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Crisis in Ukraine as Obama and Merkel Meet; Bruce Jenner Speaks Out; Domestic Abuse Takes Center Stage at Grammys

Aired February 09, 2015 - 10:30   ET

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


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CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: This morning the U.S. and some of its key allies are scrambling for peace as some of Europe's worst fighting in decades escalates even more. Watch this blast in Ukraine. A European diplomat now tells CNN the massive explosion was likely an arms depot or factory. Pro-Russian rebels say it was struck by a government artillery shell.

Right now at the White House German chancellor Angela Merkel is meeting with President Obama. She's urging the President not to provide arms to Ukraine's government for fear Russia would respond by escalating the crisis. In the meantime, Merkel and the president of France plan to meet on Wednesday with officials from Ukraine and from Russia. They are hoping to broker a peace deal but could decide to expand sanctions on Russia as well to apply additional pressure.

So let's get the view from eastern Ukraine this morning. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in Donetsk. Hi, Nick.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, while I'm talking you may be able hear behind what we've been hearing what we've been hearing for days now -- the constant thud of shelling hitting around Donetsk. It happened (inaudible) despite a bit peaceful (ph).

We ourselves traveled to the northeast of this town towards the areas where the separatists are pushing forward with some success and through one town they went through massive devastation there. Buildings torn in two; apartment blocks pockmarked with massive holes; people coming back some for the first time to collect what little of their possessions there were and others fleeing for the first time.

The roads littered with destroyed armored personnel carriers, tanks, devastating scenes that shows really what the civilian areas caught in this heavy weaponry and intense artillery shelling actually end up as. Many of concerned at this stage with the Kremlin saying that it's not possible for Vladimir Putin to be influenced by deadlines if any had been imposed on him by Angela Merkel as some reports have suggested and he needs to accept peace on Wednesday or perhaps face worse sanctions. That is not certainly suggesting there's a conducive atmosphere ahead for these peace talks if indeed those four key leaders do attend that summit in Minsk, the Belarusian capital.

The main fear people have is the violence is not ebbing. It's increasing. Will both sides go for a land grab or try to improve their position on the battlefield before talks get under way in earnest? That could catch still more civilians in the crossfire here -- a lot of scared civilians now in Donetsk -- Carol

COSTELLO: All right. Nick Paton Walsh reporting, live from Ukraine this morning.

The U.S. and other coalition forces are stepping up attacks against ISIS. Military officials confirm that at least nine ISIS targets were hit in air strikes since yesterday including a tactical unit and an Islamic state building. These attacks on ISIS come as the man leading the coalition effort. Retired Marine Corps General John Allen is now in Jordan, offering condolences to King Abdullah after the brutal murder of that Jordanian fighter pilot. That trip to Jordan is part of a larger effort to combat the spread of Islamic Extremism and stop the flow of foreign fighters to ISIS armies.

Let's talk about all this with Lieutenant General Mark Hertling. He's a CNN military analyst and former commanding general of the U.S. Europe. Good morning, sir.

LT. GEN. MARK HERLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: You know, it's difficult to determine whether the coalition is making progress against ISIS or not. We just heard a report from Becky Anderson out of Jordan that some people are worried that while Jordan is conducting air strikes right now, the enthusiasm may wane because there is a faction in Jordan that kind of supports is.

HERTLING: There are factions within Jordan who have supported terrorist organizations in the past, Carol. I think ISIS had a very tough week last week. They were strategically hurt. They were operationally blunted. And they continue to have some tactical battles which are showing them to be at a disadvantage.

We're seeing that not only with the air campaign but with the increasing capability of the Iraqi security forces within Iraq. So I think across the board the fact that Jordan has stepped up, that their foreign minister has said we're now in this and this is our fight. And now UAE has come back into the equation as well based on the combat search and rescue aviation assets that were put in the northern part of Iraq. All of these things are very good sign for a continuing successful campaign against ISIS -- Carl.

COSTELLO: So, General Allen is in Jordan to offer his condolences to King Abdullah. I'm sure he's doing more than that. What do you suppose he's saying to the king?

HERTLING: Well, Gen. Allen is actually good friend of mine. And he is very politically assault. He's not only working the details in Jordan but as one of the people who are helping put together the coalition, not leading the coalition but helping to put it together, he's probably talking to them about the potential bridging for other Arab countries to continue their efforts and to also increase the capability and the strike assets within Jordan.

General Allen is very gifted in terms of bringing coalition members onboard. As you know, he was the ISAF commander in Afghanistan and was using a lot of NATO forces in that country. So he knows how to talk not only the military aspects of all this but also the political aspects of this and he's a good soldier, a good marine to have on the ground.

COSTELLO: Do you think he'll bring up boots on the ground?

HERTLING: I don't think that's his charge, Carol. I think that's more in the military standpoint. He is going to talk about contributions from the Arab states. He's talking to Jordan today about what they are going to continue to contribute, both in the air, through intelligence, through special operations forces.

I don't think they're probably be talking about any large troop formations from Jordan and he certainly isn't going to talk about any so-called boots on the ground from other forces while he's in Jordan.

COSTELLO: All right. Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, thanks as always. I appreciate it.

HERTLING: Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the newsroom, Bruce Jenner speaking out about this weekend's fatal car crash that left a woman dead. What he's saying next.

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COSTELLO: Two days after Bruce Jenner was involved in a fatal multicar accident that left a woman dead several questions remained. Who is at fault? Will anyone face charges? What caused the crash in the first place?

CNN's Stephanie Elam, live in Los Angeles with more for us. Good morning, Stephanie.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. When you talk to the sheriff's department, they say that this was a tragic traffic collision that involved a celebrity. The investigation continues as such. They are looking at this traffic accident.

But let's just breakdown a little bit for you what happened. What we know here is that on the Pacific Coast Highway, which is the highway that runs along the Pacific Ocean here in California there was a black Prius that was stopped; there was a white Lexus behind it. They had some sort of incident. They were stopped and that's when we understand that Bruce Jenner's SUV came up from behind and hit that white Lexus and which then spun it into oncoming traffic where it was hit by a hummer.

The person who was driving that way white Lexus a 69-year-old woman. We also know that there were five minors and two adults who were taken to the hospital. At this point, investigators say that that they are looking into what could have gone on here.

But this was a four-car accident so they are talking to the other three drivers that were involved. We do now have a statement coming from Bruce Jenner on this accident and what has happened. Here's what he had to say through his publicist. It says "My heartfelt and deepest sympathies go out to the family and loved ones and to all of those who were involved or injured in this terrible accident. It's a devastating tragedy and I cannot pretend to imagine what this family is going through at this time. I am praying for them. I will continue to cooperate in every way possible."

So the investigation here does continue into what happened here but the sheriff's department stressing that this was just really a horrible accident where someone died. And it's getting this kind of attention because it involved a celebrity -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Stephanie Elam, reporting live from Los Angeles.

I want to bring in HLN legal analyst Joey Jackson for more. Good morning -- Joey.

JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Still there's a criminal investigation going on right now. What are police exactly looking for as far as Bruce Jenner is concerned if this was a chain reaction crash?

JACKSON: Yes. You know, what will happen, Carol? It will be a two- fold investigation. The first part will involve -- and Stephanie addressed a lot of that issue. They'll be speaking with the drivers, of course, of the cars. They'll be speaking with any other eyewitnesses in order to determine what car did what, whose conduct was what and what were relative positions of the vehicles.

And then the second part of it is really scientific believe it or not and it relates to accident reconstruction. A lot of physics involved. And if you look at the crush impact of the vehicle, you can determine the speed of the vehicle, the positioning of the vehicle, they'll measure the skid marks on the ground and they'll make an assessment about where the cars were and how this accident occurred.

Now the other part of it, Carol, is when they do that, they'll assess whether or not there was any negligent conduct. Certainly no one when you're driving, at least we hope not, intends to harm anybody else. The intent element of it, meaning to do, which is not really at issue -- what that issue is was there any carelessness involved, and if that carelessness was involved, does it rise to the level of criminality?

COSTELLO: Ok. So Jenner's car was third in line -- right.

JACKSON: Right.

COSTELLO: He was driving a big car -- an Escalade, right. He was towing a buggy. And there were paparazzi following him. Although police say that the paparazzi were not chasing them although I don't know how they determine that exactly.

JACKSON: Yes. It's you know -- what will end up happening is that they'll evaluate that. And the paparazzi had to be there. I mean we see pictures of the crash, pictures of where the cars were. And so clearly there was someone taking a picture.

The issue then becomes how, if at all, were they involved? Perhaps the paparazzi was there. Did that put Bruce Jenner on notice? Did he speed up as a result of that? Did he take no action as a result of it? and so they'll look at not only, of course, Bruce Jenner's conduct but the conduct of everyone involved.

Now, there are accidents that occur as we know, Carol, unfortunately every day. Doesn't necessarily make them criminal. It means that driving a car is a very dangerous proposition. When it comes to criminality, the issue is did you exercise reasonable care in driving the car and if you didn't exercise reasonable care, how negligent were you if at all. That's what investigators will seek to determine.

COSTELLO: The weirdest thing is Bruce Jenner was spotted speeding by paparazzi like the next day. If you were representing him, wouldn't you say, Bruce, come on.

JACKSON: Right -- I mean certainly you don't want to put yourself out there like that. But it won't be necessarily relevant in this investigation because in any investigation it's what you did that day, not your -- even if he has a propensity toward speeding, it's not really relevant to what happened at that particular time.

The positioning of the vehicles, conduct of each and every driver involved, why he stopped, how he stopped, the distances, speeds, that's all the police will look at and evaluate. So fortunately for him the fact that he was speeding the following day is not going to come in otherwise to being admissible in this investigation.

COSTELLO: All right. Joey Jackson -- thanks as always. I appreciate it.

JACKSON: A pleasure. Thank you Carol.

Still to come, it was all about the music and the message at last night's Grammy awards from Pharell's "Hands Up" to the President's comments on domestic violence. We'll talk about the Grammys next.

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COSTELLO: Last night's Grammys heard music with powerful messages. Paying homage to Michael Brown, Pharrell Williams and his dancers putting their arms during the performance. The movement Black Lives Matter also taking center stage with Prince.

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PRINCE: Albums still matter. Like books and black lives, albums still matter.

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C1: Serious social issues including domestic violence dominated the show. One survivor taking the stage following a PSA from President Obama.

BROOKE AKHDAL (ph), DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SURVIVOR: My name is Brooke Akhdal, and I'm a survivor of domestic violence. Authentic love does not silence, shame or abuse. If you are in a relationship with someone who does not honor and respect you, I want you to know that you are worthy of love.

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COSTELLO: She's pretty darned awesome. Let's talk about this. I'm joined by "Entertainment Tonight" host and CNN contributor Nischelle Turner. Good morning.

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hey, good morning, Carol. How are you?

COSTELLO: I'm good. I thought she was so powerful and then Katy Perry sang that beautiful song and do you think it resonated with people?

TURNER: I absolutely think it does. I mean it definitely resonated with me. I mean, I'm kind of that jaded industry person so last night watching as a viewer, you know, listening to Brooke, she was passionate. She had a personal story.

I heard you earlier talking about we wish you would have heard more and knew a little bit more about her back story going in but I think maybe this will kind of, you know, make us start to look into her story and learn a little bit more about the perils of domestic violence and how people can overcome.

I think that's actually a good thing. And you're right. It was a beautiful performance starting out with the President then going to Brooke and then to Katy Perry. It was very powerful last night. I have to tell you, you know, last night was music with a message.

You know, Neil Portnow, who is the recording academy president said before the show that this was going to be a Grammys with a heart. I think it was last night. There was a lot of social issues that were addressed, Carol.

COSTELLO: Absolutely. And Pharell did his part. Prince did his part. You know, I suppose that's a good thing. I always wonder if that turns a certain amount of the audience off to be confronted with these big serious issues at a time they're trying to just enjoy themselves.

TURNER: Yes, you know, you're going to have people who say I just want to hear the music. I just want to hear the music and I just want to enjoy the performances. And we did do that. But I think when you come away with a little bit of a message, it's always a good thing.

And you're right, Prince slipped something in there for us last night. Pharell ended his performance with his hands up and then also to close the show last night, we saw a tribute by Common and John Legend and then, you know, by Beyonce; a tribute to Dr. King and a tribute to social injustices.

So we saw folks come out and say we want to deliver a message. We don't just want to be that show. We also want you to come away with something. I think that's actually a really great thing.

COSTELLO: I do too. Nischelle Turner, thanks so much being with me this morning. I appreciate it.

Good to see you, Carol.

COSTELLO: Checking other top stories for you this morning at 54 minutes past. A mentor, a second father and innovator just some of the ways Dean Smith, former head basketball coach of the University of North Carolina is being remembered. He died this weekend. Over three decades Smith led the Tar Heels to two national championships, 11 final four appearances and 879 wins. Smith, who is survived by his wife and five children, was 83 years old.

In money news, HSBC reportedly helped clients conceal more than $100 billion to avoid taxes by using the bank's giant private Swiss division. The report is based on data turned over to French police by a former HSBC employee. In a statement HSBC say reforms have made it harder for clients to evade taxes and that it has reduced the number of accounts at its Swiss private bank.

In weather news, the West Coast may finally see the sun for a while after getting drenched with more than a foot of rain in recent days. Forecasts show light to moderate precipitation that will taper off tonight and into tomorrow.

Thank you so much for being with me today. I'm Carol Costello.

Another hour of NEWSROOM after a break.

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