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Rape Accusations Spark Anger; Interview with Melinda Coleman; Senate Closing in on a Deal; Possible Break in McCann Case

Aired October 15, 2013 - 08:30   ET

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

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: So, fast forward to now. We know that you have since left that town, gone back to the town Albany, where you were originally from. How is life for you and how is Daisy doing?

MELINDA COLEMAN, MOTHER OF DAISY COLEMAN: It's getting better. It's been really tough. She - she did have a lot of difficult times, you know, with everyone - the bullying on the Internet was really difficult. We had to finally just completely take social media away and not look at it at all. She did - she did internalize it. She did start to feel like she was all the bad things they were saying about her and it's hard to --

PEREIRA: What do you want to see happen, Melinda?

COLEMAN: I want to see justice. I want to have peace for my family. I don't want to be threatened and fearful anymore. And I would like to see that the other girls that had come forward that said they had been attacked as well, I'd like for them to feel like they're safe enough to go ahead and come forward and to have some peace.

PEREIRA: Well, hopefully, there will be more eyes on this case and maybe something can be done. Melinda Coleman, we thank you for joining us to share your story and we're so sorry that you and your family has been through so many travails. We give our best to Daisy as well, OK?

COLEMAN: Thank you. Thank you.

PEREIRA: Kate. Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, that's quite a story there, Michaela, that we are hearing from that mother.

And we take a break now on NEW DAY. When we come back, Senate leaders are talking about tremendous progress to strike a debt ceiling deal. But this prayer of a compromise comes down to one question, WWBD, what will Boehner do to get a compromise through a caucus that seems determined to stand pat?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Also ahead, a cold case heating up thanks to some new sketches. Madeleine McCann's parents talking about the flood of new tips they hope will lead to help them find their daughter.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: And welcome back to NEW DAY. It's time for the five things you need to know for your NEW DAY on this October 15th.

Number one, a deal struck by Senate leaders would fund the government and raise the debt ceiling into early next year. Senate Republicans meet in about two and a half hours to discuss this plan.

An alleged al Qaeda operative will face a federal judge in New York today. Abu Anas al Libi was captured some 10 days ago in a daring raid in Libya. He's accused of helping plan the 1998 U.S. bombings - embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.

Jury selection beginning today in the trial of Dr. Martin MacNeill in Utah. He's accused of murdering his wife of 30 years. One of the state's chief witnesses is expected to be MacNeill's daughter.

Today is the deadline to file tax returns for the 12 million Americans who asked the IRS for a six-month extension. But if you're entitled to a refund, well, you won't see a check from Uncle Sam until the government resumes normal operations.

Retired U.S. Army Captain William Swenson makes number five. He's about to become the sixth living recipient of the Medal of Honor at a White House ceremony today. He's being honored for helping to save soldiers in a 2009 Afghan battle.

Always updating those five things to know, so be sure to go to newdaycnn.com for the very latest.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: OK, thank you so much, Michaela.

We are two days now from the deadline to raise the debt limit. Even if the Senate is able to somehow come together on that deal that we've been discussing this morning, does it stand a chance in the House? Joining us now to talk more about this, on the left, Marc Lamont Hill, Columbia University professor and host of HuffPost Live, and on the right, Will Cain, CNN political commentator and columnist at "The Blaze."

Welcome, gentlemen.

MARC LAMONT HILL, HUFFPOST LIVE HOST: Good morning.

WILL CAIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning.

BOLDUAN: OK. So we have the contours of a potential deal in the Senate. From the Democratic side, where is the compromise?

HILL: Compromise? Why would you compromise when you've won? This has been great. I mean the Republicans haven't been completely hammered on this. There are some minor things. Paul Ryan gets his budget conference. We've seen some delays on some of the things that even the left and the right could agree weren't -- were problematic in the Obamacare stuff.

But, ultimately, Republicans just lost this. And I think they're just trying to bow out with some dignity right now.

BOLDUAN: That is a dangerous line to have. You know that elections have consequences.

CAIN: But it's true. It's true. I mean it's truly --

HILL: Harry Reid can say that, I can say it.

CAIN: It's truly, the Republicans are negotiating the terms of their surrender.

You asked him what the compromise is. Let me just explain to you the full swing of the pendulum here. Republicans started out using the government shutdown as a leverage to look for changes to the Affordable Care Act -

BOLDUAN: Right.

CAIN: Look for changes to Obamacare. This is how far the pendulum has swung. Now, instead of granting Republicans delay to the individual mandate, Democrats have excised Obamacare, virtually, from the entire package, except we're going to give that delay, we're going to give it to our buddies. The (INAUDIBLE).

HILL: The unions.

CAIN: The unions get the delay.

HILL: That's my favorite part.

CAIN: America, sit back and relax.

BOLDUAN: Employers too.

HILL: Quit spiking the football. I mean, this is great.

BOLDUAN: So now they're doing a touchdown dance.

HILL: That's exactly right. That's exactly - that's exactly right. It's great. And that's why it took so long, I think, for the Senate to take the lead on this thing because -- particularly Senate Democrats, why would you take the lead on this to finish this thing if the government shutdown benefits you? I'm not saying it's OK, but that's - I think that's the strategy, let Republicans die (ph).

BOLDUAN: No matter what happens in the House, the focus is all -- no matter what happens in the Senate, the focus is all on the House. And John Boehner is in a tough position at this point. Is there -- at this point, Will, is there any way for John Boehner to vote on something, bring something to the floor that can win support of House conservatives and also be signed by the president?

CAIN: I honestly can't answer that question, Kate. I mean that's - that is a - that's an impossible question to answer right now because you're leaving Republicans with two very terrible options. One, clearly they got hammered in this entire debate. Clearly they got hammered in this entire negotiation. Do they want to continue that? Do they want to continue to see those polls punish Republicans? But number two, you - I honestly think you cannot emphasize enough how much this deal is a win for Democrats. And just - and by the way, just to emphasize that, what is the deal right now? it's to extend the government funding through January or into January, right?

BOLDUAN: Uh-huh.

HILL: The 15th, yes.

CAIN: And the debt ceiling into February.

BOLDUAN: Uh-huh.

HILL: Yes.

CAIN: That's completely to the Democrats' advantage. One thing we have learned is Democrats did not mind the shutdown. They won so overwhelmingly that they're ready to have this fight again in three months and they want to make sure they have it before the debt ceiling.

HILL: I wouldn't go as far as to say Democrats didn't mind the shutdown. I mean they - it's not - I wouldn't say they didn't mind the shutdown. I think they stood on principle with the Obamacare piece of it, but they certainly appreciated the benefits of the shutdown for their own political gain.

CAIN: So much they appreciated it, they're ready to do it again in January.

HILL: It's not that they're ready to do it again. And, remember, this was a Republican move where the Democrats would like to extend this for a year. It's Republicans who wanted to extend it to the 15th and the 7th reprectively.

CAIN: No, no, Democrats want to make sure the shutdown end -- the next negotiation over shutdowns precedes another debt ceiling negotiation.

HILL: I just don't - you think -- that's just not true.

BOLDUAN: But what if, as part of the deal, Republicans can get that negotiation that they've been asking for? I was talking to Steve Scalise (ph), a lead conservative in the House, who -- what he hammered home again and again was that they want to talk about the long-term drivers of our debt. They want to talk about the big issues. They know they can't get that in two days now -

CAIN: Right.

BOLDUAN: But what if this triggers that process?

HILL: But here's why that won't.

BOLDUAN: Can Republicans think of it as a victory? HILL: And again, this is why - this is why this is such a win for Democrats because in order to get those long-term reforms, entitlement, tax, to make structural forms, Republicans need leverage. This is not something Democrats want to do. And what we've learned is, a shutdown is not leverage to the Democrats. That will not hurt them.

BOLDUAN: Well, and John Boehner knew that back in March.

HILL: The debt ceiling is leverage.

BOLDUAN: He didn't want this fight.

CAIN: That's true. One hundred percent, that is true. That's why there was an internal Republican fight.

HILL: Right. And that's why there will be continued -- there will continue to be internal Republican fights and that's why John Boehner's in such a terrible position. He's going to have to force Republicans to eventually (ph) take a vote on something that they don't want. But he has no choice at this point.

BOLDUAN: Let me ask you this, though. The Senate Democrats, are they jamming the House? I'm asking that as a leading question of, I think they are jamming the House. They've done this in the past. It has succeeded in the past. But is that fair?

HILL: Of course it's fair. It's no more or less fair than Democrats - then Republicans -- House Republicans holding the government hostage for the last three weeks. They have the constitutional authority and power to do it. If you can leverage it, go ahead. I - do I think - the only question is, will it play out in the polls in a way that benefits you?

CAIN: Fair is -- who cares about fair? Fair is never part of the equation in politics (INAUDIBLE).

BOLDUAN: And so Pollyanna. I'm so sorry.

CAIN: Who cares about fair? That's why you're a (INAUDIBLE) Republican.

CAIN: (INAUDIBLE). The check - the check, Kate, is not fairness, it's overreaching. And when Democrats feel so strongly and so powerful, they'll overreach and that's when the check will come.

BOLDUAN: What are the lessons that Republicans need to learn then if, as you say, they've lost?

CAIN: The lesson -

BOLDUAN: And, Will, we say this and we need to keep in mind that there are real people that are hurt. There are real people who are still out of work.

HILL: Right, they're the real losers here. BOLDUAN: And we have a real threat of a default if we would hit the debt ceiling. So all of that in mind, but we are talking politics at the moment, so, what are the lessons?

CAIN: And it is a political conversation, Kate, and, therefore, the lesson is - is actually - it's not one about principles. It's actually just one about strategy. And the Republicans have learned, or some of the Republicans have learned, shutdowns are bad strategies. Debt ceilings is another question.

HILL: Following the Tea Party Republicans is bad strategy, honestly.

BOLDUAN: That was quite a lingering statement right there, Will Cain. Debt ceilings, they will continuing to be some leverage.

All right, we're going to leave it there, gentlemen.

HILL: Fair enough.

BOLDUAN: Marc Lamont Hill. It's fair enough. See, you talked about fair. See?

HILL: Yes, I like fair. He the one who doesn't like fair.

CAIN: See (ph), he won (ph).

BOLDUAN: All right. Will Cain, Marc, great to see you guys.

CAIN: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: All right, Chris, back to you.

CUOMO: Win is not a word that jumps to mind with that situation right now.

We're going to take a quick break on NEW DAY. When we come back, a possible break in the case of Madeleine McCann. Could her anguished parents finally get answers? You will hear from them.

And, what's in the water in Minnesota? One ice cream shop there has made our "Good Stuff" segment not once, but twice. It is so nice. We'll tell you why. A sweet story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Welcome back to NEW DAY everyone.

Let's get straight over to Indra Petersons for another check of the forecast. And you are looking at that storm in the middle of the country.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes it never ends one system exits, the next one comes in. And today we're looking at a system that is kind of hanging around Minnesota stretching all the way down through Texas. So that's where we're looking for some of the light rain. Maybe a little bit stronger again around the great lakes and especially stronger down through Texas. The reason for this, of course, is what we saw right around the tropical depression here outside that's still hanging out. So Octavia (ph) is pulling all this moisture into the region. And with that, we have high flooding concerns.

I mean really look at all that moisture mixing in with the same system that's slowly making its way across the country. You combine those two, you're talking about heavy amounts of rain, even three to five inches of rain still possible in the forecast today. In addition to the eight to ten inches that they saw over the weekend so flooding concerns obviously high.

For the rest of us, the cold front means cold air. Right, looking at this huge cold pool of air making its way across the country. I mean look at these highs Kansas City, only 59, Minneapolis also 50s. We'll zoom a little bit closer to the northeast, you'll notice the 70s that we have today. Now in the Midwest, watch that cold front slide through.

So by tomorrow, you're going to see those highs drop down to just the 50s. So a little bit of a chill cold front obviously, cold air moving in.

BOLDUAN: Moving in. So it is. All right, Indra, thank you.

CUOMO: All right we have an update for you the parents of Madeleine McCann are speaking out about new leads in the case. You'll remember the British 3-year-old went missing in 2007 in Portugal. The case is being reinvestigated. And now come brand new sketches of a person of interest. Authorities say the new images could have already led to a major break in the case.

CNN's Erin McLaughlin is London with much more on this. Good morning Erin what do we know?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris. That's right there are new leads in what has been considered to be a cold case. Scotland Yard has received over 1,000 tips following last night's public appeal for information and it was an emotional evening for the McCanns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCLAUGHLIN: A new plea from the parents of Madeleine McCann.

KATE MCCANN, MOTHER OF MADELEINE MCCANN: Please, please have the courage and confidence to come forward now and share that information with us to unlock this whole case.

MCLAUGHLIN: And a chilling memory. Now six years old. Kate McCann described the moment she realized her three-year-old daughter was missing from their holiday apartment in Portugal.

K. MCCANN: I was looking at Madeleine's bed and I couldn't -- I couldn't make it out. And then I realized that she's not in that bed. I wondered if she had woken up and had gone to our bed. She wasn't in our bed. And that was -- that was the first time that I guess, you know, panic kicked in.

MCLAUGHLIN: It's all part of an international appeal to the public for more information about Madeleine's disappearance.

CHIEF INSPECTOR ANDY REDWOOD, METROPOLITAN POLICE: Even if it's 0.4 percent chance that she's alive, we will continue to fight for her.

MCLAUGHLIN: Part of the push, Scotland Yard releasing computer generated sketches of a man they say was in the area at the time Madeleine vanished.

REDWOOD: The man who is white with dark hair, had a child in his arms, the child is described as being between three and four years of age with blond hair possibly wearing pajamas. So that itself is already significant information.

MCLAUGHLIN: A 25-minute re-enactment of that night has also been shown on television, giving an updated timeline, which has allowed them to eliminate old theories and explore new avenues in the investigation. Madeleine's parents say they have never given up hope that they will find their little girl.

GERRY MCCANN, MADELEINE MCCANN'S FATHER: We don't know what's happened to Madeleine. We don't know who has taken her. Probably our best chance of finding her is identifying that person.

K. MCCANN: Just imagine how much heartsick we've put ourselves through so long as, you know, we get the result that we need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLAUGHLIN: Now investigators had been distracted by a 9:15 p.m. sighting of a man carrying a child wearing pajamas. They now believe that child was actually the man's daughter. So they shifted their focus to this other 10:00 pm sighting and are considering the possibility that Madeleine McCann was abducted later in the evening. It just goes to show how important witnesses are in this case -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right Erin, thank you very much for the reporting. Obviously, what a great story it would be to have a happy ending there, especially for that family. So we'll keep reporting on it as developments come up.

Let's take a break right now though.

BOLDUAN: Coming up next on NEW DAY "The Good Stuff" gets even better as random acts of kindness happen again at the very same Minnesota ice cream shop we've been talking about. So what makes this place so special? We're going to tell you.

CUOMO: That's ice cream. What else?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Better stuff. CUOMO: Oh, it is time not just for "The Good Stuff". not just for the better stuff but the good, better and best stuff.

You'll see why of just wait here. A beloved family doctor from Jasper, Minnesota loved his patients and his ice cream. One Dairy Queen in particular, remember that. So when he died, to honor his memory, his family visited their pop's favorite Dairy Queen and gave $200 to pay for everybody's ice cream, a sweet reminder of the man they loved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He always brought us to get ice cream if something was bad, so --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And it's actually all paid for already. If you read the sign right here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was beautiful.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was awesome. That's all I could say and their dad would be proud of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Yes, he would. So that's the good stuff right there. Right?

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Really good stuff.

CUOMO: But then the people who received free ice cream paid it forward, some $700 worth, free ice cream for everybody, the entire day. That is the better stuff.

But there's another layer to this sundae of specialness. Did you recognize that Dairy Queen clerk we just showed you?

BOLDUAN: Yes I did. Wait we know that guy.

CUOMO: That is the man known as Joey Prusak, we introduced you to him a few weeks back, he's the young man who saw a customer steal a blind man's money, refused to serve her unless she gave it back. When she wouldn't, he dipped into his own pocket to help. Remember that?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOEY PRUSAK, DAIRY QUEEN MANAGER: I told him you dropped $20. I would like to give you $20 on behalf of myself and Dairy Queen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: That's Prusak. So purely by coincidence, one Minnesota Dairy Queen, home to the custard king of kindness, seems to have taken the spirit of sweet sentiments, a bunch of unrelated people, multiple acts of kindness all taking place in that one place. All of that and that's what makes it the best stuff of all.

BOLDUAN: I love it. And I want ice cream.

PEREIRA: Yes.

CUOMO: The end.

BOLDUAN: We'll be right back.

CUOMO: I have ice cream right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: That's it for us. Carol Costello is next. Hey, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Hi Kate thanks so much. Have a great day.

"NEWSROOM" starts now.