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CNN NEWSROOM

Scotland Votes on Independence Today; Interview with Rep. Jackie Speier; Ukrainian President to Address Congress

Aired September 18, 2014 - 09:30   ET

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


NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I talked to people who monitored the outside of polling stations here. This one in particular in the past this is the busiest that they've ever seen and so the prediction of a high turnout, that is what we're seeing right now.

Of course, the notion of it's just as easy as one line, well, if there is a yes vote today then tomorrow the really detailed work that probably involves more than 18 pages will get under way -- Carol.

COSTELLO: What are the polls showing, Nic?

ROBERTSON: Right now, too close to call, neck and neck, the no vote for staying part of the United Kingdom is ahead by about two percentage points but because of statistical margins, it means it's too close to call.

The reality is here. That's how it looks if you exclude the people who are undecided. The undecideds are perhaps 10 percent to 5 percent of the population. No one really knows exactly, and those are the people that everyone's going to be watching for at the end of today, to see which way they go.

I used to live here, I've talked to a few friends here and one of them I talked to last night was sitting on the fence but shading toward the yes side. So it's just impossible to know. And we see what Andy Murray has tweeted this morning that he is in favor of a yes vote so at the moment it's all down to the undecided, carol.

COSTELLO: All right. We'll check back with you.

Nic Robertson, reporting live from Scotland this morning.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, another day, another player controversy for the NFL. This time involving the Arizona Cardinals. Andy Scholes has details.

Good morning, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS: Good morning, Carol. Running back Jonathan Dwyer, the latest player to be charged in a domestic violence case. And his alleged incident involves a woman and a child.

I'll have the details after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: In the wake of felony child abuse charges, NFL star Adrian Peterson has been deactivated by the Minnesota Vikings and dropped by high-profile sponsors. But this morning Peterson is getting strong support from someone very close to him, his mother, Bonita Jackson. Speaking publicly for the first time, Jackson tells "The Houston Chronicle" in part, quote, "When you whip those you love it's not about abuse, it's about love. You want to make them understand that they did wrong."

She adds Peterson was only using the same discipline he received as a child, noting she and his father were, quote, "big disciplinarians" and that they were only trying to prepare their children for the real world.

Just hours after the NFL announced Carolina Panther Greg Hardy was taking a leave of absence to deal with domestic violence charges, we got word of another player caught up in off-the-field trouble. This time it's Arizona Cardinals running back Jonathan Dwyer. He was arrested and later deactivated by the team for his alleged role in a domestic dispute.

Andy Scholes joins me now.

What's with running backs, Andy? They also seem to be running backs?

SCHOLES: Yes. Well, Dwyer's arrest yesterday stems from two separate incidents that occurred in July involving a 27-year-old woman and an 18-month-old child. Now Dwyer was charged with one count of aggravated assault causing a fracture, one count of aggravated assault involving a minor and a few other charges.

Now according to Phoenix Police the woman provided information about her injuries and police say Dwyer allegedly threw a shoe at or towards his son. Now Dwyer denies physically assaulting the female and the child, and again, Carol, this happened in July, but the woman didn't come forward until last week. And from a league perspective, this couldn't be worse timing for the NFL, just adding to the PR nightmare they're going through right now.

COSTELLO: You're not kidding. Now that the Panthers' though -- now that the Panthers' Greg Hardy has been deactivated for his domestic violence conviction, wasn't he put back on the team?

SCHOLES: He was but now they've -- just like Adrian Peterson they placed him on that exempt commissioner's list, which means he's going to be, you know, banned from all team activities going forward and this was basically not just to keep everyone content. You know, he's not going to be on the field, the team is not going to have to deal with the distraction and the big part is, he's going to get paid.

You know, Hardy's attorney says he doesn't expect his case to be heard until sometime in 2015, Carol, and that means he's going to collect his entire $13.1 million salary by playing just one game this season and that's what keeps the NFL Players Association from, you know, fighting him getting suspended without due process, the fact that he's going to collect all of his money.

COSTELLO: Got it. Andy Scholes, reporting for us live, thanks so much.

My next guest is making a public call for the NFL to take more action on the issue of domestic violence and she's doing so on Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SPEIER: Of the 56 football players arrested for domestic violence, they only saw a combined 13 games suspended. The NFL would rather see these players on the field than take a stance against violence. After all, anything for football. I say bench them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Joining me now, Democratic congresswoman, Jackie Speier from California.

Good morning.

REP, JACKIE SPEIER (D), CALIFORNIA: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: You know, the NFL has implemented some -- has implemented a new domestic abuse policy. It suspended players, it appointed four female advisers to deal with this issue. What more do you think the NFL should be doing?

SPEIER: Well, I think the NFL -- first of all we should look at those four advisers, all of whom are white women, and suggest to the NFL that they need to create a little diversity there. Beyond that, I think they have got to put some money where their mouth is. Funding programs in high school and college sports around domestic violence and respect.

You know, if you look at the domestic violence shelters in this country, they turn away about 9,000 victims every day. 80 percent of the shelters have actually reported a decrease in funding in the last few years. They could show a little love by funding many of these programs that are really inadequately funded and so many victims are going without services.

COSTELLO: Well, it is possible that could happen. As you know there's also an investigation going on into the way the NFL deals with domestic and violence issues along with sexual assault issues and it's being done by a very respected man, so what do you expect that investigation to uncover?

SPEIER: Well I'm hoping that the investigation will uncover the fact that for decades, and certainly under Roger Goodell, this issue has been swept under the rug, and the result has been that it is exploded and now in literally a week we have seen countless cases, and many victims now for the first time feeling that they can come forward, and that's a good sign as well.

More often than not, intimate partners will make excuses for being attacked by the person they love, and the result is that it just escalates. So helping those victims come forward is really a good step forward as well.

COSTELLO: Probably a good many people in the country that feel that this controversy won't go away until Roger Goodell steps down, until he resigns as NFL commissioner. Should he?

SPEIER: Well, I think that he certainly should resign. I don't know if that's going to happen, but regardless of whether he resigns or not I think the NFL has to put some really strong policies in place. Once you're arrested for domestic violence you shouldn't be allowed to play in the game.

I'm deeply concerned about my own San Francisco 49ers and the fact that Ray McDonald is going to play this weekend. I think it's shameful. And if they're really going to take this seriously, if they really believe that there's a problem here that they need to show that they're going to fix it, they've got to take some action that shows that they are serious about it.

COSTELLO: Congresswoman Jackie Speier from California, thank you so much for joining me this morning. I appreciate it.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, beef prices surge, they're topping a record $4 a pound. Wow.

Why, Alison Kosik?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, where is the beef? I don't know where the beef is, but I can tell you why prices are going higher.

That's coming up right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: I must bring you to Scranton, Pennsylvania now. Take a look at these incredible picture, hundreds of state troopers gathering for the funeral of slain Pennsylvania trooper corporal Bryon Dickson. You might know Dickson was gunned down on Friday. The suspect Eric Matthew Frein still on the run, and there are concerns this morning Frein could strike again at that funeral. CNN's Chris Welch is at the funeral, he is at services right now. He joins me live by phone and it's such a touching picture, Chris.

CHRIS WELCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It really is, Carol. You brought the fact that Frein is still on the loose but no one here this morning is really focused on him. This morning, you've seen these pictures. This is just an incredible show of support, respect for really the entire law enforcement community. We've got several blocks here in downtown Scranton, completely blocked off. You have state troopers, you have got state police, you've got police departments from all over the state, you've got various state patrol from neighboring states, I have seen New Jersey, I've seen a couple NYPD representatives walk by. You've got U.S. customs and border patrol, it's just a sight to see and as I speak to you right now, Carol, they're actually, the bells of St. Peters Cathedral here in downtown Scranton are tolling, sort of signifying a moment of silence, if you will, before the funeral is scheduled to start at 10:00 a.m. local time, Carol.

COSTELLO: Is there added security around this funeral? I feel kind of silly asking that with so many police officers in attendance.

WELCH: Well, there's no question, this is an event that the entire downtown Scranton has been essentially ready for this morning. Everything within an eight-block radius is patrolled if not blocked off entirely. I think the simple answer is yes, Carol, there's definitely a lot of security down here, there's more police presence than usual, obviously, in addition to the law enforcement officers we see lining the streets right now for this ceremony/funeral. There are officers, plain clothed officers stopping people with bags, just making sure that anyone who gets close to this area does have a little extra screening and extra eye on them this morning.

COSTELLO: Such an impressive picture. Chris Welch, thanks for bringing it to us. We appreciate it. I'm back in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We want to take you live inside the Senate. Ukrainian President Poroshenko has just entered the building. You can see the Senator's greeting him and shaking hands. Of course - President Poroshenko is expected to ask the United States Senate and Washington in general for money to help fight pro-Russian rebels within his country. Of course, he hasn't officially done that yet. According to our sources he's probably not going to get very much money from the United States, but we'll keep you posted. Actually Jim Sciutto, our national correspondent is here. Jim Sciutto, will Poroshenko have much luck with Senators and the President today?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a big moment. Democratically elected President of Ukraine who accuses Russia of an invasion of his country, he uses the word invasion even if U.S. officials, including the President, do not. It depends in public if he'll say something different than what he says in private. When I speak to Ukrainian officials in private, they're frankly not happy with American support at this point. They want more robust military aid to help push back the Russian advance. They want tougher sanctions. They think the sanctions against Russia have been too weak and too slow to truly change Russia's behavior. They are much less patient than this administration has been with Russian advances inside their territory.

So I think he'll be more likely to be forward leaning in his private conversations than in his public conversations, but will he get that kind of aid? It seems that the administration has been satisfied with the success of its policy so far, the gradual rollout of sanctions against Russia. They see hope in the cease-fire that is under way right now in eastern Ukraine. Although when you speak to Ukrainian officials, Carol, they don't have much hope that the cease-fire is going to hold and they suspect Russia is using the cease-fire as a chance to just perpetuate the disruption of things in eastern Ukraine. So it will be that split between what he asks for in public and probably what he says more frankly in private. I think it's likely it he well be disappointed by the kind of support he gets on this trip.

COSTELLO: Jim Sciutto reporting live for us. We'll keep you posted throughout the day on what happens with the Ukrainian President.

Let's talk about the economy now. This is going to hurt for meat eaters, actually. The price of beef has hit an all-time high, topping $4.00 a pound. CNN business correspondent Alison Kosik is here to tell us why.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It just crossed that threshold of $4.01 a pound. This is for ground beef. Last year, this time last year it was $3.45 a pound. That's a 16 percent increase. Wow. It's not just ground beef. It's steak, veal, other foods going up as well. Milk prices, as you know, if you go grocery shopping you have seen milk prices going up as well. But the good news, fresh fruits and vegetables are lower from last month, same with non- alcoholic beverages like juices and sodas, those are also down.

COTELLO: I am glad you look at it the glass half full. That is good, because some people say it won't be long before beef possibly hit five bucks a pound.

KOSIK: It very well could go to $5.00. If supply continues to be low and demand continues to be high, it's the simple supply and demand. We could see prices hit $5.00 a pound for ground beef. Despite that rising price we're still eating our hamburgers and steaks. Part of the reason this is happening is because of the drought in California. Think about it, when a calf is born, they need to eat grass. When things dry up, what are they going to eat? They'll eat feed. If you're a cattle producer, it is really expensive, they would rather sell off the cattle and maybe grow corn. That's the quick explanation, quick and dirty.

COSTELLO: We get it though. Alison Kosik, thanks so much. The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you very much for joining me. Let's begin on Capitol Hill. You're looking at live pictures right now. This is Ukraine's President, somewhere in the crowd of people, Petro Poroshenko, about to address a joint meeting of Congress. His goal, to get economic and military aid to help his government battle pro-Russian militants. We'll be monitoring this throughout the hour and well bring you any new developments as they happen. Before Poroshenko begins speaking, we want to get a little insight into this. So let's check in with national security correspondent Jim Sciutto. Nice to see both Senators and House members together mingling and greeting Mr. Poroshenko.