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Democrats, Hillary Clinton Lead in Latest Poll; Students at Colorado's Canon City High School Caught Up in Sexting Scandal. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired November 09, 2015 - 15:30   ET

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


BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And I think everyone probably thought that Netanyahu and President Obama would be talking a lot about the Iran nuclear deal, but they are talking about a lot of other things, too, the peace

[15:30:00] I want to bring in CNN White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski. She is at the White House.

This is way the context in which this meeting is happening. And I think everyone probably thought that Netanyahu and President Obama would be talking a lot about the Iran nuclear deal, but they are talking about a lot of other things too -- the peace process, ISIS. Are these agreements sort of outweighing the rift that is really so long lasting between these two men?

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, everyone looks at this meeting as a sort of, wow, you know, waiting for the awkwardness factor, waiting for the tension to show, given what has gone on between our two countries. And I would say the past couple years, but especially in the last year. I mean, you look at the pictures of this meeting there today of the smiles, the long, exuberant handshakes. I mean, what we heard from Netanyahu was an effusive thank you for American generosity in supporting Israel's security. We heard from President Obama, a strong statement in support of Israel.

This could not have been more different from Benjamin Netanyahu's last trip here. Remember just a couple months ago when he stood before Congress, didn't even meet with President Obama and railed against Iran's nuclear deal. And listen to what some of President Obama said during this meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to be very clear that we condemned in the strongest terms of the Palestinian violence against innocent Israeli citizens. And I want to repeat once again it is my strong belief that Israel has not just the right, but the obligation to protect itself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSINSKI: Very strong statement there, especially since the White House recently too has been also criticizing Israel's continued settlement activity that U.S. officials contributes to tensions there. So often the White House will take a balanced view and say, well, both sides need to work on this. It's not as if the White House's view has changed, but President Obama really wanted to support Israel in no uncertain terms right there.

And you heard it very strongly. I think it was also pretty striking to hear Netanyahu say, well, I support the vision of a two-state solution. Two people, two states, and that couldn't be more different than what we heard from him a couple months ago.

You know, we asked the White House, you know, does the administration trust what he is saying given that the settlement activity does continue. And it was in a press briefing later that there was this kind of more balanced sort of, you know, more global look at this situation saying, well, yes, we don't agree with settlement activity that will likely come up during this meeting. But the relationship, the security relationship between these two countries is unshakable.

And of course, remember part of this meeting is that Israel is looking for more military aid even more than what's been given in the past.

KEILAR: Yes. It's so interesting. Last time Netanyahu was here he was kind of poking President Obama in the eye. And now he is sort of coming, you know, with an open hand and trying to get some more defense aid, too. Michelle Kosinski, talking to us there from the north lawn, thank you.

Next, you know, one of the people who loved to take President Obama's job is sitting down with CNN. And Gloria Borger managed to get a few laughs out of this Democratic candidate, out of Bernie Sanders.

Plus, potentially more than 100 high school students involved in sharing nude videos and storing them in a secret online vault. I will be speaking live to an author who says the parents need to change the way they talk to their kids about sexting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:37:55] KEILAR: Well over 100 high school students could end up as registered sex offenders after police were tipped off to a sexting ring. Students at Canon City high school in Colorado are accused of collecting and trading nude photos of themselves and their classmates on their cell phones. Sometimes they stored these pictures on secret vault apps disguised as what looked like calculators, media players.

This is a really controversial case because it's already led to some suspensions. There's been a forfeited football game. There's a felony investigation by police.

Let's go now to Amy Hasinoff now. She is the author of "Sexting Panic, rethinking criminalization, privacy and consent."

So Amy, I want to talk to you about sexting because you differ from a lot of people out there who say just don't do it. Instead, you say you can do it or you know, you sort of expect maybe that your kids will, but you explain to them to do it smart. So explain this. AMY HASINOFF, AUTHOR, SEXTING PANIC: Right, so the issue is a lot of

people just say don't do it. But the problem is around a-third of teens are sexting and among young adults the rate is even higher. It is up to 60 percent. So saying just don't do it just doesn't work for most people because like sexual behavior more generally, people are going to do it any way even if you tell them not to.

And just like with abstinence or (INAUDIBLE), if all you do is teach them abstinence, then they are not left with any tools to help reduce their risk, to help reduce the harms, to have that complete picture of information to make informed choices about risk. And I think the really important thing to remember is that all sexual behavior involves some kind of risk and sexting is no different in that it is somewhat risky. And it is something that you have to negotiate with a partner. And as long as it's consensual, it may not be harmful at all. But adults seem to panic about it when they see teenagers doing it because there are so many potential problems that arise by just sort of teaching this abstinence method. It is just - it is unrealistic and it's going to backfire.

KEILAR: Let me ask you about that because if - you know, even when people stress a non-abstinence sex-Ed message in class per kid, they get a lot of pushback. So, is this something you'd expect would just be addressed in a home?

[15:40:08] HASINOFF: I think it has a place in schools as well. I think if you look at the research and the evidence, it is very clear that comprehensive sex-Ed reduces sexually transmitted infections, it reduces unplanned and unwanted pregnancies. There's decades of research on this and it is very clear.

So coming from a research perspective, we need to have comprehensive sex-Ed. And that needs to include sexual behaviors both offline and then also with sexting. We just think about this as a sexual behavior. And as such it's really the key thing is consent, just like any other sexual behavior. And that's what's troubling about this case is it seems like there was a lot of image sharing that was happening without consent.

KEILAR: Yes, that wasn't consensual. I want to listen to what one student at this school said so we can talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENDRA, STUDENT, CANON CITY HIGH SCHOOL: I think it's become like a norm throughout not just like at our school but like throughout all of society. And like we see these things on the TV and like the Internet of like girls sending pictures of themselves and everything. And it's just become something that like everybody was doing so nobody really saw something really bad about it. Like I personally just morally that it was wrong, but I didn't really know like legally to the extent of wrong it was because nobody really told us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: That's so fascinating to me, Amy, that she says, you know, I knew there were moral implications, but I didn't really think that there would be any legal implications. And yet now you have like 100 kids who are in hot water. How do you make teens -- how do you make them more aware of those risks of these legal risks?

HASINOFF: Well, I think what we need to do is change the laws. I think the laws are a big part of the problem because the child porn laws apply equally to someone who has produced an image consensually and then shared that image with a willing partner. And that applies in the same way to someone who then is sharing that image without permission, violating privacy, doing something malicious and distributing that image to the entire school.

KEILAR: Can I stop you real quick because I do want to ask you about, in this case, we are talking 8th graders.

HASINOFF: Right. I mean, people do this, right. We can't pretend that we can totally prevent sexting. It's not going to work. We have seen it with abstinence on this sex-Ed. The outcomes are clear in all of the research. It doesn't work. It just increases the harm. It increases the risk because if I take a photo of myself and send it to someone and then they distribute it without my permission, there's very little I can do about it because if I report that harm, then I'm going to be punished for sexting originally even though I did it consensually. I can be potentially be punished if I'm an 8th grader who does that.

So I think we have to understand that it's certainly a risky behavior and we need to talk to teenagers about the risks. Those risks are similar for adults who are sexting. It's not a hugely different issue. We have to think about who you can trust and how you know when you can trust someone.

KEILAR: And Amy, please pardon me for cutting you off. But I have to hit a time mark here. Great conversation. Thanks so much for being on with us. We really appreciate it.

HASINOFF: Thanks for having me.

KEILAR: Up next, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and his wife will sit down with CNN. Why he says that you shouldn't count him out yet. What his haircut tells us about his campaign.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:48:00] KEILAR: A new Monmouth University poll puts Ben Carson at the top of the GOP field just one day before the next debate. This poll of South Carolina voters puts Carson in the lead with 28 percent and that's followed closely by Trump at 27. They will be both in Milwaukee tomorrow night for the FOX Business Channel debate.

And as for the Democrats, Hillary Clinton, she filed for the New Hampshire primary today and while Bernie Sanders continues to trail in the poll, he says he is far from out of this race. He and his wife, Jane, sat down with CNN chief political analyst Gloria Borger. She's joining us now.

What did they tell you, Gloria?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Hey, Brianna.

You know, I sat down with Bernie and Jane Sanders in South Carolina. And I asked them whether they were really surprised this past summer when the senator became a cultural phenom, replaces his own t-shirts and even that feel the burn underwear inspired by "Saturday Night Live."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Oh, my God. We have created a t-shirt and underwear revolution in America. The industry is booming. It's unbelievable. But to answer your question, no. It has resonated heck of a lot faster.

BORGER: So there's a buzz ward that we use a lot in campaigns and that's authenticity. We talk about authenticity.

JANE SANDERS, WIFE OF BERNIE SANDERS: He's very authentic. He is - I mean, what you see is what you get. He has been consistent on the issues. I know one of the things that people in Vermont feel is we get support from Republicans in Vermont. They say I disagree with you on many, many things, but I know you're saying what you believe. And you will do what you say.

B. SANDERS: And Gloria, look at this haircut. Is this an authentic haircut? It cost me $2,000 to go to a hair stylist to create this.

BORGER: Somehow I don't believe that to be the truth. OK. So the "New York Times" has said and I'm sure you read it that Bernie Sanders has a grumpy demeanor -- grumpy. And makes the case that you're not a great smoozer.

B. SANDERS: Am I grumpy? Yes, I suppose --

BORGER: Is he grumpy?

[15:50:00] J. SANDERS: He does doom and gloom speeches I tell him all the time. You have to bring it back to the hope at the end. But, no, he is not going really just except when the media doesn't pay attention.

BORGER: Do you ever get him confused with Larry David?

J. SANDERS: I haven't yet, no.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only people I like are my seven adorable grandchildren.

B. SANDERS: Absolutely because they are the joy of my life.

BORGER: Do you do a Larry David impersonation?

B. SANDERS: What do you think I've been doing for the last half hour?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: They're pretty funny together there, Gloria.

BORGER: They are. They are.

KEILAR: It's so funny.

OK. So I wonder what you think about he, sort of, you know, you mentioned he is not sort of a smoozer. I wonder if you think about whether he enjoys the notoriety he's getting. I'm sitting like ten days ago in the Manchester, New Hampshire airport, he gets off the plane that I'm getting on and he just kind of goes about his way and walks through the airport. And he isn't quite as smoozy. Do you think he's enjoying this notoriety?

BORGER: You know, I asked him. And he is enjoying it first of all. He loves the Larry David stuff, right?

KEILAR: Yes.

BORGER: He just enjoys that. And I asked him if he likes the campaigning. He said to me I like rope lining, as if that's some kind of a verb. And he said he likes sort of getting out with the voters. But his problem is that as he goes from place to place he is always in a rush because he's got to go from one event to another event. And he hates being late. And he said, you know, it's kind of difficult when you have five events in one day.

The big problem he has, Brianna, as you know, is that now nationally he is 30 points behind Hillary Clinton. He is behind in Iowa. Very close in New Hampshire. So now that Joe Biden has said he's not running, Bernie Sanders has lost a lot of ground. And has to figure out a way to capture or recapture the magic that was this summer and bring it into the fall. And that's going to be tough for him.

KEILAR: Yes, it's a big challenge.

Great interview as always, Gloria, thanks so much. Gloria Borger for us.

BORGER: Thank you.

KEILAR: Next, a little extra mustard. How the Philadelphia Eagles described their hits last night against the Dallas Cowboys Greg Hardy just days after pictures were revealed allegedly showing Hardy's then- girlfriend battered and bruise. Will the Cowboys drop him? No, should they? We will discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:56:30] KEILAR: The NFL would love it if it were never again in the same sentence as the words domestic violence. But as long as number 76 Greg Hardy suits up for the Dallas Cowboys like he did last night, that wish is not coming true because of this.

Days ago, Dead Spin released these photos of Hardy's then-girlfriend battered and bruised after he allegedly attacked her. Yet last night he played. He earned his nearly million-dollar paycheck. And the outrage is deafening. And yet Hardy playing last night sums up how the cowboys organization really feels about this matter.

CNN sports anchor Rachel Nichols is here.

And so, let's get this kind of straight here. Because we understand that the NFL says they saw these pictures, the Cowboys say they didn't. But do you think that even matters?

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: I don't think it matters. There was a detailed account of what happened that night provided to any team that was interested in it. Certainly provided to the public. And it is disgusting to read the way that he abused this woman.

And what's so difficult here with the Dallas Cowboys is they have not only seemingly condoned this, they have been enabled Hardy further. The owner, Jerry Jones, has talked about how Greg Hardy is a real leader and that he admires his passion and energy. And when Greg Hardy's come out basically it is thumbing his nose at the woman that he beat, battered and bruised. And something he's nosed further at all women, Jerry Jones again has come out supporting him.

Look, at this point the idea that Greg Hardy should get a second chance, this is a laughable concept to me in the idea that second chances aren't something that you just, you know, hand out in a card game. Second chances are earned, Brianna. You have to show some sort of remorse. You have to show some sort of understanding that things have gone wrong.

So the Dallas Cowboys saying as recent as last night, hay, he served, you know, his suspension, we're giving him a second chance. That doesn't apply here on a team where frankly there are fans paying for tickets, there are TV networks paying to put these games on. And there are sponsors that I think should be stepping in more and saying, hey, we don't want our money used for this guy, AT&T, American airlines, Miller, Coors, they're not doing anything either.

KEILAR: Yes. It's really stunning. And this is striking though. We seem to see that this sort of -- some of this outrage translated to the field. Quote "a little extra mustard on blocks, as one Eagles' line man put it last night. It is like a little football vigilante justice.

NICHOLS: Yes, exactly. And there are certainly a lot of people happy to hear one of the Eagles players say that. You do hear, and I've talked to players around the league, who are frustrated themselves. Look, this assumption that all the players is a block feel one way very false. There are a lot of good men who play in the NFL who are ashamed of Greg Hardy and the way the cowboys have acted toward him.

And really you've got to wonder what's happening to the rest of the players in the Cowboys locker room. Because there are a lot of good men on that team. And you want to know why they haven't gone to their coaches and said, you know what, you have heard of cancer in the locker room or character being important on a team, we don't want to play with this guy. I would love to see some players do that because, hey, they have got sisters, they have got daughters, they have got mothers, and if another man beat one of the women in their lives the way Greg Hardy beat Nicole Holder, I'm sure they'd have plenty to say about it.

KEILAR: Yes. It's really interesting you say that. And you never know, maybe some of that is going on and we will see, but something certainly has to shake out with all of this.

Rachel Nichols, always great to have you on. Thank you so much.

And that does it for me. "The LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Brianna.

Did ISIS just become a much larger threat to the United States?

"The LEAD" starts right now.