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Al-Qaeda Gaining Strength in Yemen; Europe On Alert for Terror Attacks; Capitol Bomb Plot Suspect Held Without Bond; Britain, U.S. Team Up to Fight Terror; NASCAR Driver: Ex-Girlfriend is Assassin; American Dollars Could Soon Flow Into Cuba

Aired January 17, 2015 - 12:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Happening right now in the NEWSROOM, the world on edge, police in France and Belgium today guarding potential targets of terrorist attacks.

Plus a terror suspect nabbed in Yemen. Why investigators believe they may be connected to al Qaeda.

And clashes over the latest "Charlie Hebdo" magazine depicting the Prophet Muhammad. French flags torched, as police try to get control of protesters. The NEWSROOM starts right now.

Hello again. Thanks so much for joining me. It's the noon eastern hour. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

New developments from the terrorist hot bed of Yemen, hours ago, the Yemeni president's chief of staff was kidnapped by gunmen in Central Sanaa in broad daylight. And we're learning that just weeks before the Paris attacks, Yemeni officials detained two Frenchmen for suspected links to al Qaeda.

The orders for last week's attacks on the offices of "Charlie Hebdo" came from al Qaeda in Yemen. And at least one of the Kouachi brothers, who launched that deadly rampage had traveled there multiple times.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is on the ground in Yemen. What is the latest?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you mentioned, 10:00 this morning, the presidential chief of staff was in the very center behind me and kidnapped by armed men. Now there was immediate condemnation from the American and British embassies here.

And hours later we discovered that, in fact, one key movement here, a collection of tribes, militia, who have in the past few months put the upper hand in the civil conflict racking Yemen for years, they have actually taken the capital city in the past few months.

And said in the last few hours that, in fact, they had detained the president's chief of staff, because they were concerned the president was about to usher in a new constitution they have not approved. And they wanted him to be careful of the sensitivities, quote, "of the situation."

The real sense of tension here between the group predominantly from the Shia sector of Islam and the presidential administration here who are often on the same side of the fence as many Sunni tribes and other groups here, as well, which does often include al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

And it's extraordinarily messy, escalating significantly. And goes to show really how close to being a failed state Yemen is. The second- most powerful man in the presidential administration can be carjacked and kidnapped at gunpoint in the very center of the capital -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Nick, what, if anything, is being demanded in exchange for his release?

WALSH: Simply that they say the current constitution, which is supposed to be put in place as part of a deal for transition here, part of a national reconciliation by log put in place many months ago, that that be stopped for now.

Now, it's all part, really, of the broader, in the words of one official close to administration, flexing of muscles by the movement here. They have check points across the capital. Some say they have introduced a sense of calm and order that hasn't been seen for a while.

Others say the use of force has done that. A very tense night here in Yemen falling in and obviously none of this assists through the general idea of combatting al Qaeda or the Arabian Peninsula. This kind of chaos gave a foothold here.

I should point out too, we are hearing in the last few hours from a Yemeni official briefed on the security situation here that in the last few months, two Frenchmen were, in fact, arrested for apparently offering support to al Qaeda here arrested as they left the country in custody. Not clear if there are links to the Paris attacks -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Nick Paton Walsh, thank you so much from Sanaa, Yemen.

Countries across Europe are on edge. Authorities are guarding against potential terror attacks there. One intelligence source tells CNN, dozens of terrorists may be poised to strike across Europe as part of the so-called sleeper cells in Belgium, troops are out in force, guarding targets, including embassies and the country's Jewish museum.

Phil Black is in Brussels for us. How obvious is this security presence around the city, and particularly in those most vulnerable locations?

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, in some areas, you can't see it. You really can't miss it, I should say, Fredricka. What we're seeing and what we have been seeing is really pretty extraordinary. These are armed Belgian soldiers deployed on to the streets of this major European city.

That is an extraordinary sight, really. They are standing guard. You see them moving around in troop vehicles, as well. They've been assigned to protect, to watch over buildings and institutions and sights that the authorities fear could be a target for some sort of terror strike.

We're talking about government buildings. Buildings associated with European Union institutions. This is really the capital of the European Union here in Brussels and of course, jewfish sites and institutions, as well.

Today here in Brussels, some 120 soldiers have been deployed to these various sites. Another 30 are on the streets on the city of Antwerp north of here, guarding key jewfish sites, as well. So it's really a dramatic, significant step up in the security certainly here in the capital.

It's likely these numbers will increase in the coming days. The situation is being reviewed. It is all part of an increase to the security posture of this country.

But it is also very much clearly assigned that despite the raids against suspected terror groups that have taken place here over recent days, the authorities are very much of the belief that there remains a substantial security threat here in Belgium -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so Phil, what about ordinary citizens? I mean, here it is nightfall, dinnertime there for a lot of people. Are they heading out, still carrying on about their business, going to restaurants, markets, et cetera, or are they changing their ways?

BLACK: Yes, I think people still are very much living their life here as they normally would on a Saturday night. Most of the security, this additional security, particularly these armed soldiers. They're being deployed to government buildings and European Union buildings.

They're largely shut up for the weekend so not a lot of civilian life around that. When it comes to the Jewish sites I guess these are some of the places that members of Belgium's Jewish community have been most nervous about.

Schools and so forth have been closed here in recent days. There is now talks that because of this additional security, some of them will reopen come Monday. That they do feel significantly more comfortable because of this additional security, which is now so visible on the streets of the capital here and also the city, Antwerp.

WHITFIELD: All right, Phil Black, thank you so much, from Brussels.

So in the wake of the Paris attacks, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder warned of similar potential attacks in the U.S. To discuss this potential threat further, we're joined now by France 24's Washington correspondent, Phillip Crowther and CNN global affairs analyst, Lieutenant Colonel James Reese. Good to see you both of you. Phillip, let me begin with you. Is there a wire discussion taking place about whether we could potentially see a repeat of the Paris attack into the U.S.?

PHILLIP CROWTHER, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, FRANCE 24: Well, it's entirely possible, isn't it? It's relatively close to the so-called lone wolf attack that a lot of people in the Obama administration have been warning about, and, indeed, all the way up to the U.S. president have been warning about.

But when you look at what happened in Paris, it wasn't exactly that lone wolf attack that had been so many warnings about. It wasn't just that one person. It was a group of people who were heavily armed, and seemingly well-trained, and had a lot of training with al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

So there is a lot more organization behind that. But the worry more than anything, I think, is these many different potential motives and motivations for these attacks in Paris. There were, of course, the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad done in 2006.

So this goes a long way back. And then there's, of course, the presence of al Qaeda and the Arabian Peninsula, that threat coming from Yemen. But there is also, remember, Amedy Coulibaly, the attacker from the grocery store in Paris, he said that he was doing this for ISIS, the Islamic State group, another possible motive.

In other words, it's a bit of a deadly cocktail this one, potential motives and motivations. And that means that the terror threat around Europe and potentially, of course, also here in the United States, is a very complex one. It could come from anywhere, basically.

WHITFIELD: And Lieutenant Colonel Reese, what do you suppose the discussions are now in the intelligence community, in law enforcement? What are they extrapolating from what took place in Paris at "Charlie Hebdo," as well as the kosher market?

What has taken place in Belgium in terms of thwarting the efforts of terrorists there? What kind of notes are taken from those various incidents and put together to try to get a better framework about how to stop the next planned attack or how to go about arresting or apprehending those who are planning the next attack?

LT. COL. JAMES REESE, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, Fred, everyone in the -- you know, in the intel ops fusion community right now, one of the things we know -- we have known for years, but these attacks have really brought it to the forefront.

It's we have people both in Europe and the U.S. going to Syria, going to Yemen. We know those are safe havens for terrorist training. They can go there. When they come back, they are not sleeper cells. They become really people without a country because we have a good idea who they are when they go over.

They go on a watch list, so when they come back, they either have to try to assimilate back in, and say, I made a mistake, or when they do come back, they have to be operational. So the intel community right now I believe is probably saying to themselves, you know, we have to increase the surveillance on these people.

We probably have to go even overt surveillance on these people to let them know we are watching them because they're in an operational mode. They are definitely not sleeping.

WHITFIELD: All right. Phillip Crowther and Lieutenant Colonel James Reese, stay with me. We'll talk more particularly as we talk about jury selection soon to get under way involving the lone surviving Boston bomber. We'll talk about that form of terrorism, and what kinds of parallels are being drawn.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, the terror attacks and the arrest in Europe opened wounds and ignited fear in the U.S. as well. We're back with Francis 24 Washington correspondent, Phillip Crowther, and CNN global affairs analyst, Lieutenant Colonel James Reese.

In the wake of what has played out in Europe, do you see, Lieutenant Colonel, any parallels between the plan carried out by the Kouachi brothers in Paris and the Tsarnaev brothers in the United States and what they carried out in Boston?

REESE: Well, are there parallels? Absolutely there are parallels. What you really have, though, is this -- the ones who went to Yemen, they got guidance there. You've got the other ones with the Dagestan, and they got guidance there. That's what everyone really needs to understand about these terrorist cells, these operational cells.

When they go get their training, then the leadership of these terrorist organizations sit down with them, and they become intent- based organizations. It says, we want you to go attack the journalists at "Charlie Hebdo."

When you do it, how you do it, is up to you. Here's the money to execute. Go do it. When they leave, then there are other folks training there, they bring them in, they give the same exact guidance.

So what you start to get is several balls up in the air at the same time, and hopefully one of those comes down on what the leadership of the terrorist cell wants to do.

WHITFIELD: This is what a former CIA director, Leon Panetta, said during an exclusive interview right here on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEON PANETTA, FORMER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: You got terrorists coming at us from a lot of different directions, from ISIS, from Boko Haram, from Al Shabaab, from AQAP, from other elements of al Qaeda. They are recruiting like crazy from these various wars in Syria and Iraq and yes, men.

And they seem to be involved in more planning, and more weapons in terms of the types of attacks that they're working on. So I think it's pretty clear from what we're seeing that we are entering a more threatening and more dangerous period in this war on terrorism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And more of this conversation with Leon Panetta on GPS with Fareed Zakaria tomorrow morning. Lieutenant, I wonder if you can weigh in on that.

The former director saying there are more groups, it appears, and it seems like there's more training, there is more financing. What ask does this mean in the ongoing global war against terror. How much more difficult has it made it?

REESE: First off, I'm a bit disappointed the former director of the CIA is putting in former organizations that don't have any threat to us. Al Shabaab in Somalia and Boko Haram, they're entirely focused on Nigeria, and they have done one attack --

WHITFIELD: Isn't there a similar ideology that provokes any number of these men and women, mostly men, to carry out these deeds of terror to assault communities, to steal people, kidnap, to kill?

CROWTHER: Sure. But, I mean, this is throughout history, both on the Christian side and the Muslim side. What we have to do now is focus. Focus is the key here, on what is the -- you know, what could be attacking the home land for the U.S.

How do we help Europe protect their aspects so we have to focus? So if we start throwing out all these different names and taking our focus away, this is when we're going to get hurt.

WHITFIELD: All right. Lieutenant Colonel James Reese, Phillip Crowther, thanks to both of you. I appreciate your time today.

CROWTHER: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. And he allegedly planned to bomb and open fire on the U.S. capitol. But 20-year-old Christopher Cornell will never see that plan play out instead he'll be facing charges for the alleged terror plot and remain behind bars until trial.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The man arrested last week for allegedly plotting to bomb and open fire on the U.S. capitol will remain behind bars. Yesterday a judge ordered Christopher Lee Cornell held without bond. FBI agents who were monitoring Cornell arrested him Wednesday. CNN's Alexandra field is following the story from Cincinnati.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, Christopher Cornell will stay in the Butler County jail, no chance for bond here. A federal court judge made her decision, noting arguments from the prosecution that Cornell could be a flight risk and he poses a significant threat to public safety based on allegations he was plotting to bomb the capitol. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD (voice-over): Christopher Cornell was a high school wrestling star. His parents say they once had high hopes for a bright future. But he didn't seem to find his path after high school.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It breaks my heart. He had so much potential. He had a scholarship.

FIELD: Recently, there was reason to be hopeful again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He just became a happier person.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His attitude changed. He became a lot happier. He said that he felt calm and at peace with himself and with God. He became just happy go lucky.

FIELD: He grew out his beard and adopted Islam after reading a lot about it, and his parents saw signs his beliefs had really taken hold.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He would come in at prayer time and say his prayers.

FIELD: At the same time, the FBI says he was planning a deadly attack. On Wednesday, agents raided the family's Cincinnati home, seizing a book Cornell had written in, and a computer.

Online, authorities say he told an FBI informant he wanted to commit violent jihad over several months investigators monitored the plot as it was taking shape.

Authorities say pipe bombs will be placed in the capitol and people would be shot as they fled the scene.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, no. I don't think Chris ever wanted to hurt anyone and --

FIELD (on camera): Then why say it and why walk into the gun shop?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe he was coerced.

FIELD (voice-over): FBI agents arrested Cornell Wednesday after he bought two semi-automatic rifles and 600 rounds of ammunition, at the Point Blank Gun Shop and Range in Cincinnati.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had the forewarning that he was going to come in, but then also they had greased the skids a little bit so that things would go smoothly as a part of the sale.

FIELD: Asked to help authorities in the sting, John Dean sold Cornell exactly what he asked for.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm getting a lot of thumbs up today.

FIELD (on camera): How did he strike you? Did he know what he was talking about? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He did. He struck me as someone who had done some research. But hadn't actually had a lot of hands-on experience with a gun.

FIELD: Cornell had never fired a gun, according to his parents. They say he never talked to them about ISIS, and he showed no signs of anger or violence. They say he spent much of his time alone.

(on camera): Did he have friends?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He had friends up until about a year ago and I think when he grew his hair out and grew his beard.

FIELD (voice-over): On the day of his arrest, Cornell left a note for his parents saying he was working with a friend. Their son now behind bars, but his parents believe he'll come home one day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel that it wasn't him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD: The defendant saw his parents for the first time since his arrest when he walked into the courtroom for his detention hearing. His mother said "I love you." His father said "don't trust anyone." His attorney also made several requests to the judge.

She asked that her client be referred to during court proceedings by his Muslim name. She also asked that he be given a prayer mat and clock in the Butler County Jail so he could pray five times daily and she asked he be taken off suicide watch -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Alexandra Field, thank you so much.

With more attacks expected, the U.S. and Britain are teaming up to fight terror. Erin McPike is at the White House.

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, the leaders of both countries met here yesterday to announce new efforts to crack down on terrorist and hacker groups. More on that after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hello again. Thanks for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Anti-terror operations are in full swing in Western Europe, two days after a raid by Belgium police. Soldiers are providing extra security for embassies and Jewish sites and officials on high alert amid reports that as many as 20 sleeper cells could be planning strikes in several European countries.

More than two dozen terror related arrests have been made in France, Germany, Belgium and the U.K. at least two of the suspects are believed to have links to ISIS.

The Paris attacks and the growing presence of al Qaeda and is have world leaders teaming up to fight terror. British Prime Minister David Cameron was at the White House for talks with President Obama yesterday.

On their agenda, security measures and what to do about Islamic terror cells inside Europe. CNN's Erin McPike is at the White House for us. Erin, what has come out of those talks?

MCPIKE: Fred, these two leaders announced that they are joining together to create these cyber cells so they can crack down on terrorist and vulnerabilities in some of their online networks.

Now President Obama also pointed out that both he and David Cameron are dealing with threat streams every single day, and, of course, that attention is heightened now after the Paris attacks. But that what they need to do is come up with a more consistent approach for how to deal with them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In the wake of the vicious attacks in Paris, as well as the news surfacing out of Belgium today, we continue to stand unequivocally, not only with our French friends and allies, but with also all of our partners, who are dealing with this scourge.

MCPIKE: President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron vowing to do more to disrupt terrorist communications.

DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We should try to avoid the safe havens that could otherwise be created for terrorists to talk to each other. There is a very real connection between that and the capabilities that our intelligence services within the law use to defend our people.

MCPIKE: One of the major priorities for the U.S. and its allies is to identify the more than 19,000 foreign fighters who have traveled to Syria, who may be planning attacks in their home countries.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Social media and the internet is the primary way in which these terrorist organizations are communicating. Now, that's no different than anybody else, but they're good at it, and when we have the ability to track that in a way that is legal, conforms with due process, rule of law and presents oversight then that's the capability that we have to preserve.

MCPIKE: The British prime minister has pushed for changes for how some companies are encrypting their communication, something Mr. Obama said he is also worried about.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: If we find evidence of a terrorist plot somewhere in the Middle East that traces directly back to London or New York, we are confident that this individual or this network is about to activate a plot, and despite having a phone number or despite having a social media address, we can't penetrate that. That's a problem.

(END VIDEOTAPE) MCPIKE: Now, there were some occasions yesterday where Obama and Cameron were at odds and David Cameron talked about stepping up police forces throughout Europe to deal with Islamist extremists, but President Obama warned Europe against responding with a hammer and more law enforcement. And he said Europe needs to create a better culture for some of its immigrants and stronger ties to the community there -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Erin McPike, thanks so much from the White House.

All right, so one of the issues with cyber-attacks is the technology. It's moving so fast, it's hard for investigators to even keep up. Something Obama also addressed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT OBAMA: The technologies are evolving in ways that potentially make this trickier. If we get into a situation in which the technologies do not allow us at all to track somebody that we're competent is a terrorist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, joining me right now is CNN's Samuel Burke, technology guru. Good to see you, Samuel. All right, sort of sounds like a losing battle. Is that the case? Is it possible to stay ahead of this change of technology, and the change in which people are using it, terrorists using it?

SAMUEL BURKE, CNN TECHNOLOGY GURU: Fredricka, in the days leading up to his meeting with Obama, Cameron said if Obama doesn't put more pressure on U.S. technology companies, that he might actually consider banning apps like snap chat and what's up in the United Kingdom, because the encryption technology has gotten to be so good.

When Obama came out, I heard him take a line that was a little less hard-lined, let's say. Obama signaled he feels the United States government has made progress with the technology companies, balancing privacy with the ability to monitor.

But as you just heard in that sound bite, basically what Obama is saying is that the technology has gotten so good, it's become so secure, that sometimes, let's just draw an analogy, the government is going to the door, the authorities are going to the door of your home, and the lock is so strong, that they can't even get in.

But that flies in the face of a lot of what I've heard when I am reporting on cyber security and hacks in sonny. You hear the experts say we need stronger. So we as society have to grapple with that. We can't have it both ways.

We don't want to get hacked, but on the other hand, we want the government to be able to get in. So we're going to have to figure that out as a society at large. WHITFIELD: Gosh. All right, so you're also talking about this hacking. We're hearing that 19,000 French websites have been hacked this week. Any idea who or what group might be behind it? Is it a sole entity or is it just, know, several different entities?

BURKE: The head of cyber security in France said that these websites, 19,000 -- like you said, businesses, universities, religious groups, city governments in France. These websites have been filled with pro- Islamic and pro -- pro-Islamic images and pro-Islamic messages.]

So it looks like these are coming from Islamic groups, in and outside of France according to the French authorities, carrying out these attacks. But it's interesting, because that's happened just off the back of anonymous.

That hacking group saying that in -- they're going to carry out reprisal attacks for what happened to "Charlie Hebdo." Just take a listen to what they posted on their YouTube account.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Attacking freedom of speech is attacking anonymous. We will not permit it. Any organizations and enterprises linked to those terrorist attacks should expect the massive reaction from anonymous. We are tracking you down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURKE: So Fredricka, I bet a lot of people think that's great unanimous is going after what they deem to be Jihadist groups, but experts tell me that's actually not good. What that does is create an environment where more Islamic groups will go after the French websites, like we're seeing. So you have these cyber vigilantes, and people like you and I are caught in the middle as these groups go at each other.

WHITFIELD: Wow. What a complicated web. Thanks so much, Samuel Burke, always good to see you.

A star NASCAR driver is accusing his ex-girlfriend of being a trained assassin. She claims he has abused her. So who needs the restraining order? Our legal guys will sort it all out, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. In Florida this morning, an alleged gunman was on the loose at a shopping mall, and now we understand the only person shot dead was the gunman, the alleged gunman himself.

Our affiliate, WESH says the suspect actually shot himself after firing off five or six gunshots in the Melbourne Square Mall food court. A woman who saw it describes the frightening scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONNA EVANS, EYEWITNESS: It was a frightening experience. Something you don't ever want anybody to experience. It was crazy. It was -- we had just gotten our food to sit down by Starbucks and Chick-Fil-A. And all of a sudden you just hear the pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop. And you just drop everything and you just -- your body makes you run.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Two people were injured in the shooting. Meanwhile, police say the mall is closed and being cleared store by store.

Overseas, a typhoon in the Philippines forced Pope Francis to cut short a huge outdoor mass today. Despite high winds and drenching rains thousands of worshippers showed up for the service in Tacloban, that's the same area that was devastated by a super typhoon back in 2013. After the service, the pope headed to Manila where he'll deliver to a mass tomorrow.

And in politics, Mitt Romney says he is considering another presidential run. He spokes to the GOP's winter meeting in San Diego last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Most frequently asked question I get is, what does Ann think about all of this? And she believes that people get better with experience. And -- heaven knows, I have experience running for president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Romney had said after the 2012 race he would never run again. Well, apparently now he is rethinking those words.

NASCAR driver, Kurt Busch and his ex-girlfriend are making headlines in a rather bizarre legal case. Busch's ex, Patricia Driscoll, is not only known for trying to get her own reality show with this demo video, but she claims Busch attacked her, and she wants a restraining order.

He says she is a trained assassin, and that he is scared for his life. So who to believe? Here is CNN's Andy Scholes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS (voice-over): The assassin, Angelina Jolie, plays in "Mr. And Mrs. Smith" is a fictional character, but according to NASCAR superstar, Kurt Busch, his ex-girlfriend, Patricia Driscoll is the real life version.

While testifying in court over Driscoll's request for a no-contact order, Busch said Driscoll is a trained assassin who would go on covert missions around the world.

The family court battle stems from a November incident where Driscoll claims Busch assaulted her. Busch says it's a made-up lie after the relationship ended.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just glad the truth got told and we'll wait on the commissioner's decision.

SCHOLES: Busch says Driscoll claimed Jessica's character in the movie "Zero Dark Thirty" was partly based on her and other women working in counter intelligence.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bin Laden is there and you're going to kill him for me.

SCHOLES: During court testimony, Busch told a story about one time when he and Driscoll were in El Paso, Texas. Busch said Driscoll once went out in camouflaged gear, only to return later wearing an evening gown covered with blood with a trench coat over it. Far-fetched, maybe?

But Busch is standing by his story on the stand saying, quote, everybody on the outside can tell me I'm crazy, but I lived on the inside and saw it first-hand.

Driscoll is a senior executive of a company called front line defense systems, a security and intelligence consulting firm, and is described on the company website as having spent the majority of her career in the narcotics and intelligence world.

Driscoll nor her attorney refuted the testimony during the hearing but in a phone interview with the "Associated Press," Driscoll said these statements are ludicrous and without basis and an attempt to destroy my credibility.

I find it interesting that some of the outlandish claims come from a movie script I've been working on for eight years and she says Busch has proof read.

WHITFIELD: OK, Andy Scholes, thanks so much. OK, let's bring in our legal guys, maybe they can sort this out. We won't have any music, though, behind. I love that music.

All right, Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor in Cleveland. And Richard Herman, New York criminal defense attorney and law professor, joining us from Las Vegas today.

OK, so Richard, you first. What's the evidence likely that, you know, Ms. Driscoll says she needs a restraining order, and that she is the one being harassed?

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL the whole thing is absurd, Fred. It's ridiculous. These people are nuts, and I don't know -- it looks like a publicity stunt to me because it's absurd, a four-day hearing in family court for an alleged assault.

This is what happens. He's in his trailer at a raceway. She is -- he says she is scorned. She comes to his trailer, he asks her to leave. She got her 10-year-old son with her, by the way.

She will not leave. There is some sort of altercation, where she says he takes her and puts her head into the side of the wall there, and she finally leaves. There is no medical evidence, there is no criminal charges brought. She then goes to family court and seeks a restraining order against him. He doesn't want her around him. Yet she is seeking a no-contact order.

And the absurdity of this whole thing is, is that there is no evidence of it, this whole thing about an assassin and the assassin defense, this is ridiculous. This has nothing to do with the facts and circumstances of the case. It's got to be a publicit stunt, Fred. It has to be. It's absurd.

WHITFIELD: Do you think so too, Avery?

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Well, I -- from a legal perspective, I appreciate the characterization of absurdity and ridiculous. But to me, look, I think, you know, if you work -- you know, like Curt Busch and, you're -- all you do is drive around in circles, maybe that got to him. But I do agree --

WHITFIELD: Get ready for e-mails and calls, but go ahead.

FRIEDMAN: Do agree -- I do agree that the idea of bringing a no contact claim or pursuit, and it's a civil matter. It's not criminal. The lawyers could have agreed to something like that. But they're now -- we have a four-day show.

I agree with that part of it. What's so odd about this is the complaint was actually filed in September. The incident allegedly occurred in September. The complaint was filed in November. The hearing started in December, and we're now in January, and it's still not over. So it is very odd in that respect.

Bottom line is that if the burden is on the victim, then it seems to me that Ms. Driscoll has a real problem in meeting that burden of proof. We actually agree, but for different reasons.

WHITFIELD: I know. I'm hearing that. You're in agreement.

HERMAN: The further absurdity, if this order gets granted, this no contact order gets granted -- it's quasi criminal, Avery. If she gets upset down the road and decides to call the police and say he's bothering me, he came by my house, they could go arrest him. So -- because of that no contact.

FRIEDMAN: It's not going to happen. Let me tell you why it's not going to happen.

HERMAN: But it's in family court and the qualities of judges in family court are like this, most of them so --

WHITFIELD: My gosh! I cannot -- believe you said that.

FRIEDMAN: The entire judiciary --

HERMAN: Family court -- family court judges.

FRIEDMAN: That's not fair, inappropriate.

WHITFIELD: You're going to get a barrage.

HERMAN: Some of them. Not all, some of them.

FRIEDMAN: I'm glad I'm an innocent bystander. Did I say happy New Year, you guys?

HERMAN: Happy New Year to you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: I know. I was thinking about that this morning. We have been together a very long time.

HERMAN: Way too long.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks, guys. Appreciate it. Bye-bye.

All right, for more than 50 years, Americans have had to get special permission to set foot on Cuban soil. Guess what? Now visiting Cuba is a whole lot easier. Karl Penhaul takes us to Havana.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, this still is not a general license to come and hit Cuba's beaches or knock back the mojitos. But these changes have sweeping consequences for Americans, for the Cubans and for these two former cold war foes. I'll tell you more on the other side of the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Cubans are waiting to see how new U.S. policies that went into effect yesterday will affect them. President Obama announced the changes in December, making it easier for Americans to visit the island nation. Tourism experts think that that could translate into 1 million U.S. visitors a year, and a whole lot of tourism dollars.

With us live now from Havana, Cuba, Karl Penhaul. So Karl, are Cubans excited about this potential influx of could translate into 1 million U.S. visitors a year, and a whole lot of tourism dollars. With us live now from Havana, Cuba, Karl Penhaul. So Karl, are Cubans excited about this potential influx of tourists?

PENHAUL: Well, certainly Cubans are excited about the changes, Fredricka, because what they believe is it will bring in more money, more U.S. dollars into their economy, they can get their hands on. Why they are excited about that, of course, because if you try to get by in Cuba on a state wage of less than 20 bucks a month, that is just impossible.

So you've got to hustle, even on the sidelines of your regular job to get your hands on some hard currency. And simply make it through the month. And if you look at what the changes President Obama has put through, that is really what a lot of these changes are destined to do. This is not simply about helping Americans with their vacation plans, although that is one of the side effects.

A lot more Americans can come to Cuba under self-licensing agreements. That basically means you get on the plane and then when you get back, if anybody asks, you say, well, I came for religious purposes, for humanitarian purposes, or what have you.

But the key thing here is that also the increase in remittances, as well. Obama has said that Cuban-American families can send four times more remittances. As that happens, there's likely to be greater economic divisions, which could lead to greater political divisions.

Let's take a look at this and see how the situation could be affected.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL (voice-over): An economic shakeup is already under way and now relations with the U.S. may be thawing. Cuba's emerging class of private businessmen looks set to boom.

Rodriguez has been running his own restaurant called Wow for just over two years. The key to success is preserving the taste of Cuba, whether that's the taste of the drinks and food or a taste for daily life, he says.

Finding the right ingredients can sometimes be tough. Despite that, Rodriguez favors an orderly move to liberalization, not a free-for- all. The rules for doing private business are in place. It's not worth trying to save a few pesos and earning yourself a huge problem, he says.

President Obama has proposed a four-fold increase in remittances is sent by Cuban-Americans to family here. That's partly intended to bank roll small businesses. A dollar influx and a growth in private enterprise will almost certainly sharpen Cuba's economic class gap.

Rodriguez believes economic reforms and better U.S. relations will not undermine Cuba's socialist political system. As salaries start to rise and more remittances come in, great. If a family gets a better standard of living, that's great too, he says.

Across on the other side of Havana, I'll bring you to a different kind of private business. This one is a nail salon. She says she has scrimped and saved for years to buy 500 shades of polish. She charges around $5 for high gloss acrylic manicure. That's an entire week's wage for a state worker.

I'm one of the capitalist generation. I believe the capitalist generation is better than the others, she says.

Above her, the sign, Cuba's social dream may be fading. No cash, no nail do. All that business of Fidel and the revolution is a very pretty story but it has nothing to do with now. Young people want to go to good places, a disco, all-expenses paid hotels.

And with a state salary, you just can't do that, she says. Neither she or her clients know what to expect from a warming U.S.-Cuba ties, Raul and Obama might have talked about a lot of things, but for ordinary people, everything is just the same, one day good, one dastays the same, this woman says. Raul and Obama might have talked about a lot of things, but for ordinary people, everything is just the same. One day good, one day bad, she says. But with every day that passes, she is waging a private battle against the system, one nail at a time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL: So on the one hand, you can look at these changes introduced by President Obama as a sign that relations between two former cold war foes could start to be getting on to a new path where both sides put old antagonisms aside.

On the other hand, though, you can also look at this as possibly a back door attempt by the United States to spread more cash at lower levels of the Cuban economy. And in that way, start in motion its own grass roots political process to try and get ordinary Cubans to push the Cuban government for change here on the island -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Karl Penhaul, thanks so much for bringing us into the lives of the Cuban people there and to this new change. Thanks so much.

We'll have much more on the NEWSROOM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Most members of terror groups are men. But some of their wives are not just sitting by silently. As CNN's Alina Machado shows us, radical wives of Islam are increasingly joining the fight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You wouldn't know it, but this youthful face is at the center of an international manhunt. Hayat Boumediene is hiding behind a veil in these pictures published in "Lamont" aiming a cross bow. These images suggest a radical transformation into extremism.

MUBIN SHAIKH, FORMER JIHADIST: If you look at it, it is erasing previous identity.

MACHADO: Boumeddiene is wanted for her mysterious role in the Paris terror attacks. The can connection to her romantic partner, Amedy Coulibaly, has made her front-page news.

SHAIKH: She will most definitely be seen as a rock star. It's almost like she is a trophy militant wife.

MACHADO: And she is far from the only woman to take a radical turn, as western women join militant Islamic groups, their presence, according to experts, often help members fly under the radar, one reason why perhaps Boumeddiene is seen in this video traveling with a man who may be connected to another Jihadi cell.

SHAIKH: Women are generally not looked at as a potential terrorist. When a woman and a man are paired up, they won't be seen as an operational unit, an operational entity.

MACHADO: Samantha Lewthwaite grew up as a normal kid just outside London and later turned radical. Her husband, one of the suicide bombers responsible for the deadly London subway attacks in 2005. She is now known as the White Widow, and has linked to the Somali terror group, al-Shabaab.

And then there is Aqsa Mahmood, who grew you up in an affluent neighborhood in Scotland listening to Cold Play and reading "Harry Potter" books. In 2013, Mahmud left her family for Syria.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had a moderate Muslim family. And it was a big shock for us.

MACHADO: Her goal? To join the movement, become an ISIS bride and martyr herself. Tonight her whereabouts unknown, much like Boumeddiene. Two ordinary Western women transforming themselves into the first women of terror.

Alina Machado, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Still so much more ahead in the NEWSROOM, and it all starts right now.