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Starting Point with Soledad O'Brien
Watching Jury Reactions; Trayvon Martin's Family Speaks; Do Shoes Reflect Personality? Seven Car Bombs Go Off In Two Hours; Arsenic, Mustard Gas, Diesel Exhaust?; Senator Reid: "Pacquiao Won The Fight"; Expanding Way Beyond Dot Com; Toddler Thrown From SUV; Multi Billion Dollar Apology; "Accidental Addicts"; Can Bacon Boost Profits?; Joan Rivers Hates Everyone
Aired June 13, 2012 - 06:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN HOST: And welcome, everybody. Our "Starting Point" this morning, stomach turning testimony in the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse trial. A former Penn State assistant coach claims he saw Sandusky sodomizing a young boy and tells jurors, "it was more than my brain could handle."
And new developments to tell you about in the Trayvon Martin case. We'll tell you why the wife of accused shooter, George Zimmerman, is now facing criminal charges herself. Plus, an exclusive interview with Trayvon Martin's parents says they battle to change the stand your ground law.
And remember New York's big soda ban? Well, guess what, they're trying to expand it to snacks. We'll talk about that.
It's Wednesday, June 13th, and "Starting Point" begins right now.
And good morning. Welcome, everybody. We're going to start with the day's headlines. Christine Romans has that for us. Hey, Christine. Good morning.
ROMANS: Good morning. Thank you, Soledad. We're following developments out of Colorado.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS (voice-over): A huge shift in the high park wildfire burning some 60 miles south of Denver. New evacuations are in place this hour while some residents have been allowed to return home. Now, thick smoke is temporarily grounding the air attack on this fire. Fire officials say they expect to have as many as 800 firefighters on the scene later this week.
This fire has burned now about a 70-square mile area. It's just 10 percent contained. It's being blamed for the death of a 62-year- old woman.
The crisis in Syria erupting into an all-out civil war. That's what the head of the U.N. mission now says about the rebel uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. And Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, she accuses Russia of contributing to the carnage by arming the Assad regime.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: We have confronted the Russians about stopping their continued arms shipments to Syria. We are concerned about the latest information we have that there are attack helicopters on the way from Russia to Syria, which will escalate the conflict quite dramatically.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Moscow insists that any arms supplies sent to Syria are not being used against anti-government protesters.
The suspect in the Auburn triple murder is in custody this morning after a three-day manhunt. Twenty-two-year-old Desmonte Leonard turned himself into authorities at the federal courthouse in Montgomery, Alabama. He's facing three counts of capital murder.
Police say he gunned down three people, wounded three others, after a fight broke out in an off-campus party last weekend. Two of those killed were former Auburn football players.
Gabrielle Giffords' former aide will be serving out the remainder of her term in the House. Democrat Ron Barber defeating Republican Jeffrey Kelly by six points in a special election in Arizona last night. He'll fill Giffords' seat until November.
Barber was wounded in the 2011 Tucson shooting rampage that critically injured Giffords.
And in Virginia, former Governor George Allen easily defeated three conservative o opponents to capture that state's Republican Senate primary. He'll square off in November against another former Virginia governor, Democrat, Tim Cain.
"Minding Your Business" now. U.S. stock futures down slightly, indicating stocks could open probably flat. Investors watching Europe very closely this morning. And JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon heads to Capitol Hill today. He'll answer questions from the Senate Banking Committee about the bank's $2 billion plus trading loss last month.
Stocks may be down this morning but here's some good news, maybe, for your 401(k). A new CNN Money survey of economists says stocks are hitting bottom and the S&P 500 will rise more than 8 percent from now until the end of the year. That means stocks will gain 14 percent total for the year by the end of 2012 if economists surveyed are correct.
If you fly United, get ready to fork over more money. The airline is raising the fee for a second bag on many of its transatlantic flight from $70 to $100. It now matches Delta's January baggage fee hike. And industry analysts expect American and U.S. Airways to follow suit in the near future.
Miami fans feeling the heat after Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder raced out to a 1-0 lead in the NBA Finals last night. Durant scoring in 17 of his 36 points in the first quarter to lead his young team to a 105-94 victory last night. Miami led early and the Thunder outscored the Heat by 18 points in the second half. James led Miami with 30 points.
Game two of the -- well, game two of the best of seven series set for Thursday night in Oklahoma City -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: I got money on this game.
ROMANS: I know, you and Will Cain has some kind of a -- yes.
O'BRIEN: And I've got worth -- I've got worth -- I have -- I'm going to have to do something somebody tells me every day for a week if I lose, if the heat loses.
Come on, guys.
ROMANS: What do you have to do?
O'BRIEN: I don't know. It's up to them. That's the bet we made. Kind of open-ended. I'm thinking about tweaking that a little bit later.
ROMANS: You need an attorney for that kind of a bet, my friend.
O'BRIEN: That's correct.
This morning we're talking about accusations of cover-up surrounding the Jerry Sandusky case. Day three of his child sex abuse trial is getting under way and the former Penn State University officials could face more criminal charges for allegedly concealing what they knew about the former coach.
Prosecutors say former Vice President Gary Schultz kept a secret file detailing reported incidents involving Sandusky. The file and e- mails between university officials allegedly shows inconsistencies with what those officials later would tell a grand jury.
Inside the court, a day that was filled with emotional and graphic testimony. The 18-year-old whose accusations first triggered the investigation detailed his relationship with Sandusky and former Penn State assistant football coach Mike McQueary described seeing Sandusky in the shower with a young boy.
A lot to talk about on this case. So joining me this morning, truTV correspondent and former prosecutor, Beth Karas. She's been inside the courtroom for much of this trial.
Beth, nice to see you. Let's talk about the testimony from victim 1 as they call him. He cried on the stand. It sounds like it was absolutely gut-wrenching. What was the reaction not only inside the room but of course for the jurors?
BETH KARAS, CORRESPONDENT, "IN SESSION" ON TRUTV: Well, good morning, Soledad. As you can imagine, it was indeed very traumatic to even listen to him let alone be in his shoes telling the story to a roomful of strangers, 12 of whom are going to sit in judgment of Jerry Sandusky.
Jurors were absolutely captivated as was the courtroom. The courtroom was hushed, even though benches in there, 12 rows of wooden benches, were creaking every time somebody leaned forward to listen, that's all you could hear.
He would break down periodically as he was recounting and reliving the sexual assaults by Jerry Sandusky and it was particularly emotional when he had already described Sandusky performing oral sex on him and then one day Sandusky said now it's your turn. And he said he froze. That he'd blacked out, he didn't know what to do, but he did do it and he did it again and again.
It got to the point, though, in 2008 when he had had enough and he brought it all to an end telling a guidance counselor who didn't believe him at first. And so that was incredulous, you know, and the courtroom was, like, he finally gets up the courage to tell someone and he's not believed.
O'BRIEN: So then --
(CROSSTALK)
KARAS: In any event --
O'BRIEN: Wait. Wait. What was the reaction of the jurors? Hey, Beth, sorry for interrupting you. What was the reaction then as he's telling the story.
KARAS: Yes.
O'BRIEN: And reading the transcript sounds just terrible and so emotional. So how were the jurors reacting? I mean the tenor of the room must have been so sad and just overwhelming in some ways. How did the jurors seem to take the information?
KARAS: It's really -- it's really impossible to tell from where we are if the jurors are actually crying because there are -- their heads are turned to the witness. But some people saw a juror put her hand to her mouth. All right? But you've got to be -- you know, people interpret, you know, jurors' reactions and you know, I didn't see that.
But they were absolutely captivated. The one juror who is a -- one of the men who is a student, a Penn State student and works in the Athletic Department, would lean forward periodically in his chair. But at times he had a hard time making contact with the witness. His head would be down. He leans forward a lot toward the witness as though he's on the far side of the witness box as though he's trying to make sure he catches every word.
O'BRIEN: Now there are --
KARAS: But jurors are just -- otherwise pretty stoic. O'BRIEN: Yes. There are inconsistencies, and that's what really I think what the defense has sort of pointed to that they're going to try to exploit the inconsistencies in the testimony, and this young man who's 18 years old had inconsistencies in his testimony. He talked about those on the stand.
KARAS: Yes, he was cross-examined about them, but he had good responses to them. But it is indeed true that he initially said there was only one time of oral sex and then -- 12 or more, and then 20 or more. And he said, look, every time I had to tell what happened to me, it's humiliating, it's embarrassing, to a new person, I couldn't just open up to that person. He had to get into a comfort zone. So it was a process every time. And that's what he said.
And it's hard enough to talk to these jurors and this roomful of people to have to say it again. Actually, Joe Amendola brought him to tears at one point in the cross-examination when he kept asking the same questions regarding these inconsistencies you're talking about, because he's given so many statements and testified. He saw them as minor inconsistencies, given the scenario of what he had to talk about and his tender age.
So I don't know if it fell flat, you know, for Amendola that he actually brought the witness to tears on cross-examination. That's something you don't want to do because it looks like you're badgering. He was gentle in his questions but he was persistent in the questions.
O'BRIEN: Let me ask you about Mike McQueary on the stand which everybody was looking forward to. There is much to hearing what he said. How did he appear? How did he come across to the jurors?
KARAS: Mike McQueary is articulate. He is adamant that he saw what he says he saw, that he wasn't mistaken. Because Joe Amendola in his opening statement said look, we're not saying Mike McQueary is lying which is saying he's mistaken about what he saw. The interpretation he put on what he saw. And it seemed to me at times that McQueary was making these assertions, these statements, as much for the benefit of the courtroom and the press to kind of clear his name, to say I didn't do anything wrong. He was very assertive. And he said, I just want to be a football coach and I don't understand why I can't because right now he's not allowed in the athletic facilities because he's on administrative leave.
And he's like, I just want to be a coach. I was good at what I did. I didn't do any of this for any other reason then, you know, it was the right thing to do and I deserve to be a coach.
O'BRIEN: So --
KARAS: But there were several times on his cross where I thought, he's talking to us as well as to the jury.
O'BRIEN: Interesting. Let me ask a quick question before I let you go. They are talking about maybe more charges being filed in this investigation focusing on the Penn State University officials really at the top, Graham Spanier who is the former president, Gary Schultz, the former Penn State vice president, and Tim Curley, the former athletic director. Why potentially more charges?
KARAS: Yes. I'll tell you. So this relates to what you were talking about at the beginning of this story, about these new documents that were recently turned over to the prosecution recently revealed and it shows that Schultz kept a file on Sandusky.
Now if he said things in the grand jury, which the prosecution says he did, inconsistent with what's in the file, then there could be more charges and more lies because he was testifying under oath to the grand jury and he was asserting certain things, perhaps, this is the first I've heard of it. I've never heard of any other instances and this file may -- may show otherwise. So it will probably be more perjury obstruction of justice type charges.
O'BRIEN: Beth Karas is a correspondent on "In Session" on truTV. Also a former prosecutor. Thanks for joining us and giving us some insights into what's happening in this trial.
Beth, appreciate it.
KARAS: My pleasure.
O'BRIEN: You bet.
Still ahead on STARTING POINT this morning, George Zimmerman's wife goes to jail for lying about her family's finances. We're going to get to some exclusive reaction from Trayvon Martin's family coming up. You see them right there.
And also this morning, we'll talk about your foot wear, whether you wear Prada shoes or well worn flats, people can tell how old you are, how much money you make. Comparably shoes say more about you than you think. We'll tell you about it in our "Get Real."
Here's my playlist, Kanye, "Stronger." You're watching STARTING POINT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching STARTING POINT. George Zimmerman's wife is out of jail this morning, Shellie Zimmerman, was able to post $1,000 bond after she was charged with perjury for lying about the couple's finances during her husband's bond hearing which happened back in April.
A bank review of records shows Shellie Zimmerman moved $74,000 for her husband's account into her own account a few days before that hearing.
Just miles away from the spot where George Zimmerman shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, Martin's parents attended the first public meeting of a task force to review the state your ground law.
Sabrina Fulton and Tracy Martin asked the 19-member panel to take a look at law.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SYBRINA FULTON, TRAYVON MARTIN'S MOTHER: We're not against guns. But it's something seriously wrong when there's a minor child that was unarmed and he's dead right now, and there's a law that a person is using to try to defend himself against killing a kid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: A STARTING POINT exclusive this morning, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin join us along with their attorney, Benjamin Crump.
It's nice to see all of you. Thank you for talking with us.
Sybrina, I'm going to start with you, if I can. What was your message to the task force? What did you tell them and what do you want them to do?
FULTON: I just want them to take a look at the law. I'm not opposed to the law. I just want them to review the law and I still feel that it is something wrong if a minor, a kid, a teenager, was shot and killed and pursued by an adult and he's not with us. And I just think that they need to look at that law.
O'BRIEN: The woman who heads --
(CROSSTALK)
FULTON: And fix it. And really fix it.
O'BRIEN: The woman who heads the task force is Florida's lieutenant governor. Her name is Jennifer Carroll, and she was in legislature when the law was first created. She says it's been taken out of context. Here's what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNIFER CARROLL, FLORIDA LT. GOVERNOR: What individuals have then claimed this law to be is shoot first, and that's not -- that's far from the truth because the law clearly says you have an opportunity to retreat. If you have that ability to do so, then you do so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: So, Mr. Crump, does the law in fact say that? This is -- when I read sections of law, it's mentioned a couple of times the retreat part. "A person is justified in the use of deadly force and does not have a duty to retreat if he or she has reasonably believe that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily warm to himself or herself or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony."
Is in fact the lieutenant governor wrong on this when she says that you have an opportunity to retreat, if you have the ability to do so, then you do so? Is she mistaken? BENJAMIN CRUMP, TRAYVON MARTIN FAMILY ATTORNEY: Well, Soledad, it's like Tracy Martin, Trayvon's father, said to the task force yesterday. It encourages vigilantism. it is a situation where it encourages you to try to take the law in your own hands if you think that you're threatened. There used to be a duty to retreat. That law has been changed now.
And we need to amend it to have Trayvon Martin amendment to say that you can't pursue -- you can't initiate a confrontation and then say I will stand on my ground because that's what people are doing now in America. And that's a terrible message.
O'BRIEN: Tracy, let me ask you a question about what happened the last couple of days. Shellie Zimmerman, as I'm sure you've heard, was able to get out of jail. She was able to post $1,000 bond. It's all based around $74,000 that was transferred out of the account that were -- was being -- money was being raised for her husband George Zimmerman, the man who shot and killed Trayvon, and transferred into her account when at the bond hearing she said she didn't know anything about any such money.
What did you feel when she was both jailed and then when she was posting bond?
TRACY MARTIN, TRAYVON MARTIN'S FATHER: I just felt that the court system was betrayed.
O'BRIEN: What do you mean?
MARTIN: And -- credibility. I just feel that they -- that it was an intentional -- it was their intentions were to hide things.
CRUMP: And Soledad, it's simple that prosecutors sent a strong message that you have to tell the truth in court because credibility of each witness is always at the crux of every legal matter.
O'BRIEN: So in this case, of course, Sybrina, credibility of George Zimmerman is very much going to be on trial as this case heads into trial. What do you make of what's happened so far, you know, both your husband and your attorney are talking about the credibility of George Zimmerman and his wife?
FULTON: I think that it's on the process just, you know, I believe that we should just let the process take its course and let the judge handle it.
O'BRIEN: I know that you, Tracy, have created a video and you're asking other fathers to help repeal or reform "Stand Your Ground." I want to play a little bit of this video and then I'm going to ask you a question on the other side, OK? Let's play it.
MARTIN: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN: And we have to come together to protect our children. I'm asking you to consider sharing this message with the governor of your state that has a similar "Stand Your Ground" law. Ask them to review these dangerous laws. If we do, next year, thousands more dads will have a Happy Father's Day together with their children and not the toughest one of their life without them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: This is a message that's going to be played, I know, across the nation. What kind of feedback are you getting on this?
MARTIN: I haven't gotten any feedback -- any feedback yet. It really hasn't been put out to the public.
O'BRIEN: You are going to become the face of this law. Do you find it to be -- to be the face of making reforms to this law, is that a difficult position to be in or does it feel like something that you have to do in your son's memory?
MARTIN: It's not difficult at all. Especially when you're talking about continuing your son -- my son's legacy. Making sure that his name continues on and his name wouldn't be in vain. I feel that I have to continue to spearhead it. I had to -- I had to stay out in the front and make sure that this reaches the heart of America and just to show -- just to be that leader for the dads out there that don't have a voice right now.
O'BRIEN: Well, we appreciate you coming on and using your voice to talk to us this morning. Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, Trayvon Martin's parents, and Benjamin Crump is the family attorney.
Interesting in seeing what the feedback is on that video when the people have a chance really say it.
Thank you for talking with us this morning. We appreciate it.
MARTIN: Thank you.
FULTON: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Still ahead this morning, we're going to talk in our "Get Real" about how you can tell about people, what's the best insight? Take a look right there. Look at their shoes. I'll explain coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome back. Stop staring at my feet, lady.
(CROSSTALK)
MARGARET HOOVER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It's the (INAUDIBLE). Those are (INAUDIBLE) today.
O'BRIEN: Thank you. Today and every day. What do you mean today? Today? HOOVER: I've never --
O'BRIEN: We're talking shoes in just a moment. Roland Martin is joining us.
Nice to have you, Roland.
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hey, what's shaking.
O'BRIEN: He is the host of "Washington Watch with Roland Martin.
WILL CAIN: Roland, I could have sworn that Phillip Seymour Hoffman just walked out --
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Margaret Hoover is the author of "American Individualism." Will Cain is a columnist for theblaze.com.
Ready for "Get Real"?
WILL CAIN, COLUMNIST, THEBLAZE.COM: Yes.
O'BRIEN: "Get Real," we were talking about shoes because it focuses on your feet. If you're trying to figure out a stranger's personal characteristics, what information might you need? You might want to know their gender, their income, their age? Might want to know some details about their personality.
No, no, no. Here's all you need. Look at their feet. Apparently there is a new study out that says scientists say you can judge 90 percent of someone's personality traits by looking at their shoes. This comes from researchers at the University of Kansas. They found that people could pick out somebody's age, their gender, their political affiliation and anxiety issues just by --
MARTIN: Really?
O'BRIEN: You can save so much money in therapy bills, you know? Just by knowing the style, the color, the cost and the condition of someone's shoes. Researchers asked volunteers to fill out a personality questionnaire, provide the shoe that they wore most often and then students would look at the shows, make guesses about the people who wore them, and most of the time, 90 percent of the time they were right.
CAIN: I'll buy it, 100 percent.
O'BRIEN: Really? What shoes you're wearing?
MARTIN: So who I'm working with?
CAIN: I'm wearing what I normally wear. There you go.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Those cowboy boots.
HOOVER: And these are -- let's be clear, these are not green socks.
CAIN: It's not green socks. That's right.
HOOVER: These are cowboys -- do you --
(CROSSTALK)
HOOVER: All right. There you go. No, now as per --
MARTIN: That's it.
O'BRIEN: What's Margaret wearing today?
HOOVER: I am wearing the most stereotypically Republican shoes --
O'BRIEN: Now see?
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: We have a winner.
HOOVER: But it's because it's 5:00 in the morning when I get up and I need comfortable shoes.
MARTIN: Right.
O'BRIEN: Please.
(LAUGHTER)
CAIN: Go stand so we can get --
O'BRIEN: What's Roland wearing? Can I see your feet?
MARTIN: First of all, you've got to get the full view, baby. So, you know --
(CROSSTALK)
CAIN: If I saw these shoes --
MARTIN: I'll say, trust me, Will could not rock these sandals.
CAIN: Well, see if --
MARTIN: He couldn't rock them.
HOOVER: Sling back?
MARTIN: You got your sling (INAUDIBLE). Got to do that.
HOOVER: There we go. CAIN: Here's what --
MARTIN: This is summertime, we don't do socks in the summer.
O'BRIEN: Come and sit down. Come and sit down.
MARTIN: We don't do socks in the summer.
O'BRIEN: And of course I am wearing fabulous shoes as I always do because I have a sitting job.
(CROSSTALK)
HOOVER: She has fantastic (INAUDIBLE).
O'BRIEN: Yes.
CAIN: Those are beautiful.
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.
CAIN: And they so much about your personality.
O'BRIEN: Yes, they do.
HOOVER: What do they say about (INAUDIBLE)?
O'BRIEN: Controlling neurotic.
(LAUGHTER)
CAIN: If I called Roland --
O'BRIEN: Tightly wound, lack of sleep, mother of four, angry, bitter.
(CROSSTALK)
CAIN: The fact that Roland chose (INAUDIBLE) I'd say that's a nice old lady.
MARTIN: Actually -- actually as you saw these shoes, you know, the first thing you would say is, man, I wish I had that much swagger.
CAIN: Sling backs.
O'BRIEN: Somewhere in between is what I'm guessing he would say. Anyway that is the study. I am not making it up, University of Kansas.
Still ahead this morning on STARTING POINT. One of the nation's biggest banks loses billions of dollars. Now Congress wants some answers. We'll tell you what JPMorgan's CEO is expected to say today on Capitol Hill about those bad bets.
Plus caught on tape. Have you seen this? That is a toddler tossed from a SUV. Got the story behind this terrible video.
And Joan Rivers hates everything, including the red carpet. Sometimes you can tell, listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOAN RIVERS, COMEDIAN: You say something about Meryl Streep, her PR person won't let you have Tom Cruise. So nobody says anything except nice things on the red carpet. And then you turn into a hypocrite.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: So that's why you should take people out about what they're wearing on the red carpet, I guess. Anyway, she's got advice for both Mitt Romney and President Obama. We'll play that for you just ahead.
Here's Christine's play list, "New Radicals," "You Get What You Give."
You're watching STARTING POINT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome to STARTING POINT. Let's get right to Christine Romans with a look at the day's headlines. Hi, Christine.
ROMANS: Good morning, Soledad. We begin with a terrifying deadly string of car bombs in central Iraq this morning.
Seven bombs going off in a two-hour period killing at least 58 people and wounding more than 150 others. Police say most of the victims are Shiite Muslim pilgrims. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims have been walking to a holy site to commemorate the death of a revered imam.
You come into contact with this every day and now it could kill you. Diesel exhaust has been found to be as deadly as arsenic. The World Health Organization says the fumes from diesel engines cause lung cancer and have ties to bladder cancer. WHO is urging people around the world to reduce exposure to diesel fumes as much as possible.
U.S. Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid calling for an official investigation into the controversial boxing match between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley.
He and many fans believe Pacquiao was the clear winner in Saturday's fight. Pacquiao lost in a split decisions even though he landed nearly a hundred more punches than Bradley.
Reid is also pushing for federal legislation to reformed boxing rules and standards. Reid himself is a former boxer and a boxing judge. The internet is moving way beyond .com. Thousand of applications for web domain names will be unveiled today. The non- profit group that oversees web address began accepting applications for new web endings last year, which means we may soon start seeing websites that end with almost any word or phrase like .food or .work in addition to the classics .com and .org.
Take a look at this horrifying police dash cam video. This is an 18-month-old girl being thrown from an SUV in Lubbock, Texas. The cops say the toddler's father was trying to elude them after committing a robbery and rolled his vehicle during a high speed chase.
There's the baby. You can see the child in the highlighted circle immediately getting up and walking after being thrown out -- ejected out of the car.
She suffered only minor injuries. Another woman in the vehicle with the little girl, possibly it's her mother, jumped out and rescued her from the middle of the road and pulled her away. Just terrifying.
O'BRIEN: OK, that's the craziest video I have seen in a long time. First of all, that a child can be ejected from a rolling car and be fine, a toddler, and then that they would pull over and grab the kid and then run off.
ROMANS: I mean, high speed chases are so dangerous. There are so dangerous for so many reasons, but also, you don't know who's in the car.
I mean, look, a baby coming out of there, 18-month-old, she is fine. Minor injuries for the child, but I'm not sure, I have to tell you, I'm not sure of the status of the driver of the car and the people who are fleeing.
O'BRIEN: All right, Christine, thank you for the update.
ROMANS: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: This morning, JPMorgan CEO, Jamie Dimon is going to go before the Senate Banking Committee to explain his firm's multibillion dollar trading loss. That loss is projected to be between $2 billion and $7 billion.
We had a chance to take a look at his prepared remarks and Dimon says, he's going to say that the bank made complicated bets that were supposed to be hedge against risk, but went bad. He's also calling the losses an isolated event.
Joining us this morning to talk about that and also prescription drug abuse is the Attorney General of New York, Eric Schneiderman. It's nice to have you with us. Thanks for being with us this morning.
So in the prepared testimony if you read through it, Jamie Dimon basically apologizes. He said complicated bets, increased risks and traders didn't really necessarily understand the complexity of the bets.
Started to unravel when it went bad and that the bank has taken steps to fix. Do you think that that kind of sort of a run through of what happened and an apology at the end is enough?
ERIC SCHNEIDERMAN, NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, it may or may not be enough. The important thing to recognize is, in Washington right now, there's a huge struggle over how to re-regulate our markets.
We know we just came off the worst crash since the great depression. A lot of it was due to reckless deregulation that allowed bets to be made that simply shouldn't have been allowed.
So this is not taking place against a blank canvas. This is something that really should inform lawmakers and rule makers who are working on Dodd-Frank to try to come up with a safer set of rules that everyone understands.
So we know the difference between a hedge position and something that's a straight out bet. So I think Mr. Dimon's testimony will be taken into account I hope by the regulators and rule drafters.
It should not be an exercise just to beat him up over making a bad bet. It's about what kinds of bets should and should not be allowed.
O'BRIEN: He would like less regulation. And some could argue, listen, $2 billion to $7 billion, truth is doesn't hurt the bank at all, they are financially very sound. There's no impact on the general economy by taking this massive hit. In fact, everything kind of worked out fine and the damage was minimal. Doesn't he have a point?
SCHNEIDERMAN: Well, he would if we haven't come off the worst crash since 1929 where bad bets led to a collapse of the economy. This didn't happen because of overregulation. This happened because regulations that worked well for decades were repealed or weren't in force.
So America is looking to understand there's one set of rules for everyone that the rules are clear and you can't go around placing bets or things you don't own. Like buying insurance on your neighbor's car, you have to own something if you're going to hedge against it.
O'BRIEN: But I've read that there's something like 100 regulators within JPMorgan. All this happened, you know, while where there are lots of regulators who are supposed to be watching all this happening.
SCHNEIDERMAN: The problem is the regulatory structure. We can see how the rules were unravelled from the repeal of Glass Stegle on. This market didn't crash because of an act of God or tsunami or a manmade -- this is a manmade disaster. And we have to enact a set of regulations and that's what Dodd-Frank mandates. The problem is you have this army of lobbyist down there watering rules down and making arguments that even though we see the damage of less regulation, we should go back to the same prescription that got us into the crash in the first place.
O'BRIEN: But there are many people who would agree that the Volcker rule would not have made a difference and with this particular instance with this particular bank and that Jamie Dimon is the smartest, toughest, you know, probably best banker out there.
SCHNEIDERMAN: Well, I think that what makes this so dramatic. A lot of people on and off the street have tremendous respect for Mr. Dimon. So the fact that his bank could be subject to this kind of a loss sends you a message about the fact that the market is still vulnerable.
When you have institutions that essentially operate with a government guarantee, the government is entitled to make sure there are rules to the road. Small investors are not getting back in the market.
They are not getting back because they don't trust this one set of rules for everyone. I think this is a part of inspiring, hopefully, a more careful and thoughtful rule making process to ensure that bigger and worse losses along these lines do not happen again.
O'BRIEN: Talk to me about the unanimously had an opportunity to pass this legislation, which would track narcotic use, prescription narcotic use. How exactly does it work?
SCHNEIDERMAN: Well, prescription narcotic abuse is the worst drug problem in the country, the fastest growing. We know that the number of deaths from overdoses from prescription drugs has passed the number of deaths from heroin and cocaine combined.
So here in New York, we just passed a ground breaking piece of legislation unanimously, bipartisanly that will created a real time database so every doctor and every pharmacist will have to consult the database and know what drugs you're taking --
O'BRIEN: Before they write a prescription for someone who wants schedule two, schedule three, schedule four --
SCHNEIDERMAN: Exactly, only for the dangerous prescription narcotics. It will ensure that we can cut down on doctor shopping. We can catch the small number of doctors who abuse the system. We arrested one doctor who pleaded to prescribing 220,000 doses of narcotic painkillers.
It's a very small number of doctors like that, but organized organize crime has gotten involved and have rings of doctor shoppers. This is a huge problem and "I-stop" uses existing technology to create for the first time in America a real time database that doctors and pharmacists use to get a handle on the problem. O'BRIEN: Will, on the other side of the issue, you also beef up the number of treatment facilities? I mean, if there such a big issue among people who are addicted to prescription drugs, we know one big problem is the number of slots that are open and treatment facilities are small and declining.
SCHNEIDERMAN: Well, that is always a need. That's a need for drug treatment and law enforcement generally. We are doing pretty well at that. In a lot of states the problem here is prescription drugs lead to accidental addiction.
There are a lot of folks who are getting addicted who aren't intending to. This is not a problem just for sort of hard core drug addicts. There are a lot of people in regular families.
And we have -- unfortunately, the experience of a lot of parents whose voices were very important in passing this bill, who have lost children, who are getting regular treatment from a doctor.
A lot of people figure if you're getting it from a doctor, it can't be that bad.
O'BRIEN: Will you up the treatment facilities, if you have potentially have always people that are accidental addicts and now you'll be able to track them and follow them immediately in real time with the database, will be there facilities where they can go get help?
SCHNEIDERMAN: Well, that's certainly part of the objective, but "I-Stop" actually is going to prevent people getting addicted in the first place.
A doctor will look and say you already got five prescriptions for this. You don't need another. When a pharmacist will say there are 10 other pharmacies in this neighborhood that will fill your prescriptions.
It will go to the Department of Health, Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement and to my office's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. This is an effort to prevent crime and to prevent addiction before it even begins.
O'BRIEN: Eric Schneiderman is New York's attorney general. It's nice to have you. Thanks for talking about it on both fronts. We appreciate it.
Still ahead this morning on STARTING POINT, it all started with soda, but now New York is looking to ban fatty snacks too.
Also, legendary comedian, Joan Rivers is not holding on the election, on the red carpet. She will tell us why she hates everything. You're watching STARTING POINT. We're back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) O'BRIEN: They're trying to lure men with a sweet smell of bacon. I love the smell of bacon. Burger King launching a new summer menu of pulled pork sandwiches, barbecue wafers and sweet potato fries and a bacon sundae.
MARTIN: Bacon sundae, seriously?
O'BRIEN: Yes.
HOOVER: This is further evidence there is an American food renaissance going on and --
CAIN: Renaissance?
MARTIN: You call this the renaissance?
HOOVER: Have you not had the bacon chocolate bars. They are chocolate bars with bacon, they are delicious. I'm going to bring it to you.
O'BRIEN: Is it good?
HOOVER: I love it. I think it's delicious.
MARTIN: Margaret, we need an intervention. Bacon and chocolate?
HOOVER: Delicious.
O'BRIEN: Actually, you might want to get it while you can because in New York City, you know what's coming next. If you thought the soda ban -- I think you talked about the slippery slope, where will it end?
How about a ban on fattening snacks? One member of the New York Health Board is asking the city whether or not considering size limits for movie theatre popcorn, saying it isn't a whole lot better from nutritional point of view than soda is.
Also other people is wondering why it doesn't expand to large juices and to milk shakes
CAIN: Did you see the polling after the New York City soda ban. The majority of New Yorkers, I think it was something like 58 percent embraced the concept of the soda ban.
What is the absurdity level at which New Yorkers go too much? I'm just curious, generally. Is it the popcorn ban or milk share ban? What is it that puts you over the top, New Yorkers, seriously?
O'BRIEN: I don't know.
CAIN: Pizza?
HOOVER: You start --
CAIN: Don't mess with my pizza.
MARTIN: I ain't from here, you can ask question of other New Yorkers. To me it's ludicrous, but then again, if you're going to shrink the size of the popcorn, will the price shrink or smaller box, still $9.
HOOVER: Of course, they will.
O'BRIEN: I don't know, bacon sundae, I love bacon. In fact, I was once offered a "Bacon of the Month Club" by a friend and I loved it. Bacon on a sundae, quite good.
HOOVER: I'm going to bring you some bacon chocolate. It is delicious, both of you. You guys are going to blow your minds.
O'BRIEN: I seriously doubt that.
HOOVER: I suffered from that.
MARTIN: We're not going to suffer from bacon chocolate, thank you.
HOOVER: But I don't suffer. I can tell you.
O'BRIEN: We're moving on. Still ahead this morning on STARTING POINT, Joan Rivers unfiltered. We'll tell you why she calls the presidential race disgusting. You're watching STARTING POINT. We're back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: That's "The Temptations." I'm going to guess by the dancing that that is yours. "Beauty is only skin deep." Roland's play list.
Welcome back to STARTING POINT, everybody. Let's talk a little bit about Joan Rivers. We know she is a legendary comedian. She's an actress. She's a jewelry mogul. She's a fashion police spotter.
Goes a little off the rails in a new book, which is called "I Hate Everyone, Starting With Me." Zoraida had a chance to sit down with Joan yesterday.
ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a great time. You know, self-deprecating humor is how she started first. But I wanted to talk politics and Joan said I never talk politics. But yesterday, she did. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAMBOLIN: When you look at the political season, and we have to talk about it, if you look at the match between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, what do you think?
JOAN RIVERS, COMEDIAN, AUTHOR, "I HATE EVERYONE": Both idiots. How dare you spend two years campaigning? This country is in trouble. They should do what England does. Six weeks to find out what everyone thinks before they vote for them. That makes sense.
Two years? First of all, the president, get into the White House and do your -- duty. And Mitt Romney, two years, you all hate each other, and now they are all going to come together and say but we really love him.
I find it disgusting. The money spent. The money spent, outrageous. Obama went to a dinner party for Democrats, $40,000 a plate. You're not Democrats. You're not Democrats.
You're very strong Republicans. I find that -- I find the whole thing disgusting. Both sides disgusting.
SAMBOLIN: Let's talk about your staying power in this business. You've done so many different things. And by the way, today I was a little weird out about what I was going to wear --
RIVERS: You look great.
SAMBOLIN: Because you're all about fashion.
RIVERS: You're in the color of the season and the neon look of the season.
SAMBOLIN: Lovely. All right, so we don't see you any more on the red carpet, you know, dishing.
RIVERS: No, no, my choice.
SAMBOLIN: OK, but dish a little.
RIVERS: Well, I dish on "Fashion Police," and that's why I'm not on the red carpet. Because the red carpet -- when Melissa and I started doing it, you could say things. We were the only people doing the red carpet.
Now everything is so about clothes. If you say something about Meryl Streep, her PR person won't let you have Tom Cruise. So nobody says anything but nice things on the red carpet.
And then you turn into a hypocrite if the next day you're going to say, I really hated Jessica Simpson's dress. So E! said please go back and do the carpet, and Melissa and I said no. We'd much rather do the next day and tell the truth.
SAMBOLIN: So you can be yourself.
RIVERS: And it's working. We have just gone from half an hour to an hour. It's a major hit.
Katy Perry and Jennifer Aniston both have fragrances out this season. Katie's is called Purr, which was her second choice for a name. Her first choice was, Wait, I married who?
Bill Cosby told me years ago, if 1 percent of America thinks you're funny, you will fill stadiums forever. So do what you want and say what you want. I always think of Bill's advice. I think it was brilliant advice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: She is so funny, but she is so over the top. I mean, you know, on the red carpet, she can be very harsh to people. It wasn't just about being honest about whether someone's dress was nice or not nice. It was harsh, mean.
SAMBOLIN: We talked actually about a Whitney Houston moment where she -- they asked her who was the best dressed, and it was after Whitney Houston had died. And she said it was Whitney Houston, but she's dead. And she says, yes, but head-to-toe mahogany.
MARTIN: She's a comedian. That's what they do.
O'BRIEN: And that would be in bad taste, yes.
SAMBOLIN: Well, sometimes she says oh, it's too soon, too soon. She says this is how she deals with stuff.
CAIN: She lives on that edge. I certainly appreciate the personality characteristic of being more concerned with telling the truth or your version of it than making people like you. But I can't decide if I like her or not.
O'BRIEN: What's the difference between being a truth teller and just being mean? Sometimes if you watch the red carpet shows and things like that, sometimes it's just mean.
SAMBOLIN: It's catty. It's mean. It's like mean girls in seventh grade.
MARTIN: It's hilarious. People sitting at home are going, my God, look at that horrible dress. She is voicing what people are saying at home and that's the beauty of comedy. You go all the way with it and thank, God, somebody does.
SAMBOLIN: Well, at some points in the book, I will say that I cringed. I thought, my gosh, I cannot believe she said that. I thought that she had crossed the line.
But to her, she says this is what you do. You have to laugh in life. If I can bring out a laugh in somebody then I have done my job.
MARTIN: Remember, we live in a world, don't say that, because I'm on television. Her whole deal is I'm on TV so therefore say it.
SAMBOLIN: She is old enough to have earned it.
O'BRIEN: New developments in the Trayvon Martin case. We'll tell you on the other side of the break. We'll tell you why George Zimmerman's wife is now in trouble with the law as well.
And U.S. nuns accused of being radical feminists. The Vatican says they have strayed, but that's not stopping them. We'll tell you why they are hitting the road with their message now. You're watching STARTING POINT. Short break, we're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
