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Hillary's Stops Slide in the Polls; Massachusetts Mother and Boyfriend in Court Over Baby Doe Death; Pope Francis to Visit the United States; Houthi Rebels Free Two American Hostages; Controversy Over Trump, Carson's Comments on Muslims. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired September 21, 2015 - 06:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:33:50] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Some welcome news for Hillary Clinton this morning. She has finally stopped her slide, leading now in the Democratic race with 42 percent support in a new CNN poll. That number climbs to 57 percent if Vice President Joe Biden does not run.

Meanwhile, on the Republican side, Carly Fiorina jumping into second place with a 12-point bump, following that strong debate showing. Ben Carson, however, in some hot water after saying a Muslim should not be president. In fact, there's now a campaign to get him to pull out of the race.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: A Massachusetts mother and her boyfriend expected in court today on murder charges and accessory to murder over the death of that little girl who became known nationwide as Baby Doe. More now from CNN's Alexandra Field. She's live in Boston for us. What is the latest, Alexandra?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn. We now know Baby Doe is really Bella Bond, a 2 1/2-year-old. Her body was found in a trash bag back in June on the Boston shoreline. For months, there was no answer: No one came forward to claim responsibility for this toddler; no one came forward offering any answers.

But now police do believe they know exactly what happened to this child. They say she was murdered in her own home right here in the Boston area by her mother's boyfriend.

[06:35:04] That boyfriend, Michael McCarthy, will be in Dorchester court this morning to answer murder charges. With him, the child's mother, who police say helped to cover up the murder of her daughter after the fact.

Police pursued a number of leads since June but the break in the case came just last week when a tipster called homicide detectives. A law enforcement source tells CNN that that tipster was actually staying with Bella's mother. Police executed a search warrant of the family home and then two arrests were made.

Today, we will see both Michael McCarthy and Rachelle Bond appear in court later this morning. Authorities are also telling CNN they believe that this child, this toddler, was punched by Michael McCarthy before her death because he believed the child was possessed. Authorities have not said whether they believe that was the fatal blow here. Chris?

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: His reasons for the action obviously much less relevant than the action itself. Alexandra, keep us in the loop on what happens and feel better. We all hear what's going on with your voice there.

Pope Francis continuing his historic trip in Cuba. He's going to start the day with a big mass and he's going to fly to the interior, Santiago, to meet with bishops there. We were with the pope over the weekend in Havana where he delivered messages of hope and met with former leader Fidel Castro and continued the dialogue with the current Cuban administration to try to create a bridge with the United States and Cuba.

So take a look at what we saw.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO (voice-over): Anticipation builds in the U.S. Pope Francis comes to the nation's capital Tuesday. He'll be the first pontiff to ever speak to Congress directly. While climate change and capitalism are expected talking points, some see his visit as a push toward fully lifting the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba. Controversial enough for one Congressman to boycott.

MICHAEL MURPHY, DIRECTOR, CATHOLIC STUDIES LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO: I'm not sure if he's worried about alienating people. I mean, he'll be encouraging but he speaks the truth.

CUOMO: Next, a trip to New York and the United Nations, where the growing refugee crisis is expected to be on the docket.

Il Papa's visit will end in Philadelphia where families will be his focus.

POPE FRANCIS: See you in Philadelphia.

CUOMO: The U.S. tour coming on the heels of his historic visit to Cuba over the weekend at a time when the communist country is undergoing some change. Latin America's first pope, praising the two nations for normalizing relations. And to the tens of thousands in Havana's Revolution Square Sunday, a message of hope and faith, calling on Cubans to serve one another, not an ideology.

Signs of underlying political tensions as anti-government protesters are arrested after approaching the Popemobile. Pope Francis meeting privately with former leader Fidel Castro to discuss the environment and global economy. Then later meeting, once again, with younger brother Raul Castro.

Ahead of the pope's visit, the U.S. announcing father loosening of travel and business restrictions with Cuba. But on the streets of Havana, some hopeful, some doubtful that they'll ever see any positive impact on their lives.

"In the short run I haven't seen any kind of change," says this man. Maybe later, but not yet.

"It's a necessary change that both countries need," this woman says. "We need each other."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO (on camera): And, you know, those are the streets of Havana. That place has been cleaned up and, you know, a fresh coat of paint there for the trip. You take a few steps into any interior streets and the poverty there is abject. And it's not just about the money; it's about what they're given for their own soul and fulfillment, not just faith, but hope, ability to communicate, internet, all of these things are real issues for change there.

PEREIRA: Didn't you bring us photos? We wanted to see some of the -- we love seeing your vacation photos.

CUOMO: Yes. The Cuban people despite their lot in life are really joyous people. So these are two old ladies smoking cigars.

CAMEROTA: Oh that's fantastic.

CUOMO: Which I was impressed by.

CAMEROTA: I can see that.

PEREIRA: What did they make of you?

CUOMO: That was good. They liked me; they offered me a cigar.

PEREIRA: What did you do to our producer?

CUOMO: That is Griff, my senior producer, with a chihuahua on his head.

PEREIRA: Of course.

CAMEROTA: Why?

CUOMO: This was a tourist trap he fell into like it was a gaping hole in the middle of the street.

(LAUGHER)

PEREIRA: Bespectacled chihuahua on his head.

CAMEROTA: Makes perfect sense. Fantastic.

CUOMO: I'll tell you what though, a big facto there for the pope and for everybody covering him, and for the people who live there, was the heat. It wasn't the historic trip for him. This was a new suit. I was sweating so much that my ankles were sweating.

PEREIRA: Did you cut off the leg?

CAMEROTA: Did you cut your suit?

CUOMO: I rolled them up because I thought I was going to pass out. You understand?

CAMEROTA: This is a good look.

CUOMO: The heat was historic in Havana.

PEREIRA: Humidity and the heat.

CUOMO: It was plus 90s, tens of thousands came out, barely had water, fanning themselves. And they were there for hours before the sun came up to see Papa Francisco. Not just because they're big believers in the faith, but they're believers in the chance for change.

[06:40:03] CAMEROTA: And really, it seems like it's happening.

CUOMO: All right, so we're going to be talking a lot about the pope, the implications. Look at this man. We love having him on the show, Archbishop Cardinal Timothy Dolan coming on to discuss what he expects from the papal visit and also what's going on in the news with matters of faith.

PEREIRA: Ahead here, two American hostages are among six captives that were freed from Yemen. One other American was not released. Why is all of this happening now? We're going to take a closer look, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: This morning, freedom for two Americans who are among six hostages released by Houthi rebels. Scott Darden and Sam Farran were taken hostage while trying to flee war-torn Yemen earlier this year. Now we understand a third American, also believed to be held by the rebels, was not released.

Here to weigh in is CNN's global affairs analyst and managing editor of Quartz, Bobby Ghosh. Good to see you. SO you've been looking at this situation. What's your understanding of why Yemen released -- or the Houthi rebels released these men?

BOBBY GHOSH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, there's been talk of talks. There's a set of peace talks --

PEREIRA: But talk and no action is what we're more used to.

GHOSH: No, but they're -- the United Nations is sponsoring some peace talks. The Houthis are under quite a lot of pressure. They've been under a bombing campaign by Saudi Arabia and Saudi allies for the last -- well, since March pretty much.

So they're under a lot of pressure. I think this is a show of goodwill.

[06:45:00] This is a show that they are not to be confused with -- it's a very confusing place. You have al Qaeda in Yemen, you have ISIS in Yemen. The Houthis are not that kind of a group. They do not execute prisoners; they don't do videos of people, you know, these snuff videos. This is I think their way of saying don't confuse us with those guys. We are different, we have a political cause that we are fighting for, and whether or not this makes them -- keep in mind, they have hundreds upon hundreds of Yemeni prisoners that were not released. This doesn't make them good guys. This is a tactical thing.

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: Well, I was just about to say, goodwill to a point, because we know there's one American that they did not release. In fact, Nick Paton Walsh was saying that when they saw the airplane landing, they thought three men might emerge and only two, heartbreak there.

GHOSH: Yes, that -- to me that suggests the possibility that the Houthis have been represented so far as one homogenous group, one group with tight central control. It's possible that there are rogue elements within the Houthis.

PEREIRA: Fair point.

GHOSH: We don't know that the third American is necessarily being held by exactly the same people. They're being perhaps held by the same movement, but within the movement there are groups and groups.

PEREIRA: So what of the peace talks then?

GHOSH: Well, they're going to be -- we'll see if the peace talks actually happen because the former president who they toppled in Yemen said he doesn't want anything to do with these talks until the Houthis withdraw from territories that they took over. They may see -- the Houthis might sort of want this to be seen as a goodwill gesture. It might also be seen as a sign of weakness and the Saudi-led coalition might sort of, if anything, increase their pressure on the Houthis.

This is a -- they played their card and we'll see how the other side responds. It's far from certain this is going to stop anytime soon. 4,500 people have been killed, millions again have been left homeless in one of the poorest countries in the world, certainly the poorest country in the Arab world. It is a very, very wretched situation there.

PEREIRA: Another wretched situation obviously the ongoing battle with ISIS. I want to turn to a report an get your view on this, being released today. It compiles a series of interviews with a group of defectors, various defectors from ISIS, people that have fled their own countries, gone to fight alongside ISIS, and now have left.

What is the value, not just sort of the interest from everyday Joes like us, but what is the value in learning their stories and why they left and the discontent that there might be within ISIS ranks?

GHOSH: Well, it's valuable for a couple reasons. One, it's not one or two people; it's more than 50 people. PEREIRA: Yes.

GHOSH: So it's a substantial -- it's not necessarily a scientific poll, but it is a substantial number of people. They've come from different countries, different sort of social strata. This is valuable because it gives us an insight into a very secretive organization. And the fact that they are unhappy can, for military tacticians, for political strategists, begin to create a wedge between the leadership of ISIS and the rank and file.

Because, as we've seen now, this has been going on for years, we're -- until some dramatic change take place, this -- we're in a sort of -- we're in a status quo with these guys. We're trying to bomb them from the air. We don't put boots on the ground. Nothing is changing really, dramatically. So any information we can get that can become part of a large -- that can be sort of added to a larger strategy is useful.

PEREIRA: Right.

GHOSH: If we learn that middle management is unhappy with top management, for instance, that's a useful thing to know. We can start trying to make a division there.

PEREIRA: And then there's also hope it can be used against some of ISIS's recruiting tactics.

GHOSH: That's true.

PEREIRA: They're hoping that could be effective there.

Bobby Ghosh, always a pleasure to have you. Thanks so much. Chris?

CUOMO: All right, Mick, Donald Trump, he seems to have no problem shutting down questioners, believe me. So why didn't he take to it a town hall questioner who said the president is a Muslim and that we need to get rid of all of them? Team Trump responds, ahead.

[06:48:50]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Donald Trump is facing wide condemnation for not correcting a man at his town hall who wanted to get rid of all Muslims and called President Obama a Muslim. Here's how the Donald defended himself to CNN's Jake Tapper yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": This is raw, unvarnished, ignorant bigotry. You are a leader. You're the front- runner in the Republican race. Do you not have a responsibility to call out this hatred?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Most Muslims, like most everything, I mean, these are fabulous people but we certainly do have a problem. I mean, you have a problem throughout the world.

TAPPER: What's the problem?

TRUMP: Well, you have radicals that are doing things. I mean, it wasn't people from Sweden who blew up the World Trade Center, Jake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: All right, let's bring in Kayleigh McEnany, a Republican strategist, and Pax Hart, a supporter of Donald Trump, friend of the show. It's good to have you both here, double-teaming me as it were.

All right, so help me understand why this is going on, Pax. When you hear this man stand up and say these things, Donald Trump doesn't say anything to him. He says it's his First Amendment right. I had to let him say what he wanted to say. Do you buy that?

PAX HART, DONALD TRUMP: I think he handled that incredibly well. I think that was beautiful politicking, the way he handled that guy.

CUOMO: Wait, hold on a second. He didn't handle him. He just let him talk. So why was that brilliant politicking?

HART: OK, the guy came out with crazy talk, you know, Obama is a Muslim, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Then he went into there are, you know, he starts talking training camps0 he, starts talking whatever. You know, the FBI in July said that there are investigations going on in all 50 states of the Islamic State.

CUOMO: True.

HART: OK. The chair of the homeland security committee said while there -- while they didn't thwart the Chattanooga attack --

CUOMO: The problem is clear. The threat is clear.

HART: So he addressed the problem. He addressed the guy's real concern. He completely ignored the crazy talk and then he moved it on to another question.

CUOMO: But he didn't ignore it. You talk to candidates about how to be on a regular basis. He tacitly acknowledged what he was saying in the beginning. It's demonstrable by looking at the tape. Do you think he should have done that or should he have done what John McCain in 2008?

[06:55:00] KAYLEIGH MCENANY, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I think he handled it perfectly. Look, he was dismissive of it, he laughed, he turned his head to the side. He said this is the question I'm getting. He was dismissive of it.

And let's take a counterfactual. Suppose Donald Trump would have grabbed the mike away, I guarantee you we'd be talking about squelching this guy's rights.

CUOMO: No, I know that Donald's saying that. I don't think that that would have been the reaction. It wasn't in 2008 when John McCain did it.

MCENANY: John McCain is a different person and the Democrats are scared of Donald Trump. Let's say he would have gotten in a back and forth altercation with the guy. That would have been bad. He would have been criticized for that. It's a lose/lose situation for Donald Trump.

CUOMO: You think Donald Trump if he had said -- first of all, why would being a Muslim be a bad thing, sir? And why would you call the president a Muslim when he is not, sir? Let's make this about the issues. And why would you say get rid of all Muslims? This is a tolerant society.

You think the media would come after him?

MCENANY: Yes, because it's not Donald Trump's job to berate his supporter. That's simply not his job. He went on national television the next day, he clarified radical Muslims are a problem. As Pax has pointed out, it's a very serious problem in all 50 states. He clarified his position. He did so in a public forum. That is all Donald Trump needed to do and he dismissed the question by laughing at it.

CUOMO: The idea that -- I don't think he laughed at it, by the way. But let's give him the benefit of your own appraisal. When -- if it comes up again, you know what, I don't want to talk about the president's faith. I'll take him at his word. It seems to be implying he may be a Muslim.

HART: That's exactly --

CUOMO: Now that shouldn't be a bad thing, but it has been made a little bit of a bad thing in presidential politics right now. Do you think that was right as well?

HART: I think it was wrong when Hillary Clinton did it in 2008.

CUOMO: I'm not asking about Hillary Clinton. Let's deal with him right -- because two wrongs don't make a right in my mind. So whatever Hillary Clinton did, if it was wrong, I'll get her when she comes on this show. What about this?

HART: OK, I don't think -- I will watch that. I don't think that he is implying that Barack Obama is a Muslim.

CUOMO: But he didn't shut it down either. You understand my point.

MCENANY: He says it's not my job to criticize Barack Obama's faith. He said that quite clearly. And, look, it's quite ironic that people are going after Donald Trump saying he's not a real Christian, he speaks dismissively about Christianity and are criticizing his faith. He understands this is a palpable way that it's not OK to criticize someone's faith. So he says I'm not getting into it. Take him at his word. it's not my job to discuss Barack Obama's faith.

CUOMO: Yes. But I'm smiling because, as we know, and probably know better than I, that is not a good reflection of where Donald Trump has been on this since 2011, 2013, when he injected a lot of energy into the birther movement, a lot of it about the speculation about him being Muslim.

My point is this -- we all know Donald Trump very well. He is serious about wanting to be a leader. He is very serious about wanting to be taken seriously. Shouldn't a leader reflect the best of us and not allow the worst in us in a situation like this?

HART: I think, as a leader, what I am looking for as a leader, as a Donald Trump supporter, I am looking for somebody who is going to lead the nation who is not going to be tangled up by these kindergarten situations where -- what was he supposed to do? He was supposed to sit there and scold the guy and make a fool out of the man, publicly humiliate the man?

CUOMO: No, you just -- you represent us at our best. The same thing Dr. Ben Carson is going through right now.

HART: Well, Ben Carson said something incredibly stupid.

CUOMO: Oh you --

MCENANY: No, he did not.

CUOMO: So why is it so different? I knew you were going to say that. I would have bet a lot of money on -- that you were going to say that.

It's not that it was stupid. It's about whether that's what you want in a leader. I don't think it's not about Article 6. I think it's about whether or not you want as your leader somebody who thinks all Muslims should not be taken seriously for president. He says that's a dumb thing to say. You're saying it isn't a dumb thing to say.

MCENANY: He clarified. He said sharia, and in sharia, it says that your faith is a part of your public life. Ben Carson said if a Muslim disavowed that, he would have no problem with him being president. That's a fair --

CUOMO: Do you think Ben Carson has said in the past that his faith is going to be part of who he is in public life?

MCENANY: Ben Carson said in an interview on September 10 my faith is not in my public life in regards to Kim Davis. So I think Ben Carson has separated two; it definitely guides him in the sense that his relationship with God guides him in his personal life.

CUOMO: Distinction without a difference?

MCENANY: No, I don't think it's a distinction without a difference. And he would support -- not support a Muslim, let's say, he would allow, permit, not have a problem with a Muslim running if they devowed that part of sharia law.

CUOMO: Thank you for pointing out the other side on this. I appreciate it. Kayleigh, good to have you on the show. Pax, always good to have you back.

HART: Thank you.

CUOMO: Lot of news this morning, this included. But other headlines for you, let's get right to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You judge candidates for president not on their religion --

BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump is slipping and Carly Fiorina soaring to second place.

PEREIRA: The new CNN/ORC poll out this morning shows Hillary Clinton bouncing back.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am a real person with all the pluses and minuses that go along with being that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Head of state meetings with Raul Castro and the head of the Cuban government.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fact that he's going from Cuba to the United States I think is highly significant.

CUOMO: Pope Francis comes to the nation's capital Tuesday.

PEREIRA: A ceremony with lots of feel-good moments.

TRACY MORGAN, COMEDIAN: Only recently I've started to feel like myself again.

JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS, ACTRESS: What a great honor it must be for you to honor me tonight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota and Michaela Pereira.

[07:00:01] CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome back to your NEW DAY. Calls this morning for Ben Carson to drop out of the presidential race after saying he believes a Muslim could not be President of the United States.