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NEW DAY

State Of The U.S. Economy; Woody Allen Family Feud; Wintry Mix Rocks Midwest And Northeast; Russian Bombing Mastermind Killed; CVS To Stop Selling Cigarettes; Judge Fired; Obamacare And The Workforce; Poll: GOP Policies Favor Rich; Woody Allen Abuse Claim

Aired February 5, 2014 - 07:30   ET

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


BOB MORITZ, U.S. MEMBER OF FWC INTERNATIONAL LIMITED: -- trying to look for work, there's a disconnect there. So the big challenge is how those communities, how the government and how businesses come together to create the opportunities, what's really interesting out of CEO surveys, 70 percent of the CEOs in the U.S. are worried about not finding the right talent.

That's a huge number when you think about their concerns achieving a strategic projection. What's the challenge? The challenge is lack of relevant skill sets. We have people there. The question is, are they relevant --

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And to this point, so the president has this new push recently, you guys signed onto it, this pledge to do more, to try to hire the long-term unemployed. What does that mean from the business standpoint?

MORITZ: From a business perspective, they're looking at all kinds of talent and what the president asked for is, make sure that you don't have any bias.

BOLDUAN: Does it change anything for you?

MORITZ: The reality is, you're searching for the best talent no matter where it may be. So there is an administrative process and there are some procedures that you got to make sure you achieve. But nonetheless, how are they going to find that talent and they may not be trained, to your point now, to the relevant skill sets. What are the business communities and the CEO is doing to train the people that perhaps they are not getting that training --

CUOMO: Not a lot. I think one of the things that's helpful for the audience, you're not going to change the practices if you don't want to. Big companies especially, they have found the sweet spot. They're giving dividends back to their investors and they're not hiring. That sounds bad to people who are in the labor force, but that's great for business. So the question becomes, small businesses, mid-size businesses, they're hiring. The big ones aren't. Can the government change that?

MORITZ: No, I don't think the government by itself can change that. This is the business community with government --

CUOMO: Why would you change, you're on your sweet spot?

MORITZ: At the end of the day, you have a balanced responsibility in terms of how do you actually bring those returns to the investment community as well as how do you think about the sustainability of the long term business. As we all know, the business community is looking at that balance. I'm trying to get productivity up. I may try to hire less people. How many less people at the hotels are there because they're doing self-service check-ins? So the reality is there is technology advances --

BOLDUAN: You did the survey, but bottom line, you yourself, as the head of a company, are you optimistic?

MORITZ: Yes, very much so. So if you look at that hiring, the people are going to hire. Technology companies, health care companies, professional services companies are the top ones in the hiring space. This year, we'll end up hiring probably 8,000 to 10,000 people in the U.S. alone. Each company has a different perspective on this.

CUOMO: But he's also in the service sector.

MORITZ: You don't have the skill base --

BOLDUAN: Just got the manufacturing numbers and they were not so good. Bob, great to see you. Thank you so much for coming in.

CUOMO: It's good to have a voice from the side that makes the decisions that matter. You hear it from government all the time. It's only half the equation.

BOLDUAN: Exactly right. Thank you so much. Taking another break, coming up next, another jab at Obamacare. A just released report suggests that Obamacare could hurt jobs. But the numbers may reveal more than you think. That's coming in our political gut check.

CUOMO: And the family feud gets ugly. Woody Allen supporters now firing back over allegations he abused his adopted daughter. We're going to tell you what both sides are saying. And then of course, as always, you decide.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

<07:36:49>

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to NEW DAY. Let's take a look at your headlines at this hour. A massive winter storm is moving east this morning and it could leave parts of New England under a foot of snow. It has already hit the Midwest leaving roads there dangerously sleek with ice. About 3,500 flights have been canceled since yesterday, most in or out of New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago.

We're following breaking news, the suspected mastermind of December's bombings in Volgograd, Russia has been killed. We are learning from police that one was killed and an accomplice surrendered in a standoff this morning in Dagestan. Thirty four people were killed in the December bombings. The attacks raised serious concerns about security at the Winter Olympics, which are now just two days away.

More breaking news here in the states, a bold, bold move from pharmacy chain, CVS, cigarettes and tobacco products will no longer be sold in stores nationwide. This move takes effect in more than 7,600 stores October 1st despite expectations it will lose $2 billion a year in sales. President Obama, a former smoker, is applauding the move saying it will bring down tobacco illnesses and reduce healthcare cost.

A Tennessee judge refused to allow a couple to name their child Messiah has been fired. Judge Lu Ann Ballew made national headlines including right here on NEW DAY last summer when she ordered the baby's named change from Messiah to Martin. In a ruling she said Messiah is a title held only by Jesus Christ. No official reason was given for Ballew's dismissal.

BOLDUAN: Time now for political gut check of the morning. A new report from the Congressional Budget Office says Obamacare may push folks to work less leading to a reduction in the workforce by more than 2 million full time jobs by 2024. Will this give Republicans a new line of attack? You can be sure they are going to try.

CNN's chief national correspondent and host of "INSIDE POLITICS" John King is here to discuss. The number in what the CBO report said is more complex than just the headline. In politics it's all about the headline and the sound bite when you're working on attack.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: If you read the report, either side, whether you're for Obamacare or against it, you can find things in it that make you smile. Republicans say this is a giant, we told you so. Because of the government subsidies, because of what they call government hand-outs some people would reach a point where they say it makes no sense for me to work anymore because it means I lose my subsidies.

They say 2 million more people are going to walk away from the workforce instead of working. Now Team Obama says wait a minute. That's the flexibility we wanted in the law. Mothers can stay home with their children. Fathers could stay home with their children if they want. Someone can go out and start a small business.

You have more flexibility because you have the guarantee of health care. Because of the political status of the law right now, which is not good, Republicans think this is a benefit to them and just watch. Coming soon to a TV ad near you. No question about it.

CUOMO: It seems like they're right, though, John. I mean, because even if you take the Democrats' explanation at its best, it still doesn't explain 2 million workers leaving the force because they'll be replace by job owners. They'll be replace by secondary capacity employment and that number is not there.

<07:40:12>

So it does seem like this is a blow. Did they not see this intended impact? KING: This piece of it is certainly good ammunition for the Republicans. The report also says that the Republicans were wrong, it doesn't say this way, but it says there's no evidence that the law itself is impacting hiring so that businesses aren't making decisions based on the health care law. The CBO also says that was the president's counter argument. It will not drag the economy down, but people will have the choice, do I work full time or part time, do I go over here where I buy it but I get a subsidy maybe from the government.

There's no question that bullet point -- in areas, remember, we're talking -- we usually look at national polls. When you go state by state to where the key congressional races are this year, in most of those places, it is unpopular. The White House will say this. It will say the CBO projects at the end of the year 80 percent of Americans will be covered by healthcare. The president will argue that's what I wanted. That was the point. Obamacare is in way ways in the eye of the beholder.

BOLDUAN: We can see an attack line emerging for Republicans for the midterms. Let's talk about the income inequality argument that Democrats are championing, the president is championing heading into the midterms. A new CNN/ORC poll out shows that majority of Americans say now that the government should work to reduce income gap between rich and poor? What does that tell you? Clearly Democrats did their own polling before they took on this message.

KING: Look, the Democrats would say, we've been on your side. We've been fighting for the little guy for a long time. That's their message. Again, that's a national poll number, but shows you the Republicans do have a problem. If you break it down by party and you ask people who fights for the middle class, who's side are you on when it becomes to the parties.

The Democrats certainly have a better image than the Republicans, and the Republicans acknowledge that's a problem for their brand. That's what the president's going to try to do that. The presidents and the Democrats want to make this about, look, we have a recovering economy, who's here to help you get through these tough times.

They will argue the Republicans don't help you. That's what they want to talk about. Part of it is the effort to change the subject from Obamacare. That will be the tug of war of 2014. Can the Republicans keep it about Obamacare or can the Democrats make it about economic fairness and who is fighting for you? We're in February. Strap in.

BOLDUAN: Yes, exactly. What in the meantime will happen that will distract both parties and gets something (inaudible). John, great to see you. Thanks so much.

Take a break. Coming up next on NEW DAY, the Woody Allen family drama intensifies. The Oscar-nominees, supporters and colleagues come forward defending the director against renewed claims that he abused his daughter.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) <07:46:20>

CUOMO: Welcome back to NEW DAY. Renewed child abuse allegations against Woody Allen from his adopted daughter are now triggering pushback that the allegations are old and false. His adopted daughter saying again that Woody Allen her just 7 years old, so how do you defend against that kind of claims? CNN's Deborah Feyerick joins now with that part of the story -- Deb.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Chris, you know, these abuse charges have to be looked at through the lens of really a spectacular custody fight more than 20 years ago. This was after the relationship between the filmmaker and his ex-leading lady imploded in a dramatic fashion.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK (voice-over): Woody Allen's attorney is firing back against renewed claims the Oscar-winning director sexually abused his adopted daughter.

ELKAN ABRAMOWITZ, WOODY ALLEN'S LAWYER: The sex abuse clinic that the authorities sent the case to investigated the matter totally for six months and determined that Mia Farrow coached Dylan. They also concluded it did not happen that the molestation did not happen.

FEYERICK: In a letter to the "New York Times," Dylan Farrow detailed the sexual abuse she says took place in the family's Connecticut home when she was 7 years old writing, "Woody Allen took me by the hand and led me into a dim closet like attic on the second floor of our house then he sexually assaulted me.

ABRAMOWITZ: Everything that could be done to disapprove those charges was done in an objective way.

WOODY ALLEN, FILMMAKER: We are really doing our best to try and resolve.

FEYERICK: As he did 20 years ago during the couple's bitter custody trial, Allen's lawyer suggested ex-Mia Farrow planted the idea of sexual abuse in the young daughter's mind. A notion disputed by some experts.

ROBI LUDWIG, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: Her coming from a place that this really happened to her. And then if she hears her father denies it or Hollywood look the other way, that is going to feel like a big smack in the face.

PEYERICK: Allen's personal life has tarnished the film maker for decades. He and Mia Farrow separated after 12 years when she discovered Allen was having an affair with her adopted daughter, Sunyi, now, his wife. Farrow says Dylan told her Allen had touched her inappropriately. Allen has maintained his innocence from the very beginning.

ALLEN: The reason the authorities are dropping this case is purely and simply because they know there is no chance they could possibly win it.

FEYERICK: Dylan's family has rallied around her criticizing the Hollywood filmmaker. Mia Farrow tweeting yesterday, I love my daughter. I will always protect her. A lot of ugliness is going to be aimed at me, but this is not about me, it's about her truth.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Now at the time of the alleged abuse, Mia Farrow had videotaped the child describing what happened that day. There were gaps in the tape. In trial, they couldn't see how Mia Farrow was coaching or encouraging the child to describe the story that she told. You heard Woody Allen's lawyer mention that study that was done determining that no sexual abuse had occurred. But still, there's a 7-year-old child who continued to tell a story over special over again about what she said happened that day -- Chris.

BOLDUAN: All right, Deborah, thank you so much. We're going to have much more on this coming up in our next hour. But first let's take another break. Coming up next on NEW DAY, lost at sea for 13 months, he lived to tell his tale, but is the castaway's story true?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

<07:53:29>

BOLDUAN: Welcome back to NEW DAY, an update on the real life castaway we introduced you to Tuesday. A man who said he survived 13 months lost at sea before being washed up nearly 6,000 miles from home. An incredible story but is it true. CNN's Jeanne Moos gets to the bottom of it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNIE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After 13 months adrift without a water supply the apparent castaway was back on land holding a Coke. He spoke through a Spanish translator as if he were talking to aliens, using gesture after gesture to describe dreaming about food and contemplating suicide because he was so hungry. What were the foods he craved most?

JOSE SALVADOR ALVARENGA, CASTAWAY: Tortillo. Eggs. Chicken. Water.

MOOS: He seemed mentally shaken and exhausted. When the light started to fall, he was quick to react. Nobody asked if he talked to anything the way Tom Hanks talked to his volleyball Wilson. When the real castaway, Jose Salvador Alvarenga left Mexico on a one day fishing trip, he was with a teenage fisherman. After their boat was blown off course, Alvarenga said his companion refused to continue eating raw food and eventually died.

Throughout what would be a 5,700 mile journey, Alvarenga said he survived on fish, birds and turtles.

<07:55:00>

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did he catch a turtle?

MOOS: It wasn't exactly like when a flying fish dropped from the skies in "The Life of Pi." Alvarenga says the turtles did come banging against the boat so all he had to do was grab them. Skeptics abound, tweeting out "that's one chubby castaway" and "looks like he's been scoffing turtle burgers and chips."

(on camera): Doctors say he seems to have liver problems and edema, swelling which could make him appear bloated.

(voice-over): But we really don't know what the entire story is true. The hardest part he said was during long periods without rain when he had to resort to drinking his own bodily fluids. He finally washed up on a coral island among the Marshall Islands. He was stark naked when he yelled at two residents.

The BBC quotes witnesses his boat was covered with sea animals with a dead turtle and fish remains inside. During the interview he kept touching his long hair. It wasn't long until the Marshall Islands immigration chief treated him to a haircut and a shave, all that hair, like a bad memory, cast away.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Quite a story.

CUOMO: Cleaned up nice. Cleaner than the story. Story has some holes. They will keep investigating it.

Coming up on NEW DAY, breaking news just coming in, a suspected terrorist behind deadly bombings in Russia taken out two days ahead of the Olympic games. We'll bring you the very latest in a live report

Plus the new CEO of general motors is the first woman to run a major automaker. But it seems her salary has triggered a heated debate over pay inequality. Find out why.

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