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CNN NEWSROOM

A-Rod Suspension Likely Today; Source of a Baseball Scandal; U.S. Extends Embassy Closures; Driver Plowing California Beach Boardwalk; Obama Admin. Blocks Apple Ban; Waiting for Snowden to Speak

Aired August 5, 2013 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And the NEWSROOM starts now.

High alert: 19 American embassies and consulates shut down in unprecedented closure and threats from al Qaeda. Is an attack imminent?

Speed ball, A-Rod and word of a major 214-game suspension. All eyes on the Yankee slugger as he's set to play in tonight's game in Chicago. Will he take the field?

And beach boardwalk tragedy. New video from Venice, California, of a car plowing into a crowded boardwalk killing one and sending 11 to the hospital. Ahead, what police know about the suspect.

Plus this.

ASHTON KUTCHER, ACTOR: It's a tool for the heart. That's limitless. I'd like to introduce you to the iPod.

KEILAR: Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs, a blockbuster new movie. CNN going one-on-one with the star. How he got into the role and the surprise history of the Apple genius.

NEWSROOM starts right now.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Brianna Keilar in for Carol Costello.

Major League Baseball is expected to bring down the hammer on Alex Rodriguez today. The Yankees' third baseman tops the list in both stature and in punishment. Among players the league will suspend for their involvement in the biogenesis scandal.

Reports say A-Rod's suspension will be for at least a whopping 214 games. But A-Rod still plans to play for the New York Yankees tonight in what would be his first game of the season.

CNN's Rachel Nichols joining us now from New York.

Rachel, how is A-Rod going to play tonight if he's suspended? I know a lot of people are wondering that. How does this work?

RACHEL NICHOLS, ANCHOR, CNN SPORTS: Only in the crazy circus that is the Major League Baseball drug investigation world right now. He is actually entitled to play, if he appeals the -- the suspension and this is where things get a little bit complicated.

This is if baseball suspends him under the drug agreement that they have with the players' union. He is entitled to an appeal and he is entitled to play during that appeals process. So what would the other situation be? Well, Commissioner Bud Selig is allowed to use something called the special powers of the commissioner. It's a rare thing, but he is allowed to say that he is suspending Rodriguez, quote, "in the best interest of baseball."

And if he decides to take that unusual step, then Rodriguez can't play during the appeal. He would not be allowed to show up on the field tonight in Chicago for the Yankees. Now reports are that he's not going to go so far and do that, but it is possible and it is what we are waiting for as it ticks down to when the suspensions are expected to be announced around noon today.

KEILAR: OK. So Major League Baseball has some discretion here and it's really just that hanging question of how they use it. But it's interesting, Rachel, you know, we talk so much about A-Rod. But what's lost in some of this is the other players. So many more that we're talking about. What else are we going to be seeing besides this penalty to Rodriguez?

NICHOLS: Yes, I mean, this could be the largest performance enhancing drug scandal in U.S. sports history. We're looking at possibly another dozen players suspended today. And the big question when it comes to stars like the Texas Rangers' Nelson Cruz, when it comes to the Detroit Tigers' Johnny Peralta is what are they going to do? Are they going to be like Ryan Braun did a couple of weeks ago, accept that suspension, take it now?

And if a guy like Nelson Cruz does that, then he would be able to rejoin his team by the time the playoff starts.

But the trick there is, is the team going to make the playoffs without one of its big stars? And if he decides instead to fight the suspension and, as we said, these guys can play during their appeal, he can help his team during that time, but depending on how the timing works out with that appeal, hey, maybe that suspension kicks in instead right during the postseason.

So we're going to have to wait and see how these guys decide to handle it. We know how A-Rod is going to handle it. He has said he is going to fight everything tooth and nail.

KEILAR: It'll be so interesting to see how this affects the race for the pennant.

Now, Rachel, stay with us because this is your real house and I know you have a question for my next guest here.

How did Major League Baseball and A-Rod get to this point?

Well, let's go back to January when the "Miami New Times" broke the story about the Biogenesis clinic in South Florida.

CNN's John Zarrella covered it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The anti-aging clinic was called Biogenesis. It was run out of this office building in Coral Gables, Florida. Now the vacant business is in the center of yet another saga of performance-enhancing drugs, PEDs, and Major League Baseball players.

A report published in the "Miami New Times" says this clinic was a pipeline to PEDs for several players.

TIM ELFRINK, MANAGING EDITOR, MIAMI NEW TIMES: Well, it's clear that Biogenesis, like a lot of anti-aging clinics, was selling an awful lot of HGH. A number of other drugs, you know, that are widely banned in sports, testosterone, anabolic steroids. You know, the records that we've seen indicate that, you know, as for the average population, he was providing these same kind of drugs to professional athletes.

ZARRELLA (on camera): And they're banned substances?

ELFRINK: That's correct.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: And the man that John interviewed, "Miami New Times" managing editor Tim Elfrink, joining us now on the phone.

And, Tim, Rachel Nichols will be popping a question at you, as well. But first off we want to know, did you foresee this fallout for baseball and A-Rod when your paper first got hold of the biogenesis story?

ELFRINK: Well, thanks for having me on. You know, we knew when we published this story first in January that it would be a pretty amazing story. I don't think anyone quite anticipated the full impact it would end up having.

But you know, we knew from the records we saw, from the interviews we did, from the investigation we did into Tony Bosch and his background, that these records were what they looked like and they indicated, you know, that he had these links to a number of professional baseball players in terms of performance-enhancing drugs.

So it is an incredible fallout. You know, I think we'll see the full extent of it today at noon today when baseball finally announces its suspensions.

KEILAR: It's sort of you pulled the thread and this whole thing just unraveled. And your newspaper profiled the man who's seen as the whistleblower in this scandal. His name is Porter Fisher, a name that I think a lot more people are becoming familiar with. His story really seems like something out of a Hollywood movie. Tell us about him.

ELFRINK: Yes, Porter is a classic whistleblower. He was originally a customer at this clinic called Biogenesis, ended up becoming an investor and was brought on as the marketing manager and, basically, got upset when he wasn't paid his money back. He felt that the owner of the clinic, Tony Bosch, was dishonest.

So he took a number of records from the clinic and ended up sharing them with us. And his intent was never really to expose the athletes involved to show the wrongdoing going on at this clinic selling illegal drugs and sort of subverting state laws.

So Porter took a lot of risk to do that. He stuck his neck out and, you know, I think he deserved a lot of credit for being the guy that blew the whistle on this clinic.

KEILAR: Yes. And it all came down to his beef with Bosch.

Rachel Nichols, what do you want to ask Tim?

NICHOLS: Well, I just wanted to ask Tim -- first of all, congratulations on this story. You guys have done a great job with it. And you -- since this initially came out we've heard further allegations that Bosch's clinic was selling PEDs not just to professional athletes and citizens, but to minors, to high school students.

And I'm wondering in the conversations you've had and the records you've seen, how evident is that and what do you think the next step is going to be there with the federal government possibly getting involved?

ELFRINK: Yes, it's a great question. You know, that side of the story is really evolving right now. The "Miami Herald" and a number of other folks (INAUDIBLE) reported that a pair of assistant U.S. attorneys here in Miami have started reviewing whether the case be made that Tony Bosch also selling drugs to high school athletes and to minors in Miami-Dade, which, obviously, would potentially have some serious charges against him.

I think we have to wait and see what kind of evidence there is on that. I know Porter has said that he has evidence of that in some other interviews. You know, it also leads to a larger question here, we're all focused on what Major League Baseball is going to do today in terms of these athletes and these suspensions but I think there is a larger question remaining.

What kind of repercussions Tony Bosch can see down the line for his role in running this clinic.

KEILAR: And this really may be just the beginning. We all remember Barry Bonds testifying in the BALCO trial, and we're wondering if this is going to be a 2.0. So much ahead of us, I think.

Tim Elfrink, the managing editor of the "Miami New Times" and CNN's Rachel Nichols, thanks so much to both of you.

And now the latest from the closures of the U.S. diplomatic posts in the Middle East and Africa over that threat from al Qaeda. The unprecedented shutdown has been extended at 15 embassies and consulates for the rest of this week. And four new locations in Africa have been added to the list.

One area, in particular -- of particular concern is Yemen. This is where the U.S. is on high alert. Yesterday a Yemeni soldier could be seen manning a checkpoint leading up to the U.S. embassy.

And joining me now to talk about the shutdown is Phil Mudd. He is a senior research fellow at New America Foundation. He's also worked for the CIA and the FBI.

Thanks for being with us, Phil.

PHIL MUDD, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW, NEW AMERICA FOUNDATION: Good morning.

KEILAR: So I'm wondering. The U.S. is saying there is no new threat. We've passed Sunday, which was the night of power. What some observers have said would be an auspicious day to carry out an attack as terrorists would see it anyway.

Why extend the shutdown? Is this just an abundance of caution?

MUDD: I think it's probably an abundance of caution. You remember we're still in the wake of Benghazi where people criticized the government for not doing enough, but it's also probably an indicator of the credibility of the source of the information.

When I was looking for a decade at the threat matrix, the matrix of threats coming in the U.S. government at the FBI and CIA, on a rare occasion you get information that was credible enough in terms of the sourcing that you'd want to warn the U.S. -- the American people and I'm sure that's what's happening in this case.

KEILAR: So the "New York Times" is describing this situation as a, quote, "a strange wait-and-see climate surrounding a threat that appears to be both specific and maddeningly vague."

I think that's what a lot of us who are covering it feel about it. What are Americans really to make of it? It's so amorphous.

MUDD: I think what Americans should make of this, if you're in the decision-making chair in Washington, again, the FBI or the agency, you're between a rock and a hard place. You're out there warning people knowing that the warning is so vague they're going to say, I need more information to take action.

That said, if you don't warn them and something happens, what they're going to say is, you had information, you didn't tell us? So when you've got vague information from a credible source, you've got to make a call. In this case the call was, we better tell people even though they're going to be frustrated with how vague it is.

KEILAR: Give us a little insight here from your time at the CIA and the FBI. You know, since the terror group knows the U.S. is on to them. Is it possible that the entire situation is averted or might they just lay low, change the way they communicate and carry out their plans later?

MUDD: There's a difference between plots and plotters. You can delay a plot. For example, you might have al Qaeda operatives in Yemen saying, hey, they're on to us, we had to lay low for a while. But unless you stop the plotters and not to be blunt as a kill-or-capture operation, unless you stop the plotters, they are going to return to the plot.

Once they've made a commitment to the murder of innocents, they will not stop unless they themselves are stopped. So I think if this plot is averted for a while, it will return at some point if the operatives are still on the battlefield.

KEILAR: And so we wonder if this is going to continue, as well.

Phil Mudd, thanks for your insight, we appreciate it.

MUDD: My pleasure.

KEILAR: Now witnesses say that he looked like he wanted to create mayhem. Thirty-eight-year-old Nathan Campbell is locked up this morning charged with murder after driving down the crowded Venice Beach boardwalk on Saturday. The woman that he killed, a 32-year-old from Italy. Her husband told police they were on their honeymoon.

Paul Vercammen is with us from Los Angeles.

Terrible story, Paul. Just heartbreaking that someone may have done this on purpose. What do we know about the suspect?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Well, Brianna, the suspect is right now in downtown jail here in Los Angeles on $1 million bond.

And, Brianna, you're from Southern California, think about the timing. A summer Saturday on the Venice boardwalk when it is absolutely jammed with both tourists and locals taking that sun down stroll.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERCAMMEN (voice-over): Surveillance video taken from a nearby restaurant shows the suspect's car plowing into people on the crowded Venice boardwalk and swerving around barriers.

DAVE BLACKBURN, SANTA MONICA: He just drove and took that left turn down the center of the boardwalk. And just started driving and bodies were scattering and bodies were flying in the air, and people were screaming and it was absolute mayhem.

VERCAMMEN: A second camera angle shows the driver getting out of his car, apparently casing the popular boardwalk. He gets back into the sedan and floors it.

LANDON BLACKBURN, EYEWITNESS: He had to have pressed his foot to the gas pedal. His gas -- you know, pedal to the metal because the tires started screeching and I saw him and he was looking for blood. That guy was -- that guy's intention was to kill people. VERCAMMEN: An Italian tourist on her honeymoon was killed and 11 others injured in a scene a quarter mile long. The suspect is 38- year-old Nathan Campbell of Los Angeles.

Just two hours after this horrifying hit-and-run, Campbell surrendered to police in neighboring Santa Monica. Authorities say he told them, "I think you're looking for me."

The woman killed is Alice Gruppioni, 32 years old from Bologna, Italy. The Italian consulate says Gruppioni and her husband Christian Casadei were married July 20th and that the new groom was by her side at the time of the accident, and tried to pull his wife away from the speeding car.

If there is a motive in this carnage, police aren't saying right now. But they did say that Campbell was bent on evil.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERCAMMEN: And a little more on the victims. They were said to be wrapping up the Los Angeles leg of their honeymoon and next headed toward Tahiti -- Brianna.

KEILAR: That is so terrible. Such a beautiful woman, so full of life, it's such a pivotal part of her life. Terrible.

Paul Vercammen, thank you for that.

Good news -- taking a turn here, I should say. For gadget lovers and for Apple, you can still buy the iPhone 4 and the iPad 2. These and other older Apple products were going to be banned because of a patent dispute between Samsung and Apple but in a rare last-minute move the Obama administration overturned this decision.

And Alison Kosik is live in New York with the latest on this. Alison, so this applies to products that are on the AT&T network, right?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. To the AT&T network.

What is interesting in this whole story is that the unlikely savior in this was U.S. trade representative ambassador Michael Froman and it came one day before the ban would have gone into effect. Now, the U.S. trade representative says the technology at issue is used so much that banning it would be a big disruption to the economy.

So, now it means that these older iPhones, these iPads, they're going to stay on store shelves. So, go ahead and put a check mark in the win column for Apple, because these older iPhones and other gadgets, they've been selling really well because they're cheaper. Samsung, of course, coming out and saying it was disappointed by the decision -- Brianna.

KEILAR: OK. So, the other thing, Alison, is we don't really hear. I mean, this is pretty extraordinary that the White House got involved here. I don't -- I cover the White House. I don't remember this happening during the Obama administration.

How rare is this?

KOSIK: And that's a good question. And it is very rare. You're right about that because the last time something like this happened was under Ronald Reagan, and it's got really big implications here.

KEILAR: Wow.

KOSIK: The South Korean government said today that it's concerned over what the negative impact is going to be. The negative effect the decision is going to have on the protection of patents held by Samsung. Now, we did see Samsung shares fell about 1 percent in overseas trading.

But the U.S. trade representative says Apple and Samsung, hey, they can still duke it out in court. In fact, the two have other court battles that are happening right now over patent issues. So, maybe a win for Apple today, but maybe not tomorrow. There could a win for Samsung at some point, Brianna.

KEILAR: That's right. They won the battle, will they win the war? We will see. And will it affect consumers?

KOSIK: Well put.

KEILAR: Yes. So, we will continue to follow that and talk about how it affects all the real folks out there. Alison Kosik, thank you.

Now, still to come -- as the world waits to hear from Edward Snowden, he's now a free man in Russia, we're getting insights into the NSA leaker's life from his lawyer. We have a live report from Moscow, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Let's get you a check now of our top stories.

Senator John McCain and Lindsey Graham are expected to arrive in Cairo later today to meet with Egypt's interim leaders. The country has been embroiled in chaos since Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy was forced to step down during a coup last month. Morsy supporters have been camped out for weeks, demanding the democratically elected leader be reinstated.

And California commuters don't need to worry about delays just yet. A strike by Bay Area Rapid Transit or BART workers was called off Sunday night after Governor Jerry Brown stepped in and ordered an investigation into a contract dispute. Union workers want higher pay and they accuse management of refusing to negotiate on wage cuts. BART has denied that claim. The investigation is expected it last one week.

And take a look at this, in this video posted to YouTube, what is that you say? Well, strong winds with some gusts between 40 and 50 miles per hour sent umbrellas flying into the air Sunday in Coco Beach, Florida. And according to the National Weather Service, actually, this is pretty terrible. A teenage boy was injured when he was hit by a beach canopy.

It looks pretty amazing, Indra, but it's also dangerous.

Indra Petersons joining us now live from New York. What happened here?

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, I mean, another reason when they talk about thunderstorms why you want to stay out of the beach. It's not just the lightning, but what you have is that strong down draft and actually see that backward, here we go, again, on the radar.

You're talking about strong, straight line winds and right at the front edge of that down draft, you can get a gustnado. You said it. So, very strong winds and attached to that. That's what they saw yesterday. That could happen in any one of the strong thunderstorms that roll through Florida or anywhere else.

Let's talk about some other crazy weather. Speaking of crazy weather, almost seven inches of rain in Hutchinson, Kansas, yesterday morning. I mean, flooding potential very high and unfortunately, it looks like more rain in the area today. Kind of these thunderstorms or thunderstorms where you picture that cloud that really stays above your house and doesn't go anywhere.

That's what we're dealing with thunderstorm after thunderstorm throughout the day and I went forward in the forecast and looks like they're talking about flooding threat all the way throughout the week. So, that is something we're monitoring.

Also severe weather threat today, anywhere from Montana down through Kansas. We're going to have the threat for, yes, isolated tornadoes, but more likely large hail and more damaging winds throughout the area. From those thunderstorms and, of course, in the Southeast some more rain, as well.

So, pretty impressive. Any time you see that thunderstorm, Brianna, we're watching out for any kind of severe weather.

KEILAR: So, fine line between fascinating and dangerous, I think, when it comes to the severe weather.

Indra Petersons for us, thank you.

PETERSONS: Sure.

KEILAR: Now that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has left the Russian airport, he's got a new place to stay and been offered a job. Could he come out to speak?

We saw him briefly leaving the airport after getting asylum for a year, but we haven't seen him publicly since.

Phil Black is live in Moscow. So, Phil, when you spoke to Snowden's lawyer last week, he said Snowden would make a decision in the near future who he would speak to. Has his lawyer said anything since?

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We've been in almost daily contact with his lawyer and, to be fair, he's being pretty tight lipped ever since Snowden walked from that airport last week. He said back then that Snowden intends to speak publicly and he stands by that.

But, no, no timetable on when or where or any of these things. We know that Snowden has just spent his first weekend in Russia as a political refugee, but we don't know where he is. Whether he is in Moscow, the sprawling capital of 10 million people or moved somewhere else to this vast country.

We're still relying on the same tantalizing details that we learned the evening that he walked, that he's apparently staying, receiving help with American expats. He wants to adjust to his new home first and foremost and he's desperate to get his father over here as soon as possible, Brianna.

KEILAR: So, technically, Phil, Snowden is a free man, but he's certainly afraid. His lawyer has told you that he is concerned for his life and health because he thinks American intelligence is chasing him. Might that impact whether or not we hear from him or even the sort of venue that we might hear from him in?

BLACK: Indeed. You certainly think so, yes. Like you say, technically a free man.

Another point is whether the Russian government wants him to speak publicly. It's interesting to note that up to this point the Russian government itself has not said a word publicly on this issue. Neither the government nor the President Vladimir Putin said anything when he walked from the airport. It would seem they were waiting to see precisely what the United States reaction to this development is.

And, in particular, whether the U.S. is going to cancel that planned summit between Presidents Obama and Putin here in Moscow early next month. If that meeting is canceled, as the White House has suggested, it could be then that could be a very powerful signal indicating just how angry the United States is on this issue. But also how much Russian and U.S. relations have deteriorated over the past 18 months or so, Brianna.

KEILAR: Certainly. And President Obama said he didn't want to be wheeling and dealing over Edward Snowden.

Well, here he is doing just that. Phil Black for us from Moscow -- thank you.

You know, meantime, we're still waiting for the sentencing of Bradley Manning. He is the former army analyst who was found guilty last week of leaking classified documents to the Web site WikiLeaks. Manning's father will be a guest on "ANDERSON COOPER 360" tonight. You can see that at 8:00 p.m., only here on CNN.

We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)