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Nigeria Accepts U.S. Offer of Support in Efforts to Rescue Kidnapped School Girls; Deadly Clashes in Eastern Ukraine; Lewinsky Breaks Her Silence, Writes Tell-All; Climate Assessment Released

Aired May 06, 2014 - 13:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, armed men abduct eight more girls in Nigeria as the world outcry grows over the hundreds of schoolgirls already being held by terrorists.

Also right now, massive floods, record droughts, dangerous wildfires, these are some of the warnings at a major new White House report on climate change.

And right now, it's time to burn the beret and bury the blue dress, those words from Monica Lewinsky who's now speaking out after a decade of near silence.

Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting from Washington. Terrorists kidnap more girls in Nigeria, adding to the nightmare playing out there. A witness tells CNN, armed men stormed a village in northeast Nigeria overnight and abducted eight more girls. This follows the kidnapping three weeks ago of more than 200 girls. They were snatched from their boarding school in Borno State by the terrorist group, Boko Haram. Protesters and anguished parents are calling on the Nigerian government and the world to do something. On Twitter, the hash tag, bringbackourgirls, is a reflection of -- reflection of the growing international outrage.

Our Correspondent Isha Sesay is in the Nigerian capital of Abuja right now. Isha, what can you tell us about these latest kidnappings?

ISHA SESAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Wolf. We continue to work this story and get more details. And what we're learning is that Boko Haram militants stormed the village of Horavay (ph) in northeastern Nigeria late Sunday night, into Monday. We're told that they went door to door. A local source telling us that it was in search of girls and went away with eight of them aged between 12 and 15.

In addition to taking these girls, Wolf, we know that as they went around, they collected goods, they collected money and they took livestock before disappearing into the night. This nightmare continues. Also getting word, Wolf, in the last few minutes, that today, today, Tuesday, in the afternoon, at around 3:00 p.m., there was another attack in another village in that same vicinity where at least two people lost their lives. This coming to us from local residents. It was seen that despite all the international attention on Nigeria right now and the Nigerian government saying that they are clamping down on Boko Haram, the attacks continue -- Wolf. BLITZER: Isha, we saw that reprehensible video yesterday, apparently from this leader of Boko Haram, this Islamist terrorist organization, threatening to sell the girls who were kidnapped from their school. Has there been any word on the status or their whereabouts, more than 200 schoolgirls held by these guys?

SESAY: Look, Wolf, that is the big question here. It is a question we continue to put to the Nigerian government to shed more answers, shed more light, tell us more what they're doing to find these girls. Because when President Goodluck Jonathan spoke on camera for the first time about this incident on Sunday, he admitted, we don't know where these girls are. He did say that they were following every lead and they were working flat out to find them.

But we still don't have enough detail, Wolf. We still don't know what this operation looks like. We have no leads that have been shared with us by the Nigerian government. And as we speak to people, they're on the ground in Chibok, families of these girls. They say that the Nigerian government's response, until last couple of days, had basically been inadequate. So, we continue to push for answers, Wolf. There's still many, many questions that need to be answered -- Wolf.

BLITZER: We're just getting this in, Isha, and I think this will be news to you. It's news to me and our -- I think our viewers. We've just learned from the State Department that the State Department reporting that Nigeria's president, Goodluck Jonathan, has now accepted a formal U.S. offer of support for Nigeria to rescue these hundreds of girls kidnapped by Boko Haram.

Secretary of state, John Kerry, according to the State Department, spoke with President Goodluck Jonathan earlier today. The U.S. embassy in Nigeria ready to create what's called a coordination cell to provide intelligence, investigations, hostage negotiation, expertise, in addition to provide victim assistance. All this according to the State Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki. So, this is going to be potentially an important piece --

SESAY: Yes.

BLITZER: -- of information for the folks watching in Nigeria.

SESAY: Yes, no doubt about that. There has been a growing call here in Nigeria and, quite frankly, around the world for Nigeria to get international assistance. The very fact the president said three weeks on, they don't know where these girls are, you know, basically has raised the specter of the Nigerian government needing help. So, to have this today that we have this word confirmed now that the American government will be lending assistance to the Nigerians will come as very welcome news.

We spoke to the finance minister on CNN yesterday and she admitted they need help. They're asking for help. And they will willingly accept it. It appears now that the next step has been taken and that help is on its way -- Wolf. BLITZER: Isha Sesay on the scene for us in Nigeria. We're staying on top of this story and more coming up later this hour. Isha, thank you.

Let's get the latest on Ukraine right now. Foreign ministers from across Europe, they met this morning to discuss the unrest in Ukraine. The meeting included representatives from both Ukraine and Russia.

Among the headlines, Germany now says Ukraine is on the brink of an all-out war. Russia blamed Ukraine. Britain is blaming Russia. Today's meeting comes on the heels of a deadly crackdown in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk. As many as 30 people were killed during fighting between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian militants over the past few days.

Joining us now from near Slavyansk is our own Nick Paton Walsh. Nick, where does the anti-terror operation, as the Ukrainians call it, stand right now?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it's a bizarre scene really here in Slavyansk because yesterday we were talking about the intense battles on the outskirts for a highway leading into that particular town. We went down that road today which had been heavily fought over.

A spokesperson for the pro-Russian militants telling me that they'd lost 10 militants during that fighting, 30 injured. But there was no sign of the Ukrainian military there at all. They were simply not there to hold the ground they fought over earlier on. They had, in fact, pulled back from their previous position the day before which they had been holding.

So, we're in this bizarre situation where we see this violence. We see the toll it takes on civilians living in the area. One woman we saw, in fact, shot in the head, perhaps by a stray bullet brought into (INAUDIBLE) yesterday. But after all that, the Ukrainian military don't seem to hold that territory. They may not want to. They may not want to face the potential for being attacked by those pro-Russian militants on unfamiliar territory.

But the real question is where does the anti-terror operation go now? There are lots of barricades being reinforced inside Slavyansk right now. We saw huge lumps of concrete being put around one of the key buildings those pro-Russian militants hold. They're deeply worried about an on -- full-out onslaught.

And many people in this town, too, near where I'm standing, very worried about what the next few days ahead hold -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Nick, there are a lot of reports out there, you've seen them, that pro-Russian forces are using heavy weapons, including artillery and mortar, in their clashes with the Ukrainian military. What do you know about this? Have you been able to confirm those reports?

WALSH: I have to say, from what we heard of the clashes yesterday, there wasn't a lot of heavy weaponry being used. Now, I may have missed something. But we've seen videos of Ukrainian helicopters used firing rockets, in one instance. That may explain one of the loud explosions we heard.

But we also do know these pro-Russian militants themselves, many of them carry on their back rocket-propelled grenades, have those attached to their AK-47s, even have shoulder launched missiles which were used, clearly, to take out some of these helicopters in the past few days. And I saw two of them, in fact, abandoned from a previous pro-Russian militant position when the clashes happened around Slavyansk.

So, yes, they do have heavy weaponry. Whether that actually extends to artillery and mortars, I've not seen much of that as we move around. They seem to be lighter equipped, relying more on small arms, sniper rifles. They certainly know what they're doing. But whether or not they actually have the full force of the armor we're seeing used by the Ukrainians here isn't clear. They do have some tanks they've captured.

And I saw one man cleaning the barrel of a tank gun on one of those lighter armored vehicles outside one of the main headquarters of pro- Russian militants, suggesting perhaps it had been used recently. So, yes, intense clashes here.

And it's interesting to note how the pro-Russian militants seemed able to reasonably hold their ground yesterday, sustaining substantial losses. But we didn't see the Ukrainian army move in and hold anything you might consider to be a valuable piece of territory -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Nick Paton Walsh in Eastern Ukraine for us. Thank you.

A new White House report says millions of Americans are now threatened by climate change. And why from the coast to the plains? We'll see its affects. Stand by for a full report.

And Monica Lewinsky's name was synonymous with a scandal back in the 1990s. What she's now saying about her regrets as she breaks her nearly decade-long silence.

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BLITZER: Since the 1990s, Monica Lewinsky's name has been synonymous with scandal. A White House intern, she was caught up in an affair with President Bill Clinton. And it all led up to this infamous statement.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BLITZER: The president was eventually impeached by the House of Representatives over the scandal and for perjury, later acquitted by the U.S. Senate. Through it all, Monica Lewinsky has remained largely silent, especially the last 10 years. Until now, that is.

In this month's new issue of "Vanity Fair," Monica Lewinsky writes candidly about the affair. She talks about her relationship with President Clinton and about her role in the affair and even about whether the relationship was an abuse of power. She says, and I'm quoting, "Sure, my boss took advantage me, but I will always remain firm on this point, it was a consensual relationship. Any abuse came in the aftermath when I was made a scapegoat in order to protect his powerful position." Lewinsky also writes that she's had some major problems finding jobs over the years, adding, and I'm quoting, once again, "because of what potential employers so tactfully refer to as my" quote, "history, I was never quite right for the position. In some cases, I was right for all the wrong reasons." She says she even turned down jobs that could have paid her as much as $10 million.

I'm joined now by Suzanne Malveaux and Gloria Borger who, together with me, we all covered this story back in 1998, 1999. We remember -- we remember it very well. So, Gloria, why do -- why do you think she's speaking out right now?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, she's turned 40 years old. First of all, I give her a lot of credit. I think she's struggled with this, largely in silence. And I think she wanted to kind of clear the air in her own words and start a new chapter in her life. As she wrote, you know, it's hard for her to get a job. She does have this history. And people just don't forget the Monica Lewinsky story.

I also think, for example, that you've had politicians out there, particularly someone like Rand Paul, who's called Bill Clinton a sexual predator. She has said, you know what? This was consensual. Of course, it was completely inappropriate but consensual. And I think she just wants to sort of get on with her life. And I give her credit for it.

BLITZER: And she's gone through a very difficult period over these years. You read this excerpt. This is only an excerpt from a much longer article that will come out in a couple of weeks. She went to the London School of Economics. She got a masters degree. But she has really had major problems over these years because her name is Monica Lewinsky.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And she certainly has. And you take a look at those tapes because, I mean, we were the ones who were behind the camera. I mean there were always producers, there were always reporters who were staking her out. We used to do that when I covered the story 16 years ago at the hotel, at the Watergate. She was very gracious. She was friendly. But clearly she went through a very troubling time. And it was traumatic for her. And she has never really said anything disparaging about Hillary Clinton. She has always taken part of this and she has always acknowledged in some way that she did play a role in this. That - and I don't know if you guys remember when the Starr report came out, I mean it was literally like phone book thick, about four or five - BLITZER: The Ken Starr report.

BORGER: Yes.

MALVEAUX: The Ken Starr report. And you read it, the relationship, and it was kind of a pathetic and mutually dependent relationship between these two individuals.

BORGER: You know, and I think she came out with this at this point. She refers to the 18-year-old Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers student whose sexual liaison was caught on tape and he killed himself, right. And she portrays herself, and I think she might be right, she said she was possibly the first person whose global humiliation was driven by the Internet.

BLITZER: And she writes her mother was really worried about potentially her committing suicide.

BORGER: Her, right, right. I mean, and that this whole Clementi situation, when he was caught on tape kissing another man, sort of brought it all back to her. And looking back on Lewinsky and -- that was in the sort of the nascent days of the Drudge report and everything else. So you look back on Lewinsky, I think she's right about the characterization of her humiliation. It was the first time kind of the Internet really exploded with this.

BLITZER: And she writes that she's doing this now to help others who may be publicly humiliated, especially in this new age of social media, move on and learn lessons from her experience.

MALVEAUX: Yes. And she says she hopes that that's something that she can accomplish. She really wants to find some sort of purpose out of the past. Because I do -- I agree in what she says as well, that she was branded by the media. Everybody played a role. And all of us covering that story, there was vigorous debate within our own news organizations about how we would handle certain things, what would be in the public, what would be protected during that time. But, yes, she largely walked away as the person who really was tarnished by this. And, you know, Bill Clinton now has established a, you know, a robust relationship certainly outside of the presidency and this scandal.

BLITZER: Gloria, how's this going to impact Hillary Clinton, assuming that she runs for president of the United States?

BORGER: You know what - you know what, I don't - I honestly don't think much. I think this is history that's been out there. She did say that this was a consensual relationship. So it may counter some folks who talk about Bill Clinton in another way. It was completely inappropriate. She also says that. But the one thing she says about Hillary Clinton, and we were talking about this in the makeup room, was about that she was sort of surprised that Hillary Clinton actually blamed herself in a way about this.

MALVEAUX: And she found that troubling.

BORGER: Yes. MALVEAUX: I mean she put herself in the same position, that both of them suffered because of this.

BORGER: That's right. That's right. And that Hillary Clinton would say, maybe she had been emotionally neglectful and she said, you know, don't blame yourself.

BLITZER: Yes.

BORGER: This was her (ph) fault.

BLITZER: Well, you were working for CBS. You were working for NBC. I was working for CNN. All of us remember those days very, very vividly. Guys, thanks very much.

Millions of Americans are threatened by floods and wildfires and massive storms. The warnings coming in a brand-new White House climate change report.

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BLITZER: So, brace yourselves for more floods, monster storms, droughts and massive wildfires. No part of the country will be immune. Those are the dire warnings contained in a brand-new report on climate change just released by the White House today calling for urgent action. As CNN's White House correspondent Jim Acosta explains, this is also a report with deep political implications. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The White House warns decades of dangerous weather, from monster storms to raging wildfires are on the way, all as a result of climate change. According to the Obama administration's new National Climate Assessment, sea levels will rise up to four feet, more intense heat waves will hit the southwest and the Arctic Ocean could have ice-free summers by midcentury.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hundred of the best climate scientists from across the U.S., not just in the public sector but in the private sector as well, have worked over the last four years to produce this report. This assessment is about presenting actionable science.

ACOSTA: President Obama has promised action, but critics within his own party complain he hasn't lived up to his complain vow from 2008.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.

ACOSTA: With his climate agenda stalled in Congress, the president has taken steps on his own, seeking new limits on power plant pollution and setting tougher fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks. The GOP has fought the president on the issue. Some Republican lawmakers question whether humans are actually behind dramatic changes in the climate, while others say Mr. Obama is mounting an all-out assault on energy sector jobs. Take this ad from Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's re-election campaign. UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Mitch fights for Kentucky miners against Obama's war on coal.

ACOSTA: But the White House boasts the natural gas and oil industries are booming, even as the administration is taking its time on a decision on the controversial Keystone oil pipeline. Some of that project's supporters in Congress are calling for a vote to bypass the president to approve it.

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: And we believe strongly that that's not an effective or helpful way to bring that process to a conclusion.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Jim Acosta is joining us now from the White House. Chad Myers is in the CNN Severe Weather Center.

Jim, first to you. The president clearly making a major push on this report. He has an event scheduled for later today. Talk a little bit about the political implications of what he has done today.

ACOSTA: Well, I think there are some pretty substantial political implications, Wolf. You're right, there is an event happening here at the White House, kind of unique, kind of not unique. He's going to be talking to a series of meteorologists who are flying in from all across the country, some in the network TV level, some at the network level, who will be talking to the president in the Rose Garden about climate change. The climate, by the way, pretty good for that round robin (ph) of interviews.

By the way, our crack political staff at CNN has discovered that President Clinton did almost this very same thing back in 1997. So it's interesting to see the counselor to the president, John Podesta, who used to work for the Clinton White House, now advising the president on climate change. They're sort of pulling the same trick here in trying to ratchet up attention with the public.

But it is tricky politics for the president because while this does rev up the Democratic base, environmentalists in the Democratic base, there are a lot of endangered red state Democrats who are very nervous about all of this, who would rather see this president approve the Keystone pipeline project, a project that has been sort of delayed by this administration. And one thing that we should note, Wolf, is that later on this week, the president's going to be doing some fund- raising out in California. Obviously, this subject does not hurt in the fund-raising department when you're out in California. And then on Friday, he is doing yet another event designed to raise awareness on climate change. So the president is really pulling out some of the stops that he hasn't done in a very long time to raise awareness on this issue.

BLITZER: Let me bring Chad into this conversation. The report emphasizing, Chad, no part of the country is going to be immune from significant effects of climate change. Walk us through some of the more dire warnings this report contains. CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I think when you look at your local weather man and you see his almanac page and it says the average high for today is 72, the high that day isn't going to be 72, it's going to be 62 or 82. The extremes are what we're talking about. Extreme heat waves in the northeast. Extreme flooding in the northeast. Flash flooding and also coastal flooding because the ocean, obviously, is rising and it's going to continue to rise if we melt the glaciers.

To the south, water issues, fresh water issues, because it isn't raining as much and now there's more people. Also if you put the levels of the ocean up a little bit, any tropical system that hits the southeast will make a bigger dent, make a bigger impact, of course.

Now, to the Midwest, yes, we're going to have fires, but we're going to have droughts and we're going to have floods. But we could also have a longer growing season. That's one possible positive of all this. But if you have a heat wave and a drought in the middle of the growing season, then your growing season positive, it's just gone anyway. Or if it flash floods and you flash flood through your land that you're trying to grow things on, that's a waste of time as well.

Now, into the southwest, there's your wildfire increase. And fresh water may become more scarce than it already is. To the pacific northeast, the snow is going to melt earlier, the rivers may be lower in the summer. Alaska, the ice -- sea ice is rapidly receding. The glaciers are shrinking. And the permafrost, if it thaws, there's going to be a methane release. That's even worse than carbon dioxide. Methane in the air will produce more of the greenhouse gas and greenhouse warming than even CO2. The oceans are absorbing this CO2. They're becoming acidic, ocean acidification, carbonic acid, and this is leading to a lack and a death now of some of the glaciers around the world, that water coming in, and also the coral reefs die. We're seeing some of the other things around here. And some of this marine ecosystems, as they get in trouble, that could be all the way down the food chain, eventually up to us. If we kill the oceans, we kill the world.

BLITZER: Chad Myers, thanks very much.

It's -- one major mistake that I'm sure Jim Acosta will agree with me that the White House did make today, they invited some of the nation's top meteorologists to the White House. They should have invited Chad Myers, arguably the best meteorologist on television today, bar none.

ACOSTA: Right. (INAUDIBLE) Chad.

MYERS: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Maybe they can fix that down the road. I'm sure they're thinking about that right now.

ACOSTA: He's welcome any time from my point of view, Wolf.

BLITZER: I totally support that statement. All right. Thanks very much, guys.

ACOSTA: You're welcome.

BLITZER: Up next, the call for countries to help rescue schoolgirls kidnapped by a terrorist group in Nigeria. I'll speak live with a former CIA operative and human rights expert about what, if anything, the United States can do to help.

And new fallout after our reports about veterans dying while waiting for medical care at V.A. hospitals. The secretary of Veterans Affairs is now under growing fire from groups that represent veterans.

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