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Living Longer and Healthier; Obamacare in Supreme Court; Previewing "Inside Man": Honeybees

Aired March 5, 2015 - 08:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Time now for the five things you need to know for your new day.

Number one, Mark Lippert, the U.S. ambassador to South Korea, is in stable condition, expect to fully recover after being slashed in the face and arm by a knife wielding man in Seoul.

A winter storm slamming much of the nation from Texas all the way to Massachusetts. Thousands of flights have been canceled. A whole lot of school districts forced to close.

Hillary Clinton is asking the State Department to release e-mails from her time as secretary of state. This is her first comment on the controversy over exclusively using a personal e-mail account during her tenure as secretary of state.

Day two of testimony in the trial of accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. On Wednesday, jurors watched graphic video of the scene from right after when the bombs went off. And Tsarnaev's defense said he did it but argues he should not be put to death for the crime.

In a few hours, Michael Brown's parents will speak out about a Justice Department report that found systematic police discrimination against the black community in Ferguson.

We're always updating the five things you need to know, so go to newdaycnn.com for the very latest.

Michaela.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, John, the keys to living a longer, healthier life. New research shows a combination of factors can lead to dramatic improvements, especially when you reach your 40s. We're joint by CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta for today's "New Day New You." We also admittedly are probably all in our 40s on this set. Yes, yes, yes. Check, check, check.

OK, good to see you.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I think I'm the old man here, though. I was just doing that.

PEREIRA: I don't know. I don't know. I don't want to point fingers over there at the middle guy.

First of all, we know -- and we've long known the body and the spirit benefit from being healthy and being physically fit and having some of those things in our belly.

GUPTA: Right.

PEREIRA: But it's more than that, right? It does more for our brain, too?

GUPTA: Yes. You know, what I find interesting about the science that's coming out is it's really inspiring because it shows -- really quantifies how much benefit you get from some of these things. In the past it was always, you do the exercise, you do the healthy eating, it's good for you, but how good? And now we have a better idea. And it's never really too late.

So in this first study they talked about people who are in their 40s and they're basically trying to figure out what kind of physical reserve they have in their 40s. They did treadmill testing. They did all sorts of other things. And what they found is that if you built up your physical endurance in your 40s, then 20 years later, when these same people were tested again in their 60s now, their cognitive abilities tended to be higher.

PEREIRA: You reap the benefits later in life.

GUPTA: You reap the benefits.

PEREIRA: Isn't that interesting.

GUPTA: And the brain volumes even tended to be bigger, which I thought was really interesting. So it was --

PEREIRA: It's fascinating.

GUPTA: They performed well on cognitive exams, perhaps because of the better blood flow, the more antioxidants, their brains were bigger and they performed better.

PEREIRA: You know, there's married couples looking at each other in their 40s saying, honey, there's no excuse, we've got to start now, which is good though. It's good to know that just because you didn't do it in your 20s and 30s that there's still time.

GUPTA: It's not -- it's not too late. Absolutely.

PEREIRA: OK, now here's another factor. We all lead really busy lives.

GUPTA: Yes.

PEREIRA: We can work out, we can do all these things to make sure the fridge is stocked with the right things, but stress has got to be a component that can counteract all of that good stuff, isn't it?

GUPTA: It can. And it can counteract it even if you are physically fit otherwise. That was the headline that came out of this next study. Even if you have great physical fitness --

PEREIRA: Sure.

GUPTA: If you are not resilient to stress, then that's going to be a problem. In this case they tested people who were in the military. They went through a significant amount of questionnaires upon entering the military. One of the questions they were trying to figure out is, how resilient are you to stress as -- when you were a teenager and now in your early 20s? They were in their early 20s at the time. And they found that the people who were the least resilient to stress, not that they didn't have it, they just didn't handle it as well, were more likely to have cardiovascular problems later on in life, again, even if they were physically fit. So spending the time, not just at the gym, but also learning how to deal with stress in ways that are going to be healthy for you, reap rewards, as you say, long term.

PEREIRA: Right. But so many people use exercise as a stress relief. So that -- I guess also finding other ways to balance that stress is important.

GUPTA: Yes. And there are people who exercise a lot. They get their stress relief that way.

PEREIRA: Yes.

GUPTA: But not always.

PEREIRA: That's true. That's true.

GUPTA: So how -- what is your resilience? You know, and this is something you can ask yourself, even as you're sitting there.

PEREIRA: Good question for self-improvement.

OK, this stuff right here, the good stuff. It is about diet. We've long heard about the Mediterranean diet. About the benefits of that. Does science still holding up, pointing to that as being the -- the key.

GUPTA: Yes, the science holds up. And it was interesting last time I talked about this with you guys, you guys asked an interesting question which is, how are they doing over in the Mediterranean areas. Does this hold up over there?

PEREIRA: They -- I know, right.

GUPTA: And that was an interesting question. So this study actually found -- addresses that question. This was done in Athens, outside of Athens, and they found that people -- you can take a look at the number, 3,000 Greeks of all ages, and looked at their various eating habits. People who are most likely to have followed a Mediterranean diet.

PEREIRA: Fish, olive oils, yogurt, grapes, yes.

GUPTA: Grains and vegetables, fruits, all of that stuff, as a general rule, some fish, some wine, they tended to have -- it was amazing, Michaela, nearly a 50 percent reduction in likelihood of having cardiovascular disease. So these aren't small, incremental improvements.

PEREIRA: No.

GUPTA: If you -- if your -- if your concern right now as you watch this is, I don't want to have a heart attack, I don't want to have heart problems as I get older in life, what can I do that's pretty convincing --

PEREIRA: Skew towards a Mediterranean --

GUPTA: That sort of diet really does make a big difference.

PEREIRA: "New Day, New You," it can begin now. I love it.

GUPTA: I think it's inspiring for us, yes.

PEREIRA: Incremental -- I think it is too.

GUPTA: Yes.

PEREIRA: And, Chris, you heard the doctor say, some wine. Some is key.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm off the sauce.

PEREIRA: Oh, OK.

CUOMO: I'm off the sauce for lent.

GUPTA: It's hard to tell.

PEREIRA: You said it, not me.

CUOMO: He just said it. You know, this Sanjay, he smiles, but he says mean things. I'm just letting you know.

All right, so the better shape you're in the next -- the less you have to worry about the next story, which is, is your health care going to be compromised? It could be a reality for some of you. The Supreme Court is taking another look, different issue though, at Obamacare this week. What will happen this time, ahead?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: It is a frightening but real question, will millions of you lose health insurance because of the subsidies that are in Obamacare being taken away. It is an issue before the Supreme Court. Big challenge to the Affordable Care Act, obviously known as Obamacare.

So let's bring in senior legal correspondent, author of the oath, Jeffrey Toobin. Few know the court better than you from the practical side, the academic side. So let's brief this case, shall we? Let's get a little Iraq (ph) action here, and by that I mean the issue, the rational and the analysis. You remember it from law school. We'll leave the conclusion to the side. What is the question?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL CORRESPONDENT: The question is, what does the law mean? This is not a question about the Constitution. This is a question about what the terms of the law mean.

The Obama administration has always taken the position that the law allows for subsidies for people who buy insurance either on the state based exchanges, which are in I think 14 states, or in the federal exchange, which is in 36 states. The plaintiffs in this case, which are a group of conservative legal organizations, brought this case. They say the only way you can get a subsidy is if you buy insurance on the state-based exchanges. And the almost 10 million people who buy insurance on the federal exchange don't get subsidies. If the plaintiffs win, they low lose their subsidies. Most of those people will then lose their insurance. That's the stakes in the case.

CUOMO: People say it made it to the Supreme Court. They must have a really strong case. That's not always true. But if they do prevail, why would they?

TOOBIN: They would prevail because there are four words in the law. This is a 900 page law, but the argument really comes down to four words and the four words say the exchanges where subsidies should be given are exchanges "established by the state," "established by the state." That is the argument of the plaintiffs. It means only if you buy insurance on an exchange established by the state. The government, the Obama administration argues that within the context of that law and the other sections of that law "established by the state" includes established by the federal government.

CUOMO: So they're saying that the state is just a euphemism for government in general?

TOOBIN: Correct. A term of art, as they say, that it includes the federal and state government, right.

CUOMO: So now the Supreme Court technically won't be weighing the impact of their ruling on people, right? It's either what their reckoning of the law is. But what's the truth? Are they going to think about how big a hit this would be?

TOOBIN: You bet they are. I mean the Supreme Court doesn't operate in a vacuum. And the reason the atmosphere in that courtroom was so electric yesterday, the reason why we care about this case so much is not because we care about four words is we care about 10 million people. And, you know, that was hovering over this case. It didn't come up a lot in the argument, but several times the justices mentioned the millions of people who have a stake in the outcome. And I think John Roberts, even though he said very little at the argument, which is very uncharacteristic for him. That was, to me, the big surprise of yesterday is how little John Roberts said. Roberts knows that the place of the Supreme Court in American life is very important. He is the custodian of the court's image. And he is going to be very aware of whether this court is going to take insurance away from 10 million people. CUOMO: All right, and now there is this tantalizing question that,

will this case affect the outcome of the next big case, which is going to be equal protection of same-sex marriage. Is there any reason to believe that justices trade off on cases like that? That, all right, we gave you this one, but the next one we're going to take, which is actually suggesting that there's political motivation?

TOOBIN: Chris, you know, this is one of the hardest questions to deal with in the Supreme Court. I've covered it for a long time, and it's the issue of intent, of motive. What are they really thinking? What are they saying?

You know, it came up a couple of years ago when they struck down the Voting Rights Act, you know, something that progressives cared about a great deal. And a day later, they struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, a very pro gay rights decision, and some people though, well, there was kind of a tradeoff there.

You know, I don't -- I certainly don't think this is done in any sort of explicit way, but the justices are aware of their political place in the society, and they -- that is not a foreign thought. Whether it will actually move any votes, I kind of doubt that. But it -- the thought will certainly have occurred to them.

CUOMO: We'll see how it plays out. Jeffrey Toobin, thank you for cleaning it up so well. Appreciate it as always.

Mick?

TOOBIN: See you.

PEREIRA: All right, ahead, have you ever wondered what it's like to be a commercial beekeeper? Our Morgan Spurlock was put to the test in his upcoming episode of "Inside Man." You'll never guess what he found out. For example, do we really know where our honey comes from?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to NEW DAY.

In tonight's episode of "Inside Man," Morgan Spurlock tries to shed some light on a troubling mystery, why are entire colonies of honeybees dying off?

Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

MORGAN SPURLOCK, HOST "INSIDE MAN" (voice-over): In just a short while working with George, I'm experiencing for the first time dead bees. Tons of them.

SPURLOCK (on camera): What is the most losses you've ever had over a winter?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, a couple years ago, we had 17 percent, and that - and we were - we were really wondering what the heck was going on, because we'd done an awful lot of work to fix, and repair, and rebuild and so forth. So, we just don't -- the way I always put it is, we don't allow our colonies to fail.

SPURLOCK: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very expensive.

SPURLOCK: Is it getting worse?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's kind of scary. I'm always amazed that we made it. It feels like we're this close to just losing it.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

PEREIRA: Wow.

CAMEROTA: All right, let's bring in the host of "Inside Man" himself, Morgan Spurlock.

Hi.

SPURLOCK: Hey, good morning.

CAMEROTA: Great to see you.

SPURLOCK: Good to see you.

CAMEROTA: Why did you want to become a beekeeper?

SPURLOCK: Well, this is one of the things we hear about all the time, about the bees are vanishing and that it's going to destroy our food - basically our food reliance. If you don't understand how much we need bees for everything we eat, because it's not just, you know, the plants and vegetables we have, but even the seeds that grow our plants and vegetables come from pollination from bees. And it is - it's -- it could be a devastating probability.

PEREIRA: And you got more insight into what was happening. It was the headline for so many months...

SPURLOCK: So long.

PEREIRA: ... last year. For so long.

SPURLOCK: And it's still - and it's still falling. I mean, the bee population is still continuing to fall, and there's multiple reasons for this. You know, a lot of it is the tremendous amounts of pesticides and herbicides that we use on plants. It is the, you know, cell phone towers they're saying is still a contributing factor to the amount of technology that is now within the bee population. And there's -- there have been mites that have been brought over. As we continue to bring bees from other countries, we're bringing other diseases with these creatures. So, it's basically destroying what's a local population.

CAMEROTA: Because, you know, most of us see bees as just a huge pest.

SPURLOCK: Yes.

CAMEROTA: But you figured out - I mean, you found out because you were inside, just they're vital.

SPURLOCK: They're vital. And what's incredible is there is an entire industry now of guys, George is one of them, who are now trucking bees all around the country because we can't rely on just wild pollination.

PEREIRA: Yeah.

SPURLOCK: You can't just have bees that, you know, you supply around fields and do it. There are now guys who travel around, put their bees there just to make sure crops get pollinated, year in and year out.

PEREIRA: So, you rode with him?

SPURLOCK: I rode with...

PEREIRA: You went deep, you went deep undercover.

SPURLOCK: I was on the road. I was on the bee highway for a little while.

PEREIRA: Let's talk about that.

SPURLOCK: Yeah.

PEREIRA: Getting inside and working with bees, you have to be quite patient.

SPURLOCK: You have to be patient.

PEREIRA: Quite quiet. You have to respect the queen.

SPURLOCK: That's right. Didn't get stung once.

CAMEROTA: You didn't?

SPURLOCK: Didn't get stung one time.

CAMEROTA: How did you avoid it?

SPURLOCK: Well, the -- my whole crew got stung continually. Like, our cameraman got stung constantly, and I - I was like you guys are just -- you see, you're too sweet. They know that. They want to get a little taste of you. Yeah, me? Not a lot.

PEREIRA: Got a little edge to you?

SPURLOCK: That's right

PEREIRA: That kept the bees away.

SPURLOCK: That's right. That's right. The bees are like, I don't want any of that moustache.

CAMEROTA: You're like the bee whisperer.

SPURLOCK: That's right, I was like, you're so good bees. I'm here for you.

PEREIRA: It's a survival technique, I get that.

CAMEROTA: So were you able to identify what the problem is?

SPURLOCK: Well, I mean, I think it is those multiple factors.

CAMEROTA: I mean, why not in that case do away with the pesticides?

SPURLOCK: Well that's - that' s the question now.

PEREIRA: Bigger problem than simply doing it

SPURLOCK: It's like, how do we do it?

Yes, so, how now how do we do it, because there are so many pests that we need to deal with, and now how do we do that? How do we create herbicides and pesticides that do it in a way that doesn't harm the population? And there's companies that are working on that, but it's - it's difficult.

PEREIRA: It's being taken seriously. It is, right?

SPURLOCK: You want it to be taken more seriously. I think people -- we live in a country where people don't worry about things until it's a problem.

PEREIRA: Right.

SPURLOCK: You know, we don't go to the doctor until we have a heart attack.

PEREIRA: Right.

SPURLOCK: You know, this is very much in the same realm of we are -- we are going down a path that we need to make this a real priority.

CAMEROTA: Even in the suburbs here around New York people are beginning to be their own personal beekeepers because of this problem.

SPURLOCK: I know.

CAMEROTA: Is that the answer, just have backyard bees?

SPURLOCK: But I think that is a help. I think people who want to be backyard beekeepers, put them on the roof, I even looked into doing it in my neighborhood in Brooklyn, until my girlfriend said we are not.

PEREIRA: Brooklyn has seen a lot of things.

SPURLOCK: My girlfriend is like, we're not putting bees on the roof. And so, I was like okay, fine, not yet. Not yet. But there are a lot of people who are doing that, and it is - it does help.

PEREIRA: Well, if you're an avid gardener, too, you know the symbiotic relationship between having a beautiful garden, and it's always a compliment to a gardener if you have bees, and flora, and fauna, all those things coming into your garden.

SPURLOCK: And it's easy. There are companies where you get all the kit, they give you all the walk throughs, you know, online there's all these instructional videos about how do you raise your bees, how do you care for them. Couple hundred bucks, you could have your own hives in your backyard. It's worth it.

PEREIRA: How about that?

CAMEROTA: I think you turned us into beekeepers.

PEREIRA: Yes.

CAMEROTA: Ready to go.

SPURLOCK: Done, you're in.

We can put them right over here, right in the corner.

PEREIRA: You know why? Because there's an outfit. We love a good outfit.

CAMEROTA: We do like that, but don't tell Chris.

SPURLOCK: That's right, yes.

CAMEROTA: Okay, great. Morgan, great to see you. Thanks so much for coming in. Be sure to tune into "Inside Man" tonight at 9:00 pm Eastern on CNN.

CUOMO: All right, good to see that Morgan Spurlock is keeping busy.

An anonymous artist, 240 hand-made gifts, and one community changed for the better. That is the Good Stuff and it's coming up.

PEREIRA: We need it after that bad joke.

CUOMO: Beezy (ph).

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: All right. It's time for the Good Stuff. Today's edition Galveston Island, Texas, okay? It's been overrun by presents.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO (voice-over): An anonymous artist is making beautiful hand painted beaded hearts, wrapping them up with an encouraging note, and putting them places for anyone to find. 240 of them so far.

This is terrible. Why is this happening? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kindness, and then when you feel that kindness,

then you go out and you do something kind for someone else. It's brought me so much joy.

CUOMO: Isn't that nice? The only catch, the people who get the gifts are supposed to post their stories on the artist's Facebook page, and they have been inspiring. One little girl finding the gift on the anniversary of her grandmother's death and it made her feel better. Another man finding a gift on his birthday, and it was his only one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Leave gifts around for people to find? Wow. That's just amazing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it kind of gives you hope in people, you know? Because you're like, well, that's really nice.

CUOMO: Yes. That is really nice.

PEREIRA (voice-over): So many people actively trying to make the world a bad place, and it's really great to hear that there's other people on the other end saying, no, I won't stand for it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA (on camera): Here's some good.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Especially when it's bejewelled.

PEREIRA: Totally. I knew you were down with that.

CUOMO (on camera): Well, you have a bedazzling kit. I've seen that.

BERMAN: Absolutely. I'm down with both bejewling and bedazzling.

PEREIRA: The 11:00 show is going to be incredible because of that.

CUOMO: A lot of news. Let's go to the "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello.

PEREIRA: Good morning, Carol..

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Have a great day. NEWSROOM starts now.

.