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NEW DAY

My Brother's Keep Gets Boost; Grisly Testimony in Pistorius Cast; Bieber's Brash Deposition Video

Aired March 11, 2014 - 08:30   ET

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


MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, here we go. Time for the five things you need to know for your new day.

At number one, two passengers who used stolen passports to board that ill-fated Malaysian Airline Flight 370 have been identified as Iranians with no apparent ties to terrorism.

Ousted Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovych insisting he is still the legitimate president and calls any vote to elect a new president illegal. The U.S. and nine other nations meet today in London to discuss more sanctions against Russia.

Could be a pivotal day in the investigation into New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Bridgegate. Attorneys for two former staffers will try to get their subpoenas squashed, arguing that complying with them carries the risk of self-incrimination.

This morning, President Obama will designates roughly 1,700 acres of land in California as a national monument, part of the administration's National Resource Conservation Initiative. Later, he'll head to the big apple to raise money for New York Democrats.

And the Iditarod sled race just wrapping up in Alaska. Poor conditions this year. Very, very little snow. Twenty-seven-year-old Dallas Seavey coming out on top in the nearly 1,000 mile race. It is his second title in three years.

We always update those five things. So be sure to go to newdaycnn.com for the very latest.

Over to you guys.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you.

Now I want to take you to South Africa here, the very latest in the blade runner, Oscar Pistorius, murder trial. Court now back from lunch. Before the break, Pistorius' defense worked to discredit his friend, Darren Fresco. That's after Fresco told prosecutors about two different incidents involving Pistorius and guns. Robin Curnow has been following each and every development for us from the courthouse there in Pretoria.

Robin, good morning again. ROBIN CURNOW, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there. Good morning.

And Oscar Pistorius far more composed today than he was yesterday as he heard not just the testimony of his former friend, but also of the state pathologist.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW (voice-over): This morning, the pathologist, who conducted the autopsy on Oscar Pistorius' girlfriend, continued his testimony on the injuries that took her life. Details so graphic that the judge halted live broadcasts for a second day. Gert Saayman revealing that Reeva Steenkamp ate two hours before her death around 1:00 a.m. in the morning, contradicting Oscar Pistorius' claim that they were in bed by 10:00 p.m. that night.

Saayman detailed how Pistorius shot his own nine millimeter, just like this one, containing hollow point bullets, three shots hitting his girlfriend in her hip, arm and head. Saayman said, "I think it would be somewhat abnormal if one did not scream when receiving wounds like Reeva's, undercutting the defense who claims it was Pistorius screaming for help.

The description of Steenkamp's injuries so gruesome, they left Pistorius physically ill on Monday, vomiting into a bucket during the proceedings, and visibly shaken as he left court. Compared to other ammunition, hollow point bullets are incredibly destructive on impact.

BARRY PIETERS, BALLISTIC EXPERT: Those little serrations will open up like this and besides the mushroom that it will form, it will form almost like a little fan and remember now it's also spinning. So you can imagine the amount of damage that can do to you.

CURNOW: Legal experts say the defense will argue that it was his disability which led Pistorius to use the hollow point bullets. They say it was fear intensified by South Africa's high crime rate. Meanwhile, the state will continue to argue that he knew who was behind the closed bathroom door and that he deliberately shot Reeva Steenkamp dead.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: OK, well, Oscar Pistorius has been glaring at Darren Fresco, this former friend whose taken the stand today. And what has been clear about Fresco's testimony, particularly under cross examination, the defense has really ripped him apart. Not only has Fresco contradicted previous witnesses, including Oscar Pistorius' ex- girlfriend about those two gun charges, as I was leaving court just a few moments ago, he was saying that he actually didn't, in his initial statement, say that Oscar Pistorius asked him to take the wrap about that gun incident in the restaurant.

So, you know, under cross examination it seems like Darren Fresco really isn't holding up according to the defense. So it's going to be very interesting to see how this is going to plays out in the next hour or so that's left of court today. BALDWIN: We know you're watching. We'll come back to you as the developments progress there. Robin Curnow in South Africa. Thank you.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, let's take a break right now on NEW DAY. When we come back, has Bieber finally gone too far? You want to race, you want to throw eggs, sorry, you're a kid. But, here he is in a deposition disrespecting an officer of the court. Could he get in legal hot water? We'll show you. You decide.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Is this Justin Bieber?

BALDWIN: Um, this is your iTunes.

CUOMO: Good. Makes sense then.

Welcome back to NEW DAY.

Punk alert. Justin Bieber just turned 20, but he seems to be getting younger and younger judging from his behavior. Here's the latest. Has he gone too far in how he treated an attorney during a deposition. CNN's Nischelle Turner is in Los Angeles with the very latest.

It's all caught on film. What do we see?

BALDWIN: And the finger wag.

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there was a lot of it, guys. His attitude definitely ran the gamut during this deposition. And it seemed like it was questions about his on again off again girlfriend Selena Gomez that started this while standoff.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUSTIN BIEBER, MUSICIAN: Don't ask me about her again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE). Have you ever (INAUDIBLE) -

BIEBER: Don't ask me about her again.

TURNER (voice-over): It's Justin Bieber in the hot seat. TMZ posted this video of Bieber's deposition. The 20-year-old pop star was grilled last Thursday by a lawyer for a paparazzo who alleges that Bieber ordered his bodyguard to attack his client last summer.

BIEBER: Don't ask me about her again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

BIEBER: Don't ask me - don't ask me about her again.

TURNER: Bieber went off when asked about his involvement with Selena Gomez. "People" magazine reporting the two were spotted together in Texas last week.

BIEBER: That's a weird question.

TURNER: At times during the four hour deposition, Bieber appears to be uncooperative.

BIEBER: I don't have to listen to anything you have to say.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't hear your response. Again, sir, I'm pleading with you to (INAUDIBLE).

BIEBER: You know - you know I didn't - I didn't finish my - I didn't finish.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, I'm sorry.

BIEBER: Oh, really? You didn't want to interrupt.

TURNER: And downright smug.

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: This deposition will one day be played to a jury in the case. And if Justin Bieber comes across looking the way he looked in the footage that we have seen, as arrogant, unresponsive, sort of sarcastic witness, it's not going to go well with a jury.

TURNER: Bieber may have been reluctant to answer some questions -

BIEBER: Guess what, I don't recall.

TURNER: But did he answer too quickly when telling lawyers that he doesn't have a prescription for Xanax. A toxicology report revealed the sedative was found in Bieber's system when he was arrested on a DUI charge back in January. That admission could hurt him.

CALLAN: Anything that involves the court system is deadly serious. And if you engage in this behavior, you can be held in contempt of court, you can lose a multimillion lawsuit and, frankly, you can wind up in jail.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TURNER: Now, you would think that his attorney would have let him know that this line of questions about the Xanax could come in, in a potential trial going forward or even the DUI case that he does have pending. So it's a little bit surprising that he did admit so readily that he didn't have a prescription for it.

Also, TMZ says they got the full four hours of the deposition, but what they released were short, edited clips. And we should also say, guys, that CNN has reached out to both parties involved in this civil suit and neither have responded to us at this time.

BALDWIN: We were just talking -- Michaela brought up the point, the gal who plays Bieber on "SNL," this is just more material for her, right? Can't you see her like doing this Saturday night?

TURNER: Uh-huh. Yes. Yes, it is. But I think that Chris brings up an even bigger point. I mean his attitude, the way he treats the attorney during the deposition.

BALDWIN: It's unacceptable.

TURNER: I mean, listen, depositions can be contentious, we know. But, yes, it does seem that there's this kind of sense of entitlement that we've been seeing. And that can be really troubling. I mean the wink, the eye roll, the, you know, the eyebrow raise. It really is really off-putting when you look at it.

PEREIRA: A judge won't stand for that.

TURNER: No.

CUOMO: No. The Xanax thing, it's important to know whether or not he says he didn't have a prescription for that Xanax or he doesn't currently have a prescription for Xanax.

TURNER: Right.

CUOMO: There will be wiggle room on that. Also a little dirty pool releasing the tape of the depo, by the way.

TURNER: Yes, exactly.

CUOMO: You know, but that's the way litigation goes. It's obviously working in favor of whoever released it.

You know, I have a new interest in the situation.

PEREIRA: You do?

BALDWIN: What is that?

CUOMO: Early on I used to - and Nischelle knows this and - you know, I used to poo-poo the Bieber stuff and be like, we've got more important things.

BALDWIN: You did?

CUOMO: We talk about what matters. Here's the concern, though.

BALDWIN: What's that?

CUOMO: Too often we wind up covering these stories and you watch these young stars, tons of money, all our kids look to them. Not my kid. Yeah, yeah. Everybody's kids. You know, they're drawn in by these types. So it's important to track, what do we allow? What is acceptable?

BALDWIN: Oh, OK. Well, true.

CUOMO: Because so much of what becomes acceptable in culture gets reflected through these celebrities.

BALDWIN: Holding them accountable. CUOMO: Yes. And, you know, any other -- any parent, if that's their kid, they're shaking their head worse than Justin Bieber in the deposition because it reflects him being out of the control of someone teaching him to be better. And I'm getting more interested in it because you worry about where it goes.

BALDWIN: Nischelle, thank you.

Coming up next here on NEW DAY, there you go, President Obama's former personal aide, Reggie Love, in studio. He's talking to us about the billion dollar boost to Obama's My Brother's Keeper's program. We're also going to ask him if he saw this whole funny or die sketch with the guy, Zach Galifianakis. We'll talk about that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Great conversation we're about to have here with a great guy. It's a program that President Obama said goes to the very heart of why he ran for president -- the young man standing along side the president when he announced the "My Brother's Keeper" project -- that's two weeks ago. This initiative helps young black and Hispanic men improve their lives.

Now, the opportunity to finance the network which represents over 225 financial institutions, they're going to announce Thursday they're going to lend $1 billion to organizations who will advance My Brother's Keeper initiatives. That's according to the "Washington Post".

Here to talk about all of that and maybe a little bit more -- March Madness -- is Reggie Love. He is the former special assistant and presidential aide to President Obama. He's what's called a body man. He's here with us.

Really a pleasure to have you here -- Reggie.

REGGIE LOVE, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL AIDE TO PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, Michaela, Chris and Brooke, I really appreciate you guys having me here this morning. Appreciate the invite.

And I think, you know, there's a huge opportunity out there for the president to really have an impact with a lot of folks out there who are looking for a little bit of help.

PEREIRA: You know, it's interesting, we all were noticing how personal the President got when he was announcing this initiative. He was more revealing than he's been in a lot of his public comments sharing some very moving thoughts about his own relationship with his father. Obviously this initiative means a lot to him. I sense it means a lot to you too.

LOVE: It means a lot to me. I've actually -- I've been in the mentoring program in D.C. called Capitol Partners for almost three years now. I, myself, have been lucky enough to have had really great mentors and I think that's part of the reason why I've had been able to have a little bit of success today. My father has been around from day one. The guy went to every single game that I ever played in. Great coaches, guys like Coach K and my AU coaches, Rod Seford (ph) and Ken Perry, you know. Those are guys who got me at a young age and told me, hey look, this is how you should do things. This is the way you should look at it. Make sure you're doing all things you need to do to get ready to go to college.

PEREIRA: Well, we know that's not a reality for a lot of young men in our country.

LOVE: It's not. And it's a sad thing. But I think this creates a great opportunity for other people to get involved and have an impact on the lives of young men across the country.

BALDWIN: I wanted to just pivot. I know you mentioned Coach K. We'll go there in just a minute. I wanted to ask about -- we were playing earlier -- and guys let me know if my ear if we have the clip. But President Obama in an effort to really reach out to young people, sat down with funny man Zach Galifianakis.

LOVE: He's funny. He's really funny.

(CROSSTALK)

BROOKE: He's hilarious. But it's kind of a risky move. I mean this is obviously the White House planning to come out trying to get the young people enrolled in Obamacare and we know that you know these hits go viral like millions of people click on these videos. Have you had the chance to watch any of them?

LOVE: I watched it. I thought it was --

BALDWIN: What did you think?

LOVE: I thought it was pretty good. I thought they were both very funny. He didn't, you know, ask for his phone number like he did Natalie Portman but it was very good. I thought the comment about you think your kids would actually want to play football? What if they're nerds like you.

BALDWIN: Yes, keep them away from Michelle Obama.

CUOMO: Well, that well. And Galifianakis is funny. He probably wound up landing more straight punches on the President than most people who interview him.

Mickey said something though I want to go back to for a second. We know that's not true for most kids today. There are a lot of kids who don't have mentors and people in their lives to help. I would suggest -- a lot of people don't know it. When they hear about a program they say why is my government money going to that? Why are we spending our time with this? Where's their family? What do people still don't get about the lives of too many kids in the country today?

LOVE: You know, I think that -- Chris, that's a great point. And I say it all the time that perspective is a hard thing to get. Everyone is really focused on trying to put food on their tables, trying to provide for their families. It can be hard to sort of look outside the box and look at other problems that other people may be facing.

You know, I think when you talk about how money should be spent, these kind of programs add a lot of value to the entire eco system. It will potentially have the ability to reduce the amount of people who are having, you know, interactions with the criminal justice systems at an early age. It will increase the amount of people we have in our labor force. So you won't have the job shortages and sort of the skilled -- sort of the mild skilled labor programs sort of welding and different sort of trades that you see a shortage in today.

P1: True. You know and we know -- or I know at least because I've worked with kids in this population that there are a lot of black and brown teens -- a tough group to reach, let's be honest. The ones that want help, the kids that are looking for mentors, they're now going to get help in a program like this. What about those harder to reach ones -- the ones that don't? The ones that are saying I don't need nobody's help. I got this. They're the ones arguably that need our help even more. How do we get to that?

BALDWIN: Great question.

LOVE: I think that's a good question. I think there are programs out there that are doing it. But I also think it is a two-way street. I think, you know, it's an information gap in which some kids don't know about it. But then there's a place -- an opportunity to say hey, look guys, you guys are struggling today. Here's a program or here's an opportunity that you guys should embrace to help you sort of fill that gap that you may be having today.

I know the young guy that I mentor he kind of looked at me like who is this old guy?

BALDWIN: Old guy.

PEREIRA: Absolutely. You're the old guy Reggie Love.

LOVE: Part of it is me being able to say, hey look, I've sat in the seat that you sat in before. I understand that, you know, I know what it's like to be 14 and to be in the girls and want to be cool and want to have great shoes and all those sort of things. I lived through --

CUOMO: For him to have the ability to see his potential for what he sees in you because the need is so great. As Mick says, she's one of the few who actually gives her heart and her time to these things. My mother runs a mentoring organization. I can hear her yelling at me through the television. "Don't just talk about his program". But there are a lot of people who are trying to do it but the need so far exceeds what's out there. Fair point?

LOVE: Yes. And there's a huge need and I think there's also an information gap in which sometimes people know they need help and don't always know exactly where to go to get it.

BALDWIN: What about -- I'm just curious from your perspective in attending a fine institution and everything else, working with the President, what's your one piece of advice you give young folks?

LOVE: That's a great question. You know, I went through a very rebellious stage when I was young.

PEREIRA: Reggie Love.

LOVE: I went through a phase in which I wanted to grow my hair out. I didn't want -- I kind of like wore the same jeans and shirt everyday. My dad used to always say, "Son, you know, you look like crap." So my piece of advice is you only make a first impression once so make it a great one.

And you know, what Coach K used to tell me all the time is success is defined where preparation meets opportunity. And, you know, preparing for those opportunities, some of them are -- some people get five. Some people only get one. So being prepared when you get that one opportunity -- so.

PEREIRA: And like what you -- you like when the elevator is on the way up to success, let other people on and bring them up with you.

BALDWIN: Yes.

PEREIRA: A good one.

LOVE: Yes.

CUOMO: Well Reggie, you made this opportunity worthwhile for all of us. Thank you for being here.

LOVE: Thank you for having me guys. I really appreciate it.

PEREIRA: And you two even didn't get in to the --

BALDWIN: Who's your favorite March Madness (inaudible)?

CUOMO: We're going to go to break.

BALDWIN: We're being wrapped up.

CUOMO: Although he's from Duke but he's got North Carolina colors.

BALDWIN: I'm liking you.

CUOMO: We'll be back in a second. Reggie will still be here. Brooke may not.

BALDWIN: I mean really? Carolina --

PEREIRA: Come on. Settle this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Welcome back.

Actress Wendy Davis, star of Lifetime's "Army Wives" has been struggling with a disorder that impact millions of Americans. Here is this week's "Impact Your World".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO (on camera): Growing up, actress Wendy Davis thought something was wrong with her.

WENDY DAVIS, ACTRESS: I really had very low self-esteem. And I felt that I was defective. I had a tough time staying seated in class, always found the window next to my desk and the things that were happening outside of the classroom far more interesting.

CUOMO: It wasn't until her daughter Coby (ph) was diagnosed with ADHD that Davis discovered she had it too.

DAVIS: My entire childhood was explained in that moment.

CUOMO: She turned to the Internet and found an organization called Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or CHADD.

DAVIS: They support research, they provide a wealth of information. It was such a relief to read about how many people are living with ADHD.

CUOMO: Through CHADD, Davis shares her story nationwide. Her goal, eliminate the stigma she believes is associated with ADHD.

DAVIS: I think a lot of people sort of keep this ADHD thing in the closet. They don't want their children to share that they have it. Or they don't get a diagnosis at all.

I'm really here for those kids who aren't feeling good about themselves to say that you can be wildly successful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: Way to go Wendy.

BALDWIN: Awesome.

Quick programming note for you tonight -- make sure you watch Dr. Sanjay Gupta's documentary "WEED 2".

CUOMO: "CANNABIS MADNESS".

BALDWIN: It is an enlightening look at medical marijuana. You do not want to miss tonight 10:00 Eastern only here on CNN.

Thank you so much for being with us. We're back tomorrow.

Meantime -- pick with Carol Costello. Carol good morning.