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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
"We Have To Find A New Balance"; Andy Reid Wins In Return To Philly
Aired September 20, 2013 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR: His family members gave this picture of Deonte Howard to the "Chicago Tribune." They say his uncle was shot to death just weeks ago on Labor Day. The boy is in critical condition this morning. Chicago, you know, is no stranger to violence, but those on the scene say what's unusual this time is the sheer number of people hit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was just a lot of police, a lot of ambulance. Just a lot of wreck. A lot of people and everything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAMBOLIN: It happened on a basketball court on the city's south side. Witnesses say a man drove up and opened fire. The kind of thing at least one witness says happens all the time at the park. It is believed to be gang-related as well. FBI statistics now show Chicago with the nation's murder capital last year.
The "Chicago Tribune" also says, so far this year, 315 people so have been murdered in Chicago. More than 1,600 people have been shot. But listen to this, folks, those numbers seem to actually be trending lower than last year. Even though it's still the murder capital of the world, last year, you know --
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Still very, very high --
SAMBOLIN: Very disturbing.
BERMAN: You know, the decrease. No consolation to the 13 people in that park last night.
SAMBOLIN: And the little three-year-old in critical condition.
BERMAN: All right. Thirty-one minutes after the hour. Also this morning, new details about the shooting rampage at the Washington Navy Yard that left 12 people and the shooter, Aaron Alexis dead. The FBI now says it took Alexis just minutes to assemble his gun inside the bathroom and emerge firing, seemingly, picking his victims at random.
We're also hearing now from two people who had their own frightening encounter with Alexis back in August. Glynda and Michael Boyd (ph) were at the airport in Norfolk, Virginia when Alexis apparently approached them with a question about one of their relatives. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLYNDA BOYD, HAD ENCOUNTER WITH AARON ALEXIS: He said, that lady, she laughing at me? She keeps looking at me. What's she laughing at? You know? And, I said, she's just laughing. You know, she doesn't even see you. He started, you know, getting a little belligerent and starts using profanity and going off and he kept reaching towards his midriff, his waist, like he was reaching for something, maybe a weapon?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: The Boyds now say they think they're fortunate that they got away unharmed. This Sunday, President Obama will attend a memorial service for the victims of Monday shooting.
SAMBOLIN: And we are just 10 days away from a government shutdown. And today, the House is set to vote on its plan to keep things running. It would defund the Obamacare health reforms in exchange for giving the government enough cash to keep going through mid-December. Democrats say that's a nonstarter for them. Of course, House Republicans blame the president for the stalemate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R) HOUSE SPEAKER: While the president is happy to negotiate with Vladimir Putin, he won't engage with the Congress on a plan that deals with the deficits that threaten our economy.
JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It's unconscionable. Imagine that there are those in the Congress, and now, apparently, because he couldn't persuade them otherwise, the speaker of the House has joined them, who believe that it is the right thing to do to threaten another recession.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAMBOLIN: Senate Republicans say they do not have the votes to get it through that body and Senate Democrats are threatening to strip out the provision, defunding Obamacare before sending it back to the House and all this, as you heard, the shutdown clock is going to continue ticking.
BERMAN: So, get this, the campaign against Obamacare has a controversial new mascot. You might call him Creepy Uncle Sam. He's appearing in new ads. Wait for it. He's coming up here. These ads from a group called -- there he is, Creepy Uncle Sam. The ads are from a group called Generation Opportunity that wants young people not to sign up for health care coverage under the law. The ads show that rather Creepy Uncle Sam emerging during some intimate medical procedure.
SAMBOLIN: No kidding.
BERMAN: The group sponsoring the ad, we should note, is being funded by the conservative Koch Brothers. SAMBOLIN: All right. The House of Representatives voting to trim $40 billion from the food stamp program. This is supposed to happen over the next 10 years. That bill largely targets adults without young kids who would only eligible for three months and need to meet job requirements.
Only Republicans supported this measure in a narrow 217-210 vote. And it faces an uphill climb in the Senate. Food stamps are used by about 47 million Americans.
BERMAN: The money laundering conviction of former House majority leader, Tom Delay, has been overturned. The Texas appeals court ruled the evidence against him was legally insufficient. A jury found Delay guilty of funneling almost $200,000 in corporate money to help Republicans in 2002 elections. The district attorney's office says it will appeal the court's ruling.
SAMBOLIN: The post office says it may need an emergency jump in postal rates to keep the mail coming. The postmaster general has asked lawmakers for quick action on a long-term financial plan that says a rate hike may be needed because fast approval is unlikely. The Postal Service Board of Governors could decide on a hike, we understand, as early as next week. The post office expects to lose $6 billion this year alone. Wow!
BERMAN: Authorities in Colorado have now identified a seventh victim from this week's deadly devastating flooding there. An 80-year-old man who apparently defied a mandatory evacuation order and tried to go back to his home after bringing his wife to safety. Three other people remain missing.
SAMBOLIN: So, the problem in Colorado now, oil spills. Hundreds of natural gas and oil wells were shut down by the flooding. Some saw their tanks topple leading to small spills, and residents report seeing chemical slicks in the water.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRYCE BRADFORD, WELD COUNTY RESIDENT: Smells flammable and something you definitely don't want to touch. You can just smell all the chemicals in the water.
TISHA SCHULLER, PRESIDENT AND CEO, COLORADO OIL AND GAS ASSOCIATION: What people see is tanks that have been toppled, but what we're doing now is going site-to-site to make sure that we don't have leaks and where we do, we report it and address it with the local officials immediately.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAMBOLIN: Just what they don't need, more problems. So so far, only two official spills have been reported. Both are said to be small and the governor says they expect the volume of water will dilute all of the pollutants. So, they say there is no threat to humans right now.
BERMAN: All right. It is Friday. Hopefully, that means a nice weekend forecast. And if it doesn't, we will blame Indra Petersons who's going to bring it for us.
INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Happy Friday. I definitely want to start with what was going on right there in Mexico. We're looking at all this tropical moisture from the remnants of Manuel. Now, remember, just a few weeks ago in Colorado, we had all of this tropical moisture going over the Rockies, and we had this enhanced rainfall and flooding.
A little bit of a different picture because we see the cold front has slid farther east. But still, a lot of moisture going into the region. The difference here instead of the Rockies providing the threat for flooding will be that there have been drought conditions in Texas. So, for that reason, heavy rain in the area is going to have a hard time making its way into the soil.
We're going to see a lot of runoff and flooding. Three to six inches possible around Houston, even two to five inches out towards Arkansas. Notice even New Orleans seeing that heavy rain. This will be a concern as we move forward in time. Other big story, this cold front making its way across the country is really dropping these temperatures in the Midwest.
Look at these 90s. Now, today, dropping down to the 70s. So, it's going to feel a lot better but, of course, every time you bring that hot and cold air together, you're going to be talking about some rain. We want to show you even New York City feels like it's warming up as we get towards that weekend, but notice, we start to drop those temperatures.
Let's show you that front. There it goes making its way through the Ohio Valley Friday and on Saturday, and for us, Saturday night and into Sunday. I thought you heard you say you want rain this weekend?
BERMAN: Boo!
SAMBOLIN: No, no. Nobody wants rain.
(LAUGHTER)
SAMBOLIN: But thanks anyway, Indra. Appreciate it.
BERMAN: All right. The damage from a massive fire near Yosemite National Park is being called unprecedented. Forestry officials surveying what the fire did say there is a 60-mile swath where everything, everything is dead. Trees, vegetation, simply everything. They say they've never seen this kind of devastation before.
All told that fire burned some 400 square miles. I guess, it's still burning in some places just 84 percent contained.
SAMBOLIN: One New York animal control officer is facing charges this morning that he had hundreds of snakes at his suburban home. And police say they caught him.
SAMBOLIN: Oh, man! SAMBOLIN: Yes. Richard Pernello (ph) is trying to sell them without a permit from a website called snakemansexotics. Authorities found 850 snakes --
BERMAN: What?
SAMBOLIN: -- in his garage, including two dangerous Burmese pythons! Well, at least, he said to be cooperating with the investigation.
BERMAN: How would you like to find out if you live next door to a guy with 850 snakes in his garage?
SAMBOLIN: Yes. No, I would not be happy about that. Oh my goodness!
BERMAN: From snakes to apes, I guess. Now found two tiny apes missing from a home in Nebraska. They're awfully cute. They're gibbons and named Cayly (ph) and Cody. They're owned by biological researcher who was raised them since they were just babies.
SAMBOLIN: They look like babies still.
BERMAN: The pair disappeared earlier this week, but they were located all the way in Florida. They were apparently taken by two young men who had been staying with the researcher over the summer.
SAMBOLIN: Gosh!
BERMAN: Crazy, right?
SAMBOLIN: Complicated story.
BERMAN: The head of a rescue group in Florida had found out about the theft, tracked the men down and convinced them to turn the apes over.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF DR. DEBORAH MISOTTI, TALKIN' MONKEYS PROJECT: Explain to them that this was not going to go away. They were hoping to sneak the gibbons back to Nebraska. Young gibbons had been taken from the only home that they had known. They had been a little traumatized. We did have to work with them a little bit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: I hope those gibbons are no longer traumatized. They're now at a sanctuary and their owner is making arrangements to have them returned to Nebraska.
SAMBOLIN: Are they wearing clothes?
BERMAN: The gibbons are dressed -- I think it's a Lakers shirt on. Barely big Kobe Bryant fan!
(LAUGHTER)
BERMAN: The gibbons are headed back to Nebraska where all gibbons want to retire, apparently.
SAMBOLIN: Yes, indeed. That's a cutie pie.
All right. Forty minutes past the hour.
Coming up, the pope in his first major interview since becoming the pontiff surprising the church with a brand-new message. Matthew Chance is live in Rome with what the pope had to say right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: Forty-four minutes after the hour.
Pope Francis making headlines in a big, big way and really making it clear that his papacy will be very, very different than his predecessors. He's saying in an interview that the church needs to focus less on abortion, gays, and contraception and more on love and service to others. Matthew Chance is in Rome for us this morning.
And Matthew, this interview, a really, really big deal and has a lot of people all around the world talking this morning.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it does. It's the first in-depth interview that Pope Francis has done since he was elected into the office six months ago and it really reveals how he wants to change the emphasis of the conversation in the Catholic Church, you know, not to focus so much on those hot button issues that you mentioned.
And so, throughout the interview, he's asked about these controversial issues, but he says, look, you know, the church's position on these things is clear. It's not important for us to talk about it all the time. On the issue of homosexuality, he said, the church is against homosexual acts, but if you're a gay, you can still be a catholic.
The issue of women priests which has been very divisive across Roman Catholicism, he's saying essentially again the door is close on that, but if you're a woman, you should still have an important role in the Catholic Church. And so, he's trying to move the church away from sort of emphasis of the rules of the doctrine of the church towards emphasizing a more suppose inclusive approach, John.
BERMAN: He certainly hasn't changed the church's position. He's just really changing the emphasis, Matthew. Still, you get the sense this my wrinkle some of the more conservative Catholics around the world, some of the people who've been saying he should be talking more about issues like abortion. There are priests here in the United States who say he should be talking more about abortion.
CHANCE: Yes. I was going to say much of that criticism has come from priests in United States, but they're looking to their pope to speak out and adopt a really tough line on issues like abortion, gay marriage, the use of contraception, things like that. But, Pope Francis is like, you know, church doctrine is set on this. We don't have to talk about it, he says, in this interview, all of the time. So, again, another illustration of how he wants to shift the emphasis away from these controversial issues. It also indicates he is a conservative. So, that's something conservative catholic hard line has been go away with. He's not looking to change doctrine. He just wants to emphasize things like poverty, the plight of immigrants, and conflict in the world. These are the themes of his papacy.
BERMAN: It seems he really wants a bigger, broader church. Matthew Chance in Rome for us this morning, thanks so much. Fascinating, fascinating discussion.
SAMBOLIN: I thought it was interesting, a lot of people are talking that maybe at this stage of the game, the Catholic Church can get away from the judgments, the finger pointing, and actually open a more dialogue because it's necessary. One of the things that he said that I thought was really fascinating from the very beginning he said that women will not become priests.
He closed that door, but he said we need the genius of women in order to figure out how to combat some of these issues in the Catholic Church. So, a different way than you typically hear a pontiff speaking. Really interesting. Yes.
BERMAN: All right. Let's take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY." Chris Cuomo and Kate Bolduan join us for a look at this Friday edition of "NEW DAY."
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, thank goodness, we made it! Good morning, you guys.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have -- I heard what you're saying there, Z. We have Bill Donahue on the show this morning from the Catholic League. He'll be talking about the pope. What's very interesting is to hear someone like Bill Donahue, the Catholic League, protectors of the orthodoxy of the conservative part of the Catholic Church embracing what the pope is now saying.
Now, we're showing you the capitol. Why? Well, because we're dealing with a shutdown.
(LAUGHTER)
CUOMO: That's why.
BOLDUAN: Again.
CUOMO: We're also going to talk about that today. Interesting dynamic here. We know the shutdown is bad for us. The question is, will the politicians figure out that it's bad for them? We do have infighting within the Republican Party. What does this mean for the president's agenda? What does it mean for Obamacare?
Newt Gingrich will be on the show. As you remember, he's the godfather of all shutdowns. So, we're going to get his perspective this morning.
BOLDUAN: And we also have one of Hollywood's most sought after actors. There are many, but we've got this guy coming up on today.
CUOMO: Got your tongue tied!
BOLDUAN: I know.
CUOMO: He's got your tongue tied!
(CROSSTALK)
BOLDUAN: -- shutdowns and Jake Gyllenhaal. It's a happy day for me.
(LAUGHTER)
BOLDUAN: He's going to be talking about his new movie, "Prisoners" in theaters today. He's already getting rave reviews, you guys. So, could there be an Oscar in his future? I venture to guess this interview will decide it!
BERMAN: Wow! The deciding factor in his Oscar. You have to watch "NEW DAY" coming up.
CUOMO: Chris Cuomo do a lot of listening.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
BERMAN: Chris and Kate, thanks so much. We can't wait to watch.
Coming up, a big win for the Dodgers clenching their division title, but was this an example of big time sportsmanship? The controversial celebration way over the top. Andy Scholes breaks it down for us in this morning's "Bleacher Report."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: The Los Angeles Dodgers became the first major league team to clench a spot in this year's playoffs and how did they celebrate after winning the division?
SAMBOLIN: In a very appropriate way.
BERMAN: No, a pool party. A bad one, too.
SAMBOLIN: Andy Scholes joins us now with this morning's "Bleacher Report." We're disagreeing here. He says bad move. I say go celebrate.
ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: Yes. This rivalry has now gone up to a whole different level, guys. They asked the Dodgers not to celebrate on their field after clenching the N.L. West title, but they didn't say anything about the pool in the rice field. After popping bottles in the clubhouse --
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SCHOLES (voice-over): the whole team headed for rice field. And check it out. Nick Punto gets there first and he had an urgent news message for everyone. Cannonball! As you can imagine, the (INAUDIBLE) not pleased about L.A. celebrating like this in their pool. Arizona infielder, Willie Bloomquist, called it tired and disrespectful.
Week three of the NFL season kicked off last night with Andy Reid's much anticipated return to Philadelphia. The Eagles fans gave Reid a warm ovation before the game, but they probably weren't very happy with him afterwards. Reid's chiefs forced five turnovers and they never trailed on their way to a 26-16 win. Kansas City is now 3-0. It's pretty amazing, considering they only won two games all of last season.
Well, Tiger Woods had a rough opening round at the Tour Championship yesterday. He failed to birdie a hole and finished the day in second to last place. Tiger is one of five golfers who can win the FedEx Cup title and its $10 million prize by just winning this weekend's tournament. Henrik Stenson also one of the five who can bring home the big money with the win.
Right now, he's on pace to make that happen. He's our leader at six under heading into today's second round.
Well, in the lineup section on BleacherReport.com, today, you can read about how we will soon be saying goodbye to the most iconic hair in all of sports
SAMBOLIN (voice-over): Beautiful head of hair.
SCHOLES: The Steelers Troy Polamalu is going to cut his hair to help raise money for the Veterans Foreign Wars Organization. Now, his famous locks will get a trim on November 11th which is Veterans Day. It remains to be seen how much of the fame his hair will fall from Polamalu's head at the VFW's main event fundraiser. Guys, he said, originally, he was thinking about ten inches.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHOLES (on-camera): But we still have no confirmation on exactly how much of hair he's going to lose. You know, it's pretty valuable hair. He does he all those shampoo commercials, but definitely a great cause.
(CROSSTALK)
BERMAN: So nice to see that he's doing that.
SAMBOLIN (on-camera): A beautiful head of hair.
BERMAN: Andy, have a great weekend. Great to see you here.
SCHOLES: You guys as well.
SAMBOLIN: We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: That is all for us today. Have a fantastic weekend. I mean it. You, too. Even you, have a great weekend. Even you.
SAMBOLIN: I really appreciate that, Mr. Berman. You as well. It is time for "NEW DAY." Take it away, Chris and Kate.
BOLDUAN: You two are hilarious. Have a great weekend. We'll see you guys later.
(LAUGHTER)
CUOMO: All right, everybody. Your "NEW DAY" starts right now. Let's get after it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Multiple victims shot which were transported to various hospitals throughout the city.
CUOMO: Breaking overnight. Violence erupts in Chicago. Thirteen shot. A three-year-old now fighting for his life. The city's crime epidemic now claiming younger victims. We're live with the latest.
BOLDUAN: Shutdown showdown. It's the president versus republicans but also Republicans versus themselves. A key vote today in the House. Will it set the government on a path to shut down?
MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: CNN exclusive. The Super Bowl MVP who missed the birth of his son this week talks to our Rachel Nichols. Does he have any regrets?
CUOMO: Your "NEW DAY" starts right now.
ANNOUNCER: This is "NEW DAY" with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan, and Michaela Pereira.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CUOMO: Good morning. Welcome to "NEW DAY." I believe it is Friday.
BOLDUAN: Yes.
CUOMO: Good. September 20th, six o'clock in the east. We're watching something potentially ground breaking happening right now. The newly elected president of Iran, as we are looking at, he's reaching out to the west, writing an op-ed and calling for more constructive dialogue.
He also tweeted Thursday that he's open to meeting with President Obama. So, is this a major shift in policy? Not just tone for a country usually so at odds with the United States. We'll take a look.
BOLDUAN: Also in the show, Pope Francis giving his first interview to a newspaper, suggesting the church has become, quote, "obsessed" with issues like homosexuality and abortion, criticizing the church for not being inclusive enough. So, is this really a big change for the church? More on that, ahead.
PEREIRA: We have a video we'd like to show you this morning. A young couple getting married, happy day in their life, one of the most important moments, in fact, of their lives. They paid professional photographers to capture all of those special moments. But you've got to listen to this, the priest not having any of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a solemn assembly, not a photography session. Please move or I will stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PEREIRA: Can you say awkward? What does the couple have to say now? We will hear from them live coming up.
CUOMO: All right. We're going to begin this morning with breaking news. Another violent night in Chicago. Thirteen people shot in a hail of gunfire in a park last night. One of the wounded, a young boy just three years old now fighting for his life. It has been a violent year in Chicago. Now, before you I've heard this. Listen to the number, 1,600 people have been shot this year. Live for us in Chicago this morning, CNN's George Howell. Good morning, George.
