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NEW DAY SATURDAY

Source: Thirteen-Year-Old Arrested in Death of New York College Student; Family of Child Who Died on Royal Caribbean Ship Sues Cruise Line; Bomb Cyclone to Hit East Coast with Snow and Heavy Rains. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired December 14, 2019 - 06:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEO)

[06:00:00]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Nadler?

REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY): Aye.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ms. Jackson Lee?

REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D-TX): Aye.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ms. Jayapal?

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): Aye.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Gohmert?

REP. LOUIE GOHMERT (R-TX): My vote is no.

NADLER: For the third time in a little over a century and a half, the House Judiciary Committee has voted articles of impeachment against the president.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're defending the Constitution and we're defending the integrity of the 2020 president election.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To use the power of impeachment on this nonsense is an embarrassment to this country.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: The North Korean state media are announcing what it calls another successful, quote, crucial test.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's promised a Christmas gift. He's promised a year of end deadline for the U.S. to change its attitude, so we really feel like we're going back to familiar territory here.

(END VIDEO)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY WEEKEND with Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul. VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good Saturday morning to you. Good to be with you. President Trump is now just one step away from impeachment. The full House is expected to vote on two articles of impeachment on Wednesday. If passed, that will make President Trump just the third president in U.S. history to be impeached.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: The president isn't shying away from a political fight here. We've learned that he'd prefer a long Senate trial with witnesses and he believes the spectacle of an impeachment trial could actually give him a political boost. I want to go to CNN's Kristen Holmes who is in Washington right now. Kristen, how is the president preparing for Wednesday's vote right now, and good morning.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Christi. Well one thing to expect is no retreating. We have seen President Trump continue to be on the offensive, and if next week looks anything like last week, think a whole lot of tweeting and a whole lot of outrage. On Thursday, which was the day that we thought the Judiciary Committee was going to vote on those articles of impeachment, President Trump had one of his most prolific days on twitter. He was attacking Democrats. He was retweeting supporters and then on Friday after they did finally move to move those articles of impeachment forward, this is what President Trump had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

TRUMP: So, look. We're dealing with a lot of corrupt people. There was nothing done wrong. To use the power of impeachment on this nonsense is an embarrassment to this country. The president just said it. It's an embarrassment to our country.

(END VIDEO)

HOLMES: So as you said, -- as you said Christi, this is a president who is not backing down from a political fight. And one thing to make very clear, President Trump already has a built-in time to respond to this vote should it happen on Wednesday. He has a rally in Michigan. It's called a Merry Christmas rally where he will be in front of his base, his biggest supporters there to actually react in real time to what happens on Wednesday and that is going to be some must-see TV.

BLACKWELL: Kristen, let's talk about these comments from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that's gotten so much attention saying he's in total coordination with the White House lawyers on a strategy to defend the president. On one hand you have people saying he's supposed to be one of these 100 impartial jurors. On the other hand, you consider what we heard from former Democratic leader during the Clinton impeachment, Tom Daschle, says that he was in coordination with the White House. What's been the response to those comments and is it realistic to expect that he would be so withdrawn from the White House during this process?

HOLMES: Well you know, according to McConnell and according to Tom Daschle it is unrealistic for the Senate Majority Leader who of course was Tom Daschle during the Clinton Administration and now of course Mitch McConnell to not be in touch with the White House; there are just so many moving parts. But you're hearing a lot of outrage from these House Democrats. Essentially some of them saying that he should recuse himself from this process and to be very clear that is almost definitely not going to happen here.

So what's interesting is we know that last week the two of them, Mitch McConnell and the White House's top lawyer met together, but they still haven't really come up with a plan. However, McConnell says that he will be working step by step with the White House every single inch of the way, and this is how he defended that. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last night you were coordinating with the White House during the impeachment. Why is that appropriate?

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): It was done during the Clinton impeachment as well. Not surprisingly President Clinton and the Democrats and the Senate were coordinating their strategy; were on the same side.

(END VIDEO)

HOLMES: And we know, of course that McConnell and Lindsey Graham, and several of these Republican senators are talking to the president. They're encouraging him not want this lengthy, drawn out trial in the Senate. They think it's better for him if it's short and sweet.

PAUL: All right Kristen Holmes, appreciate the update; thank you.

BLACKWELL: All right joining me now CNN Political Commentator Errol Louis also political anchor for "Spectrum News" and Michael Moore, former U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Georgia. Gentlemen, welcome back.

MICHAEL MOORE, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY: Thanks.

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITAL ANALYST: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: So let's start here with those comments from Majority Leader Mitch McConnell there in the Senate.

[06:05:00]

Actually let's play them and talk about them on the other side for anyone who has not seen or heard it. Let's go.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

MCCONNELL: Everything I do during this, I'm coordinating with White House counsel. We'll be working through this process hopefully in a fairly short period of time in total coordination with the White House Counsel's office and the people representing the president in well of the Senate.

I'm going to coordinate with the president's lawyers so there won't be any difference between us on how to do this. (END VIDEO)

BLACKWELL: Errol, let's start here. As we mentioned Tom Daschle who was the Democratic leader in the Senate during the Clinton impeachment told Dana Bash just yesterday that during that process he worked closely with the White House, not the president specifically. But Leader McConnell is not someone who does a lot of television interviews. He could have stopped short of articulating something so clear. Why was it important for him to make that clear that he's working so closely with the White House?

LOUIS: Well look, as a core responsibility of anybody in his position is to sort of reassure not just his party but the nation as a whole what's going to happen, whether it's good news or bad news. Personally I feel better knowing that it's going to be exactly the kind of partisan exercise that he has told us it's going to be. Then we don't have to wonder. We don't have to speculate, well, is there going to be any independents? He basically said, we're on the same side. He sees his job as being there to defend the president. That's an important piece of information for all of us to know.

The reality is, however, there are some other players in all of this. The minute that impeachment goes to the Senate, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court becomes the presiding officer of the Senate and he will have something to say about how all this gets organized as well so we shouldn't just assume that Mitch McConnell is going to control every part of the impeachment process.

BLACKWELL: Michael, to you, we have heard now from several members of the House Judiciary; Val Deming is one, Karen Bass another suggesting that Leader McConnell should recuse himself. That's not going to happen, we know that. But what's your take on his new role moving forward and the call for and I guess the description of his comments as being improper.

MOORE: I think Errol is right and it's a good point to remember. This is a political process, not actually a trial and they're playing to a jury not only of one, that is, the president when he makes these kinds of comments and McConnell makes comments but also to the base and to the American people. And let's just cut to the chase. There's no chance in my opinion anyway that the president is going to be removed. McConnell's sending that signal. For those people holding out hope, you're probably also waiting by the chimney for a fat guy in a red suit to drop down in a week or so. That's just not going to happen. And so he's not going to be recused. He's not going to pull himself off. This is what he's doing. It's interesting to me because it essentially confirms what Trump has been saying and that is that this is a sham. We're already talking about motions to dismiss. We're talking about a quick motion to acquit in the Senate.

Those things come out and they tell us that there's no real serious inquiry into the impeachment articles it's just how do we move forward in a way that hurts us the least politically or gives us the biggest gain politically. So, you know, I think at the end of the day it is a political process. This is - this is what we expect from it. I don't think it's - I think it's sort of poor form to come out so brazenly but none the less that's sort of what we've become used to and after all there's nothing normal about this administration anyway.

BLACKWELL: I first, before I move on to the next question. I want to make it clear that I still believe. Thank you Michael.

PAUL: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: That I still believe, Christi still believes.

PAUL: And he's coming down our chimney.

BLACKWELL: Thank you very much, Saturday morning Michael, I just want to remind you time of day, day of the week and who is in school and not. Errol, let me come to you about - before we move to the Senate process, I want to before we leave the House, is there a threshold. I mean Democratic leaders expect that there will be some defections. Is there a threshold in which this becomes more than just a few moderate members protecting themselves. Is it 8 or 10 that it becomes problematic for the party as a whole?

LOUIS: Yes. I would say right around that zone actually. After 8 or 10, you have to wonder. We've heard from the leadership repeatedly. The Democratic leadership says that they're not whipping this vote meaning they're not keeping a close count. They're not trying to sort of line up everybody and put pressure on people to vote in a particular way. I'm not sure I quite believe that but that's what they say.

If this is truly going to be a vote of conscience they run some risk, not a great risk but some risk. I think most people in that conference know though that Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the leadership, they are expecting a great deal of support, that they have put themselves out on the line in a really profound kind of a way. They've organized impeachment hearings. A lot of people are taking a lot of political risk. There's not going to be a lot of room for freelancing if you want to stay in good standing with Nancy Pelosi.

BLACKWELL: Michael, let's listen to the president here.

[08:10:00]

This is in the Oval Office yesterday talking about the length potentially of the Senate trial.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

TRUMP: We did nothing wrong, so I'll do long or short. I've heard Mitch; I've heard Lindsey. I think they are very much in agreement on some concept. I'll do whatever they want to do. It doesn't matter. I wouldn't mind a long process because I'd like to see the whistleblower who's a fraud.

(END VIDEO)

BLACKWELL: Now from -- I see you shaking your head. From the perspective of an attorney, what is the virtue of a long process if an acquittal here is almost certain? MOORE: It really tells us again that this has nothing do with a

truth-seeking mission in the Senate trial. This is simply a political tragedy that he's trying to talk about. You know, the unique thing and maybe the irony here is that we could put up witnesses for the American people. I'm sure the Senate would love to have some witnesses. The problem is that the president has blocked key witnesses and won't let them come testify so he wants to pick and choose who he wants to come, who might be the most beneficial to his side.

He wants to talk about the whistleblower. Let's put up some of the people who have been blocked. I mean just reading through the articles of impeachment you can see a number of witnesses that the White House has claimed some type of executive privilege on and kept that testimony both from the Congress and from the American people, so he knows that's not going to happen. He thinks that maybe a long try trial for him he could bring in the whistleblower, he could bring in - he'd like to talk to Joe Biden's son and this type of thing. But that's just nonsense.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

MOORE: And I think at the end of the day, you're going to find that the Senate has no appetite for a long process. They've got people they want to move onto other things. They've got campaigns to begin. They don't want to be sitting there (inaudible) days a week.

BLACKWELL: Yes, we need to remember that too. They have campaigns as well. We're not going to see Adam Schiff or Nancy Pelosi there likely testifying during the Senate trial.

MOORE: Right.

BLACKWELL: Micheal Moore, thank you. Errol Louis, we have a question or two more for you so stick around for us.

MOORE: Thank you.

LOUIS: All right, thanks.

PAUL: We have some breaking news out of North Korea this hour. The country claiming this morning it has once again successfully tested what it called a nuclear deterrent at a missile site there.

BLACKWELL: Now consider this. North Korea will not say exactly what it tested, but state-run media announced the launch happened Friday at a facility northwest of Pyongyang.

PAUL: CNN Correspondent Paula Hancocks is live for us from Seoul. Paula, so South Korea saying it cannot confirm specifics about a possible launch, is that right?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Christi. They say intelligence in the U.S. and South Korea are working closely, but they can't confirm the specifics of what this test is at this point and North Korea has simply said that it is very important, that it was very successful, and that as you say, it was part of the nuclear deterrent.

Now it's the second test we have seen this (inaudible) launch sites in just one week. Just last weekend there . Just last weekend there was another test that was highly successful we're told by North Korea. That's assumed to be by experts and South Korean officials, an engine test which could help power an ICBM, an Inter Continental Ballistic Missile which could potentially hit mainland United States also a satellite launcher for example.

Now remember, North Korea has told the United States that they have a Christmas gift for the Trump Administration. They said it depends what kind of Christmas gift as to what kind of attitude change the U.S. has if any. They've also said there's a year-end deadline. They have said that there is a new path that they will be taking if the U.S. does not change its ways in negotiations. So seriously, things are not looking good at this point and it's only one day before Steve Biegun, the U.S. representative and special envoy for North Korea arrives here in Seoul. He's coming here for a few days. It was expected to be a last- ditch attempt to try to salvage something before this year-end deadline that Pyongyang has imposed on these negotiations.

But - but we are seeing North Korea once again testing something. Speculation is rife as to what North Korea will do next. We really are in familiar territory here. We have cryptic threats from North Korea and officials around the world are scrambling to try and decipher them.

BLACKWELL: All right, Paula Hancocks for us there in Seoul. Thank you.

PAUL: Thanks, Paula.

So adding to an already historic day in Washington, the Supreme Court ruled it will referee the fight over President Trump's tax returns and other financial records. The question is, is that a win for the president at the end of the day?

BLACKWELL: Plus a family in Tennessee claims that hackers accessed their home security cameras and watched her their daughter in her bedroom.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who is that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm your best friend. I'm Santa Claus.

(END VIDEO)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:15:00]

BLACKWELL: Eighteen minutes after the hour this Saturday. The Supreme Court says it will hear cases over President Trump's financial records. PAUL: The president is asking the justices to overturn three lower

court rulings requiring him to hand over those documents. CNN's Ariane de Vogue has more.

ARIANE DE VOGUE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Supreme Court will decide by June three major cases concerning whether the House and the New York prosecutor can subpoena Trump's long-time accounting firm and two of his banks for financial documents. The cases will be decided in the heat of the election campaign. No documents are going to go forward for now while the justices consider the cases.

Trump has shielded his documents on multiple fronts since before the election and the case has implications far beyond impeachment and the Trump era. The House subpoenas in two of the cases go to Congress' power to investigate. The House wants the documents as it looks into Trump finances, foreign interference in elections and hush money.

Trump says that the House has exceeded its authority when asking for these documents. In a separate case, that goes to Trump's claims of absolute immunity from state criminal proceedings. Lower courts ruled against the president citing cases concerning President Nixon and President Clinton. After the proceedings are over what the Supreme Court grants mean today that President Trump's legal problems are far from other; they will continue. Ariane de Vogue, CNN, Washington.

PAUL: CNN Political Commentator Errol Louis is back with us here. So you know the president looking at this saying, hey this is a win. Is it a win for the president Errol?

LOUIS: Oh, no. Oh no. I think he may be kidding himself or trying to put the best face on a very difficult situation. We know that the court is going to take up this case in March. We know that they'll probably give an answer by June. Politically speaking, you know, this is not going to work well for the political calendar. Now, the president may want this off the agenda in the short term so he is delaying and to that extent he has succeeded. On the other hand, substantively, it seems unlikely that he is going to prevent Congress and a local prosecutor here in New York for seeing the materials that they are seeking.

PAUL: Well you're right about the time line. What's going to be interesting about it is if this ruling comes down in June and suddenly these records are fair game just months before an election. It's going to be something to watch. Errol Louis, always appreciate your input. Thank you, sir.

LOUIS: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban was ruled unconstitutional on Friday. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the ban. It is the latest legal blow to an effort by a conservative-leaning state to restrict abortions. Mississippi is also fighting a federal ruling on a 6-week abortion ban. That's before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals as well.

PAUL: Well, former Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin getting some backlash right now after leaving office and issuing pardons to hundreds of people, some of the convicted rapists, murderers, drug offenders. We have that story up in our legal brief.

BLACKWELL: Plus the CDC's concerns about this year's flu season, what you need to know.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:25:00]

BLACKWELL: The man who murdered two doctors in their Boston penthouse has been sentenced to life in prison.

PAUL: Rita Bolanos and her fiance Richard Field were found dead in their home back in May of 2017. The couple had been engaged to be married. They had been beaten, their hands were bound. Their throats were cut. A day after the killings, Bampumim Teixeira told police he was having an affair with Bolanos and killed Field in self defense. Evidence in the case contradicted his account of what happened there. He had worked briefly as a concierge in their building.

Topping this morning's legal brief, prosecutors and victims' families are reeling, they are just jolted after Kentucky's former governor issued hundreds of pardons on his way out of office. According to Kentucky's Secretary of State, Republican Matt Bevin issued more than 160 pardons and more than 400 commutations between election night in November and when he left office Tuesday.

And the thing that is jolting about this is the list. It includes a convicted child rapist, a man who murdered his parents, a woman who threw her newborn in a septic tank after giving birth in a flea market. Criminal Defense Attorney Janet Johnson with us right now and Janet, I - I think most people are saying well it's not unusual for governors to issue pardons as they're leaving office. These pardons seem unusual. Can they be reversed at all?

JANET JOHNSON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER: Good morning, Christi. They can't be reversed once the paperwork has gone through. Once the pardon is given it can't be rescinded. If the paperwork hasn't gone through then the governor, he decides that maybe these weren't the best pardons. He can actually undo it and George W. Bush did that when he was president. He learned that someone he pardoned was a major GOP donor and he did undo it before the paperwork had become final. But yes, when you read that list, as a defense attorney I believe in second chances but this is like a who's who of who shouldn't get a pardon and it can't all be political favors. I mean some of those are just gruesome crimes and these people are walking free.

PAUL: Right. A child - a convicted child rapist is now back on the street which makes me wonder, is Bevin liable at all if any of these defendants or convicts essentially leave and go commit another crime?

JOHNSON: Well, he's certainly responsible because some of these people have served one year of 25-year sentences and he is going to be responsible for them being back on the street. He won't be liable in court. He won't owe anybody money if they're a victim. But politically it's suicide for him obviously if he ever runs again, he'll face ads. If you remember the Willie Horton ad in the '80s, he'll face an ad saying you let this person out and he committed another crime. You'll have to think this signals the end of his political career because it's just not a political move. This is not a group of people who are going to help him get re-elected any time in the near future.

PAUL: Right. I want to move to the New York case where a law enforcement source says a 13-year-old has been arrested in connection with the death of that college student Tessa Majors. This is her picture. She was a freshman at Barnard College in Manhattan. She was stabbed to death in a park this week and investigators say that teenager, that suspect was caught trespassing in a building Thursday and according to authorities, he admitted to being involved in the crime Janet. We don't know what that means but he admitted to being involved in it so prosecutors have to decide if he's going to be charged as an adult. Police have recommended he be charged with second degree murder. Because of his age, what kind of a sentence would you expect in something like this if he found guilty. And again, authorities say he confessed.

JOHNSON: Right. Right and that happens a lot with juvenile suspects that they actually give a lot of information that's useful. He implicated other children; they're all minors. They're indicating that they are not going to find him as an adult but they have the ability to do that in New York. He's 13, which is the threshold age, so he's just old enough that it could go to adult court.

If he stays in juvenile court, which is actually family court, it's not even a criminal court. He could be in a facility up to the age of 21, 5 years or that could be extended to 21. As an adult, he was facing life in prison so it's a huge difference. The brain science of juveniles, we've talked about this before Christi, you know what you do when you're 13 doesn't predict necessarily what you would do when you're 40.

Hopefully with rehabilitation if he is convicted and if he is sentenced, this is someone who in your 13 doesn't predict necessarily what you in your 13 doesn't predict necessarily what you would do when you're 40. Hopefully with rehabilitation if he is convicted and if he is sentenced, this is someone who may have a productive life in front of him. The co-defendants who may be the ones who committed the actual murder, they may be more likely to go to adult court and may spend significant time in prison.

PAUL: OK. I want to talk to you as well about this tragic story, the parents of this 18-month-old who died on board that Royal Caribbean ship. They are suing the cruise line now. Chloe Wiegand was held by her grandfather remember. She slipped out of his grasp on the 11th floor. This was near an open window. This was while the ship was docked in Puerto Rico but the family's attorney says the parents don't believe her grandfather is responsible. They did not want to see him charged with negligent homicide. In response Royal Caribbean issued this statement. We have to read this for you. They said our hearts go out to the family for their tragic loss. Mr. Salvatore Anello is currently being criminally prosecuted for negligent homicide in the case. We have no comment on the civil filing. Responding obviously to the fact that the grandfather is being held responsible...

JOHNSON: Right.

PAUL: ...to some degree at least until that goes through the court system. But do you believe that they have a real chance to win this civil suit?

JOHNSON: You know I do. They're obviously saying we can't be responsible because grandpa is being charged criminally but that's not how it works in civil court. They can both be responsible. You just have to figure out the percentage. You know, the new cruise ships don't have windows that open the way this window opened. It's a big viewing window. I think Royal Caribbean is actually famous for these windows, and the grandfather propped the baby up so the baby could look and knock on the window and he didn't expect the window to be open and all of the sudden the baby falls out. That is something they should foresee would happen. Children love to look out windows like that and the adults may or may not notice that it's a window that opens. There was no glass markings, there was nothing to tell him this attractive nuisance is actually dangerous. I think they will prevail in a lawsuit.

PAUL: All right. Janet Johnson, glad to have you with us this morning, thank you ma'am.

JOHNSON: Thanks, Christi.

BLACKWELL: Listen to this. A family claims hackers accessed their home security cameras and watched their daughter.

PAL: Also millions of you up and down the east coast, I know, are bracing for this bomb cyclone as it's been dubbed. An update for you on how nasty this weekend's weather really is going to get for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:35:00]

PAUL: All right. It is going to be a nasty weekend. Merry Christmas, almost, just so close to being there.

BLACKWELL: Let's go to Allison Chinchar with a look at rough weather coming for parts of the east coast. Who's get it the worst?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Pretty much up and down the east coast. When you look at the map, this is the live radar. You've got storms stretching from Florida all the way up to Maine. So really any travel plans up and down the corridor here, you're going to have to give yourself extra time if you're driving and check with your air carrier if you have any travel plans there. Now one of the main focuses on this particular one has been on the south side where we actually have a severe thunderstorm watch in effect for portions of Florida including places like Tampa and Orlando until 11:00 a.m. Eastern time today.

We've already had severe thunderstorm warnings and even some tornado warnings already so far this morning and that could carry through. On the northern edge of this storm, flooding is going to be the main concern. You've got flood watches in effect here for about a half a dozen states in the northeast. Again, you're talking 2 to 4 inches widespread for a lot of those areas and in a short period of time.

Now on the western edge of this same exact system, you're talking winter participation and not just snow. For some of these areas you could end up seeing some pretty significant ice accumulations and it's never safe to drive on ice. Some people can handle the snow, not so much the ice. But in addition to that ice, you're talking 3 to 6 inches of snowfall where you see the purple color; 5 to 10 inches of snowfall where you see that pink color and winds are also going to be a factor even after the system exits the area in about the next 24 to 48 hours, you've still got those wind gusts up around 40 to 60 miles per hour.

So that's obviously, Victor and Christi, going to be a concern even after you start to see the clouds go away and the sun come out the wind will still linger for quite a bit.

BLACKWELL: Speaking of clouds, there's some clouds over - I just saw it today for the first time. Have you seen it? The tree in the weather department - in the weather office? It is fantastic. Tell us about it Allison.

CHINCHAR: Listen, we take our holidays very seriously in the weather department. This is our upside down tree so it looks like a tornado. We put clouds at the top. We've got lightning bolts at the top. More importantly the ornaments - we imagined what a tornado would be. There's cows inside. There's vehicles, all kinds of stuff. We've got debris that is placed inside. Look, we wanted to make this as realistic as possible but yes, the whole department, we had so much fun. We've got hail stones inside of there. We had a lot of fun with this this year.

BLACKWELL: Wait Allison, how was there a breeze on this tree There are things actually blowing in a breeze on the tree.

CHINCHAR: Yes, we have a special fan specifically for our Christmas tree.

BLACKWELL: This is too much. This is too much.

PAUL: I didn't know where - I had not seen that. I didn't know where you were going. I thought what transition to another story is this - clouds?

BLACKWELL: I've never see the light affect - like I have a string light with 16 different movements.

PAUL: Right. Right.

BLACKWELL: I've never seen the lightning button or option on those.

CHINCHAR: It actually has 10 different settings so you can control the flash of lightening. BLACKWELL: OK. All right. Well very nice. Allison and everyone in the weather department, goo djob.

PAUL: Very nice job.

BLACKWELL: Thank you.

CHINCHAR: Thanks guys.

PAUL: Thanks.

BLACKWELL: So this - this is not...

PAUL: This is frightening.

BLACKWELL: And we've been talking about this all morning.

PAUL: Yes we have.

BLACKWELL: So there's some families who are claiming that hackers have accessed their security cameras inside the home, outside the home, giving those people live feeds of the front doors, the living rooms, even bedrooms. Watch this.

[06:40:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who is that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm your best friend. I'm Santa Clause.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mommy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm - I'm Santa Clause. Don't you want to be my best friend? Can you bring like a web browser up on your phone and then type in the website that I tell you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why? I'll leave you and your family alone.

(END VIDEO)

PAUL: I know it is frightening. That person by the way was a hack of an eight-year-old's bedrrom. You could hear her calling, "Mommy." But could you imagine, and that other family, just being in your home and all of a sudden hearing as we call it a voice of God suddenly telling you what you're doing in that moment and then starting to wonder how long have you been watching me?

BLACKWELL: Yes, what else have you seen?

PAUL: Right. So Ring which makes this device says its services themselves have not been compromised here. The company says some users log in information could have been accessed through other means and Ring encourages its users to use different passwords for each account and set up two factor authentication which adds an additional layer of security to your account but again what you need to do according to many tech experts as well, they say that two factor authentication is what really matters here and can make a big difference.

BLACKWELL: I imagine everybody...

PAUL: They can get your password but they can't get your thumbprint. They can't get a text on your phone.

BLACKWELL: Everyone is now looking to see how they can double up on that security after seeing that.

PAUL: No doubt. No doubt it is frightening.

OK, it's America's most special sporting event. It is happening today. Army-Navy, Coy?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, home of the Declaration of Independence, Philly Cheesesteaks, Boz II Men, and one of America's greatest sporting rivalries, the Army-Navy game. Yo, Adrian. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:45:00]

PAUL: So Army/Navy is up there as one of the greatest spectacles in all of American sports. There's just something about that game, and it's today.

BLACKWELL: Coy Wire is in Philadelphia. One of the best game traditions already begun.

WIRE: Yes, no doubt about it. Victor and Christi, good morning to you.

The Army/Navy game is one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports, anywhere in the world in part because of these traditions and one of them, the running of the game ball. Army West Point's marathon team started Thursday evening and ran all the way from West Point, New York with the game ball to the iconic "Rocky" steps there at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. They ran through the night, through the elements, carrying traditions along the way. Listen to this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People cheering us on, go West Point, go Army, the occasional go Navy. It was awesome.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've never done anything like this before and I think it's a great symbol of camaraderie and grit overall, which is absolutely what's going to help us beat Navy this year.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the best part, we're in Mahwah, New Jersey, and we just stopped to say hello to the crowd and somebody passed me their baby and had me hold it like the football and I think right there summarizes Army's commitment to the game.

WIRE: Now Army has won three straight. We'll see if that brings them the good luck they - they need. But no fumbles Victor and Christi, with that baby I also learned. But this game, it dates all the way back to 1890, so quite a few traditions you can imagine. One of them is presidents attending the game. There have been ten sitting U.S. Presidents who have been here.

President Donald Trump is expected to attend for the second straight year. We just learned the hard way there's added security. The FBI, the secret service, it took us a long time to get in this morning. But look, this is the only major college football game that will be played today. It's at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. It gives these young men and women the proper stage and respect that they deserve.

There's something special about a young boy or girl in high school who decides they're going to go to the Naval Academy or to West Point to sacrifice and dedicate hours, weeks, months deployed, maybe years, maybe longer and maybe the ultimate sacrifice to give for all of us. They care more about them themselves - about us than they do themselves.

It's an incredible game and it's an honor for us to be here. We'll be here all morning long from the 120th edition of the Army/Navy game.

BLACKWELL: Well said. Well said, Coy. Thanks so much.

PAUL: Thanks Coy.

BLACKWELL: OK, so when we come back, hundreds of parents in New Jersey, they are outraged after lawmakers there in the state vote to ban religion as a reason for kids to avoid vaccinations.

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[06:50:00]

PAUL: So a new estimate from the CDC backing up warnings from experts that the flu is really hitting the U.S. early. It's hitting it hard. The CDC is saying at least 1,300 people have already died from the flu so far this year - 1,300.

BLACKWELL: Yes, and 23 states have seen widespread flu activity. That's unusual for this time of year. The CDC says this has been the most active flu season in a decade.

PAUL: CDC advises everyone 6 months and older get vaccinated. More tips to steer clear of the flu. Wash your hands often. Avoid, obviously, people who are sick, and avoid touching your face as well and hopefully that keeps you a little bit healthier.

BLACKWELL: Let's take you to New Jersey now where some parents, they're really upset after state lawmakers voted to ban religion as an acceptable reason for children to avoid vaccinations. PAUL: New Jersey is joining this growing list of states to stop

parents from using personal beliefs as a way of not vaccinating their kids. CNN's Jacqueline Howard has more for us.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH WRITER: New Jersey is in the spotlight right now, but this isn't the first state to consider banning vaccine exemptions based on someone's religion. Take a look at this map. New York, California, Mississippi, West Virginia, and Maine already have stopped parents using religious or personal beliefs as a way of not vaccinating their kids and we're seeing these types of laws more and more because of the steady rise in measles cases in the United States.

This year alone more than 1,200 cases were seen nationwide and those cases can be tied back to communities where many people are not getting vaccinated. And exemption rates for kindergarteners especially is rocketing.

In Vermont there was a 640% increase in kindergarten children with religious vaccine exemptions after the state eliminated personal belief exemptions in the year 2016. And this year the number of measles cases in the U.S. reached its highest number in nearly three decades. Globally, more than 140,000 people died from measles last year. Now, due to this rise in measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases, given these numbers, it will be interesting to see what happens in New Jersey and whether similar bills emerge in other states too. So this is interesting to watch. Victor and Christi back to you.

[06:55:00]

BLACKWELL: Jacqueline, thank you.

A 5-year-old in Vista, California, is getting into the - let's call it the holiday spirit by helping her classmates whose families are having some financial trouble. Let's take you back. This all started when kindergartner Caitlyn Hardy(ph) overheard another student's mother say that she was struggling to pay off their school lunch balances.

Now that's when Caitlyn (ph) told her mother and the two came up with a plan.

PAUL: Caitlyn sold cocoa, cookies, personalized artwork so she could raise enough money to pay off those lunch balances not just for them but for more than 100 students and the school honored Caitlyn(ph) with an award to award her campaign of kindness. Good for her.

BLACKWELL: Next hour of your "New Day" is up after a quick break.

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