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All 50 States See Below Freezing Temps; Stuck Passenger: It Was Like Purgatory; Cold Could Be Deadly For The Homeless; Police: Toddler Video Shows "Thug" Cycle; Senate Votes To Debate Jobless Aid; CNN Poll: Majority Think Pot Should Be Legal; "SNL" Hires First Black Comedienne In Six Years

Aired January 07, 2014 - 14:30   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: Bottom of the hour. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Not a single state in the U.S. has escaped this brutal and deadly cold, all 50 states plummeting to below freezing, yes, even Hawaii. The deep freeze is blamed for at least 15 deaths so far. Some killed on icy roads. Some simply froze to death.

The snow and icy conditions have grounded 2,300 flights. That's just today. In suburban Atlanta, firefighters struggled to put out a house fire in single digit temperatures. One trick they're using, lighting the hydrant on fire to thaw them out. Have you ever heard of that?

The frigid weather means any part of your body not covered up is susceptible to the cold, even your eyelashes. A CNN I-Reporter captured this image as a colleague walked to work on Chicago's Adams Avenue. That is how cold it is.

Also in Chicago, passengers finally back home after spending the night on stranded Amtrak trains. Some were stuck for 15 hours because of these huge snow and ice drifts blanketing the tracks. This video shot by one of the passengers.

CNN's Ted Rowlands was there when some of the trapped passengers finally got home, finally arrived. You talked to some of them, Ted. What did they have to say?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, as you can imagine, Brooke, it was a little bit uncomfortable trapped in a train for that amount of time. These are folks that came from California, the most of them. We're still waiting on a few more bus loads here at Union Station to arrive. Most of them were in pretty good spirits. They realize this was not Amtrak, it was Mother Nature behind this and they were warm. They were fed what food was left.

I think if it had gone a little bit longer, you would have had some problems. But there were no health issues, according to Amtrak and the folks we talked to by and large were happy, believe it or not, were happy to arrive here in frigid sub-zero Chicago. This was their final destination, so they were happy to get here. All in all, most of them had a pretty good attitude. But one woman did say she could no longer feel her derriere because she was sitting on it for 20-plus hours.

BALDWIN: Bless her. Ted Rowlands, thank you. We'll be talking to one of those passengers who will finally be home in Chicago we hope by next hour, so stay tuned for that.

Wind chills so cold, you could get frostbite in mere minutes. The walk from your car into work could just downright be painful, but imagine living out in that kind of cold. In Topeka, Kansas, a rescue mission took to the streets to pick up the homeless, taking them to motels, just to stay warm for the night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Grateful for everybody that's helping us out. It's been pretty cold out here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are y'all, man? Y'all are the bomb.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Blessed, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are blessed. Have a good night, man. Be warm. Be able to sit around in some sweat pants.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much, sir. I appreciate that. Thank you, Jesus. I love you, Jesus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: In Atlanta, CNN's Alina Machado is outside Martha Brown United Methodist Church. They are opening their doors to the homeless during this freeze. And Alina, it's in the single digits out there. Tell me what Atlanta is doing to help these folks.

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, the city of Atlanta actually had people going out last night and offering rides to shelters to the homeless people in the city. They also opened up a shelter of their own just on an emergency basis so people had a place to go. This church opened up its doors last night to offer people a break from the frigid temperatures. Take a listen to what the pastor has to say about why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REVEREND ALVIN LING: It is a big deal. School is closed, everybody shuts down, gets a little nervous about it, but especially this vulnerable community who rely on shelters or hospitality of others. We just want to respond, and lots of other groups have responded, opening doors to their needs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACHADO: And this church has seen a flood of donations. We want to show you some video from inside the area where these donations are being kept, and also where about two dozen people spent the night last night. The church tells me, Brooke, that they plan to reopen their doors tonight to give these people a break from the bitter cold. BALDWIN: Alina Machado, thank you very much.

Sometimes if you have a little one, sometimes a toddler tries to emulate mom or dad. But this is not exactly that case because the video we are about to show you may not be suitable for all viewers. But it has led to some serious anger. Critics say the Omaha Police Officers Association opened Pandora's box by posting it on the internet. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You -- you throwing a fit right now? Talking that -- now -- you, too.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Say --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's why you can't fight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I know. It's a lot of bleeping, but it's coming from the voices and this toddler. It's horrendous. But some critics came down harder on the police association, accusing it of basically race baiting with a polarizing video.

CNN's Casey Wian is watching this one for us today. Casey, why did the police association put this video up on the web site?

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let me read you what they said about that, Brooke. They said "We have an obligation to share, to continue to educate the law-abiding public about the terrible cycle of violence and thuggery that some young innocent children find themselves helplessly trapped in."

Talk about violence and thuggery. That's because on that unedited video, which goes on for a minute and 23 seconds, 35 different profane words exchanged between the child and at least three adults in the room during that period of time. They talk about gang issues. They talk about sexual issues.

I don't know if you can really see it or if our viewers can see it, but the child holds up its middle finger during that exchange to the adults. It's very, very disturbing. The police officers association saying they basically have an obligation to share what's going on with the public.

BALDWIN: It's hard to even understand -- you can't even hear what's happening in the video because of the profanity back and forth. You hear these adult voices. Who are the people in the video?

WIAN: Well, we don't know specifically. The police officers association says that on the Facebook posting that they took this from, one of the people posting said that he was the child's uncle. We don't know that specifically. They did not post any names. So we don't know. What we do know is a lot of people on social media upset by the potential racial overtones of this, and by the fact that the police officers association did not blur that young child's face when it posted that video -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Casey Wian, thank you.

Black actress finally joins the "Saturday Night Live" cast, six years after Mya Rudolph left. Is this enough to quiet the critics?

Plus, the first political battle of the year is on in Congress. It is up to the president, stepping up pressure over jobless benefits. But will he win? CNN's THE LEAD host, Jake Tapper joins me next.

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BALDWIN: We touched on this a little while ago. The Senate voted this morning to go ahead and debate this bill to grant three more months of federal aid to the long-term unemployed. Just after Christmas, the checks ran out. No more payments to a million-plus people who haven't work for six months or more. The six Republicans, here they are, they joined a unanimous Democrats in voting to open debate on the bill, which by the way hasn't passed the House yet. Stay with me here.

Jake Tapper, let me bring you in, our chief Washington correspondent, host of "THE LEAD," 1.3 million people jobless benefits gone. What's the earliest possible date those payments could be restored? I know this is a big if, if Congress agrees to do so.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is a big if, Brooke, because the House of Representatives, it's not clear that Speaker Boehner is willing to take up the bill at all. I suppose the answer would be theoretically in a week or so, but Speaker Boehner has said that the bill needs to have A, some sort of effort at job creation, which I believe would be in his view tax cuts or cutting, eliminating some regulations that he says are preventing job creation.

And also what are called in Washington, D.C. pay fors. If this costs $6 billion, how are you going to pay for it, cuts in other areas of the government? This bill does not have pay fors and does not have a component in terms of job creation, so it doesn't meet Speaker Boehner's requirement. So this needs to go through the House, and I don't see any way that it's going to in its current state.

BALDWIN: So that's a lot of caveats for Speaker Boehner. But as for the president, we heard from the president, the president liked how today's vote turned out. Take a listen to President Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: When Congress passes a bipartisan effort, starting here right at the beginning of the New Year, who knows, we might actually get some things done this year. So after all the hard work and sacrifice of the past five years to recover and rebuild from the crisis, what I think the American people are really looking for in 2014 is just a little bit of stability. Jake Tapper, let's talk about that stability because this brings us to an important deadline. It is January 15th. It is one week from tomorrow. Will we get a budget? Will we avert another painful, embarrassing government shutdown?

TAPPER: Well, I can't promise anything, but sources close to the negotiation say that things do look optimistic in terms of avoiding hitting the debt ceiling, avoiding another government shutdown over that issue. I don't know the details. I don't know anything more than reassurances from unnamed congressional sources saying things look good.

BALDWIN: Do you feel reassured by those reassurances?

TAPPER: Well, you can never be reassured enough in a town like Washington, D.C., but I will say that as of now, people who know well say that things look good, but you just never know in this situation, especially when there is so much difference between the views of the House of Representatives and the Democrats in the Senate and President Obama. So I believe that there's no reason to panic right now. I'll just leave it at that.

BALDWIN: OK, we'll leave it there. Jake Tapper, thank you. We'll see you in an hour 15 on "THE LEAD."

Colorado has a new flood of critics after the state legalized marijuana, but a new "Rolling Stone" article is criticizing the critics. This is a fascinating piece. We'll talk to the author who says the debate isn't about drugs at all. So what is it about? The answer next.

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BALDWIN: It has been one full week now that adult marijuana smokers in Colorado have been able to legally light up, not just for medicinal use but for personal use if you're 21. A new poll indicates many more Americans want to join them. The latest CNN/ORC taken after the New Year shows 55 percent of Americans think pot should be legal. That is more than double what a general social survey found back in 1996 when 26 percent thought marijuana should be allowed. One thing, though, that has not changed over the years, both sides have plenty of valid arguments and some were articulated last night on "AC360 LATER." Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW SULLIVAN, FOUNDING EDITOR, "THE DISH": I don't believe that pleasure needs to be banished from our society or some kind of threat to our ability -- there are so many millions, millions of law-abiding adults in this country that use this drug like they would use alcohol in moderation. The key thing is moderation.

PATRICK KENNEDY, FORMER CONGRESSMAN: I don't disagree with you. The problem is the statistics, Andrew, and the statistics show that more kids are going to use when you say there's a permissive environment. That's a fact. So tobacco, you know, Joe Camel. It took us 60 years to reverse the tobacco industry's insistence that cigarettes were good for you. How long is it going to take with a million dollars a day, Anderson, where these marijuana growers are now getting all this investment banking money, Jeffrey. They're going to be in the business of addicting kids.

SULLIVAN: You don't addict kids. The whole point on ending prohibition is to keep this drug away from kids. You think kids today don't have access to this drug? They have access to the drug via criminals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: We're going to bring that up with the author of this fascinating "Rolling Stone" piece. It's called "Yupee Prohibition League Denounces Pot Legalization," the contributing editor, Matt Taibbi goes after those who go after legal pot and he joins me right now. Matt, welcome.

MATT TAIBBI, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "ROLLING STONE": Thanks for having me on.

BALDWIN: These critics, you call them in your piece luminaries. You say they are hot to build a wall of decency around a new American menace, marijuana. Why did you respond?

TAIBBI: I just think people like Joe Scarborough and Tina Brown, generally speaking privileged white people like me and the rest of those people, I don't think we have any moral authority to say that marijuana should remain illegal, because none of us were ever really at risk of getting arrested or getting in trouble for smoking marijuana. I think most of us know that the colleges we went to and the high schools you went to more or less was fragrant.

The people who actually get arrested and get in trouble tend to be poor, non-white and urban. And they're the people who should make the decision about whether or not this drug should be legal. I just don't think we really have a say in it.

BALDWIN: It's interesting, you bring up moral authority, because there was this whole other CNN/ORC poll where we talked -- we asked a lot of different moral questions. Let me show you one. It found 64 percent of people do not think it is morally wrong to smoke pot. Of course, we're talking about the current day. This is more than double from back in 1987. Only 27 percent at the time thought pot was morally OK. Do you think, matt, as time moves on that this is just one of those issues that will just phase out once the older generation passes on?

TAIBBI: Absolutely, because -- I mean, I know it change radically, but in the period when I was growing up that marijuana was still a relatively taboo thing. By the time I finished college, everybody was smoking weed more or less out in the open. And this generation smokes it even more. The idea is that you can go through school as a young person and smoke freely without getting in trouble.

And then turn around as a 40 or 50-year-old and tell other people that they should go to jail or lose professional licenses for doing the same thing, I think that strikes this generation as absurd. It's going to strike the next generation as absurd and I think it's only going to go in that direction.

BALDWIN: I just have to ask, smoking pot in in college in the open, where did you go to school?

TAIBBI: Bart College.

BALDWIN: Just curious because I didn't quite see that myself. Let me move on and quote you. You write "I think all of us who smoke marijuana will admit that the drug doesn't bring out one's inner Einstein. That said, nobody is dumber or more dangerous than a drunk and we long ago realized we had to make alcohol legal. That's because the legalization question whether about pot or alcohol is never really a referendum over the drugs in question. It's much more a referendum on prohibition." Matt, explain.

TAIBBI: The whole thing is not really about the drug. It's really about weighing the consequences of the benefits of keeping the drug illegal versus the damage you're doing by arresting 800,000 people a year for what's essentially a harmless recreational substance. I personally met in my research about the criminal justice system so many people who have had their lives overturned by marijuana arrests.

And the question is, is that prohibition worth the trouble? Are we getting enough by making the drug illegal to outweigh the damage doing to so many lives, almost a million a year? I just think the answer has to be no, especially when you consider that we're legalizing a much more dangerous and addictive drug than alcohol and tobacco.

BALDWIN: Matt Taibbi, contributing editor of "Rolling Stone," thank you so much. If you agree with Matt, send me a tweet @brookebcnn.

Coming up next, Kevin Hart and Ice Cube join me right here in studio 7, and we talk about pot, we talk about "SNL" adding its first black female in six years, and a lot of things. Do not miss this.

Plus, much more on Dennis Rodman's outburst against CNN's Chris Cuomo. The White House is now responding. Stay right here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENNIS RODMAN, FORMER NBA PLAYER: I don't give a rat's ass what the hell you think. I'm saying to you, look at these guys here. Look at them!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Rapper Ice Cube and comic, Kevin Hart, the stars team up in this new Hollywood film called "Ride Along" comes out January 17th. And so just a little while ago, they actually stopped by the CNN studios and we chatted about the film and a couple other hot topics making news lately, including "Saturday Night Live" hiring its first African-American female comic in six years. Here's what they thought.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN HART, ACTOR/COMEDIAN: People tend to put a race issue on everything. "SNL" has existed for years. I was a person who auditioned for "SNL." I didn't get "SNL." It had nothing to do with my race at the time. I wasn't right for the part. I'm quite sure several women of all races have been going out for "SNL" and have been turned away. What people don't understand is there's literally one part that's available every two seasons or season and a half. How Lorne Michaels does his system, he picks who he feels should be in that one part.

BALDWIN: Whoever is most qualified?

HART: They've made this black woman thing an issue and I don't think it's fair to other black women, because other black women are like yes, yes, yes! We do need a chance! You got 3,000 black women coming out for this one opportunity for what seems to be the black woman part.

BALDWIN: So you're saying much ado about nothing.

HART: Yes. It's so much about nothing. Congratulations to her. She had an audition. She got the part. Not because she was black because she was qualified.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Kevin Hart, thank you. That interview, by the way, one of the most -- I'll call it entertaining in quite a while. You will see the entire thing one hour from now. We talked pot. We talked Dennis Rodman erupting on CNN. We talked President Obama. We even talked about the polar vortex. Do not miss that in one hour.

But first let's stay on topic, let's talk "SNL" so Shaheer Zamata is the name of the cast member joining the "Saturday Night Live" later this month. She is the first black actress on the show since Mya Rudolf left six years ago. Joining me not to talk about this, VH1 contributor, Amanda Seales. Amanda, welcome.

AMANDA SEALES, CNN VH1's "BEST WEEK EVER": How you doing?

BALDWIN: I'm doing well. You heard Kevin Hart, he says no big deal, she was qualified, has nothing to do with skin color. How do you feel?

SEALES: Well, that's silly. I mean, I love Kevin, but I really feel like this has been about skin color from the onset of the issue. So that's inherently what it is. Don't get me wrong, I think that it forced them to find someone who does fit the skill set of "SNL," but who also fits the skin color scenario that is at hand. The fact is that it is kind of ridiculous that there has been six seasons and there has not been a black woman on the show. I mean, it just doesn't add up, especially when there are so many talented black female comediennes, myself included, that are just not -- BALDWIN: Have you tried out?

SEALES: Yes, I did try out, actually.

BALDWIN: OK.

SEALES: But trust me, she is the bomb. I'm so happy they picked her. She's smart, witty, funny, hilarious, and they need a sister and she's that, too.

BALDWIN: Let me jump in. This is Keenan Thompson. He talked to TV Guide. This is part of what he said. It's just a tough part of the audition. They just never really find ones that are really. So might there be an issue? I heard you saying there are plenty of funny comediennes who are African-Americans. Do you disagree with him, that there were not enough?

SEALES: I disagree with him completely as they also learned when they decided to make the pointed effort of opening this up.

BALDWIN: So what happens?

SEALES: "SNL" auditions also are not open to everybody. That's the other thing.

BALDWIN: How do you mean?

SEALES: Well, because they are very -- it's a closed circuit. So, you know, if you don't have the right management or per se you're not in the right circle, you also don't have access to the right eyes. So that's part of it, too. The black female comediennes, they are dispersed across the spectrum, but I think that there's also a certain kind of comedienne that fits into the "SNL" spectrum and that that may not necessarily include a large number of black female comediennes.

BALDWIN: What would you like to see from her this season?

SEALES: Be herself. That's what I want to see her. I want to see her be herself. I want to see her be able to inject what she does into this show without having to carry the black female load on her back. And that's what I worry that folks are going to put on her. But really she's just coming in to show some diversity and they need it.

BALDWIN: We'll be watching. I know you will. Amanda Seales, thank you so much.

Hi there. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Top of the hour, you are watching CNN and you know what it has been a deep, deep freeze and every single state in the United States. Every one of you in the U.S. saw below freezing temperatures. This is the kind of cold that would give you frost bite within minutes. Every state, Florida, Hawaii, you are not immune to this deep freeze.