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NEW DAY SUNDAY

New Video Out Of Iraq May Show Elusive ISIS Leader; Tyler Perry Trademarks WWJD; Aaron Hernandez Back in Court; Sirius XM Pulls Plug on Anthony Cumia

Aired July 6, 2014 - 07:30   ET

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


ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: Number two, 11 people died and one survived when a small plane belonging to a private parachute school crashed in Poland this weekend. That's according to state news, who say the 40- year-old survivor is in serious but stable condition. The cause of the crash wasn't immediately known.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Number three, four people were killed and as many as 12 others injured after a boat crashed near Miami. It happened on Friday. The collision happened after a Fourth of July fireworks show there over the bay, and officials say three boats were involved and that boaters may have been rushing to get back to shore when that crash occurred. There were also several children who were among those injured.

KOSIK: Number four, the search is on in southern California for the wife of a U.S. Marine. Nineteen-year-old Erin Corwin has been missing for a week. She's three months pregnant. Her husband, Marine Corporal Jonathan Wayne Corwin reported Erin missing. She was last seen headed from her home to the Joshua Tree National Park. Authorities reportedly have raised the possibility of foul play.

BLACKWELL: Number five, a swimmer in California lucky to be alive. Some might call it more than luck after he was attacked by a great white shark on California's popular Manhattan Beach. So the attack happened yesterday after fishermen on the pier hooked that shark. A swimmer came by at the absolute wrong time. Was bitten there on the torso. Is now home after being treated at a local hospital.

KOSIK: Now to Iraq where new video purports to snow the elusive and notorious leader of the Islamic group known as ISIS.

BLACKWELL: A witness recalled a terrifying scene when this man, Abu Bakar al Baghdadi burst into Friday prayers at mosque in Mosul along with a horde of gunmen. Well, at least this is the person that people believe is Baghdadi.

Now, if this video is authentic, it would be one of the first known appearances of the militant leader who once was held by the U.S.

KOSIK: Joining us now is retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Mark Hertling. He commanded the U.S. half force Iron in Northern Iraq from 2007-2009. Good morning to you, General. What do you think it says to you at least, about ISIS, its control of Iraq, that Baghdadi has been in hiding for so long but may now be putting himself out there in the public spotlight?

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Well, good morning, Alison and Victor. I think this is a very important step on his part because it shows that he understands the messaging campaign. He's trying to get the word out that they are consolidating in northern Iraq. I think the impromptu approach of barging into a mosque, if that is in fact what happened, shows that he's willing to show the people of Mosul and other places that he's in control. They are trying to be in control.

I think it's messaging. It's part of today's battlefield, you not only have to win the fights, but you have to get the word out.

BLACKWELL: Does this speak at all, is it any commentary, on the U.S. control of the situation or knowledge of the situation in Iraq, that he could go in Mosul? In this type of spectacle?

HERTLING: I don't think so, Victor. I don't think that's an implication in that regard. I mean, we've known for several weeks that he has expanded his control in the northern territories, Mosul, Tikrit, some of the other big cities. So I think this is more of him getting the message to his followers that his organization, along with this Sunni tribes that are supporting him, are gaining control.

I think he may overstep his bounds, though, in the near future by doing some things like this. There have been reports of destruction of religious shrines and mosques. There was films of explosions of minerettes. And I think he may overplay his hand a little bit by taking control completely.

I have to reassert the fact that 90 percent of the Iraqi people are really good people. And this guy is attempting to impose his will, which is somewhat evil, on people who just want to make a living and see their children grow up. So I want to restate that, that this is an interesting approach by a man who has got a very evil ideology.

KOSIK: Let's go ahead and shift to the U.S. mission in Iraq. The White House announced this week that it's boosting the number of troops deployed to help secure the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and the nearby airport. Joint Chiefs Chairman General Martin Dempsey insisted this is not an echo of Vietnam. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. MARTIN DEMPSEY, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: There is this kind of narrative of mission creep. That's the wrong phrase. The issue is mission match. We willl match the resources we apply with the authorities and responsibilities that go with them based on the mission we undertake. That is to be determined.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: What do you think about the increased troop level? Do you think it suggest as deeper U.S. involvement than the administration is actually suggesting? HERTLING: I don't right now, Alison. I think General Dempsey's

statements are typically in line with what a military commander would be doing right now. We're holding all options open. That's what he has to do, and he has to present options to the president.

So his main missions right now, I think the military main mission, is to protect American citizens in Iraq, specifically in Baghdad and in other places where they might be. And secondly, to gain an assessment of what's going on, to find out more about the enemy. And then the third mission, really, is to give advice to the Iraqi soldiers and leaders who are commanding the fight. These are the things that the U.S. mission is doing there.

And when we talk about maybe increased levels, we're not talking about a significant increase. It sounds like a lot when there was the initial statement of hey, we're going to have 300 and now it look likes 600, perhaps a thousand. But those soldiers and various forces are there to do specific things, and he's making an assessment continually in terms of how do we increase that to make sure we're protecting American citizens and how are we advising others.

KOSIK: Okay, retired Army lieutenant general Mark Hertling, thank you.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, sir.

HERTLING: Thank you, Alison. Thank you, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Hey, you know the phrase, WWJD, what would Jesus do?

KOSIK: Yep, I've heard of it.

BLACKWELL: Well, it appears that Tyler Perry now has control of the trademark of WWJD. So maybe the better question is what will Tyler Perry do? Plus this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Has he been living under a rock for 10 years that he doesn't know that things you do on the Internet by yourself, unencumbered from your station, are going to have a much, much different repercussion than those you might do on the air?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: And Sirius Radio fires a popular shock jock. But is the termination really all that shocking?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: What would Jesus do?

KOSIK: I don't know. What would he do?

BLACKWELL: I don't know. Maybe we should ask Tyler Perry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)) TYLER PERRY, ACTOR/PRODUCER: Hey, Judge! Oh, girl, your hair is so pretty. Who doing your hair? Lord have mercy. How you doing?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mabel Simmons, you come before me more than you go to the doctor for a check-up.

PERRY: Listen, I change my life. You ain't got to say nothing. I'm living for the Lord. I am living for the Lord. I am living for the Lord.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Medea may be living for the Lord, but now her creator, Tyler Perry, owns a little bit of it, trademarking the phrase "What would Jesus do?".

BLACKWELL: Hey, you know the phrase. It's been popular on bracelet and T-shirts since the 90s, but should anyone really own it? To discuss, we're joined by branding expert Michael RamaH and criminal defense attorney Janet Johnson. Good to have both of you.

JANET JOHNSON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Good morning, guy.

KOSIK: Janet, let's start with you. Janet, why register this? It's such a common phrase now, both inside and outside the church. Why feel a need to protect it?

JOHNSON: Because you're a genius and you're Tyler Perry. And that's why he is Tyler Perry and we're not. This is an expression that's been around since the 1800s. But what trademark does is you can use it in a title, in a movie, in a TV show.

You know, look at Kellogg's. They trademarked "It's great" or "They're great." They also have a trademark on mothers. That doesn't mean I can't say mother, but if I try to sell a product by using that expression or that word, then I'm in trouble. And that's what he's doing. He's going to sell a TV show, he's going to promote something that's going to have that title in it.

BLACKWELL: So Michael, does this give him the right, I guess, to go after people who are wearing the bracelets or creating the bracelets? Not individuals, but if he wants to start this new franchise WWJD, he can go after people who aren't using it the way he approves of?

MICHAEL RAMAH, BRANDING EXPERT: I suppose he could go after them. But the question is, why would he need to, or why would he? He is a brilliant marketer; he understands perfectly what he's doing right now. Witness we're here today. The first kickoff move is a public relations coup for him to talk about what would Jesus do becomes what would Tyler do?

So I think the question is as we've just said: what is he going to do with it? Where will he own it? And how tightly is he going to control it really is going to depend on where it's going to reside in the broader picture of what his empire looks like right now. KOSIK: Janet, with this there's bound to be some confusion here. What

does it mean for the average person who wants to wear a "what would Jesus do" bracelet or T-shirt like we've seen all over the place?

JOHNSON: It means nothing. I mean, he actually said in his filing he's not trying to trademark the word Jesus, which thanks, Tyler, that's big of you. But you know, it really doesn't mean anything. If I launch a TV show and I call it WWJD, then Tyler Perry is going after me. But if I'm wearing a bracelet or a T-shirt, not only won't he because he said he wouldn't, I don't think he could do it. And the important thing is that he does nothing with it, then it doesn't matter. Then you know, he can't actually go after anybody because he has to use it in a project.

BLACKWELL: Are the rules governing -- I don't know if these are written anywhere, Michael, but the rules governing monetizing faith and religion and Jesus especially, are they different as they be compared to anything else? I mean, is there a thin line of taste in this arena?

RAMAH: Well, you hit upon it. Whether the rules are written or not is a question of how far do you want to push it and what's appropriate usage of it. There are certainly guidelines and laws, and I defer to my colleague on the legal aspects of that. But there's the domain, the public domain usage of this and how much he wants to push the boundaries.

I don't think we're going to see inappropriate use. I think probably if he follows character, we'll see brilliant use. This is a man who gets marketing and gets branding probably better than many in his field.

BLACKWELL: All right. Michael Ramah, Janet Johnson, WWJD. We shall see what Tyler Perry does with it. Thank you both.

JOHNSON: Thanks, guys.

KOSIK: So are you a fan of the show Scandal?

BLACKWELL: You know I am.

KOSIK: It turns out one of the show's stars just ran into a bit of scandal himself.

BLACKWELL, And when a shock jock lashes out, should anyone be surprised? (INAUDIBLE) issues around Opie and Anthony.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: From famed football player to accused murderer. The fall of former New England Patriots' tight end Aaron Hernandez could be one of the biggest falls from grace in sports history.

KOSIK: This week Hernandez is expected to appear back in court and what he is up against is bigger than any challenge he faced on the field. CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti has more.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Alison and Victor, good morning.

Accused murderer Aaron Hernandez is expected in court twice in the coming days to challenge prosecutors and the New England Patriots.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Aaron Hernandez flashes an occasional smile while his lawyers fight tooth and nail to drop a first-degree murder charge in the execution style murder of Odin Lloyd. Hernandez has pleaded not guilty.

JAMIE SULTAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think that the grand jury could find, based on drawing out inferences, as it must be drawn, the light must be the rule of Commonwealth, that Mr. Hernandez was present when Mr. Lloyd was killed. Yes, I think that they have enough to say that, but that just not -- is not enough to make him a voluntary deliberate participant in that killing.

CANDIOTTI: The defense also wants a judge to throw out evidence seized from Hernandez's home arguing the search warrant was not properly served. That could include Hernandez's own home security video which shows Hernandez holding what prosecutors believe is the murder weapon. It's never been found.

On Monday the trial judge is also expected to rule on the defense request to move Hernandez to a different jail so he can be closer to his lawyers. Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to assaulting a fellow prisoner where he is now.

On Wednesday the defense is taking aim at the New England Patriots. Hernandez wants the court subpoena to force his old team to turn over any medical and psychological information that, quote, "may bear upon his physical and mental state prior to Lloyd's murder."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: Legal experts say this indicates his lawyers might be considering a diminished capacity defense. Meaning he didn't know right from wrong -- Alison and Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right, Susan Candiotti, thank you.

KOSIK: It may be time for former "Scandal" star Columbus Short to call in Olivia Pope. The actor was arrested Saturday in Dallas for public intoxication. This isn't his first run-in with the law. Short was arrested back in March for allegedly punching a patron at an L.A. restaurant. And in April Short's wife accused him of threatening to kill her.

Short's publicist declined to comment on the latest incident. Short has already announced he won't be returning for season four. BLACKWELL: A veteran police officer shot in a gun battle last night

passed away at an Indiana hospital. Patrolman Perry Renn exchanged gunfire with an armed suspect and wounded the assailant but emergency crews were not able to save him.

According to affiliate WXIN the suspect is in critical condition and has been preliminarily charged with murder.

KOSIK: Anthony Cumia, part of a popular Sirius XM show "Anthony and Opie" was fired for a racially charged rant on Twitter.

BLACKWELL: Well, after allegedly being attacked by an African- American woman in Times Square, the often controversial radio host sent a series of profanity laced tweets. Calling the woman, among other things, an animal. And ranted about violence in the black community.

KOSIK: Apparently most of the tweets in question, they have been taken down but Cumia promised to address the story online in the coming days.

CNN's Alexandra Field is following this story.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alison and Victor, what Anthony Cumia says on the air may sometimes surprise you. This time he wasn't on the job but his former employer, Sirius XM, still says it was enough to cross the line.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOSIK (voice-over): They are the shock jocks fans love to hate.

ANTHONY CUMIA, RADIO HOST: You're checking out the "Opie and Anthony Show."

OPIE, RADIO HOST: Hey, thanks for being there, people. Our first day on XM Satellite Radio.

FIELD: But after 20 years together on the air, "Opie and Anthony" are no more.

OPIE: Once it's over, it's over.

CUMIA: It's over.

FIELD: Sirius XM pulling the plug on Anthony Cumia this week for his seemingly hate-filled remarks on Twitter after he claimed an African- American woman punched him in New York's Times Square.

(On camera): If you're out here in Times Square it's almost impossible to take a picture without someone getting in the frame. Cumia says, that's what he was doing on Wednesday night when a woman who didn't want to be photographed got in the picture. After that he says that she assaulted him.

(Voice-over): That's when Cumia took to social media. Now his actions and subsequent firing have some brand experts shaking their heads.

PETER SHANKMAN, MEDIA ANALYST: It is amazing. Has he been living under a rock for 10 years that he doesn't know that things you do on the Internet by yourself, unencumbered from your station, are going to have a much, much different repercussion than those that you might do on the air?

FIELD: Media watchers say there's always risk involved when a company puts a personality like Cumia on the payroll.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Sirius knew exactly what they were getting. They knew what they were buying when they hired these guys years ago.

CUMIA: Cops just walk around to make sure nobody is shooting or stabbing someone.

FIELD: Ironically the day before the incident and that Twitter rant, Cumia was talking about crime in New York City on his radio show.

CUMIA: But for the most part, it's anything goes out there. It's like Thunder dome out there.

FIELD: Cumia's immediate firing now generating a few mixed reviews.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He knew what he was doing in a public forum and that's the reality today with social media and such. So I'm not surprised that he ended up fired.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She attacked him first. So -- I mean, he didn't do anything to her. Hurting her by words but she was wrong.

FIELD: In a statement to CNN, Sirius XM says about Cumia's firing in part, quote, "After careful consideration of his racially charged and hate-filled remarks on social media, those remarks and postings are abhorrent to Sirius XM and his behavior is wholly inconsistent with what Sirius XM represents."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD: CNN has tried to reach out to Cumia, our calls have not been returned. He did, however, tweet Friday pointing out the fact that he was fired for something that he didn't say on air and that wasn't illegal. Those posts have now been taken down -- Alison, Victor.

KOSIK: Alexandra Field, thanks.

You know, so many, so many different opinions on this story.

BLACKWELL: Yes, and it's happening a lot more often I guess because people have Twitter, I mean, and social media.

KOSIK: I've had my issues with Twitter.

BLACKWELL: Yes. And we were talking about Twitter in the break. Sometimes I just say, it's Twitter.

KOSIK: Yes.

BLACKWELL: It's just Twitter.

KOSIK: People hide behind it and sometimes say what they want to say.

BLACKWELL: Anonymously.

KOSIK: Yes.

BLACKWELL: It's one of the most difficult races in the world and one man's triumph means, well, he's got more than he expected.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT KENNEY, MARATHONER: Perseverance, just to finish what I couldn't start that day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Hear his amazing story and how no one thought he'd even be here today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: Now for "The Good Stuff," the part of the show where we tell you about some of the good news out there and there is some.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Out in California to find good news. A grandmother out of an intensive care unit this morning thanks to the quick thinking of her heroic granddaughter.

Kendall Stillwell was spending the night in the home of her grandmother Rita Lovato when the 72-year-old woman stopped breathing and that's when Kendall took action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENDALL STILLWELL, SAVED HER GRANDMOTHER: I was in bed and I heard these weird noises so I turned my head and it was nana and she was drenched in sweat. So then I turned her over then ran to her side and started to do CPR. I was doing chest compressions. I was counting like one, two, three, four.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: She's pretty awesome.

BLACKWELL: Good job.

KOSIK: Kendall says her nana taught her CPR just in case anything ever happened to her or her grandfather. Doctors say the CPR that she did saved the woman's life.

BLACKWELL: All right. So let's talk about this triumphant return.

KOSIK: Two years ago Matt Kenney almost died when he was competing in Mount Marathon in Seward, Alaska.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENNEY: Perseverance, just -- just to finish what I couldn't start that day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: So this is one of the most difficult races in the world, runners go up and down 3,000 feet on the mountain.

BLACKWELL: Yes, but Kenney never made it to the finish line back on July 4th, 2012. He slipped and fell more than 30 feet, suffered a traumatic brain injury.

After months of grueling rehabilitation, we know that comes with TBI, he came back to Mt. Marathon this July 4th, that's this weekend, and his wife cheered him to victory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So proud of him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: And Kenney finished the race in two hours, 21 minutes, 26 seconds that, beat the time limit by more than eight minutes.

BLACKWELL: Good there.

KOSIK: Pretty darn amazing.

Pit bulls, they've earned a reputation as mean dogs to some but these two have lit up the web with their friendship.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I happened to have a couple friends here and we were walking by a kennel and we just saw them just laying together and hugging each other, and it was just a perfect photo-op. When you get him out in the yard, you can see them play ball, they like to cuddle together, play together.

We have been getting many phone calls, many e-mails and we would hope that we could get more people to come in and see them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: They're Delaware and Kyra or Kyra. The two are at the Fulton County shelter here in Georgia. Amazingly, they had never met before they came to the shelter but now inseparable.

KOSIK: Want to adopt them? If you're interested or any other pet, you could reach out to the shelter online.

Thanks for starting your morning with us. BLACKWELL: Next hour of your NEW DAY continues right now.

KOSIK: Good morning, I'm Alison Kosik. I'm in this morning for Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell, pleasure as always to be with you, 8:00 here now on the East Coast.

This is NEW DAY SUNDAY and first this morning new images of the Florida teenager who was allegedly beaten up by Israeli Police Forces in Jerusalem.