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The Situation Room
Interview With New York Congressman Peter King; North Korea Provoking U.S.?; Bodies of Israeli Teens Found; Fuming Obama Blames GOP for Immigration Fallacies; Controversy Over Supreme Court Contraception Case; G.M. Issues 54th Recall This Year; Evacuation Slide Deploys In-Flight; Team USA Faces Belgium in Big Elimination Match
Aired June 30, 2014 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now: Israel may be ready to strike back. It's vowing that its forces will punish terrorists just hours after the bodies of three kidnapped Israelis were found. Is the region at risk of another war?
Plus, North Korea's brutal regime reveals its disturbing plans for two American captives. We are tracking new provocations by strongman Kim Jong-un.
And disastrous weather as the holiday week begins. Now millions along the East Coast are at risk for a stormy and potentially dangerous Fourth of July.
Wolf Blitzer is off today. I'm Brianna Keilar, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
KEILAR: We have breaking news this hour and we're getting a new report that the Israeli military just destroyed the house of a suspect in the death of three Israeli teenagers.
Tensions are exploding just hours after their bodies were found. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is blaming Hamas militants. He's calling them cold-blooded animals and vowing that they will be punished with a firm hand.
Now a short while ago, President Obama condemned the killings, but he also urged all parties to refrain from steps that could further destabilize the situation. This is a very dangerous time in this region and it may be getting even more dangerous at this hour.
Our senior international correspondent, Ben Wedeman, joining us live now from Hebron.
What's the latest there, Ben?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What we understand from an eyewitness in the city of Hebron just south of here is that the home of Marwan Kawasma, who is one of the two Palestinians who the Israelis have named as prime suspects in these kidnappings, that house has been destroyed by Israeli forces in the area, completely demolished.
And that seems to be the first step in this -- what we're expecting is the Israeli retaliation for the death of these three teenagers. Their bodies were found not far from here, essentially shallow grave that was dug. It was discovered this afternoon apparently by settlers, volunteers from a nearby settlement who came, found one body, and then two more under a pile of rocks.
This is a drama that began at about 10:30 on the evening of the 12th of June, when these three teenagers hitchhiked rides home from a junction just north of here. They made a brief -- one of them made a brief phone call at about 10:30 at night, saying, we have been kidnapped. That's the last that was heard of them. It now appears that they were probably killed shortly after the kidnapping took place -- Brianna.
KEILAR: All right, Ben Wedeman, thank you so much. He is there in Hebron.
Now let's bring in Mark Regev. He's the spokesman for the Israeli prime minister.
And you're hearing the report obviously from Ben, and we have an eyewitness who is saying that the Israeli Defense Forces destroyed the house of that one suspect. What else can you tell us about this?
MARK REGEV, ISRAELI GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON: Well, obviously, it's a very difficult day for all Israelis. Those three teenagers were brutally murdered by Hamas.
Their bodies were discovered. It's a difficult day for us all. I think all Israelis are uniting around the families of those three victims of terrorism. I think tomorrow we will probably see the funerals. And once again, you're seeing in my country an outpouring of sympathy and compassion for the families of these three teenagers.
Ultimately, we're talking about boys who were going home from high school who were killed by these Hamas terrorists. And if I can say something, I think this atrocity demonstrates clearly what Hamas is all about. Hamas is a brutal terrorist organization committed to a terror war against every Israeli civilian, man, woman and, as you can see in this example, children as well.
And it's not by accident that Hamas is classified officially by the United States, by Canada, by the European Union, by Japan, by Australia and by many others as a terrorist organization. These are, as my prime minister said, cold killers who have no scruples, no hesitation whatsoever in targeting children.
KEILAR: And, Mark, I think, certainly, that isn't lost on many people when you're looking at these three young faces and the trauma certainly that many Israelis are feeling from their deaths.
But I wonder, as Israel has looked, as we have see this somewhat limited response at this point, how do you thread the needle between responding and also doing so in a way that doesn't provoke some sort of larger response that leads to even more people, including Israelis, including more young Israelis, losing their lives. Do you think that we will see a further military reaction here?
REGEV: Well, I can tell you what our focus is at this very moment. It is to find the perpetrators of this atrocity and bring them to justice, those directly involved in the kidnapping and the murder and their accomplices.
We're also acting against the Hamas machine. Hamas says every Israeli civilian is a legitimate target. And so we're totally within our right to protect our people by trying to mitigate the threat that Hamas poses. But the best thing that could happen now is for the international community to send an unequivocal message to the Palestinian leadership, to President Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, and say to him, you stay you're a partner in peace, you say that you want reconciliation with the Israelis. Break your political alliance with Hamas. Break your pact with Hamas.
You can't on one hand say that you're a partner in peace and at the same time embrace these terrorists from Hamas, these killers of children. It doesn't fit. It doesn't work.
KEILAR: This strike that we have seen -- and we have an eyewitness who's seen it -- on one of the suspected -- one of the Hamas members who's suspected of involvement in this, this isn't the only Hamas member who is a suspect. So I'm wondering, will there be more, Mark? Will we see a further reaction? Is this just the beginning?
REGEV: The Palestinian people are not our enemies. On the contrary, we want to live in peace with our Palestinian neighbors.
But there can be no doubt that Hamas, which is an extreme Islamist organization, is committed to an extreme agenda, a very radical agenda, a very nihilistic agenda, not dissimilar from Hezbollah in Lebanon or ISIS in Iraq. These groups want to kill.
These groups want to murder. These groups believe that through this orgy of violence that they are somehow cleansing the world for their warped and extreme religious views. They have to be opposed. They're enemies of peace. They're enemies humanity. They're enemies of the Palestinian people, because they are in many ways putting the whole Palestinian people on their altar of their extremist agenda.
And I think all people of goodwill can unite against these killers.
KEILAR: Mark Regev, thank you so much for being with us. We do appreciate it.
And now there are new fears of terror attacking targeting Americans and other Westerners at busy U.S. airports, as well as crowded shopping malls.
And our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, is here with some brand-new details.
What have you learned, Barbara? BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, there are
no worries that al Qaeda once again is going after one of its top targets, a U.S. airliner.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice-over): Could one of the targets of al Qaeda's most dangerous wing be a Middle East shopping mall full of Westerners?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're not particularly well-defended and secured. There are a lot of Westerners that go to them, to some concern recently about some of the shopping malls in the Persian Gulf.
STARR: Analysts say the attack on Kenya's Westgate Mall got days of worldwide attention, exactly what al Qaeda wants. And they don't have to worry about getting into the U.S. to attack a mall. But that is not all. The U.S. may step up airport security measures.
There is concern the group known as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, has found a new way to get around current airport screening. U.S. officials tell CNN a vulnerability has been identified in airport security because of AQAP advances.
Officials don't see an imminent threat, but one official telling CNN: "We are steadily tracking significant threats from AQAP."
JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The Department of Homeland Security is regularly reviewing our security procedures to adapt to the threat that we -- that is faced by our transportation system.
STARR: The big concern is this man, Ibrahim al-Asiri, AQAP's master bomb maker, expert in designing bombs with no metal and undetectable explosives, such as the device worn by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in the failed 2009 Christmas Day underwear bomb attack targeting a U.S. airliner.
The top U.S. military says foreign fighters are a huge worry.
GEN. PHILIP BREEDLOVE, COMMANDER, U.S. AIR FORCES IN EUROPE: We remain concerned about the capability of some of these elements to develop weapons that could be thwarted by our current security systems.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: Partly, what kind of passports are these people carrying? If they have Western, European passports, if they U.S. passports, they could come out of the Middle East, theoretically get back to Europe, get back to the United States, and stage a new round of attacks -- Brianna.
KEILAR: And, Barbara, a very busy day. While I have you, I want to ask you about Iraq. We have got more troops that are heading there. What are you hearing?
STARR: Three hundred additional troops announced by the Pentagon just a short time ago headed into Iraq for security, security at Baghdad Airport.
For the first time in years, there will be U.S. troops there specifically guarding security at Baghdad International Airport. The concern is that ISIS has made such inroads towards Baghdad, they have got to reinforce and there be, also at the embassy, also at other U.S. installations, 300 security troops going in. This is going to bring the total number of U.S. troops in Iraq to something like 800, Brianna.
KEILAR: Barbara Starr, thank you.
And joining me now is Republican Congressman Peter King. He is the chairman of the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence on the House Homeland Security Committee.
Congressman, take us through this, what you know that you can share with us about this threat. And what are you concerned might happen here?
REP. PETER KING (R-NY), HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Well, Brianna, I think first we should say I'm not aware of any direct threat.
What we're talking about though is a -- the whole threat situation has gotten worse, not a particular threat, but the capacity of a group such as ISIS to attack the United States and the fact that one, you know, they're now getting sanctuary. Secondly, this group is the worst of the worse.
And we know they have attempted to attack the United States before. Back three years ago, when they were so-called al Qaeda in Iraq, they attempted to attack Fort Knox. So, we know they want to attack the U.S.
And the concern is that you would have affiliated groups like al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which actually does have scientists working for it, that you could find these groups coming together and coming up with an explosive device which they believe can't be detected.
We saw this with the Christmas Day bomber back in 2009. There was an attempt then. And there's been other reports of similar type devices or variations of that device that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was working on.
And now the concern is that ISIS could be making use of that technology and advancing it, to the extent that they could have devices that couldn't be detected. Now --
(CROSSTALK)
KEILAR: So this, in a way, Congressman, if you're concerned that AQAP and ISIS could be sharing information, could be sharing knowledge and that other affiliated groups would be as well, is this a new thing and how much does this elevate the threat?
KING: I would say -- I would leave it at this. There's greater concern now, and to me, the threat was always elevated. This to me makes it more serious. And we have to be on our guard.
And we have to do what we have to do to stop it. We have to work with our allies to attempt to stop it. You hope that you're wrong. You hope that the threat is not there. But considering the cast of characters that's coming together, we have to assume that there can be a device that they would attempt to use against us.
Now, again, this has always been a concern, but there's more reason to be concerned now that you have these groups possibly coming together, and you have ISIS, which is so extreme and so deadly and is attaining so much power in that region of the world.
KEILAR: Have you been told about specific devices that are a possibility, but perhaps you can't share that with us?
KING: Yes, there's discussion of certain devices. It's not definite. And I really can't go beyond that --
KEILAR: OK.
KING: -- other than to say there have been reports.
KEILAR: OK.
And so when we're looking, obviously, folks are very familiar with security procedures at domestic airports here in the U.S. It's not always -- the security in international airports, it's not always as secure as we see here. Are there specific changes that you want to be -- that you want seen taken up abroad?
KING: Well, I think it's important.
My understanding is that I believe the Department of Homeland Security has come up with certain procedures that they want followed overseas. I believe they're waiting for White House approval. And I think, you know, the White House should give that approval. I don't want to go into what they are, because then we would be tipping our hand.
But I do believe that the Department of Homeland Security wants to have security improved at airports overseas, where the U.S. is the final destination. And I believe that --
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Yes. I'm sorry.
KEILAR: Oh, no, no. Please continue.
KING: Yes. There are certain airports that I believe to not have the level of security that's needed.
And we want to make sure they do and use whatever, not just influence, whatever pressure we can to make sure that that security is provided. And, again, DHS, the Department of Homeland Security, and TSA, both of them, Director Pistole and Secretary Jeh Johnson, they realize, I believe, the significance of this threat. They have come out -- my understanding is they have come up with proposals and they're waiting for a sign-off from the White House.
KEILAR: Thank you for coming own and talking with us. Congressman Peter King, appreciate it.
KING: Brianna, thank you.
KEILAR: Now, just ahead, Kim Jong-un vs. the U.S. What's driving his new plan to indict two Americans who are prisoners in North Korea? Is there something else that he really wants?
And President Obama lays into Republicans. He's vowing to go it alone to try to fix America's immigration system.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The only thing I can't do is stand by and do nothing, while waiting for them to get their act together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Now, this hour, we're keeping a very close watch on North Korea and ominous new threats and provocations by Kim Jong-un. His regime now says it's planning to indict two Americans being held captive and put them on trial.
CNN's Brian Todd following the new developments out of North Korea.
Pretty alarming, especially when your -- this really rings with a lot of Americans when you're talking about two Americans.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, yes, Brianna, serious concerns tonight over the fate of these two Americans.
The dangerous unpredictable regime of Kim Jong-un has just decided to make an example out of them. Making all of this worse, their condition and the location where they're being held are not known.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice-over): They came in as tourists. They're now prisoners and they will likely soon be designated as convicts.
The government of Kim Jong-un says two Americans, 56-year-old Jeffrey Fowle and 24-year-old Matthew Miller, will be prosecuted for what the regime calls perpetrating hostile acts against North Korea.
Matthew Miller was taken in custody in April, when the North Koreans claimed he tore up his visa and asked for asylum. Jeffrey Fowle was detained in May, according to a news agency, for allegedly leaving a Bible in his hotel room.
Any independent religious activity is viewed as a serious security threat by the North Koreans.
MIKE GREEN, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: And there are defector stories of North Koreans who have Bibles being chained together like slaves with hooks through their ears.
TODD: Swedish diplomats who handle America's affairs in Pyongyang last had access to Jeffrey Fowle on June 20 and to Matthew Miller on June 21. But there's no word on their condition and the State Department isn't saying much.
JEN PSAKI, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESWOMAN: Out of humanitarian concern for Mr. Fowle and Mr. Miller and their families, we request North Korea release them so they may return home.
TODD: The U.S. government is also asking the North Koreans to pardon and release a third American they're holding, Kenneth Bae. He's a missionary held inside North Korea for more than a year-and-a-half, serving hard labor for allegedly trying to bring down the regime through religious activities.
While the North Koreans consider these Americans criminals, they may also think of them as leverage.
JOHN ROSE, IJET INTERNATIONAL: As an American there, you can be considered a very-high value target if you're detained by their government.
TODD: But what does North Korea's volatile young leader want? Since executing his uncle in December, Kim Jong-un has acted erratically. His regime announced the Americans' trials just after it test-fired two ballistic missiles, while at the same time offering to suspend military drills if the U.S. and South Korea do the same.
GREEN: Their negotiating ploy with the U.S. is to try to get us to agree to nuclear arms control, to accept them as a nuclear weapons state, which we can't do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: Now, if they can't get those nuclear concessions or a high- level dignitary to negotiate for the Americans' release, analysts say the North Koreans may extract confessions from Matthew Miller and Jeffrey Fowle, may hold them for a while, and may eventually let them go.
Brianna, but Kenneth Bae probably will be held for longer because he was accused of proselytizing, which they view as much more serious threat to them.
KEILAR: Yes, they certainly do. All right, Brian Todd, we will be watching this. I know you will certainly.
And let's talk a little bit more about North Korea and other flash points around the world.
With us now, CNN national security analyst and former CIA operative Bob Baer.
Actually, Bob, what I really want to talk to you about is what we heard just Barbara Starr reporting on, which is concerns that analysts have raised that a very real possibility of a target in the Mideast would be Mideast shopping malls, which include areas where a lot of Westerners frequent. Obviously, we're familiar of course with having seen this in Kenya. How can you protect against this or really can you?
BOB BAER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Brianna, you can't protect against -- let's take the border between Iraq and Jordan. It's porous.
You want to get explosives across, you want to hit a mall in Amman, it's very easily done. Westerners stand out there. Even the border with Saudi Arabia is somewhat porous. There are still tribal groups that cross that. So, Riyadh, Jeddah, the rest of the kingdom, would be vulnerable, and so would be a place like Dubai.
I think if this conflict heats up in Iraq and we take a role in it at all against the Sunni, I think it's almost certain that Americans will get hit somewhere.
KEILAR: So what should Americans do? Americans who are traveling, who are in those areas, what kind of precautions can they take?
BAER: I would stay out of malls, any place that's crowded, any place that foreigners congregate. Stay away. Don't -- keep out of hotel lobbies and, of course, malls. Tourists sites, stay away.
KEILAR: And then one of the other stories we're following today, it's an incredibly busy day, especially in the Middle East, has to do with the idea of AQAP and other Islamic groups pairing together, sharing knowledge, maybe even sharing resources, but certainly sharing the ability or the knowledge that they have when it comes to trying to build weapons that could slip through U.S. security, international security.
What is your read on this threat, how specific it is, and what our concerns should be?
BAER: Well, keep in mind, Brianna, that the technology developed since the invasion of 2003, cell phone detonators -- cell phone detonators cell phone detonators and the rest of it, and you're going to see that stuff appear in Iraq again.
You're going to see people from Yemen even that know about suitcase bombs. Printer bombs will be showing up in Iraq, will be attracted to this movement. The whole idea of a caliphate, this has given new wind to the sails of this -- jihadists. The fall of Mosul is very, very serious and I think we're going to see repercussions from it.
KEILAR: Explain the caliphate. This is something that if you're not very versed I think in this area you don't know how significant that is. Explain why that matters so much.
BAER: You're talking about the inheritance of Islam, and it goes back to the seventh century and the succession.
And there's this feeling that the Sunni Muslims have been humiliated over the last 10 years and they're going to rise again if they stand behind the Koran. And they want to unify Islam. It hasn't been unified in more than 100 years. And I realize it's just propaganda now, but we're going to see what sort of following is attracted to it.
KEILAR: Certainly. And that's a been concern. Will be watching.
Bob Baer, thanks for joining us. We appreciate it.
Now, just ahead, the Supreme Court strikes a blow to Obamacare. That could set up future challenges to the president's signature legislation. I will be talking with one of the architects of the law next.
And a furious President Obama is taking action on his own to deal with immigration reform. Is it Congress' inaction or are we dealing with an imperial president?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: A furious President Obama vented his frustration today with Republicans, blaming them for failing to reform immigration and vowing to take action of his own without Congress' help if that's what it takes.
Let's bring in CNN's Athena Jones. She's at the White House with the latest on this -- Athena.
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brianna.
The president really laid into House Republicans for refusing to vote on a comprehensive immigration bill that passed the Senate a year ago. Here he is in the Rose Garden earlier today. Let's play that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our country and our economy would be stronger today if House Republicans had allowed a simple yes-or-no vote on this bill, or, for that matter, any bill. They would be following the will of the majority of the American people, who support reform.
And, instead, they have proven again and again that they're unwilling to stand up to the Tea Party in order to do what's best for the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: And so the president is trying to keep the pressure on Congress, but he's also saying he's not going to stand by and wait for Congress to act. He's directed his team to come up with additional steps he can take without Congress, executive actions he can take on the immigration issue. And he wants to see those recommendations by the end of the summer. He also had a message for Republicans, who are already mad at him for using executive actions. Let's listen to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: If House Republicans are really concerned about me taking
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: A furious President Obama vented his frustration today with Republicans, blaming them for failing to reform immigration and vowing to take action of his own without Congress's help if that's what it takes.
Let's bring in CNN's Athena Jones. She's at the White House with the latest on this -- Athena.
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brianna.
The president really laid into House Republicans for refusing to vote on a comprehensive immigration bill that passed the Senate a year ago. Here he is in the Rose Garden earlier today. Let's play that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Our country and our economy would be stronger today if House Republicans had allowed a simple yes or no vote on this bill or, for that matter, any bill. They'd be following the will of the majority of the American people who support reform. And instead, they've proven again and again that they're unwilling to stand up to the Tea Party in order to do what's best for the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: And so the president is trying to keep the pressure on Congress, but he's also saying he's not going to stand by and wait for Congress to act. He's directed his team to come up with additional steps he can take without Congress, executive actions he can take on the immigration issue. And he wants to see those recommendations by the end of the summer.
He also had a message for Republicans, who are already mad at him for using executive actions. Let's listen to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: If House Republicans are really concerned about me taking too many executive actions, the best solution to that is passing bills. Pass a bill. Solve a problem. Don't just say no on something that everybody agrees needs to be done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Now House Speaker John Boehner, in responding to the president today, said in a statement that he basically blamed the president for the stalemate that is in Congress right now dealing with immigration. He said that he and others essentially don't trust the president to enforce the law as written and that until that problem is solved, there's not going to be any progress on this issue in Congress. So we can expect a lot more back and forth between the president and House Republicans on the issue of immigration -- Brianna.
KEILAR: It's like political hot potato. All right. Athena Jones at the White House. Thanks so much.
Well, the Supreme Court has ruled on its most high-profile Supreme Court case this session in the 5-4 decision on contraceptives and Obamacare is as controversial as expected. Our justice correspondent, Pamela Brown, is at the Supreme Court with the details. Break it down for us, Pamela.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, the conservative justices is making a big statement today, saying for the first time that these closely-held companies can exercise their religious freedom rights like individuals under the law, and this means that certain companies cannot be forced by the government to provide certain types of contraception coverage for its employee if it violates their faith. It is a ruling that could impact tens of thousands of women.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN (voice-over): Fiery protests on a ruling that converged three contentious issues into one: religious freedom, abortion and Obamacare. Today the high court striking down a key provision in the Affordable Care Act that requires for-profit companies to provide comprehensive birth control coverage.
The main plaintiff, the evangelical Christian owners of Hobby Lobby craft stores, challenged the law, saying it violated their religious beliefs.
LORI WINDHAM, ATTORNEY FOR HOBBY LOBBY: The court reaffirmed that American families don't give up their constitutional right to religious freedom just because they open a family business.
BROWN: Obamacare covers 20 types of birth control. This Supreme Court case focused on four of those: Plan B, the morning-after pill; and the week-after pill known as Ella; also two types of IUDs. Hobby Lobby equated those four forms of contraception with abortion, because they say they prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the womb.
Supporters of the contraception mandate say this ruling unfairly brings a woman's boss into her private medical affairs and will dump a huge financial burden on female employees.
ILYSE HOGUE, PRESIDENT, NARAL PRO-CHOICE AMERICA: I think immediately tens of thousands of women who are employees of these companies will either be out of their birth control or will absolutely have to double pay, because we already pay. And that adds up at the end of the month.
BROWN: The five conservative justices on the court used a 20-year-old federal law to make the case that closely-held for-profit companies has religious liberty rights just like individuals do.
Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito said, "The plain terms of the federal law make it perfectly clear that Congress did not discriminate in this way against men and women who wish to run their businesses as for-profit corporations and the manner required by their religious beliefs.
But in a strongly-worded dissent, Justice Ruth Ginsburg says now company owners can force their own religious beliefs on their employees. She says, "It would deny legions of women who do not hold their employers' beliefs access to coverage that the ACA would otherwise secure."
While the court settled this specific fight, the ruling could open the door to even more legal challenges to Obamacare, with other companies trying to argue their religious beliefs should exempt them from having to provide things like coverage for same-sex cups, vaccinations and medical marijuana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: So not only could this ruling have made social and political implications, but it could be a primer for pending lawsuits in the pipeline right now challenging other provisions in the Affordable Care Act. This could be just the beginning -- Brianna.
KEILAR: Yes. Tip of the iceberg. We'll see. Pamela Brown at the Supreme Court. Thank you.
And joining us now to talk about this more, CNN senior legal analyst jeJeffrey Toobin as well as Ezekiel Emanuel. He's a president -- or I should say he is President Obama's former health care advisor. He's also a professor of bioethics and a fellow at the Center for American Progress. He's got all of the angles covered here.
You know, and to you first, Ezekiel, you were a key adviser on the Affordable Care Act. You're intimately familiar with it, the accommodations, the sort of fixes after it was passed. What can President Obama do now in the wake of this ruling?
EZEKIEL EMANUEL, PROFESSOR OF BIOETHICS: Well, what the ruling says is that the government needs to find another way that's less restrictive to do it.
But I would also emphasize, this ruling, whatever its ramifications and how mad it makes people, does not go at the heart of the Affordable Care Act. It says nothing about the individual mandate, nothing about the exchanges, the Medicaid expansion, the quality improvements, the cost control of the bill. What it really does do is prolong the uncertainty about various provisions and, in that sense, uncertainty is not good for people just getting on with it, and that I think, is its biggest effect. But not at the heart of the bill.
KEILAR: OK, but let's bring in Jeffrey Toobin. Because, you know, one of the interesting things is we've heard sort of the majority propose fixes for this, right? JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Right. Justice Alito says, well,
the federal government could just pay for contraception for these women who lose it. Is that true? Is there a provision in the law that says that the federal government could just sort of take over paying for this benefit that the company declines to pay for?
EMANUEL: No, it's certainly not in the Affordable Care Act. I think what he meant to say, if I've read the view right, is the government could come up with alternative mechanisms to cover these kind of interventions that now individuals and employers find objectionable and don't want to pay for.
And, you know, what's more worrisome to me is many of the other things that he said, well, it's not covered in this ruling but certainly looked like it should be covered in the ruling, things like blood transfusions and, most importantly, vaccines which the state in some way already does provide to millions of Americans. State and local governments provide them. And why can't a person say on -- an employer say on religious grounds "We're not providing that," and the Supreme Court could say, "All right, you're exempt from providing that, too, because the state could come in and provide it to people." And look, in fact it already does for many millions of Americans.
And I think that is really a disingenuous view. Of course, the state could come in and provide anything if it passed a law.
KEILAR: At a cost, obviously.
EMANUEL: Right.
KEILAR: And so you look at that as a doctor and you're very concerned, obviously, that this sort of opens the door. Even though the majority said this is narrow, you have concerns that it isn't?
EMANUEL: Well, I -- the way I read it is that they're inviting additional lawsuits to expand this, that this case was about contraception. They didn't want to draw more attention to this case. So they said, "Look, it's about contraception." But there are all of these other things.
And I didn't read an in principle reason why vaccines, blood transfusions and other things wouldn't be covered as long as an employer had a deeply-held religious view that said, "Look, I don't cover that kind of stuff."
TOOBIN: Zeke, you said that this and other aspects of how the Affordable Care Act is playing out suggests that maybe people shouldn't get their health insurance through their employees, as has traditionally been the case here. Do you really think the Affordable Care Act is a wedge to getting rid of employer-paid health care for a lot of people?
EMANUEL: We certainly didn't want to do that when it was crafted. The view was that we wanted most Americans to continue to get their health insurance through their employer. Some people really like that. Other people, especially health economists, don't like that system, but that's what we've had, and we've had it since World War II.
But as thing have evolved like the Hobby Lobby case, like other situations, like the exchanges working, there does become, I think, an increasing argument that, look, the best thing is for individuals to decide how they get their health insurance now, without employers telling them what's on the services being covered and the services not being covered.
I think this adds one more pebble to the balance between is it better for employ employers to continue to cover or is it better for people to, say, get a voucher or a defined contribution from their employer and shop in an exchange on their own, so they're not restricted by their employer as to what they can buy and what they can't buy.
You're so fluent in this. We really appreciate you being with us to talk about this ruling.
Jeffrey Toobin, really appreciate it, as well.
And just ahead, imagine this: an emergency slide opening, yes, in the middle of a flight, creating an actual emergency. How did this happen and could it happen again?
Also we have a new tornado watch right now. We are tracking a storm that is moving across the Midwest. We're about to check in with our severe weather center.
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KEILAR: There's severe storms moving right now across the Midwest. Chicago is in the line of fire. This is a dangerous start to the holiday week. And by Fourth of July, millions of Americans in the eastern U.S. could be soaked or even worse.
And our severe weather expert, Chad Myers, is here with the latest on this. Take us through it, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Brianna, wind coming to Milwaukee, to Chicago, across all of northern Illinois, and a potential tornado down here across parts of Missouri that we actually have pictures of. I'm going to take you through these pictures right now. We can even take them live, full-screen, if you like.
But we see this rapidly rising air -- I don't believe this is actually a funnel or a tornado but rapidly rising what we call scud. Scud is that rapidly rising air that isn't yet rotating, but the whole storm appears to be rotating. This is not that far from Albany, Missouri, on that one storm I talked about.
Now, why am I worried about this one? Because this is all by itself. This will and is right now becoming a supercell thunderstorm that will likely put down a tornado, even brief. This is wide open country. This is not Kansas City. I know you see KSHB, and you might recognize that as a Kansas City affiliate.
But this is well north of that metro area, 80 miles north of Kansas City probably even closer to Des Moines than Kansas City in the middle of the farm country in northern Missouri. But as the storm gets more aggravated, gets more intensified, gets higher in the sky, continues to rotate, that's right there the part that I believe will probably get on the ground with a tornado.
So, a tornado warning for that area there to the North, I'll show you right now. Here's the storm itself on my radar. Kansas City way down there. This is the storm here moving into southern Indiana, Illinois as well, potentially into Illinois.
There is the line of weather that's going to run through Chicago, maybe Milwaukee, could see 50 to 70-mile-per-hour winds in the next hour or so, Brianna.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Just powering that way. We will be watching it. Thank you so much, Chad.
General Motors is recalling 8.4 million more cars. This amid new safety concerns and it's the 54th recall from G.M. this year, totaling 27 million vehicles. The latest recall comes as the auto maker announced that a composition claim fund headed by the same man who ran the funds for those affected by 9/11 and the BP oil spill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENNETH FEINBERG, G.M. COMPENSATION CLAIMS ADMINISTRATOR: I thank General Motors for their total cooperation in establishing this program, via funding it. And they're funding it without any cap on aggregate amount of money that's going to be available.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Joining me now is CNN's Poppy Harlow.
And, Poppy, you sat down with Ken Feinberg for an interview. What else have you learned about this compensation plan?
POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's put it into three parts. So, those who died as a result, their families will be compensated. Those who were seriously injured, they will be compensated, as well as those with lesser injuries.
We know that people that died, their families are going to get at least a million dollars, likely much more than that as a result. He gave examples anywhere from $2 million to $8 million.
The families and the victims need to show that the proximate cause was the ignition switch defect. What's interesting her is that G.M. hasn't put any cap whatsoever on this. Whatever Ken Feinberg determines the number should be, G.M. has to pass that out. They're also not going to use contributory negligence, which means if someone was speeding or intoxicated at the time of the crash, that will not be considered in this. And that's an interesting development.
But we talked to Ken Feinberg about how he determined this, how he put a price on life and also what the real goal here of this is. Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: You've said that this is a program to help victims and the survivors of those that died. Not a program to punish General Motors. Why did you say that?
FEINBERG: Because this program is to compensate victims. If you want punitive damages, if you're determined to wage litigation war against G.M. and try and secure millions in damages, don't come into this program.
HARLOW: General Motors had a revenue of $155 billion in 2013. This is a company that has made and continues to make a lot of money. How did you determine how much money, how many millions they should have to pay out to these victims and their families?
FEINBERG: It has nothing to do with General Motors wherewithal. General Motors ability to pay has never been a part of this program.
HARLOW: Because a lot of people will look at it and say, but is it enough?
FEINBERG: That's human nature. 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 loved one or a quadriplegic or a permanent brain injury? Money is a pretty poor substitute, I must say, for a loss.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Absolutely. That's a point he made time and time again, Brianna. That no amount of money can bring the family members back, can fix these horrific injuries.
I did ask him, though, because we know the Department of Justice has launched the criminal probe. I asked him if he believes there is a criminal case against General Motors and he wouldn't get that. He said, "That is not what I'm here for, I'm here to compensate the victims."
KEILAR: And the families of the victims, as they consider whether to participate, this is a choice they're making, right?
HARLOW: Absolutely. If they decide to take whatever money is offered to them from Ken Feinberg, they have to give up completely their right to sue General Motors in the future. That is a tough decision for some of these family members because some of them told us, you know, this isn't about the money. We want to send a message. We want our day in court.
One mother said who lost a daughter. So, that's a very tough decision they're going to have to make. One of the mothers, Laura Christian, who lost her daughter in a crash she believes was caused by this ignition switch defect was at the press conference today. She spoke.
I want you to listen to her, her reaction to this plan. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA CHRISTIAN, DAUGHTER KILLED BY FAULTY IGNITION: It's really not about the money. It just isn't. It's making sure that, for me, that each and every single person that died is acknowledged, that their name is written down as being part of this issue, you know? And furthermore, the second part, you know, this is the minor story today.
My goal is to pass legislation that will prevent this from happening again. I mean, that's the only way we can really go forward. Otherwise, all of these people died in vain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: And that is the decision they have to make, is, do they take this money offered to them or refuse and take G.M. to court. They face an uphill battle, though, because of the G.M. bankruptcy in 2009. G.M. is technically not liable for claims pre-2009. It makes it a tougher fight for these families in court.
KEILAR: And all the money in the world doesn't bring back their loved ones.
HARLOW: There's not.
KEILAR: Poppy Harlow, thank you.
HARLOW: Got it.
KEILAR: Now, just ahead, a frightening moment aboard a United flight as the emergency slides deployed on board the plane. We will explain how this happened next.
And Team USA's key striker may be returning off first game jury. Could he turn the tide for the U.S. as they face elimination? Rachel Nichols is standing by live to update us.
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HARLOW: This is one of last things that anyone would have expected to happen in flights. You can really imagine the shock of passengers on a United plane when the emergency evacuation slide deployed inside the cabin.
CNN aviation correspondent Rene Marsh is here with details. I mean, what happened here?
RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Right. That is the big question. That's what FAA is trying to get to the bottom of. Add on to what you just said, it happened midair, this plane was flying, it forced the pilot to make an emergency landing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARSH (voice-over): Shock, more than 38,000 feet in the air, when an emergency slide accidentally deploys, inflating in the rear of a United Airlines Boeing 737.
DIANE MODINI, PASSENGER: All of a sudden you saw their faces go like this and you heard a big bang and a hiss.
MARSH: More than 100 people on board United Flight 1463 from Chicago O'Hare to John Wayne Airport in Southern California, was forced to make an emergency landing in Wichita, Kansas.
TOWER: Do you have any injuries from the deployment of that --
PILOT: No, everything is fine. Just a door light, we just want to get on the ground and have somebody take a look at it. But everybody's fine.
MARSH: Passengers say they heard a popping sound before the slide filled the rear of the plane.
Former Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez tweeted this picture of the slide, writing, "Scariest flight of all time." Experts say many factors could have caused this.
STEVE COWELL, AVIATION SAFETY CONSULTANT: The possible causes really are the mismounting of the slide by the maintenance personnel. They're going to be looking at pressurization of the unit that inflates the slide. In addition, they're going to be looking at the mounting brackets -- everything that goes into how this slide is put into the airplane.
MARSH: The FAA says there was an issue with the plane's door and they're investigating.
COWELL: We have highly pressurized gasses that are inflating something at a very rapid rate. This slide takes up an awful lot of room. If it deploys at the wrong place on a landing, it could block an exit, which could be critical to passenger evacuation.
MARSH: It's happened before. Last November, a slide deployed on a JetBlue plane, pinning a flight attendant to a wall. The NTSB said today that incident is still under investigation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARSH: Well, today, JetBlue tell us, in a proactive move, they decided to replace the emergency slides on their fleet with a new design. When the new design is available, the fleet will be retrofitted. Meantime, in this latest case, the airline tells us that all passengers, they were seated, so that means no injuries and that's a good thing.
KEILAR: Oh, lucky. That is so scary, though. Rene Marsh, thank you so much.
Team USA, they are preparing for tomorrow's big match. You're probably getting ready for it, too. And here's the thing, we have some good news for you about an injured star player who could turn the tide for the underdog American team. And CNN's Rachel Nichols is joining us with all of the details on this. She is the host of "UNGUARDED WITH RACHEL NICHOLS."
So, tell us all about this.
RACHEL NICHOLS, UNGUARDED WITH RACHEL NICHOLS: Yes, Jozy Altidore, who, of course, was injured 21 minutes into the American's World Cup venture here, he is going to be, quote, "available", for this game against Belgium. And as coach Jurgen Klinsmann pointed out, just having him on the team with the locker room and sideline, that is going to be a huge emotional lift for them. He's one of their best players.
Now, how many minutes he's actually going to be able to play on that sore hamstring, that is another question. Klinsmann not showing his hand there and part of that is just tactical. He wants Belgium to have to prepare for seeing maybe Jozy Altidore a lot, maybe not seeing Jozy Altidore at all, maybe just a few minutes. That will split their focus and preparation.
So, expect to be kept in the dark because he wants Belgium in the dark as well. But he will be available, Brianna.
KEILAR: I mean, is there concern he could be reinjured or you know, do we expect that he is just going to come out of the gate flying and maybe he'll play a lot of the game?
NICHOLS: Yes and yes. I mean, look, any time you have a hamstring injury, if you push it, you could injury it. But this is the knockout round. These guys need to go for broke. So, if he can get out on the field, I would expect him to go for broke when he is out there and take it as it comes, because there might not be a tomorrow.
KEILAR: And tell us a little bit about the bracket, what is ahead and what the expectations are.
NICHOLS: This Belgium team is good. But you are going to see an American team more confident than we have ever seen in U.S. soccer. Now that they made it out of group of death, they feel like they could beat anyone maybe for the first time ever. So, we heard a change of their tone.
Remember at the beginning of the World Cup, their coach said it is not realistic for them to win the World Cup? All of a sudden now, he told players and their family members, change your airline tickets. I want you to buy a ticket for after the World Cup is over because you should expect to be here in Brazil the whole time.
So, a lot of confidence from the Americans when they step on the field. The Belgians, they are dealing with their own injuries. Their captain might not play because of a groin injury. So, a lot of it is influx, but you got to like the Bravado, right? The bravado of the Americans to show and now that's the American way.
KEILAR: Rachel Nichols, I love it. The power of positive thinking. Thank you so much for joining us. NICHOLS: Thanks.
KEILAR: Now, remember that you can always follow us on Twitter. Tweet me @BriKeilarCNN. Also tweet the show @CNNSitRoom. And be sure to join us tomorrow in THE SITUATION ROOM.
You can watch us live or you can DVR the show so that you won't miss a moment. Thanks so much for watching. I'm Brianna Keilar in THE SITUATION ROOM.
And "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.
