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New Day
Waiting in Line Already?; Blockbuster Baseball Trade Political; "Gut Check"; Large Plane Stuck at Small Airport; Alex Rodriguez Storms Out
Aired November 21, 2013 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Made my head hurt when I was reading that that's what you were talking about.
JOHN CAIN, POLITICAL ANALYST: Me.
CUOMO: The day -- yes. The day that government no longer is about finding ways to compromise and move forward on what matters is the day that government no (INAUDIBLE) --
(CROSSTALK)
CAIN: I want to talk about, Chris, and I appreciate that it made your head explode.
CUOMO: It made it hurt, hurt, not explode. It's still here.
CAIN: OK. The concept of a solution bias is this: whenever we present a problem we always assume there's a solution. And that solution must come from the government. I believe, conservatives believe solutions can exist outside the constructs of government.
CUOMO: Of course, but that's (INAUDIBLE) premise because (INAUDIBLE) health care has to deal with the government. You have to have the government involved with health care. And you know that.
CAIN: (INAUDIBLE), markets, we believe markets are the key to reforming --
CUOMO: For health care?
CAIN: Absolutely. That's what I've been trying to say.
CUOMO: You had free markets in different states. It became such a calamity, there was so much abuse by insurers in this country and people know it, from (INAUDIBLE) denials to --
CAIN: The '60s?
CUOMO: Now, my brother.
CAIN: That's not a free market.
CUOMO: Now there's a problem. CAIN: We haven't had a free market in health care for decades.
CUOMO: They control the entire market. That's the problem. And that's why you had to check it and there are millions of Americans who have dealt with those problems.
CAIN: Health insurance and health care are not synonymous.
JOHN AVLON, CNN HOST: That's fine, but this is the problem: We're having a fantasy-based debate about some fictitious alternative because the current system is not a free market. We confer a ton of different reasons that go deeply beyond Medicare.
The problem is is you have got this fictional universe where you have an Ayn Rand Utopia versus what reality today. Let's have a reality- based conversation about solving health care problems in this country.
And if you do, if you really pull out the partisan spin, you start to think things like when this was originally a Republican plan, it was championed because it was market-based and it was also about individual responsibility, which is what they call the mandate.
BOLDUAN: You're going to get to that the conversation when you look at the way -- I'm sorry to talk about the politics, but you're never going to get there when you're talking about the way the districts are drawn at this point. Both sides are largely in state districts. They have no motivation to compromise.
The people who are voting them into office are sending them there to send a message not to compromise.
AVLON: Unless the message is, find a solution to our problems and we're going to punish you if you don't.
CUOMO: That's called leadership. Look, everybody knows they can do better, whether it's Will or whether it's Ben Ferguson, or whether it's Begala on the left. Everybody knows the parties have to step up their game.
I'm just worried that the media gets drawn into refereeing this infighting, and everybody else loses. And that's where I'm concerned.
CAIN: (INAUDIBLE) assumptions we bake into the cake. I'm worried that solutions means government solutions. And I think you come in, government being you, you've come in messed it up more than you could possibly fix it.
CUOMO: From now on, every time you're here, you call me government. That's my new nickname.
BOLDUAN: It's you? So what's Will named?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not you, the proverbial you.
BOLDUAN: That's a whole other family problem.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you announcing something today?
BOLDUAN: No, not yet. I still need him here for a little while longer.
Well, John, that was really fun.
CUOMO: Appreciate it.
BOLDUAN: Thank you, guys.
All right, Michaela.
MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN HOST: Let's take a look at the headlines. And no, nobody is announcing, I don't think, right here.
BOLDUAN: That's not our breaking news.
PEREIRA: No, it is not our breaking news.
Our breaking news is a really interesting situation that's happened in Kansas. This is a giant cargo plane that is now stuck at a small Wichita airport. It landed there by mistake.
The FAA is investigating why this Boeing 747 Dreamlifter was scheduled to land at McConnell Air Force Base, instead ended up at a smaller nearby airport. The jet apparently needs over 9,000 feet of runway in order to take off, but the runway where it is sitting right now, only just 6,000 feet.
Florida Congressman Trey Radel says he has hit bottom and needs help. So he is taking a leave of absence while in rehab. Radel did not resign. He also did not mention drugs during his news conference Wednesday. But he did admit to cocaine possession in a D.C. court. He has been sentenced to one year probation and fined $250.
We're learning this morning about a rare drone strike in northwest Pakistan outside a remote tribal region. The suspected U.S. drone strike killed at least five people, including three Afghan militants. Pakistani police say the missiles hit an Islamic seminary that was known to be visited by the senior members of the Afghan Haqqani Network, a close ally of the Taliban.
Janet Yellen likely one step closer to becoming the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve after a Senate Banking Committee vote today. They are expected to back the nomination and pass her confirmation to the full Senate for a vote. That vote likely to come in December. Now if confirmed, Yellen, the current vice-chair, would replace outgoing chief Ben Bernanke in January.
Are you a thrill seeker? You might want to check this out. This is a new water slide in Kansas that's still under construction. But check it out. We can't get details from the park until the slide opens, but it is being billed as the tallest, the fastest and the steepest in the world. The Verruckt Meg-A-Blaster is set to open in May. Someone has told us that Verruckt is the word, the German word for insane. That is the steepest drop I have ever seen.
CUOMO: It made my stomach hurt. I'm happy that you're at least in something. I thought at first you just like went down.
PEREIRA: I know.
BOLDUAN: You'd fly right off.
By the way, you checked your German translation?
CUOMO: I couldn't find it, that word. I couldn't pronounce it. But it didn't look like that word.
BOLDUAN: I was hoping you'd try, because it was very (INAUDIBLE).
PEREIRA: I think there are all sorts of words that would come out, German or otherwise, when you (INAUDIBLE).
CUOMO: I think that might be what Germans scream when they fall off something of that height.
Coming up on "NEW DAY", A-Rod on a rampage. The Yankee slugger is skewering the commissioner of baseball after storming out of a hearing he insists he can't win. And get this, he's finally responding directly to accusations that he's a cheat.
BOLDUAN: And wipe the sleepy out your eyes, because you're not going to believe this. Shoppers are already lining up for holiday bargains. What, what, what? More than a week before Black Friday.
Is it getting out of control or is it just getting awesome?
CUOMO: That's a nice setup.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Welcome back. Fireworks Wednesday at an arbitration hearing for Alex Rodriguez. The highest paid player in baseball angrily stormed out of talks. Rodriguez is appealing a 211-game suspension for allegedly using performance enhancing drugs. Wednesday he took his fight straight to the public with tough words for the MLB's top boss. CNN's Jason Carroll is following the story for us. A little turn about.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What a mess. In fact, he called the MLB officials, he said they were full of it basically. He called the entire proceeding a farce. He banged the table and kicked a briefcase in order to make his point before he left, all of this during a private proceeding. No cameras allowed. He saved the camera and the radio for later.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ALEX RODRIGUEZ, BASEBALL PLAYER: I banged the table and kicked a briefcase and slammed out of the room. CARROLL (voice over): Alex Rodriguez crying foul, so angry with Major League Baseball's commissioner and the league's investigation into allegations he used performance-enhancing drugs, he went to the airwaves to vent his frustration and to deny he used PEDs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you do any PEDs?
RODRIGUEZ: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you obstruct - anybody, any witnesses? Did you do anything that they accuse you of doing?
RODRIGUEZ: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing.
RODRIGUEZ: Nothing.
CARROLL: Rodriguez appeared on Mike Francesca's radio show on WFAN just hours after he stormed out of an arbitration hearing about his 211-game suspension, furious that the arbitrator decided Bud Selig would not have to testify.
RODRIGUEZ: I exploded. I was very upset. I probably overreacted. But that's just -- it came from the heart. And it's been a very difficult process.
CARROLL: Rodriguez attorneys wanted to question Selig on a number of points. They allege MLB investigators used unethical tactics, including intimidating witnesses into making false accusations about Rodriguez.
RODRIGUEZ: My only message to the commissioner is, I know you don't like New York. But come to New York and face the music.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about you, does he like you?
RODRIGUEZ: He hates my guts; there's no question about it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you ever gotten along with him? Do you think this is personal?
RODRIGUEZ: I don't think they like big salaries; 100 percent is personal. And I think it's about his legacy and it's about my legacy. And he's trying to destroy me. And, by the way, he's retiring 2014 and to put me in his big mantle on the way out, that's a hell of a trophy.
CARROLL: MLB denies their investigators did anything unethical. And as for Rodriguez walking out, this statement: "Despite Mr. Rodriguez being upset with one of the arbitration panel's rulings today, Major League Baseball remains committed to this process and to a fair resolution of the pending dispute.
(END VIDEO TAPE) CARROLL (on camera): So for now, Rodriguez says arbitration will continue without him. He is getting support from the players union which said every player has the right to directly confront his accuser.
For its part, MLB says in its entire history of their joint drug agreement, the commissioner has not testified in a single case. But there is also this argument that this is an unusual case and that he has received a 211-game suspension, which as you pointed out, would effectively end his career.
CUOMO: OK, let's get perspective here. We bring in Robin Lundberg, the host of "The Robin Lundberg Show" on ESPN New York, 98.7 FM Radio, Robin Lundberg. That was my best disc jockey voice. I tried. I hope it's good.
How do you see these proceedings? What matters in what we're hearing right now? There's a lot of noise. Cut through it.
ROBIN LUNDBERG, ESPN HOST: Sure, I think this is an orchestrated ploy on the part of Alex Rodriguez. I promise not to pound my fists on the desk, storm out and call this is a farce. You know, when you deal with A-Rod, and you're dealing with Major League Baseball, as you just pointed out, obviously the suspension here is different than any that's handed out.
So Alex Rodriguez clearly has a point. With that said, everything that happened yesterday reminded me of a pro wrestling promo or a rat feud. One of those things, to the point A-Rod was like, "Bud Selig hates New York." I love New York. You were getting that whole thing going on as it was taking place.
But the bottom line here, and his lawyers make this point, and I still have not heard the explanation, how do you suspend Ryan Braun who fed us a worse excuse than my dog ate my homework and threw another guy under a bus and all that stuff, essentially a season more than you're suspending Alex Rodriguez unless he built the biogenesis clinic with his bare hands, I don't see it.
BOLDUAN: Well, when you see this, you think it's orchestrated on A- Rod's part. How is this helping him.
LUNDENBERG: Well, I think it's helping him from a P.R. standpoint. Because who is it impossible to lose a P.R. battle with? Alex Rodriguez. Yet somehow, Major League Baseball is doing its darnedest to lose a P.R. battle with Alex Rodriguez. I mean, they haven't presented any evidence. We haven't heard anything. All we're hearing is A-Rod's side. So when he comes out blustery and he's fiery, what he might be doing is avoiding to talk under oath. I mean, it might just be a big show so he doesn't have to do that. But nevertheless, he continues to call them out over and over again. And the points he's making are at least selling it.
BOLDUAN: I know that at some point you have sat back and considered looking into the future, down the road. Look into your crystal ball for a second. Talk legacy for Alex Rodriguez. Biggest slugger in the game arguably. I was in San Francisco during the asterisk Barry Bonds era. So is this an asterisks? Is there going to be a legacy that is going to be one that he can be proud of? What do you think?
LUNDENBERG: You know, I think A-Rod was an easy target for baseball, right? Because he's very popular. So he makes headlines. On top of that, he's almost universally disliked. So it's easy to get in the P.R. battle.
But as you pointed out with Bonds, I always felt bad for Bonds a little bit. You know why? Because he was the best before cheating, and then he was the best at cheating. As far as Alex Rodriguez's legacy, it's thrown in the garbage. What he is fighting for is to save a little face here. But what he's fighting for dollars. I mean, we're talking about $35 million that might be at stake. And I don't care who you are, that's a lot of money.
CUOMO: Let's give him a little nod toward nobility. Because he's got a lot of money already. Jason, you've interviewed him a few times now. You've been tracking this. He's consistently said if you have a problem in the league, why is it all about me?
CARROLL: Right, and that's really how he's feeling about this. And legacy is very important to him. He made that very, very clear.
CUOMO: Phenomenal player.
CARROLL: You know, baseball is life. I'm not sure how this is helping his legacy. You know, this whole idea of storming out, saying these things about Major League Baseball. You know, when you get out there and you talk to some of these fans, they're sick of it. They're saying, 'Look, we believe all these guys are dirty. We think Rodriguez is dirty. We think MLB is dirty.' I'm not convinced this is exactly helping him in terms of his P.R. campaign.
BOLDUAN: When does this end, I think, is what every fan wants to know.
CARROLL: Well, I think let's wait and see what will happens with the arbitrator, right? I mean, then we're gonna have a whole new round of things coming out once the arbitrator makes his decision, Rodriguez camp will have their say; MLB will have their say.
LUNDENBERG: It ends whenever the verdict is handed out. And anything under what's now - anything significant under what's already been established is a win for A-Rod.
BOLDUAN: I don't know if it's low bar or high bar.
Robin, great to see you. Thank you so much, Jason.
CUOMO: What do you think? Tweet us, use #newday. Keep the debate going. We'll take a break on "NEW DAY".
When we come back, we're still more than a week away from Black Friday. But look at these people.
BOLDUAN: They have a generator.
CUOMO: Already lining up for the great deals. And they've got some good set-ups.
BOLDUAN: You know you're in for the long haul when you have a generator.
(CROSSTALK)
BOLDUAN; Plus, good news for Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. Ron Burgundy's in your corner. The "Anchorman" singing what he calls Ford's campaign theme song. It's our must-see moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Too early. I'm going to stand by too early.
Welcome back to "NEW DAY". How long would you wait in line for a Black Friday deal? Some people, can you believe it,
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PEREIRA: Too early. I'm going to stand by too early.
BOLDUAN: Never too early.
PEREIRA: Too early!
Welcome back to "NEW DAY". How long would you wait in line for a Black Friday deal? Some people, can you believe it, have already started to line up to mark their territory. Fellow got a generator right there. Heading out to stores after Thanksgiving dinner apparently not cutting it anymore.
Joining us now, chief business correspondent, Christine Romans. We're a week away from what's supposed to be Black Friday. Is there something that is worth standing in line already now for Black Friday?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I say no, but that guy in that picture in Akron, Ohio, Jona (ph), I mean, he's standing in line for a television. You know, he and his friends are rotating a whole week ahead of time, and this is happening in stores. That's the Best Buy. It's happening at stores across the country. People waiting for those Black Friday door busters.
The reason, there aren't a lot usually of quantity of each store so people want to make sure they get it first. Black Friday is like -- it's become brown Thursday, Cyber Monday. Already Friday, this week, you're going to start to see the Wal-Mart deals roll out. So, already, it has begun. Does it pay to wait in line in a tent? I say no. The deals are already happening now.
BOLDUAN: So, if the deals are already happening now, then help us out. What is the good stuff to get and when? How can you --
(CROSSTALK) ROMANS: It's really confusing because it used to be just the day after Thanksgiving. Now, there will be a lot of stores open on Thanksgiving as early as six o'clock in the morning. So there'll be Thanksgiving deals. The folks at Deal News say smartphones, HD TVs, gaming items, that's what the best deals are on Thanksgiving.
Black Friday, that's laptops, computers, maybe iPhones, kitchenware, and then wait until after the holiday weekend for clothing, shoes, apparel, stuff like that. But look, all of this has bled together. The retailers are so hungry for your money to get you to spend money earlier than usual, six fewer shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. The whole retail juggernaut is trying to get you to go out there and spend money, and it works.
Thirty-eight percent of people say they're going to be shopping on Thanksgiving. I mean, it works. There's something that the retailers do to tap into our brains that makes us want to go celebrate the fact that the first Thanksgiving we survived famine to go spend money on a credit card. I don't know the connection, but it works.
(LAUGHTER)
BOLDUAN: I enjoy it. I know you don't like it. I think it's a great tradition for people.
CUOMO: I perceive -- this is America.
(LAUGHTER)
CUOMO: This is the land of stuff.
BOLDUAN: And by the way, that guy -- the Akron, Ohio in that video, I think he's holding my spot because I'll be there.
PEREIRA: You'll be there?
BOLDUAN: For a TV.
ROMANS: Kate, I will buy you a TV.
(LAUGHTER)
BOLDUAN: Remember that. She said it.
CUOMO: Thank you for crushing the dreams of Americans all over the country.
(LAUGHTER)
PEREIRA: "Must-See Moment" time. Here we go. It is a big deal. "Anchorman's" Ron Burgundy did Toronto mayor, Rob Ford, a solid, dedicating and epic performance (INAUDIBLE). (SINGING) everybody's working for the weekend, on a jazz. That's right. A killer jazz flute solo. Check it out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
PEREIRA (voice-over): He's breathless.
(LAUGHTER)
(SINGING)
PEREIRA: You little hair envy, Cuomo? Is that what it is? Mustache envy --
CUOMO (voice-over): I got a Burgundy --
(LAUGHTER)
CUOMO: Ferrell just made such a great character so funny.
PEREIRA: Killer jazz flute, here it is --
BOLDUAN (voice-over): Throws it all. Throw the mic. Throw the jazz flute.
CUOMO: I love that he can play jazz flute. I didn't even know there was jazz flute. Don't tell me he's not playing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CUOMO (on-camera): Why would you tell that? Is there no tooth fairy?
PEREIRA (on-camera): The legend continues will be in theaters next month. I cannot wait to see it.
(LAUGHTER)
PEREIRA: You guys can be OK?
BOLDUAN (on-camera): Up next, jazz flute. No, really what's up next is we're going to be talking about, really, a sad story in sports right now. Lindsey Vonn's crash may keep the gold medal skier from defending her title at the upcoming Olympics in Sochi. Details ahead in the "bleacher report" on how she's doing and her recovery.
CUOMO: Plus, it's the money round for the U.S. and other world powers. Nuclear negotiations with Iran. Are they on the verge of a deal? We're going to talk with the U.S. ambassador to the U.N.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CUOMO: You know, you rarely see two playoff teams making a blockbuster trade in Major League Baseball, but that's exactly what happened between the Texas Rangers and the Detroit Tigers. Who knows about it? Andy Scholes here with this morning's "Bleacher Report." Who got traded to whom and why?
ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: Yes. You know what, Chris, this is a big trade. Texas is sending all-star second baseman, Ian Kinsler, to Detroit in exchange for slugger, Prince Fielder. Now, the Rangers were looking for a big left-handed bat and they got it with Fielder. They also got his monster contract. Fielder is owed $168 million over the next seven seasons, but according to the reports, the Tigers are going to pay 30 million of that.
And by trading Kinsler, some think the Rangers will now go after Yankee's free agent second baseman, Robinson Cano.
All right. As feared, Olympic skier, Lindsey Vonn has reinjured her surgically repaired right knee and is now in jeopardy of missing the Olympics. The latest injury occurred when she crashed while practicing on Tuesday. A spokesperson for Vonn said in a statement that she has a partial tear to her right ACL.
So guys, Vonn is going to rest up for a few days and then pursue aggressive physical therapy to see if she can compete in the Sochi games that are just a couple months away.
BOLDUAN: Four months away and she is the -- I mean, I would argue she is the face of the U.S. Olympic team. It would be so sad if she could not make it.
CUOMO: Very dicey, too. She's got a partially torn ACL and a knee sprain. Sprain goes away, but partially torn. How stable is the knee? You know, such tremendous stress, especially at the speed that she skis.
BOLDUAN: Speed she's going.
CUOMO: But it just couldn't happen to a more wrong person. She worked so hard to come back. She's so good.
BOLDUAN: Keep watching it. Thank you, Andy. We'll talk to you in a bit.
All right. We're now at the top of the hour which means it's time for the top news.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CUOMO: New this hour, hate it when that happens. Kathleen Sebelius caught on camera as the Obamacare website crashes right in front of her. But while the optics are bad, the numbers may be good. Are more people finally signing up?
BOLDUAN: Also new, the apology debate. Was the U.S. asked to apologize to the Afghan people in order to finalize a new security agreement with the country? We get the answers from the administration.
PEREIRA: Charges dropped. The two teen girls accused of bullying a girl to death will not face charges. The sheriff who arrested them is now under fire. He joins us live.
CUOMO: Your "NEW DAY" starts right now.
ANNOUNCER: What you need to know --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, unlike Lehman Brothers, the U.S.-Israeli relationship really is too big to fail.
ANNOUNCER: What you just have to see --
This is "NEW DAY" with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan, and Michaela Pereira.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CUOMO: Welcome to "NEW DAY". It's Thursday, November 21st, seven o'clock in the east. Here's what happened while you were sleeping. A massive Boeing cargo jet somehow landed at the wrong airport in Wichita, Kansas. Now, it's stuck. Why? The runway there simply too short for the dream lifter to lift back off.
The custom built cargo jet was supposed to land at McConnell Air Force Base but instead touched down at this much smaller airport about 12 miles away.
