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President Obama Open to Meeting Governor Rick Perry; One Man's Undocumented Life; Marijuana Now Legal in Washington State; Justice Department Drafts Plan on Foreign Fighters; NFL Concussions Settlement

Aired July 08, 2014 - 09:30   ET

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

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Express them freely. However, we are disappointed that the occasion of this family-friendly celebration of America's birth was used in a way to disparage the office of the president."

(On camera): Some supporters of President Bush would say that the way he was characterized also was disrespectful of the office.

RODELL MOLLINEUA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think it's a false equivalency. Listen, and let me be very clear. The idea of opposing a president or poking fun at a president, I mean, that's nothing new. It's when you cross that line. You know, President Bush, yes, during his lowest points certainly did take a lot of criticism from the left and from Democrats, but nothing that you would consider racist, nothing that you'd consider out of bounds or over the top.

MCPIKE (voice-over): Like Bush, Obama's poll numbers have taken a nose dive, but do attacks like these detract from legitimate criticism of his performance in office?

The writer of this piece says his point was to criticize opponents who bring race into the discussion. Clearly that backfired.

Erin McPike, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Still to come, he currently holds a masters degree and is pursuing his doctorate in education. He's also an undocumented immigrant and you will hear his story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Good morning. I'm Brianna Keilar in today for Carol Costello. Thank you for joining me.

And as the immigration crisis along the U.S. border intensifies, so does the partisan bickering but this morning, possible progress.

President Obama has offered to meet with Texas Governor Rick Perry during a visit to Texas tomorrow, but President Obama has no plans to visit the border, something that critics are giving him heat for. Let's bring in CNN's Ed Lavandera in Texas.

And, Ed, we've seen recently clashes in California, residents there protesting what's essentially the overflow of undocumented immigrants being moved to California. What's the mood like there in Dallas and Texas?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, a great deal of concern about the issue and also I think many people trying to get a grasp of just what exactly is going to happen, and how this problem -- you know, how you go about solving this situation. So I think a lot of people basically looking for answers on a way out of this crisis at this point. That's why so much attention is being paid to this possible meeting between Texas Governor Rick Perry and President Obama.

Rick Perry had refused to meet with President Obama when he landed in Austin -- when he planned to land in Austin and meet at the tarmac, Rick Perry saying that a handshake on the tarmac wouldn't be enough time to talk about this situation and offered a meeting. The president taking up Rick Perry on this meeting so we're still waiting word from Rick Perry's office to -- if whether or not they'll accept that or be able to arrange that meeting time in their schedules. So we'll have to see how that plays out today.

KEILAR: Do you think, Ed, if the governor accepts this meeting, and Rick Perry and President Obama get together and talk, what are the chances that something is really accomplished?

LAVANDERA: Well you know, I think both sides will, you know, bring in intense partisanship to this meeting. You can already tell in the letters that Rick Perry and the White House have ex-changed over this meeting already that have been released here in the last 12 hours or so, so you'll probably see a lot more of that in the Obama administration highlighting its efforts to coordinate with Central American countries to help solve the crisis.

But Rick Perry is saying what they need is more security along the border and a better effort to seal off that border, to solve this crisis, so you definitely have two different camps coming to this in many different ways.

KEILAR: All right, Ed Lavandera, thank you so much, with us from Dallas.

And my next guest is all too familiar with the plight of those thousands of children who have streamed across the border into Texas in recent months. Fourteen years ago he embarked on this very same journey.

At just the age of 13 Jose Luis Zelaya left Honduras, making a 45-day overland trip to the U.S. in a bid to reunite with his mother and sister who were here and also to escape the violence in his native country.

This is a picture of Jose just one year after he arrived in the U.S., and now more than a decade later, he has completed a master's degree and is currently working on his doctorate with the focus on urban education.

Jose is also part of a young generation of undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers who are advocating for change in the nation's laws and he's joining me now from Houston.

Jose, good morning to you, and also when you see the images that we are seeing on TV from the Texas border what goes through your mind? Take us through the journey that you had to go on.

JOSE LUIS ZELAYA, LEFT HONDURAS AS UNDOCUMENTED TEEN: Good morning. Those images completely break my heart because I completely remember the journey. I remember the desperation, the anxiety of leaving Honduras in a country where my mother was beaten by my father because he was an alcoholic, in a country where poverty is so, so rampant that my younger brother passed away in my mom's arms because we didn't have money to take him to the hospital.

And it has become a desperation, a daily desperation where gang violence is so strong, and even in 1998, a hurricane destroyed our home, Hurricane Mitch, and we were homeless, so the desperation is horrible. There's -- sometimes there's no water, there's no food, there's no security. The lack of education is enormous and for a child to grow up in the circumstances for me, it was very difficult, but also very painful, and that's the reason why I came to the U.S., to be able to reunite with my mother and escape the violence and escape the poverty because I just could no longer resist it.

I just couldn't. I tried for 13 years, but the pain of being a victim of gang violence, the pain of losing my brother, the pain of being poor and a child who's left on the streets was too much. I could no longer do it. And this is exactly what these children are going through.

So for me to see what they're going through and to actually remember it now that I'm a PhD student is just -- it's an example of what these children can be if we're given the resources --

KEILAR: Yes.

ZELAYA: -- and the opportunities that I was given.

KEILAR: And you -- you've described your journey. It's been recounted in the media, a 45-day overland trip with so many risks. You detail that people along this route that you had to take, people would be raped. They could be killed. They might be trafficked into prostitution.

Talk about some of the dangers and even as you were going through it, if you thought it was worth it escaping what you had in Honduras.

ZELAYA: For me when I -- when I migrated I was not really thinking about breaking any laws or becoming undocumented. I just wanted to reunite with my mother. I just wanted to see my younger sister again and going through the pain of the journey didn't really matter. The desperation was too much. It was -- it is such a depressing time whenever you're woken up by the smuggler at 2:00 in the morning and you just see him physically abuse a child. And he says with a gun in his hand, "Whoever says anything is next."

Whenever we were riding the beast, the train, a train that travels 40 miles an hour, with thousands of people on top, and I literally witnessed how a man fell off the train, losing his life, and for me, it was just -- it was scary. It was -- I was so afraid, but the hope of seeing my mother again, the idea of being with my sister again, just kept me going.

KEILAR: Yes.

ZELAYA: Walking so much through the desert was also very painful.

KEILAR: And that carried you through. And I want -- I want to get your perspective. There's an ad that has been put out by the U.S. government. It details someone coming into the U.S. illegally and dying from it. It's being used to discourage folks from taking essentially the trip you did.

Do you think that this is something that would stop -- would this have stopped you? Would this stop other youngsters?

ZELAYA: I think that whenever you live in a society where children, the ages of 12 and 13 are recruited to go into gangs, and if you say no, they're being killed, I think that children will continue to migrate because of the circumstances and the situations that they continue to live in. I think that this is a world issue, that as the United States, we need to help. We -- our character is founded on the way we treat children and by treating them the way we are treating them now it's not the right way and scaring them through the -- by taking the journey, it's not going to help, because people continue to be desperate.

People continue to be hungry and an advertisement is not going to feed them and it's not going to give them water or even be able to give them an education, so until we fix this problem from a world perspective we will continue to see child migration not just in the U.S. but all around the world.

KEILAR: Jose, thanks so much for sharing your story. It's really a fascinating one and a dangerous journey. It really gives us so much insight into what these youngsters have gone through to get here.

Jose Luis Zelaya thank you.

And NEWSROOM is back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Well, breaking news this morning, Attorney General Eric Holder is announcing a new plan on how the U.S. will deal with foreign fighters in Syria. The plan also focuses on Americans who travel to the country to fight as well as community outreach efforts to prevent any potential radicalization. CNN Justice reporter Evan Perez is here with details.

You know, Evan, we were talking about this. I think a lot of people would be surprised to learn that there are Americans on the frontlines in Syria.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, that's exactly right. The attorney general is spending the week in Europe this entire week but Syria is basically going to dominate the trip, simply because there are about 7,000 foreign fighters in Syria. About 100 of those are Americans.

There are hundreds from different European countries and because of, you know, open visa access laws rules between the United States and Europe, you know, if one of these fighters comes back to a European country, they can easily come to the United States and vice versa. So this is a very big concern not only for the United States but also for all these countries where you have these young people going to join the fight and then returning with know-how from some of these terrorist groups that they're joining -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes. And Evan, obviously Eric Holder is proposing something here. He's trying to do something to fix it. What does he want to do?

PEREZ: Well, one of the things he's asking these countries in Europe and around the world that have the same problem is for them to pass new laws. Now the U.S. has a material support law, and he's asking that these countries pass new laws to criminalize preparatory acts which basically means, if you're planning to provide money or to support terrorist acts in any way, that you can get charged with this even before you travel to Syria or Iraq.

They're also asking these countries use undercover operations similar to the sting operations that the FBI uses in this country, and which has been, you know, very successful in bringing charges against these people before they even travel to Syria. He's also asking that they share more information on these -- on these young people before they go or even after they go, and they come back, so that these countries can all, you know, share information and be on the lookout for these young people.

And he's also saying that they should have these counter radicalization programs so going to these communities especially in countries where they have big immigrant communities to basically, you know, try to discourage kids from being radicalized -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes. Even terrorism being globalized in this.

PEREZ: That's right.

KEILAR: We'll see how Eric Holder's proposal works.

Evan Perez, pardon me, thanks so much.

PEREZ: That's right. KEILAR: And still to come, smoke them if you got them might be the

phrase of the day in Washington state, as pot smokers get the chance to buy marijuana legally for the first time, but getting it might be difficult.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Well, in just over 90 minutes, Washington state will become the second place where any adult can legally buy and smoke pot. More than two dozen stores were given recreational licenses. Only a handful will be open today. And one thing is for sure, demand greatly outweighing supply there.

Jeff Dubois from our affiliate KIRO joining us now from Seattle.

Good morning to you, Jeff. Tell us about -- well, first up, tell us where you are. What is the name of this place that you're in front of and what's the turnout like?

JEFF DUBOIS, REPORTER, KIRO: This is Cannabis City which is just south of the downtown area called Sodo. And there are expected to be hundreds of people here today when they open at high noon today to sell legal marijuana for the first time ever in the city and in the state, really. Right now only about a half dozen people or so but they do expect hundreds if not a few thousand people to line up here to buy -- to be the first ones to buy legal marijuana in Seattle.

KEILAR: So when they show up, what are the rules for the pot sale?

DUBOIS: Well, they can each buy up to an ounce of marijuana. However, supply is very limited here because only eight growers in Washington state were actually licensed by the Liquor Control Board and were ready to harvest and have products in these stores. So this store here, Cannabis City, only has 10 pounds of marijuana to sell. Because of that, they are limiting the sales to each person to just a two-gram bag.

That will service about 2200 people or so with their 10 pounds so they expect to sell out quickly and once they do sell out, they're going to close down. They don't know exactly when they will get their next shipment to reopen again.

KEILAR: So do they think at some point, Jeff, that it's going to balance out, if they're expecting to run out today, do they expect the sort of supply chain to kind of even out so that in the days and the weeks to come, they aren't running out on a daily basis?

DUBOIS: You bet. They will certainly be having more growers come online, be ready to harvest. It might just be another week or two before the plants are ready to harvest and then they can get more product into the stores.

The other thing here is that there are only a handful of stores, retail shops, that are actually going to be opening today. The first day of legal sales. So in the coming weeks -- and part of that is because of the supply issue. In the coming weeks, more stores will be coming online, will be opening their doors. We not only expect to see supply getting higher but also the prices to become lower. That's simple supply and demand.

KEILAR: All right, Jeff Dubois, our man on the ground there in Seattle from our affiliate, KIRO, thank you so much.

And I'll be speaking to the owner of that store where Jeff is reporting from, Cannabis City, you heard him say it. That will be coming up in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

Also ahead on NEWSROOM, a huge win for former NFL players suffering the effects of concussions. We'll be talking with a retired player involved in the lawsuit against the league.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Help is closer for thousands of retired NFL players who suffer from concussion-related illnesses or fear that they may develop symptoms in the future. A federal judge has given a preliminary approval to a settlement reached by the league and the former players. A key sticking point in negotiations was removed two weeks ago when the NFL agreed to take out a cap on damages.

The judge had refused to approve the deal in January, believing $675 million would not be enough money to cover claims.

Shawn Wooden is a retired NFL player. He is the co-representative for players in the class action lawsuit.

Why is it so important, Shawn, this settlement approval? Why is it so important for retired players, including the ones who show no signs of concussion-related issues?

SHAWN WOODEN, RETIRED NFL PLAYER: Well, now we can see a finish line to -- we want to show when we first started that there'll never be a finish line or, you know, how long it would take. This could have been a drawn-out process and we're just happy that it's going to help the guys that need it now, take the stress away from them, or as much stress as possible from them and their families but also give the guys who are asymptomatic like myself peace of mind that heaven forbid something happens in the future, we'll have something there in place to be able to help us and our families.

KEILAR: Sure, and that piece of mind so important. You want to know that you have that backup.

Were you surprised when the NFL agreed to remove the cap on damages? This was a sticking point, as we mentioned. Did that come as a surprise to you?

WOODEN: It was a pleasant surprise. They basically put their money where their mouth was. And, you know, we never started this out to be a money grab or to damage the league or to take away from the game of football. We just wanted to make sure that there were things in place to help the guys that needed it and, also like I said earlier, to make sure that there's programs and benefits in place for guys who, heaven forbid, like it happens in the future.

KEILAR: Yes. And for families unfortunately who are dealing with this in the past, some families, they have concussed players who have died. Family members. What's in the settlement for those folks?

WOODEN: I have read through about 100 plus pages of the lawsuit. The lawyers will be able to really pinpoint the factors of it. I don't have any notes on it.

KEILAR: OK.

WOODEN: But there are some things in place for guys who may have passed away in the present or --

KEILAR: Yes.

WOODEN: In the recent present. So there are some things there for them.

KEILAR: So -- a lot of this has to do -- you're a former player. Thousands of former players may be eligible for this, to take the baseline test to receive monetary awards if there are effects. No current players are covered. Explain that.

WOODEN: Well, we just basically with this type of lawsuit, you really have to have a starting point and, you know, the starting point was every current player as of preliminary approval, so we had to just include all the guys that were currently former players, as we call them, not retired guys. We call them former players.

KEILAR: Yes.

WOODEN: And, you know, we're making sure that it's there for us, for our whole lives for 65 years or so.

KEILAR: You feel like watching what's going on now in the NFL -- you know, you have players who are taking more precautions. There's just so much more awareness about it. Do you feel like the league is doing enough now for the players who are on the field right now?

WOODEN: Well, I definitely think they're going in the right direction. This lawsuit, this settlement, is definitely a turning point in the league, a turning point in the game of football at all levels. You know, part of the monetary award is going to go to education and also research regarding brain trauma from head injuries.

So we are going in the right direction. I think the league has taken -- you know, put their best foot forward in uncapping this settlement, making sure that all players, former players, will be taken care of for the rest their life.

KEILAR: Yes, big move -- big move for the former players and also you're seeing I think what's important is the younger kids are getting a lot of awareness about this, too, because of some of what you're doing.

Shawn Wooden, really appreciate you being with us.

WOODEN: Yes.

KEILAR: Thank you.

And the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM begins right now.