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CNN NEWSROOM

Tsarnaev's Chance to Speak; Manhunt Challenges; Ransom Policy Change; Freddie Gray Autopsy; Donald Trump Rising in the Polls; A Chance at Golf's Grand Slam. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired June 24, 2015 - 09:30   ET

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


[09:30:00] PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: He did speak. And he gave a rather bizarre, you know, short speech in which he said the government is the omnipresent teacher of the people. And he claimed that he was quoting from a Supreme Court decision and that was it. And that was it. So, you never know what could happen. I think the only reason he would speak is if he's resigned that he's getting the death penalty, he's an ideologue and he wishes to express a loyalty to Islamic terrorism. If he's hoping, however, for mercy in the future from an appellate court, it would be best to express sorrow or not speak at all.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Well, you know, Sister Helen Prejean talked to Tsarnaev and supposedly he told her he was sorry for his crimes.

CALLAN: Yes, he did. And I would certainly think that an expression of sorrow wouldn't hurt him at all with an appellate court because now is -- I mean he's going to get the death penalty from this judge and his only hope in the future would be that an appellate court would look at the case and for some reason decide to set the death penalty aside. And I think an expression of true remorse would be helpful in that situation.

COSTELLO: We'll see. One woman who will speak today, her name is Liz Norden, and she read part of her statement to "The Boston Herald" and I want to read part of that statement now. She says, "we all have made this symbolic trip to hell and back, yet we're stronger and more united than ever." This is going to be an emotional hearing. And whatever you say, it's going to be quite emotional.

CALLAN: You know, it's been an emotional trial. You were -- I mean from day one in this case, with those scenes of carnage, crying jurors, crying reporters who were covering this case. So it's been a case of high emotion and it's really -- it -- kind of a disappointment, I think, if he doesn't stand up and say something. He's -- I mean he's the center of the whole story and I think everybody would like to hear from him.

COSTELLO: And the victims speaking today, they have not been given a time limit. Is that unusual?

CALLAN: Not really. I think the judge probably has looked at the number of individuals involved and has decided that it's a manageable proposition to not put limits on it. Now, he could impose limits as we go along if people ended up being too long and it was delaying the proceedings. He could -- he could speed it up. So we'll have to see how it plays out.

COSTELLO: All right, Paul Callan, thanks for your insight. I appreciate it.

New details --

CALLAN: Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: You're welcome.

New details on the stunning prison break by escaped killers Richard Matt and David Sweat. We now know Joyce Mitchell, the prison worker who helped the inmates, brought frozen beef laced with contraband into the main gate of the prison. She then stored it in a freezer at the tailor shop where she worked before it was delivered to one of the inmates by another prison guard. All of this according to the prosecutor, Andrew Wylie.

In the meantime, the manhunt for both men intensifies in rural New York. But the challenges on the ground are enormous. CNN's Tom Foreman has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Since these inmates escaped from upstate New York, officials have had hundreds of calls about hundreds of possible leads in many places over hundreds of miles. But now they have narrowed into one particular area where they think it's promising based on the information they have.

It's only about 22, 23 miles to the west of the prison. Maybe they could have made it there on woodland trails, that sort of thing. But encircling this area is a lot harder than you might think. Imagine this. Let's say they had two hours' warning and they covered just five miles through the woods in that time. If you do the math, that would then create a circle, because they could have gone in any direction, of 31 miles that must be encompassed by all of these searchers.

Well, they have a lot of people out there who can help and they have different pieces of equipment, from armored Humvees to ATVs to SUVs. They have dogs. They even have helicopters out there. But sealing down a circle that big is very difficult, especially when these guys may have been on the run for more than two hours. They could have gone much further and every hour it gets bigger and bigger.

Secondly there is a question of geography. This is very tough terrain with lots of ravens and bogs and cliffs and dense woods, in which, even though you have some areas like roads and perhaps power line cuts where you can see for quite a distance, in many areas somebody could be just a matter of yards away from you and you may not even see them. Then when night falls, or you have clouds coming in, it gets even worse. So, can you rely on technology like thermal imaging and infrared? Yes,

you can. But think about what that means. Let's say you have a helicopter that came in that had some sort of imaging where it could look down and look for the heat of a body moving out here. If the helicopter is high enough to sweep a large area, the problem is it will pick up every human being there, other searchers. It will pick up things like deer and bears, all of which will send a signature. Plus, it's summer, so things are warm anyway. That confuses the background noise a bit.

So, if you fly closer to the ground, you can get a tighter pattern that may be better at identifying a human being, but you're also searching a much smaller area. The bottom line is, as much as we talk about putting a perimeter around an area like this, it is by definition a net, and that means there's still a lot of holes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[09:35:15] COSTELLO: Tom Foreman reporting.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, hostage negotiations may been given the OK by the White House, but for some families that's not nearly enough. We'll take you live to the White House next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:39:52] COSTELLO: Families of Americans who were killed after being taken hostage are in Washington today meeting with the president as he prepared to announce an update to America's policy on negotiating with terror groups -- no longer threatening to prosecute families who want to pay ransoms, allowing the government to communicate and negotiate with groups like ISIS and al Qaeda, and creating a hostage recovery team.

Sunlen Serfaty is following this story from the White House this morning.

Good morning, Sunlen.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Well, these changes are part -- in part because of the fierce criticism that the administration has received from the families of these U.S. hostages. They said of the White House support, that it's been insensitive, inconsistent and really appalling at times. You know, some of the fiercest critics we've seen comes from the family of James Foley. He was the American journalist who was beheaded last August by ISIS. Here's what his mother, Diane Foley, told CNN's Anderson Cooper about the amount of support that she believes that they received from the administration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIANE FOLEY, MOTHER OF JAMES FOLEY WHO WAS KILLED BY ISIS: We were told we could not raise ransom, that it was illegal, we might be prosecuted. I was embarrassed and appalled. He was sacrificed because of just a

lack of coordination, a lack of communication, a lack of prioritization. As a family, we had to find our way through this on our own.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And that is one of the biggest changes that will be announced today. The White House will announce that they will now no longer threaten families with criminal prosecution if they decide privately to pay these ransoms to get their loved ones home. This was something that had been long tolerated by the administration, basically looking the other way, but they will formalize that in a way basically saying it is OK to do this.

Now, these changes may not satisfy all of the families out there. We have heard from the Weinstein family, the wife of Warren Weinstein. He was an American aid worker who was killed earlier this year by al Qaeda. Now, his wife says in a statement, quote, "the information we received over three and a half years was inconsistent at best and utterly disappointing. Our benchmark for this review's success will be the actions arising from it more than its specific findings."

And the president will meet with some of the hostage families today here at the White House before making this formal announcement. Many of those families chose to participate in this six month long review where they gave suggestions to the White House. But, Carol, many families opted to not participate, including the Weinstein family.

Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Sunlen Serfaty reporting live from the White House, thank you.

Baltimore state's attorney is becoming quite the star. One month after she was pulled on stage by Prince, she lands in "Vogue" magazine. An odd twist on a day the autopsy on Freddie Gray is revealed in "The Baltimore Sun." Of course, he's the young Baltimore man who died when police were transporting him in a van back in April. The paper has obtained a copy of Gray's autopsy report, even though it has not been released publicly. It says Freddie Gray suffered a high energy injury to his neck and spine.

CNN's senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns joins me now.

So what does that mean, a high energy injury?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll get to that in just one second. But the simple fact of this is you've got six Baltimore police officers charged in the case who just pleaded not guilty. So this report and the meaning of high energy injury will be carefully scrutinized for what it says and what it doesn't say. It still hasn't been publicly released, as you said, because it's part of the evidence.

It was leaked to "The Baltimore Sun." The newspaper reports that the case was ruled a homicide. That the injury occurred inside a police van while Freddie Gray was in custody. The paper does talk about that single high energy injury and compares it to something like shallow water diving incidents most likely caused when the police van suddenly stopped.

It says the most significant injury to Gray was to the lower left part of his head and that the injury may have resulted when he got on his feet and was thrown into the wall of the van. Gray was not in a seatbelt at the time, but the report said his wrists and ankles were shackled, making him at risk for an unsupported fall. It said Gray's death was deemed a homicide and could not be ruled an accident because of what were referred to as omissions by the officers who handled Gray after his arrest. The officers allegedly failed to follow safety procedures, including fastening Gray's seatbelt and getting him timely medical attention.

Carol.

COSTELLO: So what's the reaction of the Baltimore state's attorney, Marilyn Mosby, to this autopsy being leaked to "The Baltimore Sun"?

JOHNS: Clearly she is not happy. She tried to keep this information out of the public eye. And we do have a full screen to just show you what she said. "I strongly condemn anyone with access to trial evidence who has leaked information prior to the resolution of this case." So it caused her some heartburn and there's no question that defense attorneys for the six officers charged in the case will be poring over this report, Carol.

[09:45:08] COSTELLO: All right. Joe Johns reporting live for us this morning. Thank you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Donald Trump says he can make America great again. A new poll says at least some Republican voters absolutely agree with him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Donald Trump has been a presidential contender for just over a week now, but he's already seeing a surge in support in one critical state. A Suffolk University poll in New Hampshire shows Trump in second place, just three points behind Jeb Bush. Scott Walker, Marco Rubio, and Ben Carson rounding out the top five.

[09:50:08] For his part, Donald Trump seems to expect a strong showing. Here's what he told attendees at a Maryland Republican Party's "Red, White And Blue Dinner".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've been working; I'm all over the place. I did get that great poll today in New Hampshire. I can't believe Bush is in first place. You know, I'm -- some people are thrilled. I'm not thrilled because how could Bush be in first place? This guy can't negotiate his way out of a paper bag.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So let's talk about this. Executive director for CNN politics, Mark Preston, joins me. Hi Mark.

MARK PRESTON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CNN POLITICS: Hey, good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Mark, a director of the school's political research center has Trump has emerged as the anti-Bush alternative, and among self- identified conservatives, Trump scores even higher/ He takes first place. So what's the appeal?

PRESTON: Well, listen, Donald Trump is a celebrity. He's bombastic and he also says things that are going to appeal to the far right, and that is sharp criticism of President Barack Obama and Democrats. That's what the far right is looking for.

But Donald Trump, to me right now, can't be put in the same category as some of the others that you mentioned in the poll, such as Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio or Scott Walker, who are running for president and who are taking it seriously. Donald Trump comes out and makes an announcement that he's running last week, and he talks about how stupid people are, Carol. He says that he's going to be the best jobs president that God ever created. I mean, he says things that you wouldn't normally hear from somebody who is running for president and really taking this seriously.

COSTELLO: So these early polls are meaningless, you think?

PRESTON: No, absolutely not. I mean, look, they mean something for this moment in time. The question is, can Donald Trump sustain his favorability as the campaign wears on. One thing that is also said in that poll is that he has a 49 percent unfavorable rating right now with Republicans. That's extremely high. And the question is will Donald Trump take this seriously? Will he continue to campaign very hard? And, quite frankly, will he start putting policy proposals on the table that he says can help jump-start the economy and deal with some of our foreign policy issues?

COSTELLO: So do you think there is a real chance that he'll be part of these debates in August?

PRESTON: Oh, no question. And I think that's part of the plan by Donald Trump. There's no question that he will be part of them because he will continue to do well in the polls. I mean, look, the bottom line is he's very well known. He has very high name ID. And he is going to appeal to a certain segment of the Republican Party that wants to see him run for president.

What's also mentioned in that poll, though, is that while Donald Trump does very well with conservatives, he does not do well with moderate Republicans, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Mark Preston, thanks so much. I appreciate it.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Jordan Spieth eyes a potential grand slam.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JORDAN SPIETH, 2015 U.S. OPEN CHAMPION: Winning two majors in your life is hard enough, let alone winning the next two after winning two. I mean, it's just something that's crazy to think about even though the questions are asked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Fresh off his U.S. Open victory, Jordan Spieth sits down with CNN's Rachel Nichols. Rachel joins us next.

[09:53:18]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Golfer Jordan Spieth is just 21 years old but he's only two majors away from making history. Sunday he became the youngest U.S. Open champion in nearly 100 years and he's got a really good shot at golf's grand slam, winning all four majors in a calendar year.

CNN sports anchor Rachel Nichols sat down with Jordan Spieth and she joins us now to tell us what he said. Good morning.

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Carol, he's 21 years old. 21. We can't say that enough. He can't rent a car yet, but he has already done something that no other human has in nearly 100 years.

Look, winning the grand slam, that's probably another story. He is in the position now to do it. 538, the leading sports statistics website out there, still puts his chances at completing it at about 1 percent. But, hey, we love long shots and the possibility. And we just saw a Triple Crown winner this year so anything could happen. And what he has already done is so impressive.

When we sat down to chat for our interview yesterday, I asked him a little bit about winning the U.S. Open and the Masters in such a short stretch. And he told me about a private moment where he's really realized who he's done. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SPIETH: Last night, I got home and brought the jacket out, laid it on the bed, and put the trophy on the bed too. I actually took a picture; I'll probably post to Instagram and Twitter later. But, yeah, that was a really cool moment for me, was so much hard work for our team that went into both of those. And to kind of have both of them in my possession at once really put it all in perspective for me and I had some goose bumps. It was awesome.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NICHOLS: Carol, I don't know about you when you unpack for a trip and throw all the stuff out of your bag on the bed, if that's what it looks like. I got to say, I've never had that experience. COSTELLO: Me neither. I wish I had but, no, I'm with you. I'm with

you, Rachel. I just wonder, does he think that all of this winning has changed him in any way?

NICHOLS: Not really. He is a normal American kid from Texas. And I think a lot of that has to do with his family. Both of his parents were athletes. They sort of raised him to think that a lot of this is normal. And he also has a very special member of his family, his younger sister Ellie. She has autism and he calls her the most special part of their family, the funniest member of their family, and that he and his brother, when they look at Ellie, they realize just how fortunate they are to do what they do. That there are things, as much as they love her and as amazing that she is, there are things that she can't do that they can do.

So they appreciate every day that they can do those things, and they also realize that if they lose a golf tournament, it's not the end of the world.

[10:00:06] So he's taking that attitude with him as he goes forth and tries to accomplish this grand slam. It's really refreshing to talk to him.

COSTELLO: That's awesome. Rachel Nichols, many thanks to you.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.