Return to Transcripts main page
New Day
Cavs Beat Warriors in OT to Even NBA Finals; South Korea Confirms Sixth MERS Death; Bush Makes Surprise New Hampshire Stop; Massive Manhunt for Two Escaped Killers. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired June 08, 2015 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:32:38] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: It's our developing story this morning. Police in upstate New York searching for two convicted killers missing more than two days. Richard Matt and David Sweat staged a daring getaway, cutting through a steel wall and sledging through tunnels and pipes before escaping through a manhole cover. $100,000 reward being offered for information leading to their capture.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: That massive hack of U.S. database exposing millions of government employees may affect private citizens, too. This comes from an ABC News report citing unnamed sources. Now, if true, the report says personal information belonging to the people who the federal workers know. Their friends, family, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, e-mail could be included on the security clearance forms that may have been compromised.
MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: South Korean officials are working to contain a deadly outbreak of MERS. The confirming its death from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.
Right now, there are 87 confirmed cases of MERS in South Korea, the largest outbreak outside the Middle East. More than 2,500 people remain in quarantine after being exposed to the virus. Officials closed nearly 2,000 schools as a precaution.
CAMEROTA: All right. Listen up, everyone. I'm about to do a sports story. Michaela loves it.
CUOMO: Hold on. Let's sell it. Sell it.
CAMEROTA: Cleveland strong.
CUOMO: Nice.
CAMEROTA: The undermanned Cavaliers led by the King himself, LeBron James, beating the Golden State Warriors, 95-93 in overtime, to even the NBA finals at a game a piece. LeBron had a triple double, whatever that means.
PEREIRA: It's not a burger.
CAMEROTA: I don't know what that means. (CROSSTALK)
CAMEROTA: Triple double: 39 points, 16 rebounds, whatever those are and 11 assists.
PEREIRA: That makes sense, the assists.
CAMEROTA: This is the first time the first two games of an NBA final se series went into overtime.
PEREIRA: You know so much.
CAMEROTA: I really do.
Game three in Cleveland is on Tuesday, as I can tell you.
PEREIRA: Thank you so much for filling me in. This is so good.
CAMEROTA: What did any of that mean?
(LAUGHTER)
CUOMO: What a game it was. The warriors should have won the game. Their star, Curry, had the first lapse under the spotlight. It will be interesting to see how he responds. Well done.
PEREIRA: That, after Belmont on Saturday night with Triple Crown. I mean, come on.
CUOMO: Triple Crown. Pharoah spells, however they --
(CROSSTALK)
CAMEROTA: Great.
CUOMO: So, now, from the up to the not so up. Severe weather is definitely heading to the East Coast.
Meteorologist Chad Myers is taking a look for us.
[06:35:01] Chad, what do you see, my brother?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I see storms in places that have people. I talk about storms in Texas and Oklahoma all the time where there are hundreds of thousands of square acres. But here, when we run storms into populated places like Cleveland, Columbus, Chicago, Memphis, all the way up to the Northeast, that's when we begin to worry, because even smaller storms can do more damage because there are millions in the way, not hundreds in the way. So, we will focus on this today.
By noon, storms fired from Pittsburgh back to Columbus and Cincinnati. By later on this afternoon, making a run for New York City. Probably overnight in New York. Very big storms from Charleston to West Virginia and Arkansas. Part of a storm system that will bring the potential for a few tornadoes. We'll have to watch that for you. So, keep your NOAA radio on or get that app on your phone, because it's easy to get and it could save your life.
Guys, back to you.
PEREIRA: Excellent advice. We hope people take heed.
All right. Chad, thanks so much.
The ISIS fight front and center today as President Obama and Iraq's prime minister sit down in Germany. What new tactics can the U.S. and Iraq try to take down the terrorist group once and for all?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:40:30] PEREIRA: Good to have you back on this Monday on NEW DAY.
President Obama meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, rather, at the G7 summit in Germany. Only one item on the agenda: stopping ISIS -- a formidable challenge with the terrorists now developing a new stronghold thousands of miles from Iraq.
We want to discuss it all with Bobby Ghosh, our CNN global affairs analyst and the managing editor of "Quartz".
Good to see you. You've returned from some overseas trips.
I want to talk to you about what Abadi is saying. He is essentially saying -- the prime minister of Iraq is saying that ISIS is getting stronger, better equipped. They're more organized, more lethal. The U.S. air campaign is not enough.
Is he right? And is he going to be able to convince President Obama of such?
BOBBY GHOSH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, I think it's clear from everything we have learned from ISIS the past six months, he is right. The question that President Obama has got to ask him is, what are you doing about it?
The U.S. has -- not just the U.S. alone, but a large coalition of countries, has been providing air cover, has been providing quite a lot of material on the ground. You know, more and more advanced weapons.
What are the Iraqi military forces doing about it?
PEREIRA: But the problem is, he is turning the question around on President Obama as though this were his problem to fix.
Is -- have they become too reliant on the Western coalition and the U.S.?
GHOSH: I think that's probably true. They are getting a little pushback from their own soldiers who don't want to go out and have this fight. We have this situation a couple weeks ago, Ash Carter said, a little
controversially, that the Iraqis were not standing and fighting. It has become easy to pass the buck a little bit, to blame the U.S. as they often do. The Iraqi government said the U.S. is not doing enough.
Then, to use that as a sort of plausible deniability saying, you know, if they had more U.S. support, our soldiers would be able to do better. But they have not been able to demonstrate.
With one of two exceptions, they did Tikrit back.
PEREIRA: Yes, they did.
GHOSH: That is something. They have some elite units that are up for the fight. The vast majority of the Iraqi army still has not demonstrated the ability and willingness to fight against ISIS. President Obama has to put President Abadi's feet to the fire.
PEREIRA: One of the things about this ISIS is they are adaptable. We have been hearing reports -- the Australian foreign minister believes that ISIS is recruiting scientists, highly skilled, highly knowledgeable scientists to learn how to make chemical weapons. She also said they've used chlorine attacks on ISIS or in some of those areas.
Do you think, first of all, do you think it's likely? Do you think they have the capability, because of this threat, are the forces that we have, is the U.S. coalition ready to combat this kind of threat?
GHOSH: Well, for ISIS to want chemical weapons makes perfect sense. It's the continuum of atrocities, you know?
PEREIRA: And it's a great threat to wield.
GHOSH: It is a great threat to wield.
They have a lot of senior officers from Saddam Hussein's old army. These are people who've used, who've deployed chemical weapons in their own past.
I don't know what intelligence the Australian minister has, perhaps he has some concrete intelligence in which he is working on. But just using common sense, if they are looking for chemical weapons, they are looking to grab some from Assad. The Syrian army has chemical weapons and uses it very, very frequently, particularly chlorine.
So, if ISIS controls large part of Syria, they would be trying to get their hands, if that's what they wanted, trying to get their hands on Syria's chemical weapons. Is the U.S. ready for it? Well, as long as U.S is conducting only an air operation, there is a certain degree of protection. The question is are the Iraqis ready?
If we can show that ISIS has chemical weapons, then the Iraqi military is going to need a different set of tools. First of all, protective gear and -- PEREIRA: Right, right.
GHOSH: -- things for their own soldiers.
But also a superior kind of intelligence to spot where the chemical weapons are and take them out before they are deployed.
PEREIRA: And while you're here, I want to talk with the fact that we've see this huge up tick in the number of boats of migrants fleeing the unrest, and the strikes and the fighting, arriving on the shores of Asia and Europe. We also know that ISIS has been known in some refugee camps to sort of melt in with the refugees.
[06:45:00] Is that not a concern with the migrants trying to flee from the fighting that ISIS could be among their ranks?
GHOSH: Yes, they could. I just arrived from a trip from South Africa and I met some from the northern Africa, from the Mediterranean coast.
Now, in Europe, the conversation is how so many North Africans are crossing over into European refugee camps.
PEREIRA: Yes.
GHOSH: In North, there's conversation about all these people coming from Syria and Iraq, the refugees coming from those parts of country into North Africa and the fear some of those people may be joining up with al Qaeda in Libya or in Morocco or in Egypt. That's a different kind of fear.
If they are fighting the battle, if they are seriously concerned about it, I think we should all be as well.
PEREIRA: Well, the humanitarian crisis, but, of course, it's also the threat of ISIS that is very concerning. We will be watching.
Bobby Ghosh, good to have you back with us. Always a pleasure to have you here.
Alisyn?
CAMEROTA: OK, Michaela, let's talk politics.
A week from declaring his White House bid, Jeb Bush making a surprise stop in New Hampshire where he gave his opponents some advice. We'll tell you what he said.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[06:50:04] JEB BUSH (R), FORMER FLORIDA GOVRNOR: I'll make my announcement. In all likelihood, I'll be in New Hampshire that night. It's a great place to campaign for someone like me.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: That's presidential hopeful, Jeb Bush, making a surprise visit to New Hampshire on Sunday. And it's a surprise because he skipped the all big and important roast and ride in Iowa over the weekend. The former Florida governor heads to Europe next, that is a week before he's expected to formally launch his presidential campaign.
All right. So, what does this mean, because there were some moments made in Iowa. So, let's discuss it all with CNN political analyst Maggie Haberman.
You hear roast and ride, you're like, so what? It's not a so what, especially in Iowa. And it wound up being important for one candidate.
MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: That one candidate would be Scott Walker of Wisconsin who road in on a Harley. He has his Harley gloves. He had his Harley wallet.
I mean, he made the most of this moment. He is every man. He is from the Midwest. This was relatable. This was identifiable.
This is not something I think we could see Jeb Bush doing. To be fair to him, it wouldn't be natural. But it was an amazing contrast for all the candidates who went, particularly Walker trying to strike with Jeb Bush.
CAMEROTA: So, is it a big deal that Jeb Bush skipped Iowa?
HABERMAN: I think it increases the perception he's not going to play aggressively. I mean, his folks have not committed to exactly what he will do. I think he's going to do probably what Mitt Romney did, which see if there's an opening, hang back. And if there is, get in.
But at the moment, his numbers are in fifth place. And he is not moving.
CAMEROTA: Because he made it sound, yesterday, as though New Hampshire was more important. He had advice for his opponents about that.
So, listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: I've got a passion for service. I get to tell my story. People can challenge it.
This is the way to campaign, get outside your comfort zone. I don't think we should be campaigning in little protective bubbles. In New Hampshire, you can't do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HABERMAN: Going on a Harley to Joni Ernst's roast and ride probably would have been outside his comfort zone, too. But this is -- look, New Hampshire, first of all, he was up in Maine
because of his mother's 90th birthday. So, I think it was wise for him to make this stop. I think the image had just been he was at his family's compound before he went to Europe, that would not be great.
This is important for him. He is very good on the stump when he is one-on-one with people. He can get a little testy, he can get a little irritable, but he is trying.
CUOMO: His point, though, about the protective bubble is an obviously thinly veiled shot at Hillary, right? But it is touching on something he and all of them are guilty is a complete disconnect from regular people. They are talking to each other and fighting for a small slice of their party.
As we saw with Walker, Harley aside, decided to be when he was in Iowa about gay marriage. He wound up making a point that, hey, if the court finds, the Supreme Court finds the definition of marriage is not just a man and woman, think about a constitutional amendment.
Is that a sustainable strategy for winning a general election?
HABERMAN: It's going to be difficult in terms of the general election, especially when you see where the polls are moving on gay marriage. One thing I will say about Scott Walker, look, he is protective of his political brand.
But when he was in his political fight, he aired an ad that went on abortion. He moved right back off that once he got elected. I think he is actually a pretty adept needle threader. That doesn't necessarily play well. It will open him up to flip-flopping.
CUOMO: Alisyn, show them the poll.
CAMEROTA: Let's look at -- let's do that. Let's look at the latest CNN/ORC poll. This is about same-sex marriage. Now, 90 -- sorry, 63 percent say same-sex couples have the constitutional right to marry. What's interesting is in the past four to five years, that has gone up, that support by 14 percent.
Is it okay for Scott Walker and others to play against public opinion polls?
HABERMAN: It's a risk. He can't get to the general election unless he wins the nomination. He is not going to win the nomination I think by saying something different than he said on this. You are talking a slim section of the electorate on the Republican side that is going to determine this.
CUOMO: Governor Pataki, former New York's state governor, obviously, he came on here. I think he's given the best answer from that side of the field that I have heard so far.
He said, you don't break the law. You work within the law. If the Supreme Court says equal protection extends in marriage to the LGBT community, if they say it's a protected class, which not many expect, then that's the law. All you have as recourse is the constitutional amendment.
But it seems on that side of the fence, it is a culture war.
HABERMAN: That's absolutely true. And one of -- to you point, what Governor Pataki was saying is what many Republicans would say about this issue, right? Well, it's the law of the land. I'm not going to take it on. It takes the issue off the table.
What Scott Walker is doing is different. I don't know if it can hold. Whether they agree with the issue or not, they have never seen such a fast moving issue in their lifetime and opinion change so quickly.
CAMEROTA: So, in that case, why not play to the base for the primary, and then he can evolve his position he wants for the general? Because, by the way, that's what Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have done on the issue.
[06:55:00] We are used to politicians, sadly, doing something for political expediency, and it seems as though you expect it on some levels.
HABERMAN: And this is an issue people are not going to get hit on flip-flopping because they are following the trend. So, I don't think you will see Scott Walker do that, but if you see him as the nominee, or march close to the nomination, you are not going to hear him repeat that again.
CUOMO: Yes, I think overall concern is it shows disconnect with people. There's no question you have an emerging part of the Christian community in this country that's saying, this is a defining issue. It feels like the old abortion fights you had 10, 15 years ago.
But it shows a disconnect from where people are. It goes beyond the poll. And sometimes you can get caught on that. If you move too much on the wrong issue, people won't do it.
CAMEROTA: Sure, but you have to play to the base. That's why your base would vote for you. I mean --
CUOMO: Or you have to lead and tell the base why you are doing something different than they think they like at the time.
CAMEROTA: Could that ever work?
HABERMAN: I think for Scott Walker, the best thing he got going is authenticity. It's really one of his calling cards. So, I think for him to suddenly change on this issue now anyway would be problematic. You know, again, the Harley, the jacket, the gloves, this was very believable because he's very into this.
So, I think watching him switch from something that is a core belief would be a problem. But again, people did see him do not quite that, but a bit of movement on the abortion issue last year.
CAMEROTA: Here he is. Wow, he does look rad. HABERMAN: I mean, it's not --
(LAUGHTER)
HABERMAN: It's not subtle.
CAMEROTA: Very macho there behind that helmet shield.
Maggie Haberman, thank you.
HABERMAN: Thank you.
CUOMO: That was good.
We are following a lot of news this morning and a lot of it is rad. So, let's get to it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CUOMO: We have a serious manhunt underway for two dangerous inmates.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are leaving no stone unturned. They could be literally anywhere.
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: This is the first escape from the maximum security portion, ever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bat was flying into the seats.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They had brought a stretcher over in that direction.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The woman seriously injured by a broken bat at Fenway Park is in serious condition.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to speak up. I can say this. I was one of the victims.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want to come out and set the record straight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota and Michaela Pereira.
CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome back to your NEW DAY.
They are murderers. They are dangerous and they could be almost anywhere this morning. Police in up state New York searching for two men who took a page out of Hollywood in this daring prison break over the weekend. Richard Matt and David Sweat cut through a steel wall and navigated through tunnels and pipes escaping to freedom.
CUOMO: There's a $100,000 reward now being offered now. You have power tools timing deep knowledge of this labyrinth of tunnels underneath the maximum security prison. And they just vanished once they got to the outside. Investigators say all that taken together reeks of help inside and/or outside the prison walls.
CNN's Polo Sandoval begins our coverage from the site of the prison in New York -- Polo.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Chris and Alisyn, good morning to you.
I can tell you that there is a heavy police presence still really in and around the prison itself. In fact, we had to go through several checkpoints just to get to this particular location. Vehicles coming in and out of the neighborhood, surrounding the prison complex, getting checked out. I can tell you this morning, he priorities for law enforcement are two-fold -- track down the killers before they can hurt anybody and try to figure out how they were able to orchestrate such an elaborate escape plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJOR CHARLES GUESS, NEW YORK STATE POLICE, TROOP B COMMANDER: We are leaving no stone unturned. They could be literally anywhere.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): Two convicted murders escaping for the first time in this 170 year history.
GOV. CUOMO: These are dangerous people.
SANDOVAL: The massive manhunt is on for 35-year-old David Sweat who was sentenced to life with no parole for a 2002 killing of a sheriff's deputy, and 49-year-old Richard Matt who was spending 25 to life for beating a man to death and dismembering him in 1997.
GOV. CUOMO: When you look at how it was done -- it was extraordinary.
SANDOVAL: New York's Governor Andrew Cuomo taking a tour of their elaborate and almost unbelievable escape route discovered around t 5:30 Saturday morning.
GOV. CUOMO: Must've of kept you awake with all that cutting huh?
SANDOVAL: After stuffing, makeshift dumbies into their beds, so the guards thought they were sleeping, the inmates somehow obtained power tools to cut this hole in the back of their cell. Cutting through solid steel, they exited from a cat walk. From there, they had to shimmy down to a tunnel below.
Once there, they had to breakthrough a 24-inch break wall, then cut through a 24-inch steel vertical pipe, which they shimmied into, continuing for a significant distance before cutting another hole, making their way into the city sewer.
Then, when they reached a manhole, they had to cut through a steel rock and chain, finally disappearing into a neighborhood a block away from the prison.
But not before leaving this racially offensive drawing for prison officials on a post-it, reading, "have a nice day." LISA VAN SUSTEREN, FORENSIC PSYCHIATRIST: It's clear that they had
help. There's no way. Power tools don't just materialize inside prison cells. This has been being planned for a very long time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)