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Flights Cancellations; Former Governor Accused of Corruption; NFL Player Sorry for Rant; Crash Tests; Small Cars Cruised in Crash Tests; Buffett's Billion Dollar Bracket Challenge; Family Knew Levinson Worked for the CIA

Aired January 22, 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: Cancelled flights yesterday. CNN's Rene Marsh live at Reagan National this morning.

Tell us more, Rene.

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, we've been talking a lot about JetBlue and it really has been a tough month for them. But we can tell you this, they are doing better today. We just got an e- mail from JetBlue. They say that this hour, Carol, they're resuming their operations in New York. And in the next hour, they will be resuming operations in Boston.

So the big question, I know that you asked me earlier, how did JetBlue do this time around because, of course, they were criticized the last time for just the way they hand told storm. Well, one analyst says that the airlines actually did better this time. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SETH KAPLAN, AIRLINE EXPERT: JetBlue, this time, doing better in time, partially because, hey, we all learn from our mistakes, but partly because this storm just isn't quite as challenging as that one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH: Yes, not as challenging because you don't have, you know, that holiday traffic that we saw in the beginning of the month there. So it just is making it a lot easier for these airlines, not just JetBlue, but everyone to rebook these passengers who aren't able to get to their destinations when they thought they were able to, Carol.

But the big picture here today is, you know, we are expecting more cancellations. We are expecting more delays. It could be another day or two after this storm actually moves out of here until these airlines are able to catch up to themselves. Lots of people waking up this morning and they were sleeping right here. This is where they spent the night.

Carol

COSTELLO: Rene Marsh, thanks so much.

A stunning fall from grace for Virginia's Bob McDonnell, a former Republican governor and possible 2016 presidential contender. McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, have been indicted for fraud, namely accepting more than $140,000 in gifts. We're talking about Louis Vuitton shoes, Rolex watches, Armani jackets, Oscar de la Renta dresses, Ralph Lauren shirts, golf bags, golf clubs, two iPhones and 30 boxes of this stuff, Antabloc skin care. This is what got McDonnell - this what actually got the McDonnells into trouble. The CEO of Star Scientific, the company that makes this stuff, allegedly paid the governor and his wife to promote his product. A defiant McDonnell, along with his wife and daughter, denying all charges.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB MCDONNELL, FORMER VIRGINIA GOVERNOR: I never promised, and Mr. Williams and his company never received, any government benefit of any kind from me or from my administration and not one penny of taxpayer money went to him or to Star Scientific during our administration. Not one penny.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: CNN's national political reporter, Peter Hamby, joins me now.

So, Peter, McDonnell and his wife are also accused of accepting more than just pricey gifts, right?

PETER HAMBY, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes, that's right, Carol, they're accused of taking loans, really big loans, flights, travel paid for by Jonnie Williams, use of his vacation home. What the indictment alleges again, like you mentioned, is that all of these gifts provided to the McDonnell's, the governor and his wife, in turn, used state resources basically to promote this nutritional supplements that this donor, you know, that his business sells. So Maureen McDonnell traveled to Florida at one point to promote the drug. They used the governor's mansion to promote it. There's emails in here from McDonnell showing that he actually wanted these drugs to be used at UVA, JMUVCU state research facilities. So basically that is what's at stake here.

The bigger picture here, like you mentioned in the very beginning of this segment, is how stunning this is and for two reasons. One, Bob McDonnell was a big star, brand name in the Republican Party, but he's also so disciplined. That's why this is so shocking that he would let this happen. And, two, I can tell you as somebody who grew up in Richmond, Virginia, this does not happen in the state of Virginia. This is the first governor to face corruption charges like this. This just doesn't happen. There are notoriously lacks laws in the state surrounding gifts from donors, so that could be one reason why there hasn't been corruption charges in the past. But the state of Virginia, today, Carol, is absolutely reeling from this really lengthy indictment.

COSTELLO: McDonnell and his wife will be in court on Friday. If convicted, what penalty could they face?

HAMBY: The penalty is (INAUDIBLE) you're right, they're going to be arraigned on Friday, could be up to 30 years in prison. You know, hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and legal fees. I mean, as you know, federal prosecutors don't open cases like this without thinking that they're going to get a win. So, you know, McDonnell has lawyered up with some blue chip attorneys in Virginia, so that is going to be a really costly proposition for them, which is at the heart of this whole case. If you go through the indictment again and again it surfaces that the McDonnell's had a lot of personal financial anxieties and that's one of the reasons that they solicited a lot of these gifts to sort of, you know, pay for a vacation home and just sort of personal finances that were really troubling them, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, CNN's Peter Hamby, many thanks to you.

It is the post-game rant that stole the thunder from the NFC title match-up and it's still reverberating today. Quarterback Richard Sherman saved the day for his Seattle Seahawks, but unleashed a storm criticism on social media by verbally slamming San Francisco receiver Michael Crabtree. Now Sherman showing some regret, but he's also defending himself. CNN's Rachel Nichols sat down for an exclusive interview with Sherman. She joins me now from Los Angeles.

Good morning.

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS: Good morning, Carol.

And what is so fascinating about Richard Sherman is that he's one of the most brash, most outspoken guys in the NFL, but he's also one of the smartest players in the NFL. He not only graduated from Stamford, he started working on his masters while he was still playing football there. So it's not surprising that while what happened the other night on the field was very emotional. When he sat down to talk to me he was extremely reasonable and thoughtful. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICHOLS: There was the moment on the field when you made the play. There's the choke sign. There's the interview on the field post-game. Then there's the press conference interview. What do you regret about all that? What you do not regret about all of that?

RICHARD SHERMAN, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS CORNERBACK: Well, there isn't much about it I regret. You know, mostly I regret the, I guess the storm afterwards. The, you know, the way it was covered, the way it was perceived and the attention that it took away from the fantastic performances from my teammates, you know. And that be the only part of it I regret, you know, the way it's covered. You know, it is what is it. What I said is what I said. I - you know, I don't say - I probably shouldn't have attacked another person. You know, I don't mean to attack him and that was - that was immature and I probably shouldn't have done that. I regret doing that. But I just felt like my teammates deserved better and I, you know, I have to apologize to them, and I have.

NICHOLS: Your brother has said that Michael Crabtree was rude to you at an event this past summer, a charity event. That he shunned you. He wouldn't talk to you. And that you said at the time, all right, I'm going to show him on the field. Is that the background of all of this?

SHERMAN: Yes, that's the - that the short (INAUDIBLE).

NICHOLS: Is that the clean version?

SHERMAN: That's the - and we're going to keep it clean.

NICHOLS: Right.

SHERMAN: And, you know, I tried -

NICHOLS: Did it get nastier than that?

SHERMAN: We're going to keep it clean.

NICHOLS: OK.

SHERMAN: And we - I told - I said, I would keep it on the field. You know, I would show you on the field. And that's always been my thing. Everybody's like, oh, man, these guys push you in the face, you're doing this, doing that. You know, I'm not going to fight anybody and embarrass myself, embarrass my family, embarrass my, you know, organization like that. There's no need for that. There's no need to be that kind of barbaric human being. But on the field, we're playing a very barbaric sport. You can do what you please. And that's when - that's when I take all my animosity and all my anger and all my frustrations out on the field with disciplined football, sound football. You know, it takes -- it takes a different kind of person to be able to turn that switch on and off and be able to step into the ring or step on the field and be the intense, incredible, focused and kind of, you know, I guess angry human being that you have to be to be successful in those atmospheres.

NICHOLS: How do you do it?

SHERMAN: You just -- you have to have that switch. You take it off. You treat them totally different. And that's -- that's why sometimes it crashes and doesn't go all so well because if you catch me in a moment on the field when I'm still in that zone, when I'm still as competitive as I can be and I'm trying to be in the place where I have to be to do everything I can to be successful on the football field and help my team win, then it's not - it's not going to come out as articulate, as smart, as charismatic because, on the field, I'm not all those things. I'm everything I need to be to be a winner.

NICHOLS: You know, we've seen this. We've seen Dion Sanders and Terrell Owens and Bart Scott and you can go much further back, Michael Jordan, Mohamed Ali. We've seen guys get excited in the moment, make big pronouncements. What interested me so much about what happened to you was the reaction afterward, the way it mushroomed, and the fact that race so quickly became involved.

SHERMAN: Yes, I - you know, it was really -- it was really mind- boggling. And it was kind of - it was kind of sad at the way the world reacted. You know, I can't say the world. I don't want to generalize people like that because there are a lot of great people who didn't react that way. But for the people who did react that way and throw the racial slurs and things like that out there, it was really - it was really sad, especially that close to Martin Luther King Day. You're judging - you're not judging a guy. I'm not - I'm not out there beating on people or committing crimes or getting arrested or doing anything. I'm playing a football game at a high level and I got excited. But what I did was within the lines of the football field. What they did was in actual reality they showed their true characters. That was - those were real comments, not in a moment, not in a, you know, -- they had time to think about it. They were sitting at a computer and they expressed themselves in a true way and I thought society had moved past that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NICHOLS: Guys, for everyone who was offended by Richard Sherman the other night, I have heard plenty of people applauding him say these kinds of rivalries are what makes this game fun. You know, Sherman has a national ad campaign running right now which is a credit to his personality. It's certainly unusual for a fifth round draft pick. And his agent says he's only drawn more interest, Carol, from advertisers since all this happened the other night.

COSTELLO: Well, in listening to your interview whim it, it totally changed my opinion of him because when he did, you know, his epic rant on the field, I thought, oh, man, unsportsmanlike. Can't we just like celebrate the win? But now that I listen to him, I get it. I get it. And, plus, all of those racist tweets and all the racist stuff on the Internet about him also changed my mind because that just makes me like him more.

NICHOLS: Yes. You know he said when he was a kid he got really entranced by Mohamed Ali when he was seven or eight years old, and you can certainly see a little bit of Ali in him in his bravado.

COSTELLO: Absolutely. Rachel Nichols, thanks for bringing that to us. We appreciate it.

Of course there's a lot more to Richard Sherman than what we saw on the field the other night. You can catch his full interview this Friday on "Unguarded with Rachel Nichols," 10:30 p.m. Eastern on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Some of the smallest cars on the road carry some of the biggest risks when it comes to keeping you safe in a crash. Eleven small cars were crash tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and only one of them got a passing grade. Christine Romans is in New York to tell us more about this.

Good morning.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Carol, small cars are not as safe as bigger cars, that's what this test reveals. The test is called a small overlap test. It's -- a vehicle hits a barrier at 40 miles an hour, just a quarter of its front bumper, and the impact occurs on the left side just in front of the driver's seat. That's the test.

Six of the cars in the test earned the institute's lowest rating. They were rated poor. They are the Nissan Versa, the Toyota Prius C, the Hyundai Accent, also the Mitsubishi Mirage, the Fiat 500 and the Honda Fit, Carol.

Now, in the real world, about a quarter of the serious and fatal injuries in front crashes are caused by this small overlap impact, very similar to what we're talking about here. That's according to the Insurance Institute. Carol, all the automakers except Mitsubishi pointed out that their cars have done well in other crash tests. The Insurance Institute has yet -- not yet subjected the Mitsubishi Mirage to its other crash test.

This is a tough test. These are small cars. But six of them were poor, Carol.

COSTELLO: No, and it seems logical to me that you would be safer in a larger car as opposed to a smaller car. But one smaller car did pass the test. Which one was it?

ROMANS: It was the GM Spark, the Chevrolet Spark from GM. This one is the only one to earn this acceptable rating. In its case, the crash test dummy showed a low likelihood of injury. And the dummy's movements were well controlled during and after the impact. The lower part of the occupant compartment, in particular, it held up well. That would help protect the feet and legs. That's all according to the Insurance Institute.

COSTELLO: Well, good information. Christine Romans, many thanks to you.

ROMANS: You're welcome, Carol.

COSTELLO: You're welcome too.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Warren Buffett has a challenge for all you college basketball fans. Deliver a perfect March Madness bracket and win a billion dollars. We'll talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Some of the smallest cars on the road carry some of the biggest risks when it comes to keeping you safe in a crash; 11 small cars were crash tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and only one of them got a passing grade.

Christine Romans is in New York to tell us more about this. Good morning.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Carol, small cars are not as safe as bigger cars, that's what this test reveals. The test is called a Small Overlap Test. It's a vehicle hits a barrier at 40 miles a hour with just a quarter of its front bumper and the impact occurs on the left side just in front of the driver's seat. That's the test. Six of the cars in the test earned the institute's lowest rating. They were rated poor. They are the Nissan Versa, the Toyota Prius C, the Hyundai Accent, also the Mitsubishi Mirage, the Fiat 500 and Honda Fit.

Carol now in the real world about a quarter of the series of fatal injuries in front crashes are caused by this small overlap impact. Very similar to what we're talking about here that's according to the insurance institute. Carol all the automakers except Mitsubishi pointed out that their cars have done well in other crash tests. The Insurance Institute is yet, not yet subjected the Mitsubishi Mirage to its other crash test.

These are tough tests, these are small cars and six of them were poor -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Now and it seems logical to me that you would be safer in a larger car as opposed to a small car. But one smaller car did pass the test. Which one was it?

ROMANS: It was the GM Spark, the Chevrolet Spark from GM. This one is the only one to earn this acceptable rating. And in its case the crash test dummy showed a low likelihood of injury and the dummy's movements were well-controlled during and after the impact. The lower part of the occupant compartment in particular it held up well. That would help protect the feet and legs. That's all according to the Insurance Institute.

COSTELLO: Yes good information. Christine Romans, many thanks to you.

ROMANS: You're welcome Carol.

COSTELLO: You're welcome too.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Warren Buffett has a challenge for all of you college basketball fans. Deliver a perfect March Madness bracket and win a $1 billion. We'll talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: I know a lot of you are into March Madness. Well guess what it just got a little better. One of the people who pours over stats before filling out a bracket online or an office pool if they do this and they get every single game correct, you could win a $1 billion. That's what billionaire Warren Buffett is offering, a $1 billion dollars to anyone who fills out a perfect bracket for this year's tournament.

So what are your chances to be perfect? It could be the longest odds in the universe. Wait for it, 1-9.2 quintillion that would 17 zeroes. Of course there always a chance, you can always dream right?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM CARREY, ACTOR: So you're telling me there's a chance? Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: Yes if you think there's a chance you're probably dumber and dumber.

Or are you? Peter Tiernan is with BracketScience.com. He's been using stats to analyze March Madness for 22 years. Good morning.

PETER TIERNAN, BRACKETSCIENCE.COM: Good morning. How are you?

COSTELLO: Good. So what do you think of Warren Buffett's offer?

TIERNAN: Well I think it's probably the shrewdest marketing ploy there is. I mean when you think about 9.2 quintillion what you could do is on every basketball court of every school gym in America you could plaster brackets 600 miles high. That's how much 9.2 quintillion is. So now those are the theoretical odds, the odds are much better because we know that that on these 16th -- the 16th seed probably isn't going to win. So the odds are better but they are still not very good.

COSTELLO: How close have you ever gotten to a perfect score?

TIERNAN: I think the best I ever did was eight wrong. And eight wrong is actually good. You're going to win your pool if you get 55 out of 63 right. I heard a few years back somebody had only four wrong. That was the year of the George Mason offset and he actually meant to put George Washington in his bracket but accidentally put George Mason. So that's the kind of you know that's the kind of crazy stuff you're going to have to do to win this thing?

COSTELLO: So I ask you the silly question. Why is it so difficult to be perfect?

TIERNAN: Well I mean you're talking about a giant probability matrix. And even -- even the highest probability games, like the 1-v 16 and the 2-v 15s. They don't always happen the way that you think they would. In the last two years, a 15 seed has knocked off a 2 seed three times. So you think you've got some of these you can't miss picks and you end up missing on them.

COSTELLO: Well and you know there is also the factor that human beings are involved in the game.

TIERNAN: That's right.

COSTELLO: It's not as simple as picking numbers like in the lottery right.

TIERNAN: That's right somebody told me that you know their fate is in the hands of 19-year-old men. So you know that is not exactly the most bankable commodity there.

COSTELLO: So are you're going to enter the contest?

TIERNAN: Oh, absolutely. I've got to be there.

COSTELLO: Because there is just a little bit of you that thinks oh maybe I can -- right.

TIERNAN: Yes maybe it's me, it's just like the lottery right. Maybe I'm the one who's going to get bitten by a shark three times in my lifetime.

COSTELLO: That's right. You never know if you don't try. Peter Tiernan, with Bracketscience.com.

TIERNAN: That's exactly right.

COSTELLO: Thanks so much.

We're back in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The family of an American man missing in Iran has a new demand for the U.S. government. Robert Levinson disappeared in 2007 and now his family says they knew he worked for the CIA and says the United States needs to admit it too.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE LEVINSON, WIFE OF AMERICAN MISSING IN IRAN: He was doing what he always did, which is working for the United States government and investigating criminal activities. And the United States government has not taken ownership of it yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So Susan Candiotti in there she conducted that interview. Tell us more, Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.

Well for years, the Levinson's followed government advice to keep the CIA connection under wraps to help protect him. Now that the news is out, the family wants the U.S. to use Levinson as a bargaining chip after all they say nothing else has worked to bring him home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

C. LEVINSON: This has been going on through two administrations and nothing has gotten him home and we don't know why.

CANDIOTTI: The wife of missing American, Bob Levinson, is speaking out for the first time, after it was publicly revealed the retired FBI agent was doing undercover work for the CIA when he disappeared in Iran almost seven years ago.

The family is demanding the U.S. government do more to find him.

DAN LEVINSON, ROBERT LEVINSON'S SON: If the proper steps had been taken in the first critical weeks after my dad went missing, I think he would have been home by now.

CANDIOTTI: You feel he was abandoned.

C. LEVINSON: I feel he was left there. He was the man left behind.

CANDIOTTI (voice over): Levinson's family knew all along he worked for the CIA but kept silent.

(on camera): Why didn't you say what you knew at the very start?

D. LEVINSON: We were told by the U.S. government that by revealing what he was actually doing over there would have been harmful to his safety.

CANDIOTTI (voice over): To this day, the White House denies Levinson was a government employee.

C. LEVINSON: He was doing what he always did, which is working for the United States government and investigating criminal activities. And the United States government has not taken ownership of it yet.

CANDIOTTI: The family showed CNN these documents they received from a source in Iran that appeared to prove Iran's role in Levinson's arrest. Neither the family nor CNN can verify whether they're authentic and his name is only partially right.

But according to a translation given the family by the FBI, it reads, "A member of the U.S. Federal Investigation or maybe CIA, Robert Anderson, is here as an undercover tourist taking pictures and gathering information. Since his spying activities have been established, arrest him immediately."

DAVID MCGEE, FAMILY ATTORNEY: Knowledgeable people say the documents look real and that the people named in them are real and do hold those positions.

CANDIOTTI: The family is outraged the CIA lied for eight months, denying Levinson was working under cover, losing crucial time. The CIA won't comment publicly but fired three people and paid the family a $2.5 million settlement.

(on camera): Why do you cling to the hope that he is still there and is being held by them?

C. LEVINSON: I think that he is valuable. He wants to come home to us. I know he is just waiting for us to bring him home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: No one seems to know exactly where Levinson is or how he is. Iran has consistently said they have no information on him. The family would like to go back to Iran as they did in 2007, to push for his release. Obviously, Carol, a delicate situation.

COSTELLO: you are not kidding. You can't help but think that maybe Levinson and the two other Americans being held in Iran could be used as a bargaining chip because there is this controversial nuclear deal that's going on right now. CANDIOTTI: Well, certainly that's what the family would like to see. But the U.S. has said that it is not going to happen. The family would like to see some third parties maybe get involved to help negotiate Levinson's release.

COSTELLO: All right. Susan Candiotti reporting live for us this morning. Thank you. The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.

Good morning, I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

We begin with new worries about the Olympics. With just 15 days to go before the games start, new e-mails threatening attacks during the events. They are raising more anxiety about security at the games. CNN is still trying to verify the authenticity about those threatening e-mails. Phil Black joins from Volgograd, Russia to tell us more.

Good morning, Phil.

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Yes, it is the National Olympic Committees of a number of countries: Germany, Italy, Hungary and Slovenia who say they have received these e-mails which broadly talk about a threat against Sochi.

They were concerned enough in some cases to pass it to their local security authorities. They have passed it to the International Olympic Committee.