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CDC Warns Pregnant Women; Obama's Hurdles; Pentagon Investigates Disturbing Photos; Amy Adams Talks about Oscar Nod

Aired January 16, 2014 - 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: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me.

It just got a lot more confusing in West Virginia. Public health officials say the water is now safe to drink for tens of thousands of residence unless you happen to be pregnant. The CDC suggests pregnant women not drink the water, even after the do not use order has been lifted. Disturbing, right, because that must mean traces of that chemical remain in the water supply despite the drink order. CNN's Jean Casarez proves that's true today. She's in Charleston.

Tell us more, Jean.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN LEGAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, Carol, we want to tell everybody that 70 percent of the affected people in these areas can now drink the water. But the CDC is saying, if there is any detectable amount of the chemical, even in water that's in the blue zone, pregnant women should not drink it. So what's exactly in the water around here? We did our own testing. Here's what we found.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ (voice-over): While officials continue to test the public water supply here in Charleston, West Virginia, CNN decided to do our own testing with Test America, a private company out of Ohio.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I'm going to collect five of these bottles for this particular sample.

CASAREZ: We wanted to sample water from our hotel where the do not use order has been lifted, as well as from the home of T.W. Cox, where the ban is still in effect.

T.W. COX, HOMEOWNER: Day six and with no end it looks like in sight for us out here.

CASAREZ: Both samples were drawn within about an hour of each other. They ran the water for 20 minutes before filling the bottles. Lab testing was done overnight with control samples. The result, both samples contained MCHM, the chemical which leaked into the water supply out of Freedom Industry storage tanks last week. But both levels were below the one part per million considered safe to drink according to what government officials have said this week.

The hotel in the safe zone contained .011 parts per million and the homeowners' tap water was .27 parts per million.

SCOTT SIMONTON, WEST VIRGINIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY BOARD: It is below the standard that has been set, but I don't think we know enough about the toxicity to say that any level is, oh, that's fine.

CASAREZ: But should there be any of this synthetic substance in the water people drink? Federal officials say there are no current drinking water regulations for MCHM. Not because they know it's safe, but because it is one of thousands of chemicals that the EPA has no authority to fully require testing for safety.

SIMONTON: Under normal conditions we would see no -- none of this contaminant in our drinking water.

CASAREZ: So even when the state gives him the all-clear, T.W. Cox says he may not fully trust what the government is telling him.

COX: I plan to continue to use bottled water until I feel confident that everything has been resolved.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ: So, as you can see, the water that still has been determined to be safe in the blue zone contains that chemical right there. And the environmental scientist that we spoke to says that the one part per million safe standard was something that they decided to do based on the very limited animal studies that have been done on the chemical and it was something that they had to put in place very quickly because suddenly they had this catastrophic situation, the emergency spill, and had to determine what is safe and what is not safe, Carol.

COSTELLO: That's really scary. Also -- also circulating out there, the owner of this company where the chemical leaked from, Freedom Industries, moved his chemical supply to another facility and we understand that facility has now been cited, too. You're kidding?

CASAREZ: With five violations, Carol. You see, all of that chemical had to be moved to another storage facility. And so now the West Virginia Department of Emergency Management decided to go in and inspect that facility. They found holes in the walls where the containment was being held and then the holes in the walls go to a dike, but that also collects storm water. So five different violations. They now may move the chemical again. They may have to. And so it continues. And - but here's what's interesting. The State Department of Emergency Protection actually did inspect a storage facility. First time that it's done that.

COSTELLO: In many, many years. Jean Casarez, great work in West Virginia. Thanks so much.

Quick check on Wall Street now. Stocks down just a bit this morning. Earnings reports are coming out later today -- Intel. American Express. So we're going to keep an eye on things on Wall Street. We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: These are live pictures from Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are holding a hearing on the security of the Obamacare website. We'll keep you posted on what happens there.

In the meantime, the president is promising a year of action. Mr. Obama wants to create jobs, raise the minimum wage and close the wage gap. A tall order the president says will take time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is going to be a long haul. We're not going to - we're not going to turn things around overnight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: He's right about that, because not only are Republicans threatening his agenda, Democrats are not exactly rallying around the president's every word. North Carolina lawmakers up for re-election, like Senator Kay Hagan, did not appear by the president's side during a rally in North Carolina yesterday. Former Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer may run for office as the anti-Obama and he's a Democrat. President Obama's former pastor and friend, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, bashed President Obama at an event for the Chicago teachers union. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. JEREMIAH WRIGHT: The truth about our politicians and the policies of this country, every Tuesday morning there's a kill list that the president decides who he's going to kill this week. That's not the man of peace that you just talked about. That's a man controlled by government. That's a government based on militarism, racism and capitalism. We need to teach the truth, even when it's painful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Ouch. With me now to talk about this, Larry Sabato, he's the director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, and Susan Page is Washington bureau chief for "USA Today."

Welcome to you both.

SUSAN PAGE, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, "USA TODAY": Hey, hi, Carol.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, UNIV. OF VIRGINIA CENTER FOR POLITICS: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: Thanks for being here. You're welcome.

Now, granted, Reverend Wright is a tad bitter after the president jetesed (ph) him during the election, but there's a bigger issue at play here. How will all of these things combined affect the president's year of action, Larry?

SABATO: Well, Jeremiah Wright, with all due respect, is completely irrelevant. He had his 10 minutes of fame in 2008 and my guess is 90 to 95 percent don't even know who he is. But your general question, Carol, is right on point, because welcome to the sixth year of a tough presidency. President Obama has begun clearly the lame duck stage and it's only going to get worse. This may be a year of action in his mind and he can do certain things, certainly he's got the bully pulpit and the veto power and some considerable appointment powers and the like. He doesn't control the House of Representatives and, therefore, he can't get much passed through the Congress. And my guess is, after November it's going to be worse. The Republicans are going to gain seats in Congress and he'll have even less power to act in the final two years of his presidency.

COSTELLO: Well, Susan, the sad thing here, the wage gap needs to narrow. Most people, Democrats and Republicans, want to raise the minimum wage. So what does the president need to do, now that he's a lame duck as Larry says, to garner support, to get those things through?

PAGE: Right. While they support him among Democrats, American people, by a huge majority, would also support raising the minimum wage. But I think it's a tough - a tough haul to get it through the Congress. And I - and I agree with Larry.

Now, of course, some presidents in their six years do get big things done. And remember that Ronald Reagan signed the last big tax reform bill in his sixth year. But I don't think the landscape is set up for him to do that. But where will we see the president be able to have a year of action? On foreign policy? On issues where he can do things by executive action, including on climate change where regulations can make a big point. But in the areas where he needs to pass legislation through Congress, it just looks like it's going to be very tough for him this year.

COSTELLO: Although, Larry, on the plus side, Republicans and Democrats in Congress seem to be compromising a little more these days. For example, the House passed a budget, a spending bill. So is all of this as dire as it seems?

SABATO: Well, it's not as though nothing will happen. Some things will happen. I think the operative word in your question is "seem." They seem to be getting along better. That's often true in the opening days, weeks and months of a Congress. But as you get to the crunch period, you find out that, in fact, the old divisions are still there. And the fundamental is that we live in a deeply polarized, partisan era and that means the federal government doesn't get much done.

COSTELLO: So, I guess last question for you, Susan, who will be leading in the next few years? What politician will we look for to solve problems?

PAGE: Well, the president, obviously, still has a big role. But we're entering that period where the focus of the political world turns to the next election. We'll be talking about people like Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush and Chris Christie. I mean look how much attention this New Jersey scandal has gotten. It's not just because of New Jersey. It's because we think of Chris Christie as a potential presidential contender. So it's just -- you know, there's a rhythm to these presidential terms and we're entering that phase where it changes a bit.

Now, things can happen and -- the one good thing I think you can say about this next year is that, we may be able to avoid the cliffhanger budget politics that have marked the last couple of years because we see this big budget moving through Congress. That might be something positive to say.

COSTELLO: Yes, I'll stick with that. I'm looking at the glass half full as much as I can these days. Larry Sabato and Susan Page, thanks so much for your insight.

PAGE: Thank you.

COSTELLO: We're back in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Disturbing new photos are out that could further the violence going on right now in Fallujah, Iraq. The photos, which appear to show Marines burning Iraqi insurgents' bodies are now sparking a military investigation.

Brian Todd has more. Good morning, Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. As U.S. involvement in these wars wound down, military officials have been worried that more and more disturbing videos and photos would emerge. That appears to have happened again. Right at the time, as you mentioned, when some key Iraqi cities which many Americans will remember are being fought over.

Now we have to warn the viewers some may find the images in this story disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD (voice over): The deadliest fighting Iraq has seen in years. In recent days al Qaeda backed militants have been battling Iraqi security forces for control of Fallujah and Ramadi. This is the territory U.S. Marines fought and died to capture during the height of the Iraq war.

Now U.S. military officials tell CNN they're investigating these photos taken in 2004. The Web site TMZ published the photos and turned them over to the Pentagon last week. TMZ was told they were taken in Fallujah. The photos appear to show U.S. Marines burning the dead bodies of Iraqi insurgents. In one photo a Marine is pouring liquid on a body, in another the same body in flames and this picture of a Marine kneeling next to a skull. There are many more.

Analyst Jonathan Rue served with the Marines in Iraq.

JONATHAN RUE, FORMER MARINE CAPTAIN: This looks really bad. But we don't know exactly what was happening and we don't know what the circumstances were.

TODD: U.S. military officials can't tell us what unit these men were in. They're trying to determine their identities.

Rue says the 2004 fighting in Fallujah was some of the worst urban combat the Marines had seen since Vietnam.

RUE: They literally had to clear the entire city, house to house. Some houses would be empty. Some houses would have booby traps and some houses had, you know, three, four, five 10 insurgents inside ready, waiting to fight to the death.

TODD: Why examine this case now?

EUGENE FIDELL, FORMER JAG OFFICER: There is certainly a value in our society condemning this kind of conducts. And give the world, including the Iraqi people, an explanation for what we're doing.

TODD: Analysts say it's possible the bodies could have been burned for hygienic purposes but it's a crime in the military to burn human remains or to possess or distribute personal photos of them. Still prosecuting these men will be difficult.

FIDELL: If they are not still on active duty then you have really serious issues as to which court, if any, they can be prosecuted in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: That means according to Eugene Fidell that it's not clear whether these men could be prosecuted in a civilian court or not. Fidell says there also may be a statute of limitations for these crimes and if so it probably would have expired a long time ago -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Brian Todd reporting live from Washington this morning thanks.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The Oscar nominations are out. And joining me on the phone right now leading actress nominee Amy Adams she's being recognized for her role as Sydney Prosser in "American Hustle". Good morning.

AMY ADAMS, ACTRESS: Good morning. How are you?

COSTELLO: Better question, how are you feeling this morning?

ADAMS: I am great. I'm great.

COSTELLO: How did you find out the news?

ADAMS: I got a call, a phone call. It's a very nice phone call to get -- very early, but very nice phone call.

COSTELLO: What did the person say?

ADAMS: Congratulations you've been nominated. And that my other cast members have also been nominated which is amazing, it's absolutely amazing.

COSTELLO: Were you in a dead sleep when the call came?

ADAMS: Yes, pretty much. I have a three and a half-year-old son I'm used to early mornings. But yes it's an amazing phone call to get. It's a great way to wake up.

COSTELLO: Well I must say in this movie you really captured the spirit of the 70s. In fact I think I read an interview where you said you felt like you should have been born into that decade. Explain that for me.

ADAMS: You know, there was -- there was such a -- it's strange because it's not actually brought about in our film, but there was such a simplicity and such an innocence where you could actually pull a scam like this. We didn't have the Internet. It was -- people were a lot more naive, you know. We didn't have the access to information that we have now. And I always feel like I've been drawn to sort of a time but without as much technology. I tend to be not very advanced when it comes to that. So -- just a simpler time.

COSTELLO: Well I'd like to read you a bit from "The New York Times" review of the movie and your performance because I love this line. It says, "With her bright eyes and alabaster gleam, Miss Adams can look like a porcelain doll, a deceptive mien that helps complicates the (inaudible) and turns an unpredictable character into a thrillingly wild one whose ordinary scream is the howl of a wolf." That's an awesome review.

ADAMS: That's amazing. I actually hadn't -- I hadn't read that. That's -- I'm humbled. I don't know what else to say. That's amazing. I think I've said "amazing" like 100 times. I'm at a loss for words.

COSTELLO: And you know it's really charming that you can say this, because this is your fifth nomination.

COSTELLO: It's -- again, that's amazing. I really don't have words. I really -- I wish I had some sort of -- I don't know, I don't know. I'm just -- the women I'm nominated with -- I mean these are the women that I have looked up to long before I decided to be an actress. These are the women that I -- that I watched and admired. So I'm just completely humbled this morning to be in their company, completely humbled.

COSTELLO: I've also read that, you know a lot of female actresses complain that there are not enough good roles for women in Hollywood. But in this movie there are at least two great roles.

ADAMS: Well David has just such a -- such a wonderful way of creating characters for women that are complex. And I think he's very interested in sort of in that and sort of the strength and vulnerability and how they combine in women. And he's -- I think he has a lot of reverend for very strong complicated women and he writes for us and I'm very grateful to him for doing that for me, for Jennifer and for everyone who gets to work with him in the future. It's -- it's really wonderful.

COSTELLO: I want to bring in our entertainment correspondent A.J. Hammer now. Because I know he has a few questions for you as well. So A.J., take it away.

A.J. HAMMER, HLN HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Well I'm sorry Amy, I actually missed the top of the interview but congratulations to you. I mean I'm just over the moon.

ADAMS: Thank you.

HAMMER: And obviously so well-deserved. I actually need to know if you've even come down from Sunday night at the Golden Globes yet because you were almost at a loss for words then as well.

ADAMS: I haven't. I think these are moments that you reflect on years down the road. You know, I've -- I just really -- I'm just so lucky. I really feel just so lucky. I'm at a loss for words again.

HAMMER: You mentioned the reverence you have for other women you are nominated along with. And of course, Meryl Streep such an icon; I believe she's now having her 18th Oscar nomination. You won in the category at the Golden Globes. What kind of a conversation -- if you might let us in on that -- do you have with Meryl when you run into her after the awards are all over and you're all just kind of settling in? Because there is this great camaraderie that happens when you're all in the same category through an awards season.

ADAMS: You know what, Meryl -- I worked with her twice. And I really -- what I learned from her is just immeasurable. But when I sit down with Meryl I honestly -- I have more questions about how she balances life, motherhood and her career. I'm much more interested in how she -- she lives with such beautiful grace. And that's really what I admire equal to if not more than my admiration for her acting because she really lives her life in such a beautiful way. That's what I like to pick her brain about.

COSTELLO: Amy Adams, thank you so much for being with us this morning. We really appreciate --

ADAMS: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Congratulations once again. I'll let you get back to your kid because I know she must be clamoring for you right now.

ADAMS: She's watching cartoons. She's ok. All right.

COSTELLO: Fantastic. Thank you Amy Adams. A.J. Hammer, you stick right there because I want you to go down the list of the winners today. I'm sorry, bring in -- A.J. Hammer, you're still here right?

HAMMER: I am still here, absolutely. COSTELLO: Ok, good. So we're going to hit the top of the hour, 10:00 Eastern time. I'd just like you to go down the list of the nominees if you would.

HAMMER: Sure. We can start off -- take a look at the best motion picture nominees right off the top here. "American Hustle" as we were just speaking to nominee Amy Adams who turned in that marvelous performance nominated; as is "Captain Phillips", "Dallas Buyers Club", "Gravity", "Her", "Nebraska", "Philomena", "12 Years a Slave" and "The Wolf of Wall Street". So you have nine pictures nominated. They can be as few as five -- as many as 10. We got nine this year.