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Madison Shooting Ruling; Game-Day Military Salutes; Interview with Sen. Jeff Flake; Mother Heartbroken Over Mississippi Suspects; Kerry to Meet Putin Today. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired May 12, 2015 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:31:26] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

We are continuing to follow that devastation in Nepal. New devastation, another powerful earthquake, this time measuring 7.3, striking near the border with China. The quake causing several avalanches, including one about 30 miles from Katmandu. At least 39 people have died in Nepal and India. More than 1,000 were injured today. India's military is flying out some of those who were hurt. Several aftershocks shook the ground violently. Some measuring as high as 6.8. Today's quake comes only three weeks after another quake killed 8,000 people across the region.

In Madison, Wisconsin, nerves are on edge as prosecutors get ready to make a critical ruling on a divisive case. Will a police officer face criminal charges for the killing of an unarmed bi-racial teenager? That shooting triggered days of large but peaceful protests. Some demonstrators claiming excessive force, others rallying behind law enforcement.

CNN's Ryan Young is in Madison. But first, some of his reporting from back in March.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Scanner traffic gives us a glimpse into several 911 calls made just before the shooting.

DISPATCHER: Look for a male black, light skinned, tanned jacket and jeans outside yelling and jumping in front of cars. He's 19 years of age, name is Tony Robinson.

YOUNG: Another call said Robinson was trying to strangle someone. Officer Matt Kenny, the first officer on scene, reports he heard a commotion inside this apartment and forced his way through the door. The officer indicates a fight started and he was hit in the head by Robinson.

Thirty seconds later.

UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: Shots fired. Shots fired.

YOUNG: Robinson died after being shot.

CHIEF MIKE KOVAL, MADISON POLICE: He was unarmed, and that's going to make this all the more complicated for the investigators, for the public, to accept, to understand that deadly force had to be used.

YOUNG: This isn't the first time Officer Kenny has been involved in a deadly shooting. In 2007, Kenny shot and killed a man in what the police chief described as suicide by cop. Kenny was exonerated of any wrong doing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: All right, I want to bring in CNN's Ryan Young right now. He's live in Madison.

So how are they preparing for this announcement?

YOUNG: Well, Carol, you know already people are talking about protesting regardless of what happens. So people are looking forward to that in terms of the anticipation. And police have shut down the streets before as those protesters move through the street. In fact, you remember when they took over the capitol a few months ago chanting that black lives matter.

I want to point something out. The shooting happened just over there. In fact, there was a man working on the door just about five minutes ago. That's where this shooting happened, where the officer heard a noise on the other side of that door, went on the inside and shot three times killing Tony Robinson. Now, there have been a lot of questions about whether or not a Taser should have been used. But in Madison, you cannot use a Taser unless you have backup.

So that has been a long question. Did the officer have to go in? He said he heard a noise and thought someone was in trouble and that's why he went in. That's when the fight happened. The officer did suffer a concussion. Now we're finally going to hear some of the evidence probably from the DA's office this afternoon. But, of course, the mother of Tony Robinson was heartbroken months ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREA IRWIN, MOTHER OF TONY ROBINSON: My son was the kindest, most lovingest (ph), most playful kid. He played games all day long. He loved his family. He loved his friends. He was never -- never, never hurt a person. Never. My son was a very tall, big boy, 6'4", 220 pounds, but never, never fights.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:35:08] YOUNG: Carol, I think it's important to note the days after this happened, the family was actually calling for calm. They've wanted peace. They've wanted protesters to remain peaceful in this. And as people marched in the street, for the most part everyone listened to them. They did take over the streets and, of course, that will probably happen again today and we'll be waiting to see what the DA decides to do.

COSTELLO: All right, Ryan Young reporting live from Madison. Thank you.

My next guest is a state lawmaker who co-sponsored a bill requiring an outside investigation of all officer-involved shootings. Chris Taylor is a Democrat serving in the Wisconsin State Assembly. She too joins me from Madison.

Good morning.

CHRIS TAYLOR, WISCONSIN STATE ASSEMBLY: Good morning. Thanks for having me.

COSTELLO: Thanks for being here. Representative, Wisconsin became the first state in the nation to pass such a requirement. Tell us why it was important.

TAYLOR: That's right, we were the first state. Well, we thought it was incredibly important to make sure that in the investigations, when there is an officer-involved death, are done independently and as unbiased as possible. You know, Carol, several years before this latest shooting of Tony Robinson, there was also an officer-involved shooting not two blocks from where this incident occurred and that really led myself and another lawmaker to take a look at these investigations and to make sure that they were done as independently as possible so that the public had confidence in the outcome.

COSTELLO: And, representative, are you comfortable that Madison police have things under control? You know they gave a two-day warning that the announcement would be coming out. How are they preparing today, do you know?

TAYLOR: Well, look, I think that it was good to get some notice that this was coming. Nobody does peaceful protests better than Madison, Wisconsin. We have a very strong tradition here in Wisconsin of peacefully raising our voices. So I'm very, very confident that whatever happens today, the people of this city, of my community, are going to (INAUDIBLE) themselves in a very peaceful, lawful manner.

COSTELLO: And just a final question, because I hear you were near where Tony Robinson was shot. Can you tell us about that?

TAYLOR: Well, I was across the street at the gas station and pulled into the gas station and saw a commotion on the other side of the street, saw people yelling, a squad car with the lights on, and saw people in the gas station squatting behind their cars, and they had yelled to me to stay in my car. And so I arrived on the scene, you know, in the midst, I think, of this confrontation. And then subsequently heard sirens and got out of my car and, unfortunately, was to see police leaning over a body on the other side of the street.

So it was an awful tragedy. My heart goes out to the family. I'm proud of my community. I think that we have responded in a very appropriate way. And I'm very confident that today, whatever happens, whatever the outcome is, that the people of this city and of the state are going to respond extremely peacefully and very appropriately.

COSTELLO: Wisconsin State Representative Chris Taylor, thank you so much for joining me this morning. I appreciate it.

Still to come --

TAYLOR: Thank you for having me.

COSTELLO: You're welcome.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, there's nothing like being in a stadium full of fans and seeing those heartfelt military tributes, but did you know they're costing you millions of dollars? That's next.

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[09:42:15] COSTELLO: It's become part of the game day experience, touching military tributes that solute America's armed forced, you know, at football games. But you may not know that these touching ceremonies are costing you, the taxpayer, a pretty penny. Republican Senator Jeff Flake says fans are under the assumption that NFL teams are paying for those tributes directly. Instead, he says they're being used as a form of advertising. According to documents obtained by newjersey.com, the Department of Defense has paid millions of taxpayer dollars to NFL teams, including the Atlanta Falcons, the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Jets, to cover some of the costs. Now Senator Flake is demanding answers. He joins me now.

Welcome, sir.

SEN. JEFF FLAKE (R), ARIZONA: Thanks for having me on.

COSTELLO: Thanks for being here. So, senator, when you found out about this, what went through your mind?

FLAKE: You know, you go to these games and you have these feel-good moments, and you think, oh, what a nice thing to be done. And when you find out that it's probably paid for by the taxpayer, it, you know, kind of leaves an empty feeling in your stomach. So we just kind of stumbled on this, but it turns out that we're paying a lot of money, some accounts of $5 million over two years, some $5 million just in one year, and we're really trying to find out what those figures are and what they're used for. But we know that in certain contracts it was stipulated that this is what the money is to be used for, these paid tributes.

COSTELLO: I want to read a statement from the Pittsburgh Steelers because they've responded to some of these reports. Quote, "like many other advertisers desiring to get their message to large audiences, the military has advertised with the Steelers, as well as other sports leagues and teams as part of its recruiting programs. The advertising and promotion the military does with the Steelers to advance its recruiting efforts has nothing to do with the programs we have that provide an opportunity for our fans to salute our military veterans as well as active service members." So if I could parse through this, because it's very difficult to understand, they're saying, well, sure, the military pays for advertising to recruit its soldiers, right, but there are some touching tributes that come free of charge to the taxpayers. Is that what you're finding?

FLAKE: Well, that may be the case in some cases, but we have found certain contracts that actually spell out that they have to do those -- those feel-good moments or those salutes to home-town heroes. So we're in the middle of trying to find out more information.

And let me just say, I don't begrudge any NFL team or any other major sporting team for getting these contracts. If DOD, the Department of Defense, is going to give them out, then, shoot, then I don't begrudge them for getting them, I just question whether or not we ought to be doing that.

[09:45:03] And a couple years ago, we found out that we were paying a lot of money for Nascar sponsorships, for example, the National Guard was. And then they couldn't demonstrate at all any link between that and recruitment.

And so I don't begrudge, like I said, the National Guard or others for wanting to find a venue where they can recruit and help in the recruiting efforts, but I think that that's altogether different than these feel-good moments where everyone assumes that that's because of the NFL team or another sport team out of the goodness of their heart.

COSTELLO: Right, so you're saying they should be a little more transparent about what exactly it is they're doing.

FLAKE: You bet.

COSTELLO: My final question, and I want to go back to the recruiting issue because I know the U.S. army is having a tough time recruiting qualified soldiers. It needs such advertising. Is it possible that these ceremonies at NFL games work because, let's face it, you're getting to the right audience by doing this, right?

FALKE: Well, that's what we want to find out. Let's find out. Do they -- they are spending a lot of money. And, you know, money is hard to come by now with sequestration and with our budget crunch. And unless they can demonstrate some ability to actually recruit with this money, then they shouldn't be spending it.

And I, myself, I'm pretty skeptical. There may be -- set up a recruitment tent or something at a sporting event, may be a good thing, but that's altogether different than paying them and spelling out here's what you have to do with this money and it includes saluting hometown heroes. I think that that's wrong.

COSTELLO: Senator Jeff Flake, thank you so much for being with me this morning. I appreciate it.

FLAKE: Thanks for having me on.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM --

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They steal my two - my two children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: A mother heartbroken as two of her sons face charges in the killings of two Mississippi police officers. We'll talk about that next.

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[09:50:20] COSTELLO: Four suspects are charged in the Saturday shooting of two police officers in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The accused triggerman, Marvin Banks. He's facing capital murder charges. His half brother charged with accessory after the fact. Their mother, heartbroken, says she still loves them. She talked to CNN about their troubled past.

CNN's Alina Machado joins us now from -- with more. Good morning.

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. The mother's name is Mary Smith. We talked to her a few hours before both of her sons faced a judge on those charges. And she was very upset, as you can imagine. She also apologized. She said she was very sorry for what happened. And she had this to say about her sons.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY SMITH, SHOOTING SUSPECTS' MOTHER: If you come to the quarters (ph) and you talk to everybody over there, they will tell you, all of my children is (INAUDIBLE). They always say yes, ma'am, no, sir, to anybody. We live over there in a black and white neighborhood. And they -- all they hear about it on Facebook doing all of this racist stuff, it is not no racist here. It's just the boy was out of his mind.

MACHADO: What do you think happened?

SMITH: He was just out of his mind on those drugs. I tried to get him help. I tried.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACHADO: She was referring there to Marvin Banks. He's the one who's charged with capital murder. She also said that she not believe that her other son, Curtis Banks, was involved at all in the shooting, Carol.

COSTELLO: Did she have any idea why these men would allegedly open fire on these two police officers?

MACHADO: She doesn't know. And that's the big question that everyone still has. We don't know what led -- what happened in the moments right before the shooting happened. Police here have not released that information just yet.

What we do know, Carol, is that the suspects' car was initially stopped for speeding. The officer found probable cause to do a search and that's when he called for backup. But what happened in those moments between the time the second officer arrived and the time shots rang out, that still has not been released, Carol.

COSTELLO: It's just hard to get by the fact that these -- one of the two men, right, allegedly shot these police officers and then left them lying there in the street and drove away in the police car.

MACHADO: It's definitely something that's difficult to wrap your head around and that's something that we've heard just from talking to people in the community. We went to the memorial service yesterday and you can see the heavy hearts. This is a community that's really pulling together, coming together, for these two officers, for the families of these two officers. They are all in mourning. They're all grieving this tremendous loss, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Alina Machado reporting live for us this morning. Thank you.

Checking some other top stories for you at 52 minutes past. Aaron Hernandez is facing charges in yet another shooting. Prosecutors announcing Hernandez's indictment Monday for allegedly shooting his former right-hand man, Alexander Bradley, in 2013. Bradley, who survived, is expected to be a key witness in Hernandez's upcoming trial for a 2012 double homicide. The judge sentenced Hernandez to life in prison last month for the 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd.

The Barack Obama Foundation made it official this morning. Obama's presidential library and museum will be built in Chicago. The University of Chicago beating out Columbia University, the University of Illinois, and the University of Hawaii to host the presidential center.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, with U.S./Russian relations at a post- Cold War low, John Kerry makes a rare visit to Russia for a one-on-one meeting with Vladimir Putin. We'll talk about that next.

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COSTELLO: Secretary of State John Kerry and the Russian president Vladimir Putin will eventually meet face to face in Russia this morning. U.S. Russian relations, as you know, have deteriorated to a post-Cold War low but there's no shortage of critical issues on the table for the two world powers including Iran, Syria, ISIS and Ukraine.

CNN's Matthew Chance live in Moscow with more. Good morning, Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. That's right. This meeting with John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, and Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, was meant to have taken place, what, maybe two hours ago. Meant to have started two hours ago. It's not happened though. We understand now that John Kerry is on his way from the lunch meeting he's been having with Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, towards Vladimir Putin's residence in Sochi in southern Russia where these meetings and talks are taking place.

There's a whole lot between these two countries to discuss. You mentioned relations between Washington and Moscow at the worst level since the end of the Cold War mainly over the crisis in Ukraine. The U.S. accuses Russia of fueling the conflict, and actually taking part in the conflict, in eastern Ukraine. Of course, there have been sanctions imposed against Russia as well by the United States and its allies for its annexation of Crimea last year.

There's all sorts of grievances on the Russian side as well, not least the expansion of NATO, the deployment of national missile defense systems in Eastern Europe. So they've got all of these problems but they have to try and work out some kind of relationship, some working relationship, because they've got all of these other mutual interests, mutual areas that they need to cooperate over -- Iran, Syria, Yemen. So this is a perhaps first step toward trying to normalize the very frosty relations between these two countries.

COSTELLO: I was just going to ask you. You say it's a first step. But I don't know, is a meeting of the minds possible?

CHANCE: I don't think so, in fairness, and that's just my opinion, given that so much has been said by the Russian side about what they will and won't do over Ukraine. There's been so many sanctions put out there by the U.S. side as well. It's going to be very difficult for them to find common ground. Certainly, from a Russian point of view, I don't expect to see any compromises being offered by the Kremlin at this stage to John Kerry. They'll be listening to hear what Washington is prepared to do to meet Russia's demands as we go forward.

COSTELLO: All right. Matthew Chance reporting live from Moscow. Many thanks to you.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.

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