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CNN NEWSROOM

Trump Appeals to Families with Child Care Credit; 10-year-old Boy Died of Neck Injury on Water Slide; Another FOX News Anchor Accuses Roger Ailes of Sexual Harassment; Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired August 9, 2016 - 09:30   ET

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


[09:30:00] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And a CNN contributor. Carol Evans is a Clinton supporter and founder of Working Mother Media, and Sabrina Schaeffer is executive director of the Independent Women's Forum. Welcome to all of you. Hi.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

COSTELLO: You're welcome. Kayleigh, is this a good first step for Mr. Trump?

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, TRUMP SUPPORTER: It's a fantastic step. You know, we saw the policy speech yesterday that you can deduct child case -- average child care from your tax rules. And in addition to that, also for lower income families you can deduct from half of your payroll tax. So this is a child care plan that applies to the middle class, that applies to families in a lower income bracket. This is a fantastic first step to winning over that key demographic.

COSTELLO: And, Sabrina, I know that you've been critical of Mr. Trump. But is this a good first step in your mind? Is it enough to repair the rift between women voters and Mr. Trump?

SABRINA SCHAEFFER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INDEPENDENT WOMEN'S FORUM: Sure. I'm not sure it's going to be enough to, you know, get him -- to win him the women vote, but I am happy to see that he opened up this conversation. This is an issue that we've worked a lot on this year in particular. And I think that conservatives and by extension Republicans need to focus on, and that is giving resources back to families so that they can make choices in their lives that make the most sense for them.

And when it comes to child care we want to make sure that we have a marketplace that provides for the greatest -- you know, most affordable quality care out there. And many options for people so that people can make arrangements based on their needs and wants. And so I think a child care tax credit and consolidating some of the existing ones that we have already would go -- you know, would be a step in the right direction certainly.

COSTELLO: And, Carol, I know you're a Clinton supporter. But is this a good first step for Donald Trump?

CAROL EVANS, CLINTON SUPPORTER: Not really.

COSTELLO: He's talking about child care. But that's a good thing, isn't it?

EVANS: I think that Donald Trump has no credibility with women on so many levels that this little bone, these few words, a couple of sentences in his economic speech will do nothing to stem the huge tsunami of Republican women who are going to vote for Hillary in the fall.

COSTELLO: But he has introduced this issue into the Republican narrative, something that hasn't been done before.

EVANS: It's way too little, it's way too late. And it's not a very effective support. First of all, it's a tax deduction. And that is going to help elite women, the top percent of women in this country.

SCHAEFFER: It's a tax credit. A tax credit.

EVANS: It does nothing for working women. It does not nothing for working women and the working class that he pretends and purports to --

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: OK. Wait, wait. It's a deduction.

EVANS: It's a deduction.

COSTELLO: It's deduction.

(CROSSTALK)

EVANS: So you have to be itemizing your taxes in order to take this deduction.

MCENANY: That's not true. And also, he didn't mention this in the speech but his campaign came out and said this is also going to apply to the payroll tax. So women who are not necessarily paying incoming taxes, they fall below that minimum threshold, they will have greater take home pay. Not only that, his speech helps millennial women who can't even get jobs. There are many women who would love to think about child care, you know, but they can't even -- they're not at the point of even getting a job or even getting married because it's just not --

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: Let's Sabrina weigh in here because she's done a lot of research on this subject. And I know it's your sweet spot. So, Sabrina, go.

SCHAEFFER: Right. You know, I think what's important is that when government gets involved in a lot of the progressive solutions out there for the issue of child care, which is a real one for working women and working parents in general, is that they very often are biasing parents towards a particular system of government namely, you know, child care facility. But when you actually look at the percentage of people who use child care facilities, it's very small. Most people would prefer to have a family member or a friend or a relative be able to help care for those children. And so that's a very good thing.

And we don't want to bias people toward one system or another. We want them to have the freedom to make the choice that works for their family, their preferences. And that's why returning resources to individual families so that they can make those arrangements is the best approach. And whether or not this helps Trump is almost beside the point. It's time for Republicans and conservatives to be thinking about better ways to actually help working families. That will go well beyond November.

COSTELLO: OK. So, Carol --

EVANS: I just would love to say -- first of all, let's look at Hillary Clinton's proposals. She is supporting pre-K, universal pre-K which is so important for working families. She's supporting investment in child care, raising the wages of child care workers which is abysmal, way below the rate that anybody should be paid. And she is supporting how child care is an integral part of what a working mother needs. Not just for the elite who have nannies but also for all the working women of this country that have many different arrangements. I agree with that completely. And we need investments in child care, not tax deductions for the rich who itemize their taxes.

(CROSSTALK)

SCHAEFFER: Investment in the family, letting them make those choices. That's what I would say.

COSTELLO: Well, let me pose this question to Kayleigh because it's great that Mr. Trump brought this issue up but he didn't really expound on it in his speech at the Detroit Economic Club. Why didn't he? Because he is having problems with that demographic.

MCENANY: Yes, as you mentioned, it's great he mentioned it and he should expound upon it some. But something that I think is a myth is that women want to be spoken to through the lens of their gender. There are a lot of women out there --

COSTELLO: Child care is a big issue, Kayleigh.

MCENANY: It's a big issue. But --

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: Republicans, independents, Democrats. That's a big issue.

[09:35:02] MCENANY: But yes, it's a big issue. But what is a bigger issue is women who are unemployed and can't find jobs, women who are in poverty more at the end of this administration than at the beginning. There are a lot of women who you speak generically about raising the economy, raising growth, lowering taxes, that applies to women across the board. And there's a lot of women who yes, child care is important, he should expound upon it. But we don't necessarily want to be seen through the lens of our gender.

COSTELLO: No, no, I get it.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: Wait, wait, wait. I want to interject something. It is very difficult if you're low income or you're poor women and you can't afford child care to rise out of poverty no matter what.

MCENANY: Sure.

COSTELLO: You know.

MCENANY: But there's --

(CROSSTALK)

MCENANY: Minority women, millennial women, they can't even find jobs. Donald Trump's speech is about job growth that will rise all, both men, women, everyone.

(CROSSTALK)

SCHAEFFER: I agree, but I do think, Kayleigh, I think that --

EVANS: How Donald Trump treats women, what he says about women and how he has so few proposals that have anything to do with women and no women on his economic policy group.

SCHAEFFER: And, Kayleigh, I would add this, that I agree that most women don't like the pandering of gender politics. But I do think that conservatives and by extension again Republicans have failed to recognize gender differences and that there are different issues that affect men and women and child care is one of them, and paid leave and equal pay, all of it, work place politics, you know, do disproportionately impact women. And whether or not you think that we need to grow government to solve them or rein government in to solve them, which is where I am, there is a conversation that needs to be had.

COSTELLO: Yes, and I just bring that up, Kayleigh, because Ivanka Donald Trump and her wonderful speech at the Republican National Convention brought all of these issues up and she directed them specifically toward women, child care and equal pay.

MCENANY: Yes. And I agree with Sabrina that Republicans have been behind on some of these issues. I think their policies apply to women but talking about it, too, directly to women is an important aspect. And yesterday was the start. But I just challenge the notion that, and I think it's kind of offensive to women that a lot of times the Democrats paint them as only caring about contraception and abortion and these very gender specific issues that are important, but they're -- they don't define how women vote. Most women vote on the economy, they vote on terrorism.

COSTELLO: Last word. EVANS: Let me say something about Ivanka Trump. If she really

believes in what she said at the RNC I think she should vote for Hillary Clinton. And I think that's what a lot of Republican women are going to do.

COSTELLO: I don't think Ivanka Trump is going to vote --

MCENANY: No.

(LAUGHTER)

EVANS: I think she should. I didn't say would.

COSTELLO: I know.

SCHAEFFER: Anything is possible in this election.

COSTELLO: It's true. You're right about that, Sabrina.

Kayleigh McEnany, Carol Evans, and Sabrina Schaeffer, thanks to all of you.

Coming up in the NEWSROOM, we're learning more this morning about what killed a young boy on a Kansas City water slide. What investigators are saying, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:41:38] COSTELLO: There is growing concern this morning about the safety at amusement parks. Two big incidents sparking this. A 10- year-old boy died while running a water slide over the weekend. And then one day later three children were terribly hurt on a Ferris wheel.

Jean Casarez is covering this for us this morning. Hi, Jean.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's really tragic. We're learning right now a little bit more about the Schlitterbahn, the world's largest, tallest water slide. Caleb Thomas Schwab who was 10-year- old, who was a victim in that, who was going to down, we now know that he died of a neck injury. And the investigation continues. But this little boy who is the son of Representative Scott Schwab and his wife, and it was this weekend that he was on that water slide.

And they have a raft. You go in a raft and there are at least three people that are in it, two to three people, and the weight has to be 400 pounds. And we did confirm with police he was in the raft with two adult women. But in the end he wasn't in that raft anymore. And it goes up to 168 feet, seven inches. That's how tall it is. And then it goes down, and then it goes up again to 50 feet. And that is when the tragedy happened. The pastor of the family now is speaking out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINT SPRAGUE, PASTOR: Caleb was a 10-year-old child, but in many ways he was a man of God. And so he's going to be missed for his energy, for his life, for his smile, for the way he lit up a room.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: And the investigation is continuing. The park is open. The ride obviously is not open. And now I take you to Tennessee because a county fair, Greenville County Fair, a Ferris wheel, three children were in one of the baskets and they overturned and the children fell 35 to 45 feet. This is a county fair in eastern Tennessee. And what we now know is one of the three children is in critical condition. They just held a press conference minutes ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. TIM DAVIS, GREENE COUNTY SHERIFF: Two of the children were alert and answering questions. I can't tell you whether the third was or not, but the third child was -- does have a head injury and was intubated last night and is still in the hospital. As far as I know, all three kids are still in the hospital but that's -- I'm not for sure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: So, Captain Tim Davis, is saying they're looking to see whether there was a mechanical issue. A state investigator is coming in. Also a third party investigator by the fair.

You know, Carol, I've covered many trials in this country and I've covered some trials that involve amusement parks and rides. And the investigation is critically important because, is it a mechanical issue, is it criminal negligence? Was there something wrong with the ride and they kept the people coming because they were making money and the lines were there, and people wanted to see? Could this have been prevented? So that investigation is extremely important for any civil or criminal responsibility.

COSTELLO: Sad. Jean Casarez, thanks so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the accusations keep on coming for former FOX chairman Roger Ailes. Another FOX anchor says he sexually harassed her.

[09:44:42]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The idea coming out against a powerful employer with allegations of sexual harassment is scary. Yet another high-profile woman at FOX has found the courage, even though it could jeopardize her financial welfare.

FOX News anchor Andrea Tantaros has accused former FOX News chief Roger Ailes of taking her off in the air in retaliation for sexually harassing her. It's astounding because Tantaros signed an agreement forbidding her from disparaging her employer which means she could be sued by FOX News. But Her attorney says she is willing to take the risk. Victims' rights attorney Gloria Allred is with me now. Let's talk

about that. Good morning, Gloria.

GLORIA ALLRED, VICTIMS RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Good morning and thanks for being here. The fact that Andrea Tantaros is speaking out, at her peril, at her financial peril, does it surprise you?

[09:50:09] ALLRED: It is unusual because often employers will require, as a condition of employment, that an employee will sign an arbitration clause as FOX has, and that any dispute has to be resolved confidentially and not publicly.

COSTELLO: So would you have suggested, if you were her lawyer, that she come out and talk about these allegations against Roger Ailes?

ALLRED: Well, my job as a sexual harassment lawyer for employees, Carol, is to advise my clients of the benefits versus the risks of any action that they plan to take or that we would advise them to take. And if the risks outweigh the benefits, then it's really up to the client to decide if she's going to assume those risks or not.

As plaintiffs' employment lawyers, we oppose arbitration clauses, we like employees to be able to have their day in court, to be able to file a public lawsuit if the case cannot be settled. But the trend is toward arbitration, although we're able to challenge some arbitration clauses, some will stand. So it's really up to her.

I will say that there are many women including successful producer Shelly Ross, who have also spoken out and alleged that they were sexually harassed by Roger Ailes in addition to Gretchen Carlson. So these women actually are very, very courageous. They found their voice and decided they're going to take whatever risks are inherent in being able to speak out.

COSTELLO: Yes, and I think you're right. What people don't realize is that Tantaros, she's off the air, right? Sure she got a settlement from FOX and they maybe still paying her, but she's still paying the price because she can't do what she loves, she can't be on the air, she can't work for anyone else. So I guess she came to the conclusion, what do I have to lose?

ALLRED: Well, actually, if there is a settlement, often settlements, I'm not saying necessarily with FOX, but with most employers, will require that the employee who receive the settlement -- and we've done thousands of such sexual harassment settlements, not be able to speak out and that, in fact, if she does speak out, she may have to return some or all of the compensation that she received in the settlement. So employees have a tough choice to make because often they want to be able to speak out and to also get the settlement which will help to compensate them for the therapy bills or doctors bill or any other bills that they may have incurred as a result of having to suffer sexual harassment.

Retaliation, I might to add, is also very much against the law. So sometimes an employee cannot prove that she was sexually harassed, although she has reasonable basis for asserting it, but she can prove that she was retaliated against because she protested the sexual harassment. And often she will be able to prevail in the sexual harassment arbitration, trial or settlement because she's able to show evidence that she was retaliated against.

COSTELLO: And my final question to you, "The New York Times" interviewed me because I was sexually harassed back in my 20s, and I told them this. Quote, "I still think there are consequences for women who come forward vocally or file lawsuits. A part of me still thinks that things haven't changed all that much."

I hope I am wrong, Gloria. But what do you think?

ALLRED: Well, I think the bad news is that sexual harassment in the workplace is still widespread. It's still pervasive, it is still severe for millions of women. But the good news is that female employees and some males who are sexually harassed are learning that they have rights, they're going to employment lawyers, they are learning what their rights and they're asserting their rights. And in many cases they are receiving confidential settlements so they never have to file a public lawsuit and they can also get a good recommendation as part of the settlement from their employer so they can go on in the future career and not have to be concerned that seeking sexual harassment settlement is going to affect them in the future.

I might add that I have an article coming out on "The Wrap," an entertainment news Web site today helping female employees who are sexually harassed, or males, to know what they should do if they are sexually harassed, what steps they should take to protect themselves.

COSTELLO: Gloria Allred, it's been a pleasure. Thanks so much.

ALLRED: Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: You're welcome. I'll be right back.

[09:54:45]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking some top stories for you at 58 minutes past.

The Russian president Vladimir Putin sits down with the Turkish president today. It's the first time the two have met since Turkey shot down a Russian jet last year. Turkey was hit with severe sanctions by Russia after that shoot down. Now in the wake of a failed coup in Turkey Russia may be working to form an alliance with that NATO nation.

Another rough day ahead for Delta Airlines passengers. The Atlanta- based carrier announcing 100 flight cancellations just today and at least 200 flight delays. And they're warning those numbers could -- well, they could go even higher. Delta was forced to cancel more than 1,000 flights on Monday because of a computer -- because of computer outage stranding tens of thousands of customers.

Heisman winning quarterback Tim Tebow is hoping for a comeback in professional sports. This time it's not football, but Major League Baseball. He hasn't played baseball since he was in junior high. But so what? His agent says it's not a publicity stunt. He has talent and his trainer says he is impressed with Tebow's bat speed.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, Donald Trump tries to reboot.

TRUMP: I want to jumpstart America.