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Kremlin Denies Claim Russian Planes Bombed Syrian Hospital; Clinton Barks Like a Dog to Mock Republicans; Reuters: Peyton Manning Cited in Title IX Lawsuit; Big Winners at the Grammy Awards. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired February 16, 2016 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[06:34:01] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: The Kremlin this morning denying reports that Russian warplanes bombed two hospitals and a school in Syria, killing at least 22 people.
Senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen is live in Damascus with the very latest for us and what we know -- Fred.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Michaela.
Yes, absolutely horrifying attacks that took place, both of them in northern Syria, one more towards the east, one more towards the west, but both of them in highly contested areas.
And just to give you what happened -- in one of the attacks, apparently a hospital was bombed. Then rescuers went in to try to save the people who were wounded. Then that hospital was bombed again, killing even more people. So, a lot of carnage.
Of course now the big question, who did it? Again, the Turks claiming the Russians were behind one of the strikes. The Russians denying it -- one of the strikes they believe was conducted by Syrian regime airplanes. The Syrian government denying that.
Now, the Syrian government says they believe the U.S. was behind one of the bombings.
[06:35:01] But America says our planes were nowhere near that area at any point in time. Certainly, a lot of things that are unclear on that battle field. Amnesty International, however, is saying that the bombing, the targeting of hospitals, the targeting of schools, and civilian areas amount to war crimes -- John.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. That was Frederik Pleitgen for us with a remarkable reports and some pictures there of what's going on on the ground in Syria. Our thanks to Fred.
Back on the campaign trail, something you do not see every day. Hillary Clinton barked during an event. Yes, barked. What am I talking about? You'll have to tune back in in a minute to find out.
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CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Hillary Clinton is barking mad, campaigning in Nevada ahead of Saturday's caucus. She referenced an old radio ad that had a dog trained to bark when a politician makes a false statement. After describing the ad, this is what happened.
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HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: One of my favorite, favorite political ads of all time was a radio ad in rural Arkansas where the announcer said wouldn't it be great if someone running for office said something, we could have an immediate reaction as to whether it was true or not.
[06:40:17] Well, we have trained this dog. And the dog, if it's not true, he's going to bark.
I'm trying to figure out how we can do that with the Republicans. Every time they say these things, oh, you know, the great recession is caused by too much regulation -- arf, arf, arf, arf! You know?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CUOMO: Her inner terrier.
Joining us this morning to discuss, Hillary Clinton supporter and South Carolina state senator, Marion Kimpson.
So, what do you think of this strategy? Is Hillary Clinton barking up the right tree with that?
STATE SEN. MARION KIMPSON (D), SOUTH CAROLINA: Well, I think what you saw there is her indication that there's too much rhetoric in this campaign. And quite frankly, it's not just on the Republican side. We have a lot of fiction on the Democratic side.
And so, what we have to do as we get closer to South Carolina primary is really analyze the candidates' positions and separate fact from fiction.
CUOMO: What are you seeing on the ground in South Carolina? There's talk. We're working on numbers right now at CNN as we speak about the race getting closer in South Carolina and Nevada. What do you see that is working on the ground in South Carolina for Hillary Clinton?
KIMPSON: Well, the latest polls I've seen hold a sizable advantage anywhere from 20 percentage points to 38 percentage were points for Secretary Clinton. However, having said that, there's being no stone left unturned. The Clinton campaign is canvassing neighborhoods, making calls.
She has the right vision for the state of South Carolina, a poor state. And as the campaign goes, more voters are paying attention to Senator Sanders's proposal. For example, the college -- free college verbosity that he has been stating. There's analysis that that's about $300 billion underfunded.
And so, what we have to do is separate the fact from fiction. We all want to regulate Wall Street. But when we talk about busting up Wall Street, what does that mean?
Secretary Clinton has a plan. She's been meeting with disadvantaged businesses in Columbia, South Carolina, Kiki's Chicken and Waffles. She has a plan for HBCs, infusion of capital of $25 billion. She speaks of not only reining in Wall Street but allowing opportunities for historically disadvantaged businesses to participate in procurement opportunities and fair lending.
The other point that goes really not talked about by Senator Sanders is there's massive capital on Wall Street. There are certain able and qualified minorities, women, people of color who haven't had a chance to invest that money on Wall Street.
CUOMO: Right.
KIMPSON: But if you look at their returns, the returns are just as good as the others who have had that advantage.
CUOMO: Right.
KIMPSON: But she has an economic agenda. That's what South Carolina is focused on.
CUOMO: Senator, there is no question that details matter. We understand that. But campaigning is largely about capturing the imagination of voters. And certainly, the fine points that you're putting on these policies probably won't be the wheel house for most voters. This is going to be about what you can do to make them believe in the role of government.
And you really don't think Senator Sanders will get any purchase with the socioeconomic strategy he's doing with in South Carolina, especially saying that this is a rigged system. That's what he's about. His passion is to correct that.
You don't think that's going to resonate with voters in South Carolina?
KIMPSON: Well, I actually commend Senator Sanders on his eloquence on income in equality. But the fact is we have a hymn in South Carolina, we sing, "May the work that I've done speak for me." And Secretary Clinton, her work has spoken volumes to these people in South Carolina. We are familiar with her. We are not as familiar with Senator Sanders. And that's his enormous challenge, to make South Carolinians more familiar with his policies.
But I will say this, I think the -- if you look at 2008, the majority of the voters overwhelmingly were people over 45.
[06:45:04] We hope the young people show is up this time, because I think Secretary Clinton has made a lot of inroads, particularly at the historically black colleges and universities. But if you look at people over 45, they are studying the issues, and she is the most capable and qualified candidate, and we are going to support someone who has been here for us and whose work speaks volumes for the state of South Carolina.
CUOMO: Understood. As you remember, in 2008, the man who won was pushing hope and change.
Senator Kimpson, thank you for being on the show. We look forward to seeing you again.
John?
BERMAN: All right. Thanks, Chris.
Peyton Manning reportedly cited in a lawsuit alleging hostile sexual environment at his alma mater, University of Tennessee. We have the details, next.
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BERMAN: All right. Reuters is reporting that Peyton Manning is one of 10 former student athletes cited in a new Title IX lawsuit against the University of Tennessee.
[06:50:00] Coy Wire with more on this morning's bleacher report -- Coy.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the current suit is not against Manning. It reportedly claims the school created a hostile sexual environment by being indifferent towards student athlete assaults.
According to "Reuters", the suit cites several instances dating back to the mid-1990s. A former student athlete accused of sexual misconduct, including Manning. Manning denied those allegations and said he was mooning a fellow player.
A trainer filed a lawsuit which "Reuters" reports was settled with the agreement. But the trainer leave the school. CNN has been unable to reach Manning's reps for a response. But the University of Tennessee has issued a statement on the current suit, saying, quote, "The claim that we have allowed a culture to exist contrary to our institutional commitment to providing a safe environment for our students or that we do not support those who report sexual assault is false," end quote.
Now, Michaela, just to reiterate -- the current claim is against the University of Tennessee. While Manning is named in the claim, he is not a defendant in the suit.
PEREIRA: All right. The fallout will continue, I'm sure.
Coy, thanks so much for that.
WIRE: You're welcome.
PEREIRA: All right. Did you see last night's Grammy Awards? It certainly did not disappoint. If you did miss out, we're going to break down the key moments of music's big night for you, ahead.
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[06:55:04] PEREIRA: That was Grammy winner Kendrick Lamar's performance at the 58th Annual Music Awards being hailed as one of the most standout of the night. That clip that we showed may not have really captured that.
The rapper took home the award for best rap album.
Joining us this morning, Brian Stelter, host of "RELIABLE SOURCES" and CNN senior media correspondent.
Kendrick Lamar, Hamilton, OMG. What a big night for Taylor Swift.
What stood out to you about last night?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Well, if Oscar so white is the hashtag to the Academy Awards, this was Grammys so diverse. Kendrick Lamar was the performance of the tonight. It's the one to watch on YouTube this morning.
It shows the difference between just making music and marking art, because he has something to say. And it was a surprise, I think, that "1989", Taylor Swift's album, actually won for Album of the Year given that he cleaned up in many of the rap categories.
PEREIRA: Not without some of the troubles, though.
STELTER: Oh, my goodness.
PEREIRA: The broadcast pretty rife with glitches.
STELTER: I think it's what they call a hot mess. There were mistakes from beginning to end. CBS live stream also had trouble. Rihanna had to back out of a performance apparently with laryngitis or pneumonia or something.
PEREIRA: Lauryn Hill didn't show up.
STELTER: Probably most dramatically of all, Adele's trouble.
I think, John, what did you say?
PEREIRA: Don't you dare say it.
STELTER: Personal responsibility, come on.
BERMAN: I've done some extensive. I had my team of researchers look into this. She said a microphone fell --
STELTER: Let's put it on the screen. She said, "The piano mikes fell on the piano strings, and that's what the guitar sound was. It made out of tune." She said, "Because of it though, I'm treating myself to in-n-out burger. So maybe it was worth it."
PEREIRA: OK. Well, why don't we listen? And we can see how bad it was.
STELTER: We can decide for ourselves.
PEREIRA: OK. We're not listening to it.
BERMAN: Just imagine.
STELTER: She sounds a lot better than I do and I ever would.
CUOMO: A low bar, though.
STELTER: I do think it sounds legitimate. It's been very low bar.
There were problems on her end. She did power through I thought no matter what and got a lot of credit for that.
BERMAN: Another researcher says to me, isn't she going to win like 85 Grammys next year?
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STELTER: Right, so, 25 was not eligible this year. It's eligible next year. She'll be the one to beat next year. Kanye West thinks he will be in the running too. That's a whole another separate matter. It makes Adele's performance and her expectations for her next year even more interesting given that she had trouble this year.
PEREIRA: But that's the other thing. There was so much anticipation of what this live performance was going to be like. I'm sure it felt like a letdown to some people.
STELTER: Yes.
PEREIRA: We also know last night it proved to be one of those beautiful nights where they were able to pay tributes to so many of the great stars that we've lost. We saw beautiful tributes to Maurice White of Earth, Wind and Fire, to David Bowie. What did you think of all that?
STELTER: Lady Gaga really stood out among all the rest.
PEREIRA: Wow, she became him, didn't she?
STELTER: She certainly did. You could tell the hundreds of hours she must have put into that performance to get ready for that.
It was a dissident night. Tributes to the past. But then young stars winning the awards. Taylor Swift. Also Bruno Mars.
CUOMO: Music is unique. And it's a necessary recalling of the past. So much is directive testify. Bruno Mars, he's got three generations but James Brown to thank.
PEREIRA: And he knows it.
CUOMO: But they are very gracious about it most usually.
STELTER: Absolutely.
PEREIRA: Can we look at the overall winners actually? I think we have a full still of that. Let's pull it up, because if anybody missed it last night.
Album of the Year going to Taylor Swift. Some thought Kendrick Lamar might take it.
STELTER: Definitely.
PEREIRA: Best new artist, Meghan Trainor. Got to love that.
Best song, Ed Sheeran. I'm really -- I think that's fantastic.
Best rap album, Kendrick Lamar. Best country album, Chris Stapleton.
STELTER: So, there was a wide variety, you know. And we mentioned Bruno Mars for record of the year as well. Song of the year, song is for the songwriter. For Ed Sheeran, record is for the entire performance and engineers as well.
It was in some ways a diverse night. You know, Taylor Swift and Kanye West winning the biggest awards, but they were pretty well-spread out I thought among the pack.
PEREIRA: And Alabama Shakes, one of my personal favorites, got recognition as well.
STELTER: And then one more on the diversity theme, Hamilton performing and winning for best musical album moments later. To see them on stage in front of probably 25 million viewers was a crowing moment for him.
(CROSSTALK)
PEREIRA: The rest of America will know.
Hey, get in on the conversation. Tweet us @newday, or post your comment on Facebook. What did you think of the Grammy's last night? Facebook.com/NewDay.
You'll be back a little later. We'll talk more about the Grammys.
STELTER: See you then.
PEREIRA: All right. We're following a whole lot of news. Let's get to it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Scalia dies and one second after he's dead, they're already starting fighting about politics.
CLINTON: Barack Obama is president whether the Republicans like it or not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a divided party. This is unheard of.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT: Jeb Bush has the experience and the character to be a great president. The strongest person usually isn't the loudest one in the room.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You have a very unstable guy in Cruz. He's nuts.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It felt a little bit like a circus.
CLINTON: The dog, if it's not true, he's going to bark. I'm trying to figure out how we can do that with the Republicans. Arf, arf, arf, arf!
