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Governor Brewer to Decide on Bill Fate; McCain Urges Arizona Governor to Veto Bill; 2013 Best Year for Home Prices; California Kids Battle Polio-type Illness; Planned Military Cuts Stir Uneasiness; Security Increased at U.S. Embassy in Kiev; Arizona Business Leaders Urge Veto of Controversial Bill; Bill Clinton Hits Campaign Trail
Aired February 25, 2014 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: That's good enough for me. Thanks so much. Have a great day.
NEWSROOM starts now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer speaks to CNN about the controversial anti-gay bill on her desk.
GOV. JAN BREWER (R), ARIZONA: I will make my decision on that in the near future.
COSTELLO: Our Dana Bash and the interview you'll only see here.
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Where does your gut lie right now?
BREWER: Well, you know, I am a woman. And I don't rely a whole lot on my gut because I have to look at what it says and what the law says and take that information and do the right thing. But I can assure you, as always, I will do the right thing for the state of Arizona.
COSTELLO: Also a medical mystery.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's the red head, she's beautiful, she's talented.
COSTELLO: Four-year-old Sofia Jarvis and the polio-like illness that has doctors scratching their heads this morning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sophia went to the treasure box to grab her toy after seeing the doctor and I saw her left hand mid grasp stop working.
COSTELLO: Dozens of other cases under close watch.
Plus, America's military town facing a hard reality.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I actually had someone that came in this horning and they were asking about the drawdown. COSTELLO: The Pentagon slashing budgets and jobs. The defense secretary heading into what could be rough waters today as he visits military loyals, Tide Water, Virginia. Reaction already pouring in.
NIKKI HALEY (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: It really is a slap in the face to anyone who's served over the past decades multiple times and left their life to do this.
COSTELLO: You're live in CNN NEWSROOM.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me. The clock is ticking in Arizona where the governor has only a few days left to decide whether to veto a bill that's become a lightning rod in the battle over gay rights. In effect that bill would allow businesses to cite religious beliefs and deny service to gay customers.
In an exclusive interview with CNN, Republican Governor Jan Brewer says she'll make the right decision for her state.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: The bill is going to hit your desk back in Arizona today. You haven't seen hit yet I understand that. But you are -- very well aware of what's in it. Where's your mind now on what you might do?
BREWER: Well, you know, certainly I'm going to go home. And when I receive the bill, I'm going to read it and I'm going to be briefed on it. We have been following it. And I will make my decision in the near future. I have until Friday or Saturday morning to determine that so.
BASH: Now I've seen some reports of business leaders in your state very upset and afraid of what the damage could be to businesses in your state. The Super Bowl is coming next year and obviously there are a lot of other potential problems. Is that weighing on you?
BREWER: Well, of course. But, you know, I have a history of deliberating and having open dialogue on bills that are controversial to listen to both sides of those issues. And I welcome the input and information that they can provide to me and certainly I am pro- business. And that is what's turning our economy around. So I appreciate their input as I appreciate the other side.
BASH: I get as a governor you have to deliberate. It's your job. But as a person and as a woman and as somebody who, you know, understands the plight of all kinds of people, where does your gut lie right now?
BREWER: Well, you know, I am a woman. And I don't rely a whole lot on my gut because I have to look at what it says and what the law says and take that information and do the right thing. But I can assure you as always I will do the right thing for the state of Arizona.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: John McCain, Arizona's senior senator, has a clear and emphatic message for Governor Brewer, veto the measure like now.
Mark Preston is our political director. He joins us with more from Washington.
Good morning.
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hey, good morning, Carol. Yes, you know, Jan Brewer certainly in the spotlight and caught between the vice grip of social conservatives in the Republican Party and the business interests in the Republican Party. Certainly some cover if she choose to veto the bill from John McCain, a senior senator from Arizona who just a short time ago again delivered the message he doesn't want to see this bill enacted into law. This is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Unfortunately it hurts the image of our state just as a couple of years ago our of other law SB-1070 that you're familiar with. It's not an accident that our Arizona Chamber of Commerce and our business leaders came out with a very strong message yesterday that they don't want the governor to sign this.
This is going to hurt the state of Arizona's economy and frankly our image. So I hope that the governor of Arizona will veto this and we move on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PRESTON: And there you have John McCain just a short time ago trying to tell his governor not to accept this bill and in fact veto it when she heads home to Arizona which she's doing so today -- Carol.
COSTELLO: What do you think she'll do?
PRESTON: Well, you know, she's certainly somebody who marches to the beat of her own drum. She stood down President Obama in that very famous photo on the tarmac when it came to the issue of immigration.
Look, I think that it's a very telling sign when she told Dana Bash that she'll do what's right for the state of Arizona. She's getting a lot of pressure back home from business interests. There is hundreds of millions of dollars in business on the table if this bill does go into effect. She's getting pressure from the likes of American Airlines. The Super Bowl is against this bill.
The Democratic National Committee, just to give you an example, has queried Phoenix to ask if they're interested in the 2016 -- hosting the convention in 2016, one of many cities they're asking. If this bill were to go in effect I can guarantee you that would be taken off the table. This would be a bad bill in terms of business. I suspect that she's going to veto the bill but who knows what she's going to do -- Carol. COSTELLO: We'll see. Mark Preston, many thanks.
To expound on what Mark was saying the nation's top law enforcement official is wading into the battle over same-sex marriage at the state level. Attorney General Eric Holder tells the "New York Times" that his counterparts in each state do not have to defend laws that they believe are discriminatory.
His comments come after attorneys general in six states, all of them Democrats, were criticized for not doing enough to defend state bans on same-sex marriage. Holder drew parallels with the battle that led to the racial integration of public schools. He told "The Times," quote, "If I were attorney general in Kansas in 1953, I would not have defended a Kansas statue that put into place separate but equal facilities."
Moments ago, Cash-Shiller released the latest numbers on a key element of the economy -- home prices. And while the numbers look strong in 2013, there's mixed news on the housing sector in general.
CNN's chief business correspondent Christine Romans is here to parse the numbers.
Good morning.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. And that's an important distinction. So let's start with last year. The best year of home prices since 2005. Since before the collapse in the American housing market. 11.3 percent is the average increase nationwide. We look at 20 big cities. Cash-Shiller says 11.3 percent was the gain year-over-year in home prices.
But all real estate like politics, Carol, is local. So take a look at these biggest annual gains last year. Look at Vegas. A quarter. People added a quarter to their home value last year. San Francisco 22 percent, L.A. 20 percent, Atlanta, where you live, Carol, 18 percent, San Diego 18 percent there.
I was really heartened in these numbers to see that last year for Chicago was the best year-over-year home price gains since 1988. That's good news for people in Chicago. Dallas has record high home prices right now. So those areas are strong.
Here's the cautionary tale, though. You can see toward the end of the year those home price gains are actually slowing. And the S&P Cash- Shiller folks say that the biggest parts, the most robust part of the home price recovery is likely behind us. They're not looking for these kinds of gains again this year. So watching things slow down toward the end of the year. Of course very cold this new part of 2014, higher interest rates as well, an uncertain job market. All of those things could dampen the housing market a little bit but for last year, Carol, a very nice year for home prices.
COSTELLO: Christine Romans, reporting live from New York, thank you.
We're also learning more this morning about a strange illness that mimics polio in children. So far it's caused paralysis in five children from California. But medical officials fear close to two dozen more kids might be suffering from it.
Dan Simon has more for you from San Francisco.
Good morning, Dan.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. This is a very serious disease. And the children who have been impacted by this have not recovered. One of them is a 4-year-old girl from Berkeley, California, who initially came in with respiratory problems.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIMON (voice-over): Sofia Jarvis is an adorable 4-year-old, happy and seemingly healthy until a year and a half ago when her left arm suddenly stopped moving.
JEFF JARVIS, SOPHIA'S FATHER: We kind of joked that this was like the level where in Sofia's life. She is the red head. She's beautiful, she's talented, she's got older brothers. She's got -- you know, she's really bright.
SIMON: Doctors say Sofia is one of at least five children in California showing signs of a mysterious polio-like illness, the exact cause unknown. What they do know is her arm is paralyzed and it came on suddenly after Sophia initially showed symptoms of asthma.
JESSICA TOMEI, SOPHIA'S MOTHER: She started wheezing suddenly. She had not had any history of asthma.
SIMON: After a few days at the hospital, Sofia's mom took her back to the doctor for a follow-up.
TOMEI: As we were leaving that appointment, Sofia went to the treasure box to grab her toy after seeing the doctor and I saw her left hand mid-grasp stop working.
SIMON: An MRI later showing she had a lesion on her spinal cord. Sophia never got better. She calls her arm --
SOFIA JARVIS, LEFT ARM MYSTERIOUSLY PARALYZED: Lefty. Lefty is my favorite one.
SIMON: Doctors don't know what is causing these cases of weakness in limbs or paralysis.
DR. KEITH VAN HAREN, PEDIATRIC NEUROLOGIST: And the prognosis that we've seen so far is not good, mostly children, we see them not recovered.
SIMON: Twenty more cases are suspected, but they haven't been officially verified. All of them occurring in the last 18 months and all of them in California. Still doctors say parents should not panic. HAREN: It's extremely rare. Our suspicion is it's a virus, but that's unproven. We know it's not polio virus. There are other viruses that can do this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIMON: Well, researchers say two of the children tested positive for something called Enterovirus 68 which has been linked to polio symptoms in the past. The Centers for Disease and Prevention, Carol, is also on the case. The bottom line is, we don't know what's causing these issues. But doctors and Sofia's parents just want to get the word out -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Dan Simon, many thanks.
Rumbles of uneasiness is still echoing through Washington and across much of the nation's military after a dramatic new plan to shrink the size of the armed services. The goal, to make the military more nimble through cuts. It could mean the biggest transformation in decades. Recruiters say they face questions from those re-considering the military as a career.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJOR JARED HULL, U.S. ARMY: I actually had someone that came in this morning and they were asking about the drawdown or the -- you know, the cuts and all things that have been proposed. And I told them, I said, we're still enlisting people. We still need qualified men and women.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: For the secretary of defense, the next battle plan will take shape in Congress. And lawmakers -- are already voicing deep concerns.
Barbara Starr has more for you from the Pentagon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel made one thing clear. Nearly 13 years of war footing is over.
CHUCK HAGEL, DEFENSE SECRETARY: After Iraq and Afghanistan, we're no longer sizing the military to conduct long and large stability operations.
STARR: The Pentagon will now focus more on special operations, cyber war and high-tech weapons.
HAGEL: The military must be ready and capable to respond quickly to all contingencies and decisively defeat any opponent should deterrents fail.
STARR: But Hagel knows it's a tough sell. Some will object on national security (INAUDIBLE).
HAGEL: You have fewer troops, fewer ships, fewer planes. Readiness is not the same standard. Of course there's going to be risks.
STARR: Governors are already reacting to proposed cuts in their National Guard forces. Many of those troops are combat veterans from war.
GOV. TERRY BRANSTAD (R), IOWA: We think that they're very important to the national defense of this country as well as to helping us in times of emergencies in our individual state.
STARR: Among the key proposed cuts, downsizing the army from 520,000 soldiers to around 440,000, the smallest since 1940.
Key programs like the Air Force U-2 spy planes will be replaced by drones. The A-10 warthog by a new fighter jet. But perhaps most controversial will be slowing the rate of pay increases, trimming housing allowances and cutting subsidies to commissaries. Congress is likely to object to all of that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: And then there's the $52 billion a year military health care system. One of the -- ideas to save money there is to ask retirees to pay more for their health care, an idea that's not likely to go over very well with them -- Carol?
COSTELLO: And Barbara, you're a busy woman this morning. You're also getting new information on security at the U.S. embassy in Ukraine. Tell us about that.
STARR: Right, Carol. This is something we have just learned here at CNN. A small elite team, nine Marines, have gone to the U.S. embassy in Kiev at the request of the State Department. Of course with the approval of the Pentagon.
This elite nine-man team of Marine is to augment, to beef up security around the clock at the embassy. Nobody believes that there is a threat to the embassy. But this is the post-Benghazi world. Even though things are a bit calmer in Kiev, the street, if you will, still very uncertain. So the State Department asking for a little extra help from the Marines. More Marines there.
They don't believe they have a specific threat in any way. But they just want to be very sharp and very much on the job -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Barbara Starr, reporting live from the Pentagon this morning.
Pressure is mounting. So what will she do? Next we'll hear from a top business leader in Arizona who's urging Governor Brewer to heed the call of these protesters and kill the bill.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Pressure is mounting. So, what will she do next? We'll hear from a top business leader in Arizona who's urging Governor Brewer to heed the call of these protestors and kill the bill. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Checking our top stories at 18 minutes past the hour.
Steep price tag for a rescue at sea. The "Sydney Morning Herald" reports the Australian government is trying to recoup $2 million it spent to rescue passengers on board the research ship that got stuck in the ice off Antarctica on Christmas Day. An Australian ice breaker was diverted from a resupply mission to help with the rescue.
A woman is blaming Google Glass haters for an attack in a San Francisco bar. Tech writer Sarah Slocum was showing people how the glasses worked when she says two women confronted her and a man ripped them off her face. Slocum got the high tech glasses back but someone says stole her purse and her phone. Witnesses say some people at the bar got upset being recorded by those Google glasses.
And for the second time in less than a year, Disney is raising ticket prices. A single day visit with Mickey will now cost -- get this -- 99 bucks. That's up from $95.
It comes as hundreds of Walt Disney World union workers rallied for higher pay last night. One worker says workers make less than $10 an hour. Disney says many of those people just work part time.
It is the return of the polar vortex. This week's arctic blast won't be as brutal as the one before. Temperatures in the upper Midwest could be 30 degrees below normal. Single digits could hit tomorrow. But no major snow forecasted by the warm up this weekend.
The nation is waiting to see what Arizona Governor Jan Brewer will do. She now has until the end of the week to decide whether to sign or veto a bill that would allow businesses based on religious relieves to refuse service to gays and lesbians. Some business leaders are urging the governor to veto it.
Barry Broome is one of them. He's the president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council.
Welcome, sir.
BARRY BROOME, PRES. & CEO, GREATER PHOENIX ECONOMIC COUNCIL: Thank you.
COSTELLO: My first question, what is up with Arizona with these controversial laws?
BROOME: Well, it's a conservative state. We're kind of ground zero for national conversations. You know, the state's still maturing politically. So, it's just the nature of state politics to have ground zero conversation is just part of the way they do business.
COSTELLO: You know, whether or not Governor Brewer vetoes this, Arizona has become a national joke. I mean, listen to what took place last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SETH MEYERS, COMEDIAN: The Arizona legislature passed a bill that would allow business owners asserting religious believes to deny service to gay customers. Some businesses have already put up signs that read, nice shirt, nice shoe, no service.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: You know, ha, ha, but you as a business leader have to deal with that, in attracting new business to Arizona. So, how do you deal with it?
BROOME: Well, we stick to the facts. This is one of the top 10 markets in the United States. Ironically, site selection magazine will come out and name Greater Phoenix the top market in the western half of the United States.
That's why we oppose a lot of these kind of policy exercises, because Arizona is such a great place to do businesses. Our universities are some of the most dynamics in the United States. We're one of the top job producers in the U.S. year in and year out. We're number one for small business start ups, job creation by small businesses.
And this kind of political conversations are damaging the state's reputation and kind of suppressing our ability and other business people's ability to really tell the Arizona story, which is a story of inclusion, excitement, wonderful futures for young families and dynamism and that's why this bill is so negative to our state. It's impacting our brand in a negative way and it's discriminatory in nature.
COSTELLO: You've written a letter to Governor Brewer. It reads in part, quote, "With major events approaching in the coming year, including Super Bowl XLIX, Arizona will be the center of the world stage. The legislation has potential of subjecting the Super Bowl and major events surrounding it to the threats of boycotts."
Now, the NFL is already launching to see what happens, and it could pull the Super Bowl out of Arizona. Who knows?
Also, what Marriott has weighed in on this. American Airlines has weighed in. What other businesses have you heard from who are concerned about this bill?
BROOME: Well, Apple has come out and weighed in and personally contacted the governor and called for the veto. Apple is building the largest high-tech facility now in Mesa, Arizona. And what a lot of proponents of this bill are having a hard time understanding is that the Apple Corporation's human resource policies are specifically dedicated towards integrating the LBGT community. Apple requires their suppliers to follow their same HR policies. Intel also has a specific objective at integrating African-Americans and LGBT people in their workforce. So, among the major employers, there's no place for discrimination in the work place. There's no place for discrimination in Arizona.
And that's why we've respectfully asked Jan Brewer, our wonderful governor, to please (AUDIO GAP).
COSTELLO: Barry Broome, thank you so much for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.
BROOME: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM: Star power hits the campaign trail. Bill Clinton heads to Kentucky for a friend.
Erin McPike is in Louisville with more, after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: The road to the 2014 and 2016 elections will be well traveled today by some of the biggest names from both parties.
Former President Bill Clinton heads to Kentucky to campaign with Alison Grimes. Grimes is running against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Hillary Clinton heads to Washington where she'll present awards for advancing women and peace and security at Georgetown University.
And in New Jersey, Chris Christie has money on his mind. He'll deliver his annual budget address.
But back to Bill Clinton for just a minute -- he's heading to Louisville today to add some star power in the fight to unseat Republican Mitch McConnell. This selection may be the most difficult for the Senate minority leader.
Erin McPike is in Louisville this morning to tell us more.
Good morning.
ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning.
Well, polls show a tight race between Mitch McConnell and the Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes. Now, her family has known the Clintons for years. We want to show you a photo of Alison Grimes meeting the Clintons in 1993 at the Lincoln Memorial. Her father catered some events for that inauguration and up to Chelsea Clinton's wedding in 2010, and those long relationships should help her in this campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MCPIKE (voice-over): Mitch McConnell is leading the charge to sweep Senate Democrats from power in this year's midterm elections.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: These people need to be stopped. A good way to stop them is to make me the majority leader of the United States Senate this November.
MCPIKE: But he has to win re-election first. And that may prove harder than the past four times he's done it.
MCCONNELL: Kentucky is thought of not deep red but reddish. Reddish.
MCPIKE: Now, remember him, Bill Clinton carried the typically red Blue Grass State in both of his presidential elections in the 90s. He campaigned against McConnell in the tougher than expected race in 2008.
Today, he's making his first big stop on the 2014 campaign trail.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT: We have simply got to have more people who are willing to reach across the aisle.
MCPIKE: Campaigning for the Democrats' 35-year-old star recruit.
ALISON LUNDERGAN GRIMES (D-KY), SENATE CANDIDATE: I'm Alison Lundergan Grimes. And with your help, I will be the next United States senator from Kentucky.
MCPIKE: Grimes is secretary of state and was an attorney in Lexington. Her father Gerry Lundergan chaired the Kentucky Democratic Party twice and has a relationship with Clinton spanning three decades. Candidate Grimes is leaning heavily on the Clintons, and sought their advice getting into the race.
Before he gets a clear shot at the Democrats, McConnell must defeat Tea Party-backed challenger Matt Bevin in the state's GOP primary. The far right has been a thorn in McConnell's side both at home and in Washington. With Ted Cruz's maneuvers causing problems, like shooting down the government for 16 days.
