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Government Shutdown Continues; Affordable Care Act Exchanges Open Online; Debt Ceiling Deadline Looms for Congress; Tornadoes Threaten Gulf Coast; Bikers Assault SUV Driver on Camera; Woman Accused of Killing New Husband

Aired October 05, 2013 - 14:30   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITEFIELD: Hello, everybody. You're in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Fredericka Whitfield. Good to see you on the launch of the 2:30 Eastern hour.

So let's get started in Washington where we saw some action today around government -- the government shutdown crisis. The House passing a bill to approve back pay for federal workers who had been furloughed. But the larger issue of ending the shutdown is still hanging over Washington. Jill Dougherty is live for us at the White House. Jill, what have we heard from the president today?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we had the radio address, and he talked about stories, letters that he's gotten from average Americans who are being affected by this, obviously negatively. And he made that same statement, that it's time to end this. And he would argue it can be ended very quickly.

So in an interview with AP, the Associated Press, he said we can vote to open the government today. But then he blamed it on John Boehner, the speaker of the House, once again saying we know there are enough members in the House of Representatives, both Democrats and Republicans, who are prepared to vote to reopen the government. The only thing that's keeping that from happening is Speaker Boehner. And he's made a decision, the president argues, to hold out to see if he can get additional concessions.

So that sounds very much like what we've been hearing for quite a while. And up on Capitol Hill where you had some movement getting back pay for furloughed workers, it's piecemeal, but the White House, even though they support that, would say they don't want piecemeal. They want the whole budget.

WHITFIELD: All right, yes, the president saying he likes the idea of the back pay for furloughed government workers but no piecemeal measures in any other fashion. Thanks so much, Jill Dougherty at the White House. Appreciate it.

Let's go to Capitol Hill now, the House unanimously approving that back pay bill today. But the agreement ends there. Athena Jones is joining me live now from Capitol Hill. The House is voting and then is the Senate convening today?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Senate is in session, Fred, but they're not scheduling by votes for today. So right now it's unclear when they may take up this bill for back pay for furloughed workers. We know the president has said he will sign it, but we just don't know when it might get to his desk, when the Senate will take it up just yet. They are in session, speeches on the floor.

The big action took place here on the House side. Afterwards we had a chance to speak with and hear from both House Democrats and House Republicans. Let's listen to House Democrat Representative Steve Israel from New York describe how he sees this back and forth when Democrats and House Republicans. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STEVE ISRAEL, (D) NEW YORK: In this game of ping pong that John Boehner is playing, his side of the ping pong table is getting smaller and smaller and smaller. He keeps creating excuses not to vote. We keep taking those excuses away from him, as we have today, in simply time to vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: So there you heard Congressman Israel echoing what you heard from Jill, in democratic argument it's just time to bring us spending bill, opening the doors of the entire government to the House floor for a vote. He's referring -- he just said that he took away speaker Boehner's excuses again today. He's referring to a letter that 200 Democrats signed and sent to Speaker Boehner reaffirming their position that it's time to bring this bill to the floor for a vote. And they believe there's enough support from Republicans to pass that bill. And then we'll sit down and talk.

That's not what House Republicans want to hear. Listen to what House Majority Leader Eric Cantor had to say after the vote this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ERIC CANTOR, (R) HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER: What we are looking at here, again, is an administration, a president, that seems to be unwilling to sit down and talk with us. We have a majority leader in the Senate that seems unwilling to sit down and work out our differences. And, you know, it's really, if you think about it, it doesn't make any sense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: So there you heard the argument from the Republican side. They say that they are the ones being reasonable here. Let's sit down and negotiate on all of these issues. The Democrats saying let's pass these bills first, get the government running again and then talk.

I should mention one development that we've heard from our own Gloria Borger who said that one idea that's being floated around is this idea of a six-week spending bill, so a bill to get the government running again for six weeks, and paired with a raising of the debt ceiling. That could give them room to sit down and have the negotiations that Republicans have been demanding. That's just an idea that's kind of floating around. We don't yet know how much traction it's going to get. Fred?

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much. Perhaps we will be hearing more about that later on.

Let's talk about something else that's gotten a lot of attention. It involves New York. New York City police now wanting your help in finding this man who is wanted for questioning in connection with that clash between the group of bikers and the driver of an SUV. CNN's Margaret Conley is covering this for us from New York. So Margaret, two bikers apparently turned themselves in. One has been charged. What more can you tell us?

MARGARET CONLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, it happened right here. The SUV driver, he was trying to get away from the bikers. He pulled off the freeway at west 178th street, and this is where the most violent parts of the incident took place. Now, two bikers, they are in custody right now. One has been charged. The police are still looking for another biker as they try to piece together the rest of this investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CONLEY: The motorcyclist seen here who repeatedly smashed this car window using his helmet with a family trapped inside has been identified. Authorities have also found the motorcyclist who shot this helmet cam video showing how the incident escalated from the start.

Alexis Leon was driving an SUV with his family here on Manhattan's west side high why. According to police he struck a motorcycle that had slowed in front of him, slightly injuring the rider. That's when other motorcyclists surrounded him. Police say the bikers hit and sparked the car's tires. As Leon he escaped his car ran into three more bikers including one who was critically injured. That's when the motorcyclists gave chase, eventually cornering the SUV and then beating and slashing him in front of his wife and two-year-old daughter.

We returned to the scene with a retired police officer Lou Palumbo and asked him how things went so wrong?

LOU PALUMBO, RETIRED POLICE OFFICER: They shut this road down.

CONLEY: He puts the blame on the motorcyclists.

PALUMBO: You see him just driving normally in the center lane, nothing really dramatic. This motorcycle operator pulls in front. He's going to slow down and turn and look back at him. Now I'm just curious, what precisely were you thinking at that moment that you thought that would be appropriate?

CONLEY: Could the SUV driver have done anything differently?

PALUMBO: In my opinion he was in fear for his life. He has a baby in the car, and I don't think he believes he had any other option.

CONLEY: So if the average person is driving down the freeway and this happens to them, what is the advice that you would give to them?

PALUMBO: Call 911, and just basically yield the right-of-way to the bikes. The issue here is really the volume of motorcycles. The issue here is the operation of these motorcycles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CONLEY: An off-duty police officer was on the scene. He was riding his bike in the group. But there are a lot of questions right now for this possible key witness about why it took him four days to come forward. This happened on Sunday. He came to police on Wednesday. Fred?

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Margaret Conley there in New York. Appreciate that.

Let's talk about some crazy weather taking place, a storm slamming parts of the Plain states overnight. There are reports of as many as 18 tornadoes touching down in three states, Iowa, South Dakota, and Nebraska. In Wayne, Nebraska, as many as a dozen homes were destroyed in the storm. Unfortunately no one was killed. The storm also knocked out power to half the residents of Rapid City, South Dakota.

A little further north, some states got a dumping of snow. Parts of South Dakota saw more than 30 inches of snow. That's unbelievable. Here's a look at the mess in Rapid City. Things weren't much better in other parts of Wyoming where blowing snow created blizzard like conditions for drivers.

So a tornado, blizzard, aren't enough that we've got in a tropical storm out in the Gulf, as well. No longer a danger to becoming a hurricane, but residents along the gulf coast are still being warned. CNN's Chad Myers is here with more on this. So tropical storm, might it dissipate into a depression or is it still threatening as a tropical storm?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, I've seen storms get stronger over swamps, literally. And the bayou of southern Louisiana is just that, it's wet. It's not dry land where storms usually die. You get a storm to move in on Mexico and it's a desert and this storm is destined to die. But actually it doesn't make any sense. I know the clouds are here but the center is way over here. If this storm decides that it's taking its sweet old time right through here it can still develop into something a little bit bigger. That's not the forecast but it can happen. Forecasts are up and down, left and right. You know the whole deal.

The storm is a 40 miles per hour. It's going to move over land, over areas this summer that have picked up so much rainfall. Do I have to tell you, Fred, how much rain we've had this summer?

WHITFIELD: A lot.

MYERS: All of these trees are sitting in mud. The roots are just sitting there and waiting to fall over. If that happens, power lines are going to come down. Here's the forecast for tomorrow morning. Not that far south in New Orleans, up towards Pensacola. Here's a shot from Pensacola. You would think, wow, this must be terrible, must look awful because a hurricane is coming. It's a hurricane. It's not. Tropical storm it might not do that at all when it gets there. It might just be a 30-mile-an-hour wind maker. Clouds, wind, but people are still enjoying it.

This is why all of those ships crashed back in the 1700s and 1600s with all of that gold and silver on board, because it was very pleasant the day before a big storm. A storm is coming. It's not a big storm but it's coming for Pensacola Beach and Mobile and Gulf Port for tomorrow.

WHITFIELD: Hopefully it won't do any damage, no significant damage. A lot of rain but no damage please. Thanks so much, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: All right, later, we'll head further west on the gulf coast to find out how they're getting ready for this impending storm and find out how they're bracing, next.

MYERS: And day five of the government shutdown, federal workers staying home but they're not the only ones suffering.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Lawmakers took action today to try to make sure federal workers don't miss out on any pay despite the government shutdown. Today the House passed a measure to give back pay to furloughed workers. Some department of defense workers will soon be back on the job. Officials there say most of the department civilian employees will be asked to come back to work next week.

And even though some relief is coming for those federal workers it's not just their bank accounts feeling the impact. Companies that rely on those workers are suffering as well. Here's Tom Foreman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lockheed Martin is one of the world's top aerospace corporations, employing 116,000 people, many on government projects. So the company is scrambling telling people who normally work at now closed government offices to go to other Lockheed buildings or work from home while the company braces for whatever is coming next. In a written statement saying, "Any effect on Lockheed Martin and its employees depends on individual contract terms and, of course, on the length of the shutdown."

Far beyond Washington in dozens of states with federal offices, the ripples are not just hitting civil servants but private companies that rely on trade with the government.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a terrible thing. It's a terrible situation.

FOREMAN: Colorado, for example, is home to a large number of federal research labs studying energy, the climate, wide life, and more. They directly employ nearly 9,000 people. The University of Colorado study found that pours $1.2 billion a year into the state's economy, money that is not flowing now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They spend their paychecks in their communities. They spend money at restaurants on rents, car payments, entertainment.

FOREMAN: Some companies with longer-term business cycles say they can wait to see what happens, but at City View bar and grill in Baltimore the impact has been immediate. This place is close to a huge Social Security office and the lunch crowd has been hijacked.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The last three or four days, it's very difficult. If it continues, I'm noting go to be able to survive.

FOREMAN: It is difficult to calculate how many jobs in the private sector may be effected if this goes on. But just to make it a little bit harder, the people in the government changed with counting such things, they're not working either.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And Dr. Sanjay Gupta is getting answers to some of your questions about the Affordable Care Act. Here he is with a special show airing this afternoon.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Fred, we've been on the road all this week with the CNN express trying to answer people's questions about the new health care law. There's a lot of them out there. We also decided to dig deep to understand how the shutdown is affecting your health. The answer and lots of ways you may not affect. We've got all of it on a special edition of "SGMD" at 4:30 eastern.

WHITFIELD: And we're keeping a close eye on the Gulf coast where tropical storm Karen is headed. We'll tell you which state is expected to get hit the hardest, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Tropical storm Karen is headed for the Gulf coast. The storm isn't expected to become a hurricane, but Gulf residents are still being braced for some serious stormy weather. CNN's John Zarrella is on the road for us near Destin, Florida, giving us his point of view there outside the windshield there. It looks like a lot of folks are heading in the right direction you are but no one looks like they're panicking.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, they certainly aren't. You can tell, Fredericka, we're out here just along the road here. Highway 98. Going across a bridge here that takes you right into Destin, Florida. Now, you know, I remember back in '95 hurricane Opal through here. There were boats on this road. But that was a major category three hurricane, nothing like that with Karen. So we're fortunate about that. As we head over this bridge here you can see Destin's just on the other side of the bridge.

A lot of people on the beach. We've got a static camera. We can give you a shot of the beach and across the water. And we can see from here a lot of boats that are in safe harbor on the other side. So that's a good thing. Not too many boats out on the water but there are a few.

But all the businesses are open. Nobody boarded up that we've seen anywhere. So people getting this weekend in without concern. But by tomorrow, expect certainly here later in the day rain, some wind, and even Panama City and into Apalachicola and St. Marks, all of the way back to Tallahassee, rain and wind. Certainly the story will be the rain and potential coastal flooding because all of this is very, very low lying area.

Now you can see we're driving back into Destin. See all the traffic on the road here. Again, everybody is out having a good time this weekend, and -- but, they've all got one eye on the Gulf just in case. Making sure that this storm doesn't do anything funny, Fredericka. And doesn't become anything more than what the forecasters say it will be, a weak tropical storm, as it makes its way ashore.

WHITFIELD: A big soaker. Let's hope it's nothing more than that. John Zarrella, appreciate that.

A pretty nasty legal case up ahead, a newlywed facing new charges in the death of her husband. He died after he fell off a cliff. And she is accused of pushing him. Find out what she told the court coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The stakes just got higher for a woman accuse of pushing her husband over a cliff a few days after they were married. CNN's Casey Wian has that update for us.

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, a not guilty plea to first degree murder charges for alleged newlywed killer Jordan Graham.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you kill Cody?

WIAN: Prosecutors originally charged Montana newlywed Jordan Graham for second-degree murder for pushing her husband, Cody Johnson, off this cliff in Glacier National Park. Now the jury has added a charge of premeditated first-degree murder, which carries a life sentence in prison.

The couple was only married for eight days when they got in a fight on July 7th. Still upset, they decided to take a hike where the fighting continued. Things got physical and Johnson pushed her husband in the back, sending him face first off the cliff. Prosecutors say Graham admitted nine days later to pushing Johnson off the cliff in a fit of anger. Her defense attorney says it was all an accident, and following her arrest here last month Graham was allowed to live here with her parents under home confinement where she remains today.

Levi introduced the couple. Levi says the bride-to-be was acting strangely before they walked down the aisle.

LEVI BLASDEL, FRIEND OF COUPLE: She was crying hysterically before she got to the altar. There was no joy that she was about to get married.

WIAN: After her husband's death they say they noticed more strange behavior from the widowed bride.

LYTAUNIE BLASDEL, FRIEND OF COUPLE: Whenever I saw her she was just herself. Nothing happened. No emotion. It was her same old life. We always had that bit in the back of her mind saying think I think she may be involved.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIAN: Graham also is charged with making false statements about her husband's death to authorities for allegedly concocting a story about a trip to the park with out of town guests. Her attorney admits she has been deceptive to authorities, but calls the murder charges reprehensible. Fred?