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New Day
New Year's Security Stepped Up Worldwide; New State Laws To Take Effect January 1st; Top Media Moments Of 2016; Putin: Russia Will Not Expel U.S. Diplomats. Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired December 30, 2016 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:30:00](BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: -- at the changing of the guards. Heavily-armed police were unavoidable in Berlin as they stood post behind concrete barriers at a Christmas concert.Czech holiday markets were heavily patrolled and in France, the government announced a boost of 10,000 soldiers on the Parisian streets over the holiday period, adding to the officers working around the clock.
LUC POIGNANT, PARIS POLICE UNION REPRESENTATIVE (through translator): With the police (foreign language spoken), we are really giving of ourselves, of our time, at a cost to us and to our families.
GINGRAS: Nearly two million people are expected in Times Square. The extra police presence a noticeable addition to keep New York City safe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you're coming down to Times Square rest assured that it will be a safe venue.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GINGRAS: And, really, just within the last few weeks we know that members of the NYPD have been inspecting parking garages in this area, visiting truck rental centers, and also going to hotels, just keeping their eyes and ears open for anything suspicious, Poppy. But we should mention that right now the NYPD says there is no credible threat against the ball drop ceremony.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN HOST: Exactly, and I know you're going to be there enjoying it, taking in the festivities, the lights, the sounds.
GINGRAS: Right.
HARLOW: I've been there many times and I always feel so safe because of those amazing NYPD officers all around us giving up their holiday to protect us. Brynn, thank you.
GINGRAS: Yes.
HARLOW: Let's discuss all of this with CNN law enforcement analyst Matthew Horace, and let's start with Times Square because I do always feel very safe there because everywhere I turn there's an officer, there's dogs, and there's a lot of plainclothes officers as well. The security that we don't see, right?
MATTHEW HORACE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, happy holidays --
HARLOW: Thank you.
HORACE: -- Poppy, first, and as you would imagine, 7,000 officers have been placed on duty to protect and police over two million people in Times Square. But then, also consider the other eight million people who are in and around New York City.
HARLOW: When you talk about security it's not just about -- it's not at all just about Times Square. It's about a lot of other cities across the country and smaller towns. I mean, you talk a lot about the lone wolf attacks that we've seen far too many of. These attacks have happened in smaller cities -- in San Bernardino, Orlando, the Ohio college campus attack -- just in the last year.
HORACE: Right. Well, let's face it, New Year's Eve happens once a year not just in New York, but all around the world and that evening and what it represents presents a vulnerability to every city in the United States.
HARLOW: So, what are they doing? I mean, what do officials, you know, on these college campuses do to prevent against something else like that? What do they do in a San Bernardino?
HORACE: Well, you have to plan, plan, and re-plan. As we get prepared, state, local, and federal law enforcement officers work together to come up with plans and mitigation for security risks, and that's what you see happening here in New York.
HARLOW: And they're working locally with the Feds.
HORACE: Yes.
HARLOW: I mean, what have you heard? What should we be looking out for? One other very, very troubling thing that we've seen increase this year is the use of vehicles for mass casualty terror attacks. Trucks in Berlin and Nice, the car vehicle used to drive into that group of people on the Ohio college campus. I mean, anything can be a tool of terror.
HORACE: Absolutely, and every time something happens it causes us to retool our efforts and rethink our security strategy.
HARLOW: But how do you do that, say, in a Times Square? I mean, they can -- I mean, they can put some barriers up, right, in the streets there and that's a little maybe easier to do in Times Square because you have a contained place.
HORACE: Well, as you know, that's the greatest challenge we have is to separate security from people's civil liberties. And New York City does a great job of that but you are going to see an increased emphasis with 7,000 officers on-site tomorrow evening.
HARLOW: I walked onto the subway in New York last week and there was a backpack sitting on one of the seats and I completely -- I mean, my heart just started pounding and I said, "whose is this, whose is this" just very loud. It was just sort of this -- I had this visceral reaction to it. The person sitting across said, "oh, that's mine, that's mine". But that is what all of us need to do if we see anything.
HORACE: Well, every person becomes another set of eyes and just what you described is what we should be doing. When you see an unattended bag or a package -- look at what happened in Chelsea just a couple of months ago. Those devices were placed in bags in different places in New York. So we all have to pay attention to our surroundings and, as always, if you see something, say something.
HARLOW: And it sounds sort of like OK, that's a cute saying -- see something, say something. There's likely nothing that can protect the public more than the public being aware.
HORACE: More sets of eyes, more boots on the ground. Being aware and making sure that we pay attention to everything. It's our job to help protect each other.
HARLOW: How do you believe that those protecting us have changed their tactics in the wake of the mass terror attacks around the country? I mean, what has changed that we're not necessarily seeing? These guys -- all these officers that we're not necessarily seeing in uniform -- plainclothes -- what are they doing? What are they patrolling for?
HORACE: Well, behind the scenes remember, every time something happens we develop best practices based on the last incident.
HARLOW: So like, for example, the Chelsea attacks. Don and I were on the air live that night. It was these, again, sort of homemade bombs in these bags. How does that change how they protect us tomorrow night?
[07:35:09] HORACE: Well, we look at more things, more often, with more eyes. We train our officers to be prepared and be aware and be cognizant. We train the public to give us that extra layer of protection and we hope for the best. We plan for the worst and hope for the best.
HARLOW: Matthew Horace, thank you. Have a good New Year's Eve.
HORACE: Happy new year.
HARLOW: Thank you, you, too.
DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Millions of people will be out, not just in Times Square but all over the world --
HARLOW: Yes.
LEMON: -- this coming New Year's Eve. Hundreds of new state laws take effect as well on New Year's Eve -- or on New Year's -- and as we ring in the new year our legal maven, we're going to call him, Jeffrey Toobin tell us what you need to know for 2017.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: At the stroke of midnight tomorrow we will usher in a new year, which also means a lot of new laws are going to take effect across the country. A lot of them might impact you. Here to discuss, CNN senior legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Jeffrey Toobin. Nice to have you.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Good morning.
HARLOW: So, let's talk about the pot laws first because these are changing -- marijuana laws -- in a number of states. But, at the same time that Jeff Sessions is coming in, if confirmed as attorney general, who hates these changes.
TOOBIN: It's really sort of an amazing and unprecedented situation. Of course, as I think most people know, Washington State and Colorado have had legal pot for several years and I think it's generally perceived to be more or less a success. Now, two very big states, Massachusetts and California, have legalized pot. But marijuana is still illegal under federal law.
[07:40:03] Now, Eric Holder, President Obama's attorney general, negotiated a deal with Colorado in Washington that said, basically, if you keep it away from organized crime, if you keep it away from children, we will not interfere with legalization. But there's a new -- there's going to be a new sheriff in town --
LEMON: Yes.
TOOBIN: -- and the question is what will Jeff Sessions, if he's confirmed as attorney general, do about legal pot in what is now one- quarter of the United States population?
LEMON: He can roll that back? He can roll that back?
TOOBIN: Well, it's not that he can roll it back as he can say look, we're going to send FBI agents in and go to your stores that, you know -- if you to Colorado it's not like it's a secret that pot is legal.
HARLOW: Right.
TOOBIN: They have stores that sell it and it's a very big business. That's the other part of this.
LEMON: You would think it's legal in a lot of other places.
TOOBIN: Well, it's not -- it's not in actual stores.
HARLOW: But it's also, actually, the big issue with federal government is the banking of it -- the financing of it. What you do with the money that comes in through these businesses because the federal government does have a say in that.
TOOBIN: Right, and it ripples through the whole system. What do you do with banks who offer accounts to --
HARLOW: Right.
TOOBIN: -- marijuana? You know, in some states, and also an increasing number of states you have medical marijuana and you have dispensaries which, you know -- which give out, you know -- which sell marijuana. But in these states where it's legal, you know, what do you do -- do the -- are the banks allowed to take deposits from these companies?
HARLOW: Right. He could really --
TOOBIN: He could -- he could --
HARLOW: -- clamp down on that.
TOOBIN: Indeed.
LEMON: You know, income and equality has been a big issue, you know --
TOOBIN: Yes.
LEMON: -- on the campaign trail for the past year and one-half or so. Forty -- on New Year's Day, 41 states and municipalities will increase the minimum wages. What does this mean for Donald Trump? Can he try to roll -- will he -- can he try to roll this back?
TOOBIN: I don't think there, there is much chance that the federal government is going to roll those back. I suppose it would be legally possible but even Donald Trump has said -- I mean, he's said varying things on this issue -- that he favors an increase on the minimum wage. So I don't think there will be any sort of rollback but I do think that Congress will not be raising the national minimum wage. That much is clear.
LEMON: He said the federal rate hasn't changed since 2009.
TOOBIN: Yes, a long time.
HARLOW: Seven, twenty-five an hour. But, you're right, Trump has said a few different things but he has said he's supportive of a $10 or so minimum wage. But somewhere where we may see him make a lot of noise and perhaps, you know, try to do federally what they can legally is on guns. I mean, he has said protect second amendment rights, protect second amendment rights, et cetera. Now, California has these new restrictions coming on assault rifles.
TOOBIN: Right. You know, this -- guns is the classic issue between a red state and a blue state divide. I mean, you know, the blue states are more determined than ever to try to rein in gun violence and rein in guns. The red states are more determined than ever to relax gun restrictions. And, you know, the red folks are in charge now in Washington and there will certainly be no more gun restrictions passed by -- passed by Congress or assigned by President Trump.
LEMON: I know that you're an expert on all things --
TOOBIN: Yes.
LEMON: -- so let's talk about these because there are some very -- can we call them weird laws?
HARLOW: You will amaze me if you're an expert on this.
LEMON: There's a law coming in that it will soon be legal to catch catfish using a pitchfork, a spear gun or a bow and arrow in Illinois.
TOOBIN: Well, you know -- you know, the interesting thing about that law is that Poppy was behind it. Poppy's interest in pitchfork fishing has --
HARLOW: Hey, I gotta get dinner on the table.
TOOBIN: You know --
HARLOW: And I --
TOOBIN: -- you're a tough lady.
HARLOW: My husband does like fish, it's true, and I can't stand it, so --
TOOBIN: Yes. You know -- you know, I don't know anything about that, I've got to say. I heard that it happened. I don't know why but, hey.
HARLOW: And in Tennessee, a new law raises alcohol by volume. This allows restaurants to serve that really strong beer because only good things can come from really strong beer.
LEMON: They can serve more varieties, right?
TOOBIN: Well, it's the state of Jack Daniels so they are -- they're used to strong liquor.
HARLOW: In other news -- Jeffrey Toobin, happy new year, my friend.
TOOBIN: Happy new year.
HARLOW: What books you going to write this year?
TOOBIN: I've got some things -- some ideas but, you know --
LEMON: I think I know.
TOOBIN: But "American Heiress" is still available.
LEMON: And, "The Nine".
HARLOW: Yes, and a best-seller still on "The New York Times".
LEMON: I'll write it down and put it in an envelope and see if I'm right.
HARLOW: Guys, thank you. All right, coming up on NEW DAY, the top media stories of 2016. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:48:30] LEMON: East Baton Rouge sheriff's deputy Nick Tullier was almost killed in the line of duty earlier this year but he's making impressive strides, even handwriting a birthday message to his mother this week. CNN's Ed Lavandera has his story of going beyond the call of duty.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Head forward for yes and to the right for no. Show me no. Good, keep going, real big.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Five months after East Baton Rouge sheriff's deputy Nick Tullier was shot three times by a lone gunman this is where he is now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Follow the mirror.
LAVANDERA: But when you consider how far he's come you'll understand why this image is astounding.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Great job, Nick.
(Gunshots)
LAVANDERA: The sounds of a vicious ambush pierced through the heart of Baton Rouge on a quiet Sunday morning in July. A gunman killed three officers. But as the story faded from the headlines, Nick Tullier, one of the officers who rushed to the scene, was left fighting for his life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nick's fire, you know. We believe in him. He believes in his self and Nick's not ready to go.
LAVANDERA: Tullier was in a coma for four months, emerging in mid- November. He's survived more than a dozen surgeries after he was shot three times, once in the head and twice in the abdomen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His heart stopped four times in the E.R. and they -- so they brought him back four times.
[07:50:00] LAVANDERA: Tullier's father, James, says doctors first told him that his son wouldn't survive the day. Then it was two days, then five. Now, Tullier is awake, fighting. He's defied every odd.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All the way up.
LAVANDERA: Tullier can't speak yet but he's moved from Baton Rouge to TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, the same rehabilitation facility where U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords was treated. Tullier undergoes four hours of physical, speech, and occupational therapy every day. Doctors say he will never completely recover but his family says the progress, so far, is amazing.
JAMES TULLIER, NICK TULLIER'S FATHER: He's the fighter. He's the strong one and he's pushing. He's pushing through her. That's how he's done in life.
LAVANDERA: But his son struggles with the questions that have no answers.
TRENT TULLIER, NICK TULLIER'S SON: What's going to happen in the future? Like, amI still going to have a father that's going to be able to, you know, have conversations with me? Are we going to be able to hang out anymore? You know, just chat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There you go, keep going.
LAVANDERA: Nick Tullier is literally learning to write his name again but for his family and friends, these are the initials of a superhero.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rock star. Look at you!
LAVANDERA: Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: It's their hometown.
LEMON: It is.
HARLOW: I remember that morning vividly when these officers were shot. That is incredible, his rehabilitation.
LEMON: Our thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family, as well as all law enforcement officers in Baton Rouge and around the country, yes.
HARLOW: Ed Lavandera, thanks for bringing us that story. Now we want to bring you the top 10 of 2016 series. The media, as you know, has been quite a target for President-elect Donald Trump and others during an unprecedented election season. Our Brian Stelter has this year's top media stories.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN STELTER, HOST, CNN "RELIABLE SOURCES": Downfalls, feuds, and failures. A presidential election that challenged the media like never before, culminating in an unprecedented outcome. Here are the top 10 media stories of 2016.
Number 10, an emotional homecoming. "Washington Post" reporter Jason Rezaianfreed in January after 545 days in an Iranian prison.
JASON REZAIAN, REPORTER, WASHINGTON POST: To my colleagues at the "Post", you guys are all awesome.
STELTER: His imprisonment a stark reminder of the dangers journalists face every day around the globe. Number nine, the Kelly Ripa-Michael Strahan feud. Blindsided by news her "LIVE" co-host was leaving for "GMA", Ripa skipped work for four days.
KELLY RIPA, HOST, "LIVE WITH KELLY": Guys, guys, our long national nightmare is over.
STELTER: She returned after a personal apology from Disney and ABC execs and Strahan left the show weeks earlier than planned.
Number eight, corporate media maneuvers. Longtime Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman squeezed out by Shari Redstone, the daughter of 93-year-old Sumner, the ailing patriarch and controlling shareholder. The two were estranged for a while but Shari is again heir to the corporate throne.
And the biggest media merger of the decade, AT&T seeking to buy Time Warner, the parent of CNN, in an $85 billion marriage of content and distribution. Donald Trump slammed the deal on the campaign trail. Whether he tries to block it now remains to be seen.
Number seven, the world of leaks. From WikiLeaks exposing hacked Clinton campaign emails to the bombshell "ACCESS HOLLYWOOD" tape --
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT-ELECT: Grab them by the p****.
STELTER: -- secret spoofs rocked political journalism this year. Someone even mailed Trump's 1995 tax return to "The New York Times". But what never leaked, raw footage from "THE APPRENTICE".
Number six, goodbye Gawker. A jury ruling that the gossip site invaded Hulk Hogan's privacy when it published parts of a sex tape featuring the former wrestler.
LEMON: The $140 million sex tape.
STELTER: A multi-million-dollar judgment forced Gawker into bankruptcy and the flagship site was later shut down, a warning to journalists everywhere. In a surprise twist, Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel revealed he had been secretly bankrolling the lawsuit, his revenge for what he believed was Gawker outing him in 2007.
Number five, fake news stories. Hoaxes on the web polluting Facebook timelines and Twitter streams. Some now wondering if it helped tilt the election for Trump, although Facebook says no.
SHERYL SANDBERG, COO, FACEBOOK: We don't think it swayed the election but we take that responsibility really seriously.
STELTER: Facebook and Google did announce steps to halt the flow of ad dollars to the creators of these totally fake sites but this new age of information warfare is just beginning.
[07:55:00] Number four, alt-right media out of the shadows. When Trump named Steve Bannon, the head of Breitbart News, as his campaign CEO, critics say it brought fringe conspiracy ideas into the mainstream of politics.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is Trump art. Bannon and Breitbart were real champions of Trump.
STELTER: Bannon once called Breitbart the platform for the alt-right, a movement linked to white nationalism, racism, and misogyny. Now, Bannon will be the president's chief strategist, stoking fears the alt-right will have a more powerful platform right inside the White House, a charge Bannon denies.
Number three, the stunning downfall of "FOX NEWS" CEO Roger Ailes.
ANNOUNCER: Breaking news.
JAKE TAPPER, HOST, CNN "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER": We're back with some breaking news. A media bombshell.
STELTER: In July, former "FOX" host Gretchen Carlson filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Ailes. Two weeks later he was out. Although Ailes strongly denied the allegations, multiple women inside "FOX" including Megyn Kelly, came forward with similar stories. It was a shocking end for the controversial GOP kingmaker and mastermind of the country's highest-rated cable news channel.
Number two, one of the biggest media miscues in decades. Donald Trump winning the presidency, something most of the press never believed would actually happen.
DAN RATHER, JOURNALIST, FORMER ANCHOR, CBS EVENING NEWS: We didn't do our job as well as we could have and should have.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was a complete failure at every step of the process.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think polling has to get better about describing the uncertainties.
STELTER: Trump's win was a thundering wake-up call but the limits of polling, the limits of data, and a reminder that national news outlets need to do a better job covering race, class, and inequality or else risk losing even more public confidence.
Number one, running against the press, the most anti-media campaign in modern history. It started in 2015 but Trump doubled down in 2016.
TRUMP: I'm running against the crooked media. You have to put up with some of the most dishonest people in the world, the media.
STELTER: His very personal feud with Megyn Kelly simmered down by mid-year but Trump still called out other journalists by name.
TRUMP: Katie, you're not reporting it, Katie. But there's something happening, Katie. This sleazy guy right over here from ABC, he's a sleaze in my book.
STELTER: He fired off angry tweets at news outlets, treating them like enemies and got his crowds chanting.
TRUMP SUPPORTERS: (INAUDIBLE).
STELTER: Trump declared war on the press and the campaign was just the first battle. It sets up a colossal challenge for the media in 2017, covering President Trump.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Yes.
HARLOW: A president-elect who's said he wanted to change -- or interested in changing libel laws. It's -- look, it's a totally new world when it comes to covering the commander-in-chief.
LEMON: And at his rallies singly out certain reporters -- singular reporters in, you know, and some people were concerned about their safety as well because the people were very loud and also, you know, sometimes very angry at those rallies. So they were concerned for their general safety --
HARLOW: Yes.
LEMON: -- and welfare. But, we're going to see what happens with the first amendment but I think that the fourth estate is important. It keeps checks and balances on our power and our government, and it's up to us to look at anyone who's in power, including the president-elect -- people who are running for president -- with a critical eye, and that's what we did.
HARLOW: And we will continue in 2017.
LEMON: We'll continue to do it, yes.
HARLOW: All right.
LEMON: We're following a lot of news including breaking news out of Russia. Let's get right to it.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
LEMON: Good morning, everyone, and welcome to your new day. I'm Don Lemon along with Poppy Harlow. We're going to begin with this breaking news. Russia state media now reporting that President Vladimir Putin says he will not expel -- not expel dozens of American diplomats after his foreign minister, earlier this morning, recommended doing so in response to tough sanctions by the U.S. for allegedly meddling in the election.
HARLOW: Is Putin sending mixed messages and is he waiting for President-elect Donald Trump to deal with this diplomatic showdown? Trump takes office, of course, in exactly three weeks from today. We have every angle of this story covered for you with the global resources of CNN. Let's begin in Moscow with senior international correspondent Matthew Chance. This is a complete reversal from what, you know, the foreign minister said and recommended just a few hours ago. Why?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the Kremlin said that they were going to hit back against the United States but they didn't. In fact, it was the complete opposite. We saw that recommendation from the Russian foreign minister a few hours ago saying that we should reciprocate -- that Russian should reciprocate. There should be, you know, 35 diplomats expelled from the U.S. diplomatic missions in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, as well.
But that decision always rested -- and the Kremlin made this clear that decision always rested with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, and he's just gone out on state media and said he's made a decision not to expel those U.S. diplomats. And he said that the restoration of ties between the United States and Russia will be dependent on Donald Trump's policies. So, Vladimir Putin mindful of the fact that in less than three weeks from now Donald Trump will be the new President of the United States and it's him that he believes he can do a deal with. It's him he believes that the --
