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Report: Army Shrinking to Pre-WWII Levels; Awed Ukraine Civilians Tour Lavish Palace; Holder Calls For Data Breach Disclosure Law; Bird Smashes Through Cockpit Window; Elderly Man Hit After Road Rage Incident; U.S. Seeks To Extradite Mexican Drug Lord; Arizona Governor Has Until End Of The Week To Sign Religious Freedom Bill
Aired February 24, 2014 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Just ahead in the NEWSROOM, the lap of luxury in a country surrounded by poverty. This morning a first-hand look at the life of opulence led by Ukraine's former leader.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even a tunnel linking the houses across miles and miles of grounds, the luxury literally never seemed to end.
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COSTELLO: Also an American soldier held captive for nearly five years begs to go home.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get me to be released.
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COSTELLO: Now, sensitive talks between the United States and the Taliban hit a major snag as the push to bring home Army sergeant, Bowe Bergdahl, is stalled.
Plus Netflix new plan to help Comcast customers watch Frank Underwood and company faster.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It hasn't passed the House yet. It a long march before it arrives in the president's desk.
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COSTELLO: What if you have Verizon or AT&T? Got the answers for you straight ahead. NEWSROOM continues now.
Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me. In just a few hours, we could see the beginning of the biggest transformation of the U.S. military in decades. According to the "New York Times," Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will propose a reduction so wide and so deep it will create the nation's smallest Army since World War II.
The proposal sure to field debate in Congress signals a changing world and America's role in it. Here to discuss that is Retired Army General Wesley Clark who also served as the NATO Supreme Allied Commander. He joins us now from Los Angeles. Welcome, sir.
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK (RETIRED), FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: Thank you very much, Carol.
COSTELLO: There are some who say a reduction in troops is necessary and others who say it is not necessary. What do you think?
CLARK: Well, I think it depends really on the budget issue. We have to be very careful in reducing the army in particular because what we have seen in cycle after cycle since World War II is that the nation says there will be no more land wars. We are never going to do this again and then we do it again.
And so what we have to protect is the core of the army. You can take some units especially logistics units and technical units and put them in the reserve and National Guard. You have to protect the part of the army that is in the first to go in, the cutting edge striking force.
And you have to protect the institution that does the learning, the studying, the procurement, the development, and the new fighting technologies. What we know now that we didn't know pre-World War II is that technology dominates in modern warfare
COSTELLO: I think the plan is, and my searching here, that under Hagel's plan, the number of troops in the army will drop to between 440,000 and 450,000, so 120,000 troop reduction. That's a lot.
CLARK: It's a lot. Now, before we went into the Middle East in 2001 and then again 2003, we were looking at an army at around 490,000. So we got a 10 percent cut below that level. We thought then that was about as low as it could go. Remember, we still have to deal with Korea.
We are uncertain about the nature of what's going to happen in Iran. There are still challenges in Iraq and Syria. So keeping that land force around is a way of reducing risk and gaining leverage in U.S. foreign policy. So it is very, very sticky. Can it be done budgetarily? Yes. What's the risk for the nation?
COSTELLO: General Wesley Clark, thanks so much for your insight this morning. I appreciate it.
A stern warning from the United States this morning to Russia. It would be a grave mistake if Vladimir Putin sends military forces to seize power in Ukraine.
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SUSAN RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The president's message was, look, we have a shared interest in a Ukraine that remains unified and whole and independent and is able to exercise the will of its people freely. At that point, Putin was in agreement. They were both able to say they wanted to see the implementation of the agreement that had been signed on Friday.
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COSTELLO: In a matter of hours, Victor Yanukovych has gone from president of Ukraine to fugitive. He is now on the run from an arrest warrant that accuses him of the mass killings of civilians. His pro- western opponents are celebrating his ouster and ogling his presidential palace.
Here's one visitor posing for a picture atop a toilet in the palace. Others are strolling the grounds and admiring the artwork and gloating over the people's victory that toppled an unpopular government.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is at the capital, Kiev. Good morning.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They walked into thousands because the roads were jammed because of the most fantastical show of ruler let go. Not quite so insultingly extravagant. Yulia anonymous plea to the world went viral in the internet. Only now she feels safe to say her name.
YULIA MARUSHEVSKA, FROM "I AM UKRAINIAN": I am an Ukrainian. I am 24 years old. My name is Yulia Marushevska. For me, it's madness and for all people the only question over here is what's for?
WALSH: These crowds can roam these vast grounds for hours and still not find the answer. Remarkably, no looting, nothing stolen because that's what they say he did a day after to forget the dead and the political power vacuum and see what money can buy if you don't have anything sensible to do it. He didn't drive this '50s Bentley, a Soviet limo and an American army jeep.
In the end, he fled in the presidential helicopter and not in this a massive river boat for partying. Outside, fascination, at the life he led and they could only look in on while their country stagnated.
Inside, gifts from guests. Months ahead when Ukraine comes to terms with the troubled economy and asks, where did all the money go? Here is part of the answer. The president's own vodka to even know Versace plate, the presidential waste.
We later got inside his house with girl's bedroom, a rare sign of life being lived here. Otherwise, it was gaudy but vacant. Everything laid on even a tunnel linking the house across miles and miles of grounds. The luxury literally never seemed to end.
In his bedroom, one bell for sex, one for alcohol, it was presumably a joke, but how he lived to the people whose money this was isn't.
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COSTELLO: Nick Paton Walsh reporting. As I said, the Ukrainian president, still on the run.
Just months after millions of people had their personal information stolen by cyberhackers at retail giants like Target and Neiman Marcus, Attorney General Eric Holder is calling on Congress to pass a law that would require companies to alert shoppers of a data breach more quickly.
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ERIC HOLDER, ATTORNEY GENERAL: This would empower the American people to protect themselves. It would enable law enforcement to better investigate these crimes and hold compromise entities accountable when they failed to keep sensitive information safe.
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COSTELLO: Let's bring in CNN's chief business correspondent, Christine Romans with more on this. You would think there is no way I could possibly keep such a huge data breach secret anyway.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know, sometimes, Carol, the companies themselves don't know for a very long time. Sometimes these data breaches happen in a matter of seconds and it takes weeks, if not months, to identify them. It's a real problem for the companies, law enforcement and consumers.
Carol, what the attorney general wants is one rule and one kind of standard for how we are going to treat these. They happen all the time with alarming frequency and we react to them kind of differently in each case.
Right now, it's just a hodgepodge of state laws. The most recent data breaches, but a Verizon report from 2012. They found 621 breaches that year alone. These are happening, more than two a day, companies that you do business with, are being hacked.
The FBI last fall said that quite frankly, cyberterrorism could be a bigger problem than terrorism. It is prolific the way criminals can get a hold of your information -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So would this law change the way investigations are conducted?
ROMANS: Well, here's something interesting about that because law enforcement, depending on the breach, sometimes they ask the company not to disclose it so they can go chasing after the criminals. They don't want to tip off the criminals in some cases.
So that will be the difficult part of coming up with a national standard. How do you make sure that law enforcement, the companies and the consumer all have the information they need at the right time so you can catch the criminals and prevent any more loss?
COSTELLO: Before you go, the markets are going crazy in a good way.
ROMANS: In a week and a half, the five-year market of the bull market. This is an old bull but still running, a record high for the S&P 500. Just last month, we were talking about a correction, was this whole thing over? It turns out not. The 170 percent is how much you made on your money since that terrible time five years ago in March when the market hit that terrible bottom. Today, up 115 points.
Janet Yellen speaks on Thursday. She will likely talk about the Fed's taper and how the economy is progressing. At least today, Carol, this idea that as the treasury secretary told me last week, the U.S. economy is on a decided arc of progress. That's what the markets are saying too -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Christine Romans, many thanks. Still to come in the NEWSROOM, El Chapo captured. Would the world's most powerful drug lord land in the United States? Ted Rowlands following that story for us. Good morning, Ted.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: U.S. and Mexican authorities work together to arrest El Chapo without incident. It's fascinating, the details are, we'll talk about it coming up.
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COSTELLO: Checking our top stories at 13 minutes past the hour. The shock for the single engine plane, a bird smashed through the cockpit window while the plane was flying over Port Myers. The pilot, Rob Weber, was the only passenger on board and was able to land safely. He had a small cut on his forehead when all of this said and done.
Police are looking for the driver of a gray Honda Accord that hit an elderly man at a Las Vegas gas station. Police say the attack followed a road rage incident and they are treating the case as attempted murder.
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SHAYELA RODRIGUEZ, WITNESS: I heard someone screaming. When I turn around, the only thing I could see was California plates, a silver car running away. I saw an old white man on the floor right there. The only thing I could see was to call 911 to help him.
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COSTELLO: The victim was taken to a hospital. The suspect described as a white man in his '30s. His car had California plates.
The longest serving member of Congress is stepping down. CNN has confirmed that Representative John Dingell of Michigan will not seek re-election this fall. Dingell who turns 88 in July has been in Congress for 58 years. The Detroit news reports that Dingell's wife, Debbie, is expected to run for his seat.
The U.S. wants to prosecute the world's most powerful drug lord, but will Mexico hand over Joaquin Guzman after a dramatic capture this weekend. CNN's Ted Rowlands is in Chicago where Guzman is known as public enemy number one. Good morning. ROWLANDS: Good morning, Carol. This guy has negatively affected thousands of people's lives around the world as the leader of the sentinel drug cartel. This morning, El Chapo is finally facing justice.
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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 trapped Guzman down to this hotel in Mexico.
Also arrested, Carlos 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 the biggest problem in our convincing Mexican authorities to send him back to the United States is that he is a Mexican national. Most of his killings have taken place on Mexican soil and 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 evaded 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 lieutenants. The U.S. attorney general says the drug king pin contributed to the death and destruction of millions of lives.
REPRESENTATIVE MICHAEL MCCAUL (R), TEXAS: He escaped from a prison in 2001. There is corruption in that country. I would ask that the Mexicans consider extraditing him to the United States.
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ROWLANDS: It is unclear, Carol, whether or not prosecutors here in the U.S. will get a shot at prosecuting El Chapo. One thing to consider, Mexico does not have the death penalty and they are reluctant to extradite anybody who may be facing the death penalty in another country.
COSTELLO: Ted Rowlands reporting live for us from Chicago. Thank you.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, signing law and creating a new crime, being gay. We'll have the latest from Uganda where a new law is stirring outrage around the world.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: A major barrier broken in sports that happened in the second quarter of last night's Brooklyn Nets game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Standing ovation for Jason Collins checked into the game for the Nets and became the first openly gay athlete in the four major professional sports.
Collins was a free agent last April when he revealed he was gay in a "Sports Illustrated" cover story. After last night's game, the 12- year NBA vet, said he was just glad to be back on the court.
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JASON COLLINS, BROOKLYN NETS: It was weird in that I'm usually like one of the background players. It is weird, obviously, with this. At the same time, it is what it is. It is part of life. The most important thing is the team got the win. That's all I have ever cared about. I don't care about scoring. I don't care about -- I care about my team winning and helping my teammates get open and making their job easier.
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COSTELLO: Collins signed a ten-day contract with the Nets, which could be extended.
Gay rights have certainly evolved in recent years. We have an openly gay pro basketball player. There's an openly gay college athlete trying out for the NFL.
But it's a whole different story in Arizona where the governor must decide whether to sign a bill that would allow business owners to deny service to gays or lesbians as long as those business numbers site their religious beliefs. Nick Valencia joins me now.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, in the last hour, we obtained a letter, sent to the governor by business leaders. It says, as leaders in the business community, we cannot support measures that could expose our businesses to litigation nor do we want to send a message that our state is anything, but an open and attractive place for visitors.
Now you covered this story at length. You know that religious conservatives have argued and maintained this is about their right to religious freedom and the burden that laws put on their religious exercise. Gay activists and Democrats aren't buying it. They say this potential law could make it very, very difficult for gay people to live in the state of Arizona.
COSTELLO: Yes, for example, one state legislator told me the thing he worries about the most, let's say a gay person runs into the restaurant and says, your lifestyle violates my religious freedom. Please leave.
VALENCIA: This is about where the line is drawn. Arizona is not the only state that is proposing this kind of legislation. They have this unique provision that allows them, some would say, to discriminate against the gay community.
Other states like Kansas, like Idaho, they have an open ended policy, open ended legislation that would allow them to deny service to anybody based on religious, moral objections. In Arizona, it is that moral objection to homosexuality that has caused quite a stir.
But really, you know, when I spoke to people last night, it was, where is the line going to be drawn in this? Could a business in Arizona say we have a moral, religious objection, because you are Mexican- American, Nick and that is something we don't believe in, religiously? Where is the line going to be drawn?
COSTELLO: So Jan Brewer is in Washington right now at the governors' conference. She has to decide by when?
VALENCIA: By Friday, whether or not she is going to sign this law into effect. She has vetoed similar legislation in the past and has come out very recently and defended small businesses from having the right to whether they want to deny services or employment to some people. Is Governor Jan Brewer going to sign this law? We have yet to find a business that supports this legislation.
COSTELLO: And Dana Bash is hanging out where the governors are meeting. Thanks so much, Nick Valencia, we appreciate it.
Still to come in the newsroom, is the American soldier left behind in the war on terror. The family of army sergeant, Bowe Bergdahl, reels from the latest setback in bringing him home.
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COSTELLO: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. Checking our top stories at just about 30 minutes past the hour a carbon monoxide leak at a New York restaurant left the manager dead and sent dozens to the hospital.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They told us to get out of the building. There were people passing out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were eating dinner. The place was jammed, an hour wait and very calmly, the wait staff came and told us we have to evacuate the building.
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COSTELLO: They were lucky because even the first responders who arrived on the scene felt a little dizzy after responding to the call about a woman passing out. The officials blamed the leak on a broken water heater pipe. In Southern Maine, several guests there too complained of headaches and nausea when carbon monoxide started leaking at their motel.
