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New Day
Sony Set to Release "The Interview"; Jake Tapper's Journey to Find his Roots
Aired December 24, 2014 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Time for the five things to know for your NEW DAY.
Racial tensions spiking again after a teenager was gunned down by police in Berkeley, Missouri, just outside Ferguson. The police have just released surveillance video. Look in the upper left. You can see what appears to be the teenager pointing a gun at the officer.
Severe weather expected to cause travel headaches for the estimated 98.6 million of you who are flying or driving at least 50 miles for the Christmas holiday.
The weather already proved deadly in the south. Deadly tornadoes tearing through Mississippi, killing four people. Power was knocked out to thousands of people in Georgia and Louisiana.
Former President George H.W. Bush taken to a Houston hospital after complaining of shortness of breath. He's being monitored for now. A spokesman expects Bush to be OK.
The former S.E.A.L., who claims he killed Osama bin Laden, under investigation. Navy officials say they're looking into the possibility that Robert O'Neill revealed classified information during media appearances.
We're always updating the five things to know, so go to newdaycnn.com for the very latest.
Alisyn.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, Christine, thanks so much for that.
Talk about a plot twist. Sony now says it will release "The Interview" on Christmas Day, despite threats of violence from hackers. A few hundred independent theaters plan to show the comedy as the FBI prepares for possible cyber-attacks as retaliation. Our Pamela Brown is here with more details.
Hi, Pamela. What do we know?
PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, after Sony's stunning decision reversal yesterday, Alisyn, we learn that the FBI sent a bulletin to its field offices, asking them to coordinate with these movie theaters that are now going to be releasing "The Interview," educating them about the possible threat they may face. And we know that "The Interview" is now expected to be released in more than 200 theaters across the country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN (voice-over): A shocking turn of events in the growing Sony saga.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Woo!
BROWN: Sony announcing it will roll out a limited theatrical release of "The Interview," a controversial movie about the assassination of North Korean Leader Kim Jong-Un.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a gift for you.
BROWN: Sony's about face coming after a backlash from celebrities, like George Clooney, and even President Obama, who criticized the studio's initial decision to delay the movie's release.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I wish they had spoken to me first.
BROWN: Now, a growing number of independent theaters announcing they'll be showing the movie. First to announce, The Plaza Theater in Atlanta.
MICHAEL MUSTO, COLUMNIST, OUT.COM: I think now they are seeing that the right thing to do is to be bold, go forward and see what happens and it's starting on the small level. I think the larger theater chains, which are very corporate and cautious, are going to eventually see that, OK, it seems to be working all right and we can make money off of this movie and they'll jump on the band wagon.
BROWN: After major movie chains pulled the plug last week following a threat by the hackers, Sony's powerhouse attorney, David Boies, hinted on Sunday's "Meet the Press" that the studio was not backing down.
DAVID BOIES, SONY ATTORNEY: Remember, Sony only delayed this. Sony has been fighting to get this picture distributed. It will be distributed.
BROWN: Now, the stars of "The Interview" speaking out on social media. James Franco posting, "victory, the people and the president have spoken," and Seth Rogen tweeting, "freedom has prevailed."
In a statement, Sony's CEO Michael Lynton says, "we're excited our movie will be in a number of theaters on Christmas Day. While we hope this is only the first step of the film's release, we are proud to make it available to the public and to have stood up to those who attempted to suppress free speech."
As tensions are heighten between the United States and North Korea, which the U.S. blames for the hack, reports that the reclusive country's Internet went down at least twice in the past 24 hours and remains spotty according to an Internet monitoring company. REP. ED ROYCE, (R), FOREIGN AFFAIRS CHAIRMAN: Whoever shut it down,
and we don't know yet, it doesn't really matter that much because there's only several thousand users in North Korea.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And a U.S. official denies to CNN that the U.S. had any involvement with North Korea's Internet outage. Meantime, we have learned from sources that Sony did advise the FBI before moving forward with the release that it was going to do so, making sure that there isn't -- wasn't any sort of credible threats before it made that decision. So -- but you could see beefed up security at some of these theaters showing the movie. You know, there is that concern that something could happen.
CAMEROTA: It will be fascinating to see how many people actually turn out to go see this movie this weekend.
BROWN: It really will be.
CAMEROTA: Yes.
BROWN: It really will be. So we'll be keeping an eye on it.
CAMEROTA: Thanks, Pamela.
BROWN: Thank you.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: So, as you may have heard, we've had some rewarding opportunities to journey into our pasts here at CNN, see where the family story all began. So, you know who got to do it? Jake Tapper was one of the guys who dug into his roots and this man is surprised by very little. Let me tell you, I've known him for years. He was surprised by what he learned about himself. You will be, as well, coming up.
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ROMANS: Merry Christmas.
CAMEROTA: I know, merry Christmas Eve. So festive.
CUOMO: Merry Christmas to you. Peace on earth.
CAMEROTA: We all vote for that. There are lots of surprises that popped up as CNN anchors got the chance this year to discover their roots. One of those surprised anchors, Jake Tapper. He's the host, of course, of "The Lead." He was born and raised in Philadelphia and Tapper always thought - I'm just going to call him Tapper.
CUOMO: Yes, he like that.
ROMANS: Tapper.
CAMEROTA: Tapper always thought he was as American as apple pie until he learned a jarring secret about his family's past. CUOMO: Eskimo!
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): This is where I'm from, Philly. And it's not just cheesesteaks and Rocky Balboa. Philadelphia is to me very much about America.
Mom and Dad put down roots just around the corner from here, Independence Hall, where the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. And the truth is, I never really cared that much about my ancestors. Where was I from? The answer was always Philly.
(on camera): My childhood neighborhood still looks as though George Washington slept there. I mean, everything about growing up during that time was Americana, even the names of the sports teams. The 1776ers, the Eagles. American to its core.
(voice-over): My dad's side of the family is Jewish, immigrants from Eastern Europe.
(on camera): Why did Grandmother Tapper and Grandfather Tapper's families leave the old country?
DR. THEODORE S. TAPPER, JAKE TAPPER'S DAD: For a variety of reasons. I think a lot of it was economics.
J. TAPPER (voice-over): My mom's Scotch-Irish, via Canada.
ANNE TAPPER, JAKE TAPPER'S MOM: My parents brought me here when I was 3.
J. TAPPER (on camera): There also was this family myth our side -- your side of the family came to North America and objected to slavery, and so they went to Canada, because there was slavery in the United States.
A. TAPPER: I would like to believe that, but I don't.
J. TAPPER: It's a great -- it's great family lore, though. A. TAPPER: I think they left for other reasons.
J. TAPPER: So looking into those other reasons with Ancestry.com, I would out I have colonial roots. Though it's not exactly what I might have hoped for.
It all starts with my seventh great-grandfather, Englebert Huff, a Norwegian navy man who jumped ship in the U.S. and ended up in Fishkill, New York. So that's where I went to find out more.
He was born sometime in the 1600s, either 1637 or 1687. In Norway, apparently he made quite an impression. He was described later in his life as having been something of a local celebrity for his scholarship and dashing horsemanship.
WILLA SKINNER, LOCAL HISTORIAN: Two hundred families.
TAPPER (voice-over): Willa Skinner here in Fishkill is the local historian, the keeper of the secrets.
(on camera): My seventh great-grandfather, Englebert Huff, was here at some point.
SKINNER: Yes.
J. TAPPER: What can you tell me about him?
SKINNER: All I know is that he farmed and he lived to be the age of 128. Years.
J. TAPPER: One hundred twenty eight?
SKINNER: One hundred and twenty-eight.
J. TAPPER: You believe -- you believe that?
SKINNER: I don't know. I don't know. There's some question about that. When he was about 120 years old, there is a story that he courted a young lady who was 21 years old. I don't know how true that is.
This is a special communion tankard.
TAPPER (voice-over): Huff made such an impression his story is inscribed in this priceless communion tankard that the church still uses.
We searched in vain for Englebert Huff's grave. But we did make another discovery.
SKINNER: The Fishkill church has this record of the family of Englebert Huff.
J. TAPPER: Willa has this record, showing Englebert's grandsons, Paul and Solomon Huff, were involved in the American Revolutionary War, where America's founders were fighting for independence from the British.
(on camera): So Paul Huff...
SKINNER: Joined the British army in 1777.
J. TAPPER: So he was -- he fought in the American Revolution, but...
SKINNER: Yes.
J. TAPPER: ... he fought on the wrong side?
SKINNER: Right.
J. TAPPER: I could not believe it. My ancestors, my colonial ancestors, were on the side of the British. Let me repeat that: the British. The wrong side. My fifth great-grandfather, Solomon Huff, and his brother, Paul, on the wrong side in the American Revolutionary War. It was like poison on my lips.
"When the American Revolutionary War broke out, Solomon continued to work his 200-acre farm without engaging in the conflict. But it became unbearable at the end of the war, resulting in Solomon following the lead of his older brother, Paul, and joining British forces." And then they went to Canada.
So no wonder there aren't that many Huffs in here. They fled to Canada.
SKINNER: They fled.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CUOMO: All right, so the question is how did J.T.'s family end up in Canada, and eventually then make it back down here to the U.S.? You will not want to miss the rest of Jake family journey when we come back.
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CUOMO: We have been following the roots of Jake Tapper. During this project, Tapper learned his family of Norse distinction wound up fighting for the British in the Revolutionary War, then fled to Canada. An auspicious beginning, but let's pick up the story right now with Jake, retracing those foot steps.
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TAPPER (voice-over): And so we chased Solomon Huff, my great-great- great-great-great-grandfather, seven generations before me, to the Bay of Quinte, where the royalists landed, a three-hour drive from Toronto.
(on camera): I can't relate to it at all. It's so antithetical to who I am. I mean, I admire Solomon staying true to who he is. To side with King George III over -- over Thomas Jefferson and James Madison is crazy to me.
And this is where Paul Huff landed?
PETER JOHNSON, LOYALIST REENACTOR: Yes, with Van Alstine's Associated Loyalists.
J. TAPPER: There was a group, an organized group?
JOHNSON: Yes.
J. TAPPER: These were people who had fought for the British during the war and then were fleeing the colonies?
JOHNSON: For the most part.
TAPPER (voice-over): This is Peter Johnson, a loyalist re-enactor and, it turns out, a distant cousin of mine. (on camera): Why are people so proud to be descendants of loyalists? JOHNSON: If you happen to favor a constitutional monarchy, you're proud to say your ancestors supported the king.
J. TAPPER: But I guess that's my question. Why would anybody, as opposed to a thriving democracy and a republic, why would anybody want to have a monarchy?
JOHNSON: Well, at the time of the revolution, it was very unclear what direction things were going to go.
TAPPER (voice-over): But we all know how things turned out with independence and all. But Canada still has a relationship with the royal family.
The Huffs were a family of faith. We met up with historian Cathy Staples at old Hay Bay Church, the first Methodist church in Canada. After fleeing the Revolutionary War, Solomon had to restart his life, and this church played a big role.
(on camera): So one of my ancestors, Solomon Huff, his brother was Paul. Paul fought for the British.
CATHY STAPLES (PH), HISTORIAN: Yes.
J. TAPPER: He came here. This was his land?
STAPLES (ph): Yes, it was. He was given 200 acres. He donated the corner of his land to build the church.
J. TAPPER: It sounds like this was really the frontier. Where there was not a lot of amenities, not like there were in the 1700s anyway.
STAPLES (ph): No.
J. TAPPER: But there were not a lot of amenities. It was a tough life for...
STAPLES (ph): Extremely.
J. TAPPER: ... for tough people. You had to be tough.
STAPLES (ph): And they had left an organized way of life in the colonies.
J. TAPPER: The winters up here must have been brutal.
STAPLES (ph): Some didn't make it through the first winter.
TAPPER (voice-over): But those tough Huffs managed to thrive here. This marker across the street remembers Solomon and Paul.
(on camera): "True to king and country." Coming from America, this isn't something to brag about in America. These guys were on the wrong side. They did not want independence.
STAPLES (ph): That's right. J. TAPPER: That's what you just said. They did not want independence.
STAPLES (ph): That's exactly it.
J. TAPPER: We have an Independence Day in America.
(voice-over): It's still all so weird to me, raised in Philadelphia, the birthplace of our nation, during the Bicentennial. How could this be my roots?
These walls, put up by my family, tell a story I never expected to find. And it turns out, neither did Mom or Dad.
(on camera): How do you feel having -- having these folks in our history?
A. TAPPER: I asked my mother about it. She pointed out that I was directly descended from somebody who was loyal to the crown. But I didn't tell anyone.
J. TAPPER: It's a little bit -- it's a little bit embarrassing. It really is.
A. TAPPER: Yes. I thought so, too.
J. TAPPER: I know this isn't your part of the tree. When you look at the Huffs, you don't think loyalists?
T. TAPPER: They were traitors to the American Revolution. And I am a supporter of the American Revolution.
J. TAPPER: For the record, Mom and I are, too. Supporters of the American Revolution. Just so we have that established.
(voice-over): Finally it was another war that helped me sort this all out in my own mind. Long before the U.S. joined the battle, the Canadians were fighting in World War II, including descendants of the Huffs. Like my mom's father in the Canadian navy and her Uncle Edwin Paul Metier (ph), who died on a bombing raid over German-occupied territory in 1943. They were on the right side.
(on camera): So, I guess, with this perspective of looking back at the Huffs through the prism of World War II, it does make some sense. I have my history and I have my peace. I can be proud of where I came from.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CAMEROTA: So glad he could sort all of that out.
ROMANS: Me, too.
CAMEROTA: Absolutely, totally vindicated his family tree in the end.
ROMANS: His dad and mom are awesome with the tie. CUOMO: Yes, his dad had a Bugs Bunny tie on. I mean, that's it, that's all you need to know about yourself and feel good about who you are and where you come from. And I love that only Jake, it doesn't matter who you are, if he wants to question what you're saying, it's going to happen. It doesn't matter if you're his crazy cousin with a colonial hat on or whatever.
CAMEROTA: Or his father, right?
ROMANS: Right.
CAMEROTA: He was willing to just put the screws to them (ph).
ROMANS: I love it.
CUOMO: And comes from interesting stock, no surprise there.
ROMANS: Fun to take that journey with him.
CUOMO: Well, listen, today is all about being with family. The best to you for a very merry Christmas. Thanks for being with us here on NEW DAY. Merry Christmas.
ROMANS: Thanks.
CAMEROTA: Thanks, you too, you too.
CUOMO: A lot of news this morning, let's get you to the "NEWSROOM" with Randi Kaye. We'll begin right after the break. Candy cane.
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