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Possible Breakthrough With Iran Nukes; More Video of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford; Actor Matthew McConaughey Lost 40 Pounds for Role; Veteran Volunteers to Clean Abandoned Cemetery; Marvel Comics New Super Hero -- Teenaged Muslim-American Girl
Aired November 08, 2013 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the U.S. appears to be on the verge of a diplomatic breakthrough officials have been seeking since 2000. That's the year the U.S. first sanctioned Iran for its nuclear program.
Now, after all these years of suspicion and stalemate, all eyes are on Geneva. That's where Secretary of State John Kerry and other stop officials are hashing out the details of an agreement.
It would ease some economic sanctions against Iran and Iran would apparently give up some of its nuclear capability to keep it from making nukes.
But Israel's leader, always concerned about the risk of an attack, said Iran is getting everything and paying nothing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: They're paying nothing because they're not reducing in any way their nuclear enrichment capability.
So Iran got the deal of the century, and the international community got a bad deal. This is a very bad deal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: With me now, CNN International's Jim Clancy.
What do you think? Very bad deal? Did Iran indeed get everything and pay nothing?
JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL: I believe Iran when it says it wants to see sanctioned lifted. I believe them 100 percent, because the sanctions are painful.
They can't reap the rewards of their own petrochemicals, their oil trade. They're under pressure, their economic is suffering for it.
When we get to the nuclear angle, you have to ask, what does Iran really want? What do its past actions tell us about what it is doing today?
PHILLIPS: The past actions say they haven't stopped building nukes.
CLANCY: Well, they haven't stopped enriching. They're driving to obtain the knowledge necessary to build a bomb. That's what appears obvious to most people who are experts in this field.
Twenty-thousand centrifuges in order to manufacture their own nuclear fuel? Everybody else that is a fledgling nuclear energy participant wants to buy their fuel from someone else. Iran says it wants to make it themselves.
This is a problem. There has to be guaranteed. That's what the deal has to produce, the kind of guarantees that say they can't break out and suddenly create a nuclear weapon.
PHILLIPS: But can you trust those guarantees?
CLANCY: Well, that's what you have to do. You have to trust that there is some kind of a deal that you can arrange, that the Iranians can give up something, agree to someone.
You can put U.N. inspectors in there, that can give you good signs, good information and intelligence of what's going on inside of there.
The opposite of that is a military strike that would literally blind you. A lot of people say, look, this is an opportunity to make some progress, to make a deal that's going to have to work both ways.
PHILLIPS: Is this about balance of power and not about an attack?
CLANCY: When it comes to Israel, everybody says Israel is afraid they're going to strike them with a nuclear weapon. They're not.
They know Iran is not going to drop the bomb on Israel. It would be regime-ending in its response. Israel would retaliate with overwhelming force. The Iranians know it, the Israelis know it.
Instead, what the Israelis are worried about is a complete shift in the balance of power.
Look, when you're operating as Iran is operating, look, it's got Hezbollah and Lebanon. It's got other groups in Iraq. It's got groups that are active all over the region, as far away as Latin America, in Asia, in other places.
Iran seeks to become a regional, and indeed, a world power, and to do so, if it has a nuclear power, it can push. It can push here and there.
And Israel fears that balance of power would be upset to its detriment.
PHILLIPS: Jim Clancy, just back from two months in Israel.
CLANCY: Yeah, two months in Israel. PHILLIPS: Thanks.
Coming up, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, I tell you what, he's the gift that keeps on giving.
He already admitted to smoking crack in a drunken stupor. Now a video has emerged. He's ranting, cursing, even threatening to kill someone.
What the heck is going on with this guy? Stay with us.
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PHILLIPS: Admitting he had smoked crack cocaine, the salacious and very damaging headlines for Toronto Mayor Rob Ford just keep on coming.
And this just in, apparently, the mayor's radio talk show that he co- hosts with his brother has been canceled by mutual agreement.
Apparently, it was the last straw after the "Toronto Star" released a bizarre video that shows the embattled mayor staggering around and making violent threats against somebody.
Here's a sample.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR ROB FORD, TORONTO: Because I'm going to kill that (inaudible) guy! I'm telling you it's first-degree murder.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mike Tyson.
FORD: But I'll fight him. I'll (inaudible). I'll fight him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give me the phone. I'll (inaudible).
FORD: No holds barred, brother. He dies or I die, brother. Brother, you're never seeing me (inaudible) go.
You think so, brother? But when he's down, I'll rip his (inaudible) throat out. I'll poke his eyes out. I will, (inaudible) when he's dead, I'll make sure that (inaudible) dead.
I need 10 (inaudible) minutes to make sure he's dead. It'll be over in five minutes, brother. If I'm done in 10 minutes -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After you win the election.
FORD: It will be a bad -- I'm a sick (inaudible), dude.
Like, no one's going to (inaudible) around with me. My brothers, don't tell me we're liars, thieves, birds? Birds?
That little (inaudible) a racist (inaudible) daddy.
(Inaudible) 80-year-old birds. (Inaudible) this (inaudible), brother. I just need to go, (inaudible) by myself, in my (inaudible) underwear. I want to go with this guy.
I need 15 minutes. That's all I need. No (inaudible) interference, brother. If I win, I will (inaudible) donate --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Oh, boy. CNN does not know the full context of that video or with whom Ford is referring.
But moments after that video came out, the mayor did respond. He admitted embarrassment and shame, and, of course, he said he was drunk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FORD: I hope none of you have ever or will ever be in that state. And that's all I can say.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you tell us what it was about?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you give us some context, mayor?
FORD: Obviously, I was extremely, extremely inebriated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Ford's family is coming to his defense. His sister told CNN affiliate CTV that his brother does not have a drug problem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATHY FORD, SISTER OF ROB FORD: Robby is not a drug addict. I know because I am a former addict or an addict, if you want to say.
And as an alcoholic, if you want to consider binge-drinking once every three months and you get totally plastered, which he makes a fool out of himself, and I have asked him to leave my own home one time, fine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And Ford's mother broke it down even further, saying her son just needs to think better and adopt a better lifestyle.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIANE FORD, TORONTO MAYOR ROB FORD'S MOTHER: Get yourself a driver. Then after that, you do something about your weight. And then thirdly, what was the other thing I told him?
K. FORD: About the car. The thing --
D. FORD: Yes. Yeah, yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Putting the alcohol detector in the car? D. FORD: Yeah, an alcohol detector in the car, and that will prove you can't drive your car.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, critics say time has run out for Ford, and that he should step down and get rehab. But Mayor Ford says he's not going anywhere.
Here to discuss this from New York, HLN host Jane Velez-Mitchell, CNN legal analyst, Sunny Hostin.
All right, Jane, I'm going to go to you, and I just want to talk real here. You're a recovering alcoholic. Come on. This guy needs help. He needs rehab.
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HLN HOST: Look, as a recovering alcoholic with 18 years of sobriety, hopefully 19 year physical I get to April, I look at this and I see the incomprehensible demoralization of addiction.
I don't know if he's an alcoholic and a drug addict, but the substance itself is not so important. This guy is in deep, deep, deep denial.
You probably look at this and say how can he be in denial about having a problem when the evidence is right there on tape? But that is the insanity of addiction.
You see, because when we're in our disease, our body, our soul, our mind, totally co-opted by the craving. All we want is that next drink, that next hit, and anything that stands in the way of that is incomprehensible to us.
So if he were to admit that he had a problem, that would mean he would have to get help. That would mean he would have to stop drinking and/or using, and if that's a fate worse than death for somebody in their disease.
Only when they hit bottom and see themselves clearly and have that moment of clarity where we see ourselves as others see us that we go, oh, my gosh, it's like that look in the mirror.
That's when we can surrender to our powerlessness over the drug or alcohol and get help.
PHILLIPS: First of all, I think that counseling with Jane Velez- Mitchell would be a fabulous idea.
On the other side of things, I mean, Sunny, from a legal perspective, OK, he's saying he's not going to step down. So I mean, does he need to be formally charged?
I hate to say this, but does he need to be driving under the influence and kill somebody before this guy can be taken out of office? I mean, how extreme does it have to go?
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It has to be pretty extreme. And since the story broke, I have been looking into this, because this is happening in Canada, not here in the United States.
But I have got to tell you, what I have learned is he cannot be removed from office legally unless he's convicted of a crime. And so he really is on pretty firm legal footing at this point.
What is strange to me is that he has not even been charged with a crime, because we know that he has been found on videotape smoking crack cocaine.
And those circumstances, Kyra, are very similar to the Marion Berry circumstances, and he certainly, in my district where I prosecuted cases in D.C., was convicted of a misdemeanor drug crime and spent about six months in federal prison.
PHILLIPS: And he also came back and is in office to this day, which is remarkable.
We'll be following this because apparently there are more videos that are about to be released.
So, Jane, Sunny, thanks so much.
HOSTIN: Thanks, Kyra.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thanks, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You bet.
Up next, Matthew McConaughey drops a ton of weight for a movie. But after Tom Hanks' diabetes revelation, is he also at risk?
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PHILLIPS: Hollywood actors have a long tradition of gaining or losing weight to make their characters more believable.
A prime example is Matthew McConaughey in the new film "The Dallas Buyers Club" in which he portrays a rodeo star with HIV.
The actor dropped 40 pounds to get that desired look, but it's a risky practice.
Jake Tapper will have much more on this on "THE LEAD" at the top of the hour. Hey, Jake.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR, "THE LEAD": Hey, how are you? We will be taking a look at this in the pop culture lead towards the end of the show.
A lot of actors who have done this have managed to snag not only the respect of their peers, but those Academy Awards.
You have Robert De Niro gaining and losing weight to film "Raging Bull," Tom Hanks in "Philadelphia" playing a victim of HIV and in "Monster," also. We talked to a nutrition expert because, you may know this, a few weeks ago, Tom Hanks talked about how he has diabetes and thinks the weight loss and weight gain he's gone through for his career has maybe contributed.
Here's what this nutritionist had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACKI KELLER, FOUNDING DIRECTOR, NUTRIFIT: Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto have done this many times for different roles, up, down, up, down, and each successive attempt at huge, dramatic weight loss gets harder and harder for the body to accomplish easily.
So that's another part of the sort of, if you will, depression or discouragement that a lot of celebrities feel.
It's like the endless cycle of going up, going down, and each successive attempt getting a little bit more challenging.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: So it can be a health issue, but of course, it helps individuals, it helps actors convince the audience that they are truly near death in the instance of "Philadelphia" when they are playing victims of HIV.
It also, of course, can help with critics and with the Academy, but it can really have an adverse impact on an actor's health.
We'll take a look at this in the pop culture lead at the end of the show, coming up at 4:00.
PHILLIPS: Sounds good, Jake. Thanks so much. And that starts in just a few minutes.
TAPPER: Thanks, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: We'll be back in a moment.
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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEN SMITH, FRIENDS OF MOUNT MORIAH CEMETERY: It just shouldn't be this way. These graves should be cleared and paid the respect that they deserve.
We're at Mount Moriah Cemetery which is in Philadelphia, founded in 1855 and remained in operation until 2011, at which time it was abandoned.
As time goes by, the cemetery ran out of grounds, funding gets cut and, next thing you know, they can't afford to maintain the cemetery.
The government isn't responsible for Mount Moriah due to the fact that they don't own the grounds. They're not responsible for maintaining cemeteries in which veterans are interred.
It's just an absolute crime that the grounds are in the shape that they are. These guys are heroes, and they need to be treated as such.
I want to help preserve American history. We've got soldiers in here who fought in the revolution, the Spanish-American War, the War of 1812, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam.
I'm a veteran of the United States Air Force. I was basically a heavy equipment operator out on the flight line, loading and unloading cargo and we supported "Desert Storm."
And if I'm going to spend the next 20, 30 years of my life getting it back to what it was, and when we are able to get it back there, I would love to be buried out here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Comic book fans, brace yourselves. Marvel Comics has a new super hero coming soon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In the world of female super heroes, there are the greats, Wonder Woman, Catwoman, Black Widow, and soon to leap on to the pages of comics could be another, Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel.
Every super hero has a particular power, super power. What are her powers?
SANA AMANAT, MARVEL EDITOR: So Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, is a polymorph.
CARROLL: She can change her shape at will.
That's not only her standout characteristic. The new Ms. Marvel character is a 16-year-old Muslim-American from Jersey City, New Jersey.
She's the brain child of Marvel Comics editor, Sana Amanat, who is also a Muslim American from New Jersey.
When you talked about her past, does it mirror your own personal past?
AMANAT: To an extent. I would say that the idea for Ms. Marvel and her background was loosely based on some of my experiences that I've had.
CARROLL: Amanat's vision coming to Marvel pages with the help of writer Willow Wilson, a convert to Islam.
G. WILLOW WILSON, WRITER: Even though I didn't grow up in the faith, I have certainly tried to bring in as much of that feeling of authenticity as was possible.
CARROLL: Forget super powers. In the real world, authenticity and story are the key to survival, so says Matthew Reinhart, author of pop-up books for DC Super Heroes and Transformers.
MATTHEW REINHART, AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: I'm half Lebanese and so growing up as sort of a little bit than everybody else, it's nice to see a different family and character dealing with her belief system and yet having these amazing powers and being a super hero.
CARROLL: Here in Jersey City, community leaders boast of a vibrant Muslim population.
Nineteen-year-old Amina Gaus (ph) cannot wait for Kamala Khan to hit comic book stands.
AMINA GAUS (PH): Yeah, I would love to read it.
CARROLL: But Ms. Marvel's costume not going over well with Sana Khalifa.
SANA KHALIFA (PH): She should be covered and not her body to be showing.
AMANAT: I think some people may not like the fact that she's not covered or that her outfit is a little bit fitted. More conservative families are like that.
But the point is that we're trying to show a version of the Muslim- American world that people might not necessarily see.
CARROLL: Like her or not, Kamala Khan could be a force to be reckoned with and she's coming, scheduled to kick, morph or scratch her way on to a comic book shelf near you February 6th.
Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: That does it for me. Thanks for joining us.
"THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.
