>> the budget, bill cosby, chip kelly -- my goodness. let's get the inside story. ♪ good sunday morning, and happy new year. i'm tamala edwards. thank you for joining us. let's introduce you to the panel. first up, nonprofit exec sharmain matlock-turner. good morning. >> tamala, happy new year. >> happy new year to you. dom giordano, talk show host. good morning. >> morning, tam. >> ajay raju, attorney. good morning. >> good morning. >> and communications executive jeff jubelirer. good morning to you. let's start with governor wolf. he got the budget from the state house. took a few days. didn't come out right away, but when he came out, clear he was very angry, very unhappy. this is what he had to say as he announced a line-item veto of some parts of it. >> this budget is wrong for pennsylvania, and our legislators, the folks we elected to serve us, need to own up to this. they need to do their jobs.

>> so, of course, as he's calling on legislators to come back to the state house and get going, the question is about the balance of power. who has the upper hand? is it the angry governor or is it the gop, who said, "you know what? out of $30 billion-some, we got 2/3 of it released." who has the upper hand in this moment? >> i think the gop does. i'm, frankly, very surprised, because wolf has been very good at causing, in my view, as the executive, a lot of pain or a good bit of pain or looming pain, and he blinked, and i'm not exactly sure why now. i thought the pressure was on the gop. they were being blamed for it mainly in the public eye. >> but now, he said if he hadn't, there were schools, there were medical facilities, there were state agencies that -- right here in philadelphia, william hite said, "by january 29th, we've got to shut the doors." was he left really with no option? >> i don't think he really had an option. i think at this point, i mean, we're now in january, and the fact that there are school districts -- that it's not just school districts in urban areas.

also many of the school districts in rural areas. it was my understanding that, you know, the pennsylvania senate, when they took a look at whether or not they were gonna vote this particular budget and send it to the governor was really a lot about school funding, especially school funding for rural school districts. >> but now bill hite says, "okay, i'll stay open a little while longer, but i don't know how much longer." jeff, the fact that this broke down in the first place, it was over the tax cuts, which you think they could have worked out, and over some fine-tuning of how a pension would be changed. >> sure. >> is this something that they can actually get done, or no -- they're here? >> i tell you what, as we sit here today at the beginning of the year, i'm not so sure, because on the pension issue -- which is actually a very big deal and a big cost driver in our state government -- you have constituencies on both sides of the political aisle. democrats were very favorable, the unions -- they do not want to change what is a defined benefit. but you have republicans who want even more aggressive move to more a 401(k) style pension. and so you have house democrats

balking on one end, and then you have house republicans and senate republicans balking, saying, "we need to go further." so, wolf needs to be a little bit more diplomatic by saying that the budget process so far has been an exercise in stupidity and it's been garbage. how do you think leaders, republican leaders, in the house and senate who have stuck their necks out a little bit to try to be more of a compromise nature, how do they feel? this does not bode well strategically speaking for coming together on these important issues. >> you know, ajay, the average -- or the rest of the panel -- the average person sitting there has two questions. "does this really matter? will i see it in my day-to-day life? and where does this all end?" >> i think all we have done right now is they have patched up a leaky roof and the rest of us have to pray for sunshine. this is a temporary, you know, stopgap measure because of political expediency. he doesn't want to be another one-term tom, and i think they were -- both his party and folks who are independent -- who are getting a little antsy about the seven months and we still don't have essential services, you

know, freed up as hostages. i mean, we had a hostage situation where children and essential services in medical and other services were not being delivered. and, yes, the republican legislators were being told that they will be booted out of office. so was tom wolf. >> and i think -- but the other side of this, though, also is, i mean, i think the governor was making some compromises. i mean, some people have said, "what happened to marcellus shale?" well, what happened to marcellus shale is that he agreed to take that off the table because many members of the legislature were saying, "we don't want to look at that particular tax." he then came back and said, "okay, what type of tax do you want to look at?" because there is still a structural deficit. i don't care what we ultimately do. we've got anywhere depending on which numbers you believe between $500 million and $1 billion in unfunded spending that needs to happen this year and the potential for even a higher number next year. so there's a big problem here. >> and this is historic. like, we've never gone this long with a budget stalemate. is this just going to be a

factor of his term that every year we're just gonna keep pushing it? this is a one office right here. >> i may differ a little bit. he asked for $4 billion in the beginning, and he was talking about sales taxes on people using laundromats and the like. so i think there has been compromise, but on the pension and the liquor thing, i think republicans want something very, very specific with pensions -- a 401(k) -- and i think the public is with them on that. but i'm surprised that he thought it was more damaging to him at this point. >> very quickly. >> you also look at the mechanics to the legislature. the senate and the house, both republican dominated, also don't agree with one another, so it's not just republican versus democrat. it's also urban versus rural and other constituencies going this way. >> well, let's talk about bill cosby, another big bombshell headline this week. let's take a look at what came out of the montgomery county district attorney's office this week. >> we are here to announce today charges that have just been filed against

william henry cosby. these charges stem from a sexual assault that took place on an evening in early 2004 at mr. cosby's home in cheltenham township, montgomery county. when u.s. federal judge eduard robreno unsealed legal filings that contained references to the civil deposition and we learned about allegations from other victims under similar circumstances, reopening this case was not a question. rather, reopening this case was our duty as law enforcement officers with a sworn obligation to uphold our constitutions and to uphold the law. >> that was first deputy kevin steele, who will become the district attorney in montgomery county at the turn of the new year. of course, the first question is, reaction -- he's been imperiled and under fire for months now, but every story's had to end with never convicted,

never charged. now he has been charged. where does this turn things for bill cosby? >> well, i think finally for, no matter where you are on this question -- and i've said this before -- i just get no joy out of even having to talk about this story. this is a north philadelphia kid who did well, represented so many different interests, and for these allegations from the beginning, it's been very, very sad. but i think, in the end, if he says that he didn't do anything wrong, he's finally gonna have an opportunity to be in court and let's see what ultimately happens. >> now, these charges are related to a case filed in 2004. we're going into 2016. does that affect the ability for this office to put on, prosecute, and win this case? >> i would defer to ajay as the lawyer here -- just a law school dropout -- but it certainly does. over that period of time, things are murky, but what's developed here is a perceptual thing that cosby has done this to some women in some form, and i think

what this d.a. has been saying is that these same procedures -- he used the same technique. that's what they'll put in. but convicting cosby, it's gonna be fascinating. the jury -- i think it will be a jury in this. i don't see it ultimately. i think there's a reservoir of goodwill, and i don't think this turns on legalisms as much as it does the victim and cosby before the jury. >> let's go to ajay. what are your thoughts? >> well, listen, i'm a corporate lawyer, so -- [ laughter ] it's like asking a veterinarian about military affairs because it sounds like "veterans." [ laughter ] but look, the burden is high, because you have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, and i think there is some truth to what dom is saying. one -- the case is pretty old. one count. if i'm a really good defense lawyer, all i have to do is poke a few holes, and especially when you don't have all of the evidence -- because you will have stale evidence, old evidence. memories tend to get weaker as you get older, when it gets older. so i don't think this is a slam

dunk. but you have to bring it in because the expiration of the statute. >> you know, jeff, they mentioned that it was some of the cases unsealed in july relating to the other women -- 50-some who turned up on a magazine cover who have said, "these are our stories." juries, as well, are about impressions, so does this mean they're going to bring in those 50 other cases, a tsunami of other people's stories, proven or unproven? and can you get around that with a jury? >> well, here's where i can speak. i can't speak to the court of law, but i can at least try to speak to the court of public opinion, where is guilty as charged -- in the court of public opinion. i believe it'll be difficult from -- and, again, not a lawyer -- to bring in not-related cases for this one specific charge. but where do you find a jury that hasn't heard of this in any way, shape, or form? i'm not saying that the citizens won't be fair. but how can you take away what you've seen, what you've read, and how social media has

amplified this through an incredible amount of -- millions upon millions of impressions? >> well, ajay, a lawyerly question -- the charge is aggravated indecent assault. it's a felony of the first degree. when you hear that, how serious is it, and how much time could you be talking about? i never know when i hear charges exactly how much time we're talking. >> truthfully, i don't know. it's very serious because a felony count. it's one count, but the statute, as you heard the press conference, lays out the various sections of the statute, and if you look at it from a factual standpoint, you know, was given a pill, was incapacitated, was there indecent assault? i mean, it almost seemed like what the d.a. was talking about the statute and the factual pattern that is here seemed to be a perfect -- two gloves fitting together. >> i would say this. if the -- i believe it could be substantial jail time, even. and at cosby's age and the

goodwill that's out there, i think that cuts against. so cosby should be punished i think is the public perception. but punishing bill cosby by sending him to jail for "x" number of years, that's quite a leap, despite how serious the allegation is. >> let's talk about the third, a big turn of the wheel here that everybody's talking about -- chip kelly out with the eagles. lurie didn't even wait until the last game was played against the giants. how do you look at this? was it the right action, or did he act too soon? give him another year or two, see if he can pull this thing together? >> i am a chip kelly fan, but i do think that what had happened here -- no, i still am, and, you know, we've conspired over this. and i like a lot of the things that he brought here. i thought he was refreshing and new and all that. but on the human level, he's not so much of a relater, to put it mildly. so, i think giving him another year, it seemed to be chaotic at this point. it seemed to be he had lost a number of guys. the worst thing is quitting, and i think some of these guys look like they may have. >> tam, i just have to say that

i held up a sign from the first game, after the very first game at the beginning of the year, that said "please fire chip kelly." i have to say that. i was there. i was there from the very beginning because i just could not understand. and, again, i know you guys probably know football better than me. i'll tell you what i do know. win, lose. i knows the ws and i know the ls, and, to me, i just didn't see it. and then there was something else about, i think, how he related to players and people, and i could never get a sense of who he was. i mean, he never really explained what was going on. >> he won two seasons in a row, 10 games each year, without any quarterback, and he never had good -- so he was a horrible general manager, a very good coach. watch him if he goes to tennessee titans with mariota. >> that's the philadelphia way. >> he will be a great -- he will be a great coach again. >> what happens to everything he leaves behind, though? the players he hired, the hurry-up defense. >> it's a mess. it's trying to figure out the

next coach then that could put all that together. it's difficult. >> but one thing will be different with the next coach. i don't think the next coach will have general manager-like responsibilities. >> so, who will get those general manager respons-- >> i think you're gonna see howie roseman has reemerged in the picture as it relates to the search for a new coach. tom donahoe, who comes from my pittsburgh steelers. >> you can always bring a coach in, but you have to -- it'll take another year to undo, unravel the general manager guffaws that chip kelly had. >> there are three big jobs in philadelphia -- mayor, archbishop, and eagles head coach, and two of them are lifetime. the third one is not. >> and who would have thought that the sixers' g.m. would have outlasted chip kelly. >> well, that may be coming. we may have a news break here at any point. >> well, it's going to be interesting to see over the days and the weeks what the people he let go had to say and what the new coach, whoever he or she -- he or she -- may be. >> welcome to philadelphia. >> come on in. >> all right. >> bring us a good woman. i'd love it. >> that would be wonderful. she could clean house. we'll take a short break and come back to "inside story." >> "inside story" is presented by temple university. temple fuels students with

academics and opportunities to take charge. plugged into the city, powered by the world. temple.edu/takecharge. ♪

>> welcome back to "inside story." let's talk a little bit about katie mcginty, who has patty murray -- very powerful democrat -- now on her side, coming out, putting out a statement saying this could be the seat that makes the difference on if we hold on to the senate. what does that mean for mcginty

in the primary and against toomey? >> well, i think, number one, it certainly gives her some added credibility for the primary. i mean, there are two other candidates who are running. but this is starting to feel a little bit like the possibility of the year of the woman in 2016. and the idea that if you look at the patty murray endorsement, this is about a bigger strategy of trying to take the senate back for the democrats in washington. so, i think they're definitely gonna be seriously behind her to try to make it happen. >> well, i read this, though, that joe sestak is such an awful candidate and mcginty is somebody who hasn't been fully vetted yet but she's very pleasant, held a lot of jobs, very smart, and, again, this is toomey's worst nightmare -- the presidential race. the off years he wins. he's widely recognized in this. tough in the presidential year, though. >> murray brings a lot of money with her. is it enough to counteract toomey, who has a ton of money, too? >> toomey will not be beat on the fundraising part, and he will not be beat, as he's

well-known for very strong constituent service. i remember rick santorum, who got slaughtered 2006. ran in 2000 in the presidential year against democrat ron klink, if most of us don't remember. santorum won. i'd like to think that pennsylvanians are smart enough -- i think they are -- to split their ticket. toomey has run and governed, i believe, very smartly. i'm not saying mcginty -- i like her. i think she's a strong candidate, as well. this is going to be a race to watch. if hillary is the democratic nominee for president and slaughter and republicans do not field a strong candidate that will compete in pennsylvania, then she could have coattails. >> well, let's talk about the gop -- christie looking like he's having a moment up in new hampshire. manchester union leader -- powerful paper up there endorsing him. donald trump comes out taking shots. that means you're doing pretty well. >> well, exactly. >> let's say chris christie does really well in new hampshire. is it enough? they go on to south carolina, where he doesn't necessarily seem to have legs. >> yeah. >> but is he smart?

was he right to time it this way? >> yeah, new hampshire's his spot. he's gonna do really well because on his feet, that viral video we saw of him talking about drug abuse and his friend, he's brilliant at that. but new hampshire is different than south carolina, and then the sec primary of march 1st. it's all ted cruz. trump is going after him because trump's gonna lose iowa to ted cruz. has to win new hampshire. and christie may be cutting into that. two or three of them are jockeying. >> what does it mean that trump is now saying he's gonna put in $2 million a week when we get to the new year? >> we've heard that for a while, and he hasn't done it yet. >> what's interesting about trump -- he hasn't used the money in traditional ways because the media -- and look at us doing it right now -- we're talking about him. >> free, free. >> he hasn't done tv ads, direct mail, any sort of recruiting of coalitions. but if he loses the first two -- and i agree with dom 100% -- that there's gonna be perception out there in the media and among maybe some republican and independent voters who can vote in some primaries, including new hampshire, that maybe his candle's been burned. >> republican primary voters are looking for the drunkest guy to

be their designated driver, okay? and donald trump happens to be that guy. but if you're looking for an establishment blowhard who is sort of an impolitic pugilist who's unwreckable, who can actually say whatever and get away with it, it's chris christie. so chris christie, through that lens, looks like a viable establishment candidate because we are obsessed with the headlines. the bolder they are, we like it. and trump happens to be the human click bait. and if it's not trump, it's got to be chris christie. >> well, we do have to ask the question, because many people had thought by now donald trump would be drummed out. here we are on the eve of the caucuses. he's still leading the polls. dom, could he actually have a shot at becoming the candidate? should we really get our minds around this? >> yeah, i think he could, but as i said, in iowa, the process -- i don't like iowa so much as saying "i've been there and seen it." and the caucuses are not for trump voters who are fired up, and i don't think they're coming to the caucuses. so as i said, then he goes to new hampshire, and the mystique is he's a winner. he's won at everything up and down the line.

once there's a loss, i think that starts to puncture it, but he still is viable. he has 25% to 30% of people so angry, so mesmerized by him that they fight with me. [ laughter ] and come after me on it. >> and me on facebook. >> well, exactly. in a way you cannot believe they are just mesmerized by this guy. they will vote for him to the end, but he doesn't go beyond that. >> let's talk about a guy who's won his race, and now it's time to start governing -- jim kenney. and he seems to be having a lovefest moment, showing up in the elf outfit with santa. i'm sure we'll see him at the mummers day parade. a lot of people excited about this. the question is, how long does the lovefest last, and how do you think he'll do when it comes to getting down to governing? >> well, i think one thing is, is that he knows all the players. i think different than maybe someone else coming in who wasn't already in city council. he has a good sense of the personalities, what legislation he's worked with people, which ones he's gotten along with, which ones he hasn't. i think that he's probably in pretty good shape through the budget. once they have to start making some tough decisions about what

they fund and what they don't fund, you'll start to see some breaks, as well as the fact that there are new council members coming in, as we know, this time. and that is a card that we really don't know how it's gonna get played. >> quickly, around the table, what should his first priority be? >> i think his first priority is really to deal with the whole issue of poverty. he's made that a key issue for his campaign, and i think we've got to figure it out for philadelphia. >> ajay. >> poverty, economic development. >> jeff. >> he's big on this concept of community schools. that's a way to bring wraparound services -- healthcare and such -- to public schools, and i think he's already shown that that's gonna be a big part of his agenda. >> dom. >> schools, definitely, because that's where it's the most visible, tangible short-term with long-term benefits. schools. >> we've had a crazy year -- all kinds of things -- whether it's terrorism, all the back and forth with trump, a lot of the protest movements. it's been a turbulent year. are we in a turbulent time? things have changed? or this was just 2015?

>> no, i think we are in a turbulent time. i went back and looked at some of the poverty numbers, and, you know, we have 46 million americans who are living in poverty today. the percentages are up across the country. people are really worried. i mean, there is something happening here around family incomes, and that's creating a lot of anger and a lot of instability. >> well, in turbulent times, is the terrorism, particularly here in the homeland. i think that has started to dwarf and drown out all the other issues. >> whenever you have economic uncertainty, when you have fears from within and abroad, you tend to go inward and you're seeing a sense of nationalism emerge. and today with social media, it's easy to spark outrage, it's easy to be outraged, and easy to recruit others who will join you in that outrage, so i think right now that's what we're sensing and feeling. >> well, the doctor, who's not a cardiologist, stole my answer, but it's social media and the amplification, and other years have been turbulent, as well. we just know more about it now. >> all right, we'll take a short break and come back to our inside stories of the week.

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the republicans in harrisburg were fighting each other over the state budget. that's right. each other. the republican state senate passed a responsible budget that "begins" to fund education but the republican house of representatives has insisted on a budget that fails to fund education and balloons the deficit. call your legislator, tell them to pass a budget that's right for pennsylvania.

>> "inside story" is presented by temple university. temple fuels students with academics and opportunities to take charge. plugged into the city, powered by the world. temple.edu/takecharge. >> welcome back to "inside story." inside stories of the week. sharmain, we'll start with you. >> yes, we've been talking a lot about what we need to accomplish, and really fighting poverty i think absolutely has to be at the top of our agenda. and one of the ways we do that in the new year is the earned income tax credit. please support that campaign for low-income workers. it really makes a big difference. >> dom. >> my inside story is, with the new year, turnpike is up 6% that we have to pay more in tolls, and yet bucks county courier times -- i love this article -- they tracked them. $33 million last year in uncollected tolls that they never got. $33 million. >> go get that money. >> go get that money. >> ajay. >> dom, speak of the new year, in may, the indiaspora forum will happen in philadelphia.

we beat out boston and silicon valley to host it. 180 of the most elite indians, people with indian descent, gather here. >> i wonder who was behind that. [ laughter ] >> jeff, we'll end with you. >> well, i think we have an exciting 2016 in philadelphia. we have the democratic national convention coming this summer. but it would be neat if we had the republican national convention, which may, for the first time for republicans since 1948, could we have a brokered convention where not one candidate gets the majority of delegates before the convention actually occurs? that would be fantastic for talking on "inside story" and for, perhaps, democracy. watch and see. maybe pennsylvania's primary will count. >> that will be good. a little bit of politics and drama always goes together well. well, we hope your new year is off to a good start, and, as always, we really appreciate you being here with us, so we hope you have a good sunday. go eagles, for what it's worth. [ laughter ] i'm tamala edwards. this has been "inside story." ♪

i'm nydia han, coming up next on "action news," the eagles are closing out their season without chip kelly. we have live team coverage of the final game. get ready to pay more when you hit the pennsylvania turnpike, a toll hike is in effect. the search for an and you say -- autistic boy comes to a search in allentown. those stories next on "action

news." good afternoon, it is

sunday, january 3 i'm nydia han. here some of the stories we're following for you on "action news." the eagles season is coming to an end and fans are weighing in on who their next coach should be, we have live team coverage. a man is shot execution style and killed in the port