Return to Transcripts main page
New Day Sunday
Kevin Spacey To Appear In Court Tomorrow; Mother And Daughter Await Asylum Hearing In The U.S.; The Golden Globes; Knicks' Enes Kanter Fears Assassination; Cowboys Lean On Balanced Offense For Win; Colts Dispatch Texans In Wild Card Rubber Match; National Championship Rematch; Suspect Charged With Murder Of 7-Year-Old Jazmine Barnes; Trump Might Declare Emergency To Get Wall Funding; Civilians And Police Rescue Elderly Man From Burning Car; Fireball Streaks Across Night Sky; Elizabeth Warren Barnstorms Across Iowa Aired 6-7a ET
Aired January 06, 2019 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:00:15]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. So glad to have you with us. I'm Christi Paul.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell.
The breaking news this morning out of the Houston area, sheriff's deputies have arrested a suspect in the deadly shooting of 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes. Let's get straight now to Kaylee Hartung who is joining us from Houston.
Kaylee, tell us what you've learned.
KAYLEE HARTUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor and Christi, overnight the Harris County sheriff's department filing capital murder charges against a 20-year-old man named Eric Black Jr. They say they identified him based on a tip. They brought him in for questioning without incident and they say he later admitted to participating in the shooting.
Authorities not explaining his participation specifically. Let's note they have not named him as the gunman and they say that they are continuing to pursue evidence that they say could lead to others being charged in the murder of 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes. In a statement from Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez he says, "I am grateful to our dedicated investigators, the partner law enforcement agencies that provided vital assistance, and tipsters from across the nation who pulled together to support our work to get justice for Jazmine. Our work is not finished," he says, "but I believe the people of Harris County can take comfort in knowing we have made a great progress."
I think the important line there, "our work is not finished." Victor and Christ, authorities say that all evidence they have gathered to this point supports their strong belief that Jazmine and her family were innocent victims here. They say they do not believe they were the intended targets of this shooting. They say it possibly could have been a case of mistaken identity.
BLACKWELL: Wow. Kaylee Hartung there for us. Thanks so much.
PAUL: So for an understanding of what's happening in Texas criminal defense attorney general Janet Johnson and former FBI assistant director Tom Fuentes both with us now. Thank you both for being here.
Janet, I want to go to you first. So the statement says he has admitted to taking part. They are not characterizing this man that they do have in custody as a shooter. If he is not the shooter, would he still be eligible for capital punishment?
JANET JOHNSON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: That's a great question. He's as guilty as the person who pulled the trigger so there's no distinction between the actual gunman and anyone who participated in any way in that process. So he would be, but he also is probably the most valuable witness they have at this point because he is already talking.
Whether he had a lawyer or not, we don't know. But he has already admitted to his participation. You can bet that law enforcement are telling him, it will go better for you, maybe we don't even seek capital punishment, if you give up the other people.
BLACKWELL: So, Tom, what do you make of the admission of involvement at this point?
TOM FUENTES, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, I think that is, you know, a great break for the police officers that he agreed to talk in this case and make any kind of a statement.
Certainly, once he was arrested, had he no requirement to speak. You don't have to answer questions. He could have remained silent so that is a great assistance to the investigators that he has made a comment in this case.
I think also the fact that he has made comments that have indicated that this family was not the intended victim, well, in that case, who was? Was he already out on a mission to murder somebody in particular when this happened? And he just happened to pick the wrong car to shoot at, you know, that remains to be announced, I guess by the police also.
PAUL: so, Janet, if this man turns out not to be the actual shooter and he is helpful, you anticipate that capital murder charge might change?
JOHNSON: I do. As a defense attorney, I would certainly say, you know, he'll get a court-appointed attorney or maybe a family member securing an attorney to defend him and any attorney would negotiate a way the capital part of those charges in exchange for his information, which I think they are already indicating is probably pretty valuable.
BLACKWELL: Tom, the sketch that was released before the arrest was based on a description by Jazmine's mother and also a few sisters. The police said that this sketch was of a white male in his 40s. Now, they are still looking for people, the sketch is on the screen right now. But the person they arrested is 20 years old.
How reliable typically are those descriptions from victims of crimes like this?
FUENTES: Well, Victor, they vary a great deal and, in some cases, they might be pretty exact, depending on how good of a look the person or the witness got of the person and how accurate the person drawing the sketch is, how skilled they are. So, you know, in this particular case, it may have been more helpful that they had an enhanced picture of the red pickup truck and I know that, you know, that is not a scarce item in the Houston, Texas, area, to see pickup trucks, but that particular color, the fact that it was an extended cab, the fact that it was in that particular area at that specific time could have led additionally for whoever called in the tip to think, OK, I think it's, you know, this guy because his truck matches the description and even if the drawing of him personally is a little bit off, you know, we will find out.
[06:05:31]
On the other hand, we don't know if somebody else was driving a truck and that is the person who was sketched. And, you know, he was a participant with another individual or group of individuals, so we don't know that yet.
PAUL: OK. So, Tom, I want to ask you real quickly Lee Merritt is an attorney who is involved in this case in some capacity and he has said he believes this case may be related to one back in 2017, a similar incident in terms of somebody innocent being shot, the same kind of truck, he alleges, and there has been nobody found in that case back in 2017.
Will authorities -- help us understand what authorities are doing now as they look into the backgrounds of the people they do -- this man that they have in custody and any other people they may have been talking to.
FUENTES: Well, particularly with the individual in custody or other suspects that have been identified is they will be trying to trace back to previous unsolved cases of where these individuals were at that time. You know, do they have an alibi for where they might have been or what they were doing at the time of those incidents, and how closely do the descriptions match and other details of the shootings match. And additionally in these cases, you'll have forensic evidence, you'll have the bullets themselves, what caliber gun was fired, was it a handgun, rifle? You know, they will have some of that evidence to work with and compare to other unsolved or even solved cases.
BLACKWELL: Janet, how long do you expect this suspect to continue to communicate, considering that as Tom highlighted, I think most people watching know, he is under no obligation to continue to speak with investigators.
JOHNSON: Victor, that's a great question because, initially, he obviously did cooperate. Whether he lawyers up, which is an expression everyone knows is really remains to be seen. But as a defense attorney, it wouldn't be against my advice to say, look, you've already cooperated. Let's keep negotiating, you know -- Tom made a great point.
If we know about other murders, if we know about other unsolved crimes, your value goes up and they may have you on this case, so you need to keep talking in order to make your situation better.
PAUL: All right. Tom Fuentes and Janet Johnson, we appreciate both of you being here. Thank you.
FUENTES: Thank you.
BLACKWELL: This morning, the president will go to Camp David to meet with senior White House officials about border security.
PAUL: Back in Washington another shutdown meeting being planned this afternoon between White House officials and congressional leadership staffers.
BLACKWELL: Yesterday's meeting brought another round of demand from both sides, very little progress, though. And now as the shutdown gets closer to becoming the third longest in history, a White House official says the president may decide to declare a national emergency to get border wall funding.
PAUL: From the White House now, CNN White House Sarah Westwood. Sarah, when we hear that the president is truly considering claiming a national emergency, do we know? Have they indicated any sort of time line, how much time he is willing to give all of the people involved here as they try to come up with a remedy?
SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, good morning, Christi and Victor.
President Trump said earlier this week on Friday in the rose garden that he would have hoped to get funding for the wall legislatively but that national emergency declaration is on the table as he tries to get funding for the border wall. Now, that meeting that vice president Mike Pence led on behalf of the administration yesterday didn't produce much progress, that's what representatives on both sides of the aisle are saying.
An aide to the vice president said that no dollar figures were even discussed when it comes to the wall only border security priorities. Acting White House chief of staff/budget director Mick Mulvaney emerged from that meeting saying very little progress was made and that he got the sense Democrats were there simply to stall. Take a listen what he told CNN's Jake Tapper.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICK MULVANEY, ACTING WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: I think the president said for a long time that it's $5.6 billion for border security including the wall. We recognize that things like technology and border crossings are important but certainly a barrier is important.
We didn't make much progress at the meeting which was surprising to me. I thought we had come in to talk about terms that we could agree on. They were actually in my mind they are there to stall and we did not make much progress.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[06:10:01]
WESTWOOD: Now, President Trump tweeted after he was briefed by Mulvaney and Pence and others in the room that he learned there hadn't been much headway made in that meeting. The president remains dug in behind his demand for $5.6 billion to fund the wall even though previously he had signaled he would be willing to come down and perhaps accept less money for the wall. Now it appears $5.6 billion is his hard line number. Democrats dug in to their refusal to fund any kind of barrier along the southern border expressing their belief that it would be an ineffective way to secure the southern border.
So both sides remain deeply entrenched. As today the president heads to Camp David for a seniors staff retreat and White House officials and aides to congressional leaders plan to meet yet again.
PAUL: Sarah Westwood, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
BLACKWELL: So the question is can the president actually declare national of emergency here -- the crisis at the border -- determined it's a crisis and then use that to build a border wall? If he does, what happens then? We will discuss with CNN political analyst Julian Zelizer.
PAUL: Also Senator Elizabeth Warren on the campaign trail across Iowa. How she responded to voters who have questions about her claims of Native American ancestry.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Government shutdown day 16 now with no end in sight. White House officials now say the president is considering declaring a national emergency to secure funding for the border wall. That is sure to be one of the topics discussed during that meeting at Camp David today.
Soon, the president will be headed there for a treat. The president says he will be joining senior staff for meetings on border security and many other topics.
I want to bring in now CNN political analyst Julian Zelizer. He is the author of "Fault Lines: A History of the United States Since 1974."
Julian, welcome back. Let's start with just the basic question here. And there is some disagreement. There's a write-up in "The New York Times" this weekend saying the president cannot use the national emergency act to build a wall. [06:15:03]
What do you think?
JULIAN E. ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think it's ambiguous and that's why it's going to a political problem. There's many experts who say this is a misuse of emergency power to basically do what Congress is not allowing him to do on funding issue.
That said since the 1970s we have seen emergency power used by presidents often and without much pushback. Certainly after 911 George W. Bush used emergency power frequently.
So my guess is this going to be settled in the end in whether the Senate will tolerate it and at least so far Republicans have been willing to sit tight when the president flexes his muscle.
BLACKWELL: So the president will be at Camp David today he says to talk about border security and many other things. This initially was planned by the now acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney to talk about priorities for 2019. What is realistic each side has talked about infrastructure as a possibility?
ZELIZER: Yes. I don't think there a lot of room, frankly, for compromise unless the president concedes. I don't think the Democrats are really willing to give on this issue even if there is some kind of infrastructure planned unless the president drastically curtails what he's requesting. Democrats are basically giving him everything he wants at this point other than this, quote -- unquote --"wall."
So the real question is do Senate Republicans start to put pressure on the president to move back and threaten to override the entire deal. That's where the real power is. They can override the president and that's what we are looking for at this point.
BLACKWELL: For legislative priorities beyond the wall and that disagreement, that stalemate we should call it, if you consider ramping up toward 2020 and the investigations that will come as part of the Democrats taking control of the House and the continuing Mueller investigation, was there any place that was fertile even before the stalemate on the wall?
ZELIZER: No. I mean, infrastructure is always the illusive dream where there is going to be some kind of bipartisan compromise in a new era of President Trump but I don't think there is much room for common ground. I think Democrats are not willing to really concede to many of the president's demands but more important the president doesn't want to compromise. I mean, he has shown he runs a partisan strategy, he plays to a partisan base, and there is not many issues where that partisan base agrees with what the rest of the country wants.
So maybe a small infrastructure plan can pop up between now and 2020, but given the atmosphere you're talking about, I don't think we should hope for much legislation.
BLACKWELL: OK. So the government shutdown now day 16, tying for the third longest will soon head toward the second longest shutdown. What typically moves one side or the other when there is a stalemate like what we are seeing?
ZELIZER: Political pressure. The most famous case of was in '95 and '96 when Republicans forced a shutdown when President Clinton was in office over spending disputes and, ultimately, Newt Gingrich, who was speaker of the House, backed away because the public outcry of against what a government shutdown means in practice was so severe, Republicans realized this was a disaster politically. So they conceded.
And this is usually what happens. This happened under Obama's presidency as well. But we don't know how this is going to unfold.
President Trump acts in very different ways than most politicians and it's not the traditional rules of the game in effect any more.
BLACKWELL: So help us understand what is happening potentially inside this room. "The Washington Post" is citing two Trump aides saying when Vice President Pence went to the meeting yesterday at 11:00 with Democratic aides, that he was not given permission to float any new numbers or any new figures, but to hold to the $5.6 billion.
So if that is the line and there is no permission to negotiate, to move and potentially for the same thing for Democrats, what is the point of meeting? I guess it's good theoretically that they are meeting but if nobody is willing to move, why are they doing it?
ZELIZER: Well, look. There's the political theater of it and the administration, as well as Congress wants to show they are trying to the public, so that matters politically that they are not literally sitting in silos not talking to each other. But I think for someone like Speaker Pelosi who is a very shrewd politician if you have lines of communication it's always better than if you don't. And especially with a president who is pretty isolated and pretty removed from the political process, it's important simply to be in the room, simply to create potential points of contact and breakthrough.
[06:20:02]
And the government shutdown is not normal. It's not good for the country and this is in some ways a national crisis. And so I think it's still better to have these conversations even if they are fruitless, even if nothing has happened than to totally shut down any kind of talk.
BLACKWELL: All right. Julian Zelizer, we will see if today's talks are fruitful at all. Thanks so much for being with us.
ZELIZER: Thank you.
BLACKWELL: And be sure to watch "STATE OF THE UNION WITH JAKE TAPPER" this morning on the show the acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney as well as House Intelligence Committee Chairman Representative Adam Schiff and Alabama Senator Doug Jones. "STATE OF THE UNION" 9:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN. PAUL: Still to come this morning a major break in the shooting death of Jazmine Barnes. Police have and charged a man who admits he was part of the shooting. That's according to the Harris County sheriff. A live update from outside that department in Texas next.
BLACKWELL: Plus, a dramatic rescue after this fiery crash in Texas. People who just happen to be driving by stopped to help police flip over a car to save a driver trapped in that vehicle.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAUL: Breaking news in the shooting death of Jazmine Barnes the Harris County sheriff's office has arrested and charged 20-year-old Eric Black Jr. with capital murder.
BLACKWELL: Black was arrested based on a tip and he later admitted to taking part in the shooting. Authorities say they don't believe Jazmine's family was the intended target of the shooting but rather a casualty of mistaken identity. Investigators are still gathering evidence that could possibly lead to other suspects.
PAUL: CNN correspondent Kaylee Hartung is in Houston outside the sheriff's department right now.
[06:25:03]
So we understand, Kaylee, that it was a tip that came into them that led them to the suspect?
HARTUNG: Yes, that's right, Christi. Authorities have been begging for the public's help through this investigation. That composite sketch was released, the video surveillance of the truck, they knew that this case could very possibly be broken with the help of the public and it appears that is what happened.
The Harris County sheriff's department saying that this man was identified with the help of a tip. They say they took him into custody without an incident in East Harris County, that's the area where the shooting occurred and through the course of questioning, they say he admitted to taking part in the shooting. And that's the interesting line here that we are hearing from authorities, that he took part in this shooting.
They are not outlining specifically the role he played. They haven't specifically named him the gunman, but he is in custody and he is being charged with capital murder. And as Victor mentioned they say they are pursuing evidence that could lead to additional people being charged in relation to this case and when we were first made aware that something could be coming overnight, it was actually late yesterday where the Harris County's sheriff's department tweeted that this investigation has taken a new direction. They said they were interviewing persons of interest. This story is still developing and we will be here to follow it for you, Victor and Christi.
BLACKWELL: So, Kaylee, I know it's only a few hours and we understand that these answers have not yet come from investigators. But there was that sketch that was released described to be a white male in his 40s. Obviously, the suspect who was arrested is 20 years old.
Are they still looking for this person? Do they believe that this sketch is of the suspect they have in custody? What do we know, if anything, about those other persons of interest?
HARTUNG: Truthfully, at this time, very little. In a statement from the sheriff, he said, "I am grateful to our dedicated investigators, the partner law enforcement agencies that provided vital assistance and tipsters from across the nation who pulled together to support our work to get justice for Jazmine. Our work is not finished," Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said in a statement, "but I believe the people of Harris County can take comfort in knowing we have made great progress."
So there you have the sheriff saying, "Our work is not finished." And while we do not have any other details on the persons of interest who they were interviewing, you recognize that this situation is evolving. And as they say, they are pursuing additional evidence that could lead to the arrest of other suspects.
PAUL: All right. Kaylee Hartung, thank you so much. I know it's a developing situation. We appreciate the update.
BLACKWELL: All right. Let's get to this dramatic video. This is out of Corpus Christi, Texas, police officers and people who were just driving by, nearby, flipped over a burning car on the freeway to try to help save a man who was trapped in that car. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fire extinguisher. We need a fire extinguisher.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: Who says (INAUDIBLE) good people in the road? Just getting out of your car and running to help this guy.
BLACKWELL: Yes. And so glad they did. The drivers were out of the vehicles trying to push the car when the police arrived. The officers jumped out, of course, to help. You see him there in the yellow vest. And once they flipped over that burning car, police were able to pull the 70-year-old driver out of the wreckage. Officials say the car was hit by a wrong way driver who died at the scene. The man who was rescued from the burning car survived and he is expected to be OK.
PAUL: Thank goodness. Thanks to those people.
Take a look at this video out of New Zealand. Look at that fireball streaking across the sky. This was over Auckland. It was visible for several minutes. Astronomy experts and satellite tracking officials say the fireball was the remains of a Russian missile. Early warning satellite falling back to earth.
Senator Elizabeth Warren hitting the campaign trail across Iowa this weekend, pushing for the Democratic presidential nomination for 2020. In speeches across the state, the Massachusetts senator pushed for -- quote -- "structural change in Washington." (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D), MASSACHUSETTS: First piece of bad news is I picked up a cold.
CROWD: Oh.
WARREN: Too much time with little people. So I will do my best to croak through this. Second piece of bad news, not enough room for everybody to get inside. But the good news is that we got a lot of folks here in Des Moines who are fired up and ready to make change.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Well, she faced some tough questions yesterday. One voter confronted Warren about her decision to try to prove her claims of Native American ancestry. CNN national political correspondent M.J. Lee has the part of that story.
M.J. LEE, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Senator Warren has a busy 24 hours in Iowa, her first trip since she announced her presidential exploratory committee on New Year's Eve.
[06:30:07]
LEE: She attended over four events in the course of 24 hours across the state introducing herself to the people of Iowa and making clear what her important issues are going to be in her eventual 2020 presidential campaign.
Now one question that she got from an audience member in Sioux City on Saturday was about her decision to release the DNA test about her Native American ancestry. This person in the audience asking her why she decided to release the results of that test and give President Trump more fodder to bully her. This is what she responded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WARREN: I am not a person of color. I am not a citizen of a tribe. Tribal citizenship is very different from ancestry tribes and only tribes determine tribal citizenship and I respect that difference.
My decision was, I'm just going to put it all out there. Took a while but just put it all out there. All of my hiring record, including a DNA test is out there. It's online. Anybody can look at it. It's there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: Now even though Senator Warren has been drawing big crowds, all of Saturday, doesn't mean that everyone who is coming to her events are necessarily supporting her. In fact, a lot of the voters that we spoke to here over the weekend telling us they are simply undecided and they are looking forward to getting to know many of the other potential Democratic candidates who are sure to come by Iowa over the next couple of months and this is just going to be a first impression that Senator Warren makes to the people of Iowa. Back to you.
PAUL: All right. M.J., thank you so much. We will have more on Elizabeth Warren in the next hour.
Also actor Kevin Spacey is going to be in court tomorrow on charges of indecent assault. He plans to plead not guilty. Authorities say, though, they have video of the alleged assault. We are going to talk to our legal expert about how this could play out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAUL: Actor Kevin Spacey is going to be in a Massachusetts court tomorrow.
[06:35:01]
He's set to be arraigned on charges that he groped a young man at a Nantucket bar back in 2016. According to a criminal complaint obtained by CNN, authorities have video of the incident involving Spacey and a bus boy. The accuser was 18 at the time told police that he told Spacey he was 23 years old.
Criminal defense attorney Janet Johnson with us now. So, Janet, a couple of things to address here. Let's get to the first one. What's going to happen tomorrow in court if he intends to plead not guilty?
JOHNSON: Good morning, Christi. Arraignment is normally a very, you know, perfunctory court date. Usually you just plead not guilty, get out, it takes a few minutes. It's a little unusual in this case because Spacey's lawyers tried to get his appearance waived. They didn't want to have media attention and the judge denied it.
So I think it might take a little bit longer because the judge appears to be telling him you're not going to be treated differently because you're a celebrity.
PAUL: So I want to talk about the victim in this case, the alleged victim. He lied -- admittedly lied to Spacey about his age. He didn't come forward with the allegation for quite some time. How detrimental might that be to his case?
JOHNSON: It is. If you're defending Kevin Spacey, those are really big points that you would make in a trial or in negotiating with the prosecutor to say you should reduce this to a simple battery because this kid has some issues. But I think the answer on the other side, you know, remember in the Bill Cosby trial, there was a delay in reporting. And in this case, we actually have contemporaneous reporting to his friends, to his mother, people knew that this happened.
There may even be video of this happening. So I think that will counterbalance it. Why he lied about his age he is going to have to explain that at some point.
PAUL: Well and as I understand it, the video is only one second long.
JOHNSON: Right.
PAUL: Can anything really be gleaned from that?
JOHNSON: Well, it certainly shows that they had contact. Whether it shows the actual alleged crime, it probably doesn't. But if Spacey comes out and said I don't know this kid. I never met this kid, this certainly puts him at the scene and in contact with the alleged victim.
PAUL: So how do you anticipate Spacey is going to address this or his team?
JOHNSON: If you're his attorney, you would say, this kid lies. You can't trust him. Is he lying now? Is he lying then? He admitted that he is not telling the truth.
Spacey either didn't grope him or it was consensual. Probably the latter. Probably saying he was trying to have contact with Kevin Spacey. He admitted he was a fan. He said he was old enough to drink.
So is he trying to basically have his cake and eat it too? He wanted to have some contact with the celebrity and maybe it didn't go the way he wanted it to go.
PAUL: Of course, this isn't the only case that is highlighting some possible criminal behavior against Spacey.
JOHNSON: Right.
PAUL: How possible is it that that is going to lead any of those other cases or any of those other allegations are going to come up in this one in particular? They have to be isolated, don't they?
JOHNSON: Well, they sometimes do and sometimes don't. Actually if they are similar enough, if there are other allegations where you can say this is his modus operandi, this is his M.O., he gropes under aged boys, this is what he does or young men, if they can come forward with enough allegations that are similar, they would be admitted, I think in a trial against him and that would, of course be devastating.
PAUL: All right. Janet Johnson, thank you so much for your expertise as always.
JOHNSON: Thank you.
BLACKWELL: It's hard to forget the cries of children separated from their families at the U.S./Mexico border from last summer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE BORDER PATROL AGENT (Speaking Spanish): Where are you from?
ALISON MADRID, SEPARATED FROM HER FAMILY AT BORDER (Speaking Spanish): El Salvador.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE BORDER PATROL AGENT: Don't cry.
A. MADRID: I want to go with my aunt.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE BORDER PATROL AGENT (through translator): You're going to get there. Look, she will explain it and help you.
A. MADRID: At least can I go with my aunt? I want her to come. I want my aunt to come so she can take me to her house.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: That girl's name is Alison. She is a migrant from El Salvador, held in a detention center in Arizona. And she was begging for someone to call her aunt so she could reunite with her mother who had no idea where she was. Her mom was a detention center more than 1,200 miles away and they were finally reunited in Houston just after their story went viral.
CNN's Gary Tuchman reports, a lot has happened since then.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Seven-year-old Alison Jimena Madrid, enjoying the day at the Children's Museum of Houston.
TUCHMAN (on camera): Are you happy today? Estas feliz hoy?
A. MADRID: Si, muy feliz.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): A very different story from when she and her mother first came to this country. And now almost six months later, they're getting ready for their first asylum hearing, the start of a process which will determine whether or not they can stay in the U.S.
As they've waited for the hearing, Alison Jimena has been going to a public school in Houston.
[06:40:03]
When she arrived in the U.S., she did not speak a word of English.
(on camera): So, Alison Jimena, you have something you want to read?
A. MADRID: Yes.
TUCHMAN: OK. Let's hear in English.
A. MADRID: Why I love America. I love my school. I love my church. I love to smile.
I love and believe in the American dream. Happy New Year, dear America.
TUCHMAN: Happy New Year, America, to you, too. A. MADRID: Happy New Year, America.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Her mother, Cindy, is doing her best to learn English at her church.
CINDY MADRID, SALVADORAN MIGRANT: One, two, three, four, five.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): She cannot legally get a job at this stage of the asylum process but says she wants to work.
C. MADRID: (Speaking Spanish).
TUCHMAN: She says she would like to have a job cleaning or at a restaurant or whatever job she can get as long as she can do it with dignity.
A. MADRID: Look, Amber, work together. They mix -- they mix the crabapples, sugar, salt and some water.
TUCHMAN: So what is the likelihood that daughter and mother will be granted asylum?
Their lawyer says she is hopeful but --
THELMA GARCIA, ATTORNEY: There's a good chance that it may not be granted.
TUCHMAN: Attorney Garcia says Cindy Madrid left to protect Alison, her only child, from gang violence. Alison told us what her understanding is of that threat.
A. MADRID: (Speaking Spanish).
TUCHMAN: "The gang," she says, "they wanted to steal me."
The attorney says if Cindy Madrid loses her case and is sent back to El Salvador, that is not an overstatement.
GARCIA: It could be death. They had very serious problems with gang violence. They had no protection by the police as well. So we're not expecting anything good if she is returned back home.
TUCHMAN: Alison Jimena says Houston is now her home.
A. MADRID: It is a sunny day when friends stick together.
TUCHMAN (on camera): El fin, the end.
A. MADRID: They're finished. OK.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): But this legal battle is far from finished -- Gary Tuchman, CNN, Houston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL: Good to get that update on her. So are you ready for the glitz and the glam of the Golden Globes? Because they are tonight. Hollywood honoring the stars on the big and small screens. We will talk about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:45:42]
BLACKWELL: Hollywood is rolling out the red carpet again for award season starting with tonight's 76th Annual Golden Globes.
Yes. CNN Stephanie Elam gives us a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "Black Panther," "A Star Is Born," "Crazy Rich Asians," big movies getting big nominations for this year's Golden Globe awards picked by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
MATHEW BELLONI, "THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER": They go for big, star- driven stories.
ELAM: Like "Bohemian Rhapsody," up for Best Drama and Best Actor for Rami Malek (INAUDIBLE) as Freddie Mercury.
But the front-runner is "A Star Is Born."
BELLONI: It's got a nice narrative behind it. It's Bradley Cooper, this is his first movie as a director. And it's a big populist movie that did really well at the box office.
ELAM: Both Lady Gaga and Cooper scored acting nods as well. The film will face off with "Black Panther," "If Beale Street Could Talk" and Spike Lee's "BlacKkKlansman," which also earned an acting nod for John David Washington, Denzel's son.
A-list stars taking big creative turns also snagged nominations, from Nicole Kidman's gritty "Destroyer" to Melissa McCarthy's dramatic "Can You Ever Forgive Me?"
In the musical or comedy category, "Vice" is the one to beat with more nominations than any other film. It faces off against "Mary Poppins Returns," "Green Book" "The Favourite" and ground-breaking "Crazy Rich Asians."
BELLONI: It was a movie that was all about inclusion, it was an all- Asian cast, had a nice narrative behind it. I wouldn't be surprised if the Globes backed that narrative.
ELAM: As for the actors, eyes are on Christian Bale to win for his stunning transformation into Dick Cheney in "Vice."
Hosting the Golden Globes this year, two television stars, Sandra Oh and Andy Sandberg. Oh is also nominated for "Killing Eve." But she faces stiff competition from "Homecoming," which also earned Julia Roberts a Best Actress nomination.
BELLONI: I think there's a lot of goodwill around her for trying TV for the first time and hitting it out of the park.
ELAM: "The Marvelous Ms. Maisel" looks to repeat as best TV musical comedy as does its star, Rachel Brosnahan. But a new show like Jim Carrey's "Kidding" could be a contender.
And while the Globes have a habit of making news --
OPRAH WINFREY, ACTOR AND ACTIVIST: That a new day is on the horizon.
ELAM: It may be hard to top the presidential rumors sparked last year by Oprah Winfrey's spirited speech -- Stephanie Elam, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: With us now to talk about tonight's show pop culture editor for "The Washington Post" Zachary Pincus-Roth Zachary, welcome back.
ZACHARY PINCUS-ROTH, POP CULTURE EDITOR, WASHINGTON POST: Good to be here.
BLACKWELL: All right. So let's tick through some of the categories here, get to the awards. Best picture drama, who are the nominees and who do you like?
PINCUS-ROTH: Best picture drama I think it's going to be "A Star Is Born." I think it's really "A Star Is Born's" year. The movie was very well reviewed and it did very well at the box office. It's and Bradley Cooper's first movie as a director. And I think it also the front-runner going into the best picture at the Oscar.
PAUL: OK. What about the best picture comedy?
PINCUS-ROTH: For best picture comedy, "Vice" has the most nominations at the Golden Globes but actually I think in this category it's going to be "Green Book." It's the story of a black musician going through the south during 1960s the Jim Crowe era. I just think it sort of has the balance between comedy and drama that voters will like.
BLACKWELL: Yes. So let's also say that category is comedy and musical because there's a question about how could that be funny?
PINCUS-ROTH: Yes. I mean, I think it does -- I mean, I've seen the movie and think it does kind of balance the comedy with the sort of sympathetic characters really well.
BLACKWELL: OK.
PAUL: All right. All right. Let's go to best actor drama.
PINCUS-ROTH: In best actor drama I think it's going to be Bradley Cooper in "A Star Is Born." but I think watch out for Rami Malek in "Bohemian Rhapsody." He makes a really nice transformation into to the role of Freddie Mercury there.
BLACKWELL: Yes. You know, I watched "Bohemian Rhapsody."
[06:50:03]
I did love the movie but I thought his performance was great. I thought as Freddie Mercury, he did a great job but the story was a little small for Freddie Mercury's huge personality.
Let's go to best actress drama.
PINCUS-ROTH: For best actress drama I think it's going to be Lady Gaga. I mean, she got really nice reviews and it's her breakout in a movie role, but I think she is going to take it.
PAUL: All right. You know, there were just so many -- I know great moments here. But we have to move to television, because, obviously, lots of stuff going on there. Best TV drama. Your pick.
PINCUS-ROTH: Well, for best T.V. drama I think it's going to be "Killing Eve" which is the spy thriller starring Sandra Oh but I would not count out "Homecoming" which is the Amazon thriller which stars Julia Roberts in her first big T.V. role.
PAUL: Isn't it interesting that it's Amazon?
BLACKWELL: Yes, that it's Amazon. How about -- let's talk about comedy.
PINCUS-ROTH: Well, for T.V. comedy I think it's going to be "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." It's the -- also Amazon show about a standup comic in the 1950s. It's going to repeat I think in this category this year. Although it would not count out "Barry" which is the HBO starring Bill Hader or "The Good Place" which is this show about the afterlife starring Kristen Bell.
PAUL: Gosh. So interesting Amazon.
BLACKWELL: I just binged both seasons of "Maisel" and it is hilarious.
PAUL: I got to do it.
BLACKWELL: It's great. It's great.
PAUL: So we do want to ask real quickly because last year it was in the middle of the MeToo movement, it dominated the awards show. Do you think we will see anything similar this year?
PINCUS-ROTH: Yes. I mean, I think we might. I mean, usually in these awards show you see political moments sprinkled in. I mean, last year we had Oprah's big speech when she got Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement. The year before that we've got Meryl Streep big speech where she called Trump and some of his policies.
I think this year Jeff Bridges is the Cecil B. DeMille Award winner. I don't know if he's as political as those other two but you'll see moments sprinkled in. Like remember Natalie Portman called out the all male nominees in director category and this year, again, they are all male nominees in that category for the fourth year in a row.
PAUL: All right. Zachary Pincus-Roth, always appreciate you joining us this time of year. Thank you.
PINCUS-ROTH: Thank you.
PAUL: Sure.
BLACKWELL: So travelling we know is part of being a pro athlete. Going from city-to-city to play but this New York Knicks' player says there's one place he is not going because he thinks it could get him killed. Coy Wire is up next with the story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:55:48]
PAUL: So a player for the New York Knicks says he afraid that he is going to be assassinated.
BLACKWELL: Coy Wire is in Santa Clara, California ahead of the College Football National Championship game but, Coy, let's talk about this. This has to do with Turkey's president Erdogan. How?
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hi. Good morning, Victor and Christi. Knicks center Enes Kanter is a Turkish native who's been extremely critical of the Turkish president's administration. And Knicks team officials say that Kanter won't be travelling overseas with the team for their game in London next week because of visa issue but Kanter says he thinks he could be killed. Here is what he had to say on Friday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ENES KANTER, KNICKS CENTER: I spoke to the front office and said I'm not going because of that freaking lunatic of the Turkey president. The chance I can get killed out there.
Pretty sad all of this stuff affects my career in basketball because I want to be out there help my team to win but just because of that one lunatic guy, one maniac, or dictator I can't go out and just do my job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Now Kanter's Twitter page is filled with posts about the Turkish president. Kanter has even called him the -- quote -- "Hitler of our century." In 2016 Kanter showed support an attempted military coup against him. In 2017 he was stopped in a Romania airport after the Turkish embassy cancelled his passport.
A month later Kanter's father was detained by the Turkish government because of his son's political views. Says Kanter now -- CNN has reached out to Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.
The Knicks will play in London against the Wizards January 17th.
Let's get some wildcard weekend in the NFL. Dallas cowboys moving on. They won in the playoffs? Oh, no. Dak Prescott and the Cowboys hosting the Seahawks. A rematch from week three.
Prescott said earlier in the week he thinks quarterback's checks are written by what happens in the playoffs. Well, last night he was money. Helping the boys get win with his arm and legs.
Completed 66 percent of his passes, a touchdown pass in the final seconds of the first half. But when they were down in the fourth, they leaned on Zeke (INAUDIBLE) Elliott and fueling that run game and he gashed the Seahawks. 137 yards and a touchdown. Prescott adding a rushing T.D. of his own.
Cowboys moving on, a 24-22 win and would you believe this was just Dallas third playoff win since 1996? Let's go to Colts and Texans who duked it out in the early game and Andrew Luck's incredible comeback continues. Luck missed the Colts season last year with a shoulder injury but he led Indy to three touchdowns on their first four drives. Touchdown tosses to Eric Ebron. Dontrelle Inman they're red hot having won 10 of the last 11 games after starting the season just one in five.
Colts win 21-7, facing the Chiefs next weekend in Kansas City. Two more wildcard games today. Chargers/Ravens. Eagles and Bears. It is on. Football is in the air.
Let's go to the reason I'm here. The defending champs Alabama taking on Clemson in the National Championship game for the third time in four years. Now the Tigers they had this 19-year-old true freshman quarterback who turning heads with his play on the field but also with an incredible head of hair. It was the talk of the town at media day yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love to give him a hard time about, you know, actually getting a Mohawk but I seriously doubt he is cutting that luscious flow out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The (INAUDIBLE) can't do it. He got to cut it off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I put myself (INAUDIBLE) Trevor's (ph) shoe (ph). I love my locks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Luke Price. He doesn't get all of the love because he is a red-head and tough sledding out there for red-heads but he has just as much flow as Trevor does.
LUKE PRICE, CLEMSON LINEBACKER: I already knew that. He is probably like spending 30 minutes in the shower on his hair alone. I'm usually out in five. My hair does my talking for me.
TREVOR LAWRENCE, CLEMSON QUARTERBACK: I just grew it out. Not really knowing what I was doing. I just wanted to grow my hair out and it turned into this.
People confuse me with Luke which is kind of crazy. I don't see the similarities but, yes, I think K.D. has got a shot at best hair for sure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: The kid is 6'4" -- 6'5", his looks that could kill. I mean, his just beautiful head of hair. It even has its own Twitter page, would you believe it or not? Victor, that is not you or me, buddy.
[07:00:00]
BLACKWELL: No, no. Those days are long gone.
PAUL: And the trash talk from all of those guys that has apparently no limits. Hair is not off limits.
