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NEW DAY

Cold Weather Hits Southern U.S.; Senate Majority Leader Proposes to Change Bill on Homeland Security Funding; Interview with Sen. Joe Manchin; President Obama, Ash Carter to Meet on ISIS; Interview with Mohamed Tawfik, Ambassador of Egypt to the United States

Aired February 24, 2015 - 08:00   ET

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


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CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: American Airlines jet slides off a taxiway.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: A powerful ice storm crippling the Dallas area this morning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once your car gets out of control, you cannot control it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This political showdown is heading for a shutdown.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't mix partisan politics with the safety and security of the American people.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Unless Congress acts, it will have a direct impact on America's national security.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A medical breakthrough on peanut allergies.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a dramatic change; it's so different from how we used to approach this.

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ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Periera.

CUOMO: Good morning, welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Tuesday, February 24, just before 8:00 in the East.

And we are following breaking developments this morning in the south. The south is in trouble. Overnight, take a look at this, an American Airlines jet sliding off a taxiway at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Hundreds of flights canceled at DFW and Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. They are simply not equipped for this kind of ice and cold, and the hazards are growing. CAMEROTA: There have been hundreds of car accidents blamed on the icy

weather. Just look at this big rig. It's dangling off an interstate in Dallas after the driver lost control and slipped off the road. This morning's commute is sure to be a mess in the southeast.

And this morning, more than 175 million people are feeling this dangerous bone-chilling cold. One of them is our own Martin Savidge. He is in Stephenville, Texas. How cold is it there, Martin?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, it is a stinger. It's a face chiller. And this is the second winter storm that the South's endured in about the span of a week. This is the second day in a row the Texans have found themselves struggling to get to work. It's 25 degrees, but the wind-chill here is in the teens and it's the cold that is the real culprit here.

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SAVIDGE: Breaking overnight, investigators say treacherous icy conditions may have caused this American Airlines MB-80 aircraft to skid off the taxiway. All 68 passengers and crew forced to evacuate from the emergency exit at the back of the plane. More than 1,000 flights cancelled from Dallas's International Airport where up to two inches of sleet and freezing rain fell. Drivers losing control, paralyzed by ice blanketing the roadways.

NINO ARZON, DALLAS DRIVER: There's a path that the cars have made, and I just kind of followed those paths.

SAVIDGE: Officials closing all Dallas independent school districts as the police department says they've responded to hundreds of ice accidents.

KRUNEL PATEL, DRIVER: I know that once, you know, your car gets out of control you cannot control it.

SAVIDGE: Take a look at this big rig hanging precariously off a bridge in a Dallas interstate after hitting an icy patch, the driver making it out alive, but police say they'll have to use a crane to remove the 18-wheeler.

Meanwhile, the deadly roadways actually bring the community together. Dozens of good Samaritans with SUVs and four wheel drives scoured the icy roads overnight looking for stranded motorists and hauling them to safety.

JOE TOREZ, DALLAS GOOD SAMARITAN: Not very many people do it these days and it's kind of one of those deals where you just want to get out and help random people.

SAVIDGE: This is dangerous levels of snow and ice --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hang on.

SAVIDGE: -- continue to accumulate across the country. Winter storm warnings and watches stretch now nearly 3,000 miles from California to the Carolinas.

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SAVIDGE: Speaking of which, a winter weather advisory has just gone into effect for Dallas and this part of Texas as well, only this time they're expecting not so much ice but snow. Chris?

CUOMO: Not making it better, and I will take the speed of your gesture as a symbol of how long this is going to take. Martin, thank you for being out there in the cold for us. We'll check back with you. The question is, how much can the southeast take? What is on the way?

Meteorologist Chad Myers knows the answers to both. Tell us, my friend.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Chris, the storm that put down the snow and ice in Dallas is now over the Carolinas and north Georgia. It will move out later on this morning, it's done. But probably three to four inches of snow in some spots and making Charlotte or Asheville or Knoxville commute pretty tough this morning.

There's this storm. That's today. That's what we're going to see if you're not already seeing it. It will move away. The next storm developing out towards Mexico, moves across and south of Dallas spreading that snow all the way from Dallas through Tupelo, Little Rock, Memphis, big snows, four inches, maybe six inches in cities that don't get four on average for an entire year. This will just be one storm. The storm is in the Gulf of Mexico. It'll grab some of that gulf moisture and dump it up here across the northern sections of the storm. That's where the snow will be. There will also be some ice just to the south of this band. But you're seeing two to four inches anywhere from north of Dallas, Sherman, Dennison, right through Memphis and all the way across to Knoxville and Raleigh, maybe even as far north as Hampton Roads. Yes, more coming in places that don't like it. I know no one seems to like it, but the south likes it even less.

CAMEROTA: Just listening to your forecast makes me cold.

CUOMO: Right. Liking it is a given, right? Handling it, having the wherewithal, having the resolve.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: We're used to it here.

CUOMO: Right.

PEREIRA: Not so much there.

All right, let's talk politics. Could there be a thaw on Capitol Hill? I'm running with the metaphor. Three days and counting until funding for the Department of Homeland Security runs dry. The Senate failing for a fourth last night to pass a bill that would keep the department operating. But now there may be a plan by the Senate majority leader to lead to a break in this stalemate. Let's bring in CNN's senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta. Tell us about the plan. JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Alisyn, it

will be a cold day in Washington when they let part of this government shutdown. Oh, wait. Yes, you know what, reality is starting to set in and the clock is ticking. The president, the White House, the Department of Homeland Security, they're all warning Congress that if the Department of Homeland Security does not have funding by this Friday, that department will shut down.

Let's show you the impact and what that will mean. Some 30,000 workers in DHS will be furloughed. They would not be allowed to report to work. More than 100,000 would have to work with no pay. They won't be happy about that. And the impacts will be across the department, border security, TSA at the airport, and Secret Service who protect the president will all be impacted. The president said yesterday to the governors who were in town for a big meeting that there could be an economic impact as well. Here's what he had to say.

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BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Unless Congress acts, one week from now more than 100,000 DHS employees, border patrol, port inspectors, TSA agents will show up to work without getting paid. Now, they all work in your states. These are folks who if they don't have a paycheck are not going to be able to spend that money in your states. It will have a direct impact on your economy, and it will have a direct impact on America's national security, because their hard work helps to keep us safe.

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ACOSTA: Now the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell has a plan. He would strip the immigration language from the DHS funding Bill and have two separate bills. That would allow Republicans to cast a protest against the president's immigration executive action and also fund the Department of Homeland Security at the same time. The question, of course, Alisyn and Chris, does this get through the House? Will the clock strike midnight on Friday and the Department of Homeland Security will shut down? Stay tuned. It's Washington. It's only Tuesday. You know, there's a lot of time left, so we'll see what happens.

CUOMO: If only it didn't matter so much. Jim Acosta, thank you so much.

Let's bring in Senator Joe Manchin. He's a Democrat from West Virginia on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Good to have you on NEW DAY, Senator, as always.

SEN. JOE MANCHIN, (D) WEST VIRGINIA: Good to be with you, Chris.

CUOMO: So let me hold you to account for your team in this fight. The authorization for the use of military force, we'll put up a poll if we can. And 78 percent of the people say Congress should give the president authority to use force against ISIS. That means only 21 percent say no. Your own party is pushing back against its president. Why? MANCHIN: First of all, the 2001 AUMF is still in play so the

president has all the power that he needs to do whatever to fight terrorists all over the world. So the 2002 basically that we talked about repealing is only the AUMF that dealt with Iraq. This new one is to deal with Syria and ISIS. So with that being said, if you're going to repeal, repeal 2001 and 2002, and let's get a direct AUMF if this is what we're going to do.

I don't believe it's need. I really don't. I believe with 2001 in place we have the ability, the president has the ability to fight terrorists any way, any shape, any form, anyplace in the world.

CUOMO: But why resist at all? You're dealing with a new enemy. That's from 2001 when it was an entirely different war you could argue. You could argue it isn't. But he's putting through a plan, you're in his party, he says do this for me, and now you're holding it up.

MANCHIN: Well, here's the thing, Chris. I've been very clear, and I've said in West Virginia we understand the definition of insanity. Keep doing the same thing over if you think you'll get a different result. That's insanity. We've been in ground wars. We've been hunkered down in occupation for 10, 12, 13 years in Iraq and Afghanistan. I don't believe that that is the pathway to take. So I've been opposed to putting ground troops, if you will.

CUOMO: Right.

MANCHIN: The definition of ground troops is you put special force, special ops, things of that sort to be effective in our ground support, our air support, how we are effective and efficient.

CUOMO: But you know that this war, ultimately -- look, I know I'm speaking out of school here. I know that this isn't officially being said, but you see what's happening on the ground. The idea that this comes to a good or beneficial conclusion from the perspective of the coalition without U.S. forces on the ground is very remote. So don't you have to just kind of grasp that reality and either move forward or not?

MANCHIN: You also have to grasp the reality, Chris, that, basically, do you think it will be any different with ground people, or ground forces, the United States ground forces there in Syria than it was in Iraq and Afghanistan?

With that being said, if they're not willing to enter the fight, if they're not willing to fight and die for their country, the Arab leagues, the Arab nations around there, if the Saudis won't get involved -- the Jordanians have shown they will. I heard this type of reply back, the Jordanians had one pilot, that horrific, horrific tragedy for that pilot and look how they engaged.

I said, wait a minute, over 12 years we've lost 6,600 Americans lost their lives. Over $2.5 trillion of our treasury has spent. The Americans have given everything we can. It's time for them to get involved. The Turks need to get involved. They all need to get involved. And basically the only people we have willing to fight and are effective in fighting is the Kurds, the Peshmerga. So they do a great job. And we should support those who want to fight and defend, and secure our borders to keep them from coming here. That's why it's important to have a Homeland Security funding bill.

CUOMO: OK, good. Good segue. Thank you for that, senator. So now we go to that situation. Let's put up that poll if we can. If DHS shuts down, who deserves blame? Obama, 30 percent, GOP and Congress 53 percent, both 13 percent. You know what, I think that that poll is of course accurate, but I'm not going to go with it. I'm going to say I'll blame your party as well, senator, and here's why. Mitch McConnell, the leader, is giving you a good deal. He's saying I'll break out immigration. I'll break it out. His party doesn't want to do that. You know they want to link the two.

MANCHIN: Sure.

CUOMO: Should Democrats fly forward and make sure that this happens and not wait until the deadline? Don't play with DHS.

MANCHIN: I agree with you. We should not play with DHS.

CUOMO: But you are playing with DHS, your party, not you.

MANCHIN: OK, I'm not. But the bottom line is I don't like these games being played. I never have. I've been here for four years and I think you've heard me speak out openly and independently against. I'm an American. I put my country before my party, before my politics. I'm going to continue to do that.

We need to have a clean DHS, Department of Homeland Security funding bill. I've said that. Don't play politics with it. So now Mitch McConnell is going to pull that out separately. I appreciate that. I support that wholeheartedly. I also think that basically the repeal of the president's executive orders, there's been a court ruling now, a judge has a temporary injunction. I agree that the president went over. He overstepped his boundaries.

CUOMO: You think the president of the United States executive orders were out of line?

MANCHIN: I do. And I will vote against those orders basically if we have to vote on it. So I will be voting with the Republicans on that issue there. And --

CUOMO: You're going to do that even though your party's going to get angry at you and you will not get as many invitations to nice things?

MANCHIN: The bottom line is I'm going to do what I think is right. I know in West Virginia, I go home and I speak to my constituents regularly. And I can tell you, we've got a lot of common sense in West Virginia. It's not common up here but it is common in West Virginia.

So Chris, basically, you have got to put politics aside. The president didn't even think he had the authority basically before that. The courts have said I don't think you do and it's enough for us to look at it and create an injunction. I believe that basically we should be working together. The president, we have passed a good immigration bill. I support a total reform of the immigration system and I voted for it, bipartisan, very good bipartisan. The House has got to get its hands around, and 11, 12, 13 million people here need to basically pay a fine, need to tighten the borders down, need to get in line and become American citizens, pay their taxes, get involved in this process.

CUOMO: So do you think that DHS stays open?

MANCHIN: I do. I do.

CUOMO: Good.

MANCHIN: In West Virginia I've got 600 people that work for DHS in my little state.

CUOMO: Sure.

MANCHIN: First of all, 85 will be furloughed. That means no job. The rest of them will be working without a paycheck. That's just unconscionable. In this great country for us to let politics to become this toxic and all we're asking, let's fund DHS by itself. We're going to do that. Let's vote separately since the Republicans need a vote on did the president overstep his boundaries. Do you believe it should be repealed, his executive orders on immigration? I'm willing to vote on that. I've said that. That's a simple, easy way to vote. And if you want to play party lines, play party linings. I'm going to look at the merits of both and vote accordingly.

CUOMO: Senator Joe Manchin, you're a big man. I've seen you on the ground handling difficult situations are the governor of West Virginia. You are staking a very bold position right now, sir. And we'll be looking forward to seeing how it plays out. Thank you for coming on NEW DAY.

MANCHIN: Always interested in talking with you, Chris, and thank you for your kindness.

CUOMO: All right. Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: OK, Chris, Russian President Vladimir Putin says there will be no war with neighboring Ukraine. He says he is sticking to the cease-fire. This as Kiev says pro-Russian rebels are invading. So Ukraine troops say they are keeping their weapons in the area just in case.

PEREIRA: Remember this horrifying video? Two teens from Indiana slamming into a building and power lines in Florida after their parasailing tow lines snapped. They eventually crashed into a car. They both suffered life-changing injuries, including severe brain damages in fact leaving them reading at about a fourth grade level. Now a settlement has been reached for the parasailing operator and the other businesses. The attorney for the teens says the girls will, quote, "live comfortably for the rest of their lives." CUOMO: Say what you want about Bill O'Reilly, but no this -- he's got

no quit in him. He is doubling down. Monday night he played CBS News footage from 1982 showing violent protests in the aftermath of the Falklands War in Buenos Aires. Now, does that make it a warzone? Does that mean it was combat? Does that mean he was accurate about his reporting?

That's not such a clear question. He says though, however, that he never stretched the truth about his reporting. He said that he never said he reported from the Falkland Islands, just on the Falkland's war.

CAMEROTA: He did say that he was in a war zone, yes?

CUOMO: Yes, he did.

CAMEROTA: He said he was in a war zone so the question is does a police riot equal a war zone.

CUOMO: That's the easy question because obviously the answer is no. What it comes down to is did he exaggerate the relevance of what he was seeing and why he was doing it. Remember, he also insulted a lot of other correspondents saying they were hiding in the hotel when he wasn't. That's going to make you no friends.

PEREIRA: People don't like that. If you assault them they'll be quick to go after you to find your own discrepancies.

CUOMO: I know he's not Brian Williams. I know it's news versus opinion, I get it, FOX versus NBC. People are defending him in a way that I did not see with Brian Williams.

CAMEROTA: Oh, yes, people are huge O'Reilly fans.

CUOMO: Williams has fans too.

CAMEROTA: Devoted following, I would say, Bill O'Reilly has, more than a lot of people. We'd love to know what you think about all of this.

CUOMO: Tweet us.

CAMEROTA: You can tweet us, tweet me @alisyncamerota. I'll read them.

Meanwhile, Egypt's president calling for the creation of a United Arab force to fight ISIS. But what would that force look like? What would it do? We'll break it down for you.

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CAMEROTA: No rest for President Obama's new defense secretary. Just after returning from his trip overseas, Ash Carter meets with the president at the White House and ISIS is front and center of that conversation.

CNN's Barbara Starr is live at the Pentagon. What do we know, Barbara?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

Ash Carter expected to land in Washington, in the coming hours go to the White House and meet with the president. Ash carter on his way back from Kuwait where he met with his top generals to talk about the war against ISIS. He said to listen to them, get their ideas, have a discussion about it.

But are there really any new ideas about what to do? Carter came out of that meeting saying there were elements of a strategy. That strategy's been underway for some time. That he learned that it's going to take a military and diplomatic solution. He learned that ISIS is not invincible. For now, it doesn't sound very new to a lot of people.

What is front and center right now and very much behind the scenes is a recommendation will there be a recommendation for U.S. troops on the ground with the Iraqis in the coming weeks when they move to try to fight to retake Mosul from ISIS, Iraq's second largest city.

The Pentagon has said if there is a recommendation from the U.S. generals, they will have to consider it. So, will Carter get a recommendation? Will he forward it to President Obama? Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: Those are huge questions, Barbara. You're right. Thanks so much for spelling all of that out.

And the ongoing efforts to fight is also includes Egypt's president calling for a unified Arab force taking on the terrorist group.

We are joined to talk about this by Mohamed Tawfik. He is the ambassador of Egypt to the United States.

Good morning, Mr. Ambassador.

AMB. MOHAMED TAWFIK, EGYPTIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: Good morning, Alisyn. It's good to be with you on the show.

CAMEROTA: Let's talk about what President al Sisi is calling for, this united Arab force. Can you describe this for us? What countries would be involved? Would they have boots on the ground? What would they be trying to accomplish?

TAWFIK: I think the president was expressing his vision about the challenges that are facing the Arab world and about how we need to work collectively as Arabs to confront them. As to the details on how this would actually work, it depends on our consultations with our partners in the Arab world.

CUOMO: I mean -- so, it sounds like you're saying this sounds more like a pipe dream than an actual plan he's putting in place.

TAWFIK: No, that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying this is a vision. It's not a vision for Egypt on its own. Egypt on its own is acting and is really on the front line in this confrontation with the terrorists, but it's a vision for collective action and that requires consultation with our partners.

CUOMO: Could there be a scenario in which there are boots on the ground in Iraq from being led by this Arab force?

TAWFIK: Well, it's really difficult for me to go into these hypothetical situations. What I can say is that we are part of this international coalition, part of the Arab effort and as Egypt we're going to do the best we can, but we're also going to play a leadership role in the regional efforts to confront these terrorists and extremists.

CUOMO: As you know, after ISIS beheaded more than a dozen Egyptian Christians in Libya, Egypt met with airstrikes. They went after ISIS in Libya with airstrikes quite forcefully.

"The New York Times" though thinks that that was a bad move. They wrote in an editorial that Egypt should not get involved in that way. Let me read it to you. Egypt, the most populous Arab nation, cannot afford to get bogged down in a war in Libya. There are staggering challenges at home including reviving a battered economy and combating a domestic insurgency.

The United States could well be dragged into this fight if Egypt makes wrong choices and worsens an already explosive situation. Is there any regret about those airstrikes in Libya?

TAWFIK: Absolutely not. I think the Egyptian people are 100 percent in support of the president in his decision. We cannot stand by and let our people be killed in this barbaric way and do nothing about it.

Now, how to deal with this issue of ISIS in Libya, that's a big question and it's a challenge not only to Egypt but to the international community. And what we are saying is we support the U.N. efforts to reach a national unity government in Libya, but at the same time we have to take action against ISIS, against these terrorists.

We cannot just say that because we're going to reach an agreement -- a political agreement because we would like to reach a political agreement, these terrorists are suddenly going to disappear. They're not. We have to deal with them. And it is incumbent upon us as an international community to prevent ISIS from expanding in Libya, from taking control of the country or of large parts of the country and once that happens, it's going to be much, much more difficult to deal with the situation.

CAMEROTA: But it sounds like what the "New York Times" is saying is that Egypt has too many of its own problems and challenges to effectively fight ISIS, particularly financial problems at home.

TAWFIK: Well, Egypt's economy is on the rise. We are seeing substantial rates of growth. Our unemployment figures are still high but on the decline, so we are doing fine. I mean, we're in the right direction. But at the same time we have regional responsibility to our own people and to the whole region. And we will not shirk away from our responsibilities. CAMEROTA: I know that you're trying to address some of these

financial problems with an economic summit. What's the goal?

TAWFIK: Well, the goal of that summit really is to remind everyone in the world of the opportunities that exist in Egypt.

Egypt's economy is robust. The potential is unlimited. This is the time to invest in Egypt. This is the time to do business with Egypt, and this is the time to show support for Egypt because at the end of the day, Egypt's stability means the stability of the whole region.

CAMEROTA: Ambassador Mohamed Tawfik, thanks so much for taking time for NEW DAY.

TAWFIK: Thank you very much.

CAMEROTA: Let's go over to Chris.

CUOMO: All right. Alisyn, we have two big medical stories. A super bug is spreading. That is no hype. The question is, did medical officials know a certain piece of equipment could cause this problem and use it anyway? And, is there an answer to peanut allergies? A new study says yes. Sanjay Gupta is here to give you the bottom line.

PEREIRA: And imagine this -- she was all set to audition for a superstar when the unexpected happened. One of Bill Cosby's accusers speaking out in a special CNN report.

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