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New Day

Potential Medical Breakthroughs in 2016; New Laws on the Books; Preview of the Awards Season. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired January 01, 2016 - 07:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:22] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Sax always makes me think of drunk thoughts. You know?

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Does it?

CUOMO: It's a little woozy boozy.

CAMEROTA: It makes me a little nostalgic. You know? That poignance, or drunk.

CUOMO: Or nostalgic, same thing.

CAMEROTA: Happy new year. Welcome back to this special edition of NEW DAY. We have a lot to get to this half hour, including some incredible medical breakthroughs that we could see this year.

CUOMO: And we're going to take a look at new laws on the books that you need to know about.

But first, a lot of news. Let's get you a check of the headlines at the newsdesk.

FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, good morning again, evreyone, and happy new year. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Let's took a look at the top stories

(HEADLINES)

WHITFIELD: All right, that's a look at your new year's morning headlines. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Michaela, back to you.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Whenever there is important health news, our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is the man to turn to, to break it all down for us. This morning we're looking ahead to 2016 for reasons to be hopeful when it comes to our health in the new year.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now from Atlanta. We probably should be talking about hangover remedies, but we will stick to the things that a lot of us are really feeling, stories that resonate with us. We know that just a few weeks ago, Jimmy Carter, former president, announced that he is cancer-free at age 91. Talk about this, because this has got to represent really good news for other cancer patients?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I think it absolutely does and keep in mind he's 91 years old. So, you know, it says many things. It's good news for cancer patients across the board but also people who are older, always weighing this idea, should I be getting therapy? Will it be too hard on my body? Those are still obviously very important questions. But at 91 years old, he's doing well.

Keep in mind, Michaela, he had a -- he has metastatic melanoma, a type of skin cancer that has spread throughout his body. It was found in his liver and his brain, and he got an operation on his liver to remove that, he got radiation to his brain, and he's taking another type of drug that's known as an immunotherapy drug and it seems to at least at this time be working. There's no evidence that he has cancer is his body. He got scans and it doesn't show it and he says he's feeling well. So fingers are crossed, but this is, again, pretty exciting news that he seems to at least be free of cancer at this time.

PEREIRA: A couple of points to remember. He is an extraordinary human being. He has beat the odds in a number of ways here. We know he's made of other stuff, but the fact that he is 91. I mean, that is truly, truly remarkable, but it also speaks to the science and where the science is going. That is where I think we're feeling most hopeful. Correct?

GUPTA: I think so. And let me tell you, these immunotherapy drugs, we've been hearing about these sort of generally for several years, but the drug he's on was just approved last year, or in 2014. And it's kind amazing. Think of it like this, Michaela. The time that I'm talking to you right now, you're developing cancer in your body, and your immune system is fighting that. So it's a constant war going on in your body.

[07:35:01] What happens with certain types of cancer including melanoma, when they start to form, they turn off your immune system, or at least make it not work as well. This drug comes and turns the immune system back on and lets the body do what it can do. It lets the immune system fight the cancer. So it's remarkable, if it works, and it seems to be in his case, that it would be very significant for lots of patients out there.

PEREIRA: Well, also some good news from the CDC on the HIV/AIDS front. Cases are down 20 percent overall in the United States, although I understand that they're way up among two groups. What are those two groups? And give us an overall look at where this epidemic is headed?

GUPTA: We -- yes, overall, the numbers are down, as you mentioned. And there were significant dips for a period of time and then sort of plateauing. But among gay African-Americans, bisexual African- Americans, as well as well gay and bisexual Latino men, between the ages of 13 and 24, so young men, it's gone up. It's gone up still 87 percent in terms of new cases.

PEREIRA: Wow. GUPTA: So that's pretty significant. We have made a lot of progress

in terms of treatment, as you know. The cocktails of drugs have turned people who have this diagnosis into one with chronic disease as opposed to a death sentence. You've heard that. There's new medications out there that can -- with 90 percent sort of significance, they can decrease the likelihood that you'll become infected with HIV/AIDS. So it's really almost acting like a preventive. So these are really important developments.

PEREIRA: And in fact they're talking, the new AIDS vaccine, they're about to do a trial here in the United States, right?

GUPTA: Yes. Robert Gallo, remember his name? His name was the one that really was the first person to associate the fact that this thing known as -- now everyone knows as HIV was causing the infections. People didn't know this before some of his work. It's his trial. He's been working on this for a long time. It hasn't even really started. It's going to go into Phase One trials, but they've already gone through animal studies and he's optimistic about it. So I think the scientific world is paying attention. But, again, Michaela, even short of a vaccine, Michaela, there are so many things people can do.

PEREIRA: Absolutely.

GUPTA: The preventatives, get tested, and make sure hat they're always practicing safe sex.

PEREIRA: That awareness is so key here.

Good news on the diabetes front. This is remarkable. The first time in 25 years the cases of new diabetes has dropped. What's going on? It's working. We're paying attention; we're making changes.

GUPTA: I feel like, people are actually paying attention when we talk. It's kind of nice. You know, look, here's what we were saying a few years ago, that by the year 2020, half the country would either have diabetes or be pre-diabetic. Half the country. And now we're seeing, as you point out, for the first time, that there have been fewer new cases of diabetes in this country. It's -- it's great news.

Just to give you context, there were 1.7 million new cases the year before. And now 1.4 million new cases this year. So not a huge drop but, look, we thought we were going like this --

PEREIRA: But it's in the right direction. Righht.

GUPTA: Yes, we're exercising more, we're eating less, we're drinking less soda. People, I think people are just generally aware that we need to be healthy. They're not as sedentary as they used to be. There are more healthy choices available. These things make a difference.

PEREIRA: Speaking of healthy choices, you've been a proponent of cutting sugar out of a person's diet. Talk about that really quickly. New studies showing how beneficial that one move, which would be significant for some of us, but that can really contribute to better health?

GUPTA: There's no question. I thought what was fascinating about this study, really good news, was that if you just cut out added sugar out of your diet, just the added sugar, for ten days -- we're not asking people to change their entire life. Ten days of cutting out added sugar, you could decrease some of the fatty components in your blood known at triglycerides, you could reduce blood pressure, and you would decrease your chances of developing a heart disease or strokes.

Now, obviously, you want to keep it up after the ten days. But the point is, that just as quickly as sugar can have these adverse effects in your body, you can get rid of those adverse effects in your body pretty quickly. So if you do this, and what a great time to do it, beginning of the year --

PEREIRA: Hello.

GUPTA: -- it make as huge difference in terms of your overall survival and [probably how you feel.

PEREIRA: Well, that was exactly why I wanted to talk to you about this on this day, because people are setting those new year's resolutions. It's a good time to start, something like this. At least try it out, see if you can stick to it.

Sanjay Gupta, nobody better I'd like to start the new year out with, thanks for joining us.

GUPTA: Happy new year.

PEREIRA: You, too, love. Chris?

CUOMO: Thanks, Mick. All right, so we saw some historic rulings from the Supreme Court this past year, including decisions on same-sex marriage, lethal injection, the Affordable Care Act. Now that we're beginning 2016, what is next?

Here to break it down for us is legal analyst and criminal defense attorney, Mr. Danny Cevallos. Happy new year, my brother.

DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Happy new year, Chris.

CUOMO: Happy you're here. So do you have a favorite? Let's start with affirmative action case. That's a big case going on. Do you think affirmative action is done?

[07:40:00] CEVALLOS: Affirmative action could go away and it's been around some time. The Supreme Court hasn't really spoken on it in a while, but at issue here is whether or not the University of Texas can use sort of that holistic approach in which they take race into account when deciding who gets into the entering freshman class at Texas.

CUOMO: Hmm. Now, Justice Scalia made some headlines a little while ago by bringing up this brief that had been submitted that showed research, controversial research, that when you looked at African- Americans in the science field, that the higher performing professionals had gone to second tier colleges, or not the top, top, top colleges. And the suggestion was, maybe affirmative action is putting them places where they're not going to do as well. What do you think about that?

CEVALLOS: Well, this is always an issue in measuring discriminatory impact. I mean, do you look at your end data and decide whether or not there is discrimination, whether there is racial inequality just based on that data? You know, ultimately, when it comes to affirmative action, it's caught in a bit of a Gordian Knot itself, because how do you achieve racial diversity using racially neutral criteria? It may be something that is possible in theory but simply impossible in practice, and the Supreme Court hat to make a decision.

CUOMO: Usually they're there to divine with the rule is, here they're to divine an exception to the rule with equal protection. We'll see what happens with that.

Abortion back on the docket. Tell us about the case.

CEVALLOS: Again, another issue the Supreme Court hasn't really visited in a long time. But the issue is basically this -- the rule since Planned Parenthood v. Casey is that the government can put restrictions on a woman's right to get an abortion, but they may not create what is called an "undue burden". And I put that in quotes because the Supreme Court has given us virtually no guidance whatsoever as to what an undue burden is.

So in the present case, you could boil it down to this -- is it an undue burden if you heighten the standards on abortion clinics such that citizens in a state have to drive an extra three hours to find an abortion clinic? Now, that's an oversimplification. Basically it's requiring, No. 1, that physicians performing abortions be admitted at a hospital within 30 miles. And No. 2, it heightens the standards of an abortion clinic so that it must be equal to a surgical center. Now, the net effect of that is that less and less clinics will meet that criteria. And as a result some have to close, and there simply will be less clinics available to citizens of that state. So the question is, is that an undue burden?

CUOMO: It's access versus avoiding having a chop shop mentality? Right? That's what the proonents of the increased standards say, is we want this to be as healthy and safe for people as possible.

CEVALLOS: Of course. It's why we have all kinds of rules and standards for hospitals and medical facilities to protect citizens. And that's of course what the proponents of the law are arguing, that the only reason we have the rules to make abortions safer. People who oppose the law say, no, no, no. While it may make them safer, the net effect is to make it more difficult to find a place that can do an abortion, therefore undue burden is achieved.

CUOMO: They say it's not to make it better, it's how to make it harder. The trick for Court is, is this a political issue? Is it a legal issue? They're looking at access. That's going to be a complicated case. How about Mary Jane? Marijuana has been making its way through

different state legislatures. It found fairly significant legal approval on the federal scale. What do you think we're going to see there?

CEVALLOS: As a criminal defense attorney, I am grappling with this. I feel like in the trenches when it comes to the legality of marijuana, because we're in a bit of a crisis of federalism. Because under federal law marijuana is still illegal.

CUOMO: It's a scheduled drug.

CEVALLOS: But when you get out to places like California, legality of marijuana, it's not just county by county anymore. It's city by city. When you talk about patchwork legislation, marijuana is this battlefield. It's impossible as a citizen to know where you stand, whether or not marijuana is legal in your state. Even if it is legal, it may be illegal under federal law.

So we are in a bit of a quagmire when it comes to marijuana legislation and all we can really hope for in the coming year is some clarity. At least as we march, states march towards legalization, at least we hope that we march towards some sort of uniformity, some clarity on the nation, whether it be yea or nay.

CUOMO: How would you get it from the Supreme Court, though? Wouldn't they have to say this isn't for us. It's a law. If you make it legal, it's legal. If you make it illegal, it's illegal. We can't give you some kind of a higher sense? No pun intended.

CEVALLOS: Right, exactly, that's a compelling argument. Right? I mean, states traditionally have those reserved powers to legislate in this area. But, of course, the federal government has chosen to outlaw marijuana, marijuana under federal law. So it's not just a question of whether states have the rights to legislate in this area; it's a question of the conflict of the federal government preemption against state law.

[07:45:03] CUOMO: We haven't seen a case yet where somebody's bringing it from one state to another, they get caught in the interstate movement, and it winds up being a federal case and they get jammed up. That's the way we'll start seeing the system start moving on this.

Danny Cevallos, thank you so much. All the best for the new year.

CEVALLOS: Happy new year, Chris.

CUOMO: Happy new year to you as well. Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: OK, Chris, how about entertainment? We've got the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes, a lot of awards shows to look forward to. So who are the potential winners? Who are the losers? We've got a preview ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PEREIRA: Be happy.

CAMEROTA: It's raucous, it's festive, welcome back and happy new year, everyone. The Academy Awards are quickly approaching. That's what we just saw tonight. In the past year, there were a lot of great movies that have the potential to be big winners. So who might go home with the big prize and who could go home empty-handed?

Joining us to talk about the Oscar possibilities is our CNN senior media correspondent, Brian Stelter.

PEREIRA: Let's rename his Mr. Possibility.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, just for the next few minutes.

PEREIRA: Just for the next four minutes, we will ask you about all the possibilities.

CAMEROTA: Right, so what movie do we need to run out today and see?

PEREIRA: Oh, that's a really good question.

STELTER: Perfect day for that.

[07:50:01] I think you ought to see "Joy" if you haven't seen "Joy" yet. Jennifer Lawrence is certainly going to be contender for Best Actress.

You got to see "Spotlight" if you haven't seen "Spotlight" yet.

PEREIRA: A little heavier.

STELTER: The drama about "The Boston Globe". It seems like it's got a real great chance both for the Golden Globes and for the Oscars.

PEREIRA: I want to talk about Jennifer Lawrence for a second, because when she pairs with Bradley Cooper, it seems to be box office gold.

STELTER: Magic. Absolutely.

PEREIRA: And I think we might have that again.

STELTER: Absolutely. And already we're waiting on the Oscar nominations, but already for the Golden Globes we know Jennifer Lawrence is the one to beat in that category. So the Golden Globes are in about ten days. Then we're going to get the Oscar nominations.

PEREIRA: 14 days after.

STELTER: Yep. And the Golden Globes always set up the Oscars really nicely.

PEREIRA: They're a nice one-two punch, aren't they?

STELTER: They're sometimes more of a populist awards show. People debate about how influential they are, but they're a great start to the season. And then we get the real show, the Academy Awards, later.

CAMEROTA: Why aren't Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper dating?

STELTER: Well, you're asking the wrong guy for that.

PEREIRA: Mr. Possibility does go there.

CAMEROTA: But that's my point. I mean, these two are constantly in the movies together. I just feel like at any minute they should start dating.

STELTER: But would you believe it if they did or would you think it was all set up by the studios?

PEREIRA: Set up.

CAMEROTA: Well, I do sometimes think that.

STELTER: Where they used to do back in the day.

PEREIRA: I want to talk about Leondardo DiCaprio. This film, "The Revenant".

STELTER: Yes.

PEREIRA: First of all, give people one line about it, because this is one that some might not know about. But this is another one that there's quite a lot of possibility for.

STELTER: Yes, he -- he just completely transforms himself. We see him here out in the wilderness, and this is the kind of movie that feels like it was made to win awards. It's already nominated for "Golden Globes" and I'm sure he'll have a big chance at the Academy Awards as well.

PEREIRA: And he hasn't won an Oscar yet, so this puts him perhaps in good place.

STELTER: And sometimes in these situations, these actors are picking movies that they believe are going to put them in the best possible situation.

PEREIRA: Wait, they make calculated choices?

CAMEROTA: Well, he does has stiff competition, right? Mark Ruffalo, also a great actor. Michael Keaton. There are -- I mean, it's a good crop.

STELTER: Michael Fassbender and Will Smith were also nominated for Best Actors for Drama for the Golden Globes, so there are a lot of contenders this time. Will Smith for "Concussion", Michael Fassbender for the Steve Jobs film. So there are a whole variety. Both of the women and the men this year are really interesting races.

PEREIRA: Interesting to see a little bit of nostalgia too, right? With -- we saw "Creed". We were just talking about general movies and who could potentially be nominated? Do you think Sly Stallone and the Rocky franchise, you know, it's part of that realm, right? He plays -- Michael B. Jordan, Jack -- let me get his name right.

CAMEROTA: Go ahead.

PEREIRA: He's your guy.

CAMEROTA: I love him.

PEREIRA: The actor that plays Creed's son.

CAMEROTA: Well, I can only tell you his character in "All My Children".

PEREIRA: He is the best --

CAMEROTA: That's when I started watching him.

PEREIRA: He plays Creed's son. And he wants to go to Sly Stallone to have him train, right?

STELTER: Yes. There's so much nostalgia attached to this movie, and I think people are rooting for it partly for that reason. Because of the history with the film. But it is going to be very tough for a film like this.

PEREIRA: You think?

STELTER: I do, I do. I mean --

PEREIRA: Maybe a nod for Sly?

STELTER: You look at the Golden Globe nominations. We saw "Mad Max: Fury Road" instead, we saw "Carol", we saw "Room" nominated, but I think a lot of people would love to see Sly Stallone nominated.

CAMEROTA: OK, which actresses should we be keeping our eye on? Who's -- who do you think is going to take it away?

STELTER: Well, certainly Jennifer Lawrence at the top of the list because of what we were talking about with "Joy". It's the kind of movie that came out right around Christmas, right time for the award season, so people hopefully see it in the next few weeks ahead of the Golden Globes, ahead of the Oscars. She is going to be the one to beat when it comes to the Best Actress category.

PEREIRA: We saw some nods though with other award shows. Maggie Smith. Jane Fonda. It's nice to see -- yes, I was about to see some not 20-year-old actresses getting recognized for their roles.

STELTER: Absolutely. And Jane Fonda in particular. I've heard so much buzz about her performance, people saying it's her best in many, many years.

PERREIRA: I can't wait to see that.

CAMEROTA: That is fantastic.

PEREIRA: OK, so obviously we have a huge list of films to see. So the date's coming up. Golden Globes nomination on the 10th. We'll learn more about -- so you've got --

STELTER: Well, the Golden Globe Awards on the 10th.

PEREIRA: Right, already did the nominations.

STELTER: We will get the nomination for the Academy Awards.

Right, and we haven't even talked about some of the comedies. You know, the Golden Globes have seen "The Martian" nominated. What else do we see for the comedies?

PEREIRA: "Trainwreck".

STELTER: We saw "Trainwreck", we saw "Joy".

PEREIRA: "Spy".

STELTER: And also "The Big Short", which is the movie about the financial crisis in 2008. Kind of funny it was nominated in the comedic category. It has dramatic elements as well. But that's a big one, I think. People -- I haven't seen it yet. Very compelling, and folks like Steve Carrell in that film.

CAMEROTA: Speaking of comedy, it's Chris Rock who's going to be hosting the Academy Awards, right?

STELTER: He is, he is.

CAMEROTA: That is great.

PEREIRA: He did it once before.

STELTER: Yes. It's a big comeback for him. Ricky Gervais on the Golden Globes will also be very funny. I think there's a lot more anticipation for Chris Rock at the Academy Awards. It always the biggest night in Hollywood.

PEREIRA: Cannot wait. Brian Stelter, we love you.

CAMEROTA: Thanks so much.

STELTER: Happy new year.

PEREIRA: Happy new year to you.

STELTER: Happy 2016.

PEREIRA: Happy new year. I'm going to keep saying it.

CAMEROTA: I love it.

PEREIRA All day. CUOMO: So what do you got? You know what this time of year is about.

What do you want for yourself? What's the big promise?

PEREIRA: I thought that was Christmas. Oh, it's resolutions.

CUOMO: What you do got?

CAMEROTA: I don't make resolutions.

CUOMO: Oh please, why not.

CAMEROTA: Because I just break them. I mean --

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: All right. I'm try to exercise more.

[07:55:00] CUOMO: Will you?

PEREIRA: Are you buying this, America? I'm not.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Let's ask the back of your flapping arm what it says.

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: He made my flab talk!

PEREIRA: Wow.

CUOMO: So what do you got?

PEREIRA: You gonna be nicer this year?

CUOMO: Nope. Maxed out.

CAMEROTA: What are you going to do this year?

PEREIRA: I, you know what, I'm with you. I changed it. I hated doing resolutions so now my guy and I, we do themes. And I realized I spent way too much time this last year being anxious about stuff that I need not worry about. So I'm going to be more in the now. Be present and stop, you know, the power of now. That's my theme.

CAMEROTA: Yes, the power of now. I like it. Go. I like it.

CUOMO: 2016 for me is going to be the year of new things. I'm going to do five new things I have never done before.

CAMEROTA: Do you know what they are?

CUOMO: No, and that's one of the good things for me, because I'm a control freak, right? So for me it's going to be five -- I think you got to keep growing.

PEREIRA: Wear high heel shoes?

CUOMO: I love high heels. Don't kid yourself. Some cans! Woo! I'm going pick five things I have not -- I believe that is how you maximize your life.

CAMEROA: Sure.

CUOMO: You got to grow. You got to try things.

CAMEROTA: Yes, I think it involves jumping out of something.

CUOMO: No, I did that. You know, I jumped off a Trump hotel, the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, for charity.

CAMEROTA: Voluntarily.

PEREIRA: Does this involve lifting something heavier?

CUOMO: No, I'm done lifting heavyweights. I will never do that again.

PEREIRA: Never say never.

CUOMO: Never.

CAMEROTA: Wow, this is going to be a big year.

CUOMO: That's done. Five new things.

PEREIRA: Have you already picked the five things? Wait, that's my thing. Isn't the Five Things For your NEW DAY --

CAMEROTA: Look at him, he's stealing it.

CUOMO: You need to know!

CAMEROTA: Look at him, he's stealing it.

CUOMO: What do you think? I think it's a good idea, Chris. .

PEREIRA: That's just mean. We don't stand for that.

CAMEROTA: I'm going to go to the gym.

CUOMO: Give it a name.

CAMEROTA: The gym. I'm going to try.

CUOMO: The race for the White House clearly the political story other than the beating I'm about to get off camera. Who will ultimately square off to become commander-in-chief? Who are your picks?

We don't know. Why don't you tell me!

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: This is my first muscle!

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