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New Legislation Expected Allowing Families Of 9/11 Victims To Sue Saudi Arabia; Republicans And Democrats Gather At The Capitol Steps To Remember 9/11, Sing "God Bless America" Together; Missing For Years, Original, Iconic 9/11 Flag Returned To Its Original Location; Mike Pence Compares Trump To Reagan. Aired 10:30-11:00a
Aired September 09, 2016 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:32:57]
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN HOST, "NEWSROOM": We begin this half hour in Washington D.C. where right now a 9-11 remembrance ceremony is about to get underway on the steps of the Capitol. Republican and Democratic members of the House teaming up. They're just about to sing a rendition of "God Bless America."
You see the House Speaker, he's speaking here. And then Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat, House Democrat, will give remarks. And then all of these house members, Democrat and Republican will join hands and sing "God Bless America." We'll show you a bit when they begin singing.
Just two days before the anniversary of the September 11th attacks, the House votes on a controversial 9-11 bill. It would allow victims' families to sue Saudi Arabia in U.S. courts. The legislation already passed by the Senate, but has faced opposition by President Obama. Manu Raju on Capitol Hill with the latest on that. Good morning.
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Good morning, Carol. This bill expected to pass the House today by an overwhelming margin. In fact, a veto proof majority, we're expecting. So it will go to the President's desk. We expect the President to veto it and then be overridden by the vote.
The House and the Senate, something we have not really seen much of in -- during the President's time here in office. A President in The White House believed that this bill could open up folks -- Americans overseas to a wrath of lawsuits. And they're worried that it could also strain the already strained alliance with Saudi Arabia.
Now Paul Ryan, the House Speaker, has also been concerned about this as well. But he acknowledged that this bill would pass when asked about it yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL RYAN (R), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Well I think the -- they raise compelling concerns, but there are compelling concerns on the other side of this as well. And I think that the votes are very overwhelmingly in favor. This bill passed unanimously in the United States Senate. So I think that those concerns have been taken under consideration and I think members are acting accordingly. And that's why this bill will pass.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Indeed the bill will pass by a big majority. One other bit of news here on Capitol Hill, we expect also a Zika funding bill to path (ph) in the next couple of weeks here, Carol. So we're seeing some consensus around some big issues here in the final weeks before Congress heads back to campaign ahead of the elections, Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Manu Raju reporting live. Let's go back to the steps of the Capitol right now where, as I told you, Republicans and Democrats have gathered to sing "God Bless America," in memory of 9- 11. Nancy Pelosi speaking now, let's listen.
[10:35:18]
NANCY PELOSI, U.S. MINORITY HOUSE LEADER: We suffered a tragedy that we could not have ever imagined. And witnesses terrorism that we will never forget. Every September 11th, for the past 15 years, Americans have bowed their heads to find comfort in faith. Even as we are still rocked by disbelief at the tragedy of that day.
As we humbly visit the sacred ground of 9-11 this year, we continue to marvel at the heroism of our first responders and the families who turned their grief into action to make America safer. Because of them, 9-11 does not belong to fear, it belongs to courage. It belongs to compassion, it belongs to the first responders and to those who rushed into the smoke and up the stairs. It belongs to the passengers who charged up the aisle. To the men and women who stayed behind in the stricken buildings to help strangers to safety.
Because of them, out of the ashes of the fallen World Trade Center, the crushed concrete of the Pentagon, and a burning field in Pennsylvania, Americans rose united. As we salute all of those who died on 9-11, we must also salute those who have lost their lives in the years since. We must remember the ongoing struggles of the thousands of heroes who, years later, are stalked by devastating illnesses from their exposure to ground zero. By some accounts, 10 to 15 cancer diagnoses per week, 15 years later.
We must treat all of them, and those who will come after, as illnesses in our own families. We must continue to meet our commitment to the health and compensation needs of our heroes and their loved ones. We will remember, and our prayers, comfort, and appreciation must exist for as long as our country shall exist. This is the legacy of 9-11 that we must pass down through the generations. The heroism and the resilience that are the soul of our nation.
Let the memory of our fallen heroes be a blessing to their beloved and to our nation. Let their sacrifice continue to deepen our dedication to justice and to freedom. May God bless the fallen men and women of 9-11 and their families. And may God continue to bless the United States of America.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Let us pray. God of Heaven and Earth, we give you thanks for giving us another day. Today we remember a day begun in terror and violence, and ended in heroic effort and courage. We mourn those whose lives were snatched from them. Give peace and healing to those who mourn the loss of their loved ones, still. We thank you again for the almost universal, international response to a great, American tragedy.
All your children of good will could see the horrors of actions by men who would presume to act in your name, causing so much death and destruction. May your spirit of peace and justice continue to fill the hearts of people of all faiths, races, and nations. Be present with us this day as we gather again on our Capital's steps.
Bless the men and women who serve this great nation in the House of Representatives. May they be confident in the knowledge that all Americans stand behind them in their common effort to forge legislation that will reflect the resilient greatness of our nation. May all that is done this day and in the many days to come be for your greater honor and glory, Amen.
RYAN: At this time I'd like to invite everyone to participate in a moment of silence.
Thank you.
And now I would like to invite everyone to join us in singing "God Bless America," with our Marine band.
(SINGING)
RYAN (ph): Their ceremony.
COSTELLO: All right you see the House members, both Democrat and Republican singing "God Bless America," in honor of all of those who lost their lives on 9-11. Up next, an iconic American flag lost, but now found, and now returned to near the site where this famous picture was taken.
[10:41:45]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:46:05]
COSTELLO: The iconic American flag raised by three firefighters at ground zero had been missing until now. The flag disappeared shortly after the September 11th attacks, but finally it turned up years later and has made its way back to the site from where -- near where this famous picture was taken. Deb Feyerick has more on its incredible journey, wow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On 9-11 in the burning ashes of the World Trade Center, three firefighters raised an American flag. It was 5:00 p.m. on a day that changed history.
DAVID FRIEND, VANITY FAIR: This picture became how we said "patriotism," post-9/11.
FEYERICK (voice-over): The iconic image embodied America's resilience. Featured in the 2013 CNN film, "The Flag," it was unfurled at Yankee Stadium. And traveled on board the U.S. aircraft carrier that launched the first air strikes against Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.
UNKNOWN WOMAN: I've never seen so many grown men and women cry just by touching a piece of fabric. And of course it wasn't just a piece of fabric, was it?
FEYERICK (voice-over): Except, it wasn't the right flag.
FRIEND: Somewhere between 9/11 and the Yankee Stadium ceremony, the flag went missing. The flag, taken by three firefighters from a yacht in the marina near ground zero disappeared hours after the photo was taken.
Its fate remained a mystery until now. About 2,900 miles cross country in Everett, Washington, a stranger identifying himself as a former Marine named Brian, turned over the flag to local firefighters.
MARK ST. CLAIR, DEPUTY CHIEF, EVERETT POLICE DEPARTMENT: Brian was purporting the flag to be the missing 9/11 flag.
FEYERICK (voice-over): And so began a two-year process to confirm the flag was authentic and get it back home to the original owner.
FEYERICK: There was a level of secrecy as to what you potentially had. Why?
ST. CLAIR: I was concerned that there was the potential that a lone terrorist, if they believed there was an American icon in a city of 110,000 people, they might -- may want to either try to steal it or destroy it.
FEYERICK (voice-over): Leave (ph) detectives, Jim Massengale and Mike Atwood created a sketch of Brian, hoping to ask him more questions. All they knew was that he was allegedly given the flag on veterans day in 2007, by a man who had received it from a 9/11 firefighter's widow.
FEYERICK: Did you ever generate any satisfying leads?
MIKE ATWOOD, EVERETT, WASHINGTON POLICE: No, we did not.
FEYERICK (voice-over): The break came with forensic scientist, William Schneck. Who painstakingly analyzed photos, fibers, and thousands of particles. Comparing them to original ground zero dust.
BILL SCHNECK, WASHINGTON STATE PATROL CRIME LABORATORY: The key things would be the composition of the building materials themselves. The concrete, the glass fibers, mineral wall (ph), gypsum, all those were critical.
FEYERICK (voice-over): Critical and ultimately conclusive. As detectives prepared it for the journey home, they asked a retired NYPD officer to make the final fold.
ATWOOD: He actually grabbed onto that flag, held it up to his face and smelled it. And turned and looked at me and said, "that's the smell that I remember from that day."
FEYERICK (voice-over): The flag, back where it began 15 years ago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: And when that photograph became public and people understood the power of the image, someone was dispatched to ground zero to reclaim the flag. But it was gone, it had already been taken. And so someone found a different flag and people knew right away that it wasn't the same flag because of its size, it was much larger. So the fact that it is now back is certainly significant but nobody knows really how it got there.
COSTELLO: I'm telling you that you're story gave me chills. It gave me chills.
FEYERICK: Yeah.
COSTELLO: It's just -- you're, but you're right though. They mystery of who took it? Why? How did it end up like, way across the country?
FEYERICK: Right. And that's what they want to know. That's what they want to find out. So it's good that it's back but it still has a big story that it needs to tell.
COSTELLO: I know, it sort of adds to the romanticism surrounding it now, right?
FEYERICK: Yeah, absolutely.
COSTELLO: Deb Feyerick, thanks so much. This Sunday, CNN Films presents, "9/11: Fifteen years later." An updated look at the iconic film with the only known footage from inside the Twin Towers. That airs Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
[10:50:24]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: As you well know, Donald Trump is running for President. And some are now comparing him to a former President, the much admired and respected Ronald Reagan. Trump's running mate, Mike Pence, telling CNN's Dana Bash that he can see real similarities between the two men.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE PENCE (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think at their very core, both men are the kind of leaders that have a core of humility.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: So both leaders have a core of humility. Is that really true? Joining me now to talk about this is Craig Shirley who is the author of "Last act: The final years and emerging legacy of Ronald Reagan." He's also a Reagan biographer. He joins us now from Tucson, Arizona, welcome Craig.
CRAIG SHIRLEY, AUTHOR, "LAST ACT: THE FINAL YEARS AND EMERGING LEGACY OF RONALD REAGAN": Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: As that interview with Mike Pence went on, he insisted that Donald Trump was very much like Ronald Reagan. And we wanted to explore that because more than one Republican politician compares themselves to Ronald Reagan. Is there any one politician that you have in mind that really is like Reagan?
SHIRLEY: No, not at all. And by the way, the words, "humility," and "Donald Trump," don't often apply to the same sentence. So a little surprised that Donald -- that Pence would say that. But no, and Reagan himself didn't compare himself to other politicians. Or say, "I want to be the next John Kennedy," or "I want to be the next Franklin Roosevelt."
He often quoted the founders and the framers. He often quoted philosophical and political military leaders. But he was too inner- directed and too self-confident to ever say that he wanted to be anybody else other than himself.
[10:56:07]
COSTELLO: Well a lot of people say that Ronald Reagan was a tough talker, as is Donald Trump. And I just want to present their contrasting styles right now. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RONALD REAGAN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There is one sign the soviets can make that would be unmistakable. That would advance dramatically, the cause of freedom and peace. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are going to build a great border wall to stop illegal immigration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So can you see -- I mean, maybe it's an unfair comparison, I don't know. But Donald Trump speaks in clearly a different way than Ronald Reagan, doesn't he? ...
SHIRLEY: Yes.
COSTELLO: ... at least in my mind. And I'm old enough to remember Ronald Reagan when he, when he was serving as President of the United States.
SHIRLEY: Well yes, so am I. Actually, I worked for him. Yes, but you, Carol, you're actually right. He spoke differently than other political leaders, including Donald Trump. He was raised in The Disciples of Christ church. But they started with (ph) Catholic and they inculcated in young Reagan, a parrish perspective. So he said "we," "us," and "ours."
And so he -- you know, writers took notice in 1980 that Reagan spoke differently than other Republican politicians. He didn't use the Protestant "I," "me," and "my." He used the Catholic "we," "us," and "ours." And so he was very different as far as Republican presidential candidates and presidents.
COSTELLO: And just a final question for you. Why do so many politicians still invoke Ronald Reagan's name. He was President a very long time ago and many young voters don't really remember President Reagan, sadly.
SHIRLEY: No, but -- well, fortunately because of the advance of technology, and (ph) videotape, and audio, and everything else, is that he's still, he's still omnipotent, he's still ever present. He's probably considered to be the last successful president we've had. And two liberal historians, John Patrick Diggins and James MacGregor Burns said they would both put Reagan in the great, or near great, category of American Presidents.
And so we remember Ronald Reagan in the way we remember Franklin Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. He's moved into that, into that era now.
COSTELLO: All right, Craig Shirley, thank you so much for joining me today. And thanks to all of you for joining me, I'm Carol Costello. AT THIS HOUR with Berman and Bolduan after a break.
[10:58:32]
