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North Korean Sanctions; Search for AirAsia 8501; Flight Attendant Remembered; Remembering Mario Cuomo; Black Box Answers
Aired January 02, 2015 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: Hello on this Friday. I'm Ana Cabrera. And we will get to new developments in the search for Flight 8501 in just a moment.
But first, we are following breaking news involving North Korea at this hour. President Obama just authorizing new sanctions on Kim Jong- un and the North, partly in response to that cyber-attack on Sony. You'll remember the theater chains pulled the movie "The Interview" over the threats by hackers. Now, the film, of course, depicts the assassination of Kim Jong-un. The U.S. standing firm that North Korea is indeed to blame for this attack.
Let's bring in chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto. Also with us, senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta, live in Honolulu, traveling with the president.
Jim Acosta, I'll start with you. Do you know anything about these sanctions at this point?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Sure. Yes, we do, Ana. The White House just putting out some statements and information coming from the administration, the Treasury Department in particular, as to where these sanctions are going to be placed. The U.S. slapping some pretty severe sanctions on North Korea stemming from that cyber- attack on Sony Pictures.
And if you go through some of this information, Ana, that's been released by the White House, it is really -- these sanctions are really going after the intelligence apparatus of the North Korean government and companies that engage in arms deals. The intelligence operations of the North Korean government that is being hit by these sanctions, the Reconnaissance General Bureau, that has been designated by the Treasury Department in these new sanction. And it says in a statement from the Treasury Department that many of North Korea's major cyber operations run through RGB, the Reconnaissance General Bureau. So they're specifically going after the cyber arms of the North Korean government, you might say.
And then the press secretary, Josh, Earnest, has put out a statement on all of this, talking about why they're going after North Korea with these new sanction. Put that up on screen. It says, "we take seriously North Korea's attack that aimed to create destructive financial effects on a U.S. company," talking about Sony Pictures there, "and to threaten artists and other individuals with the goal of restricting their right of free expression. As the president has said, our response to North Korea's attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment will be proportional and will take place at a time and a manner of our choosing." And I think this is interesting, Ana, saying at the end of this statement here, it says, "today's actions are the first aspect of our response." So an indication there that more may be coming.
And it's also important to point out, Ana, that much of this is laid out in a letter from President Obama to House Speaker John Boehner. So the president getting some serious business done before he wraps up this vacation here in Hawaii.
Ana.
CABRERA: And yet another executive action taken by the president.
ACOSTA: Right.
CABRERA: Jim Sciutto, I want to ask you this next point. Obviously this week, here on set, we've been talking about some of the private security firms claims that it had to have been an inside job, suggesting that perhaps North Korea wasn't the original source of the hack. This clearly shows confidence by the U.S. administration that North Korea is to blame.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: No question, it takes away any doubt that this administration believes, if there was any doubt, believes that North Korea was behind it. It's in the Treasury statement here. It says that, "we seek to hold North Korea accountable for its destructive and destabilizing contact, particularly its efforts to undermine U.S. cyber security." So they are pinning North Korea for this, but also pinning these punishments as in response to that activity.
And it's interesting, I think that, you know, people think that North Korea's already so sanctioned, that what more can do you sanctions wise to punish that economy? But clearly you can and you see the tactic that they're taking here. It's about banning North Korea from the U.S. financial system. It's a tactic that they've used against Russia in response to its actions in Ukraine. It's a tactic they used very well for a number of years against Iran in response to its nuclear program.
And what you do is you take any sort of back door method that a country or its entities, in this case the intelligence ministry as well as its defense industry, has for getting access to U.S. financial system and that's very punishing because you don't have to be doing business with the U.S. directly to be using the U.S. financial system. And as the U.S. is beginning to point its finger at North Korea for these cyber-attacks, administration officials were telling me, listen, there are still measures that we can take to punish the North Korean economy and here we have them.
CABRERA: Your point goes to show how the world is really connected. And, Jim Sciutto, this also comes just a day after the North signaled that it may be willing to kind of open - SCIUTTO: Yes.
CABRERA: Or extend an arm towards South Korea, saying it may be open to talks if, quote, "the mood is right."
SCIUTTO: Right.
CABRERA: So what do you make of the timing on this?
SCIUTTO: Well, I think we can expect very strong reaction from North Korea in response to this. But I think that the - you know, the U.S. position is very skeptical of any statements like that, like we heard yesterday from Kim Jong-un saying that we might be willing to talk now. They - as you'll hear often from the president and administration officials is, look at North Korean actions, not North Korean words. Their actions, in their view, things like the Sony cyber-attack. So whatever Kim Jong-un said yesterday, they still see North Korea misbehaving and they're punishing them as a result.
CABRERA: And this is just the first step, we're being told.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
CABRERA: All right, Jim Sciutto, Jim Acosta, thanks to both of you.
SCIUTTO: Thank you.
CABRERA: Turning now to the deadly AirAsia plane disaster. Today we have major new developments to tell you about. Search crews have found this. What appears to be a window panel, largely intact you can see, perhaps the most significant piece of plane wreckage found so far. And they found it here in an area about 2,000 square miles, not a small search zone considering the type of monsoonal conditions that crews are up against, but a whole lot more precise than the 23,000 square miles that was initially mapped out earlier in the week.
And it is here that they are hoping to find more victims. Teams from several nations, including the U.S., recovering 21 more victims' bodies today, bringing the total to 30 out of 162 passengers and crew members. Four people have been identified so far. Among them, a 12- year-old boy, another, a flight attendant, just 22 years old, her parents speaking to CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAIDAR FAUZI, FLIGHT ATTENDANT'S FATHER (through translator): She knew the risk but she loved this. It was her dream. She loved traveling.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Good-bye. Good-bye, Nisa.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: We will hear much more from her parents in just a few minute. Right now I want to bring in Shawn Pruchnicki, the lecturer at Ohio State's Center for Aviation Studies, as well as CNN's aviation correspondent Richard Quest. Richard, I'll start with you. When you look at this new development today, 21 more victims recovered, that is significant in the sense that over the past few days this triples the number of people they've pulled from the sea and the amount of debris. What's made the difference?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, a variety of things. They're obviously getting closer to where the fuselage or the main body of the - the main part of the wreckage is, but also the drift of the sea may be bringing the debris towards them. So it's a combination of being in the right place, the water bringing it towards them, having done their reverse drift correctly, they are moving slowly towards that particular area.
But when a plane comes out of the sky in a fairly violent fashion, whether either been blown up or hitting the water, there is debris, which we never saw in 370 and now this is exactly what one would expect.
CABRERA: Which seems like good news.
Shawn, you know, local media have also been reporting that two or three of the bodies that were found were all together. They were still wearing their seat belts. CNN has not been able to independently confirm this, but if it is true, what can you infer from that about what happened here?
SHAWN PRUCHNICKI, AIR SAFETY EXPERT, OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY: Well, as investigators, there's a couple things that we think about when we see this type of pattern. In and of itself, it doesn't necessarily paint the whole picture, but it's suggestive of that there was not an inflight explosion. Typically that's not what we see. This is not the type of finding we would see had the airplane broken up in flight.
But I think what's more important is that once we get a chance from a forensic standpoint to look at the victims, there's going to be a lot more information there that's going to be helpful in understanding as far as inflight explosion or not, on board fire and the type of impact that we saw. That energy is not only transmitted to the airplane, but to the victims as well. And they'll be able to see certain markers and patterns that we look for to help piece clue together - or these clues together.
CABRERA: Richard, what do you make about that, them all wearing their seat belts and all together still?
QUEST: Well, I mean, you know, that's exactly what they should have been doing. I mean the plane was an hour out and you're told to remain in your seat with your seat belt securely or loosely fastened during the flight in case of unexpected turbulence. So the fact that you find three people in this condition would be extremely normal.
Also - also -
CABRERA: Does it - but does it contradict, though, what we've also heard from some of our other analysts on here, the idea that perhaps they were preparing for some kind of an evacuation given that the emergency doors is believed to have been among some of the debris found.
QUEST: No, no, let's not go down - I think we're -- there's no evidence that they are - were preparing for an emergency evacuation. There's nothing so far that you can hang your hat on. Yes, a window -- an emergency exit has been found, but it's way too far down in the road of speculation to say that, just as much as the suggestion that the plane did an emergency ditching on the water. We don't have any evidence. And unless Shawn - I mean Shawn has much more experience of this than myself, but unless Shawn has -- can recall a situation where, you know, from this limited amount of evidence you can extrapolate that there was a ditching or something like that, but I would suggest that it's too soon.
CABRERA: We have heard that, Shawn, from David Soucie, from Les Abend about that possibility. What do you think? What is your take on that?
PRUCHNICKI: Well, I agree with Richard, I don't -- it's way too early to tell. What we see, there's no pattern whatsoever from the extremely limited information we have. We just have no idea yet. It's total speculation to go any further with that.
CABRERA: There are so many theories out there but yet still so little evidence to back everything up.
QUEST: I'm going to have to - the last word, just to point out that the one piece of encouraging news tonight is that they are getting closer.
CABRERA: Closer.
QUEST: They are getting closer. It's slow, Shawn had much experience with this, it's painful, but they're getting there.
PRUCHNICKI: Yes.
CABRERA: And, in addition, it adds more closure for more families at the very least.
We will be talking with both of you gentlemen as we go throughout our show. So, Richard Quest, Shawn Pruchnicki, thanks for your time at the moment.
Up next, CNN sits down with the parents of that flight attendant whose body was recovered and they remember their daughter and tell us why she loved to fly.
Plus, hear what the CEO of AirAsia is doing for the families to express his sympathy.
And, a man considered to be one of the most charismatic politicians in American history has died. We'll look at the defining moment of Mario Cuomo's career, a speech that challenged popular president.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CABRERA: While most of the 162 people on AirAsia Flight 8501 are still missing, 30 deceased victims have been found, including a flight crew member who was just 22 years old. It's been a very mixed bag of emotions for family members. CNN's David Molko has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MOLKO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Step by step, toward their final resting place, each bearing a number, each number a soul. Casket four no longer nameless but identified as the first crew member of Flight 8501 still wearing her uniform. Her name, Khairunisa Haidar Fauzi, or Nisa as she's affectionately known by her family, including her father Haidar, and mother Rohana.
HAIDAR FAUZI, KHAIRUNISA'S FATHER (through translator): Nisa is an obedient daughter. She's always tidy. She loves to learn. Lots of her friends love her.
ROHANA FAUZI, KHAIRUNISA'S MOTHER (through translator): Just like her dad.
MOLKO: In the family hotel room, Nisa's parents smile and even offer a laugh as they share their memories.
MOLKO (on camera): She cared about her family.
R. FAUZI: Yes.
MOLKO: Very much.
MOLKO (voice-over): Pictures from their daughter's Instagram account shows a poised young woman with a giving heart, her mother says, and an adventurous spirit that took her hundreds of miles away from the family home in Sumatra.
R. FAUZI: It's a dream. It's fun. She's never complained. She already knew the risk.
H. FAUZI: She knew the risk but she loved this. It was her dream. She loved traveling.
MOLKO: Their reflections in our interview suddenly cut short by a phone call. The call no parent ever wants to get. Leaning on Nisa's two older brothers and cousins, their smiles vanish, replaced by a sense of urgency and finality. A few hours later, a solemn transfer of remains. Her parents say they've already made preparations for their daughter's burial as she begins her final journey home.
R. FAUZI: Good-bye. Good-bye, Nisa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MOLKO: Ana, Nisa's parents tell me that they found out the news their daughter was on the plane when they were on the way to a wedding. A friend was watching television and called them and said, tell us, tell me what route was Nisa flying today. And her father said, well, why are you asking? Her mother also said that Nisa used to call her every evening or every day before she took a flight and tell her what routing she was flying. She said she did not believe that Nisa was on the plane this time because Nisa had not called her the night before to tell her that she'd be on the flight.
Ana.
CABRERA: Oh, that just adds to the heartbreak. David, we also hear AirAsia's CEO was traveling to Surabaya to take the flight attendant's remains back home?
MOLKO: Ana, that's right. AirAsia CEO, Tony Fernandes, tweeted last night, he said, "I cannot describe how I feel. There are no words." Our understanding was that he and the CEO of Indonesia AirAsia flew to Sumatra at some point yesterday. We're not sure if the burial actually happened last night or it will happen in the morning, but our understanding is that the family had already made preparations for Nisa's burial.
Just take you out to the search zone for a little update, where that stands. Thirty bodies recovered so far. Eighteen of those here at the police hospital in Surabaya. Four identified at this point. Of course, Nisa one of those, the first crew member to be identified.
Weather conditions continue to remain challenging. Waves of up to 10 to 12 feet. The first priority, we're told by search officials, to bring as many remains home as possible. The second priority right now, to find that black box.
Ana.
CABRERA: David Molko, thank you for the reporting.
And just ahead, reports still indicating sonar equipment may have discovered the jet's tail. Hear exactly how this equipment works and what would happen next in the search.
Plus, a look at the defining moment of Mario Cuomo's career and life, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CABRERA: He is being praised by Democrats and Republicans alike as a political giant. Mario Cuomo, the liberal former three term governor of New York, passed away last night from natural causes due to heart failure. He was 82. John Berman looks back on Cuomo's life and how he shot to national fame but rebuffed efforts to run for president.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN BERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Simply, it was the American dream. The son of Italian immigrants, Mario Cuomo rose from the basement of this grocery store in South Jamaica, Queens, where he slept on the floor and spoke no English, to the highest office in New York state. Along the way, creating a political legacy and dynasty that spanned generations. His life driven by a passion for learning, his catholic faith, and a determination to simply work harder than the other guy.
MARIO CUOMO, FORMER NEW YORK GOVERNOR: One of the simple things I wanted to achieve is, I want to be governor, I want to be the hardest working there ever was.
BERMAN: After more than a decade of the full contact politics of New York, Cuomo catapulted to national prominence with the keynote address at the 1984 Democratic National Convention.
CUOMO: We thank you for the great privilege of being able to address this convention.
BERMAN: He challenged head-on Ronald Reagan's notion of a shining city on a hill, instead calling America a tale of two cities.
CUOMO: We must get the American public to look past the glitter, beyond the showmanship, to the reality, the hard substance of things, and we'll do it not so much with speeches that sound good, as with speeches that are good and sound.
BERMAN: It cemented him as one of his generation's greatest orators, a defender of the have-nots and the little guys. It also made him the choice of many Democratic leaders to run for president.
CUOMO: He said, will you think about it? I said, I have been thinking about it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But are you going to think about it anymore?
BERMAN: He was considered a favorite for the Democratic nomination in both 1988 and 1992. But in both cases, he demurred. His seeming inability to decide on higher office frustrated Democratic Party faithful and became something of a punchline in itself.
JAY LENO, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": And Mario Cuomo, and no one knows what he's going to do, that's -- I don't know if you've seen his new public service commercial for New York City. It says, a mind is a terrible thing to make up. Yes.
BERMAN: He said it wasn't indecisiveness that kept him in New York instead of Washington, it was his commitment to the state.
CUOMO: It has nothing to do with my chances. It has everything to do with my job as governor. And I don't see that I can do both, therefore I will not pursue the presidency.
BERMAN: He said it was that same commitment that led him to pass on a nomination to the Supreme Court, deciding instead to run for a fourth term as governor. But 12 years was enough for New York. He was defeated by George Pataki in the Republican revolution of 1994.
Cuomo returned to the private sector to restart his law practice, host a radio show and become a prolific author and public speaker. And in 2010 came a brand new title, former or first Governor Cuomo, a word he would be forced to use because he was suddenly no longer the only one. In a bittersweet irony, his eldest son, Andrew, the current governor of New York, was sworn into a second term just hours before his father's death.
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: He couldn't be here physically today, my father, but my father is in this room. He's in the heart and mind of every person who is here. He's here and he's here. And his inspiration and his legacy and his experience is what has brought this state to this point. So let's give him a round of applause.
BERMAN: Governor Mario Cuomo, a true American giant, was 82. He is survived by his wife of more than 60 years, Matilda Raffa Cuomo, his five children, including our CNN "New Day" anchor Chris, and 14 grandchildren. The constants of his life always faith and family.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CABRERA: Almost the bottom of the hour now. I'm Ana Cabrera. And thank you for staying with me.
We have some major new developments in the search for victims and wreckage from AirAsia Flight 8501 today. Searchers have found what resembles a window panel from the plane. Look at this. And along with other possible wreckage, they're hoping it's going to bring some closure and get them closer to finding the fuselage and the plane's black boxes. Crucial, of course, to figure out what caused this crash. Crews are now focusing on an area of about 2,000 square miles, roughly half the size of the Los Angeles metro area.
Now, a top Indonesian official says it is the most probable area in the Java Sea where the plane's fuselage might be and it's a little bit east of some of the areas they've been searching. Officials say 30 bodies have now been pulled from the sea. Four of those victims have been identified so far.
The weather could still have an impact on the location of the airplane and those vital black boxes. CNN digital correspondent Rachel Crane explains what they could reveal about the crash.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RACHEL CRANE, CNN DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: Following a plane crash, the search for survivors always comes first. But just as important is the search for answers. The why and the how. Often those answers are found in the black box.
Since the '60s, all commercial airplanes have been required to have one on board. Now the name is a little misleading because they're actually orange. And when we're talking about a black box, we're talking about two different boxes. One being the cockpit voice recorder, the other being the flight data recorder. Together, they weigh anywhere between 20 to 30 pounds, and they have to be crash proof.
