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Obama's Executive Action on Immigration; Possible Record Day on Wall Street; Inside Look at Honoring CNN's Heroes

Aired November 21, 2014 - 08:30   ET

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

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: True.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Because we're seeing that very strongly on Twitter as well despite a long list of women.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We do welcome your comments, so keep them coming. We'd love to read them and respond.

CUOMO: All right, more controversy. The president saying he's trying to help some 5 million undocumented immigrants, but he's facing a lot of heat from the right and somewhat on the left. So is this plan a step forward for families and border protection or could it be a step back? We'll discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: A defiant President Obama laid out his basis for executive action on immigration last night. He's facing strong blowback from many on the right and even some on the left. The president's message to Congress is simple, he says.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And to those members of Congress who question my authority to make our immigration system work better, or question the wisdom of me acting where Congress has failed, I have one answer, pass a bill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: All right, so how will all of this play out? Let's bring in Michael Smerconish. He's CNN's political commentator and host on CNN's "Smerconish" and host of the "Michael Smerconish" program on Sirius XM.

And get used to Michael because he'll be joining us every week on NEW DAY we're excited to announce.

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Uh-oh. Oh, no. Thank you.

CUOMO: What?

SMERCONISH: Hey, no one told Chris. CAMEROTA: We forgot to tell you.

CUOMO: I thought it was every day.

SMERCONISH: Oh, it was a 50/50 vote.

CAMEROTA: So what did you think of the president's speech last night?

SMERCONISH: I thought it was fine as far as he took it. I don't know that it will make an impact because I think the country was largely dug in on the issue before he spoke and remains largely dug in the day after. I think there are a lot of misconceptions. People think this was a path. It's not a path. He's not talking about a path. He doesn't have the power to come forth with a path.

CUOMO: A path to citizenship.

SMERCONISH: Correct. That's not what this is about. This is about delaying or deferring the deportation of parents whose kids are citizens. And I think when you explain it in those terms and you say to someone, well, wait a minute, would you be for the deportation of parents whose kids are rightfully here? People say, oh, no, I wouldn't be for that. That's what he's talking about.

CUOMO: Some people. Some people don't say. Do you think that how he did it is overshadowing what he did and what needs to be done?

SMERCONISH: I think he has handed a gift of sorts to the Republicans because they don't have a plan and now they can make this a conversation all about process instead of about substance, and that's what I think is about to unfold. It will all be about the imperial, the monarch president instead of, well, here's what --

CUOMO: The Constitution.

SMERCONISH: The Constitution. Here's what we're proposing. Look, nothing stops the GOP-controlled House today from passing something and relieving this entire situation.

CAMEROTA: And what's so interesting is that the Republicans were trying some back channel deals to make something happen. For months there was even a prospect of a Republican bipartisan deal in the House, but then the leader, Eric Cantor, lost his position, and it all sort of fell apart. So for them to be firmly on the other side, they want something done with immigration as well. How did this get so bifurcated?

SMERCONISH: I don't think that Speaker Boehner can control his caucus. I think that if you put John Boehner in a room with President Obama, they could strike an accord on this, but I just think that there are loud elements within the GOP that they can't reign in, and who have control of the constituency because of hyper partisans congressional districts.

CUOMO: You feel he needed to do this though? I mean the timing of it is very intentional. There's nothing coincidental in general, and specifically here there's nothing coincidental, not even when he gave it during the Latin Grammys and all that.

SMERCONISH: Right.

CUOMO: The timing of this, Michael?

SMERCONISH: Well, I think it's to force the - I think it was very deliberate taking into account that they had lost control of the Senate, now sneaking to force the hand of the Republican Party.

CUOMO: But why not wait until after they took their seats in the new year, ask them to do it, say we'll work with you, and then if they don't, then do you this?

SMERCONISH: You may remember, I suggested to you that perhaps the way he should go about this is to say, here's the plan but it doesn't take effect until March 1, March 15. So you've got 60 days, 90 days on the clock and if you can do me one better, terrific, I'd be thrilled to sign it into law. He didn't take that approach. I think that would have been a wiser -

CUOMO: Well, Josh Earnest said, it may take HLS, Homeland Security, a couple of months to -- for this to take. There may have been an implied message in there.

SMERCONISH: Maybe.

CUOMO: In fact, he said that. Explicitly he said there might be something implicit, which is a do something before this inaction.

SMERCONISH: I'd have stressed it last night. If I were the president, I would have said, here is my plan and it takes effect on March the 1st. Republicans in the Senate and the House, God bless you, come up with something better. I'd be thrilled to sign it into law.

CAMEROTA: Let me show you some of the things that it does change -

SMERCONISH: Sure.

CAMEROTA: For the parents of these kids who are here so that families aren't - I mean the president says, so that families aren't torn apart. And here's what it - what they have to do. It's not a freebie. They have to register and submit biometric data, they have to pass background checks, they have to pay fees, they have to prove their child was born before this announcement date, they must re-register every three years. So how do you think this will change the experience of immigrants?

SMERCONISH: Well, the question that I have is --

CUOMO: Undocumented immigrants.

SMERCONISH: Right.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

SMERCONISH: What should -- what should happen now to those who don't buy into the system? First of all, there's got to be a whole education campaign to make sure that people who are, quote, "in the shadows" are aware of this. If you're aware of it and you don't buy in, you don't participate because now you've been handed a great opportunity, then I think, frankly, you ought to go high on the deportation list because if you're not taking advantage of this opportunity, then frankly it's over.

CUOMO: A lot of them already are, though, right? I used to have these sheets of truth here -

SMERCONISH: Right.

CUOMO: You know, with these studies on it. The assumption is, like you said, there's so much misinformation and misperception. None of them pay taxes. You know, they should - a lot of them pay taxes. It's like the majority of them pay taxes. And many of them file voluntarily. So it's really about just making it known that you can do this and not be penalized, not get kicked out.

SMERCONISH: I think -- I think one of the practical impacts of this might enable individuals to get a Social Security card who right now cannot. They get a Social Security card, it makes them easier to be employed and brings them into the system.

CUOMO: And many are already paying into Social Security with no expectation of getting anything back.

SMERCONISH: Correct. But, you know, Chris, people hear this and they say, oh, then they're taking advantage of the Affordable Care Act, then they get Medicaid, then they get food stamps. None of that is true. So separating fact from fiction is very important before you render a decision about whether you're for or against this.

CAMEROTA: Michael, great to talk to you.

SMERCONISH: Nice to see you both.

CAMEROTA: Yes, you too. And be sure to watch "Smerconish" Saturdays at 9:00 a.m. Eastern on CNN and listen to the "Michael Smerconish" program on Sirius XM weekdays 9:00 to noon Eastern. You're busy.

CUOMO: And here every week. Welcome to the family, brother.

SMERCONISH: Thank you, sir. Thank you.

CUOMO: Donuts every Friday.

CAMEROTA: That is a (INAUDIBLE) here.

All right, this week CNN held an all-star gala to honor this year's top 10 heroes and crowned your CNN Hero Pen Farthing. It was a night of true inspiration. So, stick around. We'll give you an exclusive backstage pass to how this important event all comes together.

CUOMO: It's true, Dunkin' Donuts. They're not even -

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: All right, here we go with the five things you need to know for your new day.

Number one, President Obama using executive order to overhaul immigration, protecting about 5 million undocumented immigrants from deportation. Republicans threatening political retribution, arguing that the president is overreaching.

Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson reportedly is in talks to resign from his department. Sources say Wilson would step aside to ease pressure on his fellow officers, but only if he is not charged in Michael Brown's death, a decision that could come today.

Fears of flooding now in Buffalo, New York, as warm temperatures and rain move in, ready to melt that seven feet of snow that's accumulated. The storm's death toll has now reached 12.

Israel has arrested three Palestinians who allegedly planned to assassinate Israel's foreign minister. Israeli defense officials say the man planned to fire a rocket towards the foreign minister's convoy near his home over the summer.

And at number five, expect a big box office weekend for "The Hunger Games." The latest installment "Mockingjay Part One" expected to pull in as much as $160 million in its opening weekend, which would be the biggest opening of 2014.

We do update those five things to know, so be sure to visit newdaycnn.com for the latest.

Chris.

CUOMO: All right, thank you very much.

Guess what time it is?

CAMEROTA: Money time.

CUOMO: Wait fort jingle. That's what they tell us to do.

CAMEROTA: Oh, sorry.

CUOMO: All right, we have chief business correspondent Christine Romans here, Friday edition, good news.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good news. I think we're going to have another record day on Wall Street today. I mean it looks that way at least this morning. U.S. stock futures are climbing. Yesterday the Dow and the S&P both reached record high closes. The S&P 500, for the record, folks, up 11 percent this year. So something to be thankful for next week on your list, double-digit stock market gains.

Speaking of holidays, spending the holidays at work, a new poll finds 45 percent of working Americans say there's a chance they will work on Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year's, present company included. And if you're working next Thursday, you're probably in retail. Stores are opening earlier, which means more workers are on the clock.

To immigration now, the president's executive order on immigration giving a nod to tech companies. He promised to make it easier and faster for high skilled immigrants, graduates and entrepreneurs to work in this country. Right now it can take a decade or longer for a tech worker to get a green card. That makes it hard for them to switch jobs along the way, start businesses, start companies. The president is promising Silicon Valley that he's going to find a way to fix that. Everyone wants the details, though. Still a little bit vague, they want to see exactly the details of when it's going to start.

CAMEROTA: We know you'll parse those for us - -

ROMANS: Yes, I will when they come out.

CAMEROTA: Christine Romans, have a great weekend.

ROMANS: You too.

CAMEROTA: Great to see you.

Well, it was a night of true inspiration. We're talking about CNN's gala honoring this year's top ten heroes. We will give you a peek inside this glamorous night when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Oh, it's the music and we get a drum solo.

CAMEROTA: The air drums.

PEREIRA: (inaudible) of course you guys know is less than a week away now. Here at CNN we mark our own holiday tradition in the form of "CNN HEROES: AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE," a celebration of this year's top ten heroes. The star-studded gala was held this week in New York City. It airs on Sunday, December 7th, but I was there as the big event came together.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: It is a chilly day here in New York, but one of the hottest events is about to start right behind me through those doors. You can come with me, going to be a back stage pass to "CNN HEROES: ALL-STAR TRIBUTE." Come on.

PEREIRA (voice-over): This year's venue, the iconic American Museum of Natural History, a grand place to honor ten everyday people doing extraordinary things.

PEREIRA (on camera): We're in what's called the whale room. You're wondering why, right? A little hint for you.

PEREIRA (voice-over): The days leading up to the main event are action-packed. Cameras, lighting, HD video screens and decor are put in place, and no show is complete without the rolling out of the red carpet. Before you know it, a transformation.

PEREIRA (on camera): So inside this trailer, my fantastic colleagues are putting the final touches on the show. Dare I go in? Come on, look alive people. We're almost at show time.

PEREIRA (voice-over): On this night at the museum, host Anderson Cooper and the CNN team honor a very special kind of person.

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST "AC 360": A lot of these people, they don't have a lot of money, they don't have access to power, they don't have, you know, they're just people who saw a need in their community and set about trying to fix something.

PEREIRA: And here, the celebs have turned out to pay them tribute. Recording artist Sheryl Crow, who performed at CNN Heroes inaugural event, is back for another special performance.

SHERYL CROW, MUSICIAN: I'm grateful to CNN that they started this program, because there's so many angels out there on this planet that are doing God's work.

PEREIRA: For the night's honorees who never seek the spotlight, seeing it all for the first time is a moment to remember.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA (on camera): Oh, we'll tell you all about the big show, but, you know, one of the things that was so exciting is getting to meet all ten of these people. They just make you feel as though you're so not doing anything important in life. And it's interesting to watch how they bounced off each other. They came up with these great ideas together, they were collaborating. One of them, in fact, was even talking about that red carpet. He's like, that red carpet, they throw it away at the end of the year, I could use that at my orphanages in Africa.

CAMEROTA: Wow.

PEREIRA: They just, they just think differently.

CAMEROTA: They see things differently.

PEREIRA: Completely.

CAMEROTA: Right, but they're meant to inspire, not to make you feel like an underachiever.

PEREIRA: No, no, no, and it does. It makes us, I think it makes me want to step up and do more.

CUOMO: Oh, absolutely, I think it's definitely motivational. It's so much so that I've never been at anything like this before. When I was at ABC before I came here, I was always so envious of the CNN Heroes awards. So, there are all these celebrities in the room, right? People who are really good. They come out, but the heroes are the celebrities, and you see the celebrities going up to the heroes.

PEREIRA: Can I take a picture with you?

CUOMO: And being like, hey, you know, I love what you do, this is great. And that's unusual and it really just shows.

PEREIRA: It's a wonderful, wonderful thing.

CUOMO: Ordinary people becoming the extraordinary.

PEREIRA: And you're going to feel it all. I want you to tune in to see the show. It features our Anderson Cooper, a host of these celebrity presenters and performers, so gracious to them, of them to join us for this inspirational night. "CNN HEROES: AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE," it airs next Sunday, December 7th at 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN. Make sure you set your DVR.

CAMEROTA: Glamorous and inspirational. I love that combo.

PEREIRA: I know, it's good, right?

CAMEROTA: Yes, it's really good.

CUOMO: Well, then let's keep it going. Let's keep the vibe going. How about this, little boy gets a new family, a new shot at hearing, and a ride in a helicopter, and they're all related. That's why it is the, wait for it, Good Stuff.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: All right, it's the Good Stuff, okay? And this whole month is Good Stuff because did you know it is national adoption awareness month? And we take that seriously here because we've got one beautiful jewel who is a function of adoption right here and a family of them. And we're going to be talking about that, because it's right for us to, that's why. But also, Gavin Fields, okay? This little boy we're telling you about.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

CUOMO (voice-over): He's happy enough to get his new family, okay? He's adopted. He's now getting new ears. He was born in China with hearing problems, so his adoptive mom got him cochlear implants. So, he got to hear for the very first time just the other day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He really enjoyed just exploring and hearing all the different sounds, turning things on and off and making the microwave beep.

CUOMO: But now that he could hear, the question is what did he really look forward to hearing? He wanted a helicopter. He wanted to hear one, boys and their toys, you know, so his mom made that happen for him, too. He even got to sit in and use the controls.

CAMEROTA (voice-over): That's awesome. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It just meant the world to me. It really did.

This is the thing he wants, is to hear the helicopter, you know, and so I'm so happy he got to do that.

CUOMO: That's awesome. But what he wanted the most, probably even more than the hearing, was just people to love him, and that's what he has.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

PEREIRA: He has it.

CUOMO (on camera): And that's what it's all about.

PEREIRA: And that's what adoption is all about. You guys know that I've been really open about my own story and our own family story. I wrote that article in "Essence Magazine" and we decided that I was going to write a little bit of a bigger piece for CNN.com. But because I know that my adoption didn't just affect me, there are several other perspectives and other lives affected by any child's adoption, so this article, I'm proud to say, is co-written with my mommy. We talk about growing up with these crazy cooks, my five adopted sisters, Arlene, Sheila, Laura, and Mary Lou (ph). And I co- wrote the article with this young woman, my first sister, Marnie, who I eventually got to meet. You can see the whole piece, CNN.com/living and gulp today Marnie and my mom are both going to join me on Skype "@ THIS HOUR". I'm so excited, I can't wait.

CUOMO: Better be on your game.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Be on your game.

CAMEROTA (on camera): Can't wait to watch that, Michaela. That's great.

PEREIRA: My mom.

CUOMO: All right, a happy weekend to all of us from here A lot of news this morning, so let's get you to the "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello.

Happy Friday to you.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I got to visit -- happy Friday.

Michaela, I have to visit the set to meet your mom. I want to know who is responsible for this wonderful human being sitting right there on the couch.

PEREIRA: Look out.

COSTELLO: I know. Exactly. Have a great weekend.

NEWSROOM starts now.