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Bill Cosby Remembers Dave Brubeck; Supreme Court to Hear Custody Case; George W. Bush Pushes Immigration Reform; FBI Seeks Information on Israel Keyes.
Aired December 05, 2012 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL COSBY, COMEDIAN & ACTOR: With our musicians, you can tell who that person is by becoming an acquired listener, the same as many people can say that is Stravinsky, et cetera, et cetera. We, those of us listening to the music, having come through the 1940s, the 1950s, we can tell because our musicians, who broke through, had a style, and you could tell in a heart beat that that was Dave. You could tell from his playing to the sound. And, of course, Paul Desmond, Joe Morello. I hope I said the names correctly.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.
COSBY: But it was the style and it got to you. He included that sound of the blues, the rhythms of Africa, of Israel, of Arabic, and he included that and he made all of it swing so that people actually tried to dance.
MALVEAUX: Mr. Cosby, thank you so much for your insights.
Dave Brubeck has died at 91 years old. Want to go out just listening to one of his favorites here, "Take Five."
(MUSIC)
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MALVEAUX: The United States Supreme Court doing something very unusual today. The justices are actually getting in the middle of a personal family matter. This is the little girl at the center of this rare Supreme Court case. Her name is Eris, and she is 5 years old. And her mom and dad are fighting for custody. So how does an ugly divorce make it to the highest court in the land?
Our CNN Joe Johns reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eris Chafin is a beautiful 5-year-old in the middle of the custody battle between two parents at the end of a rocky marriage.
JEFF CHAFIN, FATHER OF ERIS: My daughter, she's my sparkle. She's everything for me. She's everything for me.
LYNNE CHAFIN, MOTHER OF ERIS: If my daughter is sent to the United States, I believe I will never see her again.
JOHNS: It's a complicated legal fight dealing with international borders and treaties and important enough that the U.S. Supreme Court has taken the case.
ERIS CHAFIN, IN MIDDLE OF PARENTS' CUSTODY FIGHT: (INAUDIBLE).
JOHNS: The last time Eris was in the U.S., her father shot this video of her. But now she lives in Scotland where her more Lynne is from. A federal judge ruled that Lynne could legally take Eris back to Scotland despite the father's objection.
Jeff is a U.S. army sergeant who served in Afghanistan. He says Eris she shouldn't be with her mother because Lynne has a drinking problem.
JEFF CHAFIN: Personally, I don't think someone with an issue, alcohol issue like that can take care of a child, you know, definitely on their own.
JOHNS: As evidence, this is a 2010 police video where Lynne was charged with disorderly conduct. Lynne says it was an isolated incident after a night out.
LYNNE CHAFIN: You know, I had too much to drink and I apologized to the court when I was taken to the court. This is not a reflection on me as a mother. I wasn't drunk, in charge of my child.
JOHNS: It's a classic "he said, she said."
LYNNE CHAFIN: I believe he set me up.
JOHNS: Lynne accuses Jeff of unwanted controlling behavior, including a plot to get her deported.
LYNNE CHAFIN: He called the police on me on the 24th of December, Christmas Eve, and I was removed from the house. I was taken to a particular jail.
JOHNS: Something Jeff denies.
JEFF CHAFIN: How could I get her deported? How is that even possible?
JOHNS: -- telling a totally different story.
JEFF CHAFIN: I woke up with her standing over me with a knife.
JOHNS: So why would the Supreme Court get involved? There's a treaty called the Hague Convention that says a child in the middle of an international custody battle goes to the country of her habitual residence.
Here's Lynne's lawyer.
STEPHEN CULLEN, ATTORNEY FOR LYNNE CHAFIN: The whole treaty turns on these two words, "habitual residence." What is the ordinary, regular home of this little girl?
JOHNS (on camera): And what is it in.
CULLEN: Scotland.
JOHNS (voice-over): The federal court agreed that's where Eris belonged, but Jeff's lawyer argues the judge got it wrong. The question is whether Lynne intended to stay in the U.S. with her family.
UNIDENTIFIED ATTORNEY: The phrase "miscarriage of justice" comes to mind.
JOHNS: But the main issue is for the Supreme Court is if Jeff can appeal the decision now that Eris is out of the country.
UNIDENTIFIED ATTORNEY: You've got to have that next level of review.
JOHNS: And it could have broader implications.
UNIDENTIFIED ATTORNEY: This is a case that has immediate, significant, long-lasting impact for every parent in America.
JOHNS: Though, most likely for military families that live overseas. Ultimately, Lynne's lawyer says it all comes down to this.
CULLEN: The welfare of the child. It's not good for a child to be like a ping-pong ball going backwards and forwards between different countries.
JOHNS (on camera): The treaty that affects this case is mainly designed to help children who have been abducting from their home country, but this is a slightly different scenario. The Chafin story has caught the attention of two Republican Senators but neither would say they will introduce legislation addressing any of the issues. Passing a bill to circumvent a treaty would be controversial on Capitol Hill and suspect in the court.
Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: He's kept private since leaving the White House, but former President George W. Bush is out renewing the call for immigration reform.
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GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Not only do immigrants help build our economy, they invigorate our soul.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ladies and gentlemen, the 43rd president of the United States.
(APPLAUSE)
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MALVEAUX: Former President George W. Bush making a rare public appearance yesterday to speak out on immigration. Now, he is urging the nation's leaders to revamp the law with what he calls a benevolent spirit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: America can be a lawful society and a welcoming society at the same time. As our nation debates the proper course of action relating to immigration, I hope we do so with a benevolent spirit and keep in mind the contribution of immigrants.
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MALVEAUX: We bring in our CNN contributor, Republican strategist, Ana Navarro, who joins us from Washington.
Ana, good to see you.
I want to show our viewers what we've seen from President Bush. He has been largely out of the public arena for a while since leaving office, but we saw at the White House back in May for the unveiling of his portrait there. Also, prior to that, we saw him with the 20 wounded service men and women in the Warrior 100K bike ride.
Now he comes out, talks about immigration reform. And I have to say I covered him many years. He spent a lot of time trying to convince his own party, members of his own party, to embrace comprehensive immigration reform. Did not happen. Why is he weighing in now?
ANA NAVARRO, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST & CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Because I think it matters that much to him. You are right, we haven't seen him in the public fray. We haven't seen him talking politics or talking policy. But I think for the Bush family, reaching out to Hispanics is something that matters so much to them. It is genuine. It is in their hearts. We saw it with his father and Governor Jeb Bush in Florida. We saw it with President Bush 43 when he was in office. And, as you said, not only that he spent time, but he spent so much of his political capital trying to pass immigration reform and remove it as a wedge issue to be used by both parties for political purposes.
(CROSSTALK)
NAVARRO: For a lot of us Republicans it was hurtful for President Bush to see 27 percent of Latinos, only 27 percent of Latinos voted for the Republican, and I think we need to do better. I think that's why he did this extraordinary step of stepping in and talking about the issue. MALVEAUX: I got to ask you this here because, you are absolutely right, Mitt Romney got 27 percent of Latino votes. President Bush got 44 percent when he won re-election back in 2004. Do you think he could have made a difference? Would he have made a difference for Mitt Romney if he had stepped in earlier in the debate and said, look, you know what, I believe Mitt Romney supports Latino community and here is why?
NAVARRO: No, and I don't think he should have. Look, Suzanne, let's face it. Mitt Romney dug his own hole, and he is now laying in his own grave. I think, you know, for President Bush it was important. And I haven't spoken to him, but I just, you know, knowing the Bushes, they don't get into the fray of other people's politics, and they defer to that nominee. They defer to that candidate when it is his turn to be the candidate. But I think this issue is just important to them. It's been important to them their entire life. He has had, you know, great relationships with Hispanics across Texas and also across the nation. It is true, as I said to you, for the entire Bush family. It's something they've always embraced diversity and seen the positive in immigration and in diversity and having different people contribute to the fabric of America.
MALVEAUX: He has always talked about his relationships with people who he worked with and worked side-by-side --
(CROSSTALK)
NAVARRO: Listen, god knows he has put a lot of effort into Hispanics.
(LAUGHTER)
MALVEAUX: He tries. He does try, yes. That's absolutely true.
Last question here. Do you think -- OK. He comes out and says, look, this is the way to go. Is the Republican Party -- are they kind of moving in that direction here? We've seen Marco Rubio make some comments. We've seen even Paul Ryan as well. Do we see a shift that's happening here that's a little more immigrant friendly?
NAVARRO: I think losing for a second time and getting a low number of Hispanics really stunk. It caused a wake-up call that we haven't seen before. And I think there's this realization that the immigration issue, though not the priority issue for Hispanics, is an emotional issue, and that we are losing Hispanics and not able to talk to Hispanics about other issues like the economy because, you know, because of the rhetoric, because of the tone issues like and the policy on issues like immigration. So, yes, I think there is a realization.
Now, you know, Suzanne, this is Washington. There's a huge difference between a realization and legislation. We'll just have to see what happens. And we're going to have to see what kind of skin in the game President Obama and the Democrats have come up with. This is going to have to be a bipartisan solution.
MALVEAUX: All right. You mentioned Mitt Romney in his grave. Let's see if he becomes resurrected. You never know. There might be another life for him. We'll see.
Thank you, Ana. Good to see you, as always.
Suspected serial killer, Israel Keyes, crisscrossed the country undetected for more than ten years. The FBI says he admitted to the crimes, but they still don't know who all his victims were. We've got the search for answers, plus new surveillance video of Keyes before he died while in custody.
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MALVEAUX: Take a good look at this man. If you recognize him, the FBI wants to hear from you. His name is Israel Keyes. He apparently killed himself in police custody, but police say he confessed a string of serial killings.
Let's bring in George Howell who has been covering this.
George, we understand that he was in Alaska. He has since passed away, but he has confessed. Do they have a sense of who he killed?
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We do. We know much more about Israel Keyes. First of all, we know he is ex-military. We know that in at least two cases he strangled and sexually assaulted, you know, his victims. We also know he had a very methodical plan that, as he went into these situations -- first of all, this is a person who would fly into cities, he would rent a car, drive hundreds of miles to find unsuspecting victims, and then he would also have these murder kits. He would have weapons. He would have money that he got from robberies, all of this in anticipation of more attacks.
So the most recent attack, his last victim, we know Samantha Koenig, a barista in Anchorage, Alaska. He was in Anchorage. He went there to abduct and kill her. Then, Suzanne, he took a two-week cruise. Went to New Orleans, took a two-week cruise only to return to Alaska, to return to Anchorage to take a picture of her, pretending that she was alive, to then use that to try to extort money from the family. That's how investigators caught him in Texas.
MALVEAUX: That's unbelievable. How is it that this man was able to travel, to take cruises, to get on planes, to carry out these methodical killings?
HOWELL: Well, that's the thing. You know, this is something that he would scope out and, again, he had kits all over the country. He did everything to just get out of the way, not to get caught. We know after he was caught in Texas, and through the course of several conversations with these detectives, we also learned that he was connected to the murder of Bill and Lorraine Currier (ph) in Vermont. So apparently, he went to Vermont. He went into their neighborhood to try to find a home that would be easy to break into, and he chose theirs.
Listen to his plan, his approach in kidnapping them and then killing them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ISRAEL KEYES, SERIAL MURDER: I'd go to a remote area that is not anywhere near where you live, or that other people go to as well. You might not get exactly what you're -- not much to choose from, in a manner of speaking, but there is also no witnesses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: So you listen to him there, a very calm approach, you know? This was his plan. This is how he carried it out. And we know from investigators, Suzanne, he was connected to at least eight murders, four in Washington, one possibly in New York, Alaska and Vermont.
MALVEAUX: All right. George Howell, thank you very much.
HOWELL: Thank you.
MALVEAUX: Appreciate it.
He's only 27 years old, but actor, Frankie Muniz -- you may know him from the show "Malcolm in the Middle" -- says he had a mini stroke.
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MALVEAUX: Actor Frankie Muniz, star of the TV show "Malcolm in the Middle," says he's happy to be alive after suffering a mini stroke. He said he was riding his motorcycle -- happened last Friday -- when he suddenly lost vision in one eye. His body went numb. He says he was hospitalized in Phoenix, where he lives. He reportedly sent out a tweet afterwards saying that the episode was, in his words, "not fun at all." Well, he's lucky.
To learn more about mini strokes, visit CNN.com/empoweredpatient.
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MALVEAUX: An American astronaut is about to take part in rewriting space history. Scott Kelly -- he's the twin of former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords' astronaut husband, Mark Kelly -- he'll spend an entire year aboard the international space station. That's going to be the longest space mission ever by an American.
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SCOTT KELLY, ASTRONAUT: My greatest concern, I think, is just missing the people, you know, your loved ones, your family, your friends that, on a personal level, that you're attached to on the ground. And life on the space station is also pretty routine.
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MALVEAUX: It is a year-long mission. Not scheduled to blast off until 2015.
CNN NEWSROOM continues with Brooke Baldwin.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Suzanne, thank you.
I'm Brooke Baldwin. Top of the hour here.
We're getting some breaking news out of Egypt. We're going to take you there live. But basically, over the last couple of hours we have been watching some of the clashes that have been taking place. Take a look at some of the pictures.
