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CNN NEWSROOM
Wall Street's Momentum; Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs; Hawaii to Send Homeless Home; Sources: A-Rod Suspension Likely Today;
Aired August 5, 2013 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in THE NEWSROOM: decision day. Dozens of suspensions, steroids and Major League Baseball in laser focus this morning.
Sun, sand, surf, now leave. Hawaii unveiling a controversial plan to ship the homeless off the island.
Plus, this --
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UNDEENTIFIED MALE: What are you working on?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Computer terminal that hooks up to the TV.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Steve --
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KEILAR: Ashton Kutcher from "That's '70s Show", to the blockbuster new Steve Jobs flick. CNN goes one-on-one with the Hollywood star.
NEWSROOM starts now.
Good morning and welcome back to NEWSROOM. I'm Brianna Keilar, in today for Carol Costello.
Nineteen embassies and consulates are closed until Saturday over major security concerns. All of them located in the Middle East or Africa, and these closures were prompted by several factors, including an al Qaeda message intercepted by the U.S. that threatened attacks. Adding to the concerns, Ramadan ends this week and several prison breaks have occurred in the region.
Let's go now to Wall Street where the opening bell is about to ring. Investors are hoping for a repeat of last week after stocks, once again, posted record highs. That's where we find the lovely Alison Kosik in New York with the very latest on this.
Hey, Alison.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Brianna. So stocks are opening lower, but the day is still young. These record highs could still be in the cards if the market turns around into the plus column. If you're keeping count, the Dow has hit 30 record highs so far this year. The S&P 500 opened at 1,700. It hasn't been at that level ever.
So even if you put today aside, it's really been quite the amazing year. Look at this. The S&P 500 is up almost 20 percent just this year. It's only August. History shows a 9 percent increase is what we usually see.
And you look at the economic news lately, it's been pretty good. Not great. You know, companies are hiring, car sales are picking up, housing is looking good. But the economic growth here in this country is weak. Unemployment is high, the jobs being added are low-wage. But the Fed is backstopping the economy with $85 billion a month of stimulus that is pouring into the economy. So, as far as investors see it, they're all in. Analysts expect the rally in the long term to continue.
Brianna.
KEILAR: Yes, it always just kind of feels like a mixed bag and feels like it's been that way for a long time, Alison.
Alison --
KOSIK: It really has and -
KEILAR: Yes.
KOSIK: And I was going to say, that's why -- that's why so many people talk about the disconnect. You see these record highs almost weekly, and then you look at the economic data. That's why we talk about that disconnect.
KEILAR: Yes, do you feel it? And a lot of people don't.
KOSIK: Yes, they don't.
KEILAR: Alison Kosik breaking it down for us there in New York. Thank you.
Now, up next, Major League Baseball is likely to suspend Alex Rodriguez today, but A-Rod says that he's still playing for the Yankees tonight. How is that going to work? We will talk about it.
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KEILAR: Baseball's highest paid player is about to receive one of the sports harshest punishments ever. Major League Baseball is expected to suspend Alex Rodriguez today and media reports say that the move could keep him out until the 2015 season. Other Major League players will also be suspended today, like A-Rod, for their connection with the now closed Biogenesis clinic in south Florida.
And I'm joined now by Brian Costa. He's a sports reporter for "The Wall Street Journal."
Brian, thanks for being with us.
As we've talked about, A-Rod has said, he said, I'm suiting up. I am going to play for the Yankees tonight. But does he play and maybe people are wondering how can he do this if he's suspended?
BRIAN COSTA, REPORTER, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": Well, Major League Baseball has an appeals process. So once a player is suspended, he can appeal that suspension and play until that appeal is heard. So, Alex Rodriguez is planning to be in the lineup Monday night in Chicago where the Yankees are playing and he is able to do so.
KEILAR: And even though I know that part of it, too, obviously, Major League Baseball has some discretion. They can say to A-Rod, you know what, you're not actually going to suit up. But it seems as well that these other players, many of them big names, as well, they've got lesser suspensions. We're looking at probably 50 games. We understand that Major League Baseball doesn't want this to affect really the season as much as possible. They want to get those sort of suspensions, get those players off the field ASAP. But when it comes to A-Rod, right, isn't his suspension just so long that maybe it doesn't matter as much?
COSTA: Well, I think they'd like Alex to agree to a suspension, as well, as they're hoping with all these players, that they would agree to deals and not appeal them so it's a lot cleaner that way.
KEILAR: Yes.
COSTA: The problem is, Alex has not agreed to a deal and it doesn't look like he has any intention of doing so. So it looks like they're in for a fight as of right now.
KEILAR: So last week there was reports the commissioner's office was considering a lifetime ban against A-Rod. Could that still happen? Is that a possibility?
COSTA: I have not gotten any indication that that's going to actually happen. I've heard, you know, at the very least, it will run through the end of next season. But I think that will be a stretch. I think that will be tough to get upheld by an arbitrator. So right now I don't think we're looking at quite an extension -- a suspension to that extent.
KEILAR: OK. So, on Friday, there -- A-Rod said something kind of cryptic following this game, this minor league game that he played in Trenton. He suggested that basically the Yankees' front office had good reason to want him off the field. He said -- he wouldn't say specifically, but he said some people will benefit. It is not the players. It's not the fans. I assume he means there are millions of reasons, right?
COSTA: I lost the volume.
KEILAR: Oh, sorry. Actually, Brian, can you still - can you hear me? Oh, I think Brian has lost his IFB. We will try to reconnect with him. I think he can't hear us. So - OK, unfortunately, we're going to cut out of this. That was Brian Costa with "The Wall Street Journal." A great insight while we had him.
And coming up, Ashton Kutcher, he's taking on the role of a legend, playing Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in an upcoming film about his life. Get a sneak peek of the film. It's a cool one. And you can hear from Ashton himself, after this.
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ASHTON KUTCHER, ACTOR, "JOBS": This is freedom. This is freedom to create and to do and to build and -- as artists, as individuals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, ACTOR, "JOBS": Look, look, you're overreacting. Even if you were developing this for freaks like us, and I doubt you are, nobody wants to buy a computer. Nobody.
KUTCHER: How does somebody know what they want if they've never even seen it.
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KEILAR: So that is Ashton Kutcher. Weirdly looks a little like Steve Jobs, doesn't he, who he's playing. He is taking the starring role in an upcoming film about the late Apple co-founder's life and entertainment correspondent Nischelle Turner joining us now on this.
Nischelle, Kutcher, he sat down with CNN. He talked about the film.
NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
KEILAR: And, obviously, he's got some pretty big shoes to fill here. What did he say about that?
TURNER: Yes, he definitely does. And, by the way, I think he looks a lot like Steve Jobs.
KEILAR: Yes.
TURNER: You said he looks a little. I think he really had a likeness to him in this film.
And, yes, he was honest. He said he definitely had some big shoes to fill and that it wasn't easy becoming Steve Jobs. He says that Steve Jobs is his hero. And, by the way, not everyone was happy about this film. Listen.
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ASHTON KUTCHER, ACTOR: I met with a lot of his friends and a lot of his co-workers and a lot of people that he worked with. Historically, I met with this friend of his who lived with him during this period of time in his house. So, I met with a lot of people that he was around.
There were some people that it was just too soon. And I think that, you know, if I put myself in their shoes, I completely understand why they didn't want to connect. And some of them that I've connected with subsequently, and since we made the film, and now they want to talk about Steve and have a conversation. But I understand it. You know, you have a sensitive attachment to someone who's just passed away and who's this guy I'm just going to have a conversation with him about my friend and tell him intimate details that maybe my friend didn't want coming out. Things like this.
But I think the one thing that we did with the movie is like, we really didn't, you know, uproot anything that if you did some really hard, diligent research on the Internet, you couldn't already find. And I think we sort of like stayed away from his family life in the film because it is sensitive and we didn't really want to like go into that.
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KEILAR: So what did he say about that, Nischelle? I mean you can kind of see there's a lag time between making a movie and it hitting the screen.
TURNER: Yes.
KEILAR: So maybe it doesn't feel as soon as it would for those folks who Ashton Kutcher contacted. What did he say about those people and how they felt?
TURNER: Well, you know, that's interesting, Brianna, because this script was actually being written before Steve Jobs ever passed away.
KEILAR: Wow.
TURNER: So, there was already, you know, this kind of thing going on in the works. But he thought when he first heard about this movie, Ashton said that it was way too soon, as well. But he said, once he saw the script, he knew that it was a movie that would eventually be made anyway and he wanted to be the one to do it.
Now, by the way, I have seen the film and one interesting thing about this is, it doesn't paint Steve Jobs in this kind of, I don't know, larger -- well, it is larger than life, but this great light that - like that he is perfect. I guess that's the word I'm looking for. Doesn't paint him that way. It actually shows his flaws and shows the issues that he had with his co-workers and sometimes how he treated people within the company and some of the shrewd business moves that he had to make that definitely didn't sit well with a lot of people. So it's an interesting look at this man who everybody wanted to know what actually was going on inside of his head.
KEILAR: Yes, you know, even the book that he sanctioned that Walter Isaacson wrote perhaps wasn't a - it was sort of an honest look, I think, at Steve Jobs. It would be interesting to maybe think about what Steve Jobs would think about this movie. Maybe he'd be OK with it, you never know.
TURNER: Yes. Yes. And there's another project in the work that Aaron Sorkin is putting together. So we'll have to see when that one comes out how it compares to this one. But I will say, in this movie, Josh Gad, who plays Steve Wozniak, fantastic.
KEILAR: All right, I'm looking forward to that certainly, Nischelle Turner -- a lot of projects in the works.
All right now still ahead, sending the homeless home from one state to another. We're going to tell you how Hawaii plans to do just that next in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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KEILAR: Beautiful weather, generous benefits and super high housing costs. It's a combination that led to a very high rate of homelessness in Hawaii, but lawmakers there have come up with a plan they hope will reconnect some of the homeless with their families. Casey Wian explains.
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CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a tropical paradise with the nation's second highest rate of homelessness after only Washington, D.C.
JOHN MIZUNO, HAWAII STATE LEGISLATURE: Hawaii is a premier place to be if you're homeless. We have a robust public assistance program.
WIAN: After years of trying, Hawaiian lawmakers have approved a controversial plan to provide plane tickets off the islands for some homeless from out of state.
MIZUNO: We're going to reduce homelessness in our state. Second, we're going to send them back to their family, a strong support network system where they can get back on their feet. And third, we're going to save our taxpayers a substantial amount of money.
WIAN: Mizuno says the $100,000 pilot program is voluntary and will only relocate people who have someone to help them back home. Still, a spokeswoman for Hawaii's Department of Human Services tells CNN, "We remain concerned this program is an invitation to purchase a one-way ticket to Hawaii with a guaranteed return flight home."
New York and San Francisco both have been paying to relocate thousands of homeless people over the past several years. Activists say only about two dozen have come back.
NAN ROMAN, NATIONAL ALLIANCE TO END HOMELESSNESS: I think the idea is a good idea. People often become homeless because they get separated from their support networks, their family, their friends --
WIAN: Mizuno has seen it work. He's helped raise money, sometimes out of his own pocket for more than 20 homeless people to return home, including Yugette Baker a schizophrenic who ended up in Hawaii months after she was reported missing from Houston..
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because she didn't even know where she was or how she got here.
WIAN: When police contacted her mother, Cheryl Walter, she flew to Hawaii and paid for her daughter's medication, but then she couldn't afford the air fare home. Mizuno found a donor.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mom got my ticket, so she got my ticket so we're leaving and I thank God and all the people in Hawaii.
WIAN: Two years later, Yugette is doing well taking her medicine and taking computer classes.
(on camera): Supporters of Hawaii's relocation program say it is no panacea. They say if they could relocate 100 of Hawaii's more than 6,000 homeless people the first year, they'll consider the program a big success.
Casey Wian, CNN Los Angeles.
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KEILAR: Up next in the CNN NEWSROOM, Johnny Football could be in big trouble. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner reportedly is under investigation by the NCAA.
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KEILAR: This could be the day that A-Rod and the rest of the players involved in the Biogenesis drug scandal learn their fate. And Andy Scholes is joining us now with more in this morning's "Bleacher Report". A huge day Andy.
ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: Yes good morning Brianna. Two sources tell CNN that today is probably the day we finally learn what A-Rod's suspension is going to be. According to reports, the Yankees slugger will avoid a lifetime ban and instead receive a 214-game suspension for violating the league's drug policy. Even though that sounds bad this is a win for A-Rod because if he is suspended only under the league's drug policy, he will get to continue playing while he appeals the ruling.
Now the appeals process could the last for more than a month. The Yankees play in Chicago tonight. Manager Joe Girardi said he is going to pencil A-Rod into the lineup.
JOE GIRARDI, YANKEES MANAGER: He's in there. I'm going to play him. That's the latest situation. As I've said, you'll probably hear about everything before I will.
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SCHOLES: Coming up next hour, CNN's Jason Carroll sits down with three sports journalists to talk about A-Rod's impending punishment. You won't want to miss it. Well, there looks like there's more trouble brewing for Johnny Football. According to ESPN, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner is being investigated by the NCAA for being paid to sign autographs. Manziel reportedly signed hundreds of photos and helmets for a sports memorabilia dealer. If Manziel accepted money or gifts, both he and the Aggies could face punishment; if found in violation of NCAA rules Johnny Football could be ruled ineligible for the entire 2013 season.
The football season officially kicked off last night, the NFL welcoming the newest members of their hall of fame there -- Bill Parcells, Warren Sapp among the inductees. Cowboys and Dolphins taking part in the annual hall of fame game in Ohio. Many stars sitting this one out, giving the young guys plenty of time to make a good impression. Cowboy's Devonte Holloman taking advantage of that extra time. He had the play of the game taking an interception 75 yards for the touch down. Cowboys win the preseason opener, 24-20.
Tiger Woods is up to his old tricks at the Bridgestone Invitational. Tiger in complete control basically from start to finish in this tournament. Check out the 11th hole, Tiger showing off using the butt of his cutter to avoid the tall grass. He just misses the hole. Tiger never challenged in the final round, he wins the tournament by seven strokes, his eighth career win at Bridgestone.
And on his way to finish off his scoring card -- his son Charlie right there special moment, picks him up. Gives dad a big hug. Tiger said after the tournament, Brianna, this is the first time his son was at a tournament that he won.
KEILAR: And it's also fascinating because we don't often see that family side of him, right?
SCHOLES: Right. Like he said his kids are rarely at the tournament and this is the first time he was there when he won a tournament. And now coming into this weekend's major, the PGA championship, Tiger, of course, another media overwhelming favorite to win it all.
KEILAR: Little Charlie kind of hiding his head there from the camera. Can't say I blame him. That's a lot for a little kid to handle.
SCHOLES: Yes. He'll have to bring Charlie around this week too, for good luck.
KEILAR: Yes, definitely. Andy Scholes, Thank you for that.
And the next hour of NEWSROOM begins right after this quick break.
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