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California Experiencing Drought; School Shooter Not Yet in Police Custody; President Gives Speech on NSA Reforms; Interview with Congressman Adam Schiff; Governor Chris Christie Attend Fundraiser; Benghazi and New Jersey Bridge Scandals Examined; Cruise Ship Hit with Virus; "Wall Street Journal" Reporters Disappears; Black Female Comedienne Joins Cast of "Saturday Night Live"
Aired January 18, 2014 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Chris Christie on the move and looking for money. In the wake of the bridge scandal that keeps getting bigger, will a Florida fundraising trip charm the big donors or alienate them?
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: A "Wall Street Journal" reporter disappears, and a week later investigators are still baffled. Now, some reports are suggesting his disappearance may have to do with his coverage of the oil industry.
BLACKWELL: And a big debut on "Saturday Night Live." Sasheer Zamata joins the show tonight as the first African-American woman on the cast in six years. We have our own female comedians to give a preview and some friendly advice.
PAUL: Hey, good morning to you. I hope that Saturday has been good to you so far. I'm Christi Paul.
BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Pleasure to be with you. It's now 10:00 on the east coast, 7:00 on the west coast. You're in CNN Newsroom.
PAUL: Let's talk about California's new enemy. Apparently it's Mother Nature.
BLACKWELL: Governor Jerry Brown yesterday declared that the state is facing a drought of historic proportions. It's fueling wildfires and hurting the state's massive agriculture industry. It really feeds our entire nation.
So Kyung Lah has more from Glendora. Good morning to you, Kyung.
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor, Christi, If you want to know about the power, the danger of California's drought, just look at this building behind me. This was a historic mansion. It was broken up into several different apartments, a two-story structure. The fire completely made it collapse. The record low rain in the state, the winds, the low humidity made this ripe for fire. The drought, says the governor, has plunged California into a state of emergency.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) LAH: This is what California's drought looks like. The driest year in a century met a flame-friendly canvas for the Colby fire, 1,700 acres charred, thousands evacuated, five homes gone in an instant. The drought, declared the governor, has plunged California into a state of emergency.
GOV. JERRY BROWN, (D) CALIFORNIA: We are in an unprecedented, very serious situation and people should pause and reflect on how dependent we are on the rain, on nature, and one another.
LAH: In a state of emergency speech, the governor asked everyone to cut back water use by 20 percent. His declaration does lift some environmental restrictions to allow the state to move water to parched regions more easily. The challenge, there's not much to share among the state's 38 million residents. Reservoir levels are at record lows. Snow-packs this season, 80 percent lower than normal. Los Angeles got just over three inches of rain in all of 2013, about a quarter of what's normal.
More firefighters will be hired and they're on alert for this dangerous drought. As for the Colby fire that's still burning, it started as an accident. Police say these three men set an illegal campfire. They and their attorneys couldn't be reached for comment. The fire rapidly exploded out of control, the challenge for firefighters, more dry winds and a forecast without any rain stretching on into the weekend.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAH: Looking now at the hillside, you can see that it is all brown. That's not typical. That's not burned land, either. That is normally green this time of the year, but because of the drought all of the earth here is brown. Firefighters here are saying they have had a very difficult fire season and they expect it to continue. Victor, Christi?
BLACKWELL: Kyung Lah, thank you.
PAUL: Usually it's California's rainy season at this point.
BLACKWELL: So where is the rain then? CNN's Jennifer Gray looks at what's causing this crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Just take one look in the west and the pictures will tell the story. We are barely two weeks into 2014 and new records are already being broken. But what's the science behind this extreme weather?
DR. MARSHALL SHEPHERD, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY: When areas of the United States are under very persistent areas of high pressure, what meteorologists call ridges, we see a lot of dry, hot weather. And I think that's what we've seen, and because of that, the western United States has been ridiculously dry. GRAY: California's extreme drought is dire. San Francisco is experiencing its driest year in more than 165 years. The wildfires come at a time when it's supposed to be California's rainy season.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're waiting for rain. We're praying. We're going to do a rain dance.
GRAY: The president of the American Meteorological Society says it's going to take much more than a dance to reverse this, thanks in part to the jet stream.
SHEPHERD: So we can get locked into these modes or patterns of how the jet stream is situated, and in 2013, high pressure has been the dominant weather feature over the west. That causes really hot and dry conditions.
GRAY: Because off this, California is parched. Many of their lakes and reservoirs are at 30 percent and sinking. And the snowpack which is supposed to be a key resource for water is 84 percent below average.
SHEPHERD: That snow is the drinking water for people in Los Angeles, phoenix and other places later in the year, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist, even though I used to work at NASA, to know that there are going to be stresses on water supply.
GRAY: And long-term predictions don't spell relief.
DANIEL BERLANT, CALFIRE: As we move further into the actual summer months, things are only going to get drier. The temperatures will only get higher, the humidity will only get lower.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL: CNN meteorologist Jennifer Gray has a forecast for us. Hi, Jen.
GRAY: Hi, Christi. Yes, this is a very, very serious situation, because just like we said, this is when they're supposed to get rain. They only have about a couple months window to get it. After that, you enter the dry season, so we could be talking about an incredible fire risk as we go through the next couple of months.
Temperatures are going to stay above average. They should be around 66 degrees in L.A. this time of year. We are going to be running about 10 to 15 degrees above that over the next three days. No rain in the forecast over the next seven to 10 days, and if you look at the three-month forecast, February, March, and April, forecasted to be above normal temperatures and below normal rainfall over the next several months, So it looks like the situation could only get worse. Victor and Christi, this is going to be something we will be talking about for months. It's going to take much more than just a couple days of rain to reverse all of this.
BLACKWELL: Hopefully not as dangerous, though. Jennifer Gray, thank you. PAUL: New this morning, a warrant has now been issued for the suspect who opened fire inside a Philadelphia high school.
GRAY: Yesterday's shooting at Delaware Valley Charter High School left two students injured. This was the second school shooting in the U.S. this week. CNN's Nick Valencia joins us now. Nick, you just spoke with police. What did you learn?
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That he is supposed to turn himself in this morning, but that has not happened yet. The detective I spoke to said he was actually very surprised and shocked that this juvenile, as he's being described, has yet to turn himself in. Initially there was three persons of interest. One person was taken into custody. He was interviewed, cleared, and released, another person, still in custody. And this juvenile, this person of interest now being called a suspect, a warrant being issued for his arrest. He's the guy that they're looking for.
The fear, of course, the main concern is that this could happen again. This individual is the alleged suspect in the shooting yesterday. Police say their worry is that until he turns himself in, they have an alleged shooter on the loose.
PAUL: Real quickly, word on the kids who were shot?
VALENCIA: Yes, the two students who were shot, both 15 years old, non-life threatening injuries. So that's the good news in all of this. They are expected to survive.
PAUL: Good. I'm sorry, one more time? I'm sorry.
BLACKWELL: I wanted to talk about this phenomenon of school shootings.
PAUL: This is the second in a week.
VALENCIA: That's the troubling thing coming out of this. This is sort of a new normal for the United States. You wake up to these headlines, it's becoming less and less -- I don't want to say less and less outrageous because any shooting like this is outrageous. But people are becoming sort of accustomed to this kind of news, and that's the scary thing coming out of this. Arapahoe high school, you had that shooting, a shooting in New Mexico. A shooting at an Indiana grocery store earlier this week. A shooting in a movie theater. This gun culture in the United States has a lot of people very concerned and talking a lot, no matter which side of the issue you stand on.
PAUL: You know what's interesting about this real quickly is there were only seven to 12 students in that gym. How could they not know who it was?
VALENCIA: And it was caught on surveillance tape as well. So initially they wanted to narrow it down from three people. There's a little bit of confusion but we do know now after speaking to police last hour that this is the guy they're looking for.
PAUL: All right, Nick Valencia, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
BLACKWELL: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie takes his first political fundraising trip since the bridge scandal erupted. We have a live report from Orlando on the donors he will face, that's next.
PAUL: Plus, President Obama lays out new rules on how the government will protect your e-mail, your phone records. Is this reform enough? A lawmaker on the intelligence committee is weighing in.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: New developments this morning in the New Jersey bridge scandal. Three groups and 17 individuals with ties to Governor Chris Christie have now been subpoenaed in that case. Many of them are being asked to turn over their cellphones and computers. Officials are expected to comb through the e-mails and text messages and voicemails that may be connected to last September's bridge closing. The findings will be released next month.
Meanwhile, Christie is in Florida this weekend to help raise money for Governor Rick Scott's reelection campaign, and CNN's Tory Dunnan is there in Florida as well, live from Orlando. What are we expecting from Governor Christie today?
TORY DUNNAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So Victor, the first of several events today is happening right here at this country club in Orlando. It's a fundraiser for Florida's governor. Now, all of these events this weekend are behind closed doors, but still, we should get some insight as to where Chris Christie stands within his own party.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE, (R) NEW JERSEY: Whatever test they put in front of me, I will meet those tests.
DUNNAN: Now the tests for New Jersey governor Chris Christie move some 1,000 miles south, from the garden state to cash-rich Florida. More than a week after the bridge controversy blew wide open, this week, Christie's first trip out of state, a jam-packed weekend with stops in Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, and Palm Beach. His star power and fundraising abilities will be on display in the midst of a political scandal. The governor is in town to fund-raise for Florida Governor Rick Scott, who despite the controversy, is not shying away.
GOV. RICK SCOTT, (R) FLORIDA: I know he did the right thing, he apologized, he went to the community and apologized. So I look forward to seeing him.
DUNNAN: And as its chairman, he will also raise money for the Republican Governors Association. Christie will attend events on Palm Beach to network with his potential donor base, those he would rely on if he decides to run for president in 2016.
ADAM SMITH, POLITICAL EDITOR, "TAMPA BAY TIMES": I think Florida Republicans would be a lot more excited if it was pre-bridge-gate, but he should play really well, especially in southeast Florida. That's basically New Jersey south.
DUNNAN: It turns out the excitement could still be there. His main political event is at Home Depot co-founder and billionaire Ken Langone's home. Even with the scandal Langone tells CNN he has been flooded with requests to meet the governor.
ANA NAVARRO: The most important thing on Chris Christie's plate right now is New Jersey, focusing on his to-do list there, and setting that ship straight. But he also has other responsibilities. He's the chair of the Republican Governors Association, and then he also has to think about Chris Christie and what his future is. He's got a lot of donors that are here in the Florida area, people that want to hear from him, that want to ask him questions, and that want to go and listen to what Chris Christie has to say.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DUNNAN: The Democrats are not sitting on the sidelines. The chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee is shadowing each and every one of these closed door fundraisers, and they are even doing more than that. In fact, they released this ad this morning. It's a welcome to Florida for Chris Christie. Not so much. It's pretty much the opposite there. And Victor and Christi, this is sort of a sure sign that Democrats still see him as a threat, potentially even into 2016.
BLACKWELL: Yes, raising money for 2014 but this has a big implication, a lot of implications heading into 2016. Tory Dunnan in Orlando for us, thank you. Christi?
PAUL: All right, Victor, more politics for you now. Big developments related to your privacy. President Obama drawing some boundaries here, calling for changes to the controversial program that stockpiles the phone records of hundreds of millions of Americans. The NSA now has to get permission from a secret court to access the data. And the president wants the records shifted out of government hands, but some say it's just not enough.
So let's talk to Democratic Representative Adam Schiff from Washington right now. He's a senior member of the House intelligence committee and is pushing legislation to further limit access to phone records. Congressman, thank you so much. We appreciate you being here.
REP. ADAM SCHIFF, (D) WASHINGTON: A pleasure.
PAUL: Sure. So tell me first off, how do your proposals go further?
SCHIFF: Well, they go further in that they answer a question the president left open yesterday, and that is if you take the bulk metadata program away from the government, then what do you do with it, who holds on to that data? And I think the program should be restructured in a way that the telephone companies hold on to their own data. They do this anyway, and I think we can develop the technological ability to get the information from those phone companies with court approval in the case by case basis where we need that information, where we think the number's connected to a plot. It's more protective of privacy, still meets our national security objectives. That's how I would have gone farther. But I was pleased to see the president took the immediate step of requiring prior court approval. I think that's very important.
PAUL: You know, some of your colleagues I know have expressed concern that individual records authorizations could take days to secure, which might, let's face it, be too long in the case of a possible terrorist attack. How do you respond to that?
SCHIFF: Well, the president articulated, and the bill that I introduced will do the same thing, that in an emergency, you can go directly to the telephone company, get the data, and then get court approval after the fact. If the court says no, you didn't have a reason, sufficient reason to get those records, then they have to be expunged. So that meets the urgent needs.
But there will be many cases where we get information that may be about a historic plot. We want to find out if there are connections between people where there isn't the same time sensitivity. That may be the case more often than not. But in those cases, you should get prior court approval. In the true emergencies, then you can go to the provider first and go to the court shortly thereafter.
PAUL: OK, so let's talk about -- a little bit more about that and these recommendations that would need, you know, Congressional approval. Privacy advocates, it's a secret surveillance court as I understand it, who should they be? When should they be pressed into action? How is that protocol going to work?
SCHIFF: Well, I think that we don't want the privacy advocate in every single garden variety warrant, which would be like having the process every time you needed a search warrant. But instead, in the broad programmatic requests of the FISA court, for instance, when the government comes every three months and says we want to renew the metadata program or we want to start a new program, or there's a unique issue of constitutional law that's raised, those are the cases where you want someone that can say to the court, you know, there's a better way to do this. We don't need to get all these records, or we haven't met the constitutional standard.
So in those cases, which are relatively few in number but very important, that's when you want the advocate. And those advocates I think should come from outside the court. They shouldn't be a court clerk or court lawyer, but rather, I would like to see the privacy and civil liberties board appoint these attorneys or gather a panel of these attorneys that the court could then draw on in these important cases.
PAUL: We only have a second left but I just want -- I know you expressed concern that a, quote, very dysfunctional Congress won't be able to pass some of the NSA reforms. What are your biggest concerns?
SCHIFF: Well, particularly on the metadata program, that has been very controversial. I would like to see the administration do as much as it can without waiting for the Congress. But we do have an end date. The program will expire of its own terms in the middle of next year so if Congress can't rise to the occasion to legislate here, that program will go away completely next year.
PAUL: Congressman Adam Schiff, thank you so much for making time for us. We appreciate it.
SCHIFF: Thank you.
PAUL: Victor, you know, there is this whole idea of balance, too. People say listen, I don't want people in on everything that I'm doing, and at the same time, when a terrorist attack happens, they say where were you and how much did you know and why didn't you know more.
BLACKWELL: The question is, are you willing to give up a little bit of privacy to get more security? Are you willing to give up a little more security to get a little more privacy? And that conversation will continue.
Coming up, a dream vacation turns into a nightmare for dozens of passengers aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. That report next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: An incredible image coming out of Brazil. Lightning striking the iconic Christ the redeemer statue that towers over Rio de Janeiro. It's 130 feet tall. It's a frequent target for lightning strikes. Officials say the strike in this particular storm actually chipped a piece of the thumb. A different finger was actually damaged in a storm last month. Christi?
PAUL: All right, hey, listen, have you heard about this nightmarish end to a dream vacation? Dozens of passengers were ill on a Royal Caribbean cruise, and trust me, it does not sound pleasant.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I spent like the whole night on the toilet.
PAUL: A major health scare on the high seas after dozens of passengers on a dream cruise ship, Royal Caribbean's "Majesty of the Seas," experienced severe gastrointestinal issues including vomiting and diarrhea.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Announcement in English and Spanish, they went all morning, all afternoon.
PAUL: Royal Caribbean says the ship arrived in Port Miami, Florida, Friday after four days in the Bahamas and the Florida Keys, then would depart on another cruise as originally scheduled. Over the course of that sailing, 66 of 2,581 guests and two of 844 crew members experienced the illness, thought to be noro-virus. Those affected by the short-lived illness responded well to over the counter medication administered on board the ship. The CDC describes noro-virus as a very contagious virus that can be spread by infected persons, contaminated food or water, or through contact with contaminated surfaces. A new set of passengers, including the Mendoza family, is getting ready to sail after the ship was thoroughly cleaned.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are concerned. We all brought medication and will make sure we're more cautious.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is really scary. I'm surprised they didn't notify anybody that has booked a trip.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL: The thing is, Victor, these new people that were coming on for the next cruise, they were given a letter and they were asked if they had any gastrointestinal symptoms within the last three days, and if they did, and they felt uncomfortable, they were allowed to reschedule their trip.
BLACKWELL: Also, what about what they could catch once they get on the ship?
PAUL: Right. Well, for one, I'm sure they didn't want anybody bringing anything new on. Secondly, I'm sure that they didn't want somebody coming on in a weakened condition so if there was -- if there were any remnants to this, they wouldn't be more vulnerable.
BLACKWELL: Yes, all right. Thanks, Christi.
Also new this morning, more than 80 passengers who survived that Asiana plane crash in San Francisco, remember that one, they have now filed a lawsuit against Boeing. It claims that Boeing knew or at least should have known the plane had inadequate warning systems and other deficiencies. Three people were killed in that crash. More than 180 people were hurt. Boeing has not commented on the lawsuit.
PAUL: Two big contenders for the White House in 2016, Governor Chris Christie on the right, Hillary Clinton on the left, and both facing political controversies. Is it all going to matter in the end?
And it's a big night for one female comic joining the cast of "SNL" tonight. So how much pressure will Sasheer Zamata be under? Our all- star panel is weighing in.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAUL: Now to give you a chance to relax a little bit on this Saturday at 10:29 to be exact. I'm Christi Paul.
BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Start easy, just ease into the Saturday. Here are five stories we're watching this morning.
PAUL: Number one, California's governor declares a drought emergency yesterday while the Colby fire burns north of Los Angeles. That fire only 30 percent contained today. Governor Jerry Brown says the drought could be the worst the state has faced in a century and is already affecting California's huge farming industry which could lead to higher food prices for all of us. BLACKWELL: Number two, American University Officials say they are devastated by the killing of two employees in yesterday's attack in the Afghan capital of Kabul. Of the two Americans were among 21 people killed in the attack. The Taliban claimed responsibility and said it was payback for a military strike that left several civilians dead.
PAUL: Number three, a judge in North Carolina has struck down a law that requires women to have an ultrasound and see the image of the fetus prior to getting an abortion. On Friday, yesterday, the judge called the state's law unconstitutional and supporters of the law had argued that it would discourage women from having an abortion, but some opponents argue it doesn't change women's minds.
BLACKWELL: Number four, tonight for the first time in more than six years, a black female will join the cast of "Saturday Night Live." just a few weeks ago, Sasheer Zamata was relatively unknown, but tonight, all eyes will be on the former "Upright Citizens Brigade" comedian. She is making her big debut along with two black female writers.
Make sure to stay with us later this morning. We are talking to comedian Loni Love and former Mad TV star Debra Wilson about the controversy and "SNL's" diversity.
PAUL: It's no secret Michelle Obama has smooth moves on the dance floor. So it shouldn't be a surprise the White House is throwing a "Saturday Night Fever" themed party tonight for the first lady's 50th birthday. Festivities kick off at 9:00. If you are lucky enough to get through the door, apparently you have to keep your cameras at home. Say it's not so! Photographs aren't allowed, but rumor has it Beyonce will be performing.
BLACKWELL: Benghazi versus the bridge -- two potential 2016 White House contenders both find themselves in a tough spot. Chris Christie still trying to weather the New Jersey bridge scandal and now a new report out on Benghazi calls the attack likely preventable, blasting Hillary Clinton.
All right, so let's talk about it. Joining me now, CNN political commentators Hilary Rosen and Ben Ferguson. First, I want to get an idea of if you two believe that these two, as we call them scandals, are equivalent. Is the bridge scandal to Chris Christie as Benghazi is to Hillary Clinton? Let's start with you, Ben.
BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Let's see here. Traffic, a lot of traffic or an American ambassador being killed on the anniversary of 9/11 by the hands of people affiliated with Al Qaeda. I'm going to go traffic is not as big of a deal if you are being shot at and attacked and killed on the anniversary of 9/11. So I think they are completely different things here from the very beginning.
BLACKWELL: You say traffic, but it's also, if the governor is involved, it's using public resources for political retribution, which is not just traffic. Let's go to you, Hilary. What do you think? HILARY ROSEN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Let's say two things. First, your intro was wrong. The Senate report didn't blast Hillary Clinton. Second, the "Manchester Union Leader" talks about and I will talk about that in a minute, but you know, the issue with Governor Christie --
BLACKWELL: Let's just clear it up. The addendum did.
ROSEN: The New Jersey issue is about abuse of power. What the Senate report found was that they actually agreed, a bipartisan agreement on the facts, which is that the attack was preventable and they raised several areas where it could have been prevented, like Ambassador Stevens unfortunately refusing help from central command when it was offered twice.
But what it disagreed on was the politics. So they had a bipartisan agreement on the facts, and then the Republicans didn't like that the report itself didn't attack Hillary Clinton or blame her for all of this, and so they added a Republican addition, putting this all on Hillary Clinton when the facts didn't bear that out. That's a very important distinction.
BLACKWELL: Just so we're clear, I want to make sure we're clear because the intro was corrected. I want to read part of the addendum. "Ultimately, however, the final responsibility for security at diplomatic facilities lies with the former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton. At the end of the day, she was responsible for ensuring the safety of all Americans serving in our diplomatic facilities. Her failure to do so clearly made a difference in the lives of the four murdered Americans and their families." So while the report may not have had that --
ROSEN: That's the GOP addendum. That's my point.
BLACKWELL: OK.
(CROSSTALK)
BLACKWELL: Let's get to ben.
FERGUSON: Let me say this. I think Hilary is actually making a great point here, and that is this. Democrats do not care that four Americans, including an ambassador, were killed on the anniversary of 9/11. They care more about Hillary Clinton's political future, and they are not going to admit that she had any role in actually not being focused on what happened here.
It's obvious from this report how she's defending it this morning. They don't care that the ambassador died, they don't care that other Americans died because Hillary Clinton's political future is more important than anyone's death that happened on the anniversary of 9/11.
ROSEN: Well, I think that's patently ridiculous, and you know, Hillary Clinton herself spent eight hours before Senate and House committees talking about this, talking about her role and how -- FERGUSON: And saying what difference does it make?
ROSEN: No, no, she didn't say what difference does it make that they died.
FERGUSON: Yes, she did.
ROSEN: No, she did not. Don't ever say that. That's not what that tape said, and you guys are going to use that over and over again, but she did not say what difference does it make that they died. What she was saying is what they need to do was find out what happened and how it can be prevented from happening again. That's a very important difference.
And here's the critical thing that we ought to know about Benghazi.
BLACKWELL: Then we can go to Chritie.
ROSEN: And then we should go to Christi, which is, you know, it was a tragedy. It was a preventable tragedy because like many, many other diplomatic missions across this world, it could have used more security. But accidents do happen at diplomatic missions, and judgment calls are made at diplomatic missions. Ambassadors make those calls. And unfortunately, the wrong call was made here. But this is not a Hillary Clinton issue. This is a secretaries of state for the last, every administration for the last 50 years have had accidents happen at diplomatic missions.
BLACKWELL: Hilary, let's talk about Governor Christie because we have a limited amount of time for this segment. Let's get to Chris Christie. We've got to get to Chris Christie. Recent polls showing that 37 percent now would pick him for president. That's down from 45 percent last month. He's taken a hit in the numbers. Hillary Clinton is not. So if we -- for the sake of this conversation, if we say these two scandals are equal, it looks as if Governor Christie is the one in trouble here. Ben?
ROSEN: Yes, I think --
FERGUSON: Any time, any time there's a scandal that comes out, any time there's a scandal that comes out, you always see people's approval ratings go down in the short term, and then it goes back to normal afterwards. So I'm not surprised that his numbers have gone down here, because it's in the front pages and has been.
Now, will this matter when it comes to the primaries, if he decides to run for president? I don't think it's going to matter in the same way the president's approval ratings go down after certain events happen, for example, the Affordable Care Act and that debacle there. But he's going to be able to come back from it. I do think that to say they are both the same is completely absurd.
One, people died and this one, there was traffic. One, there's a cover-up and there was a YouTube video which we now know in this report was in fact a fabricated made-up story that Hillary Clinton also pushed out in public when she knew that was a lie and she knew it was a terrorist attack, and she told that lie for nine days. The report also says that was bad information. So there are differences.
BLACKWELL: Ben, I want to hear from Hilary, but I want to clear the record. You say that people died at Benghazi. There was a woman who was I believe was 91 years old that first responders could not get to because they were sitting in that, as you call it repeatedly, traffic.
So Hilary, go ahead, Chris Christie.
ROSEN: I agree with Ben on this that we should not be comparing them. I think they're both difficult situations for different reasons. I think the Republicans are obsessed with Benghazi even though these conspiracy theories have all been debunked about cover-ups.
(CROSSTALK)
ROSEN: Because they believe that it's going to hurt Hilary.
For the same reason, though, I think Democrats are going to potentially overplay the Chris Christie thing to the point where the only people who care about the Christie issue going forward may end up being Democrats.
But the jury is very much out here. Unlike Benghazi we don't have all the facts. New subpoenas are out. He has not answered all the questions. His staff has not answered all the questions. This story is very much an open question with what Chris Christie's role was in this abuse of power in New Jersey which very clearly has a lot of room to grow.
BLACKWELL: We have to wrap it up there. Ben Ferguson, Hilary Rosen, we actually went probably three minutes over than was slotted for this. But I thank you for the heated conversation. I thank you, guys.
FERGUSON: Thanks for having us.
PAUL: Next, the desperate, frantic search for a missing "Wall Street Journal" reporter. We have a live report for you on the mystery of David Bird's disappearance.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: The FBI and New Jersey state police are scouring an area of northern New Jersey. They're trying to find clues in the disappearance of a "Wall Street Journal" reporter.
PAUL: David Bird's family says the veteran energy reporter just went out for a walk last Saturday and he never came back.
BLACKWELL: Alexandra Field has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: David Bird, a married father of two, disappears without his cellphone or the medication he needs following a liver transplant nine years ago. CHRIS FLEMING, DAVID BIRD'S SISTER-IN-LAW: He's a strong man. He has been through, you know, he's been through a lot before. We just think he's holding on and we just want him back.
FIELD: For almost a week, authorities and hundreds of volunteers have scoured Long Hill, New Jersey for any sign of the "Wall Street Journal" 55 year old energy reporter. The "Journal" put out a statement saying, quote, "Mr. Bird is a long-time member of the Dow Jones Newsroom. Our thoughts are with his family." Bird's family is desperate to find him. On Saturday, he said he was going for a quick walk, but never came home.
JACQUIE PETRAS, FAMILY FRIEND: We have every reason to believe that he just wanted to go for a little stroll. There's no -- nothing pointing to anything else.
FIELD: A search party numbering as many as 200 is combing trails where Bird, a marathoner, likes to walk, and they are searching the nearby Passaic River. But this week, a potential clue seemed to come all the way from Mexico. That's where some media outlets reported Bird's credit card had been used. A source close to the investigation tells CNN that prosecutors at this point have not confirmed whether the card was actually used in Mexico.
Those reports raised concerns that his disappearance could somehow be connected to his coverage of OPEC, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
FLEMING: That didn't come from us. So I don't know where that information came from. That doesn't make sense. Went for a walk and that was all we know. We have no idea.
FIELD: Bird's sister-in-law says the family still doesn't have any answers for a disappearance that makes no sense.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: And Alexandra Field is outside the "Wall Street Journal" headquarters for us now. Alexandra, where does the investigation, the search, stand now?
FIELD: Well, Victor, another search party is heading out today. They have done this every day since David Bird was reported missing back on Saturday. This is a multi-agency search. After a week now that Bird has been missing, they say they are going to chase down any leads they can find and are welcoming any tips from the public.
PAUL: Alexandra Field, thank you so much.
BLACKWELL: Turning to entertainment now. Tonight, "Saturday Night Live" debuts their first African-American female cast member in six years. So what does this mean? How will she do? We've got two guests, Loni Love and Debra Wilson, who will weigh in next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: For the first time in more than six years, a black female cast member joins "Saturday Night Live," and it happens tonight.
PAUL: All eyes will be on "SNL" and former "Upright Citizens Brigade" star Sasheer Zamata who is making her big debut along with two new writers, who are also black.
BLACKWELL: The late night sketch comedy which is typically famous for taking on controversies, especially politics, has been at the center of a heated criticism since October. That's when cast member Keenan Thompson told "TV Guide" that he was done dressing in drag to play women, and that the producers had a hard time finding qualified black female comedians to hire, but of course, the search has ended and we see the results of their search tonight.
PAUL: So let's talk about this with comedian Loni Love, the author of "Love Him or Leave Him, but don't get stuck with the tab," quite the title, and comedian Debra Wilson of Mad TV fame. Debra, I want to start with you. Boy, there hasn't been this much, I guess I want to say highlights to someone coming in, a lot of hoopla. I'm wondering if you would want to be in her shoes of Zamata tonight.
DEBRA WILSON, ACTOR/COMEDIENNE: Yes. I'll tell you why. She has the opportunity to take what she's been doing for quite a long time as a writer, as a producer, and as a performer, and actually get a new platform for it.
I don't think that it's going to be as challenging as most people are thinking that it will be, because she doesn't necessarily have to represent the full African-American community. She has to represent her comedy. She has to represent her writing. She has to represent her timing. She has to be a good comedian first before being black. Black is something that we're saying is the precedence here, but right now when she's on the show, her only precedence is to be funny, and hopefully, she'll have quality material to do that.
BLACKWELL: But does everybody -- Deb, I want to stay with you -- does everybody believe that? I think a lot of people will be watching because now there's a new black woman on "snl." will they be expecting her to do something phenomenal?
WILSON: Oh, absolutely, absolutely. But it's not necessarily about that. I get that, but I'm not making that the agenda. The real agenda as a comedian, if you're asking my personal opinion, is to go out there and be funny. If you are putting me in her shoes, my thing is go out and be funny, get great material, know what you're doing with it and she's performed live for years and years and years. She's been doing theaters and clubs for a long time. So this is going to be second nature. And hopefully she won't have the onus on her back that it really is about her being an African-American woman. Let's be real. She's Sasheer Zamata. She's not Michelle Obama.
PAUL: Good point.
WILSON: At least not in the first episode.
(LAUGHTER) BLACKWELL: Loni, in October you said "SNL" wasn't relevant and they need to put a black woman in to make the funny. You still stand by that?
LONI LOVE, COMEDIENNE: Oh, yes, I stand by that 100 percent. I've been waiting on a Cecily Tyson sketch for years, OK? Now we finally have somebody that can play Cecily Tyson. It's almost black history month. We can have a Harriet Tubman sketch. It's time. This is why it's important.
Everybody wants to make this thing about, oh, we shouldn't emphasize the color, but you know, we still need Asians, we still need Latinos. We need to represent. Full disclosure, I worked for Lorne Michaels before for the show "Thick and Thin" on NBC. He's a wonderful man. He's very, very smart. And this is a very, very good choice that he has picked. He knows about raw talent. So he knows what he's doing.
PAUL: So knowing that, knowing that about him, this has been a delicate subject for quite some months now, a lot of criticisms. How do you think they are going to introduce her, because don't they have to address those criticisms as well at the same time?
LOVE: Well, I mean, the way you address it is through comedy, is through doing a sketch. When Kerry Washington was on a couple months ago, they addressed it. They are very smart people at "SNL." very smart writers. They will find a way to do it. But I have to remind people, she is only a featured player. So it's not like she's going to be in every scene. She may be just in one or two scenes or she may be in the background. She's just a featured player. That's the way "SNL" runs. So we can't expect too much for this first episode.
PAUL: We want you to stick around for us, OK? Because we know it's award season. We need to take this conversation beyond comedy and let's talk about diversity in Hollywood.
BLACKWELL: Yes, we're going to talk about race, black women especially, and the nominations for Academy Awards this year and in the past two years. Everybody stay with us. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Welcome back into the CNN Newsroom, where we're having a conversation now about black women and entertainment. And we have comedians Debra Wilson and Loni Love with us. The Academy Award nominations came out this week. I want to talk about the nominations for black women over the last five years. I actually wrote them down here. There are people who are upset that Oprah was snubbed for her role as the butler's wife. Octavia Spencer played a maid. Viola Davis played her maid friend. Monique in "Precious" was a single mother scheming to stay on welfare. And then you have Gabi Sidibe, her barely literate teenage daughter who was on welfare as well, pregnant with the second child from her father. That's it for black women over the last five years. Who is responsible, Hollywood or the audience? Let's start with you, Deb.
WILSON: I actually think it's a combination of the two. But you have to remember also that when watching these movies, they are pretty dramatic, pretty graphic. They are pretty layered. So those performances have to be layered, too. So you're walking a fine line between thinking that it really has to do with women who are underprivileged and women who have had to claw their way to the top and at the same time, these really wonderful, powerful, powerful and cathartic layered performances.
So like I said, you are teetering on the fence between whether the audience is just responsible, whether Hollywood is responsible. I think it's going to be a combination of the two. But also, somewhere in that mix is also the material.
PAUL: Loni, what do you think? You respond to that.
LOVE: I think -- I agree with Debra. Hollywood has to find a way to include all races into movies. I mean, they just, we just have to keep fighting. It's stations like CNN that brings light to this. It's like what happened with "SNL." Someone had to bring light to it and then people go oh, yes, we do need to add more color, whether it's black females or Asians or Latinos. It has to come from us as a whole. If we stop watching these movies that only have one type of demographic, then they will go why aren't other people going to see it, and so they will include us. That's what I think.
BLACKWELL: There is also the question of age, of roles for women over 40. You pointed out this morning that the nominees are --
PAUL: All over 40 with the exception of Amy Adams, who is 39. For years we have been hearing women say there are no good roles for women over 40. Are we entering a new era, in your opinion, Debra?
WILSON: I think we are. I absolutely think we are. There was a time when you bottle-necked with other actresses because you had to be young. There was a point in Hollywood in which ageism was very, very clear and very, very prevalent. And now you're seeing that that is changing slowly in the 21st century. And I think it's coming into play because, especially when it comes to the ethnic community, especially when it comes to people of color, the stories that we tell and the stories that Hollywood is saying are palpable and strong tend to be stories about the black experience from the past. And they're really, really just powerful stories enough that they require strong actresses of age. That's a really wonderful thing. So I'm looking for my Oscar sometime soon.
(LAUGHTER)
BLACKWELL: I want to start --
WILSON: If age has anything to do with it, I want mine.
BLACKWELL: We have just about 30 seconds left. I want to end with you, Loni. We talked about the black women on the screen and in front of the camera, but also, two African-American writers are joining "SNL" tonight. Talk about the importance of the people who are creating this material, not just the ones who are acting it out onscreen. LOVE: It's very important and that was a smart move by Lorne Michaels to add Leslie Jones. I forget the other girl's name. I know Leslie Jones personally. And when you add black writers, they can actually help to create the sketches. "SNL" is a very, I mean, Debra was on mad TV so she can tell you how hard it is to do sketches, to write the comedy, so they needed to add that black experience. And that was a great move. So I'm just excited for this season. Drake is going to be here. And we're going to see what happens.
PAUL: Loni Love, Debra Wilson, thank you both so much for taking the time. We're glad you were with us.
BLACKWELL: Thank you at home for watching.
PAUL: Absolutely. Go make some great memories today. Stick around. The next hour of CNN Newsroom is coming at you now.
BLACKWELL: Here's out colleague and friend Fredricka Whitfield. Hey, Fred.
