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Dow Drops; Philip Seymour Hoffman Dies; Jury Selection Begins in Florida Teen Shooting Case

Aired February 03, 2014 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And we continue on top of the hour. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

The Dow taking a dive with just an hour to go before the closing bell. Look at that, down 300 plus points, 60 minutes left of the trading day. Why is this? We are told it's a worse-than-expected report on factories in the U.S.

So, as we watch, this bad streak continues into this new month after just a horrible January.

Alison Kosik live at the New York Stock Exchange, Alison, awful to look at this.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes.

You know what? It's continuing to sort of run that we saw happen in January. New worries, Brooke, about the economy causing today's sell- off. That manufacturer report you mentioned showing that the sector was growing at the slowest pace since May, that kind of setting stocks off into this pattern. That's not all.

Auto sales coming in disappointing. Now, alone, these reports might not be enough to cause this big of a drop, because guess what? There is a whole other full plate of concerns hanging on Wall Street. Number one, fourth-quarter corporate earnings that really are not wowing Wall Street. Many of those companies reporting are not optimistic about the road ahead.

That has investors worried that the Fed may have begun pulling back on stimulus too soon. So, here's some good news. While some economists do actually think we could be right in the middle of a correction right now, many also believe the market will turn things around by the end of the year.

If you're keeping track of numbers, a correction means a 10 percent from the high. And just looking at the Dow, that correction would be at the level of 14930. Right now, you see on your screen it's 15388. You need to see it drop to 14930 before you know that an actual correction has happened -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK. Alison, thank you.

Now, to this. Police have now found the car they believe was driven by a convicted murderer who escaped from prison and sparked this nationwide manhunt all beginning over the weekend. They have not found this man yet.

This is 40-year-old Michael Elliot. Police are telling people to avoid the area in Indiana where his car has been discovered. I should tell you schools in that area, they are now on lockdown. Correction officials say Elliot escaped through a fence at the Ionia Correctional Facility in Michigan last night.

Then he abducted a woman, this is according to police, and took her car. She managed to escape. She locked herself in a gas station bathroom and called police. Elliot is serving not one, two, but four life sentences for killing four people in August of 1993.

Philip Seymour Hoffman's career was filled with awards, recognition, and an Oscar-backed reputation for playing just tortured souls. Now with his death, we are getting a richer picture of the addiction that gripped his life.

Two different law enforcement sources say the apartment where friends found Hoffman ultimately Sunday contained nearly 50 packets of heroin labeled ace of spades and several empty packets labeled ace of hearts and more than 20 used syringes and more.

We have the prescription drugs. Look at this, all in his Manhattan apartment. This appears that the 46-year-old father of three may not have had a prescription for all of those meds you see listed on your screen. In terms of his career, talk about a true talent. He was in more than 50 films. He leaves behind ample evidence of why he is called one of the best actors of his generation.

You have probably seen him in a film, perhaps on the stage, and less often Hoffman has himself. Here are some excerpts from press interviews. He laughs and he is humble and in the first clip we will show you, he is a bit in awe at what must have been his first satellite interview from Sundance. This was back in 2003.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN, ACTOR: I never have done this before. I never talked to somebody who is not here before. It's very interesting. No, no, it's great. I am kind of enjoying it. I have never had this experience.

You know, I researched the guy because it was based on a true story. I had spoken to him and read a lot of stuff about the case and about him. But other than that, I just kind of looked at addiction and how it unfolds and unwinds in a life and how it destroys not only a person, but relationships.

It doesn't get any better than when you do -- you go to work. You get a job as an actor first off. And when that happens, you think that that's like it. When you are an actor and also somebody gives you a good job, you literally think -- you are more high than you will ever be for the rest of your life.

When I got "Scent of a Woman" when I was 24 years old and the cast director ran out of the office and grabbed me in the hallway and said, you got the part, I don't think I have been more joyful since that moment. That's the truth. That's really what it is. It's like those are the moments that you remember.

If you have a day at work and you actually act well and you go home and you can sleep well at night, those are good days.

Where I am now is, you know, a lot of actors don't get the opportunities I get already.

<15:05:03>

So, I'm pretty happy, yes.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

HOFFMAN: I don't think so. I don't think so. But I'm glad they are having me.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Philip Seymour Hoffman.

And joining now, psychotherapist and CNN entertainment commentator Krista Smith, who is also senior West Coast editor for "Vanity Fair."

Ladies, welcome.

SHERRY GABA, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: Hello, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Krista, I want to begin with you because you are one of the last to have interviewed Philip Seymour Hoffman speaking at Sundance just looking at the clip from many moons ago. You talked to him last month. Let me set up. We will play the clip and he's talking to you about a fan coming up to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOFFMAN: Some young woman like sashayed up. She said, my friends bet me that I couldn't get a selfie with you. I was like, you're not.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The laughter and now the reality.

Krista, how was he with you?

KRISTA SMITH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Just watching all these clips, Brooke, it's so sad and so tragic. He was great.

He came into our studio and he arrived a little early. He was a little exhausted from climbing up the hill in that altitude in Utah. It can be a little bit much. He was definitely heavier than I had seen him recently, but he seemed in good spirits. I kind of joked with him about comparing the Sundance hysteria to the "Hunger Games" hysteria.

He had a cigarette out on the balcony. And then he came and he sat down with us. What you can see there in that clip is, he was really game. I was asking silly questions about when the last time he took a selfie was. He just in the moment came up and did that routine and had us in hysterics obviously. You can see for yourself.

But he is just so tremendous of spirit and it's just a tragic loss for anybody that knew him or, like you said, watched him or saw him in "True West" or loved "The Hunger Games" or loved "Savages." His body of work is incredible. He was so accessible.

BALDWIN: I want to come back to you on his career. I think it's fascinating too how he really puts himself in these roles.

But, Sherry, we heard from it's TMZ who is reporting this man had been sober for 23 years and he had a relapse last year. When you think about that, 20-plus years in recovery and then here shooting up and found in his apartment over the weekend. Do you see that often, that kind of relapse?

GABA: What I'm seeing is just so often there is so much despair and hopelessness and embarrassment.

I'm not sure he was able to reach out to his community. Maybe he entered work too quickly and just did not know how to get the help he needed. We see it all the time, unfortunately. And it's so sad and it's so heartbreaking.

I was watching those interviews and he appears to be such a sensitive, humble, grateful, loving, brilliant soul. So often, we see that with people that struggle with addiction. And so that sensitivity made it possibly really difficult for him to reach out. And maybe he was just embarrassed and desperate and just did not know where to turn.

It's very sad.

BALDWIN: We talk about his sensitivity, Krista, of course, Truman Capote and we remember him in "Boogie Nights." I loved -- I remember him in "Scent of a Woman" with Chris O'Donnell many years ago. He had such a range.

SMITH: It's incredible. He crossed all genres. The incredible thing about Phil is that he could take the most despicable character and make you sympathize with them. Very, very few actors are able to do that.

He really got underneath the skin and showed you the humanity and show you who they really were. You couldn't take your eyes off of him on the screen whether he had a big or a little role. I love the way he went in between everything. He was in a small independent movie and years ago I interviewed him for his "Jack Goes Boating."

This was directorial debut that started as a play at the Labyrinth Theater that he turned into a movie that was then at the festivals. And then he's in big movies like "Charlie Wilson's War" and "Mission: Impossible." And now you see "The Hunger Games."

It's so sad. I don't want to judge him and I don't want his memory to be about all these drugs which is really just heartbreaking when you see it, because it never permeated his professional work. He always had a great work ethic. Every actor who ever worked with him wanted to work with him again. He was someone that directors sought.

I cannot find one actor that didn't want to work with him. When I interview all these younger kids that are coming up, they all would cite him as one of their role models and someone that they idolized and wanted that kind of career he had.

<15:10:02>

BALDWIN: Just the e-mails that keep coming in from these A-list celebrities who knew him and worked with him and loved him. It is so heart-wrenching to hear what happened to him. Krista Smith and Sherry Gaba, thank you both very, very much.

Should "America the Beautiful" always be sung in English? A Super Bowl ad sparking a debate. You will hear both sides. Plus, a jewelry store owner bets his country there won't be a safety on the first play on the game. Yes, about that. We will talk live to the guy who has to pay his customers a lot of money. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We have to talk about the Super Bowl ad designed to bring Americans together. It is proving just how far apart sometimes things can be. The whole thing is from Coca-Cola featuring "America the Beautiful" sung in multiple languages showing Americans of all races and colors and creeds, including their lives and of course enjoying a coke.

What could possibly be wrong with this? A lot, apparently. A lot of nasty, ugly reaction on Twitter and Coke's Facebook page. One example -- quote -- "Speak English or go home." Another, "Never again will I use any of your products."

<15:15:00>

And those are the ones I can read for you on TV. It gets worse than that.

Let's talk about this with CNN political commentator Ben Ferguson and Jenny Hutt, the co-host of "Dr. Drew On Call."

Ben Ferguson, you get my first question, because isn't this the notion upon which our nation was founded, multiple ethnicities and multiple backgrounds coming together? What is wrong with this ad?

BEN FERGUSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Sure, absolutely, but I think the issue is there are a lot of people that unfortunately are coming to America now and they are not assimilating and that actually I think it can hurt them and hold them back.

I was talking to a guy the other that has a little Italian restaurant and he fled Kosovo during the war. And every one of his workers that works for him, he mandates they learn English. He teaches them English and he will help them learn English because in America to have all of the options and possibilities you need, you need to learn and be a part of America and be part of English. He takes great pride in this country. I think that's one of the issues.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Do you think he's wrong?

JENNY HUTT, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: A commercial that caters to everybody and the melting pot that is the United States doesn't mean that these people are not learning the English language.

What a beautiful inclusive commercial that is that reflects the constant change and the continual inclusion of everyone in our country, whether they are here for a short stay or a time. It's wonderful.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Let me jump in. Ben, I want you to react to Jenny, but I also want to react to this. I thought this was great in "TIME" magazine, this op-ed.

"We come to America, in other words, we become Americans, but we don't erase everything that we were before, which is the message this ad shared. It was not a rejection of English, but a celebration of it in a series of tongues representing all corners of the earth resolving in a final line sung in the country's lingua franca of English and the tag America is beautiful."

Respond to that.

FERGUSON: Again, I go back to this. I think people should have pride in wherever they come from and I should they have massive pride in their culture and how they were brought up.

But I also think we are at a very serious point in this country where people that are coming to this country and unfortunately they are being held back because they are not truly becoming part of America like so many before them did. That is what my only issue was. Everyone should be able to come here and everyone should be able to set up shop and do things and have commerce. But you are not going to be successful if you don't understand the words in English.

It's just going to be an issue with your economics for your family.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Go ahead, Jenny.

HUTT: That has nothing to do with this commercial. BALDWIN: Your point is that coming to America and speaking English as a language was not the purpose of the ad, Jenny Hutt?

HUTT: Of course. The purpose of the ad is to include all cultures who are in the United States. It's not about being unable to assimilate. It's about respecting how everybody is different and what a wonderful thing that is.

(CROSSTALK)

FERGUSON: This is what I'm saying.

(CROSSTALK)

FERGUSON: Let me say this. I understand why coke made the ad. But Coke made the ad because they want to sell their product to everyone of every nationality of every language around the world who may be watching even in America. I get the understanding why they did it.

What I'm saying is, is when you start changing words like this and acting as if you can be in America and actually not become a part of America as a society and how we work, it's only going to hurt people that don't understand all of these words in English.

That is what I'm saying. If you want to be successful in this country, you can't just come here and not be a part of America. That's all I'm saying.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: You guys are doing this. We have to end it there.

Ben Ferguson, I know a lot of people agree with you, as you can see on Twitter. Jenny Hutt, thank you both very much.

I should also mention the 90-second version will be airing during the Olympics for Coca-Cola. So, there you have it.

Coming up here on CNN, we are talking being a dispute over loud music ends with a teenager dead and a man charged with his murder. What role could Florida's controversial stand your ground law play? We will discuss with Nancy Grace next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

<15:22:34>

BALDWIN: Jury selection begins in a high-profile murder case in Florida involving a man involving a man charged with shooting and killing a teenager.

Michael Dunn killed -- faces first-degree murder charges in the shooting death of 17-year-old Jordan Davis in November of 2012. Dunn told police he asked Davis and three other teens who were parked next to him at a Jacksonville gas station to turn down their music.

Dunn said he heard threats, saw a gun in the car and that's why he grabbed his gun and fired into the vehicle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL DUNN, DEFENDANT: The guy that was in the back was getting really agitated. And my window is up.

I can't hear anything he's saying. There was a lot of (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and then the music comes back on. And I don't know if they're singing or what. But it's like they are saying kill him. So, I put my window down again. And I said, excuse me, are you talking about me?

And it was like, kill that (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Police say that they found no guns inside the teens' vehicle. Dunn is charged with first-degree murder and has pleaded not guilty.

HLN's Nancy Grace joins me now.

Nancy Grace, nice to have you on.

NANCY GRACE, HOST, "NANCY GRACE": Thank you for inviting me. I'm just sick, sick about this story.

It is an echo of the Trayvon Martin case and I thought that was a huge miscarriage of the justice when Zimmerman was not convicted in the shooting death of an unarmed boy.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: But let's point to everyone that this also involves the same prosecutor as in the George Zimmerman case, Angela Corey, state attorney Angela Corey. Do you think that seating a jury will be tough?

GRACE: Yes, I do because the defense will try to throw out George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin's name in the hopes of kicking off jurors that they don't like.

BALDWIN: You do?

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Yes. That's their job. That's what defense lawyers do. They come up with reasons to throw off the jurors they don't like.

It's called voir dire or jury selection. But let me tell you about this case. You can't claim stand your ground or self-defense because you don't like somebody's music, because it is too loud?

<15:25:02>

Can I point out another thing? He's in a car. Leave. Drive away. You don't have to stay there and continue to fight. He engaged the verbal fight, claiming he saw a shotgun.

Those teens did not have a weapon in their car, while he, on the other hand, took off driving and drove several hours away to his home, never called police. He was only apprehended when witnesses saw his license tag number and they reported it.

BALDWIN: Do you think though with stand your ground because it is so well-known now in the state of Florida, do you think someone actually might think about stand your ground right before or after pulling a trigger?

GRACE: I think that the jurors will certainly be thinking about it.

But I doubt this guy, 47-year-old Michael Dunn, was really thinking about stand your ground. Yes, I can get away with it too just like Zimmerman. I don't think he thought in that manner. I have a question. It hasn't been brought up yet anywhere else, but they had just -- Dunn, the 47-year-old and his girlfriend, had just left a wetting reception. Had they been drinking? I would like to find that out. Did alcohol play a part in this?

BALDWIN: Because if it had, then how would you play it?

GRACE: Well, I would play it that he got drunk and fired a shot and killed someone.

And another thing, self-defense? He fired eight bullets. He hit the 17-year-old boy twice in the back, which is hard to imagine self- defense when you shoot someone in the back, and in the groin. It's a very, very difficult case of self-defense. I certainly hope this jury doesn't fall for it the way they did in Zimmerman.

BALDWIN: We will watch it as they seat the jury and then the trial progresses. Nancy Grace, thank you very much.

GRACE: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Coming up, we will talk live with the owner of a jewelry store who has to pay his customers after a Super Bowl bet.

Plus, why is Rudy Giuliani suddenly becoming Chris Christie's biggest surrogate amid the whole bridge scandal? And Christie just declared a state of emergency as the snow keeps falling across the Northeast. We will take you there live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)