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Weak January For Jobs, Only 113,000 Created; Baby Kayden Found Alive Taken From Room Where Parents Were Sleeping; Obama Signs Farm Bill That Cuts Subsidies In Favor of Crop Insurance, Slashes Food Stamps; Snipers Hit Power Hub, Raising Terrorism Fears; Facebook Honors Dad's Emotional Plea To See His Late Son's "Look Back" Video; Blackfish Film Still Stirs SeaWorld Backlash
Aired February 07, 2014 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARK ZANDI, CHIEF ECONOMIST, MOODY'S ANALYTICS: We have one more piece of legislation to be signed over the next few weeks that's to raise the treasury debt limit. I think if Congress and administration can do that gracefully and odds are they will, I think we are good. I don't think uncertainty in Washington is going to be a big problem. I think we will get more jobs in the spring.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN: That's good. Do you think the Federal Reserve still has room to continue rolling back its economic stimulus?
ZANDI: Yes. So if I'm right about the job market and it's weather- related and nothing fundamental has change and we are still creating roughly a couple hundred thousand jobs per month on average, I think the Federal Reserve will continue to wind down its stimulus. It has a script and really wants to stick to the script and things would have to go really badly before they would change this. I think they will continue on their path and their bond buying program will be over by the end of the year.
BALDWIN: OK, if you're right, I need to kick this winter away. Mark Zandi, thank you so much with Moody's. Appreciate it you coming on.
Coming up here, I'm just getting word, a missing infant has been found alive in a tote bag at a gas station. Police are investigating how she got there and who took her from her mother in Wisconsin. That story is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Just past the bottom of the hour, I'm Brooke Baldwin, and he has been alive for less than a week. A newborn kidnapped in Wisconsin, police have now found in Iowa. Someone took Kayden Powell now just six days old Thursday around 4:30 in the morning out of a bassinet in the same room where his parents were sleeping.
Just this morning an officer in Iowa found little Kayden in a tote bag outside at a gas station alive. CNN's Ted Rowlands is live in the town where Kayden vanished. Awesome news, they found this little baby this morning. Has he been reunited with parents yet?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I would believe that is happening now. Kayden was taken to a hospital in Iowa to be evaluated and the parents were driving down presumably to meet Caden in the hospital. So we've been kind of kept in the dark into the details of the reunion, but what a great reunion it is going to be obviously.
You mentioned that this child was just taken out of the child's or the parent's room, by it appears an aunt. That aunt was picked up yesterday in Iowa. When they picked her up, they held her on a warrant charge, but they didn't have Kayden. They had some baby clothes in the car and they searched all night and this morning when they miraculously found this 6-day-old little boy alive and well.
BALDWIN: Let's take a listen to the FBI.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
G.B. JONES, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: We were worried about Baby Kayden from the time that 911 call came in. We never stopped worrying. We never stopped giving up hope. It's cases like this, it's days like today that most of us do what we do and we are able to celebrate with you today in the safe recovery of this child. It's miraculous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: It really is miraculous. When you consider the temperatures, it was below zero last night, all night long, the baby was wrapped in blankets, but it is miraculous. A police officer found this tote bag. He heard the baby crying and that led him to the tote bag. They were searching for him, but it really is a miracle because this baby would not have been able to survive much longer.
BALDWIN: Can't believe that outside I hear the wind whipping where you are. That's not where he was found to, but can't be too far. Ted, thank you very much, Ted Rowlands.
Coming up, a father's emotional plea to Mark Zuckerburg answered. Hear what he asked the Facebook founder.
Plus, in the middle of the night, snipers launch a rapid fire assault on an American power plant. One security analyst calls it and I'm quoting, "the most significant incident of domestic terrorism." But no one has been charged or arrested. We will tell you what investigators are doing about that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: We showed you President Obama just moments ago in East Lansing, Michigan telling the fact that, you know, Congress worked together and now he is officially signing the farm bill. So we will watch for the moment. You see a lot of those cameras -- the most fun part too is just watching to see how many pens he uses to sign his name.
So again, just formally this is the agriculture of 2014 bill, colloquially farm bill. This is a 10-year, $1 trillion measure. Here we go, the signing begins and really it's just a financial cushion, of course, for farmers who deal with instability in markets and of course, the weather. We are just talking about that a minute ago and also helps provide the bulk of the cost for the food stamp program in this country. So here you have it, the president signing his autograph there.
A sniper attack on a Silicon Valley power substation is raising all kinds of new fears for potential terrorism here. Let me show you surveillance video of last April's attack. What happened was this. Snipers fired shots for 19 minutes, knocking out 17 transformers that funnelled power to the Silicon Valley. The shooters were gone moments before police arrived on scene. A former FBI agent said the assault clearly was not the work of amateurs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SMITH, FORMER FBI AGENT: Obviously it wasn't just a couple of guys out having a beer. There was some orchestrated attack that was planned and it looked somewhat professional.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: The attack is raising alarms on possible vulnerabilities in the nation's power grid. Our Silicon Valley correspondent, Dan Simon, is working the story for us -- Dan.
DAN SIMON, CNN SILICON VALLEY CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, there are concerns that this could be some kind of dress rehearsal for a larger attack. If you had similar events like this happening throughout the nation at once, that snipers could knockout a significant portion of the country's power grid.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIMON (voice-over): It was captured on surveillance video and you can see a brief streak of light, perhaps a flashlight carried by an attacker then come the sparks, they are bullets hitting the chain link fence that surrounds the Pacific Gas and Electric or PG&E Substation in San Jose, a station that feeds power to the Silicon Valley. California Congressman Henry Waxman says it shows the electrical grid isn't adequately protected for both cyber and now physical attacks.
REPRESENTATIVE HENRY WAXMAN (D), CALIFORNIA: This was an unprecedented and sophisticated attack on an electric grid substation using military-style weapons.
SIMON: The April attack occurred just before 1:00 in the morning. The snipers first went into an underground vault and cut telephone cables. A half hour later, they sprayed the substation with bullets for nearly 20 minutes, knocking out 17 transformers according to PG&E. When police arrived, the shooters were gone, but they found more than a 100 shell casings from a high powered assault rifle. No fingerprints. It seemed like a professional job. To prevent a blackout, energy workers rerouted power, but it took nearly a month to make the repairs.
WAXMAN: Under slightly different conditions, there could have been a serious power outage or worse.
SIMON: It was a little known attack and it's not clear what the motives were, but now months later, some are trying to bring it to the forefront, arguing that if similar shootings happened throughout the nation at once, collectively they could take out a large chunk of the electrical grid, leaving millions in the dark. Jon Wellinghoff is the former chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. I spoke to him by phone.
JON WELLINGHOFF, FORMER CHAIR, FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION (via telephone): This is more about the larger issue of physical security of these high voltage substations nationwide, the need to ensure that some defensive measures can start being put in place.
SIMON: He suggests measures such as opaque fences instead of open chain ones that you can see and shoot through. More sophisticated surveillance cameras to help identify suspects.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIMON: The FBI said at this moment they are seeing a connection to terrorism, but it's also important to point out that since there aren't any suspects yet, it's impossible to discern a motive -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: OK, Dan Simon, thank you so much. Coming up, you have to stick around for this, a father's plea to the founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerburg.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you ever do something crazy because you don't know what to do anymore? Well, that's what I'm doing right now. I'm calling out to Mark Zuckerberg in Facebook.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Well, guess what? Facebook is responding and that father joins me next with his emotional story. Don't miss this.
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BALDWIN: I know a lot of us and you use Facebook and get a chance to use the most popular moments, the most light pictures. We got to do this week to celebrate, of course, Facebook's 10th anniversary, that look back video. Some of you may have seen a video this week from one father with this just very emotional plea specifically to Mark Zuckerberg. It tugged at a lot of our hearts. Here it was.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you ever do something crazy because you don't know what to do anymore? That's what I'm doing right now. I'm calling out to Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook putting out these new one- minute movies everybody has been sharing and I think they are great. My son passed away January 28th, 2012. We can't access his Facebook account. I've tried e-mailing and different things, but it ain't working.
All we want to do is see his movie. That's it. I don't need to get on his account. If you guys can -- if you guys can do it yourself, I don't care. But regardless, everybody does these videos and things and they go viral.
That's all I'm trying to do. I'm asking my friends on to share this video and your friends and so on and so forth, and maybe, maybe somebody will see it that counts. I know it's a shot in the dark, but I don't care. I want to see my son's video. His name is Jesse Berlin. So please help me. I appreciate it. Thanks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: His son, Jesse Berlin, died of natural causes. He was 21 years old. Facebook now reached out to the man you just saw, John Berlin and talked to him. John joins me live. John, first, I'm sorry about the loss of your son. I know this is tough for you. Are you doing OK?
JOHN BERLIN, MADE EMOTIONAL PLEA TO FACEBOOK: Yes, I'm OK.
BALDWIN: When Facebook called, tell me what they said to you?
BERLIN: First, you know, they expressed their condolences and then they told me that they were going to work on that video. They said they normally don't do something like that, but they are going to cut through the red tape and get on it. Then he told me that they were going to look into their policy and see about making it easier for loved ones to -- I don't mean have access to their family's Facebook page, but a way to memorialize it where people can watch these videos if they come out in the future.
BALDWIN: John, did they explain to you what it was about your story or what it was about that plea that made them sort of work around the rules for you?
BERLIN: No, they really didn't explain that. I'm just assuming that because of the response from everybody that viewed that, I know they got a call from somebody and I don't know who, but you know, I guess, maybe it tugged on their heart strings too and they decided to try and maybe possibly change the policy or at least revamp it.
BALDWIN: So you have yet to see this video from what I understand, you will see the video hours from now with your family?
BERLIN: That is correct, yes. We are going to wait until everybody can be together. We are going to watch it together privately.
BALDWIN: Can you just tell me what it is about so many of us did it this week and thought nothing of it. For you this means a great deal, this 60-second look back Facebook video. Why?
BERLIN: Well, you know, I watched mine first. Jesse's picture kept popping up in it. I watched my wife's and my children. Then I found myself looking at some of Jesse's friends and their look back video and seeing Jesse pop up in theirs. Once I saw that, I wanted to see Facebook's version of Jesse's video. Not only that, but even though most of the pictures that I saw in there, I just wanted that extra little piece of him. That was it. I just wanted to see Facebook's version of it.
BALDWIN: How long has Jesse been gone?
BERLIN: Two years.
BALDWIN: Two years, this has to be more than pictures and video for you.
BALDWIN: Yes. You know, we have his pictures hanging everywhere. Obviously, we love him and we miss him like you wouldn't believe. We have come to a point in our lives especially in the last six months or so that we can't keep mourning his death. We have to move on and celebrate his life. Jesse loved life and laughing was his hobby. He had a good time at his expense and for somebody who loved life as much as he did.
They can't keep dragging our knuckles and feeling for ourselves. We are not celebrating his by doing that. So we are moving forward and we want to show that by loving him and by, you know, by this video.
BALDWIN: I want to end this, speaking of celebrating life, tell me the one thing, the thing you missed the most, the thing you celebrate the most when you think of your son.
BERLIN: Nobody, nobody made me laugh like Jesse did. He was a walking comedian. We would sit around at the dinner table every night. Every night after we all got off work. All we would do is talk about the humor in our day. Find something in each of our days that we would laugh about. I miss that. I miss that about Jesse. He had a way with words. He had a million faces and he was so smart and intelligent and had a photographic memory. I miss the laughter that we shared together. He was a very loving and forgiving person. I miss his company.
BALDWIN: Mr. Berlin, I wish you well and seeing the video surrounded by those you love tonight. Thank you so much. We all should be laughing in honor of your son. Thank you.
BERLIN: Thank you. I appreciate it.
BALDWIN: We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: The CNN Film "Blackfish" really challenged the way marine parks particularly SeaWorld originally captured and in a decade since still care for their star performers, their killer whales, a lot has happened since it first aired on CNN last October. Martin Savidge, he's been covering all of this for us, brings up to date.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Twenty one million people saw it on CNN.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The adult offspring never leave their mother's side.
SAVIDGE: Blackfish. Social media exploded with calls for SeaWorld boycotts. Demonstrators picketed SeaWorld parks and business partners. Musicians including Trace Atkins, The Beach Boys and Barenaked Ladies canceled SeaWorld performances. Young people were moved. These high school students put together a protest video, posting it on YouTube.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just invite you to change your business model.
SAVIDGE: SeaWorld battled back calling "Blackfish" grossly one-sided and the product of animal activists. The company declined repeated offers for an interview instead issuing written statements saying the film is inaccurate and misleading and regrettably exploits a tragedy.
That tragedy was the death of veteran SeaWorld trainer, Dawn Brancheau, who was killed in 2010 by a killer whale named "Tilikum." They said he was driven it madness by captivity. In January, Brancheau's family spoke out for the first time about "Blackfish" saying dawn would not have remained a trainer at SeaWorld for 15 years if she felt that the whales were not well cared for.
Mark Simmons, a former killer whale trainer appeared in "Blackfish," but then went on to become one of the movies most outspoken critics and turned down an interview, but wrote the "Blackfish" crusade against SeaWorld and Zoological Care in general is engineered by perfect marriage between sensation animal rights organizations and disgruntled ex-SeaWorld employees. Despite all the controversy, SeaWorld says "Blackfish" has not hurt its business.
JIM ATCHISON, CEO, SEAWORLD ENTERTAINMENT INC.: I have to say it hasn't affected our performance and results and we announced record fourth quarter results and record annual results for the company.
SAVIDGE: Animal activists say behind the scenes, SeaWorld is worried, pointing to the company's costly full paid ads in top newspapers. This recent edition to SeaWorld's website called the truth about black fish. Meanwhile the large evaluate investor sold a half billion in company stock. SeaWorld's own chairman sold more than a million dollars' worth of his investment. But final analysts say both sales might be routine transactions and not indicators of worries.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE: Last weekend SeaWorld kicked off its controversial concert series and despite the protesters outside, it was an overflow crowd on the inside. The show much like the debate that Blackfish continues to spark goes on.
Martin Savidge, CNN, Atlanta.
BALDWIN: Martin, thank you.
And here you go, the reminder. "Blackfish" returns to CNN Sunday night 9:00 Eastern.
