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New Day

NSA Spying Scandal; Global Impact on Leaked NSA Secrets; Could You Lose Coverage Under Obamacare?; Superstorm Sandy: One Year Later; Funeral Tonight For Slain Teen

Aired October 29, 2013 - 08:00   ET

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

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: A stop to snooping? President Obama under fire, speaking out. How could he not know about the U.S. spying on its allies? Will he stop it now that he must know? Congress starts its investigation this morning. We'll tell you the targets.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Outrage after a 13-year-old boy is shot and killed by police. He was carrying a toy gun. Police are defending their actions this morning.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Could it happen again? One year since hurricane Sandy, communities are still rebuilding. But will we see storms of that magnitude more often? Our meteorologist Indra Petersons investigates.

CUOMO: Your NEW DAY continues right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan and Michaela Pereira.

BOLDUAN: Good morning, and welcome back to NEW DAY, everyone. It's Tuesday, October 29th, 8:00 in the East.

New this hour, President Obama said it over and over again, if you like your health care plan, you'll be able to keep it. New word, through, from the White House officials suggesting that for some Americans that is not necessarily true. We're going to give you an update ahead.

CUOMO: As if I need to tell you. It is the age of the gadget. I have two right now. We've got tablets and social media. Can't get away from any of it, right?

The question is what about our kids? How much is too much for them? What is a learning tool versus a distraction? There was a recent study that said as young as 2, kids are into it, that more kids have iPads than adults. When is it time to unplug? We're going to tell you what we know.

PEREIRA: And can you feel it? All the stars are aligning in the sports world. We've got the World Series, baseball. We've got football. We've got hockey -- all in season. And tonight, you stole my heart, the NBA season returns.

CUOMO: Best game there is. PEREIRA: Can I get an amen? We'll review the pro-basketball season with Turner Sports analyst and NBA veteran, the one and only Greg Anthony.

CUOMO: He is skilled and former Knick, which makes him very intelligent and handsome.

But, first this morning, President Obama is ordering a complete preview of intelligence operations after it was revealed the U.S. was spying on friendly leaders. Are you surprised? Well, the media seems to be.

So, let's bring in chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto, following developments live in Washington.

Jim, it's starting to get a bigger and bigger wave, now that we're showing that -- well, I didn't know, but we're going to review everything. Maybe we won't do it anymore.

The ball's rolling.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, exactly, Chris. And now, the administration considering hard limits on the spying program, particularly as it relates to foreign leaders. This is a continuation of a review that began this summer. The same review which the White House says is how the president first learned of spying on foreign leaders such as the German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Now, administration officials say and the president would not now specific targets. But another U.S. official telling us that he would have had to have known about the framework of such programs, including which countries where spied upon.

Now, the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper announced he is declassifying a whole trove of documents about collection under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act which authorized the collection of data on telephone calls in the U.S. Later today, Clapper and the head of the U.S. will be testifying on the Hill.

And, Kate, we know they're going to face a lot of hard questions.

BOLDUAN: That is absolutely right. All right, Jim, thank you so much for starting us off this hour.

Let's get the international angle and reaction on all of this from Christiane Amanpour. She, of course, is CNN's chief international correspondent and host of CNNI's "AMANPOUR."

Christiane, you spoke with journalist Glenn Greenwald just yesterday and he, of course, is the journalist who helped bring a lot of these leaks to the public. I want to talk about Glenn and your interview. But, first, what's the international reaction you've heard? We're hearing a lot of reaction here in the U.S. side of these leaks.

What are international leaders saying about what's going on now with the White House kind of pushing back and now reviewing their spy program?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is just coming and being digested right now. There's a big difference depending on where you are and what the reaction is.

Here in Britain, for instance, where there is a much more strong agreement between the U.K. and the U.S. about what intelligence they share and who they spy on, there's been a defense of all this NSA, all this data collection, a strong defense by Prime Minister Cameron.

There has obviously in Germany been a different reaction with people, mostly the public there, very upset, and very outraged.

What's happening is the leaders are catering to their public opinion, summoning U.S. ambassadors, demanding explanations. But, obviously, many, many people know that leaders know that they are routinely spied on.

Now, obviously, this has made a huge political impact in the U.S. and hence these announcements about sweeping review of the NSA.

What I spoke to Greenwald about yesterday was his continued insistence that none of what Edward Snowden, the NSA leaker has put out was threatening national security. That's Glenn Greenwald's and Snowden's contention. But they say it's not about leaders so much, it's about populations being spied on, both in the United States and here around the world.

Listen to what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GLENN GREENWALD, AMERICAN JOURNALIST: None of this has anything to do with terrorism. Is Angela Merkel a terrorist? Are 60 million or 70 million Spanish and French citizens terrorists? Are they terrorists at Petrobras?

This is clearly about political power and economic espionage. And the claim that is about terrorism is seen around the world as what it is, pure deceit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: Well, that is his contention. Obviously, the U.S. would say a lot of the spying is also -- well, maybe they wouldn't say it, but a lot of the spying also is about commercial, business, other kinds of operations. As you heard, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee has said sometimes our allies have relationships with our adversaries. So that's where all of this starts to become really tricky.

But if indeed the politics of this case, Kate, has meant that the U.S. is now going to have some kind of NSA review, that, then, will be claimed as a victory by people like Edward Snowden and Glenn Greenwald. BOLDUAN: Well, I mean, did you talk to Glenn at all? It seems a narrow view when he says is Angela Merkel a terrorist. I mean, I think -- you know, you hear from the Obama administration side that these intelligence services do a lot more than just only try to intercept communications amongst terrorists. There's a lot more to it.

AMANPOUR: Right. And exactly. A lot of it is about the economic side. A lot of it is, you know, just trying to figure out who's meeting who and what's going on.

Clearly since 9/11, though, you and I both know that the emphasis has been on trying to disrupt any kind of plots or plans or conspiracies to commit harm against the United States, either in the U.S. or around the world, and against U.S. allies.

So that is why Prime Minister Cameron and other strong U.S. allies have been very robust in their defense of this kind of data collection. We also know that, yes, Angela Merkel is a strong U.S. ally. But in the past, Germany has had, obviously with East Germany, it was a communist country, so a lot of spying was done in relation to that -- its relations and its trade and other such dealings with China for instance, with Iran and other such things.

So, there are all sorts of complicated issues at hand in this surveillance. But what's really appalled people over here, and in the United States, is the amount of data collection that's going on against ordinary people. And that is one of the reasons why Glenn Greenwald and Edward Snowden's revelations have had such traction over here, because, as I said, most people take it for granted that there is a lot spying that goes on, even between allies -- much less between adversaries. But even between allies.

Look, the U.S. secretary of state, the former secretary of state, Madeleine Albright said, just this week, that I was spied on, she said, when I was U.S. ambassador by the French, our allies. So, there's a lot of two-way spying going on. But it's the mass collection of anything from the population that is causing a huge amount of anxiety.

BOLDUAN: And because of that, it does remain an open question what the political fallout will be in the end for the U.S. and its relationship with many European nations.

Christiane, thank you so much. We'll definitely be watching. Great interview with Greenwald, thank you.

Chris, over to you.

CUOMO: All right. Now to the administration's other albatross, the troubled roll-out of Obamacare. Despite promises to the contrary from the president himself, many Americans could lose their current coverage because of a law. But is that a bad thing?

CNN's Brianna Keilar is following developments. She's live at the White House. Good morning, Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Chris.

And we should also point out there is a shift for people signing up for insurance on healthcare.gov, the federal website. They now have until March 31st. It had been February 15th. This come, as the White House is now admitting that under this law, some people will not have the plan that they had before. But arguing, though, this may be a good thing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR (voice-over): One of the president's long-time promises about his name sake health care reform plan --

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you like your healthcare plan, you can keep your healthcare plan.

KEILAR: -- is coming under intense scrutiny as White House officials admit some plans will cease to exist under the law.

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It's true that there are existing healthcare plans on the individual market that don't meet those minimum standards and therefore do not qualify for the Affordable Care Act. There are some that can be grandfathered if people want to keep insurances substandard.

But what is also true is about Americans who have insurance on the existing individual market will now have numerous options available to them.

KEILAR: President Obama making an Obamacare pitch to young people who must sign up for health insurance by the end of March to avoid a fine.

OBAMA: When you look at the number of young people who actually want health insurance, but are having trouble affording it, the fact that we're making it affordable for them for the first time, that's a big deal.

KEILAR: A new study shows 70 percent of eligible Americans between 18 and 34 can now purchase coverage for less than $100 per month, but that's if they can sign up. Healthcare.gov was knocked off-line Sunday along with the data hub that verifies eligibility for government subsidies. Service was restored Monday.

As the Health and Human Services Department aims for a November 30th deadline to get the site fully operational, it's giving detailed updates on problems. The latest says, in part, "We're also getting information on which parts of the application are causing the most errors, enabling us to prioritize what we fix next."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Now, the Web site is key for getting young people to sign up. They are tech savvy. They are also healthy. And that's why they're key to making Obamacare work, because they offset the older who are less healthy and more expensive to provide health care for -- Chris and Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right. Brianna, thank you so much.

PEREIRA: All right. Let's look at your headlines.

Texas authorities are investigating a shocking murder spree near Dallas, saying a man apparently killed five people in four locations including burning one of them. There's no word on a motive, nor the identities of the victims. The suspect is in custody after hours long search.

Two of the four inmates who crawled through plumbing to escape from jail Sunday are back behind bars Sunday. Dylan Three Irons and Prime Brown were found about 20 miles south of where they started. Authorities are still searching for the other two who are considered armed and dangerous.

Two suspected members of the terror group al Shabaab have been killed in southern Somalia, in a U.S. military drone strike. U.S. officials telling CNN one of those killed is considered to be a top technical and explosives expert for the Al Qaida affiliated group. The other person killed was not identified.

Penn State has agreed to pay nearly $60 million to some 26 victims in the child sex abuse scandal involving former Coach Jerry Sandusky. The settlement is on top of tens of millions of dollars already spent by the university on fines and legal costs. Sandusky is serving what is effectively a life sentence in prison

This is a little thing for you, Chris. Three fishermen got a startling surprise on the high seas. Here it goes, all going down, trying to reel in a big catch. But oh, oh, wait. Hey, now. That fish is a little bit more -- it's a reversal of roles.

And the guy sitting in the center swivel seat is kind of --

CUOMO: He's stuck.

PEREIRA: And he's not going anywhere. That guy, he moves fast.

CUOMO: By the way --

BOLDUAN: I would have been the guy -- off I go.

CUOMO: They're not leaving, by the way. They're pulling away because they want to get the prop away from him, the propeller.

PEREIRA: They do eventually slow down.

BOLDUAN: Quite agile.

CUOMO: He is cat quick.

PEREIRA: What would you estimate that fish was?

CUOMO: Nothing. It was like 250 pounds. It's got a huge bill on it. It's got a sword. Hence the name on its face.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: The moment I jump out of the boat in that situation, too, but I probably can't clear that transom, I'm too old, so I would have got stuck on that thing.

BOLDUAN: Like what happened to those star war guys.

CUOMO: That's exactly right. I would have been rumbling, tumbling, stumbling over that transom.

PEREIRA: I thought you would like that.

CUOMO: That was really good. You know what happens, it happens when you get in with those big fish. Poor guy stuck in the chair.

BOLDUAN: Don't go fishing. Just kidding.

CUOMO: Oh, that was good, that was good. That was good.

BOLDUAN: Let's get back out for today's forecast. It was a good segment.

Indra is in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, on the anniversary of Superstorm Sandy.

Hi, Indra.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, good morning, Kate. It looks like we're definitely seeing some changes along the boardwalk. We can obviously see the JetStar rollercoaster that was here just a year ago and a day ago is no longer here. It was demolished in May.

But a lot of progress has been made. After the storm, about 50 percent of the businesses here on the board walk were not open today, 90 percent of them are open. Of course, seeing progress on the board walk.

Nearby communities are still suffering. Very slow progress. We're seeing a lot red tags in the doors and empty lot. We're going to dive into that a little deeper here, coming up later in the hour.

But, first, I want to talk about a storm really affecting the country today. This is the big storm that brought heavy snow in through Montana yesterday, today, even 10 inches of snow possible through portions of Wyoming and Colorado, and winter storm warnings are up.

Now, remember, we had this cold system that's producing snow with temperatures in the region a good 10 to 20 degrees below normal. That system is going to combine as it makes its way eastward with all the warm air. Temperatures above normal in the south. Once you have those combined, you bring that jet stream right over that panhandle of Texas, you have potential for severe thunderstorms. So, today, the severe weather threat will be out there, including the threat for some isolated tornadoes in the region.

Tomorrow, it's going to continue to progress even further eastward. We're actually going to see that severe weather threat expands, anywhere from Nebraska down to the panhandle, eventually making its way on Halloween from the Ohio Valley, all the way mid-Atlantic, and even into the Northeast. So, really, a storm we're going to be watching all week, guys.

BOLDUAN: All right. Indra, thank you so much for that.

CUOMO: Coming up on NEW DAY, it has been a year since Superstorm Sandy devastated the east coast. That's why Indra is down near on the show. Now, here's what we know. There are more federal dollars in the pipeline, but for many, too many, that help has been too slow. We're going to go back to Seaside Heights, New Jersey at one of the shore's hardest hit areas and tell you the story of what's going on today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Today marks the one year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, one of the deadliest, most destructive, and expensive storms in U.S. history. And in the hardest hit areas in the northeast, people are still struggling to recover and rebuild. Our Indra Petersons is live in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, one of those hard-hit areas. Good morning, Indra.

PETERSONS: Yes. Good morning, Kate. It really is unbelievable that this was just a year ago where 100 million Americans were affected by this storm. It was so expansive, about five million people lost power, and hundreds of thousands of homes were really affected by this storm. Remember, it had record-breaking storm surge that combined with high tide where made it that perfect storm with 13.88 feet of storm surge.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETERSONS (voice-over): It's been one year since Superstorm Sandy wreaked havoc in the U.S.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is really just all water.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is a record.

PETERSONS: The monster storm carved a path of destruction killing 117 people in the U.S. and damaging hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses, becoming the second costliest storm in American history.

DR. KATHRYN D. SULLIVAN, ACTING NOAA ADMINISTRATION: We had a storm that was unusually wide. It stretched literally from off the coastline all the way to the Great Lakes. It was loaded with water.

PETERSONS: In Manhattan, Sandy slammed the coastline, water pouring into city streets. Lower Manhattan left in complete darkness for days.

(on-camera) Twenty-three million gallons of water flooded this 31,000 square foot subterranean retail plaza where the water literally came up to these steps. Notice, it is still gated off. Millions of dollars in damage are currently still being renovated.

(voice-over) Still under renovation a year later, Sandy's scars still visible. Subway stations filled with water one year ago. Now, still, under construction. In New Jersey, Seaside Heights' historic boardwalk demolished from the storm reopened more than six months later to a slow return of tourists and locals.

VINCENT STORINO, MANAGING MEMBER OF CASINO BEACH PIER, LLC: We had 1,000 man hours a day working on this project and what we accomplished in several months should have taken a few years.

PETERSONS: Only to grapple with another tragedy in September.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Their store's on fire.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First Sandy, then the fire, I don't know what's next.

PETERSONS: Electrical wiring possibly damaged in the storm sparked a blaze that burned 30 businesses to the ground.

BILL AKERS, MAYOR OF SEASIDE HEIGHTS: It's been one thing after another, but, you know, we are tough here.

PETERSONS: In queens, breezy point was one of the hardest hit areas. More than 100 homes burned to ashes. Fire trucks unable to the neighborhood for hours due to flooded streets. The neighborhood still lined with piles of sand in unoccupied houses. But a year later, there are signs of resilience and recovery.

A group of Rockaway residents marking the anniversary, holding hands on the beach. At the immigration museum in Ellis Island, damaged in the storm, reopened its stores yesterday. Still, experts offering a harsh warning.

SULLIVAN: Sandy, unfortunately, is definitely not a one of a kind storm. The reality is that a storm of this force and magnitude could hit the coastline of our country any time and any place.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PETERSONS: You know, one of the things I wanted to talk about, it's been a year later, and there's still so many misconceptions about this storm, especially in comparison to Irene. Let's talk about the difference. First, take a look at the satellite pictures. You can see that Sandy was massive. I mean, it stretched 1,000 miles with the tropical storm force winds. The other thing was the angle that they came into the shoreline. Notice the difference here. We're talking about Sandy coming pretty much perpendicular to the shoreline.

That is a huge difference. Look at this animation. When it comes perpendicular to the shoreline, you have that entirely concentrated amount of storm surge going directly into one area, rather than being spread out over the shoreline. We combine that with high tide on top of it. And, you know, the other question everyone keep saying is, why are we not calling it a hurricane and rather why are we calling it Superstorm Sandy?

Well, the reason for that is what used to be a hurricane, notice this big blocking high that got blocked from going out, curbing out to sea like it typically would. It got pretty much dragged into the coastline. And as it did so, rather than pulling its energy from the ocean, which would make it a tropical system, it was now really taking on the energy of a winter storm that was making its way across the country.

It was no longer called a tropical system. It's a post tropical system. It became a blend of a winter storm and the tropical system, and that is why it got named Superstorm Sandy. Unfortunately, it's also why there was so much confusion. The National Hurricane Center stopped issuing warnings. That has been changed.

In the future, they will continue to issue those warnings to it here and really help, you know, the residence here so they understand what's happening next time if this unfortunately does occur -- Chris and Kate.

CUOMO: Well put, Indra. The nomenclature is one thing, but it was the warnings that wound up making the difference. The result obviously terrible. Appreciate the reporting from down there.

We're going to take a break right now. When we come back on NEW DAY, a 13-year-old carrying a toy gun shot and killed by police. The police say they did nothing wrong, but this was obviously a tragedy. The question is, could they have done more to prevent it? We're going to talk to a police official. You decide.

BOLDUAN: Also ahead, too much technology. A group of pediatricians is advising parents to set new limits on kid's smartphone and tablet use. We'll bring you the recommendations ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: So glad you're with us here for "NEW DAY." Let's give you the five things you need to know for your NEW DAY.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA (voice-over): At number one, top intelligence officials including the director of the NSA on Capitol Hill today, tough questioning expected over government surveillance, both domestically and internationally.

The White House insisting millions of Americans will not lose health coverage under the new Obamacare law. The administration saying, though, that some may have to change plans as the law takes effect.

Two of the four inmates who made a daring escape from an Oklahoma jail Sunday are back behind bars. The other two are still on the run and are said to be armed and dangerous.

Bit of a break for singer, Chris Brown. The charges in his Washington, D.C. assault have been reduced to a misdemeanor. Brown was arrested Sunday after an altercation outside a hotel.

And at number five, the Boston Red Sox, a win away from taking the World Series. The Sox now lead the Cardinals three games to two. Game six is tomorrow night in Boston. They could win their third World Series title in nine years.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA (on-camera): Who you rooting for, huh? Tweet us. We're always updating those five things to know so be sure to go to NEWDAYCNN.com for the very latest -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right. Tonight, in Santa Rosa, California, they will say their final goodbye to a 13-year-old boy named Andy Lopez. A police officer shot and killed the teen because the boy appeared to be carrying an assault rifle. It turned out to be a plastic pellet gun. In a moment, we're going to talk with a local police lieutenant about how this could have happened, but first, CNN's Dan Simon has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Outrage in a Northern California town. An AK-47 replica, a toy pellet gun, mistakenly identified by a sheriff's deputy for the real thing. The veteran officer firing eight rounds at 13-year-old Andy Lopez, killing him.

The reports are that he asked the boy to drop the weapon, and he didn't drop it.

ANABEL DAVALOS, FAMILY FRIEND OF ANDY LOPEZ: Andy was not the type, believe me. Andy, if he knew it was a sheriff, if he was asked, Andy would have dropped it, you know? I -- I don't believe that at all.

SIMON: Friends and neighbors in Santa Rosa have held rallies, calling the shooting a combination of unnecessary force and racism. Some alleged the shooter was profiled because he was Hispanic walking through a low-income neighborhood.

SHERIFF STEVE FREITAS, SONOMA COUNTY SHERIFF: I understand that the community is angry and sad and this is a horrible tragedy for all involved.

SIMON: Sonoma County sheriff, Steve Freitas, told us he couldn't go into details of the case, but he confirmed the deputy who fired the shots is Erick Gelhaus, a 24-year member of the force and veteran of the Iraq war. FREITAS: Well, he's a solid employee. And the fact that he trains new people for us does show the level of respect that we have for Eric and his position here.

SIMON: Investigators say that only ten seconds passed from the moment Gelhaus and his partner reported a suspicious person to when they called back to report that shots were fired. The deputies encountered Lopez who was wearing a hoody at 3:15 in the afternoon last Tuesday. According to witnesses, at least one of the deputies took cover behind an open front door of their cruiser and one yelled twice for Lopez to drop the gun. Shots were fired.