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Turkey Refuses to Apologize to Russia; Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade; Maggie Doyne Named CNN Hero of the Year. Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired November 26, 2015 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:32:32] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We do have some breaking news just into CNN. Turkey's president refusing to apologize for shooting down that Russian warplane. In an exclusive interview with CNN, he insists Russia violated his country's airspace and should be the ones to apologize. Will this derail talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin, who meets today with the French president, Francois Hollande, in order to talk about the fight against ISIS.
We have luckily with us this morning Aaron David Miller. He joins us. He's the vice president for New Initiatives and a distinguished scholar for the Woodrow Wilson International Center.
Aaron, great to see you, as always. Happy Thanksgiving.
AARON DAVID MILLER, V.P. FOR NEW INITIATIVES, WOODROW WILSON INTL. CENTER: Same to you, Alisyn. And to Michaela, too.
CAMEROTA: OK, great.
So let's talk about Turkey's stance. So Turkey is digging in. They are certain, they say they have evidence that Russia violated their airspace and shooting down the plane was justified. What do you think?
MILLER: I mean, you've got two authoritarian leaders who are adept at maintaining themselves in power with enormous egos, larger than life figures, at least in their own conception and their own mind. So the fact is, the more this ratchets up publicly - and that's exactly what's happened, stab in the back, refuse to apologize, the more stress it's going to put on an effort - a determined effort by France and the United States to test a proposition that - what happened in Paris really was a quote/unquote proverbial game changer and can be used to convert a coalition effectively, not just against ISIS, but against a political solution to ease Bashar al Assad out of power. And the fact is, it's already this notion of a grand coalition, grand design, so already showing signs of serious strain.
CAMEROTA: Even if Russia violated Turkey's airspace, and there's reason to believe that they did so, some of the evidence suggests it was for 17 seconds. Even if it was a provocation, and some of the evidence suggests that it was. We've had military experts on who say that Turkey didn't need to escalate. In fact, they should have de- escalated for the sake of NATO stability. MILLER: I mean, I think for the sake of NATO stability, for the sake
of a rational policy toward an humanitarian and strategic disaster in Syria. But this is the whole problem. You know, all politics, Tip O'Neill said, Alisyn, is local. And the fact is, Erdogan, President Erdogan, has his objectives and motives. He's tired of a pattern of Russian violation of Syrian airspace - excuse me, Turkish airspace. He's tired of the fact that Putin is committed to supporting Assad. He's tired of the fact that the Russians have been bombing Turkmen, those are Syrians of Turkish extraction, and basically he's determined - he's under criticism at home for allowing the Syrian Turks to be hammered by the Russians and by Assad. So he decided, rather than make a difference in the fight against ISIS and Assad, he decided to make a point.
[08:35:22] Is it wise? No, it's not wise. But it reflects the different - fundamentally different objectives and agendas that exist in this punitive grand coalition. And that's not just, by the way, between Turkey and Russia. It's true with respect to U.S., Russian and French Russian objectives in Syria as well.
CAMEROTA: So does this change the equation for the meeting today with President Hollande and Putin?
MILLER: I mean I think the meet willing probably come out OK, but I think you're really talking about galactic reduction in expectations here. The notion that somehow the French president - and, remember, you have two presidents meeting - meetings whose countries, over the last several weeks, have been attacked by either ISIS directly or by ISIS affiliates. So you'd think, frankly, that there would be a coincidence of interest to energize both of them to cooperate.
CAMEROTA: Right.
MILLER: The problem is - the problem is that Putin has different objectives than France and the U.S. in Syria. He wants to use the Russian intervention to try to ease sanctions relief. Ukraine - distract attention from Ukraine. He wants to use it to strengthen the Russian hand in any final settlement and give him leverage over Assad or the next Syrian military leader so that Russian interests will be protected. And Hollande has a commitment to destroy ISIS and to demonstrate to the French public that he's capable of - of retaliating and preempting additional attack. So I think they'll try to put the best face on it, but I don't think you're going to see any coincidence of interest on what to do about Assad, how to ease him out or, frankly, how to ramp up Russian pressure against the Islamic State and Syria itself.
CAMEROTA: So you don't think that after today, after this meeting, that there will be some announcement that, yes, we will increase air strikes on ISIS targets?
MILLER: I mean, there may be. Look what happened after the Hollande/Obama meeting. French president spoke in great detail, you would think, about how they're going to ramp up military operations. Neither side is willing - French or the Americans, are willing to deploy ground forces. And neither side, right now, are willing to use military pressure against Bashar Assad.
As I mentioned, I think you will see a brave front put on today's meeting, but I - I wouldn't predict any dramatic turns and twists in Russian policy, despite Hollande's determination to try to bring Putin into this - into the coalition he's trying to build.
CAMEROTA: OK. Aaron David Miller, always great to get your expertise, particularly on this holiday. Thanks so much for spending part of it with us.
MILLER: And thank you, Alisyn. Have a happy - a happy Thanksgiving.
CAMEROTA: You, too.
Let's get over to Michaela.
MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: He said it, it's Thanksgiving. That means we're just minutes away from the start of the 89th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The people are lining the route, the balloons are hot, the weather is not, but a beautiful day in New York City. We're going to take you live to all the excitement, next.
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[08:42:32] CAMEROTA: The giant balloons are ready and so are millions of people lining the route of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The curtain about to rise on the 89th edition of this great holiday tradition. CNN's Miguel Marquez is at the start of the parade route with all of the color.
Miguel.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is a lot of color. Happy Thanksgiving to you, Alisyn.
This is the very start. You can see the Macy's balloons down there. You can see Scrat, a brand-new big balloon, chasing that acorn, that acorn of perfection. You want to turn all the way around here, down Central Park West, and show you some of the police presence here. Much the same as many other years and 2,500 police officers, 500 specialized police officers with a counterterror unit here as well. There will be seen and unseen forces by the police force here in order to protect the 3.5 million people who will be at this parade. They'll have bomb sniffer dogs, we've already seen some of those out here, and even radiation detectors in case of a dirty bomb. But it's all about the crowds, those 3.5 million people lining this parade.
Are you guys ready for a parade?
CROWD: Yes.
MARQUEZ: This is the turkey family. It's becoming a tradition.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes.
MARQUEZ: Getting out here early, wearing a turkey suit and having a strong bladder, the way to get on TV.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 3:45 in the morning, bright and early.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were right here.
MARQUEZ: 3:45. People from the U.K., from Ohio, from Florida, from Arizona, from across the country. Even right here, I want to show you, this is a mom from Mumford, Tennessee, whose child is marching in the band with -
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
MARQUEZ: Are you excited?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very excited. Happy to be here.
MARQUEZ: Are you worried about security?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not at all.
MARQUEZ: Nobody is. They are very excited for this parade to get going. A great, perfect, perfect day for a parade.
Michaela.
PEREIRA: That is so wonderful. Alisyn, they stole our costume idea. We were going to do like a -
CAMEROTA: (INAUDIBLE).
PEREIRA: A turkey outfit. Chris - we had to get his altered a little bit, but.
All right, Miguel, thank you so much for that.
Time now for the five things.
At number one, more unrest in Chicago. People marching over that video of a white officer shooting a black teenager 16 times. Four more dash cam videos of the fatal incident have been released.
Pope Francis is in Kenya to begin a historic six-day trip in Africa. He celebrated a public mass at the University of Nairobi, urging people to help fight poverty and inequality.
Turkey's president not apologizing for shooting down a Russian jet, telling CNN's Becky Anderson in an exclusive interview that Russia should apologize for violating Turkey's air space.
[08:45:08] French President Francois Hollande meeting with Vladimir Putin this morning. He'll trying to find common ground on a political solution in Syria while attempting to convince the Russian leader to focus his airstrikes on ISIS.
And French President Hollande also calling for his people to display the nation's flag on their homes tomorrow to mark a day of mourning two weeks after the Paris terror attacks.
For more on five things to know, be sure to visit CNN.com for the latest.
Quick note, if you'd like to help the victims of the Paris terror attack, you can go to CNN.com/impact.
Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: OK. Well you all voted and we listened, and now we're giving thanks to this year's CNN hero of the year. We will talk with her about her unbelievably inspiring work. That's next.
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ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Ladies and Gentleman, the 2015 CNN Hero of the Year is Maggie Doyne.
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CAMEROTA: Every year CNN honors everyday people making extraordinary contributions around the world. One of them becomes our hero of the year. This year, you, the viewers, chose a young woman who, as a teenager, used the money that she saved babysitting and turned it into a way to transform the lives of children in Nepal.
[08:50:04] In a star-studded event in New York City, Maggie Doyne was awarded CNN's Hero of the Year and Maggie Doyne joins us now. Maggie, great to see you.
MAGGIE DOYNE, FOUNDER, BLINKNOW FOUNDATION: Hi.
CAMEROTA: What was that moment like when your name was announced?
DOYNE: When Anderson Cooper said my name, I think every girl in America wants him to say their name. I was so happy. Just - It was surreal.
CAMEROTA: I bet it was. Let's talk about your life and your history for those who aren't familiar with it. You went backpacking in Nepal as a teenager when you were 18, and you saw things that so troubled you that you changed your life as a result. What did you see?
DOYNE: Well, there was this one dry riverbed in Nepal and I had to cross it every single day, and there were dozens of children breaking rocks and that was their reality morning till night for a dollar a day. They were selling them. And I thought to myself, I can't go back seeing what I saw, and I wanted to change it. CAMEROTA: You were a teenager from New Jersey. So how did you decide
that you were going to put that -- those feelings, which are natural, but into action? What did you do next?
DOYNE: Well I think being a teenager from the suburbs of New Jersey really helped me because I could see just how different the realities were. And I thought, I can give these children the childhood that I had and I want to give them that gift and make it more equal.
CAMEROTA: You called home and you asked your parents to send your babysitting money. How did you go from getting that babysitting money into being the adoptive mother of 50 kids?
DOYNE: It was slow and it took time and it started with one child and then there were five and then there were ten and I kept putting these caps on the numbers, kept going up and up and up. I don't know. It's -- I wouldn't have believed you if you told me that this would have been my life. But I'm so happy. It's different.
CAMEROTA: It sure is. Most teenagers don't go and transform their life like that and take on the responsibility of being an adoptive mom and starting a school and starting to help educate. So now, when you see what's going on in the world with refugees and you see what's going on with the terror that we've seen, how can you maintain a positive outlook amid that?
DOYNE: I think it all comes down to children and if children aren't being raised with love and having their most basic needs met, we see these cycles of poverty and violence continue because children need to be loved and they need to be educated and I think it all comes back to education and children really needing to be raised in a family environment and --
CAMEROTA: How have the lives of these children changed as a result of you getting involved?
DOYNE: Oh, my kids are the happiest children on earth and when you walk in, you see children playing with their marbles and flying kites and making meals together and there's music blaring. It's a home. And it's a family. And that's what makes it special. You don't know that they're orphans or what kind of tragic histories they had. You just see joy and love and laughter.
CAMEROTA: Had you not had that epiphany or whatever - that desire when you crossed that riverbed and saw kids working and gotten your babysitting money, what would you have been doing with your life now?
DOYNE: I probably would have gone the traditional route: college. We kind of have this path that we're all supposed to follow. That would have been me for sure, would have gone the traditional path.
CAMEROTA: But you have such a different life now and you've transformed lives of so many kids and we were so happy to honor you as our CNN Hero of the Year. Maggie, what a pleasure to talk to you.
DOYNE: Thank you. Thank you. CAMEROTA: Be sure to tune into CNN Heroes. It's an all-star tribute on Sunday, December 6th, 8:00 p.m. right here on CNN.
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[08:58:56] PEREIRA: All right. As the nation pauses to mark the wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, no rest for the 2016 candidates. Fortunately for us, no rest for late night comics either. Here's what you missed last night.
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JIMMY FALLON, LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: Hillary Clinton skipped a Democratic candidate forum hosted by website moveon.org, and only Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley showed up to answer questions. Which is basically the political equivalent of seeing the Jackson 4. You know what I mean?
(AUDIENCE LAUGHTER)
We have everyone except the one you want to see.
(AUDIENCE LAUGHTER)
ABC just announced that Dancing with the Stars was picked up for a 22nd season next year.
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That's right. Fans are calling it exciting, while Jeb Bush is calling it plan B.
SETH MEYERS, LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: Historians have come forward and said that one of Donald Trump's golf courses incorrectly claims to be the site of a great Civil War battle. Said Trump, I meant after I become president.
(AUDIENCE LAUGHTER)
President Obama today pardoned two turkeys, not because of Thanksgiving, but because they were convicted on nonviolent drug offenses.
(AUDIENCE LAUGHTER)
That's right, President Obama today took part in the annual tradition of pardoning a turkey, and then Donald Trump said he saw vegetarians celebrating on the rooftops in Jersey City.
(AUDIENCE LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CAMEROTA: That's great. All right so --
PEREIRA: We have some special guests today. CAMEROTA: We do. And we want to say that we're so thankful for our
crew and everybody that helps us, hair and makeup, our producers, and they brought in their kids today.
PEREIRA: Hi, guys.
CAMEROTA: You guys, come on in.
PEREIRA: Look at the kids. Gabby and we got Sienna. Come on -
CAMEROTA: And we have some big kids -
PEREIRA: Big kids, all of our families are here.
CAMEROTA: Nadine (ph) and Adielle (ph), the brother and Aunt of Jennifer Rivera, our fabulous - Oh, and Sarah, fantastic.
PEREIRA: One of our makeup artists' daughters.
CAMEROTA: Um -
PEREIRA: Do you guys want to see the parade a little bit? Let's pull it up right now. We can see the parade and see how things are coming up.
CAMEROTA: Because you guys are going to watch.
PEREIRA: Look at - there's the balloons! We are so thankful that you are joining us on this Thanksgiving. Our family to yours, we wish you a very, very happy and safe Thanksgiving.
CAMEROTA: You guys excited for the parade?
PEREIRA: Can you say happy Thanksgiving to the people?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Happy Thanksgiving.
PEREIRA: Is that not the cutest thing?
CAMEROTA: That's so great. Thanks, Gabby. Yes. Happy Thanksgiving out there. Thanks so much for joining us today.
It's time now for "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello.
