Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Protesters Fight Fast Food Wage Inequality; Hackers can Un- Brick Stolen iPhones; NBA Alleges Sterling Cover-up; "Happy" Dancers Freed; Director Still in Jail

Aired May 22, 2014 - 10:30   ET

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

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Now, about one in four are trying to support children on this -- on this salary or on this wage. And if you work full time at a fast food place at $9 an hour, that's about $19,000 a year. That's pretty tough, about one in four. The flip side is some business experts say three-quarters of people working these jobs are only supporting themselves.

So is it really appropriate to raise wages? It's a debate they've been having for a decade and it's in the streets today.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Christine Romans, thanks so much.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, President Obama says he's got Eric Shinseki's back, but is that only temporary? Could the V.A. Secretary soon be out of a job?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The Web site Politico asks a rather provocative question. Is the V.A. hospital scandal Mr. Obama's heck of a job brownie moment? Hear me out. During the President's news conference of a long wait list in patients desks at VA hospitals the President did not heed calls to fire V.A. Secretary Eric Shinseki. Instead Mr. Obama touted Shinseki's accomplishments and then he opened the door.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you ask me, you know, how do I think Rick Shinseki has performed overall, I would say that on homelessness, on 9/11 G.I. Bill, on working with us to reduce the backlog across the board, he has put his heart and soul into this thing, and he has taken it very seriously. But I have said to Rick and I said it to him today, I want to see, you know, what the results of these reports are, and there is going to be accountability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So let's talk about this. Ana Navarro is a CNN political commentator and Republican strategist. Larry Sabato is the director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. Welcome to you both.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA CENTER FOR POLITICS: Thank you, Carol.

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: Thanks for being here. Ana, is the President out of touch on this issue?

NAVARRO: Well, he's not showing firm leadership and a sense of urgency and I think that's very frustrating to veterans and to the American people in general. And it's also a repetition of pattern, Carol. How many times have we now heard President Obama say, I'm madder than hell and I'm going to demand action and we're going to do an investigation and then we're going to wait for that investigation and people will be held accountable.

And in the meantime more and more people are suffering or dying. We don't know how many more. We don't know how many more hospitals are involved. So it's a real problem, I think, for his leadership style and his lack of ability to govern.

COSTELLO: Larry, President Obama doesn't seem to like to fire people perhaps because there are so many calls for the President to fire so many. For example, Kathleen Sebelius over the Obamacare Web site; Susan Rice over the Benghazi talking points; the FCC chair over net neutrality; General McChrystal over that negative "Rolling Stone" article; and Eric Holder over too many things to list. Still -- I know not all these people deserved firing. I'm just -- I'm just giving you the list of suggestions that the President has had to fire these people.

But is Eric Shinseki different, Larry?

SABATO: Well, Carol, you're right, first of all. I've taken a look at this recently. And this President is extraordinarily hesitant to fire people, compared to other presidents at least in the post-World War II era. I guess that's good and bad. Loyalty goes two ways.

But in this particular case, even though Shinseki is a war hero and deserving of all praise in that sector, you know, this is a very dangerous scandal for President Obama. And as I listened to his press conference, I didn't think he really got it. This is a dangerous scandal because unlike partisan scandals that simply divide Democrats from Republicans, Democrats, Republicans, Independents, liberals, moderates, conservatives, everybody is outraged by this and wants tough, immediate action, not just words.

COSTELLO: Well, Ana it was interesting that Shinseki was not by the President's side when he held that news conference yesterday. And I bring that up because Sebelius was always up present when the President defended her. Do you think there's an underlying message there?

NAVARRO: Well, I do, Carol. And you know, I think that there is a very real possibility that he will get fired because it's now five, almost six years into his tenure as V.A. director. You know, it's five, six years into the term of President Obama. President Obama was on the Veterans Affairs committee in the U.S. senate. He was briefed on these problems. He knew they were happening. He promised to change them during his campaign. It was one of his big focuses.

So I think it presents a real political problem to him. Also, because it's happening on our soil. It's not some faraway country that we don't know where it is on the map. And it's happening by Americans and for a long protracted time. So it just -- it just speaks to such inefficiency and inability to get things under control.

COSTELLO: And just to be cynical here for a moment, Larry, if Republicans had really centered on this controversy instead of Benghazi, maybe it would have been, I don't know, I hate to put it this way, but smarter for them politically.

SABATO: Given time, Carol, I think they will focus on this. And look, heads are going to have to roll. If it isn't Shinseki, then it's going to have to be a lot of these individual employees at the 1,700 health care facilities. Look, the V.A. is massive. People don't realize this is the second largest government bureaucracy just after the Defense Department.

So there are a lot of heads that can roll.

COSTELLO: Larry Sabato, Ana Navarro --

COSTELLO: Carol Democrats --

COSTELLO: Oh go ahead.

NAVARRO: -- Carol but I think Democrats are going to be calling for those heads to roll as well. Some of them are already speaking out on this because this, as Larry said in the beginning is not a partisan issue. I think this is something that unites as Americans is this knowledge that we have a special covenant with people who have served our country.

COSTELLO: Yes and are willing to give their lives for us. They certainly deserve good health care. It's just -- it's shocking.

Larry Sabato, Ana Navarro, thank you so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, once thought to be impossible to break, hackers may have figured out a way to unlock all those stolen iPhones. Why this is such a big deal -- next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Should your iPhone ever get lost or stolen, software is supposed to make it impossible for a hacker to unlock it. Well, it turns out that software may have been cracked. Two hackers said they figured out a way to get into these gadgets, opening the doors to a huge black market.

CNN technology analyst Brett Larson joins us now. This just depresses me.

BRETT LARSON, CNN TECHNOLOGY ANALYST: It's really bad, Carol. I feel like you and I are collectively trying to solve the issue of stolen smartphones.

COSTELLO: Yes.

LARSON: And how to make them not actually fall into the hands of the bad guys. So you know, we've got to give props to Apple for building into their latest software update, IOS 7, this secure way of locking up a stolen phone. You need a user name and a password for your iCloud access. Otherwise the phone won't work. You can't take it into a store and have it activated. What these Dutch hackers discovered, after several months, is that there's actually a way to fool your computer into thinking it's connected to Apple's iCloud service and then it will unlock your phone and it will make the phone work again.

Now, I've got to give a tip of the hat to them for at least reaching out to Apple before going public with this and saying hey, here's the back door that we found. Here's the problem and here's potentially what could be done. Apple didn't do anything about it. They ignored it. And now that the press has gotten a-hold of it and we are, you know, going public with all of this, I guarantee you there will probably be a fix here in the next 48 to 72 hours.

COSTELLO: Well, you know, I hope so. Interestingly, eBay announced it was hacked. I mean, everything's being hacked into.

LARSON: Yes.

COSTELLO: And these things use passwords, right?

LARSON: Right.

COSTELLO: So why not get rid of these passwords and find some other way -- a more secure way -- to get into your system, whatever it might be?

LARSON: Yes. You know, passwords have always been the bane of everyone's existence who has to use a computer. We forget them. There's too many of them. It feels like every Web site we go to now you need to log in with. They are still very critical. We are seeing some things, some advancements in biometrics, you know, with the iPhone 5s there's the fingerprint scanner which works very well. Samsung's new Galaxy line has a fingerprint scanner on it.

We need to see these sorts of technologies go into our home computers where you can sit down and log in with the swipe of your thumb or maybe a retinal scan. I know it sounds like something out of a futuristic movie, but that's really the only way we're going to get around these passwords and hopefully prevent all of our data from falling into the hands of hackers every time they figure out a workaround to a password.

COSTELLO: I'm all for it. Brett Larson, thanks as usual. LARSON: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the NBA versus Donald Sterling. The league lays out its case for forcing the sale of the Clippers. We'll talk about that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: With an NBA hearing on Donald Sterling less than two weeks away, we're learning new details about charges the league is leveling against the Clippers' owner. CNN's Brian Todd joins us from Washington. Good morning, Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

The NBA is ramping up its case against Sterling, saying evidence in this case was destroyed and that false and misleading evidence was provided to league investigators. We have confirmed details of an NBA document on the league's allegations against Sterling. The charges are powerful, and if true, could be very damaging.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice over): New allegations of cover-up and lying on the part of Donald Sterling and his wife, putting his attempt to keep the L.A. Clippers in peril. The NBA alleges Sterling tried to persuade his companion, V. Stiviano, to tell league investigators she had lied, had altered the audiotape with his racist remarks, and that this voice on the clip posted by TMZ wasn't Sterling's.

DONALD STERLING, L.A. CLIPPERS OWNER: If you want to broadcast that you're associating with black people. Do you have to?

TODD: The allegations contained in the NBA's formal document trying to remove Sterling as owner of the Clippers are confirmed to CNN by a source familiar with the document. According to the source, the NBA's document says Sterling asked Stiviano to cover for him about a week after TMZ first posted the audiotape.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the real world, people go to jail for asking a witness to change their testimony. It would add additional evidence for the league to conclude that he doesn't belong in the league and that they should throw him out.

TODD: Sterling's attorney told CNN he wouldn't comment on the NBA document. "The L.A. Times" which first reported the details quotes an associate of Sterling's calling the NBA claims a smear.

V. Stiviano in a new interview with Dr. Phil convicted Sterling's claim that he didn't know he was being recorded.

DR. PHIL MCGRAW, TV HOST: Did he know he was being recorded?

V. STIVIANO, STERLING COMPANION: Absolutely, with his permission.

TODD: The NBA's document according to our source also cast doubt on the Sterlings' claims that they're estranged. The document says they're inextricably intertwined. One sports agent says this has to do with Shelly Sterling's attempt to keep her share of the Clippers.

DOUGLAS ELDRIDGE, SPORTS AGENT: This is preemptive presumably by the NBA to create a guilt by association context. Not only are they still inextricably connected but that Miss Sterling somehow shares the same beliefs or was otherwise tacitly indifferent toward the known actions of her husband.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: the attorney for Shelly Sterling disputes the claims about her in the NBA document, telling CNN they are estranged, that they've been living apart for more than a year, and they've both announced their intentions to divorce.

In a statement, Pierce O'Donnell, the attorney, said Shelly Sterling quote, "continues to be unfairly tarnished by the words and actions of her co-owner and estranged husband", Carol.

COSTELLO: And I know you've been digging deep into the story -- Brian. You've got information on exactly when Donald Sterling's camp first knew about this original audiotape. Tell us.

TODD: That's right. According to our source, the NBA document says then-Clippers president Andy Roeser received a copy of the recordings on April 9th. That was two weeks before TMZ posted it. The document says Roeser told Donald Sterling about the recording and that Sterling ordered the employee who provided it to delete the recording from a phone. Again, we got no comment from Donald Sterling's attorney to that.

COSTELLO: Interesting.

Brian Todd, many thanks.

TODD: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, it was the joyful video that sparked arrests and a social media uproar. We'll tell you about a happy turn for those young Iranian dancers.

(MUSIC)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

COSTELLO: Infectious, that "Happy" song by Pharrell Williams. So was the video those six young Iranians posted of themselves dancing to the music, you know, the one that got them and the video's director arrested.

Well, there may be a happy ending to this story. And it might have been driven in part by the power of social media.

Here's more now from Reza Sayah.

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The good news is most of these Iranians are out on bail with the exception of the director, but they still face charges, not out of the woods yet, but there's so much irony to this story. You have this song about happiness and then these young Iranians who make a music video, essentially saying we can be happy here in Iran, too, but here's who wasn't happy, Iranian authorities.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAYAH: At least six young Iranian men and women have been arrested by Iranian authorities and paraded in front of state TV cameras for this. Shooting an amateur music video to the tune of pop singer Pharrell's hit "Happy".

In the video, the young Iranians are seen playfully dancing and lip- synching. The music video received nearly 100,000 hits on YouTube and closes with this written message. "Happy was an excuse to be happy. We enjoyed every second of making it. Hope it puts a smile on your face."

Tehran's police chief wasn't smiling when he boasted on state TV that the group was arrested within six hours because they made an obscene video without a permit from authorities. Other state media reports describe the music video as vulgar. The Islamic Republic forbids men and women from dancing with one another. The punishment can range from a prison sentence to a lashing and a fine. The women in the video also appear without the mandatory Islamic hair veil.

In the arrest video aired on state TV, several of the accused performers have their backs to the camera, but they can be heard quivering as they tell a reporter they were misled by the video's producer. The arrests have sparked outrage on social media. Pharrell Williams himself posted on his Facebook page, "It's beyond sad that these kids were arrested for trying to spread happiness."

In his first year as president, Hassan Rouhani has pushed for more social freedoms and signaled a more moderate Iran -- a campaign Tehran hopes will win goodwill amid the current negotiations with world powers.

In an apparent message of support for the young Iranians, a tweet on President Rouhani's Twitter account said "happiness is our people's right. We shouldn't be too hard on behaviors caused by joy." Whether Rouhani's tweet helped persuade authorities to release the group on bail is not clear.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAYAH: We should point out that these harsh laws against public singing and dancing emerged after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, but it's important to point out that if you know Iranian culture and history, you know that dancing, singing and poetry is steeped in Iranian culture. The issue is it clashes with these conservative Islamic values. We'll follow this case and we'll see where it goes.

COSTELLO: I'm glad we're going to do that because, you know, they're out on bail, you know the dancers, but the director is still in custody. And of course those dancers still face charges.

We'll continue to follow this story for you.

Thank you for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello.

"@THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND MICHAELA" starts now.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN HOST: A young woman missing for 10 years until she found the courage to free herself. Why didn't she just run and what made her finally ask for help?