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New Day

Clinton in Trouble?; Execution-Style Killing of Texas Deputy at Gas Station; Brady, Goodell in Court for Deflategate Hearing; Slain Reporter's Parents Push for Change. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired August 31, 2015 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00] MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: The question is, what happens when comparing apples to apples? For example, white and black people use cocaine at the same rate. But black people keep getting going to jail for it. So, either black people are bad at getting caught or there is a race problem.

(CROSSTALK)

HILL: The only three cases of police officers getting indicted for killing somebody this year on tape. So, either the three cops that kill people are the worst criminals in the world or perhaps we only convict cops when actually we have to. And it is a deeper problem that we don't investigate.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Marc, Harry, we are leaving it there. Harry, we will have this debate, as you know, many more times because sadly, this keeps happening.

Marc, Harry, thanks so much for pointing out both sides. We appreciate it.

Let's get over to Michaela.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: A robust conversation there, my goodness.

All right, Alisyn. To politics, Iowa caucus voters warming to Bernie Sanders, while Hillary Clinton is getting a cold shoulder. We have the latest on Iowa polling and it reveals a stunning turnaround.

We'll break down those numbers, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Voters in Iowa described as mad as hell giving anti- Washington candidates their emphatic seal of approval.

[06:35:00] With brash billionaire Donald Trump leading the Republican pack with 23 percent, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson just 5 points behind.

Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is cutting into Hillary Clinton's lead in "The Des Moines Register's" Bloomberg Politics poll.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The sheriff calls it a cold-blooded execution. Harris County, Texas, Deputy Darren Goforth killed as he filled his patrol car with gas. Thirty-year-old Shannon Miles has been arrested and charged with capital murder. He is due in court today. The sheriff believes the deputy was targeted because he was wearing a uniform.

CAMEROTA: Breaking news overnight: a terminal at Newark Liberty Airport evacuated and put on lockdown after a man walked through a secure hallway exit door. He was detained by Customs and Border Protection agents and then turned over to Port Authority police. The terminal was swept by authorities and K9 units, then reopened an hour later.

PEREIRA: Another in a history of shockers on MTV's Video Music Awards. Singer Miley Cyrus, she was the host, revealing a little extra while hosting the award show last night. She gave viewers quite an eyeful when a curtain she had draped over her chest -- oops, drooped.

CAMEROTA: Ooh!

PEREIRA: She apologized. I say it in quotations, I'm not sure if it's being seen as legit. Former drag race contestants helped her close the show with a colorful performance of "Do It", from her just release free album. All sorts of things, we'll talk about some of the hits, runs and errors of the big show.

BERMAN: What an accident.

PEREIRA: Oh, how embarrassing.

BERMAN: Imagine that.

CAMEROTA: She must be mortified.

PEREIRA: It happens in morning news, you know what I mean? Just saying.

BERMAN: See what happens in the morning. Go to my office tomorrow morning and see what goes on.

PEREIRA: OK. OK.

BERMAN: All right. Let's turn now to sports, another day, another no-hitter.

Andy Scholes, save me, with the bleacher report.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Just to think, she used to be Hannah Montana, guys, right? This time around, the no-hitter goes to Jake Arrieta. It's the sixth no hitter of the season, guys. We only had four all of last year. This is Arrieta's first career no- hitter. He was just lights out on the mounds for the cubs, striking out a season high, 12 in a 2-0 win. It's first hitter -- no-hitter for the Cubs since Carlos Zambrano did it seven years ago. Unfortunately for the Dodgers, the second time in ten days they have been on the wrong end of a no-no.

All right. The U.S. Open tennis tournament gets under way in New York today without one of the biggest names in the women's game. Third seed Maria Sharapova withdrew yesterday with a right leg injury. With no Sharapova, that means the road to the calendar grand slam will be a little easier for the top ranked Williams.

All right. Tom Brady suiting up for the Patriots in Friday night's preseason game didn't look great. Throwing two interceptions.

Today, he'll be back in court, along with Roger Goodell for another Deflategate hearing. Lawyers for both sides will make their final arguments to Richard Berman. The federal judge hopes to have a ruling on the four-game suspension by Friday. That's six days for the Steelers and their season opener.

And, guys, at this point -- we are down to three outcomes, one, Tom Brady wins, his four-game suspensions thrown out. Two, NFL wins, the suspension stays. And three, the one we don't want to happen is the judge sends it back to arbitration with the stipulation that a neutral arbitrator rule in the case, not Roger Goodell.

If that happens, we are back to square one.

PEREIRA: We need neutral. There's a Berman connection.

BERMAN: Just to be clear, there's no relation between that Judge Berman and this Judge Berman.

SCHOLES: Like I said earlier, John is the second most important Berman in New York City today.

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: Great point, Andy. Thanks so much.

All right. We'll have the latest Iowa polling, good news for Bernie Sanders, bad news for Hillary Clinton. Could Clinton's front- runner status be truly in jeopardy? We are going to look at all of that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:43:19] BERMAN: New poll numbers out of Iowa this morning have Donald Trump on top, leading the Republican field. But what is most amazing is the way his favorability has shifted so dramatically, a complete reversal in just a matter of months.

Joining us to discuss the numbers, in depth political columnist for "The Des Moines Register", Kathie Obradovich.

Kathie, thank you so much for being with us.

Look, we look at the horse numbers -- Donald Trump out in front. He's got 23 percent. Ben Carson in second. But when you look at his favorability, in May, you asked people, hey, what do you think about Donald Trump? Everyone knew him and they didn't like him one bit. It was like 63 percent unfavorable.

Now, it's August. People know him, but all of a sudden, they like him.

So, what changed their minds?

KATHIE OBRADOVICH, POLITICAL COLUMNIST, THE DES MOINES REGISTER: Well, I think part of it is just exposure in a different way. Everyone knew who Donald Trump was. They knew him from his reality show. They knew him by reputation as the billionaire developer.

And now, they are getting to know him in Iowa as a presidential candidate. People wondered in May whether he was really serious about running. Now, I think he's really serious about running, and not only that, but able to find popularity within the Republican Party.

He's been campaigning in Iowa. He has been doing retail politics just like every other candidate, holding big events and drawing a lot of people. I think as Republican who caucus in Iowa are seeing how his candidacy is unfolding, they are liking what they see.

BERMAN: Liking what they see, seeing how it's candidacy is unfolding. It's unfolding with one, you know, controversy, for lack of a better word.

[06:45:01] Whether he's fighting with Megyn Kelly, whether he's saying things about Mexican immigrants, or whether he's saying controversial things about John McCain. Those are the types of things that those of us in the conventional media have said along, oh, those are really going to hurt Donald Trump. People aren't really going to like that.

Doesn't seem that way in the ground in Iowa, does it?

OBRADOVICH: No. Trump is kind of tough to (INAUDIBLE) when it comes to things he say that is the media doesn't like, because a part of what his support is coming from is people who are really mad at the establishment, they are mad at Washington and they are also mad at the conventional media.

And so, you know, if the media is attacking Donald Trump, his supporters love that. They are loving all of these fights that Donald Trump is picking with the media.

So, you know, these things don't hurt him at all. In fact, I think if I'm Donald Trump, I'll be out there trying to look for more ways for the media to criticize me because his supporters love it.

BERMAN: They have a full war room with the Trump campaign I'm sure. Just thinking of controversial things he can say. You bring up mad. The words -- your poll uses is mad as hell. I wonder if we can get the mad as hell numbers up on the screen to show you right now. Republicans caucus-goers, they have feelings about the way things are going, unsatisfied or mad as hell, mad as hell at the U.S. government, mad as hell at politicians in general. Baseball and apple pie I'm sure not much further on that list as well.

What's driving this mad at hell? Because if you listen to the White House, you know, we are in this economic recovery, the slow but steady things are picking up. But people are really upset.

OBRADOVICH: You know, the thing that was interesting to me is they are mad at hell at Republicans in Washington. Over 70 percent are unsatisfied. And one in five Republicans, mad as hell at people in their own party.

I think people are frustrated at the lack of action. You know, there's gridlock in Washington, there's nothing is happening. They feel politicians, not only as the other party, but their own party are telling them one thing and then doing another. That's what I hear, really people driving their admiration for Trump.

They feel like whatever he says, whatever he says, that he will actually do what he says.

BERMAN: And Ben Carson as well, you know, in second place with 18 percent. Another outsider railing against the establishment. It could be fueling his ascendancy as well.

Let me ask you about the Democratic side, quickly.

OBRADOVICH: But it's interesting, an outsider has never won.

(CROSSTALK)

OBRADOVICH: An outsider has never won the Iowa caucuses, never. But they always do well, you know, 40 percent, 48 percent of the vote. It's not uncommon for the Iowa caucuses. People like to give candidates a try here in Iowa that they have never seen before.

BERMAN: I'm going to talk much more about the Democrats in the next hour. I want to give you one bite at this apple, because Sanders right now within seven points of Hillary Clinton. And your pollster says this feels like 2008 all over again.

Those have to be pretty chilling words for the Clinton campaign, because she finished third in 2008.

OBRADOVICH: Yes, exactly. Barack Obama came out of nowhere and surprised Hillary Clinton in 2008. Bernie Sanders seems to be doing the same thing.

It is early right now. But seven points and she's been dropping steadily. He's been rising steadily. He's been rising as people are getting to know him in Iowa. She was at 50 percent when nobody knew who Bernie Sanders was. And now, he's still got about 22 percent of likely Democratic caucus-goers who aren't sure they know him that well.

So, he is rising as people get to know him and he's also putting together a decent campaign in Iowa and he's campaigning here. So, I think that she definitely has to watch over her shoulder at him and for the possible entry of Joe Biden, which actually cuts into support for both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

BERMAN: We will watch. Kathie Obradovich, thank you so much for being with us. I really appreciate it.

OBRADOVICH: Thanks, John.

BERMAN: Of course, we want to know what you think. Tweet us #NewDayCNN or post your comment on Facebook.com/NewDay.

Michaela?

PEREIRA: All right, John.

The parents of slain reporter Alison Parker speaking out, sharing their memories, their pain and going public with their mission -- to end gun violence. Their emotional fight in their own words, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:53:25] PEREIRA: The parents of Alison Parker, the young reporter who was killed on live TV along with photo journalist Adam Ward, are sharing memories of their daughter. They are talking about how an unimaginable loss has shaped their new mission to change U.S. gun laws. Her father vowing to do whatever it takes in a "Washington Post" op-ed.

Our Poppy Harlow spoke with Barbara and Andy Parker, the fact they can even speak in their anguish is amazing.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For them, it's a way to channel all of this and to put their grief into action. That "Washington Post" op-ed this morning ends with the father recounting the story about them all at the family white water rafting together. He said this to me last night in the interview. He said never stop paddling. You have to paddle through. And that's what he's trying to do.

The way they described their daughter is that she came into the world with light.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: What is your favorite memory of Alison?

BARBARA PARKER, MOTHER OF ALISON PARKER: Oh, there are so many. She came into the world lighting up the room that she walked into. She was full of mischief. I remember one time, we thought we had her in a place where she couldn't do anything as a child. I came in and she found a red magic marker and drawn all over the coffee table in your living room, and the carpet and kitchen floor.

But you couldn't be mad because this little, golden girl, smiling that she had done this wonderful piece of art. She's always been like that. She was full of love and life.

[06:55:02] And she was a geek at heart, which is the greatest compliment I can ever give anyone. She is what you saw on the screen.

ANDY PARKER, FATHER OF ALISON PARKER: What you saw on screen is the same person that she was in person. And she always treated and people would run into here and like, oh, gee, we really like watching you on TV. She was so gracious and humble. I mean, that was it. She was a force of nature is what she was.

HARLOW: Your nickname for her was Scooter. I wonder what you are going to miss most about your little girl.

ANDY PARKER: Every day, I sent her a text, "Great job, Scooter." "Oh, thanks, dad, what did you think about this?" She always valued my opinion. That's what I'm going to miss is not -- not getting a text or hearing that phone call.

HARLOW: We see all these images of her on TV. She could have a lot of fun on morning television, dressing up in costumes. But her heart lay with hard news and she was working on a child abuse special called childhood loss.

ANDY PARKER: Yes.

HARLOW: I wonder what she wanted to give the world, Barbara, with her stories.

BARBARA PARKER: That story was especially important to her. She spent many, many hours with the little girl who was the feature that we called Hope. And her adopted mother, talking about the things she had gone through. It broke Alison's heart, but she felt like that story was so important to be told.

HARLOW: Do you find, in Alison's passion, the strength now to fight this fight, Andy and Barbara? To fight your passion, which is changing some of the gun laws in this country?

BARBARA PARKER: I like to think that she got her strength for me and her passion from her father. And, I always looked at her and thought the genes just aligned and how often does that happen? And she was absolutely the best of both of us.

HARLOW: I want to know more about your fight, Barbara? Where do you go from here?

BARBARA PARKER: From here, you can't change the world in a day. I mean, that's been proven that you can't change the world in a day. But, we -- we cannot be intimidated. We cannot be pushed aside. We cannot be told that this fight has been fought before and that we are just one more grieving family trying to do something.

Because I have looked in the camera on other interviews and I have said if you are a parent, if you are a mother, if you have children, can you look your child in the eye and say, we are willing to allow you to be collateral damage. We are to keep what some keep as their constitutional rights.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: I do not know where they find their strength. I was struck and I think we are all struck by it, their ability to talk at this point in time.

I do want to note, they said to me, Adam Ward's family, we haven't heard from them. They are grieving in their own way and we speak for them, too. It's important to know. We haven't heard as much from them. Adam ward's family receiving friends at a service this afternoon. He will be buried. His funeral is tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m.

PEREIRA: Powerful.

CAMEROTA: Yes, very. And important to hear from them -- I mean, valuable for us to hear from the mom, and you did a beautiful.

HARLOW: Thanks, Alisyn.

PEREIRA: Thanks for that.

CAMEROTA: Thank you for sharing.

PEREIRA: We are following a whole lot of news. So, let's get right to it this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Houston area deputy gunned down in cold blood.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was only a target was because he's wearing uniform. We've heard black lives matter. All lives matter. Well, cops lives matter, too. So, why not drop the qualifier and just say lives matter?

BERMAN: Dramatic reversal in Donald Trump's favorability numbers.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANIDATE: I'm leading in every poll by a lot. We're leading in every state by a lot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Donald Trump is pulling out all voters.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Sanders swayed a third of Clinton supporters to come to his side.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She is struggling within the Democratic Party.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Europe's migrant and refugee crisis spiraling dangerously out of control.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These are unimaginable circumstances. People are so frustrated. They can't take it anymore.

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota and Michaela Pereira.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome back to your NEW DAY. Chris Cuomo is off. John Berman joins us.

Wonderful to have you.

Authorities near Houston are looking for answers in the ambush murder of a sheriff's deputy. Darren Goforth was gunned down Friday as he gassed up his patrol car. Police and investigators believe the killer targeted the officer because he was wearing a deputy's uniform.

BERMAN: The sheriff calling it a cold-blooded execution. The suspect, Shannon Miles, facing capital murder charge. He will make his first appearance in court in just a few hours. This as the sheriff says anti-police rhetoric is out of control.

Let's begin our coverage with CNN's Ed Lavandera in Houston -- Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

Well, we don't know much about the suspect in this case, Shannon Miles.