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New Day

Marijuana Legal in Colorado; Top Financial Tips for 2014; Tech in 2014; The White House In 2014

Aired January 01, 2014 - 08:00   ET

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


KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, and welcome back to a very special edition of NEW DAY. It is January 1st, if we must remind you, 2014, 8:00 in the East. Happy New Year, everyone.

We're ushering in the season of resolutions and the season of breaking them just as fast and many folks making resolutions about their finances from paying off credit cards to saving up more. We'll help you start 2014 off on the right foot.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: And another resolution is to see movies, and the Hollywood awards season is upon us, a preview of which movie shows, TV shows and stars could be honored, later this hour.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: And we've been showing you a special piece of our lives. Kate took us shooting. We went fishing with Chris. I'm going to share something with you that is very, very close to my heart, coming up.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, plus, we've been counting down all morning bringing you the best stuff -- that's the number one good stuff story that you the viewers chose. That's coming up. You guys have to see this.

CUOMO: But first let's get a check of the headlines this morning. Let's head over to the news desk.

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello again and happy new year.

I'm Ana Cabrera.

Here are your headlines:

One million hardy partiers ringing in the new year at New York's Time Square. It was frigid out there. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor had the honor of pushing the button to drop the big crystal ball.

And the tradition lives on in Key West. Sushi the female impersonator headlining this annual shoe drop at the Bourbon Street. In Colorado, a history-making day today. The state becomes the first to allow the sale of recreational marijuana. Now, about 30 stores throughout Colorado are expected to open for business today, 18 of them in Denver. That's where we find CNN's Casey Wian on this New Year's Day morning.

So, Casey, is it craziness like some people were predicting?

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not yet, Ana. You know, a lot of folks were predicting that when marijuana sales became legal for recreational use, there would be huge lines in anticipation of those sales, which begin in less than two hours.

You can see outside of this dispensary, we've got four folks who have lined up, not quite the big crowds that they're expecting, but we still got two hours to go.

Logan and Chrissy Robinson (ph) have been here since 2:00 in the morning.

Why was it important for you guys to be here so early and be first in line?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because we're pioneers, we want to be the first.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're under the impression there was going to be a lot more people, you know? We weren't ready for --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The lines.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, with he thought we would be there, and we didn't have any clue that we'd be first.

WIAN: What do you think about Colorado's new law?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like it, I've been waiting 34 years. It's good law and I think it's good for the schools and good for the money that it's going to bring to Colorado. If we take it responsibly, I think it's going to work.

WIAN: And that's the big question, of course, Ana, is whether there will be responsible use or responsible sales. Authorities here watching that very, very closely.

These businesses have been up all night getting ready for the first sales, it's an historic event less than two hours, Ana.

CABRERA: All right. That's when the doors officially open. Casey Wian in Colorado this morning and tracking the marijuana recreational sales today.

A critical ruling on Obamacare handed down by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Just hours before the stroke of midnight, she issued an order temporarily exempting two Catholic Church groups from the contraception mandate in the new health care law. Sotomayor giving the Obama administration until Friday to respond to that order. New coverage plans kick in today for Americans who signed up for Obamacare. And the administration now says 2.1 million people have enrolled, the original target was 3 million. New York City's new mayor sworn in overnight. Bill de Blasio is now the 109th mayor of the Big Apple, the first Democrat in more than 20 years. He already took the oath of office outside his home in Brooklyn and later today he'll take the oath at city hall, this time administered by former President Bill Clinton. De Blasio takes the reins from Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Here's a look at your forecast on this New Year's Day. It's going to be freezing cold for much of you, especially in the eastern United States. Over the next couple of days, really, temperatures dropping into the teens tomorrow in Washington and New York and on Friday sub- zero temperatures in Boston. We could also see a major snowstorm will hit the Midwest and Northeast starting tomorrow.

About 70 million people could be in its path, and this is expected to impact travel. Be prepared. Those are your headlines, happy New Year.

PEREIRA: All right. Buzzkill Betty here. It's New Year and try to get your finances under control, from managing your credit to paying down the rising debt or saving up for your future.

Business correspondent Alison Kosik is here to help.

And that's what we're going to do is help. We don't want to stress people out.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we're not preachy.

PEREIRA: We're not preachy, but we've got some pointers that actually reap us some big rewards down the line.

KOSIK: Yes. As the year, you know, we think about our finances this time of year. You know, it's also good to start thinking about the future, right?

So one thing to think about is come up with an emergency fund and there are a lot of schools of thought of how much will go into this emergency fund.

PEREIRA: What do you think?

KOSIK: It really depends on what you do for a living, how much money you make. Some people say they want to put away three to six months of expenses. Others want to put away three to six months of what they make in that time frame but it's up to you.

But you don't want to cheat yourself, because a lot of financial planners say, look, this emergency fund is for those times when you have a medical emergency, when something unexpected comes up. And those things are much easier to deal with if you've got money in the bank. So, that's one thing.

PEREIRA: I like that.

KOSIK: Another thing to do is pay down debt and here is an interesting way to do that.

In fact, financial player Alexa Von Tobel said take your card and put it on ice in your freezer because you don't want to wrack up that credit on your card.

CUOMO: Unless you put it next to the ice cream.

KOSIK: Yes, but that's true, but maybe you'll reach for the ice cream instead of the card.

Don't pay for anything you know you can't and you'll keep rolling over on your credit card or use your debit card because that takes it out immediately. One other thing that you can think about, go ahead and max out your 401(k). You know, this is money, especially since most companies match some of what you contribute. It's a great benefit and tax deferred package.

One more thing as well, 529, go ahead and open up a 529 account if you've got kids and you're going to send them to college. It's not can he deductible on your federal tax return but this investment grows, tax deferred. So, it really is about that future benefit to set money aside for your kids.

BOLDUAN: You're talking kind of the future, your long-term kind of financial stability. But we do live in an instant gratification system.

So, is there any tip for something you can do now, like can pay off quickly?

KOSIK: Absolutely. Refinance your mortgage. You know, go ahead and look at your situation, see if refinancing makes sense to you.

Sure, you know, you can pay, you are going to wind up paying for refinancing and the closing costs but it may make sense to go ahead and refi before those rates go up because they are ever so slightly going up every little bit.

Also, a lot of getting control of your finances is about taking control and that means knowing what your credit score is. You want to be above 760. They run anywhere from 350 to 850. It's like your grade in school.

So, if you know sort of where you're sitting financially, you could sort of feel empowered.

Also, get your credit report. This is a lot like a report card. You can check your credit report on annualcreditreport.com and check for mistakes. And if you see any mistakes, you can get them corrected at no cost.

Now, there are three nationwide credit agencies reporting companies that you should know about that. Those are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

One more thing I have to mention, do online banking. PEREIRA: It really does help, doesn't it?

KOSIK: It really does. It's convenient, easy. You're not going to be overdue on your bills because you can date them in the future when your bills are due so you don't have to pay those late fees. There's really no excuse to not do online banking. Convenience is key and saves you money in the long run.

CUOMO: You're thinking about the best way to be financially responsible. Let's assume you've got your typical household going, right? So, you have all the responsibilities you can think of.

Isn't paying down credit card debt the number one thing that people should do?

KOSIK: It really is, especially when you look at that interest rate on that money. It's like, oh my goodness. You're better off putting that money into something else and having that revolving credit just continually go around.

Let's say you bought a cup. That cup is going to wind up costing you hundreds of dollars if that is revolving and you're paying interest every month.

PEREIRA: See, I like this. Not preachy, just some tips, little places with we can start to sort of make ourselves more -- I don't know, financially responsible.

CUOMO: A lot of people are living right on the line and every little advantage helps. People think if I save it's better than using the money but think about how much you're getting charged for those credit cards.

KOSIK: It's really stunning. If you take a look at -- and now, what credit cards are doing, they're putting what that balance is, what it's really going to cost you in years to come and when you see that now, it makes your eyes pop and you think maybe I will pay a little bit more this month or try to pay off the credit card to not have that interest continually revolving.

CUOMO: It's the most expensive money we borrow, more than a house, more than a car.

PEREIRA: Alison Kosik --

BOLDUAN: Start today.

PEREIRA: Absolutely.

BOLDUAN: Thanks, Alison.

CUOMO: Coming up on NEW DAY: from a looming fight over the debt ceiling to the midterm elections, we have what you need to know about the year ahead in politics.

BOLDUAN: Also ahead, top tech trends of 2014. It's a brave, new world, folks, and we are your tour guides.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Welcome back to NEW DAY.

Today is out with the old and in with the new, especially in the tech world. I need some tech stuff. This year is poised to bring faster Internet, smarter TVs, and even advancements in your car, really?

All right. What do we have to look forward to?

Brett Larson is here to talk about what's going on next week, have we completely lost the consumer electronics show?

BRETT LARSON, TECH BYTES: You'd love it.

PETERSONS: Yes, as long as you.

LARSON: Yes. I was going to say, you'd be one of seven women there. It's like crawling, it's all businessmen. It's a very unusual thing.

PETERSONS: What are we going to see there? Good TVs?

LARSON: Good TVs, probably a lot of new stuff for the car, nice smartphones, tablets, the use. I have a feeling they'll pull back the curtain on good stuff we'll see and go ooh, wow.

BOLDUAN: I feel like this year, you said 2013 was the year of the tablet.

LARSON: Right.

BOLDUAN: So, what's 2014 going to be?

LARSON: They're going to steam roll us into the world of tablets in 2014. I think they're going to get better. They're going to get faster. And I also think we're going to see wireless Internet get better.

Everybody's getting on this now.

PEREIRA: And you kind of get upset -- you'd used to be get upset if a place didn't have internet access and now we're upset if they don't have to Wi-Fi.

LARSON: Right, exactly.

PEREIRA: We're such --

BOLDUAN: And if you have to pay for it.

LARSON: Right. I mean, in other countries, they have Wi-Fi everywhere, we should have it everywhere. Some municipalities, they're getting in on that, they're doing --

CUOMO: You know, I must say Brett Larson we hear they have Wi-Fi better in other countries and I get sent from country to country, and the Wi-Fi stinks everywhere.

LARSON: Right. Yes, what country are you going to?

CUOMO: All. I go everywhere.

LARSON: You go everywhere, you are a world traveler.

CUOMO: Yes. With no e-mail.

LARSON: You are literally that guy who has the auto responder that really means I have no access.

PEREIRA: I got to tell you, my TV is smarter than everything else in my house combined.

BOLDUAN: You actually know, I don't know what a smart TV is.

LARSON: It's the best thing in the world.

(CROSSTALK)

LARSON: And I actually have to say, I didn't think smart TV was going to take off. When I first saw --

(CROSSTALK)

LARSON: This is just a gimmick. Nobody's going to want -- consumers love smart TV.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: It's a TV that's a computer is what it is.

LARSON: That's what it is.

CUOMO: You get the Netflix right there. You get the -- they'll have a health hub. You can go on there. I've been on --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: You go on there and it's all right there, you get a menu. Games.

PEREIRA: You can sync it with your photo and your music. You have Pandora playing in the living room.

LARSON: Yes. Suddenly, your television becomes a monitor for your --

BOLDUAN: -- expensive --

PEREIRA: No.

LARSON: No. They're actually -- really, they're not that bad.

PEREIRA: 4K, right? LARSON: 4K I think -- I don't think it's the 3D gimmick. 3D did not take off well. I mean, ESPN finally stepped in and said we're not doing it. it's too expensive. The audience isn't there. 4K I definitely think we'll see --

(CROSSTALK)

LARSON: It's four times the resolution of high definition. So it's like a retina display on your --

(CROSSTALK)

LARSON: You can see every foot of the crow's foot.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: So, do we buy it yet or --

LARSON: No. Give it like another year. Netflix has jumped on the band wagon and all their original programming they're shooting in 4K, but it's only -- you can only stream it at this point and that takes a large pipe of internet to stream 4K.

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: -- pepper you with every issue --

(CROSSTALK)

LARSON: I love it. What else? Who needs to program their VCR?

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Why do you want to see me that clearly?

(CROSSTALK)

LARSON: My VCR still says midnight. So, it's at least right twice a day.

(LAUGHTER)

PEREIRA: Overall, we feel like it's going to be a tablet year, a webified TV year.

LARSON: Yes, definitely.

PEREIRA: Cell phones? Are we going to see anything --

LARSON: Cell phone, I think we're going to see some movement. Something that's coming up that's kind of a deal in 2015 is the FCC is going to go to local television stations and say would you like to give us your broadcast license back so that we can sell it to AT&T, to Sprint, to Verizon so that we can get even faster wireless internet access.

CUOMO: Phones are getting bigger.

BOLDUAN: Like (INAUDIBLE).

CUOMO: That's right. I said it.

BOLDUAN: How about cars, real quick?

LARSON: Cars, real quick, we're starting to see -- show up on the dashboard which I think is a good thing and it's a bad thing, but the last thing you need is like the ability to surf the web from your dashboard.

PETERSONS: Which just add to --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: We care about this stuff.

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: Brett Larson!

(LAUGHTER)

LARSON: Comes by swing in for --

CUOMO: Phones are going to get bigger and cars are going to get smaller.

LARSON: I don't --

PEREIRA: That's not what he said.

LARSON: No.

(CROSSTALK)

LARSON: No. I think phones are going to get lighter. They're going to get bigger in capacity, but I don't think they're going to get bigger in size. Do you really want to talk on this?

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: Hello. But look at the galaxy phone.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: -- because people want to do more on their phone.

BOLDUAN: Brett Larson!

LARSON: When I fly to Vegas, if it someone's on their phone on my airplane, I'm going to sit next someone -- hey, what's going on? Snap, talking on my iPad.

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER) LARSON: I'll give you guys the exclusive. I'll make sure I shoot a video.

BOLDUAN: Exactly.

(LAUGHTER)

BOLDUAN: Brett Larson, Happy New Year.

LARSON: Thanks, guys.

BOLDUAN: Thank you, Brett.

We're going to take a break. Coming up next on NEW DAY, 2013 is a pretty rough year for President Obama. Can he get his second term back on track in 2014? We will discuss.

CUOMO: And Hollywood is toasting its top movies and stars. Who will get the Oscar? A look at the ultra-glamorous award season ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Welcome back to a very special NEW DAY. It Is January 1st, brand new year. We're going to get a preview of all the drama in Washington. That will be ahead, but first, let's get a check of what's making news this morning. Let's head over to the news desk.

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. I'm Ana Cabrera. Happy New Year. Thanks for waking up early with us. What a night.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA (voice-over): One million braving bitter cold temperatures at Times Square to ring in 2014. And this year, Supreme Court justice, Sonia Sotomayor, pressed the button that dropped out that ball. Now, check out national celebrations with that big music note drop. Country singers and fireworks helping to ring in the New Year there.

In Dubai, an incredible pyrotechnics show officially setting a Guinness World Record for the largest fireworks display ever.

Overnight, Pope Francis ringing in the New Year by celebrating mass at the Vatican. He delivered his New Year's message in several different languages urging people to accept each other's differences. The pope has an ambitious agenda in 2014. He plans to visit the holy land in May. He's also appointing a special commission to combat clergy sex abuse around the world.

They're continuing to monitor news out of Texas this morning where Barbara Bush is waking up in the hospital. The 88-year-old former first lady is being treated there for respiratory related issues according to a family's spokesman. CNN's affiliate in Houston says she may have early signs of pneumonia. Now, Mrs. Bush is said to be in great spirits, spending time with family.

Here's a look at your New Year's forecast. It's going to be freezing over a lot of the eastern United States. Over the next couple of days, temperatures dropping into the teens tomorrow in Washington and New York, and Midwest and northeast are expected to get walloped with a major snowstorm tomorrow into Friday. So, brace yourself as we head into the new year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA (on-camera): I'm Ana Cabrera. Those are your headlines.

BOLDUAN: Between the midterm elections and a debt ceiling fight on the horizon, 2014 could be a nail biter and what about President Obama, what can we expect as he tries to get his second term back on track in the New Year? Let's talk about it with senior White House correspondent, Brianna Keilar, joining us with much more.

Hi, Brianna. So, you know, "The Washington Post" said 2013 was the president's kind of worst year yet. So clearly, they're trying to swing the pendulum on this and regain momentum. What do you expect to see in 2014 for the president to kind of get back on track here?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It was a really rough year, Kate, and he is trying to get back on track. For 2014, President Obama is going to try for a big push on immigration. I mean, you know that's going to be a very heavy lift. He faces a divided Congress, but he's still going to try for it, and he's also talked about climate change in the economy being very important for him.

He talked recently about income equality, wanting to address that. And I think when it comes to climate change and the economy, he's going to try to do some things where he may be circumventing Congress. But when it comes to immigration, you could see a bit of a hard-fought battle there. But of course, you mentioned a potential debt ceiling fight. That's obviously something that could push some of his priorities to the side early in this year, which, you know, he really doesn't need that.

BOLDUAN: Well, I think maybe he probably hopes what happened in 2013 doesn't happen again in 2014, which was, he really didn't dictate his agenda. It was this kind of brinksmanship battles that just kept hopping up that he had to deal with or self-inflicted wounds like healthcare.gov.

I mean, what we've seen is the president's kind of reaction as we've seen some staff changes at the White House but do they really think staff changes in and of itself are going to be able to kind of fix their mojo?

KEILAR: Well, you now, there is one in particular and that is John Podesta who a lot of democratic observers who've said, you know, it's about time that he came in. So, he's the former chief of staff to Bill Clinton. He's known for cracking the whip. This is something that I think a lot of people hope will help President Obama turn some things around.

He's going to focus on climate change and he's got a lot of experience when it comes to Capitol Hill. So, I think that there is a thought that, perhaps, that could help but a lot of folks also think maybe it's too late, that 2013 was an important year and the president's really trying for a reset at a difficult time.

BOLDUAN: Yes. And right around the corner, right on the horizon, as you mentioned, is that debt ceiling battle. I mean, we're hearing already kind of deja vu. Everyone's kind of lining up the same way that they have in the past. The president saying he will not negotiate around the debt ceiling. Republicans saying that there have to be conditions accompanying it before they agree to raising the debt ceiling. How do you foresee this one playing out? Is the dynamic any different?

KEILAR: We still don't know exactly, but it does have this sort of feeling of like re-gifting, doesn't it?

(LAUGHTER)

KEILAR: Like, if you just give me this in 2013 and now you're giving me a debt ceiling battle in 2014. This is what we know. Paul Ryan has said that after the holidays, Republicans are going to get together and they're going to talk about what they want in exchange for increasing the debt ceiling. Now, what is that going to be? Is that going to take to us to brinksmanship? We're not sure. Some Democrats are saying, no, Paul Ryan is penciling in manufactured prices.

I think if you look back to the debt ceiling battle of this late fall, one of the things that they came to an agreement on was, oh, they're going to have a budget deal coming out of this. I think the White House might be amenable to attaching something like that, that increases the debt ceiling and then it sort of puts in place something that has to happen. Obviously, this is very vague, and so, we have to kind of figure out what that's going to be. We don't know exactly, but it could happen.

BOLDUAN: And Brianna, you did mention immigration. I just want to get your quick take on it. I mean, this has been elusive immigration reform for more than a decade at this point. Do you think a midterm election year -- is the White House confident that this is a legislative item that they can pull off?

KEILAR: I think they know it's very hard, Kate, but I think that the thinking is this, the primaries are going to be tough, right, because you've got a lot of Republicans who could be facing challenges from the right. Are they going to want to weigh in on immigration? Maybe not. But maybe once you get past the primaries, candidates -- Republican candidates maybe can moderate a little bit, especially when you get past the primaries in Texas in border states that there may be a little room for this.

The speaker has said this is a priority. I think the real question is what is immigration reform if it gets done going to look like? You saw the Senate this summer passed a comprehensive bill. It looks like the House may take up piecemeal legislation. Are they just going to focus on border security or they going to focus on a pathway to citizenship? Those are really the unanswered questions and that's what 2014 is going to bring us.

BOLDUAN: And critical questions. So, the answers to those will really tell us, will this piecemeal approach work? Will they pull it off? We'll see. Happy New Year, Brianna. We'll talk to you.

KEILAR: You, too, Kate. Happy New Year.

BOLDUAN: Thank you.

CUOMO: All right. When talking politics, everybody is nodding (ph) off. And now, I say the magic word, football! First pass to 2014, boom! I catch it in my time zone.

BOLDUAN: I almost intercepted.

CUOMO: All ball games are not created equal. There are six games today, the best match-ups, the most at stake. We will let you know what you need to know.

BOLDUAN: You really don't. That's really --

CUOMO: As long as it's above 35 degrees.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: -- good stuff --

BOLDUAN: You voted. Now, we'll tell you the number one good stuffs of 2013. It's the best stuff folks after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)