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CNN NEWSROOM

Peace Talks to Begin Soon; Muslim Students Shot and Killed; Stewart Announces "Daily Show" Departure; Kayla Mueller May Have been Paired with ISIS Fighter

Aired February 11, 2015 - 10:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: All right. The possibility of peace in Ukraine now rests on high level summit talks that will soon begin. The leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine along with separatist groups are expected to start arriving at Belarus any time now to hammer out a cease-fire. That's a picture you're looking at in Minsk.

The stability of Ukraine is on the line. If there's no deal, Ukrainian President Poroshenko says he's ready to introduce martial law throughout the country. And next month the U.S. army says it will start training the Ukrainian army.

But as the crisis in Ukraine continues to spiral out of control, President Obama has yet to lay down a red line. In other words, Mr. Obama will not say what action on Russia's part will convince him to arm the Ukrainian military. But the President did say Western leaders cannot allow the borders of Europe to be redrawn at the barrel of a gun.

That did not sit well with the Kremlin and neither did the German Chancellor's alleged ultimatum that Russia come up with a solution for peace. According to Reuters, the Kremlin told a Russian radio station quote, "Nobody has ever talked to the president in the tone of an ultimatum and couldn't do so even if they wanted to."

So what happens now? With me, Liz Wahl; she's a former anchor who quit her job at the state-funded Russia Today Network saying the company in her words whitewashes Vladimir Putin's actions.

Welcome -- Liz.

LIZ WAHL, FORMER ANCHOR, RUSSIA TODAY NETWORK: Hi -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Hi.

President Putin is flying to Minsk to take part in these talks. Do you think that he will bend?

WAHL: Well, it is hard to say based on what we've seen of his behavior so far. I mean sanction after sanction doesn't seem to have deterred his actions in Ukraine if anything as we've seen in the past few months and weeks, especially the violence there has only escalating.

The attempt at a peace deal back in September -- that didn't hold. So unfortunately this is seen as a last ditch effort. But based on the rhetoric that you just heard from Russian leaders there, it seems unfortunately -- I mean the possibility is always there but he seems to be emboldened now. And I doubt that this is going to be a turning point where he's going to back down and remove his troops.

COSTELLO: Here's the thing. Here's the thing. I mean many sanctions have been imposed against Russia. Russia's economy is tanking but Vladimir Putin's approval ratings are at 90 percent. Why are the Russian people so willing to go along with him?

WAHL: Absolutely. I think that this kind of gets to the core of the problem because we see the power play of the Kremlin going on, on the ground in Ukraine at the moment. But we also see it on the airwaves and the media over the past year the Kremlin has expanded its propaganda organization. They just launched RT in the U.K. They also launched Sputnik claims to broadcast to dozens of countries over 100 cities around the globe.

And so -- and also independent media has come under tighter control within Russia so you're not hearing a diversity of voices within Russia. And as a result you're seeing strong -- I mean he's seen as a hero within Russia. And we're seeing the implications of that.

The public there is behind him. And that's the result of a very biased media that really skews perception of reality and has no incentive and no will to report the facts on the ground. And unfortunately it's the people of Ukraine that are stuck in the middle of this information war.

COSTELLO: Liz Wahl, thanks for your insight. I appreciate it.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM: a triple murder near the university of North Carolina campus. We're learning more about a possible motive. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: A horrific scene near the campus of the University of North Carolina where a man is charged with murder in the death of three Muslim students -- all three had been shot in the head.

And in the midst of chaos a father desperate for information and the cops who tried to hold him back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm his father. Take me to jail. You do whatever. I'm not staying here. I'm going to go in there and see what's going on.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: The suspect, 46-year-old Craig Hicks, in custody. He turned himself in after the incident. And while no official motive has been given, Chapel Hill police tell CNN it could have been motivated by a dispute over a parking spot.

Joining me now to talk about this, CNN senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns and HLN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson.

Joe, let's start with you. What more do we know about this case?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Right. As you said, the suspect is 46-year-old man Craig Steven Hicks. Police said an ongoing neighbor dispute over parking may have precipitated this. But a statement they put out also raises the question of whether it was a hate crime. The statement just came in a minute ago.

It says, "Our investigators are exploring what could have motivated Mr. Hicks to commit such a senseless and tragic act. We understand concerns about the possibility that this was hate motivated and we will exhaust every lead to determine if that is the case."

So he turned himself in on Tuesday night charged with three counts of first-degree murder. Hicks is said to be cooperating with police. Police say the victims in this case are all Muslim. Hicks is not.

The victims are Deah Barakat, Yusor Muhammad, Razan Muhammad Abu- Salha. They were young. Razan was 19. Yusor was 21. Barakat 23. Barakat and Yusor Muhammad were married. They were all shot in the head.

Also there's a sister there who is the other victim. All three were students. Barakat was a second-year dentistry student apparently raising money to provide dental care to Syrian refugees in Turkey. So that gives you the general picture of who these folks were.

We do know from Facebook postings that the suspect in this case has said he's an atheist. The news of these killings has certainly gone viral. The Council on Islamic American Relations and others questioning whether this was because of the victims' religion -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Right. So the investigation is in its early stages, Joey. But what would constitute a hate crime in police minds?

JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Carol, what ends up happening is that the net effect of this is murder. Certainly that will trump anything else. And what I mean by that is the punishment for murder could be the death penalty.

But what you want to know is what the motivations were. And so were the actions of the defendant here -- were they predicated upon some type of religious hatred? Were they predicated on hatred relating to the ethnicity or, you know, what he perceived to be something that didn't meet with his internal politics. And so that would be problematic. And so at the end of the day, Carol, what police want to do is they want the motive here. Why would you have someone who shoots three people in the head? What precipitated an action like that? And so it would go a long way in explaining exactly why this occurred, we know how it occurred.

COSTELLO: All right. We'll continue to follow this case. Joe Johns and Joey Jackson -- thanks so much.

JACKSON: Our pleasure -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Thanks Joey.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Jon Stewart is done with the daily grind. He's leaving "The Daily Show". What could be next for him? We'll talk about that next.

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COSTELLO: He made politics cool and the daily news funny. Now Jon Stewart is leaving "The Daily Show". The announcement coming last night, Stewart's stepping down with the 2016 elections on the horizon. So what's next?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON STEWART, TALK SHOW HOST: I don't have any specific plans. Got a lot of ideas; I've got a lot of things in my head. I'm going to have dinner on a school night with my family who I have heard from multiple sources are lovely people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So is this the end of the fake news era? Probably not. Let's talk about it though.

I'm joined with Tim Teeman, senior editor of "The Daily Beast". Welcome Tim.

TIM TEEMAN, "THE DAILY BEAST": Thank you very much, Carol. Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning. Thanks for being here. Were you surprised?

TEEMAN: Not hugely. I think when we saw Jon Stewart direct his film "Rosewater" which came out at the end of last year we realized there were more strings being added to the bow and clearly Mr. Stewart would like to do other things and spread his wings a bit.

I mean the key and the intriguing thing as you say is what direction that will be. His fans love him as you say as a news source. This was not a news show. But for many it fulfilled its role as a news show and as a commentary source as well for many people who felt disaffected and disillusioned by all of politics. So people will also be asking has Jon Stewart got a role as a public figure as well. And would he want to take that on? COSTELLO: Well, you know, more than one person is probably hoping

he'll take over for Brian Williams, right, because everyone is wondering. In fact Christiane Amanpour asked Jon Stewart, you know, kind of the same kind of question. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: In my mind this is all chicken. I'm just making chicken. Sometimes I'm making cutlets. Sometimes I make a nice teriyaki. Sometimes I just grind it up and feed it to baby birds but it's still chicken. You understand what I'm saying?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you think this chicken might decide to be a regular news anchor? I mean a lot of --

STEWART: Regular news?

AMANPOUR: Yes, regular news.

STEWART: Like yourself? Like a real journalist?

AMANPOUR: Like myself.

STEWART: I would say no.

AMANPOUR: Like a "Meet the Press".

STEWART: No.

AMANPOUR: No.

STEWART: I would say no. That I don't believe is in danger of happening. That I can pretty confidently state that I will not have my own room of situations. That's just a name I came up with -- a room of situations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So I totally believe him. There's no way, right?

TEEMAN: Well, the interesting thing with what he just said apart from really overdoing a chicken metaphor was to say that, look, he's first and foremost a comedian -- a very intelligent one and one with his eye on the news.

The show "The Daily Show" is about the collapse between entertainment and news. What he's satirizing every night. It's how like entertainment for good and ill the news business -- mostly ill -- the news business has become. I don't think he would really want to be in a position where he would have to as it were objectively present broadcast the news every night.

And actually Brian Williams is a very useful lesson here because if you look at the root of the problem which he's currently facing, the criticism with him is that he went too far over into the entertainment sphere compromising himself in ways and compromising himself as quote, "an objective broadcaster."

Does Jon Stewart want to find himself in that position? I would think not.

COSTELLO: I hope not. You're right about Brian Williams. Why can't you just be a journalist? Why do you have to be on "David Letterman Show" or why do you have to be on the Jon Stewart show? Is there a reason for that? Is it to attract a young audience? Because if they like you, they'll watch you no matter where you appear.

TEEMAN: Well, the problem -- one of the problems that Brian Williams had or has is the growing demand maybe on behalf of his network and other networks to put their anchors as more than people who just sit behind a desk and read the news. That they have to be in all places at all times and they have to be all things to all people as well as maintaining that veneer of objective authority. Now Brian Williams has found himself compromised in that sense.

Jon Stewart, I think, his fans like him. The fans of "The Daily Show" like him because his unique position is he can take a view on the news, he can take a view on politics, he can take a view on pop culture and really go between all of them. Leap between all of them. Not compromise himself because he's not presenting himself as an objective observer of these things.

He's presenting himself as the voice of the people watching these events unfold and feeling cynical, disillusioned or sometimes just aptly energized and, you know, these things are jokes to Jon Stewart. He's a joke teller but he's a serious joke teller.

I think newscaster, that would be deeply unattractive to him and his audience as well, I think.

COSTELLO: All right. Tim Teeman -- thanks so much for being with me. I appreciate it.

Checking some other stories for you at 51 minutes past.

Three years ago today pop singer Whitney Houston was found dead in a bathtub. Today the family is saying little about her daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown who was also found unresponsive in a bathtub. Bobbi Kristina remains in a medically induced coma. Atlanta area police are treating it as a criminal investigation.

In Australia, two men are charged with plotting terrorist attacks. Police raided a house in suburban Sydney and took the men into custody. A bail hearing is set for Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Soon we will say gone with the measles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Meet the youngest voice in the fight against the measles outbreak, Rhett Krawitt. Along with his parents the six--year-old is urging his California school district to support a law that would override the personal belief exemption and require every student to get vaccinated. Rhett who is a cancer survivor will get his measles shot in a matter of days. Chemo sessions have prevented him from being vaccinated.

In money news Apple reaches a vaunted new status among American companies. It's the first to see its value skyrocket past $700 billion -- yes, billion with a b. The next largest company, Exxon Mobil is worth just over half of that.

We're learning yet another disturbing detail about Kayla Mueller's life in captivity. Intelligence sources tell CNN that she may have been paired with an ISIS fighter as some sort of bride.

CNN's Pamela Brown has been working her sources. She joins us now with more. Good morning.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. This is based off direct intelligence of Kayla Mueller when she was in Syria as well as the supposition of how women are treated by ISIS.

So what we've learned here Carol from an intelligence source and a government source who spoke to my colleague Dana Bash, is that Kayla Mueller may have been paired with a male ISIS fighter during her time in captivity. And intelligence officials said that it's unclear whether she was coerced, sold or forced into that pairing.

And as we said, Dana Bash, my colleague, said that during her captivity Mueller may have been given as some sort of a bride to this ISIS fighter. There is still, you know, a lot to learn about this. But we have also found out here, Carol, that the photographs that ISIS sent to the family showed Mueller in Muslim garb and in a burial shroud that was provided over the weekend to the family and that helped forensic examiners and the family come to this conclusion that she had died. But the pictures do not provide definitive evidence on how and when Mueller died. That is something officials are still trying to figure out -- Carol?

COSTELLO: All right. Pamela Brown reporting live from Washington. Thank you. I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The dog is supposed to be man's best friend so when a company built a robotic dog, Jeanne Moos found out that not everyone is getting a kick out of it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: When a company famous for its robots -- robots with names like Cheetah and Big Dog, released video of a new little dog, named Spot, robot fans get their kicks. Not one kick but two.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's wrong?

Did they just kick the dog?

MOOS: Keep watching.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow.

MOOS: The wow factor is over the kick rather than the rob robot's ability to regain stability that was being demonstrated.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At least you don't have to clean up after it.

MOOS: Spot can run up steps. It's electric power makes it quieter. It beats the pants off older gas-powered models. What's circulating online is a vine of the kick captioned OMG. Faces flinch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's still equivalent to being an actual animal.

MOOS: Posted on commenter, "Find a different way than kicking the dang thing to get your point across folks. Goodness." Come on. It's not alive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a machine. You do the tire kick test when you go get a new car.

MOOS: Maybe the engineers at Boston Dynamics are amused. They seem to have a sense of humor evidenced by the time they put horns on Big Dog and played matador. Spot isn't the first robot they kicked. Big Dog, by the way, was so famous he was parodied in a comedy video that included an encounter with a real dog and, yes, he got kicked.

The Spot video ends with no robots were harmed in the making of this video but they are still getting grief.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't kick the robot. That's bad etiquette.

MOOS: But it is impressive to see all of these robots bounce back -- unlike the humans.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Thank you, Jeanne Moos.

Ok, want to bring you back to Belarus for just a second because that peace meeting is just about to get under way. As the violence continues in Ukraine, there is this ray of hope the German Chancellor, the French President, the Ukrainian President and the Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to meet very soon right here in this palace in Belarus.

Hopefully they'll come up with some sort of peace deal or at least cease-fire in Ukraine because, of course, as you know people continue to die there.

In the meantime President Obama has still not decided whether or not he'll decide to arm the Ukrainian rebels although the United States is now training some military personnel within the country of Ukraine. We're not sure how many Ukrainian soldiers or what exact military personnel that involves. But that is under way as well.

Of course we'll continue to talk about the situation Ukraine and the peace talks in Minsk, Belarus throughout the day on CNN.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello.

Another hour of NEWSROOM straight ahead.