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CNN NEWSROOM
Secretary Kerry Meets with Syrian Opposition; Sequester Coming; Jodi Arias Breaks Down on the Stand; Hockey Player, Cancer Survivor; Mexican Union Leader Behind Bars
Aired February 28, 2013 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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CLINT EASTWOOD, ACTOR: Go ahead. Make my day.
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BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Clint Eastwood, now joining the fight for same-sex marriage, the movie star has signed a legal brief asking the Supreme Court to rule in favor of gay marriage in California.
At least 100 other Republicans have signed this brief. Next month, the court will hear challenges to California's ban on same-sex marriage and a federal law defining marriage as between one man and one woman.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Previously on "Lost."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They come. They fight. They destroy. They corrupt. It always ends the same.
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BALDWIN: Oh, my goodness. I don't know about you, but I was hooked on this show, "Lost."
Mementos of hit TV shows like "Lost," they're actually now on sale at four Goodwill stores in Hawaii. So, I'm talking about "Lost," "The Last Resort," "The River." These are -- were -- all these shows were shot in Hawaii.
Outfits worn by the stars of some of those shows were donated to Goodwill when Sony Entertainment moved out of its studio space. And, so, it took Goodwill a couple of weeks to finally sort and itemize everything.
More than 1,000 pieces of clothing used previously on "Lost" and other shows are now for sale.
Turns out the trauma was worse than the physical effects of radiation from Japan's post-tsunami, nuclear meltdown almost two years ago now. The World Health Organization says the lifetime risk of cancer is up only slightly for a small group of people exposed close to radiation close to the plant.
The report says fear, anxiety, depression caused by the disaster could lead to illness and psychiatric problems.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can assure you I mean no harm.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who is but the form following the function of what, and what I am is a man in a mask.
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BALDWIN: The man in the mask, this mask, this is the Guy Fawkes mask. You know, Occupy Wall Street, Anonymous. We just showed you a clip from "V for Vendetta." They've really become sort of this personal sign of protest.
And, now, these masks banned in Bahrain. So, is it legal to try to take one of these things into this Gulf kingdom. Importing one, it could actually mean prison time.
This is just the latest move in an effort to half a pro-democracy uprising that started now two years ago. The United Arab Emirates banned Guy Fawkes masks in November.
And, now this, these are images here from Syria's civil war, two years of fighting, 60,000 people killed, huge swathes of the country, as we've been reporting, absolutely devastated.
Well, today, Secretary of State John Kerry met with opposition leaders in Rome and promised additional support for rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
And CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in Beirut, Lebanon. Nick, when it comes to this support, what kind of specifics do we know?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is firstly a big deal, Brooke. It is the first time the U.S. has said they will supply support to armed rebels. Until now, they've only really been dealing with non-violent opposition activists.
They say they will provide them rations, food for the hungry and people on the frontline and medical assistance, as well.
That's quite far short of the arms, heavy weapons, that the rebels have long been asking for and Obama clearly doesn't want to give himself.
But, today, there was a slight glimmer of hope, too, because some of the European nations made hints they might like to supply night-vision equipment or even armored cars at some point in the future, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Nick Paton Walsh, thank you for me in Lebanon. And, now, this. Remember this? This is the meteor, exploded over Russia just a couple of weeks ago here, sent out a 32-second sound wave that we couldn't hear, but it was picked up by nuclear test sensors on the other side of the world.
Scientists are learning a lot from this data. They estimate the meteor was actually about 56 feet across, weighed more than 7,000 tons. The speed? Forty-thousand-miles-per-second, and the energy behind this blast here equal to about 30 nuclear bombs.
Coming up next, Ali Velshi, live from Washington. Ali?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Brooke, it's complicated stuff. People sort of forget how it is we got into this mess where we as a country are about to swallow a poison pill so bad that it was designed to be avoided.
We're almost at the forced budget cuts. I'll tell you how we got here when we come back.
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VELSHI: From the CNN studios in Washington, D.C., I'm Ali Velshi. This is "Your Money."
We are just one day away from the $85 billion in forced spending cuts kicking in. There are no votes scheduled, no new ideas and no hopes for political sanity to overcome the partisanship that is now the new normal in this town.
What are your congressman doing about it? They're leaving town.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Speaker and the leadership will be here, and we're -- I'm a quick flight away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they call me back, I'll be back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I think it's actually better when we're home working because the work we do there in my opinion is more important than the work we do here.
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VELSHI: Wow.
All right, some leaders from Congress will meet the president at the White House for some talks tomorrow, the day of the sequester kicks in, to see what can be done to avoid it, but don't get your hopes up.
The road that led to this dead end started 18 months ago.
It's a white-knuckle drama played out not in days or hours, but in month after interminable month.
To understand how we got here today, rewind to the summer of 2011.
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VELSHI: We are just over two days away from the date when the United States may not be able to pay all of its bills.
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VELSHI: Congress is bitterly divided over how to raise the debt ceiling. Republicans demand some $2.5 trillion in spending cuts.
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REPRESENTATIVE JOHN BOEHNER (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: No one wants the United States to default on our obligations, but we won't see growth without a serious plan to deal with our deficit.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHN LARSON (D), CONNECTICUT: Every American is being held hostage by the Republican majority.
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VELSHI: The fight goes up to the deadline, but late on Sunday, July 31st ...
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PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: I want to announce that the leaders of both parties in both chambers have reached an agreement.
CAROL COSTELLO, ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": The deal has been reached in the debate.
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VELSHI: A last-minute deal to raise the debt ceiling through the 2012 presidential elections.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Agonizingly (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Agonizing and we were up late, late last, e- mails flying at midnight.
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VELSHI: Congress agrees about a trillion in cuts and the creation of a bipartisan super committee, its job to find another $1.5 trillion in cuts.
Crucially, if the super committee fails, then indiscriminate, across- the-board, forced spending cuts would kick in in 2013.
The geeky word for it in Congress? The sequester.
At first, there's relief in Washington.
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JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: You may have noticed, if you look outside, that the cloud of uncertainty has been lifted.
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VELSHI: But the good cheer does not last long.
September 2011, the super committee begins work.
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REPRESENTATIVE JEB HENSARLING (R), TEXAS: I approach our task with a profound sense of urgency, high hopes and realistic expectations.
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VELSHI: The weeks drag on. Bargaining is intense. And in late November, the super committee wraps up work without a deal.
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REPRESENTATIVE PATTY MURRAY (D), WASHINGTON: We have to keep fighting to find a fair and balanced solution. And that was the challenge that divided us.
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VELSHI: A disappointed President Obama urges lawmakers to do what the super committee could not do.
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OBAMA: Although Congress has not come to an agreement yet, nothing prevents them from coming up with an agreement in the days ahead.
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VELSHI: Back then, the deadline for forced budget cuts seemed far away, but the clock was ticking and, as I warned more than a year and a half ago ...
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VELSHI: They don't come to a deal, then those automatic cuts could be very haphazard. They're automatic. They may not be the best for the economy.
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VELSHI: Now, those cuts are upon us.
And the true tragedy here is that you, the American people, have largely stopped caring about this despite 18 months of intense bickering now going down to the wire.
Look at this new poll showing almost half of you haven't bothered to follow the latest out of Washington because, understandably, you've got sequester fatigue.
And today all this is happening. The stock market seemed so disconnected from the political dysfunction and the economic uncertainty coming out of this city. The Dow again at a five-year high, very close to its all-time high.
From the CNN studios in Washington, D.C., that's it for me. But I'm here until that deadline comes and goes.
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BALDWIN: Murder defendant Jodi Arias just a short time ago broke down on the witness stand.
She was sobbing as prosecutor Juan Martinez asked her about the grizzly slayings of this man. This was her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander.
And as Arias broke down, prosecutor Martinez just kept boring in. Watch this.
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JUAN MARTINEZ, PROSECUTOR: Where were you taking the photographs when this happened. I want to see it on this exhibit.
JODI ARIAS, ACCUSED MURDERER: Outside of the shower.
MARTINEZ: Pardon?
ARIAS: Outside the shower.
MARTINEZ: Well, why don't you put a mark on it?
Were you crying when you were shooting him?
ARIAS: I don't remember.
MARTINEZ: Were you crying when you were stabbing him?
ARIAS: I don't remember.
MARTINEZ: How about when you cut his throat? Were you crying then?
ARIAS: I don't know.
MARTINEZ: So, take a look then. And you were the that did this, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
MARTINEZ: And you're the same individual that lied about all this, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
MARTINEZ: So, let's take a look at this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, we're going to take the noon recess at this time.
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BALDWIN: Jodi Arias claims she was acting in self defense when she stabbed Alexander 27 times and shot him twice.
She once declared no jury would ever convict her.
We'll be right back.
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BALDWIN: Chris Rumble was a fierce competitor on his way to a professional hockey career, but all of that changed last year.
CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta shares his story in this week's "Human Factor."
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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Chris Rumble loves the hard hits, the camaraderie, and the trash talk.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, are you going the whole game?
GUPTA: In hockey.
CHRIS RUMBLE, CANCER SURVIVOR: It's always been in the back of my mind that, yeah, I want to be a hockey player when I grow up.
GUPTA: After high school, Rumble played defense for the Wenatchee Wild amateur hockey team.
Two years later, his dream of a college hockey scholarship came true.
But months after that, in April 2012, he suddenly felt something wasn't right.
Rumble noticed his glands were swollen, his energy level was low, and then came the diagnosis.
RUMBLE: I knew leukemia was a form of cancer. And I kind of felt like I had like a thousand pounds on my shoulders. I just kind of sunk into my seat.
One of the first questions I asked was, how long until I can play hockey again?
GUPTA: Determined to play again, Rumble approached his six months of brutal chemotherapy with a positive attitude, not letting even his lowest day knock him down.
RUMBLE: The worst day of pain was during round four and my large intestine ruptured, so I wasn't allowed to eat for 14 days, or drink.
GUPTA: The 22-year-old was a patient at Seattle Children's Hospital. He took comfort in being a role model for the younger ones and tried to cheer them up with another passion, making music videos.
RUMBLE: What doesn't kill you makes you stronger ...
GUPTA: This time, his new friends on the cancer ward were the stars. This video went viral, registering millions of hits.
Just six months ago, he was still in the hospital. Now, his cancer's in remission.
Rumble's back on the ice as a freshman playing defense for the Canisius Golden Griffiths.
RUMBLE: There were a couple points during my treatment where I didn't think I'd ever make it back on the ice, let alone Division I college hockey.
GUPTA: A win on the ice, and in life.
Rumble hopes sharing his story helps others keep a positive attitude when those times are tough.
RUMBLE: You know, it feels good. Everyone is really fired up.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
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BALDWIN: One of the most powerful woman in Mexico is behind bars. Her name is Elba Gordillo. She's the teachers' union leader known as "La Maestra," and she's accused of embezzling some $200 million in union funds.
I wanted to bring in Alejandra Ora from CNN Espanol to sort of explain the impact among Mexicans. It's shocking to see pictures of her in jail.
What does this mean for Mexico?
ALEJANDRA ORA, CNN ESPANOL: Brooke, I think it means that Mexico is going through a big change in the political system.
It means that one of the people that politicians and even residents of Mexico's heart is behind bars. This means that the political system is now probably more transparent.
It means that we can have more transparency in the educational system.
It also shows a pretty big warning sign to organizations or unions that might be into corruption right now. BALDWIN: As I mentioned, when you look at the accusations, $200 million of union funds, what is she accused of doing with all the money?
ORA: She had a very extravagant lifestyle.
It's important to also make clear that the time she was arrested, she was in her private airplane from California to Mexico.
So, not only she had a private airplane, she had three houses in California, all of them were more than $2 million and above.
She had shopping sprees at Neiman Marcus worth more than $2 million, tens of thousands of dollars in plastic surgery.
She used to collect artwork. I mean, the list is endless.
BALDWIN: It goes on and on.
ORA: Huge.
BALDWIN: Education in Mexico, going through sweeping reform right now. What does this mean for education with the leader in jail?
ORA: I think that Enrique Pena Nieto now is not going to have a political obstacle that he had before in terms of having education reform.
Enrique Pena Nieto just proposed a new reform that Elba, the lady that's arrested now, she used to oppose.
With her being in jail now, I think that school systems are going to have a different sense. It's going to have more transparency, and it's probably going to be a very educational system.
And people -- one of the things that Enrique Pena Nieto wanted to show with this new reform is that the positions of teachers or government positions in the educational systems were something more like a hierarchy, that people were there for more than 25 to 30 years. People used to retire at 70.
And one of the best examples was that Elba was in this union. She was the president of the union for more than 25 years. For more than 25 years, people used to fear her, and nobody ever dreamed of her leaving this position because it's not common in Mexico.
People take a very important position. They stay there until they retire.
So, this is going to be a good example for the people that are not doing a good job in the Mexican government.
BALDWIN: Alejandra Ora, CNN Espanol, thank you very much.
ORA: My pleasure.
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BALDWIN: For the second time this month, a Motown family grieving the death a former member of The Temptations.
Richard Sweet died yesterday in a Vegas hospital after doctors found a clot in his lung just a week prior. He joined the R&B sensation group in the early '70s.
Also, another for Temptation, Damon Harris, died just a couple of weeks ago after a battle with cancer.
I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you so much for being with me.
Let's take you to Washington now. "The Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer begins now.
Hey, Wolf.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much, Brooke.
