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Ground Beef Recall; Hail Covers Denver; V.A. Officials Testify on Wait List Scandal; G.M. Recalls More Cars than Sold in Five Years

Aired May 22, 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: Now in the NEWSROOM, a decade in captivity, now free.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He tells her that her mother doesn't care. That she can't go to the police because they're going to deport her.

COSTELLO: Kidnapped, held hostage, now reunited with her family thanks to FaceBook.

Also, the V.A. crisis depends.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is dishonorable, it is disgraceful and I will not tolerate it, period.

COSTELLO: And calls for heads to roll grow louder.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was no urgency. Mr. President, we need urgency. We need you to roll up our sleeves and get into these hospitals.

COSTELLO: But so far, nothing.

OBAMA: I want to see what the results of these reports are. And there is going to be accountability.

COSTELLO: Plus, what the hail? Parts of Denver, buried.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And they were struggling to push the ice and the hail off the field.

COSTELLO: Apocalyptic-looking super cells spawned tornadoes and grind the city to a halt.

And, runaway groom. Days after the invitations go out, Rory McIlroy and Caroline Wozniacki say I don't.

RORY MCILROY, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: Quite a difficult time for Caroline and myself.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: What happened? Let's talk, live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me.

As we get set to fire up those backyard barbecues this holiday weekend, a huge beef recall now expands nationwide. A Detroit meat packing company and food safety inspectors say 1.8 million pounds of ground beef could be contaminated with E. Coli. Already, retailers in nine states across the Midwest and the South are pulling the tainted meat from store shelves. And that number could jump considerably. CNN investigations correspondent Chris Frates joins us now with more on this.

Good morning, Chris.

CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIONS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Carol.

It's one of the biggest beef recalls of its kind in years. And it's probably not the kind of thing you want to hear ahead of the Memorial Day weekend cookouts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRATES (voice-over): 1.8 million pounds of ground beef, tainted by E. Coli, is being recalled nationwide after sickening 11 people in four states. And now new word from the United States Department of Agriculture that retailers in nine states, including Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Kentucky may have received the bad beef. So far, government officials believe restaurants and retailers in nearly 40 states may be affected.

E. Coli bacteria produces a toxin that causes terrible abdominal pain, kidney damage, and in some cases even death. None of the 11 people sickened by this latest outbreak died, officials say. Investigators traced the bad meat back to Wolverine Packing Company in Detroit. Ten out of the 11 people who got sick ate at a restaurant supplied by Wolverine. But federal officials are not naming the restaurants, and this consumer watch dog thinks that's got to change.

TONY CORBO, FOOD & WATER WATCH: This is going to make things a little more dicey in terms of consumers who may get sick and don't know what to do or are not following this issue closely enough to make the connection between their illness and where they eat.

FRATES: But a top-ranking USDA official said it's against regulations to disclose restaurant names.

DAVID GOLDMAN, ASST. ADMINISTRATOR, OFFICE OF PUBLIC HEALTH SCIENCE: People who were exposed have already been exposed. So it doesn't help the public to tell them now that a certain restaurant was associated with these illnesses. Our job really is to identify product that may still be available.

FRATES: Goldman said federal officials disclose the names of grocery stores and other retailers because customers could still have meat they bought sitting in their freezers. Restaurants, on the other hand, aren't going to serve tainted burgers once the meat is recalled. For its part, the meat packing plant said in a statement it's working with the USDA and, quote, "we encourage anyone who has concern to be sure to cook all ground beef to a minimum temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRATES: And while that might be tough to swallow for all the grill masters out there who like their burgers done medium rare, officials say that's really the only way to know that your burgers are safe.

Carol.

COSTELLO: OK, I've got to go back to this not naming the restaurant thing because I think it's my right to know where I ate tainted beef.

FRATES: Well, certainly, Carol. And lots of people are saying, hey, shouldn't we know? And the USDA is saying, well, under the regulations that are currently in place, they cannot name the restaurants. They feel like if they do name the restaurants, maybe, in the future, restaurants wouldn't be as forthcoming with details that could help trace back the beef. So, at this point, they're still keeping those restaurant names secret.

COSTELLO: Chris Frates reporting live this morning.

There's some really crazy weather going on in Denver right now. A week after a late season snowstorm socked the city, this time it's severe weather with lots and lots and lots of hail. You can hear it, right? Baseball-sized hail fell Wednesday, making the streets look like they were covered with a blanket of snow. And, guess what? More bad weather is on the way. Indra Petersons joins me now with more spectacular but scary pictures to show us.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I mean there was nothing pretty about that, right? I heard you talk about baseball-size hail. Just think about your windshield there. Let me show you some video here of a stadium just outside the suburbs of Denver. So much hail. So not as big in this area, but so much of it, it looked like snow. In fact, they had a tournament there that they had to postpone because they couldn't clear it off of the field.

So just take a look outside. Maybe you weren't looking down, you were looking up. You were seeing the sky. Funnel clouds swirling around. Numerous reports of them all throughout the Denver area yesterday.

And, again, that's only one part of the equation was the hail. The other part, of course, was the flooding. We're talking about plenty of flooding across the area because you have hail. You also have heavy rain in short periods of time. So lots of concerns were across the Denver area yesterday.

Well, let's take a look at the map right now and kind of show you what it looked like in another way. See all these balls right here? These are reports of large hail. Now very easy to see. Look at all the storm damage reports from tornadoes yesterday. Definitely a lot of activity across Denver. And today will be the third consecutive day in a row they have the threat for severe weather. Think about all the people trying to get out ahead of Memorial Day and traveling day. Look at these major cities. New York City, Philadelphia, D.C., Nashville, Chattanooga and again Denver, but not just Denver, extending all the way south down to Midland today, looking for more weather like that. Unbelievable. Also straight-line winds are going to be out there and heavy rains. So the flooding concern is going to be out there as well.

Want to take a look in the morning hours? Not looking good now and it's only expected to get worse, Carol, by the afternoon.

COSTELLO: Oh, man, Indra.

PETERSONS: At least I'm staying put, right? I have no plane to catch.

COSTELLO: Me neither. Indra Petersons, thanks so much.

PETERSONS: Sure.

COSTELLO: Ten years after being kidnapped from her California home, a young woman is finally back with her family. Police say the woman, now 25, was abducted by her mother's ex-boyfriend who physically and sexually assaulted her. The victim says she was forced to marry her kidnapper and to have a child with him. The suspect is now in custody, but he was hiding in plain sight. He and the victim often seen together in town just 20 miles from where this woman was kidnapped. CNN's Sara Sidner joins us live from Los Angeles with more.

Good morning.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Carol, there is a lot of questions being asked about this case, especially from the neighbors who knew this couple very well, spent a lot of time with them and said that they seemed like a perfectly happy, loving couple with a gorgeous, beautiful child. However, police say that a missing persons case has been solved because the victim showed up at the police department telling them she had been kidnapped by her mother's boyfriend in 2004.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER (voice-over): These photos from KNBC show that 25-year-old woman found a decade after she says she was kidnapped. These photos, taken during her alleged captivity, show her, her alleged kidnapper and their child seemingly living a normal life. Breaking overnight, she tells our affiliate KABC that she's "so happy and God-blessed to be with her family." She says, "all the time" she cried for them.

Police say the girl entered a police station in Bell Gardens, California, with a disturbing story. She told police her mother's then live-in boyfriend, this man, Isidro Garcia, drugged, kidnapped and tricked her into keeping quiet after a fight at the family home back in 2004.

LT. SCOTT FAIRFIELD, BELL GARDENS, CALIFORNIA, POLICE: She walked in on her own. And she stated that she was kidnapped about 10 years ago and held against her will.

CPL. ANTHONY BERTAGNA, SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA, POLICE: You're talking about a 15-year-old girl that came to this country, doesn't speak English. Her mother's boyfriend decides that he wants to physically and sexually abuse her. He tells her that her mother doesn't care, that she can't go to the police because they're going to deport her.

SIDNER: The girl reportedly telling police she ended up marrying and having a baby with her alleged kidnapper, all the while harboring the painful secret.

SIDNER (on camera): This apartment complex is where the couple lived. Police say it's about 25 miles from where the victim's mother lived. But people who live here in this very tight-knit community say they knew the couple well and they simply can't believe what they're hearing. It appeared they loved each other.

MARIBEL GARCIA, VICTIM'S NEIGHBOR: She would go to the market. Like every other couple, they'd be happy, kissing, holding hands. And like she comes up with this now. Why did she take so long to do it, you know?

SIDNER: Was there any indication that she was in trouble, that something was wrong in this family?

GARCIA: That I think of, myself, from what I've seen, no.

SIDNER (voice-over): But police say there was something terribly wrong.

BERTAGNA: We do know on two occasions she fled, she was caught and she was beaten for her efforts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: Now, Isidro Garcia, the suspect, was arrested and a bail of $1 million was set. He was booked on suspicion of kidnapping, rape, of lewd acts with a minor and false imprisonment. But again the neighbors say they just don't understand how this is possible considering how they saw this couple acting for the last several years.

Carol.

COSTELLO: Well, the other disturbing part about this, the girl's mother did file a missing persons report, right, with the police? And she sort of named this guy. So why couldn't police find him and her 15-year-old daughter at the time?

SIDNER: You know, that's a question that we don't have the answer to from investigators. And they're still looking at this case. Initially the alleged victim went into one police department who had to check because they didn't know if her story was true. They ended up checking with the Santa Ana Police Department, where the missing persons report was initially filed. And now that department is looking into this case and they are the ones that have the suspect in custody.

And that suspect, by the way, he will be in court this morning. We're expecting an arraignment to happen. His first court appearance.

But, yes, there are a lot of questions as to how this case went unsolved for so long. But investigators say, you know, they've never had a case like this where 10 years later the person is found alive and able to be reunited with the family.

Carol.

COSTELLO: Disturbingly we're hearing more and more cases like this. Sara Sidner reporting live from Los Angeles this morning.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the V.A. hospital scandal. New details, a new whistle-blower and more outrage echoing across Washington and the nation. Michelle Kosinski is at the White House.

Good morning.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, right, Carol, one month after CNN broke the story, we do hear from the president. But now some even within his own party are questioning whether the response is enough. We'll have all the latest coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: All right. I want to take you live to Washington now. This is a meeting of the House Veterans Affairs Committee. Of course, they're talking about the scandal swirling around V.A. hospitals at the country.

This is the Democrat from Maine making opening remarks. In a little bit, two members of the Veteran Affairs Committee will be testifying before this committee about the V.A. Secretary Eric Shinseki and what went so terribly wrong at those hospitals with wait lists that were so long that some patients died waiting for care.

Also this morning, new charges are coming from a medical director at the Phoenix veterans affairs hospital. It's one of many V.A. centers accused of cooking the books to hide massive delays, sometimes deadly delays in getting veterans much-needed health care. The doctor says it was going on just a few weeks ago. What's more, the victims include combat veterans wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. KATHERINE MITCHELL, PHOENIX VETERANS AFFAIRS HOSPITAL: We're talking about people that were injured by being blown up by IEDs. We're talking about people who had a mental breakdown and have severe PTSD and are having trouble functioning. We're talking about veterans that were severely injured by some means while in the military, even if it wasn't in actual combat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: It is the latest stunning claim in an investigation that casts a large shadow over the White House.

Michelle Kosinski has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OBAMA: I will not stand for it.

KOSINSKI (voice-over): It was a time for the president to show that he, too, is mad as hell about the V.A. scandal, using an angry tone.

OBAMA: It is dishonorable, it is disgraceful and I will not tolerate it, period.

KOSINSKI: But if the president won't stand for secret waiting lists, months-long delays in veterans care, this administration as well as the one before it did stand it for many years. The V.A. itself made it clear it was an ongoing problem. What has made things more difficult to explain, is saying they didn't know the extent of it until now.

OBAMA: What we have to do is find out what exactly happened. I don't yet know how systemic this is.

KOSINSKI: And have not yet explained how that is acceptable for Shinseki to not know as he remains standing in his job. Now even some Democratic lawmakers have strong words on how this was handled.

REP. DAVID SCOTT (D), GEORGIA: Mr. President, we need urgency. We need you to roll up our sleeves and get into these hospitals.

REP. JOHN BARROW (D), GEORGIA: One person wasn't responsible for it and one person's resignation, retirement or sacking ain't going to get the job done. We need to go all up and down the chain of command.

KOSINSKI: From the American Legion, "If the administration has known for these issues for at least four years, why is it just now taking action?" Calling the decision not to fire Shinseki unfortunate.

The Obama administration did expand care and funding for the V.A., but it's very clear right now did not manage to get out ahead of this problem as the scandal evolved. Instead, on the defense for the last week.

Then just before the president spoke, news broke that the head of the Phoenix V.A. while under investigation and right before she was suspended was given a bonus of more than $8,000, now rescinded. The second year in a row she was awarded for what was considered good work.

Now, President Obama says he wants to see preliminary results in the V.A. investigation in a week from his adviser, a full report on the problems with recommendations in a month.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOSINSKI: The president has not explained exactly how the V.A. secretary is being held accountable for will be held accountable right now if only because all of this happened on his watch for years. A lot is going on right now including on the hill. Three top V.A. officials are talking to the House V.A. committee. The House just passed a bill that would make it easier for the V.A. to fire managers -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Michelle Kosinski reporting live from the White House this morning.

I want to talk more about this with Ken Fisher. He's the chairman and CEO of the Fisher House Foundation. Fisher House builds homes for families of hospitalized military personnel and veterans.

Ken, thanks for your good work and thanks for being with us this morning.

KEN FISHER, FISHER HOUSE FOUNDATION: Thank you for having me.

COSTELLO: You're on the front line of veterans care. Should heads roll now?

FISHER: I'm sorry?

COSTELLO: You're on the front lines of veterans health care. I just wondered if you think that someone should be fired right now.

FISHER: Well, you know, there have been actions that have been taken. There are reports that we're waiting to get a sense of what's in them. The I.G. report and, of course, the Nabors report. I don't know yet -- I think Secretary Shinseki given his service to this nation deserves the benefit of the doubt, at least at it relates to these reports.

So I'll reserve judgment pending the reports being made public.

COSTELLO: Do you work directly with secretary Shinseki?

FISHER: Well, we have a public-private partnership with the V.A. that actually works very well. Fisher House building these homes away from homes and we gift them to the V.A. The V.A. then agrees to staff and maintain and operate them in perpetuity. So, we actually enjoy a good partnership with the V.A. in that sense.

COSTELLO: What are you hearing from families of those who have loved ones in V.A. hospitals?

FISHER: Well, I haven't had much contact with the families over the last couple of weeks. You know, I just -- I can only imagine how they feel. You know, as we learn more about this, real reform has to come out of all of this. We're looking at, at least, 40 veterans that have died allegedly from this scandal.

You just pray that their deaths will not be for nothing, that real and meaningful reform will come from this situation.

COSTELLO: Well, we have a tendency in this country to call for first right away, right? Some of those calls for firings right away are justified because this didn't exactly start today or yesterday or the day before. Politico is actually calling this President Obama's "heck of a job Brownie" moment. Is it in your mind?

FISHER: You know, I feel that one of the issues that we're seeing right now is the fact that this isn't happening fast enough. This country needs answers. This country deserves answers.

These are men and women who have raised their right hand, who have gone out and supported this nation, defended this nation, some with their lives. We deserve answers and we deserve them quickly. I just don't think that's happening.

Real reform is not one issue at a time. Real reform is -- it's comprehensive. Again, we need to find out just how systemic this is. We need to get moving.

And, you know, the president was appropriately outraged. He's vowed that subject to the reports being made public, that actions will be taken. You just -- you hope that the appropriate actions will be taken quickly.

COSTELLO: I hope so. Ken Fisher, thanks so much for your insight. I appreciate it.

FISHER: Thank you very much.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM: G.M. sets a brand new record. Unfortunately, it's in number of recalls it's issued this year alone. It is astounding.

Christine Romans live in New York with more.

Good morning.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. What is really a safety crisis for G.M. has a very interesting twist. Sales are up, not down, and some people going into the dealer for their recall to be taken care of are walking away buying a new car. I have that after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The G.M. crisis deepens. The big question this morning, where does the company go from here? It's a tough question.

The auto maker has recalled 13.8 million vehicles in the United States alone. That is more cars than it sold in the last five years combined.

Christine Romans is following the story.

So, Christine, where does the company go from here?

ROMANS: You know, it's going to have to pay for the recalls. I mean, imagine. I mean, they've got 35,000 loner cars at least out there for people who are coming in with their recalls to their dealers. They've got to pay for that. They've got to pay for the repairs. They paid a $35 million fine to the government. And there will be more no question here.

The company, Carol, has taken saying that about $1.7 billion in costs. That's a lot of money. That wipes away the profit for the first part of the year and there will be more fines. But to put in perspective, that $35 million fine from NHTSA, Carol, I mean, their revenue is $415 million a day. I mean, they've got a lot of money coming through. They've got a lot of money coming through.

So, one interesting thing about this, Carol, when you look at the money coming through, what we can see -- sales are not down. They aren't down, Carol. In fact, what you're hearing from some of the dealers is that people are coming in with a 2008, 2009 car to get it repaired, to get for the recall, they're driving a loaner, they like the new model loaner, and they're buying them.

COSTELLO: Oh, come on, I was wondering about that this morning. I mean, apparently, this hasn't heard gm as far as sales is concerned.

COSTELLO: As far as sales, if you want a Corvette, thinking about a Corvette for three years and coming out of the financial crisis and the recession, you're going to buy a Corvette because you want to buy a Corvette.

If your car is not great, it's old, a 2008 model, 2007 model, and you've been thinking about upgrading, you know, traffic is up at the dealerships. And traffic on balance is good for dealers. It's good for car sales.

COSTELLO: So, here is the worry. I don't know if people aren't taking it seriously. I'm sure they are because they're bringing in their cars to be repaired. But gm doesn't seem to be suffering from this. So, could it happen again and more easily the next time?

ROMANS: There is a new G.M. That's what CEO Mary Barra is saying. There is a new G.M. and this new G.M. is going to be a new culture of safety. And that is the messaging from General Motors and from the CEO who has been on the job for about four months.

They're being aggressive with recalls now because of all the controversy and all of the anger over the ignition switch recall earlier this year that really started all this, right? Two-point-six million cars recalled, 13 deaths related to accidents with those cars.

But a lot of these recent recalls, 29 recalls now, a lot of these recent recalls, Carol, are tail lamp wiring and a clamp that's funny someplace and a mirror problem. So they're annoying and costly, but not necessarily dangerous. And G.M. still has a pretty high safety rating.

So, at least for now, gm's reputation is holding up. Its sales are holding up, I should say, even though its reputation is taking a very big hit.

COSTELLO: Interesting. Christine Romans reporting live for us, thank you so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM: McDonald's is facing down some of its harshest critics, its own employees -- hundreds now gathering at company headquarters right now. They're demanding a livable wage.

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