Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Saturday Morning News

Isaac Aftermath; President Obama's Personal Assistant Talks About What Makes the Chief Tick; Democratic National Convention Coming Up; Teacher Accused of Participating in Bullying; Penn State's First Game of the Season

Aired September 01, 2012 - 09:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye, 9:00 a.m. here on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out west. Thanks for waking up with us.

We start this hour with Isaac, the storm that's now moving toward the Ohio River Valley after drenching the Gulf Coast. It is being blamed for four deaths in Louisiana and Mississippi. The heavy rains have also caused massive flooding and pushed levees to the limit. It is not done yet. We'll take you live to New Orleans for the latest in just a few minutes.

Isaac has had a lot to do with rising gas prices. Right now the national average is at $3.83 for a gallon of regular unleaded. That's up $0.08 over last week. But some stations in the south have seen a $0.20 bump in the past week. A lot of it is because of closure of oil rigs and refineries that were in the path of Isaac.

Controversial Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio is off the hook. The United States Attorney's Office said it will not file any charges against Arpaio or his staff. They were accused of misusing county issued credit cards and federal funds. Arpaio said he was happy with the decision.

A second police officer has been put on leave over a disturbing incident in St. Paul, Minnesota, take a look. You see one of the officers kicking a suspect in the chest while he was on the ground. An investigation is under way. Police are asking the public not to rush to judgment. The suspect was allegedly threatening a woman in the neighborhood.

To politics now and the Democrats are on deck. Their national convention starts Tuesday, just five days after the Republicans wrapped up theirs. CNN political editor Paul Steinhauser is in Charlotte, North Carolina this morning, site of the Democratic National Convention.

Paul, good morning to you. So lay out some of the highlights for us, if you will.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Good morning, Randi. Democrats are going to say the theme of their convention is Americans coming together. And they say -- they're touting that this convention will be a lot more inclusive and open to the public compared to what the Republicans did in Tampa. We have some pictures inside the Time-- Warner arena. You can see the platform. They are getting everything ready inside the arena, I'm right outside the arena.

One of the things you're going to hear a lot about, Randi, this week, coming up, is the middle class. You're going to hear democrats speaking at these conventions talking about how the democratic party is a party fighting for the middle class. And they'll say the Republican ticket headed by Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan is more beholden to the wealthy. So some of the themes you'll here right here in Tampa. And of course, they are going to be touting what they say are the accomplishments of President Obama over the past three and a half years. Randi.

KAYE: And some pretty big names coming to speak, former presidents and Michelle Obama as well. Right?

STEINHAUSER: Michelle Obama as well. Here are some interesting names. Cory Booker will have a prominent role here. He will be -- he will have a prominent role with the platform, and he of course, the mayor of Newark, New jersey, up and comer in the democratic party. Another name. Charlie Crist, the former governor of Florida. But why is that interesting? Guess what, Charlie Crist used to be the Republican governor of Florida, but he lost out when he ran for Senate, and now he's an independent who is backing the president, and may run as a democrat for his old job in Florida in two years.

As you mentioned the big speakers in prime time, Michelle Obama on Tuesday night. And also with her, the keynote speaker, a man called Julian Castro. He is the mayor of San Antonio. You'll get to know him a lot more. He gives that keynote address Wednesday. Former President bill Clinton a big anticipated speech. And on Thursday, we move from the arena here, a few blocks away to the football stadium that's where Vice president Joe Biden and President Obama will be giving their renomination addresses in prime time, Randi.

KAYE: All right. It's going to be a big week ahead for sure. Paul Steinhauser, thank you, nice to see you.

And of course, remember our live coverage of the Democratic National Convention starts Tuesday 7:00 p.m. Eastern time. You'll want to tune in for that.

You may not have heard of Reggie Love, but for two years he was about as close to the Oval Office as you can get serving as President Obama's personal assistant. And in an exclusive interview, he's telling CNN's Jessica Yellin about a side of the president that few get to see.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice--over): Reggie Love knows the president as a strong mid-range shooter.

REGGIE LOVE, OBAMA'S PERSONAL ASSISTANT: He'll take a mid-range, attack the basket, knock down shots when he's got them.

YELLIN: The kind of guy you want on your side. Love has been on the president's team since the campaign days.

(on camera): What's he like when he's just hanging out?

LOVE: He's like a guy. You know, he likes the Bulls. He likes the Bears. He likes sports. He's like card and like most guys that I know, which I think can sometimes be hard for some people because they are taken aback by it. Because they are like oh, wait, he's like me but he's the president.

YELLIN (voice--over): As his personal assistant and confidant, Love has seen the president as few others have.

LOVE: He's very much a person who enjoys the simple things in life, you know, enjoys watching a good game. Enjoys a good cocktail. He's competitive at everything he does. If it's bowling or pool or shuffleboard, there isn't anything he'd be OK losing at.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Want to know more about what President Obama is really like, CNN's Jessica Yellin reveals the man or the people who knew him best. Watch "Obama Revealed, The man, the president," Monday night 8:00 Eastern on CNN.

And after the break we'll take you live to New Orleans, ground zero for Hurricane Isaac. Our George Howell is there. He's in Plaquemines Parish, and he'll bring us the very latest on the floodwaters there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: This morning search and rescue crews are going door for door to check on victims of Hurricane Isaac and to make sure everyone is OK. Water is receding in Belle Chasse, that's an area just south of New Orleans that was hit hard by flooding. Now people are getting a clearer look at the damage. George Howell is in Belle Chasse in Plaquemines Parish. George, you just spoke to the local sheriff there. What's he telling you?

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Randi, good morning. You get a sense of frustration here. First of all, because number one, we're talking about hundreds of people who are still in floodwaters. We're talking about that Braithwaite area, just across the Mississippi from me. That's where people saw, you know, anywhere from seven to 15 feet of storm surge that came over these levees, these eight foot high levees. So he's frustrated, number one, about the fact that so many people are still in floodwaters.

And number two, and most importantly he said it's a matter of getting the power back on. No one in this parish have power. And he tells me, first of all, you know, people are running out of food, food is spoiling and he's concerned about looting. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF LONNIE GRECO, PLAQUEMINES PARISH, LOUISIANA: Concern is this for public safety. With looters going on there, we have apprehended two, when people start going hungry, they're going to start looking for food. What I'm afraid and my biggest concern is somebody is going to go into a home and they are going to think they are a looter because they are going into survival mode to try to just eat and somebody is going to get shot. And that's a great concern to me.

But our citizens are holding up pretty good but you can see the concerns and the issues. It's like why are we the last again? We were the first hit and we're always the last to be repaired.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: And that really was the most powerful statement. You know, the first hit but then the last to be repaired. He says it's a matter of public safety to get the electricity back on. Later today we may even take a tour of the area to see these places where again you find people still in their homes, people who have been cut off and can't get into this mainland. Randi.

KAYE: And we know about the flooding, George, but the folks are facing other kinds of problems as well, right?

HOWELL: Well, we just spoke with a few sheriff's officials. They showed me a picture of cattle that were all together in floodwaters. They were together on that high land. So they are rounding up cattle. There are dead cows out there. Those dead cows -- they're attracting alligators. There's also a concern about coyotes. As you can imagine out here, Randi, snakes.

KAYE: That does sound like a lot to deal with for those folks in addition to that rising water. George Howell, thank you very much for your reporting there.

Isaac's waters left over are drenching parts of the Midwest now. Meteorologist Bonnie Schneider is following that part of the storm for us. Bonnie, what are your maps telling you?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, right now it's showing that we have a lot of rain going over the same area again and again. Now luckily the reason we're not getting a tremendous flooding is we have this exceptional drought over a good portion of the country into Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas. It's really this part of the country that's getting soaked right now by Isaac. So we had a little bit of flooding yesterday. But today the flood advisories were actually holding steady in Louisiana where there's 20 inches of rain that fell from Isaac in New Orleans. It will take a while for that water to recede.

So here is where it's raining this hour, Kansas City all the way to Peoria, it's just a band of rain from this tropical depression. Because it's kind of elongated and widened out. But when we looked what's ahead, all this energy and moisture is sliding to the east. So even cities like Chicago, Cincinnati, Louisville, you'll all be impacted by rain from Isaac. We're also getting some strong winds. Some of the wind gusts are at 25 miles per hour. So unfortunately it's not going to be the nicest day out there as we go through the day today.

We're also tracking some other activity in the tropics I want to let you know about. There are two other systems, we have Kirk and Leslie. Well Kirk is going to become extra tropical, Leslie may be a concern right now especially as we go towards the end of this week -- it may impact Bermuda or possibly bring some rip currents to the Atlantic seaboard. So we're certainly not out of the woods for tropical season.

But before we get to this coming week, we want to get to labor day. And the forecast does call for Isaac to impact us, not just for today but for Sunday as well. You can see the moisture sliding across the heartland moving into areas of Indiana and Ohio. We will get some rain from it. Otherwise mild conditions. By the time you get to Sunday and Monday, the holiday weekend is much improved. I think Isaac will be less of an issue especially for travelers. Randi.

KAYE: Until we have to worry about the next one. Bonnie Schneider, thank you very much.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

KAYE: A disturbing incident of bullying in a classroom is caught on camera. It even includes a teacher apparently joining in. You'll see it play out and we'll talk about solutions to the ongoing national problem.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: A 13--year--old being bullied, covered in chairs, pillow over his face, and socks shoved in his mouth. All of this caught on video at a middle school in Washington state. But get this, the teen's attorney says the teacher played a key part here.

Chris Legeros with affiliate KIRO shows us exactly what unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS LEGEROS, KIRO REPORTER: This is cell phone video shot by students during a class at (INAUDIBLE) middle school last February. We got a copy from an attorney but agreed not to show the kids' faces. She is representing the 13--year--old boy on the floor covered up by chairs.

JOAN MELL, FAMILY'S ATTORNEY: It was a teacher led bullying incident of epic proportions.

LEGEROS: (INAUDIBLE) not revealing the boy's name or the name of his family but she says they are all traumatized by what happened under the classroom supervision of teacher John Rossi (ph).

MELL: The teacher poked him in the belly. The teacher turned around and put his bottom in his face and said he felt gassy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And by the way, I'm feeling kind of gassy.

MELL: He had a pillow placed on his face where he couldn't breathe for several seconds. He had his own socks shoved into his mouth.

LEGEROS: The school district said they got a look at those videos right after the incident.

CHUCK CUZZETTO, PENINSULA SCHOOL DISTRICT: I was horrified by what I saw.

LEGEROS: And acted quickly.

CUZZETTO: We immediately placed the teacher on leave.

LEGEROS: After an internal investigation Rossi (ph) was suspended for 10 days, reassigned as a substitute teacher for the rest of the year, given new classroom management training and assigned to a different middle school this fall.

CUZZETTO: We took what we think is pretty significant disciplinary action against the teacher.

LEGEROS: We were not able to contact the teacher by phone but in a letter written to the district, John Rossi (ph) apologized after the incident, explaining he didn't view the incident as, "anything more than harmless childhood horseplay." But the boy's attorney says the teen hasn't been able to return to class after the incident, has switched schools and required psychiatric therapy.

MELL: It wasn't horseplay. Because there was no play going on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: CNN's Nick Valencia is here to give us some perspective on this. That's such a disturbing story, especially if that teacher was involved. Where are we in terms of the investigation?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well that's the thing here. It's six months later -- this incident happened early this year and it's still an open investigation. The county sheriff's department said they interviewed the victim. They are still waiting to get information from the school's investigation there, Randi. So there's a lot of questions here as to why this wasn't immediately reported to the sheriff's office by the school.

The superintendent though did say Rossi (ph) was interviewed immediately after the incident, disciplinary action was taken, a third party was brought in to investigate. He was brought back into the school system and put as a roving substitute teacher and that's how he finished out the school year. He's back on administrative leave now.

KAYE: So he's still under investigation, right?

VALENCIA: Still continuing investigation.

KAYE: OK. What about the bigger picture here. I mean we've talked a lot about bullying on this program. This is not just a problem at that school with that child, this is everywhere. VALENCIA: It's a subject that is very close to your heart, close to mine. You know how reluctant people are to get bullied, how reluctant they are to speak up about their instances.

KAYE: Right.

VALENCIA: It's tough to get stats but we did talk to the (INAUDIBLE) foundation that deal with this sort of thing. They track U.S. statistics. And we hear that 13 million students will be bullied this year across the United States. On a daily average, 160,000 students on daily average don't go to school for fear of being bullied. The numbers are as high as one in four children, according to the (INAUDIBLE) Foundation that are bullied and up to seven minutes, every seven minutes there's a child bullied on the playground in the United States.

KAYE: You said a lot of people don't report them. Because they think, you know, it's their fault, they are the problem, they are afraid. But this particular case especially disturbing because it involves this teacher. So let's talk about solutions. You actually spoke with an elementary school counselor.

VALENCIA: I did and they are calling this the ultimate breach of trust. One of the thing the (INAUDIBLE) foundation is training teachers all across the state of Florida. They believe that they are doing sort of revolutionary there in the state.

We spoke to a guidance counselor, an elementary guidance counselor yesterday. This is what she said about how the program has changed her philosophy to counseling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELEISE KEITH, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COUNSELOR: Right after one of my lessons last year, some of my kids had to take a field trip. I had some kids stopping in the hallway talking about how they were not being a bully bystander but they were being what I call a bully buster. So they were actually reporting what happened with their particular friend on the bus or in line or what have you. It could have been more of a teasing thing. But those teasing and taunts start turning into bullying. It can happen very quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: Not just bullying and students but bullying by this teacher allegedly. This is actually what happened and the lawyer of the victim say "Not only did he lead it but he taught it and he incited it." Randi.

KAYE: That is just so sad if that is the case. Students can certainly use a teachers help.

All right. Nick Valencia, thank you for that.

For decades Penn State was one of the country's most legendary college football programs. Now it is trying to pick up the pieces after the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal. We'll set you up for the Nittany Lions first game since the fallout.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Twenty--two minutes past the house. Glad you're with us here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

Penn State begins a new chapter in its storied history. It's gone from a legendary football program with an iconic coach to this, now a program shattered by a high--profile child abuse scandal. Its iconic coach has passed away, his legend badly tarnished. Victories and trophies have been wiped from the program's once proud history.

Joining me now is Joe Carter who is in State College to cover Penn State's first game post--scandal era. Joe, good morning. So how is the Penn State community reacting to all these changes?

JOE CARTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Randi. I can tell you it's been obviously a difficult 10 months for this campus and for this entire community but they are reacting to it all by saying we're going to support one another and we're going to move forward.

We're seeing these signs all over town. Saw it at the airport, saw it at the hotel, saw it at a lot of restaurants. You're seeing it in pretty much every storefront window around town. It says "Together we support students. Together we are one moving forward." That's the message, plain and simple, that they are trying to convey here.

Last night was really step one in the process of moving forward. They held a pep rally. There's about 21,000 people that showed up to support the football team. I talked to a senior student last night at the pep rally. He said he's been going four years and said he has never seen this large crowd. Obviously, really good support for a team that needs it more than ever before.

And the same night after the pep rally immediately you felt there's still some pain and suffering happening around campus. There was a candlelight vigil held on campus last night to pay respect to the child sex abuse victims out there. You know, it's a quick reminder that there's still some pain and suffering in this town. It's a quick reminder that they are not going to forget what happened.

KAYE: Yes.

CARTER: They want a fresh start here, Randi. They are embracing the changes but they obviously are very sensitive to the situation about what happened. They are using it really as a platform to raise a lot of awareness.

KAYE: What do you think, Joe, is going to be different about today for the fans and the players?

CARTER: You know, the biggest change that people are going to see is that for the first time in 46 years a new head football coach will leave the Nittany Lions out onto the football field for a new football season. His name is Bill O'Brien. And he's had certainly a very difficult first eight months on the job. But it seems this passionate, very passionate fan base here is buying into Bill O'Brien's system.

There's a lot of these t--shirts floating around town, they say "Bill--ieve," we also see O'Brien's Lions. Another big change that's going to happen today is that you will see names on the back of the player's uniforms. During the Paterno era, there was never a name at the back of the uniform. He believed that the individual isn't bigger than the team. Well O'Brien believes that he wants to honor the individuals that decided to stay with his team and not jump ship and transfer to another university.

KAYE: I love that shirt. Bill--ieve, very clever. Joe Carter, thank you very much. Nice to see you.

A shock for drivers this labor day holiday weekend. Have you seen how much gas is costing right now? We'll tell you just how high it's going and why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Here is a look at some of the stories you're watching this morning.

Despite a slow month the stock market ended August with some solid gains. A final boost came yesterday with some hints from Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chair said additional measures to boost the U.S. economy could be on the way. And he defended the fed's previous two stimulus measures saying they helped create two million jobs and supported stock prices.

As you have probably noticed gas prices are going up. AAA says $3.83, that's what it is right now, $3.83, is the national average for a gallon of regular. That's up $0.30 from what you paid in July which will make it a little tougher on all of you planning to drive this Labor Day weekend. Much of the recent rise in prices can be blamed on Hurricane Isaac.

To politics and the next chapter in the presidential race. The Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, it starts Tuesday with Jimmy Carter and Michelle Obama on the list of first day speakers. We'll have much more from Charlotte in our next hour.

I'm Randi Kaye. I'll see you back here at the top of the hour. "YOUR BOTTOM LINE" begins right now.