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Rupture Cause Unclear in California Oil Spill; What Declared, Undeclared Presidential Candidates Are Saying; White Helmets Save Lives in Syria; Ireland Votes on Same-Sex Marriage. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired May 22, 2015 - 13:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:32:06] DANA BASH BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: We're learning today that a pipeline ruptured sending thousands of gallons of oil gushing into the pacific ocean and on to southern California beaches because it was operating below its maximum operating capacity according to the pipeline's operator, but it's not clear what caused the rupture, and the cleanup could take months. We're now seeing the drone video of the oil spill area along the beach.

Let's bring in Stephanie Elam joining us live from Santa Barbara County.

What are you hearing about the corrective measures being issued by the company right now?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. This is actually coming from the department of transportation, Dana, and what they have said is that the company that owns this pipeline, Plains Pipeline, has to take a look at a few things. First their emergency procedures, evaluate them, see what they have learned from that. They cannot use this pipeline which you would expect until they figure out what went wrong. That means taking out the part of the pipe that ruptured doing a met an examination to figure out what went wrong and this doesn't happen again. They have to remove the crude oil in this pipeline as well. You're talking about a pipeline about 10 miles long. They have to go through removal and submit a plan for approval on how they plan to make it safer when the pipeline does get up and running again. They have to go back to the department of transportation to get approval before they can use this pipe after all that's happened. They want to make sure what doesn't happen is that you don't have the release of another 100,000 or more gallons of crude oil into the cove here or into this nine mile stretch of beach that has been affected, not even sort of, totally affected by all of the oil coming in affecting the Marine life and as it continues to push out further into the pacific ocean.

BASH: It's such a shame. Santa Barbara County beaches are absolutely beautiful and to see those pictures it's just absolutely heartbreaking. What does it mean for cleanup? Just the fact that the oil plume already out there is moving more and we see the pictures of exactly what's happening but with regard to the cleanup what are officials saying? ELAM: It's a really difficult task as you might imagine. You have

oil that is seeping into the sand. You've got it permeating the surf. You can see it along the rocks here along this stretch of beach. They've been out here since daybreak cleaning and working on this. Oil breaks up into droplets that can be harsh on the animals that are out there and in ways you can't even imagine how it's affecting the surf, affecting the life here. So this is going to take a long time and it's going to take weeks until we know what caused this rupture in the pipeline as well.

[13:34:55] BASH: Stephanie Elam, thank you for that report.

Still ahead, while the presidential election is more than a year away, an unofficial kickoff for the Republican campaign is happening right now. What the declared and undeclared candidates are saying ahead.

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HILLARY CLINTON, (D), FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That it will grow jobs and protect American workers and create a more level playing field and that it would be good for our national security. We don't yet have all the details. In fact, it's not as I'm told been fully negotiated yet. I do have concerns. I have concerns that the standards will not be tough enough, that they will not be enforceable. I have concerns about currency manipulation, which has been a big problem in the impact on our companies and our workers. I have concerns about the --

BASH: OK. We just lost the signal and you couldn't see Hillary Clinton but you could clearly hear her voice in the scrum of reporters there.

And joining me now to talk about that and a whole lot more we have Gloria Borger and Jeff Zeleny.

Let's get to what we were just hearing. She was actually talking about trade, which is very, very important when it comes to the Democratic primary, OK, we know she has maybe nominal opposition, but a trade bill going through the Senate now and a lot of key Democrats like Sherrod Brown of Ohio in an important state has kind of withheld his support for her until she says whether or not she's pro trade or not, and she seemed to be kind of, from that answer, not saying one way or the other.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, this is because she's a candidate and got Elizabeth Warren to the left of her and when she was secretary of state, she said that "These trade deals were the gold standard," that was a quote. Now clearly she is backing away because she feels the pressure from the left wing of the party. She's distancing herself from the president on this. I would also add. It's not really a surprise gives given the fact that she needs to get some emotional support from the base of the party.

[13:40:30] BASH: And before I let you answer that, I just want to say that we went to Hillary Clinton speaking live because she was talking a little bit about the fact that e-mails were released. We didn't hear what she said but hopefully as we're speaking we will get word on what she said about that.

But first of all, let's take a step back and say Hillary Clinton was answering questions second time pummeled by some Republicans press and some journalists by not doing so.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: She was talking about the e-mails and saying what she said earlier this week in Iowa, that the State Department is following a process.

Keep in mind, all the e-mails released -- I was just reading -- all of the e-mails have been vetted by her and her team. All 50,000 pages printed out and given to the State Department were vetted by all her lawyers and things. They are not surprised by any of this. Now, of course, she wants them out because these are hanging over her head. But they are showing an interesting glimpse into how her aides

protected her and she was responding to information at the time. No smoking gun, as our Chris Frates has reported.

BASH: Let's turn to the Republican field because, as we speak, there is a meeting, the southern Republican leadership conference going on in Oklahoma City, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush spoke this morning. Let's listen to what Jeb Bush said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH, (R), FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: Leading from behind is not a foreign policy. Think about it. As ISIS continues its march to create a caliphate, taking over Ramadi, growing in its influence in Syria, and also spawning other forms of Islamic terrorism, not just in Iraq and Syria, but around the world, leading from behind is not a policy. In fact, I would say, we now see what happens when we lead from behind. We leave behind our credibility. We leave behind our blood and treasure. We leave behind security. We leave behind peace. If we're going to be serious to create prosperity at home, we need to re-engage with the rest of the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Very clear argument there or at least the idea of a philosophy I should say from Jeb Bush. Still, you know, recovering from last week trying to get his answer right on what would have happened back when the U.S. went to war in Iraq what he would have done and now looking on Republican message turning it against President Obama.

BORGER: Last week he had a lot of problems trying to figure out how to differentiate himself from his brother whether he would have gone into Iraq or not, whether the war in Iraq was a mistake. This was very clearly stated Republican sort of policy, more hawkish, more muscular.

ZELENY: More anti-Obama. That's the key-point.

BORGER: Accusing the president of leading from behind, which is the protocol for Republicans, and, you know, very clearly in sync with many of the candidates we're going to see out on the campaign trail. BASH: This comes after he distanced himself from his own brother not

on the war but on spending, which is something that almost uniformly, among Republicans, they say that his brother spent too much federal money when he was president.

ZELENY: His brother and the vice president. Back during the era, as we remember, where deficits didn't matter and no one talked about the fact that they were spending so much money.

BASH: True.

ZELENY: In New Hampshire, when you're Jeb Bush, that is the place you want to distance yourself on spending. A lot of fiscal conservatives in New Hampshire. I think it's no surprise he was doing that. That's a safe thing to distance his brother on.

BORGER: And Chris Christie is running on that same kind of a platform in New Hampshire, cutting entitlement spending, very much a fiscal hawk and that plays well.

BASH: Thanks, Gloria and Jeff. That was good timing that we got that press conference going on. And we will be interested to see what else she says.

Thank you both.

And they leave their jobs and families to walk willingly into a war zone. Still ahead, an exclusive look at the so-called White Helmets in action. Dr. Sanjay Gupta spends time with the brave volunteers who are Syria's first responders.

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[13:48:19]BASH: Some 300,000 people have died in Syria's civil war, a war that is now in its fifth year. Neighborhoods and entire cities are reduced to rubble. But amid the tragedy, there is heroism. A group of courageous volunteers, Syrian citizens who risk their lives to save others in the war zone. They're called the White Helmets.

And CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, embedded with them, getting an exclusive look at the heroes -- Sanjay?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Dana, as you well know, Syria has been in the middle of a civil war five years and I can tell you there are zones within Syria considered fire-free zones, meaning that bombed and shelled indiscriminately with no civilians. There is a group called the White Helmets which is trying to fill that void, provide some help. How they do their work is remarkable. I embedded with them to see how they do it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SHOUTING)

GUPTA (voice-over): You're watching an extraordinary rescue in Aleppo city. For 12 hours, these men have been digging and drilling. (SHOUTING)

GUPTA: And we're about to save the life of a 2-week-old baby.

(CHEERING)

GUPTA: The baby's saviors, known only by the iconic protective gear they wear on their heads. In an area of the world bursting with too many men in black hats, they are the cavalry, the White Helmets.

JAMES LE MESURIER, WHITE HELMETS VOLUNTEER: They have all chosen, they have all chosen to risk their lives to save others. And that makes every single one of them a hero.

GUPTA: James Le Mesurier is the architect of the organization.

LE MESURIER: In Syria, there is no 911 system. There is nobody that you can call. You can't pick up a phone and call the fire service. You can't call the local police department. They don't exist.

[13:50:14] GUPTA: So this group of ordinary Syrian men and a few women have organized themselves to fill that void. Zuhar Amanzi (ph) was once a black smith; Ibrahim Azoki (ph), a barber; Amad Rahal (ph), a detective. He is supposed to get married next week. But for the time being, they have left their previous jobs, their previous lives, and now volunteer to run toward when everyone else is running from.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GUPTA (voice-over): We're traveling along the border between Turkey and Syria. We're with the White Helmets. They've just gotten a call. We wanted to see exactly what they do.

(voice-over): This is all part of an intense training to become even better, even faster.

(on camera): All of a sudden, this area filled with smoke. There is concern that there may be another bomb or another attack coming. So they've asked for all the lights to be concerned off. They don't want to be a target themselves. But you can see just how challenging that makes their job.

(voice-over): The concern is that. The White Helmets tell us this video on is of a barrel bomb being hurdled from a chopper by the Syrian government.

(SHOUTING)

GUPTA: As you see, they can be wildly inaccurate.

(EXPLOSION)

GUPTA: As you hear, they are incredibly vicious. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A barrel bomb dropping on your house is like 57.6

order of magnitude earthquake, 50 times a day.

GUPTA: These bombs are so malignant, full of explosives, rebar, wire, nails, anything else that can brutally maim and kill.

But now the White Helmets are concerned about a newer enemy, chlorine gas. They were able to save these children, but believe chlorine gas led to the death of a family of six.

And it gets even worse.

LE MESURIER: Helicopters normally carry two barrel bombs. And they drop the first barrel bomb, which then explodes, and the pilot then remains in the sky, circling where the exPLOsion took place, waiting for a crowd to gather and waiting for rescuers to come to the scene. When a crowd gathers, they release the second bomb. And that is a double tap.

GUPTA: 84 White Helmets have now been killed, mostly by double taps. It is why Syria is one of the most dangerous places in the world, and why being a White Helmet might be the most dangerous job in the world. Yet, they go on. 2600 have saved the lives of 18,000.

(on camera): How long? Where does it go, do you think?

(SHOUTING)

MESURIER: One day at a time.

HOWELL (voice-over): Because for the White Helmets, another day is another chance to save a life.

(SHOUTING)

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Southern Turkey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: And, Dana, simply getting to these training sessions in southern turkey is potentially life threatening in and of itself. These Syrians have to cross the border. Sometimes they get harassed. Sometimes they get fired upon. It can be extremely dangerous work. Again, just to get the training. Then they got to get back to their homes as well. It's incredible. But I can tell you, seeing it first hand, that so many lives have been saved because of the remarkable work that the White Helmets are doing.

Dana, back to you.

BASH: True definition of a hero.

Thank you, sunray, for that report.

And still ahead, a landmark vote happening right now in Ireland. It's the first country in the world to let the public decide on same-sex marriage. A live report from Dublin next.

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[13:57:28] BASH: Happening now, a historic decision facing voters in Ireland. They're voting on whether to change their constitution to allow same-sex marriage. If the referendum passes, Ireland would be the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage through a popular vote.

CNN's senior international correspondent, Phil Black, is in Dublin.

Phil, I know turnout today earlier was about 14 percent. Three hours until polls close. What are you hearing there?

PHIL BLACK, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Dana, at the polling station behind me, they say it's now at about 35 percent, which they say is high for a referendum. Ireland has a lot of these, holds them frequently. There's still some three hours of voting to go. This is really the break time. This is the post-work period. This is when most people are expected to come home from their jobs and cast their votes in their local polling station.

It's been a long, difficult debate in this country between the yes campaign and the no campaign. Yes saying this is about equality, fairness gay couples getting to love and commit to their partners in the way that heterosexual couples can. The no campaign has been campaigning on the issue of parenting, even though that's not specifically at question here. Their argument largely focuses on their belief. They say that gay couples cannot be as effective parents as straight couples -- Dana?

BASH: And, Phil, explain to people here in the United States, in countries around the world why Ireland is even holding this vote. Because obviously gay marriage, same-sex marriage is particularly polarizing in that country. It's a Catholic country. So why this vote and why now?

BLACK: You're right. It is traditionally a very conservative country, one where the Catholic Church has had absolute moral authority on pretty much everything. That authority has declined in recent years because of successive scandals involving children, abuse, mistreatment. Its credibility in this regard has deteriorated a great deal. At the same time, Ireland has become a more open country. It has moved closer to Europe, more open, more cosmopolitan. Two factors that together have brought us to this day here now, the fact this country is prepared to have this conversation and hold this vote, which is pretty extraordinary when you think about its conservative past, and the fact that homosexuality was still illegal here just 22 years ago -- Dana?

BASH: It really is extraordinary. We're going to be watching that to see what happens when the polls do close there in about three hours.

Phil Black, thank you for that report.

That's it for me. For our international viewers, "Amanpour" is next.

For our viewers in North American, "Newsroom" with Poppy Harlow starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.