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Mexico Frees U.S. Marine Reservist; Branson Vows to Solve SpaceShipTwo Failure; Reality of ISIS; Lava Flow Slowed But Still a Threat

Aired November 01, 2014 - 16:00   ET

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

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Ladies, I had such a good time doing this with all of you. And now, we're going to go back to Deb Feyerick who's back in THE NEWSROOM to take you through the rest of the day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Deb.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, guys. You know, it doesn't matter what you do on the outside, if you don't feel beautiful on the inside it doesn't matter how much surgery, how much Botox you have, it's still not going to work.

So, ladies, great show.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Spoken by one beautiful woman on the inside.

FEYERICK: Exactly. Exactly. Great show, ladies.

Thanks so much. I'll take it from here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks, Deb.

All of you, stay with us. You're all in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Deborah Feyerick in New York.

Well, a U.S. Marine reservist locked up in Mexico seven months ago is a free man back in the United States. Andrew Tahmooressi's family says they are all big smiles and big hugs today since his arrival in Miami. Tahmooressi was arrested and jailed in March when Mexican border guards found weapons in his vehicle. He said he never intended to go near the border, that it was just a mistake.

Nick Valencia is following the story since it broke seven months ago.

And, Nick, the Tahmooressi family had some help in getting this man released from jail. They had some real heavy hitters. Tell us about it.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL REPORTER: They did. This was weeks in the making, if not months in the making, and it took exhaustive efforts by a myriad of people. There was Montel Williams, TV host and radio personality. There was Ed Salmon -- Matt Salmon and Ed Royce from the House of Foreign Affairs Committee and there was his family and the groundswell of support that Tahmooressi had in the United States and beyond to try to get him out.

And earlier when I spoke to the attorney for Andrew Tahmooressi, he said it was truth be told, it caught him off-guard, Deb. He said he was willing to be in this for the long haul. He thought that they were going to be in this for a long haul. A lot of false starts, a lot of, you know, chances that Tahmooressi could have been released. It really caught a lot of people by surprise when last night, Friday night, at about 6:30 Pacific Time, Andrew Tahmooressi was given the order to be released, those charges withdrawn, those of the prosecution, those weapons charges that were being put against him now withdrawn by the prosecution. Andrew Tahmooressi back on U.S. soil a free man, Deb.

FEYERICK: And, you know, Nick, some people are really wondering whether, in fact, it was really an accident that he drove over the border with those weapons. But what was his explanation as to why he got lost, how he got into Mexico?

VALENCIA: Well, let's take our viewers back to March 31st that night. He was on the U.S. side of the border, parked his car, went into Mexico to go patronize an establishment, according to his family, go to hang out with other marines at Camp Pendleton. It was later than night at about 10:00 p.m. local time that he chose to walk back across the Mexican side to the United States side and got in his car, and he said he was simply confused. He was turned around.

Yes, he says he had crossed the border at least six times before, but only on foot. He never driven across the border. So, that's his explanation.

Of course, there is that -- those very vocal Mexican nationalists who still don't believe his story. They believe that he should still be in jail and the Mexican government never should have caved to the pressure to have Tahmooressi released. But nevertheless, Deb, he's out after 214 days in Mexican prison -- Deb.

FEYERICK: All right, Nick, I know you'll have the very latest for us coming up a little later on in the show. Thanks so much. We appreciate it.

And Virgin Galactic's founder Richard Branson is vowing to find out why his spaceship broke apart on a test flight. One test pilot was killed, a second parachuted to the ground. The spacecraft disintegrated at 45,000 feet over California's Mojave Desert.

Virgin Galactic's commercial tourism flights were set to start next year. Branson says that anyone who bought a $250,000 ticket, that's a quarter of a million dollars, will be able to get a full refund if they decided they want one.

Our Stephanie Elam is live in California's Mojave Desert.

And, Stephanie, you asked Branson to respond to critics who say his SpaceShipTwo was never going to work, no matter what.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Deb. There are critics. We heard them on our air yesterday, right after this news broke of this devastating crash in Mojave Desert. And I asked him specifically what he had to say about critics saying that this vehicle was never going to make it to space in the first place. And this is what he had to say --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD BRANSON, FOUNDER, VIRGIN GALACTIC: The NTSB will be doing regular press conferences over the next month. I'm not allowed to comment at all on any aspect of the spacecraft, the rockets and anything to do with it. It's the NTSB that will be commenting. And to be honest, I find it slightly irresponsible that people who know nothing about what they're saying can be saying things before the NTSB makes their comments.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: Interesting to note that he did say that at the end of that commentary, did seem to bristle him a little bit. I will also note that based on what he said out here that the plan is to continue with this endeavor of getting commercial travel into space. He just says that he believes that the 400 engineers that work at Virgin Galactic would want that and he said even after yesterday's disaster that there was one person who actually said sign me up, I would like to be one of the people who does take this trip into space with Virgin Galactic when it is up and running, Deb.

FEYERICK: Yes, and it's so interesting because this really is one of the first ventures into commercial space travel. The engineers that are all part of this, a big family there, clearly mourning the loss of one of their own, but there are questions now about a new type of fuel that was used, whether it was the flight pattern that may have affected what happened.

Have you been able to get any clues? Are investigators releasing any information?

ELAM: It's so early into the investigation here, Deb. NTSB just got here this morning. They're just now breaking down how they're going to go about this, so it's still too early to tell what may have caused this devastating loss yesterday.

FEYERICK: All right. Stephanie Elam for us there. Thanks so much, we appreciate that report.

And coming up, oppressed for generation, broken up by borders. Kurdish people are now facing perhaps their biggest threat yet, ISIS. See how the Kurds are fighting back with their women joining the men on the front lines.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Well, life for Kurds in Turkey, Iraq and Syria, a large Diaspora, is far from normal, and it's far from normal for many, many years. But ISIS on the rampage, an already complicated lifestyle has become even more complicated. CNN senior international correspondent Ivan Watson gives us an inside

look at what it's been like for the Kurdish people and his role as well covering this bloody war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Kurds have long been described as the largest ethnic group without a country of its own. They are poorly understood, often ignored. Now, I first traveled to the Kurdish areas of Turkey, Syria and Iraq in 2002. And they are a people that have long been divided by borders, by linguistic differences, by politics and occupation and assimilation as well.

A lot has changed in the subsequent 12 years. For instance, when I first traveled from the Kurdish part of Syria to Iraq, I had to go by boat across this river. Today, there's a bridge there. And in August, we watched this incredibly disturbing sight of tens of thousands of Kurds streaming across that bridge fleeing the offensive by ISIS militants.

On this trip, we went the opposite direction into the Kurdish part of Syria and got an introduction to the Syrian-Kurdish fighters who have been fighting is for more than a year. And what's very striking is how much women are playing a frontline role in that war and in the leadership of the Kurdish enclaves of northern Syria that have grown up in the midst of a civil war over the past three years. We see very much that gender equality is important there.

And that's astounding when you consider their enemies, ISIS, which have been hiding women away from public life and as we also learned have been accused of kidnapping thousands. I'm talking thousands, of Kurdish women in Iraq who come from the Yazidi religious minority. They're viewed as infidels, as heretics by ISIS, which has justified their enslavement of these women, arguing it is allowed within the Muslim holy book the Koran.

The Iraqi Kurdish authorities are calling this a genocidal policy. The scale of this kidnapping is mind blowing, barbaric and frankly hard to even comprehend, even for somebody like me who has been traveling through these blood-soaked lands for more than a decade.

Ivan Watson, CNN reporting from Istanbul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Oh, and there's a lot more. You have to stay with us to see what's on the other side of the break.

We'll give you rare access to the 2,000-degree lava flow creeping through a Hawaiian town. Is rain helping the disaster or is that lava just surging forward?

But, first, we're shining a spotlight on the top 10 CNN heroes of 2014. Who ultimately wins is up to you. This week's honoree is giving sick kids a strong weapon to fight the pain and fear that grips them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I really hate when it hurts. It's a really sharp pain. I get all teary. The shots really scared me a lot. And they still scare me now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I don't want it!

ELIMELECH GOLDBERG: When children get a diagnosis like cancer, or any major disease, they lose any sense of feeling that they are controlling their lives.

(CRYING)

GOLDBERG: They're prodded and poked and touched and they are often so afraid. Our daughter Sarah Basia (ph) was diagnosed with leukemia. She was such an incredible little soul who taught me about the power that's inside of ourselves.

(on camera): Are you ready?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: Yes. Sir.

GOLDBERG: OK, begin.

Our daughter passed away, I started a program that provides classes to children who are sick to teach them the martial arts.

Good!

To make them feel powerful.

Every single type of martial arts uses the breath to take control.

I'm a black belt in Taekwondo.

Hold it and then release.

We use the martial arts as a platform for meditation, for relaxation, to allow children to gain these tools.

You're totally in control.

To really phase down so much of the fear, the anger that accompanies pain.

Breathe in!

And you could see that light on their face. I feel like their souls are shining.

You did it!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do have the power to make the pain go away. And nothing is impossible. Nothing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Rabbi Goldberg is just one of our top 10 honorees, one of whom will become CNN Hero of the Year and receive $100,000 to continue his or her work.

Who will it be? You decide. Go to CNN.com/Heroes online and vote. All of them will be honored in all star tribute, December 7th.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) myself a couple of free hours. I come to terms with it. I know where it's at. I can see it. I have photographs. When the time comes, I'll repack my bags and I'll start making phone calls and I'll get out of here. It's not a problem. I'll have a place to stay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Well, the attraction is undeniable. Police arrested two people for trespassing and getting just too close to the lava flow.

Our Martin Savidge is live in Hilo, Hawaii, after viewing the flow from the helicopter.

And, Martin, you've got this menacing, burning, oozing black lava. What did it look like from the air?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, the interesting thing about looking at it from the air is the fact that you can hover right over it. It looks like a river, I mean, black or gray, but it looks just like water because even though it's now solid, it's got the undulation, it's got the fluidity that you expect but you feel the heat, and it just blasts at you like a furnace rising off of that. On top of that, there's the smell of everything burning both the volcano and the vegetation.

So, it's quite a combination and, of course, you see this river moving in the direction of that town.

FEYERICK: Have the residents simply packed up to start life elsewhere? What are some of the things they leave behind?

SAVIDGE: Yes, you know, I got to say, Deborah, this is one of the more unusual natural disasters I've covered because it is so slow in its progression. There is a lot of time. People are warned days. They know months in advance it was coming.

So, in some cases and in other communities in the past, they have actually moved buildings they have that much time. They reroute the power lines, but most people are sort of taking out the furniture, taking out, of course, the port things, relocating to another place in town, and hoping that the flow will go around their new location. So, it's sort of waiting and seeing, but the long-term picture it

could go on for maybe decades.

FEYERICK: So, that's really incredible, Martin.

So, effectively does the volcano continue to spew the lava? Is it -- is it just, you know, you think of it as if you think of Vesuvius ultimately it ran out. But is that what's happening here? Or will these people still continue to have to push forward and relocate?

SAVIDGE: Most people are looking at this is that this is going to be kind of a lifetime event here. I mean, Kilauea has been erupting since 1983 and it's been doing it continuously.

Now, prior to this, most of the lava had been flowing in the opposite direction. But then in June of this year, for reasons scientists are still trying to determine, instead of going out the front door, the lava started coming out the back door and that put it on a path towards Pahoa.

When you ask them, how long could this go on? They say, well, we measure in geologic time and we're talking 30 years or more. Now, it could stop tomorrow. They also point that out.

But the likelihood is there's a lot of lava. It could still go on for quite a while.

FEYERICK: Wow, that's just remarkable.

All right. Martin Savidge, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

And football coaches talk a lot about taking it slow when it comes to concussions but we also see over and over players rushing to get back on the field. Ahead, meet a player who did just that and it cost him dearly.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Toughen up. Get back in the game. These are words we often hear in football, coaches, trainers pushing their players hard.

Well, those words were told to a University of South Carolina player after he said he couldn't feel his legs. He was ultimately diagnosed with a spinal injury, a finding that his university has dismissed.

CNN's Sara Ganim has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Both times were you pretty scared?

STANLEY DOUGHTY, FORMER COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYER: Basically, you know, I was real scared. How would you feel if you was lying somewhere and couldn't move.

GANIM (voice over): Stanley Doughty remembers twice getting hit very hard while playing for the University of South Carolina.

DOUGHTY: I could hear voices but I couldn't actually move.

GANIM: When it happened the first time, it was 2004. Doughty says the university took him to a specialist in Charlotte who told him not to worry about his injury. A year later came another violent hit during a game. He was taken to the locker room and told to get back on the field.

DOUGHTY: You've got to be tough, you're a football player.

GANIM (on camera): You couldn't feel your legs?

DOUGHTY: Correct.

GANIM: And all they did was take you into the locker room and tell you, you had to be tough?

DOUGHTY: Correct.

GANIM: They didn't say you need to see a doctor even though this had happened before. You said, "My neck is hurting." And they just said, "Go out there and play."

DOUGHTY: Right. "We need you, Stanley, the team needs you. Be supportive."

GANIM (voice over): The team's injury report for Doughty shows he did have a nerve injury at the cervical spine. The school's response was that Doughty had suffered what in football is called "a stinger" or "temporary numbness," and it's common practice to send a player back into the game after symptoms subside. The team cleared Doughty. He continued playing the rest of the season.

Growing up poor in tiny town in Amite, Louisiana, Doughty lived and breathed football. He was a local star.

DOUGHTY: Two all-star game, MVP all-star, and I made player of the year in Louisiana. I had about 35 offers.

GANIM: In his third year at South Carolina, even before finishing his degree, he was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs, a life long dream to go pro finally realized. But after his first medical exam, according to his lawsuit, the Chiefs head trainer said Doughty was too injured to play.

DOUGHTY: Basically they told me, I could be paralyzed from the neck down.

GANIM (on camera): So, the Chiefs are telling you, the Chiefs doctors are saying this is a really big deal and South Carolina says, no, it's not.

DOUGHTY: South Carolina said it don't exist.

GANIM (voice over): South Carolina disputes that Doughty's injuries were serious. They say he didn't seek further medical treatments and that the university provided appropriate and extensive medical care, including treatment by team athletic trainers, physicians and out-of- state specialists.

DOUGHTY: When I hold my head back I feel a tingling down my traps, like coming down my shoulders.

GANIM: Doughty says he's unable to work and he's finding it hard to cope.

He thought he'd find justice in the class action lawsuit that just reached a preliminary settlement -- $75 million. But the money is going to screening and research. Doughty won't get a dime.

The lawyers will get paid and other players in the class action can file individual lawsuits. But Doughty's case falls outside the statute of limitations. So, with no college degree, no financial payment, and needing surgery, Doughty now feels betrayed by so many.

DOUGHTY: I go through pain everyday but I try not to think about it. I just try to keep pushing. So, that's the life of Stanley Doughty.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Sara Ganim, thank you so much for that report.

Well, I'll be back at the top of the hour with the latest on all of our major stories. Right now, keep it here for my friend, "SANJAY GUPTA, M.D."