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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Big Papi's Impact On Boston; Fighting For Obamacare; Not In Our Neighborhood!

Aired October 31, 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)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): World Series champs! The biggest turnaround in baseball history! The Boston Red Sox on top. Celebration all night for a city that showed so much strength, so much heart in the last year. We are live right here at Fenway Park. Man, we are feeling Boston strong this morning.

ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): All right. And you know it's Halloween. And we have a scary Halloween storm set to pound parts of the country this morning. Millions are in its path and we're tracking where it is expected to hit the hardest.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People talking around town about how they want to burn the house down with him inside of it.

SAMBOLIN: This is incredible. Residents are outraged promising vigilante justice as a notorious serial rapist is set to be released right into their community. They say they are taking matters into their own hands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAMBOLIN (on-camera): Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Zoraida Sambolin. So happy you're with us this morning. We have john Berman at Fenway Park. Did you sleep at all last night?

BERMAN (on-camera): No.

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: But who needs sleep when you're world champions? I mean, I'm here in Fenway Park where, you know, the home of the world champion, Boston Red Sox, for the third time in nine years and I got to say there wasn't too much intrigue or doubt about it last night. Boston won 6-1. The bearded brawny men almost seemed destined to win from the beginning.

I don't know if you can see behind me right now. The fields here, the infield here is still strewn with cups and beer cans here. Quite a celebration that I think just ended a little while ago. So, the team was celebrating out here on the field. They took that celebration into the clubhouse as well. They were popping corks and spilling champagne just about everywhere you can possibly imagine as they were celebrating their third World Series title in nine years. Their first win here at home since all the way back in 1918. And, it wasn't just the team that was celebrating. You're seeing fans celebrating in bars all across the city. Man, were they packed! Everyone in this town was either here at the stadium or at a bar watching the game. And then after the game, there were celebrations on the streets, celebrations that were on the rowdy side.

Boston police say they made nine arrests last night. Somehow, this car turned over. You can imagine the car did not turn over by itself. Not quite sure how it got like that. Again, nine arrests. By the time we walked in this morning after about 4:00 a.m., largely, the streets were empty and it looked mostly cleaned up.

You know, the people who were out celebrating, they were really just so thrilled. There was so much emotion because of what happened back here in April with the Boston marathon bombings and people really wanted to celebrate this as a city together. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely amazing game. Red Sox three times in nine years, it doesn't get better than that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Awesome. Ortiz, hands down, MVP. Finally, Stephen Drew getting on base. Really just awesome all throughout. Boston strong, everyone on the team.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: I got more high five's and hugs from people on the street last night than you can imagine, people I don't know, although, I guess I know them all pretty now -- pretty well now. The most poignant celebration, I have to say, was on Boylston Street, which is about a mile from here, the finish line of the Boston marathon. You're looking at it right now.

People gathered there just after the, game and they celebrated together. That was the site of the bombings back in April and it was during that week that the Red Sox really inspired the whole city, and they were inspired themselves by this city. Everyone came together and pulled through that week. The Red Sox were the first ones in some ways to embody the Boston strong label.

They hung a shirt up in their dugout. And when then came back, they were on a road trip. They played a game in Fenway the day after the bombers were apprehended. And that was the first time that really the city came out of its shell after being hunkered down for a full day during the search. You're seeing (ph) people at finish line right now.

These are wonderful, wonderful pictures, lying down, really just so, so joyful. And like I said, it wasn't just the people of Boston that were celebrating last night. The team so incredibly happy. David Ortiz is the one player who has won all three World Series title last night years, the only Red Sox player who has been on all three teams. He was the World Series MVP and with the rest of the Red Sox really the toast of the baseball world this morning. And with everything on the line, he came out swinging. He was impossible to get out. You're looking at his teammate, Jonny Gomes, right there but rest assured David Ortiz is celebrating just as much.

Andy Scholes joins us now with some highlights of the finale and a really, really closer look at the MVP, Big Papi, who made it all happen. I'm happy he made it happen. Andy Scholes, great to see you this morning.

ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: Great to see you too, John, and happy you were there to experience the first championship at Fenway Park in the last, you know, 95 years. And what a night it was for the city of Boston. You know, the Red Sox, they hadn't won a World Series at Fenway since 1918. So, fans like John Berman clearly waiting their whole lives for a night like this.

And the cardinals in the game, they were determined not to let Big Papi hurt them. They walked him four times in the game and he came back to bite them in the third inning. After walking Ortiz and then hating Jonny Gomes in the pitch, the bases were loaded for Shane Victorino. And check it out, he launches one off the green monster. All three runners would come in to score.

The Fenway -- were going nuts. The Red Sox, they scored six runs off Cardinals rookie ace, Michael Wacha, and now, it's plenty for John Lackey. He pitched 6 2/3 innings of one-run baseball. The Red Sox win the game 6-1 to claim their third World Series title in the last ten years. And after one of the most memorable postseason performances ever, Big Papi was named the MVP of the World Series and you can also make the argument that he's the MVP of the entire city of Boston.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCHOLES (voice-over): There's something about Big Papi in Boston and it's more than just the incredible stats and the paternal nickname.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a great leader. You know, when he speaks, everyone listens. he just gets you motivated. He's great for the fans, you know? Just a great guy overall.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He rises to the occasion. I mean, it's really, really cool and calm.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a great, great person outside of the field. He just become a a symbol of the community.

SCHOLES: David Ortiz is the face of the franchise that has been transformed right before our eyes. No longer are the Red Sox known as a team mired in an 86-year championship drought. Now, they are World Series champions for the third time in decade and Ortiz is the big reason why.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of times, players don't want to speak up because there's a lot of added responsibility that goes along with that. David has never been that guy. He relishes the moment. He wants to be the guy that people look toward.

SCHOLES: Nine years after ending their historic drought, Big Papi is the only player still playing for the Red Sox from that team. And when the city of Boston was at its lowest following the marathon bombing, Ortiz put an exclamation point on Boston and strong and won memorable moment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is our (EXPLETIVE DELETED) city.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And nobody going to dictate our prism. Stay strong.

SCHOLES: Just like he lifted the spirit of the city, Big Papi rallied the Red Sox in the dugout during game four when things were looking grim and since that moment, the Red Sox haven't lost. Big Papi was already considered the greatest clutch hitter in Red Sox history. Now, he's going to go down as one of the greatest world Series performers as well. He's been at his best on the biggest stage in baseball and that's why he's earned a second nickname.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's why we call him Cooperstown, because he just does stuff. He does hall of fame stuff on a regular basis around here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is for you, Boston.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHOLES: And when you ask Boston fans who their sports heroes are, the first name people usually say are Larry Bird, Tom Brady, but after what David Ortiz did for this city this year, Zoraida, going forward, you know, Big Papi, his name has got to be top of that list.

SAMBOLIN: I got him this morning in studio.

(LAUGHTER)

SAMBOLIN: It was a coup. This is John Berman's little doll and I'm threatening to open it but I think I'm just going to keep him right here and have him celebrate with us all morning. Thank you, Andy. Appreciate it.

It is 38 minutes past the hour.

President Obama using Boston as a backdrop to fight for his signature health care overhaul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAMBOLIN (voice-over): He says despite the failed rollout of Obamacare, the country needs to keep moving forward. The president calling out members of Congress who continue to fight the reforms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And anyone defending the remnants of the old broken system as if it was working for people, anybody who thinks we shouldn't finish the job of making the health care system work for everybody, especially when these folks offer no plan for the uninsured or the underinsured or folks who lose their insurance each year, those folks should have to explain themselves.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAMBOLIN: So while the president was in Boston, Health and Human Services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, was on the Capitol Hill hot seat. She was apologizing for the healthcare.gov website woes and promising to have them fixed by the end of November.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAMBOLIN (on-camera): You know, it's Halloween and the weather is looking like the real monster this Halloween. A big portion of the country from the Great Lakes to Texas is bracing for a really nasty system. There's heavy rain, high winds, and possible tornadoes as well. It's in the forecast for more than 40 million people. Some towns in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky have postponed Halloween until tomorrow. They're saying maybe even over the weekend.

So, the severe weather has already soaked Kansas. People in the Wichita area coping with really heavy rain, hail, and winds. It took down trees and some power lines. There's already been some minor flooding outside Houston. Look at this, that area expected to get some heavy downpours today. You know who's tracking all of this for us? Indra Petersons, you got your work cut out for you, woman.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Definitely a busy day, especially if it's Halloween. I mean, it's so important to so many people what the weather is like today and not to mention, of course, the severe component to it. We're looking at the storm that brought snow in through Colorado yesterday. That system making its way east today and it's really going to affect you if you live anywhere from the plains all the way to the northeast.

That is how massive this system is. We are talking about 53 million of you having the threat for severe weather. It's a slight risk today. Pretty much anywhere from Detroit all the way down through Houston. Look at these major cities that are under the gun, Memphis, Nashville, St. Louis, you all have the threat especially for strong thunderstorms and even strong winds out there. The key here is look at the storm as it makes its way east.

Notice, these are relative humidity numbers. Look how high this is. We're seeing all this moisture coming out of the gulf. So, this system is moving into an area. We really see that typical kind of moisture in the springtime. With that, we're able to fire for threat for these thunderstorms and again that biggest concern is going to be the really strong winds, Zoraida.

We're talking about anywhere from 50, even 60-mile-per-hour wind on Halloween evening, and of course, heavy rain and flash flooding as well.

SAMBOLIN: Well, at least you're watching it for us and forewarned is always good. Thank you.

PETERSONS: Sure.

SAMBOLIN: All right. Coming up --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, let's go through with it because then he can't live here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAMBOLIN: This is a town that is terrified that a repeat serial rapist will move in right next door. How they're taking matters into their own hands? That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAMBOLIN: Welcome back to EARLY START. Residents of a Los Angeles suburb are making it very clear they don't want a convicted rapist moving into their community. The Santa Clara County judge ruled last week that 62-year-old Christopher Hubbard, the so-called pillowcase rapist, can move into the Lake Los Angeles home when he gets out of jail possibly in December. That home approved by the judge was vandalized overnight and protesters say they're not about to let up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICHOLE STONE, LAKE LOS ANGELES RESIDENT: How am I supposed to go into my bedroom and lay down at night and go to sleep knowing that he can come in? There's people talking around town how about they want to burn the house down with him inside of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAMBOLIN: Hubbard admits raping nearly 40 women. That was between 1971 and 1982. One neighbor says that she is considering opening a day care center right across the street from the house so it won't be legal for Hubbard to move into that home.

Let's take a look what's coming up on "NEW DAY." Chris Cuomo and Kate Bolduan joining us this morning. Happy Halloween.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Happy Halloween. Good morning, Zoraida.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have new allegations against the NSA. Was the agency tapping into communication links between Yahoo! and Google? The NSA says, no. It hasn't been accessing databases. But, it did not deny it might be looking at links between servers. What's the difference? Does it matter? Should we know at all? We'll dig in and tell you what we believe the truth to be.

BOLDUAN: And of course, it is Halloween if you needed a reminder. Unintentional orange. But there's some of the orange to show you. We're going to be asking when does a costume go too far? Two high school football coaches near San Diego, they're under fire this morning for wearing black face at a party. They were dressed as a Jamaican bobsled team. We're going to explain this morning and ask the question, when will people learn, Zoraida?

SAMBOLIN: Oh, my goodness. You know, that is never cool. Thank you for that. We'll check in with you later.

So, it's a very tight squeeze for a Tucson teenager who got locked out of his house. The 15-year-old panicked yesterday when he couldn't get into his home. So, what did he decide to do? He decided to climb up to the roof and enter through the chimney! You know what happened. He got stuck! Firefighters had to come and pry him out. Listen to the boy's mother describe the moment and the chat she had with her son after he was freed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

"Tami", Rescued Teen's Mother: I came home and I kept hearing these noises and the next thing I hear this faint mom, mom. Never, never, ever, ever you go down a chimney!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAMBOLIN: Yes. Words to live by. The young man suffered a few scratches, but other than that, you can see he is OK.

All right, folks. It's time now for the "Morning Rhyme." It is our tweet of the day and it's coming from Mary Elizabeth Ramsey (ph). She writes "The candy bowl is full and we've reserved our seat to handle all the ones who will trick-or-treat." That's perfect for Halloween! Thank you for chiming in this morning. And you can come up with your own. Tweet us with the hash tags morning rhyme and EARLY START. We love these. They make our day.

And coming up, does Wall Street really like Facebook this morning? What sent the social media website stock on a roller coaster? That's next in "Money Time."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAMBOLIN: Welcome back to EARLY START. It is "Money Time." Christine Romans is here. This is in honor of Halloween.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: In honor of Halloween. A thriller. Facebook has some teenage (INAUDIBLE) to tell you, Zoraida. The world's largest social network says it's seeing dip in teenage usage. Crazy, crazy afternoon for Facebook stock. Let me show you. When the company said its mobile business was doing really well, look at that, the stock jumped 15 percent. Then later, an executive said usage among teens especially young ones was dipping and the stock came right back down.

SAMBOLIN: oh my goodness.

ROMANS: But I want to put in perspective because aside from testy teens, Facebook seems to be, as one analyst, is saying firing on all cylinders. The company now has more than a billion monthly active users, Zoraida, up 18 percent from a year ago and mobile ad revenue now makes up half of its advertising sales.

As for the stock, it doubled over the past three months as users began to access Facebook more on mobile phones. The stock has been doing well. Nothing, nothing spookier than a Congress that can't even keep the lights on, and we expect that the government shutdown could have a chilling effect on Halloween spending this year.

Halloween spending will likely hit $6.9 billion. It sounds like a lot money, but that's down from eight billion last year. This is according to the National Retail Federation. Uncertainty and lack of confidence, very scary for consumers. Here's the breakdown, though, of how most of you will spend your money.

The average adult will spend about 75 bucks on costumes, cards, candy, decorations. That's down about five bucks from last year. Here's the fun fact for you, we do not skimp on our pets. This years, 22 million people will play dress up with their pets, spending an estimated $330 million on costumes for fido!

SAMBOLIN: That's insane! But they look so cute.

ROMANS: I know. They really do. OK. This is a pop quiz for Zoraida. What do you think is the number one job skill employers want? Pop quiz for Z on this Halloween.

SAMBOLIN: It has to be something tech related.

ROMANS: You would think so. But the skill that they really want right now, fluency in a foreign language.

SAMBOLIN: What?

ROMANS: Translators and interpreters expected to do one of the 15 fastest growing occupations --

SAMBOLIN: Any particular foreign language?

ROMANS: Well, I don't -- workers in the field earn 43 grand a year. They can earn up to $200,000 if you work in the military, government contractors, if you work in a war zone. That's where the big money is. If you don't want to put your life on the line, as I think neither of us do, higher salaries also available for translators or interpreters who specialize in legal, medical, or scientific knowledge. SAMBOLIN: But we don't know which languages?

ROMANS: Chinese, Spanish. Everything, really. Sometimes -- language is actually -- especially the medical profession can be very, very lucrative. They have software that you can use in hospitals so that you can sit down and put headphones on and speak. A lot very nish (ph) languages I would say, but if you have somebody in big cities who speakls languages, especially in the legal fields too, wow, you can really have a nice career.

SAMBOLIN: Wonderful! I love that. Parents, listen up!

ROMANS: School has been cutting for language programs over the past years. So, this is, I think, a big reminder for schools. This is an important skill for people to have and learning a second language comes very important.

SAMBOLIN: Yes. Thank you very much.

Coming up, they're calling it a miracle. A store clerk shot in the chest but walking away uninjured. The attack and what saved him all caught on camera.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAMBOLIN: Talk about a smartphone. A new surveillance video shows the moment a robber shot a store clerk in the chest. This is in Central Florida. That clerk saved by his cell phone. The panicking 911 call afterward reveals how a co-worker couldn't believe what just happened.

The bullet hit a cell phone in the victim's front pocket likely saving his life. Police in Winter Garden, Florida say the gunman, though, is still on the loose. What an amazing story.

That is it for EARLY START. "NEW DAY" begins right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It hasn't happened at Fenway Park for 95 years! The Red Sox are the world champions.

CUOMO: Boston strong. The Red Sox triumphant routing St. Louis for their first championship win at Fenway in nearly a hundred years. And what a year to win it. We're live at the ballpark.

BOLDUAN: Monster storm. Winds, blinding rain, and hail sweeping across the eastern U.S. what does this mean for your trick or treating plans? We're tracking it all.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tapped. New revelations on NSA spying. The government accused of tapping into Google and Yahoo's data servers. Just how much access did they have to your information?

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." It's Thursday, October 31st. You know what that means. Happy Halloween! It's six o'clock in the morning. Very nice costume.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: You are looking live at Fenway Park where the celebrations are just finally ending after quite a night. We want to show you two images this morning that really captured, OK? The first moment, here you go, right? This is -- the Red Sox win it all. They pile on top of each other, team, team, team. No team shows it more than these guys have. Set off a celebration across the city.

And then this, this is the finish line at the Boston marathon last night. We remember that's what Boston strong is all about. And the fans took a moment to remember what happened there just six months ago. We're going to get inside the game and, of course, its larger importance in just a moment.

BOLDUAN: Quite a moment it was. That's going to be great to talk more about it.

But also ahead, an exclusive interview with Vice President Joe Biden as he apologizes for the Obamacare website rollout. He's the highest ranking administration official to do so, so far. This, after Health and Human Services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, got the grilling she knew she was going to be getting on Capitol Hill. We're going to break down the contentious back and forth.

PEREIRA: And then of course, it is Halloween this morning. We have an absolutely terrifying blood chilling story to tell you about. Brace yourselves, everyone. Chocolate the price of it may be going up and wine, too, if it couldn't get more frightening. There is a global shortage of both.