washington bridge. a punishment of sorts against a support him in his reelection. i am responsible for what happened. i am sad to report to the people of new jersey that we fell short. >> >> reporter: several new jersey residents have now filed a class action lawsuit. the suit seeks damages for being trapped on the roadways causing them to be late for and/or miss work being docked pay and injured as a result of the clogged local roads. after his mea culpa news conference, christie traveled to fort lee to meet face to face with the city's mayor. >> he was gray shous, he was apologetic, we believe sincere. but it's an ongoing investigation. >> >> reporter: the candle has created a fire storm of

commentary. >> there's little kids on the bridge that can't get through. >> he didn't act like a person who had knowledge before the fact. he acted like a person that got blind sided. >> reporter: former appointee, david wildstein is pleading the fifth. his silence leaves many questions unanswered. were they executing orders from their chief. >> they may well turn on the governor and say, we're not talking this fall by ourselves. we were led to believe this is what you wanted. >> reporter: the new jersey governor's office says there is no public schedule set for today. even after that nearly two-hour press conference yesterday, there are still many unanswered questions, like whose names are redacted from those text messages.

they release more than a thousand pages of documents later this morning. >> a lot of reading for many people ahead on that one. so federal prosecutors in new jersey are confirming they opened a preliminary inquiry into christie's scandal. they want to determine whether any federal laws have been violated. we're live from washington. good morning, jo. >> reporter: good morning. the investigations are just getting started. the fbi is now working with the u.s. attorneys office. appears to be a very preliminary investigation. we do know the federal government has successfully prosecuted state and local officials for corruption in the past and would take a look at the way public money may have been spent on the bridge controver controversy. it's not clear what, if any, laws may have been broken.

making a federal case out of this is likely to be a stretch. chris christie used to be a federal prosecutor and he said he welcomes any inquiry and that he has nothing to high. the united states attorney in new jersey is an obama appointee. large amount of political activity for a power lawyer, not considerably large. >> all right. thanks for that. you've got the court of law. but of course the court of public opinion may be much more harsh. so let's discuss, shall we? we're going to bring in mr. john avlon and the commentator margaret hoover. great to have you both here. >> welcome back, manager great. >> thank you. thank you. >> let's do this, let's do a little meter, okay? on one side you have he's in the

soup, on the other side he's in the clear. where is your neddle after yesterday? >> he's airing towards in the clear. >> over the past of halfway. >> we're over the past of halfw halfway. as long as everything that chris christie said yesterday remains true, i think he's in the clear and i think he's handled this very well. this has to be transformative for chris christie. he has to transform from tough guy, jersey guy, into a statesman if he's going to be ready for prime time if he's really going to go for national politics. two new jersey -- ones for politics. that met more fa assist has to happen. >> wood row wilson? >> also from new jersey.

remember? >> a lot of syllables for the morning, chris. >> if everything sticks to be true, he did not leave himself a lot of wiggle room here. he said i've done nothing, i know nothing. there's very lts wiggle room for someone who came out to say that he didn't know much about what happened. >> that's an indication that he's telling the truth. there's a larger question about the environment he created in his team. history is full of examples of underlings doing things that the executive never really intended. but the strategy yesterday, a 90-minute press conference, where he said ask me any question, keep it coming, you saw him get his sea legs back. he is angry at his staff. he went back and apologized to the mayor of fort lee. if he chooses to go forward in

'16, does this stick. >> it's interesting what you were saying margaret about the statesman transform. how people come into greatness is how you get back up from something that's knocked you down. >> i would have liked to hear chris christie talk a little bit more about the people that were hurt, as opposed to the fact that he felt betrayed by his staff. so you want to hear him define these stoo types in -- stereotypes in every way. the people in new jersey who are hurt because of these bad decision. >> two things i want to throw out. very high on responsibility he was, right? zero on accountability. >> two people, right? >> that's on him. not on them. he said, i am responsible for every new jersey and this is on

me. he never suggested that this would in any way affect him personally. he's soul searching but not about whether or not to step down. not about whether or not i don't know how to pick people around me. the idea you said, the history is filled with underlings doing things at the top. i don't know how filled they are. your intimates at the governor's office know everything that's going on. i know. you have no idea. you have no idea. what your most trusted people are doing, that's not easy to swallow. it's highly unusual. >> keep in mind, this in the minds middle of a campaign, clear firewalls between what's going on in the campaign and what's going on in the dpov ner's office. so it does seem believable, but the campaign guy over in the corner is making some decisions,

is doing things to try to get his boss over the finish line. >> it's about an environment that gets created. and the fact that this was done at a point where chris christie was cruising to a landslide, they didn't need to do this. there didn't need to be retribution to a democratic mayor. >> why would you do this traffic jam. >> kate's right. >> that's it. and that's where the teachable moment comes. whether he tries to transform the tone inside his team. anyone who thought this was the kind of action i would condone doesn't understand me. there's a lot more to come here. >> absolutely right you two. >> great to see you. >> margaret, welcome back. break overnight, a major

water emergency in west virginia that we're tracking. some 200,000 people in nine counties are being told not to use tap water. state of emergency is in effect and even west virginia state university has canceled all classes because of it. >> west virginia's governor warning people not to use tap water for anything, not drinking, not cooking, not washing. still, many residents fear they may have already been contaminated. thousands of west virginians left scouring empty store shelves grate for bottled water. after a massive chemical spill contaminated the water supply for hundreds of thousands, residents warned not to use their tap water for any reason. >> do not drink it, do not cook in it, do not take a bath in it.

>> two hospitals have canceled elective surgeries. the situation now declared a federal emergency with the white house approving aid for all nine counties. early thursday, the water company discovered a hole in a storage tank at a chemical company, but didn't report the spill until four hours later. while residents began reporting a foul licorice odor in the air. >> it took some time to understand what the nature of this chemical was. >> the chemical is a type of methanol used in preparing coal. it's not toxic. soak up the chemical, the water company is now working to clean up the spill as the state promises to bring water from elsewhere now that so many

grocery stores lay bear. a real scramble in west virginia this morning. even if you just come in contact with this chemical, it can cause skin or eye irritation. people in west virginia, you should not use the water for anything still this morning. >> all right. thank you for the caution there. also following new developments in the nation's capitol where efforts to restore unemployment benefits remains bogged down in the senate. both sides battling over the latest compromise offer. where do we stand, jim? >> rr it may be january, but it's starting to feel like ground hog day. there was this compromise that looked like might get passed yesterday or at least might start getting into the process of getting passed over in the senate. this was a compromise that would have extended these emergency

unemployment benefits through november. this would have done it through november. hairy reid was starting to say to republicans, i'm not going to look at any of your amendments. reid is -- that sort of killed that compromise as of yesterday. the senate has left town, but they're hopeful one of the the leading republican senators, rob portman from ohio, is saying it's not dead on arrival just yet. interesting to note, those new -- the jobs report numbers will be coming out later on this morning. the white house will be keeping a keen eye on all of that. if this unemployment rate somehow dips below 7%, that is something that has not happened since president obama was elected president back in 2008. so that is a number that this white house will be very much focused on later this morning.

>> and a number of americans waiting to find out if there's relief in storm for them. let's take a look at the rest of the headlines. a surveillance plane goes down in afghanistan killing three americans. also new this morning, military officials say last month's black hawk helicopter crash in southern afghanistan was brought down by taliban insurgents. >> they are trying to recruit visiting americans to joib their fight and bring terror back home to the u.s. that according to a report in the "new york times." tracking americans that return from syria is now top priority. president obama is said to be close to a final decision on changes to the nsa's surveillance program. the wall street journal reporting the president is considering extending privacy

protections to nonu.s. citizens. those changes could be announced as early as next week. developing over night, the state department expressing concern by afghan president. the karzai government claims there's not enough evidence against 72 detainees being held. the two sides have been unable to reach a long term security agreement. >> we are closer -- this is kind of amazing -- to knowing the locations of long lost treasures from king some monday's -- solomon's temple, or are we. that includes the arc of the kov innocent believed to -- covnent believed to contain the ten commandments.

they're saying it only be will revealed when messiah comes. >> you think there's going to be a map, and then next -- >> i was with you. i was like, this is awesome. >> we can still pretend. >> yes, we can. let's get over to indra now. watching the aftermath of some pretty nasty storms in florida. >> it's not unusual for florida to have large cells develop in a short period of time. they saw one of these cells produce a tornado. very arks typical is the amount of rain. in only about two or three hours, some places saw misdemeanor 12 inches of rain. so that was the concern in the region today. there was still threat for showers, but not as strong as yesterday. we're still talking about this warmup. notice where the warm front is.

still snow today in the northeast, but eventually that will switch other to rain as all that warm air does switch on through. so here we go, take another look at it. still some showers possible, some snow showers in the morning. here's the next system today, producing rain there. eventually by saturday, producing rains in the northeast down in the southeast. everyone gets the clear skies kind of behind that. not a big system, but it's enough. 1 to 3 inches of rain the farther north you are. but again, the bigger story is the temperatures. they're going to be rebounding significantly. 60s in atlanta, even in d.c. only a tiny cool down once the cold front passes. pretty much ignore it. no biggie i'm never going to say ignore the weather again.

let's take a quick break here. the team is back on american soil, so where is dennis rodman. the worm has not returned from north korea, but his teammates are talking, and boy do they have a story to tell. plus did the christie payback scandal really contribute to the death of a 91-year-old woman. ♪ turn around, barbara ♪ i finally found the right snack ♪ [ female announcer ] fiber one. i nethat's my geico digital insurance id card - ♪ i finally found the right snack ♪ gots all my pertinents on it and such. works for me. turn to the camera. ah, actually i think my eyes might ha... next! digital insurance id cards. just a tap away on the geico app. could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. everybody knows that. well, did you know that when a tree falls in the forest and no one's around, it does make a sound?

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welcome back to "new day." this morning, some of the former nba players who took part in this week's game in north korea are on their way home. but, not with them, dennis

rodman. where is he. carl, what do we know? >> reporter: well, chris, we're hearing from two different sources that dennis rodman may have gone skiing. as you know, kim was educated in switzerland. as you say, some of the plays did fly back from pyongyan and we were in arrivals to greet them. just back from north korea. >> the trip was fantastic. thank you. >> on behalf of all the players here who went on the trip, they asked me to do this interview and trust in me on what needs to be said. >> reporter: game on. time to meet the press pack. >> let's do it right here. we set out on a mission to use basketball as a bridge for cultural exchange and we accomplished that mission.

>> reporter: dennis rodman was not with the group. some of the players felt rodman hijacked the trip. the players say they're focused on basketball, not politics. >> it was a great experience. >> reporter: everything comes on the heels of rodman's interview with chris cuomo. >> look at these guys here. look at them. >> reporter: that is setting a fire storm in motion. rodman confessed he'd been drinking and other well med. i take full responsibility for my actions. the bae family accepted rodman's apology thursday but under scored his relief. the fact is kenneth's life is on the line. to our family, this situation is no joke. this is not a game.

a game is what ended rodman's bizarre north korea trip. >> happy birthday to you. >> along with his sar nad to leader kim jong-un and a bow. >> reporter: now of course dennis rodman the wild card ever, what is he going to be doing for the remainder of the time? is his only mission to be partying with a dictator? back to you, chris and kate. >> if something good could come out of this for the bae family, that would be very nice. it's money time now. in a couple hours, we will get the final job report for 2014. what analysts expect, and what does the country need? christine, dairy say this could be -- dare i say this is good

news? unemployment rate of 7%, if that prediction is correct, that would be the lowest unemployment rate in five years, staying at that five-year low from the worst we saw in october 2009. back then, remember, the jobless rate hit 10%. that would be, you guys, the strongest year since 2005 for jobs growth. the important thing here though to remember is are we adding enough jobs to recover what we lost during the recession. the economy needs to have 250,000 jobs each month. now the economy lost during the recession 8.7 million jobs between january 2008 and february 2010. that's a lot of jobs. since then, since then, we've gained back 7.3 million. the math on that, we are still

1.4 million in the hole from the recession. to get back to normal, full employment, it would take five years of 200,000 jobs a month. that's really a long way to go. after we get the jobs numbers, go to cnn.com. this could be a strong report. it could really change the conversation about the economy. you could see the jobs recovery gaining momentum at the end of the year. >> coming up on "new day," did the new jersey bridge scandal really cost a 91-year-old woman her life? we're going to hear from her daughter about the potentially deadly delay. >> plus a story we've been following closely here at "new day." a nightmare over for one family. he's back on u.s. soil. we have new video of shezanne cassim and his return home. hey guys! sorry we're late.

did you run into traffic? no, just had to stop by the house to grab a few things. you stopped by the house? uh-huh. yea. alright, whenever you get your stuff, run upstairs, get cleaned up for dinner. you leave the house in good shape? yea. yea, of course. ♪ [ sportscaster talking on tv ] last-second field go-- yea, sure ya did. [ male announcer ] introducing at&t digital life. personalized home security and automation. get professionally monitored security for just $29.99 a month. with limited availability in select markets. ♪

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welcome back to "new day" at half past the hour. let's get you up to date on the latest news. a new jersey state assembly committee releasing 1,000 pages of documents from its chris christie bridgegate probe. christie is now facing a class action lawsuit filed by six people. breaking overnight, people in nine west virginia counties are being told not no use tap water because a chemical spill

has contaminated their water supply. west virginia's governor declaring a state of emergency and the white house has approved his request for assistance. don't drink the water, don't cook with it, do not wash or even bathe with it. she's on her way back home to india. federal grand jury indicted devyani khobragade. she had to leave the u.s. once the indian government refused the request to waive other diplomatic immunity. new dwochlts in the pris shooting of a schizophrenic north carolina teen. the group says the detective was justified. the detective's attorney says his client opened fire after the teen tried to stab another

officer multiple times with a screwdriver. the family says they called 911 because he was having an episode and they needed help. >> look at this. captured in the heavens. it's now being nicknamed hand of god. it was produced when a star exploding created an enormous cloud of material. it looks like an outstretched hand. i want one of those -- >> spiritual. >> you got the ark of the covnent. >> i was thinking was it like the abyss. >> you were both wrong. that's why i'm here. back to our top story.

the scandal erupting around governor chris christie. no one is disputing traffic was snarled, however, the governor, chris christie says he knew nothing about the power play. the question, will his story hold up. we're in fort lee new jersey this morning. >> reporter: chris, the governor has said repeatedly that he had no role and no knowledge. their concern continues to be over what we know happened, the gridlock itself. and they're still asking the question, exactly how dangerous was it. a 91-year-old fort lee woman died back in september following a heart attack. her daughter is speaking out now saying she does not believe traffic or a delayed emergency response contributed to her mother's death. >> i think she was 91 and i really believe in my heart that she was already gone when the ambulance got there. >> reporter: that's the statement from -- that's the

statement from her daughter. but back in september, the ems coordinator here in fort lee sent out a letter saying there was evidence that the traffic delays had slowed down ems responders. there's evidence also that it slowed down responders trying to reach three other scenes. no one has been able to confirm whether or not those delays could have contributed to the care that was given to the patients in need. it's that question that has people continuing to call for further investigation and continued legal analysis. >> and understandable, especially when you consider the risk of that. thank you very much for that. >> going to take a break. coming up next on "new day," a minnesota man back in the u.s. after nine months in a united arab emirates jail. what until you hear what he has to say about the court that convicted him.

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welcome back. let's go around the world now. tributes are pouring in for a pakistan teen who gave his life to save his friends. he was on his way to school when he stopped a suicide bomber. >> reporter: more than a thousand children were gathered for morning assembly at the school when the suicide bomber dressed in school uniform approached the main gates and raised suspicions. this boy tried to tackle him and stop him from going inside. it killed the bomber and this core ray jous young boy. he died saving the lives of his friends. back to you, kate. >> thank you for that update.

rarefy dell castro sighting happened there. we have more. >> reporter: a glimpse of the 87-year-old cuban icon. fidel castro attending the opening of an art studio. he ruled here for decades beforehanding over power to his brother raul in 2006. >> thank you. >> and to china where an oscar nominated film maker is facing a million dollar fine for violating china's one child policy. >> reporter: the government has decided to make an example of one of the country's most acclaimed film directors fining

him $1.2 million for breaking the law. him and his wife have admitted to having three children. the one child policy was eased late last year allowing couples to have two children if one of the parents is an only child. the oscar nominee and director has just one month to pay the fine. back to you, kate. >> thanks to much. all right. talk about a homecoming. an american is back home in minnesota this morning after spending nine months in a united arab emirates jail. we have been following cassim's story very, very closely. we are live from minneapolis with that story. what a tremendous moment. >> reporter: absolutely.

he has a lot to say. he arrived back here in minneapolis yesterday afternoon. of course, as you can imagine, he is very happy to be back in the united states. back home, walking through the minneapolis airport, 29-year-old shezanne cassim was finally free to say what he really felt about spending nine months in a dubai prison. >> i feel angry, a lot of time wasted. >> reporter: he had been working in dubai when he and four friends were arrested last april for making this video, an obvious parody, about sort of want to be gangsters. >> i did nothing wrong. there was nothing illegal about the video. even under uae law. i was tried by a textbook

kangaroo court. >> reporter: the judge who ordered him to prison, hadn't even watched the video. >> they were very callous in the way they approached our trial. physically, yes, there was no abuse. we were pretty much in a cage for nine months. >> reporter: last year they were sentenced to a year in prison for damaging the uae's image under newly enacted cyber crime laws. >> they wanted to send a message to the uae public to say look what we do to people that do a silly you tube video. imagine if you do something that's actually critical of the government. so it's a warning message and we're scapegoats. >> reporter: while he was in prison, the effort to free him included support around the country including comedians like

will ferrell. >> were you aware that everybody was pulling for you? >> i was aware but i didn't know just how far because i didn't have any access to information. >> and grateful i assume? >> very grateful. very grateful. >> reporter: he spent the last night with his family in a minneapolis suburb here. he says he has a lot more to say about this and plans to talk about it over the next few days. >> i'm sure he does. appreciate it, ted. >> all right. so we saw the hand of god up there. not to beout done. india petersons says science can one-up it. >> remember yesterday, we talked about the solar flare, today is your lucky day. the closer you are the pole

you have a better chance. the farther north you are, even the united states towards canada. >> that is amazing. >> this is a bucket list and you think i would have seen this by now. if you're up early enough, i would say get up now, go outside and check it out. not to mention, the temperatures, they're up. temperatures today are starting to go above normal. by tomorrow, good 20 degrees above normal into the northeast. some rain, yes, the first system still making its way through. maybe a little bit of snow in the morning hours. look for rain in the midwest today into the northeast down to the southeast by saturday and sunday. it exits offshore. >> you are taking pictures, send them to us. go to cnn.com/ireport.

>> painting in the sky. >> i don't think they exist. >> okay. >> coming up on "new day," we all know nothing changes you more quickly than adversity and, boy, did chris christie's tone change after this scandal. a more somber approach in bridgegate. >> we know that excitement on the price is right is nothing new. wait for it. famous on youtube forever. we'll show you how this ends in our must see moment coming up. did you know auctioneers make bad grocery store clerks? that'll be $23.50. now .75, 23.75, hold 'em. hey now do i hear 23.75? 24! hey 24 dollar, 24 and a quarter, quarter, now half, 24 and a half and .75! 25! now a quarter, hey 26 and a quarter, do you wanna pay now, you wanna do it, 25 and a quarter - sold to the man in the khaki jacket!

geico. fifteen minutes could save you... well, you know. did you run into traffic? no, just had to stop by the house to grab a few things. you stopped by the house? uh-huh. yea. alright, whenever you get your stuff, run upstairs, get cleaned up for dinner. you leave the house in good shape? yea. yea, of course. ♪ [ sportscaster talking on tv ] last-second field go-- yea, sure ya did. [ male announcer ] introducing at&t digital life. personalized home security and automation. get professionally monitored security for just $29.99 a month. with limited availability in select markets. ♪

. plans for this weekend? parties? friends? not me, i have none. but i tell you what i'll be doing. watching football. all of them could make it to the big bowl. andy skoels joins -- scholes joips us with a preview. >> i see a lot of good games on tap. the wild card round was absolutely awesome. the fist game on tap is the new orleans saints at the seattle sea hawks. this time around, the head coach is pulling out all the stops to get his team ready. he's gone so far as to paint the saint's logo on the practice fields. we'll see if his strategy works. saints and sea hawks kickoff at

4:35 tomorrow afternoon. now the colts are still riding high after their amazing comeback with the chiefs. we caught up with andrew luck. >> reporter: your general manager compared you to michael jordan the other day. he said you have the ability to wage your game in the fourth quarter. >> you know, i'm not sure. i know i'm no michael jordan by any means. i'm not a tenth of what he's done. >> and you can watch that whole interview plus more tonight at 10:30 eastern. your colts, what do you think? >> be careful. i have my pen ready to stab him. >> are you trying to do a blue

steel? i'll give you this. would you mess with these? i don't know. i'm just saying. >> i'm no john berman, though. >> ding ding ding. >> i have bill check on my side. that means i have magic and more. >> you have a cutoff sweatshirt that i don't understand. let's move on now. why is john berman here? we're going to tell you why. it's all about daniel control for -- damage control for chris christie. he admits being both embarrassed and humiliated by the actions of a top aide that he fired. we saw a side of christie that we never really saw. >> it's interesting. there's a debate over the substance perhaps of the statements. democrats think one thing, republicans think another. everyone can agree that the

style we saw from chris christie yesterday was a world apart from the things we've seen before. the words he used were different. his frequent targets vastly different and treated differently. and there was that word he used again and yen, sad. >> i'm governor. can you just shut up for a second. >> this is chris christie as many people have come to know him. brash, unpoll jet ik and shall we say, not afraid to speak his mind. compare that to this. >> i come out here today to apologize to the people of new jersey. >> the popular republican governor was direct by also remorseful attempting to quash the unraveling what appears to be a political game of revenge. >> typically when we're watching chris christie, he's very

aggressive. today we see somebody who's much more humbled. >> in some ways, he was still himself. he was animated, but contrite. >> just weeks ago, his attitude markedly different. >> i actually was the guy working the cones out there. you really are not serious with that question. >> usually when somebody is feeling super powerful, their body language with show that. because what they're trying to do is show you just how alpha they are. when we're feeling insecure, we tend to shrink a little bit more. >> someone who i permitted to be in that circle of trust for the last five years betrayed my trust. >> compared to this. >> come on guys. you've got to be able to call bs. >> we tend to speak louder.

we change our pitch. when we're feeling inferior, we tend to lower our voice. >> the question is, is that style now a damaged brand. so one of the things that sometimes politicians run into trouble with is when they try to change that style on the fly. it will be very interesting with chris christie to see what he's able to do going forward. >> and how people kind of receive this different type of christie and if it will stick. >> if it really is a different type of chris christie. >> you're going to be in one way when you are in control of the game. you're going to be another way when you are in a position to be defensive. >> but will he start second guessing himself? speaking of being in control of the game -- see where i'm going. price is right. let's talk about it. contestant decided to mark it in an unbelievable way.

this is what happens. watch. and you'll totally feel chagrin. >> oh. >> yeah. trips on a rug and falls right into the -- >> midsection. >> midsection of the announcer. the celebrity model jumps in to help. oh, my. meanwhile, drew's getting a good laugh out of it. hi, have we met? >> what john? >> berman may have just stolen the moment there. that was the three things i will not say sound. >> you finally get to meet somebody of importance. >> he's going to remember her. >> yes. >> do you remember me, i'm the one that tripped on the -- bits and pieces. >> there you go. that is a must see moment.

the u.s. isn't leaving olympic security up to the russians. why? they have big concerns. americans now heading overseas to help. we'll give you details as to why. ♪ ♪ ♪

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i've got 3-alarm heartburn... fireman chili special? rolaids gives you rapid relief of heartburn and neutralizes 44% more acid than tums. attaboy! rolaids, that's how you spell relief. i am embarrassed and humiliated. >> round two. first a marathon press conference. now the lawsuits and flood of newly released documents coming out this morning. can chris christie survive what

comes next. new this hour, the united states now sending security officials to sochi among renewed fears of a possible terror attack at the olympic games. >> the dramatic police chase that ends with this. she survived, but did she escape. >> your "new day" starts right now. >> good morning. welcome back to "new day." it's friday, january 10th. 7:00 in the east. and new this morning, the question will more dominos come falling down for new jersey governor chris christie. a thousand page of documents about to be released about the traffic scandal now known as bridgegate. >> and now a class action lawsuit is coming after the

governor has fired staffer and other appointees all facing legal action. christie says he's sad, embarrassed and humiliated. but most important that he had no idea what was going on. let's start with pamela brown in new jersey in us. >> reporter: good morning to you. during his nearly two-hour press conference, chris christie made it clear he knew nothing about the scandal, but what he didn't do is resolve the mystery around so-called bridgegate. what we have seen so far, just a small fraction of the documents collected by the investigation. later this morning, it will be posted 907 pages online. we hope to learn more about braj gate and see whether christie's story will hold up. >> i come out here today to apologize to the people of new

jersey. >> reporter: chris christie embarking on an apology tour for the so-called bridgegate scandal. >> i am embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of some of the people on my team. i knew nothing about this. i had no knowledge. i had no knowledge of this. >> reporter: in in response to the four day long traffic jam on the george washington bridge last fall. >> by 9:00 this morning, bridget kelly was fired. by 7:00 tuesday evening, bill was asked to leave my organization. >> reporter: several new jersey residents have now filed a class action lawsuit against the governor and former staffers and appointees. the suit being damaged for being trapped on the roadways causing them to be late for and/or miss work, being docked pay and injured as a result of the

clogged local roads. christie traveled to fort lee to meet face to face with the city's mayor. >> he was gracious, he was apologetic, we believe sincere. but you know, it's an ongoing investigation. >> reporter: the scandal has create add fire storm of commentary. >> there's little kids on the bridge that can't get through. >> he didn't act like a person who had knowledge before the fact. he acted like a person that got blind sided. >> reporter: the damaging e-mails at the center of the scandal have david wildstein pleading the fifth. wildstein's silence leaves many questions unanswered. were christie's staffers going rogue or were they executing orders from their chief. >> they may well turn on the governor and say, we're not talking this fall by yourselves, we were led to believe this is

what you wanted. >> reporter: the fbi now teaming up with the u.s. attorneys office here in new jersey to see whether any federal laws were violated. meanwhile, the new jersey governor's office saying no public schedule is set for today. still a lot of unanswered questions. whose names were redacted. why didn't christie call for an outside council to investigate the traffic jam and why didn't he request -- question his ex-employee about why she lied to him. >> a lot of these questions are political, but they could have legal implications based on what the answers are. let's go through what is remaining. what seems to be working for the governor, what seems to be outstanding. help us break that down, who else, cnn senior legal analyst.

>> good morning. >> let's start with what makes sense. we sat through the entire thing together yesterday. >> we did. >> what boxes do you think he checked in terms of offsetting what investigators will be looking at? >> certainly he apologized. sometimes politicians give these grudging apologies. >> he could not have apologized and said i did this and this and i thought it was okay at the time and that would have sparked more investigation. >> i think he also established, at least to my satisfaction, that this was not political retribution for the -- the mayor refusing to endorse him. >> so he also made it that there was no plan, right? that's what we're saying. the allegation is that this local mayor didn't endorse you and then you punished him. he said there was no such plan and knew nothing about that. >> correct. however, the greet unanswered

question to me is why did they do this? >> let's save the outstanding stuff. >> okay. >> in terms of what he did yesterday that will help him with investigators, he said he was sorry unqualified. he said there was no plan here he knew about. what about what he said about the people who were involved that you believe may help him get past this. >> he took decisive action. he fired two very senior close aides. >> action. ion, right? he took action. he got rid of them both. one of them who was very valuable to him, his campaign manager. he kicked him out ever possible way he could. that's got to mean something. that leaves us now with what didn't he take care of yesterday.

what's the first one? >> why did they do this? >> look, why is it -- we both know as lawyers, why is always the most important question. why? why did you do this, what kind of grievance would it have been? >> and who did it. >> remember -- >> we have these e-mails, but the e-mails clearly suggest that they had discussed this issue previously. if someone sends you an e-mail, time to shutdown the traffic, which is effectively what ms. kelly wrote, what do you mean? obviously there had been previous discussions of this. what were they talking about, why, all of that is unknown. >> maybe you'll pull me off of these. two of the main men involved, ber rowny and wildstein. what are they? they were the governor's guys there. they both retire at the same time basically as soon as word

of this problem comes out. you didn't hear anything about why he -- why the governor didn't dig into that at the time. you know what i mean? why didn't he dig into that? >> very. they were not elderly figures retiring at the end of their careers. they resigned obviously in the wake of what appeared to be a scandal. and governor christie showed no curiosity about why that was the case. >> and why didn't he ever complain and dig into what happened with these lane closures. if they were causing such -- believe me i know, turn around and say, what the heck were you thinking closing these lanes. why did you do it. where was that curiosity. >> that is all part of the core question of what happened here. i guess one way of putting it is, we sort of know what didn't happen. >> uh-huh.

>> we know that the initial accusation that he punished this mayor for not endorsing him, i think it's pretty clear that's not what happened here. >> this is the big one for me. you are the man. of course there are a lot of moving pieces, government's very big. but on these types of things, usually you're of one mind. these are your appendages, these people. they're your hands, they're your legs, they're doing the things for you. that's a big question here that he's going to deal with. why would your people so close to you do this and you have nothing to do with it. >> if you have top aides who are engaging in political retaliation involving this bridge closure, what else were they engages in retaliation about. >> and even if everything he says is try, what does this say about his ability to put the right people around him, which

as we both know makes a great leader? >> he said, you know, i can't supervise 65,000 state employees. but you can supervise them people. that's the question he's going to have to answer. all right breaking over night. a state of emergency for west virginia counties where some 200,000 people are being told right now not to use the tap water because of a chemical spill in the supply. and this morning, the president is offering federal assistance for response effort there. early start anchor christine romans is here. sounds like this is not anywhere near over. >> west virginia governor warning people not to use the tap water for anything. still many residents fear it may be too late. thousands of west virginia left scouring empty store shelves.

>> this is actually the third place i've been to trying to get water so i've resorted to ice. >> after a massive chemical spill contaminated the water supply for hundreds of thousands. residents warned not to use their tap water for any reason. >> do not drink it, do not cook with it, do not wash clothes in it, do not take a bath in it. >> it's clear that that migrated through to our finished water. >> the situation now declared a federal emergency with the white house approving aid for all nine counties. early thursday the water company discovered a hole in a 48,000 gallon storage tank, but didn't report the spill until four hours later. it isn't clear how much or how long the chemical had leaked. >> it took some time to understand what the nature of this chemical was. >> the chemical is a type of methanol used in preparing coal.

it's not toxic but is harmful if swallowed. still residents flooded emergency rooms for fear of contamination after the order was issued. using absorbent booms, the water company is now working to clean up the spill. residents are asking questions how long this went on before they were notified. even if you just come in contact with this chemical, it can cause skin or eye irritation. the local water company says the chemical was diluted in the river, but still can cause damage if contacted. but still, an unraveling situation in west virginia this hour. >> needs a lot of attention and needs it right away. >> we have new developments in the national international

effort to secure russia. they are heading to russia right now to help keep the game safe. nick robertson has more from moscow. milk? >> reporter: the last couple days, six bodies found in four different vehicles, a couple of them rigged with bombs. that's just 150 miles from the olympic village in sochi. so far they are saying that the same weapon or same type of weapon, at least, the same pistol was used in the killing of the six men, but they're not saying why it's happened, if it's linked to terrorism or if it's linked to sochi at all. it's raising for concerns for all people at the fbi. there will be specialists on hand to help the olympic team and has said that the sochi

olympics will present some particular safety and security challenges because of where it's located in the region and the terror threats in the region. so far, russian olympic officials are talking to us, saying no worries, we've got a handle on all this, the security we've got on the olympics is good, we checked it last year. and the russians right now, confident although they're not giving answers on these latest round of attacks. >> thanks so much for that. to other headlines right now. three americans are killed when their surveillance plane crashed in eastern kbanz. each of those victims members of the international security assistance force. also new today, an update on last month's black hawk chopper crash in afghanistan. military officials are now confirming it was brought down by taliban insurgents. ties to al qaeda have a

proposition for visiting americans. join our fight and bring terror back home to the u.s. they say they're tracking americans who return from syria and it is now a top priority. according to the u.s. times, either 70 americans have traveled there or tried to since the civil war began some three years ago. president obama close to a final sdwegs on the nsa's surveillance program. it is detailing how many times the nsa asked phone companies and how many individual records were exposed. he also wants to limit access to classified network. in about an hour's time, the final jobs report for 2013 comes out. we'll bring the numbers live to you as soon as they come in. there are great expectations. we may see the biggest annual gain since 2005. if the prediction for 193 new

jobs in december holds. unemployment expected to stay at 7% flat, the lowest it's been in about five years. and a heart stopping ending to a high speed chase in southern california. they tried to pull over an unidentified driver for using a cell phone while driving. the suspect took off instead leading police in an hour-long chase that ended in a hail of gunfire. you can hear how many shots are fired. police say four officers opened fire when the driver came to a stop, they say he pointed a gun at them. the suspect is in critical condition. police found drugs and a gun in his car. >> scary job they have and cameras are everywhere. >> it just happened that a local crew was there. i'm sure we'll be hearing more

about that situation. weather, we've been talking about it. it's kind of dominated our life in the last while. >> it dominates my life every day. what are you talking about? we are warming up, but we're not there yet. snow right now in boston. freezing rain currently being reported in philly. you're not expecting a lot because slowly we are going to start to transition here as a warm front makes its way north. can actually see, there's the warm front, there's the cold front. this is going to be the story as we go through the weekend. here's the cold front still bringing the cold air. there comes the warm front transitioning it to rain as we go through the afternoon. here comes the next system. overnight into tomorrow, seeing rain from the northeast down to

the southeast. by sunday, it clears offshore. that's kind of how it pans out. let's take a look at how much we're expecting. it will be rain. about 1 to 3 inches in the northeast. in the south, only about 1 to 2 inches. temperatures will be a good 20 degrees above normal into the northeast as that warm front makes its way up. so you're going to back off just a little bit by sunday. pretty nice out there. kind of weird, though, we're talking about freezing rain and snow and then temperatures 20 degrees above norm. dominates my life. yeah. >> we're just trying to keep you busy. coming up on "new day," sometimes sorry is enough. sometimes it is not. chris christie is just starting damage control and hoping no more damage comes by way of documents about to be released and the fbi getting involved. the question, does he still have

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governor? joining us, our panel, francis will kin son and mark lamont hill. welcome everyone. anna, let me start with you. so you and i have been e-mailing back and forth. republicans yesterday, i was wait to go gauge more of their reaction to all of this. it seemed that they either were staying as far away as possible or saying let's take a weight and see approach. now that we have heard from chris christie, do republicans say, all right. it's time to move on, we need to support our guy? what do you think the reaction is going to be? >> i think we're in a pause stage, kate. look, people like me who like chris christie who could think of him as a nominee, we are prone to give him the benefit of the doubt. now there is a right wing that's never liked him, that's never trusted him. they're probably not as willing.

the donors on the other hand close to christie, i think they are in a weight and see -- a wait and see mode. he took ownership and he answered questions for almost two hours, 90 questions he answered. i've had root canals shorter and less painful. so i think yesterday people are ready to give him the benefit of the doubt, those that like him. but i don't think that we've seen the end of this. this is going to be a long pr process. there's investigations to go on. i think he's going to be absolutely transparent and cooperate with every investigation until we get to the bottom of everything. >> and it's been very easy so far. but he's been very high on responsibility. very low on personal accountability. he's blamed everybody else. mark hill, let me come to you

with something. is this a little bit of an example of chris christie of how the white house should be dealing with scandal. he dealt with it head on as soon as he could, and he got rid of people. a lot of dpies are criticizing saying you guys don't do that. you don't deal with it aggressively. fair comparison in. >> no, because unlike benghazi this is an actual scandal. chris christie got in front of this the best way imaginable. he didn't give the kind of legalese answers. he gave strong answers. a senate could say he's doing this because he knows this is the only way he knows to stay in position as governor and for 2016. the white house made an absolutely different move because it was a different circumstance. >> you basically say no matter he came out and handled this

yesterday, his aspirations for president are essentially over. you wrote in your article, this story is going to be unveiled in slow and excruciating detail. >> i don't think he will come back from it. there's a possibility he can, but i don't think he will. that is not a great position to be in if you're running for president. running for president is really hard under the best of circumstances. this is going to weigh on him constantly and this is the very beginning, not the end. >> francis, let's follow-up on why. >> i think what we've seen so far is what there is. and there is nothing linking this directly to christie. i think the man has a shot at surviving and i would not under estimate him. i think putting him out is premature. but i also think we got to put 2016 at a pause.

chris christie needs to focus like a laser on new jersey and setting that ship straight and then national politics can come on. right now, his operation, they got to hit the pause button. >> i agree with you that we can't say too soon that chris crease's -- christie's career is over. we just don't know that. documents are coming out today. you may have more mayors talking about acts of vengeance. more could come out. if democrats are smart, they're going to have stuff bubble up. >> i think the best thing the governor has going for him is that this is small ball going after this local mayor that didn't really matter to you. francis, speak to this. this idea that i didn't know anything about what my main,

most trusted people were doing in a governor's office is very, very unusual. fair point. >> can i go even one step further. this conduct is very unusual. this is not standard retaliat n retaliation, i'm going to cut some funding to your district. this is bizarre behavior. and i think as this unfolds and it becomes a better told story, we know more about it, we're going to realize that this is very unusual behavior and i think it's indicative of a political culture. >> it could be the person in the office who did it unbeknownst to chris christie. somebody in the office has some real issues. >> for someone to go rogue -- >> i agree with you all, but this is some of the strangest behavior i have seen by staff ever, frankly. i can't imagine anybody doing something of this level unless they thought the principal

wanted it. >> there is that atmosphere question. >> i do give -- i do -- i give christie the benefit of the doubt because he was so adamant that he had nothing to do with this. >> yeah. >> and let's remember this was a guy who was a former da, a former prosecutor. he gave himself zero wiggle room. i mean, he better be sure. he's got to be sure of what he's saying, because he's a prosecutor guys. he knows if there are people out there that can link him, it may very well happen. >> a senate could say -- cynic could say that he swung for the fences. in most extreme way possible, i had nothing to do with this. if you lose, you're going to lose big anyway. >> i don't think it's going to be a pretty sight for him down the road. >> a lot more paper coming out

today. >> all right. thank you so much. going to take a quick break. coming up next on "new day," a teenager who says she was raped at the age of 14. the missouri man she accused has finally made a deal with prosecutors but some say he got off way too easy. and the hunt is on for a highway killer in pennsylvania. now at least two mysterious cases. will he strike again? where might it be? we'll bring you the latest.

welcome back to "new day." it's little past half past the

hour. here's some of the stories making news. new details coming today in bridgegate. a thousand pages of documents released by the new jersey assembly in just a few hour's time. they could lend a better perspective about whether christie new about the lane closures. and a class action lawsuit has been filed by some of the people stuck in traffic for hours. the battle over unemployment continuing in the senate today. a compromise plan to extend jobless benefits through november fell apart thursday with republicans saying they've been cut out of the project to reach a deal. misdemeanors of -- millions of americans lost their benefits in december. dramatic pictures from a passenger who survived a deadly plane crash last month in hawaii. he turned on his go pro camera

seconds after the plane's engine cut out. eight people survived. one person died in that crash. she's the official that released president obama's official birth certificate in twe. quite a bizarre incident in oregon. police tried to pull a driver over for a minor violation. the driver took off leading cops on a high-speed chase, but then she suddenly slams on the brakes, gets out of the car and jumps off the bridge. amazingly, she suffered only minor injuries. she is now understand arrest. you can imagine the shock they felt when that happened. >> that's not what you think's going to happen. new details this morning in a case that grabs national headlines. a missouri man please guilty to lesser charges in the rape case of a then 14-year-old.

this after daisy was harassed by her community following the accusations. and folks are asking, did barnett get off too easy. >> good morning, kate, the special prosecutor says that this is the right outcome, that this is justice. but that's certainly not the perception outside of this small town. is there anything you want to say? >> not at this time. >> it was quiet as matthew barnett left the courthouse is free man. the reaction on social media was immediate and real. barnett faces no jail time and two years' probation for pleading guilty to misdemeanor child endangerment. he admits he left her drunk, freezing and not wearing a jacket outside her mother's house is january.

>> the misdemeanor charge which mr. barnett pled guilty accurately reflects the conduct for what he should be held accountable. >> daisy coal man alleged she and a friend were raped by barnett and another high school boy on a night while drinking. charges against barnett, who was 17, were dismissed. daisy's family claimed the real reason was barnett's political ties. his grandfather was a popular four term state representative. a stark example they say of victim blaming. special prosecutor jean baker was appointed to re-examine the case. >> my job is to analyze evidence. in this case, it was -- there was insufficient evidence to go

forward on a sexual assault. >> reporter: considering all the evidence, there wasn't a lot she could do. baker read a statement from daisy coleman. >> today i am grateful that the defendant took responsibility by pleading guilty to the charges. i am ready to move forward. >> reporter: but moving forward has proven to be difficult. she's now 16 years old, last weekend, tried to take her own life. her mom says this happened after she was bullied on facebook. >> thanks for that update. that's horrible and horrible again. thank you. >> needs to be covered though. coming up on "new day," if you leave an anonymous review on yelp, probably expect it to say

aanonymous. wait until you hear why. no, just had to stop by the house to grab a few things. you stopped by the house? uh-huh. yea. alright, whenever you get your stuff, run upstairs, get cleaned up for dinner. you leave the house in good shape? yea. yea, of course. ♪ [ sportscaster talking on tv ] last-second field go-- yea, sure ya did. [ male announcer ] introducing at&t digital life. personalized home security and automation. get professionally monitored security for just $29.99 a month. with limited availability in select markets. ♪ [ male announcer ] this is the cat that drank the milk... [ meows ] ...and let in the dog that jumped on the woman... [ barks ] ...who brewed the coffee... brew coffee. [ male announcer ] ...that woke the man that was late for work... all right. i got to go. ♪ [ male announcer ] ...and drove the car... [ woman ] driverless mode engaged. [ male announcer ] ...that found the parking spot... find parking space. [ woman ] parking space found.

[ male announcer ] ...that alerted the door that opened the control room. hey, bob. [ male announcer ] ...that secured the data that directed the turbines that powered the sprinklers that watered the grass and that fed the cow that made the milk that went to the store that reminded the man to buy the milk that was poured by the girl who loved the cat that drank the milk. [ meows ] the internet of everything is changing everything. cisco. tomorrow starts here. what are you guys doing? having some fiber! with new phillips' fiber good gummies. they're fruity delicious! just two gummies have 4 grams of fiber! to help support regularity! i want some... [ woman ] hop on over! [ marge ] fiber the fun way, from phillips'.

welcome back to "new day." we are following the latest in the search for a pennsylvania highway killer. in about two hour's time they will provide new details in the investigation. a 28-year-old man was shot and killed over the weekend in his car and it may be connected to another shooting. for people who live in the area, an arrest cannot come soon enough. >> you know, the fbi has gotten involved and they believe the poe tench yalt of another accident. and members of this small pennsylvania community, they're down right scared. residents of this small

community of pennsylvania are on edge following a deadly highway shooting over the weekend. the shooter still at large. >> our daughter travels that highway every day and you think it could have been her. it's hard to think things like that can happen in this small area. >> it's just scary. you're driving along and all of a sudden, boom. >> 30 minutes away from this community on interstate 81, 28-year-old timothy davisson was driven off the highway early saturday morning then shot multiple times by someone in a dark pickup. police are calling it a road rage killing. davis son was driving back to maine after celebrating the holidays in florida with his sister. eight hours earlier on a road, a local man was shot in his car also by someone in a dark pickup. luckily, the gunman missed. federal and state investigators

say they believe at this point the two shootings are likely related. >> they're going to look at the comparison used in the murder in frank lynn county as well as the bullet we recovered in the other one. police will be able to tell us whether it's the same bullet or not. >> motorists are saying they are keeping a closer eye on fellow drivers. >> they haven't been able to figure out who it is yet. they might still be around. if they inadvertently cut that person off, that you know, they might be the next one in the ne news. >> and the funeral for timothy is tomorrow. one victim is dead, one victim survived, but both incidents the shootings and the bullets were aimed to the head. let's get another check of the weather.

bring indra in. warming up. >> we're warming up. just stop right there. warming up today. we're warming up tomorrow. and, yes, anything that you know is too good to be true has consequences there. the system is making its way through looks like for the midwest today then through the northeast and then tomorrow. by sunday, it is expected to move offshore. keep in mind, put this together, you have rain that just saw heavy amounts of snow. flooding concerns are going to be high in the northeast until saturday. otherwise, looking for, especially out towards maybe the carolinas is the threat for severe weather from the exact same system. and then now back to the temperatures, yes, warming up for two days. day three, not looking so good, back down. >> we'll take the two days. >> going down.

still means you're above normal. >> and it is winter. >> i like that it's become a negotiation. >> we work together, right? >> she told us earlier in the week she made a call, thus the change. >> whatever happened to online privacy rules that yelp must reveal the identity of some anonymous reviewers. find out why and what it means for you. i lost my job about, probably about six or seven months ago.

i'm a year short of qualifying for my retirement. they had some cutbacks. i was the most skilled technician and also the highest paid. for my unemployment to end now, i wouldn't have money to go on an interview. my retirement is going away as a result of this. i do have a husband, thank god, or i would be homeless. tell republicans: restore unemployment benefits now.

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welcome back to "new day". take a look. a pilot in new zealand had to make an emergency landing on the

beach when his engine stopped. takeoff not so much. the water creeps up, reaches the plane's wheels. winds up crashing into everything there. nobody was hurt that's why i'm showing to it you, more of a spectacle than a tragedy. but imagine that, you're on the beach, all of a sudden here comes this cat in his little plane. >> i can't imagine that. >> look at the guys on the jet skis. >> not much you can do. >> what do we do? >> not much. joey jackson, what happened to your chair? >> it sunk. >> it's god telling you did something wrong. >> grab the stick on the right side >> you're short today. >> lower right side. lower, lower. pull it. there you go. >> i'm back. >> joey jackson is here to talk and you can see behind him yelp. you know those reviews you write online, you think they are

anonymous. not the case. a virginia court ruled that yelp must turn over the names of seven people who wrote negative reviews of a carpet company. let's break it down with joey jackson. >> classic good morning. >> this is a very specific case. but we're looking at it because we want to know if this is going to have -- is indicative of what the future will be. break down this case. >> absolutely. we're all concerned because it's internet privacy and certainly across the country. however, as you mentioned this is specific to virginia. you have this company yelp and it's important because if people have an experience with a business you post that experience online, presumably to help out everybody else. however, we're presuming if you're a user of yelp when you go on there to use the service the review is authentic, it's accurate, the person has a personal experience. it's legitimate. you've had a personal experience with that business and you use

that business. >> this guy says that's not the case. this carpet cleaning business that he says people were posting, he suspects that they were fake, made up, maybe even his competitors. >> exactly. >> kind of undermine his business. >> that's a problem. look, delve deeper. we're talking about 102 million people per month that use this site. you can imagine the detrimental impact it could have upon a business if the information there is untrue. so this business owner said you know what i cross referenced these negative reviews against my own computer database. i could fine nothing remotely related to this. it's false pinpoint the information. so what does that do? it implicates first amendment rights because you have a first amendment right to be anonymous from text your privacy to say i want to post and i don't want anybody to know my name. the court had to balance that against this individual business's right not to be defamed and to have false information out there that holds it in a negative light and is

untrue. >> how do you balance it, though? those are two posing forces. >> answer is with great difficulty. >> internet changes it. less regulation. >> less regulation, chris. at the same time the problem here is that different states have enacted different measures feign look at new york, you look at new jersey, you look at arizona, california. in fact even maryland recently they say the exact opposite. you have that measure of protection. however, in virginia here they said there's a statute in the event you feel you have been defamed you go through a specific protocol to get the information and the business owner did and the court said give it up because it's likely he could have been defamed. >> yelp is a big company. >> huge. >> this is not the end of this legal battle. >> i don't think it's the end. remember we have this higher court, this u.s. supreme court. >> yes. >> that court. not that it's there yet, of course, but because -- you don't

want a patch work of laws around the country. you want uniformity. you want people to use the internet to be certain what it it's going to be. if i use it in virginia do i have to disclose, if i use it in maryland i don't have. ultimately it will get there from text privacy of the individual or the business. >> i feel the supreme court has begun to deal with that because we talk about this a lot when you watch the court, the law is slow to react to technology. technology is ahead of the law a lot of people say. that's why we have the supreme court. >> absolutely. >> all right. joey jackson, you're stable. >> you're moving a lot less today. >> you rose to the occasion. >> yes. thanks, joey. take a break. coming up next on "new day" governor chris christie's troubles not over yet. now mounds of evidence to be released. >> final jobs report of 2013

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i am responsible. >> new information in the chris christie bridge scandal. will his story stand up after a major document released this morning, a lawsuit from angry residents and media blood hounds hunting down aides. new this hour a critical test for the economy. the government set retrolease the monthly jobs report.

wall street is on edge. is the jobs market finally turning a corn per. cnn exclusive one year later after a man was found dead inside a gym mat. new details on the investigation. your "new day" continues right now. >> announcer: this is "new day" with chris cuomo, kate bolduan and michaela pereira. >> could the political payback scandal go bad from worse for new jersey governor chris christie. 1,000 pages of internal documents are set to be released today in the marathon news conference on thursday christi admitted he was embarrassed and humiliated by the monster traffic jams apparently engineered by his own top aide. christi insists he knew nothing

about it and now a federal lawsuit has been filed again him and those connected to the scandal. let's start right now with pamela brown live in trenton, new jersey. >> reporter: good morning to you. this could be just the beginning as you mentioned a class action lawsuit has been filed against chris christie and four ever his appointees and staffers by people caught up in that traffic jam last september. they are looking for compensation for alleged wages lost. meantime fbi teaming up with the u.s. attorney's office here in new jersey to see if any federal laws were violated. >> i come out here today to apologize to the people of new jersey. >> reporter: new jersey governor chris christie embarking on an apology tour for the so-called bridge gate scandal. >> i am embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of some of the people on my team. i knew nothing about this. i had no knowledge. i had no knowledge of this.

i wasn't told the truth. >> reporter: this in response to the four day long traffic jam on the george washington bridge last fall. >> by 9:00 this morning bridget anne kelly was fired by 7:00 yesterday evening bill steppien was asked to leave my organization. that's pretty swift action for a day's work. >> reporter: several new jersey residents have filed a class action lawsuit against the governor and former staffers and appointees. the suit seeks damages for being trapped on the roadways causing them to be late for and/or miss work. being docked pay and injured as a result of the clogged local roads. after his mea culpa news conference, christi traveled to ft. lee to meet face to face with the city's mayor. >> he was apologetic. we believe he was sincere. it's an ongoing investigation.

>> reporter: the scandal has created a firestorm of commentary. >> this has been damaging. there's potentially illegality. >> he acted like a person who got blind sided. >> reporter: the damaging emails have now the former appointee david wildstein pleading the fifth. >> if they are prosecuted successfully, they may well turn on the governor and say hey we're not taking this fall by ourselves, we were led to believe this is what you wanted. >> reporter: the new jersey governor's office saying no public schedule is set for today, meantime despite christi's nearly two our press conference we have a lot to learn. we hope to have some of our questions answered when the

state assembly releases 907 pages of documents this morning online, documents that they have been collecting as part of their investigation related to this case. chris? >> pamela thanks. led to believe versus told to do. a very different thing in the eyes of the law. federal prosecutors in new jersey confirming they have opened a preliminary inquiry into christi's political scandal. they want to determine whether any federal laws may have been violated. coroner nn joe johnson tracking the developments from washington. anything new? >> reporter: investigations are just getting started with sources telling cnn the fbi is now working with the u.s. attorney's office to determine whether any federal anti-corruption laws were broken. this appears to be a very preliminary inquiry. the federal government has successfully prosecuted state and local officials for corruption in the past. it's our understanding any review would take a look at the way public money may have been spent in the bridge controversy and the statements that were

made to justify it before and after the fact. you have to underscore it's not clear what if any laws may have been broken. legal experts, some legal experts have said making a federal case out of this is likely to be a stretch. chris christie used to be a federal prosecutor and he said he welcomes this inquiry that he has nothing to hide. paul fishman the united states attorney in new jersey now is an obama appointee. he has been politically active giving over $12,000 to democratic candidates over the last several years which is not an extraordinarily large amount of money for a power lawyer. >> those engineered lane pushers at the george washington bridge may have landed new jersey governor in political hot water but did it put lives in danger as was the suggestion early on. there are claims a 91-year-old woman died because an ambulance was held up in that traffic that was created by those closures. alexandra field is digging deeper on that angle of the

story. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. there is no medical proof so to speak that's been offered that could lead to us any kind of a conclusion. the question has been asked over and over if help arrived sooner could her life have been saved. her daughter was asked that very question and here's what she said. >> i think she was 91 and i really believe in my heart she was already gone when the ambulance got there. >> while she doesnthe daughter believe her life could have been saved. he said there's evidence responders were delayed because of that traffic in reaching patients on at least three other scenes. at this point it isn't clear whether or not those delays could have in any way kmd the care that those patients received. chris, kate. >> that will linger out there and more evidence and data will

come out today. thank you for that. let's bring in cnn's national correspondent john king. he was at chris christie's marathon news conference. john, you have covered several political scandals in your time, i would definitely say. what is your take when you're in that room for that marathon press conference. what's your take on what chris christie said and where things go from here. >> number one first and foremost he left himself zero wiggle room. he said he was blind sided, embarrassed, humiliated. if that holds up a lot of people are giving him good grades for taking the hit and saying he was accountable. he said he will scrub the senior staff. so, evens from republicans if you call around the country relatively high marks. you could tell from the second he walked in that room until he walked out nearly two hours later he knows his personal credibility and political brand are at risk and he's in the

middle of a crisis. >> also, john, at the same time, when you look -- i've been looking a lot at the republican reaction. yesterday nobody would talk about it. maybe for good reason. then he comes out and there still hasn't been much reaction from republicans. some republicans including the "wall street journal" editorial board are complimenting chris christie now on the fact he came out, he was decisive, he was very contrite and they are making a comparison to how they say obama, president obama has not been facing scandals in his administration, the botched roll out of obamacare. is that a fair comparison? >> a number of republicans keep going after the president why do you say i don't know. the white house knew the website would have a disastrous roll out. hillary clinton says nobody brought her the warnings of benghazi. a number of republicans said this is how the obama

administration operates. the democrats have turned that on chris christie saying governor why didn't you know? what kind of operation are you running. for him to come out and say i knew nothing about it but it's my fault i'm responsible i'm the one who should be held accountable it is getting pretty good grades from republicans. remember there's not been a flush of praise from republicans. they are not flooding out the praise him because he has been a party of one. he has sometimes taken an issue with his own party especially here in washington and tried to carve out a separate brand. when you put yourself ainu knick spot when you're in trouble you're often alone. >> also they have to be a little slow because he's getting by on the exception to the rule sway big power player, a man who is in charge, who didn't know what was going on. which is possible but not that likely. you used the word accountability. i thought you did a great job in your questioning. i thought you were spot on making the exact point about referencing how didn't you know. i didn't hear accountability.

that's my question. going forward do you think he is forever changed by this in terms of how saleable he is as a national candidate because of and a legitimate criticism that you don't know how to pick your people. >> look, this will now be -- just think. let's stop for a second and think where we were a few weeks ago in the conversation about chris christie. he win as landslide re-election. every republican wants to be with chris christie. every republican thinks he can help candidates. he runs even with hillary clinton. runs a couple of points ahead of her. and he was white commit. now he's a giant question mark. if what he said yesterday holds up he has time to repair this damage and move on. but just in new jersey the big thing he needed was this huge wind at his back. his state of the state address is next week. he was counting on a big year in

new jersey as he travels the country to say look at me. democrats in new jersey, even if this doesn't get to the governor they still think they took the wind out of his sails and his mandate is less clear and get in his face a little bit. his job now as governor and as a candidate on the national stage is tougher because of this no matter where it goes. >> also just real quick, how do you think this affects -- he carries a big role for republicans across the country in the fact that he's taking on this chairmanship of the governor's association. he says it does not affect his job at all but is that putting other republican governors, his big fundraising role is he putting that in question? >> not commonwealth. let's watch. let's circle a date on the calendar and say three months. a lot of republicans i talked to yesterday in iowa, in new hampshire, in south carolina, in those states say is there another shoe. are we sure there's not another shoe. so as he tries to travel a couple of months from now is this truly behind him or do

these documents that come out today, the legislative hearings that come out next month, when the attorney gets involved, is there something new that gives people hesitancy or is this behind him, has he handled it well. the key test will be when he's campaigning in these tests are the candidates willing to stand by their side. if people think he's nuclear they won't be there. >> john great job yesterday as always. we'll talk to you soon. >> also a window into the larger battle between the parties right now because as you mentioned intelligently so, the right is coming out and saying what about obama on the irs, what about obama on benghazi. the left said that's called false equivalency. what is that a reflection of? what's going on down in washington. efforts to get unemployment benefits they are fighting over that right now to restore them for more than a million

americans. guess hat? they hit a partisan snag. democrats agreed to cutback the number of weeks people are eligible but key republican support has disappeared. this could come to a head with a vote early next week. let's get the latest from jim acosta. >> reporter: it's january but feels like groundhog day when it comes to this issue of extending unemployment benefits for jobless americans. we saw this play out yesterday in the senate. looked like senators were getting close to reaching a compromise that would extend these benefits. earlier they were talking about a three month extension. that sounded progress. the talks got bogged down. democrats and republicans fighting over amendments that would have offset the cost of that extension. and so now we're looking to next week to see whether or not they can broker a deal. one of the key republicans involved in all of this, ohio senator rob portman said, you know, don't worry just yet this thing is not dead on arrival. we have to wait and see how that

plays out. the president, jay carney made the pitch for this extension so the white house will keep up the pressure. speaking of unemployment the new jobs numbers as you know, kate and chris come you want in just about 20 minutes from now. check out this graph. i want to put this up on screen because something interesting could happen at 8:30. the unemployment rate has not dipped below 7% since president obama was elected back in november of 2008. we know right now it stands at 7%. interesting to see whether or not that unemployment rate drops below that 7% number. if you do see that happen you'll see a very happy white house. they have been keeping an eye on that number interesting to see what exactly will be said about these unemployment numbers once they come out in 20 minutes. >> we'll stay on that and bring you those numbers when we receive them here at cnn. to our other headlines. a state of emergency in nine west virginia counties. 200,000 people are being warned not to use their tap water

because it's been contaminated by a chemical spill. president obama has signed an emergency declaration that provides federal assistance. residents are told not drink, cook or wash with the water. overseas afghanistan plans to release dozens of detainees some accused of killing americans and could it happen as soon as today. afghan president karzai said there's not enough evidence to hold them but the obama administration insists they are dangerous criminals who could rejoin the insurgency once they are out. president obama is said to be close to a final decision on changes to the nsa's surveillance program. cnn has learned he's considering issuing new transparency reports detailing how many times the nsa asked phone companies and how many individuals records were exposed. he also wants to limit access to classified networks. these changes could be announced as early as next week.

breaking news for you now. we just learned target has announced that last year's data breach affected 70 million people. we first told you 40 million credit and debit card accounts have been hacked. an investigation is still under way into how the information was stolen. the houston rockets strolled into practice and noticed this giant inflatable bear next to the coke machine. when they were leaving practice it comes alive. freaks out chandler and jeremy lin. and he kicks him. that seems fake. that seems fake. >> that was funny. >> i thereof reaction that he kicks him. >> we finally did it. >> trying to kill me for months. >> like a high school with the

christmas tree. they were scaring the teachers. now i'll question everything. >> that was good. >> who will be at fault? >> dwight howard went to st. mary's. >> if that happened to indra petersons here's her reaction. she would have done nothing. looked and pop with it her finger nail. never show fear. >> viking power. >> just want to add to my list. we have some snow out in the northeast. we even have a little bit of icing in philly and d.c. not looking for a lot because this is going transition very quickly. we'll start to see warm air move in and it all transitions to rain. you can see the reason why. here's the high pressure that brought us that cold air. that's making its way offshore. we're dealing with that warm front and warm air coming in from the south. that will transition it. cold air moves in. we're talking about some rain. there you go. you can see the next system

making its way in midwest. all the way through tonight you're looking for light showers. same system makes its way into the northeast for saturday and by sunday quickly makes its way offshore. keep in mind with heavy snow in the northeast this means a flood watch superas all that snow can melt. the other thing we're talking about as far as how much rain one three inches in the northeast, down around the carolinas, virginia two to three inches. southeast one to two inches not a big deal here and again the temperatures, we love this part, going up but that's the concern at the same time. temperatures are warm all that snow we had a week ago not a good situation in the northeast. it will be melting. >> are vikings used to cold weather? >> not this one. i need a little help with that. i was out there. i didn't have a choice. >> that's true. >> thanks for calling me out on that. >> coming up on "new day" it's been a year believe it or not since georgia teenager kendrick johnson was found dead rolled up in a high school gym mat.

there's still no answers. however federal investigators say they may be able to give his parents answers now about exactly how their son died. stay with us. [ dr. pyun ] a lot of healthy food choices are still high in acidic content. if your enamel is exposed to acid and you brush it away, you know, then it's gone. i would recommend that they brush with pronamel. they don't need to cut out those foods but you can make some smart choices. thmortgage didn't start here. it began on her vacation in europe. someone stole her identity and opened some credit cards in her name. checking her experian credit report and score allowed her to better address the issue...and move right in. experian.

and our giant idaho potato truck is still missing. so my dog and i we're going to go find it. it's out there somewhere spreading the good word about idaho potatoes and raising money for meals on wheels. but we'd really like our truck back, so if you see it, let us know, would you? thanks. what?

welcome back to "new day". it has been exactly one year since kendrick johnson vanished in the middle of a school day in georgia. the next day he was found dead, his body stuffed in a rolled up gym mat. the justice department is investigating johnson's death but there is new information this morning. cnn has learned the fbi has stepped up their investigation. now, victor blackwell, you know him here, one of cnn's main people he has been reporting on this story relentlessly and

there's a big reason. it's gotten national attention. victor, i know it's embarrassing for me to say it but the work deserves recognition and you're following up on this information, it comes from you down at the cnn center in atlanta. what do you have now? >> reporter: it was about this time roughly one year ago january 10, 2013 that jacqueline johnson dropped her son off at school and it was the last time she saw him alive. after months of rallies, marches and sit ins and the announcement of a federal investigation into the death of kendrick johnson -- >> i will follow the facts

wherever, wherever they lead. >> reporter: cnn has learned fbi agents are now conducting interviews in south georgia. kendrick's parents recently sat with investigators for nearly three hours. the johnsons want to know what happened to their son. it's a question the mother first asked one year ago. >> 911. where is your emergency. >> i'm calling my. my son hadn't come home from school today and he still haven't got here. >> what's your son's name >> kendrick johnson. >> reporter: that was january 10, 2013. that afternoon the 17-year-old ran into the old gym at lowndes high school. the following day he was found dead upside down in a rolled gym mat. the johnsons never believed he died accidentally. >> they know something happened in that gym. they don't want it to come out.

>> reporter: the johnsons exhumed his body and hired a pathologist that indicated he died from blunt force trauma to the neck. the detective spoke with cnn in may the day after the sheriff's office closed its case. >> it was not a rash decision that was led toby any means. we've drawn this out, done a thorough investigation and we think we covered all bases. >> reporter: as the fbi conducts its interviews cnn is take an in depth look at the accounts of the first interviews in the kendrick johnson case conducted by the sheriff's office. >> we've interviewed slightly over 100 some people during this investigation. that included students, teachers, some parents that had access during the time period. >> reporter: we examined every incident report included in the 522 page investigative file. according to the file investigators interviewed 111 people, including seven school

employees, three medical responders and more than 90 students. >> it started on january 11th when kendrick johnson was found. >> reporter: the file reveals sheriff's investigators interviewed 18 people the day kendrick johnson was found. we took that information to hln analyst a former police officer and member of the fbi response team mike brooks. >> i want to interview someone that day, that night or maybe the following day while things are still fresh in your mine. >> reporter: however the documents reveal most interviews occurred months later. here's the breakdown. investigators interviewed 33 people in the month of january, just for you in february, one in march and 72 of the 111 interviews were conducted in april. one more in may. >> months later, you know, you start to leave out possibly some crucial pieces of information, you know, because your mind, sometimes you can recall things that you might not have recalled that particular day but to a

couple of days, maybe even a week after it happened. i say week on the outside. but not months, victor. not months. >> reporter: remember kendrick's body was found january 11th. the first emergency medical technicians called to the scene initially for a reported cardiac arrest were interviewed april 17th. the paramedic who noticed bruising to kendrick's jaw and considered the gym to be a crime scene was interviewed april 18th. the janitors who cleaned the gym were among the last to be interviewed. on april 26th. local investigators believe the blood is unrelated. however, they never found whose blood it was or how it got there. and according to their report the investigators did not ask the janitors about that blood. and look again at the school surveillance video. this was the last time kendrick johnson was seen alive. there were other students in the gym but the investigators

reports had no record of interviews with any of these students. >> i looked at the crime scene investigation, evidence collection, the autopsy, the interviews that were done and were not done in a timely fashion. this is a sloppy case from the get go. >> reporter: after the u.s. attorney announced the federal investigation, the attorney for the sheriff's office wrote to cnn in part, while the sheriff has every confidence his office erosion' investigation was handled with the necessary diligence to assure that all leads were examined and exhausted he welcomes the u.s. attorney's further review of the case. the johnsons and their supporters hope the fbi will get an answer to their question. what happened token district johnson? >> that's my child and we're going to fight until it's all over, until we get the truth. that's all we've ever asked for is the truth about what happened token district johnson. >> we understand from mike brooks and other former members of the fbi the process for this

investigation will likely interview those people who were interviewed and not interviewed by the sheriff's office but interviewing the investigators on the local level themselves to ask why were people interviewed so far after kendrick johnson's body was found and why some people were never interviewed, especially those students who were in the gym with him on january 10th. chris, kate? >> questions that deserve answers. that family deserves answers too. thank you for your work. we're going take a break on "new day". coming up next we're moments away from final monthly jobs report of 2013. it's expected -- they are thinking it's going good news. we'll break down the numbers and what they mean for you as soon as they are in. >> plus american shez cassam. what he has to say about his

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. welcome back. the labor department has just released the december jobs report the final jobs report of 2013. chief business correspondent christine romans has the details. a big surprise. >> a big miss. economists really got this wrong. 74,000 jobs created in the month, the month of the year. only 74,000. you remember you had economists all week revising upward their expectations closer to 200,000. here's the real shocker. the jobless rate drops, drops to 6.7%. >> we should be cheering. >> how could that be. the lowest jobless rate since

2008 basically? more than half a million people just threat job market. just stopped looking for work. total jobs created for the year 2.2 million making you basically on par with 2012. last year we created as many jobs as the year before. we have a whole year's picture. 74,000 jobs. that's a big disappointment. a lot of economists thought it would be much better than that. then you look at the jobless rate. it fell in part because people simply gave up. >> don't we also -- seasonal jobs isn't there normally a little bit of a spike during the holiday season. >> they try to adjust for this. we had bad weather too. >> i'm looking now to see what they are saying about why it's going on. that's a problem. it's going to affect policy because they are fighting over extending those unemployment benefits now and this speaks immediately to the need for the extension. >> 13.1% is the underemployment

rate. that means some people call that the real unemployment rate. that means those are people out of work, waorking part time but would like to work full time. that number is still too high. 74,000 number only 74,000 jobs created. that's the weakest since late 2011. that really catching people by surprise. >> also, we will don't track this. i have to ask you about another big story in the money world and this is affecting your money, your wallet. target, a new number almost double the amount of people's information, the security breach almost double what they thought. >> tar zbet doing forensic accounting of that data breach we told you about. 40 million people their credit card information stolen or accessed. the number is now 70 million people. target this morning saying listen carefully to how much information was breached. names, mailing addresses, phone

nurjs e-mail addresses for 70 million people separate from the payment card data that was taken during data breach. that is a huge amount of information. this is a real problem for target. the stock is down this morning. very serious situation there in terms of your money acstories identity and your information. worse than we thought. >> much worse than we thought. christine thank you so much. talking about your money make sure you tune into a brand new your money 9:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. eastern on saturday with our christine romans. >> you'll have a lot to talk about. it's blowing up online right now trying to figure out the incongrinkon g incongr incongrewity and how to fix it. >> number one within hours 1,000 pages of evidence will be released by new jersey assembly committee investigating the so-called bridge gate scandal. the big question will they implicate new jersey governor chris christie.

>> don't use the water for anything. that's the warning rather from west virginia's governor after a chemical used in coal production contaminated the water supply there. some 200,000 people in nine counties are affected. afghan president car decide orders the release of 72 detainees some accused of killing americans. could it happen as soon as today. the obama administration says those men are criminals who could rejoin the insurgency. a bond hearing will be held this morning for the florida woman convicted in a stand your ground case. she fired a warning shot at an abusive husband. officials say she violated terms of her release. >> at number five how about this? samsung will unveil its answer to the iphone 5 s in april. the galaxy s 5 may have an eye scanner to compete with apple's fingerprint scanning technology. android users rejoice like me. we're always updating the five things to know.

go to "new day"cnn.com for the very latest. >> coming up next on "new day" governor chris christie has apologized for his staff's involvement in an exploding political payback scandal but is the damage already known? our panel will break it all down. and back in america after nine months in a middle eastern prison. you're looking at shez cassim and he's speaking out for the first time what it was like for him for so long. when i first started shopping for a hybrid... i didn't even look at anything else.

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welcome back to "new day". nearly 1,000 documents that's what we're awaiting in governor christi's unfolding bridge scandal. the governor appeared apologetic, flat out denied any wrongdoing but with so much at stake, his governorship, a possible presidential run where does he go from here? we'll have a panel break it

down. our republican strategist is here, john harris and republican consultant, margaret hoover. margaret i start with you because you're the smartest and best looking. that's how it works on television. >> sorry guys. >> we talked about this earlier this morning. i saw the governor high on responsibility, arguably low on accountability to himself. he blamed everybody else. he fired someone else. he didn't say it's on me really. does it matter? >> did we watch the same press conference? >> i watched every second of it. >> he said the buck stops with me i'm responsible. this is my fault, i take responsibility for it. isn't that plausible -- you don't think it's plausible. >> it's unusual but certainly plausible. >> it's certainly plausible. as everybody has said he gave himself no wiggle room. if he knew we'll find out and then he'll have a very different

future. >> while he left himself no wiggle room and some say he knows he has done nothing wrong and he'll be fine. it was said earlier it doesn't matter what he says from this point, that the information will be dripped out in excruciating detailed fashion over the next year and that will be the nail in the coffin. what do you think? >> i would disagree. i think everything he does from here on out matters as far as it relates to managing his public profile as a governor and as a potential 2016 candidate. he seat very high bar and again i disagree -- i agree with margaret and disagree with chris. he seat very high bar of accountability. he welcomes another level of accountability. he's going to get that scrutiny now. he has to match every single piece of information now that comes out with the same level of accountability and quite frankly the same level of contrition if he will manage himself through this crisis. that's the other points. this is not an event.

it didn't end yesterday. this is a process. every step he has to have that same level of contrition and accountability. >> speak to the point i'm making. look you're the man at the top. ordinarily man or woman. when you say this went down on my watch, there's usually this attendant so now i'll have to pay for this. that did not happen yesterday, and it may be because he says i didn't do anything wrong. but when you pick the people and you are the boss, shouldn't it be more than just about ascribing blame to others. >> i know what you mean and actually know what both your various good looking other panel members mean. he did accept accountability to say the buck stopped with me. atmospherically the message was these idiots i was screwed by these guys. if these idiots who were behind the scandal what idiot appointed these idiots. he does have a large measure of culpability. you didn't get the full on

embrace of that. i heard it the same way you did. >> john harris now the best looking person on the panel. >> john, you're just trying for the title. >> margaret will win it back on this one. we talk a lot about, on the news we talk a lot about he created a culture, an atmosphere to allow this. did he do that? do you think that is a real concern if decreate this atmosphere that allowed his advisers to go so rogue or do you think that's amongst the chattering class. >> tone comes from the top. there's a cultural context in new jersey that's not unlike how we joke about chicago politics. each has their own flavor. what chris christie has to do is get away from being pegged to that stereotype. >> that atmosphere seems it existed because they went really rogue. designee needs a lot more walks to ft. lee to apologize to those meyers. he needs to demonstrate

graciousness, soft nets, statesmanship, diplomacy in everything he does from here on out to affront those stereotypes before they stick to him. >> follow up on that. let's assume for the purpose of this discussion this situation was too much small ball for the governor to involve himself in dealing with the mayor of ft. lee a democrat whose endorsement he didn't need anyway and in his words this was stupid. even so what must he demonstrate going forward to keep the shine on him as somebody who may be the best choice for republicans in 2016? >> well, look, i think one of the legitimate criticisms here is that every single organization is a reflection of its principal and during the press conference yesterday he did say he's going to go through, i think, a pretty detailed self-examination of what he's done to help encourage this type of behavior somehow. so i think what he can do right now and where chris christie has

always flourished the reason he became the most prominent republican as far as potential 2016 nominees is because he's always been a very unconventional politician. 's to continue to do that. the big risk for him before he had this press conference was that he fell into a books where he started to look like a conventional politician, somebody who says one thing but does another. as long as he can continue to show that he's a no nonsense guy, take charge guy, who accepts and embraces accountability his profile can be repaired. >> the profile seems a little bit out of his control because the question now is does this cement the view you have of chris christie. does this change the view you have of chris christie within his party and outside of his party. that will be left to voters. final word, john? >> i would agree. he just didn't double down he tripled and quadrupled down. if it turns out did he have any involvement in this either direct or indirect by the culture in the office he

created, this is incredibly damaging because not all scandals are equal. some hit closer to vital organs. this hits to his most important vital organ which is as a reformer and unconventional politician. >> everybody gets angry when they are stuck in traffic. kevin, john, margaret, great to see you. we'll take another break but coming up next an american jail in a middle eastern prison is back home in the u.s. sharing his harrowing story for the very first time. what he told cnn coming up. farmer: hello, i'm an idaho potato farmer.

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welcome back to "new day". home at last. this morning an american is waking up in his own bed in minnesota after spending nine months in an united arab emirates jail. we've been following shezanne cassim's story. in his first comments since his return shez says he was convicted in a bogus trial all for posts a parity video online. hi, there ted. >> reporter: good morning, kate. he has a lot to say about his stay as you can imagine. and as you can imagine after what he's been through he's very happy to be back home. back home walking through the minneapolis airport 29-year-old shezanne cassim was finally free

to say what he really felt about spending nine months in a dubai prison. >> i feel angry. a lot of time wasted. >> reporter: he had been working in dubai as a business consultant when he and four friends were arrested last april for making this video an obvious parity about a ffictitious fighg force. >> i did nothing wrong. there was nothing illegal. even under uae law. i was convicted in a kangaroo court. >> reporter: he says for four months he wasn't even told why he was in jail. after four court appearances he found out the judge who ordered him to prison hadn't even watched the video. >> they were very indifferent and callous in the way they approached our trial. >> reporter: he does say he was treated welby prison guards. >> physically yes no abuse. but in terms of the prison

facility there was nothing. we were pretty much in a cage for nine months. >> reporter: last month cassim and his friends were sentenced to prison for a year. he was freed early for good behavior. >> they wanted to send a message to the uae public saying look what we'll do to people who do a silly youtube video. this is what we'll do to people. so imagine if you do something that's actually critical of the government, it's a warning message and we're scapegoats. >> reporter: while cassim was in prison the effort to free him included support from comedians and lawmakers in minnesota and washington. >> we're aware everybody was pulling for you and to what extent were you aware? >> i was aware but not how far it went because i didn't have any access to information. >> and grateful?

>> very grateful. >> reporter: shez spent last night at home with his family. he says he has a lot more to say and he says he's going to say that over the next few days. he also says he's never going back to dubai. >> that is no surprise. thank you so much, ted for that update. great job meeting him at the airport. so amazing. so unclear what the outcome would be. we spoke with shez's family multiple times. he did time serve. they didn't know the outcome. every time they would go into the courtroom they did not know if he would be walking out with them or if he was going to be back in jail. it's been such a roller coaster for that family. >> you've been very close to this story and there's some justification in this. the frustration with the state department. this is not north korea where kenneth bae is, where they don't have any diplomatic strategy going on. this is uae, we have such good

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are you ready? >> i'm always working. >> sorry. i thought the words were are you ready for the weekend? the answer is yes. welcome back to "new day". tomorrow and sunday -- >> this is exciting. >> watch "new day" weekend starting tomorrow 6:00 a.m. eastern join the brand new anchor team, christi paul and victor blackwell. tomorrow they will talk to candace cameron.

>> we'll be talking to them. congratulations to. >> great combination of head and heart with those two. good luck to them. lot of news this morning. let's get to it. >> have a great weekend. thanks so much. "newsroom" starts right now. >> this is cnn breaking news. >> good morning i'm carol costello. thank you so much for joining me. we begin this hour with two big breaking news stories on america's economy and our recovery. first just minutes ago we learned that u.s. employers added 74,000 new jobs last month. 74,000. that is the weakest monthly gain in two years and far less than expected. yet it pushes down the overall unemployment rate. the unemployment rate falls from 7% to 6.7%. what does it mean? christine romans is our