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Kenya Names Terror Suspect after College Attack; Indicted Sen. Menendez has Court Hearing Today; Religious Freedom Battle; Desperation as Water Runs Dry. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired April 02, 2015 - 10:30   ET

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

SONI METHU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: According to a Twitter handle, al Shabaab -- that's being run by al Shabaab, they're saying that they'd been able to separate those who need to get away and I believe at least 15 Muslim. So we're waiting to confirm if that is true. We're sure there will be horrific stories coming out of the people who are still being held hostage.

[10:30:01] However, in the morning, there were those who actually reported that they tried to flee in the field and the gunmen had a vantage point and were able to shoot at all of them -- at any of them who were just trying to flee.

This is just developing the past few hours. However, during the morning hours, they did shoot sporadically and that they killed at least 15 people. Although according to the al Shabaab Twitter handle again they claimed there are more bodies and Kenyans will be shocked at the scene once they get in there.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Kenya is largely a Christian nation though -- 80 percent Christian, is that right?

METHU: It is indeed. And Garissa though is hugely Muslim populated. Garissa is very close to Somalia. We have Kenyan Somalis and Somali Kenyans who are largely Muslim population. However, this is the only institution of higher learning in Garissa which means Garissa and the wider area which means there are lots of students who are coming from other towns close to Garissa.

So you'll find a mix of basically everybody. There will be Christians there. There will be Muslims. There will be people even from the capital here in Nairobi. We don't know yet how many Muslims are in there, how many Christians are in there. If all the Muslims have been released -- if this is really targeted to Christians, we're yet to confirm. And we'll probably know as soon as the police are able to foil the attack.

However it's been going on for more than 10 hours now and we're yet to hear an official report on those who are being held hostage, how many they are, who they are. But as you say, at least one picture of a wanted terrorist has been released. And the government is promising a five-million bounty -- Kenya shillings -- five million Kenya shillings bounty on anyone with information regarding this attack.

COSTELLO: All right. Soni methu -- thank you so much, reporting live from Nairobi, Kenya this morning.

Let's talk a little bit more about this with CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen. Hi -- Peter.

PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Good morning.

COSTELLO: You're also the author of "Manhunt: the 10-year search for bin Laden". Thank you so much for being here. Why raid this university and kill so many people?

BERGEN: Well, the idea Carol is to put pressure on the Kenyan government which has been deeply involved in neighboring Somalia where al Shabaab is headquartered to basically stop their military operations against Shabaab. The Kenyan military has been part of quite effective operations, and under an African Union kind of command against Shabaab.

In fact Shabaab has been doing very poorly. You know, the attack on the school today is more a sign of weakness than strength. Shabaab used to control all of Somalia. They used to control the Somali capital, Mogadishu. And they've been pushed back over the past several years. So they no longer control large chunks of territory.

They are capable of these kinds of terrorist attacks against undefended targets. We saw that in 2013 against the West Gate Mall in Nairobi. We're seeing a very similar kind of attack -- an attack that will certainly go on for days. The Kenyan government response to the West Gate Mall attack was I think very incompetent. And I think we're going to the same thing again here.

They don't really have, you know, kind of a U.S. style, special operations that can go in and kind of deal with this kind of thing in a timely manner. So unfortunately I think we'll see this operation drag out over several days -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Well, you heard what Soni said. There are 500 hostages. That's a lot of hostages. What do they want?

BERGEN: Yes. Well, they want exactly what is now happening, which is global news coverage, you know. I mean these attacks are designed in a way to last over several days. Usually the attackers go into these kinds of attacks knowing that effectively it's a suicide mission. Their aim is to stay alive for as long as possible to generate as many days of coverage as possible.

We saw this in the Mumbai attacks in 2008. We saw this in the West Gate Mall attack in Nairobi in 2013. We're going to see it again now. My estimation is that this will take several days to deal with. We've seen reports of five gunmen, very similar to the Kenya mall attack which involved four gunmen.

Those guys -- that was in Nairobi, the capital of the country where, you know, presumably the Kenyan state has more ability to deal with such an attack. Here we're in a relatively remote part of the country, and I don't really have any idea of how well the Kenyan military is equipped to deal with this kind of thing in such a remote location -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Peter Bergen, thank you for your insight. I appreciate it.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Senator Robert Menendez says he's not going anywhere. The New Jersey Democrat vowing to fight federal corruption charges. We'll talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: A defiant Senator Robert Menendez is vowing to fight federal corruption charges.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ROBERT MENENDEZ (D), NEW JERSEY: I'm angry because prosecutors at the Justice Department don't know the difference between friendship and corruption and have chosen to twist my duties as a senator and my friendship into something that is improper. They are dead wrong and I am confident that they will be proven so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The New Jersey Democrat has a court hearing set for today. He's accused of using his senate office to promote the business interests of a long-time friend and donor in return for gifts.

Let's bring in CNN justice reporter Evan Perez who is covering the hearing today. Tell us more.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE REPORTER: Hi -- Carol. Well, the senator is getting ready to come over here to the federal court here in Newark. The police have already put up some barriers to control the media.

This is kind of an unusual situation. Usually a senator, someone like this, would be offered the chance to surrender away from the cameras. But this senator has decided that he wants to do it here. He's going to be processed and then he's going to appear before a magistrate and be arraigned to hear these charges.

Now altogether there are 14 counts that the senator is facing: eight counts of bribery, three counts of honest services fraud, conspiracy, travel act violation, false statements. And there's a lot of salacious details in this 68-page indictment that was announced yesterday by the Justice Department including efforts by the Senator to help get visas for girlfriends of his friend Salomon Melgen, who's an ophthalmologist in Florida, long-time donor and long-time friend of the senator -- Carol.

[10:40:00] All right. Evan Perez, reporting live from Newark, New Jersey this morning.

Also happening now, Indiana lawmakers are debating amended language to the state's controversial religious freedom deal. Less than an hour ago lawmakers stood alongside business leaders praising the Hoosier spirit and promising that everyone, no matter race, creed or sexual orientation would be welcome in their state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BART PETERSON, FORMER INDIANAPOLIS MAYOR: For the first time ever, the words "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" appear in Indiana statute or they will after this law is passed in the context of non- discrimination. But it will take time and it will take more work. I have complete confidence in our ability to heal and to rebound because today I believe we showed the world what the people of Indiana are really made of.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Miguel Marquez is covering the story from Indianapolis. Tell us about the fix, Miguel.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the fix is much as he says -- it's very, very short, just one page, and two little pages here. But the significance of it is an earthquake for politics here in Indiana.

What you're looking at behind me is the conference committee where they're hashing this out. This is language that has been agreed upon by the largely Republican members of both the house and the senate here in Indiana. And the most significant thing in it is that, as the individual said in the setup to this, the terms "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" for the first time in any bill statewide in Indiana is being included here, which is something they didn't want to do.

It does raise the question, with that language in this bill, what does it then actually mean? Democrats saying they were going to take it to court to begin with. Now they think they have a stronger case.

Democrats here in the conference committee say that they want to still offer an amendment to repeal the original law. They will be discussing that, debating that and fighting over that in committee for some time yet.

Then we expect that it will go to both the house and the senate here in Indiana by tonight. It could be a late night, but possibly by the end of it, it could be on the governor's desk for his signature. If he vetoes it, which no one expects he will, the house and the senate think they have the votes here to override it -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Miguel Marquez, reporting live for us from Indianapolis -- thank you.

We're also seeing the same controversy play out in Arkansas. Today the Arkansas house of representatives is taking up a revised version of the state's Religious Freedom Bill. Just hours after the state senate passed the amended version last night. In a surprise announcement yesterday Governor Asa Hutchinson ordered lawmakers to make changes so the measure would more closely duplicate federal law. He said Arkansas stands for tolerance, not discrimination.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ASA HUTCHINSON (R), ARKANSAS: It has divided families, and there is clearly a generational gap on this issue. My son, Seth, signed the petition asking me, dad the governor, to veto this bill. And he gave me permission to make that reference, and it shows that families -- and there's a generational difference of opinion on these issues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The statehouse is expected to take up a vote on a revised bill in just a few hours.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They say you never miss the well until the water runs dry. That's true. Who would have ever thought that I wouldn't have any water?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Desperation grows as California's governor issues statewide water restrictions -- the latest on the historic drought, next.

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[10:47:30] COSTELLO: Drastic measures as California's drought crisis worsens. Governor Jerry Brown issues historic water restrictions, ordering cities to cut water use by 25 percent. The announcement was made from this dry field that would normally be covered by five feet of snow.

Over the years this crucial water source, the Sierra Nevada mountains has been shrinking before our eyes, look at the lack of snowfall by 2015, this mountains are in Yosemite. The devastating impact seen here: more than 66 percent of the state now under extreme or exceptional drought. As the water supply dwindles, California residents are growing desperate.

Sara Sidner joins us from a neighborhood in Los Angeles. Good morning.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Look, you know, this is unprecedented. One study shows that this is the worst drought in California in 1,200 years. What is the government doing about it?

I'll give you a quick exam on how this can affect homeowners. See this beautiful lush lawn that is very thirsty, uses a lot of water. Well, that the governor says is a thing of the past. And this which we just saw put in yesterday is the future, a drought-resistant, zeroscape lawn that takes a fraction of the water.

But that's just one of the measures because the situation here in California when it comes to its water is absolutely at an emergency status.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They say you never miss the well until the water runs dry. It's true. Who would have ever thought that I wouldn't have any water?

SIDNER: Did you ever actually cry because of all --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have I cried? I've cried myself to sleep a lot of times and I've lost weight.

SIDNER: Unlike a small earthquake which jolts you into the reality that you need to be prepared for the big one, the drought is kind of like a slow-moving disaster. You don't really realize just how bad it is until it hits you hard.

How long have you not had running water in the house?

ANGELICA GALLEGOS, RESIDENT: It's been a year and one month. One of my daughters, she came home from school and she said, mom, you know what, we can't be living this way, you know. They say I don't got no water and I didn't shower, this and that, that I stink.

SIDNER: From the towns to out here in California's beautiful countryside, you really get a glimpse of exactly what the drought is doing to the state, especially here atop Pine Flat Lake. It's one of the largest reservoirs.

You'll notice, when the water runs out, there are rings left behind where the water once was. Even GPS is having trouble keeping up. According to this, we should be submerged in deep water right now.

[10:50:06] JAY FAMIGLIETTI, NASA JPL: We really had a terrible winter in terms of rainfall and snowfall. There's no snow in the mountains. There will be no snowmelt to recharge -- to replenish those reservoirs. California has about one year of water left in its reservoirs on the surface.

SIDNER: So far county officials say more than 960 households have reported their wells have run dry, which accounts for up to 5,000 people who don't have running water in their homes.

So what are people doing? Well, sometimes it's neighbors helping neighbors. Sometimes people are getting water stacked up on their front door. And other times, non-profit groups and the county are working hard to try to put tanks in yards so people can have running water. But it's a temporary fix.

PASTOR ROMAN HERNANDEZ, IGLESIA EMMANUEL: We weep with them because you want to help them with something. Then at the same time, you know, I mean what can we do for them? We can't provide everything they need. There's 24 shower units.

SIDNER: How often are they used? HERNANDEZ: Every day. The resources coming in, they're helping

somewhat, but the crisis is growing. The situation is growing worse by the day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The amount of water that we have available to us in the West is in steady decline. We have to embrace that if we want to keep living out here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: Yes. I mean you can hear it, there are people with no running water. But now the restrictions are taking hold. And there are lots of things that are being done, looking at new technologies, trying to come up with some other ways to save water. But ultimately everyone has to play their part. This is a real crisis here in California and could be for the rest of the country because we grow a lot of things that the rest of the country puts on their table -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And that's absolutely true. You know, it's a shame. Boston got what -- over 100 inches of snow and set records. It's a shame that Boston couldn't ship some of that snow to California -- right.

SIDNER: Absolutely. The snowpack here, without that, that means less and less water. This drought expected to go on potentially through 2016 -- the situation really dire here.

COSTELLO: Sara Sidner, thanks so much. I appreciate it. I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:56:01] COSTELLO: Companies and celebrities alike pulling out all the stops to fool you -- from the selfie shoe to Target's fanny basket. You remember it was April Fools' -- yes. Jeanne Moos breaks down the best to April Fools' day pranks..

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a day of unforgettable introductions.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Introducing the selfie shoes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Introducing the dog on a stick.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The new HRV selfie edition.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Meet the fanny basket.

MOOS: You'd have to have your head up your fanny to fall for these. April Fools has become the corporate pranks what a Super Bowl is to commercial.

An excuse for companies to introduce the most absurd dumb products that couldn't possibly exist, could it?

I suppose Pizza Hut's scratch and sniff menus are technically possible. But pizza beer seems like a tall order.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pizza Hut pepperoni pilsner.

MOOS: The selfie stick proves to be April Fools gold.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you order your dog on a stick today, you'll also receive a free selfie stick and a harness for your cat -- the cat on a stick.

MOOS: There was the inner selfie stick for selfies where the sun don't shine. And if the shoe fits, so will your phone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just insert your phone and support, raise it to the perfect angle.

MOOS: The Honda selfie edition features ten embedded cameras.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The visor cam is my gem.

MOOS: While BMW introduced a mouth car fashioned after the car's grill -- the BMW motor mouth.

April foolishness wouldn't be complete without a new dating app. Play dating for toddlers.

Also cute, Google letting you use their maps to play Pac-Man.

And who needs shopping carts when there's Targets revolutionary fanny basket, complete with cup holder, grab those diapers.

Kelly Ripa announced she's pregnant. She's not.

Crooner Sam Smith announced he's straight. He's not.

Tom Brady pretended he's in a full body cast. He's not.

And if for even a second, you fell for the selfie shoe, you are a shoo-in for April fool.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: I think the selfie shoe is an excellent idea. You agree with me, Jay?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

COSTELLO: The floor director Jay agrees.

And that's all that it takes, so somebody develop that.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello. "@THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND BOLDUAN" after a break.

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