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New Day Saturday
Rare Strain Of Meningitis Hits Princeton, Students May Get Emergency Vaccine; Ford's Brother: Legacy Will Be "Solid"; Tiny Typhoon Victims Survive In Makeshift Clinic With No Power; Rapist Will Serve No Prison Time; Memories of JFK's Assassination; Damage Control on Obamacare Rollout; Andy Kaufman Death a Hoax?; Automobile of the Year for 2014; Batkid Saves Gotham, Warms Hearts; Toronto Mayor Stripped of Key Powers
Aired November 16, 2013 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR: -- it is a crowded field that only one stands above all the rest, so which car is going to get the top prize? "Automobile" magazine unveils its pick exclusively here at NEW DAY.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: And Batman for a day. How one big city made a little boy's superhero dreams come true?
SAMBOLIN: Good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining us today. I'm Zoraida Sambolin.
BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. It's 8:00 now here on the east coast. This is NEW DAY SATURDAY. We want to start with what is happening in New Jersey and officials at Princeton University, they right now may have a life and death decision to make this weekend.
SAMBOLIN: So they are deciding whether to have thousands of students take a vaccine that is not yet approved in the United States. It is to stop a potentially deadly and really unusual strain of meningitis from spreading across the campus there.
BLACKWELL: CNN's Alexandra Field joins us now live from Princeton, New Jersey. OK, so Alexandra, seven people have come down with the bacterial disease so far, right? How many of those are still dealing with it? How many have recovered?
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Victor, seven people constitutes an outbreak. But one person is still in the hospital and six other people have recovered. But Princeton University leaders say they want to stop the spread of meningitis "b" any further across this campus. So trustees are getting together this weekend and they are making a decision whether or not they should offer a vaccine to students that has so far only been approved overseas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FIELD (voice-over): Princeton University officials are meeting this weekend to discuss possible vaccinations on campus. It's an effort to combat an ongoing outbreak of meningitis "b," which can cause life threatening illness. The New Jersey Department of Health says the first case developed when a student returned from spring break in March.
After additional cases were reported, an outbreak of the disease was declared in May. A total of six students and one visitor to Princeton are linked to the outbreak. The latest case was diagnosed last week. That student is still hospitalized this morning.
ADAM KROP, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY STUDENT: I remember it was pretty instant. She went from feeling almost fine to the next minute with 103 fever.
FIELD: Bacterial meningitis is rare and the strain causing this outbreak is very rare in the United States. It is not included in currently available vaccines. The bacteria can cause infections to the lining of the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms include headache, fever, vomiting, rashes and stiff neck. Those infected need to be treated right away and even those who recover can suffer serious complications such as hearing loss, brain damage and limb amputations.
DR. MARK WHITMAN, CAPITAL HEALTH REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER: This needs to be treated quickly. So a community that may have other cases, have to be aware of the symptoms because the quicker you put someone on antibiotics, the more likely they are to recover.
FIELD: To combat the disease, the CDC has FDA approval to import the only vaccine for meningitis "b" as an experimental drug. It's called Bexsero and it is approved in Australia and Europe, but not yet in the United States. If university and health officials agree to offer the vaccine, it will be available on a voluntary basis. Something students will likely consider.
KRISTIE SCHOTT, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY STUDENT: I think a lot of people are concerned that from the fact it did not go away over the summer after everybody left.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FIELD: Again, we are told that trustees at Princeton University should be making the decision sometime this weekend about whether or not to allow the vaccine. Then it is up to 8,000 students to decide whether or not they decide they want to take it -- Zoraida and Victor.
SAMBOLIN: Alexandra, have health officials found any link among the cases at Princeton other than most of these are students? We understand none of the faculty have fallen ill.
FIELD: Right, six students and one visitor. New Jersey health officials though are saying that they have not detected any specific link between the seven cases. That said we do know that meningitis "b" is transmitted through saliva, sharing cups, coughing and living in close quarters, the kind of things that you might find in a dorm or on campus housing, those kinds of conditions.
SAMBOLIN: All right, Alexandra Field, thank you very much. Appreciate you.
Toronto's embattled mayor says he is not going down without a fight even though he has been stripped of most of his powers. Mayor Rob Ford is refusing to step down. In an unprecedented move, the city council voted yesterday to take away his ability to govern in an emergency and to appoint and dismiss committee chairs as well.
Despite increased calls for his resignation after admitting to smoking crack, Ford's wife is standing by his side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think he should take a leave of absence?
RENATA FORD, TORONTO MAYOR'S WIFE: That's why we have elections.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think he should take some personal time? Should he take some personal time?
FORD: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: She is not the only one standing by the mayor. Ford's brother spoke to our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson. He is defending the mayor's legacy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOUG FORD, TORONTO MAYOR ROB FORD'S BROTHER: I think our legacy is going to be pretty solid based on how Rob performs. You will look at a family that doesn't need to do this. That has actually sacrificed massive amounts of time, money and their business to serve the people.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Aren't you worried about his health with all this additional stress? Not just the public, not just the councillors, but the family's name?
FORD: I'm confident that the people that actually know us understand what we have done for our community.
ROBERTSON: Your brother's health?
FORD: The priority, obviously, is health. Health comes first over anything. If you don't have your health, you have nothing. We are confident that Rob will move forward. Only time will tell. If I sit here and tell you 100 percent Rob Ford is going to be perfect, I can't tell you that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAMBOLIN: So Ford is striking back. He has threatened to sue his former colleagues over the allegations against him.
BLACKWELL: So one week now after one of the strongest storms recorded in history hit the Philippines, thousands are now escaping the devastation in the hardest hit city of Tacloban. It's just as the cleanup crews are coming in to clear the streets so that supplies can start -- to start to finally flow in. This morning, a lot of survivors are seeking refuge in Cebu, the Philippines' second largest city.
SAMBOLIN: And the number of those killed sadly continues to rise. The storm is now blamed for more than 3,600 deaths. More than 12,000 others were injured there and the search is still on for 1,100 people that are reported missing.
BLACKWELL: But we are hearing incredible stories of ingenuity and survival among the wreckage. CNN's senior international correspondent Ivan Watson met some of the tiniest survivors of the typhoon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We are in one of the main hospitals in Tacloban. I'm going to take you into the chapel now to show you something that I never have seen any wherein the world before. Come take a look. For the past week, this has been the neonatal intensive care unit. There are now 27 babies in this chapel right now. Almost all of them were born after the typhoon.
Over here, this is the ICU, the intensive care unit. Now this mother is taking turns with the father, manually pumping oxygen into their daughter's lungs because their daughter is not breathing. Normally, if there wasn't a storm, this would be done by machines, but there is no electricity right now. So, not only are there no breathing devices, there are no incubators and thermal regulation is a problem for these children, the doctors say, for these infants.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAMBOLIN: Does that not just break your heart? For ways you can help survivors of Typhoon Haiyan, go to cnn.com/impact.
BLACKWELL: You think about all of the devastation you see, but to take it to that level. There are no machines or incubators. It is a miracle that these babies are surviving.
SAMBOLIN: I hope they do.
BLACKWELL: Changing gears now, the Miami Dolphins player who walked away from the team over alleged bullying sits down with NFL officials. What we are learning from the hours and hours he spent talking with them.
SAMBOLIN: And a little later in this hour, "Automobile" magazine will reveal its 2014 Auto of the Year. It is a CNN exclusive. It is only for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAMBOLIN: Welcome back. It's 12 minutes past the hour. So this is hard to imagine. A man convicted of rape, but he won't spend any time in prison, zero, none.
BLACKWELL: An Alabama jury convicted Austin Clem of raping his neighbor, Courtney Andrews, three times. Then the judge sentenced him to community corrections. That is like house arrest returning home to his three young daughters. CNN's Nick Valencia joins me now. Nick, you sat down last night with Courtney Andrews. One, it's surprising that she has come forward to talk, but what did she say?
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was incredibly a strong interview for her to sit down and take the time with us. You can imagine she is an emotional wreck right now. She is not only scared for her future safety, but also that for the three daughters of the sexual assaulter. He will be sentenced back to his own house where he will spend time with his daughters and his wife. Take a listen to what she told us last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COURTNEY ANDREWS, RAPE VICTIM: He gets to stay home with his three girls and it scares me.
VALENCIA: You are scared for their safety?
ANDREWS: What has been done to me has been done. I know what it feels like to be scared. You feel like your life is threatened. I had to grow up when I was 13 years old. I had no childhood. I don't want that for anyone else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VALENCIA: Now the district attorney is considering trying to appeal the sentence. He is trying to get justice to Courtney Andrews.
SAMBOLIN: You need to explain what happened here.
VALENCIA: Absolutely. So this sexual assault went on for a number of years. For about six years from the time when Courtney Andrews was 13 years old to the time when she was about 18. She finally came out and it took her best friend to get her to actually tell her parents. When that came out, the trial happened.
In that trial, it was all about the defense attorney suggesting that this was a consensual relationship even though legally she could not give her consent. Now the judge gave the sentence, ordered him to 20 years in prison. Another ten years for three counts of sexual assault. He decided to supersede that law and give the sexual assaulter, Austin Clem, what it amounts to house arrest. So he is going to spend about four years on house arrest with another six years on probation.
BLACKWELL: And even after this, I read that the defense attorney says it is still too harsh?
VALENCIA: That's right. The only thing the two sides agree on is that they were shocked by the sentence. One side thinks it's too lenient. The other side thinks it's too harsh. In fact, we have a statement from the defense attorney. I spoke to him yesterday and he said this case is a case with two sides to the coin. There are two sides. The evidence was not clear and convincing, even after the guilty verdict. He is still trying to convict in the court of public opinion. He is saying it was all consensual. SAMBOLIN: Wow. Nick Valencia, thank you for sharing that with us today.
BLACKWELL: Lawyers for the NFL spent nearly seven hours talking about locker room bullying with Jonathan Martin on Friday. The Miami Dolphins lineman was mobbed by cameras in New York. He told reporters he does want to play football again, but did not say much about the ongoing investigation.
Now his alleged tormentor, Richie Incognito, remains off the field. He is serving an indefinite suspension. He has filed a grievance over that decision. It is unlikely Incognito will play again for the Dolphins this season.
SAMBOLIN: So as we approach the 50th anniversary of President's Kennedy assassination, CNN's Jeannie Moos shares her personal reflections of that faithful day. That is ahead. You're not going to want to miss this, but first --
BLACKWELL: Yes, turning to tennis, Serena Williams continues to dominate the women's scene, but there is another rising star making waves of her own. Here is this week's "Open Court."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Sloane Stevens is making a name for herself in the tennis world. You don't have to go too far to see where Stevens gets her athletic abilities.
SLOANE STEVENS, TENNIS PLAYER: My mom was great (inaudible) a great football player. It is safe to say I got good athletic genes which I'm thankful for.
ANNOUNCER: Her family support has been vital. Sloane has drawn inspiration from her idols, the Williams sisters.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sloan's first athletic heroes were Venus and Serena before she even picked up a racket.
ANNOUNCER: Stevens knows that America is hungry for a new tennis star. She also knows the comparisons to the Williams sisters will only grow louder as she wins more matches, but for now, try not to confuse her with Venus or Serena.
STEVENS: Seriously? Do I look like Serena?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAMBOLIN: Next Friday marks the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination.
BLACKWELL: Our Jeanne Moos shares some very personal memories about that time.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pick your most iconic moment of the aftermath of JFK's assassination. Was it John John's salute to his father's casket? Was it Jackie Kennedy refusing to take off the blood stained pink suit?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can get someone to bring you a change of clothes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I want them to see what they have done to Jack.
MOOS: But my most persistent memory was something else. For me, the '60s was a time of transition. I went from long hair to short hair and said goodbye to pigtails. These pigtails, my mom actually saved them. In my baby book from 1963, there was this notation, took Kennedy death seriously. What caught the eye of this girl was a horse, of course. A rider less horse with empty boots reversed in the stirrups. The horse was named Black Jack and the 19-year-old holding him was Army Private First Class Andy Carls.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My skinned arm was trying to control all of that horse.
MOOS: Black Jack has a reputation as a hot horse. He got this job because he was too wild to ride and after leading him about 14 miles, two days in a row following behind JFK's casket.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I felt beaten to death.
MOOS: I was so taken with Black Jack, after the funeral, I wrote a poem about the rider less horse. Don't worry. It disappeared over the years so you won't be subjected to the poetic ramblings of a kid.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was pawing the pavement and he struck the toe of my right shoe. I wanted to roll around on the ground and cry, but I couldn't do that.
MOOS: The rider less horse made an impression on Mrs. Kennedy. She later asked for the saddle, bridle and whips. He has been immortalized as a statue by a book.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the middle of all this solemnity, there's one fool horse having the time of his life.
MOOS: Seems like JFK would have liked that. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: Wow. Her mom saved those pigtails. That's amazing. From the executive producers, Tom Hanks and Gary Gatsman, CNN puts you on the ground 50 years ago, the day President Kennedy was killed and how the events of that day changed the nation and really the world. Do not miss the premier of "The Assassination Of President Kennedy." That is tomorrow night, 9:00 Eastern on CNN. The president comes up with a fix. We're talking about President Obama now for his health care law. Republicans offer one of their own. We will dive into the latest twist on the disastrous Obamacare roll out with our political commentators.
SAMBOLIN: Plus, a live look outside the Time Warner Center in New York. Can you believe I came to Atlanta when this is going on over there? It's an early Christmas present. We will unwrap the automobile of the year. It is happening live. It is happening during this hour. Can you tell by the silhouette what it is? Send us a tweet and let us know. You are up for NEW DAY SATURDAY morning. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAMBOLIN: Welcome back. Nice to have you with us. I'm Zoraida Sambolin.
BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Here are five things you need to know for your NEW DAY.
SAMBOLIN: Number one, Princeton University is trying to stop the spread of a potentially deadly strain of meningitis on a campus. It is considering now whether to give students a vaccine that has only been approved in Europe and Australia. Since March, six students and another person have become ill with the bacterial disease. The most recent case was diagnosed just last week.
BLACKWELL: Number two, in an effort to push the Toronto mayor out of office, lawmakers voted Friday to strip Rob Ford of powers to allow him to govern during emergencies and appoint committee chairs. Now Ford admitted last week that he smoked crack cocaine. He is also accused of driving under the influence and engaging with prostitutes.
SAMBOLIN: And 700 people who evacuated an area outside of Dallas after an underground oil pipeline exploded may be able to return home today. That fire had been burning since Thursday morning. Chevron which owns the pipeline has apologized. Officials said the crew working at the drilling site safely escaped. No one was hurt. That's the good news there.
BLACKWELL: Rapper Jay-Z says he is going to go ahead with his clothing line for Barney's New York, but at his request, Barney's will set up a panel to focus on racial profiling. A state attorney general is investigating the store, which denies it racially profiled customers. Jay-Z also said he will donate all proceeds from his clothing line to his charity. Barney's will pitch in another 10 percent.>
SAMBOLIN: And number five, today, more than 1,000 items that belonged to late President Gerald Ford to the auction block. This is in Indian Wealth California. Proceeds from the auction will go to three local charities including the Betty Ford Clinic, which was founded by the former first lady. Among the items for sale, clothing, golf clubs and a Fabrege-styled egg that President Clinton gave to Mrs. Ford as a gift. BLACKWELL: President Obama admits he and his team fumbled the Obamacare rollout, first a dysfunctional web site then policy cancellations despite his pledge that if you like your plan, you can keep it. If you like your doctor, you can keep them. Now he has announced steps to let millions who had their insurance cancelled keep it one year more.
SAMBOLIN: There are a couple of buts that stand in the way here. State insurance commissioners must go along with this. Several has said no. Insurance companies must agree to uncancel the plans and then extend them for another year. The president met with insurance industry executives on Friday to persuade them to go along. His capitulation on cancelled polices heads off a legislative fix by Congress for now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: There will be ups and downs during the course of my presidency and I think I said early on when I was running, I am not a perfect man and I will not be a perfect president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: All right so let's talk to a pair of CNN political commentators, Paul Begala a Democratic strategist in Washington; and in L.A. this morning Reihan Salam, a contributor to "The National Review". Good to have both of you.
REIHAN SALAM, COMMENTATOR, THE NATIONAL REVIEW: Thanks Victor, thanks for having us.
BLACKWELL: I want to start with this, what for a lot of people was the "wow" number. The 52 percent of this Quinnipiac poll who said that the President is not honest and trustworthy. How deep has the damage from this fumble, how much damage has it created for the Obama administration? He's got other things on his schedule for the rest of his term. How much damage has this done Paul?
PAUL BEGALA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well (inaudible) -- it's a very serious problem though, you know. When trust is broken, it takes awfully a long time to repair. We know that in our real life, we know it in our family lives; we know that in our business lives. So the problem here, it seems to me, was that he made the promise in the first place. Right? As an old White House speech writer, you could have said look, 95 percent of us will have no risk of losing our policies, but there's about five percent that have policies that really aren't worth the paper they are written on. They are called health insurance and you pay to it, but guess what it doesn't cover hospitalization and many of them don't even doctor visits.
Those folks, we're going to them something better for the same amount of money or less. That's a lot more words, I know and the President is a brilliant speaker and writer. But he ought to never have made that pledge and now he's got to live with it. The best solution though is to deliver, right -- to actually deliver on health care that benefits the middle class. And I actually think once this thing is operating, it will do that.
SAMBOLIN: Well he has a quite a bit of time left in office. And one of the things that we've been hearing about recently is the fact that immigration reform is you know a fight that potentially is not going to happen. That he's not going to be able to accomplish that.
So will this be that moment of truth for him where moving forward not much can be accomplished?
SALAM: Well, I think that this is a huge undertaking and to deal with the various problems that are going to keep arising over the next couple of years is going to take the President's full attention.
I just want to say one quick thing about what Paul had said a moment ago. I think that Paul is absolutely right that the promise was problematic and there are a lot of folks in the Obama administration who felt the same way.
But I think that when you compare this health reform effort to the health reform effort under President Clinton, one of the big differences and one of the things that made this more of a political success is that people really believed that there wouldn't be a disruption. Whereas under President Clinton, the President openly said that look some people are going to have to pay more.
So I think the fact that President Clinton was more straightforward with people was part of what made that health reform effort a bigger political lift. And I think that that's part of what a lot of people really resent or are frustrated by. The idea that the politics of the health reform legislation this time around wouldn't have worked had President Obama not made this promise that he couldn't really keep.
(CROSSTALK)
BLACKWELL: Well he said he didn't know.
SAMBOLIN: Right exactly.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
SAMBOLIN: The President himself comes forward and he said look I thought you were going to be able to keep this insurance. That's why I made the promise. So fundamentally --
SALAM: That's not what it seems like, that's not what the reporting tells us.
BLACKWELL: But -- but Paul I mean for the President to say that he wouldn't have come out in the days and weeks ahead of the launch and said you know that you will be able to keep this, that would have been something that would have been foolish to do. I think it's surprising that the President did not know that these changes would affect the plans in these ways. BEGALA: Well in fact in his defense, he was told that there would be a grandfather clause in there. And there is. We're really not talking about a very large percentage of the American people here. He ought not to have made that pledge. He should have an escape path the way Reihan and I are talking about and that could have been crafted by wordsmiths.
But the way out of this is to look at the entirety, right. He promised people like me, who have been paying our bills and living under the rules and having health insurance, that we would no longer be excluded for having a pre-existing condition. He's kept that promise. But he told us that my adult, my 21-year-old son at William and Mary, I can keep him on my insurance policy until he is 26 and probably he will still be at William and Mary.
He told, you know he made dozens of pledges in here all of which he is keeping. Now I know it's not good enough to say well gee he only got one thing wrong but he's apologized for that. But for the 95 percent of us, this is a huge winner for just as he promised.
SAMBOLIN: Yes but there are a lot of Americans that, you know, have issues with the way that this has unfolded. That a lot of politicians are calling for somebody's head to roll in light of all of this. Do you think that in fact he did do that, if there was that one person, even though he has taken the mea culpa, he said this is all of my fault, does he need to fire somebody in order for us to move beyond this? That -- that person, that one person responsible for not making this right?
SALAM: I don't think he really can fire anyone. So let's say that he tried to fire Kathleen Sebelius who has been at Health and Human Services since the start of this administration. Look who is going to be able to confirm? Who else is going to want to take on this job? This administrative fix that he's announced -- the trouble with it is that insurers and state insurance commissioners have been working under the premises of this law is going forward for you know three years. Now they've got 35 days for some new fix to un-cancel insurance?
Who is going to want to take Kathleen Sebelius's job? There are some other people as well who've been involved. But the thing is that this is a moving train and trying to fix a -- trying to move pieces around and trying to get someone else to come in at this point is going to be very, very difficult.
BLACKWELL: All right. Reihan Salam contributor to "The National Review" and Paul Begala a Democratic Strategist, both CNN political commentators -- thank you for your insight this morning.
BEGALA: Thanks a lot.
SALAM: Thank you.
SAMBOLIN: And still to come on NEW DAY is comedian Andy Kaufman still alive?
BLACKWELL: This was a fascinating conversation I watched with Jake Tapper this week.
SAMBOLIN: Yes the Internet lit up this week when a woman came forward claiming Kaufman is her father. We're going to get down to the bottom of all of it coming up next.
BLACKWELL: Plus San Francisco becomes Gotham City and a five-year-old he gets to save the day. Batkid is coming up.
And in just 10 minutes, 10 minutes we're going to unwrap the automobile of the year.
SAMBOLIN: What does that look like to you?
BLACKWELL: Something sporty at least. Something -- something sporty. It's something you'll see only on CNN. So keep it here. This is NEW DAY SATURDAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Twenty minutes until the top of the hour now. He was one of the greatest comedians especially during his era. Andy Kaufman.
SAMBOLIN: Kaufman was just 35 when he died of a rare form of lung cancer. But now many are wondering if the comedian faked his death.
At an event honoring Kaufman this week his brother introduced a woman who claimed to be Andy's daughter. She told the audience, her father is still alive.
BLACKWELL: But reports surfaced claiming that "daughter" is actually an actress. And now Michael Kaufman says that he doesn't know if he's unintentionally part of another hoax. And so let's get some answers here because this is a bizarre story. Let's bring Wayne Drash. He's the senior producer for CNN.com also a life-long Andy Kaufman fan.
So what do you think? Let's just start there, I mean is this a hoax and Michael Kaufman is not in on it or he is in on this?
WAYNE DRASH, CNN PRODUCER: Well that's -- that's what everybody is wondering now right now. I personally believe that it was a kind of one last hurrah for the family. I've spoken with Andy's father, who was 90, a few months before he died. And he told me the real story of Andy really does have a daughter. When he was 17, he gave -- he fathered a child and that child was given up for adoption.
And after -- after Andy's death, the father had always wondered what happened to his granddaughter. In the early 1990s, that daughter came back into his life through -- they met. And Stanley is the father's name. Stanley said that it became the most special relationship of his life and the final -- final couple of years, Stanley was suffering from cancer. It was Andy's daughter who would come down to his Florida home and often take care of him and help him through his cancer.
BLACKWELL: This woman is not his daughter? She is much older.
(CROSSTALK)
DRASH: Yes. However, knowing that story when I first heard all this happening this week, I thought that it was kind of a play on what happened in real life.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
DRASH: So, you know all sorts of stuff, but knowing that back story, I've actually spoken with his daughter too and she talked about just what a special relationship she and Stanley had. And Stanley actually made the parallel to me that the comedy world has always wanted to believe that his son was still alive. But he knew that his son had died.
But in his real life, part of Andy's flesh and blood really did come back into his life.
SAMBOLIN: But it wasn't just people just wanting to believe, right. I mean there have been sightings of Andy Kaufman. So how do we explain all of those? It's like a conspiracy theory right. The man is alive somewhere.
DRASH: Exactly. You know what since so he had -- you know it was part of his schtick. He had talked about wanting to fake his death and so that was already out there before his death and then you had his crazy character Tony Clifton. And after his death, Tony Clifton was showing up at comedy clubs typically played by his sidekick, a guy named Bob Zamuda so.
BLACKWELL: Yes it's just a really bizarre story. So we know that there is a daughter. This woman just isn't the daughter and hopefully we'll find out you know full answer if Michael Kaufman was in on this or not.
Wayne Drash, thank you so much for clearing up some of this. There's still a little bit more to go though.
SAMBOLIN: Because a lot of people just want him to be alive.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
SAMBOLIN: And so that's how we keep on talking about it. Thank you so much.
BLACKWELL: All right. So live from New York, the automobile of the year on CNN. We'll take the cover off "Automobile" magazine's best ride for 2014. Keep it right here. You're watching NEW DAY SATURDAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: It's time.
SAMBOLIN: Yes.
BLACKWELL: It is time for the big reveal exclusive to CNN NEW DAY SATURDAY. "Automobile" magazine is going to take the wraps off its 2014 automobile of the year.
SAMBOLIN: And we have the distinct pleasure of having the magazine's president and editor-in-chief, Jean Jennings. And she's right outside the Time Warner Center in New York with her special guest this morning. So Jean, the big reveal please.
JEAN JENNINGS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "AUTOMOBILE" MAGAZINE: Here it goes. Here it goes -- the sexiest, wildest car you could buy in America, which is why it is our 2014 Automobile of the year for 2014 -- Corvette Stingray. We're at a taxi stand. We're at a taxi stand too.
SAMBOLIN: That's ok.
I am loving the color of that car. That is beautiful. Tell us about this car. What is the kind of power underneath that hood?
JENNINGS: Well, it has a big V-8, obviously. It's 460 horsepower. But that is the entry level car. The big, big horsepower car is still on the way. Still, it will do zero to 60 -- that's our big measurement -- zero to 60 miles an hour in less than four seconds. So it is plenty fast.
It also has every high-tech safety thing you can think of. It is set up to be a track-day monster so you could race it around the track. And the seventh Corvette -- the seventh Corvette in 60 years, the best one by far --
BLACKWELL: So --
JENNINGS: -- it is fabulous.
BLACKWELL: -- we know it has some power. And maybe if it is possible, we can take a look inside. But I'm a guy who goes for the luxuries. What kind of luxuries do we have with this vehicle?
JENNINGS: Well, you know, you have to remember, this is a performance car. And luxury is a two-seater so not a lot of room for a lot of luxury. But I will tell you the interior is probably more exciting than the exterior because it has looked like a bordello in the past -- somewhere between a pachinko machine and a bordello. And it is now exquisitely done.
If you think of luxuries in a performance car, you would think of a car that's designed and engineered just for the driver. So everything you touch makes you one with the machine.
Probably most important in luxuries is the seven-speed manual transmission with automatic rev matching. That means when you shift down, the revs automatically match. So you don't have to like -- you know you get that big chunk when you are shifting. It goes rrr-rrr- rrr while you're shifting. You don't have to touch anything. And the stirring wheel is a lot smaller so it's much easier to maneuver.
SAMBOLIN: So Christmas is right around the corner. I would like to see a big red bow sitting on top of that. How much would that cost? JENNINGS: What's exciting is the price because this is a world class super car for just under $52,000 -- $51,995. Cheap at twice the price, I would say.
SAMBOLIN: Wow. Well, it's a lovely car. We really appreciate that you took the time to bring it. Can you leave it parked there until Monday morning? I'll be back in New York. I'll be happy to take it for a ride.
JENNINGS: You know -- I used to be a cab driver. I used to be a cab driver, my car was yellow. I can wait. If you want to pay, I will be here, sister.
SAMBOLIN: I didn't say I wanted to pay. I said I wanted to ride.
(CROSSTALK)
BLACKWELL: Yes, right. Just leave it there. She wasn't talking about money.
SAMBOLIN: Thank you.
BLACKWELL: All right. Jean Jennings, president and editor-in-chief of "Automobile" magazine. Thank you for the big reveal. It is the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray.
(CROSSTALK)
JENNINGS: I feel like Carol and Meryl -- "The Price is Right".
BLACKWELL: Beautiful car.
SAMBOLIN: See you later.
JENNINGS: Thank you for having us.
BLACKWELL: Thanks Jean.
SAMBOLIN: All right. The Riddler and the Penguin on the loose in Gotham City?
BLACKWELL: Yes, but do not fear -- Batkid can save the day. You have to see how San Francisco and the nation rallied around a five-year-old superhero.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Good morning, San Francisco. Now, I know it's, you know, five minutes to 6:00 out there and some people are just finishing up Friday night. But San Francisco --
SAMBOLIN: We're glad you are with us, San Francisco.
(CROSSTALK)
BLACKWELL: -- we are happy to have you. Also known as Gotham City for you Batman fans and we'll tell you why in just a moment. Your outlook is sunny today with a high of 63 degrees.
SAMBOLIN: Oh, how perfect.
All right. Now to a crime wave sweeping San Francisco. A very special five-year-old superhero has been called in to save the day.
BLACKWELL: Yes, CNN's Dan Simon has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): He has the cape, the mask and that famous car. And though he may not be old enough to drive this custom made bat mobile, today this five-year-old is teaching an entire city what it means to be a superhero.
His name is Miles Scott. And while he has never fought crime, it turns out he knows a thing or two about putting up a good fight. He was diagnosed with leukemia at 18 just months. He has been battling it ever since. Well, today, he is in remission and that seemed like a pretty good reason to celebrate.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yay Miles.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your wish was to be Batman?
MILES SCOTT: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why do you like Batman so much?
SCOTT: Because he's my favorite superhero.
SIMON: What started out as a request to the Make-a-Wish Foundation turned into something far closer to a dream.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There have been plenty of superhero wishes that Make-a-Wish has had over the years -- nothing like this has happened.
SIMON: The organization's request for volunteers snowballed on social media. Twitter caught fire. More than 10,000 people signed up. Even more showed up to transform San Francisco into Gotham City.
And over several hours, this adorable guy lived out his enormous dream. He rescued this damsel in distress from the city's famed cable car tracks. He was summoned by the police chief.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bring the Batkid.
SIMON: There was even a bat signal. And with the citizens of Gotham cheering him on, little Miles set off to save the San Francisco Giants mascot, Lucille, from the evil clutches of the felonious fiend, the Penguin.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nicely done Dynamic Duo. You saved the city.
SIMON: The "San Francisco Chronicle" printed a special edition -- "Batkid Saves City". The President gave him a shout out on Vine. BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Way to go, Miles. Way to save Gotham.
SIMON: The Justice Department put out a press release saying quote, "If it wasn't for Batkid, I guarantee you that these two villains would still be at large."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The key to Gotham city by the bay.
SIMON: Five-year-old Miles even got a key to the city at a ceremony. But the people here got something more. They did not leave their hearts in San Francisco. They gave them to a little boy who proved what it really means to be a superhero.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good job, Batkid.
SIMON: Dan Simon, CNN, San Francisco.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: That is just the best story of the day.
SAMBOLIN: With the kindness of total strangers, right, look what you can accomplish.
BLACKWELL: From just anybody who signed up on Facebook to the President and the Justice Department, the mayor. That was amazing.
SAMBOLIN: Unbelievable.
BLACKWELL: And he's going to tell that story every day.
SAMBOLIN: I hope you enjoyed that, yes, yes.
All right. 58 minutes past the hour. Time now for today's "Must See Moment" which teaches us we're never too young to live out our dreams.
BLACKWELL: We have another five-year-old -- Taranza McKelvin. He made his debut as a drum major, taking to the field along with Florida's Glades Central High School.
SAMBOLIN: Look at him. Come over to your TV. This is simply amazing.
BLACKWELL: And the idea that he remembers all of these steps and all these moves, that is what amazes me. The band director says he picked up the moves quicker than his students. Wow -- five-year-old sponge and he is doing a good job, too.
SAMBOLIN: You know what he said? That he used to watch them all the time on TV. So this is all he ever wanted to do.
BLACKWELL: He's got the jump and the kick.
SAMBOLIN: Nicely done. Look at that.
BLACKWELL: All right.
SAMBOLIN: He's got a lot of rhythm.
BLACKWELL: And he is doing it well.
Hey -- thanks for starting your morning with us.
SAMBOLIN: We have much more ahead on NEW DAY SATURDAY which continues right now.
