Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

Dozens Killed in Severe Weather Outbreak; CNN Poll: 60% Disapprove of Obama's Handling of Terror; Iraqi Military Declares Ramadi 'Fully Liberated'; Interview with Rep. Pete Sessions. Aired 7- 7:30a ET

Aired December 28, 2015 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:03] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right. We're following a lot of news this morning. Let's get right to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That sound.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There it is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just can't get that sound out my head. It done something to me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have our lives, and I thank God for that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Compared to our neighbors, I think we got pretty lucky.

PEREIRA: Iraq's military now saying the city of Ramadi is fully liberated.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Americans are very nervous about the possibility of another terrorist attack.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Sixty percent of Americans saying they don't approve of how President Barack Obama is handling terrorism.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via phone): She's playing the woman's card, and it's like, give me a break.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The escalating feud between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The billionaire attacking Bill Clinton for sexism.

REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D-FL), DNC CHAIR: He's been an equal opportunity insulter.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota and Michaela Pereira.

PEREIRA: Good morning and welcome back to your NEW DAY. As you can tell, Chris and Alisyn are off. But their stand-ins, Don Lemon and Christine Romans...

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Are not quite awake yet.

PEREIRA: They're almost awake. And we start with the severe weather that's going on in America right now. At least 43 people have been killed in an outbreak of severe weather across the U.S. A series of tornadoes carving a path of destruction, claiming 11 lives in the Dallas area. That state's governor declaring a disaster in four counties. And now, to make matters worse, they are bracing for snow and freezing temperatures.

LEMON: Yes, in the Midwest, Missouri is under a state of emergency due to flooding from heavy rain, eight people killed there. And New Mexico accumulating 16 inches of snow and 8-foot snow drifts triggering a state of emergency there, as well.

Let's begin our coverage this morning with CNN's Nick Valencia. He is in Garland, Texas, hit very hard by this.

Good morning, Nick.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Don.

You can see just how bad the damage is here at this apartment complex behind me. Residents telling me they only had a matter of minutes to prepare for the tornado. The warning system was working, but the force of this EF-4 tornado so powerful that it muffled the sound of that warning system. The mayor pro tem here in Garland, Texas, telling me it's a miracle that there weren't even more deaths.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whoa, I just got a lightning strike.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Overnight in eastern Texas, blinding rain, lightning and strong winds in the city of Marshall. Downed trees and power lines, possibly the work of yet another tornado, touching down in the Lone Star State.

Last night, patrons inside a Chili's restaurant huddling inside a freezer as tornado sirens sound off. A tornado watch still in effect today. This morning, the monster storm system wreaking havoc across the southern states, making its way eastward.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a big tornado. Big, big, strong tornado.

VALENCIA: Over the Christmas weekend, Texas bearing the brunt of the storm, ravaged by nearly half a dozen deadly tornadoes. An airplane passenger snapping this stunning photo of the massive storm system on a flight to Dallas.

Two powerful EF-3 and EF-4 twisters carving a path of destruction in Rowlett and nearby Garland on Saturday, the death toll 11, making this the deadliest December for tornados in 60 years.

Justin Schuler (ph) sifts through what remains of his home in Garland. He and his dog survived by taking cover in a bathtub.

JUSTIN SCHULER (ph), TORNADO SURVIVOR: I stepped out because I heard the roaring, and what's when I saw it.

VALENCIA: Willard Jordan heard the tornado rip through his neighborhood in Dallas, his family and home spared.

WILLARD JORDAN, EYEWITNESS: Buildings cracking, I mean, ripping stuff up. All we could do was run to the closet and pray.

VALENCIA: And this Garland resident rescued by family.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just stayed in my closet all night long, shaking like a leaf on a tree.

VALENCIA: The deadly storm also spawning flash floods, whiteout conditions and states of emergency in New Mexico and Missouri. In Missouri, more than 100 water rescues, at least six people killed in Pulaski County, swept away by floodwaters Saturday night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a small, dark highway. They probably did not know what hit them until they hit the water.

VALENCIA: The massive system dumping more than 16 inches of snow in New Mexico. Icy roads backing up traffic and shutting down Interstate 40 in Albuquerque.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA: Back here in Texas, we're in Garland, probably the hardest hit area from the storm that swept through here over the weekend. Of the 11 deaths in the Dallas area, eight of them happened here -- Christine.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thanks for that, Nick.

So where is the severe weather headed next, and could winter be about to rear its head here in the northeast, finally? Jennifer Grey has the forecast -- Jennifer.

JENNIFER GREY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right, Christine. We are going to see more severe weather for today. That storm is on the move. It is pushing to the east.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: All right. Thank you very much, Jennifer. Appreciate that.

Now to a brand-new CNN poll on the war on terror. It paints a stark picture of growing fears and waning confidence. Sixty percent -- 60 percent of Americans saying they don't approve of how President Barack Obama is handling terrorism. Our senior White House correspondent is Mr. Jim Acosta. He's

traveling with the vacationing first family in Honolulu, Hawaii this morning. He joins us now with new information on this new poll.

Good morning to you, Jim.

ACOSTA: Good morning, Don.

These are troubling numbers for the White House. This new CNN/ORC poll finds Americans are very nervous about the possibility of another terrorist attack in the U.S. after what happened in Paris and San Bernardino. And it appears the public has simply lost confidence in the Obama administration's ability to stop a terrorist attack and defeat ISIS.

Here it is: Our latest CNN poll finds only 18 percent of Americans believe the U.S. is winning the war on ISIS, while 40 percent believe that terrorists have the upper hand. And get this: just 51 percent of Americans are confident the government can thwart a terrorist attack. That is way down from 65 percent for President Obama's administration back in 2010.

But the public appears to be uncertain about what to do about this. Our poll finds Americans are split right down the middle: 49 to 49 percent on whether to send in ground troops to battle ISIS.

And keep in mind: this poll was conducted before Iraqi security forces apparently succeeded in retaking the key city of Ramadi over the weekend. That's a crucial development, as it is in line with the president's strategy to use local forces on the ground with U.S. air support to go after ISIS terrorists. So expect the Obama administration to tout the success of Ramadi in the coming days; could have an effect on these numbers we're showing you this morning.

And a senior administration official tells us the White House also wants to sharpen the administration's narrative on the war on ISIS so that Americans understand the president's strategy and these gains that are being made against the terrorist army.

But for now, the White House is not reconsidering the strategy, just how they're selling it this morning -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right, Jim. To that end, some news, some breaking news out of Iraq. The Iraqi military declaring this morning that the city of Ramadi is fully liberated. Ramadi fell to ISIS in May in an embarrassing defeat to the Iraqi army.

CNN's Becky Anderson is live for us with breaking details. What do we know?

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Michaela, liberation is how the Iraqi military spokesman described the result of their much-touted offensive against ISIS militants in the city of Ramadi. He spoke on Iraqi television within the last hour.

Now, exactly how much of the city is cleared, whether it's just the government compound in the center and whether it can actually be contained is a very big question.

A carefully worded statement from the spokesman for coalition forces, who congratulated the Iraqis on what he called their continued success against ISIS in Ramadi. And he called the clearance of the government compound a significant accomplishment and the result of many months of hard work by a number of stakeholders, not least the Iraqi army, the counterterrorism service, the Iraqi air force, local and federal police and tribal fighters.

And he also said the coalition support included more than 630 airstrikes, training, advice and engineering equipment to clear what were those explosives left by ISIS on the city streets.

And as I say, whereas the Iraqi military spokesman went so far as to use the word "liberation," the statement from coalition forces went on to say they continue to support the government of Iraq as it may -- moves to make Ramadi safe for civilians to return.

We can't independently confirm exactly what is going on on the ground. Reports, though, do suggest, guys, that it is likely that ISIS militants have moved from the government compound to the north of the city and could conceivably regroup. This may not be as sweeping a victory as the Iraqi government would have us believe -- Don.

[06:10:11] LEMON: All right. Thank you very much for that, Becky. And that's a good question. That's where we're going to start.

Let's talk about this now with retired General Spider Marks. He is a CNN military analyst and an executive dean at the University of Phoenix. And Philip Mudd is a CNN corporate terrorism analyst and a former CIA counterterrorism official.

So General Marks, that is a good question, right? If they're hiding, if they're regrouping, I know that this is a big deal, right? Does this necessarily mean, though, that they're on the run?

GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: No, it doesn't mean they're on the run. It means that Ramadi has been stabilized to a certain agree.

What is really important is the next couple of weeks is to whether the Iraqi security forces on the ground can hold this great victory they've been able to achieve.

Now, clearly, this is just doing their job, but it's a significant victory for the Iraqi government, certainly Baghdad needed to have -- needed to have a victory here over ISIS. And it really indicates that the Iraqi military training is taking hold, and they're stepping up and they're, you know, executing tasks in a very professional tactical way. So long term, they've got to be able to hold this victory.

LEMON: That's the question. Can they hold it? As he said, Philip Mudd, it doesn't mean they're on the run or on the ropes. They may be regrouping. Can they hold it?

PHILIP MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: They can hold it militarily. I think the long-term question is fundamentally different.

Remember, Iraq is about two-thirds Shia, and you're in Sunni territory here with Sunni tribal leaders and Sunni towns and villages that do not trust this new Shia government. I think the long-term questions beyond whether the city has cleared have to do with things like sanitation, electricity, education, general governance, Don, that the local people don't trust the central government to deliver.

So the real question, which nobody in this country wants to hear, is whether we'll willing to support the government over the course of years to reinstitute governance that people trust, not to just retake a city, Don.

LEMON: All right. So you mention this country. So Phil, let's talk about this new CNN/ORC poll. It's a new CNN/ORC poll. And it shows that 18 percent, only 18 percent of Americans say that we are winning the war on terror. I see you sort of have a smile on your face. Do you -- do you agree with these numbers? Or do you think it's just perception? It's not reality?

MUDD: Heck, no. I must have crawled out from under a rock, because I am out of touch with the American people.

Look, the American people want speed and simplicity. They want a sound bite that says you can bomb this organization into oblivion, and they want to know why we can't do it in a month. Let me tell you something, Don: a counterinsurgency operation takes a couple of things.

No. 1, it takes a local security service to run -- and a local military to run the operations. It doesn't take a foreign power like the Americans. So we've got to build up the Iraqis over the course of years, and we've got to find a partner in Syria that can hold territory.

LEMON: But you also say we're fighting an idea. And that's different.

MUDD: That's correct. That's right. I think the American people keep saying, "Why can't you defeat ISIS?" And my answer is, we're not fighting ISIS. We're fighting an idea that was originated with al Qaeda. The half-life, the timeframe to fight an idea is a generation or two. And we want to know why we're not doing better over the course of time, when typically this kind of operation takes 15, 20, 25 years, Don.

LEMON: Is that idea, fighting an idea, does that mean putting boots on the ground, Spider Marks? Because Americans are deeply divided. If you look at this, really 50/50, 49/49 on whether or not ground troops should be deployed. So what do you make of this divide on ground troops?

MARKS: Clearly, ground presence is necessary. Look, what's happening from the air campaign is necessary, but it's not sufficient. So there must be a ground presence. When you look at what happened in Ramadi just recently, the success

that occurred against ISIS included ground forces. And as Phil indicated, those were local ground forces, clearly bolstered by the United States and other coalition powers. It's an absolute necessity to have ground forces on the ground.

Now, is that doesn't mean we have to drop the 82nd Airborne Division right in Raqqah to try to start to clear from the center out. There are strategies that could be put in place and operational impacts that could be achieved with a presence on the ground that allows us to have persistence there, the ability to strike when we went, to increase Special Forces. But more importantly, Special Forces allows us what I call a tipping force capability. They can strike and create some real precise, very episodic successes, but that has to be followed up by mass.

LEMON: Well, let's talk about that.

MARKS: Like ground forces on the ground that let you achieve and multiply on that immediate success.

LEMON: OK, so you said that does involve some ground forces. The Obama administration has said, Spider Marks, have frequently said that they want local ground forces like Sunni tribes, Kurdish fighters to handle the ground part of the battle, not American troops. But can they handle that? Is that feasible?

MARKS: It is not feasible in certain areas. In other areas, obviously, the force's maturity and capabilities, they've demonstrated that they can handle certain tactical tasks. The key issue is how can you sustain that over the life of this engagement?

As Phil has indicated and we've discussed for the longest time, is that this fight against this ideology is intergenerational. And I think this administration is now getting the message very clearly that the American people do not trust what they are demonstrating that they can do against this thing and that it's going to take time.

We've got to square with the American population, say, "Look, we're going to achieve success, but it's going to take us this amount of time in order for us to do that."

LEMON: All right. Philip Mudd, I want to talk to the American people, obviously. People all over the world are concerned, really, about -- about terror threats. This new warning from Vienna police, that they are saying that several European cities are warned of potential terror threats between Christmas and New Year's which could involve explosives or guns. How concerning is this warning to you?

MUDD: I think we should be concerned, just because of the extent of ISIS penetration in Europe and the United States that we've seen over the past couple years. It's not just San Bernardino or Paris. It's the fact that ISIS has now been around after the fall of its predecessor in Iraq for years. It's had time to consolidate its terror apparatus in a place like Syria. It's shown that it's interested in sending operatives in western Europe and the United States.

As the months pass, Don, the likelihood that ISIS can conduct a successful operation is, by definition, going to increase, because they've had the time and space to operate.

So I think, given what we've seen in Europe and the United States, we should expect this as the pressure on ISIS increases in Iraq and Syria and they attempt to lash out.

LEMON: Gentlemen, thank you. Appreciate your time.

MUDD: Thank you.

MARKS: Thanks, Don.

ROMANS: All right. Europe on high alert again because of those terror -- the terror alert there.

Let's go to Chicago now. Chicago's embattled mayor, Rahm Emanuel, calling for changes in officer training after the latest police involved shooting that left two people dead.

A 19-year-old man and a 55-year-old grandmother were fatally shot this weekend as police responded to a domestic disturbance. Officials say Betty Jones was shot accidentally. The teenager was charging toward officers, police say with a bat when he was killed.

PEREIRA: South Korea and Japan reaching a landmark deal to resolve decades of bitterness over World War II sex slaves from Korea, known as Comfort Women. The deal included a heartfelt apology from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as well as $8 million aid fund being set up for the victims that are still alive. However, a group representing the women calls the settlement almost humiliating.

LEMON: All right. Listen to this. China doing away with its infamous one-child policy. A new law will allow every couple to have two children. The move was spurred by concerns that China's economy could be hurt by the country's largely aging population. The Communist Party instituted the one-child policy. That was back in the 1970s. Officials started unofficially relaxing that rule last year.

ROMANS: There's also a really big gender gap there, too. A lot more boys than girls. So they really are facing a crisis of demographics changing that.

PEREIRA: Yes.

ROMANS: But just imagine, though, your government telling you, you could have two kids. You know? You could actually...

PEREIRA: Strange concept.

ROMANS: ... dictate something that is a human right.

PEREIRA: I know. Absolutely.

ROMANS: Reproduction.

LEMON: Yes.

PEREIRA: All right. Back to our top story. Four Dallas area counties are under states of disaster after tornadoes killed dozens of people there. More dangerous weather could be moving in. Ahead, we're going to speak with Congressman Pete Sessions, who represents the area, on the latest search-and-rescue efforts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:22:11] PEREIRA: The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, has declared a state of disaster in four Dallas-area counties after deadly and destructive tornadoes tore through that state. Forty-three are dead across the country, including 11 in Texas, eight alone in Garland.

Texas Congressman Pete Sessions represents the hard-hit areas of Garland and Rowlett. He's also chairman of the House Rules Committee.

First of all, sir, thank you so much for joining us. I can imagine that you are just getting a sense of what has happened in these districts that you cover, your congressional districts. What can you tell us about the latest in terms of ongoing search-and-recovery efforts there?

REP. PETE SESSIONS (R), TEXAS: Well, in fact, as you suggest, it is an ongoing effort, over 600 structures in Garland alone. And of course, the damage in Rowlett primarily that we saw was to a lot of homes, apartment complexes. And a lot of people are still being looked after, treated, a huge number of people injured. It's a big effort.

PEREIRA: I want to give you some statistics, because it's crazy how fast this storm moved. Going through Garland, it killed eight people. It was an EF-4, a Category 4 hurricane, winds up to 200 miles per hour. And then it hit Rowlett some 15 minutes later. It downgraded just a scotch but was still terribly powerful. Winds there up to 165 miles per hour.

Are you hearing stories from some of your constituents about just how violent the impact of this storm was?

SESSIONS: Well, in fact, this tornadic effort spawned off -- of the storm spawned off 11 tornadoes, which was a record since 1927. And here we are in late December, a terribly destructive storm and then, of course, the change of 32 degrees in weather in one day.

So what is happening is that these communities -- Rowlett, Texas, and Garland, Texas, are -- they might be called bedroom communities, but they are cities. Cities of very proud people who are coming together at Christmastime and trying to work for the best interests of their community. There's still search-and-rescue going on. There's still people being held out from these areas, because it's still very, very dangerous.

PEREIRA: Yes. The danger still lurks right now, and they're concerned about getting those people back into their homes. Do you have a sense of how many are displaced in Garland and Rowlett?

SESSIONS: As best we know it's hundreds of people. And of course, the communities have set up areas where people can go, and churches are going hand-to-hand to help people. But it's still very dangerous. There's a lot of debris; there's still a lot of trees. There's a lot of the things that would cause injury to children and other people.

PEREIRA: Yes.

SESSIONS: So once again, then we had five inches of rain yesterday.

PEREIRA: Yes.

[07:25:02] SESSIONS: So -- and then it got colder. So it's kind of like a little bit more misery poured on top of a lot of injury.

PEREIRA: Well, and that's the thing. I mean, just to make matters worse, Mother Nature still has more tricks up her sleeve. The temperatures are expected to drop. They're talking about freezing temperatures, potential for an ice storm.

What is being done in preparation for that, on top of this already looming disaster?

SESSIONS: Well, you spoke about it, and the bottom line is the Red Cross is there. Community organizations have -- have spun into action.

And actually, these two cities are being run well...

PEREIRA: Good.

SESSIONS: ... by the cities, the mayors and city managers, not only jumped right into action, but the people responded accordingly. So it's a community effort.

PEREIRA: We're hearing some reports that the Dallas-Ft. Worth office of the National Weather Service was kind of dealing with a staffing shortage. I wonder if you have heard anything about this.

They were down three frontline forecasters. They had to rely on volunteer meteorologists to come in and kind of help staff during this storm. Is that a concern to you?

Because you think about the fact that people there, residents would be waiting with bated breath to find out, you know, the development of this storm, to get the latest info on how the storm is tracking. What do you know is being done to -- to get this fully staffed again?

SESSIONS: Well, as best I can tell you, I was unaware of that. But the National Weather Bureau, in fact, was providing, I think, great information. There were lots of people whose phones went off, cell phones went off, identifying there is a tornado in your immediate area. There were a lot of activities of guesses about where this storm could be. But no one could guess 11 tornadoes or where they might come. So we'll look at that as part of not only the evaluation that I will

do but overall, from our emergency preparedness position of North Texas. We're in the midst of playing out that plan now. And I believe it is working very, very well. We really -- we really have much to be thankful for from a perspective of working well together.

PEREIRA: Some 800 -- 8,000, rather, power outages reported, mostly in Rowlett. The city manager calling this damage catastrophic.

I'm curious. What would you want your message to be to your constituents in Garland and Rowlett?

SESSIONS: Well, the message that we want to give is, is that local communities are doing their job. The governor -- our governor, great governor, Greg Abbott, will and has, in fact, declared these disaster areas. And we will move that directly through. Once his request is made to the federal government, I will work actively to get that done.

What does that do? It empowers lots of money that could become available for people to immediately gain the footing of money to get their things all put back together.

What my message would be is, be careful what you put back together. Do not go for the first immediate thing. Make sure you plan, re-plan your home, do it well. And don't fall victim to someone who will just show up to do work.

PEREIRA: Yes.

SESSIONS: You need to be careful what you rebuild.

PEREIRA: Yes. Unfortunately, scammers, sometimes the first ones out after these kind of disasters.

SESSIONS: they did. They did.

PEREIRA: Congressman Pete Sessions, really great opportunity to talk to you.

SESSIONS: Thank you very much.

PEREIRA: Give our best to the people in your area.

SESSIONS: I'll do that. Thank you.

PEREIRA: Christine, over to you.

ROMANS: All right. Donald Trump taking on Bill Clinton for questionable behavior in his past. But is attacking the former president a smart move? The latest on Trump versus Clinton, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)