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Government Shutdown Over; President Signs Bill Overnight; Open For Business Again; Markets React To New Deal; Where Do We Stand; New Kenya Mall Massacre Video; House Republicans Support Boehner

Aired October 17, 2013 - 06:00   ET

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


CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Your NEW DAY starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan, and Michaela Pereira.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Another beautiful sight this morning and a good morning to all of you. Welcome to "NEW DAY." It is Thursday, October 17th, six o'clock in the east. We are live in Washington again for you this morning. And to borrow a phrase from a past crisis, the long national nightmare is over if only just for a few months.

At 12:30 this morning, a half hour past the debt ceiling deadline, President Obama signed a bill that raised the debt ceiling and re- opened the government 16 days later -- 16 days after the government shut down, Chris.

CUOMO: We got to remember that. Two long weeks. Hundreds of thousands of government workers and their families forced to make it without pay. All that time, Congress fought with itself and with the president to no effect. Getting paid all the while, I might add. But today is a "NEW DAY."

Here's a live look at the capitol. That's where Kate is, looking great, re-opening to tourists today. Thousands of furloughed workers returning to their jobs. And look at this, this may be the first tweet from a previously shuttered government agency, and it reads, "we're back, Earth, #welcomebacknasa."

BOLDUAN: It's the little things that matter. It's great to see NASA back on Twitter. So take a look at this. This is the moment the Senate approved the bill around 8:00 last night and then this is the moment the House approved the same bill, just after 10:00 Eastern. It then went to the president as it always does. Republicans who waged this war leave it with very little, it appears.

Obamacare, which they hoped to defund or at least delay portions of it, comes out pretty much intact and the agreement basically lays out that the country will likely face this whole issue once again in just months.

We're going to be covering all of the angles for you this morning, the government bringing back to life, the political fallout and also how this all is affecting you and your wallet. Let's begin this morning with senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta. Good morning, Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kate. Later this morning, President Obama will make another statement on the budget here at the White House after a bruising battle with Republicans that he won at nearly the last minute. The president says it's time for both parties to move on.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The motion is adopted.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Just as the nation was on the brink, the House of Representatives blinked and passed the bipartisan Senate compromise to raise the nation's debt ceiling. After a 16-day shutdown, the federal government will come back to life from thousands of employees returning to work in Washington, to critical medical research programs, to the national parks, even the panda cam and national zoo.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We'll begin re-opening the government immediately.

ACOSTA: President Obama who signed the bill into law just after midnight came out earlier in the evening to say he's ready to roll up his sleeves to work with both parties.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: I'm willing to work with anybody. I am eager to work with anybody, Democrat or Republican, House or Senate members on any idea that will grow our economy, create new jobs, strengthen the middle class and get our fiscal House in order.

ACOSTA: House Speaker John Boehner gave the green light for the deal when he dropped GOP demands for big changes to Obamacare in exchange for an end to the standoff.

REPRESENTATIVE JOHN BOEHNER (R), HOUSE SPEAKER (via telephone): We were trying to do our best to stop Obamacare. We fought the good fight. We just didn't win.

ACOSTA: Even some Tea Party-backed Republicans agreed the strategy failed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The folks that said we were going to lose, turned out to be correct. I can't argue with that.

ACOSTA: But in a sign of potentially more battles to come, one of the architects of the Obamacare robust plan, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, vowed to keep fighting.

SENATOR TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: The way we are going to stop the sufferings, the harms that are being visited on millions of Americans is the path we have seen these past couple of months is the American people rising up.

ACOSTA: Cruz may get his wish. The deal only re-opens the government until mid-January and pushes back another potential default to February. The president told CNN not to worry. BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Mr. President, isn't this going to happen all over again in a few months?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: No.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Now, there is a safety catch built into this legislation that we should mention so we don't get on the verge of a government shutdown come January. By mid-December, according to this bill, budget conferees from both Democrats and Republicans have to come up with a long-term budget agreement so we don't have another shutdown on January 15th.

There was a sweetener in the bill that some conservatives are saying was basically designed for Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, a $2 billion project for his state that a lot of people are calling pork, but at this point, Kate, I think we have to all be grateful that at least the government is reopening today and we didn't go into default. We did kick the can down the road but at least we have a can to kick -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: You said it very well, Jim. Great to see you this morning. Thanks so much for starting us off.

So after 16 days in the dark, museums, national parks, memorials will begin re-opening today now that the government shutdown has finally ended. CNN's Athena Jones is in D.C. with much more on this. Athena, so how is this all going to work today? If many of the folks, many workers received the notice very late last night.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. Good morning, Kate. This notice went out last night from the Office of Management and Budget saying that all federal agencies will be up and running, normal operations starting today and that employees should show up for work. They said in their announcement people should be checking the Office of Personnel Management's web site for further updates.

But of course, a lot of these hundreds of thousands of furloughed workers, at least those who have Blackberries like you and me, weren't supposed to be checking their Blackberries during this furloughed time and did they stay up late last night to see if the government would re-open? Some people might have to commute from far away.

So we'll see how many of these folks turn up for work today. I will say part of that memo that went out from the Office of Management Budget said that agencies are strongly encouraged to use all available workplace flexibilities to ensure a smooth transition. So some folks might be allowed to stay home because they didn't get the message or they'd be able to work from home, for instance.

But one more thing on those national parks, we hear that Yosemite National Park out in California began resuming operations last night -- Kate, Chris.

CUOMO: All right, thank you very much, Athena. Appreciate it. So they're patting themselves on the back down there. They feel like they got something done, but damage has been done -- thousands of families, and there's been a cost to the economy as well.

So let's bring in Christine Romans. She's down there in the nation's capitol getting eyes on the situation, our chief business correspondent. So Christine, let's talk about the cost to the families that didn't get pay for weeks, the overall economy. What did this do to us?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, the S&P says $24 billion is the cost and Chris, put that in perspective. That's a couple years of full funding for the Reduced and Free School Lunch Program. I mean, think of that, $24 billion is real money. Now in normal times, you'd be able to make that up.

If this were a hurricane, for example, or a natural disaster, it's a natural disaster caused by man, by Congress, you'd be able to make up that economic hit. We still have budget battles to go through. That's why markets are still concerned and that's the economy still could continue to be hit by the budget drama.

You got futures are lower this morning in the stock market, big rally yesterday. Big rally yesterday, of course, they're calling it the Washington rally, Chris. This morning, stock futures are down. World markets are saying, "OK, great, now show us that you can fix your underlying budget problems and you're not going to be fighting again." That countdown clock is gone, Chris, but we might have to dust it off in a few months.

CUOMO: Here's the question. Does what happened here become past as prologue and put more pressure on what happens next because of the fear that they may not get it right again?

ROMANS: I mean, I think it holds back the recovery. It continues to hold back the recovery and there's no question about that. Look, consumer confidence has been hit. Business confidence has been hit. Confidence in our investors around the world in the U.S. has been hit. You're hearing from countries like China. And you're hearing from big mutual fund managers saying, "OK, guys, great, you did your job. Don't pat yourself on the back."

You did yourself and you're keeping your government open, but now let's make sure you address these problems and get some reasonable -- you know, we need a budget. We haven't had a budget since 2009. We need to show the rest of the world -- Washington needs to show the rest of the world that it has its act together.

Meantime, the Fed is still propping up the economy, $85 billion a month. That will be supportive for the stock market and your investments. But Chris, the most important thing, only half of Americans are invested in stocks. The most important thing are jobs. What are these people in this town where I'm sitting right now doing about jobs and not just about budget fights?

CUOMO: They compromised families, S&P, Standard and Poor knocked off our growth from 2.6 percent to 2 percent because of this. We have to keep reminding them what they did so they do it better the next time. Christine Romans, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

ROMANS: You're welcome, Chris.

CUOMO: Kate, back to you.

BOLDUAN: All right, Chris, thanks so much. So where do things stand today? Let's talk more about it. CNN's chief national correspondent John King is here to break it down for us. We have a deal. Congratulations.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, it worked, right? The fabulous daycare center is open for business.

BOLDUAN: Exactly. I think many people are sitting at home, I'm wondering the same thing. What do American people get out of this deal?

KING: They get the normal operation of government, even just driving down here today. People are showing up at the Smithsonian Institution, those were closed. The museums were closed. The zoo was closed. People who need to interact with their government may get the phone answered more quickly. They get that and they get a respite from what they've seen the last few days, here on CNN and anywhere else, if they pick up a newspaper or tune in to talk radio, which is all the finger pointing.

I do think looking forward, the tone from the president, this morning will be very, very important. Republicans were less than pleased, you might say furious that he decided to speak last night between the Senate and the House vote. They thought that was a little bit of in your face because it was a difficult for them.

The tone the president sets today will be important to the point Chris was just making and Christine was just making. Can they do it different or will we be here in three months, four months, up against the deadline again with all this polarization?

BOLDUAN: How bitter this fight was and how far it went, does that -- I think people are wondering does that help or hurt the negotiations that they're going to inevitably likely face in three or four months?

KING: You have to remember, as this played out, I think we remain in a parallel universe. You have the leadership, the key members of the committee, Paul Ryan in the House and the Senate, they completely disagree on many issues, but they respect each other. They understand each other. They can negotiate in a room. They will come out though with some sort of a proposal.

This is going to be done in an election year now. They kicked the can into an even numbered year. So you are going to ask Democrats to cut Medicare in an election year. You're going to ask Republicans to maybe raise revenue in the tax reform package in an election year. You're going to ask the Tea Party guys to do this again, cut a deal with President Obama, raise the debt ceiling again early in an election year. The leadership as they did in the end here can figure it out. The question is how much of this bubbling over in the Tea Party will continue? Because remember, their groups and their people not only did they vote no, they're saying fight this and primary the Republicans who voted yes.

BOLDUAN: So we lived through the "Super Committee." They had an expedited process to get a grand bargain, long-term budget deal done. That didn't work obviously. What are the chances in two months that conferees -- members of Congress can come together and actually get a budget blueprint? I mean, are people kidding themselves?

KING: We don't know answer to that. The question is did they learn the lesson? The one word question this morning, it's leadership, will there be leadership? The president didn't cause this shutdown. A small group of Republicans who decided because the math didn't work for them and they couldn't repeal Obamacare, they decided to shut down the government.

They decided to threaten the debt ceiling. That's a fact. But the president who this was maybe not a mess of his making should learn the lesson about don't let them go to the deadline. Bring them together more often. If the Patty Murrays and Paul Ryans aren't getting progress done, call them to the White House sooner. Try to figure out where the pressure points and make the deal. Everybody knows the math.

BOLDUAN: The elements are there. It's the political will.

KING: You raise eligibility age. What do you do over here on the spending side? How much do you cut out of the Pentagon? Do you get new revenues out of tax reform? There are bipartisan proposals out there that would get you where you need to get. The question is, will they have the leadership and the political will to take it to the finish line?

Again, in an election year, Mitch McConnell helped get this deal, the Senate Republican leader, to the finish line. He has a Tea Party challenge. Lindsey graham voted yes. He has a Tea Party primary challenge. So we are going to watch this play out. What is the immediate impact out in the states in the election context and how does that impact the policy negotiations as that clock -- we don't need to put the clock up today, folks, but it does start ticking again today.

BOLDUAN: Thanks, John, thank you very much. Great to see you. But it cannot be forgotten how important it is all in the context of an election year.

KING: It makes it harder. It makes it harder.

BOLDUAN: All right, John King, great to see you -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right, we are going to take a break here on NEW DAY. When we come back, we go inside the Kenya mall massacre, surveillance cameras capturing the siege. We have exclusive brand new footage. BOLDUAN: Also ahead, shutdown over, Obamacare pretty much intact and the debt ceiling raised. Where does House Speaker John Boehner now go from here?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to NEW DAY.

We are following the latest on the government re-opening and, of course, the extension of the debt ceiling.

But, first, let's give you a look at your headlines at this hour. Newark's mayor will be the next U.S. senator from New Jersey. Democrat Corey Booker defeated Republican Steve Lonegan in the special Senate election. He is the state's first African-American senator. Booker will serve out the final 15 months of the late Frank Lautenberg's Senate term.

The NSA has been rocked by leaks about its surveillance program. Now a "Washington Post" report says the agency has collaborated with the CIA on drone strikes against terrorist abroad. These documents were provided by NSA leaker Edward Snowden. This comes as the agency's director and top deputy prepare to stop down.

A possible bird strike forcing an Alaskan Airlines flight heading to Hawaii to make an emergency landing in Oakland, California. The Boeing 737 has just taken off from San Jose when pilots reported a bird may have thrown into one of the engines. That plane carrying 166 passengers and crew landed safely.

In the midst of the shuffle of getting the government up and running again was another piece of Senate business. Caroline Kennedy was confirmed as the new U.S. ambassador to Japan. She was nominated by President Obama back in July. Kennedy will be the first woman ever to hold that diplomatic post.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban cleared of insider trading charges. The federal court jury in Texas delivering a not guilty verdict in the case involving Cuban sale of a stock in a Canadian internet search company. He was accused by the SEC of trading on non-public information when he sold his shares and avoided a $750,000 loss. Outside court, Cuban said government lawyers tried to bully him and he was glad he stood up to them.

Those are your headlines. Shall we talk weather?

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Please?

PEREIRA: Let's do it and let's have Indra guide us.

Be our tour guide of the weather.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Got a way, right? It's actually kind of nice this morning.

PEREIRA: Beautiful. PETERSONS: Every day I can get up early in the morning and I can handle it, I know it is a good day. I mean, look at this -- temperatures in the 60s right now. We're talking about 63 Philly, New York about 62. Kind of go a little farther north we're seeing 50s.

But keep in mind, this is expected to change as the series of fronts will make their way across the country. The difference today we have a warm front out there. Moisture comes out of the South but as soon as the cold front does push through, we're going to be talking about a lot of cold, dry air. In fact, there's going to be two systems, cold air will be in place throughout the weekend, really a huge chunk of the country.

Rain, though, not going to be a big factor, just so minimal. These are dry systems. Maybe about an inch of rain kind of spreading in from the Northeast down to the Gulf. We're also talking about this first system making its way overnight tonight, into tomorrow morning, if you are into the northeast.

The second system, way back into the northern plains, but making its way at the tail end of it at least through Denver today. Why does it matter? They're getting flurries out there, not a major system, maybe way up in the mountains, Wyoming, we're talking about possibly 6 to 8 inches of snow. Denver, a couple flurries. Really kind of mild across the country.

You see the temperatures. This is a big story, I suppose. These are yesterday's temperatures. Notice the 70s out towards Cleveland.

Today, you're going to feel the difference. Highs today just in the 50s, about 59. That's the first system by the way. Still nice along the Seaboard, Philly, 68, D.C, 69.

There's the second threat behind it. So that cold air still making its way through the weekend, but I'm not allowed to say cold. Everyone says this is warm. A brilliantly warm weekend ahead, everybody.

BERMAN: Temperate.

PEREIRA: Temperate, a good word, we like that.

BERMAN: Seasonal.

PETERSONS: Seasonal.

(LAUGHTER)]

PEREIRA: OK, Mr. Thesaurus.

CUOMO: That's all I've got.

PEREIRA: Exhausted at two.

CUOMO: We also do have something even better. CNN exclusive -- you remember when terrorists attacked the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya last month, at that time, the only way to understand what happened was from the stories of survivors. But now, CNN has obtained access to some of the mall's surveillance videos.

Much of what we are about to show you, of course, is graphic. It could be frightening. So know that, and take care if you have kids around.

CNN's Nima Elbagir is live in Nairobi with the latest.

Nima, how do we get this tape? What do we understand about the situation from it?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we obtained this footage from our sources. Though it is really a very difficult watch, I think it's a really important one because for the first time it gives us a small window into what really happened on that Saturday in September here in Nairobi.

Take a watch, Chris.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELBAGIR (voice-over): A first look at a nightmare. CNN has obtained surveillance video of the horrifying moments inside the Kenya mall massacre that took at least 67 lives and injured hundreds.

Watch as unaware shoppers suddenly run for their lives. A wounded man tries crawling to safety but the gunman returns.

Outside, helicopters circle and you can hear the gunfire coming from al Shabaab, attackers combing the hallways. Survivors run and crawl to wherever they think they can to survive.

Some hide in the stairwell, others in stores. A body on the mall floor is shot repeatedly. At a mall restaurant, staff and customers cower behind the counter as a plain clothes police officer tries to protect them.

Security cameras on the roof catch attackers walking towards the children's cooking competition, opening fire just beyond the camera's view.

In a supermarket, the massacre continues. Surveillance video shows the hostage roundup has begun. A mother and her two children pushed and injured child in a shopping cart. A bloody teenage girl follow, her hands in the air as a gunman points the way.

Hours later, they are released.

Back inside, the hostage-takers are spotted on the phone. Authorities believe they are receiving instructions from outside the mall. One of them appears to be looking for surveillance cameras and there are even long periods of time where the attackers appear relaxed. At one point, taking time for prayers.

This is just a fraction of the surveillance video recorded as most of it is too horrifying to broadcast. Only the first day of a four-day nightmare for Kenya.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ELBAGIR: Even three weeks on here in Nairobi, they're still trying to get bodies out from inside that rubble at Westgate. And for 25 families, they still don't know what happened to their loved ones, Chris and Kate.

CUOMO: All right. Nima, thank you very much. Appreciate you bringing us the reporting this morning.

We're going to take a break here on NEW DAY.

When we come back, there are new calls for a special prosecutor in the story we've been following to investigate claims of a teen rape in Missouri. The shocker will be who is behind the request. We'll tell you.

BOLDUAN: Also ahead, the government shutdown is over, but the fighting goes on. What does this mean for house speaker John Boehner? Much more, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Welcome back to NEW DAY. It is Thursday, October 17th.

And breaking news overnight, a crisis averted. Just after midnight, President Obama signed the bill to re-open the government and raise the debt ceiling, raise the debt ceiling until February 7th.

The 11th hour bargain ends the 16-day shutdown and avoids a U.S. financial default with potentially global economic consequences. But even though federal employees will have the opportunity to finally return to work today, the deal only funds the government through mid- January. Setting the stage for another possible showdown in coming months, something no one wants to see but could be our future very soon.

For many in the GOP it has been a bitter pill to swallow. Most House Republicans voted against the deal. The final bill made no real changes to Obamacare in the end but instead exposed a risk within the Republican Party.

House Speaker John Boehner was caught between warring factions, especially in the House. And although many of his Republican colleagues were coming out in support of him this morning, his future maybe not as clear as some may think.

Here's CNN Joe Johns with more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the end, Republicans came away with almost nothing. Yet behind closed doors, Speaker John Boehner got a standing ovation from colleagues and spoke to a hometown radio station. REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: We fought the good fight. We just didn't win.

JOHNS: It was hard to find anyone in the GOP ranks with a harsh word to say about the man who led them to defeat.

REP. RAUL LABRADOR (R), IDAHO: I've been really proud of Speaker Boehner the last 2 1/2 weeks. I don't think he should be ashamed of anything he has done.

JOHNS: Public polling shows that Boehner and the Republican Party suffered the most damage, but the early line is that this disaster isn't the speaker's fault.

REP. GREG HARPER (R), MISSISSIPPI: I don't think we could have a better speaker under more difficult circumstances than we have here. He's not in an enviable position.

JOHNS: While no one in power is suggesting Boehner's role as speaker is now in jeopardy, the political reality is that it's an enormous loss for him and for his party.

REP. JOE BARTON (R), TEXAS: I don't think it's a good thing for the Republicans in the House when we basically recede to the Democrat senate and to the president who want to spend money and borrow more money with no structural reforms. I don't -- I don't think you can call that a victory.

JOHNS: Congressman Joe Barton voted no but still supports the speaker.

BARTON: You never are in as good a shape as you could have been when you lose as opposed to winning, but, you know, I voted for him for speaker back in January. I would vote for him again.

JOHNS: But when this issue comes up again early next year, it could be tougher sledding for Boehner because the conservative Republicans who picked this fight are not going away.

REP. TED POE (R), TEXAS: We should be talking about cutting spending before we raise America's debt ceiling.

JOHNS: Looking ahead, one question will be who's really running the House? Whether the speaker can ever assert real control or if factions inside his party can keep calling the shots.

Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: All right. Joe Johns, thanks so much for that.

I'm back here with CNN's chief national correspondent John King to talk more about this.

So, it has been interesting to watch. The focus has been on John Boehner throughout this fight. He's been in an unenviable position many would say.