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John Kerry Arrives in Iraq; Battle for the Soul of GOP; New Veterans Affairs Allegations; Lawmakers Seek Answers on Border Crisis; Scenarios for U.S. to Advance in World Cup

Aired June 24, 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: Appreciate that. Have a great day. NEWSROOM --

BOLDUAN: You too.

COSTELLO: Thank you. NEWSROOM starts now.

A new VA scandal and a deliberate attempt to cover up just how long vets waited for health care. Live, secret waiting lists and bringing back the dead.

Plus, border breakdown. Hundreds of children each day caught trying to sneak into this country. Now the Texas governor is calling it a catastrophe and calling on President Obama to help.

Also, health alert. New warnings of feeding your children over fortified cereal. Too many vitamins and millions of kids are now at risk. Are the new nutrition labels to blame?

And crash report. We'll find out this morning why that Asiana plane crashed last summer. Are we relying too much on computer to fly jumbo jets?

And football frenzy. Millions tuning in, millions more online. Has America finally gone crazy for soccer?

Come on. Let's talk about that live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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

Right now, Secretary of State John Kerry is wrapping up his second day in Iraq, hoping to calm a war-torn country and ease the violence that shows no signs of slowing down. Secretary Kerry is in northern Iraq meeting with Kurdish and Sunni Arab leaders as cities across Iraq crumble under ISIS control.

The leaders Kerry is meeting with say they want to go to bat for a new government, but Kerry remains skeptical.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: We have to let that organic process work out a little bit. Words are cheap. You know, I'm not taking anything I hear to the bank and saying, wow, it's going to be solved, but I'm hearing things that indicate to me that if they follow through on the things they're saying, there is a capacity to have a new government that could be a unity government, that could reflect a greater capacity for success.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: CNN national security correspondent Jim Sciutto is traveling with Secretary Kerry in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: As Secretary Kerry touches down in Iraq for a second time during this crucial Mideast trip, he says the president is prepared to take military action, even before Iraqi leaders make the political compromises that the administration believes is necessary for any medium or long-term solution here.

He says that the president has options prepared and that when he takes military action, it will be sustained and intense.

We were able to sit down with Secretary Kerry here in Erbil.

Let's talk about the U.S. response, if we can. Twelve days ago, June 12th, the president said, he was appearing with the Australian prime minister, that, "My team is working around the clock on options to respond."

During that 12 days since, we calculated ISIS has captured an additional 11 cities and towns, a key refinery, crucial roadways and border crossings. Hasn't the delay in the administration's response here on the ground, military action, strengthened ISIS during that time?

KERRY: I think -- I think the real question, Jim, is not sort of what happened in those days, the question is what can happen going forward, the strategy that's really going to work. The reason the president sent me out here is that if he were to make the decision -- I mean, he may have to, ultimately, but if he made the decision without trying to see whether or not you can have a government that can work or reconstitute the military, then you have a whole different set of options.

SCIUTTO: But you said yesterday that the president was prepared to act before there is political compromise.

KERRY: He might be. Well, he's always prepared to act, under any circumstance. He reserves the right to use force if he has to, if it's going to accomplish a goal. But the primary effort is to get the government to form so that you have something backing up what you're doing, so that you have a military here which can be reconstituted. So you have political leadership that can pull people together, and they will feel invested in their government and prepared to push back.

SCIUTTO: Here in Kurdistan, the political divisions that are pulling Iraq apart are clear. Kurdistan operates essentially independently. The Kurds made a land grab of their own in the last week, seizing Kirkuk. And as Secretary Kerry met the Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani, Barzani told him there was a new reality in Iraq.

As with military action, political action here will require U.S. help and pressure that is also sustained and intense.

Jim Sciutto, CNN, Erbil, northern Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: President Obama is still weighing military intervention but says that will not include American combat troops.

In the Republican stronghold of Mississippi today, there is a runoff vote so ugly and so divisive that "TIME" magazine calls it, quote, "The battle for the soul of the GOP."

Senator Thad Cochran is the embodiment of the establishment. Thirty- six years in office, mostly unchallenged in his re-election bids. But Chris McDaniel edged him out in the primary, riding a wave of rebellion from Tea Party groups and conservatives fed up with Washington.

Chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash is in Jackson, Mississippi.

Good morning.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Absolutely, this is so much bigger than each of these candidates. It is a battle, probably the last battle for this primary season, for the soul of the Republican Party. But when it comes to Thad Cochran, the incumbent, he's trying to keep his seat by broadening beyond his party.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice-over): Thirty-six-year Senate veteran Thad Cochran is so embracing his Senate seniority he flew in a famous establishment Republican, John McCain, to help close the deal with Mississippi voters.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Send Thad Cochran, a good and decent and honorable servant, back to the United States Senate.

BASH: Cochran's conservative opponent, Chris McDaniel, got more votes in the June 3rd GOP primary, but not the 50 percent needed to win, sparking a three-week runoff. Tea Party groups already invested in McDaniel as their best hope of defeating a Senate GOP incumbent, redoubled efforts.

CHRIS MCDANIEL (R), MISSISSIPPI SENATE CANDIDATE: The conservative resurgence for this country starts right here in Mississippi.

BASH: Nervous, traditional Republicans from around the country trying to beat back the Tea Party are here, too. The Chamber of Commerce airing a "Hail Mary" TV ad with former star quarterback and Mississippi native Brett Favre.

BRETT FAVRE, FORMER NFL PLAYER: Thad Cochran always delivers, just like he did during Katrina.

BASH: And a super PAC supporting Cochran is spending money courting Democrats allowed to vote in the GOP runoff.

(On camera): You're not a Republican, are you?

JACKIE BRAND, DEMOCRATS CAMPAIGNING FOR COCHRAN: No, I'm not.

BASH (voice-over): Especially African-Americans who want to help a Republican helping them for years.

Jackie Brand passed out 5,000 Cochran fliers.

BRAND: Traditionally, African-Americans vote a certain party and --

BASH: Democrat.

BRAND: Democrat, right. And we wanted to raise the awareness to African Americans that we do have a stake in this runoff election.

BASH: McDaniel argues Cochran reaching out to Democrats will fire up conservatives against him even more.

MCDANIEL: If Senator Cochran is going to court liberal Democrats to save his seat, it is a clear indication that he has abandoned conservatives in the state of Mississippi.

BASH (voice-over): I just talked to Chris McDaniel, who said that the fact that you're courting African-American Democrats, or Democrats in general, is proof that you're a liberal, you're not a conservative.

SEN. THAD COCHRAN (R), MISSISSIPPI: Is that right? Well, you know, my responsibility as a United States senator has been to represent the people in the state of Mississippi, not just one party or one race.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Now, Carol, polls open here a little more than an hour ago. And we are at a polling station in a predominantly African American part of Jackson, Mississippi, and already we have seen voting turnout here much higher than the locals here say they expected it to be.

I personally have talked to several voters who came out saying that they voted for Thad Cochran. They've never voted in a Republican primary before, but they are really riled up for two reasons. One is they like Cochran, but maybe in some cases, they are concerned about McDaniel, the conservative, actually winning here -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Dana Bash reporting live from Mississippi this morning.

In Oklahoma, a tightly contested Republican primary could be headed to a runoff. One frontrunner in the Senate race is TW Shannon, a rising star who has the backing of such Tea Party heroes like Senator Ted Cruz and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin.

If elected, Shannon would become the second African American GOP senator. He faces a rising star in the House, though. After just two terms in Congress, James Lankford is now the fifth ranking House Republican. He's a Baptist minister who has faced criticism for voting to raise the debt ceiling.

Shocking, new revelations uncovered by CNN at the VA hospital in Phoenix. Patient records changed or altered in a deliberate attempt to make dead veterans look alive and hide the startling number of just how many died while waiting for care.

This new information comes directly from the scheduling clerk at the embattled hospital. And Pauline DeWenter says she was ordered to handle the secret waiting lists.

News of the allegations quickly made its way to Capitol Hill last night before our report aired, prompting intense questions at the House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JACKIE WALORSKI (R), INDIANA: I just got a note from a constituent that says there must be some kind of CNN program on tonight and that there is a new revelation. It says records of dead veterans were changed or physically altered, some even in recent weeks to hide how many people died while waiting for care at the Phoenix VA hospital. A whistleblower told CNN in stunning revelations that point to a new cover-up in the ongoing VA scandal. Deceased, quote/unquote, notes on files were removed to make statistics look better so veterans would not have to be counted as having died while waiting for care, and the quote is from Pauline DeWenter.

So you've been to the Phoenix facility four times. Are you aware of this new revelation?

DR. THOMAS LYNCH, DEPUTY UNDERSECRETARY, VETERANS AFFAIRS ADMINISTRATION: I'm not aware of the revelation. I am aware that the OIG is looking carefully at all of the deaths that occurred. I do not know of any attempts to hide deaths, Congresswoman.

WALORSKI: Under all the scrutiny, all the lights, all the spirit of full disclosure, Phoenix is still doing this kind of stuff, and you guys have had them under a microscope and you've physically been there four times and this is new?

LYNCH: Congresswoman, I don't know the details of the accusation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Disturbing, right? Senior investigative correspondent Drew Griffin broke the story last night. He joins us now with more.

Good morning.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: The allegations are coming from a woman we've been talking to for months. She is the deep throat in this phoenix VA scandal. She is the keeper of the secret list. And she is coming forward right now because she wants everybody to know that this cover-up continues.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Pauline DeWenter, a scheduling clerk at Phoenix VA, is coming forward because she believes she knows something that is frankly unthinkable. That is saying something considering the shameful facts of what we already know happened at this VA.

She says someone now is trying to hide the number of U.S. veterans who died here waiting for care. In seven cases so far, where she has determined a veteran on a waiting list was in fact deceased, she says, someone above her has changed the record back, the veteran suddenly listed as alive.

(On camera): Somebody is going on that electronic wait list and where people are -- identified as being dead, somebody is changing that and saying, no, they're not dead.

PAULINE DEWENTER, FORMER PHOENIX VA SCHEDULING CLERK: Correct.

GRIFFIN: To hide the fact people died on that list?

DEWENTER: That's my belief.

GRIFFIN: What would be the other -- any other purpose?

DEWENTER: There wouldn't be any other purpose.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Why? DeWenter says the numbers of dead in this VA wait list scandal may be even bigger than first reported. And someone she says is trying to cover up the record.

(On camera): And that has been happening fairly recently?

DEWENTER: Yes.

GRIFFIN: That is a cover-up.

DEWENTER: Yes.

GRIFFIN: Did you feel that the investigators are on to that?

DEWENTER: Yes.

GRIFFIN: Because you told them?

DEWENTER: I have surrendered evidence, yes.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): If there ever was a doubt there was a secret waiting list at the Phoenix VA, DeWenter says she is here to lay those doubts to rest. Beginning early last year, she says she was told by managers to take requests for new appointments from veterans seeking care and hide them. (On camera): What happened to those people?

DEWENTER: They went into a desk drawer.

GRIFFIN: So if you called for a new appointment thinking you were being placed on the electronic wait list, you were actually being placed on a piece of paper in somebody's desk drawer?

DEWENTER: Correct.

GRIFFIN: Is that the secret list?

DEWENTER: Yes. That would be the secret list.

GRIFFIN: And there is no doubt in your mind that was a secret list?

DEWENTER: No doubt.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): There simply were not enough doctors, not enough appointments to handle new patients, backlogged patients and yes, very sick patients. DeWenter, a scheduling clerk, was making life-and-death decisions.

DEWENTER: And that really overtook even the wait list because now I have a consult where veterans are very sick. So I have to ease up on the -- on the wait lists. It just sounds so wrong to say but -- I worked these scheduled appointments so at least I felt the sickest of the sick were being treated.

GRIFFIN (on camera): And you're making basically those triage decisions?

DEWENTER: Yes.

GRIFFIN: So you're bumping one veteran for the other based on who is the sickest?

DEWENTER: Yes. Yes.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): A spokesperson for the Veterans Administration refused to respond to the specifics of this report and would only say that as acting secretary, Sloan Gibson, has said VA facilities around the country, we must work together to fix the unacceptable, systemic problems in accessing VA health care. That includes getting veterans off wait lists.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: Carol, we believe the information is in the hands of the Office of Inspector General. We're not sure if the FBI has that information, but as she says, she believes there is a cover-up still taking place there.

COSTELLO: And just watching her, Pauline, she's clearly emotionally distraught. What might happen to her? GRIFFIN: She's very scared. She was very reluctant to do this

interview, but she felt she had to because she didn't want to get this latest allegation lost or swept under the rug.

But she is fearful, like all these whistleblowers are, of retaliation at the V.A. She feels her career is possibly over, but she was willing to come forward because she felt -- you could see the weight on her shoulders. She's had it.

COSTELLO: Well, good for you, Pauline.

Thanks so much, Drew.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, as thousands of undocumented children stream across the border between Mexico and Texas, the governor of that state is pressing for a solution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK PERRY (R), TEXAS: This isn't a Democrat problem, this isn't a Republican problem. This is an American problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But will Congress be able to find a solution? That's the focus of a hearing on Capitol Hill this morning.

Polo Sandoval is there.

Good morning, Polo.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Carol, good morning. It's front and center again. The head of homeland security now getting ready to take the hot seat before lawmakers. A preview of this morning's hearing in only minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Texas Governor Rick Perry is demanding action on the thousands of undocumented children pouring into his state over the border with Mexico. Fifty-two thousand children have reportedly been captured since the start of this year, some of those children ending up in detention centers like the one you're looking at. Well, now, Governor Perry is taking aim at not just the Obama administration, but also the U.S. partners in Central America for not doing more to solve this problem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PERRY: I mean, this is an absolute humanitarian catastrophe waiting to happen, and I do not understand why there has not been more interest in Washington, D.C., to secure the southern border with Mexico and the United States. I perceive that Mexico and those Central American countries are our partners, and we need to be sending a clear message to them -- you have to do your part to stop this huge deluge of individuals. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: In about 45 minutes, Congress will dig deeper into the issue and maybe, possibly, come up with some solution.

CNN's Polo Sandoval joins us now.

So, Polo, will this be a solution-finding mission or a finger-pointing session?

SANDOVAL: You can bet, Carol, that the politics will undoubtedly heat up on Capitol Hill later this morning. We're going to be watching closely for this morning's Homeland Security Committee hearing.

The head of the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Jeh Johnson, expected to face tough questioning from both sides. Republican critics -- they're the ones that have been really sounding off about this issue of families and unaccompanied children since it began gaining political momentum in recent weeks.

Michael McCaul, not only is he the Republican chairman of this committee, but he's also from Texas. He's expected to open this hearing, citing the sheer numbers, Carol, 52,000 unaccompanied children have crossed the southern border so far, and that number on the rise this morning. Thousands more which are referred to as family units -- those are the mothers and the fathers who are crossing with their children, as well adding to some of those numbers.

But really, all of this adding to the workload for law enforcement on the ground. We know we spent some time in the region in the Rio Grande Valley, which is the southern tip of Texas, about four hours south of San Antonio. That's perhaps now one of the busiest regions when it comes to this immigration crisis, this growing issue.

Border patrol, local police, all of them struggling to keep up, juggling the numbers. They're moving so many of these families and also so many of these unaccompanied kids from one detention center to another before either being released or eventually sent back to their country.

Secretary Jeh Johnson already responding by sending a letter to some of the families there in Central America, encouraging them, again, Carol, not to make this treacherous journey. In the meantime, though, his office releasing a portion of what are expected to be his three- prong approach, his potential solution to this. Whether or not, though, that will be the answer, we will be watching very closely to see if that's the case -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, hopefully, some of these things will come out in the hearing later this morning. Polo Sandoval, thanks so much.

Still to come, the U.S. could lose its big World Cup match against Germany and still advance in the tournament. What? We'll take a look at all of the scenarios for you when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: World Cup frenzy gripping the country, not just for Team USA, either. Fans celebrating Mexico's win over Croatia were still out on the streets of Los Angeles hours after the match ended. Police had to actually shut down off-ramps of Interstate 5 as a precaution.

As you can see, fans blocked one intersection. Earlier, some people surrounded a van and they rocked it, but overall, there were only a few arrests. With yesterday's win, Mexico advances to the World Cup's knockout stage.

Breaking another record for soccer in the United States, a combined 25 million people watched Sunday's U.S./Portugal draw on two ESPN channels and Univision. That more than doubled the previous record made last week in the U.S./Ghana match.

Now, the focus for the United States turns to Thursday's crucial match against Germany.

CNN's Andy Scholes looks at what the United States has to do to move on to the next round, but we start with CNN's Amanda Davies.

Good morning, Amanda.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS: Good morning, Carol.

Yes, if the U.S. weren't battling some of the best teams in the world here in this tournament, they are also battling the most grueling travel schedule you could imagine. Group G was the group that nobody wanted to be drawn into when the draw was made in December.

So, Jurgen Klinsmann's side have been seriously racking up the air miles over the last few days. They had a 1,700-mile journey to Natal and back to Sao Paulo for their opener Friday. They then went to Manaus, that's an 1,800-mile journey, and then back to Sao Paulo. They landed at 5:00 on Monday morning.

They had a rest day, but then this morning, Tuesday, they're training again, then getting straight back on an airplane to take the journey to Recife and back.

In all, just to get to the second round, Jurgen Klinsmann's side are racking up 9,000 miles. That's like traveling from New York to South Africa. The shortest distance traveled, just to put this into context, is by Belgium. For their three games, they're only traveling just over 400 miles. That's 1/20 of the distance.

And the bad news for U.S. fans is Belgium might well be the team they play if they make it into the second round.

COSTELLO: OK. So, my head is spinning now. So, Andy's here to parse this all out. What happens if the United States doesn't beat Germany on Thursday? Let's start there, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS: Well, the good news is, Carol, win, lose or draw, Team USA still has a chance to advance to the knockout stage. Now, there are a bunch of scenarios to make this happen. Let's look

at the easy ones first. Beating Germany on Thursday or tying them will automatically put the U.S. into the round of 16.

Now, if we lose to Germany on Thursday, that's where things can get a bit tricky. Then, us moving on will depend on the result from the Ghana/Portugal game. If they tie, Team USA will advance. But if either Ghana or Portugal win that game, it's all going to come down to goal differential.

If we take a look at the group G standings right now, we see the United States has a plus one in the goal differential, Ghana is at minus one and Portugal at minus four. So, clearly, Ghana has the best chance at jumping Team USA in the standings.

Now, that being said, carol, our worst-case scenario for Thursday would be lose to Germany and then Ghana beat Portugal by two. If that were to happen, we would be eliminated from the World Cup. Now, both games, of course, USA/Germany and Ghana/Portugal, they both kick off at noon on Thursday. So, if there is ever a situation where we needed two televisions at the same time, this is it, because the result from both games is going to be very important to see who moves on out of group G.

COSTELLO: Wow. OK, I'm going to -- I know you're going to give me a quiz later, so I tried to listen. Thank you, Andy, and thank you, Amanda.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a top lawyer takes the stand over those missing IRS e-mails. This as the IRS chief insists there was no cover-up.

Athena Jones is following that story for us.