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Broncos Win the Super Bowl; Johnny Manziel's Girlfriend Files Domestic Violence Charges; Lunar New Year. Aired Midnight-1a ET
Aired February 08, 2016 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:00] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: This is "CNN Newsroom" live from Los Angeles. Warning shots fired by South Korea as tensions mound mounted with the north after Kim Jong Un's weekend rocket launch; American politics: Hillary Clinton admits to an uphill climb in this week's New Hampshire primary and Donald Trump tries to lower expectations in an interview with CNN; and, the oldest quarterback to ever start a Super Bowl gets the win. We are live in the Bay area for complete coverage of American football's biggest night.
Hello, and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Isha Sesay. "Newsroom" starts right now.
Tensions are rising on the Korean peninsula. A South Korean defense ministry official says South Korea's Navy fired warning shots after a North
Korean patrol boat crossed what's known as the Northern Limit Line into South Korean waters Monday. The North Korean Vessel then withdrew. This comes just one day after North Korea launched a rocket with a satellite into space. While Pyongyang insists the launch was part of its peaceful space program, the U.S., South Korea and other nations view it as a front for testing a ballistic missile. The U.N. Security Council met in emergency session Sunday and strongly condemned the rocket launch. It's promising Pyongyang will face consequences.
Well, CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us now from Seoul, South Korea. Paula, this firing of shots by South Korea's Navy, put it in context for us. Just how significant a development is it?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Isha, this is something that we see fairly regularly. The border, in the sea area, is one that North Korea doesn't recognize. They believe the border should be further south; so quite often they encroach upon that fire. The South fires warning shots and the, this particular occasion, 20 minutes later they headed back north.
Now, on a normal day it probably wouldn't have gotten much attention but of course the focus is on North Korea at this point and there is additional scrutiny on every single thing they do.
Now we have just seen on North Korean television they've announced they will be celebrating today, later on, in about five hours' time, they will have fireworks in Pyongyang, to celebrate the launch of that satellite. They're the only ones celebrating, though, as the rest of the word is condemning them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HANCOCKS: The smile said it all. Kim Jong Un claims a successful satellite launch as the international condemnation floods in. North Korea's most famous anchor joyously announces the news Sunday: 9:00 a.m. lift off. 9 minutes 46 seconds later an earth observation satellite in orbit according to the North's National Aerospace Development Administration. South Korea's Defense Minister says the satellite appears to have entered orbit but it's not clear if it's working.
It took the White House less than an hour to condemn the launch. South Korean President, Park Geun-hye, called it "a challenge to world peace." Japan's Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, said it was "totally unacceptable."
North Korea may claim the launch and its space program is peaceful, but outside the country it's seen as a front for long range missile tests. A rocket that launches a satellite is essentially the same as one that could launch a war head. This satellite launch may turn out to be a game changer for military defense on the peninsula.
The U.S. and South Korea announced they will discuss the possible deployment of an advanced missile defense system called THAAD, a system China has been vocally opposed to.
COMMANDER THOMAS VANDAN, US ARMY: It is time to move forward on this issue. we look forward to close consultation and coordination on THAAD.
HANCOCKS: The talk returns, once again, to sanctions, with an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting Sunday but so far sanctions haven't stopped satellite launches or nuclear tests.
DANIEL PINKSTON, TROY UNIVERSITY: You would have to use force to make them stop, or we would have to see revolutionary change within Pyongyang, whereby they abandon the state ideology, their world view, their development strategy and so forth.
HANCOCKS: Intelligence agencies here in South Korea have given some information as well. They believe North Korea would have learned something about intercontinental ballistic missile technology from this satellite launch, this is what the world is concerned about. They say they will have learned a bit about guidance control and separation but they haven't tested the reentry into the atmosphere, which you would need for that ICBM. Isha?
SESAY: And, Paula, what of the timing this launch? What are we to make of that?
HANCOCKS: Well, there was one interesting thing that the intelligence agency [00:05:01] said that about that, in fact. Obviously the weather was a very key factor for North Korea. They needed it to be clear. They needed very little wind, no rain, and that's what they had on Sunday. But also the intelligence agencies here say they probably planned it so that it was before the Lunar New Year and also before the Super Bowl because they didn't want it to clash with anything that could be significant internationally. They wanted to make sure that they got as much exposure as possible. They mentioned Kim Jong Il, the late leader, the father of the current leader, in the announcement on North Korean state media. Of course, his birthday is coming up on the 16th of the February. It could well have been to come member rate him as well.
SESAY: All very interesting. Our own Paula Hancocks joining us there. Paula, we appreciate it; thank you so much.
Well, Japan is calling for stronger sanctions against North Korea in the wake of Sunday's launch and says business as usual no longer apply. Journalist Michael Firn joins us from Tokyo.
Michael, good to have you with us. Michael, any more reaction from Japanese authorities following this U.N. Security Council? Before that, that meeting, there had been strong condemnation. I'm wondering if there has been anything further?
MICHAEL FIRN, JOURNALIST, via satellite: Yes; we heard today from the Defense Minister again, Nakatani saying that there needs to be condemnation from the U.N. Security Council and that it also needs to urge North Korea to exercise restraints. We also heard from the foreign minister saying that the test, the nuclear test the previous month showed the real danger from North Korea. He says there needs to be a quick response, a quick resolution from the Security Council, it needs to include definitive new measures. Those measures obviously including sanctions.
Japan also lobbying for support for unilateral sanctions with the foreign minister phoning up his counterparts in seven countries over the weekend, yes, on Sunday night, trying to get their support for unilateral sanction. He says he got support from the U.S. and from South Korea. May not be as much support from South Korea right now for a military information sharing scheme. Now Yoshihide Suga, Japan's chief cabinet secretary said today that Japan would welcome this information sharing scheme with South Korea, sharing information about military developments concerning North Korea but Seoul is reporting the Defense Ministry there, is more concerned and says really this
would need to get public support and support from parliament before going ahead.
SESAY: Michael, how much pressure can Japan really put on North Korea by imposing unilateral sanctions?
FIRN: Well, you could argue that sanctions haven't worked so far. There has been a decade of Security Council sanctions, and they haven't stopped three more nuclear tests and three more ballistic missile tests and Japan already has unilateral sanctions against North Korea. They were eased somewhat a couple of years back in the hope of progress in the abductees issue, the issue of Japanese kidnapped by North Korea decades ago; but they may be tightened up again, measures such as restricted bank remittance, people sending money from Japan to North Korea. Also travel restrictions. There are a lot of ethnic North Koreans living in Japan, so restrictions on people traveling to North Korea and then coming back to Japan; and, maybe going one step for the with financial sanctions against companies that do business with North Korea. They may really hit home, trying to cut off money flow to the North Korean regime.
SESAY: Michael Firn joining us from Tokyo. Michael, we appreciate the insight, analysis and very latest there from Tokyo, Japan. Thank you so much.
Now to the race for the White House. The New Hampshire primary is just one day away. Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton took a break from campaigning this Sunday, spending part of the day in Flint, Michigan, a city dealing with a contaminated water crisis. Clinton attended a church service telling the audience clean water should not be a luxury. She then returned to New Hampshire where she is currently trailing Bernie Sanders in the polls.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY) DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know I've got an uphill climb. I'm asking people the really consider this a job interview, who is ready to do the job on day one, who can be president and commander-in-chief. Who has the most vetted, tested plans for
actually getting more jobs, raising incomes, dealing with prescription drug costs, all the issues that people talk to me about in New Hampshire. So I think if I can persuade Granite Stater's to give me another look I'll do better but, you know, I'm going to keep fighting until last vote is cast.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
10:00:02] SESAY: Well Clinton has made Flint a focus of her campaign since early January. She promised to be the town's partner through the water crisis.
On the Republican side the latest polls show Donald Trump with a solid 17-point lead over his closest competitor in New Hampshire. In an interview with CNN's Dana Bash Trump says he faced a lot of pressure during Saturday's debate, adding he wouldn't be happy if he came in second place in the primary.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Of course I have to ask you about a moment that a lot of people are talking about, the debate last night the opening --
DONALD TRUMP (R) REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yeah.
BASH: -- when they were calling your names, Ben Carson's name was called. He didn't go out and then it looked like you were just kind of hanging out the make him feel better; what happened?
TRUMP: Well, it wasn't ben's fault. You couldn't hear anything. I mean, Ben stood there and I was saying Ben I thought I head your name but I'm not sure and you could not hear anything; it was crazy. There was a man back there who didn't know too much about what he was doing and nobody really knew what was happening. I just said hey I'm going to go out, what difference does it make and I walked out and Ben didn't, but it was not Ben's fault because you could not hear a thing?
BASH: But did you hang out with him because --
TRUMP: I did.
BASH: -- you could tell it was not going well for him.
TRUMP: I didn't know what was going on. I was saying what's going on here. This is not the way to start a debate, but it was a great evening, actually; the way it turned out, but the opening was a little bit different.
BASH: I've noticed that in the past couple of day's you've been talking about something your father used to say to you which is take the lumps out.
TRUMP: Yeah.
BASH: Are you taking the lumps out right now?
TRUMP: I think so.
BASH: The way you described it is, you know what -- I don't know what he called you, Donald or Donnie, you know what, be nicer sometimes.
TRUMP: Well my father did, he had the expression, take the lumps out. I used that when I said I'm not giving Iran back the $150 million that we just handed them.
BASH: Are you also using it in terms demeanor now?
TRUMP: It's possible. It's possible. I mean, I feel very good. I feel very good about the campaign. I feel very good about the way it's going. We're doing really well up in New Hampshire. I do hear there's a snowstorm Coming, which I'm not happy about, but I guess we can't stop that but
we're feeling very good. I think the debate was very important last night. I'm glad it's over. I'm glad we did well. So, I mean, Tuesday's going to be a big day. I'm very, very happy the debate is over with, but I enjoyed the experience.
BASH: You keep saying that. It's almost like you feel - you look like you felt relief --
TRUMP: No, no. There was a lot of pressure on the debate. I'll be honest. for everybody, not just for me.
BASH: Sure.
TRUMP: And there is more pressure when I see you and all of your people and everybody else saying this is a vital debate for Trump. I wish I didn't hear it. When I hear Jeremy saying this debate is vital for Trump, you know, it makes it more pressure, and I have always liked pressure, to be honest with your; I've sort of liked pressure and it came out very well.
BASH: One last question, you did very well in Iowa. I'm not taking that away from you but you know because you built a brand on understanding that perception is everything and the perception, because of the polls, was that you would win Iowa. So if you don't win in New Hampshire, what is that going to do to your political brand? Is it going to be damaged?
TRUMP: So if I had two seconds, I think I'm doing okay. I'd much rather win. I could say to you if I came in second or third I'd be thrilled, okay, and that way we'd lower ex -- I know about expectations. We lower expectations. if I came in second, I wouldn't be happy; okay? So now if I come in second you can go around and say, boom. No, I would much prefer to win in New Hampshire.
BASH: And what would it mean down road, I mean, about getting the nomination?
TRUMP: I think we'll do fine. I mean, look, we're going to do very well I think in South Carolina. We have tremendous numbers there. I think the SEC is going to be great. Nevada is a place I have major holdings. I have thousands of employees there. I think we're going to do well all the way down the line and we hope to do really well on Tuesday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: For more on Saturday's debate and what lies ahead for Tuesday's primary I'm joined now by Republican Consultant John Thomas, one of our favorites. John, good to have you with us. Before we get to the debate itself, I want you to reflect on the new, softer Donald Trump. Is this a change in strategy or is he just playing New Hampshire?
JOHN THOMAS, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: Well, he is playing New Hampshire, but it's also he got a dose of reality in Iowa. He didn't win. You know, the justification for his candidacy is he is going to make America great again by winning. If he doesn't win these states, it's hard for him to make
that argument to voters. So I think the softer tone is a reflection of anything can happen in these next few states he is and hedging his bets.
SESAY: Speaking of anything can happen, let's talk about the debate on Saturday, the GOP debate, the last fathering ahead of the Tuesday vote, filled with so many moments. Talk to me about some of your favorites, and really how much it altered the dynamics in this race.
THOMAS: Sure. So, there were a few good moments in the debate. In fact, I think it was the best debate of the cycle; but the big moment that we are all [00:15:01] talking about is Marco Rubio's flub.
SESAY: Yes, Chris flogging.
THOMAS: Chris Christie laid it on him and Marco Rubio tried to throw it back but flubbed it. That's what we're talking about today and the problem is when you look at New Hampshire, almost 40-percent of the electorate, on the Republican side, is saying they are undecided today. So what happened last night can set in momentum those undecideds to break against Marco Rubio.
SESAY: But let me break down what happened last night. You know, the argument that was being lobbied against Marco Rubio was essentially he's scripted.
THOMAS: Yes.
SESAY: He's, I guess, inauthentic.
THOMAS: Right.
SESAY: And really, they were trying to turn his message discipline against him. Is that something that he really needs to worry about? Is that something -- I mean, how damaging is that really, the fact that you hold your message or keep going with it.
THOMAS: Long term, if he can get through New Hampshire, he is recover from this because Marco Rubio is passionate on the issues. He is an authentic candidate, although his greatest strength last night, which is the fact that he can deliver a sound bite became his greatest weakness.
Marco Rubio should have seen that coming. Chris Christie had been laying out that attack all week long in his stump speeches. The Rubio team didn't prep him and we saw it. I think Marco can recover long term, but the fact is voters have to trust that what you tell them, you mean it and if you keep repeating a sound bite, which, the funny thing is, Isha, all of the candidates on the stage -
SESAY: That's what I was going to say -
THOMAS: -- had sound bites. Chris Christie is I'm the governor and a former federal prosecutor. He is a One Note Johnny, too.
SESAY: Absolutely. So, message discipline, is that the bad thing.
THOMAS: Well, it's not unless you're called to the carpet on it and you repeat the same message three times. Then it is bad.
SESAY: How many paths exist out of New Hampshire, now that the race is tightening?
THOMAS: Right, so you are going to see in New Hampshire a four-way scrum; right? You are going to see Bush, Kasich, Rubio and Christie. Who comes out of there, they are going to try to propel themselves into South Carolina. We'll see how that shakes out.
Right now, it seems like Trump is going to take New Hampshire. He has a good organization in South Carolina and we'll see who becomes -- what this New Hampshire race is all about is who is going to be the anti-Trump? Who is going to be that anti-establishment guy? As the field narrows -- whoever doesn't come in a close second is probably doing to drop out. So we can say good-bye to Ben Carson. We can say good-bye to Chris Christie. Their share of votes is probably not going to go to Donald Trump. So that's what this race and how its evolving, that's why New Hampshire is so important.
SESAY: Ben Carson, who's contribution on Saturday night was, I'm here. I'm not here to be pretty.
THOMAS: You know, I felt bad for him, not only in the introduction was he forgotten, which was a giant boondoggle, but throughout the debate every time he said something it was, well, I have ideas on that, too. We understand that. He could just tell us his ideas.
SESAY: I know. I know.
THOMAS: Yes.
SESAY: We can see if he survives --
THOMAS: Good candidate, I think he should be running for the U.S. Senate, perhaps not commander-in-chief.
SESAY: We shall see how Tuesday plays out, and I know you'll be with us throughout the week to give us some more analysis. So, John, thank you.
THOMAS: Thanks, Isha.
SESAY: Thank you; thank you; thank you. We will bring you continuing coverage of the New Hampshire primary all day Tuesday, right here on CNN. So you are going to want to stick with us.
Now time for a quick break. New fighting is driving tens of thousands of Syrians outs of Aleppo. We'll take you to the Turkish-Syrian border, where many of these people are now stranded, just trying to make it to safety. plus, more than two days after an earthquake flattened buildings in Taiwan, rescuers find two people alive in the rubble. Do stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:22:27] SESAY: Welcome back, everyone. A series of air strikes rained down on northern Syria Sunday, targeting villages leading to the Turkish border. The (Inaudible) for Human Rights says the strikes, believed to be from Russian planes, hit towns north of Aleppo. With Russian air support the Syrian regime is advancing on opposition held areas around the city. Numerous casualties were reported including children.
Well the U.N. estimated 40,000 have been displaced by the recent fighting around Aleppo. Turkey says it has an open border policy for those fleeing the war but tens of thousands of refugees are now stuck along the Turkish/Syrian border. Our Arwa Damon is there with more on those desperately trying to cross over
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They can see Turkey's flag fluttering in the distance. Tens of thousands have fled in recent days. The safety they long for painfully near, but closed off.
What is this life, this woman cries out from one of the packed tents? Have mercy on us. Have mercy. But so far, there is none.
Turkish authorities continue to insist that they have an open door policy, but being here that most certainly does not really seem to be the case. They say that they are providing the refugees with everything that they would need to be able to survive on the other side.
And while the camp seems to be taking on more of a permanent feel, there is nothing here to protect them from the violence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We did not come here to get tents, this man says. We don't need food or water. we want to get through and provide security for our children.
He, like many of the others, has already been displaced by Syria's relentless violence multiple times. These are the people who held out hope, who didn't want the make the impossible decision to leave everything they have and life behind.
This is said to be the aftermath of just one of the Russian air strikes pounding Aleppo and its countryside in recent days, the ongoing cries of agony of those who continue to lose loved ones. Day and night, the never ending desperate scramble to save lives, as the Assad regime's army gains ground under Russian air cover.
Turkey is allowing the wounded and those needing medical treatment through. [00:25:02] At (inaudible) hospital we meet Sadeed Hajab (ps), a rebel fighter injured a few months back who came to Turkey five days ago for surgery. Next to him, a man who arrived the day before, unable to talk. Hajab says the Russian bombing is like nothing they have seen before. They come with four planes at a time, he curses Putin.
Rebel commanders warn that they can only hold out in Aleppo for a few months. The U.N. fears that in the rebel held eastern part of the city, upwards of 300,000 civilians are in grave risk.
But despite Turkey's statements that it won't abandon those in need, one more gate to safety, for now, remains closed.
Arwa Damon, CNN, on the Turkey-Syria border.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: (HEADLINES) Time for a quick break. The Denver Broncos are celebrating a Super Bowl win. We'll have the highlights from the biggest sporting event in America. And, off the field, we'll talk about latest problems for troubled quarterback Johnny Manziel.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:30:33] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: You are watching CNN newsroom live from Los Angeles; I'm Isha Sesay. The headlines this hour: (HEADLINES)
The Denver Bronco are world champions. They defeated the Carolina Panthers 24-10 to win Super Bowl 50 Sunday night. The Broncos' top
ranked Defense carried Denver to a hard fought victory. Linebacker Warren Miller led the charge and was given the MVP award.
It could end up being legendary quarterback Peyton Manning's last time taking the field, but the Halftime Show wasn't lacking for power either. Take a look at this. Coldplay, Bruno Mars and Beyonce all took the stage for the big concert. Our own Andy Scholes is a lucky man. Andy was there in Santa Clara, California, and just outside the stadium. A new world champion, Andy. You had a front seat to it all. What are your takeaways? What did you make of it all?
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT, via satellite: Well, Isha, I mean, it could be a fairytale ending for Peyton Manning if he does indeed decide to hang it up and retire from the game football. What an ending it would be. You can't really write scripts like these. It would be perfect for him and the Broncos.
Now, Peyton Manning did not have his best game in Super Bowl 50, but he did do enough to manage the game for Broncos to get the win, but he owes s big thank you to Von Miller and the defense for Denver because they played outstanding. They held this year's league MVP, Cam Newton, to probably his worst game of the season. He only had one passing touchdown in this game.
And Peyton Manning, I mean, he could go down at one of the all-time greats. He definitely will. At 39 years old, he is the oldest quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl. He's the only quarterback to win a Super Bowl for two different teams. After the win he talked about when and if he - or when he will when he's going to make the decision about his retirement. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PEYTON MANNING, QUARTERBACK, DENVER BRONCOS: I got good advice from Tony Dungee, who is going into the Hall of Fame and my old coach. He said don't make an emotional decision. this has been an emotional week and an emotional night. I have priorities in order. I want to kiss my wife, kiss my kids. I'm going to celebrate with my family and teammates. I'm going to drink a lot of beer tonight, Jim, Budweiser; Von Miller is buying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: There you go, Peyton Manning going to drink a lot of beer, going to celebrate this win. Not making any decisions just yet, but the Broncos are going to have a victory parade on Tuesday and who know, maybe then we'll hear from Peyton Manning on whether or not he's going to retire or, hey, maybe give it another year and come back.
SESAY: Who knows, but he is such a classy guy. Listen, Andy, I have got ask you about the Halftime Show, Coldplay with the help of some friends, Beyonce and Bruno Mars. How does this performance rank with the other greats, Michael Jackson, Prince, Bruce Springsteen, who have all played in the Halftime Show?
SCHOLES: You know what, from all indications it got mixed reviews. I heard a lot of people actually were joking that Coldplay was the opening agent for Beyonce because she was the last one to appear and, of course, Beyonce has tons and tons of fans. Everyone was excited when she took the stage and started performing.
I've been at the last few Halftime performances. You know, I really enjoyed Katie Perry last year. She had dancing sharks. She flew away on a star at the ends of her performance. Her's was really, really good. I have to say, just personally for me, I was a little disappointed by in year's performance. I didn't like it as much as last years but it was still good, of course, when you have Bruno Mars, Coldplay and Beyonce all up there dancing at the same time.
[00:35:02] But for me, personally, I think Katy Perry last year was a little bit better.
SESAY: You know what, many questions for you Andy Scholes, to be discussed after this. The fact that you thought Katie Perry and her dancing sharks were better than Beyonce, we'll have words after this, but let me ask you about you -- I'm very, very concerned about your taste in shows.
SCHOLES: Whoa, whoa. Hold on.
SESAY: You're coming back in 15 minutes.
SCHOLES: Beyonce -- okay.
SESAY: No, go one. Beyonce?
SCHOLES: No, I was going to say, Beyonce in New Orleans, -- Beyonce when she performed in New Orleans and she was the main event and performed many songs, that show was amazing and awesome and was considered one of the best of all times, and I don't argue with that. I'm just saying this year, we just got a little Beyonce, a little Bruno Mars, and a little Coldplay. I didn't know how it all fit that all together. That's all I'm saying.
SESAY: I see you're trying to recover here before the B-hive, the Beyonce fans will target you, of which I am one, I'm happy to say. But, you know what, I'll give you a pass, Andy Scholes. I'll give you a pass.
I know you are back in 15 minutes with more Super Bowl coverage. We will see you then. Thank you so much.
All right, well, staying with the NFL, Cleveland Browns Quarterback Johnny Manziel is having even more off the field issues. Police in Dallas Texas are investigating domestic violence allegations filed by Manziel's ex-girlfriend last week. Manziel denies hitting the woman. He has had other run ins with the law and has been accused of partying way too much in his career. It's unclear if he will have a career in the near future, if his problems persist.
For more let's bring in Darren Kavinoky. He's a criminal defense attorney. Dan, always good to have you with us.
DARREN KAVINOKY, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Thanks.
SESAY: You've also done some work in intervention as well, which gives you an added perspective to this.
KAVINOKY: I have. My background is not just criminal defense but it's also behavioral health. So plenty of work this the intervention space. so this crisis that we are now seeing with Johnny Manziel is, frankly, very typical of what I deal with.
SESAY: What do you see when you see the troubles he is having, when you see the partying and now these new allegations?
KAVINOKY: Right; well, from a legal standpoint now he is facing the possibility of domestic violence charges. So, as you mentioned, Dallas is now reopening its investigation. This could be a felony or a misdemeanor, depending on the extent of the injuries, so he has criminal exposure there. Obviously he has got some real problems with the NFL and the possibility of being cut by his team.
But in a much larger sense, the real battle that he faces is a deeply personal one. If you were to acknowledge and believe the reports from family members, from people that seem to know him well, all of whom express a great deal of concern, his dad is quoted as saying that he may not live to his 24th Birthday --
SESAY: Right.
KAVINOKY: -- that's the real tragedy. I just have to say that with what's going on in the world today, one of the things, to me, that is -- one of the biggest -- one of the biggest tragedies is the failure of people to reach their full potential, and for Johnny Manziel to be snatching defeat from the jaws of victory by squandering all of this potential, it's so sad, it's so tragic, and it's so unnecessary.
SESAY: With these celebrities, how easy is it for them to hit rock bottom? I mean, insulated by the money, the attention, all of it.
KAVINOKY: You bet; great question. It's a real problem because they say in order for people to change they need to hit rock bottom. The truth is, the bottom is wherever you choose to stop digging and then stop picking up your damn shovel. And the problem with Johnny Manziel and celebrities and high net worth individuals is there always seems to be somebody willing to hand them back that shovel, somebody who's interests are aligned with just pump that person out, get them out there and maybe they will make money in the process.
SESAY: How do you help them?
KAVINOKY: Well ultimately it's about helping them appreciate what their lives can truly be. I think the thing that gets people is ultimately being able to get some understanding, some clarity about what their lives really are, and the real cost, both to themselves and to other people. That's really what an intervention is all about. It's about breaking down those barriers of denial so that people can see themselves plainly and clearly and then start to appreciate the opportunities of change.
SESAY: Very quickly, NFL also stepping in saying they can help.
KAVINOKY: Right. Well now they are saying they can help. He may be released by his team. They only help, really, when people either ask for it or when there is a discipline situation. So it's a little bit thorny because he hasn't really run afoul of any NFL rules. That could change of course with a criminal conviction. We'll have to wait and stay tuned on that one.
SESAY: We will, Darren. Always great to have you with us.
KAVINOKY: Thank you so much. Great being here.
[00:40:04] SESAY: Thank you. All right we're going to pause for a quick break. Some people watch the polls to decide who will win the presidential race. But a Hong Kong fortune teller has a different method. Her predictions are just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SESAY: Donald Trump once said look at that face, as he insults one of his fellow U.S. Presidential candidates. Well, a Hong Kong fortune teller is doing just that, reading faces to predict the winner of the election.
Millions of people will have their fortunes read this week as they celebrate the Lunar New Year. CNN's Alexandra Field went to Hong Kong to find out what the future might hold for the presidential candidates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Forget pollsters and pundits. For predictions in a presidential election here you could always come here. Every Chinese New Year many seek ancient wisdom to find out what the future holds. The methods could seem mysterious. Who wins between the two of them?
PRISCILLA LAM, FORTUNE TELLER, HONG KONG: Must be Hillary.
FIELD: Hong Kong is still home to fortune tellers. They read palms, charts, even faces. What about these faces?
So what feature is most important in a politician's face?
LAM: Usually, okay, long face.
FIELD: The shape of the face.
LAM: Shape. Long face. This, full.
FIELD: That's right, by look at their features, Priscilla Lam says she can see the outcomes of campaigns half a world away. Take the democrats --
LAM: Hillary is the best.
FIELD: Hillary has the best face for a president?
LAM: Best face. Sharp eyes. Sharp eyes, okay; long face. High nose. Flexible lips.
FIELD: In the Republican field there is more for her to pick apart.
LAM: Donald the best.
FIELD: Comes in first in New Hampshire?
LAM: First.
FIELD: Who is number two in New Hampshire?
LAM: Okay, number two? So this one number two.
FIELD: Of course, it isn't all about-face.
DONALD TRUMP (R) REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think she's got a beautiful face.
FIELD: You've got to have luck on your side in 2016 and that's already decided, she says, by their birthdays and the stars.
LAM: Yes, okay, if there is no Donald Trump, maybe she's the win. On his birthday, his fire's stronger than Hillary's.
FIELD: That means Priscilla's projections put the elephant is in front of the donkey during the year of the red fire monkey.
How confident are you that you can take the birthdays and the faces and predict the next president of the United States?
LAM: 80-percent.
FIELD: And the rest is up to what?
LAM: Up to the weather and the place of the election, and also their representation.
FIELD: One point, the pollsters, the pundits, and Priscilla probably agree on.
Alexandra Field, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Everyone is weighing in. All right, well, thanks for watching "CNN Newsroom" live from Los Angeles; I'm Isha Sesay. "World Sport" is up next and then I'll be back with another hour of news from around the world. You are watching CNN.
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