Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Report Of Shooting At Eastern Florida State College; Georgia Governor Apologizes For Storm Response; Peyton Manning Throws What?; What Grimm's Threat Says About "Thug" Debate; Beatles' Craze On "Ed Sullivan" 50 Years Ago

Aired January 30, 2014 - 14:30   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: More breaking news for you on this Thursday. Let me glance down at my e-mail. A reported school shooting in Florida here, this is what we have. The shooting has been reported in Palm Bay campus parking lot at Eastern Florida State College. This is according to the school's Twitter account. The campus is on lockdown and people asked to stay inside with the doors locked.

Again, this is Eastern Florida State College in the Palm Bay campus. This is according to the school. We are making phone calls as soon as we had more information on this, we will bring it to you here on CNN.

Back to our other breaking story, this wintry wet weather and this massive mess out of Atlanta, the metro Atlanta area. Moments ago, we heard from the Georgia governor. This 180 from what we had seen 24 hours ago, appearing at this news conference and out of the gate apologizing to all the drivers who were stranded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOVERNOR NATHAN DEAL (R), GEORGIA: I want to start out by apologizing to those individuals who were stranded on the roadways and the parents whose children were unable to return home in a timely fashion. I accept responsibility for the fact that we did not make preparation early enough to avoid these consequences. As a parent, I certainly understand how someone would feel if their child was either on a school bus or at a school and unable to come back home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The snowstorm that paralyzed Atlanta is giving rise to many, many stories of heroism and goodwill and good old southern hospitality here. People reaching out in a time of crisis and a time of need even opening their own homes to total strangers like this guy next to me, this is Conn Jackson, one of those good Samaritans helping people just along the highway because you were stuck, right?

CONN JACKSON, RESCUED AND HOSTED MORE THAN A DOZEN STRANGERS: I was stuck, but thank you, Brooke. You did amazing coverage yesterday. I don't know how many shows you were on. But CNN's information was so helpful when you are in a crisis. I don't think we knew. They were heading home and on the road for two hours. I lived in Boston and New York and Philly and you're from Washington, D.C. and West Virginia. You live here now.

But 2 inches doesn't sound like a lot so my friends, they are like, 2 inches? But what happened over that eight hours? It became that black ice. My car was spinning and I had the SUV and I pulled it to the side and started my journey home. Not expecting anything out of the ordinary other than going home.

So we are walking with different people and there is a huge slope where I live. A huge slope, hundreds of cars and the drop off with no guardrails, really made it dangerous. It really touched me when I approached one of the cars to see if everyone was OK, and there was a young mom hysterically crying with two infants.

And you're like, all you could say at that time is you're going to be OK. We are not going to leave you. We will get you out of here. And then the operation was we are not going home --

BALDWIN: It became an operation.

JACKSON: We became just a network of individuals that got out of their cars, females and males. We got people down to kitty litter. Don't stand behind the car when you put kitty litter down.

BALDWIN: You took people into your --

JACKSON: We got the lady out with her kids and there were hundreds of cars. Everybody would do that. We got on the cell phones and we were calling people in the north saying we had a problem with his car from the north. We had a Canadian in the group. Who ended up at my house? A woman from India and a man from Canada and a guy from Marietta, we had a guy from Central America and we just crashed. I'm a bachelor so it wasn't much food, but what we had they enjoyed.

BALDWIN: You were showing me, before we went on, you had such a smile on your face with a man and his wife and child, he finally got home and reunited. Do you have a clear house now? Is everyone gone?

JACKSON: Everyone has gone as of an hour ago, but with the reporting you guys are doing, you can't be on the road. I feel like a mother hen. Let me know you made it home safe. They had hundreds of people out on the streets for five hours with no gloves helping each other out. That's a story we hear over and over and over again. I think that's what makes it great.

BALDWIN: Awesome job. It's nice to meet you. Rock on my friend. Conn Jackson, thank you so much.

Coming up here, much more on the story including reaction to the governor's complete reversal and apology today.

Plus I have a former NFL star standing by. The boss, Jerome Bettis joins me live in Times Square. We're talking Super Bowl right after this break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do throwing a lot of yards and touchdowns. I am actually quite proud of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Peyton Manning throws what? That's the Broncos QB echoing guess who? The Seahawks Richard Sherman who said of his opponent, I'm quoting him, "his passes are accurate, they arrive on time, but he throws ducks." If I'm correct, that is football lingo as in wounded ducks. No spiral on the ball, not pretty and as Richard Sherman acknowledged, it works for Peyton Manning.

Super Bowl XLVIII is just days away. Right now, I want to go straight to New York, former NFL player, Jerome Bettis, "The Bus" himself joining me live. Jerome Bettis, nice to have you on.

JEROME BETTIS, FORMER NFL RUNNING BACK: Thanks for having me.

BALDWIN: So you may remember this. "The Bus" here won his only Super Bowl in the final game of this storied career with the Steelers. Jerome's sixth all-time rushing. You are on pins and needles right now because tell me about this little decision happening this weekend.

BETTIS: Well, there is a decision that will take place this Saturday and there will be a vote for the NFL beat writers and the sports writers about the hall of fame. There is a possibility that I could get in. I'm a finalist.

BALDWIN: We will see what happens. Good luck to you. In the meantime, we are talking, commercial break. Was that Super Bowl bling on your right hand that I was blinded with?

BETTIS: Yes, I got it. I'm wearing it. It's a special time.

BALDWIN: Can you just take me back to that game? How special was that for you?

BETTIS: It was incredibly special for me because I'm born and raised in Detroit. The Super Bowl was in my hometown. It was a cold weather Super Bowl. There was a dome so we didn't have to worry about the weather, but it was just a magical moment because my career ended where it began a lot of years prior. So it was an incredible emotional time with me and my family.

BALDWIN: You know, you mentioned the cold and let's talk about that because we heard Peyton Manning, he throws ducks. Is that why he has such a hard time winning the cold. I mean, could he win? This is outdoor. This is cold. This is East Rutherford, New Jersey cold, Super Bowl.

BETTIS: Yes, he's played in these conditions before and he played in New York. I don't believe that these conditions will determine who wins the football game. Peyton, he knows how to throw the ball in the cold. He doesn't do all the spirals all the time. His balls always get there on time. He is one of the quarterbacks that throw the spirals all the time.

BALDWIN: What's it like having so many eyeballs on you? Are you even aware of that when you are playing such a big game?

BETTIS: You know what, you are before the game starts. You are thinking about it, but once the whistle blows and they kick the ball off, the mind goes back into football mode and say this is a football game and you get right back into it. Moments when you say a time out and you are looking around and you can kind of look at the magnitude of the game. When that whistle blows, you are back in the game.

BALDWIN: It's game time. You are up there doing something with courtyard. Is that right? Tell me about that.

BETTIS: Yesterday we had a bus ride that was very appropriate. We had a bus ride with fans and friends that from the courtyard, we went down to Times Square to the middle of it all. It was an opportunity and they have a program called greatness on the road. It is to promote those types of experiences for their friends and clients. It was a great opportunity and I was glad to be a part of it.

BALDWIN: It's fantastic. It's cold. It looks like it. I'm sorry I'm not standing there with you today, but you have your scarf and that Super Bowl bling. Something tells me you are going to be just fine.

BETTIS: Yes, I'm making it.

BALDWIN: Jerome, thank you so much for joining me. We appreciate you very much.

Coming up next, a congressman threatens a reporter promising to break him in half. So here's a question. Why isn't anyone calling Congressman Michael Grimm a thug especially when many say his actions were a lot worse than Seattle Seahawks Richard Sherman's post-game rant? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Quick question. I want you to be the judge here. Thug. Which of these guys is the thug?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD HERMAN, CORNERBACK, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS: I'm the best corner in the game. That's the result you are going to get. Don't you ever talk about me!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So the first guy there in that matchup video, Richard Sherman, Seattle Seahawks. He is the man who dropped the rant heard around the world. As for the other man, the one who threatened there to break someone in half, he can't possibly be a thug, can he? After all, this is a member of Congress we are talking about.

Congressman Michael Grimm from Staten Island in New York, a Republican, under investigation for possible campaign finance wrong- doing, he didn't seem to want to talk about it not one bit as that reporter tried to go there. Is he a thug too? Remember, people came out of the woodwork calling Richard Sherman a thug like that.

What about Michael Grimm? CNN's Don Lemon has a thing or two to say about this one. Don, I haven't heard the word thug applied to the congressman. You can think of any reason why Richard Sherman is quickly called a thug in the ether of social media and Michael Grimm is not?

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I can't really think of one reason, Brooke. I'm trying very hard. Obviously I'm being facetious and sarcastic. It's about our perceptions of who we think are thugs. What thugs look like? It's really our own personal perception. I don't want to go as far as saying it is race. Some people will say that. Probably most would. That's why you don't hear the word thug thrown around by the congressman.

BALDWIN: Wasn't it Richard Sherman who sat with Rachel Nichols who said, yes, I believe thug is synonymous with the "n" word. I had Charles Barkley on at the end of the week and he said yes, ma'am. It means the same thing.

LEMON: Well, yes, it does. It depends on the context. I don't think in every particular case that it has to do with race, but I think in Richard Sherman's case, absolutely there are other cases. Absolutely it has to do with race. I think that people get uncomfortable when we talk about these things. I have been examining that word on television. I'm sure you saw since toddler in Omaha when they were telling him thug in his diaper.

And I asked what do you think a thug is? What's the definition of the word thug? People get upset sometimes when you talk about these things, but the only way sometimes to penetrate people's perceptions about certain things is to talk about it. You have to crack it and say, listen, you said this about that person. Why is that?

BALDWIN: You know, I don't know and it may be different way in which society perceives actions of a professional athlete versus a member of the U.S. Congress, right, very different?

LEMON: Yes, very different. One wears a suit and one wears a uniform. They are both uniforms. That's what the congressman needs in order to do his business. He has his professional uniform, a suit and tie. Richard Sherman as an athlete has his uniform, a football uniform. That's what he needs. Still, it's all the same thing. It's all equal. Except, Brooke, one wears dread looks and the other is a lighter hew. So you figure it out.

BALDWIN: I know what you are saying. The other interesting part, Don Lemon, is when you hear the reaction from Sherman and as he talked to Rachel Nichols and took this incredibly seriously versus also Michael Grimm. And we know Athena Jones ran him down the Capitol Hill hall way and at some point we saw my camera saying my Italian mother will have a thing or two to say about that. Their reactions were vastly different. Is that because of the way people reacted to them?

LEMON: I don't really know how to answer that. I don't know how to answer that. I think the reaction is different. It's because this is America. We have issues when it comes to race and when it comes to going back to that word perception. How you think others should be. What's the first thing you jump to and perceive about someone else when they act a certain way?

I was talking about this with our Sunny Hostin. She says when she is strong, people perceive her as an angry black woman. If I am very opinionated about things, people perceive me as an angry black man. My counterpart is someone who is strong about their feelings.

Knows what is they want, doesn't take any stuff. For that reason, that is why the Congressman was elected twice. People believe that he is a strong guy. He stands up against the media. He may not have trouble getting re-elected. People in his district I read believe that he is the guy who has that sort of personality.

BALDWIN: Some people call it moxie.

LEMON: Good way of putting it.

BALDWIN: Should note, he apologized and he is also having lunch with the reporter in that exchange. Just as a side note, Don Lemon, thank you very much in New York. Just a thought bubble we wanted to have percolating here. Let me know what you think send me a tweet @brookebcnn. Now this --

ANNOUNCER: Gentlemen, the Beatles!

BALDWIN: The squeals. Can you believe it's been half a century since Beatles mania rocked the U.S., coming up next, we'll speak live with the vice president of the rock 'n' roll hall of fame about the music and which songs stand out when talking about their legacy?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Fifty years ago next month, this little phenomenon hit the U.S. and changed how Americans look and what listen to. The Beatles performed on the Ed Sullivan show to a whopping 73 million viewers. Brace your ears for this clip.

You can't sing along, right? Joining me now from Cleveland, Lauren Onkey, the vice president of Education for the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame. Lauren, nice to have you on.

LAUREN ONKEY, V.P. OF EDUCATION, ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME: Good to be here. Isn't that an amazing clip? You can't leave it alone. BALDWIN: Amazing. Given the context of what we just saw, the Beatles were popular even before Ed Sullivan. So why was that appearance such a turning point?

ONKEY: It really explodes them in America throughout 1963. Their popularity built in England and across Europe. They had number one hits, but hadn't really broken through here at all and then they had Ed Sullivan show, such an important show. What's great about the clip, it's not just the band. You will see how people react to the band. That's part of the phenomenon. They made young people feel crazy, feel excited and you get that whole thing in that performance.

BALDWIN: So how does that crazy translate like 50 years later? What kind of impact do you perceive on younger musicians and fans in 2014?

ONKEY: They really established the format of a rock 'n' roll band. In the '50s we saw piano players, sax players and lead singers, but that two guitar, base and drums model that they perfected. Writing their own songs has carried on forever. We teach thousands of kids every near at the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame here in Cleveland.

No matter how young they are, they know the Beatles and the music really resonates for them. So the body of work has just had incredible impact and people keep finding meaning and value in it. They don't necessary hear it as the music of the past. They can really grab on to it because the songs are so well crafted.

BALDWIN: Yes, you mentioned, you're at the rock hall. I have been there in Cleveland, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. This is like the mecca of all things music history and I'm just curious. Just to test your knowledge, do you have any good factoid or artifact from this era?

ONKEY: We will be unveiling on February 9th, which is the anniversary of the Ed Sullivan show. The Rick and Bucker guitar that John Lennon bought in the U.S. that week and he performed on the second Ed Sullivan show that week. They did two in the course of a week, one in New York and one in Miami. He bought that guitar in New York City and we will be unveiling that. We have a permanent Beatles exhibit.

So we have all kinds of fabulous Beatles artifacts including John Lennon, Sgt. Pepper uniform and some great items, you know Beatles lunch boxes and those kinds of things because they were quickly a commercial phenomenon. But folks can come in and enjoy that permanent exhibit anytime.

BALDWIN: Do you have a favorite Beatles song or is that like me asking you to pick your favorite child?

ONKEY: It is. Well, I will pick one from this era and that's actually something that folks might not think of. Throughout 1963 they've recorded a ton of American music, soul music in Motown, all this great music that was coming out of America at that time and they do a great, great cover of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. "You Have Really Got a Hold on Me" in 1963. And I love that because it shows they were -- they had their ears to the ground. They were in love with American music. And they wanted to figure out how it was made.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Yes.

ONKEY: I love that idea that they were dialing into Motown and when they came to the U.S., that's what they wanted to hear.

BALDWIN: They hit it. Lauren Onkey from Rock and Roll Hall of Fame there in Cleveland, thank you so much for joining me.

And quick reminder -- 50 years ago, the Beatles arrived in the States for the first American told. See how it all unfolded, how it happened. "The British Invasion" premieres tonight 9:00 Eastern here on CNN.