Return to Transcripts main page

NEW DAY

Secret Service Shakeup; Mauling Horror; Lee Harvey Oswald; New Law Could Save Lives

Aired November 14, 2013 - 08:430   ET

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


CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Him on audio coming up.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, we're going to be hearing from a friend of Lee Harvey Oswald. He's got a lot to say on this anniversary. You see a little bit of him right there. We're going to hear much more from him and the relationship with the Kennedy family. Much more on that ahead.

But first, another scandal unfolding at the Secret Service. Two supervising agents removed from the president's detail. They're under investigation for alleged sexual misconduct. The incident in question taking place at a hotel just steps from the White House. CNN's Joe Johns is live in Washington, been following all of the latest developments.

So what do we know?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, there's some new information coming in on this. It is a troubling issue for the U.S. Secret Service. The latest concern for the agency stems from an incident at Washington D.C.'s Hay-Adams Hotel. And most troubling for the service, it's gotten the names of two Secret Service supervisors who work with the president's security detail involved.

Sources confirm to CNN that there is an investigation in a situation that was first reported in "The Washington Post" on Wednesday night. The investigation got started after an agent removed ammunition for a weapon from - and apparently left a bullet in the room of a guest he'd met in the hotel bar. He apparently knew that guest for some time. Apparently tried to get back into the room to retrieve the bullet. The hotel notified the White House after he essentially let them know he was a Secret Service agent.

Investigators followed up by taking a peek at that agent's Blackberry and discovered that the supervisor had allegedly left sexually suggestive e-mails to a female employee. So that first supervisor has been removed from his position. The second supervisor reassigned, though it's not clear at all if that reassignment was disciplinary, according to a source we spoke to today.

Back to you guys.

BOLDUAN: All right, thanks so much, Joe.

Michaela. MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right. It's time for the five things you need to know for your new day.

At number one, the Obamacare debacle. Senate leaders meeting with White House officials today, trying to help millions of Americans who have been dropped by their insurance companies.

The U.S. George Washington now in the Philippines this morning to help get aid to those in need after the typhoon. Britain also sending its biggest navy ship to assist in recovery.

Justice for a gangster. Whitey Bulger to be sentenced later this morning in Boston for murder and other crimes. Prosecutors want the 84-year-old locked up until he dies.

Later this morning, Federal Reserve Chair Nominee Janet Yellen appears before senators at her confirmation hearings. She'll tell them the Fed must do more to help the economy recover.

And at number five, stay classy Newseum (ph). Ron Burgundy invading the D.C. News Museum in the form of a newly opened exhibit dedicated to the 1970s news parody. The sequel to the Will Ferrell film opens next month. I smell "NEW DAY" outing.

We're always updating the five things to know, so be sure to go to newdaycnn.com for the very latest.

Guys.

CUOMO: All right, thanks, Mic.

911 calls don't get much more desperate than this. The owner of a big cat sanctuary in Oregon trying to save his head keeper after she had been mauled by a cougar, all the while shooing more big cats away. Stephanie Elam has the audio and the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Before the harrowing 911 call even connects, you can hear the caller is breathing hard.

TULLER: I need an ambulance. Oh my God, please hurry.

DISPATCH: We are hurrying.

ELAM: That's Michael Tuller, the owner of WildCat haven Sanctuary in Clackamas County, Oregon, a last hope resort for captive born wildcats. He's the one who discovered the lifeless body of 36-year-old head keeper Renee Radziwon-Chapman inside the big cat enclosure.

TULLER: I have a keeper at WildCat Haven that was attacked, I guess, and I think she's dead.

ELAM: The owner sounds hysterical as he works to recover Chapman, apparently shooing away the cats in the process.

TULLER: Oh my God, Renee. Oh my God, Renee. Oh my God -- get! Oh my God. Oh my God.

DISPATCHER: Sir, are you in a safe position to be able to go in by yourself?

TULLER: (INAUDIBLE) I'm -

DISPATCH: OK, we don't - we don't want you to get injured, though. I don't want you to get hurt.

TULLER: I hear what you're saying. Get out of here! Get! Go! Go! Go! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!

ELAM: Dispatch tries to assess the situation.

DISPATCH: Sir, can you tell what kind of injuries she has?

TULLER: Oh, my God. Oh my God. Dammit, Renee. Dammit Renee.

ELAM: And then the caller realizes he's too late to save Chapman. She was mauled to death by a cougar. Against policy, the sanctuary believes Chapman was in the enclosure alone.

DISPATCH: Is your friend still in the enclosure?

TULLER: I got her out.

DISPATCH: OK. And is she, is there, can we try CPR or -

TULLER: No, no.

DISPATCH: So you think that she is beyond help?

TULLER: That's a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) question to ask, but, yes, I do.

ELAM: In light of the death of Chapman, the mother of a baby girl, the sanctuary says it has hired an outside expert to investigate the incident and to review its safety protocols. The state is also investigating.

Stephanie Elam, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: What a desperate situation. My goodness.

CUOMO: The problem is, every time something goes wrong in one of the places, it can be just completely devastating.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

CUOMO: I mean our hearts and thoughts go out to her family and the loved ones in that situation. We'll continue to follow this story and develop the picture of what happened.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Coming up next on "NEW DAY", food allergies and children. The new law that could save lives at your children's school and why it's such a personal issue for President Obama.

CUOMO: And a look inside the mind of Lee Harvey Oswald. The fascinating talk with a man who says he knew him well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Welcome back to "NEW DAY".

November 22nd marks the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's assassination. Tonight, CNN will air a special film called "The '60s: The Assassination of JFK." It explores the tragic death of President Kennedy and its effect on the nation. Today there is still heated debate about whether the shooter, Lee Harvey Oswald, acted alone.

Now we hear from someone who knew Oswald personally. In a recent "New York Times" magazine piece titled "Lee Harvey Oswald Was My Friend," author Paul Gregory gives us a fascinating inside look into the mind of Oswald. Paul joins us now from the West Coast.

Thank you so much for joining us, Mr. Gregory. Really, really intriguing and fascinating insight into this man. Tell us about how your relationship even formed.

PAUL GREGORY, AUTHOR, "LEE HARVEY OSWALD WAS MY FRIEND": Lee Harvey Oswald and Marina in June returned to Ft. Worth from Russia in June of 1962. This is one of Lee's many attempts to start a new life. He figured that with his experience in Russia and his knowledge of Russian, he could move up in the world to a white collar job that used these skills.

Lee came to visit my father to get certification that he's fluent in Russian. He invited us over to Robert's house, his brother. And at that point, I met Lee and Marina Oswald. We agreed that Marina would give me Russian lessons. I spoke Russian, but I could use some improvement. So the next month or so, I spent a great deal of time in their house driving them around Ft. Worth and getting to know them.

PEREIRA: She's an important character in this all. Give us some insight into their relationship between Marina and Lee.

GREGORY: It was a more difficult relationship than I as a 21-year-old at the time would have recognized. There were some incidents of spousal abuse that I saw. They were living very, very poorly. He earned very little money. I took them shopping. All I can say is that he and she were good parents. They loved their child. So as far as I could see, this is a rather unusual couple living on the edge of subsistence.

PEREIRA: You had mentioned something in your article that was pretty extraordinary. Being in their living room, as a friend would, you noticed a copy of "Time" magazine featuring JFK as the man of the year on the coffee table. And I also noted in the article you mentioned that Marina was sort of quite taken with Jackie O.'s style, et cetera. As for Lee, did he seem obsessed with the president? Do you get any sense of rage the man had towards him? GREGORY: The exact opposite. Marina very much was enthralled by Kennedy, by Jackie, by the Kennedy children. The "Time" magazine on the coffee table allowed us to talk about the Kennedys a number of times in -- and on all occasions, the comments were very favorable.

PEREIRA: Fifty years later, are you surprised that there is still fervor around the debate? There are new conspiracies that seem to pop up all the time. John Kerry even recently confirmed that he felt Oswald didn't act alone. Are you surprised by any of this?

GREGORY: I am not surprised. I think 25 years from now there will continue to be controversies. The problem is that if you look at the sequence of events that led up to the shooting of JFK, you find -- most people find it very difficult to believe that these could have happened by chance. And that is the reason for all the conspiracy theories in my view. I personally never doubted that Lee did it from the moment I saw his face on television in the Dallas police headquarters on November 22, 1963.

PEREIRA: Let me ask you, because this was a really compelling article you wrote, what was important for you to say? Why did you feel compelled to write this article?

GREGORY: I felt compelled to write the article because what I witnessed is a part of history. And if I don't write it, that history will be lost. So what I really attempted to do was give this personal portrait of Lee and Marina.

PEREIRA: It's an intriguing article in "The New York Times" magazine. It's entitled "Lee Harvey Oswald Was My Friend." It's author is Paul Gregory. Thank you so much for joining us and giving us insight into that time, that experience and that relationship.

GREGORY: You're welcome. I was pleased to do it.

PEREIRA: Be sure to tune in tonight for CNN Films "The '60s: The Assassination of President Kennedy." That is tonight, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN.

Chris, Kate, back to you.

BOLDUAN: Thanks, Michaela.

Coming up next on NEW DAY, dangerous food allergies threatening schoolchildren. What you need to know about a new law that could save children's lives and why it's an issue that President Obama cares so much about.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Welcome back to "NEW DAY" everyone.

It's a common threat facing many children dealing with food allergies -- students who suffer from a severe allergic reaction without the medicine that they need in sight or in close reach. Now, after children in Illinois and Virginia died after eating peanuts at school, obviously had an allergic reaction, the president has signed into law new incentives for schools to keep what we know as EpiPens on campus. This issue hitting close to home for the president after he revealed his daughter Malia suffers from the very same allergy.

For more on all of this, let's bring in Dr. Jennifer Caudle to talk about it.

Nice to see you -- doctor.

DR. JENNIFER CAUDLE, FAMILY PHYSICIAN: Good to see you.

BOLDUAN: This is the first time the president talked about this peanut allergy that Malia has. It had a lot of us talking once again about it seems that more and more children are having more and more severe allergies. Are you seeing that walk into your office?

CAUDLE: Yes. Absolutely. We knew that in the U.S. about 4 percent to 6 percent of children have food allergies, but we also know that this number is rising. And in fact, the CDC reported that between 1997 and 2007, the prevalence of reported food allergies increased 18 percent for children under the age of 18. So yes, it's a widely held belief that food allergies in particular are increasing.

PEREIRA: Why is that? That's actually quite frightening.

CAUDLE: Right. It is quite frightening and it really raises a lot of questions about how we manage it and things like that.

But why is this? You ask a great question. Food allergies and allergies in general, allergic reactions are complicated and then generally involve an interplay, not only with the environment and what we're exposed to, but also our immunology, how our immune system works, and genetics and even family history. So there's a number of reasons possibly why that's the case.