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More Snowstorms Heading for Northeast, Midwest; White House Considers Sending Lethal Aide to Ukraine; Hernandez Trial Hits Snag; Bobbi Kristina Brown Fights for Life; Before, After Look at Donetsk.

Aired February 03, 2015 - 11:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Tough news for those of us living in the northeast, sick of the snowstorms. Here's the news. More are coming. CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers tells us the northeast and Midwest are in the midst of this weather pattern, which means we'll be hit by storm after storm after storm for the next 30 days. Ugly for people trying to shovel it off and get to work. This last storm broke records. Boston got a year's worth of snow in just the past two weeks. The city's schools are closed for a second day. The Patriots Super Bowl Parade has been postponed until tomorrow hopefully if they get enough of the streets cleared. Chicago reported a record 16 inches at O'Hare International Airport. The schools in Chicago are open today. Ten people lost their lives in this last storm.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The winter storm is forcing even more flight cancellations as you can imagine. 500 and counting just today. The airlines are trying to clear the backlog of stranded flyers after more than 7,000 flights were canceled Sunday and Monday. Most of the air traffic problem is centered in the northeast, specifically Boston's Logan Airport and LaGuardia Airport in New York.

BERMAN: Happening right now, the White House is said to be considering a new move sending lethal aid to Ukraine to help defend against attacks from the pro-Russian rebels. A decision being made even more urgent after a U.N. report shows that more civilians are being killed there as government forces, Ukrainian forces battle pro- Russian rebels and possibly Russian soldiers as well.

BOLDUAN: Secretary of State John Kerry is going to visit Kiev later this week to meet Ukraine's top leaders. The State Department said he'll highlight U.S. support for Ukraine and its people but, of course, the huge question as he heads over is will that support include anti-tank, anti-air and anti-mortar systems.

Let's get more from Jim Sciutto in Washington.

Jim, where do discussions stand on this shift in U.S. policy at this hour?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Clearly still a debate within the administration. Ben Rhodes on our air last night says that it's still the White House position that more arms would only make things worse but there are others in the State Department and defense department who urge reconsidering. There are Democrats on the hill. Senator Chris Murphy, who changed his mind on this, as now we should send defensive weapons in there. I spoke to a Senate source that has heard different views from within the White House. No final decision made. Clearly, a debate still under way.

What has changed is that, on the ground, Ukrainian forces are losing. They're losing ground. They don't have firepower to respond to the increased Russian firepower. It's not just rebels. It's Russian tanks and Russian heavy weapons and Russian troops that have tilted the tide and turned the tide against those Ukrainian forces. That's why there's some reconsidering now.

BERMAN: There are military officials, including a NATO official, General Breedlove, who support giving lethal aid to Ukraine. But how do these military figures respond to the reticence of the White House, people like Ben Rhodes, when there is a suggestion that you can't out- arm the Russians on the Russian border. No amount will give them the edge if Russia is intent on sending their own forces in.

SCIUTTO: That's right. That's the position that Ben Rhodes and others make and the president has made. You give more arms, and the concern is does that spur Vladimir Putin to further military action there. Does it make the situation worse? But the proponents aren't saying arm Ukrainian military to beat the Russians. No one says that's plausible. They say right the balance on the ground so you have the groundwork laid for negotiations, because it's their view as Russians are steam rolling through the east that there is no incentive to get to the negotiating table, if you raise costs on the ground for Russian forces and those pro-Russian forces that they will be more likely to go to the negotiating table. They already raised the economic costs. Sanctions have bitten with the fall in the price of oil but that's not changed President Putin's calculus on the ground. Unclear if more weapons will do that.

BERMAN: Raise the military cost. Slow them down. Make it harder could give them a better chance to negotiate on the Ukrainian side.

Jim Sciutto, thank you for being with us. Appreciate it.

SCIUTTO: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Thanks, Jim.

A delay in the murder trial of former NFL star, Aaron Hernandez. What is holding things up? That's coming up next.

BERMAN: Whitney Houston's daughter clinging to life. New questions this morning about what happened to Bobbi Kristina Brown. The details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: The murder trial of former Patriots tight end, Aaron Hernandez, is in recess right now. No testimony has been heard today. It appears it hit a snag. BOLDUAN: Lawyers debated some kind of issue with a juror who

left the courtroom, and then in a different side bar hearing, with the judge the two sides took up a dispute over evidence. Murder victim Odin Lloyd's girlfriend, Shaneah Jenkins, was scheduled to be back on stand. The trial puts the sisters on opposite ends of this case. Chyanna (ph) Jenkins is Hernandez's fiance. And Hernandez is charged with murdering Odin Lloyd back in 2013.

BERMAN: Our Miguel Marquez is in Fall River covering the trial, and Sunny Hostin here in studio.

What's going on there today, Miguel? What's the hold up?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As you were uttering those words that they are in recess, they have just come back into session. The lawyers gathered. The victim's family has come back into the courtroom and they have decided to get the day going finally after taking yesterday off because of the snow up here.

There seems to be two issues they were dealing with today. One was what appears to be a juror, a female in her 40s. 13 women and five men that are on that jury. Six of them will be alternates that won't be decided until they go into deliberations. One of those jurors was questioned today. Aaron Hernandez at some point during this side bar out of the ear shot of the other jurors came up and was talking to both lawyers and the judge about this particular juror. Then that juror went off to the side and there was discussion about evidence. Some other evidence the prosecution may want to bring into this case. Hernandez's lawyers arguing he had the right to be at the side bar for that. Judge saying, no, not necessarily. He does for the juror but not for the evidentiary hearing. So that's what they went into over the last hour was this evidence hearing. What it's about and what it might be? Hopefully, we'll find out shortly now that they are back in session -- John and Kate?

BOLDUAN: Thanks, Miguel.

Sunny Hostin is with us as well.

Sunny, Miguel lays it out. For the layman, it's confusing. Sum it up.

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: What is going on is the question.

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Judges don't like this stuff to be going on when there is a jury empanelled. They don't want to waste the jury's time. This is probably unexpected. Jurors sometimes do something over the weekend that maybe they didn't think they should do and so they go into the judge and say, hey, perhaps I was watching the Super Bowl and everybody started talking about Aaron Hernandez. I know you advised me not to be part of that conversation. It just happened. Am I OK? Jurors do sometimes check in. The juror issue is not uncommon. What is a bit uncommon is this potential evidentiary issue. Judges again before the jury is empanelled want to hash this out. It's like a well orchestrated dance once you get into a trial. Prosecutors know what evidence they are putting in. Defense also knows the evidence that's coming in. So this is a bit unusual and judges are loathe to get into this evidentiary stuff when you have 18 people waiting to hear the evidence.

BERMAN: You would have thought they would have done that before. Let me ask you about the unusual familial issue. One of the witnesses we expect to hear from soon is the girlfriend of Odin Lloyd. Her sister is the fiance of Aaron Hernandez, sitting on that side of the courtroom. I know strange things happen in murder trials. This is pretty unusual.

HOSTIN: You know, I have to tell you, for me and my experience, John, it's not that unusual. You would be surprised how these trials tear families apart. Often times you have an agent that knocks on someone's door and says guess what? If you don't testify against your brother or against your cousin, you're going to go down and people are on opposite sides of these kinds of cases. Unfortunate but it does happen.

(CROSSTALK)

HOSTIN: Unusual that you have one sister sort of behind the defendant and then another sister behind them supporting the victim and the victim's family but, again, these types of trials tear families apart.

BOLDUAN: We're still early on in terms of hearing testimony from the girlfriend. She should be or maybe is back on the stand as we're talking right now. She established -- sounds to me like a benign fact, the fact that they were in early stages of friendship, Odin Lloyd and Aaron Hernandez. Why is that important?

HOSTIN: It's very important. If you listen to the defense's opening statement, this case is going to turn, I think, they were in the initial stages of their relationship and that sort of supports the notion that perhaps they weren't such great friends. Maybe they were enemies. Maybe they had an issue. Maybe he would have motive to kill.

BERMAN: Interesting context. I was wondering the same thing.

Sunny Hostin, we'll check back in with you when we hear more from this trial which seems to be getting back under way. Thank you.

BOLDUAN: American author, Harper Lee, is publishing a second novel after the classic release of "To Kill a Mockingbird." It was set aside in favor of "Mockingbird." It will be published in July.

BERMAN: What's remarkable is this other book, this book coming out, was written, first and it involves flashbacks from Scout if you are "Mockingbird" fans, one of the main characters. And then she based "To Kill a Mockingbird" on flashbacks.

BOLDUAN: But it's funny that "Mockingbird" went first.

BERMAN: It's amazing to have this chance to read this. I'm thrilled this is happening.

BOLDUAN: It's coming.

BERMAN: Bobbi Kristina Brown fighting for life this morning. New information on the condition of Whitney Houston's only child and what might have sent her to the hospital in the first place.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: At this hour, the family of Bobbi Kristina Brown is asking for prayers and privacy as she reportedly fights for her life in a hospital near Atlanta. The late Whitney Houston's daughter was found unresponsive Saturday in a bathtub at her home.

BERMAN: She's now in a medically induced coma to relieve the swelling in her brain. Sources tell CNN she had seizures on Monday.

Our Alina Machado is there, following the story.

Alina, what's the latest on her status?

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, as you know, there's very limited information out there about Bobbi Kristina's condition but a source close to the family tells CNN that Bobbi Kristina did open and close her eyes several times yesterday. That having doctors told the family not to read too much into that movement. Doctors were reportedly trying to reduce the amount of sedatives to try to see how her brain was functioning but they decided ultimately to keep her in a coma for now. The 21-year-old, as you know, has been hospitalized since Saturday morning. And she is reportedly on a ventilator and being treated in intensive care.

BERMAN: Do we know anything more about how she ended up there, what got her to the bathtub in the first place?

MACHADO: That's the big question. Nobody really knows what caused Bobbi Kristina to become unresponsive at her home. We know that she was not breathing. We know she did not have a heartbeat when paramedics arrived at the House. We also know that Nick Gordon whom she reportedly married about a year ago found her in the bathtub and called 911. Police say he was performing CPR until police and paramedics arrived. We have also learned from the police report that there was a third person in the home. That person's name is Maxwell Lomas (ph). We found Lomas (ph) has a prior conviction for possession of marijuana and that just last month he was charged with several felonies including possession of Xanax and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

All of that said, it is important to note that police say they are treating this as a medical incident and that investigators have not found anything at this point to indicate what happened was related to either drugs or alcohol.

BOLDUAN: Alina Machado, thanks so much.

So many questions remaining. Everyone needs to be careful in making any judgments until her condition is well known.

Coming up next for us, once a proud symbol of Ukraine's future, now a symbol of just how bad the situation has gotten there. Nick Paton Walsh has the remarkable exclusive story for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: The U.S. is considering sending weapons to help the Ukrainian army in its fight against pro-Russian rebels. Secretary of State John Kerry is headed to Ukraine this week to meet again with President Poroshenko. The subject of arms is sure to come up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN RHODES, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: We don't think the answer to the crisis in Ukraine is simply to inject more weapons and get into that type of tit for tat with Russia. We think the answer is to squeeze Russia, apply pressure on Russia, try to get them to the table with those separatists so we can see a peaceful de-escalation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: With that in mind, we have a remarkable exclusive look this morning for you inside that situation spiraling out of control. It's coming as fighting in eastern Ukraine intensifies, rebels trying to take more ground, and the United States now considering sending lethal aid to Ukraine to try to help.

BERMAN: This is a look at why some in Washington say that help is now urgently needed, the before-and-after look at the destruction at Donetsk once really proud new international airport. Just months ago, it was fully functioning. Look at that, look at the difference. Now what we're about to show you is just utter devastation left in its place.

Nick Paton Walsh had an exclusive look, a tour of this airport if, it can even be called that anymore.

We warn you, this report does contain some graphic images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nowhere has the fighting been fiercer in the worst war to hit Europe since the Balkans than here, the Donetsk International Airport.

(EXPLOSIONS)

PATON WALSH: Ukraine's Army is still shelling here.

(EXPLOSIONS)

PATON WALSH: Despite being pushed out of this former stronghold two weeks ago by these Russian-backed separatists, themselves heavily armed, this is their form of airport shuttle. (on camera): We're moving now in an armored car towards the new

terminal of the airport, territory which the separatists have taken but is still regularly under fire from the Ukrainian military.

(voice-over): We pull into the airport long-term underground parking.

(on camera): Occasionally shells are still landing here.

(voice-over): The fight here killed hundreds as Ukrainians used service tunnels. The men claimed these bodies were left in the Ukrainian retreat.

The last call for passengers on this walkway passed months ago.

These pictures from three years ago showing how it used to sparkle.

(on camera): Hard to imagine how just six months ago we were here flying out of Donetsk, it was then a state-of-the-art international terminal. Just look at the destruction and how this symbolizes how far eastern Ukraine has fallen.

(EXPLOSIONS)

PATON WALSH: Mortars often fall here. So we move fast.

(EXPLOSIONS)

PATON WALSH: They used to call this the new terminal, opened two years ago for football fans coming to see the European championship.

(EXPLOSIONS)

PATON WALSH: But that new-found European optimism has evaporated. The war here is entering a new phase, with the heaviest of weapons and the random shelling of civilians, in which victory has become more important than its spoils.

(SHOUTING)

PATON WALSH: These men blame Barack Obama for this devastation. Russia blames NATO for fomenting this war. NATO says, nonsense, and that many of these fighters are actually Russian regular army.

Blame, hatred and charred remains everywhere. But Ukraine's bright hopes of modern prosperity, the gate is closed.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Donetsk.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: The gate is closed. There's nothing left. Those are amazing pictures to see.

BOLDUAN: To see just a bit of evidence that there even was an airport that existed there at one point. Otherwise, it's in absolute ruins.

BERMAN: You wonder what happened to the people, all the people living in that region.

BOLDUAN: Just a symbol of that whole region.

Thanks for joining us today.

BERMAN: "Legal View" with Ashleigh Banfield starts right now.