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NEW DAY

Egyptian Leader Calls for Unified Arab Force to Combat ISIS; Terror Group al Shabaab Calls for Attacks on Malls in U.S., U.K., and Canada; Interview with Rep. Keith Ellison; "Birdman" wins Best Picture; The Fight Between CBS and Bill O'Reilly

Aired February 23, 2015 - 08:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: The Egyptian leader calling for a unified Arab force.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is what we've been calling for the longest time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is, though, the first time we have heard a president call for a pan-Arab army.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Westgate Mall style attacks in the U.S.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we're telling the public in general is you've got to be vigilant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said he saw troops fire in the crowd. I never saw that.

BILL O'REILLY, FOX NEWS HOST: I was out there pretty much by myself because the other U.S. news correspondents were hiding.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What he just said was a fabrication, a lie.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A Birdman's eye-view of the acts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tonight we honor Hollywood's best and whitest -- sorry, brightest.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Pereira.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Monday, February 23rd, just after 8:00 in the east. And here's the headline, call to arms from Egypt's president urging a unified Arab force to destroy ISIS. Jordan and the United Arab Emirates apparently ready to contribute troops right now.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: This as ISIS releases a video of Kurdish forces being held in cages.

And now a new threat from another terror group targeting shopping malls here in the U.S. We've got all of these angles covered like only CNN can, and we begin with CNN's Ian Lee live in Cairo for us. What's the latest, Ian?

IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, we heard this call last night from the president giving a speech to the nation, saying the need for a united Arab force is growing by the day. It's a pressing issue. He didn't give too many details about what that would look like but we know Egypt is already combatting ISIS on two fronts, in the east, in the Sinai Peninsula as well as in Libya.

Now, the UAE and Jordan have offered military assistance to Egypt for the fight. But the speech the Egyptian president reiterated a number of times that the Egyptian military's role is protecting the borders of the country but said that if the need arose they would be needed elsewhere in the region, that that could happen only with the close cooperation with their air rob brothers.

Now, the call for a pan Arab army is not something that is new. It's something that goes back decades, championed first by the Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser. This is the first time we're really hearing this sort of call again. President SISI making as ISIS is a threat not only just to Egypt and other countries but really every country in the region has dealt with it directly or indirectly.

But to see the actual formation of a large Arab army would take a lot of work, a lot of diplomatic work as Arab leaders are not known to really come together and unify.

CAMEROTA: Thank you.

CUOMO: Thank you very much for that. And another sign of the terror threat, Homeland Security officials are warning of a new threat this morning from another terror group, al Shabaab. They're calling for attack on malls here in the United States as well as in the U.K. and Canada. Not just any mall. They named the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. And that's where we have CNN's Nick Balencia. What's the latest from the ground there, Nick?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris. Clearly a frightening, chilling message posted by the terror group, Somali terror group al Shabaab online over the weekend, calling for a handful of potential attacks as you mentioned on malls not just here in the United States but in the U.K. and Canada. Among them listed the West Edmonton Mall in Alberta, Canada, and also here, the Bloomington, Minnesota, the famous Mall in America.

Now the Mall of America responded to that video, issuing a statement saying that they are taking extra security precautions here, some that might be visible to the shopper showing up, others that just might not be. The Department of Homeland Security for their part saying that there's no working credible threat, but they do encourage those that are coming to the malls to remain extra vigilant. Also I reached out to members in the local community here, the Somali

community, and asked them to react to this message. They called it disgusting, shocking. They say it was very traumatic and say and they say that the terror group al Shabaab certainly does not speak for the majority of Somalis here in this community. Chris?

CUOMO: Again, Nick, key for your to go to the community. They will be central in figuring out what this threat is and how real it is. Nick Valencia, thank you very much. I know it's cold.

Let's bring in Minnesota Democrat, Representative Keith Ellison, a member of the foreign affairs Committee and co-chair of the Congressional progressive caucus. It's great to have you with us here in New York on the site of NEW DAY.

REP. KEITH ELLISON, (D) MINNESOTA: Good to be here, thank you.

CAMEROTA: So let's talk about the threat at the mall. This is in the district next to your district. How many sleepless nights are you having over this threat?

ELLISON: It's a worrisome threat. We all better pay close attention to this threat. We do know that they attacked the Westgate mall, but we should panic, because the fact is that they people are making threatening comments to try to inject terror and fear. That's their goal, to make us upset. So I think vigilance, engage in community will make us safe and will keep up secure.

But these people have attacked Westgate Mall in Nairobi. They are vicious, murderous killers. And it doesn't take a lot of people. I mean, you can harm with a few numbers. And so it's important to stay on our toes and keep our eyes open.

They are attacking soft targets because they are under a lot of pressure in Somalia right now. The Somali government after two decades in shambles has now begun to form itself and stand up on its feet. And so it's harder for them to attack inside because of the Amazon troop and the Somali troops supported by the United States, so they're looking for soft targets.

CUOMO: So address the phobia, because you have it specifically playing out in your town in Minnesota. We're seeing across the country, unfortunately, which is these Somalis, these Muslims, they're here. You see, they are calling out to them. How do you address the phobia?

ELLISON: The same way I address any phobia. We all know that tiny groups that try to inject fear in the rest of us will try to play on our fears. But really if we are prepared and deal with it and do not buy into the prejudice, that this is security that is going to reward us. At the end of the day we should remember al Shabaab kills more Muslims than any else. There is no reason any Muslim person or Somali person to have any love for al Shabaab. They spill more blood in that country for those people than anywhere else. We also know that in America, America is a refuge for the Somali community. America is where they came to escape the chaos. CUOMO: Especially in your community.

CAMEROTA: But Congressman, isn't it also true that there are members of the Somali community that don't feel as though they're an integral part of the community and it may be susceptible to the lure, whatever that is, of ISIS or extremism?

ELLISON: It certainly is possible and we do know that there have been a few recruited back. But we're talking tiny numbers in comparison to the whole.

CAMEROTA: Sure, but obviously those are the people that everyone is worried about. You said engaging the community. How do you give them purpose if they feel as though they don't really fit in, in the community?

ELLISON: Let me tell you, one of the things the Somali community has done very well has said, look, you know, it helps us when we have community centers. It helps us when we can open up jobs, summer employment for kids. It helps us when we can open up opportunity and when law enforcement and community can be in a dialogue and build trust, not suspicion. So these things we're working on right now. We have an awesome U.S. attorney, a guy named Andy Luger, he's working on top on this. We recently were in a countering violent extremism at the White House. The White House is focused on this. We had a whole panel on Somali community leaders who are focused on this problem. We have the imams, the clergy, who are focused on teaching what Islam really is, not this extremist --

CUOMO: That's a little bit of test case you had there. In my reporting experience, I spent a little time up there. And you have evolved in terms of, well, this is a stand along community. They do their own thing. They're now real Minnesotans. Now they've been integrated on a law enforcement, a governmental, and community perspective. Has it made a difference?

ELLISON: It's making a great difference. We have a Somali city council member. We have a Somali school board member. They are elected by people who are not Somali mostly. We have -- the Somali community is integrating, they're opening businesses and making important contributions. There's not one politician in Minnesota who believes they can ignore the Somali community. They're a potent political force.

And so I believe the Somali community is coming into the fold in the state. But you're right. It doesn't take a lot. And there are a few people who will be alienated because they're young, because they're unemployed, because they have had a tough time getting on with their American dream and they might be susceptible to being lured. So we have to be on the lookout for this kind of thing, and the only thing we can do is be vigilant and be as inclusive as we can.

CAMEROTA: We want to ask you about Rudy Giuliani, former New York City mayor's comments about President Obama. He said that he doesn't believe that President Obama loves America. Today in the "Wall Street Journal" he issued a clarification saying he actually can't get into the heart or mind of the president and he didn't intend to do so. What do you think was at the root of his comments against President Obama?

ELLISON: Who knows? But how do you judge love, right? The president has made it so 11 million people through the Affordable Care Act can get health care access. The president has made it so that we are safe from the attacks of Usama bin Laden. The president made it so our economy has been improving -- still a lot of people who need to get livable wage jobs. But we've been having a lot of private sector growth. The president has been demonstrating pragmatic, on the ground love of country.

CUOMO: He's says he's playing to his record, but the suspicion was that he's playing to his person, that this is a brown plan who has Muslim roots and he doesn't love the country the way we do because he was raised by people who didn't love the country. So you like that as a person of color?-

ELLISON: I'll put it like this. I believe he was dog whistling. And what I mean is he was signaling that he's not one of us, and that had to do with some factors that the former mayor should not be trying to play on.

CAMEROTA: Meaning race?

ELLISON: And other things, you know. Is he an American? Is he a Muslim? Is he a socialist, is he this, is he that? Look, I thought it was disgusting and very sad that the former mayor did that. This is a great city. He should dignify it by comporting himself accordingly. He can never forget he's representing this great city of New York City. So how can he run around act like somebody who -- you know, like somebody who doesn't carry the dignity of this city?

Really, I think it's sad, but he already knows he messed up because he's already backpedalling. And I think we should just note that there's a reason he never was able to catch on as a presidential candidate, because that kind of stuff doesn't wash and the American people don't like it.

CAMEROTA: Speaking of presidential candidates, at least three have come out and said that they don't agree with Rudy Giuliani.

ELLISON: They're right.

CAMEROTA: Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, they've come out and said --

CUOMO: It's slow, though. It wasn't a flood. You would think when somebody says something really out there like this that goes to somebody's person and has implications that in effect we're talking about now, you'd think they would be a little swifter.

ELLISON: I'll give him this, though. It's so silly and stupid and ridiculous that I can see how somebody wouldn't take it seriously until asked. That's just how low those comments were. So I don't fault them for not being real fast at denunciation. Glad they did it. And maybe we can move past this kind of thing. CUOMO: Use it as an example?

ELLISON: Use it as an example of what not to do. And again, you know, it seemed like a desperate act of a man who is desperately trying to stay relevant and is just having a hard time doing so.

CAMEROTA: Congressman Keith Ellison, we really appreciate you being in studio with us on NEW DAY.

CUOMO: Absolutely. You make a strong point. Rudy was the mayor of a city that's known all about its diversity as its strength, strong point. Thank you very much.

In other news, a bomb killing at least two people at a peaceful protest in eastern Ukraine raises the question, what ceasefire? And 15 others hurt in another city. Officials says suspects trained in Russia have been arrested, a counter terror operation under way right now. This protest came on the first anniversary of violent demonstrations in Kiev against Ukraine's ties with Russia. We'll take you through it.

CAMEROTA: Well, the mayor of Jerusalem being hailed as a hero after helping taking down a Palestinian teenager who stabbed an orthodox Jew on a crowded street. This whole thing was caught on video, as you can see on your screen. The mayor said he and his bodyguards were in a car Sunday when they noticed the knife-wielding attacker. They jumped out and took him down and they held him until police got there. The mayor says the man who was stabbed was only slightly injured.

CUOMO: So the parents of slain American aid worker Kayla Mueller are speaking out for the first time since their daughter's death, and they say that she was killed, as you know, in captivity by ISIS in Syria. Now in this interview with NBC Carl and Marsha Mueller say they believe the U.S. puts its policy not to negotiate with terrorists before their daughter's life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any parents out there would understand that you would want anything and everything done to bring your child home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: The Muellers add they understand why the policy is what it is with the military, but they still wanted anything and everything to be done to bring their daughter home.

CAMEROTA: OK, on a much lighter note, let's talk about the Oscars.

CUOMO: Please.

CAMEROTA: OK, this is a spoiler alert. We're about to tell you what happened. So if you DVR-ed it, just turn our volume down for a second.

CUOMO: Just hers. CAMEROTA: They probably should have done that a long time ago.

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: "Birdman" soars, "Boyhood" stalls. The Oscars honoring the edgy comedy about a washed up actor as a best picture while largely ignoring the family drama that took 12 years to produce, and that was not the only surprise. Michaela Pereira join us live from the Montage Beverly Hills hotel with the night's biggest moments. Good morning, Michaela.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Is the spoiler alert over? Can I uncover my ears?

CUOMO: It's over.

PEREIRA: OK, good morning to the both of you. I am here in the lobby of the beautiful Montage hotel. A few bleary eyed revelers are still stumbling through after last night's biggest parties. The rain did not dampen the spirit of what was an excellent show, fantastic musical performances, really moving, emotional, personal speeches. And for maybe the first time in a long time social issues really were in the limelight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: The evening's biggest honor awarded to the black comedy drama "Birdman." Lead actor Michael Keaton snubbed of best actor, instead the prize going to "Theory of Everything" star Eddie Redmayne who highlighted neurological diseases.

EDDIE REDMAYNE, ACTOR: This belongs to all of those people around the world battling ALS.

PEREIRA: It was a night of purposeful and compassionate speeches.

PEREIRA: Lead actor Michael Keaton snubbed of Best Actor, instead, the prize going to "Theory of Everything" star Eddie Redmayne, who highlighted neurological diseases.

EDDIE REDMAYNE, BEST ACTOR, "THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING": This belongs to all these people around the world battling ALS.

PEREIRA: It was a night of purposeful and compassionate speeches.

JOHN LEGEND, SINGER: The struggle for justice right now.

PEREIRA: Julianne Moore, taking home Best Actress for "Still Alice", calling attention to the plight of Alzheimer's.

JULIANNE MOORE, BEST ACTRESS, "STILL ALICE": The people with Alzheimer's deserve to be seen so that we can find a cure.

PEREIRA: 13 years after "Boyhood" began its journey, Patricia Arquette was named Best Supporting Actress. The mother of two speaking out for women's rights.

PATRICIA ARQUETTE, BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, "BOYHOOD": It's our time to have wage equality once and for all, and equal rights for women in the United States of America.

PEREIRA: Garnering thunderous applause from the A-list crowd.

NEIL PATRICK HARRIS, OSCAR HOST (singing): I secretly hope someone pulls a Kanye West.

PEREIRA: Host and Broadway savant Neil Patrick Harris --

HARRIS: Tonight we honor Hollywood's best and whitest -- sorry, brightest.

PEREIRA: -- brought his quick-witted sarcasm with reference to this year's criticism that nominees lack diversity.

And bared it all.

HARRIS: Acting is a noble profession.

PEREIRA: The over three hour show packed with gripping performances.

Lady Gaga's "The Sound of Music" medley receiving a standing ovation as the incomparable Julie Andrews made a surprise appearance.

But it was Common and John Legend belting lyrics underscoring racial injustice in "Glory" that moved the A-list crowd to tears.

(END VIEOTAPE)

PEREIRA (on camera): So you remember that hashtag #allwhiteoscars? Well, the show itself was incredibly diverse between the musical performances and all the presenters. Really quite a tremendous evening. And can I also say, Alisyn and Chris, tough competition in that Best Picture category, but a really great Oscar year for independent film. And I think that's something that a lot of people will note as well.

CAMEROTA: Great stuff. So interesting to see the actors using their platform to talk about larger issues, not just entertainment.

CUOMO: And in a responsible way this time.

CAMEROTA: Yes, right, good point. Michaela, great job. Thanks so much.

All right, moving on, Fox News anchor --

CUOMO: Speaking of responsbility. CAMEROTA: -- Bill O'Reilly firing back against allegations he embellished his war reporting record. What he's saying as more journalists come forward to challenge his story.

CUOMO: Provocative question, did "Seinfield" make Eddie Routh kill Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield. There are closing arguments that could come today in the American sniper murder trial. Nancy Grace has her take on this bizarre argument that came up at trial and what she thinks will happen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: All right, so a big reason that the Bill O'Reilly situation isn't going away is because there's been a lot of ping-ponging back and forth about what was said and what's said by other people and what he supposedly has as proof.

So let's just do this the right way, once and for all. Let's bring in former CNN White House correspondent and director at the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University, Mr. Frank Sesno. CNN family. Great to have you here.

Let's play the original piece of sound that got O'Reilly in trouble, and then we will play the piece of sound from a former CBS colleague that supposedly tells the truth of the context of the situation. First, O'Reilly. Let's go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL O'REILLY, FOX NEWS HOST: I was in a situation one time in a war zone in Argentina in the Falklands where my photographer got run down and then hit his head and was bleeding from the ear on the concrete and the army was chasing us.

ERIC ENGBERG, FORMER CBS CORRESPONDENT: He's trying to build it up into a more frightening and deadly situation than it was. It wasn't a combat situation by any sense of the word that I know. There were no people killed. He said that he saw troops fire into the crowd. I never saw that and I don't know anybody who did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: All right, Frank Sesno, you are known for your fairness. You are known for how you do your job as a journalist. But, today, you present the perspective of what is wrong with this. And I will push back from the perspective of what O'Reilly's defense is of it. Please, begin, what is wrong here?

FRANK SESNO, DIRECTOR, SCHOOL OF MEDIA AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNVIERSITY: First of all, what is wrong here is that we're in a season where we're taking a look at what people have said thanks to Brian Williams, and a hard look at what Mr. O'Reilly said raises questions about whether he embellished. The words "in the Falklands" may have been passing words on his part, but were not where he and Enberg or I, because I covered that that conflict as well, ever were. We were in Buenos Aires. Now, Bill now says well, that's where I was all along, but his words,

were they embellishments, indicated perhaps otherwise. He also talked about, in another clip that Brian Stelter ran yesterday on "RELIABLE SOURCES" talked about firing troops into the crowd and people dropping. And as we heard there just a moment ago, and as I can tell you, there were no stories of sort of massacres in the streets of Buenos Aires. That was a difficult area, and sometimes tense, but BA was not a war zone itself.

CUOMO: O'Reilly says protests are very dynamic things. What I see where I am may not be what you see from where you are. And these other guys from CBS didn't see it because they didn't leave. Only I did. And I saw what I saw and my cameraman was hurt and it was combat by any other name because you had opposing forces trying to kill one another.

SESNO: Well, what we also have going on here, Chris, which is really interesting and has not happened with the Brian Williams case, is we have an on the record food fight, where you have varying points of view from within the CBS family. And what Engberg told Brian yesterday was I was there; I was on the streets. I didn't see any of this. When O'Reilly came back, O'Reilly didn't want to share his tape and he got slapped by the producer, the CBS producer at the time.

So there's a lot of stuff here that actually now can be tracked down. I would tell you the bottom line for this, as far as the audience should be concerned, and as far as the industry should be concerned, is what actually happened? And it's not that hard to really pin it down. And will people be held accountable to their words?

CUOMO: Now, you say varying accounts. From CBS's side, I haven't heard anything that agrees with O'Reilly yet coming out from Schieffer or Zorinski or Mr. Engberg. Or they had a couple others, I believe, that are others that are being sourced now. We didn't have them but I hear they're being sourced.

And in terms of accountability, that comes down to where he works, Frank, right? I mean that comes back down to whether Fox wants to feel that this is something legitimate enough to take action. But given what Fox cultivates as its audience, why should it care what you, me, or anybody else thinks from the mainstream media?

SESNO: Well, they probably don't. But I think they care what their audience thinks and that's really what should matter here, not what others necessarily in the media think. And if part of Bill O'Reilly's platform is built on his credibility -- I mean, he's a self- acknowledged bloviater and he's got some sense of humor about it, and that's fine. But when it comes to embellishing your own story or embellish the truth, if that's what is happening here, it certainly seems to be, and if the audience, his own audience becomes upset by it, then Fox has an issue. I don't think they're going to care very much what you and I think about this. We're the -- we represent the mainstream media, which is what they and their base, Fox's base, feels is so much part of the problem.

CUOMO: Right. SESNO: But, Chris, credibility matters. If you embellish a resume

and you're applying for a job, you're not going to get the job. If you plagiarize -- and that's a word Bill O'Reilly has used with respect to who used his tapes -- be careful how that word gets thrown around -- but if you do that, there are consequences. There are consequences and should be consequences for our words. That's why the media writ large is in so much trouble with the public. They feel the media are not transparent enough, not accountable enough, and get away with kind of making it up, winging it. In some ways, that's what's at stake here I think.

CUOMO: Well, they're seeing a big culture test for the media by the media right now. And, Frank Sesno, you're an example of how it's done right, so thank you for weighing in on this today.

SESNO: Thank you, Chris. Thanks.

CUOMO: Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: OK, Chris. Closing arguments expected as early as today in the American sniper murder trial. Nancy Grace will be here to give us her take on this fascinating trial.

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