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Baltimore Mom Sparks Reaction; Previous Injury Rumors Regarding Freddie Gray; Ted Cruz Comments on Baltimore; Miracle Rescue in Nepal; Baltimore's Wealth Gap. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired April 30, 2015 - 09:30   ET

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

MICHAELA ANGELA DAVIS, WRITER: That's what that looks like, is that looks like a woman with violence as the only option, and how living in a violent environment makes you respond that way.

[09:30:03] And, you know, teens hardly ever do what adults say, right? But they're very good at imitating us. So if she meets him with aggression, he will meet life with aggression, right? And then how else was he supposed to work out his trauma? He's a boy throwing rocks, you know what I mean? So it's complicated, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: No, no, I do. I get it. I want to read you a bit of a "Washington Post" op-ed. It's titled, "why is America celebrating the beating of a black child."

DAVIS: That's Stacey (ph)?

COSTELLO: Yes. Yes.

DAVIS: Yes, of course.

COSTELLO: But it's written by American University Adjunct Professor Stacey Patton (ph). She writes in part, quote, "the celebration of Graham reflects a belief that black youths are inherently problematic, criminal and out of control. The video also supports the idea that black fathers are absent, suggesting that all we need is an angry black mom to beat the 'thug' out of an angry young man -- and everything will be fine."

DAVIS: Yes, I mean, that's -- as I say, there were many women's voices, Goldie Taylor (ph), Demitria Lucas (ph), have all been saying that, you know, beating our children will not stop the police from killing them. That's -- you know, and other people are -- Tracy Ellis Ross (ph), you know, the star of black issues, like, this is so complicated for me. I have so many feelings. So there are so many of us, particularly black women, who are one generations removed from that, that -- that don't see it as a hero, that don't see that as mom of the year, and we -- we -- we I get that it's newsy (ph) right?

COSTELLO: But the idea that black mothers can save their children, I mean that's -- it's -- because we often here black athletes say that, they thank their mother for putting them on the right course.

DAVIS: Right. Right. COSTELLO: For keeping them out of trouble. We hear that a lot. So she just --

DAVIS: Yes, but -- but --

COSTELLO: She just played into this -- that stereotype that we hear.

DAVIS: That (INAUDIBLE) -- well, it's -- it's also part of a legacy, right? There are men who are buried who were beat. There are men in prison who were beat. You know, Freddie Gray, his momma might have beat him, too. There is no evidence to say that beating my kid will stop him from being arrested or going to jail. And what is difficult also for me too is what seems to be the ease that we have with black girl pain and violence and how it seems like entertainment. Like this is what we loop over and over again, whether it's a beat-down in McDonald's, right, or whether it's very glamorous women beating each other up-side the head with a bottle. You know what I mean? Like we are so comfortable with seeing black women violently expressing themselves, desperate in whatever measure. And so this image, over and over and over again, plays into that trope of the angry black woman. So we have to negotiate all these angles of it. it's not just, oh, look at the sassy black girl that got her son. It is -- it represents so much.

COSTELLO: Michaela, thank you so much. So interesting.

DAVIS: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Thank you so much. I appreciate you being here.

DAVIS: Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:36:23] COSTELLO: Speculation surrounds Freddie Gray's health history. Reports earlier this week claim Gray had a previous spinal cord injury before he was arrested this month, but those reports now appear to be false. His family's attorney says the rumors are nothing more than a distraction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY KOCH, ATTORNEY FOR FAMILY OF FREDDIE GRAY: It's a distraction. It's another one of those rumors and pieces of innuendo thrown out there. It distracts from the actions of the officers and the issues of whether or not charges should be brought.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But we are learning new information about issues that did play a role in Gray's health. Joe Johns is in Baltimore at the staging area for the National Guard and state police. He's following that side of the story for us.

Good morning, Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Yes, we're on the parking lot of M&T Stadium. It's where the Ravens play. Just a little bit of a backdrop to show you the kind of police and military people power that's been brought out by the Freddie Gray case. The New Jersey Task Force One. We've got the National Guard behind us. Just a sort of phalanx of law enforcement and military people all out trying to keep the peace.

Now, what do we know about the history of Freddie Gray? Well, among the things we know, he and his two sisters filed paperwork in a case involving lead paint exposure, alleging that they were harmed by it, apparently between 1994 and 1999. And it's not clear how much they collected, because a lot of that information is kept under wraps, but we know that lead paint has caused huge problems here in Baltimore, medical problems, as well as behavioral problems. Things like Attention Deficit Disorder and so on. And we know also that Freddie Gray had a lot of personal problems, including a criminal history of as many as 20 arrests.

So what's clear here is that whatever happened to Freddie Gray, at least according to his attorneys, didn't have anything to do with an automobile accident in which he injured his spine, rather that his problems stemmed apparently from lead paint. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEAN MARBELLA, REPORTER, "THE BALTIMORE SUN": According to the court documents, crumpling lead paint, holes in the wall, lots of dust that was suspected to be contaminated with lead, they made the connections to problems he ultimately had in school. He was put in special ed classes. His sisters testified that they had to repeat grades.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: So the story is more about environment than anything, at least as far as we can find out. There's a lot more to the lead paint story here in Baltimore. This city has been dealing with it for years and years. Lead paint, of course, was banned around 1978, but many of the older houses where young, poor black kids live still have the remnants of that lead paint and its caused problems for them, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Joe Johns reporting live from Baltimore this morning.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Senator Ted Cruz slams President Obama on Baltimore and race relations. The White House hopeful says the president is pitting Americans against one another. We'll talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:42:55] COSTELLO: Senator Ted Cruz is calling the situation in Baltimore "heartbreaking," and he's pointing the finger of blame at President Obama. The Republican presidential candidate said the president has squandered the opportunity to be a unifying leader on race relations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's made decisions that I think have inflamed racial tensions, that have divided us rather than bringing us together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Senator Cruz made those comments before the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. CNN chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash was there. She joins me now.

So, Dana, what else did Ted Cruz say?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, what was so interesting and striking, frankly, Carol, about that was he was asked by the head of the Hispanic Chamber, Javier Palomarez, what would you do if you were president to calm racial tensions in this country? And after saying it's heartbreaking what happened in Baltimore, as you just heard, he immediately turned it, unprompted, to President Obama, blaming him for racial tensions. After the Q&A on the stage, they brought it out to the audience. So I was able to ask exactly what he meant. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRUZ: I think he has not used his role as president to bring us together. He has exacerbated racial misunderstandings, racial tensions, from back at the beer summit, to a series of efforts to pit Americans against each other.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: And just to be clear, Carol, my question was, can you give us -- to be specific how exactly has President Obama inflamed racial tensions. That was part of his answer. And then he went on to talk about dividing America - excuse me -- over Iran deal, over Obamacare, things that really didn't have anything to do with race. He didn't answer the question specifically.

[09:45:10] COSTELLO: Do you need to take a drink of water?

(LAUGHTER)

BASH: I need the allergies to stop in this city.

COSTELLO: OK, because I really want to ask you just one more question. So I'm sure you pressed him on what he would do to repair race relations in this country. And did he specifically address Baltimore with any kind of solution?

BASH: No. He didn't address Baltimore with a solution, and that was, as I said, that was the question to him as the outset. What would you as president not just about Baltimore, but to kind of calm racial tensions that we've seen in Ferguson, in Oklahoma, and beyond? And he sort of turned it to President Obama without giving a specific reason why he thinks that the president has done this.

He did talk broadly, again, about it being heartbreaking, about the fact that he is actually a proponent of reforming the criminal justice system, which a decade or two was anathema for Republicans to do, but beyond that didn't give very many specifics of what he would do, no.

COSTELLO: And I ask you that because, at one point, he appeared to choke up, and he teared up?

BASH: Absolutely. I Mean, it was obvious from the get go that he -- you know, it was upsetting to him to see what happened in Baltimore and he was -- tried to be very circumspect, saying that we have to take a breath and take a moment to investigate exactly what happened, to look into how to deal with it. So that's why it was kind of surprising that - look, he is running for president. He is somebody who, you know, at every chance he gets, takes a whack at President Obama because that's how he will get votes in the Republican base. It's just the way it is. But on something like this, why I stood up and said can you be specific, it was surprising to hear him talk as President Obama as stoking racial tensions in this context without a lot of specifics.

COSTELLO: Dana Bash reporting, thanks so much.

No fans, no problem. Take a look at this -- that's the Baltimore Orioles catcher Caleb Joseph pretending to sign autographs in the empty stands at yesterday's game against the White Sox. As you know, fans were shut out of the stadium after protests rocked Charm City. The Orioles did not let that get in their way, though; they went on to beat the White Sox 8-2. Go Os! I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:51:05] COSTELLO: Another incredible rescue happening in Nepal. A 15-year-old is now safe and sound after being trapped underneath a huge slab of cement for nearly a week. Following Saturday's monster earthquake, rescuers struggled for hours today to pull him out. An American disaster response team rushed over to help.

CNN's Sumnima Udas joins us now from Nepal's capital, Kathmandu. Tell us more about this rescue.

SUMNIMA UDAS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRSEPONDENT: Fredricka, I was amazed when I saw that tiny space where he had been hiding. It was literally that big, smaller than a coffin. What had happened is, when the earthquake happened, the nine-story building -- it's a hotel ,budget hotel building -- it collapsed. It pancaked and the motorcycle, at some point, tilted over, so he had enough space to maneuver there. So he was found right next to that motorcycle.

In an interview he gave to the local media just a few moments ago, he said that he had access to some butter, that's what he ate, because it was a supermarket in that basement. And so he ate that butter and survived. He said he didn't think he would survive. He wasn't sure what was going on. He wasn't sure if he was alive or if he was dead. And when he was rescued, Fredricka, it was quite amazing. There was

this loud cheer. As they pulled him out, he was conscious. He, you know, could tell the police what his name is, his address is, and he also thanked them for rescuing him. And the way these police officers found him, Fredricka, just to give you some background, they've been digging around this area for quite some time, because they found survivors in that exact place two days ago. So they started digging around, they started knocking on the walls, they started yelling out, asking if anyone needed help. And then they heard this faint cry. And that's how they found him, and then rescued him.

COSTELLO: That's just an amazing story. I can hardly believe it. You also took a helicopter ride above Nepal. What did that look like from the air?

UDAS: You know, from the air is when you can really see just how much damage and just how -- just the magnitude of this earthquake really. Once you cross over the Kathmandu Valley, the mountains of the Kathmandu Valley, you see the terrain is so inaccessible. The homes are built so high up. The area is so spread out. There's landslides everywhere. It's very, very difficult to get to these spots of Nepal, and the villages are on the top and completely flattened, many of them. The crops have died. There's no human beings around.

And I was with the army as they were sort of surveying the area, basically trying the send back information to the headquarters to tell them where there's signs of life and where there isn't and where they need to go for their next rescue operation. It's incredibly difficult to even find, you know, find out or get a sense of where to go for your next relief operation. And then on top of that, to get relief there, because the landslides, the main roads to Kathmandu have been blocked and to these villages. So the situation still, particularly outside of Kathmandu, incredibly dire.

COSTELLO: All right, Sumnima Udas, thanks so much. I'll be right back.

[09:54:24]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The clashes surrounding Freddie Gray's death are also shedding new light on Baltimore's staggering wealth gap. The median household income for a white resident is around $60,000 a year. That's compared to just over $33,000 for black residents. Experts say that imbalance has a lot to do with jobs.

Chief business correspondent Christine Romans is here to explain. Good morning.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Jobs and poverty, Carol. If Freddie Gray's death in police custody was the flame, the fuel are these statistics -- these statistics that show a lack of opportunity and imbalance in many neighborhoods in Baltimore. Carol just showed you the median household income. That's a pretty

striking balance there, or lack of balance there. But look at poverty -- 63 percent of the residents of Baltimore are black. 24 percent of the population lives below the line of poverty. How much is that? That's less than $21,000 for a family of three.

This next statistic, Carol, is shocking and dangerous. 37 percent unemployment for men aged 20 to 24, black men aged 20 to 24 in Baltimore. White men, 10 percent. That's almost four-fold difference there. And that to me is one of the really big statistics in the whole -- again, about the fuel, not the flame of these protests, but the fuel behind these protests. If you don't have opportunity, if you don't have a chance to go and make money, you start to lose all of the, I guess, all of the structure in society.

You know, a lot of times, economists, when I talk about other countries, they say, you know, anything about 10 percent entrenched unemployment we start to get worried about the social fabric. We're looking at 37 percent unemployment there. There are issues here. Nouriel Roubini, the noted economist, told my colleague, Cristina Alesci yesterday, he said you don't send in more militarized tanks. You don't send in the National Guard. You don't send in more police. You spend the money at the front end, alleviating, preventing poverty with things like education investments, with high-quality preschool investments and the like, housing investments. Those are the conversations many economists are saying need to be happening.

COSTELLO: And where do politicians cut first? Education.

[10:00:03] ROMANS: Yes.

COSTELLO: Christine Romans, thanks so much. I appreciate it.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.