.

It should be noted that the limits have changed. It used to be $5,000 you could set aside pre-tax dollars to pay your out-of-pocket expenses. Now it's more like $2,500. So do the math on what your family consumes in health care, what your out-of-pocket expenses are. But now at least you know, Carol, you can roll over $500 of it. I used to run at the end of the year and buy a pair of glasses, you know, or bone up -- stock up on a bunch of stuff that I needed so that I could use all the money. And now you won't have to do that anymore.

COSTELLO: I understand and we'll check and we'll do our homework.

Thank you, Christine Romans, very much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, you'll soon be able to keep your electronic devices on during takeoffs and landings, but why this sudden change from the FAA? Will this make the flight attendant's job that much harder?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Delta wants to make you one happy passenger. It will be the first - yes, the first airline to allow passengers to use iPods, Kindles and other electronic devices during takeoffs and landings. That will make Delta (INAUDIBLE) job a whole lot easier, as least we think so.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your mobile phones and other electronic devices should be turned off. Once airborne, we'll let you know when you can use approved electronic devices. But note that some items, such as phones, may not be used in flight at any time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Of course you can only use your electronic devices during takeoff and landings in airplane mode. And that can get a little bit complicated. I mean are flight attendants going to be checking every device to make sure it's in the proper mode? Is that even possible? Laura Glading is the president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants. She will join us shortly from New York. We're having a little bit of technical issues. Sean Cassidy is the first vice president of Air Line Pilots Association International. He is live now with us in D.C.

Welcome, Sean.

CAPTAIN SEAN CASSIDY, FIRST VICE PRESIDENT, AIR LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL: Well, thank you. Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning.

So my first question, all this time I thought our electronic devices interfered with flight equipment and that if I had my Kindle on, the plane would crash. So that suddenly doesn't seem to be true.

CASSIDY: Well the fact of the matter is that nobody has ever comprehensively determined what the actual impact of these electronic devices has been. So what we're doing is introducing a very methodical process that's been arrived at collaboratively with key stakeholders that allows us to maintain the incredible safety bar that we have right now in our industry, but also introduce a level of flexibility for our passengers to be able to use these devices.

COSTELLO: Well, I mean, are newer planes more equipped to deal with these devices than older planes? Is there a difference?

CASSIDY: There's a big difference because some of the design elements that you see with the new airplanes were done with the mind of making them much more resilient to various kinds of electronic interference, which frankly was not as much of an issue back maybe 10, 20 years ago when they were building older category transport aircraft.

COSTELLO: OK, so let me ask you this question, because I don't think we're going to get Laura back. So - oh, Laura, you're here? Laura --

LAURA GLADING, PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL FIGHT ATTENDANTS: Yes, I am here. COSTELLO: Oh, yes, you can hear me. So I'll ask you this question. So these devices have to be in airplane mode still during takeoffs and landings. So how are flight attendants going to make sure everybody's, you know, following the rules?

GLADING: Well, fortunately, now what we have is a situation where we're informers, not enforcers. So we're going to be informing the passengers what to do, but we're not going to be standing there arguing. There will be some policy in place for noncompliance, but I don't think we're going to be actually looking at their gadgets and making sure that they're in airplane mode.

COSTELLO: OK. So, Sean, that brings up the question then like -- I know, because I fly every other weekend, that people don't obey the rules now. So if Laura just says, you know, you know the rules, the new rules, I'm hoping you follow them, like how can you be sure that passengers will do that and does that concern you?

CASSIDY: Well, the simple fact of the matter is, we can't. I mean we're never going to know that 100 percent of the passengers follow the normal guidance, such as turning on the seatbelt sign. We're fairly confident that most of them do. And as part of this process, actually there's a pretty comprehensive guidance material right here that the FAA has already put out. What it does is it allows us to -- if we suspect that our instruments might be getting interfered with, then it allows us to proactively ask that to all the passengers to turn the devices off until we can determine if there was a relationship between those things being turned on and something being affected in the airplane. So it's proactive in the sense that it gives a lot of guidance about what can and cannot be used and it's also proactive in that we will continue to monitor the situation and make sure that liberalizing this policy doesn't create any issues down the road.

COSTELLO: And, Laura, the last question to you. Is it really that big a deal for us to turn off our devices in the 10 minutes it takes to take off and land? Was this decision made more for a political reason than an airline safety reason?

GLADING: Well, I can only trust that they've done what they need to do to ensure that it's safe. But I think for the flight attendants, you know, it gets us off on the right foot, a better relationship with the passengers, not being hall monitors. You know, the compliance is still in place with regard to laptop computers and other large items that could be dangerous if they're, you know, thrown around the cabin. But I think that this was an improvement for us because it really was getting to be quite a task trying to argue with the passengers. We had a job to do. We were told to ensure that all electronic devices were turned off, and yet people didn't think it was necessary, weren't doing it. But as far as safety is concerned, you know, we're going to monitor it, make sure it's stowed safely, and, again, we're looking forward to a nice taxi out and a nice start with the relationship with our passengers.

COSTELLO: Me, too. Laura Glading and Captain Sean Cassidy, thanks to both of you. GLADING: Thank you.

COSTELLO: here's what's all new in the next hour of NEWSROOM.

The smart rifle. A technological marvel. This baby will make a marksman out of a first time shooter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You hit it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: This rifle takes the sport out of shooting and aims for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't follow the rules. Ooh, scandal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know you're talking about my show.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I'm talking about your body. Ooh, scandal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The hottest black actress in Hollywood hosts "Saturday Night Live," but will Kerry Washington go there? "SNL" under fire for its lack of diversity. Can Hollywood's gladiator in a suit make it all better?

That's new in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Some people call this song a little racy. Others couldn't get enough of the sexed up summer anthem "Blurred Lines." Either way you feel about it, Robin Thicke's hit may actually be a rip-off of the Marvin Gay 1977 hit "Got to Give It Up." At least that's what - that's what Marvin Gaye's family is saying because they have now filed a lawsuit. Compare the songs for yourself.

(VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Wow. Nischelle Turner, when you hear the songs like one right after the other, you can really hear the similarity.

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: There definitely are similarities, carol. But you know what, this is actually a counterclaim by Marvin Gaye's airs who have been pretty out front and outspoken since the beginning that they thought "Blurred Lines" was a rip-off of "Got to Give It Up." We just heard both of those songs.

Now, like we said, yes, there are similarities between these songs. And Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and T.I., who all wrote the song, said as much in the lawsuit that they filed in August to head this whole thing off. Now, in their suit, they admitted that "Blurred Lines" is, quote, "reminiscent" of that era's sound, but they denied that there were any other similarities other than kind of the common musical element. So they denied that there is a copyright infringement here.

Now, of course, the real question might be, where is the line between homage and rip-off, because in the Gaye family's filing, they quote an interview in "Billboard" magazine where Robin Thicke says, well, he was trying to do a song kind of like "Got to Give It Up." Now the complication here is that the music publisher that's responsible for protecting Marvin Gaye's music also represents Pharrell Williams. So they're being accused of having a conflict of interest in this case because the Gaye family went to them first and they declined to sue over this. So Gaye's heirs are also accusing Robin Thicke of stealing from their father's 1976 hit "After the Dance," when he recorded "Love after War" in 2011. They also suggest, and this is where it gets kind of weird, that Robin Thicke has a, quote, Marvin Gaye fixation.

COSTELLO: What?

TURNER: Now, I have a bit of a Marvin Gaye fixation.

COSTELLO: I did back in the day.

TURNER: But I don't know, you know. So, yes, it's gotten a little bit on the personal side there.

COSTELLO: So - OK, well, keep us posted, because this gets -- this is really even more fascinating than I originally thought.

Nischelle Turner --

TURNER: Yes, I mean - you're like, wow, I didn't see it going there. Turn left.

COSTELLO: Whoo. Thanks, Nischelle.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Rachel Nichols sits down and talks to the great Jon Lester after his World Series victory. But the big question on everyone's mind is, when will he shave off that beard?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The World Series is over, but will the beards stay on? The Boston Red Sox are not just champions of Major League Baseball, but of facial hair. And I'm joking at that because they played massively well. CNN's Rachel Nichols sat down for an exclusive interview with the Red Sox pitching great Jon Lester.

And, of course, you had to ask him about his beard. You had to. It was a requirement this year.

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS: Well, Carol, World Series ratings were up 20 percent this year, and that was partly because of the great storyline of the Boston Red Sox, such great, colorful characters. And Jon Lester certainly one of them. Now a two-time World Series champ. Ace of the Rex Sox staff. He, in fact, won two of the four games they won in this series.

And, of course, everyone wanted to know about the great movements they had, the tie to the community with "Boston Strong." and all of those moments throughout this last week or so that made this such a compelling watch. But, of course, the beards. It's got to be a big question, right? I asked him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICHOLS: Can you shave now that you've won a World Series?

JON LESTER, BOSTON RED SOX PITCHER: I don't think so.

NICHOLS: Are you allowed to?

LESTER: I don't think so. I think - I think old Jonny Gomes and Mike Napoli would have something to say about it. But I think when the off season hits, you know, I'll give it a little trim and try to hold on to it until spring training. I think when it's all said and done, it kind of becomes mama's decision more than mine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NICHOLS: Jon said that even after winning a World Series for the Red Sox back in 2007, he was sport of baby-faced enough that he could walk around Boston and most people wouldn't recognize him. But now that they all have these crazy beards, he said he can't even go to Starbucks without someone saying, you must be a Red Sox.

We also talked in our conversation about the cheating allegations that some people had against him in the first game because of a substance on his glove. Of course, Major League Baseball came out and said that did not happen, that he did nothing wrong. But it was very shaking for him. A guy who has only approached the game honorably, a cancer survivor. He had lymphoma when he was 22 years old. A very interesting conversation. And we'll have more for you tonight on "Unguarded" at 10:30.

COSTELLO: Well, there was something on his glove. What was it?

NICHOLS: He called it a green goo. He said - he said it looked like a booger. He realizes that. But he said it was resin and baseball checked it out and the Cardinals were also happy with him. So, you know, everybody involved said he was clean. It's just - you know how the Internet is, people see something and they want to talk about it. And he was very open we me in this conversation about what it meant to him to have this stuff hurled at him when he has never been in trouble or never done anything wrong.

COSTELLO: I know. I'm just a bitter Tigers' fan. I can't help it. Rachel Nichols, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.

Happening now in the NEWSROOM, it's no Halloween treat as a monster storm rips through the Midwest and now it's about to slam the Northeast.

Plus this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think this is the future of fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: It's a new way to shoot. A smart rifle that can aim for you. Turning even a first-time shooter into a skilled marksman.

Also, comedy may be color blind, but it's a hot topic for "Saturday Night Live." Does the popular sketch comedy show have a diversity problem?

And no celebrating or no touchdown. The National Football League considers a big showboating change. Could the NFL really become the no-fun league?

Second hour of NEWSROOM starts now.

Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for being with me.

Get ready for a miserable weekend in the Northeast. That massive storm that messed up Halloween for millions in the Midwest is now on its way east, but not without leaving quite the mess behind. Take a look at this. This is scary. In Douglas, Kansas, a bus, a school bus, tried to drive through standing water and went over a bridge and into the creek below. The driver and 10 children were able to climb through the roof of the bus before rescue crews arrived.