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CNN NEWSROOM

Biker Gang Shootout Erupts in Texas; FBI to Study Amtrak Windshield; President to Ban Sending Certain Military Gear; GOP Hopefuls Pressed on Iraq; Carly Fiorina Slams Question on Hormones. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired May 18, 2015 - 09:00   ET

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


[09:00:14] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN: I love that people stepped up and helped out their neighbor.

All right. Time for "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello.

Good morning to you and happy Monday.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Happy Monday, I'll say it even though I don't want to.

(LAUGHTER)

Have a great day, thanks so much. NEWSROOM starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, a parking lot turns into a murder scene in Texas. Chains, knives then a fierce gun battle. Close to 200 members of a rival biker gang in a deadly fight. Nine killed. What started it?

Plus back up and running as Amtrak train service resumes between Philly and New York, the FBI is on the scene of that deadly derailment. The big question now, did something hit the windshield of that train before it crashed?

Also a huge setback in the war against ISIS. The terror group seizing the key city of Ramadi. But U.S. officials say this fight is far from over.

So let's talk, live, in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And good morning, I'm Carol Costello, thank you so much for joining me.

We begin with that deadly biker brawl in Waco, Texas. A grizzly battle, rival gang members shooting at each other then opening fire on police. The chaos unfolding outside a busy restaurant before the bullets, fists, clubs, even chains used as weapons. In all nine people were killed, 192 taken to jail. Authorities describing the scene as violent and gruesome. Here's more from CNN's Nick Valencia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SGT. PATRICK SWANTON, WACO POLICE DEPARTMENT: These are very dangerous, hostile biker gangs that we're dealing with.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Erupting in broad daylight, close to 200 members of rival biker gangs broke out in a deadly fight Sunday. First fists, chains, a club and knives, escalating into a fierce gun battle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was really, really scare. You wouldn't know if somebody was going to come back.

VALENCIA: One hundred miles south of Dallas in Waco, Texas, at a Twin Peaks restaurant, as many as five criminal motorcycle gangs started fighting over a parking issue according to police. You can see some of the groups' names like Cossacks on the back of their jackets. The gang meet-up known to police for weeks, members of the SWAT team were already monitoring the scene when the brutal fight began.

SWANTON: We were in marked cars, they knew we were here, it mattered not to them. That tells you the kind of level of people that we're dealing with.

VALENCIA: Police also exchanging fire with the bikers. The parking lot filling fast with law enforcement officials to secure the scene. At least nine are now dead and nearly 20 more injured. Some customers and employees taking cover in the restaurant's freezer.

SWANTON: There are a lot of people, a lot of innocent people could have been injured today.

VALENCIA: Police say they recovered more than 100 weapons at the scene. A frightening indication that this may not be the end to the deadly rivalry.

SWANTON: We have been getting reports throughout the day that bikers from out the state are headed this way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: That was Nick Valencia reporting. Sergeant Patrick Swanton is the police spokesman for the Waco Police Department, he joins me now to discuss the latest.

Good morning, Sergeant.

SWANTON: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Bring us up to date, anything new this morning?

SWANTON: Yes, you know, obviously our last presser that we did we released information trying to confirm the numbers, initially I said 192. I think that number may be a little bit lower. We may be in 170. That many people have been booked into the McLellan County Jail and they're being charged with engaging in organized crime herein reference to the shooting at Twin Peaks this morning.

Another significant development, we are working with many partners in law enforcement here. One of those partners is our TABC, which is our Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Those officers are here in assisting and running in a parallel investigation, a separate investigation. They have confirmed with me this morning that they are doing a shutdown of Twin Peaks for seven days.

This is a very important part of being able to keep our community safe. It's not a punitive action on TABC's part, but what we're doing is we are shutting them down for seven days. That way we know we won't have any continued violence for the possibility of violence from that particular establishment.

COSTELLO: So, sir, do you suspect that Twin Peaks, the restaurant, had a role to play in this?

SWANTON: Yes, and as we said yesterday, we know that for a fact. Certainly we're going to be very transparent about this entire process. We've been here for about two months doing some investigative work. We have been here monitoring the situation. We attempted to talk with the local staff here at that restaurant, made them aware of issues that we were aware of. We didn't get any assistance from them.

[09:05:06] We'll be very open in public about that and very transparent about it. Chips are going to fall where they may with that company or with that local management issue here at Twin Peaks. What we're looking at and trying to focus on now is evidence process, making sure that we build a good, solid, quality case to go forth with our district attorney and be able to hold the individuals accountable for their actions that put our city in jeopardy yesterday and assure our city that we are safe.

Lots of law enforcement here. There's nothing we need here at the scene. Numerous agencies here from state and local, federal doing what we do best at this point and that's investigating a pretty significant crime that occurred here yesterday afternoon.

COSTELLO: Are you expecting more violence?

SWANTON: We certainly know that's a possibility. As of yesterday, we were receiving threats towards law enforcement. We were receiving information that individuals may be on the way here to try and back up their motorcycle gang brothers. We've been made aware of that. We certainly think that is creditable information and we're on the lookout for that as well.

COSTELLO: All right. Sergeant Patrick Swanton, thanks so much for joining me this morning. I appreciate it.

SWANTON: Thank you.

COSTELLO: You're welcome. A busy morning in Philadelphia where the deadly crash of an Amtrak

train is developing on several fronts. Today FBI investigators will be on the scene to study a fist-sized spider web of shattered glass. One theory is the train was pelted by something, maybe a rock or maybe even a bullet, before it derailed. In the meantime, funerals are scheduled today for three of the eight people killed in that horrifying crash.

And after around the clock repairs, Amtrak resumed service along its Philadelphia-New York route. More than 300 workers also installed new safeguards including speed controls in the very same area where the train barreled off the tracks.

CNN's Erin McLaughlin live in Philadelphia with more.

Good morning.

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Well, here near the tracks that are near the crash site, we've seen some of the first trains go by. A CNN team was actually on one of them. They said that the train actually left Philadelphia station about 10 minutes late and as it approached that now infamous curve, the train slowed down to a snail's pace, but the passengers didn't seem to mind the delays.

One passenger said he had to pay $1200 for a ticket to Washington, D.C. because of the demand for air travel with the suspension of this line. So while things are returning back to normal here, the investigation continues. Today the FBI is taking a look at that windshield of Amtrak 188. They are looking at a fist-sized circular mark on the left-hand side. They think it's possible some sort of projectile may have hit the train prior to the crash, but at this point there seems to be more questions than answers in the investigation -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And I know some funerals are scheduled for some of the victims. What can you tell us about that?

MCLAUGHLIN: That's right. Today is a very somber, very emotional day for the families and friends of three of the victims, including 45- year-old Robert Guildersleeve. He was a father of two teenagers. He was the last victim, the eighth body, to be pulled from the wreckage.

There's also Rachel Jacobs, 39-year-old CEO of a small technology company. She was on her way home from Philadelphia to New York that fateful night. She leaves behind her 2-year-old son. And then there's Laura Finamore, 47 years old, she was a corporate real estate from Queens.

Now last night here at the crash site, there was a small ceremony with dignitaries and emergency workers to honor all victims. In fact the U.S. Transportation secretary was here and he said that the best way to honor the victims is to make sure this kind of tragedy never happens again -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Erin McLaughlin, reporting live from Philadelphia, thank you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, trying to crack down on military-like police responses. The new ban that will prevent the fed's from sending certain kinds of equipment to local police departments. We'll talk about that, next.

[09:09:24]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Community policing not militarizing police. Today President Obama is traveling to Camden, New Jersey, to highlight how the city's policing tactics are helping to reduce crime. He wants Camden to serve as a model for other cities following militarized responses to protests in places like Ferguson, Missouri. The administration is now planning to ban federal agencies from sending certain kinds of military gear to local police.

CNN's Evan Perez is here to talk more about that.

Good morning.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. So the president is ordering federal agencies including the Department of Defense, Justice Department and Homeland Security Department to ban providing certain types of military equipment to local police. Now the items that are being banned, camouflage uniforms, certain types of camouflage uniforms, bayonets, grenade launchers, armored vehicles that move on tracks, that look like tanks.

These are the types of vehicles that we saw in the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, last summer, Carol, when we had some unrest following the death of Michael Brown. And that drew a lot of controversy against what was called police militarization. And that's what the administration, the Obama administration, is now responding to. This is taking the shape of an executive order.

Now there's a couple other pieces of this executive order that are going to be taking effect. The administration is also requiring that new restrictions be put on providing certain types of other equipment including drones and riot helmets and other types of riot gear as well as requiring police departments that get this equipment to provide more data so that they can keep track of where this equipment goes -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So the police departments that already have such equipment, are they required to give it back or not use it?

(LAUGHTER)

PEREZ: No, I don't think they are going to be required to give it back. There is a requirement for them to provide more data. Because one of the problems that we found after Ferguson was the -- you know, the government couldn't even tell us which departments had what types of equipment. And so that's one of the issues that the administration says is trying to fix as well as the larger issue, which is to try to get police departments to have better training so that they can respond to unrest and riots and so on, without going too heavy-handed -- Carol.

[09:15:15] COSTELLO: All right. CNN justice correspondent Evan Perez, thank you so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, first it was Jeb Bush, now it's Marco Rubio's turn to be in the hot seat.

Will the 2003 Iraq war make it difficult for the party to take the White House in 2016? We'll talk about that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Hillary Clinton is heading back to Iowa for her second swing through that state since announcing her presidential campaign just over a month ago. A spokeswoman says Clinton will spend the next two days in Iowa. First meeting with organizers at a private home today and then holding a small business roundtable tomorrow.

Now the trip comes as a recent poll shows Clinton with a commanding lead among likely Iowa caucus goers, 60 percent backing the former secretary of state. That's compared to 15 percent for Senator Bernie Sanders and 11 percent for Joe Biden.

Hillary Clinton isn't the only candidate hoping to make an impression on Iowa voters. 11 Republican contenders descending on that state this past weekend for the party's Lincoln Dinner. Clinton was definitely a hot topic, but so was the war in Iraq, which has been a tricky issue for Jeb Bush and now you can add Marco Rubio to that list.

The Florida senator grilled by FOX News anchor Chris Wallace who noted that just six weeks ago Rubio told a FOX colleague that it was not a mistake to go to war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[09:20:04] SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The question was whether it was a mistake and my answer was it's not a mistake. I still say it was not a mistake. Because the president was presented with intelligence that said Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. It was governed by a man who had committed atrocities in the past with weapons of mass destruction.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: But what she asked you was, was it a mistake to go to war with Iraq?

RUBIO: It was not a mistake given the fact that what the president knew at the time.

WALLACE: No, she didn't say that. She said, was it a mistake?

RUBIO: Well, that's not the same question. The question I was asked is what you know now. Well, based on what we know now, I think everyone agrees -- WALLACE: Was it a mistake? Was it a mistake to go to war with Iraq?

RUBIO: It's two --

WALLACE: I'm asking you --

RUBIO: Yes, I understand. But it's not the same question.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Why couldn't he just say yes?

Here to discuss, Republican strategist who is a friend of Marco Rubio and a supporter of Jeb Bush, Ana Navarro, and the editor in chief of "The Daily Beast," John Avlon.

Welcome to both of you.

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: So, John, why --

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Hey, Carol.

COSTELLO: Why couldn't he just say, yes, it was?

AVLON: Well, because he's trying to have it both ways because the Republican Party is in a bit of a double blind, right? They united around W.'s policy on Iraq when he was in office. But now no one wants to be seen as running for W.'s third term, particularly a problem for Jeb Bush. But square that circle requires dealing with a contradiction and Marco Rubio could not do that. So he can't simply ask the historians' question about, you know, knowing what they knew then. The question really is, would you have pursued it now, and that's what -- that requires admitting a clear mistake and offering a policy corrective. And that's what they can't get their head around.

COSTELLO: Well, Ana, Rubio -- I mean, John is right around Rubio trying to put a positive spin on this. He tried the glass half full route, and said it was still better that Saddam Hussein was gone. Rand Paul actually shot that down. He said removing Saddam Hussein only strengthened Iran. I just can't wait for the debates.

NAVARRO: Well, you know what, I think we're going to have very interesting debates. And I think you're going to see a diversity of thought, including on foreign policy in those debates. If you've got somebody like Lindsey Graham there and you've got somebody like Rand Paul there, you're going to see an array of opinions, and a full spectrum of thought and proposals and agenda. And as a Republican, I'm glad we're going to get to see that. It's going to be messy at times, it's going to be cringe worthy at times, but we're going to get an ability to choose.

On the Democrat side, you're stuck in a prearranged marriage. They pretty much have one choice.

COSTELLO: That's true. That's true.

NAVARRO: And she's not speaking or answering questions.

COSTELLO: No, she's not. And we're going to talk about that in the 10:00 a.m. --

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: Go ahead, John, because I was going to say the same thing.

NAVARRO: Go ahead, John.

AVLON: Well, no, I just -- poor Ana is trying to make, you know, Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley cry.

(LAUGHTER)

NAVARRO: No, listen. If you guys want to pretend Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley are relevant, I'm willing to play along, a day or two.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: She has a point there, John. But let's go back to the Republicans and the Iraq question.

AVLON: Yes.

COSTELLO: Because if you can't get the Iraq answer right, how can you figure out what to do about ISIS? I never know where I'm looking here. How do we figure out what to do about ISIS if you can't get the Iraq war question right?

AVLON: That's exactly the point. I mean, you know, the -- Saddam Hussein being out of power created a vacuum that then led to the rise of ISIS. But here's what -- the pivot you're going to see increasingly from Republicans, I'd predict. Trying to blend the problems in Iraq solely on President Obama. And the thing is you've got to deal with it in totality. You need to really confront the strategic policy mistake that was Iraq and you need to own it and show how you're not going to be W.'s third term.

That's a very difficult thing to confront for all Republicans not named Rand Paul, especially if your name is Jeb Bush.

COSTELLO: You know, a surprisingly strong foreign policy speech came from a candidate you would not expect and that would be Carly Fiorina. The crowd went wild. They loved what she had to say especially when she talked about gender politics. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLY FIORINA (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: On national television, I was asked whether a woman's hormones prevent her from serving in the Oval Office.

OK, ladies, this is a test. Can anyone think of a single instance in which a man's judgment was clouded by his hormones? Anyone? Including in the Oval Office?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK. So each candidate had 10 minutes and she kind of went longer and, you know, the microphone cut off but people clamored for more. They actually said we want more. They lined up at her office afterwards to hear more. And I was surprised by that. Were you, Ana?

NAVARRO: Actually not because I just saw Carly do pretty much the same speech, gave this as a stump speech in New Hampshire a few weeks ago. And she's filling a niche. She is the woman who is there attacking Hillary Clinton and I think Republicans really like to see that. You know, it is giving red meat to the base. She does it very well. She's got some terrific lines, some which are she does it with humor, sometimes it very poignantly, and I think the crowd is just lapping it up.

[09:25:06] COSTELLO: Is that all it is, John?

AVLON: Yes. Well, no, Carly Fiorina's liberated from any obligation to actually be elected president, so she can play the role of designated attacker on Hillary Clinton. She can play the role of a woman -- the only woman on the stage and the latitude that gives her and get a couple of Bill Clinton jokes in there. But the real question will be, whether she tries to use her status as a former CEO and someone from California to actually try to expand the policy debate? But if she's just going to be the court jester and throw some red meat, then it's a wonderful distraction but has nothing to do with actually setting up someone to be become president of the United States.

COSTELLO: All right. Have to leave it there.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM -- thanks to both of you.

NAVARRO: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, thousands of people are now being forced to flee after ISIS takes control over a key Iraqi city. Up next, why Secretary of State John Kerry says he's confident the terror group's momentum will be reversed.

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