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U.S. Targets ISIS Cash; New Video of New York Rape Suspects; Tonya Couch Set to Appear Before Judge; Is Your Food Making You Sick. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired January 11, 2016 - 14:30   ET

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


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[14:30:57] PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news first on CNN, in an unusual move, the U.S. targeting the cash of ISIS terrorists, bombing millions of dollars.

Let's bring in Barbara Starr, live at the Pentagon, breaking this news.

Barbara, what can you tell us?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Pamela. This happened in Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city controlled by ISIS for months now. What is so unusual here, this building containing millions in ISIS cash, was in the middle of this city in a civilian area and the U.S. still bombed it. We are hearing so much about trying to avoid civilian casualties. What happened here is they got intelligence that ISIS was using this building to store cash to pay its troops to conduct operations, but they knew there were civilians in the area so U.S. planes and drones kept watch for several days trying to calculate the best day to hit the building. We are now told that two 2,000-pound bombs were fired against this building in Mosul at dawn yesterday. They do believe they destroyed the cash pile there.

Why that's so important, of course, is it takes away significant resources from ISIS for its operations, its ability to function as a state with all of those financial resources. How important was it? One official telling CNN the U.S. was willing to risk up to 50 civilian casualties in this area to get the building, to destroy the building. At the end of the day, after they dropped the bombs at dawn, they believe perhaps five to seven casualties. They tried to pick a time when there were the fewest number of people around. But a real signal that the U.S. is going after ISIS's economic and financial targets to really try to cut its heart out -- Pamela?

BROWN: Barbara Starr, thank you for that reporting first on CNN.

Up next, on this Monday, mystery in Italy. Why police are calling the death of an American artist a homicide. Her death already drawing comparisons to another high-profile case.

And later, remembering rock legend, David Bowie. Kiss lead singer, Gene Simmons, joins me up next to discuss his enduring legacy and influence. Stay with us.

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[14:37:40] BROWN: New information today into the alleged gang rape of an 18-year-old woman at a Brooklyn playground. Law enforcement forces say the victim's father ran screaming for help but was told to leave the store because he appeared drunk or incoherent. He and his daughter had been at the playground drinking beer when the dad says attackers pulled gun and forced him to leave and raped his daughter. Police released this surveillance video right here of the suspects. Four of them, all teenagers, are now in custody while police are still hunting for one more suspect. According to law enforcement sources, at least one of the teens told investigators the sex was consensual. But the 18-year-old and her dad say that's definitely not the case.

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UNIDENTIFIED FATHER OF RAPE VICTIM: They pulled a gun, told me to run. All of them had their way with her.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you hope this video gets these guys?

UNIDENTIFIED RAPE VICTIM: Absolutely.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: When your dad left you, what were you thinking?

UNIDENTIFIED RAPE VICTIM: I was real scared. I didn't know what to do. I was in a panic mode.

UNIDENTIFIED FATHER OF RAPE VICTIM: She fell to the floor and she collapsed.

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BROWN: Joining me now is New York City councilwoman, Laurie Cumbo.

Thank you so much for coming on.

What a disturbing story here. When you first heard about this case, what went through your mind?

LAURIE CUMBO, (D), NEW YORK CITY COUNCILWOMAN: I was really devastated. This is a case that's certainly going to rock how safe every woman in the city of New York feels currently. Because if a young woman walking in the presence of her father can be attacked so brutally by five individuals, then every woman in the city knows they are vulnerable to whatever happened to them in the city of New York. That's why this particular situation is so disturbing because there has been an escalation of violent crimes against women despite the fact that it crime is going down in the city of New York. It has escalated when it comes to the safety of women.

BROWN: Why do you think that is?

CUMBO: It could be many different reasons for why this particular situation is happening. I feel that our police commissioner has been doing a lot of work on this, but I feel that the administration as a whole could come out more aggressively to let individuals know that we have a zero tolerance for rape in the city of New York. We have zero tolerance for sexual assault. We came together in a press conference in front of city hall to address comments that Police Commissioner Bratton made that for weeks ago talking about how can we address the escalation of crime against women he suggested that women utilize a buddy system. So there's a way that people respond to violence against women and it's not appropriate. We feel that it needs to be stronger. It needs to be more effective and needs to be legislation and strategy. There needs to be implementation as well as enforcement. Every woman in the city of New York should feel safe whether they are coming home late at night, early in the morning, coming from a party or going to work extremely late.

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[14:40:41] BROWN: No doubt about that. No doubt about that. But I have to ask you this. Law enforcement sources told CNN that the victim in this case was drunk, combative and she initially refused treatment. What can you tell us about that?

CUMBO: I would say that's typical of just what I spoke about, that individuals often talk about the woman. They rarely talk about the individuals who actually committed the rape. Those are the individuals that need to be focused on right now. It does not matter --

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BROWN: No doubt about that. No doubt about that. We should focus on the perpetrators.

CUMBO: That's what we should focus on. We shouldn't talk about whether she was drunk, or whether she was properly dressed or the time of the evening that it happened. That's too typical of the situation of how we discuss rape in the city, the nation and really the world. We need to focus in this situation on those five individuals that committed this heinous crime and the bad decisions they made throughout the day. Had they been drinking or smoking, what are their situations in what would be put in someone's mind to think something like that was OK. A lot of it is in neglect. They are in the Brownsville section of New York. They are thinking, because they are black, she's black, her father is black, they are thinking that no one really cares about what we do in this community. There will be no repercussions. We're discussing this matter because we want to let individuals know, whether you're on the Upper East Side or Brownsville, all women matter and we're here to make sure that message is sent loud and clear.

BROWN: Thank you so much. You certainly did that on this show. New York Councilwoman Laurie Combo, we appreciate it.

CUMBO: Thank you.

BROWN: Any moment, now the mother of the so-called affluenza teen about to face a Texas judge, as we learn new details about a large bank withdrawal and her final good-bye before fleeing to Mexico. We'll take you live to the courthouse.

Plus, an American woman found strangled to death in Florence, Italy. Why this death is already being compared to the Amanda Knox case. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

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[14:46:55] BROWN: Any moment now, the mother of affluenza teen, Ethan Couch, is due to appear before a judge for a bond hearing. Right now, Tonya Couch's bond is set at $1 million but that could get reduced. She's accused of running away with her son to Mexico after video surfaced showing Ethan allegedly violating his probation for killing four people in a 2013 DUI crash.

Joining me now to discuss all this is CNN's Ed Lavandera live at the courthouse in Fort Worth.

Ed, what can we expect?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Pamela. The drama continues here in Fort Worth. Tonya Couch expected to enter the courtroom at any moment. The hearing was supposed to have started at 2:30 eastern time. It's been pushed back a little bit. Right now, she faces a $1 million bond, which she hasn't posted since she arrived back here in Texas several days ago, the middle of last week. It's unclear whether or not the judge is willing to reduce that bond in any way. If he does and she's able to make the bond at some point, the judge told her on Friday that he would require her to wear an ankle monitor. We'll see how all of this plays out.

But all of this also comes amid-new details we have learned in the disappearance of Tonya Couch and her son, Ethan, who is still in Mexico. When they disappeared around December 11th, we're told, investigators in an arrest warrant affidavit say the day after the video surfaced on Twitter showing Ethan Couch at a party where beer was being served and alcohol, was part of the festivities there, that the pair had concocted this plan to take off on the run. The day after, Tonya Couch withdrew $30,000 from her personal bank account and concocted the plan to take off with her son. In that same document, investigators also say that Fred Couch, Tonya's husband, and the father of Ethan, told investigators that she had called him at some point and also said that they were leaving and that he would never see her son again as well. So all of that drama playing against this backdrop here as Tonya Couch expected to enter the courtroom at any minute.

BROWN: It's like something out of a movie.

Ed Lavandera, thank you so much. It will be interesting to see how it plays out today.

Meantime, in Italy, authorities say they are investigating the death of an American woman as a homicide after her body was found inside her Florence apartment. The 35-year-old artist named Ashley Olsen was reportedly found strangled. She moved to Italy to be with her father.

Olsen's friends back in Florida say they are horrified.

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STACI KELLY, FRIEND OF ASHLEY OLSEN: I can't imagine what she went through. No one deserves to go through that. So whoever did this to her, I hope they get what's coming to them. It's really hard. She was just the best person. And I'm shocked that this has happened to someone that I know. It's just horrific.

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BROWN: Barbie Nadeau has more on the investigation from Rome.

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[14:50:04] BARBIE NADEAU, ROM BUREAU CHIEF, THE DAILY BEAST: Pam, the investigation into the mysterious murder of the American Ashley Olsen is now hinged on the results of an autopsy being conducted in Florence. The results of the autopsy really do provide a road map for investigators. They are not looking at just how she died, but when she died, which will give them the window for surveillance tapes, footage in terms of who may have been around her apartment during the window, the ark of time in which her murder took place. It also looked at things like toxicology, whether she had been drinking, whether there were drugs in her system, eaten anything prior to her death. They are looking at other things like whether or not she has bruises on her body that may not have been apparent, that those could indicate that the body was moved. A look at what's underneath her fingernails to see if there was some kind of a struggle. They will look at crucial DNA from an investigation like that. And they will look at whether or not she had had sex any time in the 24 hours before she was murdered. All of those things will paint the picture of what led to the murder of Ashley -- Pam?

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BROWN: Barbie Nadeau, thank you very much.

Just ahead, a tipster tells police that the threat against cops isn't over yet, and that the man who reportedly confessed to shooting an officer in Philly for ISIS is tied to a larger group.

Plus, stunning new video just in of the raid that took down one of the world's most-wanted men. Inside el Chapo's secret hideout, and what happened just before his capture. We'll be right back.

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[14:55:36] BROWN: Welcome back. Do you know where your food comes from or what's in it? "CNN Money's" Kristine Alesci decided to find out and, today, in her new series, "Raw Ingredients," Christina looks at the produce we eat. Believe it or not, those fresh fruits and veggies that are supposed to be healthy for us, well, sometimes it's making us sick.

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CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: Salad, Americans are eating up to five times more leafy greens than they did 20 years ago. We're consuming three billion pounds a year. But our intensifying love affair with fresh produce is creating problems for farmers, for the environment, and even for our own health.

One in six Americans, that's 48 million people, get sick from contaminated food each year, 3,000 die. You think it's coming from undercooked meat and fish. Produce is actually responsible for about half of the illnesses.

DR. MANSOUR SAMADPOUR, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, IEH LABORATORIES & CONSULTING GROUP: Any industry that wants to produce safe foods, they can do it.

ALESCI: Dr. Mansour Samadpour runs one of the nation's largest food safety consulting labs. Chipotle hired his company to assess safety standards after the government traced an outbreak E. coli back to some of its stores. He discussed listeria and salmonella in his office.

SAMADPOUR: This place is good enough to infect everyone

(on camera): How could you get so close to it?

SAMADPOUR: Because they don't jump. The current assumption is food is safe until proven otherwise. We have made a lot of people sick over the years.

ALESCI (voice-over): Hailey Bernstein survived an E. coli infection when she was 3 years old. She got it from contaminated lettuce. 19 years later, she's still struggling with the consequences.

HAILEY BERNSTEIN, SUFFERED FROM E. COLI: I have diabetes. I have a vision impairment. I had surgery for my bleeding in my head. My voice cannot go louder than what it is. And I love singing. And I can't get rid of the breathing if I wanted to sing. It's from everything. It's the scarring. It's just one on top of the other.

ALESCI (on camera): What about people who say getting that sick over E. coli doesn't happen that often.

BERNSTEIN: If it's you, it's one too many. If it's somebody else, it's not a lot of people.

ALESCI (voice-over): You may be asking, how does a bacteria like E. coli or salmonella end up in your leafy greens? It could be a variety of ways, but the most common answer is waste. That's right, feces. Manure is used to fertilize crops. Animals like rodents or birds pick up the bacteria and carry it into produce fields.

It could even be from humans. How? Labor in the field is hard. And there's not always a bathroom around. That exact scenario is what led to recent outbreaks from cilantro traced become to Mexico over the last few years.

SAMADPOUR: People need to understand what they are eating. You're planning to travel to a country and they say, when you go there, don't eat salads and don't drink water. Then you find out that your salad is coming from that place.

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BROWN: Wow, needless to say just lost my appetite a little bit there.

Cristina Alesci, really interesting report there because a lot of people think this is raw. This should be good for me. Is the FDA doing anything to fix this problem?

ALESCI: It took the agency nearly six years to come up with new rules for produce producers and processors, but finally they did. Just in November, they issued those rules. That's supposed to hold foreign producers more accountable. The problem in these situations is always funding. Does the agency have enough money? The agency itself says it has a funding gap of $170 million, but I can tell you, Pamela, the people that we spoke to around this issue say the agency needs way more than that to do its job properly.

[14:59:57] BROWN: So often it comes down to money.

Cristina Alesci, thank you so much for that.

Top of the hour now on this Monday. I'm Pamela Brown.

And the world's most-wanted drug lord now await extradition to the --