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Comedian Tracy Morgan in Critical Condition; Awaiting Bowe Bergdahl's Arrival Stateside; California Chrome Looking for the Triple Crown; Maya Angelou Remembered

Aired June 07, 2014 - 16:00   ET

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

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everyone. Thanks so much for joining us this Saturday. You're in the "CNN Newsroom." I'm Poppy Harlow, in for my good friend, Don Lemon.

Let's get right to it.

Comedian Tracy Morgan hospitalized at this hour. He is in critical condition after a tractor trailer hit his limo in the early morning hours overnight. We are learning new details on the crash that killed one person and also injured seven others. Morgan had just wrapped up a comedy show in Delaware. He was riding in that limo bus on the way home. That's when a tractor trailer reportedly smacked right into it on the New Jersey turnpike.

Morgan is hospitalized and his family, we are told is by his side right now. The 45-year-old Morgan is, of course, known for starring on NBC's "30 Rock" right alongside Tina Fey, also for his time on "Saturday Night Live" alongside comic superstars like Jimmy Fallon.

Right now, many of his fellow comedians are pulling for him, sending him their best wishes. The "SNL Weekend" update team tweeted "Wishing a speedy recovery to our friend, Tracy Morgan." I want to go straight to CNN Alexandra Field. She is live in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Alex, you've been there all day.

First of all, give us the latest on his condition.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's still in critical condition. He was in intensive care this morning. We have no word on the extent of his conditions. He do know though that he remains in critical condition with at least two other people who are here at Robert Wood Johnson, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Just about a half hour away from where that crash happened.

His reps put out a statement acknowledging that his family is here with him. They say that he is receiving excellent care. At this point they don't expect his condition to change today. He is one of seven people who were taken to hospitals following that crash. One person killed in the crash overnight and we are now learning more about the people who were onboard that limo bus with Tracy Morgan.

We know the man who died, James McNair, 63 year old, was a fellow comedian and a long time friend of Morgan's. We are also learning that two of the other people who were hospitalized were fellow comedians. No word on their current conditions. But we know that one of those comedians is (INAUDIBLE) he was performing last night with Tracy Morgan in Dover, Delaware.

And just hours before this crash he had actually tweeted out some pictures that were posted to his Facebook and Instagram accounts. They show him and Morgan and they show what appears to be that limo bus just hours before it was involved in the six-car crash. The other vehicles, two tractor trailers, an SUV, and two cars. Poppy.

HARLOW: You know, Alex, this happened around 1:00 a.m. so the question always comes to mind - any indication of alcohol was involved? Also, if there had been other charges filed yet.

HARLOW: This is still under investigation, Poppy. At this point no charges have been filed but the Middlesex County District Attorney's office is looking into this. New Jersey state police say that what they know at this point is that it appears that the driver of the tractor trailer failed to recognize slowing traffic in front of him and he tried to veer at the last moment but still smashed into that limo bus. Forcing it to flip over.

Investigators are looking into reasons why he may not have seen the traffic slowing down. The NTSB, National Transportation Safety Board, their investigators are looking into this, Poppy, and they will be looking at any kinds of issues that are related to commercial limousines and trucking.

HARLOW: Yes. As well the question about seat belts. Were people wearing seat belts? Our hearts go out to everyone affected in this. Of course, one life lost and we're wishing the best for everyone at the hospital. Thank you. Appreciate the report today, Alex.

Meantime, the Army hospital in Germany treating Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl says there's still no timetable for when he will be released. But we do know his health is improving by the day. Today marks one week since the Taliban handed over Bergdahl to U.S. forces in Afghanistan. They held him captive for nearly five years. He was freed after a prisoner swap deal that also set free five members of the Taliban that were being held at Guantanamo Bay.

It is a deal being called, "too lopsided" by critics. Many from the political right. But the former commander of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan told CNN's Michael Smerconish today, "Politics later. Bring military captives home now."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES MATTIS, RETIRED ARMY GENERAL: Bowe Bergdahl was not a soldier. He was a U.S. soldier. He is one of us. Even if we have disagreements or disappointments or worse, if the investigation were to find misconduct, we leave that as a separate issue to be handled quite capably by the U.S. Army and under the U.S. Constitution and the laws that have been passed by the U.S. Congress.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARLOW: We are told that when Bowe Bergdahl is well enough to return stateside he is going to first report to a military hospital in San Antonio, Texas. That's where our Martin Savage is right now. Also joining me, Erin McPike. She is at the White House with the Washington side of all this.

I want to go to you, Martin, first. You've been there, really throughout the week. This is where he is expected to go. Why San Antonio? Also, do we know that that is where he will be reunited with his parents or are we unclear on that at this point?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Poppy. He comes here because of one main reason, that's the building behind me. That's the Brooke Army Military Medical Center. This is the place that the Army deems some years ago that it would be the receiving point for all returning P.O.Ws. Those that were held captive.

That's the reason he comes here. There is nothing special about it. It is the standard protocol when handling former prisoners of war. It is also where the reunion is supposed to take place and that, too, is standard. The reunion is often the most emotionally overwhelming of the entire transition back to normal life, I guess you can call it. It is a carefully cared for kind of an event.

It would normally take place inside of a hospital room and the first meeting between parents and their son would normally only last a few minutes. However, we all know, a lot has transpired between last weekend when he was freed and this weekend when you would expect he would already be here. Whether anything has changed in that protocol specifically, we don't know. We do know that there is a standard way of treating former P.O.W.s and right now they continue to follow it even with his stay there in Germany. Poppy.

HARLOW: I do want to talk about the treatment that we think he might get. Of course, between we don't have lot of details on his condition but what we do know, Marty, is that the hospital there in Germany has said that Bowe Bergdahl is free to call his parents and at this point to the best of our knowledge, CNN has been told he has not made that call yet.

Do we have any sense of what kind of treatment, physical, emotional, mental treatment, he will get? What state he will be in when he arrives there in San Antonio?

SAVIDGE: There is really three phases that any returning soldier goes through. Number one is they come into friendly hands which happened with Bowe Bergdahl last weekend. Then they get stabilized at a regional medical center and that's what is taking place there in Germany. The decision when he gets transferred here, that's deemed by the medical team and primarily also by his psychiatrist, who is already being assigned to him, a military psychiatrist.

When he comes here they will, of course, continue all of that. A lot of medical studying being done on him and also they will make sure that psychiatry wise, he checks out. After that they want to move him down to Fort San Houston, just down the street and get him into regular housing. Because the main process here, as they call it, reintegration, working with his family, slowly reintroducing him to life.

So all those little decisions that we do without any thought on a daily basis, that's all something being new to him because he has been controlled for five years. It is going to be a long, difficult road.

HARLOW: No question about that. Appreciate the report throughout the week and staying there for us, Marty. Thank you so much.

Let's go now to the White House. As I mentioned earlier, the president is being pounded by some fellow lawmakers, furious they were not informed and they did not get that 30-day notice before this prisoner swap took place. Erin McPike is there for us. You know, Erin, much of the criticism, no surprise there, is coming from the political right, right? Party versus party. But not all of it. There are members of the president's own party not happy at all about it.

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Poppy, that's right. Including two prominent former Obama defense officials who have spoken out about that. Defense secretary Robert Gates, former defense secretary, I should say. He was, of course, in the Bush administration. But also the president's former national security adviser, General Jim Jones. He was on our air last night, criticizing the deal and Democrats in Congress want to hear more justification from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCPIKE (voice-over): President Obama returns to Washington from a whirlwind European tour, facing a growing storm over last week's dramatic release of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl. A key question in this NBC News interview, why didn't he tell Congress beforehand?

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We saw an opportunity and we took it. I made no apologies for it. The main concern was we have a fast and delicate situation that requires no publicity.

MCPIKE: Sources say the Taliban didn't threaten to kill Bergdahl as administration officials suggested to senators. And lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are skeptical. Including Democrat Dianne Feinstein who chairs the Senate intelligence committee. She told Bloomberg News -

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: I don't think that there was a credible threat that - but I don't know. I have no information that there was.

MCPIKE: What's more, law makers from both parties don't buy the administration's initial explanation that Bergdahl's health was urgently deteriorating. Defense secretary Chuck Hagel is under pressure to release the proof of live video of Bergdahl from last December that the White House showed senators to make that case.

Despite the shifting stories and growing political backlash, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton defended the president. Telling ABC News -

HILLARY CLINTON, FMR. STATE SECRETARY: If you look at what the factors were going into the decision, of course, there are competing interests and values. One of our values is we bring everybody home off the battlefield the best we can. It doesn't matter how they ended up in a prisoner of war situation.

MCPIKE: But even General Jim Jones, one of President Obama's former national security adviser, has questioned the deal. Telling CNN -

GEN. JIM JONES, FMR. OBAMA NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I come down on the side that you don't negotiate with terrorists. I think that's a rock-solid principle. I think that once you show that there is weakness there, you open the door for possibly other bad things to happen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCPIKE: Now, this discussion moves to the House next, Poppy. Five high-ranking administration officials will brief members of Congress on Monday night. That would be led by deputy national security adviser Tony Lincoln and then on Wednesday, Defense secretary Chuck Hagel will testify before the House Armed Services Committee.

HARLOW: Yes, I have a sense that this is a long way from over when it comes to the politics of all of this. We will be watching closely and get to you with more later in the show. Erin McPike, appreciate it, for us at the White House.

Coming up next here in the "Newsroom," will California Chrome go down in the history books? In less than three hours he goes for the Triple Crown. We will take to you the track live after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: In three hours, we could have our first Triple Crown winner in 36 years. After winning the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, California Chrome is looking to complete the trifecta at today's Belmont Stakes. With the win he would be just the 12th Triple Crown winner ever. Richard Roth has the latest from the track in Belmont, New York.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): It is horse racing's biggest prize and it is on the line here at Belmont Park in New York. California Chrome, the three-year-old colt, will run for racing glory here before more than 100,000 people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) A nose in front as they come to the wire.

ROTH (voice-over): Affirmed won horse racing's most prestigious prize, the triple crown. At the time winning the triple crown seemed easy. Secretariat was one of three horses in five years to take the triple crown. However, it has been 36 years since a horse won the Triple Crown. That's the longest gap ever between crown winners. Only 11 horses have done it since 1990.

Now it is 2014 and California Chrome could be the horse. A triple crown is made up of three elite races. He took the first leg on the first Saturday in May.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: California Chrome shines bright in the Kentucky Derby!

ROTH: And then triumph two weeks later in the second jewel in the crown.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: California Chrome has won the Preakness!

ROTH: Belmont Stakes in New York is the final hurdle before triple crown glory.

(on camera): You expect him to win Saturday?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I do. Yes, I expect him to win Saturday. I really do.

ROTH (voice-over): Three-year-old racehorses face challenges to bring home the crown.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you have to have speed to win the derby in the Preakness. Stamina to win the Belmont. Usually it is rare to have that package in one horse.

ROTH: The Belmont is called the test of a champion because of its rare mile and a half distance to cover.

(on camera): Here at the finish line at Belmont, the frustration has grown every year. Since 1997, seven different horses have been on the verge of winning the triple crown. Something went wrong.

(voice-over): There is a bit of a rags to riches aura since the mother of California Chrome was purchased for a meager $8,000.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we can win the triple crown would be a dream come true for me.

ROTH: The horse racing industry has been battered for decades by gambling competition and changing entertainment tastes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If California Chrome wins I think it will bring a new generation of fans to this great sport.

ROTH (voice-over): The horse racing industry has seen crowds melt away, attracted by other gambling interests. Supporters hope that a win by California Chrome will provide a badly needed shot in the arm for the industry.

Richard Roth, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Thanks so much for that, Richard. I just have a feeling that this may happen today. We will keep you posted.

Also, it has been 70 years since D-day. Up next here, those who fought that day and survived to tell their stories. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: It has been 70 years since American forces and their allies landed on the beaches of Normandy and ultimately defeated Hitler and Nazi Germany. More than 9,000 Allied troops were killed or wounded during that invasion. Here is the story of that day told by the veterans who fought and survived.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Soldiers, sailors and airmen of the Allied expeditionary force, you are about to embark upon the great crusade towards which we have striven these many months.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guy Gunter, 316, Two Caribou.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The eyes of the world are upon you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Morton Waitzman. (INAUDIBLE) infantry division, (INAUDIBLE) second battalion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bob (INAUDIBLE), 352nd, Fighter group (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your path will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well-equipped and battle hardened.

(INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you invade you are scared to death. You don't know what the hell is going to happen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We took off at 2:30 in the morning, completely blackout. One of our pilots crashed into the tower on takeoff bus we had no lights whatsoever. We put up a wall of planes from treetop level to 30,000 feet to keep any German aircraft from getting to the (INAUDIBLE). We shot out buses, trucks, trains, troops, anything that moved towards the beaches.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was at the beaches in Normandy. At about 5:00, 6:00 in the morning, the doors opened up, our job was to move out fast.

The enemy fire was very intense.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 8,000 in our group were killed and wounded.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The thing that you have to remember, stay alive. But when you land, it is either you or that guy. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The problem we had, we went in with the paratroopers. We could carry 15 men heavily armed and put them in one spot. But the paratroopers that went in before us were isolating, the parachute. They would hit these poles and break their backs, their arms and legs. It was awful.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The smell of exploding gunpowder and shortly afterwards, the smell of people, people's bodies being torn apart, the smell of human flesh. Many of us experienced this. It is very difficult to keep from having a recall that makes life difficult sometimes.

And the stories of comrades whose war was over that first day were either so badly injured or loss of a limb or something like that. Their war was over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You will bring about the destruction of the German war machine. The elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed people of Europe and security for ourselves in the free world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was really proud that I was participating in D- Day but we were just doing the same thing on D-day we did every day almost.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was very difficult time. A lot of innocent lives were lost.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I never worried about dying because god wasn't ready for me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those of us that survived are very thankful, obviously.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I knew I was coming back. I believe in positive thinking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We fought and we died for the purposes that we all know about but it is still very elusive to us. The purpose of the liberty and how we treat our fellow men.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The free men of the world are marching together to victory. I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle, we will accept nothing less than full victory.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Our thanks to them and everyone who continues to serve this country. Coming up next, her words, her voice, her message were just unforgettable. Today the words of others paid a lasting tribute to literary giant Maya Angelou.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, all today paying tribute at a memorial service to Maya Angelou. The 86-year-old poet, author and civil rights icon died last week. She was celebrated at a memorial service at Wake Forest University.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FMR. U.S. PRESIDENT: Here is what I think she died when she did. It was her voice. She was without a voice for five years. And then she developed the greatest voice on the planet. God loaned her his voice. She had the voice of god. And he decided he wanted it back from her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: You know, she actually taught there at Wake Forest up until her death. Just an incredible woman. We are going to have a lot more and many more tributes to Maya Angelou, including the words of Oprah Winfrey and also First Lady Michelle Obama. Really powerful stuff. We are going to bring you on that straight ahead here in the next hour.

I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. "CNN NEWSROOM" continues at the top of the hour. Right now, "Sanjay Gupta, M.D.."