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NEW DAY

Found After Extensive Search; Lawmakers Reach Budget Deal; Clashes in Ukraine; Mandela Lies in State; "TIME" Names Pope Person of the Year

Aired December 11, 2013 - 08:00   ET

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


KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Stephanie Elam tells us the mom and dad are being praised for keeping them alive. And she's joining us live from Lovelock, Nevada.

Good morning.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kate.

It's nice to start the day off with some good news. We're inside the Pershing General Hospital where the family is hopefully getting some much needed rest in a nice warm bed after two harrowing days out in some really frigid temperatures.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM (voice-over): An incredible finale to a dramatic story of survival.

A Lovelock, Nevada family of six, including four young children were found alive and in fairly good condition Tuesday after being stranded in the rugged winter terrain of Nevada's Seven Troughs Mountain Range about 120 miles northeast of Reno. Family, friends and search teams said this rescue is truly a miracle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a huge relief. I was expecting the worst.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was the work of a lot of people in the community.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That way?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

ELAM: For two days, search teams and more than 200 volunteers covered 6,000 square miles -- by air and land, off-roading through the snow and mud in search of James Glanton, his girlfriend, Christina McIntee and the children, ages three to 10.

According to police, the family set out to play in the snow on Sunday when their Jeep slowly tipped over in the soft snow, slipping and then completely overturning down a ravine. The condition at the time of the accident is brutal with temperatures plunging to 21 degrees below zero.

But officials say Glanton and McIntee did a fabulous job of keeping their kids and McIntee's niece and nephew warm. The 34-year-old father even heated rocks to battle the biting cold.

DR. DOUGLAS VACEK, PERSHING GENERAL HOSPITAL: The first thing he did was built a fire. I think that really prevented any serious medical problems for them.

ELAM: Police say it was a joint effort that led to the family's rescue Tuesday afternoon.

A couple of pings from his cell phone led the Civic Air Patrol to the family. Meanwhile, Glanton's friend, using binoculars located them while scanning the mountainside.

CHRIS MONTES, FRIEND WHO HELPED WITH RESCUE: He's one hell of a guy, that's for damn sure. He kept them alive and he kept them warm. And my hat is off to him because not a lot of people are capable of that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM: And the doctor tells us that they suffered some slight hypothermia symptoms, and as well some hydration. But all in all, they are expected to leave the hospital today, and they said that they're probably going to enjoy this Christmas just a little bit more than perhaps some other ones -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Such great news. Thank you so much Stephanie for bringing us that story.

So, of course, this is going to make you wonder. Would you know what to do to survive if you found yourself stranded in a similar situation? We're going to talk to an expert who teaches skills to make it out alive. Our survival 101, coming up a little later on the show.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: How do you deal with a kid? You got a 10- year-old, two 4-year-olds and a 3-year-old.

BOLDUAN: No. They're cold and they're scared. I mean, they did.

BERMAN: Kids aren't easy under the best of conditions, let alone in 21 degrees below zero.

All right. Other news now. Finally, some change on Capitol Hill. Congressional leaders announced a budget deal. That's the D-word, folks, a deal. Most importantly, it avoided the threat of another government shutdown for two years.

So why are some in Congress now voicing concerns about this deal?

Here to break it all down for us, CNN's Dana Bash.

Good morning, Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Certainly, any time you have the D-word, deal, people on both sides are not going to be happy with it. But for this long we've been reporting on fiscal cliffs and shutdowns. This is a sea change and perhaps an ability to get Washington back to the way it's supposed to work.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice-over): It's hard to believe this really happened. The Republican and Democratic budget chairman appearing together announcing a compromise.

REP. PAUL RYAN (R), WISCONSIN: This agreement makes sure that we don't have a government shutdown scenario in January. It makes sure we don't have another government shutdown scenario in October. It makes sure we don't lurch from crisis to crisis.

SEN. PATTY MURRAY (D), WASHINGTON: We made a conscious decision as Chairman Ryan said and in the future weeks we have had to focus on where we can agree.

BASH: To be sure where they can agree is a start but modest. It reduces the deficit by $23 billion, sets budget levels for the next two years, eliminating some arbitrary unpopular spending cuts and pace for the increased spending in part by hiking airline ticket fees and forcing federal workers and military personnel to contribute more to their pensions.

RYAN: In a divided government, you don't always get what you want. That said, we still can make progress toward our goals.

BASH: Sources in both parties say they hope a short term reprieve from countdown clocks will allow negotiations to take root on the big problems ballooning America's debt and deficit. Entitlements like Medicare and Medicaid.

But even this small deal is not going over well on the left or right. Before it was even announced, multiple conservative grassroots groups sent letters urging Republicans to say no because it does increase spending levels.

Ryan's response?

RYAN: As a conservative, I think this is a step in the right direction.

BASH: But Senator Marco Rubio, a potential opponent to Paul Ryan for 2016 presidential nomination was quick to trash his deal, saying it continues Washington's irresponsible budgeting decisions.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: There's going to be a very important meeting in about an hour among House conservatives. All Republicans, frankly, and they're going to determine whether or not there's enough opposition that could throw this deal off course. Assuming that doesn't happen, we expect a vote as soon as tomorrow in the House -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Just in time so they can head out of town for the holidays. Dana, thank you so much.

Breaking overnight: police moved in on pro-Western demonstrations in the Ukraine. Hundreds of officers, some with chainsaws, tearing down barricades blocking access to Kiev's Independence Square.

Phil Black has been following the developments for us live from Moscow this morning.

Good morning, again, Phil.

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kate.

Yes, as you said, lots of police, hundreds of them moved into Independence Square. We're pretty far into it anyway. Not with the intention of clearing up the protesters but tearing down those barricades that had been built up to keep the police out.

The Ukrainian government said they won't use force against peaceful demonstration. But clearly it wasn't prepared to tolerate those fortifications.

You can see the protesters resisted. Thousands of them met the police. There's a lot of pushing and shoving as they tried to slow down their work.

But things didn't turn too violent there. This protest movement while it started because the Ukrainian government decided to move closer to Russia instead of moving the country closer to the European Union. That's angered the people that are on that square.

The international community believes this can only be solved through negotiation between the people in the square and the government. And overnight we had a very strong step from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry who expresses the disgust of the United States that a peaceful protest would be met this way by riot police.

John, back to you.

BERMAN: All right. Thank you, Phil Black in Moscow. You know, stronger diplomatic recriminations now coming from all over the world. Appreciate it, Phil.

Let's go now to South Africa, where the body of former president of Nelson Mandela now lays in state, in the same building where he took the oath of office back in 1994. Over the next three days, scores, hundreds, probably thousands of South Africans will file past paying their final respects.

CNN's Isha Sesay is live from Pretoria for us right now.

Very emotional for those people going past, Isha.

ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, very, very emotional, and we're seeing these scenes play out where already. We have seen hundreds and hundreds of mourners file past the body of Nelson Mandela, the man that many in this country owe so much. So he changed the course of this country.

We have seen members of the public make their way here to the Union Buildings, draped in fabric where the image of Nelson Mandela, carrying images of him. They all want to come here and express how much he means to them. I mean, you hear people here in South Africa refer to him as Tata, the Xhosa word for father, and people generally feel that connection to Nelson Mandela and this is their opportunity to say good-bye.

Earlier on in a day, we saw VIPs and members of the Mandela family, they, too, came here at the Union Buildings to say their goodbyes, very emotional scenes, John. We saw the widow of Nelson Mandela, Graca Machel, visibly crying and shaken as she viewed the body of her departed husband. It has been very emotional, very different to what we saw in Johannesburg yesterday.

Kate, back to you.

BOLDUAN: All right. Isha, thank you so much for that.

Let's get now to Pamela Brown who has today's some of the other top stories.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: And in the headline today, Secretary of State John Kerry is telling lawmakers he's skeptical of Iran's intention but still, he's asking them to put brakes on any new sanctions against Tehran. The reason, he says this is the best chance we've ever had to negotiate a comprehensive nuclear agreement with Tehran. Iran's foreign minister warned new sanctions would torpedo a deal.

And two British nationals have now pleaded guilty to terrorism charges in Connecticut. The men are accused of running a Web site to raise money to solicit donations for al Qaeda and the Taliban. The funds were used to support Muslim militants fighting in Afghanistan and Chechnya. Sentencing is scheduled for March 4th. Both men have requested to serve their time in U.K.

And a second man has been arrested for stealing wreckage from the California crash site where "Fast and Furious" star Paul Walker died. Authorities say 25-year-old Anthony Janow stole a roof panel from the charred Porsche as it was being towed. Eighteen-year-old Jameson Witty has also been charged to the crime. If convicted, the men could face more than four years in prison.

Walker and his business partner were killed as you recall in the fiery crash right outside of Los Angeles last month.

Well, protect and save. This is really incredible, folks. A quick thinking New Hampshire police officer using his patrol car to push a burning car away from a gas station. The dramatic move captured on camera and potentially saved lives. Officer Kevin Baron and his partner are seen taking fire extinguishers from the trunk and running right toward the flames. The officer says his actions weren't heroic just instincts kicking in.

And another incredible story here. A Florida surfer said he followed instincts when a shark bit his foot. Bobby Baughman was riding the waves near Cocoa Beach Tuesday when he felt something clamp down on his right foot. He says he knew instantly that was a shark. So, he says he grabbed it and just kept squeezing the shark until it let go, and it did. Baughman is set to have surgery today and get this, a shark toot is still lodged in his foot.

BOLDUAN: Oh my goodness.

BROWN: A little souvenir from his near death experience.

BERMAN: A messed up trophy, a shark toot in your foot.

BROWN: He's still lucky, too, because in Maui recently, a man was killed when a shark bit his foot. So he's very lucky.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely right.

BROWN: Hope everything goes well today.

BOLDUAN: Going to be lot less of an experience than one he just went through.

BERMAN: All right. We've been living through some messy weather up and down the East Coast that's been hitting a huge part of the country. What's in store for today?

Jennifer Gray at the CNN weather center.

Hey, Jennifer.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, guys.

Yes, the big story mainly the cold in the north. These are your wind chill factors this morning. Forty-eight degrees below zero is what it feels like waking up at International Falls. It feels like 31 below zero, 25 below zero in Minneapolis.

So, because of that obviously we have some wind chill advisories. We have warnings in effect. So, it is going to feel very cold all day today, also dealing with lake-effect snow in the north. Around Chicago could pick up an inch or, two also around buffalo. Could see a foot to foot-and-a-half of snow in your area.

Also, Grand Rapids can pick up five to six inches. And we did break some records right around New York City yesterday for the daily snowfall amount we saw about an inch and a half of snow in Central Park, right around Newark, about two inches, Wilmington three inches.

And just once this system moves out, yes, the next one is already pushing in. We could see heavy snow up to the north by the weekend. Icy mix for New York and Boston. Rain for D.C., a cold rain at that as that arctic air continues to push to the east.

Guys, just a matter of days before the next one pushes in.

BOLDUAN: OK. So just leave your coat on is basically what we need to. Leave it on all day long. Thanks so much, Jennifer.

All right. We're going to take a break.

Coming up next on NEW DAY, a Texas college student shot and killed by campus cop. Now, his devastated parents are demanding answers and they spoke to CNN.

BERMAN: And drum roll. "TIME" magazine announcing its Person of the Year. Among the finalist, Edward Snowden, Miley Cyrus? And the winner is --

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: If you want to know, you'll find out now. Welcome back to NEW DAY.

"TIME" magazine is naming their person of the year this morning. The choice -- there's a lot of mystery and debate around who it will be. This year is no different. So, who is it?

Let's bring in "TIME" assistant managing editor and CNN's global economic analyst, Rana Foroohar.

So, who it is?

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: It's a pope.

BOLDUAN: Pope Francis.

FOROOHAR: Pope Francis, the leader of world's 1.2 billion Catholics and many more in this era of viral media. He's an amazing person actually. Our editor in chief actually had an audience with him in Rome.

And he's very different from popes in the past. He's bringing attention to issues like inequality. He's talking about trickle down economics. You know, the pope. Technology.

This is a person who wants to reach out to the people. He's not changing dogma, per se. You know, he's not changing the Catholic stance on things like abortion or contraception or women becoming priests, but he is changing the tone. He's changing culture. He's bringing younger people into the church.

BERMAN: He showed what you can do with tone. I mean, it's like a muscular humility.

FOROOHAR: I love it. I'm going to steal that phrase.

BERMAN: Please?

BOLDUAN: No attribution needed.

And that goes to what people talk about the Francis-effect. Does that speak why -- what was it really that?

They are all quite different the list of the kind of finalists they are looking at. Pope Francis. President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, Edward Snowden, Senator Ted Cruz, Edie Windsor of the Supreme Court same-sex marriage case.

What was it about the pope that ended --

FOROOHAR: Well, you know, just on the list that you just read, I will say the connective tissue is these people are all disrupters, right?

And, you know, Snowden and the pope, we didn't know these people two years ago, which is very unusual for a person of the year. The pope -- you know, just the way he's come in and reached out. This is somebody who cold called people in distress, who washes the feet of a Muslim woman, who agrees to baptize the baby of a divorced woman whose married lover wanted her to abort the child.

These are incredible gestures and symbols and they really matter.

BERMAN: You know, I want to talk about Snowden in a second. But you talk about the fact that we didn't know who either of these men were two years ago. You know, you don't know that you're going to be pope. This no certainty at any level, his roll out, his introduction, his self-introduction to the world, I don't think I've never seen anything like it.

FOROOHAR: No. Absolutely, there's such a surge of popularity and just kind of popular support for this pope. By the way, this pope is the first pope non-European pope in 1,200 years, which is very interesting because the Catholic faith is growing most rapidly in places like Latin American and in parts of the non-Western world.

So he really represents the kind of globalism, too, that's very new.

BROWN: And he's seen as reenergizing the faithful, bringing in younger people to the church, obviously. Tell me about -- again, we'll get to Snowden too but the process. What is it like? How do you pick the person?

FOROOHAR: So it's fun. It's a great -- it's one of my favorite things of the year. So, we reach out to all of our correspondents domestically and internationally. We all get together, a lot of coffee and some doughnuts in a room.

BROWN: How big does the list start at?

FOROOHAR: Oh, the list is huge. I mean, you're going through the entire year's news. You're really looking at people who not only have had influence but are going to have influence. And that's where it gets interesting. So, where is this reach going to come from?

And I'll be honest it was a close call between Pope and Snowden. A lot of people thought it would be Snowden.

BERMAN: Talk about disruption. I mean, he's completely changed the entire discussion about the issue of privacy, the Internet, government overreach.

FOROOHAR: Absolutely. And he's taken what was really kind of a niche debate in policy circles and technology circles and made it completely mainstream. But I will, say just one more thing on the pope, he was the most talked about person on Twitter and Facebook, which the pope, you know, that's kind of --

BERMAN: Looking at social media.

BOLDUAN: He does have a Twitter page. That's right.

On Snowden, I always wonder -- well, Snowden is a little different because Snowden, some think of him put him in the bad guy camp. Some people very strongly say he's the good guy. He's actually speaking out for your privacy rights.

When you look at someone on the finalist list like Bashar al-Assad who is more squarely in the bad guy camp, what's kind of reaction?

Are you concerned about that kind of strong backlash?

FOROOHAR: Well, there's always backlash. We do have a poll on TIME.com, so really hear what our readers think.

You don't have to be a good guy to be person of the year. Let's be fair. You just have to have the most influence. So, if you look at our list, any number of war lords and revolutionaries that have won. But, I think that Snowden is a very divisive figure actually, and a lot of people as you say feel that he really overstepped his bounds.

He says, actually, our Michael Scherer got an interview with him by email, and he says that one of the reasons that he entrusted the publication decisions to publication is that he realized he did have a certain bias and he was coming at this with vested interests. It's an interesting read.

You should check it out on TIME.com.

BOLDUAN: Sure is. The great news this morning, I think we can all agree, Pope Francis, a good pick for person of the year.

Rana, mission accomplished.

FOROOHAR: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Thank you so much. Great to see you.

And let us know what you think. What do you think of "TIME's" person of the year this year? Tweet with us the #newday.

BERMAN: He's going to tweet us.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: All right. Next up on NEW DAY, we will hear from the parents of the Texas college student who was shot and killed by campus police. What they believe happened just before the officer pulled the trigger. What they told CNN, next.

BOLDUAN: And, of course, we have been following that amazing story of the family who survived two days in the Nevada mountains in subzero temperatures. Would you know what to do if that happened to you and your family?

We're going to have survival expert on to join us, to tell us what to think about.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Welcome back to NEW DAY.

Parents of a Texas college student shot and killed by police spoke out to CNN, saying that they are sad, confused and still waiting for answers. Campus police say Cameron Redus violently resisted arrest forcing them to shoot him, but not everyone is convinced and an elite law enforcement team has been called in to investigate the incident.

George Howell is picking up that end of the story for us live this morning.

Good morning, George.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kate, good morning. The family spoke out saying that they are withholding judgment, they are waiting to hear more details from investigators but they say there's one truth that remains without question. They have never doubted that at one moment their son's character.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL (voice-over): A father and mother, struggle with the unthinkable.

VALERIE REDUS, MOTHER: I'd give anything if he'd walk right through that door.

HOWELL: Twenty-three-year-old Cameron Redus, shot and killed by a campus police officer, just hours after celebrating the final day of the semester. He was set to graduate in May but now Valerie and Mickey Redus are planning his funeral.

MICKEY REDUS, FATHER: All I could see was a tragedy. It would have been so devastated about unnecessary loss.

V. REDUS: He was well-loved and a favorite of the group. And excelled, I was proud. I was just proud for him. I was proud to be his mother.

HOWELL: Police paint a very different picture of the college senior, investigators say for at least six minutes early Friday morning, Cam Redus ignored 56 commands to stop resisting arrest when confronted by Corporal Chris Carter. Then, police say there was a struggle.

According to the University of the Incarnate Word, quote, "The officer drew his firearm, and was able to knock the baton from the suspect who continued to resist arrest. Shots were fired."

(on camera): The university has put out a statement. The police are releasing some facts and we still don't know all the facts.

But as a family, how do you deal with the contradiction, these two stories about who you know Cam to be and what you're hearing.

V. REDUS: I know the man I've seen for 23 years. I know what he's become. I know how steadfast and true to the way we brought him up -- I just feel like the truth will come out.

HOWELL (voice-over): A young man who loved adventure, Cam Redus's parents say he was loved by many, leaving behind a legacy that, they believe, speaks for itself.

M. REDUS: We believe him to be in heaven, beginning the greatest adventure ever. For ourselves there's pain, because there's a huge hole that's left by his presence here with us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: And regardless what the investigation concludes, the tragedy for this family is that their son's life was cut short. A visitation is set for today and, John and Kate, the funeral is set to happen tomorrow.

BOLDUAN: All right. George, thanks so much.

BERMAN: I can't imagine the shock the family is feeling today.

Twenty-nine minutes after the hour. Let's go to Pamela Brown for the five things you need to know for your NEW DAY.

BROWN: Good morning, guys.

At number one, there's a bipartisan budget agreement on Capitol Hill and it could head off another government shutdown. Conservatives are blasting it and it's not yet clear if they can make it through Congress.

Secretary of State John Kerry is heading back to the Mideast today to resume talks with Israel and the Palestinians. The goal: striking a final status agreement to end the decades long conflict there.

And the NTSB starting two days of hearings into July's Asiana airlines crash in San Francisco. Three people were killed. The hearings have been delayed Tuesday, because of the severe snowstorm.

And Obamacare will be front and center once again on Capitol Hill with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, set to be grilled by lawmakers at the House hearing. She'll talk about improvements to the health care website.

And Nelson Mandela lying in state for three days.