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New Day
Obamacare Web Fixes; Speed A Factor in Walker Crash; Weather Outlook; The Future of Delivery; A Look at the Future; Man Rescued after Three Days under Water
Aired December 02, 2013 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Two months and more than 400 individual repairs later, the administration announced it met their self-imposed deadline saying the website's error rate has fallen to "well under 1 percent."
JEFFREY ZIENTS, SPECIAL ADVISOR, HEALTHCARE.GOV: The bottom line, healthcare.gov on December 1st is night and day from where it was on October 1st.
COHEN: And what a difference two months have made. The administration's progress report says the site can now handle up to 800,000 visits a day. Logging in now, the website does run smoothly for me. I was able to go through all the steps of signing up and comparing plans.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I got through the whole process in about eight minutes.
COHEN: And so was CNN medical producer Matt Sloane. He did get an error message at one point, but he just hit refresh and the problem went away.
Still, more work needs to be done. Officials expect a surge in traffic just before December 23rd, the last day to sign up for coverage that takes effect on January 1st.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COHEN: Now as I said, several concerns remain. First of all, when you buy a policy on healthcare.gov, that information has to be relayed to the insurance companies and that has not gone very smoothly. And also I want to make a note to the folks who, like me, signed up very early on. If your original log-in isn't working, it's not you. You may indeed have to go in and basically create a whole new account.
Michaela.
MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm sure you've made a few people breathe a sigh of relief on that, knowing that it's not them, that it's the site.
Elizabeth, thank you so much for that.
COHEN: Exactly. Thanks.
PEREIRA: All right, it's time now for the five things to know for your new day, starting at number one. The train cars that derailed Sunday in the Bronx are now being righted. The train operator told investigators the brakes didn't work as he neared the curve.
Vice President Joe Biden looking to ease tensions on a trip to the far east this week. It comes after a week of inflammatory actions from Japan and China over disputed islands in the East China Sea. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Pope Francis at the Vatican today. He will personally invite the pontiff to visit Jerusalem.
Back to work for members of Congress. The House will resume duties later this afternoon. Senate members return next week, just a few days before the House adjourns for the year.
As the clock struck midnight, wedding bells were ringing across the Hawaiian Islands. That's when same-sex marriage became legal - or became law, rather, in Hawaii. Fifteen states now, plus Washington, D.C., have legalized same-sex marriage.
We always update those five things to know, so be sure to visit newdaycnn.com for the very latest.
Chris.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Mic.
We now know that speed was a factor in the fiery crash that killed "Fast and Furious" star Paul Walker. Just how fast the car was going is still not known and we are learning more this morning about the person who was behind the wheel. CNN Nischelle Turner has been following that for us.
What do we know now?
NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, it still seems kind of odd to say this, Paul Walker, 40 years old -
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: I know.
TURNER: -- passed away like this. It still seems kind of odd to be talking about this. But the driver of the Porsche has been identified as a close friend of his and business partner. Now, let's show you this picture. This is believed to be one of the last pictures of the star taken just minutes before the fatal crash.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TURNER (voice-over): "Fast and Furious" co-star Tyrese Gibson overcome with grief Sunday. The Santa Clarita crash site where 40-year-old Paul Walker died, now a shrine to one of Hollywood's most bankable box office stars. Police now say Walker was in the passenger seat of this 2005 Porsche Carrera GT. This photo snapped just 30 minutes before the car slammed into a pole and burst into flames. The mangled wreckage apparently captured on this YouTube video. Police say speed may have been a factor. CNN affiliate KCAL TV has identified the driver as Roger Rodas, a business partner who ran a high performance auto shop nearby. Both men were drivers on the shop's race team. The pair just left a charity event for Walker's organization Reach Out Worldwide. An eerie end for an actor whose career was launched by the high octane movie franchise about illicit street racing.
PAUL WALKER, ACTOR, "2 FAST 2 FURIOUS": Come on, (INAUDIBLE).
TURNER: Walker's love of speed both on and off the set was well known. He spoke to CNN in 2001 about making the "Fast and Furious" ant life imitating art.
WALKER: I bought a Nissan Skyline D-spec. I had it actually imported from Japan, so the steering wheel is on the right-hand side.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you a lead foot?
WALKER: Yes. I race it actually.
TURNER: Production is now at a standstill on the seventh film set to wrap this month in Atlanta. Walker's new film "Hours," about a father struggling through Hurricane Katrina, is due out this month. He leaves behind his 15-year-old daughter Meadow and will be remembered for the passion he brought to everything he did.
WALKER: It's just amazing. I mean the things that I've seen, the things that I've done, the people that I've met in that short period of time. It's just - you know, I don't ever want it to end.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TURNER: And there are reports out this morning from "E News" that say Walker's daughter Meadow was with him at Saturday's charity event, but she did not see the crash. Now Walker was reportedly in Los Angeles visiting his family for the holiday. He was scheduled to return to Atlanta this week to wrap filming on "Fast and Furious 7." Filming was set to wrap December 14th. Now, his new independent film that we talked about there, it is slated for release December 13th.
BOLDUAN: Not like it matters at all at this point -
TURNER: Yes.
BOLDUAN: Because it really is just horrible for his family, but what - I mean I know a lot of his fans are wondering what this means for his movies?
TURNER: Right. Well, right now, "Fast and Furious 7" is on hiatus right now. They are suspending production on that because of this. But they are going to finish the film. They were almost finished with filming. They say they're going to honor him in the film. So we'll have to see what happens with this, because this franchise is so popular. We were just talking about it. Last year's "Fast and Furious 6" made $788 million worldwide. People love these films and they love him. He's a bona fide movie star. I mean you don't think of him traditionally, but he is a movie star. Was a movie star.
BOLDUAN: Yes.
TURNER: A tragedy.
BOLDUAN: Yes. Thanks, Nischelle.
Coming up next on "NEW DAY", incredible new video showing the moment a man who was trapped under water for three days was rescued by divers. You have to see this.
CUOMO: That's an amazing story right there.
All right, and then we have this one for you. It's not a bird, it's not a plane, it's Amazon. How are they going to deliver things to you faster? How about by drone? Now, you may think that's the best thing ever or the scariest. We'll take you through both sides. The flying hibachi.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CUOMO: I like the Steve Miller version of this song.
BOLDUAN: Do you?
CUOMO: Yes, it's just me. Yes, it's just me.
BOLDUAN: I'll take (INAUDIBLE).
CUOMO: So everybody's coming back off Thanksgiving. Indra Petersons, you think she's going to make people feel good, you know, coming back. What's the first thing she says -
BOLDUAN: So thankful for you.
CUOMO: Freezing you out. That's the message.
INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm saying I did make people feel good. At least they got home safely, right? See. Nice and mild conditions compared to what they had going on the way out, right?
Now take a look at the big storm though. Yes, there is a change. This is what Chris is talking about. Big storm in the Pacific Northwest will be changing a lot. But first let's talk about what's going on in the southeast.
Yes, just a tiny little wave. It just means some cloudier conditions and, of course, maybe some light rain. But it's the temperatures you want to focus on. I mean look at this. It's beautiful. We're talking about 77 degrees in New Orleans by Wednesday. Look at Dallas, Tuesday, 78 degrees. So that system that is there is currently going to be trying to make its way up the east coast. Notice it stays offshore. So we're not looking for any rain into the northeast, but just some milder conditions. You know nothing that nice, but either way, typical for this time of year. We'll see very seasonal temperatures in the 40s and 50s.
Again, we'll take you out to the west. That's the big story here. We're talking about one to two feet of snow -- Idaho, Montana, Wyoming. Wow, has the pattern changed. Even through Colorado, by tomorrow, we'll be talking about snow. If there's snow, we are talking about the cold.
Here we go. Look at these temperatures starting to drop today. Yes, just kind of maybe the same region here. But as we move through the middle of the week, you're going to feel this change by tomorrow, Denver, 34 degrees below normal. And that trend continues eventually by the weekend, guys. Look at that cool air expected to come here. A chill coming our way.
BOLDUAN: All right, Indra, I'm going to blame you, but that's OK.
PETERSONS: That's fine.
BOLDUAN: Thank you.
PEREIRA: All right, there it is, the flying hibachi. We're going to talk about it now. A bold, new plan from online retail giant Amazon. The company revealing future plans to deliver your packages under five pounds via drones. The so-called octa-copter set to drop off your special delivery in 30 minutes or less. Sounds like a pizza. Our chief business correspondent Christine Romans here with more. Joining her, Brian Stelter, CNN's senior media correspondent.
Brian, we know where Christine stands on this. I'm curious about you. I know you're a bit of a geek like I am.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
PEREIRA: I like the idea, but is it logistically feasible?
STELTER: They say they'll be ready if the FAA, if the government allows it.
PEREIRA: The big if.
STELTER: It will become a government story now. Will the regulators allow this to happen?
But it was interesting last night on "60 Minutes," Jeff Bezos said, maybe three, four, five years. Then the Amazon spokeswoman said over e-mail, we'll be ready in 2015, in two years. So they're serious about this if the government allows it.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Look, it makes a lot of sense if you think about the cost of truck and oil and fuel and all that. I mean it's pretty cheap to make a drone, depending on what kind of drone they're making. Eighty-six percent of their traffic is this kind of within 10 miles of a fulfillment center.
BOLDUAN: In this radius.
ROMANS: In this radius.
PEREIRA: Right.
ROMANS: But they do 2 million packages a day, right? Estimated 2 million packages. Even if they had a quarter of their business as Amazon Prime Air, that would be - that would be, what, 500,000 of these little black spiders in the sky. I mean are people going to go for it for the privacy issues, for the safety issues? What if one of these things drop out, scratches your car? I mean - you know what I mean?
STELTER: Right, it's kind of like the Tesla, right? These car fires have gotten a lot of attention, even though regular cars are maybe even more dangerous. Delivery trucks certainly are dangerous.
ROMANS: True.
STELTER: People get hit by delivery trucks.
ROMANS: True.
STELTER: But, the first time this drone maybe falls on someone or even comes close, it will get a lot more attention.
BOLDUAN: But maybe from a marketing perspective or just an image perspective, even if this doesn't take off, isn't this great for Amazon?
STELTER: Exactly.
ROMANS: Innovate thinkers.
BOLDUAN: It lets them -- lets them show that they think big.
STELTER: Yes. Yes.
ROMANS: Yes. And I was saying earlier, if you Googled Jeff Bezos' crazy ideas, there's all sorts of cool stories about what he's been up to, you know? I mean he likes to think big, he likes to spend the money to try to fix problems that maybe we haven't thought of.
CUOMO: That's great. He should get his inner Di Vinci working whenever he wants.
BOLDUAN: But?
CUOMO: Now, here's the problem that I don't think you can ignore with this. The moment that the books or whatever you get on Amazon don't get delivered through this, they take a huge hit in goodwill.
PEREIRA: Right. Yes, that's true.
CUOMO: If you can't get what you order from amazon.com promptly, there's no reason to use them.
PEREIRA: (INAUDIBLE). ROMANS: And there are people who say terrorism, drug trafficking, theft, all of these other things that can, you know -- spying, privacy issues, you know, all these other things that could happen if you just decide that we're going to have these things flying around. You know, it's a real shift in public perception about drones.
STELTER: Right.
ROMANS: Drones have been for war and spying. You're going to see more commercial use of drones, no question.
PEREIRA: Right.
STELTER: And what a coup (ph) -
PEREIRA: I was thinking about another layer too is the workforce. So suddenly all these driver delivery guys, are they going to be the personnel that will be trained to operate the drones? I mean that's kind of a massive shift.
STELTER: I noticed in the YouTube video that Amazon put out last night to reveal this, there were almost no humans in the video except for the person who was picking it up on their doorstep.
BOLDUAN: Right.
PEREIRA: Right.
ROMANS: It could revolutionize Santa's workshop.
BOLDUAN: And that's where Jeff Bezos wants to be.
STELTER: That's right. And what a coup, by the way, to reveal this on "60 Minutes" in front of a huge television audience.
PEREIRA: Yes.
STELTER: Some people on Twitter last night felt like it was an infomercial, but it was a great way to start changing public perceptions about drones.
PEREIRA: If you're a betting man, do you think it will actually, actually happen?
STELTER: I do. But like you said, I'm kind of a geek.
Do you think so?
ROMANS: I - you know, the online perception, the talk about it today has been almost entirely negative. You know, people just don't like -- but people in general don't like change.
STELTER: Right.
ROMANS: I mean what Jeff Bezos has to do is try to change sort of the public perception of this (INAUDIBLE). STELTER: Right.
BOLDUAN: Speaking of online, can I get your quick take on Cyber Monday. I think it doesn't exist. It's like Black Friday syndrome, it doesn't even exist anymore because we're getting the sales early.
ROMANS: You know, I think they're -- they're going to give big - they're going to give big numbers this Cyber Monday. Look, it's invented by the retail industry to make you spend more money, if you haven't already spent it over the weekend. And over the weekend we saw that people are acting like it's a recession. People spent a little bit less. So there are high hopes that Cyber Monday -- a lot of tech deals today. Kindle Fire, Moto X, Roku streaming device and stuff like that is what tech is where you're going to find the deals today.
BOLDUAN: OK.
ROMANS: It could be a big day.
BOLDUAN: Awesome.
PEREIRA: Christine and Brian, thank you so much for sounding off on the drones.
ROMANS: You're welcome.
PEREIRA: I still go with your flying apache.
BOLDUAN: I'm into it. I'm into the drone delivery. I'm just going to say that.
CUOMO: Noted.
CUOMO: Coming up on "NEW DAY" unbelievable new video showing the moment, listen, let's focus on this guy for a second. We hear about great rescues but this one -- this is singular. Three days under water, trapped inside an air bubble. OK. How does he survive? Can you imagine the moment that they found this man? We'll tell you about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CUOMO: This is an appropriate song. Welcome back to "NEW DAY".
This would have been the good stuff but it gets complicated. You see this man tossed a thousand dollar bills down into an audience at the Mall of America on Friday. He said he's going through a rough time, wanted to spread some holiday cheer. Police, though, not inspired by the random act of kindness.
This is where it gets complicated. They cite him for disorderly conduct, for creating a potentially dangerous situation. So he winds up getting dis-con. He gets banned from the mall for a year. He says he's just trying to help spread a little Christmas mirth via the dollar bill and the guy gets dinged. So I wonder at not making him the good stuff. (CROSSTALK)
BOLDUAN: I don't think people even believed it was happening for a while. They're kind of like staring and like what's this guy --
CUOMO: The guy behind him was like "It's a fake."
BOLDUAN: So he could stuff the other bills in his pocket.
PEREIRA: What did it sound like?
CUOMO: It's a fake.
But he was wrong. It was real. And they give him a dis-con.
BOLDUAN: A dis-con. I'm sorry. I've never heard that one again.
CUOMO: Disorderly conduct.
BOLDUAN: Thank you.
CUOMO: I feel like they're going crazy.
(CROSSTALK)
PEREIRA: He had apparently gone through a hard time, divorce, wife took the cat. They should let him --
CUOMO: No good deed goes undisconned.
BOLDUAN: Right. Keep your thousands to yourself.
All right. This next story -- talking about crazy -- this next story takes amazing to an entirely new level. You may remember a few months ago we told you about a man that was rescued from a sunken ship nearly three days after it went down off the coast of Nigeria. We're now getting to see some spectacular video of the underwater rescue and how he survived this whole thing.
"EARLY START" anchor Zoraida Sambolin is back here with more on this incredible story.
ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN HOST: I cannot get enough of this story. I'm going to tell you, pay close attention to this man's face. It's almost too wild to believe. A diver was in the water assessing the accident when a recovery mission suddenly turned into a rescue mission.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's alive.
SAMBOLIN: A story of survival that is almost too miraculous to be true.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's your name? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Harrison. (ph) Harrison.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Harrison.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, Harrison. My name is Colby (ph). Again, I'm going to bring you home, OK?
SAMBOLIN: Newly released video of a man being pulled from under water after he was trapped beneath the ocean for nearly three days.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to take you in the water and we're going to take you to the bell. OK. And then we're going to bring you home, OK? All right. So now you -- I want you to keep calm, OK?
SAMBOLIN: The story reads like a blockbuster thriller. In May a tugboat carrying a 12-person crew capsized in the Atlantic off the coast of Nigeria.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Give me the crowbar.
SAMBOLIN: Two divers were sent to recover the bodies. It was assumed that after two and a half days everyone aboard had died.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Found one, yes? He's alive.
SAMBOLIN: Shockingly, one man, Harrison O'Keane (ph), is found alive, having found a tiny four-foot air space barely enough to breathe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Just keep him there. Keep him calm. OK. All right. Just reassure him, pat him on the shoulder.
SAMBOLIN: O'Keane looked stunned as a crew continues to reassure him. He takes his first sips of water in days, having survived only on Coca-Cola, no food.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll get him into that cool air breathing, all happy. We just take it slowly, all right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
SAMBOLIN: The crew outfits O'Keane with gear. They pulled him out of the water. He was wearing only boxer shorts when he was found, having been in the bathroom when the boat went under.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you feeling OK?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you sore?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you got any injuries?
SAMBOLIN: O'Keane is able to communicate with his rescuers. He is the only person who survived the wreck.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is your rank?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm the cook.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're the cook?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They always survive.
SAMBOLIN: O'Keane says he prayed the entire time he was under water and now two divers pull off a miracle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. This is going to feel (inaudible) a little bit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm outside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, you're outside.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAMBOLIN: As you can see, they quickly lifted O'Keane up and put him in a decompression chamber in order to recover. He told a Nigeria newspaper, quote, "The rest of my life is not enough to thank God for this wonder. It is incredible."
How's that for a story?
PEREIRA: Truly incredible.
BOLDUAN: No kidding.
SAMBOLIN: Oh my gosh.
BOLDUAN: Not just for him.
SAMBOLIN: The look on his face when they found him. I was trying to figure out, what does that mean? What does that expression say? And you had a really good point.
PEREIRA: He probably thought he was seeing things. It was a mirage.
BOLDUAN: He couldn't believe.
SAMBOLIN: Yes.
BOLDUAN: Not just for him. Those rescuers were not going in for a rescue mission. They thought they were going to be recovering bodies which they did unfortunately in many cases. But my God.
SAMBOLIN: And Cuomo is speechless.
CUOMO: I just, you know, when we tell these stories we often try to put ourselves in -- I don't know what you would do. You have to know you're alone. You have to know it's over.
SAMBOLIN: You think you're dying.
PEREIRA: Exactly right.
CUOMO: You're afraid to get out. You don't know your way out. And then this happens. It's amazing. It will be interesting to see what he does with the rest of his life.
SAMBOLIN: Yes, indeed. That's exactly what I said. There's a special purpose for that man.
BOLDUAN: Thanks for bringing us the story, Zoraida.
SAMBOLIN: Sure. Any time.
CUOMO: Perhaps paling by comparison but nonetheless, coming up on "The Good Stuff", you remember the homeless man we told you he returned the wallet.
BOLDUAN: Yes.
CUOMO: Omni Hotel so appreciative they gave him the room for a week. Guess what? It's getting better. All right. He now has something else to be thankful for -- a reunion with his family. We'll tell you about which way his life is going.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CUOMO: Welcome back. It's time for not just "The Good Stuff" but the better stuff. Why? Joel Hartman, he's the Atlanta homeless man that we told you about. He returned the wallet, digging through the trash, found one. He was looking for food. He returned it to a guest at the Omni Hotel, the Omni so impressed they put him up for the entire Thanksgiving holiday. That's great -- gave him free room service too -- that's even greater. Strangers sent in money.
BOLDUAN: That's great.
CUOMO: Right? But now Joel even has a couple of job offers.
PEREIRA: Atta boy.
CUOMO: And that's not even the best part of it. All the attention helped Joel's family who's been looking for him for years.
PEREIRA: No.!
CUOMO: Now they found him.
PEREIRA: Oh, my goodness.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOEL HARTMAN, GOOD SAMARITAN: I just can't wait to see my family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been looking for -- I've never stopped looking for him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PEREIRA: Oh. That is love right there.
CUOMO: So this is the latest step. We will continue the story of this man's recovery. It's never easy. He was homeless.
PEREIRA: I love this.
CUOMO: He's dealing with mental illness. We'll tell you the story.
PEREIRA: These are all the best stuff.
CUOMO: All right.
BOLDUAN: Good steps in the right direction.
CUOMO: The big story this morning, obviously, the train derailment, a lot of news. So let's get you to Carol Costello right now for the "NEWSROOM". Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: You got that right. Thanks, guys.
"NEWSROOM" starts now.
Happening now in the "NEWSROOM",
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE): By the time I looked up, it was completely going off its track, and there was just, like, the rubble from under the tracks, like, flying at my face.
COSTELLO (voice-over): Ross (ph) train disaster.
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): I heard a lot of crunching and grinding, and I started seeing stars in front of my eyes.
COSTELLO: Brand new details this morning: four killed, dozens injured. Are these trains safe?
Also, fast and furious. America remembering actor Paul Walker this morning. New overnight, who was behind the wheel? And this photo, believed to be one of the last pictures of the star.
Plus, Cyber Monday, online deals aplenty.
