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New Day Saturday
Reason Behind Mass Border Crossings; The Pentagon Outlines Iraq Plan; Is an Exclusive Government Iraq's Best Hope?; Senators Grill Dr. Oz; World Cup: U.S. Preps For Portugal
Aired June 21, 2014 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: The next hour of NEW DAY starts right now.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSH EARNEST, INCOMING WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: So much of what we're seeing on the southern border is the result of a deliberate, misinformation campaign that is propagated by criminal syndicates in Central America.
JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: The secretary's absolutely committed to making sure that our troops have the legal protections. And he would not do that on a nod and a wink.
SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D), MISSIOURI: You're very powerful. And power comes -- with power comes a great deal of responsibility. And you're being made an example of today, because of the power you have in this space.
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PAUL: All righty. As I said, I hope the coffee is doing its job. Seven o'clock right now in the East. You've made it to Saturday. Take a nice deep breath. I'm Christi Paul.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. This is NEW DAY SATURDAY.
We're starting this hour with this humanitarian crisis. The U.S. is now donating more than a quarter billion dollars to stop it. Now, we're not talking about Syria, not about Iraq. But the one right at our doorstep -- this mass surge of child immigrants trying to enter the U.S. I guess on this ill-informed belief that they'll be allowed to come in and stay.
PAUL: And stay.
The White House just announced it's spending more than $250 million to help. Now, Central American countries such as Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, they keep their citizens from leaving. At least that's what they're hoping this money is going to do. The White House revealed the plan on the same day Joe Biden was in South America speaking about the crisis.
CNN's Polo Sandoval has more on Biden's trip.
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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Vice President Joe Biden meeting with leaders in Guatemala as the Obama administration struggles to deal with the growing immigration crisis. Thousands of unaccompanied children like the ones we met along the Texas/Mexico border are risking their lives to enter the U.S. illegally.
Biden's visit is part of President Obama's response to a growing problem, the administration hoping to quash rumors driving families and children north chasing a dream.
EARNEST: So much of what we're seeing on the southern border is the result of a deliberate, misinformation campaign that is propagated by criminal syndicates in Central America.
SANDOVAL: Nearly 10,000 undocumented and unaccompanied kids are being housed in facilities throughout the U.S., according to new congressional figures obtained by CNN, their concrete holding cells constantly full.
From October to June, 52,000 unaccompanied children have been caught at the U.S. border with Mexico, double the number recorded in the same period last year. A two-prong approach from the president, he's ordering the Department of Homeland Security to revamp its efforts to process and handle the flow of undocumented kids. There's also promise to tackle the problem at the root of the crisis.
The U.S. is pledging to partner up with Mexico and Central American countries providing millions of dollars of support.
EARNEST: It is not a good idea for people to make the trek through Mexico and to appear at the southern border in the Rio Grande Valley in the United States to think that once they're obtained by Customs or Border Patrol, that they will be allowed into the country. They will not.
SANDOVAL: Back on the stretch of the Rio Grande, the stream seems endless. Some of the youngest border crossers come with their families. Others by themselves.
Polo Sandoval, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL: Now, the United States is scrambling on this side of the border to deal with the problem to find space to handle all of those kids.
BLACKWELL: Federal authorities expect as many as 80,000 children, enough to pack a football stadium will try to cross this year.
CNN's Nick Valencia is here with us. All right. So, is this obviously a real challenge four U.S. immigration officials, but they're trying to, I guess -- I don't want to say throw some money at it but invest in the solution. Let's frame it that way.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a huge challenge. And it seems that the administration was not prepared for this influx of immigrants. I mean, that's seemingly very clear as the days go on.
Part of the issue, though, Victor and Christi, is opening up detention facilities, not just for unaccompanied minors but also for these so- called family groups, adults that came across with their children. It's a huge issue.
The administration has proposed to open up some facilities as far away from the border as Virginia. The problem, the classic "not in my backyard". Communities simply don't want these facilities there.
There was a community in Lawrenceville, Virginia, as a matter of fact, St. Paul College, a now defunct historically black university they were going to put this facility there. House these family groups, but the community was up in the arms, outraged at the so-called security concerns. Disease concerns as well.
We've seen these facilities. Deplorable conditions inside many of them.
Senator John McCain also highlighted the difficulties yesterday when he spoke to the media.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: They're looking at DOD facilities now to handle this overflow. They're even going to move some of these people as far away as an Army base in the state of Washington, and they're rapidly running out of those facilities.
So, it is -- it is a crisis of enormous proposition.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VALENCIA: And what the White House has done, as Victor and Christi were mentioning, $250 million, I should say, proposed to these governments including Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala where the majority of migrants are coming from. That's supposed to go and intended to go to the re-integration process. We don't quite know what that means, but the White House hopes they keep the migrants there, Victor and Christi.
PAUL: All right. Nick Valencia, thank you so much.
VALENCIA: You got it, guys.
BLACKWELL: Thank you, Nick.
(MUSIC) BLACKWELL: All right. Let's talk about this crisis in Iraq now. President Obama is sending in manpower to try to stop the country from being torn apart by Islamist militants.
PAUL: The first of up to 300 military advisers arrive in Iraq today. Some of the U.S. military personnel also at the embassy in Baghdad are going to join them on this mission. But there could be a hitch.
Let's get more on that from CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.
Good morning, Barbara.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Christi, Victor, the plan has been announced but now, the Pentagon has to work out the details.
(voice-over): At the White House podium, it sounds easy.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're prepared to send a small number of additional American military advisers, up to 300.
STARR: But 24 hours, could the plan already be in trouble? The Pentagon acknowledging it doesn't a legal agreement with the Iraq government to send in those advisers, but insisting they are certain they will get one.
KIRBY: We're pursuing something in writing. The secretary is absolutely committed to making sure that our troops have the legal protections, and he would not do that on a nod and a wink.
STARR: For now, the first troops will be drawn from those already in the country.
As the fighting rages, U.S. officials already know plenty else could go wrong. One senior defense official telling CNN the whole mission is not without risk.
If the legal problem is resolved, some U.S. troops will go to northern Iraq, the stronghold of ISIS Sunni militant fighters. How much will small numbers of U.S. Special Forces really be able to see?
And the big concern -- U.S. troops are not supposed to be in combat, but what if they are attacked? CNN has learned that teams flying off the carrier George H.W. Bush would be authorized to drop bombs on ISIS positions if U.S. lives are at risk.
Classified rescue plans called for troops to quickly fly from the ships in the Persian Gulf or nearby Kuwait. But it could take hours to get on scene, and no guarantee any wounded would get medical care in that golden hour typical in a war zone.
KIRBY: If somebody gets hurt, wherever they get hurt around the world, we do what we can to get them to medical care as quickly as possible. STARR: U.S. troops are supposed to be collecting intel on what ISIS
is doing inside of Iraq. But a senior administration official says potential sanction not restricted to a, quote, "specific geographic space." In fact, U.S. reconnaissance flights are now closely watching the Syrian border from movement of ISIS personnel and weapon, as well as the Iranian border for their troops moving.
But the big question still remains, getting an Iraqi signature on a document to protect U.S. troops that go into Iraq. Back in 2011, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki could not deliver his government's signature on such a document so U.S. troops left at that time. Now, the question is, can he get the Iraqi government to sign on the dotted line? Victor, Christi?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: All right. Barbara Starr from the Pentagon -- Barbara, thank you.
So, coming up, a toddler dies in what appears to be a tragic mistake.
PAUL: Appears.
BLACKWELL: Appears to be. The father says that he left the child in the car. The father is charged with murder. But police now tell CNN there is more to the story and that the father's explanation just does not make sense.
PAUL: Boy, what an uncomfortable day for the famous Dr. Oz. He had some explaining to do on Capitol Hill about controversial weight loss supplements. Do they work?
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PAUL: Twelve minutes past the hour right now.
So, in suburban Atlanta, there's this case it's as perplexing as it is horrifying.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
PAUL: Murder charges filed against this man, Justin Ross Harris (ph), a panicked father shrieking for help. A child watched, though, helplessly as he tried to revive the lifeless body of his 22-month-old soon Cooper.
BLACKWELL: So, the father said he went to work and forgot his son was in the backseat on a sweltering spring day. The temperature was 88 degrees outside. Of course, you know that ramps up quickly on the inside of a vehicle.
Well, now, the police are hinting at the gruesome possibility that the child's death may not be the horrible mistake his father claims.
Now, let's get the story as they knew it, as investigators knew it on the day of the discovery from reporter Kevin Rowson of CNN affiliate WXIA.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEVIN ROWSON, WXIA REPORTER (voice-over): Witnesses were overwhelmed as they watched the silver SUV turn sharply into the parking lot at Acres Mills Square, as the driver --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hopped out of the driver's seat, opened the back door, pulled his child out and laid him on the concrete and try to resuscitate him.
ROWSON: His 22-month-old son was dead probably long before he tried to resuscitate him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was tough. To see anyone pass, but especially a small child, made it especially a child.
ROWSON: Cobb (ph) County policy say that child's father was supposed to drop him off at daycare but instead went to work, apparently forgetting his son was in the backseat, strapped into a child seat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (AUDIO GAP) arrived on the scene, determined that the child had apparently been in the father's automobile since about 9:00 this morning.
ROWSON: It wasn't until the father was driving home from work, shortly after 4:00 p.m., that he noticed his son in the car seat.
Did you ever have to witness anything like that in your life?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was the first and hopefully the last.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL: Kevin Rowson of CNN affiliate WXIA reporting there. Thank you for that.
But I know you were working on the story yesterday. What have you heard?
BLACKWELL: We both had conversations with that department. I had a conversation yesterday with that officer you saw there, Sergeant David Pierce. He said a lot has changed since that first story came from the father to police.
He says -- and I want to put up on the screen, because this stuck out from my conversation, "I've been in law enforcement for 34 years, what I know about this case shocks my conscience as a police officer, a father and a grandfather. That opened up so many questions for me." But he says because this is an ongoing investigation, I can't give specifics.
I said, let's start from the beginning, was this child in the car at 9:00 a.m.? He says he can no longer confirm was even in the car at 9:00 when the day started. Was there a stop in between work and home and then work and then when he was discovered? They say they cannot say if it was this direct trip as initially was told.
So, although he's not giving specifics about this, he knows that's autopsy has been completed. I said, well, is it heatstroke? He said that they -- the medical examiner's office and the crimes against persons division are still work to determine what the manner and cause of death were for this 22-month-old boy.
PAUL: Maybe it would be inconclusive. We don't know.
BLACKWELL: Well, they're still trying to figure out what it was.
PAUL: Yes. And, you know what's interesting though. Normally in cases like this, you hear, OK, there's an investigation and then charges come later. This seems to be happening in reverse. We're getting charges straight from the gate. I mean, this guy was handcuffed at the scene, right?
BLACKWELL: You know, the other thing we learned from this conversation, no guarantee that these will be the charges moving forward. There could possibly be additional charges. The charges could be changed.
Right now, it's first degree child cruelty and felony murder. But considering how strong he statement is it shocks his conscience, he said it will shock the conscience of everyone who hears what happens to this child.
Another question, when will we know what he knows? He says because it is not a threat to the public, no one is in danger, there will probably be held until they get closer to trial.
PAUL: You know, 14 kids have died in hot cars just this year alone. So, please, please be careful with your kids there and just -- PSAs out there that says, look again. When you get out of the car, look around, when you get back in the car, look around. Just make sure that everybody is taken care of.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
PAUL: Speaking of, man, trying to take care of everybody, dangerous mudslides are threatening a hospital -- yes, a hospital, in Minneapolis this morning. Look at these pictures. We're going to watch the forecast, too. See if that's going to help or hurt this precarious situation.
BLACKWELL: And the summer road trip season is putting a pinch on your wallet because those gas prices, they're hitting the highest levels in six years. We'll tell you why the turmoil overseas, you know what country we're talking about, is driving up prices here at home.
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PAUL: It's money time. Gas prices are expected to hit the highest levels, I'm sorry to tell you, since 2008.
BLACKWELL: Yes, according to AAA, the average gallon of regular fuel will set you back $3.68 if you fill up today. More than $4 if you're going to premium.
PAUL: So, if you want to know why, look overseas to Iraq.
Christine Romans is going to break this down for us.
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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Crisis in the Middle East almost always plays out in oil prices and today's no exception. Why is Iraq so important here? Iraq is important because it's the fourth largest proven oil reserves, the second largest OPEC producer behind Saudi Arabia. Already this year, you've had a major pipeline shut down. You had Kurds taking control of fields in the northern part of the country, and you have this ISIS advance so close to Baghdad, even taking over a major, major refinery.
Big problems there, the Iraqis say all of this oil south of the country is safe. Still, when you have a major oil producer defending its territory, that is cause for concern, and you're seeing that concern play out in the oil market.
This is the price of oil so far this year. Just this month, oil prices up 4 percent. And when oil prices rise, gas prices are right behind.
Look at last June. Last summer, $3.60 on average for a gallon of gas in this country. By May, this year, May, $3.64. Today, you're paying $3.68. That's the most expensive June in six years. Where are they going? $3.86.
Christine Romans, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: All right. Thank you, Christine.
These images are shocking an entire hillside collapsed into a wall of mud and debris. And right above it, look at the top of your screen, that's a hospital full of patients.
PAUL: Officials say everybody is safe for the time being. But you're seeing the danger that's lurking there.
CNN meteorologist Karen Maginnis with us now.
What's it looking like for them?
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It looks like we've seen so much rainfall across this region, that is not surprising, that it happened where it did. That's the shocking part.
But all across the Midwest, very heavy rainfall, in Minneapolis, first 20 day of this month, which they've got a few more to go, they've already seen 11 inches of rainfall, right around Minneapolis.
Now, over the last 24 hours, between two or four inches of rainfall. Typically, Minneapolis would see something less than 3 inches of rain. So, a powerful amount of rainfall.
And just to give you an idea, St. Paul, along the Mississippi River, it is currently just below 14 feet. Flood stage is at 14 feet. And by Thursday, they're anticipating that it is going to be at major flood stage, just under 20 feet. So, farmers, growers, people who live in some of these urban areas are looking for the risk for that severe weather coming up over the next 24 hours, but not just then, even going into next Wednesday and Thursday, as those rivers continue to rise.
And yes, I said, rivers, not just the Mississippi, the Big Sioux, a lot of other rivers we're concerned about.
Back to you guys.
PAUL: All righty. Hey, Karen, thank you so much.
BLACKWELL: So, a luxury yacht goes up in flames. Now, the owner watches the whole thing because the scene was captured by a drone.
PAUL: Look at that thing.
Also, President Vladimir Putin puts troops on full combat alert in the wake of the tensions with the Ukraine.
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PAUL: Mortgage rates held steady this week. Take a look.
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PAUL: Well, hope time is on your side this morning. Twenty-eight minutes past the hour. I'm Christi Paul.
BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell.
Five things you need to know for your NEW DAY now.
Number one, the White House announced the U.S. will spend $250 million to address the tens of thousands of illegal immigrant children showing up at the border, mistakenly thinking the U.S. will allow them to come in and stay. Almost $100 million will go specifically to El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, where officials say 29 percent of the children come from.
PAUL: Number two, Vladimir Putin has ordered troupes to carry out a surprise combat readiness test. Now, the country's defense minister says 65,000 troops in Russia's central military district have been on full combat alert. That's likely to enflame tensions with Ukraine. Even though Russia insist there is no military buildup along the two countries' borders.
BLACKWELL: Number three, if you enjoy flying remote control planes and helicopters. Eighty-four million acres are now officially a no- fly zone. The National Park Service is banning drones from all its lands and waters. That includes the monuments, seashores, historic sites, the rivers, all of them.
PAUL: Number four, drones were on hand for this one. A yacht owner left with his vessel and you can see why right there, wow. His $17 million, 110-foot dream in flames. Incredibly, this blaze was captured by a hobbyist flying an aerial drone. Officials are still trying to figure out what the heck caused this thing.
BLACKWELL: Number five, comedian Tracy Morgan is now out of the hospital and he's been moved to an undisclosed rehab center where he'll continue his recovery nearly two weeks after a deadly crash on the New Jersey turnpike. Morgan suffered broken ribs, a broken nose, a broken leg. His publicist says that Morgan continues to show signs of improvement, but still has a very long way to go.
PAUL: Well, leaders in the U.S. and even in Iraq are urging Iraqi lawmakers to govern inclusively. A leading Iraqi cleric, the imam of Karbala also reportedly told Iraqis you need to form an effective government.
BLACKWELL: And President Obama told CNN's Kate Bolduan in a one-on- one interview that a military solution will not work without political change.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If they're not able to use this moment where there's already been an election that's now been certified to form a government that is unified and focused on, not maximizing any one group's power, but, rather, keeping the country together and dealing with the crisis, then, you know, there's no amount of American firepower that's going to be able to hold the country together. And I made that very clear to Mr. Maliki and all the other leadership inside of Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: All right. Let's bring in Douglas Ollivant from the New America Foundation, and CNN military analyst, Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona.
Good to have you both with us.
DOUGLAS OLLIVANT, NEW AMERICA FOUNDATION: Good morning.
LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good morning.
BLACKWELL: I want to start with you, Douglas, do you think that the president says he needs this central command structure with Sunnis, Shias and Kurds, do you think in the near future, that those three groups will be able to govern in those reconciled form? Do you think that's possible soon?
OLLIVANT: It depends what you mean by soon. The degree of difficulty is very high and Iraqi politics moves very slow. This latest crisis with ISIL came in the middle of their government formation, as the president. They just had their election certified. And for them to move at light speed, it would still be 30 to 60 days, under the best of circumstances when we would see a new government formed. So, not anytime soon.
PAUL: Lieutenant Colonel Francona, I'm wondering, we've listened to several experts say the beginning of this is similar. Or looks similar to the Vietnam -- to the Vietnam War. Do you see any parallels?
FRANCONA: Well, anytime you use the term "advisers", it just raises the hackles of any military people because that's how we got into Vietnam. The -- you know, what is called mission creep. You first put in the advisers, and they say, no, we need more, we need different equipment, we need more combat troop, and I don't see that's going happen here because we recognize from the start that that's a problem.
Now, these 300 are going in to assess the Iraqi capabilities and we're going to term if the Iraqi army really has the ability to defeat ISIL. If they don't, then, we have to figure out how we get them back to that level. But I think everybody is aware of our history with this, and is going to take steps to make sure we don't fall into that trap.
BLACKWELL: Is the U.S. coming in and working with specifically this, of course, Shiite government, is that to the Sunnis who are not radicalized, who are not with ISIS, or fighting alongside them, an endorsement of the Shiites, the Shiite government? We'll go to Douglas with that.
OLLIVANT: Well, it certainly could appear that way. The politics of this is very, very fraught. And there's no good narrative. If we start assisting the Iraqi army and bombing ISIL, there's a serious risk we'll be accused of being -- you know, intervening on one side of the civil war on behalf of the Shia. On the other hand if we sit on the sidelines, the Shia will accuse us like in 1999 where we stood by and let Saddam kill hundreds of thousands of Shia in the south. So, we've just have to accept that there's not going to be a good narrative in this interim and we need to deal with the military solution as it comes up, while being very, very sensitive to politics and realizing that's really where the main effort has to be even if the military aspect of this is going to present itself first.
PAUL: You know, Rick, Arwa Damon, who is in Iraq, was talking to a gentleman listening to one of the ISIS militants cheering on, saying they're going to go from Baghdad to Jerusalem. How -- what do you think is their goal and how big a problem, how big a threat is this, maybe not just to Iraq?
FRANCONA: Well, you know, they've been very clear in what their goal is, they want to establish the Islamic caliphate in the whole area of the Levant, which stretches from the Mediterranean over the Iranian border. That includes the areas now, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and Iraq. If you look at the ISIS literature and all of their pressure statements, they're taking on the trappings of a state. It's the Islamic state of Iraq and al-Sham, Syria. They have the states listed. I mean, it's like they've already to form a government. And they're
not just going to stop with just Syria and Iraq. They plan to take over the whole area but they know they have to do it in increments.
BLACKWELL: Let's talk the neighborhood, Douglas, because we received this statement, or at least the statement was released from the cabinet members there in Iraq that blame Saudi Arabia for funding and supporting ISIS. Part of it says, supporting them financially, morally and for the outcome which includes crimes which may qualify as genocide.
Now, we know that Saudi Arabia funds and supplies some rebels in Syria but denies being supportive of ISIS.
What's the validity of that claim, and what's the impact in this conversation?
OLLIVANT: The bottom line is I don't think we know what the validity of the claim is. I think most experts would guess that while the Saudi government itself does not fund ISIL, that there are certainly citizens who find ways to funnel money this way. But that just reflects The politics of this are very, very fraught. There are elements, you know, the sectarian cold war between Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states with Iran, and Iraq and Syria kind of being the battleground for this.
The new proto state that is ISIL, now forming a new dimension to this, something we need to take very, very seriously. So, we have a lot of things in play. We have the military threat of ISIL. We have this larger cold war and we have the dysfunctional politics in Iraq and we need to deal with all three of those as they present themselves.
PAUL: All right. Douglas Ollivant and Rick Francona, we so appreciate your insight, gentlemen. Thanks for being here.
FRANCONA: Thanks so much.
BLACKWELL: We know a lot of people watch the show, watch Dr. Oz. My mom tells me, hey, you need to eat tomatoes because Dr. Oz says eat tomatoes.
PAUL: Dr. Oz told me to eat black beans.
BLACKWELL: Yes, to have those black beans. But Dr. Oz, talking about food and some pills and some miracles on Capitol Hill. He got grilled over weight loss miracle promises. Did the popular surgeon and TV star go too far?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: All right. Turning to your health and the famous doctor's promise of miracle weight loss products.
This week, surgeon and TV star, Dr. Oz, was grilled on Capitol Hill by the Senate's consumer protection panel over some of his claims. Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D), MISSOURI: When you feature a product on your show, it creates what has become known as the Oz effect, dramatically boosting sales and driving scam artists to pop up overnight using false and deceptive ads to sell questionable products. While I understand that your message is also focused on basics like healthy eating and exercise, I'm concerned that you are melding medical advice, news and entertainment in a way that harms consumers. You are very powerful and power comes -- with power comes a great deal of responsibility. And you are being made an example of today because of the power you have in this space.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: Now, critics say Dr. Oz pushed the benefits of supplements such as green coffee bean extract on his show without any medical studies to back his claims. Dr. Oz told senators he believes in the products, but he has no control over Internet scammers who distort his comments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. MEHMET OZ, SURGEON/TV STAR: These ads take money from trusting viewers, many of whom believe I'm actually selling the items. Just to be clear, in case it comes up, I have never sold supplements. I encourage the nation searching for answers to their health woes. We often address weight loss because as you all mentioned, it affects about two-thirds of the population. But the only message I gave was to eat less and move more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: All right. Let's bring in physician and author, Dr. Ian Smith.
Dr. Ian, good to have you back with us.
DR. IAN SMITH, PHYSICIAN: Good morning, guys.
PAUL: Good morning.
BLACKWELL: So, the question here is, because there are a lot of people who take what Dr. Oz says as the gospel. Has he lost some of his credibility with what the Senate is calling the Oz effect?
SMITH: Well, first of all, there's a lot going on right now. OK, you know, I've known Mehmet for a long time. Mehmet actually said in the hearing, you didn't play the clip, that he was too laudatory and he probably used flowery language too much.
And I've talked to Mehmet personally and Mehmet has said that he made a mistake. So, you know, let's get that out of way. Mehmet said he should not have used words that were so large and so grandiose because people run away with that. So, take that to the side. He made a mistake. He's done his mea culpa. However, I think the bigger issues are the issues of all of these scam
artists, all these marketers, who are out there taking clips off of shows. They can take clips of my shows, I'm on "The Doctors." We do this kind of things all the time. We use more conservative language, but they could always, as you know with anything on television, they can take our clips and also make these kind of claims and sell things because of that.
The second issue is this, the FTC is in charge of making sure that people don't do these things and they don't go after these people. I mean, you have Google and Facebook and Twitter, all these companies that support this advertisements of products that have poor health claims, why aren't they going after them, they make hundreds of millions of dollars? So, I think that Mehmet may have been the one that got this ball rolling a few years ago, but now it's gone way beyond Mehmet.
PAUL: Now, he did say, didn't he, that his attorneys are working, it sounded like around the clock to try to keep these companies from using his likeness and his image. How hard is it to keep up with them?
SMITH: It's nonstop. It is extremely difficult. I mean, he has sent hundreds and hundreds of letters to the FTC saying stop these companies from doing this. My good friend Rachael Ray, the same thing is happening to her. People have used things that she said in her show and promoted it. So, it's really hard to stop.
And the problem is this, the FTC does not have the human resources or the money to be able to pursue all of these people, so they do it kind of selectively and allow it to fall to the cracks and this advertising, which you can read as ridiculous. I mean, anyone looks at these ads, they can see, these claims are outrageous, but no one is able to stop them.
BLACKWELL: So, what's the commonality? You look at the ads and you can tell, what am I looking forward to say that's something that I need to stay away from?
SMITH: Words that say "miracle, or cure, or problems," you know, "forever, always," all of these extreme words, never, never, never, never, never.
However, let me explain something to you, supplements are an unregulated industry because the FDA doesn't regulate supplements, but some supplements actually are very effective and they work. They may not be studies in the Western way that we like to look at studies but Eastern civilization for a long time has been using a lot of these supplements in a positive manner to deliver results.
Now, the question is, when are we in America going to be able to say that, hey, we don't have all the science to prove that they work, but there's obviously a huge body of evidence and the rest of world that shows us it works, but we've got to find a way to marry the two? And I think that right now, because the FDA does not regulate the supplement industry, there are so many people who are in there who are doing bad things and making false claims.
BLACKWELL: Yes, Dr. Ian Smith, I thank you for helping us clear this up. You know, sometimes, they will say simply as seen on CNN. They won't tell you what the story is about. They just say that there was mentioned.
Dr. Ian, thank you so much.
PAUL: You got to think sharp.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
SMITH: Thanks, guys.
PAUL: Thank you so much to discern what is a real ad and what is not.
So, this is a real ad, I can tell you right now, not really an ad. But it's big World Cup match in Brazil. The U.S. soccer team goes head to head with Portugal. The team didn't think they'd make it this far.
BLACKWELL: Come on, U.S.
PAUL: Can they win? We're talking with an official from the U.S. Soccer Federation. Stay close.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Don't you love that music? I mean, it makes you turn toward the television and give a little something.
PAUL: Do a little shaking.
BLACKWELL: Something this morning. Keep it going. Soccer fans, thrilled with the performance of the U.S. in the World Cup so far. There is a big match up coming -- Portugal.
PAUL: Tomorrow --
BLACKWELL: Yes.
PAUL: -- at 6:00 p.m., I understand, we're going to be in front of the TV. How about you?
This is in the Brazilian jungle, though, folks, the Brazilian jungle city where the conditions are so hot and so humid and U.S. star Jozy Altidore isn't going to be playing, which sounds like a tough one, right? Well, the U.S. players say the conditions are actually to their advantage.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT BESLER, U.S. SOCCER TEAM: As an American team, we feel like, you know, it better suits us. We're used to it. You have teams coming over from Europe that never play in humidity and they are cramping and complaining about it. And so, for us, we are trying to use it to our advantage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: All righty. Neil Buethe is with us, senior manager of communications for the U.S. Soccer Federation.
BLACKWELL: Neil, good to have you with us.
What do you think of the U.S.'s chances tomorrow, especially with these conditions?
NEIL BUETHE, U.S. SOCCER FEDERATION: Well, I think that might have been Brad Davis talking. I think he is right. Our guys are confident coming off the big win against Ghana. And these conditions are warm. I'm here in the morning and it's already really warm.
But our guys are used to it. You know, they play in these conditions in Major League Soccer. Some guys are also in Europe.
But they are ready. They are prepared and we're hoping for a good result.
PAUL: So, we are getting word that it is possible Portugal star player Cristiano Ronaldo may not play because of a knee injury and Pepe is out after a team red card. Is that -- how much I guess I should ask will that help the U.S.?
BUETHE: Well, you know, Ronaldo, these questions about whether he play or not are out there. I don't think we concentrate too much on that. Jurgen Klinsmann, our head coach and the players, are all concentrating on our game plan, preparing for him to probably play because I think that's probably likely. But we are concentrating on what we can do on the field on our side and, hopefully, we'll be ready for what will be a talented team in Portugal.
BLACKWELL: You know, I don't want to dwell on the injuries, but Clint Dempsey has the nose injury. Hurt his nose pretty bad. How is he doing?
BUETHE: Clint's fine. Clint's fine. He is a little banged up obviously. They worked on his nose right after the game. He broke it. He is still contemplating wearing a mask or not. But he's ready to go. He's going to be 100 percent.
PAUL: So, if U.S. does beat Portugal tomorrow, what is your gauge for the Germany match up?
BUETHE: Well, we are not looking at Germany yet. We are concentrating on Portugal. Obviously, if we get a positive result, that helps going into the Germany game. But, really, it's all about Portugal and then we'll think about Germany.
BLACKWELL: Focus on the opponent in front of you, just one at a time.
PAUL: Yes.
BLACKWELL: All right. Neil Buethe, thank you for joining us. And good luck to the team.
BUETHE: Thank you.
PAUL: Thank you.
BLACKWELL: Most of us know the safety drill when we get on board a flight. You heard it many, many times. But I bet you never heard one like this. We'll show you. This is hilarious, the in-flight announcement that has now gone viral.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAUL: Well, every dog has his day and peanut here, whoa, whoa, whoa, I know, has a full year to don the sash that probably proclaims the world's ugliest dog. I hate this story. The aesthetically challenged pooch --
BLACKWELL: Ugly.
PAUL: -- faced fierce competition at the Sonoma in San Francisco. I know he's got some rough looks, he's weeping eyes, his persistence sneer, but listen, that's largely blamed on injuries from a fire, Victor, from a fire this dog suffered. The woman who found him in a shelter where he languished for nine months, says, quote, "While his face has scared away many, it has melted my heart. I would take that dog home."
BLACKWELL: OK, you can have him. He has all his teeth. That's something.
PAUL: Poor guy.
BLACKWELL: They have the pictures -- Jeremy Meeks.
PAUL: Oh, this, oh, no.
BLACKWELL: This face launched a $1,000 defense fund. I tweeted out this picture. It has been retweeted 800 times from my account alone.
PAUL: That's not.
BLACKWELL: The photo is a documented gang member, his name is Jeremy Meeks, made him a viral pinup. Generating 90,000 likes from admirers on Facebook. Now, his Go Fund Me site which his mother set up for legal costs raised $2,000.
People don't know this man.
PAUL: He is a felon. He spent nine years in prison.
BLACKWELL: We should say that Meeks says he is innocent of gun possession and gang affiliation. His bail is $1 million --
PAUL: If a bail is $1 million, that is not -- that is a man who they believe to be dangerous.
BLACKWELL: He is pretty. So, people will give up their money.
PAUL: And I read he was getting some marriage proposals, too.
BLACKWELL: Marriage proposals. You know, folks are thirsty. They are. That's the adjective for it. Thirsty.
PAUL: OK. We've all done this. Kind of zone out during the safety announcements when your flight is ready to take off. Well, there was no one missing this one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That seatbelt needs to be low and tight across your hips just like the hot pink Speedo I'm going to be wearing when I finally get the three of us to a hotel hot tub tonight. The ladies and I, we were certainly showing up (INAUDIBLE) anticipated the decompression. But in the event of the decompression, forward, cross, yellow butter cup mask designed by Gucci and Martha Stewart, they're going to drop from that compartment overhead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: I love people that love their jobs.
BLACKWELL: Yes, you're not going to miss that one. That Southwest flight attendant speech has gone viral, that racked up three quarters of a million views on YouTube.
PAUL: I love it.
BLACKWELL: When you make them interesting, we pay attention.
PAUL: Yes. Yes. If you are flying anywhere today, happy flying to you, and thank you for spending your morning with us.
BLACKWELL: The next hour of your NEW DAY starts now.
