Return to Transcripts main page

NEW DAY

Chaos in the Nation's Capitol; Tropical Storm Karen; Insurers Seeing Sign Ups; Harry Reid Breaks Out The Hammer; Witnesses Describe Chaotic Scene

Aired October 4, 2013 - 08:00   ET

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


CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Her daughter in the car the whole time. Why did she do it?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Taking aim. On the Gulf Coast, Tropical Storm Karen could become a hurricane soon. We're live in the Gulf tracking it all this morning.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: CNN exclusive, Senate Leader Harry Reid, one-on-one, calling the Tea Party anarchists and he had strong words for John Boehner. The interview you will only see here.

CUOMO: Your NEW DAY continues right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

ANNOUNCER: What you need to know --

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: They can't cherry-pick their way out of their own manufactured crisis.

ANNOUNCER: What you just have to see.

(MUSIC)

SIRI: You're watching NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan and Michaela Pereira.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: James Earl Jones, watch out!

(LAUGHTER)

BOLDUAN: Good morning, and welcome back to NEW DAY. It's Friday, October 4th, 8:00 in the East.

What was that, you ask? Well, that's the voice of Siri here in person, in silhouette right now, revealing herself in just a bit. She's going to be here exclusively for the first time only on NEW DAY.

We're going to talk with the woman who has helped answer so many questions or at least her voice has, for millions of people. CUOMO: Also a big day for Pope Francis. He's on a special pilgrimage, touring the home of his namesake, St. Francis of Assisi. Why? Well, his goal is to refocus the mission of the Catholic Church. Very big task. We'll tell you how he planned to do it.

PEREIRA: Police in New York City say they know the identity of a prime suspect in the case that we've been watching here on CNN. Those bikers who attacked a man, his family in an SUV. The question is, is an arrest imminent? We'll talk about that coming up.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. This morning, new details but still many questions about that wild car chase through the streets of Washington, D.C.

As for the chase the woman was shot and killed. The child in the back seat, she is safe. The chaos sent a town already in gridlock into shock.

We've learned there were already concerns about that woman, her boyfriend describing her as delusional.

So, where do things stand now?

Let's get to Joe Johns. He's near Capitol Hill this morning.

Good morning, Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kate.

Police continue to piece together information on why 34-year-old Miriam Carey hit that barricade over at the White House and led police on a wild chase to the United States Capitol, just two weeks after the Navy Yard shooting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS (voice-over): A heart-stopping scene unfolding outside the U.S. Capitol. The dramatic moments caught on tape by camera crew, watch as 34-year-old Miriam Carey drives away in a luxury car -- careening through the streets with police in hot pursuit.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have report of gunfire on Capitol Hill. If you're in an office building, shelter in place.

JOHNS: Officers, politicians, staffers and by-standers sent running.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody this way now!

JOHNS: Hunkering behind whatever they could find.

Secret Service says the incident began at 2:14 after a verbal exchange with one of their uniformed officers. The woman ramming her black Infiniti sedan into a security barrier about a block from the White House. After police asked her to get out of the car, she drove away, leading them to a high-speed chase down Pennsylvania Avenue, all the way to the east side of the Capitol, Secret Service on her tail. ED DONOVAN, U.S. SECRET SERVICE SPOKESMAN: This unauthorized vehicle approached a checkpoint. Our officers acted appropriately. The vehicle then fled and in fleeing, struck one of our officers as it departed the initial scene.

JOHNS: The suspect drove around Garfield Circle, careening toward the Capitol East Front, one of the most secure buildings in the country. Just moments later, her car crashed outside the Hart Senate Office Building.

Perceiving a threat, police opened fire. No weapons found inside the Infiniti.

DYLAN PRICE, WITNESS: When I heard the gunfire, five or six rounds, my wife and I dropped to the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was walking to the capitol building and 30 seconds later as I hit this point, three or four cop cars sped past me and 30 seconds after that, I heard a series of loud pops and a gun going off. Looked like it was from outside.

JOHNS: Inside the vehicle, a 1-year-old girl believed to be the woman's daughter. An officer pulled her from the car and took her to the hospital.

One of the two officers injured was hurt after hitting this barricade during the high speed pursuit.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Holy (EXPLETIVE DELETED)!

CATHY LANIER, CHIEF, METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT: This does not appear to be in any way an accident. This was a lengthy pursuit. There were multiple vehicles that were rammed. There were officers that were struck, and two security perimeters that were attempted to be breached. So, it does not appear in any way this is an accident.

JOHNS: Officials say both officers are in good condition and recovering, as the city still reeling from the deadly Navy Yard shooting, reliving moments of fear once again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: The U.S. Capitol police officer injured in that chase has been released from the hospital, Miriam Carey's 1-year-old is in good condition and in protective custody -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right. Joe, thank you very much.

Now, we've been playing this unbelievable footage of the incident all morning. It comes to us from Alhurra TV, which is a U.S. government funded Middle Eastern news station.

Danny Farkas is the photojournalist who captured the dramatic moments and ran toward the active shooter scene while everyone else was running away. He's in Washington this morning for this NEW DAY exclusive. Thank you very much for being with us, Danny. Appreciate it. Glad you're safe.

DANNY FARKAS, PHOTOJOURNALIST, ALHURRA TV: Thanks for having me, Chris.

CUOMO: So, let's deal with the obvious here, how did you happen to be shooting when this went off?

FARKAS: Well, thanks to the government shutdown, I was on the west front already doing a story and shooting interviews with people, and I was actually pointed at the scene shooting a shot of B-roll of a protester as the cars came rolling up to me. I thought it was a motorcade at first but I realized it was moving a little too fast for that.

CUOMO: Now, the running toward it, was that just journalistic in you taken over? Were you getting warnings to run away? What was the instinct there?

FARKAS: As I said, I had a good fortune of already being pointed at the scene. So, I was about 100 yards, so I didn't actually have to run towards it. I zoomed in my camera and, you know, went from there. I never really felt or perceived a threat to me because of all the barricades -- maybe for a moment I had a fleeting thought that maybe she might have explosives in the car, but when she drove off and the police started shooting, they were shooting in the other direction, so just instinct. I've had a camera on my shoulder for 40 years.

CUOMO: Absolutely. What surprised you about how the situation was handled, how it unfolded, from where you could see?

FARKAS: I was a little surprised at the gunfire, and I was surprised at the movie-like quality of what was going on in front of me, the woman backing her car up and forward and backwards and ramming the cars. But, you know, I was glad I was where I was and not where she was driving when the gunshots went off.

CUOMO: At some point, you put down the camera. Were you able to learn anything else as you made your way toward the scene? Did you do anything?

FARKAS: No, because I said I was already at the scene and at that point then the police began you know screaming at everyone to clear the area, go over here, where everybody was cordoned off right in front of the Capitol on the west front, and then as the car sped up Constitution, they had us go to the south side, and they evacuated us about three or four blocks away from the Capitol.

CUOMO: Let me get a quick take on your perspective on this one journalist who is saying bad things to another. You know, what's the great fear that this played on, and it was reacted to very well on all accounts by authorities, that this could be a terrorist event, this could be an explosive. What seems to be a picture of somebody who was mentally ill, who lost their bearings and this happened.

What does that do to you in terms of perspective what the risks are that we face every day here in the country?

FARKAS: Well, you know, I'm a father of three kids who are pretty young and I worry every day about how someone could possibly get into their schools or whatever. You know, I felt safe as I said, where I was, but you know, that car could have -- who knows that car could have come up the stairs and gone over the barricades, I don't know.

I mean, definitely, I wish it were a lot safer. I didn't perceive a threat at that moment but didn't mean it wasn't a threat.

CUOMO: Barricades, manpower, they seemed to have handled the situation as best we could. But it's interesting. We're worried about terrorists where it seems, you know, people who are suffering from mental health, they pop just as much as anybody else in this violent situations.

Danny, thank you so much for being in the right place at the right time, not getting hurt and getting us the footage we needed to tell the story. Appreciate it.

FARKAS: All right. Thank you, Chris.

CUOMO: All right.

Kate, over to you.

BOLDUAN: All right. Chris, thanks so much.

Tropical Storm Karen churning in the central Gulf of Mexico and it could pack quite a punch this weekend. Hurricane watch now in effect from Louisiana to Florida.

Meteorologist Indra Petersons is tracking the storm from Pensacola, Florida, this morning.

Good morning, Indra.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, good morning.

Let me set the scene for you, Kate. I mean, it is a beautiful morning. We just enjoyed a gorgeous sunrise.

A lot of people are awake, taking a morning stroll on the beach, some going for a morning run and it's eerie to think 150 years ago before we had a modern weather technology, people may have not known that a storm was heading their way and very soon.

I mean, conditions are expected to change here, as early as this afternoon. We're talking about landfall from Tropical Storm Karen most likely late Saturday night in through the hours of early Sunday morning.

Now, let's talk about those current conditions. Right now, we're seeing about 60-mile-per-hour steady winds. So, that's actually a decrease from what it was before that, that is the latest advisory. So, it has weakened. Now, it still has the potential to increase as it goes through some warm waters through the overnight tonight. So, whether or not it is a strong tropical storm or weak category 1 hurricane is kind of irrelevant other than just the name. You're looking at the same conditions here.

We're still going to be talking about really making landfall anywhere from Louisiana all the way to the eastern panhandle of Florida. There is a trough there, you can see this low that is going to steer it farther to the east. It's moving more northerly and it will catch up and make the easterly turn and that's why we're here in Pensacola, Florida.

Now, as far as rain, anywhere from four to eight inches of rain is possible, even 12 inches of rain, and, remember, this is the Southeast where they have had anywhere from 10, 15, some places even 20 inches above normal rainfall for the season. So, you start bringing in these strong winds and talking about potential for trees to be ripped right out of the ground as if it was a stronger storm because the ground is saturated.

So, that's going to be the real big concern here. We're also talking about the storm surge, anywhere from one to two feet possibly, even to three to five feet of storm surge, that's another concern.

One thing I want to point out again, remember, this is a slow start to the season. You know, we've only had Humberto. We had, of course, Ingrid, which none of them made landfall on the U.S. mainland. So, it's something to think about. We talk about the seasons that are so slow.

All of the seasons didn't have a hurricane until September actually still had a number of hurricanes, the average number of hurricanes by the second half of the season. So, it looks like things are ramping up and we'll see if that will continue on -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: Well, folks will keep an eye with you, you'll be reporting throughout the day from there along the coast. We appreciate it. Indra, keep safe.

PETERSONS: Thanks.

PEREIRA: We'll look at other headlines right now making news.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country's political system isn't as good as America, unless you're talking about setting a budget. He told our Piers Morgan, debt ceiling battles and shutdown threats, they won't happen in Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: See, in our case, if you don't get a budget by December 31st, an automatic budget goes in 1/12 of last year's budget each month. And if you still don't get a budget six months later, we all go to elections.

You know what, Piers? We always get the budget passed!

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PERIERA: The full interview will air tonight on "PIERS MORGAN LIVE", 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

Some of the kinks apparently getting worked out in the signup process for the affordable health care. Health insurers have started seeing enrollments from the Department of Health and Human Services. The DHS is running the marketplaces for 34 states which declined to set up their own. The White House hasn't officially released any data yet. The government also added servers to handle some of the web traffic of people signing up.

Federal indictments for more than a dozen members of the hacker group Anonymous, charged in a series of cyber attacks back in 2010, when servers from Visa, MasterCard, PayPal and other companies crashed. The indictment quoting a communication from the group saying, "We will not be merciful."

Security tighter at the New York marathon next month. Authorities plan to search all bags that are brought anywhere near the race. People waiting for runners at the finish line will go through special screening and if you happen to be marching in a kickoff parade you will not be allowed to carry a bag at all. Organizers call this the new normal after the Boston marathon bombings.

And it wasn't Tiger, it was a squirrel who started the opening round of the golf's President's Cup. Meet Sammy the squirrel, so he's named, on the course in Ohio when the American coach Davis Love III started feeding him and from there became a celebrity -- got to ride with players and on Tiger's shoulder. And if you're curious, the U.S. leads the international team 3 1/2 to 2 1/2.

BOLDUAN: That is one mean joke.

PEREIRA: A rodent on your shoulder when you're not expecting it?

BOLDUAN: He handled that well.

PEREIRA: He did. He was focused on the game and it's like his thing on his shoulder.

CUOMO: Tiger can beat most golfers with a squirrel on his shoulder.

BOLDUAN: The moral of the story.

Coming up next on NEW DAY: a CNN exclusive, one on one with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. He's attacking House Speaker John Boehner. Fighting is not unusual but it's getting personal.

CUOMO: Plus, Pope Francis turning heads again, this time it's his trip where he's going. He's going to the place that is the home of the patron saint, St. Francis of Assisi. He has a special message. We'll tell you what it is.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Welcome back to NEW DAY. A CNN exclusive for you now. Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, hammering the House speaker suggesting John Boehner lacks courage that he's putting his own job security ahead of the needs of the American people. That's not all Reid had to say when he sat down for this one-on-one interview with CNNs chief Congressional correspondent, Dana Bash. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: First, of course, I want to ask about a certain exchange that you and I had that might have gotten a little bit of attention.

You all talked about children with cancer unable to go to clinical trials. The House is presumably going to pass a bill that funds at least the NIH. Giving what you said, will you at least pass that, and if not aren't, you playing the same political games that Republicans are?

SEN. HARRY REID, (D) MAJORITY LEADER: What right did they have to pick and choose what part of government is going to be funded?

BASH: But if you can help one child who has cancer, why wouldn't you do it?

REID: Listen --

(CROSSTALK)

REID: Why would we want to do that? I have 1,100 people at Air Force Base that are sitting home. They have a few problems of their own. This is -- to have someone of your intelligence suggest such a thing is irresponsible.

REID: You know, I am not known for being real articulate, but what I was trying to say is that we can't be piecemealing all this stuff. We have Centers for Disease Control that's closed. We have thousands and thousands of women and children who are not able to get their W.H.I.P. -- $45 a month.

We have disabled veterans who are working are not getting paid. We have half a million people with the defense department who are on furlough. So, we have to look at everything. We have to look at everything.

BASH (voice-over): Harry Reid revealed he and John Boehner struck a private deal in September to pass a funding bill with more spending cuts than Democrats wanted.

REID: So, we spent some more time together and I agreed. That was really hard. My caucus really didn't like that. We took a real hit.

BASH (on-camera): You're saying that he told you, he promised you in a private meeting that he would pass a clean bill with no strings attached particularly on Obamacare?

REID: That's why we did it. That's why we agreed to that lower number. So, that's one of the largest compromises since I've been in congress. That was a big deal, $70 billion just like that.

BASH: So what --

REID: And he couldn't deliver.

BASH: So, are you saying that he misled you? Are you saying that he lied?

REID: I think he really intended to do that, but remember what he tried to do. To get things out of the House, what he did -- what he agreed with me and then he stuck on it, basically, repealing Obamacare. That was to get some votes from the so-called Tea Party. I was going to call them crazies, but I shouldn't do that.

The speaker has to be more concerned about our country than he is about his job. Why else wouldn't he do this? It's because they're afraid they'll take away his speakership.

BASH: Do you think that this is about -- do you think that he's simply trying to protect his job and he's brought the entire government to a screeching halt just for that reason?

REID: John Boehner knows that this would pass overwhelmingly if he would let the Democrats vote on it. And we know that he only needs 18 Republicans, and there are certainly 18 republicans. So, yes, I think the speaker has to be more concerned about our country than he is about his job.

BASH: You really think effectively calling him a wimp is going to make him change his mind?

REID: I haven't called him a wimp.

BASH: Well, you say he doesn't have courage. You're right. That's my word not yours, but you say he doesn't have courage, I mean, that's pretty tough.

REID: Well, I don't know how to describe it.

BASH: You know in your heart of hearts that now that John Boehner is down this road, he accepted the idea that Obamacare should be attached to any kind of spending bill, the government is shut down, he's so far in. He needs something. He needs a lifeline in order to save face, in order to agree. You're not giving him one inch.

REID: How about my lifeline? We agreed to $980 billion, $70 billion less than what my caucus voted for and agreed to. Don't talk about his lifeline. Talk about mine.

BASH: You have used some pretty explosive terms to talk about the so- called Tea Party. You called them Tea Party anarchists, you call them whacky, you call them the weird caucus. I've even talked to some liberals who are big supporters of yours who say, you know what, that's going too far. Are you sort of stirring the pot with language like that?

REID: OK. Anarchist? Why in the world wouldn't I use the term anarchy? That's what they are. They're anarchists. They don't believe in government at any level. What else did I call them?

BASH: The weird caucus.

REID: Well, that's (INAUDIBLE) a little over the hill.

BASH: So, I mean, do you think -- are you pledging to tone down the rhetoric a little bit? Maybe that could --

REID: I'm not going to give up on Anarchists. I mean, I have very people (ph) write in columns about this, because that's what it is. They don't believe in government. That's why they want the government closed. This is not pitter pat, see how nice you can be to everybody. You have to explain what you're trying to say.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Now, obviously, a lot of the reasons that the Democrats and Republicans are spinning out messages because they're trying to influence you. So, what do you think? Tweet us with #NEWDAY so that your voice is part of this conversation.

BOLDUAN: Coming up next on NEW DAY, one of the most protected streets on the planet, really, in chaos following a violent car chase leaving the woman involved dead. We're going to talk to two people at the scene when police were in pursuit.

CUOMO: Plus, we've been doing this all morning because it's so dang fun, but, who is the real Siri?

BOLDUAN: The anticipation is killing me.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: That's right. Live in person, in silhouette, the voice behind Siri revealing who she really is for the first time just here on NEW DAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: You're watching NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan, and Michaela Pereira.

PEREIRA: It's never going to get old.

BOLDUAN: I know.

(LAUGHTER)

PEREIRA: It's too good. CUOMO: Welcome back to NEW DAY. It's Friday, October 4th, and yes, you just heard it, that's the voice you know so well. It's Siri, the voice of iPhone. And the woman behind it, she's actually here. A real woman. Yes, Siri is. We're going to reveal her in just a few moments on a NEW DAY exclusive.

BOLDUAN: Is that her real name? We'll find out.

Plus, also ahead, the pope on a very personal pilgrimage. Some say the leader of the world's Catholics is trying to refocus the Vatican.

PEREIRA: Right now, I have the five things that you need to know for your NEW DAY. Let's start with number one. We're watching tropical storm Karen churning towards the Gulf Coast. Hurricane watches are in effect, stretching from Louisiana to Florida, landfall expected tomorrow night.

A Montana Newlywed being arraigned today. Police say Jordan Graham confessed to pushing her husband of eight days off the cliff. She's charged with first and second-degree murder and making a false statement to police.

The NYPD now zeroing in on the biker caught on video bashing in a driver's window with his helmet before beating him. A law enforcement official tells CNN the biker has been identified and is expected to be in custody soon.

Adobe asking customers to reset their passwords after hackers broke into its computer system. They got access to credit card information and other personal data. The software company says the source code for some of its products was also stolen.

And you'll soon have a chance if you want a piece of Twitter. The company announcing it's planning a billion dollar stock market debut. No set date yet for that IPO.

We'll always update those five things to know so you'll be on top of it. Go to NEWDAYCNN.com for the very latest. Kate, over to you.

BOLDUAN: Thanks, Michaela.

So, witnesses to Thursday's Capitol Hill car chase and shoot-out say it was a frightening scene to say the least. Many of them were tourists, like Edmund and Shimaya Aforiata. They were outside Dirksen Senate Office Building when the police car sped fast in hot pursuit of the woman in the car involved.

They're joining us now from Fredericksburg, Virginia. Good morning to both of you. Thank you so much for speaking with us this morning. Edmund, let me first ask you this, what were you doing at the time, obviously not expecting to be an eyewitness to something like this. What were you both doing?

EDMUND OFFORI-ATTAH, WITNESS TO CAPITOL SHOOTING: Right. We just had finished touring the Supreme Court building. We walked across, sat in the park just facing the Capitol just to get a little refreshment. Then we walked across the street towards the, I think, it's the Hart Building.

We crossed the street. We asked the police officer from the building was open for a tour. So, he said it was open so we were trying to get in. At that time, the car sped past us followed by two police cars.

BOLDUAN: And Shimaya, police cars and motorcades and sirens in Washington, D.C. are not unusual. When was the first moment that you realized this was something very different and that something was really going on here?

SHEMAIAH OFFORI-ATTAH, WITNESS TO CAPITOL SHOOTING: I think the speed of the car also caught our attention with so many cop cars. Then, when we heard the gunshots, we knew that this was something serious and we just dropped to the ground.

BOLDUAN: And so, you dropped to the ground, Edmund, and what did you see and hear from there on out?

EDMUND OFFORI-ATTAH Well, we saw the car pass us, followed by the two cop cars. Then the car went up about maybe 100 yards, tried to make a left and got caught on the grassy divider.