Skip to main content

tv   Wolf  CNN  June 30, 2014 10:00am-11:01am PDT

10:00 am
oka smoking pot with prostitutprost. physically attacking staffers. mocking a cab driver. using staff for personal errands. he's giving a news conference at 3:30 this afternoon. here's my prediction. that will be live across the country of canada. and it may just be live across the united states as well. thank you, everyone, for watching. wolf starts right now. right now, the supreme court strikes a blow to obamacare. ruling that some companies don't have to pay for contraception for their employees. does this pave the way for more challenges to the health care law? also right now, president obama is getting ready to announce his choice to fix the va. is the man behind duracell batteries and tide detergent the right person for the job? and right now, north korea announces it will prosecute two american tourists, saying they committed, quote, hostile acts, raising new questions about what
10:01 am
north korea hopes to gain from detaining me ining american cit. hello, ijim sciutto, reporting from washington. wolf blitzer is off today. the u.s. supreme court sides with a private company in a battle involving obamacare. contraceptive coverage and religious freedom. the court said that hobby lobby does not have to cover some forms of contraceptions for its employees. an attorney representing hobby lobby says it's a victory for religious freedom. >> this was an astounding opinion. a great decision by justice alito joined by the chief scalia, kennedy and thomas, upholding the rights of family-owned businesses under the religious freedom restoration act. >> the ruling is a setback for part of president obama's health care reform law. here's what white house prs
10:02 am
press secretary josh earnest said just a few moments ago. >> president obama believes women should made personal health care decisions for themselves rather than their bosses deciding for them. today's decision jeopardizes the health of women employed by these companies. >> we want to take a closer look at what this ruling says and what it means for companies and for obamacare. our justice correspondent pamela brown is at the supreme court. we also have our senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin and chief political analyst gloria borger here in the studio. i want to begin with pamela down at the supreme court. so the court said its ruling applies only to closely held companies. i was looking at the definition here. companies with more than 50% of their value held by five employees. how does that distinction work? >> yes, absolutely, jim. so think family owned companies. closely held, for profit, family owned companies. not a big publicly traded company like fedex. that's what the justices said in the ruling today. the ruling applies to these
10:03 am
closely held company. it doesn't necessarily mean they have to be small. important distinction. you look at hobby lobby, it's an arts and craft chain with more than 13,000 employees nationwide and more than 500 stores nationwide. but today the majority, the five conservatives, saying essentially that these closely held for profit companies should be afforded the same religious liberty rights as individuals under this 20-year-old federal law called the religious freedom restoration act. so because of that, companies like hobby lobby cannot be required by the government to cover certain types of contraception to its employees. in this case, hobby lobby objected to four types of contracept. said it was a violation to provide that to its employees. it's a big win for hobby lobby and a setback for obamacare because you have to remember this was a key provision in the affordable care act. this contraception mandate.
10:04 am
so now not only religious nonprofits and churches are except, now you have these closely held for profit companies exempt as well. >> you make a good point. s their there's a lot of very large privately held companies. coke industry is one of them. the dissent from ginsburg what was her argument? >> right, ginsburg is a strong supporter of women's right. she said the ruling told imposes religious beliefs of these o owners of these companies on the third party, in this case the female employees. also talked about how the ruling can open up a can of worms. said, the court, i feeshar, has ventured into a minefield by its immoderate reading of rfra. engaged primarily in carrying out that religious purpose and not engaged substantially in the exchange of goods or services
10:05 am
for money beyond nominal amounts. so basically she's making the point that this could perhaps pave the way for even these publicly traded companies to file lawsuits to this contraception mandate. obviously, as she said, perhaps open up a can of worms for other closely held companies to -- that have objections to offering health insurance for same-sex couples or medical marijuana or vaccinations, that they will now have more leeway to file lawsuits and that sets a dangerous precedence according to ginsburg. >> that's one of the key questions. there was already an exemption for religious organizations, now it's privately held companies with religious beliefs. i want to bring in our guests. jeffrey and gloria, jeffrey, if i could begin with you on that point, specified these closely held companies, the definition right here, has more than 50, it
10:06 am
of the value of its outstanding stock owned by five or fewer individuals. that's a lot of companies, a lot of big companies, that now can claim the same right that religious organizations have to say no to contraceptive coverage. >> the phrase closely held companies makes us think of a mom and pop store that has a religious shrine in the back room. we're not talking about that been we're talking about thousands of employees at some of these companies, including of course hobby lobby. and the questions now become how religious do you have to be as a company in order to claim a religious exemption from one of the requirements of obamacare. this was a very good case for the plaintiffs because the green family which owns hobby lobby, there's no question they are religion. they play religious music in stores. they're closed on sunday. what about other companies that have religious beliefs that maybe their employees didn't even know about? and do they get to get out of restrictions of the law?
10:07 am
is it limited just to contraceptions? what about the religions that don't like immunizations or transfusions? >> there's another question about how broadly this cab apply. i want to ask you first gloria, obamacare was on a good run after a bad start, you know, getting enrollment up, et cetera. how big of a blow is this for the law? >> like most large and unwieldy pieces of legislation, it's going to get picked apart and put back together again. if you look at the polling, over half the american public says just fix what's wrong with it and then get on with it. this is a blow to them. what's curious to me is how this plays out, what comes next. the white house press secretary has said that, you know, we want to fix this. there are a couple ways to go. you can do to it potentially through regulation. democrats will want to clearly propose something on the floor.
10:08 am
they'll be blocked by republicans. i would argue this is a political fight the democrats would like to have. remember the old war on women? i think it's going to get revived again. >> bring out the vote, in effect, women's rights, energize 2014? >> that's right, what's so interesting to me about justice alito, conservative justice, he sort of suggested, okay, the government now can pick up the cost of providing for these four contracepti contraceptives. ginsburg said, wait a minute, a liberal, said wait a minute, why suddenly are we having the government pay for everything? the conservative court may tell the federal government, okay, you pick up the tab. >> imagine that. let's talk about broader applications. let's say your company has religious beliefs. this sort of precedence where you can use this excuse to choose which laws you're going to follow. the premise of the question was
10:09 am
your company had religious beliefs. how do you even evaluate whether your company has religious beliefs? when are religious beliefs strongly held enough? what if some owners of the company feel one way, some owners feel differently? it does create lots of complexity. it certainly opens the door to claims that company, which previously have not thought of as having religious views -- >> now the court decides how companies -- >> people, people. >> people with free speech, citizens united -- >> yes, if you regard corporations as people to a degree, then corporations can have religious views. >> imagine that. corporations are people too. >> yes. >> the campaign. >> who was it, think he lost -- >> this is great, thanks very
10:10 am
much. jeffrey toobin, gloria borger, as always. still ahead, the congressman representing the district where hobby lobby is based reacts to the supreme court ruling. later, the president has a new pick to clean up the mess at the va. humans. we are beautifully imperfect creatures living in an imperfect world. that's why liberty mutual insurance has your back, offering exclusive products like optional better car replacement, where if your car is totaled, we give you the money to buy one a model year newer. call... and ask an insurance expert about all our benefits today, like our 24/7 support and service, because at liberty mutual insurance, we believe our customers do their best out there in the world, so we do everything we can to be there for them when they need us. plus, you could save hundreds when you switch,
10:11 am
up to $423. call... today. liberty mutual insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy? where its biggest refinery has been attacked. more chaos over there means higher prices here but we can take control with renewable fuels like ethanol. it means more jobs and more security... less pollution and less pain at the pump. because it's time to stop letting chaos decide our... energy future. tell congress and the epa to stand up to big oil. don't gut the renewable fuel standard.
10:12 am
but with pamprin, a period means sgo!! pain relievers only relieve pain. multi-symptom pamprin relieves all your symptoms. so there's no stopping you. period.
10:13 am
the va is getting a new boss. in just a few hours, we're expecting an official announcement from president obama. he's expected to nominate bob mcdonald to clean up the troubled department of veterans affairs. the one-time procter & gamble ceo has a military background. he's a west point graduate and a former military officer. if confirmed, he'll succeed eric shinseki who stepped down over the alleged treatment delays and cover-ups that may have followed. drew griffin is here now to give us a sense of his reaction to mcdonald's appointment. this is a difficult mountain to climb to whoever would fill this job. do you think mcdonald could be the man to clean up the mess? >> he certainly has the business chops to step in and take charge
10:14 am
of what is essentially a huge service-related organization. the question is, i'm seeing from both politics and some of the service organizations like the american legion, is will this guy, who obviously is being put to the test because of his business career, will he have the same kind of power that he had running procter & gamble in rubbing the va? specifically, can he fire and hire whomover he wishes and make this a very, very quick turnaround at the va to change what now just about everybody concedes is a systemic failure top to bottom? >> it's interesting, it's a route of president has gone before, appointing jeffrey zins to be the man to rescue obamacare when it was going through its own problems. but looking at that, is there precedent for someone coming into a position like this and getting the powers, hire, fire? va, it's a huge sporadic
10:15 am
organization, bureaucracy. that seems a tall order. >> like i said, we'll have to see what bob mcdonald has. this guy was obviously comfortable doing whatever he was doing. he's not in it for the money or the prestige or anything like that. he's in it, basically, i would guess, because he believes he can turn this around for president obama. the key is going to be whether or not he gets the support from both inside the administration and from congress. he's got to roll heads, jim, there's no other way to do this. eric shinseki, the general, resigned because he was being lied to by his subordinates. now you've got this outside business guy coming in, who is obviously going to be coming in trying to change this culture. >> he has military experience as well, but so did eric shinseki and apparently it wasn't enough. thank you very much. drew griffin. he's been following this for some time. we are expecting that
10:16 am
announcement from the president around 4:30 eastern time this afternoon, 2, 3 hours from now. we'll bring you full coverage and analysis when that happens. president obama is expected to ask congress for more than $2 billion today to deal with the surge of undocumented children crossing the border from mexico. officials estimate 60,000 to 80,000 kids will cross the border just this year. the white house is calling it an immediate humanitarian crisis. the money would go to shelter and basic needs for the kids, as well as better border security it one of those border crossings has taken a deadly turn. authorities say the body of an 11-year-old guatemalan boy was found in brush near the mexico/u.s. border in la jolla, texas. they say it appeared he had been with family members but strayed. very sad end to one of those thousands of crossings happening as we speak. a phone number found on the boy led investigators to family and
10:17 am
friends would confirmed his identity based on the clothes he was wearing. an autopsy has ruled out foul play. coming up next, a new empire named in iraq and syria. as the terror group isis announces they've got a new name. we'll be live from baghdad. ♪ they haul everything, safely and on time. ♪ tracks! they connect the factories built along the lines. and that means jobs, lots of people, making lots and lots of things. let's get your business rolling now, everybody sing. ♪ norfolk southern what's your function? ♪ ♪ helping this big country move ahead as one ♪ ♪ norfolk southern how's that function? ♪
10:18 am
10:19 am
10:20 am
and this just in to cnn, some reporting i was able to confirm just in the last hour. that is the u.s. is considering new security measures at airports due to increased concern that terrorists from al qaeda and the arabian peninsula, aqap, as its known, are developing explosives designed to avoid detection by current security screening. these officials tell cnn there is no imminent threat or plot. however, an additional vulnerability has been identified, which dhs is currently working to address. we have this statement from a dhs official which came through a short time ago. it says dhs regularly monitors intelligence related to terrorist groups seeking to do us harm. dhs regularly re-evaluates our
10:21 am
security apparatus which include ace number of measures both seen and unseen to fit anner ever evolving threat environment. u.s. officials have warned about aqap terrorists attempting to design new explosive devices to avoid detection. in february, the u.s. government warned airlines about possible shoe bombs. officials told cnn at the time amid intelligence suggesting tactics tied to the aqap master bomb maker ibrahim al asirry. a law enforcement source said at the time the u.s. receiving nfc on attempts by those trained by asiri to develop bombs that could defeat screening systems. this just in to cnn. and the u.s. is now considering new security measure at u.s. airports in response to an increased concern, a new vulnerability identified, regarding bombs that might be brought into the u.s. or planes in europe as well, designed to avoid detection.
10:22 am
in iraq, a declaration from the terror group isis. in an online posting the group has declared itself the islamic state and are calling on all sunni muslims around the world to join with them. our nema el bagader is in baghdad. a caliphate as this is called an islamic state is something bin laden himself was fight to declare. now you have one declared. how important, how alarming is this? >> it's extraordinarily alarming, jim, because they're telegraphing they have managed to achieve what bin laden himself couldn't. what they're saying is they now believe they supersede al qaeda itself in the hierarchy of international jihadis. that they have done what none of them could do. the reality is it's propaganda, propaganda that has teeth. they have consul dated their
10:23 am
presence through from the northeast of syria all the way through an bar province, to ver close to the iraqi capital itself, baghdad. they essentially say, the iraqis saying it doesn't exist and worryingly they consider not just one country, one caliph fate, but also one battlefield. for those 10,000 or so isis fighters the u.s. estimates are out there somewhere, what they're now saying is they have freedom of movement and freedom of opportunity. >> you make a great point. what they have now is territory and largely unchallenged territory. the u.s. considering steps now including the possibility of air strikes. in the meantime, you have other countries stepping in, including russia, which has delivered fighter jets to iraq over the weekend. how significant a development is that? what are the politics behind it? >> well, the iraqis have said it's because they claim the
10:24 am
process with the u.s. was just getting too long-winded. but i think that is also about a broader disappointment in the fact that they were hoping the u.s. would step up its military support much sooner in terps terms of air strikes or at the very least air cover. so by turning to russia, they're making a twofold point. one, we have friends and allies elsewhere. allies and friends the u.s. may not particularly want us to have. ie, iran, syria, now russia. they're also saying if you won't help us, we will turn wherever we need to. the russians have sent what they are calling a friendly contingent of advisers and they're promising even more help, jim. what iraqis are saying is they know the only upper hand they currently have against these militants is in the sky. they will do anything they can and turn wherever they can to reinforce that upper hand and to finally try and get a toehold and some sort of momentum going in this conflict, jim. >> it's incredible to think of
10:25 am
the number of countries that have forces on the ground, aircraft. you've got iran, syria, carrying out air strikes. an incredible group of people fighting isis at the same time. thanks very much. in baghdad. another terror story we've been following. wednesday is the next hearing for accused benghazi ringleader ahmed abu khattalah. he entered a not guilty plea over the weekend. abu khattalah is charged with one count of providing material support for terrorists but more charges could follow. republicans are skeptical though the u.s. will get any useful intelligence now that khattalah is in the u.s. system. >> he's been compliant but not cooperative. so i doubt that change, once he was read his rights, and he understood he has the right not to talk at all. >> he is just one of many republicans who wanted him sent to guantanamo bay in cuba which the obama administration is
10:26 am
attempting to close. up next, the supreme court sides with hobby lobby in a case involving birth control and religious rights. from 9/11 victim, to the bp oil spill, kenneth fineburg is known for running victim compensation funds. why he's now working with general motors. i'm only in my 60's. i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan.
10:27 am
[ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. call now and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, it helps pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. to me, relationships matter. i've been with my doctor for 12 years. now i know i'll be able to stick with him. [ male announcer ] with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks, and virtually no referrals needed. so don't wait. call now and request this free decision guide to help you better understand medicare... and which aarp medicare supplement plan might be best for you. there's a wide range to choose from.
10:28 am
we love to travel -- and there's so much more to see. so we found a plan that can travel with us. anywhere in the country. [ male announcer ] join the millions of people who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations. remember, all medicare supplement insurance plans help cover what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now -- and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is.
10:29 am
welcome back. i'm jim sciutto reporting from washington. wolf blitzer is off today. our top story, in a narrow 5-4 decision, the supreme court ruled that closely held companies cannot be required to pay to cover some types of contraceptions for their employees. this deals quite a blow to president obama's health care reform law. our guest a law professor joins me to gauge how important this decision is. there's been some back and forth how broadly it can be interpreted. >> i have to a degree with justice ginsburg, it's sweeping. people get caught up in this closely held corporation thing. that's a huge number of businesses.
10:30 am
>> some privately held companies, coke industries, thousands of employees. >> exactly, hobby lobby's huge. it also effects millions of businesspeople who are sole owners or small business owners. these are people who are not just challenging obamacare, they're also challenging discrimination laws and saying those laws are forcing us to violate. >> that's a key question. this is a company with religious beliefs and therefore they don't have to pay for contraception. can a company who has a religion belief that, say, opposes gay marriage, say i'm not going to honor insurance obligations to a same-sex partner? does it open up that possibility? >> i think it opens it up. because the fact is they crossinged the rubicon here. this is the flip side to citizen enewt eunited. now corporations have religious rights like persons. so the next question is, how far does this go, as people make objections to other federal laws on religious federal grounds? we have bakers and photographers who are objecting to being forced to supply services to
10:31 am
same-sex couples. those cases have to re-evaluated. >> this is another big decision. 5-4. right down party line, right? appointed by republicans, vote one way, appointed by democrats, vote the other way. we saw ginsburg's dissent. how much of a problem is that for the nation's supreme court to have that kind of political divide on key defining issues? >> this is an ideological div e divide. i know people have been talking about the gender of the justices. this is more ideological than chromosomal divide. these are people who are following well-established philosophies. in defense of this court, they've just issued a series of unanimous decisions that surprised of us, encluding another loss of the obama on the fourth amendment. this has not been a good type for the obama administration. they've been found to have violated the fourth amendment in the case, then the separations
10:32 am
of powers in another case. >> does it fuel that concern of argument there is executive overreach? >> it is definitely going to do that. it really does reinforce the stereotype of an administration going outside the lines. >> there -- just very quickly, there was another case today a bit lost in the hobby lobby coverage but regarding unions. explain the importance of of this. >> this is an important decision. the supreme court came and said, you know, these home care workers do not have to give money to the unions. you can't force them to do that. the unions had an argument that said we have to negotiate for nonunion members -- >> the home care workers get benefits, salaries, et cetera. >> these are the workers of the future. these homeworkers look a lot like the future labor force. this is saying that unions are not going to be able to get those types of dues from them. it's a very significant blow. >> another case where it may be defined, it seems, on paper very limited but it could have broader ramifications. >> i think it does, yes.
10:33 am
>> thank you, jonathan turley from george washington university. senate democrats are working on new legislation already in the wake of the hobby lobby ruling. that's according to a democratic leadership aide. the aide says senate democrats will, quote, do something and are moving towards a floor vote on the bill soon. the head of the national abortion rights action league had this to say. >> the more disturbing precedence that was set today was when five male judges said this discrimination against women is not considered discrimination, and i think the application of that as we move forward is going to be very important. >> we are calling on congress today to right this wrong and make sure every woman in the country has access -- >> you get a sense of the strong feelings about this ruling based on the reactions you're seeing out there on the steps of the supreme court. republican congressman james langford represents the oklahoma
10:34 am
district where hobby lobby is headquartered and he's joining us now from oklahoma city live. thanks for joining us, congressman. you were a strong supporter of hobby lobby from the beginning. what's the significance of today's ruling? >> this is a statement about religious freedoms. does the first amendment still matter? do you have freedom to be able to express your faith at home only or can you also express that at work? the whole challenge was if you have a business, you're still an individual, even within your business. these closely held companies are really family owned businesses. can they live out their faith practice of how they establish their business. for hobby lobby, they started literally in their garage when they set up principles that they still operate their business, they still function under those same set of values they started off with in their garage. the statement today from the supreme court, you can still live out your faith principles even if you're a big business. a large business can also do that. >> this is the issue you hear from critics. they say it allows employers to
10:35 am
restrict their workers health care decisions and as a result of that sets a disturbing precedent. i want you just for a moment to listen to what the representative from the center for american progress funds said after this ruling. >> what this ruling does is it moves in the direction this court has been moving already. which is talking about corporate personhood. really treating corporations like people. saying that the corporation has a religion itself and that should be imposed upon its employees. >> how do you respond to that argument? does it allow employees in effect to impose their religious beliefs on their employees? because a lot of these companies, it's not just six people in the garage, it's thousands or tens of thousands of workers. >> sure, yes, the statement of the supreme court actually made today in their opinion was corporations are made up of people. to say you have these mysterious enti entities, these businesses that operate but there are really no people involved baeg begs the
10:36 am
reality on the ground. these corporations have people that work in them. the statement they made in their opinion was the fourth amendment. you can't just walk into a company and say we want to search a corporation because that corporation is made up of individual people there. you have a fourth amendment protection to be secure in your houses, your person, your papers, your effects. so does a freedom of faith. you have the opportunity to be able to live out your faith, not just have a faith, but to actually practice that faith as well. >> the question is, what -- if you are an employee and your faith is different, some of these are very big companies with thousands of people, presumably, was very different religious views, what about the concern here that with the ruling like this, the senior management may think one way but that doesn't mean their emplo r employers agree and should be denied this kind of support, for instance, for contraceptives? >> i would say the court was very clear today on that as well. they say no one's being denied their opportunity to have con a
10:37 am
contracepti contraceptives. availability is still out there. the burden is back on the federal government to say this is something they feel they're compelled to do. there are other ways to do this, that do not remove the religious freedoms from those individuals from those companies as well. there are other avenues to do it that are less oppressive basically on that company that actually accomplish the same purposes. the supreme court wasn't pushing away and saying you shouldn't have contraceptives. the supreme court was saying you can't take away someone's religious freedoms so someone else has access to this. >> not that people won't get the cont contraceptives but actually the government will pay as opposed to the company in this case. thank you for joining us. a supporter of this decision. coming up next, general motors is trying to make amends over its faulty car scandal. we'll meet with the man who is helping them do that.
10:38 am
10:39 am
did you know a ten-second test could help your business avoid hours of delay caused by slow internet from the phone company? that's enough time to record a memo. idea for sales giveaway. return a call.
10:40 am
sign a contract. pick a tie. take a break with mr. duck. practice up for the business trip. fly to florida. win an award. close a deal. hire an intern. and still have time to spare. check your speed. see how fast your internet can be. switch now and add voice and tv for $34.90. comcast business. built for business. at least $1 million, that is how much general motors says it is or offering to the families of those who died as a result of defects in cars. the company made the announcement just a short time ago. >> money is a pretty poor substitute for loss. you could give people $20 million, $50 million, it's a
10:41 am
pretty poor substitute. it's the limits of what we can do unfortunately. we can't bring people back. we can't restore limbs. it's the best we can do. >> poppy harlow has been following the story and joins me now. kenneth fineberg, of the 9/11 victims fund, bp oil spill. are these figures in line with what we were expecting? >> he gave examples. if someone's younger and they died, their potential earnings were much higher. if they were severely injured, a child, gave a range of $2.2 million to $7 million they could get. they have to prove the approximate cause is the ignition switch. gm said there is no cap. they will pay out whatever he determines. gm has no say in that, they have to pay what he determines. also, they're not counting contributory negligence if someone was speeding, texting -- >> i see -- >> he which be the judge and
10:42 am
jury, the final arbiter. i want you to listen to this. we sat down for an extensive interview. what he talked about in terms of how on earth you really value a life. >> i guarantee you, as sure as anything, based on experience, there will be many, many claimants who will say, but is it enough? how can money ever be enough if you've lost a love one or a quadriplegic or permanent brain injury? money is a pretty poor substitute, i must say, for a loss. horrible life altering injury. >> so first thought that companies to mind, it looks like that gm is trying to draw a line on this. can the victim's families still sue even after? >> no, they cannot. >> by agreement? >> they have to agree to this number. once they find out what it is, they cannot take gm to court. this is a company that last year made $155 billion in terps of
10:43 am
total sales. so he said of course you'll have people say it is enough never. i want you to listen to also part of our conversation about he really draws the line on whether this is really about going after gm or about helping families and victims. listen. >> this program is to compensate victims. if you want punitive damages, if you're determined to wage a litigation war against gm and try and secure millions and damages, don't come into this program. this program is designed to fully compensation victims and their families. >> some of the victims families were there at the press conference. had a chance to talk to them. saying it's not about the money, it's about the legislation. it's about gm actually changing its ways. i did ask fineburg if he thinks the department of justice prosecutors have a criminal case here against gm or any individuals. he said, you know, i'm an attorney but that is not my
10:44 am
purview. i do not know. he wouldn't weigh in on that. that's the big question, will the department of justice find gm criminally liable? >> based on what you know, is this going to be enough to make most of the families satisfied? >> have no idea. some have told us they'll take this all the way to trial. they're not going to settle. they're not going to take any amount. they want to send a message. they think if they get paid off then what does this do. we're going to see how many people opt into the program. they're going to start accepting those claims. >> thanks very much. i want to bring you some breaking news now. >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >> israeli media says the bodies of three missing israeli teens have been found. you may remember they disappeared june 12th, near a settlement in the west bank. this breaking news coming out, that the israeli prime minister has called an emergency security cabinet meeting as well. we have our own ben wedeman in
10:45 am
the region. ben what can you tell us? >> we now have confirmed the three bodies were found just north of not far from where we are have been found. the bodies of those three missing teenagers. we're told they were found in an open field, just a 15-minute drive from where they originally disappeared at 10:30 p.m. on the 12th of june. this is an area of course, just south here, south of that, hebron, those two palestinian cities have now essentially been closed off by israeli military and police. the entrance to halhu right behind me you cannot get in at this point. we also understand that friends and supporters of the families of the three teenage boys are gathering at their houses to
10:46 am
express their sorrow, to -- their condolences as well. we don't know where this is going to go at this point. but certainly we can expect some very tense hours in the west bank and -- tonight, jim. >> there have been no claims of responsibility. we know that israeli officials have pointed the finger at the palestinian authority, even hamas. has anything changed since then? is there any more information as to who was behind this? >> i'll redial -- >> can you hear? we lost ben wedeman who is in hebron, just with the breaking news we've just learned. u.s. israeli security officials confirming to cnn that three bodies of three missing teens, thee they've been missing since june 12th in the west bank, have been found and identified.
10:47 am
our own bed wedeman is on the scene. after this break, we'll have more details on this troubling story. even when we cross our "ts" and dot our "i's", we still run into problems. that's why liberty mutual insurance offers accident forgiveness with our auto policies. if you qualify, your rates won't go up due to your first accident. because making mistakes is only human, and so are we. we also offer new car replacement, so if you total your new car, we'll give you the money for a new one. call liberty mutual insurance at... and ask us all about our auto features, like guaranteed repairs, where if you get into an accident and use one of our certified repair shops, the repairs are guaranteed for life. so call... to talk with an insurance expert about everything that comes standard with our base auto policy. and if you switch, you could save up to $423. liberty mutual insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy?
10:48 am
10:49 am
this is cnn breaking news. >> we return now with breaking news out of israel. cnn has confirmed speaking to israeli officials that the bodies of three missing israeli teens have been found. the three teens went missing june 12th in the occupied territorieses of the west bank. we also learned that israeli
10:50 am
officials have convened an emergency cabinet meeting in response to this. we're joined by michael orrin, former israeli ambassador to the u.s. michael, there have been no claims of responsibility to this point. who do israeli officials believe were behind this? >> jim, hello. it's a very, very sad day for the people of israel and for israel supporters around the world. these were three beautiful teenagers. gi gillad shaare, natalie frenchel, eval yirach, huge rallies, families have given support to the people of israel in a time of profound trauma. israel has assigned blame to ham hamas. hamas is the effective sovereign in the gaza strip. hamas celebrated the kidnapping of these three youngsters. they hand out candies to young
10:51 am
people in celebration of this kidnapping. and hamas as of this morning for the first time since the cease fire in 2012 is firing rockets at southern israel. so hamas is the perpetrator in the eyes of israel. and i think not only in israel's eyes. and there will be repercussions. >> looking at the faces that we have on the air now, the three young teens who were killed, and as you say, is a case that is electrified and captivated the israeli public in the last 18 days since they went missing, what do you expect the reaction to be from the israeli government, the israeli military, particularly in light of as you mentioned the fact they blame hamas for this? >> well, already, the israeli air force has been inactive over the last 48 hours in striking hamas targets in the gaza strip. there has been a buildup of israeli forces in the region.
10:52 am
for the possibility of a larger confrontation with hamas. but i would assure you, the israeli public stands very united at this time. and responding forcefully to this act of brutal atrocity on the part of hamas against three teenagers. it was mentioned earlier this occurred in what was called the occupied territories. two of these kids in israel, 367 israel. it's not about the territories, it's not about settlers. it's about three beautiful israeli kids who were just coming home from school, were kidnapped and apparently murdered in cold blood. >> well, it's indeed a sad ending to a story that has captivitied not just israel but the world. thanks very much to michael orrin, former israeli ambassador to the u.s. and recapping our breaking news here for cnn. cnn has been able to confirm through israeli officials the bodies of three missing israeli teens missing since june 12th
10:53 am
have been found dead in the west bank. an emergency cabinet meeting called presumably to discuss how israel will respond to this. israel blames the terror group hamas. we'll be back with more details after this break. i make a lot of purchases for my business.
10:54 am
10:55 am
and i get a lot in return with ink plus from chase. like 50,000 bonus points when i spent $5,000 in the first 3 months after i opened my account. and i earn 5 times the rewards on internet, phone services and at office supply stores. with ink plus i can choose how to redeem my points. travel, gift cards, even cash back. and my rewards points won't expire. so you can make owning a business even more rewarding. ink from chase. so you can.
10:56 am
u.s. soldiers have fought in some of the most dangerous places in the world recently. film maker and journalist sebastian junger charts their journaly in a student documentary. it's called corngal, takes us back to afghanistan, delving into the emotional reality of modern war. anderson cooper talked with the film maker about why he made it and what we as americans can learn from it. >> so sebastian, even though it picks up where the film restrepo left off, you said it's different, trying to understand rather than experience. what do you want people to understand? >> well, you know, restreppo came out in the middle of two wars. i wanted civilians to get a feel for what combat is like for the soldiers we sent over there. corngal is different, an attempt to inquire deeply into how combat affects these young men. it was made out there in the second platoon battle company in the valley. and there was some very interesting conversations with
10:57 am
these guys that we had about the consequences of all this. a lot of them afterwards really missed it and wanted to go back, which is a puzzling thing on the face of it, if you think about how hard it was and dangerous. and the other sort of end of the spectrum, one guy ruminated for a while over whether god hates him for the killing they did and hastened to add, but i would do it all over again the same way if i had to. so very complex stuff for these soldiers. >> but wanted to go back because of the intensity of the experience, because it was -- you -- you know, you talked to soldiers, to marines, to those who have served and they say often that it's -- there's nothing like it anywhere else. there's nothing like the bond they had with others, there's nothing like the experience. >> i think in combat you're sort of dosed, if you will, with two very potent chemicals. one is adrenaline, obviously. an enormous amount of adrenaline in combat. i think men in particular sponsor very, very strongly to that experience.
10:58 am
and the other is just sort of human closeness. they -- they're sleeping shoulder to shoulder with each other over the course of a year on a remote ridgetop, completely interreliant on each other for their survival. out of restrepo, no internet, no phone, no tv, no nothing. they were just on a ridge with each other for a year. and that kind of intense human closeness, i think, actually reproduces our human evolution, our evolutionary past quite closely, and i think they come out of that experience really kind of missing it and missing the security of it. and they get back to this wide-open society, all of a sudden alone again. and i think it's very, very unsettling for them. those are the two things i think they really miss. >> this new film is a follow-up to junger's war documentary entitled "restrepo." we knew little about the last few years of nelson mandela's life.
10:59 am
the father of modern south africa passed away in december. and now for the first time since his death, nelson mandela's widow is speaking out publicly. our own christiane amanpour asked her if mandela was aware of south africa's struggles in his final years. >> i would say that he was aware about all these things maybe until about two years back. but i decided to save him, to protect him, from getting involved and knowing in depth what was going on, because he was such a sensitive person. and he wouldn't be able to act on those issues. and i felt, why to keep him with a heavy heart where he is not able to make a difference to change the situation. >> you can can see more of christian's interview beginning next hour on cnn international and also later on cnn.com. that's it for me here with the wolf show.
11:00 am
"newsroom"with brooke baldwin starts now. starts now. all yours, brooke. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com this is cnn breaking news. >> jim, thank you so much. great to be with you on this monday afternoon. i'm brooke baldwin. we begin with tragic breaking news here, because word from israel is that the bodies of those three missing israeli teenagers have now been found more than two weeks after they vanished. they vanished june 12th. israel has been accusing basically since the get-go that the militant group hamas, accusing them specifically of kidnapping these three teenagers. as we're getting this new information at cnn, let me bring in cnn international's hala ga ranee from london and michael orrin. hala, to you, as we're getting this information as far as how these bodies were found, i'm seeing reports found in an open field, slightly covered. what