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New Day

The Royal Aunt and Uncle; Who is Huma Abedin?; Human Factor: Sailing for America

Aired July 24, 2013 - 08:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, this is good. I'm going to let this play for a second. Imagine Dragons, "Radioactive." Welcome to the NEW DAY. They're actually saying "new age," but it sounds like the name of the show.

Welcome back, everybody, to NEW DAY. It's Wednesday, July 24th. I'm Chris Cuomo.

I know you're loving it over there in London, but you're missing the Imagine Dragons. You know how long I've been asking for them, Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm loving it over here in London, but I miss you and miss New York as well. So, you know, it's a good life. It's a very good life.

Hello, everyone. Welcome back to NEW DAY. I am Kate Bolduan, live in London for you.

The royal baby is meeting the family. We know he's met Prince Harry and Pippa was at the hospital after he was born. But what kind of an uncle and aunt will they be? I can assure you, fun is definitely one word that comes to mind. Chris.

CUOMO: Very important for an uncle. We look forward to that, Kate.

And back here, new video taking us inside the cabin of that Southwest planes as it makes that hard landing at LaGuardia Airport. Really a smash landing. The NTSB wants to know why the plane's nose gear failed. OK.

But we've got a lot of other news as well. We have the five things that you need to know for your NEW DAY.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: You've got it right.

Number one. Two New York --

CUOMO: It took a month.

PEREIRA: I know. Two New York newspapers calling on former Congressman Anthony Weiner to get out of the big apple mayor's race after he admitted engaging in inappropriate online behavior months after a sexting scandal forced him out of office. Trayvon Martin's father headed to Capitol Hill today. Tracy Martin expected to meet with members of the newly created congressional caucus on black men and boys.

President Obama will discuss the U.S. economy in a speech at Knox College in Illinois. He's expected to lay out a plan that puts the middle class front and center.

NSA Director Keith Alexander urging lawmakers not to dismantle his agency's domestic spying operation. The House is set to vote on a Republican-sponsored bill that would cut funding for the NSA's phone surveillance program.

And at number five, cruise line CEOs answering tough questions before a Senate committee today. They will talk about how the industry handles customer complaints and reports crimes.

You know, we always update those five things to know for your NEW DAY, so be sure to go to newdaycnn.com.

And with that, we shall take a trip across the pond.

CUOMO: We shall. Let's trip along. K.

PEREIRA: Let's trip along, shall we.

BOLDUAN: Trip along with me. Thanks, guys.

Now that the new prince has been introduced to the world, it's time for him to meet the extended family. And that means Aunt Pippa and Uncle Harry. Many other -- you know, of course, there are other aunts and uncles as well. But there are also -- they're big headline makers. But what kind of aunt and uncle will they make? That's a question that CNN's Max Foster has been looking into.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Now that William and Kate's little prince has met his grandparents, next up, a rendezvous with the rest of his royal relatives, including Uncle Harry and Aunt Pippa.

PRINCE HARRY: I literally am very, very happy for them, but I just only hope that Catherine gets the necessary protection to allow her, as a mother, mother to be, to enjoy the privacy that that comes with.

FOSTER: Harry will clearly be protective, but is also expected to be the fun uncle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (ph): He's just a giant kid himself. So, I think he's going to be that kind of hands-on uncle and father that kids just naturally are drawn to.

FOSTER: Being the so-called party prince can sometimes get him into trouble, but it's exactly what's likely to endear him to his new nephew. As for Pippa, she was the surprise highlight of the royal wedding in 2011 with this rear view that made her an instant sensation. Many expect she'll be very involved in helping her sister Kate take care of the new heir.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She'll definitely plan the baby's first birthday party, probably the christening, and it will be a better party than anybody has ever seen. I think she'll really just be by Kate's side and be supportive to Kate. I can picture the two of them out shopping in London and Pippa standing in front of a stroller or rolling the stroller along.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: And just a couple of days old, Kate, but actually this little baby has met all those crucial members of the family. So the queen today. Prince Harry met the baby either last night or this morning here at Kensington Palace and we found out yesterday as well that Pippa and James, Kate's brother and sister, of course, met the little baby in hospital last night. They sneaked in through the back door. We couldn't see them, Kate. It was just the grandparents that came through the front door.

BOLDUAN: Some of the most important introductions to the little baby. All right, Max, thank you so much.

But let's talk more about this with CNN royal historian Kate Williams.

KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL HISTORIAN: Hi there.

BOLDUAN: Hi there, Kate.

So you have both of these people, William and Kate, who are very close with their siblings. I mean William and Harry are so close. And because of that, how important will that relationship be, or how important will Harry be, not only to his nephew, but also to William at this very fun time in his life?

WILLIAMS: William depends on Harry so much. They are really best friends. I mean they really feel that they can't trust many people outside their circle because, you know, when you're royal, it's pretty difficult to make new friendships. We've heard them often say that.

So, William and Harry, they're so close. And Harry is going to have a vital role in the bringing up of little baby Cambridge. He loves kids. We saw that in the royal wedding. He was making the little bridesmaids laugh and waving at all the children. He loves children.

As you were saying, he's a big kid himself. And most of all, what's important is, he will definitely be Godparents. I think we can definitely see that happening. Most royals have six Godparents. Most people usually in the church of England have three. So whether or not they'll choose six or three, either way, Harry's going to be in there. And what will certainly happen, if, for example, William is no longer with us and this child comes to the throne as a baby, which could happen, Harry will be counted as the stand-in king until this child reaches 18. So he'll --

BOLDUAN: No matter what he'll be an integral part of his life?

WILLIAMS: No matter what he'll be the -- absolutely. Harry is always going to be there.

BOLDUAN: What do you think about the other side of the family. Kate's siblings, they're very -- obviously very close and they also played a prominent role in the wedding, both Pippa and James. What role will they play in bringing up this baby?

WILLIAMS: A fairly big role. And that's going to be a break with tradition, a break with previous tradition --

BOLDUAN: Right.

WILLIAMS: In which really a woman marries into the royal family and her other family are left behind. We've seen this change a lot, of course. The grandparents, the Middleton grandparents, were the first ones to go to the hospital. They beat Prince Charles and Camilla. And they are vital to Kate. It's very likely that she'll spend some time with them over the coming weeks. And I certainly expect to see, what my sources are saying, Prince Harry as a Godparent and also Pippa as well. Third man, that's an interesting question. It may possibly be James. I'd be surprised if it's just three. Out of six, you probably will see James in there as well. So, the Middletons are really vital to the upbringing of the child. He will be so close to them and that's because William really adores them. He thinks the Middletons are the bee's knees (ph). That's what we call them. That's what we say in England.

BOLDUAN: I love that. I'm going to take that one back to the states with me.

WILLIAMS: The bee's knees.

BOLDUAN: One quick question. With the birth of William's son, that -- William's son is now the third in line for the throne. That moves Harry down a notch, if you will. That doesn't impact Harry in any way, does it?

WILLIAMS: Yes. Well, that's the complicated thing for Harry. Poor old Harry, he's been pushed out of the succession. So on one hand he's delighted by the pregnancy, thrilled to be an uncle, so excited. On the other hand, he's just further and further away from getting one day into that nice palace over there and being King Henry.

BOLDUAN: He's -- I think he's still got a pretty good job. A pretty good role.

WILLIAMS: He's got a good job. I think he likes to be the younger brother, though, to have the fun.

BOLDUAN: And maybe get the spotlight off of him a little bit. Yes, exactly.

Thank you so much, Kate.

WILLIAMS: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Obviously the spotlight, though, on this little baby, Chris. A lot of fun out here in London.

Chris.

CUOMO: Enjoy yourself. You're having fun there. But you know what we have here, Michy (ph), we've got the good stuff.

PEREIRA: She should listen in on this because --

CUOMO: Listen to this.

PEREIRA: We all -- we all need a dose of "The Good Stuff."

CUOMO: It's a shining example of the heroism of our officers in uniform. Here's what we know. Take a look and a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two vehicles engulfed in flames. We've got one trapped inside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, get out of the car right now!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: All right. They come upon this situation. What are they going to do? Orange County sheriff's deputies pulling that man out of a burning minivan just seconds before it went up in flames. The driver had crashed into a pole, still had his foot on the accelerator, his hand on the horn. That's why the officers were yelling. They didn't know if he was a threat because the man was walking around. But then, they go in anyway because they realize that he's actually in distress. And it turns out, the 49-year-old driver had suffered a medical emergency, possibly diabetic shock, before he crashed. They made that assessment. They knew the minivan was going to go up. They took their lives in their own hands. They went in, they pulled him out, saved his life.

PEREIRA: A split-second decision. Wow! Wow!

CUOMO: Saved his life. Even though they didn't even know if he was a threat or not, they still decided to do the right thing and try to save somebody's life, even if there was risk involved to their own. And that's why we have to honor our men and women in uniform who are out there protecting and serving every day. That's good stuff. Agreed? Agreed? Good.

We want to hear about the good stuff that you see in your communities.

BOLDUAN: Agreed, agreed, agreed.

CUOMO: Thank you. And that's from two continents. BOLDUAN: He's getting it from both sides.

CUOMO: So we want to know what's going to on in your world, your community. Tweet us, FaceBook us with the #newday.

PEREIRA: We do.

CUOMO: Let us keep telling you these good stories.

PEREIRA: There's a lot of those good stories out there and we need to keep shining the light on them.

CUOMO: Right. Love it. Love people going a step beyond.

PEREIRA: That's right.

CUOMO: Even when their safety's involved. Got to love our officers.

All right, coming up on NEW DAY, not many women would stick with Anthony Weiner after his latest admission. Fair point. So the question is, why is Huma Abedin? We're going to find out why in her own words, straight ahead.

PEREIRA: And talk about awkward. A flight gets a little too close for comfort. This guy, what he did to get sleeping beauty right there back up. Come on, lady, just up a little bit. My arm's falling asleep. We'll be right back with that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Welcome back to NEW DAY, everybody.

We've seen it before, humiliated but still loyal wives of disgraced politicians standing silently by their men. The key word is silently. That's what made Tuesday so interesting. Huma Abedin had plenty to say at her husband's news conference.

Here's Dana Bash with a closer look at Anthony Weiner's better half.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the annals of political wives standing by their men, this was unprecedented.

HUMA ABEDIN, ANTHONY WEINER'S WIFE: Anthony's made horrible mistakes both before he resigned from Congress and after. But I do very strongly believe that that is between us and our marriage.

BASH: In her carefully chosen words, Huma Abedin telegraphed so much.

ABEDIN: It was not an easy choice in any way. But I made the decision that it was worth staying in this marriage. That was a decision I made for me, for our son and for our family.

BASH: It was extraordinary that she spoke at all, until now, it was just the picture that signaled that the politician in trouble had support of his wife, then South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford stood alone as he explained his affair but other wives did participate -- silently. Louisiana Senator David Vitters' wife as he was accused of sleeping with prostitutes.

Former Idaho Senator Larry Craig's wife in the face of allegations he was trolling for sex in an airport bathroom. And former Governor Eliot Spitzer's wife after he admitted to seeing high-priced prostitutes -- a scene that prompted an entire TV series "The Good Wife".

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need to have tell my personal failings with wife Alisha and our two children.

BASH: Huma Abedin is no stranger to personal problems, playing out on the political stage. For decades, she's been a key behind the scenes confidant of politics' most famously scorned woman, Hillary Clinton. Bill Clinton officiated at her wedding. Hillary Clinton is quoted as saying "I have one daughter. But If I had a second daughter it would be Huma."

Despite being notoriously private, Huma is incredibly savvy, knowing full well the potential impact of this moment.

ABEDIN: I love him. I have forgiven him. I believe in him. And as we have said from the beginning, we are moving forward.

BASH: Dana Bash, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: I got a great story for you know from Dr. Sanjay Gupta as part of his morning's "Human Factor", OK. A Vietnam Sergeant who collapsed on the battlefield, Urban Miyares, when that happened he was mistaken for dead. But that was just the beginning of his story. Let Sanjay tell it to you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was 1968. Infantry Platoon Sergeant Urban Miyares was on patrol in Vietnam.

URBAN MIYARES, VIETNAM VET: I hear mortars coming in, the machine guns going off.

GUPTA: Then something odd happened.

MIYARES: Next thing I feel myself falling face first into a rice paddy. That's it. Two days later I woke up in the Saigon military hospital and they were telling me I was lucky, that they found me in a body bag.

GUPTA: An astute combat medic had discovered him still breathing.

MIYARES: The diagnosis was diabetes. GUPTA: The 45 years since have been a roller coaster ride as well. Urban has been legally blind since the '70s, he lost most of his hearing, he needed a kidney transplant but one thing, sailing, that kept him afloat.

MIYARES: I never thought I'd get into sailing again until I met two gentlemen in wheelchairs a Vietnam veteran.

GUPTA: The three of them together started "Challenge America", the therapeutic sailing program for people with disabilities, primarily veterans.

MIYARES: Sailing is therapy. There's nothing like being on the water, being with nature. No one is going to jump out of a hole and shoot at me.

GUPTA: Urban's goal is to help the world see people with disabilities as equals.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: What a story.

CUOMO: Thank you to Sanjay for that story. A really great one. I love the "Human Factor", I love Sanjay as always.

Coming up on NEW DAY. This is some video what you would do? It's a viral video everybody is talking about it. You're sitting on the plane somebody falls asleep, boom falls on your lap. What do you do?

PEREIRA: I'm polite to a fault. I would just let my arm fall asleep.

CUOMO: I think that's a nice Mickey, I think if I do that and we're flying I think I'll give you a smack.

PEREIRA: Well if you're sitting beside me.

CUOMO: That's what I'm saying see.

PEREIRA: You didn't say it was you.

CUOMO: That's where it is. Haters hate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN.

CUOMO: All right. Good men and women of America and beyond.

PEREIRA: All right.

CUOMO: We have a funny new video for you but first it is time to go to the couch.

PEREIRA: Do you always mark these grandiose announcements?

CUOMO: Yes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: All right. You OK? Are you settled?

CUOMO: Yes I'm good.

PEREIRA: KB we've got a little something for you right now. We know, Kate, you're getting ready to swing back to New York from London. And we have a little warning, a cautionary tale for you. Take a look at this viral video. An airplane passenger by the name of C. Collin (ph) and his seatmate kind of get a little too close. He takes the whole too close for comfort moment apparently the woman started to fall asleep as soon as she sat down and boarded the plane. Things only got worse as the flight continued.

BOLDUAN: That is a joke.

PEREIRA: There all of these like long and awkward moments of Collin trying to get her off his lap. Trying to get her off his arm she finally actually goes the other direction and falls asleep on the guy on the other side of her.

So Kate, fair warning.

BOLDUAN: She is on his lap.

PEREIRA: For real. So just know you want to really eyeball these people and see how tired they are before you get on the plane and sit next to them. OK?

BOLDUAN: I'll tell you, unfortunately I'm probably the one that's going to be nodding off and falling asleep in someone's lap before the other happens. I'm such a sound sleeper and my time -- my time zones are a little off at the moment.

So I'll try to be very careful when I'm on the plane on the ride home.

CUOMO: I wasn't going to say anything. But I have flown next to Kate before and I must say she does sack out and then does like some kind of super quick like puppy breathing --

BOLDUAN: Do not talk about my snoring.

CUOMO: -- like she's like, well she's out. Like super, heavy quick breathing.

BOLDUAN: That may be a little awkward, Cuomo.

PEREIRA: That's an overshare.

CUOMO: I'm just telling you I lived it. I feel for that guy. I know his pain.

BOLDUAN: I think it's definitely time for me to come back.

PEREIRA: Come home, we miss you, darling. And safe travels. OK?

BOLDUAN: Thanks guys. I'll see you tomorrow morning.

CUOMO: Time for a little break. We'll be right back after this.

PEREIRA: No, wait -- you see now, you drool.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Well, it appears, guys, that my royal vacation has come to an end. We've been having fun. It's been great to witness history happening here in London and I'll be jumping on a plane to come back home.

CUOMO: Be safe. See you soon.

PEREIRA: See you tomorrow, in fact.

That's it for NEW DAY.

BOLDUAN: OK.

PEREIRA: "CNN NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello begins right now. Carol, I get (inaudible) because you know how he gets a little aggressive plus I think he needs a nap.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Man, you're not kidding. OK. So Chris, you go to sleep. Happy travels, Kate. Michaela, you rock. Have a great morning.

"NEWSROOM" starts now.