Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

U.S. Economy Shrinks More Than Expected; U.S. Exports Oil; Democratic Voters Help GOP Incumbent; Rangel Claims Win, Opponent Won't Concede; Lawmaker: Why Can't We Send the Kids Back?; Diane Sawyer Stepping Down As "ABC World News" Anchor

Aired June 25, 2014 - 09:00   ET

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

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: But I know things.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: She said -- you know, isn't that interesting? So the babysitter story, quickly unravels. She confesses and as for all the stuff they stole?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They got it back because of me being a superhero.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: Duh?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: She's a superhero.

PEREIRA: I'm obsessed with her.

CUOMO: Well stated.

BOLDUAN: She's amazing.

PEREIRA: I love that.

CUOMO: First of all I got one of those at home.

PEREIRA: Yes?

CUOMO: That is a smart 4-year-old.

PEREIRA: Yes.

PETERSONS: I was going to say, it's just like that show, "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" Try a 4-year-old.

BOLDUAN: Amazing.

PEREIRA: She is super girl.

CUOMO: And she happens to be 100 percent right. She is a superhero. PEREIRA: Yes, she is.

BOLDUAN: Let's go to "NEWSROOM" and Carol Costello.

She was a bad babysitter, Carol.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: Not you, Carol, someone else.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I understand. Got to go. Thanks, you guys. Have a great day.

NEWSROOM starts now.

Happening now in the NEWSROOM, southern shocker. Thad Cochran winning the Mississippi primary. The Tea Party challenger refusing to concede this morning. The Democratic black voters sealed the Republican deal.

Plus oil slick. At a time when we're paying almost four bucks a gallon for gas, why is the government allowing big oil to export? This hasn't been allowed in 40 years.

Also, could it be a breast cancer breakthrough? A new screening method could be more accurate and save more lives. So who should and should not get them?

We're paging Dr. Gupta this morning.

Plus --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I did nothing wrong. I just wanted as many victims as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: A chilling yet emotionless account of a 17-year-old Minnesota boy and a plot to go on a killing spree at his high school. Molotov cocktails and pipe bombs. He tells us why.

And ciao, baby. A World Cup star sinking his teeth into the shoulder of his Italian opponent. Ouch. Luis Suarez, the biter.

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

COSTELLO: And good morning, I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

We do start with breaking news. We have just learned that the GDP, our best measure for the overall health of the economy, had its worst first quarter since the depths of the recession. It fell by nearly 3 percent. Alison Kosik is here to explain.

Why did this happen, Alison?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, everybody expected it to be lousy, Carol, but this actually, this negative 2.9 percent is far worse than expected so we're talking about January, February, March, when it was really, really brutally cold in most of the country, where everything kind of came to a standstill and that's why you're seeing a lot of analysts blame this lousy number on -- believe it or not -- the weather.

You look deeper into the numbers, what's called consumption was lower, meaning consumer spending was down. Businesses weren't spending money, they weren't even stocking their shelves as much, putting inventory on the shelves. Exports were also weak but once again, we're seeing a lot of people go ahead and dismiss this negative 2.9 percent because of the bad weather.

Analysts think that you look at that number, negative 2.9 percent, kind of seems out of sync with the other data that we got on housing, which has been showing improvement, and manufacturing numbers have been showing improvement, so really the thinking is that going forward that the numbers are going to look better and they're thinking, you know what, this is a backward looking number, it could be a one-hit wonder.

We -- just so you know the markets not looking too rattled, although it looks like futures are lower and they turn lower with this number coming out -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Let's talk about oil exports from the United States. A new report says the White House may actually ease a 40- year-old ban on exporting oil from the USA, so why are they doing that at a time when gas prices are so high?

KOSIK: Well, that's a good question. So just so you know, consumer advocates are also concerned about this. They're worried that this could also mean higher prices for us here at home because if you export more oil, that means there's less supply here, but what the Commerce Department is saying this morning to us, Carol, is that this is not a change in policy. They're calling this a special ruling that's allowing just two energy companies to export a type of crude oil because it has been processed only a little bit, even if it's not refined.

And you're seeing this special ruling happening because you're seeing this trend happen in the U.S. We're getting closer to energy independence. Oil production in this country is actually at its highest since the 1980s, and then you pile on the reason why and fracking has a lot to do with it. Fracking in places like North Dakota has unleashed huge deposits, buried in shale rock. And some energy companies say you know what's happening? All of this crude means it's time to kind of loosen the rules on exports and just so you know those rules, that law goes way back to the '70s. My real childhood memory of those gas lines because of the Arab oil

embargo. And that's also when the U.S. government banned unrefined oil from being export. So you're seeing a little bit of loosening. They're opening the door. The Commerce Department, though, saying not a change in policy -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Alison Kosik reporting live for us this morning.

Now let's turn to bizarre politics and uneasy alliances in key political races overnight. Maybe the first sign came during this uncomfortable Kumbaya moment on Capitol Hill.

Yes, top Republicans and Democrats normally at war singing a piece to honor the 50th anniversary of the civil rights act. And maybe in a sign of color blind progress a longtime senator from the Deep South reaches across the aisle and the color barrier and guess what? The Republican Thad Cochran wins a shot at a seventh term after successfully courting African-Americans and Democrats in Mississippi. His Tea Party challenger furious in defeat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS MCDANIEL, MISSISSIPPI STATE SENATOR: There is something a bit unusual about a Republican primary that's decided by liberal Democrats. So much for bold colors. So much for principle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash has been covering this marquee matchup for the primary season. She joins us now from Jackson, Mississippi.

Did you ever think you'd see the day?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I stopped getting surprised about anything that happens here in Mississippi in this particular race a long time ago.

But you're absolutely right, Carol, that this is a marquee race, and the reason is because it has been the classic intra-Republican fight between establishment and the Tea Party. The establishment candidate, the Senator Thad Cochran, somebody who was very proud of the fact that he worked across the aisle, that he sent federal money back here, and he was up against this anti-Washington wave led by Chris McDaniel.

And McDaniel clearly as you heard this morning feels robbed because Cochran has a win in large part because he had help from non- Republicans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCDANIEL: So much for bold colors. So much for principle.

BASH (voice-over): A nasty finish to a tough race, Mississippi Tea Party candidate Chris McDaniel with a not-so conciliatory speech after losing in a close race to incumbent Senator Thad Cochran.

MCDANIEL: There is something a bit strange. There is something a bit unusual about a Republican primary that's decided by liberal Democrats.

SEN. THAD COCHRAN (R), MISSISSIPPI: Thank you all for being here to help celebrate a great victory. This is real victory.

BASH: Cochran, who trailed McDaniel in the Republican primary June 3rd, spent the past three weeks courting voters outside the GOP base, including African-Americans, pointing to federal funds he secured throughout his 36 years in the Senate.

(On camera): And to those who say, you know what, you have been reelected time and time again, your opponent says it's just too much. You've been there too long.

COCHRAN: Well, I'm the choice the people have made freely and openly.

BASH (voice-over): In a largely African-American precinct we visited, turnout was up three times what it was for the primary and it was higher elsewhere.

(On camera): Who did you vote for?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thad Cochran.

BASH: Have you ever voted in a Republican primary before?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have not.

MCDANIEL: I guess they can take some consolation in the fact that they did something tonight by once again compromising, by once again reaching across the aisle, by once again abandoning the conservative movement.

BASH (voice-over): Conservative and African-American groups both sent observers to the polls fearing impropriety from the other side, which did not materialize. In the end, it was just over 6,000 votes that separated the two.

COCHRAN: We all have a right to be proud of our state tonight. Thank you very much. Thank you for this wonderful honor.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Now you may have been wondering what was missing from Chris McDaniel's speech and that was any word of concession. He has not conceded, Carol. In fact he is sending strong signals that he might try to challenge this. The only way he can do that is by doing so in the courts. It's unclear if he will, but I can tell you that I think maybe 1:00 or 2:00 this morning when things finally wrapped up, I got -- I finally got a text back from an aide saying, "Stay tuned," when I asked that question -- Carol.

(LAUGHTER) COSTELLO: You're right, nothing surprises me either about Mississippi now.

Dana Bash, thank you so much.

It looks like another Capitol Hill fixture survived a fierce challenge. Congressman Charlie Rangel first elected to Congress 44 years ago said this would be his final race. Rangel, one of the longest serving members of the House, was dogged by ethics violations. Right now the race is too close to call but Rangel has already declared victory. His opponent, State Senator Adriano Espaillat, is not ready to concede.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADRIANO ESPAILLAT (D), NEW YORK CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: We think it is prudent to wait for the final results before we make any announcement but I want to thank all of you for the efforts that you put into this race. This is an historic race and one that we should all be proud of.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: All right, here are some of the other results beginning with Oklahoma's Republican primary for a vacant Senate seat.

James Lankford, a rising star in the House, easily coasted to victory. Opponent TW Shannon had been backed by such Tea Party stars as Sarah Palin and Ted Cruz. In Colorado Bob Beauprez has won the Republican nomination for governor. He was considered the party's mainstream choice and beat back a challenge from anti-immigration activists.

In Maryland, Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown has won the Democratic nomination for the top spot. He easily defeated two challenges at a governor's race that was often ugly and bitter.

So let's talk more about these primary races. John Avalon is a CNN political analyst and editor-in-chief of "The Daily Beast," Larry Sabato is the Center for Politics director at the University of Virginia.

Welcome back, gentlemen.

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.

LARRY SABATO, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Hi, Carol.

COSTELLO: Good morning. Let's start in Mississippi, shall we? According to "The Washington Post," runoff turnout in the 24 counties with a black population of 50 percent or more was up almost 40 percent from the primary, and all other counties turnout was up just 16 percent.

Larry, all I can say is wow.

SABATO: Yes. And we ran our own numbers last night at the Center for Politics and found that the increase in turnout over the first primary which is very rare. Usually turnout declines in a runoff, people get tired of the election or for a combination of reasons. That increased turnout, that 50,000 plus additional votes, came heavily disproportionately from black counties and those were Thad Cochran votes.

Now how rare is it for African-American votes to enter a Republican primary to save the bacon of an incumbent conservative Republican senator? The answer, very, very rare.

COSTELLO: So you have something new to teach at the University of Virginia now.

(LAUGHTER)

It's just -- it's just amazing. OK, so the loser, the Tea Party candidate, Chris McDaniel, says this just shows conservative Republicans are really liberal Democrats because Cochran attracted their votes.

But, John, I guess McDaniel forgot President Reagan actually did attract Democratic votes. Remember those Reagan-Democrats, am I right?

AVLON: Yes, it's exactly right. I mean, look, you know, McDaniel's comments at the end of the night were actually really fascinating. He talked, said so much about principle, and then he specifically said that compromise and reaching across the aisle. He accused Cochran's campaign of that, and said that was betrayal to the conservative movement.

This is really a stark reminder of how far the conservative movement has moved from Ronald Reagan who was all about the politics of addition, not division. And the fact that Cochran ran an inclusive campaign with a massive get-out-the-vote effort and got rallied -- people around it who'd normally only vote in a general election, made for more representative turnout this round.

That is not what the Tea Party wants. So it's two very different visions not only of government but of governing and campaigning, and the more inclusive vision won last night.

COSTELLO: Interesting. OK, so on to New York and Charlie Rangel. Ethics violations? Who cares? Voters gave him -- well, it seems like voters gave him a win, although the race is too close to call. His opponent has not conceded.

But, Larry, does this really prove that all politics is local or does it prove voters believe all lawmakers are corrupt anyway, so we might as well vote for the one we like?

(LAUGHTER)

SABATO: Well, both of those propositions are probably true, at least in part, but you got to link the Rangel probably re-election to the Thad Cochran re-election in Mississippi. They're very different people, different parties, different philosophies, but you know, in both cases a narrow plurality of voters seemed to go with the guy who could deliver, who had seniority. Reminds me of an old "New Yorker" cartoon, somebody is pointing to a congressman and saying, "There goes congressman so and so whose mighty faults is balanced by his mighty seniority."

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: Geez. OK, let's talk a little bit about Oklahoma before I let you guys go. The Sarah Palin supported candidate loses, the established candidate wins.

So, John, doesn't this race coupled with Mississippi prove you political analysts type really don't know how strong the Tea Party is?

AVLON: Look, I think that what we've seen throughout this election is a lot of primaries with low turnout having some really surprising results and that skews national narratives. I mean, national narratives are something we impose on inherently local races in order to try to make sense of all the noise.

What's significant about Oklahoma last night is that the Tea Party really rallied around TW Shannon, who is a rising star, African- American, Native American, who could have been a major player from day one in the Senate and the polls all showed us a really tight race with Congressman Lankford, who was being accused of being a rhino. Turns out the result not close at all. And we're going to have a lot of really interesting analysis about why that is.

But a major not only Tea Party darling but potential national star went down last night in the form of TW Shannon.

COSTELLO: Fascinating night last night.

John Avlon, Larry Sabato, thanks for your insight as always. I appreciate it.

Still to come, from the southwestern border to the halls of Congress, the surge of undocumented children into the United States is overwhelming the system. One lawmaker says just put them on a bus and send them home for goodness sakes. Is that the answer?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Those who lead the good old USA say they're trying to solve the great humanitarian catastrophe of our time. Truth is though, they're not. These illegal immigrants, kids that are far from home, from places like Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, we're expecting 60,000 more of the kids to come into this country this year. Some of the kids will make it, while others will find themselves awaiting deportation, and those huge detention centers like this one in Arizona.

It is a problem that stretches from the southwestern border all the way to Capitol Hill, where, sigh, it's become a partisan battle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE ROGERS (R), ALABAMA: Why aren't we putting them on a bus like we normally do and send them back down to Guatemala?

JEH JOHNSON, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Because the law requires I turn them over to HHS, sir.

ROGERS: The law required Obama care to be kicked in two years ago and it hasn't stopped them before. This is a humanitarian crisis. It's a national security crisis for our country.

Now, I don't know why these children are being treated any differently. You know, you talked a little while ago about trying to talk with the Guatemalan government about what we should be doing. I think what you need to do is ask the Guatemalan government where they want these kids dropped off when the buses bring them back down there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Could it be that simple? Simple solution. Just put the kids on a bus and send them back.

David Leopold is an immigration attorney who deals with these problems every day.

Good morning, sir.

DAVID LEOPOLD, IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: So, could it be that simple? We'll just load them on a bus and ship them out.

LEOPOLD: You know, it strikes me listening to the congressman, screaming about following the rule of law except when they don't want to follow the rule of law.

The secretary was right, Secretary Johnson. The law is very strict on this point and we have a Bush era law, by the way, which requires that undocumented unaccompanied minors be handled with special care.

Remember, Carol, these kids are arriving in the country hungry, tired, alone, terrified, and the law was put into place 12 years ago, which requires that their due process rights be carefully followed, that they be put into the custody of the Health and Human Services, and that wherever they wind up, that they're screened.

COSTELLO: Well, I don't know, I guess I should ask you the heartless question -- why should it be our problem? Why should these kids be our problem?

LEOPOLD: Well, ultimately, look, most of these kids, and it's not a heartless question, it's a very reasonable question. Most of these kids are going to wind up going home. The law actually favors repatriation or sending these kids home.

But what the law is careful to point out and this was passed by the Congress, the very Congress that questions the secretary yesterday, what the law is careful to do is make sure these kids are handled with special care, so that the vulnerable ones are not hurt. They don't wind up in trafficking situations, and that when they get home to Guatemala or to Honduras, or to wherever else, that it's done safely and it's done with due process.

COSTELLO: Let's talk a little bit more about the human trafficking angle because that's really why these laws were put into place. What was the big fear when Congress passed these laws?

LEOPOLD: Well, I think the big fear and it remains the big fear is that vulnerable populations, particularly children, women, and others, would fall prey to criminal gangs and to others that would prey upon them, and traffic them up to the United States. The problem is that, you know, up until last year, or the year before, we were seeing the system is designed really to handle about oh less than 10,000 a year, and as you pointed out in the opening, we're looking at 70,000 this year.

So, we have an all hands on deck problem and you know, when I listened to members of Congress, particularly people like Darrell Issa or the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Bob Goodlatte that this is an opportunity to work with the administration to make sure that we have a surefooted, a direct and aggressive response to this problem, and instead, what we're seeing is some nasty partisanship from the GOP on Capitol Hill.

That's not helpful. What we need is an all hands on deck team approach and they ought to be standing behind the administration rather than sniping from the sidelines.

COSTELLO: OK, I'll ask you then. What is the answer to this problem? What should they be doing?

LEOPOLD: Well, the answer to this problem is what the administration I think has outlined as of last Friday in a very direct aggressive approach. Number one, to make sure number one that the children are safe, to make sure their rights are followed, to make sure that where necessary, they have access to legal counsel, and to make sure that ultimately their repatriation to their home countries is done in a safe and orderly and fair way.

Some of them, Carol, some of them are going to require special immigrant juvenile status, because it would be not in their best interests to go back, but the lion's share of these kids, the lion's share of the migrants coming over are going to be going back and that's exactly what the law favors.

I think everybody ought to be coming together to make sure that we have a national response, not partisan bickering, like we're hearing on Capitol Hill.

COSTELLO: That's a big hope, David.

LEOPOLD: Well, I'm hopeful.

COSTELLO: I know. We as Americans always are. David Leopold, thank you so much for your insight. I appreciate it.

LEOPOLD: My pleasure.

COSTELLO: This weekend, CNN will air a film about living in America illegally. "Documented" is the story of a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who is risking everything by coming forward. His story Sunday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

COSTELLO: OK, maybe you're going to be surprised by this, because I certainly was. Diane Sawyer is stepping down from "World News Tonight". David Muir is going to take over her stop and they gave George Stephanopoulos some strange title probably to appease him.

But, Brian Stelter probably knows a lot more about it than I do. Why did Diane Sawyer step down now?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: That's the question that I think we'll try to figure out the answer to in the hours to come. But I'm told by ABC that she was think being this for a while, that she started talking to her bosses about moving on sometime last year, and now it will take effect at the end of August. So, David Muir will take over the world news chair on September 2nd.

But there is an end of an era feel to this, Carol, because as you mentioned, George Stephanopoulos will have a title as chief anchor. So, on big, big breaking news day, it won't be David. It will be George leading the show.

COSTELLO: Wait, wait, his title is chief anchor?

STELTER: Chief anchor for the whole news division, that means with special reports for example, he would be the one at the anchor chair perhaps joined by David Muir.

You know what it says to me? It says to me the morning shows are ascendant. We've known this for a while. It's been becoming more true over time. George Stephanopoulos, the "GMA" morning anchor, who will take the big lead on news.

COSTELLO: Interesting. You know, they make -- well, that means they make most of their money in the money. That's all that means, right?

STELTER: Absolutely. But the "World News" cast is still an important flagship. You know, it still draws 6 million to 8 million viewers a night. Combined NBC, ABC, CBS draw about 22 million, 23 million viewers every night. So, in an era of fragmentation, in an area where we're all watching different things and we're reading the news online, the evening newscast are still important.