Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Overwhelmed hospitals Run Short of Supplies; Smoking Gun on Benghazi; Baltimore Tensions Boil Over Amid Protests; Facebook, Google Help Survivor Search. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired April 27, 2015 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:29:36] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Also just minutes ago we got a clear picture of how the world is scrambling to help earthquake ravaged Nepal. At least 15 countries plus the European Union are pledging to help. And the aid comes in many forms. Canada is donating more than $4 million to relief organizations. Norway is committing a similar amount just under $4 million.

And as the world, as I said, scrambles to help Nepal, hospitals are overflowing with thousands of people injured in the weekend earthquake and its aftershocks. And now medical supplies and other resources are dwindling to dangerous levels.

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta is in Kathmandu. He's lending his surgical skills to this medical crisis. He joins me now by phone. Tell us more, Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, Carol, I think it's as you described it. You have a tremendous demand for care in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake there's obviously very high demand. There was a little bit of a lull after that. And I think the doctors, nurse, the administrators at these hospitals thought maybe the worst was over at this point.

But what we now know is that the rescue missions that were ongoing into some of the more remote areas were eventually going to bring patients back. Over the day-to-day you suddenly had a dramatic increase in patients care again and the demand that goes with that in terms of personnel and resources -- all of that.

It's supplies -- simple things like gloves, enough latex gloves, and scrubs for the surgeons to do the operations but also infrastructure, you know. Generators that make these hospitals work are gasoline powered so they are trying to be judicious about the use of those generators. That's sort the picture.

And They don't know what comes next. Do the numbers continue to grow up? Is there a lull again? There's just a lot of unknowns here -- Carol, still.

COSTELLO: I know Sanjay that you performed surgery on an eight-year- old girl. Tell us about that and tell us how she's doing now.

GUPTA: Yes, you know, this was -- I was asked to do this by the doctors that were there at the hospital. Literally, I think it's -- you know, they just need another set of hands because the demand is high. This is a little girl whose name is Selina. She lives in a more remote area. She just came in today a couple days now after the earthquake -- significant head injury. Her home crumbled around her. She was outside, I understand, getting water, when she was brought in Carol. It was whereabouts of her parents were unknown. She had a brain injury.

She's -- I'm happy to report, a little bit of good news in that she's doing well. She's recovering well. And also her parents had been located -- they were caring for another sibling who had both of his legs fractured. It's obviously good news for her. I say a little bit good news because after that operation was done, we heard about another, literally, another 8-year-old little girl who also had a brain injury that needed a similar brain operation.

This is just an ongoing situation and her story is as you can tell unfortunately very typical.

COSTELLO: All right. Sanjay, I'm glad you're there though. Thank you so much for everything. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, in Kathmandu this morning.

Three Americans are among the dead -- all of them dying on Mount Everest. The earthquake unleashed avalanches and landslides. This video shot by a German climber captures the harrowing moment when he and the others realized a wall of snow is about to swallow them and their camp.

CNN's Nick Valencia is in Atlanta with a closer look at who these Americans -- who these Americans were who died on Mount Everest. Good morning.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Carol.

All morning we've been bringing you personal stories of some of the victims of that devastating earthquake in Nepal. We know at least 17 people were killed when an avalanche triggered by an earthquake swept over a team trekking up Mount Everest among them, at least three Americans. We want to tell you some of their stories.

Let's start with Thomas Taplin (ph) who was a Santa Monica based filmmaker. The 61-year-old had been shooting a documentary about base camp on Everest and according to his wife, that man that you're looking at there on the screen had been in Nepal at least four times.

Earlier our affiliate in Los Angeles, KABC, spoke to his wife.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COREY FREYER, WIFE OF EARTHQUAKE VICTIM: He was blown away by the blast rather than being buried in any rubble. That's how I found out. I think all of us in my family and friends would be happy that if he had to die, he's the kind of guy that you just don't ever think of as dying. He's just such a larger than life individual and if he had to die, to die doing the things that he loved, which is mountains and being in the mountains and filming, making his -- this is a big goal for him.

That's ok you know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He wouldn't go another way?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right. Much better than killed in a car accident or something like that. But it's just so dramatic, it is so shocking to be on the other side of the world and to all of a sudden be told that -- you just don't picture losing somebody in an incident like that. It's devastating to tell you the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:35:11] VALENCIA: You could see the grief there still on the eyes of his wife Corey. We want to also tell you about Eve Girawong (ph). She was a base camp doctor also on that trek through Mount Everest when she was also encapsulated by the avalanche. You're looking at her there.

She was a passionate person -- passion for medicine and in the process of getting a second masters degree right before she died. Her employer over the weekend took to Facebook to deliver the sad news saying it is with deep sorrow and profound grief that we can confirm the loss of our Everest base camp doctor Marissa Eve Girawong. She perished in the aftermath of the avalanche that struck the base camp area following the devastating Nepal earthquake.

Dan Fredinburg was also there. A Google executive and avid adventurer and mountain climber -- among the Americans killed on Mount Everest.

And many of you who may be watching at home may want to know how to help. You can go to CNN.com/impact for more -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Nick Valencia reporting. Thanks so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM: 300 Hillary Clinton e-mails investigated by the House Committee looking in the Benghazi attack. What do they say? We'll talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:39:36] COSTELLO: Did the House Select Committee hit a dead end in their investigation into Hillary Clinton's e-mails about the Benghazi attacks. Republican chairman Trey Gowdy subpoenaed some 300 Clinton messages regarding Libya but now sources are telling CNN that they did not find any, quote, "smoking gun". CNN's Elise Labott joins me now with more.

What are your sources saying?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Carol -- I mean this is just a small fraction of the 30,000 e-mails that Secretary Clinton handed over from her private server. These are -- As you said 300 e-mails on Benghazi. What we were told is that there's not that much there, there. There was a lot of stuff about please print very mundane things about scheduling and logistics. There is some interesting stuff for people like me who are following

it about Secretary Clinton did care about how the aftermath of Benghazi would affect her and would affect the State Department. Her aides were kind of relieved that she didn't go as far as Susan Rice did on those famous Sunday morning talk shows.

Secretary Clinton really criticized for not going on those shows. But I think what's really interesting about Clinton didn't e-mail a lot -- Carol. She didn't really use, the amount. So they're very -- I was told someone told me they're kind of short coverlets and to the point. So I think while there are --

COSTELLO: There's 30,000 of them so she's --

LABOTT: Well there are 300 of these Benghazi ones but I think that there are legitimate questions about the fact that Secretary Clinton used her own private server to e-mail staff. But to be fair, it doesn't look like she really did a lot of business over e-mails.

So I think anyone looking for great insight as to her actions leading up to Benghazi or the aftermath just isn't going to find it in these e-mails.

COSTELLO: Yet. These two hearings will still take place, right?

LABOTT: Right. Well, what the committee wants to do is for Secretary Clinton to have a kind of private interview first and then they can have a hearing. What Secretary Clinton wants to do is testify in public right away because you've seen a lot of times not just on the select committee regarding the Benghazi issue but in a lot of other hearings. Sometimes they take what you say in the private interview regarding other hearings they take what you say in the private interview and leak it and then it becomes a big issue.

I think what Secretary Clinton would really like to do just get it all out there and answer any questions publicly and let the public be the judge and not the committee -- Carol.

LABOTT: Elise Labott -- thanks so much. I appreciate it.

COSTELLO: Who should be conducting the drone strikes that aim to take out terrorists on foreign soil? The President is expected to make a new push to shift control from the CIA to the Pentagon just days after admitting that two western hostages were accidentally killed in a drone attack in Pakistan. This new push means Obama is being eye to eye Jim with Senator John McCain -- two men who hardly ever agree.

Senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta has more on this. Good morning -- Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning -- Carol.

That's right. President Obama and John McCain, they hardly ever agree on anything when it comes to U.S. foreign policy but they do agree on this. And we heard from the Republican senator who is the chair of the armed services committee yesterday on "STATE OF THE UNION", he was saying that he believes that it's now time for the CIA drone program that goes after terrorists groups like al Qaeda to be shifted over to the Pentagon. It's actually something that both McCain and President Obama pushed for two years ago when the subject came up but congressional opponents blocked that action and it never took place.

So today CIA is still conducting these drone strikes. I talked to a senior administration official earlier this morning, Carol, who said that they want to work diligently toward this goal of shifting control of the program over to the Pentagon and it's something that he's going to get some support from on the senate side from John McCain. Here's what Senator McCain said yesterday on state of the union. here's what he said.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I think it was probably preventable that there was in that there was an obvious breakdown in intelligence. They didn't know that they were there and as you know all of our prayers and thoughts are with their families. It was preventable but the question then is do we continue these drone stripes and how important are they -- it raises all of those questions and it's clearly a subject for review by both intelligence and armed services committees and the entire congress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And senator McCain three referring to the fact that all of this new focus on whether the CIA should conduct this drone strike program really started to get going last week, Carol when it was revealed by the White House that two western hostages including that American Warren Weinstein were killed in that drone strike back in January, the President has ordered a review of that program and we'll see that taking place.

Senator McCain said yesterday on STATE OF THE UNION he's going to be doing his own review on the Armed Services Committee but continue to watch this one closely carol. I think this is something that the Sense and Sen. McCain will be pushing in the weeks ahead -- Carol.

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

[10:44:40] Still to come in the NEWSROOM as loved ones remember Freddie Gray at his funeral, Baltimore faces the question. How can the city heal the age old wounds underlying the outrage over Freddie Gray's death? We'll talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Minutes from now the funeral for Freddie Gray is expected to officially begin. This is what it looks like inside the church where family and friends and politicians are gathering. As you know, Gray died of a spinal cord injury while in police custody.

Just moments ago the mayor of Baltimore, Stephanie Rollins Blake, entered the church. She shook hands with the Gray own family including his twin sister and mother. Hopefully we'll pull those pictures up and show them to you.

Also members of the Obama administration are going to be showing their faces at this funeral as well as Elijah Cummings. I can't tell if that's -- that's not the mayor right now. She did enter the church. And we'll have pictures for you shortly I'm sure. Let's head to Baltimore now and check in with Athena Jones. She's covering this for us. Good morning -- Good morning, Athena.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning -- Carol. You can see those pictures. The service about to get under way. The public has been coming in for the last hour or so to view the body of Freddie Gray. There's going to be a lot of emotion, of course, and there's still a lot of anger and unanswered questions about just how Freddie Gray came to be so gravely injured during that police van ride a couple of weeks ago.

You mentioned Congressman Elijah Cummings. He'll be one of the speakers on the program today. He represents about half of the city of Baltimore. He's one of the people who was angry, who wants to see changes in the Baltimore Police Department so that they follow the rules and regulations that are already in place and that this sort of thing doesn't happen again.

[10:50:06] We'll also hear from Reverend Jamal Bryant who has been on CNN in the last couple of hours. He is going to be delivering the eulogy. He's also been one of the leaders of many of the demonstrations we've been seeing here in the city of Baltimore in the last several days.

As you mentioned, several White House officials will be here in attendance as will the family of Eric Garner. They are among the folks who will be coming of course. Eric Garner is a Staten Island man who died after being put in a chokehold by police last summer. And so he's family is here to support the family of Freddie Gray.

So we expect a lot of emotion -- maybe some anger as this service gets under way in just a few minutes here -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. All right. Athena Jones reporting live from Baltimore -- thank you so much.

Today's somber funeral services, stark contrast to the violence that erupted amid mostly people protests over the weekend; long standing tension between police and the community coming to light as the Fuhrer boiled over.

You can see some of the protesters, a small group -- that was an undercover police there actually. They were breaking up the windows. You can see some of the protesters, a small group that was an undercover 7-Elevens stores were looted Windows were family is here to support the family of Freddie Gray. We expect emotion and maybe some anger as this service gets under way in just a few minutes here, Carol.

All right. Athena Jones reporting live from Baltimore -- thank you so much. Today's somber funeral services a stark contrast to the violence that

erupted amid mostly peaceful protests over the weekend. Long standing tension between police and the community coming to light as the furor boiled over. You can see some of the protesters, a small group -- that was an undercover police car actually -- they were breaking out windows. Several 7-eleven stores were looted. Windows were broken and fans that went to see the Baltimore Orioles/Red Sox game. We're told to stay in the stadium for safety sake.

As I said actually -- the mayor said outside agitators were to blame. And the police commissioner also said it was just a small portion of the protest that turned violent.

Joining me now on the phone to talk about this and more -- Baltimore peace activist and radio host "Farajii Muhammad. Good morning -- Farajii.

FARAJII MUHAMMAD, PEACE OORDINATOR (via telephone): Good morning -- how are you?

COSTELLO: I'm good. The mayor said that the violence was committed by agitators. Is that true?

MUHAMMAD: There has been some talk about outside protesters but we're trying to figure out who and what and who was really involved. The big thing is that there certainly has been some concern in the city of Baltimore especially within the community that folks are going to kind of parachute into the community and to drop -- just be part of these things to try to irritate and agitate without the right spirit, without the right interest in mind. So that's certainly a concern for us.

But here on the ground what we're trying to do is we're trying to move forward in the sense of letting folks know that those who have been working on the ground are continuing part of this process. So we're not looking to, you know, at this point we can continue to have this conversation about agitators and about just what happened on Saturday but we need to keep the focus on the keep the focus on the larger picture that we're fighting for justice and we're still striving to make sure this family has found some level of peace from this whole situation.

COSTELLO: The police commissioner sent out a statement after this violence broke out saying some of protesters on the ground placed themselves between police and those kinds of people there that are out windows of that car. Do you know about that?

MUHAMMAD: He put out a statement saying that some of the violence -- sorry, what?

COSTELLO: Some of the peaceful protesters placed themselves between police and these violent protesters.

MUHAMMAD: Ok. If I'm hearing you correctly, we have a couple motorcycle groups behind me so that's what you're hearing. But if you are talking about the commissioner putting out a statement -- I'm sorry -- couldn't hear you all.

COSTELLO: That's ok. I'll move onto another question.

We saw the mayor attending the funeral of Freddie Gray. Some other politicians -- prominent politicians are attending the funeral. It seems like the police in this case are shut out of the picture here.

I think we have a bad connection sadly with Farajii. We'll try to talk to him tomorrow. Farajii Muhammad, thanks for trying. We appreciate it. Thanks for trying.

I'm back to the funeral as you can see. The funeral almost officially under way -- it starts in earnest 11:00 a.m., Eastern time. I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:56:30] COSTELLO: Checking some other top stories at 56 minutes passed -- two people are dead and five more missing after severe weather struck a regatta. The storm capsized sailboats tossing boaters into Mobil Bay, Alabama. Authorities were able to pull 40 people to safety though.

The Israeli military says airstrikes foiled a terror bombing in the occupied Golan Heights. Defense forces launching the strikes after they say militants armed with explosives began approaching the Israeli border. Israeli media reports at least three of the alleged attackers were killed.

Fast food giant, Chipotle has dropped genetically modified ingredients from its menu items. In an exclusive CNN interview, the CEO Steve Ell says it's a better way to do fast food. He also helps with marketing allowing Chipotle to distance itself from competitors.

We want to turn our attention back to earthquake-ravaged Nepal now where the death toll has risen above 3,900. Survivors now huddled in tents tormented by powerful aftershocks. Amid the chaos Facebook has launched a special tool called "Safety Check" to help find missing loved ones.

Samuel Burke is here to tell us more. Good morning.

SAMUEL BURKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's different from the way normally Facebook would work. You have to go on people's walls to check to see if they're ok. What Facebook has actually done is automate the process. Anybody who's in Nepal right now, Facebook knows where you are. So anybody who's in Nepal whether they're residents there or just visiting will see this message on your screen which you're seeing right now on your television that says "Are you ok?" It will automatically notify anybody who is in your social circle that you're ok.

This is also very important for the millions of Nepalese workers that live abroad. They're not just looking for one person. They're looking for dozens of family members and friends it actually keeps a list and tells them says here's a list of people who are ok and checked in. And here's a list of people who are unaccounted for still.

COSTELLO: Google is helping out too, right?

BURKE: That's right. They have something called Google Person Finder. But this story has become all too personal for Google. There's an executive named Dan Fredinburg, who had been climbing up Mount Everest. We've been following him on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in the past few days and unfortunately he lost his life. He had a major head injury. You're seeing him right now on your screen. His family says he had a major head injury and lost his life.

At the same time Google has this tool that people are using that they have during major disasters. I want to show you some of the profiles that people put up. Their families haven't heard from them. Samuel Beckett is a 23 year old from England. I talked to his parents. And they said that they haven't heard from him in a week. This is the last part of a backpacking trip through Nepal. He was supposed to be home in just a couple of weeks.

So they put up a page about him on Google people finder. Some good news. We had been tracking the story of a 25-year-old Nepalese man living in Kathmandu. I just spoke to his family a few minutes ago and they finally got word that he's ok.

COSTELLO: I'm so glad.

BURKE: A few positive stories out there amongst a sea of sadness for so many families.

COSTELLO: Yes. But there is still hope. We just talked to a few rescue workers that say it's possible for people to survive underneath rubble for days and days. A team that's going out from Virginia to try to help, you know find people who might still be alive. There's still hope.

BURKE: There is. But I'm looking at the Google person finder and I see 5,000 missing people records. Many of those will be found. But it's very difficult to go through all those pages.

COSTELLO: Samuel Burke, many thanks.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello. At This Hour with Berman and Bolduan starts now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: Hello everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan. John Berman is off today. We're looking at history--