discussing this. and he proposed reforms, saying this is what we should do and even those were rejected by many. >> so many interesting conversations this morning. brennan's future and the future of the agency is now in doubt. this as one of brennan's predecessors coming out swinging with a defense of the c.i.a. is it time to reassess what the u.s. considers torture? and will the obama administration's drone program receive equal scrutiny? we've got all of these angles covered this morning beginning with senior white house correspondent jim acosta. what's the latest? >> good morning, alisyn, c.i.a. director john brennan conceded the agency made mistakes in using the harsh interrogation techniques, but he defended the methods, saying they provided useful intelligence, a view the president does not share. the only thing more rare than a news conference held inside the c.i.a. was the admission from the agency's director, john brennan, that terror detainees swept up after 9/11 were abused. >> in a limited number of cases,

agency officers used interrogation techniques that had not been authorized. were abhorrent and rightly should be repudiated by all. >> but brennan would not call it torture. >> i would leave to others how they might want to label those activities. >> brennan's explanation, the c.i.a. was not ready after 9/11. >> the program was uncharted territory for the c.i.a. and we were not prepared. >> and he maintained the agency's enhanced interrogation techniques or eits produced intelligence, even though he conceded it was unknowable if the same results were obtainable without harsh methods. >> it is our considered view that the detainees who were subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques provided information that was useful and was used. in the ultimate operation to go against bin laden. >> that's in sharp contrast to the torture report from democratic senate intelligence

committee chair, dianne feinstein. she responded to brennan in a tweet that critical intelligence that led to bin laden was unrelated to eits, but former c.i.a. officials insist they were doing what was necessary to stop more attacks on the u.s. >> we didn't have the luxury of time. we had a ticking time bomb situation. >> on the lead, former c.i.a. director michael hayden defended the forced rectal feeding of detainees. >> they had limited options with which to go do this. it was intravenous, which would be dangerous. with a noncooperative detainee. >> hummus and pine nuts. >> this is one of the ways that the body is rehydrated. these were medical procedures. >> you're defending rectal rehydration? >> what i'm defending is history, to give you a sense as to how this report was put together, this activity, which was done five times, in each time for the health of the

detainee, not part of the interrogation program. not designed to soften him up any questioning. >> critics of the torture report, asked what's the difference between harsh interrogations under president bush and classified drone attacks under president obama. one intelligence committee member insisted the drone program is legal. >> i believe that the c.i.a. is acting within the law in the intentions right now. that's as far as i want to go. >> and all of these attacks on the c.i.a. prompted a spirited defense from former president george h.w. bush who said in a statement last night, he felt compelled to reiterate his confidence in the men and women who worked there. george h.w. bush was not only the director of the c.i.a., the building is named after him. chris? >> jim, this is not getting better yet in terms of the consensus of what was done and why. until we have that, we can't figure out how to move forward. let's bring in christianne amanpour who joins us from london. not only are you very well

versed in this type of interrogation, what happens around the world. you talked to somebody is very key in our analysis. let's discuss how rare this situation is that's going on. not the torture. that we're getting inside the c.i.a. that they're having to come out and explain. they're giving a press conference, although even that was weird. did you hear they were making reporters surrender their phones. and other recording devices before they went in? what do you make of this kind of exposure we're seeing right now? >> well it is unique exposure. obviously we don't get that kind of thing around the world. even in our democracies here in western europe. just a note, the british government did confirm that they had been notified by director brennan, people had been notified that this report was going to come out. so yes, we don't get to see this kind of transparency. really the question is going forward, what this means, does it have any repercussions overseas, you know a lot of overseas countries have been implicated in that they were the

host to some of the black sides where some of this went on. allies of the united states. not just in europe, but also in places like egypt and elsewhere. and the other thing is, does the c.i.a. put a full stop on this and move forward. i've asked many people about that. >> you really put your finger right on it there. there's so much double-speak going on right now. who knew? who didn't know, what it was, what it wasn't. mr. brennan wouldn't use the word torture yesterday. although it seems to fit every definition of torture. when you have that going back and forth, it doesn't allow you to go forward. you spoke to alberto mora, the former general counsel of the navy. he said we knew what was going on and we were trying to stop it. >> unless the director is able to understand what the law and our values categorize this behavior as, then he's going to have to be told or we're going to have to find a new director in order to lead this agency, we

need to be clear about what the law and our principles require and how we classify these activities going forward. >> it's a strong statement from mr. mora. but do you really believe that there's a gray area here? do you believe this was about people the c.i.a. not understanding what torture was and wasn't? >> no. look, the report clearly states that there were many in the c.i.a. who in the midst of administering this torture, they call it enhanced interrogation technique, were very, very concerned about it. and raised those concerns with their superiors. and according to the report, the superiors told them to just carry on. in many of these cases. alberto mora, it needs to be recognized, was the very first american official to stand up and reject and resist this kind of technique. and he did that in 2002. and what he told me is incredibly significant. when he took his concerns about this torture to the military brass, that means the uniformed military, it means the lawyers,

the legal part of the military, they agreed with him and they said, this should not be happening, it doesn't produce any valuable information. and not only that, it doesn't go with the values of our nation. it shouldn't be happening. they agreed with his assessment. this is in 2002. but the civilians ignored that. and then came the torture memos, which so-called legalized this. >> the only way this works, this type of disclosure in the name of transparency, is if you own it, own what it was, and own what the change is. that doesn't seem to be being done effectively now because of this parsing of the word "torture." is this working as a form of transparency by the u.s., or just hurting their reputation? >> well look, i think there are many reasons why director brennan may not have used that precise word. i spoke to the senior u.n. reporter on this who says what happened is quote a criminal conspiracy. and that all of those, not just

the practitioners, but those who authorize and directed this program are subject to prosecution under international law. and he pointed out that in italy, 22 c.i.a. officials have in absentia been convicted and sentenced to long prison terms because of a rendition of an italian egyptian who was taken to cairo and tortured there. so it is very, very grave matter of legal precedents. but perhaps brennan was not using the word torture, because he didn't want other people in the c.i.a., the troops to have their morale further damaged. >> he would be exposing himself to criminal responsibility, also. because if you used word -- torture, then the torture is illegal. >> well, you're absolutely right. it is illegal. and the united states is sett g signatory to the anti-torture convention. he said look, the president has already used the word torture.

we know it's torture, that's not the issue. it was a top legal expert, that it was an esprit decorps issue. >> let me ask you something. if what you're saying is true about the magistrate in international law, quickly on this, does that mean that vice president dick cheney, if he were like vacationing in paris, may be at risk of getting picked up for a criminal action? >> well, look, all i can say is if he's named in that report, they say yes, and i spoke to the former chief prosecutor at guantanamo, who said that he would recommend anybody named in this report to quote vacation domestically. >> wow. >> christianne amanpour, thank you very much for helping us with this interview. michaela, imagine that. i wonder if they knew there was this kind of implication when they put out the report. >> one of them said i think i'll

vacation at yellowstone. congress narrowly averlted a government shutdown following a long day of drama and discord on capitol hill. the house approved a $1.1 trillion spending bill to keep the government open through september. the move happened despite strong objections interest democrats. the bill is now in the hands of the senate which has two days to approve it. of course we'll have more on this coming up in a few minutes' time. another cosby accuser coming forward, this time, it is 1970s supermodel beverly johnson. in an essay for "vanity fair," she says cosby drugged a cappuccino he made for her at his home during a read-through for a role on the cosby show. johnson said she knew quickly she had been drugged and began cursing at cosby. he quickly threw her out of his home into a cab. beverly johnson will join us live this morning during the 8:00 hour of "new day." a powerful statement about

black congressional lawmakers and staffers, about 100 of them walked out of congress, raised their hands in a sign of support for the farmlies of michael brown and eric garner. a senate chaplain led the group in prayer saying they were working as a voice for the voiceless. attorney general eric holder heading to chicago for committee meetings in an effort to improve relations between police and community. do you feel a bit of a chill in the air? >> never between you two. >> look at this -- that sony exec amy pascal trying to embrace angelina jolie. feel the chill now? you can see the actress not feeling it. >> that's the stink eye. >> pascal was part of the email exchange between sony execs where jolie was called a minimally talented spoiled brat. we're going to discuss how hollywood is handling this embarrassing scandal throughout the show, so stick with us. >> that's two stink eyes.

>> full on. full frontal stink eye. >> is that -- isn't she supposed to be angry at scott ruden? >> i think they both were part of the conversation. >> it's not like she was defended. >> in the email exchange. >> she did not look happy in that one. >> i think she's generally not happy. >> she was not looking at me like that, i'll tell you right now. >> you fed the beast. >> they had a moment. >> we'll get into all of that coming up. meanwhile, another story to tell you about, because the west coast is reeling from this powerful and deadly storm. ferocious hurricane-force winds, heavy rain and hundreds of thousands of power outages slamming california and oregon. falling trees, caused two deaths in oregon, one of the victims was a teenaged boy, he was in a car when the tree came down. the storm being blamed for blowing out windows in downtown portland, so much rain has fallen in california, this one storm may erase three years of drought there. that's the good news, but there's lots of bad news and dan simon joins us live from san francisco with the latest.

how is it looking, dan? >> well, good morning, alisyn, with widespread power outages and flooded roadways, this is a storm that certainly lived up to its billing. now city agencies are scrambling to try to get neighborhoods cleaned up. a deadly monster storm battering the west coast. ferocious winds and torrential rain bearing down on residents. leaving more than 225,000 people without power, from san francisco to the canadian border. in oregon, the storm turning deadly, with record-breaking wind gusts, fallen trees claiming at least two lives. the powerful winds of nearly 70 miles per hour, blowing at giant sheet of metal into the windows of this office building in downtown portland. >> it was like being in a tornado. it was such a big piece of metal, it was going so fast -- i thought you know this may be the last moment. >> strong winds also to blame for this partial roof collapse further north. >> i'm not sure if i've ever

seen anything like this before, it's pretty unbelievable. >> the same storm destroying a few homes in washington state. the rising tide eroding beaches leaving more in perl. peril. >> in california, hurricane-force winds shaking area bridges and knocking over trees, including this 80-foot tree that pinned a boy on a school playground in santa cruz, firefighters released the boy. a foot of drain affecting the drought-stricken golden state, causing streets to flood and rivers to rise. >> this amount of rain in short period of time, anything can happen. >> this parking lot looking like a lake. while lake tahoe looked more like a beach. the gusty winds providing daring surfers with huge waves. entire neighborhoods under water. many residents stranded on washed-out roadways, while other

thoroughfares closed completely. public transit shut down. further north, heavy snow and fierce winds creating blizzard conditions in the sierra nevadas, a possible three feet of snow on the horizon. conditions are slowly improving as the storm pushes south. but utility crews still have a lot of work to do at last check. a quarter of a million people still without power on the west coast. chris and alisyn, back to you. >> they'll be busy this morning, thanks so much. let's figure out why from the meteorological perspective. let's bring in chad myers, what are you looking at with the storm, is getting better or worse? >> getting better for san francisco, getting worse for l.a., the snow still coming down. dan said a quarter million people without power, 300,000 people already restored. petrified forest had over a foot of rain. lake sonoma, 7.5 inches. look when you go up in

elevation, white mountain had a wind gust of 139 miles per hour. mount lincoln, 135. even toward mammoth, over 100 miles per hour up on top of that mountain. more snow to come, more rain for l.a. cold in the northeast, cold this afternoon, sunny skies, good flying though unless you're going through the west or your plane is coming from the west, you should be in good shape. highs with a windy -- some wind coming down the hudson. little hudson hawk today, 36 for the high in new york city. guys, back to you. >> chad, thanks so much for that update. well congress takes the budget battle down to the wire. as usual. the house passed the budget, but the senate still has to weigh in we'll tell you why house democrats challenged the white house to the brink of a shutdown. ♪

♪ my name is karen and i have diabetic nerve pain. it's progressive pain. first that feeling of numbness. then hot pins. almost like lightning bolts, hot strikes into my feet. so my doctor prescribed lyrica. the pain has been reduced and i feel better than i did before. [ male announcer ] it's known that diabetes damages nerves. lyrica is fda-approved to treat diabetic nerve pain. lyrica is not for everyone. it may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or, swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, changes in eyesight, including blurry vision, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling or skin sores from diabetes. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem

may be more likely to misuse lyrica. [ karen ] having less pain, that means everything to me. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor about lyrica today. it's specific treatment for diabetic nerve pain.

the house narrowly approved a $1.1 trillion to spend for the government going forward. but there are a lot of catches. it happened just hours short of the deadline. the senate had to give itself a two-day extension to approve the bill. so it's not done.

brinksmanship of the worst kind. but it seems to be the strategy for governing going forward. really? let's discuss, john afl lon, editor in chief of the "daily beast," and margaret hoover, republican strategist. did we have a birthday yesterday? >> yes. 29 for the rest of my life. >> the problem is we're coming into a new mode of leadership. seem intent on using this as a tool even though they say they will not. do you think this is the way forward? do you think we will constantly be in this cycle? >> i think that we will see less of this in the next cycle because boehner has a larger coalition and frankly a larger coalition of moderates to help stave off some of the right-wingers in his coalition now. what was fascinating to me about this is the new coalition, so you had michelle bachmann on one

side of the vote and nancy pelosi on the other. you're seeing it beginning with rand paul and the national security stuff and the far left, the aclu civil liberty crowd. >> i'm all for new and interesting coalitions, but this is governing by crisis, this is not governing in effect, it's brinksmanship. people in congress cannot get anything done, unless it's at the 11th hour. what happens is this these inexcusable provisions get larded into a spending bill. >> larded, good word. >> really offensive stuff. >> isn't that what the sticking points were? >> that's a lot of it. if you look at the two-party progressive opposition to this bill. some of it was objection to the wall street provisions, a group of lobbyists from citigroup ended up largely putting in their own language and saying if you care about derivatives and all the things that helped spur the last financial crisis, we just got more of it. that was a lot of the righteous anger at this bill.

the fact that we came so close to a shutdown after being told we weren't, indicates how little actual power the leaders have on this process. this is chaos. >> we also just keep kicking the can down the road. >> it isn't any way to run a government. the different departments of government need to be able to forecast and plan, right? you can't spend effectively if you don't know what's going to be coming in. even from a conservative perspective, you want to be able to count on what you're getting so you can plan you know proactively. so it isn't a way to fund a government. not a way to run a country. i, i hope that in the next congress we see something different. i think we will. >> you allowed more money to come in with politics. you took care of the fat cats. >> that's disgusting. >> a terrible thing. they're not even talking about it down there. it's going to be a problem. >> because the perspective is look, man, i just made my donors happy, it insures my re-election, i got more cash to work with, what's the problem.

it's that degree of cynicism, that degree that's driving congress. strengthening boehner's hand to try to form coalitions. i understand why progressives in two parties were angry at the wall street provisions, frankly everyone should have been. the guys that put it in there should be ashamed of themselves, you're seeing a more assertive progressive left that will be one of the more hallmarks of the coming congress and the daylight in the breaks. >> very unusual press conference out. c.i.a., what did you think as you listened to john brennan try to justify the decisions on the torture tactics. >> it's not easy to listen to any of these justifications. the larger question here and part of the problem is that you had what some say was a pretty partisan report come down. dianne feinstein did the press conference after the report.

there's there's potentially real partisan angling here. there's a real question about why they didn't do it before the election. the truth is if you look at nate silver's blog, 538 and you see what americans think about harsh interrogation tactics over the last five years. a majority of americans, more than half are in favor of the use of that in certain circumstances. >> the end justifies the means. >> only in certain circumstances, against the backdrop of a place where you're seeing beheadings on television from our people who actually want to paralyze or liberty. >> nobody is arguing at the end of the day that we're sliding into moral equivalents between al qaeda and isis and the united states. the people trying to make that point abroad are the people trying to hide their own abuses, the part of the headline internationally is that the united states has admitted to our mistakes, part of the problem is the loss of moral authority that comes from these actions that didn't produce much significant actionable intelligence. so you know we can do the partisan angle and we can talk

about the divides, but you can't sort of ignore the facts or say they don't matter. >> my concern is that what is happening, the more they talk about it, alisyn is you don't know who to trust any more, who's lying? somebody has to be lying. it's literally like you're looking at two kids and there's one broken vase and they're both pointing like this. that's not good with the c.i.a. and the american people. >> wasn't it interesting to hear john brennan answer the question by saying it's unknowable what the intelligence we got, through the harsh tactics, versus the nonharsh, it's unknowable what we would have gotten had we not done them. he admitted it. >> we know there's a moral cost. we also know where you stand is a matter of where you sit. john brennan's role right now is to defend the c.i.a. what he said in the run-up to the campaign and after as an obama adviser was condemning of these practices. >> to hear justice officials say all of these things they were doing, but don't need to repeat -- it doesn't mean the definition of torture. it shocks the conscious.

>> the definition of a legal society is not coming up with explanations of why something is not torture. >> when i hear john mccain who sat in a prison cell for five years, we have every tool in the army field manual to get the intelligence we need from prisoners, that's what i need to hear. >> that's a good compass. >> you think he has any moral authority? i'm willing to go with it. >> a done of it. >> great to see you. >> what do you think? tweet us @newday. and oil prices are dropping fast. falling below $60 a barrel for the first time in five years, is it all good news? it turns out what's good for your gas tank could be bad for the economy. we'll explain why i'm an idaho potato farmer and our big idaho potato truck is still missing. so my buddy here is going to help me find it. here we go. woo who, woah, woah, woah. it's out there somewhere spreading the word about americas favorite potatoes:

heart healthy idaho potatoes and the american heart association's go red for women campaign. if you see it i hope you'll let us know. always look for the grown in idaho seal. just in time for the holidays. t-mobile introduces america's only unlimited 4g lte family plan. get two lines of unlimited 4g lte data for just 100 bucks a month. with any smart phone. including the samsung galaxy note 4, for $0 down. add more family members for just 40 bucks a pop. think the other guys have a family plan like this? think again. only t-mobile has an unlimited 4g lte plan for the whole family. that'll get your holiday bell ringing. there is no car because there was no accident. volvo's most advanced accident avoidance systems ever.

the future of safety, from the company that has always brought you the future of safety. give the gift of volvo this season and we'll give you your first month's payment on us. i won this 55 inch tv for less than $30 on dealdash.com. visit dealdash.com for great deals. and start bidding today!

. it's 6:31 on this friday, well 6:31 in the east. the c.i.a. chief says he is committed now to making reforms, to insure more oversight on interrogations in the wake of the damning senate report on the agency's tactics. in a rare news conference, john brennan admitted some of the post 9/11 tactics were harsh and abhorrent and he couldn't say if they produced key intelligence. he does say aspects of the program were effective. the west coast is reeling from deadly hurricane-like conditions that have flooded roads, knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of

customers from california north to canada. falling trees killed two people in oregon thursday, one of those victims, a teenaged boy in a car when the tree came down. the other was a man who was hit by a tree as he slept in a tent. so much rain has fallen in california, this one storm may erase three years of drought in that state. the man caught on video jumping the white house fence in september has been found. competent to stand trial. a judge ordered a mental evaluation for 42-year-old veteran omar gonzales, he has pleaded not guilty to the top charge along with other counts including two charges of assaulting an officer. this is awesome. a 219-year-old time capsule has been unearthed a the the massachusetts state house by workers repairing a water leak. come in handy for one thing. the contents are going to be revealed next week. museum officials want to conduct some x-rays, the box was buried back in 1795 by then-governor

sam adams and paul revere, it was unearthed in 1855 but very carefully reburied with more items placed inside it. officials haven't decided if they're going to add new mementos before they put it back in or just reinsert it back in the ground. >> what would you put in the capsule? >> the price of gas. >> wow, well played. >> quality segue. >> oil prices are hitting five-year lows, let's bring in chief business correspondent christine roman, a hooray for consumers with a question mark. >> a big cheer for consumers, oil prices hitting below $60 a barrel. a big deal for us it will put about $100 extra a month in our pockets, it's like a tax cut. it's like a stimulus. $100 billion extra next year.

but? it may mean job cuts in the energy sector. the energy companies are getting slammed by the lower oil prices. stocks have been nailed. some of the smaller energy players are down 50%, their stock prices from the summer. that's what's dragging on the dow jones industrial average. the dow is down about 128 points so you're going to see the stock market unsettled by what's happening in the oil market. it's good for surms, good for the economy, it's not good for the energy patch and hurting the stock market. so that's the double-edged sword. >> if it's not good for employment, it's not good for the economy. >> energy has been such an important driver in the american recovery. expectations are that energy prices remain low through next year. no one's saying it's the bottom. that could be good for u.s. economic growth overall. people are spending less money on gas, that's a good thing. >> is it true that the saudis are tanking the price of oil to strangle the american and perhaps russian production

markets? >> the saudis and opec are not rushing out to trim their output, which they sometimes do when oil prices fall and that props them up. some are saying it's like a game of chicken. they want to push out the american oil producers, choke off some of the investment they're having in the u.s. to drill for shale oil and for gas in places we haven't been able to get it. i will say i, when i look at the gas prices i'm reminded of the last presidential election when so many of the republican candidates said vote for me and i will be able to give you lower gas prices. well, if this were a mitt romney presidency, it would be the romney economic miracle. but for some reason the white house doesn't seem to get any kind of tailwind from job creation, a stock market that's doubled and the low gas prices, it's an interesting commentary. i think the messaging from the white house is not to take credit for some of the things happening in the economy. and so they don't get any credit for it. >> and they get blamed for the

high gas prices. >> the bottom line is the economy right now pretty good for consumers, pretty good for consumers and no sign that there's a bottom being put into oil market right now. but interesting about the saudi/u.s. placement here, the oil producers are hurting, but they're not stepping in to cut production. >> christine, thanks so much. >> can you read this? i'm going to sneeze. >> another bill cosby accuser steps forward this one is supermodel beverly johnson. her story is unlike the rest. is this the tipping point in the allegations against him? the holiday season is here,

which means it's time for the volkswagen sign-then-drive event. for practically just your signature, you could drive home for the holidays in a german-engineered volkswagen. like the sporty, advanced new jetta... and the 2015 motor trend car of the year all-new golf. if you're wishing for a new volkswagen this season... just about all you need is a finely tuned... pen. get zero due at signing, zero down, zero deposit, and zero first month's payment on select new volkswagen models. discohi! card. so it says here i can redeem my cashback bonus for cash. do i need to have a certain amount? nope, now you can redeem your cashback for any amount, any time. that's great. yeah, you can use it for a statement credit or even get the cash.

nice. i could use that extra cash for a last-minute gift... one less thing hanging over your head, right? tell me about it. (to guy.) gary, you got to go. who's gary? a mistake from last year coming back around again... too much egg nog! yes! laaaaa... at discover we treat you like you'd treat you. now redeem your cashback for any amount, any time. get it at discover.com. i take prilosec otc each morning for my frequent heartburn. because it gives me... zero heartburn! prilosec otc. the number 1 doctor-recommended frequent heartburn medicine for 9 straight years. one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn.

shocking new allegations against bill cosby. this time coming from a famous model and trail blazer. in the 1970s, beverly johnson was the first black model on the front of the american "vogue" and the french edition of "elle" magazine. she wrote a piece in vani"vanit fair" said bill cosby invited her to audition for a part in the bill cosby show in the 1980s, she said invited her to his home and he drugged her. when she started to fight back,

he dragged her out of the house into a taxi. is her story the tipping point as we approach two dozen women who have now made allegations against bill cosby? we're joined by larry hackett, the former managing editor of "people" magazine. is the story coming from beverly johnson someone who is so famous, different? >> it's interesting. some of the story is very, very similar. the come to the home, audition for, you can audition for me, i'll be a mentor and the drugging, very similar. but this is someone that people know. so i think there are many, many people who thought when they first read the allegations, when it was a dozen people or two dozen people. these are women trying to extort him. these are old stories. this is completely different. you come to this with the idea of why would beverly johnson make this up? >> one of the things that's also different is that she said she was not actually sexually assaulted because after she was drugged, she stayed lucid somehow enough to fight back. here's what she writes in her essay, let me read it for you. as i felt my body go completely limp, my brain switched into

automatic survival mode. that meant making sure cosby understood that i knew exactly what was happening at that very moment. she is quoting yourself, you are a mother blanker, aren't you? i recall his seething anger at my tirade and him grabbing me by my left arm and yanking all 110 pounds of me down the stairs as my heels clicked and clacked down the stairs, i felt my neck was going to break with the force he was using, pulling me down those stairs. >> this is an even more aggressive version of bill cosby. >> the detail is incredible and it's terrifying about what she claims happened to her. just awful. >> all the other accusers that we've interviewed have a anne y anner eerily similar account. were drugged, they woke newspaper some disarray, their clothes off, not knowing what had happened, but knowing something terrible had happened. somehow she had the presence of

mind, to stay conscious, even though she says she was heavily judged and to recount this. >> one of the interesting things, that comes out is that once i saw other people come out i couldn't stay silent any longer. those were women who were again, no judgment on their stories, who were anonymous this is not. what will this lead to? will more people come out now? >> once again, no police involvement. this is one of the unsatisfying things, he's never prosecuted for all the things they say he's done. they don't come forward and tell anybody. in her essay she explains what she did do, she tried to call him, she tried to confront him. here's what she says she called him one day at and his wife picked up. she said i didn't call back the next day or any other day after that at a certain moment it became clear that i would be fighting a losing battle with a powerful man so callous that he not only drugged me, but he also gave me the number of the bedroom he shared with his wife. how could i fight someone that

boldly arrogant and out of touch? that's her rationale for why she didn't ever go forward with any charges. >> exactly and it was 30 years ago and the world has changed. we'll have to see how things go on. she makes a point that one of the reasons she didn't come forward as well recently was because what she saw of the plight of the black male and the idea that another black male does not need to be pulled down by the system. she came to the recognition that this has nothing to do with michael brown or eric garner, in fact it was the system that supported bill cosby. his fame was such that it allowed him to be innoculated from these accusations. >> it is complicated for black women. we heard this from jewel allison, another of the accusers, they didn't want to tear down this legend, this iconic man who had broken so many boundaries and glass ceilings, but ultimately today, something has changed. >> can you imagine what it was like, watching the show in the mid '80s as his character and

show became huger and huger, representing what it did and having their own personal history. >> the concept through all of these stories is that he drugged the accusers. that probably means that somebody else had to be involved in helping him have access to drugs. these are heavy-duty pharmaceuticals that he is alleged to have been giving people. >> beverly johnson said she could taste it. she knew what it was on the second sip of what was going on. that could very well be. if your first accusations are in the mid to late '60s, going up to 2005, one imagines that the medication changed over the years as things got more sensitive. so yes, you would think other people would know. >> what does happen now? what happens? what is the end of the story? >> this is not a television show. this is not "law and order" this will not end with a verdict and tv cameras and trucks waiting in front of a courthouse. it doesn't seem it's going to be that way. these are old accusations, the statute of limitations has worn off. i think what's going to happen

is a slow and perhaps not so slow fundamental change in what americans think of bill cosby. i think that process is going on now. he's elected not to speak. he has a pretty savvy idea of the media in so far as whether it's the c.i.a. scandals or ferguson or new york, something else will fill the gap if there's no accusations, but if people still keep coming forward, it's going to be a change in what america thinks of bill cosby. >> larry hackett, thank you so much. we reached out to bill cosby's lawyers for a statement, we have not heard back from them today. in the 8:00 hour we'll speak live to beverly johnson herself about her disturbing account of what happened with bill cosby. let's go over to chris. we're hearing what one corner of hollywood really thinks about president obama. a top sony executive now apologizing after racist emails were leaked. so what does she have to say for herself? we'll tell you, ahead.

here's a question for you: when electricity is generated with natural gas instead of today's most used source, how much are co2 emissions reduced? up to 30%? 45%? 60%? the answer is... up to 60% less. and that's a big reason why the u.s. is a world leader in reducing co2 emissions.

take the energy quiz -- round 2. energy lives here. and you'll see just how much it has to offer, especially if you're thinking of moving an old 401(k) to a fidelity ira. it gives you a wide range of investment options... and the free help you need to make sure your investments fit your goals -- and what you're really investing for. tap into the full power of your fidelity green line. call today and we'll make it easy to move that old 401(k) to a fidelity rollover ira.

the bed reacts to your body. this zips off so i can wash it-yes, please. it's really cool to the touch. (vo) there's no better gift than your best night's sleep. visit your local retailer and feel the tempur-pedic difference for yourself. once there was a girl who even in her laundry room. with downy unstopables for long-lasting scent. and infusions for softness. she created her own mix, match, magic. downy, wash in the wow.

two hollywood executives are apologizing after insensitive comments were exposed by a massive hack of sony emails. amy pascal the co-chair of sony pictures and producer scott ruden made racially-tinted

comments about president obama. the incident is making apparent what many of us have seen first-hand, a threat of hacks is growing. are other corporate executives sweating it out and are your communications safe. here to weigh in legal analyst mel robbins and dawn shimilewski, author of "recode." i'll start with the nuts and bolts with you, if you don't mind. this is pretty intense, not the just the emails, they're salacious and we'll talk about that in a second. employee information, social security numbers, medical records of some of their personnel. how worried do we need to be that our own communications could be hacked? >> i think this is a cautionary tale for anyone who use as computer and the internet. as you said, thousands of employees, personal information has been distributed far and wide on social networks. some of the former sony employees have told us that they're already becoming victims of identity theft. so it really is a frightening

scenario. in fact i have one friend whose daughter's social security has been sold somewhere on the internet. it's really, the toll of this is truly breathtaking. >> you've been doing a lot of investigative work. do we know any more about who was behind it? the perpetrators? first it was thought it was perhaps retribution for the movie "interview" and it was north korea involved somehow? what more are you learning? >> sony is working with the federal bureau of investigation and with some security firms to try to determine who might be the culprit here. sony is being very closed about that process. so it's hard to know if there are any closer to coming to chose yur a closure and identifying the culprit. north korea is notably dismayed by this film "the interview" in which kim jong-un dies in a rather colorful way. so you know, so that is one

possibility. others have investigated the possibility of an internal connection. we just don't know yet. >> mel, let's talk about this. in particular i think a lot of the attention is going towards this conversation of emails flying back and forth between some of the executives and in fact i want to pull up their apologies now. let me read producer scott rudin's apology essentially. he says this is not about salacious emails, it's about a criminal act and the people behind it. it should be treated as nothing more nor less than criminals. now interesting, the other executive, the co-chairman of sony, amy pascal, she acts a little different in her, we'll talk about that in a second, her statement. i'm not a victim here, i'm going to be fine. it's really hard on our employees. the social security numbers are on display, it's important not to forget that a crime was committed and that this is a whole new way of the world. mel, talk to me about the legal aspect of this. because are we underestimating

how significant of a mess this is going to be for sony? >> you know, michaela, good morning, it's an excellent question and dawn, good morning to you, too. dawn used a word i found to be really apropos, the number of lawsuits is breathtaking. we are in very new territory in terms of the jurisprudence, forget about the emails and the salacious nature of that. sony has a legal obligation to protect corporate information, particularly medical records. and social security numbers of employees. so they might be liable if they did not use reasonable care from actions of these kinds of breaches. if they're using enterprise-level software, michaela, to store information and there was some sort of breakdown in the firewalls or the security services that they outsourced, those companies might potentially be liable.

and they're also correct -- we keep talking about the fact that things were leaked. in this particular incident, not only were social security numbers and all kinds of emails, but unreleased movies that sony was made and not released, have been posted around. that is theft. they are stealing corporate property. and it bothers me that we keep talking about this in the vein of leaks, when actually this is a crime, michaela. >> on the flip side, i'll bite where you left off right there and we've only got about a minute. dawn, if you don't mind, i'm curious, your reaction, amy pascalgate gave quite an lengthy interview are you priced that she made herself so available in the light of all of these embarrassing emails. >> sony has not been speaking about ut steady downpour of disclosures that the hackers have made available to anyone with a computer and internet access. it speaks to the gravity of the

situation, after days of news organizations reporting rather salacious details of her private exchanges, with producers, and with others around hollywood. this speaks to the gravity of the situation that she felt she had to come out and say -- look, this could have happened to anyone. she said in ten seconds can you say something stupid. so i, you know, mea culpa, i accept responsibility. it's horrible, i apologize, let's move on. >> mel quick? >> i tweeted out a harvard business review study. women in 16 categories are more effective leaders than men at the ceo level. the reason why is they are perceived to have higher levels of integrity. they lead with empathy. and what you saw in her apology, is a classic example of the difference between how men and women typically lead. she immediately took action, she was concerned and showed empathy for the way this impacted her employees. and she communicated with

integrity. those are all hallmarks of the way women lead, michaela. >> mel, dawn, very different responses. thanks for the conversation, ladies. we'll following a lot of news this morning, let's get to it. this agency did a lot of things right to keep this country strong and secure. >> the information from detainees was useful. >> there's coercion that can be used in interrogation and there's the moral issue of whether you should be doing it or not. >> if the bill doesn't pass, then we get another government shutdown. thnchts is not about partisanship. this is about fairness. >> listen, if we don't get finished today, we're going to be here until christmas. some of the worst weather to hit northern california in years. >> trees coming down on highway 17. >> you hear loud noises, crashing, real scary. good morning, welcome back to "new day." i'm alisyn camerota alongside chris cuomo. the c.i.a. director gave his

answers, but they're only raising more questions about the agency's use of harsh interrogation tactics and whether they worked. some say john brennan tried to have it both ways -- defending the c.i.a., while admitting major flaws in the system and they were all outlined in that scathing senate report. >> so needless to say this has done nothing to quiet the calls for brennan to resign. despite his promises to improve the agency. however one of his predecessors is defending the c.i.a. with a controversial explanation of some of the tactics. we're going to get perspective from the president's former spokesman in a moment. let's begin with senior white house correspondent jim acosta, what do we know? >> good morning, chris. that's right, former, or i should say the current c.i.a. director john brennan conceded the agency made mistakes in using the harsh interrogation techniques. but he also defended those methods, saying in some cases, it's possible that they provided useful intelligence. a view the president does not share. the only thing more rare than a news conference held inside the c.i.a. was the admission from

the agency's director, john brennan, that terror detainees swept up after 9/11 were abused. >> in a limited number of cases, agency officers used interrogation techniques that had not been authorized, were abhorrent, and rightly should be repudiated by all. >> but brennan would not call it torture. >> i will leave to others how they might want to label those activities. >> brennan's explanation -- the c.i.a. was not ready after 9/11. >> the program was uncharted territory for the c.i.a. and we were not prepared. >> and he maintained the agency's enhanced interrogation techniques or eits, produced intelligence. even though he conceded it was unknowable if the same results were obtainable without harsh methods. >> it is our considered view that the detainees who were subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques provided information that was useful and was used in the

ultimate operation to go against bin laden. >> that's in sharp contrast to the torture report from democratic senate intelligence committee chair, dianne feinstein. she responded to brennan in a tweet that critical intelligence that led to bin laden was unrelated to eits, but former c.i.a. officials insist they were doing what was necessary to stop more attacks on the u.s. >> we didn't have the luxury of time. we had a ticking time bomb situation. >> on the lead, former c.i.a. director michael hayden defended the forced rectal feeding of detainees. >> it was intravenous with needles, which would be dangerous with a noncooperate i have been detainee. >> you were giving pine nuts and -- >> jake, i'm not a doctor, but what i am told is this is one of the ways that the body is rehydrated. these were medical procedures. and to give you a sense -- >> you really defending rectal

rehydration? >> i'm giving you a sense of how the report was put together. this activity that was done five times, in each time for the health of the detainee, not part of the interrogation program. not designed to soften him up for any questioning. >> critics ask what's the difference between harsh interrogations under president bush and classified drone attacks under president obama? one intelligence committee member insisted, the drone program is legal. >> i believe that the c.i.a. is acting within the law in the intentions right now. that's as far as i want to go. >> now, all of these attacks on the c.i.a. prompted a spirited defense from former president george h.w. bush, who said in a statement last night he felt compelled to reiterate his confidence in the men and women who work there. of course former president george h.w. bush was not only the director of the c.i.a., the headquarters is named after him. alisyn? >> all right jim, thanks so much. joining us to talk more about the fallout over the c.i.a. report and the drone program,

and all the troubling questions is cnn soer political commentator and former white house press secretary jay carney. let's talk about the press conference from john brennan yesterday. it was so unusual, it was unprecedented to have this press conference. at the c.i.a. did you think that this helped john brennan? what were your impressions? >> i think on the margin it is helped john brennan. let me just say having worked with him when i was in the white house, i know he was an extraordinarily capable individual effective as the president's counterterrorism adviser and the c.i.a. director. i simply disagree with his conclusions that the techniques were necessary. i think the techniques themselves were torture, whether they were authorized by the justice department or not. what i think director brennan demonstrated was his intense desire to move on. that he wishes this weren't still a topic of conversation.

because it undermines morale at the c.i.a. and puts into question the ethics of a whole generation of c.i.a. officers. with whom brennan worked. but i think it's incredibly important, that we need to open this chapter in history and make it clear what happened, so that these kinds of activities aren't repeated. i think the senate report is filled with details that demonstrate that eits, enhanced interrogation techniques did not work, were not necessarily and that most if not all of the valuable intelligence that our interrogators gleaned in the hunt for bin laden and in thwarting attacks, came from other methods that weren't torture. >> jay, in all of the hue and cry about the torture tactics that have now been confirmed by this senate report, there's another cold front that is beginning -- and critics say there's an equally unethical practice happening right now. and that is the obama administration's drone program. even former c.i.a. officials say

how can we be so outraged over the so-called torture tactics when we're killing people, often civilians, with the flick of a switch from the sky. here is jose rodriguez, he's the former head of the c.i.a. clandestine services on this topic. listen. >> this administration actually does not take any prisoners. they prefer to kill them from afar using drones. and somehow they feel that because they kill from a distance, somehow it's more ethical. more ethical than the difficult and messy and unpleasant task and mission of actually interrogating prisoners. >> jay, what about that? is it more ethical to kill people from the sky rather than the torture tactics we've seen? >> these are definitely profound questions, i think the legal structure around the drone program is a lot more sound than

the so-called torture memos that authorized enhanced interrogation techniques under the previous administration. >> how so, how are legal structures around killing people, hundreds of whom have been civilians, even though it's shrouded in secrecy. >> every incident in the world history involves civilian casualties. drone strikes are certainly much more precise for example than the bombing of dresden in world war ii or bombings in vietnam or other efforts or bombings in desert storm in the '90s, but there's no question that tragedies happen and that civilians are lost. i think the real question about the drone program is is it counterproductive in the sense that it creates more animosity towards the united states in areas around the world than it is effective in eliminating terrorists? i think that's a bigger question. i think it marginally is effective on the plus side. but when it comes to the legal structure, think it's more sound. >> but jay, you can't dismiss the ethical questions about the drone program. because -- >> oh no, i wouldn't, i wouldn't

at all. >> what we know, we don't know much. because much of it is shrouded in secrecy. we believe there have been more than 2400 people killed in these drone strikes. not all of them terrorists. at best, they're suspect. there's no adjudication, sometimes children are killed, sometimes their families are killed. is it time for to us take a good, hard look at what the u.s. is doing with this? >> i think the answer is yes. in terms of continued look at these programs, and an effort to bring more of them into the light. away from c.i.a. jurisdiction under and towards pentagon jurisdiction, which is not as classified and therefore more transparent. but i think again, when you talk about the tragedy of civilian casualties, you have to put it in the context of a broader effort to eliminate and take on terrorists who are trying to harm the united states and still are trying to do that. so and the justification for the drone program is, if we don't

have the capacity to go in and capture a terrorist who is actively plotting to attack u.s. interests or allied interests, then our options are, and the host country has no capacity to get him, then we either ignore the fact that we're capable of eliminating him or we take the shot. there's no question that there are risks associated with taking a shot. there are sometimes civilian casualties. but i think again, the legal reasoning behind that is stronger than the reasoning behind torture. >> of course you remember that the c.i.a. says they were waterboarding people because they, there was the possibility of an imminent attack and they had to get information out of khalid sheikh mohammed or abu za pa zubaydah, to prevent these attacks. the rationale for the drone program sounds like the same raegsale that the c.i.a. was using with the torture tactics and maybe we're umaking the sam

mistakes again. >> torture is profoundly illegal. fighting an enemy trying to eliminate you using lethal weapons is obviously something that's been the conduct of war for centuries. but that doesn't mean there aren't ethical questions here and the remove that a drone strike allows, the fact that you can kill from so far away, obviously raises moral and ethical implications, even if the result is the same. of you know, a kind of a mortar attack from a closer distance. so -- i think that these issues are really, really important. the torture matter is i think more profound. because torture is illegal internationally. the bush administration went through extreme contortions to try to justify techniques that by any other name were torture. i certainly don't think those individuals who used enhanced interrogation techniques that were authorized ought to be prosecuted. they were doing what they were

told was legal. but the authors of those reports and the defenders of them, including vice president cheney, i think have at least a lot on their conscience. if not more. >> all right. jay, thanks so much for trying to make sense of all of this for us. nice to see you this morning. >> thank you, alisyn. >> over to chris. extreme weather is in the mix from california to canada. the west coast is getting hammered by a very powerful and deadly storm. ferocious hurricane-force winds, heavy rain, hundreds of thousands of people without power. they're now two deaths being blamed on the storm so far. and it is far from over. so let's get to dan simon, live in san francisco with the latest. we know that it's kind of moved past there. but now other areas are being exposed. what do we know? >> good morning, chris. well conditions here in san francisco are improving, as the storm moves south. l.a., they're going to be the next to get absolutely drenched here. but a lot of work here to do in northern california. utility crews going to be working around the clock. still 250,000 people without

power from california to the canadian border. but this is certainly a storm that lived up to its hype. you had a lot of trees that fell down. you had parking lots that looked like lakes. things of that nature. roof collapses. but chris, one of the questions that we've been get something lou is this going to impact the california drought. well, this is certainly a step in the right direction. if you talk to experts. if there's one thing they agree on, you'd have to have several more of these kinds of superstorms before you begin to eradicate the drought. certainly not the way you want to do it. but obviously this moisture given all the impact that it's had, it's still some welcome relief. but the bottom line is -- utility crews going to be out in full force trying to get power restored. because that's when you truly return back to normal. >> we'll check back in with you. >> is that sobering to think they've wiped out three years of drought with one massive storm? >> right. but i guess it's doing it the wrong way. you were trying to explain to me

the ground there can't absorb -- >> it's not as absorbant as anywhere else. you don't see a lot of water pooling anywhere. it sits on top and there's nothing to grab on to, especially after fires wipe away the ground cover. >> they need it spread out. another cosby accuser coming forward this time it's one-time supermodel beverly johnson. she wrote an essay for "vanity fair," in it she said cosby drugged a cappuccino he made for her during a read-through for a role on "the cosby show." she said cosby forced her out of his home when she would not stop cursing at him. cnn has reached out to cosby's attorney, but has not heard back. beverly johnson is going to join us live here during the 8:00 hour of "new day." federal charges could be coming for some port authority officials who authorized bridge closings, demanded by aides to chris christie. "the new york times" says prosecutors are weighing an obscure statute that allows charges against members of a government agency that get at

least $10,000 in federal money a year, including the port authority which runs the george washington bridge. it's unclear if two christie associates fired for links to the scandal could be affected. the crisis in ukraine, the war-torn eastern region had the first day without military or civilian casualties in seven months since a truce was first declared. ukraine's president says it's proof that the west diplomatic pressure and sanctions against russia are working and it comes after a day of silence proposed by ukraine and russia. a dramatic end to a three-day search for a california man who went on the run with his four young sons. it culminated after a lendy stand-off on a san diego freeway. police officers tackled daniel perez as he began climbing a bridge after a high-speed chase. police began looking for the entire family, specifically for daniel perez after his wife's body was found in the trunk of

their car. we are so relieved to tell you that all four boys made it away unscathed. police have skon ficonfirmed th body found in the trunk of the car was the young boys' mother, erica perez. >> but the police have to be so cool-headed in that situation. it could have gone much, of worse. >> a challenge is where do they go, those boys. >> i remember seeing the tearful plea from an aunt who was saying we need these boys back. so there's family that's very much concerned about them. the c.i.a. chief is defending the agency from criticism over its harsh interrogation program that was implemented after 9/11. what about controversial measures under the current administration? does force-feeding detainees carry the same weight as a torture tactic? we'll discuss. ♪ hi. i'm new ensure active clear protein drink. >>clear huh? i'm not juice or fancy water. i've got 8 grams of protein. new ensure active clear protein. 8 grams protein. zero fat. ensure. take life in.

right! now you're gonna ask for my credit card - - so you can charge me on the down low two weeks later look, credit karma - are you talking to websites again?

this website says 'free credit scores'. oh. credit karma! yeah, it's really free. look, you don't even have to put in your credit card information. what?! credit karma. really free credit scores. really. free. i could talk to you all day. now that we're talking about what we do in times of war, the questions are getting harder and harder. for example, insiders call it death by video game. now many former c.i.a. officials are under fire over torture tactics that happened during bush. but what about president obama's drone strikes? does that program deserve the same kind of scrutiny and rejection? morally, legally, it is killing people from a distance, with civilian casualties and it certainly happens. so is that better or different than torture? let's bring in jeffrey tuben, senior cnn loyal analyst and former federal prosecutor and mr. clark kent irvin, former

director general of the department of homeland security. >> it's a hard question. i think the answer is there's a significant difference. and i do think drone strikes are legally more defensible than torture. at the end of 9/11, congress authorized a war against al qaeda. the war could include bombs, missiles, troops. drone strikes are a form of war, that are, that is actually more accurate and leads to fewer civilian casualties than if you started dropping bombs or shooting missiles in the traditional way. so the argument is not that nobody dies, but that it is a more targeted, more efficient, more humane way of, than the alternatives. >> one of the problems with these analyses, clark, is that it seems like you can make anything justifiable, if you want. one of the problems people are having coming out of the torture report su keep hearing these justice officials saying -- yeah,s it wasn't torture.

and it shocks the conscience, that the things we're seeing in the torture report weren't considered torture. what are we missing? >> i agree with that, chris, there's no question but that the reason that the administration, the bush administration considered those techniques not to be torture, is because they clearly were, they were defined in such a way that they were not considered to be torture. it's anal n alice in wonderland answer. as jeff said, i agree and for me it's an easier question. the reason that the drone tool is used, is because it's a much more surgical and precise one. these drones can hover for hours or days to make it as we can be, that the person targeted is in fact the person whom we want to target. >> here's the problem though, clark -- people who matter disagree with you two guys, let's put up the full screen. start with john mclaughlin. former deputy c.i.a. director.

this is what he said in an npr interview tuesday. i suspect you had a similar graphic description, if you had a similarly graphic description of what happens when innocents are killed in a drone strike, you'd be equally disturbed by what you read. so he's saying there that there is an equivalency to the two things. you are killing people, you are doing horrible things. somewhat indiscriminately in the name of a righteous behavior. how is that any different? >> well, it's not different. we node that when we're going to have a war, we're going to have civilian casualties. i mean that's just, it's been true in every war in history. the question is, do drones, are drones so different from other weapons, are they really worse? and i think the evidence is, they're not perfect. obviously, but they're better than the tools we had before. >> now, you know, maybe we're getting lost in the direct comparison versus just the basic question, clark of, now that we're talking about what we should do and what we shouldn't -- drones, as putting that in the spotlight, john yu,

former justice department official under the bush administration said rather than capture terrorists, which produces the most valuable intelligence on al qaeda, mr. oama has relied almost exclusively on drone attacks and has been able to dodge difficult questions over detention. but those deaths from the sky violate personal liberty far more than the waterboarding of three al qaeda detainees ever did. >> do you agree with that? >> i think the reason is, as i say, is because as the tools in the tool box goe, it's the most surgical one. of course civilians are killed in drone strikes, but the numbers relatively speaking are relatively few. the techniques used on these detainees were clearly abhorrent. the c.i.a. director has admitted that. and there is no question but that it's just a horse of a different color. >> and john yu, by the way, is the author of the disgraced and discredited memo that said waterboarding was not torture. so you know, what you see is

some after-the-fact rationale for trying to make the next president look worse. but i mean i just, i think for the guy who wrote that horrible memo that has since been withdrawn about torture, you know -- consider the source. >> you have the american people in just about every poll saying we don't care what you do to bad guys, especially after 9/11. keep us safe. so there's a little bit of what you know power the people give government in this, but it's also raising real trust issues, because when you hear them saying yeah, that's not torture? that makes you think -- well can we trust the decisions that they're making? if they say this isn't torture, you know, what does that mean jeffrey in terms of whether we trust the process that's being applied? >> and you know, i think you put your finger on a very important point here. is that you know, i hate to be lawyer-centric. as you look at the whole controversy that's happened since the report has come out, a lot of it goes back to the lawyers. the lawyers at the beginning, the john yus, the jay bibys, who

said all of these eits, waterboarding, hanging people from the ceiling, was not torture. so that led to all the horrible misdeeds in the field. but if you have lawyers of courage and intelligence and integrity in the first place, who said you know what, don't do this. a lot of these problems would have been avoided. >> i think the trouble for a lot of people in this discussion right now is that they're saying, boy, if these guys won't call it what it was, and own it, what else does that mean that we need to know about going forward? clark kent ervin, thank you very much, appreciate the perspective, always a pleasure. we're having this conversation because it matters to you, let us know what you think, tweet us @newday or tweet us by name. he has ruled it out repeatedly. so why are there signs pointing to a another mitt romney presidential run? john king tells us, "inside politics." the holiday season is here, which means it's time for the volkswagen sign-then-drive event. for practically just your signature, you could drive home for the holidays in a german-engineered volkswagen. like the sporty, advanced new jetta...

and the 2015 motor trend car of the year all-new golf. if you're wishing for a new volkswagen this season... just about all you need is a finely tuned... pen. get zero due at signing, zero down, zero deposit, and zero first month's payment on select new volkswagen models. come from all walks of life. if you have high blood sugar, ask your doctor about farxiga. it's a different kind of medicine that works by removing some sugar from your body. along with diet and exercise, farxiga helps lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. with one pill a day, farxiga helps lower your a1c. and, although it's not a weight-loss or blood-pressure drug, farxiga may help you lose weight and may even lower blood pressure when used with certain diabetes medicines. do not take if allergic to farxiga or its ingredients. symptoms of a serious allergic

reaction include rash, swelling or difficulty breathing or swallowing. if you have any of these symptoms, stop taking farxiga and seek medical help right away. do not take farxiga if you have severe kidney problems, are on dialysis, or have bladder cancer. tell your doctor right away if you have blood or red color in your urine or pain while you urinate. farxiga can cause serious side effects, including dehydration, genital yeast infections in women and men, low blood sugar,kidney problems, and increased bad cholesterol. common side effects include urinary tract infections, changes in urination, and runny nose. ♪do the walk of life ♪yeah, you do the walk of life need to lower your blood sugar? ask your doctor about farxiga and visit our website to learn how you may be able to get every month free.

i was thinking about htaking this speed test from comcast business. oh yeah? if they can't give us faster internet or save us money, they'll give us 150 bucks. sounds like a win win. guys! faster internet? i have never been on the internet and i am doing pretty well. does he even work here? don't listen to the naysayer. take the comcast business speed test. get faster speeds or more savings, or we'll give you $150.

comcast business. built for business. good toef you back with us on "new day," here's a look at the headlines. the monster storm is packing hurricane-force winds and heavy rain, slamming california and oregon. falling trees have killed two people in oregon. one of those victims, a teenaged boy, he was in a car when the tree came down on it. the other was a man hit by a tree as he slept in a tent. more than a foot of rain has fallen in some parts of california. now problems veding in california, whooping cough. the state's health department is tallying nearly 10,000 cases so far this year. the worst outbreak in 70 years, even though most cases aren't quite as severe. officials say there's a rise in cases since a new vaccine was introduced in the '90s.

research shows that that vaccine doesn't last as long as the one it replaced. the u.s. navy will be adding a new laser to its arsenal. this cutting-edge tool was taken out for a test on a naval boat in the persian gulf from september to november. it was able to hit all targets, including helicopters and patrol boats in practice. they say the laser is a good investment. since it is both powerful and affordable at less than a dollar a shot. >> is that our music or theirs? >> i believe it's theirs. one more story, pope francis says there is a place for pets in paradise. the pope said during an appearance in st. peter's square said dogs, along with all of god's creatures, can go to heaven. the pope apparently was trying to comfort a young boy who was mourning the death of his dog. you tell it to that face. >> if that isn't media manipulation, i don't know what is. look, the damned puppy.

>> look at this. >> literally everyone just went, awwww. >> do you agree? the poem poep said, i'm a catholic, so if the pope said it that's the rule. >> dogs seem like they have souls. >> it's the rule in my family. we have the puppy, alabama doggie dog and carolina cha cha cuomo announced that the doggie is going to go to heaven when he dies and she said he will go before me. because he's better looking. >> before you? >> yeah. >> we can't argue. the young ones, they hurt you the most. let's get to "inside politics" on "new day" with john king. hi, john. >> thanks a lot, on a friday morning, you go from cute puppies, to i have to talk about congress. >> i think all good dogs can go to heaven. >> yes, good. >> alisyn, chris, michaela good morning to you. a busy friday in washington. with me to share their reporting and insight, cnn's maeve reston, and npr's wanna summers, we went

past the deadline, we're not done yet. but the house passed a new spending bill. the senate will take it up eventually. maybe today, maybe over the weekend. wanna, that's the big question, you need to get an agreement to bring it up under the senate rules, if they get unanimous consent, meaning nobody objects, they could do it today. if anybody objects, it could go until monday morning sometime. that's the clock runs out, they have to do it by monday. the question after it passed in the house, tea party forces were mad. liberals were mad, in the senate, will a ted cruz stand up and say -- no i'm not going to give you unanimous consent. we're going to run the clock to the end. or we don't know? >> that's one of the things that's been fascinating. i've been watching the bill through capitol hill. you hear a lot of things from ted cruz. he's given a ton of foreign policy speeches, spoken on a number of issues. but he hasn't said what he's going to do on this bill. i think it makes it interesting. also as you mentioned, the political forces are really split. you snow tea party republicans, upset aligned with liberal

democrats over wall street provisions encased in this massive $1.1 trillion bill. so it will be interesting to watch how the bill passes ultimately we do think that it will. but the optics and the politics of it will be the things to watch into the new year of congress. >> one of the striking things is the split in congress. the administration came out with saying there are things we don't like in here, the changes to dodd-frank or potential changes to michelle obama's school lunch program and yet, they said support this bill. listen to nancy pelosi, normally a good ally of the president, here's a break for you. >> so here we are in the house, being blackmailed, being blackmailed to vote for an appropriations bill. >> the president had to send his chief of staff up. dennis mcdonagh, he went into a meeting with democrats where it got a little bit bruising. what does it tell us not just about the bill, but about the next two years that nancy pelosi

is on the floor saying we're being blackmayed. >> i think it shows the limitations of the white house and of pelosi and others. i mean it's just -- it was an amazing moment where you were just thinking -- okay, the election is over. and everybody is going to say whatever they want. what i think will be really interesting, over the weekend is if you have or even today, people like cruz and warren both coming out, opposing this bill and you're going to have those figures in the spotlight. particularly it will be warren's moment opposing some of the wall street measures. >> she doesn't like the fact that they eased restrictions on how banks, big banks could handle derivatives and whether or not they get bailed out by taxpayers if those investments fail. >> jamie dimon, the poster child of wall street is making a phone calls saying support this bill, when elizabeth warren and nancy pelosi are saying it's a horrible change in the bill. what does it tell us going forward? liberals were screaming loudly, but they lost.

tea party was screaming loudly, but it lost. is this just about the bill or proof of what's going to happen in the new washington as we go forward? >> i think that's exactly right. i think this is proof of what's going to happen in the new washington and certainly was a great test case of what power congressional republicans now have and what divisions they're under in the democratic party. i spoke with maxine waters congresswoman. we asked her about the calls from jamie dimon and i think that's kind of very odd to me, i think that moving forward it will be a lot america skepticism of what happened. >> i'm caught up with in the dynamic is this a new center emerging or a new deal-making between the president and the new, speaker boehner has been there. but majority leader mcconnell will be coming in soon and we're going to see, i remember the end of the bush administration, where the democrats, the republicans then like the democrats now were in open revolt against the white house. >> it's so ironic that you have the white house and john boehner leaning on one another you know over the last week. and so maybe there is sort of a

moment here where everything is so divided you'll have those bipartisan alliances that the public has been looking for. it's amazing things went as late as they did last night, considering we just had an election where the voters said -- we hate this gridlock, do something. come together. and you had all of this brinksmanship up to the last minute. >> 219-206 in the house. we'll see what happens when the senate gets to it. keep watching. my favorite read this morning, is a pretty meaningless when it comes to what's going to happen in washington and the country. my favorite read is michele bachmann is at the white house holiday reception, she pulls the president aside for a little one-on-one. she said mr. president you have to bomb the iranian nuclear facilities, this has gone on too long and they're progressing too fast. and he got this condescending smile on his face and said michelle, it's just not that easy. >> it's great that she's going out with a bang. if you're going to have a

conversation with the president, why not drop something like that. in the final moments. >> let's quickly do a little 2016 business. a lot of 2016 news playing out as we end the year and these candidates have to make their decision, am i going to run. dr. ben carson is off to israel. one of the lists you check if you're running for president, you go over to israel and say i'm a firm friend. dr. ben carson. a conservative exploring a run for the republican nomination. jeb bush facing questions, bloomberg reports about his personal work a in venture capital. including some overseas funds which are tax shelters for the rich. is he going to gear up and run for the president? our "inside politics" friend reporting at politico that people close to mitt romney say his body language is starting to change as we get closer to the holidays, and his no no no about 2016 might be becoming a maybe. because he's looking at the field and he's not all that impressed. really? >> i think we're going to have these stories for as many months into next year over and over again. it is true that he is intrigued

by the idea of the presidency. there are people around him who keep encouraging him to get in. it's true that he, you know has some real reservations about the field. but we're a long way from that moment and i think he could wait a long time before he makes a decision. i mean he's got that option whereas others don't. >> he would hold up just like hillary clinton, we assume she's running, if he didn't, what a domino effect you would have on the democratic side, all of the money and strategists camped in and out fort hillary. if mitt romney were do hold out and not give a firm no, but to call his donors and say support jeb or support christie or support governor kasich or support governor walker. he has the biggest infrastructure at the moment in place. >> he does. if you're in mitt romney's camp or mitt romney, you have to feel some vindication after looking at how the last couple of years have gone. i think there's probably some reason why he could hold out. wield some power, play a king-maker role even if he does ultimately decide not to run.

carve out a new place within the republican party for relevancy purposes. >> i guess my question is, is it real? or is it just, you know, look if you're a politician, especially if you think mitt romney thinks i told you so on a number of issues and you ran a campaign. is this just ego-feeding or is he sitting around saying whoa, i might do this again. >> i keep asking this question and it's really true that he is thinking about it. revisiting the issue. i just think that there are a lot of reasons for him to decide not to run and so he could speculate as late as you know, next fall. >> to your point especially once, and they will get to this. they will not shut the government down, they've passed a temporary thing for a couple of days. they'll get to in the senate saturday or monday morning, once the government sup and running we'll have an immigrate debate in february 2016, 2016, maeve, wanna, we've been talking about the c.i.a. torture report. seth myers noticed that dick cheney had stepped in, he said

the report was full of. i won't say that on a family friendly morning show. dick cheney said the report was full of this. seth myers says this. >> cheney attacked critics of the c.i.a.'s interrogation techniques saying what are we supposed to do? kiss him on both cheeks and say, please, please, tell us what you know? though, to be fair, getting kissed by dick cheney is also banned by the geneva convention, it's very clear. it is very clear. >> a tough week, a little humor doesn't hurt at all on a friday. >> chris doesn't give that one a thumb's up. >> i think he could have done better. >> could have done better. >> that was like a four or five. >> always next week. >> thanks so much, john. make sure that you watch john king and his "inside politics" panel break down the biggest political news of the week every sunday at 8:30 a.m. eastern. all right. now we know that we have a problem with race in this country.

and we know that we've been seeing it play out after these grand jury decisions in ferguson and in new york and other situations. so what are we going to do about it? how do we get it straight? do you know who's going to help us? a bunch of kids. we have the kiddie cabinet coming your way. wait until you hear what the youngest of us have do say about what matters most. you will learn, i promise from the kiddie cabinet. holidays? to share with family to carry on traditions to come together, even when we're apart in stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and more, swanson® makes holiday dishes delicious! ♪ (holiday mhey! is playing) i guess we're going to need a new santa ♪(the music builds to a climax.) more people are coming to audi than ever before. see why now is the best time.

audi will cover your first month's payment on select models at the season of audi sales event. visit audioffers.com today. and our big idaho potato truck is still missing. so my buddy here is going to help me find it. here we go. woo who, woah, woah, woah. it's out there somewhere spreading the word about americas favorite potatoes: heart healthy idaho potatoes and the american heart association's go red for women campaign. if you see it i hope you'll let us know. always look for the grown in idaho seal. in the country. we operate just like a city, and that takes a lot of energy. we use natural gas throughout the airport - for heating the entire terminal, generating electricity on-site, and fueling hundreds of vehicles. we're very focused on reducing our environmental impact. and natural gas is a big part of that commitment.

once there was a girl who even in her laundry room. with downy unstopables for long-lasting scent. and infusions for softness. she created her own mix, match, magic. downy, wash in the wow.

the ultimate arena for business. hour after hour of diving deep, touching base, and putting ducks in rows. the only problem with conference calls: eventually they have to end. unless you have the comcast business voiceedge mobile app. it lets you switch seamlessly from your desk phone to your mobile with no interruptions.

i've never felt so alive. get the future of phone and the phones are free. comcast business. built for business. kiddie cabinet, a "new day" staple. >> i can't wait to see it. >> it never fails when we're faced with hard situations kids seem to get the situation better and what matters most before we do. so we brought them in to talk about race. how they see each other, how they treat each other. what's going object with the cops in our society right now. whether or not this tension makes sense. and what to do about it. take a look. here's why i'm here. we have problems, we have problems going on. today, are you aware of that? >> uh-huh. >> there's trouble? we have to figure it out. will you help me figure out some trouble? >> yes. >> all right. good, so who knows about what's

been happening around the country right now with the grand juries and the police and unarmed black men. you've all heard about this? william have you been hearing about it a lot? >> six months. >> you've been hearing about it for six months. what do we know, gabrielle, what's happened? >> people are fighting, they say the police aren't working hard enough to do stuff. help me more, adriana. >> on the news there was a black guy and a policeman choked him. >> and people are angry. >> uh-huh. >> why are they angry, william? >> they're angry because not only was he selling illegal cigarettes but they choked him out and when he went to court, the jury said, it was okay and they let him go. >> and is that wrong? >> yes. >> why? >> because in case it happens again, then then they can't just let him go again. they have to make sure this it stops before it happens again. >> when you see police, are you afraid? >> no.

>> anybody? sometimes when you see police you're a little afraid? >> yes. >> why? >> i see a lot of bad things happening. not a very good things. >> so the police, when you see them usually something bad is going on? >> yes. >> and what do you think the police are doing there? are they there to hurt people or are they there to help people? what are they doing there? >> they're there to help people. >> your parents ever talk to you about how to be around police? >> yes. >> nolan? anybody ever tell you how to act around police? >> yes. >> what do they say? >> well they say to just like be nice and be calm and not do anything wrong. >> nicolette anybody ever tell you anything like that? >> no. >> nicolette, describe knollen in three words. >> has a sweater, he has a tie

and he has a mike. >> okay, gabriel, take a look at nicolette, describe her in three words. >> she has a little gown, a black vest and brown hair. >> you did not refer to nolan as being brown or black of skin. why not? >> because it's, it's like a bad thing to say. >> what wouldn't you say if you were going to say if you were going to help people find me. wouldn't you say what color i was? >> i would say he was a white male tall, brown hair, blue eyes. >> jacked. >> jacked. >> is it bad if you describe me that way? >> if someone says you look black and they just say that, that should be okay. but if they're making fun of them for their color, that's when the problems start to happen when they say about the color. >> so i don't judge you by how you look and you don't judge me by how i look. you're supposed to judge me by. what are you supposed to judge me by, william? >> how you act.

>> how i act. if i'm a police officer and i see you, am i supposed to, what if i say mmm, i've arrested a lot of guys who look just like you. is that the right thing for me to do? >> no, you have to at least give them a chance. >> give them a chance. >> now you're kids, right? you seem smarter than kids that i remember being your age. but if this is so simple for you, how come the adults aren't getting it right? kiara? >> because the adult, some adults don't understand how to be kind to one another. because they're going to think they're adults and since they're older, they don't have to listen to the kids. but it ends up somehow that the kids might be right. >> the kids might be right. >> do you remember in school when they had to teach you, hey, da gabriel, your skin somebody kind of brown and nicolette's is kind of white but you should be same to each other. do you remember anybody actually saying that to you? >> no. >> so if nobody had to teach you that, what happens when you get older? gabriel? >> they usually forget because they're getting older and stuff

like that happens. to them and they start to forget stuff. >>fy went over to nolan, i wouldn't just go over there and say, since he's black i don't like him. the color matters nothing to me. >> color matters nothing to me. those are third and fourth graders at immaculate conception school in queens, which is where i went. >> first of all they're adorable. what they say is profound. it's nice that they have no bad connotations with the police, you asked them a couple of times, they know the police are there to protect them and they're helpful. >> absolutely. >> several said they want to be cops. but also you know, they hear what we're saying. they hear what's going on. >> they're sponges, they're aware of what's going on. >> they need to be reinforced and hear the right things. one of the things that's getting lost in the dialogue is it's not just about the politics of it bandying about how we feel about things, you've got a whole generation out there who is waiting to learn how to be and thank god it seems they're better than we are. >> and it's so important to have

the conversations with children, age-appropriate conversations about what's going on. >> so you're sitting down and having conversations, i've been doing that with my kids. it's hard for kids to understand why all of this is happening, but you have to have the conversations. >> there's an innocence that might be an intelligence. >> we need the kiddie cabinet more, my friend. >> we need to hear what they have to say about immigration and isis. wait until you see this -- a skier goes on a wild ride zoominging down a narrow crevice with just inches to spare. his daring ride seen through the lens of his helmet cam. how did he do this? turn the trips you have to take,

into one you'll never forget. earn triple points when you book with the expedia app. expedia plus rewards. (vo)rescued.ed. protected. given new hope. during the subaru "share the love" event, subaru owners feel it, too. because when you take home a new subaru, we donate 250 dollars to helping those in need.

we'll have given 50 million dollars over seven years. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru.

will thank you. , sir? ordering chinese food is a very predictable experience. i order b14. i get b14. no surprises. buying business internet, on the other hand, can be a roller coaster white knuckle thrill ride. you're promised one speed. but do you consistently get it? you do with comcast business. and often even more. it's reliable. just like kung pao fish. thank you, ping. reliably fast internet starts at $89.95 a month. comcast business. built for business.

it's being called the year's most insane ski run, so steep through a crevice so narrow, the skier even won an award for it. it is certainly an adrenaline rush, even for all of us to watch it. this is through a helmet cam. cnn's jeanne moos takes us along on this harrowing ride. >> reporter: what you're about to see is no mere ski slope. this is a man-eating crevice. >> ooh, i'm getting nervous. >> reporter: and 31-year-old cody townsend is about to descend. >> drop in! >> there was no exit plan, no escape. >> reporter: the plunge down this alaskan crevice lasted about 15 seconds. at its narrowest point, the walls were only 6 feet apart. check out the helmet cam view. top speed 65 to 70 miles per hour. >> you see that you're going really fast and you see that the walls are really close to you. >> reporter: but cody says he

was very zen. >> it's almost as if time slows down. >> holy [ bleep ]! >> reporter: cody's run makes james bond's exploits on skis look almost wimpy. ♪ child's play compared to this. so, a crevice like that must have a terrifying name, right? >> uh, yeah, it does have nicknames, but i would blush if i had to tell you what the nicknames were. >> reporter: cody's run won him "powder" magazine's best line of 2014 award. >> so psyched. >> reporter: his fellow skiers gushed. >> that was the sickest line i've ever seen! >> reporter: the trickiest part was at the end of the narrowest section. there was a slight turn. >> possibly the turn of my life to not hit the wall that was in front of you. >> reporter: so, what's he get? great exposure in a red bull documentary, the kind of fame that leads to even more endorsements, but cash? i just assumed they gave you a chunk of money to do that. >> that would be morally wrong

to do that, i think. no. we do it because we love it. >> reporter: you think that's scary to watch? imagine cody's mother the first time she saw it. >> she did cry, which i kind of felt bad about. >> reporter: cody didn't celebrate by partying. he contemplated accomplishing a life goal while taking in an alaskan blood moon. >> so, i just kind of sat there and basked in it. >> reporter: better a blood moon than a bloody wreck. >> oh, my god! >> reporter: jeanne moos, cnn. >> that was the scariest thing i've ever done! >> reporter: new york. >> you can barely even watch it. that's insane. >> it is a rush. >> wow. >> i love that he's able to talk while going 60 miles an hour on skis. >> me, too. >> amazing. >> when i ski, i ski on runs called apple stroodle. >> they're green, aren't they? they're green. >> different strokes for different folks. >> thank you. the cia chief is tackling torture, but he's not saying the word. how, do you how defend the agency and admit errors if you won't really describe what is going on?

the question now, will john brennan survive the drama? next. [ shutter clicks ] hi there! [ laughs ] -i'm flo! -i know! i'm going to get you your rental car. this is so ridiculous. we're going to manage your entire repair process from paperwork to pickup, okay, little tiny baby? your car is ready, and your repairs are guaranteed for as long as you own it. the progressive service center -- a real place, where we really manage your claim from start to finish. really. ♪ easy as easy can be bye! that's why i take doctor recommended colace capsules. [ male announcer ] for certain medical conditions where straining should be avoided, colace softens the stool for effective relief from occasional constipation.

go to colacecapsules.com for savings. for effective relief from occasional constipation. we did it. we did it! ♪ it is official, we gave the people what they wanted. the nation's strongest lte signal. this is a big deal! soak it in! just let it wash over you like a warm bath.

you're down with crestor. yes! when diet and exercise aren't enough, adding crestor lowers bad cholesterol up to 55%. crestor is not for people with liver disease, or women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant. tell your doctor all medicines you take. call your doctor if you have muscle pain or weakness, feel unusually tired, have loss of appetite, upper belly pain, dark urine, or yellowing of skin or eyes. these could be signs of serious side effects. i'm down with crestor! make your move. ask your doctor about crestor. apologetic, yet defiant.

the head of the cia defends the agency's harsh interrogation tactics but never uses the word torture. john brennan does admit some officers went too far. and a powerful storm battering the pacific northwest and california this morning. hundreds of thousands without power, homes sliding into the ocean and streets looking like rivers. this is the strongest storm to hit the west coast in years. we're live with the latest. telling her story. famed supermodel beverly johnson breaks her silence, saying she, too, was drugged by bill cosby. the disturbing details of how she says the comedian made advances on her during an audition for "the cosby show." beverly johnson joins us live this morning. your "new day" continues right now. good morning. welcome to "new day." it's friday, december 12th, just after 8:00 in the east. chris cuomo and alisyn camerota here.

how can the director of the cia defend his agency but admit he does not know if enhanced interrogations helped slow terrorism? well, that's what john brennan did, and now as a result, there are questions building about the future of him and the agency. >> so, brennan is promising changes in the way of that scathing senate report, but what those changes are remain unclear, and what's next for the cia? let's get right to senior white house correspondent jim acosta with all the latest developments. good morning, jim. >> reporter: good morning, alisyn and chris. cia director john brennan was trying to sort of have it both ways yesterday at that unprecedented news conference at cia headquarters. he conceded the agency made mistakes in using those harsh interrogation techniques, but he said in some cases, it's possible those methods provided some useful intelligence, in particular, he said, in the hunt for osama bin laden. but as you mentioned, chris, he did not use the word torture in a quote that will be long remembered after he's gone from the cia. here's what he had to say. >> they went outside of the

bounds in terms of their actions as part of that interrogation process. and they were harsh. as i said, in some instances, i consider them abhorrent and i will leave to others how they might want to label those activities. >> reporter: now, as for senator dianne feinstein, the chair of the senate intelligence committee that produced that controversial torture report, she listened to what john brennan had to say and she responded via twitter. as for that claim that some of these interrogation techniques may have helped in the hunt for osama bin laden, she said no. critical intelligence that led to bin laden was unrelated to eits or those enhanced interrogation techniques. one thing that's also important to point out is that what john brennan had to say yesterday, that it's possible that some of these interrogation methods provided useful intelligence, that goes way beyond what the white house was saying all week long, way beyond what the president has been willing to say. he even called it torture. but you've been saying all morning, you know, is it

possible that john brennan's head will roll? the white house has been saying all week long that the president has full confidence in this cia director. >> jim, thank you very much. appreciate the reporting. so, one of the things you may not know about this senate report is that it references two psychologists who developed this controversial program, and one of them has identified himself as james mitchell. he is deeply critical of the report. here's what he told cnn. >> i think it's a partisan pile of crap. i think primarily, it's an attempt to smear the men and women of the cia as the democrats leave their position of authority. >> crap seems to be the new buzz word surrounding the riskance to this report. let's get a little deeper than that. steven soles is a professor of psychoanalysis and co-founder of the coalition for ethical psychology. very good to have you, professor. when you talk about ethical

psychology, can you square that at all with what was done in the formation of this program? >> first, thanks for having me here. and the way we square it with what was done is that we formed our group opposed to this type of activities by psychologists. they violate the ethics of not only psychology but all the health professions. it's basically based on a principle of do no harm in helping people. and what mr. mitchell and others were doing with the cia was in direct violation of this. they were using their psychological knowledge and expertise to hurt people, to harm people. as the report says, probably to no avail as well. >> what do you think they were using? like, what kind of tools does a psychologist have that become useful in figuring out how to torture people?

>> well, that's an interesting question, because in some sense, the so-called enhanced interrogation tactics that they developed were those that have been used by torturers for a long period of time. in fact, they learned about them from the military school of survival, resistance and escape. where service members who may be captured by a power that violates the geneva conventions that tortures people are subjected to a brief regimen of these torture techniques in order to sort of try and inoculate them. that was developed in response to communist brain-washing techniques. so, there's really no secret there, but one thing that mitchell and jessen brought -- jessen is the other person, the other psychologist there -- brought to this was the patina of science. they claimed the basis on a psychological theory called learned helplessness. >> learned helplessness. >> learned helplessness.

>> what is that? >> learned helplessness is based on experiments with dogs. they were strapped in cages so they couldn't get out and then they were given electric shocks. and they became, eventually became helpless. they gave up trying to escape. and then you remove the straps and they still don't escape. so -- >> people from your community are saying that one of the tragedies here is that for all of the horrible things that we hear being done, that what works best psychologically to break someone down is sleep deprivation, and that they believe that is what worked with ksm, khalid shaikh mohammed, that's what made him break down, not the horrible things they were doing to him. is that true? >> that's probably true. i mean, sleep deprivation and isolation are really the essence of these techniques. all the rest of it is sort of icing on the cake. sleep deprivation is awful. and we're talking about in some

cases, you know, six or more days without any sleep. but in a lot of cases, what they call sleep deprivation wasn't just that. it was being strapped in such a way that you were standing for days on end. your feet -- >> is there any justification -- >> -- would get swollen -- >> from the psychological perspective, are there legitimacies, or is it still torture, no matter who developed it? >> that is torture. my perspective and that of my colleagues, extended sleep deprivation is in torture. it is in some sense the essence of torture. research shows that the long-term effects of techniques like sleep deprivation on people are similar to the so-called physical torture. >> so, how do you justify or how do you explain so many officials from the department of justice and otherwise, lawyers, who are supposedly, arguably intelligent, saying it's not torture, it's okay, you can do it? >> well, i think they decided they wanted to do it and they

twisted the laws in order to justify it. >> professor soles, thank you very much. we appreciate you coming on to explain why you're very resistant to this type of enterprise and thank you for helping us forward this conversation. appreciate it. alisyn? it was another contentious battle, but after a long day of uncertainty, the house managed to pass a bill to keep the government running. the house narrowly passed the $1.1 trillion package, despite objections from house democrats. let's bring in chief congressional correspondent dana bash, live in washington with all the behind-the-scenes haggling. good morning, dana. >> reporter: exhausting haggling. this kind of brinksmanship was supposed to be over with this bill because it was negotiated in a bipartisan way. it had support from democrats and republicans in the house and the senate. but what happened is that there was a surprise issue that touched a raw nerve, and that is something that everybody remembers all too well what happened with the financial

meltdown in 2008. democrats were very concerned that this rolled back too much wall street reforms. and so, you had the situation where the top democrat in the house, nancy pelosi, came out against this bill that her colleagues in the senate negotiated, the white house was supporting. so, you had the white house chief of staff coming in at the last minute last night trying to convince democrats to vote for it and in the end, it passed by two votes. >> and dana, one of the crazy things about this deal are the strange alliances, these strange bedfellows it created. >> reporter: bizarre. so, what we saw last night walking the hallways were house republican leaders who are always at odds with the obama white house working with the obama white house, trying to find votes for this massive bill to keep the government running for an entire year. and then on the sort of wings of the party, you had the elizabeth warrens of the world, the more liberal democrats, agreeing that

this was a bad bill with tea party conservatives. so, very strange bedfellows. and i think evidence that as much as everybody talks about wanting compromise, the wings of the party are very powerful, powerful enough to make the jobs of negotiators very difficult. >> i guess we've just seen the evidence of that. dana bash, thanks so much for joining it. >> reporter: thank you. >> chris. >> arguably, they agreed on cutting pela grants, allowing wall street to have more flexibility to play with derivatives and things that got us in trouble and more money in politics. know that is in the bill as well. over on the west coast, people are waking up right now to widespread flooding, power outages, and really, a deadly monster storm that's moving through. falling trees, two deaths in oregon. one of the victims just a teenage boy. he was in a car and a tree came down. more than a foot of rain has fallen in parts of california. let's get more now on the situation from cnn's dan simon. >> reporter: a deadly monster storm battering the west coast. ferocious winds and torrential

rain bearing down on residents, leaving more than 225,000 people without power from san francisco to the canadian border. in oregon, the storm turning deadly with record-breaking wind gus gusts. fallen trees claiming at least two lives. the powerful winds of nearly 70 miles per hour blowing a giant sheet of metal into the windows of this office building in downtown portland. >> it was like being in a tornado. it was such a big piece of metal and it was going so fast. i thought, you know, this may be the last moment. >> reporter: strong winds also to blame for this partial roof collapse farther north. >> i'm not sure i've ever seen anything like this before. pretty unbelievable. >> reporter: the same storm destroying a few homes in washington state. the rising tide eroding beaches, leaving more in peril. in california, hurricane-force winds shaking area bridges and knocking over trees, including this 80-foot cypress tree that

pinned a boy on a school playground in santa cruz. firefighters freed the 11-year-old escaping with just minor injuries. nearly a foot of rain drenching parts of the golden state, causing streets to flood and rivers to rise. >> this amount of rain in a short period of time, anything can happen. >> reporter: this grocery store parking lot looking more like a lake, while lake tahoe looked more like a beach. >> whoo-hoo! >> reporter: gusty winds providing daring surfers with huge waves. entire neighborhoods under water. many residents stranded on washed-out roadways, while other thoroughfares closed completely. public transit shut down. further north, heavy snow and fierce winds creating blizzard conditions in the sierra nevadas. a possible 3 feet of snow on the horizon. well, the weather outlook here in northern california is improving, but this storm is now pushing its way south. and now it is the l.a. area that

is getting absolutely hammered. we just got word that there were mandatory evacuations in the town of camarillo, which is northwest of los angeles. so, it appears that southern california's going to be facing some of these similar situations. michaela, back to you. >> and one of the concerns there, so many areas, fire-ridden, if you will. in past years not a lot of ground covered to soak up any of that water. it's really going to be a concern. dan simon in san francisco. thanks for that look. let's give you a look at the headlines now. breaking in the last hour, an apparent acid attack on a jewish family in jerusalem. israeli officials say the family members, including four children, were slightly injured before a witness opened fire on the attacker. that suspect has been taken to the hospital and has been arrested. now, tensions are already high there following the death of a palestinian official after a confrontation with israeli soldiers on wednesday. back here at home, over 100 black congressional staffers and lawmakers walked out on capitol hill thursday, raised their hands in show of support for the

families of michael brown and eric garner. senate chaplain barry black led the group in prayer saying they were working as a voice for the voiceless. more protests are planned for today and throughout the weekend in new york and in washington, d.c. the justice department says native americans can grow and sell marijuana as long as they follow federal rules laid out for states where it's legal. if tribes do decide to grow and sell pot, it could be an economic windfall, but don't expect many changes. many tribes have expressed wariness of this idea. forget handcuffs. an alabama officer whipped out some cash for a grandmother who was caught stealing five eggs for her hungry children. officer william stacy bought helen johnson a carton of eggs after she promised never to steal again. that is not the end of the story, my friends. it got so much attention, people from all over have now delivered over two truckloads of groceries to johnson's doorstep.

>> that is beautiful. >> that's the good stuff. >> yeah, you're stealing good stuff from chris, i think. >> it's friday. i figured he might not mind. >> i love it. >> thank you. >> it's so great. police do that across the country every day and i'm so glad we highlight these stories. >> i'm very glad. >> and generosity's contagious. >> it is. >> so nice. well, there is another bill cosby accuser coming forward, supermodel beverly johnson. she says the comedian lured her into his home and drugged her. she will join us in her first live interview to tell us about her encounter with bill cosby. y0 huh? the equipment tracking system will get you to the loading dock. ♪ there should be a truck leaving now. i got it. now jump off the bridge. what? in 3...2...1... are you kidding me? go. right on time. right now, over 20,000 trains are running reliably. we call that predictable. thrillingly predictable.

rightabreva can heal itold sore, in as few as two and a half days when used at the first sign. without it the virus spreads from cell to cell. only abreva penetrates deep and starts to work immediately to block the virus and protect healthy cells. you could heal your cold sore, fast, as fast as two and a half days when used at the first sign. learn how abreva starts to work immediately at abreva.com don't tough it out, knock it out, fast. with abreva.

another cosby accuser coming forward this morning. supermodel beverly johnson says cosby lured her to his home and drugged her in the mid-1980s. she writes this in a new "vanity fair" piece -- "my head became woozy, my speech became slurred and the room began to spin nonstop. as i felt my body go completely limp, my brain switched into automatic survival mode. that meant making sure cosby understood that i knew exactly what was happening at that very moment." and beverly johnson joins us this morning for her first live interview from california. beverly, great to see you this morning. >> thank you for having me on. >> can we just rewind the story back to how you first met bill cosby? >> well, i got a call from my agent that "the cosby show" and mr. cosby wanted me to come down

for an audition for "the bill cosby show." needless to say, i was very excited about that, and i went to the studio and met bill cosby and the cast and the crew. >> yeah. >> and actually had a conversation with him in his office. i told him about my aspirations of being an actress. i had already done a couple of films at that time. and also, i told him a little bit about what was going on in my life. i had come out of a very nasty divorce and was in a big child custody battle with my daughter, my only daughter. >> and just -- >> and he seemed concerned. >> he was concerned. and that's why getting the call from "the cosby show" was such a plum pick. i mean, that was the show of the 1980s. and being on it could catapult you. >> absolutely. i mean, there wasn't a bigger

figure in entertainment, in the entertainment industry than bill cosby. and i was a big fan, my family. i don't know anyone, white america or black america that was not a fan of bill cosby and "the cosby show." >> absolutely. so, you take this call, you go to the set, he shows you around and he invites you to his home a couple of times because he's going to mentor you and he wants you to audition for the part. so, you go to his home a couple of times. you eat dinner with him. and then what happens? >> well, he asked me to come to another taping, and he said bring my daughter, which was a big deal for my daughter, who was very young at the time. and then he said that we could do a rehearsal at his brownstone that weekend, and i said, well,

you know, i have my daughters on the weekend and i wouldn't be able to do that. and he said to bring my daughter along. and i thought, oh, this is just terrific. and i did bring my daughter to the brownstone. we had a brunch. that was prepared by his staff there. and he showed us the brownstone. he was very charming, very nice to my daughter and i. and since we hadn't had any chance to rehearse then, he suggested that i come back in a couple of days to rehearse for the scene for "the cosby show," and that's what i did. >> and by then, your guard was down. you had brought your daughter to his home and he was being friendly and he was being helpful. so, you go back a second time by yourself. and this time, you again have a meal with him. he says it's time to audition for the scene. and he offers you a cappuccino. what happens when you start drinking that cappuccino?

>> so, when we went up to the living room area where he had this elaborate cappuccino or espresso contraption there, he offered me a cappuccino before we were to do this scene where i was to play a drunk woman, which i didn't know that had anything to do, because the part was of a pregnant woman. but i said, okay. and he made this cappuccino. and i said i really didn't want to drink any coffee, it would keep me up late at night, but he was very insistent that i try this cappuccino that would be the best coffee that i would ever have. so, i relented and he gave me the cappuccino. i took one sip. and i felt something very strange going on in my head. >> describe the sensation in your body that you started

feeling immediately. >> well, the first sensation was, you know, a little woozy. and so, then i took another sip. and after that second sip, i knew i had been drugged. it was very powerful. it came on very quickly. the room started to spin. my speech was slurred. i remember him calling me over towards him as if we were going to begin the scene then. and he placed his hands on my waist. i remember steadying myself with my hand on his shoulders. and i just kind of cocked my he head, because at that point, i knew he had drugged me, and i was just looking at him and i just asked him the question, that you are an mf, aren't you? >> yes, you cursed at him

because you were conscious enough to know what was happening and you confronted him. what's interesting, beverly, about your story, we've heard an eerily similar story from now more than 20 women. and they all describe bill cosby as having drugged them. but they wake up after the fact, because they lose consciousness. you somehow kept the presence of mind not to lose consciousness and you confronted him. and tell me about that exchange and the angry bill cosby that confronted you back. >> well, i immediately went into survival mode. i knew that he had drugged me and i wanted him to know that he had drugged me. so, the only word i could get out -- and i don't swear -- was mf. and i kept saying it to him louder and louder. and for a moment, he stood there looking at me like i was crazy.

and then -- it happened very quickly. he immediately grabbed me and started to drag me towards the stairs that went downstairs to the outdoors. and i was, you know, stumbling around trying to grab my handbag, and i really didn't know where he was taking me, but we ended up outside. and it was still -- it was dusk, so it was pretty light out. and all i remember is him, you know, grabbing me by one arm and him flailing for a taxi with the other. i remember kind of looking around at people and, you know, people really recognizing that, you know, that's bill cosby. and a taxi stops. he opens the door and he throws me in there, and he slams the door shut, and i somehow get my address out to the taxicab driver. >> you escaped.

you escaped something else worse from happening. and i just want to -- before i let you go on -- read what you wrote in "vanity fair" about that whole exchange, because you say "i recall his seething anger at my tirade and then him grabbing me by my left arm and yanking all 110 pounds of me down a bunch of stairs as my high heels clicked and clacked on every step. i feared my neck was going to break with the force he was using to pull me down those stairs." that's an angrier picture of bill cosby than any of us have ever heard. >> yes. he was most certainly angry. he was [ expletive ]. he was trying to get me out of there as quickly as possible. i didn't know that at the time. and i had, you know, a little heel on, and i was totally trying to remain conscious, but my body was, you know, very --

you know, almost as if i were intoxicated. >> yes. >> that i couldn't get my balance. i was fearing that i was going to, you know, fall down the stairs, so i was, you know, trying to be conscious not to fall, and he's dragging me down the stairs. and all i remember after i got in that taxicab driver and actually telling him somehow my address, i just remember saying, did i just call bill cosby an mf? i was concerned about him, not me. >> right, and we've heard this from other women as well, the fact that he was bill cosby, that that persona was bigger than even the experience, and that that's why so many people remained silent. why, beverly, did you remain silent all these years and are only now coming forward? >> well, it's a number of reasons. the norm is people that have been sexually assaulted -- and

fortunately, i was drugged and i don't think i was sexually assault assaulted -- is that, you know, there's shame to coming out. there is this powerful man in an industry that i would like to be a part of. that went through my mind. i had just finished a very ugly divorce with a powerful man, and i knew firsthand what it was like to go up against a powerful man, and it didn't fair well for me. so, and i was, at that particular time, i had spent so much money on this divorce and ensuing custody battle. i knew that it was someone that was a formidable enemy, and i didn't think i had a chance of

winning, basically. >> so, what changed? what changed for you in these past four weeks? >> what changed for me was a number of things, once again, but the women coming out and telling their story. i would just look at that television and just think how brave they are. and also, you know, listening to janice dickinson, who was a friend of mine, who to me, i've known her for 30 years, was never a liar. if anything, she's uncensored, and there's no filter there. so, if anything, you're getting the truth and the absolute truth from her. and how she was being treated and how they were being vilified. and that's the norm also, that women who do have the courage to speak about a sexual assault,

they are put -- you know, they are the people that are, you know, shamed and -- >> sure, revictimized. >> -- and victimized -- thank you, revictimized all over again. so, i wanted to stand with those women. and this for me is not about bill cosby. this to me is about violence against women. this to me is about one out of every five women are sexually assaulted in their lives, and they don't say anything. and when they do, they have to relive the whole incident in front of a judge and jury, and some of them don't believe them, and they're basicaly crucified and vilified for coming out and telling their truth. so, it was very difficult for me to come to the point where i wanted to speak out.

i tell you. it was only maybe 24 hours ago that i finally decided, yes, this is what i want to do. i was vacillating back and forth, i mean, with the climate of what's happening with black male in america, we're having this race conversation that was so needed for so long. and why does this have to come out now, and bill cosby being a black man? but then i realized that this is not about bill cosby, and he's not that man that has been attacked by police. i mean, he's had a very privileged life that i felt he needed to know that as women, we just weren't going to just, you know, stand by and let him get away with what he thought he was going to get away with. >> and beverly, what do you want to see happen to bill cosby?

>> i don't want to see anything happen to bill cosby. what i want to see happen is that women come out and speak their truth. that's what i want. i want this to be a platform for women, men, boys, girls, to realize that it is okay to come out, to speak out, to go to the police, to get into therapy and talk about what has happened to them and how they've been sexually assaulted or abused in any way. i sit on the board of barbara sinatra's children's center. and most of these children for the last four years. and i speak to these children, and i come in contact with these very brave, you know, young women and boys. and i felt like a hypocrite if i did not come out and say what

happened to me. so, that's another reason why i wanted to come out today and talk about what happened to me 30 years ago. >> we think with you coming forward, there are now more than 20 women who have some of the same exact story of bill cosby. bill cosby, of course, has denied this through his attorneys. they have said the stories are implausible. it doesn't make sense why women would have stayed quiet for so many decades. do you believe we will see more women come forward? >> well, i'm hoping that, you know, we will see women and men and children feeling safe to be able to tell their story of what's happened to them. one of the most powerful things that happened to me, before i decided to release this story to "vanity fair" was i called a number of girlfriends. and there was one particular

girlfriend i told about being drugged by bill cosby, you know, having that angel on my shoulder that day that i don't think that i was raped. and she began to tell me a story of how she was molested and raped. and i was mortified! and this is a woman i've known for 25 years. and i said, well, why didn't you tell me? she said, i'm only telling you because you told me your story. and at that moment, i said, this is something i have to do. >> that's understandable. we've heard that from other women, too, who feel that the truth will set them free, despite the risks, despite the fact that your reputation may be sullied somehow or you may get some unpleasant feedback on social media, things like this that we've seen. do you think that bill cosby is done? is this the end of his career as we all have known it?

>> i don't know. all i know is i have a daughter and i have a granddaughter, and if my daughter told me, came to me and told me, mom, someone drugged me, i would want her to speak up, to speak out and to speak loudly. and my family and my friends were very hesitant for me to go out, because they loved me and they care about me and they didn't want anyone saying anything bad about me, and why are you doing this, you know, you have such a great reputation. and basically, i asked my daughter, you have a daughter now. if your daughter came to you and said, mom, you know, i've been drugged, what would you do? what would you say to her? and she got it then. she said, mom, you're doing the right thing. i support you. i love you. and yes, i would tell my

daughter to speak out. i would make sure she spoke out, and we went to the proper authorities to take care of whatever happened to her. so, that's my focus. >> yeah. >> are these women and men, boys and girls who have been sexually assaulted who have no voice, and hopefully, i can speak out for them and create this platform for them to come forward and to tell their story. that's what i'm here for. >> yes. you have obviously turned this ordeal into something positive and getting a voice for women or children or victims of any kind. but there is still a fascination with what was going on with bill cosby. and what we hear people say is he was a huge celebrity. he was a big star. he could have had any woman that he wanted in the '80s. why would he have to drug women? since you lived through what you claim you lived through, how do

you explain it? do you believe that bill cosby was a predator? >> i'm not a doctor, so i cannot tell you the psychology of his motives. so, i wouldn't even attempt to do that. but what i do know, that this was a secret in hollywood. and after i had to let certain people in my business know what i was about to do, the response was, oh, yeah, we know he's been doing that for quite a while. it was like everyone knew! but you know, people like myself, i most certainly wouldn't have gone to bill cosby's brownstone if i knew the reputation he had with assaulting women. so, this has been, you know, something that's been going on not only in hollywood but around the world, where certain

powerful people are protected and choose to keep their secret. >> well, beverly johnson, we appreciate you speaking out live on "new day" today. it's wonderful to see you, and we look forward to having more conversations. and of course, we invite all of you listening to share your thoughts on this. you can find me on twitter or go to @newday and tweet us. let's go over to chris. >> all right, alisyn. the conversation just needed to be had and we haven't heard it any better than that yet. so, thank you for that. when we come back, private e-mails made public. sony executive and producer talking smack about actors and even the president of the united states. big questions raised about hollywood, but also about the media. using the hacked e-mails. provocative stuff, next. get ready for some german engineered holiday excitement. at the volkswagen sign-then-drive event. right now, for practically just your signature, you could drive home for the holidays in a new volkswagen.

like the sporty, advanced new jetta and the precisely engineered passat tdi. ah, the gift of clean diesel. for the new volkswagen on your list this year, just about all you need, is a pen. festive, isn't it? hurry in and get $0 due at signing, $0 down, $0 deposit, and $0 first months payment on select new volkswagen models. suddenly you're a mouthbreather. well, put on a breathe right strip and instantly open your nose up to 38% more than cold medicines alone. so you can breathe and sleep. shut your mouth and sleep right. breathe right.

[ male announcer ] how did edward jones become one of the biggest financial services companies in the country? hey. yours? not anymore. come on in. [ male announcer ] by meeting you more than halfway. it's how edward jones makes sense of investing.

come on in. [ male announcer ] by meeting you more than halfway. ensure active heart health. i maximize good stuff, like my potassium and phytosterols which may help lower cholesterol. new ensure active heart health supports your heart and body so you stay active and strong. ensure, take life in. ring ring! ...progresso! you soup people have my kids loving vegetables. well vegetables... shh! taste better in our savory broth. vegetables!? no...soup! oh! soup! loaded with vegetables. packed with taste. boy, did you hear about the drama in hollywood? two executives apologizing after a massive hacking of sony e-mails revealed insensitive comments about the hollywood elite, but more importantly, about president obama.

still, the e-mails have the internet buzzing and actress zoe saldana even tweeted "being hacked sucks, but not as much as being an actress at the mercy of these producers' tongues. now everyone knows!" so, where does hollywood go from here and should we even be having this conversation? michael smerconish is joining us. let's begin at the beginning. am i wrong to be having these e-mails in play because they were hacked and it is a crime? >> did we have the snowden conversation? >> that's national security. >> yeah, i think it's the same principle, though, because you're raising the issue of this was theft, therefore, is it proper for the media to have this dialogue? i think it probably is. it is an interest that we have it. it's like a wreck on the highway. you turn your head. you can't turn away from it because it's fascinating, but there are a whole host of interesting issues about this. here's what i was thinking. if you were to pitch this to hollywood as a movie and you said, i've got this idea. you know, seth rogen in a comedy and he pitches --

>> not plausible. not plausible. >> but it's too fantastical, right? but yet, it apparently happened. >> it's true. >> we're not even having a conversation about the underlying premise of the movie, which is the assassination of a current world leader. what if this movie were being produced overseas and someone were making it about president obama? we'd be pissed, right? and rightfully so. >> yes, but it's not should we be having the conversation. it's okay to have the conversation. should we be reading these e-mails? they're stolen! it's like looking at somebody's dirty laundry on the line. these were stolen. they weren't supposed to be seen. now, of course, what they've revealed is a really interesting conversation that in hollywood there's a dirty underbelly, as we all know of hollywood, and they were saying nasty things about angelina jolie and even saying these racially tinged comments about -- >> the president. >> -- about the president, about barack obama. so, it's an important conversation, but it is a little dicey reading the e-mails, isn't it? >> it absolutely is. but i think you raise an interesting point when you say if we did not bring up the

comments, especially those racially biased, we'd be giving the appearance of covering up what's happening here, one of the strongest corporations in the world. >> strong point. makes me feel better. >> and it's scary to think that we haven't even seen the most of this yet. because i think that this is now pointing out the vulnerability, right? i think that we have all known, look, hollywood's a dirty place. >> right. >> right? this is not a surprise to us. but the fact that some of these companies have systems that are that vulnerable, it does -- i know that there are conversations going on in hollywood right now, making sure that every one and zero is accounted for, right? >> it's troubling i think for all of us, because i look at it, and i say, well, if they were able to penetrate the e-mail system for sony, what about a mom-and-pop business? what about a medium-sized corporation? you know there were health records? it's fun to talk about angelina jolie. there were health records of some employees caught in this web that with outed. and i think that it's a wake-up call. it's a clarion call for everybody that when you touch that send key, you'd better be

darn sure that you haven't put something in that you're not going to want to see in public later. >> and delete should actually say archive, right? because there's no delete. >> there's no such thing, as we tell our kids, of delete. >> good point. we want to ask you about the interview with beverly johnson, supermodel from the '70s and '80s, coming out on "new day" for the first time telling her story of being drugged and attacked by bill cosby. she got away, she says. she believes she got away. and she stayed conscious enough in order to confront him. but she is -- there are now more than 20 women who have come forward. what did you think as you watched her? >> i hope this doesn't sound sexist. i thought, my god, she's stunning. >> she is stunning. >> she's a stunning grandmother, my god. >> it's just a fact. >> yeah, it is a fact. look, it's hard to believe, they all fit the same pattern. i feel the same way i felt about sandusky. when one came out and two came out, you could question their credibility. when they all told the same story, after a while, you say, my god, are they all making it up? they can't all be making it up. there's an interesting question here. the lapd says if requested,

they'll investigate bill cosby, even in circumstances where the statute of limitations has run. i've never heard that before, where a police department would commit resources to that type of a case. you're shaking your head no. >> well, look, they'd have an obvious legal barrier to it. however, they could say we're investigating it, because if it's happened before, maybe it's happened more recently. that would be the legitimate angle for them. >> i found it very interesting, one of the things that she talked about very frankly is this conundrum of talking with her family about do we do this, do i say, do i come forward, but also the fact that this was an african american male, and don't african american males have enough issues right now? do we really need to be doing this? and it was so interesting to hear that this, as a black woman, she's having this struggle in her mind. >> yes. and in fact, she also says that that's part of what kept her silent for so long is because he is this icon, he is this father figure, but he was a great icon to the black community. whites loved him, blacks loved him. she didn't want to bring down -- others have said this, too, they didn't want to bring down a man like that.

>> is it going to bring him down? >> he's done. i mean, i heard your question -- >> but what's that mean? that's one of the frustrations of this story. >> i think no network is going to put -- nbc is certainly not going to put him in a sitcom. i would be shocked if he's able to continue to perform in front of live audiences. and i watched that footage. i understand that as this was unfolding, people were still giving him -- >> ovations. >> some people told me it's reached the tipping point, as in my hometown of philadelphia where he resigned from the temple university board of trustees, because he has been so integral to the growth of temple and such a part of their success. >> right. >> and i know he was being forced out, and when that happened, i thought, okay, this now is the end. >> you were a big intellectual other side guy. you take other sides all the time on issues. can you make the case for bill cosby right now? >> sure. he hasn't been convicted of anything. and this is all just claims that have been made based on allegations, some of which are so old, they couldn't possibly be proven or sdis proven. >> but that's a facile explanation at this point, isn't it? >> hey, you're asking me to play the other side. it's not easy in this case, okay? >> all right.

>> the best -- >> that's the best you've got? the best you've got is that all 20 of them are lying? >> no, the best i've got is that in this country, you're innocent until proven guilty and he's been proven of absolutely nothing. >> michael smerconish, great to see you. >> great conversation. >> see you guys. >> be sure to catch "smerconish" saturdays at 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. eastern. all right, you know, if you have kids and they're over the age of let's say 3 days old, they're probably on social media. they're exposed to cyber bullying. you know this. they can be completely monopolized by the devices more than ever before. so, how do you parent your way through it? and i'm really asking myself this. >> help's on the way, chris! >> that's how it is in our house. we've got tips for you and me coming up. don't settle for 4g lte coverage that's smaller or less reliable when only one network

is america's largest and most reliable 4g lte network: verizon. with xlte, our 4g lte bandwidth has doubled in over 400 cities. and now, save without settling. get 2 lines with 10gb of data for just $110... ...or 4 lines for just $140. and get a $150 bill credit for each smartphone you switch. only on verizon.

how you're going to survive ianother harsh winter,d or stay dry from torrential rain showers, or savor the last warm rays of sun... step inside the jeep® grand cherokee... and wonder no more. this is the jeep® grand cherokee. the most awarded suv ever. well-qualified lessees can lease the 2015 grand cherokee laredo for $369 a month. will probably eat something or drink something that is acidic on a daily basis. those acids made over time wear the enamel. a lot of patients will not realize what's happening to the enamel. once it's gone, it's gone away for good. i recommend pronamel. it's designed specifically to help strengthen the teeth.

pronamel will actually help to defend the enamel from the acids in our diet. if you know that there is something out there that can help, why not start today? and our big idaho potato truck is still missing. so my buddy here is going to help me find it. here we go. woo who, woah, woah, woah. it's out there somewhere spreading the word about americas favorite potatoes: heart healthy idaho potatoes and the american heart association's

go red for women campaign. if you see it i hope you'll let us know. always look for the grown in idaho seal. ♪ all right. welcome back for our latest edition of "new day, new you." today, a challenge for parents, combating the threat of cyber bullying. it can affect any family, even the first family when someone targeted the president's daughters. our next guest wrote "screen smart parented," offering parents guidance. dr. julie gold is here, a friend of the show. i'm an auntie, not a parent, but i sure know this is something we need to be watchful and aware of. first off, i think one of the things that i hear from parents

a lot is, there's technology everywhere. kids want to play with my phone. at what age do you actually allow them to have a mobile gadget, at least to play with and be exposed to? >> well, i think the reality is that your digital identity and digital footprint begins at birth, so kids are being exposed to stuff from a very young age. in terms of when to give your children a phone, that's very personal and it's developmental. but my basic guideline is, is that when they're ready to use it as a tool and not a toy, then it's probably time to give it to them. >> i just feel like that's the moment of loss of innocence. then it's offer. it's off to the races. once you give them their own phone and they could be on social media. and i'm really trying to shield my 9-year-olds at the moment from that, though they're clamoring for it. they want phones. >> yes, but that's the point. just because they have a phone, doesn't mean they have to be on social media. look at the landscape developmentally, which means it might be appropriate for a 10-year-old to have a phone, but not to be on social media until

he's 12 or 13. >> what about that? i mean, social media's such a jungle. it's so toxic, you know. you can put all these parental controls in there, but they can still pretty much go anywhere they want, you know, especially on the smartphones, you know, as opposed to the laptop controls. and then they tell you it's mine, it's not yours. you gave it to me. this is my privacy. what is the line there? >> this is one of the reasons that i wrote the book, because i really think it's important that from the very beginning, the parent build a foundation. it's not theirs. it's yours. it's a privilege to have their device. they don't own it. it's a tool, not a toy. and that's the foundation that you build upon. you should always have your k s kids' passwords, but the time is you have to have them from the time they're 7 or 8. you can't wait until they're 14. it's not going to work. >> and part of it is their attitudes around technology and their behavior on it. for example, social media. we've seen recently, we just mentioned about the first daughters and their brush with cyber bullying, if you will. i think one of the things, all of us that have loved ones that

are teens and betwetweens, we wo protect them from that. how do we manage that? because there's a lot to it. you want them to come to you. you want them to be honest. you don't want to spy on them, but maybe you have to. >> no, we're not spying on our kids. we are monitoring our kids. >> what's the difference? >> there's a clear distinction. let's be clear about the distinction -- >> i call it spying, but you think it's monitoring. >> there has to be transparency. that's why there has to be a technology plan in your family from the beginning. you should be on all social media with your kids, but you can be seen and not heard. no reason to comment, no reason to make a big deal, but help your children cultivate their digital identity. >> responsibly, yeah. >> responsibly. you want their identity online to reflect who they are offline. >> how do you teach them that? what are some good tips for that? because there's something about social media that exaggerates personality -- >> it's true. >> especially in the negative. so, what do you tell them? >> you go on with them. that's why you need to be on, because you need to be able to comment quietly offline to them when they say something that's

too sexy or they say something that's too obnoxious or mean. the only way to teach them to be kind online is to be online with them so that you can comment when they're not so kind. and that's the other thing, we have to allow kids to make mistakes, which is why we have to stop taking away the phone and teaching them how to use the phone more wisely. >> we're going to leave you with that tease. "screen smart parenting." might be a good stocking stuffer. all the guys in here have been thumbing through it as well as their parents. dr. jodi gold, thank you. these are important, vital conversations to have. >> avoiding the conversation's a mistake. from good tips to good stuff, today's good stuff comes from a place you would never expect. congress. >> huh? >> yes! lawmakers could approve legislation as early as today to create tax-free savings accounts for families with kids who have severe disabilities like down syndrome or autism. dana bash has this story behind the able act. >> reporter: gop congresswoman cathy mcmorris rodgers will never forget the moment her

doctor broke the news about her first baby. >> he was diagnosed with down syndrome three days after he was born. and with that diagnosis comes a long list of potential complications. >> reporter: and a warning. >> they said, now, don't put any assets in his name. >> reporter: why did they say that to you? >> in case cole, our son, would ever have to qualify for some of these programs, they didn't want the assets to disqualify him. >> reporter: to qualify for many government services, people with disabilities can only have $2,000 in assets. and having a disability is expensive. doctors, special schools and transportation, a financial strain for some 60 million disabled americans and their families. now congress is creating tax-free savings accounts to pay for special needs. >> my 21-year-old down syndrome son, alex sessions, an eagle scout, a cool guy. >> reporter: for republican pete sessions, it's also personal. >> and he's learning how to do things, to be independent, and

this act will help him and tens of thousands more. >> reporter: the issue created something rare, overwhelming bipartisanship, because so many can relate. democratic senator amy klobuchar's daughter, okay now, was born unable to swallow. >> i was able to see life through the eyes of a parent with a child with disability. >> reporter: what do you think your message sitting together as a democrat and republican getting this done should mean? >> i would say take heart! >> there are still people of goodwill that want to work together to get things done, and that's how we have to go into this new year. >> dana bash, cnn, washington. >> amen and good thing for the able act. that's it for us right now. there's a lot of news, though, so let's send you to the "newsroom" and carol costello. >> have a great weekend. >> have a great weekend and thank you so much. "newsroom" starts now. and good morning. i'm carol costello. thank you so much for