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NEW DAY

Impact Your World: Seth Rogen; Measles Outbreak Growing; Interview with CDC Dir. Dr. Thomas Frieden; Chris Kyle's Family and Friends Talk "American Sniper"

Aired February 10, 2015 - 08:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, here's the five things to know for your NEW DAY.

Number one, snow burying the northeast again. Hard-hit Boston shattering records, in fact. That region expected to get slammed with even more snow by the end of the week.

President Obama says sending defensive arms to help Ukraine forces is still an option but he's going to wait for the outcome of peace talks on the crisis before he makes a decision.

Reports saying Jesse Matthew has been charged with first degree murder in the death of Hannah Graham. Matthew was already charged with abducting the 18-year-old University of Virginia student.

Frustration and celebration in Alabama. On the same day same-sex unions became legal in the state, officials in dozens of counties defied the feds by refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.

A U.S. Airways flight from Philadelphia forced to make an emergency landing in Houston. It happened after the pilot realized the landing gear wasn't working.

We do update those five things to know, so be sure to visit newdaycnn.com for the latest.

Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Well, he may be better known for getting laughs at almost any expense, but actor Seth Rogen does have a serious side. He's using his comedic skills to raise money and awareness for Alzheimer's disease. And that is this week's "Impact Your World." Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO (voice over): When Seth Rogen's mother-in-law was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, he and his wife Lauren struggled to find hope.

SETH ROGEN, ACTOR: The more it was affecting us, the more we learned about it, we realized there's no treatment of any sort at all that could do anything to slow the progression of the disease.

CUOMO: Out of their frustration, Hilarity for Charity was born, an event where star comedians tell jokes, raise money, and shine a light on Alzheimer's disease.

S. ROGEN: So you having fun thus far? Is this --

The only thing we really know is kind of comedy and the people we have access to are comedians and it's the stuff we like to do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Before you combine the caramel and the sugar in a bowl, take off all your clothes and look at yourself in the mirror.

LAUREN ROGEN, WIFE OF SETH ROGEN: Our main focus is to raise awareness of Alzheimer's among young people.

S. ROGEN: The idea of trying to provide caretakers for people who just can't afford them is something that we want to do with the money that our charity raises.

L. ROGEN: Yes.

CUOMO: Whether it's a trip to Capitol Hill or an evening telling jokes, for the Rogen's the message is the same, Alzheimer's can affect everyone.

S. ROGEN: I don't think people understand that it's not their grandparents being affected, it's their parents being affected and soon enough it's them being affected.

L. ROGEN: The rate at which Alzheimer's is growing, it will come for us if we don't go after it. We have to be the answer to that problem. And if we don't come together to do it, then it really is coming for us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: A strong message there. And here's another one in the same theme. Also highly contagious, potentially deadly, and spreading wider. That would be the measles outbreak hitting another state. How bad could this outbreak get? We have a top health official with an answer.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: And later we'll take a look at our American sniper special. What does Chris Kyle's brother have to say to his critics?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF KYLE, BROTHER OF CHRIS KYLE: We did what we did for them to be able to --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

KYLE: Talk their trash. So, you're welcome.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: The measles outbreak growing. Georgia officials reporting their first case of the disease. According to the CDC, there are 121 cases of measles in 17 different states. California alone estimates it has 107 cases.

Let's bring in the director for the Centers for Disease Control, Dr. Thomas Frieden.

Dr. Frieden, thanks for being on NEW DAY.

DR. THOMAS FRIEDEN, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL: Good morning.

CAMEROTA: We've read that U.S. measles cases have risen 18.6 percent this week. Are authorities close to getting a handle on this outbreak?

FRIEDEN: What we're seeing is a reflection of global measles trends. There's more measles in countries around the world and people travel. People visit other countries or come here and that results in measles cases here. Last year, 2014, there were 60 separate introductions of measles into the U.S., and one of them was in a large Amish community country in Ohio. That resulted in nearly 400 cases. So every one of these cases requires a very intensive follow up by the local health department.

But the bottom line is that measles can be prevented. The vaccine is highly effective. And taking it not only protects your own kid, it also protects the baby next door or the kid down the block who's got leukemia or some other serious medical condition.

CAMEROTA: Have you been able to figure out how exactly this outbreak started? We know it started at Disneyland. Do we know who was sort of patient zero?

FRIEDEN: We don't yet know exactly where the Disneyland outbreak started. We do know that the strain of measles is the same strain that we saw causing a very large outbreak in the Philippines a couple of years ago. That outbreak has now spread to at least 14 countries.

CAMEROTA: We have a map here of people in the United States -- well, actually, this is California where the outbreak is highest, who are exercising their exemption, their medical or their philosophical exemption to being vaccinated. And you can see there, if we can put it up again for one more second, there are pockets of red. You know, often people say, oh, this is the Hollywood elite. But you can see that it's all basically throughout California, north, central, and southern. Dr. Frieden, have you had a chance to talk directly to any of the families who are exercising their philosophical exemptions?

FRIEDEN: What I think is really important to understand is, there's a difference between a medical exemption, a child who has leukemia or an organ transplantation and can't safely get the measles vaccine, and someone who says, I don't want it because I'm concerned. Obviously it's OK if parents have concerns to explore those concerns, but let's be very clear, study after study shows that there are no long-term negative consequences of the measles vaccine. On the other hand, measles itself, the disease, can be fatal and in kids who are hospitalized can result in long-term complications. So I think many parents thought that measles was a thing of the past. But unless we increase our vaccination rates, it could be a thing of the future as well.

CAMEROTA: I mean the reason that I'm asking about whether or not you've ever spoken to these families is because there's this new Pew public opinion poll and it shows how people are feeling about the safety of vaccines. Let me put it up for you. And 83 percent of the general public responded that they believe they're safe, 9 percent believe they're not safe and 7 percent feel that they don't know. So you don't have to worry about that 83 percent, but somehow you need to get your message to the 9 percent and the 7 percent. And if you speak directly to them, perhaps you could hear what it is that's holding them back from wanting to vaccinate their children.

FRIEDEN: So our immunization program has done in depth studies with parents, with doctors, and with others and what we find is that the vast majority of the people who are choosing not to vaccinate their kids aren't the hard core, definitely don't want to get a vaccine people. They're folks who just may not recognize, one, that measles is still here, two, that it can be very serious, and, three, that by not vaccinating they're not just putting their own kid at risk, they're also putting other kids and other vulnerable people in their neighborhood and their community at risk.

CAMEROTA: The Senate committee on health is meeting about this outbreak about an hour and 20 minutes from now. What do you want lawmakers to do?

FRIEDEN: I think it's important that we get the facts and we state those clearly. Measles can be a serious disease. The measles vaccine is safe and effective. And parents who opt not to vaccinate need to understand the implications, not just for their own kid but for other kids and other vulnerable people in their community.

You know, I began at CDC in 1990, and the very first outbreak I investigated was of measles. A very large measles outbreak that in 1989, '90, '91 resulted in tens of thousands of cases of measles in this country and led to the passage of something called the Vaccines for Children Act, or VFC, which is run by CDC and provides half of all of the childhood vaccines in this country. Since that law was passed, there are no more inequalities between vaccine rates, between rich and poor, white, black, and Hispanic because we recognize that we're all in it together. We're all connected. And measles spreading in Europe or Africa or Asia, measles spreading in California may affect us. That's why it's important to get vaccinated. That's why it's important also that we care about increasing vaccine rates around the world.

CAMEROTA: OK. Dr. Thomas Frieden, thanks for all the information. Thanks for being on NEW DAY.

FRIEDEN: Thank you. CAMEROTA: Chris.

CUOMO: All right, Alisyn, Just ahead, we want to thank you for the feedback to a primetime special on the phenomenon that is "American Sniper." What special you say? You mean you missed it? Don't worry, we have key parts of the discussion that you will find very interesting. What scares troops the most? And we go at a controversy. Chris Kyle came under heavy scrutiny for calling America's enemies "savages." Was the criticism warranted? His brother Jeff takes it head on. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF KYLE, BROTHER OF CHRIS KYLE: You have to have a certain hate for those people because they're trying to kill you. If you don't have that certain hatred for them, you're not going to come home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL MAHER, TALK SHOW HOST: "Hurt Locker" made $17 million because it was a little ambiguous and thoughtful. And this one is just American hero. He's a psychopath patriot and we love him.

(END VIDEO CLIP

CUOMO: That's talk show host Bill Maher and he is one critic of the film "American Sniper", forwarding the point that the film didn't give an accurate picture of the war in Iraq or of its star, Chris Kyle. But the film's message has resonated around the country and we did a story on it, and it was called, "BLOCKBUSTER, THE STORY OF AMERICAN SNIPER."

And we spoke to three people who knew Chris Kyle, including his brother Jeff. And here is their take about the reality, the film, and the criticism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYLE: Those people are always -- there's always going to be naysayers out there. It doesn't matter who it is. Doesn't be matter if it's Chris or if it's somebody else, they are always going to say something derogatory about somebody else. So, you know, we did what we did for them to be able to --

CUOMO: Right.

KYLE: -- talk their trash so you're welcome.

CUOMO: You're over there doing the mission. This is what you're told to do. Nobody asks you if you want to do the mission once you volunteered. Nobody asked you to discuss the merits of the mission. Do you think that's lost a little bit in this, when people criticize the war, why we got in it, how we did it, how long, wind up putting the target on the fighting men and women for that criticism?

SEAN PARNELL, AUTHOR, OUTLAW PLATOON: Yes, I think that's absolutely the case. If you watched "American Sniper" and you saw a political commentary on the Iraq war or you saw a failed study on the intel surrounding the weapons of mass destruction, then you were not seeing what most of America's warriors saw. And that is like a window into the heart of the modern American war fighter. And it focuses on the struggle not just on the battlefield but also at home, which is critically important for Americans to understand what it's like for veterans like Jeff and I and Chris to come home.

CAMEROTA: Scott, do you think this is a pro-war movie, an anti-war movie? What is the message?

SCOTT MCEWEN, "AMERICAN SNIPER" CO-AUTHOR: Well, what I like about it is the fact that you can't really tell and it's just reality. And that's what Clint and Bradley and Jason Hall did such a good job of, is you leave it for what it is because it's the truth. It tells the truth about the American experience and the soldiers' experience. And I wouldn't categorize it as anything more than to say that if you're going to send our men and women to battle in foreign lands, then you better expect that there's going to be casualties taken, and you better give them the resources to fight and win the wars.

CUOMO: And you have to be real with the perspective on it. I mean, Maher, he's doing what he does, he's going for hyperbole there and to make some outrage. Psychopath is not just inaccurate but it's certainly insensitive.

So let's focus on Chris's own words. Put up the quote of what Chris had said that got him blow back, and I want some context from those that knew him. OK, this is obviously about the number of kills. "The number is not important to me. I only wish I had killed more, not for bragging rights but because I believe the world is a better place without savages out there taking American lives."

Now, how can people take that? They can take that as you think all Iraqis are savages. You see, he's a bigot. Do you think that's a fair reckoning of the statement?

KYLE: No. No. I mean, it doesn't matter where you're at, what war you're in -- yes, our era, they were Iraqis or Afghanis. So, yes, you have to have a certain hate for those people because they're trying to kill you. If you don't have that certain hatred for them, you're not going to come home. Any other war, the Vietnam War, those men over there, they had a hatred for the Vietnamese and they had to. You know, that's just what we do.

PARNELL: And I don't think Chris was referring to the Iraqi people there, I think he was referring to the enemy that we faced. And, look, they are. I mean, when I was in Afghanistan, Jeff was deployed to Iraq, we fought against an enemy that threw grenades in the cradle of newborn babies. We fought against an enemy that beheaded children, that stoned women to death. We fought against an enemy that didn't want women going to school, or they didn't want women to be educated. This enemy is evil and the world is a better place without them. And Chris knew and understood that.

The interesting thing about Chris is that he had the purest form of patriotism and love of country that I've ever seen in my entire life, and it was contagious. And I think that we need more people like that in this nation.

CAMEROTA: Jeff, what message do you think your brother would have wanted to come out of the film?

KYLE: I think the message that everybody's received. It wasn't -- it wasn't him in that movie. Every parent, every brother, every sister can put their sibling or their child in that position and see what they went through while they were in country, and then why they were who they were when they came home. You know, they weren't their little child anymore when they came home. War changes people. So I think this movie actually, it shows that. You know, it's not just Chris's story; it's every warrior out there that's ever been in combat that's been in country and then come home. It's all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: It was intense --

PEREIRA: I can imagine.

CAMEROTA: -- to meet Jeff Kyle and talk to him and about what he thought of the movie. And we should say that it's also timely in that the trial for the alleged killer of Chris Kyle begins tomorrow. So this is all being taken up in Texas.

PEREIRA: I know that you've covered this story a lot more, but I'm curious if doing this special and hearing from them directly changed your views on, I don't know, on him, on the story, on the film?

CAMEROTA: Well, I saw the movie a day before we met these guys, and I wanted to know what -- if it was an accurate representation of Chris Kyle, because he's so in some ways appealing in the movie. You know, he's so humble and he's modest, yet he's a hero. And I was happy to meet Jeff, and he talked about him, that he really was -- it depicted his brother, he thought, really accurately.

PEREIRA: He was just, to me, he really -- it was what his brother was saying, how important it is to remember the men and women that go over and are often forgotten when they come back. We ask the ultimate sacrifice from them and their families and they're mostly forgotten when they get back. And that's the part that I love what was represented in the film.

CUOMO: And too often caught in the conversation about whether Iraq was the right move or not. One thing you do know --

CAMEROTA: War is brutal.

CUOMO: -- whether you've been an embed or you've covered the war once or 100 times, they're doing the job that they were told to do. There is zero discretion. And one of the big things that came out of the special last night is that some of the hardest battles for them are when they get back home, dealing with post-traumatic stress. I know we call it PTSD; they don't like that it's called a disorder because they believe that's a barrier dealing with it. And you should go online and check out what was said about that as well, because that is something that's really underserved here. And it was good to meet he brother, that's for sure.

PEREIRA: That's what I mean about being forgotten.

CUOMO: And everybody involved with the film. So let us know what you think.

CAMEROTA: Yes, you can tweet us @newday or go to facebook.com/newday and continue the conversation.

All right, coming up, we put our money where our mouths are for the nation's warriors. You can check out our Beast Mode for the Brave Challenge. Here's a hint. You don't want to miss it. There I am doing lots of lunges. Doesn't it look incredible? I do it over and over. Look how many I do. That's nine, I mean that's the ninth one that I'm doing there. We're not reracking this video.

CUOMO: The clue is what's going on is what I do every day. That's the clue.

CAMEROTA: Look, 12. That's my 12th squat.

CUOMO: You are amazing.

CAMEROTA: I know, 13.

CUOMO: How do you look so beautiful while straining?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: All right. It's time for the Good Stuff. Yesterday we spent some time with the American sniper's brother, Jeff Kyle. He has a charity called Beast Mode for the Brave. It helps American soldiers when they return from the battlefield. They're challenging people to show feats of strength. We newscasters got into the act. Wait until you see how strong I am.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Chris and I are here because we are taking on the Beast Mode Challenge that has been issued today by "Fox and Friends". What do we have to do?

KYLE: OK, so today, it means y'all accepted the challenge. You've got to step it up and out do them. So we're just going to be doing squats, okay?

CAMEROTA: Okay. I'm ready to do the challenge. I'm ready for the squates. Okay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There we go. (LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: You are choking me. You're covering my eyes. You said you weighed 90 pounds.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, one more.

(APPLAUSE)

CAMEROTA: OK, great, good job. Now who are you going to issue the challenge to?

CUOMO: You go first.

CAMEROTA: Well, I think we took it from "Fox and Friends". Do you want to issue it to "Good Morning America"?

CUOMO: That's good. "Good Morning America" is good.

All right, Strahan, what have you got? Put George on your shoulders. Let's see how many you can do.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: Or George, put Michael on your shoulders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: I actually have to call BS on it.

CAMEROTA: What, what's wrong?

PEREIRA: Why did you put her on your shoulders? If you wanted to show the man you were, baby, just saying.

CUOMO: I'll lift you up and down, don't kid yourself.

CAMEROTA: Don't challenge him. He will do it.

CUOMO: I thought Mickey was too smart to want to get on my shoulders.

CAMEROTA: If you want to help out, check out Beast Mode 4 Brave. That's the number 4 .org. Thanks so much.

It's time for the "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello.

PEREIRA: Morning, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR, "NEWSROOM": I'm trying to unsee that and I can't.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: You know you're jealous. COSTELLO: Oh my god. I think I'll start the "NEWSROOM" now. You guys have a great day.

"NEWSROOM" starts now.