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NEW DAY

Political Fallout For Christie; New Jersey Assembly To Release Documents; Unemployment Benefits Battle; Dramatic Plane Crash Footage; Guilty Plea In Sex Assault Case; Could Highway Killer Strike Again?; Yelp Outing Reviewers

Aired January 10, 2014 - 07:30   ET

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


ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: So I think it speaks strongly for him that he was that adamant.

MARC LAMONT HILL, HOST, "HUFFPOST LIVE": A cynic could say and I am a cynic that he swung for the fences because that's he has left. You can't give a tempted response. You have to say in most extreme way possible, I had nothing to do with this. If you lose, you're going to lose big anyway.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Francis, final word.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think this is a long way to go. I don't think it's going to be a pretty sight for him down the road.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Going to have a lot more paper coming out today. All right, Ana, Marc, Francis, thank you so much.

Going to take a quick break, but coming up next on NEW DAY, a teenager who says she was raped at the age of 14 and later vilified by her community finally gets justice, but is it enough. The Missouri man she accused has finally made a deal with prosecutors, but some say he got off way too easy.

CUOMO: And the hunt is on for a highway killer in Pennsylvania. Now at least two mysterious cases of deadly road rage with the shooter still at large. Will he strike again? Where might it be? We'll bring you the latest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to NEW DAY. It's little past half past the hour. Here's some of the stories that are making news. New details coming today in "bridgegate," a thousand pages of documents will be release by the New Jersey Assembly in just a few hours' time. They could lend a better perspective on whether Governor Chris Christie new about the lane closures on the George Washington Bridge.

A top staffer has been fired for orchestrating the political payback and a class action lawsuit has been filed by some of the people that were stuck in traffic for hours.

The battle over unemployment continuing in the Senate today, a compromise plan to extend jobless benefits through November fell apart Thursday with Republicans saying they've been cut out of the project to reach a deal. More than a million Americans lost their benefits when Congress let the law expire in December.

New this morning, dramatic pictures from a passenger who survived a deadly small plane crash last month in Hawaii. Ferdinand Fuentes says he is physically fine, but still emotionally raw from the ordeal. He turned on his go pro-camera seconds after the plane's engine cut out. Eight people survived. One person died in that crash. Hawaii Health Director Lorreta Fadi, she is the official who released President Obama's official birth certificate in 2011.

Quite a bizarre incident caught on camera in Oregon. Police tried to pull a driver over for a minor violation, but when officers found out the car was stolen, the driver took off leading cops on a high-speed chase. But then she suddenly slams on the brakes, gets out of the car and jumps off the bridge, falling about 20 feet into a river. Amazingly, the 26-year-old Rebecca Humphrey suffered only minor injuries. She is now under arrest. You can imagine the shock that they felt when they saw that happened.

BOLDUAN: That's not what you think is going to happen.

We have some new details this morning in a case that really grabs national headlines. A Missouri man makes a deal with prosecutors pleading guilty to lesser charges in the rape case of a then 14-year- old, Daisy Coleman. Matthew Barnett now pleading guilty to child endangerment, this after Daisy was harassed by her community following the accusations. And folks are asking, did Barnett get off too easy?

CNN's Kyung Lah is in Kansas City with new development in this case. Good morning, Kyung.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kate. The special prosecutor says that this is the right outcome, that this is justice, but that's certainly not the perception outside of this small town.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAH: Is there anything you want to say?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, not at this time.

LAH: Maribel was quiet as 19-year-old Matthew Barnett left the courthouse a free man. The reaction on social media was loud and swift about his plea deal. Hash tag justice4daisy, "The system has failed and sickening." Barnett faces no jail time and two years' probation for pleading guilty to misdemeanor child endangerment. He admits he left then 14-year-old Daisy Coleman drunk, freezing and not wearing a jacket outside her mother's house is January.

JAY R. HOBBS, MATTHEW BARNETT'S ATTORNEY: The misdemeanor charge which Mr. Barnett pled guilty accurately reflects the conduct for what he should be held accountable.

LAH: What Barnett did not face charges of raping the young victim. Daisy Coleman alleged she and 13-year-old friend, Page Parkers, were raped by Barnett and another high school boy after a night of drinking. The case of the other boy who was 15 at that time was handled in juvenile court. Charges against Barnett, who was 17, were dismissed.

Daisy's family claimed the real reason was Barnett's political ties. His grandfather was a popular four-term state representative. Daisy and her family were run out of Maribel. A stark example they say of victim blaming.

A national outcry followed and Special Prosecutor Jean Baker was appointed to re-examine the case who says the justice system worked.

JEAN PETERS BAKER, JACKSON COUNTY PROSECUTOR: My job is to analyze evidence. In this case, it was -- there was insufficient evidence to go forward on a sexual assault.

LAH: Daisy's mother tells CNN she expected this outcome from the prosecutor saying, considering all the evidence that had been lost, destroyed, tampered with or returned, there wasn't a lot she could do. Baker read a statement from Daisy Coleman.

BAKER: Today I am grateful that the defendant took responsibility by pleading guilty to the charges. I am ready to move forward.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAH: But moving forward has proven to be difficult. Daisy Coleman who is now 16 years old, last weekend, tried to take her own life. Her mom says this happened after she was bullied on Facebook -- Chris, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Kyung, thanks for that update. That's horrible and horrible again. Thank you.

CUOMO: That needs to be covered though. Thanks to Kyung for doing that.

Coming up on NEW DAY, if you leave an anonymous review on Yelp, probably expect it to stay anonymous, right, not so. A Virginia court now telling Yelp to reveal the identities of some of their users, wait until you hear why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Welcome back to NEW DAY. We are following the latest in the search for a Pennsylvania highway killer. In about two hours' time, Pennsylvania State Police will provide new details in their investigation. A 28-year-old man was shot and killed over the weekend in his car and it may be connected to another shooting. For people who live in the area, an arrest cannot come soon enough. CNN's Jean Casarez is here with the very latest.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Michaela, the FBI has gotten involved and they believe the potentiality of another accident. Two separate shootings, all from what they say is a dark-colored pickup and members of this small Pennsylvania community, they're down right scared.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ (voice-over): Residents of this small community of Pennsylvania are on edge following a deadly highway shooting over the weekend. The shooter is still at large.

LARRY MORRISON, YORK COUNTY RESIDENT: Our daughter travels that highway every day and you think it could have been her. It's hard to think things like that can happen in this small area.

CHARENE MORRISON, YORK COUNTY RESIDENT: It's just scary. You're driving along and all of a sudden, boom.

CASAREZ: Thirty minutes away from this community on Interstate 81, 28-year-old Timothy Davisson was driven off the highway early Saturday morning then shot multiple times by someone in a dark pickup. Police are calling it a road rage killing. Davisson was driving back to Maine after celebrating the holidays in Florida with his sister.

Eight hours earlier on a road just outside of Dillsburg, a local man was shot in his car also by someone in a dark pickup. Luckily, the gunman missed. Federal and state investigators say they believe at this point the two shootings are likely related.

OFFICER THOMAS WARGO, CARROLL TOWNSHIP POLICE DEPARTMENT: They're going to look at the comparison of the bullet used from the murder in Franklin County as well as the bullet that we recovered from the vehicle in Mohegan Township. Police will be able to tell us whether it's the same bullet or not.

CASAREZ: Motorists in this part of Southern Pennsylvania say they are keeping a closer eye on fellow drivers.

JEFF ZEIGLER, DILLSBURY RESIDENT: Well, they are definitely concerned because, you know, they haven't been able to figure out who it is yet. They might still be around. If they inadvertently cut that person off or there is something that make him made that you know, they might be the next one in the news.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ: And the funeral for Timothy Davisson is tomorrow. There were multiple shots in both incidents. One victim is dead, one victim survived, but both incidents the shootings and the bullets were aimed to the head.

BOLDUAN: All right, Jean, thank you somewhat for that. Let's get another check of the weather. Bring Indra in. Warming up.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We're warming up. Just stop right there, warming up today. We're warming up tomorrow and, yes, anything that you know is too good to be true has consequences there. So we are going to be talking about rain as the same time. So the system is making its way through looks like for the Midwest today then through the northeast and then tomorrow. By Sunday, it is expected to move offshore. But keep in mind, put this together, you have warmer temperatures. You have rain in a place that just saw heavy amounts of snow so flooding concerns are going to be high in the northeast really until Saturday evening to all that rain kind of kicks out of here.

Otherwise, we are going to be looking for, even down to the south, especially out towards maybe the Carolinas kind of back down to Florida, is the threat for some severe weather from the exact same system and then now back to the temperatures, yes, warming up for two days. Day three, for you not looking so good, back down.

BOLDUAN: We'll take the two days.

PETERSONS: If it's going down, still means you're above normal.

BOLDUAN: And it is winter.

PEREIRA: I like that it's become a negotiation.

PETERSONS: We work together, right?

PEREIRA: She told us earlier in the week she made a call, thus the change.

Coming up next on NEW DAY, whatever happened to online privacy? A Virginia appeals court rules that Yelp must reveal the identities of some anonymous reviewers. Find out why and what it means for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Welcome back to NEW DAY. Take a look. A pilot in New Zealand had to make an emergency landing on the beach when his engine stopped. That went fine, but takeoff not so much. You are going to see the water creeping up. It reaches the plane's wheels. It winds up crashing into everything there. Nobody was hurt that's why I'm showing to it you, more of a spectacle than a tragedy. But imagine that, you're on the beach. All of a sudden here comes this cat in his little plane.

BOLDUAN: I can't imagine that.

CUOMO: Look at the guys on the jet skis.

BOLDUAN: Not much you can do.

CUOMO: What do we do?

BOLDUAN: Not much, I guess. Joey Jackson, what happened to your chair?

CUOMO: It sunk.

BOLDUAN: It's God telling you, you did something wrong.

CUOMO: Grab the stick on the right side. BOLDUAN: You're short today.

CUOMO: Lower right side. Lower, lower. Pull it. There you go.

JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: I'm back.

PERIERA: Joey Jackson is here to talk and you can see behind him Yelp. You know those Yelp reviews you write online. You think they are completely anonymous. Nope, it turns out they may not be the case. A Virginia court has ruled that Yelp must turn over the names of seven people, specifically these seven people who wrote negative comments about a carpet cleaning business.

So our question is, is this is the beginning of the end for anonymous online reviews? Let's break it down with the man whose got his chair in order, HLN legal analyst, Joey Jackson.

JACKSON: Classic good morning to you.

PEREIRA: This is a very specific case we're talking about, but we're looking at it because we want to know if this is going to have -- is indicative of what the future will be. Break down this case.

JACKSON: Absolutely, Michaela. We're all concerned because, right, it's internet privacy and certainly across the country. However, as you mentioned this is specific to Virginia. Now here's how it goes, you have this company, Yelp, and it's important because if people have an experience with a business you post that experience online, presumably to help out everybody else.

However, we're presuming if you're a user of Yelp when you go on there to use the service that the review is authentic. It's accurate, that the person has a personal experience, exactly, Michaela. It's legitimate. You've had a personal experience with that business and indeed you use that business.

PEREIRA: This guy says that's not the case. This carpet cleaning business that he says people were posting, he suspects that they were fake. Made up, maybe even his competitors -- exactly, kind of undermine his business.

JACKSON: That's a problem. Look, delve deeper. We're talking about 102 million people per month that use this site. You can imagine the detrimental impact it could have upon a business if the information there is untrue. So this business owner said you know what I cross referenced these negative reviews against my own computer database. I could find nothing remotely related to this. As a result of it, it's false and I want the information.

So what does that do? It implicates first amendment rights because you have a first amendment right to be anonymous, right, to protect your privacy to say, I want to post and I don't want anybody to know my name. So the court had to balance that, Michaela, against this individual business's right not to be defamed and to have false information out there that holds it in a negative light and is untrue.

BOLDUAN: How do you balance it, though, because those are two completely --

PEREIRA: Big and strong opposing forces.

JACKSON: Answer is with great difficulty.

CUOMO: Internet changes it also, right?

JACKSON: Sure.

CUOMO: Less regulation.

JACKSON: There is less regulation, Chris. At the same time, the problem here is that different states have enacted different measures and of course, if you look at New York, you look at New Jersey, you look at Arizona, California. In fact, and even Maryland recently, they say the exact opposite. You have that measure of protection.

However, in Virginia here, they said there's a statute and in the event you feel you have been defamed you go through a specific protocol to get the information and this business owner did and the court said give it up because it's likely that he could have been defamed.

BOLDUAN: Yelp is a big company.

JACKSON: Huge.

BOLDUAN: This is likely not the end of this legal battle?

JACKSON: Well, I don't think it's the end. Remember we have this higher court, this U.S. Supreme Court --

BOLDUAN: Yes.

JACKSON: That court. Not that it's there yet, of course, but I think because -- you don't want a patch work of laws, Kate, around the country. You want uniformity. You want people to use the internet to be certain what it's going to be. If I use it in Virginia, is it going to be that I have to disclose, if I use it in Maryland, am I not going to have to? So ultimately it will get there so we can have a uniform standard throughout the country that either protects privacy of the individual or privacy of the business.

BOLDUAN: I feel like the Supreme Court has begun to deal with that because we talk about this a lot when you watch the court, the law is slow to react to technology. Technology is ahead of the law a lot of people say. That's why we have the Supreme Court.

JACKSON: Absolutely.

PEREIRA: All right, Joey Jackson, you're stable.

BOLDUAN: You're moving a lot less today. I get it, you're like, yes, I get it.

CUOMO: You rose to the occasion. BOLDUAN: Yes. Thanks, Joey. We're going to take a break. Coming up next on NEW DAY, Governor Chris Christie's troubles not over yet, mounds of new evidence about to be release by the New Jersey Assembly today. We're live in Trenton just ahead.

CUOMO: And also the final jobs report of 2013 coming out in just about a half hour. We are going to bring you these crucial numbers. What will they be? What will they mean for 2014? A lot. So stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOVERNOR CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: Ultimately, I am responsible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: New information in the Chris Christie bridge scandal. Will his story stand up after a major document released this morning, a lawsuit from angry residents and media blood hounds hunting down aides?

BOLDUAN: New this hour, a critical test for the U.S. economy. The government set to release the monthly jobs report. Wall Street is on edge. Is the jobs market finally turning a corner?

PEREIRA: CNN exclusive, it is one year today that teenager, Kendrick Johnson, died, found dead rolled up inside a gym mat. CNN has been pushing the investigation forward all along. New this morning, new details on the investigation.

CUOMO: Your NEW DAY continues right now.