Congressman Tweeting Young Model Speaks Out; 230-Lb Tuna Capsizes Boat
ROMANS: Good morning. Welcome back to EARLY START this Monday morning. This has been a hot topic for days now. The congressman caught tweeting a young model during the State of the Union address, he thought, he thought that young woman was his daughter. A "NEW DAY" told you exclusively. A DNA test showed she wasn't. Well, Congressman Steve Cohen is breaking his silence and he talked with our Dana Bash.</s>DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, how did it feel, congressman, when you found out that the woman you thought was your daughter is really not?</s>REP. STEVE COHEN, (D) TENNESSEE: I was totally stunned. I didn't -- when I took the DNA tests, I did it to satisfy her need. She said that she didn't know who her biological father was and her mental health, she needed it, but I thought it was just perfunctory. So, I felt confident for sure that it's going to come out that I was the father. When I found out i wasn't, I was floored.</s>BASH: How did you initially think that she was your daughter? Did you get a phone call from the mom?</s>COHEN: No, I thought about the mother. I couldn't sleep one night and I Googled her, and it came out that she had a bio written up on her web page, and it said she had a daughter born on the 22nd of April in 1988 and that kind of -- when we were together.</s>BASH: This, obviously, was not meant to be public. It was because you sent a tweet during the "State of the Union," you know, professing your love for her, and people are wondering who it was, and you said wait a minute, it's my daughter. Talk about what this has been like for this to be in the public arena.</s>COHEN: It's not comfortable. I mean, it's a personal issue. I'd like to maintain it personal.</s>BASH: Is there any concern now about the fact that she has had these three sort of tumultuous years thinking, going from thinking one man is her father to another and the back to him about just kind of the emotional roller coaster she's been going?</s>COHEN: We've both been on a roller coaster, and I understand that. I would like to think that the experience she's had at getting to know me has been good for her. I mean, going to the white house, which she and I did. It was the Christmas party, and I was proud to have her there and introduced her as my daughter.</s>BASH: Now that you know that you're not her father, what's your relationship?</s>COHEN: Well, we still communicate. I still care about her greatly. And I think she cares about me. And I hope and plan to continue to have a relationship. And, I think of her still as my daughter.</s>PEREIRA: An interesting story for sure. One we've been watching.</s>ROMANS: I can't believe that story, actually.</s>PEREIRA: I know.</s>ROMANS: I mean, every twist is more --</s>PEREIRA: Exactly.</s>ROMANS: Unbelievable.</s>PEREIRA: Word just into CNN now. We told you this story about the 24-year-old Norwegian woman convicted in Dubai of having sex outside marriage after reporting that she had been raped. Well, she has now been pardoned. Marte Deborah Dalelv claimed she was sexually assaulted by a co-worker while on business in the United Arab Emirates. She had been sentenced to 16 months in prison. It's not clear now that she's been pardoned if she's going to stay in Dubai or she will leave.</s>ROMANS: Michael Jackson's mother will be back on the witness stand when her wrongful death trial against concert promoter resumes this morning in Los Angeles. Katherine Jackson faces more cross- examination from lawyers for AEG Live. She became confused and tired during questioning on Friday, and the judge adjourned the court early. Jackson's believe claim</s>PEREIRA: Here's the big story with a happy ending. A man had to be rescued off Hawaii -- in Hawaii when his boat capsized. Guess what caused it? A 230-pound tuna. The fish apparently grabbed on to a fishing line, pulled hard, by the way, throwing Anthony Whitman (ph) into the water and overturning his 14-foot boat. His leg was actually caught on the line. Luckily, he was able to shake himself free. And when rescuers got there, he was sitting on top of the upside boat. Oh, and by the way, the tuna was still on the line. There it is. A couple of friends who came and saw the boat to shore discovered that. They got to keep the fish, by the way, as a bit of thank you for their help in saving him.</s>ROMANS: I lost my boat, but I kept the fish.</s>PEREIRA: My thought is, and we'll bring in "NEW DAY" anchor, Chris Cuomo, because he is our resident fisherman. Don't ever fish for a fish that is bigger than your boat.</s>PEREIRA: True or false?</s>CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, NEW DAY: Can they lose guideline?</s>CUOMO: You always want to go for the biggest fish, but Kate and I were just talking about how lucky he was that the fish stayed on the boat.</s>PEREIRA: Absolutely.</s>CUOMO: Oh, and that he lived.</s>PEREIRA: Oh that, too.</s>KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR, NEW DAY: And that he survived.</s>ROMANS: I mean, adding tied up, he, himself, tied up in the line.</s>BOLDUAN: That guys is like, I for some reason, don't have a taste for tuna anymore.</s>CUOMO: Exactly right.</s>BOLDUAN: Who isn't is my question?</s>CUOMO: What's today? Is it your birthday?</s>BOLDUAN: It's not my birthday. It's going to be someone's birthday, though.</s>ROMANS: Maybe tomorrow might be someone's birthday.</s>BOLDUAN: I'll tell you, guys, I woke up in sympathy labor pains I was so excited.</s>BOLDUAN: It was kind of ridiculous, but we're going to be watching that, right?</s>CUOMO: Could have been gas, by the way, just so you know.</s>CUOMO: The baby -- she's in the Lindo Wing, it's called, right? The Lindo Wing of the hospital. I am a little less urgent. Having been through this three times, she went in there this morning, seems to be a very intentional entrance into the hospital. It could mean that we're, you know, some hours away. We don't know much detail about her birthing plan.</s>BOLDUAN: Right. It's true.</s>CUOMO: Right? If this is an induction, if they're going to induce --</s>CUOMO: We don't know. So, I'm in the father mode. Very calm.</s>BOLDUAN: Very clam.</s>CUOMO: Very clam.</s>BOLDUAN: Letting it happen.</s>CUOMO: We're happy she's there. We've got a cover. We have, what, 1,500 or 1,600 people --</s>BOLDUAN: Every single person. The interns are also going to be reporting live. We're going to be all over it as we should be. It's fun to cover, fun, happy events.</s>CUOMO: That's exactly right. I was going to say that, but not as well. It is nice to have something that will definitely shed joy, we're hoping, and has significance certainly to that culture. So, we're going to be all over. What else do we have?</s>BOLDUAN: We got lots of other headlines we're watching over the weekend. We have dueling protests across the nation this weekend between supporters of George Zimmerman and those angered by his acquittal. Well, now, the focus is really shifting to stand your ground laws especially one in Florida and many other states around the country. Many asking, is it time to review those laws, change those laws.</s>CUOMO: Interestingly, there had been a little bit of a trend in states moving away from them. Now, some states are saying they're emboldened by this. So, we're going to take it on. We're actually going to have a debate on the show today. We have people with very different takes on this.</s>BOLDUAN: I'm actually really looking forward to that.</s>CUOMO: Showing what the kind of range of discussion it is on it. We're also going to talk about two major big political comebacks.</s>CUOMO: We've got -- you see them on your screen right there, Eliot Spitzer and Mr. Anthony Weiner. Both, obviously, we know their back stories. We're going to look a little bit at how they're approaching their comebacks and we're going to look at their wives roles, right, because there are a little different takes on the situation.</s>BOLDUAN: Different approaches to these comebacks. How the wife plays especially when there's a scandal surrounding any politician? That's always something everyone watches, and now, what roles do these wives have in their comeback?</s>BOLDUAN: We have three "Cs."</s>CUOMO: We have three "Cs." We have comebacks, we have controversies, and we have conception.</s>BOLDUAN: I was wondering whether how you're going to do that.</s>PEREIRA: Not so much conception.</s>BOLDUAN: Well, there had to be a conception.</s>PEREIRA: All right. Thanks, guys. Coming up, A-Rod's big comeback on hold. Why he won't be coming back with the Yankees today? We got the "Bleacher Report" coming up. I wonder if they're on baby watch on the "Bleacher Report."