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CNN NEWSROOM

Pope to Release Statement on Environment; Is Rachel Dolezal Using Race to Get Ahead?; Shark Attack Victim Speaks Out; Fed Expected to Raise Rates in September; Golden State Winners. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired June 17, 2015 - 09:30   ET

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


JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The next president needs to make it clear that great charities like the Little Sisters of the Poor need no federal instruction in doing the right thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:30:05] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: With me now is RL Miller, founder of Climate Hawk's Vote, a super PAC working to elect climate conscious candidates.

Welcome. Thanks for being here this morning.

RL MILLER, FOUNDER, CLIMATE HAWK VOTE: Thanks so much for having me.

COSTELLO: Thank you.

You have said that the pope's message will not sway Republican Catholics. Maybe not Jeb Bush. But why are you so sure about that?

MILLER: The interesting thing about the encyclical that's coming out tomorrow is that this pope is flipping the script. The Republican candidates are used to having the church back them up on social conservative -- on social issues such as divorce and reproductive rights. And suddenly we have a pope in agreement with primarily Democrats. And Republicans are having a difficult time with this.

So where they would site the scripture on their anti-abortion beliefs, now suddenly they're saying, well, I don't get my religion from -- I don't -- I don't get my economic advice from my bishops. But the pope's document, as I understand it, is not an economic document. It's a moral document. And the pope has the moral authority to speak on the issue of climate change. And he is a scientist, I might add.

COSTELLO: Oddly -- oddly enough, though, politically, the pope's stances on issues cuts both ways, right, because the Democratic presidential candidate, Martin O'Malley, is a devout catholic --

MILLER: Yes.

COSTELLO: Yet he's opposed to the pope and the Catholic Church on abortion rights and same-sex marriage. So this isn't just a Republican problem, is it?

MILLER: American Catholics do have a pick and choose mix and match kind of attitude towards a lot of the pope's teachings, I think. I believe I could state that American Catholics have largely rejected the church on birth control and divorce in particular. So perhaps this will turn into another aspect where the Dems will say yes to this particular teaching and the Republicans will say no. But I still think that it has -- that the encyclical will be released tomorrow still has a large ability to change the politics of climate change.

COSTELLO: We'll see. And we eagerly await the release of that encyclical tomorrow.

Thank you so much for being here, RL Miller. I appreciate it.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RACHEL DOLEZAL, FORMER NAACP LEADER: Well, I definitely am not white. I -- I -- nothing about being white describes who I am.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The woman at the center of a race controversy speaking out a lot. But is Rachel Dolezal simply using race to get ahead? We'll talk about that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:37:26] COSTELLO: The family of former NAACP leader Rachel Dolezal says she's still lying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EZRA DOLEZAL, RACHEL DOLEZAL'S ADOPTED BROTHER: She's too nervous to just admit that she's not been telling the truth, which is why she keeps on making up more and more lies to help fit the story as it goes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Over the last 24 hours, Dolezal's done a lot of talking, explaining why she says she identifies as black.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RACHEL DOLEZAL, FORMER NAACP LEADER: I have really gone there with the experience in terms of being a mother of two black sons and really owning what it -- what it means to experience and live blackness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Dolezal says she understands why some people are accusing her of race appropriation. Others use a different word, theft. Here's Suzanne Malveaux.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RACHEL DOLEZAL, FORMER NAACP LEADER: I identify as black.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In today's society, some believe racial identity is no longer black or white.

PROF. CAMILLE GEAR RICH, UNIV. OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GOULD SCHOOL OF LAW: In the old days, people's physical bodies tended to match how they saw themselves in terms of which racial group they belong to. That era has ended.

MALVEAUX: The controversy over Rachel Dolezal's claim to blackness is sparking renewed interest in what it means to be black. Throughout U.S. history, whites have adopted some aspects of various forms of black culture as their own, known as "cultural appropriation."

BAZ DREISINGER, "NEAR BLACK: WHITE-TO-BLACK PASSING IN AMERICAN CULTURE": The legacy of American music is that black artists were literally ripped off. Not -- it wasn't as if it was some hazy idea of their culture was stolen. They created music that was then covered by white artists who made all of the money off of them. So there's this literal history of theft.

RICH: Elvis is the perfect example of cultural appropriation. He, right, took elements of emerging rock and roll music in African- American communities and then styled that as though he had discovered these things.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We work in the same way, only in different areas.

RICH: These dance movements, these particular ways of singing.

MALVEAUX: Today, many see the music, clothing, language, dance, hairstyles and expressions of African-Americans becoming more mainstream as more whites embrace hip hop culture and rap.

Rapper Eminem and newcomer Iggy Azalea comes to mind. The question is, who stands to benefit now?

DREISINGER: We kind of can't lump them all into one category. Iggy Azalea is such an over blown, absurd caricature that really is an instance of black face. And I'm not sure we can compare her with Eminem.

[09:40:10] EMINEM: They said I can't rap without being (INAUDIBLE).

DREISINGER: When Eminem first came out, he referenced his own whiteness quite a bit. He had lines in his -- in his songs about, you know, if I were black, I would have sold half. There was a recognition of where I am in the contest of -- of this long legacy of racial appropriation and racial mimicry that I think we can respect.

MALVEAUX: And does this racial remixing benefit whites more than blacks. Cultural critics say it's all about giving credit where credit is due.

DREISINGER: When you site something in an article or in a scholarly work, you have footnotes. So there is such a thing as cultural footnoting. And not all forms of appropriation are the same.

MALVEAUX: Now the country is debating whether Rachel Dolezal appropriated, stole or borrowed a black identity.

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Checking some other top stories for you at 40 minutes past the hour.

Kurdish and Syrian rebel fighters want to push ISIS out of its main stronghold in Syria. They're reportedly advancing now on the city of Raqqa. They were able to seize a nearby town back from ISIS with the help of dozens of U.S.-led air strikes.

Police in Berkley, California, working with building inspectors to figure out what caused a fourth floor apartment balcony to give way during a party, sending six college students plunging to their deaths. Five of those students were from Ireland on a summer visit to the United States. The other victim was a young woman from California. Seven other people remain in the hospital this morning.

Also, a white tiger that escaped from the zoo in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi killed a man and injured another. The animal was among hundreds that escaped during severe floods over the weekend. A government official says police tracked the tiger down and killed it.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a teenager whose arm was bitten off by a shark is speaking out from his hospital bed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTER TRESCHL: It just kind of hit my arm and it was -- that was the first I saw it was when it was biting up my -- my left arm kind of. And then it got that off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: He says he's got two choices now about how to spend the rest of his life. What he's going to do next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:46:55] COSTELLO: A 16-year-old boy who had his arm torn off by a shark says he never saw it coming. Hunter Treschl is speaking out for the first time since Sunday's horrifying attack at a North Carolina beach. He's showing incredible grace and courage, saying he won't let what happened to him define the rest of his life.

Michaela Pereira has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY" (voice-over): One of the victims of that brutal pair of shark attacks off the coast of North Carolina speaking out for the first time from his hospital bed. 16- year-old Hunter Treschl recounting that traumatic shark encounter that cost him his arm.

HUNTER TRESCHL, SHARK ATTACK VICTIM: I was in about waist-deep water, I would say, playing with my cousin, like I said. And I felt this kind of hit on my left leg; it felt like it was a big fish coming near you or something. That was the first I saw, it was when it was biting up my left arm.

PEREIRA: The teen from Colorado was swimming in the waters off Oak Island when the shark attacked.

TRESCHL: I didn't see it coming. Like I said, I felt it on my leg, and then I saw it once it had attacked my arm.

PEREIRA: This happening a mere 90 minutes after another shark attack unfolded on the same beach less than two miles away, where 13-year-old Kirsten Yao had her left arm torn off by a shark. Bystanders leaping into action to prevent the victims from bleeding to death.

CALLER: A kid just got his arm bit off.

911 DISPATCHER: OK, are you with the person now?

CALLER: My husband is. He's got it wrapped up in a towel as tight as he can.

PEREIRA: Just two days after that life-changing attack, Hunter vows to remain positive.

TRESCHL: I have kind of two options. I can try to live my life the way I was and make an effort to do that even though I don't have an arm, or I can kind of just let this be completely debilitating and bring my life down and ruin it in a way. Out of those two, there's really only one that I would actually choose to do, and that's to try to fight and live a normal life with the cards I've been dealt.

PEREIRA: Michaela Pereira, CNN New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: He's an amazing young man.

Checking some of the top stories for you at 48 minutes past. The FBI says a suspect in last month's foiled attack outside a Prophet Mohammed drawing contest also wanted to attack the Super Bowl. Abdul Malik Abdul Kareem has been indicted by a federal grand jury in the Texas terror attack. He allegedly gave weapons to the two gunmen who were both killed by police.

A lot of people in Texas may want to stay indoors this morning and not go out into this mess. The storm may be weakening, though, but Tropical Depression Bill is still threatening parts of the state. At least half a foot of rain is expected today. This could cause more flash floods for the region, which is still recovering from last month's deadly flooding. Next up on Michelle Obama's European tour -- Milan, Italy. The First

Lady leaving London this morning with her mom and daughters Malia and Sasha. They met Britain's Prince Harry for tea at Kensington Palace on Tuesday. We're told the prince and Mrs. Obama discussed her latest campaign, the global Let Girls Learn Initiative.

[09:50:00] The days of the rock bottom mortgage interest rates may soon be over. As the economy picks up steam, the Fed is likely to start raising interest rates in September.

Chief business correspondent Christine Romans is following that story. Good morning.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. And we're going to hear from the Fed chief Janet Yellen later today. But just about everybody in the world thinks higher interest rates are coming, Carol. And that's going to mean it's going to cost you more money to borrow money. It means it's going to cost more money to borrow money to buy a car, get a car loan, a mortgage loan, credit cards.

Mortgage rates already for the 30-year fixed, Carol, last week rose above 4 percent so they're the highest in about a year. Still historically low; 4 percent is very, very cheap. And you could argue that interest rates have been too low for too long. I mean, they've been near 0 percent since 2008. So higher interest rates really a reflection of a recovering American economy. So that's what a lot of people are talking about.

Also you have this trouble in Greece, though. You've been hearing about Greece, and Greece, a relatively small economy with big problems. Watch closely for that. There's a big deadline coming up. There's a new sense of urgency about Greece not being able to pay its bills. That's something that could be a wild card. Maybe more of a wild card for markets than higher interest rates right now.

COSTELLO: I was just going to ask you, what do you think the markets will do in light of all of this?

ROMANS: You know, I think if I knew what they would do, I would be on an island somewhere in the Caribbean right now, Carol, and I would be phoning this in. That's the beauty of it. Markets, you never know exactly how they're going to react.

I'm actually surprised today. You've got the Dow really still very close to 18,000 today. It's up 53 points right now even with some kind of grim headlines out about Greece and the recognition that higher interest rates are coming. But we know they're coming. We know they're coming: everyone's prepared for it. Families should be prepared for it. It's going to cost more to borrow money. And that's really -- if you need to lock in a refi, please do it now. This is a good time to do it. So that's how people I think should react to this. Not necessarily market moves intraday but what you're doing with your own car loan, home loan, et cetera.

COSTELLO: Christine Romans, thanks as always. I appreciate it. Still to come in the NEWSROOM, California is in a golden state of mind

after the Warriors knock off the Cavaliers and win their first NBA title in 40 years. Rachel Nichols is in Cleveland where everyone is crying this morning.

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Well, Carol, except for the Warriors. They walked out of the arena here behind me just a few hours ago in a state of champagne-soaked euphoria. Steph Curry was among them; he was carrying his adorable 2-year-old daughter Riley. I will have an interview with him coming up next after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:56:42] COSTELLO: As a LeBron fan and Ohio native, it truly pains me to say the following sentence -- the Golden State Warriors are NBA champions.

So I'm just going to bring in CNN sports anchor Rachel Nichols for the low -- I mean highlights, and I'm going to go cry in the corner. So, Rachel, it's up to you now.

NICHOLS: Well, Carol, all of Cleveland sympathizes with you. You walk around the city this morning, there's a definite pall around Ohio. However, I will say, this should pass. We looked at LeBron on the podium last night. He was right there with you right there, openly musing during his press conference is it better not to make the playoffs at all than keep having these heartbreaks in the finals? You got the impression, in a couple weeks, though, he will realize just what he accomplished and the people of Cleveland will as well. It's been a long time since they had the hope of breaking the 51-year major professional sports curse that has been on this city. They are closer maybe than they ever have been and they have good things to look forward to in the future.

This year, though, this was the Golden State Warriors' year. And this was the year of Steph Curry, the MVP of the league. He was great again last night as the Warriors' team was able to pull off really fantastic, beautiful basketball style. And Steph, when we talked to him after the game, he's got an amazing story. He is undersized. He was not recruited by any major college program. Came into the NBA, a lot of people thought, eh, maybe isn't going to even start. Now he's the MVP of the league. He's got the NBA championship trophy in his hand.

And I talked to him after the game. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPH CURRY, GUARD, GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS: The injuries, the underdog story, it makes this moment so much more special. Having just to fight your way every single year, get a little bit better, have a great group of teammates that -- this is a bond that we'll have forever. And just proud to bring a championship back to the Bay Area. This is obviously the only team I've played for and my home in the NBA, and this is what it's all about. NICHOLS: You grew up in the NBA. There's these great pictures of you sitting on your dad's lap. He's playing, you're watching this whole thing. To go from there, to now getting that trophy yourself, does it mean more to you because you've been watching it your whole life?

CURRY: For sure. This is something I've been dreaming about. Watched, like you said, on TV every year. You see the faces of guys that join that fraternity of champions. And I took over the family business. My dad played for 16 years. And it puts it in perspective how hard it is to win a championship. And this is truly, truly special.

Just obviously moments after the game, I haven't been able to really comprehend what all's happened. But, you know, I've got champagne on my jersey. I'm feeling pretty good.

NICHOLS: Your 2-year-old daughter Riley has pretty much stolen the show here throughout the entire NBA finals. Is she going to have her own mini trophy? What are you guys going to do for her here?

CURRY: We've got to figure something out. Maybe a mini ring or something. I'm anxious to see her during the parade. She's going to be on fire, so it's going to be fun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NICHOLS: Definitely is going to be must-see TV. Carol, if you've been watching little Riley Curry, the 2-year-old, throughout these NBA finals, she's stolen a lot of hearts. And it is pretty amazing, if you think about it, Del Curry, 16 year veteran of the NBA, never won a title, now his son, Steph Curry, won that ring on behalf of the whole family.

[10:00:03] And, hey, Riley, maybe she's got a future too. Maybe we'll see her in the WNBA in like 20 years. The Curry genes are pretty good there, Carol.

COSTELLO: (INAUDIBLE) make Cleveland.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: I hope Riley plays for a team in Cleveland.

Rachel Nichols, thanks so much. I appreciate it. The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.