Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Lava Inches Closer to Hawaii Homes; Serial Killer Suspect in Court Today; Ferguson Police Chief Expected to Resign; Clues sought in NASA Rocket Explosion; U.S. Boosts Security at 9,500 Buildings
Aired October 29, 2014 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, have a nice day. Thanks so much.
NEWSROOM starts now.
Happening now in the NEWSROOM, rocket disaster, heading for the International Space Station, exploding into a fireball just seconds after liftoff. What happened?
Plus security scare at the White House. Suspicious cyber activity detected on its computer network. New details on who investigators believe is behind the attack.
And quarantine battle Maine. Now saying they will pursue legal action against Nurse Kaci Hickox if she violates her quarantine. Are politics and not science driving this quarantine orders?
Let's talk. Live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
And good morning, I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.
The man who helps to lead the Ferguson, Missouri, police department has the troubled waters in the wake of the Michael Brown shooting may not get that chance. Chief Thomas Jackson remains in charge but government officials tell CNN he is expected to step down as part of efforts to reform the police department.
CNN justice reporter Evan Perez joins us now with more.
Good morning.
EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Well, this plan is being discussed by local, federal and state officials, and the way it would work is this. Once Tom Jackson, the police chief at Ferguson, steps down, the St. Louis County Police Department would take over management of the Ferguson Police Department.
Now this has been one of the focuses of the federal investigation that's been ongoing. I asked the Attorney General Eric Holder in an interview just last week about this issue and here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Is there a plan in place to have Chief Jackson resign?
MAYOR JAMES KNOWLES, FERGUSON, MISSOURI: No. No.
SIDNER: And are you -- are you under any pressure from any other --
KNOWLES: People have been saying that for long. So, I mean, for him to step down. But we've stood by him, you know, this entire time. So --
SIDNER: There's nothing --
KNOWLES: There's no change on that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PEREZ: Well, Carol, obviously that was a sound from the Ferguson mayor, who we talked to last night at the end of a city council meeting. He was basically denying that this plan was in the works, but we do know that, you know, for federal officials, you know, leadership of this department is one of the major issues because they do believe that for this department to move forward and be able to reform itself, they will have to have leadership change at the top.
COSTELLO: All right, Evan Perez reporting live, thanks so much.
Investigators are now searching the eastern Virginia coast for clues into what led to the explosion of an unmanned NASA contracted rocket.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Main engines is at 108 percent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go ahead. The power is normal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The private company behind this rocket launch believes the safety -- believes the safety staff had to send a destructive signal when it encountered a catastrophic failure just six seconds after takeoff. The rocket had just cleared the launch tower when the explosion started, sending a massive fireball into the night sky.
No one was hurt but everything from the cargo ship to the supplies, equipment, and experiments headed to the International Space Station were destroyed.
Leroy Chiao is a former NASA astronaut and commander of the International Space Station. He joins us live.
Good morning, sir.
LEROY CHIAO, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Good morning.
COSTELLO: Any theories as to what happened?
CHIAO: Well, it's too early to tell of course. The investigation has just started. They've got to collect all the debris and try to figure out what happened. Looking at the video, looks like the explosion happened near the engine so there could have been a problem with the engines, it could have been a problem with the fuel, the plumbing that takes the fuel to the engines. And I'm confident they will figure out the root cause of the failure.
COSTELLO: So they're searching the area along the eastern Virginia coast for clues, what specifically will they look for to give them a sense of what happened?
CHIAO: Well, they'll be looking for any piece of debris that they can find because especially the engines, they'll be interested to find all the pieces of the engines to see if the engines might have come apart or a turbo pump might have failed. It's actually really amazing what these guys can kind of reconstruct. But the key thing as with any kind of mishap like this is to get as much of the debris as you can to piece it all back -- to piece the puzzle back together.
COSTELLO: Of course, the bigger question here, can NASA really trust private companies to do its business?
CHIAO: Well, really it's not much of a change. I mean, NASA per see doesn't build rockets and never really has. They've always hired commercial companies to build them. I mean, the companies even have names like Boeing and Lockheed, and even Orbital Sciences has been in the space business for quite a while. They've been building rocket for decades, and they build satellites and other spacecraft so they are by no means, you know, a company that was just started last year or something like that.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, it's a concern because NASA also plans to use private companies to take astronauts into space. Should those plans be put on hold in light of what happens?
CHIAO: No. I mean, you know, rocketry is still something that's very difficult to do. It's complex pieces of the machinery, you know, just as certain as there will be another airline crash sometime in the future. You can bet that there will be another rocket mishap. It doesn't mean that there's any kind of lack of oversight.
You know, we've got the FAA looking over the airlines, making sure that they're regulated and the same is happening in the space business. You've got NASA and the FAA looking over the shoulders of these commercial providers.
We've been going -- we've been launching astronauts into space for over 50 years and the technologies mature. It's a matter of seeing if we can create a commercial environment for these commercial companies to make a profit and then let NASA buy those services rather than have to run it itself.
COSTELLO: All right. Leroy Chiao, thank you so much for joining me. Thank you for your insight, I appreciate it. CHIAO: My pleasure.
COSTELLO: In other news -- you're welcome.
In other news this morning, hackers who may have been working for the Russian government have broken into the White House's unclassified computer network. This is according to "The Washington Post." These cyber breaches have taken place over the past few weeks to deal with the problem the network has now been taken offline.
White House official tells CNN, "The temporary outages and loss of connectivity for our users is solely the result of measures we have taken to defend our networks."
News about that suspicious activity on the White House computers comes as the Department of Homeland Security ramps up security at many, many federal buildings.
CNN's Pamela Brown is in Washington to tell us more.
Good morning, Pamela.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning to you, Carol. That's right, the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson has announced stepped up security at government buildings in D.C. and other cities in the U.S. after a series of alarming events that have U.S. authorities on high alert, though we are told by a DHS official there is no new intelligence indicating additional threats to the homeland.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: This morning, concerns about terror attacks on the homeland continue, the U.S. now beefing up federal security in more than 9500 government buildings in Washington, D.C. and across the country.
These photos taken late Tuesday reveal a much higher police presence near the White House. The Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson says the new security measures are a precautionary step against terrorist organizations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's simply being safe rather than sorry.
BROWN: This move comes in response to continued calls for attacks against government officials on U.S. soil from groups like ISIS.
REP. ED ROYCE (R), CALIFORNIA: There was a specific request made about a month ago by ISIS. They're looking now at lone wolves to attack instruments that represent Western governments basically.
BROWN: This as the al Qaeda offshoot Khorasan poses an imminent threat according to officials. Also raising fears, the most recent terror attacks right across the U.S. border.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guys, there is a shooter on the loose. BROWN: Last Wednesday a 32-year-old Muslim convert who officials say
had connections with other extremists killed a Canadian soldier, then opened fire inside Canada's parliament. And two days before that, Canadian authorities say a radicalized Islamist struck and killed a Canadian soldier with his car. The federal facilities at risk some 1.4 million visitors daily, officials not disclosing those locations.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And this affects only facilities that are secured by Federal Protective Service, which is a DHS agency. Meantime, Johnson says that state and local governments need to be equally vigilant particularly in guarding against potential small scale attacks by a lone offender.
That is the big concern here -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Pamela Brown reporting live from Washington this morning.
Kaci Hickox, the nurse who was placed in isolation over the weekend despite showing absolutely no signs of the virus says she will not follow mandatory quarantine rules in her home state of Maine. Speaking this morning, she insisted she poses no health risk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KACI HICKOX, NURSES QUARANTINED AFTER TREATING EBOLA PATIENTS: I don't plan on sticking to the guidelines. I remain appalled by these home quarantine policies that have been forced upon me, even though I am in perfectly good health and feeling strong and have been this entire time completely symptom free.
I truly believe that this policy is not scientifically nor constitutionally just and so I am not going to sit around and be bullied by politicians and forced to stay in my home when I am not a risk to the American public.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Maine health officials are prepared to enforce her quarantine and say they will go to court to make sure she stays put. Hickox says if that's the case she will challenge that herself legally.
Other top stories for a Wednesday morning -- the U.S. is carefully looking into reports that ISIS used chlorine gas four times in the last several weeks. Chlorine itself is not a chemical weapon but when mixed and weaponized, it is banned from use on the battlefield.
AT&T is being accused of misleading its unlimited data customers. The FTC says AT&T reduced speeds for customers with unlimited data plans by nearly 90 percent in some cases.
Former slugger Jose Canseco reportedly shot off his own finger while cleaning his gun. TMZ reports Canseco's girlfriend is saying doctors were trying to save his finger and that even if they did, he would not have full use of it again.
That missing Denver Broncos fan has been found. Paul Kitterman was found unharmed more than 100 miles away in Pueblo. Police do not suspect foul play.
Lava emergency. CNN crews taking you to the front lines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're just on the outskirts of the Pahoa now, and we're about 25 feet above the treetops, and take a look at this view. It almost has the look of another world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Our Marty Savidge on the Big Island, right after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: A 2,000-degree disaster is now bearing down inch by inch toward homes on the big island of Hawaii.
You hear it sizzling on the ground. You hear the fire in the trees. Lava flow hot as a blow torch, hot enough to melt copper is destroying everything in its path.
Pictures taken from a drone show smoke billowing from the molten rock. At its current rate, law could hit home to the town of Pahoa as soon as today.
Residents have had plenty of warnings, though. The flow from the Kilauea Volcano started four months ago.
CNN's Martin Savidge is in Pahoa.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This has been a slow motion natural disaster. In fact, officials have had months to prepare for it, but they admit, now that it's here, it's a whole different emotional chapter.
(voice-over): The day residents have been fearing is finally here. The town of Pahoa is burning. A 2,000-degree river of molten lava that's been approaching for months is now searing the town, and it's just the beginning. Overnight, the first official evacuation notices went out.
DARRYL OLIVEIRA, HAWAII COUNTY CIVIL DEFENSE CONTRACTOR: Face to face, knock on the door, by a public safety official.
SAVIDGE: The lava is moving at about 30 feet an hour. And at its current speed, it will cut the town's main street in less than two days.
In a helicopter, I could follow the trail of destruction from the slopes of the Kilauea volcano to the edge of town.
(on camera): There it is. That's the lava field, and most of the lava is moving underground. You can see how it transforms the landscape. It just wipes out the vegetation.
(voice-over): On its way, the lava invaded a local cemetery, surrounding the white tombstones.
(on camera): There's nothing that can be done. In other words, if you're thinking why don't they divert it or why don't they try to dig a channel to go around the town? Hawaii has tried all that in the past. It's never been effective.
(voice-over): On the ground, crews race to construct new roads around the lava, to keep an evacuation route open and businesses connected to the nearby city of Hilo.
CHARLENE EWING, LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS: Hopefully, we'll be able to always stay open. Hopefully, Pahoa will still be viable.
SAVIDGE: Even as the danger creeps ever closer, some residents say they will stay, if only to watch their homes burn.
OLIVEIRA: When the lava flow comes through their subdivision or through their area, there will be an opportunity for them to remain on site, provided it's safe to do so.
SAVIDGE (on camera): Later today, members of the Hawaii National Guard will bolster the security forces that are already here, patrolling the streets, even as parts of the town burn -- Carol.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Martin Savidge reporting from the big island of Hawaii.
I want you to take another look at how destructive this lava is, a river of flames burning through a fence. Look at this -- the lava is chest high in some parts of this little tiny town, only about 900 people live there.
CNN's Indra Petersons joins me now.
We're talking at the break, you said, oh, this happened before, but that really isn't very comforting to the people there.
INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No, absolutely not. But so many people keep saying, why now? But it's not new and it's not even ancient history.
I want to take you back just to the '80s with the exact same crater, we had a feature that was erupting 1,500 feet in the air. Let's forward you to the 1990s you had another feature that overtook the area of Kalapana. We saw 100 homes were undertaken by that lava tube. The difference everyone is talking about, though, is typically in the past, we've been seeing that lava flow flow towards the ocean, so much so, you're talking about 500 acres of new land has actually been added since just the 80s. The difference we know from the crater is that we're now seeing a new feature that opened up around June and now the lava flow is going towards Pahoa.
This is the concern. The question is, what about today, what's the difference, and what is the speed of this lava tube? What they're going to be watching it or looking at is the narrowing of this tube.
Notice as we zoom in closer and closer, the leading edge of this tube seems to get thinner. That is not good news. You have the same momentum but less space for it to go. So, what does that mean? It means it is speeding up. That is the concern as they go forward in the next several days. It only gets closer and closer to the village and Highway 130.
And something else, Carol, is vog, not fog, vog. You have more sulfur oxide on the air. So many people thought when we talk about allergies and things that are going on, a lot of people are concerned with that as well.
COSTELLO: Another concern, tourists are flocking to the air just to watch the lava flow and they probably should not do that.
PETERSONS: No, you talk about whether your homes are affected or not. Even the vog alone, the widespread effects are going to be felt there for months.
COSTELLO: Indra Petersons, thanks so much. I'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: A suspected serial killer back in court in Indiana this morning, one week to the day after he refused to say his name or anything at all to the judge. Darren Vann faces murder charges in the deaths of two women. Police say he confessed to killing them and five other women and there maybe more victims.
Vann got out of a prison last year after serving five years for rape. Authorities say he was a low-risk sex offender.
So, let's talk about this. Joining me now, HLN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney, Joey Jackson, and CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor, Sunny Hostin.
Welcome to both of you.
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Thanks, Carol.
COSTELLO: So, let's just start with the hearing today.
Joey, what's going to happen today?
JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it depends upon whether he opens his mouth, right, because in the event he doesn't, he'll be held in contempt of court again and taken out.
But at some point in time, Carol, we suspect that he will speak and if he doesn't speak there's other people to attest to his competence. That's what it's about, are you competent? Do you understand the charges?
And so, what happens today, it's a matter of due process, right? Arraignment, and that means you're informed of the charges against you, and the judge sets the bail conditions and the beat goes on to discovery, attorneys get the police reports, the information, the attorneys will make motions to suppress confessions and it will lead to trial eventually.
COSTELLO: So, this guy was so talkative, Sunny, to police, and then he just totally shut -- was it because it was a female judge overseeing the proceedings?
HOSTIN: Well, what we're hearing interestingly enough that he was upset that all the media was there, and that there were journalists there, and that the arraignment wasn't taking place or the hearing wasn't taking place in the main courthouse.
You've got to remember someone like this, someone that fits the profile of a serial rapist, serial killer -- rape is all about control. A lot of people think it's about sex. No, it's about control, power.
And so, now, you have a guy who thought he was in control. He's confessing. He's reliving his crimes while he's talking to investigators, but oh my God, now I'm not in control.
Now, the judge is in control, a female judge is asking me questions. I -- people are here, I'm being stared at.
He didn't like that, and that really is the profile of this type of psychopath, this type of sociopath, right?
COSTELLO: What if he refuses to speak again today?
JACKSON: Well, what will happen is, of course, there's contempt proceedings, he'll be put back. Eventually the beat will go on. Either he speaks or he doesn't. You have a right, of course, to participate in your defense and if you don't want to participate in your defense, that's your issue and so, obviously, we know that he's mentally competent because of the fact that he has spoken a lot, right?
He certainly has an understanding. He's told police where bodies were located, that was credible and bodies were pulled out of the locations. And so, it's just about him being able to understand the consequences and seriousness of the offense.
COSTELLO: Let's talk a little bit about this man's past. He went to prison for five years for rape, Texas considered him a low-risk sex offender. How does that happen?
HOSTIN: Well, that's fascinating to me, because as you know I have a background in prosecuting sex crimes and we know when we are prosecuting these cases and investigating these cases that sex offenders are 10 times more likely to reoffend. There's a high recidivism rate as it compares to other crimes.
And so, when you are evaluating someone as to whether or not they should get a plea deal and as to whether or not they are high or low- risk offenders, there's a complete forensic evaluation. We're talking about psychiatrists. We're talking about people, psychologists. We're talking about police officers and you look at, you assess dangerousness, you assess the risk of recidivism, you assess their psychosis, you do a psych eval, criminal history.
But it happens really every single time you're evaluating this. So, the fact that the Texas DA is standing by that five-year plea and saying, well, we didn't know about his prior history, that tells me they really dropped the ball.
JACKSON: It does, but they say, Sunny, and there are always challenges in prosecution because our defense attorneys have something to say about you strong prosecutors. What the DA is saying, Carol, not that it's a justification, but they're saying, there was a lack of DNA evidence in that case, saying there were inconsistent statements of the witness, that is they didn't match one story and the other and there was a delayed outcry in that she reported it at some later time.
So, based upon the strength of the case or lack thereof, they felt that a five-year plea bargain was appropriate. We know, Carol, that 99 years was on the table and that, of course, would have prevented these tragedies.
HOSTIN: Especially for a first-degree sex assault. When you look at the crime, when you look at the facts of that crime, that was a very violent, violent sexual assault. They're all violent, but when you look at that fact pattern, I am shocked that he was offered a five- year plea deal.
Quite frankly, these cases are always difficult to prove, rape victims often come -- they report late, and so the Texas prosecutor saying I hate to besmirch them, but they dropped the ball.
COSTELLO: OK, we'll have to leave there and see what happens today, right, from Indiana?
Joey Jackson and Sunny Hostin, thanks so much.
JACKSON: Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Still to come in THE NEWSROOM: oil prices plummet, a new win at the pump and at home. CNN's Christine Romans is at a New Jersey gas station.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: $2.99, Carol Costello, $2.99, right here, and it's coming to a state, to a gas station near you. I'm going to tell you how long these falling gas prices will last, after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
