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Four New Arrests in Paris Terror Attacks; No Bad Deal on U.S.- Iran Nuclear Deal; General Dempsey Arrives in Baghdad; Protests After Cop Kills Unarmed Teen; Baby Survives 14 Hours in Overturned Car; Oklahoma University Student Organization Slammed over Racist Chant

Aired March 09, 2015 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And we do begin with breaking news. Good morning, everyone. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. Two months after the Paris terror attacks, a spokesman for the Paris prosecutor's office tells CNN police have arrested four new individuals all believed to be linked to the attacker Amedy Coulibaly. He's the gunman who killed four people during a standoff with police at a kosher supermarket.

French police confirmed that one of the individuals is a police woman.

Let's bring in CNN senior international correspondent Jim Bittermann with more.

Hi, Jim.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. Good morning. In fact, yes, this just happened within the last hour or so that they've announced this roundup of four more people involved with Amedy Coulibaly who was the gunman who took the hostages in the kosher supermarket in the east side of Paris and ended up killing four of them before he was killed himself.

In fact this is a second group of four people that have been rounded up. The first group was rounded up towards the end of February. And they've all been charged with providing some kind of logistical support. But what is the most interesting part of this group that's just been rounded up in the last few hours is that there is a policewoman, a gendarme, among them and not only that, but she worked as a police intelligence center to the east of Paris.

And it's not clear exactly how she was involved, although she was reportedly the girlfriend of one of the other people who have been rounded up in the last few hours. He was thought to be a good friend of Coulibaly. So they are seem to be sweeping through this network of Coulibaly trying to find out exactly how extensive it was and if in fact this policewoman was involved before the attacks, that could be quite extensive indeed -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Jim Bittermann, reporting live for us this morning. Thank you.

President Obama sends a message to critics of the U.S.-led talks with Iran over its nuclear program. He says if Tehran won't budge on its refusal to allow tough inspections, the deal will not happen. Here's what he said on CBS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If there's no deal, then we walk away. If we cannot verify that they are not going to obtain a nuclear weapon, that there's a breakout period so that even if they cheated, we would be able to have enough time to take action. If we don't have that kind of deal, then we're not going to take it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: In the meantime, 47 Republican senators have sent an open letter to Iran. In a heavy handed move to discourage Iran from making a deal, the lawmakers bristle at the prospect of being bypassed, quote, "We will consider any agreement regarding your nuclear weapons program that is not approved by Congress as nothing more than an executive agreement."

Now the letter goes on to say, quote, "The next president could revoke such an executive agreement with the stroke of a pen and future Congresses could modify the terms of the agreement at any time."

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty joins us now live from the White House with more.

Good morning.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol. Well, those strong words from President Obama are coming at a key time. Negotiators are getting close to a deal. President Obama himself said that progress is being made but gaps do still exist, he says.

Now the president knows, though, he's facing a very vocal and very unhappy Congress. They want to stay in these negotiations and they're wary about any deal with Iran that does not include them but also does not go far enough. So really this message from President Obama was a message pointedly to Iran in these high level negotiations but also of course to Congress itself saying that he will walk away from any deal that is not good enough.

Here's a little more of what President Obama said to CBS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Over the next month or so, we're going to be able to determine whether or not their system is able to accept what would be an extraordinarily reasonable deal if in fact as they say they are only interested in peaceful nuclear programs. And if we have unprecedented transparency in that system, if we are able to verify that in fact they are not developing weapon systems, then there's a deal to be had. But that's going to require them to accept the kind of verification

and constraints on their program that so far at least they've not been willing to say yes to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: Now meanwhile, President Obama says that there is an urgency to get this done. Of course he says the U.S. has been negotiating for over a year now and most importantly, that deadline, Carol, is on March 24th to get a deal -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. So earlier I mentioned this letter that was penned by Republican lawmakers. What more can you tell us about that?

SERFATY: Well, this was such an interesting letter, Carol. Really unprecedented, I should say. Really giving Iran almost a history lesson in how the U.S. and balance of power works here in Washington. And this was sent by a freshman senator, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, signed on by 46 other Republicans.

And really the message to Iran's leadership here is basically that they want more say and that they say that any deal would be nothing more than an executive agreement if it's not approved by congress. Here's what Tom Cotton had to say on FOX News this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TOM COTTON (R), ARKANSAS: Many Senate Democrats have been strong on this issue. They think that we need to approve any nuclear deal with Iran but the White House is putting a lot of pressure on Senate Democrats to hold their fire. We don't know what the final terms of the deal are, but we know so far that Susan Rice, the president's national security adviser, has already conceded that Iran will have a robust uranium enrichment capability.

The president has said this deal will have a sunset, perhaps as little as 10 years. Those two terms alone make this deal unacceptable, dangerous to the United States and dangerous to the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And you saw Tom Cotton right there mentioned the word that this deal would potentially be only 10 years long. And in that letter, they really warned Iranian leadership that if it was only 10 years in duration, the next president, Carol, would be in place before that deal so that means that potentially Congress could make news with a new president.

COSTELLO: All right, Sunlen Serfaty reporting live from the White House this morning. Thank you.

Also unfolding, Iranian officials are meeting with the United Nations watchdog group that overseas nuclear perhaps. The IAEA has sent five members to meet with one of Iran's senior nuclear officials. It'll be a technical discussions, the first since November. Iran says it has previously allowed inspectors access to sites they wanted to investigate.

To Iraq now and the fight against ISIS, the U.S. military's top officer is in the capital of Baghdad today. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, arrived earlier this morning. He's expected to meet with a number of high ranking officials including Iraq's U.S. ambassador, the prime minister and the country's chief of defense. Dempsey's visit comes as the battle in Tikrit rages on between Iraqi forces and ISIS militants.

Let's bring in CNN's national correspondent Suzanne Malveaux with more on General Dempsey's visit.

Good morning.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, good morning, Carol. This trip is critical. It speaks volumes that the top general is on the ground in Iraq today. The chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff arrived just a couple of hours ago. He's going to be meeting, as you said, with the prime minister, the U.S. ambassador as well as Iraqi military, U.S. military leaders.

Now over the weekend he said something very important. He was with his French counterpart and he expressed a great deal of confidence that the fight against ISIS to take back -- Tikrit, rather, is going to happen rather easily. After all he noted that there are roughly 23,000 Iraqi soldiers and Shia militia men going up against these ISIS fighters who really number in just the hundreds.

But more important than this aspect, Dempsey noted, was the political fallout that is going to be important here. In the past, the militia fighters who are Shia, backed by Iran, who've retaken territory from ISIS, have not given the land back to the Sunni who lived there. So instead they've been involved in sectarian violence and ethnic cleansing.

And this is a problem for Iraq, as you can imagine, because it continues to promote instability and it's also a big concern, Carol, for the Arab allies in the region who fear that Iran's growing influence in Iraq and Syria will continue.

So Dempsey is there today to urge the Iraqi government, don't just step up militarily but step up politically after this battle is over, after it is one to make sure that the situation on the ground does not devolve into an ethnic blood bath which it has been in the past -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Suzanne Malveaux reporting live from Washington. Thank you.

In other news this morning, teenage brothers from Australia being investigated by police after they were stopped at a Sydney airport. It's believed they were on their way to the Middle East to join ISIS. Australia's prime minister called the boys misguided youth who were lured in by, quote, "a death cult."

A question -- did ISIS hack more than a dozen local businesses across St, Louis, Cincinnati, and Pittsburg? Take a look at this.

Web sites were apparently taken over by someone claiming to be with the terror group. Homepages were replaced with the black ISIS logo and a message reading, quote, "Hacked by Islamic State. We are everywhere."

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, protests erupting in Wisconsin after a white cop fatally shoots an unarmed biracial teen.

CNN's Rosa Flores is following that story for us.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning. I am live in Madison, Wisconsin. Take a look behind me. The memorial growing in support of Tony Robinson and his family. Why police say that this shooting was justified.

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COSTELLO: Day three of anger and frustration in Wisconsin after a white police officer shoots and kills an unarmed biracial teenager in Madison. Over the weekend demonstrators demanded answers and chanted "Black Lives Matter." This morning protesters plan to rally at the Wisconsin State Capitol and local high school students are vowing to stage a walkout.

On the surface this case seems all two FBI familiar, but the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Tony Robinson has its own unique set of circumstances.

CNN's Rosa Flores live in Madison. Good morning.

FLORES: Good morning, Carol. You know, we've seen the number of people demonstrating in favor and in support, in solidarity for Tony Robinson's family grow. We've seen them on the street as you see behind me. Take a look because I want to show you a memorial that has been growing throughout the weekend. Some of the signs read "Ferguson to Madison, black lives matter." "Unarmed black child."

Now this just kind of shows some of the tension that is brewing between the community and police.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES (voice-over): Charged protesters unloading anger and frustration at police officers guarding this Madison, Wisconsin, house turned crime scene.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Innocent black children.

FLORES: This is where unarmed 19-year-old Tony Theroux Robinson was shot and killed by police Friday. No one is allowed inside except for Kathleen Buffton. She lives a thin wall away from where the gunshots rang out.

KATHLEEN BUFFTON, NEIGHBOR: Right here on this wall of the kitchen.

FLORES: Buffton says she was in the kitchen when she heard a scuffle next door then pounding on the door, she says.

(On camera): Was that the police?

BUFFTON: Yes. And he forced the door open.

FLORES (voice-over): What she didn't know, according to police, was that there were multiple calls into dispatch regarding Robinson including an alleged battery incident.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look for a male black, light skin tan jacket and jeans, outside yelling jumping in front of cars. ,

FLORES: Police say Officer Matt Kenny responded, heard a commotion inside the home and forced his way in and then gunfire.

BUFFTON: You could really hear it. I mean, right here. Nothing went through.

FLORES: Police say Robinson attacked Kenny provoking the officer to use deadly force but Buffton has her doubts.

BUFFTON: I wonder if it was a white person if they wouldn't have got shot. She would have got tased.

FLORES: Her thoughts echoed by Robinson's family.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I think the cop shot him because he was afraid of him.

FLORES: This is not the first time the 45-year-old officer used deadly force. Officer Kenny was exonerated for an incident that took place eight years ago. The police chief says he's working to regain public trust.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to start as any healing or reconciliation would with an "I am sorry."

FLORES: But hundreds gathered throughout the weekend demanding more than apologies.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: So this investigation in the hands of the Wisconsin Department of Justice. I did talk to the police chief yesterday about a very obvious question. Did this police officer have another tool that he could use? Did he have a stun gun?

Carol, he tells me that he did have a stun gun. This police officer. But the police chief tells me that he can't comment further because he is not in charge of this investigation -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Rosa Flores, I'm sure you'll continue to dig. Thanks so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a miracle in Utah. A baby girl survives 14 hours strapped in her car seat after an accident kills her mother. Her incredible story next.

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COSTELLO: An incredible story of survival in Utah. An 18-month-old baby girl found alive still strapped into her car seat hours after an accident that left the car in which she was riding upside down in a river.

"NEW DAY's" Michaela Pereira has more for you.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": A very interesting story here. Baby girl in Utah defying the odds surviving a crash that claimed her mother's life after some 14 hours that 18-month-old baby girl was found alive by a fisherman still strapped to her car seat upside down but fortunately not submerged in a freezing river.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA (voice-over): Survival and tragedy along the Spanish Fork River in Utah. This 18-month-old baby girl, Lilly, was rescued from an overturned car submerged in frigid waters, suspended in her car seat for more than 12 hours. Her mother, 25-year-old Lynn Jennifer Groesbeck, was killed after the vehicle she was driving veered off the road into the river the night before.

A fisherman alerted authorities the next afternoon after spotting the vehicle upside down in the water.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where the car was at, you couldn't see it from the roadway.

PEREIRA: First responders jumping into the icy river, working quickly to turn the car over.

OFFICER BRYAN DEWITT, SPANISH FORK POLICE: As we did that, it became apparent that the driver was deceased. But we also noticed that there was a small baby in the backseat.

PEREIRA: Incredibly, the young baby girl, who was trapped inside, was unconscious but alive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got the baby in my arm, raised it up -- raised its head up out of the water as I tried to release the seat belt.

PEREIRA: Rescuers acting quickly, passing baby Lilly from one responder to the next.

OFFICER JARED WARNER, SPANISH FORK POLICE: The child was passed to me and I just ran up and climbed in the ambulance with the child.

PEREIRA: According to officials, the mother was believed to have been headed home Friday night when her vehicle struck a cement barrier before careening off the road and plunging into the river. The officers responding to the scene all say they heard a distinct voice from inside the car calling for help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember hearing a voice that didn't sound like a child just saying, "Help me."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: So it's unclear why the vehicle careened off the road and plunged into the river. Seven of the rescuers were treated at a hospital for hypothermia. They have since been released. That little baby is recovering in a Salt Lake hospital and is in fair condition.

Many still wondering why and how those rescuers heard the words "help me, help me" coming from that vehicle -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Michaela Pereira, thanks so much.

If you want to help the Groesbeck family, a gofundme page has been set up in their name.

I'll be right back.

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COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. Controversy at the University of Oklahoma after video is released of fraternity members singing a racist chant.

Yes, these so-called men in this video are from Sigma Alpha Epsilon. The frat's national headquarters quickly shut down the chapter on Sunday and this morning students in the community gathered in protest calling on the university's president to take more action.

Miguel Marquez is following the story for us.

Good morning.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning there. It is -- this is like a rifle shot through the University of Oklahoma. This has caused so many issues for the university already this morning. The SAE chapter has been disbanded. Interestingly the president of the SAE chapter at the end of his statement said he hoped that they might be able to reconstitute the chapter at some point. I think everybody involved at this point thinks it's a little early for that.

David Boren, the president of OU, has called for an investigation. It is not clear what the scope of that investigation will be. He does have a press conference on the steps of Evans Hall at the university at noon Eastern Time. So we hope to hear more from him then. He spoke very briefly to the press this morning talking about the incident and we're also hearing from students.

Students are, you know, up in arms over how stupid and disgusting this episode is. Here's what one had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEAGAN JOHNSON, CO-DIRECTOR, "UNHEARD": At the beginning of the semester, we wrote an 11-page letter to President Boren, to administration, and we sent it to every single dean of every single college voicing grievances and our concerns with things that we see going on around our campus and that includes the student experience which directly touches sorority life or fraternity life, and situations exactly like this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: Now it was at 4:38 or so, 4:30 on Sunday that this video was sent anonymously to the OU, daily, it then posted around 6:00 p.m. and then other organizations picked it up and started posting it around and it is just exploded.

You know, the idea of them singing such nastiness to, are you-- if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands, I don't know if you can make that out in that song that they're singing. It is --

COSTELLO: I was trying to figure out on what planet that would actually be funny.

MARQUEZ: It's -- it's shocking and I think, you know, SAE is also the fraternity that got in trouble and they stopped them from pledging nationwide because of drinking issues and young men dying from overdrinking.

COSTELLO: So it is possible the president of the university could announce disciplinary action against these students. We just don't know.

MARQUEZ: Well, I think that that's probably the least of it. I think groups out there, certainly the African-American fraternities at OU. There's a group Unheard that we heard from here just a moment ago, they want something wider. They want something more to be done and to look at the entire system, I think, and that's where this may be headed.

COSTELLO: All right. Miguel Marquez, many thanks.

MARQUEZ: You got it.

COSTELLO: Unbreakable and unshakeable. That's how the Jerusalem mayor describes the relationship between the United States and Israel. Earlier this morning, I talked with Mayor Nir Barkat about a potential Iran nuclear deal and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's controversial decision to address Congress last week ahead of the Israeli elections.