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Coverage Of New York City's Mayoral Press Conference; ISIS Attempting Attacks on U.S. Troops in Iraq; More Victims of AirAsia Crash Found

Aired January 05, 2015 - 15:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And we continue along, hour two. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Just heads up for all of you. In just a matter of minutes here, we're watching really closely for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton to be holding a news conference at police headquarters there in downtown Manhattan.

The mayor is expected to respond to this latest rejection from the officers, NYPD officers turning their backs on the mayor during the funeral of one of their own over the weekend. And you know. We have been reporting on this. The tensions between New York's leader and New York's finest seems to be worsening. How will this end? We will take this news conference again with the police commissioner and the mayor live momentarily.

Meantime, just a short time ago, the Pentagon confirming U.S. troops in Iraq are under -- quote, unquote -- "regular attack" by ISIS. And, remember, as we have been reporting, U.S. troops, they are there serving an adviser role, not in this combat role. We have heard that the president over and over clarifying that, right?

But in the wake of these attacks, might that change? The attacks are happening there in the orange part of your screen. That's Anbar province. That's Al Asad air base there in Western Iraq.

Let's go to the Pentagon to our correspondent there, Barbara Starr.

What specifics do you have as far as what kinds of attacks are these?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brooke.

What we are hearing now, it is specifically at Al Asad air base in Western Iraq, a very remote area, where these attacks are happening. These are so-called indirect fire,rocket and mortar attacks launched by ISIS militants against the base. They are very imprecise attacks. Business, they light off these relatively small weapons, aim at them the base. So far, no U.S. troops injured, thankfully.

We don't really know about any Iraqi troops injured. They are very imprecise attacks, but -- and pretty much at the moment limited to this area where there are so many U.S. troops, about 320 U.S. troops helping train the Iraqi forces. But what it does do is underscore the concern about keeping those U.S.

troops safe. The president has said no U.S. troops in ground combat. But as these types of harassment fire, if you will, continue, the question is whether or not the law of averages may take over some day and some U.S. personnel could get hurt in one of these rocket or mortar attacks.

So, right now, plenty of concern about all of this. They think they can keep U.S. troops safe, but that isn't to say that they aren't worried, they aren't concerned as these attacks in Western Iraq continue on a very regular basis -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Let me just quickly follow up. You mention no injuries or no casualties, thank goodness, with U.S. troops, but, I mean, U.S. is there to train the Iraqi troops. How are they? Are they at this base? Are they being targeted as well?

STARR: Well, anyone at the base, of course, would be basically a target. And that's a really good point. It's the Iraqi and the U.S. troops who are there. Right now, no information about any of them, but keep in mind U.S. troops now over 2,000 spread out across Iraq, hundreds in Baghdad at the embassy, at the airport, other troops at other bases in Northern and Western Iraq.

And the training program that the U.S. is doing for the Iraqis moving into full swing. Just several days ago, they began at a base called Taji, another 170 U.S. troops there. They are beginning to train the Iraqi forces. So you're seeing a higher profile, a more spread-out profile of U.S. troops in Iraq and it goes this very question.

The president has said no ground troops in combat. As we have been saying, the question may be whether ground combat will come to the U.S. troops who are there -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Barbara Starr, thank you so much at the Pentagon.

STARR: Sure.

We also have some new developments in the mysterious disappearance of AirAsia Flight 8501, as now three more bodies have been pulled from the murky waters of the Java Sea. CNN has just found out exactly how much is being offered to the families of these victims. And that answer is $24,000.

But to be crystal clear here, this is just to cover them while the search continues, not that final end amount, that final compensation amount. Also, AirAsia made it clear in its draft letter that this is not confirmation that their family members were deceased. There are also reports of a possible breakthrough today because the captain of one of these search ships told Reuters that he thinks his crew found the tail section of that plane.

And keep in mind that's crucial because in the tail you have the black boxes, those flight data recorders. That's where they are located. But that news has yet to be confirmed by CNN. Again, that is Reuters reporting. Here's what we do know. We do know the time is ticking to find that plane, to find that tail, to find those black boxes with just about three weeks of life in those batteries that are powering the black box pingers. In Indonesia, the slow, the heartbreaking process of identifying the victims of Flight 8501 is now well under way.

In fact, one family lost seven members on that plane. But so far, only two, a mother and a daughter, have been identified.

Gary Tuchman talked to these grieving relatives who are just in disbelief and, of course, in shock.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As most families wait for their loved ones to be found, these are the caskets of a mother and daughter, two victims of AirAsia Flight 8501. Several days ago, we talked with this brother and sister who were among those waiting.

SUYONO TEDJAKUSUMA, FAMILY MEMBER (through translator): My mother and then my sister and my brother-in-law and his whole family and my in- law-to-be, so, in total, seven people.

TUCHMAN: But, today, they wait for five people, because this mother, Tai Maji (ph) Tedjakusuma, and her 10-year-old daughter, Stevi Bruneman (ph), are two of the seven.

TEDJAKUSUMA (through translator): I am devastated. And now the waiting for the rest of the family is so difficult.

TUCHMAN (on camera): Please accept our condolences. I'm sorry.

(voice-over): The sister and her brother had hoped for a miracle for days. In this family picture, this is the daughter Stevi (ph) and mother Tai (ph). All are now realizing that miracle is not going to happen.

THE LE HUA, FAMILY MEMBER (through translator): I'm very sad. Even up until now, I cannot accept it.

TUCHMAN: This is a traditional Buddhist funeral visitation. Mourners pay their respects at a candlelit altar in front of the coffins. Family and friends fold up hundreds of pieces of paper, which are ultimately thrown into fire to represent money which will symbolically provide for mother and daughter in the afterlife.

(on camera): Stevi (ph) turned 10 years old two weeks before the trip she was so looking forward to. Her mother would have turned 45 six days after the accident.

THE LE HUA (through translator): My sister was a businesswoman. She worked hard. She was kind to everybody.

TUCHMAN: Suyono Tedjakusuma tells us about little Stevi (ph).

TEDJAKUSUMA (through translator): Stevi (ph) was a very cheerful girl. She brightens up everyone she's around. Everybody loves her.

TUCHMAN: Their funeral was at the end of the week, but at the same time, brother and sister mourn the other five, including their mother, the matriarch of the family, 81-year-old Jo Indri (ph).

TEDJAKUSUMA (through translator): I cannot accept this. I cannot believe it. Where are my family's bodies? Where is my mother? My heart is breaking.

TUCHMAN: Gary Tuchman, CNN, Surabaya, Indonesia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Gary Tuchman, thank you so much. We will have much more on that story coming up here this hour.

Meantime, next two former New York police detectives react to protests by officers against the mayor. Are they justified? The mayor himself will speaking alongside the police commissioner right there, live pictures inside police headquarters there in down Manhattan. We will listen in, see what news they could be making here. We know some of the reporters there in this clearly packed room will be asking questions. We will take that live.

Also ahead, as jury selection begin in the Boston bombing case, what happened to the alleged bomber's widow, that older brother? And what about their sisters? Those details are ahead.

And just a stunning story here. This 7-year-old girl is the only survivor plane crash that killed her entire family. Hear the remarkable story of what she did moments after that plane went down.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Want to take you to Boston, where jury selection is now under way in the trial of Boston Marathon bob suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Lawyers for both sides have to winnow down this pool of some 1,200 prospective jurors to 12 jurors and then on top of that six alternates.

Opening statements are set to begin three weeks from today, if all goes a scheduled. And Rachel Crane retraces the timeline of events that brings us to today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RACHEL CRANE, CNN DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): April 15, 2013, Monday afternoon at 2:50 p.m., a bomb explodes near the Boston Marathon finish line. Twelve seconds later, there's another blast. The blasts kill three people and injure at least 264.

Each bomb was contained in a pressure cooker with BB-like pellets and nails. Police report there's no known suspect or motive at this time.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We still do not know who did this or why.

CRANE: April 16, the names of two of those killed are released, 8- year-old Martin Richard and 29-year-old Krystle Campbell. At 11:30 a.m., President Obama speaks again.

OBAMA: Given what we now know about what took place, the FBI is investigating it as an act of terrorism.

CRANE: April 17, the lid to a pressure cooker is found on a rooftop near the scene of the attack. A federal law official tells CNN the lid is believed to have been used in the bombings. The name of the third victim is released. Lingzi Lu was a Boston University grad student from China.

April 18, 5:00 p.m., the FBI releases pictures of two male suspects they are seeking in connection with the bombings. Later that evening, an MIT police officer, Sean Collier, is shot and killed on campus, triggering a massive law enforcement response.

April 19, early morning in Cambridge, the suspected bombers carjack a man at gunpoint. 1:00 a.m., police are able to track down the suspects in the stolen vehicle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Several explosive devices were discharged from the car at the police officers.

CRANE: Three explosives detonate and two fail. Officers fire back with an estimated 200 rounds of gunfire. One suspect is badly injured and apprehended by police. The accomplice drives away.

The injured suspect later dies at Beth Israel Hospital -- 8:00 a.m., the city of Boston goes into lockdown. Boston police identified the bombing suspect as 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev and 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, brothers living in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Tamerlan Tsarnaev is identified as the person killed in the encounter with police earlier in the morning.

But Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a student at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, remains at large. Hundreds of law enforcement officers go door-to-door in Watertown looking for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Residents are asked to stay inside -- 6:00 p.m., the lockdown is lifted. Soon after, Watertown resident David Henneberry steps into his backyard. He notices that cover on his boat has come off slightly.

On closer inspection, he sees a lot of blood and a man under a tarp on the floor. 8:15 p.m., authorities announce they have Dzhokhar cornered. Law enforcement agents capture Tsarnaev and he is transported to a local hospital in serious condition.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: So there you have the chronology. We're talking a lot about Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. He was the surviving brother here of the two.

We haven't talked as much about Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older brother, and specifically his widow. Remember, Tamerlan Tsarnaev was the one who died in that shoot-out with police after those bombings on Boylston Street.

Let me bring in our CNN senior investigative correspondent, Drew Griffin.

I know you have been looking into Katherine Russell and her family. You were there in Watertown when police had the younger Tsarnaev cornered in that boat. The key question, did this widow, all right, then wife, what did she know in the lead-up before those pressure cooker bombs went off in Boston?

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: That has been the question, Brooke, because when you see the tiny apartment that she was living in with her husband, Tamerlan, and realized that the FBI believes at least partially these bombs were created on her kitchen table, how could she not know?

But she's been very cooperative according to attorneys with the FBI all along. They have never said she was a suspect in any of this. She through her attorney has said she was shocked when she found out that her husband and brother-in-law were involved with this.

And as far as we know, we can't even determine if she's on the extensive witness list for this trial. So right now it seems Katherine Russell remains not involved in the criminal aspect of this case.

BALDWIN: She had lived as you mentioned with the family in that teeny-tiny apartment in Cambridge. Has she gone back to live with her family in Rhode Island?

GRIFFIN: Initially, she did, Brooke.

But last summer, in June, as a matter of fact,, her parents sold that house in Rhode Island. The last known address we have for her was in North Bergen, New Jersey. That's an apartment building that was basically -- it's across the river from Manhattan and very, very close within blocks to her sisters-in-law, Alina and Bella. She's been seen with them in public, with the Tsarnaevs.

A month-and-a-half ago, we're told, because of paparazzi, etcetera, that Katherine Russell moved from that apartment, but we don't believe she's in Rhode Island. We believe she's more closely aligned herself with the Tsarnaev family or those who remain in the United States in New Jersey.

BALDWIN: You mentioned the sisters-in-law. What do you know, if anything, about the Tsarnaev daughters?

GRIFFIN: Well, they have a troubled petty crime past. The older daughter, Bella, is on pretrial intervention for charges of marijuana possession with the intent to distribute. Alina, I saw her in a Manhattan court just last month, where she is accused, of all things, of threatening a romantic rival with a bomb, saying that she knows people who know how to make bombs or place bombs. She's currently going through that litigation in the prosecutor's office there. Their mother is back in Russia. She's wanted in Boston for felony

theft charges involving stealing clothes from Lord & Taylor. The family has all kinds of troubles in its past, but this is the family that Katherine Russell at least appears to have aligned herself with.

BALDWIN: Wow.

Drew Griffin, thank you. I know you have much more on "ERIN BURNETT" and "A.C. 360" tonight 7:00 and 8:00 Eastern.

Let me pull away from this and take you to down Manhattan and we're going to hear from now Mayor Bill de Blasio and police commissioner standing to his left -- right, Bill Bratton.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

BILL DE BLASIO (D), MAYOR OF NEW YORK: That would reduce crime even when compared to the record previous year that we saw before we came into office, 2014 proves to be the most extraordinary year of all.

I have said to some of you, I would like to repeat it, when I was preparing to take office, a lot of people in this department, a lot of people who watch these issues closely said to me with a certain reverence that it would be nearly impossible to repeat the achievements of 2013, that this NYPD had done an extraordinary job, it was probably as good as it gets.

But you're about to hear from the leaders of this department, you're about to see the charts and facts that make clear that 2014 was a year of even greater achievement, record-setting year, an extraordinary year. This department did things that previously were unimaginable in terms of bringing down crime.

And they did it with ever fairer approaches and a greater closeness to our communities. So much of the credit goes to Commissioner Bratton.

I was certain when I chose him as our commissioner that he would lead us to places we had never been before,better places. He has fulfilled that promise so clearly. His leadership, the leadership team he has assembled around him, and most importantly the men and women of the NYPD have done an absolutely extraordinary job.

And these numbers speak to it, overall, major crime down 4.6 percent, 2014 compared to 2013, overall crime down 4.6 percent, the lowest number of homicides since the modern policing era began in 1993, since the what we call the CompStat era, the lowest number of homicides we have ever seen, 2,600 fewer robberies than the year before.

This number -- there are so many powerful numbers you will see today, but think about the everyday lives of our people; 2,600 New Yorkers did not experience robbery compared to what we have seen the year before. That's an extraordinary impact on people's lives, also setting a record.

And in our transit system, in our subways, outstanding success in our subway system, major crime down 15 percent, 1-5, 15 percent in 2014 compared to 2013, only two homicides in our subway system for the entire year of 2014.

These are numbers -- for those of us who have lived in the city for a long time, these are numbers that were once absolutely unimaginable. And this is a time to appreciate what all the people around me have achieved. And I want to thank them, so many gathered here today, our first Deputy commissioner, Ben Tucker, our chief of department, Jimmy O'Neill, our chief of patrol, Carlos Gomez, our deputy commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism, John Miller, our deputy commissioner of operations, Dermot Shea, our chief of intelligence, Tom Galati, chief of detectives, Bob Boyce, chief of transit, Joe Fox, chief of housing, James Secreto.

This leadership team is one for the ages.

Commissioner, I want to congratulate you for really having brought together the best and the brightest. Now, again, this is not just about numbers. Numbers are so important, but every number indicates a human life or a family and every number that we show that's made progress means a family or an individual that didn't go through the pain of a crime.

This has been progress that has had a deep impact on our neighborhoods all across the five boroughs. And some of these numbers specifically are absolutely outstanding.

One example, in our public housing, Stapleton houses in Staten Island, last year, crime was down over 40 percent, 4-0, 40 percent, compared to the year before. And that was due in part to the over $200 million investment we made in the housing authority with a focus on security measures like additional lighting that made residents' lives better, but also made the work of our police better and safer.

And the human impact in these situations goes beyond just being free from crime. It improves people's lives, their sense of well-being, their sense of freedom. People in so many of our public housing developments have been able to feel their lives getting a little better, be able to be outside a little more, have a sense their kids would be safer, because of these actions, because of the men of the NYPD.

Now, we know that this is very difficult work. I have spent the last year all over this city in police precincts and talking to officers who did extraordinary things, giving accolades to those who were such positive examples of the work this department does, talking to everyday New Yorkers about what it means to them.

People of this city appreciate our police. They appreciate how hard the work is and they see the progress we're making. Yesterday, tens of thousands paid their respects to Detective Liu and his family. And so many people who couldn't be at funeral talked to me and so many members of my administration about their feeling for those families, their willingness to do everything they could to help those families, because they understand what a profound sacrifice was made on behalf of the people of this city.

People feel a lot for Detective Liu's family. They feel a lot for Detective Ramos' family. And that is a commitment that with will keep for the long term for those families. This department has a proud history of standing by the families of all those we lose and the people of this city feel the same way.

They feel a deep commitment to the men and women who do this work and to their families; 35,000 people protect us, and as you're going to see in a moment, they do it very, very well. These two brave men we lost, they contributed to this outstanding progress from last year. They didn't get to see the end of the year, but they were part of that success. They dreamed of doing this work their whole lives.

You know their stories. They wanted to wear that uniform. They wanted to serve others. They wanted to work for just the kind of success that we're able to tell you about today. And if you know something about Detective Ramos and Detective Liu, you know they believed in building bridges between the police and the communities.

Both were extraordinarily devoted to communities they come from, devoted to their families, their neighborhoods. They wanted that closeness to deepen. And that's what we're dedicated to. And all this is based on the notion that when you bring police and community closer together, it is not only an act of fairness, it's an act of safety for all. And you can see it in the numbers that will be laid out today, because, as we have driven down crime, we have seen substantial decreases in the stop and frisk approach and substantial decreases in low-level marijuana arrests.

So, a lot of change is happening, and that change is happening while at the same time the city is becoming safer. Another important fact, 2014, 11 percent fewer complaints by New York City residents to the Civilian Complaint Review Board, another indicator of the fact that we're going in the right direction.

As we begin the new year, we have a lot to do. We have already announced substantial investments of close to $400 million in additional resources beyond that that we put in the last city budget, so that we can make the work of our officers more effective and safer. Particularly exciting is the investment in technology, the fact that every patrol car will have tablets, every officer will have a smartphone.

The information they need will be at their fingertips instantaneously, something we never could have imagined years ago. But now, whether we're trying to find an everyday criminal or whether, God forbid, there's a terrorist threat to the city, our officers will have all the facts, all the pictures, all the descriptions, everything they need immediately. And that will make us all safer.

That's the kind of investment that we need, and we will deepen, we will deepen our commitment to training. And that will become an ongoing part of the work of this department, tactical training, training that will make officers more effective and safer, training that will help them work more closer with to communities they serve.

A lot to be done, but we have momentum. We have momentum in terms of reducing crime. We have momentum in terms of bettering the relationship between police and community and keeping officers safe. We are going to build upon that momentum in 2015.

This is the world's greatest police department. There's no doubt about it. I have said it many times. I never have any fear or contradiction when I say that statement. It's the world's greatest police department. I travel all over the world and people speak reverently about the NYPD. They want to learn from the NYPD. They want to visit this building, talk to its leaders, learn about its technology, its strategies.

It's been true for many years. It's been particularly true since this man brought us the CompStat approach and so many other innovations that have been the basis for the constant improvements of safety made over two decades-plus. And it is the world's greatest police department because it is constantly committed to getting better.

This is not a department that rest on its laurels. This is a department that believes in innovation, believes in constantly working to build upon previous successes. I keep saying that records were set this year, this year just past, 2014. Records were set that were unimaginable, particularly compared to that extraordinary year of 2013.

I believe we are going to set some more records in 2015, because we have the talent, we have the commitment, we have the leadership to do it.