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New Day

Respiratory Virus Infecting Kids; Obama will Outline ISIS Strategy Wednesday; Joan Rivers' Swanky Funeral

Aired September 08, 2014 - 6:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: 32 minutes past the hour. Here's a look at your headlines.

President Obama is preparing to address the nation Wednesday, mapping out a new strategy to defeat ISIS militants in Iraq and Syria. The president's plan is expected to include a campaign by U.S.-led coalition forces that could last three years. He's expected to discuss details of the plan with congressional leaders tomorrow.

We're going to ask a former Congresswoman what she thinks the president should do in just a few minutes' time right here on NEW DAY.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is threatening to break a unity agreement with Hamas. He is accusing the group of running a shadow government in Gaza. He wants a single authority operating that. Abbas's comments come just two weeks after a cease-fire ended 50 days of violence between Israel and Hamas.

Interesting new here -- a professor at Princeton believes he knows what might lead to autism. His research suggests that brain injury in the womb is the root cause. Dr. Samuel Wang is specifically talking about damage to the cerebellum, which he says is key to developing interpersonal skills. He says he's now trying to use this knowledge to find better treatments for patients with autism.

Really interesting.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Especially as more and more cases, more and more children are being found to be on this spectrum. It's an important investigation to be having.

All right, let's talk about this. Parents are on high alert this morning. A respiratory virus infecting kids, making them violently ill, most youngsters ending up in the E.R. because of it. Right now the debilitating disease has popped up in Missouri, but look at all these other states that's also being hit. But it could've also spread to some other parts of the Midwest and beyond. What is so scary? There is not much you can do to prevent it. At least that's what we're hearing so far.

Let's go over to Elizabeth Cohen. She explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For this teenager, it was a near death experience.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: White as ghost, blue lips, he just passed out. Had his eyes roll back in his head and I had to call 911.

COHEN: The culprit Enterovirus D-68. So far, ten states have asked the Centers for Disease Control for help. There are no official numbers nationwide but one hospital in metro Denver reported treating about 900 children for severe respiratory illness. 86 of them have been hospitalized.

And at this hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, more than 400 children have been admitted with the signs of the virus. Of those, 60 have been in intensive care.

All of this in less than one month. An official for the Centers for Disease Control said these cases might be just the tip of the iceberg.

Why is this type of enterovirus, which was first identified in the 1960s, gotten so out of hand this year?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why one virus or another crops up is inexplicable. It's a mystery to me.

COHEN: But he does have some good news, enteroviruses usually aren't deadly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fortunate thing is, they'll get better.

COHEN: The virus can start as just a cold; some children develop a rash and difficulty breathing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This can happen fairly rapidly, so don't dawdle. If you really think your child is sick, it's time to call.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: All right, Elizabeth, thank you so much for that. Something definitely to coup an eye on.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Dawdling, I mean, parent mode is usually panic. And this will fuel more of that.

All right, so let's get to meteorologist Indra Petersons. She's keeping track of the forecast for us. Norbert, not a strong sounding name but it's done a lot of damage. What do we see now?

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, a lot of flooding in California over the weekend and now today if you're flying maybe through Vegas, maybe also through Phoenix, look for potential delays as all this moisture making its way into the southwest. Heavy amounts of rain expected in the region as a lot of thunderstorms. So watch out for that.

Let's switch gears, take you all the way over to the southeast. Very easy to see, right, a lot of storms kind of boiling up over here. We're talking about a stationary front today that will produce some heavy amounts of rain really around the Carolinas around, even if you're flying in through Atlanta you could see some scattered showers there. Into the northeast, tail end of that will bring some scattered showers as well.

Those are kind of the mini storms. This is the big storm. We're really going to be watching this as we go towards the middle of the week. Severe weather expected out towards Chicago tomorrow, Ohio Valley as you go through Wednesday. Why? Tons of warm air in the south. Lot of cool air here right behind it. So much cool air you get that big clash and that threat for severe weather. But look at these temperatures going down; we're talking about a 30 degree temperature drop, 70s and 80s and 90s going down to 40s in the upper Midwest, so much so that we're going to see that cool air even spread into the northeast by Friday. We could be looking at record low highs, so highs that are just record cold.

BOLDUAN: Wow.

PETERSONS: No thank you.

BOLDUAN: The roller coaster continues. Summer is over.

CUOMO: I don't get it. Record low highs. Explain it to me later.

PETERSONS: I will do that.

CUOMO: Record low highs?

PETERSONS: All the girls will help you. Girls are smarter than boys, is that what we have decided?

PEREIRA: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Don't start with it, you guys, he's going to come out swinging.

CUOMO: Categorize under arguments I can't win.

All right, so speaking about potentially unwinnable situations, if he didn't have a strategy before, he has one now. We're talking about President Obama presenting his plan to destroy ISIS to Congress and then to you.

BOLDUAN: And friends and family bidding a final farewell to the queen of comedy. But Joan Rivers didn't have just any funeral. Find out what happened inside that lavish service coming up/

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Welcome back to NEW DAY, everyone, President Obama is gearing up to present his case, his strategy, to fight ISIS. Key meetings are set with congressional leaders leading up to Wednesday, when the president will outline his plan in a speech to the American public. The president detailed his goals, if you will, Sunday in an interview on "Meet The Press".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What I want people to understand, though, is that over the course of months, we are going to be able to not just blunt the momentum of ISIL; we are going to systematically degrade their capabilities; we're going to shrink the territory that they control. And ultimately we're going to defeat them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: So will the president's plan be enough to silence the critics? What is the president's plan going to be?

Let's bring in former Democratic Congresswoman from California, Jane Harmon. She's also now the director of course and president and CEO of the Wilson Center.

Congresswoman, it's great to see you.

FMR. REP. JANE HARMAN (D), CALIFORNIA: You too.

BOLDUAN: Great to see you in New York nonetheless.

You've been -- you've been critical of the president on this issue, saying that he needs to say more, he needs to go further, he needs to come out and present his plan. What do you think the president now needs to do, come Wednesday? He said his goal is to defeat ISIS. We finally have that clear goal. But how?

HARMAN: Well, let's understand this isn't going to take ten minutes or it's not going to take less than 60 days, which is the window he has for commander in chief authority under the War Powers Act. So Congress is going to have to vote on a longer term plan, and I think this week is a good time to present that plan. He's obviously fully engaged. Tomorrow is his opportunity to present -- to persuade some members of Congress. And, Wednesday, good move, he is speaking to the American people.

I would make this an election year issue. I would measure my own member of Congress by whether he or she is ready to engage in the issue for or against. I mean, that's Congress's right. That's the American people's right. It's their choice whether they want to have a long-term strategy. I would think the answer is yes. But what kind of strategy? And they have to understand what the costs are.

BOLDUAN: And it's interesting that you say that, because we've heard in many a conversation I've had with members of Congress, even reaction to the president's trip overseas, a bit of a split decision, if you will, on Capitol Hill. Does the president have the authority or not? Many members of Congress say, which is a little bit surprising, that they think the president has the authority. He doesn't need to get their approval to move ahead.

HARMAN: Well, he has all the authority he needs -- that's his phrase -- to do a short-term action against ISIL. Let's understand ISIL --

BOLDUAN: Yes, but now we're talking about a three year strategy.

HARMAN: Well, that's why -- that's where I'm going. The L in ISIL is Levant. It's not just Syria. Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, no; Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. That includes -- they've already made incursions over the Jordan border. They can threaten Lebanon. And I think Saudi Arabia and the Gulfies (sic) have their heads in the sand if they don't join this coalition of the willing against ISIL.

It's nice -- I applaud the UAE for denouncing ISIL but where's the beef? The coalition that Obama put together at the NATO summit does not include anyone in the region except for Turkey, and I think that's a shame.

BOLDUAN: Can it be a success, do you think, in the long run without buy in from anyone in the region?

HARMAN: No, remember, this is an anti--Muslim group. This is what everybody needs to hear. Its not just an anit-West group, its anti- Muslim. Most of the people they're killing are Muslims for being insufficiently radical and supporting their version of Taliban.

BOLDUAN: The president's strategy in trouble even before its laid out if he cannot get this coalition of anyone in the region.

HARMAN: Well, let's not assume he cannot get them. He doesn't have them yet. But if the American people are firmly on his side and the long-term strategy is explained, it can't just be kinetics. Not just military power. There has to be a persuasion piece. In the end, you have to persuade somebody who's deciding whether to sign up, including some kid in the West not to sign up because this is a group that is vicious and cruel and there should be, you've discussed it on this show, a second awakening of the Sunni groups in the region.

They defeated al Qaeda, a much less vicious group in Iraq, along with a surge of American troops. The key turning point, and they could do it again here. I think we need to get to that tipping point and Obama is doing the right things this week, he's fully engaged. I think that is very, very welcome.

BOLDUAN: Let's play one more bit from the interview. This is what the president, when the president was asked about the issue of combat boots on the ground. A very sensitive, very important issue that many in the American public want to hear about.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

OBAMA: But this is not going to be an announcement about U.S. ground troops. This is not the equivalent of the Iraq war. What this is is similar to the kinds of counterterrorism campaigns that we have been engaging in consistently over the last five, six, seven years.

(END VIDEOCLIP) BOLDUAN: If this is not the equivalent of the Iraq war, then what is this? Because I think that's what a lot of the American people want to know. They want a clear plan of what is the end game here?

HARMAN: Well, stay tuned. We are all going to learn it together. There are special forces on the ground, that's been publicly reported, in the hundreds. But I think that the intention is to have a Muslim face on the ground. I think that's a good idea after all this.

BOLDUAN: Could the president have said this weeks ago? What do you think changed? He was so vague. We don't have a strategy, even though that's debated what he meant on that. Now, we are going to defeat ISIS and I'm going to have a clear -- what do you think changed here?

HARMAN: Well, this man, don't we know him after almost six years, is careful and deliberate and clear-eyed, and I think - -

BOLDUAN: To a fault?

HARMAN: Well, maybe to a win. Let's see, but I think he has put in place building blocks to get to this moment and to quote former White House chief of staff, Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, don't let a crisis go to waste. This is his opportunity to do something I wish he had done sooner, which is fully engage with Congress on a bipartisan basis and challenge members in both parties to make a clear decision and explain it to their constituents. I do think this should be an election issue and I do think a voter anywhere, I'm a voter in Venice, California, ought to measure my candidates by whether they are fully engaged. Neither of them is in Congress, mine's an open seat, fully engaged in this issue and explaining to voters where they stand on it. I think the American people have a right to know that.

BOLDUAN: As one member of Congress, Tom Cole, Republican from Oklahoma, said to me last week, we're paid to vote. That's what our job is.

HARMAN: That's correct, and Congress has sadly been AWOL in this debate until now except for a few members in both parties and step up Congress. It's time. I applaud President Obama for moving out there this week, tomorrow and Wednesday, and trying to engage Congress.

BOLDUAN: Congress is no longer on break. They have that opportunity to begin that debate. Former Congresswoman, Jane Harmon. It's so great to see you. Thanks for coming in.

HARMAN: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Of course.

She wanted a swanky good-bye.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

BOLDUAN (voice-over): She definitely got that and she definitely got one. Hundreds of A-listers showing up to say farewell to Joan Rivers. We're going to hear from those who were there. Going to hear much more about her funeral coming up next.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: You can read. CNN "MONEY TIME" chief business correspondent Christine Romans is in our money center. How are the markets looking?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning you guys. U.S. stock features are lower right now. But you know, nothing really can hold back this bull market. Stocks have been climbing for more than 2,000 days, up 200 percent since the March 2009 low. That means if you invested a grand then, it would be worth $3,000 today.

General Motors is making a mostly self-driving Cadillac. CEO Mary Barra announced GM is going to roll out this vehicle with a semi auto pilot mode in about two years. It will drive itself by wirelessly communicating with other cars and using sensors. A Cadillac in 2017. Prices at the pump are falling. The national average price per gallon of regular gas 3.44, that's down about 20 cents from the start of the summer, and experts tell us prices could fall another 10 to 20 cents by the end of the month you guys.

BOLDUAN (on camera): Alright, thanks so much Christine. Let's get to the funeral that everyone was watching.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

BOLDUAN (voice-over): No one was expecting, however. It was nothing short of a show biz affair. A-listers, they sure turned out to bid final farewell Sunday to Joan Rivers. There were show tunes, bagpipes, even some wise cracks coming from her daughter, Melissa. A fitting tribute for an over the top woman who never took life too seriously. That is for sure. Nischelle Turner is joining us. She has all the details. Do we call, I mean, it's so, it's a bit difficult to talk about a funeral as a star-studded affair. But that's kind of how Joan Rivers wanted it.

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was. That is how she wanted it, and that is what she got. So, we love that she got her wish. When she passed on Thursday, Melissa, her daughter said her mother's greatest joy in life was to make people laugh. And while she knew it was difficult to do right now, Joan Rivers' final wish would be that we return to laughter soon. It seems that Joan's family and friends started that process yesterday when saying good bye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOAN RIVERS, COMEDIAN: I want my funeral to be a huge show biz affair with lights and cameras and action. I want it to be Hollywood all the way.

TURNER (voice-over): Legendary comedian Joan Rivers got exactly what she wanted Sunday, a star-studded funeral. Hollywood's most notable from film, theater and television packing New York's Temple Emanuel Honoring a woman who didn't cease filling rooms with laughter from the time she stepped on screen in 1965.

RIVERS: I never cooked when I was single because I figured if the Lord wanted a woman to cook, he'd give her aluminum hands.

(LAUGHTER)

DEBORA NORVILLE, TV ANCHOR: Her mission in life was to make people happy. She would be so thrilled to see how many blocks are filled with people who wish her well.

TURNER: : Once inside, white orchids lined the altar and close friend Howard Stern delivered the eulogy.

MEHMET OZ, TV HOST: The people that came here loved her all. They knew her from the short business of entertainment, but they loved her because she was a wonderful human being.

TURNER: The New York City Gay Men's Choir paid tribute to the Emmy- winning funny woman with hits including "What a Wonderful World." Movie star Hugh Jackman lifting spirits too with a rendition of "Quiet Please, There's a Lady on Stage."

JEFFREY ROSS, COMEDIAN: I weeped and it's tough to make me cry. I wish I could hug her. She really made me want to be a better comedian.

TURNER: According to friends inside, River's daughter, Melissa, was composed, even making the audience laugh when she read a letter in which she pretended to be her mother's landlord.

DENIS BASSO, FASHION DESIGNER: I think that Melissa has handled it with dignitary and refinement and the way that the mother Joan would really have wanted this to be.

TURNER: : The final sendoff, pipers playing the classic "New York, New York" as Melissa and the long list of celebrities exited the synagogue. A farewell song with a big apple native who proved she could make it anywhere.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TURNER (on camera): Of course this is New York Fashion Week here in New York, which Joan considered her Super Bowl. So we know that the E! network did shoot some replacement shows for her show "Fashion Police" which is supposed to air tonight. On Friday, I was told the network really isn't sure whether they're going to air those shows tonight or what they're going to put in place of the original.

BOLDUAN: That's a tough decisions, that's for sure, right?

CUOMO: Well, they're not going to replace her.

BOLDUAN: Never.

CUOMO: They have to own up to that.

TURNER: She embodies that show. I'm with you on that one.

CUOMO: We're honoring her for a reason. She was an original. Thank you for that.

A lot of news this morning, let's get you right to that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OBAMA: We are going to be able to not just blunt the momentum of ISIL, ultimately we're going to defeat them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to congratulate the president. He is now on the offense.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the e-mail that cost a team.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think I had an audible gasp, and now we are moving forward in trying to make the Atlanta Hawks a team that you can be proud of.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Doctors say they are seeing hundreds of cases of children with the Enterovirus D 68.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Breaking news. Buckingham Palace announcing the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting their second child.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Good morning, welcome back to NEW DAY. The president is putting his finishing touches on a plan to destroy ISIS and preparing to reveal it to you. He's going to do it in a big address on Wednesday.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

CUOMO (voice-over): Before that, he is going to have to get people with him. He is going to have to get Congress with him and he's going to have to make the case out there in public because there is word out of the White House it could last three years. Meanwhile, their new fears both home and abroad ahead of the 9-11 anniversary this week giving the plan all the more urgency.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

CUOMO (on camera): We begin with senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta. Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris. With a speech set for Wednesday to the American people, one day before another 9-11 anniversary. The president is eager to show he is ready to take the fight against ISIS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (voice-over): After a few fumbles on ISIS, President Obama has a new game plan he says to start going on some offense.

OBAMA: We're going to shrink the territory that they control and ultimately, we're going to defeat them.

ACOSTA: But in an interview on "Meet the Press," the president insisted once again U.S. combat troops won't return to Iraq.

OBAMA: This is not the equivalent of the Iraq war.

ACOSTA: That tough new approach on ISIS came with an expansion of U.S. air strikes over the weekend, targeting the terror group for the first time in western Iraq, around the Haditha dam. That air power, the president hopes, will tip the balance to Iraqi and Kurdish forces, as well as potentially moderate Syrian rebels battling ISIS on the ground.

OBAMA: We are going to be helping to put together a plan for them so that they can start retakeing territory that ISIL had taken over.

ACOSTA: The ISIS reset was welcomed by Democrats, who worried the president was being too cautious.

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN, (D) CALIFORNIA: I want to congratulate the president, he is now on the offense.

ACOSTA: : GOP critics are far from convinced.

MITT ROMNEY, FORMER GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know the Pentagon was going through what-if scenarios. But the president apparently wasn't. He hasn't developed a strategy. I don't know whether you can't see reality from a fairway.

ACOSTA: That golfing reference is not lost on the president, who acknowledged he stumbled after the beheading of American journalist James Foley. Mr. Obama admitted he sent the wrong message during his recent vacation when he recognized Foley's execution only to head to the golf course minutes later.

OBAMA: I should have anticipated the optics. That's part of the job.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: The president also insisted he did not refer to ISIS as a jayvee team to "The New Yorker" earlier this year.