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New Day
Johnson to Become U.K. Prime Minister; Stewart and Feal React to Fund Passage; Manhunt for Missing Teens in Canada. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired July 24, 2019 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:32:23] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, just a giant day in the United Kingdom. Theresa May just left 10 Downing Street for one of the last times as Britain's prime minister. This is the picture. This happened just a short time ago. She will formally resign very shortly after addressing parliament one last time. Then Boris Johnson will be invited by the queen to replace her. A lot of ceremony, but beyond the ceremony, just huge consequence.
CNN's Nic Robertson live at 10 Downing Street witnessing history in the United Kingdom.
Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It really is and it really feels like that today. This was almost the last time Prime Minister Theresa May left Downing Street. She gets one more shot. She addresses the House of Commons. It won't be as raucous as the prime minister's (INAUDIBLE). In fact, I think you'll probably get a lot of fond wishes from MPs there.
But then she comes back here. She will give her last speech, head to the -- head to Buckingham Palace, meet with the queen, hand in her resignation. The queen will call upon Boris Johnson, all carefully choreographed to Theresa May and Boris Johnson, they'll pass in the corridors there. The queen will ask Boris Johnson (INAUDIBLE). He'll come back here. Then we're going to hear from him. Perhaps he'll dial back on the (INAUDIBLE) and give us a more serious speech about what he hopes to achieve for Britain. And I think that's what everyone's going to be listening for here, listening for the talk about, a, Brexit, but, b, policing (ph), health care, education, big, important issues here.
And I think we'll be listening for his policy issues. And, let's face it, this time when the United States is sort of becoming a little more, I'd say, less friendly with some of its allies, what Johnson does could (ph) directly take Britain and its attitude towards the United States, that's going to be important for the United States and President Trump in the coming years or so.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Nic, we're going to sort out your microphone issues and get back to you with all that is breaking news there in the U.K.
Meanwhile, comedian Jon Stewart had a message from Senator Rand Paul.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON STEWART, 9/11 FIRST RESPONDER ADVOCATE: He called me a guttersnipe. I have -- I have the mind to call him a scalawag and a ragamuffin. I'll escalate this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[06:34:37] CAMEROTA: There were a lot of levity. There were a lot of emotions. The whole range of emotions from these guys. So we'll play you more of my exclusive sit-down with Jon Stewart and John Feal moments after winning their fight for 9/11 first responders.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON STEWART, COMEDIAN, 9/11 VICTIM FUND ADVOCATE: These families deserve better. And I'm really -- I'm hopeful that today begins the process of being able to heal without the burden of having to advocate. And I will follow you whatever your next adventure shall be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: That's comedian Jon Stewart celebrating with activists and former construction worker John Feal after the Senate finally passed that funding bill for 9/11 first responders. Once the president signs it into law, we understand that will happen on Friday, the fund will help the first responders medical bills through the year 2090.
So I sat down with Jon Stewart and John Feal moments after the Senate vote for how they were feeling.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAMEROTA: What was that moment -- when they announced 97-2?
JOHN FEAL, 9/11 VICTIM FUND ADVOCATE: I cried. I cried. I cried. Yes, I cried. I'm a crier. You know, John Feal cries. I'm human. You know, everybody thinks I'm this tough exterior guy and I have tattoos and all of this stuff. I cried. That's -- but to -- to know that tens of thousands of people are going to get help now and that financial relief, this is going to get signed on Friday. I've already spoken to the White House. 2:00 on Friday, President Trump's going to sign this bill. That means it's -- it goes into effect immediately. Yes.
[06:40:17] CAMEROTA: I mean you've worked on this for so long.
FEAL: Yes.
CAMEROTA: And, really, your tenacity, John, and your perseverance --
FEAL: Don't use words I don't know. CAMEROTA: They're $10 words, as you've said before.
FEAL: Yes.
CAMEROTA: But as you --
JON STEWART, COMEDIAN, 9/11 VICTIM FUND ADVOCATE: Strong. John strong. You -- you happy, strong.
FEAL: You left me in a quandary.
STEWART: Whoa.
FEAL: Yes.
STEWART: Nice job.
FEAL: Can you fathom that word?
STEWART: I cannot.
CAMEROTA: You guys are in a better mood than I've seen you recently --
FEAL: Yes.
CAMEROTA: Because you've accomplished it.
And so what are you going to do now?
FEAL: I'm going to decompress. I'm going to take a couple of days to myself. I don't need a lot of time to recharge my batteries.
STEWART: Right.
FEAL: But I know there are people out there suffering and needing help. And I know the government continues to fail those good people.
You know what I learned in 15 years, and I'm really not that bright of a guy, that first responders and those in the military are expendable. My God, when -- when -- when they go to combat or when they go into a fire or they get into a shootout and they can no longer serve their country or their city or their state, we are so quick to kick them to the curb and throw them out like garbage. And that's just not the way I was raised.
You know, I don't need 9/11 to know right from wrong. I needed 9/11 to show everybody how my mother raised me. And if my mother was alive, she'd probably smack me in the back of the head for cursing, but she'd also say, good job, you took it to them and you didn't back down. And you had some really cool friends along the way.
CAMEROTA: I'm sure she would be really proud of you today.
FEAL: I hope so.
CAMEROTA: Jon, I mean, on that note, there are so many worthy causes that need urgent attention. Why did this one capture your emotions in the way that it has?
STEWART: Well, I think because of what having experienced 9/11 in lower Manhattan, having lived down there, having seen what the first responder community, what the survivor community, what the volunteer community, what they gave to the city during that incredibly chaotic and -- and frightening time was irreplaceable. And to this day I'm still shocked by some of the things that I hear, some of the -- you know, when you -- you hear senators on the floor talking about, I just want to have a conversation about fiscal responsibility. And you're like, man, we sat in your office five years ago. You could have had that conversation. You could have had that conversation at any point during those five years. You're a senator. Have it with your colleagues, but don't do it on the eve of these people's hopes and -- and dreams of finally putting them behind them. This was not the moment. And it's disingenuous to suggest that that's all you were doing, especially when you vote against the bill.
But his childishness aside, we've tried to get into that office many, many times to have those conversations with those staffers and haven't been able to.
CAMEROTA: With who? Are you talking about McConnell? Are you talking about Mike Lee? Are you talking about Rand Paul?
STEWART: Senator Paul and Mike Lee. Absolutely. We've tried in numerous occasions to have that conversation with them.
FEAL: You could debate us any time, Rand Paul. I'd love to debate you on the merits in the -- in the -- the -- the merits of this bill and you have your merits and I'll take mine. And you could show up if you want.
STEWART: I won't show -- he called me a guttersnipe.
FEAL: He did. I don't even know what that is.
STEWART: I have a -- I have a mind to call him a scalawag and a ragamuffin. I'll escalate this.
CAMEROTA: Did he promise you he wasn't going to vote you down? I mean --
STEWART: He wouldn't meet with us. So he promised us nothing. But what he said was, this it's not about blocking the bill. I think it's a good bill. It's about fiscal responsibility. Well, he said he raised the same objection to the tax cut, but he voted for that.
CAMEROTA: Is there anybody who's humanity you want to recognize? Is there anybody who surprised you? Is --
FEAL: Mitch McConnell. Mitch McConnell is a human being. And I thank him for that. And while we're never going to agree on our politics, Mitch McConnell was honest and straightforward after that meeting that we had with my team and I thank the Senate majority leader.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: That is high praise coming from John Feal also. He doesn't throw those words around lightly.
We're going to have much more of this wonderful interview that Alisyn had with Jon Stewart and John Feal, next.
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[06:48:04] CAMEROTA: OK, we want to play you more of my exclusive sit- down interview with comedian Jon Stewart and 9/11 first responder John Feal on their tireless efforts to get the 9/11 Victim's Compensation Funds passed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: Do you think that it was your visit last month in June, Luis Alvarez's last trip to Congress --
FEAL: This is -- this is --
CAMEROTA: Do you think that that's what turned the tide?
FEAL: Yes, well, sure. This is -- this is what happened. Luis testified. We hand-picked Luis. We knew he was going to die. Luis was up for the challenge. We asked him. And while it was selfish of us, he still wanted to do it.
And then we got to Jon. And we took that paper away from him. And he did what he does best. He -- it was like watching a figure skater score a perfect ten. It was watching -- it was like watching Nadia Comaneci get --
STEWART: A guy in a tu-tu?
FEAL: No, no, I'm being -- I'm being -- well --
STEWART: Leotard?
FEAL: Listen, let me get serious for a second.
STEWART: All right.
FEAL: It's CNN. Anderson Cooper's watching.
STEWART: All right.
FEAL: We -- we -- we got the best of Jon Stewart. He art -- he painted a -- a landscape for America to see our pain and suffering over the last 18 years and he did it in about eight minutes. And he not only chastised Congress, he embarrassed them. And then he lectured them. And then he -- he scolded them. And he was like their parents putting his foot in their you know what.
STEWART: When Luis Alvarez was talking, and -- and I'm watching him speak and there's only six people out of the 14 that were there on the -- that were supposed to be in the House Judiciary Subcommittee that were listening to him. And that's what really got me angry and set me off.
And so I complained about this being a metaphor that here they are speaking and they're talking to no one. And the head of it, Congressman Cohen, said, no, you don't understand, this is a subcommittee, not a committee. And I was like, no, I understand it's a subcommittee. I knew that the room -- I wasn't angry about the chairs that weren't supposed to be filled not being filled. I was angry about the chairs that were supposed to be filled that weren't. He said, you know, we're very busy. And I was sitting next to a man who had decided to spend one of his last days on earth fighting for his brothers and sisters so that they wouldn't have to go through it. And to not have the ability to perceive what an incredibly arrogant and out of touch statement that was to give to a man whose liver would shut down that night and he would go into hospice, we're busy.
[06:50:37] And the other side of it was, they kept saying, 12 out of the 14 were there, but they weren't. Twelve out of the 14 were marked present. They -- you're allowed to come in, sit for a minute, and leave and be marked present. So they get to say, hey, 12 of us were there, but they weren't there. Six were. And you know that. And those two moments, I thought, were an incredible -- just a microcosm of everything that's gone wrong here.
It was just so stark. And they were all running around like we're busy. And we're like, well, geez, if only you worked in a legislative body that could change the rules so that it was more responsive to what constituent's needs were. If you can't do this for them, what chance do the rest of us have? This is doing the least you can do for the best of us. Those who would sacrifice everything to save our sorry asses on 9/11. And if we can't help them, honestly, what chance to the rest of us have.
FEAL: Jon Stewart and the Alvarez's and Matt McCally (ph), they were doing everybody else's job. Never got paid for it. Paid out of their own pocket to drive down 95. And what they did was out-work everybody, out-think everybody, out-perform everybody, out -- out everything everybody. And that's why I'm happy for them. And that's -- and that's why I can leave here today knowing that, you know, we -- we -- we kicked some ass today, bro. Yes, we did.
STEWART: and I do think politics is sometimes the art of removing your soul. And they remove people's ability to do the right thing for causes that have nothing to do with what the needs are of the people. And they do it really well. And they've gotten ensconced in this. And that's -- that's been my experience here is, there's all these people working their hardest to do the right thing and they're blocked at the top by those who are working to do the most political thing.
FEAL: I -- I agree with what Colbert says.
STEWART: That's -- actually, that's not -- that's a different -- he's a slightly taller, more Catholic looking -- you don't even know me. How long -- we've been working together 10 years and you don't even know me.
CAMEROTA: Are you -- that's -- STEWART: You don't even know me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: I mean you can see that there was levity. They were still angry about what these 18 years have been. And they were proud of what they've accomplished. And they were so close.
BERMAN: I think what you see is the internal struggle there of, it's difficult to know how to behave when you've just changed thousands of lives. And those two men, and the group that they've led, and they won't take all the credit for it, but they have changed thousands of lives through more than a decade of incredibly hard work.
CAMEROTA: Speaking of the group, they were joined by dozens and dozens of the first responders who all came over as the interview was wrapping up. They all came over and they all said they're fans of CNN, which we really appreciated, and they just wanted to -- all be together. And you can see how happy they are here. I mean really what a relief it was.
You know, I asked Jon Stewart if ever during some of these frustrating moments he wished he had, oh, I don't know, a nightly show where he could talk about this and could have held their feet to the fire. And he said, no. And John Feal made the point that if he had done it that way, people would have said he was just doing it for ratings. And this was a more pure way to do it.
BERMAN: And John Feal describing what Jon Stewart did in that testimony as scoring -- he mixes metaphors, gymnastics and ice skating, but a perfect 10, Nadia Comaneci, or ice skating, is exactly right. He changed history with what he said before Congress there. And both those men should feel proud. And we are proud to know them and also proud of all the first responders that really took care of all of us.
CAMEROTA: They are an inspiration to all of us.
BERMAN: All right, other news to tell you about this morning.
A big scare in Yellowstone after a bison charged at a 9-year-old girl. The terrifying moment, next.
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[06:58:22] BERMAN: New this morning, two missing teenagers in Canada are now suspects in the shooting deaths of three people, an American woman, her Australian boyfriend, and an unidentified man found in rural British Columbia.
CNN's Paula Newton live in Ottawa with the details on what's now a manhunt.
Paula.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. And what a manhunt it is. You have to think, these were two boys that police and their families thought might be the victims of murder. Instead now they are the prime suspects in the murder of Chynna Deese from Charlotte, North Carolina, and her Australian boyfriend, Lucas Fowler.
Now, these two men, Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky are believed to be on the run. They're believed to be dangerous. Police say, if you do see them, do not approach. In fact, police just want you to call them right away.
They have been spotted, John. Right now police, overnight, saying that they have been spotted most recently in northern Manitoba. John, this is more than 2,000 miles away from the -- where the alleged crimes first occurred. At this point in time, police are saying that everyone should be on the lookout for them. And a reminder that they could have changed their appearance.
John, I want to stress, these are just teenagers, 18 and 19, 6'4." Police say they do not know what they're doing up there in the remote wilderness right now. They are in a Rav-4, but obviously suspect they could have abandoned it. And you're talking about territory that is remote and the size of a small country. They could be anywhere right now. And police continue to search for them.
Also want to point out that the mother of Chynna Deese saying to CNN, Sheila Deese, saying that, look, I can't help but look at that surveillance video, those last few moments of the couple embracing and wondering why.
[07:00:06] BERMAN: Why indeed. Chilling.
All right, Paula, stay on this for us.
END
