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Government Shutdown Continues; Tornadoes Threaten Gulf Coast; Bikers Assault SUV Driver on Camera; Sister of Woman Killed by Secret Services Speaks about Her Mental Illness
Aired October 05, 2013 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): New this morning, two men now in custody for that clash between bikers and an SUV driver. And new questions about why an undercop who was there did nothing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am dying because of the political games you are playing right now.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Your government is shut down. You can't get services and you are still paying taxes. What Americans are saying as their message to Washington.
BONO, U2 FRONTMAN: (Imitating then-President Clinton) When I first met Bono, he walked into the Oval Office and actually I thought it was a member of his own road crew.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: If you thought his President Clinton impression was good, wait until you hear how he does Henry Kissinger. Fareed Zakaria's exclusive sit down with U2's front man Bono.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Good morning everyone, I'm Poppy Harlow.
BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. It's 10:00 on the east coast, 7:00 on the west coast. You're in the CNN Newsroom.
The House is at work this Saturday. Live look at the House floor as they are working through this government shutdown.
HARLOW: We are expecting at least one vote by lawmakers today, perhaps this hour. Are Athena Jones is at the White House.
BLACKWELL: Athena, what are they discussing here? What are they voting on this morning?
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. They're voting on two bills. One would allow military chaplains to continue performing religious services during this shutdown. The other is a bill about paying furloughed workers, these hundreds of thousands workers who have been ordered to stay home from the job will get that pay if the bill passes and is signed into law. This won't happen until the government reopens. This is a bill that the White House supports. We just got an update. We don't know when the Senate would vote for this bill that we think that the House will have today. That's still up in the air. But we know that the president said he will sign the bill if it reaches his desk.
The House floor we're hearing arguments on both sides, the same lines we've been hearing all week. Let's listen to what Tennessee Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn had to say about the House's approach to this entire government spending crisis, listen to her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MARSHA BLACKBURN, (R) TENNESSEE: What you all want is ugly or evil or dirty. What we are for, Mr. Speaker, is an accountable transparent CR, an accountable transparent process, transparent and fair to hardworking taxpayers, fair to future generations, like my grandsons, my nieces, great nieces and nephews who are going to have to pay the bill. Let's have an accountable spending process.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: And so Representative Blackburn is talking about this continuing resolution, the spending bill that would reopen the doors of the government. She argues that the Democrats want the Republicans in the House to call a vote on the spending bill funding the whole government. They believe it will pass. That is not the approach that House Republicans are taking. And Representative Blackburn was arguing the case to House Republicans they want to pass these smaller spending bill, funding the parts of the government that they want to fund and they say everyone agrees on. One major thing everyone doesn't agree on is continued funding for Obamacare.
BLACKWELL: All right, thank you so much.
HARLOW: President Obama is calling out Republicans over the government shutdown. This morning he demanded that Republicans "stop the farce."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The American people don't get to demand ransom in exchange for doing their job. Neither does Congress. They don't get to hold our democracy or our economy hostage over a settled law. They don't get to kick a child out of Head Start if they don't agree to take their parent's health insurance away. That's not how a democracy is supposed to work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Jill Dougherty takes a look at two men at the center of the shutdown standoff.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For two guys who once claimed they like each other, President Obama and House Speaker Boehner are sure getting personal. OBAMA: Speaker John Boehner won't let the Bill get a yes or no vote because he doesn't want to anger the extremists in his party.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R) HOUSE SPEAKER: I talked to the president earlier tonight. "I'm not going to negotiate. I'm not going to negotiate."
DOUGHERTY: This Friday at lunch hour the president and vice president said they are starving and walked over to a nearby sandwich shop.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You should go to The Ray Street. It's really good.
OBAMA: The Ray Street? All right, let's check this out.
DOUGHERTY: But not without taking a swipe.
OBAMA: I'm happy to have negotiations with the Republicans and Speaker Boehner on a whole range of issues. But we can't do it with gun held to the head of the American people.
DOUGHERTY: It wasn't always this bad. Back in 2009 President Obama ribbed the speaker about his year-round tan.
OBAMA: After all, we have a lot in common. He is a person of color.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: Although not a color that appears in the natural world.
In June, 2011, Obama and Boehner, both avid golfers, hit the links together in what was dubbed the "golf summit." The next month they were stuck in a sand trap when the U.S. was facing another debt ceiling deadline. Their grand bargain failed and their relationship started to suffer.
BOEHNER: Dealing with the White House is like dealing with a bowl of Jell-O.
DOUGHERTY: During last December's fiscal cliff crisis, the dueling duo became fodder for Saturday night live.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have the leverage. Why give in? Well, simply put, I felt sorry for this man.
DOUGHERTY: But can they shake hands, make up, and save the country? Sure doesn't sound that way.
BOEHNER: This isn't some damn game.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOUGHERTY: And Boehner calls this an epic battle. So far it doesn't look like a ceasefire. Over here it's pretty quiet at the White House. We're trying to find out what the president is doing behind the scenes, but in front of the scenes, in front of the cameras, not much happening now.
HARLOW: Jill Dougherty, appreciate it. Thank you.
And let's take you to New York where police have two bikers in custody accused in involvement of the clash between a group of bikers and SUV driver earlier this week.
BLACKWELL: And police say one of the men is the one seen smashing out the driver's side window. Here you can see he's using his helmet. CNN's Margaret Conley is live in New York. Margaret, what else do we know about these men? What will happen later today?
MARGARET CONLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor, two men turned themselves in and are now in custody. Investigators are still trying to piece together what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CONLEY: The motorcyclist seen here who repeatedly smashed this car window using his helmet with a family trapped inside has been identified. Authorities have also found the motorcyclist who shot this helmet cam video showing how the incident escalated from the start. Alexian Leon was driving an SUV with his family here on Manhattan's west side highway. According to police, he struck a motorcycle that had slowed in front of him, slightly injuring the rider. That's when other motorcyclists surrounded him. Police say the bikers hit and spiked the car's tire.
As Leon escaped his car ran into three more bikers, including one who was critically injured. That's when the motorcyclists gave chase. Eventually cornering the SUV and then beating and slashing Leon in front of his wife and two-year-old daughter.
We returned to the scene with a retired police officer Lou Palumbo and asked him how things went so wrong?
LOU PALUMBO, RETIRED POLICE OFFICER: They shut this road down.
CONLEY: He puts the blame on the motorcyclists.
PALUMBO: You see him just driving normally in the center lane, nothing really dramatic. This motorcycle operator pulls in front. He's going to slow down and turn and look back at him. Now I'm just curious, what precisely were you thinking at that moment that you thought that would be appropriate?
CONLEY: Could the SUV driver have done anything differently?
PALUMBO: In my opinion he was in fear for his life. He has a baby in the car, and I don't think he believes he had any other option.
CONLEY: So if the average person is driving down the freeway and this happens to them, what is the advice that you would give to them?
PALUMBO: Call 911, and just basically yield the right-of-way to the bikes. The issue here is really the volume of motorcycles. The issue here is the operation of these motorcycles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CONLEY: Now there's one more twist to the story. There was an off- duty police officer on the scene, and questions are being raised as to why it took four days for him to come forward.
BLACKWELL: Margaret Conley there in New York for us as we continue to figure out who was there. Thank you very much.
An organizer of one of the largest biker groups in the country is speaking out. He said he's concerned the biker groups are getting too dangerous. That interview is coming up in 30 minutes.
The stalemate in Washington could mean higher prices in the dairy aisle. That's because as long as Congress is gridlocked on a budget, it's unlikely lawmakers will pass a new farm bill. That could mean you possibly will see higher milk prices as soon as January. The farm bureau says the price of milk could double to as much as $6 a gallon. Others put the price tag at $8 a gallon.
Tropical storm Karen is taking aim at the gulf coast. Residents are still preparing for the worst. Our Indra Petersons is live in Pensacola this morning. Hey, what are you seeing?
INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning. The big question is, will we or will we not see a tropical storm here at Pensacola beach? We're going to give you an update on Karen in just a bit.
HARLOW: And a high speed police chase leaves a woman dead in the nation's capital. Now her family wants to know why officers opened fire.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Good morning, Atlanta. Beautiful day, clear blue skies, right now in the mid70s heading up to the high 80s today. Going to be a great day to get out, enjoy your family, enjoy everything downtown Atlanta has to offer.
HARLOW: That's the kind of day I like. Let's move to the Gulf coast because the Atlantic storm season hasn't been too rough on the gulf coast this year, but that could come to an end this weekend.
BLACKWELL: When tropical storm Karen slams into the shores. CNN's Indra Petersons has more. So there have been a lot of changes with this storm. It was strengthening. Then it was weakening, but still a threat, right, Indra?
PETERSONS: No, actually that is definitely the case. This is something we knew would happen. We see the storm break apart and then there's a chance for it to hold together depending how fast it goes. Yesterday we were borderline tropical storm and category one hurricane. We thought this guy was going to strengthen, and it had the potential. The reason it has not is because it slowed down so much. So we're only at 40 miles per hour, 39 miles per hour is the borderline for tropical storms. You can tell it's very weak at this point.
It's making its way north. Right now it's in the area where the center is trying going straight. And as long as it continues to move slowly it will continue to break apart. However, once it gets over the speed bump, it starts to make its way to the northeast, conditions are a lot better. There's more moist air and less wind. There's a chance it can hold onto the tropical storm strength.
For that reason right around Morgan City, Louisiana, they still have tropical storm warnings. That's imminent, within 36 hours. And you get a lot of rain in a short period of time. And of course there's strong winds. Think about the low elevation there. Flooding is definitely a high concern.
And then you talk about the ground that is so saturated. You have the strong winds that come in. It can really rip the trees out of the ground. Then the storm holds it together and makes its way to Pensacola Beach. A lot of places along the gulf are 10, 15 inches above rainfall. The effects could be a stronger storm thanks to the ground not holding in the trees. So I think that's going to be biggest concern here moving the forward.
HARLOW: Absolutely. I'm wondering, are people taking it seriously, taking the threat seriously?
PETERSONS: They are. People are very familiar with the storms in this region. Even though it's a weekend and they know it's nice right now, they're aware of how quickly things can change. They've been through it before. So many people are asking us the forecast. They want the hour-by-hour update. And when they see those changes they are ready to act. They want to enjoy it as long as they can because they know the timing could be as late as Sunday afternoon. So they're going to soak up every last minute that can.
BLACKWELL: Who wouldn't? Indra Petersons, thank you.
HARLOW: As people on the Gulf coast brace for tropical storms Karen, wild weather is sweeping across the country from fires in California to snow in the Midwest. Let's bring in meteorologist Alexandra Steele here in the CNN Severe Weather Center. It looks like an incredibly early blizzard in parts of the Midwest. Are they going to get more snow?
ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: They're going to get more. Poppy, it's really a weather trifecta. Yes, there's snow, also tornados. An incredible punch in the Midwest in addition to fire, so we're seeing it all. Let me show you the historic snow we saw. First to Wyoming. This picture looks like a postcard. The winds with this are blizzard strength. More snow is expected today, heavy and wet snow. Eastern Wyoming and western South Dakota, Rapid City, South Dakota, 15 to 20 inches on its way, making it a top 10 snowfall potentially.
Also tornadoes, this is not typically tornado season, seeing these in October. Not unheard of it but it certainly does happen. Normally we see them in June for the most part, but large violent tornadoes are ripping through. Three states including Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, also really uncommon but not unheard of there because in 2001 we had 11 tornadoes in October. National Weather Service doing is taking a look at the damage today so we will know more numbers.
The back cold side bringing us the one, two, three feet of snow. And ahead of it we have very warm air and the front pushing through moving up the air. That's where we saw the tornadoes yesterday.
BLACKWELL: The strong winds, and authorities are worried about wildfires, how bad is that weather expected to get?
STEELE: It's bad. Here's the fire threat in southern California. Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Palm Springs down to San Diego, red flag warnings are posted there and just incredible potential there. And you have a Santa Ana because we have high pressure further east than that and it's pushing all this dry desert air westward, sinking and heating. It's all part of the same picture, Poppy. What we're seeing here with a that storms eastward. So here the bigger threat is fire. Winds around Los Angeles 50 to 72 miles per hour.
BLACKWELL: Alexandra Steele, thank you so much.
It was supposed to be one of the happiest times of their lives. A newlywed couple married for a little more than a week. Now the bride is accused of pushing her husband off a cliff. She faces new charges.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: The family of the woman who was shot dead after a police chase in the nation's capital said she did not deserve what happened to her.
HARLOW: And they want to know if police followed protocol when they opened fire. Miriam Carey died after they rammed a White House barrier then raced with her baby daughter in the car to Capitol Hill on Thursday. The little girly is OK. Carey's sister talked exclusively with our Anderson Cooper and said Carey sought treatment after being diagnosed with postpartum depression and psychosis. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: How has that manifested in her life? Was that something you saw in her life?
AMY CAREY-JONES, MIRIAM CAREY'S SISTER: No. It wasn't something displayed. It was a momentary breakdown when she had to go and have emergency care. Once she understood the diagnosis, she knew how to move forward. She had challenges as a new parent. I am a parent. I have two children. Just like anyone else she had questions. We dealt with that as a family. There was nothing out of the ordinary.
COOPER: Did she seem in recent days to be off medication or unstable?
CAREY-JONES: No, she didn't appear to be unstable.
COOPER: The care she got when she had the psychosis and the depression, how long ago was that? Do you know?
CAREY-JONES: The diagnosis came a little bit after her birth of the daughter.
COOPER: Her daughter is about a year old, is that correct?
CAREY-JONES: Her daughter is a year. She's ONE-year-old. I did recently ask her about the medication. I talked to her often about that. And she told me that the doctors told her she didn't need the medication anymore because the plan was for her to come off the medication within a year. And they were confident that she was better. They tapered her off her medication, and she said she felt fine.
COOPER: Do you know for a fact that was something doctors recommended she get off the medication? Or is that something she told you?
CAREY-JONES: No, that's what the plan was. The plan of a care for a patient that has depression with psychosis is medication and treatment, and not to have long-term medication like bipolar or schizophrenia. That is why they told her one year and they did go with the plan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: Eight days was how long Jordan Graham was married to her husband before she allegedly pushed him off a cliff. Now the Montana bride is back in court and faces new charges. Here's CNN's Casey Wian.
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Poppy, Victor, a not guilty plea to first degree murder charges from alleged newlywed killer Jordan Graham.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you kill Cody?
WIAN: Prosecutors originally charged Montana newlywed Jordan Graham for second-degree murder for pushing her husband, Cody Johnson, off this cliff in Glacier National Park. Now the jury has added a charge of premeditated first-degree murder, which carries a life sentence in prison.
The couple was only married for eight days when they got in a fight on July 7th. Still upset, they decided to take a hike where the fighting continued. Things got physical and Johnson pushed her husband in the back, sending him face first off the cliff. Prosecutors say Graham admitted nine days later to pushing Johnson off the cliff in a fit of anger. Her defense attorney says it was all an accident, and following her arrest here last month Graham was allowed to live here with her parents under home confinement where she remains today.
Levi introduced the couple. Levi says the bride-to-be was acting strangely before they walked down the aisle. LEVI BLASDEL, FRIEND OF COUPLE: She was crying hysterically before she got to the altar. There was no joy that she was about to get married.
WIAN: After her husband's death they say they noticed more strange behavior from the widowed bride.
LYTAUNIE BLASDEL, FRIEND OF COUPLE: Whenever I saw her she was just herself. Nothing happened. No emotion. It was her same old life. We always had that bit in the back of her mind saying think I think she may be involved.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIAN: Graham is also charged with making false statements to authorities her husband's death. Her attorney admits she has been deceptive to authorities, but he calls the murder charges reprehensible. Poppy, Victor?
BLACKWELL: So many questions. Casey Wian, thank you.
HARLOW: We're going to check in with your lawmakers, the folks that you elected to keep our government running. They're getting ready for a vote on whether or not they will give furloughed federal workers back pay. That's straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: Good morning, everyone. Bottom of the hour. I'm Poppy Harlow.
BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Here are five top stories that we are working on this morning. Number one, the Gulf coast is bracing for tropical storm Karen. It's expected to make landfall in the next day or so. The tropical storm watches and warning are in affect from Louisiana to Florida. Officials say strong rain in the storm surge could cause flooding. FEMA has called back furloughed workers to help prepare.
HARLOW: Number two, defense department officials tell CNN the Pentagon is finalizing a plan to bring back as many as 400,000 workers. That's about half of all federal workers who have been furloughed because of the government shutdown. An announcement on that could come this weekend.
BLACKWELL: Number three now, is the tornado that smashed as many as a dozen homes in Wayne, Nebraska -- what you heard there was the tornado siren. It was one of at least 18 twisters that struck three states overnight. The good news here is that no one was killed. But the mayor of Wayne says several people in his town were hurt. The American Red Cross is sending teams to help in that area.
HARLOW: Number four, hope is fading that anymore survivors would be found in the wreckage of a boat that sank Thursday off the coast of Italy. And 111 people are confirmed dead. More than 200 others are still missing. The boat was packed with African migrants. Italy observed a day of national mourning for them on Friday.
BLACKWELL: Number five, Iran's supreme leader is praising the diplomatic approach taken by his country's new president. But the Ayatollah Khamenei also said the U.S. cannot be trusted. That's according to Iranian state media. President Hassan Rouhani and President Obama recently talked by phone. It was the first communication between the two country's leaders since 1979.
HARLOW: Well, the government may be shut down for the fifth straight day, but politicians have been anything but silent. There has been a war of words going on in Washington. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, DNC CHAIRWOMAN: We will not associate jeopardizing the economy with whether or not everyone in America is going to have access to health care. That's irrational and irresponsible.
BOEHNER: The Senate decided not to work yesterday. Well, my goodness. If there's such an emergency, where are they?
SEN. TED CRUZ, (R) TEXAS: I think we ought to pass continuing resolutions narrowly focused on each of the things the president listed.
SEN. DICK DURBIN, (D) ILLINOIS: For goodness sake, this is irresponsible and reckless. Why does the senator or the Tea Party Republicans think they can pick and choose the priorities of the American government?
BOEHNER: All we're asking for here is a discussion and fairness for the American people under Obamacare. I would hope the president and my Democratic colleagues in the Senate would listen.
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER, (D) NEW YORK: Speaker Boehner is in this position because sadly he's become a puppet with Ted Cruz pulling the strings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ted Cruz is a fraud. Those I've spoken to think he's crazy.
HARRY REID, (D-NV) SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: John Boehner, it's not about you and it's not about Harry Reid. It's about our country, about our national security.
BOEHNER: This isn't some damn game. The American people don't want their government shut down, and neither do I.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: Live look at the House floor. There seems to be no end in sight for this, but the House is at work today as a lot of people across the country are wondering what will it take to resolve this? What they're trying to resolve right now is if furloughed workers, more than 800,000 federal workers who have been furloughed, if they will receive their back pay. The House has said they would pass it. The Senate has indicated they would as well. President Obama said he would sign it into law to make sure folks get their money.
CNN's Red Rowlands is in Kansas City, Missouri. Ted, what are you hearing about what's happening in Washington, because I know people are just fed up.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Victor. And we've been touring the Midwest over the past five days. People in the Midwest, they're BS meters are finely tuned and they don't buy into all this nonsense. Everybody knew this date was on the calendar. The idea that both sides are posturing and blaming the other and seeming to be upset about this, well, this is a self-made process and people get it.
And they get that Washington is broken. They're used to the fact that Washington is broken. This is the way it's been for years. But they get annoyed when something like this happens, when people, honest, hardworking people have their lives affected because of the infighting in Washington. When these leaders get up every day, the first thing on their mind is what can I do to attack the other party? Not what could I do to help govern the people? The people around the country are upset. Take a listen to some folks and what they had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They lawmakers should go back to work, and they should refuse pay themselves for as long as they're denying pay for the federal government workers.
ROWLANDS: What message would you have for the lawmakers on Capitol Hill?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would like to tell them to go back to work, OK. As for Obamacare, if they don't want people to have insurance, they should give up their insurance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's asinine that they led this to happen. I hope they clear it up soon.
ROWLANDS: Message to Capitol Hill on lawmakers?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Turn it back on. We need the government.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Quit bickering. Make a decision. Help out the people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS: Quit bickering, that is the message from the Midwest. Poppy, Victor?
Ted Rowlands in Kansas City, for us. You're looking at the vote that's happening in the House right. Thus far 54 votes have been cast and all in favor for this Bill that would make sure that the 800,000 or so federal workers who have been furloughed as part of this shutdown, they'll get back pay whenever the shutdown ends. The Senate says that they will pass this, although we know from Athena Jones on Capitol Hill, no timetable on when that will happen in the Senate. The president says he's going to pass it as well. We'll stay on top of that. We'll try to get to Athena Jones in just a moment.
They're responsible and they're hungry for Internet fame, changing gears here. That's what some people are saying about a new breed of bikers following a violent clash between a group of riders and an SUV driver. Up next, why the cofounder of a well-known riding group decided to get out of the fast lane.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: We're looking at live pictures for the House floor. Our representatives are voting on a bill to secure back pay for all the federal workers that are furloughed now, more than 800,000 of them. So far of 130 votes that have come in, all are yes votes. This is, Athena Jones, what we expected, right? We expected it to play out this way, correct?
JONES: Hi, Poppy. That's right. We still have less than 100 more votes to go before it does pass. But the trend is clearly in favor of this vote to make sure these hundreds of thousands of people who have been ordered to stay off the job will get paid once the whole government reopens. We don't know how soon that will be happening.
I should tell you right now we don't know when the Senate is going to be voting on this. Right now there are no votes scheduled. So we don't know how soon that action will take place. But we do know that the White House support this is bill and the president would sign it. That is maybe one of the only positive notes we have seen here on Capitol Hill during this week as we enter the fifth day of the shutdown. Both sides are sticking to their positions and refusing to get together and negotiate on a Bill on a way to end this government shutdown. Poppy?
HARLOW: Seeing them agree unanimously thus far on this. And this is the same thing that happened back in '95 during the last shut down, that 21-day shutdown. At the same time, you know, you're paying them and that's good. That's what should happen. But the work that we all need done isn't getting done because they can't come together on anything else.
JONES: And that's exactly what a lot of the polls are showing. People fed up with the fact that these members of Congress can't get together on this. They're arguing we did not send you to the capitol to shut down the government.
But some arguments here are that House members believe they did send them to Washington to make sure there's no spending measures that go through that will fund Obamacare and allow that to go forward. So you have these competing interests. And that's what we're seeing play out here, Poppy.
HARLOW: Athena, appreciate it. We'll continue to watch the vote. As you can see 172 votes cast, all yea votes to secure back pay for 800,000 plus federal workers that are now out of a job because Washington can't agree. Athena, thank you.
BLACKWELL: So two motorcyclists are now in custody, accused of being involved in the clash between a biker group and an SUV driver in New York. The video is raising concerns about what some are calling a dangerous new breed of biker in the U.S. Police say they ride not just for the thrill of the road but to perform stunts and taunt law enforcement and gain Internet fame.
Let's bring in Dennis Cardwell. He's the cofounder of Ride of the Century. It's an annual event in Missouri that attracts thousands of bikers. He quit riding because of safety concerns. It's good to have you with us here from St. Louis, Missouri via Skype here. Dennis, I want to first make clear that no one is saying that Ride of the Century riders were involved in what happened there in New York. But when you see this video, what goes through your mind first?
DENNIS CARDWELL, CO-FOUNDER, RIDE OF THE CENTURY: I watched the video, and it was disgusting to me to see that play out the way that it did. Road rage incidents happen every day. And things get to a point they escalate to where they shouldn't. No one should have to go through that. No young child should have to see their parent pulled from a vehicle and beaten like that. Whatever happened before that to make it get to that point, no one can really say. It should never get to that point.
BLACKWELL: You mentioned road rage. Road rage is impulsive. It's in the moment. But you also say there are some riders go out looking to make someone angry or to taunt someone because they want Internet fame. Tell us more about that.
CARDWELL: Well, there's kids that want their 15 minutes of fame or that quick glory. A lot of people are filming with the cameras and they want to try to impress their friends. I guess you'll get some bad seeds in the bunch every so often that they think cutting cars off and just basically taking up the whole highway with no regard for anyone else is the way to do that, to impress their friends. So they don't realize what kind of danger they're putting other people in.
BLACKWELL: You know the biking culture. You know the difference between road rage and someone going out to try to start a fight. When you look at that video, do you think that was impulsive, or do you think someone planned to go out and shoot something like this?
CARDWELL: Personally I feel the video was cut strategically. I don't think we saw the beginning of it for a reason. I don't think we saw the end of it for a reason as well. Someone provoked someone in that moment. And whoever did that, we'll probably never know. But either way it got to a point it shouldn't have gotten to.
I feel bad for both drivers. The motorcyclist got injured. Also the SUV driver, I think it's terrible it got to that point. People just don't weigh the consequences when they're being impulsive, like you said.
HARLOW: Can you talk to me about this. You said at one point you think technology is in large part to blame. Give us a sense of what you mean.
CARDWELL: I think this type of stuff has probably been going on for a very long time. But I don't think you've seen it. Whatever it was that the cameras were ready available to put on your cameras or your bike. A lot of people will agree when the camera is on you, it almost makes you act a certain way, especially if you're on a motorcycle. You want to show off and show what you can do in front of the camera.
HARLOW: That's a really interesting point.
BLACKWELL: Dennis Cardwell, thank you so much for your insight here.
CARDWELL: Thank you for having me.
BLACKWELL: We'll continue to watch this video and see what happens with these two men now in custody.
Still to come in the newsroom --
HARLOW: U2's front man Bono sits down for an exclusive interview with Fareed Zakaria and explains how the now famous President Clinton impersonation really started.
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BLACKWELL: Well, his name is practically a synonym for rock star.
HARLOW: Absolutely.
BLACKWELL: But lately U2's Bono is has been known for his humanitarian work.
HARLOW: The singer recently sat down for a fascinating interview with our own Fareed Zakaria. He talked to him about his work and the lighter moment at a Clinton Global Initiative.
FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": Poppy, Victor, as you would expect, Bono is a larger than life character with wide ranging interests. We chatted about Africa, about foreign aid and innovation. But one thing everybody is talking about, you remember he imitated bill Clinton last week at the CGI conference and then Bill returned the favor.
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BONO, U2 SINGER: He was off doing some stuff. He lost his notes. And Sheryl Samberg actually said you have to do something. Performers don't like lulls. So I went on and presented to be him.
When I first met bono, he walked the Oval Office, and actually I thought it was a member of his own road crew.
ZAKARIA: What did you think of his imitation of you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I'm Irish enough. And we Irish, we can imitate anybody. BONO: And he's a better president than a mimic, but I wanted to say, one of the reasons why I admire him so, he's virtually a deity in Ireland because of the peace process.
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ZAKARIA: Bono wouldn't do any more imitations of Clinton, but I think I managed to get a Henry Kissinger.
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BONO: A saw a great cover of a magazine that called him the horse whisperer. I sound like the guy in "The Godfather" when I do Henry Kissinger.
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ZAKARIA: I should add Bono may be having a bit of fun, but he's very committed to the issues he cares about. He's passionate about poverty alleviation and development. He has a deep understanding of how to make it happen in places like Africa. Very admirable. Poppy, Victor?
HARLOW: I can't wait to see the full interview. You can see it here on CNN on "Fareed Zakaria GPS." That's this Sunday at 10:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. eastern on CNN.
BLACKWELL: Does that count?
HARLOW: I was wondering. That was two seconds. You will have to slow motion.
BLACKWELL: All right, most of us, a lot of people around the country have had it with the government shutdown, and that's especially true for football fans at the nation's military academy. Will the gridlock shut down the gridiron? That's coming up in the bleacher report.
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HARLOW: Live picture of the House floor right now where our representatives have just passed a bill that will give back pay to all those federal workers that have been furloughed because of the government shutdown. We're talking about more than 800,000 workers. People from the FAA to the NIH to the CDC. A lot of folks, national parks workers that have been out of work for five days because Congress can't reach a deal, they will be paid whenever a deal is eventually reached and the government basically is up and running again. No telling yet when that will be. But again, the House passing more than 400 yea votes, no nay votes. No telling when it will go to the Senate at this point, but we do expect to the Senate to pass it and the president to sign it.
Remember, this is very similar to what happened back in 1995 during that government shutdown. But again, Congress passing a back pay for those federal furloughed workers.
BLACKWELL: Let's go to Fredricka Whitfield waiting to start the next hour of Newsroom. The shutdown continues on day four and now day five.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: That's right.
