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New Day

Anniversary of JFK Assassination; In Nuts We Trust; Sarah Palin Cancels Interview

Aired November 21, 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: All right, welcome back to "NEW DAY". Time now for the five things that you need to know for your new day.

Number one, Florida Congressman Trey Radel taking a leave of absence. He will enter a drug and alcohol treatment program. He pleaded not - or pleaded guilty, rather, to misdemeanor cocaine possession after his arrest in a drug sting.

A deal may be close in the ongoing nuclear talks with Iran. Negotiations end tomorrow in Geneva. Secretary of State John Kerry cautioning nothing is finalized, but says we have the best chance in a decade to reach an agreement.

Janet Yellen's nomination to become chair of the Federal Reserve will be voted on by the Senate Banking Committee today. She is expected to win approval. The matter would then head to the full Senate for a vote.

Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel could be released from prison today. A bond hearing is scheduled for later this morning. Prosecutors are appealing a ruling that granted him a new trial in the 1975 murder of Martha Moxley.

And at number five, oh be joyous, get ready for Monty Python's greatest hits. The surviving members of the legendary comedy group just announced their reunion will be a live one-off show that revisits their classic bits. The show will go on in London in July of next year. Tickets go on sale Monday. Sign me up.

We always update the five things to know, so be sure to go to newdaycnn.com.

I have to whistle that. That is such a great song. All right, that's it for me. Over to you guys.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks so much, Michaela.

November 22, 1963, the is the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. And all eyes will be on Dallas as they were 50 years ago. The city has gone through enormous changes since then, but it still carries the scars of that tragic day. CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Dallas with much more on this.

Hi, Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kate.

Well, you know, what we're seeing playing out already in Dealey Plaza this week, in the days leading up to the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination, really kind of speaks volumes to what this city has gone through the last five decades.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA (voice-over): To honor the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy's death, President Obama and the first lady laid a wreath at his grave site in Arlington National Cemetery, joined by former President and Mrs. Clinton. Fifty years later, the eternal flame still burns.

Meanwhile, in Dallas, curious tourists still come to this place, the place where those fatal shots were fired half a century ago. For this city, tomorrow will be a delicate balancing act of honoring Kennedy's memory without sensationalizing his murder.

GARY MACK, CURATOR, THE SIXTH FLOOR MUSEUM: The city, in general, was highly embarrassed and ashamed. But what made it even worse, the city was branded unfairly as a city of hate.

LAVANDERA: Dallas has spent decades trying to shake off the reputation as the city that killed Kennedy, which is not easy. As that dark day of history is rehashed daily by trolley tours -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, look upon this corner right here up to the sixth floor window.

LAVANDERA: And by those who don't believe that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, conspiracy theorists sell JFK memorabilia and tell their version of what happened every day.

ROBERT GRODEN, JFK CONSPIRACY THEORIST: It's an embarrassment to the city and, well, it should be. But, you know, the city didn't kill the president. Somebody else did. And it wasn't Lee Harvey Oswald.

LAVANDERA: What will not be present tomorrow, those x's that for years have marked the spot on Elm Street where the president was shot. The city says it's relaying asphalt to level out the streets and remove any trip hazards. But undeniably, all eyes will be back on this city tomorrow. Generations have passed, but the fascination with what happened here remains.

HUGH AYNESWORTH, JOURNALIST: It changed the course of history in many ways. What would have happened if Kennedy had lived?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: And, you know, Kate and Chris, those x's aren't an official marker. One of the gentleman you heard from there, Robert Groden, says he started putting those x's down about 19 years ago when he first moved to Dallas. But city officials and the official ceremony that will be held tomorrow in Dealey Plaza is really, they say, intended on honoring the life off John F. Kennedy. And that is the balance that many city officials here have been grappling with for so many years is, you have so many people who come here to see the spot from John F. Kennedy was killed, but they don't want to just be known for that.

Kate and Chris.

BOLDUAN: Yes, that's right. All right, Ed, thank you so much.

And make sure you catch "The Assassination of President Kennedy." That's airing tonight at 9:00 Eastern and Pacific right here on CNN.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Next up on "NEW DAY", want to know the secret to living a longer life? Of course you do. Top researchers did a comprehensive study. They say they know. We'll tell you what they say they know, when we come back.

BOLDUAN: And what we know that you should.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: I sang into my pen. I'll admit it, I love this song.

CUOMO: No cure for that.

PEREIRA: Welcome -

BOLDUAN: Yes, exactly.

PEREIRA: Yes, no cure for that.

Welcome back to "NEW DAY".

It is time for "New Day, New You." You want to live longer like the song says, you want to weigh less, you want to fight off disease? According to a new 30-year study out of Harvard, the object of your desire is nuts. Like actual nuts. Dr. Jennifer Caudle is a board certified family physician. She is here with the nutty news.

OK. So we have known for a while that nuts were good for us.

DR. JENNIFER CAUDLE, ROWAN UNIVERSITY: Yes, we have.

PEREIRA: But now it seems as through the science is there to back it up.

CAUDLE: Well, you know, there's actually been studies that have been going on for a long time that have suggested that nuts have decreased heart disease and things like diabetes even. And we've even had some mortality studies in the past, too. But this study, this is a huge study. This study researchers looked at over 118,000 people, followed them for just about 30 years, which we like that.

PEREIRA: It's huge.

CAUDLE: It is huge. I mean we're talking about -

CUOMO: Is that even possible? CAUDLE: We're talking about research and science. We like power.

PEREIRA: Yes.

CAUDLE: We like people. We like time. And this study showed researchers found that those who had seven or more servings of nuts every week had a 20 percent lower risk of dying from any cause.

BOLDUAN: There's many a different kind of nut, which we know.

CAUDLE: Yes.

BOLDUAN: And we have three at this table.

CAUDLE: Exactly.

BOLDUAN: Right here is an example of three of them. We've got - I've kind of lost my mind.

CUOMO: Continue.

BOLDUAN: Which types of nuts are better?

CAUDLE: Which types are better, yes.

BOLDUAN: Do they differentiate?

CAUDLE: Well, that's a great question because in the study they looked at peanuts, but they also looked at tree nuts. And some examples of tree nuts are things like pistachios, almonds, walnuts and things like that.

PEREIRA: Almonds. Right. Right. OK.

CAUDLE: And the study actually found that no matter whether people were eating the peanuts or the tree nuts, the results were still the same. So I think that's really quite interesting.

PEREIRA: When they're dipped in chocolate, right?

CAUDLE: That helps.

CUOMO: Quite a blow to the specialty nut market, right?

PEREIRA: Oh.

CUOMO: Because they're always saying, oh, no, don't eat the peanut butter.

BOLDUAN: Right.

CUOMO: You have to have the almond butter so that your tongue can stick to the top of your mouth for the next 17 years.

CAUDLE: Well -

CUOMO: Almost as long as this study. But you're saying so peanuts are just as good as any nut?

CAUDLE: Well, yes. And, remember, you mentioned butter. We're talking about the actual nuts. Like an ounce of nuts. So to give you an idea of what that is, if we're talking pistachios, that's like 48 pistachios in an ounce, it's like 24 almonds, something like that. So we're talking nuts.

Now, the study didn't talk about whether they were raw or honey roasted, which I happen to love, or salted.

BOLDUAN: So the salt and - it doesn't matter?

CAUDLE: We don't know. We don't know which ones they say they looked at.

BOLDUAN: OK. OK.

CAUDLE: But they are saying that, you know, if you eat nuts, it can affect your mortality. But we should also talk about study type II (ph) when we talk about this.

PEREIRA: Well, and also we should talk about the fact that the observational studies can't prove cause and effect, because that's an important thing.

CAUDLE: Thank you.

PEREIRA: It could be that folks are eating more salads tossing on a handful of nuts on this salad, correct?

CAUDLE: Well, so you make a great point about this observational study, and that's one thing we have to talk about. We need to put this in perspective, right? OK. This is a great study. It's big. There's lots of people. But it's a perspective cohort study, which means it's observational. We're looking at people and how they do over a long period of time.

We can't prove cause and effect from these types of studies, OK? We just can't really do that.

PEREIRA: Yes.

CAUDLE: But we can develop strong associations and I think that's what we're doing here.

PEREIRA: Dr. Jennifer Caudle, I want to admit to you that this man right here is going to live forever because he comes into my office and Manhands Magee (ph) takes a gigantic handful of the raw nuts that are on my desk.

CUOMO: Why do you put - doctor, let me ask you another question. Why would you put nuts in a bowl on your desk if you don't want anybody to have them?

PEREIRA: I would like you to.

CUOMO: Science says what?

CAUDLE: Well, no, I think that there's some altruism here. I think you're trying to help out your co-workers.

PEREIRA: I am. I want them to live forever.

CAUDLE: Maybe she doesn't want you to take all of the nuts. Maybe a -

CUOMO: She ate (INAUDIBLE) -

PEREIRA: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Maybe that's what it is. Maybe -

(CROSS TALK)

CAUDLE: (INAUDIBLE) balance.

PEREIRA: Balance.

CUOMO: Mic hates it.

PEREIRA: Balance.

CUOMO: There's no altruism.

PEREIRA: It's your man hands, just like --

CAUDLE: But I'm glad you're getting your nuts in because I think one of the take-home points from this study, and then maybe you guys can take this back to the office -

BOLDUAN: There's not really a downside.

CAUDLE: Reevaluate the nuts, right, is that, you know, we really should be incorporating nuts into our diet as a part of a healthy diet.

PEREIRA: Absolutely.

CAUDLE: And I think that's a really good point to take home from here.

PEREIRA: Done and done. You can count on us to do it.

BOLDUAN: How are you incorporating nuts in your life?

PEREIRA: Watch more "NEW DAY".

BOLDUAN: Exactly.

PEREIRA: Chris Cuomo right there.

BOLDUAN: Watch more "NEW DAY".

CUOMO: Nuts and seeds, good for you. Yes, I like it.

BOLDUAN: OK.

CUOMO: Unless you got the diverticulitis, then you've got to be careful, but that's -

BOLDUAN: I know you were going to get that.

CUOMO: That's another discussion.

CAUDLE: That's a whole other - yes, that's a whole other topic.

PEREIRA: That's a whole other discussion.

CUOMO: That's another discussion.

Coming up on "NEW DAY", controversial remarks by a TV host sparks Sarah Palin canceling an appearance on the "Today" show. We're going to tell you what was said and what many think should be done about it. And that's of two very different opinions. We'll talk.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Welcome back to "NEW DAY".

Sarah Palin canceled an interview with the "Today" show Wednesday. Why is that a big deal? Well this follows incendiary remarks made by an MSNBC host, Martin Bashir towards Sarah Palin. Bashir suggested that Sarah Palin deserved graphic punishment for comparing America's debt to China, to slavery.

On Monday, Bashir offered an apology.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTIN BASHIR, MSNBC HOST: My words were wholly unacceptable. They were neither accurate nor fair. They were unworthy of anyone who would claim to have an interest in politics. And they have brought shame upon my friends and colleagues at this network, none of whom were responsible for the things that I said.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: MSNBC has not addressed the matter publicly, and Palin's camp thinks Bashir should be disciplined.

Let's bring in Joe Concha, columnist for Mediaite. A lot of people are talking about this? What do you think?

JOE CONCHA, COLUMNIST, MEDIAITE: I think that they should be talking about it. That these were -- you said incendiary -- I mean these are reprehensible remarks that have no place in public discourse. All that said that's stating the obvious -- right.

What makes this different from say Alec Baldwin and, by the way, I checked with my resources you are of no relation to Alec Baldwin. You aren't twins --

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: Thank you for checking that.

CONCHA: -- the spelling is different. I just want to make sure.

So following when he said what he said in a fit of rage on a Manhattan street doesn't make it right and you guys know, you're anchors, you're not anchors not just on the set but you are everywhere pretty much. And whatever you say is going to be scrutinized particular in this era where you can record anything on a phone -- right.

BOLDUAN: And you're talking about as a reference to Alec Baldwin had a show also on MSNBC and that it's now on hold.

CONCHA: Correct. So he was suspended for what he said but those were unscripted remarks offset. What makes Bashir different is that he had written remarks that were in a teleprompter and this is where I get to editorial culture over at MSNBC. If it's in a teleprompter, that means as you guys know --

PEREIRA: Many eyes were on it.

CONCHA: -- line producer sees it, segment producer sees it, maybe even executive producer sees it. That means this was vetted over several different layers and was still allowed to go on the air. So what does that say about the leadership over at MSNBC, where producers are saying you know what? We're not going to get in any trouble for this. Even if it's one of the worst things you can say about a person, I can't even repeat it on the air because this is a morning show.

CUOMO: Well, all right. Hold on, let's get some context here, because there's no question it was wrong, right. And I have to say that because Martin Bashir says that. So that is the accepted premise that what he said was wrong and he's apologized.

CONCHA: But how long did it take him to say it Chris? Three days.

CUOMO: Well, all right. so let's talk about why did it take three days? That goes to what was the intention that Bashir had when he said this? Having read the full transcript of what it was, it seemed to have been a fairly well-developed reference to the history of slavery and how terrible it is and this is what was done to slaves.

CONCHA: He didn't have to figure that part.

CUOMO: And if you want to use slavery you should know what slavery is and this is what should happen to you. And then it became just the last part of what he was saying should happen to her which is this, you know, horrible thing that was done to slaves. Do you think Martin Bashir was trying to be viciously savagely hurtful to Sarah Palin?

CONCHA: Yes, Chris. Of course.

CUOMO: You don't think that he was trying to make a bigger rhetorical point and that this was just a mistake of how to do it? CONCHA: He used a similar reference in 2011, he compared marriage to slavery, so he was all up in arms an analogy was used that invokes slavery. The problem is he's done that already. He was trying to get attention.

Let's put this in context, by the way. Martin Bashir, compared to Jake Tapper and Neil Cavuto who are on the same time slot, would never ever say something like that. If they did, the management of this network would pull them during the commercial, in my opinion. Ailes or Zucker would say that's it, you're out. You know, go to the bullpen.

All right, all that said, he said something to draw attention to a show that nobody is watching. And here's why I say this. On Friday, he had ratings that were here. They went up 60 percent on Monday.

And we talked about this with the Chris Christie cover. Remember where I said, you know what; they're going to double the amount of copies that they sell. You know what? They did. "Rolling Stone" when they put the Boston bomber on the cover, you know what, they doubled the amount of copies they sold.

This is all to gin up controversy. It's all part of the game and guess what -- Martin Bashir has been talked about more this week on CNN and Fox than he's ever been talked about during his career on MSNBC.

PEREIRA: So what do you think -- what do you want to see happen?

CONCHA: He should be suspended or fired. There needs to be accountability.

BOLDUAN: Fired?

CONCHA: Yes, absolutely.

BOLDUAN: Joe it was a very heartfelt apology that we played. It does raise the question, and I'm just --

(CROSSTALK)

CONCHA: Was it heartfelt? Did he write it? Because Joe Scarborough who's an anchor over there also who competes with this show said that he probably didn't write it.

CUOMO: But how does Joe Scarborough know whether it was written or not? If he knows that it was written by someone else then he should say that. Otherwise you have to accept him on his word.

CONCHA: Right. So that goes back to leadership. What is Joe Scarborough even talking about this on another network? It's like talking about your country in another country.

CUOMO: I will say this -- I'll tell you what. I thought Bashir's apology --

BOLDUAN: When is apology enough?

CUOMO: Well, that's up for your question.

CONCHA: A suspension though? Don't you think he should be suspended for saying something like that?

(CROSSTALK)

CONCHA: If Baldwin was for saying something off camera, on camera for saying that on camera, you absolutely should -- there has to be accountability.

CUOMO: I don't see. I have a hard time seeing the parallel between either of them -- the parallel here on a lot of levels. But I will tell you this, when I heard his apology I thought it was the best media apology I've ever heard and I thought it made CBS's Benghazi apology look like a maybe. I thought it so unqualified. He tapped in to the instincts that drove him to that level of rhetoric. The harshness that we all talked about in the media that, you know, he became a manifestation of that and why it's wrong. I thought it went really far away.

PEREIRA: I appreciate that he didn't say, "if someone is offended I apologize." He straight up apologized.

CUOMO: Yes.

CONCHA: Three days later. Again he could have done it Saturday, Sunday -- saying he doesn't have a show Saturday Sunday. In today's world you have Twitter, you have Facebook. You could put out a statement.

And why is he apologizing? Why hasn't the leadership over at MSNBC said anything about this? We haven't heard one syllable out of anybody over there. Why are you putting your anchor out there? You know what, you have to take responsibility for what your anchors say on the air as well. So Bashir, great apology yes -- where is Phil Griffin, the president of MSNBC, haven't heard a word from him either on Baldwin or either on Bashir. And that tells me that inmates are running the asylum over there.

BOLDUAN: You do make a good point that his ratings have definitely jumped since that happened.

CONCHA: I'm just glad you're not related to Alec. You know, you look a little like Basinger, you know, kind of a daughter of Kim.

BOLDUAN: Now we're waiting for some real problematic (inaudible).

CONCHA: That's true. But Chris to your point -- great apology, I agree. But there still needs to be accountability.

BOLDUAN: Thanks Joe. Great to see you.

CONCHA: Thanks guys.

PEREIRA: Good to see you.

CUOMO: All right. We're going to take a quick break here.

See you back on NEW DAY in a second.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: All right, everybody.

It is time for NEWSROOM with John Berman and Christine Romans. Hello my friends.

BOLDUAN: Hi guys.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It's a great time of day in fact. Thank you so much Chris, Kate, Michaela. Great to see you this morning.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: It's a great new day. And now "NEWSROOM" starts right now.

BERMAN: Hi. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. We're in for Carol Costello today. She has the day off.

BERMAN: And new this morning we have just learned that a jumbo jet stranded overnight at a Wichita airport will be able to take off. This air debacle started late last night when a huge cargo plane headed for a military base landed in a very small airport instead.

ROMANS: The Atlas 747 Dreamlifter headed to McConnell Air Force Base but for some reason it ended up ten miles away at the smaller Jabara airport. The FAA is investigating what went wrong.

BERMAN: Now officials had feared that the runway at Jabara was too short for the Dreamlifter to take off. But now officials tell CNN that the plane will attempt to take off later today.

ROMANS: CNN correspondent Rene Marsh tells us how the plane got into this predicament in the first place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A giant cargo plane stranded in Wichita, Kansas this morning after making a big mistake landing at the wrong airport 10 miles away from where it was supposed to.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Giant 4241 heavy, and confirm you know which airport you're at.

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