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Back In Spotlight, Hillary Echoes Obama; Netanyahu Invitation Skips White House Protocol; Study: Spouses Boost Willpower

Aired January 22, 2015 - 07:30   ET

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


JOHN KING, CNN HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": And Governor Bush did this with John McCain a few weeks back, too, he's done this with other senior party leaders, essentially, give me your advice, I want to pay tribute to your service to the party. Now what? Will they arm wrestle?

RON FOURNIER, "NATIONAL JOURNAL": It's a smart thing for Jeb Bush to do, but obviously everything has changed. It's interesting even at this high level politics often comes down to what happens when two people get in the room together and there are cases where politicians have not necessarily cut a deal, but made an arrangement.

Let's make sure we're working together, not against each other. I don't think it's going to happen here. I wouldn't be surprised if one or both of these men come out of the meeting with a different thinking about how they're going to run or whether they're going to run. My guess is at the end of the day, Mitt Romney does not run.

KING: Do you think at the end of the day he does not? As cautious and as deliberate as he is and as careful as he is, I took it early on that he was not going to run.

But when he came out publicly and said go tell your friends now he's making calls to fundraisers and staffers. I took at that point given his history and given what his wife is now saying that he is leaning too far forward now. You think not?

FOURNIER: No, I think he can still pull back and my guess is he does.

KING: All right, we'll watch that one. Someone who made clear yesterday increasingly she's not pulling back is Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state north of the border for a speaking engagement in Canada. Remember this the day after the president's State Of The Union address.

President Obama lays out an aggressive agenda that the Republicans don't like. The president says it will help the middle class. Republicans often say Hillary Clinton would be the third Obama term. Well, listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Last night President Obama offered a vision for helping the middle class in the United States. Reclaim its seat at the table and the proposals he offered are important start for a critical debate.

There's so much more to do to bring security and possibility to families struggling with stagnant wages and sinking hopes, to restore comity and cooperation to our politics, to reform our broken immigration system, to re-stitch the fraying fabric of American life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Now, I've lost track of how many electoral votes that Winnipeg gets in presidential elections. But clearly she was out of the public eye for more than a month. She's been working on this and she's clearly decided I like the president's plan, I'm not afraid to stand with him.

PAGE: I think what's interesting about what the president did in the State Of The Union, if you look at the Democratic message on the economy for much of his presidency, it's been a bit jumbled and particularly in the lead-up to the mid-term elections, they couldn't settle on a message.

He basically took the stage at the State Of The Union and said here is not only my economic philosophy, but the Democratic Party's philosophy. He's handing it over to the party, handing it over to Hillary Clinton saying run on this.

It worked for me twice in presidential elections. It can work for you, too. I think if she can be with him on the economy, it opens up opportunities to move away from him on foreign policy, and not to add completely turn my back on the president.

FOURNIER: I think he's doing very much of what TR did at the beginning of the last century, kind of set the stage for the next 20 years in a big progressive argument. Hillary, there is some distance here. It's very interesting.

If you look at her tweet that she put out at the State Of The Union address, she said on one hand, President Obama pointed a way to an economy that works for all. So she is embracing the policy.

Now we need to step up and deliver for the middle class. Parenthetically, this goes back to 2008, he talks a good game, I'm going to deliver. The middle class hasn't done any better under President Obama, I'm going to deliver.

KING: It's a hug and a little bit of a push all at the same time. And then there was this -- yesterday on ABC News, Joe Biden talking about the State Of The Union address. He was asked about 2016 and --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Yes. There's a chance. But I haven't made my mind up about that we've got a lot of work to do between now and then. There's plenty of time.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KING: You were just making the question, if Jeb runs, does Romney also run. If Hillary runs, does bidden also run? He says it's possible.

FOURNIER: It's like the old joke. So you say there's a chance? I think he should run. Think it would be good for the party. I think it would be good for Hillary Clinton to have some competition. I think Biden deserves the chance. I think he's qualified to be president. I don't see why he shouldn't and doesn't get in.

PAGE: There aren't a lot of actual signs behind Biden saying that he's moving towards a run. If you look at what all the other candidates are doing. They're bringing staff in, starting super PACs. He's just not building the kind of apparatus that makes you think he's really serious about this.

KING: It's different because he's been vice president. But essentially the same question as Governor Romney, do you want to lose a third time? He's run twice before. Do you want to lose a third time? Here's another one here.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, does not have a great relationship with President Obama. President Obama made his case in the State Of The Union that Congress should not enact any additional sanctions right now or even the threat of additional sanctions during the nuclear negotiations with Iran.

Republicans responded, Speaker John Boehner says let's invite Prime Minister Netanyahu to speak before a full chamber -- full House of both of chambers of Congress to rebut the president essentially. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPRESENTATIVE JOHN BOEHNER (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: I did not consult with the White House. The Congress can make this decision on its own. I don't believe I'm poking anyone in the eye. There is a serious threat that exists in the world and the president last night kind of papered over it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: He is poking the president of the United States in the eye. So is the prime minister for that matter for deciding to do this. Prime Minister Netanyahu who wants to make the case, up the sanctions don't give any ground to Iran. This is a remarkable moment.

PAGE: It's really incredible the White House was not happy yesterday with Netanyahu or with Boehner for doing this. Interesting to note, though, Netanyahu has elections coming up. There's Israeli politics in the mix on this as well.

FOURNIER: There's a good reason why politics is supposed to stop at the water's edge. I think Republicans forget that they have the White House again and they would not want this to happen to them. The commander-in-chief has to have room to do what the commander-in-chief needs to do.

KING: February 11th, I believe, is the joint address by Prime Minister Netanyahu. It's remarkable to watch trade relations between this president and the prime minister, Republicans getting involved.

And Alisyn, as we get back to you, Seth Myers last night also thinking about the possibility of the Joe Biden 2016 campaign and he thinks this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SETH MYERS: Vice President Biden said this morning that he thinks he can do a good job as president. He thinks he can do a good job as president. And if that doesn't work out, he would like to be an astronaut or a fireman. Fourth choice, cowboy, but ideally one of the first three.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: That's being Joe Biden is every now and then you got to take that.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: I guess so, but that's great. I love that you give us these little humor nuggets to send us off on our next hour, John. Thanks so much.

KING: Take care.

CAMEROTA: OK, see you tomorrow.

Well, there's a tentative deal to reach a truce in Yemen. It appears, however, at this hour to be crumbling. So what does this mean for American security, if this key Middle East ally falls into rebel control? We're talking live with a top Pentagon official.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: At this hour, Japan fighting against time to try to free two hostages held by ISIS. We want to bring in Rear Admiral John Kirby, who joins us live from the Pentagon. Admiral Kirby, thanks so much for being on NEW DAY. Is there any assistance that the U.S. can give Japan to free these hostages?

REAR ADMIRAL JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: We're working closely with our Japanese counterparts as you might expect, having gone through this ourselves and trying to help them as best we can, certainly at least in the realm of trying to share some information.

I wouldn't get into any speculation about anything beyond that at this point. But obviously Japan is a close ally and friend and we're going to continue to look for ways to help them in any way we can.

CAMEROTA: As you've just said, the U.S. found itself in this same sickening situation. And when it happened to the U.S., ISIS beheaded the hostages. The Americans, Steven Sotloff, Peter Casig, James Foley. Is there anything that Japan can do to produce a different outcome, do you think?

KIRBY: This is a very brutal group and they're also somewhat unpredictable and it makes them all the more dangerous. I wouldn't speculate right now about things that can or should be done or would be done.

We want to respect the decisions of Japanese authorities to make on their own. What I'll tell you is that this is, this is a group when they threaten individuals like that you have to take those threats seriously. And you have to, you have to stay on top of it and try to gather as much information as you can.

But again, I wouldn't get ahead of decisions that the Japanese government haven't made yet. All I'll say again is that very close friend and ally were going to continue to look for ways to help them in any way possible.

CAMEROTA: ISIS gave Japan just 72 hours to come up with $200 million of ransom that ISIS is demanding. What does that tell you?

KIRBY: Well, there's motivation here, by ISIL, to get ransom for these hostages. They've done this before and other nations have paid. This is a decision the Japanese government has to make about whether or not they are willing to pay that ransom. As you know, it's our policy in the United States not to do so. But again, this is something that the Japanese government has to do.

CAMEROTA: Foreign ministers from 22 countries are in London today along with Secretary Of State John Kerry, trying to discuss how to stop ISIS, how to combat ISIS. Beyond the coalition air strikes, what else is being considered?

KIRBY: I think I wouldn't get ahead of discussions in London here. Certainly not from a military perspective, but as we've said all along, there's not going to be a purely military solution to this. The real long-term answer to a threat like ISIL is good governance, good governance in Iraq and good governance in Syria.

In Iraq, we have a coalition government that's standing up, they are having some struggles, but they are making some progress in terms of being representative and inclusive of all Iraqis. In Syria, obviously, there isn't a functioning government.

The Assad regime has lost legitimacy to govern and has just ceded wide swaths of the north east section of the country to ISIL. One of the things that the ministers in London are discussing is how do you get the political solutions that long-term need to be in place to deal with a threat like ISIL.

CAMEROTA: And Admiral Kirby, I want to move on to Yemen and what's going on there. The situation is very precarious. The presidential palace has been taken over by a rebel group. Does the Pentagon at this hour know who is in charge in Yemen?

KIRBY: We're watching this very, very closely, Alisyn, as you might expect. We do agree the situation is tenuous there in Yemen. It seems like both sides are starting to have some discussions, that's a healthy thing.

But as you said, there continues to be a very fragile security situation on the ground. And we're watching it very, very closely. We have a good relationship with the Yemeni government in the realm of counterterrorism.

We want the relationship to continue. We're calling on both sides to try to resolve these differences peaceably and without further violence.

CAMEROTA: Yesterday, we had Senator Angus King on NEW DAY. He made a plea that it was time to get U.S. personnel out of Yemen. Let me play for you what he said on our air yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR ANGUS KING (I), MAINE: I don't think we have much control there, I got to be honest. I think we ought to get our people out. I don't want to see a hostage situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: This morning our global affairs analyst, as well as our military analyst have echoed his sentiments, they say better to be safe than sorry. Let's get the U.S. personnel out before this goes sideways. Are you considering evacuating people today?

KIRBY: Nobody wants to see a hostage situation and certainly nobody wants to see American citizens put at risk particularly our colleagues in the State Department. They're very mindful of the safety and security of their personnel.

And we're working closely with our State Department colleagues, to watch and monitor the situation and to help them in any way that we can should that be necessary. But this is ultimately a decision that the State Department makes and they are very mindful, I can assure you of the security situation on the ground.

CAMEROTA: Why not get them out day? Why not, just be better safe than sorry?

KIRBY: Well, this again, this is a discussion and a decision that is made at the State Department. And that, they, they watch these situations very closely. What I can tell from you a military perspective, we have forces in the region and nearby, particularly at sea, should they be necessary.

Now, it's typical, though, when the State Department does want to conduct some sort of evacuation, they tend to want to do it through commercial or charter means as a first tool and we understand that. But we have to be ready and prepared.

We are ready and prepared. We've got forces positioned should they be necessary. And as I said, we're working closely with the State Department on the requirements that might be necessary should there be an evacuation. CAMEROTA: OK, please keep us alerted as to what's happening there. Rear Admiral John Kirby, thanks so much for coming on NEW DAY.

KIRBY: Thank you for having me.

CAMEROTA: Michaela.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, you folks at home, if you're married, you have an advantage when it comes to getting fit, staying healthy, even kicking a bad habit. My TV husband and wife are all going to break it down with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, there's a new study out, we'll take a look at it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: It is time now for CNN money now. Chief business correspondent, Christine Romans is here. So Senator Angus King, he said there was a big issue that was being ignored. Well, not here.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

CUOMO: Christine, what can you tell us to what's about to happen to overtime pay?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: This is potentially a big story. You heard it here from the senator. I wanted to check something he said on the program here yesterday that higher pay was coming for millions of Americans. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR ANGUS KING (I), MAINE: Something's going to happen in the next month that nobody's talking about that I think is going to be very significant. The president has the unilateral power to increase the level where overtime clicks in.

It's no question he has it. This isn't the imperial presidency. George Bush did it, you know, ten years ago, and that's going to suddenly change the incomes of a lot of middle class people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: He's right. The president has the power and he's going to use it. He's talking about an effort at the Labor Department to change those overtime rules for salaried workers. Hourly workers get overtime when they hit 40 hours a week, right?

But if your company puts you on a salary, you don't qualify for overtime pay unless you make less than $455 a week. That's only $23,000. It's below the poverty line for a family of four. The president doesn't need Congress to change this.

It's the law that he has that ability to do it. In 2004, President Bush raised that threshold from 250 a week to 455. The Obama administration since last March has been working on how to raise it again.

The left leaning economic policy institute, this is what they're lobbying, a threshold of almost $1,000 a week, more than $51,000 a year. That would mean 6.1 million Americans will get a raise if the president gets his way. We're expecting maybe next month we'll hear for sure.

CAMEROTA: That's a huge raise.

CUOMO: What's the up and down on this?

ROMANS: Small business leaders say, no, we can't pay more. We can't pay more. We're already strapped with Affordable Care Act changes. That's down. It's going to be higher cost for employers. The up side is people have more money especially paycheck to paycheck people have more money in their pockets. They can spend it.

CUOMO: Christine, thank you very much.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

CUOMO: Mich.

PEREIRA: All right. NEW DAY, new you, there may be more to marriage than just love. Turns out it could actually help you live a healthier life. A new story finds you are likely to eat better, exercise more and ditch the cigarettes if your spouse works with you to kick some of those bad habits.

Here is our NEW DAY new you joining us, chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. I would have imagined that this makes sense, strength in numbers, partner in crime, but to the level that it has changed it. You're going to tell us about the significance here of having some support.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: No question. I mean, some of this is really obvious. You don't have to go it alone. You have somebody to help you. I think what was interesting about the study is it put some numbers on it. The numbers were pretty high in terms of the added level of success if you have your partner doing this with you.

Up to double in certain cases. Let me show you some of those numbers and tell you another insight here. Take a look as we broke it down by men and women, weight loss success, 10 to 26 percent, 15 to 36 percent for women.

PEREIRA: Wow.

GUPTA: Keep going there. When you look at exercise overall, again -- you could have a significant impact if you just go it alone, but you

know, double, two and a half times higher likelihood of success if you do this with your partner.

PEREIRA: This next one is the one I found most remarkable.

GUPTA: It is incredibly hard habit to break if you and your partner are smokers and you both decide to quit the numbers go way up. There was another interesting thing here. If you are already healthy, if you are already -- he doesn't smoke.

PEREIRA: You're healthy and fit, eat well.

GUPTA: Your spouse is not, you're not likely to have that much of an impact on your spouse.

PEREIRA: Really?

GUPTA: So it's not just the idea of being healthy, you're not smoking. You are having at a good weight. It's the idea of doing it with your partner in some way.

PEREIRA: Drill down a little bit more on the study because it depends on the age of the couple I would imagine -- I mean, the younger you are, look, you can't teach an old dog new tricks. I should know. The younger you are, you have a better chance of changing the habit, no?

GUPTA: I think you are absolutely right, Michaela. It's interesting because the authors didn't make mention of that, but I looked at that exact point. Maybe you looked at it more as you are sort of getting older, but you know this idea that it was some 4,000 couples they looked at.

They followed them over a few years, but the average age skewed a little bit higher. These are people who are more likely to be closer to 50 and as you may be more ingrained in those habits.

PEREIRA: I mean, the science to this. I mean, this matters to medical professionals, obviously, because if you know as a physician saying I need you to quit smoking or I need you to drop 20 pounds. If you know that that person has the support at home --

GUPTA: I think from a medical sort of suicidal standpoint. I think it's sort of when someone is coming in and is getting counseling or getting guidance on exercise weight loss, smoking, that if the doc or the nurses talking to that person says tell me about your spouse as well.

If we intervened with both people at the same time as opposed to just one, we could have a much more significant impact. It's not just two people. It could have increased likelihood of success, but also this idea, is it support or is it competition?

PEREIRA: Maybe a little bit of healthy competition motivates us.

GUPTA: I think it could be and you see all these devices and couples are wearing the devices. They are challenging each other. This particular study was done on what they called intimate partners, the people who live together. They're obviously very close. Could this also extrapolate to communal organizations?

Weight watchers, for example, budding people up with others, perhaps that makes a difference as well. This idea of fostering that support or competition, you saw the numbers.

PEREIRA: It's incredible, something to consider if you're looking to break a habit at home. Sanjay Gupta, wearing a very nice tie.

GUPTA: You like that tie?

PEREIRA: I do like it. Alisyn, you like that tie as well?

CAMEROTA: I do. Who couldn't like that tie? Sanjay, looking good.

GUPTA: I know one guy that might not because he gave it to me.

CUOMO: There he is. Don't hate it, appreciate it.

PEREIRA: Good to have you here, Sanjay.

CAMEROTA: There you go, looking good. All right, let's get back to the story that we are watching closely this morning and that is the fate of two Japanese hostages. It is in the hands of ISIS at this hour. We'll have all the latest for you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Time running out for two hostages held by ISIS.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm with you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Japan is trying to open a line of communication with ISIS.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't give up. I know you are not giving up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Crisis in Yemen that could derail the war on terror.

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: Our personnel are well protected.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we ought to get our people out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to see a state where there is no government.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's been a sport controversy about deflated balls that doesn't involve steroids.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is no way that it isn't cheating. Can they prove that someone did it on purpose?

(END VIDEOTAPE)