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New Day

History on Warren Reprimand; Massive Winter Storm Slams Northeast; Food as Fuel talks Workouts; History of Comedy Premiers Tonight. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired February 09, 2017 - 08:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:32:58] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: In just hours, Senator Jeff Sessions will be sworn in as attorney general, despite efforts from Democrats, like Senator Elizabeth Warren, to stall his nomination. Well, the Massachusetts senator, Warren, dominated headlines this week when GOP senators silenced her during an all-night debate. Here to discuss is the longest serving woman in the history of Congress, former Democratic Senator Barbara Mikulski. Mikulski now serves as a homeward (ph) professor of public policy at Johns Hopkins University.

Good morning, senator.

BARBARA MIKULSKI (D), FORMER SENATOR, MARYLAND: Good morning.

CAMEROTA: Great to have you here.

Do you understand what happened there on the Senate floor? Why was Senator Elizabeth Warren reprimanded for reading Coretta Scott King's letter when three male senators afterwards were allowed to read portions of that letter?

MIKULSKI: Well, I was absolutely stunned to see the silencing of Senator Warren and by proxy the silencing of Coretta King. It was selective enforcement. I have watched -- the rule 19, which is designed to maintain the decorum in the Senate, where a senator can't attack another senator, the rule comes historically when they used to have fist fights in the Senate and also some would come and had a little too much bourbon and would say violent, vulgar things about each other. None of that was occurring. Senator Warren was reading from a historic record, from -- quoting a historic person. It was relevant. It was reasonable. And I think whenever women stand up and particularly reading now a letter from a woman of color, they're told to shut up and sit down. And it was inappropriate. They've never used it, even when Mitch McConnell was called a liar, another Republican senator called Harry Reid a cancer on the nation, they weren't silenced. And then, of course, you saw the men who read the Coretta King letter able to proceed. So --

CAMEROTA: So you see this as flagrant sexism?

[08:35:00] MIKULSKI: I see this as a pattern of behavior, that women stand up in a board room, a workplace and now even in the Senate floor where we have the same job and the same rules, they're applied differently to us, and they were applied differently to Elizabeth Warren.

CAMEROTA: OK, very interesting, because the male -- some of the male Republican senators felt that -- I mean they claim that she was grandstanding. You heard Lindsey Graham say something like, look, we all know she's running in 2020 and she was grandstanding.

MIKULSKI: Well, that's also part of their attack. When they can't attack on a rational basis, they attack and demean the person. Now, the fact was that Senator Warren was conducting herself, I believe, according to the standards of the Senate and decorum. She was reading a relevant, historic record from an esteemed figure. But, again, it's a pattern.

Now, when the men of the Senate, the Democratic men, read the Coretta Scott King letter, they were standing up for Elizabeth, they were standing up for the Senate and they were also standing up for Coretta Scott King. But when a woman stands up, she's told to shut up and sit down.

Now, this is going to have long lasting effect because the people who marched watch this. But I will tell you that the women are tired that different rules are applied to us in a different way when we claim our power.

CAMEROTA: Mitch McConnell used some language that again women heard as loaded. Let me play for you what Mitch McConnell said was his rationale for reprimanding her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MAJORITY LEADER: Senator Warren was giving a lengthy speech. She had appeared to violate the rule. She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: "She was warned," he says, "she was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted." How did you hear that?

MIKULSKI: Well, I heard him as quoting the kind of choreography of conflict resolution in the Senate. When they think you're out of order, they do give you a warning. But Elizabeth Warren was not out of order. The attack on her by using Rule 19 was out of order.

CAMEROTA: Hillary Clinton ran with that. She tweeted -- she repeated Mitch McConnell's words and she went further. Let me read this to you. Hillary Clinton says, "she was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted. So must we all." This feels like Hillary Clinton dipping a toe back into something that she knows well. Did you see that as Hillary Clinton beginning to make a statement or taking -- making her next move somehow?

MIKULSKI: Well, I think Hillary is resting, she's reflecting on what she wants to do. But like -- once you're a woman in the Senate, you know that you have to square your shoulders, put your lipstick on and fight on. And I believe that Hillary is analyzing how she can once again make best use of her incredible talents, encourage others to be part of the political process, and we're going to -- I was encouraged to hear the tweet.

CAMEROTA: Hash tag put your lipstick on and fight on. Senator -- former Senator Barbara Mikulski, thank you very much for being here on NEW DAY. Always great to talk to you.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: It's what I do every day.

CAMEROTA: I know. You take that to heart.

CUOMO: My shade? Follow me on Twitter and I'll tell you.

CAMEROTA: OK.

CUOMO: Heavy snow falling in more than a dozen states. Schools are closed. Thousands of flights canceled. Chad Myers is out there braving the conditions in New York's Central Park, a dangerous place on a good day, next

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[08:42:46] CAMEROTA: A powerful winter storm dumping lots of snow in the northeast at this hour. You're looking at a live shot here. Schools are closed. Thousands of flights are canceled and roads are a mess. CNN meteorologist Chad Myers has been out in it all morning in Central Park.

How's it looking now, Chad?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, the snow is coming down heavier I think than it was probably two hours ago. And we've had this lull in the -- in the snow that we knew was coming and then all of a sudden this new snow burst that has been coming at us, at least for the past 30 minutes or so.

Forty million people are in the way of this storm. There are at least 3,000 school districts that are closed from this storm and now almost 3,000 flights that are canceled. So this is still a storm to contend with, although it will be over in a couple of hours here for New York City. Still another six hours for Boston.

The radar shows the snow all the way back still into central Pennsylvania, although Hazelton, the Pocono Mountains, you're getting lighter and lighter now. The heavier snow is moving our way. Boston, the heavier snow is still moving your way, still to come over the next couple hours. It probably doesn't stop snowing in Boston until at least 3:00, 4:00 this afternoon and possibly as late at 7:00 p.m. when it comes to the flurries.

The winds are kind of picking up a little bit. I just had a young lady walk by the park and she -- she walked into the park, Chris, and I said -- and, you know, she walked about five feet in there and she said -- I said to her, I said, you know, you weren't in there very long. She said, I'm from Sydney, Australia. I thought the snow would be fun. It's not that fun. I'm going back to my hotel. So that was it. CUOMO: Well, she's lucky, she can go back. You're going to be out

there for the duration because you are the man, Chad Everett. Thank you for keeping us apprised of the situation here and in the whole impact zone.

MYERS: You're welcome.

CUOMO: We'll check with you in a little bit.

All right, tonight on "The Messy Truth" with Van Jones, Van has a special guest, comedian Bill Maher. So what would Maher tell a Trump supporter?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president's been in office nearly three weeks. Why can't you guys in the media and Hollywood give him some slack, let him do his job?

BILL MAHER, COMEDIAN: Because of what he's done and said. Slack?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's been there only three weeks.

MAHER: Three weeks?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give him a break.

MAHER: Give him a break?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can't you give him a break?

MAHER: What -- do -- do you read the news? Do you follow --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give him a break. Let him do his job, which is the toughest job on earth.

MAHER: OK, the toughest job on earth has never been done like this. First of all, this is beyond the realm of politics. If you're just talking about politics, OK, let's pretend that it's just politics. I would have big problems there because it's a giant con what he's done. He ran for the little man. And then what does he do? He gets into office, the coal companies can dump sludge in the river because, you know, that's what the little man is aching for. Undoing Dodd/Frank, because so many of the town halls in Appalachia, people were standing up and saying, Mr. Trump, please get rid of the Volker Rule, because if I can't make certain speculative investments, it's killing us here.

[08:45:32] So that's just the political part. We could have a -- a normal conversation about that. But this presidency is not about the political part even three weeks in. It's beyond politics. It's about sanity. It's about somebody who makes stuff up. Who doesn't read. His information is either anecdotal or pulled right out of his -- what word, reverend, should I -- his behind. You know we're -- of course we're worried when the president sees multitudes that don't exist, as in the illegal people -- the illegal voting 3 million. That should bother you, sir. I'm not the crazy one here. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: OK, that's going to be interesting tonight.

CUOMO: The truth is messy. Hopefully we'll get a whole range of discussion tonight, 9:00 p.m. Eastern. Van Jones.

CAMEROTA: OK, you won't believe who is next. Get ready for your beloved familiar faces. We have Michaela. Michaela is back with us on NEW DAY. She's sharing her fantastic Carol Burnett interview.

Michaela, this is a dream. We can't wait to see you. Hold that thought.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, HLN HOST, "MICHAELA": It's real. It's real.

CUOMO: The heartbreak kid. There she is. Still hurts.

All right, so, when you work out, you know sometimes you need a little bit more than water to push through.

CAMEROTA: Oh, I know that.

CUOMO: CNN's Jackie Howard has more in today's "Food as Fuel." Give it to me.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACQUELINE HOWARD, WRITER, CNN HEALTH: If your workout clocks in at 45 minutes or less, water might be all you need. But if you exercise intensely for an hour or longer, nutritionists say you might need a small snack to keep going. If that's the case, go for something easily digestible, like a banana, granola or energy bar or raisins.

You know your body best. So if eating solid foods during exercise makes you uncomfortable, it's OK to stick with fluids. But the bottom line, staying hydrated is key.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:51:38] CAMEROTA: Have a seat. It's your read.

CUOMO: Oh, thank you.

CAMEROTA: You're welcome.

CUOMO: Tonight it's comedy night in America. A CNN original series, "The History of Comedy." We both love comedy. Celebrating the kings and queens of funny. It premieres at 10:00 Eastern.

CAMEROTA: One of the legends featured in the series is Carol Burnett, and another legend --

CUOMO: Who? CAMEROTA: CNN's Michaela Pereira sat down with her.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, HLN HOST, "MICHAELA": I won't talk to Chris. I really only want to talk to Alisyn. I'm sorry -- oh that's awkward.

CAMEROTA: Oh, you --

PEREIRA: Oh, that's awkward.

CUOMO: I didn't even know you were going to be on the show, lucky for you, curly.

CAMEROTA: Michaela --

PEREIRA: He called me on my last day a big hairy jerk. Can I just talk about that, America?

CAMEROTA: I remember. Let's do that.

PEREIRA: You guys remember -- I miss you so much, first of all.

CAMEROTA: We miss you too.

PEREIRA: We'll talk about that on the big end.

You guys remember when I got a chance to sit down with Carol Burnett. I got to do this again. But this time when I spoke with the comedy legend, I really wanted to talk to her about it -- how it all started. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: Talk to me about when you first realized what it felt like to make someone laugh.

CAROL BURNETT, ACTRESS/COMEDIENNE: I was 18 and I tried out for a one act that was student written. I played a hillbilly woman. So I had this one line where I had left the scene and then I came back, and it was a line that was -- said, I'm back. But I went, I'm baaack. And they laughed. And I thought, wow, this is a great feeling.

We're going to have to stay here and defend Tara.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, ACTRESS: Just the three of us?

BURNETT: Just the three of us.

PEREIRA: Do you realize the influence that that show has had on so many of us?

BURNETT: Oh, yes.

PEREIRA: People's eyes light up when they speak of you.

BURNETT: Thank you.

PEREIRA: What does that feel like?

BURNETT: Good. It feels very good. I'm really proud too that since our DVDs have come out, and we're all over YouTube, I'm getting fan mail from kids, from nine-year-olds --

PEREIRA: A new generation.

BURNETT: Nine-year-olds, 10-year-olds, teenagers, young people in their 20s, 30s, you know, who weren't even born.

PEREIRA: It proves to you that funny is funny, and it doesn't matter.

BURNETT: Funny is -- funny is funny, and I think some of these sketches that are 40 and 50 years old, you know would -- they'd hold up today. The thing that dates them is the way we looked, you know, but that's kind of fun, too.

PEREIRA: Who's making you laugh?

BURNETT: I love Tina and Amy and Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph. I mean there are so many. I name the ladies because back then there weren't that many that would get the break.

PEREIRA: Do you think it's easier for them now perhaps because of the road that you've paved?

BURNETT: I think probably it is a little bit easier now. There's still that little bit of a glass ceiling. But I think it's easier now because of the success of these women. You look at Amy Poehler, you look at Tina, they're not only brilliant comediennes, they are writers. They set the stage for the next group to come.

PEREIRA: Talk about the importance of laughter in today's world?

BURNETT: Well, laughter was always important. And, well, yes, especially today. This kind of crazy world we're living in. I tend to go watch old movies that take me back to my childhood when I was a little girl and I was raised going to the movies, that's what was my first love, to lose myself.

PEREIRA: Carol, it has been a delight to sit with you today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:55:04] PEREIRA: I could have died when she did the ear tug. It was so cool.

And, look, if any of you are like me and dying for her to return to television, good news, ABC has just ordered a pilot for Carol Burnett to star in.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh.

PEREIRA: I know. Isn't that amazing. And, by the way, Amy Poehler will co-produce it with her. So you can see that she's got a great respect for the comediennes of today. CAMEROTA: That's awesome. OK, Michaela, back to you.

How hard are you laughing today that there's a massive snowstorm hitting the East Coast and that you are in sunny California?

PEREIRA: Well, I will tell you that the fog was as thick as soup on the drive in today, but I still laughed when I saw that there was going to be snow that Chris had to shovel as he left for work this morning. But how are you guys doing? I miss you very much. I pay attention to the show. I watch "The Good Stuff." I see you doing the "Five Things." You guys are holding it down. Represent. Is he behaving?

CUOMO: It's not the same without you. You left and it's like the whole world went to hell all of a sudden as soon as you left.

PEREIRA: That -- is that --

CAMEROTA: Yes.

PEREIRA: I'm the one to blame, huh? I'm the one to blame.

CAMEROTA: Yes. The world's gone bad. It's because of Michaela.

CUOMO: Everything's gotten so nasty and hostile. I told you this would happen.

CAMEROTA: That's right.

CUOMO: But, no, you had to do what you had to do.

CAMEROTA: Yes, but -- but, Michaela --

PEREIRA: Alisyn, don't let him get the last laugh.

CAMEROTA: Michaela -- we never do. How is life -- I mean how is life? How is everything out there?

PEREIRA: Really good. It's really good. I did it -- you know, people ask, did you just sort of fall back into your life. I did and I didn't. I've been discovering new, exciting things about Los Angeles and I'm falling in love with it all over again. But I miss you guys like crazy. Take care of each other, OK.

CUOMO: She called me by the wrong name when I did a hit on her show the other day. She's totally forgotten us.

PEREIRA: On purpose.

CAMEROTA: That's awesome.

PEREIRA: On purpose.

CAMEROTA: Michaela, we miss you. We love you. Great to see you.

The CNN original series, "The History of Comedy," premieres tonight, 9:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.

CUOMO: All right, you've got CNN "Newsroom" with Poppy Harlow and John Berman, picks up right after this break. Don't forget the comedy special tonight.

CAMEROTA: 10:00 p.m.

CUOMO: What'd I say?

CAMEROTA: I said something wrong.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:00:09] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Poppy Harlow.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Berman. Thanks so much for joining us.

Just a few minutes ago, a new