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Veterans Face Challenges at Home; Jimmy Kimmel's Job; Philippine President Declares a "State of National Calamity" After Typhoon; Richie Incognito Speaks Out
Aired November 11, 2013 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Or an old man or woman, it doesn't matter. What you - what they bring to bear is leadership initiative and they're all finishers. You give them a task, they'll finish the task. They're competent, they have character and they are magnificent contributors to the team.
I think, Carol, very often in businesses they are looking for very specific skill sets and what happens is they look at veterans and they say, you know, I can't translate what you did in uniform to what I'm going to ask you to do in this company. And that becomes a conundrum, that becomes a challenge, and in many cases, and as you can see today, the veterans hiring - the hiring of veterans are, excuse me, the unemployment of veterans exceeds the national norm and the average.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It sure does. And we're going to -- we're going to get into that, general, because, you know, these are great pictures to see, good first steps. But consider this, the government estimates more than 62,000 veterans are homeless on any given night, the unemployment rate, as you said, for post-9/11 veterans stands at 10 percent. Twenty percent suffer from PTSD or depression. And according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, every day 22 veterans take their own lives. That's a suicide almost every hour.
General Marks, I want to get your reaction to a viral video that's highlighting these problems, especially veteran homelessness. It's already received more than 10 million hits on YouTube. It was made by a non-profit group in Michigan that helps homeless veterans and, as you can see, it shows a homeless alcoholic vet getting a makeover. Let's watch for a second.
(VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: All right, we're going to continue to watch this, general, but as a leader of young men and women on the battlefield, when you watch this video, how does this make you feel?
MARKS: Any veteran that's homeless is a tragedy for our nation. These guys have given tremendous, tremendous service to our nation, and they need to be given the ability to transition from this very seminal event of service to the nation. There's nothing that replicates that and having the ability to make a transition back to their neighborhoods and their communities is extremely difficult to do. You're never more fulfilled than you were when you were in uniform. You have a sense of purpose, a sense of direction, camaraderie and these bonds of love and sacrifice are immense and they're forever.
And so when you move back into the -- and make this transition back to your communities, it's exceptionally hard and it starts with self- respect, it starts with confidence, from that opportunity comes and certainly there really is a partnership between business and our Veterans Administration, and great efforts are being made to address that.
COSTELLO: Well, it just makes me wonder how we got to this point. Those statistics are so disturbing. How did we let this problem grow so large?
MARKS: Well, it's staggering. First of all, we've had - we've been at war for 10 years, over 10 years, so we have a large number of young men and women that have made these sacrifices and are coming back into the workplace. So, number one, there's large numbers. Number two, we've had an economy that's been tanked. It's making a recovery and it's coming back.
So, at the same time you have an increase in the number of veterans, you have a decrease in the number of opportunities because businesses are struggling to try to figure themselves out. And, again, this isn't a charity. Businesses are affected by their return on investment. And I can tell you there's no finer return on investment than the hiring of a veteran and it's a matter of linking those two up, making information available and also businesses understand they get a good deal when they get a veteran on board. It just has to grow and it's going to take some time. And there's no lack of effort on anybody's part to try to make this work.
COSTELLO: General Spider Marks, thanks so much for your insight. We appreciate it this morning.
MARKS: Thanks, Carol. Appreciate it.
COSTELLO: Under intense criticism for a report on the Benghazi attack, CBS' "60 Minutes" has issued an apology and a retraction. Correspondent Lara Logan had British Security Officer Dylan Davies, who gave a riveting account of responding to the attack on the compound on the consulate in Benghazi, saying he was there, saying he actually hit an al Qaeda fight we are a rifle butt. But last week "The New York Times" reported that Davies told the FBI he did not go to that compound that night. And he didn't. It turned out he was lying. Logan delivered this statement on "60 Minutes" last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARA LOGAN, CBS "60 MINUTES": On Thursday night, when we discovered the account he gave the FBI was different than what he told us, we realized we had been misled, and it was a mistake to include him in our report. For that, we are very sorry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: "60 Minutes" gave no background information on why it used Davies in the first place, and it continues to get criticism for that. Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Chinese-Americans calling for Jimmy Kimmel's job, even comparing the late night host to Hitler. Even the House is getting involved, as in the House of Representative. Details after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Miley Cyrus, European MTV Awards, silver dress, little people, twerking, and, oh, a joint. Whatever.
Let's talk about something else, shall we?
One kid's joke about killing everyone - well, let's get off that. Come on. Come on back to me.
One kid's joke about killing everyone in China over the U.S. debt is not turning out to be so funny for late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel. Listen to the joke.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY KIMMEL, LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: America owes China a lot of money, $1.3 trillion. How should we pay them back?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You (INAUDIBLE) and kill everyone in China.
KIMMEL: Kill everyone in China.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
KIMMEL: Hey, that's an interesting idea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Turns out lots and lots of people didn't think that was so funny. But despite apologies by both ABC and Kimmel, hundreds of Chinese-Americans have hit the streets protesting the network, comparing Kimmel to, yes, Hitler and calling for his job. CNN entertainment correspondent Nischelle Turner is in New York with more.
Good morning.
NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Carol.
Yes, this is definitely not simmering down. You know, these protests are still going on. It's been almost a month since the joke was made during that kids table segment on the Kimmel show. It actually, I think, it was October 16th, to be exact. And since then, ABC and Jimmy Kimmel have tried to make amends for this. ABC has apologized and here's what they said. They said the network would, quote, "never purposefully broadcast anything to upset the Chinese community, Asian community or anyone of Chinese descent or any community at large."
And they have also made sure that the clip that you saw there isn't available through their platforms online. It won't be a part of any rebroadcast. But for his part as well, Jimmy Kimmel has apologized on the air and he said that he thought it was obvious that he didn't agree with the statement, but that he never intended to upset anyone. He did joke at the time that this was the "lord of the flies" edition of the kids table. And last month he apologized directly to the protesters that were outside of his studio. This, of course, Carol, has not satisfied the protesters at this time, because they're still at it.
COSTELLO: Wow. I know, you wonder, what do they want him to do? I mean I know they want - they want him to be fired, is that what they want in the end?
TURNER: Yes, I was going to say they - well, pretty much. They're calling for his job. They're calling for some quick action by ABC. They're also signing an online petition. More than 100,000 people have signed this petition. It's on whitehouse.gov. It was started back on October 19th. And it's interesting because now the White House might have to get involved in this. They promise to respond to any petition that gets more than 100,000 signatures. So they may have to issue some sort of statement on this issue.
COSTELLO: Oh, you're kidding!
TURNER: We'll see what happens, but they did say if it gets over 100,000 signatures, then we will, you know, take a look and take some short of action. We'll see.
COSTELLO: Nischelle Turner reporting live for us from New York, thank you.
TURNER: All right.
COSTELLO: (INAUDIBLE) the original hero of the Tea Party edges back into the political scene, and Sarah Palin says Christmas is under attack.
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SARAH PALIN, FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: That little plastic baby doll that's nestled in a dusty hay-field manger gives such offense to an angry atheist armed with an attorney.
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COSTELLO: The former Alaska governor also lashed out at some Republicans over failed efforts to defund Obamacare, but could this speech to Iowa conservatives mean something bigger, something more for Palin's political future? We'll talk about that, all new in the next hour of NEWSROOM.
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COSTELLO: Checking our "Top Stories" at 47 minutes past the hour.
Two students in Gonzaga University in Spokane face suspension or expulsion after thwarting a home invasion. They used a handgun to scare off an intruder at their school-owned department. Unfortunately having a weapon violated Gonzaga's no firearms policy. A hearing this week will determine their punishment.
In Massachusetts a swimmer was safely plucked from the ocean after treading water for about an hour. The person was not wearing a wet suit or other protection from the 52-degree water.
A modern day Bonnie and Clyde team has been arrested after a year-long spree of bank robberies in Florida and Alabama. The husband and wife team are suspected of stealing more than $50,000 in more than a dozen stick-ups. The couple has been under surveillance by the FBI.
A state of national calamity, that's the declaration made by the President of the Philippines, after a super typhoon slammed into the nation, killing at least 942 people, and wiping out hundreds of thousands of homes, businesses and more. Relief efforts now under way as several groups including the U.S. Marines, local military, and the United Nations race to get food and water to shell-shocked residents.
CNN'S Andrew Stevens is in the city that took the brunt of the storm, Tacloban. He joins us now. Good morning, Andrew.
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Yes I'm back at the airport. We got into this airport about 12 hours or so before the storm hit. We've just come back and you can see behind me just a fraction here of the devastation caused at the airport, both to my right and to my left there are just piles of debris everywhere. The main building which is just behind the camera; everything -- all the walls have been blown out, the roof is sort of virtually hanging off now and there a lot of people huddled here waiting for flights, planes to try to get out.
That death toll number 942 people, that is expected to rise by a lot, Carol, perhaps the number sort of floating around at the moment at least 10,000, just to give you an idea. Now as I said we got in before the storm. We were hold up in a hotel right in the center of town, we weathered it there and this is what we experienced.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVENS (voice over): This is what the inside of a super typhoon looks like. 250-kilometer-an hour plus winds slamming into the city, a white place of screaming noise, smashing windows, tearing metal, water and flying debris.
Just minutes after we finished our live shots telling headquarters that we were moving to safer ground, the cameraman Brad Olson shot this in the place we just left.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ok, guys, I think we can wrap it up.
STEVENS: As the destruction there continued, a floor below, terrified residents huddled together finding protection against the flying spray and mind-numbing noise. Some pray for their safety.
(on camera): Now we're sheltering in the corridor; it's a relatively secure area, I think, where we are. It's a very substantial hotel. And we are away from windows. But all around us, you hear the sounds of windows breaking, you hear the sounds of large objects falling and crashing to the floor. And under foot, it is now just a deluge. And if you look behind me, I don't know if you can see the staircase behind me is now basically a water fall.
(voice over): And then a torrent of black water began pouring into the hotel. The storm surge had begun. Within a few minutes, it was at ground floor window level.
A panicked family now trapped in their room smashed the window and screamed for help. We managed to get the mother across to safety using a foam mattress and it immediately became clear the cause of her panic their daughter was severely disabled. Storm chaser Josh Morganman (ph) and I went back across to get the terrified girl to safety. And CNN producer Tim Schwartz helped rescue the rest the family.
The waters only rose a little higher. The height of the storm, in fact, had passed. Two hours later, the winds have lost their lethal strength. Our live position was a ruined shell. But as we walked outside, it was immediately clear that so much of the city had suffered so much more than we had.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEVENS: It gives you an idea Carol of just the intensity of that weather system. One of the storm chasers said to me afterwards, they are looking at the numbers that they have seen of windspeeds if there was a Category 6 sort of storm that would have been it.
COSTELLO: Andrew, the people you helped rescue in that hotel, do you know where they are now?
STEVENS: Well, we spoke to them at length afterwards. They stayed in the hotel but they were local people. They had gone to the hotel for safety. That that hotel we were at has now closed. It was pretty badly damaged as you saw there. That's been closed. Because there is no power, there is no water, there is no food.
We went back a day or so later before it closed, and it really was a mess Carol. So they, as far as I'm aware have gone back to their home. They said that they had seen their home and it wasn't too badly damaged. So they're all ok. I mean that's the main thing. I mean they were lucky, we were lucky.
You walk around the city now and the devastation was particularly on the waterfront area is just complete. The big question here is why the size of the storm it does seem to be a fairly low death toll at the moment. It's very difficult to get information. It's very, it's been very slow-moving, so far, the rescue, given the fact that it was difficult to get the rescue teams in here straightaway.
And also it's not just this city, remember Carol it's right along this coast. This is a big, big weather system. There are other towns and other villages who would have experienced the same sort of conditions. And we just don't know what's happened to them.
COSTELLO: Andrew Stevens, thanks so much.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM Peyton Manning goes down, but will he be back up for the Broncos next game?
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COSTELLO: For the first time since being suspended from the Miami Dolphins, Richie Incognito is speaking out. And he says he is not to blame for Jonathan Martin leaving the team.
Andy Scholes is here with "Bleacher Report" good morning.
ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: Good morning Carol.
Incognito had plenty of things to say on Fox's "Pregame Show" yesterday. He says he's not a racist. His relationship with Martin was anything but bullying. And he also said that Martin sent him texts just like the one he sent Martin that he was criticized for. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHIE INCOGNITO, MIAMI DOLPHINS: The week before this went down, Jonathan Martin text me on my phone, "I will murder your whole f-ing family." Now do I think Jonathan Martin was going to murder my family? Not -- not one bit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So he left that text for you.
INCOGNITO: He texted me that. I didn't think he was going to kill my family. I knew it was coming from a brother, friend and teammate. That just puts in context how we communicate with one another.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: We still haven't heard directly from Jonathan Martin about any of this.
Of course, the Dolphins play the Bucs tonight on Monday night football. But last night the Saints and Cowboys, squared off on Sunday night football. Saints (inaudible) Rob Ryan, facing his former team for the first time since being inspired and he got his revenge. The cowboys had more penalties, Carol, than first downs -- Penalty: Meanwhile, the Saints set an NFL record with 40 first downs in the game. New Orleans absolutely dominated Dallas. They won the game, 49-17. And after the game, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said may be we made a mistake firing him.
All right. There's good news and bad news for the Denver Broncos. Good news is Peyton Manning threw for 330 yards before touch downs and the Broncos beat the charges. Bad news is, he took a shot to his lower leg and got hurt on this play late in the game. Afterwards Peyton talked about his injury.
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PEYTON MANNING, NFL PLAYER: I'm pretty sore. He kind of got moo twice in Canada -- lower carries that kind of that lower area. I felt better come into the game after the bi week. But pretty sore. Tell you more tomorrow. So probably ---
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Broncos stands if they have their fingers crossed for the MRI.
All right, in the line up section of BleacherReport.com you can see the craziest player from this weekend. Down seven, no time left on the clock. Bengals going for the Hail Mary. And Andy Dolphin check it out. The ball tipped once, right into the arms of A.J. Green. Bengal spans, Of course, I'm sure when nuts but didn't hat to, when you celebrate -- Carol.
The Ravens won by a field goal in overtime.
COSTELLO: I was in Baltimore and the town celebrated -- I can tell you that.
SCHOLES: Real quick. Breaking news. The Braves announced they're moving to a whole new brand new stadium. $672 million and should be ready by 2017.
COSTELLO: And they most interesting part -- I've to move the stadium out of the Atlanta into the suburbs. Usually it's the other way around. Ointeresting.
Andy thanks. The next hour of CNN "NEWSROOM" starts now.
Happening now in the "NEWSROOM" people who survived this destruction now scrambling for food and medicine after typhoon Haiyan levels the Philippines.
Sarah Palin back on the political stage in Iowa taking aim at Obamacare and the federal debt.
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SARAH PALIN, FORMER GOVERNOR OF ALASKA: This is outrage. It's going to be like slavery when that note is due. We're going to be beholden to a foreign master.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Is this speech a sign of things to come? We'll talk about that.
Plus this, Miley Cyrus ignites a whole new controversy. She lit up something on stage in the middle of the awards show. Me thinks it looks like a joint.
