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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Is A Deal Close?; "You're Governing By Crisis"; Cardinals One Win Away From World Series

Aired October 16, 2013 - 05:30   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The debt ceiling deadline only about 18 hours away right now. You're looking at the capitol right there. It's a live picture. Let's hope there is good news coming from beneath that dome. A compromise is said to be being negotiated right now by the Senate leaders. It is said to be quite close. We could hear something of this deal before the markets open, but we have had this hope before, and it has all been for naught.

Senate leaders started talking again last night after a last-ditch move by the House to pass its own plan fell apart. That's being diplomatic. It exploded in their faces last night. The framework apparently now being considered to fund the government through January, raise the debt ceiling until February. Now, voting on this could begin as early as today, although, it could drag until the weekend, all in the hopes of averting this disaster.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HARRY REID, (D) MAJORITY LEADER: The debt is here. The deadline is looming.

REP. CHARLIE DENT, (R) PENNSYLVANIA: I believe that John Boehner will likely be in a position where he will have to essentially pass the bill that is negotiated between senators McConnell and Reid. And I believe that the House would first pass it and send it to the Senate.

There will be fewer Republican members voting for the bill than who actually support it. We're going to be seeing a lot of what I would call hope, yes, vote, no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: There's a lot that still needs to happen here. We don't know the exact deal. They haven't announced it yet. That needs to happen this morning. Then, either the House or Senate has to vote on it first. Will any senators try to delay this, like Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas? He has not said what his plan is.

If he tries to delay this, it could be Saturday or Sunday before anything gets to the president's desk. Still, expect to hear something from Capitol Hill in the next few hours to try to calm the nerves of investors who are watching this very, very closely.

ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR: And that seems to be vitally important, right, just to get to that step, to that level, so that we can avert the crazy disaster --

BERMAN: Yes.

SAMBOLIN: -- that is looming.

All right. Even if they do not reach a deal, it's not likely -- if they do reach a deal, it is not likely to be a long-term solution. Meaning, we are probably going to be right back here again in just a few months. Brian Todd explains why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even if there's a deal this time, that gnawing in your gut could well return in a few weeks.

NORMAN ORNSTEIN, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: You're governing by a crisis and that is no way to govern.

TODD: Congressional expert, Norman Ornstein, believes there will be more cans kicked down the road until the next shutdown or debt ceiling crisis. The chance now of a long-term so-called grand bargain, almost zero, he says, because on one side, far right conservatives in the House will never agree to raise taxes even a little. That would go back on their no taxes pledges and Tea Party and other conservative leaders would work against them in their re-election bids.

ORNSTEIN: The nature of primaries, the fact that so many people live in homogeneous districts that become eco chambers, all of that makes it harder to overcome. Now, a set of realities where our political process is driven by a small group of Americans who are more ideologically driven and not by the vast majority of Americans who still say, come on, compromise a little bit. Move us forward.

TODD: How to get this way? Ornstein says it goes back to the financial collapse of 2008 when George W. Bush was president. Far right conservatives, he says, hated the bailout.

ORNSTEIN: The resentment against political leaders working with Wall Streeters to bail them out while the rest of the country paid for it just deeply amplified the kind of resentment against government per se. Then, the continuing sluggish economy created the Tea Party movement.

TODD: But analysts say it's not just the Tea Partiers who've dug in and created this mess.

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: There's blame all around, including the White House.

TODD: Meaning Democrats may feel they've had the upper hand politically making them less willing to negotiate. It's created a more personal, deep-seeded reason why a real long-term agreement between these key players may be elusive.

GERGEN: The trust has disappeared and is increasingly being replaced by hatred. There is a lot of deep alienation and just plain don't like each other, don't want to sit down with the same table with each other.

TODD (on-camera): Or as Norman Ornstein says, it's become tribal in nature. With leaders of both parties saying if you're for it, I'm against it even if I was for it yesterday.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAMBOLIN: And Yahoo! is promising privacy upgrades by all of its e- mail users by January 2014.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAMBOLIN (voice-over): Why? The internet the giant embarrassed by reports the NSA is harvesting well over 400,000 contact lists from its customers on any given day. That is significantly more than any other provider, because Yahoo!'s connections are unencrypted. A spokesperson for Yahoo! says encryption will become a default feature for every one of its mail users. That is beginning in January.

BERMAN (voice-over): A new start for Glenn Greenwald. He is the reporter who broke the NSA scandal. He's leaving "The Guardian" to start a new news organization. "BuzzFeed" reports he will grate a large-scale, broadly focused media outlet. Greenwald says more details will be released shortly. Word of his departure comes one day after he announced there are many more important stories from the Edward Snowden/NSA leaks still to come.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAMBOLIN (on-camera): Thirty-five minutes past the hour. A Florida sheriff has arrested two young girls in connection with a case of intense bullying.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAMBOLIN (voice-over): The girls ages 12 and 14 are charged with aggravated stalking for allegedly bullying a 12-year-old who committed suicide last month. Rebecca Sedwick's mother says the charges are long overdue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRICIA NORMAN, MOTHER OF REBECCA SEDWICK: She should be here. She should be here to see justice getting served. I really wish that people would have listened to her long time ago and had really looked into this that was going on when we were reporting it. I really believe Rebecca stopped telling me about it because she seen how much I was trying to get something done and nothing was getting done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAMBOLIN: Tricia Norman says her daughter was bullied ruthlessly both in person and online. Police say the vicious taunts even continued after that girl committed suicide. The 14-year-old suspect allegedly tweeting this Saturday, quote, "I believe Rebecca and she killed herself, but I don't give -- you can see there an expletive." Rebecca Sedwick would have been 13 this weekend.

BERMAN (voice-over): So, it was supposed to be a routine flight, but the flight from Dallas to Atlanta was anything but normal. An engine on the Spirit Airlines jet bursting into flames just minutes after takeoff. Passengers say it was so bright it looked like the inside of the plane was on fire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRED EDWARDS, PASSENGER: THE explosion goes bam. And we saw the flames come up the side of the plane which lit up the whole inside of the plane. It looked like the inside of the plane was on fire. Of course, it was on the outside engine. The plane started shaking violently. And after that, the plane started filling up with smoke.

CASEY ROGERS, PASSENGER: All the vents on the side of the aircraft was just pouring smoke. I mean, this full white smoke. Before you knew it, you couldn't really see, that's when everyone got really scared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Everyone got scared, understandably so. The plane returned to Dallas and passengers were moved to another jet for the trip to Atlanta. Spirit Airlines said the passengers were not in any danger. The crew followed procedure by returning to the airport.

SAMBOLIN: Guilty. The plea from disgraced ex-San Diego mayor, Bob Filner, admitting to one felony count of false imprisonment and two misdemeanors for sexually harassing three women while in office. Under the plea agreement, the 71-year-old will get three years' probation, that is avoiding jail time. He is expected to spend three months in home confinement as well.

BERMAN: New Jersey voters go to the polls today in a closely watched Senate rate. Cory Booker facing off against Tea Party activist, Steve Lonegan, to fill the seat once held by the late Democratic senator, Frank Lautenberg. Some big names have shown up on the campaign trail in support of both candidates.

The candidates are trying to make this a referendum for what's happening in Washington. Right now, the polls have all shown a fairly consistent double-digit lead for Booker. Whoever wins will be up for re-election again next year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAMBOLIN (on-camera): Thirty-eight minutes past the hour. Let's get a check of our forecast with Indra Petersons. What are you tracking for us?

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Cold air.

(LAUGHTER) PETERSONS: We already know that by now.

SAMBOLIN: That's not good.

PETERSONS: Not good. At least someone is on my side finally here. Yes. Cold front making its way again through the country. Still the same one. It's actually just very slow moving today. We're going to be watching for the showers to spread a little bit more into the Ohio Valley but notice the tail end continues to extend all the way down in through Texas. That's the portion we will be seeing the heaviest rain.

Pretty light pretty much everywhere else as it kind of makes its way through Ohio Valley and through upstate New York today. Only about an inch of rain. So, not a big rain maker, except again on that tail end. This is the current radar here into Texas. You can easily see some other showers a little bit heavier.

And they will continue to be that way, thanks again to now (INAUDIBLE) remnants that was the tropical storm that is way out in the pacific. So, now, that has diminished. And of course, we're looking all that tropical moisture combining with that cold front, seeing some of those heavier amounts of rain. We're still looking at anywhere from even four to five inches of rain possible.

And keep in mind, over the weekend, they had eight, even ten inches of rain in isolated areas. You're combining that. We still have the flooding concerning the region. Also, today, in Arkansas and Louisiana, same thing. We're looking for that rain kind of spreading over there. The other side of this is the cold front is not just rain, but yes, cool air. Notice that cool air kind of shifts east today.

So, we're looking at temperatures really dropping, down anywhere from five to 10 degrees, especially as you go into the Midwest. That cold air eventually will make its way into the northeast as well. Keep in mind, there's several cold fronts that are going to stay cold for a while now. Temperature wise, kind of give you that picture of New York State about 68 --

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN (on-camera): It's been really warm here for a really long time.

PETERSONS: Hot -- 68 --

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: It is. It's the middle of October.

(CROSSTALK)

PETERSONS: I totally misheard you. There's no way you call that hot. SAMBOLIN: He didn't. He said warm.

BERMAN: It's balmy here. No. It's been a warm October. A time to get a little bit of --

PETERSONS: Sweaty. I mean, someone get me a fan, please.

(LAUGHTER)

SAMBOLIN: Thank you, Indra.

BERMAN: Thank you. All right. Forty minutes after the hour. So, bears are becoming quite a big problem in one California town. They're not just getting into garbage cans and homes.

SAMBOLIN:

BERMAN: No. They're getting into cars. Police say in the last two weeks, three bears have been trapped inside vehicles in that town near Reno. They actually open the car doors. They climb in, some have even accidentally locked the car from the inside --

SAMBOLIN: Apparently, in this case, that's what happened because somebody has a camera and they're filming this entire thing.

BERMAN: It's crazy.

SAMBOLIN: A little too close for comfort.

BERMAN: Experts say the bears are looking for food, apparently, and making easily open the doors. However, I guess, they can't get out. Somebody's got to teach them to do that. They're advising residents to lock their doors. Do not leave any food or anything that smells like food inside your car.

SAMBOLIN: Man, that is scary. Imagine coming out to your car and finding a bear inside of it.

BERMAN: Yes --

SAMBOLIN: All right. Coming up --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need like a big ladder or something like that to get her down. I don't know how long she's going to last.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAMBOLIN: That's a 911 call for help when a woman is trapped on a rising draw bridge. That story coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAMBOLIN: All right. Listen to this. We are just hearing now just how scary it was when a South Florida woman wound up trapped dangling from a railroad bridge. We first brought you the story yesterday. Fifty-five-year-old Wanda McGowan, excuse me, walked on to the bridge Saturday morning.

She was completing a breast cancer walk. She was not supposed to be there. That bridge is close to pedestrian, then seemingly had no chance to get away as that bridge started to go up. That's when the onlookers started calling 911.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One the bridges is going up and a woman is standing on it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's on the tracks on the bridge. The bridge is open.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The bridge is open and she's on there?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's on there, yes. She couldn't get off.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need like a big ladder or something like that so you can get her down. I don't know how long she's going to last.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAMBOLIN: So, authorities brought out a ladder to get that woman down. The railroad company is considering filing trespassing charges against the woman, but her friends say that she is legally blind. Originally, they have said maybe she got disoriented. She had no idea where she was.

BERMAN: (INAUDIBLE) she's OK.

SAMBOLIN: Yes.

BERMAN: It is time now for our "Morning Rhyme," the tweets of the day. First up, this one from Pietro Mossby (ph) who writes, "Years from now, history will most assuredly view the debt ceiling fight as Speaker Boehner's waterloo." Interesting.

SAMBOLIN: And then, there's this one from Sheila Egan (ph). "Our military are truly heroes. Our Congress are nothing but zeros."

BERMAN: A lot of anger directed at Washington right now, as you can imagine, for what's going on there.

SAMBOLIN: Yes. We appreciate you chiming in this morning. You can come up with your own morning rhyme. Tweet us with the #morningrhyme and #EARLYSTART. This is probably our favorite part. Reading your morning rhymes.

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: And just being here with you every morning. That's also my favorite -- I mean, important to me. I don't know if you feel the same way. SAMBOLIN: No, I don't.

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: Let's take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY." Chris Cuomo and Kate Bolduan join us now. Hey, guys.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey. We're bringing you a special edition, split edition of "NEW DAY" coming up guys, because it's a big day here in Washington, so we want to be here -- exactly. We're live here on Capitol Hill this morning. It's a beautiful view, but it's not beautiful what's going on inside this building.

Just 18 hours from now, our nation is going to hit the debt ceiling as the U.S. is warned that its credit rating is on the verge of a downgrade. That's not just a big word that affects each and every one of us, and we'll get into that in the show. So, what happens if we go over that edge when we hit that debt ceiling at 12:01 a.m. eastern?

We're going to break down all the scenarios, and we're going to be looking at what congress is going to do about it. What Congress should do about it and can do about it in time?

Plus, we're going to be talking to Congressman Steve King, conservative Republican. We're going to be talking to him as well as Republican senator, Kelly Ayotte. A lot coming up.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're also going to get into an exclusive story that we've been following here all along on "NEW DAY." A former college football player killed by North Carolina police officer. We're going to talk with Jonathan Ferrell's fiancee about the case for the first time. What she hopes comes of this tragedy. What's the latest with the prosecution? Is anything else being done? We'll let you know.

BERMAN: All right. We'll stay on that and obviously stay with "NEW DAY" throughout the morning, because a lot of news coming out about these debt ceiling discussions very well could happen before 9:00 a.m. today. Thanks, guys. We'll see you in a little bit

And we'll right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: A tough night for the Dodgers. And now, the St. Louis Cardinals are just one win away from the World Series. Again for them.

SAMBOLIN: Andy Scholes joins us now with this morning's "Bleacher Report."

ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: Hey. Good morning, guys. Just 24 hours ago, it seems like we're talking about, hey, the Dodgers had a big win, they're back in the series. Well, just one game for all of that to change. Cardinals slugger, Matt Holliday, he silenced the L.A. crowd last night with a two-run shot in the third inning. Dodgers had a great chance to get back in the game in the ninth, but rookie sensation, Yasiel Puig, rounds in to a double play. St. Louis wins 4-2. They now lead the series three games to one.

In the ALCS, the Tiger's Justin Verlander, was pitching lights out last night in game three. Well then, the lights actually went out. It caused a 17-minute delay. When they started playing again, one swing off the bat of Mike Napoli will decide this game. He homered off Verlander in the seventh. The Tigers had their chances in the A's, but Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder both struck out.

Red Sox are pumped. They win 1-0 and take a 2-1 lead in the series. The ALCS is in (ph) tonight at 8:00 eastern. The Cardinals can punch their ticket to the World Series this afternoon. First pitch from L.A. is at 4:00 eastern on TBS.

Trending right now on BleacherReport.com, Will Ferrell back at old stomping grounds at USC. He was there leading the band in a charity performance. Check him out. Wielding the sword, posing for the crowd. Now, Ferrell got decked out and throws it in gear for a really good cause. The event was to raise money for the kids with cancer --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHANTING) USA! USA!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right. That was the scene last night in Mexico City. Mexican fans chanting USA! USA! Now, why were they chanting this? Well, Team USA bailed out the Mexican national team in epic fashion. They scored two goals in stoppage time to beat Panama. That saved Mexico from being eliminated from world contention.

SAMBOLIN: All the time -- chanting U.S.A.

SCHOLES: And guys, the Mexican announcers were so excited when they saw the U.S. score. They said God bless America.

SAMBOLIN: Got to love that.

BERMAN: That was crazy. And the two goals (INAUDIBLE) is nuts. I mean, Mexico was this close to being gone for good here.

SCHOLES: That is as happy as the Mexican fans were, the Panama fans just crushed.

SAMBOLIN: I imagine.

BERMAN: Did not go over well there to say the least. Andy Scholes, you always go over well. Thanks for being here, pal. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. You hear that music? Name the band.

SAMBOLIN: Hall & Oates.

BERMAN: It is Hall & Oates, and finally, their dream could come true.

SAMBOLIN: It's my favorite, favorite band.

BERMAN: All of our dreams could come true. It's not just "man-eater" folks. They sing other songs, too. Hall & Oates are on the list of nominees for the rock and roll hall of fame class of 2014. Stunning as it may be that they're not in the hall of fame already.

Also nominees this year, Nirvana, Kiss, Linda Ronstadt, LL Cool J. They could share the stage with Hall & Oates. Also, 16 artists nominated this year. Fans can vote on their choice on the rock hall website. The inductees will be announced in December. I'm hoping that John Oates' hair gets nominated as a separate category all together.

SAMBOLIN: What do you have against Hall & Oates?

BERMAN: I love Hall & Oates.

SAMBOLIN: You are such a liar.

BERMAN: -- man-eater. This is a man-eater.

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: It's a classic.

SAMBOLIN: It is a classic.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: And I am ready for them to make it where they deserve (ph).

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: That is all for EARLY START. I have to go vote a thousand times for Hall & Oates.

(LAUGHTER)

SAMBOLIN: It's time for "NEW DAY." Take it away, Chris and Kate.

CUOMO: One of the best names in music, LL Cool J. Ladies love Cool James. Doesn't get better than that. All right, everybody. It is time for your top news.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R) HOUSE SPEAKER: There have been no decisions about what exactly we will do.

BOLDUAN: D-Day. We are now just hours away from the debt ceiling deadline. Late-night negotiations end with no deal. House Republicans are in disarray. The Senate trying once again. Can they strike a deal in time?

CUOMO: The fallout. The financial markets on edge. So, your 401(k) could take a hit. Social Security and veterans benefits could soon be delayed. We're tracking it all for you this morning.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Breaking overnight, police arrest the man they believe is behind those dry ice bombings at Los Angeles International Airport. Did a labor union dispute set this plan into motion?

CUOMO: Your "NEW DAY" starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is "NEW DAY" with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan, and Michaela Pereira.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Good morning and welcome to "NEW DAY," everyone. It is Wednesday, October 16th, six o'clock in the east. I am here, as you can see, just outside the U.S. capitol where another round of late- night deal making ended without an agreement. But, they will be back at it today and we will be standing by.

CUOMO: Take a look at the clock. It is ticking, 18 hours until the debt ceiling deadline. And when it strikes midnight, no one really knows. Depending on whom you listen to, the results could be catastrophic for our financial markets and ;long-term economic health or something far less severe could happen.

Here's what we do know. Many of you are angry and upset at the fact that we reached this point at all. So, this morning, we're going to get into all of it. We will lay out the dominos that could fall and on whom. The implications for you and your wallet and we're going to press members of Congress for answers.

BOLDUAN: But first, let's bring you up to date on what we know right now. Just yesterday, late yesterday, just past 10 o'clock, the Senate quit for the night close to a deal, but, no deal yet. At 9:30 this morning, the financial markets will open. Many wondering if Congressional leaders will try to signal a deal is imminent before that to calm investors.