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Cosby Charged with Indecent Assault; Accuser Speaks Out about Cosby Charges; 'Affluenza' Teen Fighting Extradition; New Year's Threats Prompt More Security in New York; Death Toll Rises in Historic Midwest Floods. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired December 31, 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] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Going to be an interesting 2016. And Errol, Patricia, thank you so much. Happy new year to you.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Following a lot of news this morning. Let's get right to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Reopening this case was our duty.

CAMEROTA: The man once known as America's dad is now charged with sexual assault.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bail set at $1 million.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His own words that really are weapons that are used against him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Cosby urged her to take pills, and he committed aggravated indecent assault upon her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Investigating terror threats to three major U.S. cities.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Plots in Brussels and Turkey were thwarted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Six thousand police officers just here in Times Square.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The preparation is extraordinary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They'd love nothing better than to wage some kind of spectacular attack on New Year's Eve.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The mother of the affluenza teen back in the U.S. So why is Ethan Couch, her son, still in Mexico?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ethan Couch's lawyers both in Mexico and the United States will have to get very creative. This could go on for an indefinite period of time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Beautiful. Good morning, and welcome back to your NEW DAY, as we're calling it the last day of 2015. Chris is off. John Berman is here with Alisyn and I.

For the first time after decades of accusations, Bill Cosby is fighting sexual assault charges. Despite years of accusations from at least 50 women, the 78-year-old disgraced comedian is now facing the possibility of jail time. Those charges coming just days before the 12-year statute of limitations was set to expire.

CAMEROTA: Cosby's defense lawyers going on the offensive, claiming the comedian is the victim of a, quote, "political prosecution" and vowing he will be exonerated. What could this court case mean for all of the other Cosby accusers?

We win our coverage with our CNN's Jean Casarez. She is live in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania -- Jean.

CASAREZ: Good morning, and defense attorneys are also saying this morning that they are actually glad this has happened so they can ferret it out in court.

Right behind me, this is the small courthouse that Bill Cosby went in yesterday for this arraignment. But the reality is this television icon, this television superstar is now criminal defendant Bill Cosby.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ (voice-over): Once America's beloved TV dad, now disgraced comedian Bill Cosby, arm in arm with his legal team, stumbling as he arrived for his arraignment in Pennsylvania Wednesday...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Cosby, anything to say?

CASAREZ: ... facing criminal sexual assault charges for the first time.

The 78-year-old released on a $1 million bail for three counts of alleged aggravated indecent assault of Andrea Constand in 2004. The Montgomery County D.A. filing the charges before the 12-year statute of limitations was set to expire in just weeks.

Constand worked with Temple University's athletic program and considered Cosby, 37 years her senior, a friend and mentor. She accuses Cosby of drugging, then assaulting her when she visited his Pennsylvania home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Cosby urged her to take pills that he provided to her and to drink wine.

CASAREZ: In the complaint, Constand says Cosby told her the pills were herbal. After taking them, she felt dizzy, nauseous, frozen, paralyzed, but was aware of Cosby fondling her breasts and putting his hands into her pants. Though she came forward in 2005, the district attorney did not file

charges, citing lack of evidence. Constand filed a civil suit against Cosby, forcing him to be deposed. He settled the suit with her, the terms of which were sealed. And his own words, unsealed this July and the original criminal case reopened.

In it, Cosby admits to giving women Quaaludes but never without their knowledge. Constand, the first to publicly come forward, accusing Cosby. Since then, some 50 women have come forward with similar allegations over four decades, hoping now they may finally get justice.

GLORIA ALLRED, ATTORNEY FOR 29 BILL COSBY ACCUSERS: For many of my 29 clients, seeing him criminally charged and having to face a trial is the best Christmas present that they have ever received.

CASAREZ: The comedian has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has yet to directly answer a question about the allegations.

BILL COSBY, CHARGED WITH INDECENT ASSAULT: There's no response.

CASAREZ: But in May, he tells ABC News...

COSBY: I've never seen anything like this. And reality is the situation. And I can't speak.

CASAREZ: In a statement, his attorneys called the charges, quote, "unjustified" and vowed that he will, quote, "be exonerated by a court of law."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ: And Andrea Constand's attorney, Dolores Troiani, tells me that this last summer, investigators from right here in Pennsylvania flew to Toronto to talk with Andrea Constand herself. The affidavit of probable cause states that Andrea Constand, when they reopened the investigation, said she would cooperate -- Alisyn.

[07:05:10] CAMEROTA: OK, Jean, thanks so much for all of that.

For many of Bill Cosby's accusers, yesterday's charges brought a sense of vindication. Patricia Steuer says she came forward as a Jane Doe in the 2005 Andrea Constand lawsuit. She says she was sexually assaulted by Bill Cosby in 1978 and 1980. And she joins us now.

Patricia, nice to see you. Thanks for being on NEW DAY.

PATRICIA STEUER, BILL COSBY ACCUSER: Thank you, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Patricia, what was it like yesterday when you heard the news that Bill Cosby was being charged with sexual assault?

STEUER: I was very emotional when I heard the news. It took me about a moment, maybe two minutes to process what had happened after I received a text from a dear friend. And then I just started to cry. And we were in a public place, my husband and I, and I just put my arms around him and stood there and cried. It was very, very emotional for me.

CAMEROTA: What was that? What were those tears that you were crying?

STEUER: I think they were -- I've been thinking about this since yesterday. I think they were tears of relief, tears of joy and tears of validation. Because for so many years, people did not believe me when I told them what happened. And many of us were not believed.

CAMEROTA: You say that Bill Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted you in 1978 and 1980. You, much like so many of the women that we've interviewed, didn't, and don't know exactly what happened, because when you came to consciousness, Bill Cosby was just hover -- standing over you. You knew something had happened, because your clothes were off, as were his.

As you say, at the time, you told people. You tried to tell people, and you were not believed. So what was it like yesterday to know that, in a case very similar to yours, Andrea Constand, that a prosecutor believes her?

STEUER: It felt very vindicating. I know we have a long way to go in this process. All of us, as we observe and to the extent possible participate, if the prosecutor and the judge allow it. But it was very -- it felt very vindicating.

CAMEROTA: The last time we interviewed you on NEW DAY, we did so in silhouette. You didn't want your face to be seen. You didn't want your identity to be shown. Here, we have a clip of it, where you can see me, but we can't see you. Why today are you willing to show your face and have your identity be known?

STEUER: Well, a great deal has happened since then, Alisyn, as you know. The deposition from 2005, with Mr. Cosby's sworn testimony, was leaked. Or was released in the press. And there were some things in that deposition that were very enlightening for a lot of people.

And also since then, "New York" magazine did their piece about the 35 survivors. And I was just willing to be known by my full name after that point in time. But before that, I was doing everything I could to protect my privacy and the privacy of my family.

CAMEROTA: Did you watch the arraignment yesterday with Bill Cosby walking into that courtroom?

STEUER: I didn't see it -- I did not see it live. But I did see portions of it in recordings.

CAMEROTA: And what was it like to see Bill Cosby there, clutching the arms of his attorneys as he sort of stumbled at one point towards that courtroom?

STEUER: My mother died last year. She was just a little bit older than Mr. Cosby is now, and I have compassion for anyone of that age who is struggling with any kind of a disability. And I know that he has one. I don't assume that that was put on in any way. That he probably did need the assistance of the people that were on his arms. So, I have compassion for anyone like that.

But it seemed only right that he should be there and answering for things that occurred before he was disabled.

CAMEROTA: That is awfully compassionate and generous of you, Patricia, because I know that these 35 years since what you say happened with Bill Cosby have not been easy for you. And you have carried the trauma of that. What -- can you tell us a little bit about what these years have been like four, and what changed yesterday?

STEUER: Well, thank you for asking that. I think everybody who endures any kind of trauma has, what I'm going to call, a somatic ghost. We're all -- we have an impression in our body. The body remembers, no matter what your mind does to try to forget and put it behind you. The body remembers. And sooner or later, the body will break down, will show you that there's something that needs to be attended to.

So, I've had physical triggers as a result of what happened to me. Excuse me. Any time I'm touched by anyone, I jump. And that has been difficult within my marriage of 35 years. My first reaction is to jump, even though I'm with a very safe person and love him very dearly.

[07:10:16] So, I am just now beginning therapy for these assaults that occurred 37 years ago, and looking forward to having some relief from those triggers.

CAMEROTA: Do you think there's any chance that there could be any more charges? There are at least 50 women who have made accusations against Bill Cosby, and like your case, most of these statute of limitations has passed or we believe that it has passed. I know that you're in touch with some of the survivors, as they call themselves. Do you believe there could be any more charges?

STEUER: I really -- I don't know what will occur. In fact, I didn't think this was ever going to occur in my lifetime, that he would be criminally charged. So, I don't really feel like I can speculate about that. Most of us have expired statute of limitations with which our cases are involved. So I really -- I really don't know.

CAMEROTA: What do you want to see happen to Bill Cosby?

STEUER: People ask me that all the time. I don't have any sense of vengeance. I don't believe that's mine. It's not in my purview. It's not in my control. It's not an outcome that I have any power over. So, I'm going to leave that to the justice system, because that's now involved with Mr. Cosby, and trust that whatever happens is appropriate.

CAMEROTA: And what about you, Patricia? Last, I mean, what do you -- what changes in your life do you see now in the future after what happened yesterday?

STEUER: Well, as I said, I've been carrying the ghost of what happened for 37 years. That's almost four decades. And for some of us, it's longer than that. I really, really hope and anticipate that what happened yesterday and going into the new year will be part of the healing for me and all of the other women who have been affected by this.

CAMEROTA: Patricia Steuer, thank you for sharing your personal story with us. It's wonderful to see your beautiful face in the full light of day there. And that you are comfortable coming forward and talking about it now. Thanks so much for being on NEW DAY.

STEUER: Thank you, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Over 50 women have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct. Coming up in our next half hour, we will speak with a former "Playboy" Playmate, Victoria Valentino, who says Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in the late '60s. She has an incredible story to tell. We'll see how she's feeling today -- John.

BERMAN: All right. Thanks, Alisyn.

We have breaking news this morning. The mother of the so-called "affluenza teen" is back in the United States. Tonya Couch arrived overnight in Los Angeles in handcuffs escorted by U.S. marshals. But her son, Ethan, is still in Mexico. He is fighting deportation.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is live in Dallas with the very latest. Good morning, Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, John.

It was quite a scene of twists and turns yesterday in the saga of the affluenza family. Ethan Couch, we understand, has been moved from Guadalajara, Mexico, to an immigration facility in Mexico City.

Originally, we thought that Ethan Couch and his mother were going to be traveling back together to the United States and being turned over to the U.S. Marshals Service. But then late yesterday, we get the news that, essentially, they were being split up, Ethan Couch going to Mexico City.

And as you've shown here, the video of Tonya Couch arriving at Los Angeles International Airport last night and being escorted by the U.S. Marshals Service. They're in the process of transporting her to the custody of authorities in Ft. Worth, Texas, where she faces that felony criminal charge for hindering the apprehension of a juvenile fugitive. And she faces up to ten years in prison.

So why exactly they were split up and Tonya Couch decided to give up the fight of fighting deportation and come back, we do not know at this point. We only know that Ethan Couch's attorneys, who have been working with him the last couple of years here in Ft. Worth, say they were the ones that helped find them lawyers to fight this deportation process. But this could take several more weeks to get Ethan Couch back to Texas -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right. Ed, we appreciate that reporting. And the story seems to change by the day. We'll keep on top of it.

Meanwhile, security is beefed up in three U.S. cities on this New Year's Eve after a threat of a possible terror attack. Federal officials are investigating the credibility of the threats. We understand President Obama has been briefed.

Our Miguel Marquez is live in Times Square where a million of his friends are expected to ring in the new year tonight.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, just the closest million friends that I have.

Look, is this one of those locations that has security officials concerned. But they plan for this every single year.

That is the spot where the famous ball will drop. Over a million people expected to crowd into these areas over the next several hours. They are going to protect this area from the land, from the sea, from the air, and even underground in the subway system. They will have everything on hand. NYPD saying they are prepared.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[07:15:12] JAMES WATERS, NYPD COUNTERTERRORISM CHAIR: We'll monitor threat information and intelligence information through our partners with the FBI and all the other government agencies, Department of Homeland Security, CIA, et cetera. And we are very, very confident that New Year's Eve in New York City will be the safest place in the world to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: Specifically, how they are going to protect this place is just to add more security to everything they do. To get into these pens by the time this thing starts, you will have to be -- go through two magnetometers to get in there. And then once you get in, you cannot leave. They will have bomb-sniffing dogs, chemical detectors, radiation detectors and thousands of cameras at the ready to protect against anything that may come -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: They do such a great job there, Miguel. I mean, having been there many times, you do feel safe while you are in there. Thanks so much for telling us about the preparations.

Meanwhile, the death toll rising this morning in the historic floods hitting the Midwest. Officials say thousands of homes and businesses are threatened by rising waters, which they expect to smash records later today.

CNN's Martin Savidge is live in Arnold, Missouri, with the latest. What are they expecting there, Martin?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Alisyn.

Well, let me tell you what is going on behind us here. The truck noise you hear, that's all the Missouri Department of Transportation. That's Highway 61 here; it's a north-south road. And there's a

critical struggle going on. It's one of the last ways to get across the Merrimack River in this entire region. The river's already encroaching upon the roadway, and people are having to drive through the floodwaters to get by. They are checking this literally almost minute by minute. They are hoping to keep it open because of the fact it's one of the few roads.

Arnold here, 22,000 people. Most are going to be OK. But the mayor says the flooding here potentially today, historic. These are critical hours, and it's likely they will surpass the previous flood records by not inches, but by feet. There are at least 50 to 150 homes that are threatened right now. It could get worse.

Fortunately, there have been no deaths. No loss of life here in this community. But they're struggling also to keep the power and lights on.

So, John, right now, it is going to be a moment to moment, wait and see. They've got to try and keep this road open as long as they can for both evacuations and help to come in -- John.

BERMAN: Several more hours until those rivers crest. Martin Savidge for us in Missouri. Thanks so much, Martin.

So could the United States be about to send more troops to Afghanistan? The top American military commander there is not ruling it out. Army General John Campbell says he wants to keep as many boots on the ground for as long as he can to accomplish the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. He will not rule out asking for more troops. Campbell will meet soon with senior government officials to talk about the troop levels there.

PEREIRA: The U.S. Treasury Department is set to slap financial sanctions on about a dozen companies and individuals in Iran, the UAE and Hong Kong. Officials say they all played a role in Iran's test launch of two ballistic missiles in the fall. The U.N. says the test violated a ban on Iran's development of systems capable of delivering a nuclear warhead.

CAMEROTA: Well, a terror thread targeting New York and two other major U.S. cities. Counterterrorism officials pulling out all the stops to make sure Times Square and other celebrations around the country are safe. We'll discuss all of that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:22:28] BERMAN: Federal officials are investigating a New Year's terror threat against three major U.S. cities: New York, Washington, Los Angeles. I want to show you some live pictures right now of Times Square, right here in New York. More than a million people expected tonight, sleepy right now. Will not stay that way for long.

The question, though, how credible is this terror threat? What is being done now to keep this city, Washington and Los Angeles, the entire country safe? Joining us now is former NYPD detective, Sergeant Joe Giacalone.

And Joe, thanks so much for being with us.

You hear about this threat. It apparently is a single overseas threat that came to the United States. The president was told about it weeks ago: New York, Washington, Los Angeles. How serious do you think it is?

JOE GIACALONE, FORMER NYPD DETECTIVE: Well, we take every threat serious. For instance, New Year's Eve night, we've been getting threats since they started doing this decades ago. So I don't think there's anything to worry about.

BERMAN: I've been in Times Square in New Year's Eve. And they won't let you walk in with a backpack. They won't let you walk in with food or water. I mean, it is safe. At least it feels safe inside there. Do you think people should feel comfortable when they go to Times Square tonight?

GIACALONE: Yes, absolutely. I mean, I've worked this detail about a dozen times. And I mean, you can't bring anything in. You know, you can't leave anything to chance. So I mean, there's metal detectors. There's -- they create these pens. They make -- we really have a good feel about what happens in security in regards to Times Square.

BERMAN: That said, what are the reasonable areas of concern, not just here but around the country? Take Los Angeles, for instance. The Rose Bowl parade. The Rose Parade. That's a long parade route. It's hard to keep that locked down.

GIACALONE: Sure. I mean, anywhere you have a huge group of people that come together is a good target for these guys. But on a night like this, when security is at its utmost, I don't think there's a possibilities of anything happening for that reason. And the bad guys know this, too. I mean, there's thousands of cops there tonight.

BERMAN: What's it like being on the other side? What's it like working on a day like today? If you're trying to look out for all of the problems that might exist?

GIACALONE: Well, I look at it this way. It's like being a pilot, right? Everyone is worried about the plane is going to crash. But the pilot is the guy or girl in charge of that. Same thing with the cops. The cops want to go home safe, too. So the issue it comes down to, everybody is at their highest level of security. Everyone's there to have a good time except for the cops. The cops are there to watch the crowds, to watch what's going on, and to make sure that everyone does have a safe time.

BERMAN: Look at what's happened overseas in Brussels and Paris. They cancelled New Year's celebrations. No fireworks displays there. When would you make a decision like that here?

GIACALONE: I think if we had multiple threats or they uncovered something ahead of time up to the schedule, then they would actually say, "OK, we're going to cool off certain things."

But Europe is in a different situation than we are here in the United States. I don't think they have the network and the abilities to pull off what they have out in Europe. Here it's more homegrown, radicalized people who are, you know, viewing things on the interview.

BERMAN: 2015. Today is the last year. It's been quite a year in terms of terror. It's a year that began with "Charlie Hebdo" in Paris and ended with the attacks in Paris in November, and also the attacks in San Bernardino. Is there a way to prepare for 2016? What would you be looking out for, for next year?

GIACALONE: Well, we really need to look at the social media aspect. How this group, ISIS, has been able to infiltrate the system and get into the minds of these people who, you know, quite honestly, have a little mental deficiency already. And they're -- they're counting on that. And they're getting bombarded with these messages at home, you know, watching these videos. They're getting the propaganda. And then they act upon it. And that's the real problem. So we really need to focus on what social media is doing to people?

BERMAN: Are we doing that yet? Are we starting to go down that path?

GIACALONE: Well, I think they already are doing it. Because, you know, even with San Bernardino, there were some things about Facebook posts and stuff like that. They've been on top of this for a long time. I mean, even job applications now, people are looking at your Facebook posts before they even hire you.

So this is an issue that's going to be going forward. And as it becomes more pervasive social media, it's going to be more part of our lives.

BERMAN: Let's talk about tonight again. If you're one of the million people heading to Times Square. We were just joking here. Like, New Yorkers do everything they can to get out of town tonight because of the traffic and everything else.

But other people, you know, look, it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing to see the ball drop. If you're standing there, what do you look out for?

GIACALONE: Well, like everything else, you have to enjoy yourself but also keep your eyes on what's going on, too. Listen, you have more of a chance of getting -- you know, someone taking your wallet from you than being a victim of a terrorist attack.

So the issue that it comes down to is go there, have a safe time, safe time, be aware of your surroundings.

BERMAN: What does it mean if you see something, say something? What does that really mean for you in law enforcement?

GIACALONE: Well, for law enforcement, we're actually hoping that if somebody has something like a device or something like that that looks unusual. That's the kind of phone call they're looking for but this is New York City. A lost weird stuff goes on.

So the issue it comes down to, listen, if you see something, do say something. Don't hold it back. Because if you go up to a police officer and say, listen, there's 6,000 cops there tonight. You're not going to be able to say, "Oh, I couldn't find a cop." So just go to them and say, "Listen, this is what I saw." And let them check it out.

BERMAN: If you're not worried about Times Square tonight, where would you be worried about tonight?

GIACALONE: I'd be worried about places that are outside of a major metropolitan area that doesn't have the resources here or in L.A. or something like that. In a small town somewhere. I mean, that's the -- the type of incident that they're looking for, where they don't have 5,000 cops along a parade route or something like that. An easy soft target is what they need. They're not looking at a hard target like New York City tonight.

BERMAN: All right. Joe Giacalone, have a happy and safe new year. Thanks for being with us.

GIACALONE: Thanks for having me -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right. We've been watching the flooding, historic flooding that could smash so many records in Missouri. Ahead, we're going to speak with a mayor of one of the hardest hit cities about what they're doing to keep residents safe. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)