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New Day
The 12-Year-Old Planned School Shooting; Bridge Gate Subpoenas; Spending Bill Passed In House; Serial Arson Suspect Arrested; Newtown Shooter On The Radio?; Pain Relief, Health Risk
Aired January 16, 2014 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. There's a lot going on this morning. So let's get to John Berman with the headlines.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: These are the stories making headlines this morning. New information about the 12-year-old accused of opening fire at a New Mexico school, police say he planned out his actions and sawed off the shotgun himself. The 911 calls from inside the school depict a frantic scene as a teacher tried to calm the shooter and stop the violence. The boy's family says they are heart broken and their prayers are with the victims.
A new state assembly committee investigating the bridgegate scandal could subpoena Chris Christie and other New Jersey officials starting today. The panel convenes for the first time at noon. This morning, Christie will be holding a public event on the Jersey Shore to promote the state's Hurricane Sandy relief effort. This is despite the fact that the governor is accused of misspending millions of dollars from a Hurricane Sandy relief fund.
The House is approving a $1.1 trillion spending plan and sending it onto the Senate. The vote was overwhelmingly in favor, 359 to 67. It keeps the federal government running until. Senators are expected to give their OK and send it to President Obama who is expected to sign it by the weekend.
New developments overnight, a suspected serial arsonist captured in San Jose, California. Police have been tight-lipped about the man in custody so far. They say they will reveal more in a news conference later this morning. We'll be following that. Sources telling the San Jose Mercury News the suspect was under surveillance for at least a day. He's accused of torching eight structures over four days.
Look at this, heart stopping video of a man in Australia tangling with an 8-foot tiger shark. He went cage diving with his brother without a real shark cage probably not a good idea. That's a bird cage. As you might guess, things got out of hand, but the men got the footage they were looking for, I guess. He escaped unharmed -- Chris.
CUOMO: Against the odds there, J.B., against the odds.
All right, new this morning, for the first time we're hearing a voice believed to belong to the Sandy Hook shooter. Audiotape obtained by the "New York Daily News" and apparently authenticated by two of the shooter's friends. If it is him, it raises really serious questions about what red flags were missed, why, because he's talking about mass murder a full year before the shooting.
Pamela Brown is tracking this down for us.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, really eerie. We want to point out here, Chris, that CNN is still working to verify whether the radio caller's voice is the Sandy Hook shooter, Adam Lanza. The eerie audio purported to be Lanza by the "Daily News" may provide inside into his mind set. It might have been an ominous warning a year before he went on the shooting rampage that shattered a nation.
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BROWN (voice-over): Is this the voice of Adam Lanza? According to a report in the "New York Daily News," it is. It was recorded a year before the 20-year-old committed one of the deadliest mass murders in American history. The paper spoke to two classmates of Lanza who said it was him.
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: He didn't act any differently than any human would.
BROWN: The audio obtained by the "Daily News" is from an Oregon college radio show called "Anarchy Radio," the man the paper identifies as Lanza wanted to discuss the death of a domesticated chimp named Travis with radio host and self proclaimed anarchist, John Zerzan.
In 2009, Travis was shot and killed by a police officer after he brutally mauled a Connecticut woman. The caller who identifies himself as Greg compares the violent chimp attack with that of a teenage mall shooter in an over 7-minute interview.
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: The attack is parallel to the attacks of random acts of violence committed by humans, which the mainstream also has no explanation for. I don't think it would be a stretch to say that he very well could have been a teenage mall shooter or something like that.
BROWN: Zerzan doesn't know who the caller was, but remembers the call.
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: The voice is kind of odd, sort of robotic and maybe he is trying to disguise his voice or something. I don't know.
BROWN: According to a blogger cited by "The Daily News," Lanza posted in an online forum under the username "Smiggles." A name Sandy Hook investigators say he may have used in instant messages. In one 2011 post uncovered by the blogger, Smiggles wrote about calling into John Zerzan's radio show.
DR. CASEY JORDAN, CRIMINOLOGIST: I think the subtext of what he's saying, violence is innate and instinctual to humans and really should not be punished because it is their natural basis. That's the message I think he's trying to get across and the parallel to himself is obvious. He feels possessed by this need, this compulsion to commit violence.
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BROWN: Now we have reached out to Connecticut state police spokesperson and we are still awaiting a comment from him -- Chris.
CUOMO: It's important. The more we can understand the better chance we have of preventing it going forward and sending out that cautionary message that we have to pay more attention. That's what is going on. Thank you for tracking it down for us. Appreciate it.
Indra, what do we have going on right now? We know we've been tracking what's going on at the Australian Open. There was a lot of heat. Now it's getting even worse. What's going on?
INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we all remember these images from the last several days. You're talking about extreme heat that you had players fainting on the field. One of the players thought that they saw snoopy out there. Did they suspend any of the games? Yes, they did. Take a look at the temperatures. Yesterday, temperatures were 109 and they did not think that was hot enough to suspend the play.
Today, reached 111 degrees so they did exceed that threshold even though the humidity did not rise too much. What did they do? For the courts inside, they closed those roofs. If you were outside, they suspended the play for a couple hours. If you started your set inside you still had to play another hour in 111 degree temperatures until they actually closed that roof.
So, not everyone was relieved of this. It was almost like a little divine intervention when it started raining. Keep in mind, tomorrow expected to be just as hot. It's this weekend that finally they're going to be the relief that they definitely need, guys.
BOLDUAN: What a huge drop from 111 to 73.
PETERSONS: That would be a cold front, a big one.
CUOMO: Coming up on NEW DAY, this is an interesting story. Warning about acetaminophen, you won't believe how many popular medications contain it and how little it can take to be harmful to your liver. We're going to break down the potential risks to keep you safe.
BOLDUAN: And in a very different story, Bieber blacklash, the reaction to reports that the star caused thousands of dollars of damage by egging a neighbor's home. What's the latest.
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CUOMO: I don't know about you, but it turns out I have been abusing a drug. Here's why. This morning another warning from doctors about the dangers of acetaminophen, OK, that's the pain reliever in Tylenol. Take a look at the headlines. Yesterday, the FDA warned doctors about prescribing prescription drugs with more than 325 milligrams of acetaminophen on fears of liver damage.
Think about that. Think about how much you'd take and then 325 mg being the warning level. Before that, Tylenol's parent company, Johnson & Johnson, began putting a big red warning on the cap designed to reduce accidental over doses. In total, the CDC estimate 22,000 people have to visit emergency rooms from acetaminophen overdoses every year and about 150 people actually die.
So what is the real risk here? That's what we want to talk about. Let's bring in Dr. Roshini Raj to dig deeper. Doc, I am shocked by this. Thank you for being here. I take Tylenol.
DR. ROSHINI RAJ, PHYSICIAN, NYU LANGONE MEDICAL CENTER: A lot of people take Tylenol and they also take some prescription medications that contain Tylenol and they don't realize it.
CUOMO: You have a cold. You take some symptomatic relief and then you take that because you think it helps with the fever and the aches.
RAJ: Right. So a lot of these over-the-counter remedies contain it and then prescription ones like Percocet, Vicodin, you know, things that your doctor or your dentist might prescribe for you and then you still have pain, let me just take some Tylenol on top of that. You are now getting accumulative does that could be dangerous.
So even in some of these cold remedies as you said, you're going to double dose if you don't realize that the Tylenol is in there. So you really have to check the labels and look for acetaminophen or AP that stands for acetaminophen and do some calculations. We got to do some math here.
CUOMO: So like literally, you know, Alkaseltzer, you are not pushing any particular product, but you get the gist of it. We all use the cold relief. Tylenol is a common kicker.
RAJ: Right. So if you use these in combination you can get up to 1,300 milligrams of Tylenol, which is a lot or acetaminophen that means, you know, you're getting somewhere on the way to that 4,000 milligram, which is the limit per day that can cause liver damage or even liver failure.
CUOMO: All right, so we now we look at the one next here. We have extra strength pain relief then you have your Excedrin for the headache and other classic combination because?
RAJ: Exactly. So you know, you have the headache, you take the migraine medicine and then you take some Tylenol becaus the migraine medicine isn't working, together this can get you up to 1,500 milligrams in one shot. Now you're getting closer to the 4-gram limit.
CUOMO: It's not comical, the hangover scenario. A lot of people take excess of things, now they have even bigger problem. Now we get to this thing, the big thing we have here, acetaminophen and the Nyquil.
RAJ: Exactly, 1,605 milligrams. So this can really start to add up quickly. Alcohol is a great point. Alcohol can increase your susceptibility to liver damage. If you're drinking alcohol, you do not want to take Tylenol.
COUMO: Let's see what happens when you hit that button. Give it a good smack there. They were those big numbers. They were like all over the thousands mark.
RAJ: Yes.
CUOMO: We're talking about 325 milligrams. Let's jump to the big point. All right, I'm taking too much. What's the reality about what can happen to your liver if you overdose on a regular basis?
RAJ: Right. In some countries, acetaminophen overdose is the number one reason why people need a liver transplant. It can even cause death. So it's a very common medication used for suicide -- successful suicide attempts. So this can really kill you. You have to be careful. You have to use your common sense. Speak to your pharmacist if you're not sure.
CUOMO: So you can buy the -- should we even buy the maximum strength.
RAJ: I think it's safer to stick, but if you use one extra strength, that's OK. It's 500 milligrams, not 4 grams. We don't want to have to call the doctor every time you want to take one Tylenol, but you have to be smart about this medication and other over-the-counter medications.
CUOMO: These are things that people do every day.
RAJ: Absolutely. These combinations happen in every household in America and you have to be careful.
CUOMO: Eye opener for me. Dr. Roshini Raj, always great to have. Thank you for this valuable information -- Kate.
BOLDUAN: Coming up next on NEW DAY, a mild mannered Home Depot employee suddenly becomes a hero. You have to see this.
Also Justin Bieber, once again the butt of late-night jokes. Turns out the egging of a neighbor's house is comedy gold.
And we are counting down to the Oscar nominations. We're going to take you live to Beverly Hills for the big event.
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BOLDUAN: Welcome back. We want to show you, this epitomizes a close call. Take a look at the video. Home Depot employee with a great pair of hands, 18-year-old Chris Strickland using lightning-quick reflections who an infant has fallen out of a shopping cart. The infant never touched the ground. Did you see the baby? I know. Anchorage, Alaska. Home depot is honoring him with an angel award. He will get plaque, pin, and immense gratitude of a family.
BERMAN: They should retire the award after that. CUOMO: Not only did he make an amazing catch, did you see how he knew how to hold the baby as well.
BOLDUAN: He is 18 years old, guys.
CUOMO: Amazing. Good people out there and it is always a pleasure to bring them to you.
BOLDUAN: Thank you, Chris.
CUOMO: Now, a little bit of a shift. Justin Bieber's recent run-ins with the law, late-night comedy gold. The police raided his mansion this week. Why? His neighbors accused him of day. Poor Bieber has owing his face. Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Who hatched this plan? Why would a 19-year-old superstar like Justin Bieber roll up his sleeves and allegedly throw eggs at his neighbor's house?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is weird how he is going back to pranks from 1950.
MOOS: We don't mean just egging. Some cheap brick like this. We are talking --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's 20 grand worth of damage to his house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He throws fabrege eggs only.
MOOS: The doors made out imported wood. Talk about breaking news, the late-night comedians had audiences breaking up with their own coverage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What can you tell us?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Justin Bieber. I think he sees us.
MOOS: From a pelted shopper on "Leno" --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our officers were filming --
MOOS: Two pelted police on "Kimmel," but the real sheriff's police press conference, there were egg-centric questions about the raid on Bieber's home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you match eggs pound in the refrigerator?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would assume that that's probably possible.
MOOS: Both the lieutenant made it clear the raid was no egg hunt. They were looking for security camera video that might show Bieber in the act of tossing eggs from his own property. Bieber hasn't commented to CNN and he hasn't been charged.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe that there's probably almost a dozen detectives that were there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why did they send 12 cops, one cop for each egg in the carton? Was that the thinking?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why is one of the most affluent stars in the world right nowing low eggs at his neighbor's house?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back in 2011, Bieber himself got egged when a fan trying get his attention pelted the stage while Bieber performed in Australia. Now the egg is on the other foot and spirit airlines is running a "you won't believe these deals" promo promotion. Escape just in time before you get egg on your face. It is enough to make a gun-shy celebrity climb back in his well the most pointless use of an egg since the fertilization of Justin Bieber.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
BOLDUAN: Conan, ouch. That one left a mark.
CUOMO: They are starting to make me sympathetic towards Bieber.
BOLDUAN: What?
CUOMO: As long as he is not abusing the acetaminophen, that's OK.
BOLDUAN: All right, coming up next on NEW DAY, sisterly love ahead of the games in Sochi, a twin gives up her Olympic dream for her sister's safe. Selflessness.
CUOMO: We are going to take you live to L.A. as we countdown to the Oscar nominations. It will be announced in 41 minutes and 56 seconds and counting. Nischelle Turner will have them.
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