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New Day

Typhoon Devastates Parts of Philippines; More on the Miami Dolphins Bullying Case; Inside the Super Typhoon

Aired November 11, 2013 - 07:00   ET

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


KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to be covering the storm and the recovery for you all this morning. So let's begin with CNN's Ivan Watson in Manila with a look ahead at the recovery, the huge recovery effort facing so many people there. Good morning, Ivan.

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kate. The president of the Philippines has just declared a state of national calamity, authorizing the army to work with law enforcement to try to restore law and order in the affected areas. He says that the super typhoon has caused widespread death, destruction, and incalculable damage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON: Following the destructive path of the storm, the shattered city of Tacloban could be described as ground zero, a surge of ocean water broke through the sea wall washing away the airplane as it then flooded the city, leaving death in its path.

MURRAY ATWOOD, NEW ZEALAND TOURIST: We saw five dead bodies just wrapped up in plastic, and one other child, probably eight or nine, just being carried in a plastic bag who had drowned. Most of them are drowning.

WATSON: Next to the ruins of the departure terminal, desperate people lean up for water. Some residents warn of looting after the storm.

Is this just people trying to get food?

RICHARD YOUNG, BUSINESSMAN: Well, no, I saw them, two people, three people are carrying brand if you refrigerators, brand-new washing machines, motorcycles, brand-new, you know, appliances. They can get it.

WATSON: From the catastrophe in Tacloban, we fly west, following the trail of the super typhoon. We had company officials from the civil aviation authority. They're trying to assess damage to other Filipino islands.

WILLIAM HOTCHKISS, GENERAL DIRECTOR, CAAP: I was 37 years in the air force. I have flown all over the country and I helped in the storms before, but not to the extent of this one put us into.

WATSON: Record winds damaged the other towns we saw. But fortunately they did not face the devastating tsunami like effects of the storm. The typhoon swept through here days ago and now the long, hard work of rebuilding has just begun. All of this damage was done in just a matter of hours. And nobody here really knows how long it will take to truly recover. But even in these less damaged regions, locals are still reeling.

MELY FALLAN, SHOPKEEPER: It's not like no other and most body would have lost life, no boat coming here. So we have for the food.

WATSON: In a country accustomed to typhoon, one local man described super typhoon Haiyan as a monster.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON: And it's so difficult here, Chris. The Philippines Red Cross saying they can't reach some of these remote isolated storm struck regions. They're sending individual representatives on motor bikes to get over damaged roads to try to reach them. The government has sent two battalions of troops to one of these cities to try to help bolster the relief effort, and they're also even going to send a Navy ship to help evacuate some of the people from that devastated city Tacloban, the people desperate to get out from that shattered city.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Ivan, thank you very much. And one of the reasons, probably the biggest region that even in a place that they're used to these types of disaster, they're having such difficulty, is because this is like something they have never seen before.

For some perspective, let's go to Indra Petersons. She's looking at what these typhoon so powerful. What do we know, Indra?

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Exactly. You take a look at these pictures, it's unbelievable. It's hard to imagine what could cause this devastation. Let's put it in the perspective of something we understand here at home. We are talking winds that were strong as 195 miles an hour. That is very close to an EF-5 tornado. The difference there, the tornado only lasted 10, 15 minutes at that strength. We are talking at winds this high for about an hour period of time. And then you add in a storm surge that would affect over 15 feet, unbelievable devastation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETERSONS: Howling wind and pounding rain, super typhoon Haiyan ravaged several islands in the Philippines early Friday morning. Fierce winds swept across shore at 195 miles per hour with gusts up to 235 miles per hour.

JAMES REYNOLDS, STORM CHASER: During the height of the storm, you know, the scream of the wind was deafening. We could hear thunderous crashes of debris flying through the air.

PETERSONS: What set this tropical cyclone apart is that it did not weaken much once it made landfall. The area consumed by the storm was massive. Violent winds laid a path across the central Philippines that covered an area the size of Montana. Take a look at these satellite images of the storm. For a time, storm clouds covered the entire Philippines, stretching 1,120 miles, roughly the distance between Florida and Canada. But what caused most of the damage was a mammoth storm surge. A wall of water rushed into low lying areas, reaching the second story of houses in Tacloban, an estimated height of 16 feet, leading people frantically searching for higher ground.

Many predict Haiyan was likely the strongest tropical cyclone to make landfall anywhere in the world in recorded history. It was 3.5 times more forceful than hurricane Katrina. Super storm Sandy's tropical storm force winds stretched a further distance but were only half as powerful. In fact the wind gusts in this typhoon were stronger than those in hurricane Katrina and Sandy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PETERSONS: Well, this morning, it still had tropical storm force winds, and it's expected to continue to weaken as it goes to the mountainous terrain of China. Keep in mind although it is weakening, you will see about 35 mile-per-hour winds by tomorrow morning their time. It is still expected to bring heavy rainfall, a good amount of six inches of rain possible. Flash flooding as that heavy amount of rain can go down those mountainsides.

Unfortunately, behind it, another system is currently developing to another tropical system with that. Regardless of whether it develops or not, more heavy rain expected to enter the region tonight, and then especially the heaviest expected in the same devastated regions Tuesday through Wednesday.

BOLDUAN: My goodness, Indra. Thank you so much.

CUOMO: We will continue covering this throughout the morning, obviously. And we are sending one of our best. Anderson Cooper is going to be there inside the situation for you. He is on his way to the Philippines right now. We are hoping he gets a report from there tonight starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern on "AC 360."

Now, obviously, we are showing you this coverage in the hopes you get to identify with it. If you want to help the victims of the typhoon, go to CNN.com/impact. All right, we are following this other news as well. What do we know?

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: We are looking at some headlines, one out of the Caribbean. Four people, all believed to be American, were killed in a small plane crash in the waters of the Grand Bahamas Island. This single engine plane crashed just minutes after takeoff Sunday. The pilot radioed that the plane was having some sort of engine problems. The names of the two men and two women have not been released.

A 16 year old now facing attempted murder charges after a scary shooting at a New York City skating rink. Two people were wounded. There are reports the suspect bragged about the shooting on Facebook. Police believe it may have been all over a winter jacket the suspect wanted to have.

Two seniors are facing expulsion for using a gun to scare away an intruder. They were at their apartment last month. A six-time felon knocked on the door and tried to force his way in. McIntosh grabbed a gun. He has a permit. But the apartment is owned by the university which has a strict no weapons policy. The gun has been confiscated. The pair should learn their fate this week.

A 23-year-old man in Massachusetts is very lucky to be alive after taking a frosty dive. Fire rescue officials said the man and three friends went for a swim near the beach Sunday morning. That man ended up treading water for about an hour before he was rescued. He is currently being treated at the hospital for hypothermia.

The U.S. Marine Corps celebrating its 238th birthday this Veteran's Day weekend. Some marines got a little creative to mark the occasion. It's a pair of the brave marines taking part in a 238 mile run near Miramar, California. It took the marines nearly a full day to make that run, 238 miles. Wow. That's dedication and a great way to honor the Marine Corps.

BOLDUAN: Thanks so much. All right, let's get back to Indra, tracking the full weather across the U.S. this morning.

PETERSONS: I don't know if I could walk that. No way. Yet, look at this bulls eye, look at this cold, arctic air. Very easy to see where it is, now, watch it as I go forward in time. We will be talking about this guy spreading to the east. So, yes, we are talking about this layer going into the mid-Atlantic and the northeast as we make our way in time.

So what are we talking about? We're talking about a frontal system that's going to be packing through the region and then exiting off to the northeast in through tomorrow. So with that, we are talking about really moisture-starved system. Some light rain will be possible out there. But more importantly, some heavier snow around the lakes. Remember, when it's a cold system, we are not talking a lot around there, about three to five inches around Erie. Some of the other lakes could get one to three into the snow with that.

We will be talking about this cold air diving so far south for this time of year. This is very atypical. So what are we talking about? Even just a little bit of dusting of snow, so early, almost of month early for portions of West Virginia, Kentucky, and even into the Carolinas. It looks like it will melt the second it hits. But definitely something you want to talk about tomorrow morning, if not the temperatures every else. We are talking temperatures, 15 to even 20 degrees below normal. Take a look at Pittsburgh. Your high tomorrow, Boston your high 39. Then by Wednesday, it is still here, highs into the 40s. New York City on Wednesday, your high 41 degrees. So cold and windy. A lot of gusty conditions out there could delay a lot of flights.

BOLDUAN: Those gusts, they got me Friday on the plane. Talk about turbulence. Thanks, Indra. CUOMO: Coming up on NEW DAY, Richie Incognito, the suspended Miami Dolphin, now in his own words. Let's see if you feel differently after you hear what he has to say. He says he has other texts, not just the ones you've heard about, that show a very different reality than what's been in the media.

BOLDUAN: Also ahead, Utah doctor Martin MacNeill found guilty of drugging and drowning his wife Michelle. We will hear from one of their daughters and also talk to her sister about the verdict.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Welcome back to NEW DAY. We are hearing now from a Miami Dolphins player at the center of this growing scandal. Richie Incognito was suspended surrounding alleged abuse and harassment and racist comments that he made towards his teammate Jonathan Martin. Now, he is addressing those allegations head on, insisting he is not racist and he is not a bully. Look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHIE INCOGNITO, MIAMI DOLPHINS: This isn't an issue of bullying. This is an issue of my and John's relationship, where I may-I've taken stuff too far and I didn't know it was hurting him. My actions were coming from a place of love. No matter how bad and how vulgar it sounds, that's how we communicate. That how our friendship was and those are the facts and that's what I'm accountable for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: So let's talk about this with NPR sports correspondent, Mike Pesca, and Todd Wade, a former NFL offensive tackle. Great to see both of you.

Mike, Incognito, a long interview, he says he's embarrassed about what he said, but he says very clearly, I am not racist, and he says this is locker room culture. What do you think?

MIKE PESCA, NPR SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: I think things he has been saying and the Dolphins have been saying - that they have been saying in an attempt to get themselves off the hook or explain their behavior actually in a way dams them a little bit more. I think the whole idea of Jonathan Martin seemed like our friend, seemed to take it. A guy doesn't snap because the people who are harassing him, allegedly harassing him, think he's about the snap. He snaps because they push him too far, and they don't realize it. This entire discussion has happened as if we have never known anything about psychology, work place harassment, bullying, or any actual social issues. All these guys are saying, wow, this is such a surprise. We seem like friends, that's a very common dynamic in bullying. No one seems to be saying this.

BOLDUAN: Well Todd, you should jump in on this as well. What do you think? Has this become overblown or is this a real problem we are just learning about? TODD WADE, RETIRED NFL PLAYER: It's a problem particularly in the locker room. This is rampant in the NFL. I don't -- other than the voice mails that -- we have seen so far from Richie to Jonathan Martin, I don't - that's a first. I've never heard that in the locker room before. But it's pretty rampant. Everyone is doing it all the time. It's pretty vulgar. You have to have thick skin.

CUOMO: Todd, when you say rampant, I think one of the things we need to be careful about in this story is dealing with culture as like a criminal environment. Is the type of stuff we were hearing from Incognito? Hey, we make use inappropriate language, hey we make weird threats about each other all the time. Is that just a kind of a super-sized "boys being boys" mentality or is this something that you've never really seen?

WADE: A little bit of both. As far as the "kill you" and things like that, obviously, the intent wasn't that he was actually going to kill the person or do something like that. So we know that was just taken out of context, but -- and also racial slurs and things like that.

But in an NFL locker room. It is definitely not a place for the PC police. There are certainly vulgar things that are always said, but it's the norm. You have 53 guys on a team, and when you have a break, there is a lot of teams, the mundane things in the middle of the season. Guys are tired, you know, training camp, you've had a couple months under your belt. You are looking for any type of entertainment, usually at another teammate's expense.

PEREIRA: Well, you know it's interesting because I was thinking how women handle things, and we don't always have the best tact either. We tend to communicate openly and soemtimes talk about things to death. I will admit to that. Guys tend to stifle things. Is this guy allowed to -- Jonathan Martin -- is he allowed to say I'm at my breaking point, I'm done, even if nobody, even his professed friend Incognito says he didn't know his comments were hurting him?

PESCA: That's a great question. I think underpinning this whole thing is the assumption you are not allowed to be a certain way. There's this phrase, let's get Jonathan Martin out of his shell. How presumptuous is that?

PEREIRA: Can't he be in his shell and be a good football player?

PESCA: Maybe it's not a shell. Maybe his shell is his personality. Right? You know, when a quarterback doesn't have a strong arm, you design shorter throws for him. When a linebacker maybe can't rush up the middle you send him around the edge.

What about a guy whose personality is" I don't like taking meetings in strip clubs and being fined for it." "I don't like constant razzing and harassing." You know? "My job is to block Terrell Suggs." Does this make me better at blocking Terrell Suggs? I think maybe the NFL should change and take a look at itself and think maybe it's wasting its assets. Maybe it's wasting the money they spent on Jonathan Martin if you're going to drive him out of the league based on making him conform to this ideal of masculinity, to some people. BOLDUAN: Mike, what also do you think -- we were talking about it a little bit this morning -- the teammates that have spoken out on the Dolphins, they have at least far as I can see have all spoken out in support of Richie Incognito, saying that these guys were seen as best friends. Richie was a best friend of his. Where's the support for Jonathan Martin?

PESCA: First of all, there are some who are quiet and don't want to say it. The team dynamic is you rally together. Jonathan Martin was the guy who left the cause, left the team. He transgressed in that way. Richie Incognito, he got kicked off the team because of what happened, and Richie Incognito is a better player, and Richie Incognito was a guy they all like. In this dynamic, when one person accuses the team, and that's your business, of course, you are going to feel aggrieved by that person. There is also another thing called deviant over-conformity. And in sports, players sometimes do things together and if they had taken a step or two away or if they had looked at it from afar they would say, what are we doing? You know? It's this group mentality.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: You are you one of the most confrontational violent things that doesn't involve warfare that we have in civilized society. Todd, I come back to you on this, the next idea on this story is going to be what should they do about it? Are you in favor of sweeping reforms where decorum is put in place the same rules we live with in the work place are now in the locker room? Do you think that should happen? Do you think it will happen?

WADE: Well, at CNN, you aren't walking around in flip-flops and gym shorts. I think that's the difference between comparing the work places and how you say that. It's certainly a professional work place, and there's no room for any type of racial slur, intent or not. Since you are little, you know you are not supposed to say certain things. And I'm sure Richie Incognito wishes he could take that back and use a better choice of words if he's trying to get under a teammate's skin.

But, you know, over-regulating it, I don't know what the NFL can do. You can't - you're talking about 53 guys on a team with a lot of testosterone and a little extra time on their hands. When they have free time, you are with the guys. It's a close-knit group. Naturally, you kind of take jabs at each other.

Now, as far as the Dolphins wanting them to kind of light a fire under him and Martin and get him playing a little more aggressively and things like that, that's natural. Things like that do happen. But I don't think, I couldn't imagine they would want him to leave or be a damaged asset. Now you have two assets for that business that are gone, that were starters and no longer there.

BOLDUAN: We'll see. Will either of them ever play again? We will see about that. Todd Wade, great to see you, thank you so much. Mike Pesca, great to see you both. Thank you.

WADE: Absolutely.

BOLDUAN: Of course. We are talking about it. You obviously are as well. Let us know what you think: tweet us but make sure to use the hashtag #newday.

CUOMO: Coming up on NEW DAY, a Utah doctor convicted this weekend of killing his wife. There was quite a reaction from his children. We will hear from one of Martin McNeill's daughters in an exclusive interview in a few minutes.

BOLDUAN: Also ahead, the devastation is unimaginable. The recovery only beginning. We're going to be heading back to the Philippines for breaking updates, late details all coming into us. We'll bring that to you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Welcome back to NEW DAY, everyone, we are going into the chaos in the Philippines. This morning, the official death toll stands at nearly 1,000 people, but estimates say up to 10,000 are still feared dead. CNN's Andrew Stevens was on the ground when the storm hit and has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is what the inside of a super typhoon looks like: 250 kilometer an hour-plus winds slamming into the city, a white haze of screaming noise, smashing windows, tearing metal, water and flying debris. Just minutes after we finished our live shots telling headquarters we were moving to safer ground, cameraman Brad Olson (ph) shot this in the place we just left.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay. Guys, look at that.

STEVENS: As the destruction there continued, the squall below terrified residents huddled altogether, finding protection against the flying spray and mind-numbing noise, some pray for their safety.

Well, we're sheltering in the corridor. It's a relatively secure area, I think, where we are is a substantial hotel and we are away from windows. All around us, you hear the sound of windows breaking, you hear the sounds of large objects falling, crashing on the floor and underfoot, it is now just a deluge, if you look behind me, I don't know if you can see it, the staircase is basically a waterfall.

And then a torrent of black water began pouring into the hotel. The storm surge had begun. Within a few minutes, it was at ground floow window level. Panicked family trapped in their room, smashed the window and screamed for help. We managed to get the mother across to safety using a foam mattress, and it immediately became clear the cause of the panic, their daughter was severely disabled.

Storm chaser Josh Morganman (ph) and I went back across to get the terrified girl to safety, and CNN producer Tim Schwartz helped rescue the rest of the family. The waters only rose a little higher. The height of the storm, in fact, had passed. Two hours later, the winds had lost their lethal strength. Our live position was a ruined shell, but as we walked outside, it was immediately clear that so much of the city had suffered so much more than we had.

Andrew Stevens, CNN, Tacloban (ph) City, central Philippines.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Wow, thank you, Andrew, for that amazing report. When you see that kind of -- that what happened when the storm was happening, you now know why the big problem they are dealing with now, they don't have a handle on the scope of the devastation they are dealing with, roads in, roads out, blocked.

PEREIRA: And it's interesting what he was saying, is they reacted so quickly because they had to get to safety. You don't know where safety will be. Thankfully the water only rose a little bit further. You don't know in the case of what's happening. You have to make the best decision you can, you know.

CUOMO: Many of the hardest hit areas, one of the things that has a particular sensitivity right now in the relief effort is there had been an earthquake there already. People were living in tent cities, people were very vulnerable and exposed already.