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Screaming Man Rushes to Cockpit; Secret Service in Turmoil; Obama Slams GOP Senators over Letter to Iran; Durst Now Racing Firearm Drug Charges; Boston Bombing Trial: Jurors Take Field Trip to See Hideout Boat; Netanyahu Fights for His Political Life. Aired 9- 9:30a ET

Aired March 17, 2015 - 09:00   ET

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

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can finally clear tattoos really does give people a second opportunity.

<09:00:05> ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Wow. That cannot feel good. That cannot be easy to get those off but worth it.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Well done.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

PEREIRA: All right. A lot of news to get to. Let's go to Randi Kaye in for Carol Costello in the "NEWSROOM."

Hi, Randi.

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, guys. I would say, that was as painful probably as getting the first one. But good for them, right.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

KAYE: Nice to see you all.

NEWSROOM starts right now.

Happening now in the NEWSROOM, charged. Millionaire real estate heir Robert Durst behind bars this morning as prosecutors start laying out their case. He is now facing firearms and drug charges.

Plus air emergency. Frantic moments during a cross-country flight. A man trying to break into the cockpit tackled by other passengers.

Also Hillary Clinton and the e-mail trail. Would you use words like honest or trustworthy to describe her? America divided over if she's done enough.

And a shocker from the 49ers. 24-year-old rookie linebacker Chris Borland retiring after only one season saying he fears head trauma and football isn't worth the risk.

Let's talk. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye in for Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me today.

We begin this morning with terrifying moments aboard United Airlines Flight 1074. The Denver bound flight forced back to Washington last night when a passenger reportedly screaming "jihad" rushes the cockpit. What happened next was caught on camera.

Passengers jumped in and tackled the out of control man pinning his bruised and bloody head to the floor until help could arrive.

CNN aviation correspondent Rene Marsh joining me now with more.

Rene, what is the very latest?

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, Randi, not only was this passenger takedown caught on video, but you're about to hear audio the moment that the pilots make that emergency call to air traffic control to talk about this violent passenger who's on board.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Declaring an emergency due to a passenger disturbance.

MARSH (voice-over): Breaking overnight, a frightening scene aboard a Denver-bound jet liner.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He ran forward towards the cockpit and he is being restrained by other passengers.

MARSH: This passenger was screaming and tried to rush the cockpit, but passengers on board subdued him shortly after takeoff.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm so sorry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't move, David. You're OK. We're going to get you off this plane, buddy.

MARSH: United Airlines Flight 1074 heading from the Washington, D.C., area to Denver at around 10:40 p.m. when the incident forced the pilot to turn around.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The cockpit is secure and we would just like to return to the airport and have the authorities meet him.

MARSH: A spokesman for the airlines saying in part, "Flight 1074 returned to the airport following takeoff on Monday evening after a passenger failed to comply with crew instructions. Local law enforcement officials met the aircraft at the gate and detained the passenger."

This video taken by one of the passengers during the altercation. Bruises below his right cheek and near his mouth. Several others holding down his head as one person tries to calm him down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Relax. Don't move. MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: In this day and age the

passengers help themselves and they helped the flight crew to get their flight safely to their destination. Largely because of what happened on September 11th, 2001.

MARSH: A spokeswoman for the airport saying no passengers were injured and no weapons found.

The unruly passenger was eventually removed by law enforcement and taken to a hospital for evaluation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. OK. OK. OK. I got him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got him? You got him?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes. OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to be OK.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARSH: Well, that out of control passenger did not breach the cockpit.

It's worth noting after September 11th all aircraft equipped with reinforced cockpit door doors. That being said we mentioned on the top that as he was charging toward the cockpit he was yelling "jihad, jihad." Well, I spoke with one source, one government source who says at this point there's nothing in his background to show a link to terrorism.

Back to you.

KAYE: Certainly some scary moments there.

Rene Marsh, thank you very much.

The Secret Service is bracing for a public flogging this morning as the head of the agency tries to defend the men and women under his charge after yet another embarrassing mishap.

In just about an hour from now agency chief, Joe Clancy, is expected to face off against a House committee in what was supposed to be a routine budget hearing but has instead morphed into bipartisan anger over what appears to be an agency in turmoil.

Michelle Kosinski is live at the White House for us this morning with more on this -- Michelle.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Randi. He will face a lot of questions from congressmen this morning.

<09:05:01> This is the moment that many have been waiting for, to find out something more from the new director himself of what happened that night just over a week ago here outside the White House.

I mean, these two top Secret Service agents, were they drinking, were they drunk, did they slam through this crime scene and crash into a barrier or, as law enforcement sources have pushed back, were they really going one mile an hour? Is there really doubt on whether they were intoxicated? Did they just nudge a barrier out of the way and the whole thing happened without incident?

So we have these sort of competing accounts. There's a real interest to get more detail, especially given the long string of embarrassments the Secret Service has had.

Here's what we heard from one congressman this morning. Woops. Looks like we don't have that audio right now, but congressmen have been saying, you know, we want to know what happened that night but also we want to get to the bottom of issues that have been longstanding within the Secret Service, things like morale.

I mean, I think what's interesting is when it emerged through past investigations, that there was a real issue between lower ranking officers not trusting their superiors. One division looking askance on the other. Is this incident sort of a part and parcel of that? Might it have been some disgruntled people within the Secret Service raising the issue after the fact?

The question is, though, is the director really going to be able to get into that detail because this is now under investigation with the inspector general's office, the Department of Homeland Security -- Randi.

KAYE: Yes. Certainly very interesting time for them right now.

Michelle Kosinski, thank you very much.

Down to the wire with just two weeks to go, Secretary of State John Kerry remains in Switzerland to try and negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran. Earlier today Kerry met with Iran's Foreign minister for about two hours. Despite a five-hour meeting on Monday, the State Department says there are still major gaps that need to be ironed out.

According to reports, Iran also confronted the U.S. about that controversial letter from Republican lawmakers warning that a nuclear deal won't last. The big question now of course with increased tensions whether both sides will be able to strike a deal by that March 31st deadline.

Meanwhile, here at home President Obama says that he is, quote, "embarrassed" for the 47 GOP senators behind that controversial letter. During an interview with Vice News the president slammed lawmakers calling their actions close to unprecedented.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm embarrassed for them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

OBAMA: Because it's not how America does business. For them to address a letter to the Ayatollah, the supreme leader of Iran, who they claim is our mortal enemy and their basic argument to them is don't deal with our president because you can't trust him to follow through on an agreement. That's close to unprecedented.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: The president also said political moves like the letter to Iran ultimately hurt the U.S.

A majority of Americans say they support diplomatic negotiations with Iran. According to a new CNN/ORC poll 68 percent of Americans think direct talks are a good idea. Only 29 percent actually oppose the negotiations. As for that controversial letter from Senate Republicans, Americans appear to be on President Obama's side. Almost half say lawmakers went too far. Only 39 percent say it was appropriate.

Let's dig deeper now with CNN political analyst and editor in chief of "The Daily Beast," John Avlon. We're also joined by Larry Sabato. He's the director for the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.

Thanks to both of you for joining us. Let's get right to it.

John, 49 percent of Americans disagreeing with the decision to send that letter. How badly do you think this could hurt the Republican Party?

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Look, I think there has been significant blow back. And one way you can tell is in the wake of Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress the conversation, the focus was on -- was this a good deal? What's the status of negotiation? Is President Obama and his negotiators being naive in dealing with Iran? And for the last couple of days it's all been about this letter and its unprecedented nature, and you know, people throwing around the words like traitor which is far too extreme, in my opinion.

But it's taking the eye off the ball. And Republicans are trying to dismiss it as just a stunt that everyone has taken too seriously. That's buyer's remorse. The people who did the right thing are the seven Republican senators who declined to sign it because they realized it would make actually any kind of unified action more difficult both for the administration and for Congress.

KAYE: Yes. It wasn't necessarily that they didn't agree with what they were trying to accomplish, just they didn't want any more division.

But, Larry, the president said that he's embarrassed for the senators who signed the letter. In hindsight do you think that many of them wish they could go back and do things differently?

<09:10:00> Do you see buyer's remorse here?

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Yes, I agree with what John said. I think basically at least the more moderate Republicans wish they hadn't signed on. They clearly didn't think about it.

It's amazing to me that they or their staff members would recommend that they sign a letter that was being recommended by the youngest member of the Senate, Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who's been in the Senate a total of two and a half months as opposed to Senator Bob Corker, a well-respected Republican senator from Tennessee who's the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee who refused to sign the letter.

Now who would you take your cues from if you were a senator on this issue? Wouldn't you pay attention to the Foreign Relations Committee chair rather than the most junior, youngest member of the Senate? It's -- it really is remarkable and terribly unwise.

KAYE: And some -- I mean, some might say that the letter really is just illustrating the political bickering between Congress and the White House and Americans are so fed up with. I mean, in fact, when asked who they have more confidence in to deal with foreign policy issues, more Americans side with the president than with Republican members of Congress.

So how can congressional Republicans fix that trust issue, John?

AVLON: Well, look. I mean, you know, it's about re-asserting age-old values which have been lost such as Senator Vandenberg's idea that partisanship ought to end at the water's edge. This letter which was designed to undercut the president at the negotiating table is an offense of that.

And I think Larry makes a great point. You know, Bob Corker is the senator you should be taking cues from on these issues. And when he says, look, this isn't productive, that should carry more weight.

The problem is, the center of gravity in the party's move to where conservative populous stunts carry more weight than acting responsibly in achieving end goals. That's a dangerous place for the party to be at the end of the day.

KAYE: And in terms of Iran, support for direct negotiations appears to be actually across party lines. Take a look at this here. 77 percent of Democrats support direct diplomacy, 65 percent of Republicans also in favor. Among the independents, you see the same thing. There are more than half support the talks.

So, Larry, I mean, does that surprise you there?

SABATO: Well, I think people separate the political stunts from the substantive issue. What's interesting to me is that despite this letter and the blowback from the letter, you still have a strong bipartisan coalition in both Houses of Congress to make sure that Iran either adheres to any deal that is reached or suffer additional sanctions.

You actually have a very substantial number of Democrats who signed on to tough Iran bills, and that may survive this, although I have to say if people like Senator Cotton and some of those who signed the letter persist in these sorts of cheeky moves, one of the aids described it as just a cheeky letter, then I think that coalition may be shaken.

KAYE: All right. We'll leave it there.

Larry Sabato, John Avlon, nice to see you both. Thank you.

AVLON: Thanks, Randi.

SABATO: Good to see you.

KAYE: Still to come, Robert Durst now facing more than murder accusations. The millionaire real estate heir hit with gun and drug charges while he sits behind bars now in New Orleans.

CNN's Miguel Marquez following the latest details -- Miguel.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Can this case get any more complicated? Robert Durst facing new charges as New York authorities start looking into that 1982 disappearance of his wife.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

<09:16:56> RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Millionaire Robert Durst has more than first degree murder charges to worry about this morning. The eccentric 71-year-old who's still behind bars in New Orleans has been hit with gun and drug charges now.

CNN's Miguel Marquez joining me now with the very latest -- Miguel.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPNDENT: Yes, Mr. Durst had a .38 revolver in his hotel room, as well as marijuana. So, he will be in court we believe later on today in New Orleans. That as New York authorities are looking at the timeline, looking at the case from 1982 when his wife disappeared.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ (voice-over): This morning, New York real estate heir Robert Durst remains behind bars in New Orleans. The millionaire picked up in a lobby of a Marriott Hotel Saturday, staying under a false name with a fake driver's license. In his possession: a .38 revolver, marijuana, and a substantial amount of cash.

One official says it appears Durst was preparing to flee to Cuba. The eccentric 71-year-old now facing felony firearm and drug charges, complicating his extradition to Los Angeles where Durst will be tried for first degree murder of close friend and crime novelist, Susan Berman.

DICK DEGUERIN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Bob Durst didn't kill Susan Berman. He's ready to end all the rumor and speculation and have a trial.

MARQUEZ: Prosecutors citing new evidence allege the millionaire was lying in wait before shooting Berman execution style in her living room nearly 15 years ago. According to reports, police were set to question her over the 1982 disappearance of Durst's first wife, Kathie McCormick. That case remains unsolved.

Meanwhile, an NYPD official says state police here are seeking information about the various timelines Durst provided to detectives during his wife's disappearance.

The hit HBO docu-series "The Jinx" providing clues to the decade old case.

ROBERT DURST: There it is. You're caught.

MARQUEZ: The documentary's shocking finale shows Durst mumbling to himself in the bathroom seemingly admitting to murder.

DURST: What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.

MARQUEZ: The filmmakers going to police, finding the bombshell off camera comments some two years after wrapping the final interview. Durst's lawyer called it ramblings and that the millionaire admitted nothing.

DEGUERIN: We're ready to go to California and have a trial.

JUDGE: Not guilty.

MARQUEZ: Durst already beat murder charges in 2003, after admitting he killed and dismembered neighbor Morris Black in Texas claiming self-defense.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: Now, CNN and HBO obviously owned by the same company, Time Warner, and it all comes down to that admission in "The Jinx." Will it be considered an admission? And if it is, will a jury ever hear it?

KAYE: Yes. And we've seen so many cases like that where critical evidence like that has not been admissible and can turn the case on its side.

MARQUEZ: Absolutely fascinating.

KAYE: Yes, very interesting.

All right. Miguel, thank you very much.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's place of refuge remains the focus in the Boston bombing trial. Yesterday, left the courthouse to see the hideout both. Tsarnaev was also there, no handcuffs and no shackles.

<09:20:00> Testimony then turned to the Watertown shootout. Police described the chaotic gun battle in heart stopping details recounting the moment a stolen SUV became a weapon itself. "We were wrestling with Tamerlan and all of a sudden, I could hear an engine revving," said one police officer.

Rosa Flores is in Boston following the trial for us this morning.

Good morning, Rosa.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Randi.

You know, lots of riveting testimony. Today, we're expecting to hear from David Henneberry. Now, he is the owner of the boat where Dzhokhar Tsarnaev took refuge. We're expected to hear from him and we're also expected to hear from other special agents that recovered some of the evidence in this particular case.

But let me take you through some of that riveting testimony because -- and let me put it into context. There are four crime scenes here. First of all, the marathon bombing, then you have the MIT shooting that left a police officer dead. Then, you have the car jacking and then you have Watertown.

This is where we are in the case at this particular time -- what police officers are describing as the gun battle with the Tsarnaev brothers, and here's what they described. They say that these Tsarnaev brothers were firing at them gunshots. They were also tossing explosives at these police officers that at one point Tamerlan Tsarnaev got out of the vehicle, started shooting at the police officers, and then the police officers started wrestling with Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

And then here is one key part of this testimony, the prosecution making note that at that point, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev made a three-point turn, put the car in reverse. And that's where he ran over his brother and then sped away.

Why is that important? Because, of course, the prosecution here is trying to make clear that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is not just sitting back and that Tamerlan Tsarnaev is the ring leader and is the only one taking charge but also showing that he was an active participant, and in that particular case, that he was trying to run over police officers.

Now, here's one other interesting quote, and I'm going to read this for you. This is from one of the police officers. Again, the prosecution trying to show that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was an active participant. It says, quote, "I noticed one was bigger than the other and they had different styles when they were throwing the devices. One was throwing like a baseball."

Randi, again, making it clear that both brothers were active and that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was active and an active participant in these attacks -- Randi.

KAYE: Yes. Even running -- even running over his own brother to try and get away. Fascinating case. Rosa Flores, thank you very much for the update there from Boston.

Still to come, Benjamin Netanyahu reverses course on a promise to the U.S. in a last-minute bid to court voters.

Oren Liebermann has the story from Jerusalem for us.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN REPORTER: Benjamin Netanyahu knows he's in the fight of his life. What are his chances? We'll talk about that coming up. And who could be the guy to replace him?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

<09:26:37> KAYE: Millions of Israelis heading to the pole. The incumbent prime minister's Likud Party is facing off against Isaac Herzog and the Labor Party. Israel has a parliamentary system, which means that its citizen actually vote for a ruling party, not a particular candidate to lead the country.

And in the last-minute bid for far right voters, Netanyahu made a stunning about-face on a promise to the U.S., ruling out the existence of a Palestinian state.

Oren Liebermann is in Jerusalem.

And, Oren, this is an incredible reversal on a two-state solution.

LIEBERMANN: Absolutely, Randi. That got a lot of attention on a sensitive issue here, which is negotiations on the Palestinians and the authorities. Netanyahu said under him if he were prime minister again there simply would not be a Palestinian state. He insists that in today's Middle East, a Palestinian state would be a base from which radical Islamists would attack Israel. So, he ruled that out. Of course, that contradicts exactly what he said in a famous lunch speech from 2009.

So, perhaps flipping position there, perhaps just hedging, and, of course, just perhaps playing to right wing voter. He sees right wing voters in the voter turnout from the right wing as what can win him the election. He knows very well where he stands in the polls.

According to the latest polls that came out on Friday, the last polls before election day, he trails his Israeli rival Isaac Herzog and the Zionist Union Party by four seats. He knows he has to close that gap.

Meanwhile, Isaac cast his ballot earlier today, saying that, if you're OK with how things stand, go ahead, vote for Netanyahu. If you want change, Herzog says, vote for the Zionist Union.

Here's what he had to say shortly before voting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISAAC HERZOG, LABOR PARTY (through translator): One who wants to continue Bibi's way of despair and disappointment should go ahead and vote for him. But one who wants change, and hope and a better future should vote for the Zionist Union lead by me, and give me the mandate and power in order to form a better government in order to create change in Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: Herzog knows he's in the lead. But he also knows that if he wants to win, essentially outright, if he wants there to be no doubt then he needs to open up that gap. And then, on top of that, some of his left wing parties have to do well.

So, this is a very close election, Randi. Nothing is guaranteed. We're a few hours into the polling day. There are a few more hours to go. We'll get our first results at 10:00 local time, 4:00 your time.

It will be very, very interesting to see how this plays out.

KAYE: And, Oren, what about this new video that Netanyahu just released?

LIEBERMANN: And that was a video he just put on his Facebook page where he basically said -- he came out and he said our voter turnout has been very high. He claims that leftists, left wing voters are bringing the Arabs to the polls. He brings right wing voters to bring your family, bring your friends to vote.

It smacks almost a little bit of desperation. He knows he's behind in the polls and he has to close the gap. He's urging the right wing voters to get out there. That's exactly what he needs if he is going to hang onto the premiership here. He knows how tight this race is.

KAYE: Yes, it certainly is. Oren Liebermann, thank you very much.

Still to come, they are the people who could send Hillary Clinton to the White House if she decides to run for president. So what do potential voters think of the e-mail controversy swirling around her? We'll tell you right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)