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Christie Slams Media "Hysteria"; Ice Jams Clog Rivers In Midwest, Great Lakes; FDA Seeks Food Label Changes; Jesus Returns To Big Screen: But Is He "Too Sexy?"; Violinist Uses Art To Teach About Disease

Aired February 27, 2014 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Bombshell. Revelations in the bridge scandal links New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's office, the treasure trove of text messages just went public. So these are texts that I will read in a second, this is from two key players accused of deliberately snarling the traffic on George Washington bridge as revenge for Fort Lee's mayor who declined to support Chris Christie's re-election campaign. So that's the background.

But these new texts or not new, but they are newly revealed I should say, they came six days after the infamous, "Time for traffic problems in Fort Lee" message from Christie's then deputy of staff, Bridget Kelly to David Wildstein, a Port Authority official at that time.

So here we have it on August 19th, Wildstein sent a photo of a prominent New Jersey rabbi to Kelly with this message. Quote, "And he's really pissed me off." Kelly's response, "Clearly and we cannot cause traffic problems in front of his house, can we?"

Wildstein responds, "Flights to Tel-Aviv all mysteriously delayed." Kelly answers, "Perfect." Months later, Wildstein resigns, Kelly was fired and Governor Christie had said he did not know a thing about that alleged plan to snarl bridge traffic until the whole scandal erupted.

So chief correspondent, John King, joins me now. Wow. So let's get to Christie's comments last night in a moment, but first I just want to hear your reaction, sir, to that back and forth with the rabbi.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Let's be clear. There is zero, zip, nada here suggesting that Governor Christie knew about this conversation or had anything to do with it. So what does it tell you? It tells you that in just a few days after bridge gate, the closing of those lanes in Fort Lee on the George Washington bridge, these two, a key Christie deputy and his governor's office, the deputy chief of staff, and a key Christie appointee to the Port Authority.

So two people close to the governor who were joking about it. They think it's funny, number one, and they are having a joking conversation that they didn't do anything, but they are threatening to have traffic as a joke in front of this rabbi's house. Why? The photo apparently was the rabbi with Speaker John Boehner. Remember Chris Christie was mad at Speaker John Boehner for delaying Sandy relief fund. That's what people are guessing. The connection is here, Brooke, nobody knows quite for sure about this. The rabbi said he had no idea. I just saw him quoted in "The New York Times" saying he has no idea what it was about.

But what it tells you about it is these guys were joking about this and that would be part of the investigation. Not only what happened, did the governor he said he did not, but did he know anything about the lane closure. What was the culture? What was the culture in Chris Christie's office? That's the potential downside for the governor.

BALDWIN: Right, OK. And then we have - we talked about Chris Christie was involved and I think it was his 111th town hall yesterday morning then flash forward to last night. He slammed the media on this radio show last night and said he is finished answering questions on bridgegate and specifically on his now ex-aide, Bridget Kelly. Here he was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOVERNOR CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: At the end of the day, if someone is not telling the truth, they won't tell the truth. What do you do? Shake them upside down until e-mails fly out of their pocket? Come on. Let's not be hysterical about this. You folks are the only people at the moment who are asking me about this. I have been to two town hall meetings in the last two weeks with 28 questions and there has not been one on this, not one. I will be dammed if I let any of this stuff get in the way of doing my real job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I will be dammed he said. What do you make of his tone and the whole you folks, the media?

KING: It's a pretty predictable playbook. Go back to when Bill Clinton was facing a lot of scrutiny. Go back to when any politicians are facing a lot of scrutiny. One of the things they do and one of the things that helped Chris Christie in part is he has had a couple of town halls. You know, those are carefully choreographed events.

But he can't control all the questions. He has not been asked about it by voters in New Jersey, by citizens in New Jersey. So he can use that to say this is all about the media. But here's his problem, Brooke, and the governor knows this. He knows this well. These investigations are going to go on for weeks if not months and some even think years.

And the two aides we talked about at the beginning Wildstein and Bridget Kelly, they are among very close Christie aides who keep pleading the fifth and that means you are going to delay the investigations. They have every legal right to do that. It doesn't mean they did anything wrong, but it means the investigations go on and on and on. What the governor is trying to do is pass a state budget, do other New Jersey business and maintain a national profile. It's hard when you have the clouds of an uncertain investigation over you and you can see he is frustrated.

BALDWIN: Yes, John King, thank you very much from Washington for us today and the government is proposing changing the food labels. One health expert says the move is a false victory. We will see the labels. Will the newer versions really make us healthier? Find out why they may not make a difference at all.

And Midwest rivers are starting to thaw and that means ice jams. Yes, ice jams are threatening communities throughout this area. We will take you there live.

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BALDWIN: I want you to take a look at these pictures with me because you will see miles and miles of fast flowing rivers seemingly frozen to a halt. Ice jams are block waterways in the Midwest. Ted Rowlands is now standing by such an ice jam on the Kankakee River, about an hour from Chicago. My goodness, my friend, looking at you, I'm cold looking at you. But tell me what's going on behind you.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the fact that you brought up the cold is a good thing. Look at this ice jam. What's happening now because of the cold weather it is not moving. The river below it is moving and draining, which is a good thing because the ice jam theoretically will go down soon. About three or four days ago this ice jam wasn't here.

We had some warm weather. It formed and now look at it. The problem is the force that this ice jam and any ice jam has when it is on the road. You do not want to be anywhere near it and unfortunately, there are homes near it along the Kankakee and along other rivers around the Midwest.

Look at this home here. This is Jojo's home. Jojo is the self- appointed mayor of the Kankakee River. He has been here all his life. Your biggest fear obviously is this thing getting any closer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. The ice coming up and destroying all these homes and all these good people who live on the road and all these people who live on McIntosh, we are in trouble. We need prayers and some good luck, some good weather.

ROWLANDS: You have never seen anything like this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never seen any like this in all my years.

ROWLANDS: Because of the weather, Brooke, the way it happened this year, we have such intense weather across the country, of course. It's the cold weather followed by those few warm days that created this mess. Actually being out here, it isn't a mess, it's beautiful. It's really a gorgeous sight, but it is also a dangerous situation for these folks. Not only for the ice jam, but what comes next when it does actually break up. There is a potential for flooding. A lot of people here are very nervous out here looking at this and watching every day hoping for the best.

BALDWIN: Mayhem by the people living curiously close to that ice jam. Ted Rowlands for us, thank you very much, Ted.

And the first lady today heralded a new generation of nutrition labels at an event at the White House. So for the first time in more than 20 year, the FDA is proposing changing the labels to clear the confusion about really what it is we are eating.

So here are some of the changes the FDA is proposing. First stop, let's talk calories, the calorie count. You see the number. Calorie count, it more accurately reflects what a person will eat of the product quite bigger there on the label as well, font wise. Percentages of vitamins and nutrients on the left to make it easier to follow.

And pointing out not just sugar, but specifically the manufactured sugar that so many food experts say is really the contributing factor to the obesity epidemic in this country. But the FDA wants to know your thoughts and you have the next three months to give your input before it makes this final decision. The first lady says the changes are indeed a big deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY: Our guiding principle here is simple that you as a parent and a consumer should be able to walk into a grocery store, pick an item off a shelf and tell whether it's good for your family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: But there is a but here, some food experts say today's announcement just isn't really taking this far enough. Earlier, Barry Popkin, the distinguished professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill told me why he believes the changes are a false victory.

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BARRY POPKIN, DISTINGUISED PROFESSOR OF NUTRITION, UNC-CHAPEL HILL: What we mean by that is that the label changes were great. They focused on calories. They put the focus on true serving sizes. However the average American spends 6 seconds looking at a food package. They don't look at the back of the label.

BALDWIN: If that long, right?

POPKIN: Yes. The Food and Drug Administration invested millions of dollars in having an Institute of Medicine panel study and recommend a set of front of the package labels, a very simple check or star along with calories that would tell people it's a healthy food or not. That is what the American consumer needs. Simple guidance in the front of the package. BALDWIN: So you are saying, this is great. We are moving in the right direction, but they should be doing more. Tell me why you think a star though, Professor, or a check on the front is really going to change someone from looking or not.

POPKIN: Well, we have evidence from a number of countries that it does two things. First, consumers do more likely to pick things. Even when some change in the U.S. have tried some system like that. They have done that. However, globally in a number of other countries, about 20 countries do this.

We have seen industry then reformulate. They cut their added sugar. They've added whole grains. They've cut their sodium. So they could get this star. So it's - it's pushed innovation and reformulation by industry. We need that.

BALDWIN: I see so that's interesting. So it's less about the consumer, but also about that food manufacturer or that company saying I need the star because I want people to buy my product therefore I should make healthier food.

POPKIN: That's right. It gives them guidelines to what we call a healthier food product group by product group. So it says if you are a ready to eat cereal and you have let's say only 10 grams of sugar, 40 or 50 calories and not 100 calories of added sugar then you are a healthy ready to eat cereal, fine. They it make it taste fine and they would do it. That's what happens in the countries that implemented this system.

BALDWIN: I guess, my final question is this, it seems like you have the folks who really do spent those 6 seconds or what have you on looking at the labels and the others don't at all. Those are the ones that really we need to target those who are not as health conscious. What do you think? If you could come up with one big solution for targeting those consumers, what would it be?

POPKIN: Get rid of everything, but the name on the front of the package and have a star or check or something that says this is a healthy product. Get it.

BALDWIN: Well said. Dr. Barry Popking, the distinguished professor of nutrition at UNC Chapel Hill, thank you so much, sir.

POPKIN: My pleasure.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Coming up next, is Jesus too sexy? Yes, one CNN anchor has an issue with the depiction of Jesus in the bible, this movie hitting theaters tomorrow. We will ask her why. Don't miss this. Next.

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BALDWIN: That was a clip of this film coming out tomorrow, "Son of God." You know, this gal, Carol Costello, host of CNN "NEWSROOM" in the morning. And -- so here's the thing, you wrote this op-ed piece, which me made chuckle. I felt like you were a comedian in some other life. So you are watching this preview of this movie and you are like doing a double take because Jesus is hot.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Have you seen this? I'm gawking at the actor and thinking, my gosh, I'm gawking at Jesus. I felt kind of dirty and creepy. So I decided to write an op-ed about this because it makes me uncomfortable that Jesus is now portrayed as sexy.

BALDWIN: But it's not as you because you look at films of the past, think of "Passion of the Christ," think of even paintings, old Asian paintings and Jesus as you pointed out in your piece had a six-pack. Why is that? You talked to biblical experts - biblical scholars.

COSTELLO: I was curious. You know, we know Jesus was a Palestinian Jew, right. He probably did not look like this Diogo Mercado.

BALDWIN: But he was a carpenter so --

COSTELLO: He was a carpenter so maybe he was buff. I don't know, but I think there is a deeper meaning here. Jesus was both human and divine. We as humans have a problem seeing Jesus as a human being. That's just like us. The only difference between Jesus and you or me is Jesus was without sin. Every other way he was a human being.

He sprained his ankle. He got sick. He sneezed and did everything a human being does. There was a reason for that. That made Jesus so much more accessible. We could relate to Jesus. He was just like us only he was so much better. To me when you see him portrayed by actors who are physically perfect and even sexy are sexualizing Jesus, I think that takes something away from Jesus.

BALDWIN: Is that our bad or is that Hollywood's bad for doing this?

COSTELLO: I don't know if it's Hollywood's bad because the moviemakers in this instance and I've just interviewed them (inaudible), they have the best interest at heart. Their heart is in the right place. They want people to see this movie. It's a Hollywood production and you want to attract young people and what attracts young people, hot young men, right?

Nobody wants to say Jesus was like unattractive or ugly or anything like that. If you had an actor like that portraying Jesus in the movie, how many people would actually go see that movie, right? I'm just being realistic. I think the filmmakers' hearts were in the right place, but I do wish at some point, we would start to think of Jesus as he really was. Try to determine what exactly that means for your faith and how you think about God and Jesus and spirituality.

BALDWIN: I love how you ended the whole piece because you say you were sitting there and you are trying to think of the person who could most be like Jesus on earth today and you come up with Pope Francis. You say is he hot? In a word, no.

COSTELLO: No. I love Pope Francis for very different reasons than his physicality. Let's just put it that way.

BALDWIN: Yes, he is awesome. Is he not? Carol Costello, read her op-ed at cnn.com. Carol, thank you.

COSTELLO: Thanks, Brooke.

And tonight, get ready for an all new CNN film "And The Oscar Goes To," a back stage look at Hollywood's biggest night, tonight at 9:00 Eastern here on CNN.

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BALDWIN: A teen's love for music helped her through life threatening illness. Here's today's "Human Factor."

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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Alison Lint began playing the violin when she was just 7 years old.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I started piano when I was 8. Then I also play viola and a little bit of guitar. Those are the main instruments there.

GUPTA: At 16, the high school junior and student at the Cleveland Institute of Music started to feel exhausted and had difficulty breathing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I couldn't perform everyday tasks. I couldn't remember how to dial a phone.

GUPTA: She was misdiagnosed with bronchitis and then pneumonia and a few months later, she was rushed to the hospital coughing up blood from a lung hemorrhage. She spent 2-1/2 weeks then in an induced coma.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was about a period of a week and a half where they were not sure if I was going to live.

GUPTA: When she finally left the hospital, doctors didn't know what was wrong with her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had a relapse. I was again coughing up blood so they sent me to the Cleveland clinic where I was diagnosed with Wegener's granulomatosis.

GUPTA: Which causes a form of vasculitis or inflammation of the blood vessels.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It took a toll on me emotionally and mentally.

GUPTA: Depression, weight gain, they both followed and then the chemotherapy to treat the disease caused her hair to fall out.

But throughout several relapses, Allison, she never gave up on her music. Despite struggling with strength and endurance, she enrolled at the Oberlin Conservatory, even played CARNEGIE HALL with their symphony orchestra. Then she started Violin for Vasculitis, and she plans to travel to all 50 states, telling her story and performing to raise awareness and money for this disease.

ALLISON LINT, VIOLIN FOR VASCULITIS: It's given me the ability to combine these things in my life, my illness and my music, in a way that I never would have thought possible.

GUPTA: Last October came an invitation to join the Akron Symphony.

LINT: It's a goal I had for a long time. And it feels really, really neat knowing that I overcame all of this and I'm still able to play.

(END VIDEOTAPE)