Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley Announces Presidential Candidacy; Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert Indicted for Lying to FBI; American College Student in Saudi Arabia Praised as Hero for Stopping Suicide Bomber; Man Reunited with Biological Mother after 41 Years. Aired 2-3P ET

Aired May 30, 2015 - 14:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:15] RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. Thanks for joining me. I'm Randi Kaye in for Fredricka Whitfield.

Diplomatic sources telling CNN that U.S. and Qatari officials are having one final meeting today about what to do with the men known as the Taliban Five. They are the five terrorists, former detainees at Guantanamo Bay, who were exchanged from the freedom of former American POW Bowe Bergdahl. After their release they were sent to Qatar and banned from traveling for one year, but that ban ends on Monday. The source says Qatar is willing to extend the agreement under the same terms but the U.S. apparently wants more restrictions on their movements. CNN Global Affairs Correspondent Elise Labott has a look now at what could be done.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Under the agreement, the five Taliban detainees have been monitored by the Qatari government one year and banned from traveling outside the country. Now the State Department is leading separate negotiations with both the governments of Qatar and Afghanistan about what happens next.

U.S. official say there are a few options in play. The U.S. prefers they stay in Qatar where they will be monitored. The five have been brought their families there and now total about 70 among them. The others options could see the five returning to Afghanistan, either being released or monitored by the Afghan government.

Now, the Qataris say they will not expand the restrictions on the five nor will they send them home to Afghanistan if they don't want to leave Qatar. So none of these are great options. These are five pretty high-ranking Taliban officials. At least one has tried to communicate with Taliban back home since arriving in Qatar, raising questions about whether the lives of Afghans, Americans, and U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan would be at risk. Republican lawmakers were upset with the deal in the first place. Now they're calling on the Obama administration to make sure that the five are not set free.

Elise Labott, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Let's talk me about Bowe Bergdahl, who was exchanged for the Taliban five. He faces a military hearing July 8th in Texas. He's been charged with one count of desertion with intent to avoid important or hazardous duty, and one count of endangering the safety of a command or a unit. This follows an extensive army investigation. He's now assigned to a desk job. Bergdahl disappeared from his unit in Afghanistan back on June 30th, 2009. He spent nearly five years in captivity before he was freed in that trade deal.

Now, in Saudi Arabia, a young man back in his homeland to be married. Instead he is now being mourned. Twenty-two-year-old Wichita State student Abdul Jalil al-Arbash gave up his life to save hundreds of others when he stopped a suicide bomber from entering a mosque filled with worshippers. He and three others were killed outside that mosque when the bomber detonated. ISIS has claimed responsibility for this attack. CNN's Nick Valencia is covering this for us. Nick, what is the latest now?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: According to his family, it's a remarkable story of heroism. They say hundreds more could have died if not for this young 22 year-old.

We are hearing from the Saudi Arabian government, their minister of interior releasing a short statement to the media a little while ago, saying, quote, Security men suspected a car when it was headed to the car parking adjacent to the mosque. When the security men approached the car it exploded, killing four people, where one of them is believed to be the driver and spreading fire to a number of reports."

According to reports a suicide bomber showed up dressed up as a female which raised suspicions because women were told to stay home from Friday prayers. There was a heightened security risk because another Shia mosque in the region had also been targeted. This is actually the second attack ISIS has claimed responsibility for on a Shia mosque. Twenty-two-year-old Abdul Jalil al-Arbash was the victim -- one of the victims in this attack. The suicide killed himself as well as three others. That young 22-year-old a student at Wichita State University.

KAYE: And what are people saying about him? What do we know about him?

VALENCIA: He was always smiling, good character, good student, an engineering student at Wichita State University. As a matter of fact their local university has released statement addressing the incident on Friday saying "The Wichita State University community is saddened by the tragic death of one of our students. Our condolences go out to the Abdul Jalil's family, friend, and colleagues in this time of loss."

You know, Randi, he was in Saudi Arabia expected to get married. That's what he was doing there. His family grieving not only over that, but this young man had a fright future, a bride to be, and that cut short.

KAYE: It thank you was. So sad. Nick Valencia, thank you, appreciate it.

U.S. Central Command wants Americans to look at the big picture when it comes to the fight against ISIS. Military.com reporting that the agency continues to give an upbeat assessment in Iraq despite the fall of Ramadi and several suicide attacks this past week in Baghdad. A CENTCOM spokesman says ISIS at large appears to be on the defensive and losing territory. The spokesman cited successful air drops to Iraqi units fighting ISIS in the very contested oil refinery city of Baiji. He also noted Iraqi Security Forces are mobilizing to retake Ramadi.

[14:05:13] Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders now have more competition for the Democratic presidential nomination. Martin O'Malley, the former Maryland governor and one-time Baltimore mayor made it official this morning that he is running for president. O'Malley took on Clinton and Wall Street in his announcement in Baltimore.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTIN O'MALLEY, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Recently, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, let his employees know that he'd be just fine with either Bush or Clinton. I bet he would.

(LAUGHTER)

O'MALLEY: Well, I've got news for the bullies of Wall Street. The presidency is not a crown to be passed back and forth by you between two royal families. It is a sacred trust to be earned from the American people and exercised on behalf of these people of these United States.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Hillary Clinton tweeted her response to O'Malley joining the field. She writes "Welcome to the race, Governor O'Malley. Looking forward to discussing strong families and communities."

Coming up, he was too heartbeats away from the White House. Today new details on Dennis Hastert's multimillion dollar secret.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEVE DELUCA, HEARING IMPAIRED FOR 18 YEARS: In 1997 I had a brain tumor and that knocked out the hearing in my left ear, pretty about 85 percent of hearing. And I got a hearing aid that opened up sound to that side. And then over the years I've lost hearing in my right ear.

[14:10:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So tell me what it was like when you first got the technology that connected your hearing aid to your phone?

DELUCA: It was amazing. It's night a day, to be able to answer the phone without taking the hearing aid out and putting the phone up to your ear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So were you counting down for the Apple Watch?

DELUCA: I didn't realize what I heard about the Apple Watch everything you were going to be able to do on it. I thought an Apple Watch really, you know, kind of a cool toy. Once I saw what I'm able to do with the hearing aids, it's another great feature. To be able to use the music when I'm running and have that Bluetooth through the hearing aid, it's amazing. Otherwise I would have to wear headsets. And if wore headsets, I wouldn't have the hearing aid. I could hear the music, but I'm not going to hear traffic as well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So there are four settings. What are the four different options?

DELUCA: There's an all-around setting. I can adjust the bass and treble in that setting also. There's a restaurant setting, there's a music setting, and then there's an outdoor where it can -- I can actually block out some of the wind noise.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the big concerns that a lot of people have about the watch is the battery. What happens if the battery on these dies?

DELUCA: The hearing aid still works. The hearing aid batteries are completely separate from the phone and the watch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you adjust them then?

DELUCA: I can still cycle through all the programs. I just won't be able to fine tune.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you ever feel like you have too much technology between the hearing aid, the watch, and the phone, or are you just grateful that you have them?

DELUCA: I'm so grateful. God has blessed me with so many ways with different technologies like this because it really has opened up so much. If it means that I'm tied to these gadgets to improve the way that I'm hearing things, then so be it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: A simmering Washington scandal has the capital buzzing. The story centers on former House speaker Dennis Hastert, now under indictment for lying to the FBI about huge sums of crash that he withdrew allegedly for hush money to cover up sexual abuse with one of his former students. This dates back to his early years as a teacher and wrestling coach long before his political career started. So far he is not saying a word about this.

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty is in Washington. Sunlen, hello to you. Isn't Hastert eventually though going to have to face reporters and say something?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I would think it's likely, Randi. As you note, he still hasn't said anything yet. His lawyers also haven't said a word yet, so they will face all these questions that are unanswered.

Now, here's what we know. According to sources, Hastert was paying a former male student to keep quiet about allegations of sexual abuse. That was from the time that he was a teacher and a wrestling coach in Illinois before he came to Washington and got involved in politics. He was indicted Thursday by the Department of Justice for lying to the FBI for about $3.5 million he agreed to pay to this undisclosed person, but he only ended up paying about $1.7 million before this indictment came through.

Here in Washington Hastert is well known for being squeaky clean, so there's been a lot of response, a lot of shock in response to this. Here's the White House press secretary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think I can speak pretty faithfully for everybody here at the White House that even though Speaker Hastert served as the speaker of the House in the other party, that there's nobody here who takes -- who derives any pleasure from reading about the former speaker's legal troubles at this point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And a friend of Hastert who has been a friend of his since the 1970s, he told CNN that he spoke with Hastert on Friday as these indictments -- this indictment was coming through, and he says, quote, "He perceives himself as the one being wronged." But this friend, Randi, would not comment about these allegations.

KAYE: Sunlen, what is your understanding of why Hastert has not been arrested? He's been indicted by not arrested.

SERFATY: That's right. According to the Department of Justice they say he wasn't arrested because, one, he was not a flight risk and they didn't believe he was a danger in any way to the community. You know, Hastert, former speaker of the House, he's a well-known national figure, so they believe that -- they had no reason to believe that he would flee. We do know he will appear in front of a federal judge at some point soon, but no date has been set, Randi.

KAYE: All right, Sunlen Serfaty at the White House, thank you very much.

Still ahead, residents in Texas are still on edge after a week of flooding there. Dan Simon is live near Houston with the story.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, high, Randi. Texas may have turned a corner with the devastating floods. The water levels are receding. The question is how much rain may be on the way. We'll have that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [14:18:36] KAYE: Federal aid will now be on its way to Texas, which has been hammered by severe weather. The White House made that announcement late yesterday. At least 22 people in Texas died this week from either tornados or flooding. The same storms have claimed lives in Oklahoma and northern Mexico. Our Dan Simon is in highlands, Texas, which was hit pretty hard again yesterday. Dan, are we expecting more rain in those flood areas now?

SIMON: Well, that's the real question, Randi. But I have to tell you, the sun is actually making an appearance today, something folks here haven't seen too much of lately. I can tell you in the time that we've been here in Highlands, Texas, today, the water has receded by about a foot, and that's telling the larger story as things have stayed dry really over the past 24 hours.

So there is rain expected in the forecast. The question is how much. We've seen estimates anywhere from one to five inches. One or two inches, Randi, they can handle. If you get five inches, then some of those areas that are still saturated, there's where you can see problems. There are two problem areas that authorities are keeping an eye on. One in the town of Warden, Texas, that's just southwest of here, and also in Rosenberg just a short distance away from Houston as well. Some of those communities are still under mandatory evacuation orders. We understand that about 35 homes in the Rosenberg area, for instance, still under that evacuation order.

But really it's more of a precautionary thing because, again, it's really going to come down to what Mother Nature does.

[14:20:04] KAYE: Is there anything they can do to short of move that water along? How are folks getting around there?

SIMON: There's really nothing you can do. It's just going to take time. According to our weather folks, it's really going to be Thursday until the water levels go down completely in terms of when it's actually normal when cars can kind of go down streets like this where there's no water. It's just something that takes time. But of course not having is going to help. Randi?

KAYE: Certainly so. Dan Simon, appreciate it. Thank you.

Up next, a very emotional reunion. We'll take you to South America where a mother and son meet for the first time in 41 years.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Checking top stories now, a U.S. citizen who had been to life in an Egyptian prison will soon be reunited family in the U.S. The U.S. embassy confirms Mohammed Sultan has left Egypt. He had been jailed since 2013 for his role in demonstrations in support of ousted former president Mohamed Morsi. Sultan had been on a hunger strike for at least 14 months.

[14:25:06] The Democratic field for president just got larger. Martin O'Malley, the former Maryland governor and one-time Baltimore mayor, made it official this morning. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O'MALLEY: That is why today, to you and to all who can hear my voice, I declare that I am a candidate for president of the United States, and I am running for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: O'Malley did talk about the recent protests in Baltimore and a small group of protesters tried to interrupt his speech.

The Pentagon is now confirming the U.S. army sent a suspected shipment of anthrax to Australia. The Pentagon says live samples of the potentially dangerous pathogen are believed to have been shipped back in 2008 or 2009. A total of 24 laboratories in 11 states and two foreign countries are now believed to have received suspect samples. The Defense Department is conducting a thorough review of its anthrax protocols. The CDC is also investigating but officials say they do not suspect any risk to the public.

The FBI is facing what it calls an extraordinarily difficult challenge keeping up with possible terror suspects in the U.S. The agency is asking for help from local police departments. The NYPD wants to add 450 officers to its counterterrorism unit, partly to counter the threat from ISIS sympathizers.

For many adults who were adopted as babies, finding their biological parents can sometimes challenging. But the search for one man's roots took an almost unbelievable turn when he discovered that he was stolen as a newborn in South America. CNN's Rafael Romo was there when mother and son met for the very first time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO: A life kept on hold for more than 41 years. This mother and son are seeing each other for the first time. He has tears of joy.

How do you feel?

TRAVIS TOLLIVER, REUNITED WITH BIOLOGICAL MOTHER: I don't know. It's crazy. I never thought it would happen.

ROMO: She can barely talk. "I'm going to hug him every day," she says. "I love him so much."

Travis Tolliver says he always knew he was adopted. What the 41-year- old didn't know, he says, was that he was his stolen as a baby in his native Chile only hours after he was born in the South American country.

TOLLIVER: I was wanted. I wasn't given up willingly, I thought for all these years. So that makes my heart feel wonderful.

ROMO: Nellie Reyes says she had a normal pregnancy with no medical issues. The 61-year-old says she gave birth to a healthy baby boy on November 15th, 1973. But her joy quickly turned to sadness when she was later told the baby was born with a heart condition and wasn't likely to survive.

"Hours later they told me he had died," she says, "but I was never shown a body and was never given a death certificate."

Travis Tolliver says he tried to find his biological parents when he was in his 20s but didn't have the resources or the connections to make it happen. It was not until last year that he determined he needed to find the truth about his past not only for himself but also for his two children.

Tolliver says his American adoptive parents never knew he had been stolen. They were told he was an abandoned baby. Since reuniting with his biological mother, Tolliver has been busy meeting four brothers and one sister and seeing the sights of the country.

TOLLIVER: Now I'm back here in my homeland, I guess.

Why was it important for you to meet the person who gave you birth?

TOLLIVER: To become whole. I've always felt incomplete, always kind of the outsider.

ROMO: His biological mother has been cooking for him daily, but more than anything she's been showing him her love, giving her son the hugs and kisses that she was unable to give him as a baby all those years ago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Rafael Romo reporting for us. What an incredible story.

Thanks so much for spending part of your Saturday with us. I'm Randi Kaye. Vital Signs with Dr. Sanjay Gupta begins right now. Have a great day, everyone.