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Mechanical Failure Left Ship Adrift; 9 Damas Breached in South Carolina; Massacre Survivor's Mom Speaks Out; Fantasy Sports Sites Facing Insider Trading Questions; Israel Destroys Homes of Palestinian Attackers. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired October 06, 2015 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:01] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: And Marco Rubio, did he really send him a gag gift? We have his answers, ahead.

Mick?

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: We turn to Oregon.

Her son survived the Oregon campus massacre. The gunman spared his life, chose him to deliver an envelope to police. His mother is now speaking exclusively to CNN. That's ahead on NEW DAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: The NTSB launching a go team this morning to investigate what exactly happened to the sunken container ship El Faro. Meanwhile, the coast guard focuses on finding surviving crew members, 33 on board, 28 of those American. So far, one body has been spotted in a debris field near the Bahamas.

The vessel's owners say El Faro suffered mechanical failure as it tried to bypass Hurricane Joaquin. Coast Guard officials say they believe that ship sank.

[06:35:01] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Epic flooding in the Carolinas claiming 13 lives and the threat may not over, for days or even weeks to come. Nine dams have been breached or failed and more could give way, prompting Governor Nikki Haley to warn, we are not out of the woods yet. Early damage estimates soaring into the billions with water levels still rising, more than 1,300 members of the National Guard have been called in to assist with rescue operations.

CUOMO: An Amtrak commuter train bound for Washington, D.C. derailed in central Vermont. At least two cars ran off the track Monday morning near Northfield.

Now, what you're looking at according to preliminary reports is the effects of a rock slide. That's what caused the derailment. Officials say six people were injured, one seriously.

CAMEROTA: President Obama set to meet with the families of victims from that deadly college massacre in Oregon this Friday. Funeral services for the nine people gunned down are set to begin Thursday.

Meanwhile, we're learning more about the survivors. As the mother of a teenager singled out by the gunman as, quote, "The Lucky One", speaks exclusively to CNN.

CNN's Dan Simon is live in Roseburg, Oregon, with more.

Good morning, Dan.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

Well, this was one of the most emotional interviews I have ever been a part of. This is the story of 18-year-old Matthew. And his story begins after three people have already been shot, the teacher and two students. And that's when the shooter, he pauses for a moment, he looks up and he says, "Hey, you with the glasses, you're the lucky one." And he hands Matthew an envelope and he says, "If you give this to police, you'll live."

Well, Matthew is not yet ready to talk about what he endured but we did speak to his mother. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIMON: Does Matthew have any idea why he was singled out?

SUMMER SMITH, MOTHER OF OREGON MASSACRE SURVIVOR: None at all. He didn't even realize it at first. It took him time to realize that he was sitting in the back of the room, watching this happen. And he's supposed to deliver this envelope.

SIMON: Did he know the shooter?

SMITH: No. He doesn't even remember the shooter being there in the class a few days before.

SIMON: Why do you think the shooter locked eyes with him?

SMITH: I have no idea. I can't ask why anymore. I just have to be happy that Matthew's OK.

SIMON: And then what happened?

SMITH: Matthew said that he froze. He didn't make a single move. He was afraid to look away, that if he made anything -- did anything to make the shooter notice him that he would be shot. So he just sat there.

SIMON: He's sitting there watching the shooter execute people?

SMITH: Yes.

SIMON: How is he dealing with having witnessed such a tragedy?

SMITH: He doesn't know how to deal with it right now. It's -- I don't even think he can register what happened yet. It's just too much. No words for it. He was just -- he lived. And for that, he feels guilty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: Well, yes, there is a huge amount of survivor's guilt here. I think anyone would feel that way. I can tell you that Matthew will not be returning to the college. He's going to be taking some time off. His mother says this is a young man who is known for his smile, for his outgoing personality, and it will take some time for that part of himself to come back.

You would think that when the president comes to town on Friday, that he will want to meet with Matthew and his mother. But at this point, the White House is not released any of the details surrounding his visit.

Alisyn and company, we'll send it back to you.

CAMEROTA: OK, Dan, thanks so much.

Oh, my gosh --

PEREIRA: How do you counsel someone to deal with that survivor's guilt? That's a weighty thing to carry for so long.

CAMEROTA: Absolutely. How does he process any of this? And the randomness of the heinous crime? As we've seen so much. He was chosen, for some reason, but he'll never know the answer.

CUOMO: I think you've got to invest as little into what was going through the mind of the killer as possible. You know, this is an irrational person, a bad person, motives meaningless. You know, you just take life as it suits. Now, this kid has a chance to keep going.

CAMEROTA: You're right. I mean, you're right. We look for meaning, though. It is --

PEREIRA: We do.

CUOMO: Not going to find any when you look at these guys, because they're not acting rational.

CAMEROTA: So true.

PEREIRA: All right. Well, you've seen the commercials. FanDuel, Draft Kings promising huge payouts to fantasy players who pick the perfect lineup. Now there is a scandal brewing and erupting.

Is everyone competing on a level playing field? Some, do they have an edge? We'll take a look at it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:43:30] PEREIRA: A scandal erupting in the big money world of fantasy sports over what amounts to allegations of insider trading. It involves two major fantasy football sites, Draft Kings and FanDuel. "The New York Times" reports at Draft Kings employee won $350,000 placing bets at the rival site using data from his own company that was not available to the public.

Here to break it all down, CNN sports analyst and "USA Today" sports columnist Christine Brennan, and CNN sports anchor Coy Wire.

We need to mention, all three of us, that we know that CNN's parent company has an investment in FanDuel. So, let's get that out of the way.

Christine, your take on all of this? How big of a deal is it?

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Michaela, I think it's a very big deal. This world of fantasy sports has been unregulated. It is the Wild West. Think of a multibillion dollar industry and there's been no regulation. What could go wrong?

PEREIRA: What could go possibly go wrong?

BRENNAN: Now, we're seeing, a lot of this is because the laws -- people are saying why? The laws were written, of course, before fantasy sports just took off.

PEREIRA: Sure.

BRENNAN: And so, this has been the last, what, 10 years, five, seven, 10 years as a development. It's been the Wild West. People have been doing whatever they want. That's not going to happen anymore.

Regulation is going to have to come in. I think we'll see congressional hearings. The Federal Trade Commission could get involved. That's how big a deal this is.

PEREIRA: Well, that's a big bite right there.

So, let's talk about how big this is, Coy. Let's bring up some stats.

[06:45:02] This is from "The New York Times" Fancy Sports Trade Association. This is overall numbers. They're seeing something like 56 million people have some sort of an accounted player. This year alone, the average player spends about $465 per year on fees. And that would put the projected fees up to about $14 billion by2020.

We know these prizes can get up there, too. This isn't chump change. Some individual prizes can get up to $2 million.

And, Coy, what's complicated, is that it's all kind of tied in with the sports world, right?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, you're exactly right, Michaela. You're talking about 28 of the 32 NFL teams who have partnered with Draft Kings or FanDuel and you're talking about the NBA, the NHL, now the NFL Players' Association.

They've inked a deal with Draft Kings. They'll be using their players in advertisements. You'll see them on social media, on digital, in print ads, on broadcasts. You're also going to see that these teams, the 28 out of the 32 NFL teams, they're going to earn about estimated $6 million to $7 million per year from companies like Draft Kings and FanDuel. You'll see their advertisements all over the stadiums. So, we'll see it.

That number, that 56 million who play it, that's an estimate. When you talk about daily and weekly leagues, they're estimating 75 million people will play fantasy football this year. Michaela, that's over a quarter of the U.S. population. So, this is a big deal. A lot of people investing big money, and now allegations of not getting fair treatment. This is a big deal.

PEREIRA: Christine, I mean, it was just a matter of time before the jig was up. You've got the Wild Wild West of the Interweb. We know how things go when you self-police there. But you have all of this buy-in literally and money being made from the leagues themselves as Coy is giving us the data there, it's a great way to keep fans engaged and feel sort of as if they're part of your league.

It was a matter of time before this kind of went sideways, no?

BRENNAN: Yes, you and Coy are absolutely correct about that. For those who don't play this and don't get involved with this, who are watching saying what in the world?

PEREIRA: Right.

BRENNAN: This is all about keeping fans engaged longer into games. And so, if there's a blowout in the NFL or major baseball, whatever, and a fan all of a sudden has a player in the fantasy league who is still playing, you can get a touchdown, you could get a home run from that player, then all of a sudden, you're going to watch that game or you're going to turn the channel and go back or check on the Internet, on your iPhone and there you go.

So, that's why this is a big deal and why the teams want to be a part of it. This is set against the backdrop, by the way, of the conversation of should we legalize gambling. The state of New Jersey has been very involved. And Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, said why not legalize sports gambling and then regulate the heck out of it.

PEREIRA: Right.

BRENNAN: So, here we are at this point. It's really a watershed moment.

PEREIRA: Well, one of our, we might have some insiders, too -- not insiders but people who play fantasy leagues here. And one would say, it's not a game of chance. This is based on data.

So, does it really fall into the insider trading?

Lots of discussions we could have about this. We'll pick it up another time.

Coy, Christine, always great to have your expertise with us on NEW DAY. So, get in on the conversation. You may have an account. What do you think?

You can tweet us using #NewDayCNN. You can also jump on to Facebook and put your comments there.

Chris?

CUOMO: All right, Mick.

Israel fighting what Prime Minister Netanyahu calls a wave of terror. Why this new spike in violence and where is it going to lead? We have a former Israeli ambassador joining us, next.

(COMMERICLA BREAK)

[06:53:00] CUOMO: Welcome back to your NEW DAY.

There are certainly escalating tensions in Israel after the military overnight destroyed the homes of two Palestinians responsible for deadly attacks in Jerusalem. Now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is also announcing a crackdown on Palestinian protesters, all this comes after stabbing attacks that left two Israelis dead and several wounded.

Let's discuss this with Michael Oren. He joins us now. He's the former Israeli ambassador to the United States, and current member of the Knesset. He's also the author of the book "Ally", which I have in my hand, unsigned, my umbrage aside, I will still ask you questions about it.

Let's take a look at the immediate, Ambassador. What is going on now? Is it an extension of the back and forth? Or do you think there's something different in the dynamic that we see in this moment?

MICHAEL OREN, FORMER ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: I would hope there's nothing different, Chris, and good morning.

There have been four Israelis killed in the last couple days, including a couple within American citizen, shot in front of their four kids. It is just horrified the state of Israel. And there's a sense of growing violence.

And last night, there was a huge demonstration outside Benjamin Netanyahu's house, the prime minister's house, by the Israeli right wing, people significantly to the right of him. Israelis are demanding action against this. My own kids, I wouldn't call them right wingers, they've said to me, dad, we've got to have a response to this.

And the bulk of the Palestinian population is not cooperating with us. They see what's happening in Syria, they see what's happening in Iraq. They don't want this.

Yes, they want a peace process. It would be very good if Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas joined the peace process. Right now, he refuses to negotiate with us.

So, there's a simmering in the West Bank. We hope it stays under a low flame. One way that Israel will try to keep that flame low is by punishing those responsible for this terrorist and letting even the families around them know that there's a price to be paid for terror.

CUONO: When you say they see what's going on in Syria and they don't want this, what do you think the Palestinian perspective is on what they see happening in other places vis-a-vis what they want to happen in Israel?

[06:55:08] OREN: Well, it's almost two different separate issues. What they want -- what they don't want to happen is they don't want hundreds of thousands of people killed like in Syria. By the way, the Palestinians are Sunni Muslims. They see that the Shiites, Iran, together with Assad regime are killing Sunnis. These are the people flooding Europe are Sunnis.

The Palestinians are Sunnis. They don't want that. The Shiites and the Iranians conquer Sunnis in Iraq. They don't want that.

On the other hand, they'd like to have a peace process with Israel, what they call a political horizon. Some day we could all look forward to a two-state solution. As you mentioned, I'm in Knesset, I support the two-state solution. But in order to get there, you have to have someone sit down at the table with you.

Last week, Prime Minister Netanyahu was in the U.N. and he extended his hand to Mahmoud Abbas again, let's sit down, try to work for a two-state solution. Abbas' response, unfortunately, was to condemn us again, call us racism and try to delegitimize us and possibly take us to court for sanctions. That's not the way you get to peace.

CUOMO: In the book, you make a point of talking about how to define the Israeli/American relationship. It's wide and it's deep. They're different levels. You have people, you have institutions, you have politics.

Taking all of that as a kind of a look at the cohesiveness of it, right now, things have changed. It feels different. The relationship between the two at least on the leadership level seems different. How would you define it right now?

OREN: I think you did a very good job. On the leadership --

CUOMO: I read this book. "Ally" by Michael B. Oren.

OREN: Thank you very much. And I'll get it signed for you.

CUOMO: Thank you.

OREN: The reason, we've had some serious differences. We have differences over the peace process, maybe less so now, but the Iran nuclear issue was a big one, a very big one. What the administration saw as an historic achievement, Israel saw as a grave danger.

In my parliament, in the Knesset, we agree on nothing. We yell at each other. We throw chairs at one another. It's not like Congress. We're not that nice.

But it's rare -- we had a national consensus that this deal was bad for Israel.

CUOMO: There is no division, no major facts that believe this deal is the good deal?

OREN: No major factions, none whatsoever. Everyone thought it was a bad deal. It's a problem. We've got Iran moved 1,500 soldiers into Syria last week, right? Now, we have Golan Heights, our border with Syria, it's a border now with Iran and Iranian soldiers. You got Russians are in there with anti-aircraft installations.

ISIS has no aircraft, Chris. We're the only ones with aircraft around there. We have problems.

And a lot of this is flowing from the Iran agreement, because Iran is getting a green light. Billions of dollars of sanctions released. Hezbollah, which is an Iranian-backed terrorist organizations have 100,000 rockets pointed at our homes, more rockets than the hands of NATO.

So, it's -- for us, it's a big issue. It's not just the nuclear issue. It's the money, it's the rocket, it's the terror. Iran is the world's largest state sponsor of terror.

So, we've had the difference between Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Obama, and parts, you know, parts of the American Congress, the relationship on the national level, the support for Israel in this country is under an all-time high.

I've just come from three days in Washington, both houses, both parties, everybody wants to move beyond this disagreement of Iran and enable Israel, this is an important question for us right now, enable Israel to defend itself against new dangers, deter Iran and maybe even create a situation where Golan Heights will be free from Israel, and not considered occupied territory because occupied from who, there's not more Syria anymore. It's just Iran and chaos.

CUOMO: Ambassador Michael Oren, thank you very much.

OREN: Thank you.

CUOMO: Appreciate the perspective. The book is "Ally." Read it. You probably won't get your signed either. Just get.

A lot of news this morning. We are following it for you. Let's get to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Moscow steps up its military involvement in Syria.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: U.S. intelligence reports suggesting that the Russians are moving in ground troops.

CUOMO: Rebel groups opposed to the Assad regime may be the real target.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can see water at least for a mile.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nearly 20 inches of rain falling in just one day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The water continues to rise, and so does the death toll.

GOV. NIKKI HALEY (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: This is not over. Just because the rain stops does not mean that we are out of the woods.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In Iowa and New Hampshire, the top two spots are still filled by candidates who have never held elected office.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If I was dropping in the polls where I saw that I wasn't going to win, why would I continue?

CUOMO: The Donald Trump joins us live on NEW DAY.

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.

In moments, we will speak live with Republican front-runner Donald Trump. Stick around for that.

But first, we have breaking news to tell you about.

Russian airstrikes reportedly hitting ISIS targets in the Syrian city of Palmyra, near the region's ancient ruins.