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Drug Lord Caught; Supreme Court Cases; 2016 Hopefuls; Health Emergencies after Carbon Monoxide Leaks; Winter Returns

Aired February 24, 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: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me.

Opening bell just rang on Wall Street this morning. The Dow and S&P 500 are both edging toward record highs. Investors are hoping a new week triggers a boost for stocks after the market closed lower than expected on Friday.

U.S. prosecutors want El Chapo, but will they get him? The U.S. is expected to seek extradition of this high-profile drug lord. This comes as new details are emerging about the capture of the world's most powerful drug lord.

CNN's Ted Rowlands is in Chicago with more for you. Good morning.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Thousands of lives have been ruined by this guy and this Sinaloa drug cartel. This morning, El Chapo was finally facing justice.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS (voice-over): After eluding capture for more than a dozen years, how did authorities nab Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the world's most ruthless drug lord? Focusing on five wiretaps, the DEA, U.S. Immigration and Mexican officials tracked Guzman down to this hotel in Mazatlan, Mexico. Also arrested, Carlos Hoo-Ramirez, Guzman's alleged communication conduit who authorities say was carrying multiple cell phones. In the end, it was a single wiretap linking authorities directly to where Guzman was staying, room 401. Federal prosecutors want him extradited to face trial in the U.S.

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I do think, though, the biggest problem in our convincing Mexican authorities to send him back to the United States is that he's a Mexican national. Most of his killings have taken place on Mexican soil. And certainly a lot of Mexican families would like to see him tried and incarcerated in Mexico.

ROWLANDS: Guzman is known for his evasiveness. Just last week, police raided one of his compounds while Guzman was still inside. The drug lord fled through a secret door beneath a bathtub, disappearing in a network of tunnels connecting him to his other six homes nearby. Dubbed public enemy number one by Chicago's crime commission, a title once held by Al Capone, indictments have been filed in four states against Guzman and his lieutenant. The U.S. attorney general says the drug kingpin contributed to the death and destruction of millions of lives.

REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R), TEXAS: He escaped from a prison in 2001. There is corruption in that country. And I would ask that the Mexicans consider extraditing him to the United States.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS: It's unclear if federal prosecutors here in the U.S. will have a shot at Guzman. One thing to consider, Carol, Mexico does not have the death penalty and they're reluctant to extradite anybody to a country that does.

Carol.

COSTELLO: Ted Rowlands reporting live from Chicago this morning.

Also this morning, the Supreme Court back in the spotlight with two high-profile cases. The first involving the NRA, gun rights and the Second Amendment. The second deals with President Obama's agenda and his push to limit greenhouse gases from certain companies without help from Congress. Athena Jones has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There's no shortage of controversy before the court. On Monday, the justices could decide to take cases that could significantly expand gun rights. The National Rifle Association is challenging a Texas concealed carry law that bans anyone under 21 from carrying guns in public. The NRA argues the Second Amendment right of self-defense extends to responsible 18 to 20-year-olds as well. And the NRA is appealing a federal ban on selling handguns to minors, saying that also violates Second Amendment rights.

JONATHAN TURLEY, PROFESSOR OF LAW, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: After the Supreme Court recognized the individual right to have guns, the question became, what type of limitations could (ph) be put on that right?

JONES: Also on Monday, the court hears a case that could test the limits of President Obama's push to use his executive power when Congress won't act, this time on climate change. At issue, whether the EPA went too far when, without congressional approval, it limited carbon emissions from power plants, factories and other sources of greenhouse gases beyond cars and trucks.

TURLEY: On the constitutional side, this is a classic conflict between Congress and the White House. Congress has refused to give the president what he wants and now the EPA is going it alone.

JONES: And later this week, the court could get involved in the latest challenge to the death penalty. Missouri is planning to execute Michael Taylor by lethal injection. He was convicted of raping and murdering a 15-year-old girl. But the state is refusing to reveal which drugs it would use after witnesses said another lethal drug mix in O took some 10 minutes to work on convicted killer Dennis McGuire. TURLEY: Many defense attorneys have said that that raises the question of cruel and unusual punishment.

JONES: Critics say Missouri has been in a rush to execute. It carried out one recent lethal injection just minutes before the U.S. Supreme Court could rule on a last second appeal.

Athena Jones, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, another Bush with his eyes on the White House. We'll tell you where Jeb Bush is speaking today and it's raising even more speculation about a possible 2016 run.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Two bits of news just in to CNN.

Just moments ago I told you the U.S. Supreme Court is considering a case filed by the NRA. Well, the Supreme Court has already decided it's going to stay out of the hot button issue of concealed weapons law. It rejected that review. It was a case dealing with whether those ages 18 through 20 could get a state permit to carry a handgun in public for self-defense. The justices gave no reason for denying that appeal from the National Rifle Association. It's just going to stay out of that for now.

The other bit of news to pass along. Long time congressman John Dingell of Michigan, Democrat, is retiring at the end of his term. He's 88 years old. And as he told the "Detroit Free Press," "I'm not going to be carried out feet first." He's going to be 88 in July, as I told you. "I don't want people to say I stayed too long. This is not the Congress I know and love," he says. "It's hard for me to accept, but it's time to cash it in." Congressman John Dingell retiring at the end of his term.

In other news this morning, jobs and Obamacare are expected to be among the big topics discussed when President Obama hosts the nation's governors at the White House in just about 90 minutes. It follows last night's black tie dinner in which the president told state leaders he looks forward to working with them to accomplish what's best for Americans. The governors are in town for their annual winter meeting. It wasn't lost on the president that many of those governors are eyeing his job. He even made a joking reference about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Tonight we want to make sure that all you make yourselves at home, to which I'm sure some of you are thinking, that's been the plan all along.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: That's true. Some of the nation's governors are certainly not the only ones with 2016 on their minds. Other potential contenders will be in the spotlight this week including a Bush and a Clinton. CNN political director Mark Preston is in Washington with more.

Good morning.

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Good morning, Carol.

What's old is new, what's new is old. And, you know, it seems like political dynasties will never ever die. No doubt about that. As you say, we have the Clintons in the spotlight, continuing to be in the spotlight. We have the Bushes in the spotlight, continuing to be in the spotlight. We have Jeb Bush in the spotlight in just a couple of hours right now Clinton (ph). We have Jeb Bush speaking up in Long Island. He's going to do a Q&A with an audience up there. A lot of talk about Jeb Bush running for president. You know, he's holding his fire. He hasn't said he's not going run for president, but we're hearing, in fact, that Jeb Bush is quietly talking to donors, telling them to hold their fire, not to back a particular candidate in the race.

Now, there's been a lot of talk about Christie - would Chris Christie run for president. And he himself, of course, is expressing interest. And there could be a little bit of a tug-of-war between a donor base there. And if Chris Christie were to be damaged, Jeb Bush would certainly be helped. And, look, a lot of us (INAUDIBLE) Republicans would like to back Jeb Bush, Carol. So, Jeb Bush speaking today.

You also have the Clintons out on the campaign trail. You have -- tomorrow you have Bill Clinton down in Kentucky, trying to help out the Senate candidate down there, Alison Lundergane Grimes. She is trying to take out Senator Mitch McConnell. He is, of course, the Senate minority leader down there. That would be quite a feather in the cap for Democrats if they were able to take out Senator Mitch McConnell. He'll be down there.

But before he gets down there, we have Chelsea Clinton who is going to be out in Kansas City and she's going to be speak being before Women's Hall of Fame, which is apropos given the fact that her mother, of course, is eyeing the presidency herself in 2016. So Chelsea Clinton, in many ways, is considered to be the number one surrogate for her mother. She'll be speaking out there today.

And, of course, as we look towards the end of the week, and we look at the old, what's old is new and what's new is old, and we kind of wrap it up with Chris Christie going up to Boston and he'll be with Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee, and they're going to be raising money together up in Boston. So talk about wrapping it all together and wrapping 2012 to 2016. It gets very, very confusing, Carol. I'm confused if you're not confused.

COSTELLO: I know. Just one long campaign. Nobody ever stops campaigning. It's --

PRESTON: They never stop campaigning.

COSTELLO: Yes. Mark Preston, thanks so much.

PRESTON: Thanks. COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, two separate health emergencies because of carbon monoxide leaks over the weekend. Alexandra Field is in New York with that story.

Good morning.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carbon monoxide exposure in Maine and in New York sent more than 30 people to hospitals over the weekend and left one man dead. What do you do if you find yourself in a place that does not have a working detector? We'll tell you coming up after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Carbon monoxide the colorless, odorless gas often dubbed "the silent killer" is being blamed on two separate health emergencies over the weekend. In southern Maine several motel guests were taken to the hospital after complaining of nausea and headaches. First responders found extremely high levels of carbon monoxide at the hotel. And in New York a 55-year-old man collapsed and later died after being exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide in the restaurant he managed. Others were hospitalized and even police and firefighters felt dizzy once they arrived on the scene.

Alexandra Field is in New York with more on this good morning.

FIELD: Good morning Carol. Too often people really just don't realize what's going on until it's too late. We know that we should have these carbon monoxide detectors in our own home but a lot of the time you leave the house you're not thinking about this.

If this death in Long Island over the weekend teaches of anything is that more people need to recognize the symptoms to stop the problem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD (voice over): This morning, clues in the deadly carbon monoxide accident at a busy New York mall. Steven Nelson found unconscious in the basement of the Legal Seafood he managed. The 55-year-old pronounced dead at a hospital, 27 other people, seven of them first responders, sent to hospitals with symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure.

ROGER BERKOWITZ, CEO LEGAL SEAFOOD: This is news you don't expect to hear. It's almost, you know, unexpectedly losing a loved one.

FIELD: The restaurant did not have a carbon monoxide detector. Huntington town officials says New York State Fire code doesn't require them in restaurants.

BERKOWITZ: We always assume something is in place. But you know the reality is there isn't anything in place. And you know this is a sort of sad wakeup call for everyone.

FIELD: Official said the deadly gas spread through the restaurant's basement because of a leak in a flu pipe of a water heater. Sunday several seven people in Maine were are also taken to area hospitals complaining of nausea, headaches and dizziness at their motel. Responders there found high levels of carbon monoxide. Earlier this month another water heater leak at a hotel in Maryland sent nine people to the hospital.

And last year, three people died in the same room at a North Carolina hotel almost two months apart. Fire officials traced the carbon monoxide to ventilation pipes for a pool heater that was placed near an air-conditioning unit for their room. The gas is odorless, colorless and tasteless. You won't know there is a leak without a working carbon monoxide detector.

CHIEF JOSEPH PFEIFER, NEW YORK FIRE DEPARTMENT: If it is severe enough, they will actually pass out and go into a coma and die.

FIELD: Risk of exposure goes up when the temperature goes down. In commercial spaces, the problem typically starts in the basement or a ground floor where heating equipment is often kept. Danger follows when it isn't properly ventilated.

PFEIFER: If you hold a match right by the flue and you will see the flame go up. If it starts blowing out towards you, well there is something wrong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD: The Centers for Disease Control says that every year, more than 500 people die of accidental exposure. Again the symptoms here that we're looking for: nausea, dizziness, headaches; and if you find yourself feeling some of that, you need to open a window and get out of the room. Carol, it can really be just as simple as that.

COSTELLO: Alexandra Field thanks for the warning. We appreciate it.

All new in the next hour of NEWSROOM, the Pentagon making plans to scale back the Army. It may trim the budget but is it safe for the country?

Plus defy worldwide protests. And a warning from Washington Uganda's President signs a new harsh, anti-gay bill. It could mean sentences as long as life in prison. Ahead in the next hour how it could impact Uganda's relationship with the United States.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking our "Top Stories" at 55 minutes past the hour.

A 65-mile stretch of the Mississippi River is closed between Baton Rouge and New Orleans as crews clean up an oil spill. Oil flowed into the river after a barge hit a tow boat near Vacherie. The Coast Guard says it could know later today how much oil spilled, no one was injured.

This morning, the CDC is investigating another possible outbreak of norovirus after more than 120 people fell ill aboard a cruise ship. A Holland America returned home Saturday after a week-long voyage to the Caribbean. This comes just one month Hundreds of passengers were sickened by the stomach illness on two different cruise ships.

Apple is rushing out a new version of its IOS system for tablets and iPhones after discovering a major security flaw. The problem allows hackers to see data that was supposed to be encrypted allowing them to view and change e-mails and passwords. The fix has only been is issued for more recent iPhones, iPods and iPads for now. Mac computers appear to be left unsecure.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the checkered flag at the Daytona 500 after a lot of confusion from viewers and news outlets. During a rain delay, Fox News showed last year's race when Jimmy Johnson winner. Fox News then reported that Johnson won yesterday's race which he did not. Johnson tweeted, "I hear I won the Daytona 500. I also have friends confused and texting congratulations to me."

Well, talk about the real winner. Someone else has jumped on to Twitter and for the first time ever, it is Dale Earnhardt Jr. He's already gained more than a quarter million followers.

Spring is just around the corner but it is not going to feel like it this week. Another surge of arctic air is moving in. Temperatures expected to plunge from the Midwest all the way to the northeast.

So how cold is it going to be this time? Indra Petersons knows -- good morning.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning.

Cue me, right, for the bad news, on a Monday of all things -- Carol. But there we go, the picture we are so familiar with again -- all this cold, arctic air diving down to the south one more time.

Let's just take a look at what it looked like yesterday. Let's just reminisce for a second, shall we? Look at this -- D.C. with 64. In the southeast, we're looking at temperatures near 70 degrees and then there is today. Oh, yes -- already feeling a difference but especially in the upper Midwest. That's where the temperatures already 10-15 degrees below normal.

Now, let's talk about maybe for a second. This is the area of the country that I was looking for highs just at freezing or below. Not too bad upper Midwest, maybe kind of in towards New England. By tomorrow, sagging to the south; by Wednesday, it gets ugly; all the way to even you, Carol. We are talking about the temperatures going all the way to the southeast where Nashville's high will only be 31 degrees on Wednesday. Of course, there is snow on top of it. Some light snow possible Tuesday into Wednesday.

And speaking of snow, I've got a little video for you. Looks kind of fun. We got some good snow out towards the (inaudible) in Washington. Look at this -- definitely a lot of snow in the Pacific Northwest but we are starting to see a pattern. You have a good seven inches out towards Washington.

Let's take a look at the map and I'll show this big pattern change is key here. Let's look at the map here real quick and I can show you this big dome of high pressure that was in place showing very dry conditions. Finally, by the end of the week, this pattern will change. This is huge with all the drought conditions out west, we are going to see that trough drop and bring even some heavy rain to the west where it is well-needed -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Indra, we will deal with it. It is winter. Spring is coming, not far away, right?

PETERSONS: Right -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Thanks, Indra. We appreciate it.

PETERSONS: Sure.

COSTELLO: The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.