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Pelosi Reclaims Speaker; Ending the Shutdown; December Jobs Report; Police in Houston Release Sketch; DeGeneres Wants Hart to Host Oscars. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired January 04, 2019 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00] REP. BEN MCADAMS (D), UTAH: I'm going to work with, you know, both sides, with the new speaker, work with Republicans and Democrats. I think we've got -- have had enough divisiveness over the last several years. It's time to move this country forward to find common ground and really address -- try and tackle some of the tough issues that we're facing as a country.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Let's talk about how that could possibly happen today. From where you stand, I mean grant you've only been there, you know, 24 hours, do you think that there's any way to break the impasse today and reopen the government?

MCADAMS: You know, I hope so. This is -- this is -- first and foremost, we've got to get back to doing the work of the people. There's important issues that need to be addressed. And, you know, look, there are going to be tough debates over the next couple of years, tough issues that we have to try and tackle, and there's going to be strong ideas on all sides. But we can't let every disagreement result in a shutdown of the government. We've got to be able to continue to do the basic work of the people, as we have other important debates, as we search for common ground, but we've got to keep doing the basic work that the American people depend on us for. The, you know, the basic services that the American government provides have to be there and we can't just shut down the government every time there's a disagreement.

So I'm hoping that we can find that common ground, get the government back up and going and then move -- move forward to discuss important issues, like border security and immigration reform and what we can do to protect dreamers and provide a pathway for dreamers to stay here legally. All of those things are important and need to be addressed, but we've got to -- got to keep the government open in the meantime.

CAMEROTA: Well, look, as you know, the shutdown has come down to President Trump's demand for a wall. But yesterday, and, in fact, many days over the past weeks, the president seems to be redefining or rebranding what a wall would look like. So let me just play for you what he said yesterday in the Briefing Room.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The wall about -- you can call it a barrier, you can call it whatever you want, but essentially we need protection in our country.

I have never had so much support as I have in the last week over my stance for border security, for border control and for, frankly, the wall or the barrier.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: If Democrats -- if the president calls it a barrier, do you think that today Democrats can eek out some deal if everyone agrees it's just called a barrier and willing to give billions of dollars for that?

MCADAMS: You know, I think that's a step in the right direction. Border security is important to all of us. Immigration reform is important to all of us. We have a broken immigration system. That is really at the root of the problem. If we can put on the table reforming our broken immigration system, and then -- and then also in talking about important issues, like border security, I think there's room for common ground.

CAMEROTA: You -- OK, let's talk about the target on your back, if there really is one, as we said in the intro. You are Utah's lone Democrat in Congress. Eighty percent of your district identifies as Republican or unaffiliated. Republicans think that they will be able to take back your seat in two years.

So, how do you walk around the halls of Congress if there is a target on your back?

MCADAMS: You know, I've been successful in Utah because I work hard. I've been the mayor of Salt Lake County for the last six years representing 85 percent of this district. So I know the district. I know the voters. My secret to success has been hard, hard work, relentless work and then I'm a good listener. I meet with my voters, meet with the public, listen to the concerns that are on their mind and then work really hard to represent them.

And, you know, I'm not new to the people of Utah. They've seen me in action for six years as the mayor. And now, as congressman, I'm just going to continue to deliver the same level of service and same type of service that I've delivered over the last six years. And I'm confident that I'll be able to continue to serve long into the future.

CAMEROTA: You had a really sweet tweet about your first moments in Congress yesterday and about your kids. I just want to read it. You said, first debate of the 116th Congress was between my kids and Rashida Talib's kids about what is more monumental, being the first one in 2016 to dab on the House floor or the first to floss. And that is really cute. And it stands in stark contrast to the video moment that we've been playing of Rashida Talib using quite profane language to talk about the president. So let me play that moment for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RASHIDA TALIB (D), MICHIGAN: And when your son looks at you and says, mamma, look, you won, bullies don't win. And I said, baby, they don't, because we're going to go in there and we're going to impeach the mother (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: OK, so there she was talking about her children in contrast to how you were talking about your children.

And on the larger issue, I mean, do you think that that's the right tact to take to begin talking about it, to begin the new session so loaded for bear as some freshmen seem to be.

MCADAMS: You know, I don't think so. That's not the style of leadership that I've given in Utah and -- over the last several years. And I think it's different. You know, the conversation that I was having with my kids last night is they were talking about the few votes that were cast yesterday while they were on the floor, but they were disappointed to see that every vote came down to a party line and -- and can't there be more common ground, even on some of these, you know, technical motions? Can't we find common ground? They'd like to see me and others crossing over and finding room for agreement.

[08:35:12] And so I hope that that can be the tenor of the next couple of years is reaching out, trying to build that common ground. Find things that we agree on. There are going to be important issues where there's passionate disagreement on both sides of the aisle, and I get that, but let's look for those areas where we can agree, where we can find common ground and try and tackle some of the tough issues that we're facing as a country.

CAMEROTA: But do you sense from your fellow freshmen that some of them are in no mood for compromise?

MCADAMS: You know, I do sense that from some of them and I just -- that's not who I am and that's not the -- what I think we need in Washington. We need to recognize that there is disagreement. And I come to the table with strong beliefs and strong passions as well. But let's bring those to the table and make that -- make the dialogue stronger and then look to find those areas where we can agree, where we can build common ground.

CAMEROTA: Congressman Ben McAdams, thank you very much. We appreciate you being on NEW DAY.

MCADAMS: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, the final jobs report of 2018 was released just moments ago. A blockbuster number. We'll tell you what it is, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Breaking news. The Labor Department just released the last jobs report of 2018. It could be summed up in one word, wow.

Christine Romans here with the numbers. Romans.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I would say great, actually. It was a great finish to the year for companies in their hiring. When you look at this, you can see 312,000 net new jobs in December. And October and November were both revised higher. So it was a strong year overall for hiring.

[08:40:13] And the unemployment rate popped up a little bit to 3.9 percent. Remember it's been at 3.7, which is the lowest since the 1960s. Well, the reason why this is actually a good sign is because 400,000 people who had been out of the labor market decided to look for work. They were then counted among the unemployed because now they're more confident, they're actively looking for work, and that drove the unemployment rate up a little bit.

Let me show you the sectors here, really important. Health care, every month I say this, this is a driver of the American economy. Health care. All kinds of different jobs in health care. That continues to be strong. Construction and manufacturing, that's also a strong sign in the market.

So let's look at the annual numbers. Really important here. We tallied all of them up for every month this year, including the revisions, 2.6 million jobs created in 2018. That is the best since 2015 when we saw 2.7 million, 2014 we saw 3 million jobs created. So just take a look at that for a minute, you guys. That's where we are. A very strong finish to 2018 and another strong year for hiring in 2018, the best in a couple of years.

I want to look at the markets here real quickly because you have them up, but they're still not even taking away half of yesterday's loss. Yesterday was a route in tech. Software technology, information technology shares at a seven year low. Apple was the real problem there. But these jobs numbers, very interesting.

One last statistics, guys, wages, up 3.2 percent. and we saw some revisions. So through the fall you had at least 3 percent wage growth. That's going to create an interesting conversation I think over at the Fed. These are strong numbers. The Fed's been talking about -- people have been talking about whether the Fed has been raising interest rates too quickly. Maybe they're going to need to keep raising interest rates because of how hot the economy looks.

Guys.

BERMAN: Be very --

CAMEROTA: Good news.

BERMAN: Jerome Powell's job just got harder today, if that was even possible.

ROMANS: Yes, it did.

BERMAN: All right, Christine Romans, thanks so much. ROMANS: You're welcome.

CAMEROTA: Thank you very much.

All right, so Houston area police are hoping that this composite sketch on your screen will find the driver who gunned down seven-year- old Jazmine Barnes. Our Nick Valencia spoke with Jazmine's mother and has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Sitting at home, her gunshot wound still bandaged, LaPorsha Washington is devastated.

LAPORSHA WASHINGTON, JAZMINE'S MOTHER: You took a seven-year-old life and you can never replace that. No amount of money, no amount of gifts, no amount of support, anything can ever replace my child, our child.

VALENCIA: Washington and her four daughters were on a Sunday morning coffee run when they were ambushed.

WASHINGTON: The next thing you know -- I didn't even hear the first -- the first gunshot. All I remember is my glass shattering.

VALENCIA: Her seven-year-old daughter, Jazmine Barnes, was sitting in the back of the car. She was still in her pajamas when she was shot and killed.

WASHINGTON: I turned the light on in the car and turned around and looked at my baby and she was leaned over on the door and blood was everywhere.

VALENCIA: Wounded, Washington raced to the hospital.

WASHINGTON: The hospital was seven minutes away. I was flying down the beltway until my car started to shake. And when my car started to shake, I told my babies, I was like, oh, the tire is out. I was like, I can't make it no farther.

VALENCIA: Surveillance video shows the suspected shooter fleeing in this red pickup truck. He's still on the run.

WASHINGTON: You're being a coward if you don't step forward and do the right thing.

VALENCIA: Alexis Dilbert, Jazmine's 15-year-old sister, was in the passenger seat during the shooting and made eye contact with the gunman.

VALENCIA (on camera): What did his face look like?

ALEXIS DILBERT, JAZMINE'S SISTER: He -- like he just looked like sick. Like when he looked in the car, he just looked sick, like his face went really pale. That's like all I can remember. And his eyes were blue. His face was thin and pale. VALENCIA (voice over): The Harris County Sheriff released this sketch.

They've added more patrol cars on the streets of Houston, focused on finding the killer.

WASHINGTON: We're scared to leave our house. We're scared to go to the store.

VALENCIA: There's been an outpouring of nationwide support, including a large reward, even a Houston Texans football player has pledged to pay for the seven-year-old's funeral.

WASHINGTON: Jazmine is -- when I say she's just -- she's my love child. She always want to hug and kiss on you. And she loved the world.

VALENCIA: Nick Valencia, CNN, Houston, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Thanks to Nick for that.

A four vehicle crash killed at least seven people on a Florida interstate, eight others were injured. A fireball and think black smoke form the crash could be seen for miles. Burning car parts and spilled diesel fuel force officials to close portions of I-75 near Gainesville last night. Not clear what set off this collision.

CAMEROTA: Wait until you see this video. Ice covered roads are being blamed for the deaths of four people in Oklahoma. Oh, my gosh. And there's this new video from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol that shows a trooper almost being struck while responding to a crash in Tulsa on Wednesday night. Police will not say how fast that car was going, but the car was given a ticket for speeding.

[08:45:06] BERMAN: Dramatic video of a California man escaping a raging fire. He jumped out of his apartment's second story window. More like dropped out of it. Moments earlier, neighbors caught his wife. Neither was seriously hurt. Everyone in the complex did get out. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

CAMEROTA: Thank God. That's scary. It's always amazing when firefighters can catch people. I mean we often see it with babies as they come out of the window, but with a full grown human, I mean an adult, that is --

BERMAN: A full grown human.

CAMEROTA: A full grown human.

BERMAN: Yes.

CAMEROTA: That's astonishing.

BERMAN: I knew what you meant.

CAMEROTA: Thank you. BERMAN: All right, there is a new push for Kevin Hart to host the

Oscars, and it's being led by one of the highest profile members of the gay community. We'll discuss, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Brand-new this morning, Ellen DeGeneres is pushing for comedian and actor Kevin Hart to host the Oscars, or at least recommit to hosting the Oscars. Hart bowed out one month ago after past homophobic comments on Twitter and in his comedy act resurfaced. But during an interview on her show, this is what Ellen DeGeneres said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELLEN DEGENERES, HOST, "THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW": I called the Academy today because I really want you to host the Oscars. I think that -- I was so excited when I heard that they asked you. I said, Kevin's on. I have no idea if he wants to come back and host, but what are your thoughts? And they were like, oh, my God, we want him to host. We feel like that maybe he misunderstood or it was handled wrong or maybe we said the wrong thing, but we want him to host. Whatever we can do, we would be thrilled, and he should host the Oscars.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:50:10] BERMAN: Joining us now, CNN chief media correspondent, host of "Reliable Sources," Brian Stelter, and journalist LZ Granderson. He's a CNN opinion writer.

First of all, LZ, I haven't seen you in ages. Great to have you on with us. Thanks so much.

CAMEROTA: You look well.

BERMAN: You look terrific, albeit in a small box.

LZ GRANDERSON, CNN OPINION WRITER: Thank you very much.

BERMAN: Brian, just remind us --

GRANDERSON: I should say the same, but I can't see you.

BERMAN: I promise you, Alisyn looks great. Me, another story.

CAMEROTA: True.

BERMAN: How'd we get here? What's going on?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: This is such a strange situation because the Academy hired Kevin Hart and then, of course, two days later he quit. The Academy has not filled the job. It's been a month now and the Academy has not filled the job.

CAMEROTA: Isn't that remarkable, they didn't fill the job.

STELTER: Normally this is a really exciting job. One of the best jobs in Hollywood. You get to hose the biggest night of the year. But lately there's been fewer people that actually want the job. It's tireless. You get a lot of critics.

Kevin Hart took the job. He said it was his dream come true. It is so strange that within the course of two days he quit amid this online outcry about past homophobic tweets and comments.

And, look, what he had said in the past was very ugly and I think he is still, in some ways, sounding like he's the victim a little bit, blaming people for going through his old tweets, a little bit unhappy with that. But I do think he's trying to show an evolution here. And he -- there's clearly a pathway for him to go back to the Oscars.

CAMEROTA: LZ, here is what Kevin Hart said about his reasoning for why he pulled out to begin with.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN HART, COMEDIAN: I was given an ultimatum. I was given an ultimatum. Kevin, apologize or we're going to find another host. When I was given that ultimatum, this is now -- it's now becoming like a cloud. It was once the brightest star and brightest light ever just got real dark.

I don't want to step on that stage and make that night about me and my past when you got people that have worked hard to step on that stage for the first time and receive an award. And I felt like it was a conversation that was just going to continue and continue and continue. I would much rather say I'm sorry again and walk away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: LZ, what's so demanding about apologize and you can still host? Why is that a rough ultimatum?

GRANDERSON: I don't know. You're going to have to ask Kevin that question. I -- it sounds to me as if he's getting bad advice because that simply means that's an opportunity for you to go on that stage, apologize again and explain to an international audience why the comments you said in the past were so damaging to the LBGTQ community. It feels like it was more of his ego that is preventing him from apologizing more than anything. And I think that's the offense is that he allowed his ego to interfere with what could have been a great, teachable moment for everyone.

But with all that being said, I'm on Ellen's side. I would like to see him host. And this is why. I personally was involved in a very public battle with a -- with a former college at ESPN who was not LGBTQ friendly. I was all over the Internet. It was all over television. And I personally called our president and said, don't suspend him. That we need to have this space in order for us to have these kind of conversations wide open. Progress isn't made because things are easy. (INAUDIBLE) push forward and you bring people with you.

And so I support Ellen in trying to make sure that Kevin Hart gets this opportunity. And I hope Kevin Hart is surrounded by the people that continue to educate him so he understand exactly why his words were so painful.

BERMAN: So Kevin Hart told Ellen that he has apologized for this in the past and says he doesn't have a homophobic bone in his body. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HART: I know I don't have a homophobic bone in my body. I know that I've addressed it. I know that I've apologized. I know that within my apologies, I've taken ten years to put my apology to work. I've yet to go back to that version of an immature comedian I once was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: LZ, is that enough?

GRANDERSON: I mean it's enough for me. But, at the end of the day, it is enough for Kevin, because an apology is only sincere if it means something to the person giving the apology. And the acceptance of the apology only matters if the person who hears the apology believes in its sincerity.

I do believe he has set that part of his comedic act in the past. It's very difficult to be a successful actor/comedian in Hollywood and harbor those sort of thoughts so publically for so long, especially now. So I don't believe he's the same person that did that act ten years ago.

But with that being said, I'm not -- I'm not completely convinced that he understands how painful his words were and how damage they could be for a young person and their family and that's the part that I want him to get. Not that it's not cool to say it, but that understanding why it's not cool to say it, I think that's a connection that he's missing.

CAMEROTA: And that could be the teachable moment, right? I mean I understand. I think -- I appreciate that he says he doesn't want the Oscars to be about him and his controversy. Good. Good start. But you can dispense with it by coming out and having a little monologue saying what you've learned and then moving on and hosting the Oscars.

I mean, I think, Brian, this is also about the tyranny of Twitter. About how much of a pound of flesh do we demand from people and how far back, OK? So, obviously, the world has evolved in the past ten years. If I believe Kevin Hart, he's evolved in the past 10 years. But he's letting Twitter keep him from his dream come true. The Oscars want him. Ellen wants him. LZ wants him. Isn't it time to sort of silence the haters and do it?

[08:55:36] STELTER: Well, I think what's going to happen is exactly what you described, some kind of monologue, some kind of comment on stage that wraps this up that hopefully makes the best of an awkward situation. We're kind of seeing how Hollywood works, right? In Hollywood, you go on stage with one of the most famous (INAUDIBLE) in the world. You talk with Ellen. The video leaks (INAUDIBLE) after new years. Now the plan is set. I think we're seeing the Academy find a way forward here with Kevin Hart to host the Oscars.

BERMAN: Maybe someone will watch the Oscars now --

STELTER: Hey.

BERMAN: Is the upside of this.

CAMEROTA: Bingo!

BERMAN: All right, Brian Stelter, LZ Granderson. LZ, great to see you. Thanks so much for being with us.

GRANDERSON: Thanks, guys. Any time.

CAMEROTA: All right, President Trump will meet with congressional leaders soon. Will the president and Democrats end the shutdown today? More on that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Good Friday morning, everyone. I'm so glad you're with me. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. Jim has the day off.

[08:59:56] And this just in, a very strong jobs report, beating expectations. The U.S. economy adding 312,000 jobs in December. Again, much better than economists were predicting. It could be just what the stock market needs after