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New Day

Knox To Appeal Conviction; Air Force Cheating Scandal; NYC To Settle Stop-And-Frisk Suit; Tuberculosis Scare In Detroit; Peyton To Sherman: "I Do Throw Ducks"; D.C. Firefighters Under Fire; Super Bowls, Super Ads

Aired January 31, 2014 - 07:30   ET

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


THEODORE SIMON, U.S. ATTORNEY FOR AMANDA KNOX: So that's why it becomes so incomprehensible how could there be a different verdict where there's no new or any differing evidence, in fact, it is even more favorable today than it was before.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: I do want to get to the "what next," but real quick kind of on -- what this does to her. Because I was talking with another person who's been in close contact with her, Ryan Ferguson, he came on the show. He and Amanda had been in communication because they've both kind of gone through similar experiences he says.

He says this is so tough for her really because her life is in limbo, she can't move on. She can't live her life when this continues to dangle in front of her. You talk about her resilience. How does she stay sane? How does she remain resilient when this happens?

SIMON: I guess you also have to understand the type of person she is. She's is kind, generous, kind hearted person. She thinks about other people before herself. That becomes very apparent once you get to know her and she has extraordinary support from her family and friends. I mean, one thing that is very clear, yesterday, demonstrated an incredible outpouring and ground swell of support from both people that know her and those that do not.

I know my office was inundated. So to that extent, there's a great deal of support and we know some things really don't change. You know, this was a terrible, gruesome, horrific murder. Yet, you know, with this type of gruesome murder, there would have been evidence of Amanda Knox in the room where Meredith Kercher was killed or on her person.

And we know that was not the case. There was no hair, fiber, footprint, shoe print, hand print, palm print, fingerprints, sweat, saliva, DNA of Amanda Knox in the room where Meredith Kercher was killed or on her person. That in and of itself tells you it's an unassailable truth that she was simply not in the room, did not participate and is not guilty of this horrific murder.

You know, no country has a monopoly on justice and wrongful convictions happened everywhere. We know all too well they happened way too frequently in the United States. So this is not a question of nationality or for location as much as it is one of a really horrific miscarriage of justice. And she and her family and supporters are hoping this gets reversed and we're a long way off --

BOLDUAN: I want to get into what's next because how do you have any confidence that you can successfully fight to clear her name when you, better than anybody, have seen how this legal process has continued?

SIMON: Well, you know, I -- I used the term hope because I believe she feels and the family feels at someplace there will be a recognition of the truth. And a recognition that there is absolutely no evidence today, there was no evidence before, and there never will be any evidence of her guilt.

BOLDUAN: How far out do you think that is? These next steps are months in the coming.

SIMON: More than that, we're probably, you know, I would guess probably a year away before the next, you know, proceeding. So you know, again, you know, there's fortitude, there's resilience there's a recognition that she's not guilty. That is a part that remains in the hopeful category. One does not know what the future brings and that's why this matter is so disconcerting.

BOLDUAN: Now, two quick questions. Just want to get your take on the reports we have this morning of her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, being caught at the border, the Italian border with Austrian Lavonia. He says he wasn't fleeing. Do you know anything about what he was trying to do?

SIMON: No, I can't speak to that. The first I heard about that was broadcast on CNN. You're in front of us on that. So I really don't know anything about it, but I can tell you something about Amanda. Amanda has been in complete compliance with all court orders. As you know, she was not required to attend these new proceedings. In fact, yesterday, the court recognized she was lawfully in the United States and did not issue any kind of cautionary arrest.

So there's a recognition that she is here properly. She has complied lawfully and will continue to do so and will continue to fight this case with every bone in her body. Her family is fully behind her with a great deal of support and the constant recognition that there's simply a profound loss of evidence, one that is shocking in grand proportions.

And it's basically incomprehensible how could there be today or yesterday any different verdict than the one that issued before from another appellate court jury that found her --

BOLDUAN: You continue to see this process continue and I know understandably so. It is early to be talking about any question of extradition because as you said, we have an appeal you need to focus on first and that could be even a year out. But today, if it doesn't go her way, are you still 100 percent confident that she would not be extradited? That the United States government would not honor that?

SIMON: You know, I can understand why that is the question of the day, but it's really not a question that is an issue today or tomorrow or for a long time to come. We have to await the motivation that will be generated by the court. We have to see the basis upon which they have rendered their finding. From that, there will be an appeal, a minimum of one appeal. So, you know, again, I understand why you might be posing the question today, but it's really not right for consideration. And I wouldn't, you know, comment on that at this time.

BOLDUAN: More than one bridge to cross before that is something that you'll have to face. Ted Simon, it's always great to see you. Thank you so much for taking the time this morning. It's going to be a busy few days for you.

SIMON: Yes. Thank you very much.

BOLDUAN: Of course. All right, let's get back over to John for some more headlines this morning -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks so much, Kate. Making news this hour, CNN's exclusive interview with President Obama, the president telling Jake Tapper that he has enlisted 300 companies to consider hiring the long term unemployed, this includes Apple, Wal-Mart and Ford among the other companies. The president also declaring he believes the Sochi Olympics are secure adding any Americans who want to go to the games should go.

The Air Force cheating scandal is growing this morning, 92 nuclear missile officers are now implicated. Forty officers are suspected of actually cheating on a proficiency exam while the other 32 allegedly knew about it, but failed to report it. That means almost half the officers in charge of launching missiles at the Montana base have now been implicated. Air Force officials insist the investigation has not affected U.S. nuclear capability.

New York Mayor Bill De Blasio says the era of stop and frisk as it was is over announcing that the city is giving up its appeal of a recent ruling against the way that New York City implemented the practice. This was a corner stone of the last mayor, Michael Bloomberg's policing strategy, but it was long criticized by civil rights groups who said it unfairly targeted minorities. De Blasio says the city will accept a range of reforms including an independent monitor.

Developing this morning, hundreds of people in Detroit could be at risk for tuberculosis after coming in contact with a hospital employee who has the virus. The official said the man worked in four medical facilities between August and December, and did not know he had TB. Patients and staff who may have been exposed had been notified and encouraged to get testing.

All right, this is something everyone simply needs to see, Dame Helen Mirren twerking at Harvard. Now you might ask why. I say, why not. She was in Cambridge to get an award from Harvard's Hasty Pudding Theatricals. She was named the woman of the year by the Hasty Pudding. During their roast they asked her to twerk. She later admitted she has tried at home. She called those attempts at home unsuccessful.

BOLDUAN: Very difficult to do. I don't speak from personal experience. That is one cool chick --

BERMAN: I have to in full disclosure here -- no, I was once the president of said Hasty Pudding Theatricals.

BOLDUAN: I have now said that more than you.

BERMAN: No, Michelle Pfeiffer whipped me.

BOLDUAN: I've been twice today stunned into silence on the set. We're going to talk about this later.

But let's talk more about twerking, shall we? Andy Scholes, just kidding, let's get to our "Bleacher Report." Andy Scholes is at Super Bowl Boulevard. What more do we need to know?

ANDY SCHOLES, "BLEACHER REPORT": It's too cold to twerk out here guys. Of course, this matchup between the Broncos-Seahawks shaping up to be a go. And of course, the Broncos have the league's number one offense and the Seahawks have the number one defense. So when those two units are on the field, the matchup everyone's going to be watching is Peyton Manning versus Richard Sherman.

Now these two actually had a little fun with each other this week. Sherman said that Peyton's passes while they're on time and accurate, they look like ducks flying through the air. Now Peyton fired back at that yesterday, but he, as I said, you know, having a little fun with it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PEYTON MANNING, BRONCOS QUARTERBACK: I believe it to be true as well. I mean, it's a real reach what he's saying there. I do throw ducks. I've thrown a lot of guards and touchdowns ducks and so I am -- I'm actually quite proud of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: So Rachel Nichols is going to have a special edition of "UNGUARDED" right here on Super Bowl Boulevard tonight. She's going to sit down with John Elway who talks about getting the Broncos back to the Super Bowl.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN ELWAY, BRONCOS VP FOOTBALL OPERATIONS: You know, as a player, this is the biggest game of your career. And you know, especially as a quarterback. There's a lot of things that ride on this game because of the fact that the attention that the game gets. You're a lot more in the background which is more enjoyable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right, so that's it for us. We are out here at Super Bowl Boulevard. Guys, I'm going to go get in the bus and warm up again. You can watch that whole interview on "UNGUARDED" at 10:30 right here on CNN. It's very nice out here, a little chilly -- BOLDUAN: Stop complaining, you're in the middle of the most exciting place to be all week. No complaining and I do take exception. You know I have to defend Peyton. His ducks are better than most quarterbacks perfect passes, I'm just saying.

SCHOLES: Lots of record setting ducks thrown this year.

BOLDUAN: Exactly and you know how I feel about that ducks. Andy, great to see you and your ear muffs. We'll see you a little later. I can't engage in conversation because of the other conversation.

BERMAN: Next stop on NEW DAY, a man has a medical emergency just steps away from a fire house, but firefighters reportedly stood by and did nothing as the man was dying. How could this happen?

BOLDUAN: Also ahead, Super Bowl ads carrying a super price tag, $4 million for a 30-second spot. Prices are higher, advertisers really getting the bang, any bang for their buck.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Welcome back to NEW DAY, everyone. Two Washington D.C. firefighters now on administrative leave following reports they ignored desperate pleas to help a man having a heart attack. This morning, officials are trying to find out why a 77-year-old man died when help was just right across the street.

CNN Erin McPike is in Washington with this. Erin, what's going on here?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, the incident happened here at this fire station on Saturday where there's now on investigation underway to determine exactly what happened, whether red tape got in the way or it was bad judgment or just plain negligence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCPIKE: When 77-year-old Cecil Mills collapsed outside this shopping center, his daughter, Marie, saw one silver lining. They were just across the street from a fire station, help would surely be on the way quickly. But shockingly firefighters refused several desperate requests from the dying man's daughter and witnesses. Marie says a firefighter watching didn't help.

MARIE MILLS, TRIED TO GET HELP FOR HIS DYING FATHER: I even ran to the curb and said are you going to help me or are you going to let my dad die.

MCPIKE: Marie says firefighters told people trying to get help they had to call 911 before anyone could respond.

MILLS: Protocol is heartless. It's heartless and that's how I felt.

MCPIKE: Someone did call 911 later. But to make matters worse, that ambulance went to the wrong location 26 blocks away. Cecil Mills died later that day leaving his daughter heart broken and D.C. officials outrage. They are now investigating, questioning 15 people including three firefighters believed to be involved directly. We tried to talk to them too.

(on camera): Was anybody who is here today there on Saturday?

(voice-over): The deputy mayor who oversees the department says nothing should have prevented helping Mills.

PAUL QUANDER, D.C. DEPUTY MAYOR: Firefighters routinely go into danger. They don't wait to be called. They respond so that is what's trouble about this, this goes against what firefighting is all about.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCPIKE: Now it's obviously a very sad story. But it's still unknown what, if any, role, the delay in response played in Cecil Mills death -- Kate and John.

BOLDUAN: A very important note on such an emotional story. Thank you so much, Erin. "The Washington Post" editorial board I think they put it pretty well, the callous disregard for a man's life.

Let's take another break. Coming up next on NEW DAY, a lot of people watching the Super Bowl, right? Of course, but a lot of people watching the Super Bowl tuning in just for the commercials, but at $4 million for a 30-second spot, you wonder if companies are getting much of a return on their investment. So why are they spending all that cash?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Welcome back to NEW DAY once again. The Super Bowl is now just two days away. Let's be serious. A lot of people are more excited about ads more than the actual game, right? I don't know. Not me but a lot of people. This year a 30-second spot runs more than $4 million. Makes you wonder. Is it all worth it?

Let's go CNN's Nischelle Turner live on Super Bowl Boulevard in Times Square with much more. So my dear, is it worth it?

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: That's a good question and that's the question that we're trying to find out, Kate. It's been said that 36 percent of the 100 million plus people that will be watching Sunday's game will be watching more for the commercials than the game itself. Who would have thought, but that is the percentages that we're getting. The question is why and at the end of the day does it matter? Do people buy what they are selling? Well we decided to find out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TURNER (voice-over): Do you remember laughing with this? Feeling really uncomfortable during this or rooting for this adorable little kid? You know you liked watching them, but do you even remember what those commercials were for? Believe it or not despite all the buzz a recent study shows 80 percent of those ads don't make people buy the stuff they are selling. So why are companies spending big bucks on ads year after year?

MIKE OZARIAN, "FORBES" MAGAZINE: They do it because if it is successful the game is tremendous.

TURNER: Some experts say the Super Bowl ad craze started 30 years ago when Steve Jobs took a chance by airing a controversial ad for Apple's debut of the Macintosh computer, drawing parallels between IBM computers and the conformist society in George Orwell's novel "1984."

OZARIAN: Apple saw a huge spike in Macintosh sales. It was incredibly effective. It was emotional. That was the benchmark and is still the benchmark today that people use to decide whether or not a Super Bowl ad is effective.

TURNER: That ad costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to produce. Since then the cost of produce and air the commercials has skyrocketed. In the past decade "Forbes" magazine said money spent on advertising during the Super Bowl has doubled from $150 million to more than $300 million because it's one of the few TV events of the year as evidently DVR proof.

OZARIAN: We don't want to show up to work the next day and say I want to watch the Super Bowl on tape tonight, we want to watch it live. That is the main reason why the Super Bowl, which is going to have over 100 million people watching it live commands the price for advertising that it does.

TURNER: Since companies are spending all that money on just a few hours of TV broadcasting some now release teasers weeks ahead of the big game to garner buzz online. David Beckham's may score points with audience participation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You go there and vote at the end of this commercial.

OZARIAN: Everybody loves David Beckham for one reason or another.

TURNER: While others may fall short of the gold mine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two professional teams will be playing a game in honor of my first Wonderful Pistachio's commercial.

OZARIAN: I think that's a flop. I don't think Wonderful Pistachios will see a bounce in sales because of that commercial.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TURNER: OK, so will we be talking about that or will that commercial fall flat? There are a lot of questions we'll be asking after Sunday night's game. Also by the way, those 30-second Super Bowl ads we know that they are so expensive. But did you know that they are more expensive than any other sporting broadcast, more expensive than the World Series, game seven of the NBA finals, the Olympics, more expensive.

I was giving you some stats this morning because I have stats folks with me. Jonathan Becher, SAP chief marketing officer and also Alexis Glick, CEO of Genyouth with me here out on Super Bowl Boulevard this morning. Thank you guys for joining us.

So basically, Alexis, I want to talk with you. You partner up with the NFL and "Fuel Up To Play 60," which I think is a really important initiative that the NFL has put into place. So tell me a little bit about that and why the partnership is so important.

ALEXIS GLICK, CEO OF GENYOUTH: "Fuel Up To Play 60" really stems from an investment by 50,000 of America's dairy farmers in partnership with the National Football League to empower students in the school building to eat healthy and get 60 minutes of physical activity daily. The most amazing thing about it is we're in 73,000 schools. We're reaching 38 million kids a day and fun is fundamental. So everything that we're doing is about empowering the kids to create their own solution.

TURNER: It's a good thing because our kids aren't moving these days. Childhood obesity is such an important issue. It's a problem. Jonathan, you guys at SAP recognize this problem. You went to partner up with Genyouth to do something about it.

JONATHAN BECHER, GLOBAL CMO OF SAP: Absolutely. SAP loves this Genyouth initiative, encouraging the future entrepreneurs. We're always about the innovative spirit. The fact that we are trying to inspire people through technology, we made a multi-year commitment that says how can the kids of the future who recognize that technology is pervasive in their lives. In fact, 91 percent of them say I know my future would be better if I learn more about technology. It's more than just the money, it's learning, the experience and the time.

TURNER: You know, I wrote down the word technology here because it's so important to both of you guys, but it's also important to fund this initiative. You guys are partnering up to give some money?

GLICK: Yes. They are kindly giving us $3 million to help foster social entrepreneurism in students. They are empowering kids. And an innovator and technology company like SAP, they are going to take us to places that we never thought possible. Our young venture capital kids are super excited, these mini venture capitalists.

TURNER: The ideas are great, but you got to have money to fund it, isn't that right, Kate?

BOLDUAN: Absolutely right, Nischelle. Thank you so much.

BERMAN: All right, next up on NEW DAY, a CNN exclusive, you will not want to miss, folks. In just moments, Chris Cuomo sits down with Dennis Rodman for a live one on one interview. Straight from the former NBA star's rehab facility. We're going to have Dennis Rodman unscripted, unedited. We have no idea where this one is going, folks. Just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)