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Unexplained Explosion on Rhode Island Beach Injures Woman; Donald Trump to Give Speech in Phoenix, Arizona; Education Program Focuses on Providing Students with Tech Jobs; FBI Director Apologizes for Mistake that Allowed South Carolina Gunman to Illegally Purchase Firearm; Massive Data Breach of U.S. Government Examined. Aired 2- 2:30p ET

Aired July 11, 2015 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, hello again, everyone. Thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Breaking news now out of Rhode Island. Police have evacuated the Salty Brine Beach in Narragansett, Rhode Island after an explosion there injuring a woman this morning. A spokesperson for the Department of Environmental Management tells CNN, quote, "The explosion came from under the sand and knocked a 50-year-old woman on to the rocks," end quote. The Narragansett police department bomb squad responded and is at the scene right now. They don't know what caused the explosion yet. The injured woman has been taken to the hospital. No word on the extent of her injuries.

Meantime, I'm joined on the phone by the acting chief of the Rhode Island Environmental Police, Kurt Blanchard. So, Kurt, you're at the beach right now. Describe what you're seeing. What's happening?

KURT BLANCHARD, ACTING CHIEF, RHODE ISLAND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICE: Well, I'm not on the beach front just now, but my understanding on the beach front, we have cleared the area. And, you know, secured it. We have the state bomb squad on scene. Their bomb technicians are searching the area and looking for any evidence and any indication of what this could be. We're unclear what type of device it is, whether it's something that's been left over there or a natural situation or a manmade situation. It's still under investigation at this time.

WHITFIELD: So you're exploring all those possibilities. What would be the natural explanation for this? You mentioned that would be an option. What could cause an explosion under the sand?

BLANCHARD: Unknown on what could be natural at this point. There's just no determination. There's no real evidence of a device. So we're trying to still piece this together as what could have caused this explosion, this percussion that caused this woman to be pushed from her chair and be take on the hospital.

WHITFIELD: So whe was sitting in a chair on beach. Who else was around her?

BLANCHARD: Can you try that again, please?

WHITFIELD: You said it knocked her out of her chair. So she was sitting in her chair on the beach. Who else was around her? Was she alone at this beach?

BLANCHARD: The beach was occupied. As you can imagine, on a beautiful day like today, the beach is a very busy beach. She had other family members sitting with her in a grouping. They're all sitting together. They heard what sounded like a firecracker going off. And then they felt this percussion, which threw her from her chair. So that's what we're looking at now and trying to piece that evidence together and see what this could be.

WHITFIELD: Unbelievable. And you said --

BLANCHARD: Nobody else on the beach front was injured. There's no indication of any kind of explosive device on the scene other than the actual elements of what happened.

WHITFIELD: Can you explain her injuries or her status right now as she's being hospitalized?

BLANCHARD: Status is unknown. She's at the South County hospital being treated. They're assessing her now. And we're still waiting to hear back on that.

WHITFIELD: Very mysterious. All right, Kurt Blanchard, thank you so much. All the best as you continue on this investigation, trying to figure out why in the world this would happen, an explosion under the sand, as you heard Mr. Blanchard describe there, just throwing a 50- year-old woman right out of her beach chair. She is currently being hospitalized.

All right, other news, a crowd is expected for Donald Trump later today as he takes a stage in one state that is often at the center of the immigration debate. The Republican presidential candidate will appear in Phoenix, Arizona, with the controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio. So many people expected to show up that they event had to be moved from a very small location to a much larger venue.

Meanwhile, more protests like this one in Los Angeles Friday over Trump's controversial remarks about people crossing the border from Mexico. But today on CNN, a Trump organization executive says those remarks are being misunderstood.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL COHEN, SPECIAL COUNSEL TO DONALD TRUMP: What Donald Trump said at his speech was not being directed towards Mexicans. That's a gross distortion by the press, by the liberal media that wants to take Donald Trump out of this race. He did not say Mexicans and he certainly did not say Latinos. He said Mexico. And he was referring to the Mexican government.

What he did then is on probably on more than 10,000 speeches and meetings with both liberal media as well as print and television, he went ahead and he explained exactly what he meant, that it's the Mexican government, not Mexicans.

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN HOST, SMERCONISH: I understand that --

COHEN: So he put out statements. Let me just finish this. So he put out statements that explained it. But they still don't want to hear it. And so Donald Trump is not backing down. He doesn't back down to anyone.

[14:05:02] SMERCONISH: But Michael, Michael, I know -- and I want to get to that, too. I don't consider myself part of any liberal media. I just want to get to the facts. And the facts suggest that proportionately those who are here in this country illegally are committing less crime than native-born Americans. And that's what "The Washington Post" was getting at when they called out Mr. Trump, and they said this just isn't true.

COHEN: Well, tell that to the family of this young girl that was killed. The bottom line is this is not an issue about one person, though in all fairness, if you look to see the tragedy that took place in Charlotte, what a great result that that had for Charlotte and the American people. And let's hope that the same thing happens for this beautiful young girl that was killed in San Francisco. This is the time for immigration reform. And that's something Mr. Trump feels strongly about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, so you heard Mr. Cohen say Trump's remarks were not directed toward Mexicans. So you be the judge. What do you hear in these remarks that have resonated so loudly, particularly among Latinos?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN political reporter Sara Murray is in Phoenix for us. So Sara, so as a border state, Arizona has certainly been at the forefront of all sides of the immigration story for several years. Have you, a, seen any protesters. And them, b, what is expected today when Trump arrives and he is also going to be accompanied by the Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Sure. Well, it's still pretty early here. The event is a couple hours away so we have not seen any protesters yet, but we definitely are expecting them to arrive in the next couple hours, closer to when the event starts.

But we're not just expecting to see protesters. We're also expecting to see Republican Hispanic leaders come out and offer a counter- narrative to what Donald Trump is talking about. So I think we're going to be hearing from protesters as well as leaders of the Republican Party who are Hispanic.

In terms of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, he will be onstage with Donald Trump today. I think that gives you a pretty good indication that the Donald has no plans to tone down his remarks. Joe Arpaio is known for taking an extremely hard line on immigration issues. He's actually been convicted of racial profiling. So I think that gives you a sense of what we can expect to see and hear from Donald Trump and his very supporters today.

WHITFIELD: Is it expected, Sara, that Joe Arpaio will actually speak? I know you said he'll be onstage with, but will he be talking also?

MURRAY: I think as of right now, we are expecting him to make some remarks. As you can see, the plans today have been shifting a lot. The venue has changed. They are now at the Phoenix Convention Center. They said they expect more than 7,500 people. We're also expecting a couple other guests. So I think they're still sort of work out exactly what's going to be in the program today, but I do think we will hear from Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then, what are Trump's, you know, people saying about, you know, his message and how he really is kind of, you know, steering the conversation, especially as it pertains to the other Republican candidates?

MURRAY: I think what they're saying -- and there is no doubt that this part is true, is Donald Trump has started a debate about immigration in the Republican Party. He has really pulled off the Band-Aid that was sort of covering these issues after the 2012 presidential race and opened up just how divisive this issue remains among many Republicans.

So we're at this event here today. It's being hosted by the local Republican Party here, but it's worth noting that most of the prominent Republican leaders here in Arizona will not be here. We will not see Senator Jeff Flake or Senator John McCain. Both of them have been supporters of a comprehensive immigration overhaul which includes a path to citizenship. You will also not see Arizona's current governor here, nor will we see members of the leaders of the Arizona state Republican Party. This just gives you an idea of how difficult this issue has become for the Republican Party even as they know they need to make inroads with Hispanics if they want to win the presidency.

WHITFIELD: All right, very fascinating. Thanks so much, Sara Murray.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:13:02] WHITFIELD: In a rare moment for the director of the FBI James Comey, he's apologizing, saying he is sorry the FBI's background check failed to stop Dylann Roof from buying a gun, the same gun he is accused of using to kill nine people in a Charleston, South Carolina, church.

Now the agency is reviewing their policy. CNN's Sunlen Serfaty has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The man who confessed to gunning down nine people inside a South Carolina church should never have been able to buy the .45 caliber gun used in the slaughter. That admission coming from FBI Director James Comey, who told reporters his bureau made a mistake during Dylann Roof's background check, a mistake he said, quote, "rips all of our hearts out." According to law enforcement officials, within days after the shooting, agents on the ground knew something was amiss and suspected that Roof's arrest record should have prohibited the gun purchase.

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It just shows how a bureaucratic mistake can cost human life.

SERFATY: Director Comey says the FBI examiner during Roof's background check didn't discover Roof had previously admitted to illegally possessing drugs when he was arrested in late February. That information would have prevented Roof from passing the background check.

CALLAN: There's a regulation that says if he was a drug user, he shouldn't have got a gun. And there was abundant information for the FBI to have had that information. Had they had it, no gun sale and possibly no shooting here.

SERFATY: Comey says the FBI examiner failed to make contact with the Columbia, South Carolina, Police Department, which arrested Roof on the felony drug charge, in part because of a clerical error that listed the wrong police department in the online court system.

After three days of waiting for the background check, the South Carolina gun shop legally used its discretion to sell Roof the gun even though his status was still pending. Senate Judiciary Chairman Grassley said in a statement, quote, "It's disastrous that this bureaucratic mistake prevented existing laws from working and blocking an illegal gun sale." But the family of one Charleston victim, surprise and understanding.

[14:15:14] REV. ANTHONY THOMPSON, WIDOWER OF MYRA THOMPSON: I thought, being that it was an FBI check, that they were very thorough. So I was surprised that they weren't very thorough. And so -- but I know people make mistakes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SERFATY: And there are already calls on Capitol Hill in response to this mistake. Senator Chris Murphy and Senator Blumenthal are calling on president Obama to take some executive action. They want some changes that would be able to stop these gun dealers from being able to proceed and sell these weapons if law enforcement determines that they need more than just the three days time during the become ground time. Fred?

All right, Sunlen Serfaty, thanks so much.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RADCLIFFE SADDLER, P-TECH GRADUATE: My mother had me home-schooled in Jamaica. And she still managed to complete high school, but she had to take a break on her education to raise me and my brothers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Radcliffe Saddler's story seems to be a typical one for a son of immigrants struggling to make it in New York City.

SADDLER: My mom always reminds me that we need to move out of poverty. We need to break the cycle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: About 35 miles north at a manicured corporate campus, a woman who runs one of the biggest companies in the world can relate to Saddler's story in a very personal way.

[14:20:02] After your parents divorced, your mom took on multiple jobs, and I believe she even went to school.

GINNI ROMETTY, CEO, IBM: She did. Education is very personal. I know it's what my mother did so that we could all go to school and get the chance.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: IBM and Radcliffe crossed paths in 2011. That's when the tech giant partnered with the city to transform Radcliffe's school from a regular high school to one that folds in real world job training into its curriculum. It's called P-Tech.

ROMETTY: While you're going to high school, you also begin taking college courses, so you end with an Associate Degree at the same time. And then, first in line for a job.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: P-Tech is a six-year program. But Radcliffe and five other students completed it in four. Three are starting at IBM, and the jobs are paying north of $50,000.

Did you ever think when you were 11-years-old, 12-years-old, that you would be working for IBM at 18?

SADDLER: No. That wasn't the plan. At 11, what was I? I liked video games. That was me at 11.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For IBM giving these teenagers a job provides a solution to a much larger problem. In April, there were 5.4 million job openings in the U.S., the most in 15 years.

ROMETTY: Businesses, you know, we're not alone, have many open jobs for skills that you can't fill today. This prepares the kids to be employable. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As for Saddler, big blue is just the first step

in his career path.

SADDLER: I have to keep my eye on the long-term goal and that's owning my own company. My parents always taught us to be the boss, not to work for the man, to be the boss.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, and now new details emerging about the worst U.S. government data breach ever. U.S. officials suspect China may be to blame, and even President Obama could be among the 22 million government employees whose personal information may be at risk now. This as the head of the Office of Personnel Management steps down one day after revealing the breach was much worse than expected. Let's bring in HLN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson, and criminal and civil trial attorney Esther Panitch. All right, good to see both of you guys.

ESTHER PANITCH, CRIMINAL AND CIVIL TRIAL ATTORNEY: Good to see you.

JOEY JACKSON: Good to see you, Fredricka. Hello, Esther!

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: All right, Esther, let me start with you. Does the OPM director stepping down say that there was more that she could have done?

PANITCH: Of course, although she is not the one that hacked in and she is not the one that released the information. So she's really a figure hood who is taking the fall because it is her department. But I don't know. I don't think they know what caused the data breach yet, or if they do, the government, they're not saying. So until we know exactly how it was caused, that will determine how it could be, you know, stopped next time.

WHITFIELD: Right. Joey, it was alarming enough that 4 million people were left vulnerable. But now the number is, you know, 20 million people. And apparently the OPM had been hacked five times since mid- 2012. So clearly protections that should have been put in place were not. Is that really the bottom line here? I mean, who is complicit, who is responsible here?

JACKSON: Sure, Fredricka. I think there's a number of things to consider. The first thing is that you have to make security protocols, particularly with governmental information, so that they can't be breached. Now, that obviously is a tall order. We've seen one hacking issue after the other as it relates to the private sector. You could talk about Target. We could talk about Sony. We could talk about the phone hacking scandal with the celebrities and the iPhones and the Apple iCloud. There's so many.

But the issue is when it starts infiltrating the government that has so much of our sensitive information -- IRS. We know who they are, do we not? We're talking about, you know, tax information and what could be done. We're talking about information not only for commercial gain, but can it be used for purposes associated with, you know, espionage and other activities?

And so the bottom line is we can place blame. We can have people that resign who are figureheads, as Esther points to. But the issue is getting the protocol so that they're not breached moving forward, and that's what needs to be corrected.

WHITFIELD: OK, and so if I'm a government employee, or I was a family member who had to be investigated or asked questions, I had to answer questions or a friend, et cetera, I'm really worried now. So Esther, what do I do to protect myself, or is there a step that I can even take against the government for allowing -- that would be, you know, perhaps my allegation, for allowing something like this to happen?

PANITCH: Well, I think the first step is to protect your credit, because usually that's what hackers are looking for. If they're looking for something more nefarious, that may not be something you can control, so you can control what you can control, freeze your credit, and make sure that you get notified if someone is trying to take credit out in your name.

[14:25:10] In terms of suing the federal government, it's incredibly difficult. There is a federal tort claim act. It is incredibly hard to prevail against the federal government, which has immunity from most prosecutions, or most civil suits. So it would be very -- it's an uphill climb for everybody. And you really have to prove that the government was beyond negligent in order to prevail.

WHITFIELD: Like there was intent even.

PANITCH: Correct. And here, it looks like negligence. Of course, nobody wants the data hacked. I mean, this whole thing now sounds like an episode of "Scandal." I mean, you get Shonda Rhimes to try to prevent hacking. You see it playing out in real life. It's scary. You give, not a private individual, to the government, to protect your government issued I.D. number, and what do they do? Someone takes it from them. We can't trust our Social Security numbers with the people who issued them to us?

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy.

PANITCH: What are we supposed to do?

WHITFIELD: It is scary stuff. All right, Joey Jackson, Esther Panitch, thanks so much, appreciate it.

JACKSON: These are tough times, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: They are, being made even tougher, lots of vulnerabilities. All right, thanks so much.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [14:30:00] WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much for being with me this afternoon. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We'll have much more Newsroom straight ahead. Right now, time for "VITAL SIGNS With Dr. Sanjay Gupta."