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TSA Changes Pat Down Rules; British Muslim Family Barred from Flight to Los Angeles; NBA to Use Christmas Stage to Speak about Gun Violence; Candidates and Family Members. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired December 24, 2015 - 07:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:33:23] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Some 38 million people traveling by air this Christmas. And now, the TSA is altering its screening policies demanding the passengers get a full body scan even if they request a pat-down.

Instead, joining us now is former TSA Administrator John Pistole. He is now president of Anderson University in Indiana.

Good morning, Mr. Pistole. Thanks so much for being here.

JOHN PISTOLE, FORMER TSA ADMINISTRATOR: Good morning, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Why is the TSA changing their policy about pat-down?

PISTOLE: Yeah, I think this is something that most people would think as being as prudent or appropriate to address a potential vulnerability, especially in this heightened threat environment that we're in right now.

So the current -- the past practice has been that anybody decided to opt out, if you will, of any IT -- the advanced imaging technology, the body scan, they can do that. What this is simply clarifying is that TSA still can require somebody go through, if there is reason to believe that they may be, OK, let's say, a person who should have that advanced imaging technology, a body scan done. And I think the best examples probably, since tomorrow is the 6th year anniversary of the Christmas Day Underwear Bomber Abdulmutallab where he had that device in his underwear, coming from Amsterdam to Detroit. If he had received a pat-down, it may have missed that because of concealment. Whereas, a body scan should pick that up.

And so, the net effect of all of this is that it will actually affect very few people. I think there's been some misreporting about that. It only affects a very small number of people. And the bottom line is if they don't want to have that go through that, then they don't apply.

[07:35:06] CAMEROTA: Oh, we know that you were actively involved in the investigation into the Underwear Bomber. In terms of going through those screeners, what I hear people say, sometimes, is that they're afraid -- they're worried about the radiation levels. That's why they opt for the pat-down. PISTOLE: Right. And that was the case for some people, up until

several years ago. I believe that was 2013, when TSA removed all of those type of machines. There were two different types. One that emitted a tiny bit of -- amount of radiation. Those machines, we all -- We took out and replaced with the different type of technology that emits no radiation. And so it's that may be outdated concerns. And so, if that is the case, people should have full confidence in going through because there is no radiation.

CAMEROTA: That's good to know. So just to be clear, it is now at the TSA agent's discretion whether or not somebody get to pass down or goes through the machine or everybody must go through the body scan machine?

PISTOLE: Oh, no, no, no. It's -- It would be very few number of people who, again, the issue was, if they wanted to opt out and they wanted to get a pat-down, that was their prerogative. What TSA is clarifying now through simply an update of a privacy impact assessment is what got published and what got some people's attention, is that for certain individuals, and there would be, again, a very small number, that it's almost certainly not at the discretion -- not the individual TSA officer at the checkpoint but somebody has -- who has been flagged, for example, for additional scrutiny, then that person cannot demand that they opt out of the -- they may have to go through the advanced imaging technology.

CAMEROTA: OK. Mr. Pistole, I want to ask you about this story about this Muslim family. He was trying to fly from London to Los Angeles to go to Disneyland. And they were pulled off the plane, or not allowed, I should say, to board the plane and they weren't given really much explanation. What do you think is going on here?

PISTOLE: Well, without knowing or commenting on the specifics of this situation, typically, what happens in that -- in this type of situation is that when there is a group traveling, if there is somebody, for example, on a watch list or something in that group, that person would be barred from traveling to the U.S. if they're on -- let's just say a No Fly List.

Again, I don't know the specifics in this instance. And then the question becomes, is the whole group barred? Or, does the group decide because one or two or, you know, maybe several out of the group are not allowed to travel, do they still travel without them? And often what happens, most typically what happens, is that the group decides -- especially if going for the holidays or something like but we don't want to go with our husband, father, whomever it may be...

CAMEROTA: Right.

PISTOLE: ... and so they decide as a group not to travel.

CAMEROTA: Yes. But it sounds as though this family wasn't given many details about why they weren't allowed to board. If somebody is on a watch list, are they told?

PISTOLE: Well, not at the time, but they can seek that information through a process called redress. Just to say -- So, you know, I wasn't -- not allowed to travel, why is that? And of course, the government wouldn't say that publicly because they don't want, you know, just privacy information.

Go and say, "Well, this person not -- was not allowed to fly because they're on a watch list." And so what they do is they can seek that information through this question for redress and then they probably wouldn't be told the underlying intelligence, if you will, but they could say, "Yes, you are on a watch list." And then you could petition to be removed from that watch list, if you believe that you were inappropriately identified or it's a name similarity to somebody on a watch list or something like that.

CAMEROTA: Right. It sounds like we need more information about what went on there.

John Pistole, thanks so much for being on New Day.

PISTOLE: Thanks, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Let's hear with Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: We're going to dig deeper on this, Alisyn, because of what's coming up on the interview that you just had there, another circumstances surrounding this Muslim family banned from boarding a flight to L.A.

What do they know about this family? Either there is something there or there is something there and it's not a good thing.

We have a columnist joining us with his take, when we come back.

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[07:43:30] Here is the scenario. You and the kids and the husband, you're getting ready to get on a flight and they say you're banned from getting onboard. You'd want to know, right? And if you are a Muslim, you really want to know why it is.

The U.S. denies that what happened, banning this UK family from getting on a plane to come here to California, had anything to do with the fact that they were Muslims. But they also won't tell us what it's about because of the privacy laws. This raises real questions about what goes into making these decisions.

Let's discuss with Daily Beast contributor and host of his own radio show on SiriusXM, Dean Obeidallah. Dean...

DEAN OBEIDALLAH, HOST, DAILY BEAST: Yes.

CUOMO: The confusion here is that Homeland Security says we can't tell you why we do this. There is an appeals process for the family to go through, but that vacuum of the unknown is fueling suspicion. What are yours?

OBEIDALLAH: My view, honestly, if they were not Muslim's family, they're at Disney World now, they're on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, and the time it allows -- let me be honest, I don't think it's a ban on Muslims, I think that's heightened scrutiny. If you are a Muslim from another country coming to this country, I think it's subtle and probably someone said, "Hey, maybe we haven't crossed every "T" and dotted over "I," let's just say no."

So I think there's a component of them defective of Muslim impacts in coming here. I look at the...

CAMEROTA: But there's a -- It's more complicated than that. Because we have for example, of course that there was some Facebook post or Facebook account where the name, there was the same or similar as someone who had a connection to Al Qaeda. I mean -- So in other words, are you dismissing all of that or is it possible that there was some connection that made people hold on?

[07:45:06] OBEIDALLAH: Well, here's the reality. If there is any credible evidence that anyone says that "I don't care if they're Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, whatever, don't let them in the country, there is no double about that. We wanted -- We wanted to be safe.

The Facebook post actually was broken by CNN. DHS didn't release that. That the brothers -- there was a name someone to the brother, had a Facebook post...

(CROSSTALK)

OBEIDALLAH: Right, the son. I'm sorry, the son. And the family said, "That's not our son, he doesn't live there. Sam lives in London." And it was a joke Facebook post. The person post it something like, "I'm the supervisor at Al Qaeda and the head of the Taliban." Something like that...

CAMEROTA: But you know, understand it, I mean how can you know when something is a joke? How can you know if something is a threat? Obviously, there is tightened scrutiny.

OBEIDALLAH: Right, there is. And that kid posted something like that that was funny? I think perhaps here's a time for applause. That's not the kid's account. And that's not DHS telling us that. In fact, U.S. citizens up until this April who are in No Fly List, we're not even told why they were on it until a federal court decision said you're going to revise your whole procedures.

So for foreigners, now a new citizens, there is no way. You're stuck out there...

CUOMO: Well, here's the -- Here's the problem, what's creating the confusion? You're both right. Both perspectives are right. A Facebook account that mentions anything about Al Qaeda right now, especially with what just happened in San Bernardino, with what was missed there for good or bad reason, means you better take it seriously. The problem is though, well, what do you do when you take it seriously?

Putting someone on a No Fly List, look what it done for this family?

CAMEROTA: Yes. But do you know, you understand they went too far or this is what has to happen right now?

OBEIDALLAH: I think we have to know what evidence because we're all speculating. We don't know what evidence the government had.

Here's the thing that's (inaudible) to me. David Cameron, prime minister of the U.K. is now here yesterday, yesterday he announced he is going to look into -- he wants to know why the U.S. government banned them.

I have no doubt the Cameron Administration investigated this family. If there was any hint that they were scary, involved with terrorism, the Cameron administration would have never gotten involved with this. So I am now even more confident that this was a mistake by DHS. And if it was his mistake, the government should simply acknowledge it and pay their damages, $13,000 at a pocket, let them come to America and enjoy their dream vacation at Disney World.

CAMEROTA: Beyond this, here at home in the U.S, are you as a Muslim seeing more animosity, more aggression towards Muslims?

OBEIDALLAH: Absolutely. I'm going to be blunt. I've never been more concerned for my Muslim family, my Muslim friends, been right now and the last few weeks.

First, in Paris and San Bernardino and adding to that, I'm going to be blunt, Donald Trump gearing up the hate and fear of Muslims.

On the campaign trail saying they hate us, to make -- using a poll just to discredit saying Muslims want to kill you in this country; we can't let them in the country. If they close down their mosque, it legitimizes hate and it can radicalize his...

CUOMO: But address his direct criticism. One, you say I feel more, people will throw stats at you and say, "We don't see any statistical evidence of more targeted attacks on Muslims. They're more against Jews in this country than they are against to Muslims.

OBEIDALLAH: Right.

CUOMO: And the other thing is Muslims do want to kill Americans, it's which Muslims? But the statement itself once that being correct, how do you address this?

OBEIDALLAH: I think the reality is we've seen since November, since Paris a spike in hate crimes. They're usually about 12 hate crimes a month towards the FBI -- towards the Muslims. It's in about 35 or 36 in the last six weeks alone.

A Muslim cab driver was shot in the U.S., United States. When was the job is being speed up, punched -- mosques, various mosques. A picture thrown at one in Philadelphia attack, anti-Muslim rhetoric (ph) up there. Hate mail, threats -- threats of death. I can't seem to respond e-mail and Facebook but I've gotten them for years. And I'm not worried for me. I'm really worried for young Muslims growing up in this country believing they're not as American.

They don't share this -- They don't have the same rights and privileges the rest of us have because of their faith. And that's what's wrong. I mean Donald Trump is so irresponsible, he was rhetoric. I think he's inspired a man who was just arrested on Sunday, Michael, who was planning on building a bomb to kill Muslims.

CUOMO: It's hard to hold people responsible ...

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: You know, people got on their own max...

OBEIDALLAH: They've got his Facebook page. It was like Trump speeches. Anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, anti-Hispanic. At some level, politicians, there is no death, they can inspire a good and bad and ugly.

They can legitimize hate and they can inspire violence. Resulting to Civil Rights Movement which our Southern democrats, there are horrible things about (inaudible) and taking over the country, got -- destroy our values, destroy our nation, bombings of churches down the south, black activists killed.

This is where we're going ...

CUOMO: Well, we hope not. You hope not.

OBEIDALLAH: I worry now.

CUOMO: This is a step maybe in that direction. But it's a long, long road. Hopefully, we never get there. We're (inaudible) right now.

CAMEROTA: Dean Obeidallah, thank you so much.

OBEIDALLAH: Thanks. Happy Holidays.

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: ... great to have you, happy holidays to you as well.

All right. Ted Cruz, not happy that his kids were used in a "Washington Post" cartoon. Are politicians' children ever fair game? We're going to take a look at how different political families have handled this situation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:53:28] CUOMO: This is a good one. The intersection of sports and society, the NBA is going to have a huge center stage on Christmas day. They have a great lineup of games. But this year, they're going to use their platform to speak out about an issue that they think is important about as a league, which is gun violence. Andy Scholes has more in this morning's Bleachers Report. Tell us about it.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, good morning, Chris. You know, a lot of people watch the NBA on Christmas day. And this year some of their stars, Stephen Curry, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and Joakim Noah, laid partnered with everytown.org and put together a public service announcement about Gun Violence.

Spikely directed the PSA where the NBA stars will speak about their experiences along with people who have been affected by gun violence. Take a look at some of the portion of it. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard about a shooting involving a 3-year-old girl over the summer. My daughter Rylie is that age.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The gun should never be an option.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are Americans, we don't have to live like this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we can all make a difference.

In the United States, 88 people die of gun violence every day.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Now, President Obama tweeted saying he's proud of the NBA for standing up against gun violence. And you can see more of these in depth interviews with the players on the website, everytown.org.

Odell Beckham Jr.'s one game suspension was upheld yesterday. The Giant star was banned for a game for this helmet-to-helmet hit on Josh Norman. This past Sunday, Beckham apologized for his actions on Twitter. He will miss the Giant's game this Sunday at Minnesota.

The Jets meanwhile will be hosting the New England Patriots, Chris. And I hear that all you asked for Christmas was a big Jets win over the Patriots so you can shutter right in Behrman state.

[07:55:01] CUOMO: I would -- Well, now you've made it much more tantalizing. I would never strain Santa with such a hefty wish. I'll just stick with world peace.

SCHOLES: Ah, OK.

CAMEROTA: Easier. It's easier.

SCHOLES: Merry Christmas, guys.

CAMEROTA: You too, Andy.

All right. Kids on the campaign trail. Of course, they could be a delicate subject, as we saw when the Washington Post used Ted Cruz's children in a cartoon. But Cruz and other candidates have not been shy about letting their own kids play a role on the campaign trail. (Inaudible) as Randi Kaye, take a look.

RANDI KAYE, CNN JOURNALIST: They smiled a lot and waved a lot but barely spoke. That was the norm on the Obama campaign trail for his two daughters. But in those rare moments, they did speak, it was priceless.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NATASHA OBAMA, OBAMA'S DAUGHTER: Love my daddy!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Remember this from the 2008 Democratic convention?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NATASHA OBAMA: Daddy, what city are you in?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Still, not all candidates subscribe to that seen but rarely heard rule when it comes to children on the campaign trail. Remember, it was Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka who introduced him when he first announced his campaign for president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVANKA TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP'S DAUGTER: I have the honor of introducing a man who needs no introduction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: On the trail, she's been reaching out to women on behalf of her father.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVANKA TRUMP: He would be amazing for women in this country. He would be incredible for women in this county.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He took a way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Another candidate's daughter, Meghan McCain was a fixture at her father's side in 2008. And the keeper of the McCainblogit.com. She appeared on Larry King just weeks before the election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEGHAN McCAIN, U.S. SENATOR JOHN MACCAIN'S DAUGHTER: I've had a really great relationship with my dad, we've always spend kindred spirits. And, my mom calls me John McCain in a dress.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KAYE: Yet she was reportedly banished from the campaign trail shortly before the election. The blog she hoped would widen her father's appeal among the younger generation was mocked instead.

Jon Huntsman's daughters also made a big push for her dad even taking on rival campaigns. In this campaign ad, the Huntsman girls poked fun at Herman Cain's campaign manager.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tomorrow, it's Friday. One day closer to the week end.

We strongly believe that our dad has the experience and proven track record to revive America's economy and create jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Mitt Romney had the support of five sons during two presidential campaigns. In 2012, his son Craig was the standout, fluent in Spanish and often heard appealing to Latino voters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG ROMNEY, MITT ROMNEY'S SON: (Speaking in Foreign Language) Mi padre, Mitt Romney, ese nombre y familia, espose, padre.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: And yes even Ted Cruz's daughter had been featured by his campaign.

This Iowa ad put out by the Cruz campaign was what inspired the controversial Washington Post cartoon.

The 90-second spot shows the family reading from a fictional holiday team children's book and one of Cruz's daughters slamming Hillary Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TED CRUZ DAUGHTER: I know just what I'll do she said with a snicker, I'll use my own server and no one will be the wiser.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Running for office, truly a family affair. Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

CAMEROTA: You must have strong feelings about this one.

CUOMO: It's a dicey proposition. If you put your kids in there, you're asking for it. But there's always been an...

CAMEROTA: (Inaudible) are you -- I mean even if your kids are 7 and... (CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: ... are you asking for it?

CUOMO: What Huntsman did with his girls, you know one of them is now in the media, but maybe more I don't even know. But you're asking for it when you do that. Don't push the media too hard to be decent because it's not an instinct that comes that easily to some people on the media. But as a rule, I think you leave the kids alone. I do.

CAMEROTA: Yeah, but I mean isn't there a difference between a 5-year old and 20 something year old?

CUOMO: Yes, big difference. A big difference. I think it's a sliding scale.

CAMEROTA: Yup.

CUOMO: But I think what happened with Cruz's kids was really, really wrong and I'm happy that we haven't slipped up at all in showing the cartoon.

You know, we've shown plenty of worst things on T.V. but I'm saying you don't want to encourage, leave the kids alone, especially the young ones.

CAMEROTA: All right. We're following a lot of news this morning so let's right to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Storms are moving way too fast to really manage.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything was just moving sideways and I jumped and I ran.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We made it out just in time. We didn't have a minute to get out of the house.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Christmas is all about love. We're going to (inaudible) through this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hillary Clinton still holds the commanding lead in the Democratic rates for president.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trump is far trying to play on fears. At the end of the day, I believe that our approach will win.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is America ready for someone like Donald Trump and not ready for someone like you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are not threat to nobody.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A British Muslim family denied boarding for a flight to California.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For me to be treated like that, I feel most uncomfortable.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The family says they have not been told why?

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is "New Day" with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Pereira.

[07:59:57] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: A good morning to you, welcome to your New Day. It is Thursday, December 24th, Christmas Eve. A very exciting time, 8:00 in the East.

Make this often, we do start with hard news for too many. The death toll climbing this morning, the threat still on the table of tornadoes and very severe whether, all through this out --