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Shirley Temple Black Dies at Age 85; French President to be Honored at State Dinner; French President's State Visit to the United States
Aired February 11, 2014 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A software engineer charged with gunning down a teenager over loud rap music.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know that you know I have forgiven Michael Dunn for taking your life.
COSTELLO: Michael Dunn says it was self-defense.
MICHAEL DUNN, ALLEGED SHOOTER: This guy goes down on the ground and comes up with something. I thought it was a shotgun.
COSTELLO: But police say they never found a gun. Dunn expected to take the stand today.
DUNN: I went over this a million times. And what I should have done is put the car in reverse.
COSTELLO: Our coverage of the trial begins right now in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.
We start in Jacksonville, Florida, in a courtroom there, where the loud music murder trial could go to the jury today. And in a dramatic move, we could hear from Michael Dunn himself, the man who opened fire into a parked car that was blaring loud rap music.
Three of those bullets struck and killed 17-year-old Jordan Davis. Dunn says he fired in self-defense believing Davis and his three teenage friends were armed and threatening. But yesterday jurors were told that Davis was leaning away from the shooter when he was killed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. STACEY SIMONS, ASSOCIATE MEDICAL EXAMINER: We know we're dealing with a horizontal track of the bullet. The way that that can happen is by motion of the body. And if you notice now as I start to bend over the track becomes horizontal. And so that path of the liver and the path of the injury helps us establish that Jordan Davis was most likely bending over in a position similar to this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Our correspondents are following the latest developments and to break it down, we'll turn to our legal expert for analysis but first we have to talk about Shirley Temple because the entertainment world is mourning the loss of an icon today.
Shirley Temple Black, one of Hollywood's most famous child actresses, has died. At the age of 6, the curly haired Temple wowed audiences with a rendition of "On the Good Ship Lollipop" in the movie "Bright Eyes".
After her film career, Temple Black became active in politics, holding diplomatic posts in Ghana and the former Czechoslovakia. Her publicist says she died of natural causes late Monday night.
Nischelle Turner is live in Los Angeles with more.
Good morning.
NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Carol. You know, her family is asking for a little privacy at this time to grieve their loss. But publicly the world is remembering the joy she brought to the screen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TURNER (voice-over): During the dark days of the Great Depression when life was bleak, along came Shirley Temple to win the hearts of the American people. The perky little girl with cute curls and adorable dimples was just what people needed to lift their spirits. Decades later when she was among entertainers giving Kennedy Center Honors, President Clinton put it this way.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: She was 7 years old when President Roosevelt asked to meet her to thank her for the smiling face that helped America through the Great Depression.
TURNER: Shirley Temple began her career at age 3 playing spunky, optimistic characters at a time when the public saw little reason to be hopeful.
Born in Santa Monica, California, on April 23rd, 1928, her mother claimed her first words were the lyrics to a song. By age 6, she had already appeared in 20 movies and had been the top box office star for four years.
But ticket sales alone don't begin to describe her popularity. She was a cover girl. Girls flocked to buy Shirley Temple dolls and a non-alcoholic drink was named after her.
Unlike many stars she successfully made the transition from her early films like this one to grown-up roles. Next she switched from life in the public spotlight to life in public service. In 1967 she made an unsuccessful attempt to run for Congress. And a couple of years later she became a diplomat, served as a U.S. delegate to the United Nations and an ambassador to Ghana. And toward the end of the Cold war, Czechoslovakia.
Her teenage marriage to fellow actor John Agar lasted five years and produced one daughter. Her second marriage to businessman Charles Black lasted until his death in 2005. They had two children.
Commenting on her varied career, President Clinton commented --
CLINTON: In fact she has to be the only person who both saved an entire movie studio from failure and contributed to the fall of communism.
(LAUGHTER)
TURNER: In 1972 she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy. She was one of the first celebrities to go public with her diagnosis encouraging women to be examined.
From child star to diplomat, to seasoned role model, Shirley Temple Black enjoyed it all. Late in life she said, "If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't change anything."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TURNER: And private funeral arrangements are still being made, Carol. But if there are fans out there who want to pay their respects and offer their condolences, a guest book in remembrance is going up online at www.shirleytemple.com. You can go there and pay your respects to her.
COSTELLO: Thanks so much, Nischelle Turner, reporting live.
TURNER: Sure.
COSTELLO: Let's head to Washington right now where the French president, Francois Hollande, is being welcomed in a ceremony at the White House by the president and the first lady.
This formal event follows a relaxed visit to Monticello on Monday -- you know, Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's house, that Monticello? Later today the two leaders will take part in a joint press conference before wrapping up the day in the -- in a White House tradition, the state dinner.
And if you're one of the 350 people invited to that dinner, you can expect a four-course feast that includes caviar and quail eggs, and this winter garden salad which will, according to the White House, be served in a wonderful glass bowl made to look like a terrarium.
(LAUGHTER)
Sorry, I'm from Ohio. Got to wrap my mind around that one.
Hollande is the first foreign leader to be honored with a state dinner during President Obama 's second term. Joining me now from Washington senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta.
Good morning Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. That's right. And you were showing those live pictures of the South Lawn of the White House just a few moments ago. Just to take you back there, we're going to be seeing the arrival of French president, Francois Hollande, any moment. And if you look up pomp and circumstance in the dictionary, it might say see state visit by a president of France because you're going to see a lot of pomp and circumstance in just a few moments.
The military band will be out there to review the troops. You know, you'll have cabinet members, Secretary of State John Kerry on down, the vice president will also be out there. We are also expecting to hear a 21-gun salute. So all the bells and whistles will be going off here at the White House in just a few moments.
And as you said, Carol, the French president and President Obama will be spending a lot of time together. They're going to be meeting behind closed doors in what they call a bilateral meeting here in the White House in the cabinet room where they're going to talk about a broad range of issues. Expect NSA surveillance to come up but also expect other issues such as the civil war in Syria and containing Iran's nuclear program.
And then as you mentioned, that joint news conference at noon. And then the state dinner later on this evening which of course will be something we'll all be watching -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes, we will. Something we'll also be watching is who's going to be sitting next to President Obama because we have to talk rumor and gossip kind of stuff now, Jim.
(LAUGHTER)
As we know President Hollande broke up with his longtime lady because he allegedly was having an affair with another lady. So usually the spouse of the visiting dignitary sits by the president. Everybody is wondering who will sit next to President Obama now that Hollande will be going to the dinner solo.
ACOSTA: Yes. That appears to be a closely guarded state secret. I'm being slightly facetious there, Carol, of course. But we just don't know the answer to that at this point. We did talk to a former chief of protocol over at the State Department who said, you know what, you know, other heads of state have come to the White House for these sorts of functions, stag, as President Hollande will be doing later on this evening.
And they work these things out. It's not that big of a deal. But yes, people have been talking about this. And there has been speculation as to whether or not the visit by the French leader is being curtailed or affected in some way. White House officials say that is just not the case if you look at that trip to Monticello yesterday and of course what's about to take place here at the White House.
And later on this evening, they say that the president of France is getting just the same treatment, red carpet treatment as any other close U.S. ally would receive. And of course it is -- it is something to behold. These are -- these are functions you don't see very often here in Washington in part because it takes a lot to put into it.
COSTELLO: It takes a lot -- it takes a lot of time and it also takes a lot of money but I must say the White House has cut down on cost this year. They won't serve any bottle of wine over the price of $50. Much of the wine will be from the state of Virginia which has delicious wine.
ACOSTA: That's right.
COSTELLO: And I can a test to that. And that visit to Monticello --
(LAUGHTER)
I think that's a nice touch because President Hollande is -- he loves his wine and so did Thomas Jefferson.
ACOSTA: That's right. And as a matter of fact, you know, they had a chance to talk about Thomas Jefferson quite a bit who of course was -- perhaps the first founding friend of France, maybe behind Benjamin Franklin. But he also was responsible for the Louisiana purchase and the president of France joked yesterday that he's not asking for any returns to which President Obama quipped that it was a good bargain.
So very interesting to see that. And also interesting to see how the White House is framing all of this as we're watching these events unfold on the South Lawn.
Yesterday they held a conference call with reporters and there was a little dig at the Bush administration, Carol, talking about the French-U.S. relationship, sort of harkening back to when the Bush administration referred to France as part of old Europe because of that country's opposition to the Iraq war. One senior administration official said on this conference call that we've come a long way from freedom fries. And we sure have -- Carol.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: I don't think that term will be brought up at the state dinner. I just have a feeling.
ACOSTA: I don't think so.
COSTELLO: Let's listen for a bit, Jim.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States and Mrs. Michelle Obama.
COSTELLO: All right. What a beautiful spectacle, Jim Acosta. Of course the two men are going to speak as they approach the podium here. They're allowing time for pictures to be taken of these two world leaders standing together. (WHITE HOUSE CEREMONY)
COSTELLO: All right. They're going to continue with some ceremonial functions before the two men take to the podium.
Jim Acosta is covering this for us.
There will be a lot for these two men to talk about over the course of a day and night, correct? Syria, right? Iran, Iraq?
ACOSTA: That's right. Absolutely. That's right. And, you know, senior administration officials were telling reporters yesterday during a conference call that France played an integral part in putting pressure on Syria, putting pressure on that process, backing the U.S. decision there to potentially use force to rid Syria of chemical weapons and that that was a very big help to the United States, according to senior administration officials.
You remember it was during that time when the UK was saying you know what, maybe we can't go along on this one. And so that is definitely under discussion because lately the Syrians have been dragging their feet when it comes to removing those chemical weapons.
They'll also talk about Iran and the global effort to contain that nuclear program. Of course surveillance is very much going to be on the minds of these two when they're going to be meeting behind closed doors. European leaders have been very upset about U.S. surveillance activities.
President Hollande may have something to say about that. We'll have to wait and see. We're going to (INAUDIBLE) on that.
One other interesting thing to note about this trip, Carol, by Francois Hollande, he will not be addressing a joint session of Congress. That is the first time we have not seen a French leader do that in some -- almost a half century, about a half a century. So it is interesting that he won't be doing that.
And administration officials and officials with the House Speaker John Boehner say that's really just a scheduling matter, has nothing to do with -- you know, with Francois Hollande. Just a scheduling issue on the part of this trip.
And probably a good reason because there's a lot of snow heading this way. It's already cold enough due to a lot of snow, but there's a lot on this way as you know -- Carol.
COSTELLO: That's right. Some parts of Virginia would get nine or 10 inches. It's terrible.
ACOSTA: Yes.
COSTELLO: This is what they're doing now. Just wanted to bring our viewers up to speed. This is the Army Pipe and Drum Corps and the two leaders are reviewing the corps. After they do that, they're going to move back to the podium and they're going to deliver remarks.
I wouldn't be surprised either, Jim, if the subject of the global economy comes up because France's economy is not in a good state. And of course economies affect one another all over the world.
ACOSTA: That's right. The unemployment rate in France is very high. It is across Europe. This has been a very big issue for French leaders. It's one reason that, you know, a lot of people say well, the reason why Francois Hollande is so unpopular is because of these allegations of an affair. Really it has a lot to do with the state of the French economy, the state of unemployment in that country.
And that is something that administration officials say both President Obama and President Hollande will be talking about is just how to get this global economy up and moving again. Of course, you know, here in the United States, we've seen the recovery struggle here. It struggled even more over in Europe. So yes, of course that will also be on the agenda as well, Carol.
You can see now members of the public getting a chance to greet both leaders here on the South Lawn of the White House. That is definitely a hot ticket in town if you can get one of those. Not many people get that close to two world leaders.
COSTELLO: Yes. And most of those --
ACOSTA: You know, here at the White House.
COSTELLO: -- people you say are school kids from the area which is also nice.
We're going to take a quick break, Jim. When we come back, hopefully the two leaders will have stepped up to the podium and started speaking. We'll be back with much more in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: All right. This is a live picture of the White House obviously. President Barack Obama and the French President Francois Hollande are behind those flags. Can you see them?
This is a state visit by the French president and right now they're greeting dignitaries. But shortly before that they were just shaking hands with people from around the Baltimore-Washington area, mainly school kids.
In just a few minutes we expect -- the president is going up to the podium. We do expect him to make some remarks and then of course the French president will speak.
Let's listen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, this concludes the honors.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you.
Good morning, everybody. That's the extent of my French.
(LAUGHTER)
Few places in the world warm the heart like Paris in the spring. This morning we're going to do our best with Washington in the winter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in French)
OBAMA: France is America's oldest ally. And in recent years we deepened our alliance. And today on behalf of the American people and Michelle and myself, it is a great honor to welcome my friend, President Hollande, and his delegation for their first state visit to the United States. In fact the first state visit by a French president in nearly 20 years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in French)
OBAMA: Yesterday at Monticello we reflected on the values that we share. The ideals at the heart of our alliance.
Here under the red, white, blue, and the blue, white, and red, we declare our devotion once more to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. (Speaking in French).
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE: Good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in French)
OBAMA: For more than two centuries, we have not only proclaimed our ideals, our citizens have bled to preserve them. From a field in your town to the beaches of Normandy to the mountains of Afghanistan, and today we are honored to be joined by two extraordinary men who were there those historic days 70 years ago.
I asked them to stand. Proud veterans of D-Day who are here in attendance today.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in French)
OBAMA: So it's no exaggeration that we stand here because of each other. We owe our freedom to each other. Of course we Americans also thank our French friends for so much else. This capital city designed by L'Enfant, our statue of liberty, a gift from France, and something many Americans are especially grateful for, New Orleans and the French Quarter.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in French)
OBAMA: Mr. President like generations before us, we now have the task not simply to preserve our enduring alliance but to make it new for our time. No one nation can meet today's challenges alone or seize its opportunities. More nations must step up and meet the responsibilities of leadership, and that is what the United States and France are doing together.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in French)
