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FBI Investigates Possible Durst Cold Case Ties; 9/11 Victim Identified 14 Years Later; As U.S./Israeli Relationship "Reassessed" Obama Addresses Iran Directly; Working to Replace Jackson with a Woman on $20 Bills. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired March 20, 2015 - 14:30   ET

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


BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: How would that affect, or not at all, this one case here he's tied to moving forward?

[14:30:08] PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Well, I think first of all the FBI should do what the FBI is doing. They must do that because --

BALDWIN: You do?

BROWN: Yes, because he might be linked to something. They should try to solve cold cases. However, the attorney is pointing out something very important. We know, regardless of what the jurors ever say, they never heard anything about the case, they did hear something about the case. Everybody has a TV and Internet. Anybody walking into that court of law, if they know that the FBI has been looking into links, and any kind of supposed links can be established, oh, yeah he probably did that girl in, too, then it can influence how the jury thinks, because the jury is not a professional jury, and they can go either way in the court of law.

BALDWIN: Pat Brown, thank you.

BROWN: Thanks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Just ahead here, as the U.S., as the Obama administration is, quote, unquote, "reassessing" its relationship with Israel -- their word here -- the president is sending a video with a message directly to Iranians.

Plus, 40 percent of 9/11 victims still have not been identified. Did you realize that? Today, one family now knows a little bit more about a son that lost his life 14 years ago. We'll speak live with that mother of the young man who was just I.D'd. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:35:41] BALDWIN: Just past the bottom of the hour. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Here we are now more than 13 years past the 9/11 attacks and you may be surprised to learn that half of the human remains recovered at Ground Zero still have not been identified. Of the 2,700 people who died that day at the World Trade Center, only 1,640 sets of remains have been positively matched to a particular individual so identities of the rest are still unknown. Finding out who they belong to is a long and difficult and highly technical and painful process. It's essential for so many of these families, still.

The New York City medical examiner's office this week said new DNA testing led to the positive identification of 26-year-old Matthew Yarnell, who worked on the 97th floor of the South Tower. He was a vice president of technology at Fiduciary Trust.

And his mother, Michele, joins me on the phone from her home in New Milford, New Jersey.

Michele, thank you for coming on.

My condolences so many years later to you.

If I may, before we get into all of this, how this happened, can you share a little bit about your son, Matt, with me?

MICHELE YARNELL, MOTHER OF MATTHEW YARNELL (voice-over): Well, Matt went through school in New Jersey. He was top of his class. Very bright young man. Graduated from Carnegie Melon. He was a very intelligence, fun-loving guy. Would do anything for anybody. He was just that kind of person. He was always there first. He was always pulling jokes on people. Had a great sense of humor. Loved to drive his M.G. Just a very typical young man. Wonderful kid.

BALDWIN: I know we were saying in commercial, I was thanking you for coming on, and even 13, 14 years later you hated having to talk to me about this. But let's talk about what happened in the last week when you discovered -- it's been 13-plus years since your son went to work that day in the South Tower on 9/11. Take me back in this last week, to how you felt when you found out finally that he has been identified.

YARNELL: It was a bit of a shock. Kind of opened up all of the old wounds and old pains initially. I guess it kind of put to rest any -- I wouldn't say doubt. We weren't doubtful about the outcome but it kind of gave us closure. It gave us direction and we could finally put everything to rest.

BALDWIN: You know, I think in talking to some people today about your story and stories of these people who haven't been identified, I think a lot of people may not realize as we mentioned that 40 percent of those victims that day are still unidentified and from what you understand, Michele, how did the medical examiners go about all these years later identifying these loved ones?

YARNELL: From our understanding, every time there's a new development in a DNA processing or technique, they go back and they recheck every single remain that they have at the museum. And this time his matched and they put an I.D. tag on it and contacted us. They're not giving up, which is good.

BALDWIN: I guess my final question would be, for other loved ones, parents, husband, wives who still don't have -- you use the word closure. Don't have that yet. What would you say to them? YARNELL: Be patient. I mean, apparently the M.E.'s office is not

going to give up and hopefully -- I hope for everyone that lost a loved one there, they'll have that closure some day, and hopefully sooner rather than later.

BALDWIN: Michele Yarnell, thank you for calling in. I really appreciate it.

YARNELL: You're very welcome.

[13:39:42] BALDWIN: Coming up next on CNN, we'll talk about the president who has sent a message directly to the people of Iran about the controversial nuclear talks. The timing is significant. This all comes as the U.S. says it's reassessing its relationship with Israel. We'll talk to Michael Smerconish about that.

And also, dramatic video just in. Rap mogul, Suge Knight, accused of that deadly hit and run, just collapsed inside a courtroom. Hear what the judge had just told him. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:44:24] BALDWIN: Just into us at CNN, I want to share video with you. I know it's hard to see. You see a yellow jump suit here. This is rap mogul Suge Knight he collapsed into this courtroom. People responding to him. This is raw video inside this Los Angeles courtroom showing Suge Knight bent over. "L.A. Times" reporting that at one point he was unconscious in the courtroom. This reportedly happened moments after a judge set his bail. His bail, you want to know, set to $25 million. Co-founder of Death Row Records, he is facing murder charges, attempted murder charges related to that hit and run, double hit and run in late January. So, Suge Knight. As soon as we get more, we'll bring it to you.

Let's move along to this. An "unbreakable bond," that phrase has been used to describe the relationship between the U.S. and longtime historic friend, ally, Israel. But now the Obama administration is -- and I'm quoting them -- "reassessing aspects of that relationship." The White House says it cannot ignore the provocative statements Benjamin Netanyahu made this week as he fought for political survival, fought for his re-election. The Israeli prime minister appeared to throw a two-state solution with Palestinians out the door. But now that he's been re-elected, he's walking back those comments. He tells NPR he still favors a two-state solution but the conditions are not favorable for it to happen right now. Still, the White House seems unconvinced.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Steps that the United States has taken at the United Nations have been predicated on this idea that the two-state solution is the best outcome. Now our ally in these talks has said that they are no longer committed to that solution. That means that we need to re-evaluate our position in this matter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: CNN political commentator, host of "Smerconish," our own Michael Smerconish, with me to first react to -- I can't underscore this enough. First, you have Netanyahu's apparent flip-flop. He's re-elected. U.S. and Israel go back a long time. Historic relations. To hear the word "reassessing" with regard to relations with Israel is a big deal.

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR & CNN ANCHOR, SMERCONISH: I think it is a big deal. And, Brooke, when you think about where we were just several months ago when rockets were flying from Gaza into Israel, and there's a funding measure that came up for the Iron Dome and it passed the Senate by Senate vote and a near unanimous vote in the House, the idea that anyone would step out with regard to the relationship with Israel and cast a contrarian vote, unheard of. And yet, here we are now in this current situation where a number of individuals -- as you know, Democrats boycotted the speech by Prime Minister Netanyahu and --

(CROSSTALK)

SMERCONISH: -- did not attend when he spoke, when he came to Washington. And the Obama administration, as you can tell, is angry about what has transpired.

BALDWIN: Let me come back to you because I think also what's significant is timing after this reassessing is the president addressing the people of Iran. But standby for that. Let me just stick on this point, which is fast forward to ahead of 2016, the presidential election, you have to imagine that this reassessing will be taken by Republican candidates and used against Democrats, potentially Hillary Clinton. How would they use that and how would she have to respond?

SMERCONISH: I immediately tweeted when Prime Minister Netanyahu said on the eve of his election when he said, relative to a two-state solution, this is now a question that will be asked of every 2016 candidate.

BALDWIN: You hit it.

SMERCONISH: They need to now weigh in. As far as I know, Secretary Clinton has yet to weigh in, in the aftermath of the most recent flap. Most GOP candidates are coming to Prime Minister Netanyahu's side, as they did during his visit here, so Republicans perceive this as an opportunity for realignment. We heard plenty of talk in past decades about the realignment of votes and, historically, I think President Obama received 70 percent or 71 percent of Jewish votes. That's a low number relative to other Democratic candidates.

Will there be a realignment? I'm not sure. One observation I would like to make to you.

BALDWIN: Sure.

SMERCONISH: Because so much focus has been on Prime Minister Netanyahu. Look at what he said and then he coasted to victory where perhaps he was going to go down in defeat. It's true he said something that took us all by surprise. What about the Israeli voters who responded to that? President Obama won't last forever. Prime Minister Netanyahu won't be in office forever. But the constituency that responded to that message is something that will stick around for quite some time. We need to be mindful of that.

BALDWIN: Point taken. Point taken.

Now to the point about the President Obama responding and also with this video message to the people of Iran.

Here's a piece of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The days and weeks ahead will be critical. Our negotiations have made progress but gaps remain. There are people in both our countries and beyond who oppose a diplomatic resolution. My message to you, the people of Iran, is that together we have to speak up for the future we seek.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: OK. Two things. This is from me. One, I wonder if you have the president of the United States addressing the people of Iran, if this is a sign that the deal is imminent, A. B, the timing of this is not lost on me.

[14:49:42] SMERCONISH: I love your first point. Here's how you will know whether a deal -- not only because you'll see if a deal comes forward but does that communication get blocked by the Iranians? Do they have free access to it? Is there an Internet shutdown? If that message is free flowing and is able to be shared among young Iranians with cell phones, then I buy into what you just said, which is that a deal is imminent. And actually, it not that he was going against those with whom he's negotiating, this was all a wink and nod. They want him to do this to help him sell the deal.

BALDWIN: What about timing post-Netanyahu re-election?

SMERCONISH: I paid attention online and I know that critics are trying to put two together. They are trying to say he rebuffs Netanyahu and he's currying favor with the Iranians, I don't see them in the same breath. I think they are independent actions.

My reaction to that take, if I can just quickly say this --

BALDWIN: Yes.

SMERCONISH: -- is what makes the president think -- this is what baffles me -- that it matters what young Iranians think. The mullahs don't need to respond to that political constituency. So I just find it odd, and maybe it's my naivety, why does he think it even matters what young Iranians think? This deal is either going to get cut by the religious hierarchy or it's not going to get cut. BALDWIN: OK. Michael Smerconish --

(LAUGHTER)

-- I don't know.

SMERCONISH: I don't know either.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: I don't know if it's optics or something deeper or not at all.

Thank you so much.

SMERCONISH: Good to see you.

BALDWIN: Watch Smerconish, tomorrow, 9:00 a.m. eastern and, again, 6:00 p.m. here on CNN.

Thank you, sir.

SMERCONISH: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Coming up next here, you're asking me why I have this hot cash. Should a woman be the face, right here, on the $20 bill? We'll speak live with a woman leading a movement to find out which female trailblazers could be candidates to replace Mr. Jackson. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:55:25] BALDWIN: It's a man's world when it comes to money. I'm not talking corporate life. I'm talking cold hard cash. There are no women on any paper currency. Could that be in the future?

Here's a cryptic answer from our Treasury Secretary Jack Lew to Christine Romans, my colleague.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: When will a woman be on the $20 bill?

(LAUGHTER)

Do you have that power and can it happen?

JACK LEW, TREASURY SECRETARY: We've been looking at a whole range of issues on how to modernize our currency. And I'm not going to make any announcement today.

(LAUGHTER)

But we're looking at a lot of interesting things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: "Not making any announcement, looking at interesting things," his response here.

But my next guest says, if she has her way, a woman will replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill in 2020. She leads the group called Women on 20s, which has a poll up online. I will spare her and just say vote, vote, vote. She says voters can pick from 15 women to grace the $20 bill. Some you may expect, Susan B. Anthony, Civil Rights Icon Rosa Parks, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. There are names like Margaret Sanger, who opened the first birth control clinic.

So Susan Ades Stone, she's the executive director and strategist on Women on 20s.

So, welcome. It's nice to have you here.

SUSAN ADES STONE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & STRATEGIST, WOMEN ON 20S: Thanks, Brooke, for having me.

BALDWIN: Why should we kick Mr. Jackson off and have ladies?

STONE: We have so few women that we really see in our every day lives who are iconic and historic heroes, and we think that should be changed. The $20 bill has a number of significances. Andrew Jackson was not a fan of paper money. He was also someone who has become more known for the negative aspects of his legacy. The Indian Removal Act and deaths of thousands of Native Americans who were moved off their land.

BALDWIN: I ran through a few potential contenders for the 20. How did you all come up with these different women?

STONE: Well, we used a very strict rubric. We looked at their impact on society and how difficult it was for them to achieve their goals. And we put out a survey. We narrowed it down from 100 to 30 and that survey went out to 100 people. Many of the people who participated were historians, women historians, and academics, and they voted, and we took those numbers.

BALDWIN: Do you have a favorite? You have to have a favorite.

STONE: Every time I wrote a new bio, that was my favorite. I'm not pulling your leg here. I really love them all. I don't have a favorite.

BALDWIN: How would this -- let's say this actually would happen. Jack Lew says OK. How much would it even cost to yank all of the current 20s in circulation and reprint 20s with say Rosa Parks' face on them?

STONE: Every denomination goes under redesign every ten years to stay ahead of counterfeiters. The money is in the treasury budget to do the design. As long as we stay within the requirements, which is you have to be dead for two years and you have to be someone of great stature and you're supposed to be recognized by the public, but that's a tall order for women. So that's why we're doing this, to get more of these women known to the public.

BALDWIN: OK. Just quickly, if people want to vote, where do they go?

STONE: www.womenon20s.org.

BALDWIN: Womenon20s.org.

Susan Ades Stones, thank you very much. Keep up posted.

STONE: You're welcome.

BALDWIN: We'll be watching.

STONE: OK. Bye.

BALDWIN: And let's continue on.

[14:59:09] Top of the hour. You are watching CNN here on this Friday. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Let's begin with these twin suicide bombings. They have now killed 135 people. And ISIS says -- and I'm quoting them -- "This is the tip of the iceberg." We just gotten word of a statement now from by the al Qaeda group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, AQAP, denying any connection to Friday's deadly suicide bombings at these two mosques at the capitol of Yemen. The terror group is claiming now yet another round of violence, this time, in Yemen, a day after a deadly museum siege in Tunisia. Today's attack happened in the capital, Sanaa. Two Shiite mosques were crowded with worshippers at the time of day when the first suicide bomber detonated his belt packed with explosives. As people ran in trying to help the wounded, the second bomb went off.