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New Day

Winter Storm Warnings; Fate of Jordanian Hostage; Worst Call of the Super Bowl?; Rating the Super Bowl Halftime Show

Aired February 02, 2015 - 08:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the northeast is getting walloped again by another powerful winter storm. Right now, 65 million people in 18 states are under a winter storm warning. Thousands of flights have been canceled already. If you're flying, call the airline. With public schools shut down in over a dozen cities from Chicago to Boston, yes, kids, that means a snow day.

Let's bring in meteorologist Chad Myers with the latest forecast.

Talk to us about this because it is going to get quite gnarly later in the day.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It truly is. And by tomorrow morning, when I'm standing right now it's 30. It will be 11. And everything that's behind me here that just is kind of a sloppy, slushy mess will be completely frozen. There's been a lot of snow in a lot of places all the way from Chicago, through Detroit, Buffalo, and across parts of the Poconos as well. Snowing now hard in Boston, hard along the I- 95, the corridor there, up into Connecticut. A very heavy snow. We're seeing the mixing here still sleeting, but LaGuardia is seeing now 29 degrees. And there you see a little bit of mixing along 95, but everything will re-freeze tonight. I think snow might be the least of our problems because I think at least you get traction. By tonight and to the places where it changed over for a little while, whether that's New York, Long Island or parts of Connecticut, all of it will re- freeze and this thing will turn into a hockey rink. It will be very difficult to drive. Today, as they call it here in the city, today's a train day. Take mass transit. Trying to get home today in a car or tonight in a car will be very difficult, Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right, Chad, thank you.

Time now for the five things you need to know for your new day.

At number one, as you just heard, that powerful winter storm hitting the Northeast hard after battering the Midwest. Schools from Chicago to Boston, thousands of flights canceled.

The New England Patriots and their fans celebrating Super Bowl XLIX over the Seattle Seahawks. Their win, a goal line interception gave the Patriots the win and kept the Seahawks from repeating as champions. President Obama telling parents to have their children vaccinated

against measles so that they don't infect those, like infants, who cannot be immunized. At least 84 cases have now been reported in 14 states, many of those are linked to an outbreak at Disneyland in California.

Japan mourning veteran war reporter Kenji Goto, who was viciously killed by ISIS. Goto's wife said she was devastated but proud of him. The fate of a second ISIS hostage, a pilot from Jordan, is still unclear.

And Whitney Houston's daughter, Bobby Christina Brown, remains in a medically induced coma. She was found Saturday face down and unresponsive in a bathtub full of water.

We do update those five things to know, so be sure to visit newdaycnn.com for the latest.

Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, Michaela.

Is that Jordanian pilot captured by ISIS alive? That is the burning question this morning after the terrorists beheaded a Japanese hostage. We will break it down for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Japanese journalist Kenji Goto has been murdered, like so many others. ISIS releasing a video this weekend flaunting their crime. Jordan attempted to negotiate with the terrorists, but that went nowhere. ISIS never even showed proof of life for their pilot, who remains with them, as does an American woman.

So let's get some perspective on what to do about this. Former Congresswoman, Jane Harmon, now the director and CEO of the Woodrow Wilson Center.

It's very good to have you, as always, even though such dark matters to discuss.

JANE HARMAN, DIRECTOR, PRESIDENT & CEO, WOODROW WILSON CENTER: You bet.

CUOMO: What do you do when a group of murders like this comes to you and says, we have one of yours. What is the right thing?

HARMAN: Well, our policy against paying ransom I think is a good policy. If we pay ransom for some guys, then they're going to kidnap more of our folks.

CUOMO: The policy's supposed to be no negotiating at all. Not just ransom.

HARMAN: Well, I don't I - I - they -- I don't agree with that. I don't think that actually is our policy. I think there are some conservations that are not reported on the airwaves that we should be having. And certainly it was clear that we made an effort in Syria to capture a couple of our guys who sadly were beheaded after that. But our policy against paying ransom is the right policy.

Trading, when it's a prisoner of war, is a different policy. And that doesn't always work out well either. The good news is - and there is some good news on this icy, snowy day in New York, and that is that ISIL is overplaying this. The reaction in Jordan, the reaction in Japan is really very strong now. And if we are building a more unified front with all of these countries vigorously fighting this menace, I think they lose and we win.

CUOMO: You look at the Bowe Bergdahl situation. Yes, there's a lot of controversy surrounding him. Still is. Government awkwardly quiet on his situation and the status of the investigation. You make a trade, five guys for one. And the big concern was, these are bad guys, they're going to be bad once again and now it looks like it's heading that way. What's the story there?

HARMAN: I don't know the full story, but I know what the public record shows, and I don't think that trade was fully vetted. I think that that's unfortunate. I think there were people in our government, the U.S. government, who should have been consulted about the five guys who were not consulted.

CUOMO: And weren't, why?

HARMAN: I don't know why. That's what I said, I don't know the back story here. But I think there was more to know about Bergdahl and there was more to know about the five guys. I don't think trading is bad for prisoners of war, but I think there was an issue about him and an issue about them. And if they go back to the fight, and these are serious, vicious leaders, I think that's a big problem for us.

CUOMO: All right, let's check a couple more boxes because I have you here, I want to make the most of the opportunity.

Ash Carter. You know him.

HARMAN: I know him well.

CUOMO: He has a very rich pedigree out of the Pentagon and in the area (ph). He's going to be the secretary of defense if everything goes right. Secretary Hagel says he didn't like what was happening with the White House, how he was getting second-guessed on situations. What can you say about Ash Carter going into this that will portend a better outcome?

HARMAN: Yes. Well, the president's the commander in chief. He has a right to direct his government. So let's start with that. The Hagel story's different from the Carter story. Hagel came out of the Senate and, as a Republican, supported the Democrat for president, and that caused a lot of his colleagues to be pretty annoyed.

CUOMO: Right. HARMAN: Ash Carter's story is very different. A physicist from Harvard. A brilliant man with deep experience in the Pentagon building as deputy secretary of defense and the head of the acquisitions program before that. I think he's his own man and he's made that very clear. I serve on the defense policy board, have to, you know, full disclosure here. And my sense is that he will carry out the directives, he must, of the commander in chief, but that he will give advice. And, by the way, good news, this new budget coming out I guess today or tomorrow blows through sequestration both for defense spending and domestic spending. A really good call by President Obama.

CUOMO: So he'll have what he needs to keep his own head, which is what you want from the secretary in that position.

HARMAN: That's right.

CUOMO: All right, one last thing. Romney's out. How do you think it's shaping up for your team?

HARMAN: I think that both sides in this race are going to have governors in them. If Hillary Clinton is on my team, she'll have a governor as a vice-presidential nominee. And I don't know who's on the other team, but there are some -- a lot of good governors who are very well qualified to be president of the United States. One's name is Bush, and there certainly are others. They were all in Washington this weekend for the Alfalfa Dinner. Great fun.

But on the Democratic side, several good governors. Two of them used to be governors of Virginia and they are both senators now and there's a good governor in Colorado, his name is Hickenlooper. And these are purple states. And these are the kinds of states that the Democrats will need support from to win.

CUOMO: One name alone, Hickenlooper, tough to beat. Tough to beat.

Jane Harman, thank you so much for being with us.

HARMAN: Thank you, Chris.

CUOMO: Always appreciate the perspective.

Mick.

PEREIRA: All right, we're going to talk Super Bowl XLIX after a break. Did one bad call lead to defeat for the Seahawks? Highs, the lows for Super Bowl XLIX, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: It is the play seen around the world, clinching the Super Bowl for the New England Patriots, this remarkable goal line pick by rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler, robbing the Seahawks of a touchdown and a second straight Super Bowl title.

Let's bring in the pros, "EARLY START" anchor and die-hard Patriots fan, John S. Berman; sports correspondent Andy Scholes, who is live in Glendale, Arizona, right outside University of Phoenix Stadium; and there she is, our beauty CNN contributor and "Entertainment Tonight" host, Nischelle Turner. Normally I'd start with the lady, but I got to talk to my man, Andy, about what it felt like in the stadium and if you can recall the moment when that call was made and we saw the end result. Because I understand it was packed with Seahawks fans in the stadium.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Oh, absolutely, Michaela. I'd say it was 70-30 Seahawks fans and they were pretty much celebrating like they had already won the game. Because why wouldn't they? They were on the 1-yard line with three chances to punch it in. Everyone thought this game was over. Seahawks fans were celebrating on one side; the Patriots fans that were in attendance were pretty much wiping away their tears, thinking they had lost their third straight Super Bowl. But then of course the play we're all talking about, Malcolm Butler comes up with an amazing question. And why the Seahawks decided not to run the ball, that's the million dollar question this morning.

CAMEROTA: John Berman, how much are you lording this over Chris Cuomo this morning?

BERMAN: The whole thing is still unbelievable to me. Because on the play before, two plays before, when Jermaine Kearse caught the ball in the best catch I've ever seen in a Super Bowl, I was certain that the Patriots were going to lose because they would hand the ball off to Marshawn Lynch several times in a row, and it would just end. Because that's what you do when you have the best running back on earth. I was shocked when that they didn't do it. But the Seahawks, they have done gutsy different plays all playoffs.

CUOMO: That's how they scored at the end of the half.

BERMAN: That's how they scored at the end of the half. They did the onside kick last -- two weeks ago, they did the fake field goal two weeks ago. I mean, they do sort of crazy weird stuff.

CUOMO: Let me ask you this -- I'm letting you gloat. You should; you enjoy this. I don't like the way the team got beat up with the Deflategate thing, as you know, and they played to win last night and the Seahawks did not. However, we're talking about the kid that made the catch. Pretend you're him. You're Butler. 21, ladies, that's me! There's your boy. So he made the catch. But the call from your coach, the man you always tell me is the smartest coach in the history of the game, everybody thought they were going to hand off. Not him.

BERMAN: He had the package in there. Well, no, that's not totally true. They had the run-stop package in there, Patriots did.

CUOMO: Three corners.

BERMAN: Well, but they also had the -- the Seahawks had three receivers in. So they didn't have the right package. But what Malcolm Butler said is that Bill Belichick had coached us on this formation for two weeks. So Malcolm Butler said I recognized this because Bill Belichick told me that this is what it was going to look like. And because they coached me up on this, I knew what to do. I knew how to jump the route when it came to this moment.

PEREIRA: Jump the route they did. I've never heard that statement before. Let's talk about other stuff that is obviously big in the aftermath of Super Bowl.

Nischelle, overall, how did you think the show was? The halftime and commercials. Because I know you were watching it all because you're a football fan.

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, absolutely. First of all, I don't want to rain on John Berman's parade. But can we just talk about that call for one quick second? Emmett Smith (ph) tweeted this morning that was the worst call he had ever seen in the history of football. And I have to concur. I don't think that was a gutsy call; that was just a bonehead call by Pete Carroll. He's never going to forget that.

But I have to say, guys, after the halftime show, I was still singing "Get your freak" on with Missy Elliott. I didn't even really pay attention to the second half of the game because I was so hyped with Missy doing her thing with Katy Perry.

PEREIRA: Oh, is that what the problem was?

TURNER: Exactly. But I thought it was good. The commercials were a little bit disappointing. I kind of felt like we were trying to give dads a lesson how to be a parent throughout the whole football game.

CUOMO: It's pretty poignant though.

TURNER: So I'm kind of disappointed with the commercials. The puppies and the dogs got me and the "Like a girl" commercial, they were my favorite.

PEREIRA: It was fantastic. It is fantastic.

CUOMO: The "Like a girl" was strong also.

CAMERTOA: Yes, he was choking up.

CUOMO: The Dove commercial, with the dads catching their kids got me.

BERMAN: I got to say, there's a shroud of anxiety over my eyes at commercial and halftime. I saw nothing. I was looking at the screen the whole time; I saw nothing.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: Were all three of you in your Brady jerseys?

BERMAN: Yes, of course.

CUOMO: You and the boys?

BERMAN: Oh yes. Me and the boys ,and they're jumping up and down screaming. It was a wonderful thing. CAMEROTA: Nischelle, what's the feedback on Katy Perry? Did people

like the halftime show?

TURNER: Yes, I saw a lot of is she riding on the "More You Know" shooting star at the end doing "Firework"? That's what people were saying, but I think people liked it. I think I was hearing that they wanted more Lenny Kravitz. People were really excited about Missy. I think there's a little bit of general consensus that Missy Elliott kind of outshone Katy Perry. She let her do three songs, though, and I think she gave her a great assist. I thought it was a really good halftime show. But I'm telling you, I put it up against Prince and Beyonce and I don't think anyone's given a better halftime shows than them. So if I have to rate it --

PEREIRA: Yes, what's your rating?

TURNER: It was just, eh, middle of the road for me. But I loved Missy, and I'm a Katy Perry fan.

PEREIRA: I'm a Lenny Kravitz fan. Nischelle Turner, thanks so much for joining us. Andy Scholes, John Berman, you can gloat a another day or two more. That's about it though.

CUOMO: Look at that smile.

TURNER: Congratulations, Berman!

BERMAN: Thank you.

CUOMO: It's like he played the game.

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: I did, are you kidding me? I'm still sore.

CUOMO: Didn't even know I was putting on red and blue in the morning because it was dark. When I did I was like, oh, I hate myself even more. All right, JB, congratulations to you.

So we're trying to cover what's going on with this storm. It's not easy. It's not easy. How about this? We got a story for you -- missing dog and one heroic firefighter. A little bit of Good Stuff for you. That dog is called a whippet, by the way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: All right, quick little Good Stuff here. Fire department, we all know they go above and beyond, this time for a whippet. That's a dog, looks like a mini greyhound. New York City firefighter David Kelly recently trapped a stray dog to keep it safe from that big blizzard we had. So he discovered the dog was no stray; it was Bert, a puppy who had been missing for more than five months. The desperate owner created a Facebook page. Kelly went out there, found it, took a few clicks, reunited the owner with the dog five months later. Take a little listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID KELLY, FIREFIGHTER: She said she was very thankful; she wanted to reward me. I said, no, that's not what I'm all about. She was very happy to see her dog.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: What a hero.

CUOMO: Isn't that nice?

CAMEROTA: He's so low-key, of course.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: True heroes.

That's it for us. A lot of news this morning. Let's get you to the "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello. Carol? Throwing you the ball. Number 21, ladies, that's me!

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR, "NEWSROOM": I decided to run it. Have a great day. "NEWSROOM" starts now.

(MUSIC)