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NEW DAY

Helping Teen Moms; Militants Move Closer to Baghdad; "The Last Ship" Sets Sail

Aired June 13, 2014 - 08:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Time now for the five things you need to know for your new day.

Number one, Bowe Bergdahl back on U.S. soil after five years in Taliban activity. The Army sergeant arriving in Texas overnight to continue his recovery, even as controversy continues over his release.

CNN has learned the U.S. could decide by this weekend whether to take action against radical Islamists pushing toward Baghdad. President Obama saying he won't rule anything out, including air strikes -- not rule anything out except putting U.S. troops on the ground. That is off the table.

Texas Congressman Pete Sessions has bowed out of the race to replace Eric Cantor as House majority leader. His announcement will likely pave the way for Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy to clinch that leadership post.

Violence and bloodshed has marred the first day of the World Cup. Police firing flash grenades and tear gas into a crowd. A crowd with at least 200 people, including a CNN crew. Shasta Darlington was slightly hurt in that, but she's going to be OK.

L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling fighting back. There are multiple reports his attorneys have hired private investigators to look into former and current NBA commissioners and other team owners. This as he sues the league to stop attempts to ban him for life.

We're always updating the five things you need to know. So go to newdaycnn.com for the very latest.

Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And, thanks, John.

Now to his week's CNN hero. Just 50 percent of teen moms graduate from high school by the age of 22. Less than 2 percent graduate college by 30. And the ramifications can last a lifetime, as you can imagine. No one knows that better than this week's CNN hero. And that's why Nicole Lynn Lewis is doing something about it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was 17 when I was pregnant with my daughter and 19 with my son.

Are you ready to get up? Ready to go to school?

When being labeled a teen mom, there are certain stigmas that you're lazy, you're going to end up living on welfare and working the system.

NICOLE LYNN LEWIS: When a young person discovers a pregnancy, people stop talking to them about college. We saw that we could be that voice saying, yes, you can go to college. This doesn't have to be the end of your life. I knew from my own experience that college had transformed my life as a teen mom, so I wanted that same success for other young parents.

We're going to get the other room set up for the kids.

It becomes imperative for parenting students to have their band of cheerleaders behind them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I ended up getting my GPA up to 3.8, which I didn't even believe that was (INAUDIBLE).

LEWIS: We offer trainings on various topics.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to talk about balancing school and balancing your role as a parent.

LEWIS: The most important part of our program is an intense one-on-one mentoring from a caring individual from the community.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I won the College of Science Dean's Award.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I knew you could do it.

LEWIS: I'm motivated by the potential. I want to be able to help each and every one of them achieve their own success.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: A great cause. And if you know someone who deserves recognition, go to cnnheroes.com.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's taking a little break here on NEW DAY. The Obama administration is weighing its options to keep Iraq from crumbling into chaos anymore. America already had two wars with that country occurring under two separate Bush administrations. We're going to talk to officials from both.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Welcome back now to NEW DAY.

This morning, the White House is considering new help for the Iraqis struggling to keep their country together as militants move closer to Baghdad. President Obama is saying that the U.S. has a stake in making sure that ISIS does not get a permanent foothold in Iraq. But should America get involved again? Here to talk about that, Andrew Card. He was chief of staff to President George W. Bush, and Brent Scowcroft, the former national security adviser to Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush.

First question to you, Andy, and thank you so much to both of you for being with us. We've heard from Iraqi, from the Iraqi government, that they are open to air strikes, U.S. air strikes. What should the U.S. do?

ANDREW CARD, CHIEF OF STAFF TO PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Well, the president should take this very seriously. This is a big challenge for the United States of America. Obviously it's a huge challenge for the Iraqi government and their stability. I hope that he will exercise prudence. I think he has to understand that there are many, many moving parts and many ramifications to what happens over there. You've got the Sunni Shia split, you've got the Kurds, you've got the Iranians, you've got the Turkish, you've got the Syrians all paying attention to what's happening, so I hope that he will seek wise counsel from wise people that really understand the region.

But I hope that he will also recognize that this insurgency is very, very dangerous. They want to caliphate. They are not afraid to attack America. They want to attack America wherever they can. They want to attack our interests. And I think they're looking the take advantage of this situation and they built up too much momentum. I think, in part, because President Obama did not do what he should have done, which is have a status of forces agreement in Iraq at the end of the Iraq War so that we would have troops there that would pay attention to what was happen and act as a restraint to bad actors. So I think it's a flaw.

But I think he should keep everything on the table. I am fearful of putting more boots on the ground. I do think that it's appropriate for us to consider air strikes. They should be very targeted and we have to be careful that we do not cause unintended consequences by hitting an element of support that may be in the Kurdish region, for example. So I'm very concerned.

KEILAR: Yes. And I know the Obama administration would say that sort of the hand was dealt to them by Iraq when it came to that SOFA, the Status of Forces Agreement.

But, Brent, you served as the national security adviser to George H.W. Bush. You were in the Ford administration. You at times have warned about involvement in Iraq. You've stressed caution. But it came to pass that the U.S. obviously had great involvement in Iraq and has since left. Now that we see the situation as it is, what do you think the obligation of the U.S. is?

BRENT SCOWCROFT, NATL. SECURITY ADVISER TO PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W. BUSH: I -- rather than obligation, I would say, what are the interests of the United States. And the interests of the United States are an Iraq which is a moderate regime with Sunni and Shias balanced in a way they have not been yet and Iraq as a player in the region and in energy supplies to the world. We as - as was said, we did not agree -- get a status of forces agreement, and now it appears to me both sides wish we had one.

KEILAR: Yes.

SCOWCROFT: I certainly agree with Andy that we ought to be very careful and cautious. And this is not an issue of returning to occupying Iraq, but selective strikes against ISIS. If they move to take over cities by force, which is what they've been doing, is something that the administration should consider.

KEILAR: So you're saying selected air strikes, and that's something the administration should consider.

Andy, that's obviously something that the Obama administration is really weighing at this point. But certainly there is a war weariness, I think, for the - for many American citizens. You look back to September when President Obama was thinking about whether he was going to enforce that red line in Syria and go ahead with air strikes. He ultimately chose not to, found a diplomatic off-ramp. We don't see one of those here though. So what do you think he should do considering a lot of Americans might not be in favor of air strikes?

CARD: Well, I think, first of all, this is much more serious than what's been happening in Syria, because this extremist group is closely aligned with al Qaeda. In fact, they're even more extreme than al Qaeda. They do want to attack the United States. So I think we have a national security concern here, but it's not one of a nation state. It's one where we don't want to have this branch of al Qaeda to get more powerful, to have more resources and to have a greater footprint where they can train and launch attacks on American interests.

Yes, they would like to hit America on our soil. So we have to pay attention. So I hope President Obama is beefing off the intelligence gathering and the efforts to understand what might be happening in terms of planning any attacks on the United States. I am very fearful of another attack on the United States.

In the meantime, we have to make sure that Maliki has the support that he needs to be able to maintain a sovereign Iraq that is not splintered into some kind of caliphate that would be then a greater threat to the Iranians, and we don't have much of a relationship with the Iranians, and we have to worry about the Kurdish interests as they are challenged by the Iranians, maybe even Maliki's government itself, and the Turks. So there's a lot of moving parts here. We have to be very careful.

I do think this is something the president has got to focus on. I think he's got to focus on protecting us. This is a national security concern and I do have fear that the caliphate desire will end up being motivation to cause people to want to join the fight on the wrong side and attack American interests. And this is a very dangerous time. So I hope the president acts decisively. I hope he doesn't put a threat out there without the courage to follow through. But I hope he's very careful before he puts a red line down and says, if you cross this line, we attack because - KEILAR: Yes.

CARD: If they cross the line, he's got to attack. He didn't do it in Syria and I think it caused other people to see that we were not going to follow through on our threats, and we have to have the courage to follow through, although we should hope that we don't have to follow through because they feel that we would.

KEILAR: Yes.

CARD: It's very important that people respect the United States, admire the United States and fear the United States.

KEILAR: And while I have both of you here, I want to put a quick question to each of you. We have a great documentary coming up about George H.W. Bush, "41 on 41" here on CNN. You both served in the George H.W. Bush administration.

First to you, Brent. I want you to talk a little bit about your first impression, I guess, of George H.W. Bush and also what it was like to work with him as a colleague, as you did for many years.

BRENT SCOWCROFT, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR TO GEORGE H.W. BUSH: Well, I've known George H.W. Bush for a number of years and admired him since I first met him many years ago. He is probably the best prepared president we have ever had in terms of his career and the jobs that he's had. And he got all that background, knowledge and skills to apply to his presidency, and I think he did an absolutely marvelous job.

And already you can see, even though he's a recent president, you can see that sentiment and interest and acknowledgment of his role is growing almost daily.

KEILAR: And a final word to you, Andy, as we have about a minute left, you served in both Bush administrations, so you're pretty familiar with the relationship between the two men. Talk a little bit about that, how George H.W. Bush relied on George W. Bush for obviously some counsel and maybe vice versa.

CARD: First of all, they're father and son. And they have a tremendous love for each other, tremendous respect for each other. They also have empathy because they both had to do the toughest job in the world. And I witnessed how the father was acting like a dad to his son when the son was president. He wasn't trying to manipulate or be a vicarious president through his son. He stepped back. He knew that the sitting president always knows more than the former president so he was very understanding of that.

Their relationship was one of love. George H.W. Bush is probably the consummate gentleman. He's the most noble of noble public servants. He's a great role model. This show that CNN is going to have out there will reflect -- you'll hear from the people you would expect to hear from like Brent Scowcroft and Jim Baker. But you're also going to hear from President Clinton and President Obama. You're going to hear from Mike Elliot, the fellow who jumped out of the helicopter yesterday with the president, and parachuted with him. You'll hear from secret Service Agents, butlers at the white house. You're going to see the real George H.W. Bush who was a consummate gentleman, a real noble public servant and just a wonderful person who cares.

KEILAR: Yes. 41 people on 41. Brent, Andy -- thank you to both of you. We'll be watching tonight along with you.

And you can watch it as well, "41 ON 41". It will feature interviews with Andy, Brent and 39 other people who knew former President George H.W. Bush. This will be airing Sunday, Father's Day at 9:00 p.m.

CUOMO: On his 90th birthday, he jumped out of an airplane and looked great doing it. Our best to the president -- can't wait to watch the show.

Coming up on NEW DAY, the new drama, "The Last Ship" will set sail on your TV soon, about saving humanity from a virus that threatens our extinction. But how far fetched is the plot really? We're going to tell you coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: It's a cheery song about a not so cheery topic. There's an epic blockbuster heading to the small screen, a gripping new series by master action director Michael Bay. TNT's "The Last Ship" -- it's a seafaring adventure with an apocalyptic twist.

Here is CNN's Nischelle Turner with the skinny.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: The mission started out simple, but like with any good television drama, a simple ending never happens.

ERIC DANE, ACTOR: This is the captain speaking. The country we all hoped we were coming back to no longer exists.

TURNER: This sets the scene and plot line for "The Last Ship", the television drama produced by uber Hollywood director Michael Bay. A worldwide pandemic leaves the crew of the U.S.S. Nathan James fighting for their lives and what's left of humanity.

ADAM BALDWIN, ACTOR: Tom, I appreciate what you're trying to do. But it's not going to work. People want to get home.

DANE: Who exactly gets to go home?

TURNER: Dramatic, yes. It's television. But is it really that far fetched?

DANE: It's very timely. I mean 30 years ago this would have been science fiction. Now it's highly probable, which is a scary thing. JOHN MARTIN, CEO, TURNER BROADCASTING SYSTEM: It's authentic and well

done. This is representative of the new TNT.

TURNER: TNT, a division of Turner Broadcasting along with CNN is following a new trend in Hollywood, making television dramas that look like mini movies.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're blowing things up for real.

TURNER: But it comes with a risk. The network that's been known for where you go to binge on "Law and Order" reruns is now attempting a new L & O -- life and originality.

MARTIN: TNT has some of the most successful original programs on cable. But now is the time to be a little bit louder, a little bit noisier, a little bit edgier.

TURNER: Nischelle Turner, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: A little bit louder, a little bit noisier, a little bit edgier. I like it.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: A little bit country and a little bit rock and roll.

CUOMO: A little bit rock and roll. I like that too. "The Last Ship" premiers on TNT Sunday, June 22nd at 9:00 p.m. Eastern -- watch it, please.

KEILAR: He's dreamy.

Now coming up, kick ball, a tradition of youth is off limits to the blind until now. This is "The Good Stuff" and it's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: My man Farid Kamil, a.k.a. Q-Tip. Can I kick it? Yes, I can. Perfect for this song, "The Good Stuff". Here it is -- are you ready?

Today's edition, the playground tradition of kick ball. You know it, you love it. But it's off limits to visually impaired kids until now.

Check this out. This is beep kick ball. The ball beeps, the bases buzz, kick the ball, run to the buzz before the fielders find the beeping ball. It's a simple concept that has big meaning for kids otherwise excluded from a really important part of growing up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELISSA ALLEN: The sport itself, it gives the kids a lot of confidence. A lot of times visually impaired students are not able to play a lot of athletic, team sports.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CUOMO: Easy to take it for granted. But for these kids, even just being able to run free without worrying about what's in front of them is the good stuff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like running, because it's one of the times when I get to run as fast as I can as hard as I can. It's so exciting, running to the bases, hitting it, knocking it over. There's nothing bad about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: At the end of the day, that's what it's all about, the kids are having fun, they're getting to go all out and it's safe for them. So it's awesome enough to be "The Good Stuff" on this Friday.

A lot of news as well so let's get you over to the "NEWSROOM" with Ms. Carol Costello.