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Hundreds Of Fans Stranded At Houston Arena Last Night After Rockets' Playoff Game; Rocket Fired Out Of Gaza And Into Southern Israel; Federal Appeals Court Sides With State Of Texas In Fight Over Obama's Immigration Policy Tactics; Russia Using Mobile Crematoriums To Burn Bodies Of Its Own Soldiers. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired May 26, 2015 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00] NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, according to the mayor, he called this a transformative time. He was on hand as well as the department of justice civil right division and the U.S. attorney with their own district of Ohio. They say it will be a new way of policing based on trust and accountability. And specifically they say, it will include an independent monitor to make sure that these requirements of the agreement are made.

Civilian oversight of the internal affairs department, and a big highlight to all of this during the press conference was police training, especially when it comes to mental health. They say already 500 of the 1,300 officers here in the city of Cleveland have received the mental crisis, mental health crisis intervention training. Another 100 officers expected to receive that in the days ahead.

Another important note is by year's end, all police officers in the city of Cleveland will have body cameras. And according to the mayor, it will make it the largest metropolitan police force to have that. Peculiar enough for some is the timing of this agreement. If it had anything to do with the not guilty verdict of officer Michael Brelo found not guilty in the shooting deaths of Timothy Russell and Melissa Williams. The U.S. attorney for the northern district of Ohio was ask good that at the press conference.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN DETTELBACH, U.S. ATTORNEY NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO: Of course I know that we had stuff going on this last week in Cleveland which had us all on edge. And of course, we felt like we wanted to get a finished product out to the community as quickly as possible. But, you know, we are not going to rush it before the Brelo verdict came out which of course, you know, if you were trying to rush something and do, it you would try to do it before, right? And you know, it just wasn't ready to go. We worked as hard as we could to get everything right. And you know, I think the substance of the agreement stands for itself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: Now, other police departments have had these types of agreements with the department of justice. But beneath a group, with the civil rights division of the DOJ called it a uniquely Cleveland agreement saying that a federal judge will ultimately have to decide whether or not these requirement are met before this agreement comes to an end -- Brooke.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: OK. Nick, thank you very much, in Cleveland.

Next we continue to watch the developing news out of southern Israel where sirens sounded after a rocket was fired. We are going to take you live to Jerusalem for an update there.

Also, shelter from the storm. We'll talk to someone who was among the hundreds of basketball fans stranded at this Houston arena last night after the rockets' playoff game.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:36:57] BALDWIN: Getting an update on our breaking story here. Israeli police are right now combing parts of southern Israel looking for the impact site of this one rocket. We're being told the rocket was fired out of Gaza and in to southern Israel.

I have CNN's Oren Lieberman with me now in Jerusalem.

And Oren, tell me everything you know.

OREN LIEBERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For now, at the moment, it appears everything has returned to quiet or as quiet as things can get after a rocket attack. The IDF, the Israeli military, says about an hour ago, after 9:00 local time, a rocket was fired from Gaza into Israel. It landed near a town called (INAUDIBLE) which is just east of Ashtod (ph), about 10 to 15 miles north of Gaza. That's an area that's familiar with the threat of rocket attacks because of its proximity to Gaza. The IDF say there was no damage, no injuries from the rocket attack. But police are in the area with bomb disposal units and patrol units searching and looking for any more evidence, looking for any damage, any potential damage, trying to find out exactly where this came from, exactly who fired it.

As of right now, no one, not Hamas nor Islamic jihad or any of the other factions in Gaza have claimed responsibility for the attack. So that will be what we're looking for now. Who fired this, why did they fire it. And what will happen next -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: The air raid sirens went off, yes. Has that stopped since this was one rocket, you're saying no injuries, no casualties, no damage?

LIEBERMAN: That has stopped as of right now. And from what we're hearing, our affiliate channel 10 reporting that Israel has effectively told people in that area resume a normal life tomorrow. No need for extra precautions. And that's a signal that there doesn't seem to be a need or an expectation of further escalation. And that, of course, is always the concern here when you hear about a rocket fire. Well it escalate, will it lead to something more? At least as of right now, and I say as of right now because of how fast everything can change here, as of now it appears there won't be escalation.

BALDWIN: OK. Oren Lieberman, thank you.

And now, just in to us here at CNN, a federal appeals court siding with the state of Texas in this fight over President Obama's controversial actions on immigration. Let's go live to the White House to our correspondent there, Michelle Kosinski.

Michelle Kosinski, tell me more.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi Brooke. Yes, this is interesting. I mean, we know that the president enacted this executive action to expand some relief for people who are in the country illegally. For the parents of people who are actual American citizens. So it is a big expansion of his prior executive action on immigration. It will affect millions of people. But then the federal government was sued by the state of Texas and two dozen other states, and they actually won. This was a couple of months ago. They got an injunction. So preventing that federal executive action from taking place.

So in this latest ruling, what the government did was they appealed to a higher court. The fifth circuit court of appeals, and asked basically to put that injunction on hold. To stop it. So to allow the programs to progress while the actual challenge worked its way through the courts.

Well today, just now, that federal court of appeals said no. That the U.S. government failed to show that it would be harmed. That there would be irreparable harm as they claimed if these programs to affect immigrants did not go into effect.

So basically the thing is still tied up in court. But the government just lost its move to try to at least let it progress while the lawsuit continued, Brooke.

[15:40:23] BALDWIN: OK. Michelle Kosinski, thank you very much.

Next, we have to take you back to Texas here and all the stories coming out. The devastation, damage because of all the flooding, include something very sleepy Houston rockets fans who were stuck for hours and hours because of the rain and the flooding. Many of them spending the night in this arena. You'll actually hear from someone who was stranded there himself, radio show host, that's Next. Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:45:16] BALDWIN: As this massive and historic flooding has swamped Houston, you have rockets' fans, they rode out the storm inside the arena last night. They just celebrated the team's win over the Golden State Warriors in game four of the western conference finals. They were advised to stay inside because of the dangerous conditions outdoors, riding it out with them, Rocket center Dwight Howard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DWIGHT HOWARD, HOUSTON ROCKETS' CENTER: I can't go nowhere. I'm with the fans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All the other players, they left, they had a way to get out?

HOWARD: Well, I live far from here. So you know, they said that if I wait -- my house was flooded. I don't want to be on the highway stuck. I'd rather be here sitting on the floor and enjoying the scenery. So I' I'm happy about that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Well, here is another guy who was stuck heavily hours, Matt Thomas, host of "Sports Talk 790 Houston," also stranded inside that arena. Spent much of the night there. He is on the phone with me.

And Matt, I know you talk with Dwight. We will get in to that in a second. But you know, I don't know how many years you've been in radio, but I understand this one of your more surreal nights of your entire broadcast career.

MATT THOMAS, HOST, SPORTS TALK 790 HOUSTON (via phone): Yes, Brooke. I think I said the word "surreal" about 25 times. I do a Rockets close game comment show every game. And the rockets just had finished off an impressive game four victory to keep the series alive. And all of a sudden, basketball takes the back page. And people are calling me, saying I'm stuck on this freeway or how do I get home from this. We had, you know, thousands of people that were told inside the center not to leave until the coast was cleared because as the waning moments of the game are going, you could hear the crackle of thunder and lightning strikes all around downtown. So it was a night that we are supposed to celebrate a Rocket victory that wound up basically storm team coverage for me at Sports Talk, supposed to be live until 3:00 in the morning.

BALDWIN: Yes. I mean, here you are a sports host, all of a sudden, you know, you're talking weather. You know, past midnight on the radio. Can you, of all the stories you heard, of all the people who called in, what was -- what was the wildest?

THOMAS: Well, I just -- people were calling and saying, hey Matt, it's taken me 3.5 hours to leave the arena. Or hey, I'm stuck on this interstate. Or I'm here at this entryway . Is there anybody who can help me get around? I became like a traffic cop, so to speak, where people would call and say, I heard a previous caller, try this. And frankly, I enjoyed it. It went quickly for me as a talk show host because I meet people with a lot of people's power out, a lot of people in their cars unable to get to television, I was the only place they could go to kind of hear what was going on in the city.

So, it was very strange, Brooke. We were mixing in how great James Howard or Dwight Howard was, and then the next caller will be hey, I'm stuck on 288, how can I get home?

BALDWIN: So here you are, you know, moonlighting, as this like meteorologist/you know, just helping hand within the city, helping people get home, and telling them which roads were OK. You also talked to Dwight Howard, as well. I mean, did the entire team have to stick around? What was Dwight saying to you?

THOMAS: Well, he said, if you heard the sound bite, that he guess a lot of guys were able to get away at home. He lives in one of the suburb that is 45 minutes away. And here I am in the top level of the concourse doing my call-in show. And I see Dwight Howard on the floor at 5:01, I'm like, wait a minute. What's he doing? And then I had a co-worker give him a phone. I said, put him on the air. He said you and I talked three of four minutes, talked about the game, talk about him being here. And again, that was trying not to use the word "surreal" too often, but he couldn't go home and celebrate this. And then remember one thing, it was funny, that he told me was, imagine if the Rockets had lost the game. Not only --

BALDWIN: I thought the same thing. I wasn't going to say it.

THOMAS: People in the stadium and the game going as it did and the delays. So, thankful the rockets were able to win, and we can move to game five.

BALDWIN: Still in it. Matt Thomas, host of "Sports Talk 790" in Houston. Thank you very much. I really appreciate it, Matt.

THOMAS: You got it.

BALDWIN: The city of Omaha saying good-bye to a hero today. Officer Carrie Orozco was laid to rest less than a week, after she was killed during a shootout in line of duty. She is just one day away from taking her maternity leave. Her baby, Olivia Ruth, who has been born premature months earlier, was set to leave the hospital and be welcomed home. The police chief and her fellow officers paid tribute Orozco at her funeral.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHIEF TODD SCHNEIDER, OMAHA POLICE: For those who have never met a police officer, you now know one, Officer Carrie Orozco. And I cannot thing of a better representation of our profession than Officer Orozco. Two, if you have a hard time resonating with the police, think of Carrie because she resonates with everyone.

For her legacy, the next time you see an Omaha police officer, maybe they're eating dinner, maybe they're in rear view mirror. So after you check your speedometer, I want you to look back, I want you look pass the cruiser, but past this uniform with past the badge, and see Carrie. See a little bit of Carrie in that officer, because there's a little bit of Carrie in all of us. There are a lot of police officers that do a lot of good and give back to the community in so many ways.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sisters in Blue have prepared are prepared special way to show thanks for Carrie and to honor her as an excellent example amid female law enforcement officer. And so, I'm now inviting Carrie's sisters in blue to make their presentation.

(SISTERS IN BLUE PERFORMING)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:56:05] BALDWIN: Before we go we're hearing reports of something really disturbing happening right now in Ukraine, claims that Russia is using mobile crematoriums to burn the bodies of its own soldiers. Apparently this is a bid to cover up any trace that there was an actual war happening right now inside of Eastern Ukraine.

And this is exclusive reporting coming to us from Josh Rogan. He is a CNN political analyst and columnist for "Bloomberg View."

So Josh, what more are your sources telling you about this?

JOSH ROGAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well for months U.S. and NATO officials have claimed that Russia has thousands of troops inside Ukraine fighting, many of which are dying every day but there's no evidence and everybody wondered why. Well, two top U.S. lawmakers, house arms service chairman Mac Thornberry and former Marine Corps officer Democrats (INAUDIBLE) just went to Ukraine. What they came back and told me was according to Ukrainian and U.S. officials, Russia has imported the mobile crematoriums into Ukraine and its using them to destroy the evidence of their fallen soldiers. This is how Putin keeps up the fiction that Russia is not involved in Ukraine and hides the truth cause them in intervention to the international community and his own people.

BALDWIN: So hold on a second. When you say mobile crematoriums, we're talking about crematoriums on wheels that they take around to different locations within Ukraine to burn their own soldiers?

ROGAN: That's exactly right. It's as shocking as it sounds. These are devices mounted on trucks that were intended, built to deal with animals. And what Russia has done is they've moved them on to the battlefield and this is one of the many ways that they hide these casualties.

Now, there are teams of Russian activist and Ukrainian bloggers who have been documenting the fact that Russian soldiers are there, getting their information, telling the stories on the internets of their deaths. Yet the bodies never show up and the families are left wondering what happened to their fallen family members. And this is sort of explains that. It also just shows how the Russian government, the Russian arm services treats its own soldiers and the lengths to which they will go to avoid the blowback domestically.

BALDWIN: hat to me is been the bigger picture, right? You used the word fiction a second ago. I mean, big picture Josh Rogan. What does this tell you about the lengths that Putin will go to hide any involvement in Ukraine?

ROGAN: Exactly. For Vladimir Putin, the most important thing is domestic support and his standing domestically. He's very popular there. The Ukraine interventions is popular there. If that change, if the U.S. was able to expose and counter his lies about Russia's involvement, in which has been well-documented on the battlefield, maybe that support would erode and maybe Putin would have to change his policy. Until that, as long as he's able to maintain his domestic support, he really has no motive to stop his mischief and the instability and prices and the tragedy in Ukraine will go on.

BALDWIN: I mean, I suppose as you're getting this from your sources and you think about this as these are bodies, right, so these are people, these soldiers who have died who have been killed and he then is taking this extra step apparently in burning them. Would this call for any kind of international intervention or not necessarily?

ROGAN: Well, there are many people --

BALDWIN: Thirty seconds.

ROGAN: There are many people including lawmakers in both parties, secretary of state John Kerry who want to counter this and they want to give the Ukrainians arms. And they want to do this so that this would increase the cost for Putin and who have no longer be able to had all of the casualties.

President Obama, he said he is considering that. He hasn't made a decision. There's no decision coming lately. So, so far, it seems that for right now, Putin will be able to continue this practice.

BALDWIN: Josh Rogan, thank you so much. Pretty bothersome reporting there that you're getting, obviously, in Ukraine. I really appreciate it.

And that does it for me. I'm Brooke Baldwin here in New York. I will see you back here same time tomorrow. In the meantime, let's go to Washington. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.