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New Day
Meat Loaf Dies at Age 74; NYPD Searches for Woman who Spit on Jewish Children; New Orleans on High Alert over Interstate Shootings; NBC and ESPN Not Sending Announcers to Olympics. Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired January 21, 2022 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[08:33:06]
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, sad news this morning. Grammy Award winning singer, entertainer and just icon Meat Loaf has died. According to his official Facebook page, he passed way with his wife Deborah at his side. No cause of death has been announced. His career spanned six decades. He sold more than 100 million albums, started in more than 65 movies.
CNN's Paul Vercammen looks back on his life and legacy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MEAT LOAF, MUSICIAN (singing): Oh, I would do anything for love, but I won't do that.
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Meat Loaf performed sweet suburban melodies with dramatic fair, unleashing the lyrics of composer Jim Stein.
MEAT LOAF: And I go out on the stage as if it's the last thing I'll ever do. I will -- and that's what I've always said, if I'm going to -- if I'm going out, I'm going out on the stage.
VERCAMMEN: Meat Loaf. Where did that name come from?
MEAT LOAF: There real story is, there is no story. The real story is that kids -- I was about eight years old. I've been called Meat Loaf since I was about eight.
VERCAMMEN: Meat Loaf, or Meat for short, was born Michael Lee Aday in Dallas, Texas. But even Texas was not big enough to coral his talents. Meat Loaf would go on to sell more than 80 million records worldwide. One of the top selling musicians ever. His three "Bat Out of Hell" albums became staples in college dorms.
MEAT LOAF (singing): Like a bat out of hell, I'll be gone when the morning comes.
VERCAMMEN: The first one selling 43 million copies.
MEAT LOAF: "Bat Out of Hell" one I was not ready for. I had a nervous breakdown. I went to a psychologist and psychiatrist for two years. And I went with them to deal with the word "star."
VERCAMMEN: Meat got a hold of his demons. He started on stage and screen, known for the "Rocky Horror Picture Show," and Bob Paulson in "Fight Club."
MEAT LOAF: The first rule is, I'm not supposed to talk about it.
[08:35:03]
And the second rule is, I'm not supposed to talk about it. And the third rule is --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bob, Bob, I'm a member.
VERCAMMEN: Off-screen he married twice, became a father to two daughters. And Meat Loaf entered reality TV. Donald Trump's "Celebrity Apprentice." In an infamous episode, he blistered Gary Busey (ph).
MEAT LOAF: You look in my eyes. I am the last person in the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) world you ever (EXPLETIVE DELETED) want to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) with.
VERCAMMEN: Such harsh yelling, a stark contrast to what launched Meat Loaf to international adoration, that operatic voice.
MEAT LOAF: Oh, I would do anything for love, but I won't do that. No, no, I won't do that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: And our thoughts are with his family.
Look, I think he was just so all in. To sing like Meat Loaf, just all in always.
KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: And all those songs just instantly recognizable to anyone who hears them. Just an -- we've absolutely lost an icon in him. Even Mitt Romney, who he appeared on stage with at a campaign event, putting a statement out saying that he'll be deeply missed.
BERMAN: Just as everyone imagined, Mitt Romney and Meat Loaf, very close.
HUNT: Very close in deeded.
All right, let's go now, though, to this pretty tough story.
In New York City, police are searching for a woman that's accused of shouting anti-Semitic comments at three children before spitting on one of them.
CNN's Brynn Gingras joins us.
Brynn, what can you tell us about this terrible incident?
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kasie, good morning.
I want to actually get right to that video because police are wanting to know who this woman is. So, take a good look at it. They release this surveillance video of her while this alleged aggravated harassment happened. You can see it right there. And then, of course, afterwards, as she walks away.
The NYPD says the woman walked up to a group of children, one of them an eight-year-old, and made anti-Jewish statements. A source actually telling me she made a reference to Hitler and also told the young kids she knew where they lived, before spiting on them and walking away. The kids weren't physically hurt, good there, but yet just another instance of a possible hate crime here in New York City, which we know has been on the rise in this pandemic, and we know is also just a huge focus for law enforcement.
In addition to that, it's important to mention, just yesterday Manhattan's new district attorney, Alvin Bragg, who initially has been criticized for a very confusing memo he sent earlier this year about prosecuting crimes in this city, he tried to clarify his strategies, but he did also expand on them when it comes to this issue, hate crimes, saying that he'd like to deepen the capacity of the hate crimes unit. So, obviously, a priority for his office, too, Kasie.
HUNT: Just an absolutely terrible incident. So we'll figure out if they figure out who this woman is.
GINGRAS: Right.
HUNT: Brynn Gingras, thank you very much for that reporting.
BERMAN: This morning we have a new CNN investigation on a series of fatal highway shootings in New Orleans over three days. Police are not saying whether they're random or targeted.
CNN's Nick Valencia joins us now.
Nick, tell us what you've learned.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, John.
This spate of shootings on New Orleans highways just represent a small portion of the city's overall gun violence. But they are on the rise at an alarming rate. So much so that local police say they have an epidemic of gunfire on the city's highways. Two of the shootings happened within 12 hours, and the latest shooting is the third in three days.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VALENCIA (voice over): New Orleans on alert as the city has been experiencing a steady uptick in highway shootings. Thirty-four-year- old Whitney Watts was fatally shot in Louisiana on Wednesday while driving down I-10 in New Orleans according to police and family members. One of her children was in the car when the shooting overcured. Police say watts was pronounced dead at the scene. Her family is devastated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going with play (ph) with her son and her daughter and my son's daughter, and I get a call on the phone saying my daughter's dead. My daughter got shot. You don't burry your children. You don't burry your children.
VALENCIA: Last weekend, another shooting happened on Interstate 10, this time killing a 52-year-old man and injuring a 45-year-old woman, according to police. Police were investigating a nearby incident when they heard gunshots just after 3:00 a.m. on Sunday. Responding officers found the two victims in the car.
The New Orleans Police Department is asking the public to come forward with any and all information. No suspects or motives have been identified in either shooting.
Since January 2021, there have been over 30 interstate shootings in Louisiana, according to the New Orleans Police Department. Interstate highway shootings have been on a steady incline in New Orleans since 2019, and they come with some distinct challenges for law enforcement.
MIKE CAHN, FORMER COMMANDER, NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT: By the time someone calls 911, it goes through a dispatcher. That dispatcher then goes to the police.
[08:40:03]
The police get the call, get up on the expressway and look for that, that vehicle's normally gone.
VALENCIA: Like many cities nationwide, New Orleans is seeing an uptick in homicides. Carjackings are up 200 percent year to date and homicide incidents involving firearms are up 150 percent.
OLIVER THOMAS, NEW ORLEANS COUNCILMEMBER: What are we going to do yesterday to come up with a plan to attack this violent crime so that no one who's hurting, robbing, raping, carjacking, ever falls through the crack again?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VALENCIA: Such a scary situation there in New Orleans.
Police have not indicated whether the latest shooting was a random or targeted attack. Watts' family believes that she was the target of potentially a case of mistaken identity.
And just really quick here, John. In a recent interview with "The Times Picayune," a local paper there in New Orleans, NOPD investigators say they believe that many of the shootings are just chance encounters between random motorists that lead to road rage.
John.
BERMAN: Well, Nick, it is disturbing. Please, keep us posted.
VALENCIA: You got it.
BERMAN: Thank you so much for that report.
Here's what else to watch today.
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12:00 p.m. ET, White House press briefing.
1:00 p.m. ET, White House Covid briefing.
1:50 p.m. ET, Biden addresses mayors conference.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: The winter Olympics just two weeks away. Why some of the biggest broadcasters will not be attending?
HUNT: Plus, go easy on her. Why a tearful Adele is apologizing to her fans.
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[08:45:58]
HUNT: The start of the Beijing winter games now just two weeks away, but the networks covering the Olympics say that for the most part they are not going.
CNN's David culver is live in Beijing.
David, why did NBC and ESPN, two major players, make this decision?
DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think it's the realization, Kasie, that China's zero Covid strategy, something that we have been reporting on for the past two plus years, there is nothing in the world like it. And the reality is, as soon as you step into this country, even if you're going to be part of this Olympic bubble, well, you are subject to the rules of the People's Republic of China and their Covid policy, which is extremely harsh. If you were to contract the virus, you can go into either isolation or be put in a government quarantine medical facility, the location of which has not yet been disclosed. Essentially it's out of your control.
And so for today being the point where you had the most arrivals coming in, that according to Olympic organizers, this is also going to be a space for many of these folks that are navigating through it to realize it is very, very foreign (ph).
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CULVER (voice over): Traveling into Beijing may prove to be a tougher race than an Olympic competition. These winter games taking place in a capital city that increasingly feels like a fortress. China determined to keep out any new cases of Covid-19, starting at the airport.
CULVER (on camera): This is the terminal that's going to be used by athletes, some of the Olympic personnel and immediate arriving into Beijing.
They've got a wall up that keeps the general population away from everyone who's part of the Olympic arrivals.
CULVER (voice over): Those coming in required to downloaded this official app to monitor their health, inputting their information starting 14 days before arriving in Beijing. While health surveillance and strict contact tracing is part of life for everyone living in China, it's making visitors uneasy. Cybersecurity researchers warn the app has serious encryption flaws, potentially compromising personal health data. China dismisses concerns, but Team USA and athletes from other countries are being advised to bring dispensable burner phones instead of their personal ones.
From the airport, athletes and personnel will be taken into what organizers call the closed loop system. Not one giant bubble, so much as multiple bubbles connected by dedicated shuttles. Within the capital city, there are several hotels and venues, plus the Olympic village, that are only for credentialed participants.
CULVER (on camera): The dedicated transport buses will be bringing the athletes, the personnel, the media through these gates. But for those of us who are residents outside, well, this is as close as we can get.
CULVER (voice over): Then there are the mountain venues, on the outskirts of Beijing, connected by high-speed trains and highways, all them newly built for the winter games. So as to maintain the separation, even the railcars are divided, and the closed loop buses given specially marked lanes.
CULVER (on camera): It is so strict that officials have told residents if they see one of the vehicles that's part of the Olympic convoys get into a crash, to stay away. They've actually got a specialized unit of medics to respond to those incidents. It's all to keep the virus from potentially spreading.
CULVER (voice over): It also helps keep visiting journalists from leaving the capital city to other regions, like Xinjiang or Tibet, to explore controversial topics.
With the world attention, the Olympic allows China to showcase its perceived superiority in containing the virus, especially compared with countries like the U.S. But this will, in many ways, also be a tale of two cities, one curated for the Olympic arrivals and pre- selected groups of spectators, another that is the real Beijing.
Though some local Beijing residents are now in a bubble of their own. Communities locked down after recent cases surfaced in the city outside the Olympic boundaries. A mounting challenge for a country that's trying to keep Covid out and yet still stage a global sporting spectacle to wow the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[08:50:03]
CULVER: And that really is going to be the biggest challenge here, Kasie, is balancing this desire to contain the virus -- you've got barriers up all over -- and at the same time trying to portray, which China has been insistent in, that this is a welcoming, opening host city to the rest of the world. It's not going to be easy to strike that balance.
HUNT: Just a fascinating piece. And the idea that you could get sent to a government facility and they won't tell us even where that is, pretty scary.
CULVER: Yes.
HUNT: David Culver, thanks very much for your reporting, as always. We really appreciate it.
Now there's this. Former Trump press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, called Biden's news conference, the most delusional she has ever seen. Really? We're going to take a trip back in time.
BERMAN: This year's Super Bowl halftime show set to be one for the ages. Specifically the '90s ages.
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[08:55:04]
BERMAN: The White House has been engaged in a fair amount of cleanup since President Biden's news conference on Ukraine, on elections. And there has been criticism. But some of it, well --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I thought that was the most delusional press conference I have ever seen. And I left that press conference genuinely scared for the future of our country. This is someone who is deeply delusional. Someone who clearly does not know how to lead. He does not have a basic grasp on the facts. He continued to peddle mistruth after mistruth, emboldening Putin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Most delusional ever? Ever? To once again quote the famed political analyst Inago Montoya (ph), I'm not sure it means what she thinks it means.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: We had a very smooth rollout of the travel ban. But we had a bad court.
But this administration is running like a fine-tuned machine.
Drugs are becoming cheaper than candy bars.
You know what uranium is, right? It's this thing called nuclear weapons and other things. Like, lots of things are done with uranium, including some bad things. Nobody talks about that.
Number one, I am the least anti-Semitic person that you've ever seen in your entire life. Number two, racism. The least racist person.
Be very careful because in your hotel rooms, and no matter where you go, you're going to probably have cameras.
If Putin likes Donald Trump, I consider that an asset, not a liability.
I'm not ranting and raving, I'm just telling you, you know, you're dishonest people.
Take a look at the CNN polls, how inaccurate they were. That's called voter suppression.
He was saying that China has total respect for Donald Trump and for Donald Trump's very, very large brain.
If we brought George Washington here, and we said, we have George Washington, the Democrats would vote against him.
I was in front of a large group of highly professional people, most of whom are from either other countries or the United Nations.
They weren't laughing at me. They were laughing with me. We had fun.
I call it a perfect call, because it was.
It's going to disappear. One day it's like a miracle and it will disappear.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: All right, major news developing this morning. Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressing the world moments ago, aiming to diffuse the crisis on the Ukrainian border.
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HUNT: A tearful Adele announcing that she's going to have to postpone her Las Vegas residency, which had been set to start today at Caesar's Palace.
[09:00:00]
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADELE, GRAMMY-WINNING SINGER: I'm so sorry but my show ain't ready. We've tried absolutely everything that we can to put it together in time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Wow.
BERMAN: Somehow, we will all pull through. And I'm sure she will get a chance to get back to the stage.
HUNT: I hope so.
BERMAN: Kasie, thanks for being here all week.
HUNT: Thank you so much for having me. It was great to be with you Berman. Brianna will have to reset her alarm clock for next week.
BERMAN: We'll see you again soon.
CNN's coverage continues right now.
