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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Government Shutdown; The Shutdown's Impact On Veterans; Saints Light It Up On Monday Night
Aired October 01, 2013 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): U.S. government shutting down overnight following gridlock in Washington over spending and Obamacare. What the shutdown means for you and the blame game, of course, continuing this morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After they got him out of his car, they beat him up.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Really unbelievable road rage on the streets of New York. A family chased and attacked by a gang of motorcyclists. It's all caught on camera.
SAMBOLIN: It's really remarkable to see.
BERMAN: Stunning and awful.
SAMBOLIN: Right. And road turning into a runway again when a pilot now crash lands his plane. He's OK. I need to let you know that.
BERMAN: He is OK. Amazing pictures, though.
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BERMAN (on-camera): Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.
SAMBOLIN (on-camera): And I'm Zoraida Sambolin. Thirty-one minutes past the hour.
BERMAN: So, Washington, really the entire country waking up this morning to a simply embarrassing reality, government shutdown. The federal government closing its doors. Why? Well, Republicans in the House refuse to pass any kind of budget deal that did not defund, derail, or delay Obamacare. As a result, the Senate even refused to talk.
The clock right there on the right part of your screen tells the tale, 5 1/2 hours now, the government has been shut down. It's a long time. It could be a heck of a lot longer. Shannon Travis has the latest.
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SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After a flurry of activity and back and forth, both the House and Senate reached a stalemate. And the clock struck midnight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All time for debate has conspired.
TRAVIS: What felt inevitable all day is now a reality. For the first time since 1995, the federal government is shut down.
REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, (D) MARYLAND: Really a very sad point in the history of this Congress.
TRAVIS: The Republican-controlled House passed budgets that included defunding or delaying Obamacare, which is set to begin Tuesday. The Democratic-controlled Senate struck down each proposal, refusing to tie the budget to the new health care law.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The idea of putting the American people's hard-earned progress at risk is the height of their responsibility and it doesn't have to happen.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R) HOUSE SPEAKER: I didn't come here to shut down the government. I came here to fight for a smaller, less costly, and more accountable federal government.
TRAVIS: So, now what? You might have a tougher time renewing your passport that trip you planned to a national park or museum may not happen. And if you're a veteran, some services may be disrupted. What won't be impacted? Social Security checks will still arrive on time so will your mail. The Postal Service will remain open and most law enforcement agencies like the FBI and DEA will keep operating.
So, it's no surprise Americans appeared to be fed up with Congress with an approval rating of 10 percent, a new all-time low. The question now is, which side blinks first?
In Washington, I'm Shannon Travis.
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SAMBOLIN: Our thanks to Shannon. And one group that will get paid despite the shutdown are men and women in uniform. That is one thing both sides seemed to actually be able to agree on to last night. Barbara Starr tells us those who've already served may be hit really hard.
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BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For 3.3 million disabled veterans, the budget mess in Washington is about to affect them in a big way.
OBAMA: Veterans who sacrificed for their country will find their support centers unstaffed.
STARR: If the government shuts down and it stretches into late October, the Department of Veteran Affairs will run out of money and that means disability and pension checks could stop for elderly and ill veterans. Advocates are outraged. TOM TARANTINO, IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN VETERANS OF AMERICA: It's what they need to pay rent, to pay food. It's not their total income, but it is a significant part of it and taking that out of the mix because the government can't get its act together is really dangerous for these men and women who need it the most.
STARR: Disability payments can reach at $3,000 a month. For the nation's war wounded, it can be a financial lifeline. Tom Tarantino is an Iraq war combat veteran.
TARANTINO: Members of Congress, members of the administration, any politician needs to understand that if you are holding veterans hostage for the sake of political gain or if you're trying to balance the budget on the backs of the men and women who have served and sacrificed this country, you are going to pay a political price.
STARR: For America's 1.4 million troops still on duty and their families, the prospect of a shutdown has also brought worry about delayed paychecks, even though Congress has moved to ensure men and women in uniform, including those in Afghanistan, are paid on time. But Eileen Huck, a navy wife, says there's still plenty of anxiety about what may happen.
EILEEN HUCK, WIFE OF U.S. NAVY CAPTAIN: Short term, you know, the commissaries where we do a lot of our shopping will be shutdown. And for those of us who get our health care, our children's health care at military children facilities, it's possible that that's going to be affected as well. Routine appointments are not going to be available.
STARR: Still, 400,000 civilian defense department personnel will be furloughed until Congress and the White House reach an agreement.
Barbara Starr, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAMBOLIN: Thirty-five minutes past the hour.
In Colorado today, mourning for five people killed in massive rock slide.
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SAMBOLIN (voice-over): This happened on a hiking trail near Mt. Princeton, southwest of Denver. The group was hiking via scenic waterfall when the rocks gave way, crushing them.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks like there was a cliff bank above the falls and it looks like it slid off of that cliff area above the falls, slid down through the fall areas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are at a bit of a loss right now just exactly how we're going to move those boulders. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going in there with a small team as possible to get the job done as fast as we can and we'll have teams standing by in case there are further issues.
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SAMBOLIN: Well, those recovery efforts are expected to begin later this morning. The only survivor here, a 13-year-old girl named Gracey Johnson (ph) was dug from all of the debris. She's at a hospital near Denver and she is recovering this morning.
BERMAN (voice-over): Louisiana pastor who has shot to death at his church last week was accused of rape just days earlier by the wife of the alleged gunman. Ronald Harris Sr. was gunned down while preaching to about 60 worshippers Friday night. Fifty-three-year-old Woodrow Kerry (ph) is being held on second-degree murder charges.
According to law enforcement officials in Lake Charles, Kerry's wife filed a rape complaint against Pastor Harris just days before the shooting.
SAMBOLIN: And in Florida, another case of another potentially deadly bacteria. A woman in her 60s who came to the Gulf Coast on vacation is now in the hospital after contracting the bacteria while boating off Santa Bell Island. There have been dozens of cases so far this year and at least nine deaths and it's not so clear why so many people are coming down with this infection.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Big increase in vibrio infections right now. And, you know, it is kind of a warm water thing and we've had some warm water, but we didn't have this last year or the year before, not nearly as many.
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SAMBOLIN: Yes. There has been warm water every year. A Florida man, 59-year-old Butch Kanifski (ph) died just last week after he was exposed to the bacteria while crab fishing. He had an open wound, officials say. And officials are also saying be careful if you go into the water with those open wound and avoid also getting undercooked shellfish that could carry the bacteria.
BERMAN: In New York City this morning, authorities trying to track down the members of a motorcycle group accused of such an awful case of road rage in a really terrifying incident. Take a look here. An SUV driver not in trouble while driving in one of New York City's busiest roads. His vehicle bumped into a biker. That rider apparently broke his leg. His fellow riders, they were not happy at all.
They descended on the SUV. The driver then floors it and got away, but he hit three more bikers in the process. That made him even angrier. They chased him off the road on to a side street. The driver was trapped. He had his wife and his infant daughter in the SUV.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He got off his bike. He started attacking the person and the range rover with his helmet breaking the windows. And after they got him out of his car, they beat him up.
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BERMAN: Smashing the windows with a two-year-old girl in the car there. The SUV driver did have to go to the hospital for stitches, but he was treated and released.
SAMBOLIN: Lots of questions in Chicago this morning about what led to a dangerous collision between two transit authority trains. An empty runaway train slamming into another one. That one was packed with commuters. Thirty-three people had to be taken to the hospital. The big mystery here, officials say, it doesn't seem anyone started that runaway train moving.
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TAYLOR PETTIGROVE, WITNESS: It sounds like a man. Like stop the train! Stop the train! However, it didn't seem like the train was stopping at all. And after that, it was a crash and there was smoke everywhere.
BRIAN STEELE, CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITIES: We have no indication at this point that there has been any criminal activity. There's no broken windows. There's no pried open doors. There's no graffiti or vandalism inside the rail car, but we are doing a thorough investigation of this.
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SAMBOLIN: Wow. That's kind of crazy, right? So, experts say the train should have been stopped by emergency brakes and the interlocks long before the collision happened. If anyone had jumped on board to get it going, it wouldn't have helped because they would have needed a special key in order to stop the train.
BERMAN: The last homeless victim of superstorm Sandy in New York City will be forced out of their government paid hotel rooms this week. A judge agreeing with the city that the program costing more than $70 million since it began last October is too expensive now that FEMA is no longer footing the bill. Some left homeless by the storm were put in hotels and city shelters could not handle the sheer number of people needing places to stay.
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SAMBOLIN (on-camera): Forty minutes past the hour. Indra Petersons has the check of our Tuesday weather and it is fantastic news, we hear.
INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I mean, yes. It is literally gorgeous. We're talking about temperatures 10 to 15 degrees above normal. But I wanted to touch on the fact this is October and where is our hurricane season? I mean, peak season is typically in September. Once you hit October, we're on our way down. So, that is a good thing. But let's talk about, though, how we actually measure up in comparison to average.
Believe it or not, we've actually had more named systems than the average ten with nine being the average, but where we obviously know we are below which is a good thing is the number of actual hurricanes and we haven't had any major hurricanes. That's three or above. So, that's the good news.
So, that's when we continue to watch the activity. Let's hope it continues to stay on the mild side. As far as what we have today, what we do have Gerry is way out there in the Atlantic. Not really expected to move and kind of stay out to sea. Remember a tiny thing we are going to be watching here is out on the Caribbean about a 30 percent chance it does develop.
Still watching whether or not it makes its way into the gulf. But again, not really a huge concern at this time, but we're definitely going to keep our eyes on that. But here's the good stuff that we were talking about. Yes, this huge dome of high pressure. Look how gorgeous this is expected to be today, not just in New York City, but Cleveland, hey, almost 10 degrees above normal there.
D.C. looking for mid 80s. Chicago 81 when your average is just 68 degrees. We're not hearing any complaints in this area. I mean, it's literally so gorgeous in the northeast and the southeast. And yes, it is so nice. Love it.
BERMAN: I love that hurricane news. Let's keep that streak alive, no major storms.
PETERSONS: Yes. Let's really hope. And it's looking good. So, we'll see.
BERMAN: All right. Thanks, Indra. Appreciate it.
SAMBOLIN: Thank you.
BERMAN: An Alaskan pilot is lucky to be live this morning. I have to show you these images. They're from Wasilla where this piper super cub came down Monday on a busy road. Amazingly, the pilot walked away unhurt. He reportedly had some sort of issue right after takeoff. He decided to set the single-engine plane down on the road. Again, the good news is he's fine, and apparently, everyone around there is fine, too.
SAMBOLIN: It's remarkable when you take a look at that plane, right?
BERMAN: It doesn't look at all healthy, that plane.
SAMBOLIN: Coming up here --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't stop shooting video. This is so awesome. They're everywhere. There's one, two, three, four, and the fifth over there.
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SAMBOLIN: You see this and you head in its direction. I would be heading away from it! Boaters get up close and personal. Listen to him with funnel clouds barreling toward them on the water. Indra, would you do this is what I want to know.
PETERSONS: That's not smart.
SAMBOLIN: that's not smart.
BERMAN: That's the official word, not smart, folks. Coming up.
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BERMAN: This is a story of do not try this at home, unless, you are really, really stupid. Two fishermen in the Florida Keys decided to chase five water spouts. They chased them. Those are tornadoes, folks, over the water. The pair were out hunting for lobster when this storm system formed. They decided to take their boat right through this. Look at that. Intense does not even begin to describe what happened.
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KEVIN JOHNSEN, CHARTER CAPTAIN: It's a low pressure system, so your ears pop. I mentioned the video that all of my hatches on the boat had opened straight up in the air. And fortunately, nothing got sucked out of the boat, but it's a very intense fun (ph) basically.
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BERMAN: The pictures are kind of cool. Still, very risky. This guy admits that if the storm was stronger, they would not have tried it. They say they knew they would get out of this one OK.
SAMBOLIN: Really? They knew? Look at that coming their way. Indra, I wanted to know, because you know, Indra likes to chase storms. She said this is just stupid.
BERMAN: Her words.
SAMBOLIN: Her words, exactly.
All right. Let's take a look what's coming up on "NEW DAY." Chris Cuomo and Kate Bolduan join us this morning. Good morning.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, you two. Happy Tuesday, even though it's not happy for many Americans.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: True, true. Obviously, we're all about the shutdown this morning. We're going to try and be pushing on the powers to see what it will take to get a deal here. We will have several members of Congress will be on the show.
We're also going to have something different. We're going to have a group of Americans who are affected by the shutdown on the show. It will be telling their stories and also getting their perspective for the leadership so that the politicians can actually feel and hear what's going on with America while they have -- and dispute down there.
BOLDUAN: Yes. They talk about listening to their constituents and listening to Americans. We're going to have them on the show so they can listen to them as well.
We're also covering many other headlines, including the shocking video showing an SUV surrounded by a group of motorcycles. The driver of the car was then chased down and beaten after hitting one of the riders and taking off. Why hasn't anyone been arrested in this case, especially since it was all caught, as you can see, on camera? We'll have that and much more.
BERMAN: Lots to talk about there, guys. Chris, Kate, we'll see you in a little bit.
BOLDUAN: Absolutely.
BERMAN: Coming up next here, the Rays and the Rangers in a late night nail-biter! Andy Scholes tells us who will go on and who will go home. That's next in the "Bleacher Report." Stay with us.
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BERMAN: The New Orleans Saints sure look like they have recovered from the embarrassment of Bountygate. They are back to their winning ways and they had a big win last night.
SAMBOLIN: Andy Scholes joins us now with more in this morning's "Bleacher Report." Break it down.
ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: All right. Good morning, guys. Well, what a difference a year and a head coach have made for the Saints. With Sean Peyton back on the sidelines, New Orleans offense, hey, it looks better than ever. Saints and Dolphins squaring off at about undefeated teams last night. Drew Brees, he loves Monday night.
He threw for 413 yards and four touchdowns. The Saints cruise to an easy 38-17 win. New Orleans one of five teams that remain undefeated one month into the season.
Well, the Rays and Rangers playing game 163 of the Major League Season last night. The winner gets the last wild card spot in the American league. Evan Longoria provided the offense for Tampa and Rays Ace David Price threw a complete game. Tampa Bay ends the Rangers season winning 5-2.
Up next for the rays is the wild card game with the Indians Wednesday night. Tonight, the Pirates host the Reds in the N.L. wild card and first pitch 8:07 eastern on TBS. All right. You know how they say better later than never? On the lineup section of Bleacher eport.com is a picture of Celtics forward, Brandon Bass. Why? Because at 28 years old, he's finally learning how to swim! Bass teaming up with the Boys and Girls Club of Boston to help kids conquer their fears of swimming.
Bass says he's doing it to help himself as well because he doesn't even know how to float. Good for him.
Wide receiver, Torrey Smith, had a huge game this weekend for the Baltimore Ravens. He followed up his great performance with a big announcement on Instagram. Smith and his wife scarfing down dinner in between them is spaghetti jar.
(LAUGHTER)
SCHOLES: It reads, "we're prego!"
SAMBOLIN: Look at his eyes.
SCHOLES: Look at his eyes. Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
BERMAN: I know those eyes.
SCHOLES: I've seen those eyes before when I looked in the mirror.
SAMBOLIN: Those are eyes of joy and happiness.
BERMAN: Dismayed, bewilderment and fear. (LAUGHTER)
BERMAN: It's terror, make no mistake. But that's great. That is really, really funny.
SCHOLES: Yes. He captioned the picture, "I can't believe she convinced me to do this."
(LAUGHTER)
BERMAN: Andy, that's awesome.
SAMBOLIN: Thank you.
BERMAN: Thanks, Andy. We'll be right back.
SAMBOLIN: We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: More drama for R & B singer, Mary J. Blige. She is hitting back in an entertainment company that sued her for bailing on a concert last December. She's now countersuing saying she will not pay back the $145,000 advance given to her by Vision Entertainment Worldwide because the company was in breach of contract. Why, you ask? Because she says they did not give her and her crew first class air travel.
SAMBOLIN: They must have promised that.
BERMAN: Also green M&Ms. No, I made up the green M&M part.
(LAUGHTER)
SAMBOLIN: All right. So, you know, how we're on Twitter all morning long, and he's got this crazy thing called the morning rhyme?
BERMAN: Morning rhyme, start it, do it, man, it's great.
SAMBOLIN: OK. So, I want to let you know that this man steals my iPad all the time and then he writes these crazy things on the iPad like "John Berman is really handsome" or "isn't he looking really yummy this morning?" It's not coming from me. So, anyway, Sam, on Twitter, says "John's common thievery and impish mischivery makes Zoraida feel quite fevery." I'm longing to morning rhymes. Good job. Keep it coming.
(LAUGHTER)
BERMAN: Sam, that's a great morning line. Bring us more tomorrow. EARLY START shut down right now.
SAMBOLIN: Stop stealing my iPad.
BERMAN: I won't do -- I promise.
SAMBOLIN: Really?
BERMAN: No.
(LAUGHTER)
BERMAN: The EARLY START shutdown begins right now, but "NEW DAY" is here. Chris and Kate, take it away.
BOLDUAN: All right. You two, thanks so much. We'll see you soon.
CUOMO: He looks like a congressman and he talks like one too, that Berman.
It's time for "NEW DAY", everybody. Let's get going.
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OBAMA: Congress has not fulfilled its responsibility and, as a result, much of our government must now shut down.
CUOMO: Breaking overnight. For the first time in 17 years, the federal government has shutdown. You and the country's economy now in the crosshairs as Republicans and Democrats spend more time figuring out who's to blame but not figuring out a deal.
BOLDUAN: Closed for business. Nearly 800,000 employees will now be forced off the job. Many agencies, national parks, the zoos, shutdown. All this as a critical part of Obamacare begins this morning.
MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: The mystery of the runaway commuter train in Chicago that injured dozens. Did someone set it in motion?
And the key piece of evidence in the Amanda Knox retrial that's now being reinvestigated.
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," Tuesday, October 1st, six o'clock in the east. At midnight eastern time, the U.S. government officially failed you. The shutdown began. We are now six hours into the nation's first government shutdown since 1996. Republicans and Democrats locked in a maddening stalemate over Obamacare basically with no resolution in sight.
This morning, the Statue of Liberty, monuments on the Washington Mall, tours of the capitol, all shutting down. Vacations being ruined. But many have it much worse.
BOLDUAN: Most of NASA many other federal agencies are closing as well. The cost of all of this you might be wondering? Well, it's estimated to be $200 million a day. The cost to the overall economy could be even worse. Hard to calculate at this moment. And there are those hundreds of thousands directly impacted right now.
Some of them are here with us in our studio. And we're going to talk with them, hear from them throughout the show. We're also going to be talking to some of the leading lawmakers who are in the middle of this mess, including Democratic senator, Dick Durbin, Republican senator, Rand Paul, and White House press secretary, Jay Carney.
CUOMO: But we want to begin with what started all this, Congress' inability to make a deal. The back and forth went right up until the midnight deadline but didn't really matter, did it after all? CNN has every angle of the breaking news covered. Who feels the impact of the shutdown first? It's an interesting question with a tough answer. Where does Congress go from here? We'll try and figure that out.
