Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

Hugo Chavez's Condition Worsens; Storm Slams Midwest And Heading East; Pilot Sees A Drone; Arias Is Back On The Stand; Dow Roars To Record High; FBI, FAA Investigate NYC Drone Report; Jeb Bush Releases New Book; Martha Stewart Caught In The Middle

Aired March 5, 2013 - 13:00   ET

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


BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Brianna Keilar.

And we're monitoring some live pictures coming to us from Caracas, Venezuela. A press conference that is underway there about the health of Hugo Chavez. We do understand from government sources that his healthy is very delicate. There are obviously concerns about what this would mean to the future of Venezuela if indeed he is faring as poorly as we understand he is.

We're going to continue to monitor the situation there in Caracas. We have reporters on the ground and also in Atlanta to tell us exactly about the repercussions and exactly about what his health status is. We'll be checking that out shortly and we'll bring that to you.

Meantime, a storm slams the Midwest and is barreling east on its way. It could drop about a foot of snow in Chicago. We've got a live report on that just moments away.

And was it a bird, a plane or a drone?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ah, what did you say?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ah, we saw a drone, a drone aircraft.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: A pilot reports seeing a drone over Brooklyn while he was landing.

Then, sex, lies, audiotapes. Jodi Arias returns to the witness stand for the 15th day. She is accused of murder in the grisly death of her boyfriend. A look at this graphic case.

Let's start, though, with our big story from Wall Street. The Dow Jones hitting an all-time high. This -- it shot up almost right out of the gate. Right now, we are about halfway through the trading day. It's still up about 14 -- or up 140 points, I should say. Let's go to Alison Kosik on the floor of the New York stock exchange. Alison, these aren't levels that we have seen in years. ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. And there are a lot of big numbers to talk about. It's been at least more than, actually, five years since we've seen the Dow at levels like this. You know, it's interesting thing, though, look at how the economy's doing. There's a real disconnect between what we're seeing there on the board, how the market is up so high and what real Americans are feeling. I mean, you look at the unemployment rate, it's at 7.9 percent; 12 million Americans are out of work. You know, it's almost like investors think that the economy's in full throttle expansion mode and the reality is, it isn't.

I mean, look at GDP in the last quarter of last year, the last three months of last year, it barely grew. GDP was up .1 percent, that's only up a little bit. You look at housing prices, we are seeing a recovery in the housing market. The housing prices are still way off their highs. Washington, I don't need to tell you this, Brianna. Washington is a dysfunctional mess. There are also concerns about Europe and a possible slowdown in China as well, our biggest trading partner. But companies are doing all they can to cut costs and that means they're not looking to hire right now.

So -- but many people realize, at this point, is that this rally is mostly because of the fed and that's why analysts say, don't expect this rally to last. Don't be surprised if you suddenly see the market do a 180 and you see investors take their money off the table. So, my advice, enjoy this now, especially if you're in this market and making money -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Don't get too jazzed about it. It certainly does feel like an economic slog. Alison Kosik, certainly here for Washington, I'll say. Thanks for that.

The Midwest is getting buried under almost a foot of snow. This is the fourth big storm this year. Heavy snow has fallen on Minnesota, North Dakota, Illinois has gotten some and it's heading east. Jennifer Delgado looks at problems that the storm is causing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER DELGADO, AMS METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): Here we go again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last week was practice. This is the real deal.

DELGADO: Another winter storm is gearing up and dumping tons of snow from the Dakotas to the east coast. This is North Dakota. A foot of snow fell on parts of that state. The roads there --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're a little icy. You can't tell but they're icy.

DELGADO: Minnesota is seeing round two of a one-two punch. Some areas there could also get a foot of snow. It's already caused plenty of wrecks. Just look at this. You can follow the tracks from the road all the way down to where the car ended up overturned. Air travelers are caught in the middle of it. Hundreds of flights have already been canceled for today. This man had the right idea when he left last night.

JIM COURTNEY: Getting out ahead of the weather, we're going to fly out to San Diego and beat the snow.

DELGADO: It's been a relatively mild winter so far in Chicago, but that will change today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: And, Jennifer Delgado joining me now.

DELGADO (live): And that's right, Brianna.

KEILAR: Oh, sorry, Jennifer. Take it away. Go right ahead.

DELGADO: Yes, you know, it's a little hard to hear with the buses going by and the wind starting to kick up a little bit as well. But in the last half hour, Brianna, if you notice that the snow is actually getting heavier, it's blowing a lot stronger. I just checked, visibility at Chicago O'Hare down to three-quarter of a mile. And we're going continue to see visibility issues because the snow is going to get heavier. And we are talking six to eight inches, in some areas we could see potentially 10 inches of snowfall.

Now, let's show you some snowfall totals. For Rockford, Illinois, and that's just to the west of Chicago, they've been the big winner with the snowfall, five inches. But areas around Chicago roughly are talking one to three, still haven't got any official words on the totals coming out of O'Hare or Midway. But let's talk about this storm. We're going to start you off tonight at 7:00. Now, Brianna, notice for yourself, the snow is going to be affecting more parts of Indiana as well as western parts of Ohio.

And then, as we move ahead to Wednesday morning, hello, mid-Atlantic. We are talking about a messy storm for you. And this is going to be bringing potentially a foot of snowfall, especially for those mountains right along the APs (ph), we're talking the Blue Ridge Mountains, those will see the heaviest. But focus on central Pennsylvania as well as into Maryland, we're still talking, in those regions, five inches or more and that includes the D.C. metro area. Of course, the western communities are going to pick up more of that snowfall. So, that gives you an idea of the timing. And then, of course, on Thursday, this is still going to be affecting parts of New England, even New York. You can start to see some of that snow arriving it looks like Wednesday night.

Now, Brianna, I want to point out to you, there's a positive to the snow. It is the wet stuff out here, the big flakes. And you know what? I've got a nice little -- I shouldn't probably throw it at that lady walking by.

KEILAR: Do it.

DELGADO: But I'll fire it for you so you can see. Yes! Yes! So, we do have some positives out of the snow.

KEILAR: Some positives.

DELGADO: But right now, I'm going to get in the truck and get warm.

KEILAR: Yes, you should get warm. I can't believe how happy you look to be out there in the snow.

DELGADO: It's going to get worse.

KEILAR: It is definitely going to get worse. We'll be following.

DELGADO: Yes, I'm very happy. (INAUDIBLE.)

KEILAR: Jennifer Delgado for us in Chicago. Thank you. Stay warm.

Now, tonight, Piers Morgan will ask the question, is global warming causing more of these massive storms? That's tonight at 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

Was there a drone flying over Brooklyn on Monday afternoon? A pilot says, yes, and now the FBI is investigating. Take a listen to what the pilot radioed to the control tower.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ah, what did you say?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ah, we saw a drone, a drone aircraft.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Brian Todd joining us now. So, Brian, the FAA is looking into this. We got word moments ago the FBI is also looking into it. Do we know if it was really a drone?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, that's what they're looking into right now. It's unclear. It could have been an unmanned aerial vehicle, a drone, it could've been some kind of a remote-controlled model plane. That's what the FAA and the FBI are looking into. And you mentioned the FBI. We have just gotten information from the FBI that they're asking for the public's help in identifying this vehicle, identifying the operator of the vehicle. FBI special agent in charge, John Giacalone, issued a statement saying, quote, "Our paramount concern is the safety of aircraft passengers and crew."

What is crucial about what the FBI is saying this afternoon is that it says that this unmanned aircraft, whatever it was, came within 200 feet of the Alitalia plane. If that's the case, that's a very serious incident. That's a plane with the approaching speed of a large passenger jet coming in for a landing. If this thing was within 200 feet of it, that could have been a very dangerous situation, Brianna. As we've been mentioning and as the pilot did report, it was 1,500 feet in the air. He says he saw a drone. And again, they're investigating what that was. And the crucial piece of news here that we just got from the FBI, they say, according to a source who interviewed people on that Alitalia plane, including the pilot, that they believe this vehicle came within 200 feet of the plane. That is extremely close at those speeds.

KEILAR: That is a very alarming distance. And I know when we're talking about drones, Brian, that in terms of the privacy, the laws just haven't even caught up with technology.

TODD: That's right.

KEILAR: In terms of how they might affect air traffic, are there laws that are in place about how high they can go and whether or not they can be close to airports what distance away from an airport they need to be?

TODD: There are regulations in place but, as you mentioned, they haven't quite caught up with the technology and, of course, you know, the number of these unmanned vehicles that are out there now and the varied types of them. According to regulations, flying unmanned aerial vehicles is illegal for commercial purposes, for most commercial purposes. You can fly remote-controlled planes up to about 400 feet in the air, according to FAA. If you come within three miles of an airport, though, you have to let the air traffic controllers know about that. So, those are some of the loose regulations on these things. But, as you mentioned, a lot of those have not caught up with just, you know, the sheer volume of these things in the air these days and just what they're able to do.

KEILAR: Amazing, new technology but also kind of scary. Brian Todd for us. And you can also watch Brian Todd's full report tonight on "THE SITUATION ROOM."

So, here's what we're working on for this hour. Could you vote for another president Bush? Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush is opening up about the idea he's not ruling out a run for the White House.

Plus, a woman paid to have a baby for a couple is asked to have an abortion after an ultrasound finds abnormal -- abnormalities. She refuses and then she goes on the run. We have a look at the dark side of surrogacies.

Then, zombies, that's right, taking over television. Why "The Walking Dead" is one of the most-watched shows.

This is CNN NEWSROOM and it's all happening now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Martha Stewart means business, big business for Macy's which has sold her pots, pans, sheets and towels since 2007 and potential business for JCPenney which is desperate to sell something customers want. But Macy says it had Martha Stewart first and now all three are in court with Stewart herself on the stand. CNN's Christine Romans is at the courthouse for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's been eight years since Martha Stewart left prison serving five months for lying about a stock sale. Goodbye rap sheet, hello cotton sheets. A deal with Macy's helped her company rebuild.

PAMELA DANZIGER, PRESIDENT, UNITY MARKETING: Macy's was really important in giving her a leg up, giving her a helping hand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Macy's obviously recognized the brand and the value of the brand, the quality of the merchandise.

ROMANS: Now, Stewart is back in court. Macy's is suing her company over a deal with JCPenney. Her defense, a contract loophole. Quote, "The Macy's contract is written to allow Martha Stewart living out in the media to sell a broad range of products at JCPenney with no restrictions whatsoever in a store inside JCPenney." But brand experts say the suit is trouble.

DANZIGER: She was married to Macy's but she went off and had an affair and got in bed with a direct competitor, with JCPenney's, and I think it just shows really bad form.

ROMANS: Stewart's company is struggling losing $56 million in 2012. It shuttered magazines and laid off workers. The shares are beaten down. And last year, the Hallmark Channel canceled the Martha Stewart Show. These aren't exactly salad days for the dreams of domesticity, but neither was the insider trading case.

MARTHA STEWART, OWNER, MARTHA STEWART LIVING OMNIMEDIA, INC: I want to focus on my salad.

ROMANS: Now, she wants to refocus on retail. Twenty-nine percent of her company's revenues came from merchandise last year. You can find her wares at Home Depot, Pet Smart, even Staples. And if she prevails, JCPenney --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I suspect the court is going to allow JCPenney's a certain number of products that are going to go into their stores, whether they're branded by Martha Stewart or not branded by Martha Stewart.

ROMANS: But at what cost?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think anybody, any other business, is going to want to get involved with her in the future. I think she's hurt her brand and hurt herself.

ROMANS: Very messy business dealings for the woman who peddles perfection. Briana, the Macy's attorney tenacious going through detail by detail the contract with Martha Stewart. Stewart saying she did not go behind Macy's back, Macy's attorney trying to move otherwise. Martha Stewart during a break, told me she was confident about her testimony today.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Christine Romans in New York.

Is former Florida governor Jeb Bush opening up to the idea of a White House run? You'll hear from him, next.

Plus, Senator Menendez is being accused of having sex with prostitutes but now one woman who accused him who says she's one of the people who accused him is saying she made it all up for money. What he's saying now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: New Jersey senator Robert Menendez finds himself in the middle of a scandal today but says he'll be vindicated. A Dominican woman who says she's one of the women in a video who claimed Menendez paid for her sex now says she was paid to make it up and never met the senator. "The Daily Caller" a conservative website published a video in November with two different women whose faces were obscured claiming that they had sex with Menendez for money. He has always denied the allegations, and today he called them false smears. Here what happens he said a couple of hours ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ROBERT MENENDEZ, (D) NEW JERSEY: I don't know more than what I've read but I do know that from the very beginning I said that nameless, faceless, anonymous sources took the name from right-wing blogs, took the story, which were just false smears right before an election cycle, attempted to do it then and ultimately drove it into the mainstream press. But they were never anything other than false smears.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: So that's the senator's side of the story. Last hour I talked to the editor of "the Daily Caller" and pressed him for proof that his story is true. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID MARTOSKO, THE DAILY CALLER: We were quite confident our story was true. WE verified it thoroughly when we ran it. We wouldn't have run it we hadn't verified it thoroughly and thoroughly vetted our sources. The bigger picture, though, here and I keep trying to get to this, Senator Menendez was accused of something very serious, which was, soliciting and cavorting with prostitutes.

This isn't only time he's been accused of that. The big picture here is that we have actually found and surfaced and an actual American escort who told us in repeated interviews that she had had the senator as a client and characterized him as a very active participant in this sort of escort community and there are other women -- again, unconfirmed -- who have accused him of engaging in sex for money with them when they were as young as 16. This becomes a pattern. If this was just a one-off thing -

KEILAR: Except there needs to be proof, David. We're going to be very intrigued.

MARTOSKO: We have an escort in the United States told us this on the record. We published it last month.

KEILAR: I will tell you, in this particular story about the Dominican Republic it will be very interested when you do go back, double back with your sources, to see that indeed these women were not paid. We'll be very interested to see what proof you can bring to us. We'd love to have you back on to talk about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: We will definitely keep investigating this story and let you know what we find out. Could you go for another President Bush? Former Florida governor Jeb Bush is opening up the idea and not ruling out a run for the White House. The brother of Bush 43 and son of Bush 41 talked with Jake Tapper, anchor of CNN's "THE LEAD" about all things Bush in and an-depth interview and pushing his new book on immigration.

Jake is joining me now. I'm -- I'll be skeptical about this, Jake. Is he just pushing a book or is this really sort of teeing himself up for the next presidential race in 2016, maybe trying to clear the feel early?

JAKE TAPPER, CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bri he says he just wants to take advantage of this opportunity to speak his mind about an important issue, immigration reform. He wants to try to resolve it and try to help the Republican party win future elections, that's what he says. He seems to have changed his position, however, on one of the most controversial parts of immigration reform. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH, (R ) FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: I have supported both, both the path to legalization or a path to citizenship with the underlying principle being that there should be no incentive for people to come illegally at the expense of coming legally. Today basically the only path to come to this country other than family reunification is to come illegally. We need to create another category of legal immigration where people -- where there is actually a line. So if you could create that through a path to citizenship, I would support that.

TAPPER: So you say, you've supported both. Where are you -

BUSH: In other words, instead of saying send people back that are here illegally, which was kind of the mantra of 2006, '7, '8 amongst Republicans, I've always felt that you could not deal with 11 million people in saying, see you later.

TAPPER: This conversation has prompted a lot of speculation about what your plans might be in 2016. I know you haven't ruled anything out and you haven't announced anything either.

BUSH: Right.

TAPPER: What kind of factors will you be weighing in the next year as you make this decision?

BUSH: Well, I'm not going to factor anything in a year, that's the only thing I've decided. The factors would be the same that anybody should think about. First, is it the right thing to do for family? Second, do I think that somehow I have a unique perspective that, you know, might be different, you know, that the skills I have might be useful going forward in terms of leadership. I don't know, I haven't thought about that. There are a lot of other really good people that I admire in that regard. Third, is it practical? Is it something I could see going forward that I could be successful if I set my mind to it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Jake, you know looking at polls, a lot of people might be surprised that immigration reform isn't most important issue for Latino voters and this is something that we'll often hear Republicans say. They say look at Latinos - they're just as focused on jobs, health care, education. So, why does Jeb Bush say it's so important for Republicans to work towards a resolution on this issue?

TAPPER: They calls this a gateway issue, meaning if Republican candidates sound harsh and intolerant on immigration reform they won't be able to get through the gate, the Republican candidates to talk to Latino voters about economics, about health care. He says exhibit A is how poorly Mitt Romney did with Latino voters, who are the fastest growing demographic in America today, because of the positions he took during the Republican primaries, the self-deportation comments.

KEILAR: Jake, this is certainly his political future as well is the open question going into 2016. Thanks for the interview. Very interesting. If you want more from it, Jeb Bush also talks about his father's health and the state of the Republican party. You can watch "THE SITUATION ROOM" today at 4:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN for more of Jake's interview with Jeb Bush.

It looks like the spending fight with Congress may be taking a small toll on the president's popularity. In our latest CNN poll of polls which is an average of several nonpartisan national surveys we asked how Mr. Obama's handling his job as president. Fewer than half approve of his performance. That's down from last month when 52 percent approved. 46 percent disapprove. That is up a few points.

She was paid to have a child for another family. But after an ultrasound showed the baby had a defect, the couple asked the surrogate to abort. She refused and then she went on the run. We'll take a look at the dark side of surrogacy next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)