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CNN Sunday Morning

Storm Claims Lives; Peace Plan for Syria; California Foie Gras Ban Starts Today; Busy Week for Obama and Romney; Former Polygamist Wife Speaks Out; Abortion Clinic Under Attack; No Fines for CBS "Wardrobe Malfunction"

Aired July 01, 2012 - 08:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): From CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

An abortion-free state? A new law in Mississippi takes effect today, it could force the state's only remaining abortion clinic to close.

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: This storm came upon us very quickly without a great deal of notice.

KAYE: The storm that has left millions without power has now claimed 12 lives. Temperatures still in the triple digits. What could to blackout mean for your safety?

Plus -- 23 siblings, and married at 17. I'll talk to one woman who spent 50 years in a polygamist family and is now speaking out against it.

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(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. It's 8:00 on the East Coast, 5:00 a.m. out West. Thanks for starting your morning with us.

We begin with the heat. Yes. We are all feeling it. My car said it was 112 here in Atlanta, but it felt even hotter. And it will be more of the same today, unfortunately. Excessive heat warnings have been issued for 19 states. That is just complicating efforts to get the power back on for millions who lost electricity in storms over the past two days. Many cities have opened up cooling centers open to help people get a break from the heat.

As for those strong storms, they are being blamed for 12 deaths now, and have left a path of downed trees and damaged homes. Right now, millions are just waiting for the power to come back on. But it could be days before that even happens.

CNN's Athena Jones is live in Springfield, Virginia, for us this morning.

Athena, good morning. How is the cleanup going?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Randi.

Well, the cleanup is going in spits and starts. You can see here, there's still debris right here, we're out here in the middle of this medium that's left to be picked up. And y can see behind me where a giant tree fell on these power lines here.

This tree killed a young man, a 27-year-old man on Friday night who was driving home from work. But it's just an example of the kind of thing that the cleanup crews are having to face.

We were in Rockville, Maryland, just on the other side of Washington, D.C., yesterday. And there were people out clearing debris, clearing these giant trees from the road, cutting them down for mulch. But it's a lot they have to do it and they're going to have to do it in this heat today, Randi.

KAYE: And what are the odds that people will get the power back on today? Any word on that?

JONES: Well, I don't think that you have heard anyone promise that it will be happen today. I mean, you can see that this is an extreme situation that we are dealing with something that would take several days to get back on here and having to restring the wires, and you'll see this utility pole here that snap into three pieces, leaving a transformer on the ground. That is a several day affair. In fact, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell said yesterdays this is not a one-day challenge. It's a multi-day challenge.

Pepco, which is the utility, the main utility that serves part of Washington, D.C. and Maryland, said it could take up to a week for full restoration given all of the damage.

But I do have recent numbers, updated numbers as of a few minutes ago in Virginia, all across the whole state, about 467,000 people still without power -- a big improvement over the 1 million that were without power immediately after the storm. And in the Maryland and Washington, D.C. area, about 344,000 people without power.

And so, crews are working. We have seen them out this morning. They are going to keep working to restore power to everyone who needs it.

Of course, as you mentioned people who are facing another day of 100 degree temperatures are going to have to seek other places to stay cool if they don't have power -- Randi.

KAYE: Yes. And you know, as well as I do, it's tough to get around even the downed power lines. So, it certainly does take some time.

Athena Jones, thank you for the update. Appreciate that. To Syria now, and a deadly bomb blast. Anti-government activists say a car bomb killed at least 85 people and injured 300. The blast came in the middle of a funeral procession.

Meanwhile, leaders met in Geneva, Switzerland, have recommitted to a peace plan that first and foremost calls for a cease-fire. It also calls for a transitional government.

Here is Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: We are dealing with not only a murderous regime in a combustible region, but the potential for that region to be gravely affected by the continuance of this violence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Clinton also made it clear that there is no place for Syrian President Assad in the new government, though Russia's foreign minister says that decision should be up to the Syrian people.

Florida Governor Rick Scott says he was disappointed on the Supreme Court's ruling on the health care. He also says he is not going to implement a large part of that law in his state, specifically health care exchanges and the Medicaid expansion.

Earlier I asked him about that decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK SCOTT (R), FLORIDA: It does not work. We -- I'm not going to put our citizens at risk of a program that doesn't work. So, we're not going to implement this Medicaid expansion. These exchanges also don't work. If the exchanges work, the private sector would already be doing it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Both of those exchanges and the Medicaid expansion would be at least partially paid for by the federal government, but Scott says his emphasis is getting people back to work so they can afford their own health insurance without the help from the state.

Now to New Jersey where Republican Governor Chris Christie really lost his cool on a reporter. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Governor, on Monday, are you going to be addressing the legislature?

CHRISTIE: Did I stay on topic? Are you stupid? On topic. On topic.

Next question. Good. Thank you. Thank you all very much, and I'm sorry for the idiot over there. Take care.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: He sure does like to speak his mind. You see, Christie was holding a news conference about a water emergency affecting 22 counties in New Jersey, but the reporter was asking about a special session for the state legislature that is happening tomorrow.

Just hours ago, endurance swimmer Penny Palfrey gave up her quest to swim from Cuba to the Florida Keys. But she broke the record she set for the longest unassisted swim. The 49-year-old grandmother swam more than 86 miles and just another 20 miles or so more to land.

Her team says she had to be pulled out of water because a strong current made it impossible for her to continue.

Forced from the homes by fire, but some residents in Colorado aren't giving up. Instead, they're actually giving back to help their neighbors. We'll take you live to Colorado Springs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: These are some of the amazing pictures that we are getting in from Colorado of the wildfires there that folks are dealing with. So, let's get you to those fires in Colorado.

Now, thousands of people have been forced from their homes near Colorado Springs today. Some of them will actually get a chance to go back. A bus tour would take them to the burned out neighborhoods to see what's left.

Rob Marciano is in Colorado Springs.

Rob, good morning to you. Tell us just a little about what these evacuated families are dealing with and going through right now?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, as you can imagine, they're going to get on, some of them are going to be able to get on buses and at least see their homes and neighborhoods and not be able to get out because it's still an active fire zone.

So, it's going to be an emotional day. It's been very emotional as you can imagine in the past week from shock and sadness, the frustration of not getting back. At lot of folks have been allowed to go back, but there's probably about 10,000 people that still are evacuated.

We are outside of a massive church, giving out a ton of supplies and hundreds of thousands of supplies to those people who need it. We ran into actually a family that were evacuated, still are evacuated in a community behind. They can't go back until further notice. They are actually volunteering here handing out supplies.

There's been this video of a five-day time lapse, just remarkable stuff that's been floating around. They got to see in the mother of the family talk about how that video impacted her and also being a victim of these fires.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER BRUMM, EVACUEE: I saw the time lapse video last night of what's been going on since Saturday, and I have just been like a mess. Because, you know, those are people's lives, and we are watching it. So, yes, my heart goes out to them.

And then that night as from our friend's house in Monument, we could see the flames on the mountain. And we really didn't know if we would have a house the next morning or not. Really, whether we had a house or not, we were going to be OK, because we are together, and we are safe, and there's more important things than your stuff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: A tremendous amount of concern obviously for the well- being of those who had their homes destroyed. They are from the neighborhood right behind me where the fire came very, very close. Now, a lot of the folks who can go back to their homes that are OK, Randi, there are things that you don't think about, utilities that are damaged and need to be put back online.

So, their homes might be OK, but water and gas probably not happening and maybe gas leaks and power as well. So that's one of the reasons that the evacuation process has been held for so long. But today, as you mentioned, some of those people will at least get to see it.

KAYE: And it's not even just the damage, right, that these folks are worried about. I understand that there have been some burglars even taking advantage of those evacuated homes.

MARCIANO: Yes, you hate to see that or hear it, it happens in nearly every disaster. But yes. There's been 22 reports of burglaries. They have arrested a couple of people.

Police are at every intersection trying to block and I assume a lot of those burglaries happened early on during the chaos. But the National Guardsmen have come in, about 150, have come in to backup the police and to help that situation.

And another interesting thing aside from the burglary, there is an invasion in some neighborhoods of black bears who have obviously been driven from their habitat because of the fires and, obviously their food sources as well. So, they are trying to the figure out what to do with these black bears that basically have no home. They have to try to get them out of harm's way before the people can go back to their home. So, just one more thing they have to deal with here in Colorado Springs.

KAYE: Yes, certainly, a lot to worry about there. Rob Marciano on the ground for us.

Rob, thank you very much. There are so many amazing pictures of the fires in Colorado. A lot of them are coming right from you, our iReporters. Thank you for those. We have them up all at iReport@CNN.com. You can check them all out there. Incredible pictures, along with personal stories of with -- some many of these folks are going through inside that fire zone. So, definitely head to CNN.com and check it out.

Starting today, it is illegal to buy foie gras at restaurants in California. That's because lawmakers say animals are being tortured to make the pricey dish. So, what do restaurants doing? They're going to it away free.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Good morning, Los Angeles.

And listening to a little Cyndi Lauper there this morning, we had a chance to speak to her yesterday on "CNN SATURDAY MORNING" about her new cause, helping the homeless LGBT youth. It's always to have her on the program.

Glad you guys are waking up with us this morning on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

Hard to believe July is here. In fact, July 1st isn't just the start of the real dog days of summer. It's also the halfway point of the year. So, why is that important? Well, that's when several new laws take effect.

So, we canvas the country and found some of the more quirky ones for you. In Illinois, beginning today, taxi drivers will be able to charge passengers a $50 clean up fee for losing their cookies in cabs shall we say.

Virginia law now says that all electronic messages on outdoor advertising must remain in place for eight seconds so drivers won't be distracted.

In Massachusetts, the law goes into effect, banning the disposal of medical sharp things like needles and syringes and all household trash.

In Idaho, law enforcement will now be able to issue arrest warrants by fax.

And in Kentucky, all the folks with extra hogs on their hands, well, they're no longer be able to release them into the wild. Who knew?

And starting today, force feeding birds to make foie gras and selling foie gras is illegal in California. Now, if you're not a regular consumer of this, it is a fatty duck or goose liver, and it is considered a delicacy and it's pricey, costing $30 or more at a fancy restaurant.

It's not easy to find naturally, so to make it, farms use the controversial method of force feeding ducks and geese just like in this photo. Farmers say it's painless, but critics, well, they say something else. They call it animal torture.

That's why California passed a law banning it in 2004, but the state gave gras foie producers an eight-year grace period to find a natural way to fatten a bird's liver. But none of it may matter. Restaurants are already finding loopholes around the law.

Sarah LeTrent joins us now from New York to talk about this. She wrote about this for CNN.com's Eatocracy page. You should check that page out if you haven't already.

Sarah, good morning. You were actually invited to visit a foie gras farm and you actually got the see how these animals were being fed. What did you find? How did it look to you?

SARAH LETRENT, CNN.COM/EATOCRACY: It was very eye-opening, and they were transparent about the process. They wanted you to see it from beginning to the end, from hatchling to the actual slaughter of the ducks.

And the one part of the process that both the anti and the pro- foie gras movement can agree on is they want you to go and educate yourself. Of course, the end result is the pro-foie gras movement says that at the end, you'll see that it's humane, the anti-foie gras movement says at the end, you'll see it's inhumane.

When I went I got to see everything, including the force feeding, and the ducklings or the ducks did run away from the feeder when the feeder approached with the tube. However, afterwards they waddled away very unfazed.

Another thing I noticed was while they were in the cages, they were panting. Which the farmers said can be because they were overheated. It was a hot day. But other veterinarians said it could be a sign of a diseased or sick duck.

KAYE: All right. So, so we mention this law going into effect. Let's talk about some of the loopholes that some restaurants are actually using to get around it. Some chefs are offering free foie gras, and what else are they doing?

LETRENT: So, they are offering it for free. They're also instating a BYOF, a bring your own foie gras policy. So, California, if you can go to Nevada or a neighboring state and bring foie in, the chefs will actually prepare this delicacy for you for a small fee.

In terms of the free foie gras, the way they go around it is that they're just not selling it. They may sell the accouterments or toast that you spread, the foie gras for a little bit of a pricier price tag, but other than that, they are going to say, you know what, you are going to order it, and foie gras may show up on it, but we're not charging you for it. We're not selling it.

KAYE: And why so important to the chefs? I mean, why risk getting a fine? LETRENT: I think it's ultimately about control. Chefs have often said it's a slippery slope. If they can mandate foie gras, what else are they going to do?

And also, chefs use the phrase "low hanging fruit." Foie gras, if you think about it, is a very tiny, fraction of the dining scene (ph). Very few people eat it because it is an expensive dish. So for them to go after it, the chefs say, well, why aren't you focusing on factory farming, why are going after foie gras? So, really, what it comes down to is power and control basically.

KAYE: There seems to be trouble enforcing the ban obviously, even though it just started. Do you think this law really has any teeth? I mean, can they enforce it?

LETRENT: It's going to be tough. I placed calls to both the SFPD and the LAPD, and both of them pointed to different organization for jurisdiction. The LAPD pointed to the Health Department and the SFPD pointed to Animal Care and Control.

When I spoke to Animal Care and Control, they said because of the language of the law, which we just discussed, because it's so loose, it's going to be really hard to enforce, and they get tons of calls a day, and, really, they foie gras really isn't the top priority.

KAYE: So California gave these foie gras producers eight years to figure out a more humane way to make it, and why could they not find an alternative? Is there just no other option?

LETRENT: That's the $1 million question that everybody is asking. There is an interesting chef out in Spain, Dan Barber, who is American chief, gave a talk on it recently, the chef in Spain's name Eduardo Souza (ph), and he has figured out a way to produce foie gras humanely.

Geese when they are about to migrate naturally fatten their livers up. Whereas humans we store fat all throughout our body, geese specifically store it in their liver, so when they are about to migrate, when they're about to prepare for a period of starvation, they fatten themselves up. And the chef figured out how to keep the geese on his farm while they were living wildly and then slaughter them right before migration.

Dan Barber tried to do the same thing in his agricultural center in Upstate New York, but to no avail. So, people are trying. It just hasn't been replicated stateside yet.

KAYE: It's a very interesting conversation. Certainly very controversial.

Sarah LeTrent, thank you very much. Once again, you should check out CNN.com's Eatocracy blog.

Abortions are legal in the U.S. But in Mississippi, women may no longer be able to get one. It is all because a new state law hitting the books today. But is it really about health, or is this more about politics. I'll talk with an abortion doctor who's done battle with the Supreme Court.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back.

Bullying is not a phenomenon isolated to the U.S. And this video proves it. Watch as a 15-year-old girl smacks and kicks a 13-year-old girl who has autism at a bus stop. This happened in Belgium this past week. The girl's mom post posted the video online with her daughter's permission.

Look at what is going on in this video. She hopes that the exposure will help stop the attacks. That's a mother's cry for help.

A new state law takes effect today in my Mississippi that requires abortion clinic providers not only to be certified OB/GYNs, but also to have privileges at a local hospital. While the doctors at the only clinic in the entire state say they are certified OB/GYNs, not all of them have hospital privileges and to get them is a lengthy process. Fines can amount to $2,000 a day, and the employees can be arrested. That will effectively close the clinic, making Mississippi the first virtually abortion-free state.

It's not just people in Mississippi watching this play out, but all across the country. And coming up next, I'll speak to Dr. Leroy Carhart who performs abortions.

And, doctor, are you with us now? No?

OK. He is going to join us next, but we are having a few technical difficulties and we'll get back to him as soon as we can, but it's a very important story.

All right. We'll continue to monitor what happens in Mississippi. Tomorrow, state authorities will be going into that abortion clinic to see if it's in compliance with the new mandates.

We'll take a break and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back to CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm Randi Kaye.

Bottom of the hour now. Here are some of the stories that we are watching this hour. Another round of storms is in the forecast for today, in areas already hit hard by deadly storms over the weekend. Twelve people were killed, millions still without power. Record breaking heat is complicating the situation for cleanup and recovery crews.

A hot and comfortable Sunday is expected, but some temps hitting triple digits.

Firefighters continue their battle against that monstrous Colorado wildfire. Bus tours begin for some of the 36,000 displaced residents who want to see their homes and neighborhoods. Nearly 350 home were burned, two people have died in that Waldo Canyon fire.

So far, it's consumed nearly 225 square miles, but it is 45 percent contained. So ,a little bit of progress.

In Syria, deadly violence continues as world leaders agree on a peaceful plan to end the crisis. Diplomats met in Geneva Saturday, announcing a plan for the country's transition of power. The plan calls for a unity government that would be decided by the Syrian people.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the plan makes it clear that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad cannot remain in power.

Mexicans head to the polls today to vote for one of the four candidates running for President. Some officials have called this election the largest and most complex election day in the country's history. For the first time more than 79 million people were registered to vote according to the Federal Election Institute. Among them are 3.5 million young people who will be voting for the very first time.

To American politics now and a busy week ahead for the presidential candidate.

CNN Political Editor Paul Steinhauser is joining us this morning from Washington. How nice to see you, Paul. So what's on the calendar this week, Paul?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, we got July 4th coming up and that's a good day for a -- if you're running for President, Randi, it's probably a good day to get out there and say hello to people. And that's what Mitt Romney will be doing. He'll be at a parade in New Hampshire. Of course, New Hampshire a battleground state; Mitt Romney spending the up there at his lake house in New Hampshire.

Also this week Thursday and Friday the President hits the campaign trail. Ohio and Pennsylvania two very important battleground states as well. You'll see the President campaigning in both those states.

And Friday, Randi we always talk about the unemployment number being probably the most important economic indicator out there we'll see the June jobs report, the unemployment report on Friday. A disappointing report for May, we'll see what June is like.

As of now this -- this election remains -- this campaign remains about the economy and about jobs -- Randi.

KAYE: I was going to say so maybe with that report coming out maybe the conversation will move from health care to the economy perhaps?

STEINHAUSER: Yes, I think there's a very good chance this is going to go right back to the economy, it still is the number concern among American voters -- Randi. KAYE: Yes, well, June has come to an end, it's the first day of July and that means of course new fund-raising numbers, how are those looking what do we expect?

STEINHAUSER: We're probably going to get them in the next couple of days, the campaigns don't have to report until the 15th, but often they put out the numbers. And remember between the President and Mitt Romney, Mitt Romney actually outraised the President in May. Mitt Romney and the Republican National Committee outraised the President and the Democratic National Committee in May and that is a big difference than four years ago.

Remember four years -- you see there the May numbers, four years ago when the President was then Senator Obama running for -- for the White House, he greatly outraised John McCain his Republican challenger but is a very different ballgame this time around and you know the campaign, the Obama campaign has predicted they'll be outraised again in June when the numbers come out.

And when you factor all of that independent money those Super PACs and everybody else, a lot more money being raised and spend on the Republican side than the Democratic side, a very different -- a very different ball game than four years ago.

And why does campaign cash matter? Because it pays for commercials, it pays for "get out the vote" efforts, money does matter especially in a close contest.

And take a look at this Randi. This is our most recent CNN poll of polls we take all of the National polls. Average them together and you can see right there it's still pretty tight race with the President with a four-point advantage, but that is pretty close -- Randi.

KAYE: Oh yes, that's about as tight as -- as we've seen. Paul Steinhauser nice to see you on a Sunday. Thank you.

STEINHAUSER: Thank you.

KAYE: Time now for this week's "Faces of Faith". The popular TLC show "Sister Wives" gives us a glimpse into the everyday life of a polygamist family where a husband is shared by four wives.

But my next guest says that the true polygamist lifestyle is one full of jealousy, hurt feelings and abuse and she should know. After 34 years of a polygamist marriage, Kristyn Decker decide to call it quits and leave the lifestyle altogether. She writes about her experience in a book, "Fifty Years in Polygamy: Big Secrets and little White Lies." Kristyn joins me now. Good morning to you.

KRISTYN DECKER, AUTHOR, "Fifty Years in Polygamy": Good morning, Randi.

KAYE: So not only were you in a polygamist marriage, you actually grew up in a polygamist community. What was that like? DECKER: We were raised in the middle of a subdivision where there were fields and fields around us, and we called it Polygaville and there were good times and sad times in that community growing up there. We were somewhat isolated in our social life but we did attend public schools.

KAYE: And when you say sad times such as what?

DECKER: There were so many children that sometimes I felt lost and many of us I believe did as well. There were a lot of adults and a lot of children around and I felt like the latchkey kid I was actually and didn't have anyone to look after me. My mother was working and my aunt was supposed to be watching after me. And I always felt lost within that community as well as the outside community.

KAYE: Now, before you left the polygamist lifestyle, you say you first left fundamentalist Mormon faith. Was that the first step?

DECKER: We were -- I was born and raised into the AUB which is a polygamist sect in Utah. So I was already there. And we considered ourselves LDS. My parents raised us to believe in the book of Mormon and the Bible and the doctrine of covenants the same way that the LDS church does.

Although the polygamists had been excommunicated from the church, many of us and most still do consider themselves to be LDS or Mormons.

KAYE: Did you always have doubts growing up or is that something that came with age?

DECKER: I always had doubts from the time I was little. Things didn't feel right or didn't seem right. And it definitely got more so as I got older and older and started to question everything about plural marriage and everything about the doctrine that didn't feel right to me.

KAYE: So what -- what caused you to say, this is it, I've had enough of this lifestyle and -- and to leave your husband after 34 years?

DECKER: That too, Randi, was a long process. The choices that we had were to live plural marriage and to get to the celestial kingdom or not live and be in the lower kingdom which basically I was taught was hell where we couldn't have our families or children, we would be without them.

And so the choices were black and white. And I believe that since I was a people-pleasing person I needed to do what God told me to do. And to stick with it no matter what; my mother said, "Endure to the end and the blessings will be in heaven."

So among all of those questions and all of those doubts was always sadness and concern, but enduring to the end so that you could someday have those blessings. KAYE: In the book, you talked a lot about jealousy and heartache. What was it like to share your husband?

DECKER: It was probably the most difficult thing I've ever done in my life. I believed that it divided us. It did not make us closer like the promise was. And it divided our relationship and severed the closeness and the trust issues, and it was always like that. And I'm sure that my sister wife felt the same way, there was never going to be the intimacy that you can have with one partner.

KAYE: Do you think that this type of lifestyle, the polygamist lifestyle is a viable for some people? I mean, we see it on television, and it certainly doesn't sound the way that -- that you are making it sound?

DECKER: Randi, I believe in choices and I think that women and men as adult should have choices to live that lifestyle. My biggest fear or complaint is that there is a lot of sadness everywhere. In my whole life I didn't see the joy and the happiness that should have been there in - in a marriage and relationships.

And even in those that you watch and see in the "Sister Wives", they have their heartaches. And it's when they go to bed alone and when their husband off on a vacation with someone else and having that intimacy and sharing. And even in their books, they are starting to talk more and more about the heartaches and the hardships that it makes. Again, they do that, because they believe in it because it's a religion.

KAYE: Kristyn Decker, thank you so much for sharing your story with us this morning. We appreciate that.

DECKER: You're so welcome. Thank you for inviting us.

KAYE: And for more stories on faith, be sure to check out CNN's belief blog. You can find it at CNN.com/belief.

Candy Crowley has a lot of political storms to talk about today. I'll also ask her about the one Mother Nature threw Washington's way this weekend.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: A new state law takes effect today in Mississippi that requires abortion clinic providers not only to be certified OB/GYNs but also to have privileges at a local hospital.

While the doctors at the only clinic in the entire state say they are certified OB/GYNs, not all of them have the hospital privileges. And to get them apparently is a very lengthy process. If the clinic doesn't comply with the law, fines can amount $2,000 a day and employees can be arrested. That will effectively close the clinic making Mississippi the first virtually abortion-free state.

It is not just people in Mississippi watching this play out but lots of folks all across the country. Joining me now is Dr. Leroy Carhart, an OBGYN who performs abortions at his clinic in Bellevue, Nebraska. Doctor good morning to you.

DR. LEROR CARHART, OBGYN: Good morning. I just -- one point of clarity I'm not an OBGYN, though, I was trained as a general surgeon.

KAYE: Ok thank you for clarifying that. What do you think of this new law in Mississippi?

CARHART: It's just one more piece of legislation that the anti- choice politicians are using to try to make abortions illegal everywhere in the country.

KAYE: Why in your opinion is having access to abortion clinics so vital?

CARHART: I think you know abortion rights to me and to the international community are considered to be civil rights for women. All -- every form of birth control that we know of that is not permanent has failures, so even though a woman may take the absolute most protection she can, pregnancy is not -- is not prevented all the time. And women need to have the ability to control (AUDIO GAP) in order stay an equal partner in the workplace and government.

I think when we see the denial of abortion rights, we see men trying to dominate the female population by eliminating their access to the workplace.

KAYE: Are you concerned at all that this law might lead to more back alley abortions?

CARHART: I think that's exactly what will happen. You know, I -- when they made abortion legal in the United States in 1972, there was not a lot of big upswing in abortions and in fact, looking back to the date, the estimates are that the numbers did not change at all, but changed (AUDIO GAP) instead of having five or ten deaths a week in the hospital where I worked to now having ten deaths a year in the whole country.

And that's a significant difference.

KAYE: I just want to acknowledge we're having just a little trouble hearing you, so maybe you can move to a better area as I play some sound from an interview with supporters of the Mississippi law. I want you to listen to why they think shutting the clinic is a good idea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. PHIL BRYANT, MISSISSIPPI: This is historic and today you can see the first step in a movement, I believe to do what we campaigned on to say we are going to try to end abortion in Mississippi.

SAM MIMS: If the clinic cannot get in compliance with this legislation, sure. I think again, if we reduce the abortions, it is a positive result for Mississippi, I think.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Is this new law in compliance as far as you understand with the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision?

CARHART: I do not believe it is, because it restricts access to the first trimester of abortion, you know. And you mentioned that you have stated originally that I was an OB/GYN. And in the United States, most abortions are not performed by OB/GYNs. Most doctors doing abortions have gone back for special training in the abortion field.

You know, Dr. Tiller was family practice. (inaudible) is not OB/GYN. There is absolutely no training in most OBGYN hospitals even though there is supposed to be by the residency review committees. There's no training to make OB/GYN talented at all in the abortion practice. This is something that's really a specialty of its own.

KAYE: Dr. Leroy Carhart, I appreciate your time this morning; certainly an issue that a lot of people have some very strong opinions on. We'll continue to monitor what happens in Mississippi.

Tomorrow, state authorities will be going into that abortion clinic to see if it is in compliance with the new mandates. Once again, Dr. Carhart, thank you.

All right. So what do you think, real or fake? I will tell you the amazing story behind this amazing shot next.

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KAYE: Ok. Take a look. This may be one of the best zoo photos of all time, so check it out.

That is Alex Hawker, he is from Fort Myers. His dad tells us that right before he snapped the photo at the Miami Zoo, the lioness woke up and leaped six feet into the air. Wow. Good thing that little guy didn't turn around. Definitely a once in a lifetime shot -- what a great memory there.

Well, there have been a few storms in the nation's capital this week, no doubt about that. But nothing compares to the one that knocked out power to millions yesterday.

Candy Crowley is joining me live from Washington. Candy good morning. Nice to see you; glad you have power there at our Washington studios. We hope that you escaped at least --

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST: Yes, there is power here.

KAYE: -- the wrath of the storms?

CROWLEY: No, actually. I live in Montgomery County, which was one of the hardest hit, so we don't have electricity. I could complain, but we are past the screaming baby stage in my household. There's no one that needs the electricity. You know, I'm the elderly person in the house. It is hard to complain but, boy, it is irritating.

KAYE: Oh, I bet. All right. Well, let's talk business here. Two political storms hitting Washington this week; we have the health care and, of course, Eric Holder and the "Fast and Furious" fiasco and contempt hearing.

The White House chief of staff Jack Lew is talking to you about both of them today.

CROWLEY: Yes, I mean it was in some ways a mixed week, but in some ways the White House is looking at this as a huge week. They believe and those supporting the President believe that the Supreme Court really put an end to the health care debate. Now, not if Republicans can help it. We heard Mitt Romney come out and say the only pathway to undoing this is through the ballot box now.

And we have seen polls showing that about half of Americans actually don't like the Supreme Court ruling. But the White House would really like to put a period on this. Sort of looking at the Supreme Court as a good housekeeping seal of approval that maybe people will take a second look at it.

And then, you know, within hours, the Attorney General, Eric Holder became the first cabinet member in history to be cited in contempt of Congress. So what the White House tried to do there and certainly we saw this in Eric Holder's reaction is politicize the whole thing and say this is all about politics. We have been completely cooperative. They just want to make us look bad.

So they're trying to take the politics out of health care, and put the politics into the investigation of the "Fast and Furious" gunrunning scheme that went pretty badly.

KAYE: Sounds like it's going to be a very interesting morning on your program, Candy. Appreciate that. Thank you.

CROWLEY: Thanks, Randi.

KAYE: And keep it here for "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley. It starts in about eight minutes at 9:00 a.m. Eastern, 6:00 a.m. Pacific right here on CNN.

If politicians swore like characters out of "Pulp Fiction" would voters feel like they were more authentic? My next guest the one and only Dean Obeidallah, says, "Oh, yes."

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KAYE: Well, unless you were living under a rock in 2004, you probably remember this.

Oh, yes, that infamous Janet Jackson Super Bowl performance known around the world for "the wardrobe malfunction". When America saw some brief nudity on CBS, well it took nearly a decade but in the middle of all the healthcare hoopla last week the Supreme Court decided to throw out about half a million dollars in fines the Federal Communications Commission imposed on the network for it. The high court called fine and unfair punishment.

Comedian and former attorney Dean Obeidallah's joining us this morning to talk more about this.

Good morning.

DEAN OBEIDALLAH, COMEDIAN: Good morning.

KAYE: All right. What do you think? Was the reaction by the FCC and so many Americans to this malfunction -- justified?

OBEIDALLAH: I think we are so -- such a charade of foolishness we have in America. You have "50 Shades of Gray" selling off the charts. You have the movie "Magic Mike" this weekend making $30 million or $40 million about male strippers -- women are flocking to it. At the same time you have a little accidental boobage -- can I say boobage -- boobage --

KAYE: We'll let you say it.

OBEIDALLAH: -- and then people go -- they freak out. And I'm glad the Supreme Court struck it down -- over half a million dollars fine for an accident. It wasn't intentional -- that will be different. An accident.

So I think it's simply to me - a little boobage versus Snooki -- I think Snooki much more offensive. The Kardashians getting married for a matter of hours, much more offensive than Janet Jackson accidents.

KAYE: So do you think -- I mean is American television just censored and watered down. Is that where we are or where we're heading?

OBEIDALLAH: I think there is a sense of let's not of fend anybody. In a country where of over 300 million people. You're always going to offend someone.

I'm a comedian. I hear it all time. You can't censor everything you do. I think we're adults. We know the difference between someone doing something completely wrong. If you have prime time and you have new to your people cursing intentionally -- that's wrong. But a little accident -- you know, let's not pretend we're holier than thou. I mean it's not good for the country; it's not good for us.

KAYE: So you're saying you can be too PC? Is that what I'm hearing?

OBEIDALLAH: Absolutely. Definitely. It is, at the most, stifling -- it's a subtle form of censorship and it is so stifling to creativity and freedom of expression, I think, honest freedom of expression.

KAYE: Well, on the subject of censorship and getting watered down, you wrote an article for CNN.com about our politicians betting too censored and even getting watered down themselves. You actually want Mitt Romney and President Obama to debate without talking points.

OBEIDALLAH: I want them to debate more than that. I want them to go on HBO and be able to curse or on "Showtime" and be able to curse. Because we curse in real life when we are excited, if we're angry, if we're impassioned, we use curse words.

It doesn't mean we're stupid because of that. We're just (inaudible) -- I want to see our politicians have the same visceral feeling that we do when they talk about an issue, because maybe we will relate to them more.

Because so much folks -- Romney and Obama, you hear, "Oh, they're a little aloof. They're a little standoffish because we've neutered them in the way they can speak. So everything in this focus group sanitized. The talking points that we hear over and over --

KAYE: You want the real person out there.

OBEIDALLAH: I want them to yell -- I want them to curse. I want to see emotion. When a guy says I'm not going to raise your tax, I think it's more compelling because I'm not going to raise your expletive tactics. I'm not expletive kidding. That says something to me like -- that's the guy I want to vote for.

KAYE: All right. So give me an example here. PC, example, not too PC -- but you know, this is Sunday morning of what you would like to hear Obama or Romney say.

OBEIDALLAH: I would say a curse if these were exploited. But I love to see Obama say, you know Mitt Romney is the biggest expletive flip-flopper in history of America and Romney would say come back, you know, you are the head of the biggest expletive economic down fall in our countries history. And that you're ruining the economy and I will expletive be better than you any day of the week. I mean it's hard without the actual curse.

KAYE: Yes.

OBEIDALLAH: And believe me it's much funnier if I could --

KAYE: Oh I'm sure, on stage but not here.

Obeidallah: Right.

KAYE: All right. Let me share something that you wrote in the article. You wrote, "We have neutered our politicians' intensity and passion by limiting their choice of words. And then we wonder why so many of our elected officials and especially our presidential candidates seem so bland.

But you really think, I mean you really think that the foul language is going to give us a better idea?

OBEIDALLAH: To me that's a symptom of a bigger issue to be honest. I think freeing them up to speak the way we speak. To connect the way we do and not everything is being so focused, to a point where they're so risk averse. We hear nothing.

KAYE: Get off message a little bit.

OBEIDALLAH: Please. Talk to us like human beings and cursing is not the answer alone, but the real issue is get off of the talking points and talk to us people. We will relate more and we will, I think trust them more. They'll have more credibility.

CEOs are even cursing now. They're using for authenticity. I'm not even kidding. I saw it in a study so it's about authenticity.

KAYE: Well, I am glad that we got through this without a curse. Dean Obeidallah, nice to see you, thank you.

OBEIDALLAH: Thank you.

KAYE: And thank you everyone for watching today. "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley starts right now.

Have a great Sunday.