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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Super Blowout; Philip Seymour Hoffman Dead At 46; Sochi Security
Aired February 03, 2014 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Such a tragedy. Could this have been prevented? One of the world's greatest actors, Philip Seymour Hoffman, found dead in his apartment, an apparent drug overdose. The very latest on that investigation this morning.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Lockdown. Security concerns rising by the minute just days before the Olympics. The latest terror threats targeting Russia and how U.S. athletes will be kept safe if an attack happens. We're live with the latest.
ROMANS: A historic win for the Seahawks. One of the biggest game blowouts ever. This morning, Seattle fans fired up. Peyton Manning beaten down. We're bringing you all the overnight celebrations and a breakdown of the game's biggest moments.
BERMAN: It was ugly, folks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN (on-camera): Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.
ROMANS (on-camera): I'm Christine Romans. It's 30 minutes past the hour.
BERMAN: So, the final score was 43-8.
ROMANS: Wow.
BERMAN: And it wasn't even that close. Super Bowl XLVIII was a decimation. The Seattle Seahawks tearing apart the Denver broncos bit by bit to win their first title and hand Peyton Manning his second Super Bowl defeat. Manning threw as many touchdowns to the Seahawks as he did to his own players. And now, Seattle will not need its famous coffee to wake up this morning.
That city might never sleep again! Look at this! They're doing unspeakable things to furniture. Also, why would you treat furniture like that?
ROMANS: It was Denver furniture.
BERMAN: Andy Scholes here with all the answers this morning -- Andy.
ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: Too much Seattle coffee, that's what happens.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: Or something.
SCHOLES: You know guys, as the saying goes, defense wins championships, and not even the Broncos' record-setting offense, the best offense in NFL history, could overcome the legion of boom. Now, the great Joe Namath, he took over Twitter at the start of this game, rocking that massive fur coat. He was on the field for the coin toss and had a false start, tried to toss it before the Seahawks had even made a decision.
It's all good, though. Nothing rattles Broadway Joe. Now, the broncos had the ball first, but I'll bet they wish they hadn't. Very first play of the game, Peyton and center, Manny Ramirez, have a miscommunication. The ball goes right by Peyton and into the end zone for a safety. It was the fastest score in Super Bowl history. Terrible start for the Broncos and it would only get worse.
Peyton overthrows Julius Thomas, the pass picked off by Kam Chancellor. That led to a Seahawks touchdown, made it 15-0. And you were thinking maybe Peyton would get it together, make a game of this, but no. Next drive, picked off again. This time, Malcolm Smith, your Super Bowl MVP, returns it for a touchdown.
It was 22-0 at the half! still, you're thinking, the Broncos can maybe make a comeback in this one, but Percy Harvin ended that quickly, returned the second-half kickoff for a touchdown. The domination would just continue from there. Seahawks crushed the Broncos 43-8 to win their first ever Super Bowl. Richard Sherman, their cornerback, he sprained his ankle late in the game, but nothing was going to spoil the feeling of being world champs.
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RICHARD SHERMAN, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS: Feels amazing, man. It feels like all the hard work, all the extra work, all the sore days, the extra lifting, the central film has paid off, man, and we've got a real good team and we really cemented our legacy today.
PEYTON MANNING, ONE FOR THREE IN SUPER BOWL APPEARANCES: Well, it's disappointing for our entire team. We worked hard to get to this point, overcame a lot of obstacles to be here, but certainly, to finish this way, it's very disappointing. And it's not an easy pill to swallow, but eventually, we have to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Record-setting year for Peyton, fifth MVP award, but now, all anyone's going to remember is them laying an egg in the Super Bowl.
ROMANS: Wow!
BERMAN: Andy, what do you think happened? I mean, how could they come out so flat?
SCHOLES: So, I think once they fell behind, it just snowballed, because the Seahawks, what are they really good at? They're really good at pass defense. And they knew the Broncos were going to have to pass to try to get back in the game and they were just teeing off on those Broncos receivers, but Peyton just never got into that rhythm, because you know, that's the one thing. How do you stop Peyton Manning? Get him out of rhythm. He never found it the entire game.
ROMANS: The crowd was so interesting, too. I mean, people have been deriving this as the corporate crowd. You need so much money just to get into that stadium (ph), but this crowd was wild.
SCHOLES: Those Seahawks fans were loud. You could hear them the entire --
ROMANS: Wow!
SCHOLES: That's why they call them the 12th man.
BERMAN: Very, very impressive. All right. Thanks so much, Andy.
And we should say, while the Seahawks were piling on the Broncos, Hillary Clinton apparently decided to join in. The former secretary of state took a shot at Fox, which broadcast the game last night. She put out this tweet, "It's so much more fun to watch Fox when it's someone else being blitzed and sacked!"
A Clinton spokesperson says this was meant to be a good-natured, lighthearted, self-deprecating joke. It was retweeted thousands and thousands and thousands of times. I think the base loved it.
<05:43:30>
ROMANS: I think so, too.
All right. From celebration to tragedy this morning. An autopsy scheduled today to determine how exactly Philip Seymour Hoffman died. Police say the 46-year-old actor was found dead Sunday inside his New York apartment from an apparent drug overdose. News of the Oscar winner's death shocked his fans and stars who worked with him. They're remembering him as an actor's actor calling his death an unspeakable loss.
Hoffman's family issued a statement saying, quote, "We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Phil and appreciate outpouring of love and support we have received from everyone. This is a tragic and sudden loss and we ask that you respect our privacy during this time of grieving. Please keep Phil in your thoughts and prayers."
You know, John, we've been seeing so many of the actors who worked with him, you know, saying what he meant to them and it was Jim Carrey who said something that who said something that really struck with me. You know, Philip Seymour Hoffman was sober for 20 or 23 years before this particular episode.
Jim Carrey wrote "for the most sensitive among us, the noise can be too much. Bless your heart." And that's such a poignant way to look at it.
BERMAN: You know, it is such a tragedy. As you said, sober for 20 years before he suffered relapse over the last year. It just goes to show what an insidious drug heroin can be and how difficult addiction is. I think this is affecting a lot of people.
ROMANS: I think so, too.
BERMAN: All right. Thirty-six minutes after the hour.
A jolt of winter is hitting the western U.S. right now. Snow is falling in parts of California and Idaho. In the eastern half of the U.S., don't get too comfortable, either, guys. More winter storms coming really this morning.
ROMANS: All right. So, the big question is, who will get hammered? More than 800 flights have already been canceled around the United States. Meteorologist, Chad Myers, is here with the details. And so many of the airlines are now pre-canceling flights when they see your -- when they see your forecast, they just cancel.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: When they see eight to 10 for Newark, and that would have been eight to 10 for the Super Bowl, for tonight.
ROMANS: Oh!
MYERS: MetLife stadium will have eight inches of snow on it by eight o'clock tonight. How good of a Super Bowl? Maybe a different outcome.
ROMANS: Yes.
MYERS: Couldn't have been worse! Really could -- honestly.
(LAUGHTER)
MYERS: Here we go, From Philadelphia to north, all of this winter storm warning right now, at least eight to 10 inches in that entire swath. And north and south of there, probably one to two, even three to four out toward Long Island. New York City, though, you are right in the teeth of this storm. It is 34, raining, snowing right now, kind of a mix, but all day long, it's going to be snow. Snow, snow, snow, five to eight inches for the city.
That will really put a damper on tomorrow's rush hour and probably on the rush hour home. Rain in Washington, D.C., all the way down to Atlanta, and that's where the rain will be. Here's the snow, south of Pittsburgh. There's some ski resorts right there. That's a foot of snow. Brand new snow there, and six to 10 not that far west in New Jersey. Bergen County could see 10 inches of snow on the ground by tomorrow. There goes the storm, and I know who's responsible, and it isn't Phil. It's a girl named Jessica. She's in your newsroom and she still has this card, "let it snow." Jessica, put away your Christmas cards and stop the snow, please.
(LAUGHTER)
MYERS: Tired of this winter!
ROMANS: Is that what amounts for meteorological science?
(LAUGHTER)
BERMAN: This is science right there. All right, Chad, really appreciate it.
ROMANS: Nice to see you, Chad.
BERMAN: All right. Developing overnight, new questions about the Obamacare website.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN (voice-over): A "Washington Post" report says the healthcare.gov website is not yet equipped to fix errors the system made when people were signing up. Appeals by some 22,000 Americans are said to be sitting untouched in a government computer. The "Washington Post" reports that the Obama administration has not publicly acknowledged the problem that exists within this appeals system.
ROMANS (voice-over): It could be an uncomfortable meeting at White House today. President Obama summoning Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, for a sit-down. This comes after Reid publicly broke with the administration on trade policy. Reid says he's against fast-tracking trade agreements with the Pacific Rim Nations and the European Union. The president says the deals would help boost the economy. Some Democrats claim they are job-killers.
BERMAN: A lot of people noting that Democrats are not afraid to stand up to the president now.
While you were sleeping, we learned of another troubling security breach, exposing the credit and debit card information of thousands of guests at hotels, including Marriott, Sheraton, Westin. The breach reportedly took place last year at a company called White Lodging. They managed 168 hotels and 21 states. The firm will only say an investigation is in progress and they will reveal more information when it becomes available.
ROMANS: Stock markets overseas skittish ahead of the U.S. stock market open in japan. Tokyo Nikkei losing about two percent. Friday had a massive, steep sell-off on Wall Street, so that followed through to Japan. A two percent fall for Japan's Nikkei puts it in a technical correction. That's a loss of 10 percent or more. Most other Asian markets closed for the lunar New Year holiday. European markets hovering around break-even right now, this as U.S. stocks took a nose-dive last week. Really ugly. Both the Dow and the NASDAQ and now the S&P, rather, closing January with a loss, John, for the first time in four years.
BERMAN: It's not my fault! Don't blame it on me.
ROMANS: I'm just saying, it could be you.
(LAUGHTER)
<05:46:41>
ROMANS: The debt ceiling crisis that contributed to the government shutdown back in October, remember that? Back on the front burner. Treasury secretary, Jack Lew, today will appeal to a bipartisan group for Congress to extend the nation's borrowing ability so the government can pay its bills. The nation's borrowing limit expires on Friday.
In case you didn't have that circled on your calendar, cash reserves to pay our bills could run out by the end of the month. Good morning.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: So, we have that to look forward to. We'll hear from Jack Lew this morning.
Coming up, the plan to keep Americans safe in Sochi as new terror threats target Russia just days before the winter Olympics. We are live with the very latest on that, next.
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ROMANS: Welcome back to EARLY START. The world is coming to Sochi. Opening ceremonies for the winter Olympics four days away now. Security has been a major concern. Every day, mounting concern about security at these games. CNN has learned the U.S. military is finalizing plans to have aircraft and evacuation crews on standby to get Americans out of Sochi if necessary.
CNN's Nic Paton Walsh live in Sochi for us this morning. Good morning.
NIC PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. We're seeing, of course, the final stages of security being put in here. There is a balloon behind me observing the area. The roads around now require a lot of passes for locals even to get around town. But you, of course, mentioned the key thing there. U.S. military officials saying they've put cargo aircrafts on standby.
They're getting orders in the days ahead to make that evacuation here if there is a threat inside of what people refer to as the ring of steel here. That kind of gridlock put in by Russian police and security services. 37,000 officers sent here to really amplify the presence you see up on the streets here. And I think many people, including Barack Obama, himself, speaking to our Jake Tapper on Friday, feel that probably that will keep the games themselve safe.
The question, of course, is what happens across broader of (ph) Southern Russia, volatile, wrapped up in insurgency for over a decade.
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WALSH: The police are coming here. The focus is here. It's possible that somewhere else in that volatile part of Southern Russia, Something may slip through the cracks, but many, of course, hoping that won't be the case, but U.S. plans still there in case there's an issue -- John, Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Nic. Nic Paton Walsh for us this morning in Sochi.
BERMAN: Happening today, thousands of pages of documents in the New Jersey bridge scandal due to be turned over to state and federal investigators.
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BERMAN (voice-over): It could take weeks for investigators to analyze these documents to see whether Governor Chris Christie had any prior knowledge of the lane closures that stifled traffic at the George Washington Bridge in September.
Meanwhile, another Christie staffer subpoenaed by a legislative panel has resigned amid this investigation. Christina Renna left the governor's office on Friday. She reported to deputy chief of staff Bridget Kelly, who is the one who apparently set the lane closings in motion. As things unfold, though, some prominent Republicans are still standing by Governor Christie.
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GOV. BOBBY JINDAL, (R) LOUISIANA: Yes, I don't think he should step down. I think he should stay there.
REP. PAUL RYAN, (R) WISCONSIN: No, I don't think he should step down because nothing has been proven, and you always give a person the benefit of the doubt in those kinds of situations, in my judgment.
RUDY GIULIANI, FMR NYC MAYOR: The governor has denied it. So far, there's no evidence to suggest that he's not telling the truth. I think the governor knows the consequences. If he's lying, it's a really bad situation. If he's not lying, then something very unfair is being done to him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: We also learned overnight that the governor will headline, he will speak at the CPAC conference group of conservatives. That's actually a pretty significant development overnight. Meanwhile, the governor insists he knew nothing about the traffic-blocking operation. Christie has fired back at former Port Authority official, David Wildstein's, claim that he personally ordered the lane closures. Christie said in an e-mail to supporters, quote, "David Wildstein will do and say anything to save David Wildstein." this letter made some damning allegations about Wildstein's past, including that Wildstein was publicly accused by his high school social studies teacher of deceptive behavior. I take social studies very, very seriously, especially in high school.
ROMANS (voice-over): But then why would he appoint him to a position at the Port Authority?
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BERMAN (on-camera): Well, that is one of the questions right there. I should say that Wildstein is suggesting that Chris Christie personally ordered the lane closing. That is not a suggestion that's actually been put out anywhere. What Wildstein says is that evidence exists that Christie knew about the lane closures while they were happening.
ROMANS (on-camera): All right. I'm sure we'll be having more on that in the days and weeks to come.
OK. Developing legal news overnight --
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ROMANS (voice-over): Thousands of criminal cases in Florida could be compromised, thousands of cases, because of a law enforcement chemist who allegedly stole drugs from an evidence room. The Florida department of law enforcement confirms this unnamed chemist is linked to over 2,600 cases in the past seven years.
And in many of those cases, drugs that were confiscated as evidence vanished, replaced by over-the-counter medications. Officials say it's not clear whether the suspended chemist stole those drugs to use or to sell.
BERMAN (voice-over): So, some stunning news about medicine in society breaking overnight. Abortion rates are dropping in a major, major way. This is according to the latest national survey of abortion providers. The report says rates are at the lowest level since 1973, and the number of procedures fell 13 percent between 2008 and 2011.
That is a rapid decline. The reason, according to researchers, is most likely a larger national decline in pregnancy and birth rates.
ROMANS: Certainly interesting.
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ROMANS (on-camera): All right. Let's take a look this morning at what's coming up on "NEW DAY."
BERMAN (on-camera): Chris Cuomo, who had an interesting night, joins us this morning. How's it going, Chris? CHRIS CUOMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I did. Hey, great to see you. I was at the game. I thought it was awesome. I think Jersey did a great job. I know it's New York and New Jersey, but the game was played in New Jersey. I thought they did a great job last night. Obviously, it was a blowout, right?
Super Bowl XLVIII was all these guys, the Seahawks, but there were tons of big plays and lots of firsts, and you know, this team is really exciting because it's such a young team, not since like the 1974 Steelers that went on to win four Super Bowls, have we seen a team with such a chance at a dynasty. Pete Carroll, the coach there, watching him throwing the ball before the game.
He was amazing. He was tossing like 35 yards like it was nothing. No young man. Third oldest coach to ever win the Super Bowl. So, we'll talk about all that, and we'll talk about the ads as well. And then, we're going to make, you know, a very -- you know, here are some of your Super Bowl ads, which ones did we like, which ones didn't work?
We'll have all these experts in, lots of fun. There's Arnold. That's actually his real hair, which is unusual. People didn't know that. That's not true.
And then, we're going to take a turn to Philip Seymour Hoffman. You know by now he lost his life. There are two really important aspects of this story to discuss. The first, most importantly will be the life, the legacy, and how he should be remembered for all the work and joy that he gave us. But also, Christine and John, we're going to look at this in terms of what they believe took his life.
Addiction is a disease, often has fatal outcome. Yes, he had been 23 years sober, but just like with cancer, it is never a surprise when something comes back. And again, the outcome often fatal. So, we'll talk about that as well. A sobering reminder.
<06:16:39>
BERMAN: A lot to discuss there. All right. Chris, thanks so much.
ROMANS: Coming up, Woody Allen firing back after his adopted daughter goes public with her story of abuse, after the break.
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BERMAN: All right. This morning, Woody Allen firing back at renewed accusations of sexual abuse, calling the letter published this weekend untrue and disgraceful. Dylan Farrow (ph) claims her then adoptive father sexually assaulted her in 1992 when she was just seven. The details of her letter are shocking.
Sunday, Allen's attorney blamed Mia Farrow (ph), the girl's mother, for engineering this story. The couple was going through a bitter breakup when the allegations first surfaced. An investigation was done at the time. Allen was never charged.
ROMANS: Coming up, the breakdown on those Super Bowl ads. I'm telling you, it was very different this year. "Money Time" is next.
<06:19:17>
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Welcome back to EARLY START. It's "Money Time." Looks like February taking its cue from an ugly January. Stocks look weak this morning with less than four hours to go before the opening bell. Futures lower right now after the worst January for the Dow and the S&P in four years.
The stock trader's almanac says there's a 50/50 chance that January is an indication of how stocks might close for the year. For January, the Dow down 5.3 percent. Ouch.
The mobile phone war is on, and that's good news for the consumer. AT&T wants to keep old customers and attract new ones, so it's cutting mobile phone prices, lowering prices on family plans, offering additional discounts to new customers and extending those discounts to current customers who renew.
The country's second largest wireless carrier has T-Mobile nipping at its heels. T-Mobile has a limited contract, has cut rates, and increased its upgrade frequency. Mobile phone wars will be good for your pocketbook.
OK. We know who won the Super Bowl, but which company won your attention? The three and a half hour game was broken down like this. About two hours and 15 minutes was actual game time. Eighteen minutes was dedicated to the super, super-hyped halftime show. Nearly an hour of commercials -- there were 90 commercials. The most ran during the second quarter.
That Chrysler in the third quarter, it was the longest ad that ran during the game, clocking in at two minutes. The themes this year, more cinematic, more cute, more nostalgic, not so much slapstick or gross like the last few years. The trend really changing. Much more -- I don't know. I think the ads were much more meaningful and much more like little movies this year.
BERMAN: No blockbusters, I don't think.
ROMANS: No.
BERMAN: No ad has said, oh, my gosh! That's the best ad ever, but definitely ones that made you think. I have to say the one that hit me like tugged at my heartstrings was the -- I think it was the Chevy truck ad for cancer survivors.
ROMANS: Yes.
BERMAN: And I just thought that was so poignant. It was really sweet.
ROMANS: And puppies are always good, too.
BERMAN: Puppies are good, too.
ROMANS: All right. "NEW DAY" starts right now.
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CUOMO: Super Blow out. The Seahawks dominate the game for the first play on. Seattle still celebrating this morning. we have all the highlights plus the ads. Seinfeld (INAUDIBLE) out. We've got your winners and losers.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Breaking overnight, Russia putting dozens of women on house arrest, forbidding them from going out during the Olympics, fearing they may be black widow terrorist. We're live with the altst.
MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: New details on the final days of Philip Seymour Hoffman.
<06:29:11>
PEREIRA: The Oscar winning actor dead in an apparent drug overdose. The latest on his death as Hollywood remembers one of the most talented actors of his generation.
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 Monday, February 3rd, six o'clock in the east. The Super Bowl shocked many in the predicting business, but it didn't shock the Seahawks.
