Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

Epic Snowstorm Batters Buffalo; Former Model Accuses Bill Cosby of Rape; Police Prepare for Protests in Ferguson; Senate Rejects Keystone Oil Pipeline

Aired November 19, 2014 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: We are following breaking news, of the snowy variety. Historic snowfall burying Buffalo, New York. The National Weather Service says the totals in some areas are approaching 76 inches in 24 hours. That's relevant, because that much in that period may be the most ever to fall anywhere in the United States.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Ever. Anywhere.

CUOMO: And it's not just about how big it gets, it's about how bad it is. Five deaths already blamed. People not able to live and get out of their homes.

Look at this picture. It's the front door of a house, literally blown in by snow. That's the risk. It's not just about records.

Let's bring in meteorologist Indra Petersons.

How long are they going to have to deal with this and how bad could it get for them?

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You literally nailed the point. This is not just historic for Buffalo. This is historic for the entire country.

Look at these totals, where you typically get an inch of rain, the air is so cold you're multiplying it by 15-20. That's how many inches of snow you're seeing for the equivalent of what would be one inch of rain.

Why? Look at the huge fetch of the lake, you're talking about winds going perfectly across the entire lake, you're seeing heavy amounts of snowfall. Really, look how long this has been continuous. You're talking about snowfall rates, four to five inches per hour and what a difference location makes, notice Buffalo, really just north of the region.

So, you're talking about some places just a few miles away, three miles away at the airport in Buffalo, 3.9 inches, this is the reason so many people are getting trapped, they're not aware that just down the line, they could be seeing feet of snow, well above their heads. And it's not just out towards Buffalo. Record lows, yesterday in all 50 states somewhere, we saw a temperature below freezing. Again today, we could potentially see the exact same thing. Just keep

in mind the concern is another round of snow is headed that way. What does it mean? You talk about temperatures warming up through the weekend. The concern now, guys, is flooding. Rain comes in by next weekend. All that snow has to go somewhere.

BALDWIN: We're wondering exactly what Cuomo's point a minute ago, what happens to all the snow.

Indra, thank you. We'll come back to you with more of those incredible pictures.

But meantime this morning, fallout from alleged rape allegations against Bill Cosby. CNN has now learned that Netflix is postponing the release of Cosby's stand-up comedy special in the wake of more women coming forward, sharing their stories. This latest accuser here, former supermodel Janice Dickinson. She claims the comedian drugged her and raped her more than 30 years ago.

Let's go to Jean Casarez with more on her story.

What is she saying?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Brooke, she is saying that and she said it to "Entertainment Tonight" last night, in 1982, she was working in Indonesia, Bali, on assignment and she got a phone call from Bill Cosby and he said, "I'm working in Lake Tahoe, I want to you come. I want you to see me." So, she did and here in her own words is what happened after that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANICE DICKINSON, FORMER SUPERMODEL: In my room, he had given me wine and a pill. The next morning I woke up and I wasn't wearing my pajamas, and I remember before I passed out that I had been sexually assaulted by this man. The last thing I remember was Bill Cosby -- in a patchwork robe, dropping his robe and getting on top of me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Now, she also says that she never discussed it with Bill Cosby after that, it was never brought up. And this morning, Marty Singer, the attorney for Bill Cosby, is speaking out to The Wrap, saying that -- and we have this -- "Her new story claiming that she had been sexually assaulted is a defamatory fabrication."

And, Brooke, what he bases that on is he says he quotes a passage from Dickinson's book and also a 2002 interview from "The New York Observer" in which she says that Cosby blew her off after dinner because she wouldn't have relations with him -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: I know -- you know, Cosby not talking to his attorney, saying, listen, this is 30 years ago, no charges, these are just stories.

Jean Casarez, thank you so much. Coming up, we should mention, we are talking with a former prosecutor

who wanted to file charges against Cosby back in 2005. And a potential rape case, but says he couldn't because of lack of evidence. So, we'll have that for you later.

Meantime to Michaela Pereira we go. Hello again.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, my dear.

Good morning, everyone.

Here's a few headlines for you: a Georgia man is heading back home after being released from jail in the United Arab Emirates. Robert Alan Black was detained last month after apparently taking a photo in a restricted area. The court ruled that the act was committed with no ill intention. The 70-year-old was released after he paid a $135 fine. Mr. Black had been there to speak at a conference in Abu Dhabi.

A woman who died of an apparent heart attack will be tested for Ebola. We're told she went into a cardiac arrest at a hair saloon in New York City, official says her body is being tested for Ebola as a precaution since she had just traveled to one of the hardest-hit areas in West Africa. They say she had displayed no symptoms of Ebola before her death.

Not this year, Cuomo. Not this year.

The sexiest man alive has been announced for this year, the honor goes to the fellow who plays the Nors god, Thor, in the blockbuster "Avengers" franchise. Yes, Chris Hemsworth is now the sexiest man alive. The 31-year-old actor said his supermodel wife Elsa Pataky thought it was pretty funny.

Isn't that always what a wife will do?

BALDWIN: So funny, honey.

PEREIRA: Hemsworth actually joke the "People" magazine is a little late. He said he actually hit his peak a few years ago.

Female producers on our staff and I think all, everybody agrees that no, he has not --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Would he have been your choice? Who pops the mind?

PEREIRA: I think, you know, it's so weird that it goes from year to year. Because don't you sustain the sexiness beyond 365 days?

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: But you got to share the love. You know, you got to spread it around.

PEREIRA: You're looking for a little something here, aren't you? CUOMO: No, a mere suggestion of it is getting me a wrap. Don't move

along now. Don't change the subject.

BALDWIN: Sorry, Cuomo.

CUOMO: Money time, everybody likes that. CNN money time, chief business correspondent Christine Romans.

What's going on with the markets? Now, that's sexy.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: What's sexier than record highs on the market?

(CROSSTALK)

ROMANS: The records keep coming on Wall Street, guys. Yesterday, the S&P 500 closed at a high. The S&P 500 up 11 percent this year, that means big gains for your 401(k).

Apple shares also the highest priced ever. Look at Apple, it's up 47 percent this year. It is by far the most valuable company in the world now, worth about $670 billion. Legendary investor Carl Icahn and a few other big money guys are saying this stock could one day be worth $1 trillion, this company.

Apple and other tech companies are resisting government requests for data. Law enforcement unhappy with new encryption features on Android and Apple phones. The government says they will protect criminals. Apple said it must address customer privacy concerns and now, WhatsApp is joining in this standoff, encrypting messages for its hundreds of millions of users online.

On one side, your privacy, on the other side, protecting pedophiles, the big debate happening with encryption.

Interesting, right?

CUOMO: Also, the big one about bulk data, they just had a vote, didn't make it. The debate goes on.

ROMANS: Is privacy dead?

CUOMO: I don't know.

BALDWIN: Let's hope not.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: Better not be.

PEREIRA: Not here.

BALDWIN: Christine, thank you.

ROMANS: You're welcome. BALDWIN: No sign of the National Guard yet, talking about Ferguson, Missouri. This community is waiting for the grand jury decision on whether to indict. That police officer, Officer Darren Wilson for the shooting of Michael Brown. The troops will be deployed to prevent an outbreak of violence. This is according to the governor in Missouri.

But with tensions running so high, could their sheer presence have the opposite effect? We'll discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: New cell phone video that just surfaced is adding more fuel to the fire in Ferguson, Missouri, because if you watch it, it appears to show Officer Darren Wilson threatening to arrest a man for recording him during this altercation. Keep in mind, the backdrop of this whole story is the fact that this grand jury has been reviewing murder charges against this police officer for shooting and killing Michael Brown.

For the very latest, we go to CNN's Stephanie Elam.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FERGUSON RESIDENT: What's your name, sir?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New cell phone video has surfaced posted online bay Ferguson resident who says this is Officer Darren Wilson. Listen as the officer is heard threatening to arrest the resident for recording the confrontation last year.

FERGUSON RESIDENT: What's your name, sir?

OFFICER: If you want to take a picture of me one more time, I'm going to lock your ass up.

FERGUSON RESIDENT: Sir, I'm not going to take a picture. I'm recording this incident, sir. Do I not have the right to --

OFFICER: No, you don't.

FERGUSON RESIDENT: -- to record?

ELAM: The city of Ferguson cannot confirm if that is in fact Officer Wilson because of the poor quality of the video.

But CNN has obtained a police report related to the incident on October 28, 2013, showing Officer Wilson reported to the home of Michael Arman with a summons for derelict vehicles. Arman was later arrested on other charges, according to the report.

The video surfacing as residents prepare for the grand jury's decision on whether or not to charge Wilson in the shooting death of unarmed teen, Michael Brown.

But many already believe Wilson won't be indicted.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If he's going to be brought up on charges, they would have done it the week that Michael Brown was killed.

ELAM: One day after declaring a state of emergency in St. Louis, and activating the National Guard back into the area, Governor Jay Nixon swore in 60 members of the Ferguson commission to deal with community issues that have caused so much turmoil here.

GOV. JAY NIXON (D), MISSOURI: It's my hope and expectation that this diverse group of commissioners is going to help dig deeper into some of those longer-term issues that have shown themselves in the last 100 days.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM: And one white resident of Ferguson that I spoke with said before August 9th, she had no idea that this was such discord in Ferguson between the black people and white people that live here. But she believes in the town. She says it's a real-world town. It's not a town of white flight and while she's sad that this young man lost his life. She believes Ferguson will be better for it in the years to come, Chris.

CUOMO: Stephanie, we both saw a lot of white people and people of other races and ethnicities joining in that protest. It's a community issue they have. The question is, will they find a solution before the problem gets much worse with an upcoming announcement?

Thank you for the reporting.

Let's bring in retired Lieutenant General Russel Honore. He joins us now.

He ran Joint Task Force Katrina, you remember, in the wake of that Hurricane. He knows how to keep the peace, especially with National Guard operations inside and out.

Very good to have you, General, thank you very much for being with us.

Let's deal with the obvious. People are saying, the governor is saying state of emergency? The governor is saying National Guard? This is incendiary. This is provocative.

Do you see it that way?

RET. LT. GEN. RUSSEL HONORE, U.S. ARMY: Well, I'm not quite sure what option the governor had after that FBI report came out. And I'm sure you've seen it, you reported on it, with the warning to law enforcement across country on things that they should be on the lookout for.

It would be hard for the governor not to do something after reading that FBI report. So, that concerns me the most.

That being said, I do think the governor -- and I would recommend to him if I was advising him, to spend more time talking to his people, to make sure that his actions are to insure people's right to assemble number one and the second priority will to be protect people and property in the event people decide to do civil disobedience, which end up being criminal offenses and destroying property or hurting other citizens.

CUOMO: Strong point. It's not just the action, it's the message rand motivation behind it. This seems to be set up as if the protests get violent, we'll be here with these different forces to fight back instead of the protection of property and people who are innocent and the surroundings.

Now, do you think that's just style, or is that substance?

HONORE: I think it's substance, I think people respond to communications and what the picture look like. And to this point, the picture continue to look like we're bringing out a big defense force as opposed to bringing out a protection force to protect the people and get those police to start working with the community. Better and they have done a reasonable job. Thus, we haven't seen a whole lot of violence recently.

How do you take that and capitalize on it and use the community? Now this thing, according to the FBI, maybe go beyond Ferguson. This may go into St. Louis. It may go into other parts of the country, in major cities and municipalities.

The question is, Chris, would we be better off with a designated date that the announcement is going to be made as opposed to acting like this is some big suspense? And why do we -- why are we waiting in limbo as opposed to coming out with a deliberate date and time, the economy could continue to do what it's going to do, because in certain cities, this is going to have an economic impact and coming up on the Thanksgiving holiday, what are they going to do?

CUOMO: You raise the right questions, General. And there aren't great answers right now. But certainly anticipation of this event is not making anything better. Thank you very much for your perspective. You certainly handled a horrible situation in Katrina as best as could be then. Hopefully, we don't have to see anything like that this time around.

Thank you, sir.

Brooke?

BALDWIN: As we watch and wait to see what happens in Ferguson, Missouri, let's talk about Washington. The Senate vote approving the controversial Keystone pipeline comes up a vote short. What does that mean for the president? Our panel weighs in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Well, big defeat last night when the Senate narrowly voted against the Keystone pipeline. It failed by one single vote.

It is a bill the president threatened to veto. It could have helped this Louisiana senator still struggling to keep her job. Look at polls. It's an uphill battle against her Republican opponent facing runoff.

Let's turn to CNN political commentator, Paul Begala. He's a Democratic strategist and a senior adviser to the super PAC Priorities USA Action. And with us this morning, CNN political commentator Ben Ferguson, host of "The Ben Ferguson Show".

Gentlemen, good morning.

BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning.

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning, Broke.

BALDWIN: Paul Begala, let me begin with you. Keystone failed by one vote and hearing from Senator Landrieu, she's the senator about whom we speak from Louisiana. You know, she said up until right before the vote, she was feeling very comfortable about it.

What do you think happened?

BEGALA: She just couldn't get the last vote. You feel for Senator Landrieu, she's the chair of the Energy Committee, at least while the Democrats for the last few days control the Senate.

The only reason it came to the floor was because Democrats love Senator Landrieu, they want to see her do well in her runoff, they want to see her win in that runoff. So, they went ahead and gave her the vote. But they just couldn't quite put it over the top.

So, now, it flips forward into the New Year when the Republicans will have more votes presumably, votes for Keystone. But then the problem is, can they sustain, override a potential Obama veto? And that's what we're not sure about.

BALDWIN: Hang on a second. You're jumping ahead. Let me just stay with Senator Landrieu.

BEGALA: Sorry.

BALDWIN: No worries.

So you roll, Paul Begala, because let me just play some sound. This is Senator Landrieu. This is her speaking just after the vote. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARY LANDRIEU (D), LOUISIANA: I did not ask Harry Reid's permission to do this. And I did not inform Mitch McConnell. I took to the floor of the United States Senate and used the power that comes from being a senator representing one of the great states in this nation, to force a debate on an issue that I felt strongly about and they feel strongly about, for many years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Maybe it's a little bit about playing by the rules. But there's more going on here than that.

BALDWIN: Sure, I think there's a lot more going on here. But I want to get to veto possibilities and Republicans in a second. But specifically on her race, Paul, how do you think that this -- you know, failure of a vote, this failure of a vote, how do you think this will affect her run-off chances against her Republican opponent Bill Cassidy?

BEGALA: It's never good in a run-off to have a headline that says senator fails. At the same time, I don't think it's all that critical in Louisiana. At the pipeline goes all the way through to my home state of Texas.

It's not good. As you pointed out, she's behind in the polls, really difficult. This is not a state that loves President Obama frankly and, you know, Mary Landrieu, she was I think a 42 percent in the first run, but now it's going to be a one-on-one against Bill Cassidy, Republican congressman from Louisiana, very, very tough for her.

CUOMO: Ben --

FERGUSON: Yes?

CUOMO: -- I see this as pretty much politics playing out here.

FERGUSON: Yes.

CUOMO: And actually see it as kind of a metaphor for a bigger instance of it in immigration. But if you're dying to talk about Keystone pipeline, I'll keep going with you on that. Otherwise, I want to switch. But tell me what you got.

FERGUSON: I say this. It's an incredible act of desperation, I would say it's probably going to hurt her even more now that it didn't pass because it does look so partisan. It looks so desperate.

And the people in Louisiana are going to say, where were you with this type of leadership on this issue for the last six years? She wasn't there.

So, this vote only happened because she was afraid she was going to get fired and be unemployed come January. And that's how the voters I think are going to react.

CUOMO: We'll see. December 6 is the run-off. We'll see how it plays out politically.

Now, I like what you said as a segue into the immigration segment. Let's take out her, replace it with Republicans and let's remove the timing of the last six years -- and don't you have the situation that you have with immigration? Which is, you've had 510 days since the Senate passed the last bill. The Senate will not have an up or down vote, even though families are on the balance, and they're effectively forcing President Obama to use executive action and say he better not use executive action.

What choice are the Republicans giving him? Why don't they hold the vote?

FERGUSON: Well, because the bill is a bad bill. It's written by a bunch of people that actually got kicked out of office in this last election.

CUOMO: So come up with a better bill.

FERGUSON: So, I think they're going to. I think what you're going to see is the president of the United States basically say, I don't care about the last election. I don't care about what the American people say. I'm going to legislate literally from my office on a massive issue.

One of the top three issues of this election and I'm going to do it. That's not what executive action is about.

CUOMO: It wasn't a top three issue.

FERGUSON: The top three issues -- it was for a lot of the people that lost this election.

CUOMO: It was seven.

FERGUSON: And a lot of people who won the election, this was one of the top three issues, you can't deny it.

CUOMO: It was seven, in the CNN/ORC poll. It was seven.

FERGUSON: When you look at states, though, where you had tight elections, this was a top issue for voters and for many of them, they wanted there to be something done outside of amnesty or executive action. And it was a referendum on this policy and this administration.

And I would say this -- call some Democratic senators and that lost and ask them how big of a deal immigration reform was, and it cost some of them their jobs.

BALDWIN: So, it was issue seven and I hear loud and clear, Ben Ferguson, but we also, you look at the "USA Today" poll from this week shows that Americans don't want the president to take this up.

FERGUSON: Exactly.

BALDWIN: Now, they actually want him to wait until the new Congress.

Here's my thought. I'm quoting Michael Smerconish, who's one of our hosts here at CNN, he has this idea and, Paul Begala, I love to see if this would fly.

So, what if the president signs executive action, but doesn't actually implement it? We know the Republicans want to have the seats in both chambers at the top of the year. What if then they make a potential tweak to whatever this executive action is from the president, supersede what the president does, and then, voila, compromise? Possible? BEGALA: You don't need all that rigmarole. You just have the regular

constitutional order.

The Congress can act any time it chooses. The Republicans have controlled the House of Representatives where the bill has been stalled for years. They could have put the bill up. It would have passed, frankly.

This is a bipartisan majority for it in the House. That's why Speaker Boehner won't put it up, because there's not a majority of Republicans for it. But if you add in some Democrats, some Republicans, you have God forbid, a bipartisan majority for it.

That's why Speaker Boehner won't put it up for a vote. He won't put anything else up for a vote. We do have to do something about this crisis in our country. And, by the way, Presidents Reagan and Bush issued executive orders on immigration.

FERGUSON: And it didn't work well.

BEGALA: Well, it worked very well.

FERGUSON: We still have same problem now, though. I mean, that's one of the things we learn from our mistakes.

BEGALA: Excuse me for talking while you're interrupting, Mr. Ferguson.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: All right, Gentlemen, we -- too early to be playing like this.

CUOMO: That's a good line, Begala. But I have to tell you, you got to give Ferguson some room this morning, he was in a car accidents on the way here, still made it on time.

BALDWIN: Still made it on TV.

BEGALA: Thank you, you're right. I'm really glad to see you.

CUOMO: He said the guy behind him looked a lot like you, Begala, that's all I'm going to say.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Thanks, you guys very much.

BEGALA: Ben, glad to see you're doing well, buddy.

BALDWIN: Ben Ferguson, we wish you well. Thank you both very much.

CUOMO: All right, that's one of the stories that's going to keep going on for us this morning. But we're following a lot of news, so let's get to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's probably heavier than anything in over 40 years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've never seen it like that. It was scary.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's too much, it's really a lot of snow here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is absurd.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Early morning prayers at the scene of a horrific terror attack.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The two suspects, the two terrorists worked on their own.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The attack ratcheting up fears of increasing violence.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it's important for both Palestinians and Israelis to reject violence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's your name, sir?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: New cell phone video has surfaced and a resident says this is Officer Darren Wilson.

OFFICER: If you want to take a picture of me one more time, I'm going to lock your ass up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Good morning. Welcome back to NEW DAY. I'm Chris Cuomo with Brooke Baldwin.