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Police Believe Killer Ex-Cop Dead; Tugs Tow Cruise Ship; Violence in India About Valentines Day

Aired February 13, 2013 - 12:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. We're taking you around the world in 60 minutes. Here's what's going on right now.

This is what police believed was the final deadly shootout with the fugitive ex-cop. They think the man who killed four people died in that violent showdown. Christopher Dorner barricaded himself in a cabin near Big Bear Lake, California, yesterday. There was a shootout, a fire and a cabin that burned to the ground. Well, forensic tests will determine whether or not the body found in those ashes is Dorner. We're going to have much more ahead on the dramatic developments.

Also, a horrific ordeal at sea for 4,000 people could finally be over in about 24 hours. Tug boats are expected to bring in -- this is the crippled cruise ship Carnival's Triumph -- bring it in to Mobile, Alabama, tomorrow. Some time tomorrow. We've been talking to passengers who say the conditions aboard this luxury liner are disgusting. We're going to have a live report straight ahead.

Pope Benedict XVI getting out in public again for the first time since announcing his resignation. Right now he is celebrating Ash Wednesday mass at St. Peter's Basilica, marking the beginning of Lent. Huge crowds have turned out to see him. The audience was also packed at the pope's weekly public appearance earlier today. Pope Benedict talked about his decision to step down at the end of the month, calling it the right thing to do for the church.

I want to bring you our top story. The ex-cop on a deadly vendetta. You have this frantic manhunt and then this is how police believe it all ended. Video from CBS News captured this gun battle. This was at a cabin in the woods. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guys, down!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So police say that Christopher Dorner barricaded himself inside that cabin, which burned to the ground. A sheriff's deputy was killed in all of this, another wounded, in that shootout.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Officer down. Officer down. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have the officer down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Medic ship's in the air. Medic ship's in the air.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE), officer down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Another officer down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Miguel Marquez, he is live from Big Bear Lake, California. This is where all of this played out. It was quite dramatic. We have our crime and justice correspondent Joe Johns. He's in Washington. And former FBI Assistant Director Tom Fuentes. He is via Skype.

Miguel, first of all, let's talk about what we know. The very latest here. And police are really trying to confirm, a, that the body inside that cabin is Christopher Dorner. Tell us how soon we'll know that confirmation. And then walk us through what you think happened in those last, final hours before that cabin burned down.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they're going to have to go through forensic tests to confirm 100 percent. But we are quite certain that it is Mr. Dorner. Every official we are speaking to either now on or off the record is saying that it is Mr. Dorner in there. There are local reports here in Big Bear that they found the license of Mr. Dorner in that cabin as well. We also had it quite early on last night from federal officials that it was, in fact, Mr. Dorner, as well.

So I think there is a sigh of relief, at least across San Bernardino that has ramped down its manhunt for Christopher Dorner. They've taken down all road blocks. They did last night. So it's very clear that they will -- that they do believe that it is -- they have their man at this point.

We probably won't know for perhaps some hours, perhaps days as to whether or not it is. It really depends on whether they can get dental records for him and confirm it that way.

MALVEAUX: Right. And, Miguel, real quickly, walk us through the chain of events.

MARQUEZ: On what happened -- yes, what happened yesterday, you know, 12:22 in the afternoon, two cleaning ladies walk in on Mr. Dorner in a house right here in Big Bear. Amazingly enough, that was about a mile, maybe less, from where this man burned his truck last Thursday and fled on foot. He was hiding right under the nose of San Bernardino Sheriff's Office.

He then tied them up. He stole their car. He took off. They were able to make a 911 call to report the stolen car. On the way there, a warden for the Game and Fish Department saw the purple car that was reported stolen, saw Dorner in it, or somebody resembling Dorner, gave chase. A shootout ensued between them. The purple car is now out of commission. Dorner takes -- runs into the woods, steals a truck, hijacks a truck on the road. That truck he then crashes about 20 miles down the road here. Goes into a cabin in Seven Oaks. And that's where this shootout with deputies ensues.

It sounds like now that I'm hearing better sound, by the way, of that KCAL (ph) KCBS video, it sounds like those are outgoing shots. Those would be from officers firing into the cabin that he -- that he picked up. So it sounds like there was a very big fire fight from outside.

Gas, at some point, was entered into that house. It is not clear whether Mr. Dorner set that fire himself perhaps as a -- hoping to create a diversion or whether the gas that the authorities were pumping into that house sent it ablaze and then it -- it turned into a (INADUBILE) that he could not escape from.

Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: OK. Miguel, hang with us here, because I want to bring in Joe Johns.

So, a lot of questions about the fire. The fact that this cabin was lit. It was set on fire. There's an audiotape that is played and we believe that it's police that are heard, "burn it down," before this cabin goes up in flames. What do we know about what they knew at the time that they set this cabin ablaze and whether or not they knew there was someone who was alive inside? Dorner alive inside?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Right. First thing I think we have to say is, we don't know a lot about that right now. You're hearing a lot of excited chatter on that tape. No explanations as yet, Suzanne.

It's obviously not police procedure, at least best practices to try to burn a building down with someone in it. But I also have to point out, and I think Miguel has pointed out, that when you hear people talking about burners, that sometimes refers to tear gas canisters. But as we look at transcripts from the police communications --

MALVEAUX: Well, Joe, let's listen in.

JOHNS: Go ahead.

MALVEAUX: Let's listen in to actually what was on that audiotape.

JOHNS: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) burn it down.

(INAUDIBLE). OK, I'll shoot the gas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get the gas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Burning gas, burning gas. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Burning gas. Burning gas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Joe, what are we listening to?

JOHNS: What you're listening to, apparently, is law enforcement authorities on the ground who have introduced some type of canisters, probably tear gas canisters, into the situation. And from the transcripts, it's pretty clear that they're looking for this man to come out of the house, and he didn't.

But one of the most important things, I think, that we haven't played a lot is, is pretty clear from the transcripts that it sounds like there was one shot fired from inside of the building. And that raises a whole question of whether it was the fire, Suzanne, that killed the person inside or if, in fact, that one shot was a suicide shot. That the man actually killed himself. Which would sort of belay all of these other questions about whether the fire actually killed him. So that's something that medical examiners are certainly going to have to look at --

MALVEAUX: All right.

JOHNS: And will probably be able to determine just how this person died. Then you go from there.

MALVEAUX: So I want to bring in Tom.

Tom, you've done hostage negotiations for years now. And you listen to this. Does it strike you as odd to hear this audiotape? What do you make of this?

TOM FUENTES, FORMER FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: No, I agree, Suzanne, it does sound odd. It sounds, you know, at first blush, it sounds unprofessional and that the SWAT team leader or whoever is at that scene issuing that command on the radio is overly excited, if you will, and -- but it's hard to tell. And it's easy to second guess here just hearing the audiotape, but we don't know what was going on exactly at the scene. We don't know if they had just taken shots at them and, you know, in returning fire. Didn't know if he was going to continue to fire at them. You know, we just don't have the whole picture yet. But it's clear that there will have to be, you know, some further explanation about what's occurring by the sheriff's office.

MALVEAUX: Does it sound like, you know, in light of what the tape reveals, that they knew whether or not Dorner was alive or dead before they decided that they were going to set the cabin on fire?

FUENTES: No, I don't know. I couldn't tell for sure right now whether that's what they believed at that moment, that he was alive or dead. I don't think if they thought he was dead, I don't think they would care about trying to burn the building down. I think that, you know, in the excitement of sending in the gas, the fire, the shooting back and forth, that there's just a lot of -- a lot of excitement going on and, you know, a lot of, you know, worry, I guess, on the part of the police that if he keeps firing, that's going to kill somebody again. Kill another person. So I think they're doing any means possible to bring this to an end. And if the fire's going to do it, then do it by that.

MALVEAUX: What is the one burning question that you have, Tom, when you look at all the confusion, the questions, the audiotape, the pictures of the cabin on fire and as we await for the confirmation of whether or not this really is Dorner inside?

FUENTES: Well, I think, you know, from my standpoint, having been a tactical commander before and a SWAT team member, I would want to know step by step what occurred, what the police knew, how they went about their business in setting up the perimeter around that cabin, when the shots were originally fired, the original shootout where the deputy was killed, and then what went on after that. So, I think that I would like to see the whole time line of what occurred. And, of course, that's maybe not going to come out for a long time by the sheriff's office. But I would like to see the review of exactly what happened --

MALVEAUX: Sure.

FUENTES: And how it progressed from the time of the original shootout at that cabin until the fire started.

MALVEAUX: Yes, a lot of unanswered questions. Tom, we appreciate it. And, of course, we're going to be searching for those answers, as well. Tonight at 8:00 Eastern, Anderson Cooper, he's devoting an entire hour to this frenzied manhunt. The final shootout, the timetable, of course, that we have been looking and searching for and the victims that were left behind from this cop who went on this shooting rampage. It is called "Nine Days of Terror: The Hunt for Christopher Dorner." "Anderson Cooper 360" tonight. That is 8:00 Eastern on CNN. You're not going to want to miss that one.

Taking you now to the Gulf of Mexico. We've been following this story. This is where more than 4,000 folks trapped on four days aboard this cruise ship. It is in deplorable conditions. Carnival's Triumph being towed at this hour. It's expected to dock in Mobile, Alabama. That is earlier -- early tomorrow afternoon, actually. And, of course, can't come soon enough for all of these people who are dealing. What are they dealing with? They're dealing with limited food, overflowing sewage. It's a hot, stuffy ship.

Carnival CEO Jerry Cahill, he offered an apology yesterday. He says here, "no one here at Carnival is happy about the conditions onboard this ship. We are very sorry about what is taking place."

Our David Mattingly, he's in Mobile, Alabama.

So, David, first of all, I imagine that there are people who have already started to make their way there to meet with the folks who have been stuck on this ship. When do we think that's going to happen, the reunion?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's going to happen probably about the middle of tomorrow afternoon. The ship's about 150 miles offshore right now. They're being tugged along about five to seven miles per hour. A very, very slow journey home.

And you were talking about that apology that came from the officials yesterday. What's probably going to speak louder, when all of these people finally get off of that ship here, is going to be that hotel room that's waiting for them. The Carnival Cruise Line has set up hotel rooms for everybody here. They're going to be getting off. They're going to be getting their first hot showers. They're going to be able to sleep in a clean, dry bed. They're going to get hot meals. That is going to mean so much to all of those people who are now entering multiple days now at sea with those conditions of the raw sewage that's coming up from the plumbing, no electricity, no air- conditioning. So this is going to be a huge relief when they get here.

The city of Mobile is also going to have medical personnel here available for them to perform any sort of quick examinations to provide them with any medical assistance, if anybody needs that, when they get off the ship. But you can bet -- now, it's not much to look at here. This is just a small little facility that was built to handle cruise ships to facilitate people getting off the ships on to buses and on to whatever destination they have. But you can bet when they get here, this is going to look like paradise to those 31 (ph) passengers and the crew can't be in good -- really good shape either.

MALVEAUX: Yes, I can only imagine. I can only imagine, David. You know, a hot shower goes a long way. But I imagine that they also too want more compensation. Is Carnival saying that, look, they're going to give them any money, anything else for this horrific ordeal that they've been going through for four days?

MATTINGLY: Well, first of all, they're not going to have to pay for this trip. Wow, yes. First -- and then after that, Carnival is saying that they will provide them with a credit for another cruise should they decide they want to try this again.

MALVEAUX: All right.

MATTINGLY: That's what they're offering right now. Of course, there's probably going to be all sorts of legal cases coming up with -- about this.

MALVEAUX: Yes, I can only imagine.

MATTINGLY: People seeing -- yes, all sorts of claims coming out from this.

MALVEAUX: Yes. All right, David, thank you.

I want to bring in Brent Nutt. He's, of course, one of the folks that we've been talking to throughout the week. One of those family members who's been waiting for the ship to dock.

And, Brent, first of all, I have to ask you, because, you know, your wife, Bethany, she's been on that ship now for four days and you've been talking to her, telling us what she's been going through. Are you going to try this thing again? Does the compensation sound good? You get your money back. I mean, is that good enough for you? BRENT NUTT, WIFE ABOARD CARNIVAL TRIUMPH: Well, no, not really. I mean the compensation, I mean, you know, it's not even worth it. I mean, first of all, I mean, we only paid $350 for her to go on this cruise. I mean her safety and her well being is worth a whole lot more than $350. And then a free cruise after that, I promise you, none of my family members that are on there will probably ever ever take another cruise.

MALVEAUX: Would you sue? Would you sue, Brent? Do you feel that upset about this whole thing?

NUTT: Well, I mean, it's pretty gut wrenching and all that. But, I mean, but I have reached out to an attorney in Florida and I spoke with them and all and everything and they said that really and truly, I mean, there's really not much that can really be done about it. And so -- and, I mean, I only reached out to them only because is whenever I spoke with my wife, there's people on this ship giving out phone numbers for attorneys and all and everything. And so then my wife was --

MALVEAUX: When --

NUTT: Go ahead.

MALVEAUX: No, no, no. When's the last time you talked to your wife? How is she doing?

NUTT: Well, I talked to her Monday about noon. And, I mean, she was still not doing very good and all, but she was pretty hopeful that they would have been home before now.

But I mean, they're not coming home until tomorrow now, so, I mean, it keeps getting later and later. And, I mean, with all the conditions and stuff, I mean -- I don't know, you just feel bad.

MALVEAUX: Yeah, we feel bad for you, Brent. And, you know, I know you're going to be heading over to Alabama. We're going to keep up with you tomorrow, see if we can't actually talk with your wife and see how she's doing when she finally gets there.

Brent, thanks so much. Hang in there.

We've got more we're working for on "Newsroom International." So, this is pretty interesting. Gangnam-Style was the dance craze of the decade. You might think so, right?

Well, move over, Psy, we'll show you how to do the Harlem Shake. That is right. It is the new move that is taking dance floors, swimming pools by storm all over the world. I'm not kidding.

Not everybody excited about Valentine's Day either. We're going to tell you about the beatings that unmarried couples in India are taking from hooligans. They're outraged at the idea of celebrating Valentine's Day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) MALVEAUX: Welcome back to "Newsroom International." Here are stories making news around the world right now.

Tragic story, this is Brazil where three people were killed instantly, electrocuted when a carnival float they were pushing hit overhead power lines. A fourth person who tried to help them was also electrocuted and also died.

It started a fire, knocked out power to thousands of homes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Over the next year, another 34,000 American troops will come home from Afghanistan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: That is part of last night's State of the Union address that was welcome news, of course, to the president of Afghanistan.

A statement from President Hamid Karzai calls the drawdown announcement something his country, quote, "has wanted so long now."

President Obama says by the end of next year, the U.S. war in Afghanistan will be over.

In eastern Afghanistan, there is word that it has now happened again, a NATO air strike killing civilians. We're hearing this from a spokesman for the governor in the province east of Kabul that is near the Pakistan border.

He says a NATO strike killed three Taliban commanders who were apparently targeted, but also 10 civilians were killed. NATO is investigating this claim.

Valentine's Day, yeah? Love, flowers for most of us, but in one part of northern India, some radical Hindus, they're angry about it. They are beating up people in the streets.

I want to bring in Michael Holmes to talk a little bit about this. Michael, I want you to just look at this. Just look at the video, first of all.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's amazing.

MALVEAUX: All right. So why is this going on? I mean, what's the big deal? What's happening?

HOLMES: Well, basically, what you've got here, these people were in a restaurant, guys and girls, they're in a restaurant just having a nice meal. It's coming up to Valentine's Day.

What you're seeing there are elements of Sri Ram Sena. They're part of a Hindu nationalist group there, a sort of a militant wing of a militant group, if you like. They disapprove of Valentine's Day. They say that Valentine's Day is part of the corrosive influence of Western imperialism and that it shouldn't go on, that it promote promotes untoward behavior, even rape, they say.

And so they're getting out in the streets and they're doing this sort of thing, beating up on people, they drag them out into the streets and carrying on like this.

MALVEAUX: And how do they know these are unmarried couples? Are they watching them? Are they following them on the streets? Do they look for a wedding ring, or how do they do this?

HOLMES: Yeah, they're just watching. They do that. They find out from -- they go in and they ask them, are you married? If you're not married, they drag them out. If they're having a one-on-one dinner or even in groups of fours.

You know, this is not a widespread attitude. I've got to say. This is only happening in parts of India. You look at Bollywood and the like, and you can see that young people generally have a fairly relaxed attitude.

But, I mean, this is just the disgrace. I've got to say, the cops are looking for these guys. It's not like ...

MALVEAUX: Well, that's a good thing. And you've got these students out there who are marching. I mean, it seems like they've figured out, look, you know, this is kind of crazy that's going on in the streets.

HOLMES: Yeah, there is opposition to it. Interestingly, one of the opposition parties, the BJP, also opposes Valentine's Day, but not in the radical way we're seeing from that other group.

But there are people out there using Valentine's Day to promote women's rights, as well, so looking at the more positive side of Valentine's Day.

MALVEAUX: Are you a big Valentine's guy?

HOLMES: I am not. I'm sorry. I'm one of the -- you're going to hate me for this. I'm one of those who just abhors it. I think it's crass commercialism. Don't tell me when to be romantic.

Every day is Valentine's Day. If you're with somebody, every day is Valentine's Day. Don't tell me to go buy flowers. I do it every week anyway.

MALVEAUX: All right. You're a romantic anyway.

You know what? Tell me a little bit about this other story. This is out of Australia, your home country, big change when it comes to the aborigine population. What's going on?

HOLMES: It is. What happened was, in parliament, there was an official change to recognize or a vote to unanimously pass the bill in parliament to recognize aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people as the original people in Australia.

You'd think this would've happened a couple of hundred years ago, but, no, it has not. And it's going to go to referendum.

They're going to look to change the constitution and finally recognize the indigenous people as the original landowners, which is, you know, for most Australian, it's about time.

MALVEAUX: Yeah, about time. And they've gotten an apology before. How did this change things?

HOLMES: That happened a few years ago. There was an official policy -- apology by the then prime minister, Kevin Rudd. This is now Julia Gillard and it's got to be said the opposition leader, Abbott, as well.

Everybody's on the same page. They're saying we've got to pass this. We've got to get the constitution to recognize the status of the aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people.

You know, it was only in the mid-'60s that aboriginals actually got the right to vote, officially.

MALVEAUX: So, what do you -- how do you feel about this, Michael, being an Aussie yourself? How do you feel?

HOLMES: It's absurd that it's taken so long is what I -- is my attitude to it, and the attitude of most Australians.

When it was voted in the '60s to sort of recognize aboriginal people, if you like, as being part of the census in the country -- this only happened in 1967, 90 percent of Australians back then voted in favor of it.

So, I mean, most Australians, it's like, God, really? We haven't done this already? So, yeah, change the constitution, make it official, and make it right.

MALVEAUX: It's about time.

HOLMES: It's way beyond about time.

MALVEAUX: Yeah, I'm going to say happy Valentine's to you a day early.

HOLMES: Thank you and happy Valentine's to you every day. Every day is Valentine's Day.

MALVEAUX: We're going to bring you live, of course, the president after his State of the Union address.

He's taking his show on the road, if you will, the plans that he outlined and we're going to bring it up to you next. You're seeing live pictures, Asheville, North Carolina.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) MALVEAUX: Fresh off his State of the Union address, the president, taking his plans on the road, show on the road. The president visiting an engine and transmission plant. This is in North Carolina. He's talking jobs here.

He's emphasizing economic growth, job creation, of course, in the State of the Union message. The president has two more stops this week. He's going to be tomorrow here in Atlanta, Friday in Chicago.

Let's listen in a little bit.

OBAMA: And I just want everybody here to know at this plant, but everybody in Asheville, everybody in North Carolina, and everybody all across the country, I want you to know as long as you're out here fighting every day to better your lives and to better the lives of your children, then I'll be back in Washington fighting for you.

I will be back there fighting for you because there's nothing we can't do and no possibilities we can't reach when we're working together. We just have to work together.

We've got to stop with some of the politics that we see in Washington sometimes that's focused on who's up and who's down, and let's focus on the same kind of common sense and cooperation we're seeing at this plant and we see across the country, all right?

So, thank you, everybody, God bless you. God bless America.

MALVEAUX: President wrapping up his remarks there, pretty brief. Of course, he's going to be here in Atlanta tomorrow.