Transcripts For CNNW New Day 20140530

Ballmer, former ceo of microsoft the price tag, 2 billion, handedly beating out bidders by at least 400 million. But the deal is no slam dunk. Ballmer has signed an agreement with Shelly Sterling. But the next play belongs to Donald Sterling. There is no sale, and he is not yet agree to sign off, period. Reporter his lawyer telling wolf blitzer before news of the agreement that while donald gave her permission to negotiate selling the team, he did not give her permission to actually sell the team. Not without reaching an accommodation with the nba which gives him some form of vindication. The money is not critical to him. Reporter the nba is pushing for a quick sale, trying to ward off a contentious meeting scheduled for this tuesday where owners will officially vote to force sterling out. The reaction overnight was quick, with Magic Johnson tweeting, quote, clipper fans, youll love Steve Ballmer as your owner. But either way, Donald Sterling will not leave empty handed. He originally bought the team for 12 million. Shelly sterling has just released a statement announcing that she is, quote, delighted that we are selling the team to steve who will be a terrific owner. Shelly sterling also said, we have worked for 33 years to build this clippers into a premier nba franchise. I am confident that steve will take the team to new levels of success. Chris . Rosa, who is we . Who is we, rosa . Thats the big question, if thats her and donald, he has to say yes. Hes the only one recognized by the nba as a franchise owner. So lets bring in mel robbins and attorney and host of deadly sins on investigation on discovery. I wonder if that applies in this case. Can Shelly Sterling sell this team without donald . Mel robbins . No. There you go, no, she cannot. Cant do it. Its held by a trust. Yes, done, fast this morning. She cant sell it without his authorization. So this is just pushing donald, is that what you see it as . Well, donald certainly could be the spoiler of this. If im shelly im not popping champagne corks any time soon because the nba recognizes donald as the controlling owner. Donald is the one that ultimately has the recognizing Decision Making power at this point. Kavinoky, it comes down to, for Donald Sterling, you cant kick me out of this league based on the fruit of the poisonous tree, nice phrase that lawyers love. This tape was illegally made. You cant use it. You support that statement for me. Why . Well, thats one of the arguments that hes raising and hes saying ultimately that this is all stemming from this illegal tape recording because in california its a twoparty consent state that meaning both parties need to consent to something being recorded and he didnt. And what hes going to do is hes going to marry this to the substantive due process argument saying that this is essentially fundamentally unfair. The problem i think hes going to run into is hold on, let mel robbins tell us what the problem is because the nba is saying this isnt a court of law. This is a basketball court. What does the difference make in this regard, mel . Well, the difference is, is really important here, chris. Its everything, in fact. And basically he signed up to be part of a private association and he agreed to their rules. And theres also an arbitration clause basically says, yeah, you can sue but youve also agreed to tell the judge to kick it back to us. So the rules of evidence about illegally obtained things, kavonoky, do they apply in the same way as a criminal trial, for instance . No, in a word, no, they dont. And theres even other arguments because everything in the constitution and by it is laws in the nba relates to the state laws of new york, which is only a oneparty recording state. So theres a good argument to be made that even though this happened in california if were applying new york law its a totally different ball game. Ultimately i think hes going to lose on that. So, mel, you were sleeping on kavinoky as just another pretty face and then whipped out the new york law. Wow. Wow you were not ready for that, mel robbins. I saw you get knocked side ways. No. Good show. Im stealing that. Do you think that legally Donald Sterling can do anything other than maybe slow this down a little bit . You know, at the end, the team is going to get sold. This is what i think is going on, chris and darren. I actually think what Donald Sterling wants is he wants that lifetime ban removed. What his attorney spoke about yesterday at length was vindication. We all kind of rolled our eyes but i think at the bottom line of all of this, Donald Sterling feels hurt. I know nobody is sympathetic to him but i think what he really wants is i think hes going to use the sale, the fact that everybody is exhausted and wants this to go away, to be able to put pressure on the nba to say, look, ill sign the deal, you can have your sale, just remove the lifetime ban, for crying out loud. Lets all admit im an old man, jealous, baited, i didnt mean it, im sorry. Please, after 33 years, ill agree to the sale. I think thats what he wants. Thats what i believe in my gut. Darren, if youre the nba, whats the downside to doing that . First of all, if youre the nba you want to keep the pressure on. One thing we know about the sterlings from a long, long history, chris, is that we can only rely on actions, not words. And there are some people that are deeply skeptical that all of this sale talk is just a set a benchmark for the market value of the clippers so that if they go to war and a sale is forced for some amount that is now less than the 2 billion, that the sterlings can sue and get treble damages three times whatever that shortfall is. So i think these guys may be perceived as more bonnie and clyde or thelma and louise on this. Everybody is sort of holding their breath. This reminds me of one of those slasher films where you think that the bad guy has been killed and everyone is safe and then jumps out from behind the curtain. This deal is not done for a long shot. The nba is going to keep the pressure on. Mel robbins, kavinoky comes with a new york law exclusion and then thelma and louise reference, strong showing. Ill tell you one thing i didnt hear you guys raise, 2 billion for the clippers . You dont even own the stadium. Theres not even crazy. What does that mean . Why are they paying so much for this franchise . Very interesting. I wonder if this whole debacle didnt raise the value in some perverse way. Kate, over to you. Ill take it now, chris. I go by john berman, thank you very much. The news right now. New developments in the investigation of the Santa Barbara rampage. The Sheriffs Office now says deputies who checked on Elliott Rodger three weeks before the killing spree knew he posted disturbing videos but never viewed them. Six ucsb students were killed last friday. 13 others were injured. Thousands of Russian Troops have withdrawn from the ukraine border. A move u. S. Has been demand for weeks. Hagel called it promising but russia is not where it needs to be until all of the troops are gone. 40,000 Russian Forces had been along the border since violence in prorussian separatists broke out. Travelers at detroits Metro Airport endured 2 1 2 hours of frustration after the tsa says a man forced his way back through a security checkpoint without being rescreened. The terminal was placed on lockdown while authorities searched for the man. He was found out, taken into custody. Agents searched the terminal as a precaution. Mary, kate . Exactly, thank you, frank, sam, john, thank you very much. Lets get over to someone you cannot butcher her name, how could you . Indra petersons. What have you got . Your name is so fun i cant even make one up. Everyone butchers it every day. Its no big deal. Weather stories, its the same one. Monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, yes, it is friday and were still talking about rain into the south. Look at the storms that continue to really inundate the area. Another two to four inches of rain still expected again. Flooding concerns remaining high. Same low sit theres. All this moisture pulls out of the gulf. Watch it blow up on saturday. Finally by sunday it dies down. Finally a saving grace is out there. Northeast, its the weekend. We want a little bit of mild air. Its going to cool down. By sunday, it rebounds. Spotty showers will be out there on saturday as front pushes on through. Biggest dropout is towards boston. 70s are back. Dont worry. Just a little bit later. The other thing is theres the storm. Theres the back door cold front. Watch this one in the upper midwest and northern rockies. This does have a threat for severe weather. Billings and cheyenne on saturday. Sioux falls back down through amarillo. A small threat of tornadoes. Big thunderstorms and Straight Line winds. Rainy on saturday. Sunday, thats the good one. Sunday will be the nice day. Its the good one. Outdoor activity sunday. Coming up next on new day, va secretary Eric Shinseki is speak to Veterans Groups this morning. How will he address a scanned that is rocking the agency . Will he have a job by the end of the day . 20 billion man. Steve ballmer, hes poised to become the new owner of the l. A. Clippers, maybe. Well tell you who this guy is for sure. [ laughter ] smoke . Nah, im good. [ male announcer ] celebrate every win with nicoderm cq, the unique patch with time release Smartcontrol Technology that helps prevent the urge to smoke all day long. Help prevent your cravings with nicoderm cq. That helps prevent the urge to smoke all day long. Hey so im looking at my bill, and my fico® Credit Scores on here. We give you your fico® score each month for free awesomesauce wow the only person i know that says that is. Lisa . Julie . at discover, we treat you like youd treat you. Get the it card and see your fico® credit score. Dont just visit rome. Visit tripadvisor rome. With millions of reviews, tripadvisor makes any destination better. Welcome back to new day. That thin ice that Eric Shinseki has been standing on may be cracking this morning. Support for the va secretary is fading fast. His outrage is growing over deadly treatment delays at va hospitals that were first reported here by cnn. Shinseki is scheduled to speak to a Veterans Group in washington. In less than three hours. You can be sure hes expected to acknowledge at the very least a breach of trust. But now members of congress are calling for a criminal investigation to determine whether those treatment delays were covered up. So hospital officials could cash in on bigger bonuses. Lets go to the white house, get the very latest from athena jones. Good morning, kate. Today is the day that secretary shinseki is supposed to give the president the preliminary results of his investigation into the va system. And this comes as a growing number of Democratic Senators are calling for shinseki to resign. Speculate about personnel matters. Reporter the white house under mounting pressure to give embattled secretary Eric Shinseki the boot for mismanagement at the department of Veterans Affairs. Just last week the president praised him. Nobody cares more about our veterans. Reporter even as he demanded answers. I want to know the full scope of this problem. Thats why i ordered secretary shinseki to investigate. Reporter but by thursday press secretary jay carney was refusing to say whether the president had confidence in the secretary. Forward to the preliminary review, that he asked the secretary to provide to him. Reporter today is deadline day for that review. Shinseki has been under fire for big problems within the veterans medical care system. Allegations that include long wait times for appointments and secret waits lists, delays that may have killed dozens. And while the speaker of the house is still reserving judgment about whether shinseki should resign the question i ask myself is him resigning going to get us to the bottom of the problem . Is it going to help us find out whats really going on . And the answer i keep getting is no. Reporter more than a dozen republican senators and a growing number of democrats are calling for him to go. Including democrats facing tough reelection fights in the fall, like mary land drew of louisiana who tweeted thursday afternoon, shinseki served our nation with distinction but recent unacceptable actions under his watch regrettably means new leadership is needed. So well be waiting for that review from shinseki. In the meantime we expect the pressure on him and on the white house to keep growing. Chris, kate . Athena, thank you for the update. Lets break it down more with maggie haberman, its great to see you. Youve got two things. You have the president. Hes waiting to see this review, internal review from shinseki. Could come today. Then you have the growing really the flood gates have opened for people calming for shinseki to resign. Can these two things happen separate of each other . Can the mounting pressure have an impact on how the president reacts . Short answer is no. This is not sustainable over a per yoiod of weeks. This has gone from a drip drip of democrats last week to a total deluge. Fifth of the Senate Democrats saying he has to go. President obama does not like to fire people. This administration prides itself on sticking on staff when there are calls for heads to roll. This one is hard to see this can go on for weeks more while there might be additional review. When you say it is known that the president does not like to fire people. That is an admirable quality to not be quick to it kg off peoples heads but when it becomes maybe a little more apparent that this might not be the person that can bring about the change and reforms that are needed to fix this huge problem in this system, can it backfire on the president , this loyalty to employees . It certainly can. Theres also the difficulty here is youre dealing with somebody who has a lengthy military career who is respected by both sides of the aisle politically, who is not indicating in his own comments and well see what he says in a couple of hours but so far he has not shown any indication he will hand in his resignation. He is hanging on as best as i can tell. I think its going to take more information before the page turn on this. I do have a very hard time seeing the path for him staying on. Obama is getting hit with the no accountability stake though all over the place. Politics, accountability usually means firing somebody as opposed to firing yourself. Yes. Do you think that what may wind up hurting the secretary in this is that many of these revelations are coming out in the last few years, because the protection would be for him the va has been in trouble for a long time but this is coming in under his watch, technically. I think thats right. This is since 2010. There are huge numbers of incidents that were talking a and it systemic across the board. This is where it becomes very, very hard to argue this is not under one particular person. When you have the case of secretary sebelius with health care when obamacare rolled out you can understand why president obama did not want to throw her under the bus. Why . Because the Health Care Law needed to roll out in the white houses minds. It needed to get done and having a sacrificial lamb was not necessarily going to change that. The problems were different. This is also a different type of issue. There is a sacred quality to veterans. There is a sacred quality to the military. Which is why im surprised and i want to get your take on it, why im not many republicans are calling for him to resign but some in the Republican Leadership, john boehner, eric cantor, not calling for him to resign, more talking about the accountability stick, more putting it on president obama. Erin cantor telling politico which is this is a core competency question for the white house. Is that a political strategy for republicans because it may have a longerterm impact on the president if they can hurt him and associate him with the problem rather than just calling for shinseki to resign . Im just surprised theyre not jumping on him because they often do quickly jump and say, sebelius, resign, holder, resign. Its a rare show of partisan ship. You saw boehner and pelosi they they didnt want to see this happen. I agree the goal here is to keep the pressure and focus on the president. If this can be dealt with with the firing or dismissal of one person then that becomes easier to contain. The lunch between obama and hillary, do you think hillary gave him the advice, in the clinton days we would have gotten rid of this guy in five minutes why is this secret . I think there are a lot of lunches that are secret. This is revealed after an accidental tweet from a People Magazine reporter. There are no accidents. Accidental tweet. Who is interviewing Hillary Clinton for her new book and then this is how we found out about this lunch. What was interesting about this lunch is that so much of what has happened within the last couple of weeks in terms of how Hillary Clinton has had to respond or her allies have responded in terms of the latest benghazi hearing. Obama has been almost an after thought. This is an interesting reminder of, oh, here are these two. Lets roll play how this happens. Ask me anything. Are you going to run for president in 2016 . The other day i was at lunch with my friend barack, i didnt mean that, the president , oh no, i didnt mean that, i didnt say it. Who is maggie in this roll play . Im taking the picture for twitter. Maggie is everybody else. How does lunch with the president come out as an accident . Did i let that slip . If hillary has to be offended about anything, it is your im person impersonation of her. Maggie, arbiter of justice, bad. Thanks, maggie. Great to see you. Im a little ashamed about it now. Coming up on new day, Shelly Sterling says microsofts former ceo is going to be the new owner of the l. A. Clippers. Steve ballmer, there he is. Thats what maggie does on the break. Hes worth 20 billion because of what happened at microsoft that he was responsible for in part. And imagine standing on a glass floor 103 stories above the city of chicago. Sounds exciting rg right . What if it starts cracking or cracks start appearing beneath your feet. It happened at the top of the willis tower as they call it now. Well talk to a tourest about the moment of terror. [announcer] a healthy dog is a playful dog. Give him the calorie Smart Nutrition of beneful healthy weight. With wholesome rice,real chicken,soy, and accents of vitamin rich veggies. Plus a taste he loves. Beneful healthy weight from purina. Welcome back to new day. Lets look at your headlines. Radical islamist fighter who carries out a suicide bombing in syria was a u. S. Citizen who grew up in florida. Two u. S. Government officials confirmed this but would not disclose the bombers given name. He was a group of the fbi and cia have been trying to track since they joined the fight months agonchts the nsa firing back at Edward Snowden who claims in an nbc interview he reported his concerns about illegal surveillance to directly to the agency before leaking a treasure trove of classified documents. Nsa officials released an email exchange with snowden which they claim shows he did not address wrongdoing at the agency, asking only about Legal Training programs. Snowden calls this release incomplete. So, two champion word smiths are celebrating this morning. The Scripps National spelling bee ended in a tie thursday for the first time in 52 years. These two young men beat the egg dictionary. 13yearold ansun sujoe spelled fueilleton correctly and 14yearold Sriram Hathwar nailed the word stichomythia. In fact, as i said, the boys spelled so many words right, the judges just ran out. I didnt know there could be a tie in a spelling bee. They go to every language in the world. They have to find more words somewhere. The two winners will tell us about their big wins in the next hour of new day. Newday. Two words, by the way. Are they real words . You can make them up and they will spell them right. How can you run out . Fueilleton is not a word, i tell you that right now. How do you end in a tie . They should sue. We had two people on the show that had a tie. That was in a regional, state competition. And they ran out of words as well. Isnt that crazy . Are we not creating enough words or are the kids just getting smart sn smarter . Is it a Big Government problem . Big government. What happened to the country when they can limit the amount of words you can spell. Spelling bee reform. Theres my platform when i run. Send it to us. J. B. Wins. Speaking of another potential winner this morning, Shelly Sterling has confirmed she has a binding contract, interesting choice of words for her, to sell the l. A. Clippers to former microsoft ceo Steve Ballmer. The price tag would make history, 2 billion. In a statement Shelly Sterling says shes confident hell take the clippers to, quote, new levels of success. The billionaire businessman used to be the man who was running microsoft and hes about to make the biggest deal, the nba has ever seen. So natural question of curiosity, who is he . Chief Business Correspondent Christine Romans gives us the answer. Also there was a quote from Steve Ballmer where he says he looks forward to working more with the nba and silver along through the process, indicating theyve already been talking to the nba about this. Shelly sterling wanted a 2 in pront of that number, 2 billion. Steve ballmer has the money and he wants the team. Get up get up reporter he always seemed ready for courtside. Former microsoft ceo Steve Ballmer was famous for energizing his employees. I have four words for you. I love this company. Yeah reporter ballmer started working at microsoft in its early days, in 1980 he became the companys 24th employee and is oversized personality became known fast through videos like this promoting windows 1. 0 in 1985. Watch as windows integrates lotus 123. Reporter and bill gates in the night at the roxbury spoof. Steve ballmer. Reporter in 1998 ballmer rose to president , then ceo in 2000 taking the company through hits like xbox and kinect and flops like window vista. Our job, our job is to make sure that not only is pc not dead but were constantly unknow vating it. Reporter he stepped down as ceo of microsoft three months ago but remains on the shareholders. Hes worth more than 20 billion according to forbes and sits at number 35 on the magazines annual billionaires list. Ballmer grew up near detroit where his father was a manager at ford motor company. He went to harvard and briefly attended Stanford School of business. Hes no stranger to the business of sports. His name has been tied for a possible deal for the Sacramento Kings but that fell through. Now his poised to make the biggest nba deal ever, going from hightech billionaire to courtside baller. So hes got all the ingredients, right . Very loyal. Still drives a ford because his dad worked at ford. Hes got fashion. You see how he is in the microsoft videos. Clearly the kind of guy you can see courtside cheering for his team. Hes got 2 billion there. I dont know if this is a big group. Hes tried to buy a team before with a group of investors. I dont know if this is just him or other investors. Just him. Just him. Hes got the money. Hes doing this bid as an individual, as opposed to the other teams bidding which are distinctively groups. Hes got the edge. Again, in the release from Shelly Sterling it was clear they have been talking already to the nba. The vote is not here yet but theyve been talking to the nba about the sale and bank of america revises the deal. Great investment for the sterlings. Is the Basketball Team still a good investment . Theres only 30 of them. If you want one you have to find the chance and take it when you can. Its not about investment, its the trophy of it . Mark cuban told me the trophy days are over but that looks like what this is. Hes a businessman though. He will run it like a business. You only have a few chances to get it. He didnt get his last chance. He wants it now. I cant wait to see that on the court. Right . What was that, i missed that. Whew identical, for the record. Coming up next on new day, heartpounding moments at the top of willis tower. A glass floor 103 stories up cracking while tourists are standing on it. Youre going to hear about that. That is terrifying. And also, dont tell Taylor Townsend she cant win the french open. Shes one of two american women Still Standing in paris. The incredible adversity she has already overcome just to make it on to the clay. By the way, i believe in winners and losers and especially the freedom to fail. Especially the freedom to fail. Who, him . Earlier this springn and now youre at it again. Scott chuckles indeed, a crucial late spring feeding helps defend the grass against the summer heat to come. Nbr we knew that right guys . Oh yeah scott feed your lawn. Feed it captain and heres a tip. Bellman thanks, captain obvious. When you save money on hotel rooms, its just like saving money on anything else that costs money. Like shoes, textiles, foreign investments, spatulas, bounty hunters, javelins. Little things, anyone can do. It steals your memories. Your independence. Insures support. A breakthrough. And sooner than youd like. Sooner than you think. You die from alzheimers disease. We cure alzheimers disease. Every little click, call, or donation adds up to something big. Alzheimers association. The brains behind saving yours. train horn vo wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. Norfolk southern. One line, infinite possibilities. Dewhos got twond rhooves and just got ae. Claim status update from geico . This guy, thats who. Sfx bing. And i just got a. Oh no, thats mom. Sorry. Claim status updates. Just a tap away on the geico app. Annie lenox walking on broken glass. Welcome to new day. Berman likes it. Visitors to chicagos willis tower getting an all clear after a truly heartpounding moment thursday. Protective coating on one of the glass floored Observation Decks cracked with people standing on it and, remember, thats 103 stories above the city when that happened. Cnns George Howell caught up with him. Take a look and a listen. 103 stories above the ground. All i see is just glass thats breaking underneath me. Reporter four cousins pose together for a picture on a glass Observation Deck overlo overlooking chicago and the second they stood up. I can feel the glass just shattering completely around my hand. Reporter they look back to see the surface they had been sitting on shattered. Im thinking im going down with it. Cracking. Reporter they also got video of the glass, literally cracking in front of their eyes. They feared the ledge was about to fall to the ground. Because you can see through it obviously you have the psychological effect that, you know, oh, my gosh, something broke. Reporter engineer says theres a thick panel of glass that didnt break. Designed to withstand 10,000 pounds or 5 tons of weight. We watched as crews replaced the thin layer above it that caused such a scare. So this is the new sheet of glass that will go on the sky deck. If you look here you can see exactly how thin that is. Crews tell me that this is meant to be scratched and scraped up. In fact, its replaced every six to nine months depending on wear and tear. From outside, at a helicopters vantage point, you can see how the observation ledge extends just beyond the willis tower with the new glass panel finally in place, we put it to the test. So we are stepping on to that thin sheet of glass now. Thats correct. The quarter inch top piece of glass is designed to protect the 1 1 2inch thick structural glass. Oh, my god, take the picture. Reporter the ledge on the sky deck now back in business. And even these guys admit after the scare of their lives for the record, its an awesome view, awesome building. Reporter its the view from up top that made such an impression on them that they may just come back for more. George howell, cnn, chicago. That is is i dont even know. Steve ballmer had his four words, i love this company. Mine would be, negligent infliction of emotional distress. It was the safe kind of shattered glass 1300 feet in the air. Not the dangerous kind. No one is ever any danger standing on broken glass. We put it there to scare you. That was a joke, actually. I cant sleep. I have anxiety. Here it comes. Exactly. Now to the story of an american tennis property ji on the rise. Two american women remain in the french open. One of them is Taylor Townsend and she hits the court within the hour just 18 years old and ranked 205th. She defeated the 21st best player of the world to make it into the third round. Taylor is tough and has already had to overcome her share of adversity. Really unbelievable story. Nischelle turner is looking at it. Tennis leader saying remember this name, Taylor Townsend and thats a great sports name. Very good sports name. Thats what counts. Right now though her game is good, too. She is gotten to the french open, the hard way. She earned a wild card in the playoff, in a playoff type tunement. She won four matches in the same day. Taylor townsend is determined to make a point on and off the tennis courts. Taylor townsend, star is on the rise in paris. Reporter at her very first grand slam tournament 18yearold townsend defeated francis toppering player in a major upset becoming the youngest american to advance to the third round of the french open in over ten years. Celebrating her victory, doing the nene. But it was a victory that almost didnt happen. In 2012 at 16 taylor was the number one ranked junior. Then the u. S. Tennis association came to her and said, they wouldnt pay her travel expenses, explaining they were concerned about her longterm health and development as a tennis player. Everyone saw that as a usda telling taylor they wanted her to get into better shape and to lose weight. Reporter the usta later told the wall street journal it was a miscommunication. I was really upset. I cried. And i just didnt know what was happening, but i got myself together and i was like, im playing. Thats all that i said. I was like, i need to find a way to get healthy. I need to go to the doctor as much as i can. Im playing. Reporter she didnt just play, she put a different spin on the game by paying her own way and winning sponsors like prince and nike and more tournaments. All the while getting advice from others who didnt fit the stereo typical look of a tennis player. Serena is not a small girl either. She has a beautiful figure. Venus isnt small. Shes taller, but, i mean, im short and im, you know, not skinny. So i mean, i think so but im just trying to do the best that i can for me. Everyone is different. And thats really what ive learned out of this whole thing. Reporter and today shes hoping to advance in the grand slam tournament and get another chance to do her now famous victory dance. Here we go. Now shes shy. She just didnt the nene at the last win and now shes shy to do it on cnn. Next up for taylor she faces number 15 in the world carlos suarez, i think in about 15 minutes. If she wins she would be the youngest american to get to the fourth round at Roland Garros since serena and venous and she idol who she loves is roger federer. I wonder if she has met him. I dont know but she just says she loves everything she does, everything about his game. Like wins almost every time for ten years . Great thing. Never loses. Shes also got very fine and precise strokes which is very federeresque. We talked about it before, her game fits the clay surface. Very well. Shes doing well here. You can see why. Good luck to her. Well all be checking in with that. Thats right. Go taylor, go taylor. Its time to party like its 19 1994. The new york rangers are heading to the stanley cup final. Joe carter has more in this mornings breacher report. Theyre going ray crazy around here, joe. Nobody onset happier for the rangers than john berman. Ecstatic for the rangers to make it to the stanley cup. The rangers goalie lundqvist was sensational last night after one of the worst. He bounced back in game six with a performance that put the rangers in position and put them in a stanley cup final. He stopped all 18 shots on goal last night including one of the best saves in the playoffs. Only seemed fitting that the gamewinning goal came from dominick moore. First season back after taking a year off mourning the death of his wife who passed away from a rare form of liver cancer. That was a special moment for him last night. For this team its been a stunning turn around even their coach said after the game that he couldnt have imagined this moment at the beginning of the season back in october. Later tonight the miami heat can advance to the nba finals with a win against the pacers. Lebron james is hoping for a better game than, well, the last game he had. Earlier this week he sat down with Rachel Nichols and the two talked about how hes matured since his first playoff game in 2006. Im just smarter, more seasoned basketball player, more veteran. I mean, ive been in it so many times that, you know, i kind of know what to expect. And for me, at a younger age, i was never even keel. You know, playoff game when i was younger i was excited, out of my mind, you would lose and i was the worst person in the world. Of course you can catch rachels show tonight at 10 30 eastern on cnn. In addition to interviewing lebron, she also sits down with kurt busch, and the two of them talk about his historic attempt at the double, of course, this past sunday he raised in the indianapolis 500 in the afternoon and then the cocacola 600 later that same day. Quite a feat. Thank you, joe. Lets take a break. Coming up next on new day, disturbing new details about a treatment about a u. S. Marine jailed for months in mexico. Were talking to his mother who is pleading for him to be released. Plus, big news, Shelly Sterling says the mega deal is done, that former microsoft ceo Steve Ballmer has agreed to pay 2 billion for the clippers. But will Donald Sterling sign off on this sale or is this whole thing just a ploy to run up the price . Well break it down. Honestly, the offseason isnt ive got a lot to do. Thats why i got my surface. Its great for watching game film and drawing up plays. Its got onenote, so i can stay on top of my todo list, which has been absolutely absurd since the big game. With skype, its just really easy to stay in touch with the kids i work with. Alright, russell you are good to go alright, fellas. Alright, russ. Back to work a u. S. Marine remains in a mexican prison this morning two months after he was arrested for crossing the mexican border. He says by accident with three guns in his possession. Marine Sergeant Andrew taf mo s tahmooressi is telling the world how he was chained up and beaten by prison guards. Here to discuss the latest in his case is his mother, jill tahmooressi. Jill, its gad to have you with us. Thank you for being here. First, when is the last time you got to check in on your son and what do you know about his condition . He called me last night. Hes in much better conditions, though still imprisoned. He considers his current position to be safer than what he experienced at the state penitentiary called la mesa. Thats a little bit of better news. For those just coming to this story, lets remind everyone how we reached here. Your son was driving, and he says he got lost basically. Tell us, what is his version of this . Yes, he was parked in a parking lot, literally 50 feet away from an onramp. He turned left out of the parking lot within 50 feet, made his next left thinking he was headed north to san diego and instead there was a blind curve that swooped him south straight into a corralled barricaded mexican customs lane. The only place to stop was at the mexican customs agent checkpoint. Jill, obviously the concerning detail in all of this are the weapons. What do you understand about why he was carrying the weapons . Hes a marine. Hes a marine reservist until 2016, just diagnosed with ptsd at the san diego va. Thats why he left florida in january and headed at the invite of a purple heart veteran marine who was seeking treatment at that va in san diego. So he had arrived, march 12th he was diagnosed positive for ptsd. One of his symptoms was hyper vigilance to selfdefense. Thats why he carried a concealed weapons permit. You dont belief he was on some kind of mission. This was just about him keeping the weapons on his person . Yes. He had all of his possessions in his truck. He had not yet found permanent housing in san diego. All of his possessions stacked pile in the backseat and when he entered mexico by accident, the first thing he said to the first person that stopped him was, i got here accidentally. Please let me turn around. I have three guns in my truck. So he disclosed immediately and thats also evidence in a 911 tape that is recorded and online. Can we hear some of the tape . We have it here, jill, so people can understand what his tone was and what he was saying. Lets take a listen. Im at the border of mexico right now. My problem is, i thought the border by accident and i have three guns in my truck. And theyre trying to possess theyre trying to take my guns from me. So youre in mexico . Yeah, i theres nothing i can help you with then, sir. I do apologize. You are not on american soil anymore. I cant really help you. To be clear, you believe there was no chance that your son intended to go to mexico . Absolutely no chance. He was headed back to san diego to get a hotel like he often did. That day he had walked into mexico. He had parked at that parking lot to purposefully walk into tijuana at a popular place where marines from Camp Pendleton go. So he had no intention of then driving into mexico. He had just walked out of mexico headed back to san diego and intuitively you turn left to head north to san diego and it swept south on a blind curve and corals you. Its a point of no return if you make that one wrong left turn and thats literally what he did. Also relevant the detail you offer that he had all of this possessions with him, not just the guns. Our friend over at fox news has, greta, had an opportunity to speak to your son on the phone. Heres some of what he had to say. Lets play it. They stripped me of my clothes and then they handcuffed me, my hands to a bed post and my feet to a bed post. So i was kind of stuck there standing overnight. I think it was for discipline, for punishment. I was hit multiple times. I was punched in the stomach a few times to the point where i couldnt breathe. Now, jill, i know youre operating as counsel basically for your son right now and arguing his case but to hear your sons voice and to know whats been happening to him, in his opinion, how is that to hear as his mom . Oh, my gosh, im mortified. That was at the hands of the guards that were to be protecting him. Hes an inmate in a prison. You would expect the guards to protect their inmates. But instead he had nearly been executed by the gang members that were in the cell and then he was subjected to severe beating by the guards. I mean, im appalled. This is mexico, our friendly neighbors to the south. And in is a man who said i accidentally entered here. Please let me go back to america. And instead he was confiscated, held captive, nearly killed by the gang members and the guards in that prison. Im furious. Also as tough as he is and being a marine you know that hes not his best self right now because hes struggling with with the pts diagnosis and this has got to be even more difficult for him. Yes . Absolutely. Much more difficult. And he has not heard from his commander in chief. Hes a current marine reservist. Theres a white house. Gov pretician. I need 20,000 more signatures today. That will force a response from president obama because that is his platform. We the people petition and he will acknowledge andrews fight for freedom but i need 20,000 signatures by the end of today. Happy to get that word out for you, jill. Secretary of state john kerry was on new day. We discussed this. He said he is in communications with authorities there to make sure they have the proof they need to hold an american citizen. Have you heard anything from the state department to validate their efforts . No, i have not. I know that mr. Whitaker from the local u. S. Service has at least, ive reached out to him and yesterday when i found out and he sent an affidavit of mistreatment for andrew to fill out because this was new news to me and i immediately let mr. Whitaker know that andrew was abused at the hands of the guards. All right. Jill, thank you very much. Well follow up with the state department. Please keep in touch with us. Let us know whats going on. We appreciate you giving us the latest on new day. Good luck to you and your son. Thank you. It is official. Former microsoft ceo Steve Ballmer has won the bidding war for los angeles clippers. Ballmer struck a deal with Shelly Sterling to buy the clippers for a record 2 billion. Its been submitted for league approval. So far Donald Sterling though hasnt signed off on the deal. But does he need to . A lot of questions here. Not a lot of answers but a lot of development. Lets get over to cnns rosa flores with the latest. Kate, good morning. Two things are very clear this morning. Shelly sterling wants this to be over. She wants the sale to be done. She said this morning making this announcement just moments ago and im going to quote here, i am delighted that we are selling the team to steve who will be a terrific owner, she says. We have worked for 33 years to build the clippers into a premier nba franchise. I am confident that steve will take the team to new levels of success. Now, here is the other side of this story. Donald sterling, he is saying, i dont care about the money. I have plenty of money. He wants vindication. He doesnt want his name associated with the word racism. Here is what we know. Former microsoft ceo Steve Ballmer has made a binding agreement to buy the nba, the nba team l. A. Clippers. That sounds like a done deal, right . Wrong. Because according to Donald Sterlings attorney he was telling cnn that Donald Sterling only gave his estranged wife Shelly Sterling and the nba the right to negotiate and to negotiate only, not to sell. Heres the other thing his attorney had to say. Take a listen. We dont think the team can be sold without mr. Sterlings consent. Mr. Sterling is not going to consent unless the nba does something about the illegal charges they filed against him and so far weve heard nothing to indicate that will occur. So other things have to happen. Donald sterling has to agree to the sale. 75 of the nba board of governors have to agree as well. And, chris, let not forget about the 2. 5 million fine. That is also still pending. Yes, rosa, thank you for pointing out all the particulars. Lets figure this out because it gets more and more complicated. We have david cornwell, sports attorney, and sean gregory, Senior Writer for time magazine. We have law and policy here. Mr. Cornwell, counselor, starting with you. Complicated. Can shelly sell without donald . No, because he is the signatory to the franchise agreement, not her. But does she need him, maybe no because the nba at the end of the day owns the franchise. Not Donald Sterling. Help us understand this. Well, there are multiple ways to get to the same place but primarily Donald Sterling recently sent a letter to the nba commissioner adam silver saying that his wife had the authority to negotiate and sell the team. Max bleacher is ignoring that. Secondly, the nba is about to vote on tuesday to terminate the franchise where the nba will take over it and theyll have the right to sell it. So it really and, Shelly Sterling claims that she has the right to sell it because of her status in the family trust. So any road you take ends up with Steve Ballmer owning the clippers. One of thisser big legal point. The representative for mr. Sterling says, none of this means anything because their evidence is illegally obtained and therefore none of this can move forward. Does that hold water in this particular setting . It does not. And in this case some of maxs best arguments can be used against him. At least 15 nba teams reside in states that are single party, oneparty consent states. California is a twoparty consent state. So by maxs arguments that means teams such as the utah jazz, if their owner were to have done what Donald Sterling has done, then they actually could lose their team. This is Self Governance. One of the most important part of Self Governance is uniformity. If they can do it to a team in utah, owner in utah, then they can do it to Donald Sterling. But in any event, all the greens that he has signed, adopting the nbas constitution and bylaws, operate as a waiver of the rights under californias constitution or thats the right of pries vy privacy. Interesting point, sean gregory, that Darren Kavinoky made. The agreement between the nba and owners is new york law, oneparty consent state. And the rule of evidence dont apply here so the fact that its admissible or not, do you think its a charade . Total charade. Mr. Bleachers argument was amazing when he said if the nba would not have would have rejected the evidence based on the technicalities of oneparty state, twoparty state. Sponsors would not have gone away. Thats not true. Sponsors started leaving before adam silver came down with his ban. So companies dont care about the technicalities of these laws. And they know their customers dont care. Their customers arent going to disassociate or associate with what mr. Sterling said based on some legal technicalities. This all matters, this discussion, because what the league is leaning on is that you hurt the brand and that is that is evidence, lets say, proven by sponsors leaving, players saying they wont play for you and youre hurting the cache, the value of the league by how you can and thats good enough for them. That all happened before adam silver came down with this lifetime ban. There is this speculation out there. Theres lot of speculation, right, mr. Cornwell, this is just to raise the value of the team. I say we dismiss all of that. If this one piece of speculation is true, what does it mean . What sterling wants is vindication. Thats whats his lawyers said. In this case that would mean removing the ban. Would the league do that . Would it matter . Whats your thought . Absolutely not. The players would not stand for that at all. So far adam silver has been supported by the players in the Players Association because of what hes done. What they need to do is to tell Donald Sterling, go away. And if you dont, were going to fine you again. Were going to hold you accountable for our legal fees. The nba controls the distribution of tv money to all of its team and can withhold that money or use it to fine Donald Sterling to make him go away. This is unbecoming to the nba. He has demonstrated that hes just a crazy unreliable, sick, and vial individual. He needs to go away and i think the nba is not going to be lenient. I think theyre going to be tougher on him going forward. Can you see another side on that . He says he doesnt want to pay the fine either but its that lifetime ban. Is there any upside for the league . Yeah, i mean, just thinking about it kind of going back and forth. I think they can waive the fine. I dont think anybody cares much about that. Its chump change. The life. Time ban, you let him come to games. So if you had the lifetime ban to go away, he goes away. Sterling goes away quietly, sells the team but hes allowed to come to games and hang out. Hes not going to be able to buy a team again. I can envision the possibility. But i agree with david, no one really wants him near any games. Did you though that sean gregory rolls like that, that 2. 5 million is chump change. Lunch is on you. The cries are growing louder for var secretary shinseki to step down as he is going to turn over a report to president obama explaining the deadly treatment delays at the Va Medical Centers as first revealed by cnn. The secretary is expected to apologize today for a breach of trust when he speaks to a Veterans Group in just over two hours. And now we are learning the wait list scandal has gone even wider. Gone nationwide. Drew griffin of cnns special Investigations Unit has been out in front on this from the beginning. Drew, hes joining me from washington. You have new information. A lot of the focus and the administrations focus has been in phoenix, and now you say theres problems youve ufr covered even in pittsburgh. Yeah, overnight we got a letter from two congressmen in pennsylvania, congressman mike doyle and tim murphy. They are telling us that they have been contacted by the va in pittsburgh about a wait list of 700 veterans, veterans waiting for a poippointments there. Some appointments since 2012 and yet unfulfilled. This pittsburgh va has been in troul trouble before. We reported on it in 2012 when they actually had a outbreak there, five veterans died. Legionela bacteria was in the water supply and the management at the hospital didnt bother to tell anybody, didnt bother to tell the patients or the staff, and five patients contacted it and died. Now we understand that there is another wait list issue in pittsburgh that the congressmen are trying to get to the bottom of. So, yes, this scandals growing. And i expect, kate, that as these audits are done across the country, were going to see wait lists pop up just about everywhere. It takes me back to a conversation that i had with the chairman of the House Veterans Affairs committee, jeff miller, when he said from his view he wouldnt provide details is just the tip of the iceberg in talking about phoenix and it sounds like youre uncovering it almost every turn which is probably why its not surprise that more and more people are calling for Eric Shinseki to step down. What do you think of the growing pressure, do you think it will lead to his resignation . What are you hearing from your sources . I think its almost inevitable now. You spoke about jeff miller. Hes the ranking republican on the House Veterans Affairs committee. Last night the ranking democrat, mike mashad, released a statement basically saying it is time for shinseki to go. When the ranking democrat says that, thats pretty much a sign that it is time to move on. Let me read you from his letter. This is mike mashad. Democrat now, with a heavy heart that i call on secretary shinseki to step down. Democrats and republicans alike, all want to get to the bottom of what exactly is broken with the va system. Instead, one man has become the focal koint. Its time to move forward. That one man, kate, is speaking this morning here in washington, d. C. Hes got a speech or hes going to make some comments about fighting the homeless vet problem. Thats at 8 30 this morning. Really i think a lot of the media are going to show up just to see what happens and when, not if, general shinseki resigns. That is a good question. Whats going to happen to him is a good question. But i know the question you are also asking and we need to continue asking, then what . If he steps down, how then is the system, this huge bureaucracy going to be fixed . Whats going to happen then . Thats then, of course, the next question. Drew, in front of it all, thank you so much. Thanks. Lets stick with the va for a second. Turns out they have a bonus system for their employees. Thats not unusual but it would be interesting to see who gets a bonus given the current discoveries. Those bonuses may have a role to play in the scandal at the va. Heres why. Lawmakers are calling for a criminal investigation to determine whether long waiting times for patients were covered up because the government offered thousands of dollars in incentives to staffers to move patients through the system faster. Erin mcpike is live outside the hyatt hotel in washington where the va secretary shinseki will be speaking to veterans in 90 minutes. How does this all fit together, erin . Chris, the the bonus system is part of a years long effort by conservatives to make the government function more like a business. But krit tinges say for that to actually happen and to make the government function more like the private sector, there has to be accountability for those bonuses and consequences when performance suffers. Theres a possibility that there is motivation within the va that encourages people to shorten waiting lists so that they get bonuses. Reporter one of the most head scratching details in the standle. Employees got bonuses while veterans suffered, even died. Cnn report showed t a least 40 veterans died waiting for care at the phoenix va as its director Sharon Hellmann was rewarded with 9,000 an top of her sixfigure salary. Last week va secretary Eric Shinseki rescinded that cash. I think the president as a general manager believes that there ought to be action taken on specific with regard to specific individuals. Reporter awarding bonuses is commonplace in the federal government. Analysts say its a strategy many republicans in Congress Push to keep agencies accountable and competitive with the private sector. But there are big differences. In the private sector, there are not only rewards for doing well, there are penalties for doing poorly. Reporter in all the va Inspector General sis invest gating 26 facilities for, quote, doctored waiting times. Its unclear the extent of the impact. But according to accountability site openthebooks. Com phoenix va employees got 483,000 bonuses from 2011 to 2013 when the controversy developed. Seven facilities facing allegations of cooking the books awarded more than 8. 7 million in bonuses to more than 12,000 employees. Raising this issue. Weve had problems time and time again where it appears that its much easier to get a bonus at va than it is to get disciplined or be fired. Reporter one Government Watchdog Group argues that scandal brings to light an over arching problem for the federal government. Literally has to be committing a crime in order to get fired in the federal government. Now, tom also made the point to me that this comes down to bad management and that Sharon Hellmann should have figured out about all of these backlogs simply by Walking Around to the phoenix va but he said this system of bad management is part of the culture reenforced by the federal government. Kate and chris . Well see what happens today. Thank you so much. Lets take a break. Coming up next on new day, Michelle Obama taking on House Republicans over School Lunch Standards and she lost. What will she do to fight congress now . The head of the first ladies lets move campaign is joining us. Plus, what do you think of this . Are the nations most famous colleges teaching intolerance . Michael bloomberg thinks so. Were going to breakdown the former mayor of new yorks stunning speech accusing some pretty Famous Schools of mccarthyism. [ laughter ] smoke . Nah, im good. 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When you try easy meal like salmon cakes, thats the results youre going to get. Wow, richard, where did you learn to do all this . Well, mrs. Obama, i know how important it is for everybody to eat right. Whether youre a pro athlete or just a kid at school wanting a healthy meal, youve got to put right fuel in your body in order to perform at your best. I feel like i have to respond, thats right, richard sherman, he was teaming up with Michelle Obama with Healthy Foods campaign, something the first lady shall be struggling with congress over over the battle over childrens schools have escalated. A House Committee advanced a bill that would allow some schools to delay implementing new white house nutritional guidelines. It gets a whole lot merckier after that. Republicans opposed to the standards they say those standards are actually hurting the schools that they are trying to help. Lets figure out whats going to happen from here and what it all means. Sam cass, executive director of Michelle Obamas lets move campaign and Senior Adviser for nutrition policy is joining us now. Sam, thanks for taking the time. As you saw right there, Michelle Obama putting a lot of her attention and time to putting really her name on getting healthier lunches in schools. What was her reaction when this bill this bill failed essentially in committee trying to change this bill . Well, we expected that vote yesterday in the republican house, but, you know, what shes really concerned about is seeing politicians and industry influence really stepping on the wisdom of our, you know, scientists and nutritionalists who are setting a standard for what our kids should or shouldnt be eating in our schools. We know we have to let science lead us to those kind of decisions and not our politicians. That kind of murky relationship though is nothing new in washington and nothing new to this white house. They understand how the politics games work. Why cant you work behind the scenes to fix this . What are you going to do now because the effort to drop this waiver, if you will, that failed and the bill is moving forward. Well, youre right. We have seen this before just a couple years ago. Congress stepped in and declared that pizza should be considered a vegetable in the School Lunch Program or exactly the sauce in the pizza. So weve seen this before. But weve got a long way to go. The senate is holding pretty firm here. You know, were confident that our friends on the hill are going to do the right thing and let science lead and make sure that our kids are getting nutritious foods in schools. We know whats at stake. One in three of those young people are on track to have die beats in their lifetime if we dont dramatically change course and its having a tremendous affect on our economy. Health care system right now we spend 190 billion a year treating obesity related conditions. You can only imagine what that cost will be when one in three of americans are diabetidiabeti. We know what the answer is here and were confident were going to get this to a good place. Where does your confidence come from . Youre in washington. Youve been watching the relationship between the white house and the white house and the house of representatives throughout the president s administration. Its not a good one. These things House Republicans, they have a strong majority. They can vote and push things through however they want. I mean, especially when the congressman who pushed this waiver, he said the following. Everyone supports healthy meals for children. But bottom line, he says, schools are finding it too much too quick. Why is it unreasonable for them to get a oneyear delay, a waiver, if you will, to implement these standards . Waivers are also not new to this white house. Yeah. Well, listen, right now weve seen 90 of schools successfully implement the standards. Were seeing food and vegetable consumption go up because of these standards. Whole grain is up because of these standards. We know this rule is working. Usda provided flexibility where appropriate. Last week whole grain pasta, for example, was an issue. And they allowed an extension on the time needed to implement the whole grain requirements for pasta. But that doesnt mean we should roll this whole thing back and allow schools to opt out of nutritional standards which is what has been proposed in the house. On the senate side, whats in their bill is much more reasonable. I think theres a way we can get this to a good place. Im fully confident that were not going to roll this back. Where does your confidence come from . The senate saying theyre going to stand firm or you getting signals when the bill passes in the house, the bill passes in the senate, they come together in conference to figure this out youve got reassurance from House Republicans that theyre ready to play ball in this . I think its too early to tell. This is like way early in the p process. I just know were going to do whats right for the kids. I know senate has hold firm. And in the end, this is what parents want. Parents want our kids to get nourishing food in schools. Taxpayers want to make sure that the 10 billion spent every year feeding our children in school are those dollars go to nutritious foods. So i think in the end, reason will win out here. What do you think the chances are, sam, that in the end youre going to have to just take the fact that 90 of the schools have successfully implemented these standards and youre just going to have to take that point and take that as a win . Well, it is a win. And, look, i think either way were going to do everything we can to the work with the remaining 10 of the schools and help them implement and provide Technical Assistance and resources to help get this over the end because all kids really deserve to have nutritious foods in their cafeterias to make sure our vending machines are not selling junk food to our kids. This is the work that must happen. So were going to get there one way or the other. I and i know youve got to giggle when you say it because it is true. Even the congressman who is pushing this waiver says everyone supports healthy meals for children, especially in schools, which is why i think it is so frustrating that this gets caught up in politics. Why this cant be worked out before it makes the head inloose and before we have to be talking about the opposing sides on this debate, sam. Youre working on it. Keep us updated. Thanks so much. Thank you so much. All right, chris . Coming up on new day, Michael Bloomberg shows up at harvard to give the commencement address and accuses the Famous School basically creating a generation of haters. We have his shocking speech from the belly of the beast itself, harvard. Plus, a spike in measles cases. Nearly 300 already this year. Why . Were going to tell you what you need to know, ahead. [ female announcer ] you never know what might be out there. The ambulance racing by you. The ambulance chaser. Chasing the ambulance. A rollerblader with headphones whos oblivious to everything. The cab driver whos checking out the rollerblader. Its 360 degrees of chaos out there. But with driverassist technology, including a blind spot system and a rearview camera, the ford fusion will help tell you when its coming. The ford fusion will help tell you when its coming. Humans. Even when we cross our ts and dot our is, we still run into problems. Thats why Liberty Mutual insurance offers accident forgiveness with our auto policies. 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She addresses to on going political battle surrounding the 2012 terror attack on American Mission that left four americans dead saying, quote, i will not be part of a political slug fest on the backs of dead americans. Its just plain wrong and its unworthy of our great country. Those who insist on politicizing the tragedy will have to do so without me. For more, lets bring cnn political commentator and republican consultant Margaret Hoover and cnn political analyst and editor in chief of the daily beast john avlon into the mix. The obvious question is, does she control whether or not she is pulled into the benghazi analysis . Of course she doesnt. Its convenient if youre run for president if you guys are going to be political have fun with that but im not going to be political, im going to be above politics. Frankly, the substance is unbelievable. The substance of it doesnt sound all that different from the tone and tenor of her congressional tell, testimony. Defiant. Laying out the law the way she sow it and recounting the facts the way she saw it. Should that be a surprise that this is how shes going to lay this out from her book from her perspective. Do you expect her to offer more, john . No. Margaret is right. The irony of someone running for president and saying shes not going to be political, fine. But to say this political food fight is ugly, hijacked bipartisans and that tenor and that approach is not only the right one politically, it may be the right one practically. Why. I think right now the benghazi distraction has become so associated with hyper partisan agendas that theres a chance and Hillary Clinton wants to sort of will the ball fair on this one, that it will be seen as not a credible line of investigation. Even if with this coming out. I think shes betting on the fact she thinks there are no minds left to change on benghazi at this point. They can yell about it, both sides, however much they want but youre not going to change the middle by 2016, swing voters. The best way to reach the middle is to say im going to be above politics. Im with j. B. Except for this. Were in the age of accountability in the political dialogue right now. With shin kseki has got to go, holder has got to go. If that becomes part of the political narrative this quote may be relevant. She reiterates a point she made during congressional testimony. She says, i never saw the cables requesting additional security. It was a procedural quirk given her position, didnt land on her desk. Its not how it works. It shouldnt and it didnt. Will that be good enough in the age of accountability . Is that a legitimate angle of attack . In the age of accountability she also said i take full responsibility of what happened in benghazi. But she didnt see the cables. Where is the responsibility . There is the sort of responsibility falling on deaf ears. You can take responsibility for it but who has been fired . I mean, there are four americans who died. The president s ambassador and representative in that country was killed. For republicans arent you speaking to an echo chamber . Yes, and its an echo chamber of people deeply invested in this but as a result it alienates the moderate majority of americans seeing washington trying to politicize a tragedy and that is something people i regret that youre actually true and i dont think that different approach. I think its become so much a part of the echo chamber. I think Hillary Clinton hopes this will suffice because its become such a political so look, whats the headline coming out of of this . Shes basically Holding Strong with where she was and hoping this gets dismissed as politics. Well have to see which way it goes. Easier said than done. Always is. Something thats percolating right now, bloomberg shows up a at harvard. As if you need another reason not to like har ward university. Theres a man who clily went to yale. He lays into them about the lefty establishment that they are. Take a listen. We cannot deny others the rights and privileges that we demand for ourselves and that is true in cities and it is no less true at universities where the forces of repression appear to be stronger now, i think, than they have been at any time since the 1950s. The forces of repression at harvard university. Why is the former mayor saying this and is he right, john . This is manna from heaven for conservatives. This is its trard their. He points out something that conservatives have known to be true since the 1950s when buckley wrote god and man and yale. Whats interesting is a leading liberal in the country is calling it out. And thats actually refreshing. When he says 96 of college youre saying bloomberg is a liberal . Yes. Self identifies with more with the center left than conservative movement. 96 of University Professors donate to democrats, i say this as a obama democrat, how are you going to get a diversity of thinking and fresh thoughts on a college campus. Its fair to point out the liberal tendencies at liberal arts colleges. Look, we all know this is about a larger trend. There is a pc liberalism that tries to shout down descending voices on College Campuses. Fine. Problem is hypocrisy of people on the right and ignore what bloomberg points out which is the example to block the ground zero mosque. You can put principle ahead of partisan ship and ideology. He calls out both sides. Hes right on this one. This sound bite i found interesting. I want to get your guys take on it. This one on mccarthyism. Who . There is an idea floating around College Campuses including here at harvard, i think, that scholars should be funded only if their work conforms to a particular view of justice. Theres a word for that idea. Censorship. It is just a modern form of mccarthyism. Ooh. Does he have a point . Well, look, hes speaking very directly to what was interesting is the woman who is disinvited from having Honorary Degree from Brandeis University is a professor at harvard and her husband is one of the only tenured professors at harvard who is conservative. Yes. This is true. To call it mccarthyism. Its a it is something very different from ideologically shutting people out and silencing people who dont agree with you. Do you think he saw this speech before he gave it . Heck no. No way. Speaking on behalf of someone who did not attend the graduation speech at my graduation i can tell you i think harvard likes these homes that get publicity which creates this discussion. This is. Aing in the wake of all the graduations speakers backing out or being pushed out by student bodies who decide they dont want to hear different points of views. Harvard is making the opposite point of bloomberg by letting him speak in the first place and inviting the criticism. Always a step smarter at harvard. Let me ask you this. This could go on for days and weeks to come obviously. Were connecting to mainstream america on that one. I read a great piece in politico and why do we have commencement addresses anymore . Wisdom on a departing student body that may or may not have learned anything now. The platitudes that are going to be offered up because they generally hit on the same things every day. This is actually one that hits the issue of the times. This cycle we did see a lot of folks either be forced out or pulled back because of threatened protests. Its an important statement about the true nature of liberalism which is supposed to be art tolerating descending voices and were not seeing that on College Campuses enough. Youre going to silence the speaker or silence the student body. There is a middle ground. Thats what bloomberg was trying to get to. The problem is there is this intolerance. When people approach arguments from an idea logical perspective they want to shout down evident that doesnt back them up. Its polluting our campuses. Well said. You should give a commencement address. Boom, boom. I think that the impulses in congress are different than liberalized colleges. The political partisanship is a very different thing. I just impulses are different. Agree to disagree. There we go. Thanks, guys. Great. Coming up next on new day, measles hitting a 20year high with more than half of the cases among adults. Now federal officials are warning it may be due to a resistance to vaccines. Are you at risk . And how do you spell history . A tie at the spelling bee. Both are winners. Everybody is a winner, the new generation. Millennials never lose. Huh, 15 minutes could save you 15 or more on car insurance. Everybody knows that. Well, did you know that game show hosts should only host game shows . Samantha, do you take kevin as your lawfully wedded husband. Or would you rather have a new caaaaaar say hello to the seasons hottest convertible. Ohhh. And say goodbye to samantha. [ male announcer ] geico. 15 minutes could save you 15 or more. [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. She can print amazing things, right from her computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] she makes trains that are friends with trees. My mom works at ge. [ female announcer ] you never know what might come your way. A 24speed bike with 7 gears you will never use. An aquarium for the fish you named but shouldnt have. Because you know, fish. A snowboard thatll carve a mountain like it was a thanksgiving turkey. Whatever comes your way, the ford escape with its footactivated liftgate will help you bring it home. This morning the cdc is warning of a dangerous surge in a disease once essentially eliminated from the United States. Measles on the rise again with 288 cases reported this year. The highest number since the year 2000. More than half of those cases are among adults. And almost all are linked to travel overseas. Lets discuss what this means, what you really should be concerned about with dr. William shatner, chairman of medicine at vanderbilt medical center. Great to see you again. Hello, kate. Over the past 20 years, with Public Education campaigns, really done a good job, theres been such a concerted effort to essentially eliminate and eradicate measles and now this surge. Why . Well, the reason is very simple. Lots of children are not vaccinat vaccinated. And then when they go abroad theyre exposed to measles, bring it home and then it spreads along likeminded people after that return to the United States. As you say, the whole age spectrum can be effected. All the way from infants to some adults. So this is a new problem. And the answer is weve got to vaccinate our children. And if you go abroad, check with your doctor first to make sure that your measles protection is up to date. Doctor, the decision to vaccinate or not has been one of quite a bit of debate over the years for parent of young children. And parents fall on both sides of this issue very squarely. But from your perspective, when you look at kind of the public risk, not just for one child, but the public risk of measles, is there any valid medical reason to not be vaccinated . There is no reason not to vaccinate your child. Its important for that child safety. Its important for the whole community. The vaccines are safe. They are effective. Talk to your family doctor. Talk to your pediatrician. And get your child vaccinated so that measles will not be reintroduced into the United States and spread. Its a serious disease. 15 of these people who have had measles have been hospitalized. Im also seeing, talking about this statistics, of this years measles cases, more than 50 of the cases are adults that are 0 years 20 years old or older which to me on the surface is a little bit surprising because were not talking about those highrisk groups that we. Often do we went talk about the flu and other diseases, the young and the old. Why adults 20 years and older, why are they getting hit so hard . Well, some of them simply have an uncertain measles vaccination history and thats why if youre traveling abroad and you cant document what happened in the past, youll get a measles vaccine before you travel abroad. Be protected and then you wont also bring measles back into the United States. Doctor, really kind of bottom line. How big of a problem do you think this is . Is this going to be one year when you believe theres going to be an uptick or do you think that this is going to be an ungoing major problem and the Public Education campaigns are going to have to start all over again in 20 years of efforts to eradicate this disease are going to be all for naut . It will be continuing for a while because there are millions of cases of measles that still aoccur around the world. We are a small, small globe. Travel is between the develop b world and us all the time. And so there will be continuing threats to bring measles back into not only the United States but the entire western hemisphere which is essentially measles free except for importations. We will have to remain alert. All the more important, keep vaccinating children. Make sure that all of us are protected. Especially when it is so contagious. Vaccination really is the only way to go. Dr. William schnaffer, great to see you. Important message. Coming up on new day, a spelling bee double take, not one winner but two this year. Were going to speak with the cochampions of t s the scripp National Spelling bee. And this sunday on 9 00 p. M. Eastern on cnn mr. Tony bourdain gets a taste of thailand in this weeks parts unknown. You have to see what he decides to sink his teeth into. Take a look. This show is about food, f d food, delicious food, food like th this. Heres the thing. Youre eating food here, sort of unrecognizable. Frogs with garlic. Thats one of the many stomachs of a cow, pigs brain. Unrecognizable, scorchingly hot, or both. Whoa, thats hot. Whew. And often the ugliest dishes are the ones most hauntingly delicious. Blood soup. Im eating out of an open wound. Thats utterly delicious. This is a ferociously addicting country. Captain this is a tip. Bellman thanks, captain obvious. Captain and heres a tip. When you save money on hotel rooms, its just like saving money on anything else that costs money. Like shoes, textiles, foreign investments, spatulas, bounty hunters, javelins. Smoke . Nah, im good. [ male announcer ] celebrate every win with nicoderm cq, the unique patch with time release Smartcontrol Technology that helps prevent the urge to smoke all day long. Help prevent your cravings with nicoderm cq. The ambulance racing by you. The ambulance chaser. Chasing the ambulance. A rollerblader with headphones whos oblivious to everything. The cab driver whos checking out the rollerblader. Its 360 degrees of chaos out there. But with driverassist technology, including a blind spot system and a rearview camera, the ford fusion will help tell you when its coming. Verizon has always set out to provide you with the most powerful and Reliable Network experience. And now for the next advancement. Introducing verizon xlte. With 2x the 4g lte bandwidth and faster peak speeds in cities coasttocoast, theres more space for everyone to stream and share more. This is xlte. For best results, use verizon. Now bring in the whole family and get four lines for 160. We are the champions indeed, they are the champions. How do you spem cochampions. For the first time in more than 50 years the Scripps National spelling bee crowned 13yearold ansun sujoe and 14yearold Sriram Hathwar got a tie after nearly exhausting the 25word championship list. They beat english. Take a look at their winning moments. Stichomythia, stichomythia. Whatever. However you say it, just spell it. Feuilleton . Correct. I do not believe these words actually exist. This is only the first time in the spelling bees 89year history that two people have won. Ansun and sriram join us. Congratulations to you. What a feeling it must be. I have to say, im sure, even though you were splitting the prize it is not half as awesome, it is still completely awesome. Theyre already sharing the spotlight here. Getting the hang of it. Ansun, how does it feel to be a cowinner . It feels pretty good. Not only do i get the victory, but i get to share it with something else, so it means a lot to me. Sriram, you said Something Interesting after the competition last night. You said you werent competing against anybody. You were competing against the dictionary. Yes. It seemed to me by watching the dictionary played dirty, frankly. The english language is pretty brutal. It borrows so many words from different languages, thats pretty much why the spelling bee is there, so we can be more aware of all the different cultures and languages that have been incorporated into the english language. It was really just a competition against the dictionary, not against ansun or any of the other competitors. You are much nicer than the three of us on this couch, ill tell you that much. Ansun, i can probably already answer my question. Ansun, would you have liked to have gone off the books, gone to some other list, not on the competitions list to try to finally fight it out and have one champ . Im not really sure about that. I would have probably lost in that effort. Why . Im not really sure. So what are you going to do . Between the two of you, youre going to have to figure out a way to decide who is better. Is there any kind of other competition youre thinking about where you kind of meet in an alley or some predetermined pizzeria and have it out just for your own sake, manoamano at some point. Were both pretty satisfied with our performances yesterday. I dont think its quite necessary to meet there or any other place. I think were cally had an opportunity to get the trophy and were both happy with that. Sriram, youre much nicer than chris cuomo. Ive always been curious. After the spelling bee, after you win, are you going to bother not to spell anything the rest of your life . Ive done all the spelling im going to do ever, and the rest i just dont care about . I wouldnt say thats completely true. The vocabulary and everything will take me far. Thats pretty much the purpose of doing spelling, because getting exposed to so many words like in medicine and law can help me in any career i pursue. I guess the spelling part might go down a little bit, but the vocabulary definitely, languages, culture, meeting new people, thats still a huge part of my life. How much, ansun, would you say how many of these words do you actually know the meaning of . You can always ask for a definition, but i know youre a genius speller, but are you guys both actual allaround geniuses, you know all these words like stichomythia . Quite so, especially the spelling part. Sometimes the vocabulary dont really know the definitions. For spelling i knew most of them. All right. So it makes me feel a little bit better. Ill take that. Were so happy for both of you. Congratulations. I think its the most brutal competition in the world. Im always astounded that you make it out alive. Rocky and apollo creed needed to know who won the fight. At some point no. Its wonderful to be satisfied to share the wing. Congratulations. You can see it in their eyes, theres a tension it will build. We will be there. Theyre now wondering whos rocky. The sterling era may soon be over for the l. A. Clippers. Well tell you who just signed a 2 billion deal to take over the team. Also va secretary Eric Shinseki is expected to address veterans in just about a half hour from now. Will he be speaking to the scandal that is embroiling his department. [announcer] play closegood and close. Help keep teeth clean and breath fresh with beneful healthy smile food. With special crunchy kibbles and great taste, its a happy way to a healthy smile. Beneful healthy smile food and snacks. [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. She can print amazing things, right from her computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] she makes trains that are friends with trees. My mom works at ge. Captions by vitac www. Vitac. Com my mom works at ge. Good morning. Welcome to new day. John berman is with us. Chris cuomo had to cut out early today. Lets continue. Lets do it. Its a done deal and the nba could finally be turning the page on the donnell sterling controversy. Former microsoft ceo steve ball ballmer ponied up 2 billion. It needs to be approved by the league and we are following all the developments. Quite a few, rosa. Lots of moving parts. One thing is very clear this morning. Donald sterling wants to see all the cards on the table before deciding to sell or sue. It is one of the biggest deals in sports history, and the winning bidder, this man, Steve Ballmer, former ceo of microsoft. The price tag . 2 billion, handily beating out competing bidders like Oprah Winfrey and david geoff fen by at least 400 million. The deal is no slam dunk. Ballmer signed an agreement with Shelly Sterling. The next play belongs to Donald Sterling. There is no sale, and he has not yet agreed to sign off, period. His lawyer telling wolf blitzer before news of the agreement that while donald gave her permission to negotiate selling the team, he did not give her permission to actually sell the team. Not without reaching an accommodation with the nba which gives him some form of vindication. The money is not critical to him. The nba is pushing for a quick sale, trying to ward off a contentious meeting scheduled for this tuesday where owners will officially vote to force sterling out. The reaction overnight was quick, with Magic Johnson tweeting, quote, clipper fans. Youll love Steve Ballmer as your owner. Either way Donald Sterling will not leave emptyhanded. He originally bought the team for 12 million. If the sale goes through, he stands to make over 1. 9 billion in profit. That is some mega cash. Shelly sterling released a statement overnight announcing she is, quote, delighted that we are selling the team to steve who will be a terrific owner. We have worked for 33 years to build the clippers into a premier nba franchise. I am confident that steve will take the team to new levels of success. John, we cannot forget about those 2. 5 million in fines that Donald Sterling still has to pay. 2 billion might make that easier to pay. Well bring in senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin. He, along with wolf blitzer, interviewed Donald Sterlings lawyer yesterday. I have to say, you, of course, are a very prominent legal expert, but this is about business to me. Its about dollars and cents, a business deal. You have been saying the sterlings are playing good cop, bad cop here. Explain how theyre playing this game . Shelly sterling has been the good caught. She has been the one who says i want to sell the team, lets get this over with, lets move on. Donald sterling has been the bad cop. Hes been saying, oh, no, i want to sue, i dont want to sell the team. I think the two either intentionally or not very much worked in concert to jack up the price because don sterling created a situation where shelly could say to prospective buyers, oh, don doesnt want to sell, you have to make it worth it for him to sell. It paid off in a big way. 2 billion is a lot for any franchise e specially for the clippers. Its a lot for anything, let alone a basketball franchise that hasnt really won too much of anything. Besides the 2 billion reason that i have to pay, what else can his legal team get by being as obstinate as they are at least publicly . I dont think they can get much of anything which is why i think this deal will go through. His lawyer, mr. Bleacher did a very good job of saying this was outrageous, this was a private conversation, illegally taped. Its not a justification to take away the franchise. But the fact is the nba constitution gives the owners the power to take away the contract. Everybody knows that, and Everybody Knows that on june 3rd, thats precisely what the nba is going to do. So Donald Sterlings leverage is really very minimal. I assume there will be more drama in the next couple of days and people will be making statements, but the fact is this tragic comedy is coming to an end, and the franchise is going to be sold. We keep talking about the legal ins and outs here. The legal issues seem very much settled here. Theres the business side weve been talking about, 2 billion worth of business. Theres also a pr angle here, jeffrey. He could be negotiating to come out of this somehow better off than he is right now which would mean no lifetime ban, lessen the fine. Let him go a little bit gracefully. The nba you could make a case would benefit a little by putting this nasty fight behind them . I think thats right. Although, john, if you could think of anyone who may be beyond Public Relations help, it may be Donald Sterling. He could get some sort of offering from the nba to make this a little less embarrassing for him. For example, one idea i put out yesterday which mr. Bleacher didnt reject entirely was that instead of paying the 2. 5 million in a fine, he could pay 2. 5 million to some charity that everybody agrees on. The nba could thank Donald Sterling for his long service to the league. The proceedings could end with a nice statement from the nba and the sale of the team. I think thats the kind of resolution were heading towards, but the key point is Donald Sterling and his whole nutty family is going to be out and Steve Ballmer is going to be in. The other key point is 2 billion by you just cant get past. That brings me to the other Interested Party here, the other owners in the nba. If this goes forward to a vote on june 3rd whether or not to keep Donald Sterling in the league, now they have to look at this 2 billion number for a team, as we have been saying, which hasnt really won much of anything. The value of nba franchises has just gone through the roof. June 3rd is going to be a celebration, not a meeting of the nba owners. It was just a couple months ago that the milwaukee bucks, admittedly a small market team, sold for 550 million which everybody thought was an outrageously high price. Now these owners are sitting on franchises probably worth hundreds of millions of dollars more than they thought. The good times are rolling for nba owners, and i think thats why this is all going to end in a great big wheelbarrow of money that everybody is sloshing around in and having a great time. Thats right. As much distaste as they might have for Donald Sterling, they can thank him as they kick him out the door which makes this is a forgone conclusion. Jeffrey toobin, good to talk with you. Kate . Va secretary Eric Shinseki is set to talk in a speech well bring you live. President obama says hell have a serious conversation with shinseki about whether hes the right person to address the scandal surrounding long treatment for veterans. Now a growing number of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are calling for shinseki to step aside. Athena jones is live from the white house with much more. What are you hearing from the white house this morning, athena . Reporter good morning, kate. We know today is the day Eric Shinseki is supposed to give president obama the preliminary results of his investigation into the va system. Were going to be watching for that report, for that review all day today. Were now hearing a little bit more from the president about his plans for secretary shinseki. They aired this on Good Morning America this morning, an interview with abc. Lets play what the president said. Ill have a serious conversation with him about whether he thinks that he is prepared and has the capacity to take on the job of fixing it. I dont want any veteran to not be getting the kind of services that they deserve. So whats interesting here is we heard the president echo some of what he said last week when he first talked to reporters about this. He seems to make it sound as though its up to secretary shinseki to see if hes up to the task of fixing the problems at the va. Last week the president said ricks attitude is, if he doesnt think he can do a good job on this, if he thinks he let our veterans down, im sure hes not going to be interested in continuing to serve. The president has also said the buck stops with him. The president and shinseki are under a lot of pressure not just from republicans, but also democrats, many members of Congress Calling for a criminal investigation, calling for a Justice Department investigation. So were going to be closely watching not only what secretary shinseki says about half an hour from now, how he addresses this scandal, but also, as i mentioned, waiting for the results of that preliminary results of that review that shinseki owes the president today. A lot to watch today. A lot to watch today. Hearing from the president there, even increasing the stakes even more on whats going to come out in that report. It sounds like thats going to be the deciding factor. Increasing the stakes, Eric Shinseki speaking in 20 minutes from now. Well bring it to you live when it happens. Very important. Next up on new day, Hillary Clintons benghazi chapter. The former secretary of state takes aim at republicans and continues to look for answers. We have details from her upcoming book. This is her most detailed account of the deadly attack to date. Orbiting the moon in 1971. [ male announcer ] once its earned, usaa Auto Insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. Because it offers a superior level of protection. And because usaas commitment to serve current and former military members and their families is without equal. Begin your legacy. Get an Auto Insurance quote. Usaa. We know what it means to serve. Live in the same communities that we serve. People here know that our operations have an impact locally. Were using more natural gas vehicles than ever before. The trucks are reliable, thats good for business. But they also reduce emissions, and thats good for everyone. It makes me feel very good about the future of our company. Nehey r [squeals] [ewh ] [baby crying] the great thing about a subaru is you dont have to put up with that new car smell for long. The versatile, 2015 subaru forester. Love. Its what makes a subaru, a subaru. Dont just visit hawaii. Visit tripadvisor hawaii. With millions of reviews, tripadvisor makes any destination better. Welcome back to new day. Minutes from now Veterans Affairs secretary Eric Shinseki will address the veterans. President obama will have a conversation about whether hes the right person surrounding these delays for veterans. More and more scheduling errors throughout the system. Well listen to what shinseki has to say and what comes in that serious conversation with the president. Lets discuss this and more. Lets discuss this with cnn analyst ana navarro and editor and chief of the daily beast, john avlon. Good morning, good morning. John, were waiting to hear from Eric Shinseki. You do wonder what can he say to help his case, to make his case, to begin to regain the trust of lets be honest, most importantly, veterans . This is make or break testimony hes going to be giving. Right now all the pressure is pulling against Eric Shinseki. We have democrats calling for his resignation now, red state democrats for reelection and swing state democrats, the pressure is ratcheting up. The white house hasnt been backing him up. This is one of the key times he has to address the concerns directly, lay out a path for correcting the problem and win back the confidence. Otherwise he could be a bridge too far right now. Ana, is there any way he survives this . The only compelling case for why he continues to fight this was many politico who says this guy who doesnt quit, got half his foot blown up in vietnam, continued to serve in the military. Nearly forced out, everyone wanted him out from the Bush Administration army chief of staff. He refused to go. At this point do you think that is the only thing driving him to stay . I think its really important to remember, john, this is a man with a store read military career. This is a fourstar general who has served his country honorably for decades. Hes a wounded veteran himself. Sometimes even the most decent and honorable of Public Servants arent the right person for a particular job, the right fit for the job. I think the problem he has is hes been in charge there for almost six years. Somebody has to be held account, has to be held responsible. Hes become symbolic of the systematic problems that, yes, preceded him but have now been going on for six years under him. Its becoming an increasingly difficult political issue for the president. It just seems that president obama is humanly, physically, emotionally incapable of pulling a bandaid. Now, if he fires shinseki or forces him to resign, it will look as if its under the duress and pressure from congress. Go ahead, ana. Ana is being very fair in addressing the criticisms of the president , he doesnt rip off the bandaid, and getting ahead of a story before a political crisis. The big question is whether a political scalp will help save the problem. This is an issue with bipartisan concern and outrage. Ana raises a fair point. Had these reports pile up, be the one to fix it. He has such credibility with the military its worth give a shot to try. The white house is in a waitandsee mode. This is a pivotal moment. If he wants to save his legacy. Why, ana, when you lay all that out, why do you think we have not heard from Republican Leaders like john boehner and eric schick sec ki to resign . They seem to be more focused on blaming the president. Frankly, i think a lot of it has to do with the good will shinseki has had in congress because he has had such a heroic career and he has been in washington for so long. I think its why you saw john mccain be very hess tachbt to not come out and call for his resignation until yesterday, even after many others had. And even though its in arizona. Because this is a man with whom they have worked for many decades in his military capacity and as army chief of staff. At the end of the day, this is obamas problem. This is the white houses problem because its a recurring pattern where we see the president say over and over again, oh, i found out from the news, im madder than hell, nobody is more mad than i am. Im going to appoint a committee to investigate. Theres that lack of sense of urgency that i think is very frustrated to veterans and to the American Public thats watching this unfold and become worse and worse with every number that comes out. John, i want to bring up another issue thats got a lot of people talking right now. Politico got a chapter of the Hillary Clinton book which is due out on june 10th, the chapter that deals with the issue of benghazi. Let me read you one sentence from this. She says i will not be part of a political shrug fest on the backs of dead americans. She writes that while shees in the midst of a 34page chapter on the subject of benghazi. Out cant unilaterally withdraw from this shrug fest, can you . Do you think shes serious that she will . Shes definitely trying to frame it in a way that puts herself above politics. The whole issue of benghazi has become a echo chamber. Shes got a credible chance of success. A lot of people have simply tuned this issue out, but the investigations go on. There are people deeply committed and feel fundamental questions havent been answered. Its a smart political tactic if youre trying to appeal to the political middle. The details of the chapter will be posed. You see the political tactics shes taking. Its a smart one. Republicans have done themselves a disservice by taking what should be a quest for the truth and making it look like a political witch hunt, whether it is or not. Ana, she seems to be making calculation that she does not think this is going to be a potent enough political issue if she needs to go any further into it than what she says in this chapter. Im not sure about that, kate. Last week it came out that it was Hillary Clinton world that pressured nancy pelosi to name democrats to the benghazi panel, something nancy pelosi had been very hesitant and reluctant to do. Its someone ironic she says shes not going to get into the political shrug fest on this when she is in the midst of the political shrug fest. I would argue to you that having this most detailed of chapters in this book about benghazi is part of the political slug fast. It can be a bombastic issue. She says in part of the excerpts that theres been all of this speculation, misinformation and flatout deceit. The problem is a lot of republicans and a lot of people watching today feel the same way, but they feel that that deceit, misinformation, speculation, came out of the administration she was working for that brought out the story that it was caused by a video. John, she brings up a good point. The democrats decided to be part of this benghazi panel. Hillary clinton says she doesnt want to be part of it, but shes bringing on tommy veeter who worked for the National Security council to help handle the press, help handle the benghazi issue. Why she says she doesnt want to be part of the slug fest, shes clearly geared up to handle it. This is the beginning of a political campaign. The benghazi issue as well, the issue ana raises with Hillary Clinton saying put democrats on that panel, indicates the desire to not politicize it further, but lets engage, as opposed to stonewall the problem. It indicates she understands this is a real issue, whether or not she thinks its going to be a distraction early on that she takes the threat seriously. It will be a front in the upcoming political fight. No question about it. Ignoring it doesnt make it go away when youre in a president ial election. You can blame the vast right wing conspiracy on this one, kate. Im not blaming anybody. Ana, john, thanks so much. Another really important story. Chained during childbirth, shackled while she breast feeds her newborn. A sudanese christian woman faces the Death Penalty for her faith. We have the exclusive with the womans husband. Reporter five years ago daniel whiney thought he had it all, a beautiful wife, a new future. This is his new reality. The first glimpse of his baby girl inside a jail cell. His wifes shackles just out of view. Daniel told us his wife was accused last september of apostasy, abandoning her muslim faith. Its a crime punishable by death under sudans harsh interpretation of law. When you met her, she told yous she was a christian. She was a christian. A practicing christian . Yes. Reporter a court here ruled on may 15th that miriam was guilty and sentenced her to death. The ruling has sent shockwaves both in sudan and around the world. Daniel now faces losing not just his wife, but life as he knows it. How did it feel for you to hear that your marriage wasnt valid . Reporter and your children were baptized . And your new daughter . Reporter daniels case is closely watched throughout sudan. The Christian Community here says they are praying for him, praying that hell be able to keep his family together. Coming up next, embattled va secretary Eric Shinseki is getting set to speak to veterans all while the scandal inside his department continues to widen. Will he directly speak to the controversy . What will he say, how will he handle the scandal in his first public remarks since the scandal came out . Well carry his comments live. Thats a man interviewino. For a job. Not that one. That one. The one who seems like hes already got the job cause he studied all the right courses from the getgo. And thats an accountant, a mom, a university of phoenix scholarship recipient, who used our unique scratch that awesome careerplanning tool. And thats a student, working late, with a day job, taking courses aligned with the industry hes aiming to be in. Ready to build an education around the career that you want . Lets get to work. Smoke . Nah, im good. [ male announcer ] celebrate every win with nicoderm cq, the unique patch with time release Smartcontrol Technology that helps prevent the urge to smoke all day long. Help prevent your cravings with nicoderm cq. Welcome back. Live pictures of va secretary Eric Shinseki. He is set to speak any moment right now at a veterans event in washington, d. C. Will he address the growing calls for his resignation . That is the big question. We will bring that to you when he starts actually, let me go to aaron mcpike who is standing outside this event. This is an event right now for Homeless Veterans, these are the types of people that Eric Shinseki has been working with for decades we should say. What is the expectation . Will he address the controversy swirling around him and his agency . Reporter john, he absolutely expects he will address the controversy. Whether hell address these calls for resignation, we dont know. Obviously thats what were waiting to hear today. I can tell you that the people who are gathered downstairs waiting for him to talk werent really talking about the resignation. They are waiting to hear what hell say about the controversy and what he intends to do it. Everything he has said so far, i will continue to fight, we will continue to fight. No public sign in any way that he intends to step down. John avlon joins us here on the set. He also has a meeting with the president later today. When there is a white house which steadfastly refuses to support you, at least say were behind it 100 , how hardest to keep on going . Hes got to make a case for why hes the man that solves this problem. Its occurred largely under his watch for the last seven years. The white house has said hes on thin ice, the president saying hes going to have a serious conversation. This is not a white house that seems to be propping up the secretarys position. He has to make a case that he can solve it. It pro live rated under his watch. Which makes you wonder what will tip the balance one way or the other, in this report thats supposed to be delivered to the president by Eric Shinseki. Lets go to the white house and bring up athena jones and get her take. We mow the president says hes going to have a serious conversation with Eric Shinseki. What more are you hearing from the white house . Right now, kate, theyre not telling us anything about when this meeting is supposed to take place or what time they expect this review to come in . Its something well keep asking them. I should mention secretary shinseki have given us a little hint of what we might be talking about when he wrote an opinion piece when he talked about the report into the scandal reprehensible. Were not waiting to set things straight. He talked in that editorial about some of the steps hes already taken like putting the leadership at that clinic in phoenix, the va clinic there on leave. Hes also asked for a nationwide audit of all the Va Health Care facilities. He may talk a little bit about what hes already doing to fix the problem, because we heard from the president last week that he expects the fixes to start even before these reviews and these reports come in. There are several that are being worked on, not just the one that secretary shinseki owes him today. One thing we do know is the ig report talked about systemic problems. So as these audits get under way, we could see a lot more problems at a lot more facilities revealed. We heard drew griffin report earlier about wait list problem at a va clinic in pittsburgh. It looks as though the pressure is going to continue to mount. Well have to see how secretary shinseki handles it and what comes out of the white house later. Athena, stick with us a little longer. It does make you wonder, john, if it is a forgone conclusion when you hear the hints coming from the white house lets take a pause. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki under fire taking the the microphone to speak right now. Lets see how he addresses them. [ cheers and applause ] very kind, very generous, especially this early in the morning. Pat, thanks for the kind introduction, thanks for your leadership of the board and more importantly thanks for your years of advocacy on behalf of veterans. Let me also acknowledge john driscoll, thanks for having me here today and thanks for your leadership of the National Coalition Homeless Veterans. Gavin gregory and fred whacker from the home depot foundation, from City Community development, gentlemen, my thanks to all of you for your commitment to helping end veterans homelessness in this country. Sheriff pete doherty [ cheers and applause ] [ laughter ] i want to see the badge. Fair enough. A good friend to many here in this room and my former va colleague, he retired from va, but hes not retired from the fight against veterans homelessness. Pete, glad to have you here today. Laura, executive director of usich and the person with whom i did pit counts for the last several years, we refer to each other as pit buddies. Other va colleagues, especially our dedicated Homeless Team led by lisa pate and vince king. Other distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. The past few weeks have been challenging for everyone at va because we take caring for veterans so very seriously. Weve done tremendous Work Together these past five years, and i want to acknowledge the hard work and real accomplishments on all of you here in this room. You give Homeless Veterans hope. You give them dignity. You give them homes and you give them real chances at a future. That is the neverending story here. It needs to be told, retold and told well. Since 2009,va has proven that it can vicks problems, even big ones with the support and cooperation of our public and private partners. We learn to better focus our talents and our resources. Five years ago i dont think we at least i didnt really know how many veterans were homeless. There are a number of estimates, or what really caused homelessness. Since then we have settled on an annual point and time count conducted by hud to peg our estimates. Today we better understand what factors contribute to homelessness, depression, insomnia, pain, Substance Use disorder, failed relationships and usually the last is a product of the first four. We can now begin to focus specific treatments to address each of those factors. They are treatable. They are medical conditions. We are a Large Health Care system. And then in the process create a database for substantive and Predictive Research so we understand what causes homelessness and what we can do to fend it so we can end the rescue phase of getting people off streets by preventing them from ending up there. In 2010 we established a National Registry for Homeless Veterans to capture facts and information on individual Homeless Veterans. You hear secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki addressing the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. Why youre hearing about the efforts made to help Homeless Veterans, only making i would say most scant of mention of what he is currently up against, the very beginning saying the past few weeks have been challenging for the va. Well continue to monitor and wait to see how he, if he addresses the scandal facing the department any further. Lets bring in john avlon right now. Im a little surprised he didnt take it on more off the top. Hes there to talk about the work to help Homeless Veterans for sure, but how do you not get to it first . Exactly right. The secretary is reading off prepared remarks. This is a fundamental misreading of the moment. Youre speaking to a specific audience, but a national audience. The nation and veterans across the country are looking for a lot more. There is an urgent crisis that people are aware of, and it doesnt have a great deal to do with Homeless Veterans. He said since 2009 the va has proven it can fix problems, even big ones. I wonder if athena jones is with us at the white house. The president has a meeting with the secretary today to talk about the internal review that the va has done which has exposed enormous problems in hospitals around the country. Do you have a sense of what the white house wants to hear from the secretary at this point. Officials telling us the secretary is on thin ice. Have they given any sense of how he gets off the thin ice . Thats the big question around here, john. I have to say that comment i thought was very interesting as well, indicating that he believes the Veterans Administration is able to solve big problems. Maybe thats a hint that he thinks he can fix this big problem that is still really unfurling. We did hear from the president a short while ago in comments he made in an interview to abc, that he wants to have a serious conversation with secretary shinseki. Shinseki believes hes up to fix this problem, then maybe thats up for discussion. Of course, the bottom line is its going to be up to the president to make the decision about whether to keep secretary shinseki. So it may not be a question of whether the secretary thinks hes able to fix this. But i do think that thats part of what the president is going to want to hear today, some sense of what the plan will be and how to go forward if shinseki were to stay on. John . Lets bring in erin mcpike who is outside the building where Eric Shinseki is giving the speech. Erin, ive seen the speech described by his aides as a significant one. What more are you hearing . Should folks anticipate to hear more from the secretary about this scandal . Reporter kate, what i want to point out to you now is, you may remember two weeks ago today robert hud sell, the undersecretary for health care of the va resigned. That was one day after he had that contentious hearing on the hill with shinseki about the audit that was on going and what they planned to do over the next weeks and months. Then the next day he resigned. The white house terms that shinse shinsekis decision. The point there is, this is moving very rapidly. We could get news today after that white house meeting. Keep that in mind, though he may not go into full detail here this morning, we could hear a lot more later today. All right, erin, thank you very much. One quick button i want to get from you, john, as we continue to monitor the secretarys speech. One thing to point out. Hes talking about Homeless Veterans. This is something the president has pointed out. He has seen, Eric Shinseki, a lot of success in helping Homeless Veterans and lowering the number of Homeless Veterans that are in the country. That is a success for sure. Maybe he wants to point that out because he wants to keep his job . Maybe its a valedictory speech for his tenure as well. General shinseki has an enormously decorated career, a really respected Public Servant up to this crisis of confidence. The issue of him being on thin ice, teddy roosevelt, in crossing thin ice, our safety is in its speed. Thats a fundamental problem. Hearing the similar criticism of when he was saying he was so upset. I dont remember his exact words, so upset in the hearing that he came across with a little lack of urgency as well when he was in that contentious hearing. Mad as hell. Thats right. Well continue to monitor the speech and bring it to you if he does address the scandal. Coming up on new day, a bus driver in oregon is being called a hero after making a dramatic rescue. Youll hear why its the good stuff coming up. [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. She can print amazing things, right from her computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] she makes trains that are friends with trees. My mom works at ge. My mom works at ge. Honestly, the offseason isnt ive got a lot to do. Thats why i got my surface. Its great for watching game film and drawing up plays. Its got onenote, so i can stay on top of my todo list, which has been absolutely absurd since the big game. With skype, its just really easy to stay in touch with the kids i work with. Alright, russell you are good to go alright, fellas. Alright, russ. Back to work [ mom ] oh the weekend well have at the shore with waffles and laughs for our family of four. The pool is there waiting, dont you dare fret. Theres no need to ask, are we there yet . [ male announcer ] be a weekender at hotels like hampton and embassy suites. Book now at hiltonweekends. Com. Might just be the coolest video ive seen in a long, long time. We first showed you this video yesterday which by all accounts is actually real. B. A. S. E. Jumper dean potter took his dog whisper for a jump off eiger mountain in switzerland. The video has gone viral because it involving a flying dog. But it does have some people worried about whispers safety. Here to talk about their adventures are dean potter and whisper who is believed to be the first dog to go b. A. S. E. Jumping. I would like to address all my questions to whisper, im not sure that will go well. Dean, tell me about the video which is hard to take your eyes off of. What exactly were we looking at there . Youre looking at me and whisper on the side of the eiger in switzerland. It was one of many of whispers winged suit flights with me last summer. Its wild enough, dean, to decide to go b. A. S. E. Jumping yourself. Where did this idea come from to take whisper along with you . Well, ive been climbing and wing suit flying and tightrope walking for the last ten years. I always like to bring my dog and best friend with me. So the idea just came from not wanting to leave my dog in the house or car. I want to bring my best friend with me everywhere. Whisper does seem like an awfully great friend to have. The question that you do here from some dog people around the world is how do you really know that whisper likes this . Australian cattle dogs are one of the smartest breeds of dogs. If whisper doesnt like something, she runs away. Shes faster than me. She doesnt like the vacuum cleaner mostly, she runs off. I cant catch her. Whisper has a lot of personality. Shell tremble and shake or drool or growl. So if she doesnt want to come, we dont make her. There are things that whisper doesnt like. She doesnt like helicopters with the doors off and she doesnt like airplanes. She sends very clear signals about things she doesnt like and clear signals about things she does like. Whisper who will fly draw it is line at helicopters. And vacuum cleaners. Dean, im sure for you its exhilarating. Can you gauge whispers reaction when you got on the ground . Was she growling at you . Oh, absolutely not. Whisper knew exactly whats going on. As you can tell, she looks around in flight, observes everything and then she is all excited and proud of herself and prances around, super psyched. Dean potter, great to meet you. Thank you so much. Whisper, enjoy the adventures closely. A quick turn back over to Eric Shinseki speaking right now. That breach of integrity is irresponsible, indefensible and unacceptable to me. I said when this situation began weeks to months ago, that i thought the problem was limited and isolated because i believe that. I no longer believe it. It is systemic. I was too trusting of some, and i accepted as accurate reports that i now know to have been misleading with regard to patient wait times. I cant explain the lack of integrity amongst some of the leaders of our health care facilities. This is something i rarely encountered during 38 years in uniform. So i will not defend it because it it is indefensible. I can take responsibility for it. And i do. So given the facts i now know, i apologize as the Senior Leader of Veterans Affairs. I extend that apology to the people i care most deeply about and thats the veterans of this great country, to their families and loved ones who i have been honored to serve for over five years as the call of a lifetime. I also offer the apology po members of congress who have supported me, to Veterans Services organizations who have been my partners for five years and to the american people. All of them deserve better from their va. But i also know this, that leadership and integrity problems can and must be fixed and now. [ applause ] so im just announcing that im taking the following actions. Ive initiated the process for the removal of the Senior Leaders of the phoenix va medical center. [ applause ] we will use all authority at our disposal and force accountability among Senior Leaders who have instigated or tolerated intolerable or irresponsible scheduling practices at Va Health Care facilities. I also directed that no vha Senior Executive will receive any type of performance award for 2014 this year. [ applause ] ive directed patient wait times be deleted from vha employees evaluation reports as a measure of their success. We are contacting each of the 1,700 veterans in phoenix waiting for appointments to bring them the care they need and deserve, and we will continue to accelerate access care to veterans nationwide who need it, utilizing care both in and outside va. [ applause ] well announce the results of our nationwide audit of all Va Health Care facilities in the coming days. I now ask congress to support senator Bernie Sanders proposed bill giving va secretary Greater Authority to remove Senior Leaders. [ applause ] and i ask the support of congress to fill existing leadership positions that are still vacant. [ applause ] again, this situation can be fixed with va, vsos, congress and all of our stakeholders like many of you in this room working together with the best interest of veterans at heart. We can do this in the days ahead, just as we have done over the past five years on veterans homelessness. We can do this. Well need all of your help. God bless our veterans, those especially in greatest need of our prayers and help and may god continue to bless this wonderful country of ours. Thank you very much. [ applause ] there you hear it. The secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki making his strongest defense yet, you could say, of what happened at the va and defending his job going forward, laying out proposals of what hes doing right now to try to fix the situation and hold people to account. He said he apologizes, he apologizes to members of congress and says i will not defend whats happened because it is indefensible, saying, though, he can take responsibility but also showing bringing back in john avlon and john berman here with us as all, hes not stepping down. Hes fighting. He does not sound like a man who intends to step down or go gracefully away. Hell have a meeting with the president later today. 10 15. That will be pivotal. Hes not a man who wants to withdraw from this fight. He is committed. Tacked on to the end of the speech were specific actions. Not just removing the head of the phoenix va medical center, no bonuses, but calling on congress to give him more power to fire more people and fill vacant positions. These are actions that people have wanted to see, no bonuses, firing the senior staff in phoenix outright. Taking away wait times as a measurement for success here. Youre starting to see the blueprint of how he wants to address this going forward. As of now, he thinks hes going to be the person to address it going forward, at least for the next 1 15. He meets with the president at 10 15. Is this a message he can take into the oval office . This is clearly the message hes taking to the oval office. Im on it. This is urgent. I cannot defend what occurred. He said in his remarks that he thought these were isolated incidents. He is shocked to realize that breach of integrity is systemic. He used those words. By putting forward the outlines of a plan, you can safely assume thats what hes bringing to the oval office. Here is one outline of the plan that leaves a lot of questions still. He will accelerate the care to slet rans both inside and outside the va. How do you do this now when he says we can fix this and do this in the days ahead when this is a systemic issue were learning from the igs only interim report. We dont even know how far this goes. He says the larger report will be released in days. Thats where rhetoric meets reality. How do you regain the trust of veterans, if you say youre going to accelerate access when it was not the case to this point. Folks in congress, the republican side of the aisle, maybe they should offer vouchers so people can go outside the system to eliminate wait times. In a crisis sometimes you get strange political bedfellows. The other thing thats striking for people to appreciate, the secretary doesnt have the kind of firing power you would normally assume someone in charge of the organization would have. Thats impediment to reform. This sounds like a man fighting for his job and wants to see these reforms through. The problem is going to be his own words. He says the problem is systemic. He realizes the problem is systemic. He is the man at the top of the system. He says i cannot defend it, but i can take responsibility for it. What that means will be up to the president and that important meeting, that serious conversation they will be having in just a couple of hours from now. John avlon, thank you so much. Well have much more on shinsekis speech right after the break. Stick with us. Captions by vitac www. Vitac. Com and we do it all for this very experience. This very second. This exact moment. [woman] thats good. I know right . Cheers to that. Gevalia. 150 years of rich, never bitter coffee. Well hand it over to newsroom and don lemon. A big news day. Thank you, have a great weekend. Cnn newsroom starts right now. Good morning everybody. Don lemon in for carol. Thank you for joining me this morning. Well begin with the breaking news now, Eric Shinseki. We just learned that next hour, the Veterans Affairs secretary will meet behind closed doors with the president of the United States. Few expect him to emerge with his job still intact. We dont know, well have to see what happens after that meeting. Just minutes ago moments ago right here on cnn, you saw the embattled chief. He appeared before homeless vets coalition, a group most powerful to the delays t