Comedian Tracy Morgan in Critical Condition; Awaiting Bowe Bergdahl's Arrival Stateside
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everyone. Thanks so much for joining us this Saturday. You're in the "CNN Newsroom." I'm Poppy Harlow, in for my good friend, Don Lemon. Let's get right to it. Comedian Tracy Morgan hospitalized at this hour. He is in critical condition after a tractor trailer hit his limo in the early morning hours overnight. We are learning new details on the crash that killed one person and also injured seven others. Morgan had just wrapped up a comedy show in Delaware. He was riding in that limo bus on the way home. That's when a tractor trailer reportedly smacked right into it on the New Jersey turnpike. Morgan is hospitalized and his family, we are told is by his side right now. The 45-year-old Morgan is, of course, known for starring on NBC's "30 Rock" right alongside Tina Fey, also for his time on "Saturday Night Live" alongside comic superstars like Jimmy Fallon. Right now, many of his fellow comedians are pulling for him, sending him their best wishes. The "SNL Weekend" update team tweeted "Wishing a speedy recovery to our friend, Tracy Morgan." I want to go straight to CNN Alexandra Field. She is live in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Alex, you've been there all day. First of all, give us the latest on his condition.</s>ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's still in critical condition. He was in intensive care this morning. We have no word on the extent of his conditions. He do know though that he remains in critical condition with at least two other people who are here at Robert Wood Johnson, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Just about a half hour away from where that crash happened. His reps put out a statement acknowledging that his family is here with him. They say that he is receiving excellent care. At this point they don't expect his condition to change today. He is one of seven people who were taken to hospitals following that crash. One person killed in the crash overnight and we are now learning more about the people who were onboard that limo bus with Tracy Morgan. We know the man who died, James McNair, 63 year old, was a fellow comedian and a long time friend of Morgan's. We are also learning that two of the other people who were hospitalized were fellow comedians. No word on their current conditions. But we know that one of those comedians is</s>HARLOW: You know, Alex, this happened around 1:00 a.m. so the question always comes to mind - any indication of alcohol was involved? Also, if there had been other charges filed yet.</s>HARLOW: This is still under investigation, Poppy. At this point no charges have been filed but the Middlesex County District Attorney's office is looking into this. New Jersey state police say that what they know at this point is that it appears that the driver of the tractor trailer failed to recognize slowing traffic in front of him and he tried to veer at the last moment but still smashed into that limo bus. Forcing it to flip over. Investigators are looking into reasons why he may not have seen the traffic slowing down. The NTSB, National Transportation Safety Board, their investigators are looking into this, Poppy, and they will be looking at any kinds of issues that are related to commercial limousines and trucking.</s>HARLOW: Yes. As well the question about seat belts. Were people wearing seat belts? Our hearts go out to everyone affected in this. Of course, one life lost and we're wishing the best for everyone at the hospital. Thank you. Appreciate the report today, Alex. Meantime, the Army hospital in Germany treating Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl says there's still no timetable for when he will be released. But we do know his health is improving by the day. Today marks one week since the Taliban handed over Bergdahl to U.S. forces in Afghanistan. They held him captive for nearly five years. He was freed after a prisoner swap deal that also set free five members of the Taliban that were being held at Guantanamo Bay. It is a deal being called, "too lopsided" by critics. Many from the political right. But the former commander of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan told CNN's Michael Smerconish today, "Politics later. Bring military captives home now."</s>JAMES MATTIS, RETIRED ARMY GENERAL: Bowe Bergdahl was not a soldier. He was a U.S. soldier. He is one of us. Even if we have disagreements or disappointments or worse, if the investigation were to find misconduct, we leave that as a separate issue to be handled quite capably by the U.S. Army and under the U.S. Constitution and the laws that have been passed by the U.S. Congress.</s>HARLOW: We are told that when Bowe Bergdahl is well enough to return stateside he is going to first report to a military hospital in San Antonio, Texas. That's where our Martin Savage is right now. Also joining me, Erin McPike. She is at the White House with the Washington side of all this. I want to go to you, Martin, first. You've been there, really throughout the week. This is where he is expected to go. Why San Antonio? Also, do we know that that is where he will be reunited with his parents or are we unclear on that at this point?</s>MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Poppy. He comes here because of one main reason, that's the building behind me. That's the Brooke Army Military Medical Center. This is the place that the Army deems some years ago that it would be the receiving point for all returning P.O.Ws. Those that were held captive. That's the reason he comes here. There is nothing special about it. It is the standard protocol when handling former prisoners of war. It is also where the reunion is supposed to take place and that, too, is standard. The reunion is often the most emotionally overwhelming of the entire transition back to normal life, I guess you can call it. It is a carefully cared for kind of an event. It would normally take place inside of a hospital room and the first meeting between parents and their son would normally only last a few minutes. However, we all know, a lot has transpired between last weekend when he was freed and this weekend when you would expect he would already be here. Whether anything has changed in that protocol specifically, we don't know. We do know that there is a standard way of treating former P.O.W.s and right now they continue to follow it even with his stay there in Germany. Poppy.</s>HARLOW: I do want to talk about the treatment that we think he might get. Of course, between we don't have lot of details on his condition but what we do know, Marty, is that the hospital there in Germany has said that Bowe Bergdahl is free to call his parents and at this point to the best of our knowledge, CNN has been told he has not made that call yet. Do we have any sense of what kind of treatment, physical, emotional, mental treatment, he will get? What state he will be in when he arrives there in San Antonio?</s>SAVIDGE: There is really three phases that any returning soldier goes through. Number one is they come into friendly hands which happened with Bowe Bergdahl last weekend. Then they get stabilized at a regional medical center and that's what is taking place there in Germany. The decision when he gets transferred here, that's deemed by the medical team and primarily also by his psychiatrist, who is already being assigned to him, a military psychiatrist. When he comes here they will, of course, continue all of that. A lot of medical studying being done on him and also they will make sure that psychiatry wise, he checks out. After that they want to move him down to Fort San Houston, just down the street and get him into regular housing. Because the main process here, as they call it, reintegration, working with his family, slowly reintroducing him to life. So all those little decisions that we do without any thought on a daily basis, that's all something being new to him because he has been controlled for five years. It is going to be a long, difficult road.</s>HARLOW: No question about that. Appreciate the report throughout the week and staying there for us, Marty. Thank you so much. Let's go now to the White House. As I mentioned earlier, the president is being pounded by some fellow lawmakers, furious they were not informed and they did not get that 30-day notice before this prisoner swap took place. Erin McPike is there for us. You know, Erin, much of the criticism, no surprise there, is coming from the political right, right? Party versus party. But not all of it. There are members of the president's own party not happy at all about it.</s>ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Poppy, that's right. Including two prominent former Obama defense officials who have spoken out about that. Defense secretary Robert Gates, former defense secretary, I should say. He was, of course, in the Bush administration. But also the president's former national security adviser, General Jim Jones. He was on our air last night, criticizing the deal and Democrats in Congress want to hear more justification from the White House.</s>MCPIKE (voice-over): President Obama returns to Washington from a whirlwind European tour, facing a growing storm over last week's dramatic release of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl. A key question in this NBC News interview, why didn't he tell Congress beforehand?</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We saw an opportunity and we took it. I made no apologies for it. The main concern was we have a fast and delicate situation that requires no publicity.</s>MCPIKE: Sources say the Taliban didn't threaten to kill Bergdahl as administration officials suggested to senators. And lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are skeptical. Including Democrat Dianne Feinstein who chairs the Senate intelligence committee. She told Bloomberg News -</s>SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: I don't think that there was a credible threat that - but I don't know. I have no information that there was.</s>MCPIKE: What's more, law makers from both parties don't buy the administration's initial explanation that Bergdahl's health was urgently deteriorating. Defense secretary Chuck Hagel is under pressure to release the proof of live video of Bergdahl from last December that the White House showed senators to make that case. Despite the shifting stories and growing political backlash, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton defended the president. Telling ABC News -</s>HILLARY CLINTON, FMR. STATE SECRETARY: If you look at what the factors were going into the decision, of course, there are competing interests and values. One of our values is we bring everybody home off the battlefield the best we can. It doesn't matter how they ended up in a prisoner of war situation.</s>MCPIKE: But even General Jim Jones, one of President Obama's former national security adviser, has questioned the deal. Telling</s>CNN - GEN. JIM JONES, FMR. OBAMA NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I come down on the side that you don't negotiate with terrorists. I think that's a rock-solid principle. I think that once you show that there is weakness there, you open the door for possibly other bad things to happen.</s>MCPIKE: Now, this discussion moves to the House next, Poppy. Five high-ranking administration officials will brief members of Congress on Monday night. That would be led by deputy national security adviser Tony Lincoln and then on Wednesday, Defense secretary Chuck Hagel will testify before the House Armed Services Committee.</s>HARLOW: Yes, I have a sense that this is a long way from over when it comes to the politics of all of this. We will be watching closely and get to you with more later in the show. Erin McPike, appreciate it, for us at the White House. Coming up next here in the "Newsroom," will California Chrome go down in the history books? In less than three hours he goes for the Triple Crown. We will take to you the track live after a quick break.