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Ramadi Under ISIS; Marines Bodies Found in Nepal Crash; American Forces Investigating Wife of ISIS's Top Money Man; Amtrak Aiming to Reopen Northeast Corridor by Monday. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired May 17, 2015 - 16:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[16:00:00] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, the impact of a U.S. special ops raid into Syria that killed a top money man of ISIS.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: This is the one that create the revenue so that they can conduct these operations.

WHITFIELD: How big a blow is this to ISIS?

And Amtrak still not running five days after that deadly derailment, engineers spending the weekend installing new speed controls as investigators try to figure out whether the train was hit by an unknown object.

Plus -- (thunder)

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Close enough.

WHITFIELD: More than two dozen twisters hit the heartland.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not looking too good out here right now.

WHITFIELD: And more severe weather could hit today.

Plus, good-bye to a late-night icon.

DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST "THE LATE NIGHT SHOW": No. No. No. No. No.

GEORGE CLOONEY, ACTOR: You're not going anywhere, David Letterman.

LETTERMAN: What are you going to do?

WHITFIELD: NEWSROOM starts now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Hello again, everyone and thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news. WHITFIELD: This breaking news out of Iraq. A major development in

the war against ISIS. Another Iraqi city has fallen now to ISIS, the city of Ramadi. The mayor and a high-ranking security official say the last Iraqi security forces have pulled out from a key military base on the west side of that city.

When asked about ISIS being in control of the city, a spokesman for the governor of Anbar says, "Basically, yes, but it's a big city. There are still pockets of resistance." Ramadi's mayor says ISIS militants had arrived by the hundreds. This morning they began detonating a series of car bombs, forcing the Iraqi fighters to retreat. The Iraqi federal police and Iraq's prime minister both vowed to send in reinforcements now.

Joining me now is the former Navy S.E.A.L., Jonathan Gilliam back with us. Gilliam is also a former FBI special agent, former air marshal and former police officer and joining us from New York. And joining him via Skype from Orlando, Florida, is CNN military analyst, Lieutenant General Mark Hertling. Hertling is also a retired army, former commanding general for Europe and the Seventh Army. Good to see both of you. So general, in your view, how serious is this?

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I'm going to give a different narrative, Fredericka. Because I know how some of these reportings come in from some of the provincial officials and city mayors, especially in Anbar province.

There is going to be a continued fight for Ramadi. It is going to happen this week and it is going to be tough conditions but what we have seen in the past, we have heard several times already, Ramadi has fallen, Ramadi has fallen and suddenly, it is not in the news anymore.

What you are seeing is ISIS attempting to control the city. They have done some things with suicide bombs and my sources tell me that there have been over 15 in the last two days, car bombs, driven into the city to blast through walls and to take control of the city. They have gone in en masse.

I don't know if 100 is the right number. But they have taken over buildings, raised the flag, gotten the photo op and then dispersed to the other areas of the town where it is harder to be hit by coalition air force. So you are going to see, I think, this week a continued fight for Ramadi. There is a lot of flailing around by the government officials saying it is fallen.

I think you've got the prime minister of Iraq sending reinforcements to the city that may contribute to this very difficult fight, but it's not fallen yet. It is just in the middle of a fight, just like Kobani (ph) was a few months ago.

WHITFIELD: So Jonathan, help us picture what is happening here. The general mentioned the black flag goes up, as we have seen in other instances, where ISIS reportedly takes control. Does it mean that they commandeer the stores , the banks? What does it mean for the people living there, some 8,000 people in Ramadi have already been displaced over a period of time. But what is their life like when ISIS claims to take control of a city? What do you envision?

JONATHAN GILLIAM, FORMER NAVY SEAL: Well, I fell you, as the general was saying, I think there was an incredible analysis of their tactics of going forward and then coming back. Every time they move forward and they do this type of a mission, they really do demoralize the total mindset of the community in which they are going to.

And I think if they are doing anything right, they are going forward, they are causing that disruption, they go backwards into safe hiding and then they come back and eventually, they are going to wear down, unless we have reinforcements for those locals, they are going to just demoralize them eventually.

[16:05:00]

They don't have an -- a massive fighting force, at least ISIS doesn't. So, I think that may actually be a tactic, plus, you know, when they go and they show that they have moved forward, it's a mind game. They're going back and forth and they're using the forces that they can. I agree with the general, that you'll probably going to see them go towards and backwards and then this thing will completely playout eventually.

WHITFIELD: And then, general, the prime minister of Iraq says he is deploying Shia militia to the city and the same time, Ramadi is in a location that is strategic, particularly for ISIS. There are roads that link it, you know, to Jordan and to Syria. So what does this mean in terms of why ISIS would want to target Ramadi?

HERTLING: Yes, that's the very interesting point, Fredericka, and I will elaborate on that by saying that he is deploying. The prime minister has said on our (INAUDIBLE), statewide TV that he is going to start moving forward some of the militia fighters and that translates into some of the Shia fighters. That is incredibly important in a Sunni-dominated area, but they have asked for them.

He has also pushed forward about three battalions, additional battalions of Iraqi security forces to reinforce the joint operations center in Anbar province. That's important, that he is repositioning forces from Baiji, from the Houija fight, from other fights into Ramadi to save this city.

But I will go one better with what Jonathan said a minute ago. One of the things you have to watch out for when ISIS goes into the city, they not only take over, get the photo op, do the propaganda so all of the media throughout the world is proclaiming another victory, but what they do before they pull out and go into the suburbs, is they plant IEDs in some of these places, so it makes much more difficult for the Iraqi security forces to go in and clear.

So you might go into the government building and find three or four IEDs in the building to bobby trap and drop the ceilings of it. That's what makes this fight so incredibly difficult. It is not just its one-on-one fighting with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, it is also the bombs that are left behind in buildings there. WHITFIELD: All right. We are going to leave it right there. Thank

you so much, Lieutenant Colonel Mark Hertling and Jonathan Gilliam. Appreciate it.

GILLIAM: You got it, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Amtrak is now scrambling to reopen its busy northeast corridor in time for the beginning of this busy workweek. The railroad was ordered to make some safety changes before it can put trains back on track following last week's deadly crash in Philadelphia. The focus on the investigation now also includes whether the train was hit by a projectile before it derailed.

Erin McLaughlin joins us now from Philadelphia. So the FBI is now involved in this investigation. To what degree are they making any discoveries?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredericka. Well, tomorrow, we expect FBI forensic investigators take a look at the train's windshield to assess whether or not it was, in fact, hit by some sort of projectile. Meanwhile, we have spoken to a Philadelphia native who showed us just how easy it was for someone to access the tracks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCLAUGHLIN (voice-over): The mystery of Amtrak 188 continues. At the center of the investigation, a fist-sized marking on the windshield and the possibility that shortly before it derailed, the train was hit by an unknown object. Last week, the assistant conductor of the doomed Amtrak train told investigators that she overheard engineer Brandon Bostian say into a radio transmission that their train had been struck by something.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: At this point, we really want to chase this lead down.

MCLAUGHLIN: Transportation officials are also investigating reports that minutes before the crash, other trains in the area were also hit by projectiles. The windshield of a Septa commuter train was shattered, as was the passenger window of an Amtrak Acela train.

DESAI, ACELA TRAIN PASSENGER: Ye, I think all of us were a little bit, definitely alarmed, and we've never heard that loud of a sound on the train, we take the train pretty often between D.C. and New York, so it was definitely frightening.

MCLAUGHLIN: Philadelphia native Howard Brown says these reports do not surprise him. He says the police rarely patrol this area and kids get into trouble on the tracks all the time.

HOWARD BROWN, PHILADELPHIA RESIDENT: The junkies will go up here hoping they find, like, debris or refuse that they can sell in the scrap yard. The kids, they go up here because they think this is fun.

MCLAUGHLIN (on camera): So the kids out on the track that night, throwing things at trains, not unusual at all? BROWN: No. No. No. Not unheard of. Not unusual. Not that it's accepted, but it's actually believable that something of that nature could have happened.

MCLAUGHLIN (voice-over): Steps away from the crash site, Brown shows us how easy it is to access the tracks.

BROWN: This is just how easy this is.

MCLAUGHLIN: A police car stops him but --

BROWN: My point being -- my point being they are not here if that accident didn't happen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[16:10:00]

MCLAUGHLIN: We have reached out to authorities for comment on police on the track and we have already seen new fencing go up in this area. Meanwhile, the NTSB says it has listened to all radio transmissions from trains in the area that night. So far, they say they have heard nothing from Bostian to suggest that a projectile hit Amtrak 188. Fredericka?

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Erin McLaughlin, appreciate that from Philadelphia.

Well, let's take a closer look now at the investigation and what's next. Joining me is Mary Schiavo. She is a CNN transportation analyst and former inspector general of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Richard Beale has more than 30 years of railroad operating experience and he also is a former train accident investigator in the insurance industry. Good to see both of you.

All right. So, Amtrak has been told to beef up some of its safety requirements, including speed limits on northbound trains through that area. So Mary, to you first, explain what is being required and how would that happen now?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN TRANSPORTATION ANALYST: Well, in many ways, what's being required is what has been required by legislation all along, and Amtrak has been working on getting in place this system called positive train control. And they have committed to have it in place by the end of the year and they have it on many places on this corridor, on this train corridor. They just didn't have it in place here, not excusing it, but Amtrak, of course, says well the deadline isn't upon us yet to put that in.

They have committed to put that in as soon as possible. And that would have automatically slowed the train, I think would have prevented that accident. What that does is it uses GPS and other computer technology to sense what traffic's on the track, what the train's speed is, vis-a-vis the other traffic on the track, and give the train instructions to slow down basically. WHITFIELD: And so, Richard, it seems to be a lot going on here, if

they are to improve safety now, put some of these things in place, the investigation still continues. There's a lot of forensic material that still has to be pored over, in addition, there's a lot of pressure to get the train back on the tracks partially, we will see that tomorrow and supposedly, Amtrak will be full bore on the northeast corridor maybe as soon as Tuesday. So can you have all of this simultaneously and still have a solid investigation and outcome?

RICHARD BEALL, RAILROAD OPERATION AND SAFETY CONSULTANT: Yes, because they have already retrieved all the important information and they are going over it in Washington and probably as we speak. They probably have a pretty good idea what took place, except for the incidentals.

WHITFIELD: OK. And if we know that the engineer still cannot remember certain events that took place right prior to this crash, do you see, Mary, that there's going to be a re-enactment, a -- almost like a rebuilding of even the train and perhaps even the track similar to like you see in plane investigations, where they piece together the plane in order to get more answers? Would that happen here?

SCHIAVO: Well I think what they will probably use is computer modeling, both in aircraft investigations, trains, bridge, you know, failures, multiple fatality traffic accidents, they use computer modelling to reconstruct and I think they will probably do that here.

The unfortunate thing is the only the persons in the cab of that train will know what hit it -- not exactly what, but when something hit that train, if they knew that something hit it and what happened, because clearly, someone -- someone or some thing, rather, distracted the engineer and the only person right now that can tell that, because the NTSB has already told us it's not on the black box case. They don't have that information from the black boxes.

But you know, I have worked many, many accidents where over time, sometimes, the memory, particularly in one of these traumatic events, the memory does come back or they will start to remember certain things. And hopefully, the engineer will recover some of that memory, because he has the most crucial part at this point.

WHITFIELD: Richard, when you think about, you know, the locomotive and the space in which that engineer was, do you see it as a real possibility that perhaps if this projectile hit that windshield it may have knocked the engineer off his feet, he may have hit something, perhaps even the throttle that would make this train go at an excessive speed and if that were the case what do they look for to find out who was at the control at the home of the train increasing its speed or what was in control?

BEALL: I think it's a very real -- I think it's a very real possibility, but don't forget, I believe the throttle was absolutely, you know, wide open, probably even in run eight, trying to climb to track speed, trying to get up to 80 miles an hour and it may be a perfect storm here where he was just about to throttle back and get that speed up where it belonged when the incident took place. Now, if something was thrown and hit his windshield, he doesn't know what it is. He doesn't know if he is being shot out. It's quite loud when it happens. I have had it happen numerous times and what --

[16:15:00]

Your first instinct is to flail or flinch or sometimes even dive out of the way and with all the controls wrapped around you very close, it's very plausible he could have hit his head, you know, sustained some sort of a -- just a low-scale injury, kind of knocking senseless for a minute or two. And that's just enough where the alerters and all on the engine wouldn't pick up in time and he has to get himself back up and would explain why he finally put it into emergency, trying to reorient himself in the chaos.

WHITFIELD: All right. Richard Beall, Mary Schiavo, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

SCHIAVO: Thank you.

BEALL: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We now know the names of the six marines who were killed when their helicopter went down in the mountains of Nepal that crashed during an earthquake relief mission Tuesday. Their bodies recovered this morning near the crash site. Captin Dustin Lukasiewicz, a pilot, was based at Camp Pendleton, California and a native of Nebraska.

Capt. Christopher Norgren, also a pilot, was from Camp Pendelton and grew up in Kansas. Sergeant Ward Johnson was a helicopter crew chief out of Camp Pendleton, he was from Florida and Sergeant Eric Seaman, a crew chief from Camp Pendleton, was a native of California. Corporal Sara Medina was a combat photographer with Marine Corps installations from Okinawa, Japan. She was from Illinois and Lance Corporal Jacob Hug, also a combat videographer based out in Okinawa, he was a native of Arizona.

As the families prepare to receive their loved ones remains, our Nick Valencia has spoken with the family of one of the pilots, Captain Chris Norgren in his hometown of Wichita, Kansas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RONALD NORGREN, FATHER OF CHRIS NORGREN: When he stayed here and lived here, this was his room.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a small bedroom in Wichita, Kansas, a big tribute.

[16:20:00]

RONALD NORGREN: Up above, you're going to see, that's all Bishop Carroll High School football stuff.

VALENCIA: He's a star athlete.

RONALD NORGREN: An interesting thing, you will notice that there's a bottle of rum up there.

VALENCIA: What's that about?

RONALD NORGREN: Well, he -- he was a good kid and everything, but he also was a kid.

TERRI NORGREN, MOTHER OF CHRIS NORGREN: He loved life.

He loved life. Live it had to the fullest.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Ronald and Terry Norgren are the parents of 31-year-old Captain Chris Norgren. He was one of the six marines killed when a helicopter they were in crashed during humanitarian mission in Nepal.

RONALD NORGREN: He was good at whatever he decided to go do, he was good at.

VALENCIA: An Afghanistan war veteran, Norgren led a team of marine reservist into combat.

RONALD NORGREN: I mean look at all the people he touched, every one of those were impressed by the kid. I'm proud, yes, I'm his father, all that but people need to know that he made a difference and they can make a difference, too.

VALENCIA: At 6'4", Norgren looked like a tough guy, his heart was as big as his frame. So when he was asked to go to Nepal to help with the recovery, he found his calling.

RONALD NORGREN: Be part of something that's bigger than you, after you do that, that will help you get up every day and motivate you and get you going and you need to make that something better and I actually believe that and I know he lived by that and that's the reason why he joined the Marine Corps. This kid, at 31 years of age, lived his life a lot fuller than I have in mine and I'm 60.

VALENCIA: For his parents, his legacy is one to be proud of but letting go is never easy, especially for mom.

TERRI NORGREN: When he was deployed, I had two bands, a green one and a yellow one and the last one was USMC forever. And the day that helicopter went down, I haven't been able to find it. It disappeared off my wrist. And I'm praying to god that I can still find it I'm not going to give up looking for the band.

Because it's here where Chris is and Chris is with me. Always. He is always with me. Every day of my life. I love you, Chris. Thank you for being my son. I'm so blessed.

VALENCIA: Nick Valencia, CNN, Wichita, Kansas. (END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:26:26]

WHITFIELD: A verdict in the case against a Cleveland police officer could come some time this week. The officer is on trial for voluntary manslaughter after shooting and killing two unarmed people after this police chase. Prosecutors say the 31-year-old officer, Michael Brielow, fired 15 shots at a man and woman inside the car.

CNN's Martin Savidge has more on the case from Cleveland.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): November 2012, when a couple in a car speeds away from an undercover cop, their engine backfires. It triggers a police radio report of shots fired and the chase is on. Investigators say the pursuit involves as many as 62 police cars, speeds of 100 miles per hour, through the streets of Cleveland. It ends in a hail of gunfire, killing two unarmed people.

An investigation reveals a stunning 137 shots fired by 13 police officers. But only one, Michael Brielow, was on trial, charged with two counts of voluntary manslaughter.

RICK BELL, PROSECUTOR: He is shooting repeatedly. He is shooting excessively and he is shooting to kill.

SAVIDGE: Prosecutors say the 31-year-old former Marine did what other cops didn't, he reloaded and when the car police were chasing finally came to a halt, Brie low is said to have jumped on its hood and fired 15 shots directly through the windshield. The prosecution believes those are the shots that killed 43-year-old Timothy Russell and 30- year-old Melissa Williams.

Brilo told investigators he thought he and his partner were in danger, believing the couple in the car were shooting, saying "I've never been so afraid in my life. I thought my partner and I would be shot and that we were going to be killed." Brilo went on, "at which point, I drew my weapon and I shot through the windshield at the suspects."

Recorded police radio traffic that night gives conflicting accounts. At one point, warning police about weapons.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Use caution. Occupants are armed.

SAVIDGE: While other officers on the radio report seeing no weapon.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Does not have a gun in his hands.

SAVIDGE: Neither victim in the car had a gun, but defense attorneys say Officer Brilo had no way of knowing that at the time, telling the court, "he wasn't trying to be Rambo, he was just trying to survive." (on camera): The case is now in the hands of not a jury, but a judge, who will render a verdict. If found guilty, Brilo could face anywhere from three to 11 years in prison for each of the two counts against him and it is not the only police chase case. There are five other officers who have been charged with dereliction of duty. They are all expected to be tried together later this summer.

Martin Savidge, CNN, Cleveland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And still ahead, Washington weighs in on the Delta Force raid in Syria.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFED MALE: The risk go up the more you conduct these kind of operations?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: We will talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:33:05]

WHITFIELD: Hello again everyone and thanks so much for joining me, I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Right now, American forces are interrogating the wife of Abu Sayyaf, he is ISIS' top money man killed by U.S. special ops in a violent raid in Syria. Delta forces retrieved laptops, cell phones and other vital materials which U.S. officials tell CNN is providing them with reams of data as to how ISIS operates, communicates and earns its money, and this afternoon, we are getting new details from the military on how it all went down.

Here now is CNN's Victor Blackwell.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ground operation was led by the army's Delta Force who entered the target area on Black Hawk helicopters and a v-22 tilt rotor osprey. After landing about two dozen commandos scrambled off the aircraft which then took off but hovered overhead. During a firefight, ISIS fighters defended the multistory building from inside and outside positions. But Special Forces were able to get close to the building and blow a hole in its side. They went in, encountered ISIS fighters and there were more gunshots and reports of hand-to-hand combat. The ISIS combatants apparently tried to use human shields but U.S. troops managed to kill the fighters without hurting the women and children. ISIS commander Abu Sayyaf was killed in the raid but Delta Force was able to capture and leave with his wife, Um Sayyaf, an unidentified Yazeaddy woman who they rescued along with collected communications gear. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right thanks to CNN's Victor Blackwell there.

In Washington, most lawmakers are praising the mission authorized which was authorized by President Obama but some are asking if it was worth the risk. That may be because we still don't know a lot about this so-called ISIS money man who officials say was the target. We don't even know his real name, Abu Sayyaf merely translates to "Father of the Swordsman," an assumed name.

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty joins me with more on this. Lawmakers, some of them are kind of using their words very carefully. How are they couching their concerns about the risk versus the reward of the mission?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fred, some on Capitol Hill are splashing a little bit of cold water on the significance of this mission especially when it comes to weighing the risks, the fact that the United States put U.S. forces on the ground in the heart of ISIS territory and weighing that against the reward of this mission, potentially any intelligence that is learned from those materials captured on the ground and how big of a fish this Abu Sayyaf actually is within the ISIS community. Here is what the top democrat in the house intelligence committee said on "State Of The Union" earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D), CALIFORNIA: And of course, the materials, both electronic and otherwise that have been seized could present a great value. I think when things go well, you don't often tend to question them as much, and I think before we see or embark on a lot more of these kinds of operations we have to weigh the risk of escalation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: He has a lot of questions about this mission for the administration and this week, the White House will be briefing Congress on the details of the mission. Fred?

WHITFIELD: And then, one has to wonder whether this mission indicates any kind of shifting approach in the plan to fight Isis.

SERFATY: Well that's right. We have heard from military officials after this mission was announced, just how dangerous it was, how risky it was for President Obama to sign off in the mission. Certainly the details that we're hearing from the ground of what went down in that overnight raid, the hand-to-hand combat, the bullet-ridden helicopter, putting those U.S. forces in that sort of risk is something that some have complimented the administration about.

Here's what the Chairman of the house intelligence committee said earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. DEVIN NUNES (R), CALIFORNIA: Many of us have been advocating this strategy a long time, we're using this tactic. Just a better way to gather to gather intelligence versus just air strikes, so it takes guts for the administration and our military to put an action like this together. It was successful, we are happy that they got back and got back safely. Now, over the coming weeks, we'll know what they were actually able to gather there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And the idea of many more missions like this one, like how risky this one is pretty unlikely, Fred, I should say the coalition air strikes will continue. Fred?

WHITFIELD: Sunlen Serfaty, thank you so much from the White House. We will have much more from the NEWSROOM after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: There is a new list of America's wheeziest, sneeziest cities and it takes into account not just pollen, but also ozone, because both of those things make it difficult for people to breathe. Coming in at five, Chattanooga, Tennessee, then Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, then Memphis and the number one sneeziest, wheeziest city in the United States is Richmond, Virginia, but there's sneezing and wheezing going on at more places than just those five cities. Take a look at this map. So, what you see in green means that there are high levels of rag weed pollen. What you see in red means high levels of ozone. And brown means relatively high levels of both rag weed and ozone, there are medicines to take when you are wheezing and sneezing and there are also some tips that we can give you, you can put your air condition on re-circulate, that can help keep the air clean and also keep your windows clothes, change clothes after being outdoors, also wash your hair, your hair can become a collector of pollen and do strenuous outdoor activities in the morning when ozone levels generally tend to be lower. The national resource defense council says there is pretty good chance that you live in one of the sneeziest, wheeziest areas. One in three Americans they say, live in areas with high pollen count and high ozone.

[16:41:05]

WHITFIELD: Amtrak says it is trying to reopen the busy northeast corridor in time for the beginning of the busy workweek. The railroad has ordered -- was rather ordered to make some safety changes before it can put the trains back on track following last week's crash in Philadelphia. That crash took the lives of eight people and injured more than 200 others.

CNN national correspondent, Jason Carroll, joins me now. Jason, you spoke exclusively with the widow of one of the victims. Tell me more about that conversation.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was an incredibly difficult conversation to have, a very emotional one with Jim Gaines' wife, Jacqueline. I interviewed her earlier today. You can see a picture of Jim there with his daughter, Anushka. Jim, as you said, was one of those who lost his life in the Amtrak derailment, he was a husband, a father of two children, Oliver, 16, Anushka, who is just 11. He worked at the associated press as a video software architect, he was on his way back from Washington, D.C. on that Amtrak train when it derailed. His family was hoping he would be one of those who survive but that would not end up being the case. His wife, Jacqueline, spoke to me a little earlier today about how she will remember her husband.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACQUELINE GAINES, WIDOW OF AMTRAK CRASH VICTIM: He was my spiritual support. He was my -- he is definitely my soul mate. I know he's still here and you know, I keep asking him to guide me and -- sorry. But I -- I sit and talk with him all the time and I can hear him guide me and. I don't know. I don't know how I'm gonna deal with it, I don't know. I feel his presence and not so much within me but I see it in others, I just feel completely blessed and I thank god that he gave me time with him. Because he taught me, and I think he will still teach me. So, he left a good imprint on the world and that's a good thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: He left a major imprint, not just on Jacqueline, but on his two children. And the community that he loved so much and loved him loved him right back. There's been a lot of speculation about what caused this terrible crash, the family is not concerned about that right now, Jacqueline tells me that her major concern is rightfully so, on her children. His co-workers have put together a scholarship, Fredericka for him to try to financially help his children, all of his co-workers from the associated press and right now, they are just focused on putting together a memorial for him. Fredericka?

WHITFIELD: All right, our hearts break for her. All right, thank you so much, Jason Carroll.

An advocate for democracy who is being held in a Venezuelan prison manages to get a letter out to the "Washington Post." How did he do that and what's next?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: An advocate for democracy, he was being held in a Venezuelan prison, manages to get a letter out to the "Washington Post" and in it he begs for the world to help his struggling country. A former mayor, Leopoldo Lopez writes in the "Post" that Venezuela is a failed state and says "Under the Heavy Hand of President Nicholas Maduro, our country is in a profound economic, social and political crisis."

Joining me right now is CNN Espanol's Juan Carlos Lopez. Juan Carlos, this is incredible that this letter made it out of the country and to the "Washington Post." How in the world did that happen?

[16:46:05]

JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, CNN ESPANOL ANCHOR: I'm pretty sure his wife had something to do with it, Fredericka. (Inaudible) was in Washington this week because Leopoldo Lopez and the mayor of Caracas and another Venezuelan activist were awarded the National Dama for Democracy award. (Inaudible) came and received it on his behalf, she has been his voice out of this military prison in Venezuela and is very likely that she brought that letter to the "Washington Post." Leopoldo Lopez very direct about what he wants, about what he's asking for, he one of about 70 political prisoners at the United Nations asked for their release and he is also denying what the government on Nicholas Maduro claims that Leopoldo Lopez and others in the opposition are right-wing -- behind a right-wing conspiracy against his country and working for foreign powers. He says, no they want a peaceful transition but they do want a transition in their country, Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: Juan Carlos, is there a feeling there will be change as a result of this letter or maybe even repercussions?

LOPEZ: There was -- it's interesting that just days ago, a top U.S. Diplomat, Tom Shannon, a counselor to the state department, travelled to Caracas, he met the second time the last couple of months with the president of Venezuela Nicholas Maduro with their foreign minister, there's still no word on the results on the visit but U.S. Diplomats characterize them as positive and constructive. That is pretty significant. Does it mean that something is going to change, there will be movement or not, we don't know? It is interesting. Now, most analysts say that the situation in Venezuela not only politically but economically is so difficult so hard, that something eventually will end up happening. Leopoldo Lopez in his letter, for example, highlights there are elections scheduled this year for the national assembly. Their congressional elections they still don't have a date for those elections and the country has a myriad of problems.

WHITFIELD: Fascinating story, Juan Carlos Lopez, thank you so much.

LOPEZ: My pleasure, Fredericka.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

WHITFIELD: All right, this breaking news now, five days after that derailment of Amtrak, now Amtrak is saying it will indeed restore service between Philadelphia and New York City Monday morning. So now tomorrow it'd be six days after that derailment leading to the deaths of eight people. But again, service restored between Philadelphia and New York City, according to Amtrak tomorrow, northeast corridor. We will have much more news right after this.

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[16:53:50]

WHITFIELD: Now a check of our top stories, a controversy involving Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez. The California Democrat is facing criticism after mimicking a racial stereotype of Native Americans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to his office thinking that I'm going to go meet with (Inaudible) right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Congresswoman Sanchez made the offensive gesture to differentiate Native Americans from Indian Americans and later, she was seen running away from a reporter who was asking her about it. The man who filmed Sanchez says many saw her gesture as insensitive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UDUAK-JOE NTUK, RECORDED CONGRESSWOMAN'S COMMENTS: I was shocked and appalled that she would make the disparaging comments about Native Americans that way, it's just very undemocratic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Sanchez entered the Senate race just two days ago.

Police in Washington, D.C. are looking for this man in connection with a house fire that killed four people near Vice President Joe Biden's home. The deaths have been declared homicides and police have released surveillance video of a person of interest who they suspect may have stolen a car belonging to two of the victims, a married couple, owning that house. The other two victims are believed to be their 10-year-old son and a house keeper.

And historic move by Pope Francis, the pontiff canonized two Palestinian catholic nuns during a ceremony in St. Peter's square today, the two nuns are being recognized for their work with the poor and reportedly the first Arabic-speaking catholic saints. This canonization comes just days after the Vatican formally recognized Palestinian statehood and the day after Pope Francis met with Palestinian leader, Mahmud Abbas.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield, thanks for being with me today, much more in the NEWSROOM straight ahead with Poppy Harlow.