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New Day

Iowa Caucus: What Issues are Resonating with Voters?; Cold Snap Returns to East Coast; Rock Icon David Bowie Dies at 69; Ricky Gervais Hosts 73rd Golden Globe Awards. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired January 11, 2016 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:01] MICHAEL VIGIL, FMR. DEA CHIEF OF INTL. OPERATIONS: Well, the fact of the matter is that unless they aided and abetted and provided material support, no. There's other precedence where, you know, reporters have gone in and interviewed, for example, Osama bin Laden when he was in - heading up al Qaeda. There was the owner of Elprocesso (ph) in Mexico that went to see the number two individual of the Sinaloa Cartel, a man by the name of Ish Miel Miosabada (ph), interviewed him. So there is really no basis to arrest them or to try them based on the fact that they met with Chapo Guzman.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, there you go. Mr. Michael Vigil, thanks so much for sharing your experience with us on NEW DAY.

VIGIL: It's a pleasure.

CAMEROTA: Let's get to Michaela.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Alisyn.

The race for Iowa coming down to the wire for Democrats. Clinton and Sanders in a virtual tie. Why is this race so competitive, so close to the caucuses?

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[08:35:01] CAMEROTA: Only three weeks to the Iowa caucuses and new polls showing a virtual tie in Iowa for the Democrats. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders just three points apart, within the margin of error. How will the race change as it continues to tighten? Dr. Andy McGuire is the chair of the Iowa Democratic Party. She joins us now.

Dr. McGuire, thanks so much for being here.

DR. ANDY MCGUIRE, CHAIR, IOWA DEMOCRATIC PARTY: Well, thank you for having me.

CAMEROTA: Are you surprised by how tight the numbers are on the Democratic side?

MCGUIRE: You know, since the beginning, I've always said it's going to be competitive. It usually is in Iowa. And it certainly has held to that now.

CAMEROTA: But, Dr. McGuire, explain how this is possible. How is it that a senator, certainly one without, before now, household name recognition, from Vermont, not a battleground state, has caught up so decisively with arguably the most famous woman in the world, Hillary Clinton?

MCGUIRE: You know, this is what makes Iowa very special, is it's not about name ID, it's not about how much money you have, it's about coming and meeting with Iowans, talking about issues that are really important to them. And that's what Senator Sanders has done. That's what Secretary Clinton's done. It's what Governor O'Malley's done. And that's why they're doing well in Iowa. So that's the kind of sort of special cause we have and why I think it's so important we're first in the nation.

CAMEROTA: OK. So what are Democratic voters in Iowa really wanting to hear? What do you think their main issue is?

MCGUIRE: Well, I think they have a couple of issues and I think it's - what you need to talk to is, what your vision is for the country and for our state. You need to talk about education. You need to talk about health care. You need to talk about income inequality. College affordability has been a big issue. So I think as you talk to people at their kitchen tables, in their small communities, as you talk to them about those issues and how you want to take the country forward, I think that's what Iowans are really looking for.

CAMEROTA: Aren't those the issues, certainly those pocketbook issues, that Bernie Sanders is best known for over Hillary Clinton?

MCGUIRE: You know, I don't think any of the candidates in particular are known for those issues. They're all working on those issues. You know what I really see is our candidates are all talking about thoughtful solutions to the problems that are happening to our Iowa families, and how they can really take our country forward. And really the contrast is with the Republicans really not talking about solutions but talking in a more hateful way.

CAMEROTA: In fact, one of the things that Donald Trump is talking about, he's bringing up Bill Clinton's sexual past and making that a campaign issue. Do you hear that resonating at all? Or what are Iowans saying about that line?

MCGUIRE: You know, I don't hear that at all. I go all over Iowa. And you know what I hear Iowans talking about? I hear them talking about their kids. I hear them talking about the future of this country. I hear them talking about economic issues. I hear them talking about how they want to send their kids to college but they - either themselves or their children are going to be saddled with debt. I hear them talking about health care and making sure that we have health care for everyone in the future. That's the sort of comments I hear and so that's what I think will make the difference in this caucus.

CAMEROTA: Dr. McGuire, I want to get you to address one little interesting hiccup that's happened in your state. There's this Iowa Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful, Thomas Fiegen (ph). He says that there's a Democratic machine in Iowa and it is rigged to elect Hillary Clinton. His evidence is that he said that he was trying to put out on social media an endorsement of his own for Bernie Sanders and that it was edited out somehow. Do you want to address that?

MCGUIRE: Well, I'm not sure I know what you're speaking of. But I can tell you that the Democratic Party, and myself in particular, I have been completely neutral and non-partisan in this election. We want all of our candidates to be able to go all over Iowa and talk about our Democratic message. Really, to me, that's so important. So I'm not favoring anyone. The Democratic Party is not favoring anyone. And, really, we're hearing from all these organizations, they're great organizations, so I really don't think that's something that's really happening.

CAMEROTA: OK, we are looking forward to coming to Iowa. I'll be there tomorrow. The rest of us will be there over the next three weeks, so we'll see you there.

MCGUIRE: Fabulous.

CAMEROTA: So we will see you there. Thanks so much for being on NEW DAY.

MCGUIRE: Look forward to it. Thanks for having me.

CAMEROTA: Michaela.

PEREIRA: Good times in Iowa. It's going to be awesome, Alisyn.

All right, ahead, he was a rock and roll hero who inspired millions. Ahead, more on the life and music of the iconic David Bowie.

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[08:42:59] PEREIRA: All right, here we go with the five things to know for your new day.

At number one, friends and fans around the world mourning the death of David Bowie. The British rock legend died following an 18-month battle with cancer. He had just turned 69 years of age on Friday.

Authorities in Mexico say they want to talk to actor Sean Penn about that interview he conducted in October with the fugitive drug lord El Chapo. Mexican officials are now beginning the extradition process to the U.S.

Three weeks before the Iowa caucuses, Republicans Ted Cruz and Donald Trump neck and neck in Iowa, but Trump leads in New Hampshire. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders by only three points in Iowa. Sanders, meanwhile, has a narrow lead in New Hampshire.

CNN has exclusively spoken with a man detained by North Korea who the regime says is an American citizen. Kim Dong Chul is begging for help after government officials say he handed over confidential information to South Korea.

The Ringling Brothers Circus retiring its elephant acts in May of this year according to the AP. That's a year and a half earlier ahead of schedule. The circus had faced several issues with allegations of poor treatment and local laws preventing aspects of the shows.

For more on the five things, be sure to visit newdaycnn.com.

Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right. So, I've got bad news for you. After a few mild days here on the East Coast, I am told, some say, old man winter is making a bitter return. Don't blame me. I fought for this not to be the case. But meteorologist Chad Everett Myers, not to be confused with other movie stars of similar looks, has a forecast that you will find foreboding.

Chad, if you must.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Sixty degrees in New York City yesterday and now it's 30, Chris. I mean things have just gone downhill quickly. It's the same cold front that you probably watched Minneapolis and Seattle play in yesterday. That cold air just ripped through the Midwest and into the Northeast. Batteries are dying all over the northeast today. You're going to have to put a new one in maybe if your battery's low, it starts to get colder and they start to work less. Then, all of a sudden, the engine goes, rur, rur, and then it doesn't go any farther than that.

[08:45:10] But look at the difference between 65 in Philly and 36 right now. So things have really gone down. There is lake-effect snow in Buffalo, at least south towns. And then into Water Town and even in the eastern shores there of lake Michigan. There will be a lot of snow. Some spots could pick up a couple feet. But those are the Tug Hill Plateau areas and those south towns, those real snow band areas of western New York.

It doesn't warm up much. We stay in the 30s and 40s. Even on Wednesday, Alisyn, only a high of 31. Morning lows will be in the teens in New York City. And it feels a lot colder right now than when you went to work. That's how quickly the air is coming into the city.

CAMEROTA: Yikes. I don't like it either, but it is January.

MYERS: That's right.

CAMEROTA: So I accept it. Chad, thank you very much.

MYERS: You're welcome.

CAMEROTA: Well, his hit songs like "Let's Dance" dominated the Billboard charts for decades. This morning, David Bowie fans paying tribute to the legendary musician. A look back at Bowie's incredible life and career straight ahead.

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[08:50:04] PEREIRA: Oh (inaudible) -- I think that was my favorite David Bowie song. CAMEROTA: It is such a good one.

PEREIRA: "The Starman" by legendary David Bowie. The rock icon died Sunday after a year and a half battle with cancer. A battle that was very, very private.

Let's bring in former editor for "People" magazine, Larry Hackett. And he's back, CNN senior media correspondent and host of "RELIABLE RESOURCES," Brian Stelter.

First of all, both of you reflect on it. What has his loss -- What is it going to mean to the world of music< Larry?

LARRY HACKETT, FORMER EDITOR, PEOPLE, MAGAZINE: I think an argument could be made that after the Beatles, he was the most influential pop star of the past 50 years. The level of invention, the level of challenging. His new record that came out on Friday is an incredibly challenging jazz record. He was always looking to do something different. But putting aside all that kind of stuff, song after song after song are just incredible. They're part of our consciousness and I just think it's going to be -- It's a terrible, terrible loss.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yeah Kanye West said this morning, "David Bowie made magic for a lifetime." He was definitely magic, and it was for a lifetime. It was for 50 years. And it's a combination of those two qualities that makes him that icon that we're all describing.

HACKETT: Look at the people who are famous now. You look at Lady Gaga, you look at Katy Perry, you look at U2, you look at Madonna. They are all from - you know -- were spawned by him. What he did was just so unbelievable.

PEREIRA: Yes. The performance art aspect of performing.

HACKETT: Absolutely. Absolutely. No question about it.

CAMEROTA: Right. I mean, and he hasn't had a hit like No. 1 song since the '80s with "Let's Dance" and that album, but his legacy or his impact continued on. I mean, just - you were saying Lady Gaga just tweeted about it.

STELTER: Right. And actually -- Even though he didn't have an individual single that popped quite as bright or as -- His album that came out last weekend did make No. 1 in the U.K. right away. And I think No. 2 in the U.S. So there wasn't an individual song, but even the new album was getting a lot of critical acclaim.

HACKETT: Right. Because you had to hear it. It was a new David Bowie record. You had to hear what he was up to.

CUOMO: That's the point. There's a difference between cool and commercial.

HACKETT: Absolutely. CUOMO: He was cool. And yes, a lot of others came and followed in his

footsteps. But they never made him fade. You know what I mean? He never was exceeded by them. His art always remained unique.

HACKETT: I'm going to see a musical that he wrote on Wednesday night that's brand new and it's downtown. It's called Lazarus. It's an experimental theater. I mean the man was always, always pushing the art. He could have sat back and played "Rebel Rebel" every night, right? But he didn't do that. He was making new music and always trying to, you know, push the boundaries of his art.

PEREIRA: All right. Well we actually had brought you guys in to talk about the Globes last night, but obviously we wanted to talk about the passing of this icon. So let's pivot to the Globes. First of all, Larry, your overall grade of the show.

HACKETT: I'd give it like a B or a B-.

PEREIRA: Wow.

HACKETT: The Golden Globes are like the Iowa caucuses. Right? You have an incredibly small -unrepresentative number of people with an inordinate influence over a bigger thing that happens down the road.

STELTER: Yes. That is true. What is it, 97 voters from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association?

HACKETT: It's almost laughable.

PEREIRA: Influencing the Oscars, obviously.

HACKETT: Yeah.

PEREIRA: So Brian, let's pivot to Ricky Gervais. How did he do?

STELTER: Yeah, you know, he - There were a lot of really polarizing opinions about Richard Gervais. I found him to be funny enough. Certainly there were some moments where he was purposely crossing the line, but I thought he kept the show going all right. Big surprise to me with regards to the Oscars was that "Spotlight" was pretty much shut out. There has been a lot of expectations that "Spotlight" is going to be the movie to beat at the Academy Awards. The nominations come out later this week. But to see it not perform well at the Golden Globes was surprising last night.

CUOMO: Very domestic. Very American film, obviously, as well --

STELTER: Right. All about -

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: This is the Foreign Press.

HACKETT: Not a star power movie. The reason like one -- particularly a person leading it. You know, Michael Keaton is there, but it's not like this movie with Leo DiCaprio. STELTER: Right. Yeah, Leonardo DiCaprio really winning the night and

his movie winning the night.

CUOMO: So is this his year? What do you think?

STELTER: Well, isn't every year sort of Leonardo DiCaprio's year?

(CROSSTALK)

HACKETT: Yeah. I think so.

PEREIRA: You think it might be?

HACKETT: I think it might be. Now look, the voting is already in. But I think so. There's no - again - the (inaudible) political analogy, there's no real challenger to him, right?

CUOMO: What about Eddie Redmayne? Does he not make the cut?

HACKETT: Eddie Redmayne already won. He won last year.

PEREIRA: Not as many surprises film-wise, but on the TV side there were. Some old favorites. And these are all new -- newish franchises. But --

STELTER: Yeah. "Mr. Robot" on USA.

PEREIRA: "Mr. Robot" -- big surprise for a lot of people.

HACKETT: Huge. Yeah.

STELTER: A show that I've been meaning to watch, now I have to binge it on Amazon, "Mozart in the Jungle."

PEREIRA: My favorite show, but I thought I was the only person watching it.

CAMEROTA: I think you are the only person watching it.

STELTER: No, not anymore. I mean, that's what the Golden Globes are useful for. They do give attention to lesser known shows. We saw Jeff Bezos, the Amazon CEO, in the audience last night celebrating "Mozart in the Jungle."

HACKETT: But the nods to those kinds of shows, what does that mean for the Golden Globes themselves? I cannot imagine people are tuning in to see ""Mr. Robot" win the ward. I mean, I would be shocked if the ratings are down dramatically this year, as they were last year.

PEREIRA: You both seem very ho-hum about this show. But I have to tell you, it's the best party in town. You hear from all the folks that have to go to these shows. They have a good time at that show.

HACKETT: It is. It is.

CUOMO: Gervais had a beer on that podium. (CROSSTALK)

HACKETT: It's fun to watch. It's like a celebrity petting zoo.

STELTER: And I was so happy to see "The Martian" win for best comedy. It's so strange -

HACKETT: But it's not a comedy, is it?

STELTER: I know it's ridiculous -

(CROSSTALK)

HACKETT: But here we are talking about it the next day because it isn't a comedy. I mean, it's part of that ridiculous thing that the Golden Globes are.

PEREIRA: But then you end up pushing, you know, other actual comedies, "Train Wreck" and some of the others, aside.

[08:55:00] STELTER: Right. That's a fair point. I mean "Train Wreck" could have won in that category. It was a beautiful movie, wonderful movie. But it was shoved aside by --

HACKETT: Here's a test. Quick. Ask somebody who won for the best picture award today, but ask them also what color Jennifer Lawrence's dress was. They'll know what color her dress was. That's why people watch this show.

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: All right, guys. Thanks for that good wrap-up and reflecting on David Bowie's life. We're going to have " The Good Stuff" for you next.

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CUOMO: This is a good one. If you live in any city, you know there are homeless people there. But what do you do when you see them? Most people try and figure out what not to do.

Look at this from New York City. Subway computer on the train on the way to Brooklyn, he sees this guy go over to a homeless guy, he starts to video with his phone. What does he do? He literally took off his shirt, the shirt off his back, gave it to the homeless man, talked to him, helped him put the shirt on. He then went back to his seat, he took his hat, put the hat on the man. And then before exiting the train, Lazaro Nolasco, who shot the video, says he heard the good Samaritan ask if the homeless man wanted to go to the hospital, which he replied yes and he took him away. This is what "The Good Stuff" is truly about.

CAMEROTA: That is so nice. I mean, a lot of - you know, I ride the subway, people avert their eyes when they see something painful and he stepped up and did something.

PEREIRA: Well done.

CUOMO: People will say, you don't know, well what am I going to do? What am I going to do? You can always do something. You don't have to do what this man did, but it just shows you a beautiful example of how far some of us are willing to go.

CAMEROTA: There you go. It is time now for "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello.