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Detroit Police Chief Death Threat; Harold Ramis Dies; Iconic Tagline Replaced; Ukraine President Vanishes
Aired February 24, 2014 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf Blitzer, thank you, as always.
Happy Monday to all of you. I'm Brooke Baldwin. A lot going on. Let's get right to it.
Beginning with the U.S. military. Always been a last resort when it comes to federal budget cuts. Not anymore. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel last hour announced major cuts to the number of active duty arm troops. Certain planes and programs are also on the chopping block. The defense secretary says he is bowing to economic realities in a way that will maintain military readiness.
And it has been a disappointing day at the Supreme Court if you are a gun rights activist. The justices have now decided not to review those three cases concerning gun rights. Two of the cases involve laws preventing 18 to 20-year-olds from buying, carrying handguns and that third case was from people in Washington, D.C., who wanted the right to buy guns from out of state dealers. The decision means those laws will stay on the books.
Some good news. Take a look at the big board with me. Wall Street on fire today. The Dow up just about 170 points here. Here you go. S&P 500 hitting a record high as well. Why? Well, corporate earnings deserve some of the credit today. Many of them topping expectations in the fourth quarter. Keep in mind, we like that color green, don't we? But all the green you're seeing, this is a sharp turn from last month. A horrible month of January when stocks really took a hit.
In today's "Political Pop," the end of an era. A very long era. After 58 years in office, Michigan's 87 year old congressman, John Dingell, is calling it quits. He has served in Congress longer than anyone in American history. He won a special election back in 1955 when he was 29 years young to replace his dad. The seat could stay in the family. Word is Dingell's wife Debbie could run for it.
And some strong words from the chief of police in Detroit after this gang member made a death threat against him on social media. Detroit ranked as the third most dangerous city in this country, but Chief James Craig not backing down at all, saying this will not change the way he fights crime in Detroit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF JAMES CRAIG, DETROIT POLICE: The suspect made a statement in his street jargon, "we need to clap him out." Certainly that was meant for me. He referenced the chief. Because there's been what his group would say a disruption. We will not be deterred. I will not be deterred because the community and the police officers are counting on us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Clap him out, slang for shoot someone to death. Here she is, Jean Casarez, our CNN legal correspondent.
And do we know, why is the police chief specifically targeted here?
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN LEGAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what the police chief is saying that he thinks it is because of the drug raids that they've been having. You know, he took office last year and the Detroit Police Department confirmed with me, Adam Medera (ph), today, that they have had five very large drug raids since he took his position as the chief of police. And that involved more than 200 officers, the SWAT team, border patrol, Wayne County Sheriff's Department and local police. It resulted in numerous arrests and numerous prosecutions. So that's what they believe is the root of this because one of the focuses of this police chief is to really cut out the drug trade and they tell me there's local gangs, there are national gangs in Detroit. It's a bigger enterprise than we would think.
BALDWIN: So then beyond the chief of police that we just heard from, how are federal, local officials responding to this?
CASAREZ: Well, the FBI is obviously taking it very seriously. They've confirmed to me they have an open investigation. They are following all leads. Beyond that, they are not commenting too much.
But I spoke with Kim Worthy (ph), who is the prosecutor for Wayne County, which is Detroit, and she told me, as far as charges, and this is interesting, in the state of Michigan, they don't have a criminal threat statute on the books. The legislature has looked at it, but they don't have it. And so they tried to look at the facts and find others statutes that are appropriate. And if, in fact, this threat was made on social media, there's also prospectively federal charges here.
BALDWIN: OK. Jean Casarez, thank you very much.
CASAREZ: Thanks.
BALDWIN: Speaking of bad guys here, the world's most notorious drug lord behind bars and federal prosecutors want to know when he will be brought to the U.S. In a daring, early morning raid, Joaquin Guzman, known as "El Chapo" or "Shorty," was caught in the Mexican Pacific resort town of Mazatlan inside a beach-front condo. There were still eggs on the stove. The world's most wanted drug lord was finally captured and it was wiretaps and informants that really finally closed the deal. Congressman Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, says Mexican officials should consider extradition right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R), TEXAS: This is the largest, biggest drug lord we've ever seen in the world. And, therefore, I think extradition to the United States, where there are multiple indictments in multiple cities, San Diego, New York, in Texas and Chicago, where we could deal with him in a secure, safe way and bring him to justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: They've been looking for this guy for quite a while. Thirteen years they've been on the hunt for El Chapo after his escape from prison in a laundry cart. So then throughout the years, this guy avoided being caught because of his enormous power to bribe corrupt officials.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNIE POTTS, ACTRESS, "GHOSTBUSTERS": I bet you like to read a lot too.
HAROLD RAMIS, ACTOR, "GHOSTBUSTERS": Print is dead.
POTTS: Oh, that's very fascinating to me. I read a lot myself. Some people think I'm too intellectual, but I think it's a fabulous way to spend your spare time. I also play racket ball. Do you have any hobbies?
RAMIS: I collect spores, molds and fungus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Oh, comedy legend Harold Ramis has died. Ramis starring in the blockbuster hit "Ghostbusters." Ramis also found Hollywood acclaim behind the camera as a director. Ramis died in his Chicago home early this morning surrounded by his family. He died from complications from a rare disease he battled for four years. It was autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis, a condition that involves swelling of the blood vessels.
So joining me now, A.J. Hammer, HLN entertainment anchor.
And when this crossed today, A.J., everybody was like, who you going to call?
A.J. HAMMER, HLN ENTERTAINMENT ANCHOR: Yes.
BALDWIN: I mean how many times have you probably seen "Ghostbusters"? Like 87? Because I think I have.
HAMMER: Yes. No question about it. It's so iconic. And I think Harold Ramis was part of so many more films than people had any idea of. He was some -- in some of the most enduring comedies of all time. Part of the writing team that brought us "National Lampoon," "Animal House." That was in 1978. Really launched his film career and, of course, it launched John Belushi has a huge star. He co-wrote "Stripes" in 1981 starring opposite Bill Murray. And, of course, perhaps he's best known for "Ghostbusters." He co-wrote and had that iconic starring role of Egon that we just saw. And it really was, Brooke, one of the greatest comedy assembles ever. You had Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray in that as well.
BALDWIN: Yes. Yes.
HAMMER: He also has directing credit from "Caddyshack" in 1980, "National Lampoon's Vacation" from '83. "Groundhog Day," one of my favorite movies that I've seen over and over.
BALDWIN: Yes.
HAMMER: "Analyze This" as well. Before he got his movie career rolling, he was the very first head writer and a performer on Second City television. That was way back in 1976. Recently, he directed NBC's "The Office," and the 2009 comedy "Year One," which starred Jack Black. And you might remember seeing him opposite Seth Rogen in Judd Apatow's box office hit "Knocked Up." He was in that film. Apatow and Pete Farrelly are among those, Brooke, who consider Harold Ramis a key inspiration in their career.
Of course he got a huge number of professional honors and rewards. He was the recipient of the American Comedy Award. He got a British comedy award. And the Bafta Award for screenwriting. The one thing, Brooke, that I noticed again and again as I was looking back at his life last this afternoon, the number of people that said, despite this amazing career, I mean think of all those credits, this was a guy, they all said, who was never affected in any Hollywood kind of way. And that's pretty unusual.
BALDWIN: He doesn't seem like a Hollywood guy. I mean you mentioned Second City TV. I don't know if that's connected with Second City Improv -
HAMMER: Sure.
BALDWIN: But is that where, you know, his Chicago roots come out in favoring Chicago over L.A.?
HAMMER: Yes, no, that's why Chicago -- in addition to the fact that he was - he grew up there and was born there -
BALDWIN: Yes.
HAMMER: That's why it was such an important place to him. And he moved back there in 1986 - or 1996, rather. He said it was important for him to return to this town because -- I love this quote from him, "there's a pride in what I do that other people share because I'm local, which in L.A. is meaningless. No one's local." And he went on to day, "I feel like I represent the city in a certain way and I know Chicago is proud to call Harold Ramis a native son." A sad loss.
BALDWIN: Sad indeed. A.J. Hammer, thank you very much.
HAMMER: Thanks.
BALDWIN: Coming up, moments ago we mentioned the Pentagon announcing it will shrink the Army to levels actually not seen since prior to World War II. What kind of impact will this have looking ahead on our ability to fight a war? We'll look into that.
Plus, have you seen this video. A bird strike. That was a bird. Hits the windshield of this plane. The pilot lives to talk about it. You will hear from him. Do not miss that.
Also, it is iconic, it's successful, but the ad campaign featuring "got milk" is coming to an end. We'll tell you why the industry's new slogan is over, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Now to this inflight collision really rarely seen. Not involving two planes. Just one. Watch closely. Oh, can you imagine being mid-air and wondering what the heck just flew through my windshield. Florida pilot Rob Weber was flying solo over Ft. Meyers, watch it again, when a bird smashed through the windshield of his plane. He talked to "The News Press" newspaper, told them he was up about 1,000 feet in the air, that an air traffic controller named Becky kept him calm, guiding him as he landed his Piper Saratoga minus some glass. Weber just had a cut to his head. Didn't even go to the hospital.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROB WEBER, PILOT WHO SURVIVED BIRD STRIKE: Smashed it pretty good. Oh, here's one of his feathers. I tried to kind of like duck down to the right a little bit after it happened just to try to get out of the air that was coming in, but I was doing about 170 when I hit. And the glass was flying and the feathers were flying. I thought he was back in the tail of the plane somewhere. I looked between the two seats behind me and I saw his leg laying there. So I was like, well, I got part of him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: You hear him sort of chuckling. This is why I love this guy. Look at his t-shirt. We'd just like to show this to you. This is an Angry Birds t-shirt. Angry Birds. Love this. This is why this guy has a sense of humor. Also, apparently he is so curious as to what kind of bird hit the windshield, he's going to use the bird's leg and some of those feathers he was pulling out of the windshield to try to help him figure that out. Good luck with that one.
Got milk? It is one of the most recognizable ad slogans in history, but now it is gone, being replaced. The milk industry scrapping that campaign which started actually back in 1995 in favor of a new tag line. So, Zain Asher is live in New York with the new one. What is it?
ZAIN ASHER, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE & BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Brooke, well, you know, they had to change it because it's all about rebranding. And then you have milk sales steadily declining, but they had to - so they had to come up with something new. But it's crazy to think that these two words "got milk" could have such an impact on American pop culture. Obviously we all remember those ads of beautiful women back in the early '90s with milk mustaches around their lips. Naomi Campbell being one of them. Also, David Beckham, he was featured as well. You also had Elton John. But the types of celebrities that were used varied widely. Harrison Ford was included too. Miranda Lambert. But the idea of the campaign was to really push people, hey, listen, you know, successful, cool people, celebrities are drinking milk, you should too.
But as I mentioned, milk sales are steadily declining, so they had to come up with something new. The new campaign is referred to as "milk light." So it's less focus on celebrities, more on the nutritional content, focusing on the protein of milk, less about the celebrities. The idea is that it really will help milk sales pick up.
Brooke.
BALDWIN: Wait, you said "milk life," like with an "f"? "Milk life"?
ASHER: "Milk life." "Milk life." Yes, that's it, "milk life."
BALDWIN: OK. I'm just -- I'm marinating on that one for a minute, seeing if I like that. As we talk milk, I know prices of milk going up across the country.
ASHER: Yes, exactly. So let me show you where milk prices are right now. They currently stand at $3.55 a gallon. They've been spiking steadily since back in September when they were $3.42 a gallon. So a couple of factors going into this. First of all, demand. As people make more money, they tend to spend more at the grocery store. And obviously demand tends to push prices up.
But also another factor that's like of linked to demand as well is really exports. Milk -- more and more milk is being exported. More and more dairy products are being exported. Exports actually are at an all-time high. That's actually obviously affecting demand, which pushes prices higher again. And then there's a wild card with the drought in California. Obviously cows need water and alfalfa. And, obviously, if you have a drought, then that may actually impact milk prices later down the line.
Brooke.
BALDWIN: The poor cows. The poor cows.
ASHER: I know.
BALDWIN: Zain Asher, thank you very much.
Coming up here, where is the president of Ukraine, accused of murdering his own people? He just disappears. CNN gets an inside look at this luxurious palace of his.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: How in the world does a president, wanted for mass murder, simply vanish. Right now, in Ukraine, deposed president Viktor Yanukovych is missing. In a matter of hours, he's gone from president to now fugitive, on the run from an arrest warrant after more than 80 people were killed in weeks of anti-government protests. And his opulent palace, now vacant, open for tours. Ukrainians getting their first glimpse of this lavish life the president lead while many of them suffered in poverty. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has this report from the palace grounds.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They walked in there thousands because the roads were jammed to the most fantastical show of fled ruler (INAUDIBLE). They knew they were poor and he was rich, but not like this. Not quite so insultingly extravagant.
YULIA MARUSHEVSKA, FROM "I AM UKRAINIAN": I am Ukrainian.
WALSH: We meet Yulia, whose anonymous plea to the world went viral on the Internet. Only now she feels safe to say her name.
MARUSHEVSKA: I am a Ukrainian and I'm 24 years old. My name is Yulia Marushevska. For me it's a menace (ph) and for all people. The only question I am hearing or here is, what for (ph)?
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 out to forget the dead and the political power vacuum and see what money can buy if you really don't have anything sensible to do with it. He didn't even drive these. A '50 Bentley, a Soviet armored limo, whatever this is, and an American Army Jeep. In the end, he fled, of course, in the presidential helicopter and not in this, a massive river boat for partying.
Outside, fascination at the life he lead and they could only look in on while their country stagnated. Inside, gifts from guests.
WALSH (on camera): When months ahead when Ukraine comes to terms with the troubled economy and asks, where did all the money, here is part of the answer, the president's own vodka.
WALSH (voice-over): Did you even know Versace made plates? Even the presidential waste gets guilt. We later got inside his house. A bizarre, enormous empty mansion with this girl's bedroom a rare sign of life being lived here. Otherwise, it was gaudy (ph) but vacant. Everything laid on, even a tunnel linking the houses 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.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kiev.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Coming up, Alec Baldwin vows he is finished with public life. But in his comment in this fascinating opinion piece, he rips a lot of people, from celebrities to the media. We have that for you. Plus, the world's oldest Holocaust survivor had died, days before we find out if a documentary about her life wins an Oscar. Hear her story, next. You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: The world's oldest known Holocaust survivor has died, just days before we find out if a documentary about her life wins an Oscar. Alice Herz Sommers was 110 years old. She was confined to a concentration camp in Germany during World War II. But she spent much of her life as a talented musician, a pianist. And while in prison, she and others performed concerts that entertained the Nazis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALICE HERZ SOMMERS: We don't work. You've got to give anything. Millions and millions of hours working on what you love. When you love something, you work and work and work and work and work. It depends on whether (ph) life is good or not on me. Not on life, on me. Everything is good and bad. I look at the good side. With music, I was always happy. I am happy even without music. Even thinking of music makes me happy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Did you see those shoes. She was 110. The film, this was a clip, it's called "The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life." It's up for best short documentary at the Academy Awards on Sunday.
And please be sure to turn in Thursday night when CNN Films brings you "And the Oscar Goes To." It is the ultimate backstage look at Hollywood's biggest night. Again, it's called "The Oscar Goes To." It airs Thursday night, 9:00 Eastern, here on CNN.
Three men burst into this house, tie up a little boy, he's 12-years- old, but the boy escapes and he runs not too far away for help at a senator's house next door. Coming up, we'll talk to that senator and he'll tell us the story firsthand.
Plus, Arthur Chu. This is the one guy "Jeopardy" contestants hate to see because he has turned the game show world upside down with his unconventional strategy. Coming up next, I'll talk to "Jeopardy's" biggest winner ever about why people are calling Chu a villain.
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