Return to Transcripts main page

NEW DAY

Nepal Earthquake Death Toll Climbs Over 5,500; Candidates Weigh in On Baltimore Unrest; New Report Questions Police Brutality Claim. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired April 30, 2015 - 06:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:57] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to Baltimore.

For the second night in a row, a 10:00 p.m. curfew and heavy police presence did go a long way to keeping the streets largely clear and under control.

But the anger in Baltimore is not unique. Protests in support of Freddie Gray and simply the desire for better policing have been breaking out coast to coast. In New York more than 100 arrested in violent clashes with police.

And now, we have this explosive report in "The Washington Post" saying another inmate who was in the police van with Freddie Gray though separated by a partition, says that he thinks Gray was trying to injure himself.

Now, the motto of "all lives matter" and specifically "black lives matter" after cases like this has become a rallying cry in our country. Here in Baltimore, of course, it is Freddie Gray. In South Carolina, it was Walter Scott. You remember, his cold blooded murder caught on somebody's cell phone video, sparking outrage.

The violent protests here like what we saw in Baltimore, you didn't see them there though. We're going to talk about that. That's one of the big issues that we're going to get to this morning within a whole host of news.

So, let me get you back to New York because there's a lot going on involving this in New York and across the country, and big news for you as well.

So, back to you there.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, Chris. We'll get back to you very shortly.

But, first, we want to tell you that the family of Warren Weinstein, he's the American hostage who was accidentally killed by U.S drone strike, they received help from the FBI when they decided to pay a ransom for his release in 2012. This is according to the "The Wall Street Journal." The FBI vetted a Pakistani middle man used by the family to transport the money, and also provided intelligence to enable the exchange.

Sources telling CNN that the Weinstein family now believes that money was transferred into the wrong hands.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Jurors say they are deadlocked in the case of the man charged with killing 6-year-old Eaton Patz in New York back in 1979. The panel has been deliberating those charges against Pedro Hernandez for ten days. However, the judge told the jury keep deliberating despite objections from defense attorneys who wanted a mistrial declared.

CAMEROTA: Russian space officials expect an unmanned spacecraft that failed to dock with the international space station to re-enter the earth's atmosphere in about a week.

Flight controllers lost contact with the rocket now orbiting the Earth, spinning out of control. It was carrying supplies to the space station crew including food, fuel and oxygen. NASA says the crew can get by until the next resupply mission in June.

PEREIRA: Let's get back to Baltimore and Chris Cuomo -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right. Mick, thank you very much.

It's a little bit of a look at what's going on in the world around you as you start your NEW DAY.

But back here in Baltimore, we want to bring in Joe Madison. He's the host of "The Joe Madison Show" on Sirius XM. In fact, he's live on the air right now. So, we've agreed to simulcast this interview and get as big an audience as we can, to take on some very important discussions.

Joe, it's good to have you on my screen. It's good to be heard on your show.

Let's talk about Baltimore. We saw what happened in South Carolina. You did a town hall there where you dealt with people and what happened with Walter Scott. And while this issue about policing and how communities feel about it especially impoverished ones spreads across the country. But we haven't seen it play out like it has here in Baltimore. Why Baltimore? What makes this place different?

(INAUDIBLE)

CUOMO: Joe?

All right. We're going and try to figure out this Sirius XM/CNN thing so that we can both here each other and have this conversation. Joe has got unique insight into it.

Let's take a break to figure it out.

When we come back we're also talking about Hillary Clinton because she's weighing in on the violence in Baltimore as well.

So, let me bring it back to you for New York so we can see what we're going to talk, Mick.

PEREIRA: Yes, we're actually going to talk about all the 2016 presidential candidates.

[06:35:03] We know Hillary Clinton has made some statements yesterday, calling for changes in the tactics of police in regards to the African-American community. We'll take a look at the other hopefuls and some that have declared, some that have not and how they stand in their view and what they've made comments on about Baltimore, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: All right. It's time for CNN Money now. Chief business correspondent Christine Romans is in our money center.

Christine, you are looking at the economic impact of the unrest in Baltimore.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You guys, economists tell us if the protests are contained, they end this week the overall effect will be absorbed by Baltimore's pretty big economy. It won't be affected much, but the same cannot be said for paycheck-to-paycheck workers.

There had been businesses that have closed down or closed early because of the curfew. Think bars and restaurants. And several major conferences have been canceled. A couple conventions canceled, a conference of medical workers. That means low wage workers who would have been working around the hospitality industry will not be paid. And that can be devastating for them.

[06:40:01] Yesterday, the president stressed how much the recent destruction is hurting the economy. On a radio show this is what he said. He said, quote, "Whoever was working at that CVS, they right now wondering are they going to get a paycheck. That family that needed their prescription filled are now wondering how far they have to dry and get a prescription for grandma."

There has been disruption, yes, but longer term economists don't expect a big hit to the economy because of any of this.

CAMEROTA: That's good to hear.

PEREIRA: We certainly hope Baltimore can recover as well because that's a place that needs that kind of recovery most desperately. All right, Christine.

CAMEROTA: Thank you.

PEREIRA: To Nepal now where the death toll is expected to surpass 5,500 victims. Among the devastation though shocking stories of survival. An 18-year-old pulled from the rubble of a collapsed building. He had been there for five days.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh.

PEREIRA: And listen to this, our own chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta helped revive a young mother who nearly died in Nepal this morning. He was along on a chopper ride-along. She was in the chopper where she had been rescued. She was in cardiac arrest and he was able to help shock her heart and regained her pulse.

But before that incredible moment happened Sanjay filed this report for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We know the official death toll here in Nepal went up by at least one today. Neighbors watched from nearby windows, still clinging to hope. After all, this 4-month-old baby was rescued after more than 22 hours under the rubble, alive with no apparent injuries. This man was buried for roughly 80 hours. Rescue workers administered oxygen and IV drip while they spend ten hours digging him out.

There is hope. Everywhere you look. And there are reminders of the people who once lived and breathed in this tiny village.

(on camera): Just looking around this small little town outside Katmandu, you get an idea of the type of people that lived here, the pride that they took in all things around them.

(voice-over): This five-story temple built in the 17th century stayed standing when so many of the surrounding buildings tumbled to the ground.

Last Saturday at 11:56 a.m., a woman shouted out from her second story window to alert everyone else to the initial tremor. But then she didn't make it out herself. She died trying to save others.

(on camera): They've already been able to identify the person, this woman. She's 45 years old. They showed us this ID card.

She has two boys. They were able to survive. And now, we know she has perished in this as well. It is such incredibly, incredibly grim work.

Can you tell me what kind of person she was? How would you describe her?

(voice-over): "She was a very good person," he told me. "She was a mother. And she was my friend."

It is clear Penashwiri (ph) won't soon be forgotten, because the reminders are everywhere, growing stronger, like the flowers among the rubble.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Katmandu, Nepal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: Some incredible stories that Sanjay's bringing us.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh.

PEREIRA: I want to tell you a bit more about what happened when he was on that chopper ride. He was doing a chopper tour with his producer Ben Tinker (ph). They were seeing the devastation from the air.

Apparently, a woman that had been rescued went into cardiac arrest, Sanjay's training kicked in and he started thumping on her chest. Her pulse came back as we mentioned. They got her to the hospital in time and her life was saved. Remember when he first got there, he'd been there only hours when he did that surgery on the young woman.

CAMEROTA: That 8-year-old girl who had been injured by the earthquake and Sanjay performed brain surgery on her. Thereby -- I mean, along with other doctors, thereby saving her life.

It's so funny, Michaela, we're so used to Sanjay being on television.

PEREIRA: He's our Sanjay, he's our friend.

CAMEROTA: He's our Sanjay, he's great on television. You forget he's a practicing, working neurosurgeon.

PEREIRA: And that comes first, before the story telling, that is what comes first for him always.

CAMEROTA: We'll have more on that story for you tomorrow. Meanwhile, the East Coast could be getting soggy.

Let's get to meteorologist Chad Myers keeping track of the latest forecast for us.

What are you seeing, Chad?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, April showers, Michaela.

PEREIRA: OK, fair enough.

MYERS: Summer's on its way. My son is ready to get out of school already. Got to settle down. Got a couple more months to go, at least a month to go.

Scattered rain showers, Richmond, all the way back down to Charlottesville, even down across parts of Atlanta yesterday. But that rain has moved away. It will move out into the ocean for the weekend, and nice beautiful week next week.

I mean, this really starts to ramp up. Look at these temperatures from Chicago into Indianapolis, into St. Louis all the way into the 70s. In New York City, D.C., 79 and 75. Very, very pleasant there. Atlanta all the way almost up to 80 degrees.

And here's what next week looks like. Welcome to summer all in one big fell swoop. Above average in the east for a change.

[06:45:01] This did not look like this all winter long. It's about time. Michaela, this is for you.

PEREIRA: This is for me.

MYERS: Ladies.

PEREIRA: And I got you nothing.

CAMEROTA: It even looks like a heart. He drew sort of a heart on the map.

PEREIRA: I heart you Chad Myers.

CAMEROTA: Thanks, Chad.

MYERS: All right, love you guys.

CAMEROTA: Let's get to Chris in Baltimore on the streets of Baltimore telling us what the situation was there last night and today -- Chris.

CUOMO: Look, the good news, Alisyn, Michaela, is that the curfew held and it was a relative night of calm in Baltimore. That doesn't mean that the situation is over. It means that when there are leaders on the ground, it goes better.

However, the leaders here, special the electeds, they're under scrutiny. And no one fits that description more than Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. Does she have any answers at all in the investigation of Freddie Gray? She is coming on to the show to discuss.

Listen for yourself.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[06:50:03] HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What we have seen in Baltimore should indeed I think does tear at our soul. From Ferguson to Staten Island to Baltimore, the patterns have become unmistakable and undeniable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: An impassioned Hillary Clinton there using her first major policy speech of her 2016 campaign to speak out about criminal justice reform and protesting across the country.

How is the racial unrest going to factor into the 2016 election?

Here to weigh in, "New York Times" reporter Patrick Healy. Also with us, CNN's senior political reporter, Nia-Malika Henderson.

All right, guys. You've got all the players kind of line up in our magic wall here.

Why don't we start with Hillary, Patrick. And we'll get your take on her speech. Did it resonate? I mean, it sounds as though it fits into her broader campaign theme of tackling inequality.

PATRICK HEALY, NEW YORK TIMES: That's exactly right. I mean, I think it was a really powerful speech because she was able to bring a lot of the feelings that are going on about what's happening in Baltimore, what's happened in Ferguson and South Carolina, into kind of a broader theme that you can't simply lock up men and women, you can't simply, you know, push through kind of the mass incarceration policies that America's had for the last 20 years.

PEREIRA: Policies interestingly came from her husband.

HEALY: Right, exactly.

I think instead of talking about being hard on crime, between talking about putting more police on the streets, this is talk from her about really kind of addressing core issues about wages, about jobs, about what's going on in communities where there is violence. Not simply just saying, well, you know, the solution is build more prisons and put more people in them.

PEREIRA: Right. Let's move onto Rand Paul. And, Nia, let's listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Baltimore last night. I'm glad the train didn't stop. It's something we talk about not in the immediate aftermath but over time, you know, the breakdown of the family structure, the lack of fathers, the lack of sort of a moral code in our society. This isn't just a racial thing.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

PEREIRA: You know, it's interesting, Nia, he seems to be a bit in sync actually with Hillary Clinton on the lack of fathers, the criticism of sentencing disparities. He's getting a whole lot of heat about that train comment though.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: He is. I talked with advisers about this. And he very much understands at this point that it's probably something he shouldn't have said. He told his advisers that he really meant to say that now wasn't the time to talk about it and go to Baltimore and talk about his five-point plan around criminal justice.

And as you said, he does have some things in common with Hillary Clinton -- Hillary Clinton in fact name-checked him in her criminal justice speech. And so, they want many of the same thing -- body cameras, more data collection.

So, we do have this moment, I think, where there is some sort of bipartisan agreement about what should be done.

PEREIRA: All right. Let's move onto Jeb Bush. Patrick, we'll tee him up. Seem to be planting a foot in both worlds walking the line.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: There has to be a commitment to the rule of law and law enforcement. At the same time, there needs to be balance with the fact that if there is this case, it ought to be investigated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: Think he's going to have to take more definitive stand during the GOP primary?

HEALY: Yes. I think he's sort of walking up to some harder positions. He's been talking about low-cost alternatives to mandatory jail sentences, talking about the sort of supporting law enforcement but treating this as sort of like a case by case basis.

It feels at this point a little bit loose, you know, for Jeb Bush. But he's been giving a lot of policy speeches. This is an area --

PEREIRA: Like he's still feeling out the temperature of the nation if you will.

HEALY: Right.

PEREIRA: All right. Let's move -- Nia, your turn with Ted Cruz, he seems to be taking more of an aggressive stance. Listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He could have been a unifying figure. He could have chosen to be a leader on race relations and bring us together. And he hasn't done that. He's made decisions that I think have inflamed racial tensions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: Not surprising, Nia, to see him critical of the president. Talk about Ted Cruz and what your take is on what he had to say, but also is there anything that the president can do and hit the right tone in terms of race in this country?

HENDERSON: He seems not to be able to please his critics or his supporters on this. Supporters want him to do more, to say more, to use the bully pulpit around race relations in the way he's used it around gay rights.

His critics are very much like Ted Cruz. You heard this in 2012 from somebody like Marco Rubio who also said this was the most divisive president in American history. I think Ted Cruz is very much going for a very specific audience, conservatives, folks in Iowa, folks in South Carolina who don't much like the president, don't much like to talk about race and don't much like to talk about police brutality or any of those social justice issues that really are going to be the bread and butter, I think, of Hillary Clinton's campaign.

[06:55:01] PEREIRA: All right. The last two we have are two men that have very strong ties to Baltimore and to Maryland.

Former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley who is also the Baltimore mayor and, of course, Ben Carson. Patrick, let you start with Ben Carson.

Wait, press the button. Listen to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. BEN CARSON: I've never had an unpleasant encounter. That doesn't mean that there aren't bad apples. Of course there are bad apples. There are bad apples in every profession. Even in the news media. It doesn't mean you go out and try to take out all the people in that profession. That's silliness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: Interesting because he has the distinction of being the only African-American candidate thus far. Do you think he's going to fall into some of those same traps the president fell into?

HEALY: You know, I don't think he's that comfortable yet at least talking about being, you know, a reconciliation candidate, being a candidate who is going to think out of the box. I mean, talking about sort of bad apples even in the news media feels like he's grasping for things.

It would have been really interesting given his history in Baltimore, given that he's an African-American man to hear him say something powerful or original. But I feel like you see a lot of people just wanting to sort of beat up on President Obama, forget that he inherited a terrible economy. That he was sort of grappling with a lot of different things for six years that somehow he was supposed to be the guy to sort of solve all these problems.

PEREIRA: Well, a lot of people are looking to him as a resident of Baltimore for some 30 years with staff at Johns Hopkins.

HEALY: Some really interesting insight.

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: Right, exactly.

Last but not least, Martin O'Malley, interesting, Nia, we know he traveled recently to a neighborhood he once oversaw. Mixed reaction -- In fact, some of the people are blaming him for the very policies that Baltimore is struggling with.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: There are people saying get out of here. They --

MARTIN O'MALLEY (D), FORMER MARYLAND GOVERNOR: People have been very nice to me. It's actually -- you got to be present in the middle of the pain, man. Everyone's needed right now in our city. Everybody needs to step up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: Does the unrest in this city in this area that he once was such a pivotal part of, Nia, does it undermine his already untenable nomination or yet to be announced presidential campaign?

HENDERSON: I think they were making the bet here that he could have a moment, right? He's been looking for an opening in this campaign, and in a room next to Hillary Clinton or to the left of Hillary Clinton. And here he's going to run up against the fact that during his administration, a zero tolerance was the policy in terms of how they interacted with folks on the streets there, African- Americans, African-American young men.

So, I thought he had a nice line there when he said you have to be present in the pain there. But I think he has brought some scrutiny to his own record there that might be problematic going forward.

PEREIRA: Nia-Malika Henderson, Patrick Healy, always great to have you with us here. We are following a lot of news again this morning. So, let's get right to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the second night a citywide curfew.

CROWD: We shall overcome --

REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D), MARYLAND: We're going to demand justice for Freddie Gray.

CAMEROTA: There's anger spilling across the country.

(CHANTING)

GOV. LARRY HOGAN (R), MARYLAND: We're not out of the woods yet.

O'MALLEY: You got to be present in the middle of the pain.

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Those were thuggish acts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thugs is the 21st century word for the N- word.

CUOMO: What exactly happened to Freddie Gray? That remains a mystery.

ANTHONY BATTS, BALTIMORE POLICE COMMISSIONER: He didn't see any harm done to Freddie at all. What he has said is that he heard Freddie thrashing about.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Welcome to NEW DAY. We have new information here in Baltimore. And there is breaking news where Alisyn and Michaela are, because in New York we saw protests against bad policing in cases like the one here in Baltimore.

There's no question there was tension in the streets overnight to show you, but the news matters more to the investigation. "The Washington Post" has a police document suggesting Freddie Gray might have been trying to injure himself in the police van, this according to another prisoner being transported with Gray.

Now, this is going to add more fuel to the fire for answers. People believe they're going to get them tomorrow, but we will explain why that is unlikely, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Chris. And so, while we know you've been reporting that it was quiet in Baltimore last night, other cities grew ruckus. More than 100 arrests were made in New York City with big demonstrations also in Denver, Washington, D.C. and Boston.

So, our coverage begins with CNN's Rosa Flores.

Tell us what we saw in other cities, Rosa.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, good morning.

Emotions are very high with protests erupting across the country, from Minneapolis to Houston to Boston, the message is all for one from these demonstrators. And that is that police brutality is a national issue. Now, one of the most intense protests happened right here in New York City.

Check this out. About 100 people were arrested. Now, the night started off very peacefully, but it escalated with the small scuffle with police, 20 people ended up in zip ties. Then they started marching towards Times Square.