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CNN NEWSROOM

Attacks Rock Baghdad; Libya Requests Weapons; Trump's Alma Mater; Amtrak Train Investigation. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired May 17, 2016 - 09:30   ET

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


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[09:32:36] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me. Suicide attacks ripped through Iraq's capital. At least 21 people have been killed and that number is expected to rise. In at least three separate blasts in Baghdad, well, one of them hit this popular marketplace, ISIS now claiming responsibility. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is in Amman, Jordan, with more on this.

Hi, Jomana.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.

As you mentioned, at least three suicide bombings targeting markets in and around Baghdad according to security officials. Now, ISIS has claimed responsibility for one of these attacks, for a market in northeastern Baghdad, saying it was carried out by a suicide bomber who first threw grenades at the crowd and then detonated his suicide best. Now, this was followed by another deadly attack, the deadliest of today's attacks in Sadr City, that eastern slum of Sadr City, the majority Shia population here. If you recall last week, that was the scene of a devastating attacks where scores of women and children were killed in another market bombing. Today, at least 14 people killed, more than 50 others wounded in Sadr City.

Now, ISIS - there's been no claim of responsibility for the other two attacks, but typically these sort of suicide bombings have been claimed by ISIS in the past. The real concern here, Carol, is this is the latest in a series of attacks we have seen for more than two weeks now. Attacks, some of them complex, some of them coordinated in and around Baghdad mostly, really raising concerns about what ISIS is doing here. Are we seeing a shift in tactics with ISIS attacking more civilian targets, especially in the capital. So a lot of concern about that.

And we're also - it's coming at the same time that we're hearing from U.S. and Iraqi officials that ISIS has lost a lot of territory in Iraq with more than 45 percent of the territory once controlled according to U.S. officials. But, clearly, Carol, after this campaign, violence that we have seen now these past couple of weeks, ISIS has not lost the ability to carry out these sort of devastating attacks.

COSTELLO: Jomana Karadsheh, thanks so much. The U.S. and other allies may soon be sending weapons to Libya.

Leaders there say they need arms and training to keep up the fight against militant extremists. Secretary of State John Kerry says the U.S. is open to the idea with conditions. ISIS is gaining ground in Libya with thousands of fighters in the country. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is - he just got back from Libya. He's now in London with more on this.

[09:35:07] Good morning.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Carol, what's important to point out here is that John Kerry is talking about maybe lifting the broad U.N. sanctions against arms being shipped to Libya for the case of what he calls the legitimate government here. Now that itself is a complicated idea because the newly installed government there that's backed by the U.N., by America, by the western general and Europe, that is one of three particular administrations claiming they have the right to run Libya. Now, they've inserted themselves, they're having a pretty slow job about getting to grips of the levers of power in the country, and they've sowed (ph) a lot of confusion by inserting themselves into the capital of Tripoli, (INAUDIBLE) there, simply actually not running. No one really know who's boss.

The idea John Kerry's putting forward is that if they get, quote, what is a legitimate request for weapons from the legitimate government, they will supply those weapons, as will many other world power, including Russia, some gulf states as well. Desperately need, I have to say, because ISIS, right now, are on the move. They have a tenth of Libya's coastline. A coastline that dons right on to Europe, where there's a large migrant crisis from North Africa in - across the Mediterranean Sea, into Europe as we speak.

And ISIS are advancing in some areas too. Many of the militias fighting them rag tag, low on ammunitions. We saw ourselves, they have little to stop ISIS advancing down a main highway just last week. The key question being, if the Libyan government does make that request, what militia do they fully control? Can they be absolutely sure where those weapons will eventually end up? That's long been the problem with arming groups in the fight against ISIS. It's no change here in Libya. The problem is, that Libya's fast collapsing. It's a huge threat, potentially, that collapse to Europe. And, frankly, the west has done very little now for well over a year to slow that down. John Kerry's move potentially welcome, but facing many challenges, Carol.

COSTELLO: Nick Paton Walsh, thanks so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, what was Donald Trump like back in school? We'll hear from his former classmate and visit his alma mater, next.

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[09:41:12] COSTELLO: Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl just walked into a court hearing at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He faces desertion and misbehavior charges for leaving his Army unit in Afghanistan. Bergdah's trial date, which was originally scheduled for the beginning of August, could be postponed after his defense team won access to thousands of pages of classified information. We'll keep you posted on what happens.

For the second time in two weeks, a Mexican judge rules in favor of extraditing El Chapo to the United States. This is the second judge to approve the Mexican drug lord's - drug king, rather, extradition. Guzman, who escaped a high security Mexican prison in July of last year, is being held at a prison in Juarez. That's just a few miles from the U.S. border.

Before Donald Trump made it big in business and on reality TV, he was a student at the Wharton School in Pennsylvania. And as CNN's Jessica Schneider reports, he was a very different Donald than the one we see today.

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DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So I went to the Wharton School of Finance, which is considered the best business school.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is the education Donald Trump boasts about repeatedly on the campaign trail.

TRUMP I was really a good student at the greatest school, the Wharton School of Finance.

I went to the Wharton School of Finance. I was a great student. I built a fortune.

SCHNEIDER: That swagger was something his Wharton classmates noticed decades ago.

LOUIS CALOMARIS, STUDIED WITH TRUMP AT WHARTON: Don had the ambition and the drive, and he made that very obvious from the beginning, comparing himself to one of the most successful and wealthiest realtors in Manhattan. He said, I'm going to be the next Bill Zeckendorf in Manhattan real estate, but I'm going to be even better. And I remember, I could see the expression on my classmates' faces, and we're thinking, who the hell does he think he is.

SCHNEIDER: It was the fall of 1966, on the Philadelphia campus, and 20-year-old Donald Trump had just transferred to the Wharton School of Finance from Fordham University in the Bronx. Louis Calomaris, a Republican who doesn't want to say who he's voting for, took six real estate classes with Trump, and Calomaris noticed early Trump's knack for marketing.

CALOMARIS: Donald had good concept for corporate and brand image from the beginning.

SCHNEIDER: The last time Calomaris saw Trump was on graduation day, 1968.

CALOMARIS: He was a very friendly guy. He never really bragged about money or power. SCHNEIDER: Calomaris' Trump tales are at the forefront of his memory,

but on today's campus there isn't much talk about the brash billionaire.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nope. Never.

SCHNEIDER (on camera): You never have his name come up?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rarely. Like probably once, and I've been here for a year.

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Trump's name isn't branded on Wharton's campus like it is on the streets of Manhattan. Instead, the buildings are named after other rich donors, like businessman and philanthropist John Huntsman Senior. Trump's name is only seen inside the schools Van Pelt Library, where a simple plaque thanks the class of 1968 for their donations to the seminar room. Wharton wouldn't provide any information on Trump's financial donations.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have a precious (ph) name like "The Donald." You know, they referred to him as more of like an entity.

TRUMP: It's a disgrace.

SCHNEIDER: "The Donald's" bravado today was present on the Wharton campus 48 years ago.

CALOMARIS: What we're seeing is exactly what was there early on.

SCHNEIDER (on camera): Three of Donald Trump's children followed in his footsteps, Donald Jr. and Ivanka graduated from Wharton, while daughter Tiffany took classes there while attending the University of Pennsylvania. And while he often praises the school in his education, Donald Trump took a bit of a different take in his 1986 book, "The Art of the Deal." He wrote that in his opinion the Wharton degree doesn't prove much and he also said it didn't take him long to realize that there was nothing particularly exceptional or awesome about his fellow students.

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COSTELLO: Jessica Schneider reporting, thank you.

[09:44:54] Still to come in the NEWSROOM, it was a violent train crash that killed eight people and injured more than 200 others. What caused it? The NTSB reveals the results of its investigation.

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COSTELLO: Authorities now say the engineer running the Amtrak train that derailed in Philadelphia could not remember the moments prior to the accident in Pennsylvania last year or even why he accelerated moments before hitting a curve at just over 100 miles an hour. That's double the speed he should have been going. The NTSB is announcing its findings on the crash that left eight people dead and more than 200 others injured. CNN's Rene Marsh has more on this. Good morning.

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION & GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

[09:50:00] You're looking at live pictures right there as the NTSB is giving information on their investigation. They have concluded that Amtrak 188, the train's engineer was distracted by radio conversations between other trains and dispatchers about trains which were being hit by projectiles. Now, investigators say they found no evidence that the Amtrak engineer was using alcohol, drugs, or a cell phone. They also say that he was not fatigued. The ride from the train station in Philadelphia to the site of the derailment was about 11 minutes and investigators say seven to nine of those minutes the engineer was listening and participating in radio conversations regarding those other trains which had reported being hit by a rock.

Now, safety advocates had been pushing for speed control technology. They say had that been installed on that section of railroad tracks, that deadly derailment would not have happened. We do know, Carol, that Amtrak has since installed that technology which essentially sends a warning to the engineer if the train is speeding. And if the engineer does not respond, that technology applies the brakes for him or her.

Carol.

COSTELLO: So - so what might happen to this engineer?

MARSH: Well, at this point it - they're - we're not seeing anything that would lead to any criminal charges. Remember, police had been involved in this investigation as well. What we will possibly see come out of this is, number one, NTSB will make recommendations to companies like Amtrak to help them - help their employees essentially better multitask when in control of a train. I mean it wasn't in violation that he was listening or participating with those radio transmissions. That wasn't a problem. The thing is that he lost his what they call situational awareness. He lost track of where he was. And so training will need to be stepped up in that regard. But as far as any criminal action, no word of that because they just have not found anything that points blame. Again, no drugs, no alcohol.

COSTELLO: Rene Marsh reporting live for us this morning. Thank you.

If you're heading to the airport anytime soon, get ready to wait in line. Some passengers in Chicago at O'Hare say wait times reached three hours. Lines were so bad that some travelers missed their connections.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were just in security for almost two hours and ran to our gate and it was three minutes shy of the door closing. So we got a hotel and are back and hopefully we'll make this flight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got here about three - two and a half hours early and it still wasn't enough time and I had to go back to my friend's place and try it again this morning.

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COSTELLO: Wow. The TSA is planning to hire more personnel and use more bomb-sniffing dogs to reduce wait times, and it hopes to have that all in place by summertime. It's expected to be a record travel season with 222 million people expected to fly. Some airports, like San Diego International, are hiring entertainment to keep passengers happy, including clowns. Yes, clowns, stilt walkers and even little tiny horses because if you miss your flight, a little tiny horse will bring a smile to your face.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, an ancient roman shipwreck is found off Israel. So, what was on board?

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[09:57:41] COSTELLO: Checking some top stories at 57 minutes past.

Competing lawsuits are dropped between a Texas pastor and Whole Foods. The pastor claimed the grocery store put a gay slur on a cake he ordered, but now Pastor Jordan Brown (ph) is apologizing. He's apologizing to the chain and everyone affected. He said, they, quote, "did nothing wrong," In response, Whole Foods is dropping its countersuit against Brown.

The Senate votes today on a funding package aimed at fighting the Zika virus. The virus causes microcephaly and other birth defects and it's spread through mosquito bites. There are three competing funding plans and they're all - the Senate is considering all three. Each calls for a different amount of money. The president requested nearly $2 billion. House Republicans suggested a total less than half that amount. Then a Senate group proposed a $1.1 billion compromise.

All right, we've got to talk about the Detroit Tigers because, yes, Brad Ausmus had this epic fight with the umpire in an argument and he took his shirt off and covered home plate. But, you know what, the Tigers blew an eight-run lead to the lowly Minnesota Twins. I don't care about the tirade Brad - I can't even say his name I'm so upset.

OK, I'm done. I'm over.

Let's talk about this Roman shipwreck, shall we? It's a 1600-year-old Roman shipwreck found off the coast of Israel in the Mediterranean Sea. Buried in the sand, ancient Roman coins and metal statues. The statues are even more rare than the coins because in ancient times the metal was often melted down and reused. In fact, researchers say the ship may have been taking the statue to be recycled. The ship sank in the middle of a storm, but, wow, that is fascinating.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.

And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Voters in Kentucky and Oregon heading to the polls for today's primaries. Polls across Kentucky now open, including this voting site in Louisville. It's a Republican-leaning state, but today's primary only features Democrats, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. They're fighting for 55 delegates and Clinton has invested heavily in winning the state. She needs to stop Sanders' recent surge. And he's expected to do well today in Oregon's primary. The last polls are opening there this very minute. Sanders needs to - Sanders needs a big win to chip away at Clinton's delegate lead.

[10:00:02] No such drama for Donald Trump, the last Republican standing. Each delegate nudges him closer to the nomination, but he's been knocked off message by an unflattering news article that could wind up in court. There's a lot to cover this morning.